At least I hadn’t lost that much time.

  It was the only positive thought on my mind as Nadir, Zeke, and I headed off to meet the people he had been begging to work with. They’d agreed to meet us masked at least, so there was some understanding of what was going on. Nadir had been hesitant, until I told her about what happened two days from now. Now we both understood what was really needed in this fight.

  I was slowly understanding why the heroes had so much trouble putting these guys down. When we pushed, they fought back, no holds barred. With their restrictions on force, the Protectorate was put in an impossible position; and when people got fed up and banded together, the Nazis just outright killed them.

  A dirty pool all around, but we were all swimming in it. I was determined now to flatten them, if only to wash the memories of my dead friends out with blood. They wanted us dead? They’d die trying.

  “There they are,” Zeke said, pulling over. “Wanna get out?”

  “Tell them to get in the back,” I said, staring at the two young looking gangsters ahead of us, staring at the car with their hands in their pockets. Both were pretty heavily inked, I could tell even from here. “Don’t want eyes prying.” Zeke pulled out his phone and sent a quick text, and a moment later the two came over and got in the back. “Drive.”

  “Hey Zeke, how you doing?” the larger of the two, bald with shoulders the size of my head, rumbled. His eyes were cold as ice, cold enough even I shivered.

  “Doing good Reese,” Zeke replied, reaching a fist back and bumping it as he pulled away from the curb. “Wick cuz, you okay?”

  “Yeah man,” the other guy with a wispy goatee similar to Zeke’s replied. “Been chilling since shit popped off. Not much work with the old crew gone, y’know?”

  “Plenty if you’re looking in the right place,” Zeke said with a shrug. “This is Amaranth here, my boss, and Nadir her lieutenant.”

  “You working for bitches?” Reese said with a low chuckle. I slowly drew my pistol and racked the slide, not quite pointing it his way.

  “Who’s a bitch?” I asked.

  “You,” he said flatly, ebony eyes meeting mine.

  “Reese, bro, be cool,” Zeke said uneasily. “She’s taken down bigger dogs.” His eyes flicked to Zeke, then he settled back in his seat.

  “Anybody I know?” Reese asked.

  “Shatterbird, Stormtiger.” Myself a few times, but that didn’t bear mentioning. His eyes widened slightly.

  “Shiiit,” Wick said. “You guys are capes?”

  “Zeke didn’t mention it?” Nadir said, giving the man in question a look.

  “You guys said you wanted to keep it on the down low,” he countered. “What you looking at me like that for?”

  “Okay, getting everyone up to speed,” I said, rolling my eyes. “Amaranth, ex-Ward, now the city’s premier Nazi hunter. I’ve got a good team but I need more, because Werwolf has us badly outnumbered, and we’re fighting capes. This isn’t some scuffle over turf, this is a war and I need soldiers. Zeke talked you guys up, said you guys were shooters, but if you’ve got cold feet then get out; we don’t need dead weight.”

  “Werwolf’s the guys that replaced Hitler’s Ho’s,” Zeke added.

  “There any money in it?” Reese asked, crossing his muscular arms.

  “A cut of whatever we loot,” I said. “Guns and cash, and I handle costs myself. Bounties too, if they exist.”

  “Bounties?” Wick cocked his head. “Like a price on their head?”

  “Got a million or so for Shatterbird,” I said with a shrug. “Don’t know if any Werwolf guys have them, but if so then I’ll split it like everything.”

  “Damn, a milli?” Wick leaned in. “Man I thought Papa said there weren’t money in this shit.”

  “We don’t usually get that much,” Nadir said quickly.

  “No, usually it’s under fifty grand,” I confirmed. “But frankly I’d do it for free. When I get my way, there won’t be a Nazi left in the city. That’s priceless.” Reese studied me quietly for a moment.

  “What do you care, you’re white ain’t you?” he asked.

  “Fuck that, they’re a fucking cancer,” I spat. “White, black, fucking aubergine; evil is evil and I don’t want it ruining peoples lives. Shouldn’t matter that I get a free pass because I get sunburned in five minutes, I shouldn’t need a pass at all.”

  “Little fireball,” Wick muttered.

  “I prefer attack dog,” I said flatly, getting a snort from Reese.

  “Alright, we’ll give it a go,” he said with a nod. “What you thinking?”

  “Ever hear of a villain named Purity?”

  “So that’s it just...same thing as last time?” Nadir asked as we dressed for a night on the town. “That seems kind of stupid.”

  “Trust me, it’s going to work,” I said. “And if it doesn’t, well...guess I can always try again.”

  “Lia—”

  “Nadir,” I stopped her. “Please, trust me okay? I...I don’t want to do this again, and I think this is the best chance to avoid that. It might seem stupid simple, but I’m stupid and simple is the way to do it.”

  “Fine,” she sighed, sounding none too happy. “You think Reese and Wick are going to be up for it?”

  “Probably won’t be too bad,” I replied. “Going to keep them on security, mostly want them there for when the real fight starts.”

  The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

  “Teleportation, flying capes, god…” Nadir shook her had as she pulled on her boots. “I think we’re outmatched.”

  “Yup,” I said with a nod, knotting my laces. “But we’ll be fine, trust me. I’m going to be the one in any real trouble, at least the way I’ve got it planned.”

  “That’s what worries me,” she said grimly, grabbing her carbine and checking it. “Alright, ready.”

  “Let’s go hunting.”

  We headed out of Papa’s house and joined the rest of our team, waiting on the driveway beside the two cars we were using tonight. Wick’s was a smaller, two-door car, just for him and Reese. Good that they had transport of their own, and both men were already masked up. They turned to us as we joined them, conversation dying down.

  “There’s the big man,” Reese rumbled. “You done putting your panties on?”

  “If anyone needs to take cover, use him,” I said dryly, jerking my thumb at Reese. I didn’t like him. “I’m expecting a big fight tonight. Everyone needs to listen to what I’m saying, or someone we don’t want to is going to die. Reese, Wick, that goes triple for you. I know you guys are experienced, but this is a different fight. Do everything I say tonight, give me that, and you’ll see just how effective we can be.”

  “We’re cool,” Wick said, brandishing a pistol with a drum magazine. “You say the word, right Reezy?”

  “Yeah, we’re cool,” Reese said flatly, crossing his arms.

  “Good,” I said with a nod. “First raid tonight is against a Werwolf safehouse, a duplex. Expecting five guys, weed and fries inside. Nadir, I’m going to have you leading Zeke and J-Dog on the right. I’ll take Jeep and clear the left. Won’t take five minutes to do it.”

  “And us?” Reese asked.

  “Outside, doing security,” I replied. “Don’t need you for this first raid. Not saying you can’t handle it, but I want you fresh for round two.”

  “And round two is?” he said.

  “Meth lab and a surprise,” I said. “Expecting an ambush there, one I intend for you guys to bushwhack. Just listen and we’ll all get home no problem, maybe even make some money.” I had my doubts about the second part, but better to get these guys motivated.

  “You’re walking into an ambush?” Wick scoffed. “Stupid.”

  “No, I’m going to walk out of an ambush,” I retorted. “You just need to shut up and aim where I tell you, then shoot whoever shows up. Got it?”

  “Your funeral,” he said with a shrug.

  “It’s not going to be mine.” I racked my carbine and nodded sharply. “Alright, get in the cars, we’ve got rats to kill.”

  Everyone piled in and before long we were off. As much as it sucked, I played the last time in my head on repeat, trying to remember as much detail as I could. No telling what had caused the house to explode, but I was fairly sure it was a bomb. At least, that was what I would use to make an explosion like that.

  It could have been Purity, but I was fairly sure she hadn’t shown up before the squad teleported in behind me. Oh well, I’d find out in about half an hour. In the mean time, I needed to focus on what was right in front of me. The car pulled to the curb, and we piled out in front of the duplex. I directed Reese and Wick to remain by the cars, weapons in hand. The rest of us raced up to the front of the house.

  Nadir stacked up on the right door, I took the left. She looked nervous, leading a team for the first time, but I was confident she could handle this. As a point man, she was second only to me with that gravity power. In here, she’d be able to slam down the grouped Nazis with zero effort, and zero corpses.

  I counted us down, then we blasted open the locks in sync and rushed inside. Three skinheads bolted up from the couch they were smoking on, then dropped to their knees with hands on their heads when they saw what was facing them down. Jeep and I bound them none too gently, then dragged them out on the lawn. I went back inside to get their guns while he stood watch. No gunfire from the other unit, so they were probably doing fine.

  When I returned with the looted guns, I saw Nadir and her team dragging the two others out of the house and forcing them to their knees on the grass. I walked over to the first one in line, who glared up defiantly at me. He stopped when I smacked him in the face with the muzzle of my carbine, then pressed it to his head.

  “I’m giving you a choice right now,” I said coldly, loud enough for the whole line of Nazis to hear. “Leave town and never come back, or eat a bullet.” The guy narrowed his eyes.

  “Fuck y—” The shot made everyone but me finch. I walked up to the next one, who’d begun shaking, and pressed the muzzle to his forehead.

  “Same conditions,” I said flatly. “You’re not welcome in Brockton Bay anymore, and you should consider yourselves lucky you get to choose. So, what’ll it be?”

  He gibbered that’d he’d leave, tonight even, and his friends all seemed to agree. One even pissed himself. I had to suppress a chuckle at that. For all their bluster about strength, they were weaklings. With the issue sorted, we got back into the cars and drove off.

  “Hey, Amaranth, that was…” Nadir looked uncomfortable, and I reached back, giving her leg a squeeze.

  “They’d do that and worse to us,” I replied. “And they’d do it with a smile. I’m fucking done letting them have the upper hand Nadir.” She took a deep, shuddering breath.

  “Okay,” she said with a nod. “I don’t like that you’re right but...you are.”

  “I don’t like it either,” I sighed. “But I hate them. Anyone got other objections?”

  “Nah boss, you a straight savage,” J-Dog said with an air of respect. “Besides, ain’t like we never seen a killer at work.”

  “Fuck these bitches, buck these bitches,” Zeke added. “Girl they were gonna kill me, you think I give a damn?”

  “Okay,” I sighed, shoulders relaxing a hair. Of course they understood, I shouldn’t have expected otherwise. And yet… “Good. Now this next one’s going to be a bit weird.”

  I explained my plan as I started stripping my gear. Vest and magazines, carbine and pistol, I even swapped my mask with J-Dog so I had one that was tight to my skin. I selected the shittiest looking of the liberated pistols, no way I was sacrificing something that was half decent. And I was sure it was going to be a sacrifice. Even if my carbine survived somehow, it had probably been in bad enough shape to be useless in the future.

  As we approached the meth lab, I craned my neck to watch the sky, heart hammering. Just the moon and stars so far, no Nazis to be seen. Would it remain that way? Not if things happened like they were supposed to. I had only done a repeat of the duplex in case that had alerted them somehow, wanting to make sure I actually did know what was coming and setting it up the right way. What a strange way of thinking, walking into an ambush my team had died to so I could reverse the results.

  Then we pulled up, brakes squeaking slightly as Zeke stopped. I’d had them park on the opposite side of the road from the house, then took a minute to spread them out in a rough semi-circle. Concealed and ready, they waited while I ran across the street and up to the house, crappy pistol in hand. With my heart in my throat, I raised the gun to the lock and squeezed the trigger.

  Click.

  “Fuck mothering son of a bitch piece of shit,” I cursed liberally, racking the slide and trying again. Click. I racked it a few more times, swearing violently, and finally it went off.

  So did the bomb.

  The gun was torn from my hand and I braced myself as the blast wave and heat buffeted me. I whirled on my heel as a flash of light lit the yard, coming almost face to face with a team of masked, well equipped gunmen. All of them had their wicked carbines pointed my way, ready to fire. I smirked and put my hands behind my back.

  The firefight lasted all of five seconds. The Nazis shot first, rounds bouncing uselessly off my projection. When my team opened up, I almost laughed at the reaction. The ambushers became prey in a heart beat, getting cut down even as they reacted to the first shots coming in and striking their fellows. I walked forward calmly as rounds flew by my ears or struck my body, unworried. This wasn’t the hard part.

  As I retrieved a carbine from one of the fallen Nazis, another flash overhead signaled the arrival of our big problem. I didn’t hesitate, raising my new carbine and taking a knee. Purity, fortunately, wasn’t a stealth fighter. I let off a long burst towards her, trying to track her flight as she evaded. A twisting beam of scintillating light raced down towards me and I braced as it struck and blinded me.

  No damage, I saw when the light vanished, though the carbine was a write off. I dropped it, then leaped to the side as another beam came down and tore a deep furrow in the pavement. Shots began to ring out from my team, and I used the distraction to grab another weapon and pour fire at Purity. I yelled for my team to scatter as more brilliant, white helices fell from the sky and tore into the ground. A loud crack behind me made me whirl, borrowed weapon raised at the masked figure clad in dark clothes rising from the ground.

  “Amaranth, what the fuck is going on?!” Despite myself, a sigh of relief escaped my lips.

  “Hey Glory Girl,” I said, jerking a thumb at the point of light overhead. “We’ve got a problem.”