Luxy positioned herself in the cable-cart as Mid Taro worked swiftly to secure the crates. The cargo rattled faintly as it slid into pce, the sounds of metal grating against metal merging with the wind and distant city hat permeated the background. The cart, now full, groaned softly uhe weight of the crates, but the Zippers had built it sturdy—luxury by slum standards.

  With o check of her harness and a sharp whistle, Luxy gave the signal, and Mica disehe brake on the pulley system. The cart lurched forward, and within seds, Luxy was off, shooting down the lih practiced ease. Her blonde hair streamed behind her, caught in the wind as she accelerated away from the ptform, disappeariwee shadows of the neighb buildings.

  Mica kept a hand on the zip-line, monit the vibrations to ensure everythi smoothly. Taro stared at his ser, fog os, likely representing the cart's movement.

  "You good?" Fii asked, walking to stand beside Taro, ing her o g the small device he held.

  "She's good." He gnced sideways at her. "Want to see?"

  "Yeah. Are you sure?" Fii muttered. The st time she touched it, she got scolded by Mid was told to ouch it again.

  "Just this once."

  Taking the device gently from his grip, her eyes swept over the s. It dispyed a map of the immediate area, each of the Zippers marked by distinct glowing is: Luxy's yellow dot moved swiftly along the thick red line, signifying the zip-line's path.

  Their ptforms were marked in green, while other Zippers' positions dotted the grid, indig the vibrawork of lines and movement pulsating through the slums. No matter how often she saw it, the visual plexity and energy of The Wires were stunning.

  She wondered eople iropolis would think, seeing how much life, hustle, and purpose existed in the slums. Many seemed to believe it was all dead here—a wastend that shouldn't be. H they were, how much life there was. How much drive.

  "How does it work?" She tapped the s. "Trag."

  "Dunno. Tiny pucks."

  "But you don't even know why? Or how?" she pried. "Just that it works?"

  Taro let out an exaggerated sigh. "This stuff is all used and refurbished. Pucks use proximity sensors and basic location trag, which you see on the device's grid map. See where everyone is. Some other things too, I think, but not much else. Range isn't as good as it used to be—gets unreliable when lines overp too much—but it gets the job done."

  "That's cool."

  "Yeah, most of the equipment isn't new. Just... patched up. Outdated, even. We're lucky iggyba the GPS grid the Metropolis set up. Tech over there is something else entirely."

  She watched the yellow dot zip past another node on the s before handing the device back. "Thanks."

  "No problem, Supes." He responded without breaking his tration, the niame sounding less mog than usual.

  "Hey, wanna tag along with me on the run?" Miterrupted, gng up from a crate he repping. His brown eyes sparkled with what she reized as pyful challenge—a familiar glint of mischief that ofte he nning something. "Or is our illustrious hero too high and mighty to hitch a ride now?"

  Fii ughed, shrugging her shoulders nontly. She lifted a foot and wiggled it, showing off her trusty rollerbdes. "You sure you handle me?"

  "Just strap yourself to a cable cart and hold tight," he responded, his grin spreading wider. "Not rocket sce."

  "Dude, I fly. I don't need a haro keep me steady."

  He rolled his eyes. "Fair enough, Supes, fair enough. I just figured it'd be to have to make the trip alone. But hey, if you're too good for a regur Zippers' ride..."

  "Okay, okay." Fii stepped closer, a spiratorial lean to her posture. "Let me in on the fun. But on one ditiota beat Luxy to the pickup. Think you're up for it, wire-boy?"

  Mica's smile stretched almost from ear to ear, his hand reag back to cup the back of his neck. "Wire-boy, eh? Cute. All right, challenge accepted. Hop in!"

  Wasting no time, Fii found a spot in the cart, sitting cross-legged in front of the stack of crates while Mica took the helm. With a series of practiced motions, he activated the pulley system and released the brake. Gravity took over, their cart ung smoothly onto the zip-line.

  Immediately, the wind whipped at them, threatening to send Fii's hood flying if it weren't for her instinctive gravitational terbahat kept everything firmly in pce. Beside her, Mica shifted his weight, maneuvering the cart expertly along the wire's course, navigating the winding journey across the slum's aerial thhfares.

  Taro's voice crackled through the small walkie-talkie in Mica's hand. "Luxy's about 300 meters ahead of you. Ptform Four."

  "Roger that," Mica responded, clig the button on the device to speak. "We're closing in."

  "Not quiough," a different voice chirped in—Luxy. "Better catch up if you want that win. Maybe our Superhero give you a push!"

  "Should I?" Fii asked.

  "Hell no, these lines have speed limits. It's all about finesse."

  With a yank of the winch trol, their cable cart leaned heavily to one side, arg precariously close to a neighb wire. Mica deftly maniputed the tension and angle, and suddenly, they were sliding along the sed wire, now veering down a sharp dest.

  "You're crazy!" she yelled over the whooshing wind, clutg the sides of the cart in surprise, heart hammering in her chest. Despite her abilities, there was always something thrilling about physical stunts like this—they just felt more real, more visceral.

  The Zippers' ughter filtered back to her through the walkie-talkie's speaker, followed by Mica's breathless chuckle. "That's one word for it!"

  Mica tio navigate them through a series of eborate maneuvers, seemingly heedless of the whizzing cables and looming structures. In trast, Fii g to the cart, feeling the air buffet her cheeks and hair as they carved their way through the night.

  She was definitely reevaluating her assessment of the Zippers' daily routines.

  An abrupt shift in dire interrupted her thoughts as the cart lurched under her. Leaning into the turn, she caught a brief glimpse of Luxy's blonde ponytail fluttering in the wind before she disappeared around a er ahead of them.

  "You'll never make up the distance doing that!" Luxy taunted, her voice carrying on the breeze before crag through the walkie-talkie, a teasing edge to her words.

  "Let's get her!" Fii urged Mi.

  Eyes focused on the lines, Mica smirked, then made a few adjustments. "Hang tight, Fii! I've got a shortcut!" With that warning, he swung them abruptly from their current lio a different wire with a small jolt, an ued divergehat sent them skimming dangerously close to the side of a building.

  "Woo-hoo!" Fii couldn't help but let out a whoop of exhiration. "Go, go, go!"

  Their shortcut paid off; they were now parallel with Luxy. Her face came into view, dispying a mix of amusement and feigned indignation. "Using a shortcut? Tsk, tsk. Cheating, are we?"

  "Just keeping it iing for our VIP here!" Mica replied, jabbing a thumb in Fii's dire while his other hand worked the trols.

  "Of course, 'cos the princess needs special treatment."

  Fii rolled her eyes, but before she could answer, a strange sound pricked her ears. A low, droning hum, almost like a distant i swarm, growing louder by the sed.

  "What is that?" she muttered, gng up.

  The sound intensified, and suddenly a figure shot into view from a nearby zipline—dark clothes, a gleami, moving fast.

  Another Zipper? But this one seemed... different.

  He was barreled toward Luxy's cart at breakneck speed, his form hunched loved hands gripping the pulley in a death-like hold.

  His arrival triggered a shift in both Luxy and Mica. Their ughter died, and they exged nervous gnces across the chasm between their carts.

  "Hey, who the hell is that?" Mica growled into the walkie-talkie. "That's not one of ours."

  Luxy shook her head. Her voice came through crackly and tense. "I don't reize them, either."

  The rogue Zipper kept pace with Luxy's cart, staying unfortably close—too close.

  "The fuck are you?!" Mica shouted, his voice straining over the howl of the wind. But the rider, a dark helmet, didn't respond.

  "I'll hahis." Without hesitation, Fii levitated up and out of the cable-cart, bringing herself just behind their new arrival. But at their current speed, it was difficult to stabilize her trajectory.

  Drawing deep on her well of power, she focused her will on the figure ahead. His outfit looked tactical, sleek, and unfamiliar. It certainly wasn't any of the usual Zipper attire.

  It didn't matter though. She just had to shift the person's vector of gravity toward her to slow him down and drag him closer to where she could grab him.

  But just as she extended her power towards him, the buzzing noise she heard earlier intensified, and a fsh of light caught her attention. A glint of metal—something small and fast, flying towards her.

  A drone. No, several drones.

  They darted around her, each moviically, like flies trying to outmaneuver a swatter.

  What were they trying to do?

  Suddenly, electric arcs fred between the drones, casting jagged tendrils of lightning across the air, electrifying the space around her.

  The jolt seized Fii's body, searing her flesh and f the air from her lungs. Her back arched against her will, fingers g at nothingness.

  They tazed her!

  Time seemed to slow—the world around her dimming, her focus shrinking to the pulsating pain that coursed through her, her trol faltering.

  She fell.

  Her dest was steep, but instinct took over. Drawing on every ounce of strength left in her, Fii fought the gravitational pull. She skewed its dire, curving it, gentling it, anything to avoid a fatal impact.

  Even so, the ground's embrace was hard and merciless. She crashed against the rooftop, her momentum sending her rolling. Her body skidded on the asphalt, tumbling and rolling untrolbly before ing to a bone-jarring halt.

  Dazed and shivering, Fii y there, her breath ragged, her nerves on fire, as the night sky above shifted in and out of focus.

  She had been shocked a few of times before, but never so violently, his bad. She tried to move, but her muscles refused, still twitg from the aftershocks of the volts that had ravaged through her.

  Fighting through the haze, Fii struggled to refocus.

  Mid Luxy... Were they okay? Who was the attacker?

  ***

  When Fii opened her eyes again, Mid Luxy's faces were h over her, eyes wide and scared.

  Their lips moved, but all Fii could hear was a dull, statioise buzzing in her ears. Then, slowly, the sound of her surroundings began to seep back.

  "—be fine. , give her a minute." Luxy's voice came through, low and urgent.

  "Take it easy." Mica's tone was softer than she'd ever heard it, but his eyes couldn't hide his .

  She swallowed thickly, her mouth feeling like cotton.

  "That was... a rough fall. You okay?" Luxy's voice was full of worry as her gaze wandered over her body, searg for injuries. "Anything broken?"

  Grunting slightly, Fii tried to rise. She pushed up to her elbows, the world shifting and rollih her. Vertigo. Just perfect.

  "Yeah..." The word came out like gravel ihroat. "Just a little... cooked."

  "Cooked?" Mica looked fused.

  "You know, those drohat hit me. It felt like I was being boiled alive or something. They tazed me. My whole body's just... frayed."

  Her attempt at a casual chuckle sounded more like a dry rasp.

  Luxy frowned. "Just try to take it easy. Shock do some wild stuff to your body, even with your... you-know-what."

  "Sure thing, Mom." Fii couldn't help but roll her eyes, even as she wi the simple act.

  With a helping hand from each of them, they lifted her to her feet. Oanding, Fii wobbled a bit, finding her bance. Slowly, very slowly, feeling began to return to her extremities. As the pins and needles receded, she flexed her fingers and rolled her ankles cautiously. Everything seemed to be in w order; she'd t that as a win.

  "Gd you guys are okay though," she muttered, gng between the siblings. "But what was that? Who was that on the zipline?"

  "I don't know," Luxy replied, shaking her head. "The one who went after me was built like a guy. After he got to my cart, he shoved me out of the way and off the liole the ehing. Another o to Mica too and did the same thing. Whoever those guys were, they had high-grade tech."

  "We've lost cargo before," Mica chimed in, his voice carrying a slightly more optimistiote, "it's not great, but it happens. The differehis time was that these guys were coordinated and knew our moves. This wasn't some random hit-and-grab."

  "So, a targeted attack. But why?" Fii wondered.

  Shrugging, Mica replied, "Beats me. The cargo they stole were all older model puters, CPUs, and hard drives. Older tech. Still valuable, but ly the jewels of hauls."

  "The real kicker though..." Luxy paused, a brow raised, "if they were part of a gang, they didn't show any colors."

  "I mean, some gangs keep it pretty discreet, right? Just to avoid unwatention," Fii ented.

  "True enough, but zipping across the Wires? They must've had some serious skills to pull that off. Even without the hijag and ambush. I doubt a typical goon would risk a drop from the height we're talking about," Luxy said.

  "Agreed," Mica chimed in. "To even be a Zipper, you've gotta know the ropes, and those weren't your average punks on the lines."

  "Not to mention that weird trick they pulled with the drohose things looked —definitely not your standard market variety," Luxy added. "I swear I saw them spark, just before... you fell."

  Fii couldn't help but wi the thought of her tumble. Falling wasn't a problem. Landing was. And while she had teically survived, it hadn't been a very graceful nding.

  "What about the rest of the shipment back with Taro?" she asked.

  "Should still be there, probably waiting on us. He'll move 'em to the new spot, but he 't do much beyond that," Miswered, brushing his hands against his jacket and knog loose dust and gravel from the fabric.

  "Let's get back then," Fii said, regaining her bance. "We gotta make sure he's okay."

  ***

  On their return to the ptform, they found Taro exactly where they had left him, albeit now pag nervously around the ptform. At the sight of them, his shoulders slumped in visible relief.

  "What the hell happened?" Taro's gaze swept over their disheveled appearances, finally settling on Luxy with a soft, almost protective look. "I've been trying to reach you both—why didn't you pick up?"

  "We, uh..." Luxy's brow furrowed. "Something came up."

  "She means to say we were ambushed," Mica crified, rolling his shoulders to work out a kink. "Some zippers—a few of them—came out of nowhere and flipped our carts."

  Taro's eyes widened in surprise. "You're kidding."

  Mica's expression was somber. "Wish I was. Fii was nearly zapped to a crisp. Probably fried her brain good."

  Fii reached out, giving him a gentle pun the arm. "I'm fine, don't listen to him. But they had these drohey shocked me mid-air. Couldn't really recover from it. Was a hard fall." She turo look at Taro. "Gotta thank Luxy and Mica for ing to my rescue, though."

  "Yeah." Mica gave a half-hearted snort, looking away. "Imagine being a Super who needs resg."

  "Thanks," Fii said. "Really, though, I appreciate it."

  A silence desded on the group for a brief moment before Taro cleared his throat and g the remaining cargo. "Well, whoever they were. They made off with a tle haul. I'll rey the report to the others. Should waro watch their backs."

  "What about the cargo? We're still responsible fetting it back," Luxy murmured, casting an uain look at the remaining boxes.

  "Nah, not our fault. The report I'll send should excuse us from any blowback," Taro assured them. "For now, let's stick to business as usual. Get the rest back to the warehouse, unload, a's call it a night. There'll be time to figure out this mess ter."

  Fii nodded. "I'll still stick around, just in case they decide to show their faces again."

  It stung that those guys got away and she hadn't been able to stop them. It would have been so easy to swoop in and thwart their attempt, if not for those damn drohey were clearly expeg her. But the ambush didn't seem malicious either. No real hostility, no casualties.

  That still didn't excuse theft, though. Fii ched her fist, watg Luxy prep for her run.

  Finding out who those guys were would be oo-do list. That was for sure.

  For that, she o sult a friend, and thankfully, she had just the person in mind.