Tugging sharply on Shadow Hands, Sami pulled Boli on the two shadows cuffed tightly around his wrists. Excitedly, he was speaking into his phone,

  “Yeah, we’re bringing him in now. Should be easy, he’s not even Awakened. You should have seen what Gutshot did!”

  “Gutshot?” Darius asked skeptically.

  “Hey, Darius! How’s it going?” Gutshot said, hearing his name over the speakerphone.

  “The others from HUE came back, and they’re not looking too great. I didn’t see Steve, Hannah’s messed up pretty bad, and Apex looks pretty upset. Beth should be able to fix them up though.”

  “Beth!” Gutshot said, delighted. “I need to speak to her about my dad.”

  “Oh, for sure, your dad,” Darius said half-sarcastically, trying to sound enthused for his sake.

  “He actually knows his dad now,” Sami said.

  “Seriously?”

  “Yes!” Gutshot said, bobbing up and down. “Can you patch me through to the Grimbleby residence in Upham? Or perhaps connect us to his cell directly? Gorman Grimbleby? I really want to tell him.”

  “Not how this works,” Darius replied. “We still have the blackout. He needs power to get a phone call. The only reason I can talk with Sami is because Annie restored both of our phones to full battery.”

  “Oh, right. Thanks anyway,” Gutshot said, going back to staring very sternly at Boli.

  “We’ll be there in a bit,” Sami said to his phone.

  “See you soon.” Darius hung up.

  “Explain again why you’re talking different?” Dawson said, leaning all his weight on Gutshot to remain upright.

  “The mental block’s been cleared,” Gutshot wiggled fingers next to his temples. “My Dad Replacement anomaly was erasing moments of my life with my father, including spots of social and academic learnings from my younger years.”

  “Well, now I feel like a jerk for calling you dumb,” Claire admitted. “You were a smart person in a stupid body.”

  “A confusing prison.” Gutshot nodded, patting his stomach lightly.

  “So you’ve always been smarter than me?” Dawson asked, sounding somewhat disappointed to learn the fact.

  “I don’t think I’m smarter than anyone here.”

  “And humbler?”

  “Humbler isn’t a word,” Gutshot corrected.

  Laughing, Sami rounded the corner on the street of HUE Headquarters, picking up his pace in earnest. Dawson groaned and Sami forced himself back to a slower pace. Kutso and Francine lagged behind, both using Claire as their crutch.

  “I’m good. We don’t have to slow down for me,” Dawson said as Gutshot looked at him with concern.

  “We can slow down, I don’t mind,” Boli said nervously as he read the words “Hero Unification Entity” looming over him.

  The iridescent letters shone with ever-changing color even in the faint firelight of Francine’s tiny flame. Sami looked up at the dark, overcast sky, wondering if the power would come back anytime soon. Would Lightcrown have the ability to flip it back on, if he was inclined? Sami got the feeling he would at least try, even if it meant a side effect. Unless he really was that worried about another Silent Scream.

  Pulling Boli with another yank of Shadow Hands, Sami strode into the opening of HUE. Darius had a hand on his forehead, eyes closed in strain as Lilly spoke rapidly into a phone, walking back and forth.

  “Of course, we’ll send someone right away. Please, stay safe.” She hung up and a pressure seemed to release from Darius’s eyes, his shoulders relaxing. Lilly waved to Sami and his friends, but quickly looked to Gan Wen. “Another caller from Central. A few blocks down that way, their kid is locked in their car.”

  “The bidding of the sect will be done.” Gan Wen placed two fists together in humility. With a quick nod of greeting to Sami and the others, Gan Wen dashed outside on steps of gold above their heads, out of sight in moments.

  “You’re getting calls? People have electricity?” Sami asked.

  “Some people are using old gas-powered power banks or trickles of charge to call emergency services. I’m routing all their calls here because even emergency services can’t take calls. Gan Wen is good at what he does. I don’t think he’s been gone for more than twenty minutes, even for a job in Upham. But he has a hard time understanding how a phone works,” Darius explained, massaging his head.

  “Taking a bit of a toll on you to actually use your power?” Sami asked.

  “Enough that I’m not taking any calls. Lilly’s handling all that business.”

  “Is that him?” Lilly asked, pointing at Boli. “Did you start the power outage?”

  “I didn’t do anything!” Boli said innocently. “I was just minding my own business when these crazed kids broke into my home and…”

  One of the Shadow Hands released and held a fist right next to his nose. Boli stammered a few syllables before closing his mouth, his bruised face sliding away from the threat.

  “We got an Antiserum too! At least we believe so,” Gutshot said proudly. “That’s why I remember my father.”

  “You didn’t mention that on the phone! You have one now?” Darius shot up suddenly.

  “Yeah.” Claire held up the vaccine gun. “He was trying to threaten us—”

  “Well, hurry up! What are you waiting here for?”

  Blinking in annoyance, Claire looked at Sami for an explanation, who shrugged.

  “Naomi! She’s dying because of her power! Go turn it off!” Darius pointed urgently to the inside of HUE.

  “She’s still alive?” Francine asked, hopeful.

  “Not for long! Get in there!”

  Eyes widening in shock, Sami looked between his friends rapidly. “Who can run the fastest?”

  “You can!” Claire tossed him the injector.

  Fumbling, Sami caught it on the handle side, pointing at Boli with a free hand.

  “What about him?”

  “I got him,” Dawson Sharpened a hand and placed it at Boli’s throat. “Seriously, don’t move or I’ll cut something.”

  Nodding, Sami bolted away from the front desk, using extended Shadow Hands to grab the opening Gan Wen made and launch himself inside the warehouse like a slingshot. Entering the main floor, Sami saw Apex pacing and lighting the area with Goldshine, presumably Hannah bleeding on the floor, and Magnus standing over her with weird eyes. Interestingly, Rudy was around despite it being past five.

  Felt like they went through the wringer worse than his friends did, so he shouted to give them some encouragement.

  “We got Boli! He’s out front!” Sami pointed with a Shadow Hand.

  “Where are you going? We need a debrief,” Apex said, arms folded in frustration.

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  “To give Naomi an Antiserum!” Sami said as he made it to the hall. It was pitch dark within and Sami reached out with Shadow Hands to use like a blind stick as he fumbled his way inside.

  Stumbling in the darkness, Sami slapped his way forward, perking his ears to get the best view of the path forward. Progress was slow, but definitely better than without his power.

  “Sami! Wait!” Apex called from behind him. There was an urgency in his voice as his gold light filled the tight hall. Sami felt his heart drop, already feeling like he knew what Apex would say.

  Slowing, he spun in place with a grimace. “Is she already gone?”

  “I don’t know. But that’s the Antiserum?” Apex rushed ahead, pointing to the vaccine gun with a shaking finger.

  “We’re pretty sure. That’s what Boli said.”

  “Let me have it.” Apex held out a hand as he approached.

  Automatically, Sami started to hand it over, then hesitated and pulled back somewhat.

  “Why? I’ll just go use it on her.”

  “Sami, we need to think about this.” Apex took a step closer, the gap between them becoming somewhat claustrophobic. “If we figure out a way to mass produce this, we can use it to save so many others. Shut down some Awakened for good and help others like Naomi.”

  “But leave her to die!” Sami said, taking a step further down the hall.

  Apex took two steps closer. “Sami. Come on. Give me the Antiserum.” The Goldshine on his fists was no longer friendly, but intimidating. Filling the entire room with its intensity.

  “You can take a look at the gun once I’ve injected Naomi with it.”

  “We don’t know that it’ll work on her.”

  “It worked on Gutshot. I saw it happen with Power Sense. Let me just go try and save her life.”

  “Maybe you can only use half.” Another step closer, this time feeling like it was backed with power. The room rumbled ever-so-slightly.

  “I’m not risking it.”

  Sami turned and started running down the hall. The building shook as a Sonic Wave erupted on the other end, throwing him face first. Pushing down with both Shadow Hands, Sami righted himself and tried to keep running, only to feel a tight, formidable hand on the back of his shirt pull him to a rough stop.

  “Hand it over.”

  “No!” Sami screamed, throwing the gun in a Shadow Hand and stretching it as far away from him as he could.

  “We’re on the same side, Sami.”

  “Are we? You’re acting crazy!” Sami struggled to tear himself out of his grasp. “I’m trying to save Naomi’s life!”

  “She might already be too far gone! Think of what more serum could mean!”

  Sami swung around his second Shadow Hand to box Apex, but inches from his face, the golden man caught and obliterated it in a heartbeat. Sami flailed as his feet came off the ground.

  “Sami, remember what I told you when you first joined. HUE is more than any one of us. Justice… even at the cost of our own lives.”

  “Your orientation speech doesn’t justify letting Naomi die!”

  “Those were Naomi’s words, not mine! She founded HUE. She created the tagline! She knew the costs associated with this job. We must always think of the greater good. Of the justice we can enact with this noble sacrifice!”

  Continuing to kick, Sami wrestled with Apex and his words. Naomi was already in the past-tense to him, the decision done. He met Apex’s eyes with a mix of disillusionment and defiance. “What about compassion? What’s justice without mercy?”

  Apex met his eyes, unflinching.

  “Forgive me. I hope you don’t hold this against me. This is the only way to ensure we can actually get control of the increasing Awakenings before another Silent Scream happens.”

  Reaching out a golden hand, he tugged at Sami’s outstretched Shadow Hand, reeling it in.

  “Put the kid down, Apex!” a voice screamed from the entry to the hall, a warm blue glow enveloping the enclosed space, mixing with the harsh golds.

  Apex didn’t turn to look. “Hannah? We’re good here, don’t worry about it. You should be resting.”

  Twisting his neck as far as it would go, Sami got his first impression of Hannah. Covered in the blood of her freshly healed wounds, both of her hands glowed a menacing, oscillating blue, and she stared daggers into Apex. Her brown braid was split and jagged, like it had been shot a few times, but she looked intimidating despite the disheveled hair.

  “We’re saving Naomi,” Hannah said with certainty.

  “We might still be able to if we synthesize this ourselves!” Apex pointed to the vaccine gun.

  “You hate when people play dumb,” Hannah scoffed. “You know she’ll be dead in minutes, if she’s not already gone. Let’s save her, then we can talk plans with the Antiserum.”

  The moment Sami heard Hannah, he knew—without a second thought—that she was the coolest person in HUE. Bit of a shame that he didn’t get to meet her before this moment. Her blue hands pointed up toward Apex.

  “Are you threatening me?” Apex turned to look at her, Sami wiggling uncooperatively in his hand.

  “Yeah. I know you got big plans with an Antiserum, but Naomi’s the reason I joined HUE. We’re not abandoning her. Especially when we don’t even know if we can reverse engineer it.”

  “We have Boli!” Apex said.

  Hannah blasted a light burst of blue energy at the ceiling next to Apex. “We don’t have time for this! Let the kid go!”

  “My name’s Sami!” Sami chimed in, sending a newly formed Shadow Hand to hit Apex, only for him to swat it away without looking at it.

  “Sami, as soon as you’re free, get to Naomi!”

  “That’s the plan!”

  Hurtling forward in speedy wind, Hannah blasted a dozen shots from her hands like bullets. Scoffing, Apex either slapped away or easily dodged each attack like he knew they were coming before Hannah even launched them. Shadows dance in blue and gold light racing erratically with every blow. To Sami’s surprise, one of Hannah’s shadows was moving independently from the rest of the display. Staring, Sami was amazed by its covertness while Sonic Waves and blue beams shot back and forth across the hall. It suddenly reached out and cut off the back of Sami’s shirt.

  Before he could hit the ground, a canon of wind launched him forward a dozen feet and he rolled into a stumbling run. Only two doors remained to Naomi’s room.

  “No!” Apex screamed, followed by a deafening Sonic Wave.

  More blue and gold light fought as Sami urged his body to move as fast as it could manage. One last stretch. He held out his Shadow Hand as far as it would go to open the door.

  He touched it.

  Then something grabbed him. Two golden vices snatched his arms, pinning them to his sides. Then, two Sonic Waves disintegrated his Shadow Hands, leaving the Antiserum to clatter to the floor.

  Turning his head, Sami saw Hannah unconscious on the other end. “Apex, please!”

  “One life for so many more, Sami!” Apex insisted. “You’ll understand once you see the results.”

  Sami produced two more Shadow Hands, only for them to be ruptured by more Sonic Waves. Blood trickled down his ears, the bursts too close. Flailing his legs, Sami felt like there was nothing more he could do.

  Apex had completely overpowered both him and Hannah and he couldn’t imagine another person being able to stop him. Except maybe Lightcrown. If he thought hard enough, maybe his mysterious third power could call out to him, reach him in such a way that there would be a means to escape. Eyes burning at the futility of his half-baked plan, Sami did just that. Screaming into the void of his mind for assistance.

  The door to Naomi’s room slapped open and Sami looked up hopefully. Annie walked out, rubbing an eye and looking very annoyed.

  “Naomi’s dying in there. Can you guys be quiet?”

  Apex squinted at her, stunned. “Annie? You left the movie room?”

  “You said I could leave if I used any powers,” Annie replied, rolling her eyes.

  “Wait… This can work!” Apex said, shaking Sami with excitement. “If we film the injection going into Naomi, then Annie can record the Antiserum and we can mass produce the effect at scale!”

  “I’m not gonna do that,” Annie said immediately.

  “What?”

  “You can’t make me.” Annie shrugged.

  “Annie, listen! You’ve never taken the responsibility of your power seriously and—”

  Sami suddenly fell to the floor, the iron grip of Apex’s arms disappearing in a moment. Looking up, Sami saw that Apex was gone. Blinking, he turned back to Annie.

  “What did you do to him?”

  “I said to be quiet, and he started getting annoying. I sent him a couple miles away.”

  Sami looked back at the empty space above him. “You can just do that?”

  “Are you gonna be annoying about it?”

  “No! No, I’m just impressed. I need to give Naomi that injection, if that’s okay with you. It’s kinda urgent, it might save her life.” Sami pointed to the vaccine gun with a new Shadow Hand.

  Annie looked at it and nodded. Reaching out with his Shadow Hand to grab it, Sami was startled by the jet gun picking itself up and leaping inside of Naomi’s room. Racing within, Sami was there just in time to see the injection go in.

  Her two Power Sense bubbles shattered into nothing.

  Naomi was almost skeletal, and her breathing was faint, but her eyes were wide open. Eyes moving like they were in sludge, she shifted her gaze to Annie and Sami.

  “Steve?” she asked.

  “She can’t see very well,” Annie explained.

  “It’s Sami. We captured Boli and gave you the Antiserum. You should be able to gain weight again.”

  A breath left her nose, eyes closing in immense gratitude.

  “Thank you. Where’s Steve?”

  “I dunno. I can go get him. Annie, can you watch her?”

  “Yeah. I’ll keep her alive.” Annie spoke with such assuredness that Sami had no doubt Naomi would make a recovery.

  Rushing back into the hall with a wide smile on his face, Sami stopped suddenly when the lights came back on all at once. Power had been restored. Things were looking up.

  At the other end of the hall, Sami propped up Hannah with two Shadow Hands. “You gonna be okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine. Beth will fix me up. Again. Thanks, kid,” Hannah said.

  “Sami,” he corrected.

  “Thanks Sami. How far do you think Apex got with the Antiserum? We can still nab it from him before it’s too late, I hope.”

  “Oh, we handled Apex.” Sami grinned. “Thanks to Annie, we already got the injection in Naomi and I confirmed with Power Sense that her Awakening is gone. I’m just out here to get Steve for her.”

  Hannah’s smile broke, eyes cast to the floor. Sami’s easy grin also faded away as he read her expression before she even spoke.

  “Steve’s dead, Sami. The Underground got him.”