He worked on removing the rocks pinning his legs and was halfway done when he heard something heavy land behind him. He forcefully tore his body out the rest of the way, going for expediency over caution, and ignored the pain as fresh lacerations bloomed down the side of his left leg; they'd be gone soon enough.

Fourteen rolled to his feet and whirled around, wielding the plate from his armor in one hand and a sharp rock in the other.

“Whoa, buddy, whoa! I come in peace!” A soft light appeared in front of a familiar face.

Fourteen relaxed his stance minutely. “Guardian,” he said cautiously.

“I’m touched you remember, but I mostly go by Jack. Cymbeline sent me to fetch you topside so we can all get out of here, but if you don’t mind, I’d like to give you a few upgrades first.”

Upgrades? What the hell was that supposed to mean? “Why would I accept upgrades from the person who helped trap me the last time we encountered each other?”

“Okay, fair, but in my defense, you tried to kill me and mine. Like, a lot.” Jack rubbed at an eyebrow with the palm of his hand and sighed dramatically. “I don’t have time for the trust falls and weekend retreats necessary to get you to let me touch you—which I need to do in order to help you—so I’m just going to show you the severity of your situation.”

The light coming from Jack expanded to expose the hole Fourteen had fallen into, allowing him to see what Jack meant. The bottom of the hole could have accommodated three of Fourteen’s SUVs with barely enough room to open the doors on one of them. Five meters from the floor, irritatingly smooth walls closed in overhead to form a wide gash with rough walls that appeared scalable if he could reach them.

He couldn’t jump that height. Not even with his enhancements.

Fourteen moved forward to examine the glossy surface of his prison and hissed in pain on the first step. The ambient light revealed a long, narrow rock embedded in his calf. He pulled it out and flicked it to the floor. Further examination showed the blood flow from the wound to be within acceptable parameters, so he ignored it and limped to the wall.

It was smooth like glass and continued through the entire base of the hole. Even with Fourteen’s considerable climbing skills, he couldn’t get himself out. Panic rose, but he didn’t have time for it, so he told it to piss off until later. Surprisingly, it worked.

Fourteen turned to Jack. “This doesn’t look natural to me.”

“Whoever cast the spell was trying to trap you, probably so they could kill your man.” At Fourteen’s murderous growl, Jack threw up his hands defensively, palms out. “Which they aren’t! Sterling has a decent shield around them, and my partner Adelle, who you’ve already met, is with them. They’re completely safe right now. Mostly.”

Fourteen rolled his eyes internally at the word mostly. Even with his stunted social skills, Fourteen knew a successful rescue operation relied heavily on making the rescuee believe you could get them to safety. He didn’t know how to convey it properly, but he did know using the word mostly was a dumbass choice of words.

Jack wasn’t filling him with a ton of confidence in his abilities right now, but if Fourteen wanted to get back to Cym’s side, he was going to have to sacrifice his need for control of the situation. “What did you have in mind?”

A broad smile formed on Jack’s face. “This is going to be fun, but I need Adelle for this. She has a Crafted toy I’m going to require.” The man’s dark eyes went unfocused, and Fourteen was caught briefly by their swirling depths. Something about them made him feel restless, and he was forced to look away until Jack snapped back to attention. “Okay, Adelle’s made your group as safe as she can for the moment, and she’ll be right down.”

Had Fourteen hit his head harder than he’d thought? Because Jack hadn’t used a phone or a headset to communicate with his teammate. Fourteen touched the laceration on his temple gingerly. He’d had worse and continued functioning optimally. Or maybe Jack had injured his brain on his way down to Fourteen.

Or maybe it was a magic thing.

It was probably that last one.

“Oh hey, I can help you with that head problem if you like. Um, I think I can anyway, just… uh, don’t hit me, okay?” Jack reached out a tentative hand in offering.

“What are you going to do?” Wariness laced each word and Fourteen leaned back out of reach.

“Heal you, I hope. I’m going to need to touch your skin to do it, to get past your shield. It’s going to feel weird, but it won’t hurt.” Jack waggled his fingers expectantly.

Should Fourteen trust this man? He appeared friendly and helpful, but Fourteen had been betrayed by friendly types before. He could always kill him if he tried something. Jack had at least six inches on him and was built like a tank, but if he was making skin contact, Fourteen would likely be inside any shield the man could put up against him, so he felt confident of his odds. At least one of the ten different ways Fourteen could think of to kill this guardian would do the job.

Fourteen cocked his head, examining Jack, and added three more to the list.

Finally, he stripped a glove off and offered his nondominant hand to Jack. He could do a lot with either hand, but it paid to be cautious.

Jack took it in his and closed his eyes. “Huh. You got a lot going on up there, don’t you?”

“Is commentary necessary for this task?”

“No, but it passes the time.” Several heartbeats passed, and Jack said “Adelle’s coming down, don’t freak out.”

A moment later, a familiar blonde woman landed lightly on the floor in a crouch roughly an arm’s length to his left. Fourteen silently approved of her black-on-black ensemble—it would suit her well for the evening’s operation. When she stood, she moved with the agility of a warrior.

Fourteen met her eyes and nodded curtly.

She gave him the ghost of a smile. “Good to see you again, too. I’m glad you two are managing to play nicely.”

“You wouldn’t believe what he’s got going on inside. Fascinating!” Jack’s eyes were closed, but he looked like he was watching the best movie of his life.

“Stop sightseeing and finish up. The sooner we get them out of here, the sooner we can get to Marshall.”

The seemingly ever-present smile on Jack’s face faded and Fourteen finally caught a glimpse of the warrior inside. An annoyingly cheerful attitude wasn’t the only thing the man had going for him, and it was a relief to see.

Jack’s voice wasn’t cold, but it had lost the childlike wonder it had contained moments ago when he said, “No need to nag, I’m nearly done.”

Done? As far as Fourteen could tell, Jack had done nothing, everything still hurt the same as before, and any healing he’d undergone in the last few minutes was due entirely to Fourteen’s own enhancements.

Then the world seemed to tilt twenty degrees, and Fourteen felt a buildup of pressure in his head. It was like his brain was expanding, but his skull had chosen to remain the same size.

Jack had lied. It fucking hurt. Somehow Fourteen wasn’t surprised.

It was okay though. It wouldn’t be difficult to show his dissatisfaction through violence once he was done with whatever the hell Jack had just done to Fourteen.

Before the pain grew to intolerable levels, he felt something in his head pop, and a cooling sensation flowed through his body, easing pain as it went.

“Okay, done.” Jack opened his eyes, let go of Fourteen’s hand, and stepped back with an expectant look on his face. “Better, yes?”

Fourteen’s eyelid twitched in irritation. He performed a quick self-diagnostic and was surprised to discover that it showed all of his injuries to be healed. Even a stint in Storage couldn’t have fixed him as quickly. Jack may have lied about the pain, but his results were undeniable

Fourteen decided to cancel the violence.

…For now.

“Better. Yes.” Fourteen agreed finally and then frowned. His surroundings appeared different than they had before Jack had healed him. Everything seemed sharper and more vibrant. The walls of his prison pulsed with a subtle light they hadn’t had earlier. He blinked rapidly, but the effect continued.

“I, uh, also tinkered with your sight while I was in there. I thought it would be a good idea if you could see magic—just for a little while!” The big man said hastily. “Probably. Anyway, you’ll need every advantage you can get this evening.”

Fourteen felt dizzy as his eyes tried to make sense of the kaleidoscope of colors emanating from Jack’s body. He didn’t like surprises, nor did he feel confident that seeing magic qualified as an advantage—it was far more likely to distract him than help. “My eyes worked fine the way they were,” he growled. “If you have any more upgrades, you can keep them to yourself.”

“You’re going to need them to get out of here, so stop giving me death glares. Let me do my job, okay?”

“Upgrades? Jack,..” Adelle said, warning flashing in her eyes. She had an orangeness about her that quivered and leapt as she spoke.

“Seriously, Adelle, we have some leeway. I slowed time down in here, didn’t you notice?”