Hideout

With the forty-or-so escaped legionaries inside, the collectibles shop was actually a lot less crowded than it usually was. Traps were being fashioned by Spider using whatever he had on hand or could find in the shop. Members armed with blunt weapons lined the now boarded windows. No guns, at a wounded Kyrie’s order, barely making it in.

“Those dumbasses… thought they could put a villain down.”

“They just left you to give up? Those bastards deserve what’s comin’ to ‘em.” Spider laughed.

 Behind the counter, the shopkeeper sat uselessly restrained, mildly annoyed at the whole situation while a scared rebel watched her carefully.

Hiding in the back behind a cardboard standee of Missile Man, Frankie and Katie felt like they were stuck in a school tornado drill.

“Isn’t this the first place we tried to get a job in…?” The younger sibling tried to make conversation.

“Oh! Yeah, you’re right. Before Ratguy.”

“Yeah. Come to think of it, that job wasn’t half as bad as this one…”

“Gotta get our money though, right?”

“Right…” Frankie tried to just focus on the ground and stay calm. She’d abandoned her flip-flops again, and her feet hurt. It was too hard to run in them.

“Do they have shoes here?” She asked her sister.

“Wish Anita had made us some… I don’t think so. Just toys, mostly.”

“Damn.”

“If we get out of this alive, I’m gonna kill you.” Kyrie told Spider as he rigged a crate of figures to drop on anyone that came through the door.

“Yeah, I know. We will though. Trust me, we will.”

“You’re the last person I’d trust.”

“Good call.”

Nearby, Arsene was watching out the cracks in the boards and barriers they’d set up with the little supplies they brought in with them. Sweating profusely, he carefully searched for anyone approaching.

Virtually nobody was walking around near this area. It wasn’t far from his radius of destruction, so he assumed that anybody not living here was gone. Frankie must’ve gone the extra mile in clearing things out.

He wished she hadn’t. The lack of guests made for less cover, even if it did mean nobody could rat them out. He was sure they already knew where they were hiding anyway, so he’d have preferred it if he at least had more hostages available than some old lady and her action figures.

But thankfully, it seemed like they had some time. None of the pursuers were in sight, and the sky was clear…

…

…Except for one tiny black dot, slowly growing closer.

The second Arsene saw him, he hit wanted to hit the deck- or maybe just abandon his crew, and end all this before he got caught.

But everyone was watching. All the people who thought he really was the villain he said he was.

He adjusted his tie, pat down his mask, and tightened his top hat.

“Everyone!” He called out, strongly. “Bozo approaches. Prepare your worst.”