MIA

   Running with scissors—the term I would use to describe this moment. It quite frankly means I'm fucked.

   Being the world's biggest supervillain came with the craziest plot twists one could ever imagine.

   Yeah...It was an accident. But I'm going to get to the juicy details later. All you need to know is, that I almost fucked over the city, and now I'm somehow the world's most significant supervillain.

I surveyed my surroundings. Four security guards stood in front of the exit. I could take them. It wasn't hard.

   You see, I was in the middle of robbing a jewelry store. It was possibly my fourth jewelry store I'd robbed in about a month. You'd think I'd be good at this by now, but somehow I accidentally triggered the alarm and ended up here.

   Shattered glass fragments blanketed the well-kept red satin carpets in a tiny mall jewelry mart. I stood tall, stalking them down through my mask. "Step aside, boys. You don't know who you're messing with," I announced, swinging the jewelry bag in my gloved fists.

   They laughed at me. I couldn't believe it. Those guys fucking laughed at me. Do I look like a comedian? I want them to laugh when I show them what I can do.

   I dropped the jewelry bag and thrust my hands together—a purple ball of electricity formed at my fingertips and spread to my steel-plated claws.

"I'm sure you've heard of me. The media calls me Kitty Electric." That was a bold choice of a supervillain name, too. Who associates pussy with an electric charge? Who cared?

My fingertips melted together as a ball of energy formed. They watched me fearfully as I twiddled my fingers and cracked my knuckles. Then, as I threw my hands forward, the door opened. Two men in black superhero costumes pushed their way through the wall of security guards, a leather hoodie and black leather pants with steel chest and shoulder plates and a utility belt, equipped with tools their father or uncle let them play with while pretending to be some hero. Ugh. Who did they get all fancy for dressed like that?

"Am I too late?" His voice sounded familiar. "Derek?" I spoke. He showed off his leather suit like some prized possession. James must have been the other doofus in sweatpants. I would recognize my ex-boyfriend and his brother's golden locks and aqua eyes, no matter their disguises.

A tiny smirk formed on my lips as I muttered his name. "James," I whispered, dropping my hands to my waist. Derek and James watched me, their hands twitching by his sides as they carefully inched closer.

"I'm Alpha, and that's Silver Storm." Didn't a woman already take that name? His disguised husky voice sounded like his brother's standing next to him.

"I'll give you to the count of three before we take unlawful force, Mia," Derek said. I chuckled. How cute. I don't know what it was if that wasn't the cheesiest line I've ever heard.

"Yeah, try me," I laughed. I clapped my hands together as purple lightning trickled up my wrists. Then, I pushed them forward, hitting Alpha Boy square in the ribs, causing him to tip over to his knees. Take that, James.

The lights above me shattered, and the room darkened. A smirk formed at the creases of my lips as I watched Silver Storm and Alpha search the room.

"I told you to step aside," I purred, grabbing the bag of jewels from the solid red floor and glancing toward Alpha on the satin carpet. How funny. Unlike his brother, he couldn't see in the dark. Either that, or he was too busy trying to find the exit.

"You're in trouble, James?" the words tickled my tongue. I got close to Alpha, super close. He flinched, his muscles clenching under his bold choice of a super suit.

"Scared of the dark, are we?" I taunted him, reaching out to grab his mask. James may have been strong, but I knew his weaknesses well. I could play his games all night. The air whipped around me, and Derek had my wrists bound in his muscular fists.

"What the hell?" I growled, losing my patience for a moment. The security guards were gone, and Alpha flashed to the doorway of the jewelry store.

"Mia, you need to stop this!" he yelled. His voice was deep and filled with emotion. Buh-boom. Buh-boom. My tiny heart pounded in my chest. I froze in place, struggling in Storm's grip, trying to fight, but he was stronger than me.

"Mia, calm down and listen to him," Derek soothed me. "You're better than this." I fought him again, and he tightened his grip, holding me steady.

"Mia, you don't need to do this. Alexander is the bad guy. Not you." Alpha continued. My eyes met a deep blue gaze hidden behind a black mask. James was before me, his minty fresh breath feeding into my lungs. "Please, Mia."

The jewels dropped from my hand, and my heart skipped a beat as the light flickered in my palms, falling below my wrist. In a split second, heartbeats fluttered as Silver Storm lost his grip.

The time they seemed stagnant. Seconds, I was there; then I was gone, like a flicker of a light switch in a second.

   Sirens blared outside the jewelry store nearby as my heartbeat slammed, and heavy breathing kept the silent room from dying. I grabbed the jewels from the floor and bolted further down an alleyway. As my heart hammered, I knew I was in deep trouble.

∆∆∆

MARK

"Son of a bitch!" James cursed, ripping off his mask and throwing himself against the couch. "We almost had her."

"I know," Derek said, yanking off his own mask, looking as frustrated as James sounded. "It's okay, James. She's playing a game."

James wasn't having any of it. "I don't want to play her games. I hate Mia. I wouldn't have gotten involved with her if I knew she was a manipulative psycho bitch."

"I know," Derek muttered again, the defeat in his voice clear.

I walked into the room, trying to act like I hadn't just overheard the entire thing. I had a bag of cheese puffs in my hand, and my fingers were covered in orange dust. Maybe a snack could cut the tension.

"Cheese puff?" I offered, holding out the bag toward James.

He shot me a look that could've curdled milk. "I'm not hungry."

I shrugged, trying to defuse the situation the only way I knew how. "Look, if it helps, my cousin's not as bad as you think. She has a little crush on you and is jealous of Claire. That's all."

James didn't look convinced. He just sank deeper into the couch, rubbing his temples like the stress was physically weighing him down. "I hope she comes to her senses. It's completely out of character for her."

"I hope so too," Derek sighed, his worry matching James's.

I wasn't sure how much of what I said was actually true. Mia could be a handful, but I never thought she'd go this far. But even worse than Mia, there was this nagging thought in the back of my head about Max and whatever Alexander was cooking up. The longer we sat here doing nothing, the closer we got to finding out, and something told me we weren't going to like the answer.