I apologize for the long wait. I had a ton of video-editing work to do for BronyCon, which is in a couple of weeks, and I was writing a play that had to be finished in time for a contest. Well, play is done and BronyCon vids are near completion, so I was able to come back to this.

Though business aside, this was still a hard chapter to write. The release of the pilot episode certainly helped in giving me an idea of how the team worked together on missions.

You can guess which song inspired this chapter.

"So not only did you steal the boss' prized Fabergé egg," Flug said while tinkering with a belt at his worktable, "but he actually let you get away with it?"

"He apparently saw it coming." Lita replied from behind the curtain of the decontamination shower, where she was changing into the new stealth suit Flug had made for her. "Said it was some kind of test to see if I had the drive or something like that."

He shook his head in disbelief. "You are either the boldest individual I've ever known…or the dumbest. And I know Dementia!"

"Harsh, Flug."

"I'm serious! Do you have any idea how much worse you could've had it?! I mean what were you even thinking?! Stealing from Black Hat?!"

He heard her grunt. "He pissed me off. I wanted to show him I was a good thief."

"By stealing his egg?! It's one of his most prized possessions! Black Hat doesn't even let 5.0.5. dust that thing!"

"I didn't think it was that important. I just know my papi stole it for him once and at the time, it seemed…appropriate."

Sighing, Flug screwed a bolt into a small metal box attached to the belt. "It was incredibly reckless. I mean you are supposed to act evil, but to steal from Black Hat…last guy who tried a thing like that lost both his hands."

Lita scoffed. "Joke would be on the boss. I wouldn't be able to pull off any heists for him."

"Trust me, Lita, no matter how useful you are, no one is safe from Black Hat's wrath." Flug smirked under his bag. "Still…it was kind of…fun watching Dementia take the fall for something you did."

"So it was you, you little—"

"DEMENTIA GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE, I'M CHANGING!"

The sudden outburst from Lita made Flug drop his screwdriver. He spun around to see Dementia skittering out from under the shower curtain, whining like a wounded puppy. He watched in bewilderment as she hid under the worktable.

"Consider it payback for that spaghetti incident!" Lita yelled, her volume down halfway, but still furious.

"F-Fine, we're even!" Dementia exclaimed. "Just don't frame me again!"

"I won't if you won't!"

Hearing snickering, Dementia looked up to see Flug staring down at her, a smug look in his goggles. She growled at him.

"What are you laughing at, nerd?!"

"You just got scared by," he scoffed, "Lita."

"Was not!" Dementia yelled, jumping out of her hiding place. "She just…hurt my ears with all her shouting!"

"How you doing in there, Lita?" Flug asked, swiveling his chair around.

"Is this suit supposed to be tight?" she asked, sounding uncertain.

"It has to cling to your body to allow flexibility for movement. But if it's too small, I have the shrink ray ready right here."

He patted the ray gun on the table beside him, then slapped Dementia's hand away upon seeing her reach for it.

"Remember, this is still a prototype," Flug said, getting his clipboard and pencil. "We need to test out its features before we break into the museum."

"Why are we stealing this…Black Diamond of Bombay again?" Lita asked.

"Cuz it's big, shiny and really expensive!" Dementia scoffed. "Duh!"

"For once, Dementia is correct," Flug said with reservation. "Villains don't always need a reason to steal something. In this case, however, it was requested by a client."

"Which one?" Lita asked.

"Hmm. Black Hat didn't say, but I'm sure it's important. Best not to question other villains' motives, as they may find it insulting."

"Everyone does something for a reason," Lita said as she pulled the curtain aside. "So, what do ya think?"

Flug's pencil dropped to the floor. As did Dementia's jaw.

The suit was standard for burglary. Black, so it could blend into the shadows. Covering her from neck to toe, it fit tightly around Lita's body, showing off her figure in a way none of her previous outfits had before. Wincing, she struggled to snap the thin fabric out of the more unpleasant places.

Flug couldn't help but gawk. The unfortunate curse of being pansexual was that he was more likely to find someone attractive than most, no matter the gender. Not that he would even think to break Rule 10V3—again—but there was no rule saying he couldn't at least appreciate someone's physical appearance.

Dementia, on the other hand, was seething with envy. True, Lita's bust was small compared to Dementia's, and she was still shorter, but…damn it this girl had curves! And muscles too!

"I've kind of always wanted something like this," Lita said, smoothing out her front. "I just never thought it'd be this…" She trailed off when she noticed her colleagues staring. "Is it really that bad?"

"No/Yes!" Flug and Dementia blurted at the same time.

"I knew it!" Lita's arms drooped. "Too tight!"

"You kidding me, girl?" Flug said, jumping out of his chair. "You're rocking that look!"

Both women looked at the scientist. They couldn't see his face, but his neck was red with embarrassment.

"I-I mean," Flug said, tugging on his collar. "A-As an o-objective o-observation from a, uh…scientific perspective, I, err, can conclude that the, um…suit has a, uh…aesthetic appeal when on your person."

"Smooth," Dementia muttered, narrowing her gaze.

Lita blushed slightly at the compliment. "Aw, thanks, Flug." She looked over her shoulder at her rear. "Still, it's a little hard to move."

The scientist cleared his throat. "Yes, fair point. Mobility is necessary for the job." He picked up the shrink ray and switched it to reverse. "Now hold still. We wouldn't want to accidentally turn you into a fifty-foot giant."

"That," Lita said, "actually sounds pretty cool." She giggled at the thought. "Can you at least make me taller than Black Hat?"

Flug chuckled. "Seriously, though. Don't. Move. A. Muscle."

Nodding, she held her arms out to her sides. "You've done this before, right?"

"Absolutely," Flug said, adjusting the power dial on the ray—a feature he'd added after the giant 5.0.5. incident. "I just have to concentrate the energy on your outfit rather than your entire person."

"So…that'll just make the outfit bigger, right?"

"Of course." He pointed the gun at her. "Theoretically."

"Wait, what?"

Flug didn't hesitate to pull the trigger. Lita winced as she was suddenly encased in blue light. Well, at least the worst that could happen is that I grow so much I rip through my clothes. Being giant and naked is better than being blown up.

However, she didn't feel any pain. In fact, her body didn't even feel tight anymore. Thinking the ray had worked, Lita opened her eyes.

The suit was bigger, alright. So much that the sleeves were drooping over her fingers and the front was sagging. Lita had to scrunch it up to hide her cleavage. Dementia was on the floor, laughing.

"Hmm," Flug said, tapping the part of his bag covering his chin. "May have used a little too much power."

"You think?" Lita said, scowling.

"Let's try this again, then," he said, flipping the switch back to shrink mode.

"No, no, wait!"

Her arms were out to the sides just as the ray gun hit her again. The suit shrank quickly, and Lita gasped as it tightened around her chest.

"Too small!" she wheezed. "Too small!"

"Whoops!" Flug switched the ray back to reverse. "Hang tight, I got it!"

"Got the tight part right!"

It took several attempts of growing and shrinking before the suit was just tight enough to fit around her body, but loose enough to allow for movement. Not to mention it wasn't riding up her butt crack anymore.

"Better?" Flug asked.

"Much," Lita said, rubbing her sore wrists. "Next time I want something resized though, I'm getting a tailor."

"Now you've just gotta put on these," he said, picking up a set of matching black gloves and slip-on boots, "and we can test out the suit's electrostatic functions."

Lita stared at him as she slid on the boots. "High school drop-out, Flug."

He sighed in disappointment. Even though Lita was smarter than Dementia, he still had the most complex vocabulary in the group.

"It's supposed to help you walk on walls."

"Seriously?" Lita said, gazing in awe at the gloves now on her hands. "Like Spiderman?"

"I…may have looked to the comics for inspiration." He rubbed the back of his neck, seemingly ashamed. "Just don't tell Black Hat I got the idea from a superhero, even if fictional. But yes, if my calculations were correct, the suit should cling to any surface, thus allowing you to walk on walls…like Spiderman."

"Big deal!" Dementia huffed. "I can already do that without a lame-o suit!"

She demonstrated by slithering up the wall.

"While that is a fact," Flug said, scowling up at the mutant as she crawled to the ceiling, "this is supposed to be a stealth operation. And some of us don't know when to be quiet!"

Like something out of The Exorcist, Dementia's head snapped all the way around to look at the scientist. "I can be quiet!"

"When you want to be," he muttered.

"I heard that, nerd!" Her gaze turned to the other woman. "So, ya coming up here girlie, or what?"

"What do I have to do?" Lita asked the scientist.

"Just press your hands and feet against the wall and climb," Flug said, pointing to the nearest wall.

Dementia huffed. "What kind of advice is that?"

He crossed his arms. "If you can do better, be my guest!"

"Gladly!" She craned her head back and slithered her way to the wall. "I do have more experience in this area, after all!"

Lita shrugged as she walked up to the wall. "She's got a point there, Flug."

Dementia's face was now beside hers. "Ya gotta grip the wall," she said, holding up a hand in a claw-like fashion. "Don't just slam your hands like you're playing pattycake! Keep your fingers flexed and firm, but not too firm or you'll get all tense and it'll be more effort than you'd like! Same goes for your toes. They and your fingers will be the only things keeping ya from falling. And whatever you do, never lift one hand or foot at the same time, or you'll lose your grip! Ya gotta make small movements, even when going fast! Have one hand or foot off the wall for too long, and you'll fall!"

Lita blinked up at her in astonishment. "Why can't you be this helpful all the time?"

"Cuz I don't like you," Dementia said, rolling her eyes as if it were obvious. "Come on, girlie, my fingers are getting tired!"

Taking a deep breath, Lita flexed her fingers just as Dementia had demonstrated and pressed them against the wall. She could feel them sticking, but still was unsure if this could hold her weight. It wasn't that she was afraid of heights, as she had lowered herself from ceilings by rope dozens of times, but given the unpredictable stability of this suit, she couldn't help but feel a little nervous.

"Well, come on, scaredy cat!" Dementia exclaimed. "Jump already!"

It took a couple leaps for Lita to finally get the toes of her boots clinging to the wall. She stayed there a moment, surprised that her body was holding.

"Come on, let's go!" the mutant girl said, slithering up backwards. "Small but quick steps! Get moving, slowpoke!"

Biting her lip, Lita quickly tore one hand away from the wall and moved it upwards. She then tried the other hand, shaking all the while. Shutting her eyes, she moved one foot at a time, then the hands, then the feet.

"You're doing great, Lita!" Flug shouted encouragingly.

"Ow!" Lita cried out as her head hit the ceiling.

"Open your eyes, dummy!" Dementia said from a few feet away from her. "Watch where you're going!"

As she opened her eyes, Lita gazed down, amazed at how high up she was. Her nerves started to melt away.

Did I really do that?

"Keep going!" Flug shouted up to her. "You need to practice on the ceiling too!"

Due to the lab being made from the remains of a plane, its structure was cylindrical, making it easier for Lita to move from the wall to the ceiling. As she crawled upside-down, she could feel the blood rushing to her head, and the adrenaline to her fingertips.

In her career as a thief, she had crawled through vents, scaled walls by rope, and handsprung her way through laser grids. But she had never imagined she could do anything like this! After all, humans weren't meant to walk on walls. Yet here she was, doing just that.

Dementia waited in the center of the ceiling, watching her, mildly impressed.

"Not bad, kid," she said. "Ya know. For someone who's not part lizard."

"Is this how you feel all the time?" Lita said as she approached her.

Cocking her head, Dementia replied, "Feel what?"

A smile tugged at the smaller woman's lips. "Invincible."

"Oh." She shrugged. "Yeah, suppose that's one way to put it."

All was going well, until Lita's right hand slipped on the metal surface. She didn't know whether it was because she'd miscalculated a step or the metal was slippery. Either way, it caused her hand to slide forward—or rather down. As Lita flailed to get her arm back up, her left foot lost its balanced and it, too, dropped from the ceiling. Lita yelped as she found herself hanging by only her left hand and right foot. Already she could feel her left fingers losing their cling.

"Lita!" Flug cried, gripping either side of his bag.

"Flug!" Lita exclaimed, wriggling to regain her balance.

"Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!" The scientist started running about the lab in panic. "5.0.5.! 5.0.5.! Don't worry, 5.0.5. will catch you! Just hang tight!"

She glared down at him. "Seriously?!"

"I told you!" Dementia hollered. "Only one hand or foot at a time!"

"Shut the fuck up, Dementia, and help me out here!"

The lizard-girl scoffed. "Would it kill ya to say please?"

Lita scowled. "Please?!"

"I dunno." She cocked her head with a mischievous grin. "Didn't really sound sincere."

Lita growled in anger. "DEMENTIA, IF YOU DON'T FUCKING HELP ME RIGHT NOW, I'M GONNA—"

She didn't get to finish her threat, as her other hand fell away. For but a second, Lita dangled by her foot before it, too, fell victim to gravity. She heard Flug's screams accompany hers as she tumbled towards the floor.

The bear was nowhere around, and there was no way Flug had the strength to catch her! And yet, he was racing towards her with his arms out.

Well, at the very least, he can break my fall. Or I'd just break him.

Shutting her eyes, Lita braced herself for impact.

She landed on her back with a thud, but there was no pain. It took a second for her to realize she wasn't on the metal floor, but in someone's arms. One arm had caught her beneath her knees, while the other supported her back. Upon landing, her arm had found its way around her savior's neck.

At first, Lita thought perhaps Flug was stronger than she'd given him credit for, but these arms felt too big to be his. Her rescuer also didn't have a lab coat on, from the feel of the material. And while the hands were gloved, they felt…cold.

Really, really cold.

When her eyes finally opened, they widened once they gazed upon the face of the last person she had expected to save her.

Her boss.

"Flug," Black Hat said gruffly, his eye not seeming to acknowledge Lita. "This better not be the suit Miss Gris is wearing for the heist!"

"I told him it was too tight!" Lita blurted without even thinking.

He raised an eyebrow at her. Her cheeks flushed upon realizing he'd been referring the suit's failure to cling.

"I-It's a work-in-progress, s-sir," Flug said with a salute. "B-B-But I should get the b-b-bugs worked out in time for the heist!"

"See that you do." Narrowing his gaze, Black Hat lifted it towards the ceiling. "And Dementia!"

"Yes, my love?" she replied, fluttering her eyelashes.

"The next time Miss Gris falls to the floor," he said, his tone growing darker by the word, "I expect you to catch her. Or else you'll be the one falling to the floor…" For a moment, the room seemed to erupt into flames as he shouted, "OF THE GRAND CANYON!"

Startled by his outburst, Dementia lost her grip on the ceiling and came tumbling down…right onto Flug. They both cried out as they fell into a crumpled heap. The room returned to normal as Black Hat stared down at them.

"Have I made myself," he said with a growl, "clear?!"

Flug and Dementia mumbled in panicked agreement, the former saluting weakly. Black Hat then turned to Lita, whose face had become beet red as she stared at him with her wide, blue eyes.

"WHAT ARE YOU STARING AT?!" he barked, causing Lita to recoil at the rotten smell of his breath.

"N-Nothing, sir," Lita said, more taken aback than frightened. "It's just…um…"

"What?!"

With her free hand, she pointed to the floor. "Can you put me down, please?"

Black Hat glanced down at his arms, as if only just realizing he was holding her. After a moment of stunned silence, he dropped her legs, then stepped away from her once she'd found her footing.

"T-Thanks," Lita said, removing her hand from his shoulder.

Clearing his throat, Black Hat smoothed out the wrinkles in his sleeves. "No matter."

"I'll, uh…" She flexed her fingers. "I'll be more careful next time, sir."

He stared at her incredulously. "Obviously, this was the fault of that idiot scientist for crafting an inadequate suit, and that irresponsible mutant for allowing you to fall."

"Hello!" Dementia said, waving from the floor. "We're still here!"

Apparently, Lita had forgotten the other two as well and moved to help them up. Well, more Flug than Dementia, as the latter refused to touch her.

"You have three days to get that blasted suit in order, Flug!" Black Hat huffed as he sauntered towards the door. "And I expect there'll be no more interruptions while I'm working!"

"Y-Yes, sir!" Flug said as he cracked his spine back into place.

"S-Sir?" Lita called in an unexpectedly weak voice.

Pausing in the doorway, Black Hat turned back to her.

Her face became even redder as she asked, "W-What do you think of my suit?"

She wasn't sure why she was asking. It wasn't like she cared how she looked to her boss. Maybe she just wanted to make sure it was appropriate for the job.

He stared at her a moment, his one eye moving up and down her body.

"I think," he said bluntly, "Flug needs to get it fixed."

And with that, he slipped out like a shadow.

"He means the bugs, of course," Flug said, limping over to his worktable. "You look great."

"I-I know," Lita said, lifting her hand to hide her blush. "S-Should I…take it off so you can work on it?"

"I'll fix it later." When he faced her, he held up the belt he'd been tinkering with. "We still need to test this grappling line."

Her eyes lit up. "I…I get my own grappling line?"

"Mmm-hmm," Flug said as he wrapped the belt around her waist.

"No way!" she said excitedly. "Normally I just use an old rope!"

"Not anymore." He clicked the belt into place. "You're working with us now."

"First the suit, now a grappling line?" She let out an unexpected squeal. "I feel like such a pro!" She gasped as a new thought occurred to her. "Do I get a weapon too?"

"Slow down, girl," Flug said with a slight chuckle. "The boss still has yet to approve your weapons-wielding privileges. But don't worry, if all goes well with this heist, he might just trust you enough with a weapon."

Lita frowned. "What do I do if I get caught?"

"Easy!" Dementia shouted as she spun round in round in Flug's chair. "Don't…get…caught!"

"Get out of my chair!" Flug yelled, stomping over to her.

While the scientist attempted in vain to pull the mutant from the spinning chair, Lita traced a hand over the shiny new belt, trying to get her mind off the traumatic fall she'd just had.

And the unexpectedly pleasant feeling of being in her boss' strong arms.

The lights were out in the Hat Island Museum. One would think it was abandoned, if not for the occasional glimmers of flashlights from the security guards wandering the halls. A black van with a logo for "Mel's Mad Hattery" was parked in an alley three buildings away.

Inside, Flug sat at his laptop, a series of monitors hanging on the wall above him.

"Alright," he said, typing aggressively, his goggles glued to the screen. "I've nearly hacked into the museum's cameras. Do you remember the plan?"

"Yeah, I got it." In the corner of the van, Lita was struggling to fit her long ponytail into a black ski mask—last time she'd worn a mask, her hair hadn't been as long. "Dementia and I will climb onto the roof, I'll use the grappling line to lower myself down from the skylight, weave my way through the laser grid, use the glass cutter you gave me, grab the diamond and pull myself up before any security guards come by."

Flug momentarily stopped typing to stare at her in surprise.

"Err…yes. Wow," he muttered under his breath. "Usually, I have to explain my plans fifty times to Dementia."

"Wait a minute!" Dementia cried from the front seat. "If she's grabbing the diamond, what am I supposed to be doing this whole time?"

"You," Flug said, continuing his typing while glaring at her out of the corner of his eye, "will be keeping lookout."

"Lookout?" She slithered up behind him. "Lookout?! No way are you gonna try sidelining me again, nerd! Why, I could do this whole heist with one hand tied behind my—YOW!"

Her claim was taken literally as she suddenly found her arm yanked around her back.

"This assignment," Black Hat hissed into her ear, "requires stealth. And if you think I'm going to let you take the lead on this one after your last museum mishap," he twisted her arm further, not enough to break it, but to make her cry out in pain, "then you're sorely mistaken!"

"Whatever you say, boss!" Dementia squeaked, too scared to enjoy the feeling of her beloved holding her from behind.

Flug tried his best to ignore the abusive action going on behind him as he continued hacking. He'd been surprised when their boss had shown up in the van before their departure. Black Hat rarely ever joined them on heists, especially on small ones such as this.

"I won't be assisting you imbeciles in any way," Black Hat had said. "I'm merely here to observe our latest recruit in action."

That didn't make the demon's presence any less disconcerting, especially with him looking over Flug's shoulder every five seconds. It was a good thing 5.0.5. had sat this mission out, otherwise the van would've been much more crowded.

"I'd rather the authorities not know of our involvement in this…little errand," Black Hat said, pushing Dementia to the floor. "If they do, our client may be at risk."

"You still haven't said who we're stealing this for," Lita said, taking off her mask after failing to put all her hair in, again.

"They wish to remain anonymous."

Seeing her pull her mask back on for the fifth time, Black Hat rolled his eye and went to help her. She gasped in surprise as he stretched out the back of her mask and stuffed her hair up so that it was tightly packed in.

"Oh, uh, thanks," Lita said, stretching the mask's end over her neck.

"Got it!" Flug exclaimed triumphantly as security images of the museum popped up on the monitors. "Now to put the footage on loop so those small-minded donut-eaters don't see you coming."

"Well, that's not very nice, Flug," Lita said, leaning one hand onto his desk. "A lot of people eat donuts."

She almost didn't hear the snort of laughter from Black Hat.

"Don't forget," Flug said, swiveling his chair around and pointing to her chest. "With the hidden camera I've installed in your suit, we'll be watching your every move. So, don't hesitate to ask for help if you get into trouble." He pointed to the headset he wore over his bag. "You've got your earpiece in?"

Lita tapped her covered ear. "All set."

"Good. Don't forget the night-vision goggles."

Nodding, she picked up the green-glassed goggles next to Flug's laptop. The scientist stood to help her put them on, as they were a little heavy.

On the inside, Lita was squealing like a fangirl. She could not get over how high-tech this heist was! Back when she was a kid, the only tools she'd carried were a rope, her switchblade, and the occasional glass cutter or lockpick. And the only outfits she'd worn were dark hoodies, dark jeans and, of course, ski masks. Now she was being equipped with a sticky suit, a grappling line, and night-vision goggles! She felt like she could put Parker from Leverage to shame!

She was so glad no one could see her embarrassed blush under her mask. If her villainous boss knew she was this excited to be stealing again, he'd never let her live it down.

In truth, she was also a bit nervous. While she'd said she could get past any security system, she'd never actually broken into a museum before. Her father had made her swear to avoid high-profile jobs such as this, as they'd draw too much attention. He'd had no problem with her thievery, but hadn't wanted her caught. Homes and jewelry stores in this town were robbed too frequently for the police to put much effort into their investigations. But when a priceless object was stolen from a museum, the press would make a big deal out of it. Hence, she could understand why Black Hat wanted to keep this job under wraps.

That thought made her even more nervous. This was her chance to really prove herself to her boss and co-workers. This wasn't a training session, or an office prank. This was the real deal. Not to mention it'd been ten years since she'd actually stolen something. What if she was too out-of-practice? What if she got caught? She doubted she could end up in jail with this villainous crew backing her up, but her boss could get mad. She'd been lucky not to have pissed him off so far, and knew he was probably itching for an excuse to punish her, as he liked to do with the others on a daily basis.

If only there was enough time to grab one of the honey muffins 5.0.5. had given them for the road. She felt like stress eating.

"So, you ready?"

Flug's voice pulled Lita from her thoughts. "Oh. Yeah."

"Good," Black Hat said as he opened the van doors.

Dementia, still grumpy that she'd been demoted to lookout, hopped into the alley. Before Lita could exit, Black Hat snatched her arm.

"Don't," he growled into her ear, "make me regret my decision to hire you."

Lita forced a smile. "No pressure, then?"

He scowled at her a moment before releasing her. Lita followed Dementia and found her crawling up the wall of the building to her left. Deciding it would be faster, Lita took the fire escape.

"Hurry up, will ya?" Dementia called from the roof.

Grunting in annoyance, Lita hoisted herself onto the metal rail, gripped the cage above her and swung up through the opening to the next level.

"Wow," Flug said as he watched her acrobatic climb through the bodycam.

"Show-off," Dementia murmured as Lita flipped onto the roof.

"Now what?" Lita said, noting that they were three rooftops away from the museum.

"Now," the lizard-girl said with a smirk, "we have some real fun."

"What?"

Without warning, Dementia grabbed Lita by the arm and lifted her onto her back. Lita nearly choked on her extremely bushy green ponytail. AsWhen Dementia started running on all fours, Lita gripped her arms around the mutant's neck.

As they quickly approached the edge of the roof, Lita realized what Dementia was about to do.

"Wait, Dem—?"

"Hang on, kid!"

Lita had to bite back a scream as Dementia bounded off the roof, across the next alleyway. They landed on the next roof with a thud, and Dementia, unfazed by Lita's terror, kept running.

"¡Híjole!" Lita breathed. "That…was pretty cool!"

"Ain't over yet!" Dementia said with a chuckle as she leaped to the next building.

Two jumps later and they were on the museum's rooftop. Lita had to hold her head to keep it from spinning as she climbed down from Dementia's back.

"W-Warn me next time you're gonna do that."

"Where'd be the fun in that?" Dementia replied with a giggle.

Once she'd gotten over her dizziness, Lita crept over to the inverted skylight. Peering through, she found a view of the jewelry exhibit below. In the gallery's center, surrounded by a green laser grid, was a glass case holding a black, star-cut diamond roughly twice the width of her finger. She remembered the details that were covered in the assignment's briefing.

"The Black Diamond of Bombay," her boss had said with a greedy smile on his face while pointing to a picture on a chalkboard. "This little beauty is forty carats in weight, and costs—"

"Roughly two million, three hundred thousand pesos?" she had estimated.

She smirked as she recalled everyone's surprised looks.

"What?" she had said with a shrug. "I know my diamonds."

That's what came with being the daughter of a retired master thief.

"Target's in sight," Lita said.

"Image clear on my end," said Flug's voice through her earpiece.

"I don't see any guards. Any on the cameras?"

There was a short pause. "The nearest one is three galleries away from you. As long as you don't make any noise, you should be fine." His tone became patronizing. "That means you too, Dementia!"

Dementia turned Lita towards her, so Flug could see her tongue through the bodycam.

"Real mature," said Flug in an unimpressed tone."Okay, Lita, I've looped the footage on the camera in the diamond exhibit, so you should be good to go."

"Thanks, Flug," Lita said, taking the glass cutter out from the small pouch in her belt. "Wish I'd had you around when I was breaking into jewelry stores. Would've saved me the trouble of throwing chewing gum on the cam lenses."

If he'd been anywhere near Flug's microphone, Lita would've heard Black Hat's amused chuckle. The demon didn't wear a headset, as his hearing was attuned enough to pick up the sound through Flug's headphones.

"A bit juvenile," Flug said as Lita carefully cut a square into the glass. "But must've been effective if you didn't get caught."

"Hey," Lita said. "When you're a teenage girl trying not to go broke, you use whatever ya got."

Using the stickiness in her gloves, Lita lifted the newly cut square from the window and carefully set it to the side.

"Alright, Dementia," she said, pressing the button on her belt to shoot out her grappling line. "If anything goes wrong," she hooked the line on the metal rail beside the skylight, "pull me up as fast as you can."

Snorting, Dementia crossed her arms. "And why should I? Why can't I just climb down and grab the diamond myself?" She smiled mischievously. "Even better, why don't I just cut the line and let you fall to your doom?"

"Dementia, we don't have time for this!" Flug shouted through the commlinks. "Just stick with the plan!"

"Keep out of this, nerd!" the lizard-girl cried, swatting at her own ear.

"Shh!" Lita put her finger to her lips. "We're supposed to be—"

"I'm just saying you don't see me gearing myself up with all this nerd stuff! I don't need this puny human to do a job I could do in my sleep!"

Back in the van, Black Hat was prepared to wrench the headset from Flug's bag and scream at the mutant for her insubordination.

But Lita beat her to it.

"Look, chica," she said, grabbing the front of Dementia's hoodie and pulling her down to her eyelevel. "I get it. You hate me. I ain't so keen on you either. But let me put it this way. Your boss, your beloved, is watching. And if we screw this up, he'll have both our heads! So, I suggest you sit quietly, and follow the plan, or else," Dementia's eyes widened as the glass cutter was suddenly pressed to her throat, "you're gonna see what I'm like when I'm really mad!"

For a moment, Dementia was legitimately scared of the tiny woman threatening her. Lita was usually calm and collected, so it was pretty off-putting whenever she snapped into thug mode.

For the sake of this heist, Lita had been ready to play nice with the mutant. But her patience was wearing thin. The only language Dementia seemed to speak was violence and her love for Black Hat. And yes, there was no doubt Dementia would pulverize her if need be, but the threat was enough to get her attention.

"A-Alright, alrighty, kid," the lizard-girl said, pushing the cutter down with her finger. "No need to get all ghetto on me."

"Glad we have an understanding." Lita kept stern eye contact with her as she slid the cutter back into her belt pouch. "Now keep watch."

In the van, the men had been watching and listening to the confrontation in stunned silence. Black Hat found himself grinning in satisfaction by the time Lita had whipped out the blade. Flug had known of the woman's guts, of course, but it amazed him seeing someone—other than the boss—threaten Dementia into submission.

"Wow, that was hot," he found himself whispering.

"What was that?" came Lita's voice through the headset.

"Eep!" He jumped in his chair. "Nothing! Forget I said anything!"

Black Hat raised an eyebrow at Flug. "What does temperature have to do with anything?"

It took a few seconds for the scientist to realize his boss was serious. "And, uh…by that I mean…she's, uh…hot-tempered. You know. Like, uh…she gets angry and…that's what I meant by hot! Not that she's, uh…you know…"

"We can still hear ya, nerd," said Dementia.

Flug facepalmed his bag. "Ugh, just kill me now." He glanced nervously at his boss. "Expression! Just an expression!"

He heard Lita's chuckle. "You can talk about how hot I am later. I'm ready to go down."

"Oh, uh, right!" Flug straightened up and returned his gaze to the screen, seeing the bodycam's view of the gallery. "Now remember, go slow and—"

"Copy," Lita said, leaping through the opening in the skylight and ignoring Flug's squeals.

Well, this wasn't exactly her first time suspending from the ceiling.

Once her line had stopped swinging back and forth, Lita pressed the button on her belt to release more cord. As she slowly made her descent, she kept her free hand on the line while glancing down over her shoulder. As soon as her body was a foot above the laser grid, she stopped.

The green lasers guarding the diamond zigzagged in all directions, making it impossible for a person to slip their entire body straight through. Lita's eyes scanned over them as she planned her next move.

Flug was examining them too. "Okay. Judging by the seventy-degree angle of the laser nearest to you, the first move you should make is—"

He froze when he felt a cold, gloved hand on his shoulder.

"Now, now, Doctor," Black Hat said, leaning towards his ear. "Let the girl figure this part out for herself."

Meanwhile, Lita wasn't sure why Flug had stopped talking, but didn't mind. She needed quiet in order to concentrate anyway.

After half a minute, Lita finally moved. Grunting, she leaned back with her arms to her chest, taking great care not to brush her head through the lasers as she gripped her legs around the line. This was to steady her body as she curled up and unzipped her belt pouch. Before gravity could take effect, she took out the glass cutter and rezipped the pouch.

Then she carefully unfurled her body so that she was dangling vertically, her legs entwined above. After a quick reexamination of the grid, Lita took a deep breath and stretched out one arm. She weaved it under the nearest laser, then over the next. She used the hand gripping the cutter to press the belt button, lowering herself further. Her head then followed the path of her arm, ducking and tucking when necessary. Her torso came next and it came to a point where she was bending her body backward, her legs bending the grappling line along with them, so it wasn't going straight through the lasers.

Through the bodycam and through the skylight, the rest of the team watched as Lita weaved her way through the laser grid.

As this was his first time seeing her in action, Flug's mouth was agape beneath his bag. Holy science, she is good!

Up above, Dementia was groaning, trying not to look impressed. Okay, fine. So the chick's a human pretzel, I'll give her that.

Black Hat, of course, wasn't surprised in the least. Still, Lita's actions caused him to grin excitedly. This girl is worth so much more than five hundred thousand pesos.

Once her hand touched the surface of the display case, Lita released some of the air she'd been holding. Now all she had to do was cut a hole in the glass, grab the diamond, and come back up, all without touching the lasers.

Yeah. Everything up until now had been the easy part.

Steadying herself, Lita lowered her other hand and began cutting through the glass. She did this slowly, as she had to stay frozen in this awkward position at the same time. If not for the stickiness in her glove, her hand would be slipping right now.

Her heart was pounding from the adrenaline coursing through her veins. To think, she'd gotten this far without triggering the alarm! She felt like a child again, stealing valuable items from right under people's noses. She couldn't help the smile forming on her masked face.

She had just lifted the small square from the case when through her earpiece came an, "Uh-oh."

Tensing, Lita whispered, "What do you mean 'uh-oh,' Flug?"

"D-D-Don't panic, but…there's a guard headed your way!"

Biting back a gasp, she flicked her gaze towards the large doorway. Fortunately, it wasn't in direct view of the diamond, but the moment someone walked through, she'd be spotted for sure.

"How far away are they?" she said, lowering her voice more.

"T-Two galleries! He'll be there in less than a minute!"

Shoot, that doesn't give me much time!

"You gotta get outta there, Lita!"

"But I've almost got it!"

"If he sees you, it's over! You gotta get outta there now!"

It took all her willpower to keep her panic at bay. Lita glanced around, analyzing her predicament. Given her position, there was no way she could crawl out of there in less than a minute without touching the lasers. Even if the lasers weren't there, her grappling line wouldn't move fast enough. She couldn't climb that fast either. The ceiling was too high! And the walls were too far away, so she couldn't swing over there!

She glanced down at the diamond through the opening she'd made. It was so close, but she'd have to bend lower to reach it, and the lasers were too close for her to risk that. Even if she gave up on the diamond, she couldn't get out of there fast enough!

"Hurry! He's in the next room!"

Then she realized there was only one thing to do.

"Dementia," Lita whispered. "Listen carefully. On the count of three, pull me up as fast as you can."

"What?" Dementia's voice said in her ear. "But you haven't got the diamond yet!"

"Just do it, okay! I have an idea!"

Confused, but knowing that her honeybun was watching, Dementia gripped the grappling line.

"Okay," Lita said, glancing quickly at the approaching flashlight beam. "One."

As Dementia readied herself, Lita slid the cutter between her fingers on the glass, and then flexed the fingers of her now free hand.

"Two," she said, eyeing the diamond.

Flug was freaking out. "Lita, what are you—?"

"Three!" she cried, lunging forward.

The next few seconds went by too fast for anyone to process. The bodycam was facing away from the glass case, so the men couldn't tell what was happening, only that Lita was suddenly moving upwards.

An alarm blared throughout the museum.

"Oh, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!" came Flug's panicked voice.

"Hey!" a voice called from the next gallery. "Who's there?!"

Flipping herself upright, Lita gripped the line and tried speeding things up by pressing the button to pull it back into her belt. To avoid accidentally cutting herself, she slid the glass cutter back into her pouch. Dementia squealed as soon as the alarm went off, but she kept on pulling, her foot pressing against the rail for support. Thankfully, she was really strong.

By the time the guard rushed in, Lita was two feet away from the skylight. "Hey! Stop!"

Figuring he was going for his gun, Lita hastily climbed up the rest of the way and grabbed Dementia's reaching hand.

"Come on, kid," Dementia cried, hoisting her up, "let's hightail it outta here!"

Lita didn't object as she was thrown over the mutant's shoulder. She quickly reeled the rest of the line in as Dementia ran and jumped over to the next roof. It seemed she'd finally gotten a grip on the sincerity of the situation. Dementia was crazy, yes, but not crazy enough to get caught by the fuzz!

She was about to jump to the next roof when the screech of a van caught her attention. Flug had made their getaway faster by driving into the very next alleyway. Lita tried not to cry out as Dementia leaped off the roof and landed atop the van, miraculously without crushing her ankles.

"Get in!" Black Hat shouted as the back doors were thrown open.

Like an ape, Dementia swung inside and Lita tumbled out of her hold, landing at her boss' feet.

"Flug, drive!" Black Hat yelled, using his tendrils to shut the door.

The scientist's foot slammed on the gas pedal and the van skidded out of the alley. Already, there were sirens intermingling with the sound of the museum's alarm. It wasn't until the sounds had drowned out behind them that the man at the wheel ceased his hyperventilating.

"I-I think we lost them, sir."

"Good," Black Hat said, turning to Lita, who was attempting to sit up. "Now that that problem's out of the way…"

Lita cried out as a tentacle latched itself around her waist and hoisted her up to meet her boss' glaring, glowing-red eye.

"WHAT IN THE NINE CIRCLES OF HELL WERE YOU THINKING?!" he bellowed, his voice becoming more and more demonic by the second. "SETTING OFF THE ALARM LIKE THAT?! DID YOU WANT TO GET CAUGHT, YOU IMBECILE?!"

She should've been terrified. Terrified that his tendril was threatening to suffocate her, that he was growing in size, that his claws were getting longer and pointier. Any sane person would be terrified. Flug himself was trembling in the driver's seat, resisting the urge to tear his eyes from the road and look back. Even Dementia was shivering in the corner of the van, her love for the demon apparently not enough to dispel her fear.

Instead, Lita was angry. Really angry. She really didn't appreciate being called an imbecile, especially after what she'd just gone through!

With a defiant scowl, she snapped, "I had to! It was the only way I could—"

"AND NOT ONLY DID YOU TRIGGER THE ALARM, BUT YOU FAILED TO GET THE DIAMOND!"

"Now wait a minute! I didn't—"

"AFTER WEEKS OF BEGGING FOR A JOB, WHEN I FINALLY GIVE YOU ONE, YOU FAIL MISERABLY?! I HAD THOUGHT YOU MORE COMPETENT! AND THIS MEDIOCRE PERFORMANCE IS WHAT I—?!"

"WILL YOU SHUT UP FOR ONE FUCKING SECOND AND LET ME TALK?!"

Flug stiffened while Dementia covered her mouth, both of them shocked that Lita had yelled back at their boss! Black Hat was shocked too. And furious.

"WHAT?!" he shouted through his now much longer teeth.

Without breaking eye contact, Lita reached into the front of her suit and pulled out something small.

"Here's your fucking diamond," she grumbled as she tossed it to him.

Black Hat's eye widened and as he caught the diamond in his hand. Astonished, Flug glanced at the rearview mirror in time to see Black Hat shrink back to his normal form, his tendril releasing Lita. Dementia's jaw dropped as her eyes flickered between Lita and the diamond in Black Hat's hand.

"H-How?" the mutant stammered. "When?"

"I realized that even if I hadn't grabbed the diamond," Lita explained, pulling off her goggles and mask, "I couldn't get out of the laser grid before the guard arrived, and I couldn't get up quickly without passing through the lasers. So, it was either trigger the alarm and get out of there, or not trigger the alarm and let the guard see me. Yes, he saw me, but at least this way I was able to escape with the diamond, which I'd snatched the second I told Dementia to pull me up."

Still angry from being yelled at, Lita crossed her arms. "You're welcome."

Everyone stared at her for a long while. Flug watched the rearview mirror, worried about how their boss was going to react. Was he going to congratulate her or maim her? On one hand, she'd gotten the diamond. On the other hand, she'd acted defiantly. And had nearly cost them the heist.

Honestly, it was a toss-up.

Dementia was the one to break the tense silence. "Huh. Not bad, kid."

"Indeed," Black Hat said, a grin forming as he turned the diamond over in his hand. "Not bad at all."

That first scene was for you "Once Upon a Time" fans.

Sheesh. Never thought a robbery scene would be so hard to write! I didn't want to make it look too easy for Lita, as I didn't want her to end up a Mary-Sue. And then there were the little details concerning the technology and the lasers...oh boy.

So, with all the theories concerning Flug's sexuality, I liked the idea of him being pansexual the best. And before you think it, no. No love triangle is being set up here. As my pansexual friend has described, finding someone attractive doesn't necessarily mean you have romantic intentions.