“And the coma is when the real trouble began.” He chuckled darkly and I saw Dr. Bright wince. That was when Dr. Bright—who had been working at the AM—found out that it was holding her brother captive. She worked for years to try to get him out but couldn’t find a way in.

“I recruited Damien to help,” Dr. Bright explained. “With his ability … do you know what his ability is?”

“Um … yeah,” I said, unsure if everyone knew that he didn’t have it anymore.

“And you still hung out with him?” Adam asked, incredulous. “Even though you knew that he must have been manipulating you?”

“Oh, no, he wasn’t—” I rushed to explain.

“He can’t do it anymore,” Mark interrupted. “His power is gone.”

“How do you know?” Sam asked, her eyes narrowing.

“He called me,” Mark said.

“What?” Dr. Bright asked. “When?”

“Yesterday.” He sighed. “He was wasted. Going on and on about he’d never gotten drunk before but now it didn’t matter because his ability is gone.”

“That explains the late afternoon hangover…” I muttered, my suspicions confirmed. Mark was the reason that Damien had been drunk yesterday. But I still couldn’t get a grip on what had happened between them.

“So, wait, Damien rescued you,” I said, trying to get us back on track. “Why would he then try to kidnap Adam?”

“Damien is obsessed with—” Mark sighed again, gritted his teeth. “He wants to be immune to Atypicals. Immune to me.”

“And you could help him with that?” I asked Adam. “Is that what your power does?’

“Oh, I’m not—” Adam started. “I’m not special like all you guys.”

“Adam is like me,” Dr. Bright said. “An average human with a lot of Atypical friends.”

“But you and Caleb…” I trailed off, unsure how to phrase the question.

“Yeah?” Adam asked.

“You guys are together.”

“Yeah, we are. Is that a problem?” I recognized that defensive tone immediately and realized that Adam thought I was asking a very different question than the one I was asking.

“Hey, chill, I’m gay too,” I explained and he noticeably relaxed. “But … you’re cool with it? Having an Atypical boyfriend?”

“Yeah,” Adam said, seeming baffled by the question. “Yeah, of course, why wouldn’t I be?”

“I don’t know.” I shrugged. “That’s good to know though. Thanks.”

“You’re welcome?”

“I’ve been thinking about telling my girlfriend,” I explained, “but I’m not sure how she’s going to react.”

“Gotcha.” Adam nodded.

“Wait—” I shook my head to clear it, trying to stay focused. “Damien wanted to be immune to you because…”

“He didn’t want to share his power with me,” Mark said. I initially found that hard to believe—Damien let me use my power on him only a few weeks after meeting him. “Last time we tried to use our powers together, I kind of … broke him.”