SDC 80

"Don't get shy on me now, Johnny," a young brunette girl intoned. She looked to be about my age or a bit older and lead a college-aged boy by the hands. He wore too-clean clothes and shoes, had a tad too much gel in his hair, and muscles sculpted over years of intense training.

"I'm not sure this is a good idea, Selene," he said. His intonation was perfect—a stark contrast to the New Yorker-adjacent accent most Gothamites ended up with.

"Aren't you tired of waiting, playing it safe?" she asked. "This is Gotham. No one cares."

"Still… baby. This isn't right."

"Feels right," she whispered, pulling him in for a deep kiss. He blinked, stunned and swooning, and she tugged him deeper into the alley.

He initiated this time, grabbing and kissing her, leading them further into the darkness.

"Jesus. Folded in zero seconds flat."

The idiot had his pants around his ankles, butt cheeks in the wind, and her skirt hiked up when the camera started flashing. He jerked back, stumbling, landing in the alley confused and frightened.

He was about to get up when a hard kick punted him to the side.

"That's for touching my girl, you pedo fuck." The boot belonged to a tall, lanky kid with blood-red hair. Behind him was a larger Black dude, the one holding the camera.

The rich kid whimpered.

"It's not Johnny's fault," the brunette adjusted her skirt, stepping over the rich boy, and putting her hands around the redhead. "I'm just great at my job."

"Yeah, well," Redhead said, kicking the kid again, this time in the face. "So the fuck am I."

He dragged Johnny to his knees, ready to resume the violence when Johnny reacted. He shoved Redhead back and used the space to pull up his pants. Redhead was about to advance again when Johnny spoke up.

"Do you know who my father is?"

I blinked. Those weren't the first words I expected. I expected outrage at the girl's betrayal, maybe some confusion at being set up. But he shifted to survival mode immediately.

I would've been impressed if he hadn't just been played.

"As a matter of fact, we do," the big guy said, sliding open the camera and placing the memory card inside in his pocket. "Anthony Ricine. Real estate developer. Running for New York Mayor this season. These photos could end his political career before it even begins."

Ricine was no joke. He wasn't on the level of a major crime boss, but word was he was accumulating power fast, especially with gangs shifting loyalties.

"You think this is the first time a whore and some two-bit thugs tried to rip him off?" Johnny spat.

That earned him a crack to the jaw, sending him crashing into the wall. Redhead followed up with a knee to the groin, but Johnny stopped it in time, grabbing him and slamming him into the ground.

"Baby!" Selene rushed forward, kicking Johnny, but he shoved her back, putting her on her ass. He threw two hard punches. The first shattered Redhead's nose; the second knocked his jaw loose.

The big guy rushed in, but Redhead changed before he got there. His hair burned brighter, supernaturally bright, and his irises lit up, along with his arms. They snaked around Johnny, burning through flesh, blood, and fat. Johnny screamed.

"Will!" the big guy barked, stopping just short. "Stop it! You'll kill him!"

Will's legs lit up as he twisted, ending up on top. He mashed his palm down on Johnny's face. The boy let out a guttural scream as his flesh sizzled and fat burned.

The big guy tried to yank him off, but failed—Will's clothes were smoking from his own heat.

"Fuck that, T. No one talks to us like that. He's not worth ten grand."

Okay. I'd seen enough.

I leaped from my perch, dropping Curtain and materializing just as I hit the ground in a silent landing. I'd switched outfits since the sewer excursion: leather jacket, jeans, a loose shirt, gloves, and a half-mask covering my lower face.

The big guy and Selene turned to me immediately—then I was gone. Exploding forward, I was on them in an instant. My hand grabbed Will's and flung him off the burning boy.

"What the fuck was that!" Will shouted.

He stumbled up, fire literally burning in his eyes. The ends of his pants and shirt had burned off. He rushed me with ferocity that would've surprised most. To me, though, he was moving in slow motion. I kicked him in the stomach just as he reached out, swatting him into the wall.

I lowered my leg as Will's fire died out, then turned to his co-conspirators. They shirked back, naturally. T reached for something in his jacket, but I got my gun out quicker, pointing it at him.

"Don't make me kill you, not after I went through the trouble of saving your lives."

T froze, and Selene stayed mercifully silent.

"Who are you?" T asked.

I tucked my gun back into my shirt, vanishing it, then walked over to Johnny. His heartbeat was fading fast.

"You kill a crime boss and vanish for a few months, and everyone forgets your name," I said.

"You're him," T whispered. "You're that Julius."

"Johnny here has a few minutes left before he dies, and Ricine comes after you," I said, tilting my head. "Your days are numbered. Unless I reverse the damage and make sure he never talks. But there's a price."

T exchanged looks with Selene, then at Will's unconscious form. "How?"

"Does it matter?"

There was a beat of hesitation before T spoke up. "No. What do you want?"

"A team."

"You want us to work for you?" T blinked.

"Your scheme could've worked if your friend wasn't so trigger-happy," I said. "I'm setting up a new outfit, and I need people with skills who can take direction. Can you two do that?"

"Two?" Selene said weakly. "You're not taking Will?"

"I get the sense he's a punch-first, ask-questions-later kind of guy. I don't need a loose cannon on my squad."

Surprisingly, T didn't argue.

"But we're a team," she protested, voice trembling. "I love him."

"Then be with him and spare me the drama. What's it going to be? Johnny's running out of time."

—

They, of course, chose to come with me.

I healed Johnny as best as I could. There were faint burn marks on his limbs and face—not enough to disfigure him, but enough to get Ricine on my new group's trail.

That's why I made Johnny agree to a Binding Vow. In exchange for his life, he'd lay the blame squarely at Will's feet. A jealous boyfriend who wanted him dead for macking on his girl.

As for the rest of the team, I wanted to be thorough. I conducted personal interviews that lasted hours, using repetitive questions and my superhuman senses to suss out their intent.

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