“Technically,” I added, “it’s less his than Colette’s or whatever Dominator he’s using, but he’s behind it.”

  Ray dropped his hands to his sides, but continued to take slow breaths. “Magnus tried to teach me something like that. He powered me up somehow and said that learning how to control energy would help.”

  He turned away from me, eyes flicking around, probably to check for threats. “You said it can help me survive. What do the two of you know that I don’t?”

  “The three of us,” Prentkos said.

  “Fine,” Ray said. “What do all of you plus a bunch of people know that I don’t?”

  I wasn’t going to tell him everything. I went with, “There are aliens and some people on Earth have enough of a connection to them that they can draw on energy and use it for a bunch of different things. I didn’t know that it could be used to wipe mental influence on yourself until today.”

  “No kidding?” Ray shook his head. “Well, add one more use to your list. It wiped my powers. Magnus gave me the power to copy other people’s powers, and I grabbed some nice ones, but they’re gone. I can’t copy anymore either. That’s gone too.”

  “Really? Wow.” I hadn’t thought that it might wipe a connection to Magnus, but that made a kind of sense. It did open the question of whether or not Dominator powers might be linked to Artificer abilities, but I wouldn't have time to figure that out today.

  Ray shook his head. “This isn’t what I expected. I thought I’d be able to pull some weight. I can show you where to go, but I’m going to have to disappear before you get there. I’m not going to be able to do much. I won’t even be able to protect myself.”

  Prentkos looked from him to me and back to him. “Why did Magnus take you here if you can’t do anything?”

  Ray’s eyes narrowed. “I didn’t say I can’t do anything, but normally I evaluate a situation and gather the tools and people I need to handle it. What I see here is that Magnus has the keys to a giant death machine, my people aren’t here, and I don’t have my gear or any way to get it. Plus, he’s got Colette, so he can take over my mind whenever he wants.

  “That’s the kind of situation I plan to avoid. You two have powers and gear. If you’re fighting him, you can be in front. I’m going be behind you instead of dying uselessly.”

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  Letting another buzzer form in the palm of my glove, I said, “I can help with avoiding mind control. Touch this to your collar. It will blend in and cancel out Colette’s commands.”

  He took the little ball in his fingers and stared at me for a moment, as if deciding whether he could trust me. “No kidding. That solves part of the problem. I don’t suppose you’ve got a gun in there?”

  “No gun,” I said, “but what about a knife?”

  He shrugged. “It’s better than nothing.”

  I opened one of the pouches on my belt and pulled out a multi-tool. Made of the same materials as the suit, the knife used the same tech as Cassie’s sword—except I’d deliberately kept it behind my armor in the tech race because I didn’t want to accidentally cut off any of my limbs.

  Ray nodded, seemingly approving of the knife, and smirked as he tried the other buttons, discovering that it also included various pliers, screwdrivers, scissors, and an infinitely adjustable wrench.

  “Okay,” he said, “but don’t expect to see me in the front.”

  He looked up at the sky and at the many walkways above us that turned into roads or bridges and then somehow ended up on the ground, except the ground was actually above us somewhere at the same time that it was also below us…

  I took my eyes off the sky and watched Ray. He said, “It’s going to be a little harder now that I’ve lost the ability to see with sound, but look up there.”

  He pointed to a tower in the sky standing next to a lake, which extended into the distance above another group of towers. “He’s in there. I don’t know how you get there without flying. Can you carry both of us?”

  “Not a problem,” I said, and looked over to Prentkos.

  “I’m going to have to grab each of you with one arm unless either of you wants to hang on to a leg or something. I don’t recommend it unless you’re strong and okay with fire, though. The rockets kick out some heat. I try to be as efficient as possible, but it’s still a reaction engine.”

  Prentkos eyed Ray and then said, “Carry us, but be aware that I will be watching in case this man attempts to betray us.”

  Ray dropped my multi-tool into a pocket, holding his hands in the air. “Hey, I’m sure the only thing you’ve heard about me is how my team terrorized superheroes and killed their families. I understand how that wouldn’t make you trust me, but look at it this way—compared to you, I’m powerless. The two of you are not my only protection, but the best way for me to get what I want—survival. Magnus doesn’t care about that. I’m just a tool for him to use, and he’ll let me die the second his needs change. Besides, he’s manipulated me for years, and the Cabal he led killed my father. I owe him some payback.”

  Prentkos nodded, but said, “Good. I will still watch.”

  “I guess it’s time to go then,” I said. “Ray, keep on pointing and giving directions. I’ll do my best to follow, but you may have to shout.”

  “Yeah,” Ray said, “It’s not my first rodeo. Try not to crush me.”

  I nodded, holding out my arms for a group hug that none of us wanted, pulled the two of them in, and activated the rockets.