Chu’s recreated eyes glared at her. “You know how to find the answer to that question. I gave you a simple task. I watched your act of compassion when the boy lost control again—and Atticus, I assure you, it was an act. She knows she can’t harm you, even though you don’t know what you’re doing or how to ignite the power within you. But if she struck, my guess is that you would win—albeit with some serious collateral damage to my facilities. That’s why I put you in the underground tunnel connecting Chu Industries to the Winking Yard at Bale’s Square.”

“But we’re here now, Reginald,” Jane said, as though speaking to a child. “I think I know what’s beyond these doors. Aren’t you afraid of what the boy and I can do now?”

Tick didn’t like how things were going. Not at all. Was it true what Chu had said about Jane? And how could they sit there and talk about him like he was just a tool, an object, a dangerous weapon?

“I’m not afraid at all, Jane,” Chu said. “There is zero risk of Chi’karda levels spiking from you or the boy. Go ahead and try.”

Jane’s face whitened, the smirk vanishing from her face. Tick had no idea what she was doing, but a vein at her temple bulged and her fists tightened. “What did you do?” she asked, her voice tight.

Chu almost smiled, but it was more of a grimace. “Your mutated powers gained in the Thirteenth will never—and I mean never—come close to matching what I can do with technology. I’ve conquered the science of Chi’karda. You’ve merely captured a fleeting anomaly that will squeak its way out in the natural order of things. You should’ve done what I asked, Jane. You should have done what I asked. It’s too late for you now.”

Tick couldn’t take it anymore, as scared and nervous as he was. “Would you two just shut up!” he yelled. “I’m a couple weeks short of fourteen—but I feel like I’m the only one around here who doesn’t act like a snot-nosed brat trying to pick a fight.”

Jane stared, unable to hide the shock at his outburst; Chu’s face remained stoic. Tick felt like his mind had split in two—one side telling him to zip it, the other reminding him that Master George and the Realitants were relying on him to find and destroy Dark Infinity. And there was only one way to do it.

“I’ll do it,” Tick continued. “I want to be your apprentice, so tell me what to do.”