The robbers were visible through the bank's windows. There were three of them, all wearing masks and holding guns. One had their weapon pointed at the ceiling—the one who'd been firing.

The sound of an engine came from above them. A chopper descended, the Scorpion logo plastered on its side.

"Get in!" Ash shouted at Hestia and Seth.

Ivy moved to stop them, but Spencer held his arm out in front of her. "Let's just get out of here," he said. "Police are here." He nodded at the vehicles that were coming down the road, sirens blaring.

"Wait," Ivy said. "We could take out the bank robbers. It'd be easy."

"I don't know," Spencer said. "You know how people feel about us."

"That's exactly why we should do it. We'll show everyone that we're heroes!"

"I guess you have a point." He turned his gaze to Claire. "Wanna bring those guys out here?"

Claire nodded and turned to face the bank. She held out her arms and the doors flew open. One of the robbers was yelling.

"Nobody leaves until we—"

He flew into the air and through the open doorway, landing on the sidewalk with a thud. The other two robbers came behind him, grunting in pain as they hit the ground. One of the police cars pulled up along the curb.

The officer who was driving jumped out and pointed her gun at the robbers. "Stay down," she ordered.

"We should go," Spencer said.

"Hold on a moment." The officer's partner climbed out the passenger side of the cruiser and walked over, his gun drawn as well. To Ivy's surprise, he held it up and pointed it at the Supers. "You kids are gonna need to come with us."

"Excuse me," Ivy said. "We just saved the bank!" The sound of footsteps came from behind her. She glanced back to see people coming out of the building. A few nodded at her and smiled.

The police officers glanced at each other. "We have orders," the woman said. "Our superiors said—"

"They saved us!" one of the bank customers shouted.

"They could have killed us just as easily," someone else replied. "Or taken the money for themselves."

Ivy's gaze darted to Claire, Spencer and Ace. Claire's eyes were wide with fear, while Spencer's held determination. His hand rested on Ace's head.

"Let's go, guys," Spencer said.

"Not so fast," the male officer said. He pointed his gun at Claire.

Spencer narrowed his eyes. The officer cried out in surprise as a thin layer of ice spread across his gun. The other officer moved to pull the trigger on hers, but she wasn't fast enough. When their guns fell to the ground, the bank robbers started to climb to their feet.

"Freeze!" More officers were arriving on the scene, their focus on the robbers.

Spencer grabbed Claire's hand and nodded at Ivy. "Let's go. Run!"

They took off down the street. Ivy could hear the thundering footsteps of pursuers, but she didn't look back. They needed to get back to the fuel facility. Ivy was still clutching the jetchopper part Ash had taken in her hand.

They approached an intersection. The road to the right led back up into the forest. They didn't have much farther to go before they were out of town.

A police car pulled up, cutting them off. Ivy stumbled to a stop and glanced back. She was surprised to see that it was mostly citizens, not police, who had been chasing them.

"I told you!" a man shouted. "That's the girl who burned down the boarding school in April!"

Ivy froze. Spencer shouted something, but she wasn't sure what he said. The crowd was getting closer. So many eyes were on her. A few in the back called for them to stop and leave the Supers alone, but the mob wasn't listening.

"Ivy!" Spencer grabbed her hand. "We need to go this way." He pointed to the left. The road led back into town, but it was the only way to go that wasn't blocked.

Ivy nodded and forced herself to move. Ace barked softly at the mob, just enough to force everyone backwards a few steps.

They ran down the street, past businesses and confused onlookers. A building up ahead had a 'closed' sign hanging on the front doors. The windows were boarded up and several signs out front announced that it was for sale.

"In there," Spencer said as they came to a stop. "Claire, can you get us an opening?"

Claire didn't say anything. She glanced back at their pursuers, then back at Spencer. Her hands were shaking. She nodded and turned her attention to the building.

Nothing happened for a moment. Ivy tensed. They didn't have time to be standing around.

After what felt like too long, the front door fell off its hinges. Spencer breathed a sigh of relief and they ran into the building. Once all four of them were in, he filled the doorway with a thick wall of ice.

"All right," Spencer said. "We need to find a way back to the road we came in on."

"Do you think we could wait them out?" Ivy asked.

"Doubt it." Spencer glanced at Claire. "You guys okay?"

"I'm fine." Ivy said.

"Me too," Claire said. Her voice trembled. "I just—didn't think they would turn on us."

"I know." Spencer clenched his jaw. "It sucks. We saved them and they want to lock us up."

"It's my fault," Ivy muttered. "Because I burned down the boarding school. They recognized me."

Spencer shook his head. "That wasn't your fault, Ivy. And it doesn't matter now. We're gonna get out of here."

Ivy sighed and nodded.

Spencer pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes in concentration. "All right, how do we get out?"

Ivy sensed a sudden burst of heat nearby. She frowned.

"Do you guys smell that?" Spencer asked.

Claire's eyes widened. "What are they doing?" she asked, her voice barely more than a whisper.

Ivy clenched her fists as the scent of smoke reached her. "They're burning the building down. With us in it."

"Let's go," Spencer said. "Out the back. I'm sure there's a door..."

"No," Ivy said, concentrating. "I they've got the building surrounded. There's fire coming in from each side. Except..."

Claire closed her eyes. "Ivy's right, I think. There's people on every side, and they're angry. But there's only a couple on the north side. We could get past them."

"Well, that's great," Spencer said. "But we'll have to get past the fire first."

It was getting hotter, and smoke had found its way into the room they were in. Ivy walked toward the door at north end of the room. "We have to move fast, then, before—"

Too late. She opened the door to see that the next room was already in flames. Ivy's heart dropped to her stomach. How were the others going to get out?

Ivy looked behind her. Claire and Spencer were paralyzed with fear. Ace barked at the approaching flames behind them, but it did no good.

The blaze tugged at Ivy's senses. She could feel the flames moving, drawing nearer.

Spencer snapped back to reality and held out his hands. Walls of ice started to form around them, but they were melting too fast.

They wouldn't last long.

Ivy turned back around. On the other side of the room, there was another door. She could just make out the outside world through the shattered window. Escape was so close, but there was no way for the others to get through the flames safely.

The fire inched closer. The heat was beginning to overwhelm Ivy's senses. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She hadn't created this fire, but maybe she could still control it.

Ivy focused on the flames in front of her. She pulled on them, trying to force the fire to retreat. Her chest burned and she clenched her fists.

The flames parted, creating a narrow corridor they could walk through.

"Hurry!" Ivy shouted. "I can't hold them back forever."

Spencer jumped into action. He grabbed Claire and Ace and pulled them forward. Ivy watched them run to the other side of the room, willing the flames to stay away long enough for them to escape.

Spencer reached the door and pulled it open. Ivy caught a glimpse of the street. They were almost free.

Ivy grunted and lost her control of the flames. They quickly returned to where they'd been before, consuming the wood floor of the old building. Ivy took a deep breath and ran forward, the flames embracing her as she hurried toward the exit.

Claire had been right. Three people were waiting by the side of the building, but they moved away when the Supers emerged. One called for help, but it wouldn't come fast enough. Ivy, Claire, Spencer and Ace flew past them with ease.

They slowed down once they reached the forest. Before long, the shouting and sirens faded away, leaving the four of them in silence.

Ivy glanced at Claire, and noticed her examining her arm. "You okay?" Ivy asked.

"What?" Claire looked up. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine. It's nothing."

Spencer looked over. His eyes went wide. "Claire!" He stopped walking and gently grabbed her arm. "You're burned."

Ivy's heart dropped to her stomach. "Oh no," she murmured. The skin on Claire's arm was a bright red. The edges of the burn were peeling, and a few blisters had formed. A wave of nausea washed over Ivy.

"Guys, it's not that bad. We'll get back to the ship and Tyler can heal it." She pulled her arm from Spencer's grasp. "It doesn't even hurt."

"Then you're in shock," Spencer said.

"I'm—"

"Come on. We need to get back to the chopper."

Ivy swallowed the guilt welling up in her chest. She hadn't started the fire, the mob did. If it weren't for her...

It is your fault. They started the fire because of you. You burned down the school.

"Ivy," Claire said, her voice strained. "It's not your fault."

"I—"

There it was again.

That clicking sound she'd heard earlier.

Ivy froze.

"What was that?" Spencer asked.

"I heard it on the way out here," Ivy told them. "When we were chasing Scorpion."

"So, what? A bird? Insect? Some sort of animal?"

"Guys," Claire whispered. Her face was pale, and her gaze was focused on something behind Ivy. "Something's coming this way."

"Human?" Spencer asked, his voice low.

"No. Definitely not. Its mind is focused on finding something. And its body..." She swallowed and put her hand over her mouth.

Spencer grabbed Claire's other hand. "Let's get back to the jetchopper. Hurry. We—"

The clicking sound came again. Whatever was making it was close. Ivy spun in a circle, scanning the undergrowth. The branches in a nearby tree rustled. Ivy turned to face it.

"Ivy!" Claire screamed.

Ivy jumped. Her gaze darted to the left, and she only had a heartbeat to take in the terror in Claire's eyes before the clicking sound came once more and something crashed into her from behind.

The air left her lungs as she collided with the earth. Spots danced in her vision. Something dug into her back and pinned her to the dirt. Ivy gasped, struggling for breath.

The pressure on her back disappeared. There was a faint thud, followed by a horrific screech. Ace went into a frenzy, barking at whatever had attacked her. The others were shouting her name, but Ivy couldn't bring herself to move.

A pair of hands grabbed her. "Ivy?" Spencer's voice was laced with fear. "Ivy!"

Ivy groaned. Every bone in her body ached. Something wet—blood, she realized—dripped down her face. Trembling, Ivy forced herself to her knees.

"What the hell?" The words tumbled out of her mouth, shaky and high-pitched. "What was that?"

"I can't hold it much longer," Claire cried. Ivy turned her head to the right and gasped.

Claire had it pinned to a tree. Ivy tried to process what she was seeing.

Her first thought was spider, but it was way too big. And the head was all wrong. And there were only six pale, bony limbs extending from its body.

Its head was elongated, completely devoid of features except a huge mouth. As Ivy watched the mouth opened, letting out another screech and revealing rows of long, dagger-sharp teeth.

"What...?" Ivy thought for a moment she must be dreaming. This couldn't be real. "What is that thing?" Her voice wasn't hers. It was too high, too fast. Her hands were shaking like crazy and she seemed to have forgotten how to breathe.

They were all past pretending to be calm. Spencer helped Ivy to her feet, his hands shaking. He muttered something under his breath and shook his head. Ace ran in circles around him, still barking.

The creature opened its mouth again. Something flew out, lightning fast, and wrapped around Ivy's ankle. Ivy screamed as it threw her back to the ground. The—tentacle? Tongue?— dragged her across the dirt, toward the creature.

There was only the brief warning of heat exploding in Ivy's chest before her entire body burst into flames. In the blink of an eye, the creature released her and retracted its tentacle, screaming the whole time.

Claire was shaking. Tears streamed down her face. "I can't hold it."

Ivy held up her right arm and concentrated. She wasn't sure she had the strength to give it a good enough shock, but...

Electricity burst from her palm and hit the creature in the neck. It stopped struggling against Claire's invisible hold and went limp. Claire gasped and fell to her knees. The creature crashed to the ground, its spider-like legs twitching.

But Ivy's attack wasn't nearly enough to kill it.

They didn't stop running until they reached the storage facility. Ivy tried to think straight, but her mind was blank. The only thing she could do was move her legs and pray that thing would stay down long enough for them to get away.

They climbed into the jetchopper. Spencer managed to spew a warning to the people at the fuel facility before they left, but after that he was silent. Ivy sat down on the chopper bench as they took off, her knees pulled to her chest. She was too terrified to look out the window. Claire sat next to her, staring blankly ahead the entire flight.