7.09

The Undersiders, a team of young supervillains, arrive at a chaotic battle between the hero team New Wave and the villain Purity, flanked by members of the Empire Eighty-Eight. Grue, despite recent injuries, leads the charge, riding atop Bitch’s monstrous dogs alongside his teammates.

Tattletale guides them towards the fight, using her power to sense Purity’s location. They find New Wave and the Empire engaged in a destructive clash, with flying heroes and villains exchanging energy blasts and manipulating debris. To avoid the main conflict, they navigate through side streets, witnessing the raw power of both sides firsthand.

Their plan is to distract Purity, who is too high up to directly engage. Regent uses his power to disrupt Rune, a young Empire telekinetic, causing her to lose control of the massive chunks of building she’s wielding. They evade the falling debris, but Rune retaliates, forcing them to take precarious leaps between rooftops.

In a desperate maneuver, Skitter convinces Angelica to leap onto a floating piece of debris, using it as a platform to reach safety. They land hard, discovering Grue has reopened his wounds. Before they can regroup, they’re confronted by Night and Fog, two Empire villains with formidable powers.

Fog’s misty form disables Skitter’s bugs, while Night, incredibly strong and fast when unobserved, inflicts grievous wounds on Brutus with a single strike. Tattletale theorizes that Night’s power might be linked to a psychological block, preventing her from transforming when seen.

Skitter prepares to use her bugs to attack Night, but Night pulls out a flashbang grenade. Grue collapses from blood loss just as Night throws the grenade into the air, leaving the Undersiders in a precarious situation.