Suddenly, a silver flash flickered in his peripheral vision. Reacto’s partner had not only escaped from below the machine, but she now stood in front of the incoming blaster fire with her arms out.

“Move out the way Sil!” The Villain shouted. The tip of the raygun in his hand glowed brighter with a piercing, orange light. 

“That’s Lady Stiletto to you, Reyes. And I won’t let you kill him!” she shouted defiantly. The villain gritted his teeth and stared back at her stoic expression.

“You fools started it! Blowing up my home, breaking all my equipment!” The Villain yelled back. The gun began to bombinate. 

“Sil move.”    

“Fuck you, crooked eye...we- ugh!” Reacto said with a wince as the android squeezed tighter around his neck. 

 “Reacto quiet!” Lady Stiletto yelled back at her partner.

 “Move out of the way Sil. He’ll live...mostly. This will just shut him up!” he barked again. His voice, starting to strain from holding the weapon in place.

 “Reyes, we can end this peacefully. Put the gun down.” she calmly said. 

 “Why do you always…” Reyes excitedly rubbed the base of his busted right hand again against his temple. “UGH! JUST MOVE SIL!” 

  “No.” she said firmly. 

  “OH COME-UGH!!” Reyes grunted as he lowered the glowing tip of the ray gun, unleashing a small red bolt of lightning that struck the hero under her right knee. On impact, rays of energy traveled all over the room, sending sharp kinetic blasts against everything they touched. 

Lady Stiletto’s leg was pushed back into a reverse flying arch. Her right leg swung back, kicking her partner in the chest and sending him flying down the hill onto a pile of rubble. The heavy pressure against his back, knocking him to the brink of unconsciousness. 

****

Lady Stiletto used her newfound momentum to swing herself towards Reyes in an arching cartwheel. With her silver boot surrounded by a humming orange light, she swung her long muscular legs downwards across his chest. He hit the ground with a heavy thud. 

“Ah...that was...unfortunate,” he groaned, his dazed vision only able to make out the sight of Lady Stiletto standing above him. He froze. She circled him with a fixed unending stare until she stopped by his feet. She placed her hands on her waist triumphantly which almost made him crack a smile. Reyes then looked down at her boots and kicked them with the tip of his shoe. Orange light flashed from the tip of her heel.

“Hehe. I make some quality stuff, don’t I Sill? No need to thank me. I’m no hero...” Reyes said in smug jest.  Stiletto let out a tiny sigh.

"Fluffing your ego? Even now?" She replied exasperated. He smiled. She didn't. 

"I think I’ve earned a little self-satisfaction. I mean look at me.”  He said, wincing. Her eyes scanned over his broken form. 

"Well your aim sucks," she said, crossing her arms.

"You’re wrong. But I think you’re ok with that," he replied, leaning back with another painful groan. The small crack of a regrettable smile almost formed on the side of her mouth before being quickly snuffed out.  Suddenly, the pressured hiss of boiling steam echoed throughout the room. Reacto, dazed, drooling, and sporting a bloody nose, made his stumbling return from outside. Newly freed, he was ready to confront his defeated foe. Everyone looked upon him with concern. 

“Reacto, are you ok? Can you stand alright?” Stiletto asked, looking over her battered friend. Even the villain chimed in. 

“Agreed. You should probably sit dow-” 

“SHUT THE FUCK UP!” Reacto half-consciously bellowed the words out, pointing down at his foe with his flopping dead fingers. Reyes simply put his hands up, keeping quiet. Wiping the blood from his nose, Reacto began his speech. “Carlo Reyes, also known as Crooked Eye.  You are under arrest for the manufacturing and distribution of high-power super weapons to crime syndicates throughout the city.”

“Oh god. Not this again,” Reyes said through another groan. Reacto continued. 

“You are also under arrest for the assault of two sanctioned heroes with multiple deadly weapons including unregulated automatons.”

“You broke into my house. I plead self-defense!” Reyes butted in.

“SHUT IT! YOUR MADNESS-“

“-ends tonight, yes. You’ve said this before Rollins, but lack of originality is part of your modus operandi,” he interrupted again. Reacto struggled for a proper comeback since he wasn't sure what the last few words meant. A normal occurrence when they engaged in a verbal confrontation.

“Oh no, you don’t-”

“-get to say that? Yeah, I heard that too. I’d suggest constructing new taglines when we get into these bouts, Rollins. But self-degradation seems to be a fetish of yours.” Reyes remarked, making sure each of his words cut with a purposeful air of condescension. Hate-filled the hero's glowing blue eyes. Reyes held back a snigger before letting out an exhausted sigh.

“Well-so, you’ve finally bested the real me. Good job guys. Took you over half a decade, but better late than never, huh? So what’s the deal? Rikers? The Boat? I heard the food there is pretty bad, but it's not like I’ll be there for longer than a week,” Reyes noted with a yawn. 

“Are you sure about that?” Lady stiletto replied through a flexed jaw. Reyes wagged his good finger at her, 

“Now, now, I know it's tough, but it's just the reality of dealing with such a low-level crook. No one pays attention to me. Rob a bank, kick a puppy, steal an apple -  I’m the last thing anyone with real power thinks about. A prison break from someone as invisible as me is the last thing The League of Heroes consider a priority.” 

“The League has released a kill order against you, Carlo.” Lady stiletto said very plainly. Reyes sat up, looking her directly in the eyes. When he saw that she didn’t break, he knew she wasn’t messing around. 

“Oh... unfortunate.” he finally said, his voice somber.