ome say crime doesn't pay.
Blizzard would like to personally strangle those people with a string of counterfeit dollars dipped in cocaine dust.
The warehouse today smelled like engine oil, burnt rubber, and victory — all the right notes for a perfect symphony of illegal enterprise.
Fathead bounced into the room with two laptops, three energy drinks, and zero self-respect.
"Good news," he announced. "The FBI's drug task force site just got taken down… by their own IT guy. We left a 'thank you' gift in their bug report form."
"What did you write?" Selene asked.
"Just a picture of Lightning trying to climb stairs."
Enter: The Young One
The side door creaked open. In stepped someone who looked like a high school sophomore who probably skipped P.E. to go commit homicide.
Clean face. Sharp eyes. Silent. Calculated.
Blizzard nodded. "You're late."
"I was killing someone," The Young One said plainly. "Three, actually. The last one blinked wrong."
Fathead whispered, "Dude's a walking red flag with legs."
Selene replied, "That's not a red flag. That's a blood-soaked cape."
The Young One sat down, hands folded like a student waiting for roll call. He looked at Fathead.
"You breathe loudly."
"I—"
"Don't do that."
Chains leaned over. "You're the one they call the Killing Machine?"
The Young One didn't answer. He just pulled out a folded newspaper. On the front page: "Gang of 12 Found Dead in a Locked Room – No Signs of Forced Entry."
A single sticky note was attached:
"I was bored."
Enter: I'M LIGHTNING
The next moment, a LOUD bang echoed from the back door. Then a second bang. Then… the sound of a man gasping for air after walking briskly.
In stumbled a man in a bright yellow jacket with the words "I'M LIGHTNING" across the back… moving at the speed of heartbreak and Windows 95.
"Yo… sorry I'm late…" he panted. "I got stuck… behind a pigeon."
Selene blinked. "Was it… blocking your car?"
"No. I was walking. Behind it. For like… six blocks."
He collapsed into a chair with the drama of a telenovela grandma.
Fathead whispered, "Why do we keep inviting him?"
Blizzard replied, "Because when he actually does something, it's somehow… perfect."
"Yeah," Chains added. "Last week he took twelve seconds to draw his gun… and still shot a guy between the eyes mid-jump."
Lightning gave a thumbs-up from the floor. "They call me Lightning… because I strike eventually."
Back to Business
Selene pulled up a map of the next cocaine shipment: labeled White Magic 17: Jungle Edition.
"Shipment lands tonight, Pier 12. Guarded by La Luna Roja. They've been getting too bold lately. You want full wipe?"
Blizzard glanced at The Young One.
"Send him in. No survivors. No noise."
The Young One stood. "I'll bring back their watches."
Selene added, "Silent Boy's already nearby. Just… don't let him cook anything this time."
Last time, he roasted a guy's arm over a barrel fire and called it "street yakitori."
Blizzard turned to Lightning. "You?"
Lightning nodded solemnly. "I'll run surveillance. It might take me a while… to get there. Like. An hour."
"It's across the street."
"…Two hours."
Back at FBI HQ…
Chaos Sovereign leaned in the hallway, sipping a protein shake laced with fake intel. An agent passed by, panicked.
"Stormwell! MVL just vanished from all known locations!"
Chaos shrugged. "Sounds like they're outsmarting us. Maybe try the library."
"Why would they be at the library?!"
"Because you clearly aren't." Chaos smiled, then casually dropped a flash drive labeled "MVL Fanfic Archive: DO NOT OPEN."
At MVL HQ...
The screens in Blizzard's room went black. Every device. Every camera. Even Lightning's smartwatch, which buzzed so hard it knocked him over.
A single message appeared across every monitor.
"She has arrived."
Silence.
Even The Young One paused mid-stab-practice.
Selene's face changed. Serious. Cold.
Chains whispered, "Who… who the hell is she?"
Blizzard stood up slowly, voice quiet.
"She wasn't supposed to find us this soon."
Mimi looked up from her nail file, nervous for the first time.
"You think it's her?"
Selene nodded once.
Blizzard whispered,
"It's her."