Lunai watched from the rafters as several ships were hovered into the main port of the satellite planet. Kelang stood at her side with a spring in his step. Entropi was going to be pissed. Luckily, Lunai had a foolproof plan to preserve the sanity of her crew.

  Nonstop training with Kelang until we approach Nula’s base of operations. Absolutely zero contact with Entropi.

  The bright little ship Lunai and her crew arrived in was taken away and replaced with a more battle-ready model. It had a sleek design with little color to be seen. Layers of steel folded into a pointed tip at the front. It was definitely the logical choice for a large-scale infiltration mission. That didn’t stop Entropi from standing in front of it with her arms crossed. One of the ship haulers stood next to her with his arms held up in surrender.

  Lunai walked downstairs to monitor their conversation. She wanted to make sure no one walked away injured or crying. Entropi wasn’t known for emotional restraint.

  “We’ve modified the ship to include your glovebox!” the agent yelled.

  “That’s nice. Still not my ship.”

  “Dr. Crux won’t authorize your normal ship for this mission. We all figured you’d be willing to make sacrifices for this mission given how important it is for Bliss.”

  That was a bold statement coming from a powerless agent. Entropi’s posture went rigid as soon as her ward’s name left his mouth. Her nails were digging into her jumpsuit’s loose sleeves.

  I haven’t known Entropi for very long, but that seemed like a very, very bad move. Entropi wouldn’t resort to violence towards her coworkers though, right?

  Lunai wasn’t going to test that hope. She approached Entropi from behind right as the woman’s shoulders tensed. Her wooden body became a physical barrier between the two agents, but nothing could stop the barrage of verbal abuse Entropi was surely preparing to fire.

  “Do you think-“

  “Entropi, I don’t think I’m comfortable using the other ship for this,” Lunai interrupted. “I need my full strength for the infiltration if Nula is there, and I can’t get sidetracked trying to remove space ice again. This ship will get us there in one piece, then I can have a proper rematch.”

  Entropi turned to face Lunai, her eyes hidden under the shaded glass of her helmet. She said nothing to the intern before addressing the agent again.

  “You’re lucky she’s a bleeding heart.”

  With that, Entropi walked onto the ship and let the other agents continue their work. The man she was talking to nodded to Lunai as he surveyed the rest of the ships being rolled out. Lunai waved to Kelang who remained in the rafters. He ran down to meet her and they both boarded their new and mission-approved vehicle.

  Pammy was already sitting at the controls when they went inside. She looked content to be at the wheel of a ship with more battle potential. There were several seats available up at the controls. Lunai and Kelang could now sit up front instead of feeling like children stuck in the back of a car.

  Pammy looked up from the control panel to find the two interns. “Oh. I guess the fish-boy got his fluids.”

  Kelang nodded happily. “Yep! I feel right as rain now. Ready to take on the world!”

  “How about you start by helping me out?” Lunai asked. “I still need that training you promised me.”

  “Oh right, of course!” Kelang scanned the cockpit. “So, do you wanna do it out here?”

  Pammy whipped around to face them again. “Absolutely not!”

  Lunai chuckled. “Why don’t we go into the holding cell? That should hold against any damage, right Pammy?”

  The pilot nodded in agreement. Lunai grabbed Kelang by the shoulders and gently led him away before he could start talking about something else. It was time for Lunai to see why he was chosen as a hero. She hoped Entropi was just trying to get him off the ship when she called him weak.

  The interns heard the metal door lock behind them as they entered the cell. Pammy’s voice came through the overheard speakers as soon as they were locked away.

  “Don’t worry, the door’s only locked for safety purposes. Just yell my name when you want out.”

  The speakers cut out and they were left with each other’s company. Kelang stood with a goofy smile on his face and his arms spread out.

  “Are you ready?” he asked.

  Lunai raised an eyebrow. “You just want me to start with my roots? It can be painful when they touch your nerves.”

  Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  “Yep, go crazy. I could use the endurance training.”

  Whatever Kelang had to offer was about to be put to the test. Lunai felt bad about how much she wanted to hold back. Entropi never even saw Kelang fight, and yet Lunai was giving her assessment of his skills credence. It was a blind reaction to the attending hero’s authority, and she knew that.

  She grabbed only the left wrist for the time being. “Alright, the roots are going in now.”

  His skin was as soft and squishy as Nula’s, offering no resistance as Lunai’s roots found his nerves. She noticed the man wince as they first made contact. She gave him a few seconds to adjust, and his right hand gave her a shaky thumbs up.

  “I won’t go any further than that. Just do the water thing Nula did.”

  “You got it!” he squeaked out.

  Lunai felt a rush of water hit her roots once again. The same rejuvenating feeling washed over the plant matter that usually made up her fingers. She tried to imagine them on a molecular level, visualizing every water molecule that diffused past her cell membranes.

  Your body needs to be a fortress, not a sponge. Block them out.

  That was easier said than done. She tried picturing little proteins building a brick wall at the cell membrane. As cute as the little builders were, she still felt the rush of water within. At least Kelang was moving slow enough to allow room for failure.

  What would the plant say to do?

  At that thought, she realized her leafy friend was back on Entropi’s original ship. While it would likely be safe in there, the ship they were currently on did not have any decorative plants of its own to offer her. She started moving her roots backwards, but the ship started moving before she could let anyone know.

  Kelang watched her through squinted eyes. “Is something wrong?”

  “Uh…it’s just my plant. The one that helps me heal.” She continued moving her roots out of his arm. “Can you also change how thick your blood is?”

  “Yeah, sure.” Lunai felt increased resistance as Kelang continued. “Shouldn’t we say something about your plant?”

  She sighed. “It’s fine. I shouldn’t be relying on it. I would take it if I was going alone, but I have backup for this.”

  The ship started accelerating. They must’ve been off the planet already. Lunai managed to drag her roots through the thickened blood and they snapped away from Kelang. She looked down at her fingers, feeling a strange twinge of pain from the one that was still missing.

  “That’s strange, that one should be-“

  Lunai fell to her knees. The dull ache in the empty space became a searing jolt of pain that traveled up her arm. She heard a ringing sound in her ears as Kelang knelt beside her.

  “Lunai? Lunai, talk to me!”

  Armageddon must have burned the roots. I expected him to do it eventually, but how did he find out about my fail-safe so soon?

  The pain faded away with the last bits of her absent finger. She had a full reserve of plant matter to replace it. A small loss, but not the best start to a huge infiltration mission. Kelang sighed as Lunai sat up and grew her finger back.

  “Sorry about that. I think my missing finger was just burned to a crisp.”

  Kelang gasped. “Armageddon?”

  She nodded as he helped her off the ground. Dr. Crux needed to be notified immediately. He’d have to find another backup plan for any potential breakouts. Lunai only hoped that Armageddon hadn’t already gotten out of the chamber.

  [Agent Hollybrook]: Dr. Crux, I have bad news. I felt my finger burning. Armageddon must have destroyed it.

  [Dr. Crux]: I am aware of the situation. Everything is under control in the holding cell. Thank you for reaching out. Please focus on the mission ahead.

  The response was quick and unsatisfying. Dr. Crux had his icon in the messaging app set to do-not-disturb, which was unusual for the man who had billions of proxy bodies working at once. Lunai would have to ask Bliss about it when she returned home. Hopefully he’d be in more of a talking mood.

  “We shouldn’t focus on Armageddon. Let’s just keep going.” She put her hands up. “Think you can handle both arms this time?”

  He laughed and tapped his nose. “Alright, I’ll let you keep quiet this time since we’re on a mission, but you’d better spill the details when the smoke’s settled.”

  The mention of smoke brought her thoughts back to Ashetana. She couldn’t wait to return to the woman’s ashy embrace. She’d bring Cromble into it too; Ashetana would learn just how powerful a cat’s cuddle was.

  “You’ll have to ask Dr. Crux for confidential access to that case. Something tells me he’s not going to give it to you.”

  “Oh, I think after this Dr. Crux will find that I am perfectly capable of keeping a secret.”

  Kelang held his arms out for Lunai. She went through both of them and returned to the image of her cells she formed within her mind. Manifesting builders using willpower wasn’t good enough. The designer plant helped her restore energy through circuits that followed the laws of physics. She’d have to think more realistically to have an impact on her cells.

  What do I have in there that won’t let water molecules through?

  Water was always going to pass through her cell wall, but the cell membrane had a lipid bilayer that made it a bit more difficult. Transport channels within the membrane were letting water in at a more rapid rate. She could try closing or moving them, but with millions of channels per cell, the concentration required to close all of them would rival that of Dr. Crux’s.

  The lipid bilayer was her best bet. While millions of lipids formed the barrier, it acted more like a band that Lunai could stretch than millions of separate entities like the channels.

  See if it works first. Just try a few cells.

  “Kelang, I’m going try something else for a second.” She removed most of her roots so only a small fingernail’s worth of plant matter was left inside. “Okay. Keep going.”

  Even the scrap of matter contained more than a few cells. Regardless, she could live with the loss of a fingernail without needing to use her reserves. She focused on some of the cells closest to the surface of Kelang’s skin.

  She didn’t have access to the designer plant’s energy, but she knew the steps of the circuit by heart. Everything flowing within her was redirected to support the expansion of the lipid bilayer. The lipids slipped right by the aquaporin channels and left them floating within the cell’s cytoplasm.

  If those don’t snap back into place when the membrane’s moved back, my cells are dead anyway.

  The rush of water started to feel more like a trickle in the selected cells. At least under the pressure of Kelang’s water manipulation, her modification was working. It was now time to test the aftermath. She removed the last of her roots from his arm and let her cell membranes slide back into place. Her hand felt a little numb where the modified cells were, but still functional.

  “I think that worked,” she said in amazement. “Now I just have to figure out how I’m gonna do it to millions of cells at once.”

  ? The Archmage is Baking Now! ?

  by R.C. Joshua