Euro knelt down near Brianna. "How is your wing?"

"I'll be fine. I've felt much worse pain."

Euro sighed deeply. "So young too. I'm afraid that it will be a constant companion on the path you've chosen." He looked around at their teammates scattered around the campsite. "That we've all chosen."

Brianna smiled up at him. "Well, we seem to have better companions than pain, for the time being at least."

"Yes, you're right. I have a feeling, though, that one of us is feeling lonelier than usual. If you'll excuse me." Euro walked over to where Drake stood off by himself. "You shouldn't be standing, if your leg is hurt."

Drake didn't turn back, he still faced upward and away from the camp. "I've had plenty of time to sit. Besides, it isn't that bad. I could heal my leg while hopping on it, if I wanted to. We have something in common, Euro. We both used to be competitive athletes, at least I was until I entered college. I quit though, because I knew that my abilities would be too obvious. Well, there was a game where I broke my leg. Three fractures below the knee. I was walking the next day."

"No one suspected?"

"What would they think? Metas weren't too well known back then, they just thought that the reports of my injury had been exaggerated. But I knew I could never be that careless again."

"Why do you tell me this?"

"So you know I'll be OK. And you can tell the others. I'm not brooding. I'm not obsessing. I'm here to do a job. I don't have Drax to help me with it, but I have my old abilities back. When it's time for action, I'll be ready. But we're resting right now and right now I want to look at the stars."

"They're different here. I recognize none of the constellations."

"Nope, we're too far from home for that. Too...alone."

"Your dragon may be gone for now, Drake. But you don't need to be alone."

Drake turned around, a familiar crooked smile on his face. "You're right. It's too damn quiet without Drax jabbering in my head. Besides, I think I know someone else who can use a pep talk. Thanks."

"No problem, my friend."

Drake walked over to another figure, standing even more by himself than Drake had been. "Hey, Epstein. What's shakin'?" Drake's flippant introduction was met with silence by Epicenter. "Fine, fine. Bad choice of words. Look, nobody's mad at you."

"I could have killed the entire team shortly after the start of my first mission. Not much of a first impression, huh?"

"Don't sweat it. Look, you didn't get it quite right, but so what? you were pushing yourself to the limit in a high stress situation. We all saw it, we understand. We're going to move on. We're going to get this mission done. We just need you to do the same."

"Thank you. I'll do my best."

"You don't need to convince me, I saw you trying. And hey, if it makes you feel any better, I like you a lot better than the other guy I know with earth control powers."

"Really?"

"Oh, hell yeah. Let me tell you about a guy named Jonas Cascade..."