Kyle wondered later how things would have turned out if he'd moved faster. If any of them had.

He heard Benny's shout, they all did. They turned in the direction of the shout. But by the time Kyle's brain had processes what Benny was saying Danny had already fired twice. Danny wasn't very good with the gun, so the first shot went wide of everything. The second shot slammed into Benny's knee, dropping him to the ground. As he fell, Danny's third shot sent a spurt of blood flying up from the back of Benny's skull. The fourth bullet hit Kyle in the chest.

And did nothing.

He felt pressure, like someone had jabbed him with their finger. And heat. His shirt tore. But the only sign on his body he'd been hit was a red mark on his chest.

His first response was disbelief.

His second was panic.

A colossal node to body reinforcement, he thought. That's what makes you immune to bullets And I'm the only one who has one.

He ran at Danny. Danny was already coming towards them, but the closer he got to Danny the better chance he'd block any more bullets. Danny's face was a mask of twisted fury, so red it looked like his blood was boiling. He wasn't even talking, just speaking in a series of snarls and growls.

“What the fuck Danny?” Kyle demanded, soaking up more rounds as he caught up. He grabbed the gun from Danny's hands and tossed it aside. Danny tried to tackle him, so he reached up and tossed Danny aside. He heard an ugly crack as Danny slammed against the wall of the restaurant.

“Did I kill him?” Kyle asked, whirling around.

The others hadn't stayed still. Tanya's hands glowed with power, although she hadn't used it. No one else looked hurt. Jenny and Betty were kneeling beside Benny, while Trevor was running over to restrain Danny. Evan looked shocked, standing back against the wall. He'd moved like lightning against a cat monster, but an ordinary weapon had him shaken.

Kyle couldn't blame him.

“No,” Trevor said. “He's bleeding, but he'll live.

Kyle was doubly relieved. First, because Danny was alive. Second because he still cared.

“Benny's alive too,” Jenny said.

“But his head!” Kyle said.

“I am not an expert on gunshot wounds,” Betty said. “But I think it was only a graze. He is bleeding a great deal though, and he is unconscious.”

“He saved us,” Evan said, staring at Benny. “He ran in front of Danny to save our lives.”

“I know,” Kyle said.

“Doesn't fit my image of him.”

“I know,” Kyle said.

“What do we do now?” Kyle asked.

“We call the police,” Trevor said.

“What?” Evan shook his head. “Don't be ridiculous. Call them and say what?”

“No she's right,” Tanya said. “Nothing openly magical happened here. And Benny needs medical attention. We need to call the authorities.”

Jenny walked up and put her arms around Kyle's waist. He put his own arm around her shoulders.”

“Hey,” Kyle said. “Are you okay?”

“I'm used to duels,” Jenny said. “I'm kind of sad they still happen like this after thousands of years though.”

“Trust me,” Kyle shook his head. “This isn't normal.”

He walked over to where Trevor was holding Danny down. Danny was just starting to regain his senses, blood from a cut lip running down his chin. He glared daggers at Kyle.

“I'll kill you,” he said.

“Why?” Kyle asked. “That's the part I can't figure out, Danny. Why? What's the point? Is beating me up that important to you?”

“You humiliated me,” Danny snarled.

“There was nobody around!” Kyle said desperately. “Do you even realize you shot Benny in the head?”

“Serves him right,” Danny spat. “Fucking traitor. I had to show him. Had to show you both.”

“Show us what?”

“That you've got a fucking place!” Danny roared. “You're weak, Trevor's strong. That's how it's supposed to be. That's how it's supposed to stay. Things aren't supposed to shift around like that. It's not right. It's wrong. Wrong. I've got to put you back where you're supposed to be. I've got to make it right.”

“Yeesh,” Trevor shook his head. “That's a pretty messed up way to look at the world.”

Kyle thought it was more than messed up. He thought Danny was insane. Had he always been insane? Had hitting him a couple of times made him insane?

There had always been something wrong with Danny. Kyle had known that since they were kids, since the day with the dragonfly. But could Kyle have made it worse? Could the wish have done this to him?

That last thought was a poisonous worm, and it wriggled down deep into the bottom of his mind. He could feel it down there, squirming around. Having no way to get it out he ignored it, the way people always do with thoughts like that, because they have bigger problems. But it didn't exactly go away.

“Police are coming,” Eric said. “Hey Kyle, man, are you alright?”

“Yeah I...” Kyle shook his head. “Yeah. I'm doing okay, I think. I'm the one who's bulletproof.”

“You are also the one who was shot,” Betty pointed out. “And Danny came here to kill you.”

“It won't be the last time,” Tanya said flatly. “If people find out you're Master to the last genie, any number of them could try to attack you.”

“Oh,” Jenny said, wilting against Kyle's side. “Yeah. I suppose that's true.”

“Maybe I should go away then,” Kyle said, forcing a tight smile. “I mean, that's what they usually do when stuff like this comes up in the TV shows right?”

“And it's always a stupid idea and they almost get killed,” Evan pointed out.

“And what makes you think physical distance will help protect people your enemies know you're close to?” Tanya snapped. “Leaving won't do anything. You all have to learn to defend yourselves. Granted, this doesn't seem connected to anything magical....”

This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

Behind them, the blood running down Danny's chin finally dripped onto the floor. As soon as it splashed onto the ground, it caught fire.

The explosion that followed threw Danny back against the wall and tossed Trevor three feet away. The fires from the blast didn't dissipate, the flickered and hovered in the air, flowing into a ring of flames. At first that ring was just a hoop, but the air inside it folded like paper and through it Kyle could see and endless ocean of rolling lava. That view was then blocked by the snarling, shovel shaped head of some many fanged beast.

“However it isn't impossible I'm wrong,” Tanya amended. “Run. Everyone except Kyle needs to run right now!”

“What's going on?” Evan asked.

“He's opened a portal to the domain of fire somehow,” Tanya said. “No I don't have time to explain that! I need to close it, and Kyle is the only one of you with nodes open who can help protect me from that thing while I do it! Now run!”

“That thing” had started to crawl out through the hole. It had a body like a little bit like a wasp, three oval parts linked together, though its head looked more like some kind of armored dinosaur. It had eight legs, four coming from it's chest and four from the rear oval that made up it's body. Once it was through the portal it reared up, and Kyle could see the front four legs were actually scythelike claws. The whole creature glowed red and orange like lava.

“She's right,” Trevor said. “We can't help here. Come on!”

There were protests, but Kyle was glad to hear the others being pulled away by Trevor.

“Kyle,” Tanya said, with a grim note in her voice. “You should know. One of the things that could summon a portal like that is an efreet. Or...it could teach a human to do it.”

Kyle nodded, shoving the thought to the back of his mind. He'd have to deal with it later. Right now, there was a monster in the alley with them.

“Should I hit it with my laser thing like the other night?” He asked.

“Of course not you idiot!” Tanya snapped. “You'll destroy the whole street! And kill everyone on it! Just punch it!”

“It's made of fire!” Kyle pointed out.

“It will take much hotter fire than that to burn you,” Tanya said. “And I'm busy!”

That much Kyle could see. She stood with her arms raised towards the portal, and now that he looked the fire had started to get a green tinge to it. Other creatures moved though the hole in the air, but none of them tried to come though. Kyle didn't get the specifics, but Tanya must be using her powers to close the portal.

And from how hard she was sweating, she obviously didn't have enough energy to try and focus on anything else. So when the monster charged at her, Kyle did as she'd told him and punched it as hard as he could.

The force of the blow threw the monster into the wall, cracking the bricks and scorching everything it touched. It snarled in pain and surprise, claws scrabbling against the alley pavement as it lunged back in Kyle's direction. It was more wary this time, so it lunged under his blow and swung its bladed arms at him. Kyle grabbed for them on reflex, and by either luck or instinct he grabbed the two that were going in for fatal blows. He stopped the one that would have sliced open his gut, as well as the one that would have pierced him through the heart.

But the other two landed, slicing bloody gashes in his shoulder and hip. On top of that Kyle realized too late grabbing blades headed for you isn't exactly the best way to block them, and the wounds that really hurt were the ones sliced into his fingers and palms where he'd caught the monsters scything legs. Kyle kicked it in the chest, knocking it back again.

“Does this thing disappear if we close the portal?” Kyle asked.

“Do you disappear if you close the door to your house?” Tanya snapped, her voice strained with the effort of trying to close the burning ring. “Once I have this closed I can help you kill it!”

“How long will that be?”

“When. The portal. Is closed.” Tanya grunted out every word.

Kyle supposed that was fair enough. And boy would it be nice to have someone who knew actual magic magic to help fight the thing. It wasn't as strong as the efreet, but he couldn't use the explosive beam he'd killed that with for reasons already discussed and in close combat the thing was sharp and pointy. He kind of wished he had a sword, not that he'd have any idea what to do with one of he did.

It was coming back at him with the bladed arms again. He supposed the good news was that it was completely ignoring Tanya at this point. Well that made sense Kyle was the one actually attacking it, it probably figured it could kill Tanya once Kyle was dead. If it was the kind of thing that could figure things in the first place, and not just a mindless monster acting on instinct.

He still didn't know which it was when it turned it's attention to Benny. Did it know going for the unconscious man would distract him? Was it just lunging for the closest piece of meat? No way to tell, but Kyle couldn't let it get Benny. Kyle had conflicting feelings about Benny Gold, but one thing was clear: Benny had been trying to save Kyle's life. They could sort out all the rest later. Besides, Benny being in danger was their fault now. Until the thing turned towards him with slavering jaws, Kyle had completely forgotten he was there.

Kyle pumped his legs to get ahead of the monster and snatched Benny out of the way at the very last second. The monster reared up and screamed, but Kyle punched it in the jaw. The creature's jaw hung loose and it stumbled, giving Kyle time to dash away and place Benny on the ground behind Tanya.

“Why are you leaving him here!?” Tanya demanded.

“This is a close to out of the way as I can get!” Kyle snapped back. “Just focus on closing that portal!”

“I am!” Actually, even Kyle could tell she was making progress, the hole had shrunk down to the size of a dinner plate. Behind it the monster was shaking the stars out of it's head. Soon it would be on the attack again. The frustrating thing was that Kyle was sure he was strong enough to kill it, he just wasn't good enough. He had no idea how to use all this power he'd wished himself into having. He had exactly two tricks. The super strength, which was only half working, and...

Oh.

Oh that was an idea.

That was a very bad idea.

No not just bad, stupid. But with what he could do, right now, he thought it had the best chance of getting both him and Tanya out alive, if it didn't kill them both first. And he didn't have a lot of time to debate it. The monster was coming. He ran out to meet it. This time, when it lunged at him, Kyle rolled backwards, landing on the floor with the creature above him. As he went down, he focused on what he'd done the other night, the explosive blast of energy that had torn into the efreet. Maybe, just maybe, if he fired it straight up it wouldn't do as much collateral damage.

That plan had a lot of maybes in it, which he didn't like. He just didn't have anything better. But he was saved from his maybes by the last person he'd expected to swoop in for the rescue.

Evan.

The monster raised it's scythe claws and he was just about to reach it when something else swung into his field of vision, beyond the monster's head. Evan flew through the air, a rusty pipe pulled back behind his shoulders like a baseball bat. He feel towards the monster and slammed the pipe against the back of it's skull. There was an ugly crack, and steaming orange ichor began to pour from the monster's head. It stumbled away from Kyle with a gurgling roar as Evan landed on the alley floor. It looked like he was going for a fist-down superhero landing, but he spun in the air just before he touch down and winded up on his back.

Kyle ran in and put every ounce of strength he could muster into a single, vicious uppercut that blasted the monster's head to pieces. Burning orange blood splattered on him and scorched away more of his shirt, but it did nothing to his skin so he ignored it. The monster's body began to steam, melting away into nothingness even as he watched. He looked over at Tanya. The portal was barely the size of a quarter now. She gave him a quick nod and he turned his attention to Evan, who was picking himself up off the floor, apparently none the worse for wear.

“Oof,” Evan grunted. “Don't have the hang of that yet.”

“What happened?” Kyle asked. “Where did you come from?”

“I kind of ran and jumped off the wall over there,” Evan gestured. “It was pretty cool until the part where I was landing, right?”

“That's not what I meant.”

“Yeah I know, but come on Kyle's it's pretty obvious. I did what you did. I put a colossal node into physical enhancement. Well, I think I did I concentrated really really hard on being stronger and faster and it seemed to work.”

“That was reckless and stupid,” Tanya said, sounding exhausted. She had finished closing the portal and walked over to them. “But I will admit that since the monster seemed to have Kyle at a disadvantage, It might have been the best idea.”

“Well actually I had a plan,” Kyle said, and told them. It was a mistake.

“You what?” Tanya sputtered. “Of all the stupid, ridiculous, reckless...you'd have emptied your core, still wrecked the buildings, and probably killed us both! What the hell were you--”

There was a horrible listless moment where Kyle didn't understand what was going on. It took less than a second, but he fit a full week's worth of confusion into that small space of broken time. Tanya had stopped talking, and there had been some other noise that interrupted her. And she was moving strangely. And she was bleeding. Blood was flying from her shoulder.

A gunshot. Tanya had been shot. The wide eyed expression on her face made a lot more sense now.

Tanya had been shot.

Reality caught up. He grabbed Tanya and pulled her aside, putting himself between her and Danny. They'd all forgotten about Danny, lying in the alley while all the action was going on. Danny, apparently, hadn't forgotten he was turning into a homicidal maniac. His eyes were crazed as he held the gun on them, weaving slightly.

“Kill you!” Danny managed to sputter out. He tossed the gun aside and started to run towards them. Kyle never knew what the hell Danny thought he was going to do, but it didn't matter. Because that was when the cop car appeared in the mouth of the alley and the doors burst open. They hadn't even noticed the sirens getting closer, with everything else going on. The sudden appearance of the flashing lights was enough to make Danny stop and turn, and a few moments later he went down under the weight of three uniformed deputies.