Crack.

The man’s helmet went flying. It bounced along the ground, ringing out with each strike. Under the helmet, the man didn’t look much like Alpha. His strong jaw gave way to soft cheeks, aging eyes, graying hair. He stumbled back a few steps, lifting a hand to his bruised cheek. Rounding on Levi, he snarled, “What the fuck?”

The tourists fled, photography session forgotten. All around them, eyes turned, dark and judgmental. One of the other characters, dressed in a gold-striped white costume with a black “B” on the chest, directly hoofed it in the opposite direction, his white-and-gold sparkly cape flapping in the wind.

Levi looked down at him, utter derision in his eyes. “What the fuck? What the fuck are you doing? Dressing like Alpha, you’re asking to get punched.”

Lip twisting in disgust, the man charged Levi, hauling back his fist.

“Whoa, man, I’m not dressed like Alpha. That’s your sick hobby.” Levi danced back. His hips struck the planter, but he swayed back and easily dodged his swing.

Fira took half a step forward, then froze. I need to keep my head down. I don’t know what’s gotten into Levi, but we can’t afford this kind of attention! Doesn’t he understand that? She glared at Levi, then walked off, pretending not to know him. I’ll find him at the concert. Or I won’t. I can make that guy an offer as well as he can.

Well. I don’t have enough money to be that confident in it, but I’m sure we can figure something out.

Levi clicked his tongue at the man as he swung again. He hopped backward onto the waist-height planter, then scrambling down the other side, leaving the box of pansies between him and the man dressed as Alpha.

“The fuck?” the man snarled.

Levi spread his hands and shrugged. “If you’re going to blame anyone, blame yourself for making me remember bad things.”

A cold wind blew. Ice cracked.

“Oh, that’s my cue. See yaaaaa. Hey, peace at any cost, fucker!” Tossing a double bird the man’s way, Levi sprinted off into an alley.

Mirror-sheen ice crackled over the asphalt, leading the way for the woman in white with the updo to skate over on delicate skates, formed from the ice that covered her bare feet, stilettos in one hand. She looked at the man and snorted, raising a brow at the armor he wore, then nodded. “Which way did he go?”

Wordless, a hand clasped to his aching cheek, half bent from the pain, the man pointed after Levi.

The woman nodded and skated after him. The ice melted after she passed, barely sticking for a moment in the warmth.

Jamming his helmet back on, the man stumbled over to the planter and sat. A passerby offered him a napkin to clean himself, but he waved her away, fixing up his armor.

A voice crackled in the man’s ear. “What was that?”

The man shook his head, still nursing his cheek. “Hell if I know. Some asshole who hates Alpha and decided to take it out on me.”

“She didn’t notice, did she? Ice Queen?”

“Didn’t notice a thing. She’s running that asshole off to save my ass, even. That crazy kid, though…” He hesitated, thinking.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“What, did he notice?”

The man laughed. “No, you’re right. He couldn’t have.”

“Then in that case, we hold. The plan proceeds.” The voice in his ear cut off.

The man snorted. Sitting back, he wiped his nose, checking to see if it was broken.

Something itched against his ear. He touched his helmet, then frowned. Reaching under the lip, he drew out a slip of paper.

Whatever you’re thinking of doing, don’t, the paper said.

Startled, the man whirled, staring into the alley after the boy. He blinked. To himself, he muttered, “Or did he…?”

In the alley, Levi fled away from the main street, toward a half-constructed hotel. Plastic sheeting flapped around the steel frame and concrete beams of what would soon be a parking deck. Levi charged directly at it, speeding along. Five SPD, don’t fail me now!

A chill wind chased after him, the rush of skates on ice close behind. “Stop right there, criminal!”

He glanced back. “Ice Queen? Why are you chasing a petty criminal like me?” Her stat total’s at least a hundred, if not several hundreds.

Ice Queen’s brows furrowed in irritation. She snapped her fingers. Icicles formed in midair and hurtled, sharp-end-first, toward Levi. “Don’t get in the way of my dinner plans, you scum!”

Levi dodged. Icicles crashed into the asphalt and shattered, throwing icy shrapnel up all around him. He cut left, into the construction zone, and an icicle sliced through his calf. Levi stumbled up the ramp into the parking garage.

Ice Queen threw her hand out flat. A plane of slick ice coated the already-smooth fresh concrete under Levi’s feet.

All traction left Levi. His feet flew out from under him, and he hit the ground with a thump. Without hesitation, ignoring his smarting hip, Levi threw himself to the side and rolled off the ice. Icicles struck the ground where he’d lain seconds ago, piercing where his heart would have been.

“Whoa, whoa. You’re gonna kill me for punching a douchebag who deserved it?” Levi asked, even as he jumped to his feet and sprinted off again.

“No. I’m going to kill you for getting in my way,” Ice Queen murmured, her voice cold. Ice crackled up her legs, and her eyes glowed pale blue. A wall of ice shot up in front of Levi, blocking his way.

“Let me go, then, and get on with whatever those plans are! You don’t need to kill me. In fact, it’s faster if you don’t,” Levi bargained, trying to cut a sharp right around the wall.

The icy patch on the road expanded under his feet. He slipped and went down, smacking his hip a second time. On his hands and knees, he scrambled, trying to find his feet again.

Three more walls cracked up from the ground, closing him in. Levi backed away, putting his back to the fourth wall. Levi licked his lips. He eyed the ice walls. Too thick. Can’t smash through those.

“No. Now I’m pissed. I’m a hero. I stop villains. I can’t just walk away, without getting hammered on social media tomorrow. Do you have any idea how bad stress is for the skin? If I get a zit, that’s a double hammering for being bad at my job and ugly. And besides,” she said, as her eyes glowed brighter blue. She flicked her fingers up. An enormous icicle materialized over Levi.

“Hey, hey, let’s make a deal. You don’t have to do this—”

The icicle dropped. Red splattered over the translucent blue-white walls. Ice Queen scoffed, turning away. “You made me late for my reservation.”

Her cell phone rang. She lifted it to her ear, resting against a pillar. “David? Oh, thank goodness. Can you text Ian that I’ll be late? And the reservations, tell them we’re still coming, we’ll just be a few minutes behind. Oh…” Her eyes flicked to the melting ice behind her, the structure quickly collapsing without her skills active to keep it solid. “There’s a body in the construction site off Main. You can handle that, right? As usual.”

A voice on the other side of the phone babbled away. Ice Queen sighed in relief. “Thank you, David. You’re a lifesaver. As always.”

The ice skates melted off her feet, and she bent, slotting her stiletto back on. The voice continued to speak, incomprehensible from any distance, distorted as it echoed in the big, empty structure.

Behind her, the ice prison became a puddle, clear water shot through with red. The blood mixed reluctantly, leaving spirals and long traces, feathering pink at its edges. In its center, a body lay, splayed out on the ground. Blood stained its hair, but not even a scar marred its scalp.

[You lost a life!]

[Lives remaining: -17248]

DEBUG: Corruption Level Low | Ability Points non-degraded | status GOOD

Press X to reallocate your ability points.

ATK: 7 > 1

SPD: 6 > 12

A finger twitched.