The pair of Sal and Star Breaker gave me quite a rude awakening. Luckily, I’d not fallen completely asleep yet, so they were spared from my angry little bitch mode.

“Quincy, there’s a supervillain coming.” Sal told me.

“Oh, yeah, that’s an issue.” I groggily quipped as I stood up out of bed. I could say stupid shit when I’m tired too.

“I have a plan.” he also told me. I didn’t buy it.

“Oh do you now, Sal?” I joked, somehow forgetting what alignment we were currently at. Seriously, if this were a book, I’d have confused the readers right now.

“Yeah, I do Quincy. Surprised?”

“No offence, but I’d prefer to hear it, and then I’ll give my thoughts.”

“Ugh… you two… please stop...” Selene sighed from the bunk above me, putting her pillow over her head to make sure she couldn’t hear Sal’s awful plan.

“We’re gonna fight him, take him down, and question where he came from. Then we go to his superiors and-”

“I’ll stop you right there. We don’t know what his powers are. The more tactical choice would be to hide and wait for him to leave. Attention is the last thing our little group could use.” I told Sal.

“But what if he searches for us? We have like a minute to hide, starting now.”

“Oh boy.” Star Breaker sighed.

“I have a better plan.” Selene grumbled through her lips. “We hide and then we get the jump on him. There, both of you win.”

I thought it over for a second, I knew my sister was right, but… I just really didn’t have it in me to enter martial combat.

But that was the only option right now.

“Alright, I’ll get Twee. Let’s do this then.” I said, leaving the room with Star Breaker.

“Sal.” Selene said, looking over at him before he went looking for a hiding spot. “I have your back too.”

“Really?”

“Yeah… Quincy is a bit of an ass sometimes. You bring out the worst in him, and it’s not your fault but… you also bring out some of his best traits, like bravery. I can sort out the… fighting stuff.”

“That’s very... kind of you, Selene.” Sal smiled at the compliment. “Can we talk more about this later?”

“Of course.” Selene said, going invisible, throwing off her sheet, and leaving the room. It wouldn’t be that hard for her to hide anyway.

The door to the observatory flung open, whoever it was was now in the main room, and they seemed kind enough to clop across the floor like a horse in tap shoes.

“Anybody home?” said a posh, uppity accent that managed to sound obnoxious and cynical all in one two word burrito. “Ladies and or Gentlemen? If you are hiding, I suggest you come out! I have candy, but I do not own a white van!”

Jesus christ, this guy was more annoying than me.

I hid in the corner of the room behind a pile of dusty auditorium chairs, I stared at the caped buffoon walk out into the center of the room, illuminated in moonlight on the checkered asylum-esque floors. I couldn’t see his face, but he had the longest blonde hair I’d ever seen a guy pull off, and the scary part is that he managed to make it… perhaps a little sexy… I’m not jealous or anything.

This seemed like the perfect time to jump him. Everyone had basically made a circle around him, and we were all waiting for the signal.

I knew I had to give it.

I gathered my courage and then…

“Get him!” I screamed, and the chaos broke loose.

He obviously expected it because with a swift swing of his wrist, a candy cane the size of a greatsword appeared from nowhere in his hands and bashed into my side, causing me to fly into the wall at high speeds, I felt like I’d broken something.

Sal, Twee, and Selene all grouped up on him, throwing fireballs, metal and energy crosses toward the candy cane wielding lunatic.

Noticing the amount of attacks landing and realizing he couldn’t dodge them all, he poured a vial full of a green liquid over himself between attacks. It seemed to actively cover his body in the green goo, which then hardened into a shell.

“Gobstopper Armor!” he shouted out his move cheesily. I knew exactly the type of person who does that stuff.

“That armor won’t last through my Blast Barrage!” Sal replied in combat, shooting out several fireballs toward the man, who seemed slower, but now he was basically immune to the fiery explosions.

“You face the might of The Candyman, Lethal Inferno! Brittle Skewers!” the villain yelled again, recognizing Sal. Suddenly, a dozen peanut brittle spikes shot up from the ground, threatening to stab my friends. Twee thought quickly, a single swing of a newly made metal spear and they were smashed on the floor.

The Candyman had only used it as a distraction though, for he was now running in, intending to smash them with his oversized cane. Selene tried to go invisible again, but it took too long and as she disappeared, she was impacted and sent careening across the room. She obviously hit a desk, as one of them shook with impact and was visibly dented.

“He’s not messing around!” I said, finally gaining the strength to come to my feet.

“No…” “Lollipop Missile!” the villain interjected, “Kidding!” Sal shouted, dodging past the missile before it did to him what it did to the wall, leaving a gaping hole.

“Give up, Heroes! You must admit I am far too sublime!”

“Heroes?” I exclaimed to him. “We’re villains! Can’t we settle this with words?!”

“Villains?!” he said, perplexed. Immediately, he stopped fighting, but still held a combat stance. “Lethal Inferno, you’re a villain now?”

“Uh… yeah. That’s right.” Sal said, begrudgingly it seemed, looking unsure if he wanted to keep shooting fire at this man.

“Oh gosh! Then this is an absolutely horrible misunderstanding! I shouldn’t have been trying to kill you!”

“Yeah!” I nodded, feeling I’d actually issued a proper peace deal between two warring nations.

But if I knew anything about nations…

“Yes! This means I must capture you all for Ms. Courtney!”

Peace doesn’t last for long.