Amanda Smith. Amanda Smith. Amanda Smith. 

The name that haunted Matteo's mind. Too bad he was too stubborn to look it up right away. Instead, he searched for George's face in any footage of Goldby City from 2006. Unsuccessfully, of course. Whoever was impersonating George that day did it only once. 

He pounded his fist angrily on the table. 

Three hours, and Matteo still hadn't discovered anything new. He had no choice but to take Revenger's tip, no matter how much it annoyed him. He hadn't even told Max about it, feeling foolish that he needed his archenemy's advice to make progress on his case.

Matteo deleted George's name from the search and typed in Amanda's instead. Lo and behold, he was shown several results from 2006. 

Along with the tapes, however, the computer also showed something else. Documents, forged documents to be precise. For it was Theresa Farrell, or as she was known in Legion - Tigress - looking back at him from the photograph. 

"Why would she...?" muttered Matteo in confusion. Theresa had an ID card in Amanda Smith's name, a driving licence, even a medical card, and a piece of land bought in San Dence.  

Amanda Smith was no longer just a pseudonym, she was her own person, and she had everything she needed to ensure that no one questioned her. The perfect disguise. 

It could have been a coincidence, but it was too good to be a coincidence. Matteo knew he had just discovered something big, but he needed Max to confirm it to be one hundred percent sure. 

"Max, I think I finally have some answers," Matteo announced, pressing a button on his desk. 

Matteo enlarged "Amanda's" photo to full screen and waited for Max. 

"Why do you have a photo of Tigress open?" Max asked in a confused voice the moment he had leaned over his shoulder. 

"Because it's not Tigress," Matteo said, closing the photo and returning to Amanda Smith's profile. Immediately afterwards he looked back at Max, not wanting to miss his reaction. He frowned. That meant one thing: like Matteo, he had no idea about this either. 

"Amanda Smith was very active in 2006. She bought a property, went to the doctor, even reported being robbed," Matteo listed, then asked Max, "Do you know of any mission she had at the time that would have made her need all this?" 

Max confirmed his doubts. "I've never heard of this." 

While Max stared thoughtfully at the screen, probably trying to come up with his own conclusion, Matteo continued his questions. "Tigress is Mimic's partner, isn't she?" 

"You think they had a joint mission that involved him impersonating George," Max concluded. 

"Yes," Matteo confirmed immediately. "Would that be too much of a coincidence?" 

Max shook his head and instead of answering fully, he sat down in the chair next to Matteo, still not taking his eyes off the screen. 

"How did you even find out?" he asked after a moment, this time turning his face to stare at the blond hero next to him. 

Matteo sighed and ran a hand over his face, not wanting to answer. Once again he had to admit out loud that Revenger was smarter than he was, and although he'd done it a few times before, it had never been easier. 

"Revenger," he replied simply. 

But that wasn't enough for Max, who repeated his answer as a question. "Revenger?"

Matteo sighed again and began to explain sullenly. "At the bank. He waited for me on the roof and told me to look up the name Amanda Smith instead of chasing him." 

"So Revenger knows about Theresa's secret identity," Max said, not mentioning the fact that Matteo hadn't told him about it right away. "The question is why he was interested in it in the first place." 

"Another question," Matteo muttered gruffly. For every step forward, there were three steps back. 

Max, on the other hand, was more positive than the young superhero. "It's still better than where we started. At least now we know we're going in the right direction and where to look next." 

"I guess." Matteo considered himself a realist rather than an optimist. Optimists were too quick to be disappointed. Realists, on the other hand, knew exactly what was in store for them, or in his case, wasn't. More and more he thought he wasn't meant to catch Revenger, any more than he was meant to have Rowan. 

"You're looking at this too negatively, kid." Max placed a hand on his shoulder. "You're the one who spotted George on the tape that half the Legion saw and missed. You're the one who got close enough to Revenger to get information from him. And you're the one who's going to work so hard until you figure it out. I believe in you. Have a little faith in yourself.”

A smile finally appeared on the blonde's face. "You really are a great boss, Max. You know that?" 

"The best," Max confirmed. "That's why I'm going to stay here and help you with the investigation until we find something else. What do you think?" 

"Sounds like a plan." 

Half an hour later they found something else that didn't make sense. 

"This building doesn't exist," Matteo said confusedly, frowning at the screen. 

"What do you mean?" Max leaned towards him as before. 

"Not only the address where the building Amanda Smith bought in San Dence is supposed to be, but the building itself doesn't exist anywhere except in this purchase agreement. No map, no plans, nothing." 

"That's impossible," Max said softly, as if to himself, but in the silence of the room it was impossible not to hear. Besides, the same words were playing in Matteo's head. 

"It could be hidden," Matteo suggested, although he didn't like the sound of that. "But a secret identity, a secret building... it all sounds kind of..." He knew what he wanted to say, but he didn't dare say it out loud. Max said it for him, though. "Illegal." 

The words illegal and Legion didn't go together. They were an organisation of superheroes. Always enforcing the rules. Never breaking the law. The very fact that Max knew nothing about it was alarming. 

Tigress and Mimic were about the same age as Max. They worked in the same field and started out in the same place. But Max had always been one rank above them. Whatever they were working on, he should have known about it. 

Before Matteo could think any more aimlessly, Max, unlike him, already had a plan. "I'll tell you what we're going to do. Until we find out what's going on, this stays between us." He waited for Matteo to nod and then continued. "I'm going to check the files of Tigress and Mimic and find out what cases they were working on in 2006."

"And what will my job be?" The blond man jumped in.

"You..." Max's eyes were serious. "You will go to San Dence and try to find the non-existent building." As serious as his instructions were, he couldn't help smiling at the word 'non-existent'. 

Matteo was also amused but for a different reason. "Sounds like fun." He'd never been to this city in his life and hadn't even looked up an address that, according to all available information, didn't exist. Fortunately, Matteo wasn't an ordinary person and knew how to examine every building from every angle.

And so, later that evening, he packed up and left for San Dence, a place that would give him answers and also distract him from thinking about Rowan, at least for a little while.

…

Although he was still officially on a mission for the Legion, he had left his superhero suit at home. He'd planned to blend in as much as possible, so he'd checked into the tourist hostel that most people had recommended online. It wasn't anything fancy, but for the short duration of his stay, it would have to do. 

Also, according to the reviews, this hostel had a great information service, so the first place Matteo went after putting his things in his room was the reception. 

"Good evening, sir. How can I help you?" A young man about his age smiled at him from behind the counter. His lack of uniform, replaced by a plain white t-shirt and blue flannel shirt, confirmed that this was indeed an ordinary tourist hostel and not some kind of luxury hotel. And if Matteo was lucky, it would also mean that the locals worked here.

"I'm looking for this place. I have the address, but I can't find it on any map." Matteo made a dejected face, hoping his expression would soften the young man behind the counter and make him even more willing to help. 

"Give me the address, and I'll see what I can do." The young man smiled again and Matteo took a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to him. But when the smile fell from the young man's face, Matteo knew that he wasn't going to be lucky after all. 

"Oh, I'm afraid I can't help you. If I'm not mistaken, this is one of the old addresses that no longer exists." He handed the paper back. But the superhero wasn't going to give up so easily. 

"Old addresses? Does that mean this address still exists, just under a different name?" He asked.

"Yes," the young man confirmed immediately. "They were renamed a long time ago, but as far as I know the records have been destroyed. Few people remember what they were originally called these days."

In an instant, a new question popped into Matteo's head. "Do you know anyone who might know?"