“It’s all in her hands.” Gabe said. “But the wheel should be in yours.”

“Right…” Cool grabs the wheel after wiping some blood on his pants. Don’t want any of that on the dash now. “Close the doors, will you? Kind of a hazard.”

“Yeah, duh.” Gabriel winked.

The mixed signal gave Cool all the insight he needed — the man was irresistible. Even if Kaida pretended otherwise, she was absolutely smitten with Gabe. And, now, Cool was, too.

It’s literally a few steps but during the journey back, Kaida goes buckwild. She literally punched through the metal, like, what the fuck? Gabe should shut his mouth immediately. But she’s already barking orders. And considering he’s made of bruisable flesh and brittle bone, he sits his ass down and listens.

Well, that part isn’t literal. He’s got to catch the guy, doesn’t he?

Thud.

Shit.

He dropped him.

But that least he made it inside!

Gabriel’s quick to grab some handcuffs and tie the man down. They don’t need any resistance. If it weren’t for Kaida’s viscous throw leaving him in a daze, it might’ve been more of a problem. In this timeline, however, everything went smooth as can be.

Now… there’s one more person to deal with.

“You got spare cuffs?”

“In the glove compartment!”

Gabriel stretches over and gets to work. If Kaida somehow manages to toss another guy over, then they needed to be ready. And if not, then Gabe might have to jump in to help restrain the man.

You got this, babe!

…

She doesn’t have like dragon-mind-reading, does she?

---

Now we were getting somewhere.

Yeah, maybe, it wasn’t time to be pushing buttons, but if he didn’t now, then when would he get the chance? Plus, with pressure compounding, she was more likely to snap than ever! But he’d have to put a pause on the teasing — lives were at stake here. One bad comment and the whole operation might spin out, get flipped over, and injure a bunch of innocent people. He did not want that on his conscious.

“Isn’t my girlfriend beautiful?”

“Like, for real, are y’all even dating?”

“It’s true love.”

“She looks like she hates you.”

“Hey, stay focused, we gotta slow them down.”

“I’m just saying, she hasn’t smiled, like, at all—”

“Focus.” There was a time and place for games and shenanigans and all that jazz. Gabe wasn’t going to let people get hurt. Especially someone he dragged into this mess. “How do we slow them down…”

“Uh, take the wheel?” They don’t call him The Cool Man because he named himself that.

Gabriel took the wheel as Cool looked out the driver seat window. Clearing his throat, he kept his foot on the pedal, hoping Gabriel could manage a few seconds of steering.

“Hey, Car,” There was a white glow outlining the car. “It’d be real cool if you slowed down.”

And it did. Only by like ten, fifteen miles. But it did.

“Think that’s enough?” Cool asked. “I could push it but…” He coughed up some blood. “It takes its toll.”

---

“It’s not speeding,” Gabe said. “It’s grand theft auto.”

“But it’s also speeding.” Cool added. “They’re going way beyond the speed limit. We are, too, but we’re the good guys.”

“Did you tell the cops that?”

“On it.”

“Jesus—” Gabe facepalmed. “Anyway, it’s important but we don’t need you to transform. We’ll get you in close. But you’ll be going on alone, so take this, my love.” Gabriel passed her an earpiece. “I gotta make sure the driver knows where we’re going, y’know?”

“We’re in the clear!” Cool said. “They’re blocking off some roads and kiting them.”

“That’s where we come in.” Gabriel pulled up a map and looked over the layout of the city. “They’re probably covering here, here, and here.” Then he moved up a few inches on the map. “That’s where we’re gonna end up. You ready?”

Whether or not Kaida was ready, they’d eventually reach their destination. And whether or not she was ready, she’d have to jump. And whether or not she landed on the vehicle, they’d have to continue with the plan of stopping the assailants.

But for the love of god land on the vehicle, Kaida.

Please.

---

“Yeah, yeah!” So hot, yet so cold. Surprising how open she was about dead relatives, too. At a time like this, it was best he did all the talking until that loudmouth came back. “I’ve been doing hero work for like six months now. I’ve caught like three whole criminals.”

“Oh, wow.” Gabriel heard all of that. “Me too! I mean, I started last week, but…”

Gabriel hadn’t caught three criminals. Nor had he started last week. But he needed to show off to his new girlfriend — she didn’t deny it. She accepted it. The plan was working! Soon, he’d be able to find her real romantic interest, throw a few cogs in that, and then create a real-life drama to inspire his next film off of. Manipulative? Yes. Funny? Also, yes. Truth be told, if there had been chemistry between them, he totally woulda went for it.

But Kaida’s so not into it.

A shame… Gabriel always thought himself as Mr. Ikarashi (within the last five minutes at most, mayahaps.)

“Alright, plugging in coordinates.” Gabriel put an address into the GPS. “This is where they’re headed. Looks pretty inconspicuous…” Lightbulb! “Babe, since you have your provisional license, you can act when given permission.” He winked. Had no idea if she had it, but this guy didn’t need to know. “Cool, permission, please?”

“Ugh, granted.”

“Perfect.” Gabe clapped his hands. “If we get close enough, is it possible for you to freeze the lower half of the car? Like a giant ice brake?

---

“Ugh,” Gabe said, defeated. “They are speeding.”

With a sigh, he pulled out his phone and took a photo of the car as it turned, capturing an image of the passenger before they disappeared. The objective was simple. Figure out where they had been and use that to figure out where they’re going. If they’re heading in a particular direction, it’ll be easier to cut them off. And with that information, he can coordinate with local heroes — they were always missing critical information.

“Well, guess I’ll go stop them.” Gabriel turned to the remarkably familiar voice only to see a remarkably familiar person. “Oh, Kaida!”

It wouldn’t surprise him if she had forgotten who he was. They were in different years and different departments — even if he did accidentally find himself working at a hero agency. But there was that important interview she had done a year or two ago. They always blur together, it’s hard to remember when he’s not referencing his catalog.

“Lookin’ super hot as always,” Kaida was not the flirtatious type. And something about that made him want to flirt with her even more. It’s not about chasing what you can’t have but about pressing people’s buttons. And make no mistake, she was very attractive… but so not his type. He preferred his women a little… warmer! “If you got that dragon under control, we should go out sometime.”

Gabriel facepalms himself.

“D’ah, I can’t. I’ve got a car chase to stop.” Then he snaps his fingers as if he realized something. He didn’t, but the pantomime was all part of the act. A very obvious ploy to get her involved. “Come with?”

---

“Wow, rude.” Gabriel let himself in. Apparently, Lonewolf — Er, Mark — was reading a newspaper. But that wasn’t fooling anyone. Everyone knew Mark couldn’t read. Not anything of substance, anyway. His time was spent ogling at those ‘plot-driven mangas’ with scantily clad designs. Not that Gabe had seen any of this, but those were the rumors. Speaking of rumors…

“Don’t act like we aren’t a buddy cop movie in the making. Two halves of the same quirk, the charming, funny, handsome lead. And you, the straight man.” Gabriel snapped his fingers. “A match made in heaven if you ask me.”

Gabriel took a seat and made himself comfortable, placing the gift in his lap.

“Anyway, I’m here to catch up for a bit.” He said. “I just got off my first real hero mission, and I know I’m not a hero, but I did help take down the big bad with the help of my boss.” At this point, he was rambling. It didn’t matter how receptive Mark was. “Was looking for any advice from someone who also is basically human. How do you deal with quirked fighters?”

This was a problem bigger than heroism. This was why he quit vigilantism.

---