Strike 2: Dawn of the Daybreaker by Charlie Wood

nodded and exhaled. Then there was a CRACK!
    “What was that?” Scatterbolt asked.
    “I don’t know.”
    Another CRACK!
    “I hope it wasn’t…”
    Keplar turned over and looked at the skylight underneath him. A crack was running across it.
    “Uh-oh,” the dog said.
    SMASH! The skylight shattered and Keplar fell into the Sullivan’s Wharf warehouse. Shocked, Scatterbolt stared at the broken window.
    “There’s no way that just happened,” the robot said.
    After landing on the floor of the warehouse with a THUD! , Keplar lay on his side a moment, surrounded by broken glass. After he pushed off the ground and got to his feet, he looked around.
    The dozens of super-powered criminals and newly-created demons and monsters were gathered around him. They were shocked, confused, and angry.
    “Hey, fellas,” Keplar said, wiping the dust and shards of glass from his pants. “I’m here to get my superpowers. I saw the sign-up sheet out front and—hey, look at that! Looks like I’m a little late!” The dog turned and saw a man with the face of a hyena standing next to him. The hyena-man was drooling, and his eyes were crooked. “Yeesh,” Keplar said. “Whatever that guy had, I ain’t having.”
    Rigel pushed through the crowd of super-powered criminals and stepped into the center of the circle. When the red-skinned giant saw whom it was that had crashed the meeting, he grunted and snarled.
    “Hey, Rigel,” Keplar said. “What’s up, pal. Thought you were dead. Long time, no time.”
    Rigel walked toward the husky and punched him across the face, sending the dog crashing into a pile of boxes.
    “Now is that any way to greet an old friend?” Keplar asked, as he clumsily climbed out of the cardboard.
    Several of the demonic and super-powered criminals stepped toward Keplar— ready to rip the dog limb-from-limb—until suddenly a giant net dropped down on them from the ceiling, ensnaring them and pinning them to the floor.
    “Look out!” Scatterbolt said, as he jumped down through the broken skylight and into the warehouse. When he hit the ground, he held out his open palms and three more nets sprang out of his hands and trapped six more of the criminals. “You are all under arrest! Please wait here until the police arrive! Thank you!” The robot looked at the remaining criminals. “That’s not gonna work, is it?”
    “Kill them!” Nova shouted. “Both of them!”
    The criminals pounced on Scatterbolt and Keplar, shouting and growling, the newly super-powered beings whipped into a rage. The dog and the robot did their best in the sudden brawl, with Keplar using his laser blasters and Scatterbolt using his blasts of sticky oil from his hands.
    “Hey, Keplar?” Scatterbolt said. “Probably shouldn’t have leaned on that glass.”
    “I think it might be finally time to go on that diet I’ve been putting off,” the husky replied.
    The grey-masked, white-caped Nova ran at Scatterbolt, readying a blast of gold energy from his hand, but Scatterbolt sprouted a helicopter from the top of his head and flew up towards the ceiling, avoiding the beam of devastating heat from Nova.
    “I really wish I was at the prom like Tobin right about now,” Scatterbolt said, hovering above the melee.
    ***
     
    On the top floor of the Grand Wellemore Hotel, Strike carefully walked through the dark hallway, holding his electrified bo-staff. He was still wearing his tuxedo, but luckily he had been able to tie on his mask after leaving the banquet hall and chasing the Spider-Gore. After a few skirmishes with the arachnid (which had left several cuts and bruises on the hero’s face and arms,) he had chased the demon here to the top floor, but had now lost track of his enemy.
    His enemy, however, had not lost track of him, and suddenly the Gore pounced on Strike from behind, tackling him to the floor. After suffering a few more stinging slashes from the giant spider’s clawed legs, and narrowly escaping having his neck