Once back in the suit, I felt much more comfortable and able to take on any new surprises that would be thrown at me. I strongly suspected there would be lots to come.

“OK, Profess … brother … I can’t keep you calling you ‘brother’ or that stupid villain name. What’s your actual name?”

He looked at me for a moment before abruptly nodding in agreement. “Yeah, that’s a good point and fair’s fair, I suppose. I know your name, where you live, your boyfriend's name…and if you can’t trust your own family, who can you trust?”

“Well, most of the fights I break up are between families, to be honest, but … wait, you know how much about me? How long did you watch me today before you … Oh, forget it, just tell me your name!”

He smirked at getting a small rise out of me before answering. “It’s Tom.”

“Tom? That’s a good name. Hi, Tom, nice to meet you.”

“Yes, thanks. Introductions aside, we do have a slight time issue, remember?”

“I know, but I really think we should discuss this whole ‘shade’ thing first, don’t you?”

“You might have a point there, I guess. What would you like to know?”

“Well, the first thing would be, can anyone else see you? Or will I look like a crazy person arguing with thin air?”

He smirked a little. “I’m sorry, but only you and powerful beings can see me. There’s not many of them around so you’re gonna look nutty as a fruitcake.”

Great. Just what I needed on top of everything else and a new worry to consider. The Council didn’t hold back on restraining those Enhanced who had mental health issues, they were potentially just too much of a risk to themselves, the public and property.

He must have seen the anxiety on my face. His expression softened slightly and he lost the smirk for a moment. “Sam, honestly, it’s not a concern nowadays to be seen talking to yourself. Just wear a comms unit in your ear and people will just assume you’re talking on there.”

Oh. Right. Dumbass. I felt a little foolish for not thinking of that. “OK, well that’s one less thing to worry about. Anything else I should know? Can you touch things? If no one else can see you, can you disappear off and do your own thing or are you tethered to me?”

He looked thoughtfully at me before answering. “I can touch things, people and objects but it takes a lot of power in this state and if I tried too much, it could push me over the edge to true death so I’ll probably avoid that where possible. I’m also not tethered to you in the way that you’re probably thinking of. I can use your aura to home in on you if we get separated for any reason but I’m quite able to be independent. Are you considering using me as some sort of spy?”

“Well, not spying on people as such. More checking for booby traps in your lair that you might’ve forgotten and things that could go boom.”

“That’s a very good idea, there’s only one small issue with it though…it’s my spell. I knew that it’s possible for someone to be in this state and have adapted my devices accordingly. Sorry, Sam, I wouldn’t be any use for that. Oh, and it’s a base, not a lair.”

I could be wrong but he didn’t seem all that sorry. In fact, he seemed perversely proud that he had considered the possibility in advance and had prepared for it. I suppose that was good for him and showed his intelligence and foresight but wasn’t great for us right now, or for the woman currently in trouble.

“So, you’ve no way of sneaking in to your own lair in your current form? I appreciate that you were clever enough to anticipate someone trying it but surely you gave yourself a back door?”

“Erm.” He hesitated briefly. “There is a way. It could be dangerous though.”

I sighed, not surprised in the slightest at this point. “What is it?”

“I’ll have to tell you when we get there. Any chance of that happening soon? I only ask because times getting on and someone’s getting terminally wet.”

I stood up and reached out to grasp him by the arms. My hands went completely through his body and ended up meeting in the middle of his chest. I jumped a little, despite almost expecting this to happen, he had warned me that he couldn’t touch things easily after all. My hands felt cold, a chill not of the body but of the soul. I quickly pulled them back and looked at him with must have been a slightly quizzical look on my face.

“It’s fine, I don’t need you to carry me while I’m in this form. The only thing keeping me here and not falling through the bed, down into the planet and out through space is my will. It’s pretty easy for me to go anywhere like this as I’m not really fully present.”

Oh, OK. That made things a little easier. “Right then, where are we going? Strongmeadow I think you said, yes?”

“You know where it is?”

“Yeah, I used to spend weekends up in that area when I was a kid.”

“Great, let’s go then. You go first and then you can follow me when we get there. I don’t want you getting lost and wasting valuable time.”

Without further speaking, we made our way outside. The sun was shining brightly in the cloudless sky, the colour a deep azure blue. There was only a slight breeze, causing my cape to ripple slightly although it didn’t seem to affect Tom’s cloak. I glanced sideways at him and raised my eyebrows questioningly, ascertaining his readiness. He caught my look and, apparently guessing what it meant, nodded his head in assent.

I raised my right arm in a classic superhero flying pose and allowed the force of gravity to lose its grip on my body. I rose slowly into the warm air, higher and higher until the house looked like a toy down below. I closed my eyes and grinned in delight; flying never lost its ability to make me feel wonderful.

“Ahem.” The sound of a throat being very obviously cleared came from beside me.

I opened my eyes and turned my head to look at the shade. “OK, Tom, we’re going. Don’t worry, I’m not getting distracted.”

“Right, ‘course you’re not, everyone hangs in mid-air with their eyes closed when they’re intent on a rescue mission.”

I gave him a slightly annoyed look. “Yeah, well, we’re up, aren’t we? Now, which way?”

He pointed north.

I gave him a mischievous smile. “OK, keep up if you can!”

I shot off like a bullet out of a gun. Well, technically, much, much faster. The ground below was a blur as I approached my maximum speed while behind me came a resounding booming sound as I broke the sound barrier a couple of seconds after accelerating. Fortunately, we were high enough in the air that nothing got damaged below us. It would have been a pain to have to field all the litigious assholes who wanted a few bucks for a broken windshield.

The wind up here, at this speed, was much fiercer. It caused my cape to flap uncontrollably and my hair to stream out behind me. Fortunately, there was no issue with my eyes tearing up, one of the many benefits of a virtually indestructible body, I guess. I looked around to make sure he was still with me, inwardly expecting him to have been left miles behind me.

My eyes widened and mouth dropped open as I beheld one of the oddest sights I had ever seen in my life.

He was drifting along slightly behind my right shoulder, lying supine in the air, arms crossed under his head with one of his legs slightly up and crooked. He looked very comfortable and utterly incongruous as we flew at a speed that many would consider being impossible to achieve.

I came to a halt and hovered for a moment.

“Is there a problem?” He looked at me with a strange look on his face. It took me a second to realise it was confusion.

“How are you doing that? Just, lying there?”

The expression of confusion on his face cleared up, replaced by a smug grin. “I told you, I’m not fully present in this world so the rules don’t really apply to me. Good job you stopped though, we’re nearly there.”

He pointed to a church steeple, just visible over some trees in the distance before continuing, “That’s Strongmeadow over there. My base is not that far from the village.”

“Not that far? Weren’t you worried you might get caught if it’s so close?”

He pursed his lips. “Well, no, not really. Anyone who got too close had a strange habit of disappearing. I’m sure everyone thought they had been horrifically killed. They weren’t, I just relocated them somewhere else but you’d be amazed the nonsense people come up with to explain disappearances. Usually something awful. It can be quite handy.”

I frowned in confusion, “Surely they contacted their loved ones if you just moved them someplace else though?”

“Erm, well, not much cell service between planets.”

“You moved them to another planet?”

He sounded a bit defensive as he replied. “It’s a very nice planet though! Constantly pleasant weather, very nice people … most people were happy I moved them there. Once I explained there was no going back. And they could never see their loved ones again. Um. Now that I say it out loud, I can see why some of them weren’t all that happy at first.”

“So, let me get this straight. You kidnapped people from their lives, homes and families and you thought that some of them weren’t all that happy? That may be one of the worst understatements I have ever heard.”

He suddenly grinned at me. “You’d be surprised at how many of them were grateful to get away from everything, to be honest. Once they realised that their new home was basically a paradise, most were happy to get away. Especially the married ones.”

I just closed my eyes and shook my head.

Irredeemable.