Two sets of eyes were fixated on Andern, had been for over a day now. He stared back at them through the thick glass they held him captive behind, one of them had a lollipop in their mouth. They thought it was airtight, that there was no way for him to escape. But he knew it was only a matter of time.

  They’d tried to hold him at the police station over a dozen times over the last four years. He’d escaped every time. They were getting creative, though. Tried to, anyway. They upgraded the barred cells (did they think that would work?), to solid walls (they couldn’t see him, he was gone in a minute), to glass walls (no one watched him, he was gone faster than they could blink), to having someone watch him at all times (no one could keep their attention on one thing for hours), to now having two people watch him.

  So far, it had kept him here for a day and a half. He didn’t want them to see how he escaped, he waited for the inevitable moment they’d slip up at the same time.

  Catching him had become possible for them in the past four years because they didn’t have to do it themselves anymore. A certain sparky nuisance loved to electrocute him. His friends always managed to escape anyway, since he was so preoccupied by Andern whenever he did.

  The officers didn’t bother taking his mask off, they knew he could disguise himself in more ways than they could imagine. Was this his true form? Has anyone ever seen his true form? They’d never know, Andern would make sure of that.

  He waited on the bench in the cell. His friends would come soon, he’d use the distraction to escape. He sat sideways, one foot on the bench, his elbow on his knee and his face in his hand. His hoodie sagged off his shoulder, the hood and sleeves were green, the rest black. A lock of platinum blond hair tickled the bridge of his nose, he pushed it away.

  Waiting was one of the most mundane and boring things you could do. But, unfortunately for Andern, he didn’t have much of a choice. His friends knew they’d need to come to his aid if it took longer than a day for him to come home.

  There was noise outside, lots of shouting and things being thrown.

  “You two!” another officer yelled at the two watching him. “Everyone outside!”

  “But,” one of them hesitated, they pointed at Andern, “We have to—”

  “Chief’s orders! Are you questioning her?!”

  The younger officer stiffened. “No, Sir!”

  Both left. Andern smirked. Finally.

  He scanned the glass wall for any holes; air needed to come in somehow. There was a small one on the ground. He stood up from the bench, stretched his arms up, rolled his shoulders loose and cracked his neck to the side. The world around him became a lot bigger as he was much smaller. On four, short, little feet, he ran to the hole, dragging a long, thin tail behind him. He laid his big, round ears flat on his head and ran through the hole. Outside the cell, he stood on his hind legs. The world turned back to the size he was used to. He felt the tail still there for a moment. He checked his behind. Nope, phantom-tail. He grabbed a fresh lollipop from the officers’ desk, then pulled the plastic off. He shoved one hand in his hoodie pocket and put the lollipop in his mouth with the other.

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  Andern sauntered through the empty corridors of the station. Truly everyone was outside, then? Idiots.

  He made his way to the exit. There was quite a commotion on the other side. He supposed he should hurry up and bail his friends out. The hand holding the lollipop became transparent, along with the rest of him and anything touching his body. He pushed the door open with his shoulder.

  He was met with a mess. Officers hiding behind cars, aiming guns at the two cornered against the wall. One officer talked into a megaphone, an older woman, ordering them to stand down. Andern silently snickered in amusement. He glanced at the two fighting. As if they’d ever do that.

  The girl, Tarian, protected them with an energy shield, bouncing the bullets off. She had her black, coiled hair in a fluffy ponytail and wore a blue zip up crop hoodie, and a black shirt underneath.

  The guy, Esprit, flung loose debris at the officers from behind the shield, not needing to touch it. He wore an opened leather trench coat with the sleeves rolled up to his forearms; a grey shirt; ripped, black jeans; grey, fingerless gloves; and black combat boots. His rich, dark hair hung over one side of his light, golden-brown face.

  Both hid their eyes with black masks, matching Andern’s.

  The sound of an overloaded electrical current sped towards them. Andern tensed. Shit, he should stop stalling.

  A fourth superhuman appeared in the blink of an eye, leaving the atmosphere around them more static than before. A few strands of his own wavy, honey-blond hair stood up straight. Spark glared at the two hiding behind the shield. He wore a violet mask, a matching tight-fitted, long-sleeved shirt, and cargo shorts going over his knees that were held in place with elastic cuffs at the bottom. He had to keep his stuff somewhere, Andern supposed.

  Spark charged himself up, ready to strike. Andern snuck behind the shield. He grabbed Esprit’s wrist and put a hand on Tarian’s shoulder, turning them both transparent along with him. Only they were still able to see each other. Tarian gave him a big smile, Esprit seemed relieved. Andern dragged them both behind him as he ran off, away from danger.

  Behind them, the woman with the megaphone yelled, “Why was no one watching the shifter?!”

  Andern dragged them all the way to their house in the suburbs. They went inside, he let them both go and let himself be visible. He pulled his mask off and stretched with a smile. “Home-sweet-home.” He yelped at the sudden force against him with Tarian’s hug.

  “Thank fuck you’re back with us,” she said.

  Andern put his hand on his chest with an offended look on his face. “Did you doubt me?”

  “You did need our help this time,” Esprit pointed out, standing next to Andern. He had taken his mask off too, showing his gorgeous, amber eyes. Andern had missed them.

  “I only needed a distraction.” He let Tarian go and hugged Esprit. Esprit wrapped his arms around his waist with a sigh.

  “What if we can’t help you next time?” Esprit worried.

  “What could stop you?”

  “I don’t know, a cell specifically made for you?”

  “Unless they somehow create a liveable airtight vacuum, that won’t happen.”

  “Fine, if you’re so confident. But be more cautious, okay?”

  Andern moved back slightly and looked down at his face with a smile. “Okay.” He leaned in as he said, “I missed you.”

  Esprit turned his face to the side, his brows angry, letting Andern kiss his cheek. Andern backed away with a frown.

  Oh. So he was still upset with him, huh? Of course he was, what else is new?