I checked with Hal via my implant, “Do you know anything specific about how soon they’re going to get here?”

[No. Many of the command center’s staff became engaged in online arguments this morning. They’re distracted and engaging with the discussions at unpredictable intervals.]

I decided not to inquire further about that, choosing instead to watch the horizon for attackers.

[Based on what I’ve seen of their base and methods so far, I anticipate that they’ll send a small group which they believe to be an overwhelming force, likely the force you saw on the island, if they can move them over with any speed. If Victor’s investigating his death, he may be unavailable.]

At that moment, machines inside the tower hummed and lights on the ceiling blinked red. Simultaneously, a computer voice said, “Teleportation attempt.”

Haley spoke to the team through her implant, “Control, make sure everyone in Grand Lake is ready. The Nine are coming, but we don’t know where they’ll appear or how many we’ll face.”

As the message also appeared in our comm channel, I heard acknowledgements from League members and allies in Grand Lake and outside.

Through the telepathic link we shared, Daniel said, I’m sensing a decent chance that they’ll successfully grab Jody. I’m going to wipe what I can.

That meant that we had a decent chance of losing.

My overall feeling is that he’s the target. They aren’t here to kill, just grab. Don’t worry about it too much.

The knot in my stomach wasn’t taking Daniel’s advice.

I didn’t have time to discuss that with anyone because the part of my brain that Lee had trained to watch for threats had recognized one. Sparkling light in the distance had drawn my attention to a spot above the city.

As I zoomed in, I heard Haley say, “Over there. They’re flying. The more of them we take down before they get here, the less we have to face inside. Storm King, Gravity Star, Voice, Power, hit them as soon as you can. Captain Commando, be ready. Blue and Accelerando, Rocket, you’ll have to try to take them in the air. The rest of us will have to be ready in case they make it in here.”

“Also,” I said, “your staff should watch the grounds. This might be the obvious attack, but not the only group. Oh, and these are the same people we saw on the Nine’s island. They’re probably tough.”

“Nine’s island?” I could hear the question mark in Sean’s voice.

I was about to say that we didn’t have time to discuss it, but that became obvious to everyone all too quickly.

The Nine’s team spread apart almost the second they appeared in the air, Power Burst, in his blue and red pseudo-military uniform, moving toward us with every bit of Izzy’s speed.

We were lucky that a typical West Michigan fall left the skies covered with clouds. It might be bad for people with seasonal depression, but it left a lot for Vaughn to work with.

The clouds roiled, and lightning struck Power Burst, outlining his form in sparking electricity. It would have been more awesome if the blast had taken him down, but it didn’t. Our suits acted as Faraday cages. It wouldn’t have surprised me if his had as well, but from the way he jerked around and the spastic movements his limbs made, it didn’t look like it.

On the other hand, Vaughn’s lightning might be outside the range the designer had tested for. If that were true, the reason might have been because lightning wasn’t too big a deal for him. Even though he jerked around, he kept on flying. That was bad because I knew what Izzy could do. If their goal turned into killing Jody, he could bring down the tower under us with the power of his voice.

He wasn’t the only one worth worrying about, either. Scream Eagle, his blue and white powered armor reminding me even more strongly of a fighter jet now that he was roaring toward us, flew off to the right, but behind Power Burst.

Camille, AKA Gravity Star, did what she did best, creating an area of increased gravity underneath both Power Burst and Scream Eagle. It did exactly what it was supposed to, yanking them downward.

I’d seen too many fights to hope this was the end, but I liked the way it was going, especially because Sean had followed Haley’s orders, attacking from above and not personally, which would have been stupid.

The Nine had attacked supers in their own base, and whoever Futuremen Capital hired, they’d put some thought into it. My bots gave me a view of the scene from the outside, and from there, I saw metal panels on the outside of the building opening, clouds of metal balls flying out, swirling in the air like flocks of birds.

The balls shot upward and then dropped toward Power Burst and Scream Eagle, pelting them with metal. Power Burst held up his hand, protecting his eyes from the falling metal. Scream Eagle did worse.

Hit again and again, Scream Eagle plowed into the ground. He pulled himself to his feet, but still stumbled as swarms of metal hit him from one side or the other.

Power Burst screamed, shattering the metal balls in front of him and flying upward through the cloud of dust. At first, he barely seemed to move at all, but the higher he flew, the more speed he added.

By the time he made it up to where he’d been, he wasn’t moving at full speed, but he was coming for us.

Mind you, we were doing more than watching him.