My parents had been on that list of heroes with green labels. I’d been pretty certain that in an emergency, they’d help. If I asked, even. But they hadn’t answered the call, and they weren’t here. I couldn’t fault them—three out of four of the people we’d reached out to hadn’t.

“You want to handle this?” I asked Capricorn, as we drew nearer.

“Nah. Let me lead in, but this is your idea.”

I nodded.

Twelve capes in all, from various teams. More would have been nice, but we’d reached out at eight-something at night to essentially say we wanted a hand, could they meet us near the mid-Megalopolis point in the next ten minutes? Some had been too far, others had been retired for the evening… these numbers were good, considering.

“Thank you for coming,” Capricorn said. “I’ll recap in case our teammate didn’t spell it out in full when he reached out. Two villains, strong ones, just threatened civilians to get the good guys to back off so they could make a run for it. They’re driving trucks of stolen livestock. The one we caught said they’re working for Prancer, from Cedar Point.”

I started my piece. “We feel the rules need enforcing. They can’t threaten civilians. Help us, and we’ll either owe you one or if you want a longer-term relationship, we can talk about building something.”

Lighter was nodding. Fume Hood looked receptive—but I wasn’t sure if that was her trying to be helpful, putting on a good face.

“Where are they now?” Foxtrot asked.

“Just north of here. Mover and multiple vehicles,” Capricorn said. “Trial and Error.”

“I’ve run into them,” Lighter said. “Trial hits hard. I didn’t get Error.”

“Good names,” Foxtrot said.

We’ll have to politely disagree on that, I thought. Instead of voicing that thought, I explained, “Trial hits hard, he’s defensive, and he’s mobile, manipulating chains and spinning them to propel himself forward.”

“Yep,” Lighter said. “Good summary.”

“Error is a stranger. She seems to blur perceptions so you lose coordination and lose track of who’s on the battlefield and where. That includes whoever you’re trying to hit, I think. She seemed to have an always-on effect surrounding her at low strength and a concentrated, magnified use that seemed to require her eyes and focus to be on the victim. She uses it to take people out of the fight. If it affects you, don’t do anything, or people that aren’t Trial and Error might get hurt.”

That got nods.

“Two from Advance Guard are pursuing. We’re going to go assist.”

“The sooner the better?” Foxtrot asked.

“Yeah,” Capricorn said.

“Lead the way,” she said. “I want to see how these guys pulled their concept together.”