Colin
he leader of the gang burst into laughter, his voice
echoing down the alley. “Someone must’ve gotten lost
from a geek convention!” he mocked, causing his
cronies to snicker.
Colin glanced nervously at Tyree, both of them clearly
unsure who should make the first move. Thankfully, Ashley
didn’t wait for either of them. “Let them go,” she ordered, her
voice low and dangerous.
“Or what?” sneered the leader, stepping forward, a knife
in his hand. Without missing a beat, Ashley responded, “Or
you’ll be spending the night in the hospital.”
There was a flicker of excitement in her eyes that Colin
hadn’t seen before. She enjoyed this. As if reading his
thoughts, Flair’s voice echoed in Colin’s mind, “She relishes
the fight. Let her.”
Before anyone could react, Ashley drew her hooked
sword with lightning speed, knocking the knife from the
leader’s hand. In one swift motion, she kicked him squarely
in the chest, sending him flying into a nearby trash bin. He
crashed into it with a loud thud and was instantly knocked out.
The remaining gang members froze, their confidence
visibly shaken. Ashley cocked her head, her voice calm yet
challenging. “Who’s next?”

One of them charged forward, but Ashley was ready. She
grabbed him, and they started grappling. Her movements were
smooth and practiced.
Meanwhile, Colin notices two of the thugs sizing up
Tyree and him. He sighed, drawing his sword. His opponent
brandished a lead pipe, but Colin wasn’t fazed. They charged
at each other, and with one clean motion, Colin’s sword sliced
through the pipe as if it were paper.
The thug’s eyes widened, and without a second thought,
he turned and sprinted out of the alley. Colin grinned,
admiring the power of his sword. He turned just in time to see
Tyree struggling with the last gang member, who had him
pinned to the ground, raining down punches.
Tyree
Colin rushed to Tyree’s side, kicking the thug off him
with a well-placed strike. The armor seemed to amplify his
strength, sending the thug flying nearly ten yards back. The
man groaned, struggling to catch his breath.
Colin looked down at Tyree, barely holding back a laugh.
“You okay?”
“Not funny, dude,” Tyree grumbled, pushing himself to
his feet, his pride clearly bruised.
Ashley, meanwhile, had flown into the air, using her
wings to lift the final thug by the leg and dangle him upside
down. He screamed, arms flailing as she smirked. “Thought
you were a big, bad man?” she mocked.
“Please, don’t hurt me!” he cried.
Even Colin felt a little bad for the guy. “Don’t worry,”
Ashley said with a wicked grin. “A fall from here won’t hurt
too much.”
She released him, and he dropped to the ground with a
yelp. Though he wasn’t seriously hurt, he wouldn’t be causing
trouble any time soon.

Ashley landed gracefully, folding her wings as she
rejoined Colin and Tyree. “Not bad for our first night,” she
said, a satisfied smirk on her face.
Tyree grumbled, still stinging from his earlier struggle.
“Our only night.”
Crush chimed in, his voice booming. “Couldn’t even
handle himself right. What a joke.”
Ashley chuckled, nodding in agreement. “Yeah,
seriously, Tye. You’re gonna have to toughen up.”
The tension in the air thickened as Flair cut in, her tone
sharp. “One must logically ask, Crush: why did you choose
such an underwhelming partner?”
“I was hungry, and he has a unique situation with bio-
electricity,” Crush retorted defensively.
Colin, Ashley, and Tyree exchanged awkward glances as
the Ciphers began bickering.
Razor joined in, his voice smooth and logical. “I call, as
humans say, ‘bull—’” Before he could finish, police sirens
echoed in the distance, cutting him off.
“Let’s go!” Colin shouted.
The trio quickly deactivated their Ciphers, the armor
vanishing in an instant. They sprinted out of the alley, just
managing to escape before the area was bathed in flashing red
and blue lights.
Colin
As they made their way back to campus, Colin and
Ashley couldn’t stop talking about the fight, their excitement
bubbling over. On the other hand, Tyree remained silent, his
head down, lost in thought. Colin, ever the observant friend,
noticed and slowed his pace to match Tyree’s.
“You okay, Tye?” he asked gently.
Tyree shrugged, his frustration clear. “I’m fine.”

“You sure? We can grab some ice when we get back,”
Colin offered, trying to lighten the mood.
“I don’t need any freaking ice!” Tyree snapped, his voice
sharper than intended. He marched ahead of them, leaving
Colin and Ashley standing in the middle of the road,
exchanging confused looks.
Colin sighed, turning to Ashley. “He’ll be alright. He just
needs some space.”
Ashley raised an eyebrow, skepticism etched across her
face. “You sure about that?”
Colin nodded. “Yeah. I’ve seen worse from him. He’ll
bounce back.”
The two continued walking, this time at a more leisurely
pace. Ashley glanced up at the night sky, her eyes tracing the
stars above them.
“They came from up there, didn’t they? The Ciphers,”
she mused.
Colin glanced at her, momentarily struck by how the
moonlight highlighted the sharpness of her features. Rough
but beautiful in her own way. He quickly looked away,
clearing his throat.
“Yeah, I guess so. Razor says he doesn’t remember
much—probably because they were asleep for so long,” Colin
replied.
After a few moments of quiet, Ashley pulled a pack of
cigarettes from her pocket and lit one up. She offered one to
Colin, who politely declined. As she took a drag, Colin felt a
surge of curiosity about her.
“Do you mind if I ask something?” he said hesitantly.
Ashley exhaled a cloud of smoke. “Shoot.”
“Why are you… I don’t know… so rough around the
edges?”
Surprisingly, Ashley didn’t seem offended by the
question. She shrugged, taking another puff. “I’ve always had