“Not too many details,” I jumped in, wincing at the offhand mention of the trap. “We don’t know who’s listening in.”

“Sorry. But I put up projections of police officers and vans and some heroes.”

“What I’m hearing in this is that you’ve taken the time to capture and keep images of police officers, vans, and some heroes,” Chris said.

He was in on the call too, apparently. I hadn’t known before he spoke up.

“I didn’t keep anyone’s faces or anything, and I changed up the hero costumes,” she defended herself. “I even asked most of them if I could take their picture.”

“Says the girl who could probably make a camera that steals literal souls if she tried. Totally innocent thing to ask, and they have no idea at all.”

“Could not. Souls are for God to handle, numbnuts.”

“Be nice, both of you,” I said. “Tell your story, Looksee.”

Capricorn was jogging along, with Vista at his side. He produced orange sparks, and she distorted the space around them. He shook his head, and the sparks winked out.

It was really, really weird to look at the pair and realize they were about the same age. I’d heard about Vista from Gallant before I ever even met her, and I’d tried my best to take her as a fellow hero first and a kid second, at his suggestion. But she was seventeen, now. Crazy.

“I finished picking out the code and put up my projections just before they came around the corner. They rolled up and stopped because they had a bunch of guns pointed at them. I called the guy Victoria mentioned—”

“Gilpatrick,” I said.

“Yes! I feel bad for forgetting his name. He’s nice. I really like him.”

“You like everyone,” Chris said.

“He’s likable,” I said. “One of my favorite people.”

I heard an audible increase in excitement when Looksee responded, simply from the fact I’d validated her impression. “I see why. They sent a van super quick and took all the people into custody. Fallen, hanging back in the town.”

“They would have been the ones keeping an eye on things,” Sveta said.

“Reinforcements,” Looksee said. “They had guns. The assholes.”

It was Chris who answered that. “We know about the guns. The Fallen and Hollow Point guys have been shooting them all over the place. Victoria got shot.”

“What!?”

“I’m fine. Already patched up,” I said, as I thought, I might need physiotherapy, and there’s a sensation in the center of this mess that makes it feel like the bullet is still in there, but I won’t die.

“I got shot too,” Chris said. “Not that anyone cares.”

“When?” Sveta asked.

“I was Dark Introspection. It didn’t do much of anything, but I still got shot.”