You suggest her to collect her strength and hit the willow hideout.. when ready .. make some quick brain smoothie..

You lean forward, lowering your voice despite being alone with Lina in the apartment. "I think you should collect your strength and hit the Willow Lane hideout when you're ready. Make some quick brain smoothies." The casual brutality of your words surprises even you, but the stakes have changed since Viktor's call.

Lina's eyes widen momentarily, then narrow with calculating intensity. She paces a few steps, her university t-shirt clinging to the slight sweat on her back, before turning to face you again.

"I was planning to wait until tonight," she says, running a hand through her dark hair, "but Viktor's call changes everything. If they're evacuating, we might lose our chance completely."

She moves to the window again, peering through the blinds at the street below. The morning sun catches in her profile—Jane's profile—and your chest tightens with the familiar ache of grief and newfound purpose.

"The compound you injected me with," she says, pressing a palm against her sternum. "It's working faster than either of us expected. I can feel my powers surging beneath my skin like electricity looking for ground."

She closes her eyes, concentrating. A shimmer passes across her skin—brief, like heat rising from pavement, then gone. When she opens her eyes again, they flash with an inner light that wasn't there before.

"I think I can transform now," she says, her voice tinged with surprise and determination. "Not just soon—right now."

She steps away from the window, centering herself in the living room. "If I hit Willow Lane immediately, we have the advantage of surprise. Viktor won't expect me to recover so quickly."

You nod, calculating the tactical advantage. "He gave me an hour to surrender there. That means they're waiting for me, not you."

"Exactly," Lina says, a dangerous smile curving her lips. "They'll have guards posted, expecting a frightened bio-engineer to come crawling back—not Diamond Girl at full strength."

She paces again, working through the plan aloud. "I teleport in, liquidate anyone who gets in my way, find whatever information they have about Marco's whereabouts, and get out before they can deploy your compound."

"Can you teleport again so soon?" you ask, remembering how drained she was after bringing you both to the apartment.

Lina shakes her head, frustration flickering across her features. "No. That's depleted for at least a day. I'll have to go the old-fashioned way." She flexes her fingers, and for a moment, they gleam with an almost metallic sheen before returning to flesh. "But once I'm diamond, nothing can stop me from walking straight through their front door."

She stops suddenly, turning to face you fully. "But what about you? If I leave you here..." She doesn't finish the sentence, but her implication is clear—you'd be **** if Viktor's men come looking.

"I could come with you," you suggest, though the prospect of witnessing more brain liquefaction makes your stomach turn. "Or find somewhere else to lay low until you're done."

Lina considers this, absently tucking a strand of hair behind her ear—the gesture so achingly reminiscent of Jane that you have to look away.

"No," she says finally, decision made. "You stay here. Pack what you need—quickly. When I leave for Willow Lane, you should head to the campus lab. It's the last place they'd look for you, and you can use the equipment there if we need to make more of the neutralizing compound."

She moves closer to you, her eyes holding yours with fierce intensity. "I'll meet you there when I'm done. Three hours, maximum. If I'm not there by noon..." She trails off, leaving the grim possibility unspoken.

"You'll be there," you say with more confidence than you feel. "Just be careful. If they've already synthesized my compound—"

"They won't have time to use it," she interrupts, a cold edge entering her voice. "Brain smoothies, as you put it. Quick and efficient."

You watch as she rolls her shoulders, preparing mentally for what's to come. The woman before you—identical to Jane in face but so different in spirit—is transforming before your eyes, not physically yet, but in her demeanor. The ****, conflicted Lina is receding, replaced by the calculating determination of Diamond Girl.