The Lone Knight (Under The Cowl Book #1)

CHAPTER 30

     With the use of her grappling gun to sweep Ruin off his feet, there was no give, no real sign of a pull that could even rip the skin off Bruce's face in order to free him from the mask holding on for dear life.

The Mask of Ruin was not going to yield, but neither was Stephanie.

With Alec's speed having him race back and forth to draw Ruin's attention and Daria in the opposite direction using her fist in attempt to loosen the mask's hold, it was having no affect.

Never had these three worked together before, surprisingly they were doing well. Like a well oiled machine they moved as if they'd trained for this very moment.

But like every machine there is always an overworked screw unnoticed until it's not.

Stephanie not far from Alec heard his knee pop while in mid run. She watched him trip and hit the ground hard.

Quickly changing course, Stephanie used her grappling gun to grab hold of the building on the other side of the street.

She zipped her way towards a rolling Alec in hopes to save him. But at the same time Ruin did not hesitate to capitalize.

Headed for a clash with Ruin leaping forward to take Alec out for good, Stephanie scrapped the heel of her boot against the pavement at the last second.

She changed direction and released her hold on her grappling gun as it zipped away without her. But still in motion at a speed allowing her to take flight for only a moment, Stephanie found herself above Ruin.

Like jumping off a moving car and onto the roof of another, Stephanie extended her arms and wrapped them around Ruin's face in mid flight.

Stephanie had never gone bull riding before but she'd imagine it was like this, rough with zero expectation to somehow gain control over an untamed beast. 

She stuck her finger in the eye-hole of Ruin's mask, and as hard as she could pulled his head to face another direction with all her might.

They quickly veered off course and away from the wounded Alec curled on the ground clutching onto his knee. It's the last thing Stephanie saw before everything immediately cut to black.

Stephanie woke up on the ground with scattered shards of glass in front of her and on top her. With a mean crick in her neck and a jabbing ache across her back, the car alarm nearby slowly came into sound until turned off the second her vision came into focus.

How long had I been out? A question silenced and forgotten by the sound of the helicopter in the sky and a spotlight pointed towards the middle of street not far from where she laid.

"Hey!" a voice called out, shook by a sudden push she felt on her thigh.

It was Alec leaning up against the car by her feet. He clutched his knee trying his best to ignore the throbbing pain.

Stephanie panned the area until she found Daria in the street, motionless, face down and head buried in the broken cracks of pavement.

"You need to get out of here." Alec said urgently. "As Collectors on the job, we are not supposed to be in whatever earth we're patrolling. So to avoid tampering with the universe our suits gauge such threats like falling under scrutiny or sever injury. Afterwards our suits transport us to a safe location far away from causing any real trouble. But I don't want to leave you here alone in case that happens."

"My prince." Stephanie joked.

"What can I say; I'm a sucker for damsels." Alec smiled.

"... What is that?" Stephanie asked as she lifted herself up. It's under the spotlight where she found a man in green and black armor thrust in combat with Ruin. And from what she was witnessing he's holding his own with the use of a katana alone. How is he doing that?