Cape Crossed

Chapter Twenty-Two

"That's it. Does it look familiar?" Knightmare nudged Hijack who was glaring at the outside of the nearby building.

"Yeah, that's definitely it." Hijack tightened his mask over his eyes to ensure it stayed in place. A round disc in his left hand beeped quietly. "You're sure everyone will be moving towards the exits?"

"Oh yeah, easy as pie," Knightmare assured him, nudging his blade out of its sheathe with his thumb against the hilt. The purple glow spread from the sharp edge in wispy tendrils that crept towards the building before them. It seeped into the cracks in the foundation and wormed its way into an open window.

Hijack stepped forward and then immediately ducked back with a loud groan. "What is she doing here?" His eyes locked on the head of short platinum hair.

Silver Shield was standing at the entrance to the building, arm crossed over her chest. Behind her, a line of police cars A man burst out of the building, shouting obscenities at her. When she knocked him onto his back, even Hijack couldn't hide the slight admiration on his face.

"Looks like the capes got wind of this place too," Knightmare muttered. He quickly sheathed his sword and moved further back into the shadows of the alley. "Time to go? Hijack? No, Jake wait." He shook his head as Hijack stepped forward, headed straight for Silver Shield.

She turned, mouth dropping in shock for a moment before she composed herself. "Hijack, if you're here to start something, it's really not a good time. I'm already cleaning up one of your messes."

"One of my messes?" he scoffed, pocketing the now silent disc. "I came to shut this place down, permanently."

"Why would you do that?" Silver Shield stepped out of the way, allowing the officers room to run inside behind her. "What did they do to you besides grab someone innocent they thought was you?"

"That's all it takes," Hijack admitted. "I know you think the worst of me, but I'm not out to cause mindless destruction. I just want justice."

"Justice for who?"

"In this particular instance, my favorite nurse," he said, smirking. "I hear she got thrown in here the other day, held against her will."

"How did you hear about Hannah?" Silver Shield shifted uneasily where she stood.

"She's a friend." Hijack stepped closer to her, crossing his arms tightly over his chest. "Are you telling me you're friends with Hannah? Or at least, close enough to know about her life?"

"I am, and you ought to stay away from her. She only got mixed up in this mess because you kept bothering her. This time, even her boyfriend had to pay for your carelessness," she reprimanded him. "You're a bad influence."

Hijack stifled a laugh, moving to lean against the building. "Me? Don't be so rude. These guys were definitely on your side. If anyone is putting her in danger it's you."

A silence grew between them as she considered his words. "It would be easier if there were no sides," she finally said. She saw Hijack nod and took a step towards him. "Have you considered using your little toys for something good? Like the opposite of robbing banks?"

"Absolutely not, I'd rather eat a pile of toads than where some sparkly spandex and a cape."

"You....you have a cape," she sputtered, gesturing at the length of fabric draping over his back. The dark red material fluttered as he pushed away from the building. "What's so bad about being on the right side anyway?"

"Right side, wrong side, that's all relative to your point of view," he argued. "And I don't think a group of power hungry vigilantes should be the ones to define what's wrong and what's right. Also, I might have a cape, I'll give you that, but at least I'm not in spandex. Don't you ever consider how tight that stuff is? Modesty anyone?" He waved his hand at her.

Silver Shield rolled her eyes, waving him off. "You can't see anything." The last of the officers exited the building, a few people in cuffs following between them. They stopped by her and spoke in low voices, nodding towards Hijack. Even from where he was, he heard her quietly say, "I've got it handled." They looked at her doubtfully but slid into their cars.

"You gonna try to take me in now? Just remember, I've been on a bit of a winning streak lately," Hijack warned her. There was a snort from the alley where Knightmare was still keeping himself hidden.

"What exactly did you plan to do before I got here?" Silver Shield asked. She looked over the building, her shoulders tight and pulled up towards her ears.

"I'm not going to just blab about my plans, this isn't some bad movie," he drawled.

"Is anyone going to get hurt?"

"Are you... are you going to let me go through with it?" he asked.

"Would you just answer my question already?" Silver Shield snapped. He nails dug into her palms even through the gloves. "Is anyone going to get hurt?"

"No, not a soul. I don't cause random destruction like the lot of you," Hijack grumbled.

"I don't-"she cut herself off. "Fine, but if I hear about even a scratch, I'm taking you down, winning streak or not." Before she left, she pointed a warning finger at him. "And stay away from Hannah, she doesn't need you causing problems for her." She turned and took two long steps before pushing off the ground with all her might. It wasn't the flight she longed for, but the jump sent her over two buildings and only slightly dented the ground she'd been standing on.

"That was weird, right?" Knightmare asked, stepping forward to look at where she'd gone.

"Extremely," Hijack agreed. "She talked about Hannah like they were friends." He pulled the disc back out, tapping a button on the side so that it started it's blinking again. "You don't suppose Hannah knows her, do you?"

"I told you there was something suspicious about her," Knightmare drew his sword completely from its sheathe. The purple haze enveloped the building for only a few minutes before fading away. "It's empty, they must have cleared everyone out."

"Good, time for us to go then." Hijack flung the disc through an open window and turned quickly. He hit his heels against the pavement and grabbed Knightmare as his boots propelled them through the air.

As the first explosion took the building, Hijack looked back in time to see a flash of silver hurrying over the rooftops.