"I love this place so much."

She pulls a vaguely-spiderlike device from her labcoat, test tubes along its back quadrant glowing a sickly, radioactive green. Slotting Kai-Zi’s implant into its jaws, she points it directly at his head.

“Good! Now, stand very, very still.” 

He becomes positively statue-esque.

The device goes ZORCH, and then there is something else inside his brain trying to - integrate with him -

The world spins: December grabs his shoulder, and holds his gaze. 

“Steady. Look at me. Please do your best not to vomit. Yes, becoming something greater does have some nasty side effects. It’ll pass. You’ll feel like you got hit by a fucking truck, but it’ll pass. Keep looking at me. Don’t worry about grabbing, I’ve had worse. Don’t bite your tongue.”

Oooo...kay. Everything is suddenly very–wobbly–and his muscles aren't working so well all of a sudden. He feels like every square inch of his skin is being bruised in reverse, which would probably be fun if he didn't have the world's worst case of vertigo.

He sways slightly in place and mumbles something indecipherable.

She flashes the green lights of her spider in his eyes. 

“Pupil dilation... good. Still breathing, that’s good too. Pulse...” Her fingers dig into his wrist. “...slightly tachy and fast, but that’s par for the course. Worst of it should be past by now. What’s your name, where are you, what did I just do to you, what color is the sky on alternate tuesdays?”

He tries to pull himself together enough to answer coherently.

"I'm Sss. nno. I'm Kai-zi. I'm in...a lab. You teleported my...thing. Into my head. And...'s this a trick question...?"

"B plus on your test questions: congratulations, you pass. The prize is not having brain damage. Not that that was likely, but I did cut it finer than I normally would. Wanna see your new scar?" 

"–um yes."

He sits up a little straighter and almost falls over backwards but he doesn't.

She pulls out her phone, snaps a quick picture, then holds it up for kai-zi to see. 

There's a pale starburst radiating from just above his left temple, twining across his scalp and through his hair like the tangled roots of a lightning-struck tree.

"I let the teleporter envelope clip you. Just a little, just a hair - if I'd been off much further, I'd have interpolated your implant with your skull - but it definitely gave the impression I wanted. How do you like it?" 

“...it’s perfect.”

It’s real — a mark from the event, not just a symbol added afterwards — and it’s messy and electric and gorgeous.

“Thank you.”

“It’s no problem. Now then, we should probably get some food into you, yeah?”

He nods.

"I could definitely eat."

"Let's not delay, then." 

She pushes open the door Avalon left through, and calls: 

"All done!" 

"- That was fast! Let me guess, telesurgeon?" 

"Got it in one!"

"Gee, how'd I guess? Come join me in the kitchen, hands are full -" 

"Coming!" 

She beckons to Z as she steps through the door. "This way, mind the Escher." She waves casually at a print hanging on the wall featuring many oddly-angled staircases. "I think it might be an original."

"Is somebody insinuating I do time travel over there?" 

"Nah, you wouldn't be stupid enough to go get a brand new Escher!" 

"- anyway, come on, kitchen's just around the corner."