And I am whole at last.

*****

Everyone called her Ay. Probably ‘cuz of her ample posterior, but Ay liked to think it also stood for attack. Or arsenal. She knew for a fact she was the baddest bitch in all of Gold-Digger’s. And damn if this honky bastard wasn’t going to make her show it.

She took him for an easy mark when she first saw his fat ass. He seemed like the type of cat who would either cave and pay a little for the show or go down with little fight. Instead the pot-bellied redneck wanted to scrap. She was more than willing to oblige.

Ay knew this shit. She had been in scrapes and brawls since she was a kid. Growing up on the streets she learned how to fight at the same time she was learning to make money from her other assets. Now she could hold her own with the best of them. Nobody could match her with her ‘chuks or the rest of her weapons, and she fought as dirty as the minds of Gold-Digger’s clientele.

She whipped the nunchuks around and straight at white-boy’s head. He threw his already injured arm up. A sharp crack radiated through the room as the bone shattered in a second place. White-boy shrugged off the injury without even a wince. He pushed forward and drove a shoulder straight in to her gut.

Ay stumbled back at the blow. She struggled to keep her footing and by the time she regained it, the honky had retrieved an aluminum baseball bat from the floor beside him.

With the bat in hand, she recognized him. They called him The Everyman. He protected a small district a couple blocks north of here. She knew he was a meta, knew he was tough, but now she planned to find out just how tough.

She twisted and threw a blow out with the nunchuks. They struck against Everyman’s bat as he parried. At the same time, Ay reached for her bracelet and yanked another charm free. Seconds later, she held a full sized scimitar in her other hand.

Everyman swung his weapon. Ay deflected it away with a stroke of the blade, and then brought the nunchaku up and around the bat’s base. The chain wrapped around the bat, and she yanked back to pull it away from her foe. Everyman’s hands slipped away, but as they did he flipped an almost invisible switch on the handle of the bat.

Electricity raced out the bat, through the nunchuks, and straight in to Ay. She shook and shuttered as time seemed to stop. After an interminable five seconds the bat clattered to the floor and Ay dropped down to one knee beside it.

She started to pull herself up, but Everyman’s boot caught her across the right side of the face. She dropped back down, this time on her hands and knees. He landed another foot to her gut. Ay dropped to the floor as she gasped for breath.

Everyman reached down and yanked her up by the red extensions weaved in to her black hair. “Bitch, next time you pick a fight make sure it’s one you can win.” He shoved her face hard in the floor. Her skull cracked against the floor. Ay could only hear his feet as he walked away.

Everything went black.

“Ay! Ay, wake up!” She opened her eyes. Another woman stood over her in a camouflage tank top and matching cap. Her skin was pale, almost white and her reddish brown hair was pulled back in to a ponytail threaded through the back of her camouflage ball cap. Her large chest stretched her plain white t-shirt to its limits. She stroked a stray hair out of Ay’s face.

“Tee?”

“Yeah it’s me, baby girl. What did you go and do to yourself?”

Ay looked around. They were backstage at Gold-Digger’s. She realized she was on the dressing room couch as a pair of half naked women walked past. She sat upright and looked in to one of the numerous mirrors on the wall. Her mocha colored skin was blemished by a large black welt on her cheek. Tee slowly stroked the injury.

Ay raised her eyes to look at Tee. “I picked a fight I wasn’t ready for. That’s all. Next time though I’ll make sure the bastard burns for hurting me.”

Tee leaned down and kissed her. Ay sighed as Tee’s hands ran slowly down her body. The pain seemed to melt away from her as Tee pulled back and gave her a smile.

“Don’t you worry,” Tee said. “The bastard will get his. All of the misogynistic bastards in this city will.” Ay couldn’t help but smile back before she kissed her compatriot again.

*****

“This ain’t right, Jack. I think I’m hurtin’ him!”

Johnny B. Goode paused for a moment from the smoldering ruin of a city street as he looked up at Jack Flash. Steam and smoke rose up from damaged pipes somewhere far below. Imbedded in the cement beneath him was the limp form of Mister Mayor.

“No, don’t stop, Johnny!”

Johnny couldn’t hear Jack as Mister Mayor shot upright and threw the massive young man off of him. Johnny crashed to the ground landing hard straight on his blond head. He groaned and rubbed at his head as Mayor turned his focus back to Jack Flash.

“Now that wasn’t playing very nice was it, Jack? It isn’t like you to play dirty in our little games.”

“Yeah, well maybe I’m getting over that.” Jack lit up again and propelled another wave of fire in Mister Mayor’s direction.

“You know you can’t hurt me with that, Jack. Your fire won’t do anything to me.”

Jack gave Mayor a wry grin. “Who said I was aiming for you?”

The natural gas in the air suddenly ignited in an explosive burst. Jack braced himself and closed his eyes, but Mister Mayor had no such luck. He cried out at the sudden blinding flash of light all around him.

Jack opened his eyes to see Johnny strike out at their metallic foe again. “Don’t let up this time,” Jack yelled. “You have to keep him down if we’re going to have a chance at this!”

“Yes, sir,” Johnny said. “I won’t let you down, Jack!” Johnny rained blow after blow down on Mister Mayor. Mayor struggled to fight back, but the blows drove him to his knees.

A flash of flame shot down from the skies above and engulfed Johnny. The young metahuman cried out as his skin and hair instantly started to burn. Jack looked up to see a short-haired Caucasian drop from several floors up in the building before him. He wore matching sweatpants and sweatshirt, but both were burning away from the halo of fire surrounding him.

Jack cursed under his breath. Another flame-wielder, can this day get any worse? He hurled a pair of fireballs towards the newcomer, but he deflected them away from him with bursts of his own fire.

Mister Mayor turned and delivered a massive blow to Johnny B. Goode as Johnny still struggled to put out the flames burning him. The blow caught Johnny unaware and sent him flying several stories skyward. He crashed down several blocks away.

Jack backed away from the other fire-guy and Mister Mayor. He knew when he was in trouble.

An engine revved some distance away. All three faces turned as Skull Solo flashed in to view on the back of his Harley. The bald, tattooed biker sneered at all three men as he kicked the bike in to gear. Jack cursed his luck at the arrival of another Cabinet member.

But Solo went straight for Mister Mayor. He let his bike slide out from under him and as he flew through the air, he raised both hands towards his former commander-in-chief. The skin around his face, hands, and arms went translucent as he activated his acid touch. Mayor cried out as Solo’s hands wrapped around his shoulders and melted the metal beneath them.

“Go!” Solo yelled.

Jack wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. He turned and ran. He caught Chihuahua’s eye in the middle of the Dogpack’s forces. He gave a nod, which the Dogpack’s leader returned.

“Pull back!” The call rose up over the gang. Some confusion ran through the rank and file, but they all quickly turned to leave.

Jack cursed himself again and again. The fight was over today, and they had lost.

*****

Mister Mayor roared in pain at the turncoat’s touch. He had given Skull Solo everything, and now the bastard stabbed him in the back.

“I’m tired of being your sycophant, you psychotic bastard! I sat on the sidelines for months while you ridiculed and abused me and everyone else around you.” Mayor could see Solo’s clenched jaw through his translucent face. The skull seemed to glow brighter as Skull renewed his attack. “I’m not going to take it anymore! You’re going to die, you big metal fuck!”

Fire engulfed both of them. Solo screamed in pain as he panicked and threw himself to the ground. As he rolled he threw off his burning clothes as fast as he could.

Mister Mayor capitalized on Solo’s sudden distraction with a brutal kick to the head. Solo’s head snapped back with a wicked crack. Solo lay silent on the ground. Mayor turned to the fiery new arrival. “Who are you?”

“My name is Able. I apologize for forcing myself in to your affairs, but it seemed like you needed the assistance.”

Mayor gave the man a lopsided grin. “I suppose so. Welcome, Able, rest assured you have made a friend today.”

“I don’t seek friends, only allies. I was hoping we could help each other, sir.”

Mister Mayor laughed. “A man after my own heart. I like you, Able. What is it you want?”

“I look for an artifact ancient even before this city was destroyed. I suspect it’s buried somewhere beneath the rubble. But for now, I only wish to get to know this city better. I have come to the realization that without that knowledge, I will never find that which I seek.”

“So be it. You take a position with my Cabinet, and we will teach you the who, what, and wherefore of our little country. Who better than the mayor, eh?”

“Agreed.”

Mister Mayor gave him a broad grin as he let his massive metal form shed away from his skin. He shrank several inches down to his normal size. “Come on then. We have a victory to celebrate today.”