"If you mess this up, I swear I'm going to strangle you." Lady Chaos growled sharply at me.

"I won't disappoint you, Master." I answered.

"I've heard that before." She hissed at me.

I looked away from her and looked out at the sparkling lights of the city. Standing on top of a thirty story building made me feel separated from the world below. It looked so quiet and peaceful down there. It almost seemed a shame to disturb it. Key word: almost.

It was a beautiful night. The night air was brisk and gave me slight goose bumps on my bare arms but it was nice. It wasn't too cold out. I love nights like this. The moon was a slight crescent and there were several stars visible in the sky.

I yelped as Lady Chaos smacked me in the back of the head. "Stop day dreaming and pay attention!"

I turned back to her. "I am paying attention, Master." She had been going over the plan again for the hundredth time. Seriously, does she think I am stupid or something? I had it memorized. I could do it in my sleep.

"Your ass isn't the only one on the line. When you fail it looks as a failure on my part. If you embarrass me, I will make your life a living hell." She snared.

I'm not already living in hell?

"I apologize for my past failures but I promise you I will not fail you." I told her.

"And what are you going to do if that super bitch shows?" She demanded.

"I will kill her." I answered without hesitation.

"Good girl." She grinned. "Are you ready?"

I nodded.

"Good." She answered. "I will see you when you're done."

She pushed her cape back behind her shoulders. She was wearing a long black cape attached to a very revealing black leather body suit. I've seen her resort to flashing to get away from the cops. She's taught me everything can be used to your advantage.

Over the bottom of the bodysuit she wore dangerously sharp steel toe knee high steel heeled boots. Her cold dark eyes were covered by a black bandit eye mask. She wore deep purple lipstick over her scolding lips. Her hair was long platinum blonde and hung wildly around her face and shoulders. She wore black leather fingerless gloves to reveal her long shining dagger-like claws.

Lady Chaos stepped off the side of the building and then flew off into the night. I was on my own.

The fire escape door was locked with an electric card reading lock. I pressed my hand against it and pushed electricity into it. The lock squealed a little as it went haywire. A small poof of smoke burst from the top of the lock as it broke. I grabbed the handle of the door and pulled it open. This is too easy.

I confidently walked through the door. This is a smash and grab mission, which are by far the easiest. Get in, get the target, get out. It's easy cheesy. I don't why Lady Chaos was so worried.

I gave a yelp as I felt some one grab my cape from behind. I quickly formed a ball of purple electricity in my hand and tossed it behind me. It hit the door and sizzled as the steel door became magnetized to the door frame.

My cape was shut in the door. I had shut my cape in the door. I am such an idiot.

I sighed and roughly tugged on the cape. It was stuck good and there was no way I could get the door open after magnetizing it. I tightly wrapped the cape around my hands and pulled. I felt a moment of triumph as it came free but the moment quickly passed as I lost my balance and fell down the stairs.

Everything was dark! Did I hit my head?! Then I realized my cape had fallen over me and covered my face. I angrily pushed it behind my shoulders and shakily stood up. I hadn't injured anything other than my ego.

As soon as this mission is over I am going to get my cape shortened. My disguise wasn't as glamorous as Lady Chaos's. I wore a long (soon to be short) purple cape and a black spandex sleeveless body suit. Across my face was a purple bandit mask and my medium brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail. On my chest was a yellow lightning bolt and around my waist was a purple utility belt. I wish I could wear heeled boots like Lady Chaos but I am such a klutz. There is no way I could fight in heeled shoes. So I wear solid black tennis shoes. They aren't very stylish but they keep my ass alive so I shouldn't complain.

I pulled my palm pilot out from my utility belt and followed the path I had drawn out. There weren't any security people. The whole building was electronically maintained. Not a very smart move. I had already taken out the security devices and cameras from the roof. I could move around freely like I owned the place.

I found the laboratory I was looking for. My target is a computer program. I don't know what it does or who I'm stealing it for and I don't really care. I needed this mission to get back on Lady Chaos's and The Syndicate's good graces. I've been messing up a lot of missions lately but it's not my fault. It's that damn Liberty League of Superheroes. They've been really stepping up lately especially Liberty Girl. Her goal seems to be to bring me down. Friggin cow.

I found the computer I was looking for. I used my electricity to hack into the computer to the program I was seeking. It looked like genetic codes or something. I don't know; biology is not my specialty. I am physics kind of girl. I stuck a blank USB drive into the hard drive and began downloading a copy of the file.

"Eclipsa, I should have known you were behind this." A voice boomed with authority behind me.

Electricity sizzled as I clenched my fists. The lights above me flickered. "Liberty Girl." I hissed. I caught myself as the computer screen flickered with my anger. If anything happens to that computer I am dead.

She stood in front of the only door to the lab. Her arms were crossed waiting for me to challenge her. She wore a red, white, and blue one-piece skirt outfit with white bloomers. It looked a little bit like a cheerleading uniform. Attached to the back was a short red cape. She wore white flat knee high boots. Her long blonde hair was pulled back into a high ponytail.

"What are you up to, Sparky?" She asked causally.

I shrugged. "Nothing much, Super Bitch. Shouldn't you be at a cheerleading competition or something?"

She gave me a dark look. "I do not look like a cheerleader."

I laughed. "Yeah, you do."

"At least I don't trip over my own cape." She sneered back.

"Ow, that was hurtful. Do your adoring fans know you're this mean?" I asked as I glanced back at the computer. It was only at thirty percent. The longer I keep her talking the more of the file I can download before I have to make a quick getaway.

"What are you downloading?" She demanded.

I shrugged. "Porn."

"You're so classy." She rolled her eyes.

"Classy like boxed wine." I responded.

She shook her head with distaste and causally glanced over her shoulder and down the hall. She looked back at me. "A life of crime doesn't pay, Eclipsa. It's just a downward spiral." She lectured.

I wasn't the only one that was stalling. She was waiting for someone. The superheroes often patrol in pairs. I could take her on but if there are more heroes wandering around I didn't stand a chance. I better finish this.

Without a word I tossed a ball of electricity at her. It seemed to catch her off guard but she was able to dodge it. I tossed another before she could recover from the first. She held up her hand and the electricity sizzled and purple sparks rained everywhere as they hit a light shield.

She waved her arm and sent a burst of energy at me. I filled my hands with electricity and blocked the energy. Liberty Girl's powers seem to center around energy from light. She can make reflective shields and push energy. She's also freakishly fast.

She appeared beside me and I cried out as she punched me in the jaw. I focused my electricity into my fist and took a swing as her. She dodged it and kidney punched me.

As she went for my face again I grabbed her wrist. She screamed out as I electrocuted her. She crumpled to the ground after I punched her in the face.

I glanced back at the computer. It was at about forty-five percent. For such a high tech computer facility they have slow ass computers.

"Shit!" I yelled as Liberty Girl kicked by legs out from under me and I landed flat on back.

I reached out and grabbed a fist full of her hair and yanked hard. She cried out in pain and grabbed a handful of my hair and pulled mine in return. We rolled around for a few minutes pulling each other's hair and scratching at each other. I ended it by head butting her in the face. She screamed as she clutched her face. I stood up and swiftly kicked her several times in her side and stomach. She whimpered and curled into the fetal position.

I tightly clenched my fist as I pushed electricity into it. I let the power grow around my hand. It sizzled and cracked as I pushed most of my strength into. I could feel the heat of it on my face. This one was going to do some serious damage.

Liberty Girl looked up at me. Her eyes were wide with fear. I looked away from her face. I couldn't afford to lose my nerve now.

"Eclipsa." Her voice shook. "Don't do this."

I couldn't meet her eyes. "I'm sorry." I said sincerely. "I have my orders."

"You're not a killer." She pleaded.

"Shut up!" I snapped. "You don't know what I am!"

"I know you're not a killer. This isn't you, Eclipsa." She was sitting up now and her bright blue eyes were pleading with me.

"SHUT UP!" I yelled. The lights above me burst. I closed my eyes and pulled my arm back.

Strong hands grabbed my wrist and wrapped around my throat from behind. In my surprise I lost the electric ball. I gave a slight hiss as some it went back into my hand and my fingers went slightly numb. I tried to zap my captor but his rubber gloves harmlessly absorbed it.

"You've gone too far this time, Eclipsa." Night Ranger hissed coldly in my ear.

Crap. I should have known he was around. He wears a rubber black suit and a black bandit mask. His black hair was crazily spiked in what seemed to be a random manner.

"Let go of me!" I struggled in his grip.

I gagged slightly as he tightened his grip around my throat. His power is super strength. He could simply crush my throat if he chose.

"You're going to pay for your crimes. " He informed me.

"Not likely." I said as I slammed my foot onto his. As he cried out in pain I drove my elbow into his nose.

I pulled away as he fell to his knees. I made my way to the computer. Fifty-seven percent?! You've got to be kidding me.

"Screw it!" I growled as I unplugged the hard drive. I was only supposed to get a copy of the program but this works too.

I quickly hit the floor to dodge a chair that had been flying towards my head.

"You're not going anywhere." Liberty Girl snarled. She looked super pissed. Not that I can blame her. I did just try to kill her.

I grabbed the hard drive and tucked it under my arm. "Later, loser." I said as I pushed my electricity and burst all the lights in the room. I sprinted towards the door. I felt Night Ranger make a grab for me in the dark. His fingers brushed against my arm. I ducked away from him and ran through the doorway and down the hall.

I found my stairway and ran up. I stumbled slightly and grabbed the rail for support. I was feeling really light headed after using so much of my power. My powers take a lot out of me.

Night Ranger and Liberty Girl pounded up the stairs behind me. I grabbed the door handle of the door. I threw myself against the door as it refused to budge. I cursed myself as I remembered I had accidently magnetized the door. I angrily banged my head against the door.

I cried out in pain as Night Ranger grabbed a hold of my hair and slammed my head against the door. The hard drive slipped from my hands.

"No!" I grabbed for it. Night Ranger roughly pinned my arms behind my back. I winced as I heard something smash at the bottom of the stairs.

"Uh oh." Liberty Girl said as she looked down the stairs.

"Son of a bitch!" I growled. I bent my legs and pushed against the wall. Night Ranger cried out as we lost balance and tumbled down the stairs.

He took most of the blow and I ended up on top of him.

"Ranger!' Liberty Girl cried out as she ran down the stairs.

Night Ranger groaned as I accidently kicked him in the groin (it really was an accident but I don't regret it) as I quickly stood up. The shell of the hard drive was smashed but the inner workings seemed to be fine. I grabbed the memory card as Liberty Girl made it to the bottom of the stairs and Night Ranger struggled to his feet.

I sprinted down the hallway. I wasn't a hundred percent sure where I was going.

"Ranger, are you okay?" I heard Liberty Girl ask from behind me.

"I'm fine. Get her!" Night Ranger growled at her.

I found an office and let myself in. I locked the door behind me, not that it would help me any.

Night Ranger kicked down the door as I grabbed an office chair and tossed it through the window.

"Eclipsa!" Liberty Girl called to me.

"Catch me if you can." I challenged and jumped out the open window.

I heard Liberty Girl swear from somewhere above me. If she chose to chase after me, she was on her own. Night Ranger can't fly. Liberty Girl technically can't either but she can make something like a surfboard out of her light energy and use it to travel through the sky.

I free fell till I came close to the ground and then let myself fly.

"What the hell is this?!" Lady Chaos demanded of me.

"Um… the computer program you asked for…" I cautiously answered.

She roughly grabbed my chin. I trembled as I felt her claws against my soft, vulnerable cheeks. She forced me to look at the computer parts I had placed on the conference table before us. "Does that look like a computer program to you?"

"I didn't have a choice!" I pleaded. "Liberty Girl and Night Ranger showed up and that dumbass, Night Ranger broke the hard drive!"

"You useless-"Lady Chaos started to tear into me.

"That was very resourceful of you." Torment spoke up, silencing Lady Chaos.

Lady Chaos let go of my face. "Yes, it was." She agreed with our boss.

Torment is head of the Syndicate and even Lady Chaos is frightened of him. He was lounging in a chair in front of us with his usual cold smirk on his lips. He was wearing a black suit with a matching top hat over his dark shaggy hair. His sleeves were casually rolled up and a red loosened tie hung from his neck. Across his face was a silver masquerade mask.

"Thank you, sir." I responded.

"Tomorrow evening Napalm and Firebrand are robbing a bank. I want you to assist them." He told me.

I internally groaned but keep my face neutral and nodded. "Yes, sir."

It's not like I don't like Napalm and Firebrand. They're pretty fun to party with but I don't like to pull jobs with them. They are extremely trigger happy and seem to get off on leaving destruction in their wake. They are known for their mindless violent rampages.

I like my heists to be clean and tidy.

"You are excused." Torment informed me. "You look exhausted. Go home and get some rest."

"Thank you, sir. I will." I told him.

Lady Chaos nodded at me. "Go ahead and go home. I have some things to discuss with Torment. I'll speak with you in the morning."

I walked out of the backroom and into the Hideout Bar. There were several villains, scoundrels, and scalawags hanging around and drinking. A brawl had broken out between a lizard man and a ninja but nobody seemed to take any notice.

"Hey, baby girl. I haven't seen you around in a while." I heard my ex-boyfriend cat call me.

I turned to see Shadow sitting at a table with several other guys. He was dressed in light weight black clothes and a jagged shaped bandit mask. His dark grey eyes peered at me with amusement.

"I've been busy." I told him briskly.

"Yeah, I hear you're Lady Chaos's lap dog." He snickered.

I angrily clenched my fists. The lights above us flickered.

"Eclipsa!" The bar tender hollered at me. "Don't you dare break my lights! I just replaced them!"

"Aw, don't be so mad, Sparks." Shadow laughed. "I was just teasing. Come, have a beer with me."

I shot him a dark glare and walked away. I stopped abruptly as I felt something wrap around my waist and pin my arms to the side. I looked down to see a tentacle made of shadow wrapped around me. I yelped as I was roughly pulled into the seat beside Shadow.

I closed my eyes and slowly began to count to ten as I felt my temper rise. My concentration was broken as Shadow put his arm around me. He should know by now not to touch me when I'm pissed off.

He squeezed my shoulder. "You are so tense!" He observed. "What happened to the fun Eclipsa?"

"I have work to do. You have about four seconds to let go of me before I fry you like a mosquito in a bug zapper." I informed.

He did the opposite and started to massage my shoulders. "Firefly, you need to relax. Look at the lights."

I looked up at the lights to see them slightly flickering.

"Let me buy you a drink." He commanded.

"Shadow, I really don't think-" I started to protest.

"Come on, just one beer."

I sighed. "Alright, but just one."

This is not my bed. I groaned as I recognized the arms that were tightly wrapped around me. Shadow was breathing heavily on the back on neck. One beer, my ass. I shouldn't have accepted a beer from him. He knows how to get under my skin and talk me into drinking to my maximum capacity. I haven't drank like that in a long time. I think I had about twelve pints, give or take. I'm going to electrocute that manipulative bastard.

I tried to carefully push his arm off me without waking him. Shadow tightened his grip on my waist and pulled me closer. He kissed the nape of my neck. "Good morning, Sunshine."

He seemed to be in a good mood. I can fix that. I let my body collect electricity.

"You want some blueberry pancakes?" He asked me. Damn…

"Hells, yeah." I answered. He knows me too well. I let the electricity I was building up drop.

He kissed my cheek and got out of bed. He put his boxers on and disappeared from the room. I sighed as I slipped out of bed and attempted to locate some clothing. I think I left some street clothes in his closet last time I had been here. I found a pair jeans that were a size too big (yay, confidence boost.), a black tank top that I was only about eighty percent sure was mine and a really nice lacy bra I had been searching for forever. I also found a pair of rhinestone flip flops I knew for a fact weren't mine but decided to adopt them and them a good home. God, Shadow is such a man whore. I don't know how I keep falling for his tricks.

I tried to convince myself that I had ended back in his bed because of stress from all the pressure I had been under lately but I knew that wasn't really true. I had never truly gotten over Shadow. He had cheated on me. I knew how he was and wasn't really that surprised when I had found out but it had hurt just the same. I had hoped he had changed but people never really change, do they?

"Allegra, want some coffee?" He asked me as I came into the kitchen.

"Sure, I gues-shit! Is that really what time it is?!" I demanded as I caught sight of the clock on his microwave.

"Yeah." He replied like he was hurt I had questioned his time keeping abilities.

"Oh God, I am going to be late!" I hissed. "I have to go!"

I quickly hurtled over a couch as I made my way towards the door.

"I'll call you later." He called after me. I knew he meant it but I highly doubted that I would answer. I have enough time juggling my criminal career and school. I didn't need to add a neurotic womanizing boyfriend to the list. He had his chance.

I was almost twenty minutes late for my physics class. I silently slipped in through the back door and took a seat while my professor had his back turned at the chalk board. The problem is my honors physics class only has twelve people in it.

"Miss Austin, glad you decided to join us." Professor McWilliams responded without turning away from the long ass equation he was writing on the board. Sometimes I wonder if he has super abilities. He always seems to know when I sneak in and unlike most people he can see through my bullshit.

Instead of trying to come up with an elaborate excuse I just said, "I am sorry."

"I'll see you after class." He informed me as continued scribbling out his never ending equation. I swear he made up some of the symbols in it as he went. I tried taking notes but after about like eight and a half minutes I began doodling butterflies for the rest of the class period.

After the rest of the class was dismissed I walk over to Professor McWilliams desk. He was a short grumpy little man with a nose like a hawk. He always wore expensive suits and was currently attempting to shove all of his papers and text books into a black alligator skin briefcase.

"What is your excuse this time, Miss Austin?" He peered at me with his little black beady eyes. "Caught in traffic? Rescuing a kitten from a storm drain? Did your apartment flood again?" He snickered. "After forty years teaching, you by far have had the most colorful excuses."

"Thank you." I responded without thinking. My brain tends to shut off when I am nervous.

"That wasn't a compliment!" He glared at me. "You are one of my best students. You have great potential. The only person that is standing in your way is you. I suggest that you get whatever is going on with you together. Are you still planning on going to grad school?"

I didn't trust myself to speak and just nodded.

"They aren't going to put up with tardiness or constant absents." He informed me as he sharply snapped his briefcase shut.

"I know-" I tried to say.

"No, I don't think you do." He snapped at me. He grabbed his brief case and walked out the room. "Get your shit together, Allegra." He called out as he left.

I sighed. I think he genuinely cares whether I pass or fail. No one ever has before and I don't know how to react to it.

2: Chapter 2

I wasn't always Lady Chaos's slave, lackey, henchman, sidekick; whatever you want to call it. I used to be just a petty criminal. I am a fairly powerful technopath. I can control almost any electronic device. If I want money all I have to do is tell an ATM to give it to me. So it's not like I have to do all of this running around and stealing to pay my rent. It didn't take long for the Syndicate to figure out what I was up to and what my powers were. The Syndicate is a criminal organization that controls most of the organized crime in the city. If I had attracted their attention it was only a matter of time before I would attract the attention of the Liberty League of Superheroes. They are less forgiving about taking money from ATMs. I guess technically it's considered stealing. Whatever. The Syndicate offered me protection and a better use for my skills. I am kind of common sense stupid but don't let that fool you, I am very book smart. I have an IQ of 145. Suck it. I am going through training right now and Lady Chaos was chosen as my trainer. She is about as thrilled as I am about it. She doesn't work well with others.

I let out a sharp yelp as she slapped me across the jaw. "You need to concentrate!" She hissed at me.

I gave her a dark glare but knew better than to talk back to her. I returned my focus on the computer in front of me. I had to hack it without using any of my powers. There was a timer in the corner counting how much time I had left before 'the bomb' went off. If I could use my power it would have only taken me seconds to do. It was near impossible with just my computer skills alone. This was only about the twelfth time I had done the simulation today.

"Your powers are strong but they also wear you out quickly. You need to be able to do things without them." Lady Chaos informed me as she watched my progress over my shoulder.

I had just broken through the code when the timer had gone off. I let out a frustrated growl and leaned back in my chair. I let out a sharp yelp as the chair zapped me for my failure. Being electrocuted still hurt even though my powers are electrically based. The human body naturally has eletrolodes that conduct natural electricity. I just have a lot more than most people.

"Just go." Lady Chaos growled. "Go meet up with Firebrand and Napalm. We will continue this later."

"Can I just stay here and be tortured some more?" I questioned.

"Torment paired you with them. I had nothing to do with that." Lady Chaos told me almost apologetically. "I would best do as he says. As far as I can tell he seems to like you. You don't want to end up on his bad side."

"Yes, Master." I sighed in agreement. What she said made sense. Torment was the leader of the Syndicate and he could make or break by career. By "break my career" I mean he could break my neck with his bare hands. I turned off the computer and left to go get suited up.

A few hours later I was surrounded by fire and screaming. I crossed my arms and watched with annoyance as Firebrand and Napalm scorched everything in sight and terrorized the bank customers. There was no need for their mindless violence and destruction of property. My job was mostly to just keep the alarms from going off. I knew for a fact the teller was continuously pushing the security button but I was stopping the signal from going through. It wouldn't take long for one of the heroes to come around through. I can't block cell phones. I am sure some of the pedestrians outside were able to smell the smoke and hear the terrified screams. I couldn't stop them from calling 9-11. Honestly, I didn't want to. Putting a cap on the time we had to rob the bank lowered the amount of damage the pyros could do. They seemed to be trying to do as much damage as they could in the given time frame.

"I am pretty sure we are here for money." I informed them.

"You are no fun, Sparks." Napalm pouted at me. She was wearing a tight fitting red leather body suit embowered with orange flames. She wore an orange mask over her eyes. Her long black hair was always all over the place and partly in front of her eyes. Firebrand walked over to her and roughly pulled her into his arms. They violently slammed their lips together with such force I was surprised no one chipped a tooth. Firebrand roughly grabbed his girlfriend's ass.

I rolled my eyes. The two psychopaths were perfect for each other. Firebrand winked at me as he pulled away from Napalm and started to pull money out of the bank vault. Napalm smirked at me and followed him leaving me to play lookout. I am pretty sure they were putting on a show for me. They had hinted at a threesome about four times. Not going to happen. I would rather not have third degree burns all over my body.

Firebrand was pretty good looking. He used to be an underwear model before he got into an accident involving a chemical fire. He wore black leather pants with a black tank top and a red leather jacket. He wore black goggles instead of a mask. He had blonde hair that was always perfect. I swear he never had a hair out of place.

"Don't even try it." I commanded a civilian that was slowly rising to their feet. He looked up at me thought twice about it and returned to the ground.

"This is unusual for you." Liberty Girl commanded as she walked into the bank. She seemed surprised to see me there. Messy public things aren't usually how I roll. A cyborg named, Sally Steele was her current partner. They like to switch up the superhero pairs so different skill sets get used.

I just shrugged. "I like to mix things up a bit."

"Looks like things just got fun." Napalm smirked as she emerged from the vault.

"You are working with them?!" Liberty Girl gave me a surprised looked.
I just shrugged. "I am not thrilled about it either."

"That's not very nice." Napalm pouted.

"Load the money. We got the superzeroes." Firebrand announced as he tossed several heavy looking bags at me. It took maybe a minute for the room to be filled with fire, beams of light and fists. I ducked away from the fighting and picked up one of the large bags of money. I used a ball of electricity to incinerate a fireball in the air that had been close to hitting a civilian. There is no need for collateral damage. I struggled with my bag as I pulled it out to the van we had waiting on the curb.

"You need help with that?" Night Ranger roughly grabbed my elbow as he appeared behind me. He must have been waiting by the door.

I grit my teeth angrily as I tried to yank my arm free. That just made him tighten his grip on me. "Oh, you are not going anywhere. Not this time." He informed me. "I really would like to rearrange that pretty face of yours."

"You aren't still sore about yesterday, are you?" I asked innocently.

"Of course not." He responded as backhanded me across the jaw. I yelped out and dropped the bag of money. I could feel blood dripping down from a gash in my lip. He grabbed my other arm pulled me in close. "Your villain career is going to end before it even starts, you little bitch." He said quietly so the onlookers that had gathered around couldn't hear him.

Not all heroes become heroes because they want to make a difference in the world or enforce justice. Some like, Night Ranger, enjoy getting paid by the government to beat the shit out of people. They are supposed to follow a set of rules. He isn't really allowed to use excessive force or purposely kill an adversary. Night Ranger has put several in the hospital with severe injuries but somehow got them ruled in court as accidental or self-defense. No jury would send a superhero to prison unless they did something very very bad. He is usually assigned to be with Liberty Girl or another by the book hero to keep him in line. Unfortunately for me Liberty Girl was currently inside dealing with my favorite pyros.

I roughly kicked him in the shin. He grunted in pain and threw me against the van parked on the curb. I groaned as I picked myself up from the ground. Night Ranger grabbed me by my ponytail and slammed my head roughly against the van. He is such a douche. I let out a sharp yelp as he did it again. He eased up when a few of the bystanders made disapproving sounds. I may be a villain but I am still a girl about half his size. No one wants to see me get completely pulverized by him. I have that to my advantage.

Night Ranger released me as a fireball smashed into his leg. He let out a cry of pain and fell to his knees clutching at his leg. I wrinkled my nose at the scent of scorched flesh. If he hadn't just been smashing my head against a van I might have felt bad for him.

"Eclipsa, the locks." Firebrand demanded as he scooped up the bag of money I had dropped. Napalm was right behind him holding Liberty Girl and Sally Steele back with a wall of flames. I mentally unlocked the electronic locks and doors I had rigged to respond to my powers. I also started the engine.

Firebrand roughly kicked Night Ranger in the throat when he walked back by him. Night Ranger gasped out with a painful wheezing sound that made me flinch. It had defiantly done some damage to his windpipe. Napalm let out a laugh of delight at his pain.

"Whoa! That was not-" I started to protest.

"Shut up and get in the van." Firebrand demanded as he tossed the money in the van and roughly grabbed me by the arm and pulled me into the van with him.

Napalm got into the driver side. She pushed the manual button I had installed to shut the doors and lock them. She squealed the tires as she took off from the curb to leave the crime scene. She brutally sideswiped a police car in the process. Sally Steele had to jump in to prevent the car from crashing into civilians and the news crew that had just arrived on the scene. I looked out the back window to see Liberty Girl at Night Rangers side. An ambulance had just pulled over to curb and the EMTs were rushing over.

Firebrand gave me a disapproving look. "You are too soft. You need to learn to have a little fun." He reached out and ran his hand along my thigh.

I sent a bolt of electricity into his hand. He just gripped my thigh tighter. "That could be fun…" He smirked.

I slapped him across the face. "Keep your damn hands off from me." For a second I thought I was going to have to fight him but he backed off and went into the front of the van with Napalm. I put on my earbuds and turned on my ipod as I could hear them fooling around up there. Seriously? They should not be doing that while driving a getaway vehicle. I really hate working with them. At least I try to be professional. They pretty much just want to set the world on fire and dance naked in its flames.

"The Syndicate and the League are menaces against society. They glorify and glamorize superpowers. They are mutants, abnormalities. Humans aren't meant to have god-like abilities. Many of them are dangerous, even if they do not mean to be. How many human civilians have been killed from mutants that have lost control of their abilities? How many human civilians have been killed in the crossfire of fights between the Crime Syndicate and Liberty League?" Dr. Laura Evens demanded sharply. She was an older woman with perfect blonde hair and an expressionless face. She was wearing a crisp pink pant suit. On her breast was a gold pin of an open hand with a DNA stand on the palm. It was the symbol for Humans First, a humans rights organization that feels they need protection from the 'mutant menace.' Apparently we aren't human and only god should have our abilities.

"Bitch." I muttered at my TV through a mouthful of pizza. I was lounging on the couch in my living room. It was the first time I had been to my apartment in days.

I rolled my eyes with distaste as she showed a video clip of a little boy that melted everything he touched. He had to wear a fire hazard suit at all times. I found it sad that he could never have human contact. He could never be hugged by his parents or play with other kids. She was trying to play it off by showing how dangerous he was, how dangerous mutants are. I couldn't stand people like her. I am not a 'born' mutant but I still found everything she was saying super offensive. I hated the word' mutant' but she didn't wouldn't call us 'supers' because that was demeaning to humans and indicated that they were ordinary. She called us mutants because we were mistakes in nature. Lovely.

"Look at all the good the League has done. Just yesterday they stopped a meteor from crashing into the Earth. Many are born with their abilities. It's something that is meant to be." Tiffany Owens beamed with her million dollar smile. She was wearing a yellow sundress and her long black hair was pulled back into a sidebraid. The Tiffany Owens show was a daytime talk show that usually just gossiped about celebrity superhero rumors and often had interviews with superheroes and sidekicks about their adventures. Dr. Evens was a bit heavier than the fluff Tiffany was used to. I felt bad for her. I didn't see the debate ending well.

"Yes, many heroes are born with their powers but many are created in "accidents". Last year there were three hundred and thirty six cases of people trying to create 'accidents' to give themselves powers. About sixty-seven of those were fatalities. The way we glamorize superheroes is dangerous to the impressionable minds of children. They grow up wanting to be like them and the only way is through experimentation that is dangerous to themselves and everyone around them." Dr. Evens told her smugly.

Tiffany's lips were pressed together angrily. I think it's the first time I have ever seen her without a smile. Part of her charm was that she was always smiley and bubbly. Even when superheroes were talking about something tragic while on her show she would lighten the mood. Not this time. I think she was genuinely angry. "Do you know who many tweets I get telling me to eat a sandwich?"

Dr Evens's smug look wavered. "Excuse me?"

"I have always been skinny. It's how I am naturally built but because I am on TV that makes me a role model for little girls. I get criticized for being skinny because little girls starve themselves to try to look like me and some of the other women on TV. If I gained weight to look 'average,' the paparazzi would call me fat. This is the body type I was born with and I have no intention of changing that. Some superheroes are born with their abilities, some are accidentally created and some endanger themselves to acquire abilities; that don't change the fact that they are heroes. Some of us have different callings in life. We all can't be superheroes or models or brain surgeons. Everyone is good at something and has a purpose in life. No one should alter themselves through dangerous methods to find that but supers have no reason to be ashamed of having powers and using them to serve the greater good." That got Tiffany a large round of applause from the audience. Dr. Evens looked absolutely pissed at being told off by a daytime TV host. She opened her mouth to rebuttal but Tiffany quickly called for a commercial break. I have to admit that I was impressed. Tiffany Owens had just gained a lot more respect in my eyes.

Trash TV is my guilty pleasure. I liked watching the talk shows and gossip columns that feature superheroes. I had been getting some mentions lately, which was kind of awesome. I am not going to let it get to my head like some of those glory hound superheroes have but it was kind of nice to be recognized. I was considered one of Liberty Girl's nemeses and she was quickly on her way to becoming one of the most popular superheroes in the city. I think 'nemesis' is a bit of a strong term. I mean we have our differences but I am not exactly a super villain. I am an errand girl.

I mentally flipped the TV channels and came across some superhero 'experts' going over the bank heist from earlier. Apparently one of the civilians outside had filmed my encounter with Night Ranger on an Iphone. Awesome. The times when I win fights, no one is around to see it but somehow there is always some jerk with a camera around when I get my ass handed to me. I cringed a little at how roughly Ranger hit me across the jaw. I had just gotten rid of the headache from our encounter with a lot of pain killer and a bottle of wine. I probably had a mild concussion but that was nothing new. I seriously have one like every other week. I have no idea how I don't have brain damage.

"Is Night Ranger's excessive force really necessary? She isn't even doing anything. This is Eclipsa, not Menace or Power Strike. She isn't an even match for him." An older British man commented. He was some kind of doctor or geneticist or something. I don't remember his name. "Night Ranger has a temper that needs to be controlled. He is going to seriously hurt someone one of these times."

"She is a villain. She knows what she is up against. Besides she makes up for her lack of strength by fighting dirty." A stern blonde woman responded. She was Angelica Rogers and was the agent for some of the minor superheroes. Her hatred for the Syndicate and her harsh "they had it coming" attitude was what she was known for. She was usually on the show to provide a conflicting viewpoint. She made an 'I told you so' gesture with her hands when I kicked Night Ranger on the shin to try and get away from him. "She doesn't give Night Ranger any mercy. Why should he go easy on her? Because she is a girl? Many of the female villains are known to be the most vicious. Look at Napalm or Lady Chaos. It's rumored that Eclipse is Lady Chao's apprentice. She is following her footsteps and given the chance will become a killer, just like her."

"Bullshit." I shook my head at the TV. She doesn't know me. She doesn't know my life. How can she make some kind of judgment like that?

"I don't think so." The other person on the panel spoke up. He was a man in his midthirties and was wheelchair bound. He had once been the sidekick to a well-known superhero but an attack by a super villain had left him paralyzed from the waist down. After his sidekick career had been cut short, Isaac Reynolds had hung up his tights and had gone back to school to become a criminal profiler. "Can we go to the scene where Firebrand kicks Night Ranger while he is down?" The clip skipped to Firebrand's attack on Night Ranger. The screen froze in on my face when Ranger was kicked. I looked shocked and disgusted.

"Look at her face." Isaac commented. "She looks horrified. She was not expecting that. Keep playing the clip." The clips begins and I see myself start to protest with Firebrand before he silences me pulls me into the getaway vehicle with him. "Firebrand looks pissed off by her response. I am not sure what she is doing paired with him and Napalm. They are complete opposites. It might be Lady Chao's attempt to 'toughen' her up. She is highly intelligent and is one of the strongest technopaths there is but she lacks the mentality of a true villain. She isn't brutal or cruel. Her 'dirty fighting', as you put it, Angelica is mostly defensive. I have never seen her outright attack anyone. According to some of the civilians inside the bank, she actually used her electricity to stop fireballs from hitting them. That's not really villain behavior, is it?"

"So, what are you saying? She is some kind of hero?" Angelica let out a sneer.

"No." Isaac responded. "She is a thief but she is not killer. I am not sure exactly what her alliance is with Lady Chaos but it is going to get her killed if she is not careful and it's most likely going to be from her own side. There is a very good chance that she is going to get an assignment that she can't do and they will kill her for it. The Syndicate is nothing but a glorified gang. Many of the higher up positions in the Syndicate require killing a superhero. She is clearly an apprentice now but there will come a time when she is asked to show her loyalty. From what I have seen of her demeanor I don't think she can do it. She needs to get out while she has the chance. I hate seeing someone with so much potential just waste their life, for what? Money? She could be the next Steve Jobs. I have seen some of her devices she uses. Why does she waste her time being a criminal?" Isaac shook his head with a sigh.

Angelica gave him an unapologetic shrug. "Bad childhood? Isn't that what you psychological profilers always say?"

"Possibly." Isaac just shrugged back. "She is an interesting study. I would like to learn more about her but she kind of hides from the camera and spotlight. I find it a bit odd that she shies away from it. Many of the heroes and villains seem to like the media attention."

"What does she have to hide?" Angelica demanded.

Isaac just shrugged. "I don't know."

"Maybe it's however she got her powers." The old British man jumped back into the conversation. Isaac and Angelica's head whipped towards him so fast I was surprised that they didn't get whiplash.

"What do you mean?" Angelica demanded.

The man just shrugged. "Very few human minds can handle technopathy. It is a machine-like thought process. It is like having a computer for a brain. Most born with technopath abilities tend to be sociopaths. They cannot relate to human emotions. Eclipsa clearly has the ability to do that. In the clip we just saw, she sympathizes with Night Ranger. If she was a true technopath, she wouldn't be able to do that. So she must be a created super. The problem with that though is that technopathy and other psychic abilities that have to do with the mind are very very hard to create. The human mind can only handle so much and created supers that acquire mental abilities usually die soon after from aneurysms or blood clots. It is just too much stress for the mind to handle." He explained. Most of what he was saying was news to me. I knew that there weren't very many other technopaths around but I had no idea that was the reason why.

Isaac looked particularly intrigued. "So how can she be a created technopath?" He wanted to know.

"I have a bit of a theory…" The man hesitated like he wasn't sure if he should announce it to the world yet but shrugged. He was already on live TV, might as well just go for it. "She is very intelligent. I think that it is not part of her mutation; she was just born with a high I.Q. Whatever gave her abilities thrived on that structure and was able to develop without significant trauma to the brain. Her mild electrical abilities are also a side effect of whatever the source of her powers is because that is not normally something associated with technopathy." He explained.

"So what could have given her powers?" Angelica wanted to know.

The man shrugged apoplectically. "I have no idea. Most of my area of expertise is on strength and power based abilities like many of the superheroes possess. The mental based abilities are a lot harder to study unless you possess mental abilities as well. Even then it is difficult to get clear recordable data due to the individual differences in power and objectivity of the researchers when they need to use their own abilities to record the data."

He must have lost Angelica when he started talking about psychic data collection because her eyes glazed over a little and she just nodded.

A bell dinged and Isaac wheeled his chair to the center of the room to conclude the episode. "That means we are out of time. I want to thank our audience for being with us today and I also want to thank our heroes that protect our city. Not just the superheroes but the everyday heroes like the firemen, police officers, doctors and anyone that does what they can to help other. I especially want to thank our guest, Dr Byron Gazelle for his theory on technopathy and Eclipsa. He has a book coming out called The Human Genome Theory?, looking at the origins of super mutations. Be sure to check it out."

I flipped the TV to cartoons when the credits began to scroll across the screen. I had enough gossip for the day. Holy Hell. That was the most anyone has ever talked about me and I didn't like it. Usually all I got was how my hair looked or commentary on a fight, usually in favor of the superhero. I had never been analyzed like that before and it left me sick to my stomach. They had been scary accurate.

I could kill someone if I had to. Maybe. If I really really had to do it and it was in self-defense. I had almost killed Liberty Girl the other night… sort of. I still wasn't sure if I had actually been about to go through with it or not. I didn't like that they indicated that I was soft though. I am not soft. I am a hardened criminal. I kick puppies and steal candy from babies. Not really. I love puppies and I don't know what I would do with candy that had been slobbered on by a baby. Seems unsanitary. I am also not allowed to have candy. Lady Chaos has me on a strict diet to get me into shape. Okay, I am rambling. That is something I do when I am nervous. If the media was calling me soft I was kind of afraid that the Syndicate would make me do something to prove that I wasn't soft. I very highly doubted that I would like it.

There was also the problem with my origin story. I kind of let everyone just assume that I had been born with my powers. I had no idea that there were differences between normal technopaths and me. Dr Gazelle calling me out like that on TV didn't look good. I knew Lady Chaos wasn't going to appreciate that she had been kept in the dark on the origin of my powers.

Speak of the devil… I grit my jaw as I trembled a little when I saw the caller ID on my phone. Lady Chaos's temper was something to fear.

"Hello?" I said meekly and quietly.

"Hello, Allegra. Did you happen to catch The Daily Cape today?" Lady Chaos asked me sweetly. The sweetness was something to watch out for. It was the tone her voice made before she ripped someone apart.

"I did…." I answered softly.

"And is there any truth to that?" She wanted to know.

"I…." I hesitated.

"Think about what you are about to say very carefully. I seem to recall asking you about your powers when you were recruited and you answered that you were born with them. Was that a lie?" She demanded coolly. I could hear the ice creeping into her voice.

"I had reason! I-"

"Yes or No." She interrupted.

I let out a soft sigh. "Yes."

"I see." She responded coldly. "Meet me at headquarters."

"Wait. Can I just explain?" I questioned.

"You can explain it to Torment." She responded as she hung up the phone.

Shit….. I am so dead.