Carmen’s eyes flashed neon blue with rage. They only did that when she was very, very angry. Even I didn’t like to go up against Carmen when she was angry.

Sam put an arm around her shoulder and hugged her to 46

J e n n i f e r E s t e p

him. Carmen’s eyes brightened, taking on a different sort of glow.

“Don’t worry, they will,” Sam said. “The chief and the others will take care of them. You don’t want to cancel our trip, do you?”

An extravagant, no-holds-barred, month-long honeymoon around the world was Sam’s wedding present to Carmen. She’d be a fool to cancel on him just to track down a couple of measly ubervillains. But if she did, I’d be happy to take her place, and eat and shop my way around the globe. I could use a vacation, especially after today. As much as I loved being a superhero, there were times when the epic battles got a bit old. Unfortunately, ubervillains were a dime a dozen in this town, and somebody was always up to something. Which meant that we superheroes always had to be on the lookout for trouble with a capital T.

“No, of course not,” Carmen said, leaning into Sam that much more. “But you know how I worry.”

“There’s nothing to worry about, Sister Carmen,” Lulu said. “Henry will track them down, and then Fiona will fry their asses.”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” I said. “I’m always up for a good barbecue.”

In the end, Carmen gave in. She and Sam got into a limo and headed for the Bigtime Airport, where Sam’s private jet was waiting to take them to London. They didn’t even make it out of the driveway before they tinted the windows and started canoodling in the backseat.

After seeing them off, in more ways than one, the rest of us talked for a few more minutes about the ubervillains and what they might be up to. But nobody had any bright, earth-shattering ideas, so we sorted through the stolen jewelry and packed it up to mail back to its rightful owners. Then, we closed down shop for the night. Too tired to make H o t M a m a

47

the drive back to my apartment in the city, I went to my suite down the hall.

Our underground lair beneath Sublime took up almost as much space as the manor house did aboveground. Wing after wing contained training rooms, gyms, kitchens, sick bays, and everything else a superhero could ever want or need. My suite was an enormous area, bigger than most apartments, and featured a bedroom, bathroom, living room, and kitchen all rolled into one, along with a pitifully small closet. The others’ suites all had a similar setup except for one thing—

mine boasted three oversized refrigerators. I rustled around in one of the metal behemoths and came up with a platter of cold cuts, three kinds of cheese, and a loaf of crusty French bread. I made myself seven sandwiches and downed them with a six-pack of lemonlime soda and a box of chocolate snack cakes. Due to my fiery metabolism, I could eat whatever I wanted to, whenever I wanted to, and never gain an ounce. A whole pizza for breakfast, ten burgers and a bucket of fries for lunch, a couple of steaks and a pound of pasta for dinner. The only downside was that I constantly had to eat to keep up my strength. It got a little tiring sometimes. Not to mention grossed people out. My father and Travis were the only ones who didn’t seem disturbed by my never-ending hunger and enormous appetite.