As Static, Gear and She-Bang approached the Juvenile Detention Center, Static turned to his companions.

"We should go the rest of the way on foot so we don't tip them off that we're here."

Gear and She-Bang nodded.

They followed the electric superhero into an alleyway, just footsteps away from the old juvie hall.

"Who wants to bet they already know we're coming?" Gear asked, feeling slightly apprehensive.

"Aw, don't worry, guys, we can take 'em," She-Bang replied, assessing the danger. Using her genetically-modified senses, she could make out the outline of Kangorr standing in the doorway of the building.

Like She-Bang, Gear had heightened senses as well. Using the thermal vision feature in his visor, he could make out two bodies standing outside the building, along with a third individual standing just inside the entryway.

"So far, I'm picking up three life forms in close proximity," the techie reported.

Static narrowed his eyes. "Who wants to bet that one of those life forms is Ebon?"

"Well, judging by the outlines of their heat signatures, I'd wager it's Talon, Shiv and Kangorr," Gear explained. "Ebon must have Zoey in another part of the building."

"Well, if they're standing guard, she must be," Static remarked.

She-Bang observed the surroundings carefully. She definitely couldn't see things as well as Gear could, but she swore she saw movement on the rooftop of the building.

"I bet Talon's on the rooftops," she thought aloud.

Gear peered through his helmet again. "Yep, I'd say that's Talon. Shiv is hiding behind the bushes."

Meanwhile, Static was growing increasingly impatient as the seconds passed. Not being able to see what his cohorts were looking at was starting to annoy him.

"How about we stop playing hide-and-seek and go out and fight?" he said, driving his fist into his palm.

Of course, She-Bang was totally on board with that idea.

"On the count of three, let's go after them. One…two…"

Gear frantically glanced back at Static. "Wait a minute, what about the plan?"

"…three!"

Before they could stop her, the heroine suddenly bolted, heading straight for the building.

Sighing, Static hopped on his disk to go join her in the battle. "That girl gets on my last nerve sometimes," he said. "At least this time, she has the right idea."

"Still haven't quite figured out what that is just yet," Gear muttered, as the electric superhero flew out of earshot.

As if on cue, he saw Shiv and Kangorr emerge from their hiding spots as She-Bang and Static bounded towards them.

Feeling like he didn't have a better choice, the green-clad hero followed his friends onto the battlefield, not knowing what odds were stacked against them.

Meanwhile, Hotstreak had just finished shoveling Zoey back into her cell, still bound and gagged from her altercation with Ebon.

"Sorry, babe, it's for your own protection," he sneered. Shutting the door behind her, he turned around, about to head outside and join his crew members, when a twinge of guilt suddenly struck him.

He knew Ebon's reasoning for capturing her in the first place was messed up. As he had been trying to say all along, what could she possibly know about Static and Gear's true identities? It was probably mere chance that she had gotten mixed up with the superheroes in the first place. Was a random girl really deserving of Ebon's wrath? Hotstreak didn't think so.

Silently cursing his good conscience, the pyromaniac turned around and opened the door a crack.

Naturally, Zoey took a step back, wondering what he was going to do to her.

"Don't worry, I'm not gonna hurt you."

Zoey eyed him warily. She still didn't trust him, but it was hard to ignore his shift in demeanor, which had veered slightly from his typical bad boy persona.

Not coming any closer, yet, not backing away, Zoey allowed him to reach over and pull down her gag.

"There, now we can talk," he said.

Zoey narrowed her eyes at him. What could he possibly want to talk about with her?

The bang-baby took her silence as an opportunity to continue. "Look, I'm sorry about earlier," he explained. "I didn't have a choice."

Zoey, still silently fuming at the fact that she had been betrayed, glowered at him. "I'm sure you are."

Hotstreak glared at her. Even when he was trying to do a good deed, he got shut down. "Hey, I'm just trying to be nice."

"If you're trying to be nice, how about letting me go?" Zoey retorted.

"Hey, I'm not that nice," he said, a twinkle of mischief returning to his gaze.

Zoey scoffed. That was the most she was going to get out of him, she supposed.

The two were silent for a moment, until she heard Hotstreak chuckle quietly.

"What's so funny?" she demanded.

The pyromaniac shook his head. "It's just…I can't believe you hang around those two dorks."

Zoey furrowed her brows in confusion. "Who? Static and Gear?"

"If by Static and Gear, you mean Hawkins and Foley, then yeah," he replied.

"Hey, Virgil and Richie are not dorks—" she began to protest, but quickly realized that there was probably no point in arguing with a knucklehead like him. Instead, she took a different approach. "So you think Virgil and Richie are Static and Gear?" she asked.

Hotstreak shrugged. "I mean, I can see it," he answered. "Either way, it doesn't affect me. It's Ebon who wants to use their identities to his advantage."

"Riiight," Zoey said, glancing down at the floor. She took a moment to process the information. "So now that we've gotten to know each other a little more," she finally started, "you think you can let me go?"

Hotstreak shook his head. "Nope, you're staying put," he smirked.

Before she could protest, he had already slammed the door closed. "Sorry, babe, I'm on the winning team. And last time I checked, nice guys never win."

And with that, he turned his back to her and walked out to join his fellow gang members outside.