Levi sat on a toilet, feet curled up on the seat, head leaning against his knees. He held his cellphone idly in one hand, eyes half shut, waiting. Sunlight filtered in from the single high window, flickering past the dense canopy. Birds chirped, and insects sang.

At last, his phone buzzed. Maury’s name popped up in his text app. Alpha’s done looking. The usual anti-detection setup should be good enough again. You can come out of the shitter.

Shitter, more like, highly advanced technical marvel of stealth engineering, Levi typed back.

Shitter’s a shitter, no matter what I put into it.

Hold on. Did he get Blasterman?

Huh? Who, Alpha? No idea. The fuck?

Don’t worry about it.

Levi stood, stretching. He kicked the door open and walked out into dense forest, letting out a yawn. Letting his feet walk the familiar path through the overgrown jungle, he browsed the internet, starting with his favorite superhero blog. Nothing, nothing, nothing…He stopped scrolling. An image of Blasterman and Alpha hovering in midair filled his screen, dated the day before. Alpha looked exasperated, and Blasterman returned an annoyed and frustrated look.

“Tsk. Didn’t kill him. Too bad.” Levi shook his head. “Guess I’ll have to do it, after all.”

His actions drove a wedge between Alpha and Blasterman, though. Not a total loss. Every wedge, every nick, every fight, meant a little less likelihood for Alpha to seek revenge for Blasterman. Not that it’d been highly likely in the first place, but still. A win was a win, no matter how small.

All around him, people cleaned up the streets. Some dragged away the monster bodies to be broken down for parts, while rapid construction crews poured concrete and cleared debris, though not in that order. Body bags lined up at the most high-traffic points throughout the city, and Levi nimbly skirted around them. He hummed idly to himself as he went, the beat a bit faster than usual.

At a particularly destroyed corner, he paused, looking around him at the devastation. A rotting monster laid on its side, slashed stomach spewing pale limbs. Shattered concrete laid all around, a building pancaked beside the dead monster. A handful of cars had been thrown here and there, smashed into buildings and each other. Fires flickered in the heart of the ruins, wreaking yet more havoc on the decimated corner.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

“And I have to stop the Apostles, too,” Levi muttered to himself, hands on his hips. He shook his head. “Is anyone else doing work in this entire damn city?”

A passing construction worker, arms full of debris, whirled around and glared over his shoulder at Levi.

Ignoring the man, Levi stood there for another few moments, shaking his head, then turned away. He turned his feet back toward Maury’s house, backpack bouncing on his back. “Gotta figure out my next move. Blasterman or the Apostles? Who’s up first?”

He turned the corner to Maury’s street, and found her outside, stumping along, a strainer, wire whisk, and a dozen unrecognizable electronics all wired together in a mess of wires. She swung the contraption left and right, frowning the whole way. Taking a moment’s pause, she pulled her phone out of her pocket and checked the screen, then grunted and clunked along once more.

“You go outside?” Levi asked, flabbergasted.

Maury whipped around, brandishing the contraption. Seeing Levi, she rolled her eyes. “I go outside all the time. You’re the one who wants me bound in the basement.”

“Whoa, whoa. Don’t put your ex-husbands’ fetishes on me,” Levi said, putting his hands up.

“That wasn’t a fetish. And that guy isn’t just an ex-husband, he’s also ex-alive,” Maury grumbled.

“Ex-alive, I should use that,” Levi said, nodding in approval.

She lowered the contraption and gave him a look. “So? What are you doing?”

“What are you doing?” Levi returned, eyeing the strange metal mess.

“Science.”

They both stared at one another. Abruptly, Levi started laughing, and even Maury cracked a smile.

“So? What about you?” Maury asked.

Levi shook his head, his brows knitting in earnest uncertainty. “I don’t know. Honestly, I don’t know. Should I go after the Apostles, who have destroyed the city and legitimately threatened the entire population of Central City? Or do I go after Blasterman, who pissed me off once?”

Maury raised her brows. “One of those is magnitudes more serious than the other.”

“I know, right? Fucking Blasterman. Personally affecting my personal state of being, personally,” Levi spat. He nodded. “You’re right. I should go after Blasterman first.”

Maury stared at him for a few beats, then snorted through her nose. “What about the precog?”

“I don’t know. I think he led me to the Apostles’ hideout, so I could know they were giving people shots to turn them into monsters. Beyond that? No more progress. At this point, I’ve just accepted that he’s playing me, and I’ve got to figure out his game before I can break free. But figuring out his game means playing it, which means…” He spread his hands.

“Which means you’re pretty much twiddling your thumbs until he decides to toss you another bone,” Maury surmised.

Levi pointed at her. “Exactly.”

She heaved a breath, then lifted her contraption. “Anycase, I’m also working the Apostles angle. Leave that one to me and the precog for now. It’ll take me a while to get my data together, so you’ve got enough time to go fuck up Blasterman.”

“Yes!” Levi pumped his fist, excited. A moment later, he sat upright. “Oh! That’s right. I invaded Alpha’s bedroom!”

“Yes, you did,” Maury said, in the tone of one talking to a small child.

He gestured Maury in. “I think I discovered Alpha’s weakness. Listen…”