Kitty's warning was on point. Outside, they saw Sentinels were already coming.

"They're...huge," Emma said. 

"Did you expect them to be small?" Mystique snapped.

"No, but...even compared to the ones of before, they look huge," Emma said. "They're tougher looking too.... I can't fight those things--I have no power over machines."

"You're useless, aren't you?" Cable said gruffly. "We do this the old fashioned way." He ran up to a guard, who was already coming toward them, and just punched him and knocked him out. Then he grabbed his gun.

"Any of you have any kind of power to buy us some time, start using it," he yelled.

"That guy's crazy," Kitty said.

"He's called the wild man for a reason," Mystique said. "But he might be the right kind of crazy--I hear he's good in a fight. Perhaps he has the right idea." She pulled out her gun.

"That won't hurt those things," Emma said.

"Yes...a real one would be better, but I'd have to find one," Mystique said. "Make yourself useful, Frost. We're outside--call in backup."

"I'm trying, you ninny," Emma said, hand to her head. "No one is answering..."

"Duck!" Kitty yelped, pushing them, and a Sentinel shot one of its capture lines through them and into the ground.

Kitty moved them of out of it before they solidified.

"That really is the worst of feelings." Emma gasped for air.

"Worse than being skewered?" Mystique said. "Run."

They ran.

Of course, they were being surrounded by enemies.

"I can't believe we blew cover first," Kitty said. "We're the stealth ops team.... I don't want to die!"

"Shh," Mystique hissed. "Just use your power. You're the least likely one to die."

Kitty was silent.

"Ah!" Emma screamed as one of the Sentinels shot at them.

Kitty phased her just in time, and Mystique managed to dodge it.

Cable was shooting at the human soldiers coming their way, but he couldn't do much about the robots.

"I'd give anything for my own weapons," he said. "They've got it here somewhere, I bet. Those b-----ds."

"Watch your language in front of the girl." Emma's teacher side came out for a moment. "You hooligan."

"Duck, Lady!" Cable fired at some people coming up behind them. "We have to make tracks. I ain't getting shut back it here again."

Kitty pressed her com-link. "Come on, guys, can't you hear this? We're getting trashed over here. Help us!"

Mystique yanked her around a corner, and more Sentinels closed in.

Emma tried to take cover also.

Mystique debated mentally.

"All right, kid, get her out of here," she sighed. "She's useless anyway. We can't let them capture her. It's a disaster if they get us."

"But what about you?" Kitty said.

"I'll think of something." Mystique actually didn't know if she'd be able to do that; she was pretty much useless against Robots, but if Emma took one hit, she was going down, and they'd get one of the Telepaths, so...that wasn't happening.

Kitty knew better than to argue right now. She ran and grabbed Emma and phased her into one of the buildings.

Mystique shot at a few more humans, but any hope of clearing a path through was dying. There were too many robots.... They'd catch them as soon as the humans got out of the way.

Cable wasn't having much more luck either. He backed up.

"You have backup, right? Where the h--- are they?" he said.

"I don't know," Mystique gasped. "They should have been here."

"They ain't reliable? That's not a real surprise coming from you," Cable said.

"The X-men are reliable," Mystique shot back. "If they aren't here, they got found already."

"That's even better." Sarcastically.

Mystique couldn't see Wolverine getting captured that easily, though. Maybe they had just gotten sidetracked with something else.

Suddenly, one of them got hit with some kind of explosion.

Rogue and Gambit had heard the noise and come that way.

"Hey!" Rogue waved at them. "Momma, get out of here--! Cable? What in tarnation are you doin' here?"

"He's a telepath," Mystique said.

"What?" Rogue said. "I never knew that.... But...aren't ya from the future?"

"So?" Cable said. "Hasn't stopped us before."

"Oh, this ain't good," Rogue said. "Well, run anyway. Here."

She plucked them up and sat them down on the other side of one of the barracks. "I gotta help Gambit... We can't hold those suckers off for that long. We have to run... Ah!" She had to dodge as one of them shot its rope at her.

"She should see the ones in the future," Cable said. "These things are tin cans...if you have the right weapons. Hurry up, Traitor, we're losing time."

He ran again.

Mystique followed him, reluctantly.

They ran into some more guards. Cable took care of them easily. Mystique kicked one into the wall and then took his weapon; it looked like it might do a bit more damage than a stun gun.

The Sentinels didn't take long to find them, and Rogue and Gambit had to run to get out of their way. There was just too many.

Gambit threw some cards to try to distract them, but it wasn't enough to stop that many.

There must have been 10 at least, and probably there were more coming.

Where did they all come from?

Mystique had some hazy memory in her mind of ordering them to be launched...but not her...maybe a different her?

If so, that world's Magneto must really be a piece of work, if he ordered that.

But why think of that now?

She cast a look at the Sentinel. Certainly...some of them didn't seem like they were the same design...

What if they were futuristic? But could something like that have transferred already?

But if a tower...why not machines? They weren't people...

If so...they could have weapons they didn't know about...and better ones. The tech in the future must be better by now at apprehending mutants...

Mystique only had time to think how screwed that made her and Cable both without better weapons, before the Sentinels took to the air and landed in front of them.

"Destroy!" they said. "Destroy Mutant intruders... Capture Mutant Cable."

Oh, terrific...she wasn't worth capturing.

But right then, a laser beam shot at it and blasted the Sentinels back.

The cavalry finally arrived.

Colossus came and charged at the robots, turning metal, and slammed into them.

They were pretty tough, but he was tougher...

Mystique saw Wolverine leap at some of the ones farther back.

"Ah, now there's some people I know," Cable said. "Hey!" He flagged down Wolverine.

"Cable?" Wolverine saw him. "Well, this just keeps gettin' better and better, doesn't it?"

"I expect a full explanation of this later," Cable called. "But first let's get rid of these junk piles."

One of the Sentinels almost hit Mystique as she was running.

Suddenly she was poofed out by Kurt.

"Are you all vright, Mother?" he asked.

"I...but I thought you were looking for teleports," Mystique said.

"Ve find one," Kurt said. "At least...he vas locked up. But he not tell us vhether he is one or not. He say he vill leave vith us, though. But no Blink.... Ist very strange. But you must get out of this area. Ve vill take care of this. Find Miss Likstar--she has to take us home..."

"Wait, I thought she was looking for you."

"She vent after Herr Vally so see vhat vas in E81," Kurt said it "eight, one", perhaps because it was easier for him to do so in English.

"Where's Morph?" Mystique asked.

"Hanging back," Kurt said. "Against Sentinels...he is not so gut, I hear. Maybe he help, though... But more humans are coming also. I must go."

He disappeared again.

Mystique sighed.

She didn't care to get picked off by herself.

She saw Jubilee shooting at some robots, not having much effect on the new-looking ones, though.

She veered off towards where she hoped Shine would be.

* * *

Kitty got Emma far enough away from the Sentinels to run, but then she fell over, gasping.

"Too much..." she said. "I can't hold my breath for that long."

"Get up." Emma took her arm. "We can't stay still."

Kitty tried to stumble up. At least she was light.

Emma half carried her as she tried to get farther away.

That crazy person, Cable, was yelling and shooting not far behind. He dove between some of the robots.

Kitty was still gasping. "I can't run..." she said. She tripped.

Emma would have probably traded telepathy for being able to turn into diamond right about then, as some of the robots lifted into the air, looking for the runaway mutants.

One spotted them right off.

"Kitty." She shook her. "Phase, quickly."

"Can't..." Kitty said.

"You have to," Emma said.

The Sentinel came swooping down at them, foot ready to crush them.

Kitty drew a deep breath and phased.

The foot went through them and then lifted up. The Sentinel appeared to be confused.

Emma tried to turn into diamond with all her might, but nothing happened except that she felt searing pain for a moment in her head.

Kitty tried to get up now. "Gotta run..." she muttered.

Emma knew it was too late. It was too close--they didn't stand a chance.

They needed help.

The Sentinel stomped again, and Kitty managed to phase again.

But she was going to make a mistake soon.

Emma sent out a telepathic cry for help, to anyone, just to get their attention.

Then her mind started to rebel.

What, even that was too much now?

She had used her power a lot today, but even so...

"No..." she muttered, grabbing her head. "Not now, not now..."

"Emma?" Kitty said. "What's going on...?" She gasped for more air. "I can't catch my breath. Must have pushed too far. But we can't...we can't stop..."

Finally, as if in slow motion, Cyclops shot the robot off of them.

Colossus came running. "Come, girls, is no time to take nap," he said good-naturedly, grabbing Kitty up.

"Colossus," Kitty said. "Something's wrong with Emma..."

Emma was holding her head and bending over like she couldn't even think enough to get up.

She thought she could almost sense the same distant force as before, with the tear...but it wasn't in the air, it was in her head...

"Escape...escape..." The words seemed to claw at her like she was trying to get out of her own mind.

[That's terrifying...]

Colossus pulled her up. "Come, Miss Frost, we go now." He started pulling her after him.

Emma didn't fight it for a moment, as she still knew what was happening, but then, mid step, the amnesia part of the attack started.

"Stop!" she said. "Let go of me." She yanked.

Colossus had a pretty good grip, but she was pulling him off balance; she had the frantic energy of hysterical people.

"Emma, stop it!" Kitty cried. "Stop! We're trying to help you."

"I don't know you," Emma said.

"Well, not that well, but still," Kitty said. "Come on, stop freaking out! The robots are right there..."

So they were, sizing up their new prey.

Colossus put Kitty down. "Have to fight. Run, little cat."

"But..." Kitty sputtered.

Emma took off suddenly without warning.

"She doesn't remember us!" Kitty said. "We have to help her!"

"No time--" Colossus had to block as the robot shot at them.

Kitty stumbled back. She was recovering a little now. She phased as the robot swung at her, and then she phased Colossus as another one blasted at them with energy beams.

Scott, who'd been trying to get to them now, saw Emma running blindly away, and knew what was happening.

"Not again," he muttered. "Not now... Emma! Come back!"

Emma paused to look at him like he was a total stranger.

Not the right time to pause.

One of the Sentinels turned to her and plucked her up by her costume.

Emma snapped out of it right then.

"Oh no..." she gasped. "Put me down!"

"Mutant apprehension," the Sentinel said in its robot voice. "Telepath. Capture."

Scott shot at it. "Put her down."

The Sentinel looked at him. If a robot could give you a demeaning look, it would have been.

"Target mutant: Destroy," it said, raising its hand to fire at him.

Cable ran up and threw some kind of explosive he'd found with some of the soldiers at it.

The robot fell off balance a little, and Emma fell out of its grasp.

She landed on the roof of a unit...which was good, because she didn't break her bones.

It still hurt though.

"Ow..." she muttered.

"Emma, get back," Scott warned.

Emma pushed herself up and stumbled back, trying to find a way off the roof.

"That woman is a nuisance," Cable said to Scott, "but I guess we can't let these buggers get another telepath, so we'd better go get her. Cover me."

He dodged between what was left of the robot and tossed some more grenades, then he raced around.

Scott followed, shooting at more.

"Emma can't use her power right now," he said. "Normally she'd be able to handle this."

"What's wrong with her?" Cable was not big on tact.

"We're not sure," Scott said. "But...it's not her fault."

"Well, I ain't here to nurse along anyone who can't hold their own," Cable said.

"It's called saving people." Scott wasn't liking him very much.

"Sure," Cable said. He called up at Emma. "Hey, Blondie, jump down here."

"Um, are you mad?" Emma asked. "It's at least 10 feet."

Cable shrugged and kicked a crate that was behind one of them over. "There, now it's 6 feet."

"I swear..." Emma turned. "If I had my diamond form..."

She slowly slid off the roof, then had to move faster because one other robot almost fired at her directly.

But then it couldn't really see her, and it seemed too distracted by the others.

"Are you okay?" Scott held out his hand to help her the rest of the way.

Emma ignored it and jumped down. "Fine. I'm fine now. Is Kitty--?"

"The kid's all right," Cable said. "She's tough... Well, I hope you people have a better escape plan than you do an infiltration plan, because we're cornered."

"We have to wait for our portal-thing person," Scott said.

"This is hanging on one person?" Cable said. "That's not good. Say your prayers."

"He's cheerful," Emma said to Scott dryly.

"Very." Scott echoed her tone. "But it looks like they found a teleport also. At least...I think so. So..."

"The odds of getting out of here with two extra people are not looking great," Emma said.

"All of this seems so familiar," Scott said. "Like a vision... I think I remember looking for the Professor on Genosha and finding him. That was your first day, right?"

Emma nodded silently.

"I just wish I knew what else..." Scott said.

"You got a problem?" Cable said, keeping his eye on the scene.

"Yeah...I have some kind of amnesia induced by dimension shock," Scott said. "Do you know what that is?"

"I've been probing your mind a little," Cable said. "I got the general idea of what's going on, and it sounds like a nightmare from the pit of hell to me. But I've been up this creek before--I know how to paddle. You suffering memory loss? Maybe a psion could help you."

"Most, I remember now, just some pieces are missing," Scott said. "Mainly about this one person. I can't figure out what it is."

Emma had only been half listening to Cable's words, until that last line, and suddenly she looked at him in alarm.

"Oh...I don't know if you should try," she said. "Two of us already did."

"Ain't no good to be distracted on the field," Cable said. "Your memory loss affecting your fighting?"

"Sometimes it does," Scott said. "Mostly I just feel like I don't really know what I'm supposed to be doing here. Can you help?"

"Scott, I don't thin--" Emma tried again.

"Maybe," Cable said. "Let me take a look. Blondie, keep watch."

"Stop referring to me as that," Emma said. "And I don't think you should just do that. We determined it might be best to let it happen naturally."

"What idiot suggested that?" Cable snorted. "You wait for nature, you never get anything done."

He seemed to be doing something to probe Scott's mind.

"Eh, those memories are so close to coming back already, just take one good yank on 'em to bring it up," he said.

"Really?" Scott said, relieved.

"No, wait," Emma said. "Cable..."

"I can do it right now," Cable said. "I'd say you'd remember on your own by the end of today anyway, but why wait if you can do something right now?"

He did something before Emma could even try to stop him.

She really hoped he was wrong.

"I don't really feel different," Scott said.

"You probably won't," Cable said. "Well, that's all I can do. Just have to let it sink in... Now, let's worry about those robots. Can you laser beam a few more? We can regroup with those other fools."

"Sure." Scott did so.

Emma waited and thought maybe nothing had happened.

https://youtu.be/hnqkge0Rd_E

[Do I Wanna Know?-- Arctic Monkeys.]

Until...

Scott suddenly paused shooting and got a funny look.

Emma's heart sank into her stomach. She knew already what that meant.

She backed up a little.

Worst fear realized.

Cable didn't even notice--he was too busy shooting cover fire and cursing the fact that his weapon was so primitive.

Scott turned to give Emma one long look.

Emma felt like a bug.

"You..." Scott said.

Emma thought it was bad when Selene outed her before...but she discovered that when you're already losing your powers and in a life and death situation and have no where to run--it was about 10 times worse.

"Scott..." she said weakly.

"All of it was a lie, wasn't it?" Scott's voice was terrible. Because it was so flat. Like he was seeing it like a news reel in his mind. "How...how could I forget that? You're not one of the X-men, are you? You betrayed us."

"But..." Emma didn't know what to say now. "I...it wasn't all about that, Scott."

"Don't try to make it sound better," Scott said, dismissively. "I should have remembered sooner... It makes sense now. You lied to me, Emma. You didn't tell me the truth."

"It wasn't that," Emma tried to explain, and knew she was failing. "It's just...that...I...I couldn't, all right? It was too much to even begin explaining, you have to understand."

"All I understand is that you deceived me again," Scott said. "Don't you have any shame? I...I had trusted you."

That hurt like a knife.

"Scott, I really--"

"Was it true you didn't have a way to help me remember that?" Scott said, suddenly suspicious. "Or was that just an act too, like before...when you said you couldn't find Jean?"

"That part wasn't actually an act--" Emma probably shouldn't have said that first.

"So what was?" Scott was cutting.

"I really couldn't... I'm not faking this," Emma said. "Isn't that obvious? Why would I do that?"

"I don't know, Emma, why would you?" Scott said. "You tried to get me to give up once before on something you didn't want me to know."

"Sounds like you two have more history than I thought," Cable said. "I hate reunions for this reason. But put a can on it for now--we have to get out of here, then you can kill each other or whatever."

"You're not helping!" Emma snapped at him. "I tried to warn you, you fool. You wouldn't listen."

"Not my fault you had skeletons in your closet, Lady," Cable said.

Emma could really have killed him, she thought, in that moment.

But one look at Scott and she knew she was only making her case worse.

"At least he told me the truth, and he's a total stranger," Scott said. "I can't believe this... All this time, and you never told me what really happened... That's low, Emma."

"Well, I suppose what could you expect from me?" Emma lost her composure. "All anyone seems to expect is that. I knew this would happen... But I am not pretending, Scott. Nothing about this has been pretend. I wouldn't pretend about something this serious."

"Why should I believe that?" Scott said.

Emma had no answer for that.

"Because if it was pretend, would this happen?!" she said, wildly.

She tried to read his mind...specifically the memory she knew would trigger her.

Let it be said, that is never, ever something you should try to do.

It was bad enough when it happened by accident, but had Emma known the burst of pure agony that would come of trying to stir herself up like that, she'd never have attempted it.

Her mind was raging with fire, it felt like.

And her chest felt heavy, like there was pressure behind it...enough to blast her into a thousand pieces again.

She gasped like someone had stabbed her.

"Uh oh," Cable said. 

"What?" Scott said.

"Well, if that doesn't kill her, she's at least going to be out of commission for a while," Cable said. "I wasn't even probing her mind, and I could feel that psionic destruction. What's wrong with her? I've never seen a telepath have the kind of damage in their head before."

"I..." Scott wasn't sure how to answer him.

Emma fainted right after that, true to Cable's words.

"Emma?" Scott realized he wasn't mad enough to want her to die on the spot. "Is she dead?"

Cable put a hand to her head.

"No, but close," he said. "That was...weird. It felt like something inside her just leapt up and tried to snuff her out. I sensed a kind of fire."

"What could cause that?" Scott was unnerved.

"I don't know," Cable said. "But now she's dead weight." He swore. "Just perfect. I'd leave her behind if it wasn't stupid to do so."

"Hey!" Scott said.

"What? You don't trust her," Cable said.

"Well, no, but...you can't just leave people to die," Scott said.

"Seemed like you did once," Cable said. "Just from what I saw."

Scott stared at him strangely.

"I don't care," Cable said. "Fine, don't leave her. But we gotta move either way. Those tin cans have found us."

So they had. They were coming up behind them.

Scott didn't like it, but there was no question of leaving Emma here, so he pulled her up gingerly. Cable made no move to help him do this--just shot cover fire, and then ran for it. Scott followed him.

It was while they were running this direction that they ran into Shine, who was hiding behind an A/C unit, trying not to get crushed by robots.

"Hey," she called. "I can't get past these things.... I'm not fast enough. I could take one down though, if I was closer. I need Wally's help for this. Where is he?"

"You think I know?" Scott sad.

"What happened to Emma?" Shine looked at her more closely.

"She knocked herself out," Cable said. "Some kind of probing gone wrong. Who are you?"

"I'm Shine--Cable?" Shine suddenly took a closer look at him. "Wow...you know, this actually makes sense, but I'm still surprised. How did they catch you?"

"Bad timing on my part," Cable said. "Who are you?"

"She's a friend," Scott said. "I think...she can help."

Shine put a hand on Emma's head. "Oh my gosh...what did she do? I can feel the torment from here."

"She's got some secrets," Cable said. "Didn't like them coming out. Triggered herself somehow."

"She did what?" Shine said.

Then she looked at Scott for a moment, and she seemed to read the whole thing in his expression.

"I see," she said.

Scott realized something. "Did...did you know?" he said. "You act like you knew."

"I knew." Shine didn't even deny it.

"And you never told me!?" Scott said.

"First, Scottie, I barely know you," Shine said. "And second, it wasn't my place to tell something like that. I'm no snitch. It's not important right now, is it? You have to keep your head in the game. And Emma can't go on like this.. I'd send her back to the plane, but...no, that's no good. The house, then. I'll have to risk... No...wait, a portal right now could be very bad..."

She hesitated. "I don't know what to do. Neither one looks good."

"Better pick one fast." Cable looked behind them.

"I'll try healing first," Shine decided. "Cover me, will you?"

She put a hand on Emma's forehead again and began to mutter quietly, praying probably.

Cable just kept an eye on the Sentinels.

Scott shot at a few. He was still angry; it was kind of therapeutic.

Shine's eyes gleamed gold.

She asked for a lightening of the load.

The amount of shock to Emma's mind was considerable and wouldn't be undone in a moment, but some of the worst of it lifted, leaving only the shaky aftereffects of such attacks.

Emma, who was lost to the world at the moment, began to vaguely think again, though she had no memory of what just happened... She blinked at Shine.

"Who?" she mumbled.

Shine lifted her hand. "I suspect her memory will be gone for a good 10 minutes at least, based on the past lingering of it when it was bad. That was much worse than the other times."

"What--?" Emma tried to sit up, which made her ache all over.

"Emma," Shine said. Somehow her tone was calming. "Please, don't try, okay? I'm sure you're freaking out right now, but I'm trying to help you."

Where Scott tended to sound scared when he said that, Shine didn't. She sounded like she knew what she was doing.

Emma stared at her without any recognition but with a sort of desperate hope that she was telling the truth.

"Who are you?" she said. "Where am I?"

"Memory loss..." Cable said, "not a usual symptom for a telepath."

"It is where The Phoenix Force is concerned," Shine said quietly. "I'm Shine, Emma. We're friends. You're having a bit of amnesia right now. You had a blow to your mind, okay? But it will pass. Can you try to stay calm for me?"

"How childish..." Emma muttered.

"Yeah, you're going to be fine." Shine smiled oddly. "Just need to rest. Sit tight... I'm getting worried about Morph."

She stood up. "But also, Wally and I got a closer look at E81. The door's locked, but I opened it."

"So what was in there?" Scott asked.

Shine reached into her bag and pulled something out.

"We didn't find any people," she said. "Not in the flesh, but there was a sealed room in the middle, with what looked like experimental samples of things in it--DNA or some kind of drug, maybe. We're not enough of scientists to be sure what it all was. I grabbed some of it. Hopefully Hank can figure it. But there was a file cabinet with this in it."

She held up a folder and opened it. "It has photos."

Scott took it.

"Is that...me?" he said.

"It is," Shine said. "There's one for every X-man."

She looked somber. "And for some mutants I don't recognize. Blink is in there. Emma is there too. Check what it says by her name."

Scott turned to the F-section and looked.

"It says, 'Status: Transferred. Unapprehended.'"

He looked up. "So...they know?"

"Perhaps as soon as we walked in here they knew," Shine said. "Or sooner. They might not have known her on sight. All this stuff was locked up."

She twisted her sword smugly. But then she sobered again. "Look at Psylocke's, under B."

Scott turned the page.

"'Status: Translated/Apprehended/...Assimilated'?" He looked up. "What does that mean?"

"I can only assume that whatever was in her mind must have been completed," Shine said grimly. "And someone here knows about it. But they covered their tracks well. Wally couldn't find so much as a fingerprint in there or any records of who came in and out. It's like they only put this stuff here for storage; they might not be working out of it. This is just to update the people holding these mutants here."

"So what does all this mean?" Cable said. "What are they trying to do?"

Shine shook her head. "Unclear, but this tells us that they do indeed have a plan to capture all of these people. And that they're succeeding, in some cases. A lot of them say Apprehended."

"Jean is in here." Scott had kept looking. "And it says Apprehended."

He looked up at Shine with a dreadful expression of despair. "So...they have her already?"

"Both of them," Shine said. "Yes...a lot of them in there have two versions of themselves."

She shoved it back into her bag.

"Is it too late?" Scott asked. "Is Jean gone?"

"As gone as the others are," Shine said. "So...probably not irreversibly. Not yet. We have to finish our mission, Scottie. They will only get stronger the more people they capture. We're playing with the jaws of defeat here, having so many of us here. If we don't escape this island, that's it. They'll have too many of us; I don't think we can salvage it. If we get away, there's still a chance we can stop this. We have to gather everyone. I don't want a single person left behind, not like before. Do you understand?"

"I wasn't going to leave anyone behind," Scott said.

"I got the message," Cable said. "For now your best interest is mine. Fine. We'll do this together. But I want to hear the full story."

"I promise you, if we get out of this, I'll give it to you if I can," Shine said. "I'll take Emma with me for now, if it's possible."

Emma had listened to all this, neither understanding it, nor seeming to care about it. She was staring at the walls and flinching at the crashing coming from the fight.

Shine took her by one gloved arm. "Come on, Emma, we have to go. We're not safe here."

She kept her tone soothing somehow.

Normally Emma would have reacted to that with indignation at how patronizing it was, but just now she didn't have that kind of sass, so she got up, shakily.

"I'm shocked," Cable said. "She should have been out for hours--days, even. How did you do that, Lady?"

"Gift of grace," Shine said. "Thank God it worked this time. He is helping us. I'd be losing it if He wasn't, but we must get out. Like Exodus. Find everyone. Not one person left behind. Let's go."

She darted out of the walls.

"She's crazier than you are," Cable said. "But she's got moxie, so might as well follow suit."

He ran after her.

Scott followed, not sure what to make of what just happened.

[This just keeps getting worse, doesn't it?

Boy, do I love a good suspense plot.]