"That’s unnecessary."
"It’s the opposite of unnecessary. How am I supposed to protect your body if I don’t know how long you can stay out or what happens when you get hit?"
She stared at for a long mont. Then she stood up and walked to the center of the room.
"Fine. Watch."
Her eyes fluttered closed. For three seconds, nothing happened. Then her body went completely limp and collapsed forward.
I caught her before she hit the ground.
Her physical form felt wrong. Too light. Too empty. Like holding a mannequin instead of a person.
Above , a translucent version of Noel floated near the ceiling. Her violet hair drifted around her face like she was underwater and her grey eyes glowed faintly purple.
"Can you hear ?" I asked.
Her mouth moved but no sound ca out.
Right. She couldn’t speak in astral form.
She drifted down through the table like it wasn’t there and stopped in front of . Her hand reached out and passed straight through my chest.
Cold. Like sticking my torso in a freezer.
She pulled back and pointed at her physical body in my arms. Then she made a gesture I interpreted as put down.
I laid her body carefully on the floor and stepped back. Her astral form hovered protectively over her unconscious self, arms crossed.
The door opened. Usagi walked in carrying two coffee cups.
She saw Noel’s body on the floor and dropped both cups. Hot liquid splashed across the tile.
"Oh my god. What happened? Is she dead? Did you kill her?"
"She’s fine. Look up."
Usagi looked up. Her eyes went wide when she saw astral-Noel floating near the ceiling.
"Oh. Oh wow. That’s. That’s really cool actually."
Astral-Noel’s expression didn’t change, but I got the sense she was pleased by the complint.
"How long can you stay out?" I asked.
She held up both hands and flashed her fingers twice. Twenty minutes.
"What happens if soone hits your body while you’re out?"
She made a slashing motion across her throat.
"You die?"
She nodded.
"What if soone hits your astral form?"
She shrugged. Then she mid getting punched and staggering backward before recovering.
"So it hurts but doesn’t kill you."
Another nod.
"Can you touch things in astral form?"
She shook her head. Then she paused and held up one finger. She drifted over to Usagi and reached out.
Her hand made contact with Usagi’s shoulder.
Usagi yelped and jumped backward. "That’s cold!"
Astral-Noel pulled back and pointed at . Then at Usagi. Then at herself.
"You can touch people with abilities," I said. "But not objects."
Yes.
"What about attacking? Can you punch soone?"
She nodded and mid throwing a punch. Then she held her hands apart to show the size of the impact.
"Concussive force. No physical contact required."
Another nod.
This was useful. Really useful.
Astral-Noel drifted back to her body and hovered over it. Her form flickered once. Twice. Then she dropped straight down and vanished.
Her physical body gasped and sat up hard.
I knelt next to her. "You good?"
"Fine," she said, but her hands were shaking.
"That looked exhausting."
"It is. Every ti."
She stood up slowly and brushed off her skirt. Her face was pale and she swayed slightly before catching herself on the table.
"How many tis can you do that in one fight?"
"Once. Maybe twice if I’m lucky."
"So it’s a finishing move, not an opening play."
"Yes."
I offered her a water bottle from my bag. She took it without argunt and drank half of it in three long pulls.
Usagi was still staring at the spot where astral-Noel had disappeared. "That was incredible. I’ve never seen anyone’s astral form before. Do you feel different when you’re out? Can you see through walls? What about—"
"Usagi," Noel said quietly.
"Right. Sorry. I’ll stop asking questions."
"No. I ant show him your ability. It’s only fair."
Usagi’s face went bright red. "Oh. Um. Okay."
She held out her right hand palm-up. A small blob of bright pink material ford in the center, about the size of a tennis ball. It wobbled slightly and she frowned at it like it was misbehaving.
"That’s Pinky Gum?" I asked.
"Yeah. I can. Um. I can make it bigger if I focus."
The blob grew to the size of a softball. Then a basketball. Then it started to collapse and she had to catch it with both hands.
"Sorry. It’s hard to maintain shape when it gets heavy."
"What’s the range?"
"About fifteen ters. Maybe twenty if I really push it."
"Can you shoot it?"
"Sort of? It’s more like. Throwing? But I can make it stick to things when it lands."
She demonstrated by lobbing the gum at the wall. It hit with a wet splat and clung there like glue.
"How strong is the adhesive?"
"Strong enough to hold a person. I trapped soone during a simulation once and they couldn’t get free for like ten minutes."
"That’s good."
"Really?"
"Really. That’s battlefield control. If you can pin soone down for ten seconds, that’s enough ti for Noel’s astral form to finish them."
Usagi’s entire face lit up. "Oh. I didn’t think about it like that."
"You should."
Noel was watching both of us with an expression I couldn’t read. Not quite approval. Not quite suspicion. Sothing in between.
"So," I said, turning back to her. "New strategy. You go astral and scout from above. Usagi pins whoever you identify as the biggest threat. I guard your body and keep anyone from getting close."
"That leaves you vulnerable."
"I can handle it."
"You’re ranked fifty-ninth."
"And you’re ranked eighth. Which ans if I can keep you alive for twenty minutes, we win."
She considered this for a long mont. Then she nodded once, sharp and final.
"Acceptable."
Progress.
I sat back down at the table and pulled out my phone. The quest tir showed thirty-one hours remaining.
Tomorrow was going to be interesting.
Noel returned to her notes. Usagi was still staring at the gum stuck to the wall like she couldn’t quite believe it ca from her hands.
I closed my eyes and thought about Rubber Body. The new ability I’d pulled last night while Cheon slept next to .
I focused on my right hand and pushed.
My fingers stretched. Not a lot. Maybe an inch longer than normal. But enough that both girls noticed.
"What was that?" Noel demanded.
"Testing sothing."
"Your file says adaptive-type."
"Yeah."
"That looked like morphological manipulation."
"Maybe it’s both."
She stared at for a long ti. I stared back.
Finally, she looked away. "Fine. Keep your secrets. Just don’t get us killed tomorrow."
"Wouldn’t dream of it, Short Stack."
Her eye twitched, but she didn’t respond.
Usagi giggled nervously and imdiately tried to hide it behind her hand.
Yeah.
This team was going to be a disaster.
But maybe the fun kind.
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