Adam had never seen Mechommader in action before.

  She had told him her hero name one day as he came to watch her work in between meetings. Here was the result of all her tinkering. 300 pounds of mechanized armor falling downwards, blade poised to rip apart the villains. And Adam, if he didn’t start moving.

  With Abigail crashing down like an avenging angel, Adam did the only thing he could do to avoid being squished in the collision. He elbowed Nightstrike in the ribs. Her blade scraped him, but she wasn’t focused on keeping her grip. Adam dove out of the way.

  Sir Stygian brought his blade up to block. Abigail’s momentum was tremendous. Their blades clanged together as she landed, sparks exploding as the teeth of her mechanized weapon bit into Stygian’s dark steel. A whine of tension pierced the air.

  Adam took in her full war-form. Her light tech-armor was augmented with an outer shell that braced her limbs and spine, adding half a foot to her height. Weapons and gadgets secured to her back with metal arms. Thrusters glowed not just on her feet, but on her elbows as well. They helped push her blade into the bigger knight’s. She might’ve cut his sword in half, if she wasn’t surrounded by multiple other enemies.

  Nightstrike came forward, blade in hand to stab at Mechommander’s back. She somehow sensed her from behind. Keeping one hand on her blade locked with the knight, she pivoted and fired a beam of energy from her other glove.

  Nightstrike dodged the blast from inches away, the light of it illuminating her clothed face for a split-second. She grabbed Abigail’s wrist and stabbed downwards into the joint at her elbow.

  Abigail faltered as she was unable to keep up the blade lock with Sir Stygian. His strike began to overpower the whirring teeth of her sword, more sparks flashing. Her arms strained inwards. Anthracite came forward, building a fireball in his hands. Nomad, the one in road leathers, watched from a crouched position.

  “Adam, I’m sorry,” came Abigail’s synthesized voice from Mechommander’s helm.

  The sonic tone burst forth again. Adam clutched his head. It was like the worst pressure buildup of his life happening instantly. It got Nightstrike to drop her knife. With her incapacitated for a moment, Abigail brought both hands around to Sir Stygian again. She pivoted and slammed their blades together into the ground. She spared a moment to shoot outwards at Anthracite, who was just getting to his feet after losing the fireball he built. Her beam hit him in the gut, causing him to fall back again.

  The tone ended. Adam stood. He needed to get help. Abigail wouldn’t outlast these four. Reagan, if she was even still alive, was somewhere back in the convoy. Nathan and Kenny were here in town. They were the only hope for backup. Whatever they could do, they’d make a plan.

  He ran towards where he last remembered seeing Kenny. A clothing store on the corner. He glanced back as he ran. Abigail tried to fly upwards again, but Sir Stygian grabbed her ankle. She tried to shoot his head and failed to get a clear angle. Nightstrike tossed some sort of throwing device at her back. It ricocheted off her armor without seeming to do anything.

  Adam flung open the door to the clothing store. Scared civilians huddled inside behind counters and clothing racks. They peered up at him with wide eyes. These small-town people had probably never seen a supervillain in their life, much less an active fight.

  “It’s gonna be alright!” Adam tried to assure them. He wasn’t feeling so confident about it. “Kenny! Are you in here?”

  “Adam!” Kenny’s head appeared upside down from the ceiling. It took Adam a moment to realize he was seeing his classmate hanging out of a hatch. A folded ladder eased down. Adam crossed the room and climbed it.

  He found Kenny and Nathan both huddled in the store’s attic, between plastic-sealed clothing and storage shelves. Adam brought himself fully up.

  “What are you two doing up here?” Adam asked. “You’re hiding in an attic with civilians down below? We need help!”

  “We didn’t know what to do! We’re not fighters!” Kenny said. “They’ll leave if we let them take what they came for.”

  “We can’t let them leave!” Adam said. “The BASTION squad is all taken out. It’s up to us to stop them.”

  “How?” Kenny asked. “They’re not going to listen to me long enough!”

  Adam’s attention shifted. The sounds of clashing combat outside had begun to die down. He got up and went to the attic window.

  On the street, Abigail was in the air, but Nomad was hanging from her shoulders. She was being wrestled downwards. Sir Stygian leaped upwards and held onto her. Nightstrike threw a weighted bola that secured her legs together.

  Nomad released her, and Stygian slammed her into the ground. A net expanded from something Nightstrike threw and fell over her. It looked like the net had some sort of auto-tightening feature. Metal spikes buried its edges into the ground. Her chainsword was out of reach. She shot off a beam, but it wasn’t at an angle to hit anyone or break the net.

  “They’re capturing her!” Adam said to them. “We need to think of something.”

  Nathan sat hugging his knees, staring into the middle distance. Adam came over and shook him.

  “Nathan!”

  He looked up at Adam. His eyes were distant, scared.

  “Hey! Do you want to stay at Rosewell?”

  “…What?” Nathan asked.

  “Do you want to stay at Rosewell?” Adam demanded.

  “Y-yes.” Nathan said. “Yes. I do.”

  “Good.” Adam grabbed both his shoulders and held his attention. “Then I need you to tell me what your powers are and how to use them. Right. Now.”

  Nathan gulped. He nodded, ready to focus. “Okay.”

  . . .

  Sir Stygian bellowed for Adam.

  “Adam Atlas! Come out and show yourself. No tricks. I want to see your companions too. Every ten seconds I don’t see you, we’ll burn down one of these nice buildings. Or maybe I’ll have Breathtaker do a sweep through them. We both know we don’t have all day. You’re being expected.”

  Adam opened the door to the clothing store. He exited with both his hands empty and in the air.

  The team of five New Lords were all gathered around Abigail. Breathtaker had joined them, blood still running down his cracked face and costume.

  “There you are!” Sir Stygian said. He raised a gauntlet to beckon Adam forward. “Come here. And I expect to see the others come out as well. We’ll have to take measures if we don’t have a full party.”

  “Please don’t hurt anyone!” Adam called as he walked towards them. “These people are innocent. My other team members ran away. They’re out in the hills. They aren’t coming back. Please don’t hurt anyone because they’re cowards.”

  Stygian hefted his chipped sword. “Hm. From what I’ve heard, I can almost believe that. Nomad! Go find them.”

  The boy in road leathers teleported away.

  Nightstrike met Adam halfway and roughly patted him down. Adam wasn’t hiding anything on his person. He was relying entirely on Nathan and Kenny to do their parts. It was Adam’s job to buy time. Nightstrike grabbed the back of his neck and shoved him forward.

  Adam fell to his knees before the knight and his team. He tried to keep his pounding heart under control. His throat was so dry he couldn’t swallow. As his previous encounter with New Lords had taught him, this wasn’t his game. But buying time would have to be his own kind of bravery. And to be brave, he’d have to start talking.

  Anthracite flicked fire on and off his hands, his costume scored from where Mechommander had tagged him. Breathtaker looked down on him with anger. His nose was broken and swollen something awful.

  “You’re here for WATERSHED?” Adam asked. “Do you even understand what it is? Did he tell you? It’s an Invader. As in Beacon City. And it’s still alive. Do you seriously want anything to do with that? I’m trying to contain it.”

  Stygian brought his sword down and leaned on it like a cane in front of him. The edge divided the space in front of Adam. With a flick, he could cut him in half down the center.

  Stygian chuckled, a hollow reverberation. “Yes. We know exactly what WATERSHED is. And we’re going to do better than contain it. We’re going to use its power before it can.”

  “What does that mean?” Adam asked.

  “Anthracite, they’re stalling. Burn something.”

  The boy in black turned and sent an arcing stream of fire onto the building behind him. It landed on the roof and immediately became a wild blaze. Adam looked on in horror as the building was engulfed. Timbers split from the heat. He prayed to whoever was listening that anyone inside was able to leave out the back.

  “You can’t take it,” Adam said weakly. “You don’t understand.”

  “What is the code to open the container?” Stygian asked.

  Adam felt his jaw shaking as he watched the building crumble. He felt the heat of it on his face.

  “You… you want to open it here?”

  Stygian leaned down and grabbed Adam’s face in his cold, solid fingers. Ghastly light washed over him, blinding him to anything else. The fingers squeezed like a vice. Spots appeared in his vision.

  “We do not have time for this. Give us the combination to the container. And if your friends do not appear in the next ten seconds, we’ll burn another building.”

  “Stygian.”

  Nightstrike alerted him to something. He rose, releasing his hold on Adam’s head. Adam blinked to try to clear the pain. Footsteps approached. Then Nathan was thrown to his knees beside Adam.

  Adam looked over at his captured classmate. Nathan hung his head. He stared at the ground, no fight in him. It was hard to say if Adam had given him enough time. He had only heard about how his powers worked for the first time minutes ago. But Kenny wasn’t with him. That was a good sign.

  “There’s two out of three,” Stygian said. “We’re getting closer. Where’s the last one?”

  “I don’t know. We didn’t run off together,” Nathan said to the ground.

  A boot lashed forward and kicked him in the gut. Nathan wheezed and cried as he fell over.

  “I want the last Rosewell student to come forward before we all make our way over to WATERSHED,” Stygian said. He raised his voice to address the town. “Kenny! That’s your name, isn’t it? The boy with the silver tongue? I’d like you to come out, with your mouth closed! I’m sure you’re listening. If there’s a single heroic bone in your body making you worthy of attending that school, you won’t let others die in your place.” He brought his sword around to rest its tip under Adam’s chin. “Including your current employer.”

  The town was quiet except for the burning fires. No one rose from their hiding places.

  “How shameful,” Stygian lamented. “Anthracite, pick another building. Make sure there are people in it. And if there aren’t, we’ll put some in it.”

  He lit his arms and went to find another building.

  “Wait!”

  They all turned. A girl stepped out from between two buildings. She was tall and blonde, dressed in a flannel shirt, leggings, and soft boots.

  “Please! Don’t hurt our town anymore!” She came forwards, showing her hands were empty. “I don’t know who these people are, but if they won’t give you what you want, I will. I know where the boy you’re looking for is hiding.”

  Adam held back a curse. Please go right. Please go right. He kept his head down alongside Nathan.

  Sir Stygian regarded the girl. “That’s far enough.”

  She stopped walking. She rubbed her hands together, clearly frightened.

  “What’s your name?” he asked her.

  “S-Samantha,” she stuttered out.

  “Samantha…” he pondered. “Well, Samantha, on this day you’re showing far more bravery than these cowardly so-called heroes in training. If you mean what you say, you’ll be saving lives. I’m sure your fellow townsfolk would appreciate that. You don’t mean to trick us, do you?”

  “No!” Samantha insisted. “I know where he is. He’s in the basement of the clothing store. He’s doing something weird. I can’t get him out, but I can bring you to him. Please, I just want this all to be over.”

  Adam made eye contact with Nathan. This was the plan. They just had to stay steady, and give Kenny time.

  Stygian finished mulling it over. “Nightstrike, Breathtaker, go with her. Find Kenny. Bring him out here.”

  They split off and followed Samantha.

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  That left Stygian, Nomad, and Anthracite guarding Adam and his two captured team members. Stygian reached down and grabbed Adam’s arm. He pulled him forward, placing his hand flat against the road, then slowly lowered his boot to rest on Adam’s hand.

  Adam hissed out air, trying not to show how painful his knuckles popping under the weight already was.

  “What is the code to the container?” Stygian demanded.

  Adam gasped. “How do you know… it won’t just kill you?”

  “Because I know more than you, Adam.” His hand throbbed as more weight was applied. “I know worlds more than you.”

  “Is that right, Marcus?” Adam asked through gritted teeth.

  The knight laughed. His accent was faint, and hidden underneath an electronic layer, but it was still there.

  “That’s right,” Marcus Dragovel said. He wasn’t as nearly thrown off as Adam would’ve liked. One more second and his hand was going to snap.

  The boot released. Marcus looked back upwards. Adam rolled over to see Nightstrike and Breathtaker coming back, Samantha trailing between them.

  “Where is he?” Marcus demanded. “If she lead you wrong, you should beat it out of her!”

  They reached the main group. Nightstrike trotted up to a confused Anthracite. Before he could react, she punched him in the throat. He flailed downwards, gasping and choking.

  Breathtaker burst apart into vapor, rolling over Stygian and Nomad. Nomad immediately teleported.

  Stygian backed away, swatting at the vapor. “What is this?! We were warned about him!”

  Nightstrike leaped onto Stygian, blade in hand. She worked at cutting in between his chest plate and helmet, while Breathtaker’s vapor tried to penetrate.

  Adam stood and rushed over to where Abigail was netted to the ground. Her helmed head was caught at an awkward angle by the tight net. Nathan and “Samantha” followed.

  “What the hell was that?” she asked.

  “Nathan turned Kenny into a girl. It’s his power,” Adam explained quickly. “Do you have anything to cut you out of this?”

  “There’s a knife in a sheath on my lower back,” Abigail said.

  Adam did his best to force his hand through the netting to find it. The wire cut into his skin. He felt the handle of the knife with the edge of his fingers. He dug his hand in further, but couldn’t get a grip on it.

  Something slammed into the back of his head. Adam’s vision blurred as he was knocked down, his hand wrenched out of the net.

  It was the last New Lord, Nomad. He stood over Adam.

  Nathan tried a wild swing from behind. Nomad effortlessly caught it and rolled Nathan over his shoulder. He hit back first next to Adam and wheezed.

  Kenny, to his credit, didn’t try attacking.

  “Breathtaker, protect u—”

  That was all he got out before Nomad teleported and clamped a hand over his mouth. But it was enough. The cloud of vapor detached from Nightstrike and Stygian’s scuffle and floated over to them. Nomad teleported away again.

  Adam sat up, a hand over the warm spot on his head where he had been punched. His hand was lacerated from the net. He couldn’t reach Abigail’s knife. That left…

  Her chainsword was on the ground a few feet away.

  He reached for it. It was heavier than it looked. Or maybe it did look pretty heavy. He brought it up with him. The toothed chain on it was quiet. He didn’t know how to turn it on. He could barely lift its tip off the ground.

  Stygian finally got a hold of Nightstrike. He slammed her to the ground. She threw a small ball at his head. It struck his visor and burst apart into an inky cloud. She crawled backwards.

  That fight might not have lasted much longer, and it was clear Breathtaker couldn’t get through Stygian’s helmet. Adam had to get Abigail back in the fight. He quickly looked over the complicated hilt of the sword. A small engine was attached to it, with buttons and some kind of trigger start. He tried squeezing it. Nothing brought the sword to life.

  “How do you work this thing?” he called to Abigail.

  “My sword? You need to flip the manual start!”

  He found a red switch on the side. Flipping it, he tried squeezing again.

  The sword growled to life, teeth whirring. Adam nearly dropped it from the sudden noise. He brought the sword to the net.

  “Hold still.”

  As delicately as he could, he dipped the sword down to touch the net. The teeth ate through the cord, snapping it. The strength in his arms gave out for a second and he accidentally scraped the sword against her armor. Sparks flew.

  “Sorry!” he yelped as he put the sword down.

  He helped get the net off of Abigail. Down the street, Stygian had grabbed hold of Nightstrike again. His armor was covered in slashes from her knife. He punched her face, tearing the fabric of her hood. She went limp, and bounced off pavement as he threw her down without regard for his teammate’s safety.

  Abigail took a knee. She reached back, and small mechanical arms handed her a miniature grenade launcher. She aimed.

  Stygian turned to face them at the perfect time.

  Fwoom.

  The grenade hit Stygian center chest and erupted.

  BWOOSH!

  He disappeared in a crackling fireball. The force of it rocked the street. Adam shielded his eyes from the light. Smoke mushroomed into the sky. When it cleared, Marcus was left in smoking armor on his back. The green highlights of his suit flickered on and off. He stilled.

  Abigail put the grenade launcher back. “Really wish I could’ve started with that.”

  Adam put his hands on his knees and sighed in relief. His head hurt, and a few of his fingers felt dislocated. But they had did it. They beat the New Lords. WATERSHED was safe.

  People cautiously began peeking out of hiding. Doors opened, and cameras flashed to take pictures of the scene. In the middle of the street, the four of them gathered. Abigail’s helmet retracted in segments.

  “Guess we should’ve gone out in costume,” Kenny muttered.

  “Your power is to turn people into girls?” she asked Nathan.

  He winced, embarrassed. “Not exactly. The way I understand it, I can turn people into their possible alternate selves. I can sort of see into different timelines and pull from them. But it takes me a moment to tune to a new person. I think I can change things like their injuries, or even if they have powers or not, but those timelines are harder to find. Mostly it's the gender-changing thing.”

  Abigail whistled, impressed. “That’s certainly unique.”

  “Did you have to take so long?” Adam asked Kenny. He was still looking like he was his own sister.

  “I had to pick a convincing outfit!” Kenny defended with his hands on his hips. “I had to look like a Colorado ditz.”

  Nathan reached out to him. Kenny slapped his hand away. “I didn’t say to turn me back yet.”

  “What about the last one? The teleporter?” Abigiail asked.

  “I doubt he’ll bother us on his own,” Adam said. “But still, we should keep an eye out. We need to contact the BASTION base immediately.” His eyes widened as he remembered. “Shit. Reagan.”

  He told the rest of them to stay put and watch the New Lords as he ran back to the convoy. The RV door had been left open. He rushed inside. Reagan was flat on her back in the walkway by the beds. Adam knelt over her. He felt for her pulse.

  He waited, not daring to breathe.

  There. Her heart was beating. Faintly, but it was there. Adam almost cried in relief. If nothing else, his team he had roped into this was safe and accounted for. He tried to coax her awake.

  Reagan coughed. Her eyes half-opened.

  “…Adam? What happened?”

  “We were attacked. But it’s okay. We beat them.”

  “I.. I…” She coughed again.

  “Just rest,” Adam said, patting her on the shoulder. “I’ll get us out of here.”

  Abigail was waiting outside, her helmet still retracted. She told him the guys had a handle on the villains.

  “Can you get our communications up? We need BASTION now.”

  “Yep.”

  Adam checked over the BASTION agents first ambushed. He entered both the command centers. Half of them were dead. The other half unconscious or weak. Wicky was dead. Captain Hackett was dead. They never knew what hit them. His heart sunk further and further with each confirmed death. He didn’t know how much lower it could go, but the answer was always deeper. This was the weight of leadership. He was just beginning to understand it. He could tell himself these agents knew what they were signing up for, but it didn’t make the burden any easier.

  More sirens arrived out on the street. He heard the wail of a firetruck arriving to deal with the remains of the building Anthracite burned. Probably more police. They’d be coming over soon. Adam didn’t know what to say to them. Even if this was a victory, it was a disaster. He had brought danger to all these people. Maybe gotten some of them killed. He wondered what it was all for. What he was really protecting.

  And what the hell was his family doing without him?

  Abigail appeared again. “The comms are ready.”

  Adam stood. “Thank you.”

  He tried to walk past her. She didn’t move.

  “Abigail?”

  She was expressionless.

  “Is something wrong?”

  “Let’s go check on WATERSHED,” she said.

  Adam nodded. “That’s a good idea. We should make sure it’s not compromised…”

  They walked to the back of the truck with the WATERSHED container on its bed. Three physical bolt locks and an advanced biometric security system kept the doors shut.

  “It looks fine to me,” Adam said. “They didn’t want to steal the container. They wanted me to open it here.”

  “That’s fucking weird.”

  "Yeah, I—"

  The emergency brakes were pulled on his train of thought. Did Abigail just… swear? He had never heard her so much as utter a euphemism before.

  “Abigail?”

  She grabbed a sawblade from her back and attached it to her glove. She gave it a test, teeth spinning over her knuckles.

  “Abigail, what are you doing?”

  “I wish his armor had been more mechanized. It would have made all that easier. All that strength must be from magic or something.”

  “Abigail, what are you talking about?”

  She faced him. And there was no adoration or respect in her look. It was a look that said she was relieved to finally be done pretending. It was all over.

  Adam felt the deep gulf between them, and then realized something horrible.

  I can sense technology. There’s something underneath us.

  You should let me have a crack at it.

  Why won’t the door open? She said it would be ready!

  Adam stepped away slowly. Not this. Not after all they had just done together. They had beaten the bad guys. This was supposed to be their win. Abigial wasn’t a New Lord. She just helped them win. Which meant…

  “You’re… you’re…”

  Abigail took something else off her back. She unfolded it. It was made of pieces of leather, bolted together with bits of scrap. A mask, with a snout. She wore it over the upper half of her head. Two dusty eyes made of glass lenses stared ahead. Wicked metal teeth hung from the upper jaw.

  “Sorry, Adam. Now that everyone else is out of the picture, I’ll be gonna taking my prize now,” Scavenger said.

  The security panel on the container burst apart in electrical fire. Scavenger climbed up and began working her saw into the bolts. Sparks blazed.

  Adam fell flat on his behind. He stared into the distance. His brain wouldn’t process. This was a nightmare. Months, she had gone to school, worked her way closer. All for this.

  He couldn’t stop her. She had all the weapons. There was nothing to do.

  “If you open that, we die,” was all he could think to say.

  Scavenger paused her sawing. “Adam, you don’t understand. You couldn’t possibly understand. When I got my way into your foundation, I thought I’d be raiding some decent tech. But this… it speaks to me. Like nothing else. My whole life, I’ve been building and destroying tech as I see fit. But this has a will of its own. A voice. I heard it underneath my feet. I want it. I want it more than anything.”

  “It’s tricking you. It’ll kill you.”

  She switched her saw out for a drill.

  “No, Adam. I’m going to be the one killing it.”

  “…Why?”

  She faced him and grinned underneath her hyena mask. “Because. I want to eat its heart.”

  She continued breaking her way into the container.

  “Scavenger is supposed to be a tech bane,” Adam said. Maybe some desperate hope that his friend was only pretending.

  “I can turn it on and off at will. Focus it, break certain things. Maybe create a bubble where only my tech works so no one can record what I look like.”

  His thoughts further unspooled, everything falling into place.

  “You broke the vault door. You sabotaged their heist.”

  “Yes! I couldn’t have them steal it from me.”

  One lock snapped off, then another. Only one left. They could all very well be dead in the next few moments. Him, Abigail, Reagan and the team, the entire town. A decent part of the country.

  “Why not steal it in the sub-basement?” he asked.

  “Too much hassle!” she called. “Tricky little place, that. Even with all my skills. I was patched into your network, you know. I saw all the plans in motion. I knew someone would be taking it out sooner or later. I like having clear skies over my head when I make my move.”

  She worked on breaking the last bolt.

  “So you saw who it was. Who turned off the security.”

  “Yes.”

  Adam trembled. He was afraid to ask. He was afraid that he had ruined his first and only relationship for nothing, and there would be no time before his death to fix it.

  “Who?”

  Nathan came around the corner. “Hey Adam—” He stopped when he saw Abigail breaking into the container. “What’s she doing? I thought that was dangerous!”

  “She’s robbing us,” Adam said.

  “Just hold tight boys, this is almost over.”

  “Who was it?” Adam asked again.

  She looked over her shoulder with a coy smile.

  “It’s wasn’t your sex doll, Adam. It was someone who had everything they needed.”

  “Who?!”

  “Dodds.”

  Adam’s worldview revolted again. He couldn’t have heard her right. BASTION had its hooks in, but his security? Dodds, the agent running Rosewell. The agent in charge of every teen superhero in the city.

  Scavenger answered the question he couldn’t voice.

  “BASTION seniority has a whole layer of phantom access you have no way of seeing. But I do. I was behind even them. I saw her grubby little hands at work in your system. That’s why there was no intrusion. She’s been very naughty.”

  “Why?”

  Scavenger sighed, halting the last drill on the verge of its completion. “Do I look like I’m fuckin’ working for them? I just saved your ass, so maybe show a little gratitude. I don’t know why Dodds sabotaged you. Go ask her. I’m leaving it all behind tonight. No more stupid classes, no more shitty haircut, no more ridiculous clothes, no more kissing your privileged ass.”

  She pressed the drill into the bolt, and it snapped. The container was breached. Putting her tools away, Scavenger stepped back and flung the doors open.

  Adam held his breath, bracing for the worst.

  The interior was still. No tentacles lashed out to rip in her half. No black holes appeared in the sky.

  Abigail entered, climbing her way over the limp body of the Invader. Adam released a shaky exhale.

  Nathan came to him and shook his shoulder. “Adam! Adam, what the hell do we do? Should I get Kenny?”

  He blinked. Kenny. Could Kenny stop her? All his New Lords were broken. Breathtaker couldn’t bring down Abigail the first time. No, they were all powerless. BASTION was hours away, surely already called by police. There was nothing to do now but wait. Scavenger would have her prize.

  They sat, helpless, as inside Scavenger picked at what she was after. Grisly sounds of butchering. How could she get through the thing’s thick skin? She shouldn’t be strong enough. The world’s most powerful heroes barely were. But there she emerged. Covered in fluid black like oil. It dripped off her, off the teeth of her mask. Something pulsed in her hand. It was the size of a football. Some half-fleshy, half-mechanical organ that throbbed red underneath the fluid.

  The feet of Scavenger’s suit hit the ground. She came over, showing off her loot.

  “See, Adam? It wanted me to have it. It opened and gave it to me.”

  Terrible heat radiated off the heart of the Invader. It dripped sludge. Adam beheld it, and somehow, he saw it in a deeper way than he ever had seen anything else in his life. He saw… layers to it. Something invisible. Something like he had that day he had saved his cousin from the wormhole generator. It was like space warped around the thing. He saw its mad potential.

  “Abigail…” He didn’t know where to begin to beg. Because he knew she saw it in her own way too. “Please. You’re going to doom us all."

  She wasn’t listening. The glow reflected in the glass eyes of her mask.

  “Go home, Adam.” Her mind was somewhere else, alone with her prize.

  She wasted no more words before she took off on her boots, up into the clear sky. Gone, with the heart of the Invader.

  . . .

  Police interviewed each of the students. Adam explained who he was, who they all were. BASTION on route from Denver, less than an hour. One of the officers responding was killed. Four people in the building Anthracite burned were dead. Numbers to add to the toll on Adam’s soul. Regret saturated him until he couldn’t feel anything else but numb. Everything was underwater. He was far away. But his team was still here. And they needed guidance. He needed to be there for the ones he could still help. He needed to stop the danger.

  Dodds.

  “It’s Dodds,” he said once they were alone again.

  “What?” Reagan sat in the booth of the RV, all of them inside as they waited to be returned to BASTION custody. Police were on watch outside. Kenny and Nathan leaned against counters. They all watched Adam. They had all just processed Abigail’s betrayal.

  “Dodds. She’s Cyrus’s mole. I don’t know how or when… it must have been from the beginning. Abigail knew from hacking the foundation. It’s all a setup. Everyone at Rosewell are pawns. They need to be warned.”

  “So we’ll warn them,” Kenny said. He still hadn’t been changed back. “BASTION is coming to pick us up.”

  “What if they’re working for Dodds?” Nathan asked. “What if it’s a whole conspiracy! They could execute us right here!”

  Adam looked at his phone. He debated calling Thalia. But the school had complete control over student communication. Any message could be intercepted.

  “She doesn’t know we know she’s connected. But she will know the team here failed,” Adam said. “The headmaster needs to be told in person. And someone else.” Adam thought through the options. “Lauren has contact with another agent. Tell him through her. Get to Lauren, Thalia, and Lucy. They’ll help.”

  “Why are you talking like you aren’t coming with?” Reagan asked.

  “Because I need to see my family,” Adam said. “I need…”

  He needed to tell them he failed. He couldn’t lead. He couldn’t protect WATERSHED. He needed them to be okay. He needed them to know what to do.

  “I need to finish my trip. I’ll take the van. The rest of you, wait for BASTION to bring you back. Let them take what's left of WATERSHED. Dodds doesn’t know we know it’s her. She won’t stop you from coming back into the fold. But you need to warn them.”

  “I’ll come with you. You need someone watching your back,” Reagan said to Adam.

  “No,” he said. “I’m finishing this myself. They’ll want you all back and debriefed. I’m the only one with the leeway to keep going. If I take any of you, they might stop me. I need to finish this.”

  Adam and Reagan held eye contact. He also needed her to keep the boys focused. She nodded.

  Adam put his face in his hands. Everything went wrong so quickly. There was no stopping now. He had to finish things. After that, he could think about putting things right in his personal life. If there was any salvaging it.

  “Kenny, can you talk to the cops and get them to let me out of here?”

  He nodded. Adam stood. Kenny and Nathan both headed outside.

  Reagan carefully stood up. She was still weak from having her breath taken. She leaned next to Adam.

  “This is bad, isn’t it?” she asked quietly. “This is all bad.”

  “Yeah,” Adam said. “It’s pretty much all bad.”

  “Think we can fix it?” Reagan asked.

  “I think we have to try.”