“So I heard. She said if they put her in a jail cell, she’d make bacteria that ate through whatever materials they made it out of, and disperse the bioweapons through the holes. It was stupid and shortsighted to send her to the Birdcage, but she forced their hands… and now she’s working with Goddess.”

Lips, a tongue, and a throat that didn’t feel quite like my own carried on with their explanations for our unofficial eighth member of Breakthrough.

⊙

Sveta’s first words on seeing me were, “You’re drenched!”

“Saw Natalie,” I said, stepping inside. Most of the team was assembled in the headquarters. No, it looked like it was everyone. Chris was just napping under a table, waking up as Byron kicked the table leg. “She seems alright, all things considered.”

“That’s so good to hear,” Sveta said. Without moving from the center of the room, she snatched up a towel from a table and thrust it into my chest. I grunted at the impact.

“I’m glad,” Ashley said. Her projection was beside Kenzie. It was static, like a power-saving mode, arms folded, legs crossed, rear end against the edge of the desk, but nothing below the neck moved. “We owe her one. Does she need books or something while she’s in the hospital?”

“She’d be out of the hospital before she could finish anything. Is there any news on our targets?”

I found myself looking to Tristan for the answer, but it was Byron sitting next to Rain in that corner, instead.

“No reports from the teams that are helping us out,” Rain said.

“Nothing on Goddess, she’s sleeping in,” Kenzie said. “But we did have some weirdness at the prison earlier. I wasn’t here, and I couldn’t do much on my phone, but it’s like I kicked a sad, pathetic hornet’s nest.”

“Hornet’s nest?” I asked.

“An enclave of really shitty tinkers,” Chris said.

“Probably Teacher,” Rain clarified. “But we were thinking it might be the Speedrunner cluster. The New Fallen.”

“Whoever it is, it’s fun! It’s like playing whack-a-mole, except they’re bad at dodging and the guts get everywhere when you land a good hit. Really satisfying.”

“But you don’t have the files you wanted,” Chris said.

“I’ll get them soon!”

“This is your specialty and they’re succeeding in stalling you.”

“I’ll get them soon, Chris!”

The flow was comforting, reassuring. Stuff to do, enemies to target. The banter, the easy companionship. More a team than friends, maybe, or that was the immediate vibe.

“I need to get this out of the way,” I cut in, abrupt. I was aware of the heads turning. That ease and comfort fled, replaced with scrutiny. Only Sveta looked concerned, not suspicious or surprised. “Therapist’s orders.”

“Is this—?” Sveta asked.

I nodded.