“You know that saying about not kicking a horse while it’s down?” I said conversationally to X, who now fought another attacker.
X grabbed the man by the scruff, and well, that was game over. “What about it?”
“It never said anything about snakes.” And then I kicked the man in the head, knocking him out.
When I looked up, freed prisoners had joined the foray, picking out men and women who they must’ve had some serious beef with. They made the rest of us look like we were having tea parties with our opponents. All that pent up rage and hurt surfaced as they fought. They tore at eyes, noses, fingers, genitalia—all those places that made you cringe.
“Angel!” I glanced up at the sound of my name. A supervillain circled my sister.
I didn’t think, I ran, pushing past fighters to reach Ashley. Her attacker closed in on her, grabbing her head on either side, preparing to twist her neck.
Not enough time.
I grabbed one of the throwing stars I’d strapped to my suit an eternity ago. Saying a silent prayer, I hurled it at the supervillain.
It whizzed through the air, shooting between fighting pairs, and thumped into the back of the villain’s skull.
He dropped his hold on Ashley, taking a couple steps past her before he fell to his knees and slumped forward.
I dashed across the stage, dodging lighting bolts, arrows, and Cinder’s gunpowder explosions to get to her. My feet splashed against the thin sheet of water creeping across the floor.
A supervillain grabbed my collar, hauling me back. Before I could so much as ram my elbow into him, his hold loosened. I didn’t look back until I reached the stairs. Once I did, I saw X holding the now-screaming villain. He nodded to me, then returned his attention to his target.
The walls made a sickening groan as I raced the rest of the way up to my sister.
My body felt sluggish as I summited the stairs. The sensation was unfamiliar. Too much power had been drained from me. Couldn’t think about that. I had to make the most of the adrenaline pumping through my veins.
“Sis?”
My eyes flicked up, and there was Ashley, looking wide-eyed and lost. We fell together at the same time, our arms wrapping tightly around each other. The Hamilton sisters had always been known for their bear hugs.
The building let out another groan, bringing my attention back to the chaos around us.
Reluctantly I untangled myself from Ashley’s embrace, noticing that my touch had managed to heal her wounds, even as more of my energy drained from me.
I swiveled away from her and scanned the auditorium. Bodies littered the ground. I swallowed. So many lost. Mostly villains, but I saw some prisoners among the fallen.
Above them, the clock read 6:47. We had five minutes until we were to meet up with Madman and Zephyr.
That wasn’t a whole lot of time. I stuck two fingers into my mouth and whistled. “Time to go!” I yelled to the room.
At my call, many of the prisoners backed toward the stairs, fighting off the last of their opponents. Zeus hurtled lightening bolts and Cinder flicked fireballs at the villains that were halting the prisoner’s progress.
Rocket flew over to them and assisted some of the weaker prisoners up the stairs, shoving them down when a labrys flew by.
“Take the freed prisoners to the cave,” I said when he passed me. “I’ll gather the rest and follow you.”
Rocket hesitated. Usually I was the one who led the injured away, but not today. Today, the fight was personal. However, I did touch the injured as they walked by, noticing that I could only partially heal them, and with each touch, my own strength flagged.
“Sis, aren’t you coming?” Ashley asked. She shifted her weight, uncertain whether to stay or go.
“I’ll be there in a sec.”
Her chin trembled, but then she squared her jaw. “I’m not leaving without you,” she said stubbornly.
“Yes, you are.” My gaze flicked to Rocket, and he flew over to her, hustling her out of the auditorium. She resisted, her eyes watering as she stared at me.
“You better not die, or I’m going to kick your ass,” she said.
“Stop being a bully,” I said, smiling in spite of myself. “I’ll see you soon.” I hope.
Chapter 28
Angel
When my attention returned to room, the superheroes still grappled with the enemy, but we were winning. My eyes searched for X. When I caught sight of him, I breathed out a sigh of relief, but only for a moment. He stalked towards the door leading to the torture chamber.
A monster leaned against the doorway, wearing a crimson gown. My mind wouldn’t believe this melted, blistered thing had once been the Cruel Countess.
X closed in on her, and I could read the cold purpose in every line of his body.
Behind him, the villain Zeus fought with lifted into the air. A lighting bolt grew in Zeus’s hand as he tracked her. Pulling back his arm, Zeus threw his electric javelin. It should’ve hit his opponent’s chest, but the woman abruptly changed course, and the bolt traveled on, crashing into the glass window with a loud clap of thunder.
The walls shrieked, the sound thick and terrible.
Cinder threw a fireball at Zeus’s opponent, and the woman fell to the floor in a fiery blaze. “Retreat!” she cried.
My eyes darted to X, who now circled the Cruel Countess. She, in turn, circled him. Another, softer creak echoed through the building.
I took a step forward. “X!” I yelled from the top of the stairs.
The glass wall cracked, the rip heading straight down the middle of the pane before spider-webbing out. Cinder and Zeus hauled ass up the stairs, raining down fire and lightening at the supervillains who tried to follow.
“X!” I screamed again, descending the steps.
X caught sight of me. “Run!” he shouted, his eyes wild.
Zeus caught me around the waist hauling me up with him.
“Put me down.” I struggled against him. “Please, Zeus. Put me—”
With a final creak, the glass wall shattered, blowing inwards. And then the ocean poured in.
“NOOO!” I screamed as the water engulfed both X and the Cruel Countess.
I was imagining things. The two most powerful supervillains couldn’t just be gone.
My X couldn’t be gone.
Zeus kept his hold on me as he sprinted up the rest of the stairs.
“Shit, shit, shit!” Cinder shouted as the water ate up the room below us.
“If I put you down, will you run?” Zeus shouted over the roar of water.
My eyes searched and searched the churning liquid. No X.
“Angel.” Zeus shook me lightly.
If I tried to stay behind, Zeus and Cinder would come after me. I’d kill us all. But to leave X behind …
I swallowed and nodded to Zeus. “Yes,” I agreed.
My heart ripped. I didn’t even know it had carved out a place for X. And if it was anything like the rest of me at the moment, it wasn’t going to heal any time soon.
Zeus set me on the ground, and the three of us ran. Along the cellblock blackened doors hung off their hinges. That explained the explosions X and I heard.
X …
I pushed down the rising ache.
Our shoes slapped against the tile. The roar of the ocean sounded behind us, and the lights flickered.
I pumped my arms and legs. Above me, a pipe hissed, and water sprayed across my body.
We left the prison block and passed through the laboratory with its bloody implements. Never again would those tools be used to torture. I had to remember that—that the greater good was served today by eradicating this place.
Seawater rushed down the hallway, quickly surpassing us. It whooshed across the floor, leading us to the next corridor. For several seconds it was a puddle. Then it hit our ankles.
We turned the corner, darting past the row of lockers. X’s equipment swirled in the water, a grim reminder of the man I’d
left behind.
We slogged through the exit—which had been soldered off its hinges—and into the cave. There Rocket and the rest of the prisoners waited, cold and shivering. Among them was my sister. She visibly relaxed when she caught sight of me.
The water spilled into the cave from the hallway we just left, splashing against the rocks.
I heaved in great lungfuls of air, gasping. It was a feat keeping my legs locked in place when every nerve ending screamed at me to run back inside and retrieve X.
Cinder grabbed my upper arm. “Steady,” she said. I could see the warning in her eyes. Don’t even think about it, they seemed to say.
A loud thunk sounded above us where Dolly Parton must’ve landed.
“Let’s go, let’s go!” Rocket shouted.
Cinder squeezed my arm. “We need to get these men and women onto the boat before Zephyr’s wind gives out. Can you do that?”
I nodded rapidly. Help the prisoners. Save what lives you can.
And I did, I helped my teammates evacuate each and every one of them, all the while hoping the X would find his way back to the cave. But he never did, and eventually I had no choice but to join the others in the boat and leave the Cruel Countess’s lair to its watery grave.
Defeat was a bitter, bitter taste in my mouth. I’d never truly lost anything I cared about.
And now I had.
Chapter 29
Two Weeks Later
Angel
“… So far, twelve bodies have been recovered from the Cruel Countess’s Caribbean fortress, where a grizzly showdown claimed the lives of many of the world’s top heroes and villains. The Cruel Countess is noticeably not among the fallen, though it’s unclear whether she’s still at large.”
Plopping down on the couch with my carton of mint chip ice cream, I grabbed the remote control and clicked off the T.V. The news had been playing around the clock at Madcap Mansion. I couldn’t stand it anymore.
I made a promise I’d get everyone out of that lair, and I broke it.
Shadow appeared next to me, spoon in her hand. “Hey girl hey,” she said, “care to share?”
“Sure,” I said. When I made no move to take the carton’s lid off, she did it for me. She swiped herself a spoonful of the mint chip ice cream.
When I didn’t follow, she eyed me, then the carton, then me again. “Angel, you need to eat. Remember what the doctor said?”
“Not really,” I mumbled.
I did, in fact, remember what the doctor said. My power remained, but it had been weakened by the exchange with the Cruel Countess. I would fully recover, but rest and over-eating were required. Apparently the more calories I ate, the faster they could be turned to energy that would strengthen my power.
Until I was back to full health, I wasn’t allowed to save lives. Not even the occasional hospital drop-in. My teammates had gone so far as to hide their dying houseplants from me. Assholes.
“Is this about the Executioner?” Shadow asked.
My throat tightened.
X probably died in that lair. The absence of a body didn’t mean he was alive. I drew in a shaky breath.
“Dude,” Shadow swiped another scoopful of ice cream, “that totally sucks. I mean, falling in love is hard enough for us as is, but a supervillain … and then he has the audacity to die on you.” She shook her head and licked her spoon. “Bet he banged like a god.”
I could feel fat tears prepping themselves to roll down my cheeks. Since when did I indulge in pity parties? Never!
Zephyr wandered into the living room, her face lighting up when she saw us. “I heard a rumor that ice cream and my favorite girls were out here. Good to know the rumor proved true.” She plopped down on my other side.
Leaning over me, she grabbed my untouched spoon and scooped out some ice cream. “Keep this appetite up Angel and maybe you can save a woodland creature in another year.”
“Zeph,” Shadow chastised, “be realistic. It’ll take her six months, tops.”
“You two suck at cheering me up.” Eating my ice cream and making fun of me. In their defense, this tactic had worked in the past.
“Yeah, well, Madman told me you were sucking something else while running with the Executioner.” Zephyr waggled her eyebrows.
Shadow had already scooped ice cream onto her spoon when I snatched the piece of silverware out of her hand. I pulled the tip of the utensil back and shot the ice cream at Zephyr. The blob of mint chip beaned her right between the eyes.
“You little skank!” she shouted. A second later she shoved her spoonful of ice cream up my nose.
I let out a shocked, nasally laugh as it dripped down my upper lip.
Shadow snatched the carton out of my hands and sprinted away, cackling, “Mine, all mine!”
“That sneaky bitch …” Zephyr muttered, chasing after her.
I held my hand below my chin. I needed a napkin, then a shower. Once those were out of the way, I’d plot my revenge.
Cinder sashayed by. “Hey Angel,” she said, eyeing the pale green ice cream dripping down my face, “package came for you. It’s in your room.”
“Thanks.”
I headed into the kitchen and wiped off the sticky remnants of ice cream. Cupping water from the faucet, I splashed it against my face until I was sure I’d gotten it all off.
For a brief moment there, I’d felt carefree, and it reminded me of the old Angel, the mindlessly happy one. Back then no one had knocked down my boundaries and weaseled their way into my heart. I wanted that lightness again.
Not going to get it back for a while. Maybe ever.
I wiped my chin off and headed for my room.
The hallway was quiet, but then again, it was evening. Most of my housemates were on duty, patrolling the streets of L.A. Lucky ducks. At least they had work to distract them. Meanwhile all I had were endless hours of wallowing.
And there was Chub-Chub. But even he had almost died on me. I’d found him swimming sideways when I returned from Miami. I had to touch his little body to bring him back from the edge.
I stepped into my room and froze. All thoughts of my fish fled as I stared into the darkness. There, waiting for me, was the Executioner.
Chapter 30
Angel
I made a small, embarrassing sound, and then I tackle-hugged X.
His arms clasped me tightly, like I was the one that might suddenly disappear. In the past, he’d been hesitant about touching me. Now he wasn’t; he knew exactly where he wanted his hands to be.
X nuzzled my face, pressing his lips to the shell of my ear. I could feel his smile in the kiss.
“You’re happy to see me.” He sounded surprised.
He’s alive, he’s alive—he’s alive.
He’d survived the Cruel Countess, escaped the cave-in, and led me to believe he was dead for two entire weeks.
I breathed the smell of him. “You bastard.” My voice came out as a choked sob. “I thought you died.” Two stupid tears leaked from my eyes.
X leaned away from me, his grip moving from my back to my neck. He tilted my head up, frowning at my tears. “You missed me?”
I shoved him hard enough for him to stumble back. “What do you think?”
He stared me down, looking too gorgeous for words. His leather jacket fit him like sin, and his hood was down, showing off those dark, glittering eyes. He’d tied his hair back, away from his face.
I could lose myself memorizing every detail of this man.
“I think I missed you more,” he said.
X closed the distance between us in two steps, and then he kissed me fiercely.
My heart! Never had it felt such lows, and never had it soared so high.
I clung to X’s forearms as my lips moved against his and reveled in the taste of him. His mouth and his embrace were both warm, comforting—the exact opposite of what one would expect. And his touch … even in my weakened state I was immune to his punishing ability.
He’s alive and he
came back for me.
I broke away. “How did you escape?”
His breath came out in pants, and he gazed at my mouth longingly. “After the window broke, the water swept me up and dragged me to a stairwell that led to the fortress’s docking bay. I managed to board one of the submarines the Cruel Countess kept there, said a prayer, and evacuated the place.”
X rubbed a thumb over my lower lip. “You were worried?” He kept asking these questions like he needed reassurance.
“Of course,” I whispered.
He smiled at that, staring at my mouth. “I don’t know if anyone’s ever worried for me before.”
“Get used to it.”
Hope bloomed in his eyes.
“What happened to the Cruel Countess?” I asked.
His expression turned grim. “I don’t know. The water separated us.”
She could still be out there, disfigured and stripped of her stolen powers, but alive nonetheless. If that was the case, I was sure I’d see her again.
I’d be ready.
X’s fingers moved to my neck and absently stroked the skin there. I wanted to stretch out and let him pet the rest of me.
Soon, I reassured myself.
“Where have you been since you escaped?” Why didn’t you come for me earlier?
I think X understood my unspoken question because he searched my eyes, surprised—and, from what I could tell, delighted—by my interest in him. “I had to tie up the last of my business and exact my retribution before I could come to you.”
Exact his retribution? I didn’t want to know.
“Wait,” I narrowed my eyes, “why couldn’t you visit me first?”
“Because I didn’t want to return to you a criminal.”
I tilted my head at his words. “What do you mean?” He couldn’t be saying what I thought he was.
Could he?
“I’ve received a pardon of sorts. I’m no longer wanted—in the U.S. I’m still working on the other countries.”