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Content warnings: violence typical of fight scenes (detail below; skip if you prefer surprises)

• A nameless enemy gets their neck snapped.

• A main character gets shot four times.

~.~

“Hey! What are you people doing here?” one of the men yelled, flashing a Soul Stealers badge. “This is private property!” One quick look at the men told Juli all he needed to know.

“Cops,” he spat.

“Cops,” Dani said in agreement, walking up next to Juli. She already had her pistol out and ready. Juli gripped their knife tightly in their hands, shifting into a fighting stance.

“Wait, wait, wait!” Lian interjected, throwing their hands in the air. “We’re just… working on a group project! Yeah!” Juli cringed internally. What kind of excuse is that?

“Don’t listen to them,” Rae said coolly. “We were just leaving.”

"Were we?” Haku stepped forward into the moonlight. It almost seemed like Haku was trying to make sure the men got a good look at their face. “I'm an escaped prisoner and these are my associates. I suggest you leave before I smash your heads into the ground."

“An escaped prisoner…?” the man exchanged glances with his compatriots. Then, after a brief pause, he spoke. “You two! Call that in to HQ!” Two of the men ran off, with one yelling into his walkie talkie as they ran. Juli cursed.

Before anyone else could react, Haku lunged forward, gliding through the air, and grabbed the nearest man’s head. And then, with a casual flick of the wrist, he snapped the man’s neck.

There was a brief moment of horrified silence.

It wasn’t the first time Juli had seen a man’s neck get snapped, but never had they ever seen someone do the act so easily.

Then, the warehouse devolved into chaos. The cops already had their semi-automatic rifles ready, and the death of their leader was all it took to get them to shoot. As the telltale sound of gunfire rang through the warehouse, Dani stiffened at Juli’s side—and then he made a decision. A translucent barrier of sage green light went up around the circle of superpowered mortals, and the bullets clattered uselessly to the ground.

“Shit!” one of the men yelled. “They have a super on their side!”

“Gee, Dani, y’sure you want to reveal your power like this?” Peter asked, a shit-eating grin on his face. “You could get arrested!”

“Wouldn’t be the first time,” Dani said sharply, glaring at Peter. Juli figured there was a story there. “In any case. If you want to leave the barrier, I’ll let you through. Or if you want to use projectile force, I can let those attacks through the barrier.”

With his signature scowl on his face, Joshua bolted through the shield and launched himself into the air, safely above the hail of bullets. Then, he divebombed the nearest cop, and his steel-toed boot connected with their head with a satisfying crack.

Juli didn’t stick around to watch; he used the opening to dart through the shield, keeping an aura of heat around him that melted any bullets that got too close. It was a subtle trick they’d picked up in the mafia—a way to use their powers but still go undetected.

Juli was briefly aware of panicked yelling from the cops, who had at some point pulled out riot shields. They tuned out the sound, keeping a single-minded focus on their target as they closed in. A knife whistled through the air, flying over Juli’s shoulder and embedding itself into the nearest riot shield with such force that the cop stumbled back. Juli seized the opportunity, jumping up, catapulting over the riot shield, and kicking the cop right in the face. Before the guy could recover, Juli wrested the gun out of his hands and threw it as far away as they could.

Was the goal to kill or to maim? Juli wasn’t sure, but considering Haku’s earlier actions…

Juli plunged his knife straight into the cop’s chest.

~.~

Rae hated feeling useless, but that is exactly how xe felt in that moment. Xyr powers were not in any way meant for combat—but that didn’t mean Rae was completely useless.

“Have you located the two cops who ran off?” Karyme asked. “They saw our faces, so they’re still a liability.”

“Yeah,” Rae said with a nod. “They’re just outside, but I think they’re getting in some sort of moving vehicle. We can still catch them if we run.” Karyme frowned.

“I don’t think we can catch them, but…” She placed two fingers in her mouth and whistled loudly as Joshua passed by overhead. Joshua seemed to get the hint, because he landed next to the pair in a flurry of feathers.

“What?” he said gruffly. “Some of us are kind of busy over here.” Rae scowled. Xe didn’t like the implication that xe was being useless on purpose.

“I’ve located the two men who ran off,” Rae replied, arms crossed. “But they’re in a moving vehicle. It would be impossible for a normal person to catch them—”

“So you want me to do it,” Joshua finished. He let out an exasperated sigh. “Fine. We don’t need any loose ends. Where are they?”

“Headed south,” Rae answered.

“That doesn’t help me,” Joshua snapped. “Not all of us are walking compasses.”

“Yeah, yeah. One second.” Rae pressed two fingers to xyr temple, then touched Joshua’s forehead with the same two fingers. It was like an electric jolt ran through his brain, and though he was used to the sensation, he could tell from Joshua’s wince that the other was not.

“Go get 'em, chief,” Karyme said cheerfully. Joshua glared at her.

“Don’t ever say that again,” he griped. And then, in a whirlwind, he was off to go tie up loose ends. Joshua shot out of the warehouse in a blur, too quick to be stopped—too quick to be seen. Rae sighed, pinching the bridge of xyr nose. A migraine was building behind xyr eyes as xe remained tuned in on the two distant cops, but xe wasn’t about to tell anyone that.

Xe turned back towards the fight. There were only two cops left standing, and they were huddled behind riot shields, fending off Juli’s knife attacks. From behind Dani’s barrier, Morgan and Peter were sending supporting fire in the form of bullets (Morgan) and throwing knives (Peter). Lian, on the other hand, seemed just as overwhelmed by all this as Rae felt. Which left…

Rae scanned the warehouse for Haku and found the immortal leaning against the wall, calmly watching Juli struggle to get a hit in edgewise.

Bastard.

“Hey,” Karyme said suddenly, tapping Lian on the shoulder. Lian yelped in surprise.

“Oh, um, what’s up?” Lian said sheepishly. Karyme pointed to the cop on the left.

“That one is more scared than the other one,” Karyme explained. “If you make a loud noise behind him on my signal, you’ll be able to catch him off guard, and then…” Karyme turned to Morgan. “You should be able to get in a good shot.”

“Don’t tell me what to do,” Morgan said thinly, distrust plain on their features.

“You should listen to Karyme,” Rae replied with a frown. “She tends to know things.” This was an understatement. Rae still had yet to figure out how Karyme always knew everything, but he had learned to trust her instincts more than his own.

Lian hesitated for a moment. “How did you know my power?” Their expression was stony.

“That’s my power—to know things about people on first glance,” Karyme explained. “So it’s not hard for me to figure out the powers of those around me.”

“Oh.” Lian cocked their head to the side, deep in thought. They looked kind of like a lost puppy. “Is it really okay to use our powers like this?” they mused. “I mean, after everything we did to hide them…”

“It doesn’t matter as long as the cops don’t leave here alive,” Dani said bluntly. Their hands were extended in front of them, as if to keep up the barrier.

“...Oh.” With a bit of reluctance, Lian accepted that answer.

Lian took a deep breath and walked forward a little, eyes closed. Then, their eyes flew open, and a loud boom echoed through the warehouse, originating from behind the cop Karyme had pointed to. Just as Karyme had predicted, the cop was so taken off guard that he dropped his shield completely, and Morgan was able to let loose a round of bullets, taking the cop out.

Haku deemed that an appropriate time to act.

As they casually sauntered over to the last remaining cop, the cop ditched the riot shield completely, and with shaking hands, he took out a handgun. Four shots rang out. The bullets hit Haku one by one, tearing through flesh, but Haku simply kept walking.

“Wh-what are you?” the cop whimpered.

“None of your concern.” Haku flicked the cop in the forehead, and he fell backwards, landing on the ground with a thud. Blood poured from his nose. Rae was no expert, but even xe could tell from here that the guy was dead.

A chill ran down Rae’s spine.

Joshua chose that moment to arrive, landing in front of the pile of (dead) cops with grace. For a brief second, he surveyed the warehouse, dusting himself off. And then, after he’d gained a handle on the situation, he turned to Haku.

Rae opened xyr mouth to warn Joshua that maybe, just maybe, he should be more careful with a dude who just took four bullet wounds without blinking an eye. Karyme placed a hand on Rae’s shoulder to stop him.

“What the hell was that?” Joshua growled, taking a step towards the immortal. “You just—you just told the cops who you were, and for what? We could have died!”

Haku hummed in disagreement. “I asked for your help. Why would I let you die?”

“So that was to test us,” Dani guessed, letting down the barrier. “To see if we’re worthy.” Haku shook their head.

“I already knew you were worthy,” the immortal replied. They began to clean their nails. “That was insurance. Now that you’ve been seen with me, you have no choice but to help. The two who ran off radioed in to HQ before they died. It’s only a matter of time before backup arrives.”

Rae looked to Karyme for confirmation. She grimaced. Rae cursed under xyr breath.

“What are we helping you with, again?” Juli asked, sheathing their knife. “Prison break?”

“Yes,” Haku said calmly. “The Necromancer still holds eight of my friends in captivity.”

“Wait.” Rae fought to keep the trepidation out of xyr voice. “It took you fifty years to break out. Karyme and I don’t even have combat powers. Why do you think we’ll be of any help?” Haku laughed bitterly.

“The prison is not even particularly well-guarded,” they explained. “It is just specifically designed to keep people like me in. And…” Haku looked Rae directly in the eye. “Your powers are going to be more useful than you think.”

Haku walked to the tarp in the center of the room. They snapped their fingers, and the tarp burned away, revealing a large crystal, maybe the size of a human. The coating of dust, dead leaves, and debris on the crystal was too thick for Rae to tell what was inside, but as soon as Haku laid a hand on the crystal, there was a blinding flash of light.

When Rae could see again, the crystal was levitating in the center of the warehouse, giving off a bright orange glow. Inside, asleep, was a young Black woman with cloud-like black curls framing her face, which was twisted in an expression of quiet discomfort. Rae would’ve recognized this girl anywhere—he’d dreamed of her, after all—but he did not know her name.

“Ilia,” Karyme whispered, as if answering Rae’s silent question. Rae hated it when she did that.

As Haku stepped forward, the crystal shattered, and Haku caught an unconscious Ilia in their arms. For a brief second, Haku’s form seemed to flicker in the moonlight, but by the time Rae blinked, the effect was gone.

“All right,” Haku said, turning back towards the group. Suddenly, a translucent orange barrier flickered to life over the warehouse door, effectively trapping them inside.

“Here’s the deal. Either you stay here and wait for the Soul Stealers to arrive and arrest you…” They extended an open palm towards the center of the warehouse, and a tear opened in the very fabric of reality. “Or you come with me.”

Haku didn’t wait for an answer. They disappeared through the rift, leaving eight dumbfounded mortals in their wake.

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