Her hands shook, but her grip tightened on her helmet. Her skin went from normal to electric warm all at once. It was a familiar sensation, but it didn’t calm her down. The Plot was here like a knife to her spine as Rex came closer.

Erin faced him while he loomed silently, forcing words out as if expecting the Plot to stop her. “Rex. What are you doing here?” The buzz worsened, as if trying to clamp down on her angry, terrified words, but she could still breathe.

Quiet, calm and angry, Rex’s voice demanded, “Stop,” as the man tried to back out of sight behind his SUV. Erin saw him flinch and freeze. She saw his face slip from fearful recognition to simple blank fear. Puppeted.

Rex smiled at that. It was not a happy smile, which returned to Erin and became even less happy. “Erin. You aren’t like I’m used to.” Erin didn’t physically react at that, but in a tiny outraged corner of her mind tried to figure out grab onto these words, to understand. “It was supposed to be a date. Of course, you were supposed to be a bombshell friend of Janey’s.” The Plot buzzed again, in that same way that it always did when it was about to move her against her will.

Erin took a tiny cautious step away from her bike, worried about getting pinned between it and Rex, still in control. At this point she couldn’t even tell how strong the Plot was pressing upon her, the fear and buzzing competing for attention.

Rex wasn’t finished. “Tyson and others tried to say that this place and the locals weren’t-” Rex cut off, not of his own accord, by the look of annoyance and surprise on his face. Like someone who’d been stopped by the Plot. Erin was stunned herself, not only at the audacity of the situation, but that a Protagonist appeared to be cut off from breaking the fourth wall by the Plot. He eventually continued “-like other places.” 

He motioned to the man still standing frozen in shock near his SUV, almost between Rex and Erin, “Like him.” 

Erin’s eyes darted around. The very action made her angry at herself, as if she was expecting someone or something to save her. A few other cars, her bike, the brushed steel slats separating the parking garage from the next building.  The nearest fire exit and elevator was behind Rex. Even if she threw herself between the slats of brushed metal, she’d land a story and a half below, where Rex could surely follow her, without hurting himself. If she could squeeze through fast enough and not break her neck on the landing.

She settled back on Rex. “Leave me alone, Rex. I am not interested.” It was the best protest she could think of. Her head ached. Her skin burned static. Later, if Erin were asked to describe it, she felt like her brain was the bar of soap and the Plot was desperately trying to take a hold of her in a scalding hot shower, but didn’t get a good hold, mashing the soap that was her brain in the process. She gripped her helmet all the tighter for it.

“Erin, you don’t seem to understand the way these things go. Even if I pulled a few strings to get in here, this isn’t my first time. And I can tell you aren’t exactly cognizant else you’d have said more. Therefore, you are supposed to play along for us-” Rex choked against another word. He seemed about to growl a follow-up, but instead he stepped forward. She stepped back, leaving her bike behind. She was surprised she found she could move. Rex could kill her with a look. So she watched his eyes, waiting for it. She half expected it, the way he was acting, and talking. None of it made any sense to her at all.

There were no Protagonist villains. What the hell was going on?! Any other time, she should have become the villain to menace *him*.

It infuriated her, being attacked both verbally and in spirit. Her world was a playground for outsiders that like to play pretend games as superheroes. And this Invader was now confronting her in a parking garage, for being a bad slave. It was beyond ridiculously stupid. 

And Protagonists were supposed to be the good guys. They always had been before!

“Rex. Go away and leave me alone. You must be drunk. I won’t say anything to the others if you just leave, now... Neither will he,” she hissed as she motioned to the poor older guy caught in the wrong place, wrong time.

Why was Rex here, anyway? Just to hassle her for not being… enough of a doormat? And did these monsters know what they were doing, or was Rex just different? The thought made her breath leave as a small hiss, fury seeping into her fear even as she backed away. The hiss didn’t seem to lend much credence to her words.

He stepped closer. Silently, he came beside the man who stood as if he was trying to fold into himself, apparently hyperventilating. Rex pushed the man wordlessly away, gently but firmly, as one might push a small child or an animal. He followed the wordless command with a squeak, putting his SUV between himself and Rex.

Erin herself stepped backwards into a hard, cold, surface of brushed steel. Rex was just a few feet away.

His smile was winning, the kind of smile that would make for a great splash cover on a magazine, or charm a reporter from the local news. His eyes glowed with that earlier fury at dinner. It glowed brighter. His eyes became filled by an ephemeral green energy that lit up the black of his eyes.

“Erin, stop,” he cajoled, like he might an unruly child. “Come out to a few bars with me. We really can get along. This is how things go. How they are supposed to go.”

“No.” Electricity never ceased, but the Plot didn’t - couldn’t? - stop her. Erin could shove the words out of her, though it caused her tongue to burn with every spat line. “Rex. I am not interested in you. Whatever you are.” She hadn’t quite meant to add that last part, referring to his state as a Protagonist.

Rex blinked, the green light in his eyes going out for a moment, then he said, surveilling the area, “And now, hell, you know about my powers. I can’t believe I blew my secret identity so early.” He gave a melodramatic sigh, and his eyes sharpened on Erin again, glowing green. He sneered, “They said this verse was pretty forgiving of little lapses, but I’ll enjoy resolving this myself.”

The Invader looked away from her for a moment, to glance at the other man, who was still huddled on the far side of the SUV. He nodded as if coming to a decision, a small smile, cold and pleased, on his face. “I suppose you could have had an unfortunate run in with a mugger. Sorry I couldn’t save you.” He turned to face her again. “The things I do to fit in...” 

That green light in his eyes began to glow blindingly bright and Erin flung herself off the metal slat to the side, dropping her helmet. The parking garage was awash in green light for a moment and there was a scream of pain.

Erin could see the steel where she had been standing was marred with slash - as though someone very strong attempted to stab the steel - and Rex was kneeling, holding his shin. His slacks were flapping open, and a little blood seeped between his fingers. 

Erin was stunned, trying to puzzle it out, until she dumbly realized she was wasting time.

Erin scrambled forward, trying to dodge around the SUV, taking two stumbling steps toward the parking garage stairwell. For an instant, she saw the older man curled up in a crouch, facing away.

Rex’s arm lashed out, hooking her abdomen. A blur of motion and she suddenly lost all her breath and sight. A bell, or maybe it was her head, seemed to reverberate from the impact.

The ringing noise was the metal wall, she realized. He was definitely superhumanly strong.

She was struggling to grasp at her thoughts while she also fought to suck in air. She was on her knees, one arm keeping her from slumping over completely. Her helmet lay seemingly miles away, though it couldn’t be far. Something hot and liquid dripped down her neck. It was hotter than the Plot, whose static surged and sagged as if to gain control.

She had no idea how long she sat, stunned, but immense pain shot through her scalp as her head was yanked up by her hair to face Rex.

Rex was crouched, one hand still on his shin, his other using ordinary strength to haul her up to look at his contorted face. Erin was dazed further, noticing that his sunglasses must have fallen from his pocket. He snarled, “You fucking bitch. You’re not supposed to fight back! What do you-”

The sound of shoes slapping on pavement, somewhere far away, like someone running, preceding the sound of a man’s voice. “Hey, everyone alright!? What’s happened?” 

There were no good Samaritans anymore, Erin thought dazed. She had no idea who it could be.

Rex, growled - distracted - but his hand reflexively tightened its grip on her hair. The added pain cleared Erin’s thoughts for a moment. Rex would have to do something to stop her from revealing the whole of what happened. She had fractions of an instant. The Plot was buried, almost imperceptible, by the pain. Erin vied for her abandoned helmet. Her scalp screamed further in protest and Rex would feel her struggle.

Rex looked back at her. She grabbed the lip of the helmet. Eyes glowing again. Deep blue, almost violet. She swung the helmet into the side of his head as the light gathered once more. The helmet left her hand with the blow of the impact. Rex yelped, sounding more surprised than pained as the helmet smashed into his ear. The light in his eyes vanished, but Erin felt him shift, and she was still trapped in his grip.

His incredible, inhuman strength flung her again, and she hit the pavement next to her bike.