"Shopping spree!" Squirrel Girl's voice shouted, and Victor erupted from the concrete, limbs flailing, kicking his paper bag of spare armor and cash. He landed in a crouch, wide awake.

"Now?" Ivy croaked. "I barely slept."

"Shopping later, sleep..." Dante incoherently grumbled, rolling away from the burnt-out remains of their fire. Sunlight sparkled through the blue-black water out the window.

"Unless you'd prefer to wear that same jumpsuit in public for the rest of your life, we're going shopping," Squirrel Girl planted her hands on her hips.

"I brought money," Ms. Marvel waved a wad of green papers in her fist.

"Here's a question," Ette sat up, yawning. "How are we going to go shopping looking like this?" she motioned to her baggy jumpsuit, speckled with gray dirt from the concrete floor.

"I brought jackets," Squirrel Girl said. "To cover the top half of you."

"Here's another question," Victor interrupted. "When are we going after Hala? Shopping trips are nice, but then we'll have to get breakfast, and then it'll be about blankets for this floor, and then we'll have to do who knows what else after that."

"Good question," Ette agreed.

Ms. Marvel lowered her fist. "Well...are we really ready for that? I mean, our first attempt didn't turn out too great."

"We only had three of us then," Victor's jaw hardened. "We're double that now."

Dante frowned at him, as if to remind him that they hadn't actually trained together like Victor claimed was so important last night, nor did they have a plan. Victor ignored the look; this was about convincing Squirrel Girl they shouldn't be shopping right now.

"I'm ready," Ivy stood up. "Give me a pair of icicles and I will stab those kree to pieces."

"I've got my seeds," Ette patted the sides of her jumpsuit, presumably where she had some hidden pockets.

Ms. Marvel hesitated, glancing between Squirrel Girl and Victor. "What do you say, SG? How do you feel about launching another assault on that spaceship?"

"Hmph. I think you're all nuts," Squirrel Girl plopped to the ground. She held up a finger, "not because I don't think we need to take down Hala; Victor's right and she'll keep coming after you and the other inhumans," she pursed her lips.

"So?" Ms. Marvel prompted.

"So you're all nuts. We don't attack the spaceship, we trick Hala to come here. We can tell Pepper--I mean Rescue--and then we'll have her and Iron Man. Then Tippy and I can gather the squirrel army, Ette won't need her seeds because there will be plants everywhere, and Victor won't have to exhaust himself teleporting us clear up to space."

"Hmm," Ms. Marvel nodded. "That could work."

Victor carefully sat. "Okay. How do we trick her into coming here then?"

Squirrel Girl opened her mouth. "Uhhh...so I hadn't actually figured out that part yet."

"Didn't you have some way to communicate with them?" Dante glanced toward Victor. "And you had a base here in the city. We could lure her there."

"I did," he nodded, "but I haven't been there since, you know. The kree could've cleared everything out, or trapped it in case I did return."

"If they did trap it, I doubt they'd be expecting one of us to walk in with you."

"But then what about the spaceship?" Victor asked. "We need to crash it. Otherwise nothing will have changed."

"Hmm," Squirrel Girl tapped her chin. "Maybe one of us will have to go to space after all. Pop up there, tell Hala our demands, then lure her to earth," She glanced to Victor.

"You want me to do that?"

"You are the only one of us who teleports."

He hesitated. "But what about not exhausting..."

"If you don't have to carry all five of us," Ms. Marvel said, leaning against the window, "it shouldn't tire you out so much, right?"

"Sure," he said, "but I'm also not sure I should be the one to tell Hala about Earth's demands. I'm not even from earth."

A faint ding echoed from the darkness to the left of the ocean window, and they each fell silent.

"What was that?" Ette whispered.

"Sounded like an elevator?" Squirrel Girl said. "But does this place have--"

Dim golden eyes appeared in the shadows.

"Rescue?" Ette called.

"Yes," a robotic voice said. Echoing footsteps fell quiet and the golden eyes stopped moving, at the edge of the shadows.

"Uh, we're kind of busy right now," Squirrel Girl rose to her feet. "Planning super important stuff!"

"I won't be here long. I came to check on how you're doing, did your night go well?"

Ivy snorted.

"It wasn't terrible," Dante replied.

"I'm not sure I made it clear yesterday--you said you had unfinished business with a rival not on earth," Rescue said. "If there's any way I can help--"

"What makes you think we trust you?" Ivy interrupted.

"Shh!" Ette hissed.

"What makes you think I trust you?" Rescue replied. Victor tightened his hands into fists, itching toward the shadows. "Hypothetical question," Rescue said. "I trust you because you ran from the police, instead of fighting them. You came looking for a place to hide, underground. And you left this place a mess with your donut boxes and firepit."

"Hey, supervillains are super messy, I hear," Ms. Marvel said. "Don't assume we're good guys just because we made a mess."

"Why don't we want to be good guys again?" Squirrel Girl whispered. Ms. Marvel hissed at her to be quiet and Victor fought not to grin.

Rescue stepped into the light, armor shimmering dark silver. "I take it you're just regular teens, in over your heads. So I'd like to help with whatever good you're trying to accomplish. Who are your enemies up in space? And how did you find out about them, or get wrapped up in a war here?"

"We don't need rescued, Rescue," Ivy snapped. "Especially by you."

Rescue folded her arms. "Would you rather I go by Assist? Or Sidekick? I'm a superhero, first and foremost, not whatever my name is. I'm here to try and help people."

"Then why do you have a hidden bunker full of all sorts of deadly weapons?" Ivy shot back. "What good is that doing anyone?"

"You know what," Squirrel Girl interrupted, stepping between the two of them. "Rescue, can you fly to space in that suit?"

She tilted her head. "Yes."

"Good. We need someone to lure a spaceship here so we can do battle."

"Over the ocean?"

"Sure! Victor here," Squirrel Girl pointed, "is going to teleport the leader of the kree army to the park where we can battle her on our turf," Victor opened his mouth to ask when that became the plan, but she continued. "Then we need someone to handle the rest of the spaceship."

"Leader of the kree? Who're the kree?" Rescue asked. "Should I watch out for...skeletal space monkeys? Acid spitting eels?"

"They're basically like us," Victor said. "Only faster, stronger."

"And they have blue skin," Ette added.

"What about those crocodile people, Victor?" Ms. Marvel asked. "Aren't they kree?"

Victor shook his head. "They're from a different world. One that's an utter wasteland now, so Hala kind of adopted them."

"Huh," Dante muttered.

Victor hugged his knees to his chest. "You'll also want to watch out in case any inhumans have already managed to return. Though I don't know how they would've done that."

Rescue tilted her head at him. He managed to meet her golden gaze without shifting. "So Victor brings Hala to earth, you six battle her, I deal with a whole spaceship."

"Uh," Squirrel Girl hesitated. "Yes?"

"Sounds like I'll have to call some backup."

"Great," Ivy grumbled. Ette shushed her again.

Victor stood. "Instead of just portaling Hala here, how about Dante and I investigate the apartment? We might be able to use what's there to lure Hala, and decoy some of the kree along with her to leave Rescue more open."

"More kree goons to fight?" Ivy punched her fist into her palm. "I like that idea."

"And while you two are there and Rescue's gathering back up," Ms. Marvel said, "the rest of us can go to the park and help Squirrel Girl gather her squirrel army. Ette can set up traps, and Ivy and I will warn people some weird stuff is going to happen soon and they won't want to be at the park today."

"Awesome," Squirrel Girl said, glancing around the room. "Plan enaction time, go nuts!" she pumped her fist in the air. Victor slowly stood up. "...I mean, everybody go and get ready. Meet back here at noon," she slowly lowered her fist.

"I'll be here," Rescue said wryly, clanking off into the shadows.

After the sound of footsteps faded, Squirrel Girl sighed, shoulders slumping. "We need a fancy team name. And a team cheer. Like Teen Titans, Go! Or Autobots, roll out!"

Victor frowned. "Never heard of them."

Squirrel Girl perked up. "Go squirrels, girls, and inhumans!" Her voice echoed across the bunker.

"No thanks," Dante muttered.

Victor just shook his head. "I'll teleport everyone to the park. Then Dante and I will head to my apartment."

"Everyone ready?" Ms. Marvel asked. Ette and Ivy nodded, stepping closer to their circle.

"Go...Kree Annihilators?" Squirrel Girl suggested, eyebrow quirked.

"I like that one," Ivy shrugged.

***

"Be prepared for anything," Victor said, touching Dante's arm. The other...Kree Annihilators jogged away down the trail.

"What, like an army of squirrels leaping from the trees?" Dante smirked.

Victor gave him a withering stare. "In the apartment."

"Yeah, I kn--"

Victor dropped them both into a portal, freezing Dante mid-sentence. Then he flowed across the city through the silent void, up crowded streets and across corners of skyscrapers.

Outside his former-apartment base, Victor debated appearing in the hallway and attempting to jiggle the door open, or portaling somewhere inside. He strained for a sense of a person, maybe sleeping inside, or a large trap that might trigger upon their entrance. Nothing.

He opened a portal in the kitchen, beneath the counter. The place hadn't owned any counter stools--which had resulted in many meals eaten sitting atop the counter--but now he thanked the empty floorspace, the tile bright under fluorescent lights.

"--know," Dante finished. Then clamped his mouth shut, eyes bulging. "You teleported us before I finished?" he hissed.

Victor shrugged, back pressed to the wooden counterside. "I didn't leave the lights on," he whispered, forming a round shield from his and Dante's fuzzy shadow. "So somebody has definitely been here."

Dante nodded, face scrunching up before his hands burst alight. "I'm ready to blast stuff," he whispered.

Victor scurried out from under the counter, shield raised overhead. He spun and rose to his feet, sweeping his gaze over the kitchen. Bare counter. Humming fridge. Light spilling out the archway. He lowered his arms. "It's all clear," he whispered.

Dante stepped from beneath the counter, fists raised. "How do we know? What if the oven's rigged to explode if you walk too close to it?"

Victor shrugged. "Nothing immediately shot at me. So we're all clear for now."

Dante wrinkled his nose. "That's terribly reassuring."

Victor led the way out of the kitchen, shield raised, footsteps careful. Dante followed, hands flickering with orange fire.

The common room of the apartment contained nothing. Absolutely nothing. Even the carpet had been stripped away, exposing bare concrete. Paint peeled from the walls, and the curtains over the windows had been shredded as if by the claws of an enraged cat. Victor glanced toward the door; the entryway light buzzed and flickered erratically.

"I don't think this place is trapped," Victor lowered his shield.

"It's just been cleaned out," Dante finished. "Though they forgot the fridge. And the oven."

Carefully, but not ducking behind his shield, Victor pushed open the door to the bedroom. It had met a similar fate as the common room, except it still had a bedframe, standing on crooked legs, a sheet-free mattress lopsided atop it.

"This was a bust," Dante sighed, hands fizzling out.

Victor toed open the bathroom door. Empty, like the kitchen. The shower curtain had been pushed aside, revealing a vacant tub. "I left swords in here," he pointed. "Those are gone."

Dante peered around his shoulder. "You left swords in the shower? What, all the time?"

"No! Just when I left," he turned away. "It's not like I had an armory to stash them in."

Dante snorted. "What else did you keep in here?"

"An actual bed, for starters. And carpet. And a desk, with a laptop that tracked cameras across the city and scanned for inhuman sightings."

Dante squeaked the bathroom door shut. "You mean, you could watch the entire city from in here? Victor, that's..."

He folded his arms. "I didn't actually do that. I just had it report on inhuman sightings."

"That's insane. And nobody even knew you'd hacked every camera--was it every camera--in the whole city?"

"Yes, it was every camera. Every one linked to a surveillance system. Streets, parks, schools, stores..." he shrugged, turning to the window. "Kree technology's more advanced than earth's, it wasn't hard to tap in and have no one any wiser."

"That is absolutely...no wonder I couldn't ever get away from--"

"Should we just go?" Victor interrupted. "Clearly we're not going to attract Hala's attention like this."

Dante paused, mouth open, eyebrows furrowed. "Yeah. Sure. Uh, are we going to the park?"

Victor spun open a portal wordlessly and dropped them through.

***

They appeared in a stand of pine trees, Dante squinting in the sudden sunlight. "You've got to give me some more warning when you do that!"

Victor shuddered. "I didn't want to deal with that place any longer."

Dante's eyebrows slowly knit together. "Are you...okay?"

"No!" he kicked the dirt. "I'm trying to do better, but everything you said up there made me question how backwards my life is!" he glared. "Why would I be okay?"

Dante stepped closer. "Sorry. I guess I didn't think about that. Was it what I said about the cameras?"

"That," he nodded tightly, turning away, "and surveilling the city, and reminding me of how I chased all these inhumans down."

"Sorry," Dante repeated, nibbling his lip. "I shouldn't have brought it up like that."

"It's only been a few days," Victor clenched his hands into fists. "Sometimes it's like waking up from a dream and everything around here," he motioned to the trees, the bright sky, "is actually what's real. But then back there, this felt like the dream and I--"

Dante grabbed his hand. "I assure you, I am very real. And...sorry I made you feel that way."

Victor slowly exhaled. "It's fine. I'm glad you're real--here; I mean, I'm glad you're here."

"Are you sure it's fine?"

Victor shrugged. Then pulled Dante closer. "You smell like smoke," he muttered.

Dante snorted. "I slept next to a fire last night, what'd you expect?"

"I don't know. Your powers to make you immune to that?"

"Ha. I wish. Speaking of, if I accidentally go fire-poof right now, your face is going to get burned."

Victor lifted his jaw from Dante's hair. "No it won't."

Dante stepped back, eyes wide.

Victor's gaze darted over his face. "What?"

"Are there cameras around here?"

Victor glanced up, into the trees. "I think we're pretty hidden."

"Victor..." Dante began, "if the kree took your city surveillance stuff back..."

Victor's eyes widened. "And they still bother to check it," he whispered.

"They can see us almost wherever we are."

Victor shuddered. "They could've seen us in the park yesterday, or wherever Squirrel Girl went on her scooter--"

"--whatever the others are doing in the park right now--"

"If Hala notices," Victor said, "she's going to come for us long before we're ready."

"What if the apartment was bugged?" Dante squeezed Victor's wrist, causing him to wince. "The kree could do that with miniature cameras, couldn't they?"

Victor gulped. "We should go," he ducked under pine trees, dragging Dante along. "We need to get everyone back to the bunker where it's safe and warn them."

"But what if the kree have tapped the cameras in there too?"

"We'll just have to risk that," he grunted, breaking into a run. "But they probably don't know those cameras exist. Plus Rescue shut them down last night; the kree shouldn't be able to use them if they aren't working."

"Okay," Dante's gaze darted about the towering trees. "Now where would Squirrel Girl hide her squirrel army?"

A shadow blocked out the sun. Victor stumbled to a halt, squinting upwards, heart jumping. Glimmering white, the bulbous spaceship hovered like an overgrown beetle, looming over the city skyscrapers.

"Run," Dante grabbed his arm, jerking him into motion.

Victor stumbled, half-dragged through oppressive, dark shadows. He regained his balance, sprinting over lawns, ducking beneath overhanging pines. The spaceship hovered perfectly still far overhead.

"I think we jinxed it!" Dante huffed. "We mentioned she'd come when we weren't ready, and now she's here!"

"It's more than just Hala who's here," Victor pointed at speck-sized escape pods firing off the side of the spaceship. He nearly tripped over a tree root. "She's sending her whole army."

"We should've set up a meeting place!" Dante exclaimed. "In case this happened."

"We had a meeting place. The bunker."

"What about when you portaled us all to the park this morning? Where's that?" Dante asked. "Maybe they'll think to head back there."

Victor turned sharply left. "That was near the parking lot."

Dante nodded, panting, "please be there please be there please be there..."

***

Author note: whoo-whoo this chapter is the first time we've said "Kree Annihilators" in the whole book, yay!