Four met Three’s eyes, as Three looked over. Three was thinking the same thing. Dreams were vivid, and there was enough empty space between the falsely created memories for things to be filled in and elaborated on. The death of their old boss was one such thing.

Care would need to be taken.

“We need to know who’s willing to work with us.”

“Will you be participating?” another cape asked. One from the Shepherds.

“I will. My husband will. Frankly, Dragon went in ready to fight Saint and we haven’t heard from her. Knowing what we now know about her, and knowing past history, that’s a catastrophe unto itself.”

“Breakthrough is in,” Antares said. “Most of us. And Shin is too. They offered a bit of help.”

She held up vials of her own.

“I was wondering if that was an option,” Jeanne said.

“What are they?” one of the remaining members of Advance Guard asked.

“Drugs have weird effects on powers. They studied that. They think they have something that dampens powers, they have something that changes variables, and they have something that augments powers for a while, though there’s a withdrawal period after and it needs to be given to a non-tinker who has very good control over their power, which frankly rules out most of my team.”

“I didn’t think we were on such good terms with Shin,” Jeanne said.

“The Coalition and Founders are acting pretty happy that the messy stuff has been handled and the blame is being pointed in the appropriate directions.”

“Meaning anywhere but at them,” Slician said, from one of the front rows.

Sveta’s expression changed again. Brow, lines of the face, and mouth could be measured to work out a specific emotion. Annoyance?

“Everything helps,” Jeanne said. “Every set of hands helps. If I could have people stand or raise their hands?”

One by one, people and groups obliged.

“We’d be leaving territories and neighborhoods unprotected or undermanned,” a girl in Advance Guard said.

“This is more important,” Jeanne told her. “If we can’t salvage this, we lose. No question.”

With some reluctance, more hands went up.

Four again looked to Sveta Karelia.

One member of his set had been changing his mind, thinking back on past events with guilt and remorse. A break in the programming, a disruption in the pattern. Whichever one of them it was, they had been able to perform in the field without issues, but it was getting worse, if dreams were to be believed.

It threatened things.