The chopper door slid open and for a heartbeat, the world moved slow. A gentle breeze carried the smell of the forest to Ivy, and the first thing her ears picked out was the rustling of leaves and the distant chirping of birds.

Then people were screaming her name. Ivy barely had time to process the flash of movement before one, two, three people had crashed into her, pulling her into a tight group hug.

"You're alive!" Spencer exclaimed as he pulled away. Ace was at his side, barking eagerly.

"We were afraid the detention center would be another dead end," Summer added.

Ivy smiled at them. "Yeah, I'm okay. And Claire!" she turned to the third figure. "You're awake!"

Claire nodded. "I woke up an hour or so after the ship went down."

Ash stepped out of the chopper behind Ivy. The others looked up, and Ivy tensed, wondering what had transpired between Ash and the Supers after her capture.

"Thanks for bringing her back, Ash," Summer said.

Spencer nodded and quickly turned his attention back to Ivy. "How much did he tell you?"

"Bits and pieces," Ivy replied. "I know everyone's divided up into groups."

"Yeah. We were able to gather together ninety-six Supers that made it off the ship. Plus Icarus, Arachne, and Raven. We figured with the authorities and Zodiac after us, it would be best to split up to avoid drawing attention. We hiked away from the beach and now we're spread out over a few miles of forest."

"Our group's got seventeen kids," Summer added. "Plus Dr. Williams and another scientist that made it off the ship."

"Did Dr. Newman...?" Ivy began.

Summer and Spencer shared a look that told Ivy all she needed to know.

Some part of her had known this would happen when she'd left him in the lab on the Fortuna. Ivy reached up and clutched the metal that he'd given her. They'd been in such a rush, but she still regretted not asking him what it was.

"I'm sorry," Ivy said. Tears stung her eyes. "I can't even imagine how hard this must be for guys. You knew him for years."

Spencer nodded and looked down at the ground. Summer sighed. "Yeah, it's... it's been rough. But the best thing we can do is finish what he started and end Zodiac."

"Right," Spencer said. He looked up. "Come on, let's show Ivy the camp."

Ivy followed them away from the chopper, and Ash stayed a few steps behind her. As they walked, she took in the area. The camp had been set up in a small clearing. A second jetchopper was parked opposite from where Ash had parked the first.

"Along with most of the Supers and scientists, about eighty-two crew members and other workers got off the ship," Spencer said. "They pretty much all went home, since there's no ship to run anymore. But they've been bringing us supplies when they can manage it."

"Did the captain make it off?" Ivy asked.

"We think he went down with the ship, although no one's been able to tell us for sure."

Ivy gave a grim nod. She hadn't known the captain very well at all, and couldn't even recall his name. She'd known some kids went to listen to him tell stories sometimes, but she'd never gone herself.

The camp wasn't very large. The group came to a stop in the center. "When the weather's bad, we sleep in the jetchoppers," Spencer said. "It's kinda crowded, but not terrible. Otherwise, we just sleep outside. We have a few extra sleeping bags and pillow, you can take your pick."

"Great," Ivy said. "What about clothes?"

"We've got some of those, too, although selection's pretty limited. If you can't find anything that fits we can radio the other camps and see what they've got." Spencer held up a walkie-talkie. "We check in with each other several times a day."

"What have you guys been eating?" Ivy asked. Whatever it was, it had to be better than the cafeteria food at the detention center.

"Whatever we can get our hands on," Spencer said.

"We've been trying to avoid supply runs," Summer chimed in. "If we have to, we send newer recruits who are less likely to be recognized. People are on high alert."

"Yeah," Spencer said. "Going anywhere in public is a risk. Most of our stuff has been brought to us. We try to stay out of sight as much as possible, which means avoiding a lot campfires. We've really only left to look for you, and walk to the campground nearby to use their bathrooms."

"We're still trying to figure out what we want to do next," Summer said. "Our biggest priority right now is finding everyone who's missing. You're the first person we've managed to find."

"Speaking of which, Ivy..." Spencer sat down on the ground at the center of the clearing, and gestured for the others to do the same. "What have you been up to the past month?"

Ivy settled down on the dirt and blew out a breath of air. "Geez, where do I begin?" she asked. "The detention center was pretty boring."

"What happened right after you were arrested?" Spencer asked.

"And how exactly did that happen?" Claire added. "I don't think I got the full story."

"Okay, well, Raven was already attacking by the time Ash and I got to the ship. We told people to evacuate, and I took on Raven to distract her so others could get out. I figured I had the best chance, having three powers." Ivy's gaze flickered to Ash. "Did he explain the Phoenix Project?"

"He did," Summer confirmed.

"Which I feel like we should further discuss," Spencer said. "Later, though. Please continue." He nodded and managed a small smile, but Ivy sensed the worry behind his expression.

"Anyway," Ivy continued. "I finally managed to take Raven down by overwhelming her telepathically. I got her back to shore, and we wound up on a beach. The police arrived right after we did, and Icarus was able to carry off right before they got to me.

"The next thing I remember is waking up in a cell." Ivy shifted her position. "Agent Leroy told me I'd be SCI's first public capture, and since I'd been revealed as an arsonist to the world, there wouldn't be many people on my side."

"Ugh. Just when I thought SCI couldn't piss me off any more," Summer muttered.

"It gets worse." Ivy rubbed the spot on her arm where she'd been given her last injection. "They developed an alterium-based serum that temporarily suppresses our powers. They've been giving me weekly injections."

"So you can't use your powers?" Spencer asked.

"Nope. It's been over a month. But the last injection should wear off in a few days."

"Well, at least they didn't come up with something more permanent," Summer said.

Ivy shuddered at the thought. Deep down, some part of her offered up a thought: A few months ago, you would have been glad to get rid of your powers.

But that was before she met the Supers, Ivy reminded herself.

"There's something else," Ivy said. "After Leroy left, I fell asleep. But I woke up—or at least, I thought I woke up—in the middle of the night." Ivy swallowed. "Malcolm was in my cell."

Everyone straightened up. Summer narrowed her eyes. "I'm guessing trusting him was a bad idea from the start?"

"Terrible." Ivy could still feel the cold of his knife against her skin. "I was kind of out of it, but he basically said that he wasn't actually Malcolm. He... I think he said the real Malcolm died and he took his body? I'm not sure, but I guess it has something to do with the Fragments."

Claire's eyes were wide as she spoke. "He came to me right before I woke up. In fact, I think whatever he—we—did in the Dream Realm helped wake me up. And he doesn't just have something to do with the Fragments. He is the Fragments."

"What?" Ivy exclaimed. "How? The Fragments are just pieces of metal, aren't they?"

"They are, but they have something...some kind of life force trapped inside of them. Imprisoned, I guess, is the best way to explain it. And Malcolm is... part of it."

Ivy rubbed her forehead. "I guess that's what he meant when he said a part of him escaped. Oh, yeah, and then he threatened to kill me."

"Same here," Claire muttered.

Spencer jumped to his feet. "Kill you!? How can he kill you in a dream?"

"He said that we weren't in my head. We were in the Dream Realm. He said it was another dimension, and that somehow meant that killing us there would kill our bodies here on Earth," Ivy said.

Claire nodded. "Pretty much."

"What the hell is a Dream Realm?" Ash asked.

"I'm not sure," Claire said. She glanced at Ivy, who shrugged. Claire continued. "It seems to be some place where Malcolm has power. Or used to have power. For whatever reason, he was trapped in the Fragments and had his power taken from him."

"By who?" Summer asked.

"That's a fantastic question," Ivy said. "Right now, though, we should be more worried about Malcolm himself. I woke up right before he killed me, but every time I go to sleep now I'm afraid he'll come back."

"He won't come back. At least, not anytime soon."

The certainty in Claire's voice surprised Ivy. "What makes you so sure?" she asked.

"I broke his connections to us."

~

Shortly after emerging from her coma, Claire had explained her interaction with Malcolm to Spencer and Summer as best as she could, but even she wasn't entirely sure what had happened.

"I was able to communicate with you guys over such a long distance because... Because of an experiment John did on me," Claire had told them.

"What did he do to you?" Spencer asked.

"He's working on something to amplify our powers. Some kind of electrical shock." Claire wasn't ready to share the full details. "Anyway, it worked, but I was stuck in the coma. Now that I'm awake, I can feel that extra power draining away. I might be able to still reach out that far, but I won't be able to much longer."

"Could you try to reach Victoria?" Summer asked. "Or Ivy? Tyler?"

Claire shook her head. "One of them, maybe, but there's something more important I need to do. Or they'll all be in danger. Malcolm can normally only use his powers over short distances, and that's still the case with putting people to sleep. But he's established a strong connection with some of our minds."

"So what?" Summer asked. "He can enter our dreams from far away?"

"Yes, but that's not the problem. Once he's in our mind, he can take us to something he called the Dream Realm."

"How? He can teleport us?" Spencer asked.

"Physically, no, our bodies stay where they are. But he takes our minds, well, out of our minds and to this... this... place." Claire rubbed her forehead. She really had no idea what this place was, beyond what little information Malcolm had given her. "Whatever it is, he can kill us there. Somehow, being there affects our bodies on Earth. Even if we're not physically with Malcolm, he can hurt us."

"How do we stop him?" Summer asked.

"I'll have to do it. Telepathically," Claire explained. "I just hope I have enough power."

"Would this help?"

Claire turned around. People had been rushing around the camp trying to get organized, and she hadn't noticed Icarus and Arachne. Icarus stood in front of her now, clutching a Pyramid Fragment.

"Where'd you get that?" Claire asked.

"Smith ordered us to steal it from a museum." Arachne's sharp voice came from the right. As she approached, she narrowed her eyes. "Icarus, I'm not sure I like the idea of giving it to someone we barely know."

"How would it help, anyway?" Spencer asked.

Icarus shrugged. "I don't know, I just kind of had this feeling."

Claire frowned. "Actually, I think it would."

"Why's that?" Summer folded her arms.

"Here's the craziest part. The reason Malcolm came to my mind was to force me to help him. He had a Fragment with him, and something inside of it was trying to take control of my abilities so it could pull itself out."

"How could something alive be inside a piece of metal?" Spencer asked.

"I don't know. But there is. A life force is in the Fragments. A single life, shattered into nine pieces. Well, ten, sort of." Claire found herself staring at the Fragment in Icarus' hands. "I have no idea what the full story is, but between what I sensed from the Fragment and the vague stuff Malcolm was saying, I figured out that a very small part of this life force escaped one of the Fragments."

Spencer frowned. "So the Fragments are like a prison?"

"Yes."

"Where did the...escaped part of him go?"

Claire met his gaze. "It's Malcolm."

The others stared at her.

"The Fragments contain a lot of power," Claire said. "And the fact that the Fragment and Malcolm are essentially one being, well, that should help me connect to his mind."

The others finally agreed, albeit reluctantly. Claire couldn't blame them. They had little understanding of what they were dealing with.

If she didn't try, though, the next time they fell asleep could very well be their last.

Claire sat down in the dirt, crossed her legs, and accepted the Fragment Icarus held out to her. Arachne folded her arms and her eyes narrowed, but she didn't protest.

As Claire's fingers tightened around the cool metal of the Fragment, her telepathic abilities seemed to beg to be used, threatening to activate of their own free will, like they did in John's lab. Claire's heart hammered in her chest. What if Malcolm tried to pull himself out again?

Thankfully, there was nothing beyond the simple urge to use her powers. When Claire was certain they'd remain under her control, she reached out, seeking the connection Malcolm had created between them.

And there it was. His mind. As Claire pressed further, she could sense more minds beyond his. Some weak, some strong. His connections.

Malcolm's mind was occupied. His focus was... elsewhere. As Claire latched onto his connections, however, she felt his attention turn to hers.

No words were exchanged, but his mind seemed to ask, what are you doing?

Claire ignored him, sent nothing his way. She concentrated on one of Malcolm's connections and severed it. Then another, and another.

Curiosity turned to annoyance. Malcolm tried to push Claire out of his mind, but he didn't have the strength. He was preoccupied with something else, something that was taking most of his energy.

Claire found the connection between him and Ivy and severed it.

Only two connections left. Hers, and one that was far stronger than the others. Claire frowned as her senses wrapped around it.

What had Malcolm established such a strong connection with Tyler?

It likely had something to do with wherever they were now, but Claire didn't have the time or energy to search for answers now. She broke the bond between them.

Then, she terminated the connection between Malcolm and herself.