she went to the wardrobe to look for her old jeans.

A minute later, she closed the door and fell into step beside Doc. He gazed off into space, practically sleepwalking in the elevator’s direction.

“When was the last time you slept?” she wondered, suppressing a yawn.

“I think it was a Wednesday, and the grass was still green. Don’t you want to ask if Dave knows where to find the Commandos’ lab?”

“Does he?”

“Nope.”

“How come?”

“He doesn’t remember the flight. He was in shock.”

She entered the elevator with a disappointed sigh. “I hope he’s not lying so he can go after the Commandos on his own.” She watched Doc lift his shoulders in a weary shrug. “So, how is he? You know…” She gestured vaguely with her two hands.

“He seems fine, physically.” Doc bobbed his head, his eyes focusing on her. “What bothers me, though, is that he doesn’t feel the change in him, while he’s leaking power all over the place.”

She frowned as they arrived at the second floor. “What do you mean?”

“I mean I could feel it standing a few feet away. I might be hallucinating from sleep deprivation, and that’s why I need you to check it. But considering Dave’s mental state, it makes me worry.”

Pain halted before they reached the infirmary. “Feel what?”

“Well…” Doc scratched his head. “It’s like flying, only the opposite.” He looked at her as if it made perfect sense.

She blinked once, twice, struggling to keep her annoyance at bay. “Sorry, I think I just fell asleep for a minute. Can you explain it like I’m five, because otherwise I don’t know what I’m looking for.”

He rose into the air a little. “When we fly, there’s a disturbance in the air around us, right? And it’s… negative, let’s call it, because we take the energy from around us. It’s like a pull.”

Pain stared at him, wondering in the back of her head why she was standing there at five in the morning, talking about energy. “How is it negative?” She closed her eyes and reached out a hand, feeling the air move slightly around him.

“Because whatever I carry gravitates toward me.”

Eyes still closed, she yelped when his arm wrapped around her, picking her up. “Okay, I’m feeling it, put me down!” She squirmed until Doc dropped her with a roll of his eyes.

“You and your fear of physical contact. I touched your insides, for God’s sake.”

“And you can touch them all you want when I’m unconscious. Back to the point.”

He blew out an exasperated breath. “The point is, around Dave, there’s a disturbance but no pull. It’s positive, like there’s extra energy. Like he’s got so much that it’s spilling out instead of going in.”

She frowned, trying to put the picture together in her sleep-deprived brain, only to feel the pieces of the puzzle slip away into nothingness. “I won’t pretend that everything you just said did not go out the other ear, because that’s exactly what happened, and I’m kind of glad because you’re talking nonsense.” Doc just shook his head. “Why are you worried though? It’s just energy.”

“Because his first thought after waking up was about going after the Commandos.”

“Well, you’re one to talk, Mr. I-butchered-a-whole-block.”

“There wasn’t a block!”

“Not after you, there wasn’t,” she retorted with a humorless laugh.

Doc growled, running a hand through his unusually long hair. “I’m not saying I’m surprised that he wants revenge, all right? I’m saying we have to keep him distracted, because if he decides to do something, we won’t be able to stop him.”

She blinked. “Right. Let’s talk to him then. Come on, I’m Bad Cop, you’re Good Cop, everything as usual.” She strode to the infirmary, only to stagger back when Doc’s hand grasped her shirt.

“No-no-no.” She looked up at him in surprise as he took off his white coat and tossed it to her. “I’m gonna get some sleep and take a shower and have a proper breakfast, and you are gonna talk to Dave and make sure he puts the whole revenge idea on hold. You can be the good cop, bad cop, slutty nurse, whatever works for you two. Just get him through the first few days, and by then, we’ll figure something out.”

He gave her a pat on the shoulder before turning to his room next to the infirmary. Pain just stared at him, completely at a loss.

Doc turned to her as he opened the door. “Be a dear and drop that off at the nurses’ room, will you?” He feigned a smile, pointing at his white coat in her hands. “Oh, and the sedative doesn’t work on him. Good luck.”

“Okay,” she whispered to the closed door.

I did not sign up for this, she thought, and turned toward the infirmary.

*  *  *

Inside the waiting room, Pain took a couple of steps forward, reluctance slowing down her feet. Her hand lingered on the doorknob, and she sighed. “Bullshit.”

Pushing the door open, she spotted Dave across the room. He sat gazing out the window, his shoulders slouched, his back to her.

She took a step forward and bumped right into a shield.

Rocking back on her heels, she rubbed her forehead and gaped at Dave. There was a good fifteen feet between them, and no shield could exist so far from the source. Especially not a subconscious source.

She peered at Dave in suspicion, looking for any sign of him doing it on purpose, but no, he seemed to be lost in thought. Her free hand ran up the shield and to the right, searching for the edge, but it stretched out in what seemed to be a perfect sphere. It flared to life under her palm and flickered out the moment she drew her hand away, solid like glass.

Her arm fell to her side. “Awesome.”

Dave flinched,

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