"Use your radio to call me when you finish," Benton said. "I don't know how long we'll be able to wait, but we'll circle around as long as I can." 

"Understood," Sirvanna said. "We'll hurry." 

She led her team from the aircraft. It was night where they landed, which was a bit disconcerting, but they had crossed several time zones. A brunette girl appearing to be in her late teens waved them over. 

"You must be the spy," Sirvanna said. 

"That's right," she answered. "I'm here to take you into the base so that you can complete your mission." She smiled and held out her hand. "I'm Lisa." 

"You can call me Fury," Sirvanna said. "This is my team, Undine, Sylph, Pixie, Aurora and Mara." 

"Code names?" Lisa giggled. "How professional of you." She gestured. "It's this way." 

"Ines," Sirvanna said. "Scout ahead for potential hazards and be careful." 

"Got it," Ines said. She winked at Sirvanna. "Try not to miss me too much." 

"Did you hear that?" Katelyn asked. 

Alexa nodded. "Our fearless leader used someone's real name during a mission. Maybe she's been replaced by a shapeshifter." 

"No way," Katelyn said. "A shapeshifter could never fake being that uptight. I think it's love." 

"Awww," Yuni squealed. "That's too cute!"

"Shut it," Sirvanna said. "It was just a slip of the tongue. She's an incorrigible flirt who acts without thinking. I don't even like her."

"That was harsh," Alexa said. 

"And with her right there too," Katelyn said. "I guess we always do hurt the ones we love." 

Sirvanna turned around. Ines was standing right there. She looked away as soon as Sirvanna looked over. "I scouted the area. There's no trouble in sight. I couldn't get into the base." 

"Thank you," Sirvanna said, her cheeks turning red. "Lead the way, Lisa." 

"Oh... yeah," Lisa said. "Sure." 

"Hey," Yuni tapped Sirvanna's shoulder, "shouldn't you apologise?" 

"Forget it," Alexa said. "Some people are just naturally cold." 

"But..." Yuni began, but she stopped in mid-sentence. Unsure of what to say.

"Don't worry," Alena said, slipping to the back with Yuni. "They'll make up." 

"You think?" Yuni asked. 

Alena nodded and gave her a very slight smile.

The group progressed in veritable silence. They quickly reached the base. Lisa led them to a back entrance. 

"You should be able to find what you're looking for through here," she said, holding the door for them. Sirvanna went into the dark room first followed by the others. The door closed behind them and several bright lights came on. 

"We aren't alone!" Yuni cried, moving between the figures in the room and Alena. 

"A trap," Sirvanna said. "Dammit, I should've seen that coming." 

"Relax," the feminine voice had a British accent. "We don't have any intention of fighting with you." 

Sirvanna's eyes adjusted and she noticed that there were five other women in the room. The one speaking had curly bright red hair. 

"I'm Rose," she said. "The leader of Theta squadron." 

"Didn't you all die?" Katelyn asked. 

"Not at all," Rose said. "Our implants were simply shut off." 

"So, you betrayed your country," Sirvanna said. "And we were mistakenly told that you hadn't survived." 

"We may have to fix that," Alexa said. 

"No need for violence, Love," Rose said. "We didn't betray our country. It betrayed us. When we realised that it was easy to figure out where our loyalties should lie." 

"I don't suppose Michael Wagner is around at all?" Sirvanna asked. 

"He had to pop out for a bit," Rose said. "But he'll be back soon if you'd like to talk with him." 

"Like we'd be fooled that easily!" Alexa said. A whirlwind ripped through the room tossing furniture everywhere and scattering the members of Theta. 

"Pick your opponents!" Sirvanna said. "We'll take them out and get out of here."

"How impertinent!" Rose cried. "Take them alive, and try not to hurt them too badly." 

Sirvanna fired a bolt of lightning at Rose. The other woman didn't flinch when it hit her. She fired a blast of crimson energy back that hurled Sirvanna into the wall. 

Ines went after a tall blonde woman. Just before she could reach her, her feet were floating off the ground and she couldn't move forward. 

"Same as Katelyn, huh?" Ines muttered. She spun herself around as quickly as she could, trying to break free.

Alexa floated towards a middle aged woman with graying black hair. She hurled a gust of wind at her. The older woman gestured and the ground broke through the floor to shelter her. 

"Don't underestimate your elders!" she said. Chunks of the ground broke free and hurled themselves at Alexa. 

Alexa created a funnel to toss the projectiles aside. "Maybe you should retire," she said. "Before you get hurt." 

"Alexa, behind you!" Alena's voice called. Alexa looked back. An earthen hand squashed her into the ground from above. 

Katelyn tried to keep track of her opponent. The brunette looked like a body builder. She had disappeared the moment Katelyn had approached her only to reappear behind her and vanish again when Katelyn had telekinetically thrown a chair at her. 

Katelyn gathered all of the furniture in the room in a swirl around her. Where was she? 

"Thanks for the lift." Katelyn looked up. The woman was sitting in one of the chairs. Katelyn hurriedly tossed it away, but she vanished again before it hit the wall. 

"Can we not fight?" Yuni asked. Her opponent looked like she was still in primary school or barely out of it.

"Why?" the girl asked. "Because I'm young?" 

"Well, kind of," Yuni said. "I wouldn't want to be a bully."

The girl giggled, approaching Yuni. "You're funny, but this is a fight and I'm going all out!" 

She grabbed Yuni's arm and tossed her as easily as she might throw a doll. Yuni soared through the air, Ines managed to catch her before she hit the wall.

"Thanks," Yuni said. "I think that would've killed me."

"Maybe," Ines said. She took Yuni to Sirvanna, who was dodging another of Rose's blasts. 

"Stop shooting her with lightning!" Ines said. "Didn't you notice that she only fires her thing after she gets hit by yours?" 

Sirvanna paused. "I must be distracted," she muttered. "What do you want?" Yuni fired a beam of light over Rose's head, temporarily blinding her.

"We have to run," Ines said. "We're making too much noise." 

"Reinforcements?" Sirvanna said. 

"Only a matter of time," Ines said. 

"How do we get away from them?" Sirvanna asked. "You might make it but the rest of us would get caught. Unless..." She stared at Yuni. "Unless we can use our powers creatively." 

"I think I overdid it," the young girl said. She turned to Alena. "Can you entertain me more than your friend?" 

The lights went out throughout the room. 

"Grab Yuni and Sirvanna," Ines called. "I've got Katelyn and Alexa should be able to move fast enough on her own." 

Alena nodded. She ran forward, punched the kid in the gut as hard as she could and grabbed the two women, one in each arm. 

*****

"What happened to the lights?" Katelyn asked. 

"I absorbed them," Yuni said. "It was Sirvanna's idea." She hugged Alena more tightly. "This is kind of fun." 

"We're not clear yet," Sirvanna said. "They'll follow as soon as they can." The lawn around them lit up. Alena fell forward in a heap with Sirvanna and Yuni. Ines put down Katelyn and ran back. 

"No choice," Sirvanna said. "We have to take a stand."

"There is a choice," Ines said. "You all run to the rendezvous point. I'll hold them off." 

"I can't allow that!" Sirvanna said. "I'm the leader, I should do it." 

"I'm the only one who stands a chance of holding them off and making it back in time for evac," Ines said. "Besides, I'm just an incorrigible flirt. If something happens I won't be a big loss. Now go!" 

"Follow us after five minutes," Sirvanna said, her voice shaking. "Without fail, okay?"

She and the others ran as fast as they could, leaving Ines to intercept Theta. 

*****

"Hurry aboard!" Benton called. Yuni got on first followed by Alena, Katelyn and Alexa. Sirvanna stood with her feet barely on the ramp. Looking back. 

"Come on," she muttered. "Hurry up." 

"Is that her?" Yuni asked. The group looked intently at a figure in the distance. 

"Too slow," Alena said. 

"It's them!" Alexa said. 

"Hurry up and get in!" Benton called. "We have to go!"

"We're waiting right here until she comes back!" Sirvanna cried. 

"No time," Alena said. She pulled Sirvanna in. The ramp closed behind them. 

"Ines..." Sirvanna whispered, tears welling up in her eyes.