We turned to find Morgan, flanked by Poison, Dopey and a male Villain I didn't know.

"Oh, no, not tonight," I muttered.

"I see you have one of Gareth's watchdogs with you," Morgan went on, nodding politely to Gaia. "Unfortunately, if you were considering doing anything drastic, you do appear to be outnumbered. Not that conflict will be necessary, I hope."

"Well, not exactly," said yet another new voice. Enigma materialised beside me. "I doubt you're much use in a fight, Morgan."

"Oh good, this one's here," Morgan answered, sounding delighted. "You're very interesting. Two watchdogs are less than ideal, I admit, but we must roll with the dice we're dealt. Perhaps you should let Kenna decide for herself?"

"I think you know my answer, Morgan," I scowled at him.

"Well you see, Kenna, I've recently learned something very interesting about your talents, and it's become even more ideal that you join us. I can offer you a very attractive benefits package, and I'd really implore you to reconsider. I'm afraid I don't give third chances." He settled back, appearing to wait for my answer.

"Piss off," I sneered, and turned to walk away. I heard Enigma smother a snort of laughter.

"That's really just not the answer I'm looking for," Morgan took a step forward.

I whirled back and threw my hand out. Morgan flew backwards and against a tree, as if caught in a gale. I was seething with anger. "What part of 'no' is so hard for you to grasp, you utter creep? It's the answer you're just going to have to accept, because you're not going to get another one," I snarled, whipping up a wind around him that pushed the Villains around.

The male henchvillain started towards me, but Engima was on him in an instant. "Don't even think about it," he growled, putting the dude in a headlock.

Gaia raised her eyebrow threateningly at Poison, waggling her fingers as vines started to creep out of them. The Villain smirked, but didn't move.

Morgan was still, somehow, unflappable. It seemed as though he wasn't willing to get into a full battle, because he said, calmly as ever, "we didn't come here to fight, Kenna, only to offer you an opportunity to reassess. Clearly, I've underestimated your resistance. I won't do that again. Good evening, all. Nice to see you in action, Supers. Especially you, Mr. Enigma. Poison, Jumper, if you would?"

Only now did I notice that Poison had edged closer to Enigma, who was still pinning down the struggling male Villain.

"Enigma! Watch out! Gaia! She'll knock you right out!" I yelled helplessly, but Poison was too quick. With a wink at me, she blew a cloud of her dusty toxin over Enigma, who went limp instantly as I watched in horror.

Capitalising on my distraction, Dopey leapt forward and seized Morgan's arm, managing to teleport him right out of my telekinetic storm in the blink of an eye.

"Gaia, can you bind them?" I pointed at Poison and the other Villain, who was also sprawled flat out, probably a collateral victim of the toxic mist. Before she could even react, Jumper reappeared, grabbed ahold of both of them, and disappeared.

"Damnit!" I shouted, furious with myself for not noticing Poison's threat sooner. Knowing that Gaia was okay, I ran over to where Enigma lay, and put my hands on his chest. He was breathing steadily and rhythmically, which suggested Poison had put him to sleep the same as she'd done to me. My panic lessened a little, since I'd been worried that she could do a lot worse, or that he'd react differently. "She's got toxic breath; she put me under when they kidnapped me. I should have warned you both."

"It's not your fault. Gareth told us they had a poison breather on the team, but he forgot to tell us which one she was. It all just happened too quickly. You were doing pretty well there, anyhow," she looked impressed.

"It is my fault though. If Morgan wasn't after me, you both wouldn't even be here." I sat cross legged and tugged Enigma's hooded head into my lap and patted his face gently. I wasn't sure how long it would take for him to come out of it.

Gaia crouched next to me and laid a hand on my shoulder. "If we weren't here, we'd be potentially putting ourselves in danger somewhere else. It's just how this works, so you can stop blaming yourself. Besides, it's not like either of us like you much anyhow," she winked at me.

I relaxed a little and allowed her a smile. "Thanks, Gaia. And thank you for being here. It is kind of nice to have backup sometimes."

Suddenly, Enigma began to stir in my lap. It seemed quick, but perhaps she hadn't given him a very big dose. Or maybe with his ability to phase, he was a litte more resistant to the toxin. He coughed a couple of times, before his golden eyes fluttered open. It took a moment for them to focus on me staring down at him.

"Kenna?" He asked in a croaky voice. "What are you doing?"

"Poison took you out with her nasty toxic breath, and they all got away. I was thinking I'd sit here and stare at you like a creep until you woke up. I'm really sorry about this." My hands still rested close by to either side of his face.

He chuckled rustily. "Oh, Kenna."

"I've already explained to her why she doesn't have to be sorry," Gaia interjected.

"At any rate, I'm really glad that you've woken up because I did not look forward to having to carry you," I joked, full of relief that he appeared to be okay. "Among other reasons."

"Glad to oblige," he pushed himself upright gingerly, and pressed a hand to his temple. "Damn, she's good."

"Yeah, it sucks. She got me last time. I think you snapped out of it quicker than I did, though. I said this to Gaia too, but thanks for helping me out tonight. I appreciated having you both here."

"Well honestly, Kenna, and I mean this in the best way; you're kind of terrifying when you want to be. It was fun. Until the end." A smile tugged the curves of his mouth.

"I suppose I'll take that as a compliment. So were you with us the whole time?" I stood up and dusted myself off.

"Yeah, actually. Sorry for not saying anything. Gareth thought having an invisible second around was a good idea on a Saturday night." He looked apologetic.

"No, like I said, I was glad to have you both. I guess I should thank Gareth," I pulled a face at the thought.

"Don't get crazy here," he laughed. "I'm feeling fine now, so if you wanted to head home let's go for it. Gaia and I will report to Gareth later. I hope you won't be offended if we stick with you until you're home safe."

"I don't mind," I smiled at both of them.

"You were pretty badass there," he said as we walked. "I've never seen anything like what you did to Morgan."

"Honestly, I think it would take more energy with someone stronger than him. Also, I was fuelled by rage," I smiled ruefully.

"Yeah, he deserved everything you said to him, that asshole. Family dinners must be so awkward at Gareth's house."

All three of us burst out laughing, in spite of everything.

They left me at the door to my building, under the watchful eye of the ever-present Stan.

I slowly made my way upstairs and let myself into the dark apartment. Seb was out partying with his swim buddies, so it was empty.

Flicking the light on in my bedroom, I slumped into my chair and leaned my head on one hand, wondering what the hell was going on in my life. I was confused, frustrated, tired and, once again, suddenly furious, drowning in the sensation of being dragged down into something way out of my control.

A pair of golden eyes swam in the front of my mind, reminding me that there were still things I had agency over. I thought of the panic I'd felt as I watched him go limp on the grass. I thought of how I was being grasped at from both sides; coveted for what I could do by Supers and Villains alike, for reasons that were both so different and yet similar all at the same time.

To hell with all that. If I was getting dragged down anyway, I'd do what I really wanted to.

Pulling out my phone, I texted Enigma's number.

Could you come back here for a moment? Just you. Balcony.

A moment later, it buzzed.

Sure, you okay?

Yeah, everything's fine. I just want to talk for a sec.

Okay. See you in a minute.

A few minutes, a knock on the glass made me look up sharply. I padded over to the door and slowly opened it, stepping out onto the balcony where he was waiting. I leaned against the window into my room, letting a sense of recklessness flow into me.

He looked puzzled, and a little concerned.

"Kenna, what's up?"

"Kiss me," I demanded, not moving.

"I'm sorry?" He asked, as if he'd misheard me.

"I want you to kiss me," I repeated. "I don't care who you really are right now, or that you're a Super. I'm tired of resisting, and I just want you to do it. If you want to, that is," I added, looking up at him under my lashes, suddenly realising I didn't actually know how he felt.

Luckily, he didn't need to be told a third time. He shot forward, closing the distance between us and pulling me tight against him before he kissed me fiercely. One of his hands wrapped around my waist, while the other ran its way up to my face, caressing it before tangling in my hair. His thumb moved back down to trace the outline of my cheek, as I raised both my hands to his face, finally getting to skim my fingertips along his curving mouth. His fingers pressed harder into my back at the touch. I resisted the temptation to drift my hands upwards towards his mask.

Finally, we broke apart, breathing heavily in the fresh night air. He cradled the back of my head with his free hand, and slanted a look down at me.

"I thought you'd never ask." His chuckle was throaty.

"I suddenly got afraid there that you might just say no," I laughed breathlessly, all of my previous fury vanished.

"Are you kidding me? I've been dying to do this," he grinned. Tilting his head back down, he kissed me again to prove it, languidly this time.

I swung my arms around his neck happily. "Me too. How come you didn't?"

He dropped a feather light kiss on the tip of my nose. "I thought you needed the space to decide."

"Are you a mind reader?" I cocked my head to the side suspiciously.

"Sadly, no," he grinned. "But I do know you."

"How well do you know me?" I asked quietly, meeting his eyes, disguised as they were.

"Do you really want me to answer that?"

I thought a moment, before shaking my head. "No, I just want to keep this moment right now. I know what I need to for that. Later."

He leaned into me, pressed up as I was against the window, and ran his thumb along my lower lip. His other hand traced gentle circles on my shoulder. Neither of us spoke for a long minute. The meaning in the silence was clear.

One day I'll need to know who you really are.

But, for now, we had this.

Suddenly, his phone buzzed, breaking the trance. He cursed and pulled it out to look at it. I wasn't offended, knowing that it was his Super phone and the message was probably important.

He groaned after reading the text, resting his forehead against mine. "It's Gareth, he wants to debrief about tonight. I'm thinking about telling him to go to hell."

"Don't do that," I laughed, "that's my thing. You can go, I promise I understand."

"Who said I want to?" he grinned roguishly and twirled a strand of my hair around his finger.

I held his face in both my hands. "Tell him that Morgan cried like a baby."

"Oh, I like you," he said, still grinning. He gathered me up and kissed me almost as ferociously as the first time. "Okay, I'm going now." He was a little breathless. "And to think, I almost ignored your text." He chuckled mischievously when I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Get out of here," I swatted at his arm but couldn't stop the smile that crept out.

"You are even more beautiful when you're annoyed, if that's possible," he teased, flicking the underside of my chin with one finger. "Good night!" He turned around and dropped off the penthouse balcony.

"Showoff!" I called into thin air. Then I grinned like a madwoman, pressing my fingertips against my mouth.

I was still giddy when I finally went inside and got into bed, and despite how tired I really was, sleep took some time to find me. It had been a wild night, all things considered.

Ahhhh!

Thoughts??