The last brothel had been a converted warehouse with cheap sheet-rock walls held up by the fewest necessary two-by-fours. The hallways were narrow and dim. It smelled of damp sweat. The owners didn't even bother adding a roof. A box inside a box. It helped vent the smell. The doors and walls were so thin that sound carried everywhere. Flat and Crested went in following a squad from the swat team and interrupted each couple with a knock on the door. Flat saw more of the world that afternoon than she ever wanted. The two heroes followed behind, keeping up with the officers while watching the hallways.

"I hate brothels, the reek of cigarettes and weed. I can smell the sin on each of them," Crested said.

"Your nose is that good?" Flat said.

Crested rubber her nose. "I know what they had to do with the men today. I can smell it on them and in the bedding.”

"So you knew about Gyaru and Vincent?" Flat said.

"I know you do more with Marie than dance," Crested said.

"Oh…Ah yeah. I haven't had any luck with the boys.”

"You're also not wearing your purity ring," Crested said.

"Didn't see much point to wear it with Marie around. After two months of being her wing-man at the dance clubs, I realized we were dating. The relationship sneaked up on us. I don't get attention like Gyaru and Go-Go." Flat said.

"You do. But you get looked at when you leave," Crested said.

"No. Really?"

"Bark. It's your ass. It's a lot better now that you've been training. I'm not surprised you didn't notice," Crested said

Flat tried to look behind herself. "I'm going to have to rethink things. Been doing a lot of that this year.”

"What about Marie?"

"I'll keep her around. I'm not unhappy. Does Gyaru know about Marie?" Flat said.

"No, she smokes too much to notice. She wouldn't care," Crested said.

"So, Gyaru and Vincent?" Flat said.

"Complete freaks. Don't ask," Crested said.

"Your power is scary," Flat said.

"They don't let scent trackers around the politicians. That should tell you…" Crested stopped.

"What?”

"A scent. I've smelled it before. It's mixed in with…" A swat officer flew down the side hallway. He crashed to the floor, feet from the two girls.

"Baseline!" Flat said.

"It's Billhook," Crested said as Billhook walked around the corner. He wore the same clothes as the Homecoming game.

"Oh look who's here. It's fun time." Billhook said.

Flat stepped up to him. "We need backup." Fly's voice rolled in her head. Get your hands up. Hold your chin down. Billhook threw a wild haymaker at Flat. She ducked and weaved. Billhook's miss tore a furrow in the wall. Splinters and drywall ripped from the studs.

Thank God, I'm faster, Flat thought.

Flat stepped in with an uppercut to Billhook's jaw. She felt the power from her toes, up her legs and back into the shoulders, down her arm, and into her fist. The two knuckles hit solid. Her fist stopped dead; he didn't even blink.

"Patrol Three. Patrol One," Crested called over the radio.

"Patrol One," Rudy responded.

"Billhook is at Site Four. Need backup now," Crested said.

"I'm 25 minutes away." The radio clicked.

"Patrol Seven is three minutes away," Colby said.

Flat was pinned against the wall by Billhook's forearm pushed on her throat. The wall fell in, bringing down broken drywall and two-by-fours.

"Shit," Crested said and the stun baton crackled to life.

Billhook stepped back. Flat dropped to the floor, forearms raised to block. Wild swing after wild swing fell. Flat was knocked left and right. It was all she could do to keep upright. To keep her guard up blocking the blows or slowing down the fists.

"Ya'll understand after an ass kicking," Gyaru had said. This was it. And the one or two hits she landed did nothing.

Crested walked up behind and pushed the stun baton into Billhook's crotch. She pulled the batons trigger to released the charge. The copasiters clicked and sprks arched over the studs.

"Ahhhh!" Billhook shuddered, unable to move until the charge finished. He fell over as Crested backed away. She dropped the half spent cell to replace it.

Flat got up. "What the…?" Devon pushed her aside. Officers crowded the hallway. Devon moved to get a clear shot as officers dogpiled and handcuffed Billhook. They had a hard time turning him over. The man's body had a density like oak. She heard the ratchet of the cuffs. But the wrong tone.

"Are those normal cuffs?" Flat heard the chain snap. Billhook tossed the police officers off and knocked Devon back into the wall.

Officers yelled, and one drew a pistol. Gunfire hit Billhook in the chest. Stray bullets skipped off. The brawler pushed forward to throw the men into a pile. More officers, some on the ground, drew pistols. A wild spray of bullets came down the hallway. One hit Flat in the leg. She stumbled. Oh God, Flat thought as she dropped to her knee. She held her thigh where the bullet hit. No blood. No hole. It bounced off and hurt like hell.

Billhook slammed his way through the officers. He tossed them around like dolls. The swat officers were down, and Devon lay on the pile. Billhook picked up the rifle to snap it in half. He turned to Crested. She stood her ground, baton crackling.

Flat jumped in front of him. Billhook backhanded Flat away then grabbed her hair to slam her head off the wall like a paddle ball. Flat went limp. She could hear Billhook laugh and he dropped her.

When Flat's eyes cleared, she saw the dog girl step back to slip the punch. Flat had seen it often…but she backed into something big and gray. Billhook's fist stopped on steel with a Klang!

Armored Robo-Gorilla pushed into Billhook. A knight's helmet looked over a thick steel tower shield. Red eyes shined under the visor as punches slammed into the shield, and Armored Gorilla stepped back.

Flat got up to shake off the pain. She had never been hit so hard before. Billhook reached over the shield. The wall broke. Shattered plaster turned to dust. A massive steel Gorilla hand ripped through the wall to grab Billhook's head. It pulled him through the wall. The electric roar of a gorilla could be head outside. Flat choked on the dust and couldn't see.

"Crested? Crested!" She was gone. Flat picked up two swat officers by their drag straps and worked her way out of the building. Flat ran back in to look Crested but pulled two more officers out of the building. Crested should be fine on her own, Flat thought.

Crested stepped back to slip the punch. She bumped into something with the scent of bananas and grease. Armored Gorilla pushed forward into Billhook. Crested turned to leave.

In a side hallway, she saw a man struggling with one leg to put on his pants as he ran out in the hallway. His wallet fell out of the back pocket. The man pushed past Crested to run out of the back of the building. She grabbed the wallet. A deep instinct triggered. The man runs, so she chases.

Two men waited at the back door. Sporting the Cartel of Doom look, cheap suits, dark running shoes, and needing a shave. One saw Crested and closed the door. She hit the door with her shoulder. The corner caught the man in the ankle as he ran away. He tripped into the wall. Crested knocked him with the stun baton as she passed.

The second man had grabbed the belt of the wallet man to push him along to a white van. Crested caught up with them. She jumped with a low spin kick. The man's knee bent with her seventy-five pounds. He twisted as he fell with a hand on the belt and pulled down the wallet man.

Ordinary humans, Crested thought and sent a palm-heel to the goon’s face as he tried to get up. She struck again. The wallet man staggered straight up to bring his foot back in a kick. A hand grabbed him from behind to pull him into the van. Crested saw Joel wave. Six men with shotguns jumped out. Crested waited off to the side. The gang picked up the injured men. She stared at Joel until they drove away.

Billhook and Robo King Gorilla pounded on each other in the street. Flat found Colby outside around the front wheel of the box truck. She worked the radio for more medics, police, and heroes. Flat had a look at what Billhook could do when he tried. Sparks chipped off King as Billhook's fists struck. Both traded punches that sounded like gunshots. Armored Gorilla would shield bash the man with a thud, not an inch of movement.

He's been playing with us the whole time, Flat thought. We're going to need Rudy.

Susan jumped up and down on top of the box truck. "Go King Go. Kick his ass!" She cheered.

A white van pulled up a hundred feet from the fight. As it stopped, the side door opened, and Joel stepped out. Flat saw a grenade launcher and watched Joel pump four shots into the air. She dropped to the ground to cover the injured police officers as the grenades fell. White smoke washed over them to fill the intersection. King lashed punches through the white smoke. The king of the Robo-Gorillas roared in electric rage. Soon the wind cleared the smoke; Billhook, Joel, and the van were gone.

Flat sat on the tailgate of the box truck with an ice pack on her face. She called her mother. "Hey, mom.”

"Felicity? What's going on?"

"I just needed to talk to you. Got shot at work today," Flat said.

"Shot? Why does this not worry me too much?”

"Yeah, it bounced off," Flat said.

Colby drank a soda from a cooler as she typed up the long-form narrative. Susan worked on Armored Gorilla. Billhook had dented up the armor on both units. Susan was overjoyed to have telemetry data for the armor upgrade. The police arrived with crime scene tape as the medics tended to the injured police officers. The girls and johns from the brothel had run off. The social workers had cut loose the girls in custody when they saw the fight between Billhook and King. Everyone, not a police officer, hero, or medic, had left the area fast.

The medics scolded Flat for moving the trauma victims. "But inside…," Flat said.

But they cut her off. "Was full of dust, and outside was a fight between a robot and a superhuman. Don't ever move anyone unless the neck is stable. And not into a fight.”

Crested and Rudy talked away from the others near the Lambo.

"I found a white van out back," Crested said. "It drove off with the man in a very nice suit."

"Did you get the plate?" Rudy asked and Crested handed over the wallet.

"Fredrick Havington," Crested said.

"Please say, Junior."

"Yeah, Junior," Crested said.

"Who's Senior?" Colby asked.

Rudy's phone buzzed. "A local billionaire.” He looked at the text and texted back.

"Susan, stand down the gorillas," Rudy said.

"OK?" She clicked a car remote. Two beeps later and both robot’s eyes turned blank.

"What?" Crested said.

"Peace talks," Rudy said.

The white van pulled up. Joel got out. He buttoned his jacket as he approached. "Mr. Powers.”

"Mr. Steward," Rudy said.

"My client dropped his wallet." and Rudy handed it to Joel.

"Thank You.”

"Rudy?" Crested said.

"May I speak with the little one in private," Joel said. Rudy looked at Crested.

"Sure," Crested walked into the street with Joel.

"I'm going to cover this up," Joel said.

"It would look bad in the press. I could do a lot with that wallet," Crested said.

"No. Senior Havington is aware of you, Miss O'Neil. I'm trying to short-circuit harsher actions. The Cartel as a whole wants to avoid a scandal.”

""Scandal? You know what will happen if I'm disappeared?" Crested smiled.

Joel looked over at Flat and the others. "I can guess. Let me say that you are attracting attention. In this line of work, that is unhealthy.”

"I'll back off for now," Crested had a lead.

"Thank you, Miss O'Neil.”

"Your welcome, Mr. Steward. Before you go, how is Billhook doing?"

"Your crew knocked the starch out of him. But he's not the type to let things go. Can we talk personally now? My offer still stands," Joel said.

"I will never join the Cartel of Doom.”

"You're the only junior hero that ever got the offer. Full membership is yours for the asking. Two cartel members seconded my proposal for your membership," Joel said.

"Who?" Crested said.

"Misty Sparks and an anonymous vote. I'd guess the Manticore Group. You are attracting attention," Joel said.

The day finished, Colby filed the reports, and the girls rode back to school in the box truck. Sixty women and girls were off the streets for a time.

Did we waste our time today? Flat thought on the drive back to school.

Crested dumped her tac gear and cargo shorts in the laundry basket in Dorm Six and switched to a T-shirt and jogging shorts. She stretched her arms, turned on some cartoons, and rolled around on the floor.

"Bark."

Flat knelt to rub her tummy. "Who's a good doggy?" Flat said.

"Bark."