The next stop on their journey was London, which would be followed by Paris, Seoul, and ending in Honolulu. Thankfully, the flight from LAX to SFO had been the only leg of the trip that Camilla had to fly on her own the entire way. The other legs were either too long, went over foreign territories, or both, and she and Pala would follow them in military planes with occasional assistance from foreign guardians. While Camilla would've preferred to be inside the commercial plane with Elsie and Mack, at least she no longer had to be exposed to the elements.

An excited crowd of fans greeted them at Heathrow, most of them trying to flag down Mack. He apparently had a dedicated fanbase in a good portion of Europe, and he made sure to sign as many autographs and pose for as many photos as he could before getting scolded by Lee for being a security nightmare.

"You're supposed to be setting an example for the civilians," Lee chastised him as she used her enhanced strength to nearly carry him to their vehicles waiting at the curb. "And you're our only healer. What are we going to do if you go down?"

"It's a good thing I can deflect most attacks with my radiant smile." Mack beamed for emphasis. "Then I can counterattack with my gorgeous cheekbones. Right, Elsie?"

"You're so embarrassing," Elsie replied, but she only grimaced to hide her laughter.

The schedule initially had them filming for about a week and a half in London, but the city's infamous rain delayed the shoot by two days. While the primary crew members had meeting after meeting on how to make up for the lost time, Camilla got stuck standing guard for them with Perez while Elsie and Mack took Pala to explore the city. Camilla was more than a little bitter over her bad luck, but it was mostly alleviated by the small treats and souvenirs that Elsie and Mack brought back for her.

A last minute schedule change had them travel to Paris a day early, giving them a sunny location to film their outdoor scenes. Camilla didn't know exactly how movie magic worked, but it sounded like as long as they didn't include any identifiable information, they would be able to have shots in France and still be able to call it England.

The change in filming plans changed the security ones as well, as they had to travel by train instead of airplanes, but the revision was quickly approved by the Org. Aside from having to rush a revised security proposal, Camilla didn't mind the change much, especially since that meant she could ride in the same vehicle as everyone else. Plus, it gave Camilla the chance to take short naps during the ride, and Elsie would make sure to nudge her awake if Lee or Perez walked by on their tours.

On their third day in Paris, they awoke to bad news: Exodos had struck two more times in Southern California, once in San Diego and another time just north of Los Angeles. The news put the filming on hold while the Org reevaluated the security threat, and only Lee and Perez were privy to those discussions. After about two hours, the decision was made that it was safe for them to continue as they were doing, provided that they minimized their time in public, including during downtimes.

Even with the go-ahead from the Org, there was still a high level of tension amongst the cast and crew when they resumed filming, and Elsie was no exception. Camilla had arrived on set early to monitor the set-up and had her abilities spread out over the surrounding area, so she knew the moment that Elsie arrived that something was wrong.

Her energy buzzed with adrenaline and nerves, and her heart pounded so strongly that it reverberated throughout her entire body. Camilla didn't need her eyes to ensure the set and the surrounding area were safe, so she kept her energy field activated while she headed in Elsie's direction.

The set was a small city block shaped like a narrow triangle with two streets running down the longer sides of it. While the architecture looked much more elegant than the typical city streetfront in the US, the streets were much more slim, appearing only wide enough to fit two small cars side-by-side.

Elsie stood in front of the building at the point of the triangle, looking down one narrow street then the next. Every so often, her eyes would slowly move upwards, tracing out the height of the buildings that lined the streets and each of their six stories.

"You're here," Camilla said once she was close enough to Elsie.

"Huh?" Elsie said blankly, turning towards Camilla with glazed eyes.

From up close, Elsie's pulse felt stronger than ever, and her breaths were much shorter than normal. Immediately, Camilla placed a hand gently on one of her shoulder blades and steered her away from the narrow roads. She didn't stop until they were at the edge of the main road, a much wider street that led straight to the Arc de Triomphe. There were a few spectators snooping around the set, so Camilla guided Elsie to the side of a small patisserie and positioned herself between Elsie and any prying eyes.

"Breathe, Elsie," Camilla said softly, keeping her hand on Elsie's shoulder. "Just focus on me."

Elsie did, and kept her eyes focused on Camilla's until her breathing evened out. When it finally did, she closed her eyes and exhaled deeply with a hint of exasperation.

"Shit," she muttered to herself, then opened her eyes and looked at Camilla. "Thanks."

Camilla nodded. "What's wrong?"

Elsie glanced to the side where a few crew members walked by as they continued to set up, then looked quickly back towards Camilla.

"I'm supposed to be on the wire today," Elsie explained, then nodded her head at the buildings behind her as best as she could without having to look at them. "I'll be chasing some suspects through these streets and over the buildings, but..." She paused to chew her lip nervously. "I don't... I don't know if I can do it."

"Could you use a stunt double?"

Elsie shook her head and weakly chuckled. "For something this simple? That goes completely against my work ethics."

Camilla squeezed Elsie's shoulder in what she hoped was a comforting way. Even with her abilities, Camilla was powerless against Elsie's fears. And after all the times Elsie had helped her fall asleep, Camilla wanted to help her for a change.

"What if I helped?" Camilla suggested. "I could use my abilities."

Camilla didn't know how to interpret Elsie's wide eyes, so she assumed it was concern over trusting Camilla's abilities to send her flying through the air.

"You would still have that harness thing on you, of course," Camilla quickly clarified. "But I could be the backup to that."

"Sorry, that's not what I was worried about," Elsie shook her head, and her eyebrows were pinched in concern. "You think you could do that?"

"It wouldn't be hard."

"No, like, would you be allowed to do that?" Elsie's eyes looked over the crowd around them, as if she was trying to find Camilla's superiors. "Would they let you? It's not really related to security, is it?"

She was right, but Camilla had to try. "I'll think of something."

Elsie gave her another small smile that didn't seem to hide her worry completely. "Camilla, I don't want you getting in trouble for me. I'll... I'll be fine."

"Miss Bates?" one of the crew members called from a little down the street, just in front of where a small tent had been set up. "Costume's waiting for you."

"Okay, I'll be right there!" Elsie replied, the waver in her voice barely noticeable. Then, in a lower voice, she muttered, "shit."

"Hey," Camilla said, then waited until Elsie's eyes had focused back on her. "Even if I'm not allowed to help, I'll still be there. Okay? I'll be right there."

It took a moment, but eventually Elsie nodded, looking a bit more assured than earlier. "Thanks."

I haven't done anything yet," Camilla said, slightly surprised.

But Elsie seemed to disagree, and she smiled knowingly as she left to get ready. "Sure you have."

Camilla was left standing in front of the patisserie, confused, before remembering what she had to do. It took her a few minutes to find Lee amidst the crew, and Camilla mustered up all the enthusiasm she had before she made her approach.

"Bonjour, Lee Capitaine," Camilla greeted. The giggle that she added on was completely fake, but Camilla was actually a little proud of her combination of Lee's name with the phrase "le capitaine."

"Oui, Officière Wyatt?" Lee replied seriously and without missing a beat, obviously not as appreciative of Camilla's humor.

"I have a teensy little recommendation for today's plan," Camilla said, showing her index finger and thumb squeezed together for emphasis.

"And that is?"

Camilla wasn't sure what the best way to phrase her request would be so Lee wouldn't think Camilla was just looking for an excuse to mess around. But she did know the wrong way was to beat around the bush, and that would only make Lee less likely to agree with it. If she wanted her idea to stand a chance, she had to be direct about it.

"I'd like to request permission to assist with the film's stunts," Camilla stated simply.

Surprisingly, Lee didn't reject her outright, and she actually seemed to be considering the idea behind her poker face.

"What's your reasoning?" she finally said after several long seconds.

"With a dangerous stunt like this, it would be a likely target for an attack," Camilla explained. "Even more so if Miss Bates does the stunt herself."

"And if they attack a different target instead?" Lee countered. "Your focus and energy will be in the wrong place, and we can't waste even half a second in that type of situation."

"Aw, Cap'n," Camilla said, feigning insult. "You have so little faith in me, huh? You should know I'm capable of doing this in addition to my original assignment."

Lee studied her for a moment. "And if you fail?"

Camilla almost froze at those words, but she forced herself not to think about them.

"I won't."

"Nothing is ever absolute," Lee warned. "There is a small chance that your idea will come back and bite us all in the ass. If it does, are you willing to take responsibility?"

Camilla bounced her head up and down in confirmation. "Yep."

"Even if that means a one-way trip to Farallon?"

The mention of the prison made her brain stumble, but her voice didn't hesitate the slightest. "Of course."

Lee hummed in contemplation as she scanned the area around them, then looked Camilla in the eyes.

"I'll grant permission, but only under one condition," Lee said.

"Ma'am, yes, ma'am."

"You drop this act right now," Lee said, pointing at Camilla's face. "I may not know why you waste time doing something so worthless, but I do know it's not real. In fact, if you spent half as much time practicing your leadership as you do putting on this facade, you would've made captain by now. So drop the act, then you'll get your permission."

That was the last thing Camilla expected Lee to say, so it took a moment for her words to sink in. The first thing Camilla thought was that it probably wasn't just her personality that kept her from being captain, and she didn't think she'd be good with such responsibility in the first place.

As for her forced persona, she had no idea how Lee found out, but it was too late to do anything now. Besides, Camilla had no problems with Lee's offer; in fact, she welcomed it. Eventually, Camilla nodded, this time with her normal lack of enthusiasm.

"Yes, ma'am," she agreed, much more subdued than she was before.

"Good. Then, Officer Wyatt, assist with the film's stunts, as discussed."

"Yes, ma'am."

Just as Camilla was heading back to her post, Lee spoke up again.

"Oh, and Wyatt?" she said, and waited for Camilla to turn around. "For the record, if something does happen, rest assured that I will be the one to take ownership. You are on my squad, so I take full responsibility for whatever you do. If you trust me on that, I will trust that you make the best decisions for our squad and our country. Understood?"

Camilla, again surprised, nodded once more. "Yes, ma'am."

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