The weighty insult made Tony give a small wince, but he was nodding even as he turned fitfully back toward his bench where he could at least have a shoulder to Lark, sure, he'd heard that a few times before and had no argument. What was he doing before she got here? His meticulously organized list of the 52 most pressing projects was not helping him decide where his hands should land.

"You know you're one of the best," he agreed eventually. "Of course your world is worse off without you. We'd be worse off without you. Colder, definitely."