Ryker could only stand by as the fight between the two superpowered individuals commenced. Not only did he not have a plan, but he seemed ill-suited to join. Both supers were comfortable and well-versed in how to use their abilities. Plus, their powers increased attack and protection options. Ryker's power didn't have any obvious advantage like that.

"Screw it," Ryker thought. "I'll just jump in and see what I can do."

"No, I did not!"

Ryker's outburst seemed to momentarily catch the eyes of both supers, but it was only for a brief moment; neither wanted to take their attention off the other.

Circuit Board's makeshift armor finished assembling. He didn't waste any time in pressing his attack. He shot forward, and blue flames sprouted from the bottom of his feet. The armor wasn't a haphazard amalgamation as the others supposed. Circuit Board had spent years updating and tweaking the design. Although the store didn't currently contain the parts for his ultimate design, he believed his current design would be sufficient.

A blue energy-covered hand rocketed forward, only to be blocked by the broadside of Pixie Dust's hammer. She had moved it in the way casually as the tech villain approached; she didn't take it seriously. As the fist and hammer met, though, the force was too much for her to bear. She shot backward uncontrollably, smashing through multiple rows of shelving.

Her magical forcefield protected her from the brunt of the damage. So, as her body came to a stop on the ground, she got up smoothly. Pixie Dust still wasn't taking the fight seriously, and when she rose to her feet, with a plan of gazing nonchalantly at Circuit Board, her eyes widened when he wasn't there.

"Too slow," Circuit Board's now robotic voice said from behind.

Pixie Dust was helpless as another fist shot from Circuit Board. The fist slammed into her back, her forcefield barely being able to stop it from doing serious damage to her spine. Still, she was sent tumbling forward in the direction she had been before. With almost unbelievable precision, her body came to rest at almost the same place she had previously stood.

Instead of being on her back, the second punch left her face down. The Magical Girl didn't waste time trying to look cool or unbothered. She quickly pushed herself up, then flipped forward. While in the air, she twirled her massive hammer to ward off any other attacks while she got into a fighting stance.

Her forcefield negated the serious damage from Circuit Board's punch, but it didn't stop all of it. She was angry that a villain of this caliber and type could hurt her. She was supposed to have an advantage over tech-based supers. Magic and technology didn't mix, and more often than not, magic had the advantage. This was mostly due to technology needing components, while magic only being a manifestation of will. If she could break some of his components, then it should lessen his ability. To do that, she had to stop playing defense.

Circuit Board was already up in the air and dropping fast on her position. Instead of waiting for him to drop all the way, Pixie Dust flew up to meet him. Her wings buzzed louder than ever before as she rose to meet him. She swung her hammer upward to meet his dropping body.

Before they could connect, blue energy shot from one of Circuit Board's hands. It caused him to flip forward, placing his body inside the hammer's arc. His foot slammed into Pixie Dust's face sending her crashing back to the ground. Before she hit the ground, she crushed a cashier's station, which crumpled around her. Her shield once again absorbed most of the damage, but she didn't rise like she had the other times.

Circuit Board continued dropping to capitalize on the fight. He fell to the ground, his legs straddling Pixie Dust's supine form. Her leg came up right as he landed, slamming into his crotch and sending him head over heels past the cashier station. She kicked up and jerked to her feet like a martial artist, then spun around.

The two clashed again, with both being sent backward in a classic anime fight scene re-creation. Then, they both rush in to do it again and again.

"An anime scene?" Ryker questioned.

As Ryker watched the two fighters, he thought desperately of what to do. Pixie Dust wasn't able to land a blow, so he needed to help her. Unfortunately, the majority of the objects in the store were electronics, and he didn't want to use them because Circuit Board controlled them. Ryker had no idea what would happen if he hit him with a flailing piece of technology, such as a camera or a giant television, but he didn't think it was a good idea.

It was a good thing, too, because what Ryker couldn't have known was that Circuit Board would just absorb the technology and would then become stronger. What he needed to do was find something non-technology related that he could use as a weapon or, at the very least, insulated.

"Oh, really?" Ryker started to look around for anything that could assist him while also dodging the two combatants. In between the almost completely wrecked store and dodging, he had a difficult time locating anything.

Just then, Pixie Dust landed a solid hit on her opponent, and Ryker thought the fight might be almost over.

The giant hammer smashed solidly into Circuit Board's chest. The blow sent him Flying across nearly the entire store. He slammed into a locked display case that contained a wide variety of car sound systems and components for installation and wiring them up. The glass shattered and rained down.

Circuit Board was embedded so far into the wall that it took him a moment to pry himself free. Pixie Dust didn't rest on the outcome of the attack and rushed over to his position, stopping a few feet away. She rested her hammer on the ground and pointed her hand toward the Circuit Board shaped indentation.

"Energy: Ruby Blast Barrage," she yelled.

Visible energy emerged from her heart and swirled down her hands. The energy condensed into a ball and then blasted toward Circuit Board, who was still pulling himself from the wreckage. The energy ball struck its target and expanded into an even larger ball that was too bright for Ryker. He turned his head, but too late to not have red dots flashing in his vision.

When he turned back, there was an even larger hole in the display case, with even more components falling from the racks above. Ryker didn't know what he was expecting, but it was the completely unharmed form of Circuit Board preparing his own energy attack.

Pixie Dust had been too sure of her hammer blow destroying Circuit Board's shield. After she used her energy to attack, she dropped her guard, expecting the fight to be over. It was apparent then that she would need more than one direct attack to destroy Circuit Board's shield.

Circuit Board didn't need to call out his attack. Blue energy crackling with electricity blasted out and struck the super's shield. It cracked wide as she was sent flying backward. He pushed more power into the attack as Pixie Dust crashed through multiple shelves. Her forcefield cracked even further as she struggled to raise her hammer. Before it fully failed, she placed the hammer in the way and redirected the blast.

Pixie Dust's rage seemed to be boiling over as she stood in the midst of rubble. Her breathing was labored, and her eyes focused intently on Circuit Board. The villain pressed his advantage, and the two were once again trading blows.

While both opponents were pressed to their limits, it was clear that Circuit Board had the advantage. He was slowly pressing Pixie Dust back to the corner. Soon she was at an even bigger disadvantage. She had nowhere to go, and the encroaching wall limited the use of her hammer.

Blow after blow started to land on the diminutive super until, finally, Circuit Board reared his arm back and struck her with a devastating blow to her midsection. Her shield shattered, unable to protect her any longer. The residual force of the strike sent her back farther into the corner where she could barely stand.

Circuit Board raised his hand to charge up another blast and finish the magic-wielding super off.

Suddenly, Circuit Board's head whipped to the side as it was struck. Before he could make another move, it was struck again from the other side. The attack didn't hurt him, and he was going to ignore it to finish off Pixie Dust, but suddenly something wrapped tightly around his neck.

Ryker listened to his power as the fight progressed, and it gave him clues. When the villain broke into the car stereo case, and all the components fell, he knew he had found what he was looking for. When Pixie Dust started to lose, he moved closer and knew that it was time for him to act when her shield broke.

Ryker had secured the wires that had fallen as the two supers fought. They were as good as he could get. He hoped that Circuit Board couldn't assimilate the wires, but at the very least, they were insulated. Besides, he didn't need them to defeat Circuit Board. He only needed to give Pixie Dust a chance at breaking his shield.

Before Circuit Board could finish the female super off, Ryker whipped it at his head, scoring a direct hit. He swung the heavy wire again, and it slammed into the other side of his head. Circuit Board forcefield, combined with the armor, ensured he didn't take any damage, but Ryker hoped that it would have made him shift his attention. Instead, he continued to try to end Pixie Dust.

Ryker let out some more of the wire and swung it again. It wrapped around his neck, crossing over itself as it did. Ryker realized it was secure, and he yanked hard on the cord, pulling Circuit Board back. It was just what Pixie Dust needed.

Circuit Board's attack was almost enough to finish her, but her shield still absorbed a lot of it. When the wire slammed into Circuit Board, it brought her out of a fugue state. She picked up her hammer when it struck him again. When it wrapped around the supervillain's neck, and he was pulled off balance, she knew it was her chance.

Pixie Dust's hammer rose a fell like a master smith in the haze of a grand creation. It smashed into Circuit Board, and his shield flared to life. Once again, it rose, but before it could fall again, the villain was able to pull himself back forward and reach out to grab the handle.

His tech-covered fist clamped around the hammer, and his free hand slammed into Pixie Dust's side. Blood splattered out of her mouth and onto the Circuit Board's face shield. He reached back to punch again. Pixie Dust didn't drop her hammer after the punch. Clearly delirious, she tried to pull it out of his grasp.

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When the next hit came, she let go and flew to the side, cartwheeling across the ground. Circuit Board spun around and pulled on the wire. Instead of being pulled with it, though, Ryker let go. The wire whipped backward, and the metal end slapped into his face. Of course, it did nothing to him, but it gave Ryker another moment to unfurl his other wire and begin swinging it above his head.

Ryker worried about what to do from then on. He couldn't tell from his angle that Pixie Dust was still alive and thought he was in the fight alone, not knowing how she would come out alive,

"I thought she was dead. It's good that she isn't," Ryker thought. He hoped that if he managed to hold on long enough, she would recover and get back into the fight. He would just have to wait until then.

Ryker dodged out of the way from an energy blast aimed at him. He rolled to the side and sprang up. Instead of going high, Ryker swung the wire at Circuit Boards legs. It wrapped around one, and he pulled as hard as he could while twisting his hips.

Circuit Board's leg was pulled out from under him. He lost his balance, but before he could fall, he activated his boot thrusters. Unfortunately for him, his legs were at different angles, and he went spinning around out of control.

Again, Ryker let go of the cable as it was pulled from his grasp. The first wire was lying a few feet away. Ryker ran over and secured it. Before Circuit Board could recover from his trip, Ryker went on the offensive.

Ryker swung the wire repeatedly at Circuit Board while he untangled himself and rose to his feet. In the midst of his mad swings, Ryker didn't notice that Pixie Dust had recovered and was getting up.

"Yes," Ryker yelled. Then to cover up his flub, since Circuit Board suspected Ryker of communicating with someone, he continued to taunt him. "How you like that? You MS-DOS, TRS-80-looking punk!" Ryker didn't really know what he was saying, but he thought it sounded good. He would have been even prouder of his insult if he knew that people who were interested in computers long ago called them Trash.

Ryker was too busy swinging to be happier about his insult. While it was great that he did that, it was better that it helped to keep Circuit Board's attention on him while Pixie Dust recovered and made her way over. He needed to make sure that he didn't notice her so she could get an unprotected attack off.

Ryker whipped Circuit Board every which way while slowly backing up. He could tell the villain was getting angry. At first, he tried to ignore the whipping, but then he tried to grab the cord.

"Enough!" he yelled when his frustration boiled over. "I was still thinking about letting you live, Ryker. But not anymore. You're dead, then I'm going to kill whoever you're working with."

Circuit Board stopped advancing and raised his arms to prepare another energy blast at Ryker. Instead of trying to dodge, Ryker swung the cord low to wrap it around his opponent's legs. He didn't bother to dodge because, at the same time, Pixie Dust's hammer crashed down on Circuit Board's head.

The supervillain's forcefield still held.

Ryker didn't pause as the cord wrapped around Circuit Board's feet. He rose and was already sprinting toward him when the oversized hammer crashed into him. Ryker began to run around the enemy, wrapping him in the insulated cord so he couldn't move his arms.

Circuit Board flexed, trying to snap them, but it was too late. Pixie Dust's hammer came down again on the same spot. A series of exposed components running down Circuit Board's spine sparked and sizzled as the forcefield flashed briefly out of existence. Although, before it disappeared, it managed to repel the force of the hammer strike.

That didn't seem to bother Pixie Dust, though.

"Stand back," she said to Ryker, then lifted one hand toward the still-captured villain. "Energy: Crimson Laser Wave."

A large red beam shot from her hand, covering Circuit Board in the ruby light. As the beam continued, his silhouette in the blast suddenly broke apart in a ball of electricity that sent electricity tendrils in every direction, followed by a shock wave that threw Pixie Dust and Ryker off their feet.

Both sat up simultaneously, looking around in astonishment and wonder. The store crackled with burning embers in the path of the beam attack. The remnants of Circuit Boards caused scattered electronics to spasm with energy as they looked. But as the buzz died down, silence descended in the area.

Ryker was hesitant to accept that Circuit Board was defeated.

"Hmm," he said in response. Pixie Dust looked at him as he hummed, so he felt compelled to say something. "Do you think it's over? Is he gone?"

"Nothing can withstand my Crimson Laser Wave," she said, holding up her hand in ridiculously misplaced righteous fury.

Ryker knew that it was never over until you saw a body.

"Let's not jump to conclusion so quickly," Ryker said. "Let's see if we can find a body first."

"That would be impossible. He was disintegrated. You saw it just as well as I did."

Ryker didn't comment again; he just stood cautiously and continued scanning. He didn't notice Pixie Dust holding her arm up for him to help her. His head flicked toward her, and when he saw her arm, he looked confused.

"What's wrong? Chivalry dead?"

"Aren't you supposed to be the White Knight coming to save me? You're a powerful super."

She puffed her cheeks, then blew it out in exasperation. "I'm really worn out from the fight. Could you help me?"

Ryker grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet. *

Ryker's vision swirled, and the influx of knowledge hit him like a sledgehammer. It wasn't physically painful; it was just a slap in the face to find she tried to leave and that she was blatantly lying. He thought about calling her out but didn't think it would be prudent at the time.

The two began searching around for any signs that Circuit Board was actually dead. They searched for a few minutes but couldn't find anything. Finally, Pixie Dust stopped.

"Are you satisfied now?" She asked. "I need to call this in and get a team here to clean up, and you and I need to have a chat before anyone arrives about what we're going to say about your involvement."

"Why can't you just teleport out and get someone?" Ryker challenged. She didn't have an answer, and he knew he had caught her.

"I can't," she snapped, "but I know what you're thinking. It doesn't have to be because of his power. No one knows what he's capable of. It could just be some kind of equipment setting up a barrier. Since there isn't any sign of him, we'll just have to get out the old-fashioned way and call for assistance.

Before Ryker could respond to her, movement caught his eye. Although it wasn't movement from one place, it seemed to be happening all over. Every piece of loose electronics in the store started to shift and shake as if they were in an earthquake.

Then they moved more.

They continued to move until they were shifting all over the place in synchronicity like a swarm of bugs. Some lifted off the ground and hovered, then abruptly started flying. More followed suit until they were all flying around the store in unison like a swarm of locusts.

The store's sound system flared to life with a high-pitched screech. The synthesized voice of Circuit Board started to emanate out, "Do you think a puny magical layer can stop me? I only grow stronger in this place, and your attack has now made me eternal."

"Yeah, right," Pixie Dust said. "Energy: Crimson Laser Wave." Red light washed from her hands, and she directed it into the swarm.

Ryker noticed that it wasn't nearly as bright as it was the first time. Untold electronics fell from the air, but it didn't seem to make a dent in their numbers. It appeared to Ryker that there was even more after the attack.

Robotic laughter echoed through the store, then the swarm of electronics started to swirl together into a mini tornado. They spun faster and faster until it looked more like a drill than a tornado. The tip of the drill started to point at Pixie Dust and Ryker.

"It's going to attack," Ryker said in hopes that Pixie Dust could do something.

"Utility: Burgundy Kite Shield!" She threw her hammer up into the air, and in a flash of light, it changed. A massive shield in the shape of a kite came down, and Pixie Dust plucked it out of the air with ease.

She was just in time, too. The swarm twisted its way toward the two fighters. Ryker ducked behind Pixie Dust and her shield just in time. The swarm slammed into the shield, and the onslaught was dispersed momentarily. They turned around, though, and started to form again to attempt another attack.

"I don't think that I have enough power to destroy them all. We need to find another way so we can end this guy," Pixie Dust stated. Ryker thought it was funny how quickly she was suddenly relying on him as if they were a team.

Ryker looked around for a solution and noticed the fire alarm switch. He knew the store was set up with a state-of-the-art sprinkler system, and he also knew that electronics hated the water.

"Cover me," he yelled as he rushed to the red alarm switch. He needn't have bothered though as the majority of the swarm was preparing for another of the drill attacks. He had to swat a few smaller components out of the way as he ran, but nothing serious.

He pulled the switch down, breaking the small plastic safety attached. He waited for a breath, for the alarm to blare and the water to fall, but nothing happened. He looked up toward the sprinkler system to see why they weren't working, and that was when he noticed the mirrored glass in the breakroom.

It dawned on him then that perhaps the swarm wasn't the issue. What if Circuit Board had tricked them and he was controlling them from a good vantage point?

"I hope you're right," Ryker said aloud.

The swarm was about to attack again, and he didn't want it to decide to attack him, plus he needed to confer with Pixie Dust. So, he sprinted back behind her shield before the attack flew toward them again. While they weathered the assault, they conferred on a plan.

As soon as the assault was done, Pixie Dust switched back to her hammer and became a whirling dervish of destruction. Her hammer tore into huge chunks of the circuitry swarm, and whenever she could, she sent out multiple blasts of energy to incinerate as many as possible. Smoke rose, and pieces flew from the destruction she wreaked upon the swarm.

Ryker rushed to the hallway toward the back of the store as fast and stealthy as he could. When he made it to the breakroom door at the top of the stairs, he opened it slowly and peeked in. He quickly pulled his head back in fear. Ryker waited a moment to see if he was spotted, but he hadn't been.

He peeked in again, not wanting to take too long because Pixie Dust couldn't keep up her death charade forever. When he looked again, Circuit Board was standing in the office looking through the window. He was still clad in his armor, but there was no blue glow, so it appeared his forcefield hadn't regenerated yet. His hands were placed on his temples, and his head was occasionally twitching. It seemed that controlling the swarm used up a lot of his attention.

Ryker stepped into the room. He needed to find a weapon, but the only things available were the break tables.

"If that's all I have, then that's what I'll have to use," Ryker thought.

"Really? Okay."

Ryker lifted the circular table with the top pressed against his chest and legs facing Circuit Board. The legs were those that came together at the bottom before branching out as a base to the table was actually a decent choice.

He was glad the villain was so concentrated on what he was doing because there was little chance Ryker was actually stealthy. Ryker didn't hesitate once the table was under his control. He ran full tilt at Circuit Board. He planned to hit him so hard with the table that it would send the villain through the glass and plummet to the ground. If he had to go down, too, so be it. He would just make sure that he crushed Circuit Board underneath him.

At the last moment, Circuit Board heard or sensed something and turned toward him. The feet of the table slammed into his chest, and he was pushed back into the window. Spiderwebs cracked along its surface, but the glass failed to shatter from the impact. Ryker pushed in a futile attempt to push the villain out, but when he heard his superpower say it was futile, he eased up. He wouldn't waste energy if it was useless, but he had to do something.

"You're dumber than I thought," Circuit Board said. He lifted his arms, and blue energy began to glow.

A thin, intense light burst through the cracked glass and slammed into and through Circuit Board's head. The laser barely missed Ryker's own head, and he dropped the table in fear. As he dropped the table, the lifeless form of Circuit Board fell with it.

Ryker stepped back, not expecting what had just happened. He had discussed giving a sign to Pixie Dust to show she knew where the villain was, but she didn't expect her to take him out with a shot from afar. He wondered if she could have always done that and had just chosen not to.

The electronics fell away from Circuit Board to reveal the man inside. It was Gary. While fighting, Ryker had put it out of his mind, but now that he saw him out of the armor, it was Gary.

Ryker promptly vomited all over the ground.

* Pixie Dust attempted to teleport out but couldn't. It was a good indication that Circuit Board wasn't actually dead. Whatever control he has on the area makes it hard for magic users to get access. She used up a lot of power to enter and didn't have enough to leave. That was the real reason that she requested assistance in getting up.