A Mutant Named Mizzie Read Free

Stanley asked as I climbed back into the SUV.
    I dumped the diapers and toys and wet wipes onto the floor.
    “Just drive,” I said through gritted teeth.

    Stanley canceled the rest of my appointments for the day. Until I figured out what to do with Mizzie, the risk of appearing in public was simply too great.
    “Well, we can’t return her to her parents,” I said.
    “They are most likely in a detention facility,” Stanley agreed from the driver’s seat.
    The landscape of farms and hillsides passed outside the windows as he drove. Mizzie was on the seat beside me, napping. Her little gray hand was curled into a fist, her thumb hanging loosely from her mouth.
    “She deserves to be raised in a better environment,” I said. “Someplace where she isn’t surrounded by violent, bloodthirsty beasts.”
    “In that case,” Stanley said, “perhaps it is a good thing that we found her when we did.”
    I watched the baby doze for a few seconds longer. Even with all the disruption she’d caused, I couldn’t help wondering if Stanley had a point.
    But what about Zimmerman’s warning? How would the world react if they discovered that Captain Justice was taking care of a mutant? Sure, the child was adorable. But she was also … different. Her skin was the color of a shark. Soon she would have a mouthful of ultra-sharp teeth. Her parents had been locked up for terrorizing innocent citizens.
    “What do you think will become of her, Stanley?” I asked. “Is she destined grow up to be like her parents? Like the other mutants I battled?”
    “I am afraid I was not programmed to answer that question, sir,” replied the robot.
    I stared down at Mizzie’s sleeping form. For a brief moment, in the dim light of the vehicle’s interior, she looked like any human baby.
    When she awoke a few minutes later, her wails filled the interior of the vehicle.
    “I think she’s hungry,” I said to Stanley. “Pull over and I’ll feed her.”
    Stanley parked the SUV in the parking lot of an abandoned hardware store. I removed a silver spoon from my utility belt and inspected the labels of each baby food bottle.
    “How about we sample some apples and peaches?” I suggested.
    “Blurph,” said Mizzie.
    “I’ll take that as a yes.”
    Spooning out a little of the squishy food, I held it close to her lips. Mizzie sniffed, then made a face that clearly meant
yuck
.
    “Not a fan of apples and peaches, huh?” I said. “No problem. In that case, let’s try the veggie select.”
    I offered a spoonful from the other jar, but the reaction was much the same. She wasn’t interested.
    “Here comes the armor-plated, titanium-reinforced hover SUV!” I spiraled the spoon toward Mizzie’s mouth. “Coming in for a landing on the rooftop hovercraft port.”
    Pressing her lips together tightly, the baby watched as I waved the spoonful of mush in front of her. I felt my frustration rising. But I wasn’t giving up just yet.
    “Perhaps I need to disable your defense settings,” I said. “Let me just enter the securitycode.”
    I poked her chubby gray belly with my finger. Mizzie chuckled. Suddenly, a memory sprang to mind: twelve years earlier, going through this same routine with Sophie when she was a baby.
    While Mizzie laughed gleefully, I brought the spoon close to her lips. “That’s better,” I said. “Now open the hatch doors and prepare for the—OUCH!”
    Mizzie finally took a bite. But it wasn’t the mush on the spoon she was interested in. It was
me
. I dropped the spoon as Mizzie chomped down on my arm with her single ultra-sharp tooth. My body armor absorbed most of the bite, but not
all
.
    “Egad, that
stings
!” I howled in pain. “Release me at once!”
    I flapped my arm frantically, but this only seemed to make her clamp down harder.
    “She seems to have mistaken you for baby food,” Stanley observed, his pearl-colored eyes glowing with amusement.
    “This isn’t funny, Stanley!” I screamed, wildly waving the