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authority that she could end up saving or destroying the world. I was supposed to watch her back, and I would, even though I still wasn’t sure if I was up to the job.
    A ‘Breaking News’ sign appeared on one of the big news channels. The remains of a well-known Chicago psychiatrist had been found, and unconfirmed reports claimed the dead man had been treating Ultimate for some sort of mental disorder. Christine’s eyes widened in recognition when the dead shrink’s picture showed up on the screen. “That’s the Dreamer!” she said. “And John didn’t kill him. Okay, we beat the crap out of him, but that was in Dreamland. He was alive and well when he ran like a little b-word!”
    “So the assholes have framed Ultimate for murder,” I said. It would be nice if we knew who the assholes were, of course.
    “We need to tell John,” Christine added. Ultimate had gone outside to have a little sulk after waking up. Maybe he was still sore after one of the assholes ripped him to shreds back at the Lurker’s cave. The asshole in question had managed to escape, which worried me quite a bit. “I’ll be right back.” She got up and went out after Ultimate.
    I almost said something, but stopped myself when I realized how stupid that would be. What was I going to say? That I didn’t want her to go comfort big bad Ultimate? That I didn’t like the way she looked at him? That I wanted her to look at me that way? Fucking hell. Even worse, even though I didn’t say anything she gave a look on the way out that pretty much said she’d gotten the message anyway. Just great. I set aside the romance novel crap. We had work to do.
    I turned to Condor, who was raptly watching the news. “We should start thinking about what to do next,” I told him. We’d hoped to get a good night’s sleep before planning our next step, but things were happening too fast. Neos need sleep, but we can do without for a good while before we start getting ornery and insane. Maybe this was a good time to skip sleep and keep on moving.
    “Yep,” he replied, muting the sound on the screens. “Your girlfriend’s a wanted woman now, and so is Ultimate. Federal agencies are going to be on the lookout for them, all over the US.”
    “Not my girlfriend,” I quibbled.
    “Too bad; you two’d make a cute couple. Moving on. We’re dealing with some major players here. They were running an op designed to take over Ultimate’s mind, and have infiltrated the Freedom Legion. They have enough influence to put a frame on Ultimate, too. Are you with me so far?”
    “I’m all ears, Gramps,” I said.
    “Thanks, kid,” Condor replied with a grin. “The same players were after the Lurker, who seems to have discovered the origin of Neo powers. Christine was groomed by the Lurker to do something about the Source. That’s what I got from his crazy ramblings, at least. My guess is, our adversaries want her for the same purpose. In conclusion, we’re facing a massive conspiracy that includes the Iron Tsar and one or more traitors within the Freedom Legion, and probably a lot more. Am I missing anything?”
    “Sounds about right. Christine told me some of what she saw when her father made her look in that cube he had made. She couldn’t remember all of it, but there is some sort of cosmic war. From the looks of it, we got our powers from one of the gangs in that turf war, and the other one’s bankrolling the assholes.”
    “And the assholes include one guy who took down Ultimate,” Condor added musingly. “Took him down hard. I’m beginning to feel like we’re way in over our heads here.”
    “Yeah, we’re probably not the right people for this kind of job,” I agreed. “But we’re what’s on tap. I’m not planning on running.”
    “I never said I was going to run,” Condor said, sounding a bit miffed. “Just thinking out loud.”
    “Okay, sorry. I know you’re not a runner, man. Look at it this way. If these guys can take Ultimate down,