Jon, generally, thought little of superheroes. He respected those who protected the planet from existential threats, but that was about it. Even so, he would admit a begrudging like for the older generation of heroes who at least had their heart in the right place.

  He could not say the same for their modern, vain, social media-obsessed counterparts.

  The girl in purple hopped from the craft first, the bottom half of her body dissolving into a pale cloud. Choking mist shot from her palms, threatening to engulf Toymaker, until her plastic monkey chains spun like two fans to blow the fog away.

  "Vaporwave," Anya said, adjusting her sunglasses.

  "An Elemental," Jon growled with disdain. Oh how he hated fighting Elementals.

  While Toymaker was on the backfoot, avoiding more gas launched by Vaporwave, the boy in the grinning mask hopped from his perch. His arms were outstretched, and he swooped through the air like a hawk to avoid a flurry of shots from the army men. Then, suddenly, he dropped like a rock and crushed several of the miniature figures in one move. He raised his arms, the flesh growing coarse and scaly, and was sent skidding back under another volley of laser fire.

  "That one there is Menagerie. Copies animal traits. Pretty potent, as far as Beasts go.," said Anya.

  At that moment the red-skinned woman hopped from the steely craft, landing with such force that she fractured the asphalt under her heels and made the nearby cars jump in place. She strode calmly toward the giant teddy bear, and barely reacted as massive paws smashed into her with enough force to shake the ground. She struck the bear, smashing him into the bank steps, uprooting a swathe of the stone.

  "Bulldozer," said Anya.

  "Fitting name," Jon said, already drawing the Model 3 from his holster. Bulldozer was laying into the bear before it could arise, each blow uprooting more chunks from the stone staircase. "Fuck me, do these idiots not know the meaning of 'excessive'?"

  Toymaker reached for her belt just as the man in power armour swept her way. A yo-yo appeared in her hand, and whipped out toward her foe. The blow of it against his chest was like a peal of thunder, a resounding bang that sent him careening through a nearby bus shelter. It shattered against his armoured body, as if made from paper mache.

  "And that one is Victory."

  Jon rolled his eyes. The irony wasn't lost on him.

  Lastly, with the craft hovering in place, came the young man in black and white. He floated down, wreathed in swirling darkness, while his hands were ablaze with luminous rays of white light. "That's Equinox, their leader. And a damn potent Prism too," Anya said.

  A sweep of light tore from his hand, vaporizing the last of the army men in a flash that left the pavement bubbling in the wake of his power. The yo-yo whizzed toward his head, but Equinox dodged it with contemptible ease. Again and again the sturdy edge tried to hit him, yet his body blurred from place to place as he dodged her.

  Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

  Menagerie rushed her while she was distracted, bounding forward like a kangaroo. He lunged at her and struck her with both heels, lifting her armoured frame off the ground. She cried out from the force of the blow, smashing her into a lamppost. The metal crumpled and furrowed around her. Equinox struck her before she could rise, unleashing a wave of light that dragged her across the asphalt.

  Bulldozer made her way over, smoke billowing off her crimson muscles. The bear had fought with everything it had, to no avail. The severed head was clutched in her hand, trailing cotton and circuitry. Toymaker moved to her feet, swaying uneasily, and draw a handful of marbles from a pouch on her belt.

  The multicoloured spheres were hurled toward Equinox, but this time he made no move to dodge. Instead he stood back as Bulldozer swept in front of him, the marbles adhering to her flesh. They erupted in a flurry of explosions, shaking the street and shattering a few nearby windows. Yet, as the smoke cleared around Bulldozer, she was utterly unharmed. She strode toward Toymaker, her eyes blazing with renewed intensity.

  "That all you got, huh? Disappointing." She backhanded Toymaker so quickly that Jon barely saw it, but the blow swept the girl into the side of a nearby car. The glass of the windscreen shattered, steel crumpling and flattening beneath her. There she lay, groaning and failing to rise.

  And yet Next Gen were already advancing on her.

  "Knock me out of the sky like that?" Victory growled. "Oh we'll see how good you are with that yo-yo with two broken arms!"

  "Director, they'll kill her," Anya said.

  Jon had already started moving as she spoke, breaking into a sprint toward the damaged car. He couldn't have them killing the girl, or beating her into a coma. It would disrupt his plans, for one thing.

  "Well done! You beat her! Your country thanks you for your service!" he shouted, drawing closer and closer to the group.

  Equinox glanced her way, just a he lifted a foot and slammed it onto Toymaker's chest. The girl cried out in pain. "Who the fuck are you?" he asked.

  Jon had fished his badge from his pocket, the golden shield and eagle gleaming in the sunlight. "Jon Carver, director of ANVIL. Nice to meet you." He forced a smile, and was glad the sunglasses hid the venomous disdain in his eyes.

  "A-ANVIL?" Victory repeated, his posture tense beneath his armour. He stared intently at the badge. "It's legit. Scanner would tell if it was a forgery."

  "And why exactly is the director of a government agency out here, bothering us?" Vaporwave's voice was a breathy sigh, and she floated lazily on her side to watch him. The air took on a chlorinated tang in her presence.

  "Just happened to be in the area. And since that criminal is incapacitated, I'll take her off your hands." His attention returned to Equinox. "Wouldn't want anyone to think you were using excessive force, right?"

  Equinox scoffed, one hand resting in the pocket of his trenchcoat. "No such thing, in my experience."

  "Well," Jon kept that fake smile fixed to his face. "In my experience, there is. And, anyone partaking in it could find themselves in serious trouble."

  Menagerie snorted and giggled, bouncing from foot to foot. "That, hehe, a threat or something? Dumbfuck."

  "I don't make threats," Jon replied, shrugging his broad shoulders. "They're... beneath me. I prefer to make promises. And I promise you, if you don't back the fuck off and leave that girl where she is, you'll be spending your twilight years at the bottom of some fucking hole in the middle of nowhere, playing this moment over in your head again and again wishing you made the smart call." He kept his grin all the while.

  Next Gen stared at him in silence for some time. It was Bulldozer who moved first, cracking her knuckles, and was only halted by Equinox placing a hand on her shoulder.

  "Take her," he flatly said. "By all means. But don't think we won't remember this."

  Their craft wheeled over through the air, kicking up a gale as it drew closer to street level. They hopped aboard, one by one. Equinox boarded last, floating up on a trail of swirling shadows. "Friendly advice? Watch your back," he said.

  Jon snorted. "Friendly advice? Tread carefully."

  Toymaker let out a pained groan as the craft flew off. Her armour was cracked, and the fabric of her costume was torn in several places. Still, her gear had worked wonders at keeping her in one piece. "What the fuck?" she mumbled.

  "I know. Kids these days." He drew the Model 3 from his holster, double checked that the compressor was off, and stuck Toymaker's hands together with a single blob of adhesion gel. They could dry and crack if off after they'd taken all her gear away. Artisans, fortunately, could be detained like any human prisoner once they were without their gear.

  Anya made her way over, a nervous gust of laughter rising in her throat. "Thought you were done for!"

  "Ha. Those punk were arrogant, but I think even they knew how bad it would be to pick a fight with ANVIL. Come on, call in a clean up crew. Then we can get our little friend here seen to."

  "Ugh..." Toymaker groaned, sagging in Jon's grasp. "Worst day of my damn life."

  "So far, dear," said Anya.