“What’s twelve times three thousand and fifty-two?” Kris asked, throwing another one my way.
“Thirty-six thousand, six hundred and twenty-four,” I responded.
“Ninety-six divided by four hundred and eight?” She followed up enthusiastically.
“Zero point two three five two nine four one two.”
“She’s right,” Alison said, checking a calculator on her phone. “For both of them, again. Can we do something fun now?”
“But she’s so good at it!” Kris said excitedly before turning to me, “Earth math is so fun.”
For someone with the capacity to punch through the center of the planet she was sitting on, it was cute how much life fascinated Kris-Delta, I mean. In another life, maybe we could’ve been friends.
As I gazed into the campfire in front of us, the echoes of conversation were received by my body. The starry night felt heavy all around. The fireflies drifting back and forth made existing look easy. If they noticed me, they didn’t show it. Dr. Mickey’s friends and family on the reservation near the outskirts of the city were the same. They welcomed me like I was a normal woman. The fire pit near the community center was already prepared for Chroma squad to settle in at. I was surprised how close it was to the facility. It helped me understand how they found someone with such talents. Heroes tend to stick out, I guess.
Away from our fire, I could make out Gerald talking to Adrien. Neither of them seemed happy regarding the subject of their conversation. Then again, Gerald never smiled much at all. I could have amplified my auditory senses but decided against it. I was distracted enough as it is. I hadn’t even decided if the conversation being about me was something I wanted or not.
“You ladies having fun?” Dr. Mickey said as he approached us with a garbage bag for our leftovers.
“You bet!” Kris answered.
“What she said,” Alison agreed.
“What happened to Naoto?” The doctor asked us as we panned over to her sleeping, snoring form beside the fire.
“Food coma,” I informed him. I lifted a smile from my existential thoughts and hoped it would be convincing.
“It’s always pizza with her,” Dr. Mickey lamented as he discarded Naoto’s empty, stained pizza box into his bag. “Callie, help with this?”
I got up, dusted my hands and helped him heave the bag towards the dumpsters. We were halfway to the back of the community center, hands full of garbage when something occurred to me.
“Thanks again for having me over. Your tribe really knows how to throw a party,” I said.
“Don’t mention it; we’re a team now,” he assured me. “Besides, we do it every year to celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Each week for a few months we celebrate the particular customs of a local tribe. Mine always has this week and, I don’t know, at some point it just felt right to invite the team. It doesn’t always have to be about work.”
Together, we heaved the bag into the dumpster. The doctor offered me something to wipe my hands clean. I took it and discarded what was left with the garbage. Slowly, we made our way back to the team’s fire pit.
“Any preference on who you’d like to work with?” The doctor asked. “I know you just started but we take requests on Chroma. Unless you’ve got something you’re already working on? I’d be happy to help.”
“I imagine working with Kris wouldn’t involve me doing much,” I joked, trying to keep the idea afloat without mentioning I didn’t really have any personal goals. Well, I guess that wasn’t true. It was less of a goal, more of a thought. A, can’t say it out loud or else I’ll get unplugged, kind of thought.
“Well, Alison will just have you do most of her work. Gerald works alone, mostly,” he began listing off. “Naoto and Kris’ assignments are heavy duty stuff but if you’re really interested—”
“I can work with Adrien then?” I said, cutting to the chase.
He raised an eyebrow. “You ever worked with capturing spirits?”
“Before this morning; never,” I said honestly. “That’s why I’m interested. It’s practically the opposite of what I know.”
Dr. Mickey laughed, “I know the feeling. For me, studying the still debated unconscious realm was an unpopular move from the more traditional sciences.” A nod to his revolutionary research that led to his alias as Dr. Cosmic. It was technology too complicated to obtain anything worth being compromised over. “Alright, after we move on Edward Mansion we’ll get you two situated.”
I didn’t realize Rook was that close to catching him. Still, it’d be a chance to prove myself to the team.
“Oh and Callie; the program director gave me access to your personnel file.” My eyes widened for a split second. “Nothing too personal, just the basics. But if you need any accommodations, just ask.”
“Does,” I hesitated to ask. “Does the team know?”
“No,” Dr. Mickey replied. “And it’ll stay that way unless you say otherwise.”
“Thank you,” I said, breathing a sigh of relief.
“But let me just say; I am over the moon to be working with you.” I think he meant that. In fact, he seemed almost giddy. “Trust me. You won’t find a better group of odd balls to fit into.”
“I’ll hold you to that,” I said. I eyed his smile with clear suspicion. “You’re not gonna dissect me, are you?”
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