Isaiah runs over to Eve.

Isaiah: Are you alright, Eve?

Eve gets up and punches Isaiah in the face.

Isaiah: Ow…

Eve: Why’d you guys ruin my surprise attack!

Isaiah: You’re not... poisoned?

Eve pulls the needle out of her back and reveals she is wearing one of Tara’s Chest Plates under her shirt.

Eve: They seemed handy at the Sports Festival for Blair and Hayze, so I got myself one. I was trying to trick him into getting close, so I could magnetize him to the ground, but then you showed up.

Isaiah: So you were playing possum?

Eve: Pretty much, but now I have to deal with you two.

Demetri: You really aren’t gonna thank us for saving you?

Eve: I had him right where I wanted him!

Demetri: Stop being a stubborn bitch!

Eve: Call me a bitch again!

Demetri: You. Are. A. Bitch!

Eve punches Demetri in the face.

Isaiah: Uh, guys…

Jagger gets to a knee; his shoulder is severely burnt from the laser shot.

Jagger: Where the hell did you two come from?

Isaiah: The cabin? I thought that would have been obvious.

Jagger: Don’t play dumb! How did you figure out exactly where we are? We ran a considerable distance to get out here!

Demetri: We heard many trees falling while we were running through the forest and ran straight towards the noise.

Jagger: *frustrated grunt* Whatever, I’m not worried about you two, the strongest among you is out cold, and I’ll be taking you three down soon enough!

Isaiah and Demetri notice Silver.

Isaiah: What happened to him?

Demetri: Yeah, he looks like he’s seen better days.

Eve: We caught him, and I was trying to retrieve Ash, but he set a trap that went off when I removed her ball from his belt. Poisonous gas filled the air, and Silver pushed me out of it, but he got caught in it himself.

Demetri: You need help a lot for a girl who talks so much shit.

Eve: At least I didn’t sit in the cabin like a bitch while my classmates fought for their lives!

Demetri: What are you mean? We’re here now!

Eve: Just because you’re here now doesn’t excuse the fact that you chickened out! We could have used you guys a ton of times before now!

Demetri: *frustrated grunt*

Eve: What, you have no answer to that? At least I was here and not hiding like a coward!

Demetri: Just shut the hell up! I feel bad about it enough without you rubbing it in my face!

Isaiah: I’m sorry, Eve… I wanted to come out with you guys from the start… but when the time came, my legs wouldn’t budge… I know I’m a coward, but I still want to prove I can be helpful and make up for my mistake!

Eve is caught off guard by Isaiah’s words.

Eve: I… uh…

Demetri: What, you have no answer to that?

Eve: Shut the fuck up! At least he’s man enough to apologize!

Demetri: *frustrated grunt*

Jagger stands up and looks around.

Jagger: (It looks like they’re the only reinforcements she’s getting.)

Jagger smiles menacingly.

Jagger: (And by the looks of it, they’re like oil and water… they can’t work together at all, I’ll deal with them quickly and bring all five back with me.)

Isaiah gets in between Demetri and Eve.

Isaiah: Look, I get that you two don’t like each other, but remember we’re here to save Ash!

Eve gets worried and starts feeling her pockets, they hear Jagger laughing, and all turn their attention to him.

Jagger: Looking for this?

Jagger has Ash’s ball in his hand; he attaches it to his belt.

Eve: Dammit!

Demetri: This guy is getting on my nerves!

Isaiah: It’s alright, we’ll get her back and get out of here!

Eve: (These two are not exactly the backup I would’ve asked for, but they’re what I’ve got. I just have to play my cards right and get Ash’s ball back, we don’t have to beat him, we just have to get her.)

Karma helps Aaron to his feet.

Aaron: Where did you come from?

Karma: Alden, Isaiah, Demetri, and I decided that we couldn’t live with ourselves being cowards while you guys were out here fighting.

Aaron: Well, I’m glad we got you over any of those other three, also, thank you for saving my life.

Karma: Don’t mention it. I’m just happy I can help.

Aaron: So you want a rundown on what’s been going on?

Karma: Well, I can see things haven’t been going your way.

Aaron: That’s an understatement… this guy’s quirk makes him nearly invincible, but we figured out his weakness. Unfortunately, Wes looks like he’s down for the count, Alexis is on a sprained ankle, and both of my wrists are shot; one of them is sprained, but I think I can still fight with the other.

Karma: Well, I’m glad I came when I did.

Aaron: No kidding. How did the others do?

Karma: The fight with the giant guy didn’t go well, Justus, Angel, and Gus were all captured, and Kevin was knocked out cold, but Zach, Jace, and now Alden are chasing him through the forest to try and get them back. Silver and Eve took down one of the other guys and chased the leader into the woods because he captured Ash. The masked one captured Blair and Hayze went after them.

Aaron: What? Hayze went after that one?

Karma: I know. I thought he was crazy too.

Aaron thinks for a moment.

Aaron: I’m sure he’ll be fine. As long as I’ve known him, there’s always been one thing that’s stuck out: he always has a plan.

Karma: Well, I sure hope so, for his sake. I guess we should shift focus back to what is going on in front of us. What’s that weakness you mentioned before?

Aaron picks up the knife off the ground.

Aaron: Wes was able to stab him with a knife even though his quirk was active, so it seems that blades can penetrate his metallic skin.

Karma gets a smile on her face.

Karma: You’ve done enough Aaron, you can stay back. I’ll handle this.

Aaron: What? No way! I’m not backing down!

Karma: I know, but trust me, I match up perfectly against him. It’s best if I handle this myself, make sure that Alexis and Wes are alright.

Aaron: I uh… I guess I can do that. I’m not really used to being the guy who sits on the sidelines.

Karma: Look, it’s that I don’t want your help, but if you’re hurt, then you shouldn’t push yourself any further when I’ve got the edge against this guy.

Karma holds her hand out for the knife, Aaron shows reluctance at first, but then he hands it to her.

Aaron: Just be careful. Otherwise, I’ll feel like a jerk for letting you take him on by yourself.

Karma: Don’t worry about me. I already feel like a jerk for not being here for you earlier; I need to redeem myself.

Jace and Zach try to keep pace with Adonis.

Jace: Alright, we need to make a move soon; I’m running out of gas here.

Zach: Yeah, but how should we handle distracting him?

Alden: Guys, wait up!

Jace and Zach look around their shoulders and see Alden lagging behind.

Jace: How did he even catch up to us?

Zach: We aren’t moving that quickly, and he’s been resting for a while.

Jace: Not like he’ll be much help anyway…

Alden: I can hear you!

Zach: Anyway, we have to figure out a plan.

Jace: Yeah, we shouldn’t let him distract… us…

Zach and Jace’s eyes widen; they look at each other and then at Alden.

Alden: What? What’s up?

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

Zach and Jace nod at each other.

Zach: Hey Alden, mind helping us with something?

Alden: Uh…. what?

Demetri, Eve and Isaiah stand off against Jagger.

Jagger: You three don’t scare me at all; I’ll have you all on the ground begging for your lives soon enough.

Eve picks a rock up off the ground and holds it in her right hand.

Eve: I’m getting really tired of hearing your voice, and I like how you’re being so cocky for no good reason.

Jagger: No good reason? You three didn’t even qualify for the tournament section of the Sports Festival!

Eve: Yeah, I know, but that’s actually an advantage in this case.

Jagger: Huh?

Eve chucks the rock at Jagger, he dodges it with ease.

Jagger: What was that? Your attempt at an attack?

Eve places her left hand on a tree. Jagger looks confused for a moment when suddenly the rock hits him in the back of his head.

Jagger: Ah! You bitch!

Eve: You’ve seen all of our classmates' quirks and fighting styles, but you haven’t seen how any of us fight or utilize our abilities. You might have known to dodge that rock otherwise.

Jagger: *frustrated grunt* You think I’m afraid of a little rock?

Eve: No, but you’ll be afraid of me soon enough.

Isaiah: (One thing’s for sure, she scares the crap out of me.)

Demetri: (Show off.)

Jagger readies 10 needles.

Jagger: I’m not wasting any more time on you!

Jagger fires 9 needles, then staggering the tenth one.

Jagger: (They’ll never see it coming!)

Eve, Isaiah, and Demetri dodge the first nine needles, then the final one soars toward Eve.

Isaiah: Eve, duck!

Eve leans back as the needle flies right past her face.

Jagger: (What! how did he know?)

Eve: Thanks.

Isaiah: Night vision helps; I saw that thing clear as day.

Jagger: (That’s right, I never saw his quirk in action either… dammit!)

Demetri shoots string from his fingertips and grabs five of the needles.

Demetri: (I’ll keep these for later.)

Jagger starts to back up.

Isaiah: Oh, it looks like the guy who thought he was “all that” is getting scared!

Jagger: No, I’m not!

Eve: You have no clue how to handle us! You’ve relied on your information advantage for too long!

Jagger: Shut your mouth!

Demetri: Man, this guy is insecure, you question him for even a second, and he gets in a huff.

Isaiah: Who does that remind me of…

Eve and Demetri: WHO ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!

Jagger looks down at Ash’s ball.

Jagger: (We’re getting close to the rendezvous time, and I can’t afford to be left behind. If I bargain with them… maybe they’ll let me go? What am I saying? I’m a fighter first and foremost, and I refuse to let these weaklings walk all over me!)

Jagger starts running.

Eve: After him!

Demetri: Don’t give me orders!

Eve, Isaiah, and Demetri chase Jagger, but Isaiah quickly stops and looks behind them.

Isaiah: Guys, what about Silver? We can’t just leave him here!

Eve: (Shit! I forgot about him! This guy is trying to split us up!)

Demetri: I’ve got it!

Demetri shoots his strings at Jagger’s back, and one of them connects with Jagger’s right arm.

Jagger: Hey! Let me go!

Demetri starts making Jagger punch himself.

Jagger: Stop that!

Jagger rips the string from his arm.

Jagger: You annoying pests!

Suddenly Jagger is hit upside the head by Eve and slams into a tree.

Jagger: *groans* Does she have two quirks? That punch hurt way too much to be human!

An enraged Eve starts beating the shit out of Jagger.

Jagger: AHHHH!

Isaiah walks up next to Demetri, carrying Silver on his back.

Isaiah: What did I miss- oh.

Demetri: He insulted her.

Isaiah: I figured... you know what they say, big tits, big hands.

Demetri: First of all, that’s not how that saying goes. Second of all, I don’t think it’s her hands that make her freakishly strong.

Isaiah: Well, her tits probably help her shift more weight into her punches.

Jagger punches Eve off of himself, knocking her to the ground.

Jagger: You… are… so… fucking… annoying!

Jagger is breathing heavily and clearly infuriated; he stands tall above Eve.

Jagger: I will capture you if it’s the last thing I do!

Demetri shoots a string that attaches to Ash’s ball. He reels it in and holds it in his hand.

Demetri: Got her!

Jagger looks at Demetri dumbfounded.

Jagger: Are you kidding me!

Eve kicks Jagger in the balls.

Jagger: *high pitched* AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Jagger falls to the ground writhing in pain, holding his dick. Eve stands over him.

Eve: Time to finish you off!

Eve winds back her fist, but another deadly smoke trap on Jagger’s belt triggers; Eve leaps back in time to escape the smoke. Unfortunately, the cloud is much bigger this time as they lose sight of Jagger in the cloud.

Isaiah: Eve, are you alright!

Eve: I’m fine, but that bastard is gonna getaway!

Isaiah: Just let him go! Sure it’d be nice to capture him, but we have no reason to go after him anymore. Ash and Silver are safe.

Eve: *grunts* You’re right… let’s head back to the cabin. Let me help you with Silver.

Eve and Isaiah carry Silver back with them, Demetri follows with some of Jagger’s needles and Ash's ball. Jagger sits behind a tree, waiting for them to leave.

Jagger: (I can’t believe I’m reduced to this… hiding like a bitch waiting for my chance to run… thankfully I had a second smoke trap on a delayed trigger, I didn’t think I would need it, but it saved my life.)

Jagger starts getting up slowly.

Jagger: Ivy can’t be far. I need her to help me get home.

Jagger starts walking in the direction of where he last saw Ivy running.

Jagger: (Hopefully, I can find her, otherwise… well, I don’t want to think about that…)

Clay tries to punch Karma, but she dodges using her quirk and accelerates behind him.

Clay: What!

Karma kicks him in the back, knocking him to the ground.

Clay: Why are you so quick!

Karma: Maybe you should ask why you’re having trouble keeping up?

Clay: *frustrated grunt* I’m not!

Clay leaps up and tries to punch Karma, but she again accelerates behind him and kicks him into the ground.

Karma: You should try landing your punches; it would help you a lot.

Clay screams at the top of his lungs and tries to hit her again, but this time she draws the knife and stabs his right arm.

Clay: AHHH! Damn you, bitch!

Karma: That was for hurting Alexis!

Clay rips the knife from his arm. Aaron and Alexis watch from a nearby tree; Wes is out cold on the ground next to them.

Alexis: He can’t keep up with her speed. His movements are too sluggish.

Aaron: I guess we did a number on him; it’s pretty clear his attacks are slow, and he’s exhausted from taking such a beating.

Alexis: Not to mention that leg wound Wes inflicted upon him, that can’t be helping him.

Aaron: I hate standing by and watching this. I feel useless.

Alexis: You did your best; this guy just was built to fight you. I know you wanted to be the one to take him down, but let’s be happy that everyone is okay.

Wes: *groans*

Alexis: Mostly everyone…

Aaron: Yeah, you’re right. Sorry, sometimes I get so hooked on doing things myself that I forget that it’s not always about what I want.

Alexis: Don’t sweat it; we all can get caught up in the moment every once in a while. You kept Wes and me safe.

Wes: *groans louder*

Alexis: Well… maybe just me, but thank you for that.

Aaron: Uh… you’re welcome, and don’t worry, I wasn’t gonna let anything happen to you.

Alexis blushes.

Alexis: Thanks, Aaron.

Wes: *groans even louder* Everything hurts!

Aaron: Quit complaining! You should have fought back!

Wes: I got clotheslined!

Aaron: You should have dodged!

Wes: HOW!

Karma knees Clay’s chin causing him to drop the knife; she grabs it and swiftly stabs Clay in the foot. Clay falls to the ground in agonizing pain.

Karma: That was for Wes… I guess!

Wes: *from afar* Hey!

Clay looks up at Karma as she stands above him.

Karma: And this one is for calling me a bitch!

Karma punches Clay in the face and knocks him out cold.

Aaron: Nice, Karma!

Alexis: I’m glad that’s over with.

Karma: I kept him alive so that the police could interrogate him and his friend stuck at the cabin.

Aaron walks over and spits on Clay.

Aaron: Douchebag, it’s fine by me if he gets locked behind bars for good.

Karma: I feel like I cheated because I showed up here well-rested after you guys wore him down.

Aaron: Eh, who cares? He’s down. That’s what matters.

Karma: I’ll carry him back with us, you help Alexis.

Aaron: Sure thing.

Wes: What about me!

Aaron: What about you?

Adonis continues running through the forest.

Adonis: (It’s almost time to leave, Adonis isn’t fast, so Adonis needs to keep running, but Adonis has some losers tailing him.)

Adonis hears a whistle; he looks behind himself to see Alden there, looking nervous.

Alden: Hey, big guy! I’m here to defeat you.

Adonis ignores him and looks forward; Alden turns white.

Alden: (He… ignored me…)

Jace jumps next to Alden.

Jace: God, you’re useless!

Jace grabs Alden and springs up onto Adonis’ shoulder, leaving him there; Adonis looks at him.

Alden: Uh… hi?

Adonis raises his hand to squash Alden.

Alden: AHHHHHHH!

Alden pees himself in fear. Zach jumps out of the trees and stabs his claws into Adonis’ left eye; Adonis stops dead in his tracks.

Adonis: AHHHHHH!

Zach grabs Alden and jumps off of Adonis with him. Jace leaps up and grabs the balls containing Justus, Angel, and Gus.

Jace: I got them! Do you have Alden?

Zach: Yup, let’s go!

Jace tucks the balls into his pocket while Zach drags Alden, leaving a trail of urine behind them. Adonis opens his other eye and sees them running. He roars at the top of his lungs.

Adonis: (Adonis can’t go after them. Otherwise, Adonis will be left behind, Adonis has to keep running for his life!)

Adonis turns around and starts running to the rendezvous. Zach checks and sees Adonis isn’t following them.

Zach: Jace! We’re home-free! He’s leaving!

Jace: Yeah! We did it! We’re fucking champions!

Zach: Who needs Justus or Kevin? We’re just as good!

Jace: Yeah, we are!

Alden: *sobbing*

Jace and Zach: Shut up, Alden.

Ivy glances over her shoulder again and sees Hayze is still following her.

Ivy: (That’s it. I have to face him.)

Ivy comes to an abrupt stop, Hayze stops as well. She turns around and stares right at him. A breeze flows through the air as the two stare at each other in silence.