Wzzzt-BANG!

  A behemoth, easily twice the size of Vander, stumbled forward, shouting in pain.

  Orion had thrown a Chemfsh just past the man, a brilliant fsh of light and deafening explosion that ignited ong the four street thugs. fused and angry shouts erupted as the one furthest away dropped a sack to the cold stone floor.

  He winced, Vi was in that bag. She had pissed off the wrong group of street thugs, as usual, and Powder had e running to tell him, breathless and frantic. Orion told her to stay behind before rushing to the se Powder described, not cheg to see her expression.

  Panting, Orion arrived at the alley and saw them bickering and arguing angrily among themselves. They matched the description Pave him spot on, and the sae was holding practically firmed it- violently thrashing around with muffled shouts.

  'Usually, it's about her being Vander's kid' Orion sighed, shaking his head in resignation.

  Orion grabbed and primed a Chemfsh in his jacket, shoving it into his pocket with a firm grip. He was unhappy to use it, to say the least. Powder still hadn't mao replicate one successfully, her sharp little mind still pig apart its ws.

  Casually, he strolled dowreet, drawing the attention of the thugs. The rgest of them- a shirtless behemoth covered in tattoos- smirked and approached him.

  "Get lost, kid" the man rumbled, crossing his arms and taking a wide stao intimidate him.

  Orion only tilted his head with a wry smile. "Ah- sorry, no. You've got my friend in a bag there."

  A bewildered and muffled, "Orion?" called out from ihe sack, its violent thrashing seizing.

  "Yeah, yeah. It's me, idiot." Orion called back.

  Immediately the sack started thrashing around angrily again, apanied by a string of muffled shouts.

  "Shut up," one of the nearby thugs snapped, smag the bag hard with the butt of his machete. The thrashing stopped abruptly, the sack going silent and limp.

  "That's not going to fly." Orion stated dryly, pressing the detonator in his jacket.

  Immediately, he began eling his offensive magic, stepping back to toss the device between the behemoth's legs.

  Noisily it cttered across the stone floor, the behemoth's smug expression faltering as he unfolded his arms and looked ba shock- right as the Chemfsh exploded.

  For Orion, who anticipated the bst, and stood farther back, shielded by this massive figure, the explosion wasn't very effective. As the behemoth stumbled forward, Orion darted in and drove a right hook into his .

  The behemoth's entire body few sideways, crashing into a pile of scrap. His jaw hung limp, dangling unnaturally from his unscious figure that slid to the ground.

  Orion didn't wait. Sprinting past the fallen behemoth, he charged toward the rec gang.

  It happened in a fsh. Orio a kick forward, nding brutally i of one of the thugs and sending him flying back several meters into the hard pavement, his bat flying noisily into the alleyway.

  Another barely had time to react before a vicious hook smmed into his face. The man's body smmed into the wall, his head ricocheting off the metal before colpsing into an unscious heap, a small knife skidding into the street filth.

  Orion whipped his head around, uionally pausing to observe his work. That moment cost him.

  The st thug- the ohat knocked Vi unscious- was already charging with a wild look in his squinted eyes as he swung a machete in blind, panicked aggression.

  Orion tried to push off the front leg, hoping to el his energy for a boost, but he was too slow. It ripped through his shirt and across his chest, carving a deep gash into his chest.

  He cried out with pain, stumbling backward with white fshes in his vision. The thug started to scream ily, swinging again—wild and reckless.

  Seizing the opportunity of a wide swing, Orion stepped in close using his forearm to block the inside of the arm. He quickly followed it up with a short, sharp left punch to the jaw.

  Teeth flew as the thug's grasp of the machete went limp, the on cttering noisily to the floor.

  Seething through pain and rage, Orion wasn't done. He grabbed his arm before he could fall backward. With his other hand brag just uhe elbow, Orion pushed upward, eling his magic.

  CRACK!

  A bone-snapping sound echoed through the alley before Orio go, the thug already unscious before he hit the ground.

  Hissing in pain, Orion staggered backward while looking down at his wound, carefully trying to expel the remainder of the wild, offensive magic still whirling chaotically inside him.

  Orion blinked, his head whipping around in every dire, not wanting to make the same mistake twice before sighing with relief, his tension fading.

  "You're a handful," he scowled, gring at the motionless sack before sitting beside it. The after-effects of using the bat magic were already catg up to him- his muscles burning and energy spent. Still, he breathed out, making o precautionary sweep of his surroundings before moving a hand to his ag chest.

  pared to previous times where the healing magic glowed with the radiant light blue of are, it now shimmered a soft, gentle green as it delivered a simir effect. His skin still looked stretched, like curtains forcibly pulled shut, and he was dying of hunger- but it was more effit and faster.

  "Food..." his thoughts trailed off, gng glumly at the ground. "Hungry, tired, sore..."

  "I CAUGHT YOU!"

  Aed screech rang out from above. Orion's head snapped up, dumbfounded as he spotted Powder perched on one of the industrial pipes. She was smiling from ear to ear and giggling maniacally as if she pulled off the heist of the tury.

  "I CAUGHT YOU!" she shrieked again, scrambling down the pipes with wild energy and the nimbleness of a cat.

  "No, you didn't!" Orioed ftly.

  "Yes, I did!" Powder shot back, pointing triumphantly at his chest. "You're the night light! What was that!"

  Orion froze, his expression still stunned and uo find words. "Night li-" Powder smirked, a knowing look that she won pstered on her face.

  Sighing with defeat, Orion raised a fio his lips. " you keep a secret?"

  Powder's eyes went wide as saucers before her head jerked, a panicked look darting to Vi and ba as she cmped her hands over her mouth. Smiling, Orion motioned her closer, leaning in to whisper with a mischievous look in his eye.

  "Magic."

  "AAAAA! I WA-"

  "SHH!" Orion hushed her furiously and Powder's hands csped over her mouth again. The two exged nervous g the motionless sack before Orion spoke up again in a low whisper.

  "If you keep the secret from everyone, I'll show you more."

  Powder nodded her head furiously, boung ih furious excitement. Smiling faintly, Orion tinued aured toward the sack, "Let's get Vi back."

  "Okay!" Pgled, still boung like a rabbit as she waited eagerly.

  Orion opehe sack carefully to che Vi. She was bleeding lightly from her forehead and still unscious. Being Powder over- who hopped like a rabbit- he eled his healing magic again. A soft green glow enveloped Vi's wound, sealing it shut.

  Powder's eyes went wide with awe, snapping out of it only when Orion's voice broke her trance.

  "A secret, remember?"

  "Not even Vi?" Powder asked, pouting slightly.

  "Nope. Just you," Orion said firmly. "Vi's a loudmouth whes going, and you know what'll happen if more people find out about me, right?"

  Powder paused, excitement fading into a frown as she looked down, a slight slump in her shoulders, "...Oh."

  Ruffling her hair with a smirk, "e o's get going."

  Powder nodded, returning a faint smile as Orion slung the sack over his shoulder.

  "At least it's not an angry saymore," Pgled, skipping beside him as they made their way back to the Last Drop.