Thanks to dwood15 for betareading.

Twinkle 2.4

Mrs. Knott looked up when the door to her classroom opened in the halfway through her class. I glanced over too. It was a little mousy girl who I'd seen before, but whose name I didn't know. She shuffled her feet awkwardly when the class' collective attention turned on her.

"Um, Mrs. Knott?" she said, her frame shrinking from the attention. "The office sent me."

Mrs. Knott nodded encouragingly. "And what did they send you for, Savannah?"

"Uh, Taylor Hebert—she's supposed to come with me. And to bring her things."

Did Emma make trouble after yesterday? I wondered.

I shrugged and started packing up my things. "Don't worry about homework. There's not any today." Mrs. Knott said, giving me a nod. "We'll see you on Monday."

"See you then." I followed Savannah out of class without another word.

In silence, I followed Savannah down the hallway. She didn't say a word to me as we walked; didn't even glance my way once we'd left the classroom. It was fairly clear why. My social status was very much in flux; before now, basically anyone would have taken the opportunity of solitude to tease me. But many of them had seen the failure of Emma's verbal attack the day before, and they'd seen Sophia avoiding me since Tuesday. Savannah wasn't sure what interacting with me would do to her, and so was doing so as little as possible.

I almost had to laugh at how small her concerns were.

Blackwell's secretary greeted us, immediately shooing Savannah away before letting me in to see the principal.

As we entered, the woman glanced up from Sophia who was already there. "Good," she said as I started to close the door. "Shut the door, please."

I was already doing that.

I stepped in, gave Sophia an expressionless nod, and came to a halt beside her. Her jaw worked behind closed lips for a moment, her eyes narrowed at me, before she looked back at the principal.

"The PRT called," Blackwell said. "Sophia, you are to retrieve your costume and meet a van outside—Taylor, they already have yours. You'll change there. The Wards are being called to action."

"What's the situation?" I asked.

"I don't know, Miss Hebert," she said with an air of exasperation.

"We'll find out on the way, I suppose. Thanks." I glanced at Sophia as I turned away. "See you in the van."

The PRT had, in fact, fetched my armor from headquarters. I started changing, beginning with the gauntlets. I'd finished with them-and with the necessary removal and replacement of Nenya-when Sophia stepped in, tossed her backpack beside her, and then started rummaging in it.

"They tell you what we're here for?" she asked, a scowl on her face.

I shook my head. "We waited for you, don't worry." She gave me a look, but otherwise didn't respond.

After Sophia closed the door, the driver spoke. "I'll brief you while we move; we're on a short timetable. Costumes?"

"Accounted for," Sophia said. A rehearsed response. I'd need to read up on Wards procedure. I'd started, but between power testing and finishing up my gauntlets and the Jewelry Box I hadn't had time to commit them all to memory.

"Accounted for," I repeated after an awkward silence.

"Amateur," she said, rolling her eyes.

In answer, I just raised the middle finger of my right hand while the driver pulled out.

"The Undersiders are holding up Brockton Bay Central Bank," he began, his tone one of cool professionalism. "The bank's occupants are being held hostage. Normally, the Protectorate would be deployed, but unfortunately the local team is currently out of town at a publicity event. They are en route, but may be too late to assist."

"A meet and greet. Can't be bothered to do their jobs because they're busy getting drunk with a bunch of other rich snobs."

"Are you rejecting this mission, Shadow Stalker?" the driver's voice was hard.

"Nah," she said, her cold voice muffled by her mask, her fingers drumming an idle rhythm on the handle of one of her crossbows.

The driver continued, voice grim. "Amy Dallon of New Wave, codename Panacea, is one of the hostages. It's unlikely that the robbery will still be in progress once we arrive, but it was deemed sufficiently important to make the attempt to fetch you."

"How long does a bank robbery usually take?" I asked.

"About twenty minutes," Sophia said, "if the robbers are slow. There's no way we make it, unless the others hold them long enough."

I can change that. "All right, give me your hand," I said, holding mine out to Sophia, standing up-slightly bent so that I didn't bump my head on the roof of the car.

She blinked at me. "...Why?"

I grinned. "Well, you want to get there on time, don't you?"

I assume she grimaced under her mask, but she did take my hand.

"What are you doing, Annatar?" the driver asked.

"Oh, I was supposed to report new powers as they manifested, right?" I said, pulling Sophia in and lifting her into my arms. Nenya didn't exactly give me enhanced strength the way Narya did, but it did give me the capacity to carry heavier loads than I otherwise might. It was fitting-the Ring of Adamant made its bearer unbowed.

"The fuck are you doing?" Sophia shouted harshly, beginning to struggle in my arms.

"Quit squirming!" I told her. Then, to the driver, "Here's one, for the Water module. Super-speed. Sorta." I opened the door. The driver slammed on the brakes, but I kept my footing, Nenya keeping me stable. "We'll see you at the bank, sir."

I jumped out of the van, Sophia in my arms, and began to run. I quickly gained speed, the buildings blurring to either side as I weaved in and out of traffic, slipping in the space between cars. Based on the speed difference between me and the cars around me, I had to be going at least sixty miles an hour.

Sophia was clutching me tightly, hands clasped around my neck. The strangely intimate position was acutely awkward, exaggerated by the fact that it was, well, Sophia.

She did, slowly, relax once I'd been running for about thirty seconds. Her mask, previously fixing its gaze firmly over my shoulder and behind me, looked up into my face. "Don't you dare drop me," she hissed shakily.

"Wouldn't dream of it."

"Annatar," Clockblocker greeted me as I ran up. "Superspeed? Did I miss something?"

"New power on the Water module." I gently let Sophia down. Her legs shook slightly, but bore her weight. "I can switch to one of the others if-wait, shit. I don't have my other modules here." The Jewelry Box was still in my bag, and Aeglos was still on the floor of the van. "Also, Clock? Where's Aegis?"

Clockblocker chuckled, but it was Carlos' voice. "We switched costumes," he said. "Safety precaution. I'm still in command. Which one's Water again?"

"Stranger, thinker, shaker, mover," I recited quickly.

"Understood." Carlos—I couldn't think of him as either Aegis or Clockblocker—spoke firmly. "We're up against Tattletale, so there's no guarantee your stranger powers will work—"

"I ran into Tattletale on my first night out," I interrupted. "Water trumps her."

He stared at me for a moment, then spoke. I could hear the grin in his voice. "Oh. Perfect. Could you go in now and take one out?"

"Depends. I can't turn invisible, just hide really well. Do we have access to an employee's entrance? I can take cover in the teller's booths and get them if I get an opening."

Carlo-ckblocker nodded. "We don't have much time—Glory Girl's on the roof, and she's not in the mood to wait. Can you guide Stalker through the infiltration, Annatar?"

"I don't need fucking guiding-"

"Yes." I could keep Sophia inside Nenya's aura of concealment.

"Perfect. You two, go around the building to the right," he pointed, "and use the employee's entrance. Radio silence once you're in. See if you can take out Grue, Hellhound, or both. The moment we get a hint of fighting, the Wards will move in—Vista will give us a route into the lobby, and we'll bust in through the windows. Be careful."

"Sounds like a plan," I agreed. "Stalker, don't kill anyone. Let's go."

"Fuck you," she said, but followed.

Creeping around the bank, we stayed behind the picket line until it wound its way past the alley we were making for, then crept along the wall and ducked into the shadow of the bank.

"I've got Grue," Sophia muttered then. "You get on Hellhound."

"Focus on the objective. We're here to thin the Undersiders without drawing attention or causing collateral damage. If Grue gives us an opening, great, but we can't go in half-cocked if he doesn't."

"You sound like Piggy."

"Better her than you."

"Fuck you, Annatar."

I didn't bother to answer. We were nearing the door. "You phase through and unlock it. Got it?"

"Yeah, yeah."

She slipped through the door in her shadow form silence while I focused on reaching out with Nenya's power, trying to conceal us both. I was pretty sure it was working, but I hadn't really used it on more than myself yet.

The door opened with a soft click as the lock came undone. Sophia was crouched on the other side. She gave a thumbs-up-I assumed that meant she hadn't been seen.

I nodded. "Stay low," I said. "Let's get behind the tellers' desks."

She nodded and I silently followed her through the break room, down a corridor, and into the employee's section of the lobby.

Voices reached my ears as the door opened—low, but Nenya brought them to my ears anyway. "You got us into this mess," a male voice was saying. Probably one of the male Undersiders-it was vaguely familiar. "Can you get us out?"

"I'm trying to think, Grue," said a girl—Tattletale, I guessed. "Just… keep watching. They won't come in here while we have hostages."

"You think hostages are going to stop Collateral Damage Barbie, if that's really her on the roof?" A voice I recognized as Regent drawled. Sophia huffed something like a laugh.

"They'll hold her off from doing anything stupid, at least," said Tattletale grimly. "Now be quiet. I need to think. Why would she have come so—oh shit. Guys? We just took Panacea hostage."

And now that they've realized that, they could use her for leverage.

I closed my eyes and allowed Nenya to reach out. My ears seemed to sharpen, and I felt a faint prickling at their tips. Suddenly I heard more—the heavy and shallow breathing of worried or frightened hostages, the panting of Hellhound's dogs, the creak of Grue's leather gloves as he clenched his fist.

"Tats," he said darkly, "you really fucked the dog here."

"I can't be right every time."

"We going or not?" Sophia breathed into my ear.

I held up a finger, eyes still closed. "Quiet," I said, my voice barely a puff of air. "I'm listening."

Regent was crossing the lobby, coming our way. Grue and Tattletale converged on the hostages—probably looking to pick out Panacea. I heard the click of Tattletale's heels and the tramp of Grue's boots moving away, while the faint padding of Regent's finer leathers came our way. By the panting of her dogs and the rustling of their fur, Hellhound was staying fairly near to the main door of the bank on the back of one of her hounds. Two more paced around the hostages, keeping them corralled.

This was our chance.

Regent came to a halt, leaning against one of the tellers' booths. I crept along until I was across from him. Then, in one motion, I stood up, set one gauntleted hand across Regent's mouth, and struck him on the temple with my other fist.

He went limp in my arms with a muffled grunt. I quickly tugged him over the booth and backward into my lap as I crouched back down. Nenya muffled the sound of his body scraping over the wood. None of the other Undersiders seemed to notice.

"Nice," Sophia murmured, barely audible as she studied the unconscious Undersider. She quickly withdrew a tranquilized dart from her holster and jabbed it into his leg. "One down."

"Three to go. Quiet."

"Regent?" Grue's deep, masculine voice was loud in the bank, clearly cutting over all other sound.

"Shit," said Tattletale. "The Wards are in here. They have a stranger."

"The Wards don't have a stranger."

"They do now. Probably that girl from Saturday. Hey, Ward! Give up Regent, or we will start shooting hostages!"

Her eyes met mine. "I'll protect the hostages," I said, nodding. I didn't have Aeglos, but I didn't need it to be dangerous.

Sophia nodded in return.

"Last chance!" Tattletale called over the sound of a gun cocking. "Come out now!"

"That's our cue," my teammate said as I withdrew Nenya's protection. I vaulted over the booth and dove into action.