“It’s really cool, if you haven’t seen. It’s like if they froze lightning and then set it on fire.”

“I got a close-up taste of it,” I said, raising my hand, where I’d pulled my glove on over bandages, the bandages peeking out the end, and tapped the bandage. “And you guys should keep your distance until it burns out, to be safe.”

“We will.”

I headed in Byron’s direction. He was still held up with police, but they didn’t seem as bothered. He indicated me, and I gave them a wave and thumbs-up.

The Major Malfunctions broke away from the paramedics, hurrying to my side. I paused, letting them catch up, while keeping an eye on Byron to make sure he was alright.

“Are you going after the pharmacist?” Withdrawal asked.

“Not sure yet. We’re rendezvousing with the rest of the team. Once we know what we’re doing, we’ll be in touch with everyone. You guys should rest, resupply, if you feel like you’re done, that’s perfectly okay. If not, let us know that you’re game, and we’ll let you know as soon as we know more.”

“I’m out of accelerant,” Withdrawal said. “And my exoskeleton took a beating.”

“It should be go-goo or speedslime or something,” Finale murmured. “And if you’re going to call it that, your suit should be a go-suit.”

I had the impression this was a discussion they’d had before.

“You guys are battered, burned, and bruised. You did more than your fair share—you did great. I totally did not mean to get you involved in something that intense. If you want to sit out, I will absolutely not think less of you for it.”

“I was gonna say,” Withdrawal said. “Accelerant is gone, Finale is spent, and Caryatid got burned—”

“It’s not a big deal,” Caryatid said. “Antares got burned too.”

“—and,” Withdrawal pressed on, voice muffled by mask, insistent as he fought against getting sidetracked, “I think I speak for everyone when I say we found out the pharmacist was up to something, we started this, and it would be satisfying to be involved when it wraps up. I want to get her.”

“Yes,” Caryatid said.

I looked at Finale.

“I want what they want,” she mumbled, evading eye contact.

“Sit back, recover, reload your slime, heal. We will be in touch,” I said. “We have to step carefully when it involves the prison. They’re wary of us, and they won’t believe us if we try convincing them that their staff member is a problem.”

“Alright,” Withdrawal said, his head turning, attention between Finale and me. I saw him take a deep breath, halfway through which he seemed to notice something about the frame he was wearing, his hand going to one shoulder to touch the metal there. It stayed there as he exhaled. “We’ll hang back for now. Thanks.”