“Working with heroes. Accepting the big picture villains are a part of the picture we’re not going to be able to shake, and adapting to that. Trust me when I say I do not have any fond feelings for who I’m talking to. If you knew the name and did some digging into my background, you’d know that.”

He reached down to the table and fidgeted with a carving, the shape only partially blocked out. Wood shavings surrounded it.

He didn’t give a response, seemingly considering.

“Spright,” I said, dead serious.

“I don’t like the way you’re doing this,” he said.

“I like you, Spright. I liked our talk before everything went to shit, when we first met. But the feeling is mutual. I don’t like how you guys are doing this either.”

I watched as he nodded slowly.

“We were here first,” I said. “I’d really like to cooperate with you guys like we’re cooperating with other heroes. But either someone’s messing with us by giving you a false go-ahead, or you guys fucked up somewhere. Whichever it is, you can’t be here.”

“Or Foresight fucked up,” he said.

“Or that,” I said. I didn’t believe it. I repeated myself with more emphasis, “Whichever it is, you can’t be here. If you were supposed to be here, it wouldn’t be a surprise to us.”

He flicked the wooden figurine across the table. “Damn it.”

“Go talk to your people, convince them to quit this,” I said.

“I will,” he said. “Can I use your powers?”

“You don’t want to use mine,” Sveta said. “If you even can.”

“You sure?” he asked. “I get an intuitive sense of movement-related powers. Yours seems okay. Coded weird, but I can push past that.”

“Mine’s dangerous,” she said.

“Yeah,” I said. “Be careful.”

“I’m terrible at careful,” he said. He turned to me. “Flight. And… shadows of feet and fingers groping for handholds? I don’t think that one would move me very far. Only by inches.”

It was the most direct reference to the Wretch I’d heard someone make. I wanted to reply, to look normal, and I couldn’t.

My heart pounded more with the one question and two follow-up sentences than it had with all of my irritation and anger at Advance Guard.

“Can you use only the flight?” I managed.

“Yes. Absolutely,” he said. His feet left the ground. “Cover me? We’ll take the direct route.”

I followed, meeting Sveta before we reached the window. As Spright passed through the open window, I saw the look my friend gave me. I saw it again as I passed through the window, turned around, and put my arm around her waist as she made it through the window in a more than slightly awkward way, prosthetic body not cooperating fully.