Lead watched anxiously while Jet was concentrating on summoning all her heating powers to melt the block of ice Steel had involuntarily trapped himself into.
Silver was on the other side of the block, acting as a heat conductor, almost doubled over by the waves of heat conveyed by Jet. Despite being much stronger than the lither Jet, he was sweating and clearly on the verge of collapse, while Jet wasn't showing any signs of weakness; she wanted to save Steel and she was completely putting herself into it.
Hydrogen had already cleared the area of the sea water surrounding the block of ice, and now was kneeling on the shore, completely spent.
They were relying on Curium, a transuranic element, to keep the whole area out of synch with the present, to avoid being seen by the humans. Lead just hoped that the unstable element would not get tired or just change his mind about his willingness to help. The transuranics were not overly reliable.
Lead was waiting for his fellow operators to melt the ice to take care of Steel.
They all knew very well that water was a deadly element for Steel; his molecular weight would cause him to sink like a rock even in normal circumstances. In this particular case the time agent had likely drowned in the ice he contributed to create, unless the freezing process was so fast that the water froze before entering his lungs.
Either way, none of them was ready to give up, and they all devoted all their energies in trying to save their fellow operator. Steel was not an overly social person, but they all respected him, and one of them even harboured deeper feelings for the aloof agent.
Panting from the effort and soaked in sweat, his nice suit uncharacteristically wrinkled and crumpled, Silver asked the huge man at his side: "Lead, do you think he survived?"
The oversize operator looked at him with an unusual sad expression.
"I have no idea, Silver. He might, but he might as well have inhaled too much water."
"What happens after we have melted the ice?"
"I will bring him to the healing chamber and let the authority decide if he's... you know..."
"Still alive?"
Lead shook his head. "No. Worth saving."
Silver staggered and almost lost his concentration. "WHAT? Why on earth shouldn't he be worth saving?"
Lead put a comforting hand on the shorter operator's tense shoulder. "Because his brain might have lacked oxygen long enough to be permanently damaged, although not long enough to die."
Silver couldn't believe his own ears. "You mean that the authority would simply let him die if his brain is damaged? That sounds awfully like a death sentence to me. I don't think Steel deserves that."
Lead agreed. "None of us does, but we must comply with the authority's decision. Only they can open the healing chamber for him."
Silver muttered: "I don't want to know what they're planning for our retirement."
Lead didn't answer, and instead he slowly approached Jet, who was almost done with her task. Steel was now laying on a bed of ice, and Jet was sending off the last heat waves to separate him from the underlying layer.
Her job completed, the woman collapsed on the damp sea bottom, followed suit by an exhausted Silver.
As soon as Steel was free, Lead put both his hands on his frozen shoulders and initiated the thawing process. It took longer than usual, because Steel was not actively cooperating, but his body temperature began to rise ever so slowly. Lead had no way of knowing if Steel thawed because of the insulation he was supplying or because his body was still responsive, and therefore still alive.
As soon as he had restored an adequate temperature, Lead picked him up effortlessly, watched him with a grave expression that sent shivers of fear along the spine of all the other operators, and disappeared.
Sapphire was waiting for them outside the examination room, which was surrounded by glass walls. She perfectly knew what was about to happen. She knew that Steel was alive, because she still felt the presence of their mental link, but she also knew that the authority could decide that he was too compromised to live. An operator with a damaged brain was no use to them.
She shivered involuntarily at the thought. Steel's brain was his most valuable asset, and she knew that he would not want to live if it were damaged. So the authority's decision could actually be merciful, not necessarily pitiless.
Her own feelings, though, were conflicting. The only thing she knew for sure was that she had never felt such an excruciating despair in her whole life.
She decided to be strong for him. Steel would not want to see her cry, so she fought back the tears that were stinging in her eyes.
But all her resolve crumbled when she saw them appear inside the room at the other side of the glass. Steel was completely limp in Lead's embrace, his head and arms dangling lifelessly and his body dripping water all over. His beautiful hair was soaked and his handsome face was so pale that he looked like... gods help her, he looked like a corpse.
Lead's eyes rested on Steel as a father might look on a dying son, and Sapphire realized how much he cared for him.
She palmed the glass with both her hands and grew perfectly still, holding her breath and anxiously waiting for the authority to scan her partner and make their decision.