The alarm kept blaring in the background as Alysia pulled on the suit, stuffing herself into it as fast as possible. She rushed out of the bathroom, to find Nathan waiting, oddly patient. "Who are we saving? Where are we going?" she questioned, pulling the mask over her face.

The mask Nathan had chosen for Alysia surpassed the old masquerade mask Alysia had used when she broke into the homes of the rich. The mask fit her face tighter, attaching to the suit, so it wouldn't fall off during combat. And it was a lot more comfortable.

Clearly, Nathan had a fancy suit designer, seeing as tech covered the whole outfit. She spotted some type of wire running down the sides, and if she looked closely, the suit seemed to glint. Did she know how to use the tech?

No.

But she'd figure it out eventually.

Maybe.

Hopefully.

"Bank robbery. Seems like the Gevasi rebels have started getting bolder and bolder." Nathan climbed up the ladder, opening up the hatch that led to the first floor of the abandoned Carstairs warehouse. "Seems like Gevasi is falling apart."

Alysia quickly climbed up after him, putting her hand in his offered one, letting him pull her up. She stood, wiping the dust off her suit. "How exactly are we gonna get there? The bank is on the opposite side of town."

"You're forgetting that I can fly. Wind powers and all?" Nathan deadpanned. He handed her a stun gun. It felt awkward in her hands, far too bulky, yet lacking the security of a real gun. "Take this. You might need it, especially with your lack of combat knowledge."

"You're forgetting that I can't fly and that I gave Greg's motorcycle back to him." Alysia crossed her arms, looking up at him.

Nathan sighed, before scooping her up, one of his arms under her legs, and the other under her back. Alysia opened her mouth to speak, but Nathan cut her off. "I guess this is how we go, until we teach you how to fly. Better hold on."

Before Alysia could say anything, they were flying.

Well, he was flying. Not her.

She wrapped her arms around Nathan's neck as he sped through the sky. The stinging wind kissed her face, her previously neat ponytail reduced to a knotted mess. Alysia watched as buildings blurred past her, the cars on the busy streets looking more like ants. Her head pounded ferociously.

This wasn't helping her hangover. At all.

When she finally felt Nathan hit the ground, she jumped out of his arms, slightly stumbling. "I hated that."

"I know you did. Think of it as motivation for you to learn how to fly and show up to your training." Nathan said, adjusting his mask. "Now, time for your first day as a hero. You deal with the Gevasi rebels, I'll deal with getting all the civilians out."

"What kind of crappy plan is that?!" She exclaimed, gaping at Nathan, incredulous. "I can barely beat you, and you want me to deal with lots of rebels? Are you insane? You're the one who said I lack combat skills!"

Nathan shrugged, and readjusting his mask before replying. "I'll help a bit. But the civilians are the main priority."

Without warning, Nathan flung out his arms, and the doors burst open, the deadbolt shearing off with an audible, metallic scream. Nathan looked out over a room of surprised rebels, staring like deer in headlights.

He smiled, or at least Alysia thought he did. "Sorry we're late to the party." Nathan sent a gust of wind towards one of the rebels with a gun, slamming him against the wall, the gun clattering to the fancy tiled floor. "Your turn, Monarch."

Monarch?

All the civilians and the rebels turned to face her, confusion on each of their faces. The civilians had fear in their eyes, unsure if Alysia was there to help, or if she could cause more harm than good.

Honestly, the same question ran through her own mind.

Was she Monarch?

"Monarch!" Nathan shouted, glaring at her through the mask, snapping Alysia out of her daze.

"Right. Fighting." She grabbed her stun gun out of her, aiming at rebels who she recognized. She saw Nathan helping a few families out of the bank out of the corner of the eyes, as she dodged a punch from a rebel who had tried to sneak up on her.

"Rude." she muttered, shooting him with the stun gun.

Currently, Alysia could only see five rebels. Still too many. As much as Alysia wanted to tell herself that she could take all of them down, she really couldn't. She had never been in a real fight like this, not counting the one at the Carstairs mansion. Compared to members and rebels of Gevasi, she had zero training.

The only thing she knew how to do involved breaking into people's houses, and getting out undetected. This, brawling in the middle of a bank using a stun gun of all things, was the opposite of her comfort zone.

Five became ten, which soon became twenty. Alysia had no clue about where they were coming from, but hopefully Nathan could deal with it.

As she fought rebels, repeatedly throwing kicks and punches, and the occasional shot from the stun gun, she lost sight of Nathan. All of the civilians were gone.

Good.

She wouldn't be able to win this unless she used her powers. Alysia grabbed a rebel's arm as he tried to throw a punch at her face. Her palms grew warm, like she had picked up a cup of hot coffee. The rebel's face twisted with confusion, and then terror. He let out a blood-curdling scream of pain as the sleeve of his shirt caught on fire. Alysia sighed in relief.

Thank god. It worked.

He now had second degree burns and most likely wouldn't come back to try and fight her. She reached over to grab a second rebel, when she spotted Nathan, casually leaning on a marble wall, watching her try to fight. Rage burned through her, and she forgot about the rebels. Alysia yelled across the bank, not bothering to keep the anger from her voice. "What are you doing? Help me, you jackass!"

"Behind you." Nathan simply called back, amusement filling his eyes. Alysia whirled around, only to get punched in the stomach by a blond rebel. "Told you to have an arm up in defense at all times."

"Bitch!" She shouted in impulse at the rebel, throwing a right hook at his jaw. But before Alysia could do anything else, all the other rebels were knocked down. 

The next thing she knew, a hand wrapped tightly around her throat, pinning her against the wall. She clawed at the hand, trying to relieve the pressure on her windpipe, glaring at the honey brown eyes that met her green ones.

"Who are you?" A familiar voice demanded.

Blitz.

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! What are your thoughts on this chapter? Any predictions for the next chapters?

QOTD: Who is your favorite character in this book so far?

My favorite character is probably be Nathan! He's really fun to write too!