Discalimer/Notes/General Stuff You May or May Not Need to Know: >This fic is a collaborative effort between Sue Penkivech, Melodyrider, and Oldprydefan. The end of Giant-Sized Astonishing left us with a feeling that there was still part of the story left to be told, so here's our effort to do that. Takes place in current continuity, following UXM #499, Divided We Stand #2, and Captain Britain and MI-13 #4. Obviously, neither the X-Men and related characters, nor the giant bullet of doom, or the Skrull Empire belong to us. We're just using them all for our own amusement, especially John the Skrull. Because he likes it. Reviews are always welcome. We’d love to know what you think of the story!

Now, on with the show.

Deliverance

Chapter Four: Solid

by: Sue Penkivech, Melodyrider, and Oldprydefan

This time, it wasn’t the light that pulled her up, tugged her out of the well of darkness that was dragging her determinedly deeper with each passing cycle. This time, it was something else.

It was a soft, nagging tap, like the insistent patter of rain on a rooftop; an annoyingly persistent whisper that poked at her consciousness with light but unrelenting fingers. In her mind, in those half-formed, restless dreams, Kitty tried to wave it away, tried to shake her head in denial and burrow under the covers. In her dream, she frowned, and the frown creased her forehead in reality to match.

Too early.

So tired…

“…not time…go back to sleep…” The words were barely mumbled in raspy, unconscious irritation as she stubbornly clung to her shifting dream-memories, even as they slipped away like sand through grasping fingers. They had a long way to go, and a lot to do when they got there. They’d need what rest they could get now. Who knew what they’d find when they got to Breakworld and their course was set?

In her experience, nothing good ever came of unexpected trips into space.

“…Emma, Katherine…”

Frown deepening, the darkness receded a little more, unwillingly, and Kitty moaned as she vacillated between trying to clear the cobwebs from her sluggish thoughts - to separate what was real from the disjointed dreamscape clouding her vision - and the oh-so-tempting desire to sink back into oblivion. Words and images floated in and out of focus; sharpening, blurring, receding – then repeating the pattern again.

Ord. Space. Breakworld. Peter.

Emma…

“…hear me…”

The fog parted and the sickening burst of pain followed a second later, before she was awake enough to expect it and brace for it. If her fingers could’ve spasmed and clenched in reflex, they would’ve, but that was impossible in her current state. But it didn’t keep them from trying, or for every muscle to wind itself tight in recoil as she ground her teeth together and did the only thing she could; wait for it to pass, sweat beading her brow and dripping down her face.

It took a lifetime.

“Emma?” She could barely hear her own voice, broken and hoarse from disuse, but Kitty hardly noticed. Focusing her concentration inward, she held her breath and waited. A hallucination, maybe? God knew, it wouldn’t be the first time, she’d heard that voice often enough in the last while. Usually, though, she wasn’t awake, this time the brunette was pretty sure she was. She hurt too much not to be.

“I’m here, Kitty. I hear you.” Until that second, when the voice of the White Queen echoed unmistakably in her head again, Kitty hadn’t realized quite how much she’d expected it not to be real. Her breath left her in a rush of relief that was as involuntary as it was genuine as her eyes slip closed and she sagged against the cold metal floor. Real. Real and close.

“It’s about time. This ride’s getting pretty boring.” Despite not having the first clue just how much time she was talking about, her lips curved up sardonically as the retort flitted through her head. Some habits died hard, and some didn’t die at all, no matter what the circumstances. Her reward was a fleeting hint of impatient, unwilling amusement from the other end of the connection, tinged with something else. Something she couldn’t identify before it disappeared again.

“Do forgive us for not adhering to your timetable,” came the typically cool, unruffled reply. “Feel free to lodge a formal complaint when we’re back on earth. I’m sure Scott would enjoy the additional paperwork.”

A soft snort of laughter escaped, as much from the still almost overwhelming relief as any actual amusement. It was that or burst into tears and she didn’t think either of them wanted to deal with that.

“Don’t tempt me, I just might.” The reply was obligatory, a stall as Kitty took a deep breath, counted to ten, and exhaled again slowly. She reined in her roiling emotions as best she could. As…almost comforting as the traditional banter was, there were other issues. Questions she wanted to ask, things she needed to know. “So, everyone’s all right, then? I…it worked?”

“Yes. It worked.” Emma’s reply was simple and unembellished, and Kitty sighed again, muscles unknotting despite the pain that was still her constant companion. “You saved the day, the planet is all in one piece, everyone’s fine, and we’d all appreciate it if you stopped careening about the galaxy. You’ve proven your point. Now, it’s time to come home.”

The words shimmered in her mind, delivered in the White Queen’s clipped, impatient, ‘this is my will and I will brook no argument’ note of authority. It made Kitty smile again, a little, despite knowing it wouldn’t be that easy. If it was possible at all.

“Peter’s ok?” she couldn’t help asking, mental voice soft and holding her breath again in anticipation of the answer, and wondering if the telepath would tell her the truth if he wasn’t. “Is he there?”

There was a small hesitation, less than a heartbeat, but Kitty would’ve sworn her heart sank into her stomach.

“Peter’s perfectly well, but he’s elsewhere at the moment.”

The matter-of-fact words were as much disappointment as a relief. Emma didn’t have to explain why they hadn’t brought him, not that Kitty would’ve expected her to anyway. She already knew the reason.

“If you’re anxious to be reunited, then I suggest you get on with the business of unphasing things so we can retrieve you.”

Sudden trepidation washed over her, and her teeth tugged agitatedly at her lower lip, “I’m not sure I can. Emma…”

“It’s a little late to again bore me with claims of what you can’t do, Katherine,” the other woman interrupted with the mental equivalent of waving a dismissive hand at her protests. “I’ve never taken you for giving up so easily, but I’m beginning to wonder…”

“Emma, I’ve been trying,” she mentally ground out in reply, cutting her off as her irritation flared to match her unease. “I don’t think you understand. I’ve been trying, and I can’t. I’m…there’s a problem.”

“You can. And you will.”

There was firm, calm determination behind the words, and what felt like an unmistakable touch of encouragement, but that didn’t make them any less irritating. Emma wasn’t listening. Which, overall, wasn’t new or a surprise. Kitty clenched her jaw and tried again.

“It won’t do any good! I’m telling you, you don’t-”

“Kitty.” The White Queen interrupted her again, mental voice steely and commanding. The brunette could practically feel those ice blue eyes boring into her. “Do it. Now. Or I’ll simply assume control of your mind and prove you wrong by doing it myself.”

She wouldn’t. She couldn’t. Knowing that, however, did absolutely nothing to stem the sharp flare of anger that surged at the threat. “Just try it.”

It was practically a growl, both in her head and in reality, as she braced herself again, struggled to drag up every single ounce of energy she had, and pushed; feeling the buzz of power at the base of her skull. Feeling the world around her give, in a way that was utterly indescribable, but that was as familiar and welcome as an old friend.

“You can, Kitty. You are.” The encouragement, unaccountably soft and supporting and utterly-un-Emma-like, rang in her head, sounding far away and nearly obscured by the loud buzzing in her skull. She latched onto it, though, clung to it like a lifeline.

Smooth, alien metal solidified under her torso, against her legs, around her arms, over her hands….

And the sudden, searing, blinding pain hit her with the force of a sledgehammer, ripping her apart from the inside out, or so it seemed. “Oh, god…I can’t!”

Whether the scream was just in her head or aloud, or both, she couldn’t have said, but she felt it slipping away from her, that fingernail hold of control. Panicking, gasping for air and trying to push through what felt like a tidal wave of white hot agony, she clutched at it, trying to pull it back to her.

“You can! Don’t you dare stop now!”

But it was too late, and it slid away from her, inch by inch, pain and fear slicing at her tenuous hold. There was so much metal, and unphasing herself meant unphasing the entire bullet, whether she liked it or not. There was no going halfway with this. “I. Can’t!”

Sagging against the metal and gasping for air, nerves raw and muscles aching from the strain, she swallowed the lump in her throat, picture forming in her mind, piece by careful piece. It was a picture of herself, her hands and part of her legs, a section of her torso, even strands of her hair, melded to the alien metal interior of the giant bullet from Breakworld. Not just contained by it, but part of it. Inextricably woven into its fabric, as it was woven into hers. All ephemeral. Untouchable.

Insubstantial as smoke.

This picture, she shared with Emma as she softly, defeatedly repeated, “I can’t…”

It had her in its grip, and it wasn’t going to let her go without more of a fight than she had the physical resources to provide.

* * * * * * *

Back on the Skrull vessel, Emma opened her eyes and blinked blearily at the rest of the team, who’d apparently noticed something was amiss and gathered around her, expectant looks on their faces.

“I’ve found her,” she said shakily as her mind began analyzing the mental image that Katherine had transmitted. “She’s alive, and apparently in relatively good humor, given the circumstances. She complained that we’re late for rendezvous.”

She watched as the others relaxed, Illyana unwinding from the ball she’d practically curled herself into, Wisdom’s shoulders reassuming their habitual slouch, Alison letting out a sigh of relief and stretching out in her seat. Only Robert was studying her face as if seeing something there that the others weren’t.

At times, the boy was too insightful for his own good. Emma pointedly ignored his eyes and pretended to turn her attention to Wisdom as he began speaking, her mind focused inward. Katherine was, in fact, bonded to the bullet, and apparently panicking at the thought of unphasing the sheer mass of it. Not especially surprising, given the circumstances. Fortunately, her contingency plan should accommodate that…

“Hope you told her she shouldn’t be hitching rides on strange space bullets to begin with,” Wisdom was observing drily as he pulled a cigarette from his pocket only to have it plucked from his fingers and broken in half by Illyana.

“We are not rescuing Kitty just to give her lung cancer from secondhand smoke,” she insisted with a wry smile as she handed him back the pieces.

“Are you talking to her now?” Robert asked, raising his eyebrows, apparently having come upon an explanation for her silence. “If you are, tell her the Cubs beat the Mets and I owe her a cheeseburger when we get back.”

Yes, this would work very well. “Tell her yourself,” she replied as she pulled at both his consciousness and Katherine’s, pushing them into the astral plane and leaving a portion of her own to monitor the situation. “She’ll need to unphase the bullet. You’ll know what to do once she does.”

Ignoring Robert’s last plea for explanation, she turned to look at the others. “It shouldn’t be long,” she assured them as she folded her hands in her lap. “She’s just going to need to summon up the strength to render the bullet tangible.”

“What’s wrong with Drake?” Wisdom asked, narrowing his eyes as he jerked his head toward the suddenly immobile Iceman.

“Why, nothing,” Emma assured him. “He’s just fulfilling his role on the mission. Once he’s done with the first portion, we’ll proceed. Ms. Rasputin, if you’d gather a few blankets, we’ll be ready to go shortly.”

“Blankets?” she asked with obvious confusion. “Why would we need –“

“I expect,” Emma replied, giving her a pointed look designed to discourage further questions, “that Katherine will be rather…chilly, after her ordeal. Better to be prepared than not.”

Wisdom seemed unimpressed by her explanation, but Emma turned to stare out the window, apparently oblivious as she focused in on the “chat room” of her creation. Hopefully for once, Robert would step up and show some more definite indication of the potential she’d always believed he held.

* * * * * * *

His mouth was still open to demand an explanation when Bobby came to the sudden realization that he was no longer inside the Skrull spacecraft.

Emma’s work. It had to be, given the lack of a stopover in hell that would’ve heralded an actual physical change of location. Bobby rolled his eyes. Just once, he wished she’d actually explain what she was going to do before she did it.

“Noooo, that’d be too easy,” he grumbled aloud, blinking as his eyes adjusted to the sudden change in illumination. He seemed to be inside some sort of giant, metal building with walls that curved into a ceiling he couldn’t quite see.

“Is someone there?” a voice called out weakly.

Oh god, she’d meant it literally when she’d said to tell Kitty about the baseball game himself…

“Nope,” he replied, forcing a smile as he walked toward a still figure lying on the ground not far away. “I’m an optical illusion.”

“Except I can’t see you,” she pointed out as she lifted her head off the floor a little, then let out a disgusted sigh and let it drop back to the floor. “Any chance you could move over to the other side and then tell me what’s going on? I’m sort of stuck.”

Frowning, Bobby walked around her and crouched down at her side. “Stuck how?” he asked, then inhaled sharply when he realized just what she’d meant. Hands, arms, legs…all of them seemed to be composed of the same metal as the bullet, distinguishable only by contour and a sort of imperfect junction between the affected and unaffected portions of her body.

He swallowed hard as he awkwardly crouched down beside her, only belatedly remembering to force a smile as his eyes met hers.

Too late. Kitty smiled crookedly, shoulders shrugging a mere fraction as her eyes met his. “Emma didn’t tell you, huh?”

Bobby shook his head and tossed her a crooked grin in response. “Does she ever?”

“Good point. So, did she send you to tell me it’s a lost cause?”

Her tone was sarcastic, but her teeth were tugging at her lip, and when Bobby met her eyes he could see a very real fear there that Emma’d done just that, lessened only slightly when he shook his head and smiled reassuringly.

“Nah. Actually, she sent me to tell you I owe you a cheeseburger.” He wrinkled his nose playfully, then grinned. “The Cubs beat the Mets, 7 to 2.”

Kitty laughed. “Told you they would. They’ve got their best line-up of the last twenty years.”

“Which means what, exactly?” he tossed back with a mischievous grin. Calm her down, Emma had said. Well, if trading insults about baseball teams did the trick, he could handle that.

For now, he was just going to ignore the rest of Emma’s cryptic message. Calming Kitty down would be a whole lot more difficult if he were panicking himself, and he had the feeling that whatever Emma had in mind, it would likely be panic-inducing. He could always count on her for that.

Meanwhile, Kitty had lifted her head a little and was attempting to glare up at him. Some of her hair was entrapped in the floor as well, which explained the difficulty she’d had turning her head. He felt his stomach sink. Not so long ago, his greatest fear had been freezing solid and finding himself unable to move. Being stuck like this for a month, careening through space as part of an alien bullet…

It was a wonder she was sane at all. He could pretty much guarantee he wouldn’t have been.

“Y’know, if I could move…” she warned.

“You’d be punching me,” he finished for her, forcing an impudent grin as he shifted a little, then shrugged and stretched out on his side about a foot away from her, propping his head with his hand. “There, now you can glare easier, at least. Maybe it’ll make up for not being able to see how easily I bruise.”

She chuckled a little, then smiled crookedly and settled her head back down on the floor. “Thanks. God, who’d have thought it’d come to this, huh?”

“What? Being forced to listen to my bad jokes?” Bobby feigned an injured look and signed dramatically. “I’m so unappreciated. And after I came all this way, too.”

Kitty grimaced and rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean.” She sighed and let her eyes drift half shut for a moment, then reopened them. “Where are we, astral plane?”

Bobby shrugged a little and smiled apologetically. “Not sure, but that’d be my guess. It sounds like something Emma’d come up with. You’d think she could’ve given us a better locale while she was at it, hey? A tropical beach or something?”

“Yeah, that’d be nice.” She sighed and closed her eyes again, but smiled a little. “Thanks for coming, even if it’s going to end up being a wasted trip.”

“Hey, none of that,” he protested, reaching over without thinking to rest his hand on her shoulder. “I’m just here for the company while the brains come up with a plan.”

Only belatedly, when Kitty startled a little and then let out a soft curse as the motion was abruptly arrested, did he realize that his hand hadn’t passed through her body. Had to be the astral plane, then. Encouraged, he rubbed her shoulder gently, and smiled as she settled back down and relaxed.

“Who’s all here?” she asked softly. “And what kind of plan do they have?”

Bobby shrugged and smiled crookedly. “Like they tell me anything? But let’s see. We have the head of a British Intelligence agency, an irritating telepath, a former superstar, a dragon, a Skrull who’s doing a damn good impression of a dead Beatle, and a demon sorceress.” He ticked them off one by one on her shoulder, then grinned as she smiled.

“Pete. Emma. Ali. Lockheed.” She frowned a little and shook her head, almost imperceptivity. “Drawing a blank on the Skrull. Amanda?” she asked, reopening her eyes a little and looking curious.

Bobby shook his head and grinned. “Nope. Change your mental image and include horns and hooves.”

The next smile was more genuine, even though she let her eyes drift shut once more. “Illyana. God, I was hoping she’d come home when I saw her in Limbo. It’d be nice to see her again.”

Bobby smiled and stroked her shoulder gently. “Well, I’m sure Emma’s got her standing by to ‘port in as soon as the Giant Bullet of Doom is solid,” he assured her. “She’s providing both inbound and outbound transportation.”

Kitty grimaced, then reopened her eyes. “Bobby…I can’t. I tried.” She gestured toward her hands with her chin. “I’m literally fused to the damn thing. I can’t solidify without solidifying it, and there’s just too much of it. And even if I did…” her voice trailed off and she shook her head.

Bobby nodded, frowning. Even if she did, she’d still be attached to it. It was the reason Scott had cited for not acting sooner, the reason everyone had been afraid to take overt action against the bullet once it moved past the Earth. Anything that would blow it up would likely kill Kitty as well. He ran through the ship’s complement in his mind, trying to think of something, anything, that could pry Kitty out of the bullet’s hull, and drew a blank. Lorna and Rachel were off in space, Magneto was depowered, Jean dead, no one had heard from Mikhail Rasputin in ages. It was odd that Emma, at least, hadn’t thought ahead to dealing with this possibility…

Bobby’s face paled as he realized just why Emma had sent him here to talk to Kitty. “You’re an evil bitch, Emma,” he observed silently, and was unsurprised when he heard her laugh in response.

“Why, Robert. You always say the sweetest things. Are you finally ready to think outside the box?”

“I could kill her,” he shot back. He’d pulled the stunt himself, yes. But soloing was a far cry from doing it with a passenger, and he wasn’t even sure it was possible. “Is that what you want?”

Emma, unsurprisingly, ignored the last question entirely. “The potential is there, as your alternates from other realities have demonstrated. And as you yourself acknowledged, it’s not as if there are other options. Or are you willing to leave her like this, alone, forever?”

“Are you okay?” he heard Kitty ask, and only belatedly realized he’d closed his eyes. He reopened them to see her looking at him with concern, shoulder tensing as if she were trying to move her arm toward him, only to have the movement arrested partway.

No, he couldn’t. Damn Emma, anyway.

“Just fine,” he assured her with a crooked smile, then gave her shoulder a squeeze. “Think you could manage to solidify for a few seconds if I could promise you a trip home?”

* * * * * * *

They were up to something.

More correctly, Emma was up to something, Kitty suspected, though she also figured that was a given with the White Queen in just about any situation. This time, however, whatever Emma was up to had Bobby zoning out, going pale as the proverbial ghost, and looking a little like someone had just told him he was due for an extended stay on the surface of the nearest red giant, don’t forget to pack the sunscreen.

So, whatever Emma had in mind, it was either a last ditch effort or…

Well, she already knew the score, better than any of them. The chances of her getting out of this one were slim to non-existent, and neither his reassurances nor the familiar, crooked smile was doing very much to change her opinion on that one. It was nice of him to try to keep up the brave front, the idea that there was something he, or any of them, could do to get her out of this mess, even if she could get this entire hunk of metal solid again.

Kitty, however, had her own, grave doubts on that matter and she wondered if it wouldn’t be easier for all of them if they’d just acknowledge the truth of the situation. Even on the astral plane – which is about the only place they could be at the moment, all things considered - she was pretty hopelessly stuck. But the company was nice while it lasted.

“We’ve already been over this, Bobby,” Kitty reminded him softly, shaking her head and meeting his eyes. Then sighing in frustration as she tried to move her hand up to cover his, only to be rudely reminded that wasn’t a possibility. “I…it’s just too much. I shouldn’t have been able to do it in the first place, and even if I could get it solid again, even for a few seconds, there’s still…”

Trailing off, her eyes drooped down pointedly toward the obvious problem they’d still be up against, even if she somehow survived getting this whole damn thing solidified. If she couldn’t extract herself, it wasn’t likely any of them could manage it, unless the Skrull they had with them knew more tricks than what she remembered that particular alien race having up their sleeve.

“How could you-”

His hand squeezed her shoulder again and, despite looking as nervous as she felt, Bobby was still wearing that crooked smile as he tipped her chin up, meeting her eyes.

“Trust me?”

For the span of what could’ve only been a few seconds, but felt like much, much longer, Kitty searched his face, taking in the nervously hopeful look as his brows inched up questioningly. The flicker of fear in the depths of his eyes that he was trying very, very hard to hide behind a light air of forced confidence. A million and one questions flashed through her head, curiosity mixed with trepidation urging them to the tip of her tongue. But she bit them all back.

He’d asked for her trust, and he already had that. Even without asking. And what did she really have to lose?

Taking a deep breath and managing a weary but genuine smile, Kitty nodded. “All right, I’ll give it another try, but even if I can, I’ll probably only hold it a few seconds. And,” Pausing, her teeth tugged briefly at her lower lip again, “it won’t be easy.”

It was the only way she could think of to warn him without going into the gory details that neither of them probably wanted to deal with, and Bobby’s slightly pained expression, accompanied by a reluctant nod a second later as that sunk in, told her he’d understood. Once again, his hand tightened on her shoulder, palm rubbing with gentle reassurance.

“You can do it,” he assured her, or himself, or maybe both of them. Kitty thought it was probably the latter as his slightly-forced, good natured smile made its return appearance. “It’s just a big hunk of metal, right? What’s that compared to dealing with Emma every day?”

Her chuckle at that was more out of nervous reflex than anything, but he did have a point and she managed a semblance of a teasing grin. “That’s a really sneaky way to win an argument,” she protested, “except it makes staying in the bullet look not so bad, really.”

Laughing a little wryly, Bobby’s smile went slightly lopsided. “Yeah, good point, just forget that part of the pep talk, maybe? How about, if you don’t, then you forfeit that cheeseburger?”

As motivations went, it actually wasn’t bad and, for the first time she could remember lately, her stomach gave a soft rumble of agreement that she really did need to collect the winnings of that particular bet.

“Oh, no. No way you’re welshing on that one. The Cubs won fair and square. I want onion rings, too,” she added as an afterthought, giving him a challenging look as he considered it, chuckled, and nodded.

“It’s a deal. I’ll even throw in a coke.” And, with that concession, there wasn’t really anything else to do but…do it. Taking a shaky breath, smile thinning, Kitty nodded as she met Bobby’s sympathetic, concerned gaze. “But, Kitty?”

Slowly, his smile faded around the edges and the nerves she knew he’d been trying to hide swam to the surface as he searched her eyes with his own brown ones. “I…you need to know. I’ve never done this before, not with a passenger.” His hand tightened marginally on her shoulder, his expression betraying his own uncertainty. “I don’t know…”

She stopped him with a nod of understanding, still wearing that tight smile she knew was probably more than a little wry. “It’s ok.” Voice dropping softly she glanced down at herself again, then back up at him, wishing once more she had at least one hand free. Just to make a little much needed contact of her own. “Anything’s better than this. And if I can do it, then so can you.”

What it was he was going to do, exactly, Kitty still wasn’t sure, and at this point she didn’t want or need to know. Not the details. Bobby’s powers weren’t something she was intimately familiar with, but she knew enough to know they could do a lot more than was obvious. And, like she’d noted before, Emma was up to something. Whatever it was, she’d better know what she was doing.

Getting Bobby hurt in some near-hopeless, last ditch effort to save her wasn’t something she wanted to contemplate.

“Here goes nothing.” Before she could change her mind, meeting his eyes again briefly before closing her own, Kitty concentrated on drawing up the last of her energy reserves. It probably wasn’t going to be nearly enough, but it was all or nothing, so it might as well be all.

The one advantage she had now was being ready for it, having time to steel herself against the sheer enormity of the effort that felt like it should tear her in half before she even started. And she used every, single ounce of that internal fortification as she dug in her proverbial heels, clenched her jaw and threw everything that she had, and possibly then some, at one seemingly-simple idea.

Not free, this time, but Solid.

All the mental preparation in the world didn’t lessen the strain, like a crushing weight settling onto her, grinding her down, pushing her under. But she grit her teeth harder, ground them together, and pushed back at the massive burden, refusing to let it overwhelm her. It hurt like hell, like falling into the flaming heart of the sun, and she bit back a hoarse cry, the sound coming out more a guttural growl as sweat beaded her brow, stung her eyes as it seeped even through her tightly closed eyelids.

Too much. Too much, too big, too tired…

Even with her eyes tightly closed, the edges of her perceptions grayed and darkened. Losing it. She was going to lose it, and there was nothing she could do. She couldn’t do this. It was too much.

Her hold slipped, just a fraction, and she thought she was going to lose it, felt the panic well up…and then Bobby’s hand was there, covering her own at the spot it merged with the metal of the floor, giving it a reassuring squeeze. Bringing her back from the edge of panic, grounding her, giving her something to hold onto. Something to reach for.

Solid.

Like breaking through an invisible barrier and into fresh air, she crossed the threshold, felt everything around her tremble, or maybe it was just her. No way to know, no way to tell. Every muscle in her body was straining, knotting, holding…

Breath bursting from her lungs in a rush, she gasped for air, straining with everything she had as the world around her went completely, blessedly tangible at last. Opening her eyes, she looked up to meet Bobby’s, managing one word through still gritted teeth.

“Hurry.”