Zara threw a couch cushion at Milo.
"Enough mission talk. We deserve a break."
Jessie nodded, yawning. "One full day without clones, codes, or explosions."
Leo popped his head out of the kitchen. "Too late. I already planned a group picnic."
Milo blinked. "Wait. You… planned something? That's suspicious."
Leo grinned. "I googled 'how to picnic like a hot responsible adult.' You're welcome."
---
At the Park
Sunshine. Sandwiches. Zero signal interference. It was almost too peaceful.
Jessie laid her head on Milo's shoulder.
"This is nice," she said.
"You mean... the not-running-for-our-lives part?" he teased.
She nodded. "And the part where you smell like laundry instead of stress."
---
Meanwhile, Leo tried to spread a blanket. It ended up upside down.
Zara watched, unamused. "You're hopeless."
"I'm trying, okay? This thing has tassels. It's confusing."
She grabbed a corner. "Here. I'll help—"
They tugged at the blanket… and ended up accidentally tumbling onto it—together.
Eyes wide. Noses too close. Breaths paused.
Zara smirked. "Well, if this was your plan to get me horizontal, it's working."
Leo choked. "I—I wasn't—I mean—wait, was it working?"
She laughed. "Relax, Romeo. You're cute when you panic."
---
An hour later…
Jessie and Milo went for a walk while the others napped under a tree.
"Y'know," Milo said, "for once, no weird glitches. No evil clones. Just us."
Jessie smiled. "Almost boring."
He looked at her. "Wanna make it less boring?"
She raised an eyebrow. "What are you thinking?"
"Let's prank Leo."
---
Cut to: Leo waking up to find
1. His shoes filled with ketchup packets.
2. A fake notification from Crystal: "You've matched with... Your Aunt."
3. His phone wallpaper replaced with a super zoomed-in pic of Zara's confused face.
Leo screamed.
Zara groaned. "I knew you guys were up to something."
Jessie giggled. "We promised no explosions. We never said no chaos."
---
Just as they packed up the picnic...
DING!
All their phones buzzed at once.
> [CRYSTAL SYSTEM ALERT]
New anomaly detected.
Location: Zara's apartment.
Warning: Subject "Echo Variant Z" has reawakened.
Everyone went still.
Milo sighed. "So much for peace."
Leo stood up. "Was this picnic even real?"
Zara blinked. "Wait—did Echo just hijack my coffee machine?"
Jessie: "...we need to go."