They all appeared in the back office of Nora’s former employer. Pressure’s shield was still up, carried along with its creator. Intersecting with Cynthia’s work desk, the wood and metal crumpled, slicing it in half. All boxes and packages in the path of the shield, as well as one filing cabinet, buckled, leaving a ring of damage and chaos around them. Thankfully, Cynthia was nowhere in sight to witness the destruction of her precious store.

Disoriented and surprised, Pressure dropped the bubble. “What the hell just happened?”

For Nora, moving three people had been nothing like moving herself. It was far more difficult, like carrying a couch up stairs by herself. Her stomach surged violently. Throwing herself at the waste basket, she vomited what little contents she had left, and then continued to dry heave as her body did its best to eject her stomach through her mouth. All the while the lights danced about her like a personal fireworks display, the streamers whistling and screeching as they circled her head.

Seeing her distress, Pressure came over and held Nora’s hair out of her face as she leaned over the basket. Nora had flashbacks to her college days, about the old saying that a true friend was someone who held your hair while you prayed at the porcelain throne. This was not how she imagined their friendship would start. Nora was embarrassed and saddened that she had put the superhero in this position.

“You brought us here, didn’t you?” Pressure asked as she stroked Nora’s back to calm her shivering body.

“Uh huh,” Nora grunted between heaves.

“Where’s here?”

“Back office.” Heave. “Mall store.”

“Amazing. When you came out of nowhere out there, I just thought I missed something. I didn’t realize you could do that too.”

“Have… epilepsy… sometimes… sometimes…” Nora was having trouble putting two thoughts together, and her mouth and mind were no longer on speaking terms. That was bad. She needed to tell Pressure something before she…

“…you have to lose to win.” Nora said, the dam in her brain finally bursting apart. But the words made no sense. She had no idea what she was saying. “Wait, that’s not what I…” Then she realized something was wrong. The basket where she had been throwing up was now several feet away, and she was lying on the floor looking up at the ceiling.

She looked around to get her bearings. They were still in the office. Pressure was now looming over her, glasses once more hanging down around her neck, one hand stroking her head softly. Across the room, Afterimage was leaning up against one half of the demolished desk. His eyes were open but he was drooping like a rag doll, hands laying limply in his lap.

“I had a seizure,” said Nora, naming the obvious. “How long?”

“Maybe fifteen minutes. You weren’t convulsing or anything. Just unresponsive. So I laid you down. Was that ok?”

“Yes, that was fine. I need to get up.” Nora waved away the superhero so she could sit up and breathe easier. Her hands were still trembling, and she had the sour taste of vomit in her mouth. She tried to summon some saliva to clear out the tang, but nothing was coming.

“Epilepsy, huh? That’s rough.” Pressure rubbed Nora’s back gently.

Nora nodded. “That was a focal seizure. I get them from time to time. They never last that long, though. I’m sorry you had to see me like that. It’s from the blinking.”

“Blinking?”

“Teleporting. It makes my symptoms worse. Much worse.” Nora gestured to Afterimage, trying to redirect Pressure’s focus elsewhere. “He’s looking better.”

Afterimage smiled. “Oh, much better,” he said, slurring his words. He sounded like he had just come from the dentist. “This is really weird, Audrey. Kinda nice.” The bruise on his face looked terrible, but he sounded cheerful.

He closed his eyes for a moment, his brows furrowing in concentration. His skin briefly flashed like a sunbeam crossing his face. It only lasted a moment, though. He looked at them and shrugged. “But still can’t make it happen.”

“Might as well enjoy the vacation,” said Pressure, sounding relieved. Nora swore the bruise on his face looked better than it had just moments before, taking on a green tint with the edges yellowing. It was several days’ worth of healing in a few seconds. Pressure had been right about their recuperative abilities.

“Thanks for getting us out of there, Nora.”

Nora smiled. “My pleasure, Audrey.”

The superhero chuckled. “Guess that cat’s out of the bag.” She looked about, surveying their surroundings. “So. You brought us here. What’s the plan?”

“Get you to a safe spot. Then go after that son of a bitch. He knows where I live. No way I’m letting him get away. But I guess that’s not happening. I wasn’t planning on a seizure. The police are probably all over the place by now. He must be long gone.”

“I don’t think you need to worry about that,” Pressure said. She looked up expectantly, waiting for something.

As if on cue, the speakers buzzed. “Come out, come out wherever you are,” he said in sing song. “I know you’re still here. It’s just a matter of time before I find you. The offer is still on the table. Bring him out and you can leave. But my offer ends if I find you myself. There is no way you’re getting by my men.”

“He’s been talking it up every few minutes,” Pressure explained. “Don’t worry, I couldn’t find any cameras in this room. I think he’s just shooting in the dark. But someone rattled that back door there while you were out.” She pointed at a metal door that led into the back hallways of the mall. “It’s locked, but they’re definitely searching for us.”

Nora was momentarily confused by the announcement, but then smiled in understanding. “He doesn’t know I can blink. He must think we slipped by his men through the smoke in the hallway. Like you he’s not sure what he saw in the courtyard.”

Nora took a deep breath before continuing. “But there is no way the police aren’t here. I wish we knew what was going on outside. Wait, the phone!” She looked around for the office phone that used to be on the desk.

“It’s dead.” Pressure pointed to the remains of smashed desk. The phone lay on the floor beside it, the handset smashed into plastic fragments. “My police scanner is out too.” She flipped her hair off of her left ear, revealing an earpiece with a wire that ran down her neck and into her suit. “But it never works in buildings like this. Too much metal in the walls. Normally I’d rely on him,” Pressure gestured at Afterimage. “He can sense things for miles when his powers are working.”

“I can hear you, you know,” Afterimage piped in drunkenly.

“Then maybe I still have a chance to get to that asshole.” Nora leaned on the remains of the desk, trying to pull herself to her feet, but the crumpled furniture shifted beneath her touch. Sitting back down she surveyed the damaged room. “God, what a mess. Good thing I don’t work here anymore.”

Pressure grimaced. “Sorry about that.” The superhero held out an arm for support. Nora didn’t want to be a burden, but looking down at her own trembling hands she knew she needed the help. Taking hold, Pressure buoyed her up, the superhero’s touch steady and reassuring beneath Nora’s hand.

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Pressure looked worried. “If blinking does this to you, you’re in no condition to do it again.”

Nora waved away her concern. “I’ll be ok in a moment, but you’re right. I’ll just have to go the long way.”

“Then we do it together.” Pressure’s voice was insistent and commanding. Despite her diminutive height, Nora was impressed and inspired. There was no way she was going to say no to this woman.

“Ok. But what about him?” Nora indicated Afterimage who was now studiously examining the veins in his hands like they were the most fascinating things in the world.

“He’s not going anywhere,” Pressure quipped. “He’ll need to stay here. So where are we going?”

Nora pointed to the back door. “We can take the back hallways to the security office.”

“It’s locked from our side too. Have a key? I can break it, but I don’t want to leave Tom exposed if they come back.”

“Not a problem.” Nora turned to the remains of the desk, shaking loose a drawer from the crumpled wreckage. Normally it was secured, but the lock had been crushed by their arrival. Turning it upside down, a key fell out onto the floor. “Got one right here.”

“Sandra called,” buzzed the mall speakers again. “I bet she’s worried. I better see you soon, Nora, or she will have good reason to be.”

“I am so going to kill him,” muttered Nora.

“Not unless I get there first. Give me a moment.” Pressure went over to Afterimage. The superhero knelt beside her companion and whispered in his ear. Giving them privacy, Nora went over to the back door and waited. She couldn’t help but look over, though, to see Pressure kissing him on the forehead before coming to join her.

Pressure put her goggles back on. “Ok, ready.”

“You two a thing?” Nora asked, both curious and jealous.

“It’s complicated,” Pressure answered. Nora didn’t expect any more, but she continued. “His…” she hesitated, choosing her words carefully. “Our… difficulties make it hard to be close. Using our powers helps, but it never seems to last long enough. He tells me he’s not worth it, and I keep telling him we’re in it together. And now I have to leave him behind.”

She sounded sad, but also desperate to talk to a sympathetic ear. Thinking of her own difficulties with her girlfriend, Nora nodded. “I think I understand.” It was hard enough having a relationship with only one of them having an illness. She couldn’t imagine both. But thinking about it made her uncomfortable. “I’m sorry. I’m sure he’ll be ok here. But we should get going if we want to keep him that way.”

She turned away to put her head on the door and open herself up to her visions. Fresh from her seizure, the buzzing lights came readily, showing her and Pressure traversing an empty hallway beyond.

“We’re clear.” She fitted the key to the lock and opened the door. “After you.”

Pressure went ahead, her shield flickering up before her. Nora, lights still swirling around her head, followed closely after locking the door behind her. Using her visions helped her feel better, but she still kept a light touch on Pressure’s shoulder for emotional support.

The hallway was dark, the emergency lighting doing little to chase away the shadows. The wisps of light, being hallucinations brought on by her epilepsy, did nothing to help illuminate the way. Just bright spots on top of dark. Every now and then they would see the telltale sign of a video camera in the dimness, the red of an indicator light revealing its presence. Pressure would release a concentrated blast of her power, pulverizing it into scraps of plastic and wires. They both knew it would announce their presence, but by doing it to every camera they encountered, whether going down that hallway or not, they hoped to obscure their trail and slowly blind the enemy.

Approaching a corner, her vision collapsed into a surprise firefight. She whispered to Pressure. “Around the corner, two waiting.”

Pressure nodded, motioned for her to stay, then stepped forward by herself into the crossroads of the hallway. Nora couldn’t see their opponents from her vantage point, but she could imagine the scene all too well. She watched as the superhero waved her hands before her like she was shooing away a fly. The first motion was accompanied by a yelp and crunch, soon followed by double thuds. Pressure stepped forward out of sight, holding her hands out before her like she was pushing open a door.

Nora took the opportunity to follow. She caught the sight of two bodies sliding ignominiously down the hall before being pinned against a wall. Whatever force Pressure extended continued as she advanced.

Pressure released the men with a flick of her wrist. As they crumpled to the ground, she retrieved some zip ties from a pocket of her uniform, which she used to bind their hands and feet together. Then she kicked their fallen weapons out of their reach.

“Any chance I can get some of those,” Nora asked, pointing to the zip ties. “They could come in handy.”

Pressure tossed her a few. Nora grabbed them out of the air and pocketed them.

One of the men came to. Standing over him, Nora felt confident and in control. “I don’t suppose you want to tell us why you’re doing this?” she asked casually, not expecting an answer.

“You’re kidding, right?” He tried laughing, but ended up spitting out a tooth instead. Pressure’s treatment had not been kind. “Bag a superhero? You have any idea what governments would pay for one of you, dead or alive?” He had an unusual accent. Like Dermout, it sounded Dutch or German to Nora’s ear.

“Money?” Pressure sounded incredulous. “This is about money?”

“Not you. The boss offered to take you out for free. Afterimage is our retirement fund.”

That explained a lot to Nora. “And that worked out so well for you,” she joked.

“It is not over till the fat lady sings,” he answered snidely, still confident despite the bloody spittle dripping from his mouth.

“And she hasn’t sung yet,” came the sing-song voice of Dermout from the walkie-talkie hanging from the man’s belt.

“Son-of-a-bitch!” Pressure cursed. She snatched the walkie-talkie and with a focused burst of power sent it sailing against the wall above their prisoner’s head. It smashed into pieces, raining debris over him.

Panicked, Nora turned to his fallen companion and snatched up their walkie-talkie as well. She threw it to the cement floor and stomped on it, obliterating it with her heel.

The conscious man chortled, but Pressure was having none of it. Nora’s ears popped as the air pressure in the hallway increased from her anger. The man’s body slid back into the wall and his face stretched with the force of Pressure’s power. He groaned from the strain, unable to breathe.

“Hey, that’s enough.” Nora put a hand on the hero’s shoulders, hoping to calm her before she drove the man through the wall.

Pressure released him, allowing him to slump to the floor, unconscious. For a moment Nora feared the worst, but the man’s chest began to rise and fall steadily. She let out a deep breath of relief.

Nora could still feel Pressure’s body trembling beneath her hand, however. She gently squeezed in consolation. “He must be listening in on all them in case we start taking out his men. Guess he pegged us correctly. He knows we’re coming for him.”

“Yeah. Well, I guess we better not disappoint.” Pressure walked away from Nora’s touch, forcing her to follow after or be left behind.

Nora started to wonder what she’d gotten herself into. She shared Pressure’s fury, wanted nothing more than to pummel their opponent into pulp. She thought about every martial arts technique she knew that could cause damage and how wonderful it would feel to apply them to the Dermout and his people. Yet that was not the way of Aikido, nor was it a path she wanted to follow. It was disconcerting having to choose between following her anger and finding a more peaceful way forward.

“I’m a Jedi,” Nora said, the conflict in Star Wars taking on new, personal meaning.

“What?” Pressure asked, stopping in her tracks.

Rather than answer, Nora asked a question of her own. “What are we going to do when we find this guy?”

Pressure said nothing to her for a moment, face inscrutable beneath her glasses. Then she shrugged. “I don’t know. I never know. I just put myself in the way of the bad guy and see what happens. I just hope I don’t screw it up too badly.”

That threw Nora off her train of thought. She must have looked surprised, because Pressure broke out in a grin.

“Not expecting that, huh? It’s not very heroic, I know.”

Nora shook her head. “It’s not that. Makes me feel reassured, actually. I never know what I’m doing.”

Pressure walked back to her and put a hand on her arm. Nora could feel the hero’s fingers quivering, the discomfort of her arthritis showing through. “Just do your best,” Pressure said to her. “It’s all you can ever do.”

Nora nodded. She wondered if it was appropriate to hug superheroes, but chose to pat Pressure’s hand instead. “Thanks. Guess we just hope it works out.”

Pressure nodded. “That’s the only way to do it. Shall we?” She gestured down the hallway where they needed to go.

“Yes, lets.” They continued their walk together, Pressure heading where Nora directed.

There were no speakers in the back hallways, so if there were any more taunts, they didn’t hear them. When they came across the exit to the loading dock, they both looked at each other simultaneously and shook their heads. It was not an option. Instead, they ignored it and turned down another hallway.

Shortly after they came to the foot of some stairs. “Up there?” Pressure asked.

Nora nodded. “Two flights. The administrative offices are on the top floor, including security.”

Pressure let out a sigh. “Stairs,” she grumbled, “why did it have to be stairs?”

Nora knew Pressure was trying to lighten a tough subject, but it took serious effort not to chuckle at the movie reference.

“Don’t mind me,” Pressure added. “I’m a complainer. I’m going to go easy on myself. I’ll meet you at the top.” Without waiting, Nora’s ears popped as Pressure released her ability. The small woman bounded up the stairs, gliding up them like it was an escalator.

Nora’s visions flared, prompting her to call out “Wait!” but Pressure was already out of sight.