Teddy barely noticed the Boss grabbing her hand and slowing her down so that Melaton could move into the pizza place first. The Hero held the door open from inside, so Teddy could slip in right after her.

Her nostrils flared. She took in a huge breath through her nose, and then Teddy almost fainted.

It smelled so good. Like grease and old cheese and raw onions and mushrooms. Just being there made her feel all clammy and delicious.

Then she took in the place. It had one table, with two little metal chairs, and a small sofa off to one side. There was a really old soda machine with a cracked front next to that, then the lobby place ended at a big wraparound counter.

She climbed onto her tippy-paws to look over the edge of the counter and at the wonders beyond.

There was a skinny guy in a stained white outfit, rubbing at his nose with a knuckle while the dough was being squished in some sort of vise. He pulled it out, all flat and wobbly, then spun it around a few times before dropping it onto a flour-covered metal plate and shoving the edges in with his knuckles.

That was neat, but the person who captured her attention was a huge man wearing an apron that couldn’t wrap even halfway around his stomach. He had huge hairy arms that were flicking back and forth as he laid down a thumb-thick layer of pepperoni on a sea of tomato sauce. Then he reached into a bag and grabbed a double fistful of cheese that he dropped onto the pizza he was working on.

It was, in a word, art.

Teddy wanted one of those pizzas more than she’d ever wanted anything in the past two or so hours.

She turned to the Boss and hit her with the best bear-cub eyes she could manage. The Boss sighed and ruffled her hair. “We’ll see,” she said.

That was close enough.

“Hey!” Melaton called out.

The big guy paused in the act of dismantling some mushrooms with a big knife and no concern for his thumbs. “Yeah?” he asked before turning around and taking in Teddy’s fearsome appearance, the Boss’s cool costume, and also Melaton.

“We’re looking for someone,” Melaton said. “I think you might be able to help.”

The big artist wiped his greasy hands with his apron as he came closer. “Maybe,” he said. “Who’re you looking for?”

Melaton shifted so that she was leaning up against the counter. “We’re looking for a criminal called Homie,” she said.

The guy at the back, the tall skinny one, dropped his pizza dough to the ground with a dull splat.

“Five-second rule!” Teddy shouted.

He didn’t seem to care. The boy took one look at all of them, gasped, and bolted toward the back.

“Hey!” the big guy said.

“Crap,” Melaton added.