I felt like crap and my head was still pounding but seeing Fox engaged with the white haired woman from the mall gave me a second wind, or maybe a third or fourth wind at this point. It had been a long day.

  I broke from the team and ran to the collapsed section of the civil engineering building, where I leaped through the hole that Captain Williams had torn in the roof. Getting airborne took more effort than it usually did, but I was still able to defeat gravity and gain some altitude. Fox was on the defensive at the bottom of the hill while being pressed by the woman. I rushed into the battle and flew straight for the white haired woman, hoping to catch her off guard.

  Right when I was about to reach her, red eyes met mine, and a small smile touched her lips before something smashed into me, knocking the wind out of me and sending me flying past her to crash into the ground in a tumble.

  “She does have some spunk, Master Sergeant. I can see why you like her so much,” I heard the woman say from somewhere behind me as I worked to extricate myself from the furrow I’d made when I plowed into the ground. I rolled awkwardly so that I wasn’t a stationary target and got to one knee to see the Phantom Queen, who was now behind me, lob some shots down the hill toward Fox. She had a pistol in each hand and what looked like six shields of some kind of metal alloy floating around her. The shields were constantly shifting and changing position like some kind of living appendage as they swirled around her..

  Realizing I had a momentary advantage while she was distracted, I focused an energy blast at her back. Almost as if she knew what I was going to do before I did, a shield whipped into position, cleanly intercepting the beam and blocking the blast.

  She turned her head just enough to side-eye me, all the while her shields were weaving around her and intercepting shots from down the hill, even while she wasn’t looking. “That wasn’t very nice, Miss Walker. Shooting someone in the back like that isn’t very sporting, yet a pragmatic tactical decision. Oh, yes, Master Sergeant Takahara does seem to have an eye for talent. I don’t believe we’ve been officially introduced. You may call me Morrigan, and as I told your Master Sergeant Takahara, I’d rather end this without further bloodshed. Surrender is a sound tactical option, and you have my word you will be treated fairly,” Morrigan said.

  Before I had a chance to reply, Fox’s voice cut through my com, “Flare! Now!”

  It was a move we had drilled hundreds of times. Fox believed in ‘canned plays’ that could be deployed without thinking when called out. In this case, ‘Flare’ meant I was to flash my energy ability, creating a strobe or flare effect. Without hesitation, I pulsed my energy ability into my hands, holding it for a brief second to build in intensity, and then released it unfocused.

  I heard Morrigan curse as my vision blurred, as the pain in my head spiked again from using my energy ability back to back. When my sight started to swim back into focus, a black shape was now on the top of the hill and was engaged with Morrigan in close-quarters combat. Fox had his katana out and was attempting to break Morrigan’s defense, but they were matching each other move for move.

  Unsteadily, I got the rest of the way to my feet and was about to jump into the fight when Fox somehow noticed I was up. Before I could reengage, he spoke over the com, “No! Crack the bunker,” while blocking and ducking Morrigan’s shields.

  I didn’t even bother to reply and jumped to fly toward the bunker, and almost face planted as my flight didn’t kick in like normal. Evidently, I really was reaching the end of my endurance. Landing awkwardly from what ended up being a long leap, I continued to the bunker, which was around the corner from the fight. The metal structure looked like a tube sticking out of the ground, and it only took a moment to find the door at the end. I pulled up short when I discovered an enemy soldier crumpled on the ground in front of it. Blood had stained the snow and ground where the soldier lay, and was sprayed across the door and a broken keypad.

  I reflexively gagged at the sight. During my training had to go through a whole course focused on what to expect in emergencies, like the condition of bodies, and the expected survivability of a building collapse or plane crash. I thought I’d been prepared, yet for the second time today, I got squeamish when faced with the real thing. It’s crazy how your brain can compartmentalize different things and react in different ways, but the simple truth was that I still wasn’t accustomed to sights like this, and a part of me hoped that I never would be.

  I gave my head a little shake to get back on task and positioned myself around the body of the soldier. The door had been reinforced and welded shut, but I took hold of the handle and pulled, hoping to break the welds. Instead, I tore the handle off the door with a shriek of tearing metal.

  “Shit. Now what,” I said to myself while I stared at the door. The door might be old, but it was still solid. Deciding I didn’t have time to ponder solutions, I went for the time-honored technique of solving problems by punching it really hard... and barely dented it. I was no closer to my objective, but I did have a sore hand for my trouble. If I had time to recharge, I could probably brute force it, but I could tell I just didn’t have enough juice to crack it. I was going to need help, and she wasn’t going to like it.

  Toggling the team channel, I spoke into the com, “Wolf Leader, I need your assistance up the hill. Prepare for relocation.”

  “Roger,” came back her response.

  I leaped into the air and was able to fly without faltering, which was nice. It was still harder than usual, but I hadn’t used my energy ability in a few minutes, so it seemed I’d recovered a bit of stamina.

  I skirted the area where Fox and Morrigan were battling and made my way down the hill to Wolf Unit. They had positions close to the civil engineering building where they could cover Fox, but hadn’t made a major advance from where I had left them. I spotted Wolf Leader by a large piece of twisted metal near the foot of the hill and made a beeline for her.

  I landed in a rush, sliding a bit in the snow, but I managed to keep my footing. “I need your help cracking the bunker. I don’t have the energy reserves to punch through,” I told her in a rush.

  “I think you should be talking to Wolf Four. As the engineering officer, he’d best be able to figure out how to crack it,” Captain Williams deferred.

  “No, that’s not going to work. Maybe if we had time and better conditions, but they’ve hardened the entrance, and Fox is fighting Morrigan right on the doorstep. I’m not confident we could protect him,” I said, shooting her idea down.

  “Okay, why me then?” she asked, confusion written on her face.

  “We need to do this fast, and your ability should be able to crack the bunker,” I explained.

  Captain Williams' expression darkened like a thunder cloud instantly at the mention of her using her ability. “No, absolutely not. You barely got me under control last time, and I’m not risking that child’s life,” she spat at me in a rare display of unchecked emotion.

  “Listen, I understand that you’re scared, and this is certainly not without risk, but we need to make our move. Two is out of the fight, and Six probably should be. I’m running on fumes, and I don’t know how long Fox can hold off that woman. That’s before we factor in that her soldiers are still around her somewhere, and let’s not forget the weather.”

  I visibly watched the anger drain away from Captain Williams, only to be replaced with a grim resignation. It fleetingly occurred to me that I may have won my first-ever argument with her, only to realize that it brought me no satisfaction. Her ability scared her, and that was something I could empathize with.

  “Wolf Unit, I will be heading up the hill with Star to handle the bunker. You three remain here and assist Fox if and where you see fit. Do not put yourselves in unnecessary danger. There is no shame in retreating to the RAID if things get out of hand,” Captain Williams said into the com.

  “Roger that, Captain, and respectfully, not a chance,” responded Andre.

  A small smile touched Captain Williams' lips before she said to me. “Well, what are we waiting for?”

  “Nothing, let's get McGuffin,” was my response as I stepped behind her and hooked an arm around her chest under her armpits and around her waist.

  With Captain Williams secure, I lifted us into the air and flew around the battle between Fox and Morrigan. We caught a glimpse of them still engaging and retreating. It almost looked more like a dance than a fight, albeit one with a potentially deadly outcome. My musing was interrupted by our arriving at the bunker in short order.

  I set Captain Williams down at the door we needed to crack, right as a wind gust ripped through the base, swirling snow around us. The weak morning light illuminated the glittering crystals momentarily as we both hunched reflexively to keep the snow out of our faces.

  “Wolf Leader to RAID, requesting weather update,” Captain Williams spoke into the air, letting the mic do its job while she motioned to me to help her move the dead soldier lying in the doorway.

  “Roger Wolf Leader. Give me a second to pull the latest forecast,” Overwatch responded.

  I steeled my expression at the thought of touching the dead body, but grabbed his feet while Captain Williams handled the much grosser upper body. We laid him off to the side, and she arranged him as best she could in a dignified manner. This was all done in a moment, so fortunately, I didn’t have time to dwell on it.

  We had stepped back over to the door when Overwatch filled the silence. “Wolf Leader, your window is closing. Current estimates give you a maximum of thirty minutes before the back end of the storm crosses your location. That’s best case, it’s more likely you only have fifteen to twenty minutes.”

  “Acknowledged. Keep me updated if that window changes significantly either way. Also, from what we understand, the remaining enemy troops have retreated to a fallback location. Fox is engaged with the enemy commander, and we are attempting to breach the location where McGuffin is being held. Please inform HQ of our current status, and if Wolf Two is able, I would like to have a plan in case we need to re-engage the enemy troops or run a fighting retreat. He knows the conditions, and Wolf Three can assist,” Captain Williams gave her orders to Overwatch.

  “Roger, Wolf Leader. Stay safe,” Overwatch said before cutting the transmission.

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  “Alright, what now?” Captain Williams asked, all the command of a moment ago draining away into uncertainty.

  As if to punctuate the situation, a loud “Bang” came from around the corner, followed by the distinctive “pops” of gunfire.

  “I have a theory. I’m betting that when your ability manifested, it was traumatic. That you’ve spent years fighting it and not wanting to lose control, and you never got the support or guidance you needed,” I outlined my thoughts to her. Her expression darkened immediately, and I could see her walls starting to go up.

  “Whoa, whoa, I’m not judging,” I said quickly, holding my hands up to try and show that I meant no offense. I’m just giving my read on what I see. I had a traumatic manifestation, but was fortunate enough to have the support of my family and Doctor Rokker. I think you just need someone to show you how to use your ability and not have it use you.”

  I could see the conflict in the expressions that rolled across her face, and after a few beats, she seemed to come to a decision. Her brown eyes met mine, and she held my gaze as she told me, “Okay…okay, let’s do this. We’re out of time anyway, but if things go to shit it’s on you Star. It’s your responsibility to neutralize me. Whatever that takes.”

  “Roger, Wolf Leader. Now let's get started,” I answered while holding her gaze to show her that I meant it. “Okay, I’m going to move you around a bit and then trust you not to kill me.”

  I reached out and grabbed her by the waist, pulling her back away from the door to give us about three feet or so of clearance before positioning her so that she was facing it. At first, she tensed, and I thought she was going to fight me, but she took a deep breath and forced herself to go with it.

  My hope was that we could open the tap on her ability just a little without the tap blowing wide open and her losing control again. I adjusted her into something like a fighter's stance, setting her feet under her shoulders so she could maintain stability from any force generated by her ability. Lastly, I moved her arms so that they were out in front of her with her hands palms out, aimed at the door. I wanted to keep her focused on the door and channeling her ability, so I was hoping she could use her hands as a focus, like I had learned to do. The hardest part would be helping her find a way to channel her will toward controlling her ability rather than fighting it.

  “Okay, are you ready?” I asked from behind her shoulder.

  There was a slight pause before she nodded and said, “Let’s get this over with.”

  “Uh, uh. No negativity. Alright, in order to do this, I’m going to be in close proximity, or even touching you, while guiding you. I’m going to start by putting my arms around you, and I want you to try and feel me draw on my energy. Some can, some can’t, so it’s okay if you can’t, but it’s important that you see my control,” I explained.

  I reached around Captain Williams as if I were hugging her from behind. Once I was touching her back, I placed my arms alongside hers so that I was mirroring her. Fortunately, Captain Williams was only an inch or so taller than me, so I was able to see what I was doing over her shoulder. Again, the other woman tensed up immediately upon the contact, and I could tell she was struggling with the contact.

  “I know this is awkward, and I won’t breathe a word of it to anyone, but believe it or not, this is how Doctor Rokker eventually helped me learn. Except, imagine doing this as a teenage girl, and the person hugging you is a teenage boy a few years older than you, who smells like Doritos,” I shared with her, hoping to get her to relax a bit.

  “He didn’t?” she said, turning her head to make eye contact with me, not realizing that some of the tension had bled out of her posture.

  “He did. He thought I was close to a breakthrough, so he grabbed some poor pyrokinetic who was there for testing and smooshed us together, and boom, instant awkwardness.”

  “Ew.”

  “Exactly,” I said with a smile, “But if I can survive that, you can survive this. Now I’m going to start drawing on my energy ability. My ability feels like it comes from my core, but yours might feel like it resides elsewhere, and that’s okay. Just firmly visualize your ability wherever that is. Next, I’m going to visualize the smallest trickle of that energy moving from that pool to my hands. If it helps, just visualize the tiniest thread moving from your pool. Control your energy and hold firm the visualization of it going to your hands. If you can hold it in your hands, great; if not, just let it flow toward the door, but only the door. Remember your target,” I tried my best to coach her.

  I slowly pulled on my energy, feeling that familiar feeling in my chest answer the call, but in a diminished capacity. I slowly pulled a thread of energy from my reservoir and willed it to move to my hands. The energy instantly obeyed after years of practice and split into two, running down my arms with a tingle until it reached my hands, where I willed it to obey by halting its flow at the surface of my palms. It wreathed my hands in a familiar fuchsia and teal light as individual threads of energy silently wove themselves around my fingers.

  The pain in my head stayed at a manageable level while I drew on my ability, thankfully. I was going to have to talk to Doctor Rokker and Doctor Robinson to make sure I hadn’t done any lasting damage.

  I held my energy that way for a moment, to let Captain Williams get a feel for what I was trying to show her. “Are you able to feel anything?” I asked.

  “I think so. I felt a sort of tingle like static electricity, and it felt like it sort of flowed in a way from your core to your hands. Like a circuit,” she answered.

  “Yes, now hold the image in your head if it helps, and imagine completing your circuit between your ability and your hands. Remember to visualize your control, and let your ability follow that circuit,” I said, continuing to hold my energy as an example.

  “I’m visualizing the circuit, but my ability, it feels like it’s already pushing…straining to be free. I…I don’t think I can do this,” Captain Williams said with a tinge of fear.

  “Captain Williams, you can do this. Your ability just needs to be trained. I know it’s scary, especially when it can feel good to let go, but you have to choose not to give in to that feeling. You didn’t get to be the commander of a special forces unit by giving up and taking the easy way, did you?”

  That last bit was a bit of a low blow, but we were running out of time. Under different circumstances, I would have happily worked with Captain Williams on strategies and ways to help her practice controlling her ability. Unfortunately, we didn’t have that luxury, so I employed the fastest way to motivate a special forces soldier I knew of: challenge their honor.

  “Careful, Star, you don’t know anything about me or what I’ve done,” she growled back at me.

  “You’re right, but I know Fox holds you in the highest regard, and that alone is enough for me, but I also know what I’ve seen over the last few years, and you’ve done nothing to dissuade that.

  She had shifted her body to look at me over her shoulder, taking her out of the alignment I had put her in, causing me to instinctively bark out, “Focus!”

  From where I stood, I could see her jaw flex and her gaze become laser-focused on the door as she regained her posture, and I found myself really hoping that I had hit the right note to motivate her. I did not want this woman mad at me, or worse, an enemy. Brunner would look like a Care Bear in comparison.

  “Now pull on your ability. Tease it out just a little and get a feel for it. When I tap into mine, it feels like I've opened a channel or conduit to a wild, raging power. I’m actively holding it back when I tap my energy ability, so I visualize it not being able to move past my hands until I’m ready. Then, I visualize the beam type, shape, and strength, and let the energy go,” I explained while at the same time releasing a low power beam from each hand that hit the door with a small “BANG” but did nothing structrually other than maybe knocking some rust off or chipping the paint.

  “When I want to stop the beam, I visualize closing the conduit and disconnecting from my abilities pool. I sort of shut off the whole system. I hope that makes some sense, and I do really wish we had more time to talk about your ability, as I’m betting we have quite a bit in common,” I finished explaining my process in the hopes that it would give her a foundation to build from. “Now open up your ability just a little if you can. I’ll be right here, good or bad.”

  I watched a complex set of emotions play across her face before she nodded and simply replied, “Roger, that.”

  Due to our proximity, I was able to feel her ability as it flared to life. It started small, but I could quickly feel it expanding through the pull on my own energy. “Control it, Captain. Focus and only draw what you need and direct it where you want it to go.”

  I could see her grimace, and sweat had already started pouring from her despite the cold air as she tried to control her gravity ability.

  “It’s not working. I can feel it, but it won’t obey.”

  “It will, it’s YOUR ability. Focus on controlling your energy and then channeling it. If not to your hands, then to whatever works,” I implored her while still holding my own energy, which had now progressed to a dull throb in the back of my head.

  “Star, I’m serious, it’s starting to slip, I’m going to lose control,” Captain Williams said, sounding like she was almost in tears. I had never once heard the woman this upset.

  It pissed me off, not that I thought less of her, or that she was weak, but that nobody had helped her. That, for some reason, she was left to struggle with this seemingly all alone. “You WILL NOT. You are going to grab hold of that goddamn door and rip it the hell out of that wall. Feel for my energy, I’m going to power up and blast the door, and when I do, for good or ill, I want you to follow my lead.”

  “Star…”

  “Captain Williams, with all due respect, you have always treated me fairly. You never once threw a fight or hesitated to kick my ass or tell me the hard truth. The very definition of tough but fair. When others wanted to fawn over me because of my Quantum status or treat me like a stupid little girl who wanted to play hero, you and Fox took me seriously. That has meant more to me than you can ever know these last few years, but I need you to hear me right now, I cannot breach this bunker. I simply don’t have enough in the tank. I need you to dig deep and help me,” I pleaded with her, hoping my captain could find the self-motivation she needed to control her ability.

  I didn’t give her any time to think and powered up my energy ability, causing the energy crackling around my hands to intensify and bathe the area in a crazy pattern of light. I pushed as much as I could handle, and my old friend Stabby, the metaphorical ice pick, tried to stab through my brain once again. I was hanging on by a thread with black spots swimming in and out of my vision, but I hung on somehow.

  “Now, Captain! It’s now or never. Feel the energy, and control it, then concentrate on the door. We know your ability is gravity based so just imagine ripping the damn thing off,” I shouted and I could feel her power shift a bit but I couldn’t figure out what it meant with the pain exploding behind my eyes. “On three. ONE, TWO, THREE!”

  There was a god awful sound of metal being impacted and tearing, combined with a blinding kaleidoscope of colors, and then everything went black.

  “Star, Star! We did it,” Captain Williams was shouting, as my brain finished stuttering. I must have only been half-out for a second, as I was sort of half slumped on the taller woman's back. When she turned to look at me, I started to slide sideways, unsteady on my feet, but thankfully, she caught me as I stumbled. I fleetingly caught the smile on her face as she turned.

  “Are you okay?” she asked, concern written on her face as she helped keep me upright.

  I waffled my hand back and forth. “Every time I use my abilities, it feels like an icepick is being driven into my skull, but it’s okay, I named him Stabby,” I replied.

  “I’m calling the RAID,” she informed me while reaching to toggle the com when I placed a hand on her arm, stopping her.

  “No, no. I’m seeing this through. I have enough juice to do this.”

  “Star, sometimes you have to know when to stop,” she replied while giving me the stern ‘Commanding Officer’ look I was used to.

  “I’m not quitting,” I said again, making eye contact. “Would the people who trained me quit?”

  She frowned at that before slowly nodding. “Alright, if you think you can continue, then let’s get moving, but I’m not carrying you. If I have to carry you, then you’re not fit to continue, so I hope you can walk now. The doors open after all.”

  “Wait, the door…your ability! What happened?” I asked

  “It worked, I was able to follow your example. The difference was where you needed to expend your energy; I needed to envision mine pulling, and once I did that, I was able to make it stop fighting me. I can’t explain it to be honest, but something clicked. When I visualized pulling the door off, I was able to. All I know for certain is that I don’t want to push my luck right now, trying to use it,” she said with the look of someone who was happy to have learned something but who wasn’t fully sure if they understood it yet.”

  “That’s amazing,” I said, giving the surprised Captain a hug. “I was hoping that would work,” I remarked while looking at the door and noticing that I had broken the door’s weld at the lock. I felt a little better knowing that I contributed.

  “WHAT”

  I released Wolf Leader from the hug but kept a hand on each shoulder and looked her in the eye. “Later, we’ve got a kid to rescue,” and started toward the stairs into the bunker.