“Actually, yeah,” Valkyrie said, “I think it’s very weird, to be honest. You’re doing things with her and she’s me, essentially, so even though we’ve broken up, you’re still getting to do stuff with … OK, listen, it’s just unsettling.”

“Amazingly, this isn’t all about you,” said Fletcher.

“Oh, really?” Valkyrie said, not bothering to hide her scepticism.

Stephanie tried a closed-mouth roar as they passed right beside her, but they didn’t even glance down.

She felt Darquesse tighten the choke and she tried to squirm backwards and Darquesse shifted her weight forward and Stephanie caught her in a beautifully-timed scissor sweep, flipping Darquesse on to her back with Stephanie on top. She scrambled to get up, dropping hammerfists on to Darquesse’s nose when she tried to hold on to her. Stephanie fell sideways and Darquesse turned over, and they got to their feet.

“Hi,” she heard Valkyrie say from the Accelerator Room, “have you seen Stephanie?”

“I did indeed,” the Engineer responded. “She was here two minutes and forty-nine seconds ago.”

Stephanie called out. It came out as a gurgle from her broken mouth.

Darquesse grinned.

Stephanie rushed forward, her hands sliding over her own head, those elbows smashing whatever was in front of her.

“Typical,” Valkyrie said as they walked out into the corridor. “You know, she does this just to show me that she’s her own person.”

“Don’t be mean about Steph,” Fletcher said. They stood there, looking at each other. “I like her and she likes me. You remember what that was like, don’t you? Back when I was irresistible to you?”

Valkyrie laughed. “You were never irresistible.”

Stephanie hooked her left hand round the back of Darquesse’s neck, started driving more elbows into her face, desperate to get the space she needed to just lunge out of the sphere’s bubble.

“Of course I was,” Fletcher said, grinning. “You were totally into me. Before the vampire came along, of course. You and your bad boy phase.”

“It didn’t last long.”

Fletcher shrugged. “Didn’t have to.”

Darquesse flipped her over her hip and Stephanie slammed to the ground. Darquesse twisted the arm she still held and even through her broken jaw Stephanie screamed as her bone snapped.

“I really never meant to hurt you,” Valkyrie said. “You were my first real boyfriend. I didn’t know what the hell I was doing.”

“You think I did? You were my first girlfriend.”

Valkyrie frowned. “I thought you said I was your fourth.”

Fletcher laughed. “Yeah … may have exaggerated about that part.”

Valkyrie’s eyes widened. “Oh my God.”

He laughed again. “Yeah,” he said, and went quiet for a moment.

Darquesse let go of her arm and Stephanie turned over, tears in her eyes, started dragging herself towards the edge of the bubble.

She didn’t look back, but she felt Darquesse standing there, watching her as she neared the edge.