Eaglewing & Mastermind

"Last damn time I work for you. Only amateurs forget rope." Eaglewing stood on the edge of a cliff blocking their path through the rectangular cave.

"How was I supposed to predict the pit?"

"Where'd you get the moniker Mastermind. You couldn't outfight a scarecrow slathered in rapeseed oil. Look, caves underground aren't like a structured playdate; you could've at least wikipedied it, even they would've gotten this right."

"You don't have to taunt me. As if you've never made mistakes."

That stung. Eaglewing remembered when superheroes didn't need to be financial wizards to make a living. It wasn't her fault Bernie conned her, he'd conned thousands -- many of them celebrities. She was a victim. She wouldn't let that happen again. You planned for all possibilities, but how was she supposed to know Mastermind was really WormIQmind. What other mistakes had he made? "Wait. You bring spare batteries?"

"Why?"

"Like caves are pitch black. Don't think I'll babysit your ass when your headlamp fails."

Evil chortled, rumbling laughter filling the cave. "Welcome to my playground. You make quite the pair. A proper host introduces himself, but I doubt a face-to-face meeting is necessary, seeing as you're unlikely to collaborate with me again. But please... please try not to die prematurely. I deserve at least a little enjoyment before I clean my playground." The ground shook beneath their feet. "Yes. Yes. Indiana Jones-style rocks are so cliché, but I thought you would have gotten farther."

"We're going to die," Mastermind said.

"Shut up." The low ceiling would hamper Eaglewing's ability to glide over the bottomless pit. They had seconds to get to the other side or the boulder would steam-roll them or push them into the pit.

"Use your powers. Stop the rock."

"It's not that easy."

"I'm the mind-guy. You're the muscle. Save me."

Eaglewing rolled her eyes. The rock, round like in Indiana Jones, entered the glow of the headlamps. The passage was square. Eaglewing pointed at the pit's lip in the corner of the cave. "Hold on." She jumped to the other side, catching the lip herself where the rock would not catch her fingers.

"I can't. No finger strength."

Eaglewing did a one armed pull-up and grabbed Mastermind, yanking him into the pit, the body crashing against the edge.

"Oomph."

The rock slammed into the far side of the pit, falling downwards and out of sight. Eaglewing pulled herself and Mastermind onto flat ground. "Time to go home."

"We can't forfeit my contract. What about my reputation?"

"Don't worry about your reputation. Like I'm going to keep my mouth shut after what I've suffered."

"But --"

"It's for your own good. You're going to kill someone, and not a supervillain," Eaglewing said.

"Wait. Wait. Come back. You can't abandon my playground."

Eaglewing sighed. Maybe another day.