A short, not-quite-hysterical laugh makes it out. Tactical advantage. Literally, sometimes. But also the last thing the other Steve saw before he left, the last piece of Soldat they hadn't shown him yet, that maybe drove him away. (No. It's not your fault, Asset, I know. Hey, you did what none of the rest of us could. If Steve could not handle it, that is Steve's problem. Shut up.)

"No. No, it. Mostly happened before the train. In the last place I was in, Beacon. Started off with Sarge. He's. He's the most like you'd remember, I think. Chatty, Brooklyn, army memories and science fiction. Then the Asset, it's the violence, the fear, the. The protection. Then the Bottomless Pit, who just wants to eat all the time. We mostly get along. Make it work."

They scrub at their forehead wearily. "Now there's James. I don't know if he'll stay after the mission is over, but he's there now. And not happy about any of this."