The air in the bank lobby turned heavy, thick with the smell of ozone and the stench of the Grounder's rotting sludge. Kenji saw the massive glob of tar flying toward him, a dark projectile designed to snuff out his momentum.
He didn't dodge. He didn't swerve.
Kenji dug his heels into the marble wall, the lead-lined soles of his boots screeching as he came to a dead stop. For a heartbeat, he hung there, defying gravity, his body coiled like a high-tension spring.
"Don't just hit the guy, Kenji," he reminded himself, his heart hammering a frantic rhythm against his ribs. "Hit the power."
The Charge-Up
He threw his hand forward, palm open. The Red Static didn't just flicker this time; it coiled around his arm like a nest of angry vipers. The lead lining in his sleeves began to glow a dull, dangerous orange.
"I don't care who your boss is," Kenji's voice-modulator boomed, vibrating with the raw energy of the storm. "You're getting mud on the floor."
The Grounder laughed, a wet, gurgling sound. "You're just a spark, kid. I'm the abyss!" He lunged, his tar-mace arms swinging for Kenji's head.
"THUNDER... PULSE!"
The Collision
Kenji released it. Not a bolt, but a shockwave.
A concentrated sphere of crimson lightning erupted from his palm. When it hit the Grounder's tar, it didn't just break it—it vaporized it. The intense heat turned the liquid sludge into a cloud of dry, harmless soot in a microsecond. The blast didn't stop there; the kinetic force slammed into the Grounder's chest, sending the villain flying backward through the bank's heavy mahogany teller desks.
The Result: The Grounder hit the back wall with a thud that shook the entire building. He slumped to the floor, unconscious, his "tar" form dissolving into a puddle of grey ash.
The Cost: Kenji's right sleeve was scorched to the shoulder. His arm felt numb, buzzing with a pins-and-needles sensation that made his fingers twitch uncontrollably.
The Exit
Through the settling dust and the screams of the remaining hostages, Kenji saw the blue flashing lights of the police cruisers reflecting off the broken glass of the front doors. More importantly, he saw Lady Law (Rank #9) landing on the sidewalk outside, her golden cape fluttering in the wind.
"Crap," Kenji hissed. "Leo, she's here! If she catches me, I'm going to be dissected in a government lab!"
"Go, Ken! Out the way you came!" Leo's voice was frantic in his ear. "The Vanguards don't play nice with 'unlicensed variables'!"
Kenji didn't wait. He blurred. He didn't go through the vent; he shattered a side window and became a streak of red light, disappearing into the dark alleys of the city just as Lady Law stepped into the lobby.
The Mystery Remains
Outside, Hana stood by the police tape, her camera still recording. She hadn't caught the villain's face, but she had a three-second clip of a Red Blur standing over a fallen monster, glowing like a dying star.