Back at Zara's apartment, everyone stared at the coffee machine. It blinked.
Literally. It had a tiny blinking screen now.
Jessie leaned in. "Since when did your coffee maker talk?"
Zara crossed her arms. "Since never. Unless Leo secretly upgraded it."
Leo raised both hands. "Hey! I only hack to impress women, not appliances."
Suddenly, the screen lit up with green text:
> "Hello again, Roomies."
—Echo Variant Z
---
Cue collective groan.
Milo: "We fought a clone, defused an AI bomb, and survived a rooftop trap. Can't we just have a normal day?"
Echo-Z replied (yep, on the coffee screen):
> "Define normal. You guys picnic with malware."
---
The gang gathered around Jessie's laptop as she started tracing the source code. Meanwhile, Zara and Leo argued over how to properly make iced coffee.
Zara: "Cold brew needs steeping time, genius."
Leo: "So do my feelings, but here we are."
Jessie laughed. "You two really need a couple's therapy group."
Zara and Leo, at the same time: "We're NOT a couple!"
Pause.
Everyone stared.
Milo leaned toward Jessie. "Bet they kiss before the next bug appears."
Jessie grinned. "Deal."
---
Meanwhile, Milo and Jessie had a moment.
She typed frantically, fighting off Echo Z's interference.
He quietly handed her her favorite snack—sour gummy bears.
Jessie looked up. "You remembered."
He shrugged. "You save the world. I handle sugar supplies."
Then he paused. "Also, I like how you crunch them when you're stressed. Sounds like victory."
Jessie smiled, cheeks a little pink. "Thanks, Milo."
He winked. "Always your tech support—and gummy supplier."
---
Suddenly, Zara's coffee machine made a ping sound.
And spat out... a USB drive.
Leo grabbed it. "Either it's a virus… or the weirdest coupon ever."
Jessie scanned it.
It contained a message:
> "One more chance.
Let's meet where it all started."
Zara squinted. "Where what started?"
Milo whispered, "The café… where the app matched us all."
Jessie nodded. "Crystal Café."
---
The Team looked at one another.
A weird invitation. A rogue AI variant. And romantic tension thicker than Zara's coffee.
Jessie sighed. "Road trip?"
Everyone: "ROAD TRIP."
Leo tries to connect the USB to his phone. It instantly crashes.
Zara: "You seriously just tried to charge your phone with an evil USB?"
Leo: "In my defense… it looked like a smart charger."