Lightning snapped and faded as Liss skidded to a stop atop a half-burned billboard on the edge of the city skyline, the charred metal creaking under her boots.
Her arms clutched tightly around the green-haired girl she'd snatched only moments ago, her grip firm but not cruel, electricity humming faintly along her jacket.
The girl was light, fragile almost, her cream sweater bunched at the wrists, but her emerald eyes were wide and alert, scanning the neon glow of the sprawling city below, the lights flickering like a living pulse.
Liss didn't waste time, her white-blonde hair whipping in the wind as she steadied herself.
"Find him," she ordered flatly, her voice cutting through the distant hum of the city. "Use those ears of yours. Listen. Whatever it is you do—do it now."
The girl swallowed nervously, her throat bobbing, then nodded, her green hair shimmering faintly under the billboard's flickering lights.
She closed her eyes, her delicate features tightening with focus.
