The clash of their fists kicked up a deafening boom that made the entire boardwalk heave in protest, several boards splintering and cracking. The locals of Amusement Quay screamed, making a break for the city streets proper.

  “Fuck!” I shouted, nearly being bowled off my feet. “Cool it, or we’re all gonna be taking a dip-”

  They crashed into each other like a pair of freight trains, punching and snaring at each other. Foresight and I only barely jumped out of the way as they came crashing past, flying over the edge of the boardwalk and crashing into the sandy shore. The impact kicked up a spray of sand, a tremor rocking the boards beneath me.

  “Damn,” I groaned. “We gotta make this quick, this shit is gonna turn a lot of heads our way. Cops, drones, masks... we don’t wanna hang around for any of it.”

  “For once I agree with you, but-” Foresight was cut off by another bang. We looked over the hole in the railings, watching as Bunker smashed a fist into Dynamo, launching her a few meters across the sands. “It’s easier said than done... maybe we should have brought Rover.”

  “Little late now...”

  Stretch reeled herself toward us, grimacing as her noodle arms pulled themselves back to their normal length. “I don’t like that guy,” she said. “Okay, what’s the plan?”

  Arcs of lightning exploded from Dynamo’s fist, forcing Bunker backward and blasting several swathes of sand into smoking glass. “Dynamo might be able to beat him solo but we need to speed the process up.” I glanced into the inner workings of my raygun, adjusting the wires in a swift bid to get it functional again.

  The machinery hummed to life inside the plastic shell, tickling some monkey part of my brain.

  “Foresight, you flank to his left, I’ll go right. We keep peppering him with blasts, trying to keep him off balance so Dynamo can land more hits. Stretch, try and tangle him up to slow his movements.”

  “Shit, I don’t remember you being put in charge,” Foresight replied. I could feel his glare behind his visor.

  “Yes, well, do you have any ideas?” I pointedly asked.

  He was silent for some time, then let out a small huff, his shoulders sagging. “Fine.”

  Nodding, I pulled my yo-yo from my belt and whipped it around the railing. I jumped down, the unwinding cord lowering me at a steady rate until my feet touched the sands below. Stretch followed, elongating her legs and then reeling her upper body toward them. Foresight was riding on her back.

  I didn’t wait up for long, reeling my yo-yo back in and sprinting toward the two titans crashing into each other like angry monster trucks. It was perhaps one of my dumber ideas, or the most suicidal thus far at least, but what else could I do? Make a break for the van and hope for the best?

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  A lancing bolt of microwave energy struck Bunker’s back, the stony giant howling as it hewed a red hot line along his shoulders. It gave Dynamo a chance to step in and ram her fist into his gut, kicking up an explosive shock wave of sand around them. Chips of concrete spintered off his body, tumbling to the sands.

  Still, Bunker was tough. He headbutted Dynamo, sending her skidding back, and he promptly fired a hail of exploding iron needles from one fist that pushed her a few steps back. His other hand swept back toward us, sending forth another salvo that forced Foresight and I to duck. Stretch settled for expanding her torso like a kite, the spikes stretching her back and then being flung loose when her body rebounded.

  Foresight rose to one knee and took aim, a flash of heat and pressure exploding from his visor. Bunker jerked himself to the side, hissing as the bolt of light grazed his shoulder and burned a chunk away.

  “Little pricks,” he snarled, aiming his knuckle spikes at him.

  Dynamo threw herself at him, the ground shuddering as they rolled across the beach. They kicked and punched at each other, neither one being able to stay on top of the other for very long. But I could see Dynamo putting more effort into it now, her brow knit with concentration. After all, the longer a fight went on the shorter her time with her quantum body was.

  Bunker pressed his heels to Dynamo’s gut and launched her away with a great shove, her body flying far across the dunes and then crashing to a halt over a dozen meters away. He turned on us just as fast, but at that same moment I pulled a fistful of marbles from my belt and launched them at the grey-skinned giant. Gas exploded around him in an unfurling grey tide, and I could hear him cursing and thrashing about in the gloom.

  “Hit him!” I shouted, firing another burst from my raygun, aiming at the hulking silhouette in the smoke. He gave another shout as my shot sliced into his hip. Foresight followed my lead, nailing him in the chest.

  More of our shots hammered him as the smoke cleared, revealing an assortment of scorches and scars hewn into his stony hide. He clapped his hands, the sheer force of the impact kicking up a shock wave that slammed into me and sent me tumbling across the sands. I wheezed, the air kicked out of my lungs, and the world spun in my vision.

  Still, landing on my side, I could see Stretch lashing her arms around Bunker’s upper body in a zig-zag pattern, the weaving lines pinning his elbows to his sides... with some effort. The two grunted and strained, and it was clear that Stretch’s rubbery hold wouldn’t last long. I took aim, willed my body and my vision to calm, and squeezed the trigger. The microwave beam slammed into Bunker’s leg, driving him to one knee and making him scream.

  A spike shot out of his brow, aimed my way, and it was pure damn bad luck that it hit me in the shoulder. I felt the jolting shock in my whole skeleton, the impact knocking me flat on my back. The pain was immense, my eyes bulging in my head. But the ballistic gel and hydrapolymer had done their job, soaking up an impact that would have otherwise blown my shoulder into a fine red mist.

  But fuck did it sting.

  Bunker gave a harsh flex of his arms, and Stretch yelped as her makeshift binding snapped off him. Her arms pinwheeled away in different directions like a pair of ramen noodles. At that moment, fortunately, Dynamo came sprinting up the beach with a rock the size of a semi truck held aloft in one hand. “God damnit just go down!” she shouted.

  The boulder came crashing down on his head, exploding into a cloud of dust and pebbles. Bunker swayed like a prize fighter who just took one too many nocks in the ring, and Foresight nailed him in the chest with another blast that knocked him flat on his back. He lay there, groaning, but did not rise again. His stony hide was now a canvas of scars and cracks.

  I staggered over to Dynamo, Foresight and Stretch joining me. “Everyone okay?” Stretch asked, wincing as she wound her arms back to their normal length.

  “I’ll be picking sand outta my boots for weeks,” Foresight said.

  I clutched my aching shoulder, grimacing at the mental image of the bruise I’d doubtless be sporting by tomorrow. “I’ll live.”

  “Guy packs a punch,” Dynamo said, turning and spitting onto the sands. “Come on, we better go and catch up with Che-”

  A shrieking whine echoed somewhere above us. We turned as a group, staring wide eyed as a trio of drones rose up over the buildings ahead of us. Each one the size of a sedan, they halted high above us and cast glaring spotlights onto the shore. Armour plates shift to reveal glowing inner components, twin guns on the undercarriage taking aim at us.

  “ATTENTION APEX CRIMINALS. YOU ARE IN VIOLATION OF ARGENT CITY LAW. SURRENDER OR YOU WILL BE FIRED UPON AND DETAINED.”

  I sucked in air through my teeth. “Fuck my life.”