The raw tension hung in the air between Swipe and Black Dragon, clogging up their lungs and making it hard to breathe. It all came down to this. Swipe was the only person left to stand between Black Dragon and the start of his new empire. Intrigued by the tenacious catgirl, he stepped off of Huntress and took a step toward his opponent. He couldn’t afford to underestimate her. Not now. Not when victory was his for the taking.

  “A bold choice for you to show up now. I suppose even the scared little kitten hiding in a vent shaft needs something to die for.” He taunted, wings unfurling in preparation.

  “We’ll see who dies today.” Swipe responded, launching herself forward on all fours like a rocket.

  Leaping skyward, Black Dragon easily vaulted over Swipe, staying airborne with his mighty wings. As he laughed at the pitiful attack, he bellowed fire from above. This was precisely what Swipe had been hoping for. She easily outpaced the flames, sliding right under him to grab Huntress and the grenade. Just barely, she managed to duck into a small snack booth, where she lay Huntress to get some well earned rest.

  “I gotcha. Don’t worry. I’m here now.” Swipe soothed, taking a moment to treat some of Huntress’s more serious injuries. “Just try to stay calm for me. It’s gonna sting a bit.”

  This earned a slight smirk from the usually stoic leader, slowly shaking her head.

  “That’s my line…” she protested weakly. “We need to retreat… regroup… He’s stronger than we thought… We can’t beat him…”

  Swipe sighed softly and shook her head. She could hear the beating wings as Black Dragon searched for her. “We can’t do that, mama. He’ll only get stronger… If we want to beat him, it has to be now. And I know I can do it.”

  “Swipe, please… He’ll kill you…” Huntress countered. “We can start over… find somewhere safe… Please… I can’t lose you…”

  “... I know. But it won’t last. He’ll come for us eventually. I know he’d kill me if he got a hold of me… but I know I can do this.” Swipe reassured her, brushing a strand of hair out of her face.

  “You saved me all those years ago. It’s about time I returned that favor, don’tcha think?” She teased, trying to keep the conversation light since she knew it may be their last. “I just need you to believe in me… Can you do that?”

  There was a long beat of silence, only interrupted by the occasional beat of Black Dragon’s wings as he searched for his prey. Neither woman showed any weakness. Finally, Huntress nodded feebly, unable to stop Swipe anyways.

  “I’ve always believed in you… and I always will… Just be careful…” She relented reluctantly.

  “I won’t letcha down, mama.” Swipe promised before taking Huntress’s weapons.

  “Just gonna borrow these.” She assured with a wink, stepping out to face what would undoubtedly be the fight of her life.

  “Hey, pinhead!” She shouted, immediately drawing his attention. “Lookin’ for someone?!”

  Black Dragon didn’t bother to respond to Swipe’s snide comments and immediately dive bombed her, spewing fire that ignited the grass along the sidewalks. Rolling to the side, Swipe’s agility allowed her to easily evade the attack. She got up quickly and threw a dagger, which stuck into a chink in the fallen hero’s armor. A pained snarl tore itself from his lips as he fell to the ground, wings unfurling just in time to catch himself.

  “Not bad.” Black Dragon grumbled, pulling the dagger free and snapping it in two. “I see Huntress taught you some tricks.”

  He lunged forward at mach speed with his wings slicing through the air, aiming to tackle Swipe to the ground and end things quickly. However, the catgirl was quicker and had just enough time to bring up Huntress’s blade, deflecting the attack and sending Black Dragon tumbling off to the side. Swipe also staggered from the sheer force of the impact. She was good, but she was far from being on the same level as Huntress.

  “I learned a thing or two.” She agreed, rushing toward her fallen opponent with a vicious leaping slash.

  The clang of steel on steel rang out as Black Dragon deflected the swing with his armored forearm. Rolling back to his feet, he landed a vicious uppercut and launched Swipe halfway across the park. Tumbling through the dirt, she finally managed to catch herself with her claws and skid to a stop. Huntress’s blade embedded itself in the grass by her side.

  “Alright.” She grumbled, wiping the blood off her lip. “Lucky shot.”

  Swipe yanked the blade free from its resting spot and charged again, swinging wildly at her opponent. A wicked gleam shone behind Black Dragon’s eyes. His victory was upon him and he could feel it. Deflecting each swing, he started to gloat.

  “You can’t do this forever, kitty cat.” He taunted, catching Huntress’s sword by the blade. “You’ll fall soon enough. And when you do, I’ll kill your whole team right in front of you. There’s nothing you can do to stop me.”

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  Continuing to press the sword as if it would suddenly break through Black Dragon’s grip, Swipe snarled and drew a dagger, stabbing at his face with wicked speed. While his reaction was swift, it wasn’t fast enough to fully save him from the attack. A raspy scream escaped the fallen hero as blood splurted and oozed from the jagged hole where his eye used to be.

  Swipe pressed her advantage like a vicious wild animal, taking stab after stab, although none of them connected since Black Dragon was prepared this time. His iron grip on the blade of Huntress’s sword tightened to the point the metal warped and he tossed it aside. With a pained snarl, he caught the dagger between his teeth and bit down, shattering the weapon like glass. Swipe, of course, was not unarmed and was quick to extend her claws for close combat.

  Her opponent, however, was having none of it. Rearing back, he spewed fire in all directions, forcing distance between them. Just barely able to outrun the inferno, Swipe ducked behind a tree for momentary cover. There was no escape, however, as Black Dragon continued to bellow his flames.

  “... I’m sorry, guys…” Swipe whispered to herself as her imminent demise slowly burned through the oak protecting her.

  Just before it could reach her, however, a rock hit the back of Black Dragon’s head. Furious, he whipped around to find Huntress, barely on her feet, with another rock and a crude slingshot she had created moments earlier.

  “This isn’t over yet, Dragon.” Huntress declared raspily.

  Kraken, using an ice spear as a crutch, also rejoined the fight, a defiant glare cast to the hero despite the knowledge they couldn’t win.

  “We fight together.” He agreed, water swirling in the air around him.

  Zap was next, picking himself up out of the trash and limping over to the battle.

  “No more running.” He added, electricity sparking weakly from his fingertips.

  “This ends now.” Blaze chimed in, emerging from the building he had been hurled into. He was barely standing and his arm was still broken, but a flame flickered to life in his other hand.

  Black Dragon took a moment to watch the members of the Rogue Five as they prepared for this final confrontation. Finally, he simply shook his head and laughed.

  “Yes, it does indeed. I’m going to enjoy this.” He sneered, opening his mouth to once again shoot fire.

  “NO!!!” Swipe wailed, flying out from her hiding place and latching onto Black Dragon from behind. Her claws dug into his wings, wrenching a scream from his throat once more.

  “You miserable brat! I’ll show you true power! Let you bask in your helplessness!”

  With a mighty flap of his wings, the fallen hero soared into the sky at breakneck pace, Swipe hanging on for dear life as the Rogues watched helplessly. There was no one to save Swipe now. She would have to do this alone.

  High above the clouds, where it was hard to breathe, Black Dragon finally managed to get a hold of Swipe, ripping her off of him and holding her out by the throat so she couldn’t reach him. With a triumphant gleam in his eye, he reveled in watching her struggle.

  “Do you see it now?!” He gloated, gesturing to the open air around them. “See how pointless it was to defy me?! I’m going to crush your throat and let your body fall to your friends! I’ll watch their horror and laugh! Then, I’ll burn them alive and Dilstone will be mine! No one will challenge me and my empire will grow! And there is absolutely nothing you can do to stop me!”

  As Swipe struggled to draw breath, she knew what she had to do. With a shaky hand, she pulled Huntress’s grenade from her jacket. Black Dragon beheld the sight with a mix of dismissal and begrudging respect for her tenacity.

  “Ah yes, the grenade. Go ahead. Blow yourself to bits hundreds of miles in the sky!” He urged, a sadistic cackle following close behind. “My armor has been specially crafted to resist blasts and burns!”

  “You won’t leave a scratch on m-MMPH?!?!” He started to brag before being gagged by the grenade being shoved into his mouth. His eyes widened in horror as he realized what was about to happen.

  “That ain’t… blast proof.” Swipe pointed out before pulling the pin and kicking away from him with all her might.

  Far below, Huntress watched helplessly as the pair disappeared into the clouds. Desperately, she turned to her team for any hint of a solution.

  “Kraken! Use your water! Get me up there!” She ordered, only for him to shake his head.

  “I’m sorry, love.” He responded. “I couldn’t get water that high right now if I tried.”

  “Blaze!” She shouted, turning to the fiery strongman. “Use a fireball or something! Blast me into the sky if you have to! I don’t care!”

  Blaze, like Kraken, shook his head.

  “Boss, that’d just kill ya. I can’t do anything either…” he trailed off dejectedly.

  “Zap?” Anna asked desperately, turning to the rookie. “Something? Anything? Please…”

  “I don’t have anything I could do either, ma’am.” Zap responded softly.

  A massive fireball lit up the sky, high above the clouds, a grim seal on their friend’s fate. A wailing sob tore itself from Anna’s throat as she screamed into the heavens.

  “SWIPE!!! NO!!! SWIPE!!!”

  In this moment, she was no longer Huntress, the fearless leader of a band of criminals. She was Anna Zimbardi; a desperate mother who had just had her daughter ripped away from her forever. Anna fell to her knees and wept as Kraken knelt by her side and pulled her into his arms.

  The citizens of Dilstone who had been trapped by who they once thought to be a hero, slowly emerged from their hiding places, looking into the sky in awe and mourning for the hero they never knew. Things would be different now that they owed their lives to a very different group of protectors.

  As Swipe fell, she found what was almost a sense of peace. It didn’t matter that she couldn’t feel her hand. The blood trailing away from her and all over her seemed almost celebratory. She had done it. Black Dragon was gone. Her friends were safe. Her city was safe. It may have cost her life, but that was a price she had always been willing to pay for the rest of the Rogue Five.

  Just as she closed her eyes and accepted her fate, however, it felt like she got hit by a truck. A very feathery truck, but a truck nonetheless. Eyes flying open in shock, Swipe sputtered as she beheld the last thing she expected to see.

  “Bella?!” She exclaimed in disbelief. “But I thought you couldn’t fly!”

  Bella giggled brightly, hanging onto Swipe with her talons while her wings were outstretched.

  “I can’t! But I can glide! Probably!” she answered cheerfully. “Thanks for the lift, guys!”

  A few other harpies dove away, leaving Bella to slow the descent.

  “Of course…” Swipe murmured. “The remote. It musta been destroyed in the blast!”

  Far below, gasps and shouts erupted as Bella’s stylish crash became inevitable and visible to everyone.

  “Boss?” Blaze spoke, gesturing above him with his good hand.

  As Anna gazed up, she realized what she was seeing and sprang into action, directing her team with practiced efficiency. They were there to cushion the fall, leading to minimal harm for Swipe and her gliding backpack, Bella. Relief surged through the members of the Rogue Five as their youngest was safely returned to them. Huntress in particular, was quick to wrap Swipe into a tight embrace, terrified by the thought of losing her. Bella, pulled into this hug by proxy, was more than fine with it.

  A few months later, after countless rounds of treatment, The Rogue Five were watching Swipe’s limb replacement therapy. She flexed the robotic muscles to absentmindedly wiggle her new fingers.

  “So? What do you think?” Huntress asked, resting a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Ready to see what we can do without all of Dilstone coming after us?”

  With a flick of her wrist, the claws extended on Swipe’s mechanical hand. A familiar grin spread across her face, one that her team knew all too well.

  “Oh yeah.” Swipe agreed, marveling at her new arm like it was the greatest thing to ever exist. “Let’s see what this baby can do.”

  The End