Liam pulled an arm up just as a kick was about to land. Skip’s surprise attack missing its mark and instead finding itself blocked. By the time Liam turned to the car the man was already gone. Again moving away before he could deal a proper counter.

A set of lights and sirens screamed into the parking lot. Liam had lost count of how many of the things had shown up since the call went out. It had to be in the mid teens by this point. Their loose perimeter around the fight staying to the edge of Liam’s thoughts. He had no idea how to use the officers to his advantage so he tried to ignore them. DCP regulations must’ve kicked in with them as they allowed the supers to fight without interference.

Though there was one boon they brought with them. A barricade was being erected to keep civilians away. With that in place Liam didn’t have to worry as much about hurting innocents.

A ball of white light streaked towards him and Liam dodged at the last second. The ball exploding on a car behind him, a fine looking sports car, from the quick glance Liam was able to take. One of the students had loaded parents Liam thought before the sound of torn fabric and shattered glass reached him. Good thing that was a rich kid’s car. His parents would buy a new one as an apology, even if it wasn’t their fault.

He soon forgot the car as Skip reappeared. This time laying down, next to Liam’s legs. A wire rope held in one hand. The teleporter tried to toss the rope around Liam’s foot but the younger man jumped clear over it. Did Skip think he was some ice walker? Ready to be taken down by a rope around the legs. A simple trick like that wouldn’t work on him.

Liam swung his foot back, aiming for the teleporter's exposed stomach. Before his foot could connect, the man disappeared. Instead of finding a body Liam’s foot got a heel full of slime. The newest residual from a Skip jump.

He needed to be quick about things and figure out a new plan. To this point Liam had been running on adrenaline but that wouldn’t last forever. He had a few more minutes before exhaustion became a real issue. Especially with more officers showing up every moment, his chances of escaping after dealing with The Hunt were shrinking.

Skip should be the easier of the two targets, sure he hadn’t been able to touch the tricky little man yet, but he knew his plan could overcome that.

After Skip was out of the way it’d be down to H-Bar. A tough one to take down, that was for sure, but one Liam knew he’d overcome. He already had ideas on what tactics to use jumping into his head. The first one was a localized EMP. It’d bring down the man’s lights, but would also do a number to Liam’s suit. Not the most optimal idea, but it was a jumping off point.

Liam moved forward, a dart sailing through the air at the man wreathed in lights only to be deflected by another glowing shape, this one designed to look like a large tower shield. Almost identical in shape to what Gladius used.

H-Bar responded with a new salvo of lights. With eyes sparkling Liam waited for them to arrive. This was why he’d joined the Heroes to begin with. Facing tall odds to save those who couldn’t fight for themselves. He was finally acting a Hero again, even if the world didn’t know.

…

Ullr came to a complete stop. Though the rest of the room didn’t follow suit. The low buzz of voices sprang up again for the first time since Mr. Hat arrived. Like a hive of bees the droning became louder at the information that’d just been shared.

Out of the corner of his eye Mr. Hat saw the red lights on the TV cameras. The moment was caught for the world to see. Ullr, The Hunt, even the DCP wouldn’t be able to stop things this time. Everyone would know what he’d lost. Then they’d share in the pain as he spread the loss.

Standing in the packed room Mr. Hat felt more alone than ever. The crowd, which had already pulled back from the man with the gun, had moved even farther back. A feat Mr. Hat didn’t believe possible. It was a good thing though, it gave the cameras a better view of him.

Looking around Mr. Hat noticed an odd phenomenon. Wherever he peered the voices would fall quiet. Only to rise again as his vision passed over them.

During all of this Ullr remained still. A man trapped with a momentous decision in front of him. He must be trying to determine what was his best course of action. Mr. Hat wouldn’t give the man time to figure that out.

Training his gun on the group closest to him Mr. Hat moved towards them. They all pulled back, but one wasn’t fast enough and drew his eye. A woman in a stiff looking brown business suit. She curled in on herself at his approach. Her long blond mane almost white in the glaring lights of the room. From the corner of her eye Mr. Hat could see a tear forming. The water building up fast, nearing the edge of the dam, ready to break at any moment.

If that wasn’t an invitation to become the prime hostage Mr. Hat didn’t know what was. With a resolute straightening of his shoulders Mr. Hat walked into the group of people. The rest parted like cars before an ambulance, but not the woman. She stood there petrified as Mr. Hat moved in. When he reached out and grabbed her, she didn’t even protest. Allowing Mr. Hat to position himself behind the woman with the gun pointed at her head.

“You took everything from me, I’m only here to return the favor,” Mr. Hat called out. The message only half for Ullr, the rest was theater for the masses watching on live TV.

“I didn’t know she was married,” Ullr muttered to himself, “She never told us.”

“She did, you’re just too stupid to remember,” Mr. Hat said. He left unspoken the part where he removed the memories.

Ullr’s eyes seemed to focus back on Mr. Hat. The haze in them fading away like fog in the sun. He’d reached a decision, Mr. Hat knew it.

“Now that you know I have nothing to lose, what’ll it be?” Mr. Hat asked. Shaking the girl in front of him with one hand.

At that moment the dam broke and tears surged down her face. A small hiccuped cry escaping her throat before the sobbing began in earnest.

Mr. Hat continued, “What’ll it be? The truth of that night from my mouth or yours?”

No sooner had the words left his mouth than the scene erupted in mayhem.

…

The boxing match continued as Liam and H-Bar fought for advantage. Each strike from H-Bar carried with it a spike of ivory white light. Like the horn of a unicorn they adorned his fists. Even against Liam’s armor the blows were doing a number.

Each strike was like a jackhammer against Liam’s arms. The blows vibrating through him and turning his arms numb. While the shards of light tried to find any purchase through his armor.

To make matters worse, Skip chose that moment to jump back in. Appearing behind Liam, unnoticed save for the knife darting into Liam’s armored back.

The first strike skidded to the side. Liam’s suit’s armor proving itself capable of blocking the blow. The second wasn’t as lucky. Whether from dumb luck or skill Liam couldn’t know, but the blade caught between a replacement piece of armor and the original shell. One of the weakest parts of the suit.

The blade’s point pierced into Liam’s back. Cutting into the tender meat underneath. The pain alone was enough to draw Liam’s attention. When the blade was pried back out it left Liam’s heart sinking.

Even without his HUD screaming an alarm, Liam could feel a piece of armor break off. Tittering to the cement behind him. Where it’d been was a glaring void. An obvious opening for the world to see. Unlike many Heroes who could shrug off a gunshot Liam wasn’t like that. Anything getting through that hole would bounce around inside of him. The aftermath wouldn’t be a pretty sight.

Liam called up his emergency procedures, this wasn’t the ideal time he’d been looking for, but it’d have to do. With Skip’s next strike having free range on his back Liam played his anti Skip trump card. From the back of Liam’s suit hot, compressed air erupted and forced him to step forward. A muffled cry let Liam know it hadn’t all been for naught. He’d caught the tricky teleporter in the blast. How much damage he’d done he couldn’t know, he could only hope it was enough.

The blast that’d sprung to life was the last charge from his still functioning jet boot. Without a second boot, flying was off the table. And having already seen the flying knee attack, that was also scrapped. Not one to waste good equipment, Liam had converted it into a trick weapon. Pulling the rocket components off his boot and strapping it to his back. When it was triggered, the intense heat would spray out. A nasty surprise for anyone caught in the boot's final death throes.

With Skip taken care of, for the moment, the immediate danger to his missing piece of armor was gone. Leaving Liam to bring his focus back to the man in front of him.

Seeing his teammate become a blazing inferno H-Bar was caught with a moment’s hesitation. Natural instincts took over as he took a step back. A large white wall appearing between him and Liam, he wasn’t taking any chances Liam noted as the wall held all of the man’s stored light.

Liam moved away as well. Pulling back into a defensive position. He focused his attention at the white wall, hoping Skip was out of the fight until this next part was finished.

It was that moment when the first shot rang out. An officer broke protocol and attacked him. Like the start of a rain storm others followed suit. The pauses between blasts getting shorter as the drizzle of gunfire turned into a downpour. Officers from around the parking lot sent round after round into Liam’s armor. With each impact Liam’s body shook. The shots weren’t enough to break his armor, but the weak point in the back was something to be concerned about.

Liam moved next to a car and pressed his back to it. Trying to keep his weak point from the firing squad. It worked as the bullets failed to reach his soft flesh underneath. Instead ravaging the exterior of the armor.

The bullets continued to come as officers shot everything in their guns. Then reloaded and continued to fire, pulling the storm with them. Through it all H-Bar stayed in his shell and Liam didn’t capture a glimpse of Skip. At least he had that going for him.

Unsure of how to handle the deluge of bullets Liam tried to think of a plan to get out of his current situation. Only for the inevitable understanding, you’re in trouble now, to ring through his head.

If only that was the last surprise of the day.