Neviecha probably meant to bring the battle here.

The fight raged in a small housing estate, still in its early stages of development. Most of the houses lay in ruins, riddled with corals and scorch marks. I rounded a corner and stumbled upon the Villians’ truck flipped on its side. The engine was left running, and one of the side doors hung embedded in a wall five meters away.

The truck was empty too, devoid of any sign of Lekan or his captors. A large wall of corals speared the ground near it, running in a line from north to south. The corals led to a collapsed building, faltered, then continued down to a pair of bungalows where the fighting was loudest. More rubble lay that way, and a world of hurt too, judging by the sounds.

I closed the distance, picking my footing amidst the wreckage. A moment later, the Habakkuk crashed through a fence. Manbite followed after it. The Habakkuk’s right arm dangled, reduced to a stump. It raised its good arm and belched a series of tori. Each one detonated a few meters in the air, vibrating the surroundings with the force of its echo.

One blast caught Manbite and knocked him clean into a building. The Habakkuk chased after him, but a giant wave of corals surged up and slammed into its side. The corals fanned out, and the Habakkuk dived aside. Its flight pack sparked uselessly on its back.

This was bad.

I circled the battlefield, giving all three fighters a wide berth. Two of the Villains were accounted for, which left Hebe and the last one, both or either of who could be fleeing the scene. Lekan would be with them—hopefully. His corpse hadn’t been left in the truck, but nothing stopped the Villains from killing him if taking him alive proved too difficult.

I shook my head. Happy thoughts, Chachi. Don't jinx this.

Neviecha's cannon went off with a boom.

I needed to think, needed to figure out the best possible move to make. If I were a Villain and had lost my getaway vehicle, where would I go?

Why, to find a new one. Where else?

An empty road sprawled on the opposite side of the estate, but beyond that, illuminated by dim streetlights, stood a tall, mesh fence. Hulking shapes loomed behind it, fixed on a flat expanse of sand.

A tipper garage. Bingo.

I made my way up to it, heart thumping in my chest. My feet buckled every few meters, teasing a spill on the ground. The sounds of battle spurred me—a reminder that Neviecha didn’t have much longer. All I needed to do was put my foot in front of me. Just like that.

One more . . .

One more . . .

I reached the fence.

The wire mesh felt cool beneath my fingers. I fumbled along its length, searching for an entrance. I found one and staggered through, careful not to make a sound. The guardhouse beside the gate was empty, but a kettle whistled abandoned on a stove. Some meters away from the house, a group of heavy-duty tippers waited, brooding like silent sentinels in the night.

Two voices murmured as I crept toward the trucks. They clashed in argument, becoming clearer as I inched along.

“. . . telling me our getaway guy doesn't know how to drive a dumper?”

“No. I can't find keys in any of them. Big difference.”

“You can’t start any of these without a key?”

The two figures huddled around the last tipper in the column. Hebe stood at the farther end, leaning against the bumper. He’d loosened his tie and was down to his shirtsleeves, mask still in place on his head.

The second was the unknown Super I’d seen at the Center with Cnidarian. He held the tipper door open, gesturing in agitation. His black overcoat billowed around him.

Rounding out their number, tied up on the ground beside them . . .

Lekan.

The silhouette couldn't be anyone else. He lay immobile, stripped of mask and coat, but he lived. We hadn’t lost him yet.

I wiped my palm on my pants. Two Villains—two members of the city’s most ruthless crime syndicate. Hebe was a pain to fight. But with him, I knew what to expect. The other could harm me in ways I couldn’t foresee, making him the prime target.

I so wanted to shoot both at the same time, but my arm shook, and my vision dipped around me. I couldn't trust myself to hit a car in the middle of a traffic jam. I wasn’t about to gamble with my life.

“Get in the damn dumper,” Hebe said. “There must be some other way to start it.”

“There should,” His partner grunted. “But I don’t know anything about these trucks.” He clambered up the driver’s side.

My chance to strike.

I fired the rock, feeling my power fizzle out at the last possible second. The missile missed its mark and glanced off the bonnet.

The Villains sprang apart. They glanced around the perimeter for a long moment. Then, without a word, they split around the sides of the vehicle, heading for me.

“Anyone there?” one of them called. Hebe.

“Maybe it’s just a rat?” his partner answered.

“If it was a rat, we would do well to be worried. I still have goosebumps from seeing a horde of them approach me.”

I slipped away, inching down the rear of the parked trucks.

“I don’t think anything’s there,” the second Villain said. “Cnidarian must be getting anxious. We still need to find a car.”

Hebe sighed. “You talk like you know some other place to find one.”

“I don't. So, help me jumpstart it. Come on. Let’s go.”

The hairs rose on the back of my neck. They hadn't gone. Both men inched closer, down opposite sides of the column.

I leaned against the dump bed of the first truck and rested my palm against it. The cool metallic exterior chilled my arm. The truck was sturdy, sure—as impervious to damage, as I was to common sense. It was also the largest item I’d ever tried to move.

The pressure worsened in my skull. Power flooded down my arms into the truck. Its molecules thrummed: an intimate vibration at the back of my head. The tipper resisted, but I had enough abstract power to spare. I infused the vehicle and earned a mental picture of its structure for my troubles. Something whole. Tangible. Rigid enough to move.

A thunderclap went off. Back at the unfinished estate, buildings crumpled in a heap. Shockwaves washed over me, reaching up to my teeth. My connection with the tipper faltered.

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Someone gasped. “What the—”

I launched the tipper sideways. It kicked up a wave of dust, shrieking across the sand. Its massive weight mowed down the Villain hidden behind its rear, and I recoiled at the cry of sheer agony that followed.

I dove for a stone, turning in the direction Hebe was sure to emerge, and came to face with a white porcelain mask, topping a black overcoat.

“Move and die,” the other Villain said. He pointed at me, and an unmistakable click reached my ears.

I froze in the half-crouch, stones just out of reach.

“Hebe, are you okay?” the Villain called.

Hebe continued screaming.

Overcoat Villain swore and adjusted his grip on the gun. “If he dies, you die. And I will enjoy every second of it. Clear?”

I wet my lips.

“Hands on the ground.”

I obeyed.

“Both hands, you fucker!”

“It's broken!”

The Villain growled. “Put it down and lie flat on your belly. Or this will be a very short discussion.”

I went prone, whimpering as my abused arm squashed against the ground. My fingers closed around the stones.

From beneath the tipper, Hebe moaned.

Overcoat Villain nodded. “See, I am in a good mood right now, so why don't we make this a little fun? Let's start with something simple. What is your name?”

A sensation gripped me, like a bony hand coiled around my throat. The Villain sounded in that moment like two voices merged into one.

I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction.

“Volley,” I said. “Who are you?”

A pause. The otherworldly grasp eased off my throat.

Overcoat Villain stuttered. “You answered. You consider that to be your name?”

Of course, I did. Whose else was it in the first place?

The Villain’s voice darkened. “Volley. . . Y-you’re the one who beat Hebe the first time. Then, with your power . . .”

Warning bells dinged. I moved right as gunfire resounded. Stones whizzed through the air, and the muzzle flash went off in my face. The bullet missed me, but my buckshot struck home. It grazed the Villain’s collarbone and knocked off his mask. He fell with a scream.

I pounced before he could react. My fist came down on his nose. Once. Twice. He jabbed my bad arm, and pain, like anguish-personified, lanced through my skull.

I slipped and landed on my chin. The Villain grappled my neck. I punched him in the face until his screaming stopped. Until my screaming stopped. Then I collapsed beside him, blood roaring in my ears.

A dust cloud covered the sky in the direction of the estate. Faint reverberations traveled up to me, the remnants of Neviecha’s battle. I needed him to be okay. But the mission wasn't over yet. The final act needed to be done.

I crawled to the other end of the column. Lekan slept like a babe, snoring in blissful oblivion. I nudged him with my arm. When that failed, I kicked in his sides. He came to, groaning.

“Lekan,” I said.

“Huh, you?” he muttered, and then he broke into whimpers. “My god, what did they do to me?”

“Are you alright?”

“I . . . I don't know. Ugh.” He turned on his side. “Can't think. Big headache.”

Cords bound his arm and feet. I couldn’t possibly untie him. Not with one hand.

Hurried footfalls broke my thoughts.

“Get under the truck,” I hissed. “Now.”

Lekan didn't argue. He weaseled under the vehicle, using his shoulders and knees. Neviecha had probably caused the explosion. But Activity and the CAH were in the vicinity too. I ambled down the column, intent on heading off the newcomers.

Manbite and Cnidarian turned to me.

If I had been more cognizant, I would have recognized that outcome as the most likely possibility.

“Civilian?” Cnidarian said, cocking her head. She spoke in a soft tone. So soft, I almost missed it.

“No,” Manbite said, and with him, there was no missing. He sounded like a big cat that had been taught to speak: all guttural, with plenty of teeth. “That's the kid. The one who beat Hebe.”

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

Cnidarian’s eyes behind the slits of her wooden mask betrayed no emotion. “I see.”

“I'll handle this,” Manbite said. He shuffled forward, cricking his neck. Arms like spiked pillars slammed into the ground.

“Your friends are alive,” I said. “I didn't kill them.”

Cnidarian perked up. “And the target?”

“I set him free.”

She sighed.

“You've said your last,” Manbite announced, closing in.

“Honor,” I said. It was a dumb thing to say, but I kept talking regardless. “Honor. I could have killed your teammates. I chose not to.”

“Your mistake,” Manbite said. He mumbled to himself. “Honor. Hah.”

Hebe groaned at that moment, feebly enough to be worrying. He'd been bowled over by a tipper. It was a miracle he was still conscious.

“Your teammates need urgent medical attention,” I pressed, even as the world spun around me. I held my position, closing my eyes. “Look, we can do this your way. Dance to hell screaming just like you want. I don't care.” I believed that lie. “Your friends are dying, your target is gone, and the more time you waste here, the more gone he will be. So, bring it, okay? Fucking bring it. I might be outnumbered, but I promise you, I won't go down without a fight.”

“Oh, you haven't fought me yet,” Manbite said.

He was almost upon me now. I took a couple of steps backward, against my better judgment. Hebe kept moaning in the background. Manbite didn't slow down.

“One of your teammates shot at me,” I yelled. “I didn't kill him. Let that sink in. I had two of your friends at my mercy and didn't kill them.”

“But I killed yours,” Cnidarian said, her voice little more than a whisper.

My heart leaped into my throat. No.

Cnidarian strode forward. A stony polyp ripened out of her palm. The man in the stretcher back at the base whimpered up at me. I shook my head and retreated another couple of steps.

“You,” Cnidarian said, stopping beside Manbite. “You are with the Council?”

I swallowed. “Yeah.”

“Name?”

“V-volley.”

Cnidarian looked at the blade in her palm, lost in thought. She shook it off, but it didn't recede. She shoved the hand into her pocket. “We will finish this, Volley. A month from now. Six. One year. It doesn't matter. But we will finish this. You have no idea what you have done.”

Manbite turned to her. “Don’t fall for his lies. He's just saying anything to survive.”

“That may be,” Cnidarian said. “But we can’t afford to linger. The Heroes are in Sagidi.”

“Then let’s take him with us. He can serve as compensation.”

“We are done here.”

“If we fail now—”

“We are done here,” she repeated, and a finality imbued her words. “For her sake. Grab Hebe and Tellmenot. The mission's officially over.”

Stone rattled behind me. For a terrible moment, I imagined Lekan bursting into the scene. That better not be you, idiot. This was not a Hero moment.

“Boil will not be pleased,” Manbite said. “But if you are fine with that, I have no other reason to care.” He tucked both his teammates under his arms, doing so with less care than he ought.

“I will think of something,” Cnidarian said. “At the very least, he's gotten his bounty.”

They stalked past me in silence and disappeared into the night.

I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. I stood there for a long while, shivering in the wind. Then I crumbled and landed on my ass.

“You can come out now,” I said.

Lekan didn't answer.

“Lekan?” I called. An ache started in the back of my throat.

Footsteps pounded in my direction. He didn't need to scare me like that.

“Who's there?” the newcomer said. “Volley?”

My eyes snapped open.

Alewo hunched over me, wearing a grin. “You're alive!”

Huh. That was supposed my line.

“Quick,” he said. “Let's get out of here before the Villains come.”

“. . . no need. They're gone.”

“They're what?”

I couldn't see his expression clearly, but I suspected I would have cracked up otherwise. “They came by after you were done. Grabbed their fellows. Upped and left.” My voice clogged up my throat. “T-they said you were dead.”

“Oh, that.” Alewo chuckled. “I detonated the Habakkuk—made sure to eject beforehand though. You know how mag-lev involves the use of magnetic fields? Well, I had these capacitors dump charges into coils holding a static one. The massive flow set up a magnetic field that induced an opposing current in the liner.”

He waved his hands as if to draw an image. “The two currents produced fields that repelled each other. Then, because of the difference in mass inertia, the liner imploded and . . . and . . . Why are you laughing again?”

I snorted. “Because.”

“Because?”

“Yeah.”

Alewo pouted. “Well, you’re welcome. Sucks that I couldn't buy you more time though.” He paused. “The Habakkuk’s gone, Volley. It's really gone, isn't it?”

I stopped snickering.

Alewo sniffled and wiped his eyes. “Pro-now's going to have my head when he learns I destroyed it. But I guess, we both made it out alive. That's what matters, yeah?”

“I couldn't have done this without you,” I said. And I meant it. “Thank you.”

“That's what bros are for.” He grunted. “What about the guy we needed to rescue? Did they get him?”

“He should be hiding beneath the last truck. Can you go check?”

“Hold on.”

Shuffling followed. A few minutes later, Alewo returned. “I didn't see him, Volley.”

A sinking feeling opened in my gut.

“I found this though.” Alewo held up a long piece of cord. “I might be mistaken, but I think I also saw a couple of rats.”

I heaved, unable to stop the tears.

“You alright?” he asked.

“Y-yeah.”

A new series of crashes emanated from the unfinished estate.

“Activity,” Alewo said, answering the unspoken question. “Don't know how he got here. But I heard him shouting as I made my way up. He was yelling your name.”

The crashes continued, like a wrecking ball going to town. I could almost hear words shouted into the sky.

“Sounds pretty bad,” Alewo said. “What did you do to him?”

“Nothing,” I said, half-laughing. “He had to deal with a rodent infestation. He'll get over it.”

Alewo collapsed beside me. “I dialed the others. While I was fighting. They’d been alerted by the ruckus anyway. They’ll be here any minute. Dia Mater. Harvest. Ardent too.”

“That's nice,” I said.

We lay there on the ground, keeping to our thoughts. Activity’s cries filled the air. Grisly monsters, made of shadow and pitch, scurried across my sight.

The stars dimmed, and the night blended into dreams.