The day had been long. Charles and her dad took most of the morning to help get the mobility back in her legs. Marie was bound and determined to have her normal mobility by lunch.

She had a late lunch.

Charles pressured her into skipping out on the meeting tonight, but Marie refused. These meetings became a lifeline for her. These meetings meant her friends were okay. She needed to know her sacrifice wasn’t in vain.

Marie sat at the table for what felt like forever when the hatch finally opened and her friends climbed down the ladder. She struggled to her feet, her dad helping her stand. She grasped his arm, grateful for his support but also hating that she needed him. They climbed down and she smiled. When Albert’s eyes fell on her, he made a strangled noise in the back of his throat. Albert hadn’t seen her in a week, and she had changed a lot in that time. The color from her face had drained from everywhere except for the dark circles around her eyes.

“Hey Albert,” she said. She started to walk toward him, but Albert held up his hands to stop her.

“No, don’t move. I’ll come to you,” Albert said.

“Nonsense, exercise is good for me,” Marie said as she started to walk forward. She couldn’t get too far, since her dad had a hold of her arm and didn’t seem to keen on letting her go. Albert, being far healthier than her, had already appeared at her side, holding her other arm.

“Please sit down. You look like a draft could knock you over,” Albert said quietly.

Marie obliged, since he was pulling gently on her arm to get her to sit, and she didn’t have the energy to fight back.

“Good thing there’s no drafts in this basement,” her dad said with a slight smile.

Charles was sitting at the head of the table, glancing over in Marie’s direction every few minutes. Alice came down the ladder, her eyes widening when she saw Marie.

“Marie,” she said, taking a few more steps. “You should be in bed. You look awful.”

Marie shook her head. “No, I’m staying here for this meeting.”

“I strongly suggest you go to bed,” Alice said, glancing in Charles’ direction for him to back her up.

“Please, Alice, I know the outcome. I realize now I won’t see the end, but I want to see as much as I can,” Marie didn’t mean for it to sound like a death wish. Alice gave a small sigh before she nodded and sat next to Charles. They were talking quietly, everyone else staring at her. Marie hated the attention.

“Can we talk about something? Something happy, maybe?” Marie asked.

There was a pause, then Billy leaned over conspiratorially and managed to whisper as quietly as he could. “Have Charles and Alice gone on a date yet?”

Marie stared at him, confused. “Seriously? Them?”

Billy gave a slow nod. “Look at them. Look at their chemistry. It’s literally sizzling in here.”

The group were silent as they studied Charles and Alice who were talking quietly amongst each other. Marie tried to see what Billy was seeing, but she just didn’t get it. It looked like Charles and Alice were comparing notes about Marie. Alice seemed to notice how quiet it was, and the fact that most of the group was staring at them. She straightened. “Is something wrong?”

“Nothing,” Billy said too quickly. Alice narrowed her eyes. Billy smiled in return as the hatch opened and Harriet came down the ladder.

“Alright, is everyone here?” Charles asked.

Nik opened the door and walked into the main area. He gave an annoyed smile at Charles before he sat down. Charles let out a tiny breath as he glanced between Tom and Nik.

“I have high hopes this meeting will go well. Billy? Edgar? Albert? Anything to report?” Charles asked.

“Did you know the letter C is completely useless and we don’t need it at all?” Billy asked.

Charles blinked at Billy. “Sorry?”

Marie wanted to laugh, but could only stare at the table as the sounds of her friends bounced around her.

“The letter C? It’s pointless. I made a new friend who loves the science of language. He’s a tad on the shy side, but honestly, the guy is brilliant,” Billy said.

“Oh. Good. Do you think he’d be willing to join the underground? How old is he?” Charles asked.

“He’ll go into his Senior year this fall. Give me a couple more days, and I can totally convince him to join,” Billy said. “Especially if the colleges refuse to let him learn the sciences of language. He’s going to be crushed, and I can use his vulnerability to steer him toward our side.”

Charles raised one of his fingers, looking like he was going to say something before he set his hand back down. “I’m going to ignore how creepy that sounded and say good. Not the ideal, having another teenager, but good.”

“I think Agatha and Anne would join our side too,” Albert said. “It might take me more time than Billy.”

Billy lightly slapped the table with his hand. “Yes. Especially Agatha. I bet if you have her ‘discover’ some of the more nasty things that go on in the S.E.A., she would totally turn to our side. Does anyone know about some of the more gruesome murders the S.E.A. has done?”

Charles looked slightly surprised, glancing at Alice before turning his attention back to Billy. “I honestly don’t know. But the S.E.A. doesn’t exactly have clean hands, so I’m sure we could come up with something.”

“I’m sure I could find something,” Edgar said quietly from the corner.

“You should talk to Tom after the meeting,” Nik said nonchalantly. “He might have even participated in some.”

Tom glared at Nik. Charles took no time at all to change the subject. “How old are they?”

“Also going into their Senior year,” Albert said.

Charles gave a resigned sigh. “Yeah. Yeah, that’s fine. More teenagers are fine.”

“Hey, we can’t exactly complain. We need the numbers,” Harriet said.

“It’d just be nice if we had more adults,” Charles said before glancing up at Tom, Nik, and Marie’s dad. “No offense.”

Albert sat up straighter, placing his hands on the table. “Actually, I think my Junior Official Mr. Reagan would be perfect.”

Alice cocked an eyebrow. “A Junior Official?”

Charles looked worried. “Are you sure?”

Albert nodded. “I’ve been talking to him more. I asked him what he thinks of President Arnold, and my impression was he’s starting to not think so highly of him anymore.”

Alice looked more in doubt. “A Junior Official not trusting President Arnold? Are you sure he’s not tricking you into revealing everything you know?”

“Yeah. I’m sure,” Albert said. There was silence around the table. Albert frowned. “Pretty sure.”

“Don’t get me wrong, it would be incredible to have a Junior Official be a part of the underground, but we’ve got to be absolutely sure he’s going to be on our side,” Charles said.

Albert folded his arms. “There is no way we’re going to know that.”

Charles gave Albert a curious look. “What do you mean?”

Billy gave a small raise of his hand. “He means that sometimes we’re going to have to take a leap of faith and hope that, when given the option, people will choose to be better than who they are.”

Charles picked up his pen and began tapping it against the table, looking slightly annoyed. “Yeah, well, a Junior Official is a huge leap to take. One that, if we’re wrong, could have serious consequences.”

“Come on, Charles,” Billy said. “Just admit you’re nervous about it. You don’t want Junior Officials because it’s too scary, and you don’t want teenagers because you don’t think we can make as big an impact.”

Charles pursed his lips, the nervous tapping of the pen getting more pronounced. “I’m just not excited for the last hope of the underground to be full of children.”

“Um, teens,” Billy said, looking a bit annoyed. “Big difference.”

“Yeah? Sometimes it’s hard to tell,” Charles said.

Billy gave Charles a smile. “Macbeth, you are nervous. You don’t usually lash out like this.”

Charles returned an annoyed look at Billy.

“The difference between children and teens is that children don’t realize their words and actions can harm other people,” came Edgar’s quiet, unnervingly calm voice.

Charles stopped tapping his pen and looked at Edgar. He dropped his pen and rubbed the bridge of his nose. Marie started to hear a ringing in her ear, but she tried to ignore it. “Fine, let’s talk about what we’re going to do about Albert’s Junior Official. Is there some plan we can make that would at least keep the underground as safe as possible as we try to recruit him?”

Albert nodded at Billy. “Well, like what was mentioned before, there might be a powershift in the S.E.A.” Albert glanced in Sophie’s direction before focusing on the rest of the group. “Mr. Reagan is sympathetic towards the sciences. Maybe I could try and convince him to try for a more powerful position in the S.E.A.”

Charles nodded. “Okay. Work on that this week. And hope that more power doesn’t turn him into a greedy maniac.” Charles winced and rubbed his head. “Yeah, this will be fine. Fine. It could work.” He clearly didn’t believe a word that came out of his mouth.

“You really don’t trust the S.E.A., do you,” Billy said.

“I work with these people, in a way. I know how they treat us,” Charles said.

“Not all of them, right?” Billy asked.

Charles gave Billy a stare. “No, but if I’m given a plate of cookies and you said over half are poisonous, are you really going to judge me for not wanting any of them?”

Billy shrugged. “Then give those people who are immune to poison an opportunity to figure out what cookies are poisonous so you can at least experience the good cookies.”

Charles gave him one more stare before he glanced down at his notes. Edgar gave a quiet clearing of his throat. “I’ve made a friend.”

Every single head turned toward Edgar, who stared straight at Charles. Charles’ eyebrows rose in shock. “You have?” Edgar continued to stare at Charles, who shifted in his seat. “Of course. Yes. You… you are capable of making friends.” Charles winced at his own words before clearing his throat. “Is it your Junior Official?”

“Him too, but no. This friend is the head secretary of the S.E.A.”

“Oh?” Charles asked.

“He’ll sometimes eat lunch with me when Mr. Wayne is away. We talk about a lot of things. Also some personal things. He’s willing to listen and is very compassionate.”

Marie gave a wince and rubbed her left ear. Albert turned, giving her a concerned look. She dropped her hand and gave him a reassuring smile, but the ringing started to grow.

Charles blinked a few times. “And you’re alone when you talk to him?”

“Yes.”

Charles didn’t look reassured. “Every time you talk with him?”

“Mostly every time.”

“How did you get to be friends with him?” Charles asked.

“He said he likes to sit by people who are lonely to get to know them. He finds people interesting.”

Alice frowned. “Has he ever tried to…”

Edgar seemed confused at where the conversation was going.

“Do anything that would make you uncomfortable?” Charles asked.

Edgar’s eyes darkened. “He’s not like that.”

“Sure, sure. But if he only ever talks to you when you’re alone, and if he’s being unusually kind…”

Edgar stood up, the full darkness in his eyes on full display. “He’s not like that.”

Charles looked uneasy as he grabbed his pen again. “Okay. Okay, fine. He’s not like that. Keep talking with him. Make sure you don’t blow your cover and if he does anything uncomfort-” Charles stopped as Edgar glared darkly at Charles. Charles let out a breath. “Just be careful. Okay?”

“Talk to Nik afterwards,” Tom said. “He knows everything there is about making people uncomfortable.”

Nik gave Tom an Edgar-worthy glare. “And what exactly do you mean by that?” Tom didn’t say anything, just gave a tiny smirk. Nik stood up. “You’re disgusting. I hope you know that.”

“Tom, come on,” Marie’s dad said. “That was uncalled for.”

“Oh, give it up, Vlad,” Nik said. “The guy is too self-absorbed to believe anyone exists besides himself.”

Tom stood up. “I just know a bad egg when I see one.”

“I know a stupid robot scientist doesn’t pick up on social clues, so let me make this one hundred percent clear. I hate you. A lot.”

In a burst of anger, Marie stood up. “Will you two just stop it!” Tom and Nik turned toward Marie. “Could you just act your age for once? You are the ones acting like children! We have to work together to stop this war, and if we’re fighting amongst ourselves, we’ll never-” The ringing in Marie’s ear grew louder. The anger dissolved from her as all the heat in the room swirled around her. She glanced back up at Tom and Nik, realizing she had no idea what she was going to say. In fact, she completely forgot what she had just said before. Tom took a step toward Marie, the fear evident on his face. There was even a spark of concern in Nik’s eyes.

“Marie?” Her dad appeared in her vision, holding her elbow. Marie looked at her dad, knowing he had just said her name, but it didn’t feel like her name at the same time. He was saying words, but she couldn’t comprehend what he was saying. Someone else said her name, and she turned to see Charles.

“You need to sit down and put your head between your knees before you pass out.”

Marie understood every word individually, but when she tried to make sense as to his meaning, she simply didn’t understand. Her dad said her name again, but he sounded so far away. The ringing in her ears turned into a roar, blocking what other people said. Her dad grabbed her other elbow, trying to push her down, but the roaring turned into a loud burst, and Marie let out a short scream of pain as she grabbed her left ear. Her vision blurred as she brought her hand away from her ear. There was blood on her hand. How was her ear bleeding? Marie looked up at her dad as more blood fell from her nose. Her dad’s eyes widened. He said something to Charles and Alice, as Marie’s knees weakened.

Right before her knees collapsed from under her, she had a moment of clarity. Charles wanted her to sit down because she was going to faint. Her vision darkened, her breathing amplified through her mind. She was sitting between Albert and her dad. Between the two of them, someone would catch her.