Without speaking, she made a small circular motion with her fingers.

He dissipated the smoke, clearing most of the room.

She made the gesture again.

He made all of the smoke fade. Lookout stirred, raising her head from the pillow. There were damp spots on it, visible for a fleeting second before she flipped it over.

The voices, a veritable crowd, were audible now.

“My team.”

Tattletale nodded.

Lookout stood, and her first step was unsteady, like a leg had gone asleep, or she was that out of sorts.

Tattletale let her pass through the door, then gave Brian a look.

He followed Tattletale into the hallway, then into the main room, with the area sequestered for the workshop. Breakthrough had gathered in the no-man’s land where nobody had been treading earlier.

There were others. A boy with a needle on his back. One of the Damsels of Distress, with blade-fingers. Vista, all grown up. Most of the strangers were at the far end of the room, opposite Brian and Tattletale. Imp and the Heartbroken were opposite Breakthrough.

“How are you?” Victoria asked.

“Not great,” Lookout said. “Is it time? You’re doing the plan?”

“We are. Final attack, final play. There’s no time for much else.”

“What do you need? I can get my costume, if you want me to go—”

“No, Lookout,” Victoria said.

“Even to somewhere not dangerous? Like the shard world?”

“No need for the costume. Not here, either.”

“Haha, what?” Lookout asked. She looked around, then even looked back at Brian, as if seeking an anchor with him, a half smile on her face.

“We talked to Dragon. She’s taking your tech. She can operate it reasonably well.”

“My tech? But—” Lookout looked around again. Again, that fleeting manic edge touched her expression. “Part of the deal was that you wouldn’t leave me behind or leave me out.”

“A bigger part of the deal was that I would protect Breakthrough. I made promises.”

Lookout clenched her hands. “That’s not fair. That’s not right. No.”

“Yes,” Sveta said.

“But… you’re abandoning me too? You’re… that’s it? I’m out? I’m alone?”

“No,” Victoria said. “This is the opposite of abandoning you. We’re doing everything, absolutely everything we can to fight for a future where each and every one of us can be together. That means keeping you alive and well. You can’t join in here without ending up in a dark place. You’re too tired, the stakes are too high.”

“You’ll die. You’ll break your promise even if you don’t want to, like Swansong did.”

“Trust us. Trust us and we’ll do our all to survive and see you on the other side.”

The fists clenched, shaking. Brian felt his heartbeat pick up.

The clenching relaxed. His heart rate increased further. Calm was more dangerous.

Lookout turned, heading back to the hallway, back toward the back room.