Following Blaze, Huntress, Kraken, and Zap soon found a large monitor. Delivering a small shock to the system, Zap was able to power it on. The screen lit up and came to life, displaying a generic computer background. A few folders sat off to one side of the screen.

“Heh. Guess Black Dragon don't know how to change his background, eh?” Blaze chuckled, moving the mouse to one of the folders marked as sensitive.

“Wait. Look there.” Huntress corrected, moving the mouse back to an app with security cameras.

Not only did it show the entire manor, including the lair, it showed cameras for the entire town. As Huntress and Kraken scoured the displays, finding cameras in every bank, on every street including their own, Blaze noticed the one looking at this particular part of the lair and made a face for it. Huntress whacked him on the back of the head.

“Very mature, Blaze.” she chided.

As the rest of the group continued to search the cameras, Swipe came running up to her friends with Bella held above her head.

“Guys! You’re not gonna believe this!”

Blaze was the first to notice, raising an eyebrow.

“What? I’m not gonna believe you’re strong enough to pick up a harpy?” he joked, laughing to himself as Swipe approached.

“Not now, Blaze!”

Swipe set down Bella in front of the rest of the Rogue Five, the poor girl a little shaken from just how easily she had been picked up.

“Tell them who you are!”

Bella took a moment to hesitate before looking between each of the Rogue Five and giving a tiny wave with her wing.

“Hi. Um… I’m Bella.”

“Bella Finnegan.” Swipe finished.

This naturally got the attention of the entire group and they all turned to her.

“That’s impossible.” Huntress started, moving closer to the harpy.

“The Finnegans were all humans. And beside that, Bella died. We have her death certificate right here.”

Kraken handed it forward for the harpy girl to look at, which made her blood run cold. A death certificate with her name on it? She wasn’t dead. She was very much still alive. Yet, there it was. Clear as day. Bella Finnegan. Died four years ago. Age of Death was listed at sixteen, but she was twenty now.

“W-What? No. I’m not dead… Master saved me. I owe him my life.” She responded, her lip quivering slightly.

“Saved you? You mean Black Dragon?” Zap asked, stepping forward.

Bella nodded in response, prompting Huntress to go back to the cameras.

“He has footage of all of Dilstone. If she’s telling the truth, maybe we can verify it.” She explained, flipping over to the camera by the Dilstone energy plant. Of course, it was the only one that was down. It was in an explosion after all.

Fortunately, rewinding the footage, Huntress put it about an hour before the blast that had claimed the lives of the Finnegan family. The whole group watched in silence as the family walked into frame. Sure enough, there was Bella, in all of her feathered harpy glory. She seemed so happy with her parents. However, the first blast soon took place off camera, causing the entire building to shake. When the second, much closer blast hit, a shadow could be seen making its way across the screen. Finally, as the third and final blast happened right in front of the camera, the last thing that could be seen before the camera went offline was a dark winged shape hurtling toward Bella. It was almost certainly Black Dragon.

Thoroughly unsettled by this turn of events, Swipe glanced at her teammates.

“Hey guys. If Black Dragon saved her, why’d he say she died? Seems kinda weird, don’t ya think?”

Scratching her chin, Huntress turned to face the young harpy.

“Even stranger that he didn’t just claim she died in the blast, but that we were responsible. He knew no one would look into that claim. He knew they’d all believe him. He’s a hero after all.”

Kraken nodded softly in agreement.

“Perhaps there is something special about Bella. Something our ‘hero’ wanted to keep to himself.”

“A maid? I mean, she’s cute, but I doubt she does a particularly good job.” Blaze remarked, shrugging his shoulders. “No offense. The wings just don’t seem practical for holdin’ stuff, ya know?”

Bella frowned a bit as she looked down to the floor.

“Yeah… I drop stuff a lot…” she answered shyly.

Swipe smacked Blaze in the back of the head, as was tradition in the Rogue Five. Giving him a quick glare, she stepped over to Bella and softly patted her shoulder.

“There, there, don’t listen to him, he’s just jealous he can’t fly.”

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

Her light hearted chuckle was cut short by Bella tilting her head slightly.

“But I can’t fly either.” she said.

“What? All harpies fly. It’s part of being a harpy. Why can’t you fly?” Swipe asked, a hint of concern appearing on her features.

“Master clipped my wings.” Bella answered, as if that were a completely normal thing to say.

A hushed silence fell over the lair of Black Dragon as the Rogue Five all processed what they had just been told. So not only had Black Dragon, a supposed hero, kidnapped Bella and claimed she was killed by the Rogue Five. He had clipped her wings, crippling her for life and depriving her of what was a basic bodily function.

“He what?” Huntress asked coldly, stepping forward to look down into the trembling harpy’s eyes.

“Let me see.” She demanded, not bothering to wait for an answer before she grabbed and examined Bella’s wings.

Sure enough, there were clear signs of damage. Thankfully, it didn’t look permanent, but it would be a long time before Bella was capable of flying again. Maybe four to five years, based on Huntress’s limited medical knowledge.

“That monster.” She seethed, releasing Bella’s wing. “We’ll make your ‘master’ pay for what he did to you.” Huntress promised, looking to the rest of the Rogues.

“We’re taking her with us.” she announced.

Naturally, this got quite the reaction out of the ragtag group of villains. Zap was surprisingly the first to step forward.

“Huntress, if we take her with us, Black Dragon will know we were here. He’ll hunt us down and he has the means to do it.” He countered quietly.

Shaking her head, Huntress turned to Bella. “It doesn’t matter. He’d find out one way or another. I’m not leaving her to suffer. Bella, go pack your things. This man is not your savior. He is using you. To what end, I do not know.”

With a shimmer in her eyes, the young harpy nodded softly and ran up the stairs to get anything she might need. At Huntress’s request, Swipe followed close behind. Blaze and Zap started pulling camera footage to turn over to the authorities, proving their innocence and Black Dragon’s guilt.

Now alone, Kraken stood beside Huntress and placed an arm around her shoulders.

“Adopting another kid, are we?” he teased.

Huntress sighed softly and nodded. “You know I can’t leave her here… I already deal with three knuckleheaded kids. What’s a fourth? At least she’ll probably listen to me most of the time.”

The pair shared a soft laugh and a quick kiss before joining Blaze and Zap in their efforts to grab as much as they could.

Meanwhile, Swipe followed Bella through the halls of the manor, eyeing the opulent decorations. It felt imposing and familiar in all the worst ways. She could practically hear her name being called harshly from the office as they passed it. Finally reaching Bella’s room, the harpy used her talons to hold a key and unlock the door, pushing it open. It was surprisingly barren for such a spacious room. A twin sized bed, a few shelves, and a chest of drawers was all that existed in here.

Despite the spartan living arrangements, Bella smiled softly and stepped inside, starting to stuff some of her clothes into a plastic bag. After all, it was all she had.

“Isn’t it so nice that he allows me to have my own room? I mean, sure, he clipped my wings and I work as his maid, but otherwise, he’s been good to me!” she chirped, an almost fake cheeriness easily detectable in her voice.

“Bella… this place is empty. He hasn’t been treating you as anything more than free labor. If he could’ve, I don’t doubt your room would’ve been smaller. Hell, he probably tried to stick you in a closet somewhere.” Swipe reminded her, trying to keep her tone gentle since she knew this was probably a lot for Bella to handle right now.

“Oh, we tried. We couldn’t quite get the bed to fit.” Bella confirmed, nodding softly.

She stood up and walked over to a shelf. With an almost reverently gentle touch, the young harpy scooped up a small figurine that looked to be carved from wood.

“This belonged to my mother.” she spoke, softly. “It’s all I have left of my parents…”

As Bella pocket the trinket, Swipe stepped closer and gave her a warm hug, her tail swaying slowly behind her. The cute little gasp from Bella didn’t deter her, although it definitely didn’t go unnoticed.

“Don’t worry. We’re gonna bring this guy down for what he did to your parents. I promise you that. One way or another, we will.” Swipe said, rubbing Bella’s back in a soothing motion. It was a move that Huntress had frequently used on her when she was younger, so she knew how effective it was.

For a moment, Bella simply let herself be held, her forehead softly thunking against Swipe. It only lasted for a moment, but it was a moment that was well needed. And not just for Bella, either. Both parties benefited from a moment to feel the embrace of another.

Soon enough, Bella and Swipe returned downstairs to find the rest of the Rogue Five waiting on them.

“What took ya so long?” Blaze asked, eyeing the plastic bag that contained anything of value for Bella. “Figured you were bringing down a couple suitcases. That’s all you have?”

This comment earned Blaze another smack in the back of the head, this time courtesy of Kraken.

“It’s alright. It’ll probably be easier to travel light anyways. You can always find new things to call your own.” He reminded her, nodding politely.

However, just as the Rogue Five turned to leave, the front door opened to reveal none other than the man of the hour himself. Black Dragon. As the superhero stepped into the manor, he sighed heavily to himself.

“Well, that was a wasted trip. You’d think people would learn not to false alarm a busy hero.”

He stopped in his tracks, however, as he noticed the Rogue Five standing between him and his living room, Bella placed behind them as if the criminals were protecting her.

“Ah, I see.” He started, stepping toward the band of criminals. “Someone’s been snooping where they shouldn’t.”

Black Dragon unfurled his wings, creating an intimidating sight.

“Maid. Go to your room. I will deal with these criminals.” he ordered, smoke already coming from his mouth.

However, Huntress stepped forward, undeterred by the sight of the hero so aggressive. She drew her trusty crossbow and aimed it directly at his head.

“She will do no such thing. Bella will be free again.” She stated coldly, her determination unwavering.

“Then you will die.” Black Dragon answered, rearing back and shooting forth a blast of his fiery breath.

Before the blast could hit Huntress, Blaze shielded her with his own body.

“Hahaha! Gonna take more than a little fire to put us out, Dragon!”

Kraken pulled water from pipes in the walls to create a shield from the flames, keeping everyone safe. As he slowly worked his way forward, trying to match the intensity of Black Dragon’s flames, he turned his attention to Zap and Swipe.

“Go! Get her out of here!”

With no time to protest, Swipe grabbed Bella with one hand and Zap with the other. Smashing through a window, she led her companions to the relative safety of the outdoors. The further they ran, the worse it seemed to get. Dozens of patrol cars sped past them, forcing Swipe and Zap to lay low as much as they could. Finally, the group of three made it to the home that had served as their hideout for so long. But missing three of their own made the place feel lifeless. It had never been so quiet.

“Swipe… What do we do now?” Zap hesitantly asked. “With Huntress, Kraken, and Blaze gone… you’re our leader now.”

Even Bella seemed to be looking to Swipe for some sort of direction. The catgirl, however, was having none of it. After taking a moment to catch her breath from all the running, she turned to the only friends she had left.

“We don’t know that they’re gone yet. Give them some time. I’m sure they’ll come back. M-Huntress never loses…”

Taking a deep breath to try and calm her nerves, she turned to Bella. “You can stay with me tonight. I’d offer you a spare room, but it doesn’t feel right when they aren’t here. Besides, they’re coming back, so there won’t be any spare rooms. Don’t worry, I don’t hog the blankets.” she joked, trying to keep the mood light.

Despite the attempt to remain confident and calm, Swipe knew all three of them could practically feel the tension in the room. The fear, the regret, the pain. This was a completely unprecedented event for the Rogue Five. None of them had ever been anywhere near capture before. And now they didn’t know if the rest of the group was even still alive. It was horrible.

Later that night, Swipe lay in bed with Bella off to the side. She made sure to keep plenty of distance while the harpy slept, no matter how much she wanted to cuddle up in those fluffy wings and let the warmth take away all of her problems. As she watched the news of the day’s events on the television, her heart sank with despair, her ears folding flat against her head.

“Breaking news!” The reporter declared in that annoyingly overdramatic voice that Swipe had always hated. “Rogue Five members Huntress, Kraken, and Blaze have all been arrested today following an incident at the Black Dragon Estate. Initial investigations suggest a break in, either a heist gone wrong, or the group was searching for something specific. However, their misdeeds were once again thwarted by our city’s great hero. The three villains are being held in Lockly County Jail while they await trial. Measures have been taken to prevent their escape. Swipe and Zap are still at large, however. We ask everyone to be on the lookout. They are armed and danger-”

The reporter was cut off by Swipe turning off the television and letting her head fall back against the pillow. She wasn’t sure how to feel at this point. On one hand, the police had apparently arrived in time to prevent Black Dragon from killing them, but on the other, her mama was jailed in a place specifically designed to hold superhumans, along with the rest of her team. Millions of questions swirled around in her mind. Would it even be possible to save them? Would they be sentenced to life in prison? Worse? How was Swipe supposed to lead an operation like this? With a heavy groan that seemed to almost be halfway between a sigh and a choked out sob, she stared up at the ceiling in defeat.

“What am I gonna do?” she asked herself, quietly, as she slowly drifted off into a night of restless sleep and nightmares.