Micheal left the gym as Steven and Lilly cleared the ice rink. His pant legs up to his knees were soaked, and he looked pissed.

Lilly ran beside Steven, talking on her phone.

She put it away as Micheal ran down to meet them.

“I’ve told my friends to gather at the Old Navy. We can stomp these fuckers together.”

Steven blinked at her as they turned to the escalators.

“Why aren’t you guys running? You haven’t struck me as the Good Samaritan type.”

Lilly sneered at them as they reached the first floor.

“Life is filled with two kinds of people, kids. Those who do what’s best for them, and fools.”

“I’m guessing we fall into the fools category?”

“From what I’ve seen?“ She asked, a brow raised. “Definitely. But I am not.“

“So you’re going to fight these people off because?“

“ I like this place.” She said with a shrug. “I don’t want these bastards to have it.”

Micheal blew out of breath. “Well, fair enough, I guess.”

They ran along the tiles, their footfalls echoing through the now-empty mall. A few people were still strangling out the doors, but most who could leave had.

Steven had the mind to throw a shield out around the corner. He aimed low at the ground and quickly linked his senses to it. His own hearing vanished, the sound of his footsteps growing distant.

It was disorienting, but he had enough focus to hear a surprised gasp and the scuffle of a rubber sole on tile.

“Someone’s around the corner,“ he hissed. “I’ll go first, then you two.”

Lilly scoffed. “No, you’re too squishy.“

She sped up, racing down the hall and diving past the corner. Immediately a bolt of fire wizzed past where her head would’ve been.

She hit the ground and came up with one hand raised, the surface of her palm glowing a cherry red.

A second firebolt off sailed for her.

Steven almost blocked it on instinct, but she wouldn’t have put herself in that situation if she couldn’t handle it.

Instead, he called a shield out a little behind where the fire had come from and pulled.

The fire bolt hit Lilly's palm at the same moment his shield met something solid. There was a gasp, and someone cursed. A second later, his shield hit the wall with a clack, and he dismissed it.

Stevenand Micheal rounded the corner as Lilly surged forward, she had caught the flame bolt, and her hand glowed with red light.

A man was standing a little past the corner, his shaggy brown hair stuck to his forehead, marred with sweat in grease.

His brown eyes darted between them in a panic, and he held his hand to a jeans-covered hip as he backed away.

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Flames burst over Lilly’s hand as she lashed out. She caught the man on the cheek.

There was a brief burst of flame, one from her hand and one from his cheek.

For an instant, Steven thought she duplicated his Skill, but he realized the flames coming from his cheek was a block.

Her hand bounced off, and the man threw himself back. Flame burst from his hands and feet, carrying him ten feet back in a heartbeat.

It wasn’t graceful, his limbs flailed, and he hit the ground hard, narrowly missing the escalators leading up from the food court. He bounced along the tiles and then frantically pressed a hand to his ear.

“Cory, help!“

Steven got ready to slam a shield into the man’s chest when the wall next to them burst with purple light, and the woman from the theater stepped through.

She grabbed the man by the collar and heaved, dragging him clear off the ground and into the wall, where they both vanished.

Stevenwas so shocked he didn’t even try to clip her with a shield.

“What the fuck?” Lilly spat.

Micheal shoved them from behind. “We need to move!” He yelled.

Lilly shot him a warning look, but she started running alongside them.

“Why?” She snapped.

“Because,“ Micheal puffed as he dug around in his pocket. “I think that woman, Cory has a trap class.”

“At the theater. She touched the railing, and your friend's water orb came out of it when she used the portal. And then, when she did whatever that group teleport was, bits around the room started glowing, including the railing she touched.”

He pressed a button on his phone, and Stevens began to ring. He declined the call, keeping his focus on the whole ahead.

“We just got attacked,“ Micheal said into the phone. “And when we’re about to lay the guy out, the woman from the theater burst through the wall and pulled the guy to safety. She might be able to move around the entire mall. If you see her, pay attention to anything she touches. I think she might be able to lay portals that way.“

Micheal grunted at something the others said, then hung up.

Lilly studied him for a second before nodding. “Good catch, but if you’re right, I see why you look so hot and bothered.”

Micheal’s face had grown grim.

Lilly continued, her own expression contemplative. “The Corners have taken a good bit of land already. And it has not been painless. Which means that they're smart about the way they fight, tough, or worse, both.”

She hummed. “If that’s true, then there’s no way they just started this claim without going around the mall first, setting up portals wherever they might be useful.“

“There has to be a limit to the Skill.“ Micheal pointed out.

Lilly nodded. “True, but it’s best to assume she can do a lot with it.”

“Agreed,” Steven said.

“She’s already shown us three distinct Skills.” Micheal brought up a hand. “Laying down the portals,” he ticked off a finger.

“That group teleport.” Another finger went down.

“And when she compressed the water orb.”

Lilly paused. “Did anyone use identify on her?”

They all shook their heads.

“Well, shit. It’s best to assume she’s around level 10 and is past her Second Threshold. I highly doubt she’s 15, but we need to scan her when we get a chance.“

The thought of an attacker being able to come through the walls at any moment about gave Stephen’s paranoid mind a heart attack.

His breathing picked up along with his heartbeat, causing his broken arm to throb.

It was much, much better now, but it still wasn’t healed.

Thankfully, it wouldn’t affect his fighting too much since all his Skills were ranged. But still, going into a fight with a broken arm was a problem.

“Stephen,“ Lilly said. He was so focused on the walls that it took him a few seconds to realize she had spoken. “Yeah?”

“We all focus up ahead, but you keep an eye on the left wall as well. I focus on the floor, and Micheal takes the right wall and ceiling.”

Steven nodded, then focused back on the walls.

Makes me feel like a crazy person, staring at the walls and waiting for someone to jump out.

“Sounds rough. Don’t let me distract you from the fact that…well, you know, that they’re in your walls.”

“I hate you.”