I assumed a guarded stance, circling Gator’s relaxed form.

“Alright. I’ll bite. Why do they call you Gator?”

He chuckled. I slowly eyed Clover, who was sitting in the corner, eyes closed. The currents of electricity revolving around her were calm and stable, not sharp and violent like they would be when she was actively receiving a vision. 

Gator spread his hands.

“I’m a Miami man. Born and raised. Parents were Nigerian immigrants. I wrestled as a kid. Nobody could touch me. Took me all the way to the Secret Service. Guarding the president and all that. I uh… shared some things the big guys didn’t like. Kicked me out.”

“You leaked classified government information.”

I deadpanned. He shrugged nonchalantly.

“Call it whatever you like. Anyway, before Mantis recruited me for his extra-special detail, he heard a tale. The tale of the Gator.”

He paced around, confident as ever. 

“Secret service mission went awry. There was a scuffle. My unit left, thinking I was dead. I was stuck out in the Everglades for a year. An entire year of surviving on my own, out in there in the swamp, the mud, among the gators, the mosquitoes, the wilderness that would have eaten a man alive. And when I was rescued, by a private militia? I dominated that swamp. It was my home. I almost didn’t want to leave.”

I tried to look impressed. I scanned the room, catching Erin out of the corner of my eye, sprinting towards me. 

“My stamina. My drive. My ability. But above all, my durability is what let me survive.”

He grinned wide, tilting his glasses down ever so slightly, and for the first time, I got a glimpse of his eyes. A surprisingly light, piercing hazel tore through me, stark against his dark skin. 

“You can’t break me. I’m untouchable. I’m unkillable. I’M INVINCIBLE.”

“Yeah? Look behind you.”

A killer overhead punch from Erin connected directly with the back of Gator’s head.

I rushed to her side while Gator was sent reeling, pressing my back up against hers.

“Thank you. You look exhausted. Do you need to tap out? I saw you take out all those guys back there.”

Her face was covered in smudges of dirt, her severe expression crestfallen, eyes laden with bags. Her breathing was fast and shallow.

“No. It’s alright. Let’s do this. We can take him together.”

I nodded.

“Let’s get to work. I’ll do the heavy lifting. Just open him up for me.”

I held out a knuckle. Smiling softly, she tapped her fist against mine. 

Erin pivoted on her heel, striking Gator on the jaw. He grunted, swinging back with a right hook. I kicked the fist out of the air, following up with another kick to the other side of his face.

We were gaining ground. Erin would hit him with a brutal hook or uppercut, aiming carefully for his face. I would follow up with a blitz of kicks to the same area, then onto his body. We were pushing him back. We both took different sides of his body. I went right. She went left. He swatted at us like flies, attempting to knock the blows out of the air, but there were too many for him to disperse. 

Gator skidded backwards, placing his fist on the ground in a kneeling position, huffing. 

“Thank you, Erin. Take a break.”

She relaxed her stance hesitantly.

“Are you sure?”

I smiled. 

“Positive. You did great. I couldn’t ask for a better battle partner.”

Something flashed across her face. The best way I could describe what lit up her eyes was an expression of shocked pride. Like she wasn’t used to people being nice to her. Like she wasn’t ever convinced of her worth. A pang of melancholy ran through my frame. 

I reached out to Clover, grabbing her hand. 

“You ready?”

She didn’t respond. And then her eyes shot open. 

A bubble of turquoise sparks exploded from her body, her eyes blazing impossibly bright.

“You combo him. He’ll throw a front kick. You slip to the side. Throw an elbow hook. Throw an overhead elbow. Then you knock him fully out with a roundhouse to his head. His guard will be dropped just enough for the strikes to connect perfectly. But you need to hit as hard as you can, or else it won’t work.”

The energy collapsed, sizzling into thin air. Her eyes closed. 

In what seemed like slow motion, she slipped on air. A burst of adrenaline rushed to my head. I caught her frail body. Frantically, I checked her pulse, and I thanked the stars it was as stable as ever. She was just exhausted. Guilt clawed up my throat and emblazoned itself onto my face. I had to make this count. 

I did exactly as she said. Gator stumbled upright, unleashing a sloppy yet vicious push kick. I bobbed my head and body to the side, launching my forearm into his face. He coughed in pain and shock. I cocked my elbow back, pushing it forward into his nose with as much force as I could muster. His glasses cracked, the bones crunching under my strike. 

One more hit, I told myself. One more hit.

I leapt into the air, spinning as fast as I could to gain momentum. My foot crashed into Gator, knocking the enormous mass of his body into the floor.

I stood over him, a palm strike ready to knock him out for good. 

“Not bad, Aurum. Not bad at all.”

With that final gasp of a mark, he stopped struggling, completely laid out.

I huffed, leaning on my knees. When the cacophony of battle noise faded, the group reconvened around the sleeping Clover in my arm. 

Kishibe grabbed the top of my head, fingers starfished around my scalp.

“What did you do to her!?”

I shrugged him off.

“Relax. She’s fine. She’s just tired. I feel awful for exhausting her, though.”

Kishibe exhaled through his nose.

“You should. But you did well. You put up a good fight.”

I chuckled.

“So did you. And you, Felix.”

The Frenchman shook his head. 

“Shut up. We must search the room. Find something we can use to search for next captain.”

I nodded, turning to Erin.

“Alright. Erin, that was amazing. I mean it. You took on all those guys and even helped me out. We need you.”

She grinned the widest I’d ever seen her smile. And that means the grin wasn’t very wide at all.

“It’s no big deal. Sorry if I made it weird, looking at you like that. I’m just not used to it. 

Clover twitched in my arms, slowly opening her eyes. I hastily locked eyes with her, as serious as I’d ever been. 

“I’m so sorry, baby girl. I shouldn’t have pushed you like that.”

She giggled weakly, covering her mouth with her hands. 

“Don’t apologize. It’s scary, for sure. I want to go home, yes. But for the first time in my life… Aurum, you make me feel strong.”