“My powers still aren’t working as strongly,” Roren said.

Zeta knew she was in the clear, at least for now. But even though they did not explicitly say so, she felt they were still blaming her. There was no explanation for why Roren and Chloe’s powers were not working, but if they had enough time, she was sure they would figure it out. But, time was running short and that was not the case.

“I don’t like this,” Chloe said.

“Jonas, you can step on it,” Roren said. “I don’t want any reinforcements to come—“

“On it,” Jonas interjected. “Let’s get this over with. I’m getting tired.”

Jonas continued to drive, transitioning onto the highway. He maneuvered the car all the more hectic as they drove along. He cut through traffic, made questionable lane changes, and almost got rammed multiple times. Suddenly, he slammed on his brakes.

After Zeta recovered from being pushed forward, she looked ahead to see what was causing the holdup. She looked past the car in front of her through the window, but her vision was blocked by another car. She tilted her head and peered over to see faint red and blue lights in the distance. There must have been police officers blocking off and redirecting traffic.

Jonas said, “Now what? We’re going to be here a while if we stay.” He honked on his horn. “Do these Cops and Robbers motherfuckers really have that much money to block and stall traffic? Being known for having notorious criminals doesn’t sound like a tourist attraction.”

“What city doesn’t have crime?” Chloe said. “If the city gets the permit money I doubt they mind.”

“Quiet,” Jonas said. He stared intensely at his rearview mirror. “We might have more trouble.

Zeta stared at her side mirror and searched for what Jonas was looking at.

“What is it?” Zeta said.

“There’s a vehicle a few cars behind us that looks just like ours,” Jonas said. “I only saw it for a second, but I’m sure they’re following us. I’ll get out of traffic and see if that’s true.”

Jonas spotted an opening and immediately cut into the right lane, then another lane, this time more forcibly, until he made it onto the ramp leading out of the highway. On the ramp, he continued to cut through traffic, ignoring the other cars by breezing through the shoulder.

Zeta watched the side mirror as she saw the car follow after them. Chills spread across her body. She braced herself for another chase, but her embrace did not prepare her for what was about to come.

One second they were on a side street riding away from their possible assailant, then the next… She was not sure.

Zeta looked around bewildered. The new change in scenery caught her as surprised as everyone else. Highway lights, helicopters, and cars aligned in an otherwise empty highway. Where were they?

“I recognize this place,” Jonas said. “I think they teleported us.”

Roren whistled. “They’re skilled. They perfectly put the car and the four of us near the back of this line. They even kept us going at the current speed. Consider me impressed.”

“No,” Chloe said. “They teleported only us. We’re in a different car.”

“All the more impressive,” Roren said.

Chloe pointed to the screen. “They have a message for us.”

On the screen was a note. On it were the words: Have fun.

Roren sighed. “I guess we’ll play their game.”

A helicopter light passed their car and Zeta finally took note of her surroundings. They were in the middle of the Cops and Robbers show, in particular a part of the line wanting to capture the criminal.

Her eyes transitioned back to the dashboard TV screen. She watched as the helicopter’s light trailed over the cars just like how it did seconds ago but from a different angle. Her focus was on the scene, on the current competitors, but everything was a blur. Yet again, the world sped by Zeta quickly and she struggled to keep up. Even the casters’ voices were all muffled to her.

Zeta closed her eyes, took a deep breath, then reopened them.

Just assess the situation. She told herself.

Their vehicle was four or five cars away from the front. The front car kept its distance from the current competitor but was most likely ready to go at a moment’s notice. When Zeta used to watch the show, she remembered how a competitor would zip through whatever destruction just occurred to get their shot at capturing the criminal.

“What do you want me to do?” Zeta said sternly. “Nothing’s changed, correct? We’re still capturing Isaiah Delton as planned?”

Roren smirked. “You’re right. First, let me—“ He paused for a few seconds. “Same situation with my powers.”

“Same here,” Chloe said.

“Jonas,” Roren said. “Would you mind applying a tiny bit of your power? Be careful. Even if it’s barely any, I want you to apply it to Chloe.”

Jonas nodded.

“Chloe, can you shoot at one of the highway lights.”

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“Sure,” she said.

A highway light in the distance sparked and burst. Nobody would have known it happened unless they looked directly at the lights hoping to find something.

“That’s good,” Roren said. “Let me watch for a couple of minutes. I need to see what we’re dealing with.”

Zeta’s attention made its way back to the broadcast screen. Her relaxable state caused the muffled casting to become more fine-tuned and understandable.

The current competitors, a duo, were engaged with Isaiah Delton. Flames blasted away at Delton’s vehicle, a close cat-and-mouse spectacle, their cars slamming into each other.

A large pop startled Zeta and her eyes looked ahead, her danger radar firing off, resetting whatever calmness she felt. Her abilities seeped out frantically as well, haphazardly increasing its radius as time passed.

Being farther back in the line, their car gradually slowed down to a stop. A few seconds later the pop could be heard from the car’s speakers but she fixated on what was ahead. Smoke billowed into the air, the scene indecipherable to Zeta’s eyes. She confirmed the situation on the screen, the two cars ahead had crashed into one another. And, ahead, was…

A man running off into the distance.

“Is that Delton?” Zeta asked.

“This might be our chance,” Roren said.

Four simultaneous clicks sounded, one for each door.

Zeta pulled at the door handle, but it would not budge. She attempted to pull the lock upwards, but it remained in place as if glued together. She pulled again at the door. Still no movement. She even tried to roll down her window, but that did not work either.

The others except Roren tried to do the same as well and came up with the same results.

Click. Click! A short pause. Click. Click. Click.

The car’s locks unlocked and locked repeatedly following the same pattern.

“Bastard,” Roren said.

Zeta tilted her head. She heard a noise originating from the front of the car. A faint smoke trickled from within the vents. The noise became more apparent as more smoke entered the vehicle. A hissing that caused everyone to freeze.

“Fuck,” Jonas said. He slammed his fist against his window. Thump. Thump! He removed his leg from the pedals and began to kick against the windshield. It would not budge as well. Thump! Thump! Thump! Despite his vain efforts, he continued to violently smash the windshield, but it would not break.

The four of them covered their mouths to the best of their ability.

“What kind of gas is that?” Chloe said, her words surprisingly audible. “Do you think it’ll explode if I try something?”

“I wouldn’t try it,” Roren said.

Jonas stopped banging against the windshield and placed his legs back down to the floor and onto his pedals. He whipped the wheel to the right to maneuver around the car in front of them. He succeeded in moving the wheel, but the car remained in place.

“We need to get out of this car, Roren,” Jonas said. If Jonas was not already frantic, his voice showed it.

“I know,” Roren said. “Let me—“

A scream from a man interrupted Roren. A fight between Delton and the competitors had broken out, but that was none of their concern. The group needed to leave the car before anything dire occurred.

“We’re still in this!” A woman yelled. “We still have a chance!”

“Come on!”

The TV screen in the car cut out and turned dark. The audio changed as well.

From within the car’s speakers was a distorted voice, a woman’s. “Hey, Roren. Long time no see.”

“What do you want, Tac?” Roren said.

“You can recognize my voice?” She said.

“I can tell by the way you speak. Your pauses give it away.”

“Don’t get so full of yourself for figuring out it was me. My voice isn’t that distorted.”

“What do you want?”

The mysterious gas stopped pouring into the vehicle. Outside were the sounds of helicopter blades and a fight, but the disappeared hissing caused the inside of the car to be eerily silent. Despite the unnatural feeling, it allowed Zeta to calm down. More particularly her powers reverted to a controlled state.

“I was joking about the gas. None of you will be dying today if you follow my instructions at least. I need your friend Chloe to do something for me.”

“What’s that?” Chloe said.

“I want you to use your powers to kill everyone there except for Delton. An explosion made to look like an accident. Can you do that for me? Do that and you four will be spared.”

“Who hired you to do this?” Roren asked.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Tac said. “We can talk after Chloe does her job. You have a minute.”

The TV show returned to the speakers.

“There we have it.” The broadcaster said. “The Gomez twins—“

“Are we doing it?” Zeta said.

Zeta had prepared herself to fight any adversary, but not for this. She thought she could get by without harming innocent people tonight, but that was only hopeful thinking.

“We are,” Roren said.

Zeta nodded as she swallowed her spit. It was either their four lives or someone else’s. What was expected of her here?

“Jonas,” Roren said. “Surge Chloe with as much energy as you can. We’ll make it as quick and painless as possible. Chloe, I want you to aim at the car upfront. Do you see the distance Delton is away from the car? Make sure he’s out of your explosion’s range.”

Chloe said, “What about the guy who just captured him? Do you want me to just kill him, make his heart stop?”

“Make sure he’s in the explosion too. This isn’t just some random person. Killing his heart will only make it suspicious. Any forensic analyst investigating the scene will immediately notice foul play. The main goal is to create a disaster, to cover whatever this is up.”

“We have twenty seconds,” Jonas interrupted. “Better get started, Chloe.”

Chloe nodded then raised her hand. She shook her head immediately.

“Please don’t fight back,” Chloe said.

Zeta sunk into her seat. Was she to help?

“Zeta, can you negate his abilities?” Roren said. “I don’t want to try anything with Jonas’ or mine.”

“Is there another wa—“ Zeta said.

“It’s fine,” Chloe said. “Jonas, you’ll be a better fit, even if you can’t control it as much. Surge me with all you got and I’ll try to limit what I do.”

“Are you sure you can control that? You might get Delton in the blast.”

Through a mirror, Chloe made eye contact with Zeta and nodded. “Don’t worry about that. I got it. He’s also far enough away. He won’t be affected. If anything happens, Tac’s group will save him.”

“Fine,” Jonas said.

Zeta did not have to wait long for the first casualty to occur.

The explosion enveloped the first car, traveled to the second, then to the third. Despite a difference only in seconds, the heat traveled faster than the explosions, and Zeta’s skin warmed up considerably. She shuddered with every explosion and if she were more aware than she already was, then she would have covered her ears.

The fourth car exploded, the flames now etched into her vision. The fifth car followed right after. The explosion would reach their car soon. Dying by fire was always on Zeta’s list of worst possible deaths, although that list was rather expansive. Would Tac follow up on her promise or would this be her end? She embraced the end, watching the flames wrap around their victims. She swore she could hear their screams, but maybe that was her imagination. All she could hear were fiery explosions, after all.

Zeta and the rest of the group were transported yet again.

One moment Zeta was in a car ready to be burnt to a crisp, then the next she was in a fluorescent-lit parking garage. Her body shook tremendously and she struggled to breathe, but she was alive. She unbuckled her seatbelt and placed a hand on her chest.

“How are you, Roren?” A mysterious woman said, her face shrouded by a shadow. She stood in front of the car, a key fob in hand. She pressed on the remote and the car’s doors unlocked.

“Stay in here,” Roren said.

Zeta looked at the person she assumed was Tac and stared her down. Her resolve to fight was still there, but that was easier said than done.

Zeta steadied her breathing, kept her focus on the woman, and allowed herself to regulate as they spoke.