The street barely looked like a street anymore. Cars were overturned. Storefronts were shredded. Smoke rolled low as Braxton squared up against Luther in the middle of it, fists raised, feet planted deep into the cracked pavement.
Luther was huge. Broad shoulders. Thick gray hide stretched tight over muscle. Braxton felt it every time they traded blows. Strength met strength, and neither of them gave.
Luther grinned, blood on his teeth. "Your friend Atlas isn't walking away from Kaine," he rumbled. "You should get ready to watch him die."
Braxton snorted and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "I'm not worried about Justin." He stepped in and drove an elbow into Luther's jaw. "You should be worried about you."
The hit landed clean.
Luther didn't fall. He barely moved. He answered with both fists slamming into Braxton's gut. The air punched out of Braxton's lungs as he staggered back a step, boots scraping over debris. They went at it again.
Fists. Forearms. Shoulders. No finesse. No space. It felt less like a fight and more like two freight trains colliding over and over. Braxton caught a hook across the cheek and returned it with a headbutt that cracked against Luther's horn. Pain flared. Luther laughed.
They were both bleeding now. Both breathing hard. Neither slowing down.
Braxton grinned through it. "You know," he said between punches, "you're one tough son of a bitch."
Luther roared and charged.
Braxton ducked under the rush and hooked his tail around Luther's ankle. He yanked hard. Luther stumbled just enough. Braxton pounced, driving him down with a shoulder and raining blows onto his chest and jaw. One. Two. Three. Each hit landed heavy.
Luther pushed back to his feet anyway, bellowing as he swung wildly. They stopped defending entirely. Every punch was meant to hurt. Knuckles cracked against hide. Bodies slammed together. The street shook with it.
Braxton felt his arms burning. His ribs screamed every time he breathed. He didn't stop.
He slipped inside a swing and planted his feet. One punch. Then another. Then a full-body hook that snapped Luther's head sideways. Luther staggered.
Braxton didn't let up. He drove forward and finished it with a straight shot that dropped Luther flat onto his back.
The big man didn't get up.
Braxton stood there for a second, chest heaving, fists clenched. Then he threw his arms up with a rough laugh before his legs gave out and he fell onto his back, staring up at the smoke-filled sky.
"Hell of a fight," he muttered.
Above him, wings flashed through the haze. Liza and Harpy collided again, claws and kicks trading at full speed. Braxton watched for a moment, catching his breath.
"Just a second," he told himself.
The air above the street churned as Liza and Harpy slammed into each other again. Feathers scattered as claws scraped across Liza's suit. Harpy screeched, the sound sharp enough to cut through the noise below.
"God, you're a pain in the ass," Liza snapped, twisting out of the way as talons missed her face by inches.
She kicked hard, catching Harpy in the ribs and forcing some distance between them. Liza tried to pull up and away, eyes already darting toward the street where Fantastica was down.
"I need to help my teammate," she said. "So if you could stop existing for about five seconds."
Harpy didn't slow. She surged forward, wings beating hard as she clawed and struck, forcing Liza to stay defensive. "The skies are mine," Harpy shrieked. "You don't leave. You don't run."
Liza gritted her teeth as a talon raked across her shoulder, sparks jumping from the impact. She rolled with it and slammed her knee into Harpy's chest. The bird woman barely reacted, answering with a savage headbutt that rattled Liza's vision.
"Master Kaine doesn't fall," Harpy continued, circling her. "I won't fail him. Not for anything."
Liza steadied herself, wings flaring wide as she caught her balance. "Yeah," she said, breathing hard. "That loyalty thing's gonna get you killed."
Harpy dove again. Liza met her head-on. They collided in midair, grappling as they spun. Harpy clawed for Liza's eyes. Liza twisted her head away and drove an elbow into Harpy's neck.
Liza forced herself to stay focused. She doesn't see any opening to break away from Harpy unless she defeats her head-on. Harpy lunged again, relentless. Liza squared her shoulders and met the charge.
Liza stopped reacting and started reading.
Harpy was vicious. Effective. Every attack came fast and hard, claws slashing with intent to maim. But there was no patience in it. No variation. Once Liza saw the pattern, she couldn't unsee it.
She took another hit across the arm and gritted her teeth, ignoring the sting. Cuts and welts burned across her body as she juked sideways, letting Harpy overshoot. A claw missed her face by inches.
Liza rolled with the momentum and snapped a kick into the back of Harpy's head. The impact sent feathers scattering. Harpy shrieked and spun, lashing out blindly. Liza stayed close.
She weaved through the attacks now, dodging by feel, letting Harpy wear herself down. Every miss opened her up. Liza punished it with short, brutal strikes. A punch to the ribs. A kick to the thigh. Another to the jaw. Harpy screamed and charged again.
Liza cut underneath the dive, circled hard, and caught her from behind. She grabbed Harpy's right wing, planted her foot, and wrenched. The crack was loud.
Harpy howled as she spiraled downward, slamming into a parked car with a crunch of metal. The body went still. Liza hovered for half a second, chest heaving. Then she turned and flew low toward the street.
Braxton was just pushing himself upright, bloodied and breathing heavily. He looked up as she landed nearby. "What's the play?" he asked. "Do we help Justin?"
Liza followed his gaze. Justin streaked through the air, shadows exploding around him as Kaine's pikes tore through the space he'd just vacated.
She shook her head. "We'd last three seconds in that mess. Those shadows pierced Fantastica. They'd shred us."
Braxton frowned. "But Justin—"
"He's holding," Liza said. "For now."
She pointed toward Fantastica, still down by the car. "You're fast. Grab him and get him treatment. I'll find backup. That's the only way we help right now."
Braxton hesitated, then nodded. "Yeah. Okay."
He scooped Fantastica up and took off down the street, fast enough to blur. Liza lifted back into the air, wings aching as she gained altitude. Below her, Kaine pressed Justin harder, shadows blooming with every movement. She turned toward the skyline and pushed herself faster. This fight isn't over yet.