"Depends what you mean by on my own." Natasha swirls her drink, then takes a long swallow before she says more—because it is lonely, whether or not she's actually on her own. She's never been so without her own kind.

Maybe that was why she kept finding excuses to talk to them.

"I have a job at the Redbright institute. It's something." Pays the bills. Means that she might not be entirely on her own if push comes to shove.