This was like something out of a weird, messed-up nightmare. My arm-blade was buried right inside Patch’s chest, and she was laughing and joking like she didn’t even care.

  What was her deal, how was she so carefree? Was she just completely nuts, or-?

  Panicking, I tore my arm free, the blade tearing through Patch’s side with a wet ripping sound. She stumbled a little as the blade exited, still giggling.

  I was still focused on Patch, on where I’d cut her. I’d hit her hard enough that the blade had fully torn through her chest, and now there was a massive, open wound that I could clearly see through.

  But before my eyes, that gash was knitting itself back together, tendons twitching and pulling the skin together like a sped-up time-lapse. I heard Elena gag behind me.

  Within maybe a second, it was like I’d never cut her at all; no scar, no blood, nothing.

  Holy shit. I thought, dumbstruck. I’d never seen healing that fast before; it made my own healing look pathetic.

  “Wow-ee!” Patch said, beaming, “You don’t fuck around!”

  She pulled the knife out again, the hilt dangling loosely in her fingers before she gripped it tight, rushing towards me in a blur.

  She went to swing, and-

  Something kicked out from behind her, too fast for me to track, causing Patch to stumble into the walls of the alleyway. Maddie was behind her.

  Wait. I thought, turning around, She’d been behind me-

  “Focus!” Maddie barked, before she suddenly darted back as Patch shot up and towards her, knife swinging like a wild animal.

  “Just like old times, right Madsie?! God, I’ve missed this.” Patch hummed brightly, hacking and slashing, as Maddie just barely ducked and weaved away.

  I turned sharply to Elena. She just nodded at me, unhooking one of the canisters on her costume and dumping its contents into her mouth.

  I shot forward, focusing my power into the arm-blade and reshaping it into a shorter hook; I had to get her away from Maddie somehow.

  Something shot from Elena’s direction, slamming into the wall beside us. I heard her swear, frustrated.

  As I swung, aiming for her shoulder, Patch spun around. But just like before, it was like she wasn’t even trying to dodge, like she was moving into the attack. She ducked into the swing, the hook jamming right into her shoulder.

  I flinched as I felt it bite into her, then yanked hard, dragging her towards me and away from Maddie. Her weight jerked as her skin and bone grinded against the hook, wet and audible.

  “Wow, up-close and personal, new girl?” Patch sang, eyes bright and breath coming quick as she turned to me. She was still upright, though dangling slightly as I dragged her towards me.

  PLEGH!

  Elena spat something from behind me. I quickly spun to try and turn Patch around into it, but she pulled back hard enough to wrench me in the other direction. The alleyway was too narrow, I couldn’t turn her in time-

  Elena’s projectile slammed into my back with a solid thunk, knocking the wind out of me. I gasped, staggering forward. I heard Elena curse as my vision swam for a second, but I could also hear Patch cackling like it was the funniest thing in the world.

  Then I realised she was still holding her knife. My eyes widened, right before she jammed it into my shoulder, white-hot pain tearing through my arm.

  I screamed, the pain shooting through me as she wrenched the knife. I staggered back, my hook loosening from her shoulder; the hole in her body it had left behind sealed shut almost immediately. Without missing a beat, she darted past me and bolted towards Elena.

  I spun, trying to ignore the pain in my shoulder and taking a breath. I tried to take a step forward, bracing myself against the wall before standing fully upright. I could feel the skin and muscle in my shoulder pulling itself back together, slowly.

  Elena reared back, spitting again. It slammed into Patch’s shoulder this time, hard enough that it popped out of the socket with a wet crack.

  “That one really popped.” Patch squealed, more from delight than actual pain, before the shoulder shook once and slotted back into place with a wet click.

  I glanced up at Elena as she reared back again, her throat bulging. She was trying to keep her distance from Patch, but Patch was just faster than her, closing the distance no matter what Elena did.

  “G-get away from her!” I yelled, as my ribs burst out from under my skin with a series of wet pops, each one like a jagged spear that hooked into the walls of the alleyway. Moving quickly, I skittered up, using them to scramble up the wall before I shot into the air, launching myself towards Patch.

  As I moved, I blinked; Maddie was suddenly right between Patch and Elena. She kicked Patch in the stomach, hard enough to make her stumble as I bared down on her.

  She just barely looked up as I got close to her, driving my foot right into the side of Patch’s head. She toppled over, crashing into the wall with a thud, still laughing as I landed just beside Maddie.

  There was a pause, the three of us just standing there and waiting. Patch was lying against the wall, laughing like she was having the time of her life.

  I turned around; the end of the alleyway was maybe ten feet away from us, opening out into a busy street. Maybe that would give us some more freedom, some space to fight?

  I felt Maddie nudge me; I turned to look at her as she nodded.

  Guess she figured out my idea. I thought, as we started slowly edging backwards

  “Wow!” Patch giggled as she pulled herself to her feet, sounding euphoric. “I can totally see why Razy and Twisty got put in the slammer. You two rule!”

  “Go!” Maddie shouted, turning around and bolting out of the alleyway. Elena ran with her, with me bringing up the rear.

  “Aw, don’t leave!” Patch, shouted after us.

  The street was busy, people bustling about and cars driving by in the main road. A crowd turned to look at us as we ran out.

  “Everyone, get back as far as you can!” Maddie shouted to the crowd, “Super-criminal incident in progress!”

  People began fanning out away from us. As soon as they did, Patch practically leapt from the alleyway and towards the three of us.

  “Crowded street, Madsie? Thought you knew better than that!” Patch cackled, before taking a few quick steps towards the crowd of people.

  Shit! I thought, watching her bolt towards the crowd.

  I turned towards her, my ribs still hanging out of my chest. I focused my power into them, launching four of them towards Patch like vines. Two of them hooked around her chest, stopping her in her tracks and causing the knife to go spinning out of her hands, skidding towards the crowd.

  “S-stay down!” I shouted, hooking the other two ribs into her side.

  “As if!” She cackled back, before she twisted herself around, the ribs grinding and ripping into her flesh, blood dripping onto the ground around her.

  Suddenly, Maddie seemed to just appear behind Patch as she cut at the back of her knees with something sharp of her own. Patch yelped, dropping to the ground.

  “Still fighting dirty, Madsie?” Patch laughed, grinning as she craned her neck to look at Maddie. She pulled herself up slowly, the flesh of her knees wiring back together in no time.

  I saw a chance, focusing my power again and retracting my ribs; Patch groaned as they pulled her towards me, reeling her in like a fish on a line. I reared my hand back again, before throwing a punch at her chest.

  But yet again, she ducked her head down, causing my fist to slam her right in the eye instead. Something popped from the impact, blood and fluid spurting out as her neck cracked back.

  I retched, pulling my hand away; red blood and clear gunk coated my fist.

  “Aw, come on!” Patch whined, “Don’t go and puss out on me now!”

  She looked up at me, that wild smile still plastered on her face. Her right eye had burst like a zit, blood racing down the side of her face as the tattered remains of it hung loosely from the socket like the remnants of a popped balloon.

  Then, I felt something in my eyes: that burning, stinging sensation from before the patrol. My vision looked strange, like the world was pulsing around me.

  Then I looked at Patch and froze, feeling bile rising in my stomach. I could see the eye reforming in Patch’s skull like an X-ray, the remains of it wiggling and weaving together before it started filling up and reinflating. That made my stomach lurch all over again.

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  So much so that she was able to get a free punch right in my kidneys.

  The pain exploded through me instantly, causing me to retch violently inside my mask. My legs gave out from under me, dropping me to my knees. Then she hit me there again. I tried to scream, but all that came out was a dry, heaving wheeze. My vision spun, the world feeling like it was toppling over.

  Patch reared back her hand again, ready to-

  Something smashed into the other side of her face, sending her spinning; whatever was happening to my eyes, I could see her skull buckle from the impact.

  I could feel my power coursing through where I’d been hit, trying to get me back up. I turned over to Patch; the thing that had hit her looked like a wad of wet bread, but solid like a rock. I looked over to Elena; she’d perched near the crowd, far away from Patch and I. She looked scared, staring up at me. I looked at her; I could still see her organs inside her body like a cross-section. I blinked hard once, then again, trying to get rid of…whatever this was.

  After a couple of seconds, the feeling subsided and everything looked normal again.

  What the hell is happening? I thought.

  Suddenly I felt something grab me under the arm and pull me to my feet: Maddie now suddenly next to me.

  “You ok?” She asked.

  I nodded, but I wasn’t, at all. The pain had subsided a bit, but my legs still felt shaky, and I still felt like I was one bad move away from vomiting again.

  I could tell that Maddie didn’t buy it, as she was narrowing her eyes at me.

  “Follow my lead.” She whispered, as Patch pulled herself up from the floor. She pointed just past Patch, towards a manhole cover.

  I gasped softly behind the mask, before nodding. She nodded back, before she seemed to fade away again.

  How is she doing that… I thought, as Patch looked at me.

  “You’ve got some balls.” She said, grinning. Her eye was fully regrown now, both of them wide and staring at me. “I’m honestly surprised you can, like, still stand, bone-girl.”

  Shakily, I put my hands in front of me, ready to block if need be.

  “Oh, I like you!” Patch said, before she rushed towards me again.

  Then she tripped, stumbling a few steps before regaining her balance. Maddie had reappeared behind her again, holding something in one hand: it looked almost like a rapier, but smaller and lighter.

  For the first time since we’d seen Patch, Maddie’s signature grin was on her face again.

  “En garde, bitch.” She snapped, before taking a step towards Patch, swinging the blade with practiced precision like a natural fencer. Patch didn’t even try to dodge, letting the blade cut into her; it sliced part of her hoodie open and cut the skin beneath, but the wound resealed itself as soon as the blade left.

  I rushed forward, focusing my power as bones erupted out and wrapped into gloves around my hands. As Maddie cut into Patch’s chest, I punched her in the back with a crunch.

  “No fair!” Patch whined, spinning around to look at me. She swung, hitting me in the arm hard enough to break my guard before swinging again. I barely ducked to the side, turning a bit more so that her back was to the manhole cover.

  I glanced over Patch’s shoulder; Maddie had appeared by Elena, and the two were moving towards the manhole.

  Guess it was on me to keep the pressure on.

  I punched her in the stomach, knocking her back. She smirked, before she grabbed me by the shoulders. I flinched for a second, as she reared back and slammed her head into my helmet with a loud crack. The impact was hard enough that it made my vision flash white, as I staggered for a second.

  Then she did it again, the crack ringing in my ears. I looked up for a split-second, seeing a large bloody cut on her forehead that was quickly sealing itself back up, blood dripping down into her wide, manic grin.

  Panicking slightly, I focused my power into my shoulders; small, thin spikes of bone erupted from them and through Patch’s hand. She barely reacted, but it was enough of a reaction that she lost the momentum on the incoming third headbutt. So naturally, I headbutted her back, cracking her in the head.

  We froze there for a moment, our heads pressed together tightly and locked in this stalemate, blood dripping onto the ground before us. I felt myself grinning under the mask without meaning to; I don’t know why, maybe it was just the adrenaline, but something about this felt exhilarating.

  I realised too late that I was getting distracted as Patch suddenly kicked my legs out from under me. I toppled, landing flat on my back with a groan. Barely missing a beat, she was above me, stomping hard onto my stomach once, then twice.

  Again, pain rocked through me as her boots crunched against me. I felt blood and bile shoot up my throat, heard the crowd wince and shout around me.

  “You should totally watch your footing!” Patch cackled as she kicked down at me.

  Then, something slammed into the side of her head again. A mass of off-white fondant, thick and heavy, enveloped the side of her face, stunning her for a second.

  “Wait, what the fuck-” she started.

  I coughed, blood splattering out of my mouth, before I let out a loud, ragged cry.

  I kicked up at her, focusing my power into my leg as a length of jagged bone shot out from my heel, nailing her in the stomach with a wet pop.

  I quickly pulled myself up - somewhat clumsily now that I had to deal with her speared on the end of my foot - and pushed her down to the ground. Then I swung my foot forward, with enough force to send her skidding across the sidewalk as the length of bone wound back into my leg.

  She landed about five feet away from the manhole, which Elena was holding half-open, visibly straining to keep it up.

  Patch rolled over as the hole in her stomach quickly knitted itself shut, pausing as she saw Elena and the manhole.

  “Oh, real fucking clever.” Patch droned, sarcasm oozing from her mouth. She pulled herself up quickly, that weird glue-like lump still fixed onto the side of her face, and took a step forward before-

  Something pierced through her chest, the end of a blade. Maddie was now right behind her, grinning as Patch was impaled on her blade.

  “Now!” She yelled at me, pulling the blade out. Patch grunted, laughing at us.

  I bolted forward, clasping both hands to my sides as the bones melded around them into a single, dense mass like the head of a hammer.

  Was she going to duck into it, or away?

  I swung up, as Patch darted to the left.

  PLEGH!

  A wad of meat splattered against Patch’s side, knocking her off-course.

  “Are you fucking kid-” She started.

  I swung my hands up, slamming Patch right in the jaw. It was enough force to knock Patch off her feet and send teeth flying into the air, before she bounced across the ground on impact.

  Right into the manhole.

  She just barely managed to catch the rim of it, looking up at us. My heart skipped a beat.

  “Come on, you really think this is gonna do anything. I’ll be totally fi-”

  There was a loud clang as Elena let go of the manhole cover, which slammed shut on Patch’s fingers, cutting them off with a wet, final crunch.

  As the adrenaline wore off and my healing started working a bit faster, I staggered, toppling to the ground on my ass. My stomach, my shoulder, my kidneys, my head; everything just hurt.

  Immediately, Elena shot towards me, crouching down. Behind her, a few people from the crowd stepped forwards as well, murmuring.

  “You ok?” Elena asked quietly, getting under my arm.

  “Y-yeah, I th-think.” I panted, gagging slightly, “That was j-just a lot.”

  As she helped me to my feet, I suddenly became very aware of the people around us. Pretty much the entire crowd - some three or four dozen people - were gathered, looking at us with a mixture of what looked like…awe? Worry? Fear? I couldn’t tell.

  “You were amazing!” One man - someone in his mid-thirties - shouted at us.

  “Can we get a picture?” A woman shouted.

  Maddie stepped up beside us, that grin still on her face.

  “Alright, people!” She chimed, hands out, “Back away from the new heroes, please! As you can see, they need a bit of a breather. But your concern is really appreciated, thank you.”

  “What’re their names?” A woman shouted.

  Maddie just turned to look at us, expectant.

  “Spitter!” Elena shouted back, beaming.

  The entire crowd felt like it locked onto me.

  I was terrified, worried my voice was going to give out on me.

  “I-it’s…” I took a breath. “Skullgirl.”

  We heard the crowd murmur amongst themselves, like they were processing our names. As they spoke, Maddie slid next to me.

  “Guys, I’m cutting this patrol short.” She said quietly through the grin on her face.

  “W-what about the incident that was reported-”

  “Other heroes can deal with it.” Maddie cut me off. “We need to go. Now.”

  She started walking away quickly, through the crowd. Elena helped me follow after her, but I quickly realised I was fine enough to walk on my own.

  As we rounded the corner, Maddie stopped, taking a breath,

  Elena eventually broke the silence. “So who is Patch, then?” She asked.

  “Nobody you need to worry about.” She snapped, fast.

  “M-Mad- Cheshire,” I quickly corrected myself, “She knew your name.”

  Maddie stopped dead in her tracks.

  “You k-know her, right? T-that’s why you looked so scared?”

  Elena looked up at me, shocked. “For real?”

  Maddie turned, taking a step towards me. I couldn’t tell if she looked angry or scared..

  “I-” She started, before cutting herself off. She ran a hand through her hair again.

  “A-are you-”

  Maddie let out a loud, frustrated yell, loud enough that Elena and I both flinched. “Fucking- fuck!” She shouted, kicking a trash can hard. Silence hung in the air as the loud clang echoed around us.

  “Lemme guess,” Elena asked, breaking the silence, her arms folded, “Some super-criminal you got on the wrong side of?”

  Maddie just glared at Elena, furious. It was enough that Elena actually flinched.

  “I-if she’s dangerous,” I said, stepping forward and locking eyes with Maddie, “We n-need to be able to d-deal with her.”

  She took a quick step closer, staring up at me.

  “Listen to me, both of you.” She hissed, “You can’t deal with Patch.”

  “I’m s-sorry, but I n-nearly got my guts stomped out,” I said, trying to sound stern as I locked eyes with her, “I th-think we’re owed an explanation on who s-she is.”

  I saw her eyes flickering around like she was trying to read me like a book. Eventually, she groaned, before she let out another yell and kicked the same trashcan with a clang.

  She stood there for a second, panting slightly before she turned back to me.

  “That first kiss made you grow a pair, huh?”

  I scoffed back, blushing a little bit under the mask. “M-maybe.”

  “But, you’re right.” She admitted, sighing, “So when we get back, I’ll tell you about her, and why we need to stay the fuck away from her.”