The prep room felt like the inside of a drum.
The silence was a low, humming thing, full of the echoes of Clara's confession.
A secret clan.
A community of system scientists living off the grid.
Miles just stared at her, his brain trying to file this new, world-shattering piece of information into a folder that didn't exist.
"So, let me get this straight," he thought, his internal monologue running at a million miles an hour.
"Not only is she smarter than me, braver than me, and significantly better at social interaction..."
"...she's also a secret agent from a hidden ninja village of super-geniuses."
"Great."
"No pressure."
Leo, who had been standing there with his jaw somewhere near the floor, finally rebooted.
"A clan?" he said, his voice a squeak of pure, unadulterated nerd joy.
"Like, a real-life, honest-to-goodness ninja clan?"
"Do you guys have cool hideouts? Secret handshakes? Is there a volcano involved? Please tell me there's a volcano."
