The observatory was quiet when they returned.
Helena met them at the entrance, her Thunderbird perched on the lamppost nearby. The bird's blue feathers crackled with residual static, and its golden eyes tracked the party as they filed through the gate. Helena herself was composed as always, but Nathan had learned to read the tension in her shoulders.
"You're back later than expected," she said. "And you all look like you've got something to tell me."
"We do." Nathan's voice was tired. "We need to speak with Valerie. Now."
Helena studied his face for a moment. Then she nodded and turned toward the observatory. "I'll wake her."
---
Valerie was not pleased to be woken.
She shuffled into her office in a robe over her combat tunic, her white hair sticking up in three different directions. Boris the Yeti padded behind her in his small form, his glacier-blue eyes squinting with irritation at being disturbed.
