In which case, Jasper’s family might be in trouble. That awareness was mirrored in his face, but we couldn’t help them right now. Our only hope was to make straight for Mars Mining Incorporated, find our way inside, and destroy the alien ship. With luck, they’d sent their best people after us. Maybe the headquarters was unguarded.

Jasper directed us out the service entrance and into the fake garden. He hesitated, glancing at Spring Veil Resort with an agonized expression on his face. “Jasper,” said Imani softly. “Your family will be fine.”

He shook his head, forcing a smile. “Right. If we stop the aliens from ripping them to shreds, you mean. Hopefully they’ll see that as a good excuse for abandoning them . . . again.”

“What are we going to do?” Rune demanded. “The plan . . .”

“The plan’s off,” I said dryly. We were going to distract the Mars Mining guards with a diversion in the tourist area and then sneak back to the ship while they were occupied. Unfortunately, that wasn’t going to work any longer.

“We’re heading to the ship. We have a lot of power between us. We’ll blast our way in and wreak some havoc. I’m not sure what else to do at this point.”

Mia spit blood on the ground and scowled. “I like havoc.”

Rune shook her head furiously, but something crashed behind us, and she gave up. “All right, already! Whatever we’re doing, let’s just move!”

We broke into a run. Jasper led us through Mars’s side streets, avoiding attention as much as possible. It wasn’t nearly as crowded as earlier, but even at four in the morning, there were plenty of people out and about. Of course, by this time many of them were too drunk to notice us rushing past.

I scrambled over a stack of crates separating tourist Mars from its shantytown cousin, Reed on my heels. That was when his steady, strong gait broke through my worry and fear. “Your ankle!” I exclaimed. “It’s better! What happened?”

Reed’s face broke into a broad grin. I got the sense he’d been waiting for someone to ask. “I have no idea! I went to sleep thinking about how sore it was and wishing I had some painkillers. And when I woke, presto! It didn’t hurt at all. I healed myself !”

“That’s ridiculous,” said Cage sharply. “Your power doesn’t work that way.”

“You’re telling me? God knows I’ve tried hard enough in the past. But something happened. You got a better explanation?”

From Cage’s expression, it was evident he didn’t. I couldn’t come up with one either. “Do powers mutate?” I suggested as we threaded our way through the streets. “I’ve never heard of that.”

“Neither have I.” Rune had drawn close behind us and was examining Reed like an interesting science project. “We should test it out.”

“What, by cutting me open and seeing if I heal? No thanks.”