Linh groaned, slumping forward to plant her face into the desk with a heavy thud. She was fine with homework, she did it all the time. But this? This wasn't homework, this was a war crime.

  A thud next to her had her rolling her head to the side to see someone placing a can of soft drink next to her.

  “You okay there Rabbit?” Kestrel asked, sliding a chair out to take a seat next to Linh.

  “I know it's important, but does it have to be so dry?” Linh moaned, provoking a laugh from Kestrel.

  “Well, that's what we get for letting the lawyers write our handbook,” Kestrel replied cheerily.

  Linh scooped up the book in question, and began to read:

  “Operatives are further advised that intentional application of kinetic force to high-sensitivity craniofacial loci (including, but not limited to, the nasal promontory, ocular vestibules, mandibular hinge, and associated structural cartilage) constitutes a deviation from Standard Engagement Form C unless executed under conditions of elevated threat response (Tier II or higher), or in accordance with situational exigency as defined in Addendum 12-F.”

  Linh recited in a monotone.

  “Seriously? How many words does it take to say 'Don’t punch people in the face unless you need to’?” Linh demanded, forcing another laugh from Kestrel.

  “Mmm,” the woman agreed, “It's dumb, I know. But you need to be able to say you’ve read and understood it.”

  Linh slumped back onto the desk.

  “It wouldn't be so bad if I didn't have two assignments due next week,” she mumbled. The assignments weren't all that difficult, but this? This… arcane pseudo language before her? It was draining both her energy and will to live.

  “Want some help?” Skip offered, “I was pretty good at…”

  His sentence was interrupted by the sudden angry blaring of a siren.

  Linh leapt out of her chair in surprise, tangling her legs with the chair and managing to smash her forehead on the side of the table as she fell to the ground in a mess of limbs and chair.

  “Owww,” she muttered, clutching both her head and ears as the painfully loud siren blasted her with noise. Mercifully, the noise cut off, leaving just the flashing lights.

  “You okay?” Kestrel asked, leaning down to look at Linh, with the struggle of someone who is simultaneously concerned and laughing her ass off.

  “Too fucking loud,” Linh complained, extracting herself from the chair as best she could. Her enhanced hearing was useful, but it was also a huge pain in the ass. Or ears, in this case. She rose to her feet, the sound still echoing around her skull.

  Kestrel winced in sympathy, “I’ll ask them to turn it down for next time,” she said, still chuckling a little.

  “What the hell is happening?” Linh asked.

  “Mission time,” Skip said, grabbing his helmet from the rack in the corner. Kestrel meanwhile was heading towards the changing rooms, already beginning to undo her blouse.

  “Get ready to go,” she called over her shoulder, disappearing through the doorway.

  Linh turned to Skip, “Go? Like now?”

  He nodded, “It's show time Rabbit, time to see what you’re made of.”

  Linh swallowed. She hadn't expected to be thrown in so soon. She had only joined the team yesterday!

  “Relax,” Skip said as he finished redoing the straps on his boots, “You’ll be fine.”

  “But what if I fuck up?” she said, half panicking, “I haven't finished reading the book. There's like a million more rules!”

  Skip laughed, “Don't worry, as long as you can say “I had to or someone was going to get hurt” you’ll be in the clear.”

  He offered a Linh a smile, “Seriously, you’re a rookie. No one is expecting much. Just keep your eyes open and listen to Kestrel.”

  “Okay,” Linh said, feeling the tension lessen. Slightly. Her heart was still trying to escape or explode. She wasn’t sure which.

  “What do I do?” She asked.

  “You stay here,” Sentinel said from behind her, “You're not cleared.”

  “Actually, she is,” Kestrel replied, re-emerging into the room. Linh blushed and looked away as she realised the woman was only wearing half of her costume. She caught a glimpse of a lacy bra as Kestrel shrugged into the top half of her bodysuit.

  Sentinel scowled, “She hasn't finished the manual.”

  “She’s not stupid, and she's cleared. She’s coming,” Kestrel replied.

  Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

  “Fine,” Sentinel spat, “Bank Robbery in progress. Thunderdude is on the ground, and on his way.”

  Kestrel nodded.

  “Skip?” She asked, turning to the younger hero.

  “On it,” he replied, finishing with his boots. He straightened up and looked at Linh.

  “See you there,” he said, before he vanished through a tear in space with a pop.

  “Right, Rabbit, you’re with me,” Kestrel said, fixing an earpiece in place, costume now complete.

  “Do not let her touch anything,” Sentinel growled as he headed towards the elevators.

  Linh looked to Kestrel, who was listening intently to her earpiece.

  “What should I do?” she asked, and Kestrel held a finger up, before she nodded.

  “Understood.”

  Kestrel looked across at Linh, fixing her with a serious look.

  “SC Bank over on Fairbank street is being hit,” she explained, “Multiple criminal supers.”

  Linh nodded nervously, “What do we do?”

  Kestrel opened a small wall cabinet, grabbed something from within, and tossed it at Linh. She caught it. It appeared to be some kind of earpiece.

  “Stick that in,” Kestrel instructed, then she paused, taking in fluffy rabbit ears sticking out of Linh’s head. After a moment she tossed Linh a roll of tape.

  “Or just tape to your head,” she added. Linh grimaced, but started trying to get the earpiece to stay in place.

  “Sorry Rabbit, we’ll get you a custom headpiece later. We didn't think about it,” Kestrel apologised. Kestrel finished pulling her costume on as Linh got the headpiece to mostly stick in place.

  “Ready?” Kestrel asked, and Linh nodded.

  “Good, we’re taking the transport. We’ll get a look at what's happening and decide from there. Got it?”

  Linh hesitated, “I can be there in less than five if I hop?” she offered, and Kestrel froze, considering.

  “Do it,” she said after a moment. “Let me know when you get there, and do not engage. No closer than the police barricade, you hear?”

  Linh nodded again, “Got it.”

  Kestrel looked Linh right in the eyes, face serious.

  “This is real Rabbit,” she said, “No playing around, you follow instructions.”

  “I know,” Linh said, holding Kestrel’s gaze. Kestrel searched Linh’s face, before she nodded.

  “Go,” she said, “I’ll meet you there.”

  Kestrel turned to begin heading to the hangar, and Linh took a deep breath. It was show time.

  Linh didn't waste time heading to an exit, instead she teleported outside in a shower of lotus blossoms. She appeared on the side of the building, a good sixty floors up. Placing one hand on the glass of the window, she slid down the glass, building speed as the wind whipped at her hair. She waited until she drew level with the neighbouring rooftops then leapt, shaking the glass of the window behind her as she pushed off.

  “Oops,” she thought. She didn't think she broke it. That would have been awkward. Still, she was committed now, and with the side of the neighbouring building racing up at her, she just had to hope she wasn't about to crash through the glass.

  To her relief, the glass shook under her impact, but held as she contacted feet first, letting her knees take the force before she pushed off again. Soon she was hopping along the street, using the sides of buildings (carefully avoiding windows), as well as roof tops and the odd lamp post to speed towards the incident.

  She landed on another rooftop, startled a flock of birds and leapt again, teleporting mid hop to avoid a powerline she hadn't spotted. She landed in the rooftop pool of some apartment complex, and emerged, spluttering, her com still hanging on.

  “Check in,” came Kestrel’s voice through the earpiece, slightly muffled by the combination of water and tape that now filled Linh’s ear. She could feel it sloshing around. That was going to be annoying.

  “Skip on site,” Skip reported first, “No sign of suspects so far, assisting with crowd control. Tagged one potential escape vehicle.”

  “Good work, hold there. The others are en route. Sentinel?”

  “Launching,” Sentinel replied. A moment later there was a roar from behind Linh, and a figure rocketed past, windows rattling. Linh squeaked, nearly missing her landing on the next roadsign as Sentinel blasted past.

  She paused to catch her balance and breath, then started poking at the earpiece, trying to activate her com.

  She heard a noise from the earpiece that she took to mean she had keyed the mic, and reported.

  “Uhh, Rabbit here. Two blocks out. I can see the sirens,” she said, spotting the lights from the police cordon ahead.

  “Take a rooftop at the rear, watch for anyone trying to slip away,” Kestrel responded, and Linh nodded, before she remembered that the woman couldn't see her.

  “Roger,” she said, resuming her movement.

  “Dude?” Kestrel asked as Linh got close enough to see the bank.

  “Stuck in traffic. Who the fuck tows a boat through the city at rush hour?” Douche replied, provoking a sigh from Kestrel over the comms.

  “A genius,” she replied, “How far out?”

  “Maybe ten,” Douche said, “Five if I start blasting.”

  “No carnage please,” Kestrel said, “We can't afford to keep replacing Renaults.”

  “Maybe if the french built the things properly they wouldn't explode so easily.”

  “On topic people,” Sentinel said as Linh smirked. She arrived on a rooftop behind the bank, overlooking a small alley.

  She prodded at her com again, cursing as she tried to get it going.

  “Grim responding?” Skip asked, referring to the mysterious final member of their team. Linh had yet to meet the man, apparently he was around even less often than Beacon.

  “Out of town,” Kestrel responded, “Rabbit, you in position yet?”

  Linh tried to respond, but the earpiece wasn't cooperating. She growled and just pulled the thing out, feeling some fur come with it.

  “Linh?” Kestrel tried again, and Linh quickly tried to extract the com from the tape it was wrapped in. How did it get so damn messed up?

  “I see her,” she heard from the earpiece. She looked up to see Sentinel’s armoured mech suit hovering in the air above the bank. She raised the device, and gestured to her ears, hoping he could get the message.

  “Someone teach her how to use an earpiece,” he grumbled, “We can't have the rookie off comms.”

  Linh got the thing extracted, and held it up, pushing the button.

  “Damn thing fell out. This is speciesist against bunnies,” she complained, “I’ll just hold it.”

  Linh took position at the edge of the roof. She could see the back wall of the bank, and an alley filled with the usual collection of bins, empty boxes and wooden pallets. She settled in to wait, heart pounding.

  Her mad dash through the city had been intense but now? Now the silence was killing her.

  The sound of engines drew her attention skyward, and she saw the sleek shape of the team’s hovertransport sliding overhead.

  “I’m in position,” Kestrel said, “Any movement?”

  “Nothing out front,” Skip said.

  “Rear is quiet,” Linh said.

  “I have some movement near the vault on IR,” Sentinel reported.

  “I see it too,” Kestrel said.

  “I had to stop to help get an Ambulance through traffic,” Douche said, “Seriously, fucking drivers in this city. Five minutes.”

  “Speed it up,” Kestrel replied, “I think they’re about to move.”

  Linh tensed. She clutched the com in one hand, the other nervously clenched into a fist.

  “You’ve got this,” she said to herself, “You’re the Jade Rabbit.”

  “They’re moving,” Kestrel called, “I see three, get ready.”

  “Direction?” Skip asked,

  “Headed to the front. Sentinel?”

  “On it… shit!” Linh heard an explosion, followed by screaming and people running.

  “They’ve got a fucking blaster,” Sentinel cursed.

  “There's a runner!” Skip called.

  Linh stood, shaking. It was happening, what should she do?

  “Skip, chase. Sentinel, can you handle the blaster and his friend?”

  “If these cops stay clear, yes.”

  “Linh, get to the front, we need… shit, another contact, Linh, brace!”

  The back wall of the bank exploded in a shower of rubble, an enormous man having barrelled through the brick. Linh’s eyes widened. He was fucking huge. He had a trio of large bags slung over his shoulder, and immediately began running down the alley.

  “I’ve got him, he’s running!” Linh said, moving to keep pace with the guy.

  “Follow, don't engage. Dude, we need you.”

  “Almost there.”

  “Reroute to Rabbit. Rabbit, keep him in sight.”

  “Got it!” Linh said, heart pounding.

  “It's show time,” she muttered, as she followed from the roof tops.

  She couldn't fuck this up, Jazz would never let her live it down if she did.