It was almost a little surreal, looking at the number of zeroes on my Black Bank account. “Shit,” I murmured, reclining in my chair and staring at the screen of my laptop. Lassie had her head in my lap, and I busied one hand by rubbing atop her head. “Yeah girl, your owner is rich as shit. Although...” I set about wiring the last of what I owed to Binder and smiled to myself.

  I didn’t like owing people, be it money or favours, and I felt the weight leaving my shoulders as that was taken care of. I’d still need to visit the man himself at some point and thank him for a job well done. God knows how many his armour had kept me from being pulped like a ripe fruit.

  The money had come in, as Furnace had promised, but I had taken a few days of rest and relaxation before making this move. Even the little hit of Stim in my system had not been enough to ward off the exhaustion I felt when I got home from our battle with Impact, and it took some time before I felt even remotely decent again.

  It was a good thing nobody had had a chance to see the faded bruises on my back and shoulders. They’d probably think the worst about my foster parents.

  “Savour it girl. This is how we make our dough,” I said, scratching lazily under Lassie’s plastic chin. She yipped at me. “I know, I know, I haven’t brought you on any jobs with me. But... it’s gotta be that way for now. Our work is only getting more high profile, and I’d rather not run the risk of you being seen on the news. At least, not until I can build an armoured shell to disguise you.”

  Still, I did feel a little guilty. Lassie was one of my first creations, and my closest friend. Hell, until recently she’d been by only friend (though I hadn’t exactly been looking for any). But, on the other hand, the thought of her getting hurt left me uneasy. Sure a robot was easier to repair than a person, but our battles were only getting more dangerous.

  My eyes focused back on my balance. “Considering that whatever Dad left for me as an inheritance has likely been worn down by taxes, this is to be our nest egg. Well, there’s nowhere safer in the world for it.”

  Despite the ominous name the Black Bank was a legitimate institution. A legitimate institution that happened to do business with supervillains as one of the most infamous offshore banks in the world. But this was no secret.

  It was just that the Black Bank also did business almost as many politicians and CEOs across the globe, who naturally had a vested interest in keeping any investigations from taking place.

  CEOs may not have had Apex powers (mostly), but impossibly deep pockets were near as potent as any superpowers. I closed my laptop, moved to stand, and set Lassie on her feet. “Still no word from Cassie. Maybe we’re just gonna be left hanging... oh well. Come on girl, let’s stretch our legs.”

  I found Todd downstairs. In one hand he held an articulated action figure of Dauntless, making small whooshing sounds as he mimed flying him through the air. I rolled my eyes a bit. How nice it must have been, to be so easily entertained.

  He perked up as he saw me. “Geez. Thought you were gonna stay in your room all day.”

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  “Shut up, it’s not even noon,” I said, giving him an annoyed look in passing. I made for the kitchen and returned soon after with some leftover pasta from last night, clasping the chilled plastic container in one hand. “Anyway, it’s not like you can judge. What exactly have you been doing?”

  Todd shrugged. “Playing around, I guess. Watching TV.”

  “How productive.” Lassie padded over, to my annoyance, and Todd patted her head eagerly. “Any of those kids still giving you shit?”

  “Nope. Not since you totally clobbered them.” He grinned at me, and I found myself rubbing at the back of my neck.

  “Yeah, well, don’t get used to me fighting your battles for you.” Frankly I’d only gotten involved the last time because I was in a bad mood, and it would gave been such a pain if Gail saw the kid crying. Sometimes you have to do something annoying to spare yourself something painful.

  On the plus side no angry parents had ever come forward to accuse me of anything, which was nice. Either they didn’t know who I was, or those other kids were in no hurry to admit that a girl had beaten the snot out of them.

  Some people would probably feel bad about beating up kids, not me though.

  “I dunno if I could be a fighter. Not... without hurting people real bad by accident, anyway.” Todd rubbed at his left arm, glancing away shyly.

  I’d overheard Gail and Brian talk in the past, enough to have some understanding of Todd’s condition. He worked hard to control his strength, terrified to do anything too strenuous. After all, a few of his prior foster homes had sent him on his way when his strength got out of control and did damage to the place.

  Well, I guess I couldn’t blame the kid for being afraid of his own strength. The world hadn’t taught him not to be.

  A slow sigh escaped me. “Tell you what,” I said, motioning to the container in my hand. “You let me eat this, and then we go to the park and I can teach you a few moves.”

  “Some moves?”

  “Yeah. My dad taught me a few basis things when I was younger. The proper way to throw a punch, the right kind of fighting stance to keep your balance. And a few grapples. With strength like yours, you could stick anyone bullying you into a headlock. You’d barely have to put effort in, and they couldn’t do dick to break your grip.”

  Dad hadn’t been a master martial artist or whatever, by his own admission, but a few classes down at the Y could go a long way. He’d liked to say that the fundamentals could carry a man far, and really fisticuffs had been a last resort if his toys failed him.

  In my case, when he took to teaching me, he’d said that the world was full of weirdos and that girls had to fend off more weirdos than guys did. I hadn’t known what he meant at the time but... I was old enough to get it now.

  Todd was beaming at me, eyes almost sparkling with excitement. “Really?!”

  “Yes. Really,” I said, staring flatly at him. “Don’t make it weird, or start fawning over me. Otherwise I’ll change my mind.”

  “Okay, okay!” he hastily said, turning and setting his Dauntless action figure on the coffee table. I stared at it, briefly, an idea flickering somewhere in my neurons. A fleet of flying, laser-spewing action figures, air support for my soldiers. That would be a fun weapon to have...

  Todd hurried upstairs, probably to grab some shoes, and I rummaged in a nearby drawer for a fork. It was at that moment, Lassie padding back over to rub against my legs, that my phone buzzed. I sighed as I fished it from my pocket and quickly scanned my lock screen.

  “Message from Cass,” I murmured, lifting one eyebrow. Well either it was something actually important, or she was sending me some more TikTok brainrot. Hoping for the former but bracing for the latter, I unlocked my phone and flicked to my messages.

  What I saw sent a shock racing through my whole body.