She pulled away once I’d applied some.

“Antares made me leave Imp behind,” Roman said. “There was still a chance.”

Grue looked stricken.

“Go get her? Please?” Roman asked.

“No,” I said. I’d felt the cold.

“Fuck you!” Roman burst out. Again, he used his power. Again, I pushed back. Some of my teammates pushed back.

“Listen!” I raised my voice.

“Victoria,” Sveta said.

“Listen!” I told her, with just as much fierceness. “We need to refocus. We need to keep to the mission. Deal with achievable objectives. Getting too emotional doesn’t help any crisis!”

“What do you want to do?” Grue asked. “And is Imp in that direction?”

“I need…” I said, pulling my hand away. It was slick with goop and blood, and I had no idea of where to wipe it. “The giant. I can’t get in there. Chris thinks we can reset her. If I can see her, smell her, touch her, she’ll do more than make me feel like I’m melting alive from a glimpse of her. My collarbone—I think she’s making me feel like it’s broken.”

“That looks like it’s actually broken,” Sveta said. “And actually burned or something.”

“Can you help?” I asked Grue and Tattletale, ignoring her. “Imp was—is there.”

“I can get you in there,” Grue said.

I straightened.

“Victoria,” Sveta said, her voice hard. “We’re friends. I’ve backed you up a lot. Can I get thirty seconds of your time?”

I turned to her.

“I don’t want to keep silent when I should speak up. Not again.”

“I’m listening.”

“First off, you’re bleeding again,” Sveta said.

I slapped the coagulant mud onto my own wound. The burning had receded. “Better?”

“No, Victoria. You’re too on edge. Where are you?”

“I’m hurting. I’m spooked. I want to handle this. We’ve got the slimmest of shots and…”

I looked at the door, and I saw that kids were peering through. Lookout, Candy, Darlene, and Chicken Little. Candy was lowest to the ground, and had to be lying on her stomach.

“…it’s slipping through our fingers,” I said.

“The Irregulars said something like that. That they only had a bit of time to get the answers they needed.”

“I’m not an Irregular.”

“I know. But you’re not yourself either.”

“Can I cheat?” Lookout asked. “I can help.”

“It’s better if you sit this one out entirely,” Grue said.

“It’ll take three seconds.”

“Three?”

She disappeared, somehow taking that as permission.

She reappeared in four seconds. She reached through the door, holding something out.

The flash gun.

“Turn the setting down all the way. Flash Rain. It’ll override the visual centers.”

“How long?”

“Five minutes.”

“Everything might be over in five minutes,” Tattletale said.

“Oh.”

I took the gun anyway. I grabbed Rain’s chin, and he thrashed.

I lifted his chin, aimed the gun, and twisted my head around, shielding my eyes as I fired into his face.

“Good luck, Rain.”