The fridge opened, even though Angelica was there. Nathan’s head whipped around to look. Hermes was there, plucking a soda out. “Hi,” he said, and then teleported over to the pantry. Once he got a few snack bars out, he teleported to their table. “Been slow today?”

“Yep,” Nathan said. “How were the kids?”

Hermes ducked his head. “Ask Rainbright,” he said.

Iris and Rainbright walked in, Iris patting Rainbright’s shoulder. Rainbright, on the other hand, had pieces of chalk and paper, and a dash of paint in her hair. “They’ll warm up to you,” Iris said.

“I hate kids,” Rainbright snarled.

Just this morning, she’d been bright and excited to go talk to kids. She’d even been given the elementary kids. “What happened?” Nathan asked. “Robot attack?”

“No!” Rainbright collapsed into a chair. “They hated me,” she wailed. “As soon as I got there, they asked me if I was the one who kept trying to capture Echo and I tried to tell the kids that Echo is a supervillain and deserves to be in prison, but then they threw things at me!” Her shoulders slumped. “A kindergartener kicked me in the shin. It hurt my soul.”

Nathan patted her on the shoulder. “Welcome to being Echo’s nemesis.”

“But people like you!”

Nathan shrugged. “I don’t tell kids that their idol should be arrested?”

“And,” Angelica broke in, “attempting to arrest Echo right after they rescued a teammate breaks the truce rules. They try to help us in an emergency, we don’t arrest them for the duration of the emergency. I told you that, so I know you know that.”

“But they kidnapped Scope!”

“And by the time you chased them, Scope had already told us where he was and had called in an ambulance for his dying boyfriend,” Hermes said. “Who Echo saved. Twice, really, since they brought him a medic. Sure, we really need to arrest them, but that’s just not the right time.”

Rainbright sighed. “So, what should I do? How do I make them like me?”

Angelica shook her head. “Don’t lecture kids and don’t break any more rules. Don’t bring up Echo and don’t respond to questions about them. By the time you make an arrest, they’ll love you again. Also, I told you to add shinguards to your costume.”

“You can borrow mine,” Iris said.

“Or you can make a catchphrase and let Echo ruin it,” Nathan said. “As long as you don’t care about it at all. Instant popularity.”

Rainbright looked at him as if she’d never seen him before. “Cogs of Justice was you?”

Nathan sighed. “Yes.”

“Wow.” She stared at him. “So all I need to do is make a really silly catchphrase?”

“And don’t break any rules, discuss Echo, or lecture kids,” Angelica broke in.

“Right, and that,” Rainbright said offhandedly. “What about something rainbow? I’m very rainbow. I can do rainbow things.”

Iris immediately glared at Hermes, who held up his hands in defeat and drained his soda. He teleported to the fridge to grab another soda and back to the table.

“Don’t wear yourself out,” Angelica said.

“With my binder, not teleporting wears me out faster,” Hermes said.

“Well, take that thing off, then,” Nathan said.

“Sure, if I want to hate myself.” Fair enough, then. “When can I get my top done?”

“Just a couple more weeks,” Angelica said, patting his hand.

“Can we just get a power swap for three minutes so I can fix everything without surgery?”

“If that was reliable, then sure.” She smiled. “That’s something I could do if I leave the Corps. Find a power swapper and sell my power to rich people for painless plastic surgery. And, of course, give people free swaps if they really need it.”

“What would you do with your powers if you left the Corps?” Nathan asked Hermes.

“Pizza delivery,” Hermes said with no hesitation.

“Really?” Angelica asked.

“Yeah. I like pizza and working there gives me free pizza. I wouldn’t even need a car. Just teleport across the city and I’m instantly there. I’d get all the Employee of the Year awards.”

“I don’t think you get free pizza,” Angelica said. “Just a discount on what you buy.”

“What’s the point of working there, then?” Hermes asked. “It’s not like they pay you a living wage or anything.”

Before either of them could respond, Nathan’s phone rang. It was Eric. He stepped into the hall and accepted the call. “Hey,” he said. “How’s Spain?”

“Fun, but a little tiring.” It was so nice to hear Eric’s voice. He hadn’t realized how much he would miss Eric. Maybe that was just because Raph was gone, too. “You busy?”

“Nope,” he said, leaning against the wall. “Still sidelined. Medical stuff.”

“How about a video chat?”

Nathan glanced back toward the rec room. The others were chatting without him. “I think I can do that. Let me just get to my room. I’ll call you back when I get there.”

“All right, then,” Eric said. The phone beeped.