I turned my head, covering my eyes with my arm. The gun wasn’t even aimed at me, my eyes were shut, and my arm was in the way, and the darkness of my vision still turned pink, shaded slightly by bones between me and the group.

Rain emptied the gun, firing again and again. From the changes in the flash’s angles, he was moving while firing.

Moose crashed into the wall, rather than into any of us.

The flashing had stopped, and I flew skyward. I deemed myself safe to look, and saw as the others ducked through the openings in the very thick wall, Tristan sealing the apertures behind them. Moose sat on the ground, and the rest looked bewildered.

I shook my head and flew to the others.

⊙

We were all gathered. Advance Guard’s group was assembled in entirety, including the supporting members of the group. I warily watched as a healer cape did his work. Flickering images overlapped as he pressed his hand down on ReSound’s shoulder.

Nothing like Amy. It still bothered me. True healing powers were something comprehensive and powerful, to cover the bases necessary for all the various sicknesses and maladies, while also wreaking meaningful change. Powers themselves didn’t lend themselves to healing, as a general rule, either. Not unless they were selfish.

Even the strongest self-healers I’d met had been pretty fucked up. Crawler had been one.

Rescue was present, the teleporter who pulled people away. Mapwright was a straggler, a woman with a limp. She went to Mayday’s side, and they clasped hands. The place where their hands met glowed a soft pink, and then Mayday’s eyes glowed pink behind his mask.

“Who’s that a block to the north?” he asked.

“Civilians. Kids eating popsicles,” Mapwright said.

“Then we’re clear to talk,” Mayday said. He pulled off his helmet. He did the thing a lot of capes with helmets did, wearing a basic mask beneath. He was thirty-five or so, had warm black skin, with a very long face and sharp chin, arching eyebrows, a thin mustache at his upper lip, and a line of beard from the middle of his lip to his chin. His head was shaved.

His face didn’t really match the impression he gave with his helmet on, with the broader, triangular face panels. That was part of the point, I supposed.

“This was a clusterfuck,” I said. “We ended up showing ourselves, you pointed out our surveillance, you disturbed the peace, and the entire situation got more chaotic.”

“Easy,” Capricorn said.

“She’s not wrong,” Rain said.

“I know,” Capricorn said. “But… easy. I don’t want to be enemies with Advance Guard.”

“No,” Mayday said. “The sentiment is mutual.”