Athena wasn’t paying attention to the bar lady anymore though. She was imagining herself—in a cool leather jacket, of course—wiping the blood off her mouth as she stood up to defend Big Sister Emily from some disgusting, no-good Heroes.

It didn’t matter she wasn’t as hard to put down as Teddy, not as long as she could keep up the fight.

“Yeah,” Athena said. “Yeah! I can be tough too.”

Su rolled her eyes. “You going to call your parents, kid?”

“Ah,” Athena said. “Um . . . I don’t know Big Sister’s number,” she said. Her very recent lesson about toughness kicked in. “But that’s okay. I can walk all the way back home, no problem.”

The big bearded guy shook his head. “None of that. You know where you live?”

She nodded. “Yeah.”

“Ever ride a hog?”

She shook her head. “No?”

“Well then, missy, it’s gonna be your lucky day. I’ll grab some of the boys. They don’t need much of an excuse to head out and around town.” He gestured to her plate. “You finish off your meal, all right?”

“Thanks!” she said.

CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

Endemic

Quantum Mothman—no, even in the privacy of her own mind, Emily had to give the name the right emphasis—the Quantum Mothman was in the same room as her. It was a bit heady and crazy to think that she was sharing space with a real-life celebrity.

Though, to be fair, Melaton was also a local celebrity, but that wasn’t the same. Melaton was small potatoes compared to the genius at the front of the room.

“Yes, well, ah,” the Quantum Mothman said. He turned toward the board as if seeking guidance, then turned back to them, the antennae on his head wobbling about with every gesture. “Hmm, yes. Please, tell us your name, and about your power. Not going to be a big dangerous patrol, but it’s still best to know.”

He pointed to Glamazon first, probably to start at his far left.

“I’m Glamazon,” Jezebelle said. “I can produce balls of light. Low kinetic damage, slow-moving, but very bright.”

Quantum Mothman nodded. “And the endemic portion?”

Jezebelle looked around. “The what?”

The scientist gestured around with his hands, but no one seemed to understand. “Powers! All powers are multifaceted. They have useful aspects and less useful ones. Most come with a social function. This is called the endemic. Very dumb name. Misleading. Some powers are immediately social; they tend to gain smaller side benefits that match over time. Others are based upon physical changes. These are material powers. Your balls of light. They’re material. If they make people fall asleep, then that’s endemic. Think of it as corporeal versus cognitive.”

Emily found herself paying rapt attention. It wasn’t every day she got a lecture from such an incredible figure.