The sonic booms caused ripples in the golden glow around Artemis and shattered windows in the buildings around Justice Fist’s base.

  Within a block of us, a car alarm had gone off (maybe more than one), but, in the whirlwind of combat, that could have been a side effect of Power Burst’s scream attack on Cassie. It was hard to know.

  That would have been interesting enough, but in addition, Jaclyn’s fist slammed into the filmy, golden shield around Artemis. This time, the shield threw out flashes of gold along with a blast of static in combination with another boom.

  It didn’t only happen once. You couldn’t expect Jaclyn to throw just one punch. She threw many, more than ten, to judge from the number of sonic booms. Each boom was answered by another from the shield, matching or exceeding the sonic booms in volume. I guessed that the shield’s booms were caused by the shield rippling with each hit.

  Artemis didn’t fall or show an expression of pain at any hit, but her eyes widened, and she teleported away, reappearing halfway down the block. Her glow had dimmed, confirming something I’d suspected. Magnus’ power-up didn’t stick around. It was a limited resource that could be depleted before the end of a fight.

  I didn’t know if he was willing to fill them up again, but based on how I suspected it worked, it might not be good for the recipient. I’d have to ask Kee if I had the chance.

  It was then, by the way, that I managed to make a solid connection to the energies that would allow me to create a sword.

  I didn’t because no one was close enough to strike. It felt different, more raw, and I hoped I wasn’t hurting myself because I kept the connection going.

  As I considered blasting myself toward her, Artemis discovered why teleporting away from Jaclyn might be worse than fighting her hand-to-hand. When you teleported away, appearing in the air, and pulling back an arrow to fire, you were no longer so close that Cassie worried about hitting Jaclyn if she missed.

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  Cassie fired, the bright beam casting shadows of the tower, the trees, and the fence, hitting Artemis. It didn’t take her out, but the arrow forming on her bowstring dissipated into sparkles. The glow around her dropped a little more, and she disappeared again, reappearing behind me for the second time today.

  This time I whipped around, seeing her forming a flaming arrow in her hand, but at the same time, I’d formed the sword.

  It wasn’t the same this time, and I didn’t know if that was good or bad. After all the struggle making the connection, it cost nothing to call the sword into being.

  Last time, though, it had been invisible unless you could use whatever energies the Artificers used yourself. This time, it reminded me more of the sword I’d called up using Lee’s abilities. That one had been a flaming sword. This appeared to be a lightning bolt in a sword’s shape.

  Moment by moment, though, it didn’t stay the same shape. It wavered, sometimes straight, sometimes curving, often jagged-edged, endlessly regenerating itself. Throwing off sparks as I swung it toward Artemis, it shattered the rippling glow into bits of light that streaked away from her like comets.

  The expression on Artemis’ face left no mystery as to whether or not it was visible either. She backed away as I swung, but didn’t even manage a half step as the sword hit.

  The sword disappeared into her side, and she crumpled, falling backward to the ground. Lucky for her that to stab me from behind, she’d had to land. Otherwise, she’d have fallen. It might not have hurt her much, but depending on how her powers worked, it might have.

  Jaclyn gave me a nod and, as she crouched and jumped into the air, sent an implant message, “Thanks. I’m helping Blue. I’ll join you when we’re done.”

  Her leap upward left shoe-shaped divots in the lawn, throwing dirt ten feet away. Whatever. That was the least of the property damage we’d done today.

  Whether she was using the anti-gravity as a booster or purely her strength, she shot upward like a rocket. Power Burst, who was still fighting Izzy, never saw her coming.

  Jaclyn shot up behind him, punching him in the kidney, which did not take him down, and grabbing him around the neck. Izzy punched him from the front while he struggled to pull Jaclyn’s arm away.

  Though he still had extra power over and above an already impressive power set, I had little doubt Jaclyn and Izzy working together could take him out, not to mention Cassie.

  I shot upward toward the tower’s top floor, where I hoped I’d find Daniel, Haley, Vaughn, Sydney, Sean, Dayton, and Camille fighting off Art, Zola, and Scream Eagle.

  Scream Eagle already showed powers I’d never expected. I hoped that trend didn’t continue.