“Would you rather be shot by them?” Goddess asked, ignoring Kenzie.

“We have to live with the consequences after,” I said. “We can do this in a good way.”

“One moment,” she said. She paused.

I clenched my teeth, lips pressed together behind my mask.

Four hundred feet away, at one corner of a building, brick and glass shattered, a window and balcony coming to pieces. From what I could see of the follow-up, a series of blasts and destruction within the room she had targeted, she was removing the floor from the room.

“That—” I started.

“A moment,” she interrupted, firmer. Her focus was wholly on that spot. There was a pause. “One fucking moment.”

I remained silent, letting her do what she needed to do. She turned her head slowly, looking around.

“There was a sniper. There’s one more on the other side of the complex. They’re not taking a shot. They’re too far.”

With a finger, she indicated a building.

“Girls’ side,” Kenzie said.

“The men and women have fled. Retreating to a fortified position.”

“I could spot them on my phone,” Lookout offered, helpfully.

“No,” Goddess said. “It’s not a question. I’m saying it because I know it.”

“Oh, cool,” Lookout said.

Goddess indicated the nearest building on the boy’s side. “You’ll escort me. Teacher’s pawns are close, and they were picked to stop me.”

“Is that the plan?” I asked. “Visiting each building in turn? Rounding up the capes, dispatch the guards and anyone Teacher set up?”

“Why does it sound like you’re questioning me?”

I hesitated.

I am Antares. I am a scholar of powers, I was born to capes and raised to be a cape. I—

I reached, grasping for the strength to push through my doubts. Me with my mom and dad. A weird scene, because I had been young, and I’d had a debate with my parents while we’d been out in costume, and I’d been thrown off balance.

I didn’t have time to replay the whole memory in my head.

“Yes,” I said. The fuller answer found me as I grasped the rest of the memory. The debate with my parents had thrown me off because they’d talked to me like equals, had considered my opinion valid, conceded points, or defended them. “You wanted people close to you who weren’t just yes men. It’s why you had—you had Amy, who you weren’t…”

I trailed off. Bringing up Amy had slowed my momentum. Trying to find a word to encapsulate this killed it.

“Aligning?” Lookout offered. “Inviting to the coolest cool kids club? Except we’re not all kids, um—”

“Aligning,” I said. “Thank you for the word, Lookout.”

“Anytime.”