The woman shot her with a laser. The same kind that had burned Bar. Damsel stumbled, felt the burn a second later, and then she blasted, hurling herself up, away. Her foot touched on the top of one of the short, shoulder-height shelves, and then she used her power to rocket in their direction.

The woman flew, and the man jumped back. The directions they moved made it hard to pursue both—and it seemed instinctual.

They knew how to fight as a team, and they didn’t even have the sense to avoid using their civilian names?

She went after the big electric guy, who was busy trying to duck through the aisle between the cashier’s stations. He couldn’t fly, for one thing, so he was easier to catch, and he was momentarily slower as he tried to avoid demolishing too much of the store’s property.

She stayed low to the ground as she bolted for him, and it paid off as the first laser raked past her, hitting one of the cash stations.

The second laser, though, it hit her. A glancing hit, but the beam was continuous, not a single shot. It traced an uneven course along the side of her body, cutting her dress and burning her stomach, and in her haste to get out of the way, she fell.

No.

No!

She screamed her rage. A blast of her power sent her rocketing forward, at the big one. A forcefield appeared in front of her, and she shot it—with the effect that it wasn’t a planned shot, and it twisted her shoulder. It also moved her away from the guy she wanted to hit.

A flicker of light to her left drew her attention.

Another one of the heroes. This guy had been outside. He had red-blond hair and a beard, and his costume had black sleeves and legs, with a star at the front. Two glowing spheres hung over his head, and another hung at elbow height on either side of him.

The first of the spheres kicked off, lunging in her direction. They weren’t fast, as cape-generated firepower went.

She lunged toward it, and saw the man’s expression change. Surprise. He didn’t usually have people go toward his ominous light orbs.

Damsel shot the orb as it drew closer, and her power tore it to shreds. She closed the distance, and as she ran she could feel the big guy making his approach. The woman would be getting in position to shoot or use a forcefield to block her movement.

The second orb was drawing close. She raised a hand to shoot it, and it detonated an instant before her power could make contact.