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The further Ruby ventured into the heart of the convention, the more people seemed to fit the description: black clothes, long coat, black hat, and maybe, maybe a gold chain.

She had tried Googling the character once she realized how vague Jonah’s description was, but found the service too unreliable in the massive, buzzing crowd. She cursed under her breath.

“Excuse me,” Ruby asked yet another tall man dressed in black.

His face was painted ghostly pale with black accents around his eyes, but he had a long black trench coat and pants.

Jonah would have probably noted the makeup, but after eleven incorrect guesses, she was running on fumes. “Are you a JoJo’s character?”

The man blinked at her, bewildered. "Uh, no? I’m Eric Draven, from The Crow. "

“Right. Sorry,” she muttered a quick apology and walked away, scanning the sea of costumes.

So far, she had stopped a Star Wars character named Kylo Ren, a Snape, a Neo, a Geralt, a John Wick, two Noir Spider-Men, and three Batmen—none of whom looked remotely alike.

At this point, it was starting to feel like some twisted game of cosplay bingo.

“What the hell am I doing?” She spun the camera around, grinning into the lens. “Maybe I should take a break.”

She found an employee, copping a pamphlet and going through her various event options.

Zen Den — A place to recharge with low lighting, comfortable seating, and calming vibes .

The picture showed an empty space, lit in blue LED lights, with bean bag chairs.

Pair that with the book Lucas had helped her download to her phone and she was sold.

After taking a picture with a woman dressed as a bright yellow rodent, she was pointed in the direction of the calm room.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket. Jonah’s name flashed. She groaned, frowning at the zen den doors, but picked up.

“I’ve got him,” Jonah exclaimed, the noise in the background suggesting he was near one of the louder parts of the convention.

“Where?”

“At one of the panels. Third floor. I think he may have recognized me.”

Ruby jogged toward the stairs, pushing through the throngs of fans. They pressed in on her from all sides.

“Fuck this,” she snapped, startling the brightly dressed folks around her. Grabbing the shoulder of the man in front of her—a towering gentleman with a white wig and blue contacts—she launched herself upward and onto the railing of the escalator.

When she finally reached the third floor, it didn’t take long to locate Jonah.

He lingered near the edge of a large crowd gathered in front of a panel stage, his red wig askew and a suspender snapped and dangling by his side.

Kavya stood behind him, alternating between discretely filming Albert and Jonah.

Ruby made her way over to them. “What’s going on?”

Jonah pointed toward the stage. “That’s him.”

Albert hovered near the edge of the stage, his movements jittery and erratic, a sheen of sweat glistening on his forehead under the bright convention lights.

The crowd's chatter softened, their collective curiosity shifting into unease as his agitation became harder to ignore. Ruby’s muscles tensed, her instincts screaming at her to act, but before she could move, Albert surged forward in a blur of desperation.

The man grabbed one of the panelists—a well-known celebrity in silver armor, clearly part of the day’s cosplay events.

The room collectively gasped, the noise a sharp intake of fear that ricocheted through the vast space.

From the depths of his coat, Albert withdrew a strange metal object.

It resembled the hilt of a lightsaber, the kind every sci-fi fan in the audience recognized instantly.

But when he pressed a button on its side, a crackling arc of blue electricity sparked to life, hissing and popping with a menacing intensity.

Without hesitation, Albert jabbed the device into the actor's neck. The celebrity’s body jolted violently, his armor rattling as he collapsed onto the stage with a thud.

A horrified silence rippled through the crowd, broken only by the distant hum of overhead lights.

Albert gave the unconscious man a cruel kick, the metallic clang of the actor’s armor echoing through the hall.

As panic rippled outward, Albert’s hand darted out again, this time gripping the hood of a second panelist—a young woman dressed in an intricately embroidered cloak.

She yelped as he yanked her from her seat, stumbling onto the stage in her heeled boots.

Albert pressed the sparking lightsaber hilt against her neck, the crackle of electricity hovering above her skin.

“Stay back!” Albert barked, amplified by the convention center's acoustics. The woman whimpered, her wide eyes darting toward the audience, searching for help that wasn’t coming fast enough.

Albert’s finger hovered over the button on the hilt. “Nobody moves, or I’ll scramble her brains,” he shouted.

Ruby frowned and decided to state the obvious. “His lightsaber’s a taser.”

“You know what a lightsaber is?” Jonah’s shock was borderline offensive.

She rolled her eyes and brushed the wig’s bangs off of her forehead.

It tugged along the edge of her sunglasses, wisps of hair catching in the cracks.

If she didn’t have the ability to heal, she was pretty certain it would be giving her a rash.

“I’ve seen the movies in the last few years. Is now really the time for that?”

The lights on the stage reflected off the metallic hilt of the weapon, making it look more intimidating than it was and the crowd shifted, leaning away but not quite far enough that they couldn’t indulge in their morbid fascination.

Ruby’s eyebrows furrowed. “It’s just a taser. How does he think he’s going to escape with it?”

Jonah shrugged, drawing Albert’s attention. He definitely recognized them. His grip tightened and chest heaved.

“Don’t test me,” he shouted, “This thing’ll drop her in seconds.”

“And then what?” Ruby yanked off the wig and tossed it at a kid dressed as Wednesday Adams. “You’ve got nowhere to go.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, she realized it was the wrong thing to say.

Albert reached his free hand up, yanking at the actress’s hair and pulling her toward the back of the stage.

She whimpered. Tossing the lightsaber to the side, he procured a pocket knife out from his right boot, flicked the blade open, and held it against her neck.

“This could’ve been easier,” Albert said as they made their way backward. “No one had to get hurt.”

“You tazed Malcolm!” The actress shrieked.

“Other than him,” Albert allowed. He snorted. “No major loss there. He completely ruined the sanctity of the franchise.”

They shifted their awkward retreat to the left and he led her down the stairs.

Ruby stepped forward, the crowd having backed toward the main exit as soon as he pulled the knife.

Her mind flipped through her options. The crowd, once buzzing with excitement, now suffocated, an overwhelming mass of fearful faces and whispered speculation.

She could feel their anxiety, a palpable current that sparked up her spine.

Chairs scraped against the floor as some tried to edge back, while others stood frozen, their wide eyes locked on the stage.

"Let her go, Albert," Jonah demanded. "You don’t want this to get worse."

Albert’s grip on the knife tightened, his knuckles white against the handle. He flicked his eyes between Ruby and Jonah, then to the crowd, searching for an escape. "Back off, or I’ll do it!" he barked, but the tremor in his voice betrayed him. His bravado cracked, fear leaking through the gaps.

Ruby stepped forward, her movements deliberate and calm.

The crowd held their collective breath. She could feel their hope clinging to her, heavy and expectant.

"You’re out of your depth," she murmured with a snort meant only for Albert’s ears.

Her eyes locked onto his, unblinking. "You’re a coward. "

She grabbed his wrist and twisted, feeling the bone snap.

The blade slid across the stage and the crowd gasped, a wave of sound that rolled over the storm of phone camera lights.

Ruby ignored them. She shoved Albert back, her hand firm against his chest. He stumbled into a row of chairs, his breath ragged.

"You think holding a woman hostage makes you powerful?" She stepped closer, her grin twisting. "It doesn’t. All it does is show me how small you really are."

She straightened, keeping her stance wide, her body a barrier between Albert and the crowd and gave a curt nod to the audience.

"Please stay back. Official, uh, bounty hunter business or whatever.

" She turned back to Albert, who was now perched at the edge of the stage, his eyes darting wildly. The mask of confidence he’d worn earlier was shattered.

"You have a choice," she offered, raising her pointer finger. "Come with us. Peacefully. Or.” She raised the middle finger of the other hand. “I will knock you on your ass and carry you out.”

Albert hesitated for a fraction of a second before his desperation surged. Grabbing the actress by the arm, he shoved her forward. Ruby dodged to the side. The blonde coasted by her and into Jonah’s arms.

Albert sprinted toward the crowd, his movements clumsy and frantic.

Ruby was faster. She scooped the taser from the floor. Grabbing his collar mid-lunge, she jabbed the taser into his side.

The zap of electricity crackled, and Albert’s body convulsed. He collapsed in a heap, groaning. Ruby sighed, crouching beside him. Without a word, she grabbed him by the torso, hefting him over her shoulder with effortless strength.

Jonah stepped forward, his expression unreadable as he addressed the crowd. "Show’s over. Go home." He carried an authority that left no room for argument.

A fire alarm blared, lights flashing, the once rapt audience sprinting for the exit.

Ruby spun, Albert still on her shoulder, and glared at Jonah, assuming him to be the perpetrator. He shrugged from the center of the departing crowd, too far from the wall to have pulled anything.

Was there really a fire?

A police officer fought through the wave of attendees and she passed Albert off to him. Jonah gestured toward the exit, spun on his heel, and made his way out.

Ruby looked for Kavya. A warmth spread through her chest as the hair stood on the back of her neck. Eyes were on her, watching, waiting. The room quickly emptied, cosplayers shoving and shouting and panicking their way to the exit. One man remained.

Edward Alden leaned beside the fire alarm, a wicked grin on his face.

Brown eyes threw her back to the past.