Today was the day—the day we would carry out the mission without anyone's help. Honestly, I never thought I'd make it this far. But then again, I never expected to find out that my uncle was actually my dad. I can’t really blame him, though. If I were in his shoes, I’d probably do the same thing.

  When school ended, I showed up at the entrance with Mr. Drails, the weight of everything still pressing down on me. There was no turning back now.

  Shortly after, the others arrived, all geared up with their utility belts.

  The moment we stepped outside, I could feel the tension in the air. Everyone was a little confused, but there was no backing out. We were doing this, and that was that.

  "Alright, everyone ready?" September asked, her eyes scanning the group.

  "Did you remember the route?" I asked her, raising an eyebrow.

  She nodded confidently. "Got it."

  "Then, we’re ready," I said.

  Before we could fully process what was happening, we felt the familiar sensation of being pulled through time and space. A moment later, we were standing outside the airport, looking at the terminals only about 100 feet away from us.

  "Let’s get in, fast!" Tisiah said, his voice filled with urgency.

  September just smirked. "Don’t worry," she said casually, waving him off.

  With a snap of her fingers, she teleported us right inside the airport. We were now in line, facing only three other people ahead of us. No questions asked. No problems so far.

  When our turn came, September signed us up, and we made our way to the elevator.

  “I’d say this is going without a hitch,” Tisiah remarked. “We haven’t run into any problems with security or anything.”

  “Why would we?” I asked, keeping my voice low. “We’re not carrying anything that would make them suspicious. And besides, September’s got teleportation. If anything goes wrong, we can just bail out.”

  As we moved up to the scanners, I could feel my nerves kicking in. We were almost there, but that didn’t mean things wouldn’t go sideways. We needed to get through security before we could even think about the next step.

  When we reached the scanner, the woman behind the counter gestured for me to stop and told me to position myself on the marks. She wore a blue vest and had striking red braided hair. Her build was slim and agile, and she moved with the kind of grace that made me think she could easily handle herself in a fight.

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  I stood still as she waved her hand over the scanner. Suddenly, it beeped, and I felt my body stiffen with dread. My heart was pounding in my chest, and the anxiety hit me like a wave. I was trying to keep it cool, but there was no denying the tension.

  “Sir, could you please remove your utility belt?” the woman asked in a polite but firm tone.

  I nodded quickly, unbuckling the belt and letting it fall to the floor. As soon as I took it off, I felt a strange sense of relief wash over me.

  “And the wand as well,” she added, raising an eyebrow.

  Wait a minute. How did she know about the wand? My mind raced. I glanced at her waist and noticed a dark utility belt. Could she tell somehow? I felt a chill run down my spine.

  “Guys,” I muttered, turning toward the others, trying to stay calm.

  And then, suddenly, time froze. At least, that’s what it felt like. I was still moving, but everything around me was completely still. Was this my perk? I couldn’t tell.

  I didn’t have time to figure it out, though. In the next instant, the woman slammed me to the cold ground, her movements fast and precise.

  I pushed her off of me, and before I could stand, she threw two quick punches. I dodged the first one, but the second grazed my shoulder. I quickly retaliated with a left hook, but she evaded it with ease.

  Then, before I knew it, she kicked me in the thigh, sending me off balance. I stumbled, but I managed to catch myself before I completely fell.

  She was fast. Too fast. I barely had time to react before her next punch came flying at me. I blocked it, but before I could counter, she kicked me in the stomach, knocking me back toward the scanner.

  I fell over the conveyor belt, my body hitting the cold surface with a harsh thud. She didn’t stop. She leapt toward me, aiming a punch at my face. But this time, I was ready.

  I rolled out of the way just in time, getting back to my feet. She came at me again, throwing a punch, and I blocked it. But before I could launch my own attack, she kicked me again, this time sending me tumbling backward, colliding with the scanner.

  I struggled to stay on my feet, but she wasn’t giving me a chance to catch my breath. She swung another, but I dodged it, sidestepping quickly. I tried to get in a strike of my own, but she moved too fast.

  I knew I had to do something. I wasn’t going to get out of this without fighting back.

  With a burst of focus, I used my wand, transforming it into a sword in midair, and threw it at her. She ducked just in time to avoid it, but that gave me the opening I needed. She immediately launched herself at me, throwing another punch, but I quickly swung my elbow in front of it.

  This was a battle of endurance. I had to outlast her.

  “Getting tired yet?” she taunted, her grin wide as she continued to fight.

  I wasn’t sure how much longer I could keep this up. But then, just as I was about to collapse, she suddenly froze. Time slowed again, and I felt September’s presence before I saw her. With one swift move, September took down the woman, knocking her unconscious in seconds.

  I blinked, still processing what had just happened. “What happened?” I asked, completely thrown off by the sudden shift in time.

  “Well,” September said, her tone casual, “when she used her other ability, time started to speed up. But as soon as she went to punch you, I sped it back up and knocked her out.”

  The sudden sound of approaching footsteps broke our focus. We turned, only to see a group of security guards rushing toward us.

  “What are you doing?!” one of them shouted, his voice filled with urgency.

  “We need to get on the plane now!” September shouted, grabbing my arm and pulling me toward the exit.

  The others were right behind us, and soon we were running through the airport, dodging confused looks and hurried footsteps from people still processing what had just happened.

  “What’s going on?” Tisiah asked, his face full of confusion as he tried to catch up with us.

  “Someone tried to kill Connor because of his perk,” September explained, her voice tight. “But now the guards are after us.”

  “Oh, great,” Nikki muttered under her breath.

  Malachi rubbed his hands together. “Let’s move, then.”

  We ran up the steps, our hearts racing, adrenaline pumping through our veins. And soon enough, a group of five guards started chasing after us, determined to stop us from escaping.

  But there was a problem—every single one of them was wearing a black utility belt.