Within the week since Ivy and the others had retrieved the chemical, the lab had been turned into a war room, much to the annoyance of the scientists. As Ivy and the others gathered around the table in the middle of the lab, they scrambled to clean up their notes and equipment.

Dr. Newman apologized before turning to the Supers. "Is everyone here?" he asked.

Ivy looked around. There was Spencer, Ace at his side as usual, Claire and Victoria, Tyler, who'd spent most of the week looking like she hadn't gotten much sleep, and Felix standing next to her. Beyond that, Ivy didn't know anyone very well. Judging by how crowded the room was, though...

"I think this is everyone," Spencer said.

"Good," Dr. Newman said. "Let's get started. We've finalized what I think is a decent plan to take down Scorpion. If there are no issues, then we should be able to launch our attack this week."

The room erupted into cheers. As the noise died down, Dr. Newman continued. "You'll be divided into ten teams. Teams one through four will go in first, locate the server room and make sure the path is clear. Take down as many soldiers as you can.

"Team five will have the flash drive and the bomb. They'll get to the server room, activate the flash drive and plant the bomb. The remaining five teams will enter behind them and clear the building. Get everyone out before the bomb goes off.

"Once the bomb is activated," Dr. Newman continued. "You'll have thirty minutes to get out. The bomb will let out a warning. Two beeps means twenty minutes left, and one means ten. It should be loud enough that everyone in the building will be able to hear it. Each team will have about ten Supers.

"One final note." Dr. Newman held up the drive. "The information we get from their servers is especially important. Scorpion apparently has one more facility, a laboratory. We need to locate it and destroy it as well, although I don't think that will be too difficult." He looked around the room. "Any questions?"

No one spoke. "All right," Dr. Newman said. "I'll start putting teams together. In the meanwhile, train hard, okay? You guys can go."

Ivy turned to leave, but Spencer called her name. "Could you stay for a sec?" he asked.

"Sure," Ivy answered, looking over. Claire appeared to be staying behind too, as well as Victoria.

"Dr. Newman wants to put you guys with me on team five," Spencer said. "If that's all right with you guys."

"Of course," Ivy said.

"Sure," Claire added.

Victoria frowned. "I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?" Ivy asked, turning to face Victoria.

"It's clearly the most dangerous," Victoria said.

"Victoria, if you're not comfortable with being on team five, that's fine," Dr. Newman said.

"Fine. Put me and Claire on a different team."

"That's not fair," Ivy said. "If Claire wants to be on team five, she can."

Victoria shot Ivy a glare. "Our dad asked us to stay together and stay safe. I'm making sure that happens."

"I'm sure Claire's perfectly capable of taking care of herself," Ivy said.

"Um, guys—" Claire began.

Victoria cut her off. "I have to watch out for her, since you clearly won't."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ivy asked.

"You had to go running into that lab and get yourself kidnapped by SCI," Victoria said. "If you would've been patient and waited five more freaking minutes—"

"Don't you get it?" Ivy asked. "You can't protect Claire. Neither can I. No one can protect anyone. We have powers and people are hunting us for it. If you want to go home, then go home."

"Ivy, Victoria," Claire piped up. "I don't—"

"She's my little sister," Victoria growled.

"She's your twin. That means you're the same age, last I checked." Exasperated, Ivy whirled around and stormed into the hallway. She wandered around a corner and collapsed to the ground. Sitting there, she realized how tired she was. The past few days had been so stressful, getting ready for the attack. Training had gotten more intense, and tension was high.

It'll be over soon, Ivy reminded herself. After they destroyed Scorpion, everything would be okay. Well, there was still SCI, she supposed. And they had to figure out what they were going to do with Malcolm.

Ivy clenched her fists. What were they going to do with him? She'd heard some of the other Supers claim they'd seen him in their dreams. The thought unsettled Ivy. If he could get more powerful, would he eventually be able to put everyone on the ship to sleep from his cell?

If that was the case, then he was too dangerous to, well, live.

Footsteps came from down the hall. Groaning, Ivy looked up. She was surprised to see Spencer come around the corner.

"Hey," Ivy grumbled.

"Hey." Spencer sat down. "You okay?"

Ivy, to her own surprise, laughed. "I guess."

Spencer sighed. "Look, I know it seems like Victoria's acting ridiculous, but she just wants to protect Claire."

"Claire doesn't need protecting."

"You're right," Spencer said. "She doesn't. She's strong, powerful, brave..." Ivy raised an eyebrow, and Spencer cleared his throat. "My point is, she's just as capable as the rest of us. But to Victoria, she's a younger sister."

"Not that much younger," Ivy said. "I mean, a couple of hours tops, right?"

"True, but if you had a sibling that you were asked to protect, you'd make sure it got done. Right?"

"I guess," Ivy said. "But I can't imagine what it's like. My only sibling is Ben, and I barely know him. But I do know that he's older, more experienced and stronger than I am. I don't need to protect him."

"I don't know what it's like, either," Spencer admitted. "But isn't this whole thing similar to you and Tyler?"

Ivy frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you didn't want her coming on any of our missions. You barely let her come when we went to get the chemical for the bomb, and that was supposed to be easy."

Ivy shook her head. "That's... different. It's not that I'm worried about protecting Tyler, it's just that her powers are healing. I don't think she's exactly cut out for fighting."

"She survived on her own for years. I think she can manage."

"Living on the streets is different than fighting Scorpion," Ivy said.

"Fair point." Sighing, Spencer stood up. "Is there anything else?"

Ivy frowned. "I mean—I guess I don't really trust her."

"Why not?"

"It's just weird to me that she wasn't with us or Scorpion, yet she knew all about Cladis Point. Like she's hiding something. And when we were rescued from SCI, she acted a little weird. And that fact that Malcolm apparently helped us for no reason..." Ivy sighed. She was rambling now.  "I feel like something just isn't adding up." She hated to think that she was mistrusting Tyler for no reason, but there was just something about her that was bothering Ivy.

"All right," Spencer said. "I'll tell Dr. Newman when we're deciding what team to put her on."

"Speaking of Malcolm," Ivy said. "Has anyone spoken to him since he sent a rescue team after us?"

"I don't think so," Spencer said. "He was out for a few days. He woke up this morning, but everyone's on edge. Dr. Newman doesn't want anyone near him."

Ivy stood up and glanced at the hallway behind Spencer. "So what's the deal with Claire and Victoria, then?" Ivy asked. "Have they decided which team they'll be on?"

"Not sure," Spencer said. "You wanna come back with me and see?"

Ivy hesitated. She supposed she'd have to face the others eventually. "Sure," she said. She followed Spencer back to the lab.

The others looked over when they entered. "What's the plan, then?" Ivy asked.

"I guess Claire and I will join you guys on team five," Victoria said.

"Really?" Ivy asked.

"Yes," Victoria said. "Look, sorry for flipping out, I just want what's best for Claire."

"Me too," Ivy said. "That's why—"

"Hey, guys," Claire said. Ivy and Victoria turned to look at her. "Look," she continued. "I really appreciate you guys trying to look out for me, but I can defend myself."

Ivy opened her mouth, but nothing came out. After a moment, she just said, "Fair enough." Claire smiled.

"Now that we have that issue resolved," Dr. Newman said, clearly relieved. "We need to assign the rest of the teams."

"Ivy, Claire, Victoria, why don't you guys go train?" Spencer asked. Ivy nodded and joined Claire and Victoria in leaving the lab. When they reached the hallway, Ivy paused.

"You coming with us, Ivy?" Claire asked.

"You guys go ahead," Ivy said. "I'm gonna run to the bathroom real quick."

"Okay." Claire turned and walked toward the deck with Victoria. Ivy turned around and made her way to the cell block.

Because everyone was so busy getting ready for the attack, Dr. Newman had made adjustments to the guard shift. All hands were needed on deck as they approached Florida, so instead of having a guard posted twenty-four-seven, someone was simply sent to check on Malcolm every ten minutes. And she didn't have to worry about cameras, either. The ones that had been installed were no longer functioning, and everyone had been so busy for the past few weeks that there hadn't been time to get them running.

Ivy waited, hidden, for the next crew member to appear. There were footsteps moving down the hall, pausing by the door to the cell block, then they returned. As soon as they were gone, Ivy hurried to the door.

"Well, look what we have here."

Ivy scowled when Malcolm spoke. She took a moment to gain her composure before speaking. "I have a question for you," she said.

"Ask away. Not like I have anything better to do." Malcolm was lying on his back in his cot. For a split second, Ivy felt bad. It must be boring, being locked in a cell for weeks with nothing to do. But she reminded herself what Malcolm was capable of, and her sympathy drained away.

"Why did you send a team to rescue us? How did you know where we were?"

Malcolm sighed. "That's two questions, Ivy." He sat up. "And I'm afraid I have no reason to answer them for you."

"I just can't understand why you'd help us. You're hiding something."

Malcolm grinned. "Of course I'm hiding something." He stood up and crossed the cell in two quick strides. Ivy flinched when he grabbed the bars.

"You're attacking Scorpion soon, aren't you?" Malcolm's pupils glowed iridescent in the light, reflecting every color of the rainbow as he leaned toward her.

Ivy gulped. "Maybe."

Malcolm shook his head and laughed. "You'll see," he said. "You need me."

"Why do you want to help us?" Ivy asked. "What's in it for you?"

"Let's just say that by helping you, you'll be helping me."

Ivy folded her arms. "Even if you do help us, we can't just let you go. You're dangerous."

"What will you do then? Kill me?"

Ivy tried to keep a straight face, but Malcolm's eyes narrowed. "Good luck with that," he growled. "I don't think you realize quite what I'm capable of. If you really understood, you wouldn't be down here."

A wave of exhaustion washed over Ivy. She tried to fight it, but it was too strong. Within moments, she succumbed to sleep.

And then she was drowning. Paralyzing fear set in as she sank to the bottom of the pool. She tried to swim, tried to move, but it was no use. Her lungs burned. Her vision was starting to go dark. Just when she thought she couldn't take it anymore, the water changed to fire.

Ivy's heart sank when she realized where she was. A house burned in front of her. She stood on the street, huddling under a blanket. A police officer tried to ask her questions, but she couldn't understand what he was saying. People were screaming, and all she could do was watch the house burn.

The place she'd been ready to call home.

Ivy's eyes flew open and she realized tears were streaming down her face. The ground swayed beneath her, but she managed to stay standing.

"You were out for a second," Malcolm said. "Imagine being down for hours. Days. And that's not all." He smirked. "I could give you new nightmares. Put you in the Dream Realm. There are all sorts of horrors stalking that place. I wouldn't have to lift a finger."

Ivy backed away from the cell. "You're never leaving this place," she hissed.

"We'll see about that."