The air crackled next to Liam’s head. The heat from the blow sending up waves of distorted air like an asphalt road in the middle of summer. The sound brought a shiver racing down Liam’s spine.

Turning to his left, Liam found a metal beam turning an angry red as the heat ate through it. In his suit Liam didn’t feel the temperature, the insulation doing its job, but the readings from the external thermocouples were nothing to joke about. A few more attacks like that and this fight would be over, either from Liam getting caught by a blow and his suit melting or from the building collapsing as its supports were taken out one at a time. The one next to Liam had just succumbed to that fate as the tortured metal gave up and sloughed away.

Despite the dire implications of those attacks, Liam didn’t have time to dwell on them. Rolling to the side, another blow tickled the back of his suit, melting the paint as it fought to get at him.

Before the attacker realized he’d missed, Liam’s staff was up, thrust into the man’s gut. A burst of electricity followed. The man convulsed for a second as the energy prevented him from controlling his movements, then fell as the electricity cut off. The smell of ozone spreading from his crumpled form.

Not wanting to risk an unplanned building renovation, Liam landed another blow on the downed figure’s back. When that didn’t yield as much as a grunt, he turned to take on the other attackers.

There were four of them. Each moving to take a position on the compass points surrounding him.

The four were near identical. Each was a bulky man, with biceps as large as Liam’s legs. And at six and a half feet, they towered over Liam. They were also all wearing black clothing and a black, nondescript mask.

The eyes staring out from behind the masks were lifeless. Liam could almost see the calculations going on behind those glass orbs. Despite their human appearance, they were as far from it as something looking this lifelike could be.

Without speaking, the four moved. They acted with a coordination that would take a human decades to master.

The two, positioned at North and South, moved forward, attacking in unison. As the punches came down like a hailstorm, the other two shifted to prevent Liam from escaping to the side.

It was a well prepared attack and executed to a level that would require coordination most teams couldn’t match. And it would’ve succeeded, if Liam was planning on dodging sideways or trying to block the blows. Yet he wasn’t constrained by those simple options. And why would someone be, if they could fly?

Instead of doing what his opponents expected, Liam’s boots lit up as compressed, plasma heated air rushed out the bottom, propelling Liam into the air. His staff twirled in a long arch as it connected with one of his attackers faces. The man crumpled, his forward momentum driving his uncontrolled form into the other attacker.

The two went down, their bodies coming to rest in a heap. The teamwork the four must’ve been so proud of was broken by a metal bar.

His fallen foes weren’t out of the fight, they’d be up in moments. But on the ground they weren’t much of a concern, for the time being.

Having broken out of the encirclement, Liam tried to gain some distance between himself and his remaining assailants by dashing to the side. His boots roared as they sent him flying. In the tight confines of the warehouse, Liam wasn’t as confident in his flying abilities as he’d once been. He’d only just repaired the plasma generators and hadn’t had a chance to practice with them. So as he flew, he gave any of the larger obstacles, like the stacks of boxes near where he’d come in, a wide berth.

Besides the static objects, there were two other areas Liam wanted to avoid. Those of the chaotic fights revolving around the other Heroes. A part of him knew he’d have a better chance pulling through this if he could make it to an alley. Fighting in a group was always easier than by yourself. Yet, being unsure of his flying abilities and his desire to prove he could stand by himself, lead Liam to an empty area of the room.

As he flew past the first fight, Liam saw Wire fighting with a swarm of little robots. At the speed he was flying he wasn’t able to get a good look, but the drones looked similar to those found in a computer store. Had she gone shopping before the fight? He wouldn’t ever trust something from one of those places if it wasn’t heavily modified by himself.

Liam saw the reflection of Wire’s opponents swarming in her visor, as she danced with the drones. The perfect display of grace. She was good, even his quick glance showed that, yet he’d also noticed a glaring flaw in her fighting style. Wire lacked the stopping power of many Heroes. Unless she was hiding what she could do, he knew she’d be overwhelmed in an extended fight.

Liam could’ve stopped and tried to help, maybe buying the two some time to come up with a plan, but he was worried about her. If he did anything wrong, her weakness would drag him down as well. With everything at stake, he couldn’t afford for that to happen.

Plus, Liam wasn’t sure on the specifics of her power. The display he’d seen hinted that she was a techie like himself. The way her drones moved showed her focus was on AI. Either that or she was just amazing at programming. The moves the drones were pulling off made him think an AI focus made more sense.

Having little robots respond to her and enhance her attacks had some advantages, and Liam would have to see about doing that for himself. Though his assumptions of her power could be wrong and until he got a closer look at her tech, he wouldn’t know for sure.

Liam buzzed past Wire and her little dance, only for the second fight to come into view. This one had Tank and Nudge at the center of a hurricane of bodies. The two Heroes worked in tandem. Tank, doing as her name suggested, was jumping in the way of each blow that flew towards the two, while Nudge lashed out with his vines. Spinning one above his head in a large circle while the other searched out individual targets. Together, the two were keeping ten Cowls at bay.

The scene showed that the two experienced fighters could adapt to a new ally and match their abilities with ease. That was a skill that had to be learned through combat, as no novice could fake that. It was more proof of how intimidating the two were, if that was even needed.

Liam stuck to his first thought and continued past. Spotting a clear corner of the room, next to a large closed door, once he landed he’d have a split second before he had to decide what to do next.

Looking behind himself, Liam found his pursuers had given up the chase and joined the fight somewhere else in the room. Leaving him, for the first time since entering the space, free of a foe.

Liam landed in a graceful slide. Once at a stop, he looked around and confirmed he was alone in his corner. He planned his next move, staff twirling in his hand. He could take out a few of the distracted opponents around Nudge and Tank. They’d be the easiest to go after. He could imagine how that would go. He’d move on them as they put all their focus on the other two Heroes. A good shock from his staff would take out a few before they knew what was happening. If that didn’t work, he could always switch to his suppression stick. One of the few devices he still had from his time at the Academy, and even now it wasn’t something to be underestimated.

That style of attack would work for a while, but eventually they’d catch onto his plan. Once that happened, he’d become the center of a new group of Cowls, unless he jumped into the circle with the other Heroes.

He’d have to do that, even if he didn’t like it. He lost nothing by relying on the others. And without knowing this group well enough, it was the best option he could come up with fast. Especially if he was going to keep his newest inventions a secret.

A shriek of tearing metal cried out from behind Liam. It grew in pitch as the metal fought off whatever was tearing through it. Liam tried to turn towards the sound, only for a weight to land on his back and slam him forward. Liam’s face met the concrete floor, his staff pulled from his grip and sent skidding across the floor.

The continuing cry of metal came back as Liam was trying to reorient himself from his spot on the floor. This time the sound was much closer. Liam was pulled across the ground as his suit fought against claws raking into it. Liam tried to pull himself up, but even with his suit’s enhanced strength, he was no match for the force bearing down on him. Each time he thought he was gaining some traction, another claw came down to meet him.

With a final wail, the metal on his back gave way as a claw pried his suit open like a can of tuna. The claw sinking into the exposed flesh underneath the metal barrier like it was spooning out fish.

Like a light switching off, Liam’s vision went dark. There was no pain from the attack, or much of any discomfort in his body at all. Only his mind was running red.

Had there been a warning of the incoming enemy? He’d thought that part of the room was clear. He’d even double checked that it was. Had this opponent been waiting outside the room all along? Biding his time until someone stumbled into range for him to exploit? Regardless of how he tried, Liam couldn’t remember any hint of his attacker.

Giving up on the task, Liam's mind raged at his performance. All the while trying to stave off another, more primal feeling as the group would see his failure.

Liam lay there, in the dark, as he waited for it to end. Something that just couldn’t come fast enough.

As if answering his call, blinding light spilled into his view. Starting as a crack of brilliance around him, then expanding as brightness overwhelmed his other senses. Until the lid of his pod lifted and he could see the room, he was in. The pale white tiles on the ceiling seemed to call out in mocking tones at Liam’s disgraceful performance. Their mundane nature belying the embarrassment he’d felt and their cat calls.

Sitting up, Liam tried to ignore the mocking world around him and focus on the pod he was in. The device was amazing. Allowing the user to enter a simulation in a virtual space. Given the time, Liam would love to examine its construction. The idea of breaking one of these things apart would be a joy into itself. Yet after his performance, he was much more inclined to escape and forget today ever happened.

Climbing out of the pod, Liam stretched. His body was sore, from his toes to his neck, every joint was complaining. He’d need a nice massage after this, else he’d never be 100% again. Well, maybe that was a slight exaggeration. Having a claw ripping through your back would’ve left more than just a sore body, so he shouldn’t be complaining. Plus, he could treat his current condition as restitution for failing inside the simulation.

Around him, Liam heard the rustling of the rest of the group. Each leaving their own pods. The noise traveled through the cloth walls separating the group. Liam tried to ignore the others, wanting nothing more than to slide away from the room before anyone could point out how he’d failed. He was a Hero after all. He shouldn’t lose to a simulation, especially in the manner he had. He’d dealt with more in the past year than anything the machine could push at him and yet his performance was a mockery of that hardship.

Once free of the machine, Liam stripped off the tight fitting bodysuit. The black, skin tight garment was an intricate part of the machine. One that allowed the user to be immersed in the experience. Yet Liam didn’t have time to wonder about that. He had the capture suit off and his own clothes back on in seconds.

Then, he made his way to the cloth wall and pushed his head through. The hallway beyond was empty. Taking advantage of the unoccupied space, Liam pushed through the curtain and beelined it for the door. He was halfway there when his plan of escape fell through.