3.09

The bank’s doors slammed open, revealing darkness. Hostages stumbled out, and the Wards, young heroes, were caught off guard. Aegis, their leader, ordered the fleeing hostages to the ground as darkness, a power wielded by the villain Grue, flooded the street.

Inside, Grue and his team, the Undersiders, discussed their plan. Tattletale, a thinker, sensed something amiss in Aegis’s earlier hesitation and deduced a costume swap: Aegis and Clockblocker had switched outfits. This realization was crucial; Bitch, a monstrous dog-controlling villainess, was redirected to attack the real Aegis.

Vista, a young Ward, warped the street, creating a disorienting funhouse effect. The narrator, Skitter, a bug-controlling villain, sent her swarm through the darkness and distorted space, identifying her teammates and tracking Bitch’s progress.

Bitch, riding her monstrous dog Judas, charged Aegis. Despite his flight, Judas’s prehensile tail snared him, and Bitch slammed him to the ground. Aegis fought back, but Bitch retreated into the darkness, flipping him off.

Clockblocker, who could freeze objects in time, battled Skitter’s swarm. Skitter aimed to trap him in a prison of frozen bugs, but he cleverly froze only the bugs behind him, creating a barrier as he advanced.

Meanwhile, Bitch had unleashed two more dogs on Aegis. He fended them off, his costume torn, his helm shattered. Brutus, one of the dogs, misjudged his attack due to Vista’s distortion, allowing Aegis to counter and take flight. Angelica, another dog, pursued, leaping from a building to catch Aegis in mid-air.

Clockblocker, hampered by Skitter’s swarm, tried to reach the dogs. Skitter used the opportunity to inflict bites and stings, causing him to stumble. She then directed her bugs into his costume, exploiting the gaps in his borrowed armor.

Despite the relentless assault, Clockblocker struggled towards the dogs. Skitter, with a pang of remorse, ordered her bugs to his nose and mouth. He inhaled, choked, and fell. In a desperate move, he froze every bug touching him, effectively pinning himself.

Skitter, victorious but conflicted, withdrew her remaining bugs. She had defeated a hero in a brutal, unsettling way, but the fight wasn’t over. There were still more Wards to face.