“Brian wake up”

  Pain is the first thing I’m aware of with something sharp hitting me from the side, that grinding sort of feeling that seeps into every part of the body, your muscle, your bone, even if everything seems normal on the outside, the soreness stil lingers.

  I didn’t try to open my eyes right away, just checking if my fingers still work like they used to, toes, jaw..they all seems to hurt for some reason or something that kinda feel like it used to hurt, and invisible soreness.

  First thing I realize was the smell, antispec and the smell of clean laundry from the sheets. Great, I got my ass landed in a hospital, that lady knocked us out cold, getting suckered by a Dempsey Roll of all things.

  I open my eyes and the light from the fluorescent light blinds me to no end, quietly something or someone was talking around me but I couldn’t make any sentence out of it before the sharp screeching sound blocking my ears slowly turned to normal as I made out what was just said..

  “Brian! Wake the fuck up!”

  That snapped me back into reality as my vision started to focus properly, from blurry images that quietly crawl into your skull slowly turning a yellow smudge of color into the face of Lisa..

  Lisa with handcuffs on her hands tied to the bed with that odd tight suit she always wore as a cape. Huh…kinky.

  Atleast the doctors didn’t remove our mask. Could still feel I’m still wearing my helmet on, so does Regent on his bed with those bruises on his face disappearing and Rachael staring at a wall broodily with Judas and Brutus in their normal size.

  I’m surprised they let dogs in the hospital.

  Handcuffs on my hands too.

  Not normal ones as I observe these black metallic cuffs. Thick, with matte steel colour, a little heavy and faintly warm to the touch, with a low vibration that makes my skin itch. Power dampeners? One of PRT brand new toys or some Tinker holding us hostage in some sort of hospital?

  I try anyway.

  Nothing from my power.

  No shadow responds and no comforting pressure at the edges of my awareness. Just… silence, where my power should be, so that check outs. That absence of my power hurts almost as much as the rest of me like the current soreness i’m feeling.

  “Dammit,” I breathe, and even that pulls something in my, Probably broke a bone or two from that hit from a full dempsey and landed wrongly. Doesn’t like permanent damage.

  I shift my gaze.

  Alec’s in the bed next to mine, sprawled like a discarded puppet arm in a sling, face pale but breathing. His eyes are open, unfocused, staring at the ceiling like he’s counting cracks or contemplating the meaninglessness of existence. Hard to tell with him. He was recovering but you could tell that there’s several extreme bruising on his face where it used to be, Parahuman healing?

  Did Panacea or that new cape doctor healed us? Seems like it.

  Lisa’s further down, sitting up slightly, hair a mess, one hand bandaged, the other cuffed to the bed rail. She looks quite annoyed at me.

  “Hi… we really fumbled that one didn’t we?”

  Lisa just took the pillow and scream into it as if too

  Rachel or Bitch is on the far side of the ward, restrained more heavily. Straps, cuffs, the whole deal. Her face kinda looked a little listless as she kept staring at the wall with her bed on the side turning towards it, like she’s ready to bite someone the second someone bothers her. Brutus and Judas seems to be in low spirits as well, never seen those mutts looking so done with it.

  We look bad. Not “rough night” bad? We got handled by a lone woman with no visible powers and get our ass handed by a normie.

  We hit her with everything.

  I flooded the area with darkness, thick enough to choke sound. Rachel’s dogs charged. Alec went for control like we used to train and. Lisa shouted warnings that came half a second too late. We moved like we always do, if it worked on other capes, why not a lone operator? Didn’t matter if she was a trained professional or not, she’s just one person, and she’s no cape. Just an ordinary human.

  She walked through us like we were nothing, and she seems like she was holding back as well. Every move is precise with no wasted motion. She took Alec down first, clean, fast, like she’d been waiting for it even with everything he did to her, displacing her limbs and trying to control her, she knew right away who to target first, then she came for me, my powers did jack shit to her.

  Just a professional ending a fight on her own terms using my own boxing against me, and I thought people in the military couldn’t hold a candle to capes, guess the real ones are just build differently.

  A nurse moves nearby, clipboard tucked under her arm. She glances at me, meets my eyes, then looks away like she’s already decided what box I fit in.

  My throat feels like I swallowed sandpaper, but I force the words out anyway.

  “Hey Lisa…hey. Stop screaming at the innocent pillow”

  She doesn’t look at me at first. Her eyes are tracking something I can’t see what she’s thinking Same old Lisa, just quieter than usual after we were taken down. She continues to beat the pillow instead with her one free arm.

  “Where… are we anyway? Seems like some sort of hospital”

  That gets her attention. She turns her head, studies me, then exhales slowly, like she’s deciding how much truth I can handle in my current condition and threw the pillow towards me instead, I caught it fluffing it up. Lisa doesn’t punch very well, it lacked power.

  “Brockton Bay General,” she says. “Ward C. Trauma wing…ugh, I can’t believe we get handed on our ass like that, it wasn’t supposed to go that way Damn it!”

  Still in Brockton Bay atleast, a familiar place. That’s good to know.

  “And before you ask,” she adds, lifting her cuffed hand slightly, “yes, we’re being detained.”

  “PRT?” I ask.

  She shakes her head once. Small, sharp.

  “Nope, some Doctor around here”

  I frown, ribs protesting, still feeling like it stil hurts even if the feeling was gone. “A doctor is holding us?”

  “Doctor Angela Ziegler,” Lisa says. “Also answers to ‘Mercy’. Ring any bells?”

  “She’s the one in charge here,” Lisa continues. “Hospital staff deferred to her almost immediately. That blonde bitch got this place locked down under her authority, even PRT officials seems to defer to her. Don’t know what she did but they follow her instructions like it's mandated. It’s honestly impressive if she isn’t such a dirty do gooder.”

  I glance down at the cuffs again. “These aren’t standard cuffs we’re used to…”

  “Mm-hm. Non-tinker non-parahuman tech, I think my powers don’t work here with these things on because that’s what it’s telling me, there’s no way these things aren’t made with tinker tech. From the looks of it, It’s designed to suppress without causing long-term harm.” She grimaces. “I hate it when people innovate responsible things like this.”

  My stomach sinks.

  “What now Lisa?” I ask.

  Lisa tilts her head, considering. “Fuck if I know. Think of it more like… involuntary medical observation, the bitch that took us all out really did a number on Alec over there”

  “For beating the crap out of us, she seems rather lenient to us, How do we get out of here?”

  “Fuck it Brian! Does it look like I have a plan right now?! Look at us!” she correctly points at the cuffs she’s wearing on her right arm stuck to the side of the bed. “ You’re the leader aren’t you? You think of something instead of asking me!”

  I close my eyes for a second and wondered if there’s a way to get out of this

  Rachel growls a little before turning towards the wall again, or going to sleep, I can’t tell from this angle, she’s keeping low while maintaining her ferocity, like her body knows she’s trapped even if her mind doesn’t yet. Alec on the other hand shifts and groans and then goes still again. The only one among us who hasn’t waken up yet.

  “Brian,” Lisa says quietly.

  I open my eyes.

  “I think…the boss might have abandon us” Lisa says. “The job we did, there’s no way he wouldn’t anticipate getting attacked by Oni Lee like that.”

  “That’s…fuck Lisa. What am I gonna do about…damn it” I muttered, " There goes my plan to get Aisha’s custody away from Mom. Dad doesn't care. What the hell am I supposed to do if the boss decided to drop us?

  “Here’s what I know…” she replies. “ For whatever reason, she hasn’t called the PRT on us yet, if she wanted us handed over to the PRT already, we’d be in containment foam and orange jumpsuits.”

  I let that sink in for a while

  “So why hasn’t she?” Why hasn’t anyone called the PRT on them yet Lisa’s gaze drifts toward the glass wall at the far end of the ward, where silhouettes move like busy bees, doctors, nurses, walking about without a care about is at all. Makes you wonder if they should really be this lax even with their power disabled.

  “Because, “I don't think they see us as villains? Just a bunch of kids. It’s what I got from that lady who did us in before I collapsed, my powers told me that much” she says slowly.

  That makes my chest tighten in a way that hurt my pride a little, thought I was tough enough to challenge anything when it comes to hand to hand, even with powers, I thought it would be enough. That wasn’t the case isn’t it?

  “She sees us as kids,” Lisa finishes. “Broken ones. Misused ones. And she’s very unhappy about that.”

  I stare at the ceiling again, the hum of the lights suddenly louder. Somehow, that scares me more than the PRT ever did. Why did-

  The door slides open with a soft hiss.

  I tense on instinct, even before I see who it is.

  Two women step in.

  One of them I recognize immediately of course, hard not to. Tall, composed, posture like a rifle barrel. Even in civilian clothes she moves like a soldier who never really stopped being one. Dark skin, short hair streaked with white, one eye sharp as a blade while the other one has a tattoo underneath.

  The woman who took all of us down effortlessly.

  The other woman walks beside her, calm and almost glowing under the fluorescent lights. Blonde hair pulled back, white coat worn that suits her professionally and she knows it. She carries herself the way real doctors do, confident but unlike the doctors i’ve met who’s often wear a look of seriousness, I supposed this would be Doctor Angela Ziegler. Her smile gives off a friendly vibe at least. There’s no falseness behind that smile, it was genuine.

  Lisa calls her Mercy. A cape. Possibly the person who treated us with tinkertech.

  They stop at the foot of our beds.

  I choose not to speak. Neither does Lisa. Rachel is awake now, watching them like she’s deciding which one to bite first if the cuffs come off, same goes with Brutus and Judas too, they were wide alert now and started to growl in defiance.

  Alec pretends to be half-conscious, which means he’s listening to everything or not…It’s really hard to tell if he’s awake lucidly or not. The lady that took him out did a number on him, I could still hear the crunch of takedown with his whole body slammed into the ground, the sound of bone crunching. To think that I came out fine after getting a full blown Dempsey to the face. I could have swore that my nose was broken but its fine now. Just a little sore maybe, otherwise? Everything seems fine.

  Mercy is the first to move. She checks a tablet, eyes flicking from screen to us and back again.

  “Vitals stable after a single treatment from the caduceus reactor. Signs shows that parahuman interaction doesn’t seem to show any external or internal negative effects, so that’s good. Wasn’t sure if it has issue with parahumans so this is very valuable data I’m getting” she says gently. “Pain levels elevated, but within expected range. No internal bleeding issues.”

  Ana crosses her arms, looking us over. Her gaze lingers on each of us in turn. When it lands on me, I feel… like she’s judging me for the things I did, like she’s disappointed with all of us. Again, she’s treating us all like children.

  That brisque my pride a little.

  “I did not intend to injure them this badly Angela, but you don't need to fuss about everything, that makes them look weak and pathetic” Ana says. No apology in her tone or what she just said, just the facts, and it stings that it’s how she feel about us. Pathetic and weak huh?

  “ You’re here to gloat on us? Like you said, beating up a bunch a kids worth something to you?”

  Lisa lets out a soft, humorless huff. “You broke Regent’s arm in three places. You don't get a say after injuring us this far.”

  Ana nods once and sighed. “ It doesn't matter.”

  Mercy turns to Ana, her expression tightening just a little. “You are aware they’re teenagers.”

  Ana doesn’t look away. “I am aware they are just children. Doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be taken seriously. Doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be taught right or wrong when you know they are on the path to ruin.”

  “And if it weren’t for my healing, they would still be in bed, twitching and sleeping in bruises. Kein Grund, mir zu danken. Ana, ” Mercy counters. “Just because you can doesn’t mean you should. I wish you could have done it more gently.”

  Her gaze shifts to us again, softer now, but no less intense”This is me being gentle,They are still alive are they not?”

  “Which is why I’m not blaming you. It's still surprising that you have to resort to this much damage to take them down. These children must be really good with their combat proficiency.” Mercy continues, “For now they are to be held here. Not in a holding cell and definitely not in PRT custody.”

  She meets my eyes, that Mercy lady.

  “Mr. Grue, from the Undersiders yes?” she says. “You’re the The leader. You put yourself between your team and suffer quite the beating trying to open the path for your team,” she continues. “Repeatedly. To your own detriment.”

  I was trying to protect Regent but he got too cocky, it didn’t matter anyway. I didn’ buy him enough time, it was my fault that we are all in this problem in the first place.

  Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

  Mercy exhales slowly. “This is not a scolding,” she says. “And it is not a threat. This is a check-in.”

  She gestures to the cuffs. “These will stay on for now. For everyone’s safety yes? including yours.”

  Rachel bristles, but Mercy meets her glare without flinching. “You will receive treatment. Physical and psychological. You will rest.”

  Lisa raises an eyebrow. “And then what? Gonna hold us here forever? Why not just chuck us towards the PRT? What’s the deal here?”

  Mercy smiles. “Hmm, tattletale yes?,” she says, “Well, we should probably talk about why a group of children thinks stealing from forced sex workers is the only way they can survive in this city.”

  “For now rest, your body needs it, even if your external wounds are restored, your body and mind still needs adequate rest, it’s late. Have some food from the hospital, This evening they are serving something quite healthy”

  The door closes behind them with a soft click. Th guilt reaches towards me. Even Lisa couldn’t say what she wanted to say and turn away from the Doctor. They both left us here to stew in what we just did.

  I lie there for a second, staring at the ceiling,Thinking about what happened today from the afternoon till now, Aisha is still waiting for me to get back home, Mom will probably neglect her as always, Dad’s place is no better.

  No shadows answer me when I needed a place to think, Without my powers I feel so unsettled. That’s the part I hate the most.

  “Okay,” Lisa says finally, voice low. “They’re gone. We’ve got maybe ten minutes before someone checks in.”

  Alec sits up a little too easily for someone who got folded like a lawn chair earlier. “You say that like we actually can do something.”

  Rachel snorts from her bed. “ Didn’t think you were awake, I could do something if these damn bracelets came off.”

  “They won’t,” I say. My voice comes out rougher than I expect. “Not without some sort of key. Or tools, our powers don't work here.”

  Silence as usual.I turn my head, looking at them one by one.

  This is all my fault.

  I was supposed to keep us ahead of things. Read the room. Pick the fights we could win. Instead, we ran into a random lady with military training, over estimate ourself and underestimate her with nothing to lose and a doctor who actually gave a damn. Worst possible combination. Getting held in the hospital is the least of what I thought this day would end for me.

  Lisa breaks the quiet. “Okay, first things first. We don’t panic. Panicking gets us sedated.”

  Alec grins weakly. “You want to get sedated don’t chu tats? Get high on some premium drug.”

  “Shut up stupid,” she continues, “This is serious! My powers don’t seem to work at all! I got nothing with this stupid bracelet!”

  Rachel shifts, testing her restraints. The metal clinks softly to her right hand. "At least it ain't a collar.”

  “This isn’t really the time for that!” Lisa says. “Look, this thing might be able to contain us, but all we need to do is to disable it outside! We just need to sneak away! It’s a hospital. How hard could it be? We’re escape artists aren’t we?”

  “That Ana woman,” Alec says. “She could’ve killed us. Didn’t do it.”

  “Neither did that doctor Angela,” Lisa adds. “Which means we’re assets. Or problems they want solved cleanly. Oh I don't know! My powers aren’t working right now! Stop asking me things! I dont know why they decided to detain us, maybe it really is to let us rest? Who the fuck cares!”

  Rachel bares her teeth. “Nobody asked you,.I don’t like owing people.”

  “Immer unterbricht mich jemand bei der Arbeit. Genji! You’re not well! You shouldn’t be walking out here!” I could hear that Mercy lady shouting and getting mad. She doesn’t seem that mad with us, who could have triggered her like that?

  “I’m sorry Angela, I was looking for the toilet, was it…this way?” A suave older man seems to be speaking with a heavy japanese accent out there . Lisa seems to perked up a little but then scowled again

  “What’s going on out there, Ugh..of all the times when I wish my powers don’t work, now is the time it truly doesn't!" she complains.

  I turned to Lisa “ No powers doesn’t mean you ain't the brains of this operation, come on, think. You’re Tattletale. Isn’t there anything we could do? Unless you rather stay stuck here with them?”

  “I’m thinking…give me a sec, wait. I have it!” Lisa look towards the cuffs of everyone and then looked at mine, she’s pointing at the AED on the wall right next to the wall and a plan seems to form in her head

  “ Rachael! Help me get Judas or Brutus to knock the AED off the wall and bring it to Brian!! Quick!”

  Alec raised his eyebrows in confusion “What are you trying to do? Gonna zap our fearless leader into a coma? Oh! Me first! Knock me out first! It’s so boring in here, I rather go down before everyone else-”

  “Shut it Alec!” Lisa snapped at him.

  Rachael just sighed and motioned something towards Brutus to do what she asked, for a couple of dogs, they really could take orders from her, “Brutus..” Somehow she was able to convey her intent towards the AED on the wall and knock the emergency defibrillator as Brutus drag it towards me with its slobber all over in its mouth.

  I picked it up and turned to Lisa for some answers because I clearly didn’t understand what the hell she wanted me to do with this”Now what Lisa?”

  “What else?! Use it on the cuff and then try to use your powers to blanket it! Your powers work like that, don't they? You blew away our microwave at our hideout remember? Do that to the cuffs!”

  It’s …well, I better just do it. No point arguing even if I think it’s a pretty stupid Idea. Beggars can't be choosers. A tattletale without powers is the best shot at this, at least it seems like the better option than the beggar analogy. Lisa probably had the right idea..and it might just work.Even if it is tinkertech. I don't have my hopes up for this.

  I close my eyes and breathe.

  At least its worth a shot.

  Slow and shallow at first, it hurts less, but I force it deeper anyway. In through the nose. Out through the mouth. I tune out the beeping machines, the antiseptic smell, the ache stitched into every muscle even if the bruises and muscles healed.

  The cuffs sit heavy on my wrists, cold to the touch and hard.Lisa’s voice echoes in my head, short circuiting it like a microwave, it’s worth a shot I guess. The way she framed it, I hope it would work.

  I reach for the shadows out of habit and hit that familiar wall of nothing. A hollow where pressure should be. For a split second, panic flares in my chest, its murky and hard, nothing happens, something suppressing it, I charge the defibrillator and here goes nothing.

  I shove it down to the cuffs,

  Different angle to the side, but it still shocks me, it hurts alot, more than I could say outward but I kept channeling my power.

  I focus inward, not outward. The sensation that always comes first when I use my power.The static itch behind my eyes, the pressure in my chest like the air’s about to tear me apart not to mention the pain from the shock, Normally it spills outward, bleeding darkness into the room, swallowing light, sound and heat.

  This time I will keep it contained.

  The cuffs hum faintly. Too faint to hear, but I can feel it through the bones in my wrists. A steady vibration, like a microwave left running in the next room. A field layered over me, tuned to cancel whatever I am.

  Fields can interfere with each other.

  I concentrate harder.

  My heartbeat picks up. Pain sharpens, spikes, then steadies as my body adjusts. Sweat beads along my hairline. I picture the shadows not as darkness, but as absent a pressure wave that bends everything passing through it.

  It’s subtle. Barely there. But I feel it as hope flares, bright and dangerous from me, Its working? I pushed again.

  The static behind my eyes grows into a roar. My jaw clenches. Every instinct screams to let it out, to flood the room, to do something, but I keep it tight, compressed, like a fist closing around the field.

  “yygghh…Ahhh!” I screamed a little.

  “Just a little more Brian! You can do it! Just do it!! Prove me right damn it!”

  The cuffs heat slightly, even Alec was paying attention when he usually doesn't care much about things.I imagine the dampeners as radios stuck on one frequency, and I jam them with my darkness enveloping it, something interferes with the thing and it worked.

  Something clicks. A sharp, tiny sound, right against my wrist. Darkness rushes toward me, instinctive and wild, slamming against the inside of my skull like a tidal wave held back by glass.

  I gasp.

  The cuffs flare, light pulsing once as they compensate, the hum roaring back stronger than before. Pain lances up my arms, white-hot, and I nearly cry out.

  I grin, finally the thing is off. Lisa celebrated “Yess! Now my turn!”

  “Aaaa! Dibs on it first! I asked for it, remember? Do me first! Come on Brian! Dont leave a bro hangin!” Alec interjected.

  Lisa snapped at Alec and threw her pillow at him “BUT it was MY idea!”

  “Fuck …that hurts” I grumbled a little bit. That wasn’t easy at all for me, I feel drained from forcing myself to burst out from that bottleneck.

  “Hey Alec,” I say pleasantly. “Quick question.”

  “What,” he groans, not opening his eyes.

  “Do you trust me?”I asked.

  “No.” that was instant.

  “Fair.” I said.

  He’s lying there half-awake, eyes half-lidded, looking like he doesn’t seem to care with his lack of empathy, Better him than Lisa incase I mess up,. I lean in, shadows curling faintly around my hands, just enough to make the air feel wrong. I press the paddles to his cuffs.

  BZAAAAP.*

  Alec’s entire body spasms off the bed like he’s trying to audition for a possessed marionette role.

  “SON OF A!!” he shrieks, voice cracking halfway through. “BRIAN!” The cuffs spark. The hum of the cuffs seems to be wearing off. I feel my power surge in response, this time far easier with my control coming back, I didn’t let Alec suffer anymore, with one cuff unlocks with a click. Alec freezes. Slowly, he lifts his now-free hand, staring at it like it personally betrayed him.

  “…You electrocuted me...you actually tried to kill me…Brian, how could you…”

  “That was always the plan, you wanted to go first,” I say. “Also congratulations, you’re free now”

  “I will murder you Brian! You could have warned me first!” everyone keeps complaining.

  “Murder me later Alec” I say, already walking away.

  Rachel’s next. Bad idea. I know it’s a bad idea. I do it anyway. She’s sitting upright, glaring at the wall like it owes her money. Her dogs aren’t here, which somehow makes her angrier. Not the friendliest in the team but at least she’s still part of the team. It’s my responsibility as the leader of the group.

  I stop in front of her, She looks at the defibrillator and then back at me, didn’t peg her as an idiot to know what I wanted to do since she watched me do it.

  “No.”

  “It’s gonna hurt, just suck it up” I said.

  “Alec then.” she grumbled.

  “I already did Alec come on, it’s your turn..”

  She pauses. Processes this.She nods. “Fine, do it. Make it quick.” I don’t even finish lining it up before she grabs my collar and yanks me closer. “Don’t fail, or I’ll bite you”

  Fair enough.

  BZAAAAP.*

  She barely flinches. The cuffs, however, explode in sparks as my shadow envelopes the cuffs rendering it inoperable after the slight shock. Her power slams back like it’s been holding its breath for an hour ,Brutus and Judas seem happier. Probably some weird power interaction there.

  Rachel grins.It is not a nice grin, even under that dogmask of hers.

  Lisa is watching me like I’m a puzzle that’s actively on fire. “Okay…May i take a raincheck? Why don’t you umm, escape and think of a better way ..less painful way for me to-,” she says as soon as I roll toward her. “Absolutely not. Come on tats, suck it up”

  “You are not tasing me like this! I didn't think this through! C-cant you just use your powers without tasing me?”

  “It’s a defibrillator, We’re trying to short circuit a tinker tech, you know it won’t work while it’s still operating properly.”

  “You are smiling way too much for that distinction to matter! Stop enjoying this!” she lashed out like a child.

  I lean in anyway, shadows thickening, buzzing with static and ignored her whining, She sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose.

  “I hate all of you,” she mutters. “Fine. But if I die, I’m haunting you.”

  “You won’t die, it’s gonna hurt a lot though.”

  BZAAAAP.

  “Eeek!Ahh!” Lisa yelps. Not exactly a scream, but it came off oddly more like a squeal, huh…The cuffs flicker, then unlock cleanly when my powers swarmed around it. She blinks a little and then her eyes sharpen after the pain is gone and the cuffs drop.

  “…Oh. Oh that worked. Okay, that worked really well? But Ow! That hurts so much!That wasn’t! Ugh! Brian, that was really unnecessary!”

  “Your powers working again Tats? New plan? Get us out of here. We’re running out of time”

  I flex my hands slowly, feeling my power settle back into place like it never should’ve left. The shadows curl when I breathe out, familiar and steady, grounding me. For a moment, I almost forget we’re still in a hospital, still injured, still very much not supposed to be free.

  Then a distant voice over the intercom reminds me we’re on borrowed time.

  I turn to Lisa.

  She’s already pacing around letting her powers work even with her foot bare missing a shoe for some reason. Her eyes aren’t unfocused no, they’re sharp, clicking from detail to detail, cataloging exits, cameras, people, whatever makes a thinker think I suppose.

  “Lisa,” I say quietly. “Please tell me you have a plan.”

  She stops pacing and smiles. It’s the kind of smile that means someone else is about to have a very bad day, and a smiling Lisa is something I find comfort with even if I don't want to admit it to her personally. It just means we might have a way to get out of here cleanly.

  “Oh, Brian,” she says lightly. “I had three plans before you even grabbed the defibrillator. That was just… a variable.”

  I fold my arms. “Now that’s a lie I can believe, come on. Do you have a plan or not?.”

  “You are correct! I have a plan.” she says, then waves it off. “Okay. Listen. This only works if everyone does exactly what I say, when I say it, and doesn’t try to be clever.”

  Alec snorts. Rachel cracks her knuckles and her neck to loosen up, Didnt know you could crack necks like that, the more you know. Lisa stares at them until the air feels uncomfortable but I know she’s just doing it to keep everyone on the level.

  “…Fine, what’s the plan?” I asked.

  She turns back to me. “Alright. Big picture first. We’re not fighting our way out.”

  I glance down the hallway instinctively, thinking of Ana that lady. Of how she moved and took us all out with brutal efficiency. We do not want another brawl with her, people like that? she’d been born for violence and then learned to be kind after. A little like my dad.

  “Good,” I mutter. “Because that woman scares me.”

  “She shouldn’t be a problem. Based on what my powers, she already left a long time ago when someone important, presumable its her daughter came later.,” Lisa says. “And Dr. Ziegler? Even worse…underneath all that coat she’s wearing tinkertech armor.. You don’t wanna fight a combat angel in a hospital.”

  Somehow I feel like the dear old doctor is far more dangerous, so we should probably avoid her as well.

  Lisa continues, “So we disappear using stealth.Brian, you take point with your powers.. It should be possible without anyone realizing we’ve left until it’s too late to stop us.”

  “How?” I ask. “There are cameras not to mention the securities and orderlies around the hospital, and at least two Parahuman-tier problems.”

  Lisa raises a finger. “Step one: noise. We need a distraction”

  I frown. “That doesn’t sound quiet..what happened to stealth?”

  “It’s controlled noise damn it!” she corrects. “Fire alarm in the east wing goes off within three minutes. As distraction, we can divert it with fire or something, that should misdirect them away from where we’re going.”

  I nodded. Seems like a proper plan “And then what?”

  “Maintenance panel behind the ice machine,” she says. “Old wiring. Hospital’s a mess under the surface, we could use the parking lot corridor to sneak away using the maintenance route.”

  I nod slowly.

  She keeps going. “That pulls staff, security, and most importantly that scary German doctor Dr. Ziegler away from our corridor. She’s a doctor first. She won’t ignore a potential mass casualty risk..unless she’s a Nazi and worked with the E88, i doubt that’s the case but my bias is strong, powers keep giving me vague information, like she’s actually seventy years old or something, that can't be right…”

  “And that scary Ana lady?” I ask.

  Lisa’s smile thins. “ She’s not here.”

  Okay. That’s good to know.

  “Step two,” Lisa says, “visual confusion.”

  She looks at me meaningfully.

  I sigh. “Shadows powers okay. What will you have me do?”

  “Shadows go brrrr-” she confirms. “Not an attack. You flood the hallway intersections with low-visibility darkness. Just enough to ruin camera feeds and make people slow down.”

  “I can do that,” I say. “But not for long. I’m still hurting from forcing my powers under that cuff.”

  “You only need a minute or two,” she replies. “I timed it so we can proceed with step three,” Lisa says, lowering her voice, “Rachel.”

  Rachel looks up from the corner, where she’s been crouched like a coiled animal.

  “You break us a door,” Lisa says. “Basement level once we reach the parking lot, there wont be any people down there, then you have Brutus and Judas go big and we can escape scot free!.”

  Rachel grins. “Easy.”

  “She turns back to me. “Okay..just in case our plans went to crap again, I have a contingency in case shit hits the fan again. Alternatively? We have another escape route.”

  “Where?” I ask.

  She taps her temple. “Ambulance bay. There’s a scheduled transfer in twelve minutes. Unrelated patient if what I saw from the nurses docket that came to check on us was correct, We merge with the confusion, swap clothes, and walk out looking like EMT workers? Or just simply hijacked the ambulance? We can improvise.”

  I pause. “And if that doesn't work?”

  Lisa meets my eyes, serious now. “Then we abort,” she says. “No amount of planning can go against them I think, These people are beyond what we can handle honestly.”

  Her gaze flicks, briefly, toward the hallway where Ana disappeared earlier. “We don’t win against people like that,” she adds quietly. “Even with my powers I…I don't have a plan that could ensure us going against them in victory..”

  I nod. The plan settles over me, heavy but solid. Risky and maybe a little Insane. But workable, and then we can disappear and get back home. This has to work.

  “Lisa,” I say, voice low, “what are the odds?”

  She considers.

  “Sixty-five percent clean escape,” she says. “Eighty if nobody panics. I doubt that no one will panic, this place did receive an attack from the Merchants two weeks ago so…count that as a small chance of eighty.”

  “Alright,” I say. “Let’s disappear.”

  Lisa’s smile returns.

  “Showtime. Let's blow this joint~!”

  **********************