If you would have told me a year ago that I'd be at the Obsidian City Penitentiary, breaking my scum-bag ex out of prison, I'd have laughed at you.

Yet, here I was, cackling like a proper villainess as we stumbled through the forest after hiding our escape vehicle. The moonlight cast eerie shadows through the trees, and the scent of pine and damp earth filled the air.

Hannah's eyes glowed with satisfaction at her handiwork as thunder rumbled in the distance, matching the pounding of my heart as my team of villainesses and I emerged from the trees.

I picked a branch out of my ponytail, my feet barely touching the ground. "Step one—done. And by done, I mean I just nearly gave myself a concussion when I walked into a tree. Does my hair still look good?"

"You always look good." Jasmine gave me a sweet smile and used her telekinesis to send a leaf flying off my shoulder.

Natalie scraped the mud off her black, thigh-high boots, her brow furrowed in concentration. "Next time, let's park in the parking lot. I don't think anyone is going to think anything suspicious about our minivan. Even if Madison does donuts again."

"First, it's an evil minivan," Madison giggled, leaving steaming footprints in her wake. "And I was just trying to blend in with all the other prisoners' families there to visit."

I playfully nudged her with my black leather gloved hand, floating a few inches off the ground. "That may have been fine during daylight, but I didn't see all the families there visiting in the middle of the night. If we didn't all insist on coming here together, we wouldn't need the minivan at all. I could have flown one of us in and flown us out before anyone noticed. All of us here tonight are way beyond my weight carrying capacity. As much as I'd like to be Supergirl, I'm not. But she does have magnificent hair." I smirked, running a hand down my own windswept ponytail.

Our earpieces buzzed with Hannah’s crackly voice. “We didn’t all come. Someone had to stay behind to be the mastermind.”

“And by mastermind, she means the one who gets to sit on the couch, eat chips, and watch Netflix while the rest of us do all the work." Natalie's eyes narrowed as she focused on the earpiece. When only silence returned, she continued. "Really, Hannah, it's nice having you watch our backs. Or at least, it would be nice if I could actually hear you through these crackly earpieces. Are you sure you're not just talking into a tin can attached to a string?" Natalie shot me a look and then pointed up at the watchtowers surrounding the prison. "Anyway, if it was just two of us who came, how would we get past the guards?"

"Or open the cell door?" Jasmine asked.

"Or deal with seeing your ex-husband? Wait, scratch that last one. I'm not sure I even want to know about that drama." Madison's giggle echoed through the trees.

But none of them were wrong. There was all that drama around my ex. I mean, who knowingly marries the villain, and then when shit gets real, freaks out and turns him in?

Me, apparently.

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And having four of us here for his escape made this break-in and break-out super easy. Especially armed with our special skills. Which, apparently, right now included the ability to nervously dish banter back and forth, delaying what we were here to accomplish.

"Why do I have to wait outside?" Madison held out her ungloved hand and wiggled her perfectly manicured fingers. A small flame danced across her palm. "I could help on the inside, like melting the cell bars with my touch."

"And also, probably set off all the fire alarms in the process." Natalie added, rolling her eyes.

This was our first mission, and we all were itching to show off what we had been training for. "She has a point," I said, my feet touching the ground as my nerves got the better of me. "She's probably more valuable than I am. I'm happy to wait outside after I do my small part. Once inside the prison, my power of flight is useless." My stomach knotted just thinking about seeing Elijah again. It had been nearly a year, and I was certain his anger only intensified. Fun times.

"You're just trying to get out of seeing him again." Jasmine placed a comforting hand on my arm.

"Of course, I'm trying to get out of it!" I said with a dramatic flourish of my arms.

"But you're our security blanket that the infamous SuperBoom will work with us." Jasmine's voice was gentle but firm. "I know he'll come with us to get out of this place, but I'm not sure he'll stick with us after that. And we need him."

"I'm not sure Elijah will stick with me, either." My chest swirled with a mix of anticipation and dread, remembering our last day together. The day I double-crossed him and sent him to prison. To be fair, I didn't see his vision back then. I was still brainwashed that the superheroes were our friends. Our saviors. But without the superheroes, there wouldn't be supervillains. Then there was that little superhero disintegration stunt that made Elijah cross the line from deranged villain to standard murderer. I couldn't stay married to him with that kind of rap sheet, could I?

Despite everything, a part of me still excited at the thought of seeing him again. His intense gaze, his roguish smile, the way he could make my heart race with just a touch...

I shook my head, trying to clear it. "Fine. I am the secret weapon. I get it. But if worse comes to worst, I'll have to use my ultimate weapon: tears. No man can resist a good sob story. It's like kryptonite to the male ego. And trust me, girls, you don't want to be around for that."

"Emily, stay focused here. You have the best chance of keeping him around," Hannah's voice crackled in our ears. "We're sticking to the plan." Hannah had been quiet, which was unlike her, but now her authority rolled off in waves. "We want nothing to go wrong and we rehearsed this. Agreed?" When she didn't hear our response, her voice grew firmer. "Agreed?"

Natalie and Jasmine shrugged. I'm sure they shared my sentiment.

But Madison shook her head at Hannah's bossiness, a trail of smoke or steam escaping her mouth. "At least it's better than our backup plan. Which, if I remember correctly, involved dressing up like a clown and trying to distract the guards with balloon animals."

Jasmine laughed. “Hey, that could actually work. I mean, how can you not love a good balloon animal?"

"Agree to the original plan," I said. That knot in my stomach was growing, and it was time to face the music.

Natalie and Jasmine followed with their own begrudging, "Agreed."

And the hesitant Madison. "Fine. Agreeeeeeed." Thank goodness Hannah didn't see the eye-roll.

"Okay." Hannah's voice crackled again, accompanied by a distant roll of thunder. "Remember why we're doing this. The sweet taste of Justice."

"I thought revenge never tasted so sweet."

"Revenge. Justice. Same thing." Madison giggled, a small flame dancing between her fingers.

"Come on, Ladies in Leather," Hannah said over our earpieces. "Let's get this over with. Sync your watches. Ready... Set... Go."

We all started the timers on our watches. The plan was in motion. There was no turning back now. As we moved towards the prison, I couldn't help but wonder what Elijah would think when he saw me. Would there still be a spark between us, or had prison extinguished any lingering feelings? Only time would tell, and right now, time was ticking away way too fast.