“When I talk about what happened in the second fight against Paris, I’m not making excuses,” Tristan said. “I’m saying we do awful things if we lose focus at the wrong times. I want that focus, moving forward. I want a game plan, I want teamwork, and if we’re going to make necessary self-sacrifices to step onto this battlefield, then let’s make sure there’s a point to it.”

I could hear the conviction in his tone, and I could see the concern on Sveta’s face at that conviction.

But Sveta nodded. “Agreed.”

“Best if we can do it without the sacrifice,” Natalie said.

“One of the old Patrol leaders once accused me of being too close to the world of capes,” I told her. “I worry you’re not close enough to see that might not be an option.”

“Maybe,” she said. “But as someone who’s been watching this group from afar for a while, I’m worried that some members of your group would sacrifice themselves even when it wasn’t necessary.”

“I don’t know if you’re talking about me,” Rain said. “But I have an excuse. I was raised by a really stupid doomsday cult.”

He held a fixed up mechanical arm, and that arm held up a dusty cross that had a stick figure with boobs carved into it.

“Wow,” Tristan said, leaning back in his seat, looking at the thing. He reached back for it, and Rain moved the arm to place the cross in Tristan’s hand. Tristan turned it around, revealing a snake made of dicks carved along the longer arm of the cross.

“I was talking to some of the Wardens,” Sveta said, taking advantage of the lull in the conversation. “They’re handling some of the bigger plans. Teacher is one resource. He’s captive, and he’s telling us stuff they didn’t know.”

“Got that!” Kenzie called out. “I’ll print it out downstairs.”

So she was listening. More back to normal, now?

“Armstrong asked me to join a discussion about Case Fifty-Threes, do some tests, get scanned, have some thinkers look at us,” Sveta said. “Kenzie got some scans of things, others have their own data. We’re thinking maybe the Case Fifty-Threes are closer to what Titans are than humans. Maybe there are insights there. It’s a bit of a reach, in my opinion.”

“When do you go?” I asked.

“Soon. After this conversation. They don’t think it’ll take long, and we wanted to avoid having me and some of the other Case Fifty-Threes in one place. Some are pretty hostile, still, and they’re stressed out.”

Shit. It sucked it was the case but I was glad my friend was going to be around tonight. “Makes sense.”