“I can’t believe they’re on The Collective now, and I fricking hope there’s going to be some ground rules in place about him not being allowed to go invisible around us,” Terri ranted as she, Ferris and Ariadna walked to the jet hangar.

“Nauyerdunt?” Ariadna clarified.

“Right, he can’t just be lurking around all creepy and invisible,” Terri continued.

“Next time I er… see him, I’ll have a polite word,” Ferris assured.

“I wouldn’t even make it a polite one,” she mumbled. “To think I was just giving him the benefit of the doubt to Brad before.”

“It’s fine. I’ll make it clear.” He leaned in and gave her a kiss but they parted when they sensed Ariadna staring intently at them.

“Ahem… right. Well you two better go,” Terri said. “The sooner you go, the sooner you can come back.”

“Are you going to be ok?” he asked his wife.

“Yeah!” she said rather surprised. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

Ferris looked at Ariadna awkwardly, but she didn’t take the hint. “Ariadna, why don’t you go and make sure we have what we need in the jet?”

“Ok,” she answered, turning to leave.

When Ferris knew she was out of earshot, he turned to his wife. “It’s just that I’ve been… worried about you the last couple of months. I know a lot has been going on since the attack and we’ve all been worried about Amber taking over, but you’ve been acting a little differently. I’m not going to make you tell me what it is, but I’m just conscious of leaving you and just not being there for you if you need.”

Terri blushed and chuckled. “That’s very sweet, Ferris. But everything’s ok. I’m alright, and I’m really sorry I’ve made you worry.”

“Don’t be sorry. As long as you are ok, then I’m ok.” He smiled in a goofy way, making her laugh.

“Well thanks. Look, go on your training exercise and I’ll see you when you get back. I’ve got a few things in Chicago that I need to do, so I’ll be busy,” she said warmly.

“Please, just don’t buy another houseplant, ok?” he teased.

***

Terri stood naked in front of her full length bedroom mirror, her hands on her belly. Her and Ferris had never really spoken about children before. It wasn’t long ago that they had got married but with her injury and her recovery, the attack on The Facility and then Ferris joining The Enhanced Beings Collective and being teamed with Ariadna… they had never spoken about their life and future as a married couple. They were just doing it.

When Fo’Vylrian, who has since been codenamed ‘Outbreak’ by the Government, told Terri she had life within her, she’d taken a pregnancy test to confirm. And another. And another. Just to be sure. She put in her dates into an app and at the time of the attack on The Facility, she was only four days gone.

Outbreak was sure a bad guy, but boy, was he good at being able to pick that up in Terri.

She gently caressed her tummy a little longer until her cell rang. “Hello… Sure, I haven’t forgotten. I’ll see you later… Thanks, bye.”

***

Terri loved Chicago. The noise, the crowds, the smells, even the wind. Chicago in the summer and the winter with the extremes in weather didn’t bother Terri. It was home and she was glad Ferris was moving to make it his home with her too.

She had some time to kill before her appointment and so she headed to the bakery near to the clinic that did the best pastries and cakes. After their honeymoon in Paris, she was hooked on them.

She turned onto East Madison Street and walked up, crossing at South State Street. From behind her, multiple sirens sounded as they approached and passed her up the street.

The Mayor’s motorcade comprising of three dark trucks tore past, and Terri watched as it went up the street away from her.

On her side of the street, her favourite book shop caught her eye, drawing her in with the display in the window. There was a delicate and vintage first edition of Aldous Huxley’s ‘Brave New World’ in there that she had her eye on for a while. Ferris said no to more houseplants, but maybe I’ll get this instead, she thought.

The sound of screeching tyres and gunshots popping off turned her attention away from the vintage books on display.

Without thinking, she ran towards it, against the tide of fleeing locals and tourists. A man fell and hit the ground hard in front of her, curling up into a ball to protect himself. Terri ran over to help him.

“Here, get up!” she shouted, pulling him to his feet. “What’s happening?”

“It’s the Mayor’s convoy. It’s been ambushed!” he said before running away.

Terri dropped her fresh pastries and ran quicker towards the scene. I was looking forward to eating them, she said to herself.

As she ran, she activated her suit, ensuring that by the time she was on the scene, she was ready for the chaos.

There were security detail officers on the floor and others were shooting with-

“The Mambas?!” Terri shouted out when she saw the instantly recognisable figures. Her stomach churned, knowing that they were immune to her ground attacks due to their seismic sensing.

“Just get to the Mayor!” shouted one of the officers seeing Terri arrive. She approached the back of the middle car, where three Mambas were trying to get in.

To the Mamba nearest her, she slammed her fist into its face, sending them flying. She vaulted over the car onto the passenger’s side where she whacked one Mamba into the front windshield pillar and the other she kicked with a high leg, knocking them both out and giving her a moment to check in with the Mayor, Cortisha Clark.

She tapped on the window and the Mayor unlocked the door.

“Mayor, how are you doing?” Terri asked her, getting in and closing the door behind her. Cortisha locked it again.

“Terri, thank God,” she winced.

“Are you hurt? Let me look.”

“I’ve been shot. Ricochet or something,” the Mayor said, pulling the cardigan from off her right shoulder. A thud at the window made Terri jump. A couple of Mambas were trying again to get in. “My God, what do they want?” Cortisha cried. “They won’t stop trying to get in!”

“Crap,” Terri muttered, conscious of the armed security detail still outside, but she had to save the Mayor. With a flick of the hand, a wave of earth came up from the driver’s side, over the car and planting back down on the passenger’s side, engulfing the car.

With another movement, the ground beneath the car opened and allowed it, with them inside, to fall into it.

Terri deactivated her suit once the car was safely covered and got her phone out.

“Give me a moment. I need to call help,” she said. “…Ferris! Ferris! I need help. The Mambas have ambushed the Mayor’s convoy and I’m now underground with her!... Right well, I need someone here while I treat her bullet wound…. Look, I gotta go.” Terri ended the call and turned her attention back to the Mayor.

“Let me see that again,” she said, inspecting it. “I think it went straight through your front and out of your shoulder. There’s quite a lot of blood loss.”

“Don’t let me die. Not here,” Cortisha pleaded.

“Hey ma’am, I won’t let that happen, ok?” Terri assured as she started to tear the fabric of her blouse away from her skin.

Cortisha looked desperately at her, gripping Terri’s forearm. “I’m pregnant, Terri. I really can’t die here.”

Terri’s chest tightened at hearing this news.

She pushed it aside and quickly focused back on the Mayor. “Firstly, congratulations. And secondly, I told you, you won’t die.”

Terri applied pressure to the wound and looked up above her, imagining what could be happening above ground. Hoping help was on its way.

“It hurts bad,” Cortisha groaned under the pressure being applied to her shoulder.

“Don’t think about it. Tell me… tell me about your new baby.”

“Well, ok… Um, I’m like, fifteen weeks.”

“Damn, and you’re not even showing,” Terri remarked impressed.

It made Cortisha laugh a little bit. “Oh I feel like I am. But I still haven’t told anyone at work yet.”

“Well I won’t say anything, you have my word.”

“Thanks. I’m going to resign from office though, when I do announce it.”

“You are? Why? Can’t your deputy just cover you whilst you go on maternity? You’ve still got time on your term, right?”

“Ugh… ow…! Yeah, but I worry for the child growing up in this world Terri. It’s scary. I mean… look at me now. I want to be there for my child and have her out of harm’s way. And not be in harm’s way myself. I want to go home to him or her at the end of the day. I don’t want to be scared, you know?”

Terri did know. “Well, I agree with you on how scary the world is, and I respect you for the decision you’re making. Whatever you decide is the right decision.”

“It’s a no brainer, right? You just do anything for your children. And you and Ferris could be learning that for yourselves soon, maybe?”

That chest tightening came back. “Ah, well… You never know eh?” Terri said awkwardly, desperately wanting to change the topic.

Luckily, Terri’s cell rang. It was the Chief of Chicago Police.

“Hello,” she said answering it. “Ok… that’s great. If officers stand clear, I’ll push the car back up. The Mayor is going to need EMS for a gunshot wound… Thanks.”

Terri looked at the Mayor and smiled in reassurance. “Going up, ok?”

The car shifted and moved up through its burrow. Once it came to a rest on the surface, Terri kicked a passenger door clear off its hinges so that emergency personnel could scoop the Mayor out.

Terri followed out after, taking in the scene around her. Dozens of bodies lay on the floor with sheets over them. Some of the Mayor’s protection detail sat on the sidewalk kerb looking worse for wear.

The two cars that sandwiched the Mayor’s in the convoy were beat up with windows out and dents in the body work.

“Where’s Two Tone?” Terri asked a police officer.

“Two Tone? He’s not here,” he answered as he continued walking past.

She looked around earnestly, wondering why he wasn’t there when she asked for help.

Suddenly, Jamison Joyner blinked into sight in front of her. “Surprise!” he said enthusiastically.

Terri couldn’t help but show her disappointment, dropping her shoulders. “Oh. It’s you. What are you doing here? How did you get here so fast? I thought Ferris was going to be here.”

“Woah, that was a lot of questions. Nah, your husband was tied up in Nevada. We were closer, so The Secretary sent us.”

“Us?” Terri asked, deep down already knowing the answer that was about to come.

“Yeah, Budge came as well,” he said pointing over Terri’s shoulder. She turned and sure enough there was Budge, leant on a wall, chomping through the pastries that Terri had dropped earlier.

Shit. “Oh. Right. Well… thanks for your help.”

“No problems,” he said cheerfully. “Maybe next time you won’t be so dismissive of us,” he said in a more serious, lower tone before blinking out of sight.

“Asshole,” Terri muttered, walking off down the street.

***

“No worries, thanks for getting someone to help at least. The Mayor’s going to be ok, thankfully,” Terri said to Ferris on the phone. “…Well they got the job done, I suppose… Ok, no problems. See you in a few days. Love you.” She hung up the call.

She lay back on the doctor’s bed and adjusted her top. After a few moments, the doctor came back into the room.

“Sorry about that Terri. I’m all yours now,” she smiled pleasantly. “Now, it’s not too late to get someone to be here with you for this.”

“No, it’s fine, thank you. The less people that know about this, the better.”

“Well, firstly Terri, you have nothing to be ashamed of. Lot’s of women make this decision every day. It’s not an easy one but it’s your body and you have to do what’s right for you. And secondly, you of course have nothing to worry about here about people knowing. Confidentiality is incredibly important to us.”

“Thank you, I appreciate that.”

“No problems. We’re also here beyond this moment with excellent counselling services. Terminating a pregnancy, whilst it might be the right choice for us, it can still have an impact. So I do implore you to reach out to us, if you’re not going to have anyone else to talk to.”

“Ok, thank you. I’ll pick up some pamphlets on the way out.”

“Good, I’m glad to hear. In that case, shall we start?”