I'm back up on the deck in a couple of minutes, making sure I'm not detected until I'm able to knock the back of the bastard's head from behind. He falls with a thud, groaning. "How did you find us? You just don't know when to stop, do you?" I ask in a low voice. "Doesn't matter now, you won't be interfering anything after I'm done with you."

I lock him with my boots on either side of his arms and turn him over, holding his chin in my hand.

"What's your name, hero? So I'll know what to write under my kill count." My hands tighten around his neck, fingers digging hard enough to feel the blood pulsing through his system.

His eyes flash a look of confusion, as if his mind suddenly rebooted but he says nothing. The only sounds leaving him are strangled groans as I squeeze harder.

"Don't be like this Ecstasy, this isn't how the game works." He does his best to draw in a breath but with his throat constricted, he falls into a series of coughs. "You're supposed to---you're supposed be the clichéd villain and tell me all your plans before you... kill me."

"Dr. Doofenshmirtz may be my mentor, but I know how stupid of an idea that would be." My other hand balls into a fist before I cup it, invoking a flame. It dies out.

For a fraction of a second, I stare at my gloved hand which doesn't seem to have been affected in any way by my powers. There's no heat in my hand, neither is there any glow radiating from the scars on my face. I don't ponder over it too much, it would be wasting time, and I have little left.

I try again, focusing hard on making a fireball. All that comes is a matchstick flame which is somehow a lower level of pathetic than the last.

"What? Your powers... aren't working?" He chokes out with what looks like a smile.

"What have you done to me?"

The jerk has the nerve to grin at me even though he has a hard time breathing. "Radiation. That's what-- you're powered on, isn't it?"

"Tell. Me. What. You've. Fucking. Done. To me." This time both my hands go around his neck and he sputters out more coughs, taking an even longer amount of time to reply as the supply of air he has grows thinner.

"Lead. It's a radiation absorber. I---"

That's when the screaming comes. High-pitched, agonizing screams. Then the gunfire. Then the footsteps. But I'm squeezing, still bent on killing this bastard. Still bent on revenge that I don't hear my name being called.

I don't hear Swirl begging for help. Or Shinobi yelling out my name. All I hear is the pathetic mewls as my victim gasps for air. He's done something to hinder the effects of my powers but that isn't going to stop me from seeing him dead. If I have to kill him with my hands, I will.

"Ecstasy, are you dumb? We have to get out of here!" Blackout calls out, boots thumping hard on the deck. I realise that the shots are coming from the assault-style rifle in his hand-- one of the guns from the shelves. He fires a round at a couple of party guests, backing up towards me.

Blackout grabs me from behind and pulls me off Astro-robot-boy, my hands still locked in the position they're in, squeezing nothing but air now.

"The police are gonna be here any minute. Or worse, the heroes could come," he growls. "Let's get going."

All the details of our close escape are muddled, the only thing I remember is the sight of those bigshot heroes floating in the sky as we sped off, leaving them to smell the nauseating smell of the docks which are now far behind us.

It wasn't a success---to say the least. We still have the money, but we lost every gun except the one Blackout used. I lost the best chance I had to kill that hero, I didn't even get the bomb too. Whatever that guy did to my powers seemed to have also affected my prioritization.

There is no new stash of weapons. There is no cause for celebration. There is no---

"Scarlett," her name leaves my lips in a whisper.

"What?" Shinobi asks. His tone is spiteful and full of anger.

"She's not here." It's much more difficult to say out loud after I established her absence in the car. "I heard her... I heard her call for me but---"

"But what?" The Blackout cuts in, pulling off his mask to reveal Marco. "You were too caught up in whatever that was to help, weren't you?"

"My powers. I couldn't hear her properly. I tried, I really did but he did something to me." My voice comes out too whiny, weak. I don't like the sound or the feeling that comes with it.

"Try again then, can't do much harm anymore, since she's probably in custody as we speak."

She's out of range. My powers seems to work fine again, since the neon-green glow appears, but there's still no sign of her. The only explanations are that she's either unconscious or too far away. Neither being good.

"Doesn't work," I mumble.

"Just like you're not going to work now, Ecstasy." Shinobi tell me. Before I can request for the meaning of his words, he adds, "You're off the team until further notice. You've been fucking up too much lately, it's taking a toll on us all."

I look around at the others in the car. Little Red. The Blackout. None of them look my way, or even offer anything more than a small pat on the back like I'm some freaking dog.

I'm off the team.