He stood, and turned to go clean up the makeup and other bottles. The first aid stuff and the packaging needed discarding, this time. It was much as he had before, though each time they found themselves in this situation, things were a little more involved, with more steps and things being done.

She raised one foot, and she touched the toe of her shoe to his hip. She pushed it to the side and back, turning him so his rear end was against the table with the things on it, and he faced her, her toes still touching the side of his pelvis.

For all that he pretended to know things about marketing and connections, for his maturity and his way of doing things as he assisted her, he was very much a young guy. His like for her was as clear as day.

She dropped her foot to the ground, studying him.

This was weird. He was weird.

So was she.

She studied him until his fondness for her was less… outstanding. When her eyes went up to his face, she saw a smile. He was amused.

Impudent.

She’d been distracted. She had things to do.

Armored and administered to by her squire, she left the hotel room, with him a step behind. The assistance her assistant provided her was abnormal, perhaps, but… she felt more human than she had in a long, long time.

She had hands again—they just weren’t her own.

☽

She rubbed her fingertips up and down the skirt portion of her dress, testing the sensations.

The hands weren’t new, but there were still times they didn’t feel like hers. Especially when her appointments with Riley concluded.

Hands removed, cleaned, tested, tweaked, and given back. It never felt exactly the same as it had beforehand, and with the way her appointments were scheduled, they ran together, one after another, leaving her annoyed with one adjustment as the next set of people started on the next.

She sat and waited for the men and women in lab coats, with their Wardens ID badges around their necks, and she tried to discern just what it was that made her hands not feel quite right.

Here and there, people walked by. The area was large, and the testing equipment sat without much room to navigate between one piece and the next.

It was Jessica who approached her first, rather than any of the parahuman sciences people.

“They want to do something different today,” Jessica said. “Digging into one of the weird edge cases.”

“Should I worry?”

“The other way around, maybe,” Jessica said. “I told them they should be more concerned, and that we shouldn’t surprise you. I’m here to break the news and ask permission.”

“Okay.”

“Edict. Do you harbor any strong feelings?”

“Some feelings, but not strong ones. Nothing that should matter.”

“Are you sure?”