Chapter 133

“…And there you go, sir: ten cheeseburgers,” said the fat young lady who passed the heavy, greasy bag through the drive-through window to me.

“Ah, thanks,” I said as I took the bag and set it on the passenger seat. “Have a good night.” I gave her a nod as I rolled the window up and pulled away. After swinging around the bend, I located a parking spot to stash the truck in, then I shut the engine off and reached into the bag to extract a warm, yellow package.

“Fuck yeah! Dollar sixty-nine cheeseburgers?” I bragged to myself as I unwrapped the low-rent morsel. “Fuck of a deal; haven’t seem ‘em this cheap in years.”

I took a bite and glanced around the lot, realising rather quickly that I probably shouldn’t have bought ten of these things.

I’d been to the big city several times before, enough to know the general way around, and in my search for a good location to set up a temporary base of operations, I happened upon this burger joint advertising cheap slop, so I figured it was as good a place as any. And the hotel was only a block and a half away—plenty close to intervene, should the need arise.

I took a second bite and leaned over to slip my phone from my pocket. I turned it on and set it on my lap as I chewed, opening the center console to pluck a small package from within. I tore it open to extract its contents —an earpiece— then I placed it in my ear and turned it on. After taking a moment to connect it to Ingram’s app, I swallowed the third bite to speak.

“You read me, Twi?”

”Loud and clear.”

*****

Nestled in a breezy alleyway that ran behind the grand hotel and the adjacent building, a petite, nimble-looking woman with lavender skin, dressed in a tight, black outfit crouched in the shadow of a pair of dumpsters. She held two fingers to one ear, listening as her violet eyes darted around from behind the dark mask she was wearing, scanning the rear of the next building.

“Loud and clear,” she said softly, glancing down at her chest. Unlike her teammates, her cleavage didn’t quite pack the same punch; her breasts didn’t have the mass needed to touch together in the point of that deep V, but still, the round, lavender bulges squeezing out from each side surely managed a certain appeal to those of the male persuasion.

”Perfect,” came the voice of Golden Arrow from her earpiece. ”What do you see?”

She brought her eyes up to scan the building directly across from her. Just below a wall-mounted outdoor lamp was her way in. “I can see the rear door, which, according to the blueprints, leads through the kitchen to the lounge and bar area; just beyond that is the server room. Once there, I can tap into their surveillance system, as well as their home wi-fi network. Once I do that, we’ll be able to monitor and manipulate the cameras, and we’ll be able to control the security system: unlock doors, disable alarms, lights and so on.”

A short pause, then: ”Sounds good. When I search the city’s surveillance, I find no cameras in that alley, so you’ve got a clean shot to go for that door.”

“There’s just one problem,” she said, leaning out from the dumpster to peer around the corner, looking above and to the right of the entrance. “As stated by the blueprints, there is a camera monitoring this door. I can see it right now, and unfortunately it’s part of the building’s system, which means we can’t access it yet. It’ll take time to get into that door; it’s locked by a code reader and needs the proper security card to be opened—similar to a hotel room door. I need time to decode it, which’ll put me in view of the camera for waaaay too long.”

”Shit. And I suppose if you use your magic to destroy the camera or even aim it away, it’ll rouse suspicion.”

“Right.” She leaned back behind the dumpster again, sighing.

“And there’s no other way in?”

“Well, there is, but this way provides the shortest route to the server room, and it has the fewest cameras watching. When I studied the blueprints, I was able to find a number of blind spots created by the placement of the cameras, which should allow me to slip through undetected.”

”Unless they’ve added cameras since then, without updating the blueprints.”

She dropped her head and grumbled. “Yes… I’ve thought of that too, but we really have no other choice. I need to get in through this door, or this whole thing isn’t going to work.”

”Well... not to be a dick or anything, but everyone’s kind of depending on you to get them inside, Twi. No pressure.”

“Ugh...” She faced the ground and shook her head just as a gust of wind carried a cluster of dried leaves and garbage by. “I’m well aware of that,” she said, rubbing the tension from the back of her neck. “Thank you for the reminder, Gol—“

She stopped suddenly as she watched the dried leaves clatter past. Her brows furrowed beneath the mask, and her eyes began to dart around as the wheels in her head began to turn. “Wait… I have an idea.”

”What’s that?”

“Shh… stand by; I just need a minute to figure this out.” She stood cautiously, looking above the bin. The camera’s angle was tight to the wall to watch the door, which put her just outside of its view. After looking inside the bin for a moment, she reached in and snatched a crumpled chip bag from the top of the heap and quickly crouched behind the bin again. “This alley is fairly long and narrow, which creates something of a ‘wind tunnel’ effect,” she explained. “I think I can use that to my advantage, to interrupt the camera in a way that appears a little more… natural.”

”I trust your judgement. Make it happen.”

“Got it,” she nodded, before peering past the edge of the can again. She waited patiently, empty bag in hand, keeping a close watch on the camera. With her other hand, she unclasped the small pouch on the front of her suit to extract her phone, readying it for use.

After a brief pause, another gust swept through the alley, bringing with it another littering of leaves and trash. Twilight seized the opportunity and released the bag, using her magic to send it up toward the camera. The item was light, so the amount of force used was minimal; this kept the glow around the bag to a minimum, easily drowned out by the yard light. Being sure to give its path a twirl or a zig-zag to make it look natural, she guided the piece of trash upward as though it was being carried by the breeze.

The bag slapped itself over the camera lens, blinding it.

“Yes!” she whispered, balling her hand into a fist.

With the door now unmonitored, her black, spritely figure darted across the alley, holding her phone close to the electronic lock. Numbers flashed across the screen for about half a minute before finally stopping.

Twilight quickly punched the boxes entitled: ‘UNLOCK’ and ‘INHIBIT DOOR OPEN INDICATOR.’ The latch clicked, but the red light stayed on. She opened the door and stepped inside, releasing the bag from her magic after closing it behind her.

“OK. I’m inside,” she whispered, looking around the dark hallway she’d found herself in.

”Oh shit, really? Nice! What d’you see?”

“There’s a hallway…” she replied softly, narrowing her eyes as she peered into the next room, which appeared to be furnished with an abundance of stainless steel. “I can see the kitchen from here—exactly as the blueprints showed. Proceeding with caution.”

“OK. Be careful. Remember what you were taught and you’ll do fine.”

“Got it,” she whispered as she approached the eerily quiet kitchen. Squatting down at the entrance, she slinked across the tile floor and crouched behind the first counter.

Her heart was nearly beating out of her chest, terrified by the prospect of being caught wearing a superhero outfit in the kitchen of a hotel owned by a drug syndicate. She knew her fear was irrational; they couldn’t hurt her, but the consequences of being discovered were dire. It would ruin the entire mission, and the Pies would be deprived of justice.

After a deep, calming breath, Twilight looked down the length of the counter. At the far end was a swing door with a narrow window in its upper half, through which she could see the modern —and quite frankly tacky— dirty green, gray and pink colour scheme of the hotel’s lounge, which included a bar and coffee shop combined into one.

Having memorised the blueprint, she took a moment to imagine that room’s layout relative to her current spot. The cameras in there were aimed mostly at the bar, except for one, which was mounted on the right-hand wall to keep watch over the seating area.

After going through the motions in her head, Twilight decided to make her move, and she rose slightly to slink along the counter, staying bent enough to remain hidden. She’d only made it a few steps when a door on the opposite side of the room burst open, causing her to nearly jump out of her skin. She stopped and crouched again, listening to the sounds of two men having a back and forth as they entered the kitchen.

They stopped in the next aisle, just opposite of Twilight. One of them was on a tirade about something when he stopped suddenly.

“…because now we don’t even have enough time to—“ A few seconds of heavy breathing followed before Twilight heard this: “Wwwwait a minute…”

Twilight cringed and squeezed her eyes shut. Had she been discovered? How could that be possible? Could he smell her? Was the scent-free shampoo she’d used not quite odorless? Maybe he could hear her breathing!

“Where the hell’s Simmer? He’s supposed to be working on the scalloped potatoes!” the man hollered, making a slightly relieved Twilight open her eyes to stare at the floor, listening.

“Ugh,” the other, younger-sounding voice answered. “He was about to start them, but then he realised the potatoes had gone bad when he got them out, so he had to run out to the market to get some more.”

There was a short silence, followed by a frustrated groan from the older man. “Are you fucking kidding me? How many times have I told that fucking kid to check the stock every day!?”

“I know, I know. Simmer’s a good kid, and he tries, but he needs to start listening to instructions or he’s gonna end up at the bottom of the harbour.”

“Well, that’s not gonna help us right now; this is gonna put us way fucking behind. The banquet starts in less than two hours!”

Twilight bit her lip and drew a breath as she looked upward, trying to decide what to do. The colour drained from her face, however, when her eyes locked onto a stainless steel pan that hung from the rack above the next counter, showing the side profile of one of the men in its reflection. Logically, if she could see them, then they would see her as well—if they happened to look that way.

She had to move.

Slowly and quietly, she rose to a crouched position and moved along the counter, being careful not to make a sound. When she reached the far end, she crawled around the corner, glancing at the door as she went—and praying that no one would come through, as it was right next to her. Cautiously, she peeked her head around the other side of the counter to observe the men: one of them was overweight and wearing a chef’s coat, the other a suit.

The older, overweight man must have been the head chef, and the younger one a manager of some sort. After a deep breath, Twilight turned to sit with her back against the end of the counter, staring at the entrance to the lounge. She needed to get through that door, but even if she remained crouched down as she went, its opening would surely catch their attention.

She chewed her lip, knowing that she needed to move fast or she would eventually be caught. An idea struck her suddenly: if their attention was directed elsewhere, her escape would have a better chance of going unnoticed.

She peered around the corner at them once again, then she directed her eyes to the hooks above their heads, where she spied a large pot hanging by its handle. She raised a hand and summoned her magic, using every degree of control she had to carefully lift the pot from its hook without making a sound. Once she had it suspended above the counter, she shuffled to the door and then released the magic.

Sure enough, a deafening CLANG rang through the kitchen, followed by the startled yelp of both men. Twilight seized the opportunity to push through the door, closing it behind her as quickly as she could.

Now leaning against the wall in the next room, her breath suddenly caught in her throat when she realised she’d burst in without checking first to see if the coast was clear. It could have been check-mate right there, but tonight, fortune was apparently on Twilight Sparkle’s side.

The room was empty. The only sound was the fat chef’s voice coming from the kitchen, complaining about how no one knew how to hang the pots properly.

”How’s it going?”

After a blowing a long exhale, Twilight whispered her reply. “Good. I got kinda hung up in the kitchen; a couple of guys came in while I was in there, but I managed to get out without being seen.”

”I figured. I thought I could hear voices, but I couldn’t make out what they were saying. Something about potatoes.”

“It was… intense,” she said, reaching up to adjust the mask and then scrunching her nose. “I have no idea how Sunset did this at the CIA headquarters; I have a completely new respect for her now.”

”You’re doing just fine, Twi. Just stay sharp, and you and Sunny can both reminisce about this stuff one day. So where are we now?”

“I’m in the lounge,” she whispered. “There’s a door on the right that I have to get to, just past the camera. Should be easy going from there.”

”OK. I’ll leave you to it.”

She nodded and then craned her neck to check the right-hand wall. Sure enough, the camera shown in the blueprints was there, aimed across the sea of white and black tables, on the far side of which sat the bar itself. After checking the rest of the room, she could see no cameras other than the ones in the blueprints, all of which were aimed everywhere but the wall where the camera on the right was mounted. This design flaw left the kitchen door and lower portion of that wall vulnerable, and Twilight was going to exploit it, as planned.

But she had to hurry before someone came in and found her.

Quickly and quietly, she scampered along the right-hand wall, passing under the camera with ease and continuing until she came face-to-face with a door marked: ‘STAFF ONLY.’ Looking down at the knob, she found the door locked by a simple deadbolt. After one last scan of the room, she brought her hand up and used her magic to manipulate the lock’s internals, lining up all the tumblers so that she could turn the bolt and gain entry.

She grabbed the handle and pushed her way through, closing the door behind her when she found herself in a long hallway with cinder block walls and bare light bulbs hanging from the ceiling.

“OK, I’m in the utility area,” she whispered as she locked the door again by turning the knob—no key required on this side.

”Perfect. You’re doing great, Twi.”

“Eh… I made a few mistakes back there,” she admitted, “but luckily no one was around.”

”Fair enough. Just don’t get comfortable, OK? This is when most people screw up because they get that ‘home free’ feeling. Don’t let your guard down; you’re not home free until you’re outside.”

“Got it,” she nodded, making her way down the hall, which was lined on both sides with metal doors. “OK… the server room should be the third door on the right,” she muttered aloud, counting the doors in her head as she went.

”How long will it take to tap into their system once you’re in there?”

“Not long,” she replied. “I did quite a few trials with Mr. Ingram, and several more on my own, just make sure I could do it without help. Usually takes two or three minutes, tops—depending on the configuration.”

”OK, sound’s good. I— ... Ooohh shit.”

Twilight froze immediately, her skin set ablaze by goosebumbs. “What?” she asked, her voice trembling.

”There’s a homeless guy walking around the parking lot.”

After the few seconds it took to process this, Twilight exhaled, went limp and rolled her eyes. “Is that really important right now? You scared the crap outta me!”

”Twi! What if he comes over here begging for shit? I don’t have any cash!”

“Why don’t you just kill him like you do everyone else?” she chided.

“Uh, it’s gonna be kinda hard to stay parked here with a dead guy laying next to my truck, you know.”

She closed her eyes and waved her hands about. “OK… I need to concentrate right now. Stop talking.” She continued until she reached the third door, marked ‘SERVER ROOM.’ Producing her phone, she used the app to decode and copy the keycard signal needed to unlock the door. With a soft beep, the door clicked, and she grabbed the handle to go inside.

The room was small, roughly the size of three phone booths, but its walls were loaded with steel boxes and wires on both sides, floor to ceiling. She started along one side, tracing her finger through the air as she searched for the system she needed. “K… telephone, network, cable…”

”Dammit. He saw me.”

Twilight ignored her earpiece as she searched.

”Fuck! He’s coming over.”

She stopped suddenly, eyes widening when she found the panel marked: ‘SECURITY/SURVEILLANCE.’

“This is it!” she said with a little gasp. She dropped to one knee and opened the other end of the little pouch that housed her phone, producing a tiny, transparent device with a pair of fibre-optic leads. After consulting the schematic on her phone, she set it on the floor and began the search for an inconspicuous spot to mount the device.

”Hey man, I don’t have any money. Sorry. ... ... What?”

With a roll of her eyes, Twilight snorted softly as she resumed her work.

”I dunno, I wish I could help you out, but... Oh, hey! You want a cheeseburg?”

Sighing, the lavender-skinned girl did her best to ignore the conversation; in fact, she’d considered muting the speaker, but eventually decided it best to not to break comms. In the meantime, she’d found a well-hidden spot for the transmitter, and had already secured it using an adhesive strip.

”Really? Why not? ... ... Oh... yeah, they’re not very good. You got me there.”

After tracing the signal wires down from the panel, Twilight spliced the device’s leads into them using a pair of tiny hooked pliers with one fat handle that contained a battery, which were specifically designed by Ingram to ‘pinch and fuse’ the specially designed fibre optic lead into the system’s line.

”OK, how about this? I got one of these McCafe Rewards cards. See? Look, it says: ‘Buy seven hot drinks and get a medium FREE—at participating McDonald’s restaurants, see details in-store or at mcdonalds.ca.’”

Despite concentrating on the delicate task at hand, Twilight couldn’t help but giggle at the pitch.

”And look! It’s got all seven stickers, baby! Whaddya say? How does a hot coffee sound to you? ... ... Yeah? Go for it; it’s all yours, buddy.”

Unable to shed the smirk from her lips, Twilight hooked the second lead into the pliers and slipped them around the wire.

”No, god bless YOU, sir! ... ... OK. Sorry, Twi, I had to get rid of that guy.”

“It’s OK,” she replied. “Did you manage to fulfil your civic duty?”

”He’s fuckin lucky. He probably won’t use it, though. There’s a reason they always ask for money.”

“Hm. Poor guy.”

“Yeah. So... anyway, where are we?”

“Should be online in under a minute,” she replied as she squeezed the pliers together. “Just have to pinch the lead in, and we’ll be online.” After a little grunt, the telltale click of a successful splice rang through her arm, followed by a muted flicker of light, and she withdrew from the cluster of wires.

After slipping the tool back into her pouch, she reached in again and gave the device a squeeze to turn it on. A blue LED illuminated its clear plastic shell with three flashes before going dark again. She picked her phone up next, tapping the screen. “Yes, I wish to pair with new device,” she mumbled with a quick tap of the icon, which then prompted a progress bar to appear. “OK… their system should be synching onto our phones now. Do you see it?”

A short pause.

”Yup. A bunch of new camera options are popping up h— ... holy shit, there’s a LOT of ‘em.”

“I know,” she whispered. “A bit excessive for what’s supposed to be an ordinary hotel.”

”True that. OK, Twi: excellent job. Now get your shit packed up and start making your way out. I’ll look after the cameras for you.”

“Got it.”

With that, she holstered the phone and stood, checking the area for debris or dust prints before turning to leave. Satisfied that her tracks were hidden, she turned and headed for the exit.

After quietly opening the door and having a peek in both directions, Twilight entered the hall and closed the door behind her, being careful not to make too much noise. Then she made a light-footed run back to the door that led to the lounge room.

Just as her hands gripped the door handle and its lock, a warning sounded from her earpiece.

”Heads up, Twi; you’ve got company in the next room.”

The masked girl froze. Her heart twisted into a knot as she stared wide-eyed into the cold steel door. “What kind of company?”

”Bunch of dudes.”

“How many?”

”A few. Nothing you can’t handle. Don’t worry, I managed to freeze the camera before they came in, so the boys in the security room won’t see what’s going on—but I WILL.”

“What about their comms?” she whispered.

”Already disabled, but that won’t stop them from using their phones to warn others, so you’ll have to drop ‘em all before they have the chance.”

Twilight’s eyes closed as an exasperated breath escaped her mouth. “Great. Can’t I just stay in here?”

”Hey, you’ve GOT this, Twi. You’ve got the element of surprise; it’s gonna take time for them to process the fact that a masked vigilante just burst into the room, then it’ll take them a minute to realise their comms are down before they even think to use their phones. That should give you lots of time to incapacitate them—but keep it quiet. There’s a couple guys in the kitchen cooking. You’ll have to sneak past them the same way you came in. OK? Any questions? You ready?”

Twilight closed her eyes and let her head fall back, sighing. “I guess,” she said snidely, rolling her shoulders to loosen up.

”Clock’s ticking, Twi.”

She pursed her lips and let several puffs escape to psyche herself up, then she yanked the handle and shoved the door open. When she burst into the lounge, however, she screeched to a halt when she came face-to-face with nearly three dozen people—men, wearing suits, jeans and blazers, golf shirts and khakis, and every combination thereof.

“Holy shit!” she cried aloud, making those who hadn’t yet noticed her turn to see who was talking.

Twilight stood, frozen in place, her big purple eyes staring through that mask at the sea of faces locking their sights onto her, looking understandably confused.

”Uhh... Twi?”

The voice in her ear snapped her from the initial shock and self-consciousness of busting into a room dressed as a superhero. After blinking a few times, she parted her lips to reply.

“What is this!? You call this a FEW!?" she growled under her breath as her eyes began to dart around, scanning the crowd to size them up. Her escape route had been cut off, unfortunately; the door to the kitchen had been blocked by a dense group of unfriendly-looking chaps.

”A few dozen, yeah. But Twi... time is of the essence here. Remember, they’re just as surprised as you; use that to your advantage!”

The apparent words of wisdom entering Twilight's ear barely registered. She kept her eyes on the crowd, nearly slipping into a panic. A soft scuff from her right prompted her to look over her right shoulder. A man who’d circled behind her was approaching cautiously, and so she stepped forward as she glanced over her left shoulder to find that she’d been flanked by two more.

”OK... Twi, don’t let them surround you.”

One of the men in front of her spoke, his arms open as he swaggered a step or two closer, brows furrowed. “What do we have here? Is there a show tonight or something?”

“Not that I’m aware of,” said the man to his left.

The lead man raised his chin at her. “Who are you? What are you doing sneaking around here?”

Petrified, Twilight’s heart raced. She stood motionless and surrounded, huddled into herself with her hands clasped to her chest, her knees and toes pointed in.

”OK, you need to look more imposing than that. Remember, this isn’t Canterlot; these people don’t know about the Dark Mistress. YOU need to introduce them to the legend.”

“Hey!” the lead man barked, sharpening his tone. “Did I fucking stutter?”

She locked a pair of violet eyes onto his, intimidated by him, but also perturbed that her mentor had downplayed the size of the crew that had awaited her.

”Don’t take his shit, Twi! You OWN these bitches! Come on, stand up straight, show ‘em who’s boss! Don’t look like a victim: chin up, shoulders back!”

Growing frustrated, she drew a deep breath and did as advised. She straightened her stance and puffed her chest out, staring back at her interrogator with a stiff upper lip.

”That’s good! MORE! Put your hands to your sides, ball your fists; take a stand! But make it quick—I can’t keep them off their phones for you.”

Following the command, Twilight unclasped her hands and balled her fists tightly as she lowered them to her sides. She narrowed her stare at the presumed leader, trying to ignore how ridiculous she felt by poising the way she was told. It felt increasingly unnatural to her, like she was posing for a movie poster or something, and it caused her patience with her mentor to deplete rather quickly.

”That’s it; you’ve got it! Now stand with your feet apart like you’ve got big, hairy balls!”

This was the tipping point. Twilight gritted her teeth and snapped back. “I don’t have big, hairy balls!”

Then she slapped her hands over her mouth.

The entire room stopped instantly, collectively dumbfounded.

”HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! HAHAHAHAHA! What the fuck, Twi!? HAHAHA!“

She rolled her eyes, feeling her face begin to bake under that mask, the rosiness in her cheeks surely visible everyone else.

After a little sneer, the leader tipped his head to someone on the right. He waved his finger toward her, signalling them to advance.

”Oohhh shit, that was funny. Haha... whoop, seven o’clock, Twi.”

“Huh?” She spun her head to the left to look behind her. A hand was coming fast, presumably to grab her hair. She brought her forearm up and dipped back, deflecting the attack above her head before swivelling forward with both fists ready, one high, one low. Both strikes hit their mark; one to his throat and the other to his crotch, and he quickly dropped like a sack of potatoes.

Twilight took a step back, surprised by herself. Then she turned to face the leader again, who raised a brow in response.

”That’s it! See? You’ve got nothing to worry about. Your training will kick in on its own. Give ‘em hell!”

After a short stare-down, the leader let out an imperious chuckle. “Looks like we got a scrapper here, boys.” He snapped his finger and then pointed at her.

”TWI! BEHIND Y—shit.”

Before Twilight could move, two pairs of hands grabbed her by the forearms. She grunted and struggled against them, but she was vastly outmatched by her captors, who were indeed much larger than her.

But this was Twilight Sparkle, and if anyone lived by the mantra of ‘mind over matter,’ it was her.

Before the two men had a chance to drag her a single step, she closed her fists, using her middle fingers press on the heel of each hand, on both of which lived a dark gray circle. A loud hum emanated from her suit, and blueish-white sparks arced from their fingertips; with a loud yelp, both men released her immediately and fell to the floor, clutching their hands to their chests.

”Oh shit! You weren’t kidding when you said that stuff is a good conductor!”

Free again, Twilight faced the main group, ready for action.

It appeared at last that the leader’s confidence was beginning to wane.

After taking a breath through gritted teeth, Twilight charged the group head-on. Without hesitation, three of them launched a counter attack; she dodged the first one by spinning to the right to miss his fist and then drove her heel into the back of his knee, causing him to stumble and fall forward onto his hands. The second man threw a right jab, but missed the mark when she leaned back to avoid it, after which she grabbed his wrist and pulled him off-balance while leaning down to avoid the third man’s attack, swinging her foot up to bury it just below the second man’s armpit. He dropped quickly, clutching his side.

Once the third man got his bearings, he turned back to face her, joined by the first man. After a short standoff, she raised a finger at the third man and used her magic to take hold of his hand, which became bathed in a lavender field and swung unexpectedly to his left, where it connected with the jaw of his teammate and knocked him over the back of a nearby chair.

“What the hell!?” he cried, horrified when he saw the other man go down, but not as horrified as when his own hand turned on himself, its knuckles driving themselves straight into his nose.

When she spun around, Twilight was met with the leader coming at her with a chair over his shoulder. She swiped her hand from right to left, and the chair flew out of his hands and smashed into another individual, leaving the addled leader unarmed and caught by surprise.

Eyes wide and teeth bared, he charged at the little masked girl and threw a right hook. Her left forearm sprang up and stopped the attack; then her right fist drew back, bursting with a brilliant aura of violet light. With the use of her magic, Twilight threw the punch like a battering ram; her fist collided with his chest and sent him flying backwards, carving a swath through the crowd as he went.

”You’re doing awesome, Twi. Keep it going.”

Despite the adrenaline rush, she paused for a moment to evaluate the rest of the group.

Many were left standing. Dozens, in fact. She could take them all, sure, but how long would it take?

“Ugh… this is hugely inefficient,” she muttered aloud. With a big inhale, she bit her lip and raised both hands above her head.

A flood of lavender energy engulfed everything in the room —every table, chair, and person— and all of it suddenly rocketed straight up and crashed into the ceiling, leaving the floor completely empty. After holding them there for a moment, Twilight swung her arms downward; everything under her influence followed suit, and it all dropped to the floor with a deafening crash.

The entire place had been transformed from a modern lounge into a pile of debris. Smashed tables and chairs, splintered wood, and groaning bodies layered the carpet.

”NOICE!”

Twilight looked over her shoulder at the kitchen door, alerted by voices coming from beyond. “I think the guys in the kitchen heard that.”

”Uh, yeah. I’m gonna go out on a limb and say you’re probably right.”

“What should I do?”

”Just get outta there.”

She turned to face the door, brows furrowed beneath her mask. “Are you sure? I thought I was supposed to sneak ou—“

”Nah, fuck it. It’s too late for that now; just get your ass outta there.”

Twilight drew a deep breath. “OK,” she breathed. She rushed for the kitchen entrance, weaving between broken furniture and tangled limbs. She slammed through the door hands-first, much to the surprise of the fat chef and his helper.

“Whoa!” he shouted, backing up a step as the masked girl took the left side of the counter, opposite him.

She raised her hand as she charged, dousing the chef in her magic and levitating him from the floor. Using her other hand as a booster, she leapt onto the counter and slid across it on her backside, connecting both feet to his chest to knock him out of the air. He flew over the second counter, crashing through the pots and pans that hung from the racks.

Twilight landed in the center aisle and headed toward the second cook, who’d grabbed a knife and pointed it at her. Again, her hand raised as she approached, and a pot unhooked itself from the rack and rushed him from behind. It collided with the back of his head with a dull clang, causing him to drop the weapon as she swung her hand a second time, forcing him to bend to the side and bounce his head off the counter.

He staggered backwards, disoriented, and was then knocked to the ground when her heel swung up and slammed into his jaw. She ran right over him, stepping on his chest as she went, headed for the dark hallway that lead to her freedom.

After reaching the exit, she grabbed the handle, shoulder-checked the door open, and at last, made her escape.

Back in the alley, she made a hard right and ran past the dumpsters, cupping a hand over her earpiece. “I’m out!”

”Beautiful, Twi! Make the call!”

She rounded the corner into another alley, putting some distance between her and the soon-to-be under siege hotel. “Attention:” she announced, “Elvis has left the building. Repeat, Elvis has left the building. We are online; you may now begin.”

”Wooo-hoo! Giddyup, partner!”

“Marvelous, darling!”

“Nice work. We’ll see you at the checkpoint.”