“Woman!” Janet charged with the bat. “This is my favorite cape.” I cringed as Janet ducked under a wide punch. For not having powers, she smashed kneecaps like a pro. Bouncing the punk’s face off her knee, she started an obscene victory dance.
Orion had his arms raised, palms pointed at me. I barely jumped out of the way as he fired. The bolt of energy hit a punk, making his mechanical parts spit sparks.
“Thanks.”
As Wyatt stepped out of the bank, dragging the oversized goon, I realized we were no longer the bumbling team from a year ago. We were the heroes the city needed.
Janet finished the hip thrusting. “This is where we say something pithy.”
“Then we find out it was a trap,” Orion added. “The Illuminati?—”
“Or an assassin?” Janet pointed the bat.
“Trident,” Connor chimed in our earpieces. “Only known as Whisper. There is no file on her.”
“Illuminati,” Orion repeated.
“I hope she’s not a talker,” Janet said. “I hate when the codename is a lie.”
The assassin ran toward me, jumping onto the hood of a car before launching herself into the air. Impressed by her grace, I spotted the knives before she threw them. Pulling out the batons, I knocked them out of the air while she landed. Into a roll, blades appeared from her forearms. I was already flipping backward as she thrust.
Trident hadn’t relented. The bounty for my head continued to grow. Every price increase brought a new assassin looking to score a buck. At this point, the jail must be filled. Tonight, we’d add another to their ranks.
She followed, blades swiping as I rolled to my feet. I blocked, parried, and deflected. The white Kabuki mask seemed appropriate for the dance-like approach to fighting. If there weren’t blades involved, it’d have appeared as if we had choreographed our movements. I continued defending against her attacks, but made no effort to push forward.
“Fight me,” she whispered.
Every muscle in my body wanted to break her jaw. Iwanted whoever sent her to see the futility. No matter the price on my life, they’d see it as a lost cause. They might get close, but they’d never walk away the victor.
“I don’t have to,” I said.
Tonight, they wouldn’t even get close.
She barely had time to turn her head when Wyatt’s fist collided with her jaw. I hope she saw the smile on my face as she pivoted, trying to absorb the impact of a super-strong alien. Reaching for her belt, I spotted the knives. I resisted the urge to lunge.
“Booyah!” Two darts with a wire between them trapped her arm against an SUV.
I could have beaten her. She was just another?—
Whisper screamed. The vibration shattered every window on the street. I clutched my ears as I thought my head would explode. Even Wyatt dropped to a knee, growling. I couldn’t make out Connor’s voice as the ground wobbled under my feet. I should have guessed that with the growing bounty, we’d move from run-of-the-mill assassins to ones with powers. She pulled her arm free, stomping toward me, the scream never ending.
With every step, I thought my eardrums would explode. Her bleeding nose ruined a perfect makeup job. Like all villains, the moment she got the upper hand, she turned arrogant. A flash of silver from behind struck her with enough force that she staggered within arm’s reach. I couldn’t help but laugh.
She planned for Hellion. If she had recent intel, she might have read about the alien and tech user. Maybe they even knew about Janet’s life working for the CIA. We were the grunts that kept Vanguard running, but we weren’t alone.
Whisper’s body jerked as a metallic fist smashed against her shoulder. The screeching stopped. As I pulled apart the baton, wrapping the rope around her neck, I smiled at the shiny silver man behind her. “Thanks,” I said, louder than necessary. Pulling the rope tight, she flailed, but I refused to let go. I’d choke the life out of her if it kept her quiet.
Ricardo in his metal form… I understood why Arthur snuck into the janitor’s closet so often. Liquid metal and thick in all the right places. He joined us to see if the superhero lifestyle suited him.
Whisper’s grabbing for my wrists stopped, and her body went limp. She deserved nothing less for threatening my friends. I loosened my grip. Janet kicked her in the thigh, getting out her pent-up frustrations. Orion gave me a thumbs-up while Wyatt had his pinky in his ear.
There were no looks of disgust as I let her go. This was the compromise, a discussion we had at length before going out tonight. We’d do what we must to get the job done, and it’d end there. They didn’t welcome the brutality, but they didn’t ignore it. They understood that only Hellion and my office alter ego remained.
“Victory!” Janet screamed before chest-bumping with Ricardo.
It took a moment before I realized the ringing in my ear was the comm in my helmet buzzing. Tapping the side of my mask, I cranked the volume.
“My offer still stands.” The balls on Carmen LaToya made me jealous.
