I made my way to the right floor, then down the ‘mastermind’s hallway’. The area where we’d kept Dinah close to Tattletale and Riley, and all of our other planners.

Kenzie’s workshop was humming along. I passed by monitors, though I knew better than to touch tinker stuff, and bent down to look at lists and maps.

I sighed.

In the back room, I found the Chicken Tenders, Roman, Juliette, and Kenzie. Kenzie lay on a cot, separate from all the others. She could have curled up next to Chicken Little or Candy, but… if I remembered right, those people would have been knocked out already. Maybe it was good she hadn’t, lonely as it seemed.

I pulled a blanket over her.

“Any ideas?”

I turned my head.

Tattletale had come from the little kitchen area with a cup of coffee in her hands. She wore civilian clothes, and her hair was tied up in a ponytail.

“Ideas for?”

“I feel like saying they’re grounded literally for life, and that I will hire people to ensure it sticks… it still lacks impact.”

I smiled.

“I can’t take a belt to their asses because, well, illegal. And shitty. But how do you punish a gang of idiots like this?”

“I dunno,” I said. I looked over the sleeping kids. “Are they coming to wake them up?”

“Shortly. Next couple of hours. They’re going down lists to be sure they get everyone, even though we’ve got safety measures. Mostly everyone. They’re still debating about the monsters.”

I looked down at Kenzie, and thought of Ashley.

“You could cry,” I said. I gave Tattletale a look.

“Hm?”

“Just like… actually show them how very upset you actually are. Might make the decent ones feel bad.”

“I’m not much of a crier,” she said.

“It’d really unnerve them, probably. For just that reason. But they’re resistant to bullshit, so you know…”

“I could really, actually cry,” Tattletale said, while looking down at Chicken Little. “Don’t worry about that.”

I nodded.

“Didn’t go under. Couldn’t.”

“It’s okay,” I said. “You’ve been following what’s going on?”

“Actually,” Tattletale said, “I’ve been going out of my way to not pay attention. For the first time in years… I don’t have the slightest fucking idea what’s going on when it comes to the Machine Army, Saint, the Titans—don’t give me a look that suggests you know anything. It’s lovely. My power needs information to put pieces together and I don’t know jack shit and it’s the first vacation I’ve had in five years.”

“Huh.”

“And if you start asking questions or using me as your little exposition device, setting all that machinery prematurely into motion, I may actually murder you. Or I’ll sic the worst Heartbroken on you.”