For a few seconds, no one moved.
Xavier stood where he'd climbed out of the pod, eyes moving across the destruction like he was counting losses that weren't his.
Reva just stood there, staring at him like her brain hadn't caught up yet. Ash streaked her face, blood drying along her jaw, her chest rising and falling too fast. Rin looked between Xavier and the smoking pod, then back at Xavier again, a crooked grin spreading across his face like he'd just seen something ridiculous and perfect at the same time.
"You're alive," Rin said. "Of course you are."
Arlen let out a shaky breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. Her weapon lowered a fraction, then another, before she caught herself and steadied it again. Viola's expression didn't change much, but her eyes tracked Xavier from head to toe, taking inventory the way she always did when something dangerous entered the room.
Around them, the war continued.
