Emily felt herself balking. “That’s . . . a lot.” She had some money. Her parents had given her enough to cover food and such for a while, and she’d worked all summer doing odd jobs to save up. She had enough to buy a few nice things, maybe some clothes and necessities for Teddy, but to lose a month’s food budget on a bit of information . . . It was worse than paying for her textbooks.

“I can sweeten the deal for you, if you want. I have a gift for making sure that everyone is happy by the time it comes to shake hands.” He turned to one of his laptops and clicked on a few things. “I have a comprehensive list of the kinds of quests someone who began as an Anti-Hero needed to accomplish to turn into a Do-Gooder.”

“What kinds of quests?” Emily asked.

“That would be telling,” he said. “As would the number you need to accomplish, and how to do so.”

“I-I don’t know,” Emily said.

His smile twisted a little at the edges. “Miss Wright, I’m hardly your enemy here. In fact, I can be a great boon for you. Think of what you want out of your situation. If your aim is to become a Hero, then you’ll need to chart a path toward that goal. I can help you every step along the way.”

Emily crossed her arms to warm herself. “I don’t want to be a Hero. I don’t want to be a Mask. I just want to go to school and live my life, Mister Handshake.”

The man chuckled. “I’m afraid that that opportunity is quite a ways behind you. Imagine what would happen if the right people found out about your current situation?”

“What?” Emily asked.

He nodded. “Oh yes. That information alone is worth quite a bit, you know. Some people on the lighter side of the line would love the prestige of capturing a Villain in the making.”

“A Villain in the making?” she repeated.

“Oh, you might not be there yet,” he said. “But the temptation might be there. Evil-aligned quests are always much easier than Heroic ones. It’s why some would consider you a threat. More power only requires that you hurt a few people.”

“I would never do that,” Emily said.

He chuckled. “Of course not. But that’s not what others might think on learning about you. Did you know that some have powers that allow them to see the powers and skills of others? What if, say, one of those people believed that your morality made you a risk and decided to . . . take care of you.”

Emily closed her eyes. She wasn’t the smartest girl ever. When it came to social things, she had always been . . . lacking. But she could put two and two together just as well as the next person.