“I mean, honestly,” I said, inspecting the hilt and opening up the side to see the electronics and battery, “I could do a complete redesign and you’d have a longer battery life, tougher components, and an implant to sword interface that would allow you extra functionality… I mean, it wouldn’t be that hard to adjust its size and shape or turn it from a sword to staff to a spear. You’d be able to adjust to the fight without swapping weapons.”

Cassie said nothing for a moment, but, letting out a breath, said, “How about we fix it for now? I like the idea of an upgrade, but I’d like my dad’s sword to work again before we start something new.”

I nodded. “I get it. Uh… So, I’m guessing that Tara’s going with Amy now. It makes sense and not just because Lee says to buddy up. If anyone’s got a background in switching worlds, Tara’s the best choice. Plus, if you want someone to who’s going to be good at gathering intelligence, she’s also one of the best options.”

Nodding, Cassie said, “Exactly. That’s what I was saying as you walked up. Are you going somewhere?”

Watching for their reactions, I said, “Home. It turns out that Grandma Vander Sloot isn’t dead and she’s back from power space.”

“Of course she’s not dead—” Cassie began and then said, “That’s a change. Do you know about any more?”

I shook my head. “None that matter, apparently. A couple of politicians didn’t get killed and replaced by shapeshifting aliens, but they voted for the same stuff anyway.”

Tara smiled, “Shapeshifters are like that. Infinity City had a few different kinds. The smart one replace their targets perfectly. Sometimes it takes years to know the difference.”

Amy smirked. “You met the nice ones then. Where I come from, they’re more likely to replace you and start eating your friends and family.”

Cassie caught Tara’s eye. “Are you sure you want to go with her?”

Shrugging, Tara said, “We had that kind too. My parents killed a few.”

Tara didn’t show any special emotion on her face. Her parents were dead but not from that.

I took a step toward the elevator. “I should probably go.”

“You should,” Cassie said. “Take advantage of every moment you have with her..”

She glanced down at the pieces of her sword in my hands. I’d forgotten that I had them. Point at the hilt and blade shards, she asked. “Do you want me to put them in the lab?”

“Please do,” I said, handing them back to her.

“By the way,” she said, “I think upgrading is a great idea. I wasn’t blowing it off just now. If you want, we can talk about it tonight or whenever, I guess. We have all the time in the world now—at least until the next crisis.”

I laughed, told everyone I’d be back for the movie, and took the elevator up to the house, grabbing a jacket from the closet, and stepping out into the fall weather.

Everything with the mayor had started in the fall of my senior year of high school, not long after my grandfather’s death. If I traveled back in time, the house and the neighborhood wouldn’t have looked much different.

The grass might be a little longer than Grandpa would have kept it. Between the Nine and the vast mushroom zombie army, mowing hadn’t been my highest priority.

There had to be more cars in the driveway than there had been when my grandparents lived here. Vaughn’s sports car might be gone, but Amy, Tara, and Cassie all had cars that they used for getting around town when they weren’t in costume.

Not to mention, of course, that I still owned the white van that could be transformed into a catmecha if needed. As I walked away down the sidewalk, it sat in the driveway, stuck between the garage door and Cassie’s Honda.

The neighbors weren’t all the same. The people who’d owned the house where I’d accidentally shattered the picture window by throwing Future Knight’s gun had moved out years ago.

They were also the sort of people who would have complained to the city about my lawn being overly long, so no great loss.

I started down the block, sometimes noticing shriveled or rotting mushroom goo in strips next to the road. The plows couldn’t get everything.

Behind the fence next to the entrance of Veterans Memorial Park, I noticed a 20 foot long sheet. It wasn’t the only one on the grounds.  The 30 to 40 degree weather must have kept it cold enough that it hadn’t separated into smaller rotting bits.

I didn’t look forward to when it did, but I supposed the city would get to it after clearing downtown.

No one sat at the picnic tables or used the playground equipment. So, the city probably wasn’t getting enough complaints yet. I wondered if the beach was mushroom goo free, but I didn’t have time to check. 

From this distance all I could see were trees and the dark waters of the lake behind them.

As I walked, my implant notified me that I had messages that had arrived via the ansible network. One of them was from the Xiniti high command, notifying me that Xiniti soldiers would be returning to the station at the Mars LaGrange point. When they did, we were no longer the only Xiniti in the system and solely responsible for the weapons designed to exterminate humanity should something go wrong.

The other message was from Kals.