My voice still shakes. His glow has tinted pink for some reason. He just stares at me. He doesn't even respond.

Instead, he lifts his foot and places it on the center of my chest to hold me in place, though it's not like I'm struggling. I'd probably just hurt myself. He then applies pressure so that I'm no longer propped up. My arms slip out from under me and then I'm flat on my back, knocking some of the air from my lungs. After that I can't move.

"You're under arrest." He tells me. I blink.

"I thought I was an informant?" Even though I'm pretty sure informants can still be arrested. To avoid suspicion. I also never agreed to it.

"Sunny's an informant." Clover corrects, like that makes any sense. Do I need to take the hood off again? Because I won't unless it's somehow useful. It wasn't even by choice the first time. Then again, we do have at least another few minutes alone. "But I can arrest The Executioner."

I stare at him.

That does not make any sense. Genuinely, it's not computing. I do not have a split personality or an evil twin or something. What on earth is this guy talking about? Like, the two sides of me? Maybe that's fair. I am pretty different when I'm not forced to be like this.

"Does that mean you only made me an informant because you didn't want to arrest me?" I inquire, eyebrow raised. Not that he can see.

Clover's jaw clenches, eyes flashing as he just stares down at me. Blood covers his legs, the fabric down there torn in ribbons. The small patch of fabric at his shoulder where my cheek was is discolored and deteriorated, revealing scattered spots of golden, freckled skin. He looks like a total mess, covered in soot and blood.

I don't know what it is about what I just said that irritates him, but either way I set him off. Ten guesses what he does next.

Correct. Instead of answering the question, he throws me. This time I end up on the complete opposite side of the warehouse. Luckily there are a bunch of boxes with packing peanuts that break my fall. A best case scenario, honestly, and I appreciate it. Probably the most comfortable landing he's given me so far.

Clover is walking toward me again.

And I realize something.

This is simple. Way more simple than I thought. Maybe Delta was right, maybe he does have a soft spot—

For Sunny.

That's not me right now, I'm the guy who sawed him in half.

It's an easy fix. It's why he got distracted a bit ago. He saw my face through the mesh. He cannot coincide Killer Villain Sunny and Florist Fish Enthusiast Sunny. I guess.

So, after finally dragging myself back up so I'm standing, I begin walking toward him in return. There's nobody around for miles, this whole area is a ghost town. Which I assume is why he brought us here, though he didn't have to be so dramatic about it.

Media and backup are all inbound, but it'll be minutes. Right now it's just dead silence.

Sighing, I unbuckle my hood and pull it down without much struggle. I shake the hair out of my face since it's crazy with static from being covered, and by the time I'm all set right and can focus again, I realize both of us have stopped. He's frozen in the center of the massive warehouse, I'm standing across the room by the wall. The corner.

The entrance.

Clover just stares at me. He's good at that.

I quirk an eyebrow. Point at my face. "What now?"

Great. I'm acting super normal. The fact that I hugged him mere moments ago isn't even a part of the equation. I'm not even thinking about the way his arm wrapped around me when he shielded me from the impact. Whether or not that was his plan the entire time, I'll never know.

Clover freezes.

Begins to turn pink again. More intense this time. Around the same hue as my hair but still a bit darker and more neon. He's got to be a mood ring. Maybe he ate one when he was a kid. Maybe I hit my head when I fell.

I wonder what pink means.

"Or am I still under arrest?" I pry, dropping my arm and watching Clover glitch out in real time. I decide to put a real effort into keeping distance between us and finding a way out, because it won't be long before the authorities and news stations finally reach us.

Whatever, point proven. He's not answering me anyway.

As I survey my surroundings, I begin to buckle my hood back on—it feels strange having it off.

After a couple moments, he seems to snap out of it.

Literally. He shakes his head and everything. When he talks again, though... he sounds different. He's not looking at me. Not making eye contact, hints of anger leaking back into his tone.

He's not necessarily angry, though. Clover's just bitter. Frustrated. Ready to finalize.

"What are the odds..." I hear his voice, which sends a shock through my system. Uh oh. I don't think he's messing around anymore. He does not sound happy. It'll just be very difficult to get out of here without hurting him or myself. Unless I can find a way to divert his attention? Or occupy him somehow? Or—

He's walking toward me again. I try to look around for a distraction, because close combat with him is just flat out not sustainable, but it's difficult to think straight with impending doom on the horizon. I really need to account for his flying and his brute force combat next time. I should talk to Delta about suit upgrades.

A crack rings out through the air. And I finally glance up.

I finally note the structure. Weak. Creaking. Worse off now that Clover decided to blow a hole in the side of it with his body for no reason.

"You get away from me in the next two minutes?"

Two minutes. I'm going to assume that's how far away the police are, maybe he has an earpiece. I guess I didn't account for that—just because he can't arrest me himself, doesn't mean someone else won't. He might be waiting for backup because he can't do it.

How strange. Sorry, this makes no sense. Why does my face being visible change so much? It's just a face. Not even an interesting one.

Clover keeps walking toward me. I keep scanning for the weak point. The warehouse creaks and moans and crumbles, but there's one specific spot. One epicenter where all the tension collides. If something or someone knocks it off center, everything will fall. I can hear the stress.

Finally, I find it.

A single support beam. Crumbling, in the dead center, keeping the roof over our heads. If something hits that thing, the whole place will collapse.

It's next to Clover.

I need to hit that beam. I need the ceiling to drop. I can find my way out, I've been in crazier situations. Monarch can be ruthless. I need to get closer to the pillar. I need something to knock it with force. Or at least get close enough to do that without—

Thundering and chopped up booms ring out through the air as part of a support beam crumbles. My gaze wanders to the rest as they shift along with it.

Dominos.

I scan the ceiling and the way it's all laid out. One pillar leads to another, I just have to follow the path until I can figure out where it ends. Where I can hit to cause the two step chain reaction that better work or else I'm probably screwed. Unless Delta's around here. I don't know, she tends to trust me on my own way too much.

As I ignore Clover, he speaks again. Annoyance is evident. Upset at not being acknowledged, possibly.

He's still making his way towards me.

I need to hurry. The warehouse is big, but Milan can go much faster than he is right now if needed. Do much more damage. Dodge. I can't worry about the version of him that holds back, I need to keep in mind what he can do if pushed.

"Because that changes nothing." He continues when I don't speak. "Your face has nothing to do with it."

Seems like it does.

The dominos stop beside a stack of boxes a fourth of the way to the other corner of the building. Honestly, not that far away, but I'll have to be subtle as I make my way towards it. I'm already in motion before I can fully think out the plan, which isn't the preference, but I need a gap. Doesn't matter how small, I need one. I need to get over there before he reaches me. If he gets his hands on me again I'm done.

The line of support beans end at a small dip in the ground that has multiple ropes attached to it. Maybe ropes that hold up the other beams? I don't know how that stuff works, but I have a feeling that if I cut those ropes then it's game over. They appear to be attached to the ceiling, so it's my best bet.

I hear the news helicopters getting closer. I begin to inch my way to the right.

I can't kill him. I can't really hurt him anymore, I have a feeling he won't let anything else slip. Not today, anyway, I'm sure he'll forget all about my critiques as soon as this is over. Like a toddler. Zero percent chance of object permanence. Next time I see him he will be right back to over explaining his super cool awesome ability, I'm calling it now.

So, not much I can do right now.

My surroundings are a different story.

My hood is already back on. Good, because I see through the hole we came through that helicopters are finally arriving on scene. The police are also pulling up. They can see us again. No public cheering, but we are definitely being televised.

I need to get out of here.

With a couple more obvious steps toward my destination that Milan still somehow does not pick up on, I finally reach the ropes.

"Whatever you say," I tell him, tone mildly condescending yet still pacifying. Like, childishly pacifying. He doesn't seem to appreciate it.

I know that this probably won't kill him. In fact, I hope it doesn't. But at the very least, it should keep him occupied long enough for me to escape. The smallest gap, that's all I need.

"Bye, Milan."

Clover freezes. Tenses. The pink brightens. I swear his world is put on a brief pause as he processes me getting revenge and calling him by his first name, too. He just stares at me, then his gaze flicks behind me.

He realizes I'm by the ropes.

I sweep my arm out.

Then, he realizes I'm by the exit.

I slash cutting through the rope and cable that holds the ceiling above Clover together. He can't even be mad. He's the one who made the structure unstable, I'm just utilizing it. The pillars are already starting to tilt.

Creaking boards echo throughout the aged establishment, and it takes a moment for Clover to realize what's happening. He even looks at the ceiling, confused, like a puppy.

By the time he figures it out, it's too late.

All he gets around to is looking back at me with wide eyes as the ceiling cracks.

I wave goodbye, head tilted.

And it all falls down.