The atmosphere shifted first.
Not the noise.
The weight of the air itself.
It pressed inward, subtle and wrong, like a lung forgetting how to expand, The moment Felicity went limp in Victor's arms, something inside all of them shifted with her.
The edge dulled. The invisible reinforcement they had grown used to vanished like a floor pulled out from under their feet.
Tommy staggered first.
It wasn't dramatic. Just a half step misjudged. A knee that dipped too far.
"Why do I feel…" He sucked in a breath that didn't fill properly. "Heavy?"
Sarge flexed his hand. Lightning sparked weakly across his knuckles, flickered, then died with a faint hiss. "We're baseline."
Ivan's expression went flat. His shoulders rolled once as if testing his own musculature. "No."
A pause.
"We're lower."
Victor didn't respond.
