Kaine hit the ground hard and stayed there. Justin barely managed to keep himself upright, one knee planted in the shattered pavement, one hand braced against the street. Blood ran freely down his face. His chest rose and fell in uneven pulls.
Evermend was beside him in an instant. "Atlas," she said. "Are you still with us?"
Liza hovered close, eyes scanning him for anything worse. "Talk to me."
Justin wiped at his mouth and looked at the red on his glove. "Yeah," he said weakly. "Peachy. Barely a scratch."
Evermend huffed once. "Good. I'd be disappointed if you lost your sense of humor already."
She straightened and looked at both of them. "You're done. Both of you. You've held the line long enough."
Liza nodded without arguing. She moved in close, wrapping an arm under Justin's shoulder. "Come on, hero."
Justin let himself lean into it as she lifted off and carried him back a short distance, landing behind a wrecked truck. He sat heavily, breathing through the pain, eyes still locked on the street ahead.
Evermend turned back just as Kaine pushed himself upright. His armor was cracked. Shadows bled off him in slow curls. His smile was gone.
"You ugly cow," Kaine spat. "I'd hoped I'd never have to see your dumb face again."
Evermend tilted her head. "Charming as ever."
She vanished in a burst of speed. Her kick slammed into Kaine's chest, but this time he caught it, boots skidding back as he braced. Shadows reinforced his grip as he snarled. "Not happening again."
Evermend smiled. "Never say never."
She twisted her leg free and drove forward, pressure building as the air around them snapped. Kaine dug in, shadows surging to meet her. The street trembled.
Justin watched with Liza from where he sat, blood on his hands, heart still racing.
Evermend didn't give Kaine time to recover.
She stepped in and started throwing hands. Hard rights. Tight lefts. Kicks that cracked the pavement when they missed. Every strike was clean and deliberate. When she broke through the shadow armor, she hit him before it could reform. Again and again.
Kaine hit back. Blades of shadow clipped her ribs. A punch caught her jaw. Another tore into her side. She felt all of it. She just didn't slow down. Wounds closed as fast as they opened, skin knitting together mid-motion as she pressed forward without pause.
Justin watched from the ground, wide-eyed. Liza didn't blink.
Kaine snarled and slammed both hands down. A massive wall of shadow surged up, trying to swallow Evermend whole. It closed around her before it exploded outward.
Evermend kicked straight through it, shadows shredding apart as she landed on her feet and kept coming. Justin let out a quiet, stunned laugh. "No way."
Kaine staggered back. "Why won't you die?" he screamed.
Evermend didn't stop moving. "You're such a whiny bitch," she said. "And I'm just an unstoppable force of nature."
She dove and kicked him through the front of a convenience store. Glass rained down. Shelves collapsed. Kaine roared and answered with spikes, shadows erupting from the floor and impaling her from every angle.
For a second, she was pinned.
Then she flexed.
The spikes shattered. Wounds sealed. Torn fabric hung loose, the suit was ripped and scorched, but Evermend was already charging again. She slammed Kaine back out into the street and hammered into him with relentless precision.
Kaine screamed, losing control. "Die. Die. Die."
Abstract shadow figures tore free from the ground and rushed her. She tore through them like paper. Punch. Kick. Elbow. Each one dispersed on impact. No hesitation. No fear.
He tried the spikes again. And again. Nothing held.
Kaine's breathing turned ragged. Shadows flickered and thinned. His attacks slowed. Pieces of his shadow suit sloughed off him and dissolved into smoke as Evermend advanced, calm and unbroken.
She grabbed him by the collar and lifted him off the ground.
Up close, his eyes were wild. Tired. Cracked. "What the hell kind of monster are you?" he asked, voice barely holding together.
Evermend met his gaze. "The protective kind."
She drove her fist into his face.
The impact sent Kaine flying past Justin and Liza, his body crashing into a parked car hard enough to fold the hood. He didn't move again.
Silence followed.
Evermend turned and walked back toward them, breathing steadily. She stopped in front of Justin and held out a hand.
Justin took it and pulled himself up with a wince. He stared at her, still processing. "You might be the coolest woman I've ever met."
Liza nodded once. "Not gonna argue with that."
They all looked back at Brother Kaine, broken and unconscious in the wreckage.
This time, it was over.
Evermend glanced toward the wreckage and the unconscious figures scattered through the street. "Jay-Jay," she said. "Get any available authorities down here. Restraints. Containment. All of it. These bastards were clearly the ones who coordinated all these strikes, and I want them locked down properly."
Liza nodded without hesitation. "On it." She shot into the air and vanished down the block.
That left Justin and Evermend alone with the wreckage.
Justin looked at Kaine's motionless body, shadow armor gone, suit torn and scorched. He shook his head slowly. "You're terrifying," he said. "I mean that in the best way. I could barely land a few good hits on him. You walked in and handled it in minutes."
Evermend shrugged. "Don't sell yourself short."
He glanced at her. "I'm serious."
"So am I," she replied. "You're already hitting like a low B-rank. That's not nothing. You're young. I've been doing this for over twenty years."
She looked back at Kaine. "Experience matters. Timing matters. You'll get there."
Justin hesitated, then asked quietly, "You really believe that about me?"
Evermend met his eyes. "There's no doubt in my mind."
That caught him off guard. "Because of what you saw today?"
"That," she said. "And because you're your mother's son."
Justin blinked. "My mom."
"She was one of my early mentors," Evermend said matter-of-factly. "The reason I got this tough in the first place."
Justin let out a short laugh. "I can only imagine the hell she put you through."
Evermend nudged his shoulder with a smirk. "You have no idea, kid."
Justin smiled despite the pain, looking back at the ruined street. The fight is over; thanks to Evermend, the day has been won.