*The difference between friendship and passion can be a matter of perception*

(A Week Later)

Crimson Veil danced past one of the shadow puppets conjured by Shadow Glove to launch a bola at the super-thief. The device wrapped around Shadow Glove's legs causing her to sprawl over. Jackal Girl leapt on the prostrate form and slammed a Sealing Ward onto the thief, taking away from the woman the ability shadow step as well as keeping the woman from pushing past the existing wards.

"Crap," Shadow Glove laughed. "You caught me."

"You are taking this awful well," realized Jackal Girl.

"It was only a matter of time before I would get caught if I kept played this game, Jackal Girl. Besides, catching me and holding me are two separate things," Shadow Glove pointed out.

"We will see," Crimson Veil responded. "Now let's get you to the police." They hoisted Shadow Glove up, wove another set of mystic bonds over her hands and led her out of the museum she'd come to rob. "Good job Jackal Girl," Crimson Veil said.

"I've been hunting her long enough," Jackal Girl sighed.

"Cheer up," Shadow Glove piped up. "You caught me."

"Your good attitude only makes me worry more," Jackal Girl replied.

"Good for you; it should," Shadow Glove agreed.

"Don't let her get under your skin. She's been caught and we've always know she's been a bit crazy. This is all part of her attempt to keep playing with our minds."

"Damn it," Jackal Girl gripe, "it is working."

(Two Days Later)

Princess Bloodstone, Paige, sat back laughing at the movie between mouthfuls of popcorn and sips of Coke. A few people looked her way with annoyance but she ignored them.

"This is great," she told Dr. Life aka Conrad. He tilted his head toward her.

"Speak quietly," he whispered carefully. She looked at him with similar annoyance but nodded.

Despite herself Paige found her eyes gravitating to Conrad as she watched the movie. The man was an enigma. He gave her so much but asked so little. For the moment, he asked nothing at all except for her to think about things she would consider anyway. The only perplexing thing about him was that that he was friendly without being overly friendly. She prided herself on her looks but he appeared to be able to ignore them.

When they were walking out of the theater and heading to the subway she opted to find out.

"What's her name?" she asked.

"Her? I'm not sure I feel comfortable talking to you about my girlfriend," he responded.

"Oh, well tell me what she's like. There is no harm in that," she smiled. Inwardly she congratulated herself for getting inside his shell.

"She's a lot like you," he said. "Confident, smart, independent and mysterious while still being uniquely human; someone that intrigues me."

"I intrigue you?" she grinned.

"Of course you do," he replied. "You are important to me, Paige. Am I important to you?" Paige had to think about that because no one and nothing had real valuable to her before.

"I think so," she allowed, "but don't get used to it. I find you useful is all."

"Of course," he nodded.

"... so what's next?" Paige asked

"How does Arabic food sound?" he smiled to her.

"Great; I've never had that before," she beamed. Important or not, Dr. Life always found things to make her few hours of peace more and more savory.

When they got back to Conrad's place and Paige had become Princess Bloodstone again she stared at him. Dr. Life knew this was his most vulnerable time, when the pain came seeping back in. Energy arched around her and anger beamed from her eyes.

"Dr. Life," she growled.

"Yes?"

"I would meet with Jackal Girl ... to discuss things," she said.

"I will let her know. Are we still on for next Saturday?" he asked.

"Of course and you had better entertain me," she snapped. She opened the door and created a crimson portal outside the wards to somewhere else.

"Princess, did you have a good time tonight?" Conrad inquired. She hesitated and looked back over her shoulder.

"I did," she admitted then was gone. He shut the door and got suited up so he could find Crimson Veil.

(Regents of Wrath)

"Princess Bloodstone, where have you been?" Psychic King demanded.

"I didn't know I was at your beck and call," she sneered.

"Watch yourself," Corpse Wail threatened. She was always ingratiating herself with the Regents of Wrath's leader, Psychic King.

"You are part of the Regents because I brought you in Princess; don't you forget it. Without me you would still be only another maniac with delusions of grandeur and a desire for a soliloquy," Psychic said in a condescending manner. She ground her teeth in anger. "I am the only option that exists to remove the Tri-City Alliance forever," he reminded her ... again.

"Exactly how do you plan to do that? It isn't like we haven't been able to defeat them a half-dozen times already without any grand strategy," challenged Bloodstone.

"Defeated them; yes, but that is not the same thing as getting rid of them all forever," he chuckled.

"We will grind them down to nothing," claimed Corpse Wail.

"As if Psychic King would confide his plans in you, you necromantic moron," Princess Bloodstone laughed. The pale ghost-like villain seethed but did nothing. There was little doubt she feared the superior sorceress.

"My plans will become clear soon enough, but when the time is right, I need you to be ready Princess Bloodstone so you will curtail your personal projects," Psychic King demanded.

Princess Bloodstone felt her furor boiling but knew to openly defy him would court disaster. Then the realization hit her; if she helped bring down the Alliance she would be throwing her best chance to regain her sanity and a life without pain. Suddenly she felt trapped and she had no one to talk to, no one she could trust.

(Lady Dynamic)

Sarah Beltran was getting a little tired of doing all the talking with her date Russell What's-His-Name. Like too many guys she knew he was spending too much time ogling her tits and not enough making eye contact – or even making conversation. Finally she had enough.

"Hey Russell," Sarah began, "this has been a blast but I have a project I have to take care of."

"Wait, do you want to go out for a drink?" Russell blurted out. Sarah had little doubt that a drink wasn't what he had in mind.

"Sorry Russell, I really have to be going," she smiled, got up and left. She didn't feel the least bit bad about sticking him with the bill.

She walked home, thought about it, suited up and headed out over the city. She was in awe of her ability to fly and be free of the ground and all its troubles, but she was still lonely and there were few people she could talk to about it. Well, she figured, that was what mentors were for. Catching up with the Crimson Veil didn't take long.

"What's the problem?" Crimson asked her while they sat on top of a building.

"Men ... relationships, people in general," Lady Dynamic sighed. "If I had known that a secret identity was going to be so hard on my social life I'd have gone public from Day one."

"Do you really think that would be any easier?" Crimson questioned.

"This is going to be one of those questions I'm not going to like the answer," Lady Dynamic groaned.

"When you are public, everyone you know is in danger from super-villains, everyone wants you to do favors for them, and you worry about every man you meet only wanting to nail a super-heroine. Trust me you are doing the right thing. Give it time and things will get better," Crimson Veil promised.

"You have it easy on one regard," Lady Dynamic let slip and immediately regretted it. Crimson Veil titled her head toward Dynamic but her facial expression was hidden from view.

"Yes?" Crimson Veil asked. Lady Dynamic grimaced. "You know about us," Crimson stated.

"I looked in that night ... to see how good he was," Dynamic admitted. "As a fighter!"

"When did you look away?" Crimson Veil inquired.

"After the second kiss," Lady Dynamic replied. "Did I miss more?"

"None of your business," Crimson Veil chuckled. "I'm a big girl now."

"That still doesn't change the fact that you have a relationship and I don't," Lady Dynamic stated. "What do you think of Technetronic?"

"He's a playboy and voyeur, but I'm not sure how much you have in common. He's an engineer and you are a theoretician. He's also a bit more sexually liberated than you are," Crimson pointed out.

"That doesn't leave much of an opportunity for me," Lady Dynamic admitted.

"Well, do you want us to shop around for you – sort of a super-hero's dating service?" Crimson asked.

"You can do that?" Lady Dynamic perked up.

"Sure. Many of us keep tabs on one another in various cities. That is how I knew Dr. Life and he knew me. Neither one of us can openly advertise after all," Crimson informed her.

"How does this work?" Lady Dynamic asked.

"We circulate a picture of you and put up a 1-900 number," joked Crimson Veil. "Actually I've never done this before so I'll see what I can figure out."

"Do you know how surreal it is to be getting dating advice from the Tri-City's greatest crime fighter while sitting on top of a building?" Lady Dynamic chuckled.

"I won't spread the news if you won't," Crimson Veil suggested.

"Mums the word," Lady Dynamic answered. There was something else she felt she needed to do. "There is something else I want to ask you about; whatever happened to the Corrupter?"

"Oh ..." Crimson Veil muttered.

"He disappeared fifteen years ago shortly after he killed Jennifer Morales aka the Golden Swan. Are you sure he's not dead? I mean, if Life wanted to kill him ...," Dynamic hesitated.

"The Corrupter is in a deep dark hole. He may be deathless for all we know, but Dr. Life crippled him and broke his power in such a way that he can never fix his body again," Crimson Veil said quietly. "Midnight Mask told me all about it."

"See, the Corrupter, Golden Swan, and Dr. Life were all Life Force controllers. The Corrupter wanted to unite all the other controllers under his leadership so they could sell life and death all over the globe. The Golden Swan resisted him and he managed to kill her after a terrible fight. Dr. Life came upon her lifeless body and the drained form of the Corrupter and did something to him that has forever warped that villain's body."

"After that, the government put Corrupter in a maximum security facility that most of us don't like to talk about because its Constitutional authority is questionable. Dr. Life regrets what he did to the Corrupter and he also regrets not trying to kill the man," CrimsonVeil informed Lady Dynamic.

"He always seems so mellow," Lady Dynamic observed.

"He has lost it once, seen what horrible things he could do and it has scarred him. To his credit he hasn't forgotten about it. He's lived with what he's capable of every day of his life and because of that he had worked very hard at not caring for anyone as much as he cared about Golden Swan," Crimson stated.

"Were they close?" Dynamic asked. Crimson Veil looked at her.

"They were husband and wife."

"Damn it ... wait, if he is an empathic healer, how did he hurt the Corrupter?" Dynamic questioned.

"He ripped the power right out of him. In the same way he can heal, he can give pain and he tore the weakened Corrupter's power right out of him and claimed it for his own. While he lives, the Corrupter can't recover and they both know it. He is constantly causing that man agony and he shares that pain. That is a burden I don't want to bear," Crimson answered.

"Could he ever lose it again?" Dynamic inquired.

"Anyone of us could lose it, Lady Dynamic. If you ask me if he is more prone to it I would have to say 'no'. Besides if he does, we can stop him – I can stop him."

"Even though you care about him?" Dynamic asked. Crimson Veil stared at her for a long time.

(Morning)

"Mmmm," murmured Crimson Veil as she lay on the bed. Dr. Life ran his fingers over her back from midway to the shoulders and back again. The aches literally drained away. As his hands rolled over the top of her shoulders to her collar he reached down and kissed her neck. "Are you expecting to get something," she moaned.

"I certainly hope so," he said as he kissed her right beneath her ear. Crimson Veil propped herself on her elbows so she could lean back toward Conrad and started to kiss him.

"Say it again," she whispered.

"Dakota," he responded. There were very few people who knew the real name of the Crimson Veil.

She was a much hidden individual and trust was a rare commodity for her. She rolled on her side so that she faced him.

"Why me?" she asked. She was rarely unsure but she was unsure now.

"I can't put it in words. I know I've admired you for some time, but since I've met you I've felt you were special," he told her.

"I barely know you," she admitted, "but I've known about you for a long time. Even though the Midnight Mask was leery of you, I always admired you for your convictions if not for your code," she said.

"That's a polite way of saying you don't agree with me," he laughed.

"Does that mean I'm not going to get any more attention," she inquired coyly.

"I think I'm in this for the long haul," Conrad confessed.

"That's a polite way of saying you like me," Dakota responded before kissing him. He slowly rolled her over while keeping the kiss. She rose up one leg while his hand roamed over her body. For Dakota it was electric and for Conrad it was a matter of feeling more than alive.

(Central Plaza Justice Building 3 Days Later)

The reinforced concrete wall exploded inward knocking over the closest guard. Three other guards on the level knelt and leveled their pulse rifle at the sudden opening. Unfortunately for them, the Psychic King didn't need to see their targets to hit them. Two guards fell to the ground stunned but the final one got a shot off. A pulse of electrical energy lashed out at the dust-shrouded forms.

The blast crackled around the crimson shell and a second later the guard heard the distinctive whirring of Razor Claw. The guard turned and ran, but didn't make the door. Now the first level of the detention block was open to the Regents. Alarms were also going off all around the city. The Regents were on the attack.

The door guarding the way to the basement High Security lock-up, their goal, was torn down by Razor Claw. The rest of the regents followed. Ghost Wail dropped down the stairwell and used her trademark wail to disable the guard waiting for the team. Even at this 'safe' distance, the eerie call rattled the Regents.

Now the Digital Duke took over. Outside the vault he connected with the electronic systems that independently kept the High Security area screened. In under a minute the huge door swung open. Two bolts of energy came flailing out. One staggered Corpse Wail and the other bounced off of Princess Bloodstone's shield.

This time the Princess could see her targets and she lashed out at both of them, catching them in her coils and crushing them in mid-air. She then slammed them into the wall at the end of the hall while the Digital Duke and Psychic King entered. They walked up to one cells. The Digital Duke worked his powers once more and the prison cell opened.

"Hello Shadow Glove," Psychic King announced.

"Hi there," she quipped in return.

"Come with us if you want your freedom," he told her.

"Isn't that supposed to be 'come with me if you want to live'?" Shadow Glove taunted with a grin on her face.

"Don't mock me criminal," Psychic King growled.

"Fine, fine, what's the offer?" she asked.

"You are going to perform a mission for us and you will be richly rewarded," Psychic King informed Shadow Glove.

"What's the mission? Who am I going against and what is the chance of death, primarily my own?" Shadow Glove smiled warmly.

"You will be told the details when they become relevant to you," the King responded.

"Can I think about this?" Shadow Glove inquired.

"No," was Psychic King's angry reply.

"Do I have a choice?" she asked.

"Are you coming or not?" snapped Princess Bloodstone.

"Come now if you don't want us to kill you," the Digital Duke threatened.

"Now that is an offer I can understand," Shadow Glove agreed. She hopped up off her bed and walked to the door then skipped down the hall bracketed by the villain group. With the containment energy field down, Princess Bloodstone was able to open a Portal and the team exited as the first response guards arrived on the scene.

At the Regent's safe house, Bloodstone grabbed Shadow Glove by the wrist and twisted.

"Ow," whined Shadow Glove, "I was planning to use that arm."

"We don't' want you stepping into the shadows Shadow Glove," Psychic King sneered. Razor Claw stepped up and cut open Shadow Glove's palm.

"What part of 'OW!' do you people not understand?" she screeched. Princess Bloodstone put her hand over Shadow Glove's open wound. Shadow's blood felt it was still on fire and she writhed in pain.

"Now if you betray us," Princess Bloodstone promised, "I'll be able to find you and exact vengeance."

"And here I thought we were all friends," joked Shadow in a pained voice. Psychic King backhanded her, rocking her head to the side.

"Cease your insolence," he commanded. Whatever replies Shadow had she kept to herself.

"Fine then," she said, "what is it you want me to do?"

(Back at the Central Plaza Justice Building)

Lady Dynamic was the first on the scene and she didn't' like what she saw. She could tell by the police response that she was too late. She landed outside the hole in the wall and waited for the closest person in authority to approach her.

"Lady Dynamic," a Police Officer said, "we were attacked by the Regents of Wrath. They broke Shadow Glove out of Max Security."

"How long have they been gone?" she asked.

"Five minutes; we have units out but frankly we are waiting on you. Princess Bloodstone opened a gate when they exited the Max Sec. They knew how to take out our secondary interference grid," the officer told her. Lady Dynamic started pacing and looking introspective. This wasn't the part of the mission she was trained for.

Jackal Girl arrived next and Lady Dynamic immediately brought her up to speed. The two went quickly to the crime scene and Jackal began calling upon her Egyptian magic and impressive sleuthing skills to start figuring out what happened.

"Shadow Glove didn't go willingly," Jackal Girl stated.

"What makes you say that?" Lady Dynamic asked.

"She left all her belongs here. Had she wanted to leave she would have brought along her personal effects," explained Jackal.

"What would they want her for?" Lady Dynamic wondered.

"They want her to steal something," Crimson Veil answered as she came up to the other two super-heroines. Her stealthy appearances always gave Lady Dynamic the willies.

"What do they need her for? What can't they just break in to?" Lady Jackal pondered.

"That would be the question," Crimson Veil concluded. "What indeed? We need to create a list of targets in the city that have that high level of security."

Technetronic arrived and began examining the damage that Digital Duke had done.

"They blew out the security cameras in the vault, but not elsewhere in the facility so they don't us to know what was said to Shadow Glove. The only thing I can tell you right now is that Digital Duke did a quick job on this. He must have some new toys."

"Those nanites they stole a month ago?" Crimson Veil inquired.

"Not directly, but maybe a variation of that technology," Technetronic answered. "By the way, Dr. Life and T-Rex are up top. Life is healing the wounded guards and T-Rex is examining the damage to see if he can figure out what exactly their plan was."

"Jackal Girl, is there any chance you can track Princess Bloodstone's portal?" Crimson Veil asked.

"I can try, but I'm more likely to be one step behind them," she admitted. "Hang on." Jackal Girl took out some small statues from her pouch and began arranging them in a circle.

She intoned the ancient spirits of Egypt for assistance and this time Anubis didn't answer; Ma 'at appeared instead of her patron. Ma 'at was miniscule, maybe ten inches tall and ghostly, but she laid out a series of hieroglyphs for everyone to see. That done, she returned into the dust from whence she came. Jackal Girl seemed disturbed.

"She tells us we have four days before we face ruin," Jackal Girl prophesied.

"Does she tell us what we are going to be facing?" Lady Dynamic asked. Jackal Girl shook her head.

"Well, of course not. That would actually be useful," shot Technetronic angrily. Jackal Girl looked at him with a hurt expression on her face.

"Gods are rarely forthcoming with direct answer – something about us having free will. They gave us a timeline so let's use it," Crimson Veil directed. "Technetronic, start assembling a list of all the places the Regents might need Shadow Gloves help getting into. Dr. Life and T-Rex will take Day watch from here on out. We can make excuses for a five day absence from affairs."

"Lady Dynamic, you are with me on the Night watch. Jackal Girl, go after the magical angle. Shadow Glove is slippery where magic is concerned, so what sites can't Princess Bloodstone not blast her way into? Why would she need a thief?" Jackal Girl gathered up her idols and nodded. "Then let's get moving people," she ordered. The team split up and began counting down the last four days before something happened.

(Saturday Night 4 Days Later)

"Dr. St. Johan," an older woman with short white hair said, "it is pleasure to see you. Who is this wonderful woman on your arm?"

"Mrs. Whitaker, this is Paige. She's a friend of mine," he answered smoothly. Paige worked hard not to glare at the woman. Conrad had asked her to be polite and the performance was fantastic.

Of course if the high society types knew they had one of the Tri-Cities most notorious villainesses in their midst they would panic like so many chickens with a fox in the coop. She grinned inwardly at that. She also wondered how many of the she had robbed at one time or another.

"I have a rare medical condition that requires the doctor's personal attention," Paige smiled.

"Nothing terminal I hope," Mrs. Whitaker sympathized.

"Death is something we all must face," Paige grinned.

"I think we are making great strides in getting Paige to a state she can live with," Conrad clarified.

"Paige, I wish you all the best of luck," Mrs. Whitaker smiled and moved off.

"If you had told me that socializing with these people was part of the itinerary I would have come as Princess Bloodstone," Paige whispered.

"Do you like the ballet?" Conrad countered.

"It's wonderful, but intermission is driving me nuts," she hissed back.

"Let's return to our seats then," Conrad offered. The made their way back to their seats and waited for the show to resume.

"So, why didn't you bring your girlfriend here instead of me?" Paige asked.

"Still fishing eh? Saturday nights are for you Paige," he explained. That made Paige's heart twinge.

"Do you want to be with her right now?" she said softly.

"Of course, but I want to be with you too, so I'm here," he smiled to her.

"Maybe you, me and your mystery woman could triple date some time?" she suggested.

"Triple date involves three couples so what I think you meant is a three-person date and wouldn't that be awkward?" he answered.

"I'm still not sure she exists," Paige pouted. "Maybe she's a dodge you created to not have to be with me all the time."

"Paige, we are enemies six days out of the week," he chuckled. "You have a hard enough time putting up with me one day a week as it is. I'd like more time, but I don't see how as things stand now."

Paige kept quiet after that. The show was beautiful, elegant, and breathtaking just like she'd hoped it would be. Part of her wanted to round the whole ballet company and keep them for her private pleasure but another smaller, newer part of her knew that would taint their magic and eventually consume them. Not everything you grabbed you could hold on to.

Back at Conrad's place Paige had two choices to make and both involved matters of trust. One was something entrusted to her, and the other was entrusted to him. Before she transformed she put a hand in Conrad's knowing that created a bridge that he could use to destroy her.

"Conrad – Dr. Light, I want you to leave the Alliance. Go away somewhere and let tomorrow pass without you being here." There, she'd done it. Now he could take her down easily.

"It's okay Paige," he smiled knowingly. "We know tomorrow is the big day for whatever you have planned. I can't leave; you can't leave. Each of us will do the best we can."

"Don't you get it? We are going to destroy you. Tomorrow is it!" she shouted.

"I understand. You've warned me and I thank you for that, but that's not why we are here tonight," he responded calmly.

"Didn't you hear me?" she sputtered.

"Of course I did, but tonight Paige I'm here for you, and only you. If tomorrow you feel you have to destroy me, well, that's tomorrow. Do what you have to do. I've never put constraints on you concerning your deal with the Regents."

"You are an idiot," Paige declared.

"No, I'm a hero. Heroes don't betray people. Heroes do their best, especially when things look their worst. Being a hero doesn't mean you are going to win, but it means you won't give up trying," he informed her.

"Trying? Like how you are trying to help me?" she sighed.

"Precisely," he confirmed. "I help you because I think you are a good person, because I think you could use some help, and because I can be of use to you, but in the end all that matters is what you are willing to do."

Paige felt the transformation coming on. Even she could tell the pain was diminished somewhat after each 'normal' time. Each time she felt alive a little longer and she knew she was throwing that all away. She removed her evening gown and donned her costume. Once more she noted how the doctor watched her exquisite body move. She'd miss that.

"I could take you with me now," Princess Bloodstone announced.

"That would break our deal," he responded.

"I am Princess Bloodstone and I decide what deals I will and will not keep," she declared. "You are coming with me."

"No," replied Dr. Life.

"Conrad ... I want to keep you safe," surprised that she found herself pleading.

"I know, but that can't happen," he answered. Princess Bloodstone lashed out with twin energy tentacles, but Dr. Life dodged them both. Two pieces of furniture paid the price. She notices that he was trying to get to something in the kitchen so shot a blood red blast in that direction.

Only when he popped a cylinder out of a vase did she realize he'd faked her out. Before she could stop him, he slammed the object into the ground and the whole world started shrieking. Bloodstone managed to erect a sonic barrier after several long and painful seconds. Now she wanted to punish Dr. Life.

She saw him moving to one of the glass windows and she thought she had him ... right until he threw himself out of the nonexistent barrier. The sonic grenade has shattered the surrounding glass and now there was nothing to stop him from leaving the building except for the fact they were eight stories up.

While not of much use in the fast paced world of combat, Dr. Life had the ability to channel energy into exposed body parts he knew were going to get hurt. It took time and concentration and he had enough of both as he sprinted out the window and dropped to the ground. Instead of breaking both his legs, amongst other things, he felt a sharp slap to his feet and he was off running.

Princess Bloodstone looked out of the broken window and saw her quarry running away. She screamed in rage. She wanted to hunt him down and make him suffer for defying her. She also hoped he would somehow get away. She tried opening a portal but it failed; Jackal Girl's wards still held. Instead she summoned up the energy and flew into the night sky. The Regents' plan was too close to completion to waste time on a pointless super-powered struggle.

(Alliance HQ – Sunday Morning)

Any lump-head with a stealthy superpower could imagine themselves a thief, but a true professional honed both natural and supernatural talents. Shadow Glove was one of those exceptional people. Anyone of the multi-million dollar high tech thieves could have found a way past Technetronic's defenses. A few could have found their way past Jackal Girl's wards, but only Shadow Glove could do both.

Mind you, Shadow Glove was hardly inspired to do this performance. It had no grace and charm, it wasn't particularly profitable – she doubted the Psychic King would reward her with anything but a slow and painful death – and well, there was that matter of dying. She wasn't afraid of the defenses killing her; Technetronic was famous for his non-lethal gadgets and those would be the front line of defense.

She was afraid of the implications of what she was doing. For one of the few times in her life she was worried about the moral implications of her work. She knew she wasn't doing the right thing; she was rarely doing the right thing, but now she was worried about doing the wrong thing. Unfortunately life wasn't being kind enough to throw her a morally ambiguous bone, so she did what she did and moved on.

The first target was a real bear and it took her four hours to get to. She set up the timer and moved to the second location. She had two hours to get there and it took all of her not-inconsequential skill to pull it off in time. She set the large bloodstone into the heart of the Egyptian octagon and watched the fireworks begin. Actually, she began running for her life.

At the center of the Alliance HQ the team had gathered as a reaction force to any attack on the various guarded facilities around the city that could be the focus of the Regents of Wrath's attack. The alarms went off and Crimson Veil turned to Technetronic.

"Where is the attack going down?" she barked. Technetronic check his systems.

"Here," he answered right as the main power went down. Emergency lighting kicked in but Technetronic's systems were mostly blank.

"Crimson," Jackal Girl whispered, "I've lost control of the magic in the area."

"What? How bad?" Crimson Veil asked hurriedly.

"I'm checking," Jackal responded.

"All my systems seem to be compromised," wondered Technetronic. "That could only happen at the core."

"Shadow Glove," muttered Crimson Veil. "People, we are in the wrong place. We need to get out of here."

"Wait," Technetronic called out, "I can fix this. Give me a second."

"Lady Dynamic, Dr. Life, move out and check on civilian personnel. We need everyone out of this building." As they moved to the doorway, the large metallic blast doors slammed into place.

"I don't like the look of that at all," T-Rex said at which point he turned into small swift two legged creature with big eyes and a darting head; a creature built for agility and speed.

"What about the door?" Lady Dynamic asked.

"Break it down," Crimson Veil ordered.

"Wait, I can ..." Technetronic began.

"No time," Crimson Veil responded. "Something is going on and we can't learn about it staying here." Lady Dynamic flew at the door with all her might. Her first blow stung her hand and dented the door but she kept at it.

"Crimson, all the magical wards have been turned against us. I can dismantle them as we run across them, but the only way to reverse the process is to get to the shrine," Jackal Girl reported.

Crimson Veil now had three things to do; get to the computer core, the shrine, and get the people out and her instincts were telling her she was missing something. She cursed under her breath.

"We are going to gather people as we go along, but we are all getting out of here now," she ordered. Technetronic blanched.

"How are we going to get back in?" he asked.

"They've taken the building away from us. We have to get and figure out how they did what they did before we can attempt to get back inside," she explained. "We don't want to get captured by our own defenses."

The door came crashing down and the heroes began exiting the control room. Lady Dynamic hadn't covered five meters before five grabbling wires surrounded her and held her fast. With a quick flex she snapped them.

"That wasn't so bad," she started to say as a blast of gas hit her in the face and made her crash to the ground.

"Sorry," Technetronic shrugged. "This place is loaded with defenses and they seem to be turned against us."

"Technetronic, you designed the system. Navigate us through it," Crimson told him. Technetronic took point but they hadn't traveled ten meters more before he barely managed to miss being seared by his own creation.

"It is not supposed to do that," he exclaimed. Lady Dynamic attacked it and tore it out of the wall. Technetronic examined it and his brow furrowed.

"Holy shit this thing is lethal. Something has ... the nanites! We are infested with nanites," Technetronic growled.

"What does that mean?" Jackal Girl asked.

"It means the systems in this building are being altered," he answered.

"And that means we have to get out of here," Crimson Veil said.

"We have company," pointed Dr. Life at a section of the wall. Lady Dynamic ripped open the section and a slightly singed Shadow Glove rolled out.

"Pleasure to meet all of you here," Shadow Glove chirped happily. "A funny thing happened on the way to the office – it tried to kill me."

"What was your role in this and what did the Regent's promise you?" Crimson Veil snarled.

"Why are they trying to kill us in our own home?" Lady Dynamic added.

"Oh, they don't want to kill the rest of us, Lady Dynamic; they only want to kill you. It seems that no matter what they throw against you they can't beat you, so they are hoping this building can do it for them," Shadow Glove grinned. "Sucks to be the rest of us though, since this building is going to try and kill all of us while trying to kill you."

"Why me?" Lady Dynamic moaned.

"The bad part about being unkillable is that people create new ways of trying to kill you," Crimson Veil answered.

"Give the lady a cigar," beamed Shadow Glove. "Everyone else they've taken down, but they've never been able to take down Lady Dynamic and what's the use of taking over the city if she comes along and takes each one of them down in turn."

"So they are really getting my building to kill her," muttered Technetronic.

"Well, it is the most heavily fortified building in the city," Jackal Girl consoled him.

"But I designed it to be non-violent," he groaned.

"Thus the need for the nanites," Dr. Life pointed

"Technetronic, what is the least defended section of this complex? That will give us the best chance of survival," Crimson said.

"The closest place would be Food Storage," he immediately answered.

"Let's go there then," Crimson Veil states and the team moved off. Two more near-death traps later and they were safely absconded in the larder.

"Shadow Glove, is there any contingency for Lady Dynamic leaving?" Crimson Veil asked.

"That derails the programing I think. They wanted to take over the complex once she was dead, so if the system can't find her for any reason, it should deactivate," the thief informed them.

"We need to split up. Lady Dynamic and I will make for the lobby. Once she escapes the program trying to kill her should stop and we will need to regain the facility before they attack," Crimson Veil decided.

"No," Dr. Life countered, "I go with Dynamic. I'm better at keeping her alive so she gets out." Crimson and Life locked gazes for a moment then she nodded. Lady Dynamic and Dr. Life raced from the hidey-hole.

"We aren't going to make it are we?" Lady Dynamic asked the veteran once they were moving.

"Not likely," he observed.

"Why did you come with me?" Dynamic chuckled as she ripped another water cannon turned into a hydraulic drill out of the wall.

"I wanted her to have the best chance to survive," he told her.

(Aftermath)

Psychic King kicked the deceased body of Lady Dynamic and smiled. His perfect plan had been executed with precision. Princess Bloodstone knelt by the body of Dr. Life.

"He's not dead yet," she told him. Razor Claw whirled in anger.

"Spare him," the King commanded. "He may yet prove to be an asset once he is brought around to my way of thinking." Princess Bloodstone carefully hid her smile.

"Let's go round up the rest of them," Psychic King laughed. The rest of the team surged into the complex. Corpse Wail's minions would stand watch over the bodies until the Regents returned. They caught up with Jackal Girl and T-Rex in the Control Room where they fought ferociously buying time for Technetronic to ... almost get to the computer core and thus regain control of the system.

Only when they had him in custody did Princess Bloodstone note that Crimson Veil had gotten away.

"Want me to go after her?" Shadow Glove asked as she stepped up behind the group. Psychic King and Razor Claw rounded on her angrily.

"Why didn't you stop her?" King growled.

"You didn't ask me to go toe-to-toe with her," Shadow Glove said with a Cheshire cat grin. "So, when do I get my reward?"

"Consider your life reward enough," Psychic King scoffed.

"Can I go then?" Shadow asked. Psychic King returned his attention to the captured band of heroes and gave a regal dismissal. Shadow Glove made to step away but found Princess Bloodstone barring her path.

"Can I help you with something Princess?" Shadow Gloved beamed up at the taller woman.

Bloodstone glared at her for several seconds then dismissed her as well. Shadow Glove ghosted out of the fallen fortress, noticing the still bodies of Lady Dynamic and Dr. Life. She didn't stop shadow stepping until she was safely hidden. She was still coming to grips with what she'd done and what she was planning to do.

Princess Bloodstone shook Jackal Girl's head by the chin. The young mystic's hands were bound behind her back with bloodstone energy. Jackal Girl's eyes struggled to focus. When she finally did her eyes crackled with hate.

"He trusted you," she seethed.

"He's alive but Dynamic is dead," Princess Bloodstone whispered. "You would be wise to obey me if you want to stay alive. Once Psychic King has no more use for you, he'll end your life."

"Save it for the man who cared about you, Witch," Jackal Girl spat. "If I get the chance I'll claw your eyes out and exile you to the Western Desert." Princess Bloodstone backhanded her and instantly regretted it. Jackal Girl licked the blood from the side of her mouth but the intensity of her eyes didn't dim.

"Listen to me Dog Girl, I'm trying to save your life," Bloodstone hissed.

"Why?" Jackal Girl snorted.

"Because he'd want me to," she said before the words really impacted on her. Jackal Girl gave no response and Princess Bloodstone went back to watching the rest of the prisoners.