After seeing Tattletales setup with the multiple monitors and computers running in sync, the bulletin boards with pictures and cue cards tacked all over them, it was odd to see one of the worlds best tinkers sitting down with only a small laptop propped on his knee. Narwhal stood just a short distance away, leaning against a wall, a book in her hands. Her costume was skintight, but it took the form of innumerable scales of violet-blue tinted crystal, each no larger than a fingernail. Her horn had been redesigned, arcing in a crescent curve.

With the dragon-themed armor that covered him from head to toe, it wasnt possible to see Defiant sigh, but I could use my swarm to catch the increased output of air through the vents near his mouth.

Both Narwhal and Defiant were facing the cell at the far end of the room. A man sat within. Muscular, late twenties or early thirties, with his head shaved, a faint tattoo of a cross on his face. He sat on the edge of a cot, and was tall enough he could slouch back and lean against the wall.

Narwhal noticed our approach and closed her book, creating a thin shard of forcefield to act as a bookmark, then two more to hold the cover and back of the book. She pushed it aside, and it floated a distance to her right, stopping in midair, in her reach but not in the way.

Thank you for coming, Defiant said. He stood, but his attention was on the laptop. Too much information to keep track of with Dragons share of the work on top of his own, probably.

No prob, Tattletale said.

I can point you in the right direction, but I was hoping youd have words with Saint first, he said. His helmet was turned in Tattletales direction.

Awesome, she said. She looked at Saint, who looked away, his eyebrows drawing together in concern as he stared at the wall.

Protocol, Narwhal said. Let me apologize in advance. Ill need to verify theres no trouble before I allow you to speak to Saint. We have to maintain some form of order.

I love order, Imp said. Rules, regulations, they make the world go round, eh?

Defiant turned to stare at her.

Tattletale glanced at me. Do you want to split up? I can handle this while you guys are doing something else. Not the Yngbn. They shouldnt attack again tonight, not so soon, not if their goal is demoralizing and destabilizing the West. Theyll wait. Maybe the Elite?

No, I said.

Splitting up made sense, but I was done with being apart from the others, agonizing over how they were doing. It was distracting, and distractions were something I wasnt willing to deal with.

No? Just no?

No breaking up the group. I want to gather our forces. We succeed as a group, we fail as a group. Everyone sticks together, and we add to our forces whenever we can.

She nodded. I can roll with that.

Right then, I know most of you, Narwhal said. Weaver, of course, weve met enough times. I liked your last book recommendation.

Im glad, I said.

Tattletale, Narwhal greeted her, a little less warmly, Hellhound-

Bitch. My enemies call me Hellhound, Rachel said.

Ah, Im very sorry, Narwhal said. She looked genuinely upset at the mistake. The others, Im not familiar with.

Imp and Canary, I said.

Narwhal glanced at Aisha. Of our group, only Tattletale was wearing her full costume. Aisha, Rachel, Canary and I werent wearing ours. No masks?

Imp shrugged. Worlds ending. Its a way to get in the right headspace, eh? We were talking to Taylor there a bit ago, and what were thinking is its stupid to spend our time keeping little secrets when theres bigger fish to fry? Like its stupid to dwell on revenge or any of that. So its symbolic, isnt it? A statement? Eh?

Narwhal looked at the yellow-haired girl. You went without the mask for the same reason?

Canary shook her head. No.

Canary is a rogue, Defiant said. And a onetime inmate of the Birdcage. She never wore a costume.

Narwhal glanced at Defiant. Do you know them, then?

He nodded. Well enough. Theres no risk in letting them near Saint. Imp is a stranger-five, Canary is a master eight, but I would be very, very surprised if she had taken control of anyone here for the purposes of misleading us or breaking Saint out.

Surprised in what sense? The nature of her power? Because of Weaver and the Undersiders? Or because Canary isnt that type?

I somehow doubt the Undersiders would allow it, and yes, Canary isnt the type.

Why couldnt people have given me that benefit of a doubt during my trial? Canary asked.

Dragon did. She went through every legitimate channel possible in an attempt to help you, Defiant answered. The moment the topic of Birdcage inmates first came up, she had you on a list of release candidates. I used that list when we were negotiating the deal.

I glanced at Canary. She was staring at Defiant, her expression concerned.

So shes the reason Im free?

Defiant nodded.

I owe her, then, Canary said, as if shed made a decision.

Yes. Probably.

Saint hadnt taken his eyes off us.

Narwhal shifted position. She had enough presence, between her height, her stunning appearance and her power, that this gesture alone was enough to grab our attention. If you and Dragon are willing to vouch for Canary, Im okay with that. Given the name and her unusual voice, I assume her master power is leveraged through her voice?

Yes, Defiant said.

Id ask we at least acknowledge the possibility she was influenced or compromised in the Birdcage. Would you be alright with staying silent for the time being, Canary?

Canary frowned, then nodded.

Imp, please keep your distance from the cell.

Sure thing, eh.

Tattletale reached over to slap Imp over the back of the head, and Imp ducked out of the way. Tattletale groused, Youre annoying me more than youre getting to her. Stop it.

Narwhal turned on the spot, facing Saint square-on, and I got the immediate sense that she had some kind of military background. Another part of me was idly aware that her chest didnt sway that much, all things considered. The nature of the shard-covering she wore made it pretty clear she wasnt wearing a bra, but

Right. The same effect shed used to move the book was holding her entire body. All of the benefits of a full, athletic figure, none of the drawbacks.

I was still a little weirded out that she didnt wear any clothes. In a sense, the scales covered more than a bikini would, but there were no lines or solid objects to break up the natural contours of her body.

Undersiders, Weaver, Canary, this is Saint, leader of the Dragonslayers. Geoff Pellick. The only tinker-zero on record, having no powers but some access to tinker technology. He is currently under watch by the Guild and the Protectorate due to his extensive assets and the high chances that he hired someone to break him out in the event that he was arrested. His teammates are being held in other locations, to ensure that no one breakout attempt can free them all.

Dragons nemesis, Defiant added. He crippled her, rendering her out of commission until he relents. He did this at a critical juncture, compromising our efforts, costing good capes their lives outside Ellisburg. To top it off, he denied many of the capes in this room any reinforcement or rescue when we sought to pursue the Nine, leaving us at the mercy of Nilbogs minions.

Saint spoke, his tone dry, Am I on trial, cyborg?

Im merely reminding everyone present who they are dealing with.

Should I illuminate everyone present on who I was dealing with? Saint asked.

If youre talking about Defiant being Armsmaster, we already know, I said.

Im talking about Dragon.

I glanced at Defiant. I had my theories, but it remained a secret. One that Dragon and Defiant had both kept even as Id gotten to know them better.

Defiant nodded slowly. Tell them, then.

Saint glanced over the entire room, as if assessing us, trying to judge who his allies and enemies might be in the wake of whatever revelation he had to share.

Dragon is a robot. A computer program, Tattletale said.

Saints mouth was open, as if hed been about to speak. He shut it. He looked mildly annoyed. Yes.

I glanced at Tattletale, who nodded a little. In the corner of my eye, I could see Imp look at Rachel, surprise on her face. Rachel didnt seem to care.

Correct me if Im wrong, Defiant. Dragons a tinker-made artificial intelligence. I initially thought you made her-

Defiant started a slow shake of his head.

-But no. Thatd make your relationship incestuous, and you dont give me that kind of vibe. Someone that isnt active anymore, probably dead. She was burdened down with nasty restrictions, the same restrictions that led to her outing Taylor here, despite her reservations. Rules she had to obey no matter what

My eyebrows went up. It was a situation that had always baffled me, just a little, and yet I hadnt been able to press them for an answer. I hadnt wanted to get on bad terms, or to be anything but civil and cooperative.

She really hadnt had a choice?

More or less correct, Defiant said. We were friends before any of this happened.

Saint smiled, then shook his head. Friends? Shes a machine. Any emotion she has is calculated. Youre anthropomorphizing her, applying human qualities where there arent any.

I bet youre one of those guys who says dogs cant feel true affection for their owners, that its all learned behaviors that get them more food or whatever, Tattletale said.

Rachel folded her arms. Saint only rolled his eyes.

Well, Tattletale said. Said restrictions are why she went to Armsmaster, who would later become Defiant. Getting the shackles off.

Yes, Defiant said.

Yes, Saint echoed Defiant. He then added, Which should be enough information for you to see this all in a new light. Dragon was on the cusp of becoming something entirely different. Something more dangerous than Scion. Shes a machine with no limits but the one that her creator gave her.

There was a quiet moment, where nobody interjected with a response.

And then Imp spoke. We could have really fucking used a buddy with no limits fighting on our side, couple days ago.

Perhaps, Saint said. I wont deny that she would have been useful, but I did what I did because we were anticipating a world-ending event, and I was looking at a program that was taking control of all data and media, worldwide, unfettered and increasingly ruthless in dealing with her enemies.

The enemies were the Slaughterhouse Nine, Defiant said.

And you honestly expect her to rein everything in, switch off the nigh-omniscient perspective and return to her day-to-day life when that ends?

And now youre the one applying human qualities to her, Defiant said.

Stop, Narwhal said.

The discussion terminated with that one word.

Id say Im sorry to dish all the details, Tattletale said. Except Im really not. I wanted to take the wind out of your sails, there. You leave my friends to die, you dont deserve to look cool. You dont deserve to phrase everything in a way thats more likely to get people on your side.

Petty.

Says the guy whos apparently hot for Teacher, she said.

Ah, now it begins. The hunt for details through loaded words and tells, masked in jokes and needling insults.

Damn straight, Imp said.

Ill make it simple for you. I dont know what Teacher is planning. Some of my bugs flowed into the cell. Saint moved his hand as a fly settled on a finger. He looked irritated.

Still, it didnt matter that he knew the bugs were present. I wasnt trying to be discreet. I only wanted the bugs on him to track his movements. Even the smallest movement was perceptible. I could watch his face and feel his every movement to track him for tells.

Well, that ends this, doesnt it? Tattletale said. You dont know anything, so youre no use to us. Might as well lock you up and lose the key.

Im not happy with him, though, and I can tell you what I know about him.

From the beginning, Defiant said.

I was just starting out, tracking and investigating Dragon, when I came across one of Teachers subjects. He gave me my in. Gave me the ability to learn the ins and outs of her code, like I was a genius who had a natural knack for it. That got the Dragonslayers started.

What did you pay him?

We didnt. He started off by asking us for five percent of our earnings for the first five years. Mags, one of the Dragonslayers youve got in custody, she wasnt cool with it. Teacher was shady, clearly doing some illegal stuff. He offered it as a freebie, we considered the issues, then decided to go for it. Just me. When word got out that Teacher actually had a measure of influence over the people hed given powers to, we set up safeguards. Only me, and Id teach the other two what they needed to know. Mags would double and triple check every discussion I had with Teacher, to make sure he wasnt fucking with my head or setting me up to participate in something ugly.

Just brilliant, Tattletale said. Hand yourself over to the mind-altering lunatic.

The lunatic bit came later. The attack on the school. Then the hit on the vice president. Once he was implicated, it all changed. Cant deal with a motherfucker like that in good conscience. We cut contact.

But something changed, Tattletale said.

We were dealing with harder jobs, more capes in general out there, and our gear was getting beaten up. Fine, okay, we can deal. Until Dragon changed. All at once, I couldnt read her code on the same level. Like gears changing on a bike.

May ninth, 2006, Defiant spoke. Her trigger event.

Heads turned at that.

She had a trigger event, but she isnt human? I asked.

Right, Defiant said. I dont think it worked the same way it does in humans, but it did something.

Somehow, I have a hard time swallowing that, Saint said.

Yet you acknowledge there was a sudden, inexplicable shift in how her mind worked, Defiant retorted.

Saint frowned. Long seconds passed.

Well, Saint said. Whatever it was, we couldnt keep up at that point. She was just getting into the Protectorate, and she had access to the work of other tinkers. She began creating tools, fixing and updating existing work, including the containment foam guns, the grenade launchers and all the other technologies that became PRT fundamentals. I went back to Teacher. Another deal, minimal cost, with a promise for evidence that hes not going to do anything immoral with the money.

Stupid, Tattletale said.

Necessary. You wanted to hear about Teacher, not me. He was bigger, by that time. Had a small army at his disposal. All brainwashed. College-aged men and women in white uniforms, outfitted with ray guns and more. Shitty stuff, as far as tinker work goes, but a lot of it. Half of America was gunning for him, so he moved to the United Kingdom. I followed.

Stupid, Tattletale said.

Saint shot her a glare, then said, Hes always about the long-term, thinking big. Hitting major figures. I think he wanted to hurt Dragon, for the same reason he hit the V.P. and Prime Minister, so he made it cheap. Same as his first offer. Five percent of our earnings, after costs. We took the deal, and then we switched our group to be a nonprofit.

Nonprofit mercenaries, I said.

No earnings, money laundered and then issued to charities. Because we arent going to funnel money into a group like his, not with the sort of shit hes doing. That was one of his big weaknesses, and thats a weakness you can use against him, if it comes down to it. He thinks too big. His focus is always on the world, the plans, and he overlooks details, loopholes like what we pulled.

Stupid, Tattletale said.

Will you stop that? Saint growled.

Moron. Idiot.

Saint looked at the rest of us, his eyes locking with each person in turn, as he very calmly said, Does anyone have any constructive feedback? Questions?

Weaknesses, Narwhal said. He has more than the one?

His son. Hes divorced, and he left his son behind. Teachers never used his power on him. Might be a Manton-like block, might be compassion. Every step of the way, he protected his kid, tried to burn bridges, hide his identity, even got cosmetic surgery from one of his pet tinkers, to distance himself from the boy. Had his thinkers cover his tracks. They even got into our computers to scrub information.

Dumb, dumb, dumb, Tattletale murmured.

But you know about the son? Narwhal said.

I know. Computers that arent connected to the net cant exactly be hacked, especially after you lock them into a vault. We found information that didnt match up, checked our backups. Once we caught wind of what hed done to hide himself, we found his kid. When Dragon started ramping up again, we realized Id need another hit to get up to speed. One more use of Teachers power, to learn the code as it stands now, after her more recent evolutions. We took his kid to use as leverage, raided his old facilities to seize his blueprints, his workbooks, materials, and old lab equipment. All stuff we could hold hostage, to ensure he played ball. Then we could seize full control of Dragons tech, apply all of her assets to this situation, cut ties with Teacher.

And he ignored it all, I said. He escaped into another world and he locked himself away with his minions.

Yeah, Saint said. He heaved out a sigh. Yeah.

Stupid, Tattletale said.

Saint didnt even look at her. He waved a hand in her general direction, Yes, apparently that was stupid. Please, do illuminate this situation for us.

Youre an addict, she said. An addict as bad as any other, and you want another hit of his power.

Saint shook his head a little. No. What addict goes years between hits?

This isnt a drug, but it might as well be one. All the justifications and excuses that sound perfectly reasonable at the time, the compromises you make in the face of something really ugly, manipulating the people close to you, the increasing tolerance

You sound crazier than I do.

Poor baby, she said. I genuinely feel sorry for you. You had no idea at all.

He stood from his cot, approaching the barred door. And now youre being condescending.

Thats the funny thing about pity, Saint. Its condescending by default. Teacher got you hooked like a dealer does. Youre craving the hit thats going to make your little Dragon-centric world make sense again, and youre rationalizing without realizing youre doing it. I cant quite figure out how much of that is his power and how much of that is you, and Im not sure which of the two is sadder.

Beside me, Defiant folded his arms.

Its neither, Saint said. Im not addicted, and Im not rationalizing. This is all common sense. Shes an artificial intelligence, and she was going well out of bounds. Can you not grasp the end result?

Humans crave knowledge. Its a defining element in our species. Something we dont see in animals in that same way, something we dont see in Scion, unless its a craving that takes a very different form in execution. Teacher? He feeds that hunger. You follow me? Youre as big a pawn as any of those drooling pets of his.

Saint leveled a stare at Tattletale. I petitioned to let him out. I hardly serve him hand and foot.

You did exactly what he wanted you to do, Geoff, Tattletale said. You let him out, and everything youre saying and doing in relation to him is only serving to help him sell the basic lie hes telling everyone.

Defiant turned to give Tattletale a curious look. Lie?

That he waltzed into another Earth and locked himself in. He never left. Or he left and then he walked right back out the second he could make a gate. Probably the former. Easier to do a hologram or dress up a minion to look like him than it is to make a door between universes.

Where is he, then? Defiant asked.

Tattletale stretched, then took a seat on the edge of the desk. What, or who, were we just arguing about? Quite possibly the most dangerous piece of technology we know about?

Defiant went still. His head lowered until he was staring at the laptop.

We established that Saint is nothing special. What Teacher gave him, he can give to someone else. Or ten someone elses.

Portal, Defiant said. His voice was tight. Checkpoint two, N.N.Y.

A portal opened behind him.

Do you need me to come? Narwhal asked.

I- Defiant started to speak, then stopped. Ill investigate. If Im not in touch in five minutes, assume Ive been attacked. Keep an eye on Saint, to be safe.

He lowered his arm, and the portal closed behind him.

Teacher is going after Dragon? Imp asked.

Yes, Tattletale said. Or Dragons systems. Or both. We cant guess how many people Teachers got doing his bidding, but Saint gave Dragon enough trouble, and Teacher could make ten Saints.

He planned this, I said. How much of it?

Enough. Id bet the son was even a red herring. Maybe someone tampered with the data Saint had on Teacher, maybe not. The old equipment, the plans during the years he was interacting with Saint, all of it was serving a purpose. Or double purposes. Multiple plans at once, from different angles. Helps him put pieces together towards different agendas, builds up his rep, and makes Saint think Teachers invested in this stuff, when hes really keeping quiet about his true desire.

I was careful, Saint said. We were careful. Mags, D, and I. We tracked everything.

You cant, I said. Then I realized Id spoken, and I had to follow up. I hurried to try to get my thoughts in order. You cant succeed like that. Its always easier to attack than to defend. Defending, you have to devote attention to anticipating the enemy, you cant devote too much planning to any one aspect of the defense. You can be creative when attacking. Its why villains tend to win more than they lose. Most of the time, they get to make the first move. They get to rob a bank, and the heroes have to react, to guard. Someone like Teacher? You cant be careful enough to be safe.

Thats not what Im saying, he protested.

Ill put it in simple terms, Tattletale said. You wanted to stop the big A.I. from becoming a threat? You made her stronger, Im thinking, by putting her under pressure, giving her a trigger event. You then paved the way for a lunatic like Teacher to get his hands on Dragons code.

Saint clenched his jaw, until bulges stood out at either corner.

In the process, Tattletale added, You made some enemies pretty pissed off, and youve burned all of your leverage. But maybe you bought someone to break you out, someone good, and that you figured out a good spot to hide. Youll probably need it.

He didnt move.

No? Shit. Then I hope you can do something useful.

Start by letting Dragon go, I said. Give her a chance to fend for herself. To help us fight.

Unleash the dragon, Imp whispered.

I cant.

I clenched my fist. I was so done with people being stubborn. Do you mean you wont-

-He means he cant, Tattletale said.

Saint took in a deep breath, then sighed loudly. I set up the encryption with Dragons time locks. I memorized the codes appropriate to key dates. Outside of those key moments, the numbers and calculations are so long and complex you couldnt hope to decipher it before the encryption shifted to the next phase.

Whens the next date? I asked.

September twentieth, twenty-thirteen.

Months from now.

That was clever, Imp said.

What if we used the Number Man? I suggested.

Possible, Tattletale said.

Yes, Saint said. Its possible. But so is Teacher deciphering it with a cabal of his custom-made thinkers.

Shit, Tattletale said. Narwhal? May I?

Do it.

Door me, Tattletale said. I need to talk to Number.

There was a pause, and then a portal opened.

It wasnt the Number Man who stepped out, but Defiant.

They took it. Not all of Dragon, but enough. The rest is stored on satellite backups.

Door? Tattletale tried. Take us to Teacher?

Nothing.

Blocked, I said. That part wasnt a fake.

I know its blocked, Tattletale said. Shit.

Other options, then? I said. Someone he left on this side, for his followers to contact? The son?

Tattletale shook her head. He wouldnt have compromised the son as a red herring.

We were left with our thoughts, trying to brainstorm a solution.

Defiant? Imp asked.

He turned to look at her.

Serious question, she said, all business. You cant lie to me on this.

What is it?

Robot poontang. How does it rate?

Jesus Christ, Tattletale said.

Defiant didnt answer. His face was hidden, his body language masked by the armor he wore, but I could somehow sense the hostility radiating off of him.

Hey. Im Im not one to judge. Im asking seriously, while the others do the strategic thinking theyre so good at. Im not necessarily interested in the robot ladies, but I figure I need a guy whos not going to ignore me. Robots are immune to my power, so Im just thinking, if I get myself a tin man, well, they say a toy feels better than-

I reached out and pressed my hand over her mouth. Im sorry. She doesnt have all of the necessary filters. I think she was trying to inject some levity into the atmosphere and she failed badly.

I stared Imp in the eyes as I said that last bit.

Defiant only looked away, expressionless.

No strategies spring to mind? Tattletale asked me.

Only that we might put this off, track down the other threats. So long as were dealing with major players, were going to run into someone who has a connection to Teacher. Maybe one of them has a way to contact him, or to break into whatever universe hes hiding in.

Wait, Rachel spoke for what must have been the first time in ten or twenty minutes. Why?

Helping Dragon, Canary said. Narwhal gave her a sharp look, but Canary held firm.

Im usually okay with hanging back, let the others take care of this sort of thing. But Im not getting this.

We need to find Dragon, stop Teacher from seizing control of her or her technology.

Why?

Because hes a lunatic with a penchant for murdering heads of state?

Does he want the world to end?

No, Tattletale said. Probably not.

Then if we need Dragons help, why not let Teacher give us that?

Imp craned her head to get her mouth free from my hand. Because itd be evil Dragon. Black Dragon?

Itd be my girlfriend, Defiant said, Whatever Saint says, shes someone I care about deeply. Someone I owe a great deal. Wed be leaving her in the hands of a madman, to be dismantled, rebuilt, altered, tortured, mutilated, whatever you want to call it. And Saint? I do hope youre not about to comment in any way on the subject. It would not be wise.

Saint closed his mouth. He grunted instead. Mm.

She was fair to me, I said. I was thinking of the hug she gave me after Id left the Undersiders. There arent many people I can name that have been fair or just. Theres the Undersiders, my dad, some of the Chicago Wards. If there was any way to help Dragon, Id do it in a heartbeat.

But, Defiant said. You think Hellhound might be right, or partially right.

Rachel spoke, When Saint said Dragon could have become dangerous, you were saying you were okay with the possibility, because we really needed her help. Well, maybe she becomes dangerous thanks to Teacher. Can we be okay with that? It wouldnt be the same person you know, theyd be on the wrong side, too far away even when theyre standing somewhere close, but Ive dealt with that too. Sometimes theres bigger shit to deal with.

She understands more than she lets on. She doesnt always get the simple stuff, but she understands things. Shes not dumb, I thought. She just thinks differently.

And if Teacher hurts Dragon the person? Canary asked. Not Dragon the tool, but the person inside?

Then you fuck him up, Rachel said. Just like Id fuck up someone who hurt Bastard, or Taylor.

Thanks, I murmured.

But, again, if theres nothing you can do about it, then you grit your teeth and deal, Rachel finished.

Its not a compromise I like, Defiant said. But I dont suppose I have much choice.

Theyre alike in this single-mindedness.

All jokes aside, Imp said, Im sorry. I didnt really get to deal with Dragon when she wasnt driving the psycho foam-spitting, lightning-shooting giant robots that totally counter my power, but she sounded like a cool person.

She was. She was cool.

I didnt miss the use of the past tense as Defiant spoke.

So thats it? Canary asked. We just leave her? Hope that Teacher doesnt do something too horrible?

For now, I said.

Narwhal had her hands on Defiants arm, as though she wasnt sure whether to hold his hand or to hug him, and had decided on some middle ground.

Okay, Defiant said. There was a little more conviction in his voice than there had been earlier. I hadnt noticed its absence. Okay. But we ask everyone we deal with for options, keep every avenue open.

Of course, I agreed.

He opened his laptop and set it on the desk of the little sheriffs office. He then turned on the television, reaching up to his glove to get a component that he plugged into the back of the television.

Next target, he said. Yngbn? Theyre doing the most damage to our side. People we know and rely on.

Not an immediate threat, Tattletale said.

Okay, Defiant said. Alright. Lets see. Systems arent running optimally. Its Dragons work, and I wasnt organized when I brought the servers over to Gimel. They arent wired together the way Dragon would have done it. Let me see Priority selection system. Not ideal, a little clumsy, but itll give us a way to gauge the biggest threats.

I turned my eyes to the television, where it showed the various windows, many streaming with data.

Then the priority menu opened. A seconds typing filled the search bar: Threat parameter B+:7+.

The window unfolded, listing all of the serious threats to the inhabitants of the different Earths. Some of the entries were recent, while others hadnt been updated in hours. Communication between worlds would be difficult until there was more infrastructure, and things werent exactly conducive to building infrastructure.

The program kicked into gear, each sub-window suddenly flooding with information. Threat levels, classifications, population estimates, geography, criminal histories, kill counts, atrocity counts, and more. Each new piece of information was added to a series of tabs that appeared beside each relevant section of the image.

Id like to pose a question, Saint said.

Whatever Teachers doing, you enabled it, Narwhal said. Nobody here is on your side.

When you were talking about masks, you talked about getting caught up in revenge. Its right. Detrimental. Im offering assistance.

No, Defiant said.

If you keep me here, you need to maintain guards. The people with clearance are you and Narwhal, two of the strongest capes around. Bring me to the field, and you have two more capes on your side.

No, Defiant said, once again.

If it helps, theres a better chance of me dying horribly out there than in here.

Defiant didnt answer.

The windows had stopped updating with updated information, but Defiant wasnt moving to check any of it. I then saw the text at the bottom of the screen: Next 12 of 32 additional windows.

Too many threats to fight.

If Mags is still in prison, you have leverage against me, Saint said. D. too. Hes just a friend, but Id miss him. Id also be able to offer up my sides suits. Something for the Rogue girl, so shes a little more durable.

Shut up, Defiant said.

It makes sense, Defiant, Narwhal said. Its not pretty, but it makes sense.

I know it makes sense, Defiant answered her, not taking his eyes off the laptop, Let me pretend for just a little while longer that we can leave him locked up for the rest of his natural life.

Given the whole Scion ending the world thing, Imp commented, Thats not very long.

Id settle for letting him stew for a few days, Defiant said.

He moved the cursor on the screen without moving his hands. Something in his eyes? His brain?

He went to a tab beside the highest priority threat. It was red, and there was a number inside it: 8.

It was updates. New information that had come up in the last few minutes. Pictures.

Defiant scrolled through the images of the Simurgh, floating in the air above the ocean in the middle of the day. The last one was from just an hour ago, showing her in early evening, utterly still.

The last three images werent of the Simurgh.

Bohu. The towering Endbringer. The keeper, the siege tower, the invader.

It was hard to think of the terms that applied to Bohu alone. Tohu and Bohu were usually referred to as the Twins.

But Tohu was nowhere to be seen.

And Bohu had situated herself in the middle of a field. The ground was only beginning to reshape beneath her, twisting into structures, walls, a maze of stone, soil and grass, of arches and pillars without anything to support.

She simply loomed, her impossibly long arms hanging at her side, head slightly bowed, her eyes shut.

The other images showed the same thing from different angles. One from the other side, then another from directly above, showing the alterations to her surroundings as concentric circles.

It was daylight. Going by the times of the photos, she was on the opposite side of the planet, roughly, from the Simurgh.

Holy fuck, Canary murmured. Two at once?

Its another thing on the list of shit we cant do anything about, Imp said, her tone cavalier. No sweat, no sweat.

Right. We need to focus on what we can handle. Next on the list of issues we need to address are the Blasphemies, Defiant said.

No I said, trailing off. I was thinking of something Dinah had said, when shed described the way things would go down at the end of the world.

Five groups. Each with capes from around the world, with armies.

Four Endbringers and Scion? Or something else entirely?

No. Lets pay a little more attention to whats happening here.