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with Saint. I just hoped he wasn’t here right now, after all. He’d flown away. He’d disappeared into the sky.
    But what was stopping him just appearing down by the island now he’d lured me away?
    What was stopping him using powers I knew damned well he had?
    I felt something hit my back. A winding punch that knocked the breath from my lungs. I turned around and saw Vortex still hovering there. She had that recognizable look on her face, a familiarity about her. But it was clear she wasn’t in control of her actions, not totally.
    “I’m sorry,” I said. “There’s… there’s somewhere I have to be right now.”
    As Vortex flew in for another punch, I teleported myself down toward the island.
    The moment I tried to teleport, a splitting headache cracked through my skull. I heard buzzing, like the static on a television turned up too loud. Bitter smells filled my mouth, and the taste of sick hung to the back of my throat.
    I couldn’t teleport. Something was stopping me from teleporting. Dampening my powers.
    I held my breath and tried to disappear again.
    That static sound. The taste of sick. Flashes in my vision.
    “You need to learn when you’re defeated,” a voice said.
    I wasn’t sure where it came from. I looked all around. It wasn’t Vortex. And it didn’t look like there was anyone else here.
    I tried to shoot down but felt my body lift up into the air instead.
    I bit down on my bottom lip, hard. I couldn’t explain what was happening, couldn’t understand it. It felt like I was losing my grip on my own mind. When I saw Vortex acting the way she was, I wondered whether whoever was doing that to her was doing it to me, too. Trying to worm their way into my head. Control me.
    “Just give up, Glacies. Give up and hand yourself over. There doesn’t have to be any more bloodshed.”
    I could hear the voice loud and clear in my mind now. So much so that I was convinced of what was happening—some kind of mind-controller was trying to take over my thoughts.
    I heard more explosions below. Saw flashes of light between the clouds. The island of the Resistance. It was under attack.
    My muscles tightened. My thoughts drifted. Maybe I could just stay up here and watch…
    “Yes. Stay up here and watch.”
    Maybe I could just—
    “No!”
    I shook my head. Held my breath. I focused on my body. Tensed my fists. I wasn’t giving up on the island. I wasn’t giving up on my people. My ULTRAs.
    I flew back down. It felt like I was running through mud. I wondered about Vortex. She wasn’t chasing me anymore. I wasn’t sure why, but it could only be a good thing, I guess.
    I kept on flying down, battling the magnetic force pulling me back, telling me to turn around.
    “You don’t have to fight.”
    “I have to fight,” I muttered.
    “You can stand and watch as your island falls—”
    “I have to fight!”
    I used a massive burst of energy to blast through the clouds.
    When I saw what was on the other side of them, I almost lost my mind all over again.
    The island was burning. Mini-explosions were erupting everywhere. The Resistance were fleeing. Trying to hide. Trying to…
    Wait.
    I flew closer to the island. I definitely didn’t feel strong enough to teleport, so flying had to suffice for now. As specks of warm rain fell from the clouds around me, I saw it wasn’t the Resistance fleeing at all.
    It was the Resistance attacking the island.
    I saw Stone smashing up our homes.
    I saw Roadrunner sprinting around, throwing her body and bashing through things.
    I saw Ember setting things alight.
    And I saw Orion, hovering over, big powerful balls of energy in the palms of his hands, and getting ready to fire.
    “No!”
    I flew toward Orion. I couldn’t let him destroy the island. I couldn’t let any of this happen—whatever the hell was even happening at all.
    When I flew at him, I saw Orion turn around. Look right at me.
    There was fear in his eyes. Fear and a lack of understanding. A look of