“What about this?” Vanessa suggested, holding up a slinky black dress that would barely cover Linh’s butt, let alone the rest of her.

  Linh shuddered at the very thought of being seen in that.

  “No,” she replied, shutting the suggestion down, “No way.”

  “Aww,” Vanessa pouted, slipping the dress back on the rack. Kestrel had made good on her threat to take Linh shopping for the ball, and the two women were browsing in an attempt to find an outfit they could both agree on.

  Linh had to make an effort not to think of her as Kestrel while out of uniform and in public. The other woman insisted on it, claiming a separation between her work and personal life was important. Linh, with far less experience, already agreed. Of course Linh had the advantage of being a shifter. Linh and Jade Rabbit were two separate people.

  “It has to be green,” Linh insisted, “That's my theme.”

  Vanessa scoffed, “You people and your themes, you should branch out, go a little daring.”

  Linh sighed, Vanessa had done nothing but pick out daring or even scandalous options for her. Still, at least she wasn't being grabby today.

  “Come to think of it,” Vanessa asked, “Can you even change outfits? Doesn't yours come built in?”

  Linh shrugged, “I can do the transformation without the gown if I want to, it just takes more effort.”

  Vanessa nodded, “Nice feature. Now what about this?”

  She held up a daring number with a cleavage window that had Linh blushing. Even her small chest would spill out of that!

  “No, no way,” Linh denied, “Nothing slutty.”

  “It's not slutty, it's sexy,” Vanessa defended, examining the garment, “Okay, fine. It’s slutty. But you’re still a prude.”

  “You sound like Douche. No wonder you two were an item.”

  “Hey, when I do it, it's classy. Besides, he’s not that bad, especially in private. He can be sweet.”

  Linh sighed, she had to admit, she was coming round to him. He was a sleaze, yeah, but he was also a fantastic hero. It was hard to reconcile the guy that leered at anything with legs with the man in the cheap knight costume entertaining kids, or the hero surrounded by crackling lightning saving the day.

  “I suppose,” Linh muttered, continuing to search for something that appealed. She just couldn't picture herself wearing anything in here, Vanessa having dragged her straight to the boutiques. Still, the other woman was paying.

  “This?” Linh suggested, finding a minidress that wasn't too offensive. She could wear that.

  Jazz snorted, “Hell no, you’d look like someone crammed a baby into a napkin.”

  Linh examined the article. Yeah, Jazz was right. As usual. She put it back, this was proving to be a long day.

  Wait, Jazz?

  Linh spun, to see her friend grinning at her, “Jazz? When did you get here?”

  Her leggy friend shrugged, “Saw you through the window. Blonde goddess, asian midget, you guys stood out.”

  “And who might this be?” Vanessa enquired of Linh.

  Linh started, then quickly made introductions.

  “Oh right, uhh, Vanessa, this is Jazz, my best friend. Jazz, this is Vanessa. From work.”

  Linh added a little bit of emphasis on that last word, knowing that Jazz would pick up on her meaning. Whether or not Jazz would choose to acknowledge her subtle hint to be cool, that was another question entirely.

  “Oh I see,” Jazz replied, turning to Vanessa with a huge smirk breaking out, “That's funny, I don't remember seeing you around at the restaurant…”

  For once in her life, Linh saw Vanessa flat footed.

  “That's, uhh…” the woman began, before Jazz burst into laughter.

  “I know,” Jazz dismissed, “Huge fan by the way.”

  “You can trust Jazz,” Linh supplied, “Her only talents are being a bitch and keeping secrets.”

  “And I’m very good at both.”

  Jazz stuck her hand out, “Seriously though, you're awesome.”

  Vanessa laughed, batting Jazz’s hand aside to give her a hug. The two women were practically the same height, although Vanessa was wearing some aggressive heels that even Linh’s super powered ankles would struggle in. Linh fought a small spike of jealousy at seeing her much taller friends.

  “Now,” Jazz said, when they broke away, “You’re shopping in the wrong spot.”

  Vanessa raised a perfectly maintained eyebrow.

  “Really?” she asked, a tone of challenge in her voice.

  Jazz nodded, “First rule of Rabbit Wrangling, Linh will not wear anything that isn't poofy, fluffy or frilly.”

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  “That's not true!” Linh began, before she looked down to see her fluffy hoodie and poofy skirt.

  “Okay, maybe it is,” she admitted.

  “I see,” Vanessa said, “Do you have a store in mind?”

  Jazz nodded, hooking her arm through the older woman’s elbow.

  “Come with me my dear, and I shall introduce you to Bunny Heaven.”

  “See?” Jazz said with all of the world’s supply of smug, “Bunny Heaven.”

  Linh knew she was being teased, but she didn't care. Her friend was right, this was heaven.

  “How long has this been here, and why did you not tell me about it?” Linh demanded, eyes sparkling as she took in her surroundings.

  All around her were dresses, each frillier and lacier than the last. Boots, most of them platform and absolutely festooned with buckles and lace lined the shelves. Knee socks topped with ribbons, skirts with bows, coats with more toggles than sense. They even had tiny hats. Tiny hats!

  Linh was in love. She could die happy. Like, actually die, not even the pseudo fake dying that she did sometimes. Actual, permanent death.

  “I saw it this morning,” Jazz told her, “I was planning to surprise you with it later, but now seems like a good chance. You need something to wear.”

  Linh nodded vigorously.

  “I absolutely do,” she agreed, already gingerly running her fingers over fabric, “I need all of it to wear.”

  “Is this what kids wear these days?” Vanessa asked curiously, gazing around with an air of idle interest.

  “Goth Loli.” Jazz explained, “It's a whole thing.”

  “I never knew,” Vanessa confessed, before she froze.

  “Oh no,” she muttered, loud enough for even Linh, currently elbow deep in dresses, to notice.

  “What's wrong?” Linh asked curiously.

  “I’m… I’m old!”

  Linh blinked, looking to Jazz who just shrugged.

  “So?”

  Vanessa gasped, hand clutched to her heart.

  “So? I don't know what the trends are! I’m a washed up hag!”

  Jazz rolled her eyes, “If I looked that good at your age, I’d be happy.”

  “At my age? How old do you think I am?”

  “Uhh, forty seven?” Linh suggested.

  “I… no!” Vanessa protested, “I’m barely thirty!”

  Linh shrugged, “30 is still pretty old.”

  “That's it, I’m stealing some of your youth.”

  Vanessa dove forward, wrapping her arms around Linh who squeaked in protest.

  “Bah, I’m sorry! Let me go!”

  The older woman relentlessly rubbed her knuckles into the much smaller girl’s scalp.

  “No teleporting away this time!” Vanessa teased as Linh squirmed in an attempt to get free.

  “Noo! Jazz, help me!”

  Jazz however, simply watched.

  “Let the old lady have her fun,” Jazz said, “She doesn't have all that many years left, she may as well enjoy them.”

  The next day:

  “In position,” Linh muttered, crouching behind the air conditioning unit on the roof opposite of their target building.

  “Same here,” Skip said. Linh couldn't see him, he was on the other side of the building, but she could see the shadowy figure of Thunderdude down the street.

  “Ready to rock and roll,” Douche confirmed, taking his own position.

  Grimstep had tracked the gang that was distributing the new drug throughout the city back to this storage unit on the edge of town. Earlier that day Kestrel had briefed the team back in the base.

  “Remember, we’re working with the police on this one, the suspects are baseliners, minimal force team,” the field leader reminded them over the comms. She was in position on the roof behind Linh, ready to take to the skies when the raid started. She wasn't in the air yet, her giant glowing birds would be a dead give away that something was going down.

  Something like this wasn't their usual jurisdiction, but the AFP had asked for their assistance, and Pacific Vanguard was more than happy to oblige. The super heroes would be able to handle the situation with far less risk than the baseline officers, and they could never rule out the possibility of powered gang members. Not that there were any known to be present.

  “I hate pulling my punches,” Douche grumbled, “It's a pain in the ass.”

  Privately, Linh agreed with him on that one. She hadn't been a hero long, but she hated fighting humans. It was always a worry about accidentally injuring someone permanently. She would almost prefer to have another bruiser to take on. Almost.

  Still, it was part of the job, and they had work to do.

  “Ready and waiting,” Sentinel said, the hero hovering high above the building. His flight systems could be surprisingly quiet when needed, although he was restricted to moving at a crawl if he didn't want to rattle windows.

  “Everyone ready?” Kestrel asked, seeking the final confirmation.

  Everyone replied with the affirmative.

  “Go.”

  Linh sprang forward, launching herself at the target building, aiming for a window at the top of the wall. Around her the night exploded into violent motion. A sonic boom sounded as Sentinel rocketed down, intending to crash through the ceiling, while a crack of lightning signalled the advance of Douche.

  Shock and awe was the style of the day, the intent being to hit them so fast that the bewildered criminals within wouldn't even consider resisting.

  Linh crashed through the window, landing in a small office space alongside two incredibly surprised men. They barely had enough time to swear before Linh had them wrapped up and gagged. She was charging for the next room before they had even finished hitting the ground, ignoring the door to simply barrel through the plaster wall. She burst into the room, filling it with dust as she raced forward.

  Only one man in here. He was shouting and reaching for a weapon. Linh had him on the floor, foot planted firmly into his chest to send him sprawling, silken sleeves binding him nearly at the same time. She kicked his gun into the corner and moved. The next room was clearly some kind of break room. There were three men in here, they had their weapons out. One got a shot away. Linh teleported, he went down first, legs swept out from beneath him. The second was grabbed by the wrist and hurled into the second. They went down in a tangle of limbs.

  Elsewhere Linh could hear gunfire, crashes and the distinct crack of lightning. The place had woken up. Grim’s scouting and Sentinel’s scans had said there were nearly fifty people in here. Linh had taken six. There was more to do.

  She kept moving. Surprise was gone, but she still had speed and momentum to exploit. Linh charged through the next door, emerging into a corridor. She was met with a hail of bullets. One clipped her in the shoulder. She did her best to ignore the pain as it ripped through her.

  She teleported, landing behind two men who were posted up at the end of the hallway. A sweep of her sleeves and they were on the floor.

  “Fuck,” she swore, clutching at her shoulder. That had hurt. It seemed like being shot wasn't something that got easier with practice.

  Movement.

  One of the guys on the floor rolled over, holding down the trigger on his machine pistol. Linh kicked out with a foot, catching the weapon and knocking it free. She also shattered the man’s wrist in the process.

  She bound the two before they could try again.

  “That wasn't nice,” she panted.

  The snap of a gun bolt being closed alerted her to someone on the other side of the wall. Linh blessed her enhanced hearing as she dove to the side, bullets ripping through the air where she had just been standing. Someone was firing through the wall, indiscriminately hosing down the corridor without regards to who was on the other side.

  The bullets stopped. Linh didn't waste time. She kicked forward, barrelling head first through the wall, planting her shoulder into the stomach of the man on the other side. So did Linh, her wounded shoulder hitting the floor and causing her to see red for a second.

  The delay almost cost her. She rolled, barely avoided an axe that thudded where her head had just been. She rose to her feet, reached out to snag the axe head as the wielder took another swing.

  He stumbled forward, yanked off balance as she tugged. She met his stumble with a palm to the chin. His eyes rolled up and he dropped. Linh tossed the axe into a corner.

  “These guys have some serious kit,” she said over the comms, noting the assault rifle the first guy had been using.

  “There's some military grade in here,” Douche confirmed, “Where the fuck did they get this shit?”

  “Question for later,” Kestrel replied, “Status?”

  “I’m clear,” Sentinel reported, “Sixteen suspects secure."

  “Just put the last down,” Douche said, “About to move on.”

  “Rabbit?”

  “I’m good, ten down, got a slight knick but I’m fine.”

  “I have three,” Kestrel said. “We’re almost done. Skip?”

  “Not much on my end… Shit!”

  The walls shook with the force of an explosion from somewhere outside.

  Linh’s heart stopped.

  “Skip?”

  “Fucking RPG, I’m good.” Skip panted.

  “Looks like Playtime is over, go hard people,” Kestrel ordered.

  Linh’s heart resumed, pounding even faster than before. If these guys were firing rockets…

  Kestrel was right, the kid gloves were off now.

  Linh got moving again. She swept the remaining rooms, not finding anyone.

  “I’m clear,” she reported, “What now?”

  “To me,” Sentinel said, “There's a basement that needs a ferret.”

  “On my way.”

  Linh launched herself out a nearby window, turning midair to flash step up onto the roof. From there she was one hop away from the hole Sentinel had made for his own entry.

  She made the plunge, landing amongst a scene of devastation. Limp gang members lay throughout the wreckage of crates and shelves, with Sentinel hovering in the middle of the space, watching for further signs of movement.

  “Door to your left,” Sentinel told her. Linh looked across to see a metal door set into a slight dip in the floor.

  “Right,” Linh thought, “Guess it's basement time.”