“I’m done my obligations for the day,” Kenzie said. “Found the kidnapped kid, told the authorities, gave them all the info, camera feeds showing where the crooks were, and where the kid was. They let us in on the raid. Aiden didn’t get to do much, and Darlene just hung back, but Candy messed one guy up so bad. I don’t think the cops minded.”

“Concerning,” Byron said.

“It’s fine.”

“No other obligations,” I told Miss Militia. I shifted my feet again. I saw her nod to herself.

“Have you all had your shots?” she asked.

“Shots?” Tristan asked.

“For going between worlds,” I said. “I got some while with the Patrol.”

“I got them when out with Weld, for all it mattered. I rarely got sick, before.”

“If you don’t have them, we have a single shot we can give you that will boost your immune system for a while,” Miss Militia said. “The doctors debate its effectiveness but it can’t hurt.”

“Can’t hurt,” Tristan said, chuckling a bit. “But that’s good to know. I can deal with one needle.”

I wondered if I should let him entertain his delusion. Instead, I decided to give him advance warning, just so he wouldn’t be upset or bothered. I told him, “The kids in the Patrol block would get told to get their shots, get their shots, you’re going to be expected to go to populated worlds with their own diseases. Gotta do it if you want to do this seriously. Then some wouldn’t, thinking getting one needle once in a while was better than getting ten over the course of a couple of months.”

“Isn’t it?” Tristan asked.

“It’s a huge needle, and it feels like getting kicked by a horse after.”

He chuckled. “Great. That’s hilarious. Poor kids. Poor us, not knowing we should prep for this kind of thing.”

I’d figure something out for Tristan. But that would happen at the portal.

We stepped outside, and Miss Militia locked up the store while Vista did her thing, lowering the roof of a derelict building toward the ground. I could hear the groan and pop of the construction material, and saw Kenzie and Natalie both looking anxious.

“I should fix my coat so my power doesn’t run into itself,” Vista said. “Sorry to disturb the illusion.”

Her jacket went from being thin and compact to expanding out, heavy and thick, covering just a bit more of her upper body, as a full-fledged coat. While small it would have the same effective insulating properties, I was pretty sure.

We stepped up onto the roof.

“What do we need to know about Shin?” I asked. “Ettiquette, rules, standards?”