The Zero Point Rite (2026) : 3x9

Vane and Mordred each go out alone - no coordination, different targets - to test the full ceiling of what they're facing. Vane wins his engagement, but for the first time since his clash with Mordred, it wasn't easy. It's written in how he holds himself afterward. Mordred wins more cleanly but comes back shaken that the strength of their foe is far worse than he first thought, and he too is reminded of what anxiety feels like. They share their data without commentary. Back at the compound: Nico and Arden have settled into a working rhythm neither planned; Elias and Iris occupy the same spaces without pretense, the compound having quietly stopped expecting them not to; while Juno moves through the building saying goodbyes that she doesn't mean as goodbyes. She finds Elias in the evening and gives him something small - we don't see what. He looks at it, then at her. Neither speaks. Two streets from the compound perimeter, a van parks. Liam cuts the engine and waits in the dark.