“Lookout,” I said. “Reiterating: you shouldn’t give it to me. You shouldn’t go get that stuff of your own initiative. It makes enemies, it’s invasive, it’s not right. Not unless we have more of a clue there’s something nefarious at play.”

“Okay,” Kenzie said, sounding crestfallen.

Crestfallen was okay, when she was getting a lecturing for breaking the rules.

“Remember what I said. Follow the law, do what’s right, reach out, minimize regrets.”

“Yeah,” she said. “Gonna go do stuff now. Sorry.”

“Thanks for the help with Amy. Let’s work on the other stuff.”

“Uh huh.”

As far as I could tell, that was the point she was off the call. Probably still listening in.

“Threats,” I said. “What are we chasing?”

“That question? That’s you procrastinating, hon. You and I are focusing on getting you back into that situation room. Because networking with the Wardens and having full access to them is important. We can’t rely on our backdoor.”

“Entertain me,” I said. “Threats. I’m thinking they’re… blind spots for Contessa, and-or they’re threats so minor Dinah hasn’t thought to ask questions about them.”

“Okay, walk me through it. I’ll fact check. Blind spots.”

“Simurgh.”

“Yes.”

“Mama Mathers. Soft blind spot. She can look but doesn’t want to.”

“Yes.”

“Portals.”

“They are a factor. So is the epicenter of the cracking, city’s heart, near the old Wardens HQ, but we’re lucky because that’s where the Simurgh is, too. We can ignore it.”

“Powerful capes. Valkyrie.”

“We have eyes on Valkyrie, and she’s self-aware that she’s a possible crisis point. So are her flock members. Only, like, five percent higher chance of being our breaking point, but, y’know.”

“Sleeper.”

“Restless but still around. Earth Zayin in the palm of his hand. He started to emerge, Legend faced him down.”

“How?”

“Leveled about thirty square kilometers of city.”

I nodded. “He’s dormant now?”

“For now. If he had motivations for making one attempt, he’s going to budge again soon. But I don’t have the instinct he’s our threat. He’s background. Someone else’s problem.”

I nodded. This was good. Well, not good, but this was progress. “What am I missing?”

“For other blind spots? Teacher’s tech. His portals, a lot of the cracking, and a few traps he set using tinkered replications of Mama Mathers—”

“Using what?”

“Nothing like you’re picturing. He had tinkers scan her, copy her power, and work out stuff like… quantum tripwires, tripping when you look at them.”

There was a commotion, with a rustling of the phone microphone. I heard Tattletale’s protest.

“Hi!” a more unfamiliar voice said. I heard more indistinct grumbling from Tattletale in the background.

“Hi?”

“Imp here. I thought it was important to notify you that whenever Tattletale says ‘quantum’, she is talking out of her ass. Every last syllable is enunciation by way of butt.”

“Okay,” I said. “Duly noted. I’d really like to get back to the conversation, though. It’s kind of really important.”