“Ah, and here we are.” The Professor stopped and put his finger to the touch panel beside a wide door. “The Med Center.” He beamed at Jilia after the door slid up in its tracks. “Just to your specifications.”
Jilia hurried past him into the room. The room was brighter than the hallway, with light cell panels installed every few inches across the ceiling. The walls and floor were the same unblemished white, and the room was filled with brand-new diagnostic machines.
Jilia looked back at the Professor, her eyes shining eyes. “It’s perfect, Henry.”
I saw something else I recognized—another wash-down container, and a pile of packaged blue suits.
The Professor saw where I was looking. “Until the air-filtration system is ready, you can wash and change into a new suit every day so you’re comfortable.”
“Thanks,” I said.
“Oh look,” the Professor said with a delighted smile. “Here’s the rest of your team.”
I turned to follow his gaze and saw a group of people crowded in the doorway. A dark-haired boy I recognized timidly stepped in front.
“Juan!” I said. We’d rescued him during our escape from the Community, but I hadn’t seen him since we switched vehicles at the first safe house all those months ago.
“It’s so good to finally see you again, Zoe!” Juan said, stepping closer. “I’m not on your team, but I had to come and say hello anyway.” He gave me a big hug. “The only reason I’m alive is because of you.” He said, his voice quieter. “I never got the chance to thank you. I am forever in your debt.”
I waved a hand, trying to hide my embarrassment. “Is Molla here, too?”
“She’s here,” Juan said, but then looked away. I could hear what he didn’t say. Molla was here but didn’t want to see me. She thought I was the reason Max stayed behind with the Chancellor. In part, she was right. The familiar pang of guilt sliced through my gut.
Adrien’s face stiffened briefly, his eyes going distant. The next moment he blinked and looked at Xona standing behind him. It was brief, but I could tell he’d just had one of his short-term visions “Don’t,” he said, heading over to her.
At the same moment, Xona turned and saw the group crowding into the Med Center. Her eyes widened until they looked like they’d pop out of her head.
“What the shunt are they doing here?” she yelled. She reached under her tunic and whipped out two weapons.
I looked where Xona was pointing and gasped. Four Regulators were approaching from the back of the group.
“Lower your weapons, Xona. They aren’t Regs anymore,” Jilia said, her voice far calmer than mine would have been. “These are the boys Zoe rescued when she fled the Community. I’ve examined them myself and—”
“They’re all murderers!” Xona flicked the safety off the weapons with her thumb and aimed them higher. The Regs didn’t even flinch.
“Hey, calm down,” said one of the glitcher boys who stood by Juan. He was dark-skinned and short but broadly built. He held out his hand, palm up. “You need to put down the weapon.”
“Calm down? Calm down?” Xona’s voice was almost a shriek.
“Underneath the metal, the ex-Regs are as human as you and me,” Jilia said.
“They’re nothing like me!”
The tips of the metal weapons Xona held began to turn a glowing orange. She didn’t notice at first, but then she suddenly cried out and dropped them. She looked down at her hand in disbelief. Small welts were forming on her palm.
“Rand, you didn’t have to do that,” Jilia said to the boy who’d told Xona to calm down. She hurried over to Xona. “Let me see the burns.”
I looked on in confusion. I had no idea what had just happened.
“Don’t touch me,” Xona pulled away from Jilia, her eyes flashing at Rand. “Of course you’d protect them. You glitchers are barely human either.” She brushed hard past Adrien and ran from the room.
Jilia started after her, but then paused at the door and looked back at us. “I would appreciate if you would all try to be patient with her.” Her words were clipped and almost angry. “She’s a bit rough around the edges, but you would be, too, if you’d been through what she has.”
“She’s the one who pulled a weapon,” a girl with long blond hair objected, putting her hands on her hips. “What were we supposed to do?”
“She protects herself the only way she knows how,” Jilia said, then hurried out the door.
“And we all know you can more than protect yourself, Filicity,” Adrien said to the blonde.
The girl balled up her fists and stared back. “How many times do I have to tell you, the name’s City.”
“I didn’t mean to burn her hands,” said Rand.
City scoffed. “You aren’t the bad guy here, Rand. She pulled a laser weapon. She could have sliced someone’s arm off by accident.”
“What exactly just happened?” I asked.
“Rand melted her weapons.” A short girl with long frizzy brown hair got to her feet from where she’d been crouching on the ground with her arms covering her head. She beamed at Rand. “He can turn metal molten.”
He winked and waved at me, his palms turning a glowing orange. City smacked him hard in the shoulder. “Now if he just could learn to tone it down sometimes.”
He rolled his eyes. “Because you are always so controlled with your lightning.”
“It’s electricity, not lightning. And it’s not supposed to be subtle.”
“Why don’t I introduce you all officially,” Adrien said. He gestured to the blonde. “Zoe, this is City. She can produce spirals of electricity from her bare hands. Then there’s Eli, Wytt, Tavid, and Cole.” He nodded at the ex-Regs. Three of them didn’t move at all. They just stood looking at the far wall like they were on guard. The fourth looked my way and nodded.
“Where are the other ex-Regs?” I asked. Ten had come with us after I freed them from their V-chips, if I remembered correctly.
“The rest are on active duty with other Rez squadrons.” Adrien turned to the stocky boy who’d burned Xona. “This is Rand. You saw his power in action.”
Rand grinned.
“And I’m Ginni,” said the frizzy-haired girl. “We’re all so excited to meet you and welcome you to the team!” She came forward and gave me a huge hug. I patted her back awkwardly. I’d never really been in such close proximity to anyone except Adrien.
“Uh, hi.”
City snorted in the background, and Ginni pulled back.
“Ginni can locate people anywhere on earth,” Adrien said, smiling. “Down to a few feet.”
“Oh,” I smiled. “Adrien told me about you.”
“He did?” A grin split her face.
“Now that you’re actually here maybe we can finally see some action,” Rand said, rubbing his hands together.
Ginni leaned in. “Can you really do everything they say you can? Juan told us you ripped metal-reinforced doors out of the wall. Is that true?”
“Um, yeah.”
“Telekinesis is such an awesome power. And one day you’re gonna be the leader of the Rez,” Ginni shook her head slightly, looking awestruck. “To think, I get to be on the same task force as you.”
“She’s not a leader yet,” City said. “Everyone on the task force is of equal rank.” She looked at me sourly. “Except some of us have actually trained for years and been on missions.”
“Aw, don’t get your tunic in a twist, City,” Rand said.
City’s hands balled into fists. “I’m not getting anything in a twist. I’m just telling it like it is.”
“Okay, guys,” Adrien intervened. “Everybody out. Let’s let Zoe get some rest now.”
He ran a hand through his hair after they all left. “I’m sorry about how they acted. They can be a lot to handle all at once.”