The flight that Defiant wanted to focus on was taking us through a portal between worlds. The reason for his needing to focus became apparent when I saw how narrow the aperture was. Most of the portals were centered around stations, or had been opened up to a particular size. This portal was open around a station, the facility set up to serve as a gate for vehicles to pass through, forming a loose triangle shape. Defiant piloted us toward the peak of the triangle high above the ground.

I could only eyeball it and remember the ship’s general shape, and I was pretty sure the sides would be scraping the portal’s edges and the belly would be scraping the uppermost part of the gate.

Beside me, Sveta touched Byron’s shoulder, gently shaking him awake. His eyes opened.

I could see his expression change as he took in his surroundings, then reality caught back up with him. From a faintly annoyed seventeen-year-old to a very confused teenager… the slight hint of pain or tension as he moved and felt injuries or soreness from overexertion.

Then a leap to an expression better suited to a world-weary twenty-seven-year-old than a teenager, trying to be stoic despite the accumulated anxieties, pain, and stresses of decades.

We passed through the portal, and the turbulence was violent. The ship shuddered, and something broke outside.

“Um,” Caryatid said.

I wondered if being on a moving vehicle made it hard for her breaker state invulnerability to count.

“That was inconsequential battle damage from fighting Titans,” Defiant announced for everyone present. “I chose the Uther because I’m most comfortable flying it, don’t worry.”

He was not very good at being reassuring.

Less reassuring was the sight of the old Cauldron facility. The exterior of it was illuminated, and it was a white tombstone the size of a mountain, with details that only stood out if I looked for them. Balconies, roads running from one balcony to the next. There were humps further down, encasing pumps, filters, disposal.

Sveta sighed. “Hate this place.”

“You’re about to hate it more,” Clockblocker said. He held onto one of the hanging loops of metal that served as handholds. “Simurgh’s in there?”

“She is,” Defiant answered.

“You good to fight?” Clockblocker asked Byron.

“Sure,” Byron said, a bit wary.

“Vista’s boyfriend,” Clockblocker said. He looked over at his teammate. “I feel like I should be stepping in or saying something, because I still imagine her as twelve.”

“A bit,” Christopher said.

“She’s said a lot about you two,” Byron said. “The city you were heroes in, ups and downs.”

“You should share them sometime,” Clockblocker said. “Winman and I, we’ve got gaps.”

“Sure,” Byron said.

“Please don’t use Winman,” I told Christopher.

Clockblocker just snorted. He turned his attention back to Byron. “You’ve gotta live for Vista, you know. You can’t go breaking her heart.”

“I know.”