Nina's power went off on instinct when the door opened, her eyes suddenly blazing violet.

The color immediately drained from her eyes. The little pilot light on her side of the cuffs lit up in the same violet. Her head and chest buzzed numbly.

“Nina.” The newcomers voice was familiar, smooth and light. “Sugar Rush.”

Nina squeezed her eyes shut, leaning back so her head hung upside-down over the couch. Ugh. She took a deep breath.

When she opened her eyes again, she glanced at Sugar Rush to find that she was staring, open-mouthed.

“What?” Nina asked.

“I,” Sugar looked down, “I didn’t know your name was Nina.”

Nina sighed, running her hand through her hair. What a pain.

"Why are you here, Charm?"

Carmilla smiled a little.

"I may have overheard a cop's radio by chance. And I may have assumed you would need help." Carmilla had shut the door behind her, and now came closer to the couch where Nina and Sugar were sitting. "And this is the nearest safehouse in the area, dear."

Carmilla slipped her purse off her shoulder, removing two neatly folded sets of clothes. She offered them to Nina and Sugar.

"I think you both ought to change."

"Um," Jenny started, hesitating as she walked down the side street, "Knightmare.."

Knightmare scoffed. She had changed into the clothes Charm brought: a white button-down shirt and black slacks. The leather jacket had proved too difficult to get off through cuffs, and, frankly, it was still cold, so she'd kept it on. Her hair was up in a ponytail, and she'd put on a pair of square tortiseshell glasses.

"Nina is fine," Nina didn't look at Jenny as she spoke, "or King."

Jenny had changed, too, of course. Charm had had to guess at the sizing, and it had ended up a bit too big. It was a navy blue hoodie and jeans. Jenny had the hood up, and let the right sleeve fall to cover the cuffs a bit.

"Nina," she said, "who is it you know who can get the cuffs off?"

"Their name's Tammy," Nina said. She rubbed the back of her neck. "They're good with locks, and they're the closest person with the right picks."

"The right picks?"

"The handcuffs are special, dear," Charm said, walking ahead of them and keeping an eye out. "You have superspeed, so you must have noticed. Your power can't turn off the way Nina's or I's can, right?"

"Yeah." The little light on Jenny's side of the cuffs was bright pink, and didn't turn off the way Nina's had.

"Feeling numb at all?" Charm said.

"Not anymore."

"That's nice." Charm paused to smile back at Jenny. "Power cancelling cuffs must be undone with the proper tools. Do take care, dear."

"Excuse me, are you Tamara King?"

Tammy clicked off their disposable green lighter. They looked a lot like Nina: same pale skin, same sharp features, same long limbs. But they had a flatter chest, their eyes were a lighter brown behind their aviator glasses, and their nose and cheeks were covered in freckles. They were dressed in a baby blue turtleneck sweater, black skinny jeans and boots.

They took a drag of their cigarette, leaning back against the red brick wall of the alley. The doors to the building were around the corner. They glanced up as a the streetlights switched on, rendering the stranger in shadow. But Tammy had already spotted the badge.

"Mm-hmm." Tammy pocketed the lighter, looking away again. "You want something, officer...?"

"Donovan. I want to know where your sister is, Mr. King."