Vy still had trouble believing it. “Mongolia?”

“He’s in these hills.” Ariock began to hike, laden with camping gear. “Garrett said he moves around a lot, and he’s impossible to pinpoint. But we’ll find him. Or he’ll find us.”

Vy hurried to catch up. Like Ariock, she wore hiking attire, although she carried a lot less on her back and shoulders. Her bionic leg helped to propel her over gravelly scree and uneven grass.

Slow-moving puffy clouds dotted the sky. There were so many individual clouds, they could be mistaken for a herd crossing the crystal blue expanse of sky.

And the hills! Vy gazed at ibexes grazing on a distant slope.

Locusts whined in the grass. Butterflies alighted on wildflowers. A cold breeze swept down from the distant snow-capped peaks.

They hiked along a ridge, occasionally dipping into valleys. Vy wasn’t too worried about being seen. Even if some nomadic tribesmen happened to spot Ariock from a distance, there were no yurts or vehicles, no trees or bushes. His size would not be apparent. Vy was so bundled up in warm clothes, she might be mistaken for a midget next to him, perhaps.

Even if a witness did spread rumors about a Goliath roaming these steppes, Ariock would be gone by the time more people rode out to investigate.

And there was no one.

Vy saw gazelles. As they hiked, an eagle soared past, close enough for its streamlined beak and eyes to be visible.

She wasn’t particularly worried about Torth, either. Ariock had a habit of flickering to Earth. He did it unpredictably, and always for a few seconds—just long enough to teleport NAI-13 or other unique items back home to Freedomland. Such flickers must alarm the Torth who prowled Earth, but this time would not seem any different.

The Torth had no idea that Ariock had fully teleported to Mongolia and slapped a temporary inhibitor patch onto his neck.

They would not guess that he was powerless and vulnerable, trudging out in the open. As far as the Torth Empire knew? Ariock was enjoying a day of rest and relaxation in Freedomland. If they happened to scan this area, Ariock would register the same as any large animal, like a moose.

Also, Garrett scanned the Megacosm on a regular basis. He would surely use the supercom to alert Ariock if an emergency occurred.

They explored more hills. More valleys. At one point, a fox trotted boldly across their path.

Ariock’s boots left Bigfoot-like impressions, flattening grass and earth. He was laden like a pack animal. They could have wasted a lot of time hunting for brackish ponds or rare creeks, but instead, six gallons of water were buckled against Ariock’s chest and back. He carried bedrolls and more.

He never paused for a rest break.

Vy’s authentic leg ached from walking all morning and past noon. She wasn’t sure if she could match Ariock’s endurance forever.

She pondered the mystery of Thomas. Why had he run away?

It seemed uncharacteristic. Thomas held onto his principles even when he suffered abuse. He had obeyed Garrett without complaint. He’d saved the Alashani even after they’d kept him in a dungeon pit.

Had something major shifted in his heart?

Guided by his interior moral code, Thomas saved people and entire civilizations. If Thomas had discarded his guiding principles….

That was too terrifying to imagine.

Their shadows grew long.

“What if he went somewhere else?” Vy wondered, struggling to catch up with Ariock. “Maybe he got tired of the scenery.”

Ariock gazed at the panorama. He seemed to admire all that he saw. “I think he’s here.”

It did look like a place Thomas would like, Vy inwardly admitted.

And Ariock, too. He seemed refreshed. Perhaps he identified with Thomas’s urge to escape the grind of battles and war councils. Anyone who went solo in this area must be trying to get away from people.

Vy adjusted the bandana holding back her braids. “If he’s here, maybe he’s hiding from us.”

“Maybe,” Ariock admitted. “But I’m not ready to give up.”

Vy accepted that. “Good,” she said.

Shallow runnels divided the land. She scanned the shadowy areas, wondering if Thomas was watching them.

In a gully that led to more hills, Vy cupped her hands and yelled. “Thomas?”

Ariock’s voice was louder, stronger, deeper. “THOMAS?” he boomed across the valley.

A couple of rabbits jumped away.

By mutual unspoken agreement, they shouted into a gully every so often. The only way they’d find Thomas was by chance. Maybe, if they were lucky, he’d set up hidden sensor equipment behind rocks or under grass?

What would Kessa say about this trek? Kessa dreamed of visiting paradise and meeting more humans. If she was here? “Earth seems very empty.” Kessa would probably make a polite observation along those lines, hiding her disillusionment.

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Yet parts of Earth were overpopulated. There were major cities. Thomas could have traveled to a pristine reject planet, if all he’d wanted was a scenic getaway.

Why choose Earth?

He must have a reason. A human reason, because what else did this planet have to offer?

Was he visiting someone in particular? Did he even know anyone in northern Asia?

Or was he striving to understand human nature?

If he wanted to understand humans, then he had not given up on himself. Although he had learned that neither of his parents were human, he might still yearn to participate in a culture that valued emotions and creativity and freedom.

If so, then Vy felt hope. He had not run away forever.

The first stars were visible when Ariock eased off his pack. “I guess we’ll make camp and search again tomorrow.”

Vy didn’t argue. She plopped onto a bundle of blankets and rested.

In addition to all the water and bedrolls, Ariock had brought gear which humankind had not yet invented. Bug attractors would allow them to sleep comfortably out in the open. Auto-recharging devices leeched energy from the planet’s magnetosphere. Even so, it looked like a lot of work, to erect a perimeter with sensors and auto-netting.

“Want help?” Vy asked, although the idea of standing and moving again made her want to groan with pain.

“No, you rest.” Ariock stretched, then pressed a hand against his lower back. “Ow. So this is what a muscle ache feels like?”

Vy laughed. Ariock had suffused his body with Yeresunsa power all his life, not even realizing it. He had that much excess power. No wonder it didn’t occur to him to take rest breaks.

“Honestly,” Ariock said, grinning, “I’m glad for a whole day without responsibilities. It’s like I’m just…” He searched for the right word, and laughed at the irony. “Normal.”

A second later, predictably, he looked ashamed.

Vy spoke before he could apologize. “It’s good to be normal.” She admired his strong silhouette as he set up a fire pit. “Although I don’t think that describes you.”

Ariock smiled as he gathered dry clumps of grass for fuel.

“You’re good at this,” Vy observed. “It’s like you’ve gone camping without powers before.”

“I have,” Ariock said, to her surprise. “My dad used to take me on wilderness trips.” He used a lighter to get a small fire going. “We camped in North Dakota once, which is kind of like this area.”

“Oh.” Vy rested her head in one hand.

She guessed Ariock missed his parents as much as she missed her mother. Inside the ten-foot-tall galactic conqueror, there was a normal boy.

“We don’t get a choice for dinner.” Ariock unwrapped sausages, a meal they both liked, from a sustained frozen packet. He began roasting them on a rotisserie fork.

Night was beginning to engulf the land. Just one familiar old moon.

A freezing wind ruffled Vy’s bandana and made her nose run. As the temperature dropped, she huddled deep inside blankets. “Mmm,” she said, commenting on the smell.

“If we don’t find Thomas by the end of tomorrow,” Ariock said, “then I guess we’ll have to go back. I can’t take off too many days in a row.”

Because cities would burn. Millions of people could die while Ariock was absent.

He sounded neutral, but Vy could tell that he was managing guilt and disappointment. Ariock never took failure well.

“Well, I’m glad we got some time off,” Vy said. “And I’m glad to be here with you.”

They ate warm, delicious food. Ariock served her, so she didn’t need to unwind herself from the thermal gear.

Afterwards, they chatted. They fantasized about decorating their own yurt. That morphed into idealistic lonely retreats. Would Ariock build a Fortress of Solitude? Only if it was a springtime version, with Vy’s choice of flowers.

“How about a jungle pond?” Vy said in a teasing tone. “I could bathe there.”

Ariock blushed. They both remembered a time when he had glimpsed her breasts, right after their escape from the city of slaves. He had stared as if enchanted.

A lonely howl resounded across the land.

Another distant wolf joined the call, and more. Vy could not judge how far away the animals were. Their wails were eerie. She snuggled close to Ariock, appreciating his mass. He shielded her from the wind.

“They won’t bother us.” Ariock scooped up the remains of their meal, and locked the scraps inside a sealed container. “If they do, I’ll have to rip off my inhibitor patch.”

“Or?” Vy patted her prosthetic. “I could shoot them and protect you.”

Ariock laughed in appreciation.

The nocturnal howling ended after a while. Vy and Ariock both agreed that they needed sleep. They settled on their bedrolls, bundled up.

It was so cold.

“Is this supposed to be summer?” Vy murmured. She kept track of the Earth calendar, but maybe she had miscalculated.

Ariock moved. He pulled his bedroll next to hers, and lay on his side, shielding her from the wind. He pulled her into his arms.

Vy scrunched closer.

Enfolded in his embrace, she felt warm and safe. She was in a foreign land. It was strange to have no busy agenda, no immediate duties weighing on her mind. There were so many stars above…

It was nice to be taken care of.

Vy smiled. She usually draped her arm across Ariock’s massive chest, not the other way around. She was always ready to wake him up if things started to float. There was always some wariness in the back of her mind, whenever she was this close with him.

But not right now.

“I keep trying to connect to the air, to make the wind die down,” Ariock confessed. “It’s weird that I can’t.”

“Mmm. You’re warm.” Vy snuggled against his stomach. She liked the pullover he wore, so much softer than armor. “I can sleep like this. Are you comfy?”

He stirred. “I’m afraid I’ll accidentally hurt you with my arm spikes.”

Vy gave him a playful kick. “You’ve never worried about that before,” she pointed out.

The iron spikes embedded in each of Ariock’s forearms were blunted. Really, they were only dangerous when used with violent strength. His tailor modified his custom-sized shirts in order to accommodate the disfigurement which the Torth Empire had left him with.

“I should file them down,” he said.

“No.” Vy touched one of the spikes on its blunt edge. “You won these.”

The Torth had embedded iron loops into Ariock’s radius and ulna bones so they could chain him up. Ariock had since sculpted and refashioned the crude iron into something subtle that helped him kill Torth.

“They’re like a collar scar,” Vy went on. “I don’t want you to hide any part of yourself.”

Ariock gazed at Vy with tenderness. “You’re beautiful.”

Vy laughed, aware that her braids were coming apart and she hadn’t showered. Poor Ariock just didn’t know that other women existed. Women who wore makeup, and who tightened their butts by wearing high heels.

She hoped he never caught on.

“You’re pretty cute, yourself,” she teased. It was true. Ariock looked super comfortable, his face illuminated by starlight.

She wasn’t sure which one of them began to remove the layers of blankets and clothing between them. Vy probably started it. But Ariock joined in.

They became like one body under the stars.

Nothing floated. No lightning webbed the sky, and there were no earthquakes. The wind continued to blow. All it brought was the scent of wildflowers.

Ariock had superhuman size, but so what? The differential between them was no greater than that of some ordinary couples on Earth.

They were two humans. Mere mortals.

The Twins had unknowingly—or perhaps knowingly?—invented a miracle for Vy and Ariock.

It hardly mattered that the benefit was temporary. It was even better that way. Vy would never want Ariock robbed of his powers, which suited him so well. Majestic strength was part of who he was, as surely as she had a bionic leg.

She was closer to him than she’d ever been, under the stars. She felt his love for her. It did not need to be spoken. It was obvious and unquestionable.

Afterwards, she slept in his embrace.