“They were going to ask me where they were needed as soon as they were back,” Kenzie said. She stared at the screen without blinking, which was part of why I studied her more, and which played into a double-take on my part. I looked closer, and the image reflected on the surface of her eyes wasn’t what was on the screen. One glowing screen was in front of her, and four were arranged on her eye.

“They left as soon as they got the report, trusting Contessa. The anti-parahuman faction had prepared a bomb. Kid Cassandra alleges they wouldn’t have missed the bomb if they hadn’t received the message. By that logic, sending them the instruction killed them as surely as if she’d pulled the trigger of a gun. Do I have that right?”

He’d asked Rocketround, who stood nearby. Rocketround, wearing the PRTCJ uniform with his stylized rocket icon on his chest, only nodded.

“Do we know what else Contessa’s done?”

“No,” Golem said.

He tapped a button on the keyboard a few times. Each press seemed to tick things forward by ten seconds.

Miss Militia re-entered the room.

“We’d like more information on what you’ve been doing and why, if it’s no trouble,” Miss Militia said, while taking her seat.

“Sure. If you could avoid phrasing things as questions, I’d appreciate it.”

“Doable. I imagine you’ve asked a number of questions today.”

“Three. I anticipated coming here and I wanted to keep my options open. I’m not ruling out that the Wardens, PRTCJ or any of the subordinate teams might try to kidnap me. I hired mercenaries to get me out, just in case.”

“Palanquin.”

“Among others. I am a target.”

“Understood. I understand you can ask more questions than you used to.”

“Forty to fifty. It’s not as many as it sounds like, but it’s more than it used to be.”

“It might get easier as you work with the anti-parahumans or other high-conflict factions.”

“Some. Is this leading to you painting me as conflict-seeking and dangerous?”

“I didn’t mean to give that impression, no. I think you came here at what you see as great risk to yourself because of what you see as a critical danger.”

“What I ‘see’.”

“We’re absolutely looking into this, Dinah. But as clear as your power is to you, we have to make our own judgment calls. We have two people with very credible powers with apparent agendas, sitting opposed to one another.”

“My agenda is and always has been what’s best for humanity. I predicted the end of the world. I positioned the right people in the right places. Khepri.”

“You did. But I could ask two people what the perfect end result looks like and get two very different answers. This is why I need to question you about things like your involvement with and focus on the anti-parahuman movement.”