Skye forces down the immediate urge to shout Alice’s name – they’re still deep undercover. “Were you waiting this whole time to show up if their alarm went off?”

Alice shrugs, the motion looking bizarre on Skye – on Sky Horizon’s body. This whole body swapping mess is going to be the death of Skye. “Yeah, basically I was able to hack together a livestream of the lobby. I figured you’d need it when you got caught, because this plan sucked. Side note, do you agree that this plan sucked yet?”  As if being stuck in Nigel’s form wasn’t bad enough, Skye’s getting talked down to by her own ideal voice. It feels like some sort of cruel joke, or lifted from her nightmares – a constant, ongoing dysphoria attack, and now a heap of envy to boot.

Skye lifts a hand to argue, but can’t muster up the energy, trapped in another body as she is. “Fine. I’ll concede that point. It turns out that wearing a suit not meant for you is…” Nauseating? An out of body experience? Like being ripped slowly into pieces? “...Rough.”

Alice simply scoffs. “I could have told you that much right now. I feel like I’m about to get vertigo from being this tall.” Right. Any suit can make someone dysmorphic if it wasn’t designed for them. “I’d offer to trade so you can have yours back, but…” Alice’s head flicks at something behind Skye. “I think we’ve got company.” Sure enough, Omni Pink’s heeled boots clack on the warehouse floor as she approaches. Almost instantly, Alice steps in front of Skye protectively. “Scram. I’ll cover you.”

“Oh, by all means, take your time.” Pamela waves them off, stepping over to the pile of novelty consumer goods Constantine was buried in. “We’ll need a moment to get ourselves set up, as well.” Getting down on one knee, Pamela roots around in the pile before hauling Constantine to his feet. “Report.”

Constantine shakes himself off. “Right, right. The one in Nigel’s suit is the real Sky Horizon. The other one is – wait, what are you doing?” He gestures to Skye-in-Nigel’s-suit, now kneeling and furiously fiddling with the dials and levers of the Skyline, still attached to Alice’s waist.

“Great question.” Alice looks down, confused. “What part of ‘scram’ isn’t clicking, dude?”

“Just a second. Also, not a dude.” With one last click, Skye punches in the configuration, setting Alice’s suit humming. “You’re set to combat mode now, and I hotkeyed it so you can Jet Punch by just yelling the attack name. Don’t try it now, you’ll waste fuel. If you can get the belt off Constantine or Pamela, that’s great, but please don’t hurt the-”

“Pamela?” Alice interrupts, pointing towards Omni Pink. “That’s Pamela?”

“Yeah?” Skye steps back to her feet, backing away from the impending fight. “Why?” She can hear the vitriol in Alice’s voice, but has no clue as to its source.

“Oh. It’s you.” Pamela laughs airily. “I do hope you know just how much of a thank-you we owe you for your support.” Support? Alice? Oh, no. It seems that those earlier suspicions may have been right.

“Shove it,” Alice snarls. At the very least, whatever happened between her and Pamela, Alice isn't happy to see her now. “And as for you, get out of here, already. I’ve got these clowns handled.”

Right. Skye needs to leave. Clutching her briefcase full of documents close, she takes off running in the general direction Alice came in, chancing a look back over her shoulder. Constantine takes off after her, but Alice makes no move to block him, instead focused entirely on Pamela. What on earth is she thinking?

---

 

Sometimes, on a rare and beautiful occasion,  the world sees fit to hand you a freebie.

It’d be one thing for Alice to get a chance to save Skye from herself. It’d be another thing to be able to do it wearing Skye’s costume for poetic justice. But to be face to face with Pamela, that Pamela, the human manifestation of the one thing Alice screwed up with Skye? And to have carte blanche to beat her smug teeth in?

Well, presumably her teeth are smug, anyway. She’s still never seen Pamela’s face.

In the end, this probably won’t actually solve anything. Omni will still have the notes they stole from Alice, and eventually she’ll have to come clean to Skye. For now, though, it’s time for some serious stress relief. Alice bounces on the balls of her feet, years of middle school karate lessons coming back to her. This armor is a pretty poor fit, but it’ll be enough to do the job.

Pamela approaches slowly, sizing Alice up. “And so the sidekick becomes the heroine. You must be so proud.” She stops just outside of arm’s length, obviously inviting Alice to make the first move.

Alice doesn’t justify her with a response, smoothly stepping in and out of Pamela’s reach before finally jabbing for her head. Too slow, though – Pamela grabs her hand out of the air with relative ease, squeezing her wrist before trying to shove her to the ground. The shove proves to be her weakness – it’s slow enough and telegraphed enough that Alice can wrench herself free and land a clean elbow to the stomach, though she notes with some distaste that it felt harder than it should have.

“Oh, that’s a shame,” Pamela chuckles softly. “You know, the real Sky Horizon would have been faster than that. You’re using her suit, but it looks like a sidekick is a sidekick, no matter what toys they get to play with.” She’s baiting her. She’s so clearly trying to get a rise out of Alice. That was supposed to make her either flinch or charge in stupidly, and Pamela could counter either with-

Alice cleanly sidesteps Pamela’s uppercut, grabbing her by the back of the neck before jabbing a fist into her face. She should probably keep quiet for the intimidation factor, but just can’t resist rubbing it in. “Is that right? If you’re getting beaten by a sidekick, then what does that make you?” Somewhere else in the warehouse rings the sound of a shot, followed shortly by an explosion. In the corner of her eyes, Alice can see boxes of watches launched high above the shelves from the impact.

Pamela just scoffs, cracking her neck. “You’re not bad, but again, not good enough.” She returns fire with a kick to the shins, forcing Alice back. “I’m more than a bit curious, though – why are you willing to step in for Sky Horizon so easily?” She taps a finger against her helmet’s chin in mock contemplation. “Are you family? Bound by a common goal, perhaps? …Lovers?”

“You’re really reaching for banter, aren’t you?” Bait. That’s bait. Don’t engage. Don’t give her a reaction, it’s like a schoolyard bully.

“Oh, was I mistaken?” Pamela bobs back and forth, testing Alice’s guard with a few light jabs. “I suppose that makes sense. It’s not as though a superhero would have much reason to interact with the likes of you.” That’s bait. “Well, except for pity, obviously.”

Okay, that’s it. “Will you shut your mouth already!” Alice moves in quickly, but her attacks are easily blocked, leaving her open for a punch to the sternum. As she reels, Pamela spins, kicking Alice in the ribs and knocking her to the floor. Promptly, she hauls herself back to her feet, getting her guard back up just in time to catch a tackle from Pamela, leaving the two stuck grappling.

“Look, far be it from me to comment on your partnership, but what exactly is it that you offer her?” Pamela attempts to keep an even tone despite wrestling for dominance. “Betraying her secrecy? Picking and losing fights on her behalf?” She’s just saying it because she knows it gets a rise out of Alice. Don’t give her a reaction. “It seems to me that a time will come when she realizes you’re just a burden to her.”

“Shut up and fight.” Alice growls the words, fighting against the wave of nausea that comes every time she hears her words in Skye’s voice.

“Oh, you’re right, I’m probably well off the mark. After all, I’m sure you have a rich and vibrant life beyond Sky Horizon.” Pamela tightens her grip.

“You don’t know a thing about me.” In a quick movement, Alice lets go of Pamela’s arm, hauling back for a haymaker. “Now stop talking!”

The moment Pamela’s hand is free, it darts to her belt, pressing the big user-friendly button. “Omni Boost.” Before Alice’s punch can connect, she finds herself thrown to the ground, arms pinned. With the sudden boost in strength easing her exertion, Pamela sounds almost bored as she continues. “I know everything I need to know about you. You’re a follower. A hanger-on. A sidekick.”

“Let me go, already!” Alice rages against Pamela’s grip, but her body doesn’t move the ways she wants it to. Even if she had perfect control, it’d be doubtful she could break free, but at least she’d feel better about it. “Did you want to fight, or did you want to give some lecture?”

If Pamela can hear her, she doesn’t give any indication. “You find someone who inspires you, you latch onto them, but you don’t want to be them, that’s too much work – you just want to orbit them as a satellite, to be associated with them. Like poor Nigel to Constantine, like the boss to his father, like I once was to the boss. You lie to yourself, saying that they adore you, when really they’d adore anyone who was as devoted as you.”

“Stop talking and just hit me already...” Alice flails, kicking her legs helplessly.

“I’m telling you this for your own good, you know. If you’re waiting to become more than ancillary to Sky Horizon… know that it’s not going to happen. Ever.”

Alice is silent, now, save for her shaky breath.

“This is for the best. With her powers gone, Sky Horizon will be no more, and you’ll be free to live for yourself.” Pamela shifts her weight atop Alice, reaching down for the Skyline. “Any questions?”

“Yeah, one.” Alice grips her fist so hard the glove vibrates. “Jet Punch.”

Immediately, her arm flails gracelessly out to the side, her elbow’s rocket launching her arm out from Pamela’s grip. No longer pinned, Alice sits up, swinging her out-of-control arm like a bludgeon at Pamela’s head. She manages to block the blow, catching it on her forearm, but it’s a near thing.

Alice pushes back, shoving her way to her feet. “Jet Punch.” Another strike, this one a hook swinging in front, forcing Pamela to jump back. Alice walks forward slowly, ducking under a telegraphed punch and coming up with an uppercut. “Jet Punch.” The force of the rocket takes Alice a few centimeters off the ground, and the attack lands cleanly – but Pamela barely flinches, the attack having far less impact than expected thanks to Pamela’s Boost.

“Hah.” Pamela says the word, rather than laughing properly. “All that, and you still can’t even dent me.” She steps back in, rolling her neck. “Now, what say you give it up, unless you want-”

“Jet Punch.” Alice lashes out, catching her in the gut. Pamela wheezes but doesn’t stop, pressing onward. If Alice is intimidated, she certainly doesn’t show it. “Jet Punch.” The afterburners on Alice’s elbows don’t have time to cool down before flaring up again, each swing flowing into the next. This one catches Pamela on the chin, knocking her back ever so slightly.

Pamela is growling a bit now. “You’re only making me angrier. I’m not about to be stopped by-”

“Jet Punch. Jet Punch. Jet Punch.” Alice keeps pressing the advantage, swinging her full weight behind each attack. Pamela’s guard is falling, and more and more punches are landing cleanly. A mixture of triumph and rage finds its way into Alice’s voice. “Jet Punch!”

“Urgh. You little-”

“Jet Punch! Jet Punch, Jet Punch, Jet Punch,” Alice picks up the pace, forcing Pamela back against a supply rack. Each time Alice yells the command, it’s immediately accompanied by a “whoom” noise as her rockets ignite.

Pamela’s belt beeps twice. “Boost Over.” Both look down, and back up. Pamela’s superhuman durability has run out.

Alice cackles with vicious glee. “You’re finished, hoser. Jet Punch!” Alice swings for the fences, letting the rocket guide her fist to Pamela’s helmet.

Time slows down for both women. It’s as though the fist is barely moving, both of them watching it creep towards its target.

Hang on, that’s no illusion. Her fist really is slowing down. In the corner of Alice’s vision, a FUEL EMPTY warning blinks over and over, lighting her vision up red.

Pamela bats the punch out of the air, snarling triumphantly. “So close, and yet so far. So, sidekick, are you ready to surrender yet?”

Alice, still breathing heavily from the exertion, adrenaline tearing through her system, laughs in her face. “What, you think I’d just give up after beating you?”

“You’d call me beaten?” Pamela stretches her shoulders as she steps away from the shelf – a little imprint of her suit is visible in the racks where she was slammed against them. “You’re running on fumes, while I’m just 45 seconds away from another Boost.”

“Sure, and I wish I could have gone even further, but did you forget?” Alice shakes out her own arms, rotating at the wrist. “You weren’t here to beat me, you were here to stop Sky Horizon from escaping.” A text message pops up in the corner of Alice’s vision. “Ah, and look at that! You failed! Guess you like the sound of your voice too much.”

Pamela’s posture goes ramrod straight. “You can’t be serious.”

Alice shrugs, feigning ease and confidence that she definitely doesn’t have at this point. “Deadly. I hope it was good stress relief projecting at me, though. I know I had a great time beating your face in.”

“No.” Pamela’s voice climbs in pitch and volume. “No, no, no! This isn’t over!” She stalks toward Alice, fists clenched.

“I think it is. Toodles!” With that, Alice flicks a switch on the Skyline, vanishing into thin air.

---

 

“Hey guys, I’m home, and I brought Taco – Whoa.” Kit pauses in the doorway, looking at both Skye and Alice huddled, red-eyed, in blankets with cocoa. “You guys look like shit. Did someone die or something?”

Alice looks over like she’s about to chew them out, but isn’t able to find the energy. “Not the time, Kit. Thanks for the tacos, or whatever.”

“Yeah, sure, no prob.” Hanging up their coat, Kit strolls over and plunks the bags of burritos down on the coffee table. “Was it the big invasion plan? Something go wrong?”

Skye reluctantly nods. “We were discovered.” Her voice is hoarse, as though she spent the evening crying. “It was a close thing, but we made it out safely.”

“Neat.” For a moment, Kit just watches the movie with them. “So everything ended up working out?”

Skye shakes her head. “I had no choice but to overclock the Boost on Nigel’s changer to outrun Constantine, in the end. The Quorium burnt out, and the device is now all but unusable.” Just under her breath, Kit can make out Skye mumbling “Good riddance.”

“Huh.” Kit doesn’t really know how to grasp the upshot of that.

“See, we figured out their weakness.” Alice’s chin is tucked in under her favorite pink scarf. “Their suits make them a little more athletic-shaped, and their brains don’t like that one bit.”

“Not anymore,” Skye murmurs.

“What?” Alice snaps to attention, staring her down.

“I let Constantine know how to fix it.” Skye settles into her blanket fortress. “Next time we meet, their suits will be dysmorphia-free.”

“Gotcha.” Kit strokes their chin in between bites of crunchwrap, glancing over to Alice’s outraged expression. “I feel like I’m supposed to tell you that was a bad move, right?”

“Don’t care.” Skye’s eyes are glued to whatever 90’s toku flick this is. “Nobody ever, ever deserves to feel like that.”

“Hm. Amen to that, I guess,” Alice says, still visibly peeved.

“Aren’t you just the sweetest.” Kit looks for a place to set their soda, scooping a folder off the table. “Hey, where can I put these files? Is your desk cool?”

Skye looks over, and seems to remember something, her eyes going wide. “Right, that’s – Kit, can we talk to your uncle about what’s in that folder?”

“Uh, sure? Why?”

“That folder is full of printed correspondence to Dr. Nehra – about the experiment that caused the Pearl Incident.”