A Mutant Named Mizzie Read Online Free

extra-strength acid, because the liquid melted Abominator’s uniforms—and the rack holding them—in an instant.
    A good thing to keep in mind when searching an evil lair: Not all hidden switches open secret doors. Some of them also trigger booby traps.
    Fortunately, I hopped backward just in time to avoid taking a toxic shower.
    I went back to my search, checking and rechecking every possibility. But except for a couple more uncovered booby traps (flames spouting from the floor, a superhero-sized spiked flyswatter shooting from the wall), the investigation turned up nothing.
    A baby’s burbling caught my attention. Turning around, I saw Mizzie sitting on the floor of the lair with Stanley watching over her.
    “She was growing restless, sir,” said my butler. “I thought I would let her wander a little.”
    “Very well,” I said. “Just make sure she doesn’t go near the opening.”
    “That shouldn’t be a concern. As soon as I let her out of the vehicle, she rushed to this very spot, and she refuses to go anywhere else.”
    Stanley’s pearl-colored eyes peered down at Mizzie as she kicked and giggled. She was pointing down at the floor in front of her with both pudgy gray hands, an intense look of concentration on her face.
    “If you ask me, sir,” said Stanley, “she seems particularly interested in
that
part of the floor.”
    I approached the two of them with bounding steps, my cape billowing behind me. “Do you think she’s trying to tell us something?”
    Stanley’s gaze never shifted. “That may very well be, sir.”
    “But she’s just a baby.”
    “She is also the only one of us who has ever been here before.”
    She
did
seem oddly focused on one spot of the floor. Taking a closer look, I realized thatthe tile she was pointing to was a darker shade of gray than the ones around it. The difference was so slight that most people would have walked right past it—just as I’d done at least a dozen times already.
    “Blurph,” Mizzie said, pointing at the mismatched tile persistently. “Glooph, bloog.”
    “She makes an excellent point!” I observed. Pressing the tile did nothing. Rubbing it had the same result. But when I twisted it, the tile shifted and I heard a click beneath the floor.
    By instinct, I grabbed hold of Mizzie and dove sideways, protecting her from any number of booby traps that might befall us. Instead, I heard a rumbling noise, and when I looked up, a section of the wall slid sideways. Behind it was the hidden room I’d been searching for.
    “You see that, Stanley?” I boomed with pride. “No villainous secret is safe from Captain Justice’s super-sleuthing!”
    “Perhaps the baby deserves some credit as well,” Stanley suggested.
    “I believe you’re right.” Admiring the gurgling baby in my arms, I said, “Thank you for your service, Mizzie. I don’t know whether I could’ve done it without you.”
    “Glumph!” she said happily.
    Putting Mizzie into Stanley’s care, I stood and cautiously entered the room we’d just discovered. But as I stepped inside, I caught my breath. In my many years of confronting supervillains, I’d never seen anything quite so disturbing.

    The room was lined with cages. And each cage was crowded with mutants. They resembled the beings I’d fought earlier that day—gray skin, sharp teeth. Except these mutants were younger and far less fearsome. They ranged in age from infant to teenager. Abominator must’ve been keeping them until they were old enough—and fierce enough—to use in his schemes.
    They’d been packed into their quarters so tightly that there was barely a place for any of them to sit. The cages were filthy. The smell was unbearable. Bowls that had been left out for food and water were empty.
    My stomach twisted at the wretched conditions. Dr. Dread’s words echoed in my mind.
It’s all done to remove every last trace of their humanity
. If Abominator could abuse mutants enough, then they’d go out and abuse