Author's Note: This chapter follows on from Chapter 11: On the Trail of Hit Girl of my other story: Creatures of the Night and Chapter 358: Escape of my other story: Forsaken.
Saturday, November 19th, 2016
Santa Monica, Los Angeles
The dojang was crowded with visitors and potential members.
Bright lights illuminated the facility inside and out. Music blared out at a comfortable volume that did not prevent speech. Attention was equally divided between the stunning young woman in a figure-hugging black dress and the four Gi-clad youngsters who were being led by another young woman in a smart black Gi with a black belt. Hailee was guiding the two twelve-year-olds; Curtis and Megan, each of whom wore a dark-blue Gi with a blue belt, and the eight-year-old twins, Danny and Anne-Marie, each wearing a white Gi with a yellow belt and green tab. Mindy strode around, a little unsure of the attention which her dress was getting, but she enjoyed the comments which her children were getting. She grinned as she heard people referring to the twins as 'cute'.
Megan and Curtis were performing some spectacular movements with Megan showing off her aerobatics to general applause.
..._...
Guinevere Murdoch blushed as she was approached by a familiar young woman a few inches taller than herself.
"Hello, Guinevere. I am Mindy Lizewski. Did you enjoy your ride, this morning?"
"Yes, thank you, ma'am."
Guinevere curtsied, much to Mindy's chagrin, reminding her of just how Predators could really behave.
"Hello, ma'am," Juno Richmond offered, giving her mentor a look. "Sorry – I can't curtsy; I grew up a normal girl."
"Pleased to hear it, Juno."
"Thank you for inviting us, ma'am," Guinevere said.
"Call me, Mindy, please."
Mindy left the two girls, heading over to some newly arriving guests.
..._...
"You have done an amazing job, Mollie," Paige commented as she looked around.
"It was not easy picking up from where you had left off, Paige."
"You did very well, and the job is yours. Kristen and Ben appear to be enjoying themselves."
Paige glanced over at the two youngsters as they watched the sparring.
"Your daughter is amazing, Paige."
"She is. She's very special to me. Kind of a handful – but, I'm sure you know all about twelve-year-olds and their tantrums."
"Oh, yes!" Mollie exclaimed. "Daily."
"Megan is just the same – the tiniest thing sets her off and she starts to raise her voice, then she shouts – with the odd scream thrown in."
"Kristen likes to scream – she knows that I hate it – and the high-pitched screaming cuts through me and I often capitulate."
"Yeah; I back down too easily at times, too."
"You talking about me, Mommy, dearest?"
Paige looked down at her daughter who had walked over with Kristen and Curtis – Ben remained to watch the sparring.
"Just comparing notes," Paige chuckled as the two twelve-year-old girls scowled.
"I'm saying nothing," Curtis commented as she nudged his girlfriend. "But I know so much!"
..._...
"Is it really you two?" Guinevere asked as two tall girls walked towards her.
"Yes, we are 'the twins from hell'," Chrissy confirmed. "Good to see you again, Guinevere."
"Likewise, . . . I suppose."
"We are an endangered species, Guinevere, so our pasts should remain in the past," Sky added.
"I always thought that you two were stupid," Guinevere grinned. "However, you both come across as intelligent right now. We've all been through a lot, but you've both landed on your feet, I see. Friends?"
Guinevere held out her hand and each twin shook it.
"Very good," a voice quipped. "You're making friends – any progress is better than none."
"Guinevere – please meet Medline Tyler – she's our resident dweeb," Chrissy chuckled as the resident dweeb scowled.
"Hello, Madeline," Guinevere said.
"It's Maddie," Maddie explained.
"This is Juno, my cousin and protégé," Guinevere offered. "She has a gob just like Maddie's."
"That big, huh!" Sky quipped.
..._...
Mindy felt intense revulsion as she walked up to her latest arrivals.
However, she put on her best smile as she joined Erika and Paige. The man was six feet three inches in height – a good foot taller than Mindy – and he was bald. Mindy held out her hand and the man took it, shaking firmly. Mindy shook back, just as firmly.
"Dieter Mannheim, Mrs Lizewski."
"Please, Mr Mannheim, call me Mindy, and this is Erika, my senior Los Angeles instructor, and Paige, my Chicago manager."
"Dieter. I have heard many things about your facilities in Chicago and I wanted to get in on the action, here. This is my executive assistant, Rosa Müller."
"Mrs Lizewski," Rosa said as she shook hands.
"Mindy, please."
"Rosa."
..._...
"I cannot believe that Mindy invited him!"
Maddie rolled her eyes as she grinned at Guinevere. Then she turned on Sky, her voice lowered.
"I think Guinevere was accurate in her initial description of you, Sky – stupid as charged!" Maddie hurried on as Sky's eyes narrowed. "That man is our enemy, right? Mindy invited him so that we could see him up close and begin to see how he works. What was Mindy supposed to do? March up to him and say 'Hi – I'm a notorious vigilante and I'm about to take you and your organisation down. I just wanted to pop in to say hello and try to figure you out first. Right, time to die!' I thought you guys were supposed to be something special!"
Chrissy put a hand on her sister's shoulder, halting Sky's angry advance.
"The geek has a point," Chrissy said quickly.
Guinevere laughed, and she nodded her agreement. That man was her enemy, too.
..._...
Maddie was enjoying herself.
Her day had been amazing! A VIP had arrived at their home, at first light. Erika had ensured that the twins were up and dressed – no mean feat – and that Maddie was presentable. For Maddie, it had all been very confusing. At least until Erika had welcomed the newcomers.
"Chrissy, Sky – you both know everybody, of course, and you all know the twin terrors."
"Hi, Guys!" the twins had exclaimed. "Hi, Mindy."
Then Erika had turned to Maddie.
"Maddie, this is Mindy Lizewski, with two of her children: Anne-Marie and Danny. Then we have Megan, with her boyfriend, Curtis. Then we have Abby, Paige, and Hailee. Everybody, this is Maddie."
Maddie was swamped by the strangers who all seemed very genuine in their hellos.
"Maddie," Erika went on, after a nod from Mindy. "Everybody here knows who everybody else really is – except for you, Maddie. You have proven yourself as both honest and genuine, therefore, I have great pleasure in reintroducing everybody."
Erika pointed at each person, in turn.
"Rogue, Ravage, Wildcat, Trojan, Hal, Lynx, Petra, and . . . Hit Girl."
Maddie's jaw had simply dropped. Her mind had told her that something was off about the visitors, but not quite that. She had looked up at Mindy, mesmerised, but also a little fearful of who that woman was when she wore a combat suit. Mindy smiled.
"I know what you're thinking, Maddie. The last time we met, I was not all that nice to you."
"Neither, was I," Abby admitted before she indicated Mindy, Megan, and the twins. "That's why I tried to be nice to you since then – I'm not like the bitches."
Then had come a whirlwind ride on the back of a motorcycle into the wilderness where they had met a small group of vigilantes from San Diego – not that any of them had known who they were meeting, although she had sensed something. Her mind was still reeling with the newly-learnt identities and her mind had begun looking into what the twins really were, along with those other vigilantes from San Diego. But that ride was another story - literally.
On their return, she had been dragged off by the she-bitches and Sky had shown her the most revealing dress that Maddie had ever seen.
"If you think that I am wearing that, then I am going to delete that four-gigabyte collection of 'muscular footballers' with no clothes on from your laptop," Maddie had growled at Sky who, on second thoughts, had quickly exchanged the dress for a much less revealing one in navy-blue which, surprisingly, had actually appealed to the thirteen-year-old.
Maddie had been very pleased to meet Abby – maybe less so, Mindy, but still good to finally meet her in the flesh, so to speak.
..._...
After an hour, the twins changed, and they reappeared, each in their own dark-blue Gi with a blue belt and red tab.
The guests present were treated to an amazing display of sparring which included the use of training weapons – wooden staffs along with wooden knives and swords. The twins were experts at the Martial Arts, and they showed it. They demonstrated the key aspects of defensive fighting. How to disarm an attacker with a knife. How to fight off multiple attackers with blades – Megan and Erika assisted with that. The girls received massive applause each time they finished off a segment, and Mindy was very pleased with their behaviour. Whilst she had harboured some concern over sending the twins out to Los Angeles, those concerns were now long gone. The team was working perfectly, even the newcomer: Maddie Tyler.
Maddie Tyler was an amazing young girl, Mindy decided. Maddie had suffered, and Erika had updated Mindy with everything related to the girl's family. Abby and Marty thought she was great – and very talented, from a geek perspective. The girl had endured the taunting from the twins, and according to Erika, Maddie had got in a bit of taunting herself. Basically, Erika could not be happier with her current lot in life, therefore, Mindy was allowing Erika to continue with her mission in Los Angeles. There was still a long way to go until they were properly settled in, not to mention that they still had the LAPD to win over. Mindy needed them in Los Angeles as the Panther Group had to be taken down before they caused more trouble in the world.
Dieter Mannheim's days on the Earth were numbered so far as Mindy was concerned.
..._...
A short distance away, young Curtis had no idea what language Abby and Maddie were speaking but he had a shrewd idea that they were speaking 'geek' fluently.
He liked Maddie – she was nuts, but she was also good fun. The boy's mind was in turmoil. While he was enjoying the sight of his partner sparring on the mat with the other girls – what boy would not – he was worried about Megan. Yes, she was supportive of him losing his Aunt Cathy, but she was also withholding something from him. He had no idea what it was, but as far as he could tell, it had something to do with Megan's time in Gotham. He had not mentioned Gotham at all and, to be honest, he was a little afraid to mention it. Megan had always had a fiery temper, but recently, that temper had become very short and on a knife edge, ready to explode at the slightest thing. The moods were not always around 'that time of the month', during which Curtis and Joshua generally avoided Megan at all costs, either. The girl had also become rougher. While Curtis did not mind the roughness – it was reciprocal. While Megan might be rough with him while sparring, she also pushed for him to be harder on her, too. Curtis hated hurting any of his friends, and he was a true gentleman when it came to girls and how he treated them. However, that roughness had also crossed over to the bedroom. Megan would get rough with her hands-on parts which were not overly keen on the rough handling. Megan, though, she was pushing for him to treat her own parts, breasts included, a lot more roughly than usual. At least once, Curtis had been unsure of Megan's intentions as he had found his dick a little too close to Megan's vulva for his liking. They had both openly agreed not to engage in full-on sex before they were thirteen. Therefore, he was a little worried about Megan's behaviour which seemed to show that she wanted more than his fingers or his tongue inside of her.
"Problem, Curtis?" Mindy asked.
"No – well, yes. I'm worried about Megan – just don't tell her I said that."
"I won't," Mindy chuckled, knowing that Megan hated people worrying about her.
"There's something about her behaviour which feels off."
"Megan is Megan," Mindy commented.
"I know. I'm sure it's nothing."
"I'm here to talk should you need me, okay?" Mindy said.
"Thanks, Mindy."
..._...
"Hi, I'm Maddie."
"Juno."
"I like your dress – it's awesome," Maddie commented as she checked out Juno's black, thigh-length dress which revealed a surprising amount of skin.
"Thanks. You suit yours well."
"You into all this Martial Arts bullshit?" Maddie asked leadingly.
"A little. Guinevere, over there – she's my mentor."
"I have Erika."
"The girls up there are very good – twins?"
"Yeah – Sky and Chrissy. They are very skilled when it comes to kicking things, I will admit."
"You don't approve of the fighting?"
"I'm just a geek – I don't really go in for any of that kicking and punching nonsense."
Juno laughed.
"I thought the same thing the first time I met Guinny."
"You really like her, don't you?"
"She saved my life and she's all I've got in this life."
"I know where you're coming from – I have no family and Erika is all I have."
"This life sucks, huh?"
"Yes, it does, Juno – you fancy a drink?"
"Yeah."
..._...
"You have a tattoo?" Maddie asked as she suddenly saw it as Juno turned to walk towards where the table laden with drinks sat.
"You like it?" Juno asked.
"It's a little creepy, but yes – I suppose it fits."
"It sort of symbolises my change from innocent little girl to . . . something less innocent, I think."
"I'm not certain that you were ever innocent, Juno."
"Maddie, this is my mentor, Guinevere."
"Hi, Guinevere."
"Hello, Maddie – I've heard good things about you."
"Who from?"
"The twins."
"They seem to like me."
"Enjoy it – those two rarely liked anybody but themselves."
..._...
Megan was enjoying some of the attention.
She was a little annoyed that Mindy had opted to show the posters which Marty had produced of her, almost two years previously – when she was only ten. She particularly hated the 'what a sweet little girl' comments, although Curtis had pointed out that you tell how much her boobs had grown as she had been totally flat back then. Megan had scowled at that but laughed nonetheless. The evil bitch twins had also had a good laugh at the 'little Megan' on the posters but Megan had simply laughed it off. While Megan liked to show the hard girl image – at least in public, she was also proud of what she was when she was younger and very proud that Mindy had selected her to be the 'face of D-JAK', not all that long before Megan had figured out who Mindy was – and a long time before Wildcat had begun.
"You okay, sport?" Mindy asked, ruffling Megan's hair.
"Hi."
"Something troubling you?"
"I don't know. Did you have to embarrass me with those posters?"
"Your Mom said you looked very sweet and I agreed."
Megan growled in response to Mindy's comment.
"Enjoy it, Megan – you deserve the recognition. Yes, I'd love to have Wildcat up there, but you are just as amazing as your alter ego."
"I suppose," Megan conceded as she leaned into Mindy.
Only two people on the planet could put her at ease – other than her Mom – and that was Mindy and Joshua. They had both supported her through thick and thin, and Megan loved them both. She so wished that she could open up and tell Mindy her innermost feelings, but she was too ashamed. It was a secret that she could not broach with anybody, and least of all her sister; no matter who she was.
Mindy gave Megan a quick hug before heading off to mingle with her guests.
..._...
Dieter Mannheim cast his eyes around the mingling guests and he chuckled as he considered that he was one of the richest present.
Rosa had identified almost everybody for him and he knew who were at his executive and financial level and therefore who he could talk to. Not many were there, to be honest, however, the owner of the place they were celebrating the opening of had a satisfactory financial record. His briefing notes had advised him that Mrs Melinda Lizewski lived in Chicago with her husband and four adopted children. Lizewski Enterprises had a very healthy turnover from two existing Martial Arts studios, not to mention some subsidiary operations in unmentioned parts of the world. As far as he could tell, everything was correct and above board. However, there was something about the woman which concerned him, but he could not put his finger on it.
He would task Rosa to investigate further.
..._...
As the evening drew to a close, Mindy was much relieved as her feet were hurting – she hated wearing heels.
"Thank you for a very pleasant evening, Mrs Lizewski, and I hope to see you again," Dieter Mannheim preened as he held out his hand.
"My pleasure, Dieter."
As the man left the building, Mindy readily accepted a wet wipe from Paige and she cleansed her hand very quickly. Her skin crawled at the though of being so close to somebody who was probably worse than good old Frank D'Amico. However, if Mindy had her way, good old Dieter would have something in common with Frank – they would be sharing a cell in the fires of hell!
"You seen Megan?" Paige asked.
Mindy looked around, but the youngster was not visible.
"Marty, give me a location for Megan," Mindy ordered over her communications earpiece.
"Hold one . . . Megan is currently located 534 yards to the southwest of you."
Paige looked worried – that was on the beach, close to the water.
"Leave it to me, Paige. You and Mollie lock up – thanks for everything."
534 Yards to the Southwest
Megan was sitting on the sand, her arms hugging her legs to her body.
Her feet were in the surf and her dress was getting wet. She stared out at the dark horizon and she considered her life, her failings, and Gotham. She sensed somebody approaching and by the very light, almost stealthy footfalls, she knew it had to be Mindy.
"Hi, little one," Mindy said as she sat down beside her little sister. "Penny for your thoughts?"
"Would you feel offended if I told you it was a secret?"
"Of course not, honey," Mindy replied, despite thinking the complete opposite.
"But I can tell you that there are times when I feel like Wildcat is taking over. I keep pushing her down, but she keeps trying to take over. It was worst during the battle – at times, I lost control. Does that make any kind of sense?"
Mindy considered what had happened when she had allowed Hit Girl to take over and squash Mindy Macready – it had not been pretty.
"More than you know, sweetie."
"Can I stay with you, tonight?"
"Of course."
..._...
Pacific Predator
"Paige, Megan is safe – she's staying with me on the boat, okay?"
"Of course. Anything wrong?" Paige asked guardedly from her hotel.
"No," Mindy lied smoothly.
"See you in the morning, then," Paige replied.
"Night, Paige."
By the time Mindy had locked up and headed below to her cabin, she found Megan fast asleep in the bed, her wet clothing dumped on the bathroom floor. Mindy slipped off her own dress – her heels which she hated had been abandoned on the upper deck – and she turned out the lights, sliding under the duvet beside Megan.
After exchanging a few text messages with Dave, two-thousand miles away, she closed her eyes and fell asleep.
The following morning
Sunday, November 20th
Pacific Predator
Mindy awoke first, and she found Megan was still asleep beside her.
The sun was streaming in the windows of the cabin as Mindy threw back the duvet, ignoring the otherwise naked Megan. She headed for the bathroom, stripped, peed, and dived into the shower. As the hot water pummelled her skin, she considered the previous evening, including the ups and the downs. After several minutes, one of the potential 'downs' knocked at the bathroom door which was partially open.
"Mindy?"
"Morning, Megan."
"Can I come in?"
"Sure."
Mindy could see Megan through the steam. The girl was still naked, and she sat down to pee. There was something seriously troubling the twelve-year-old, but Mindy did not like to pry. However, a part of her said that she should pry. Being twelve-years-old was very difficult; Mindy hated thinking back to her younger years where it was all nasty stuff like puberty and periods. Mindy shuddered at the thought of it all and she quickly put it all out of her mind. As the two sisters swapped over in the shower, Mindy noticed that Megan was smiling.
"You seem a little perkier, this morning," Mindy said conversationally.
"The sleep did me good – I must have been tired. Thanks for letting me stay."
"You're my little sister – no matter how nutty you are!" Mindy laughed.
"You're calling me nutty!" Megan exclaimed. "You looked in the mirror lately?"
After a quick breakfast, they were joined by a host of visitors.
..._...
Juno was all eyes as she boarded the luxury Italian yacht.
They all congregated on the main deck in the salon. Guinevere was forced to push Juno down on to the settee where the girl continued to look around in awe.
"Where are the others?" Mindy asked.
"Fashionably late," Guinevere commented as the two boys appeared at the gangway.
"Come aboard," Mindy directed, and the two boys slunk into the salon, grinning at Guinevere and Juno.
Once the floor-to-ceiling glass doors had been closed, Mindy turned to the group.
"It is time for us all to know who each other is," Mindy explained. "Guinevere and Juno, as you have probably figured out, I am Hit Girl."
"Like hell you are!" Nicholas exclaimed.
"You really want to find out?" Hit Girl growled.
"Err, maybe not," Nicholas decided.
"I gave Guinevere and Juno the money for their little start-up. I also bought Juno her first motorcycle."
"Thank you," Juno said with a big smile.
"It suits you, and you ride it well," Mindy admitted supportively as the young girl blushed. "This is my team. Erika commands Fusion's Los Angeles operation with her team: Chrissy and Sky, along with Maddie for technical support. Should you guys have trouble in San Diego, then you have somebody nearby to call on. Those little urchins are my two kids, Danny and Anne-Marie. Then we have Megan, Curtis, Paige, Abby, and Hailee. Guinevere, you are doing really well. Maybe that attack on the gun-runners was not your best decision, but it worked out okay in the end, I suppose."
"How the bloody-hell. . .!?" Guinevere began.
"Don't bother – nothing gets past Mindy," Megan chuckled.
"Last night, you got to meet that bastard," Mindy continued.
"You mean Dieter Mannheim?" Guinevere growled.
"Yeah – him," Mindy confirmed with revulsion. "He will be wanting to make life hell for you guys, Guinevere. Are you ready to take him on?"
"To be brutally honest, probably not. The other night showed me that. But. . ."
"But?" Mindy prompted.
"Will we have a choice. If we don't fight him when he comes. . ."
"A difficult choice, I will admit. I will be coming down to San Diego with you, as will Megan. Maddie and Abby will coordinate your movements through the city from the Safehouse here in L.A. and we will see where we need reinforcements. You Predators are not alone, understand that."
"Will we be fighting?" Nicholas asked.
"Only if you want to."
"I do. I want to fight beside Lilim and Lilith."
"Me, too!" Logan added. "Only I'm wounded."
"You'll heal, Riptide," Mindy responded.
That night
San Diego
"I feel like a fraud," Lilim said over her communications as she sat on her new motorcycle for the first time as Lilim.
"You look perfect, kid," came a not-so-strange voice in her ear.
"Huh!?"
Lilim spun around to see a black motorcycle poking a tyre out from the next street and edging forwards. The rider, a woman, clad in black leathers saluted before wheel-spinning and accelerating away in a cloud of tyre smoke.
"Good luck, Lilim."
..._...
"Like she said, Lilim," Lilith chuckled from beside her partner. "You look perfect."
The two vigilantes accelerated forwards, heading downtown on Balboa Avenue. The ride was pleasant and a good way to get Lilim into the swing of being a two-wheeled vigilante. They attracted looks, but not as many as they had expected. In the light traffic, they blended into the darkness and were usually gone by the time somebody realised that something was amiss. Even Lilith was enjoying the relative peace.
Not so, another rider, a short distance away.
..._..
There was something very wrong.
It was enough to have her worrying. It had to be that bastard. She could smell trouble in the air, but she had no idea what she was smelling. Therefore, she had opted to remain close to the girls. She checked the inside of her visor and the display showed her the locations of Lilith and Lilim, plus the kid called Trauma. Also visible was a dot for her sister, Wildcat, who was a block over on a black Ducati Multistrada, in similar attire. At the back of Hit Girl's mind was her team, back in Los Angeles.
Hit Girl trusted Dieter Mannheim about as far as she trusted herpes.
Safehouse C
Los Angeles
Abby was seated alongside Maddie, and between them, they were supporting two teams, in two very different cities.
It was a first for Maddie, not so much for Abby. Maddie was asking a ton of questions and Abby was enjoying answering each and every one of them. The teams were arranged on a large monitor:
San Diego
Hit Girl
Wildcat
Lilith
Lilim
Trauma
Riptide
Los Angeles
Mist
Venom
Bane
Crypto
Petra
Trojan
Ravage
Rogue
Hal
Lynx
Crypto and Hal had the job of keeping everybody alive. To that part, they ran computer systems which searched through a million different permutations of what flowed through the internet on news sites and social media. The computer systems scanned the airwaves and vacuumed up signals from TV and radio, not to mention unencrypted audio. Highly complex algorithms put together the results from the data mining and produced probabilities that something might be happening where Fusion was operating. That night, the computer systems were finding that Dieter Mannheim plus Los Angeles equalled trouble. However, further extrapolation also discovered that Dieter Mannheim plus San Diego equalled more trouble – not to mention the wildcard: Hit Girl.
"Oh, crap!" Hal growled as her computer systems began to throw up bad news, more bad news, and even more bad news.
..._...
A few miles away
Graham Avenue
Alpha Team
As the three vigilantes cruised past Franklin D Roosevelt Park, Venom and Bane sensed something.
Mist pulled up, the hairs on the back of her neck sticking up. They were heading into something, but what? Venom and Bane pulled up either side of her.
"You sense it, too?" Mist asked.
"This sucks," Bane pointed out as she flexed her fingers inside her armoured gauntlets.
"If I get any more bruises on my body, I am going to scream," Venom added.
"What are the chances of anything blowing up here?" Bane asked. "I mean. . ."
The sixteen-year-old vigilante cringed as sixty yards ahead of them, a car exploded, rising into the air before crashing back down onto the roadway.
"You just had to say it!" Venom growled.
"And the probability of that happening while we're right here?" Mist asked rhetorically.
"Low – fucking miniscule!" Venom growled in response as there was a broad flash from behind them and another car exploded.
"Alpha Team is taking . . . cars!" Mist called over the communications as the car crashed down a dozen yards away from them. "Bravo Team – say your status."
..._...
Maie Avenue
Bravo Team
Petra and Trojan froze as the explosion ripped out a hundred or so yards away, on the other side of the block.
"We safe?" Trojan asked.
"For now," Petra acknowledged. "Let's move to back up Alpha."
The pair accelerated away from their loitering position.
"Bravo Team is in the clear," Petra reported.
"No, they fucking ain't!" Trojan countered as three motorcycles pulled into view, each carrying an armed cunt. "Let's fuck 'em!"
With that, Petra accelerated directly at the three men, Trojan moving over to the left, widening the target.
Los Angeles
Hit Girl was on the verge of calling everything off – her senses were going crazy.
"Hit Girl, Crypto! Alpha and Bravo Teams are under attack in L.A.!"
"All San Diego units. . ."
She never completed the radio call as Wildcat screamed out a warning. There was a bright flash as the gas station at Grand Avenue and Noyes Street detonated with the sound of thunder. Hit Girl spun her rear wheel as she accelerated, heading for where Lilith and Lilim were located. The gas station was a giant distraction – a good one too! Lilith and Lilim were off their motorcycles and staring at the blaze. They never saw them coming.
"Lilith – get the fuck down! Incoming, your two o'clock!" Hit Girl radioed.
As Hit Girl watched, Lilith dove to the ground, dragging Lilim with her as the bullets began to fly.
"San Diego Teams are taking fire!" Wildcat radioed as she engaged the enemy with her SIG Sauer MPX-K.
Chicago
West Columbia
As was usual for the time of night, Marcus Williams was dozing with his five-month-old son.
He had no problem with his wife, daughter, and potential future son-in-law abandoning home and vanishing off to the far side of the continent. He enjoyed the peace and tranquillity of the quiet house. It was surprising how much noise two twelve-year-olds made – most of the noise was usually Megan and her overactive mouth, but Curtis had his moments. Damon, of course, was well behaved – unlike his namesake. Then Marcus scowled as a news report came onto the TV.
'. . .explosions rock Los Angeles and San Diego. . .'
"I am going to kill them. I am the father of two impossible girls. Neither of them can go anywhere without causing . . . well, explosions! Damon, you damned halfwit; you left me with a damn nutcase and now she's infected my youngest daughter!"
Marcus received a confused look from the little boy in his lap.
"Sorry, little Damon – not you; I was referring to the nutcase we named you after."
A few yards distant
"Honey – I think something is happening across the country."
"Huh?"
Marty looked up to see Kim using little Matty's left hand to point at the TV.
"Point out the obvious to Daddy, Matty."
Marty looked up at the TV.
'. . .street-fighting is reported in Los Angeles and also in San Diego. . .'
"You can't let Mindy and Megan go anywhere!" Marty groaned as he turned on his laptop and logged into the Fusion mainframe. "Holy crap!"
Kim grimaced as she saw the feed from Hit Girl's motorcycle camera. She could make out fire – lots of fire – plus one or two dead bodies . . . and Wildcat – she was shooting from one knee while Hit Girl was visible a few yards away beside another vigilante in a dark grey and red combat suit. With a few mouse clicks, Marty brought up the feed from Mist's motorcycle, only to find her under attack.
"The shit has hit the fan, honey, and this looks bad."
"Call in the team?" Kim asked.
"I'm scrambling the jet now."