“That’s kind of impressive,” Emily said.

“It gets worse,” Handshake said. “If he stays in one place long enough, his control of the things there improves. He can set off lights, move things a little, operate machines, and so on. He has a few bolt-holes set up across the city for his use that he visits regularly to reinforce.”

Melanie nodded. “Kind of esoteric, but I can see it being a pain in the ass to deal with. Is that all?”

“For him, yeah. His boss is a bit harder to pin down.”

“Cement?” Melanie asked. “He controls cement. It’s pretty simple.”

Handshake shook his head. “He’s Level Two. Cement control was his second power.”

“Um,” Emily said and immediately regretted it when their attention turned her way. “Sorry, but Level Two?”

“Each level a person gets unlocks an entirely new power,” Melanie said. “But there’s only one way to get a level, and that’s by winning an Endgame.”

Emily shuddered. “Oh. Right.”

“Cement’s first power isn’t known. I can’t even pin down which Endgame he was at. I can tell you that he only started moving in full after he got his cement control abilities. He tends to use them to cover himself in a foot or so of the stuff. It moves slow, but it’s heavy, and his power lets it stay liquid.”

“He’s a bruiser. Able to take a beating and dish one out, but not able to move fast,” Melanie said.

“Unless his first power was a movement ability, in which case your assumption could be dangerous,” Handshake pointed out. “I suspect that his primary power is some sort of intelligence-gathering one. He’s found blackmail material on some people who are incredibly secure about things. Or so I’ve heard.”

“Something like your own power?” Melanie asked.

Handshake shook his head. “Mine’s more about social interactions. Anyway. His name tells us a lot of nothing, his real identity is properly hidden, and his activities keep him in the shadows too. He’s a proper Criminal, the sort that are kind of rare in this city.”

“Criminals are rare?” Emily asked.

“They are here, love,” Melanie said. “Us Hero types outnumber the bad guys three to one. It’s not the place with the best ratio, especially not so soon after Power Day, but we’re still far ahead of the curve.”

“Oh, right.” Emily felt a cold sweat breaking out on her back. Melanie was a Hero, then. A proper, bona fide Hero would break Emily apart the moment she learned what Emily’s morality was set at.

“You okay?” Melanie asked.

Handshake sighed. “I was hoping to get you two working together,” he said. “It would make you a whole lot more efficient out in the field.”

“Ah, I’ll . . . I’ll see,” Emily said. “What . . . what kind of things did you have about me on your . . . hard drive?”