“NO!!!”

The scream tore from his throat before he could stop himself. Those steady hands in front of him froze, still holding the wires that could be their death… or worse… expulsion.

“What?”

Ayla whispered, her eyes startled, annoyed and confused all at once. One eyebrow raised in a gesture he knew to be her equivalent of any actual facial expression.

“Red crosses blue…”

He trailed off. She simply stared at him rather than finishing the memorization technique.

“…makes it go boom!”

He finished. In the training room, standing behind plastic shields, he felt sure that because the practice bomb couldn’t kill him, his partner would.

“Red crosses blue…”

She spoke as though lecturing a child.

“…makes a friend for you.”

She began to move the wires once more and once more he yelled.

“NO! I–uh… I mean…”

Her glare could rival Medusa’s but he felt sure about this.

“Are you sure? I can clearly remember Mr.Howard saying it was dangerous to cross the two.”

“And I clearly remember him saying it was the proper way to defuse the device.”

“We are remembering this very differently.”

“Yes, we are.”

She gave a wicked grin as she crossed the wires of the plastic explosive.