I can sense them lurking in the shadows just off the access road. These government guys might think they’ve got us surrounded, but the glowing eyes in the darkness would argue otherwise. The Chimærae hold their position, waiting for a signal.

I hear a creak behind me and half turn to find Marina on the porch, jagged icicles extending from her hands like twin daggers. That’s new. Next to her, using the doorway for cover, is Adam, holding a Mogadorian blaster.

“What do we do?” Marina asks.

I notice storm clouds gathering overhead. Six is ready to throw down if we need to. But so far, the government guys haven’t done anything except make a lot of noise. They didn’t come in shooting, which is the only reason I haven’t fired up my Lumen.

“I don’t want to hurt them if we don’t have to,” I say. “But we don’t have time for any bullshit. I’m damn sure not being taken in for questioning.”

Apparently, Nine interprets my words as encouragement to do something crazy. He strides forward and picks up the base of Dr. Anu’s chair, which got sheared in half by blaster fire during this afternoon’s battle. The thing must weight close to two hundred pounds, but Nine hefts it easily with one hand, swinging it back and forth as a demonstration.

“You guys are on private property!” Nine shouts. “And I don’t see any warrants!”

Before I can stop him, Nine flings the entire chunk into the air, putting it just inches from the nose of the nearest helicopter. It’s pretty obvious from my vantage point that the chopper isn’t in any real danger, but I guess the human pilot isn’t used to having superstrong Garde chucking scrap metal at him. The pilot pulls back on his controls and the chopper shakily gains altitude, its spotlight making erratic trails across the lawn. The chair piece comes down with a loud crash in the middle of the street.

“That was unnecessary,” Adam observes from the doorway.

“Eh, agree to disagree,” Nine says.

As he bends down to pick up another piece of the chair, I hear the telltale cocking of guns from the line of SUVs. Six must hear them too from wherever she’s lurking, because a wave of fog suddenly rolls across the lawns of Ashwood Estates, making us much harder to target.

I light my Lumen and step forward, putting myself between Nine and the SUVs. I hold up my hands so the agents can clearly see that they’re enveloped in fire.

“I don’t know why you’re here,” I yell towards the line of cars, “but you’re making a mistake. This is a fight you seriously cannot win. Smartest thing you can do is go back to your bosses and tell them there was nothing here.”

To punctuate the speech, I send a telepathic command to our Chimærae. Howls rings out from the darkness on the SUVs’ flanks. Suddenly panicked, some of the agents start aiming their guns into the shadows, and one of the choppers uses its spotlight to begin combing the fields alongside the access road. We’ve got them scared.