Shade yelled, “Hold on!” which of course no one could hear as anything but a half-second buzz, threw herself at Dekka, hit her like a linebacker, and propelled Dekka and herself through the shattered glass door and over the balustrade.

Could Dekka survive a fourteen-story fall, even in morph?

Francis, Malik, and Armo snapped back into reality on the sidewalk below, and Shade saw that there was a real chance of Dekka crushing one or all of them.

But as she and Dekka fell, Francis looked up and spread her arms wide. Dekka landed on Francis and the two of them seemed to disappear into the concrete of the sidewalk.

Shade landed hard—she had a body built to absorb shock, but fourteen floors was no joke. She hit the ground, heard the sound of chitin snapping, like someone clipping a toenail, fell on her back, and began to de-morph even as Francis and Dekka reappeared.

Hero, Chapter 18