Axion saw the signal—Virgil tipping the brim of his hat upwards, exposing his face. This meant the talk with the gangs went sour; he'd need her support. She closed her eyes and focused, activating her power.

  Her body felt lighter as the pull of gravity lessened, and she took a running leap off the rooftop. She soared through the air, shifting the dire of the nearly invisible eddies that surrounded her to propel her forward. A breathless sensation gripped her lungs as she flew, the rush of wind rushing past her.

  She kept her eyes fixed on the courtyard below as she maneuvered deftly through the sky, navigating the twists and turns of the slums while calg her dest as she drew nearer. She slowed her pace as she approached, dropping to the ground beside Virgil and skidding to a halt, sending dirt and gravel scattering. She stood, brushing herself off before turning to address the fang leaders.

  "Hiya! Sorry for beiraffic was terrible."

  The fang lieutenants stared at her, stunned into silence by her sudden arrival.

  "Now, see here, where the hell did—" Bill started, his voice rising to a frenzied pitch. He cut himself off mid-sentence, blinking and rubbing his eyes as he did a double-take.

  Axion smiled brightly behind her helmet visor, waving to them. She deliberately made the gesture broad and exaggerated to trast their wary, guarded postures. "Good evening! Pleased to make your acquaintance. My name's Axion. o meet y'all." Her tone remained cheery despite the hostility in the air. "I couldn't help but overhear you guys talking about me. That's why I dropped in."

  Virgil allowed himself a moment to savor the se, a faint smile tugging at the er of his mouth as he watched the gang lieutenants' rea. "Well now, don't you guys just look thrilled to see my partner. Go on, introduce yourselves. Be polite. She deserves it." He grinned wolfishly as their shock began to fade, repced by indignant e. "I'll even start—this here's 'Hammer' Kareem, the Ironcd Legion's fearless sed-in-and."

  The imposing gangster didn't reply; instead, his jaw ched shut as his eyes burned holes through Virgil. Kareem's fiwitched as if ag for a on to draw. The se was returned, but Virgil kept a cool facade.

  "And that's 'Butcher' Bill Donovan, a regur jack-of-all-trades who's an expert in handling body disposal, an harvesting, and bloodletting, among other things. Not the most charming person, but he's well-ected and knows his way around the underground bck markets."

  Bill gritted his teeth, muttering something under his breath but otherwise refrained from interrupting. Instead, he fumbled in his coat pockets, digging through them frantically. He pulled out a cigar, and a lighter followed shortly after. He lit the cigar with a shaky hand, puffing a cloud of smoke into the air.

  "That fel right there is 'Reverb' Ray, from the Echo Syndicate." Virgil pointed a thumb at the masked gangster, gesturing in his dire. "'t say I'm all too fond of that mask he wears; the damhing gives me a migraine when he speaks. But, if you like obnoxious-sounding tech, then it's a good fit for him, I suppose."

  The mask's lights flickered momentarily before steadying again. A soft eleic hiss emanated from the speaker embedded in the apparatus. "Tread lightly, Maddox. Words like that carry sequences. sequences you won't enjoy."

  Virgil ignored him and tinued without missing a beat, pointing to the final member of the party. "And st but not least, that lorified shadow of a man is 'The Enforcer' Elijah Gray; the Ashen Hand's resident enforcer and dirty work specialist. Always looking for opportuo break knees and snap necks. Has a reputation for enjoying his job a tad too much, in my opinion. But, hey, to each their own."

  The man iiarded Virgil with an icy gre, his fists ched at his sides. He turned his attention to Axion, his stare peing through the helmet's tinted visor as though trying to dis her features. "What, too afraid to show your face, girl? Afraid we might reize you?"

  Axio his gaze steadily, unintimidated by the barb.

  Virgil had already briefed her about all of them ahead of time. These were dangerous people who could cause real trouble for her, and he wanted her to uand what they were walking into. But the most surprising thing she learned from his expnations was that these fang lieutenants...were metahumans.

  That was new. She, and probably most of the people living here, always assumed that Metas only lived iropolis or the cities outside of the slums. The thought of Metas within the slums—or, worse, in positions of power—never crossed her mind. Until retly.

  Axion pushed those thoughts aside, fog on the present. She'd expected them to be on edge and hostile, but it didn't make their behavior any less irksome. She cleared her throat politely, breaking the silence.

  "Sorry. Having a secret identity is part of the whole superhero gig. I don't eople like you knowing who I am or where I live; you know, in case you or one of your hen es after me ter. For safety reasons." She paused, gauging their reas. "Anyways, that's not important right now. I'm here to ask politely for you guys to cel the bounty on me. Just calling it off entirely would be swell. Dealing with waves of street thugs and gangsters every day is getting real annoying real quick, and I'm not even making a joke when I say that."

  Her attempt at levity fell ft, the gang leaders' expressions remaining stony and inscrutable. She shrugged, adjusting her posture to strike a more authoritative pose, hoping to project fidend self-assurance. "Here's the thing: I know none of you guys like me, and I'm cool with that. The feeling is mutual. The problem is I have something to do, and I 't do it if I'm busy fighting off every street thug or two-bit criminal with a knife and a vea.

  I don't have the time to do that, and I don't appreciate being harassed. I'm not out here just to beat people up, you know? I do other things to help make the slums a better pce. Things you might appreciate or even be from, provided we e to an agreement. Am I wrong?"

  There, she'd done her best to make her iions known aend a friendly olive branch. She hoped they would at least take her seriously.

  An unfortable siletled over the group as each of the gang leaders processed what she'd said.

  Axion shuffled unfortably uheir scrutinizing gazes, nervously fiddling with the zipper on her jacket. Meanwhile, Virgil took a drag of his cigarette, blowing a stream of smoke into the air while waiting patiently for them to respond.

  Finally, Kareem spoke. His deep baritone voice filled the space. "Let's get ohing straight: I don't know you, don't like you, aainly don't trust you. Yet. More importantly, you're a nuisan our territory, and I'm not here to make friends, girlie. If anything, you should be grateful we haven't sent aire army of hired guns after you. And even now, we still arrange for that to happen." He flexed his arms, emphasizing his point. "Uhat's what you want, you'd better have a good reason for me to sit and listen to what you have to say."

  Axion looked back at Virgil; he gave a slight nod, signaling for her to tinue.

  Right...Pn B, Phase Two then.

  Without another word, she turned her gaze to the scattered debris around the courtyard, trating aending the field of her gravikinesis to enpass the rubble.

  With a sudden sharp upward gesture, rge ks of debris and crete tore from the ground, levitating several meters in the air and orbiting around her.

  The gang leaders blinked in surprise, bag away as the objects surrouhem, h ominously overhead.

  She then shifted her gaze towards the four aured downward with her other hand.

  They're Metahumans, so I should use an appropriate force t them down.

  Immediately, the group sank to their knees, gasping in shock as they struggled to rise, only to find themselves pio the ground. Kareem's muscles bulged against the force, his body trembling as he straio resist. Bill and Elijah also grunted and groaheir faces t with exertion as they fought to move. Ray's mask emitted a strained buzz, the lights flickeriically as he cwed at the dirt beh him.

  Despite their resistance, she held firm, keeping them rooted in pce. As the pressure increased, Axion frowned, leaning forward and applying a bit more weight to her invisible burden. Sweat beaded on her forehead, and her breath caught ihroat as she poured her focus into maintaining the intense gravitational field on them while keeping the debris positioned above.

  "This could be over you, or through you," she stated, her voice low and steady. "Your choice. I'm not messing around. If you keep messing with me, I'll crush you like ants."

  Please let this be enough to vihem. e on, cooperate, don't fight back; I don't wanna hurt a least not yet. Please don't test me.

  "What...the fuck...do you think...you're doing, bitch!" Bill excimed, his voice punctuated by strained breaths and ragged wheezes.

  "Trying to give you iive," she responded, watg them struggle. "Not doing so well, unfortunately. Think of this as a demonstration, not an attack. You see, I've got the power, and now you have a glimpse of how far I'm willing to go."

  To demonstrate, she held the rubble over their heads in an implied threat, pausing before she brought her hands clether and the rubble stricted slightly. She made sure to hold back as much as possible, maintaining an equilibrium between them and the force pressing against them. But if they tried fighting back, all bets were off.

  She paid close attention to "The Enforcer" Elijah. Virgil warned her specifically about him; he had the ability to turn into a smog-like substand reform wherever he pleased. So, if he attempted to escape, she'd have to be ready to follow up with something to seal him. Hopefully, it wouldn't e to that, though.

  "Look," Axion began, softenione. "Despite what this looks like, I'm not here to start a war. But I'm not about to let anyone push me arouher. We stay here all day, throwing our weight around, or you guys stand up and py nice, and we talk like adults." She paused, waiting for the impact of her words to sink in. "Now, the ball's in your court. What's it gonna be?"

  Please, please cooperate. I don't think I hold th—uh oh, my nose is bleeding...

  Aense silence hung over them like a heavy fog before Kareem finally spoke. "Fine. Release us." The man grunted, struggling to keep to his knees. "We'll...py yame for now. This round's yours. one, we'll see. So be it."

  Thank God...I'm starting to feel light-headed.

  With a wave of her hand, Axion released them. The debris nded on the ground, f a pile of dust and debris that bhe courtyard.

  The gang lieutenants stood shakily, rubbing their shoulders and massaging their limbs.

  Kareem shook his head as though to clear away cobwebs, while Ray's mask emitted a loud pop as the lights brightened, returning to normal. Elijah and Bill coughed, dusting themselves off. They g each other uneasily, and she noticed Elijah shoot a hateful g Virgil, who merely shrugged in response, chug quietly.

  She didn't find the situation funny at all; holding down multiple metahumans wasly easy work. Still, she hadn't lost trol and mao prove her point. That was something to celebrate. She swallowed the lump ihroat, trying to quell the throbbing pain in her skull.

  Virgil leaned frinding his cigarette out on the sole of his boot. "Just so you all know, if I were to fight all four of you at once right now, it'd be a pain in the ass but I re I'd be able to kill you motherfuckers before I croak. Or at least maim you. Just because we fought to a draw st time doesn't mean that I was fighting you with everything I had. If you think I'm lying then we schedule a death matytime after this."

  He slowly straightened, hooking his thumbs around his belt. His voice darkened as he locked eyes with the four. "Right now, she might still be green behind the ears, but as far as raw poes, she's much strohan I am. Killin' you lot is child's py for her now; she's practically a god in the slums.

  The reason why she's been passive and patient until now is to avoid killing or maiming the ohat go after her. A decision that I disagree with, but that's her call. A fool's errand, if you ask me. Point is, you have an opportunity to avoid that mess. Ohat I'd suggest you don't waste."

  Axion slowly turned her head to stare at Virgil, surprised by his assessment.

  W-what the hell are you talking about, dude?! That's all sizzle, no steak!

  Did he really mean what he said or was he exaggerating to get their attention? Was he trying to intimidate them into cooperating, or did he holy believe what he was saying? It was hard to tell sometimes with him, given how straightforward he normally behaved. It robably a bination of both.

  Still...if they called his bluff and decided to gang up on her, she didn't have high hopes of ing out unscathed. Her head swam as she struggled to keep her legs from wobbling. She couldn't even wipe her nosebleed.

  God, I'm already exhausted. That drained more out of me than I expected...

  Virgil's earlier advice echoed in the back of her mind: "Exert maximum effort at the start, and don't uimate their strength. Get out on top and don't give them room to breathe."

  Taking a deep breath, Axion steeled her nerves as she addressed the group of gang lieutenants once more. "So, we got off th start, which sucks, but let's try this again. Without threats or tricks hts this time."

  She waited for them tain their piving them time to collect themselves.

  Kareem dusted himself off, fixing a cool, appraising gaze upon her. "Alright, maybe you're not quite the pushover I initially thought." He smirked, rolling his shoulders to relieve the tension. "e impressed. I take back what I said earlier; I uimated you. That's on me."

  Bill fshed a cocky grin, lighting anar. "Got a few tricks up your sleeves, eh, girlie? Good, that'll make things more iing."

  "Hmph, as if." Elijah scoffed, his gaze flittiween Virgil and Axion. "But I will admit you're not useless, especially with that ability of yours. Even I might not be able to kill you, not easily, anyways."

  Ray's mask remained silent, its lights dimmed as it resumed a normal hue.

  Axion g Virgil, unsure of what else to say.

  A slight smirk pyed across his face as he raised his eyebrows and nodded once. He crossed his arms and leaned back, signaling that the ball was in her court.

  Right, well, I guess that's better than ht hostility. Okay, now what?

  "So you'll cel that bounty on me?" she asked cautiously, not wanting to give them any false hope.

  "That's the thing: the bounty's not ours to cel," Kareem replied, frowning. "We rey your request to our respective bosses, but they'll be the ones making the final decisions."

  Oh, of course...why am I not surprised.

  "That's the only cession we give you. For now, anyway," Bill added, drawing on his cigar. "You sider it as good as celed, though. Word will get out that the syndicates backed out of the bounty. Anyone dumb enough to a their own will be your problem. We won't be held atable for that."

  Axion rubbed the back of her neck, processing his words. Well, that was better than nothing, at least. "Yeah, okay. Fair enough. Thank you. I work with that, and I'm cool with pying the wait and see game."

  "The only dition is we get to y down the rules," Ray interjected. His distorted, eleically enhanced voice resohroughout the space, reverberating in her ears. "First: we don't cross paths, at least for now. Stay out of our business, and we'll stay out of yours."

  "Sed: leave our strongholds alone. Do not infiltrate any of our bases or establishments, period," Kareem chimed in. "And third: do not interfere in any gang wars we are involved in. Got it? Simple, isn't it? Rules are easy to follow."

  Axioated for a moment before responding. "Sure, fine. I work with those rules. As long as you guys stay in line, we won't have any problems."

  "Those apply to you, too, Maddox." Elijah growled, gl at Virgil. "You'd better make sure your pet stays in line. If she steps out of bounds, there'll be hell to pay, ah know who'll pay for it. Don't we?"

  Virgil rolled his eyes. "Goddamn, I'd fotten how melodramatic you lot could get. Are we done here? Because if that's all, the's get the hell out of here already."

  "Reverb" Ray was the first to leave, leaving a trail of faironic echoes in his wake. "The Enforcer" Elijah followed suit, shifting into a cloud of smoke that whisked into the air, fading from view.

  "Hanmer" Kareem cracked his knuckles, nodding at Virgil and Axion in aowledgment before turning and heading through another alleyway. "Don't make us regret this, girlie. Be seeing you around. You too, Backfire."

  "Butcher" Bill gave Axion a slow once-over, fshing a crooked smile as he blew a ring of smoke in her dire. "If you ever feel like w for a real anization, e join the Red Market Syndicate. You might find some iing job opportunities. We've got es, after all, and I put in a good word for you."

  Axion bit ba annoyed retort, not wanting to give him a ce to get under her skin. "I'll pass. Thanks for the offer, though. It's not what I'm looking for."

  With a shrug, Bill flicked the remains of his cigar at their feet and casually strolled away, humming a jaunty tune.

  The pair watched in silence as the gang members dispersed, disappearing into various side alleys. Soon, only they remained in the courtyard. The adrenaline rush that apanied her brief show of force evaporated, and Axio suddenly defted and tired.

  After a moment, she turil. "How do you think that went?"

  He clicked his tongue and shrugged. "Eh, not bad. It could've gone a lot worse."

  "Do you think they'll keep their promise?"

  "Most likely, yeah. You showed them what you could do and id out some terms they couldn't argue with. But these guys aren't the end-all-be-all in the grand scheme of things. They report to their bosses. Fortunately, they'll respect your ultimatum."

  From the er of her eye, Axion spotted the old woman named Nara stepping into the courtyard, hobbling towards them with the use of a e.

  "Oi, you two, I assume you've taken care of business? Make a big otion in my area, but you ain't even going to apologize to me? Tsk, tsk."

  Virgil gave a half-hearted, dismissive wave, making his way through the alley they arrived from. "I didn't break any rules, old hag. No blood illed, no shots were fired; no harm do's all in your head, stop nagging."

  Nara tapped her e in annoyance, gng at the crumbling buildings surrounding her. "Cheeky bastard...running your mouth, always doing whatever you damn well please. Go o lost, both of you."

  Axion bowed in defereo the elderly woman before hurrying to catch up with Virgil.

  But before she could take oep, Nara grabbed her by the hand, stopping her iracks. "Wait. You're not leaving until you put everything that you moved back where they belong."

  Axion froze. Slowly, she turned and surveyed the surroundings: all the debris she'd levitated, all the trash and other items that she'd torn from the ground. Each sat in a heap on the pavement, pletely fotten. The realization of what she'd doruck her, and she winced sheepishly.

  "Um, oops...?"