Gabe’s throat burned.

The seared flesh was rapidly knitting back together, but he could taste ash. He ran his tongue over his teeth, swallowing down the screaming instinct to cough.

His father taught him that. So Gabe was unsurprised that Keegan Masters was still aiding in the rescue effort, bright red splashes of blood splayed across his chest. Gabe gave him the once over when he approached, doing his best not to step on the tattered remnants of his slacks. Jean squeezed his shoulder before she left them to it. “Dad, have you been seen yet?”

His father hesitated, his big, bushy eyebrows furrowed. Gabe scowled.

“Mr. Masters, I think I may be able to help.”

August. He’d been so cool under the pressure that he’d faded into the mass of Nova Guardians on scene. Gabriel had almost completely forgotten he was there. 

Gabe gave him a once over for injury. August was almost entirely unruffled, save for a few smudges of black on his shirt and neck. Probably where he’d wiped away sweat. Gabe raised a questioning brow. “You can help?”

August blinked, darting another look around them. It was just the four of them, tucked away behind the two collapsed buildings, beside to the alleyway where the shadow figures had made their initial appearance. August had rolled up his sleeves, his hair pushed up and out of his eyes. “Yes. I ask that you not tell anyone about this.”

He bent to one knee, gesturing for Gabe’s father to lift his shirt. Gabriel moved to stand between the distant crowd and the two of them, blocking as many potential photographers as possible. 

His father’s torso had been pierced just below the ribcage. Blood still trickled from the wound, and the skin around it was red and raised. August paused. “Mr. Masters, do you have any attributes other than your exceptional strength?” August glanced up. “It will change the composition of your body, and may impact how and if I can heal you.”

Dad shook his head. “No. Dexter is the same. Gabe is the only one with more than one distinctive attribute.”

August bobbed his head. “Understood. This may feel unusual.”

Gabe and Dex watched in wonder as the flesh on their father’s torso began to flex and move. First the parts beneath the skin, then the top layer of cells. In under a minute the entire wound had sealed itself. His eyes bulged as his father’s shirt began to recolor the proper shade, the hole mending and the blood fading and blinking out of existence.

“Holy sh—” 

August pinned Gabe with a stern look. “I’ll only say this once, then we will never speak of this again. My transmutation extends to living cells. This is a fact not known outside of my family. Mr. Masters, my mother and father have expressed extraordinary faith in you. I know that our families were once close. I trust you understand that there’s a reason we’ve kept this quiet.”

Gabe and his brother shared a look, but their father held up a hand, silencing them both. “Understood, August. I will ensure that the boys stay quiet.”

August nodded, wiping the ash from his neck with a frown. He glanced behind himself. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to go check on my father and sister. Gabriel, we’ll connect later.”

Gabe gawped after him as he casually left the scene, pausing only briefly to give a short statement to the civilian corpsman assigned to monitor and report on Guardian activity. He glanced at his father, eyes wide and disbelieving. “Dad, is he…”

“Stronger than you?” Keegan asked, eyes thoughtful. His strong jaw was set. “He just might be.”