“But look.” Teddy pointed to the picture next to the fish sticks. “They look like little animals. What if they give me some that look like bears?”

“I’m sure they’ll taste just as good?” Emily tried.

Teddy pouted up at her, but she returned to the menu, so Emily turned toward Athena, who was glaring at hers.

“Did you decide what you want?”

“All the things on here are for kids,” she said.

“Um. Yes?”

Athena glared harder. “I’m too old for these things,” she said.

Emily looked at the menu for a moment. “You don’t like . . . spaghetti and meatballs? Or, uh, miniburgers? Look, that one comes in a little cardboard train.”

“What?” Teddy asked. “You get to eat a train? That’s awesome.”

Emily rubbed the top of Teddy’s head and pretended not to notice the flash of envy across Athena’s eyes. She’d give Athena some affection, too, if that’s what Athena wanted, but Emily wasn’t so sure yet. Athena was a lot harder to read than Teddy. “You can choose from my menu, if you want,” Emily said.

“Right, well, while you guys pick,” Melanie said. “I had a chat with our handsome friend about big H and the drive. He’s pretty happy with you, you know.”

“Oh, um, that’s good,” Emily said.

“I won’t ask how you found H, but yeah, good work. Kinda why I wanted to bring you here to celebrate, you know? One less Villain on the streets. Though I think you made a few idiots in the community jealous.”

“Huh?”

Melanie shrugged. “The world of Heroes isn’t as pretty as it’s made out to be. We’re all competing for relevance, and there are only so many Villains to beat down. There’s a lot of petty infighting and shit like that.”

“Really?” Emily asked.

“Oh yeah. Those who just want to look good for the cameras can pick up little quests here and there, but those who want to be big-time Heroes, they need worthy opponents. Those aren’t all that common. The world’s an increasingly peaceful place, and that means fewer opportunities. So you and Teddy here nabbing that guy, that got some people really annoyed.”

“But they could have gotten him themselves?” Emily asked.

“Don’t bring logic to a fight about feelings. It’ll only get you stabbed,” Melanie said.

“If anyone tries to stab my sister, I’ll stab them right back with their own logic,” Teddy said.

Melanie snorted. “You go, bear girl,” she said. “But, yeah, I didn’t invite you here for nothing. There’re a couple of things we should talk about.”

“Like what?” Emily asked with growing trepidation.