“Thank you,” Kenzie replied, almost sing-song, already gathering her things.

Rain and Ashley were offline and gone. Byron was packing up. Sveta was with Victoria, and Chris—sometimes Natalie had to look twice to spot him. He was sitting in a different corner than his usual.

“Do you want a ride, Chris?” Natalie asked.

“No thanks, I live close.”

“Byron?”

“I’m close too, but thanks.”

“I live in the other direction,” Sveta said. “I’m going to hang with Victoria for a bit.”

“Okay,” Natalie said.

“Thank you for coming tonight,” Victoria told Natalie. She looked down, Natalie observed. Like it was a week after her cat had died, and she had just reached the point where she could hold it together.

Eight arms? Three heads?

She had questions and she couldn’t ask. Others had questions and they wouldn’t ask. It felt almost like a moment and it was gone by the time she’d recognized it.

“Take care, Nat,” Byron said, in passing. The air felt colder in his wake.

“You too,” she told him. She stepped out of the way so he could leave.

Kenzie hurried over to her, a bag in hand. “Laptop and cords.”

“Got it,” Natalie said, taking the bag.

Then Kenzie was gone, back to her desk, sorting through lenses and components. Some of Rain’s things, maybe? Natalie tried to keep track of them so she could be a better guardian, but she wasn’t sure if she could really demand that of herself. There were tables and corners of tables where it looked like a television, radio, and a few flashlights had been dismantled and broken down into their constituent elements. Kenzie’s work areas were sorted by color, with a collection of bits of glass, bulbs, and lenses.

Rain’s work areas that hadn’t been cleaned up were in piles, crowded in by the wolf trap, chains, and knives Rain had brought in. There might have been an emphasis on the sharp-edged, ragged breaks where plastic or metal had snapped off.

“Victoria,” Natalie said, pulling her eyes away from those ragged edges. “How are things?”

“Do you mean overall or with me, specifically?” Victoria asked.

She’d meant Victoria, specifically. “Both, I guess.”

Victoria’s gaze was heavy, searching.

When Victoria did answer, she said, “Same answer for both. It’s going to sting at first. We anticipated that. But we’re already seeing the hero teams responding, and it’s the reception we wanted. It’s gratifying. My parent’s team, Mayday sounds like a yes. Shorewatch is a yes. Auzure is yes.”

“Some civilian responses too,” Sveta said. “People without powers, supporting our side.”

“I don’t really get it,” Natalie said. The show didn’t seem to go that well.