Finally, I rolled to my feet and took off again—this time to the closest wall I could find, even though it was one of those with the purple atop it. A shimmer caught my eye, and I threw myself back and to the ground, skidding to a stop inches from what I now saw was some sort of energy wall. For all I knew, running into it could have ended me.

  My heart pounded, but I looked to my right and found hope in the form of a small dip in the ground. Rolling over, I lay still for a moment and weighed my options.

  From here I could lift my head up and see what looked like a village not far off, but far enough that getting there would be risky. Other than that, it was just the mountains way off in the distance or the fortress with the wall around it.

  The sound of dripping water caught my attention. Where was that coming from? A glance back showed that my hunters were on the move, but none were coming directly this way yet. I pushed myself up to my hands and knees and crawled away from them, toward the sound.

  To my surprise and relief, I found an opening in the ground! I never would have noticed had I been standing, but low to the ground among the stones, I could see a dark gash with a hint of light beyond.

  It might be a trap, but I didn’t have any better options, so I rolled down and then crawled forward.

  I was about to go in when I heard something back the way I’d come. Inching my head up, I took a peek outside and was surprised to see the purple energy wall spreading not twenty feet from my position, a man emerging with another of those women—except instead of full armor, she wore brown leathers with pauldrons and a helmet with fox ears. She had fiery red hair flowing out from beneath her helmet.

  “Reopen the portal!” one of them shouted, and then slammed his fist into her stomach. The one on the floor held up a hand and coughed, but shook her head, earning herself a kick to the side.

  If she had been the one to open the portal, she was of utmost importance to me. She would be my only hope of getting home. I considered my hiding place below and then looked back to the woman and frowned. I couldn’t abandon my only shot at getting out of here.

  “Destiny, I’m going to give you one last chance,” the guy said. “Reopen it. Now.”

  “I fucking told you, I can’t!” the woman replied.

  Another woman approached, each footstep echoing with the weight of her armor. This one was decked out in thick armor with large shoulder shields, glowing lines of red, and a matching gray helmet with fox ears and red, glowing eyes.

  “You will find a way,” the large warrior said.

  “It has a cooldown, okay?” Destiny went to one knee, hands out. “What can I do?”

  The large one grunted and turned to her companion. “Take her to the dungeon and let’s see what we can do about this,” the fully decked-out warrior said. “Maybe we retake the power and reassign it, if she can’t figure out how to override this so-called cooldown.”

  Shit—they were going to open the portal again whenever this lady’s cooldown period was over, or somehow transfer the power to someone who could. That would not be good for my family. Then again, it might mean I could be saved. But what if I could get to this woman first and somehow get her to open the portal for me to go home instead?

  That was my plan then. Get inside and figure out a way to capture this one and force her to send me home.

  CHAPTER 14: SNAPDRAGON

  Earth

  Everything was so fucked up. All the heroes were in a tizzy over Kai’s disappearance, but for all I knew, this was part of some big ploy of his to ensure he became the one to fulfill the prophecy. Well, FUCK THAT!

  Sigh. I didn’t even know why the idea of him being the savior bothered me so much. Maybe it was because my entire life I hadn’t felt like enough, what with Glaze out there leading the charge on so many of our missions. Or maybe it was simply because I was sick of the grind and ready for a win. Whatever the reason, I was getting pissed.

  So while all the other supers were running around like chickens with their peckers cut off, I opted for a good ol’ booty call. A quick call to my Earther ex, and then it was on. I arrived at her house and wasted no time. Our clothes were gone in three seconds, she pulling me to the bed.

  Staring down at my ex as she swirled her tongue across my clit didn’t exactly make all those negative thoughts go away, but it certainly helped. Running my fingers through her wavy, blonde-streaked brown hair, I leaned back and thrust my hips up, letting her know she could increase the intensity. Not that she could, that I needed her to. And to my relief, she did, hands squeezing my ass as she lapped up my wet pussy. One of her fingers made its way into me, then a second, and soon my clit was tingling and surging with warm pulses, my abs clenching up and my toes curling.

  Bzzz. Bzzz.

  “Don’t stop,” I moaned, ignoring the buzzing that came from my damned comms unit, which was bunched up with my clothes in the corner.

  Laila thrust harder—a bit too hard, maybe because she was annoyed at the buzzing?—and then leaned back for a breath.

  “Do you need to take it?” she asked.

  Fuck, I was so close! I leaned forward and grabbed her head, pulling her back down and wrapping my legs around her. She started off hesitantly, but when I reached down and pinched one of her nipples, she started back at it with passion. My body clenched up again, my breathing heavy, a moan about to escape my lips, and then—

  Bzzz. Bzzz. Bzzz…

  “DAMMIT, WHAT?!” I shouted, grabbing my clothes and activating comms, much to the surprise of my ex. “WHO IS THIS AND WHAT DO YOU WANT?”

  I stared at Laila as she leaned back, wiping her bottom lip and glaring at me.

  “It’s me,” Glaze said.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me. You asshole, you—”

  “You’re going to want to open the door and let me in.” He let that idea hang for a silent moment, during which I considered hanging up, until he added, “I have the answer. The way for us to fulfill the prophecy.”

  “The…” He had said maybe the one thing that ’didn’t make me want to slap the shit out of him. Without another thought, I was up and covering the distance to the door in three quick hops, not bothering to dress. There he stood, quickly averting his eyes and stepping past me.

  “What the…?” Laila started, but then saw it was Glaze and simply lay back, smiling and spreading her legs. “Oh, I see what this is. Better together than separate, eh?”

  “Not what’s happening,” I said. I looked at Glaze. “Please tell me you did not sleep with my ex.”

  Glaze grinned with a shrug. “It was after you two broke up… I think.”

  I considered punching him in the throat, but let it go. I’d always known Laila was the type to sleep around, so it wasn’t much of a surprise. Hey, that’s why I kept her around, after all.

  “This is some bullshit,” Laila said, grabbing her panties and turning to put them back on. “Snapdragon, next time you call me, you’re taking care of me first.”

  “Just… go wait in the other room. Yeah?” I sighed, realizing I was about to get blue ovaries, if that was a thing, and considered telling my brother to wait in the other room instead. But no, I had to hear what he had to say. That didn’t mean I wasn’t considering using my powers to fuck with him — it wouldn’t have been the first time. I had two powers, the first a ping of sorts that allowed me to scan for superpowers nearby, the second allowing me to sort of rebound powers of one super into another, merging both their powers in chaotic and unexpected ways. It could be fun, but could also be quite damaging. For now, I’d let it go.

  Folding my arms, I turned back to him. “So, go on?”

  “Put on some clothes first,” he said, then grabbed my towel from the couch and tossed it at me. “Or at least cover up.”

  I wrapped the towel around my chest so that it fell down just below my hips, then frowned at the sight of a clothed Laila exiting through the front door.

  “You cost me a good time,” I muttered after the door closed behind her. “This had damn sure better be worth it.”

  Glaze sighed, went over to the table where I had a half-eaten bowl of strawberries and whipped cream, and helped himself. Damnit, he was toying with me now. I glanced around, grabbed a shoe, and threw it at him.

  In a flash, he spun and caught it, all while tossing a strawberry up perfectly so that, a second later, it landed in his mouth. Of course, it was a third arm that had caught the shoe, one that he dismissed so that the shoe fell with a thud.

  “Tsk tsk, no patience.” He leaned against the table, eyeing me. “Fine, fine. Here it is — I heard through my mom that there’s an item the enemy is after called the Cosmic Connector. It could be the key to conquering the universe.”

  “So if we intercepted this ‘enemy’ and got it before him—”

  “Or took it from him after he gets it, whichever way’s easier…”

  “Right, either way. If we could do that, we could use it against them and the Supreme Leader, finishing this battle once and for all.” I grinned and gave him a nod of respect. “Meaning, we fulfill the prophecy.”

  “Exactly.”

  “Would we stand a chance? Based on your current supply of power-infused goodies, I mean?” He had been able to infuse some items with powers during our travels, and we might be able to use them to our advantage.

  “I have a few tricks up my sleeve,” he replied. “A glove with my mom’s acid skills, for one. A baton with electricity from Gale, and several items infused with powers from supervillains and even Nihilists. They should last long enough for us to kick some ass while giving me a chance to infuse them with new abilities, provided we go up against supers with good enough skills.”

  Not bad. It would have been better to have Threed’s actual acid skills there, but this would have to do. We could actually make this happen. Of course, we would need help, but the plan was starting to come together in my mind.

  “What are we waiting for?” I said with a wide grin. “Let’s do it.”

  “Perfect. Now get dressed and do what you gotta do while I take a shit. It’s time to get this show on the road.”

  I groaned at his crassness, but strolled off to my room to find a change of clothes. A quick visit to my friend Mr. Vibrator finished off the job Laila was supposed to stick around and help me with, and then I got ready.

  CHAPTER 13: BREAKER

  Earth, Shadow Runner’s House

  Shadow Runner had been a formidable foe, but ever since we defeated her she had talked about helping us fight the enemy many referred to as the Supreme Leader. Over the years, she had clearly become something quite… different.

  “She lives here?” I asked, taking in the tall, vine-covered walls enclosing the outer courtyard. It was much showier than I would have expected from the Shadow Runner.

  “It’d appear so,” Twitch said, holding up a floating screen in front of her with all of the details.

  I did my own scan, and in addition to a handful of normal humans within, one superpowered being showed up on the screen that only I could see. It said that her name was Shadow Runner, AKA Leticia.

  “Leticia?” I said under my breath, wondering when that change had come about. As far as I knew, that had never been her name before.

  “Yeah, she had it officially changed so as to avoid raising suspicion,” Shimmer said.

  “How do you know this?”

  Shimmer’s silvery-white eyes stared into mine for a bit before she shrugged. “A girl can’t have friends?”

  “Maybe not the type that used to be supervillains or working for evil warlords intent on taking over the universe.”

  “Exactly the reason she needed a friend—and someone to help guide her.”

  I looked to Twitch for help here, but she simply brushed a strand of green hair behind her ear and gave me a ‘get over it’ look before saying, “Let’s stop wasting time asking questions so we can rescue your son.”

  Shit, she was right. I turned to look for a way in and was about to climb the wall when a creaking sounded to our right.

  “Excuse me, can I help you?” a voice asked, and we turned to see a woman emerging through a gate to our right. It had been invisible beneath the vines. This woman was in her mid-fifties with silver hair chopped in a short bob. She wore thick purple glasses.

  “Who are you?” I asked.

  The woman stood straight and scowled, looking offended. “I run this house.”

  “Shit, the Shadow Runner has servants now…” Twitch muttered at my side.

  “I’ve been asked to remind all guests to refer to her by her new name, which is Leticia. And…” She put a finger to her temple, then nodded. “I’ve been instructed to allow you entry. If you would follow me.”

  We all shared curious looks as we followed, though Shimmer simply smirked as if she knew something we didn’t. Once we entered, I understood why—the inside of the house was completely dark, with windows covered and not a single light. I used my screens to navigate, and Charm started emitting a glow a second later. I soon found myself led into a room that looked to be a library. Sure enough, from one of those old-school print books that one hardly saw in real life anymore, a pair of dark eyes peeked up.

  She lowered the book and then held up a hand. Purple energy floated out of it and congealed into a ball of light next to her. It grew until she was just visible. Her appearance hadn’t changed one bit since we had last seen her, although lines that looked to be cracks showed under her glowing eyes. She wore a hood over her dark hair, and her lips looked slightly too large for her otherwise petite face.

  “To what do I owe this honor?” she said, eyes roaming over each of us. When they landed on Shimmer, she set aside her book and ran over to give her a hug with a burst of energy that was completely unexpected from the Shadow Runner.

  “I brought the whole team this time,” Shimmer said once they had separated, and she kept a hand on Leticia’s arm as she said, “But I have to warn you… it’s business.”

  “Oh?”

  “Uh, yes,” I said, stepping forward. “Leticia… We need your help.”

  “Is this how it is here on your planet?” Leticia replied. “No visits, no birthday cards, and then you show up one day asking for a favor?”

  I felt especially bad about her situation, because it had been me who had thought it a good idea to give her space.

  “I’m sorry,” I finally said. “You were just so… distant.”

  “Trying to keep the darkness at bay,” she countered.

  “Some of us know how that is more than others,” Muerta said, and Laurel gave her a pat on the back.

  “That’s not fair,” I shot back. “I’ve had my share of nearly losing my mind and—”

  “Breaker, not cool,” Muerta said, folding her arms across her chest and shaking her head. “Have a little compassion.”

  “But I—”

  “We were attacked,” Andromida cut in, seeing that I was floundering. “By someone called Ragnor. Do you know that name?”

  The purple light flared and Leticia’s eyes went wide at the name.

  “Who did he take?” she asked.

  “How…?”

  “Ragnor is a formidable foe, but predictable. He will have taken someone with the goal of using your team member’s abilities and thoughts against you all. Dangerous is an understatement, and that danger is enhanced depending on the power of the one who he took. So… how bad is it?”

  I pursed my lips at that, but Twitch answered.

  “In terms of power, probably not a problem. But they took Kai, son of Breaker and Andromida.”

  “And he has no powers,” Charm added. “Like none. Zip, zero, zil—”

  “She gets the idea,” I cut in.

  Leticia gestured to the purple ball of light. “My apologies for the darkness, but I find it comforting. It reminds me of home. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t wish to return to that place, or at least not until we’ve set it free from the tyrannical rulership that plagues it. If they took your son, a boy without powers, I have to assume Ragnor has a plan, and you aren’t going to like it.”

  “Yes, yes—villain with a plan. We get that.” I gestured to Andromida. “Thing is, she can usually open portals, but in this case can’t. Is there something you can do? An explanation you can provide?”

  “Hold on, let me consider this…” Leticia turned to her purple light, then ran a hand over it before holding both hands under it and breathing in. The light flickered like a candle, then she breathed back out and turned it solid. When she turned to me again, she was smiling. “I’ve got it.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Ragnor was always searching for a powerful cosmic item, one with the power to bring minds together in a way that allows him to control others even from a distance. Trust me, we do not want him to find this ‘Cosmic Connector.’ If he did, the results would be disastrous.”

  “Wait…” Twitch pursed her lips, considering this. “But you were under their control… How’s this different?”

  “This would be across galaxies, even dimensions. Say for the point of argument there’s another Breaker out there—and I’m not saying there is, but if—would you want this Ragnor guy finding that other version of you and controlling his mind to have you two fight each other to the death?”

  “Ummm, wouldn’t he just take over my mind instead?”

  “Nah, you’re protected—you’ve got me. I know for a fact there’s only one me.” She considered, then nodded. “If he took Kai, I imagine it has something to do with finding the Cosmic Connector.”

  “But why Kai?”

  “My guess is he sees something in the kid you don’t, or even knows something about him that you, for whatever reason, aren’t aware of.”

  “We’ve scanned him more than once in the past,” Twitch said. “There’s no hint of a power there.”

  “I don’t know what to tell you, except that Ragnor is no fool.” She stood and whipped off her shirt. Perky breasts fell out. Next she went for her pants. I quickly turned away in an attempt to be a gentleman.