"I was wondering what kind of girl could have botched up a rescue attempt so badly. Now that I know it was you all along, everything makes sense."
"Go away."
Rome runs his nose down the side of my face, smiling at the way I shiver. "After all thes...
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THE NEXT MORNING, ROME TAKES ME IN FOR QUESTIONING. We have to take a private jet to a secret island off the coast of Capital City. There, an agency dedicated to fighting superheroes will question me. Apparently, there's a sector dedicated to Grease - Rome's arch-nemesis - that is particularly interested in my story.
"The last time Grease made a public appearance was in our last fight - the one that blinded me for a few weeks," Rome explains on the plane. With his head on my shoulder, he plays with the button on my skirt. "Soon afterwards, he went completely silent. We have no clue. So his machine from last night is a monumental change."
"In a good way or bad way?"
"With supervillains, there is no good way."
Then, Rome pretends to fall asleep on my shoulder and I can't ask any more questions. Instead, I ponder his statement. Despite all my missions so far, I have never really fought against an actual supervillain. Fighting supervillains, on the other hand, Rome's whole job.
Gamma Ray meets up with us once we land. Together, we walk through the secret island. It looks like a ghost city. There are restaurants with outdoor seats, neighbors of pastel houses, and streets with parked cars. But it's all a façade to hide the location from supervillains. Nobody is outside and I don't spot a single person until we reach a mint-green mansion - an entire base dedicated to fighting Grease.
"Stop looking so excited," Rome tells me.
"I can't help it."
Gamma Ray opens the door for us. "Let the girl have her fun. She deserves it."
I nearly stop in my tracks once we step inside. Maybe I had expected something along the lines of what's in the movies. People on computers in dark rooms. Neon lights. A wall of screens that showcase the island. Instead, I enter a room similar to the foyer of the Abernathy mansion.
"Now look," Rome tsks, nudging me along. "She's disappointed."
"No, no," I shake my head. "I'm fine."
Then, we go into the basement.
Neon lights flash on as we enter. To the left, a series of holographic screens list off GPS locations and data in different languages. People in masks silently scroll through them, pausing every once in a while to highlight a point. At the front, a giant glass screen showcases all the people Grease has been associated with. Grease, himself, sits in the middle. And finally, to the far right, lies another staircase that goes even deeper.
"Now this is more like it," I say, making both Rome and Gamma Ray laugh.
They lead me to a boarding room downstairs. Apparently, it also serves a shelter for an attack in case a supervillain attacks me. There, several familiar faces greet me. Emergency and Crystalline come forward to shake my hand. The others offer me cool smiles.
