Cnidarian's fist sailed over my head.

I scrambled out of the way, loosing a shell into her midsection.

She swatted it aside. Corals emerged in a flower pattern, throwing me off my feet. Cnidarian pressed the attack. I gathered sand in my hand and repeated the trick I’d learned earlier. She stumbled away, shielding her eyes.

“Annoying,” Cnidarian hissed. “Is this how you intend to beat me?”

I didn't reply, putting distance between us. Cnidarian had been thorough in her leveling of the battlefield. Large blocks of carbonate, too high for me to scale, ran in a circle around us. She intended for this to be a death match. And, somewhere within me, I wanted it too.

Cnidarian laughed. “You're a child, Volley. A child playing a game he doesn't understand. You think you've got this all figured out? That you're right and I'm wrong just because the good guys say so?”

I scanned the clearing.

“Well, guess what?” Cnidarian said. “There are no good guys here. Not really. No Heroes. No Villains. Just people: crazed to varying degrees.” She lowered her arms. “The evils Ava and I endured? They were perpetrated by normal folk who believed they were right.”

“Bringing us here,” I said. “The bad guys hurt you. Ergo, it's fine for you to hurt everyone else in turn.”

“No. What is fine is that I care only about protecting my own. The atrocities your kind commits under the banner of a greater good—”

“But I don't care about a greater good,” I snapped, despite myself. “I don't care what's happening miles away in Victoria Island or offshore in Micronesia. I only care about the now. You've taken an innocent woman hostage and you're doing the same to my teammate.”

Cnidarian cocked her head. “Honor.”

“What?”

“You said that to me back when you pleaded for your life. You treat me like I can't be reasoned with now. But when you were on the ropes, you defaulted to appealing to shared principles.”

“That's not what I—”

“Have you ever killed anyone, Volley?”

A cold sweat broke out beneath my respirator.

“I have,” Cnidarian finished. “And I like to view it as the most honorable thing I've done.”

Yells filtered up from somewhere in the distance. The sawmill? Or down at the shore? For that matter, wasn't YamaYama lingering nearby?

I blinked the sweat from my eyes. Pro-now had promised to follow after me, but I shouldn’t stall for time. I had to end this. Before Cnidarian’s reinforcements could arrive.

Cnidarian stepped forward. “The Hero Council pays you a salary. Money you probably use to support your family.” She stopped. “I am giving you three seconds to back out of this and leave Ava alone. You can take the offer and return to the people you love. Or you can stay and learn the true meaning of honor.” The ground rippled around her. “Because I will honor this promise, Volley: I will kill you.”

My feet backpedaled without my consent. Cnidarian sounded calm, but a tangible bloodthirst lurked beneath her words.

She’d also spoken a truth I didn’t want to consider. I loved being a Hero. I’d fight Gunner all over again for a chance to join up. However, my work at the Council was little other than a job. Mom, Nenye—those two mattered more than anything else.

So why wasn't I turning back?

Cnidarian waited a few heartbeats. She raised a fist.

A single coral spike surged, scoring a glancing hit on my thigh. I dodged around the blow, keeping an eye on her movements. The coral spike splintered into a reef. Sharp tips jabbed my back, hurting me through my costume. I skidded across the ground and took off as fast as I could.

A memory of a similar fight popped up in my head. No Light. Imitate him!

Wet earth found its way into my hands. I circled Cnidarian, pelting her with stones and with sand. The bindings on my wounded palm came loose, but infections were the least of my worries.

Cnidarian huddled away from the onslaught. I completed a half rotation, keeping an eye out for tremors.

There! I leaped aside in time to avoid a skewering and grabbed another handful of dirt.

I didn't see her move.

Cnidarian closed the gap in seconds, violence etched on her face. She reached for me, and the mutated Combat suit flashed before my eyes. I threw sand between us, avoiding her grasp.

The armor on Cnidarian's skin creaked. Her fist snapped past my head, shearing the respirator in two. Broken pieces flew off into the dark. I accelerated a shell into her forehead and winced as it bounced off her carapace. She recoiled anyway, giving me time to flee.

Cnidarian shrieked.

Giant corals expanded between us, rubbishing any hope for a complete evasion. They battered my sides, punching liquid pain into my skull. The Villain lunged for me, and I reacted. Two nearby corals shuddered beneath my fingers.

Move!

The giant corals rocketed off the ground, gaining instant momentum. They collided with Cnidarian, splaying her flat on her back.

I gathered even more fumes and poured them into my arms. Corals zoomed down the distance between us, like dense torpedoes fired from a mobile submarine. They bombarded Cnidarian, crushing her against the barrier. The ground groaned with the force of the wave.

The coral bullets strafed the air, obliterating a section of the ring. Power bled down my arms. I couldn't afford to lose the advantage. Not now. Not n—

The world shifted out of focus.

A shriek went off in my head like many children running nails in unison down a chalkboard. I stumbled from the pain, dodging Cnidarian’s reprisal by chance. A coral spike missed my torso, coming close enough to graze my vest.

The shrieking didn't stop. Why wasn't it stopping?

I made landfall with the dirt. My anchor of fumes sputtered, flared, and sputtered again. Was this what it felt like to abuse my abilities? Brain Damp?

Reefs sprouted in Cnidarian's direction. She thrashed beneath the pile of rubble, raging like a wounded animal.

I forced myself to rise. Dust clogged my throat, and blood from my wounded lip ran into my mouth. The nails persisted on the chalkboard, but they’d grown duller now, granting a reprieve. I could do this. I wasn't completely done.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Cnidarian snarled, pushing the last of the debris off her. She shot to her feet and the very forest cowered beneath her rage.

“Volley,” she said.

How could she manage to keep going? I was nearly dead on my feet.

Cnidarian's eyes narrowed. “You have a death wish.”

“Yeah,” I said, gasping the words. “I do.”

Cnidarian advanced. Her silhouette had taken on a monstrous form sometime during my assault. She moved, not like a human, but like a demonic entity. Spikes, long and jagged, poked out of her frame.

“You want to end this too, yeah?” I screamed. “Let's go! Let's fucking finish this.”

Corals germinated in a radial pattern.

I abandoned all precaution and ran straight for her. Exactly how Kabash would have wanted.

Time slowed to a stop.

The terrain bled away. Leaving just the two of us. Cnidarian’s eyes widened beneath her brows.

The first murderous spike reached me, and I slapped it back the way it came. Cnidarian ducked, leaving me a breech in the reef. I lunged for her with my wounded hand. She twisted and latched on to my wrist.

“It's over, Volley,” she said.

Polyps blossomed on my arm.

“For you,” I gasped.

The sand I'd been holding exploded in her face.

Cnidarian sputtered. My free hand came up to her midsection, and I relinquished my hold on the fumes. She catapulted backward, crashing through reefs and giant trees both.

The lights went off in my head.

My god, what was this pain? My entire right arm throbbed with the torment of hell. Mini explosions went off in my skull, creating vacuums within my eardrums.

No. It wouldn't do to keep lying here.

The world went dark again. Ugh.

I crawled to a sitting position. I had things to do. People to rescue. But more than that, I needed to close my eyes and sleep . . .

“You look terrible,” Bazaar said, crouching over me.

My lips took long minutes to part. “A-are you here to finish me off?”

Bazaar scowled.

“No,” she said at last. “I’ll be sore in the belly for weeks. But I can't bring myself to be mad at you. You knew I was wearing Panzer.”

I adjusted my legs. The back of my neck ignited. “Cnidarian—”

“Where is she?”

“Over there. But I don't know if she's . . .”

“Alive?” Bazaar inhaled sharply. “Volley, if Bee is dead, I will kill you.”

“Fair enough.” I looked down at my right forearm and winced. “But if it gets to that, remember she tried to kill me too.”

“Can you stand?”

“If you help me.”

Bazaar slipped my arm around her shoulder.

Vomit teased the back of my throat. “We should probably check on Harvest too,” I said, closing my eyes. “I am not even half as spent as she is, and I already feel like a corpse.”

“Just focus on your breathing,” Bazaar said, “and point me in the right direction.”

We made our way painstakingly through the landscape. A few of the giant trees had fallen, leaving great roots—each bigger than my torso—exposed to the air. I'd never have navigated the terrain in my current state, but Bazaar led me with careful tugs, patient for the first time since I'd known her.

Or was she dreading what we would find?

I squeezed her tighter. Please, let Cnidarian be alright.

“Oh, Bee,” Bazaar cried. She left me propped on a tree and rushed to a figure hunched over the ground.

Cnidarian looked up. “Ava?”

Bazaar pulled her into a hug.

“Wait, don't,” Cnidarian said, coughing. “I'm bleeding. I don't want to get blood on you.”

Bazaar leaned in for a kiss.

Oh.

“That teammate of yours,” Cnidarian hissed. “He's still out there. You should run while you have the chance. Get down to the shore. I'll catch up with you once Tellmenot and Manbite . . .”

I couldn't see well enough in the forest, but Bazaar might have shaken her head.

“Ava . . .” Cnidarian said, voice breaking.

Bazaar sniffled. “I'm sorry, Bee. I'm not going back with you.”

“W-why?”

“I . . . I don’t think I can explain. It's just . . . this life? I wasn’t kidding when I said that I was done. I'm sorry for bringing it up again after you went through all the trouble—”

“No, no, no,” Cnidarian sputtered, grasping Bazaar's arms. “You don't know what you're saying!”

“I'm sorry.”

“Please, don't do this. Not again.”

A quiver formed in my stomach. This was an intimate scene. I had no right to be spectating.

“I’ve thought hard about this,” Bazaar said. “Even as I followed you. Maybe, we don't have to be separated. You can join the Hero Council. Plead for clemency. They are all about giving second chances. It might take a while, but we could all be together again. You, me, the guys . . .”

Cnidarian snarled unintelligibly.

“You want me to make sacrifices for you, but you won't even make one for me?”

“This is too big, Ava.”

“Bigger than you attacking my teammates and forcing me to your side?”

Cnidarian punched the ground. “You know why I can't do what you’re asking. We need the Four-oh-Four. Our revenge—”

“Our revenge can wait,” Ava said in a soft voice. “Is clinging to the past so important that we destroy ourselves while we are at it?”

“You don't mean that. You can't forget what they did to us.”

“And I won't. We will take our pound of flesh someday. I swear it. But we owe ourselves a chance to live the way we want until then.”

“We don't!”

Bazaar fell silent. She dug for something in her pockets.

“Ava,” Cnidarian said, “no . . .”

“Take it.”

“It was a gift! We swore oaths on those!”

“And I don't need it anymore. If your destructive path is fueled by the memory of our promise, then it is fine if I break that promise.”

Cnidarian wailed. “So, you're going to ditch us—ditch me—for them?”

“I’m not ditching you. I'm ditching what you’ve become.”

“This is me!”

“Physically? Yes,” Bazaar said. “But mentally? You are a far cry from the kid I met in the labs.”

“Don't turn your back on me,” Cnidarian whispered. “Not you. Not you too.”

Bazaar rose to her feet. “You can follow me if you truly care.”

“Ava!” Cnidarian lunged.

“No. Let me go!”

A flurry of movement followed. Bazaar uttered a cry.

“Hey!” I said, surging toward them. “What's going on?”

Bazaar crashed to the ground. I fumbled down beside her, lifting her head to my lap. She gripped her jaw, and her wet sleeves provided a clue.

Blood. She was soaked in blood.

“What did you do?” I barked at Cnidarian.

The Villain gazed at her palm in silence. A single polyp glinted out of it, shaped like a knife. She wrung her hand, glanced at it, and whimpered when the weapon didn’t dispel. She lifted her gaze. “Oh my god. Ava, I'm so sorry.”

Cnidarian scrambled toward me.

Bazaar recoiled, and I pulled her out of the Villain's reach.

“Were you trying to kill her?” I spat.

“What? No!” Cnidarian fumbled. “I didn't mean to hurt her.” She inhaled and her tone changed, returning to her cold-blooded self. “This is all your fault.”

Footsteps approached behind me.

“Volley,” someone said.

I jumped out of my skin.

Ballboss peered over my shoulder. “What happened here?”

Behind us, Activity emerged through the forest.

“Um,” I muttered, organizing my thoughts, “That's Cnidarian, one of the Four-oh-Four's Supers. We fought and—”

Ballboss made for Cnidarian.

Bazaar grabbed my disfigured forearm, mumbling a word.

“Wait!” I said. “Cnidarian’s down. She doesn't matter. Bazaar’s injured too. Stab wound to the neck. Or slash. Not sure. Just help her. Please.”

Ballboss turned to me. “Did it strike a major blood vessel?”

“It's too dark to tell!”

“Where's Harvest?” Activity asked.

A heavy bough answered him. It swooped out of the night, flinging him aside. A second one punched Ballboss to the ground. A large coral intercepted the third, but the impact washed over the barrier, throwing me off my feet.

I pulled myself off Bazaar. The blow had knocked the wind out of her, and her hands came loose from her jaw. I pressed my good palm over the wound and applied pressure, ignoring the ringing in my ears.

The earth shuddered. Trees hauled themselves out of the ground and approached us with legs made of roots. The first tree grabbed Cnidarian in its branches and loped off into the night.

This power . . .

“Evans,” I shouted, barely able to hear over the noise.

Activity tackled a tree. It leaned down to swat him, but he deflected the blow, breaking the bough in two. He speared through the trunk, and the living tree toppled with a groan.

“Harvest's wounded nearby,” I warned. “Be careful.”

“What?” he spat. A powerful limb crashed down on him.

The forest circled in on us. Bazaar’s cold hands sought solace in mine. I eyed the monstrosities, torn between keeping pressure on her wound and running for dear life. My other arm—the one that looked like something from a nightmare—hung heavy on the ground.

“Dammit,” I said, slumping beside Bazaar. The wet dirt soothed me, filled with leaves and mulch.

Massive trees loomed over my head. They raised gigantic boughs high into the sky. If those reached me, I doubted the CAH would properly identify my corpse. But I couldn’t escape, could I? I closed my eyes, allowing myself to drift.

The end never came.

I cracked my eyes to find the trees writhing in seizures. They shriveled, losing mass in less time than an old man could squat.

And then they were gone. A woodsy fragrance wafted up in their wake.

Harvest stood beside a ruined timber shed, panting hard. She dropped without warning.

Activity rushed to her side.

“Volley,” Bazaar said in the quiet that followed.

“Don't talk,” I murmured, still dazed at the brush with death.

“Evans . . . Stop him.”

How? I could barely keep my eyes open.

Ballboss rose from where he'd fallen, clutching his head. “Everyone alright?”

I couldn't even manage a grunt.

Ballboss bumbled over to us. “The fighting at the mill has escalated. We should go back. ‘Help the Combat suits.”

Bazaar raised weak fingers to my face.

“Umm, Miss Dominic,” Ballboss said, clasping his respirator, “what are you doing?”

She waved a hand across my nose.

The skull-splitting headache cleared. Vigor surged down my spine. My back and limbs which throbbed in a million places from hits I'd taken over the day sent numb sensations coursing up my brain.

Ava's bloodstained lips stretched into a grin. “Consider this my last hurrah. Go get ‘em, Fingers.”