Totally Toxic (20 page)

I opened the front door to find Grandpa Zack on the porch. He looked very, very pleased, and he was holding something behind his back.

“Nice work last night, Zoe.”

“Just doin' my job,” I said, trying to sound modest. “The Slink's still on the loose, though.”

“Zoe, you can't get all the bad guys your first time out!” Grandpa stepped inside and looked around. “Are your folks here?” he asked in a whisper.

“No. Dad went down to the police station, and Mom's at the library.” I stopped, frowning. “Hang on. How do you know what happened last night?”

Grandpa winked and led the way into the living room. From
behind his back, he produced a copy of the
Supernews.
I read the headline:

“Who's Kid Zoom?” I said.

“You are!”

“I am?”

“The Superhero Federation gets to choose the names.” Grandpa shrugged. “It was between that and Little Zipster.”

“Yeah. I told them you'd say that. So they went with Kid Zoom.”

“I like it!”

“Me too.” Grandpa took my face in his hands and gave me a kiss right in the middle of my forehead. “Do you have any idea what a great achievement this is? Most heroes don't get a write-up in the newsletter until they've been on active duty for several months. But you, kiddo—
you
make the front page your first time out.”

I could feel myself beaming as I read the article at super-speed.

“Can I keep this?” I asked. “I'd like to start a scrapbook like yours so someday I can show it to my Super grandkids.”

Grandpa gave me a warm smile. “And you'll be as proud of them as I am of you, I'm sure.”

He sat down on the sofa and put his feet on the coffee table. I sat down beside him and put my feet up, too.

“So,” I said, folding my arms behind my head, “what's next on the superhero agenda?”

“I don't know.” Grandpa folded
his
arms behind
his
head. “But don't worry, we'll find out.

“ Too right, we would.

And when we did, Kid Zoom would be ready!