The hand came up. I flew to intercept, and hit the back of the hand as hard as I could, before it reached the momentum necessary to flick the whip. The impact dented the surface of the hand, but didn’t stop it from raising up, catching me as it rose. The movement was too slow for the impact to hurt, but it was an impact, and that impact made my gunshot wound hurt more. Again, there was that suggestion that I could pass out if I let myself.

I maneuvered with more care, aura blasting to try to distract Cradle, for all the good it did.

A tinker who’d had a year to prepare, a team funneling him resources, and apparently a bit of talent to boot.

A hand moved to shield an attack from the side. Something crashed against the hand, and Cradle turned his head to look.

Capricorn’s power. Water had splashed against the hand and then turned to stone.

A moment later, there was another.

The hand closed, and the stone broke.

I flew back and up a little, to get a better vantage point.

Capricorn was with Vista and Sveta. Capricorn was creating a sphere somewhere between the size of a beachball and basketball, though spikier than either. Sveta grabbed it, used her power to fling it from fifty feet behind her to Cradle.

Stone became water, which became stone immediately after impact.

Operator’s advance had been stymied, as the top of the hill folded up and overhead, creating a ridge he couldn’t climb. He was going around, which only served to give them more time.

Cradle moved his whip hand. I smacked it down, then evaded the various cables that swung in my direction, while I waited for the Wretch to return.

Chris was closing the distance, slow as he was, approaching the hands. Capricorn unleashed another shot. The shot clipped the top of a finger, splashing well over Cradle’s head, and then the water became stone. Each bit of water was now a stone smaller than a fist, raining down on Cradle’s head.

Vista shouted something.

Good.

Good, this was the part I liked, that didn’t make me miserable. Having a team. Finding a way to work together and mesh, solving problems.

I just wished it wasn’t at the expense of time.

I struck an arm again—getting past the endless barriers was next to impossible, especially when the cables were whipping around and I was vulnerable right after any impact. This hit was aimed at destabilizing, putting him on tilt, so he had to adjust, shift weight, and move arms around.

Capricorn and Sveta had been delivering the projectiles at a fairly steady rate. Now there was a pause.

“Above,” I heard through my earphone.

I got out of dodge.