I so wasn’t coming out to play.

I took an involuntary step backward, putting Jason between the villain and me.

“That's a supervillain,” I hissed. “Don't give him a chance to attack.”

“Y-you can't know for s-sure,” Jason said. “He hasn't done anything yet.”

“Are you crazy?” No. He was crazy. I could even see his second head. “Everything about that guy screams bad news. We put him down now, or we regret it while being put down.”

Jason ignored me and strode toward his group. “Hebe, was it?” he said. “We are members of the Faithful here. We don’t want any trouble. We are only doing what we can to protect our people.”

Hebe cocked his head. “And the Hero?”

To Jason’s credit, he didn’t glance my way. “You must be mistaken. There are no Heroes here.”

“Ah,” Hebe said. “You are not lying to me, are you? This will end badly if you are.”

“I am not. We only have problems with the mob. Old people live here. Kids do so too. We can’t allow a bunch of lowlifes to do what they feel like.”

Hebe hummed, then tapped a finger against his mask. “Valid but unfortunate. I command the mob burning these streets. It seems we are on opposite sides of this wide divide.” He mimicked the width of separation with his hands.

“You did this?” one of the men around the Villain asked.

“Well, yes,” Hebe said.

A plank whizzed through the air.

Hebe caught the weapon with one hand, languid enough he made the strike look insulting. He released the plank and the swinger crumpled to the ground.

“No,” Jason yelled.

The Luminaries swarmed their foe. I plucked a shell from my bandolier to aid them, but there was too much movement. I couldn’t get a single shot in.

Hebe weaved through the Luminaries, slipping between attacks like water flowing down a hill. Machetes, planks, iron pipes—all came within inches of striking him; none succeeded. Wherever he passed, his opponents toppled. Their legs gave way beneath them.

The Villain reached Jason, and the latter bellowed, swinging his bat with a hidden ferocity. Hebe ducked beneath the strike. Silver glinted between his fingers.

I fired the shell before he could slit Jason open from navel to throat. The missile clipped the Villain’s shoulder, and he spun, landing in a crouch.

“Ah, our Hero finally appears,” Hebe said, locating me with pinpoint accuracy. “I was wondering what it would take to get you to show up.” He tossed his knife in the air and caught it. “It seems you are a long-range fighter. Non-Rook. One arm out of commission. This should be easy.”

“Did you kill them?” Jason cried, two seconds away from hysteria.

The Luminaries lay unmoving on the street. Before the fight, they had numbered about twenty strong. Now, only three remained, none of whom seemed eager to continue the bout. They dropped their weapons and looked ready to flee.

Hebe rubbed his shoulder. “How would you react if I said yes?”

Jason charged.

I followed suit, grabbing a second shell.

A red orb flared to life over the Villain's palm, dimmed like a distant star. The world spun in that instant, and the ammunition slid from my grasp. Pain exploded up my wounded arm and my cheek.

I came to, tasting sand. Huh?

“No Super stuff from you, Hero-boy,” Hebe said. “You are coming with me.”

I couldn’t utter a response. My limbs had swapped places with lead, and my back buckled like it was laden with rocks. Every joint in me creaked like machinery that hadn’t been oiled in years. Weak eyelids drooped to a close.

Lethargy. He’d hit us with lethargy.

Sand crunched nearby. A heavy foot landed on my head.

“I recognize you,” Hebe said, speaking as if from afar off. “You are with the Council, aren’t you? Where is the rest of your gang?”

He recognized me? Which version of me? Gosh, I was so tired . . .

“Ah, can’t speak, eh?” the Villain continued. “Well, an answer isn’t necessary. I’m taking you to Boil.” He grabbed my shoulder. “Please, ensure to comply. I will hate to slit your—ack!”

A throng of small bodies poured over me, burying me beneath the weight of their passage. My arms came unburdened and movement returned to my spine. I rolled beneath the wave, daring to crack an eyelid . . .

Rats. Over a hundred of them. They flowed past me in a rancid mass, black furs filling my vision.

Lekan stood beside an alleyway, poised like a bringer of pestilence in his plague mask and coat. Three of the large abominations skulked around him, hissing in dissonance.

Hebe offered a faux gasp. “Oh my. The rat prince has decided to join us. I take it you didn’t like our little gift?” He raised his palm only to drop it as the rat horde sprung up at him. He beat a hasty retreat.

“Bariga,” Lekan called.

The largest abomination darted forward, silent as death. It crossed the distance to Hebe in the time it took me to take a few breaths.

Hebe reacted. The red orb flared up again, pouring fatigue into my bones. The rat horde collapsed. Bariga was already on course for a collision and hit the ground in a half-tumble. It slammed into Hebe. The red light flickered out of sight.

“The orb,” I moaned, “Don’t let him activate it.”

A second of the rodent monstrosities stormed past me at Lekan’s command. It leaped on the wall of a nearby fence and disappeared into the compound beyond.

A few of the normal rats surged out of the horde and piled up on Hebe. They went immobile the instant they touched him. The energy ball hadn't resurfaced, which meant Hebe could also activate his ability by contact.

Bariga joined the melee. Red wisps gleamed from Hebe’s palm, keeping the abomination down. The giant rat managed a weak lunge, and Hebe stumbled on the bodies of rodents. Bariga's teeth grazed his arm. The resultant scream was immensely satisfying.

I glanced at Lekan and locked gazes with a large white ape bearing down on him.

“Behind you!” I said.

Lekan didn't turn. His third mutant creature met the attack head-on. Ape and rat careened down the street.

“Manbite,” Hebe said, keeping the orb pointed at his attackers. “Help!”

Bariga twitched where it lay, in full view of the glow.

“Hebe,” the ape snarled, wrestling with his adversary. “Stop messing around!” It raised a giant arm and smacked the rat. The creature retaliated with a knotted tail to the face.

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

Manbite roared. It wasn’t quite as ape-like as I had thought. Silver fur stuck out like a porcupine's quills all over its arms and back. A cat-like head, complete with rows of canines framed a humanoid face. Muscular arms ran up to a barrel-shaped torso, and its spiked-tipped tail thrashed like a flail, catching the rat in its side.

Hebe began a retort when the second rodent abomination—the one that had circled out of sight—surfaced from the cover of darkness. The Villain spun, lifting his orb with him. The mutant went slack in mid-air but maintained its trajectory. Both of them crashed into the dirt.

My left arm burned, signaling a complete return of sensation. I breathed in the dusty air and forced the fingers on my good arm to move. They found the fallen plastic shell, and I stood, picking my target. It had to be Hebe.

My first shot missed by inches. Hebe reformed his orb. He panicked and pirouetted on the spot, catching everyone in the glare. I fired again right as I foundered. The plastic shell speared through the orb and slammed into Hebe's torso. The crimson ball detonated in a shower of sparks.

Hebe collapsed. He didn't get up.

I stayed on the ground, allowing the weird lethargy bleed out of my skin.

Behind me, Manbite tore into the rat. The latter put up a good fight, but it lacked the advantage of an opposable pair of thumbs. It gnashed at the sharp quills, leaving its jaw slick with blood. When that failed, it swung its tail like a whip.

Manbite took the blow head-on and responded in kind. His spiked tail darted forward. Once. Twice. Thrice. The rat thundered to the ground.

Manbite beat his chest in triumph. He glared at Lekan, half-purring, half-snarling. “You won't escape again. The others are coming. Stop this now, or I promise to hurt you.”

Lekan glanced at his people. The Luminaries lay unconscious on the ground. He clenched his fists and whistled.

One of the two mutants that had been fighting Hebe made for his side. But it was too far out. Manbite pounced. I grabbed a stone even though I knew I’d reacted too late.

Jason got there first. He pushed Lekan aside and took Manbite's fist to the head.

Lekan howled in rage, but we couldn’t stop now.

I fired at Manbite, intent on caving his teeth. The man-ape hybrid deflected the missile with a blur of his tail. He turned again to Lekan, but the rat had gotten close enough to lunge. Sharp teeth clashed with armored skin, and the latter emerged the victor.

A cage of spikes erupted around Lekan. In that same moment, Manbite felled the rat.

I traced the jagged trail down the road where two newcomers appeared. One looked feminine, dressed in biker shorts and a tank top with a nondescript mask emplaced on her face. The other wore a black overcoat. He glared through a mask of white porcelain which bore the image of a weeping baby.

I hadn’t seen either of them before, but something about the jagged spikes jolted my memory. A man lay on a stretcher. Painful corals protruded from his form.

Cnidarian.

I fingered my bandolier, counting the missiles left in them. Three shells, three enemies. I wasn’t coming out of this victorious, but if I could I pull off an honorable last stand . . .

Lekan had other ideas. The swarm of small rodents surged past me toward the supervillains. Manbite tried to intercept them but his mutant adversary bit into his leg.

“Bariga,” Lekan called from his prison of corals. “Fetch!”

The third abomination tossed me into the air. I landed on wet fur and gripped coarse hair with my good hand for traction. My wounded arm jarred at the impact, knocking me senseless.

“Fly!” Lekan commanded.

Cnidarian and her partner raced for me.

The giant rat turned in the opposite direction and bolted down the street. We barreled past a small group of watchers, scattering them from our path. The fiery buildings whisked past me like great pillars of flame marking my exit from hell.

Yards away, Manbite roared into the night.

We ran for fifteen minutes before I realized I could arrest the foul creature by nudging its side. The rat skidded to a stop. The sudden halt unseated me, tossing me into an alley. I landed on my good side and lay there in the dust, panting out my lungs.

Dammit. Damn it all to hell.

I pulled the gaiter down my face and screamed. A snarl rose in response. The rat circled me, hackles standing on end. Then it slunk toward a corner and didn't make a noise.

My pulse slowed. Why had Lekan chosen that moment to play Hero? Everything I'd suffered so far had now been rendered meaningless. His defeat would embolden the syndicate, validating the effectiveness of their methods. How was I supposed to reverse this?

Hebe. Manbite. Cnidarian. Three of the Four-oh-Four’s superhuman enforcers. Each of them had been more dangerous than the last, and I wasn’t counting the abilities of the fourth. I was way out of depth here. Nothing in Kabash’s lessons had prepared me for this. Lekan had saved me. And maybe . . . that was for the best. I needed to quit while the choice was still mine to make.

Sirens wailed in the distance, joining the clamor on the streets. The sky burned a brilliant hue in the backdrop, a perfect match for the gruesome events of the day. I lay there for longer than I could track, too worn to even rise to my feet. A few curious passers-by dallied, but they made themselves scarce soon after seeing the rat.

I chuckled. I laughed. Tears streamed down my cheeks.

A jet engine whooshed high up in the sky. The noise got closer, sending tremors reverberating up my skull.

“Well, you look like shit,” Neviecha greeted, landing nearby.

The giant rat came hurtling down the alley.

“No!” I cried.

Neviecha pivoted and leveled his cannon at the thousand-pound mass of morbidity. A fulgent explosion brightened the alleyway. The rat evaded the shot, bounding off the side of a building.

“Bariga,” I said. “Stop!”

The mutant slid to a halt. Beady eyes raked over my face.

It understood me. My gosh, it really did.

“What the hell is that?” Neviecha screamed, hovering off the ground.

“It's a rat.”

“Oh, you think?”

The grotesque creature looked to me for orders. An hour ago, it had been intent on gnawing through my flesh.

I took a measured breath. “It's a rat. It saved my life.”

Neviecha didn't lower the Habakkuk. “What's going on, Volley? First, you send me a cryptic text. Then we get called in to handle a fire. Next thing, AV begs me to travel to your coordinates. And don’t even get me started on . . . that.”

“It's a long story,” I said. “But I will explain. Who else is here?”

The Habakkuk glanced at the rat even though Neviecha had other cameras he could use. “Dia Mater. Activity. Harvest. We were the only ones available.”

Crap. I couldn't deal with Toye right now or Dia Mater for that matter.

“I am on a personal mission,” I said. “An acquaintance needs his friend evacuated from Sagidi. Problem is, the CAH can't know about this.”

“What do you mean?”

I ambled to my feet, ignoring the sounds my joints made in protest. “The Four-oh-Four. They started these fires in a bid to smoke out the person I came to rescue. And they've got him. I can't let that stand, Alewo. Do you understand? They intend to kill him.”

Assuming they hadn't already.

“Right,” Neviecha said. “Those dog bastards again. But why can't we inform the Council? We'll need all the help we can get.”

“Because the person the Four-oh-Four has captured is also wanted by the authorities.”

“A criminal?” Neviecha said sharply.

“If you consider everything you did while working as a vigilante a crime, then yeah. However, I am telling you this because I trust you, Alewo. Can you help me?”

Neviecha took a moment to consider his answer. The Habakkuk’s engines thrummed softly.

“Okay,” he said. “I trust you too. But what is that thing?”

“It's an, err . . .” I looked at the monster. What exactly was it supposed to be? ‘Mutant’ was right. But there was something about the way the creature looked at me . . .

I gave up with a shrug. “It's some kind of augmented rodent? It was created by the guy we need to rescue—Lekan.”

“And you say he’s been captured by the Four-oh-Four?”

“Yes. We need to find him. Now.”

“Got all that, man?”

“What?”

“Oh, I was on phone with AV,” he said. “He’s going to call you now.”

The phone I’d obtained from Jason rang before Neviecha even finished.

I picked the call, moving some distance away. “Hello?”

“Volley—”

“Shut the fuck up,” I spat. “When were you planning to tell me that your cousin could create eldritch horrors?”

“I did not know of this.”

“You lie one more time and I will end this call. He had been using those creatures to terrorize the Four-oh-Four. You want me to believe that piece of information escaped you?”

AV spoke in a measured tone. “The intel I obtained was incomplete.”

“Bullshit.” I was starting to do that a lot. Swear when I got agitated.

“Let’s discuss this later,” AV said. “I promise I will come clean. But we don’t have the time.” His voice trembled. “My cousin. You say they have him?”

I took a deep breath, saving the brutality for later. “Yes. We got attacked by four Villains. Cnidarian seized him. And this was after I got torn into by your cousin's rats.” The last bit I added because I was petty. Also, because I wanted to secure my reward come what may.

“I see,” AV said. “That explains why I couldn't reach your phone. You must rescue my cousin, Volley.”

“I think I am done with this operation.”

“No, you don’t realize. The Four-oh-Four won't simply kill him. Not for something this big. The highest-ranked general in the syndicate—Boil? He is one topic the adults are hesitant to broach with your team—” He paused to cough, the sound wet and hacking. “Boil is a known sadist and Hero-killer. Before the CAH was established in Newtown, several super-powered vigilantes went up against him. Do you know what happened to them?”

I didn't need to guess.

“He killed them all,” AV said, “save for one. He killed them all, Volley, in such brutal ways that each of them spent hours in the company of their loved ones wishing for death before finally breathing their last. I will not let that happen to Lekan.”

My wounded arm tingled. “Then let me inform Dia Mater, at least. If Boil is that dangerous, it doesn't matter if Lekan ends up in jail, so long as he is alive.”

“Five months.”

“Huh?”

“I will pay you the equivalent of five months of your salary if you pull this off.”

“All the money in the world won't make this easier!”

“I know,” AV agreed. “But this is not a bribe, Chetachi. This is a plea. I will do anything. No matter the cost.”

Five months came out to over a million. 1.75 million, to be precise. I would have gone after Lekan, even if AV didn't ask, but I hated how the latter thought he could play me like a fiddle. If he had money to spare, then let him spare it.

“He doesn't deserve this, Volley,” AV said. “He is a much better person than you think. Save him, and I promise, I will forever be in your debt.”

I gripped the phone until my knuckles turned pale. “Seven. Seven months.”

“Done.”

Lekan had looked out for me. He didn't have to. Not when he had enemies to fight. But his quick thinking meant I was not en route to meeting Boil alongside him. I had to repay the favor somehow.

“Screw you, AV,” I spat into the phone.

Let's go save a life.