“Chastity, Capricorn, with us. Stick by Flashbang. Precipice, Swansong, guard Cassie and the vehicles. If we run into a wall, you’re our backup. Swansong can punch through powers, minions, anything we can’t seem to stop, Precipice can punch through obstacles.”

Precipice turned to look at the situation. A long straight road with woods on one side and field on the other, cars sitting with engines running and headlights illuminating tracts of land. “I have to be there to hit stuff. If you’re in there and you run into trouble—”

“We’ll signal. You’re sticking by the truck for a reason. Cassie can get you in and Cassie can get you away.”

He nodded.

“Rachel? Hold the flanks. There might be people coming from down the road. Once we signal, bring everyone that’s not inside back in.”

I saw the frown on her face.

“We’ve got a team going right for the heart of this place. Number one thing, we stop them from reaching the people on the far side. Then we clean up from the inside out. You guys handle the outside in. Yes?”

“Mm,” she grunted.

Great. Great communication.

“Sveta, I know you don’t want to go inside while you’re unsuited, so just help from the flanks, follow our rear. I’ll try to stay in communication. When we get through, we’ll bring you across.”

“I’ll do what I can,” I heard her say. A voice like the one she’d used in the hospital. “I want to try this but I’m really afraid it’s not going to work. A lot of things didn’t.”

“Really truly, just knowing you have our back matters,” I said.

I saw her nod. I wasn’t sure she believed me.

“We don’t have long,” Rain said.

I nodded.

“Dominoes,” I told my parents. “Capricorn, Chastity, with us. Be ready to run. Rest of you, spread out. Capricorn? Give yourself a water gun further down there. We’ll need it to reload.”

“Reload?”

“You’ll see.”

They did.

“Small, small, empty,” my dad said, creating his energy orbs. Hard light around a swirl of energy. He tossed them to my mom.

She shifted into her hard, indestructible sphere form, and I snatched her out of the air with one arm before she could hit the ground.

“Run!” I gave the order. My dad ushered the two forward, Capricorn’s armor making metal on metal sounds in tune with heavy footsteps, Chastity far lighter.

I flew, Brandish tucked under one arm, a large sphere.

With a bit of Wretch strength, I hurled the sphere. It crashed into the two guys on guard duty, I landed, and I kicked it, channeling about seven years of active frustration with the maternal unit into the kick.