tried to kill the Dread Duo.”
“What’s
that
supposed to mean?”
All of a sudden, I couldn’t stand looking at Sophie. Just because my parents were supervillains, and just because they sometimes tried to destroy the world—that didn’t mean she had to go around blaming them for everything bad that happened.
Anyway, I
knew
the Firebottomed Rompers hadn’t been there for Sophie. The logo on the side meant that there had to be some connection to the smoke creatures. But who was behind all this?
When Milton was done talking with Stanley, he turned around in his seat and gave me a long look.
“So you’ve got a superpower, huh?” he said. “And you never thought to tell
me
?”
“I haven’t known for very long,” I said.
“Uh-huh. But you already told Sophie, right?”
“Well … yeah.”
“Interesting.” Milton crossed his arms in front of his chest. “
Very
interesting.”
“What?” I could feel my face going red.
“It just seems like the kind of thing best friends tell each other. I would definitely let you know if
I
had simultaneous combustion.”
“
Spontaneous
combustion.”
“Whatever.” Milton stared out the window at the passing clouds.
“Look, I’m sorry. I guess I was embarrassed. I didn’t want you to think I was some kind of freak.”
Milton scrunched up his face. “Freak? I think it’s awesome you have a superpower! The way you made that Romper’s leg explode … It was probably the coolest thing I’ve ever seen in real life! Just as long as you’re not keeping any other big secrets I don’t know about.”
My heart sank.
Any other big secrets?
Like maybe a fake identity? Parents who tried to destroy the world every couple of months? Did those count as big secrets?
Sophie’s house appeared from within a cluster of trees below. You couldn’t miss it. The place was enormous. I’d heard the Cafeteria Girls say it was big, but I’d had no idea it was
this
big. Imagine the largest house you’ve ever seen. Now imagine that someone took five or six of the largest houses you’ve ever seen and attached them together, then surrounded all of it with a moat and then surrounded
that
with a security wall and a lookout tower armed with machine guns. That might give you some idea of what Sophie’s house looked like.
“We should be safe from those Rompers here,” Sophie said.
“Looks like it,” I said.
In front of us, Stanley pressed a button on the dashboard, and the roof of the garage opened. The hover SUV drifted downward.
The vehicle came to rest on the floor of the garage. The roof slowly closed above us. Stepping out of the SUV, I looked across the vast space. At home, our garage was a mess of tools and half-assembled gadgets lying around on workbenches, jars of flesh-eating bacteria gathering dust on the shelves, basketballs and bicycles and hover scooters pushed into the corners.
This garage was a huge space, at least fifty times larger than our garage at home. Dozens of vehicles of all kinds were arranged in rows. Sports cars, luxurysedans, armored tanks. I couldn’t believe that they all belonged to one person.
Parked next to the hover SUV was a red convertible, glistening and new. The license plate read:
JUSTICE
We followed Stanley through the garage, between rows of shining vehicles, until we reached a door at the far end of the room. Stanley held out his hand. When it neared the doorknob, a silver key popped out from the end of his finger. He inserted the key into the lock and turned. The door opened.
“By the way,” Sophie said, “when you see my dad, try not to mention that we almost got killed by giant robotic insect monsters, okay?”
“Why not?” I asked. “It seems like the kind of thing he might want to know about.”
“He’s a little obsessed with my safety.”
I thought back to the moat surrounding the house and the machine guns on the guard towers surrounding the moat. She had a point.
“If my dad thinks I’m in danger,”
“What’s
that
supposed to mean?”
All of a sudden, I couldn’t stand looking at Sophie. Just because my parents were supervillains, and just because they sometimes tried to destroy the world—that didn’t mean she had to go around blaming them for everything bad that happened.
Anyway, I
knew
the Firebottomed Rompers hadn’t been there for Sophie. The logo on the side meant that there had to be some connection to the smoke creatures. But who was behind all this?
When Milton was done talking with Stanley, he turned around in his seat and gave me a long look.
“So you’ve got a superpower, huh?” he said. “And you never thought to tell
me
?”
“I haven’t known for very long,” I said.
“Uh-huh. But you already told Sophie, right?”
“Well … yeah.”
“Interesting.” Milton crossed his arms in front of his chest. “
Very
interesting.”
“What?” I could feel my face going red.
“It just seems like the kind of thing best friends tell each other. I would definitely let you know if
I
had simultaneous combustion.”
“
Spontaneous
combustion.”
“Whatever.” Milton stared out the window at the passing clouds.
“Look, I’m sorry. I guess I was embarrassed. I didn’t want you to think I was some kind of freak.”
Milton scrunched up his face. “Freak? I think it’s awesome you have a superpower! The way you made that Romper’s leg explode … It was probably the coolest thing I’ve ever seen in real life! Just as long as you’re not keeping any other big secrets I don’t know about.”
My heart sank.
Any other big secrets?
Like maybe a fake identity? Parents who tried to destroy the world every couple of months? Did those count as big secrets?
Sophie’s house appeared from within a cluster of trees below. You couldn’t miss it. The place was enormous. I’d heard the Cafeteria Girls say it was big, but I’d had no idea it was
this
big. Imagine the largest house you’ve ever seen. Now imagine that someone took five or six of the largest houses you’ve ever seen and attached them together, then surrounded all of it with a moat and then surrounded
that
with a security wall and a lookout tower armed with machine guns. That might give you some idea of what Sophie’s house looked like.
“We should be safe from those Rompers here,” Sophie said.
“Looks like it,” I said.
In front of us, Stanley pressed a button on the dashboard, and the roof of the garage opened. The hover SUV drifted downward.
The vehicle came to rest on the floor of the garage. The roof slowly closed above us. Stepping out of the SUV, I looked across the vast space. At home, our garage was a mess of tools and half-assembled gadgets lying around on workbenches, jars of flesh-eating bacteria gathering dust on the shelves, basketballs and bicycles and hover scooters pushed into the corners.
This garage was a huge space, at least fifty times larger than our garage at home. Dozens of vehicles of all kinds were arranged in rows. Sports cars, luxurysedans, armored tanks. I couldn’t believe that they all belonged to one person.
Parked next to the hover SUV was a red convertible, glistening and new. The license plate read:
JUSTICE
We followed Stanley through the garage, between rows of shining vehicles, until we reached a door at the far end of the room. Stanley held out his hand. When it neared the doorknob, a silver key popped out from the end of his finger. He inserted the key into the lock and turned. The door opened.
“By the way,” Sophie said, “when you see my dad, try not to mention that we almost got killed by giant robotic insect monsters, okay?”
“Why not?” I asked. “It seems like the kind of thing he might want to know about.”
“He’s a little obsessed with my safety.”
I thought back to the moat surrounding the house and the machine guns on the guard towers surrounding the moat. She had a point.
“If my dad thinks I’m in danger,”
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