[He could very easily just lie right now. Max would think that Kerosene was just a highly improbable what-if, just like Blastoise-Sasha and teenage lesbian Biomech. Max did kind of just spill every secret he had to the entire school, and that does not inspire a lot of confidence in his ability to keep things hidden.]

...It really is me, Max. That's my name.

[GODDAMNIT.]