Superdim 5

Ji-Min knew it was time to go when the sky went dark and then dotted awake again with thousands of neon signs.

She'd been popping gum and cycling through Hammer's messages all evening. It was obvious that something was going to happen. He'd been sending and getting enough ⭐✨ and  🌙 emojis that she knew whatever it was had been scheduled for after dark.

But the details?

"Jackshit," Ji-Min said sourly. She spat out her gum and crinkled it up in paper before tossing it in the bin. "Asshole." She paced in front of her hotel bed.

Sunspot wasn't involved, that was clear. She'd done some organizational work, but she wouldn't wish Hammer good luck if she planned to show up.

That was for the best. Sunspot had a gun. Like, some kind of fucking purple laser. Ji-Min wanted no part of that trash fire.

Ji-Min raked her fingers through her hair and blew out air.

There was nothing to indicate a planned rendezvous. There was no-

There was a new draft post.

Her body froze in place, except for her shaking fingers. She clicked edit and let the video play through.

Hammer's smug jaw greeted her. "Fun plans tonight," he started. There was the sound of a car engine running.

Ji-Min held her breath and rested against the wall, transfixed by the phone. She was listening so hard for something distinctive. She watched the background too, but Hammer wasn't a total clown. All she could see was the inside of the car- and a reflection of red paint in the mirror.

"Red car." She tapped her fingers on the wall.

"I'm here in Chicago, and I'm gonna do something that's never been done," Hammer said lazily. He raked a hand through his hair. It caught the light.

He had a stupid voice, Ji-Min thought spitefully. Kind of a scratchy tenor.

"Anyway, it's gonna be a glittering party. I'll see you at the Planetarium." The video ended with a wink.

Ji-Min ran out the door.

It was a matter of seconds to pull up directions. She groaned when she saw the time estimate. "Almost 40 minutes." Ji-Min wanted to hit her head against the steering wheel. Instead she flicked on her blinker and got on the road. "Fucksake. He could be gone by the time I get there," she complained.

There was nothing to do but drive the speed limit and pray. Hammer probably hadn't been right next door either, she reasoned. He'd clearly made the draft post in his car and then saved it- but he might have stayed parked for a while after. He might not even be moving yet, depending on what kind of heist he had in mind.

She stopped at a yellow light and frowned. That was a good question to be asking. What the hell did he want from a planetarium? Hammer didn't strike her as a scientifically minded person.

"...Must not be a heist," she reasoned. "Maybe it's a staging ground." Ji-Min scrunched her face up. The light turned green. She eased on the gas. "There's probably something really photogenic he wants to use there."

He wouldn't… he wouldn't blow it up, right?

Ji-Min didn't think that was likely, but she couldn't eliminate the possibility either.

"I'll be careful," she promised herself. Wow, she hoped she wasn't driving to a death trap. "Ugh." She tightened her fingers on the steering wheel.

She turned the music up pretty loud to distract from those thoughts. She turned the volume down when she was relatively close, and started looking for an unobtrusive place to park. She settled for parking along a deserted boulevard lined with trees. If she had to leave her car till the morning, it would definitely get a ticket.

The finishing touches of her costume went on at that point. She'd already put her hair up, so it was a matter of seconds to secure the full mask in place using the ribbons and hairpins. Her top was body hugging with snug sleeves, so that it didn't do things like flop down and cover her face if she had to move around too much. She had exchanged her black jeans for thick black athletic pants.

She'd deliberated between her clunky boots and the soft soled things she liked for sneaking around. In the end, she'd decided she would be more likely to need to kick someone in the face with a heavy boot than go sneaking around guards.

Before she put the gloves on, Ji-Min ran through her toolkit and what she was bringing. Her phone needed to be on silent, she needed the heavy stick for hitting, she had a sharp letter opener that would work for multiple purposes-

"I guess I'm good." Ji-Min zipped up her pockets and left the car. The key went in her bra.

She found the building easily. There was a main set of stairs that she avoided. She was slinking around to look at the other entryways when she heard a car engine purring.

Ji-Min found it. A red car was gliding down the road. Hammer stopped it there and got out without turning it off. She could see his outline in the distance, broad shoulders and a distinctive walk. He set up the incline and to the Planetarium.

He went up the main stairs.

She bit her lip, torn. It…

It felt like a trap. Him, alone, with his back to her?

Ji-Min found another door, obviously meant for staff use. A lock crunched in the wooden frame when she forced it open.

She went in.

She found herself in a service hallway. A minute of cautious walking took her to the entrance for a theater.

The only sound was the humming of the electronic security system.

…It had probably gone off when she opened the door, right? Or had Hammer done something to prevent the security team from being alerted?

Either way, she didn't want to spend a lot of time here.

'Get in,' Ji-Min reminded herself. Her steps up a flight of stairs were silent. 'Hit Hammer really hard. Leave him for the cops. Get out.'

That was what she'd done last time, and it had worked. He'd gone directly to jail. His only mutations were being really strong and handsome. If he wasn't willing to crush people to death, he couldn't really do much to resist arrest.

'God forbid he ever thinks to get some kind of training.' Ji-Min smiled under her mask. 'If he got over his ego long enough to learn wrestling or something, he'd actually have some recourse.' She glanced at the blinking red of a security camera as she entered another rounded tunnel.

She could hear movement overhead. She was on the second floor now- Hammer had to be on the top floor. Ji-Min moved quickly now, sticking to the wall rather than the middle of the hallway. She found one more set of stairs and mounted them two steps at a time, heartbeat pounding in her chest.

She found one more curved hallway. It was wider than the others. The first entrance was to her left.

It took control to avoid holding her breath. She crept to the edge of the entrance and took two quick steps to clear the side and survey what was in there.

A café.

The shapes of tables and chairs were eerie in the dark and silent room. Her eyes darted over everything as she cautiously crept in. Could Hammer be hiding? Yes, honestly. He could fit behind the counter, or in the kitchen, or-

She was turning as soon as she heard the scuffle of a shoe. It was too late to avoid the projectile that hit her in the head.

Ji-Min staggered back and crouched. It took a few seconds to register that she wasn't really hurting, no blood.

Hammer was standing in the entryway, casually tossing something round up and down. Whatever had hit her was still bouncing away.

"Hey," he said.

She violently repressed the instinctual "hey" that tried to well up. Ji-Min just looked at him, mind racing.

Hammer smiled. She could see it as he stepped into the faint light. He was tossing a ball- no. A model of planet Earth.

She stole a look to get left to see that he'd pinged her skull with … was that Mercury?

"Already been to the gift store?"

"Yeah, it's back there." Hammer put a thumb over his shoulder. "Pretty fire. They have this light that projects the sewer system."

"The-" She cut herself off, but it was too late. She'd already engaged.

"I want one," Hammer said. He took a couple steps into the cafe. "Remind me to grab one on my way out, Nemesis." He cocked his head. "Shadow?" He pursed his lips and gestured at her. "You're not giving me much to work with." He gestured again. "Did you think of any branding? I really don't mind helping, but I need something to go off of." He paused. "Night strike?" Hammer tried.

She stared at him, uncomprehending. Then she took the hitting stick off of her belt.

He grimaced and raised a hand. "Hey," he protested. "I don't have adequate medical insurance."

"No one does!" Ji-Min darted forward, intent on head trauma. He flung the model of Earth at her. She dodged Earth and came in fast, eyes narrowed under her mask. "Do you think you're better than everyone else?"

He shoved a table at her and ran. The table hit her hip and she rolled over it, landing on the ground with a clatter and a pained thunk of her knee on the ground. She gritted her teeth at the shooting pain.

'I should probably wear knee pads,' she realized. 'Like a volleyball hottie.' She managed to stand, hissing in an angry breath through clenched teeth. Ouch, Jesus fuck, ouch.

"Come back here and get your concussion," Ji-Min demanded.

"No, that sucks!"

Hammer's voice was faint. She followed it into the darkness.