Climbing a rusted fire escape while carrying a hundred-and-twenty pound college girl is a challenge for any hero. Doing it while your hero costume is actively trying to divorce your body is a legal and moral catastrophe.

  *Clang*.

  My chrome boot hit the second-story landing, the sound echoing too loudly in the rain-soaked alley backing up to Yuna's apartment. I felt the magnetic latch on my left hip give out with a final, pathetic *thwack*. The silver string of the suit sagged loosely, the tension on the chest straps finally surrendering to the rain and the weight of my passenger.

  The chrome slips slid aside like the curtains at a premiere.

  I froze, one foot on the next rung, my heart hammering against my ribs. I was shivering, soaked to the bone, and now - for all intents and purposes - completely topless in the middle of a thunderstorm.

  "Oh," the girl whispered. She was wrapped around my neck like a terrified koala, her face inches from mine. Her gaze drifted down, her eyes widening as she took in the full, silver-etched reality of my situation - my bare nipples. "Your ... your armor. It's ... gone."

  I let out a long, shaky sigh that was 10% cold and 90% soul-crushing resignation. She was being polite even calling it armor. I couldn't fix the suit. I didn't have a spare hand to try to tuck myself back in, and if I let go of the railing to try, we'd both plummet into the trash cans below.

  "Don't look," I rasped, my voice a hollow metallic echo through the silver veil. "Just ... don't look. We're almost there."

  "I'm not looking!," she lied instantly, her face turning a shade of red that was visible even in the dark. She leaned in closer, burying her face into the crook of my neck - which only served to press her warm, yellow windbreaker directly against my bare chest.

  It was the most awkward rescue in the history of Bay City. I scrambled up the final flight, a silver-haired goddess of the night who was currently failing at basic modesty. By the time I reached our window, I wasn't even thinking about S-Korp anymore. I was thinking about how much I wanted to crawl into a hole and stay there until the sun burnt out.

  I kicked the window frame with a metallic heel. The latch flipped and the window slid up.

  Yuna was there. She didn't look like a relieved best friend. She stood with her arms crossed over her chest, her face illuminated by the harsh purple glow of computer monitors behind her. She took one look at me - silver hair, mercury tattoos, and the total lack of upper-body coverage - and her jaw tightened.

  "You're late," she said, her voice flat and dangerous. "And you're missing my moped."

  "S-Korp hit the fire escape! I fell on the van! There was no way back up to the roof where I'd stashed my clothes, and it's not like I could drive through the streets dressed like this!" I scrambled inside, practically dumping the rescued girl onto the rug before lunging for a discarded throw blanket and wrapping it around myself like a cocoon. "And this suit is garbage, Yuna! It's garbage! It's a chrome plated lie!"

  "It's not garbage, the polarity is just messy because of the rain," Yuna scoffed, but her eyes immediately snapped to the girl. She was sitting on the floor, shivering, staring at me with the kind of pure, unadulterated adoration usually reserved for puppies and cult leaders.

  "Who is she?" Yuna asked, her voice dropping to a low, protective growl.

  "I'm Piper!," the girl chirped, seemingly oblivious to the fact that she was in a hacker's hideout. "And she's ... she's just incredible! She beat up four guys! She's an angel!"

  Yuna turned back to her monitors, her fingers flying across the keys, letting out a grunt. "According to the biometrics and the Eye-Bee feed, the Scintilla suit was a massive success. The efficiency rating was off the charts."

  The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

  "What do you mean, effective?," I shrieked, my voice cracking. "The suit was a fucking disaster! I was topless for the entire back half of the mission! I had to carry a civilian across three sectors while my boobs were literally out in the wind!"

  Yuna spun her chair around, looking at me with a terrifyingly calm, tactical expression. "And?"

  "And?!" I sputtered. "And it's a problem, Yuna! I'm supposed to be a hero, not a ... a pin-up girl!"

  "Kurumi, babe, think for a second," Yuna said, gesturing at the screen where the tactical squad's leader was currently frozen mid-stun-lock, staring at my nude chest. "Did he hit you? No. Did he even remember he had a gun? No. He probably couldn't have even told you his own name. He experienced a total cognitive reboot because of your 'wardrobe malfunction.' It provided a five-second window of pure, psychological stun. Isn't that the point?"

  I stared at her, my mouth hanging open. "The point was for the suit to stay on!"

  "No, the point was to win," Yuna countered. "And you did win. Plus, the engagement metrics on the 'leak' videos I'm prepping are going to be legendary. You're going to be the most famous topless vigilante in the city by breakfast."

  "You are not posting those! Use the blur, Yuna! Use the thickest blur you have!"

  "Fine, fine. Strategic lens flares," Yuna smirked, though I could see her already saving an unedited backup of the video into a folder labeled 'Research.' "Now, go get in the shower. You smell like ozone and failure."

  ---

  An hour later, the apartment was quiet, but the air was thick with a new kind of tension. I was huddled in a hoodie and leggings, while Piper sat on the edge of the couch, sipping cocoa.

  Yuna was hovering over her with a handheld scanner. "Hold still," she muttered, pressing it to Piper's temple.

  *Chirp-chirp. Rrrrr-vrttt.*

  The scanner let out a weird, rhythmic staccato. Yuna's eyes widened for a split second before she masked it with a frown, putting the device away.

  "What's the verdict?," I asked, leaning against the kitchen counter.

  Instead of answering, Yuna turned to Piper. "So you have no powers? No family history of powers?" But I knew that look on her face - she was hiding something as her fingers tapped nervously against the scanner's casing.

  "Nope! Just me. I'm pretty boring," Piper smiled, her gaze drifting back to me. "Mom and dad weren't Super either. But ... I felt warm when she was carrying me. Like I was plugged into a charger. It was probably just my emotions, from being rescued."

  Yuna nodded, but her jaw was tight, as if she wanted to say something but was holding herself back. "Look, it's 3:30 AM. S-Korp knows her apartment and now she knows us, so she can't go back. I guess she'll have to stay here tonight." Yuna's face twisted like she was taking a bite of a lemon. "She can take the couch."

  Shaking my head, I disagreed with my friend. "The couch smells like spilled energy drinks and your gym bag, Yuna. The bed is huge. We can all just ... squeeze in there for one night."

  Yuna froze. She looked at Piper - who was beaming at the idea of a sleepover with her savior - and then back at me with an expression of horror and betrayal on her face. "Fine," she gritted out. "One night. Let's get ready for bed."

  I went to the bathroom to brush my teeth. When I walked into the bedroom five minutes later, I stopped dead in the doorway.

  Piper was already under the covers on the far left of the bed, but it was Yuna who made me do a double-take. Yuna, who had slept in the nude since the day I met her. Yuna, who had zero concept of personal space. She was sitting on the right side of the bed, wearing a thick, high-collared, long-sleeve sweatshirt and literal sweatpants. She looked like she was prepared for a trek through the Arctic.

  "Yuna?" I blinked. "You're wearing ... clothes?"

  "It's a drafty night," she snapped, pulling the duvet up to her chin and refusing to make eye contact. "And we have a guest. I'm being a responsible, modest host."

  I climbed into the middle, feeling the bizarre energy of the room. On my left, Piper scooted just a little closer, her arm brushing mine. On my right, Yuna was a silent, fleece-covered fortress of jealousy.

  As I closed my eyes, I felt a strange, humming sensation. It was coming from Piper. It was faint, like the ghost of a static shock, echoing in time with my own heartbeat. I couldn't figure out what it was, but made a mental note to ask Yuna in the morning.

  Sighing, I tried to will myself to fall asleep. I was trapped between a worshipful rescued waif and a jealous best friend. This wasn't a scene from a Shonen Battle Manga. This was a disaster.