He wasn't surprised by Kotetsu's response, but that didn't mean Barnaby wasn't going to make sure he'd thought this through. "What if it injures someone later?" he pressed. "You're prepared to take responsibility for that?"

But now wasn't the time to get into a debate about theoretical situations. They were in the thick of a bad situation, and they needed to get out of it. Large, dark shapes swooped overhead, catching Barnaby's gaze. He furrowed his eyebrows. They could discuss this later.

"Regardless, we can't stay here, and we can't go back to town with things like this," he suddenly added. "Let's return to the Institute for now."