The video had decent production values. The Winnies were in flames. The shot was from overhead, likely from Todd's car. Dramatic, action-themed music played.

Todd's voiceover, deep and serious: "When these monsters infested North America, the Covenant of Man took action. No Humans were killed in this strike. Only… the unclean."

"Is that true?" I asked Adaobi.

She was in her rumpled outfit from last night. "Not in the least. Five Human dead, lots of casualties. The tanks are backed up."

The camera zoomed in on the baby Winnie, now named Molly, rolling in the water, still in flames. "Only with action will Humanity take back what's ours. Only with force will our foes understand our resolve. And only with your support will we succeed."

"What kind of support? Is he asking for money?" I'd thought money was a lost concept. "Recruits?"

She nodded. "They want people to join them."

"Ha!" I said, and looked around. Nobody else thought it was funny. "Ha?"

Lir's ears were back and his fangs were out. "Always assume the Covenant is the worst, and always assume it has an infinite supply of rotten people."

Todd himself was on the screen now. Standing in Golden Hour lighting at sunset. A full-body shot so we could see his leg cast, then a slow zoom on his face. His injuries weren't concealed. They made him look embattled. His broken tooth had been fixed. A scratch under his left eye looked new. I realized it was stage makeup.

"Is the shower working yet, Ruhk?" I looked around. Then remembered Ruhk was nocturnal; he and his crew were in the Houseplants, sleeping the day off.

I tested the shower, jiggling the long nonhuman-friendly handle. "Hot water if anyone needs it," I called.

"Me." Adaobi shoved me out of the bathroom.

I left some stuff for her to wear outside the door, and a towel. "Where'd we get the towel and clothes, amigos?"

"Delivered with the pizza and beer last night," said Lir.

"Pardon my ignorance, but why? Who gets paid to do this?"

"It's a tight-knit city. And people see you doing your thing, helping out and fixing Winnies. I'm surprised we didn't get an entire Target sent over."

It was a harder concept than guns being deactivated. "How can I make it up?"

"You already have. Helping Molly is huge. Makes everyone feel good, makes Caravan more resilient."

"Wow. Any word from Lux?"

"Not yet. I say let them cool off. But it's definitely over."

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

I'd been thinking the same thing. Adaobi came out, fresh and pretty and goofy in my Hawaiian shirt and board shorts. The cosmetics she'd usually had running, the white hair, the purple of her skin and the anime effects that zapped across it were gone. Her skin was a deep brown with a golden glow like butter. Her dark hair was done up in a neat afro puff.

Oh no… It's not like I hadn't seen her before, but this was new. Or I could see more clearly; that was probably closer to the truth. Adaobi was cute as hell.

Lir watched me closely, ears in Mateo is Funny configuration.

"I want cosmetics like you had," I said. "With the animations across your skin."

She shook her head. So did Lir. Mabruk was outside the window, and rotated left and right. "Not for you," he said.

"Why not–"

"Knock knock," said my phone. A woman's synthesized voice. "Anyone up there? On the downed Winnie, you guys are on the Chancla board, right?"

I picked up. "That's us. What can I do for you?"

"Amalthea, here to help with electronics and general machinery. I'm super not Human, is that weird?"

"No," everyone chorused.

"And I'm a lady. Is that weird?"

"Wow! Come up!"

"Better if you come down, I'm way aquatic."

"I have a stolen drone from the Covenant of Man. I want to use it against them, what do you think?"

"No foolin? Yes yes hurry, enough with the yakety-yak! Let's do it!"

Amalthea's vehicle was a submarine that was also filled with water. It was shaped like a bar of soap, sturdy with riveted bronze construction, little round portholes. It whirred around Molly's colossal feet.

We set foot in the boat Ruhk had arrived in: Me, Adaobi, Lir. Mabruk floated down at his own pace with his little propeller. I was holding the disabled drone.

The hatched popped open and Amalthea clattered from her submarine. She was the size of a large dog: a confusing mess of whirring powered armor and a bubble dome of glass over her face. And her face:

It was like a pair of praying hands made of pale blue shell. Two stalked eyes, black and shiny. Feelers linked to what had to be sensory interfaces. A busy mouth with constantly moving pedipalps.

Like a big lobster in a water-filled spacesuit.

The glass dome of her helmet had a blue star symbol in the form of a vinyl decal, roughly where a Human forehead might be.

She skittered left and right on her submarine, holding her claws up, down, various positions. She had five skinny, jointed legs on each side. Behind her was something like a mermaid's tail, segmented in riveted metal. Her entire body was encased in the armor, and it was obviously completely filled with water.

"Oh man, an OG Human, that's brave." Her voice boomed from a speaker in the submarine.

"Thank you. This is Lir, Adaobi, Mabruk and I'm Mateo. Ruhk is nocturnal. Thank you for coming."

She skittered left and right again, posing. It looked for all the world like martial arts. She waved her limbs, the two big ones ended in intricate, gauntleted hand appendages. She held them out, and the dextrous fingers made a grabby gesture. "What's the goal, dudes? Counterterrorism, I assume?"

I handed her the Drone. I felt her soul, a new connection. She was one of us. A little impatient, brusque and silly. Sympatico.

"I want in to their network and I think this might be the key."

"Roger that, stand by." She took the drone and went into her water-filled sub: ker-splash.

"Don't…uh…try not to get it wet please?" I said. Adaobi elbowed me.

"Too late," said the speaker on the sub. "Okay you've got access. What do you want to do now?"

"Are we the X-Men?" Lir said in wonder.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.