Spooky. I hoped it was clear to the crowd, even though Armstrong was trying to avoid outright saying the words.

If the cycle completes, we’re goners.

“If the damage starts spreading again, or if you get alerts, capes, especially capes who don’t feel confident or capable, should immediately retreat. Seek support in allies, but do everything you can to avoid succumbing. Reports from the scenes suggest it is doable. Be strong.”

That was improvised, nothing in the file he was reading off of.

He went on, “Everything Chevalier said about protecting and assisting the settlements of refugees is absolutely true. Deflect and distract the Titans, gather that information. That is our reality as a primarily defensive fixture, at least until we know how to attack. I say this, but I know some of you will want to take the advantage or be the aggressors. Some of you will venture into the damaged areas, or into the darkness beneath the cracks.”

I took in a deep breath.

My notes were there, printed out in plain text, highlighted. Marked in shades of green for their analysis by thinkers. Tattletale might have been one, I imagined.

“This is Victoria Dallon. She and her team have some experience in that space.”

Don’t swallow, don’t clear your throat, don’t hesitate.

I spoke, addressing the microphone and the room, “I would not recommend doing what my team and I did. Last night we attempted to use technology to breach a weak point in that space and access it. What we’re dealing with up here exists down there, to varying degrees and strengths. Past those cracks in reality is their reality, or the source of our powers. I’d describe it as a bio-computer, written out as landscapes of crystal. Every jutting piece of crystal is its own subsystem with its own focus. More importantly, it’s defended by what are essentially more Titans and you would be fighting them with—”

—There was an amendment to my notes, thanks to one of the thinkers. Not no, but—

“—reduced powers, should you enter through the cracks. Should you manage to defeat anything in there, you’ll be hurting the parahuman or parahumans it connects to. I do think there are answers and tools to be found in there, but take caution. We thought we were taking a look and we were drawn in en masse instead. Be careful.”

I paused, letting that land, hoping people remembered it. “If you do find yourself in that territory, by purpose or by a fall or the Titan’s purpose, recognize that it’s a multi-layered space. Trust the instincts derived from your connection to your agent, the source of your powers, if you can. Go with the flow. You can try to think of friends and follow the connections that appear, or pause to reinterpret the landscape. I can’t make you any guarantees about any of this, as we were technically within the system rather than on it, but the Wardens’ thinkers seem to think this is more or less right. This may be the final battlefield in our efforts to interrupt this whole mess from happening.”