“Curses!” Manning gritted his teeth. “Connolly and his team arrived before us. They’ll be out with Upton any second now.”

“With thinking like that, of course he’ll be!” Dylan furrowed his brow. “If we don’t want him to leave with the subject, we need to get in there and stop him.”

“Yeah. Isn’t that what we came here to do?” Anderson asked. “I didn’t get my suit upgraded for nothing.”

I wiped my forehead. “Connolly isn’t a joke, guys. If there’s any alternative to fighting him, we should take it.”

“He’s not so tough,” Ben said. “He’s almost never won a sparring match against me. Last time I saw him was before all that stuff on the other planet, but as long as he hasn’t changed—”

“I’m pretty sure he has. Unless the Connolly you knew would have killed an elderly woman to prove a point.” I slumped against my chair. The day of Maria’s murder wormed its way into my nightmares far too often. I was sure it occupied every thought that Opifex had. We’d beaten Connolly before, but that didn’t mean I wanted my friends to face a murderer. “If we’re doing this, we have to be careful. Stay together, and keep calm. Let’s go.”

I parked the cruiser as far away from the entrance as I could. My team and I climbed out of it. The first two obstacles were the Black Dwarfs standing in front of the door. We hadn’t initially planned on going through the front since it would have blown our cover, but there was no reason not to now.

Once we got close enough, I aimed a crackling hand at one of the Dwarfs. I shot off a stream that immediately latched onto its target. The blue current illuminated the night, effectively doing away with the concept of stealth. I willed the Dwarf to shut down…but nothing happened.

I didn’t even feel the usual connection. It was like there was a barrier between my electricity and the Dwarf itself. That usually only applied to White Dwarfs. What was this guy’s deal? I cut off the stream before it could drain too much of my stamina. The Dwarf stomped in place, ultimately turning toward us.

“Did you shut it off?” Anderson asked as he took a step back. “If you did, I’m not convinced. That thing looks more pissed than deactivated.”

“Something’s wrong.” I gazed at my hand in horror. “I couldn’t hack it.”

“Yes, and the electricity gave away our position.” Manning’s golden eyes glimmered. He was thinking. “Various materials can provide insulation, such as plastic and rubber. Perhaps Frost insulated her Dwarfs to deny you access. If you tried hard enough, you might be able to reach its breakdown voltage.”

“I don’t feel like wasting the White Bolt on one of Frost’s grunts. Anderson, you’re up. Test out those new upgrades—whoa!”

The Black Dwarfs charged toward us. We all scattered, avoiding the swing of the one I’d tried to hack. Its eyes were red, meaning that it wasn’t being controlled. At least it had enough sense to avoid using its plasma blasts in public. The threat of collateral damage was too great, and the damage that would do to Frost’s reputation was an even bigger risk.

I jumped away as the Dwarf came bounding after me. If I could touch it, I could bring it down. It just had to stop trying to punch me first. A backhanded swing caught me in the chest, flinging me back into a cruiser. The vehicle’s alarm blared in my ears as I lay on its windshield. My back burned with pain.

The Dwarf stomped forward and aimed its arm barrel at my chest. I hoped that thing had been set to “stun.” Before it could fire, the Dwarf jerked away from me. It looked like it’d been tugged. I raised my head to get a better look.

The red on Anderson’s suit glowed as he grasped the Dwarf’s arm. It was hard to see with his helmet up, but it looked like his teeth were clenched as he dragged the Dwarf away from me. The Dwarf yanked its arm away and swung at him. Anderson caught the punch but groaned in pain. He held on to the arm as he reeled his leg back and brought it crashing into the Dwarf’s knee. The Dwarf’s leg jerked back. Without solid support, the bot plummeted. Anderson jumped away just before it slammed against the ground. Though he held the Dwarf down, it struggled underneath him.

“Shut it down, Locke!” Anderson said. “Hurry! This is like trying to wrestle an alligator.”

I grabbed the Dwarf’s head and shut my eyes. Even this power involved a bit of electricity, and I felt the resistance. Frost had definitely done something to these guys. Pure electricity wouldn’t work any longer. Funny how the FD soldiers I’d fought earlier hadn’t received the same treatment. I didn’t have to wonder if Connolly had; I knew the answer.

I opened my eyes just as those of the Dwarf dimmed. Its body went limp as its own power escaped it.

Huffing, I stood up. “Good job, Andy. Your strength augmentations are working as intended. How’s the suit holding up?”

“Better than Nessa said it would.” Anderson patted his arms. “I remember her speech about repeated use breaking the suit down, but it doesn’t feel weaker at all.”

“Try saying that after fifty more uses. Still, it’s good that—”

“Alpha, can you hurry up? I can’t hold him forever!”

A red dome of light surrounded the other Black Dwarf. Ben’s rifle was trained on its head, but his hands were shaking so much that it was more like he was aiming at its chest. Manning stood behind Dylan. I was sure he had been offering him Hybrid tips.

“So that’s what happened to the other Dwarf,” I said under my breath. At least they’d kept it busy for us. “Dylan, get ready to lower the shield!”

Dylan did so just as I raced over. I leapt at the Dwarf and slapped my hand onto its chest. Anderson grabbed its left hand and held it back. The Dwarf swung with its right arm, but Dylan stopped it with a red wall of light. It was my sense that this team had been the right call. I deactivated the Dwarf and watched as it collapsed like its buddy.

Ben leaned over the fallen body. “Heh. Not so scary anymore. I’d like to see this guy kidnap someone now.”

Despite his confident tone, Ben’s eyes were glued to the fallen Dwarf. Obviously it looked exactly like the one that had captured him. I could only imagine what was going through his head.

“Bro, snap out of it.” Anderson stood between Ben and the Dwarf. “We’ve got to go.”

Ben blinked rapidly, as if there were something in his eyes. “Right. Sorry. What’s the plan? Do we just barge in?”

I sighed. “In my original plan, we would have snuck in through the back. But now? Sure, let’s just walk in.”

The hospital’s lobby was white and littered with chairs that had all been knocked over. The receptionist was missing, and I prayed that she had fled the scene in time. A wallscreen showed a woman with bags under her eyes. She was rattling off a list of Frost’s achievements to no one in particular. She sounded like her vocal chords had collapsed hours ago but she’d refused to acknowledge it.

“This way!” Manning charged down a hallway in the back of the room.

It was the hallway filled with doors that led to the various patients who lived in this hospital. The last time, it had led us straight to Upton’s door. This time, we hadn’t even gotten five steps down the hall before we all had to skid to a halt.

Four White Dwarfs stood around a man dressed in a green space suit with a camouflage pattern. I recognized him immediately. Just seeing him again filled my blood with ice…and emptied my heart of hope.

Connolly.

“Finally! Way to keep me waiting, guys.” Connolly grinned as he clapped his hands together. His right hand was normal, but in place of a left hand, he had a metallic cylinder. It had four spikes at the end of it. I understood that he had needed a replacement for the hand I’d blown off, but to get an arm cannon? “Frost knew you’d come. Heck, I hoped you would. Otherwise this trap would have been for nothing. Isn’t that right, Uppy?”

Connolly pinched the cheek of a black man who was wrapped in a white straitjacket. He was slung over the shoulder of a White Dwarf. His eyes were shut, and his hair was streaked with gray. He shared that with Manning. That’s what happened when you were brothers.

“Upton!” Manning cried out. All of the White Dwarfs’ heads craned toward him. “Release my brother at once, Connolly. We’re not here to play games with you or President Frost.”

“If you think you can take him back, then go ahead. I’ll have fun watching these giant snow globes rip you apart. Unless you think you’re strong enough to win this time…Ben.”

Ben hadn’t moved an inch since we’d bumped into these guys. His eyes kept darting from Connolly to the White Dwarfs. I’d be surprised if he could speak at all.

“Don’t talk to him.” Anderson whipped out his pistol and aimed it at Connolly’s face. “You don’t even deserve to be in the same room as him.”

“Oh my bad. I’ll stop talking to him. I won’t even ask him about that problem he’s probably having. You know, the one where he can’t tell which thoughts are really his. It’s kind of like he has a laugh track that’s constantly playing underneath his actual thoughts. But I’m sure he’s told you all about it. Right, Benny?”

All the color had drained from Ben’s face. Connolly had just stolen Ben’s remaining confidence. Anderson hadn’t noticed yet. Judging by his face, he was still trying to figure out what Connolly’s words meant.

“That’s enough!” I shot electricity at Connolly’s chest. The light struck its target…but offered the same lack of results I’d experienced with the Black Dwarf. “Your suit’s insulated too?”

Connolly flashed a devilish grin. “Can’t mess with me anymore, can you, Epsilon Explorer? Your freaky powers can’t do squat here. You’re lucky that Frost wants you alive. Otherwise, I’d have killed you the second you walked in here.”

I rolled my eyes. “A death threat. How original. I’m giving you one chance, Connolly: hand over Upton, and walk away. I beat you last time, and I’ll do it again.”

Connolly chuckled. “You know you’re not in a position to bargain, right?”

“Yeah, but now you can’t say I didn’t warn you. Shield him, Dylan!”

“Finally!” Dylan held his hands out. A red dome popped up around Connolly. Now he was in his own little world, as usual. “I thought you’d never stop talking.”

Anderson fired at the Dwarf holding Upton. His pistol might have dented the robot, but did no actual damage. As expected. That thing was mostly for stunning. Ben fired his rifle with his shaky hands, but his rounds weren’t doing much either. Two Dwarfs raised their arms as their barrels charged with plasma.

“Walls of light!” I shouted as I braced myself.

The purple blasts zoomed toward us, but dissipated against two red walls that Dylan had summoned. Dylan couldn’t manage too many constructs at once, which meant that Connolly was free.

Connolly shrugged. “Okay, well that happened. Dwarfs, shoot those walls until they break. After that, bring each of these fools within an inch of their lives.”

The Dwarfs unloaded on Dylan’s shields. They wouldn’t last for long under that much pressure. There was only one real option here.

“Fall back!” I lowered my voice as I faced my team. “The lobby has cover. Get them in there.”

I turned and ran as Dylan’s wall shattered. Purple blasts zoomed past us as we hurried into the lobby. The pillars and counters embellishing the lobby made it a good place to fall back to. That much cover would at least give me time to think.

A purple blast struck Dylan’s back, launching him into a counter. He fell limp on the floor. I ducked behind a pillar as purple continued to dent the walls. The pillar shook as it was assaulted too. Without my electricity, how could I beat four White Dwarfs and Connolly?

“Peekaboo!” shouted Connolly as something silver snuck around the pillar. It was a tendril with a barrel at the end of it. I recognized that barrel as the cylinder on Connolly’s arm. Staring into it, I tried to figure out what I was looking at. Then I realized it was charged with green energy.

I threw myself to the side as green shot over my head. Had he just fired out of his tentacle arm? Connolly’s tentacle lingered around his torso as he made eye contact with me. I couldn’t believe that this man had gotten even creepier.

“How do you like ‘Project Snake’?” Connolly asked as he petted his arm. I had to look away because that was just too weird. “It originated as a way to make extendable arms. Who wouldn’t want to grab a soda from the fridge without getting off the couch? Of course, Frost knew that an extendable blaster would work better for me, so…”

“You gave up the chance at having a normal hand for more power?” I clenched my bionic fist. “You’re crazier than I thought.”

“There is no more ‘normal’ for guys like us! I rejected normal when I left those losers—oh sorry, I mean when I left my family. Oh, tell my little girl I said, ‘How’s it going?’ next time you see her. I’ve got to make sure she feels loved, you know?”

I was so close to socking him in the face, but I was sure it’d lose me the battle.

I glanced around at the others. Anderson was literally wrestling with a Dwarf. Ben was shooting at one while backing away; his aim was getting worse by the second. One was trying to hit Manning, but he dodged every blow as if he knew it was coming. Dylan hadn’t risen from the floor yet.

The Dwarf holding Upton was still beside Connolly. There was no way to reach it without going through Connolly and his ridiculous arm. We weren’t going to win here, were we?

I willed my suit to call Laura’s. “Requesting backup! Laura, get yourself, Nessa, Beth, and Kaela to the hospital now.”

“Huh? Wander?” Laura’s voice said into my ears. “Backup? Are you sure?”

“Why else would I be calling?! Of course I’m s—” A green plasma blast erupted against my visor, tossing my head back. Requesting backup in the middle of a fight wasn’t my smartest move.

“Hey, this was between us. Don’t you remember what happens when other people get involved?” Connolly charged up another green blast and fired it at me.

I shielded my face, but it was unnecessary. A red dome popped up around me, protecting me from the blast. Dylan was on his knees with a single hand raised. I knew he wasn’t out!

“Hybrid assessment test…have I passed?” Dylan asked between huffs.

I grinned. “Wouldn’t be a Hybrid if you didn’t crack jokes while losing.”

“Very funny, but I have something even funnier in mind.” Connolly aimed the snake at Dylan. “I asked you if you remembered last time, Wander. Why did I do that, when I could have just demonstrated?”

“No!” I lunged at Connolly.

His snake arm lunged back. It wrapped itself around my neck before I understood what was happening. The spikes—or rather, the fangs on the end of the barrel—were dangerously close to my face. I tugged on the snake but it didn’t budge. It tightened, crushing my throat. I coughed as I struggled to get air. Pain flooded my throat and my lungs.

“I went out of my way to teach you that lesson, and you still tried to be a hero?” Connolly shook his head as darkness crept into my vision. “I’m disappointed. I knew you weren’t the man for my daughter. Don’t worry, I’ll pay her a little visit, and we can talk about it…”

Anger flooded me, but the pain outweighed it. I felt so lightheaded that it was like my body had disappeared. I hoped for my friends’ safety as darkness took over.