Adler cleared his throat and didn’t say another word. He lowered his gaze and sifted through the figures on the three sheets of paper once more. Minutester, he said, “This form looks solid. I can whip it up for you right now.”


    He paused, then asked, “You really don’t know how to use any of these gadgets?”


    “Not a clue.” Mirabe admitted. Then she added with a hint of mystery. “But who knows about the future?”


    Adler rubbed his nose and set the papers aside, then walked over to a cab and pulled out two pairs ofb gloves. He handed one pair to Mirabe, saying, “I can walk you through using these machines while I mix up the concoction.”


    Mirabe slipped on the gloves and declined with a detached tone. “No need. Just focus on the mixing.”


    Adler took her words to meah that she was worried he’d get distracted and botch the mix. wasting precious ingredients. So, without further ado, he grabbed a medicine box and stationed himself in front of the extraction apparatus.


    –


    Whether you’re brewing potions the old–fashioned way or using high–tech gear, there’s one constant: precision. The form and measurements have to be down to the milligram. A smidgen too much or too little, and you might as well toss it in the trash it’s a bust. It meant Adler had to beser–focused, especially since he rarely concocted elixirs and now had a big shot looking over his shoulder. The pressure was enough to fray anyone’s nerves.


    Despite the big shot iming ignorance about the equipment<b>, </b>Adler couldn’t shake the weight of expectation.


    Potion–making isn’t a quick business, and extraction and purification are especially time–consuming. Byte afternoon, they’d onlypleted a third of the process.


    When six o’clock rolled around and Adler was clearly running on fumes, Mirabe stepped in.


    “You take a break. I’ll handle the rest.”


    She’d been shadowing him all afternoon and had gotten the hang of the machinery. Taking over


    wouldn’t be too difficult.


    Adler watched Mirabe, hesitant. “Better not. I’ll keep at it. These ingredients are pretty


    rare…”


    But before he could finish, Mirabe had already taken over his post. She operated the machinery with practiced ease, filtering and precipitating with a rhythm that was only slightly slower than expected, which betrayed no signs of being a novice.


    a


    Adler mmed up<b>, </b>mentally face–palming. Of course, she was a quick study – she was the big shot, after all.


    She probably didn’t want to hurt his pride by showing him up from the get–go. He felt like he’d


    12:32


    been reduced to a mere automaton.


    Two hourster, Mirabe removed the final product from the apparatus, took off her mask, and her cheeks seemed almost translucent under theb lights. She held the vial to her nose for at


    sniff.


    “How is it?” Adler asked eagerly.


    Pouring the liquid into a prepped ss bottle with a tinge of dissatisfaction in her voice, Mirabe remarked, “It’ll do, I guess<b>.</b>”


    Though the potion wasn’t as potent as those brewed by ancient methods, it was more than capable of neutralizing the poison in her Leo’s system. She screwed on the lid and tucked the bottle into her jacket pocket.


    Adler’s face was a mix of emotions when he heard Mirabe’s lukewarm “It’ll do.” He’d been part of the process for merely a third of it; the rest was all the big shot who imed to have never touched research equipment before. And she’d halved the time it usually took. Newbie? Yeah, right – nobody would buy that..


    Not to mention, on her first try, with zero screw–ups, she still seemed less than thrilled.


    He couldn’t bear to think about it any longer – the more he did, the closer he edged toward an existential crisis.