Icy Falcon looked around. He was in a dark room. It seemed empty, but he couldn’t see well in the darkness.

But he could hear.

He grimaced. Gunshots all around. This was a mistake. And not one he was prepared to live with.

Something sharp grazed his cheek.

He narrowed his eyes. If he didn’t focus, he wouldn’t have to live with it at all. Take care of this now. Worry about the fate of the kids later.

He narrowed his gaze. He strained his hearing. He slowed his breath. He didn’t move.

A cut appeared on his thigh.

He grimaced again. This was not going well.

He created a thin sphere of ice, just a foot away from him. And then grunted as a cut appeared on the back of his right calf.

That confirmed it. Some sort of teleportation, most likely. Icy Falcon let the sphere melt and created a layer of ice right over his skin. A bit pointless since it would slow him down too, but he needed a moment.

Because something was off.

He didn’t know anyone who could teleport. He had never heard of anyone with that power before. But there was something. Something in the pit of his stomach, something in his pounding heart.

Something he had to confirm.

He dropped the ice armor and gathered the ice to his left fist, encasing it. He then lashed out his fist to the left, without even looking.

Crack!

He hit something.

He turned. There an armored man in a mask stumbled back, one hand holding a rapier, the other holding his face. The mask was cracked, and pieces of it began to fall. Icy Falcon took a step back. The face was one he saw for the first time, covered in warts, tumors, and burns that seemed to glow with sickly green. Yet, it was face he recognized. A face he knew, terribly, terribly well.

“El Capa?”

The man grinned as the last pieces of his mask fell.

“Hello Señor Falcon. But a slight correction. As you can see, I am no longer El Capa. They call me the Warped Warrior these days.”

Icy Falcon’s eyes narrowed.

“You died.”

The Warped Warrior sneered.

“Word of advice, Señor Falcon. If you want to get rid of someone, don’t just leave them for dead. You double and triple check. They aren’t dead until you see the body.”

Icy Falcon swung his cape forward, launching a barrage of ice shards. The Warped Warrior simply smiled. As the shards approached, the Warped Warrior’s body distorted, transparent mirror images jumping out to either side before he vanished entirely. The ice shards shattered harmlessly against the wall.

Icy Falcon let out a grunt as a blade cut his right shoulder.

“It doesn’t matter, you’re a dead man walking. A bunch of dead gringo kids? America won’t rest until your entire cartel is burnt to the ground.”

Another cut on his left hip. Icy Falcon spun to the side and let out a chilling blast as the Warped Warrior’s laugh echoed.

“Oh you poor, short-sighted fool. You still think this is about cartels? About kilos and profits? No, Señor Falcon, I’ve moved beyond such things. My ambition was so small back then.”

Icy Falcon created a ring of ice shards and launched them in all directions. Another cut on his left forearm.

“You see, I’ve been baptized in purifying flames, Señor Falcon. I’ve been gifted with grand powers, and something more. A glorious purpose, a cause bigger than myself. A cause that will change the world, in a way neither you nor I could ever dream of.”

Icy Falcon puffed up his chest and then let out a breath, filling the entire room with snowy gales and daggers of ice. Frost appeared on every surface, snow filled the air. Icy Falcon let out a deep breath that condensed to fog as the winds died down.

And then the blade pierced his back.

And the sound of gunshots grew.

The Warped Warrior appeared in front of him, unharmed and with a smile on his face. But with a cold look in his eyes.

“And the gringo kids? Well, I’d say their deaths are on your head, Señor Falcon.”

The Warped Warrior distorted and vanished. Icy Falcon pulled his arms around his head and encased his body in ice armor once more.

Crack.

The blade pierced through his left thigh.

“I thought a lot about our last encounter, Señor Falcon, and I’ve come to realize something. We’re two sides of the same coin, you and I.”

Crack.

The blade pierced through his right bicep. He swung his left fist around, swinging through empty air.

“We both like to leave things unfinished. You see, my problem is that I don’t stop. I enjoy it, I realized. I enjoy seeing the pain, the despair. So I prolong the process. I let it go on, even when I know I should stop. And we both know how that ended last time.”

Crack.

The blade pierced through his left foot. He swung his cape with his left hand, barraging the area with ice. The ice shattered on the walls.

“You, on the other hand, stop too early. You never finish the job. And you know why? Because you’re a coward. You’re afraid. You don’t have the stomach. You don’t have the guts to do what it takes.”

Crack.

The blade pierced his chest. Just a shallow cut, just enough to draw blood. Icy Falcon took deep breaths as the remains of his ice armor cracked, pieces falling to the floor.

“You could have stopped me, you know? But you weren’t man enough to do it yourself, to strike the final blow. You just passed it to someone else. You couldn’t even bring yourself to watch. That’s why you will never make a difference. Because you will never do what it takes. You can’t. Even now, you are hoping for the gringos to come and save you, to put a stop to me. All because you are too afraid to do it yourself. And now, children will die. All because you. Are. Weak!”

The Warped Warrior appeared before him once more, and took a bow.

“Goodbye, Señor Falcon. This will be the last time you see me.”

He distorted and vanished once more. Icy Falcon looked to the ground, panting for breath, blood dripping from his countless wounds. He opened his mouth.

“You’re right. About me. And those kids, that’s on me.”

He gripped his right hand into a bloody fist.

“But you’re wrong about yourself. About your problem.”

He covered his fist in ice. A voice mocked him from the shadows.

“Oh, do tell, Señor Falcon. What then, do you think my problem is?”

Icy Falcon pulled his right arm back, elbow bent, fist facing forward. He took a deep breath. He started to lunge forward, extending his right foot out and leaning forward. Then he pulled his left foot back sharply, swinging his torso and his fist around to jab behind him.

Straight into the Warped Warrior’s torso.

“You’re predictable.”

The Warped Warrior’s eyes widened as he gasped in pain. Icy Falcon pushed his arm upwards, driving the ice spike up and under the man’s rib cage.

“Well…done…Falcon…ha…ha…ha…”

The Warped Warrior’s mouth twisted into a sneer.

“But…you’re…..too……..late………”

Icy Falcon twisted his fist.

The world turned pink. Trucks and crates crashed into the walls and flew out the entrance of the loading dock. Men cried out in shock and pain.

And the gunshots stopped.

Pink Star collapsed to the ground. “Pink!” Wonder Knight cried before Voidspeaker slapped his shoulder.

“Go!”

Wonder Knight grit his teeth and ran out from behind the crates. Already the whale was dissipating, glowing pink particles floating off of it. Wonder Knight pushed off the ground with all his might, leaping at the nearest man. As the man started to lift himself off the ground, Wonder Knight landed on top of him and quickly punched him in the face, knocking him back to the ground. Wonder Knight then leapt to the next one, a quick kick sending him spiraling into the dirt. He grunted, a bullet bouncing off his shoulder. One man was firing from a kneeling position, one hand one the ground, the other gripping his gun. Wonder Knight spun around and grabbed the gun, crushing it in his hand, and then backed handed the man onto the floor.

On he went, twisting metal and plastic, slamming into faces and torsos.

Another, another, another!

Go!

Move!

Faster!

He grit his teeth as a man fired an assault rifle at full auto into his chest. One step, another. One foot in front of the other. Until he twisted the barrel with his left hand while his right pulled back into a fist.

Bam.

The man fell. Wonder Knight inhaled, and exhaled. Inhaled, and exhaled.

And then slowly, ever so slowly, he turned back towards the loading dock.

There they were. Voidspeaker walking towards him, supporting the two girls as they gasped for breath. He nodded to Wonder Knight. Wonder Knight slowly nodded back, and then collapsed onto his back.

They made it.

A few minutes later a gust of cool air blew through the entrance. Icy Falcon landed in front of them. He raised an eyebrow.

A bunch of groaning men were tied together on the floor. And around them stood four tired, but unharmed, heroes.

“Icy Falcon! You’re alive!”

The kids ran up to him.

“I’m glad to see you all too.”

He shook his head to hide the moisture building in his eyes.

He turned to the men on the floor.

“Is that all of them?”

Voidspeaker nodded.

“Pink still has a room or two to check but the building seems empty. We think the fight attracted them all here.”

Icy Falcon nodded.

“Excellent work. Why don’t you four go find what you’re looking for?”

Wonder Knight raised an eyebrow.

“What about them?”

“I can handle it from here. You didn’t come for them, right?”

Wonder Knight paused for a moment, but then nodded. The four nodded and entered the building.

One of the men began to giggle. Icy Falcon raised an eyebrow.

“You think this is funny?”

“Hehehe ah yes, it is. We all know how you ‘handle’ us, Señor Falcon. We’ll see you again in a month, yes?”

Icy Falcon cracked his knuckles.

“I wouldn’t be so sure.”

“Seriously, he’s cool and all but I don’t get what the big deal is.”

“He’s muscular. Very muscular.”

“Oh come on, Wonder’s muscular. I’m muscular!”

Chronolock just raised an eyebrow. Wonder Knight shook his head and put his hand on Voidspeaker’s shoulder.

“Void, let me put it this way. You and I, we’re dudes. Icy Falcon, he’s a man.”

Chronolock nodded, her face slightly flushed.

“A handsome, muscular man.”

Voidspeaker grit his teeth.

The three walked into the room where Pink Star was standing. The room was full of half-packed boxes, scattered nails, and shipping labels. She was focused on her visor, a pink hummingbird darting around stacks of crates and over tables of labels.

"You find anything, Pink?"

Pink blinked for a second. The hummingbird paused in the air, then picked up a label and brought it to Pink's hand.

"Maybe. Almost everything here is headed to an address in the Americas. Except one."

She handed the paper to Wonder Knight. He rubbed the back of his head, and then looked up at Pink Star.

"Well, you always said you wanted to visit Europe, right?"