Quinn's tools clicked and ked in the cold night air as he tinkered away on a piealfuning equipment. It was a routine job, one he'd done dozens of times before. But ohing he had never really gotteo while w on the zip lines was the height.

  Perched on the side of a skyscraper several hundred meters off the ground, his feet dangled precariously off the ledge. It was a thrilliiohat always left him on the verge of exhiration and terror simultaneously.

  Slumshines called this work of zip lihat crisscrossed through the major hubs of the slums "The Wires". They were installed long ago as part of an old system for moving goods from pce to pce effitly. Zippers were freence aerialists who patrolled the wires and hauled people oods using cargo-slings and winches. Occasionally a malfuning line required repair.

  That's when Quinn came in. He enjoyed his work—it had the desired effeaking him fet all his troubles for a bit. And being up high like this teo clear his head.

  He had his climbing harness attached to the zip line cable nearby, and a rope around his waist for added security. But the wind whipped against his body as he worked, sending chills down his spine. So he moved carefully ahodically, double-cheg every nut and bolt before proceeding to the .

  't be too careful.

  Besides, the longer he took, the more time he could spend gazing at the beautiful view.

  The metropolis twinkled in the distance beyond The Wall. The massive barrier separating the slums from the metropolis rose from the ground like a dark monolith, silhouetted against the vibrant cityscape behind. And above, stars bzed in the deep indigo sky.

  Although most of the slums were shrouded in darkness, the Neon Night Market and a few other pces still shone brightly eveo the night. Even if their glow couldn't illumihe gloom beyond the main thhfares, these clusters of light provided fort for the residents living nearby.

  Beyond the outskirts of the slums, the Outnds stretched out for kilometers in all dires. Its barren surface blended seamlessly into the horizon, fading into bothingness.

  Quinn often wished he could explore the Outnds someday. Unfortunately, it was simply too dangerous for him to vehat far out on his own or in small groups. Even the gangs who cimed territory he outskirts often stuck close to the edges for safety's sake. Only rge gangs with formidable fireporote could ever dream of setting up outposts deep inds. The dangers and threats were too numerous and widespread for anything smaller.

  Bandits. Outws. And worse—the anomalies.

  Everyone in the slums learned from a young age not to mess around out there. Nothing good ever came out of expl beyond the boundary of the slums.

  Refugees who had braved the perilous jourhrough the wastes always brought harrowing tales of monsters and mutant abominations prowling the earth—creatures far more terrifying than anything found within the cramped fines of the slums. They described nightmares born of madness—monstrosities capable of sughteriire ptoons of well-armed soldiers with ease.

  Even a powerful Super would struggle out there. Their abilities had their limits after all.

  The safest way to travel to other cities was by air. Taking the old highways and roads was just asking to die horribly. Only heavily-armed voys from the metropolis would make such long journeys on nd. Everyone else flew directly above the danger zone.

  A gust of wind whistled through his hair and snapped him back to reality. Quinn realized he'd been spag out while staring wistfully at the horizon. Shaking his head ruefully, he tinued fixing the malfuning pahe sooner he finished his repairs, the sooner he could get ba the ground safely.

  "You're messing it up, Quinn," Luxy chided, her voice a pyful tilt. She was a streak of cainst the drab palette of crete aal surrounding her. She stood fidently on a parallel cable holding her rigging suspended between two buildings. Her limbs dangled freely beh her. Her pale blonde hair shone uhe neon lights refleg from the gss buildings nearby. The e jumpsuit she wore almost glowed with color. And the wind pushed against her lithe form.

  Luxy, with her quick smiles and quicker hands, was the undisputed queen of The Wires, the girl with nerves of steel. She and the Zippers.

  Quinn shot her a grin, not looking up from his work. "And you’re distrag me, which is why it’s messed up."

  A chorus of ughter erupted from the small group gathered around. They were an odd assortment of characters, bound by their shared domicile in the heights and their membership in the Zippers. Among them was Mica, whose knack for sging tech made him a valuable ally; Taro, whose silent presence was as f as it was mysterious; and of course, Luxy, whose antics kept them all ooes.

  "Yeah, yeah," Luxy ceded cheerfully, "but seriously though...what's taking so long? Just get on with it."

  "Almost there," Quinn insisted, reag over with a tool to tighten a loose bolt. "Gotta make sure everything's nid sturdy before sending people and packages whizzing along."

  "Wow," Mica spoke up suddenly, eyes widening in surprise. "This must be the first time anyone's seen Quinn turn doretty girl."

  Taro grunted and muttered something indistinct.

  "Sorry?" Mica cocked his head questioningly.

  Taro gave an annoyed huff. "Heard from the echoes in the alley that Quinn's got a special dy friend he's been hanging around with." He shrugged nonittally a back to work on the lines he was w on.

  Mica arched a brow, his expression incredulous. "For real? Quinn?" He looked Quinn up and dowically. "Not bad."

  Luxy ughed, leaning forward eagerly. "Do tell."

  "Do not," Quinn protested irritably.

  "Oh, please do," Luxy pressed with a mischievous smile.

  "Yeah!" Mica piped up, nudging him. "I've always wao know if you've ever had any luck with the dies."

  These guys...Quinn shook his head fondly. Always the s.

  "Nothing to say," he answered casually. "We're friends."

  "Riiight..." Luxy said dryly, obviously skeptical.

  "Don't push," Quinn warned seriously.

  Luxy rolled her eyes and put up her hands in mock surrender. "Whatever you say, Quinn. I mean...it's not like anyone here has beeing about you fes or anything."

  Miickered, "Like I'd be ied in Quinn. There's nothing worth speg about there."

  "Thanks," Quinn deadpanned.

  Their banter was cut short by a distant rumble, a sound unfamiliar and out of pce. Quinn’s gaze soward the dark horizon, where dust clouds began to rise iskirts of the slums. He squirying to make out the shapes moving at the base of the billowing dust.

  "What’s that?" Luxy asked, her usual bravado repced by a thread of . She followed his gaze, her pyful demeanor fading.

  The others turo face the same dire.

  "Looks like a caravan," Taro remarked as his keen eyes peered through the night.

  "Headed here?" Luxy questioned worriedly. "Now?"

  Quinn wasn’t vinced. He wiped his hands on his jumpsuit, a habit when he was deep in thought. He had seen many caravans over the years since arriving in the slums. Almost all of them arrived from the opposite dire. And none had ever traveled this te before. Something didn’t feel right. "Don't know."

  Luxy, ever the daredevil, swung herself onto a nearby zip line. “I’ll take a look,” she announced.

  Quinn frowned in disapproval. Luxy teo act first and ask questions ter. But his warnings died on his lips.

  With a whoop, she pushed off her ptform and became a streak of light zippiween the buildings.

  "Luxy, wait!" Quinn shouted after her. "Get back here!"

  Too te. Her bright blond hair faded into the darkness ahead.

  Quinn cursed under his breath.

  "Let's go after her." He set aside his tools and harnessed himself to the cable he was w on.

  "Dumbass," Mica muttered. But despite his words, the guy checked his own gear and leaped from his own perch without a moment's hesitation.

  Taro watched both men desd before joining them.

  Soon, three figures streaked through the skyline as they followed after their rade. Quinn tried to stay focused on his trajectory but his thoughts kept wandering back to the caravan. What kind of caravan would e all the way to the slums this te?

  Perhaps a desperate band of survivors fleeing danger. But what caused the rumble earlier? No matter what, something didn't quite add up.

  They eventually reached the rooftop where Luxy stopped and crouched low on a er overlooking the street below. Taro and Mica joined her on opposite ends. Quinn touched down st and gnced over the edge. The caravan came into view below.

  Far off, at the very edge of his vision, he saw them—figures moving in a calcuted, deliberate maheir movements too synized for the usual ruffians in the slums or bands ees. Even from this distance, Quinn could see the glint of metal and the sleek lines of vehicles that had no p the slums' cluttered ndscape.

  "Hey, Lux," Quinn murmured, nodding toward the advang figures. "You see that?"

  Luxy uncsped her prized night vision binocurs from her belt ahem to her eyes. After a beat, she shrank back, eyes wide and a hand pressed over her mouth. "That's an APC! Military!" she gasped, passing binocurs to Mica. "Holy shit..."

  Mica quickly sed the view through the lenses and stiffened. "I don't see any logos ohough. Whoever they are, they're not from the usual private security or army units."

  "Lemme see." Quinn grabbed the binocurs and raised them to his eyes. It only took him a split sed to spot the differeween these vehicles and the military's armada. As Mica had pointed out, no military logos decorated these APCs or Humvees. They could have been stolen or salvaged. Either way, something seemed off about these strangers. "They're not legitimate, at least."

  Taro finally spoke, his voice low. "Trouble always finds its way here, but this feels bigger."

  "We should get back," Luxy said, her usual nonce repced with unease.

  Taro didn't o be told twice. He leapt from the building and coasted away into the night.

  "I'll try a in touch with The Big Four. At least the Iron Legion is gonna wanna know about this!" Luxy shouted urgently before darting to the opposite edge of the building and sailing to her escape route.

  Mica gave Quinn an uneasy gnce. "Let's not stick around, Quinn," he said urgently. Then he dove from his perd arced into the sky.

  Quinn li the edge for a moment. His instincts told him to keep watch a little longer. Maybe these weren't such a big deal. Maybe Luxy was overreag.

  He li his vantage point to observe the vehicles approag closer and closer. They traveled slowly and steadily through the outskirts and gradually drew closer.

  Another rumble drew his attention to a se of dipidated buildings where he knew a gang had cimed as their territory.

  Cracks of gunfire and shouts broke the night's stillness. Several gangsters ran into view from alleys and doors, shooting and yelling at an APC that had driven down the narrow street. Rounds ked off the APC's hull harmlessly as the vehicle barreled through. Several men jumped onto the roof and tried to kid punch at the reinforced gss but the hardened plexi didn't yield.

  From the back of the APC emerged figures is and fk jackets armed with rifles. They aimed and fired methodically. Three of the attackers fell away instantly, crimson stains blooming across their shirts. Two more charged at the soldiers but the automatifire forced them to dive away behind cover.

  The voy rolled on steadily. Gu the night from dozens of gun battles throughout the area. Most seemed to be targeted toward the APCs while a few small teams fought with other outlying targets.

  It occurred to Quinn then. Are they attag the gangs? Why? Why would aack the slums like this?

  One of the soldiers that had ehe charging gangsters stopped long enough for Quinn to he bizarre rig of tubes and traptions fixed around his armor. He walked towards the enemy gangster who had thrown his guns doleaded for his life. The soldier k, grasping the gangster's head in his hands before twisting viciously. The lifeless corpse of the gangster dropped limply to the pavement. The soldier moved on toward the closest target.

  Oh shit.

  Even though this was Quinn's first time seeing them, he knew from Virgil's descriptioly what some of them were—Adrenomancers.

  From his t, there were six APCs, ten Humvees, and squadrons of foot soldiers entering the slums. Those were enough troops to give The Big Four a run for their money.

  "They’re not just passing through," he muttered quietly, the realizatioling heavy in his gut. "They're ing for something...or someone."

  Oh no...are they ing after Fii?

  They were closing in on Quinn's position fast and he had to get out. Right now.

  Quinn tore his gaze from the advang soldiers and scrambled to his harness. The winch trols were ied into the chest pte, so all he had to do was yank on the main lever. The motor hummed as it began pulling him away from danger.

  He o let Fii and Virgil knht away.