Warning ⚠️: This book contains graphic content. Viewer discretion is advised.

The male with the broadsword launched towards Obsidian, faltering a bit as the much taller male lifted his arm to block the blade, the fabric of his trench coat seeming to block the blunt of the hit but the sound of crunching glass reached everyone's ears as Obsidian sucked in a breath of surprise.

Before Skinwalker could come to Obsidian's aid, the person holding the machine gun began to fire their weapon rapidly at the woman who immediately began to dodge and weave to avoid getting struck by a stray bullet.

"You're fast! I'll give you that!" The machine gun wielding person smirked while the woman with white hair gave a bored sigh, flicking her wrist which caused an explosion of intense pain to erupt through Skinwalker's right thigh.

A scream escaped Skinwalker's lips as it felt like the bones within her leg were literally shattered, eyes seeming to turn black for a moment before returning to normal as tears streamed down her cheeks.

Obsidian hesitated, giving the opposing male just enough time to slice his broadsword into Obsidians waist, the much taller male visibly wincing as the sound of shattering glass echoed throughout the bank.

"Marrow! I was going to use my power on her first! Now this'll be no fun!" The white haired woman smirked as the machine gun person turned their gaze to her with an annoyed expression.

"Calm down, Andy. She'll be able to walk just fine if you wanna have them fight. I only shattered the bones in her thigh. Not like she'll care about the pain anyway if you're controlling her." Marrow sneered at Skinwalker who stared back at her with her eyes blazing in anger, her fists clenched as she slowly stood despite the pain radiating throughout her entire leg now.

"See? She's fine. Do your thing, love." Marrow winked though Andy still didn't look pleased as they turned their attention to Skinwalker, mildly impressed by the fact that she was even standing right now.

Andy huffed as they raised their own hands, Skinwalker immediately bracing as Obsidian watched from where he now floated above the rest of the group, magma leaking from the cut on his waist.

The room was silent as they watched impatiently, all wanting to see the two heroes fight and do their jobs for them while Obsidian simply observed to see what exactly he was dealing with, giving himself time to heal in the process.

"Get him." Andy ordered as their mismatched eyes began to glow, the darker one slowly turning a bright red while the other turned a dark purple.

"No." Skinwalker deadpanned with an annoyed expression, immediately shocking the soldiers within the room when Andy's powers didn't work on her.

"No? What do you mean, no!? You can't say no! You're under my control!" Andy yelled as they stomped their foot but Skinwalker just cocked an eyebrow before she straightened her stance, narrowing her eyes at the soldiers who watched with baited breath.

"I'm not you guys. I'm not about to have my mind controlled by a psychopath with obsessive compulsive disorder. Nice try, though. Kind of made me falter for a moment there." Andy released a shocked exhale at the realization that their powers were completely and utterly useless on this mysterious masked figure.

"You have a mind shield." Andy whispered with wide eyes, their jaw slack as they turned their shocked gaze to the other soldiers who looked equally as surprised as their fellow meta.

"I'm not entirely sure what that is, Puppeteer.... But I'm assuming the fact you can't control me with the little mind strings you have is a little annoying. I'm also assuming that the only trick you have is that. Which is why I'm giving you all a choice. Abandon Magdalene. Join me and be free. She can't harm you. I have a few more tricks up my sleeves... And I know a few of you don't even want to be here. So join me." Obsidian seemed impressed by Skinwalker's little speech, Lavender and Allara seeming to falter now as they realized that they may actually have a chance to escape Magdalene if they joined this meta. She was definitely powerful... More powerful than either woman had first anticipated, she could potentially be their ticket to a normal life... Or whatever that was for them at this point.

"Puppeteer... I like it. I think I'll use that. But guess what, kid? Not all of us want freedom. I'm in it for the fun. Nyx is in it for the revenge... Ink is in it for the thrill. I'm not sure why Marrow does it to be completely honest. Probably just because she can.... As for the others... They're all in this because they want to be. Don't be so high and mighty. That'll be your downfall." Andy smirked as the cyborg's eyes began to glow red, Skinwalker immediately knowing what to expect as she instinctively ducked to avoid the beam of light that shot from his eyes, hitting the wall behind her with a loud boom but the bright light gave her enough time to allow some of the strength her animalistic side gave her to crawl through her veins. Despite the sickening sound of her bones shifting in her leg, she shot forward at a lightning quick speed, Obsidian seeming to notice her movement as he swooped down to pick her up as she swung the blunt end of her katana around to allow it to collide with the side of the androids head.

The cyborg collapsed to the ground before the rest of the group could react, Obsidian trying his best to avoid getting the magma that leaked from his side on the woman he held by her arms as her flew her to where she kicked out her good leg, smacking Puppeteer in the face which knocked them back onto the ground with a grunt of pain.

"Get them!" Nyx yelled which immediately spurred the metas into action, all except Allara and Lavender who stood off to the side just to see how the whole situation was going to play out.

Ink returned the broadsword to his arm, the blade fading into ink again as it bonded to his flesh. He reached his other hand onto the crossbow tattoo on his opposite forearm, grasping at the skin which began to stretch and form into a solid black crossbow which was already loaded and ready to go with a glowing green bolt of light.

Ink aimed the crossbow at Obsidian and Skinwalker, firing rapidly as the bolts were immediately replaced each time he fired his crossbow.

The bolts exploded in a bright light each time they struck the walls of the bank, Skinwalker gritting her teeth with every sharp turn that Obsidian took to avoid the bolts.

Skinwalker released a yell as she kicked out her leg once again, attempting to knock out the blonde woman that had yet to reveal her name to them.

As her foot collided with the woman's face, a gasp of surprise escaped Skinwalker's lips as her foot seemed to get stuck like she had stepped in quicksand, causing Obsidian to drop her from the sudden pull.

Skinwalker hit the ground with a yell of pain, elbows hitting the ground first to stop her head from smacking against the hard concrete.

The woman pulled back, body seeming to shimmer like water for a moment before she once again became a solid form, eyes glowing completely blue as she lunged towards Skinwalker who immediately rolled out of the way, trying to ignore the intense pain as she breathed out heavily to fight the wave of dizziness that arrived as her leg once again made a sound that definitely wasn't healthy.

Obsidian released a quiet curse as he avoided yet another bolt from the crossbow, throwing a ball of fire at Marrow as the woman raised her hands but the albino woman immediately flipped backwards from the ground before landing easily onto her feet again.

The sound of gas hissing caused Skinwalker to immediately climb to her feet, gaze flicking to the second woman in the room with white hair, her eyes glowing a neon green as she inhaled deeply before releasing a hiss as a cloud of green smoke shot towards Skinwalker.

"Get her, Toxicus!" Marrow cheered before releasing a grunt of pain as Obsidian used her temporary distraction to throw a large piece of debris, striking the woman in the chest and sending her to the ground as she struggled to regain her breath.

Skinwalker released a low growl as she used her good leg to launch towards Toxicus, tackling the woman she knew she could knock out to the ground. Toxicus was surprisingly strong, grabbing Skinwalker's arm as she flipped them over so that she had Skinwalker pinned beneath her now.

"Okay... That's kinda hot." Skinwalker murmured which caused Toxicus' cheeks to flare red before Skinwalker rolled, hooking her good leg around the woman's throat as she pulled the woman into an arm bar. Toxicus gagged quietly as Skinwalker tightened her leg from around her throat, counting down each second in her head to make sure she didn't accidentally kill the woman.

The blonde woman seemed to melt before Skinwalker's eyes, causing the woman to release a curse as she tightened her hold a bit more to rush her getting the villain in her grasp to pass out.

Obsidian dropped behind Ink, rushing forward as he punched Ink in the back, causing the male to cry out as he attempted to turn only for pain to radiate up his spine.

"Sorry, kid. I don't want to hurt you guys... But you've left me no choice." Obsidian mumbled before his fist flew up once again, hitting the side of Ink's cheek which instantly caused the male to drop to the ground.

Skinwalker released Toxicus as she attempted to scurry away from the puddle of bright blue water that crept towards her, crying out in surprise as the slime began to crawl up her leg.

It was warm and icky. She didn't like it.

"Get off of me!" Skinwalker yelled as she attempted to shake the slimy substance off of her leg, only to cry out in pain as she realized that the blonde was purposely targeting her bad leg.

Obsidian rushed over to Skinwalker, hand burning blue as he grabbed the slime, causing a demonic sounding shriek to erupt from it as it instantly slithered away from them both, materializing slowly into the blonde woman who held the side of her face which now had an ugly red welt forming on it.

"Anyone else want to try something?" Obsidian's voice was low in a rather sexy growl as he shot each remaining metas a glare, all immediately looking away as they realized there was really nothing they could do.

Marrow bit her lip as she slowly climbed to her feet, only to cry out in pain as Obsidian threw a ball of what appeared to be molten lava past her face, causing her to jump back as her skin flared red and began to blister.

"I wouldn't." Obsidian's voice was dangerously low now, a growl rumbling in his throat that send a shiver down Skinwalker's spine at the sheer amount of power she felt from the large male.

"Stump! Bring the cuffs that Mister Knight donated. Make sure your officers know what they're dealing with." Obsidian yelled without turning to look over his shoulder, keeping his sapphire blue gaze focused on Marrow as he knew she was the most likely to cause a problem now.

Skinwalker stood slowly as she released a low breath to try and fight against the nausea and dizziness from the sheer amount of pain in her leg.

The police officers swarmed into the building, all instantly slapping cuffs onto the closest metas that they could, the blonde cop that had previously been working with detective Stump began to make his way towards Skinwalker who stiffened immediately as he approached.

"Not her. Not yet, anyway." Obsidian warmed which caused the blonde male's face to flush red as he stared at Skinwalker who stared him down with a warning look in her eyes.

"With all due respect, Obsidian-" Detective Stump began to argue before quickly going silent as Obsidian turned his gaze to the portly officer instead.

"She saved my life, Detective. I believe that means she gets a free pass. Did the captain not rule that any metas that cooperate with law enforcement get temporary immunity until a law is put in place for the long run?" Obsidian's words stunned Skinwalker as she focused her gaze on Obsidian, eyes wide now as she realized that she needed to do quite a bit more research when she returned home.

"So you partners now or something? You going to take the fall for her if she ends up blowing up the froyo place or something?" Detective Stump questioned as he glared at Skinwalker who ignored the male, choosing to instead await Obsidian's answer with a contemplative expression.

"She'll be my sidekick." Obsidian's answer caused Skinwalker to immediately narrow her eyes as she put a hand on her hip, tilting her head to the side as she resisted the urge to argue.

The sound of gunfire cut off their conversation as all of the police officers that had begun to handcuff the metas turned their firearms at Skinwalker and Obsidian instead.

Skinwalker quickly tackled the blonde haired officer to the ground, shielding him from the gunfire with her own body while Obsidian simply pulled detective Stump behind himself to shield the portly man from the gunfire.

Obsidian released a quiet curse, realizing too late that the gunfire had simply been a distraction for the metas that were still capable of escaping to escape. Nyx screamed angrily from the back of the police car, eyes blazing neon blue as she clawed at the doors. But Lavender and Allara remained, both looking nervous from where they sat on the ground, Lavender eyes seeming to plead for Skinwalker to help them.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Detective Stump's angry yell seemed to snap the police officers out of their daze, all except the blonde haired cop who still remained pinned under Skinwalker. His face a bright red as he swallowed heavily, seeming to be disappointed when the woman heaved herself off of him, wincing in pain but she made no other notion that she was hurting otherwise.

"It was Puppeteer, detective. Please don't be too angry with them. They probably don't even remember what happened. With that being said... May I make a request?" Skinwalker's voice seemed to startle detective Stump as if the male had forgotten she was even there.

"I'd like to take those two metas with me. We have a... Rehabilitation center for metas that don't want to be involved in crime. To make them a constructive part of society. With your permission I would like to take them with me. If they prove that they cannot be helped... Then I'd bring them back to you no questions ask. All I ask is you overlook that they were here." Skinwalker's request stunned everyone within the room, Lavender and Allara consecutively releasing sighs of relief at the realization that they hadn't made a mistake in trusting this mysterious masked ninja lady.

"I could lose my badge for this, lady... I can't just-" Detective Stump began to argue only for the blonde haired police officer to interrupt as he cleared his throat, slowly climbing to his feet, face still bright red as he nervously rubbed the back of his neck.

"You could strike this from the record. We could let those girls go with her in exchange for not getting all of these officers fired for shooting at us. If that's okay, sir..." Skinwalker turned her gaze to the blonde haired male with a surprised look to her glowing golden eyes, tilting her head to the side as she studied the male curiously.

"Blart! You can't just interrupt me when I'm talking... Wait... I just had an idea. You guys keep quiet in exchange for covering up the fact I let her take those girls. Understand?" Detective Stump turned his attention to the officers who all looked away, giving grumbles or nods of agreement as they realized it was either that or lose the pension they'd worked so hard for.

"Go. Before I change my mind." Detective Stump turned as he helped three other fellow officers heave the still knocked out cyborg into the air, the men carrying the rather large cyborg out of the building as another officer heaved Toxicus over his shoulder.

"Thank you." Skinwalker murmured to the blonde male... Blart, who immediately blushed a deeper shade of red before rushing over to assist his fellow officers in heaving Ink towards the police cruisers.

"Let's go home." Skinwalker motioned for the two women to follow, limping towards where she knew the back exit was.

"Wait... Skinwalker... Do you... Need a ride?" Obsidian's question came out a lot more awkwardly than he was intending, watching as Lavender and Allara made their way over to stand beside Skinwalker.

"No, thank you. But I'll meet you again tomorrow. The building that overlooks that churro stand run by the super nice old couple. If you don't know what I'm talking about then this partnerships is doomed from the start." Skinwalker smirked despite knowing he couldn't see it from beneath her mask, the woman limping away without awaiting an answer.

Allara gently moved to allow Skinwalker to wrap her arm around her shoulder, Lavender doing the same on her opposite side as they allowed her to use them to support her weight.

"Thank you. You won't regret this. I promise." Skinwalker murmured to the women who exchanged nervous glances but gave no reply as Lavender moved to open the door for Skinwalker.

"Ayyyyeeeee!" Killian's voice startled Lavender, causing her to slam the door shut in his face, Skinwalker releasing a laugh as she shook her head in mild annoyance.

"Open up! It's the pizza man!" Killian exclaimed as Skinwalker motioned for Lavender to do as he said, the male grinning when Lavender opened the door once again.

"You okay, dork? I was worried about you when you started screaming and cursing at random times." Killian moved to take Allara's place, gently lifting Skinwalker into bridal style as he avoided putting unnecessary strain on her legs.

"Just a few broken bones. Nothing a cookie can't fix." Skinwalker joked as Killian carried her towards his van, gently placing her into the passengers seat as he secured the seatbelt for her.

"Gotchu." Killian winked as he motioned to the package of chocolate chip cookies that sat on the dash board for her.

"This is Allara and Lavender. And this is Killian. He's a little overbearing but you'll get used to it." Skinwalker joked as she reached for the cookies, only for Killian to make a noise to halt her movements, the male glaring at her as he handed her the cookies before gently shutting the door for her.

"That's ADHD and Autism for ya! But don't worry, you'll like it where we live. You'll get your freedom back." Killian gave both women a reassuring smile as he slid open the back door for them, offering a hand to help them into the car before he handed each woman a jug of milk.

"Good for cookies and bones... I mean. Sorry... Poor taste, Joe. Didn't mean to make a bone joke when yours are nonexistent in your leg right now." Killian cringed as he slid the door shut again once both women had settled into their seats.

"Just drive." Skinwalker groaned as she offered Lavender and Allara cookies which both women gratefully accepted.