Electric Girl zipped ahead, dancing from rooftop to rooftop, bolts of energy sparking at her heels. "Woohoo! You better keep up, Ice Queen!" she shouted back with a grin.
Ice Queen remained silent, gliding across the rooftops with elegance, her boots leaving a thin sheet of ice on the tiles beneath. She wasn't about to waste energy on banter. Her eyes were locked onto a faint, blinking signal on her wrist display—the tracer embedded in the stolen money bag was active and on the move.
"He's heading into the warehouse district," Ice Queen said through the comms.
"Ugh, why do they always hide in the creepiest parts of the city?" Electric Girl groaned, her voice crackling a little with static.
"Because that's where the real filth festers," Ice Queen muttered.
Down below, the red mask villain dashed into a narrow alley, huffing and cursing under his breath. His shoulder bag bounced wildly against his back as he ran.
"Damn heroes... what the hell kind of freak freezes a gun?!"
He stumbled through the side door of an abandoned textile factory, slamming it shut behind him. The room inside was dark, lit only by a few flickering industrial bulbs hanging from the ceiling like dying stars.
He dropped the bag on the floor and doubled over, panting.
A low mechanical voice echoed from the shadows.
"You're late."
The red mask froze, his fingers twitching. "S-Sorry. I had a minor hiccup. Freakin' heroes showed up. One of them—Ice Queen—she iced my gun!"
From the far end of the room, a figure stepped out. He wore a black cloak with no markings, his face hidden beneath a deep hood. Only a silver pendant—a triangle with an eye etched in the middle—shone faintly in the low light.
The red mask swallowed hard. "You're... you're Unknown, right?"
The figure said nothing, merely tilted his head. Silence filled the air like smoke.
"I—I got the cash, just like you said. No cops followed me. The tracer was—"
A sharp beep interrupted him.
Unknown raised a hand slowly. On his palm, a small device flashed red.
The villain's heart sank. "No... no no no—"
"You led them here," Unknown said, his voice distorted through some kind of modulator. "How sloppy."
"I didn't mean to! I swear! Just—give me another chance, please!"
Unknown didn't answer right away. He walked toward the bag, crouched, and examined its contents.
"Marked bills," he murmured. "And a tracer. You've failed."
"No! Wait—!"
Before the red mask villain could plead again, a loud *snap* echoed through the warehouse.
A blast of lightning struck the ceiling, blowing apart a metal beam and showering sparks everywhere.
"Found ya!" Electric Girl yelled from above as she dropped into the warehouse, electricity crackling off her gloves.
Right behind her, Ice Queen landed softly, raising one arm. A wave of cold burst from her fingertips, instantly icing the floor around the red mask villain, locking his feet in place.
"You should've run further," Ice Queen said.
The villain screamed, struggling against the ice. "Don't let him escape! He's the one you want! He's the one behind—"
But when Ice Queen turned, Unknown was already gone.
"Damn it," she hissed. "He was right here."
Electric Girl looked around, squinting through the settling dust. "What kind of guy just vanishes like that?"
"A very dangerous kind," Ice Queen muttered. "He's the supplier. The tech, the weapons—it all points back to him. And we still don't know his face."
The red mask villain slumped down in defeat, too shaken to speak.
"Looks like the F-rank clown's usefulness just expired," Electric Girl said, zapping a tiny bolt at his frozen foot for fun.
Ice Queen walked over, placing a cold hand on the villain's shoulder. "Tell us everything you know. Or next time, I won't just freeze your gun."
The villain looked up at her, terror in his eyes.
---
**Elsewhere, in a hidden bunker...**
Unknown sat alone in a pitch-black room, multiple screens flickering in front of him. Each one showed a different part of the city. He watched the heroes walk out of the warehouse, dragging the red mask man with them.
He tilted his head again.
"They're quicker than expected."
Behind him, a voice spoke softly.
"Do you want me to erase the trail?"
It was a woman. She stood in the shadows, her face covered by a smooth, silver mask. A long braid of black hair hung over her shoulder.
"No," Unknown replied. "Let them follow the crumbs. It'll make the real trap that much sweeter."
The woman said nothing more, only nodded and vanished into the darkness.
Unknown leaned back in his chair, the glow of the monitors casting shadows across his hidden face.
"Let the game begin."
Back at the Hero Agency HQ…
Electric Girl tossed her gloves into a locker, sighing as she flopped onto a bean bag chair in the lounge. "Man, I hate fighting in abandoned warehouses. So dusty."
Ice Queen stood at the coffee machine, pouring herself a hot drink—black tea, no sugar.
"We need to look into Unknown," she said. "This wasn't just some tech robbery. It was a test run."
"You think he's planning something bigger?" Electric Girl asked, her smile fading.
"Yes. And I intend to find out what."
Electric Girl leaned back, folding her arms behind her head. "I'm in. But tomorrow. I need sleep."
Ice Queen didn't respond. She walked to the window, looking out at the skyline.
"Sean…" she whispered to herself, then quickly shook her head.
No time for that. Not when a ghost in the shadows was moving pieces across the board.
"I have a bad feeling about the appearance of this villain called Unknown, and this is just the beginning of his plans," said Ice Queen, a worrisome expression on her face.