I nod, dropping the argument. Maybe some physical activity will be good for Ella. At the very least, it should tire her out enough so that she’ll get some real rest.

We’re the last two to arrive in the Lecture Hall. Everyone stands in the middle of the room, dressed in workout clothes. Malcolm sits behind the Lectern’s console, examining the glowing buttons and levers through his glasses.

Nine claps his hands when he sees us. “All right! Let’s get started! Capture the flag time, baby! The ultimate test of teamwork and, um, ass-kicking ability.”

Six rolls her eyes and Five stifles a groan. I stand next to Eight, who flashes me a quick smile. I hope we end up on the same team.

“The rules are simple,” Nine says. He gestures to the opposite ends of the gym where he’s mounted a pair of makeshift flags made out of old Chicago Bulls T-shirts. “The first team to grab the other team’s flag and bring it back to their side is the winner. You’ve gotta be holding the flag at all times, no telekinesis. Also, no teleporting the flag back to your own side—ahem, that means you, Eight.”

Eight smirks. “No problem. I like a challenge.”

Piled on the floor are four Mogadorian rifles that I grabbed on our way out of Arkansas. Figured we might want them for just this kind of exercise. I notice Sam eyeing them hesitantly. “What are those for?” he asks.

“Each team is going to get two guns,” explains John, jumping in. “Malcolm has modified them so they’re nonlethal. Like stun guns. We always end up using their own guns against the Mogs in battle; I figured this would be good practice.”

“Also, we wanted to give you non-Garde a fighting chance,” says Nine, glancing at Sam and Sarah.

Malcolm strides over from the Lectern, his hands clasped behind his back. “I’ll be using the Lecture Hall’s systems to throw in some obstacles,” he says. “Remember, if anyone gets hurt, it’s okay to call a timeout so Marina or John can heal you.”

Nine sighs, annoyed. “There’re no timeouts in a real fight, so let’s try to keep wimping out to a minimum.”

John glances around, taking a less cavalier approach. “Remember, this is just practice. We’re not really trying to kill each other.”

John and Nine are captains, dividing us into two teams. John chooses Six with his first pick, and Nine selects Eight. Next, John takes Five and Nine picks Marina. John’s third pick is Bernie Kosar, and then Nine surprises everyone by choosing Sarah. I expected to go in the last round; there’s no shame in it when the rest of the players are packing superpowers. John picks me, probably wanting to divide the humans up evenly, which leaves Ella to join Nine’s team.

We huddle up at our end of the gym.