Beside her, someone was using a changer power, manifesting bone armor and a long limb at their right hip. Possibly a whip.

Someone shot Sabrina. I carried right past her to the changer, and hit it hard enough to shatter the bone armor and send them sprawling. Capricorn used his power, and water came in through the open windows, flooding the restaurant and knocking just about everyone at the far end off their feet. All members of the other group.

It wasn’t a pretty fight. It wasn’t even an exciting fight. It was a trap closing, where I was the jaws of the mousetrap slamming down, Capricorn was the pitfall and the bucket of water they were unceremoniously forced to deal with. Sveta was the snare.

Even with a bullet in her, Sabrina used her power anew, surrounding herself and her teammates. Her teammates rose up, each one flying within the bubble, with double images forming around each. Other things were lifted as well—tables and chairs.

People took shots. Most hit the strategically placed and doubled furniture.

Sabrina fired a handgun from behind cover. One shot, and I heard four impacts as the shots landed. Passing through or traveling through the bubble, the bullets were multiplied.

I had the Wretch pick up a table as I flew. It was my shield, above and beyond what the Wretch offered. I rammed into the floating cover Sabrina had erected around her people and drove that cover into them. One flew back and away, stunned, and had a tentacle grab them from the window behind them.

It was my means of taking Sabrina’s booth that she was using as cover and, overturning the table that had been damaged by wretch and bullet alike, place it over her head, capping her in the booth.

She had to fly out, floating in her bubble, moving low to the ground. Anticipating her, I flew to meet her, diving and putting my foot where mirror images overlapped. I kicked her chest-first into the floor, and I could hear the clack of her teeth as her chin met the floor a fraction of a second later.

We’d left little room for counterplay. No room for proper reactions, beyond the wild and desperate attempt to fight back.

Just like that, it was over.

Nobody who knew anything relaxed. The captains called in that we’d succeeded. The confirmation came back. All looked good. All clear from Looksee and Tattletale. Sveta handed the tinker case to a professional.

Everyone who knew something about the situation remained ready, waiting for the next shoe to drop.

“Good work,” Junior Captain Eads said.

There was nowhere to go. Nothing to do. We’d done our job, the people with the know-how were interrogating who they could find, and answers would come soon.