“Why don’t you ask if we’re okay?” Christopher snarled, as he put his hand up and Jeff pulled him to his feet. Buchanan was still on the ground. White and I helped him up—it seemed like he needed both of us.
“Malcolm, are you okay?” This earned me Patented Glare #1. “Christopher, you’re an A-C, you heal fast. Malcolm’s a human and he doesn’t.”
“I’m okay, Missus Chief. I got the thrill of being sandwiched in between the two of them, so while I got crushed I didn’t get battered.”
“Some people would like that.” This earned me both Patented Glare #2 from Christopher and an annoyed grunt from Jeff.
“I’m not one of them, Missus Chief. Though not being slammed first into the walls is probably why I’m okay.”
“Well, I guess that’s good. Why are you guys here?”
They both gave me the “really?” look. “Because you two and my dad weren’t back yet,” Christopher said. “And Buchanan indicated things looked bad here.”
“He wasn’t wrong,” Jeff said, as he grabbed my hand. “Let’s get out of here.”
“Which gate?” I asked. “Bathroom or the room we originally entered through?”
“We came in via the bathroom,” Christopher said.
“And we’re closer to the bathrooms now, too, thanks to your husband using the two of us to break through walls,” Buchanan said as I grabbed his hand and we took off. “Where are the clones?”
“No idea. We think they made it out.”
“We didn’t see them, but we didn’t have too far to go.” Buchanan had us out of the maze and to the elevator lobby door, which was off its hinges. Presumed that was Christopher’s doing.
“Should we take the time to search for them?” White asked. “They know things we’d prefer they didn’t, and they do have information we need.”
We paused at the door of the bathroom with the gate in it. As we did, a loud rumble shook the whole place. It sounded and felt like the sound of thunder when the lightning strike is right next to you.
“The hell with them,” Jeff said. “We need to get out of here.”
“Link up,” Buchanan said, as Jeff grabbed White and White grabbed Christopher.
We were about to enter the bathroom when I looked up. And screamed. Because the ceiling was caving in on us.
Fortunately we were all connected because Christopher took off at Flash Level, as the rubble hit right where Buchanan and I had been standing.
We stopped at the elevator lobby, mostly because its ceiling was still intact. The cubicle section we’d been in was buried. “Now where?” Christopher asked.
“No idea. The elevators go up to the top part of this facility but not out. We could go back to the entry control room, but we didn’t find another gate and don’t have time to search for another hidden one.”
Buchanan shook his head. “I think that area’s all down now.”
Jeff put his arm around me and pulled me closer, then did the same with Christopher. Christopher followed suit with his father, and White took Buchanan’s free hand in his and pulled him closer into our little circle.
Tried to think of appropriate last words. “Love all of you so much and I really hate that the bad guys are going to get to win.”
The ground shook again and as the ceiling fell I noted that there was a golden glow around us.
All of a sudden, we weren’t in a collapsing underground facility any more, but in our living room.
We all blinked.
“Are you all in a group huddle for a reason?” Mom asked.
We broke apart to see most of the team and everyone who’d been over at the Gaultier Cloning Facility sitting or standing there.
“Not that I’m complaining, but how the hell did we get out?” Christopher asked.
“Naomi.” Looked around, but she wasn’t here. Chuckie, who was sitting in between Gower and Abigail, looked at me hopefully. “It had to be Naomi. The way we were pulled out was just like when ACE did it.”
Mom sighed. “I should have put my foot down and kept Naomi here.”
“Mom, it wasn’t your fault. You told her not to go and told me to leave her here. If it’s anyone’s fault it’s mine.”
“No,” Buchanan said firmly, as Dad walked out with Jamie in his arms. “This wasn’t your fault. I was there. She made the choice she felt she had to and she made that choice to protect her friends and family. She overdid it because . . .” he looked at Chuckie, “she was afraid and didn’t realize she was giving herself too much.”
Chuckie shook his head. “She knew what she was doing,” he said quietly, and there was so much sorrow in his voice that I wanted to cry. Held it in, though, because now wasn’t the time to lose it completely.
Abigail nodded. “She’d . . . talked to me about it, what it felt like when they gave her the drug. She wasn’t afraid of it.”
Dad cleared his throat. “Ah, kitten? I think we may have another . . . little problem.”
That earned the room’s attention. “What’s wrong, Dad? Jamie, are you okay?”
Jamie looked at all of us before she spoke. “Fairy Godfather ACE is back,” she said. “And Fairy Godfather ACE is angry.”
CHAPTER 92
WE ALL LOOKED AT GOWER. “Paul, is ACE back?”
Gower shook his head. “He’s not here, I can’t feel him.”
Because ACE cannot be with Paul any more. It was ACE’s voice, inside my head.
ACE? You’re back? You’re okay? We’ve been so worried about you and didn’t know what to do and—
ACE knows. ACE has been where Kitty could not go. Naomi came to free ACE. Naomi came just in time. ACE is grateful, but ACE is also sad. Naomi cannot come home now. Ever again.
Wanted to ask about that, but something else was more urgent. ACE, you sound different. Are you able to be here without being inside Paul?
Yes, but ACE must still have a host. ACE had to make promises in order to return. ACE has . . . broken laws. Laws Kitty cannot understand.
I’ve talked to Algar, I think I know what you mean, and that you’re right in that I probably can’t understand fully.
ACE had to promise to interfere less. Naomi did not save Kitty and the others, though Naomi provided the means by freeing ACE. But ACE did not save Kitty and the others, either. There was a long pause.
Then who did save us, ACE, if it wasn’t you or Naomi?
Jamie saved Kitty.
Looked at my daughter. She didn’t seem to be “there.” ACE, are you . . . inside . . . Jamie?
Yes. If ACE was to return to Kitty, ACE had to agree to inhabit someone who has no power in this world. ACE chose Jamie. ACE is sorry, but ACE had to choose a host who can filter properly.
Interesting choice. Jamie was probably the most powerful individual on the planet, but if you took “power” to mean influence within the world, she was less than two years old, and that meant completely powerless in terms of how the majority would choose to look at it. ACE had learned as much from us as we had from him.
I understand. Will it hurt her?
No! ACE would never hurt Jamie! But it will be hard for Jamie to allow ACE to speak, as Paul used to. Paul was ready. Jamie . . . Jamie says she is ready, but ACE does not believe this is true.
And this was also clever. If ACE was in trouble with the Universal Meddling Elder Gods or something because he’d interfered, then choosing to inhabit Jamie meant that his temptations would be fewer.
While we all had asked Gower to channel ACE to ask him for advice without hesitation, there was no way Jeff and I were going to do the same with our baby daughter. Asking a grown man for advice on how to prevent nuclear war or raving lunatics from kidnapping our children was one thing—asking your toddler who was the potential kidnappee was quite another.