"Shit."

It was the only word Thomas could vocalise at that moment. Any thoughts of not swearing were forgotten in the wake of the revelation.

Could it be? He had to admit, it had occurred to him that he shouldn't be sane any more. How his father had kept him away from the Spotters was a puzzle he had avoided dwelling on. It was no wonder he got such weird looks and so much abuse. He wasn't just a freak, he was a freak! He was more abnormal than he'd originally thought. Probably than anyone had. Rather than being disheartened by the news, he was glad. It made sense in a weird way. His lack of a superpower was almost a superpower in itself.

He could see why they wanted him, too. It had nothing to do with the preservation of life or of entertainment valley. It was to remove a threat. As much as Bren was a concern to them by her having multiple abilities, he was a concern because he had none. He had none and he was still sane.

It would upend everything the ones who controlled things counted on. They would revel in the chaos, building empires based on the madness, not of Nomads, but of the power everyone had. It suited them as they could make their money then, maybe, step in and control everything under cover of solving issues they, themselves, had created. They wouldn't want a renegade with multiple abilities. They also wouldn't want one with none. He, or rather they, were a flaw in whatever plan had been built.

"Shit is right."

"So what do we do?"

Thomas knew they couldn't stay there. The people who'd come for him didn't know about Bren – what made her different and the fact she was different – but they'd managed to track him there. There was a good chance they would return.

"We need to get out of here." Bren said, looking around at the remains of her home.

"I'm sorry about all of this."

"Me too. Now help me up."

Thomas did as he was asked. Bren leaned on the wall for support, but kept the majority of her weight on him, making him grunt with the exertion. He didn't complain, though. How could he, after what she'd been dragged into. They had to rely on each other now. Neither had anything, or anyone, else.

After a brief rest and catch of her breath, she gestured for him to let go. She was still unsteady, but was managing to remain upright.

"Come on," she said.

Bren didn't wait for a response She turned and moved to the doorway with him following. They both looked out carefully. Thomas could touch the park wall if he reached but, as he started to, Bren slapped his arm.

"Be careful. It's a wall. You don't need to expose yourself by checking."

He nodded, feeling foolish. He'd led the Spotters to them. He could really do without doing so again.

The narrow space between the building and park's walls was clear. Some of the debris from the incursion into her room had spilled out and littered the floor. It had spread to the left, the way they'd come and, it appeared, the way they'd gone. He pointed to the right.

"I guess we should go that way," he said.

"You guess wrong. We go that way."

She nodded in the direction the rubble had been kicked.

"But they went that way. We should go in the opposite direction, shouldn't we?"

"You'd think, but no. They're too good. Too clever. Those bricks are a decoy."

"How do you know?"

"The explosion was inwards. How come there's any outside?"

"Maybe it's fallout, or it fell off the wall afterwards, once they were already in."

"Or maybe they put it there, then dragged it down a bit to fool us into thinking that's the way they went."

"Oh... yeah."

"So, we go that way."

Thomas stepped out into the gap and started to walk.

"What are you doing? Wait until it's clear!"

"Bren, I know you know what you're doing and everything, but we could be stood here all night and still not really know. They could have people waiting down there out of site. They could be the other side of this wall, listening. We'd never know. There's no point in waiting. They've gone or they haven't."

It was Bren's turn to nod and be impressed.

"Good point, kiddo. Lead on."

"No, after you," said Thomas. He wasn't being chivalrous. He was being a scared child. She had proven how capable she was. He felt no shame in hiding behind her. "I'll keep a watch behind us."

"OK. Suits me."

"Where are we going to go now?"

"Only one place I can think of."

"Oh? Where?"

"Womack."

"Where's that?"

"Not where. Who."

"You mean Dr. Womack?"

"I mean Dr. Womack."

"Why would you want to find him?"

"He started all of this. Maybe he can stop it. Or tell us why we're different."

"Yeah, but what if he doesn't? What if this is all part of his plan and he just wants to cut us open?"

"I'll make him."

"How?"

Bren spun around, driving her fist into the damaged wall of her home. The bricks didn't come away and fly off to fall inside. They disintegrated at her touch, the dust sprinkling the floor. Thomas gasped and Bren looked stunned.

"I didn't mean to do that. I was just Jacking it."

"Maybe don't hit anything until we know what you can do, eh?"

"Yeah. Maybe," Bren agreed. Mentally, however, she figured she'd have to do whatever she had to do.

Womack would agree.

They squeezed into the space and started out. Bren, rather than adjusting her form to ease her way along, stayed as she was It slowed them both down, but she could deal with that. She wanted to help Thomas realise normal was fine. Normal was preferable.

They made good time with minimal injury in reaching the end of the wall.

"Wait," Bren whispered.

Beyond their passage was the road, with people walking, flying or running as they normally would. It implied to the pair that no Spotters were in hiding, waiting to grab them. Even so, Bren's body began to shimmer and she stretched upwards. When she'd reached the top, she took hold of the rim and peered over.

"No one there," she whispered down. "Now, grab hold."

"What of?"

"Me!"

"Where?"

Thomas had expected, for someone who could elongate or flatten her body, her clothes would rip apart, unable to reach the extremes she could. Hers, however, were able to change shape with her, ensuring she was always fully clothed.

"Anywhere! Just do it."

It was difficult to know where her stretched legs ended and her waist and torso began, so he just grabbed the closest part of her.

"Hold tight!"

She warned.

Thomas gripped his hands together and squeezed. He couldn't help the whimper he made when he felt himself lift into the air. Bren's body felt like hot water, though solid. He could feel it rippling in his grip and he was afraid the movement would shake him loose. Luckily, by the time he really felt like he might slip and fall, he'd reached the top. Thankful, he took hold of the ledge and pulled himself up to sit beside her.

"That was weird," he said, holding on to the top of the wall tightly.

"It's weird for me every time I do it."

"I thought you got used to it?"

"Yeah, I did say that, didn't I?"

The pair looked out. In the street, life was busy but seemingly aimless. Pedestrians walked or flew – were they still pedestrians if they just hovered above the pavement slabs? A young couple walked hand in hand. One of the hands glowed with barely contained power, the light sliding over to the other. A young man was jumping across the roofs of the moving cars, leaping from one to another. His landings were smooth enough to leave no marks or dents in the cars' paintwork and his take offs were perfectly timed. Two boys walked with their hoods up and their heads down.

A normal day.

Their view of the park was obscured by a line of thick trees growing just inside the perimeter. It hid the park and also themselves.

"Let's go down in here," said Bren.

"I can't drop down from this height! I'll break my leg or something."

"Don't worry. I'll go first."

She held onto the wall and hung down. She took a deep breath and let her body stretch down until her feet touched the ground.

"Go one," she told Thomas.

He wasted no time in using her to reach the floor. He wasn't good with heights and, had the liquids actually worked, if he'd been able to fly, it would have been a rarely used ability. He'd fully recovered from the effects of drinking them, and felt no change within him. They hadn't worked, he was sure.

Bren joined him a few seconds later, her usual form returned. She was sweating a little and wiped her brow.

"You OK?"

"It takes it out on me if I use it too much. It's not something you can do over and over again with paying a price."

Thomas thought the price to be worth paying, but said nothing.

"Which way?" he asked.

Bren didn't answer. She just stared walking, so he started following. The trees were set close together, with their trunks close enough for an adult to touch two at once if they really reached out, and their branches to intertwine. They walked quickly through them in silence. They didn't need to stay quiet, but neither had anything really to say. Thomas thought that going to see Dr. Womack was a ridiculous idea, even if they could find him. Bren felt protective of the boy. Talking about her cousin had, in a way, brought Thomas into her family's fold. He was suffering as she had, or at least had a taste of it.

She didn't know if finding Womack would work. She didn't know where to start and her conviction that he'd help was standing on very shaky ground. He was the reason they were in this predicament. Why would he want to change anything?

It could well be a fool's errand, but it was one they had to take. Neither she nor Thomas could return home. In different ways, they had no homes, anymore. It might well have turned out to be a complete mistake, but it was a direction. An idea. It was better than wandering aimlessly, looking over their shoulders until the inevitable capture came.

"Come on."