“Drones have lost sight of Angel Eye. He backed away from the windows, likely using the sun’s glare to hide himself.”

Mod pressed forward through the alley, fusion rifle readied and pressed into his shoulder. Despite his practice with the prototype in the Gray Room, holding a rifle still didn’t feel natural. 

“Arsenal, do you see any of our missing targets?”

“Still no sign of Windvane or Shifter.”

Mod peered across the street. The noon sun hung high overhead and the entire section of the city was still. Where the hell could they be hiding?

“I’m going to hug the wall and circle around—”

Dirt exploded in front of Mod’s feet and he slipped quickly behind the corner again. A gunshot echoed from up the street. 

“TINA, I’m guessing that was our man.”

“Yes.”

Mod groaned in frustration. “So much for the element of surprise.”

“Just who did you think you were sneaking up on?” Someone asked from the street.

Mod stepped back and away from the wall so that he could see her, keeping his rifle ready. The new super wore a black and silver striped full-body suit that shifted and shimmered in the sun. 

“You can relax,” she said, stopping a few steps away from the corner. “We’ve got this corner of Belport under control.”

Mod shifted uneasily. Maybe if he could keep them talking, then TINA could find the rest of their members. 

“...You’re not with the Summit.” 

The new super looked him up and down. “You don’t exactly look the type either.”

Mod took a step toward the corner, but she held up a glove finger. “You can stay right there. He didn’t have to miss.”

“I don’t have to either.”

The woman chuckled. “You really don’t know what you’ve gotten yourself into.”

Mod grit his teeth. “What do you want with the hostages, Windvane?” He didn’t mean for her name to come out so harshly, but Windvane immediately stiffened. 

Arsenal whispered, “You stay and chat. I’m gonna keep moving—”

Another gunshot rang out through the street. 

“I’m good,” Arsenal said. “I guess he can see me after all.”

Windvane scoffed. “Like I said. We have this corner under control. Our control.”

Mod glanced up at the sky to the circling drones. “If Angel Eye can see my friend on the roof then he can see our drones too. You’re outgunned. Why don’t you let the hostages go and we can all go our separate ways…”

Even though Windvane’s mask covered her entire face, Mod felt her eyes narrowing at him. 

“You have drones, sure, but you haven’t called for backup yet. …Well, sonofabitch. You did hack the cellphone network.” Windvane tilted her head like she was talking through an earpiece. “Yeah, no shit. They probably know our identities too.”

“Yeah. We do,” Mod replied quickly. “Want me to out you right now, or are you going to let everybody go?”

“Fucking artificers… Which hostage are you here for?”

Mod swallowed dryly. “All of them.”

“You’re not a very good liar. It would be a shame if—”

“Don’t.” Mod raised his rifle. 

Windvane laughed and took a step closer, her bodysuit shimmering. “You know, the longer we talk, the more of you I can see. Eventually, you slip… but you still haven’t told me your brother’s name.”

Mod was afraid to breathe. The only reason his hands weren’t shaking was because of his prosthetics. 

“That’s right,” Windvane said. “Just run along and keep the drones away—”

Mod fired a kinetic blast at Windvane’s chest. 

She stepped out of the way. 

The move looked superhuman, but Mod knew it was just precognition. Windvane might as well be normal. 

Mod fired two more shots as quick as the rifle would allow, but Windvane calmly leaned out of the way. 

She held up her hands. “You know I’ve got your goddamn brother up there, right? If I say the word—”

Mod saw movement out of the corner of his eye. The ground beneath his feet rippled and then exploded. Chunks of rock battered Mod and hurled him up into the air. In the hail of rocks and dust, he could just make out the vaguely humanoid outline. Shifter had turned his body into a mass of concrete and rebar. 

Of all the supers involved, Shifter was the one they knew the least about. Since his powers depended on the medium he morphed into, it would be almost impossible to keep track of what he could do. 

Even though he looked vaguely human still, apparently Shifter could manifest additional limbs. 

As Mod was flung upward through the air, he quickly tossed aside his rifle and tucked his limbs in, defending himself from Shifter’s barrage of attacks. 

Even with Mod’s hardened prosthetics and skeleton, each impact was strong enough to juggle him and keep Mod hanging in the air. He twisted twice to avoid stabbing attacks with exposed spikes of rebar. 

Mod didn’t have many options against someone like Shifter, but he could always call for a drone. He didn’t care what Shifter was made of, Dr. Venture’s hardware would be more than enough to drop him… But that meant pulling a drone away from the building, and Mod didn’t trust Windvane’s group one bit. 

In that split second, Mod resolved to run through his options. 

His whip slithered out of his arm and wrapped around Shifter’s body. Shifter hesitated and then tried to pull away. Mod grabbed two spikes of rebar and smirked. 

Shifter was still trying to pull away and failing miserably.

Then Mod zapped him. 

~ ~

The ground burst beneath the cyborg’s feet as Shifter ambushed him. 

Windvane groaned in frustration and turned to walk away. She didn’t need to stay for what happened next. It didn’t matter what the cyborg was made of when he was getting pummeled with chunks of concrete.

But Shifter was supposed to wait for her signal. What was the point in having a plan if no one stuck to it?

Windvane twisted her body to the side like she was passing by another pedestrian on the street. An errant shot from the artificer on the roof slammed into the ground by Windvane’s feet. 

More rifle shots echoed from down the street as Angel Eye engaged the artificer. 

She walked back down the street, fully intending to leave the cyborg to the tornado of concrete. Windvane had half a mind to figure out which one was his brother and beat the shit out of him on principle. 

“What’s the plan?” Oakenheart asked through the radio. 

“The plan was to wait for my goddamn signal!”

“Oakenheart, you don’t do anything. Don’t leave that building. Don’t touch the hostages. And if you’re partner fucks this up for us, don’t bother trying to save—”

Something flashed across Windvane’s perception, as subtle as the sun dipping behind the clouds. 

She turned to find the street quiet. Shifter lay motionless in a pile of rubble. His body was turning human. His skin was still the same powdery gray color, but now his outline was very human. 

And very still. 

The cyborg towered over him—a metal whip slithered back up into his arm like a snake burrowing into his skin. Combined with the amorphous stripes on his suit, it made him look inhuman. 

Windvane shivered. 

“It doesn’t change a thing!” 

Oakenheart whispered through the comms, “The drones are getting closer.”

“Hold position. For the love…”

Shots echoed down the street. Angel Eye said, “Power armor closing in. What’s the plan?” 

But Windvane didn’t move. She was trying to focus on the cyborg. He was going to attack. It felt like a cold fog settling around her—chilling the air and closing off her senses. She tried to peer through it, but no matter which direction she looked, that mask stared back at her. Windvane visualized herself running away, but the cyborg was there to meet her. He was on top of her before she took a step. 

The cyborg stepped over Shifter’s motionless body. 

Windvane took a step back. “What are you doing?”

The cyborg didn’t answer. Didn’t stop. He strode forward, fists clenched, radiating menace. 

The fog closed in around her. Breath caught in her throat. Again, Windvane thought to run, and again she was met with the specter of the cyborg. 

A faint light showed through the haze, pushing back the oppressing aura of the cyborg, and Windvane immediately recognized it as Angel Eye’s scope. She wasn’t alone. A few more steps and the cyborg would be in the street and within sight of her allies. Angel Eye would take him out. 

He wouldn’t miss. He didn’t miss. 

…Then why was she still surrounded by fog and by doubt? 

A second later, Windvane got her answer. 

The cyborg reached for a pocket in his sleeve—in his arm—and tossed something toward her. Three tiny beads landed at her feet and burst into smoke. By the time Windvane realized what was happening, she was already blind. Her heart was beating so hard it felt like it would leap out of her chest. 

Shots rang out across the street and panged off metal. 

Panic overtook Windvane, and she tried to run. When she didn’t immediately come face-to-face with the cyborg, she thought she might escape. 

She made it two steps before she felt cold steel wrap around her ankle. 

~ ~ ~