The steady click of Overhaul’s gloves adjusting a series of vials fills the sterile lab, his focus entirely on the delicate mixture before him.

A loud chirp breaks the silence, startling him enough to fumble slightly with a vial. His sharp gaze snaps to the source: a bright green parakeet perched on the edge of his workstation, its beady eyes fixed on the glowing liquids.

“Of all the times…” Overhaul mutters,

carefully setting the vial down before approaching the bird. It squawks and flaps its wings, knocking over a glass pipette in its panic.

Overhaul’s eye twitches as he catches the falling instrument mid-air. “You’d better hope you’re not contaminated,” he growls, glaring at the parakeet as it flits to another corner of the lab.