“I won’t delve into the history of every Titan. The files we have will be available to anyone who requests them. That said, I want to provide context for this one. Contessa was known to some as the cape ‘bogeyman’, a figure behind the scenes for many decades, serving as a key figure in Cauldron, who originally built this structure we’re in now. She was the most powerful precognitive we know of, and as one of the rare few who can claim he knew her, though I would never call it a friendship—”

His eyes dropped for a moment. Acknowledging his complicity in the conspiracy.

“—I think she gave everything in an attempt to avert Gold Morning, doing a lot of harm in the process, and she had little left to give when this catastrophe claimed her. She was escorting Teacher to this base for questioning, and he escaped when she started to break down. A Warden strike team was able to recapture him and bring him here, where he is in secure custody, being questioned as we speak. For now, she appears to be dormant.”

Behind Legend, the screens showed a live video feed of the Titan. Only shreds of city remained around her, buildings barely standing with the damage they were on, or the stretches of city they were perched on reduced to ribbons and roadways that tilted slightly this way or that, or precarious cliffs.

The Simurgh was perched on her shoulder. The video feed fritzed momentarily, and I could see faces in the crowd flinch.

“She is presently, according to our best thinkers, attempting to establish a network of connections and expand the damage further. She has formed a network that includes three other Titans, and is hardest to reach as she stands in the midst of the worst of the damage. The Simurgh’s role in this is unknown, but it may be in alignment with the Titan’s precognitive abilities. I’ll stress this: this network she is creating is explicitly our biggest concern and the biggest threat to humanity right now. Dr. Armstrong will get into the threat after I’ve finished outlining who and what we’re facing. It was my suggestion that we name this particular Titan Titan Fortuna.”

Next image. A titanic figure, rippling with muscle, head bowed, antlers grown overlong, tall, and arching behind his back, which was itself arched, like he was poised to sprint or leap. Blurry, green-gold ripples lanced through the gaps between the individual sections of musculature.