He chuckled. “No, I’m afraid not. We have a few hotheaded individuals who live in Eauclaire. No big-name Villains, though, not for years.”

“Right,” Emily said. Her heart sank a bit. “Um. So you said that you didn’t want to hurt me?”

“Of course not. Judging by your searches, you’re trying to work your way over to becoming a Hero, of all things.” He leaned back into his sofa, the smile he wore never so much as shifting. “Imagine if you become a Hero, and yet stay in touch with me? I have a few that are wonderful business partners. It’s quite profitable on both sides.”

“Why did you contact me, then?” Emily asked.

“I did more than that. I obfuscated your trail. Otherwise, the corporate Hero teams would pressure you into joining them. You’re an attractive young woman, I’m sure they’d love to parade you around in tights and show you off to sell . . . sparkling water or something equally mundane.”

Emily shook her head. That wasn’t what she wanted, not at all. “So you’ll tell me how to become a Hero?”

“For a price,” he said. “One that is agreeable to both of us. That’s my power, by the way. Hence the name.”

She shrank back a little. “What kind of price?”

Handshake shrugged a shoulder, a languid, easygoing gesture. “That all depends on what you can offer me, and, more importantly, what you want to know.”

CHAPTER NINE

Bearable Threats

Emily shifted on her seat. It wasn’t an uncomfortable chair by any means, but the situation had her feeling antsy. Talking to a stranger was already a lot for her. Talking to someone who was a self-proclaimed Mask, a superhuman, was setting the butterflies in her stomach off in a whole new way.

“Um,” she said. “I-I don’t know what to ask. Maybe . . . maybe how to make my . . . you called it morality?”

Handshake nodded. “That’s the commonly accepted term. There are others, more scientifically accurate ones, but morality covers the idea well enough. To advance, you need to complete quests. Those quests, in turn, are linked to your morality. A Rogue like myself mostly has quests that are about making connections and earning money. A person closer to the Heroic end of the spectrum will have quests about saving people. That information is free, by the way. I don’t make a habit of selling things you can learn on Ikipedia.”

Emily nodded slowly. “So if I want to change moralities?”

“Now, that information isn’t as freely available,” he said. “I could sell it to you for a small fee.”

“Money?” Emily asked.

Handshake raised a hand and wobbled it from side to side. “Money is fine. I prefer favors and requests, but for something so simple, a bit of currency is more than sufficient.”

“How much?” Emily wondered.

The man’s smile didn’t so much as twitch. “Two hundred.”