‘She lied to us!’ Penny said. ‘Her real name is Angel Blackwood!’
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
Penny had just dropped a bomb on me, and I couldn’t believe it.
‘Angel’s dead!’ I said. ‘She died in that accident with Coach’s sister, remember?’
‘She didn’t die, though,’ Penny explained. ‘Only Olivia died!’
‘How do you know?’ I asked, fighting back tears. Not sure why I wanted to cry, but I kinda had a lot on my plate at that moment.
What was Penny even doing here with the headmaster?
‘You don’t know what you’re talking about!’ I said. ‘You were supposed to keep Kepler away, but you brought him instead! He wiped your mind and made you think you needed to stop me!’
‘He didn’t wipe my mind!’
‘Which is exactly what you’d say if you didn’t know your mind was wiped!’
Noah and Joel looked at each other, like, whaaa?
‘Our minds weren’t wiped,’ Arnold said, nursing a sore shoulder. ‘Headmaster Kepler explained it all on the way down.’
‘And what’s he even doing here??’ I said, waving my arms at Arnold like a loon.
‘I’m here to actually save the day,’ Arnold said all pompous.
‘Angel exploded in that accident,’ Penny explained. ‘Her body blew up, but her power kept her together long enough for Professor Duncan to build a suit for her. She’s a walking explosion, but her armour keeps it contained!’
‘What’re you – what?’ I said.
Kepler leaned against the ice-cream truck. He pointed at Joel. ‘You there …’
‘My name’s Joel,’ Joel said, a little disappointed.
‘Yes, of course, I know that. Joel, you must open a portal back to the school.’
Bricks fell from the front of the ice-cream truck as Jennifer moved under the rubble, groaning loudly.
‘You must be quick! Angel will be quite unhappy when she gets up.’
‘Getting railed by a truck will do that to a person,’ Noah said.
Joel rubbed his hands together, warming them up.
More bricks fell as Jennifer reached through them.
‘Posthaste, son!’ Kepler urged.
Joel’s fingers shook as his eyes darted back and forth between his hands and Jennifer.
Arnold rolled his sleeves up. ‘Let me take care of this, sir. Joel’s too scared to help.’
Kepler shook his head. ‘No, you’re our last resort,’ he said. ‘Children, get into the truck! Quickly now!’
The five of us piled into the back of the ice-cream truck as Kepler took the wheel. He turned the key, but nothing happened.
Meanwhile, Jennifer crawled out from under the truck, her clothes shredded and her hair a mangled mess. Her eyes opened on her dust-covered face.
‘Donald Kepler? Is that you in there?’ she said in a creepily joyful way. ‘What a small world!’
‘Blasted vehicle!’ Kepler said, turning the key again.
The truck finally started.
The old man put it in reverse and floored it. The five of us rolled over one another in the back as the ice-cream truck flew out of the alley. It bounced into the street, then crashed into something, coming to a dead stop.
Kepler put it back in drive and slammed the pedal to the metal, spinning the wheels like crazy.
But we weren’t moving.
The van tipped forward and floated off the ground. Headmaster Kepler climbed out of the driver’s seat and joined us in the back.
‘Stay calm,’ he said.
‘Is it Vic??’ Noah asked. ‘Is she outside?’
‘I don’t know!’ I said. ‘I can’t see anything!’
The truck tilted all the way back until it was straight up and down.
The back door clicked open, and we all tumbled out into a pile in the middle of the street.
‘Be careful!’ Jennifer said, dusting herself off as she walked towards us. ‘You could hurt one of the kids!’
‘They’re fine,’ a man said. ‘It’ll put hair on their chests.’
When I turned around, I saw Coach.
He was holding the van over our heads.
And he was totally a bad guy.
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
Coach set the ice-cream truck on the ground gently. He must’ve come down after Jordan went to find—
Wait a second …
‘Where’s Jordan?’ I said.
‘He’s still at the school, and he’s fine,’ Coach said. ‘He thinks I came down to help you.’
‘Lindsay Andrews,’ Headmaster Kepler said from the ground. ‘You were my friend.’
‘I still am, Don,’ Coach said. ‘And nobody will get hurt if you just do what we ask.’
My brain still didn’t want to believe Jennifer was the villain.
That wasn’t even possible, was it?
She was so helpful.
So kind.
So happy.
She was a sister to me!
Penny tried to stop me. She grabbed my backpack, but I slipped my arms out and marched up to Jennifer. Her clothes were shredded, revealing more armour underneath.
‘I’m sorry, Ben,’ Jennifer said, ‘but after tonight, it’ll be like none of this ever happened. Literally.’
‘But you’re the bad guy?’
She shut her eyes and exhaled slowly. ‘I’m not. I’m doing this because he’s the bad guy. His irresponsibility is what killed my brother.’
‘Brock? But Brock turned himself to stone!’
Jennifer gave me a look that told me to shut up.
That was it.
I was hoping that Penny was wrong.
That it was all just a giant mistake.
But Jennifer was just like Abigail – blaming her actions on Headmaster Kepler.
Jennifer was Angel.
My anger swelled. ‘You played me this whole time! Why? What do you even want?’
Angel helped Kepler to his feet and rested him on the side of Totes’s ice-cream truck.
‘Are you all right?’ she asked sincerely. ‘Can you stand?’
Kepler nodded.
It didn’t make sense. What kind of villain asks the enemy if they’re all right?
‘Donald knows what we want,’ Angel said.
‘It’s not mine to give,’ Kepler said flatly.
‘But you’re the only one who can give it. Isn’t that right, time traveller? You’ve changed history once – you can do it again.’
Time traveller?
Changed history?
‘Is your power … time travel?’ I whispered.
‘Bingo,’ Angel said, answering for the old man.
An atomic bomb of information exploded in my wrinkled brain as images from the Kepler Cave flashed in my mind.
The newspaper articles. Real superheroes. Destroyed cities. Millions killed by the Reaper.
My theory about Kepler was wrong. He didn’t make the world forget those horrible events. He made it so those horrible events never happened.
The world did end.
But Donald Kepler changed history.
‘I did it to save the human race,’ Kepler said. ‘But I won’t do it again to save only one person.’
‘Three people, actually,’ Angel said. ‘You’ll save Brock from turning to stone, which will save me from blowing up my car, which will save Lindsay’s sister from dying in that car.’
‘Too many ripples. Too many things will change. Life as we know it in this moment will be altered.’
Angel put her hand on her hip. ‘Right. Ask Abigail how she feels about ripples. She was a superhero where you’re from, no? And you wasted her life by making her, what? A school security guard?’
I finally understood what made Abigail snap last year. When she saw those articles about her alternate timeline version in the Kepler Cave … She met the person she could’ve become.
‘You’re Abigail’s partner?’ Penny asked. ‘So what, you want an army to
take over the world?’
‘Abigail wanted the army, but I let her believe I did, too, to get what I wanted. She would collect students; I would control their minds. But I couldn’t access my power until my suit was unlocked.’
Angel picked my backpack up off the ground, reached inside, and then pulled out Project Blackwood.
Angel Blackwood.
‘I’ve tried all year to subtly nudge you to find this and bring it to me,’ Angel said, and then she laughed. ‘But subtle wasn’t working, so I finally had to draw a picture of it and practically shout it at your face.’
She handed me my bag.
‘… Thank you,’ I said instinctively.
‘No, thank you,’ she said, studying the Magic Lamp intently. ‘Abbie’s plants were supposed to find this, but they never did. The funny thing about some people … is that I don’t need my power to get them to do what I want.’
I never felt more stupid in my life.
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
Angel had the key to unlocking her suit, and I was the nub who gave it to her.
‘That thing doesn’t give powers, does it?’ I asked.
‘Why would you think it gives powers?’ Kepler said, as if he weren’t the crazy old man he’d been all year.
Maybe it was the hat.
‘Because she told me that’s what it was for!’ I said. ‘She said you used it on yourself, and that’s how you got superpowers!’
‘And you believed her?’
‘Everybody’s lying about something. I don’t know what to believe anymore!’
Penny raised her hand like it was school. ‘If you don’t need an army,’ she said to Angel, ‘then why do you need to unlock your suit?’
‘When I unlock my armour, my unstable body will explode with the force of an atom bomb,’ Angel said, like it wasn’t a big deal at all.
‘An atom bomb?’ I said. ‘If that’s what happens, why didn’t it happen the night of your accident?’
Kepler answered for Angel. ‘Her suit has been containing her energy for years,’ he said. ‘Duncan warned that the pressure would build inside it and that she would need to release it periodically, but it’s clear that she hasn’t.’
‘Pretty cool, huh?’ Angel said. ‘I’m a walking nuke.’
‘Why would you wanna do that?’ Noah asked. ‘You’ll die with everyone else!’
‘Oh, it’s plan B, for sure,’ Angel said. ‘If Donald doesn’t save Brock willingly, then I’ll force him to. He changed history once to save the world, but I believe he’d do it again to save just a small city.’
I suddenly understood her diabolical plan. ‘You’re going to blow up Lost Nation.’
‘He won’t let it get that far,’ Angel said confidently.
‘Don’t test me, Miss Blackwood,’ Kepler said. ‘The timeline is too fragile; the ripple effect is real. It’s catastrophic to this timeline – to any timeline. One tiny ripple in the waters of time will cause a hurricane of damage.’
‘That ripple mumbo jumbo only matters to someone who knows the future,’ Angel huffed.
‘That’s precisely why you must listen to me!’ Kepler said through his teeth.
Angel paused. ‘You … can see the future, can’t you?’
‘The past, the present, the future. I know all of it.’
‘If you can see the future, then surely you saw all this happen tonight?’
Kepler shook his head. ‘My power has abandoned me in the past year. Why do you think I drove down here?’
Lindsay folded his arms, deep in thought. ‘Come to think of it, I haven’t seen him use his power once this year.’
Angel watched Kepler’s face. Finally, she said, ‘He’s lying.’
‘He’s not changing history for you!’ I said. ‘You need to get that through your thick skull!’
Angel turned to me, surprised. ‘Don’t you get it? Or did you miss what he just said?’
I must’ve missed something, because I didn’t get it.
‘He can see the future! He knew Brock would turn to stone! That I would explode and Olivia would die! And he knew that you were going to jump off that building to stop Abigail, but he did nothing to stop any of it from happening! He did nothing to protect us! He just … let it all happen.’
I wanted to argue, but … she was right.
Angel leaned next to Kepler. ‘If you knew Ben wouldn’t survive the fall last year, but he still stopped Abigail, would you have let him jump?’
Kepler said nothing.
No answer was the worst answer.
‘Your path was yours to walk alone, Ben,’ Kepler tried to explain. ‘Telling you would have created ripples that could have led to Abigail’s winning.’
I didn’t think it was possible to feel worse than I already did.
But I had just been hit with the truth: I had no greater destiny.
My only job was to stop Abigail.
That’s all.
Suddenly, Angel tore off her shirt, revealing the brutal truth about her body. Everything below her shoulders was encased in shiny black metal.
She set the key against a circular opening on her breastplate and twisted. Her suit came alive, small metal plates mechanically shifting to allow the key to sink halfway into her chest. The suit glowed at the seams, burning through the rest of her clothing with precise incisions. The fabric fell to the ground, leaving her with only armour.
Two small ports popped open where her shoulder blades should’ve been, and pure white energy streamed like liquid from both.
She looked like an angel with wings.
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
We all stared as Angel’s ‘wings’ died down. She was less heavenly when they were gone.
‘You all have no idea how good that felt,’ Angel said.
‘Are you crazy?’ Coach Lindsay said. ‘You actually unlocked your suit?’
The glow in Angel’s suit grew brighter as she inhaled, then darkened with the exhale. ‘You’ve known me since we were kids, Lindsay. You know I never bluff.’
‘But …’ Lindsay couldn’t finish his sentence.
‘That suit is meant to contain your power!’ Kepler said.
‘I know that better than you!’ Angel said angrily. ‘I’m the one who exploded in that car! I’m the one you found still alive at the bottom of that ravine! And I’m the one who spent months in Duncan’s lab watching him build this suit as my power ate away at my body. This is my prison.’
‘I credit Duncan for doing the best he could, and if you hadn’t run away, you might have a more efficient suit right now.’
Angel glared at the old man. ‘Save that one for Penny.’
We all looked at Penny, who was just as confused as we were.
‘What?’ Penny said. ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
‘You and I are the same,’ Angel said. ‘And someday you’ll explode, too. Just. Like. Me.’
Penny looked at the headmaster. ‘That’s not true, is it?’
Kepler reluctantly nodded. ‘It’s merely a possibility. Duncan has raised some concerns about it.’
Joel took a step away from Penny.
Angel swung her arms out and spun back to Kepler. ‘Y’know what?’ she said. ‘This is all pointless anyway because you’re gonna go back in time and fix this. After that, you’re gonna help me learn how to control what’s inside me, which means I’ll be around to teach Penny to do the same!’
Kepler hobbled closer to us. ‘Arnold, your reason for being here has presented itself. Godspeed.’
Arnold rolled his shoulders. ‘Watch how a real superhero gets the job done,’ he said to me.
Arnold sprinted at Angel and then jumped at her. I think he wanted to tackle her, but he ended up clotheslining himself on her arm instead.
She grabbed the back of his shirt and lifted him into the air. Arnold twisted, grabbing her forearm and biting down hard.
He slapped his hands over his mouth.
‘What did you think would happe
n??’ Angel said, shocked. ‘My arm is metal, kid!’
Arnold mumbled through cracked teeth. Then he went for her face, but she immediately wrapped her fingers around his neck.
‘Put him down, Angel!’ Kepler commanded.
Arnold squirmed as Angel’s suit shone brighter.
His eyes glowed, and his body calmed until he stopped fighting completely.
A piece of Angel’s armour popped off with a TING!
Noah ran forward, fire rocketing from his feet as he took flight. ‘Let go of him!’
Angel dropped Arnold and caught Noah by the neck, her armour blooming once again.
Another piece of Trutanium fell off.
Noah’s eyes flared as he screamed in pain. Suddenly his head burst into flames.
Angel let him drop, and he immediately calmed even though his hair was still flaming. His eyes shone so bright that his pupils were gone.
Arnold and Noah stood by Angel like they had suddenly switched teams.
She had transferred a portion of her energy into each of them. They were under her trance.
‘Bring her to me,’ Angel said to Noah and Arnold.
The two boys grabbed Penny by the arms.
‘Let go of me!’ Penny said, squirming. ‘Noah, stop!’
Kepler wasn’t doing anything to help.
‘We’re the same, Penny,’ Angel said. ‘Everybody has energy inside them, but you and I can control our energy. It’s how you take over animals. And someday, it’s how you’ll take over people – by pushing your energy into them.’
‘We’re not the same,’ Penny snarled.
Angel looked amused. ‘We are, and it’s why you need to master your power. The energy inside you is a ticking time bomb. One bad day, and you’ll explode just like I did.’
Joel nudged me. I turned and saw a tiny portal he managed to open while no one was paying attention.
Angel lifted Penny into the air and performed her mind-control trick, but it was different this time.
Angel’s energy poured into Penny, bubbling like liquid under my best friend’s skin. The light within Angel’s suit dimmed, her body slumping.
Penny was screaming, but no sound was coming out.
I bolted for my friend, grabbing her waist and pulling her away from Angel.
Ben Braver and the Incredible Exploding Kid Page 12