Nemesis

| 2 | A Glitch in The System

Twilight City was in an uproar while the object of their terror was happily devouring a plate of pancakes. Dexter hummed to herself, licking away a bit of excess syrup from the corner of her mouth. Her stare fixed on her new companion and uncertain ally.

Penelope was drumming her fingers against the table, continually losing the rhythm. Her gaze was shifting and bouncing around the diner like she expected the police or The Mighty Seven themselves to show up at any moment.

"Relax."

Intoxicating, bright green eyes snapped to Dexter's face.

She shoved another bite of pancakes into her mouth, looking away to the grainy, old TV visible through the kitchen viewing window. The news was replaying the video, the anchors discussing it and showing live video at the crime scene. This was the most public attention Dexter had received in the six months since she began her vendetta.

It was hard to keep the smile off her face.

Oh, how The Mighty Seven must be sweating over this. Of course, Dexter was no fool. They'd be looking for a way to quickly recover the mood. They were probably already dedicating precious manpower to the endeavor. Their PR consultants were amazing and it helped that they could create the crimes that they were saving people from.

Which was why Dexter had to keep the momentum on her side. She leaned forward in the booth, fixing Penelope with an analyzing gaze.

"You wanted my help with something, right? That's why you took the gamble to track me down even knowing what I've been doing..."

"I just thought our goals were aligned."

"Hmm?" She folded her hands and rested them under her chin. "You want to kill The Mighty Seven, too?"

"Not kill, per say. But I need them gone. My life depends on it."

Dexter arched her brow at this. Penelope was becoming more interesting by the moment. A girl looking into suspicious activity, someone who worked closely with the heroes suspected in said activity—the most important part being her ability. Yes, it didn't take a rocket scientist to assume why she might reach out to Dexter.

"You've seen something you shouldn't have and they either know or you're confident they will be suspicious of you soon enough."

She flinched at the remark. Bullseye.

Dexter couldn't deny she was curious about what she may have learned. Maybe it was something she didn't know. Something she could use to incite and entice the Mighty Seven.

Penelope reached up and began twisting a lock of hair behind her ear.

"I didn't think too much about the favor, at first. But when I looked into the activity at the docks, there were too many inconsistencies and I—"

"Got too curious for your own good," Dexter interrupted.

Her green eyes narrowed but she gave a nod.

"I put all of the evidence onto a USB drive to give to Gemini...I mean, Sara."

Dexter's stare grew cold at the mention of her girlfriend.

"But then she was murdered."

Penelope nodded again, looking regretful about that fact.

"And the USB?" she asked the question, but Dexter had an inkling where this conversation was leading.

"I–I had it in an envelope at my workstation."

Irritation wrinkled Dexter's brow, she dropped her hands and began tapping her finger against the table.