Sunshine threw her arms out, but when she caught his arm, pain erupted in her hip.

  She knew she’d be weaker now, though this was just embarrassing. Lifting with her legs didn’t help either.

  Sunshine called out to Salty for help. His eyes widened in response, and yet he stayed put. “I know you don’t like me, but think about your boss! You don’t want him to get hurt, right!?”

  The girl couldn't handle the burning sensation in her hip, and it felt like her legs were about to explode. Falling to her knees, Sunshine’s grip began loosening.

  Thankfully, Salty gave a helping hand, successfully snapping out of his fear. With his help, they were able to lift Garlic up. They all lay on the floor, shouting and gunshots echoing through the first floor.

  “Are you… ok?” Sunshine panted.

  “Don’t worry about me,” Garlic said, sitting up. “I noticed you were bleeding.”

  She looked at the blood staining the bottom of her tank top. “You are a pretty heavy dude.”

  “No, I meant from your nose.”

  Sunshine’s heart skipped a beat as she wiped her nose. “I-I get that sometimes. It’s normal. Anyways, let's go downstairs and see if we can help.”

  “Sunshine, you’re hurt,” Garlic said with a concerned face. “It’s ok if you need to rest.”

  She regained her bearings. “Nah, I’m good.”

  The scarface got up as well. “What about you, Salty? You’re not heart, are you?”

  The rookie side-eyed Sunshine, and then stood back up too.

  “I guess that answers my question.” Garlic pointed at the shelves. “Grab a gun, you two. We failed in stealth, but we can still end this with a win.”

  The three each took a firearm. Salty and Garlic both acquired handguns. Sunshine got herself a rifle, which was heavier than she thought it’d be.

  The moment they hit the escalator, the shrieks, gunfire, and electric crackling told them everything.

  A bolt of white slashed across their vision. A gunman brave enough to join the fight stood up from behind the chair, firing wildly. The bullets never made it. Kofi’s lightning sheared through him, a quick flash that reduced the man to dust.

  Another guy attempted to fire, but electricity burst from the dreadhead’s body, curved, and carved the dude apart.

  And in the center of the chaos, Kofi was fighting the woman in the yellow armor with his bare hands. Their fists clashed again and again, sparks flying out across the mall. Then, the woman hit him with something he didn’t expect.

  A tail.

  His body slid backward, jacket tearing in two. “And I liked that jacket too.”

  “You won’t have to be sad about it soon,” said the armor woman. “Your head will be next.”

  Upon a closer look, her long tail had a curved black stinger at the end of it — just like a scorpion’s.

  Scorpion Woman, Sunshine thought while they watched from the escalator.

  Kofi began stretching his shoulders. “Hey, what happens when that stinger stabs me?”

  “Oh, so you’re taking interest in my Deathstalker?” Scorpion Woman asked, caressing her tail. “Once you’re stung, a nice poison will course through your body. Your muscles will convulse, you’ll foam at the mouth, bleed through your dick and eyes, and then you’ll die.”

  He then did some jumping jacks. “Ooo, sounds fun!”

  “You can try to hide your fear all you want, but many people have died at the hands of my beautiful Deathstalker, and you’ll be next, Kofi Kingston. Yes, that’s right. I know who you are, and I’m not scared one bit.”

  “Cool. Cool,” Kofi replied, stretching his legs.

  “If the UG kicked you out, then you’re clearly not as strong as I thought you were,” Scorpion Woman snickered, tail waving in the air. “You’ll pay for your weakness and your stupidity.”

  Kofi… got kicked out!? Is that why he’s with the Resource Adventurers now? But that’s not what he told me.

  “You done talking yet, lady?” the dreadhead asked, beginning to walk to her.

  She gritted her teeth. “Don’t try to act tough! Do you really believe you can kill me?”

  “I just know you’ll never kill me. That’s all the motivation I need.”

  Her tail shot forward — a brutal blur of yellow. Sunshine barely saw it.

  The stinger punched straight through Kofi’s chest. The girl’s heart dropped. She didn’t know whether he couldn’t dodge or he didn’t want to.

  Scorpion Woman leaned in close, voice shaking with delight. “You feel that, Kofi? That tingling? That burning sensation? Like someone lit a fire beneath your skin? This is only just the beg-”

  She yelped. Black liquid squirted out of what was left of her tail, and her body trembled. The other half was still stuck in Kofi’s chest, who found the whole thing amusing.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  “What did you-How did you-”

  “I used strands of electricity — so small that you couldn’t see them — to slice your tail off the second you attacked. Pretty fire, right!? I was gonna let you keep it, but I’m confident your Radius Ability has more depth than that!”

  “It-It doesn’t matter!” Scorpion Woman growled, holding her severed tail close. “My poison was still injected into you!” A shaky laugh left her mouth. “You’ll die any moment now!”

  “Don’t even trip about that, gyal,” Kofi exclaimed, pulling the stinger out. Blood didn’t spill from his stab wound. “Where do you think my electricity comes from? I’m the living lightning bolt! Your juices burned up inside of me!”

  “What!?”

  Kofi sighed, aiming his palms at her, fingers curled. “If that’s all your power amounted to, if that’s your big trump card, then you really ain’t shit.”

  “Wait! Wait!” Scorpion Woman pleaded, backing away. “I-If y-you kill me, then Michael Corleone will find o-”

  She never got the chance to finish the threat. A flash of light swallowed the space between them. Sunshine’s eyes barely registered the movement before it was already over.

  Kofi had vanished, and in the next instant, he was behind Scorpion Woman, arms still extended forward. A stream of white traced the exact path his body had taken, and that thread had cut straight through the lady’s torso.

  At first, nothing happened. Nothing except Sunshine’s fingers twitching. Something was about to happen.

  “Blitzkrieg!”

  Lightning from above swallowed the woman’s body whole, along with the corpses littering the ground, forming pillars of light. When they dispersed, all that was left was the piles of smoking dust and a cackling Kofi, who reveled in his victory, electricity dancing around his body.

  “If he was just gonna screw everything up anyway, then what was the point of my acting?” Salty whispered in an annoyed tone.

  “Damn that crazy fool,” Garlic said angrily. “We’ll have to stay low for a while after this. I’ll let the others know.”

  Sunshine should've been angry too, and yet she was only intrigued — intrigued by the privileges only the strongest had. There was a long stretch of road between that laughing man and where she was at. Someone who could do whatever they want, say whatever they want, and achieve whatever they want.

  That was who she needed to be.

  Kofi looked around eagerly, seemingly trying to find more victims for him to zap. His face lit up when he spotted the three staring at him. “Hey, guys! I handled the problem! Without your help!”

  “He is so annoying,” Salty muttered as he walked down the escalator.

  He is so cool, Sunshine thought, following the two down.

  The dreadhead closed the distance before they even got to the last step. “Oooo, I see y’all packing heat now? You should pull the trigger up close to see if I could dodge the bullet.”

  “Do these guns even have ammo?” Sunshine wondered, looking at her rifle. “Why did we take these without knowing that first?”

  “Strawberry doesn’t need bullets to use her portals,” Kofi said. “We just need the actual guns.”

  He raised his palm toward the ceiling, electricity bursting from his hand. It then morphed into a crackling net that hovered above his hand. Sunshine understood its purpose, and so did the Garlic and Salty. The trio moved at once, collecting the firearms upstairs. One by one, they tossed each gun into the floating net, and once the job was finished, Kofi tied the net nice and tight.

  He hoisted the net onto her shoulders. “You guys are slow, so I’ll meet y’all at the 78.”

  “No, we should stick together this time,” said Salty. “We only got into this mess because you wanted to do your own thing. Right, Garlic?”

  “And what are you gonna do if I don’t?”

  It was a good question by Kofi. They really couldn't do anything about it. Salty’s mouth opened, but words never came out.

  Kofi scoffed. “That’s what I thought. Oh, and Sunnyside?” Sunshine’s ears perked up. “I’m holding the prize, but you’ll be making the offer. You still need to make it right with the Death Riders, remember?”

  “Yeah, I will,” she replied. Sunshine wished that declaration had more confidence in it. They had the guns, but it was gonna take a little more than that to get that gang to like her.

  After they exchanged nods, Kofi bolted out of Newport Centre, breaking through the wall, as though the entrance door wasn’t already wide open.

  “Does he know how to get there on his own?” Sunshine asked, swooping the hair out of her face. “I mean, if he has the map-”

  “His map burned in the fight,” Garlic said.

  “Oh… Well, at least he has the status b-”

  Garlic pulled out the same status board Jason had given her, giving her the answer she wasn’t looking for.

  “Oh, boy,” she sighed.

  **********

  They were back at the 78 bridge and Sunshine’s body was completely frozen.

  Even though she’d been told what the password was — “What Makes You Beautiful” by One Direction — and the Death Riders’ motto — ride on death like like it's a highway — she couldn't shake away the feeling that something was gonna go wrong.

  What if she came off as too aggressive and their boss took that as a challenge? What if the guns exploded in their face the moment they pulled the triggers? What if she was too good with her words and they forced her to join their gang?

  Sunshine started practicing how she'd talk to them and what she'd say to them.

  First, she did a soft voice, but that made her sound cowardly. Then, one with more spice in it, more fire. That sounded too angry.

  Garlic rested his hand on Sunshine’s head, seemingly sensing her nervousness. She purposely whispered so that the three men wouldn’t hear her, so he must’ve been right behind her. “Don’t treat this like a job interview. The first step is a proper apology, and then after that, go with the flow.”

  Easy advice if she had only insulted their boss. But she tried to attack her. Things had to be done differently.

  “Remember, kid,” Salty cut in. “You have something bigger to worry about anyway.” Jerome? “Like the fact that you ate zombie meat and still have an hour left to show you’re still safe.”

  Oh, yeah. That.

  Sunshine had asked the Resource Adventurers about that, and they told her there was a ninety-five percent chance she’d be feasting on their flesh by the end of the day. However, it really felt like a hundred percent ‘cause so few people had done what she did, and all those guys turned.

  That five percent gave her hope. After all, her stomach never grumbled upon the sight of any humans.

  “And don’t forget, Sunny.” It looked like Kofi was next to join the crew of last minute advice that totally didn’t help. “With these guns acquired, you got the high ground now. When it comes to negotiating, always make sure you got the high ground.” He flashed the electrical net of firearms with a smile on his face.

  “I’ll try to remember that,” Sunshine said, preparing to knock on the gate. It was much quieter inside this time around, and the smell of spray paint and blood had become less intense. Maybe that would ease her nerves.

  Her hand knocked once. No one answered the first time — just like before. She didn’t waste any more time and transitioned into banging that reverberated through the night.

  Sunshine didn’t worry about Radions hearing the sound — even if they were more active at nighttime. If they wanted a fight, then Kofi would gladly give it to them. Not to mention, the Death Riders were pretty dang loud themselves.

  That was the best part about having a Radius Ability.

  The weak didn’t mean anything to you.

  After a half minute, Sunshine’s banging was starting to mean nothing too.

  “Maybe they’re sleeping?” Garlic suggested. He didn’t seem to notice his big hand was still weighing on her head.

  “Only these freaks would sleep out in the open,” Salty said, crossing his arms.

  Were sleeping in tents really any better?

  “I always sleep out in the open,” Kofi said, getting a sigh out of the rookie. “Sunny, if you want the big girl in charge to come out, just scream ‘Strawberry Shortcake’ into the sky.”

  Strawberry Shortcake? That must’ve been a secret password more secret than the main one.

  Sunshine shouted the name loud enough to probably wake up the Death Raiders in one go.

  Only one person woke up. She noticed a silhouette in the sky, purple and blue sparkling like glow sticks. They landed on her left. The rocks beneath their spiked boots exploded upon impact, but Sunshine’s head leaned back before it could hit her.

  It was Strawberry, and her face was as red as a tomato. She had to be the most colorful person she’s ever met.

  “Wh-Who said that…?” the boss muttered, teeth chattering like she bathed in ice cold water seconds prior. “Who the frick out here saying that name out loud!?”

  Sunshine raised her hand with a blank expression.

  “It’s you again,” Strawberry said in a surprised tone, pointing her finger at her. “The kid who was talking all that fart. How do you know my name?” Noticing Kofi, she figured out the answer on her own. “You!”

  “Me!” Kofi exclaimed, raising his fist into the air. “Sunny, let me introduce you to the meanest, toughest girl New York has ever seen — Strawberry Shortcake Richards.”

  “Yuh mad!?” Strawberry said angrily, throwing a rock at him. “Don’t seh mi full name in yah, man!”

  Was she concerned the Death Riders would hear it? Did they not know what her name was?

  “Unnu did a sleep in deh?” Kofi asked in that unique dialect Sunshine couldn’t decipher yet.

  “Yeh, but dem sleep heavy.”

  “And you!” The boss turned to Sunshine. Garlic removed his hand, though he didn't back away, “You tryna get popped or something? Don’t you know banging on someone’s door is a sign you tryna throw hands?”

  Ignoring Strawberry’s hard to understand words, Sunshine calmly said, “I’m sorry for disrespecting you and your group. I barged in on your party and tried to attack you out of anger and selfishness, and that was wrong of me. Would you please forgive me?”

  The awkward silence after the apology was so strong it felt crushing.

  Perhaps her voice wasn’t sincere or genuine enough?

  Strawberry took away her worries with a flustered laugh. “Oh, thank you. Wait, I mean, I forgive you! Sorry, I’m not used to actual apologies.”

  “You forgive me? Already?” Sunshine asked, trying hard not to jump for joy.

  “It’s not like many people who do me wrong be saying it anyway. Mostly because because I be beating them so bad they can’t speak after.”

  Cool. “Oh, yeah! I remember that offer you made me and…” Sunshine showed her the electric net of guns. “I-We got these for the Death Riders.”

  Strawberry’s eyes shimmered, clasping her hands like a girl who’d just been gifted a cute dress. “Holy fart! This is awesome. Where’d you get all this?”

  “We stole ‘em,” Kofi said.

  The boss blushed. “Awww. You risked getting serious payback from an infamous family to get me this?”

  “We’ll give you these… if you give me a kiss on the cheek,” Kofi suggested, poking his cheek.

  The offer made Sunshine flinch.

  “Frick no!”

  “I think what my, uh, friend here was trying to say was that if we give you these, you’ll let me cross the bridge with no trouble,” Sunshine said. She didn’t know if she and Kofi were friends, but how else would their relationship be described?

  Strawberry rubbed her chin. “Hmm. I did say you could pass if you got me these, so sure. I’ll let you pass. But you sure going to Manhattan during nighttime is the right move? It ain’t safe.”

  “Yeah, but to pass the time, I was hoping you could do one more favor for me.”

  “Another one?”

  “I need your portal.”