THE MIRANDA CONTRACT Supervillain. Pop Star. Sometimes the life we're given isn't the life we'd choose for ourselves. For the past five years, Dan Galkin has been lying to everyone about just how ordinary he is. But Dan's the grandson of The Mad Russian: one of the world's most powerful, and insane, supervillains. And Dan has powers too. He's a living battery, able to absorb and discharge electricity with his mind. Normally he keeps his powers hidden, but when the old man returns with an offer to make his grandson heir apparent, any chance at an ordinary life is blown apart. Miranda Brody thought she wanted to be a pop star, but now she's got the international profile and the entourage, she doesn't recognize the Miranda she has become. After getting caught up in the cross-fire between Dan and his grandfather, Miranda realizes there's more to life than being famous. Staying alive, for example, becomes a high priority. And not falling in love with the pizza boy comes a close second. Labeled by society, trapped by expectation. Dan and Miranda might actually be able to change everything. As long as they don't kill each other first.

This world is full of rotten and spiteful souls, but instead of hiding from the darkness, you'd best be embracing it, son. Mark me words, I come from a position of experience in these things. There are those who work their superhuman magic in the open, flying through the air or dressed in patriotic stars and stripes. But the more interesting stories happen just to the left of this stage, and just a little out of focus. - Grimm, Supervillain (retired) This Mutant Life: Bad Company is the second anthology in the series, and turns its focus to the darker side of the superhuman world. The 21 stories introduce the reader to the lives of ancient beings who have walked among us for centuries; teenage runaways taken under the wing of vigilantes; and other mutants who walk the fine line between light and shade.