No one said VNet whiplash was worse than the real thing.

“What happened?” Gabriel blinked clear his vision. Alfred stood at his bedside - the same fox-face from the VNet frowned at him from the visor.

“You changed your face?”

“Now that you recognize this face as me, I decided to keep using it. That, and I couldn’t figure out how to show ‘worried’ in pixels.” His furry ears tilted even further down.

“Oh.” Oh! “What’s wrong? Why did you yank me out like that?”

“We were ejected by a local security protocol enacting a network sweep.”

Sudden entry into the Real had left Gabriel’s super brain a little discombobulated. “Plain English, please?”

“The Spire is on High Alert. Half the Shield has been deployed on an emergency mission.”

The Sentinel’s Headquarters was only one Danger Level away from total lockdown. Had Omicron Beta ratted them out? “What else can you tell me?”

Alfred looked sheepish. “The only way to tell would be to snoop in on the Shield’s meeting.”

Melody’s plight fresh on his mind, Gabriel said, “Do it. If Omicron Beta notices, so be it. We might be on the hook for streaming into the Cyber as it is.”

Alfred patched into the Shield Training Hall’s cameras. Bingo. A group of shadowy figures sat in high-backed chairs around the raised, circular table. Gabriel mentally nudged Alfred to shift the view to another camera.

Dr. Atomic sat fiddling with his Wrist Pad. Zero sat next to him rigid and silent - no visible expression made it through his shadows. Bulwark, in his huge blue Power Suit, whispered back and forth with a brooding Photon. Finally, sitting mute next to Bulwark was the equally hulking frame of Omicron Beta.

A tidbit of the whispered conversation reached the camera. “-don’t understand why I can’t be out there with her - y’know?”

Photon stood up with quiet intensity, speaking to Bulwark but angrily gesturing at Dr. Atomic. “We should all be there. Together. If Dr. Cautious here would just fracking tell us what he’s been hiding, I, for one, would sleep better at night. Othelius, I respect everything you’ve done as Head Sentinel, but you can’t keep us in the dark like this anymore.”

Dr. Atomic kept swiping.

Now it was Bulwark’s turn; the whole room turned when he placed a hand against the table. The kinetic resonators in his suit shattered a section of the heavy table with a sharp crack.

An amplified whisper followed. “I might have to wear this suit to keep my atoms from falling apart, but it’s you who’s been all over the place recently. We’ve all noticed what you’re doing, keeping secret projects, not sleeping or eating. When was the last time you had a hot meal - hell when was the last time you showered? This is the Ruchin rebellion all over again.”

Silence.

Bulwark puffed up with indignation. “Thelo. Talk to us! My wife is on her way to a death trap. The Blitz are outside Neo Paolo, and you just want us to sit here?”

Dr. Atomic closed his eyes, took a long, tired breath, and waved his WristPad. “Over the last few weeks, I’ve been tracking changes to Blitz movement patterns in the upper atmosphere.”

A simulated holo map depicting MechaBlitz positions over Earth highlighted the changes.

“As you can see here, and here.” Red circles surrounded a few areas in Asia, then zoomed in on a few icons that looked like castles. "The Blitz fleet diverted their patrols away from their known strongholds in Ruchin Territory. Where do you think this force at Neo Paolo came from? To make matters worse, that’s not the only bad news.”

A grainy image taken from a beachside highrise apartment showed three MechaBlitz attack crafts hovering out over the surface of the water, lit only by the moonlight peaking through the thin streaks of clouds like veins in the sky.

“After appearing from three different directions about an hour ago, they haven’t moved, and what’s more, they’re just watching the evacuation. Something’s not right.”

Bulwark and Photon sat down.

“You think these movements are a ploy?”

Dr. Atomic gave a troubled nod. “If we all go, we’d leave the rest of America undefended. Justice, Rescue, Liberty, Grizzly, and the local Supers will have to handle this.”

Zero cleared his throat and raised a hand. “But our Spear-”

“Is not ready. They are still too green.” Dr. Atomic snapped.

“They’re more prepared than you give them credit. Far better equipped for this life than we were all those years ago. We got here without training, without the Academy - without Mentors. You can’t tell me you’ve forgotten.” Zero answered calmly.

Around the table, heads nodded in agreement.

Photon chuckled. “You should see Pain clear a room, I don’t know what it is, but she’s got it. Zero’s right; we’re a month away from instating them anyway.”

The Head Sentinel forlorn eyes looked out at the room, meeting each gaze in turn. “The fate of the world is at stake. I can’t take that risk.”

“Bah!” Bulwark yelled. “You’ve been paranoid since Red Global messed up your face in the Rockies.”

Stillness gripped Dr. Atomic’s body as his face grimaced with pain and embarrassment. He gently touched his cheek in remembrance and opened his mouth to speak when a loud buzz caught everyone’s attention.

It came from the Omicron Beta.

Looking almost relieved not to have to address the awkward exchange, Dr. Atomic nodded to the colossal android.

“The Spire is detecting a distress signal… from Grizzly.”

The room went silent, and Zero stood - a doorway of shadows coalescing out from the floor behind his seat. He nodded toward the portal.

“If our resident wrecking ball is calling for help, we should hurry.”

All traces of the intimate confrontation that could have ensued disappeared. Bulwark charged through without question, but Photon gave the portal a sideways glance.

“It’s perfectly safe, Photon. Just get in the transport.”

The Sentinel shrugged and activated his powers. “I can make it to Neo Paolo faster than the Orbital Drop Transport, no offense. Getting shot out of a cannon isn’t really my speed.” Green lightning started arcing across his body, and with a flash, he was gone.

Zero looked for Dr. Atomic only to see that the Sentinel commander hadn’t moved. “Thelo, don’t be so sensitive. What Bulwark said wasn’t pleasant, but he wasn’t wrong. You’ve never been the same after that mission in the Rockies.”

Dr. Atomic didn’t react - glazed eyes staring into the distance. His lips moved, but no sound came out.

“Othelius. Ahem… Dr. Atomic!” Zero snapped his fingers in front of his friend’s face.

The vacant expression gradually filtered out, and Dr. Atomic looked up. “I can’t leave. What if Red Global attacks the Chancellor or the Spire while we’re in Brazil? If Omicron Beta is going, only I can monitor our main cities. Only I can keep them safe” His eyes drifted off.

Zero looked like he was about to chide Dr. Atomic. Instead, he proceeded to the portal, shaking his head in distaste. “One of these days, you’ll realize that, sometimes, logic is just a veil we hide behind to avoid taking risks.”

The Doctor watched him leave without retort.

Gabriel remembered what Dr. Atomic had told them about the real-world version of that training mission in the Rockies. Apparently, there was more to that story than he’d let on.

While Gabriel theorized, Roz’s holographic body projected onto the Shield’s Table. “ Switching the console to Command and Control mode. Also, Zero has disposed of the emergency tracking beacon we hid in his shoe.”

Dr. Atomic slammed his palm down in frustration. “Damn it, every time! It’s for their own safety for chrissakes. What about the others?”

“Still active.”

“Pull up their locations.”

A hologram of the Earth replaced the Blitz positional map. Gabriel could make out three dots in Brazil, with another two groups heading south at a staggering speed. The Orbital Transport and Photon were making quick time. That explained how Zero had gotten to Houston so fast to fend off Lucian.

“Zoom in on the Neo Paolo group.” Dr. Atomic added. “Hmm? They’re all together, in one building. What could the problem be? Blitz positions? Still not attacking? What is going on!?”

“Calm down, Othelius. This is all part of the plan. We knew this would be a trap when the Blitz didn’t attack immediately. With Grizzly sending the distress beacon, only plan F seems viable. She can’t possibly be the spy. None of the other trackers show distressed vitals. Why would she call reinforcements without first eliminating Rescue?”

The spy? Gabriel’s stomach dropped. There was a spy… in the Shield? He had to know more.

Dr. Atomic contemplated the question. “Why would she call for help at all, then? She’s never sent a distress call. Not once.

When that mountain in the Alps fell on her, she clawed her way out. Liberty or Rescue could have gotten her out in minutes, but she spent three days digging instead. Whatever is happening, it must be pressing.”

“But plan F…” Roz chided.

A weary sigh. “Plan F only works when we are certain there isn’t a planned attack on the Spire. If we lose our Spear before they’re ready, we won’t hold out if the Ruchin invades again. We have too many assets in one place. If I teleport to the Orbital Transport without making sure, I could play right into their hands.”

“Who’s hands, Othelius? All we have to go on is a few files disappear-”

“Not just any files, Roz. My files on Zero and Red Global. You know as well as I do what was on those files. If those get leaked, the Shield’s credibility will plummet. The government will take control of our operations.

Whoever it was had to bypass the Spire’s security and my personal encryptions. I could count on one hand how many people alive could do that, and none of them were anywhere near the Spire on that day.

Omicron Beta couldn’t figure it out either. The files weren’t transferred or deleted. A record would be left on the system. It’s like they just disappeared - like an act of God.”

Gabriel was confused. What could be so bad about the relationship between Zero and Red Global that Dr. Atomic was going full paranoid to try to hide?

“Would you consider the Technopath angle again?”

Dr. Atomic let out a sour chuckle. “Technopaths are a joke. No, don’t start again with that. All the ‘Technopaths’ that we’ve found wound up being weak electron manipulators. The most they could do is control systems by moving the flow of electricity; they can’t touch quantum computers, not with all the superposition. But we’ve been over this, my dear, why ask me again?”

“Because you keep talking about regular computing systems and means of access? You compared it to an act of God. Who did we know that was the closest thing to a god to ever walk this planet?”

Dr. Atomic gave his AI an incredulous look, eyes wide. “Quantum.”

Roz smiled. “Quantum could have done it - if he were still around.”

“But there aren’t any other Reality Benders….”

“That we know of.” Roz finished the statement for him.

One of the trackers suddenly registered as Inactive. A section of the screen that had previously been black suddenly erupted with color, and the sound of an explosion followed. When the dust settled, a rough-looking Grizzly filled the screen. From the angle, it looked like she was transmitting from her Wrist Pad. Her mid-length hair was matted to her face - in blood.

“Grizzly here… bzzzt… trouble… bzzzt… bad… bzzzt… Rescue… bzzzt Liberty is dead.” Another heavy shake shook the area. A fist striking Grizzly’s face was the last thing the camera showed before the feed shut off - the fist was decidedly human.

With a stressed pinch of his nose, Dr. Atomic sighed. “Well, that couldn’t have happened at a worse time. Suppose we’re actually dealing with a Reality Bender intent on vilifying us. In that case, we can’t even be certain we have a spy anymore. If you and I leave the Spire, what’s to stop them from turning the Orbital Cannon on the Human Republic and framing the Sentinels? I was playing the coward in case Photon or Bulwark was the spy, but now I really can’t go.”

“If plan F is out of the question. What about plan G?”

Dr. Atomic’s WristPad beeped, and he gave it a curious once over. “This is Plan G? How am I supposed to explain all of this to him without sounding like I’m crazy?”

“Because been in attendance this whole time.” She pointed at the camera Gabriel was using.

Oops.

Dr. Atomic shot her a glare. “You said the feeds were clear.”

“Omicron Beta noticed him and messaged me privately, authorizing access.”

The cold glower turned into contemplation.

“I will never understand that thing.”

“I’m one of those things too, Othelius.”

“Ugh, I meant his ‘time traveler knows best’ thing, not AIs, Roz.” He sucked at his teeth, made a face, then waved at the camera. “Gabriel, I know this is rushed, but we’re short on time. Our reinforcements will be in Neo Paolo shortly. We have to make sure they don’t go in blind. Meet me in my lab. You have 2 minutes before I put the Spire on full lockdown.”

He tapped his WristPad and teleported to the lab.