Suddenly, a loud thump sounded and StrongArm stiffened; then his eyes rolled back and he fell to the floor with a thud. Howler twisted out of his grip at the last moment and avoided being squashed under the large man’s heavy frame. Violet stood behind them, a triumphant smile on her face. She held a piece of hospital equipment in her hands that Brenda didn’t recognize, some kind of metal box, and she tossed it to the side where it crashed into a wall.

Char froze for a moment, and then lunged for Violet. Howler filled his lungs, and Brenda used her power even as she called to her friend to watch out. Char went down, falling on top of StrongArm. Violet, face twisting into a snarl, also fell to the floor.

“Char!” Brenda screamed, but her power drowned out the sound of her voice.

Howler’s mouth was open, and his eyes widened as she watched. At first she thought he was screaming, but quickly realized he was laughing, though it was silent to her ears.

She bared her teeth and lunged at Howler. Pain shot down her arm as her fist slammed into his nose. A whiff of cologne hit her, pungent and foul. Had he bathed in the stuff?

Howler stumbled back, both hands covering his face. Blood dribbled down his chin, marring the front of his uniform. He screamed something and dove at her.

Stars flew through Brenda’s vision as her head slammed into the floor. Howler weighed her down after tackling her, and she blinked to try to clear her sight. He was all teeth, screaming at her. She couldn’t hear the words, but it didn’t take a lip-reader to make out the profanities he spewed.

How much time had passed? Could the other superheroes do anything if they walked in now? She struggled to think, to move. She wriggled under him trying to break free from his grip on her shoulders. He moved his hands and tried to grasp her neck, his face full of rage.

Squirming out from under him, she slapped at him frantically. She gasped as she broke free and crawled away from the villain. Scanning the room, her eyes settled on the machine Violet had used to knock out StrongArm. Her knees protested as she wormed her way across the hard floor.

Howler’s foot connected with her gut and her breath flew from her lungs. Air refused to fill her chest as she lay on her side, gasping. He kicked her again, almost losing his balance. The pain in her stomach was so severe she couldn’t even flinch as he moved in for in for another kick.

Movement in her peripheral vision caught her attention. Something black advanced toward them, and Howler didn’t attack again. She pulled her head from the ground and dragged herself toward the equipment. She didn’t bother looking behind her; there was no time.

Still gasping for air, she pushed up to her knees when she reached the metal box. Wires stuck out of it from a couple of different points as if it had been ripped from the wall or a stand. It looked like something that might report vital signs.

The cold and heavy weight in her hands, she struggled up and turned to face Howler. Justice lay at his feet. Brenda hesitated, confused. Hadn’t Justice been on the other side of the room?

Howler didn’t seem to see her; he glared at Justice. Blood pouring from his nose intermingled with blood from a cut on his forehead and a fresh shiner on his eye that she was certain she hadn’t caused. His uniform was ripped; one arm hung only loosely attached to the rest of suit.

A surge of energy hit her and she ran at Howler. He saw her, eyes widening and mouth opening to lob more curses at her, but he didn’t move. Not fast enough. When she got close, she swung the heavy metal box she carried at his face, catching him square in the jaw. He clutched at the wall behind him before melting to the floor.

Brenda watched as he fell, and then tossed her weapon to the side, taking care not to hit anyone. Justice was paler than usual, and blood marred one side of his head. His ear bled, but his chest moved up and down in a normal rhythm.

Shooting Howler a quick glance to reassure herself he was still not moving, Brenda touched her mind and turned off her power. Sounds came rushing back. People yelled. They were close, but their sounds were muffled behind a wall or two from where she knelt. Police sirens wailed.

“Justice?” Her voice cracked. “Justice, can you hear me?”

Her legs didn’t want to work, but she forced herself up and out the front door. She waved at the police officers on the line before collapsing onto the hard asphalt.

Chapter Eight

The next hour was a blur. Paramedics hauled her onto a stretcher, ignoring her protests and demands that they wheel her back into the hospital so she could check on Justice. StrongArm trudged out of the hospital. The first superhero to appear from inside, he stopped to talk to her. He ignored the paramedics who hung around him, fluttering.

“Silencer, can you tell me what happened?” He accepted an ice pack from an emergency worker with a nod of thanks.

She took a deep breath. “I was struggling with Howler when you guys got there. He’d already knocked out Justice.”

“I remember that much.”

“Violet hit you over the head with a metal box, some sort of medical equipment.” She paused, her chest suddenly heavy with the weight of her words. “God, Violet. She was with him. She betrayed us.”

StrongArm’s expression didn’t change, but he touched her lightly on the shoulder.

“We struggled after he knocked out Char. He had me on the ground when Justice got him off me.” She blinked back tears and tried to swallow the lump in her throat. “Is he okay? The paramedics won’t help me back in.” Her voice grew frantic. “I don’t think I can walk that far yet on my own. Did you see him? Is he—”

StrongArm grasped both of her shoulders, and she bit back a moan, wincing. “Sorry,” he muttered and let her go. “They’re only bringing in patients that absolutely need to see a doctor now; that’s why you’re out here. Had to clear out Howler and Violet before they’d open the place back up again. Justice is in with the doctor. They’re having a hard time waking him. Since he got hit twice at such close proximity, they’re worried.”

She struggled to her feet and StrongArm caught her just as her knees threatened to give out. “I have to see him. Can you help me get in there?”

“He’s tough. You need to worry about yourself right now.”

“I’ll be fine. Can you get me to him or not?” She met his gaze and refused to look away.

He grimaced. “All right. Wait here and I’ll find a wheelchair.”

“Just help me!” She glared at him. What kind of self-respecting superhero let herself be pushed around in a wheelchair when she was able to walk, albeit barely?

StrongArm raised an eyebrow at her order but offered her his arm. She limped up to the hospital, through the front doors, keeping her face as expressionless as she could manage. And she hoped that no one noticed how hard she clung to the man’s muscled arm.

The trip to the emergency room area where the hospital housed Justice seemed to take forever. Each step reminded Brenda of how rough the fight had actually been, and the slowness of her progress did nothing to stymie her anxiousness.

They found him lying on a gurney behind a curtain. A nurse stood over him, clipboard in hand, and she offered them a professional smile when they approached.

“How is he?” StrongArm asked as Brenda jogged—the fastest gait she could manage—to Justice’s side.

She took his hand in her own, careful not to move or disturb any of the cords running from him to the machines that lined the wall behind his bed. He was so pale, but she didn’t see any injuries save a small bruise forming under his right eye. They’d cleaned the blood up that had drizzled from his ear down his neck. StrongArm and the nurse’s voices faded into the background as she watched Justice’s face, wishing she possessed the ability to make him well through the strength of her will alone.

“Are you all right?” StrongArm touched her shoulder and she jumped.

She didn’t look away from Justice. “Is he going to be okay?”

“He’s tough.” StrongArm didn’t remove his hand from her shoulder, and moved to stand closer to her instead. “He has a blown eardrum in his left ear, and he’s stunned from the repeated sonic screams. He has a goose egg on the back of his head, too, from one of the times he hit the ground, I guess.” StrongArm squeezed her shoulder. “He’s sedated right now, but he came to a while ago. He’ll be fine.”

Brenda nodded, not trusting herself to speak. But when she brought a hand up and covered her mouth, she realized her cheeks were wet. She was crying, and she hadn’t even noticed. What was wrong with her?

As she stared down at Justice, the man who’d saved her more than once, and who, more than that, had made this week the most fulfilling of her life in every way possible, she knew.

She loved him.

***

The room wasn’t entirely dark, and it took him a moment before the memories of the day came back to him. Brenda fighting Howler. Howler standing over her, kicking her repeatedly. Pain and rage and fear. Howler’s neck under his hands. Then…nothing.

He tensed when something moved at his side, but relaxed when he saw StrongArm. “Hey,” he said, voice barely above a whisper.

StrongArm handed him a plastic pink cup with a straw peeking out from the top. Justice sipped the water and cleared his throat. “Where’s Brenda?” he asked, voice stronger.

“She’s fine. She was here until they forced her into her own room.”

“How is she?”

“She’ll be fine. Some cracked ribs, heavy bruising.” StrongArm crossed his arms. “Her hand is badly bruised from breaking Howler’s nose.” He took a deep breath. “I won’t lie to you. She got pretty beat-up, but she’ll recover.”

Pain lanced through his head as he pushed himself up from the bed, holding a hand out in warning when the other man moved to stop him. “I have to see her, Ben. I have to.”

StrongArm’s face broke out into a deep frown at the use of his real name, but he helped him up from the bed. “Your headache should go away in the next day or two. The doctor said there’s no permanent damage.”