Secret Headquarters by Terra Winters

Author:Terra Winters
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon Spotlight
Published: 2022-07-19T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

Lizzie wasn’t the only one oblivious to the fact that four dangerous mercenaries were in the house. Down in headquarters, Charlie and Maya were starting an awkward conversation in the command center.

“So I was thinking—” Charlie began.

“I can’t believe—” Maya said at the same time.

Charlie laughed. “Sorry, you first.”

“I was just gonna say, must be weird, huh? Knowing your dad has, like, a sci-fi man cave,” Maya said.

Charlie nodded. “It’s like… we don’t even know each other. I thought he was a regular IT guy, and he thought I was a righty.”

“Well, I didn’t forget what today is. Happy birthday,” Maya said. Then she reached into her backpack and handed Charlie the World’s #2 Dad mug that he’d broken the day before. The cracks where the mug had shattered were now melded together with a gold-colored filling.

Charlie took it from her, stunned.

“You fixed it! Thank you,” he said.

“There’s a Japanese philosophy called kintsugi,” she explained. “When an object breaks, instead of hiding the flaw, you embrace it.”

Then she pointed to a small black cube. “Oh, and I figured out what this thing is.”

She took the mug back from him and placed it under the cube. Then she pressed a button, and a perfect cup of cocoa streamed into the mug. She made herself a cup, and the two sat next to each other and sipped. Charlie made a face.

“Too hot?” Maya asked.

“What?” Charlie came out of his thoughts. “No, sorry, still thinking about my dad. I mean, I get why he couldn’t tell the world his secret identity. But why couldn’t he tell me? Am I that untrustworthy?”

“You certainly were in fifth grade,” Maya said, and then she looked away.

“So you do remember,” Charlie said.

“How could I forget?” she shot back. “Robbie Fernandez’s birthday party. You and I almost kiss. You chicken out. Aaaaaand then you tell everyone I had bad breath.”

Charlie cringed. “I’m… it wasn’t true. You didn’t—”

“I know. I have amazing breath,” Maya interrupted. “But you do know the nickname ‘Moldy-Mouth Maya’ followed me around, right?”

He cringed again. “Kids can be so mean. I’m so sorry.”

Ding! The elevator doors opened.

“Must be Lizzie,” Charlie said. He walked to the door and looked out—to see Iron and his team of mercenaries exit.

“What the—?” he sputtered, but then he felt a hand over his mouth. Maya whispered in his ear.

“Something’s wrong. We gotta move.”

They quickly left the command center. Virginia, Wisconsin, and Jersey followed Irons down the catwalk. They looked around in wonder.

Iron walked to the mainframe of the terminal and activated the holographic interface. The 3D display leapt to life, showing the maps and files of all the Guard’s missions.

“And they called me crazy,” he said in a low voice.

He gazed around the control room and spotted the display case with the mannequins and no superhero suits—just a fanny pack. He grinned.

“Looks like we just missed him. Let’s find the object and get out of here,” Irons instructed.

“Hey, boss? We got company here,” Virginia said. She held up the World’s #2 Dad mug with still-steaming cocoa in it.

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