“Now we’ve got forces worse and stronger than a single Endbringer lined up. It requires us to commit more, with a higher proportion of death.”

“One hundred percent.”

“Maybe,” I said. I used flight to get to a sitting position, holding the paper dress in front of me and the bandage to my shoulder. “Does it matter? We don’t have what we need. The Simurgh got out ahead of us.”

“It matters to me,” Tattletale said. “I’ve tolerated a lot, spending time with you, helping out your teammate…”

I laughed, one note, then winced with pain.

“…but I have to draw the line here,” Tattletale said. “I lost someone important to me because she wanted to make a stupid, grand gesture at the end. She made the gesture without communicating with anyone… except your sister. Then she carried it out. You, I hate to break it to you, aren’t important to me.”

“Good. I’m glad.”

“But I have no tolerance for this shit. Zero.”

“The Wardens knew. My teammates knew. Lookout excepted. The plan was to ask every single cape out there if they’d oblige us. Maybe we’d force the problem elements. The ones we’d sign off on executing anyway, I mean.”

“The monsters.”

“And… whatever. Yeah. The effect would be passed from cape to cape by contact. But it required that handshake. I think Cryptid thought it wasn’t worth it. That we’d get halfway and fail because people wouldn’t take the risk, wouldn’t make the sacrifice.”

“I have teammates who would have taken your offer. I don’t think I can be okay with that.”

“I am fucking open to better ideas, anything,” I told her. “But I’m worried the Wardens’ contingency plans won’t work—”

“They aren’t.”

“They…”

“Sleeper has been baited in. No luck. Saint had a trick up his sleeve when it came to dealing with A.I., in case his big red button for dealing with Dragon didn’t work. He’s trying it on the Machine Army.”

“And?”

“And nothing. There’s talk of Dragon cooperating with him.”

I shivered. I wanted to wrap myself in the blanket and I was pretty sure my bones couldn’t bear the weight of it. My arms were limp to my side. Forcefield fingers were running through my hair, combing it, and I didn’t remember doing that. They were sharp, scraping my scalp without cutting it.

Tattetale took a seat on a side table, her arms folded. “The Wardens aren’t a force for change, Victoria. The PRT, aside from its initial revolution and moves, back in Bet, it wasn’t a force for change. They’re all about the status quo. The bigger they get, the more they have to hold back. They’re too used to holding back. They don’t have that frame of mind to make the big leaps. At most they prolong the inevitable.”