by Helene Gadot
"I don't know. It looks fun."
"You want to jump in the ball pit, don't you?" Ridley grinned.
"You don't?"
"Maybe a little."
"Once we have the stuff from his wife, we should celebrate by making the jump."
Ridley tried incredibly hard not to be, but she was charmed. "I'm in. Now, where the hell is Malia? We're never going to be able to find her or Lena in this madhouse."
"Uh, I think I found Malia." He pointed at the ball pit.
Ridley's mouth fell open as she watched her friend leap and plummet in a cannonball into the pool of balls. The crowd howled and applauded as she climbed out and performed an extravagant bow.
Ridley shook her head with a laugh, Beckett clapping at her side as they shoved through people to reach Malia. "Hey doofus. What are you doing?"
She grinned, breathless. "I figured you two needed a few minutes so you could have sex in the alley, so I decided to have a little fun while I waited."
"We didn't have sex in the alley." Unfortunately.
"Well, you should have."
Ridley hurried to change the subject. "Where are we meeting Lena?"
"She called and reserved a table at the back. Nice and secluded. Follow me." Malia stalked off.
Ridley hurried to keep up, tugging Beckett behind her, enjoying the sensation of his hand in hers. They sat at a small table for four that faced the main part of the club. They were right beside the hallway leading to the restrooms. Ridley could barely think over the loud thump of the music. Apparently conversations weren't a priority at this place.
Beckett's thigh brushed against hers beneath the table. Ridley pressed back, and they exchanged a heated look. If she decided to work with them, it was only a matter of time before she slept with one of them. Or all of them. She was constantly turned on around them. If she had a dick, it'd be hard all the time.
Instead, she had to change her underwear multiple times a day.
Lena appeared through the crowd, gliding over to sit at the remaining seat. Since they couldn't talk without yelling, they exchanged packets beneath the table. Everything else, Malia and Ridley had handled through messages.
Tears glistened in Lena's eyes as she mouthed her thanks. Ridley reached across the table and squeezed the woman's hand, her heart aching for her.
There was no way she could give up helping women escape men like Gregory. She couldn't do it. Nothing was more important to her.
Lena stood and with a last grateful nod, she disappeared through the lights and fog and people. Ridley needed a drink, especially for the conversation she'd soon have to have.
Beckett took one of her arms and Malia took the other and they dragged her over to the ball pit. Ridley shoved the packet from Lena down her pants so it wouldn't get lost and climbed up the ladder first. At the top, she stared down at the multicolored balls, partially hidden by smoke from the fog machines.
She took the leap, ignoring the symbolism, ignoring everything but the rush of adrenaline powering through her, the excitement of the drop.
Balls exploded around her when she landed, flying up into the air and raining back onto her. A wide grin spread across her face as Malia and Beckett touched down on either side of her. Beckett struggled to his feet and Ridley slammed into him, knocking him through the balls. He grabbed her and brought her with him beneath the surface, stealing a kiss from her.
Sadness welled, and she sank into him, enjoying his taste. They came up for air when Malia yanked on the back of Ridley's shirt.
Once they were out, still laughing and dizzy, they made their way from the club. Outside, it was like her hearing was gone. She messed with her ears until they cleared up, noticing Malia and Beckett having the same problem.
"Are you coming back to the house to see what she gave us?" Ridley asked Malia.
"No. I'm going home to Katy. Just email me everything you have and I'll go through it in the morning. And call me when you need backup."
"Will do."
Beckett turned to her. "Ready to go home?"
Ridley swallowed, her chest aching. "Yeah. Let's go home."
43-Ridley
A pile of photos and files spread out across the dining room table. The thumb drive Gregory's wife had given them held way more information than they expected or dared hope for.
They'd barely gotten through half of if, and they already had more than enough to put him away for the next hundred years. She'd even collected information on the marvels Gregory surrounded himself with.
"We didn't even have a suspicion about some of this shit, much less proof." Maddox slapped a pile of photographs onto the table and gathered up his hair into a bun at the back of his head with a sigh.
Beckett looked up from his computer. "He's a much bigger monster than we knew. If the Legion still ignores this, it'll be time to turn our attention of them."
Maddox shook his head. "They won't ignore this. I'll take it to the media if they do. And I'll make sure they understand that fact if they drag their heels."
"Good. We need to take him down tomorrow."
Ridley nodded. "Yes, we do. I'm worried about Lena. Until he's arrested, she's in danger. Possibly even after if we can't round up everyone in his pockets."
"You gave her the address for the safe-house, right?" Reese asked.
"Yeah, but it's a short-term solution. Her flight to Prague heads out next week under her new name."
Maddox eyed her. "Do we want to know how you got that done so quickly?"
"Nope." Ridley snorted. She and Malia had some very discreet and helpful contacts.
A growl slipped from her lips as she read the information on the new strain of GHB he'd released onto the streets. It was way worse than the usual drug. The new one left them completely aware, but unable to fight back or disobey any orders from whoever doses them.
Cormac tapped a pile of papers. "I've got a list of knaves on his payroll and what their powers are. And proof of their own misdeeds. The Legion isn't going to have a choice."
"You guys, it's even worse than we thought." Horror painted Beckett's tone as he stared at his computer screen. "He's been experimenting on marvels."
Ridley's head jerked up from the pile she was slogging through. "What?" She hadn't come across anything of the sort in everything she'd looked through.
Fury unlike anything she'd ever seen on Beckett's face flushed it red. "He's used marvel orphans and tried to extract their powers and put them in homeless people. We thought we were taking a regular bad guy off the streets, someone who ran shady business deals and possibly killed his prior wives and covered up rapes. That's all horrible enough. But this beefs him up to a major villain status even in the Legion's eyes."
Ridley reached over and took the file Beckett printed out, flipping through the photos with nausea twisting in her stomach. The photographs showed malnourished and injured children hooked up to machines. And a lot of dead homeless people.
The glow from the computer lit up Beckett's eyes. "It doesn't look like the children were killed. I've run their faces through my databases and they're all back in foster homes or orphanages. But the people he tried to give power, all died. I think I have the location of the mass grave of them."
Reese came to read over Ridley's shoulder. "His wife must have been gathering all this for a long time. No way she came up with all of it in a couple days."
"Either that or her husband is a moron who keeps it all somewhere easily accessible," Cormac said.
"He's got a big enough ego for it. His wife is terrified of him and he surrounds himself with powerful knaves."
Beckett pulled a USB from a chain around his neck. "I'm going to back up all of this onto my personal server and send a copy to Marcus."
Ridley frowned. "Who's that?"
"A Legion lawyer we trust. He can start putting together a case against him and the knaves."
Maddox ran a hand through his hair. "Excellent. Meanwhile, we need to come up with a plan of attac
k for tomorrow night. We know he'll be at the club, but that leaves us with a lot of civilians caught in the crossfire."
Reese smiled. "I already have a plan."
Of course he did.
44-Ridley
Ridley, Maddox, and Beckett paused outside the club, waiting for the signal from Malia to let them know she had the force field in place. Cormac was somewhere nearby, invisible and Reese was flying above their heads.
The ear-piece in Ridley's ear crackled to life. "It's up. We're a go."
Ridley nodded at the others. "We're ready."
"Brace yourselves."
Ridley widened her stance, steadying herself. The ground beneath them rumbled and groaned as Maddox created a small earthquake beneath the club. It only took a few seconds before people ran through the doors, screaming in panic. Ridley and the guys pressed up against the side of the building, watching them stream out and race away.
It was probably a little mean, but they needed them out of there so they wouldn't get hurt.
Reese's gamble paid off. Not a single one of Gregory's knaves or his hired guns left the club. The trembling earth quieted, stilling once more.
"There are still some people inside. No customers, just staff." Cormac's voice whispered through the coms.
"Damn."
Beckett sighed. "We thought this might happen. It's why I'm the backup plan. I'll get them out and keep them from harm. The rest of you focus on the bad guys."
Ridley watched him with worried eyes as he slipped inside.
Maddox patted her arm as they followed. "He'll be fine. He's more powerful than you think."
Ridley nodded, but she didn't understand what he meant. Beckett had healing powers. He'd be invaluable after the battle, but in the middle of it, he'd only have his fighting skills and the gun strapped to his thigh. Against knaves with incredibly impressive powers.
Cormac had already started a whirlwind of chaos, Gregory's guys had their guns out and fog spread across the floor of the club. Ridley had been surprised Gregory bothered with that kind of power. It wasn't all that impressive.
Maddox used his wind to dissipate it with ease.
Electricity crackled from the hands of one of the other guys and Ridley hurried to cast the first illusion that came to mind. Unfortunately, it was to make him and everyone else believe he was naked.
But it worked.
It distracted everyone and made the guy lose his grip on the electricity.
Cormac flickered into sight behind him and slammed a nightstick against the back of his head, then disappearing again.
After that, everything went Mach five.
Everyone exploded into action and clashed against each other with fists and powers.
They spilled outside onto the streets after the fighting rained plaster and shattered glass onto them.
Ridley ducked as the telekinetic sent a fire hydrant shooting at her head, yanking Maddox down with her. They helped each other up and she sent the illusion of a car crashing into him in retaliation. He crumpled to the ground, but he didn't stay down long. Malia ran up and surrounded him in a separate force field, keeping his powers contained. Reese swooped down from the sky and she released a hole at the perfect moment and position for him to slam into the telekinetic.
Two down.
Way too many still to go. There were a couple here they weren't expecting and a lot of humans with guns.
45-Maddox
Maddox tried to keep up with everyone on his team, making sure they were still safe, but in the madness of the battle, it was difficult. Especially with Reese zipping around in the sky and Cormac invisible.
Gregory didn't only have knaves, he had humans with guns. Cormac flickered in and out of sight, knocking them out while Reese dive-bombed them from the sky.
Ridley created the illusion of zombies shuffling towards them and the remainder of them panicked, firing their guns at creatures that weren't really there. She stood there unmoving in the face of bullets and lasers shot from that asshole's eyes and whipping winds with a smirk on her face.
Her brain was one of a kind. She was one of a kind.
Thunder boomed and lightning flashed, a sudden storm soaking them. Maddox focused on the man who could control the weather. He was his to deal with. He had to trust the rest of his team to do what they did best.
Maddox gathered the water surrounding them, until every droplet was under his control, then sent it shooting right at the weatherman's face. It knocked him to the ground, drowning him in it. A twister zigzagged down the street, ripping trees from the ground, shattering the windows of the surrounding buildings.
His ears roared, and it broke his concentration, freeing the weatherman.
He cursed and called the wind to him, trying to force the twister under his control. His body trembled with the effort. He wasn't sure he could handle a tornado; it was something he'd never gone up against.
The edges of his vision went blurry, but he shook it off. He was the only one who stood a chance against him. He had to push through. He couldn't leave his team at the mercy of a tornado.
Both sides had stopped fighting, focused on keeping from being sucked away.
Ridley and Beckett were down, holding onto a tree, their bodies swaying in the air. Reese couldn't get close, Cormac was nowhere to be seen, and Malia was trying to contain it with a force field, blood streaming from her nose, but it kept ripping it apart.
Maddox roared and threw everything he had at the tornado, his body shuddering from the effort. It felt like he was going to break apart.
Finally, he ripped control from the weatherman and calmed the storm raging around them, turning the tornado into clouds he blew away with the wind.
The world tilted, and he went down.
46-Ridley
The tornado and rain and thunder finally disappeared, returning the calm and starlit night. Ridley slammed to the ground beside Beckett with the wind no longer trying to suck them into the sky.
She scrambled to her feet, searching for the nearest threat. Laser eyes still needed to be taken care of. Where was he?
The crumpled form of Maddox grabbed her attention and she raced over to him. She breathed easier when he struggled to his feet. She helped him the rest of the way up.
"I'm okay, honeybun."
"Good." She sent the illusion of a lightning strike at the weather controller who shook and screamed and fell to the ground.
Beckett raced over to him and pressed his hand into the weather guy's chest.
"What's he doing?"
"Making sure he takes a nice long nap."
She was definitely asking questions about that later, but they still had a bunch of people to deal with. And she wasn't sure where the rest of her team was. Where was Reese? Cormac? Malia?
The humans finally gathered themselves enough to scramble for their weapons and search for something to aim at. Ridley made them believe the building they were beside crumbled on top of them, all of them collapsing in a pile, guns scattering across the street.
Malia used her force field to hold them in place when they realized they weren't buried under a pile of rubble.
Reese and Cormac took on laser eyes, Reese keeping him distracted, getting winged in the process, so Cormac could appear behind him and knock him out.
And there was Gregory. Trying to sneak away, leaving his knaves to do his dirty work.
Oh, hell no.
Trusting her team to handle everyone else, she scrambled across actual rubble and leapt over tires and scrap metal, slamming into Gregory and tackling him to the ground.
"Get off me, you bitch." Gregory elbowed her in the face, but she shook off the pain and dizziness. She'd had way worse.
Ridley made it look like pieces of his skin was sloughing off in big bloody patches. She also manipulated him into believing his dick completely disappeared.
The punishment should match the fucking crime. She wanted to do much, much worse to the piece of bellybutton lint.
/> He screamed and bucked and writhed, staring at his hands in horror, then grabbed his crotch with a howl.
She flipped him onto his stomach, stretching his arm behind his back and searched his pockets. It didn't surprise her at all to find a packet of pills.
She jerked him back to face her, releasing the illusion, then shoved both pills into his mouth, punching him in the throat so he was forced to swallow them.
"Who's the bitch now?"
The pill took less than a minute to take effect, his eyes shining with fear, his face going slack. He tried to speak, but only a garble came out.
She released him, wiping her hands on her pants, her skin crawling from touching him. She grabbed a zip-tie from her pouch and trussed him up just in case the pill wore off too soon.
The surrounding battle was over, only her people still remained standing.
Sirens sounded in the distance. Of course the cops would show up now.
Reese stumbled over to her and cupped her cheek. "You alright? You've got a nasty bruise forming."
"I'm fine. Nothing a pain reliever and a shower won't fix. What about you?" She inspected him, searching for injuries. "You took a hit from laser douche."
"Beckett will take care of it. Just a burn."
She winced at the angry and oozing red wound on his arm. She peeked past his shoulder, checking on everyone else. They limped over, their eyes roving over her while hers did the same to them.
They were all standing and still able to walk. The adrenaline faded from her system, leaving her shaky and exhausted.
Maddox grabbed her arm. "You and Malia need to get out of here. Now. Cops and aces are on the way. You two can't be here. There will be too many questions."
Ridley nodded. "Right. Thanks." She definitely needed to get the fuck out of there.
"We'll see you later at home. It might be awhile because we're taking them in personally to make sure it's handled correctly."
"Smart plan." She smiled at them all. "Some impressive fighting." It was her first major battle with so many allies.
