I brushed his hand aside before it could make contact. My arm and hand hadn’t moved in the course of the brushing aside. I’d meant to do it and I hadn’t.

It had been a brief, natural expansion of my forcefield, a brief, natural movement of an arm that had no meat beneath the skin, no bone beneath the meat, and no rejiggered rat or feline DNA in blood, bone, meat, or skin. Above all, it had been a gentle touch.

I wasn’t supposed to use my powers, and I’d just used my powers.

“Uh,” Eric said, his eyes going wide, the smile falling away, the good humor gone.

“Don’t do that,” I told him. “What were you doing?”

“Trying to get your attention.”

None of that dominance now. None of the steady eye contact.

“You had it. Sudden movement in the corner of my vision? You said you were good at seeing perspectives. Please be aware of mine.”

“I—sorry,” he said.

Too defensive, I thought. Calm down.

I gripped my arms. My missing fingernail really fucking hurt.

“Was going to say, he’s with Amelia. You could try calling, but…”

I looked at the screen again.

No sign of Flashbang. Dad. Probably Dad.

I felt that pang of loneliness again.

Dead silent, unmoving, I watched the screens.

I wanted to be out there, helping.

But we were being penalized for going off on our own. We’d ducked one set of arbitrary, rushed rulings for another set.

I tried to tell myself that it was the deal I’d struck with myself. That I’d cooperate, listen.

Anything else got messy, and hurt the rest of the team.

“I could ask you some of Cinereal’s questions.”

I’m not sure I could take it, I thought. I’m a bit on edge.

A little bit mega proud that I had that much control over my forcefield. It helped with the feeling of loneliness.

“Sure,” I told him.

“It’s a brief list. Question says she wanted to talk to every member of your team separately. I take it to mean I’m supposed to ask you and just you.”

“Okay. Shoot.”

“Tell me about Capricorn,” Eric said, leaning back.

“Vague question.”

“How was he, how is he?”

“This is confidential?”

“Good as,” Eric answered.

I hesitated.

But I felt like not answering at all would be damning.

“When I first met him, he was good. Harder-headed, stricter with himself and in a way, with his brother. Unavoidable. Natural hero, just thrust into a situation where someone was going to do something disagreeable. They found a middle ground and given where they started, I think that’s incredible. He’s a good leader, capable, powerful, pretty darn sensible, if aggressive, but even that aggressiveness has become something more… tempered, mature. He bypassed Goddess in a way the rest of us couldn’t. It’d be nice to have him out there. I think you guys need him out there.”

“Concerns? Critical weaknesses?”