“Dragon’s saying she has tinkertech in the folds of her wings!” I called out. My voice felt so cold and empty.

Legend looked at me, then tapped one of his ears.

Earpiece? He knew?

I nodded.

More notifications came up. Some straight, diagonal lines that pointed down to the crowd, each with a sharp bend and horizontal bit at the upper end, with labels above them. Names of my teammates. Other people I knew.

Dragon’s use of the eye tech felt much more forceful than Lookout’s. The transmissions were ‘pay attention to this’, ‘you’ll want to know this’. Lookout had been a softer touch, rooted more in knowing us, communication, a back and forth.

Another notification, forceful. I was reminded of certain websites and app mascots, popping up and offering me assistance. Except… all of this was stuff I wanted to know. I had to fight past my kneejerk reaction of dismissing, moving on. Dragon told me that the call with Riley was imminent. A matter of minutes.

I flew down closer to my team. Chris was at the edges, in a bulldog of a form that I only recognized as him because of the wreath of cloth he wore around his waist, and the ringed collar of syringes. He was last to arrive, two of his giants emerging from the portal on hands and knees.

He took cover as soon as he was able. A crow was perched there, and for whatever reason, it didn’t take off when Chris collapsed to a sitting position four feet from it. He glanced at it, then shooed it away.

“Those things are terrifying,” Rain called out.

“You need terrifying sometimes,” Chris spoke, his voice deep and the ‘T’ sounds especially hard.

“Be terrifying, first and foremost,” Damsel said from the next group over. “Then recruit it.”

“I am wearing a form that could literally eat your face. One bite,” Chris told her, before opening a fanged maw.

“You could try. On a separate note, try harder.”

Chris looked as at ease as I’d seen him since his return from Shin, having the back and forth. Damsel… I had to wonder if she’d have joined, if we’d managed to figure Chris out and keep him on board. Would he have offered what she needed to see?

He was a monster, I would never ever forget his role in the prison fiasco. But I had the feeling he understood monsters, to use the phrasing he liked so much.

The Simurgh moved her wings, wing-tips drawing together in a point above her head, one knee raised.

She swept her wings to one side, as someone fired a big gun, and it was probably Chevalier. She flew to the side, and the shot struck the ground. Dodging the incoming cannon shot.

I could see the red outlines for the tinkertech. Pulled behind her back as part of the maneuver, so nobody in that crowd could see it.