Chapter 40

Catapony's hideout stood silent, its ground floor a graveyard of shattered glass and blood-smeared walls.

The faint stench of burned flesh hung in the air, and outside, Catapony's remains lay sprawled amid the splattered gore. The superheroes had claimed the building—for now.

Ryn slumped against a cracked pillar, his amber eyes glinting in the dim light, his torn shirt clinging to a sweat-drenched chest. Mira sagged against his back, her four-foot frame draped over him, shadows curling lazily around her legs like exhausted tendrils.

Elena stood at the center, her steel-blue eyes sharp as she faced the freed heroes. Their bruised faces were taut, and lit as if they are in the light after the end of a long dark cave.

Safety was a fragile illusion—word of Catapony's death would ripple through the streets soon, and the other bosses would come for blood.

"We've got a window, a small one," Elena said, her voice slicing through the tense quiet.