Teddy held on to the Boss and followed after the two guys. They didn’t smell like Heroes, but they were wearing bright costumes, which was never a good sign. Bright costumes were like the bright frogs in her nature shows: eating the people wearing them would be a lot of trouble.

They followed the men around a couple of bland corridors, then stepped into a much bigger room. This one had a lot of doors, and off to one side, a dozen chairs and a whiteboard. There were more guys, and some girls, in white-and-red costumes.

“Please, take a seat,” the guard said before moving on.

The seats, some of them, at least, were occupied. One had that Glamazon girl they’d met that one time in an alleyway. Her costume had changed—there was a lot more spandex and neon now.

Next to her was an empty seat, then a guy in a dark trench coat. He wore bandages around his head and hands, and a big pair of goggles. Teddy figured he was pretty weird.

A woman paced at the back of the last row of chairs. She was in a tight orangey suit, with a bunch of black-brown spots on them. The only part of her face visible was her mouth and chin; the rest was covered by a sleek helmet with cat ears atop it.

And there was one last man, squatting over a chair that didn’t look like it could support him at all. He was a huge guy, covered in metallic armor decorated with golden bands. His helmet was full-faced, a big metal bucket with a visor at the front. He was so wide he took up two spots, his armored hands—both as big as Teddy’s head—resting on his knees.

“Damn, that one’s built like a brick shithouse,” Melaton whispered.

Teddy frowned. “Why would you want to live in a house made of shit bricks?”

The Boss tapped Teddy on the head. “S-so, um, now what?” she asked.

Melaton pointed to the back of the room where one wall had a window in it. “I’m going to the break room for coffee and gossip. You, in the meantime, find a seat, listen to some boring instructions, and then try to make friends.”

“Oh, oh, I . . . I can do that. Maybe,” the Boss said.

Teddy patted her on the thigh. “You’ll do great, Boss.”

Teddy wasn’t sure what the whole thing was about yet. The Boss wanted to blend in with the Heroes more, which was totally okay—it would make their inevitable betrayal all the easier—but Teddy didn’t like they were kinda stuck with all of them in one room.

Even a bear didn’t go after an entire wolfpack on its own.

Still, the Boss was real clever, so she probably knew what she was doing.