Chapter Fifteen: When you break into an asylum

Paul's insane plan comes to fruition: Save Kris from Flare, so she can "take care of" the King.

They met behind Flare under a large oak tree that Saturday. The waxing moon cast plenty of light on decrepit building. The team sat or kneeled in a huddle around Cassidy and Ink. All the teens wore black masks and loose fitting costumes. They had discussed the plan last night and were waiting only on their supplies.

             Cassidy pulled water bottles out of her bag. They all had been opened before and half of their water poured out. In its place was a small pouch. She handed out the bottles to the people closest to her before taking out balloons and rubber bands. She passed those out too, instructing them, “Replace the cap with balloons. Tie them tight with rubber bands, and make sure it’s under the lip.”

             She helped the few people she assigned to do that task as an intrigued Paul asked, “What is this about?”

             Cassidy straightened up to show the whole crowd her example bottle. The limp balloon flopped around as she gesticulated. “So, how these will work,” Cassidy explained. “Is that you pop the pouch in the water. The balloon will fill with gas.”

             She set down the bottle and pulled out her nail gun. “Then, I’ll shoot the from afar and they will explode, not just gas escaping the balloon, but legit fire,” Cassidy added.

             Ruby dramatically glanced over at the house, which was hundreds of yards away and scoffed. “You can hit the target from this far away?”

             “Think it?” Cassidy responded with a chuckle. “More like know it, kid. My powers ensure that I never miss a target unless I intend to… Though I don’t think my nail gun has that range.”

             “Damn, you should join my gang.”

             Cassidy looked at Paul with an expression that he decidedly interpreted as “you have a gangster on your team?” Hoping she wouldn’t care too much, he waved his hand dismissively. Cassidy rolled her eyes and politely said to Ruby, “No offense, turf wars aren’t my game.”

             She took out the walkie-talkies and requested everyone get into their groups. There was a quick scramble as everybody tried to find people they know were in their group. The teens came up with the idea to wear their code names on their torso, so finding each other was only complicated by whether they recognized each other’s names. She handed Alicia group one’s walkie-talkie, then Q group two’s, and finally Paul group three’s.

             “Everyone knows the plan?” Cassidy asked before passing out gas masks.

             She watched everyone nod. She gave group one and two canisters of gas. They weren’t the same gas, but both would be highly effective. Cassidy scanned the groups with keen eyes to make sure everyone was armed and prepared. Smirking, Cassidy declared, “Great, I’ll coordinate from here.”

             “Really?” Paul said, sounding somewhat disappointed.

             She patted his shoulder. “I’ll set off the fireworks,” She said while glancing down at Alicia. “But I can’t be seen working with you guys… It’ll turn out badly for you with your cop buddies.”

             Paul’s downcast look changed to a determined smile as he met Cassidy gaze. “Fair enough,” He replied. “Thank you for this.”

             “Thank me when you get the snake out,” Cassidy said before directing her attention to the crowd. “Alright, I’ll set the ‘groundwork’ while you guys get into position.”

             Cassidy took a few items out of her bag as the groups stood up. The main team put on their masks and quietly reminded their groups on their approach. Cassidy left the cover of the tree first, sneaking her way to the front yard with her bag strapped to her back.

             A smile spread over her face as she opened a bottle of propanol. About a hundred feet from the building, a distance she knew wouldn’t hurt the building, but merely get their attention, she poured the alcohol in a line across the yard. She spotted group one creeping along the front of the building. The leader set bottles on each windowsill as they went. The balloons quickly filled with gas.

             One of the short teens was sent to place the bottles on the other half of the building while the remaining two teammates waited at the door. Cassidy watched carefully. The leader should be Queen B and her companion the Fairy, making the other one the ridiculously named, Notorious RBG. The Fairy held a small squirt bottle that contained acid. Cassidy thought it was interesting that Queen B accepted the acid. Currently, she held a canister. Because it was silver, Cassidy recognized it as the nitrous oxide.

             Cassidy stood up as the teen got back to her group. The teen nodded, and the Fairy traded the bottle for the canister, so Queen B could apply acid to the lock. The door opened slightly, and Cassidy felt a rush of excitement. Putting her walkie-talkie to her mouth, she asked, “Pouches popped? Locks melted? Copy?”

             Cassidy could see Alicia respond, bringing the walkie-talkie up to her mouth. Her “Copy” was a chirp. Ink’s “Copy” came seconds later. Cassidy checked to make sure all the balloons were somewhat filled before taking out a matchbook. She struck a match and took a moment to appreciate the resilient little flame that appeared. She dropped it into the alcohol.

             Quickly, the line caught fire and she leapt into action. She ran closer to the building, raising her nail gun. Pivoting on a foot, she ran parallel to it. She pulled the trigger confidently. The first balloon popped and fire consumed the space it held. The force shattered the nearby window. There came a startled scream as she kept moving.

             Firing seven more shots, Cassidy had created perfect chaos. She wanted to laugh and revel in it, but she didn’t have the time. The sudden cries and screams worried her, but she pushed it aside and she grabbed her walkie-talkie. “Team one, gas masks,” She ordered. “You’re clear to go.”

             Not sticking around to watch group one move, she ran. She reached the back in seconds, turning to see the two other teams. She aimed and fired. More explosions. When she broke all the first story windows, she stepped back and muttered in the walkie-talkie, “Team two, you are a go.”

             Cassidy retreated up the hill to the tree. Wheeling around, she watched team two storm the building, their giant member first. Cassidy dropped her nail gun and tried to shake off the post-heist jitters. This wasn’t over yet.

             She knelt and took binoculars out of her bag. She tried to peer through the windows to see the situation. The lights came on in the main room, revealing the sheer amount of people inside; it seemed to be an even split between the teams and guards. She could see Queen B spraying guards with gas before they collapsed in laughing fits. Cassidy thought the tides were easily turning in their favor. Speaking into her walkie-talkie, Cassidy humorously declared, “Alright, final team, it’s your time. I’ll be by the tree if you need me to save your asses.”

             She watched Ink respond seriously, “Copy that.”

             Ink nodded to his team. His small group slipped on the gas masks over their costumes. He had picked the strongest fighters to go in with him, Light, Eon, and Olympic John. Ink had to resist laughing at the goofy name every time he looked at John. John refused to come up with a codename, so Cheyenne picked one for him. She even went so far as to make his nametag for him. Ink could hardly say it wasn’t fitting.

             Ink motioned, and the team went in one by one. He led the charge through an empty hallway that ended in the lobby. He took in the situation as his group rushed into help. The fight was mostly over. Queen B and Q were tying up laughing guards and the Fairy healed already bounded enemies. Ink noticed that one person was different from the rest. Dressed in bland work attire, he could only guess that she was the receptionist. It was hard to tell anything else about her, through her laughing fit.

             He squatted and helped her sit up, propping her against a desk. He gently cupped her face with his hands so it didn’t roll about. That got her to stop laughing for a moment. “Hey,” Ink said softly, trying to get her to focus on him. “Do you know were super-powered people at kept?”

             “The base-” She stopped to giggle; Ink smiled in his mask. “Basement… To the left.”

             He thanked her before carefully lying her down. Standing up, he faced the team. “Group two, three- on me.”

             Ink walked toward the left wing of the lobby with seven people behind him. Past the first door was chaos. Here were all the guards, trying to keep the patients in the rooms or extinguishing fires or holding back fleeing patients. They shouted orders and patients screamed out their concerns. Neither party would notice the black-clad vigilantes invading their home.

             There was a door to his immediate right. He saw stairs leading down through its narrow window. He tried the handle, unsurprised to find it locked. He motioned for Eon, who stepped forward and sprayed acid on the lock. It ate through it, trickling molten metal on the floor.

             Ink tried again. The door swung open towards the stairs. He held it open as he gave an order, “Team two first, feel free to fisticuff anybody that tries to stop us.”

             Q led their team down the cement stairs with Ink following close behind. Ink paused on a landing. At the bottom of the stairs was another door. He couldn’t see precisely what was happening beyond it, but the door opened to reveal a guard. Their giant teammate charged at him. They pushed him back and the rest of group two rushed into the room beyond the door.

             Ink frantically ran down the stairs to see a handful of guards in a short corridor. Each teammate was met with a guard. The giant without a name was having fun picking up their guard and dropping him. Kimsa confounded her guard by speeding in and out of her line of sight. Lazarus and Q were tag-teaming what seemed to be the biggest guard. He easily batted away Lazarus before punching Q. Q fell. They quickly scrambled to get up as Lazarus protected them. The guard nailed her in the face. It knocked her over.

             Ink nudged John and pointed. “Olympic J man, tag out Lazarus.”

             John nodded once and jumped into the fight. His flying fist drove the guard into the wall. Lazarus took a step back with a sigh of relief. John waved his hand for her to go join Ink. She helped Q up and they joined team three.

             Team three crept to the end of hall where yet another door waited. This one was unlocked as if no one thought someone would get this far. Ink paused to look back at his small team and the chaos they left in their wake. He hoped what lied beyond it wasn’t a maze. They only had so much time. He opened the door.

             Inside was a middle-aged man, holding a handgun. His askew wire-rimmed glasses and disheveled hair made him look frayed. He pointed a gun at Ink. “Freeze!” He shouted.

             Ink raised his hands defensively. He started talking, “There’s no need to sho-”

             The man shifted his grip to hold the gun in both hands. “Leave now!”

             Ink was frozen, scared that any movement would trigger the man. Q, supported by Lazarus, moved beside Ink. “Dr. Horns,” They said, trying to sound calm. “This is excessive. Lower your gun and we can-”

             “No! You are trying to release dangerous criminals!”

             “We’ll leave if you lower your gun,” Q pressed.

             Dr. Horns seemed hesitant, moving his weight from hip to hip. Ink slowly lowered his hands. He met Q’s gaze as he contemplated whether he should go for the gun. They came this far, they couldn’t leave without Kris. He looked over to see the wall of jail doors. She had to be behind one of them. Dr. Horns noticed his gaze. “Hey! Back away!”

             Ink didn’t move and the doctor took it as his cue to fire. He pulled the trigger, shutting his eyes. Ink flinched as Lazarus tackled him. Dr. Horns opened his eyes to find Ink cradling Lazarus in his arms, blooding seeping out of her chest. She went limp in his arms and the doctor was immobilized in shock.

             Ink laid her on the ground before summoning his vines. He quickly snatched the gun out of the doctor’s tense hands and passed it to Light. Ink looked at Eon, who held the acid in unsteady hands. “Eon, let’s find our friend.”

             The sound of the gunshot woke up most of the people interred down here. Ink wrapped Dr. Horns in vines as people clamorously called out. “What happened?”

             “Was that a gunshot?!”

             “Who’s out there?”

             Eon searched each cell for a familiar face, stopping by the one Dr. Horns seemed to be lurking in front of when they arrived. Sure enough, Kris sat with her back pressed to the furthest corner. “Eon?” She remarked, getting up sluggishly.

             She went to her cell door as Eon started applying liberal amounts of acid. Kris could see the rest of the team. “Hey! Crazies!” She shouted before laughing. “What the hell are you doing here? Blowing my cover?”

             Eon tugged against the door and it opened. Kris lunged forward to hug Eon. He returned the hug tightly, feeling like she was frailer. He thought he heard her sigh near his ear before she released him. “We need to let a few more people out,” She told him.

             She turned to face the rest of the hall. “Cyrano! Verne! You guys are coming with me!” She shouted.

             Horns seemed to have recovered. He struggled in Ink’s grasp, shouting, “What are you doing? You can’t take them! They’re dangerous!”

             Kris shrugged and walked over to Ink as he responded, “I don’t disagree with you, but we’re taking them, I guess.”

             “No! You ca-”

             Ink’s vine extended to cover Horns’ mouth as he huffed in mild frustration. He accepted a hug from her though his arms were occupied. Kris faced the remaining team. Q tackled her in a hug next, nearly knocking her over. Kris squeezed them before kissing their forehead. “Aw, I missed you too, sorry I couldn’t call from my cell.”

             Q let go, beaming up at her. Kris asked, “Did you bring my mask?”

             Ink answered, “Yeah, it’s not going to hide your identity for long, but consider it a safety blanket.”

             He jerked his head to the small bag on his back. Kris lurched over and dug out her striped mask. She groomed her greasy hair before slipping it on. She smiled, ignoring that it felt stiff. She stalked over to the struggling doctor with a cold glare. “Let’s put him in a cage.”

             Lazarus suddenly sat up with a gasp. Kris whirled around, covering her smile, as she examined Lazarus. “Holy s**t, we got a zombie?!” Kris joked before holding out a hand to help her. “F*****g sweet.”

             Taking her hand, Lazarus pulled herself up. Ink pushed Dr. Horns into Kris’s open cell. Lazarus pulled zip ties out of Ink’s backpack. She zipped the bars together, trapping Horns inside. She commented while she worked, “They’ll find you soon enough. Also, I don’t take shootings personally, so you don’t have to worry about that.”

             Horns was pale as Ink’s vines disappeared; he was silent for once. Eon returned with two people that could vaguely be defined as humanoid. One was tall and lanky with impossibly long arms. Their skin was black like charcoal. The other was stout with flat features; their hands were webbed, and they looked as if they could blend in with a muddy pond because of their marbled brown tones.

             “It’s so nice to finally see you,” Kris said, displaying all the confidence of someone meeting a long-distance friend for the first time.

             The tall one held out their hand and Kris eagerly shook it. “I’m Cyrano,” They said in a familiar whistling voice. “This one is Verne.”

             Verne dipped their head. Kris responded in kind before turning to the team. Ink clapped his hands. “Alright, let’s move out,” He declared.

             “Hold up, tattoo martyr,” Kris said. “I gotta make a stop… I still haven’t found Q’s identity.”

             Cyrano held up a hand as if they were waiting to be called on. They added, “I have some personal belongings that I need to acquire.”

             Kris nodded at them before facing Ink. “Cool, Cyrano and I can make a quick run-”

             “Like hell you are,” Ink interrupted, crossing his arms. “I’ve been at my wits end without you. I’m coming with you as backup, so your a*s doesn’t get recaptured. The rest of the team can go.”

             Ink pulled out his walkie-talkie. “Gunny, my dear, snake is in my possession. All teams will meet you outside promptly, over.”

             They only had to wait a second before Cassidy responded, “That’s great Inky man, see you soon. You guys got t-minus seven minutes before cops start driving up.”

             “Copy,” Ink said.

             Eon stepped forward, giving him the acid spray. Eon wordlessly gathered the team around him and led them out with Verne following uncertainly. Kris blew a kiss to Q before nudging Ink. “Was that who I think it is?”

             “Yeah,” He answered briefly, walking out the door. “Now let’s finish this.”

             In the short hall, three guards were tied up and appeared to have given up on trying to fight it. Cyrano pointed to a side door. “My things should be in there.”

             Ink went to it and added acid to the lock. It melted most of the handle, but easily swung open. Gesturing for Cyrano and Kris to go in, Ink resigned himself to guarding the door and watching the pathetic guards. Kris scanned the room, taking in the rows of filing cabinets and lockers. Examining each one, Cyrano flitted around with Kris close behind. They stopped and opened one. “This should have my things.”

             The locker read “Denver.” Kris chuckled in confusion. “That’s weird.”

             “It is where I am from,” Cyrano answered, rummaging through it.

             They took out several things that looked like tangles of leather and silver. Cyrano slipped large sheaths of metal over the arms; leather delicately attached the metal to an extensive web that covered their hands, ending in small metal thimbles with claw-like caps. Cyrano adjusted the wrist straps and shoulder straps that Kris didn’t realize were there due to all the intricacy. “What are those?” Kris asked confused.

             “My wings,” Cyrano said before gasping in air and performing a powerful downstroke.

             Cyrano became airborne, the metal sheaths expanding to catch air. They hovered above Kris as she responded, “Cool, what are the other things?”

             She pointed at another mesh of leather and silver with similar claw pieces that Cyrano wrapped around their neck. “Those are for my feet. I’ll put them on later. We need to go find your file.”

             Cyrano flew out of the room with the grace of a bird, tucking their wings to dive through the door. Kris flew off behind them. Cyrano landed temporarily to allow Kris to lead the way. She zoomed by, skipping the steps entirely. Cyrano leaped to the landing, hitting the wall and bouncing off it. Ink was left scrambling to keep up, unable to fly in such a tight space.

             At the top floor, Kris burst through the door and gunned for Dr. Horns’ office. She landed in front of his door before jiggling the doorknob. She clicked her tongue. She turned to see Ink at the end of the hall, running. “Locked!” She called.

             He tossed her the spray bottle, which she fearfully caught. She sighed in relief, then gingerly applied it to the knob. When the knob was reduced to sludge, she kicked the door open. Heading immediately for the filing cabinet, she jerked open his A-F records and found Leslie’s right away. She set it on his desk as the others arrived. Kris opened it. She saw that the black streaks weren’t there, just a name.

             Kris sighed and smiled. “Q is Quinn Hartman,” Kris said, feeling a weight lifted off her chest.

             “Are you crying?” Ink joked, watching Kris rub her face with her forearm.

             “No, let’s find Q’s file.”

             Kris went back to the filing cabinet, opening the G-O drawers. Kris quickly flipped through all the files and found that Quinn’s wasn’t there. “Huh, missing,” Kris commented.

             Kris turned to the desk, leaning on it. “I can check the files downstairs,” Cyrano offered.

             “Ink, go with them,” Kris ordered.

             Ink nodded and followed Cyrano out. Kris started to tear apart the office. She checked every drawer in his filing cabinet, tossing out some of them in frustration. Wondering if Horns’ hid their file in the cabinet, she pulled out the drawers next and piled them on the ground. Nothing was hidden. She checked his desk, finding locks on most of the drawers. Using acid opened them, but didn’t help her search. She resorted to clearing books off his shelves, hoping to find something, anything. But there was nothing.

             She kicked his desk, relishing the pain. She decided that it must be in the basement storeroom and left. She heard a faint shout from the stairs before she reached them. “We got it!” The voice was definitely Ink’s. “We’ll meet you outside!”

             Knowing that he had an easily accessible window, Kris rushed back to Horns office. She reached the doorway and could see the river. Slightly below it in her perception was a large group of people waiting by a singular tree. She undid the latch and slid open the window. She jumped out, flying to the tree. She landed in Q’s embrace, hugging them as if she was trying to squish them in her grip.

             Kris let go, but leaned heavily on them. She looked around to see a bunch of people she didn’t recognize, except one. Kris acknowledged Cassidy with a nod. “Finally get to see you up close,” Kris commented. “Gotta say, I love seeing that smile.”

             Cassidy only smiled wider. “Thank you for getting me out,” Kris added.

             With a shrug, Cassidy replied, “What can I say, snake? Ink offered me a challenge I couldn’t refuse… And they desperately need you out here.”

             “Aw, you don’t want to lend a hand?”

             “Eh, I don’t want the spotlight,” Cassidy answered. “Rather be a killing machine in the background.”

             Cassidy suddenly turned to face Flare. The crowd could see two people running towards them, one bedecked in metal and the other holding a folder triumphantly in the air. As soon as Ink arrived, he took command. “B team,” He said sternly, gesturing to the younger people. “You all will leave first in a neat and orderly fashion.”

             The teens nodded or waved goodbye before leaving in a clump. Ink huffed, but ignored it. “A team,” He continued. “We’ll split up and meet back up at Kris’s apartment in an hour.”

             Ink gave Kris a look. “Cyrano and Verne can go with Kris to her apartment right now and figure out housing arrangements.”

             He clapped a hand on Cassidy’s shoulder, throwing off her balance with the force. “And Cassidy, we couldn’t have done it without you.”

             Cassidy chuckled. “I’m sure you would’ve tried. If you need me, you know where to find me.”

             “Same for us, if you ever need us.”

             She crinkled her nose in disgust that was clearly fake because of her giant smirk. “Lord, I hope not,” She commented.

             She picked up her bag, slinging it over her shoulder. Without a word, she left.