Chapter One
:: Phoebe ::
"Link again? He hasn't gone back to Tokyo?"
"Hong Kong."
"Whatever."
Phoebe narrowed her eyes. "What's gotten into you?"
Max Thunderman was sprawled flat on his back on the couch in their parent's living room, his head elevated by three pillows, flinging ornaments at the half-decorated Christmas tree. Phoebe frowned at the erratic placement. With a few carefully directed swipes, she relocated the clustered globes of holiday cheer.
"Excuse me, dad gave me this job."
"You can't decorate a tree when you're crabby."
"I'm not crabby!"
Phoebe hadn't seen Max so crabby in a long time. Actually, she took that back. He'd been crabby since June when they'd graduated Hero U; the crab level was just getting worse. Assignments had been few and far between since then and living back at home, albeit temporarily, had proven to be a challenge. Being an adult superhero with a chore chart wasn't exactly something to brag about.
"Well, I'd love to stay and watch you wallow in dad's butt cushion, but I've got to go—"
ALERT ALERT
| INCOMING TRANSMISSION FROM SUPER PRESIDENT KICKBUTT |
Phoebe let her purse drop halfway to its goal of her outstretched hand. Max sat up, a smattering of Christmas cookie crumbs falling from where they had been collecting under his chin. He smacked at his shirt, flinging the pieces to the ground. The Thundermonitor flashed, replacing the message with the sight of President Kickbutt sitting behind her desk.
"Hello Phoebe and Max. It's been a little while."
"Yeah since October when you had us track down who was stealing pumpkins from your neighborhood. Real intense case."
Phoebe sent her purse sailing at the side of her brother's sarcastic head. Max leaned forward with an 'oomph!' as it smacked him and cut her a dirty look.
"I will admit we haven't had a lot for the two of you since your graduation," President Kickbutt said with a tight smile. "Certainly nothing up to Z Force standards. However, that changes today. I have an extremely dangerous top secret mission for you two."
"Top secret?" Phoebe asked. She was already thinking about Cherry. Secrets and Cherry did not go together. If she was being honest, secrets and Phoebe didn't go together…
"Extremely dangerous?" Max practically sang. It was the first time Phoebe had seen him genuinely smile in months.
"There's a very serious crime ring happening and Metroburg Bank is the target. The bank is losing money at a rapid pace. As you know, most superheroes choose to bank with Metroburg. No one would be happy if they knew that the bank's stability was in jeopardy."
Phoebe's mind whirred at the possibilities. Was this the job of a supervillain bank robber mastermind? Or a supervillain stock market genius?
"Anonymous wire transfers are being taken out from a multitude of accounts. So as not to alert suspicion, we've stealthily tracked the superheroes linked to the accounts and we've found they were nowhere near the place the wires were transferred."
"Which was?" Max asked. Phoebe could see he was also thinking through the possibilities.
"Casino Arnaque in Quebec."
"Canada?"
"No Max, Quebec, Italy. Duh, Canada."
Max shot her another dirty look. Phoebe crossed her eyes.
"Really? You're twenty years old and still arguing?"
"Bickering," they said at the same time.
President Kickbutt just stared at them. "Maybe this isn't the best time…"
"No!" Phoebe shouted at the same time Max yelled out. She looked at him.
"We've got to stop doing that," Max said. He turned back to the screen. "Evelyn, we'll do anything to have this case. Anything."
Phoebe knew she would never forget the smile that spread across the President's face. "Anything?"
"Anything," Max assured her.
"Well, there is a little more to the case. We suspect the money is being used to purchase parts for some kind of weapon. We don't know what kind of weapon, but suspicious items have been ordered by the Villain League and delivered to a location in Argentina. We're tracking four villains regularly playing at the casino and their wins match the pattern of when parts are purchased. In order for you to successfully infiltrate and figure out exactly what we're dealing with, I'm going to need you two to go undercover."
"Sweet," Max said. "I'd look awesome with a goatee and—"
"Disguises will be a part of the plan," the President continued. She looked like she was swallowing laughter. Phoebe thought the laughter stemmed from more than the thought of Max wearing a stupid goatee.
"What's the rest of the plan?" Phoebe asked cautiously.
"Well, the villains we're tracking win big only at special tournaments, but the tournaments are only opened to married couples. So…"
"So…." Max repeated.
"So I need you two to go undercover as a newlywed supervillain couple, Mr. and Mrs DuBeau from Lyon, France."
Phoebe's mouth dropped open at the same time Max's did. She was the first one to regain control of her speech.
"Ohhhh no. No. Nope. No way. That's just weird and…weird."
Max jumped in. "As much as I want to get out of this house, there is no way—"
"If intel is correct, the weapon would need to be neutralized with heat and cold simultaneously if they succeed in purchasing all the parts."
"Then get Chilladude instead of Max," Phoebe said. He had a horrible lisp and spit ice pellets, but Phoebe was willing to take the risk.
"Or get Heat Wave instead of Pheebs," Max said with a smirk. Phoebe narrowed her eyes.
"You just want Heat Wave because she sleeps with anything that has a pulse."
"Hey! It's not nice to disrespect your sorority sister like that."
"Excuse me? I'm still here."
Phoebe watched President Kickbutt rub her eyes, leaving two thick mascara streaks. She looked like she was regretting the call. Or she was tired. Or both.
"Don't forget you made me quit twice before," she said. "You owe me. Besides, if our suspicions are correct, the neutralization of the weapon would require heat and cold of the same speed and concentration. Only you two are capable of that. And," she paused. "There is a nice reward if you're able to bring down this crime ring."
"No reward-"
"What kind of reward? Are we talking a 'getting my own apartment' size reward?" Max asked. Phoebe couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"More like a 'getting an apartment with a roommate' size reward, but yes, the reward would be substantial." President Kickbutt say. "We have the real DuBeau couple, Louis and Juliette, in custody; they were apprehended two weeks ago for illegal betting. They're mathematical geniuses."
"Like me," Max smirked.
"Us," Phoebe scowled.
"It would be easy to disguise you and get you in place; you're close to their ages and physical features aren't too far off. Did I mention you owe me?"
"I'm a superhero not a spy," Phoebe argued, trying to ignore the reminder of them owing her. "We should be taking down monsters and plots to take over the world not—"
"Phoebe, this weapon could very well lead to world takeover. Bankrupt superheroes and an unknown device are very well in the realm of superhero duties. This case will allow you to travel this half of the world. These are the cases heroes live for."
Phoebe exhaled loudly. Max stood up and nudged her so hard she staggered to the side.
"You can be a couple on the brink of divorce for all I care," President Kickbutt added.
"Then count us in," Max said quickly.
"Now wait a minute!"
"Perfect! I'll have a couple representatives come get you within the hour to bring you to Headquarters. President Kickbutt OUT."
Phoebe reached out, but it was too late. The Thundermonitor sank back down. Max flipped back down on the couch, picking up a large chunk of cookie from between the couch cushions and stuffing it in his mouth.
"You're prolly gonna want to tell Link you can't go on that date tonight," Max said between bites.
He barely ducked another smack of her purse.