“Do you think she’s paying him to take it off the record, hon?”

As Maya stabbed at the roasted broccoli beside the steak on her plate, John Bubbles finally pulled his pink apron off and laid it on the back of his chair. He sat down in front of her, slicing into his own steak. “I believe so. His daughter being cared for in a hospital owned by the target he’s reporting on is a direct conflict of interest. But…”

John pointed his fork at her to finish the sentence. Maya slumped, leaning her face on her hand. “I don’t have any official proof connecting Apex to Arise Health.”

“Right. And without that, you won’t get any backing from the SRB.” John sighed. “Are you sure this is worth it?”

“What do you mean?” Maya said, mouth full of bread. Crumbs flew from her mouth as she spoke.

John chuckled. “Break any more rules, and they might put you on administrative leave. You could even lose your job from this. Hasn’t Senior Agent Hale warned you, already, honey?”

“But Senior Agent Decker won’t investigate it. And if he won’t, no one’s gonna stop her before she rigs the entire Ultimate Versus.”

“I know that. But if you’re willing to get fired for this, there’s more to it.” John reached out, blanketing her hand with his own. “You’re hiding something from me, baby. And I don’t like that.”

Maya pursed her lips.

“There’s something personal between you and Apex, isn’t there?”

“It’s—”

Glass shattered in the bathroom.

Maya dropped her fork. John’s knife clattered against his plate as they both reached under the table, drew pistols, and aimed at the stairs. The bathroom lights were off. Maya’s instincts screamed for her to turn the TV off, to better hear any further movements. That would be a mistake. The Handbook outlined situations like this.

They couldn’t clue their attacker of their awareness.

John gestured at the hallway with a flat open palm. Maya moved past him,taking a measured step up the first few stairs. Her heart pounded. Silence. Another step. The planks creaked underneath her feet.

A shadowed figure flew out of the bathroom door.

“Maya!”

John shoved Maya aside as the figure slammed into him, launching him across the living room. He crashed through the couch and into the TV. Maya opened fire, and her pistol kicked back with every shot, the muzzle flashing white in the dim room. But, every bullet cracked through the kitchen window as the figure weaved through the gunfire.

He had a shaved head, with a mask over the lower half of his face and sloppy black clothes. Nothing could hide his cocky grin. “She gave me all this to kill you, and you aren’t even powered?” the figure cackled, ducking underneath a shot. “This’ll be easy!”

When Maya flinched to pull the trigger, the man kicked the gun out of her hand. Bullets were never effective against speedsters, but hand-to-hand combat wasn’t any better. He bobbed and weaved and parried her attacks before palming her in the nose.

Maya stumbled into the front door. She reached for a hidden baton through tears welling in her eyes, but he easily ducked underneath her swing and slashed upwards.

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The silver glint of a knife blade blurred past her neck. Maya tried to dodge. The shoulder of her shirt ripped, and a warm, numbing wetness spread from the wound.

Her attacker spun his knife around to finish the job. But, John tackled him like a linebacker, raising him into the air by the throat. The man screamed, wildly punching and kicking at John with his quick kicks.

John’s eyes gleamed bright red. With every impact, a crimson shield of energy shined where he was hit. He tanked through the attacks and pinned the man against the wall. “Now, Maya!” his voice boomed.

Maya’s bleeding shoulder flared with pain as she rolled past John and picked up his pistol. A single trigger pull, and blood stained their wallpaper.

The man’s body fell limp in John’s hands, and he snapped his neck to be sure he was dead.

John panted like a beast. His glasses were long since flung off of his face. Though the glow in his eyes subsided, the red patches of energy along his skin still remained.

“How long do you have?” Maya asked.

“Are you okay?”

“How long?!” Adrenaline and heat took over, raising Maya’s voice.

“I don’t care! We need to stop the bleeding,” John said, pulling his jacket off and stuffing it against Maya’s shoulder. Holding her weight, he walked her over to the dining room table and helped her sit, quickly grabbing the first aid kit.

As he wadded a mess of bandages into his hands and pressed it against her shoulder, Maya winced, but she still stared at their attacker’s dead body.

She gave me this to kill you, and you aren’t even powered? This’ll be easy!

She.

“Apex knows where we live,” Maya gasped.

“We’ll worry about that in a moment, dear. I need to treat this wound, first.”

“No, pause for a moment. Do you know how much longer you have?”

John paused, letting her hold the bandages against her shoulder. “Ten seconds.”

“How much did he hit you?

Maya watched him brace himself. Even if he wasn’t an active Fighter anymore, he still had his powers from his time with the SRB: the ability to store and delay damage until later. Three, two, one — John convulsed and winced, and his shirt ripped as the red spots of energy along his skin pulsed. Their attacker’s high-speed strikes from moments ago hit all at once. Once the pockets of red energy dissipated, John took a deep breath and popped his neck.

“There.” John pressed new bandages against her shoulder, but hung his head and sighed. “She knows where we live.”

“Is your uncle still in town, John? You need to get out of here.”

“I? No, Maya. No. We need to get out of here, while we still can.”

“I can’t let you become a target—”

“So you’ll let yourself stay a target? Apex is a relentless murderer, Maya. What will you do when she decides to finish you herself?”

“That’s a problem to avoid and deal with later,” Maya spat. “I need justice now.”

At that, John softened his expression. “We agreed we were done with secrets, baby. What did she do to you?”

“I joined the force because of my grandfather. He would sing to me, and show me songs he wrote about his opponents and different people he fought, but he’d always make sure I knew that I didn’t need powers to be as great. He believed in me, even when we met during boot camp,” she said, pointing between them.

“And?”

“My grandfather was Silk Music,” Maya said. “The Fiftieth ranked Fighter in the world, and the first member of the Fifty Apex killed.”

John straightened his stance as the cogs turned in his mind. “But why like this? The Fighting Center is five minutes away. Why don’t you just—”

“Because the last song he left me made sure I knew that I didn’t need powers to be strong like him,” Maya said. “Haruki already took his life. I’m not letting her take his legacy.”

John nodded. He pat her shoulder, and though it stung, Maya still held the bandage there while he rustled through the first aid box. “If that’s your reason, I truly have no hope of convincing you otherwise. Talking you out of a decision is like telling a mountain to move.”

Maya scoffed.

“But the world needs stubborn people like you, honey. What’s next?”

“Once we get our things out of here, I have to follow our leads. Connor gave us a list of his allies. Whether the SRB wants to really report them or not, they hold the real answers.”