Chapter 4-3

"So what exactly is 'your thing'?" Glory Girl asked. I frowned in annoyance. Trying to keep up with two separate conversations at once was difficult and I needed to focus on the Undersiders.

"Sound control. I also have perfect hearing."

"So you can eavesdrop on the bad guys. Handy." The heroine said. "Can you tell if my sister's okay?"

"Not directly. I don't know what she sounds like."

"And you know what the Undersiders sound like?"

Yes, but I wasn't going to say that. Glory Girl wouldn't be very understanding, I think. Not now. "They'll be the only ones saying things like: 'Oh no, the Wards are outside'. It's not perfect, but it'll help. Now, could you stay quiet for a few minutes? Thanks."

I focused my hearing and scanned the building below me. Lots of heartbeats in the lobby. Soft hums from computer systems. The Wards in front of the building with policemen and PRT officers behind them. Some terrified whimpers, all closely together, but no gurgles or anything that sounded like a wounded person. Probably the hostages and they seemed to be okay. Good. A screen of absolute silence covered the windows. Huh, that was odd. Normally, there's always something I could hear. Things like the wind or insects that have made their home in the walls. I guess Grue's signature darkness also blocks out sound. I made a mental note of that. It might become a problem later.

At least the Undersiders had the decency not to discuss their plans inside the darkness. I eventually managed to isolate five voices which had to be them. Wait, five? Weren't there supposed to be four? Did they get an extra member?

"Five, six. Six heroes. The whole damn Wards team." A voice said. Grue, if I remembered correctly. He sounded rather annoyed. That could be a good thing, as it meant that things weren't going according to the villains' plan. On the other hand, if things aren't going to plan, there's a chance that they might panic. If they did, someone could end up getting hurt. "This is the sort of thing I'd like to know in advance, Tattletale."

"There…may be one on the roof too. Maybe more than one." Tattletale replied. Wait, how did she know I was there? Oh, wait, Thinker power. Annoying.

"So that's seven or eight heroes. My point still stands." Grue sighed. Things were definitely not going to plan. "Okay, so who's on the roof?"

"Glory Girl, maybe. I'll need more information." That's a relief. Whatever power Tattletale had, it clearly wasn't perfect. She knew someone was on the roof, but she didn't know that someone was me. I still had the element of surprise.

"Wonderful. There weren't supposed to be more than three or four."

"I made an educated guess. I was wrong. Sue me."

"Way things are going, I might just do that." I could hear the exasperation in Grue's voice. Part of me felt sorry for him. "And we have unknowns too. This job was a mistake."

Suddenly, a new voice spoke up. "Oh, now he figures it out. You're a fucking genius, you know. How the fuck do you guys talk me into this?!" I didn't recognize the fifth member. She sounded feminine, I think, but aside from that, I couldn't tell who it was. Maybe Hellhound?

"You're here because the boss is paying you, Circus." So her name was Circus…doesn't ring a bell. That's a big problem. If yesterday taught me anything is that unknowns were dangerous as a rule.

"I didn't get paid to get thrown in jail!"

"And we won't. We have the money, we just have to get away." Grue said, reassuringly. Clearly he was the leader of the bunch. I should probably go for him first, if I can. Either him, or Tattletale. Hmm. Should I go for their leadership or their intelligence? Good question. Taking out either of them would be a heavy blow to the Undersiders. Taking out both might stop the gang for good.

"Running's going to be a problem. See how the Wards are all spaced out? We try to run, at least one of them will nab us. Assuming Vista even lets us leave the bank." Tattletale seemed almost shaken. I guess when you have a Thinker power, you'll know when things have gone awry.

"I can take them." Another girl said. Hellhound, I presume. "Just let me go all-out." I clenched my fists. While Hellhound herself wasn't much of a problem, those dogs of her were. Aegis, Glory Girl and I might be tough enough to deal with them, but the squishier members of our team probably weren't. Considering that she's a killer too…Things could get ugly.

Thankfully, Grue quickly put a stop to that line of thought. "We're not going to fucking risk killing anyone. No maiming either. We have the money, we leave."

Tattletale shook her head. "I just told you…"

"That we can't go past them, fine, so we'll have to go through them. We fight, catch them off guard. Here's what's gonna happen: First, we send out half our hostages. It'll surprise the heroes, screw up Vista's power, and still leave us with some leverage if things go bad. Then, I'll flood the street with my darkness. Bitch, you jump Aegis and keep him busy. Circus, take care of Clockblocker. Knock him out with a taser, or something, just don't let him touch you. Regent, you're on crowd control. We'll see who's still standing and go from there. Tattletale, the moment anything changes, I don't care what, you holler. Understood?"

"Whelp, it's better than nothing." Regent added. "Can't take them all on, though."

"Suck it up. No plan survives first contact with the enemy anyway. We'll figure it out as we go along."

"This plan sucks." Circus complained.

Grue sighed. "Just get the hostages. We'll need to move soon."

With that, the Undersiders, along with their apparent new teammate, went on their way.

I better tell the others what I heard. "Glory Girl, my earpiece." She handed it over without a word. "Thanks. Guys, we have a problem. First off, Undersiders have a new member: someone named Circus."

"Independent villain." Aegis (the real one, that is) explained. "Grabbag of powers. Pyrokinesis, superreflexes, and a pocket dimension she uses to store things. Generally unpredictable, violent, but not a killer. Go on."

"Right. The hostages are safe, but they're planning to use half of them as a distraction. The Undersiders have the money and are going to make a run for it soon. They also know the six of you are in front of the bank and that one of us is on the roof."

"Do they know which one?"

"Tattletale thinks it's just Glory Girl. They don't know about me yet."

"Well, that's some good news. So what about the hostages? Are they going to hurt them?"

"They're going to herd them out of the bank…"

"Which means Vista's power won't work." Aegis finished for me. He must have caught on."It also means we're going to have to hold back and cede the initiative, especially with that darkness. Smart."

"Hellhound's coming after you. Circus will go after Clockblocker and Regent will disable anyone who's left."

"That's it?"

"That's it. They're basically winging it from there. Means we can't counter their plan because they don't have one to begin with." I sort of admired the Undersider's audacity. The ability to make things up on the fly makes you inherently unpredictable and almost impossible to plan for. On the other hand, it's risky. Still, I couldn't say that I didn't like their style. I briefly wondered what would have happened to me if I'd gone with them last Sunday instead of waiting for Armsmaster. Would I be in that bank with the Undersiders?

Nah, that's just ridiculous.

"Great. Just great. Please tell me they haven't figured out Clockblocker and I swapped costumes."

"They haven't. Not yet anyway."

"But that damn Thinker might figure it out." Aegis said, exasperated. I felt for him. "This… well, ball's in their court. Guess we have to wait for them to come out."

"Oh, I think you should know that Grue's darkness blocks sound too." I apologized. "Just a head's up."

"Good to know. Okay, we stick to the plan. Let them come out. While we're engaged, Glory Girl will lead the hostages to safety. Banshee, sneak in and try to neutralize Grue or Tattletale if you can."

Affirmatives followed. Now we waited until Regent and Circus bullied the hostages into the lobby. I had to suppress the urge to jump in and kick their asses. Sure, I probably would have lost and endanger a lot of people, including my own teammates, but at least I'd get the satisfaction of beating their heads inside-out. Besides, what kind of sick bastard bullies innocent people like that? Sure, the hostages probably wouldn't get hurt in the end, but still…

"So, anything about Amy?" Glory Girl asked. I wanted to snap back at her, but I reeled myself in. I probably shouldn't be too hard on her. If Dad had been in that bank, I wouldn't stop buggering for information either.

"The Undersiders didn't mention her at all." I replied. Glory Girl bit her lip, so I added: "That's good news. They probably don't even know she's in the bank. Unless she does something stupid…"

"She won't." Glory Girl snapped back. "Ames isn't a fighter. That's always been my thing." The soft undertone in her voice spoke volumes.

"This isn't your fault."

"I know, dammit! It's those freaks holding her hostage. I should have been in there. Could have stopped them the second they got through the door."

I shook my head. "Honestly, you'd probably have made things worse."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"How do you stop someone you can't touch? Simple: attack the things they love. Used to happen to me all the time and trust me, it works. You're a public cape, Glory Girl. Everyone knows how close you and your sister are. If I were with the Undersiders, I'd have put a gun to Amy's head and tell you to lock yourself in the bank vault, or something. Team Good Guys would have lost a heavy hitter and an already delicate situation would have been even worse. Amy Dallon is a perfect bargaining chip against us too, you know."

"Fuck." Glory Girl swore. Good, I'd gotten through to her. At least, for now, I think. I hope to God the Undersiders hadn't figured out the identity of their hostages yet. I doubt I'd be able to stop Glory Girl from charging in if they did.

"It could still happen if we do something rash, by the way." I warned. "Trust us. Please."

Suddenly, a wave of terror slammed me into my brain. "Amy will not get hurt." She said. It sounded more like a command than a statement.

"Okay." I replied, doing my best not to stammer. Fuck, would it kill her to stop using that damn aura? We're on the same side!

Oh, never mind. I have bigger things to worry about. The hostages were gathering at the door. Wouldn't be long now.

"Okay, people." I heard Grue say. "When I say 'go', you're all going to run out the door and to the nice police officers. If you do, you won't get hurt. Got it?"

I quickly turned on my earpiece and said: "Guys, the hostages are coming out any second now."

"Ready?" Grue said. My heart was beating in my throat. "Go!"

"Here they come."

Eight hostages stumbled out of the darkness covered door and ran into the street. I heard a shout. "Get down! Everybody get down!" Clockblocker. He sounded unsure to me, out of his depth.

Then the street fell silent.