Egg gave the guy a look, eyes rolling a bit. It was hard not to snap, with old feelings still sitting ajar. A betrayal.

“It’s not always obvious,” Chantilly said. “There are a couple of body thieves and shapeshifters among Case Fifty-Threes.”

“Truth,” Whippersnap said.

“But who would want to be this?” Egg asked, indicating himself.

“Hard to agree without sounding like a jerk, but… also truth,” Whippersnap said.

Blackforest was waiting, champing at the bit, almost, waiting for Egg’s attention to return to her. “We talked online. I kept you up late a few nights being kinda lame. I wanted to say thank you.”

“I didn’t mind. I’ve kept enough people up griping at them in chats or PHO, I’m glad to pay it forward.”

“That’s so mature, gosh, yeah. I’m glad I finally get to say hi,” she said, still a bit out of breath from sheer excitement. “Um, I don’t want to be a bad friend. This is Hexie, one of our new Gold Morning Case Fifty-Threes. She and I are kinda, sorta, um…”

“Together?” Egg asked.

“No!” Blackforest said, very loud, shocked.

“It’s fine if you are.”

“No, nope. I mean, sure, but no, I’m not. Ugh, I’m dorking it up so bad right now,” Blackforest said, eyes wide and horrified. One eye was framed with a line of thin, rusty barbed wire that had been filed to be thinner, the other with what looked like the edge of a strip of bark, painted black.

“You’re fine,” Egg said, bewildered.

“I like boys very much,” she said. “I meant to say, uh, we’re together, I mean, not—”

“They’re villains,” Whippersnap butted in.

“You don’t have to jump in and say it like that!” Blackforest’s tone was horrified.

“You weren’t going to,” Chantilly said.

“I was! I was just trying to figure out a nice way of putting it.”

“I’m sure if we stood here for another hour you would have eventually gotten there,” Whippersnap said.

“You’re so mean. Ugh. I had all these ideas of how I would greet you guys and stuff, and I was getting ready even while in the car, Hexie can verify…”

Hexie nodded, head and witch hat bobbing.

“…and I flubbed it,” Blackforest said. “I hope you don’t think less of me because of the villain stuff.”

“We do what we have to,” Egg said.

“Yes!” Blackforest said, and again, it was like the relief was connected to the volume knob, and it was a lot of relief. “Yes, absolutely, that’s such a good way of looking at it.”

“I don’t remember you being this excitable,” Whippersnap said.

“I’m nervous. This is my first time doing something like this. The big meetups, then this… analysis?”

“Yeah,” Egg said. “You’re right. But we’ll be with you.”