4. First

Year: 1981

Valentina Carasso never had a very high opinion of adults. At twenty-eight, she was technically one now, but she thought she was better than most of the grown-ups around her. After all, the nation's top spies could not handle her invention-the use of nanotechnology to create psuedo-superpowers- but a few children could.

It was these children she was going to have to become a babysitter to, since she was the only one who knew enough about the nanobytes to notice if anything went wrong.

Valentina had been "hired" as the new librarian at Nathan Hale Elementary School, but when she finally arrived, it was three hours after the students had been dismissed. Whichever kids had been recruited must have been waiting a long time. Valentina thought. She really didn't care though. Whatever. This will be fully worth it.

She unlocked and opened the library. It was completely dark inside. "Hello?" She flipped on the lights.

There were five kids in the room, sitting innocently with the puppy eyes and everything. "What did you destroy?" Valentina asked.

The blonde girl spoke up. "A nuclear missle in a classified country. Ms. Carasso, let's get this straight, okay? We're spies. We've been spies for a long time. We will not take any condescending talk from you."

What a little beam of sunshine. "Hopefully I won't be here very long," Valentina said dryly. "I was told Benjamin would be in the Playground. How do I get there?"

"I'll show you," the smaller girl offered.