The Best Intentions

Chapter Twenty Two

*Samantha Tide*

I watched Blue Blur race around the block, thoroughly annoyed. Aphrodite and I were waiting for her to finish scouting the area for any villains on the sidewalk. A few people stopped to stare, but most fled in the opposite direction when they saw us.

"Here comes that reporter from the bank," Aphrodite whispered to me, nudging me with her elbow.

I outwardly groaned when the girl jumped in front of us. What the hell was wrong with reporters? Did they have no sense of self preservation?

"You two are Aphrodite and Red Wave!" I wonder how she figured that one out. "Do you think I can ask you a few questions?"

"No," I snapped, shoving her out of my way and knocking her phone out of her hand. "We're busy on patrol."

Okay, Blue Blur might have been doing all the work, but it's not like we had superspeed and could quickly check if the area was secure.

"Patrol," the reporter muttered. "If you're patrolling the city, does that mean you're heroes now?"

I rolled my eyes while Aphrodite doubled over with laughter. "Hell no."

The reporter picked her phone up as Blue Blur raced back to us. She nearly fell as she came to a stop, streaks of blue fading into nothing behind her.

"Why are you working together?" the reporter questioned, continuing to irritate me. "Why isn't Dark Skies committing any crimes? How can heroes work with people who claim to be villains? Is Dark Skies still a villain organization? Red Wave, do you still identify as a villain? What about you, Aphrodite?"

Blue Blur sighed, her impatience showing. "Head Rush and I are working with Dark Skies to take down the villains that keep popping up. Coldfront has agreed that Dark Skies won't commit any crimes as long as we're working together."

The reporter was practically bouncing up and down. "Do you-"

A sharp sound pierced my ears as the ground shook violently. Screams followed quickly afterward as the bakery across the street suddenly went up in flames, sending civilians near the explosion flying. Aphrodite and I fell to the ground. For a second, I couldn't process what I just witnessed. Blue Blur didn't hesitate, running towards the scene.

"Let's go," I hissed, pulling Aphrodite up off the ground. I dragged her to the bakery, trying to get there as quickly as I could.

Blue Blur had already gotten most of the civilians at a safe distance. A few of them were injured, but they were all in shock by the looks of it.

"Nobody was inside," she told me. "The bakery was closed."

I turned towards the closest civilian. "What happened?" He stumbled away from me, only making me more pissed. "What happened?"

"I-I don't know!" he stuttered as I started towards him. Blue Blur stepped in front of him, blocking my path.

"Leave him alone," the speed queen demanded.

I clenched my fists, letting them heat up. Aphrodite quickly intervened, manipulating my emotions from furious to calm. I glanced at her, not minding that she had done it without my say. It was probably for the best.