Breach

Audrey and Jamie were both inside one of the Foundation's planes: a black, bulky ship that resembled one of those military cargo planes—minus the size. It even could land on water during emergencies, although Jamie was fortunate enough to never have to experience that.

Audrey was sitting on the other side of the plane, securely belted into her seat. She was gripping each of the hand bars that were beside her.

In the other corner of the plane were several Foundation members, most of them covered head to toe with bland, black uniforms and shiny helmets. They would occasionally talk to one another, but for the most part, they were utterly silent.

Jamie looked back at Audrey. "How much longer?"

"One hour. More or less."

Jamie leaned back against the wall, rubbing a hand over his hair. He let out a quiet grumble.

"At least we'll be able to see Lex and Val soon," Audrey said. "We haven't been able to do a mission together for a long time."

Jamie glanced to the side. He knew what she was getting at. He knew what she wanted to say. But he just couldn't listen. No, that was a lie. He just didn't want to.

"What about the mission out west?" he said.

"We did that two months ago."

"There's plenty of teams that haven't done missions in a while…"

"You know what I meant," she said. "We're not a team anymore. We haven't been one for a while."

"We just have different schedules—"

"Different schedules?" Audrey rolled her eyes as she spoke. "What kind of a team has 'different schedules,' anyway? If we're not together, we're not a team! It's as simple as that."

"Just because we're not attached to the hip doesn't mean we're not a team," he said.

Audrey let out a sigh.

"We used to be… together."

Jamie's eyes widened. He almost didn't know what to say. He then leaned forward, cupping his hands.

"We're still together," His brows furrowed as he talked. "We are. We—"

There was unintelligible chatter that began to get louder and louder. Jamie looked in the direction of the noise, seeing Foundation members huddled in the corner of the ship. Jamie glanced back at Audrey, noticing that she was beginning to notice their tiny congregation too. Jamie considered asking Audrey what they were talking about, until he noticed one of the members walking over.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," the female member said, "But we received new intel from headquarters. It's about your mission."

Audrey was quick to respond.

"What's wrong?"

"It appears there's a security breach at the Vault," she said. "The Foundation wants to deal with the threat. That includes you two."

"But— what about Orehull?" Audrey said. "Who's going to handle the bank heist?"

The woman was quiet for a moment.

"It'll be taken care of. This takes more precedence."

The woman walked away, continuing their chat with the other Foundation members.

Audrey turned to look back at Jamie. Her eyes slowly widened after she saw his face.

He had felt his heart drop at the mere mention of the word 'Vault.' He knew he shouldn't be feeling this way and was most likely overreacting, but he couldn't do anything. No matter how much he tried.

"We can handle it. Trust me."

Audrey's voice broke through his thinking. Her expression was fierce and determined. It almost made him feel better. Almost.

He nodded in agreement, although there was nothing genuine behind it.

'We can handle it'?

That's what we said last time.

——————

Located on a island just thirteen miles off the coast, the Vault was a prison that contained not only non-powered prisoners, but super-powered ones as well. Although the non-powered prisoners outnumbered the super-powered prisoners, the super-powered prisoners were—most certainly—a force that shouldn't be messed with.

Miya and her team of villains were here for just that: a super-powered prisoner. One person that made all of this struggle, all of this planning, all of this headache… worth it.

Or, at least, that's what Miya was trying to tell herself as she—and her three compatriots—blockaded themselves within a high-security Vault control room.

BANG!

"Grhgh!" Darkstar spat out as he pushed his body against the door. Deranged Gorilla, who was beside him, also pushed.

BANG! BANG!

The door jolted again and again from the constant banging from the other side.

Miya stood in the center of the room, facing the massive wall of TV screens and keyboards and buttons that lay before her. Her face was drenched, and her black, curly hair stuck to her forehead like glue.

Electron stood right beside her, her face panic-stricken.

"Did you find it yet? Did you?"

"Quiet!" Miya growled at her. She went back to messing with any key, any button, anything that would help her find the controls for that specific person's cell.

"Hurry up!" Darkstar shouted from the other side of the room. "We don't have much time!"

"I'm AWARE!" Miya shouted back. She took a moment before looking at the TV, then back at the keys, trying hard to remember what cell it was supposed to be.

BANG!

Electron jumped as Vault security pounded against the door once more.

"Miya!"

BANG! BANG!

This time, the door managed to crack open just slightly. Darkstar grimaced, quickly moving over to his left side. He backed up just a few inches, then slammed his shoulder into the door, trapping a security officer's fingers between the crack.

Darkstar yelled out—"Hurry. The Fuck. UP!"—as the officer wailed from the other side of the door.

Miya wanted to murder him, but she kept herself focused. She moved past what felt like hundreds and hundreds of prisoner files and cell details until, finally, she came across a familiar face on the screen.

She smirked.

"Bingo."

Miya swerved her head to look at Electron, who seemed to jump at the mere action.

"You're up, El," she said.

Electron frowned. "But, I don't know if it'll work—"

"How about this: you either use your powers and turn off the controls, or we all go to prison for the next few decades… what's it going to be?"

Electron was silent, darting her eyes around the room as if she was trying to find an alternate way to break out of the room. Miya immediately grabbed both of her arms. Electron could feel the poison-tipped needles that stuck out of Miya's fingers—just waiting to pierce her skin.

"How about this, instead: if you don't do your part, I'll kill you," she said, tightening her grip around El's arms. "Does that sound like a much simpler choice to you?"

Electron rapidly nodded her head. Miya let go of her, watching as Electron moved over to the control panel and placed her hands on one of the electrical outlets. Electron's eyes began to glow pure white—a sign that showed she was using her powers.

"Finally," Miya said with an open smile. "It's begun."

"Did she do it yet?" Darkstar yelled out shortly after.

Miya simply rolled her eyes, walking over to him.

"How much longer do you think you can hold?"

BANG!

"I don't know—" Darkstar grumbled as he pushed himself more into the door. "—two minutes? Urgh!"

Another weight pushed against the door, forcing Darkstar to push twice as much as before.

"On second thought—thirty seconds."

"You can let go now. We're ready," she said.

"What about…Venus?"

"She should still be guarding the ship. We'll meet up with her after we get out of here."

"What if she's—"

"Compromised?" Miya said. She paused for a moment, glancing at Deranged Gorilla. He seemed to be listening intently—at first—but quickly moved back to focusing on the door as soon as he noticed Miya looking at him.

"We'll just have to hijack one of the Vault's planes or helicopters," Miya said.

"How would we—"

"Trust me," she said. "It'll be much easier to do once we get *him* on our side."

BANG!

The door was beginning to crack open. An officer slipped a baton through, trying to pry open the door even further.

Darkstar stared right at Miya the entire time. Her face was stern and determined. She nodded. Darkstar nodded back.

In only a second, both Darkstar and Deranged Gorilla managed to step back and let go. The double doors swung open, inviting in at least a dozen black-clad security guards and personnel. Most of them carried steel batons and stun guns, but a few of them—just enough to be considered an issue—carried handguns. Darkstar, Deranged Gorilla, and Miya stood in a horizontal line, their bodies poised and ready to fight.

Electron's eyes faded from a bright white glow to her regular-looking brown ones. She blinked a few times before noticing the three villains facing off the seemingly endless armada of security officers before them. She removed her hands from the power source, running over to stand behind Miya.

"Don't move!" One of the security officers shouted. "Put your hands where we can see them!"

Miya's hands turned into fists, digging her fingernails into her palm. She glanced at the two villains beside her and smiled. However, despite putting on a brave face, she couldn't help but tremble.

Was there a chance they might lose today?

Perhaps. Miya considered the possibility.

But she knew, like how all the others knew, that losing wasn't an option. They had to win.

"NOW!" she shouted.

The group of villains charged forward.

It was their time to fight.