Silence.
I imagined my death would come with a final spike of pain. A gunshot. A blade to the heart. I’d die knowing I tried… and failed. It wasn’t the glorious death I predicted for Hellion, but I shouldn’t be surprised.
THUMP.
Had she missed? I opened my eyes, ready for her descending fist. I caught the tail end of a blur. Turning my head, I watched as the streaks dragged Keyes toward the fountain. I recognized the color of his suit.
“Wyatt,” I whispered. The big guy had come to my rescue. I couldn’t help but smile. Mr. Supreme, Vanguard’s alien protector, had come to the aid of a vigilante. It could have been like this for the last year if I had been willing to share my secret. My team hadn’t abandoned me.
With a power-infused fist, she slammed into his back. They both fell, skidding along the plaza until they crashed into the broken fountain. He leapt to his feet, holding up a hand to block the bolt of energy.
“Drew. Drew? Are you okay?”
For a second, I thought I stood outside my body. Keyes had probably given me a concussion. My suit stood over me, but the worried face hovering above mine was cuter. Wyatt kept her occupied while I regained my wits. Booker didn’t waste twelve seconds as he patted my cheek.
“You need to get up.”
“Your eyes.” I coughed. “They’re the perfect shade of green.”
He paused, as if he had never received a compliment before. “If you want to see them again, you’ll get your ass off the ground.”
“I can’t stop her.”
Drew didn’t stand a chance. She tore through Tint’s powers. Even Hellion hadn’t been enough. I believed with the barrier between them gone, I’d somehow be able to beat Keyes. I had bested robbers and assassins, but on my own, I was no match for a supervillainess with unlimited power.
“Stop making it all about you,” he said. “You’re not in this alone.”
He draped himself across my body as a bolt of yellow shot overhead. While a car flipped through the air, Ifocused on the warmth of his body against mine. I spent the last year fearful that my chosen family would turn their backs if they knew the real me. I locked away the parts thatIthought were too dark for them.
Booker had a point.
Across the plaza, Mr. Supreme… Wyatt… traded blows with Keyes, not making any progress. If Vanguard’s third strongest hero couldn’t knock her down, we had to change tactics. It seemed as if months of feasting on the city’s chaos had made her invincible. Nobody seemed to be able to stop?—
I stared into those beautiful green eyes. “I have an idea.” Or at least the start of one.
Trying to sit up, my body refused. Determination and stubbornness wouldn’t save me today. I needed to rely on those around me. First, I needed Booker to breathe some life into me.
“I need your help.”
“What?”
Booker liked the investigation and loved the chase, but I don’t think he had spent time confronting bad guys. I took his hand, pressing it against my chest. With eyes locked, he figured out what I meant. If he could read me like a book, he knew exactly what I was asking of him.
“You sure?”
“With you?” Having considered myself good as dead a few minutes ago, I couldn’t help but feel sentimental. Evenif he felt the feelings surging through my heart, I wanted him to hear the words. “Always.”
The green vanished as he closed his eyes. With a slight push against my sternum, I could feel the heat of his hand, the warmth flowing through my body. I focused on the anger. This wasn’t the wild rage that filled my chest as I stalked the streets at night. This was controlled anger created by a woman who threatened my friends. Underneath came a current of determination, coated with a stubbornness to get the job done. I’d save the day, but I wouldn’t do it alone.
The surge had my back arching. I shot upright, the ache almost gone.
“Holy hell,” I gasped. “That’s better than a shot of adrenaline.”
“Wyatt needs our help,” Booker said.
The big guy had lost ground. He tried blocking a swing, but she landed a clean shot to his kidney… or whatever aliens had there. Something slammed into Keyes’ back, an explosion loud enough that it shook the ground. Failsafe dropped from the sky, slamming an armored fist against her jaw. He managed to duck one swipe. Yellow beams from her eyes struck him in the chest, sending him rocketing backward.
Roaring, Janet jumped over the broken fountain. Splashing through the water, she swung the baseball bat. Keyes caught as if it were nothing more than an annoyance.
