“The kind of people who rise to power in New York aren’t the kinds of people you cross. When you get hired by someone, it’s your job to do the due diligence and make sure you aren’t digging yourself into shit with the wrong people. Gotta do it before you sign the deal, too.”

“You could run.”

Homer shook his head. “I’ll try. I’ll reach out to our third another time before I go. But… I wanted to look after you two. I got things from you, like the capacity to love, and satisfaction, and respect for other human beings. I owe you. So I’m going to set you up.”

“Can I have your contact list?”

Homer hesitated a good while.

“I’ll be careful. I’m good at staying out of trouble.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t stop it.”

“Stop—the train?”

“The attack, people getting pushed onto the tracks. I—our powers mock us, you know?”

“I had that feeling. A friend of mine said something similar.”

“I couldn’t. She was too important to me, and I couldn’t stop her, but I had to stop her. I finally took action, she turned on me, and she got killed. Worst of all worlds.”

May nodded.

“And I can’t do a thing with this power that doesn’t hit people right where it needs to to kill them. I can smack something clear the opposite way and the ricochets put it right into their temple, or over their heart.”

“I’m ready, whatever comes. I wanted to say my goodbyes.”

⊙

She rolled her shoulders as the light flared around her. Centipedes, giant moths, and seven of the eight capes who had followed her into the maze.

She had to adjust her mask, and she had to adjust her boot, because she had been so intensely at it that it had come unlaced, then nearly come off. She’d had her toes at the heel and her heel at the top of the boot for the last part of the skirmish.

She stabbed her weapon into the ground, and bent down to fix her boot. Her people waited. One injured while she was gone. It was Shiv. No loss.

Checking herself over, she verified everything was okay.

“Check—” she started, before her lack of breath stole the words away. She gave signals instead. One, there, phone. The universal pinky and thumb extended provided the ‘phone’ sign.

She held up fingers, then pointed at Shiv. Slow at first to recognize they were the number, Banger found his wits, stepping forward to pick Shiv up. March, meanwhile, adjusted her calculations. Any instruction given to Banger would have to account for delays like that. The guy was slow on the uptake.

No phone. No way to contact her reinforcements or other squads.

Maybe they wouldn’t need them.