▓▒▒░░░ HAND HOLDING ░░░▒▒▓█

"Okay, time to practice your lying." Schwoz, a small man with a weird accent, announced as he walked up to a podium at the front of the room. Schwoz was a brilliant scientist who invented most of the weapons used in fighting crime and did most, to all, of the non physical work.

Two groans came from the back of the classroom, but they were ignored.

"My friend is on fire, I must run to pour water on his f𝘦ace." Schwoz used a pointer as he read the words off of the slide.

"My friend is on fire, and I~I’m really the only one doing this?" Mika, the smartest of the group, trailed off as she noticed the other silent students. She was a creative thinker and was one of the brightest people in the room.

"As fun as it is to practice lying all day, it's not fun at all, and I hate it." Chapa, a girl with dark brown eyes and a temper, hissed as she clinched her first. Chapa embodied the color red and was always on edge or angry.

"Hate is a very strong word… And in this case, it's accurate!" Miles, the peacefully unworried boy, turned to Schwoz, who placed his hands on his hips. Miles believed in fate and the will of the universe, unlike his twin sister Mika.

The twins both shared smooth and dark skin and had currently braided their black hair. They clashed yet complimented each other with their personality and colors, purple and yellow.

"What they're trying to say is that Captain Man brought this school to teach us to be superheroes, but if all we do is-"

"Lying is a very important part of being a superhero! You have to learn to protect your secret ident𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘵ity." Schwoz stuttered.

"You know what, we didn't ask for these powers." Chapa complained.

"Uuuggghhh, here we goooo." Schwoz groaned as he turned around and smashed his face into the slideshow he was presenting.

"Yeah, you built the weapon that blew up and gave 'em to us when Captain Man and Kid Danger fought Drex!" Miles called out.

"Yeah, you were all '𝘢𝘪𝘪𝘪𝘦𝘦𝘦! 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦'𝘴 𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘦𝘦!'" Bose, the handsome but dumbest of the group, said as he impersonated Schwoz. Despite the fact his head seemed empty, he was kind and always had a smile. He was definitely a favorite out of everyone.

Everyone laughed as I shook my head with a smile, a blond ringlet falling out from behind my ear. "Why is that funny? A caveman really was on top of me!"

"And Mika was all..." Bose trailed off.

"Kid Danger needs help!" Mika abruptly stood up and placed her hands on her waist, posing like a superhero.

"And Captain Man was like..."

"Just shoot us." Chapa pretended to wrestle something in her arms from where she also stood.

"But kid danger said..."

"If I blast you, you won't be indestructible anymore!" Miles smoldered into the distance as he joined Mika and Chapa in standing.

"Neither will Drex, now shoot us, you quitter!" Chapa yelled to Miles, reenacting what had happened a short time ago.

"I hit the caveman on the head. I was helping." Schwoz whispered. I smiled down into my book as everyone else continued to chat.

"And then Kid Danger was like..."

"Hold on to your hoses." Miles loaded up an invisible gun as he blasted it. My four friends all pretend to get shot as their arms waved in the air.

"Explosion!"

Schwoz threw his hands up as he looked at everyone. I chuckled at how helpless he looked.

"And now I can..." Bose started from where his cheek rested on his desk. He sat up as the rest followed along. "Wait, what's my superpower again?"

"You can move things with your mind." I reminded as I locked eyes with him. "I thought that was Chapa." He frowned.

"No, I shoot lightning bolts from my hands." She explained.

"Sick. Then what's Miles' power?"

"He can teleport anywhere in the world."

"Filthy. Then what can Phoebe do?"

"She can generate shields of energy to protect us." Mika explained.

"Angelic, then what's your superpower?"

"She doesn't have one!" Miles and Chapa yelled as Bose dramatically gasped. I smiled and watched from my seat.

"For some reason, my power hasn't shown up. Yet." Mika emphasized. Bose once again gasped and covered his mouth.

"If I could have your attention, once again on the-"

"Are you scared you'll never get one?" Bose questioned like a gossip girl as he ignored Schwoz.

"Pfft, absolutely not." Mika crossed her arms.

"See guys, that's bad lying." Miles pointed at his sister as he nodded. I let out a loud laugh but quickly covered it with a cough as Mika glared at me.

"Actually, dear brother, I'm not scared."

"Whoa. You guys are related?" Bose asked.

"You didn't know that?"

"Come on, Bose."

"Haven't we gone over this?"

"Oh, dear God." I shook my head and crossed my arms as Bose shrugged his shoulders.

"I know I have a superpower, I'm sure it'll-"

"HEEY!" I let out a squeal as Schwoz pressed an air horn. My hand covered my heart as it almost burst out of my chest as my face flushed in surprise.

"Never hey horn a woman!" Chapa yelled as her hands sparked.

"Chapa, relax." Mika cautiously smiled.

"Never tell me to relax. We have been here for three weeks!" I frowned as her anger rose and the red grew brighter.

"We should be learning how to be superheroes, but instead, we're practicing lies and getting the hey horn!"

"Chapa." I whispered as I grabbed her hands. Green coated the sparks as I squeezed her hand in reassurance. "It's alright."

Her jaw clenched, but her arms slowly relaxed as the color died out. The corner of her lips pulled up before she gave me a stiff nod. I smiled back and faced my seat, trying to ignore how weirdly cold my hands felt.

"Hey, I'm already great at lying. Watch. I am so wearing pants right now!" Bose grinned as golden retriever energy practically oozed off of him.

"Bose, are you not wearing pants right now?" Miles asked as his nose wrinkled.

"Not important." He shrugged off. "But what is important is that I'm taking Schwoz's hey horn!"

His left two fingers pressed into his temple as his right hand reached outwards. The red and white horn floated in the air and moved away from the stage.

"I'm not going to jump for it. I know you want me to jump for it, but I am a man of science, and I am not going to–hey!" Schwoz ended his rant as he yelled and jumped. He reached for it, but his fingers were inches away.

Chapa, Miles, and I all laughed as Schwoz jumped and yelled at Bose. I could barely hear Chapas bargaining over my own laughter.

"It's not up to me. It's up to Captain Man."

"Well, where is he?" Mika asked.

"Yeah, the only time Captain Man-" Miles was cut off by Ray, in costume, jumping down into a superhero landing.

"Such a poser." I muttered as he stood back up.

"EMERGENCY! EMERGENCY!" Ray shouted as he looked at us.

I gasped and hit the button on my green chair as it shot me up into the roof. A square opened up as I reappeared in the man cave. Alone, might I add. I stood from the chair and opened the compartment above my chair. Everyone had one in their own respective colors.

Chapas symbol was red bolts, Boses was a blue object being levitated, Miles was a yellow fist, and Mikas was… Well, blank for now.

Mine, however, was a green shield with a tree.

"Gotcha!" I whispered as I opened the small circle container. I popped a bubble into my mouth and blew it as blue and purple lights enveloped me. Looking down, I noticed I was now in my fighting suit, a beautiful shade of green accenting the rest of the black I wore.

My blond hair that previously flowed down my back was now styled into two dutch braids. I reached up and twirled them around my finger.

I waited for a moment and soon sighed as no one followed my actions. I sat in my chair and raised my hand as a gray chair rose into place.

"Nice outfit." Mika smiled as she took in my appearance.

"Thanks. I'm gonna go help with the chaos downstairs. Or down-whatever."

"Good idea."

I quickly hit the button, and I noticed the desk Bose sat at was thrown around, and he was wearing a shirt for pants. Captain Man had a wooden spoon and light blue pan, which he didn't have before.

“Where...? I'm not going to ask." I shook my head as I approached him.

"Is this a drill?" I asked.

"Oh yeah." Captain Man chuckled as he looked at me. He nodded his head with a smile. "Nice."

"Thanks. I'm already done."

"First?"

"Yep."

Captain Man held out his fist as I bumped it.

"Now go help them."

"On it."

I turned as a boom shook from behind me. Chapa, Bose, and Miles all lay on the floor as red disintegrated in the air.

"Oh, you hate to see it." Schwoz said as he clutched a tablet to his chest and watched from the stage.

Mika returned and stood from her chair as she directed orders. Everyone seemed to scurry. Chapa quickly sat in her chair and hit the button as I grabbed the blue one that had rolled away.

I put it back in its place before gently grabbing Bose by the arm. I ignored the flash of yellow in the corner of my eye and pushed him into the chair, hitting the button.

"Nice suit!" I called over to Mika.

"Thanks!" Mika smiled back.

"This is not a drill!" Ray yelled as we sat in our chairs.

"We were ready first!" We both yelled at him as we flew up in sync.

I groaned as Bose yanked Chapa, who was attempting to get him off of her. I rushed to them and formed a green barrier around Chapa. Bose quickly lost his grip and turned to me.

"Are you my mommy?" Bose asked. My eyes widened in shock, "Wha-" my gaze shifted to Chapa, who only shrugged.

"Guys! Catch!"

Bose and Chapa both caught their gum and opened it when Miles appeared in front of me in a burst of light. I yelled, and I jumped back.

Tripping over my own feet, I wheezed as the air left my lungs. My hands gripped my ribs as my vision blurred with instinctive tears.

"Phoebe!" Three voices yelled as hands grabbed me. My eyes clashed with brown ones as the sound marbles hitting the ground echoed in my ears.

Chapa pulled me up to sit and rubbed my back. I pulled my knees to my chest and tucked my head between them as I heaved.

Chapa disappeared, to my disappointment, as sirens blared through the room. Someone was coming up the tube.

"Phoebe, you alright?" Ray called as he squatted in front of me.

"Yeah, I just... hate jump scares. And can't breathe." Ray shook his head as he grabbed my elbows and pulled me to my feet.

"Thanks."

"No problem, kid."

I walked to the man couch and laid down as everyone continued arguing.

•❂•

Chapa, Bose, Mika, and Miles all stood in a line as they chewed their bubbles. Mika, who already had her suit on, watched in awe.

"It's our time."

"That's right."

"This is my cool face."

I raised an eyebrow as they all said their well thought catch phrases.

"Do you want to tell them, or should I?" I asked Ray with a raised eyebrow as I stood up and walked over to them.

"This was just a drill." He said with a grin.

"Not cool!"

"Are you serious?"

"How dare you?"

"You are a jerk, sir. A 𝘫𝘦𝘳𝘬!” Miles screeched. I giggled as his voice cracked.

"And it took you an hour and a half." Ray shook his head.

"𝘏okay... who burned the coach?" Schwoz asked.

Chapa quickly hid her sparking fingers behind her back. "Phoebe did it."

"Wha-" my jaw dropped as I gave her a look of shock. She sheepishly smiled as I rolled my eyes with a smile.

Ray and Schwoz exchanged a look.

•❂•

We watched as Ray replayed the clip of Chapa, Miles, and Bose crash into each other over and over again. I sat on the couch between Chapa and Bose as they sat on the back.

"Again, cuz it's funny. Bam!" Ray, who is officially known as Captain Man, laughed as he watched. Ray, for being however old he is (𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘥 30𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮), was very childish and narcissistic. He also had an intense love for moms.

"Alright, last time, I swear. Bam! Just kidding, I lied. Bam!"

"I'm sick of watching the film!" Chapa stood up as redsubconsciously glowed. I grabbed her hand and rubbed the back of it with my thumb. She glanced at me before sitting back down.

"Captain, can we please go out and fight real crime?" Mika asked. "I know we look bad in here, but out in the real world, we'd be great, I just know it!"

"I hate to be a Debbie Downer, but I disagree." Everyone complained as I protested. "Come on, guys! How are we supposed to be good at fighting crime when we haven't even trained to physically fight? Or use our powers?"

"We can't do that cause 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 won't train us." Chapa interjected.

"Because we can't, or better yet won't, comply with the first step." I argued back as I looked up at her.

"Look, I'd love to let you guys come along on a crime run. But the truth is... there's a crime drought." Ray lied.

I facepalmed and sighed. "There is no such thing as a crime drought." Miles objected.

"Is too." Ray bickered back.

"He's got ya there." Bose smiled. Miles and I gave him a look before sharing one ourself, and giving up.

"Look, this town's had some tasty crime waves in the past, but Kid Danger and I shredded the gnar and put all the criminals back in prison." Ray explained as he pressed a button, and the replaying clip changed to a picture of Kid Danger.

"𝘈𝘯𝘯𝘯𝘺𝘳𝘢𝘺, we're in a crime drought, so... nobody's doing nothing." Ray shrugged, phone still in hand.

"R𝘦ay! I've been texting you for ten min𝘰𝘰tes. Face your phone!" Schwoz yelled as he popped up on the screen.

I furrowed my eyebrows as I took note of the yellow behind Schwoz. "Hey Miles, isn't that your chair?" I murmered to him and pointed to the screen.

"Oopsie raysie." Ray said as he scrolled on his screen.

"Hey, that is my chair!" Miles yelled as he realized I was right.

"I gotta go."

"Where ya going?" Mika asked as she seemed to appear in front of him.

"Is it an emergency? Can we come?" Chapa stood as Bose and I soon followed.

"Nah, it's not an emergency at all." Ray shrugged.

"Then where are you going?" Miles asked as he stood up as well.

"My friend is on fire and I-"

Schwoz cleared his throat from the screen as Ray turned to him. "No? Okay."

"Oh, uuhh, I got to take my aunt... to the cleaners."

"Why?" Mika asked and walked forward as Ray walked back.

"Because... She's very large." Schwoz chimed in.

"Uuhhh. Huge. Big lady. Loves cheese."

"She's so huge she needs to be cleaned in a car wash." Schwoz chimed in. I rolled my eyes as I ignored whatever excuse Ray was making. I made eye contact with him and silently mouthed '𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘳'.

•❂•

I looked up into the tree and called out as I saw a familiar figure.

"Chapa?" I called out. I gasped as she let out a yell and slipped. My hands glowed green as whisps wrapped around her body and suspended her as she fell. As I turned my palms, she shifted with my movements until she was facing me, still in the air.

"Hi." She whispered. I grinned as I whispered back.

"What are you doing here?" I asked as I lowered her down and onto the ground.

As she stood, she brushed herself off and shrugged. "Same as you, I suppose."

I smiled and quickly grabbed a branch and pulled myself up first. I looked over my shoulder and extended my hand to her.

Chapa took it, and I pulled her into the tree with me. My arm wrapped around her waist for support as we climbed. I never noticed I was grinning until I leaned over and opened the window.

Someone yelped while I stepped back to let Chapa in first. I guided her with my hand locked in hers until she was inside.

"Something's not right." Chapa called as she helped me into what I assume is Mika's room.

"Me being out of bed when it's 𝘸𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘺 past curfew isn't right either, but..." I muttered to myself.

"Told ya."

I let out a scream as Miles stood up from nowhere. My foot lost its balance, and I slipped. Chapa grabbed me with a gasp as I hung from the window. My feet carelessly swung as I tried to find something to stand on. She grunted and pulled me over, with the help of Mika, and into the room. I tumbled to the ground with a big thud and wide eyes.

"Omg, are you okay?"

"I did not mean to do that!!"

Mika and Miles both said at the same time. I panted as my hand clenched my silk pajama shirt where my heart pounded.

"Stop doing that!" I hissed as Chapa sat beside me and looked for injuries.

I let out another shout as the door opened and three people walked in. I sighed in relief and leaned against Chapa as everyone stared. "It's been a long day."

"What the heck is going on?" The bald man, who I assume is Miles and Mika's dad, asked with his hands on his hips.

"He has been banging on the front door yelling, '𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘺, 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘺, 𝘐'𝘮 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘢𝘮.'" The woman in the flower robe, who would be Mika and Miles' Mother, explained as Bose shifted beside her.

"What the heck is-" Mr. Macklin stopped shouting as his wife held up her hand. "-going on," he whispered.

"Miles? Mika? What are these children doing here this late?"

Miles and Mika shifted as Chapa stood up and extended her hand to me. I grabbed it, and she helped pull me to my feet.

"We... just found out we have a surprise test tomorrow. At our school. For the gifted. And we need to study. Together." Mika lied.

"Great lie." Bose praised. My eyes widened as everyone turned to him.

"Bose, baby. Come here." I extended my arms out as he grinned. "Yay! A hug!" He quickly ran to me and wrapped his arms around my waist. My hand grabbed his head and shoved his face into my neck. A vague '𝘰𝘰𝘧' came from him, but I simply pet his hair in return.

"Lies!" Mika gasped. "That's it!"

"Lies? What do you mean-"

"Dad. Our school is private and free. Stop asking questions." Miles cut his dad off.

"Good point."

"Night, kids."

They both rushed off as Miles told them lots of goodbyes and locked the door. I pulled away from a smiley Bose as he, quite literally, bounced over to sit in a hanging chair.

"What did you mean when you said 𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴-" I laughed as Miles dramatically gasped and waved his arms around. "-𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘪𝘵?"

"Schwoz said that lying was a big part of being a superhero."

"So?" Chapa asked with crossed arms.

"So Ray's been lying to us!" Mika explained.

"You didn't know that?" I asked as I flopped onto Mika's bed.

"You knew?" Mika loudly asked.

"Yeah... it's pretty obvious. He doesn't think we're ready, which we arguably aren't, so he's been doing it himself."

"But how can Ray fight crime if there's a crime drought?" Bose asked.

"There is no crime drought!" Mika and Chapa yelled while Miles and I exchanged a look of concern and a calmer tone.

"You mean Rays been lying to us?" Bose's voice cracked as I smiled. "Yes!"

Bose dramatically gasped as my face ached from smiling. "You poor thing."

•❂•

I droned out Ray as he talked about his great battles in me-story.

"The End."

"Finally." I sighed. Chapa laughed, and I turned my head to her. I leaned back and crossed my legs.

I turned my attention when Ray's phone rang.

"𝘞𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘶𝘶𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘱𝘱." Ray smiled into the phone. I took a deep breath as I scooted forward and into hearing range. Chapa, Bose, Miles, and Mika all looked at me as I leaned forward.

"Someone's trying to drill a hole in swellview prison so their grandpa can esca𝘺pe." A voice that I could recognize as Schwoz, informed from the other side.

"On it." Ray hung up as he turned around.

"Who was that?" Mika asked.

"Uh, my hairdresser. I'm late for my appointment. At the haircut store." Ray lied as he headed towards the door.

"Barbershop." I absentmindedly corrected.

"You getting some frosted tips? Blonde highlights are very in right now." Bose asked with a nod.

I turned to him as my nose scrunched up. "Who are you, Esmé Squalor?" Bose turned to me with a confused look, but I simply waved him off.

I leaned back as Ray bickered with everyone.

"I think you're lying!" Miles exclaimed. Ray stopped with his hand on the door handle as we all turned to him. "What did you say?"

"I said, I think you're lying." Miles dramatically stood up, making his chair fly backward. "I don't think you're going to the haircut store at all. I think you're going to fight crime without us."

"Why would I go and fight crime without you guys?" Ray gestured in mock confusion. "I respect all of your '𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴' equally."

"Aww, then I look forward to seeing your blonde highlights when you get back. From the haircut store." Chapa mocked.

"Boom." I held my hand out as she high fived it.

"It'll probably be more subtle, like a strawberry blonde." Ray said.

"Yeah, can't wait."

"Or a burnt caramel, kind of tawny color. Something tasteful. Probably won't even notice." Ray stepped back into the room before finally leaving.

Everyone soon turned to me as I relaxed in my chair. "Swellview prison. Some kid is trying to break his grandpa out of jail."

"Can you teleport us to swellview prison?" Chapa asked Miles. Bose shot up from his chair with a clenched fist and slumped posture. "I can try."

"Bose, you can't teleport. That's Miles' Power." Mika gestured to her brother, who held out his hands in a shrugging motion.

Bose's face fell before he frowned in determination. "I can still try!" He jumped and stuck his hands out in a V position.

"Yes, you can!" I encouraged as I stood up and pointed at Bose. "Never let anyone tell you that you can't." He gave me a firm nod as I grabbed his shoulder and lightly shook it.

"I'll get us there." Miles said with a sigh.

•❂•

I groaned as I became tangled with limbs and leaves. I pushed the arms off me and climbed out of the bushes we landed in, shielding myself as I tripped and almost hugged the ground. I regained my footing and stood straight before I dropped the green wall.

Captain Man gave the ginger headed boy a finger to wait, and he nodded back with a thumbs up. As I looked at the kid, he caught my eye, "Sup." I nodded. He nodded back and looked me up and down.

"Hey! Eyes up here, buddy." I gestured to my face.

"If it's okay with you, I'm gonna go back to breaking my grandpa out of prison now." The kid called out.

"People still have manners?" I whispered to myself.

"No!" Ray scolded.

“Okay-” I muttered, as if Ray had just answered my question instead.

"Yeah, no. Cuz we're going to stop you." Mika chimed in as she also pulled away from everyone.

"Uh, I'm gonna stop him actually cause I'm the superhero."

"Yeah, a superhero who's been lying to us for a week." Miles chimed in.

"There hasn't been a crime drought." Mika continued.

"You've just been telling us that, so you can fight crime by yourself!" Chapa yelled.

"Yeah, you bet I've been lying to you. Cause you two can't control your powers!" Ray pointed at Chapa and Miles.

"You don't even have one yet!" Ray told Mika before he turned to Bose. "And you-" Bose smiled as Ray threw his hand in his direction, "You wear shirts for pants!"

Bose's face twisted in hurt, "They're called shants." Bose and I said at the same time. "Oh-𝘩𝘰𝘩𝘰, and you!" Ray trailed off as he looked over at me. "You-I-you... I got nothing for you, you're perfect." I grinned as I waved the air, a pink dust covering my cheeks. "𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘸𝘱𝘱𝘱𝘱𝘱!"

"Face it. None of you are ready to be superheroes."

"You're right." Mika admitted as she walked forward. "I don't have a superpower. Might not ever get one. But you know what? Being a superhero isn't about getting a superpower. It's about what's inside of you. It's about what's in here." Mika tapped her heart.

"Our skeletons." Bose chimed in.

"Please don't help." Mika said as she remained still. Miles patted Bose on the shoulder while Chapa turned to him.

"He's kinda right, though-" I started as I turned towards the two guys.

"I know I've got what it takes to be a superhero. And I know they do, too." Mika smiled.

Ray sighed as he walked a few feet away. "Okay. Show me how ready you are." Ray said as he finally caved in.

"Let's do this." Mika grinned at us. Taking a deep breath, I nodded back.

The wind blew as Chapa rubbed her palms together. They slightly sparked as Miles cracked his knuckles at the end of our self formed line. I glanced at Bose, who was on my left, before turning to Chapa on my right. I gave her a smile.

I didn't get the chance to see her reaction as I turned to the two men, the bald one and the man wearing a beanie.

"I haven't learned to aim yet." Chapa admitted.

"Just believe." Mika supported as she pulled her fist back into a fighting position.

"So?" Bose questioned.

"You've got this." I smiled at her.

Taking a deep breath, Chapa let out a cry before zapping in her best attempt to hit the two men, Captain Man. He let out a cry as he flew up and over the prison wall, taking the fence with him in the process. The two dudes and little ginger boy laughed as Chapa turned. "Phoebe... How could you?"

"Wha-" I shook my head, not continuing my sentence. She only blushed and shrugged in reply, caving into herself. My attention turns as Miles disappears in a bright yellow light.

"Get 'em." The kid tells his goonies. The two men let out a war cry that Mika, Chapa, and I copied as we charged. Bose let out a screech and ran away with Mika following after. Chapa used her powers, which hit the machine and bounced back to her. I attempted to create a force field around her as she flew back, not stopping her fall but  cushioning it.

"Chapa!" I yelled as Mika and Bose were grabbed by the two men. "Hey, hey, what happened?" Captain Man called as he and Miles emerged into the prison wall. "We got stuck in the wall on the way back." Miles called out.

"That can happen?" Me and Mika both asked as a green shield formed around her. The man let out a yelp as his hands were ripped from Mika.

"I have just learned that it can." Miles informed us as Mika rushed to my side and formed a fighting stance. The sound of clashing got both of our attention as Bose and one of the men fell down with the mechanic on top of them, "I thought that would work."

I let out a yelp as two hands grabbed me and pulled me away. "Hey, let go!" I grunted as the man picked me up and threw me over his shoulder. I could hear Chapa, Mika, and Bose all yelling as I elbowed him in his head.

"Any help, guys?!" I screamed and kicked.

"Let. Her. 𝙂𝙊!" Mika screamed. The ground shook as my ears rang. The man quickly dropped me, making me groan. The air, once again, left my lungs as I curled into a ball on my side.

"Phoebe! Are you okay?" Chapa called from behind me. I could only gasp as I held my thumb up.

"You guys, I have a superpower!" Mika jumped up and down as her eyes glistened.

"It's about time."

"Time reveals all things."

"You can fly?!"

I pulled my head up for a brief moment and looked at Bose. Me and Chapa gave him a confused look as he smiled.

"Pop-pop?" A voice called. Slowly pushing myself up on one arm, I looked up to see the ginger boy talking to an old man in orange. "Crank, my boy!" The old man smiled as he held his arms out.

"You owe me money!" The ginger yelled in anger.

"𝘈𝘩𝘩𝘩𝘩𝘩𝘩𝘩!"

The bald man quickly ran away as a voice echoed, "𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭." I groaned in annoyance as the small man walked out from a gaping hole in the prison wall.

"What's going on out here?" The toddler asked as he stepped out and into freedom. "Toddler, get back in your crib." Captain Man demanded.

The toddler only laughed. "No. Come on, everybody, we're free again!" He scurried off as someone else spinned out of the hole. I gasped as I noticed the fabulous outfit.

"Frankini!" I called out as he gasped. "Oh, hello darling! Aren't you the cutest?" He laughed as he twirled and ran off.

"Frankini! Wait for me!" Goomer yelled as he followed.

I reeled back in fear as a wide-eyed man exited next. "I can't 𝘣𝘦𝘦-𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 my luck."

"I still have hope for a win!" Minyack called as he spread his arms wide. "Hi!" I called as he waved back with a grin. "Have a nice day!"

"My life has purpose again! Yeah!" Jeff called as he ran.

I loudly gasped as I noticed who was next. "Time to go!" The Time Jerker said as he glanced at his watch. "That's a good one!" I grinned. He smiled as he walked away, "Why thank you, dear."

"Don't just sit there. Do something!" Captain Man yelled at me.

"I can't! My shields don't hold that large of a space yet!" I called up to him.

"Well... you happy?" He asked Mika. "Yeah, I got a superpower." She smiled back.

"You just let every criminal out of swellview prison."

"With my superpower." Mika danced in the bushes.

"Huh, when'd you get in the bushes?" I asked. Mika shrugged as someone else left.

A gasped and clapped as Frankini left the prison again with a ribbon and new outfit. "Eight out of ten!" I called. He huffed before running off.

"I started out as a good guy!" A man with glasses cackled as he ran. "Do you remember him?" I turned around and asked Chapa. She shrugged as I turned back around.

"So did we!" Two guys with an accent called.

"Hey, I just realized. We ended the crime drought." Bose said from his position under the machine.

"Now you have to let us fight crime." Chapa agreed as she fought against the bushes that clung to her arms.

"Yeah, you're gonna need our help to capture all these bad guys." Miles nodded as a mime quietly left.

"Probably need, like, a hundred hilarious missions to do it. Maybe more."

"Are you just going back around and running out over and over again?" Chapa asked as Frankini once again ran out.

He giggled before pulling out a microphone, "Check, check." My jaw dropped as he spoke into the mic. "Awesome! Where'd you hide that?" Frankini smiled at me, "a fabulous person never reveals his or her secrets, honey."

"And I smuggled seventy-five outfits into this prison, and you're going to see every last one of them!" Frankini posed as more criminals spewed out.

"You are a legend." He smiled at my compliment and clicked his imaginary hair over his shoulder. "I know."

Frankini danced as he twirled. Me and Bose exchanged smiles before we cheered and clapped.

░▒▓▆▅▃▂▁ 𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐆 ▁▂▃▅▆▓▒░