“So… how are we doing this?” Gwendolyn asked, glancing around at the rest of us. “I don’t see how we’re going to trick both the Raiders and the Aero Army into giving up?”

“You’ve got a point,” Jess nodded. “I suppose handing you over would work…”

“But-!”

“Okay, nobody’s handing anyone else to anyone!” Adrian snapped, looking about as exasperated as I’ve ever seen him.

“Felix can take me instead?”

Everyone — and I mean everyone, Adrian included, and he’s had the most experience with my schemes — turned to give me strange looks at that.

“Hey, uh, Kit, you really don’t look that much like Gwendolyn,” Ramona said slowly. “And surely everyone would know that you’re not one of the Raiders?”

“Ah, I don’t look like Gwendolyn now… but I can if you want me to?”

Without actually waiting for any response (whether it be positive, negative, or a ‘what the fuck do you mean?’), I concentrated as best I could with the loud shouts from upstairs.

Short red hair became long and dark brown and wild, hazel eyes became blue, and while I’ve never been brilliant at girls… well, it’s convincing enough.

Gwendolyn’s face dropped as she looked at me. As if she was seeing someone else entirely.

“So?”

“Since when could you do that?”

I expected Adrian to ask that.

He’s known me since we were what, five, and funnily enough I’ve never told him that I’ve always been able to do this. To shapeshift… I mean, why would I tell him?

“Since, uh, forever?”

“You need to do the scar as well, you know,” Felix commented, sounding almost impressed. “Nobody would be convinced by that without it.”

“I… I don’t really do scars that well.”

Scars have this nasty habit of not going away properly. I’m not crazy enough to blind myself for a ruse like this.

“I can sort that out,” Jess announced, grabbing my wrist and whirling me round to face her. “We just need to do what isn’t hidden by that eyepatch of yours, Gwen, and then we’re good to go.”