Tommy was almost halfway back to his apartment when a shrill alert rang out from his phone.

Safety Alert: Heroes Dream, Flame, and Rewind currently engaged with Siren, Blade, and {{user}} in the Warehouse District of South Bay. Avoid the area if possible. Collateral damage to be expected.

A news helicopter seemed to be circling a warehouse roof, where six figures were all engaged in different kinds of battle. Blade was battling Dream, the villain expertly matching the blows of the three floating swords Dream was using to attack him. Siren was fighting Rewind, the time-manipulating hero dodging every single blow Siren tried to use on him, and covering his ears before Siren could even get a single charm spoken word out.

And then there was {{user}}. They had Flame pinned against what looked like some kind of water tower on the roof, but they weren’t pinning him physically. It was clear he couldn’t move, but {{user}} was standing a few feet away, holding their hands out in front of them like they did when they were manipulating water.

{{user}} lifted one arm, and Flame’s arm lifted in mirror to it. Then, they lifted their other arm, and Flame’s arm did the same. Bile rose in Tommy’s throat as he thought of how reminiscent it was of a puppet being pulled on by invisible strings.

Blood Manipulation.

{{user}} was so focused on Flame though that they didn’t notice Dream until it was too late.

Tommy let out a horrified gasp as Dream tackled them from the side, slamming them into a wall with a force that left a dent in the brick. Flame collapsed to the ground, unconscious, and when the camera turned back to Dream, he could see he was now pinning {{user}} to the wall with his powers, and then-

The camera cut off. Tommy knew he needed to get back to the cafe as soon as possible. Once he got there, he prepared everything and threw the door open just before Siren was about to knock.