“You’re saying she was a double agent?” Ruby said.

“They trained her to be one of us. She learned English, went to college, was even a cheerleader, and then a librarian—as American as apple pie.”

“But I thought we were getting along with the Russians,” Ruby said.

“We are, but old habits die hard,” the principal said. “I’m sure we have deep-cover spies in their country, too.”

“Regardless, she wasn’t real and neither was our relationship,” Brand said. “Everything was a lie and I was too stupid to see it. That’s why I can’t help you. I can’t trust my instincts anymore.”

“Did you know this?” Ruby asked the principal.

The principal nodded.

“OK, so she’s a bad guy,” Ruby said. “That’s another good reason to help us. You can’t just run off to some cabin and grow a hipster beard and go whah! whah! whah! on your stupid oboe!”

“I’m not going to be lectured by someone whose biggest problem is whether her mom is going to get her to soccer practice on time.”

Brand turned back to the lake. Ruby couldn’t believe it, but the bravest man she had ever known had thrown in the towel.

Frustrated, she marched back to the Jeep.

“Well, that’s that,” the principal said when he got into the driver’s seat. He started the engine and drove back down the overgrown driveway.

On the drive back, Ruby gazed out at the countryside and rubbed her swollen feet. She was allergic to disappointment.

Tessa followed Miss Information through the halls of her huge underground lair until they reached a thick steel door labeled UPGRADE ROOM. She watched her new boss place her hands on a green glass screen next to the door. The glass flashed, and a moment later the door slid open.

The room was completely empty except for a silver podium.

“What’s this thing?” Tessa asked.

“This is where the magic happens, and that’s the magic wand,” Miss Information said.

She pressed a blue button on the podium. Red laser lights danced across the walls and swarmed over Tessa’s body like bees on a flower.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

Miss Information grinned. “You’re being scanned for your biggest strength.”

“STRENGTH DETECTED SUBJECT IS TWO-FACED,” a voice said.

“Hey!” Tessa cried. “Is this some kind of joke?”

The robotic voice ignored her. “SUBJECT TAKES GREAT PLEASURE IN DECEPTION SUBJECT IS A BACKSTABBER SUBJECT IS A CHAMELEON SUBJECT NEEDS MORE THAN ONE FACE SUBJECT NEEDS MANY FACES PREPARE FOR UPGRADE.”

“Here we go,” Miss Information said. “I’m going to step out and monitor from the hall.”

“Wait! I—”

But the woman was already through the door.

An observation panel opened in the wall, and Tessa could see her new boss in her bizarre mask waving to her like Tessa was about to ride her first roller coaster.

“INITIATE UPGRADE?”

The question repeated itself over and over, but Tessa could not answer.

“If you want to do this, you need to say the word begin,” Ms. Holiday instructed. Her voice came through a speaker mounted on the wall.

“What if I don’t want to?”

“There’s nothing to worry about, Tessa!” Miss Information said. “This is going to help you get your daddy back.”

“INITIATE UPGRADE?”

The woman could be a nutcase. Or this could be an elaborate revenge from the director of the CIA; he was still mad about that wedgie she gave him. But … what if this was real? What if this woman was really offering Tessa her greatest wish? She might look like a fool later, but it was worth the risk.

“Yes, begin!” Tessa cried.

Tubes attached to dozens of fearsome tools dropped from the ceiling and wrapped themselves around her body. She was yanked off the floor and held aloft like a fly caught in a spiderweb.

“Um, is this normal?” Tessa asked.

Miss Information gave her a thumbs-up through the window.

Several large hypodermic needles sprung from the ends of the tubes, which moved dangerously close to Tessa’s neck. “I’ve changed my mind. I don’t want to do this!” she said.

“Ruby, please, calm down. This will be over soon, and afterwards we’ll go out for frozen yogurt. Do you like frozen yogurt? What a silly question. Everyone loves frozen yogurt!”

“My name is Tessa,” she shouted.

“Of course it is,” Miss Information said. She seemed dazed. “What did I just call you?”

“Ruby,” Tessa said.

The woman clamped her hands on her head and buckled over as if hit with the worst headache anyone had ever experienced. Tessa watched her fall to her knees and cry out.

One of the needles went into the side of Tessa’s temple, and she felt like her head was on fire. As the room turned black, she heard her new boss say, “This part might hurt a little. Just keep thinking about that yogurt, sweetheart.”

Tessa didn’t know how long she’d been asleep—a day? Maybe two? All she knew was that when she woke up, she felt different. Her skin felt tingly and alive. It was as if every pore was suddenly aware of its own existence. It felt very good, but it scared her, too. What had that machine done to her?

Miss Information barged into the room. “Wakey, wakey! Let’s give these superpowers a test-drive!” she said.

Tessa sat up and narrowed her eyes at the woman. Who was behind that mask? What did this woman really look like? What was she hiding?

Miss Information pulled Tessa to her feet and dragged her to a mirror. “Let’s see you do it.”

“Do what?”

“The thing! The power! With your face!”

“I don’t know what that machine did to me, and I certainly don’t know how to do anything,” Tessa snapped.

“Geez, do I have to do everything around here?” Miss Information cried. With lightning-fast hands, she reached over and pulled on Tessa’s nose.

“Hey!” Tessa cried. “What are you, seven years old? Go play Got Your Nose with someone else!”

Miss Information pointed at the mirror. “Look.”

Tessa screamed. Loudly. Her nose was now where her chin used to be!

“Crazy, huh?” Miss Information said. She stood over Tessa’s shoulder, marveling at the grotesque change. “I read the data on your nanobytes. Those little robots let you manipulate your face anyway you want. You can actually sculpt your skin to look like other people, too. Try it!”

“Who?”

“Who cares? Just pick someone!”

Tessa closed her eyes and thought about the people in her life. Then her hands went to work, twisting and turning her features as if they were Play-Doh. Her nose, lips, skin—even her eyeballs—were all soft and pliable, and, oddly enough, all the pulling and twisting didn’t hurt. When she was done, she took a step back and looked in the mirror. Her math teacher, Mr. Donaldson, stared back at her. His beady eyes and scowling mouth were perfect matches. She even duplicated his famous curled lip of contempt and the single ever-present nose hair that waved like a flag from his right nostril.

She screamed again.

“That’s amazing, Tessa!” Ms. Holiday said. “Try someone else.”

She did as she was told, filled with both dread and curiosity. In quick succession she turned herself into Secret Service Agent Dan Holbrooke, Holly the White House chef, and even George Washington from the portrait that hung in the Oval Office. Her nanobytes were incredible. Not only had they turned her face into clay, they allowed her to adapt her eye color, skin tone, and even hair color.

Miss Information clapped happily. “With a little practice you should be able to do your whole body. You can change your height and weight—why, you might even be able to reproduce smells.”