The drive was quick and frantic, moving through a series of side streets as we tried to speedily reach the docks where the handover was to occur. All of us, in our own way, were exhausted.

  Cheshire had practically collapsed into the back of the van, drifting in and out of sleep, while Dynamo took the wheel. Foresight had taken to regularly lifting his helmet, rubbing his eyes and complaining of an ache in them. Stretch had regained consciousness but barely muster the effort to reel her limbs back in place, and sat in the back like a ragdoll.

  And me, well, I felt like a damn lead weight. Even breathing hurt.

  Still, we had done it. We’d beaten her, plain and simple, and that felt like a bigger accomplishment than taking down Trailblazer and Visionary. I allowed myself to smile, hoping that Furnace was a man of his word.

  Impact had not moved or stirred, but I still watched her warily. I had one final cherry bomb stuffed into her back pocket, set to blow just in case.

  Sure the explosion would kill us too, but... well, Impact would kill us too if she came to her senses. I’d rather not give her the satisfaction.

  But that didn’t happen. She slept like a log. A log that smelled vaguely of bacon.

  “So...” Stretch eventually mumbled. “Are we really doing this? Taking someone to get killed by Furnace?”

  “Now?” I asked, my voice dry and cracked. “You ask this now? After we’ve had our big fight, and all gotten our shit pushed in?”

  “I was trying not to think about it.”

  I sighed, leaning against Rover’s bulky body. “We’re not gonna do shit. It’ll be Furnace and his people, if that soothes your conscience. More’n that though, she was gonna kill us. And god knows how many people she got killed in that arena alone. So who gives a shit?”

  “I mean... me?” Stretch asked groggily.

  “Well knock it off. I’m not your priest.”

  Foresight grumbled, rubbing slowly at his eyes. “I don’t like admitting it, but... Toymaker has a point. Bitch is bad, and she woulda’ done worse the longer she was operating in Argent. Besides, if it wasn’t us then Furnace would’ve sent someone else on the job. So like, whatever happens next? Ain’t on us.”

  “I mean... not really? We’re still the ones handing her over, we have a hand in it,” Stretch replied.

  “Fucking hell, are you seriously wringing your hands about a woman who tried to crush us like ants possibly getting killed? That’s retarded,” Foresight grumbled.

  “Oof,” Dynamo said from the driver’s seat. “I... don’t think you can use that word, man.”

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  “Huh? Why not?”

  “Well it’s, like... a slur.”

  Foresight gawked at the driver’s seat. “Since when?!” he exclaimed.

  “Uh...” Dynamo slowly turned the wheel, taking us around the corner. I could faintly hear foghorns in the distance. Must’ve been close to the dropoff. “Since ever, I guess? Slur is a slur, dude.”

  “But it’s not like I’m talking about disabled people, or whatever, when I use that word.”

  Dynamo shrugged. “I don’t think that matters. If I used the N-word but specified I’m not talking about black people... I still said the N-word, you know?”

  “Oh my god would you two shut the fuck up?” Cheshire groaned, rousing in the passenger seat. “I’m in enough pain without you talking HR crap.”

  “A real intellectual salon here, as always,” I muttered.

  The van came to a slow halt and we set about fixing our masks before leaving the van one by one in a sluggish march. Rover carried Impact at my insistence, who groaned as she was hoisted up.

  There, across from the van, stood Furnace and a small gathering of armed man. Only one other man wore a costume, dark green with white circles running up the arms and legs. His face was veiled by a hood. Took me a moment to put a name to the face but I had seen Force Master on the news more than once. He could create strong forcefields and energy constructs. I suppose he was the man tasked with keeping Impact imprisoned.

  “She alive?” Furnace asked, glancing to Impact.

  “A little crispy, but... yeah,” said Foresight.

  He nodded slowly. “Good.” He motioned to one of his underlings. “Prep a syringe of Stim, 2 millilitres. Enough to ward off the worst of the damage.”

  “Stim?” I asked.

  “Society-produced drug. Kickstarts the body’s ability to heal, speeds up the mending of cuts, bruises, and broken bones.”

  “You uh...” Cheshire cleared her throat, “got any for us?”

  They took Impact off our hands and one of the henchmen approached us with a few hypodermic needles clutched in one hand. Each one had a small solution of golden liquid housed inside.

  I waited a few moments until the others took their, and when they each sighed in relief and stood a little taller afterwards I injected myself in the wrist. Stim hit me with a rush of heat, a tingling sensation racing through my whole body. A lot of the pain I felt faded, receding to a series of dull aches, and I could breathe a little easier.

  “Shit,” I huffed, “that’s good.”

  “And addictive. So don’t get too used to it,” Furnace warned in a flat voice. “That aside, you kids did good. Didn’t expect you to actually grab her.”

  “Wasn’t easy. She’s one tough bitch,” Cheshire said. She jerked a thumb my way, and I stood sharply upright. “Toymaker deserves much of the credit. She’s the one who got the last hit in, and we’d be fucked if she hadn’t.”

  “Mm. Good work, then,” he said, nodding at me. “I hear Knuckle turned traitor on the city?”

  I scratched slowly at the back of my neck. “Yeah... We only had room in the van for one other person, but he was there.”

  “Moneygrubbing little prick. Nobody has any loyalty these days. Except, of course, for kids like you. Well... he’ll get his, eventually.”

  Stretch awkwardly cleared her throat. “So what’s gonna happen to Impact?”

  That gave Furnace pause, and he stared at her for a few quiet moments. “We’re gonna get information from her. See if Warmonger has any more plans for the city. If he does then we’re probably on the foot of some kind of gang war. That bastard never could stick to his own turf. After that, who knows?”

  “You... gonna kill her?”

  Furnace shrugged. “Nothing you need to know about,” he said. “I’ll have your payments wired your way at midnight. Good work today.”

  “And the... other thing I asked for?” I said, leaning forward a bit.

  “I’ll run it by Jupiter. It’s his call, end of the day. I wouldn’t recommend you get your hopes up, but I guess anything is possible.” With that he turned and stalked off into the warehouse, leaving us alone.

  I sighed. Better than nothing, I told myself. “I better get home. Fuck, I’m exhausted,” I said. I could come up with a lie, if Gail and Brian pressed me. Say I was studying with friends.

  “Think I’m gonna crash and sleep for a whole week,” Chesh said, slowly dragging herself back toward the van.

  “And I’m gonna need some eyedrops. This was rough...” said Foresight.

  “Well...” Sam gave a small shrug. “At least we won and got paid?”