That left the battle plan. In twisting ideas around in my head, trying to think of how we might help Goddess in a way that Byron might approve of, or deal with a prison with a massive red button, where our enemy could run roughshod and we couldn’t…

It was all backward.

All backward.

The most un-superhero hatchback found its parking space at the desolate parking garage. Natalie’s bug was already parked in a spot. It was startling, on a level, to recognize how small that car was, that Natalie had to be the person driving it, and the rest of the team had fit in it.

The answer, of course, was that two of our members were in jail. A third was in Goddess’s company, no doubt enjoying how very simple and clear life was.

We were seven, eight if we included our tertiary member Natalie. Three were gone. That left three for the car, Byron and myself.

Capricorn and I got out of the car. The others were waiting. Natalie was fidgeting, her eyes wide.

Was it a good thing or a bad thing that they hadn’t been able to keep her in the dark?

“Swansong and Precipice are sitting out. No holograms for right now. They’re more focused on immediate happenings in the prison,” Sveta said.

“Sounds good,” I said.

“Can I see the tech?” Lookout asked.

“Sure. As soon as we unload it. Can you give us a hand, Nat?” Capricorn asked, popping the trunk open.

I saw Natalie studying us, wary like she thought I’d suddenly grab her or something. I saw Sveta studying Capricorn in particular, suspicious. Still, Natalie helped, and we slid the box out of the back of the car and down to the floor of the parking garage. Sveta snatched up a few things on the ground that we might have tripped on.

The lights of the garage were only half-illuminated, and the half that were illuminated were dim, the glows orange and diffuse. There weren’t many cars, and the cars looked like they had been there for a while, with rust and dust creeping over their exteriors. For a couple, it looked like people might have been living in them.

“So cool,” Lookout said. “It’s not every day that I get to look at a tinker’s stuff.”

“There’s a time limit,” I said. “If we move, we need to move tonight.”

“I remember you guys talking about not wanting to overwork K—Lookout,” Natalie said.

Still wary, even as she protested.

“I’m conserving my energy for the times and nights when it really matters and my talents are needed,” Lookout said, kneeling beside the now-open box. “And everything’s intact!”

“I smashed one box,” I said. “They unpacked and activated one. This was one of two others.”