“Maybe,” Tristan said. “Maybe. We assess the situation, we maybe even spread disinformation, and then we have discussions, involving other cape teams, maybe. If it seems doable, we hit them. We have a lot going for us if we want to blitz the enemy or ruin a plan in progress. When it’s time to make our play, we can do big, we can hit hard, and we can move fast. If it doesn’t seem doable, we sell the info to another cape team.”

“I like that you’re thinking about the money,” I said. “How do you sustain things if you’re going ahead and handling the mission on your own?”

“I’m thinking we don’t,” Tristan said. “I’m not wanting to set up a headquarters, we wouldn’t necessarily have employees or staff, we can figure something out for costume.”

“It’s a long, hard road to gather that kind of intel and then act on it at just the right time. It’s a test of patience,” I said. “That patience gets tested further when your pockets are empty.”

“I hear you,” Tristan said. “It helps some that we have a lot of people here who are subsidized or not entirely out on their own. Kenzie gets money from her parents, Chris has his meals and shelter through the institution.

“I think we have an advantage there,” Sveta said, quiet. “Because the thing that defines us, and I don’t think it defined the Irregulars like this, and it didn’t define the Wards, like Weld described them… we all need to be out there. We need this. That makes us stick it out.”

There were nods around the group. Even Chris. The heads that weren’t nodding were smiling, like Ashley’s, or looking very serious in a way that made me sure they were in agreement, like Rain was.

I allowed myself to nod as well.

“Okay,” I said. “I might be able to make some recommendations about funding, so you won’t be too starved. If you think you can gather intel that others might be interested in, I can talk to other teams on your behalf, or I can point you in the right direction if you want to handle that yourselves. You’d tell them you have the capacity to get intel. You may or may not want first dibs on these villains, but whatever happens, if they’ll pay a token amount, you’ll give up the info. It serves a double purpose if you set it up as a dead man’s switch. Worst comes to worst, the authorities get an email letting them know what you were up to and who you were up against.”

“They’d pay for that, you think?” Rain asked. “Even if it’s us saying we’re taking first dibs, but we’ll give the info anyway?”