“Yeah, but it’ll heal, or you can comb your hair to cover it up,” Natalie said. “I’m guessing. Before I met you guys, the only times I had to get the first aid kit out was to tweeze out broken glass from my foot. I don’t really know about recovery times or what something like that looks like a year from now.”

I sighed.

I heard creaks on the stairs behind me, and I twisted around to look at the closed door to the upper level.

Using my forcefield, I opened the door a crack—it opened so the flat of the door blocked my view, but I could see through the gap between door and frame.

The team. Rain came up the stairs, costume on, mask pulled off. Sveta and Tristan behind him.

“Hi!” Kenzie greeted them. She was in the process of milking the stem of the sphincter thing, which was as narrow as a finger. Fluid oozed at the aperture.

“What the hell is that?” Tristan asked.

“Screen,” Kenzie said, hooking fingers inside the thing, and prying it open. The ooze at the aperture stretched to a thin flim, which flickered and then consolidated into a clear image. “See?”

“Oh, I see,” Tristan said. “Is this a new direction you’re going?”

“No, gosh, I wish I had the free time to dabble in organic cameras and screen technology, but I really don’t.”

“Thank God,” Tristan said, clapping gauntlets together in a praying gesture, raising his face to the ceiling.

“Sorry to make a commotion as we come in,” Rain said. “Can I share your workshop? I don’t need much space.”

“I don’t mind commotion, it’s not so lonely,” Kenzie said, spinning around in her chair to face us, wiping at her hand with a tissue. “Just so long as it’s not constant distractions like you asking me questions, I’m rushing to get stuff done. As for sharing, I only have the workshop for… six more minutes though.”

“I requested a fifteen minute block of time, and I have the next timeslot,” Rain said. “You can stay and keep doing what you’re doing, and I’ll just take up… half of one of these long tables.”

“Oh! Crap, okay!” Kenzie said, turning around, hitting buttons and turning off machines.

“Wait, why are you—”

“Because I was shutting down, and rushing production, and getting ready to pack up,” she said. “But if I can keep going, I don’t want to stop it now,” she said.

“Jesus in Hell, that flaming monitor thing is hot,” Rain observed.