The Battle Force 5, sans Tezz, strode into Zeke's diner and took their places in their usual booth, Diana following them. The place was, as usual, devoid of any real customers aside from themselves and Sheriff Johnson, who left the second he laid eyes on Stanford. Apparently, he hadn't let go of the dance battle incident. Zeke himself was absorbed in a show about how aliens were living on Earth, disguised as police of all things. He eyed the spot the sheriff had been moments ago and hummed.
The team chatted amicably, and only stopped once they were greeted by Grace.
"The usual order, please," Spinner said. Pointing a finger in the air, he added, "And one giant chocolate milkshake for me."
"Don't you ever learn?" came Agura from across the table. "You know that doesn't mix well with anything other than sugar."
"That's because I drank it too fast. I have a plan this time: One slice of pizza for every two gulps. That way, it's not right on top of the other."
"Wouldn't it make more sense to just wait a little while before getting the milkshake?" Vert questioned, already knowing the answer.
"No. Because then I wouldn't get to enjoy both at the same time."
"I'd like to order a much more reasonably sized milkshake," said Stanford amongst the back and forth.
"What kind?" she asked, pen at the ready.
"The kind that's as sweet as your smile." He wiggled his eyebrows and everyone groaned.
Grace rolled her eyes and chose to ignore him, turning to Diana. "And what about you? The usual?" She didn't miss the sudden discomfort that formed in the air. Everyone's gazes narrowed and Diana's eyes widened a fraction as she stared at her.
"Usual?" Spinner asked, baffled. "You mean you've been here before?"
They were all looking at her now and she played it off with a laugh. "Um, yeah? You guys saw me that time, remember? I was still wary of you," she said, referencing to their original run-ins with each other.
"How many times have you been here?" Vert questioned, feeling uneasy. Why would she be hanging around here long enough to have a usual order? How long had she been here? She'd made it sound like she was in Handler's Corners for only a few days. He thought back to the graphs Sage had shown him and noted how some of them had readings from several weeks back. He felt stupid. Of course they were all her. They would have to be.
Grace didn't miss the pleading look Diana sent her and was about to cover for her when Zeke chose that exact moment to lose interest in his show.
He leaned over the counter as he spoke. "Oh, she's been coming here at least a month now. Maybe two." He thought about it for a moment. "Yeah, I'd reckon it was two. You live in that town out West, don't you? What was it? Uh, Carlson, or something?"
Everyone stayed frozen in place. Zeke heard his program come back on and turned round again, forgetting all about the bombshell he just dropped.
"Cardston," Diana corrected, withholding a sigh. She chuckled awkwardly and felt her lips pull into a nervous smile at the stares of the others. She was at the end of the booth, perfectly able to run and never look back, but she knew it would be pointless. Instead, she looked at Grace and said, "The usual, please." She proceeded to act like it didn't happen, metaphorically twiddling her thumbs.
Grace strode off to fulfill their orders, sending her boss a glare that he didn't notice. The others sat in tense silence.
"So," Vert began, tone firm, "you wanna tell us how long you've really been here?"
She looked away. "I'll admit, it's longer than you were probably thinking."
"Two months? What were you doing here for two whole months?"
"I wasn't aware I needed permission to be here. Maybe I've got family, did you ever think of that? Or that I maybe live here?"
"You obviously don't."
"Okay, yeah, that last one was pretty stupid. But my point still stands. What's it to you what I was doing here anyway? Clearly, I just like to get lunch."
"We're not trying to accuse you of anything," Agura said, hoping to ease some of the tension. "It's just that you lied to us about being here and you lied to us about your car. We can't help but be a little mistrustful."
She leveled a glare at her. "I never explicitly stated how long I'd been here. And I haven't lied to you on my car. It's just a Camaro."
"A Camaro that leaves strange anomalies in its wake," Sherman put in.
"Oh, and your cars aren't anomalies?" She gave them each a withering glare. "Listen, I want to trust you, but I'm not gonna do that with all the scrutiny. Especially since I know just as little about each of you."
Grace appeared with their orders and they thanked her, not really paying her much mind. She slinked away to leave them to their affairs.
Lowering her voice, Diana added, "If I'd known this team of yours came with a spill-all-your-secrets order, I would never have joined you. Now listen, for the last time, leave. Me. Alone." She grabbed a slice of pizza and took a massive bite out of it.
The others started eating and that was how they stayed, chewing their food in uncomfortable silence. Occasionally, one of them would try to brighten things up but always failed. Even their previous joy had faded. The mood was dead.
By the time they finished, the sun was beginning to set. They paid and left one by one, Diana putting some distance between herself and the others. She saw the apologetic frown Grace wore and shook her head, hoping the other girl understood she wasn't mad at her. She fell into Whiplash and followed the taillights.
Upon returning, the team split up. Diana, unsure of herself, decided now would be an excellent time to go grab some extra gear from home. She headed up to the shop to get her house keys from the Camaro, intending to drive Whiplash, and found Tezz hovering over her car with a scanner, hood up. The doors and trunk were wide open and any belongings she'd left in there were scattered about. She grit her teeth and walked up to him, careful not make any noise.
Tezz let out a shout when he felt something strike the back of his head. Keeping his grip on his equipment, he spun around to find Diana, looking livid, glaring at him.
"What do you think you're doing?" she demanded before he could speak. He'd somehow defeated the locks and had obviously been rummaging through every nook and cranny he could find. She felt violated. "What the hell, man?" She shoved him away and slammed the hood shut, assessing the damage. She'd kill him if anything was missing.
"You don't really expect me to believe nothing is special about that car, do you?" he asked, straightening himself out.
"No. I expect you not to tear up my stuff like that," she growled, checking the glove box. "Who do you think you are?"
"A scientist. And as a scientist, it's my job to investigate things of scientific interest." The readings he'd gotten were fascinating.
"Do parts of ribs being lodged in your lungs count as 'scientific interest?'"
Vert happened upon them and stepped in before things got ugly. "What's going on?" He already had a good feeling, judging by Diana's anger and Tezz's disgruntled expression. The equipment surrounding him wasn't helping to prove his innocence.
She whirled around to face him. "This," she said, gesturing to her Camaro. "This is exactly the reason why I don't trust you people." She set about straightening up, ignoring the two men behind her.
Vert never felt a stronger urge to hit one of his own team than right now. His voice was like ice. "Tezz. What were you thinking?"
"Don't pretend you wouldn't have done this. You know she is hiding something. This car is not built like a traditional vehicle. There are traces of Sentient tech."
"You're the worst excuse for a scientist I've ever seen," she shot, putting stuff back into the trunk.
Vert knit his brows, anger replaced by worry. "Are you sure about that, Tezz?" That was a pretty bold claim for spending a couple of hours making a mess out of a car.
"I'm pretty sure of it," she said, slamming the trunk shut.
Tezz ignored her. "I am positive. See?" He showed Vert the computer model he'd made of the Camaro's layout and brought up images of a stock Camaro to compare. Pointing at numerous items, he said, "These are devices which seem to rely on Sentient technology. They have similar composition to a number of components, including some found in our own vehicles. I am not sure of their purpose. I was still in the process of trying to uncover their secrets when Diana interrupted me."
"You say that like I'm gonna give you another chance to look at this thing. She climbed into the driver's seat, brushing aside her paperwork and documents that Tezz had pulled out of the glove box.
"Hold on, Diana," Vert said, stepping over Tezz's equipment to get to her. "Let's just talk about this." His hunch had been proven right and he had to know why a random girl with no connection to them or their town had a car packed with hidden Sentient tech.
"No," she said, turning the key, the sound of the engine overpowering their argument. "I'm through talking." She put the car into reverse.
"Where are you going?" He couldn't let her leave. Not now.
"I need to grab some fresh clothes from home. Think of this as time to get your priorities in order." She gave Tezz a look. "Maybe you can use that brain of yours to figure out something useful. Like an apology." She pulled out into the desert and sped off, engine roaring. As much as she enjoyed Whiplash, she had missed the loud snarl of the Camaro.
Vert looked at Tezz, expression unreadable.
"Do you want me to show Sage my findings?" he guessed, not liking the look on his face.
"Yeah. I think we need to figure things out ourselves." They walked back into the Hub, Vert feeling uneasy.
