The members of the B-Squad were running on coffee and a few hours of sleep.

It had been almost a week since Bridge's return and they had made almost no progress in figuring out a way to help Bridge remember.

Kat had been working closely with them as was Dr. Felix, but still, there were no protocols, no procedures, no research, no books, nothing on this subject that might help them. The bags under their eyes had grown too noticeable for them to care and they knew they couldn't keep going like this, but they also didn't have a choice.

Papers, books, and reports lay splayed out all over the room dedicated to the project, codenamed Operation Abridge. Plates from old meals collected in the corner of the room where a cadet would take them to the cafeteria. Make-shift beds lined the room and a coffee pot sat on a table along the back wall.

Jack was taking a shift with Bridge and Sky was asleep in the back. That left Z and Syd to pore over everything they'd managed to compile from the SPD archives and records.

The files they had contained a lot of information. Unfortunately for them, most of the information was incomplete, an educated guess, or completely theoretical. In the analysis of their powers, the lab had estimated all the possibilities that came with training and growing their powers, but the lab wasn't entirely sure how the powers worked or how to begin growing them.

Syd hadn't slept for over 24 hours, even though she was supposed to have slept before Z came in. She found if she left with some of the files under her jacket, she could continue to research in the quiet of her room instead of sleep. Was it dishonest? A little, but she had to find something to help Bridge.

She read over the report of their parents' lab accident for what felt like the millionth time. She kept hoping something would suddenly click and they would get an idea on how to create a chamber to contain Bridge's abilities.

The report contained little that Syd didn't already know, and it seemed like the technicians and lab researchers still were searching for an answer as to what exactly happened that day.

While she read, Syd kept switching her hand from turning into the metal from the desk and the wood from the pencil. She hoped that utilizing her abilities might give her an insight into Bridge's. Still, nothing clicked. Their powers were so different from each other; hers were physical and Bridge's powers seemed to be more mental.

She dropped the reports onto the table and leaned back, rubbing her eyes. The words seemed to swirl on the page. Concentrating became even harder when a cadet entered the room behind them to begin cleaning up from their previous meal, but it seemed like he had no desire to keep his noise level low. Plates clacked against each other and silverware clinked into the dish tray.

She knew the cadet was only doing their job, but the longer they cleaned, the more irritable Syd grew. She huffed in frustration and rammed her earbuds in. She calmed down once her playlist started and she felt like she could focus again. However, not ten minutes had passed when someone yanked her earbuds out.

"Syd!" Sky shouted.

Syd whipped around. "What?!"

Sky dropped the cord in his hand. "I've been trying to get your attention for the past five minutes!" He grumbled,

"Okay," Syd snatched the cord off the ground. "A simple 'hey Syd' would have sufficed!"

"I tried! You didn't hear me!" Sky shouted back.

"I'm sorry that I had my noise-canceling earbuds in!" Syd felt her frustration bubbling over. "Can I help you with something?"

"Yeah," Sky turned his back. "Keep your music down. We can all hear it."

Syd broke. With a shriek, she turned her hand to metal and threw a punch at Sky, who barely put up his shield in time to deflect.

"Are you crazy?" Sky shouted.

"Crazy? Crazy! I've been working my tail off trying to find something to help Bridge. I haven't slept in 36 hours, I haven't had time to do my hair this whole time, and I had to stop putting on makeup because it kept wearing off. Meanwhile, you just sulk around like the world is ending. News flash! You're not the only one worried!" The words fell like a flood out of Syd's mouth. "You spend half your time with Bridge and the other half of the time, you're sleeping, or sulking in the corner, or training. Do you think you could actually help?!"

"Hold on, let's all just take a minute." Z stepped between the two and held out her hands in a calming gesture.

"Tensions are running really high right now," she continued. "All of us are tired and definitely need a break." She took a deep breath. "Yelling at each other is the worst thing we can do- both for Bridge and the people working on the essential operations whose lives are at risk right now."

Sky's face was still contorted in a scowl.

Syd's face mirrored his.

"Syd, have you really not slept in 36 hours?" Z asked.

Syd shrugged. She knew it'd probably been over that, but she didn't want to tell them.

"You need sleep." Z knew Syd was avoiding the question, which meant they wouldn't like the answer.

Syd huffed in her chair and swiveled back to face the reports.

"I'll sleep when I'm done with this."

"Syd, you need sleep now." Sky said. Syd couldn't explain it, but even the sound of his voice was grating on her nerves. Maybe they were right. She didn't mean to get all snappy and rude, but she couldn't bear the thought of feeling like she was wasting time while she slept.

"What would you tell us if we hadn't slept in 36 hours?" Z asked.

Syd groaned. She'd tell them to get some sleep. She'd tell them that Bridge wouldn't want them killing themselves for him. She'd tell them to stop being so stubborn.

The earbud Sky dropped was still playing music. It vibrated on the desk with the rolling of the bass and the melody. She bolted to her feet, causing Sky and Z to look toward her again.

"Something wrong?" Z asked.

Instead of responding, Syd grabbed the desk and changed her hand to metal followed by the wood of the pencil. She looked around for another substance. The walls were made of concrete. Syd raced to the nearest wall and shifted the material of her hand. An idea formed.

She flung herself back to the desk.

"Syd… you're delirious."

"Shhhhhh!" Syd shushed Sky, who gave a worried glance to Z.

Syd rifled through the files until she came to the description of their powers. Syd could change her hand to any material. Jack could walk through any material. Z could multiply herself. Sky could create shields. Bridge could read auras. Syd skimmed to the parts that described, to the best of the lab's knowledge, how their powers worked.

There it was. Syd spun around to face Sky and Z.

"I know how to help Bridge."