Pileup releases my arms just as ShiftState's hammer hits me like I'm a proud nail in a two-by-four. The fucker is heavy and pushes me deeper into the ground. I should wrap this up and get back to the others. The benefit of the hammer is that it dislodged me from the concrete that had hardened around me. I push myself up to extract my body from the hole.

"I'm not gonna lie, that was a cool combination. But we're on a bit of a time crunch, and I've got about five minutes before my ability starts slow roasting y'all like brisket at a barbecue. So I'm going to have to start like really trying. Don't worry, I won't be trying to kill you, that's not my style. But non-life-threatening moves can still get pretty brutal. I guess it's a good thing the Heroes' Union has healthcare, huh?" I asked.

"How dare you look down on me?" Arbiter asked angrily, sneering from above.

"Dude, I've been beating your ass all night. Maybe dial down the arrogance a bit. Why is he in charge?"

"The Heroes' Union has a strict set of requirements for who can run a team. He meets them all," ShiftState answered.

Wow. I didn't think anyone would answer me. How does this guy meet them all? He's an asshat. A glimmer of gold reflecting in a nearby puddle is the only warning I have that an attack is coming. She comes zipping through the air, aiming a kick at my head. I instantly sidestep, grabbing her ankle during the brief moment when she switches sigils. To keep her momentum, I pull her along as I spin two hundred and seventy degrees and chuck her at Arbiter. He's not ready, and she crashes into him, disrupting his flight and sending them both tumbling through the air away from us. Pileup is the only other threat, and he realizes it. He stands in front of ShiftState, in an attempt to protect her. But I'm not going for her, I want you, big boy.

Pileup raises his giant arms to meet me as I sprint over to them. His gigantic hands envelop my fists, and he's not moving. Sirens wail in the distance but are steadily getting louder. Emergency services mean BNA will be sent soon. Is that what they're aiming for? Just hold my attention long enough for backup to arrive. Pathetic cowards. You know what? It's fine. All this means is I whoop their asses faster than I planned.

"My expectations were way too high. You don't lack cohesion, but none of you pack enough of a punch to really go head to head with the actual monsters. Either you need to swap a member out, or you need to work even better as a unit," I suggested helpfully.

"You think you have the luxury to give us advice when I'm single-handedly holding you here?" Pileup asked as he strained to restrain me.

I'm sandbagging you dumbass. I stop pushing and fall backwards. He falls forward, and I put both feet against his abdomen like a leg press. I extend my legs out and launch Pileup toward the sinkhole. Enjoy your trip to the sewers. ShiftState pulls a metal ball out of her pouch and taps another one as she slowly walks toward me. She throws it at me, so I swat it away. But the moment my hand hits the ball, it bursts open in an explosion of cold that spreads up my arm to my neck and side. It hurts; I've never had frostbite before, but this has to be what it feels like. A creeping chill that seeps into me and burns like cheap tequila turned up to eleven. The raging fire that pulses through me is being snuffed out as it comes into contact with the cold. This feeling isn't one I've ever experienced, and finding out I have such a devastating weakness is freaking scary. I see ShiftState pull out another frost grenade and prime it. I don't want to get hit by another one, but I refuse to fight scared. Dad would say that fighting scared is the fastest way to get hurt.

I shake my arm repeatedly, breaking up the ice forming. She throws the second frost grenade, but I'm ready for it. Her throw sucks, and without me standing still it misses completely. I grab a chunk of concrete and smack the sharp edges away. Glow Guardian is next to her, watching me like a hawk. Too slow. The rock clips her caped shoulder, shattering into pieces and throwing her back. A shard slices a cut up the side of her cheek, but is stopped by her mask, releasing a loud dinging sound. Energy blasts out the back of Guardian's suit, and he zooms at me. Oh. I thought he was just a slow Caster in a silly suit, but this is an interesting development. He comes hurtling at me, clearly planning to crash into me. I spot a few larger chunks of concrete to my left, a silver Toyota pickup on its side, and a utility pole snapped in half a couple of feet to my right. I grab the wooden stake like I'm ready to challenge a vampire kaiju and send it spinning end over end at him. He dodges, but it grazes him, forcing him back to the ground. I pelt him with hunks of stone, hearing the satisfying thud from the impact.

"GET AWAY FROM HIM!"

Arbiter shouts, flying through the air carrying Sigilist. He does a loop and throws Sigilist at me. She whizzes at me, a high-pitched whistling accompanying her. She's in speed and will switch to power right before she hits me. Disappointing. I run to the silver Toyota and use the top of my foot to flick it up like a soccer ball. This is unnecessarily flashy, but I want them to understand just how vast the difference is between us. The truck lifts off the ground, and I slam a reverse hook kick into it. It goes screaming through the air right at the falling Sigilist. So she's down, Pileup is gone, Shiftstate is out, Arbiter is running on fumes, and Guardian is barely holding on. A bright gold glow in my peripheral vision catches my eye, and I see Sigilist has caught the truck. Guardian holds a hand up at me, and everything goes white. I can't see a fucking thing. Rapidly blinking my eyes is barely helping, and rubbing them does nothing. Sigilist bashes me with the Toyota, and it explodes, blasting me away. I crash through dozens of unknown objects, crushing them with my weight, before I skid to a halt and hit a wall. Hesitantly, I open my eyes, and besides a few black spots, my vision is back. Good.

I let out a whistle as I look around. The explosion knocked my ass a block and half away from where we were fighting. The heat in my core is starting to spill over. I misjudged the time, and I'm only going to ramp up from here. I spot the Capes, all five of them, helping each other and regrouping. Racing toward them using long strides to eat up the distance, I reach them much faster than they assumed. Big doesn't mean clumsy, and strong doesn't mean slow. Arbiter's hair is stuck to his forehead with sweat, and he's got so much blood on his face it looks like he's wearing war paint. All of them are breathing heavy and are on their last legs.

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"What the?" ShiftState asked, fear evident in her voice.

I reach for her first, spurring the others to intercept, but it's a feint. I pivot, spinning on my left foot and attacking Arbiter. Even beneath his face cloth, I can see the surprise written on his face. I punch him, curving my fist toward the ground and planting him on his back. His power is starting to fade; the invisible armor feels weaker. Blood sprays out of his mouth, and I stomp my foot into his stomach. Another spritz bursts out, the red mist filling the air like a garden sprinkler. Sigilist's defense symbol appears as I grab her wrist, yanking her away from the others. My vice grip on her makes the other three pause, and I leap at Pileup. I hook my free arm around his helmet and knee him in his chest. His power makes him pretty durable, so I feel comfortable using more strength. The first knee doesn't move him, but the following one cracks a piece off of his chest. His face is held against a piece of my transformed, tattered hoodie so he isn't burning, but he's feeling the heat. The next knee makes him grunt in pain, and the fourth knee hits his actual body. I feel something snap in his chest as he passes out from pain.

Sigilist continues to struggle against my hold on her, but she can't switch her symbol or she'll risk serious burns or a snapped wrist. She's forced to get dragged along by me like a kid with a strict mother as I beat her team up. The sirens are a street away, and I spot a black armored BNA van at the end of the street. Dashing past Glow Guardian, I swing Sigilist into ShiftState like a human baseball bat, letting go as they connect like I hit a home run. The two women collide and go flying in a tangle of limbs and colors. ShiftState and Sigilist smack into a wall, falling to the ground. Glow Guardian roars in anger, charging at me in a rage. More BNA and Police have shown up, starting to form a perimeter. I form a blade with my hand and jab it into the center of Glow Guardian's suit. The metal doesn't offer any resistance to the force of my attack.

"No! You saw what happened last time. You've put everyone in danger," he screamed.

"Not everyone. I'll be fine."

I remove my hand as the orange glow starts to emanate from the hole I've created. Glow Guardian reaches to cover it, but I bat his hands away. I pick him up from behind, lifting him into the air with my arms wrapped around his shoulders. With my makeshift weapon vest, I slowly start to approach the perimeter. BNA agents have their guns aimed at me, in position behind the cover of the overturned cars and debris. The orange glow grows brighter and brighter until the laser blast that hit Nobody erupts from Guardian's chest. I angle the laser at the ground in front of them, scorching a line deep into the road. Agents and officers scream in terror. He tries to fight me and escape my grasp as I scythe through trees, rocks, walls, and vehicles. By the time the laser stops, it looks like someone used an eraser to carve a line out of everything. Guardian's voice is hoarse from yelling as I drop him to the ground. He's mumbling to himself, breathlessly saying sorry. I know the struggle of having a power that is so indiscriminately destructive. I drop the devastated Cape to the ground and turn around to leave.

There's a Saks department store that was damaged by the fight. I deactivate my transformation and slip inside. It's completely dark inside due to the power being out. I grab a pair of silk stockings and a floral puff-sleeve mini shirtdress, stripping out of my destroyed clothes. I switch my boots for a pair of heels, and use a Burberry scarf to put my hair up. There's a pink leather Marc Jacobs tote bag that I stuff my clothes into. As I make my way toward the back of the store, I grab a pair of large sunglasses and a yellow gold cable bracelet. Pausing in front of one of the full-length mirrors, I check myself out in the mirror. The outfit works, the accessories match, and it looks good on me. Hotpants' speech to me is echoing in my head. "Fashion is about confidence; if you aren't confident, then it doesn't matter how nice the clothes are. A good outfit is like a lover; it caresses you in all the right places and makes you feel sexy."

I gotta get out of here. I shake the distracting thought from my head and push open the emergency exit. I don't rush as I get further and further away from the scene. A couple of teen girls are clutching each other, hiding inside a bus stop. They shriek when I open the door. I hold my hands up to show them I'm not a threat.

"Oh my god. You scared us to death. What are you doing? There's a Cowl rampaging around, and there's a shelter in place alert," the youngest woman said, holding up her cell phone to show me the alert.

"Sorry to startle you. I believe that alert will end shortly. There was a Heroes' Union squad there, and the BNA showed up. They helped me get out and told me to get going. They didn't have to tell me twice, and I got out of there as quick as I could in these heels," I laughed lightly.

"That sounds terrifying. Did you see the Cowl then?" Another of the women asked.

"Poppy, she's just been through something traumatizing. Don't be so insensitive," the first woman admonished.

"Whoops. Sorry, I have a real bad habit of shoving my foot in my mouth," Poppy apologized.

"Don't worry about it. I did see the Cowl, and it was a huge, hulking monster. Not to be a bother, but I dropped my phone at some point. Can I borrow one of your phones to call my boyfriend? I'm sure he's worried sick about me," I lied.

"Of course. Here, take mine," said the third girl, punching her unlock code into her phone.

I take it and dial Hotpants' number. It rings a few times, and then he finally answers.

"Hello?" He asked suspiciously.

"Hey, sweetheart, it's Vivienne. Yes, yes, I'm okay. I'm alright. This wonderful girl let me borrow her phone since I lost mine." I mouthed thank you to her.

"I knew you'd be fine. I got everyone back to base safely. Kai is working on Nobody now, but it doesn't look great. Might need you to make a decision regarding his treatment. Where are you? I'll send Miles to come get you," Hotpants said.

"I'm at the bus stop over on New Boylmontbury Street," I answered.

"Okay, he'll be there soon. Erase this number off her phone, and I'll destroy mine just to make sure. Goodbye," Hotpants said.

"Thank you. Love you, babe," I said, ending the call.

I swipe the call off the phone's call log and hand it back to the girl. They're all gushing about having such a wonderful boyfriend. Oh, if only you knew. He'd be a terrible boyfriend, Hotpants is a whore. His remark about Nobody's condition makes me worried. Kai is an excellent surgeon; I assumed that he'd have patched him up by the time I got back. You better be alright, Nobody. You've got so much more to do.

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