Adana and Savannah are asked for interviews. (Bella gives them a lift to the news station.) Adana's suggested nickname from the Junebugs is "Conduit". Savannah is given a list of speedster names that are already taken and invited to pick anything that isn't there already.

"I'm pretty sure you can be literally anything, as long as you're okay with being known by it. It doesn't have to have anything to do with being a speedster."

"Pfff. Wonder if they'll know me as 'that kid that's on a permanent sugar rush.'" She pauses, and then checks the list. "... Rush is not taken. Rush is not taken. Actually, no, correction, it's taken, by me. Mine."

"Uh - I don't really have an opinion on the medal," says Conduit, awkwardly. "And the money - I'm - I think when there's a large-scale disaster it's not - I don't need to be paid any sort of bonus. It should probably go to working on recovering, especially for farmland, that's - some people lost their livelihoods, I'm a twin with a really useful power, I can just make money with powering a hydroelectric generator or something."

"That's very altruistic of you," remarks the interviewer.

"It's really not, it's practical, there are - my entire family is fine, my friends are fine, and we're not having any sort of - money issues or anything. Other people are not that lucky, so it should - really, really go to them first, money's nothing in comparison to a - to what people have to deal with after the eruption, but - it can seriously help. And it would be statistically more helpful to them over me. That's not altruism, that's pragmatism. Large-scaled pragmatism, but - you get what I mean. Right?"

The interviewer nods, sympathetic if not exactly understanding. "You're staying with Flicker and Verge's family, I understand. You and Flicker worked closely together during the evacuation, would you tell us about that?"

"Er. I need to see or be near where I'm making portals, or have my twin be on the other side of one, so - obvious problem there. Flicker can go anywhere on the planet, and can take a passenger, so - she would drop me off where the portals needed to be and I'd make them."

"Junebug officials have said that you pushed your portal size farther than your ratings suggest you ought to be able to."

"While you were holding static portals open what did you do?"

"Tried to organize, mostly. People missing family members, everyone scared and wanting to go back because they left something important in their home or wanting to find their friend or - it was - there was organizing that needed to be done. And I was free, because I was keeping the portals open, and people were inclined to listen to me because of the uniform and the bonus, so. It seemed kind of obvious what to do."

"How do you feel about having done so much at your age?"

"I - am - when you say it's 'so much' I - it wasn't enough. I could have probably worked another half a foot out of my portals if I'd tried harder, probably could have had my portals up and going faster if I'd have packed essentials faster, and - that's just - I just got lucky. If I'd gotten really lucky and had a - volcano bonus or something that let me stop it, before people died, then it would be enough." Pause. "I do not have a volcano bonus. It wasn't enough."

"But it was a lot of people. Do you have anything you'd like to say to them, Conduit?"

"I'm - not - I'm not marginalizing them," says Conduit. "This isn't - I'm - ..." Pause. "I'm sorry. That I couldn't save everyone. I - tried."

"Thanks. I can't stand how I sound outside my head, but I'll take your word for it that not everybody is focused on my dorky voice."

"You don't sound dorky," assures Adana. "Really. I like your voice."

"You do?"

"I - um. Wouldn't have said it if I didn't, I am a terrible liar."

"I didn't think you were lying - I'm just surprised."

"I dunno, Alli sounded normal when hers aired." Bella shifts her weight. "Uh, do you want to go straight home or - we could get lunch? I was in Italy yesterday and there's - I did a favor for a - I mean there's - d'you want to go out with me?"

"Yeah? That was a while ago and it turned out all we have in common is being lesbians. I'm not her girlfriend."

"Yes, I - I know, but I - it - I'm. It would - things would be - you went on a date with my sister."

"One time, I didn't even kiss her, I just wanted to dance - what's the matter?"

"There's a - my sister and I have a - thing. We don't ever want to get into a - a thing with a love triangle where both of us are members, because it would be - a - the biggest mess and we're - it's. Um. That?"

"You're - not wrong, she's not subtle," admits Adana, a little desperately. "And - I'm - that's not what I - that's. I. Do."

"I - but." And then she makes a little whining sound.

"She didn't put a flag in me - if you like me then -" says Bella, frustrated.

"I do!" assures Adana. "And I'm - no she didn't - there's no - flags are not involved, here, I - but it would - I would have been lying to my sister."

Bella droops. She shrugs, halfheartedly, and teleports them both to the front hall of the house and then vanishes. There is a flumph noise from her and Alli's room.

"I don't have a puppy," says Bella, rolling over. "I am just not widely experienced in being turned down for dates. What is it you need?"

Bella throws Savannah an irritated glance. "Apparently you wrote your initials on my forehead and I didn't get the memo."

"I would love an explanation."

"All-righty. It might take a bit, 'cause I didn't catch this early and she's probably scrambled a bit more now because you are miserable and that will make her miserable. So, questions before I go?"

"I think I'll wait. But - thanks."

"Yup. And - uh. Sorry I didn't catch this early. I thought she was getting better about this shit. Little baby bird hopping out of the nest and - that fuckery. Anyway. Going to go unscramble my sister, woooo!"

"Thanks," repeats Bella.

"No, don't you do that thing. Stop it. Right now. The other thing, too, you're not allowed to start that one."

"Which things...?"

"You were going to clam up and not be talkative and mope about it for weeks instead of doing anything about it. And then, after I told you that I'm totally fine with you going after Bella, you were going to do the thing where you were like, 'But no! I've ruined my single chance forever, it's not like we can ever do anything ever again, or - god forbid - I go talk to her!'"

"Oh. Those things."

Savannah makes a great show of clearing her throat and looking at Adana expectantly. She makes a 'go on' motion with her hand.

"Right, uh - I'm. The biggest idiot? Of all time?"

"Nah, that's the poor bastard that fucked our mom."

"Yeah. Now, seriously. You like Bella, right?"

Squirm. "Yes," admits Adana to her shoes. Hey, some star, somewhere, has probably burned out. Maybe.

"And! Am I dating her?"

"... No."

"Mhmmm. And, did we have any chemistry or like, actually do anything that was not, go to the dance together and not have chemistry?"

"You got her a flower."

"Oh my god. One flower. Stop everything, I hear wedding bells, we must run away into the night together."

"A bit, yeah. And! Wow, really, you turned her down without like - asking if I'd absolve you of your self-inflicted duty?"

"Well. I - didn't - it - there was..."

"Sort of."

"Okay, well. I've got zero interest in her, romantically, and I don't like being apparently responsible for two people that I like being miserable."

"I - that. Yeah. I'm - I am the second biggest idiot. Sorry."

"So, no, please don't play the 'I need to keep that sacred, sanctified oath I swore when I was eleven' card. Go be happy."

"I'm - not sure she wants anything to do with me, now."

"Tsk! No! No, I said at the beginning of the conversation, don't do that other thing, and here it is, now stop it. Go apologize, and ask her out."

"Wh- right now?"

"Hi. Um. I - talked to Savannah." Awkward pause. "I'm - sorry, I was being stupid."

"She explained what was going on in your head as far as she knew," says Bella.

"Aheh. Do - should I explain? It - seems kind of stupid now, honestly, but I can."

"I think I might benefit from a non-Savannah description, but you can skip it if you want."

"In - summary? I was keeping myself to an absurd standard set when I was eleven. And - didn't think things through as well."

"Yes. Sorry. We can - um. If you want, I'm fine with the little restaurant - er. I'll - really understand if you don't want to, because I was - being - I was stupid and I'm sorry."

"What? What, no, that's not true at all, I want to - go on a date with you, I'm just - I - you - I would totally understand if you're upset with me for being dumb?"

"No. We can definitely have the conversation at the cute Italian café."

"Okay." Bella gets up, and smiles shyly, and holds out her hand.

And Adana takes it, smiling back.

"I - sorry. I'm not used to people that aren't my dad or my sister 'jostling' me. I was - stuck on freaking out and not thinking about - what my sister's opinion of things would be or possible solutions or anything."

"It's okay. I just wanted to be clear since you asked."

"Thanks. It - shouldn't happen again. If it does, just - throw my sister at me."

"Will do. Anyway, apparently we're minorly famous even overseas? Somebody who knows the person who owns this place asked me for a teleport, I've been doing little nonemergency work because who knows if the economy's going to crash harder than it already has after a while with screwed-up weather - and I'd like to have a customer base by then, so - anyway I can eat here whenever I want and bring people."

"... I am sort of weirded out by being minorly famous, but - that's clever. I've been mostly doing emergency work and transportation - I'm pretty sure the Junebugs are going to have me making portals for trucks to drive through any week now, for imports."

"I just don't scale as well as you do. Can you fit trucks comfortably? I don't remember what radius you got up to - not up to container ship levels, I guess?"

"Don't hurt yourself."

"Yeah, I wasn't really - chomping at the bit to work another foot out of my portals. Honestly, I don't think I'll try it again unless there's another crisis."

"You know what is about the size of a truck and maybe worth looking into? Trains. If you line up the portals just right. There's train tracks lots of places, and most of the cross-continental routes are completely wrecked."

Bella beams.

Adana grins back. "The offer for teaming up with me's still open, by the way. We make a really good team."

"I'll drop you anyplace you need to be," Bella agrees.

"And I will help you with transporting large groups of passengers," agrees Adana.

"I can offer bulk rates."

"You can! It'll be great."

"How many people do you think need to be going to the same place from the same origin point before it's worth calling you in?"

"Uhh.... Hm. You can do four people a second on a good day, right? Probably enough to make up for the time that it would take to get me, then. But I'm fine with being called in for less."

"You're more famous than I am. Higher up on that - stupid list. I'd be worried people would start doing this just to see you - I guess I can route around that by hauling in Savannah instead to orient you if it gets more annoying than lucrative."

"Good point. I'm - still really, really not used to being famous. Uh, we can have a trial period with one number, and if that gets too annoying, we can grab Savannah."

"Maybe - ten people. I can do that many in less than three seconds, but the number is round, anyway."

"I should set up a website. And get a cellphone."

"I have zero experience in setting up websites, but I can try to help anyway."

"If you like. It won't need to be complicated. Just a price sheet and a phone number. I'll give Alli a cut if she screens calls for me, I think."

"Sisters are very convenient for that," snickers Adana. "Do I get a cut for the large-group transportation, or am I doing this out of the kindness of my heart and because I like you?"

"Of course you get a cut. You are not slave labor."

"Thank you."

"My generosity, it is overwhelming."

"Paying me! To help you make money!"

"It's almost as though I know anything about economics and incentives!"

"Goodness, it is! You are a very generous smart person that knows something about both of those things."

"I'm such a catch, huh?"

"Thanks."

"I um. Actually really liked your interview, you had some - really good answers."

"Really? I thought I came off kind of - shellshocked."

"You didn't, I mean - not more than would be obviously present, considering. You were very - you put one and a half million people before yourself. And that was really impressive."

"I mean, it's a lot of people. It is a very large number."

"I know, I agree, but - a lot of people would have talked about themselves or how terrible it was to do - I know Parsec spent most of his interview whining. So I'm impressed because you didn't."

"Parsec was - slot fifteen? ...Why do I keep referring to that stupid list."

"I think he was slot seventeen," clarifies Adana. "And - it's easier to think of people by their place on the list instead of by name?"

"I don't think that's why, though. I think in spite of everything I said and think I ought to believe I'm being competitive in my head with the other evacuators over - over people who lived in the blast zone. Bleah."

"I'll get that, I don't know any Italian," snickers Adana.

"Well, the food names usually don't get translated. Primavera? Marinara? Spaghetti?"

"True. But I'll still just - go with the recommendation. I'm boring."

"All right. You can have some of my pasta if you want too." Bella collects a waiter and points at things for him.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."