Era

1

Era sat up, adjusted her mask with a deep, if shaky exhale. She needed to focus, damn it. The only reason that hero wasn’t on her already because he thought she was injured, but she wouldn’t be so lucky next time, and if she was going to have a god damned panic attack every time someone came close to catching her then she might as well hand herself over right then and there. She shuddered at the thought. Not safe.

“You shouldn’t have tried for that jump.” He was grumbling now, and Era just grinned back up at him, unsure if he could even see her. “You’re gonna get yourself killed.”

And Era soured at that, because really? She’d have made it if his stupid fucking… scarf? Was that a scarf? If his stupid fucking scarf didn’t get in the way. She was of half a mind to say that to his face, but Era wasn’t in the habit of dropping clues, and her voice was just another piece of the puzzle she’d prefer to stay hidden for now.

“Seriously, are you alive down there? I don’t want to have to take you to the emergency room.” He dropped down another level, even as Era leaned over the railing to scope out the ground below. It wasn’t… great down there, but she supposed an escape was an escape. “The paperwork would be a nightmare.”

She actually snorted at that, and she heard him pause through the darkness. “Oh, so you are alive, huh? That’s good. Probably.” Another level. Closer and closer, and in a fit of what could only be childish anger, Era decided that she’d play this recklessly. Let him know how little she respected him. Maybe then he’d get off her fucking ass and realize there were bigger fish to fry than a small-time vigilante who didn’t even have a visible quirk, who had nothing better to do than lead heroes on a wild goose chase. Maybe the disrespect would get him to leave her the fuck alone.

She should have known it wouldn’t be that simple. Fuck, she probably did know. No one this stubborn, persistent enough to chase her down several blocks over rooftops and back alleys, would let a slight like that deter him.

Reckless. Immature. Childish.

She could berate herself for this later. Now, with the precious ache of her injuries slowly fading to dullness and the memory of flying through the air fresh in her mind, Era heaved herself onto the railing and sat there, lazily swinging her legs back and forth as the hero dropped down to her level. He met her eyes, though Era knew he couldn’t see them through the mask. But that only covered the top of her face, so Era was certain that he saw the feral grin beneath it as she slipped from the railing and into the darkness below.

“Shit.” Oh, yes, the scarf. She’d nearly forgotten about that. Reckless, naïve, you are just a child little bird—

Era shook off those thoughts as the scarf slipped around one arm and tugged. She suppressed a yelp, but just barely, instead only letting out a hiss of air between clenched teeth as her shoulder was ripped from its socket. She understood why he’d done it too, which was the worst part because she should have been able to predict it; of course he was willing to risk her getting injured if the alternative was just letting her plummet several stories to her death. Fucking heroes, god damn it.

The scarf began to pull her upwards, and this time Era couldn’t hold back the breathy gasp of pain. Her shoulder was on fire, and since it was the only point of suspension, she couldn’t maneuver herself without using it. Ah, well.

Era twisted around, ignoring the grate of bone against bone and the waves of agony that followed as she tugged a knife from her belt and began to tear against the scarf. It was tougher than most, because of course it was, but this was a very good knife and the hero had seemed to hesitate after it was clear that he was hurting her, so maybe, just maybe she could get out of this without—