Nataw said, “Of course. We need you… I’ve been waiting for you to say something like this since all the arguments started.”

Then he stopped and looked over at Kee and Lee, asking, “Right?”

Kee looked up toward Nataw, “I know it’s hard for you. We all have friends among Destroy. If it could possibly happen, we’d like to end this without fighting any of them. We also know that’s unlikely.”

Govan nodded. “I’ve had my own visions. I know it’s unlikely, but hearing you say you see value in their lives is good. The less we kill, the better..”

Turning to meet Lee’s eyes, he said, “You don’t know how angry Destroy is about the way you left and that you took this thing.”

Lee shrugged. “After running from them for thousands of years, I think I might have an idea. They’ve destroyed star systems, intelligent species, interstellar nations, and empires simply because they thought I’d been there and influenced them in some small way.”

Govan stared. “In some small way? You’ve altered species evolution and raised armies that stood a chance of destroying us, and if not us, our servants. Word is that we should be looking for another. You’ve had enough time since the last.”

Lee crossed his arms, “Word from who? It seems like ‘we’ shouldn’t be looking for my hypothetical armies. It seems like Destroy should. ‘We’ already know about those hypothetical armies since we may or may not have created them.”

Govan took in a breath, “You know what I mean. You always have plans. You always have tricks up your sleeve. You put small things in motion that turn into big things later when everyone’s stopped looking. It’s unwise to assume you’re doing nothing and those in Destroy try to be wise.”

Grinning, Lee said, “I’m sure they try, but who’s been saying to watch for my murderous creations?”

Govan sighed, “Mednez, but he’s merely repeating what Halas and some others who knew you better said.”

Lee chuckled, “That’s who I’d have suspected. Halas won’t be doing much advising in the near future. There’s a decent chance he won’t reappear until after it’s all over.”

Shaking his head, Govan said, “At least he’s not dead. Where is he?”

“Mmmn,” Lee muttered, “I’m going to hold off on that one for a bit. I will say though that it was his trap for me that happened to go off on him. It will release him eventually, but not soon. I don’t even know how we’d get him out.

“If you’re still interested in joining up with the forces of leaving the younger species alone, we might want to think about what’s next instead of rehashing what people in Destroy think about me. For example, we might want to discuss whether you’re going to be a double agent or whether you’re going to quietly disappear, leaving Destroy to speculate as to why.”

Govan took a breath, holding it, but then saying, “I don’t have the temperament to be a double agent. I’m no good at lying. No offense meant, but you were better at it as was Kee.”

With a tilt of his head, Lee said, “No offense taken. That’s why I brought it up. We have a number of techniques you might use. Simply fading out everywhere might be good, but we could get some mileage out of staging your death. Setting it up so that you disappeared, but giving hints that the Ghosts killed you might pay dividends.”

Govan paused, but said, “We will have to decide that…”

He looked out at all of us, humans and a dog that watched with interest as unknown futures altered with every word.

Lee waved at us. “Sorry about that. This is going a bit long and you all can’t give away what you don’t know, right? We should continue it without observers. I’ll send you all back and we’ll meet you on Earth. I will, at least. The rest may have tasks elsewhere.”

It didn’t sound like a bad idea. I hoped that all of this with Magnus, the GCD, and four Artificers hadn’t attracted attention. 

My implant informed me, “Should it become necessary, the Xiniti weapons designated for destroying humanity can be repurposed to target Artificers.”

That was another thing I wouldn’t be passing on any time soon.

I felt the energy that hinted at a portal to home opening. As the power peaked, Lee used an Artificer channel to say, “Good job. You did everything you needed to and a few things I wouldn’t have dared to suggest. We’re moving in the right direction, and it shouldn’t be boring. I like that.”

Then the connection ended and I felt myself being thrown through time and space, my suit giving my time stream as the universe I’d come from, but our exact location was a mystery. Tabling any questions I might have for Werner Heisenberg, I let myself be propelled without resisting.

I’d already gone enough places for one day.

Grandpa, Grandma, and the original League disappeared. I wished we’d had a little longer to talk, but it probably wouldn’t have been wise.

The outlines of our League flew through the darkness with me, sometimes illuminated by flashes of light. Haley and I managed to clasp hands somehow and hung on to each other.

In my mind, I heard Spark’s voice, “You’re reentering your timeline. There are mild deviations, not enough to change anything important, but you may find that small details are different.”