It would cross his mind that Riley Grace Davis was similar to himself, as Riley Grace Davis uttered the words, “I kind of don’t mind being on my own.”

Minutes prior to that, he would overhear some of the conversation between Lady Photon of the flock and Riley Grace Davis.

Much of it would matter, including mention of the flock being disturbed, talk of dubiousness, and Cryptid’s thoughts about Riley Grace Davis’s ability to fare on the battlefield, if they had to change strategies.

Ten minutes before that conversation opened, as Cryptid entered the battlefield, a bird landed close to the cover he chose, while he sent signals to his giants. It would catch his eye.

In the lobby of the headquarters, before Dinah Alcott’s use of her power made deciphering the following events difficult, before the heroes started strategizing about this battle, he would watch Dragon offer a helping hand to a heroine he had bumped into. It would cross his mind that if circumstances were different, he would be attracted to someone like the heroine, followed by the thought that he could think that way because his—or Lab Rat’s—sister was as different from the heroine as was possible, while still being a girl.

He would wonder momentarily at his place in the world, then dismiss the thought, pushing it away by filling his head with resentment.

These events would precipitate a thought, minutes after the conversation with Riley Grace Davis. Cryptid would remember his bird forms, chosen with a bird aesthetic because they each had a form of disconnection, akin to a bird leaving the world behind by taking flight. These forms involved detaching mind from body, or vulnerable parts of the mind from other parts of the mind.

He would think he was not a part of society, he offered no helping hands and he needed none.

What if, then, the world went mad under the Simurgh’s rule? He could remain perpetually in a bird form, disconnected from the madness. The world would continue on indefinitely. He was fine being alone.

It did not matter that she couldn’t see the remainder of that meeting in the lobby of the headquarters. Were she to fly closer and gather information by emitting her signal, she might be able to piece together the events, but it did not matter. She was entirely assured of Cryptid, Chris Elman’s trajectory. There was no reality she could interpret where the result wasn’t entirely to her favor.

Her wings unfurled, stretching out to their full length. Dust and snow that had accumulated around her flew out at full force, helped by a wave of telekinesis. Two damaged buildings fell from the shock of the sudden movement. A cracked section of street groaned as it resettled.