Confrontation Pt 6 (Patreon)

I had heard of Shadow Stalker before, of course. Who hadn't? She was the PRT's public-relations triumph for Brockton Bay; an edgy lone-wolf vigilante who chose to join the Wards rather than stay out in the cold. Able to turn to shadow, she reportedly carried crossbows that shot tranquilliser arrows. To a certain subset of the teen scene in the city, she was the coolest of the cool.

Never in my wildest dreams had I considered that I might be meeting her as a fellow cape, much less being part of a rescue party. But here she was, and here I was.

She had a lot of the lone-wolf mindset; I could tell that from her whole demeanour. She didn't like having to ask anyone for anything. But her left arm had been slashed by Stormtiger, as had her right calf muscle. She was kneeling up on the asphalt, with her right hand clamped around the leg wound; her left arm hung limply at her side.

"If you could help me stop the bleeding, I should be fine," she requested reluctantly. I couldn't see her expression behind the stern gaze of her full-face mask; she had to be in some pain, but none of it showed through in her voice. I kind of had to admire that, just a little. When Lung had taken me down, I hadn't been anywhere near as stoic.

"Sure, I can do that," I responded. The bugs in my storage compartment located what I needed and guided it to my waiting hands. First was a small bottle of medical disinfectant, which I squeezed on to a cotton ball. I used this to wipe away the blood from her arm wound; she hissed as the antiseptic stung the wound, but did not complain. Tossing the blood-soaked cotton ball to one side, I tore the cover from a sterile pad, covered the wound with it, then started to wind a bandage around it.

Shadow Stalker watched me as I worked; she didn't comment, which I appreciated. I had done the first aid course, but this was my first time dealing with a real wound, and I needed to concentrate.

Once I finished with the arm, I got another cotton ball and added disinfectant. The leg wound was going to be worse; blood was still oozing from between her fingers, even though she was applying pressure.

"Hey, Buzz, need a hand?" We both looked around at that; it was Clockblocker, coming over to see how we were doing, now that Stormtiger's time-frozen form was encased in containment foam.

"Nah, she's got it." Shadow Stalker's comment surprised me; it was utterly casual, as if I were doing her nails, as opposed to preparing to dress a potentially serious wound. It also heartened me; she considered me to be at least competent to do this.

"Actually, Clockblocker, something you can do for me," I requested. "That pad, could you open it up? Gonna need to slap it on as soon as I've finished cleaning the cut."

"Pad?" he asked. The pad in question danced in front of him, held up by two large moths. "Oh, that pad."

As he took it and started opening it, I nodded to Shadow Stalker; she pulled her hand from her leg, and fresh blood flowed. I swiped the cotton ball through, cleaning away enough blood that I could see the size of the wound, then reached up with my free hand. Clockblocker dropped the pad into it, and I slapped it on to the wound.

"Hold that for me?" I asked; Shadow Stalker complied immediately. The pad was already staining through with blood as I wrapped the bandage around; she moved her fingers out of the way as I completed bandaging the wound. I eyed it critically; it didn't seem to be bleeding through.

"That should hold till you get back to sickbay," I told her; even as I spoke, my bugs were collecting the bloody waste and dropping it in a zip-lock bag. This I sealed and dropped into my storage compartment.

<><>

"Nicely done," Sophia noted, accepting the skinny girl's help to stand up. She was stronger than she looked; definitely stronger than that Hebert wimp. "You've done this sort of thing before."

Now what made me think of Hebert? Must be that they've got the same body type. Same kind of hair, too. But this one's taller.

"Just paid attention in first aid class, I guess," the girl – Buzz – responded. "How's it feel?"

"Stings like a motherfucker," Sophia told her frankly, leaning on her supporting arm just a little. "But I can deal. How come you're so crazy prepared?"

"Because the first time I went out, I wasn't." Buzz squared her shoulders. "I nearly died. So I've learned better."

"Hey, shit happens," Sophia pointed out. "I've come close, a couple of times. So you control bugs, huh?"

"Doesn't she ever," enthused Clockblocker. "Did you see that, how she distracted Stormtiger, and blocked his vision, so Vista could get me into position? That was so cool and so creepy, all at the same time."

"I don't mean to be creepy," Buzz protested.

"It's not creepy, it's badass," Sophia declared. "Bugs can be fucking terrifying. You need to work that, build your rep. Imagine, a bunch of ABB punks, they see a swarm of bees and hornets and shit, and then it parts just a bit, and they see those yellow lenses of yours. That would be as intimidating as hell."

“It's also kinda villainy, and I want to come across as a hero,” Buzz stated. “I don't want to scare people, I just want them to respect me.”

“Hey, rule number one of getting respect,” Sophia told her almost kindly. “You gotta earn it. Best way to earn respect from someone is to scare the living fuck out of them. You're already set up to be the scariest motherfucker on the block; if you use that properly, no-one'll be willing to fuck with you.”

“Stop trying to corrupt our newest member,” Aegis commented mildly as he landed beside them. “How are you doing?”

“I'll be fine,” Sophia replied. “Buzz fixed me up okay. Where've you been hiding her? I hadn't heard of any new transfers.”

“She's new in the Wards. Joined just today.” Aegis' voice was curt. “What I really need to know is, why were you so far outside your patrol area?”

“Because there was nothing inside the damn patrol area,” she retorted. “When I go out, I want to get results before I come back in.”

“The patrol areas are set out for a reason,” he snapped. “You and Browbeat could've been seriously hurt, even killed, if we hadn't turned up in time.”

Sophia shook her head. “You don't get it, do you? It's our job to go out and make the city safer. Giving us patrol areas just makes sure the criminals stay out of those areas. They don't get to do that, not when I'm around.”

“No, you're the one who doesn't get it,” Aegis told her, his voice cold. “You endangered yourself and your teammate through your own stupid recklessness. You'll be facing disciplinary action over this. And I will be reporting it.”

“Fuck!” Sophia went to throw up her hands, but thought better of it as pain shot up and down her left arm. “Okay, fine. I'll be off duty for a bit anyway, till this shit heals.”

“We'll talk more when we get back to base,” Aegis told her. “Buzz, walk with me.”

He led the skinny bug-controller away, lowering his voice so that Sophia couldn't hear him until they were out of earshot.

“She's new to the Wards?” she asked Clockblocker, who up until that moment had been trying very hard not to be noticed.

“Yeah,” confirmed the white-clad boy. “Took on Lung last night, and Armsmaster brought her in and recruited her.”

“Holy shit, she took on Lung?” Sophia stared at the retreating view of Buzz. “She's more badass than I thought.”

“Yeah, well, to hear her tell it, she didn't do so well,” Clockblocker noted. “But she's okay now, and she's actually getting along with everyone fairly well. Vista likes her.”

Being liked by Missy was not high on Sophia's list of desirable traits in a teammate. “So she's new. But she uses those bugs pretty effectively.”

“Hell yes,” he agreed. “You see her costume? She used black widow spiders to weave it. How damn cool is that?”

Sophia nodded. It just confirmed her initial impression of Buzz, as someone who could be truly badass if she put her mind to it. I think we're going to need to have a talk. A nice long talk.

<><>

“What's up?” I asked as Aegis led me away from Shadow Stalker.

“I'm sorry you had to hear that,” he replied, and I didn't think he was referring to the disagreement about her going out of patrol boundaries. Or at least, only to that. “Shadow Stalker has … discipline issues.”

“Well, she was a vigilante for a while, wasn't she?” I asked reasonably. “It must have been hard for her to adjust to a new set of rules, to not being her own boss.”

He turned and gave me a steady look. “That's part of it, yes. I'm guessing that this is why you went out on your own to start with, before you joined the Wards?”

I nodded. “I … rules have never done me any good, before,” I admitted. “I couldn't see them helping me as a cape. But … “

He tilted his head slightly. “But … ?”

“But I'm getting along with everyone,” I admitted. “Even Shadow Stalker. I mean, I can see she has her rough edges, but she thinks my costume and powers are cool.”

“No, she thinks they look dangerous and badass,” he corrected me. “And she's not wrong. If I didn't know you, know what you were trying to do, I'd have that impression, too. Your costume is good,” he went on hastily, as I went to say something, “but it's also something we're going to have to talk about.”

“Gerard, uh, Mr Richardson, mentioned something about that,” I noted. “He suggested painting it in iridescent colours. Like a Christmas beetle or something.” I'd thought about it, and I liked the idea. If I was going to be in public, then the bolder, brighter insect colours were probably the way to go.

Aegis tilted his head, and looked me up and down. I flushed a little, hoping he wasn't checking me out in my costume.

“I could actually see that,” he agreed. Oh. He was just thinking about that. I didn't know whether to be pleased or disappointed.

“Yeah.” I didn't want him to realise what I'd just been thinking. “I, uh, was thinking that kind of shoulder guards might add to the beetle look, and make the costume look a bit cooler?” I hovered my right hand over the opposite shoulder, miming the shape in the air.

“What, painted in bright iridescent colours? I could see that,” he agreed. “When we get back, I might get Kid Win to do a computer mock-up, see how it looks.”

I smiled under my mask. “I'd like that. But I won't be able to stay long. Dad's expecting me home.”

“Oh. Yeah, of course.” He slapped me on the shoulder. “Another time, then. But it was good working with you, Buzz. Your bugs were really handy.”

“Glad I could help.” Now I was blushing again, from the praise. “It was fun.”

He went to say something, but at that moment, Stormtiger snapped out of Clockblocker's time-freeze, and began struggling against the foam encasing him. Aegis' attention switched to him, and the moment passed.

<><>

Sophia entered the Wards area, limping a little, with a new dressing on her leg. She was still wearing her boot, but the costume had been cut off at knee level on her right leg to allow the nurse to get at the injury.

She just hoped someone would make a 'hopalong' joke, so she could get in their face about it, but no-one said a word.

Pausing to sit down at the table for a moment, she looked around. Kid Win was at the monitor console, Missy was just emerging from her sleeping alcove …

“Where's Buzz?” she asked. “Didn't she come back here?”

“Uh, no,” Kid Win volunteered. “Aegis said she was going home.”

“Oh, okay.” Inside her mask, Sophia grimaced. I wanted to talk to her. There's an apex predator if I ever saw one. She just needs to be shown how.

“Uh, Aegis said that he wanted to talk to you when you got in?” Kid Win ventured.

Sophia shook her head. “Listen, cover for me, will you? I'm done. I just want to go home.”

Swivelling on the chair, Kid Win looked over at her. “Okay, no problem. But you'll owe me.”

“Eh, whatever.” Climbing to her feet, Sophia limped onward, back to her sleeping alcove. Last thing I want to do is talk to that moralising do-gooder. One more speech about how the rules are there to protect us … hah. They're there to protect the weak. And the weak don't deserve protection. Not really.

Slowly, carefully, she began to change into her civilian clothes.

<><>

I opened the back door and stepped inside. “Hi, Dad, I'm home,” I called out.

“Upstairs,” he called back. “Dinner's in the oven.”

“Ooh, excellent,” I exclaimed. “Hungry. Superhero work is more tiring than I thought.”

He came downstairs and entered the kitchen, just as I was setting the warm plate on the table. “So how'd it go, kiddo?” he asked.

“Oh, it was just a rescue run,” I told him, between bites. “Two of them were out on patrol, got into trouble, so we went out there and helped out. Captured a member of the Empire Eighty-Eight. It was pretty real.”

His eyebrows rose as he sat opposite me. “Nothing happened … “

“Like with Lung?” I shook my head, even as I recalled the debacle that had been my encounter with the ABB cape. Even now, it sent a chill down my back. “No, Dad. I never went near him. It was Stormtiger, by the way, but we don't tell anyone about that until it comes out in the news.”

He nodded earnestly. “Of course.”

“But yeah, it was awesome,” I told him, beginning to get enthused. “Vista got us close, then I sent in a swarm to blind and distract him. When he was looking the wrong way, she moved Clockblocker right up behind him, and zap, he was a lawn ornament.”

He smiled, caught up in my mood. “It certainly sounds like you're working well with them.”

“Oh, they're great,” I agreed. “Clockblocker's as much of a smartass as you'd expect with a name like that, and Kid Win's cool, and he's promised to show me how to use their computers, and -”

His smile widened, and he gestured at my fork, where a piece of steak had been slowly cooling while I gestured animatedly. “You might want to eat that, before the flies get at it.”

“Hah, that'll never happen,” I reminded him. “All the flies in this house belong to me. Plus all the other bugs. Every single one. They want to touch my food, they have to ask me first.”

“Oh,” he responded, his eyes widening slightly. “I hadn't thought about that.”

“Yup,” I agreed with emphasis, and popped the steak in my mouth. After pausing to chew and swallow, I went on. “So yeah, Aegis is a bit serious, but he's a good guy. Gallant is really nice – he sees emotions, did you know? I didn't. Vista's just sweet. I didn't really get to meet Browbeat – he was one of the other two on patrol who got in trouble. I did meet Shadow Stalker. She was cut up a bit, and I got to bandage her.”

“Huh, wow,” he observed. “A busy second night out. Any trouble? Shakes, bad memories?”

I drew a deep breath; for some reason, I did feel a bit shaky. “Nothing really. A couple of moments when I remembered what happened last night, all too clearly, but … yeah. All good now. I'm in a team. They've got my back and I've got theirs.” Despite my brave words, my voice was starting to sound a shade brittle. I smiled shakily. “They really want me in the team.”

He reached across the table and took my hand. I squeezed his large hand, and he squeezed back, carefully. “I'm proud of you. Really proud. And I'm happy that you've found your place.”

“What, you aren't mad at me for … you know, hiding it? Going out? Nearly getting killed?” My voice was shaking noticeably, now. But, I was obscurely proud to note, there were no tears yet.

He shook his head. “No. God, no.” He got up from his chair, came around to my side of the table. I got up to meet him, and he hugged me. His arms were tight around me, and mine around him. I felt the tears come, despite how badly I wanted to hold them back, and then something deep inside told me that it was okay to let it out. That I was safe. At last.

And so I cried, and my Dad held me and gently rocked me in his arms, and my dinner cooled unnoticed on the table.

<><>

I slept badly that night, my dreams full of fire and pain. When I woke the next morning, I was still exhausted, so much so that I gave up on my morning run before I was halfway through.

“Do you want to stay home from school?” Dad asked me over the breakfast table. “I can write you a note.”

I shook my head. “No. I faced up to being a superhero, even though a villain nearly killed me. And it let me save two more heroes from another villain.” I took a deep breath. “I can face school.”

“That's the spirit, kiddo,” he agreed encouragingly. “Want me to drive you in? We can talk some more, if you want.”

I smiled slightly as I considered this. “ … yeah, Dad,” I agreed. “I'd like that.”

<><>

“So what's it like, having powers?”

I turned to look at him as we backed down the driveway. “Seriously, Dad? You sound like a cape fanboy.”

“So what if I am?” he asked. “I was born before all this happened; hell, I was out of middle school. By the time we knew enough about super-powers to understand that teenagers tend to get them more than adults, I was out of my teens, even. I never got the chance to daydream about getting powers, until I was too old for daydreaming to be a thing I could get away with doing much.”

“So you're projecting on to me, is that it?” I was grinning as I said it.

“Mayybe,” he admitted, with an answering grin. “So, what's it like?”

“It's a rush,” I told him honestly. “I don't know what it's like for other capes, but when I let the power go full on, I've got insect senses reporting to me from blocks away, all around me, all the time. I know where every single one is, what type it is, more or less what it can see and hear, and I can tell every one of them what to do, all at the same time.”

“Do you get headaches?” he asked, looking a little concerned. “I've heard that some capes, with mind-intensive powers, get headaches a lot.”

“Not me,” I assured him. “I was scared about that at first, but it just never happened. Like I was wondering if I had an upper limit, but if I've got one, it hasn't happened yet.”

He shook his head slowly. “And these bugs. How much are you into their heads? Do they have feelings and emotions? Are you going to be all 'no bugs must die' now?”

I snorted. “God, no. Seriously. They're just bugs. A million get hatched every day, just in Brockton Bay. Just as many die. If I got sentimental over bugs, I'd never stop crying. No, there's no danger of that.”

“Well, that's a relief then,” he replied, miming a wipe of his brow. “I mean, I wouldn't mind you keeping a few as pets, but we've only got so much space.”

“Uh … yeah, Dad, about that,” I told him. “Just so you know, I have been keeping some black widows in the basement, to weave my costume. I've moved most of them out again, but you know, when you go down in there, just keep an eye out, just in case, okay?”

He took it pretty well, all told. “I … yeah, okay,” he agreed. “Uh … do I need to ask, why black widows, in particular? Couldn't you have made do with a boring old non-deadly spider instead?”

“Uh, because they've got the strongest silk you can find in the States, and they're native to Brockton Bay,” I told him. “Second strongest in the world. Strongest is in Madagascar. It's called the Darwin's Bark spider, and it can spin an eighty-foot strand that won't break under its own weight.”

“That's … pretty impressive?” he ventured carefully.

I sighed. “Dad, that's the equivalent of … uh, you know, one-inch steel cable?”

He nodded immediately. “Yeah, I know those.”

“Eighty feet of unsupported spider web is the equivalent of a hundred fifty miles of one-inch cable, proportionately speaking.”

There was a long silence while he digested this. “That can't be right.”

“That line of spider silk? About one ten-thousandths of an inch in diameter.”

He went silent again for a few moments. “Christ,” he muttered. “We're using the wrong stuff.”

I grinned. “Not really. It's a lot easier to get steel cable than to get spiders that are willing to weave silk on demand.” I paused for effect. “Well, up till now it was, anyway.”

“And you've got a costume woven out of the stuff,” he noted. “Is it, you know, bulletproof?”

“I have no idea,” I admitted frankly. “Knife-proof, I hope. I have armour panels. It saved my life, Sunday night.”

“You still got hurt pretty bad,” he pointed out. “From what you told me last night.”

“Yeah, but without it, I would have been eviscerated and then fried to a crisp.” I drew a deep, shuddering breath. “His claws got me on an armour panel. I got broken bones, but nothing worse than that.”

“Ah.” He was silent for a few moments, driving the car. “So I guess I should thank God for Panacea.”

“And Armsmaster,” I put in. “And whoever it was who found me, who beat up Lung. They left a note for Armsmaster on Lung's face, telling him that I was on the roof.”

He shook his head. “Christ. So what you're telling me, if I threw a thank-you party, we'd have to hold it in the back yard?”

I chuckled. “Yeah, I guess.”

We both fell silent then; I watched the road roll by, my head pillowed against the backrest. I didn't really want to go to school, but nor did I want to let Emma and Sophia and Madison think that they'd won, that they'd driven me out of Winslow on Friday with their stupid juice prank. I still hated them, still despised everything they did, but they just weren't as important any more.

Since I had seen them last, I had nearly died, and then I had turned my life around, become a Ward, and actually saved lives. Next to that, what they did to me was nothing. I felt like I could take on the world. Or at least a major part of it. The part that held Emma Barnes, anyway.

Fuck her. She doesn't matter any more.

<><>

“What the fuck's taking her? I'm gonna be late for school, here.” Sophia lounged back in a computer chair in the Wards base, her booted feet up on another chair.

Deputy Director Renick frowned over the video link. “Panacea's on call strictly as a favour to us. You could consider her feelings in the matter, you know.”

Sophia rolled her eyes; Renick would not be able to see it, of course. “Okay, fine, yeah, but she doesn't have to worry about her secret identity. I do. And if I show up at Winslow with a bandaged arm and leg, there'll be blood in the water. People saw that damn fight, and I'm sure there's at least one video of it online.”

“Most people are watching it for Buzz's first appearance,” the Brockton Bay Deputy Director assured her. “I understand she helped save your life.”

“She did,” admitted Sophia. “I think I'm gonna enjoy working with her.”

“That's nice,” he replied neutrally. “Ah; I just got word that Glory Girl and Panacea have arrived at the PRT building.”

Sophia rolled her eyes again. “Fuckin' finally.”

“Shadow Stalker,” Renick chided her, “I'm sure you've been warned about your language -”

“Yeah, yeah,” she replied. “Not in public, got it.”

“I've left word for her to be fast-tracked down to you,” the Deputy Director assured her. “As soon as you're healed, you get to school. No excuses. Understood?”

“Yes sir, understood sir,” she replied, cutting the link just in time for him to miss her giving the screen the finger.

She stood up and limped toward the door, pulling one glove off as she did so. Unlike some of the Wards, she had never shown Amy Dallon her face, and never intended to. The girl was a healer, and a good one, but she was still such a wimp that Sophia could never really respect her.

Not like Glory Girl; now there was someone who kicked ass and took names. With her bright costume and flashy tactics, she was definitely someone that Sophia could respect, even if the way she did things was more or less the opposite to what Sophia did.

In any case, Sophia was looking forward to getting to school; she wanted to see if Hebert had finally decided to quit going altogether. After the prank on Friday, she had her hopes. But Hebert did have an annoying habit of shrugging it off and coming back for more.

I'll just have to see, she decided.

<><>

“Holy shit,” I heard Sophia say from behind me. “I heard it but I didn't believe it. What the fuck are you doing back, Hebert? I thought you'd gone for good.”

“Seriously, Taylor,” Emma put in, “Where were you Monday? Crying yourself to sleep?”

That line put my teeth on edge; it was typical Emma, throwing my confidences to her back in my face. I began to feel my resolve waver; it was one thing to think of Emma and Sophia being insignificant in the face of Lung, but with them facing me, it was another thing altogether.

I took a deep breath, and recalled Aegis' praise after saving Shadow Stalker's life. “Why don't you just fuck off, Emma,” I told her boldly. “I don't have time for your shit.”

Emma's eyes opened wide; I hadn't spoken to her like that in … forever. Nor did it go unnoticed among the others standing around; some were Emma's cronies, while some weren't. Several people gasped, and a few hid smiles. They might not be my friends, but a good burn was always amusing.

Sophia noticed it, too. “You don't talk to her like that,” she snarled, stepping up and shoving me backward. I shoved back at her; I wasn't as strong as she was, but I was taller and I had better leverage. She pushed harder, and I stepped to the side, sticking my leg between hers.

More by luck than design, she tripped, landing hard and rolling up on to one knee. I moved in to push her over again, then felt a burning pain in my scalp as I came to an abrupt halt; Emma had grabbed my hair – the hair that Amy had carefully regrown for me on Monday morning. She wasn't pulling it, so much as preventing me from advancing on Sophia.

“Hey!” I yelled, turning and shoving her in turn, surprising her so much that she let go my hair. “Didn't you know that pulling hair's for first graders?”

Fully aware that I had turned my back on Sophia, I was just about to turn back to her when I felt my arm being pulled hard up behind me, in a painful lock. Too late. Ow.

“Now apologise,” she gritted from right behind me, “or I'll see if I can't dislocate it.”

“Apologise?” I snapped. “But you started it!”

My arm was wrenched another few degrees upward, and I grunted in pain. “Apologise!” she snarled.

It was starting to get seriously painful, and I was considering giving in, when a whispering ran through the crowd; Sophia let my arm go and stepped back, just as one of the Home Economics teachers rounded the corner. I shook my shoulder back into what felt like its normal position, and made my escape.

For the barest moment, I considered telling Miss Goldsworthy what had been happening, but then I recalled every other instance of my attempting to complain. Nothing had happened then, and nothing would happen now.

I'd have to be careful to avoid Sophia for the rest of the day, however. From the look in her eye, she'd be out for blood. And I did not intend for it to be mine.

<><>

Buzz looked around as Shadow Stalker entered the Wards base. “Oh, hey,” she called out. “How's things?”

Shadow Stalker shrugged. “Had better days,” she grunted.

“Yeah, me too,” Buzz agreed. “Aegis, tell her what you were telling me.”

Aegis cleared his throat. He was rather proud of his idea. Whether it would stand the test of reality was quite another matter. “I was going to put you on monitor duty, Shadow Stalker, but I've decided to try something different. You seem to get along with Buzz, so we're going to do a three-person patrol; me, you and her. She's new, and you're still on notice from last night, so I'll be along to make sure nothing goes sideways. Okay?”

By 'okay?' he meant 'do you understand?' rather than 'is that okay with you?', but he was sure that Shadow Stalker had already figured that out.

Interestingly, she didn't object immediately to the idea. “Sure,” she agreed. “Sounds cool to me.”

“Yeah, me too,” Buzz added. “I won't be able to travel as fast as either of you, but I should be able to keep a good lookout all around.”

“So wait, you've got an effective Thinker power as well as Master?” asked Shadow Stalker.

Buzz nodded. “Yeah, and Aegis says my suit gives me a sort of Brute rating, plus with bugs giving me camouflage, I've got a sort of Stranger rating as well.”

Shadow Stalker nodded. “And you still don't think your power is all kinds of badass?”

“Hey, yours is pretty damn cool too,” Buzz told her.

Aegis cleared his throat. “Back-patting competition later, ladies. Right now, time to go on patrol. Ready?”

Shadow Stalker nodded. Buzz echoed the gesture.

“Good,” Aegis stated. “Let's go.” 

Part 7