Then the hail resumed. Dull ‘splat’ impacts that made the impact areas taller, wider, and thinner. Something more ordinary struck one of the stretched out barriers and shattered it with a sound and effect very similar to glass breaking.

Fume Hood launched a series of spheres. The gas was both a deterrent that forced the group back into the corridor and a way to disrupt their accuracy. Most of her focus was elsewhere, though. There hadn’t been enough space, so her team had fallen back to another decagon.

“Kite!” Gong raised his voice to be heard. Blatherskite flinched. Gong went on, resuming the orders he’d been trying to give before “We need to not have to worry about the wounded. This is your job. You follow orders! You, Tandem, Tailgate. Find where the three we sent down that hallway are hiding.”

Blatherskite nodded, the motion tight. He’d protested earlier and he didn’t protest now. A token effort when he really wanted out.

Capricorn was in the cubicle next to ours, talking to Tandem. I could overhear parts of their conversation as he described parts of the scene we’d left behind with the big room of people, the bars, and the number of capes there.

“…can get past bars,” Tandem was saying.

“I figured, but you have to get your team past them too.”

“What a shame that we haven’t talked.”

“I—yeah.”

“You ready, Tan?” Gong raised his voice.

“When you are!”

“Prong?”

“Yeah. Nervous, but yeah.”

“Tailgate? We’re going to want your power. Two shots if you can manage it.”

Tailgate didn’t respond, like she had been rendered deaf by the cacophony.

I put my hand out, into her field of view. She startled.

“You with us?” Gong asked.

I saw the confusion as she took stock.

“Teacher’s facility, we’re in the gallery,” I said. “You’ve been here for a few hours, you’re being relieved by the second strike teams. You’re taking the wounded through that door with Blatherskite and Tandem. Tandem leads, I think?”

“We need portals,” Gong said, without giving Tailgate a chance to respond. “Here and here. We’re covering you with an attack. Prong’s diving in, he’ll need all of our support. We push, distract, cover, and then fall back to this point.”

And with that, any light of understanding in Tailgate’s expression fogged up again. “I’m helping with that?”

“You’re going with Tandem,” Gong said, clearly annoyed.

“This way,” I said. “I’ll cover you. Go to the cubicle next door. Do what Tandem says.”

Tailgate looked back to Gong.

“Make the portals.”

Fuck me, I could have hit him.

“Tandem!” I called out.

“What!?” was the answering cry.

“Tailgate’s making a portal to help your retreat and help our charge. Give them the orders! Sending her to you!”

“Got it!”

“Go,” I told Tailgate. “Do what Tandem says.”

Again, she looked to Gong.