"Okay, run that by me again?" Denki was the first to respond after I laid out the plan.

  "And give me one reason I shouldn't walk away right now," Nina added.

  The plan was understandably complicated and risky, but given what was available, it was our only option. We would stick together as a group until something happened. We had each revealed our powers to each other and agreed to certain jobs when a conflict broke out. Natsu and Denki were probably the best fighters, so they would be able to double team any group with ease. Hiro would only use his powers if absolutely necessary and would mostly act as a deterrent. We could probably bluff our way around his ability if needed.

  Nina and Natsu had revealed that they had been a part of Kawasaki's crew at one point. They were living on the streets and desperate for the food and shelter he provided. One day, a job went sideways, and they ran away with their cut before it was finished. That was what set him after them and what set them down the route of petty thievery. Denki flared up when he heard that part of their story, of course, but with their repentance after the incident at the mall, he calmed down. They knew how Kawasaki operated, and so did I — although I kept it to myself.

  He was a coward at heart despite what his looks suggested. He would hide behind anyone to guarantee his own safety. I added that he knew about my family and likely knew about everyone's families, so the possibility of a hostage would be high if we ran into him. Who it would be, we had no idea, but we agreed that saving them would be the priority in that situation. He would also likely have a large number of henchmen to throw at us until we were overwhelmed by numbers alone. In that case, we would make sure to leave a multitude of escape routes to allow for either Nina to run away with as many people as she could carry and for Denki to do the same.

  I was ultimately the last resort. With my freezing powers, I could get everyone out with ease, but the root cause would still be around — Kawasaki running free and coming after our group and our families. I wasn't sure how it would all play out, but we had to have some sort of plan in place regardless. Things would get even more complicated if he had another meta which he likely did. The final issue of getting him turned over to the authorities was left to Denki whose mother was a detective for the police force. Their relationship was a bit complicated, but with a single call, she would be there.

  * * * * *

  "What the hell have you done?" Kawasaki asked in disbelief.

  His henchmen littered the ground, all unconscious save the one that became a human shield. His ace in the hole was taken out of play just as he was about to get what he wanted. The only pieces remaining on the board were him and the geo.

  On our side stood Denki, Natsu, Rito, Hiro, and me. While a couple of us were tired from using our abilities so much, we could still fight. The Geo would prove the biggest struggle. He had covered himself in concrete armor with his ability. He was likely still highly mobile and strong enough to deliver devastating blows under that armor. Denki could probably take him on if he was at full strength, but with him even slightly taken down as he was, it would be a difficult fight. Without another word, the Geo charged us.

  Denki launched to meet him, and they locked grasps in a battle of strength. The ground shook underneath them as they put all of their weight into each other. I stopped time and grabbed the longest chain I could find. I wrapped it around the Geo's neck and held up the ends. Time resumed and I called out to Natsu.

  "Grab these!"

  He reached through the portal and grabbed both ends then pulled back. Hiro and Rito pulled one of Natsu's arms each for more force. I leaped off and struck Kawasaki in the face with my foot on the way down. The Geo was pulled back just enough for Denki to gain the upper hand. He threw his arms to the side and drove his shoulder into the Geo’s stomach, driving him to the flipped car. Before he could react, Denki planted his foot on the car and flipped him over his back into a pile driver position. Denki spun out, and Natsu threw two brass knuckles through the portal.

  "Catch, ugly!"

  "You're next, hotshot!"

  Denki quickly slipped on the knuckles and assumed a good stance as the Geo got back to his feet. He stumbled before charging Denki who dodged his blows with all of the grace of a professional boxer. The Geo would nearly hit him only to be caught with two or three solid punches from Denki. He left his legs unguarded, and Denki took the opportunity to strike his knee with little luck. Kawasaki was speechless as his heaviest hitter was being beaten down by a small group of high schoolers.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  "Kazuma! Denki! Get down!" Rito cried out as he threw a knife.

  We both ducked. I held my elbow out to make contact with Kawasaki's face, and Denki jumped back while keeping a solid guard. The Geo turned around, and the knife bounced off of his armor. It ricocheted and went up, cleanly cutting a power line that landed in the puddle at his feet. Even all of that armor couldn't protect him from the high voltage. With a thunderous 'boom,' the Geo was launched into a wall and left twitching. His skin was singed and could have ended us fused with the concrete that served as his armor.

  "That's insane, man," Natsu said in horrid disbelief.

  "This smell... I think I'm going to be sick," Hiro added.

  "There's no way that I did that..." Rito muttered in disbelief.

  Denki stood up and walked over to me, holding out his hand. I grabbed it and stood up as Kawasaki pulled his own pistol and pointed it at me. He pulled the trigger and yelled, but nothing happened.

  "You really thought I'd let you keep any ammunition?" I asked. "You're going to prison, Kawasaki. You're not going to hurt anyone anymore."

  We pulled him to his knees and had him keep his hands on his head. Denki walked to the side and called his mother. After a few moments of holding the phone away from his head to avoid hearing damage, he came back and gave a thumbs up.

  "She'll be here in a minute, buddy," he said with a tired smile.

  "I'm glad we all made it through that," I sighed with relief. "We'll need to meet up with the others after he's taken in."

  "How? How the hell did I lose to some kids?" Kawasaki looked up at me for a moment and chuckled. “Damn…”

  "What's so funny?" I asked in disdain.

  "You know, he was right about you, kid."

  "Who? Your boss? I didn't think scum like you answered to anyone."

  He chuckled again. "Not a chance, kid. Here I thought he had come to help me make this city my own. Turns out, he just brought me another pain in my ass."

  "Who the hell are you talking about?"

  He looked into my eyes and smiled. He opened his mouth to speak when...

  BANG

  Further down the street, a gunshot rang out. I panicked and felt for anything on my person. Still freaking out, I slowed and stopped time to check on everyone else. Denki was just taking in the sound. Natsu, Rito, and Hiro hadn't even reacted to it yet. None of them were shot.

  Then who... oh shit.

  I looked back to Kawasaki whose head barely peaked over the hood of the car. He had a hole perfectly in the side of his head. There would be no saving him. I looked down where the shot came from. Further down the road stood a figure in a leather body suit and a full biker's helmet. I ran up to them and saw the shape of a female figure as I got closer. Without anything else, I knew exactly who it was: Number 12. I ran up to her and nearly ripped the helmet from her head, ready to cave her skull in with it, but her face made me stop in my tracks.

  She was crying her eyes out. Her face was making a pained grimace. I looked at her stance again. Her left knee was already buckled. She was terrified. The arrogant nightmare that almost killed me in my last life now stood before me consumed by fear and guilt at ending what I could only guess was her first life this time around.

  Everything from the past had changed. Previously, her first target was a slimy money launderer for a corrupt politician, and that wasn't until our second year at Makarov Academy. She reveled in that kill until her next mission came months later. After that, her pride grew and grew until the last day.

  I knew what I had to do. She was already an assassin, willing or not. I had to bring her down or bring her in, but as I stood there holding her helmet in the rain. I found myself unable to do anything. The light from dusk made her puffy blue eyes seem almost like crystals. Her skin glistened as tears rolled down her cheeks. The prideful horror from the future wasn't anywhere to be seen inside that helmet.

  This Angelica Grey could still be saved… it’s a long shot, but if it works…

  I knew I would regret letting her go, but I did it nonetheless. I emptied out her weapon and returned it to her hand. She would be able to protect herself if only once that way. I slowly walked back to Kawasaki's soon-to-be corpse and released my hold. Everyone went back to their panicked pat downs to see if they were hit, his body landed in a forming puddle, and Number 12 ran off into the rain. Shortly after, Detective Fujimori arrived and saw the scene. With Kawasaki and another dead, several unconscious goons, and a localized power outage, there would be a myriad of questions for our group. She knew this and bit her nail.

  "Some anonymous tip," she said under her breath.

  "Mom?" Denki started.

  "You kids shouldn't be here, it's not safe. Go home." She looked at Denki. "Take care of your brother and make sure he eats and bathes. Tonight's going to be a long one for me."

  Before he could say anything else, I grabbed Denki's shoulder and took off away from the scene. The others joined us, and we left the soaked battlefield behind us. The stench of burned skin and blood filled our noses and the sound of sirens pierced our ears despite the rain doing its best to drown them out.