“DES!” I screamed as I walked into our apartment. “DES!”

“What!? What’s going on?” she ran to me like I was on fire.

“You will never believe what happened!” I was squealing—hardcore fan-girl style.

Des began to calm down as she realized I wasn’t in any type of mortal danger. She tried not to laugh as she said, “Believe what?”

“I, Miss Penn Benson, will be accompanied by Sir Colin Powers on a date!” I grabbed her hands and transformed into a bouncy ball. I could no longer contain my excitement. I’ve been holding it in all day, and finally, I was erupting with anticipation.

“Oh, I see.” She smiled at me. “How did he ask you, Petite?”

“Well… I asked him, but that doesn’t matter, right? He said, yes! He actually said yes!!”

I could tell that Des was happy for me, but underneath that was something I couldn’t figure out. I don’t know why Des doesn’t seem to trust Colin, but at least she wasn’t throwing that down my throat as a reason to back out of the date. But then again, Des would never do something like that. She’s just not that type of person.

“So, where are you two going? And can I dress you up again?” she grinned.

Look at Ms. Opportunistic here. I see you, Des.

“Definitely not.” I responded quickly, giving her a hug as a consolation. “And we’re just going for some coffee. Nothing fancy.”

“Coffee?” Des gave me an amused look. “But cherie, you do not drink coffee.”

“So? I can always order tea or soda.” I pulled away and headed towards my room. “Besides, I think it’ll be great! I can picture it now. A wonderful first date that leads to an amazing second date! And eventually, a change in my relationship status.”

I sighed dreamily as Des laughed at me.

“I hope it goes well for you, ma amie.”

“Thanks!” I yelled right before entering my chambers.

*****

After Des went to sleep, I began to dig around on the internet.

As much as I wanted to tell Des about the lab, I felt like I had to keep it a secret. At least until I could figure out what used to go on down there. It was like a puzzle that only I could solve. Except, the one clue I have is that it has two entrances in different locations.

“Come on, Google. Help a girl out.” I whispered. I put in the search engine both the address of POW! and of Jerry’s Hardware Emporium. I couldn’t find any histories on the buildings other than they used to be old apartment complexes. I could barely find any information on the garage besides the address and the fact that it was built in the 1970s.

I growled in frustration.

Then, a thought dawned on me.

What if I can’t find anything because the lab was never meant to be found… Oh my God. What if it used to be a secret government facility beneath Cardinal City? That was starting to sound right. Or insane—obviously, all my time reading comics were finally getting to me.

“Curiouser and curiouser.” I quoted Alice in Wonderland as I swiveled in my chair.

There might not be any public records to find because none were ever created.

Then the only place I might find information is in the lab itself.

It was time to plan another field trip. Only this one could get me arrested.