"Weeeesss," I say, on the phone, staring out between the blinds. "The Sentinel is outside my housing complex. This is not drill. This is an emergency. I think they've heard me talking shit about them last night through supersonic audio processor ears and they're here to rip out my tongue."

"That's sounds like a nightmare, because you're telling me technological bullshit," Wes says. "Also, it's two in the morning. I have work tomorrow, River, and I am very grumpy if I don't have sleep. You know this."

"I can't help that you aren't genetically indisposed to being a night owl. Blue light is supposed to keep you up." I pinch myself, but nope, the Sentinel is still outside. "I was slightly exaggerating before, but do you think it's farfetched actually now to assume they came to find me at night, break all of League rules, and kill me in my sleep?"

"The Sentinel's a superhero," Wes says. "If they're out there, of course they won't kill you."

"The Sentinel also used to be some sort of supervillain henchman, and strangled me," I say. "They've tried to kill me. Who's to know some programming doesn't just change?"

On the other side of the phone, Wes blows out a heavy exhale. It sounds like an elephant. I can almost feel the vibrations trickle into my senses, and I think she did that on purpose, because now the hair on the back of my neck is standing up. "You're so paranoid," she says, as I hunch my shoulders up to my ears and squirm a little before reaching back to scratch a little further down my spine. "But they're actually there?"

"The Sentinel is three seconds away from preventing me from ever serving as a supervillain ever again, Wes. They've probably made it their mission. This is every robot-killing-human situation happening to just me. I'm going to die, Wes, and you're going to know I died without believing in me."

"Of course I believe in you, you idiot," Wes grumbles. "You're the person I believe in the most."

I gasp softly. "Is that fondness I hear?"

"No, you big moron," says Wes. "It's me, going to hang up and go to sleep. And whatever happens? Honestly, you'll be fine, River. I specifically removed your bedroom walls and carved runes into them so that nobody who means you any harm can enter. Just slide in there any time you need a safe space."

"Wait," I say, confused, "so is that why you locked the door?" And is also that why my walls look much newer than I remember? Is that why Maimuna said to keep her? Is that what the texts were-?

"We-ell," Wes says, dragging out the vowel. She sounds like she's rolling over in bed. The puff makes another vibration and my ear itches instead now. I scratch. "Yeah. Then I napped after. It is so much work to work around another witch's enchantments."

"Wes..." My heart warms. "You did all for me?"

"Ew," Wes says. "I'm hanging up now because I think you're going to tell me you love me."

"I love you."

"You're dumb," Wes says. "Don't worry about the Sentinel, okay? They're still there?"

I look through the blinds outside. Nothing now, to my surprise. The front of the building is all clear, with exception of a pink headscarf belonging to one Bambi. "No," I admit. "They left. Just the guardian familiar is outside."

"Good," she says, satisfied. "That takes care of everything. Goodnight, River. Talk more shit about the Sentinel to me later when it is actually Awake Hours Time. Bye."

"Bye."

No sooner have I put the phone down and turned around, do I see the Sentinel standing in my living room, front door opened behind them.

"River Ng. You have left your front door unlocked," the Sentinel says disapprovingly, from my living room. Not at all murderous as they did on that rooftop, but intimidatingly mostly draped in shadow, just the blue lighting at its joints glowing. "That is a safety hazard I do not think this building is designed to accommodate."

"I--" If I was a normal person, maybe I would've screamed or thrown something at them or ran. I suddenly feel like I need to succumb to my fate. "Why are you in my house? Where did you get my records?"

To my surprise, the Sentinel doesn't deny the charges. "You, currently, are the worst danger to this city." The Sentinel doesn't look pleased either, though whether it's because I am going to be ensuring they are staying out later every night in the future, who knows. I don't know. Who knows what the Sentinel's processor is cooking up. Am I going to die? "You were also in the vicinity of today's incident."

"Y...es," I say cautiously. "Is that why you're here?" Wes says no one who means me any harm can enter my bedroom. Come to think of it, why did Wes rune only the bedroom? If she really cared about me, wouldn't she have runed the entire apartment? Oh, no, does Wes think I'm going to have--

"I came to visit you," the Sentinel says, slowly, "to...thank you."

I blink. "Why?" This is an entire 180.

"Earlier, at 0900 hours, supervillains were found attempting to release a rogue android onto East Park region streets. These unidentifiable supervillains left the area, however there was a greater risk that due to its deviant nature, the android would detonate as it threatened to." Unidentifiable? But the insignias... "Subsequently," the Sentinel continues, "two superheroes and I managed to isolate and subdue it, along with evacuating the city. I was in the middle of interrogation when the instability of the rogue android became a monumental risk the success of the primary objective."

Holy cow. That is so much unnecessary babble. "How does interrogating an android work?" I demand, instead.

"That is classified."

"Okay, but, why are you thanking me?" This is surreal. Literally yesterday--two days ago now, come to think about it--they were strangling me on a rooftop for hacking them. "Listen, I've got a witch on speed dial and I'm not afraid to use her."

"I came to...thank you..." It's actually painful to hear the Sentinel struggle with that pair of words.

I wait.

The Sentinel looks at me.

I look at the Sentinel.

The Sentinel turns on their heel and walks out of my apartment.