Flashback ( PDFDrive )

“Mr. Dizznee has made some simple, targeted devices in order to
protect himself and his friends,” Mr. Forkle answered for him, “and
they’re part of the reason that Sophie survived this latest attack. But I
can assure you, he’s not making anything that could cause damage on
any sort of large scale—”
“How can you know that?” Tinker interrupted, slamming her fist
against the table with a clang! that sent the tomples scattering and had
Sprocket ducking under the bench. “Why would you think you can
control the uncontrollable?”
“We don’t,” Mr. Forkle admitted. “But this is another reason I’d like
you to work with Mr. Dizznee on this project, to offer him wisdom and
guidance, and to challenge him to make sure the utmost caution is
being taken. You can be the voice of reason.”
“Will he listen?” Tinker asked, tapping her metal-guarded finger on
the table.
“I will,” Dex told her. “I know how messy this stuff can get. One of
my gadgets got zapped by a Charger during a standoff in Exile. It was
only supposed to set off a shock wave to knock over anyone
threatening us, but once it absorbed all that extra energy, I knew it
was going to explode—and one of my friends managed to hurl it away.
But he got hurt in the process. And I think about that every time I
make something new—how quickly everything became so much more
dangerous than I wanted it to be, and how it felt to see my friend with
this huge wound in his chest, knowing it was my fault, and that if he
didn’t make it through . . .”
Sophie scooted closer, reaching for his hand.
“Afterward,” Dex added quietly, “I wondered if I shouldn’t ever
make gadgets like that again. But . . . have you faced the Neverseen?”