Kevin woke up on the sofa. He could feel the sting of his wounds, but the pain he had suffered was just a memory. It took him a moment to realise where he was. The mansion. The Brat Cave.
“Praise Liberty.”
Kevin jumped, startled, but sat back down when he realised Fisher was standing in the doorway. “How long was I out?”
“I’m not sure sir.” Fisher said. “We woke up and you were right next to us.”
“Us? What’s going on?” Kevin asked.
“I’ve been trying to piece it together myself. I was attacked by Miss Liberty. My Miss Liberty.” Fisher said.
“She got sent back too?” Kevin asked.
“I don’t know. But that’s not all. Verona was attacked by her brother, in the middle of a night club… She killed him.” Fisher continued, and Kevin closed his eyes, worried about his teammate. “And Ally…” Fissure paused again.
“What happened to Ally?” Kevin demanded. “Is she ok?”
“Ally was attacked by Gauss sir.” Fisher said.
Kevin fell backwards onto the couch. “How is she?”
“She’s fine. I think.” Fisher said. “Just tired. I found her passed out on a rooftop, with Gauss looking for her. She said she fought him this time.”
“She’s awake?” Kevin asked, sitting back up.
“No. We woke up an hour ago and swapped stories. The girls are in their rooms, sleeping again. I couldn’t sleep.” Fisher said.
“I can understand that.” Kevin replied. “I crashed because I was exhausted, but I’m not going to be able to sleep again.”
“Sir, may I ask what happened to you? Who could possibly have wounded you?” Fisher asked, almost afraid of the answer.
“Matt and Katie.” Kevin said softly.
“What?” Fisher asked, not sure of his leader’s answer, because it couldn’t possibly be what he said it was.
“Mr Universe and Belle. Matt and Katie.” Kevin said, louder this time.
“Sir? How? Why?” Fisher asked.
“I don’t know…” Kevin trailed off. “Fisher, West Wing.” Kevin stood up.
“Sir?”
“Walk fast, talk fast.” Kevin headed up the stairs, Fisher following close behind. “I’m heading back to LA.”
“Why sir?” Fisher asked.
“Because we need the team back together. If Blackbird and Mosley have been attacked, they’re going to head to the Penthouse.” Kevin explained, as they reached his room. He gestured for Fisher to stop, half-closing the door behind him.
“Wouldn’t it be easier if I earth-ported?” Fisher asked.
“No.” Kevin said, as he dug out his spare costume. “I want you as strong as possible. This is going to turn into a huge mess, and I need you close to full power. The girls too.” Kevin began pulling his clothes off. “If you take us all in that state, you’ll be fried. I’ll fly ahead, you get some rest.” Kevin started to pull his costume on. “In two hours, wake the girls, everyone gets into costume, and you ‘port to the Penthouse. I should be there by then.”
Mr Perfect stepped out of his bedroom. “Try to get some sleep too.” He added, before pulling the nearest window open and launching himself out of it.
Fisher stared out the window, as Mr Perfect disappeared into the night. He couldn’t help but notice that Mr Perfect wasn’t flying anywhere near as fast as he was capable of.
<><><>
The Blackbird fought to catch his breath. Just ten feet away, The Shadow did the same.
“You’re good.” The Shadow conceded.
“You too.” The Blackbird replied, panting. The two had been fighting back-and-forth for over an hour, too evenly matched for there to be a clear winner.
“Looks like you’re worse off than I am.” The Shadow taunted. “I’d best end this.” The masked vigilante charged forward, preparing for his final blow.
“No.” The Blackbird said. “I’m just tired of playing.” Too late, The Shadow realised what had happened, as The Blackbird threw a concussion grenade in front of him, the wave of force knocking him to the ground, unconscious. It wounded his pride to know that he had to resort to cheating, but a victory was a victory. The Shadow had to be stopped.
The Blackbird lifted his opponent to a sitting position, leaning him up against the same streetlamp that he had been hanging from not that long before. He pulled The Shadow’s arms up behind the post, wrenching them upwards so far that his shoulders popped out of their sockets, and his forearms were almost parallel, before using a series of cable-ties to bind his arms together. Both The Blackbird and The Shadow knew that all you needed to do to escape handcuffs was to break your thumbs and slip them out, a feat easily accomplished by The Shadow. However, it was another matter to pop one’s own shoulder back into place, while one is bound completely to a post. It would hold until The Blackbird could regroup with the Brat Pack.
Satisfied that The Shadow was bound, The Blackbird shot a grappling hook into the air, ensnaring a nearby antenna, before using the winch in his utility belt to carry himself up to the rooftop. Once there, he collapsed on the ground, catching his breath. He couldn’t do it on the ground, in case The Shadow woke up and got in his head again. What was he even doing there?
He shook his head, dispelling the questions. He didn’t have time. He had to find the rest of the team. He needed help. He sprang back to his feet and began sprinting across the rooftop, leaping the alleyway and continuing on his way, jumping from rooftop to rooftop, getting ever-closer to the Penthouse.
He caught a momentary glimpse of someone laying in an alleyway as he jumped over. He stopped, he had to help someone in need. He dropped into the alley and saw the man’s face. It was Mosley. Battered and bruised, but it was still his teammate.
“What the hell happened to you?” The Blackbird murmured, as he hefted his unconscious teammate over his shoulder, using his grappling hook to get back up to the rooftop.
<><><>
“Uncle Sam? Are you kidding?” Mr Perfect asked.
“Do I look like I’m kidding? Who else could have done this to me?” Firestorm said, pointing at the bruises his mask barely covered. “And you can hardly be surprised. I mean Matt and Katie?”
“Something’s up.” Mr Perfect said.
“Obviously.” Firestorm scoffed.
“This all isn’t possible.” The Blackbird said, standing in the doorway.
“Obviously it’s possible. Maybe it’s mind control?” Firestorm said.
“No. It’s not possible. There’s something bigger at work here.” The Blackbird said.
“And how do you know?” Firestorm asked.
“I fought The Shadow.” The Blackbird said.
“The Shadow? I haven’t heard from him in months…” Firestorm said. “He’s completely off the grid.”
The Blackbird bowed his head. “Because The Shadow is no more.”
“What?!” Firestorm moved forward, grabbing The Blackbird by the collar. “What the f*** are you talking about?”
“I…” The Blackbird paused. Firestorm’s hand moved up to his throat.
“You what?” Firestorm demanded, fury in his eyes.
“I-“ The Blackbird was cut off, as he melded into the tiles, appearing on the other side of the room with Fissure.
“What is going on here?” Fissure asked.
“That bastard killed The Shadow!” Firestorm shouted, as he burst into flames.
“Impossible.” Fissure said, as the tiling erupted, surrounding Firestorm, keeping him from attacking The Blackbird.
“He said The Shadow is no more.” Firestorm roared. “He killed Kurt!”
“No…” The Blackbird whispered.
“What then? How can you be sure The Shadow is gone?” Firestorm asked.
“It is a pretty big claim.” Mr Perfect agreed. “Tell us.”
“I know because… I…” The Blackbird struggled to say it.
“Go on.” Fissure reassured his teammate.
“I am The Shadow.” The Blackbird said.
Firestorm’s flames disappeared. “Kurt?”
The Blackbird nodded. “Ralph took me under his wing. Pun not intended. I had to give up The Shadow persona for something greater.”
“Fissure?” Mr Perfect asked.
“He’s telling the truth. At least, in my timeline, The Blackbird was the same man as The Shadow.” Fissure said.
The Blackbird reached up under his chin and unbuckled his mask, pulling it up off his face. Firestorm’s eyes went wide. “You see? So there’s no way I could have been attacked by myself. Something weird is going on.”
“Everyone fought impossible opponents. And for all we know, they’re coming back for more.” Mr Perfect said. “We need a game plan.”
“Gauss and Matt? It had better be a damn good plan.” Firestorm said.
“It is.” Mr Perfect smiled.
“Sir?” Fissure asked.
“Switch opponents. Take out the other players first.” Mr Perfect said.
“What?” The Blackbird asked.
“Dean Mitchell doesn’t have any physical powers, and Uncle Sam and Miss Liberty are just humans. Katie can’t really take a hit. We take them out of the mix, and we’re left with Gauss, Matt and The Shadow.” Mr Perfect said.
“Dean’s dead.” Ice Princess whispered.
“And The Shadow’s tied up in a street somewhere.” The Blackbird added.
Fissure shook his head. “Miss Liberty couldn’t have escaped. She was encased up to her knees in concrete. She’s not strong enough to get out, and even if she could, there would be a huge mess.” Fissure pointed to the balcony, which looked exactly like it always had. Not a scratch on the surface.
Suddenly the floor-to-ceiling windows shattered, as Uncle Sam, The Shadow and Miss Liberty came crashing through, having seemingly swung down from the balcony above. Moments later, the elevator made a ringing sound, as Dean Mitchell stepped out. Mr Universe, Belle and Gauss all sailed in through the empty windows.
“Katie can’t fly.” Pixel said.
“She did once. After Gauss attacked you at the school.” Mr Perfect said.
“Oh. And now she’s working with Gauss. And so’s Matt.” Pixel said.
“Just more proof someone’s screwing with us.” Firestorm said.
“Ok guys. Ice Princess, Fissure and Firestorm, keep those guys busy.” Mr Perfect ordered.
The Blackbird had already landed in front of Dean Mitchell. “I’ve been waiting for this.” Mitchell laughed, as he reached out with his powers, to crush The Blackbird’s fighting spirit.
“And in that time you forgot that I’m immune to your powers?” The Blackbird asked, as he delivered a roundhouse kick to Mitchell’s head, spinning him a full three-sixty, before he crashed to the ground, unconscious.
He turned to see Pixel and Mr Perfect struggling against two generations of Carpenters, and rushed to their aid, hitting Uncle Sam from behind with a flying kick, and tossing a shuriken at Miss Liberty, who dodged it. She wasn’t fast enough to dodge the punch from Mr Perfect that sent her flying across the room, and left her sliding down the wall, completely knocked out.
Uncle Sam recovered and threw The Blackbird straight at Pixel, the two ending up on the floor in a heap. Mr Perfect was back for his counterattack, and not even Uncle Sam could compete with the younger heroes reflexes and strength, as he moved to block Mr Perfect’s assault, Mr Perfect’s fist just broke his arm, before a knee to the abdomen ruptured his kidney and left him on the ground.
“Guys!” Firestorm shouted, as he barely managed to disintegrate the television that was flying towards his head.
“Firestorm! Hit The Shadow with everything you’ve got!” The Blackbird said.
Firestorm nodded, and unleashed an inferno, directing all its might at The Shadow, who didn’t get the chance to avoid the blast.
“That should do it.” The Blackbird said. “Burns take forever to heal.”
“You were out for like, a day after I blew up that drug lab.” Firestorm said.
“Exactly.” Blackbird nodded.
“Clever, aren’t you?” Mr Universe asked, as he used his powers to grab every piece of metal on The Blackbird’s costume, and tossed him out the window.
Firestorm unleashed another fireball at Mr Universe, catching the genius powerhouse in the torso, breaking his concentration and causing him to drop to the ground, screaming.
Firestorm jumped on top of Mr Universe, punching him in the face and knocking him out.
“MATT!” Belle shouted, as she stopped using her powers on Ice Princess, who collapsed in a heap, instead turning them onto Firestorm.
Firestorm screamed as his head exploded in pain, Belle attacked his mind directly. He curled up into a fetal position, as he tried to ignore the agony.
The Blackbird put an end to it, swinging back through the window on his grapple, knocking the girl unconscious as he crashed into her.
“And then there was one.” Mr Perfect said, as he flew forward and punched Gauss in the face, finishing him off.
The heroes stood, tired, but victorious. “Now what?” Firestorm asked.
The sound of giggling filled the room, the Brats looked all around but couldn’t see the source.
“I guess you mortals passed the test.” A voice said.
“Who are you? Come out!” Mr Perfect said.
There was a faint popping sound, as a small man with pointed ears appeared in the middle of the room. “Ta-da!” He said.
“You?” Mr Perfect asked, the Brats were taken aback. “From the bank?”
The elfin man giggled again. “Who else? You have provided entertainment for me, for that I am grateful.”
“Who the hell are you?” Firestorm asked.
“Of course, how rude of me. I am known by many names, but by far my favourite is Puck.” Their tiny adversary said.
“As in A Midsummer Night’s Dream?” Pixel asked.
“The very same. Now, before I bid you adieu, one more thing. Your punishment for insulting me.” Puck said.
“Punishment? This wasn’t enough?” Fissure demanded.
“No. Now I’m going to tell you exactly why tonight was a Pyrrhic victory for all of you.” Puck said. “Mosley. You know you’re always going to be compared to your father, and now you know exactly how you measure up. Uncle Sam found you wanting. And to make things even worse, Kevin was the one who defeated him.”
Firestorm flared up. “You little…” Firestorm stopped mid-sentence, as he realised his flames had disappeared again.
“Now now, you wouldn’t want this to happen all over again, would you?” Puck said. “Now, Ally? You think you’re over your fear of Gauss, you think you can hold up your own, but you still needed Fissure to save you. You’re always going to be the baby.”
Pixel bowed her head, a faint sigh escaping her lips. Firestorm placed a hand on her shoulder.
“Kurt, now your team knows your secret. They know your past. And you’ll never be able to leave behind the things you did as The Shadow, and maybe your teammates will never trust you again.” Puck laughed, as The Blackbird’s jaw set stubbornly. “Fisher, you’ll never see the love of your life again, and she really does miss you.” Fissure’s face was emotionless. “Verona… You’ll always be overshadowed by your family. You’ll never strike out on your own. Not fully.” Tears were streaming down Verona’s face.
“Enough.” Mr Perfect said. “You’ve said your piece, now get out.”
“What’s wrong Kevin? Don’t want to hear your part?” Puck laughed. “Yours is the most fun. Your girlfriend ran to the other side of the country to get away from you. She abandoned you, even though she had the option to stay. She chose herself over you. And you did the same to her. You’re destined to fail. And your best friend did the same thing. You need Mr Universe to tell you what to do, he’ll always be smarter than you. And he’s much, much more powerful than anyone else on your team. Without those two, you’re not half the hero you were.” Puck said, leaving Mr Perfect speechless.
“And on that note, I’m going to let you think about what you’ve done!” Puck said, before disappearing, along with the various unconscious foes the Brat Pack had fought that night.
The Brats looked at each other, not quite knowing what to say.

Fissure tried his phone again. Still nothing. There was something afoot here, and he couldn’t quite work it out, which just made things worse.
Why was Miss Liberty here? Had the Rebels sent her back to him? How could they have, if he had diverged the timelines? What had happened to his phone? Where were his teammates?
Too many unanswered questions. He shook his head, to try to get his thoughts straight. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a spot of colour, just by chance. He looked again, and realised what it was. “Pixel.” He said, and earth-ported down onto the rooftop next to the unconscious teen. “What on earth happened to you?” He asked, scooping the girl up in his arms. Then he saw him. He saw Gauss, heading towards them.
Knowing there was nothing he could do against the Master of Magnetism, Fissure muttered a quick prayer to the original Miss Liberty, before melding into the earth, just hoping to get away and not concentrating on a particular destination.
He emerged from the tiled dancefloor, still carrying Pixel’s motionless form. Ten feet away lay Verona Mitchell, sobbing on the floor, surrounded by what looked like pink snow. “What the hell is going on here?” Fissure muttered to himself, as he scooped up his other teammate. He had to get the girls to safety, but where? The Penthouse was too close to Gauss, and he didn’t want to have to deal with Miss Liberty. The mansion was his only option, but could he make it?
He had to try. He took a deep breath, before melding back into the tiles.
Moments later, the three emerged on the patio of the Brat Pack’s mansion, which Mr Universe had once affectionately named the Brat Cave. The hero didn’t even know he had made it, as he collapsed next to his teammates, completely drained.
<><><>
The Blackbird felt the shock go through his body, jolting him awake. That was nothing compared to the electricity that went through The Shadow’s body, dropping the masked vigilante in seconds, leaving him smoking on the ground. The Blackbird had installed the failsafe into his costume for just such an occasion. Should an enemy render him unconscious and try to search him, his costume would administer a slight electrical charge to him, waking him up, while at the same time, delivering another shock ten times more powerful to his assailant.
His body still sore from the shock, The Blackbird moved quickly, pulling his body up and untying his feet, crashing to the ground, landing on top of The Shadow, who began to stir. The Blackbird climbed to his feet, as The Shadow rolled across the ground and leapt back up.
“That was a dirty trick.” The Shadow said.
“You shot me.” The Blackbird replied. “And hit me while I was tied up.”
The Shadow grinned. “So how are we going to do this?”
The Blackbird cracked his knuckles. “No guns. No gadgets. One on one.”
“Man to man?” The Shadow replied, twisting his neck, cracking the cartilage.
“A fair fight. It’s about time.” The Blackbird said, taking a fighting stance, fists forward.
The Shadow charged forward to meet him.
<><><>
Firestorm had only been down for a few moments when he woke up again. Uncle Sam was still standing over him, waiting. Firestorm took his shot. A fireball, full force in the face. Uncle Sam clutched at his eyes, taking a step back as his face burned.
Firestorm rolled over onto his front, putting one knee under himself, as he tried to get back up. He stayed in that position for a moment, his entire body wracked with pain from the beating Uncle Sam had given him. He got his other knee under him, and raised to a kneeling position, groaning under the pain. It was almost too much to bear. He got one foot under himself. He was almost there. The other foot was next, as the pain shot through him again. He finally stood up.
Uncle Sam was waiting. “Weak fool.” He swept Firestorm’s legs out from under him with one kick. Firestorm went crashing to the ground, almost losing consciousness again.
“Pathetic.” Uncle Sam said, standing right over Firestorm again.
Firestorm tried to throw a fireball at his assailant, but didn’t have the energy. Uncle Sam sneered. “You’ll never be your father.”
Firestorm spat in Uncle Sam’s face. “I never wanted to be.”
Uncle Sam’s face contorted into rage, as he wiped the spittle from it. The last thing Firestorm saw was Uncle Sam’s boot stomping on his face, before everything went black.
<><><>
Mr Perfect screamed in pain, as the razor blade cut through his skin, leaving a long, thin scar across his chest. Mr Universe floated before him, eyes alight with glee.
“No wonder Gauss does this to everyone he comes across.” Mr Universe said. “It’s just so much fun.”
Belle nodded her agreement. “And it’s even better for me.” She said. “I can actually see the pain in his mind. I know exactly what it’s doing to him. And I’m making it worse.” Belle’s laugh chilled Mr Perfect to the bone, and it was worse than anything Mr Universe had inflicted on him.
“How has he lasted so long without us?” Mr Universe asked, as his razor made another score across Mr Perfect’s body, bringing a scream from the hero. “He’s just so weak.”
“He needs the others to make up for his faults, just like he needed us.” Belle said.
“Oh, of course.” Mr Universe said, slicing his former leader again and again.
“They’ll be next, of course.” Belle laughed again. That laugh.
“NO!” Mr Perfect said, struggling against Mr Universe’s bonds.
“Oh, we hit a nerve, did we?” Belle asked.
“Perhaps you’d like to hear what we’re going to do?” Mr Universe taunted, as he cut Mr Perfect again, the pain amplified tenfold in his mind, thanks to Belle’s ministrations.
“That bimbo you replaced me with will be first.” Belle said. “I’m going to take her all by myself. But I’m not going to kill her… No… I’m going to drive her insane from within.”
“No…” Mr Perfect was losing his willpower. The pain was taking away his conscious thoughts. He was barely awake.
“Then the man with all the secrets. The Blackbird.” Mr Universe said. “I’m going to turn all those gadgets of his against him. I’m going to make him wish he’d never taken the job. And then, when he’s at his lowest, I’m going to kill him.” He punctuated each sentence with another slash.
“And then there’s Ben…” A sultry smile appeared on Belle’s lips. “I might just give him what he always wanted…” A flirtatious giggle escaped her throat. “And then I’m going to boil his brain out his ears.”
“You can’t…” Mr Perfect could barely muster a whisper, as the razor crisscrossed his skin, sending wave after wave of agony straight to his brain.
“Oh, we can.” Mr Universe said. “You know, I always wondered who was better. Me or Fissure?” Mr Unvierse shrugged, as he drew the razor across Mr Perfect’s face. “I mean, I’m smarter, and more powerful… But he’s got an experience edge. It should be interesting, at least for a while. I’ll have to kill him in the end, of course.”
Mr Perfect hung his head. He couldn’t fight it. He just had to give in and try to block out the pain.
“And last but not least, we have Pixel.” Belle said.
“Don’t you dare.” Mr Perfect said.
“After you failed her last time with Gauss and Helix, she’s going to be able to take what you’ve been getting. We’re going to have to step things up a notch. And it’s all going to be your fault again.” Mr Universe said. “You can’t protect her if you can’t defeat us. Because you’ll be dead.”
“Not yet…” Mr Perfect said.
Mr Universe laughed. “I’m bored now. You’re done.” Only Mr Perfect’s super-speed allowed him to follow the razor’s path, as it streaked towards his throat. With one last display of superhuman strength, Mr Perfect wrenched his arm to deflect the blow, using his metal restraints to knock the razor away harmlessly.
In the moment of confusion, Mr Perfect took off, hitting his top speed before his opponents had any idea what was happening. All he could think of was to find a safe place. To go home.

Fissure let Miss Liberty’s blows land on his rocky skin, barely even registering that they were connecting. “Maggie… Please stop.” He said. “You’re going to hurt yourself.”
Miss Liberty shook her head. “I can’t stop.” She said. “I’m going to make you pay for leaving me.” She swung at him again, and there was an audible crack as her knuckle broke under the force of her own punch.
“Maggie… Please.” Fissure begged.
“I HATE YOU!” Miss Liberty screamed, as she pounded shot after shot onto his unflinching body. Her hands were a bloody mess as she broke bone after bone, cartilage and tendons ripping after every blow. The tears streaming down her face.
Watching the love of his life cause herself so much pain tore him apart. She was fighting him with so much passion, he was beginning to believe her. She was just going to keep trying and trying, and she was going to do some serious damage to herself.
Fissure knew what he had to do, but that didn’t mean he wanted to do it. He had to stop her. And that meant one thing.
Fissure deflected Miss Liberty’s blow with his hand, before gripping her shoulder with the other, activating a pressure point, sending her into unconsciousness.
He took a deep breath, expelling the bad feelings that were creeping into his mind. Something was clearly wrong here. He had to find the others.
He picked up Miss Liberty and slung her over his shoulder, before the two faded into the concrete.
Moments later, they materialised on the balcony of the Brat Pack’s penthouse. The lights were out, and their headquarters was empty. Fissure began dialling his phone, only to discover the battery was dead.
Miss Liberty began to stir and Fissure sighed. The concrete beneath her morphed around her, trapping her legs. Sure she was securely imprisoned, Fissure began planning his next move.
<><><>
Dean kicked his sister, sending her rolling across the dancefloor.
“Stand up.” He commanded.
Verona sobbed on the ground. Dean kicked her again. “Get up!”
Verona crawled up to her knees, head bowed, tears still falling onto the floor in front of her.
Dean pulled a gun from his jacket and pressed the muzzle up to her head. “I’m done with you.”
Verona gave a wail, as she felt the crushing fear and despair become so much more real. Dean smiled. This was it.
“I’m going to enjoy this.” Dean said, as he switched the safety off.
“No.” Verona sobbed.
“What?” Dean demanded, driving the muzzle of the gun harder into her head, drawing blood.
Verona looked up at Dean, leaving the muzzle of the gun pointing directly into his forehead. “No.” She said.
Too late, Dean noticed the tiny fragments of ice on the floor, where her tears had been. Her tears like miniature glaciers flowing down her face. The moisture in the air encased the gun, rendering it useless.
“Verona…” The fear was in Dean’s voice now. He knew what she was capable of.
“I’m done being afraid.” Verona said, and everything went black for Dean.
His body crashed to the ground and shattered, as every molecule of water in his body formed into ice, and Verona collapsed next to it, curling back into the fetal position, weeping silently.
<><><>
The Blackbird’s entire body throbbed in pain with every heartbeat as he regained consciousness. He opened his eyes to find the world, quite literally, upside-down. He struggled weakly for a moment, as he realised he had been tied up, and was hanging from a lamp-post.
“I have to admit, you do have some nice toys.” The Shadow said, stepping into The Blackbird’s line of sight. In his hand was The Blackbird’s grappling-hook launcher. The Blackbird looked up to find that he was actually bound by his own cable.
“But they’re no good to you now.” The Shadow said. “Now you’re on your own.”
The Shadow had his advantage now, and he pressed it for all it was worth, laying punch after punch on The Blackbird’s helpless body, taking time to kick him in the face and torso, leaving him bruised and broken.
“I told you you’d never be rid of me, and now I’m going to be the end of you. But you knew that all along, didn’t you?” The Shadow taunted.
“Never.” The Blackbird replied. “You can’t win.”
The Shadow’s face contorted into rage under his mask, as he delivered his finishing blow to The Blackbird’s throat, closing his windpipe, sending The Blackbird into darkness once more.
<><><>
Pixel was tiring. Her all-out attack on Gauss was wearing her down more than it was hurting him. She was focusing all her strength, all her powers and her stamina into hitting Gauss from the crowd of illusory duplicates she had created for herself.
“You can’t keep this up forever.” Gauss said, sensing her weakness.
“I don’t have to.” The army of Pixel replied. “I just have to beat you.”
Gauss laughed. “I’m done playing games.”
A cloud of shrapnel exploded, striking all the Pixels, which disappeared once the original was hit. Pixel dropped to her knees, clutching her torso where the metal had cut through her skin.
“Makes you think of old times, doesn’t it?” Gauss taunted, floating over to her.
Pixel’s eyes widened, as she realised what was next. From a pouch on Gauss’ belt, a razorblade appeared, floating towards Pixel.
“NOOOO!!!” She shouted, disappearing, throwing all of her strength into one last teleport.
She reappeared a dozen blocks away, well within eyeshot of the Penthouse. The last thing she saw as she passed out was two figures standing on their balcony…
<><><>
Firestorm spun in midair as the veteran superhero’s fist connected with his chin, sending him tumbling. For an old man, Uncle Sam could pack a punch. Firestorm hit the ground hard, he didn’t even have a chance to get his bearings before Uncle Sam kicked him in the gut. Twice.
“Get up.” Uncle Sam ordered, before kicking him again, the force rolling him onto his back.
Firestorm got up to his knees and spat out blood, glaring at Uncle Sam, who roundhouse kicked him in the face, knocking him flat again.
“I’ll give you this much. You’re taking more punishment than your father ever could.” Uncle Sam taunted, as Firestorm tried to get back to his feet. Uncle Sam punted the young hero in the head, knocking him unconscious. “Pathetic.”
<><><>
Mr Perfect couldn’t understand it. But it didn’t matter. The two people he trusted most in the world were attacking him. Something wasn’t right.
“And now for my next trick…” Mr Universe smiled a wicked smile. “Stop me if you’ve seen this one. Or try at least.”
Mr Perfect didn’t have time to move as chunks of steel bound his arms and legs, leaving him helpless in midair. “What are you doing?”
“Just something I picked up from a friend of ours.” Mr Universe’s face was still frozen in that smile.
Mr Perfect’s eyes went wide as he saw the razorblades float into view. There was little that could pierce his skin, but at the right velocity, razorblades could cut him. He had discovered this the hard way in their first fight with Gauss.
The razors began spinning so fast they were nothing but a blur, as they got closer and closer to Mr Perfect’s skin. “Matt…” Mr Perfect said. “Don’t cross that line.”
“Too late.” Mr Universe began cackling, as the razorblades touched Mr Perfect, tearing through his uniform and skin alike.
Mr Perfect fought the urge to scream. He was above that, and didn’t want to give Mr Universe the satisfaction.
“Oh, that’s cute.” Belle taunted. “You think you can resist?” Her smile mirrored Mr Universe’s. “Matt’s not the only one with a new trick… You see, I can amplify your thoughts for you.”
Mr Perfect’s vision turned white, as his entire existence became pain. He couldn’t comprehend anything but the razorblades cutting his skin, it filled his every sense, and it overwhelmed him.

Fissure stood still, the stone covering his skin absorbing the blows being rained down on him by Miss Liberty’s staff. “You left me first.” He said, not even acknowledging her attacks.
“What?” The second Miss Liberty stopped, confused by his statement.
“You’re here telling me that I abandoned you? You think I wanted the mission more than I wanted to be with you?” Fissure said. “You’re saying that I was the one who left you?”
“You travelled back to before I was born, before you were born. You knew you’d never see me again. You left me.” Miss Liberty said.
“But did you leave me before that?” Fissure asked.
Miss Liberty was silent, not understanding where he was going with it.
“You left the Brat Pack and joined the rebels. You left me in charge of the Brat Pack so you could go on and join the grown-ups.” Fissure said.
“That’s completely different.” Miss Liberty protested.
“No, it’s the same. You abandoned me first.” Fissure said. “I was just trying to get into the Rebellion to be with you. I had hope for a way back.”
“Liar.” Miss Liberty charged forward, swinging her staff.
Fissure sighed, as the staff bounced from his outer shell, unable to be injured, but unwilling to fight his former love.
<><><>
Verona was curled up in a ball on the floor of the club, which was now silent, except for the sound of Dean Mitchell’s voice, and Verona’s quiet sobs.
“You’re pathetic. You can’t fight me.” Dean said, face twisted into some semblance of a smile, revelling in the pain he was causing.
Verona felt the shame and fear overwhelming her, she knew it was Dean’s power, she knew it wasn’t real. Or did she? Every word he’d said was true. She was just the youngest, she was a joke. Everyone knew it. The whole world was waiting for her to fail again, or get bored and move on. No-one expected her to become anything.
And now it was all going to come to an end. Dean was going to kill her, for being such an embarrassment. It was all over.
<><><>
The Blackbird threw his shuriken at The Shadow, who dodged out of the way of the first, deflected the second with his boot, and absorbed the third with his forearm, the damage healing itself almost as soon as it made contact.
“You can’t win. I’m stronger than you.” The Shadow said. “You’re weighed down by all your new toys. All your new responsibilities. A moral code. And of course, your mentor’s legacy. You’ll never be half the crimefighter I was.”
The Blackbird shook his head. “I’m still better than you.” He rushed forward, landing a flurry of blows on his opponent’s torso. “I have better training.” He swept The Shadow’s legs out from under him, but The Shadow just kipped back up. “I have better tools.” A quick blast to The Shadow’s eyes from the single-shot mace canister The Blackbird had hidden in his wrist left the vigilante blinded. “And I command respect, not just fear.” The Blackbird leaped up and kicked The Shadow in the chest with both legs, using the momentum to so a somersault in mid-air, landing back on his feet, as The Shadow went sprawling across the rooftop.
The Shadow wiped his eyes, as they fought to regenerate the constant damage caused by the mace’s irritation. After a few moments he was back on his feet. “Too bad you’re not faster.” The Shadow smiled, as he drew his twin pistols. Before The Blackbird could react, his enemy opened fire.
The Blackbird felt the searing pain through his abdomen and chest. He felt the warmth of his own blood flowing from his body. The last thing he saw was The Shadow standing over him, laughing.
Then everything went black.
<><><>
The tears streamed down Ally’s face, as she kept running. She teleported forwards, crossing the next street, and she felt as the projectile Gauss had thrown at her passed through the spot she had just been. That wasn’t something she wanted to experience ever again.
“I almost had you that time, child.” Gauss cackled. He had more than the power to end this whenever he wanted. He was having far too much fun to stop.
Ally ignored his taunts. She just kept running. She had to get back to the penthouse. Someone had to be there to help her. But it was just too far away.
“And child, after I finish with you, I’m going after everyone you hold dear. Belle. Firestorm. Fissure. Mr Perfect. And last, but certainly not least, the one I’m going to savour the most. The pretender, Mr Universe.” Gauss said.
Ally stopped. “No!”
Gauss was stunned for a moment. “What? Have you finally grown a spine?” Gauss laughed. “Allow me to remove it for you.”
“I’d like to see you try.” Ally said, as she threw a shower of sparks into his eyes, blinding the villain temporarily.
Gauss laughed. “Is that the best you can do child? I can still sense you. There is far too much metal on your body for me to find.”
“I’m not running away.” Ally said. “I’m not hiding.”
As the spots in his vision cleared, Ally’s plan was revealed. Standing in front of Gauss was an army of Pixels.
“Foolish girl. You think that I will be intimidated by your illusions?” Gauss said. “I already told you, you have too much metal on your person for me to be fooled.”
“That would be a problem.” The dozens of Pixels said. “Except my illusions aren’t just light and sound.”
“What!?” Gauss demanded.
“They’re a psychic projection. I can make them look and sound however I want. I can also do this.” The army of Pixels said, as Gauss began to sense metal all around him. “What? No! It’s impossible!”
“Nothing’s impossible.” The Pixels said. “Just improbable.” The horde descended on Gauss, who threw up a shield to protect himself, not knowing quite which attack to defend against.
<><><>
Firestorm ducked, just barely dodging the swing from Uncle Sam’s staff. The man was five times his age, and was faster and stronger than he was. The only edge he had was his powers. Of course, he’d have to land a hit for that.
Uncle Sam ducked out of the way of an errant fireball with ease, before sweeping Firestorm’s legs with his staff, sending the teen tumbling to the ground. “Even your father had enough discipline to know when to take his shots. You’re just wearing yourself down.”
Firestorm scowled, before sending out a blast of fire in all directions, knowing Uncle Sam couldn’t dodge that. The veteran instead spun his staff expertly, shielding himself from the attack. “That’s not helping.”
Firestorm smiled, before unleashing another, more powerful blast, this time the change in air pressure was enough to knock Uncle Sam off balance, and Firestorm took the opportunity to nail him with a fireball, which was mostly absorbed by Uncle Sam’s body armour.
“Now you’re fighting like your father.” Uncle Sam said. “He would have done that ten minutes ago, and this fight would have been over. How are you going to play it?”
Firestorm roared and charged forward, fists swinging. Uncle Sam just shook his head.
<><><>
Mr Perfect twisted in midair, as he avoided Mr Universe’s debris bombardment. “Damn it, why are you doing this?” He demanded, as he smashed another attack.
“To prove a point.” Mr Universe said.
”You’re nothing without us.” Belle added.
Mr Perfect couldn’t believe what was going on. The love of his life, and one of his most trusted friends were attacking him. Something was wrong.
”Nothing is wrong, sweetie. This is happening. We’re going to take you down. You need to start fighting back if you want to stand a chance. Belle had clearly been reading his mind.
“No! Never! Something’s going on here.” Mr Perfect said, but Belle had distracted him too well, he took a huge chunk of metal to the chest, knocking the wind out of him.
“Yeah. You’re getting your ass kicked.” Mr Universe said.
Mr Perfect knew it was true, but he couldn’t bring himself to fight back.

Fisher dodged backwards, narrowly missing the swing of Miss Liberty’s staff. “What are you doing here?” He asked, ducking the backswing.
“Why do I even still exist?” Miss Liberty replied. “Why do you still exist?” She added, bring the staff back, readying herself for her next attack. “We should have both faded out of existence. You should have changed the timeline by now.” Miss Liberty vaulted forward, using her staff to launch herself feet-first at her former boyfriend, who managed to roll out of the way of the attack, depositing her on the ground, where she sprang back at him, this time grazing him with her fist.
“Carmichael was too well defended. I failed.” Fisher admitted, rubbing his cheek, where her fist had connected. “I couldn’t do it.”
“You’re pathetic.” Miss Liberty sneered. “You’re nothing but a weak, pathetic failure.” She lashed out with her staff, and Fisher barely had time to react. He moved, but not fast enough, the end of the staff clipping just under his kneecap, causing pain to shoot up his leg, and the hero to falter slightly. Miss Liberty took her shot, bringing the staff back in another backswing, this time taking his other leg out from under him. She leaped on top of him, holding her staff across his throat.
“You think you can just abandon me like that?” She asked, pressing down on his windpipe. “You want to leave me for your great mission, and then fail?”
Fissure disappeared into the concrete, using his earthport ability to escape Miss Liberty’s chokehold, reforming from the pavement a few feet away. “I was doing my duty.” He said. “You of all people should understand that.”
“You are nothing.” Miss Liberty spat, before launching into her next attack.
<><><>
A crowd had formed around the siblings on the dancefloor. Everyone wanted to see the action. They wanted to see the superheroine fight her evil brother. They were sorely disappointed.
Dean towered over Verona. “You’re a joke.” He said.
A wave of shame hit Verona. He was right, of course. She knew what people thought of her. Nobody took her seriously. Why should they? She was just another party girl heiress. A girl who was only famous because she was famous. This superhero thing was just going to disappear, just like Paris Hilton’s reality show. It was only a matter of time.
“You’re never going to live up to the rest of us. Phillip runs dad’s damn company, Robert runs the international subsidiaries, and I ruled the Los Angeles underworld. And what did you do? You tried to release a single. And failed. You tried to be a model. And failed. Now you’re trying to be a superhero? This is going to be your most spectacular failure yet.” Dean laughed, using his powers to force the feeling of shame and disappointment to overwhelm Verona, who collapsed in a heap on the ground, covering her face, as her body was wracked with sobs.
“Pathetic.” Dean said. “You pathetic baby.”
<><><>
The Blackbird ducked out of the way of The Shadow’s lunge. “This is impossible.” The Blackbird said, as he swept The Shadow’s legs out from under him. “You can’t be The Shadow. You’re just an imitator.”
The Shadow used his backward momentum to backflip, landing back on his feet, before springing forward and attacking The Blackbird again, this time with a flurry of punches, several of which landed. “I’m the real thing.” The Shadow insisted, following up with a roundhouse kick, which The Blackbird caught.
“And I keep telling you, that’s impossible.” The Blackbird said, punching The Shadow in the tendon behind his exposed knee, causing him to cry out in pain, before throwing him over his shoulder. The Shadow landed with a loud cracking sound, as his shoulder crumbled under him.
The Shadow began laughing, as he climbed to his feet. “You want me to prove it?” He asked, as he clutched his broken shoulder. There was a loud grinding sound, as The Shadow’s shoulder began to knit itself together. “I’m The Shadow.”
The Blackbird’s eyes went wide. He couldn’t be The Shadow.
“You’re starting to believe it now, are you?” The Shadow laughed. “I told you. You’ll never be rid of me.”
<><><>
Ally teleported to the next building and started running. What was Gauss doing here? He was in Alcatraz. Or Guantanamo. Wasn’t he?
Ally looked back over her shoulder, and sure enough, Gauss was in hot pursuit. “You’re never going to get away.” He taunted.
Ally turned back to the direction she was running in, just in time to find she had run out of building. She teleported past the next building, and onto the rooftop of the building on the other side of the street, without even breaking her stride. She had to get away, and there was no way she could just teleport to safety, she didn’t have the power.
“Where are you running to? You think I won’t be able to catch you?” Gauss cackled, as he sailed after her.
Ally shook her head, there was no way she was going to let him catch her. Not again. Another gap. The world around her disappeared for a moment, before she found herself on the other side of the gap, still running.
“You would rather run than face me?” Gauss said. “No wonder the rest of your team look down on you.” Gauss began tearing TV antennas from the nearest roof, throwing them at Ally, who barely managed to teleport out of the way. “You’re nothing but a coward. At least the others try to fight me.”
Gauss began growing tired of his game, and picked up speed, overtaking the young heroine and landing in front of her. “Not that I blame you. If I was as weak and insignificant as you, I would run away from me too.” He began to laugh, as Ally teleported past him and just kept running.
<><><>
Mosley didn’t know what hit him, as Uncle Sam swept his legs out from under him, using his staff. Even though he had to be over ninety years old, Uncle Sam was faster and stronger than he was. Mosley felt as the wind was knocked out of him when he hit the ground.
“And another thing.” Uncle Sam said. “Your father knew how to fight properly.” Mosley got to his feet, only to be knocked back down, this time from a quick jab to the solar plexus, knocking the wind out of him again. “Because he was willing to learn.”
Mosley had had enough. Legend or not, Uncle Sam had crossed the line. His entire body was covered in flames, as he stood up to face the first American superhero. “Listen old man, I’m nothing like my father.” Firestorm said.
“You’re exactly like your father.” Uncle Sam said. “He liked to hide behind his powers too. Why fight man-to-man when you can just burn me, right?” Uncle Sam laid a flurry of blows on Firestorm, who winced as he was hit across his chest and stomach. “The difference was: he still could. You’re weak. You’re just a shadow of what your father was.”
Firestorm screamed, as he fired a volley of fireballs at Uncle Sam, who deftly twisted in the air, dodging every last one of them. “You can’t even use your powers right.” Uncle Sam continued. “Your father would have me beaten by now.”
Firestorm gave a roar, as he charged at the other hero.
<><><>
Kevin barely managed to duck out of the way of the oncoming car, he was still stunned by what was going on in front of him. “Wh-what are you doing?” He asked.
“Jeez Kev, I know you’re not that bright, but I’d have thought it was obvious.” Mr Universe taunted, as the car came back for another attack, but this time Kevin was ready, punching through the front of the car, and using his super-strength to tear it in half.
“Give him some time. You know he can’t think properly for himself.” Belle said. “He needs someone to guide him. Someone has to tell him what to think. It used to be you, remember? Now he has Fissure and The Blackbird.” Belle turned back to Kevin. “Poor thing. All that leading must hurt his little head.”
“I think it’s scrambled his brains.” Mr Universe said. “Because now I have two weapons.”
Kevin had to be on his toes now, as the two halves of the car were now attacking him at a furious pace, he barely had time to duck one, before he had to punch the other away. Over and over again. He just couldn’t keep up with it. Eventually, he just stopped, and let the two pieces of car hit him at the same time, his skin was definitely strong enough to withstand the blow. He then proceeded to tear the car into dozens of smaller pieces.
“Oh Kevin… That was just about the dumbest thing you could have done.” Belle said, as Mr Universe began spinning the remnants of the car, forming a vortex around the leader of the Brat Pack.

The scene outside Wells Fargo Bank was chaos. A huge crowd had gathered around the police barricades, everyone wanted to see what was going on. Police lights flashed, and sirens blared. Utter chaos.
A hush went over the crowd, as Mr Perfect sailed down to the ground, landing inside the barrier, as moments later, the ground shifted, and his teammates formed from the very asphalt. “What are we dealing with officer?” Mr Perfect asked the nearest cop.
“We’re not sure Mr Perfect.” The cop replied, scratching his head. “He’s definitely one of your types, I can tell you that much… He’s just… Kind of all over the place.”
“Can you tell us anything about his powers?” Fissure asked, stepping up to the officer.
“He turned an officer into a duck.” The cop said. “And he can appear out of nowhere. And he does something with fireworks.”
“Magician.” Fissure said.
“I hate magicians.” Firestorm groaned.
“Ok Brats, we know what we’re dealing with now. Fissure, Pixel, you’re on evac. Get the hostages out as quickly as you can. If he’s a magician, we need to stop him from casting any spells. That means quick attacks. We need to keep his hands busy, he can’t be allowed to finish an incantation, and he can’t concentrate. We can get this done in a few minutes.” Mr Perfect said. “Any questions?”
His teammates shook their heads. The plan seemed pretty simple.
“Ok then.” Mr Perfect smiled. “Let’s do this.”
Pixel disappeared, teleporting straight into the bank. Fissure followed suit, melding into the ground and travelling instantaneously through the road, sidewalk and foundation of the building, emerging behind the counter. Mr Perfect was a blur as he flew straight through the front door, leaving glass everywhere.
Seconds later, the rest of the team ran through the hole he had left.
“The Brat Pack? Really. You’re the best these mortals could send?”
Standing on the teller’s counter was a man. A very small man.
“Oh god, you’re worse than a magician… You’re a leprechaun!” Firestorm taunted.
The man scowled. “You want to taunt me?”
“He’s even got the pointy ears!” Ice Princess exclaimed. “You’re so cute!”
A nasty grin appeared on the man’s face. “You’re all going to regret insulting me.”
“Not likely.” Mr Perfect said. “You’ve got no hostages to threaten anymore.”
The man looked around, and saw that all the bank’s staff and patrons were nowhere to be seen.
“There are over a dozen floors above us!” The man said.
“They’re being emptied as we speak. So I think you should just surrender now.” Mr Perfect said.
“Not likely!” The villain said, as he leapt into the air. He was hit instantly with a set of bolas, which tied themselves around him, wrapping his arms up. Satisfied that his attack had worked, The Blackbird stepped aside, to allow Firestorm to shoot sparks into their foe’s eyes, blinding him. Ice Princess followed up by freezing the moisture in his lips, keeping his mouth shut.
“They just don’t make them like they used to.” Mr Perfect said.
<><><>
Fisher closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Since moving into the city, he had found himself restless. He had taken to long walks through the streets of the city, as a way to collect his thoughts.
He knew he had a mission. He had to stop Senator Carmichael from becoming President. Instead, he had joined the Brat Pack, and was now spending his time fighting other, minor threats. He had seen the big picture unfold. He knew where they were going. He knew that despite the changes he had made to the timeline, Senator Carmichael still had all the cards in his hand. He still had all the resources he needed to become president. He still had all the resources he needed to begin building his clone army. Anything Fisher had managed to change; his foe had found some way to work around it. With the help of Helix, he had taken any advantage Fisher had. He knew every move Fisher was planning to make. He knew every step he was going to take himself, or at least every step his future self had taken.
Fisher knew his foe was far smarter than he was, and that he would be able to plan his way out of anything Fisher threw at him. It wasn’t Fisher’s style to be unpredictable. He was a planner. He knew he couldn’t stop Senator Carmichael alone. Mr Perfect was far better at thinking on his feet, he could adapt. With Pixel’s luck, it was only a matter of time before they stumbled on a way to stop Carmichael from taking the Presidency.
“You’ve failed us.”
Fisher’s eyes went wide. He knew that voice, but it wasn’t possible. There was no way.
He turned around, and his jaw dropped.
“You? No!” He said, barely able to form the words.
Even if she hadn’t been wearing the red, white and blue, he would have recognised her instantly. Those deep brown eyes, that coffee-coloured skin, that long black hair and that slender, athletic frame.
“Yes. Me. And I’m here to tell you how disappointed I am.” The second Miss Liberty said, extending her staff to full length and assuming a fighting stance.
<><><>
Verona downed her third drink, the music pumping in the background, the air hot from the all the bodies in such a cramped space. There was nothing she loved more than the LA nightlife. She put her glass down on the bar, and hit the dancefloor.
It didn’t take her long to find a target. The star of some new television show or another. She wasn’t fussy. She began dancing with him, rubbing her body on him, much to his enjoyment. And why shouldn’t he be enjoying it? She was an heiress to one of the biggest fortunes in the country, and the hottest superhero in the world. Even the scandal involving her brother wasn’t enough to keep her reputation down.
“You always find a way to disappoint us.” The young television star was pushed out of the way, replaced by…
“Dean?” Verona was stunned. “But you’re in Alcatraz.”
“Clearly I’m not. It seems we need to have a chat, sis.” Dean smiled, and Verona began to feel dread creeping over her.
<><><>
The Blackbird vaulted from rooftop to rooftop, searching the streets below him for any sign of crime. He had been lax in his patrols lately. The Brat Pack was taking up more of his time than he would have liked. He had a job to do, and a city to protect. Perhaps this alliance was not the best idea?
Suddenly, he was seeing stars, a blow to the side of his head sent him rolling across the rooftop, and over the ledge. Luckily, his reflexes were enough to save him, grabbing onto the ledge and vaulting himself back up. He faced his attacker, and could not believe his eyes.
“H-how?” The Blackbird took a step back.
The Shadow smiled. “Thought you’d gotten rid of me, did you?”
<><><>
“-So yeah, I’ll be home in a couple of days. There’s a Billy Idol show on this weekend.” Ally said. “Yes, Billy Idol. I couldn’t believe it when I saw it either… Ok Tom, I’m getting all staticky on this end, so I’m going to have to let you go… Tom?”
Ally looked at her phone, and was surprised to see it had gone dark. “Weird…” she said, before shoving it back in her pocket. By chance, something caught her eye just off the balcony, and she turned, just in time to see the steel chain hurtling towards her.
She teleported just in time, moving a few feet forward, the chain missing her completely.
“You’ve always been so lucky… Haven’t you?” Gauss said, floating towards her. “Of course, you have to question just how fortunate you are, if I’m here at all.”
<><><>
As soon as the last gangbanger went down, Pumpkin King dropped his flaming mask. There was nothing like letting his frustrations out on petty criminals. He mounted his motorcycle, and was ready to leave when he heard a voice.
“Your father would be very disappointed.” The voice said.
Mosley dismounted and turned around in one motion. “What did you say?”
From the shadows, the voice spoke again. “You heard me Ben. You can do better than this.”
“Who the hell do you think you are?” Mosley asked, clenching his fist.
“At your age, your father was fighting in a war, he was saving the entire country. What do you do? Beat up teenagers.”
Mosley flared up, banishing the shadows from the dark alleyway, seeing the source of the voice.
Age might have changed him, but there was no mistaking that costume. No mistaking the icon. Mosley hesitated. “What do you want?”
Uncle Sam smiled. “I want to teach you a lesson.”
<><><>
Kevin flew through the air. He should be in bed already. He needed his sleep. Tomorrow was the big game. UC Irvine versus Pepperdine. He may have been starting on the bench, but this was his first shot at a game. It was almost unheard of for a freshman to play varsity games, but one of the other guys had injured himself, and the coach had decided that since Pepperdine weren’t a particularly good team this year, he could afford to take the risk. He didn’t expect to get on the court at all, but just in case he did, he wanted to be ready.
He was feeling good about himself. They had taken that guy in the bank down with relative ease. He had finally gotten back into his groove. The Brat Pack was a fully-functional team again. Nothing could go wrong.
“That’s where you’re wrong.” That familiar voice buzzed in his head, and Kevin stopped in midair.
“Katie?” Kevin said, looking around.
“Oh, so you do remember me?” Belle asked, floating up next to him.
“Of course… Why wouldn’t I?” Kevin asked.
“You were never the bright one, were you?” Mr Universe said, causing Mr Perfect to spin around to face his former teammate.
“You’re nothing without us.” Belle said.
“And we’re going to prove it, once and for all.” Mr Universe said.

2031
Fissure sighed, hanging his head in shame. “It means I’m a clone.”
His teammates stared at him, jaws open, not knowing what to say, while Dr Hastings cackled in the background.
“You’re one of them?” Sparky said, a hint of confusion in his voice.
“By birth. Not by choice.” Miss Liberty said.
“But he’s still one of those… those freaks!” Sparky spat.
“Watch it.” Miss Liberty said, rounding on her teammate.
“He is. We just risked our lives to rescue one of theirs.” Sparky said.
“How dare you!?” Miss Liberty started to advance on Sparky.
“He’s right.”
Miss Liberty spun to look at Fissure. “What?”
“He’s right. I’m a clone. I’m what we’re fighting against. I have no right to expect you to let me back on the team.” Fissure said.
Miss Liberty was speechless.
“Even he admits it.” Sparky said. “We should just leave him here.”
“You know I can’t let you escape.” Dr Hastings said. “891, 727, destroy them all.”
727 wrenched his legs free of his bonds, while 891 wreathed himself in fire, ready for battle.
“Go!” Fissure shouted. “I’ll hold them off at least.”
“Don’t have to tell me twice.” Sparky said, electricity crackling around him.
“Wait! No!” Miss Liberty said. “We’re going to stay and fight.”
“You can’t be serious!” Sparky said.
“Sparky, it’s still an excuse to beat some hyper-soldiers. When have we ever turned that down?” Icon said, as he unleashed a wave of psychic distortion at the two clones, leaving them disoriented.
“Besides, Fissure’s still one of us. It’s not his fault he was born in a tube. I was born in Arkansas.” Flasher agreed, hitting 727 in the face with one of his blasts, stunning the villain further.
“Well, it’s up to you Sparky. You can leave your team here, or we can fight. Together.” Miss Liberty said.
Sparky looked at his teammates one-by-one, finishing with Fissure. After staring for a moment, he shook his head. “Fine. Let’s do this.”
The ground erupted around Fissure, covering his entire body in an armour of stone and dirt. “Thanks…” He said. “Maggie, orders?”
Miss Liberty smiled. “Fissure and I will take 727, he’s got the strength, and I’ve got the agility. The rest of you, try to shut 891 down. Icon, focus all your interference on him, I don’t want anyone getting burned. Sparky, Flasher, ranged attacks. Do not engage him in close quarters.”
“Solid plan.” Fissure said.
“I try.” Miss Liberty agreed, as she charged forward next to her boyfriend, to meet their adversary, who instantly swung at Miss Liberty, who deftly ducked below the blow, while Fissure landed one of his own, driving his fist into 727’s abdomen.
“That one almost hurt.” The clone soldier taunted. “But you’ll have to do better than that.”
Underneath his stone helmet, Fissure smiled. “Gladly.” He replied. “Honey, ECB Maneuver #6.”
Miss Liberty nodded, pirouetting past their foe, drawing his attention her way, leaving him slightly unbalanced. Miss Liberty followed that up with a low roundhouse kick to the back of his knee. At the same time, Fissure leapt through the air, arm outstretched, connecting across 727’s chest, and driving the unbalanced villain to the ground, as Miss Liberty rolled out of the way of the falling giant.
“Aren’t you glad I spent all that time drilling gram and The Freak’s combo moves into you?” Miss Liberty said.
“I’m mostly just glad I remembered which number that move was.” Fissure replied.
“You didn’t. That’s actually #5. But seeing as #6 is actually a Freak and Gauntlet combo, I assumed you meant this one.” Miss Liberty teased.
“What would I do without y-“ Fissure’s words turned to a yelp of surprise, as 727 grabbed his leg and tripped him up, using his immense strength.
“You stupid rebels and your banter.” 727 said, as he clambered to his feet. “It’s going to get one of you killed one of these days. I hope it’s today.”
“Not likely.” Fissure said, as the earth erupted around 727, covering him and encasing him entirely, leaving his head uncovered.
“Nice. Let’s finish this.” Miss Liberty said, jerking her thumb over to their teammates, where they were barely keeping 891 at bay.
“I’ll take care of him.” Fissure said, as he summoned a pile of dirt, smothering the final foe’s flames.
“Open fire!” Dr Hastings ordered, and Fissure barely got a stone wall up in time to protect his teammates from the gunfire being hailed down on them by the facility’s guards.
“Retreat!” Miss Liberty ordered. “Sparky, run, Fissure, teleport the rest of us.”
Sparky nodded and disappeared in a blur, a trail of sparks behind him, as the earth moved up to envelope the rest of the team, whisking them miles away. Seconds later, Sparky was next to them.
“Oh wow. Did you see the way Fissure just kicked both their asses?” Flasher’s face was alight. “I mean seriously, he just took both those guys down!”
“You were kind of amazing over there.” Miss Liberty said.
“Yeah. You totally rocked.” Icon said. “No pun intended.”
Fissure smiled at his teammates. “They were just a couple of tube-babies.” Fissure shrugged.
Sparky snorted. “That’s rich.”
The smile disappeared from Fissure’s face, as the group fell silent.
“Sparky…” Miss Liberty warned.
“No.” Sparky shook his head. “This is what we’ve been fighting against. He is the enemy.”
“Sparky, come on…” Icon said, as Miss Liberty began to tremble with rage.
“You’re kidding me?” Sparky exclaimed. “He’s one of them. We should have just left him there.”
Miss Liberty slapped Sparky across the face, even the speedster’s reflexes weren’t fast enough to dodge it. He fell to the ground, clutching his face.
“Fissure is one of us.” She said, towering over Sparky. “He saved us all back there. He has fought alongside all of us, he has fought as hard as anyone for the cause. Fissure is family.”
Sparky didn’t say a word, he just got to his feet, rubbing his face.
“If you have a problem, you can just get out of here. I will not have any of this crap on my team. Understand?” Miss Liberty asked.
Sparky nodded, hand still on his face, checking to see his jaw hadn’t been dislocated.
“Good.” Miss Liberty said, as the team looked at her, awestruck.
“We’re fighting a war here.” She said, addressing the rest of the team. “Fissure is on our side. This is America, regardless of who’s in charge. We don’t judge by birth or by heritage. We judge by deeds, and by choices. Fissure was raised by good people, and he joined us because he knew what we were doing was right. He has bled for what this country stands for, as much as I have, as much as any of you have.”
Icon and Flasher nodded in agreement, Icon even reaching out and placing a hand on his much larger teammate’s shoulder, a small smile appearing on Fissure’s face.
“We’re not fighting the clones.” Miss Liberty continued. “This isn’t about them. They are just the tools our enemies are using. They aren’t to blame for their actions, any more than a gun is to blame for a murder. They are born in those labs, and they are brainwashed. They have no choice. If they did, we wouldn’t be at war, because this is what happens when someone gets the choice.” Miss Liberty pointed at Fissure. “They become rebels.”
“They become heroes.”

2031
Fissure was unconscious when they shackled him to the wall. Lucky for them, he was a hard one to put down the first time; they probably wouldn’t have succeeded again.
“Thank you 891, 727. That will be all.” Dr Hastings said, dismissing the two laboratory-grown hyper-soldiers.
“Sir.” They both said, saluting their superior, before leaving.
Dr Hastings approached Fissure, completely assured that the power-nullifying restraints would protect him from his new subject. “Now, let’s take a look at you…” He whispered, producing a syringe.
<><><>
Icon slammed the door behind himself. “We left him there!?” He shouted.
“I never liked the guy, but damn that’s cold.” Sparky added.
“We were going to die out there.” Flasher said. “We had to escape.”
Miss Liberty stood in the corner, facing away from her team to hide her tears. For the past year, she and Fissure had been dating. At least, as close as two people can come to dating, while fighting an underground war against an oppressive government.
“Maggie, seriously, we have to go back for him.” Icon said, approaching his leader.
Miss Liberty held up her hand, and Icon stopped in his tracks. Wiping her tears away with the other hand, Miss Liberty turned to face her team.
“Of course.” She forced a smile. “We’re only here to regroup, and figure out a new entrance strategy.”
“I knew it!” Flasher said, clenching his fist with excitement.
“Calm down Flasher, we’re not there yet.” Sparky said. “Going up against those two again would be suicide.”
“Not now that we know what we’re up against.” Miss Liberty said. “Look, they’re both hyper-soldiers, and we saw their powers.”
Icon screwed up his face. “But that doesn’t mean we can win. 891 is clearly a Mosley clone, I don’t know which one, and 727 is a Basher. Coupled with the hyper-soldier genes, they’re pretty much unstoppable.”
“I didn’t say we’d beat them.” Miss Liberty said. “But we can get by them. Keep them busy until we can get Fissure out of there.”
“And how do you plan to do that?” Sparky sneered.
Miss Liberty gave her Brats another smile, before explaining her plan.
<><><>
Fissure woke up to find Dr Hastings standing in front of him. He began struggling, but found himself completely immobilised.
“There is still some fight in you, I see.” Dr Hastings said. “No matter. You won’t be here much longer. I have already extracted your DNA for our archives. Clones made from your DNA will be quite powerful. I should receive a promotion; get out of this stinking military base and into a real laboratory.”
“You won’t be going anywhere.” Fissure said. “You know as well as I do that if you were worthy of a promotion, you would have it by now.”
“How dare you!? I am brilliant! I have been overlooked for the last time!” Dr Hastings spluttered.
“President Carmichael might be an evil dictator, but he’s far from an idiot. Everyone in his command is exactly where he wants them. He knows how to run an evil organisation, he’s been doing it for over a century.” Fissure said.
Dr Hasting’s face twisted in rage, before turning back to calm. “I’m going to go tell the prisoner transport team not to bother. It seems you resisted and we had to kill you. Quite unfortunate, I understand your friend Avatar is in the facility you were to be transferred to. He would have been happy to see a familiar face.”
Fissure spat at Dr Hastings, as he left the room, locking the cell door behind him.
Moments later, the building shook. Fissure smiled. The cavalry had arrived.
The door shot open, and two guards entered the room. “Don’t even think about making a move.” One of them said, pointing a gun at them.
“I don’t have to.” Fissure smiled, as the space behind the guards blurred, as Sparky stopped running, before delivering an electric shock to the base of both men’s necks.
“Took your time.” Fissure said, as Sparky used the last of his saved up charge to blow the power nullifiers that were keeping Fissure bound.
“If you hadn’t let your sorry ass get captured in the first place, we’d all be back home already.” Sparky replied. “Ready to go?”
“Born ready. Where are Maggie and the others?” Fissure asked.
“Follow me.” Sparky said. “I guess I’ll have to slow down so you can keep up.”
Fissure rolled his eyes and started running after his team-mate.
<><><>
“We couldn’t beat them head-to-head at full strength, so you think we’ve got a chance without our two strongest guys?” Icon asked, as he ducked behind a crushed car.
“We had the element of surprise this time.” Miss Liberty said, ducking and weaving between the oncoming fireballs. “You know, this hyper-soldier treatment isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. I mean, I know it’s supposed to be a direct genetic match to what happened to my great-grandfather, but they’re just not as good.”
“Good enough for me. The Basher was strong enough, without being faster, smarter and more agile.” Flasher said, as he fired his energy blasts at 727, who ducked and weaved just as well as Miss Liberty.
“You’re just getting out of practice.” Miss Liberty said, as she moved in close and landed a punch on 891, before taking one of her own on the chin, knocking her backward. “Damnit Icon! Do something!”
“Sorry Maggie.” Icon said, as he honed his psychic powers onto their opponents, attacking their minds directly, leaving them slightly disoriented.
“Not much I can do guys, but their reflexes are probably shot now.” Icon said.
“That’ll do.” Flasher said, as one of his blasts grazed 727’s hip, causing the mountain of a man to cry out in pain.
“Just in time too.”
All around 727 was a blur, as Sparky began laying punch after punch at super-speed, more annoying the hyper-soldier than anything, but it was enough of a distraction for Fissure to use his powers to draw the concrete up, trapping 727’s feet in the ground.
“Ok, let’s finish the other clone-trash and go home!” Miss Liberty said.
“Not so fast!”
From a second-story window of the nearest building, the Brats could see Dr Hastings with a megaphone.
“Funny you should mention 891’s origins.” Dr Hastings laughed.
“These clones shouldn’t exist, and you know it! You people try to play god!” Fissure said.
“Oh this just keeps getting better.” Dr Hastings laughed harder.
“Get to the point, point-dexter.” Sparky shouted.
“I sent away Fissure’s DNA to be added to our archives, for the next generation of hyper-soldiers.” Dr Hastings said, pausing for dramatic effect. “It seems we already had his DNA on file, in a manner of speaking.”
“What?” Fissure asked. He was sure he’d never had his DNA copied.
“Yes. It would seem you’re already a genetic match for not one, but two of our DNA files.” Dr Hastings laughed.
Fissure’s eyes went wide. He knew what that meant.
“Yes, it seems you’re a match for both Elemental #12, codenamed Kiwanja, I believe he was a member of UNLEASHED some years ago, and one Richard Jackson, or as he was designated in the databanks: Hyper Template #3.” Dr Hastings began cackling madly.
“What the hell does that even mean?” Sparky demanded, electricity crackling around him.
“That means… It means…” Miss Liberty stammered.
Fissure sighed, hanging his head in shame. “It means I’m a clone.”

Mosley tossed another beer can across the carpark and burped. That six-pack had barely lasted him an hour. He wanted more, but didn’t have any cash on him. It had done nothing to dull the anger. He still felt every little bit of rage from what had happened the day before.
The Blackbird was his teammate. The constant reminder of his father. The piece of his past he couldn’t escape. And he wasn’t helping matters by bringing his mentor, and Mosley’s father’s teammate, into his home. And then he tried to stop him from fighting a villain? He might have gotten carried away, but the Arctic Wolf was a bad guy. He deserved it.
No. Mosley realised he’d been putting the blame in the wrong place. It wasn’t about The Blackbird, either of them, or the Arctic Wolf. It was never about them. It was about what they reminded him of. He couldn’t go on taking it out on others. He had to put a stop to it.
He had to fight his father.
<><><>
After a wobbly start, Firestorm rode his motorcycle right up to the Hire-A-Hero building. He left his bike on the steps and stormed through the glass double-doors into the lobby.
“I want Napalm!” He shouted.
“Napalm isn’t here sir.” The receptionist said.
“Don’t give me that crap! Where else would he be?” Firestorm flared up.
The receptionist went pale, she’d been at the company long enough to remember Firestorm’s superpowered temper-tantrums. “… He’s not on call today. He’s not here.” She managed to stammer.
“WHAT!?” Firestorm demanded, pounding his flaming fist on the desk, leaving scorchmarks.
There was an audible ringing noise, as the elevator doors opened.
“This had better be important, I was in the middle of a massage.” Captain Awesome stepped through the elevator doors.
“You? Go back upstairs. I want my father.” Firestorm ordered.
Captain Awesome glared at Firestorm. “Don’t speak to me like that, you insignificant little nothing.”
“I’ll speak to you how I damn well please jerk-off.” Firestorm said, cracking his knuckles.
Captain Awesome sneered. “They didn’t need to call me. Any of those D13 kids could have handled this.”
“Oh yeah? Send them down; I’ll kick their asses like I’ll kick yours.” Firestorm’s skin was a raging inferno by now.
“As much as I’d like to teach you a lesson about respecting your betters, I think that’s your father’s job. He’s not here. He went home.” Captain Awesome said.
“Home? Are you kidding me?” Firestorm demanded. “You’ve got to be f***ing kidding me.”
“He went home, and if you know what’s good for you, you’ll go too.” Captain Awesome cracked his knuckles. “Because he’ll probably leave you alive. I’ll just kill you.”
“I’ll be back for you, jackass.” Firestorm said, storming out of the lobby.
Captain Awesome laughed. “You girl.” He pointed at the receptionist. “You’re coming up to my room now.”
The receptionist paled even further. “Me…?”
“That little bastard got me all angry. I have a lot of energy to work out, and the massage girls aren’t going to be enough.” Captain Awesome leered.
“… You want me to…?” Mary stammered, clearly looking frightened. She had seen what the girls they sent to him came back looking like.
“Sure, why not? You’re kind of pretty.” Captain Awesome reached over the desk and lifted the woman out of her chair.
“… But…” Mar protested, but Captain Awesome ignored her, carrying her into the elevator with him.
<><><>
The sun was starting to set as Firestorm rode his motorcycle into his old street. He hadn’t seen the place in months, but nothing had changed. Still the same run-down houses, the same car bodies. This was his own personal slum on the outskirts of Newport. His own personal hell.
His motorbike had barely stopped moving when he jumped off and charged at the door, knocking it off its hinges with a huge fireball.
“What the hell?” The elder Mosley screamed, as he rushed to see the commotion. He wasn’t panicked, he wasn’t even worried. When he saw his son standing there, his face became angry.
“You stupid little bastard.” He said. “What do you think you’re doing, blowing my damn door in? You want to blow my cover?”
Firestorm’s jaw set. “That’s not all that’s going to be blown.” His skin flared up again.
“So you came here for a fight, did you?”
“You know I did. It’s my turn now.”
“Your turn for what? You think you can beat me? Boy, look at me.”
Firestorm looked at his father. His beer-gut was gone, he looked five years younger. Gone was his slight hunch. Instead, James Mosley was every inch the super-hero he had once been.
“Looks like I was right.” James said. “I always told you that you ruined my life. Because of you I lost everything. My wife. My career. My health. You stole eighteen years of my life. But I’m making up for lost time. I can have the limelight back. And you’re not going to be able to ruin it for me again.”
Firestorm’s face contorted into animalistic rage, as he charged forward to attack his father. James sidestepped and tripped his son, sending him sprawling into the wall.
“What are you, drunk?” James taunted, as Firestorm climbed to his feet and tried again, this time connecting. As his son’s shoulder grazed his hip, James laughed.
“This is the best you can do? Take away the advantage your powers give you, the advantage I gave you, and you’re worthless.” James said.
As Firestorm made one last grab for his father, James swung his fist up and hit him in the jaw, knocking him down.
“You sicken me.” James said, as he turned his back on his son.
Firestorm climbed to his feet. “I’m not done yet, you son of a bitch.”
“Yes you are. Get out of my house, and never come back. You were never welcome in the first place.” James said.
“Fight me!” Firestorm demanded.
“You’re not worth it boy. You don’t deserve to call yourself my son.” James said, turning his back once more.
With a savage roar, Firestorm charged at his father, managing to get one blow in to his face, before taking two shots to the abdomen, and a knee to the face, knocking him unconscious.
James shook his head. “No son of mine.”

“You will do as I say!”
The patrons of the bank screamed, as the frosty wind blasted throughout the room, leaving them hypothermic. The tellers rushed to fill bags with money, as their fingers became frostbitten.
“You’re not moving fast enough! Hurry up before I flash-freeze you all!”
Their assailant was a small, chubby man, his face pockmarked and unattractive under his white mask. His costume was pure white, save the silver wolf’s head on his chest and on cape, which was billowing in the gale he was forming inside the bank. Behind him stood two men in full winter-gear, ski-masks down, both holding machetes.
“If I don’t get my money, my friends are gonna start hacking off limbs!” The leader shouted. “I’m the Arctic Wolf!”
“That’s just unlucky.”
The Arctic Wolf turned to see who dared interrupt his robbery. “Who do you think you are?”
“You know, I was looking for someone to vent on. This couldn’t have been more perfect.”
Arctic Wolf laughed, as he summoned a frigid gust of wind, directing it straight at his new foe.
“You really don’t know who I am?” Firestorm burst into flames, instantly combating the cold wind. “Then I guess you’re going to find out first hand just why you don’t f*** with Firestorm!”
“GET HIM!” Arctic Wolf ordered, and his henchmen charged forward.
Firestorm dodged their machetes, as they swung at him wildly.
“You boys are gonna have to do a lot better than that.” Firestorm said, waiting for the next swing to miss, catching his opponent in the face with a flaming fist, as he struggled to bring his weapon back to a dominant position.
“KILL HIM!” Arctic Wolf ordered, as he caused the winds to swirl harder.
“Must be getting kind of hot in there.” Firestorm said, as he moved in closer to the first henchman, laying a series of blows on his heavily-padded torso.
The henchman ignored the blows, instead almost grazing Firestorm with his blade.
“And that was too close for comfort. Sorry boys, it’s been fun, but it’s time to end this.” Firestorm said, tossing a fireball at both men, engulfing their winter outfits.
The men both dropped to the ground, rolling around in an attempt to put themselves out. The constant airflow did little to help their condition, feeding the fires the oxygen they needed to keep burning, but eventually the fires went out, both men passing out from the pain and exhaustion.
“Good thing you don’t have all that padding.” Firestorm cracked his knuckles. “And no way of hurting me. I’m gonna enjoy this.”
<><><>
“Are you kidding?”Ally demanded.
“No. Why would I want to stay in a hotel when I’ve got three penthouses in the city?” Verona asked.
“This isn’t just any hotel.” Ally said.
“What do you mean?” Verona asked.
“This is the Highland Gardens Hotel…” Ally said.
Verona stared at her blankly.
“Formerly the Landmark Motor Hotel…”
More blank staring.
“October 4, 1970?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Heroin overdose. Room 105… Nothing?”
“Not a clue.”
“Janis Joplin died here.” Ally said. “This place is part of history.”
“Oh. That’s kinda creepy.” Verona’s face screwed up.
“Ugh, I knew I should have brought Dylan. Or Matt. Matt would have got it.” Ally said.
“But we’re bonding!” Verona said.
“Yeah. Something like that.” Ally said.
“Ok, my turn!” Verona said.
“But we haven’t even been inside.” Ally protested.
“But you’d rather be in there with someone else who understands, right? I don’t really feel comfortable being here, and I know you want someone who knows who Janis Joplin is with you.”
“You don’t know who-“
“So how about we go do something we both understand. Let’s go shopping.”
“I guess we could.” Ally said, a smile appearing on her face. “But we have to hit the thrift stores first.”
“What’s a thrift store?”
<><><>
The bank was empty, except for Firestorm and Arctic Wolf. As their battle had progressed, the chill had risen, as Arctic Wolf’s powers waned, and Firestorm’s flames countered the previous effects. As soon as they could move properly, the civilians had run away.
Leaving Firestorm plenty of room to throw the smaller man around.
“You’re pathetic.” Firestorm said, as he pummelled the villain in the face. “You get a little bit of power, and think that means you can get whatever you want.”
Firestorm tossed his opponent into a wall, and Arctic Wolf slumped down, barely clinging to consciousness.
“You’re worthless.” Firestorm said, dragging him to his feet by his collar. “You’re just a fat little nerd. You’re nothing.” Firestorm drew back to punch him in the face.
“Stop.”
“P*** off.” Firestorm shouted, as he spun to face The Blackbird.
<><><>
“This is the cutest dress ever! I’ll take it!” Verona said, as she lifted a white dress from the rack. “The tag says ‘2’… I’ll have to charge it to the Visa, I suppose, I’ve only got $50 on me.”
“What are you talking about? More importantly, what do you think of this jacket?” Ally asked, as she spun around in the leather jacket she had found.
“It’s not my thing, but it looks great on you.” Verona said. “And I’m talking about this dress. I don’t have $200 on me.”
“I should hope not. It’s two dollars V.” Ally rolled her eyes.
“What? How could it be so cheap?” Verona asked.
“This is a thrift store honey, this stuff is all second-hand.” Ally said.
Verona turned white and tossed the dress on top of the rack. “Someone else has worn it?” She almost shrieked.
“Yeah. Probably a lot of times. It’s no big deal. We can leave it, and go find you something else, from a bigger store.” Ally said, before sighing.
Verona looked at the obvious disappointment on her new friend’s face. She looked back at the dress. “But I really think it’s cute. I guess I could buy it and ask mom’s dressmaker to copy it. That way I don’t have to wear someone else’s clothes.”
A small grin appeared on Ally’s face. “That’s the closest thing to a victory I’m going to get today, isn’t it?”
Verona flashed her a smile. “Yep.”
“I’ll take it.” Ally laughed. “But next week I’ll be bringing my Joplin records to the penthouse with me.”
“What’s a record?”
Ally groaned.
<><><>
“You can’t just keep pummelling him.” The Blackbird said. “He’s incapacitated. Take him out to the police.”
“Back off. I’m doing my job. You should understand that.” Firestorm said, still clutching Arctic Wolf’s collar.
“You think I don’t understand the temptation? Trust me, I’ve been there. The Blackbird brought me back from that brink. You can come back too.”
Firestorm snorted. “Are you listening to yourself? Who are you kidding? You’re just like me. You’ll never change.”
“I have changed. You can too.”
“Stop that holier-than-thou crap. You’re not better than me.”
“It’s starting to look like I am.”
“Come down here and say that.”
Blackbird rolled his eyes under his mask. “Stop acting like a ten year-old” Blackbird said, from his perch in the open window.
“Just keep digging that grave.” Firestorm said.
“I’m telling you now Ben, let him go.” Blackbird said.
“Make me.” Firestorm taunted.
Blackbird dropped to the floor, and Firestorm charged, dropping Arctic Wolf to the ground.
Blackbird leapt over the top of Firestorm, sending him sprawling through desk.
“You know what? Screw this. I’m out of here.” Firestorm said, as he dusted himself off.
With that, he was out the door and back on his motorbike.