Oookay, so this took way longer then I thought it would. I honestly got stuck on the ending of this chapter and the next one. They were draining to write and I was out of inspiration, so I pushed it to the side for a while. But I'm obviously finished with this chapter and almost completely done with the next! No promises on how long it will take until I post it though. Can't say that I'm totally satsified with how this turned out, but hey, it's done now!

Also, did anyone catch Bey's Cowboy Carter? I'm literally obsessed and had the album on repeat while finishing off the next chapter. Please say someone knows what I'm talking about!

He was handsome.

It was pointless denying it. The man—whoever he was—he had a very nice face. It was a fine type of beauty. Sensitive yet intense. It wasn't like Serec, who had an icy and fox–like beauty. Or even the men you saw on TV screens. This man had an almost feline look, sharp bones that were swallowed by the light and dark curls that swished over his brows. His face was high with cheeks so sharp I expected to receive cuts from looking too long.

Which I didn't, by the way.

In case you were wondering.

I looked the appropriate amount of time before saying something.

"It's about time you got here," he announced with a sigh. "It's rude to keep individuals waiting."

Silence.

Okay, I didn't actually say anything. Not right away at least. But then Raven leaned towards me, cupping her mouth to stage whisper into my ears, "Who is that guy?"

"I don't know," I hissed back with a shrug.

She made a face and leaned back, and then there was an awkward pause. It made me squirm. It felt like all eyes were on me, but I wasn't sure what it was I was supposed to do. There was already a bruise forming in my throat from how hard my heart was pounding. I wrapped my hands around my elbows, swallowing. I wanted to be subtle about this. I didn't want to look like an idiot or alert him that none of us knew who he was, so I tried catching Nel's attention from the corner of my eye to send her a look.

But then Lark had to go and ruin it.

"Who are you?" she demanded, stepping forward.

I facepalmed.

"Subtle," Raven murmured.

She paused then looked to us, lost.

The man raised his eyebrows.

"And now you're demanding names," he marvelled like he was watching fish fight in a tank. "Tell me, are all humans this ill–mannered or is it just you?"

Now that, that surprised all of us.

Lark reeled backwards like she'd been slapped and Raven's jaw dropped to her collarbones.

I turned to Nel. "Um, Nel—"

"I have no idea," she answered before I could even complete my question, shaking her head. So, I slid my gaze back to the man. He had his arms folded over his chest, lips turned down, like he was waiting in a long queue for his meal. It unnerved me, just how little patience he seemed to have. It also made me wander. Who was this guy?

"Well, we're the Guardians!" I shot back and stepped around Lark. I mirrored his movements, crossing my arms over my chest, and put on an annoyed look. Two could play at that game. "We are the defenders of Earth and the Guardians of—"

And then he did something I hadn't expected: rolling his eyes, he turned away.

I blinked.

Then, gasped.

"D–Did you just—" I turned to my friends and gestured at myself. "Did he just roll his eyes at me? And then turn away?!"

Because surely—surely—I had imagined it. Today's pressures had finally gotten to me. The lack of sleep had made my brain pop. Mrs. Brown's algebra was making my head spin. Or hell, a piece of dust was in my eye. Because there was no way that someone was dismissing me—Blue Jay—like that.

But turning to the team, I knew that they had seen it as well.

Raven had the look of someone who had just witnessed a beaver and a clown fighting over a hotdog. Her eyes whisked from me to the man, mouth frozen wide, while Lark reserved her energy for scowling at the man.

"It appears so," she said, hands climbing towards the weapons on her back.

I turned to Nel, but she was still watching the man. Her ears were pinned back and tail flicking wildly behind her. She was on edge, like Lark. It wasn't surprising. This man wasn't the slightest bit intimidated by us. Sure, you could chuck that up to us essentially still being rookies (especially Raven). But still, regardless of how much training we had received, there were three of us and one of him. Mathematically, things weren't in his favour.

Nel watched the man, gaze climbing his body as she tried determining his play here. He wasn't nervous, but he wasn't curious. There wasn't a desperation to get to know us or take up our time—this couldn't be a distraction. But then, what was he getting out of this?

Lark, on the other hand, had turned her attention to the bodies at his feet. The policeman. I spotted her dad. He was alright—they all were. Unconscious, but their chests were moving.

But—I'm sorry, I'm still caught on this—how was he turning away from me? That had never happened before.

"He—you can't—" I turned back to the man. He had his hands stuffed into his pockets, feet together. His eyebrows were raised in an unimpressed way like he was witnessing a toddler throwing a tantrum. "You can't do that!"

"Perhaps then you should refrain from being such a bore," was his response.

He may as well have dropped a roof right onto my head. Because what the hell did he mean by that?

A WHAT.

"Wha—I'm not a bore!" I turned back to my team. "Tell him!"

But when I looked at them—my loving and supportive friends who supposedly had my back through thick and thin—they suddenly found everything and anything more interesting and stood there, looking in random directions like their names were being called.

"Oh, come on!"

"To be fair, Blue Jay," Nel suddenly stepped forward. It was the first time she had turned her attention away from the man. "That speech can be rather long."

I stood there, mouth opening and closing, then turned to Raven and Lark, who each nodded and murmured their agreement.

"Wha—excuse me?!" I shrieked. They all cringed. "Why's this the first I've heard of this? We've been doing this for over a month together and now suddenly I'm a bore?!"

"Well, I didn't quite say that," Nel pointed out.

"It's not that you're boring," Lark stepped forward. "It's just the things you say."

Again, my jaw dropped.

"Well, excu—y'know what, fuck it, we're discussing this later," I whirled back around to the man, who at this point, looked like a child his teacher had held back in from lunch. "And you can just give us back those men!"

He blinked then glanced at his feet like he'd forgotten that the men were even there. There was a pause before his lips curled into a small smile and when he looked up, he let out a small chuckle.

"If you insist."

"ALRIGHT, YOU ASKED FOR IT BUD—wait, what?" I blinked.

"If you want the men, then by all means, take them," he held out his arms and stepped to the side. "I haven't any use for them."

I stared at him.

He stared back.

I looked over my shoulder. The team shrugged.

So, I turned back to him. I didn't like it. Normally, we had to fight out of these things. Even when it was Serec, there was always an expectation that there'd be a scuffle. It was the whole point of being a Guardian. It just wasn't a thing for the bad guys to hand over their leverage—in this case, unconscious policemen. Because, you know, they were bad guys.

My instincts were pins on my neck. I didn't know this man—hell, technically, I didn't know for sure that he was even with Serec, although the chances were undeniably high—but nothing about him seemed easy going.

This felt like a trap.

We had to keep our guard up.

I motioned for the others to follow me.

Silence pressed into us as they stayed hot on my heels, crossing the space towards the cops. Lark's eyes were glued onto her dad. Her mouth shifted into a stressed line when he miraculously didn't get up to hug her. My chest twisted, but I kept my eyes on the unnamed man.

He didn't move. Not when we passed him and not when we approached the cops. But he caught my eyes over my shoulder. It made my stomach flip. Something about him unsettled me. It wasn't the obvious like him likely being with Serec. It was something different, something darker and more sinister.

His gaze was strong enough to push back my skin. There was a shakiness in my throat I tried swallowing. He looked at me like he could peer into my mind and learn everything about me. My fingers were around my pin before I could stop myself and when his eyes followed, something in me sank. His lips lifted. Fuck. I moved my hands, making it look like I meant to scratch my shoulder, but it was too late. He lifted his gaze back to mine. He knew he was making me nervous.

I swallowed then turned back to Lark. She had her dad in her arms, fingers pressed to his neck. I tried keeping my attention on them, but the man's eyes were like a fire burrowing into my neck.

I cleared my throat.

"Well?" I asked after a few too many seconds.

Lark released a breath.

"There's a pulse," she said. "They're okay."

Relieved, we sighed.

"Thank goodness," Raven touched her chest.

I went to comment similar thoughts when something suddenly occurred to me and I looked over my shoulder.

"Oi, you never told us your—" I stopped. There was an empty space behind us. I looked around but the man was no longer there. ". . . name."

Lark was on her feet, tense.

We all looked around, cutting our gazes back and forth across the room. But the man was nowhere to be seen. We couldn't even find him melted in the shadows, lingering in the corners, or watching us from the mannequins.

He was gone.

"Where'd he go?" Raven asked, eyes still sharp.

"Doesn't matter now," Lark crouched down to prop her dad's arm over her shoulder. "C'mon, help me carry them."

Nel and I looked at each other thinking the same thing.

This wasn't over.

So, understandably, you could see why I wasn't in the greatest mood.

I'd already had a pretty shite day. People had gone back to staring whenever I walked down the hallway, waiting to see if I was about to get into another fight. Teachers seemed even colder than before. Homework was coming in even heavier. Not to mention the whole Phoebe fiasco.

And now, we apparently had a new villain. One who hadn't outright said he was the villain but had the whole vibe going for him so he most likely was definitely a bad guy.

He also seemed to find me little more than a joke.

So, after all that, you could probably understand why I was even less patient with Rhonda then I normally was.

"Well, that was weird," she suddenly announced with her arms folded behind her head.

I scowled. "Weirder than us carrying these fully grown men when you're the one with super super strength?"

She merely stuck her tongue out.

I rolled my eyes.

Yeah, you read that correctly. We—three teenagers—were carrying these adult men, down the avenue and out to the entrances. Well, two of us. Raven, her usual useful self, was marching ahead of the group with Nel at her side. Lark and I were stuck carrying the men. And yeah, we had super strength, but you'd be surprised how much a couple of doughnuts could add to a guy.

"What do you think he was after, Nel?" Lark asked as she shifted her dad's arm over her shoulder.

Thankfully, neither guy had any injuries. We had checked them over before heading out. There wasn't even a paper cut. They just were asleep, like they'd been hit with some spell. Lark had worried that it would keep them under for days, but Nel shook her head, confirming that they'd wake in a few hours. They just needed to be put in their homes so they could wake in more comfortable circumstances.

"Screw that," I huffed because this guy's elbow was digging into the crock of my neck. "Who even was he?"

I think my voice shook when I said that. I rolled my face and cleared my throat, hoping I looked more annoyed then scared. Because I wasn't. But I also wasn't exactly comfortable either. I could still feel that man's eyes on my face, like fingertips that ghosted along my neck.

I shuddered.

Raven nodded. "Or better yet, what was he?"

"I haven't the faintest, girls," Nel told us. "I've never seen him before."

"Could he be a Mutant thingo?" Raven stroked her chin. I rolled my eyes. Aye, see what I have to deal with? "Or that other version? The one where they can disguise themselves, like, super well?"

"A Wraith," Nel answered for her. "And I don't think so, I didn't sense anything like from him."

"Why would he just leave, then?" I asked when we rounded the corner. "Was this some type of trap?"

"Who cares?" Lark sighed, moving ahead. It surprised me. She usually was the most cautious of us all. I opened my mouth to ask what was with her when I noticed the way her hand curled around her dad. I then paused, looking at her. She seemed jumpy. Her eyes were flying with the slightest sound, mouth pressing into a hard line. It was obvious she just wanted to leave for her dad's sake. "We've got them back and as long as we can get them to safety, I'm sure we can get out of anything, especially if we're together."

She sent me a look.

I forced a grin.

"Well, I for one am totally willing to call this an early night," Raven stated with glee as she propped her hands onto her hips. "I say we celebrate with some of those jumbo milkshakes General Meathead never shuts up about."

I rose my brows. "You're actually going to consume some sugar?"

She shrugged. "I've received enough training to make Superman cry, I think I can make an exception."

I smiled for real that time.

It had been a long time since I'd gotten a milkshake. Even longer when it had been with others. It did send a bittersweet pang through my chest. It used to be something I reserved for Phoebe, something that we did to calm ourselves down the maddening stresses of our everyday lives. It was a place we had made our sanctuary, a place where we could just be kids and not the dolts with too much responsibility dropped onto us.

I lowered my eyes. How ironic.

I didn't go there often because it reminded me that the space that she used to occupy was now empty. It was even more painful now because I had come to accept what I'd been denying for so long. It felt so soon to be going back with new people.

But . . .

I looked at Raven.

I had had a shitty day. I was tired, I was exhausted and I was hungry. It would be nice to at least close the day out at the diner, laughing at something meaningless as for a few hours, we pretended we were normal teenagers with normal problems.

So, I nodded my head, which made Raven's eyes twinkle.

But of course, Lark had to make a comment.

"Technically, Superman wouldn't actually—"

"Shut up."

"I'll be back as soon as I can," Lark told us after slinging her father over her back like he was a knitted jumper. It was an odd sight, even outside of knowing it was her dad. She was taller in this form, but he still towered over her, and easily was three times her weight. But the weight didn't bother her.

"Have fun tucking your father into bed," Raven couldn't help commenting. "And the other guy."

Lark made a face, but her eyes were light. "Try not to get into too much trouble while I'm gone."

"It's an abandoned carnival," Raven crossed her arms. "How much trouble can a talking cat and two superheroes get up to?"

Lark rose a brow then glanced in my direction.

I shrugged, leaning back. I was spread across the grass like I was at a picnic. The wind was washing across my face, cold and stinging my cheeks, but thankfully, our uniforms were designed to keep us warm no matter what. So, I rose my chin, enjoying the sensations as my hair was swept backwards.

Lark smiled then tapped her neck. Her helmet slid down across her face.

"Be back in half an hour," she told us before spinning on her heels and disappearing in a whirl.

It left our hair whipping across our eyes and leaves hanging in the air before floating back to the ground.

Then, a silence.

I pursed my lips.

We weren't unknown to silences—fighting bad guys every day then going back to school and then ducking out to squeeze in half a day's worth of training often left us tired enough that all we could do was sit in silence. But this one felt different, strained. I sighed then lay back against the grass. My heart was racing in my throat. I spread my arms out like they were wings and sighed again. The ground was damp but I didn't mind. It was a chill that kept you anchored back down on earth, rather than up in the clouds where you weren't much use.

"There's insects in the dirt," Raven mentioned, raising her brow. "Sit up."

"I'm the leader of a superhuman squad with awesome, earth–shaking powers," I told her without looking away from the stars. "I think I can take a few insects."

I could hear Nel rolling her eyes.

Raven scoffed and turned away.

More silence passed.

"I'm bored," I announced.

"Oh, whatever will we do?" Raven rolled her eyes.

"Un–bored me."

"Un–bored yourself," she snapped over her shoulder. "You're the leader of a superhuman squad with awesome, earth–shaking powers, remember?"

I flipped her off. "Eat a dick."

"Why don't you sit on a dick?"

"Oh, go—"

"Girls," Nel snapped.

We both shut out mouths.

So, then more silence came.

It unsettled me. I don't know why; silence normally was something that comforted me. But right now, it made me aware how open the space around us was. How easy it would be to creep up on us.

So, I mimicked a gun with my fingers and aimed up at the sky.

"Bored," I said, pretending to shoot off a bullet. Except, I accidentally did shoot something. Not a bullet, a forcefield. It shot off like it was a bullet, sending shadows spiralling against the clouds before it exploded in a dazzling blast that clapped against the skies. Raven and Nel, who hadn't been looking, yelped.

. . . Whoops.

"Would you cut it out?!" Raven exclaimed, spinning around to slap at my hands. She then yanked her hands back when a blue spark crackled from my skin and snapped against her finger. "Ow!"

"Oops."

"Oops? That's all you have to say, fucking oops?!"

"My bad."

She threw her head back and let out a strangled noise. "You're so fucking reckless, you cow!"

My jaw dropped. "Cow?!"

"Raven's right," Nel scowled at me. "That was extremely reckless, you could have hit someone!"

"Wha—no one's here!"

"You don't know that," Raven crossed her hands over her chest. "There could've been an extremely interested stalker nearby."

I snorted. "Well, if there are any stalkers then I don't mind hitting them."

"Blue Jay."

And Nel said that in such a tone that what I was about to say died right there in my throat. She had that cross look in her eye. It made me feel like I was back in grade school and getting scolded by my teacher. I twisted my lips into a frown. Because I really didn't have anything to say despite really wanting to. I crossed my arms and settled for glaring holes into the ground.

Raven and Nel exchanged looks before settling back into their original stances. Nel was sat beside the other cop. Her gaze had been slipping between the horizon and his face, making sure he wasn't in any pain or anything. But now, I noticed that she occasionally would look in my direction from the corner of her eye.

I puffed out my cheeks. Man, this really was like being in grade school again.

Minutes passed and no one said anything. I squirmed. I could feel myself growing more and more agitated.

So, when my eyes landed on some pebbles, an idea hit me.

"Ow!" Raven suddenly cried then whirled around. She had such an angry expression that if this were a cartoon, I knew there'd be smoke rising from her nose. "Stop throwing—ow—ROCKS!"

Snickering, I waved my hand. The pebbles wrapped in small barrier continued pelting in her direction. Raven shrieked and tried jumping out of the way but lost her footing and fell hard onto her ass.

"Stop it!"

"Stop what?" I feigned a shrug. "I'm not even touching them. Must be the wind."

She screeched—in frustration this time.

"Blue Jay!" Nel barked—which was ironic, all things considering—and immediately, the rocks fell to the ground. I grimaced then turned to the cat. She had her ears pressed against her head and her eyes were hard. "Stop winding everyone up."

"But I'm bored," I said.

"I'm boooooored," Raven repeated in an exaggerated shriek–y voice which I know wasn't supposed to resemble mine. Propping herself onto her knees, she slapped her fists onto her hips. "You're a fucking record player at this point. Change the god damn tune."

"Or better yet, mute it," Nel snapped.

I looked between them, feeling very ganged up on, then crossed my arms.

"Rude."

They were ready to make another comment when—

BANG!

—a loud noise echoed from the entrance.

We were on our feet in seconds, swinging around to the front of the park. It happened so quickly that Raven almost rolled over her ankle and flung out her arms like two windmills to keep herself from falling. She instead trod on Nel's tail, who gave a loud yelp.

"Sorry," she murmured, cheeks stained red, when the cat scowled at her.

I didn't look at them; afraid that whatever had made that noise would jump out from the shadows in the millisecond it would take for me to turn back. Instead, I fought the shakiness that settled over me, and wrapped my trembling fingers around my elbows.

"What was that?" Raven asked when I didn't say anything. I could feel her moving closer.

"Shh," I didn't look away from the entrance. "It came from the park. I'm going to check it out."

"What?" she gaped at me. "Why do you get to check it out?"

"Cause I said so, dingbat. C'mon, Nel, let's go," I gestured towards the entrance.

Nel sent another dirty look to Raven before we headed back into the park.

The shadows became heavier and passed over us like curtains. No one said a word as we looked over the place. The breeze pushed the leaves to the right and made the branches rattle. I bit my lip. The cold ran over me like a hand. A shiver raced down my back. I didn't know whether I liked that nothing was happening or not. I knew it was a good thing but I didn't feel settled.

Something had made that noise. But it wasn't showing up. It was just us.

I tried releasing a breath, but my stomach felt fat with bricks. The silence rattled me. It made my voice crawl back into my throat. I swallowed. It felt like nothing was alive but us. I didn't even hear crickets, now that I thought about it.

It was like a ghost town.

I tried filling in the silence. "What do you thi—"

Something scraped from behind us.

We spun around.

My jaw dropped. "Raven!"

"What? You just left me!" The Guardian huffed. She had her arms crossed over her chest like she was a toddler. She began marching in our direction. Her cheeks were red from the cold and puffed out with her anger. I would've laughed if she hadn't already majorly pissed me off.

"You didn't leave that man alone, did you?" Nel demanded.

That made her stop.

She blinked.

"Nooooooooo."

Nel sighed. I facepalmed.

"What?!" she cried defensively. "It's not like I went that far!"

"Who's the reckless one now?" I couldn't resist asking her.

Her response was—of course—the bird.

How mature.

"Well," Nel scowled at her which admittedly felt good. Lately, it felt like I was the only one she liked scolding. "I expect you to march right back around and—"

She was cut off by another noise, but this one felt much closer.

We were spinning back around in seconds. But nothing stood facing us down the Avenue. I squinted. I tried searching for impossible things—glowing eyes, sharp claws, bulging muscles, razor teeth. But I couldn't see past the shadows. They poured like whiskey across the path. I couldn't feel past the blades of grass squished beneath my feet.

But then, something burst across the sky.

I paused.

It was a light that climbed higher and higher from behind the stalls, fanning out into a wintery glow over their roofs.

Raven moved closer to us.

"Let's check it out," I decided.

I moved before they said anything and heard them hurry to keep up with me. But I made sure to stay a little ahead of them. Raven could phase through attacks, but she was still new and her reflexes weren't as sharp. I had since learnt to shoot first, ask questions later. She was safer behind me.

Silence pressed into us and turned my heart into a convulsing mess. I felt my fingers tense, wrists burning from the static building in my bones. But I kept my attention moving between the lights in the skies and the potential movement around us. It had my voice sharpening into a point in my throat, one I couldn't work my words around, so I clamped my mouth shut. I didn't know what it was that was waiting for us. But the closer we got to the light, the more powerful it felt.

Eventually, we made it to the centre of the park, where the Wheel loomed over the grounds. Heads stacked on top of each other so we could see what was happening, we peeked around one of the stalls.

And when we did, our jaws dropped.

The light was coming from the Wonder Wheel.

The Wonder Wheel that was now cackling with lightning.

"What the—" I was stumped. Flabbergasted. I stood there for a while, blinking and then rubbing my eyes to make sure that what I was seeing was actually happening.

The Wonder Wheel stood tall, spokes rattling with sparks that curled then darted into the night. The light collected and rattled, shaking the bars so much, they looked like they were about to snap.

Nerves collected in my throat and I looked around, but still, I couldn't see a Mutant.

"—fuck is that?"

"It's—holy shit, am I seeing that right?" Raven rubbed her eyes. "Is that thing . . . on lightning?"

"Mutant," Nel decided. "It must be."

"But . . ." I blinked. "Where?"

Silence settled over everyone once again when they realised that I was right. They looked around but still, there weren't any signs of anything that lingered around us. Much less a Mutant.

"I say Blue Jay goes to check it out," Raven suddenly declared and Nel nodded in agreement.

"What?" I looked at them, feeling very ganged up on. "Why do I have to?"

Raven stood upright and cleared her throat. "You said, and I quote, 'I'm the leader of a superhuman squad with awesome, earth–shaking powers.' That's it, that's what you said."

I stared at her. "I said it once, why do you keep bringing it up?"

"Seemed pretty confident when you said it," Raven shrugged and then flipped her hair over her shoulder in a classic Rhonda fashion. "Maybe you should put your money where your mouth is."

"But I—"

"Hush. Less talky, more looky," Raven said and jabbed a finger into my shoulder.

I was ready to fight her on that, but then paused because honestly, I was going to volunteer anyway. Besides, she pretty much was admitting to me being the leader and even if it had its downs, it sure had its ups—like getting to boss her around more in the future.

I decided it was worth the risk and turning around, I marched towards the Wheel.

Lights washed over me and my shadow hung from my shoulders like it were a cape. I held a hand over my eyes. Everything became louder the closer that I got. I could hear the beams snapping in my ears. Lights sprawled across the ground. Shards poked into the night. It made the hair on my neck stand. To be safe, I moved my wrists, so they were crossed over my face. I didn't know where this was coming from, or whether they were going to strike me next.

But the closer that I got, the more it became clear that I had no idea what I was doing.

I stopped. Propped my hands onto my hips and then looked around. But I couldn't see anyone else but Nel or Raven, so I turned to the Wheel and examined the sight.

There didn't seem to be any source and nothing was jumping out at me.

I turned around.

"What am I—"

My neck hairs jerked straight.

I whirled around in time to catch it.

Blue burst in all direction as a dark shape slammed into me. The force knocked me onto the ground where grass shattered into my skin. A hot flush rushed into my ears and heaved the world onto its side. My heartbeat splattered into the dirt. The Mutant's howl came from all around me, making everything spin, and my forcefield became like ice against my skin.

I opened my eyes.

The first thing that I saw were the teeth. Sharp, needle–like and dripping in salvia. The nose was dark and wide, eyes pressed red. It let out another shriek and throttled my forcefield. The impact had my bones rattling. Dizziness curdled around me. I lifted my eyes again. Bit my tongue to keep from falling. I was ready to push against the nausea when a wire shot from over my head and for the Mutant.

It let out a noise and leapt backwards to avoid the hit. The forcefield collapsed then disappeared. The air stung my teeth and wrapped around my neck like a chain. I pushed the ground and drew in a sharp breath. I hadn't realised that I'd stopped breathing.

I pressed a hand to my chest and took in larger breaths when suddenly a hand appeared in front of me.

I raised my eyes.

"You okay?" Raven asked me.

I accepted her hand and she pulled me back to my feet.

I touched my throat.

"I think," I murmured, but it felt like a croak. Her eyebrows pressed together and she looked ready to say something when there were more thumping sounds. We looked around to several Mutants jumping from the shadows to surround us. "Found the Mutants."

She wheeled around so our shoulders were touching. Her gaze sharpened until it felt like glass piercing the air as she moved her eyes over the creatures. There was a frantic beating in my fingertips. I clenched them around my wrist, but the pounding moved to my throat. I tried swallowing but there was a lump.

"But which one is doing that to the Wheel?" she asked over the snarls. There was a shing! that rung in the air as she whipped out her blades. They popped from her wrists like she was Wolverine and she stepped forward, lips turning downwards.

I shrugged. Well, it felt more like a jerk as a flash burst in my temples. There was a second before my blade spun into my hands and I caught it without looking away.

"Guess we'll have to find out."

I sent her a look from the corner of my eyes. She half turned; her eyes found me and then she nodded with recognition.

So, I bolted.

The stocky Mutant was the first to catch my attention. It had been making its way towards us, lips pulled back to reveal shiny teeth. I tossed my blade and caught it like it were a butcher's knife. The Mutant growled then jabbed in my direction. My toes twisted into the dirt as I curved beneath its fist then reared my hand to the side and sent the knife into the Mutant that had been coming at me from the side.

Its palms found the ground as it came down to its knees. I swung my hand upwards. Wrapped my fingers around the first Mutant's wrist. My ears tingled. I looked up and the blade was already hurtling in my direction. Pressing my lips together, I swung the Mutant around so that it stumbled into my blade. It cried when I pulled the weapon from its flesh, then darted in another direction.

The explosion lunged after me. It raced down my spine and curled past my ears, pushing me further down my path. Lights turned into beams and streaks. Shadows billowed out like ashen clouds. I bent down. Pressed my fingers into the ground to push against the force.

Dirt flew beneath my feet as I came to a panting stop. My braid slapped the back of my neck and a pounding noise drilled into my skull. I moved my fingers to my neck, sucking in several breaths, and rose my face. My head spun, but my senses had sharpened and suddenly, I could see every grain surrounding us. Crawling sensations pressed beneath my skin. They made my knees shake, my chest stutter.

But a power had flooded my system. It was warm, not burning, but there. It flared between my eyes, hammering in my chest, and made my stomach sink into a pit. My fingers went to my chest, as if to contain the pulsing that felt so powerful, it was like a bird wanted to flap its wings and escape from its captivity.

But then, a scrap shattered the silence.

I spun and the first thing I saw were the claws. I held up a hand and caught them on my vambrace, inches from my face. Heat burned my eyes. Something hurtled for me and I only managed to slam my foot upwards. The force knocked into its stomach, sending the other Mutant to the ground.

I then wrapped my fingers around the original Mutant, digging my heels into the dirt as I heaved the creature around. It staggered, shock coursing across its face, before I slammed my foot into its knee, sending it toppling into the other Mutant.

The knife was in my hands before I could register it and swinging around, I knocked the blade into one and then the second Mutant. I didn't give myself a second to pause and raced off in a random direction, swinging out my wire. It caught an approaching Mutant and with a sharp tug, I had the creature stumbling in my direction.

There was a cooling sensation that numbed my skin before I buried my fist into the Mutant's throat. The barrier protected me from feeling the attack against my own skin and instead, cut off the Mutant's cry and sent it stumbling for the ground. The forcefield vanished from my wrist before I sent my knife into the Mutant's body.

I swung out my wrist and felt my wire hook onto something before kicking off from the ground. Twisting through the air, I landed in a crouched position. The tail ends of an explosion rolled over me, pushing my hair over my shoulders, and washed my shadow in golden hues.

The world was still turning but the first thing I hooked onto was Raven. Her silhouette was buried beneath several other Mutants.

"Could use some help here!" she yelled and slammed her foot into a Mutant's chest.

I summoned my knife. "Coming!"

But then something heavy knocked me from my feet. It sent a ringing erupting in my ears as darkness spun across my eyes. The ground then slammed into me. Its clap shattered across my nose and knees, and everything suddenly folded beneath the blaring sounds around me. The world's edges dissolved into a spinning mess. Dark trees swirled and twisted with the grass.

Nausea poured down my neck and into my chest. I clamped down on my tongue so I wouldn't vomit. Sounds gushed hot like water. I lifted my eyes. Everything was crashing and burning. But through the blotched colours moved a shape—a blue Mutant.

It had long, pale hair that floated like it were a ball of fire. There was a hollowness to its cheeks that made it look like a sick Victorian child, or a demonic force out of a horror film. Eyes completely glossed over in white. Lips that stretched across its face. And a statue so tall, it towered over me even as Blue Jay.

I blinked. "What the fu—"

"Jesus! The hell is that?!" I heard Raven shout before ducking under another attack. "AGH!"

"I dunno," I murmured then swept up my knife.

Nel tried speaking. Now Helga—

"I'm going in!" I said then charged forward.

The night swept past in sombre tones. They swooped like ropes, soft tendrils pushing against my ankles to hurl me back onto the ground. I swallowed the lump in my throat then spun around my knife, readying to send it flying.

But the Mutant threw out its arm and a lightning bolt was sent in my direction.

Yelping, I jumped out of the way and watched as the bolt crashed into the stall that had been behind me. The wooden boards exploded with a loud rush that sent nails flying. My instincts sharpened. I held up my arm. The nails were small and hot, shooting through the air in a blur and yet somehow, I knew exactly where they would land. They pelted and rattled against my vambraces. I let out a breath. The bands around my wrists tingled with warmth. Not one nail hit me.

I glanced down at my hands. What—

"What the fuck?!" Raven shouted, but I didn't glance at her. I let out a shocked breath then turned over my shoulder.

The Mutant darted in my direction. I wanted to scream, but my lips remained closed. Fatigue flooded my system and I found myself running. The air wobbled. Noises pulsed against my skull. I swung my knife. The metal sung when it left my fingers. Drawing in hollow breaths made the air swim. I watched as the Mutant raised its arm. Tiny translucent fireworks buzzed from around its wrist. It collected in tiny needles at its fingers before it slammed the back of its hand against the knife. The weapon hurtled, spinning in another direction, until it had sunken into the shadows.

I gasped then clenched my teeth.

The Mutant neared me.

I pressed my feet into the dirt and took off. If it wanted a fight then that was what it would get.

The Mutant struck hard and fast. Shadows darted over my feet from the sharp lights shooting from its fingers. I twisted hard and sharp around its strikes and tried countering it with my own. But its power was shooting too far. It was hard to keep up let alone land a hit myself.

Twisting my heel, I spun and dodged a blow, but a dark shape moved in from my peripherals. It swung into my eye before I could turn. My head swung, vision turning watery, when a hand wrapped around my shoulder. It crunched down. Pain swelled through my fabric and into my skin before I was launched backwards. It happened so fast: all I could see was a spinning vision before something hard slammed into the back of my head.

The world became a pool, sloshing with shadows and light, but when I blinked, I looked around, realising that I had been thrown against the Wonder Wheel. I pressed a hand to my throat to suck in air when I noticed the figure standing on the top.

I frowned.

No, they weren't standing, they were sitting—watching.

They were a mass of shadows. I couldn't make out their identity, they were too far away. But they seemed relaxed. And from the direction their face was pointed in, I could tell it was me who had their attention.

I snapped my mouth shut.

But there was a rustle from ahead of me and when I looked, the Mutant was readying itself for another attack. Alarm shot into my throat. Raising my palm, heat collected between my brows. I sliced my hand through the air and felt the knife cutting across the shadows. It flew for the Mutant but the creature swung out of the way.

That was the opening I needed.

The wind slammed into my throat as I pushed off from the Wonder Wheel. I gritted my teeth and blinked back the tears.

Spinning on the balls of my feet, I swung out my foot so when the Mutant looked up, my boot slammed into its face. The force sent the Mutant to the ground. But as its arms swung from the stumble, a burning shower of sparks released from its hand. I swung to the side, dodging the lightning before it could hit me, but I felt it travelling past me. It sizzled the air and I heard the clatter from behind. I didn't have to look to know that it had taken out another stall.

Gritting my teeth, I kicked off the ground and leapt into the air. I swung my arm and felt the warmth gather in my wrist. The knife was in my hand in seconds and I brought it down to pierce the Mutant's neck—

When it looked up.

It rolled away from my attack. I landed in a crouch, let out a frustrated cry then swung back around.

It darted towards me, swinging in my direction. I held up my arm to counterstrike it, but the weight crashed down on me. I struck the ground to keep myself from faceplanting, then swung out my foot. It took the Mutant by surprise, striking it in the face. I rose back to my feet, feeling the forcefield sparking around my arms, but before I could attack, the Mutant raised its hand.

There was a flash.

It happened so quickly that I barely could even register it. One minute, I was staring at the Mutant, and the next, a wall of light that crashed into me. The force swept me from my feet and in seconds, I was falling again.

Firmness slammed into my head, shattering against my bones. I groaned. Everything was ringing, vibrating and crying out for me. For a moment, I couldn't move. My heart was racing like it wanted to burst out from my chest and my joints felt like they were made from weights.

"Blue Jay!" I heard.

It wasn't until I drew in a breath that I realised my eyes had shut. I released a groan then forced them open and groaned again. Everything was spinning. It had become a seeping mess. It curled and leaked then slipped into waves that crashed against my face. I turned my vision in the direction of the call. Spots dented my sight.

Raven was looking in my direction, horrified. Everything was blurry so I couldn't make out any specifics until she turned her attention back to the Mutant.

Her teeth snapped together.

But a Mutant was approaching her from the side. I wanted to call her name but it felt like my mouth was stuffed with cotton. She apparently didn't need me. She slashed her blade in its direction. The blade sunk into its throat. Raven didn't flinch. She hadn't even looked away from my attacker before she took charge.

I placed a hand to my face, trying to force the spinning to stop, and found my voice was still refusing to work.

"Raven!" Nel shouted. I turned to see that she had come from the shadows to edge herself towards me. "Wait, this Mutant has electrical abilities!"

That made Raven laugh.

"And—" she shouted, blades shooting from her wrists, "—I have phasing abilities!"

"But—"

The Mutant roared then swung out its arm. Electricity burst from its body and then dissolved into a shower of white sparks that dropped down. It formed a glimmering wall that shot across the clearing and slammed into Raven. It was a collusion so bright that it burned to look. Nel and I had to cover our faces.

Buzzes rang in our ears before there was a thud next to me and when I looked—blinking—Raven had landed net to me. Her face was streaked with dirt. Smoke trailed from the burnt holes in her clothes. And she was hacking like she'd swallowed a frog. I wrinkled my nose then also began hacking, choking on the smell. The air had become thick and smelly, like someone had left their ham in the oven for far too long. I could feel my eyes watering.

"Freakin' ow!"

And Nel, of course, had to make a comment. "Told you."

"Shut up," Raven snapped, rubbing her face.

The Mutant swung its hand upwards. Sparks flared from its claws and electricity burst out in all directions. It hit corners of the stall roofs, splitting the wooden boards apart and sending them to the ground, and scattered across the skies.

We all watched the display, each feeling very, very fucked.

"So," I clucked my tongue. "Any ideas?"

"I don't know," Raven turned to me. I bit down on my lip. She looked like a cartoon character, with how dirty her face had become, and her eyes popping out from the blackness like two white balls. It was times like these that I was grateful for our powers. "How did it get me? I was phasing through."

"Its powers are electric," Nel answered.

Raven rolled her eyes. "Yeah, we're aware."

Nel frowned.

"Electricity can be used to bridge molecules together even when you're quantum phasing!"

Raven's mouth made an O shape. "Ah, that makes sense."

"Wha—" I jumped to my feet. Heat danced over my skin then stretched into a pale barrier as a bolt sizzled down at us. The crash smacked into us; I could feel my bones rattling from the impact. I dug the balls of my feet into the ground so I wouldn't topple over. Heat flushed in my nose. "Crap—what makes sense?!"

"Doesn't matter. The point is that my powers are pretty much useless against this thing," I could hear Raven getting to her feet. "How's your face?"

"You have eyes!" I gritted my teeth. "You tell me!"

There was a pause. "As Blue Jay or other you?"

"Raven!" Nel barked.

"Ugh!" I screamed when another bolt came hurtling down. The force was strong enough that it made everything spin. It bended and curved like we were underwater. It became hard to focus. I blinked the tears away, not even realising they'd been there. It felt like knives were going through me. Something was crushing my skull. "Guys! Plan—now!"

"We need a distraction," Nel decided. She swivelled around to face Raven. "Something that will keep its attention off from you so you can kill it."

"What about me?"

"No. Your powers are the only thing keeping us from being hit," she told me while shaking her head. "You're too valuable. We're going to need something else."

Before I could look over my shoulder, stick my tongue out at Raven and repeat that Nel said I was valuable—what? My hands were full, but I wasn't immobilised—when we heard a voice.

"How about this?!"

The voice stretched across the skies and then, it happened so fast. Something shot through the Mutant's—Sparks, I decided to call it—body. It cracked through its torso, sending the Mutant onto its knees with a horrified howl. There was an explosion of sound and light as electric needles splashed out into the night and sporadically slammed into the structures around us.

The bursts caused the structures to explode and wooden boards hurtled from the force. There were sharp shooting sounds and I crossed my arms in front of my face before debris could hit us. The barrier glowed brighter. The ground shivered. A buzzing murmured in my ears. I could feel Raven and Nel moving closer. There were resounding bangs as debris crashed against the barrier. It sent fresh welts over my mind and made everything buzz and hum for a moment.

Heat pressed to my nose and burned behind my eyes. I moved my chin to my sternum. It felt like my mind was being stretched until it was torn to shreds. Showers of sparks and ash billowed around us, but black spots covered their light. I could feel everything twisting and turning until my knees were being dragged down by weights. There was a pulse in the bridge of my nose. It burned between my eyes. I squeezed them shut.

It felt like hours had passed before the lightning disappeared completely. But when it did, I almost fell to my knees with relief.

The barrier collapsed. There was a beating—no, punching—sensation in my throat. But the tension had softened in my chest. It became easier to breathe. The air had thickened. It pressed to my face like oil. Heat oozed from my ears and curled past me. The floor swirled. I wrapped my hands around my knees and focused on getting my breathing back under control. Trying to make the dark spots vanish.

I could feel Raven beginning to approach when a rush of air flew behind us.

We spun around and smiled at the familiar face.

"Lark!"

She lifted a brow, grinning.

"I leave for twenty minutes," she began and moved to my side. She slung an arm around my shoulder and gently tugged me to my feet. My surroundings whooshed, but I had something stable to lean against, so I accepted her help, "and come back to see you all in a battle with the Doctor Doom of Mutants?"

We all stared at her.

"Never mind," she sighed then turned her attention to the Mutants. She frowned. "I can be the distraction."

"You sure?" I asked her.

"Yeah," she smiled at me. "Are you sure you'll be able to keep up your shields?"

I grinned. "Yeah."

"Uh guys," Raven said, looking around.

Frowning, I followed her line of vision and realised that more Mutants were pouring out from the shadows to surround us. There was debris littering the ground, slopped over into obscurity, and smoke rising from the structures still standing. But moving around them, were Mutants even larger than before.

"Oh, shit," I stepped backwards.

"Took the words right out of my mouth," Lark murmured, tightening her hold, then glanced to Nel. "We still going with the original plan?"

Nel nodded. "What choice do we have? There's only three of you."

"Right," Lark nodded, turning her attention back to the Mutants. "Better get somewhere safe then."

Nel nodded then scampered off.

Silence fell over us.

The Mutants were moving at a crawling pace, dipping their bodies from the shadows into the light. The air thickened into a beat that pounded into our skin. It made my head spin. I slid my fingers up to my temples where it had become slick. I tried swallowing. I was tired, more then I should be. Why did this keep happening?

I shook my face, wanting to move past it because this wasn't the time, but instead, I saw double.

"Anyone gonna mention," Lark began, voice breaking through my mental fog, "the man watching us from the wheel?"

Raven glanced upwards but I tightened my fists.

Fuck. I had forgotten he was there.

"It's that guy from before," I told them.

Their stances shifted; Raven's shoulders tensed as her foot edged backwards. Lark moved forwards, chest opening like she was ready for the fight. But she was weighed down.

I gently pushed out of her arms. Her eyes flashed and she held out a hand to keep me steady but I waved her away. Lark tried capturing my gaze again, but I avoided her, turning back to the Mutants. There was a beating in my throat. I swallowed. I didn't want to appear even more weak in front of him.

I heard Lark sigh and, peeking from the corner of my eyes, watched as she whipped her rod out from her back.

"Figured," she said.

"What does he want?" Raven asked.

I shrugged. "We've never seen him before, which could be mutual for him. I think he's assessing us."

"Assessing?" Raven repeated, raising her eyebrows.

"Yeah," I said. "Learning our fighting styles—our strengths and weaknesses."

Shuddering, Raven turned back to the Mutants. There was a chill that passed between us. I clamped my lips together, suddenly finding it hard to speak. But then, Lark looked between us and a wicked smile spread across her lips.

"Well, then, let's give him a show he won't forget," she said, lifting her rod where a blade burst out the top.

Grinning, we both nodded.

Heat rioted in my body and when I spread out my hands, magic cackled from my fingers. It zapped, eager to lash out and throttle. I let it. Snapping out my hands, a shield spun into existence and when I pushed out my palms, it threw the barrier outwards until it had slapped into several Mutants and thrown them backwards.

The girls acted quickly; Lark turned into a flash and vanished to the right while Raven shifted backwards, sinking into one of the stalls on her left. It left me on my own. I rose my fists and didn't flinch as the Mutants got back to their feet and advanced. My heart slammed into my throat. My knees were already shaking from the grass that churned beneath my feet.

I sucked in a breath.

Shifting my attention to the larger Mutant racing towards me, I forced myself into a charge as well. My wrists tingled. Power rose into my arms and flared in my shoulders. I swung out my hands. There were tiny whistles as two spinning globes hurtled for the Mutants, knocking the smaller ones down to the ground.

I kicked off from the ground into a leap. I twisted my body then swung out my leg and felt my heel smack into the Mutant's face. It stumbled backwards and I landed in a crouch. I rolled my weight along the balls in my hand and twisted out my leg so that it smacked again into the Mutant. And then sweeping my hand out, barely even making out my spinning surroundings, I felt my knife fly into my fingers. I swept my palm downwards and watched through a dancing haze the knife plunging into the disoriented Mutant.

I mentally pulled the knife back into my grasp then kicked off, swinging a wire into the air, and then twisted my body into an elaborate spin. My feet slammed into another Mutant and I swept down onto the ground. I threw out my knife, hearing it plunge into another target, before swivelling back around.

I swung to the side just as a fist came at me. Then, ducking beneath the arm, jabbed my hand into the Mutant's eye. It staggered backwards, covering its face, so I ducked and swept my leg beneath its feet. It fell and I sliced my hand through the air, watching as the knife flew into its body.

There was a rustling from the corner of my eye and when I looked, Lark was running circles around Sparks. It was firing its attacks at her. She was avoiding it but only just. I could feel myself moving to help her when another Mutant came at me, fists swinging.

I narrowly avoided it, stumbling backwards. It swung again. I ducked to the side. And when it lunged, I spun to the right, dropped to one knee and sent my arm into its stomach. The Mutant choked, clutching its abdomen, and fell forward. I jumped to my feet then, wrapping my arms around its neck, I slammed my foot against the stall next to us and jumped onto its back. The Mutant staggered beneath my weight. I held up a hand, feeling the knife flash between my fingers, and brought the blade into its neck. It made a squelching sound as I landed several blows.

But from the corner of my eye, I spied movement.

I turned to the several Mutants headed my way.

Gritting my teeth, I slammed my feet, swinging my weight back onto my heels, then swung the Mutant around so that it stumbled into the group.

I then kicked off from the stall and leapt into the air.

Magic buzzed in a shimmering mass around my arms. I swung them and the lights flew and dissolved into vicious flares that slammed into the Mutants. I swept my hands in circular motions and watched as my knife hurtled into their bodies.

Explosions flared from around me. I sent my wire flying upwards, where it hooked onto something, and was yanked higher into the air. Tension spindled in my throat. I could feel my heart racing along my spine. I clicked my heels together and shot into the air before I could get hit.

The wind swished across my face, pulling strands over my eyes, but through them, I spotted a Mutant. It was large and scaly and approaching Raven from behind. She was wrapped in another battle with another Mutant and couldn't detect the creature sneakily approaching her.

Slinging out my knife, I swung my wire back into my wrist then spun my weight until I was twirling and all I could see were shadows. The ground was approaching and when it came, I swung out my knife and felt it slam into flesh.

I looked over my shoulder and my braid swung around to smack across my face. I had managed to hit the Mutant in the neck. It gargled, eyes wide with shock, before collapsing to the ground. I heard a gasp as Raven turned to see where the noise had come from.

Her eyes went up and down, realising what had happened. I let out a short puff of air.

"Welcome," I told her and flicked my braid over my shoulder.

She made a face, then swung around and slammed her foot into the Mutant she had been fighting. I swung my knife. It flew then sunk into another Mutant. There was a crack before its chest cracked open and an explosion hurtled around us. I twisted my wrists. The air thickened into fire and came down in blistering shades that never ended. They washed the pigment from the earth, sweeping the dirt over our boots, and thinned the air until it became sparse.

But then, it stopped.

The heat, that is. The fire continued pressing down over us, pushing through the howling wind, but we didn't feel anything. Instead, pressure folded around me. It pulsed against my vision as a translucent light weaved around Raven and I.

A strain—burning and hot—crept up my spine and pressed like bruises into my arms. The barrier glimmered against the explosion, but shadows crept across my vision. There was a violent beating in my temples. It drilled deep into my skull and made my head spin.

I blinked, tried redirecting my focus elsewhere. The air loomed gold above us. It softened, pressing against the barrier, and a thundering sound echoed.

The colours washed over Raven's face. The mask covered the top of her expression, but her awe was loud. I wanted to make a comment. But the edges of my vision wavered until I found myself on my knees. There were spots moving across my vision, faster this time. A locked sensation in my chest. I tried loosening it with deeper breaths, but it wouldn't leave.

I hadn't realised the fire had stopped until I could feel that warm, sticky humidity pressing down on our skin. Sweat dripped down my neck. I shut my eyes. At least we were safe.

"He's been watching you," I heard her through the fogginess. Moments passed with neither of us saying anything. But I opened my eyes. Moved my face towards her. She was watching something to the right, a hard look in her eyes.

The blood drained from my face. I didn't have to turn to know what she was referring to. It was the same reason why she didn't look at me.

I turned before I could help myself and when I did, my stomach dropped—she was right. His eyes were on me. He hadn't moved. His stance hadn't changed. But his face was pointed in our direction. Lights flashed from down here, barely stretching across the distance to his silhouette. They rose from his feet to climb beneath his cheeks. His expression hadn't shifted once. Not in outrage, not in shock—not for anything. I tried not to let that bother me. But it was vexing. He wasn't bored, but he wasn't mystified either, he was nothing. So why was he here?

I tried swallowing but the lump in my throat ached like it was filled with blood. I felt Raven slide her gaze over to me, but she kept her distance. I appreciated it. We couldn't look weak. I turned my face back in her direction and forced a smile.

"Obsessed much?" I tilted my face.

Her eyebrows came together. She looked like she wanted to say something more. But I caught a flash of movement from behind her and when I looked, a Mutant was charging in our direction. I left without saying anything else, racing around her and moving towards the creature. It lifted its arm to attack when I dropped to my knees then moved between its legs. It hadn't even turned when I spun on my hands, swiping out my foot so it smashed into its jaw.

The Mutant was sent backwards. A shadow moved from the corner of my eye. My throat turned to fragments. Leaping from the Mutant's torso, I twisted my knife through the air. It sank into the flesh of the approaching Mutant, then swinging my wrist, the knife sunk into the Mutant beneath me.

I swung my wire outwards and moved through the air before the explosions could hit me and landed safely on my feet. The air stirred beneath my chin. I wiped my brow. Tension had tightened in my chest. The ground was still a little woozy. Shadows had mostly retreated, but some clawed from beneath my lashes. I placed my hands around my knees to swallow a breath when I heard a loud noise.

Heart in my throat, I swung around—

Shit!

Smoke had broken free and poured like an open wound from the Wonder Wheel. The last remains of sparks had flown outwards and when I looked upwards, my face went cold.

The entire structure was coming down.

My heart shot up into my throat and pressed to the back of my teeth. The shadow climbed higher and higher as the structure fell, craning towards the ground.

My knees had locked in their position until I spotted Lark.

She had stopped as well. Her mouth was open as she watched the structure fall. I made to rush to her when I noticed Raven, dashing across the shadows. She hadn't realised that the Wheel was tilting, until the shadow had fallen over her. She stopped, swinging her gaze upwards, and her mouth fell open.

Even from here, I could see her face paling.

She yelped and swung around, throwing out a wire which awkwardly hooked onto something I couldn't see. She kicked off but almost immediately was on the ground again. Dirt sprayed over her as she rolled onto her side. She coughed, wrapping an arm around her ribs, and tried pushing herself to her feet.

The Wheel came down with a crash and blew dirt in cascades. I held a hand to my face. The air thickened and became hard to breathe. Everything in my chest suddenly seized and my throat tightened as I began choking on the smoke. I held a hand over my mouth. A headache settled behind my eyes. I tried peeking through the murkiness.

Raven was hard to make out. There was so much dirt and smoke. But I could hear her—she was hacking. I let the noises guide me until I saw her silhouette. She was crouched down, arms wrapped around her stomach as she coughed. But behind her, I saw a shape—a figure. It was hulking and dark and the closer I looked, I noticed that sparks were shooting from its fingers.

"Raven!" I hoarsely cried.

Her eyes snapped upwards and, following my line of vision, she turned to the jagged sparks shooting out for her. She screamed and held a hand to her face. Heat ran down my arms as I prepared to hurl a barrier across her when something suddenly jumped in the way. It moved too quickly for me to make out the shape, but my heart dropped because I knew what it was without looking.

The lightning crashed hard enough to startle a cry. I almost collapsed.

They tumbled from the smoke in a heap. My throat became three sizes too small when I noticed there were two bodies rather than one. Raven was beneath, thankfully awake and okay, although she looked startled. But Lark was on top of her. She had her arms wrapped around Raven, but her eyes weren't opening.

"Lark!"

I was moving. Everything drained. I no longer could hear a sound, feel a thing, or smell the smoke. I was only seeing one thing. My surroundings then changed. One minute, I was standing there with the wind howling and wrapping me up like it was a blanket, and then the next, I was at Lark's side, wires snapping back into my wrist, and shaking in ways that I knew weren't related to the cold.

"Lark?" Raven seemed to have caught up at this moment. She stared up at Lark in horror then manoeuvred around so she was sitting. She wrapped an arm around Lark's shoulders and awkwardly tried moving her into her lap.

Her eyes met mine.

"Is she . . . okay?" I heard myself ask as I shakily approached.

My heart was racing but I didn't look at Lark. I kept my attention directed onto Raven's face. I didn't want to see . . .

"I don't know, I—" she cut off with a gasp when she turned Lark over so she could see her back. I covered my mouth. "—shit."

When the smell hit me, my vision was knocked to the side. It made my stomach churn and throat twist. I clamped my lips, wanting to escape, and turned to the side. But I couldn't rid myself the memory of it. How singed the back of Lark's shirt had been, edges completely black and pulled back to reveal hot and pink skin. I swallowed. My sight turned watery. Dust thickened until it loomed over us like a balloon. Clouds shifted. Starlight sharpened into knives. I wanted to sit down but I couldn't bring myself to move.

"Is she . . ." the words died in my throat.

"She's still alive," Raven glanced up with hard eyes. "She's breathing."

I sighed and felt the knot in my throat relax.

I opened my mouth when a flash hurled itself from the corner of my eye. The hairs on my neck became nails. I swung on the balls of my feet and spread my palms. The light cracked into the barrier before I had even realised it was there. The hit felt like it came from a truck. It made me see double for a moment. There was a drilling noise in my ears that made my bones shake. I dug my toes into the ground to make sure I wasn't thrown.

But it sent heat waves rippling across my face. Each wave stirred nausea that twisted in my chest and made the ground feel so much closer than it probably was.

I was reaching my limit. There was only so long I could keep these barriers working.

But there was a shifting behind me.

Raven gasped. "Lark?"

I glanced over my shoulder, hands still stretched.

Lark's eyes fluttered open. There was a breath that passed between us, and it suddenly felt like the bricks around me had tumbled and all that was left was a gooey stickiness that made me want to hug her with everything I had left. I kept my mouth pressed into a line. Blinked back the water. This wasn't the time.

Panic then broke across Lark's face. She looked around wildly without recognition. Her eyes went over us, like we weren't registering to her, and then she pressed her palms into the dirt to push herself from Raven's arms.

"Whoa, hold on—" Raven blinked and held her back. "Don't move so quickly."

"Wha . . . what happened?" Lark croaked.

"You remember Doctor Doom?" My voice shook a little. I pressed my lips back together and cleared my throat. She was already looking at me in confusion. "You got hit, Zeus style."

She frowned, then grimaced when the pain hit her. "Oh."

Raven's jaw dropped. "That's all you have to say?!"

She glanced at her. "Ouch."

I nearly dropped my shield.

Then, there was a thud.

We looked over our shoulders.

And froze.

The man from before now stood in front of us.

He had his hands tucked into his pockets. His face was cool and still like a motionless body of water. The Mutants bowed out of his way. But he didn't move at first. He merely glanced at us over his shoulder. A coolness crept beneath my skin. His lips never moved, but there was a glint in his eyes. And then, they found mine, and a shard of glass went through my chest. I clamped down on my lips. Swallowed. Tried to keep my heartbeat under his control.

He smirked, then turned and slowly made his way in our direction. I couldn't move. I wanted to. It felt as if something was trickling down my body and splitting me into two halves, where one half wanted to run and the other wanted to attack. I didn't know which side to choose. But his eyes never moved away from me.

"What a disappointment," he came to a stop with a small tsk.

"Hey, fuck you, asshole!" I heard myself shout. "We're not your stupid entertainment!"

"And such impertinent behaviour," he noted like he was observing the behaviour of animals in a zoo. "You haven't the skill to back up such mannerisms."

His response frightened me. He had been watching us—me—for so long, I thought maybe I had impressed him. Maybe we had a fighting chance. But from how he was acting, I realised that I'd done the exact opposite. I had disappointed him. To him, we were nothing.

"Just who the hell are you?!" Raven demanded. She and Lark were standing but she was carrying most of Lark's weight. "What the hell was the point of tonight?!"

He rose an eyebrow. "And now you're making demands, while completely at my mercy. Others may look to this behaviour and call it bold, brave even. Not me, however. I find it little more than tedious. Predictable."

I stilled when he looked back in my direction.

There was a distance but still, an ache spread in my chest like he had hit me. My stomach rolled like dice. It suddenly became hard to breathe. It wasn't the group he was referring to but me specifically. I didn't know why. We had just met and yes, I was the leader, but it's not like I was the only one with skills or abilities. Lila and Rhonda were equally as impressive, why was it me that his eyes kept finding their way back to?

I tried to respond but the words were stuck in my throat. It suddenly felt like the walls that had held me up were collapsing like dominos. Now, I was stood in the burning cold with an emptiness in my chest. I thought I had been getting better but maybe . . .

He then shrugged and threw a glance to Sparks.

The creature nodded then turned back to us. It threw out its hands and sent out another bolt that crashed into my barrier. I gritted my teeth. It felt like someone was squeezing my temples, crushing my vision until black splotches came over me like paint. The sizzling racing down my spine was fire. I bit down on my tongue to keep myself from screaming and pushed my arms out, trying to fight against the flashes. But I could feel my concentration dissipating as the pinching continued the longer that I stayed like this.

"Still, I guess it cannot be helped," the man continued, as if none of this was happening. "Anything you wish to say before your demise, ladies?"

"Eat a dick, bozo!" Raven shouted.

"Yeah, bozo!" Lark backed her up.

"Words of wisdom guys," I gritted out.

Raven glared at me. "Well, you weren't saying anything."

I stared at her.

"I'm literally already holding up the one thing that's keeping us alive," I said. "But sure, I'll join in on this lame banter with the villain. Is there anything else you want me to do? Sing you a song? Braid your hair? Read you a fucking bedtime story?"

Raven gasped. "Excu—"

"Guys," Lark interrupted us. "Not now."

"Yes, I agree," the man nodded then turned to gesture at the Mutant again. "Do it—"

"No!" came a voice.

We all looked up to a dark shape hurtling through the air before smacking into Spark's face. The creature's chin flew across its shoulders, feet stumbling backwards, as the electricity twisted upward before crashing into another stall. The structure came apart and sent boards and nails flying everywhere in a shower of debris.

Spots dented my vision as they clattered against the barrier. The ache between my eyes oozed, pounding and drilling into my mind like knives.

"Shit," Raven cursed then turned to me. "Blue Jay—"

"I'm on it!" I was already sweeping my hands out in circular motions. The gesture lifted the barrier from the ground so that it carried all three of us into the air. Tension travelled down the nape of my neck, rolling in my shoulders and chest, where the air became ragged. It was a weight like no other, like I was personally carrying each of us. But through the pain, I gestured again and felt rather than saw us moving down the path.

The barrier swept us down the street until there were no longer any Mutants watching us. It felt like my brain was about to pop so, manoeuvring us behind a stall, we unceremoniously dropped to the floor.

"Shit," I panted, wiping my face as I leaned against the stall.

Heat crawled up into my ears and blistered the oxygen from my chest. That had been the most I had done with my barriers since finding out I had powers. I tried not to let the shame in too deep. I've had these powers for three months now and here I still was, shaking and barely holding myself up. I hadn't even been using them for very long.

Was this why he wasn't impressed?

"Are you okay?" Raven asked Lark, who had sweat beading across her temples and upper lip.

"Yeah, I—"

"Get them!" We heard a man's voice holler.

It was followed by dozens more howls and loud footsteps headed in our direction.

"Fuck," Raven hissed.

"C'mon," I said with a wild gesture.

The three of us hobbled down the Avenue. What was left of it, at least. So many stalls had been torn apart. It felt like we were in an apocalyptic scene from The Walking Dead. I tried keeping my pulse under control. I had taken the front while Raven had wrapped her arm around Lark's waist. We weren't going as fast as we usually would. So, even though we had taken barely a few steps, we could already hear the Mutants approaching.

Sweat dampened my brow when we made it to a fork in the road.

"Which way?" Raven asked, eyes zipping in both directions.

"Girls!"

We whirled around to see Nel.

It was hard to make her out at first. She was small, it was dark, and we were tired. But our eyes came across the Hall of Clowns, and standing in the doorway was that black cat. The structure towered over her, emphasising her smallness. Her tail was flickering as she gestured with her head to follow.

"This way—quickly!"

She had barely finished her statement before we were scurrying off for the doors. She quickly moved inside, making room as we rushed in through the doors. Raven and I scrambled to heave them shut. They did so with an echoing thud! that was so dramatic, you'd think we had rushed straight into a vampire's house.

Raven and I rested against the doors for a moment. The room became still, filling with our pants as we paused to catch our breath. It was the first moment we'd gotten to rest in what felt like hours. I could feel time softening, pressing against my head like a dampness as beads ran down to my chin. How long had we been out here? Maybe it really had been hours.

It almost seemed awkward, how quiet it became. It was the quietest we'd been since we left school. But it allowed us to slowly realise where we actually were.

Hall of Clowns.

I groaned.

Not again.

I know, I know. After everything that had happened tonight, this was likely the least of our worries, but I saw this more as a cherry on top of an already shitty night.

The room seemed even darker than before. It was like the shadows had thickened into a paste that seemed to fold and push against the clowns. The mannequins beamed like they were stuffed with lightbulbs and it became hard to find something else to look at. I suddenly became aware that there were more than twenty pairs of eyes in this room, and every one of them were pointed in my direction.

Raven apparently felt it as well.

She shuddered. "Ugh, maybe we should chance our luck back outside."

I opened my mouth to comment when Lark suddenly collapsed against one of the support beams. Our mouths shut and we immediately raced over to check on her.

"You okay?" Raven asked and laid a hand on her shoulder.

Lark could only afford a nod.

Her eyelids were drooping. She wasn't blinking as fast as she normally did and her weight was entirely pressed against the support beam. Her injuries were starting to catch up with her now that we had stopped and the adrenaline was leaving her body.

I went to grasp her hand when I caught Nel lingering in my peripherals.

I looked in her direction.

She seemed troubled, but not because she was standing next to a terrifyingly life–sized clown.

I frowned.

It was something else.

"Nel, was that you who threw the stone?" I asked her. "How'd you manage it with your . . . paws?"

That made Lark and Raven glance up.

"I didn't," Nel said then looked behind the clown with narrowed eyes. "It was . . ."

She trailed off, leaving us in an awkward silence because we were sure she was going somewhere with that. Then, we heard a small breath of defeat. It made my heart jump into my throat because, to remind you, we were surrounded by clowns, most of them from horror movies. This was the last place to be snuck up on. Then, from behind the model, someone stepped out. It made Raven step closer to me, fingers lingering at my wrist, likely thinking the same thing.

Please. Tell me it wasn't a clown come to life.

But what stepped out from behind the model was, in some ways, even worse. They were shadowed, but moving into the open, the light peeled back the darkness to reveal a familiar figure.

My eyes widened.

"Me," Phoebe took off her hood, revealing her pale face. "It was me."

Honestly, I love how the girls' relationships are coming around. I literally started this fanfiction to get to them. It justifies all the darkness in the beginning which was unbearable to write because it was just vivid. But yeah! Now, Phoebe is here. What's going to happen next? Y'all think she's gonna join the team? And how will Helga react to all of this? Lemme know your thoughts!

acosta perez jose ramiro: Precisely! They're both quite straight forward people and though Helga is much more sensitive then she lets on, she does sometimes need for things to be delivered quite bluntly. Delicate wording gives her too much wiggle room, whereas with Rhonda, she can't really misconstrue what she says. Interested to hear your thoughts on Phoebe showing up here! Happy reading!

AnimeMangaLover23: I can never decide which is my favourite friendship, Helga/Lila or Helga/Rhonda! XD They're just very different people so their relationships are different levels of benefit. Rhonda is uncomplicated in her approach and, whether Helga will ever tell her or not, she respects that. Even if she disagrees, she likes how straightforward Rhonda is because she can always trust her to be honest. Whereas, Lila is a lot more careful in how she talks to Helga, since she's obviously seen her in darker moments and that's just how Lila is. It's easier for Helga to misconstrue what Lila says because Helga doesn't feel that she deserves Lila's love and trust. She'll believe Rhonda because she can sometimes be so forward that it comes across as mean, whereas, Lila is a lot more affectionate and so, Helga believes she sometimes tells her what she wants to hear. But both girls are so important to Helga and she loves them so much! Thanks for reviewing!

Darkangel665: Arnold is exactly in the same position that Helga has been in regards to her own feelings, so you're 1000% right. It's infatuation, but not love. You can't love someone without really knowing them. Everything you think you love about them are something that you lack in yourself. And yesss, I love writing from Arnold's perspective because while he can be idealistic and, let's be real, delusional, I think he really sees Helga for who she is. He projects onto Blue Jay, but he merely sees Helga and likes what he sees. Of course, he's still learning and getting to know her, there's still so much mystery between them. But he's still drawn to her.

Yeah, and when it comes to Phoebe, I find it hard to find fault in either girl. Helga does project so much onto people because, like with Arnold, she hopes to find what she lacks and that's exhausting to be around. But Phoebe also pulled away and didn't really begin paying attention until that energy was returned. Ultimately, I believe both the girls love each other so much, but at the end of the day, they're people and people are complicated. Thank you so much for reviewing!