“Yeah, because the HRF Heroes don’t do nearly as much public relations stuff. They have paychecks as long as they serve and a nice retirement package. Corporate Masks need to show off to the public. So if you’re with the government, you’re no longer competing for attention.”

“Oh,” Emily said. That was more cutthroat than she’d imagined. “All right. And the others?”

“Don’t know if there will be any independents other than you, actually. I got you in as a favor. Well, a favor that pays me real well.”

“I . . . don’t understand?” Emily said.

Melaton smiled over at her. “Don’t worry, you’ll figure it out.”

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

Crisis of Personowlity

Athena, unlike her slightly older and far more foolish bear of a sister, was terribly clever. At least, she certainly thought she was clever, and since she was the cleverest person she knew, that counted for something.

It’s why she waited a whole fifteen minutes after Big Sister Emily was gone before slipping out of the room. She used a piece of paper and some tape to make sure the door didn’t lock behind her. She didn’t even mess it up this time.

Sure, someone could now steal from Big Sister Emily’s room, but if anyone did that, they’d have to face her, and Teddy’s, wrath.

Athena made sure she was nice and presentable, looking like a proper young woman in her blouse and skirt with a nice sweater vest atop it all. It . . . felt like the right thing to wear?

She made her way to the elevator, then down to the first floor while thinking about it.

She was clever enough to know what was happening to her, why she couldn’t pick between one thing and another, and why sometimes she felt weird feelings when thinking about Big Sister Emily.

Athena was having a crisis of personality!

It was perfectly normal, at least according to the things she’d looked up on the internet. She was, sorta, at the age where she was supposed to feel rebellious.

Not that she actually felt rebellious toward her big sister, of course.

No, it was that she had come to this world with a certain style of clothes she felt didn’t represent her, not the way she wanted it to.

It wasn’t just the clothes. It was everything.

Teddy was better off than her. The bear girl was, well, a big bear girl who had things she liked and things she didn’t like. It was all nice and simple.

Athena didn’t have anything so clear-cut to rely on.

That was obviously because she was an owl, and owls were far more intellectual than mere bears. But then . . . that also meant that with her superior intellect came a whole lot of uncertainty.

She stepped out, then hesitated before turning toward the deeper part of the city and starting her trek.