"This is Shiv," Ebon said, motioning to the blue-haired bang-baby.

Shortly after Zoey had agreed to join the gang, Ebon wasted no time in herding his crew members to the rec room, where he began formally introducing each meta-human to his newest member.

"Nice to meet you," Shiv asked, outstretching one of his hands in greeting.

He saw Zoey flinch, causing him to look down at his hands, which were now knives.

"Oops, sorry. That happens sometimes," he said, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, though his cunning smile made Zoey wonder if it had been just an accident.

"And this is Kangorr," Ebon said, motioning to the big-footed young man, who simply nodded.

"Talon," the bird-girl said, outstretching a claw. Zoey hesitantly shook it, half-expecting knives to come out of her hands, too.

And last, but not least, was Hotstreak.

"Nice to meet you," he sneered. Instead of waiting for Zoey to initiate a handshake, he practically grabbed her wrist and shook it. His grip was firm and rough, enough to make her feel uneasy as he flashed her a sly grin. She now fully understood why Frieda was so afraid of him./p

"Now that we got that out of the way, we need to come up with a plan to lure Static and his no-good sidekick to us," Ebon said, turning to her. "And we're gonna need your help."

She didn't know why, but the thought of her lost, then found, then lost again backpack suddenly popped into her mind.

"Where's my backpack?" she asked.

Ebon narrowed his eyes. For a moment, she feared she had overstepped a boundary. After all, she emhad/em just interrupted him while he was in the middle of his scheming.

"Here," he said, pulling a familiar mauve-colored backpack from behind his back.

However, when he handed it to her, the backpack felt unusually light. Quickly unzipping it, she peered inside, only to find most of its contents were missing, including her sketchbook.

"Hey, where'd my sketchbook go?"

Ebon's invisible grin returned. "Not so fast, girly. You're gonna have to earn that back."

Zoey glared at him, but did not protest. She figured there'd be some catch. It would've been foolish of her to think that he'd trust her completely by her word alone.

"Don't worry, babe, I'm keeping it safe for you," Hotstreak interjected, giving her a wink. The other gang members rolled their eyes.

"Shut up, Hothead," Ebon snapped. "We gotta throw Static a welcoming party." He pointed at Zoey. "And you, Parker, will be the bait."

Zoey's eyes widened, wondering what the gang leader had in store for her.

"Shiv, Talon, Kangorr, stand guard outside," Ebon ordered.

Doing as they were told, the three bang-babies nodded and migrated out of the room, leaving Zoey with the two bang-babies she feared most.

"And, you, Hotstreak are gonna help me create a distraction with our newest member."

Hotstreak and Ebon exchanged glances, leaving Zoey in the dark. Out of nowhere, the gang leader tossed Hotstreak a rope, and before she knew it, Zoey felt her arms being bound behind her back.

"Hey, what are you doing?!" she demanded.

"Just a precaution. Don't take it too personally," Ebon sneered. "Make sure you're not going anywhere."

Zoey huffed indignantly. "Thanks for the concern."

"Now we gotta decide where to put you," Ebon continued, ignoring her sarcastic remark. "What would be the best place to grab the zero heroes' attention?"

Hotstreak shrugged. "There's a refinery across the street," he suggested.

Ebon thought for a moment. "We could take her down to the docks. Lots of hazardous stuff there."

Zoey's eyes widened in shock. Were they serious?

"If I had known you treat your members this badly, I would've declined your offer in the first place," she spat.

"Enough!" Ebon snarled. "That deserves you a little bound and gag action."

Before she could escape, Hotstreak held her in place while Ebon placed a cloth over her mouth.

"Maybe now you'll learn to keep your mouth shut."

Unable to form coherent words, Zoey could only whimper in frustration.

"Now, where were we?"

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a crash outside, followed by frantic shouting.

Ebon narrowed his eyes. Whatever was causing the ruckus outside, it couldn't be good.

"Lock her up, Hotstreak. We have visitors."