Because he involuntarily closed his eyes while sneezing – and because the sneezing was continuous – I wasn’t sure how much Alpha Prime could actually see. However, I telepathically told him where we were and what I’d done (and not to worry about me because I had phased), and got a mental thumbs-up from him in reply.
The sneezing went on for at least an hour and was a testament to the fact that Mouse had really done a number on my father. He had both incapacitated Alpha Prime as well as turned him into a weapon. Who knows how much damage he would have done without someone there to spirit him away?
Fortunately, I’d had a place to take him to where he wouldn’t be a danger to others, and I spent part of our time over the ocean reflecting on numerous things – including the last time I’d been in this particular locale. It had been during a transcontinental cruise that my grandfather had taken the family on several years earlier. Just the thought of that trip made me painfully aware of how much I missed my family.
That said, I spent the bulk of my time thinking about Mouse. He’d obviously been trying to contact me, in a roundabout sort of way. Moreover, he’d been trying to contact only me, it seemed. Taken altogether, it implied that I shouldn’t share anything I’d recently discovered with anyone else.
Eventually, Alpha Prime’s sneezing came to an end. Once we were certain his sternutation had permanently ceased, I became solid again and teleported us back to Alpha League HQ, at which point my father began rounding folks up for an official debrief. Ultimately, I – along with Smokey and Electra – ended up in the main conference room with Alpha Prime and a bunch of League members.
For the next two hours, I listened to my father drill his colleagues regarding what had happened, how to prepare for the next attack, what leads they had on Mouse’s whereabouts, and so on. Frankly speaking, the latest attack had been pretty straightforward; even I, arriving on the scene late, could easily sum it up: Mouse had appeared, and a battle had ensued. The only thing I’d been unaware of was why Mouse had chosen the underground garage for his latest appearance, but it turned out that the League had been planning to move some of the doomsday components out that way via a transport truck.
Other than details about the latest skirmish, however, no one really had any info to share. At some point early on I was asked about where I’d disappeared to when I left Smokey and Electra in the teen lounge. Not wanting to reveal what I’d learned, I had merely stated that I’d attempted to follow a lead that hadn’t panned out. (I also tried to tack on my thoughts about Mouse possibly being okay, but nobody wanted to hear that – didn’t “jibe with the facts,” as someone put it.) Afterwards, I had tried on more than one occasion to excuse myself, but my father wouldn’t allow it. He said he needed my insights, but I really didn’t add anything to the discussion. Truth be told, I spent most of the time with my own thoughts, continuing my attempts to make sense of everything.
After what felt like forever, my father called the meeting to an end. Almost giddy, I prepared to teleport home. It felt like I’d been trapped in a meeting of bureaucrats: endless talk, but nothing meaningful had been decided or gotten done. Unfortunately, going home was quickly taken off the table.
“Jim,” my father said, “I’d really appreciate it if you would hang around.”
“Oh?” I intoned. “Did you want to talk about something?”
“I probably phrased that wrong,” he stated. “I meant hang around HQ as opposed to going back to the embassy. It’ll make it easier to reach you if something comes up.”
“Sure…no problem,” I replied. “I’ll be in my quarters if you need me.”
Alpha Prime gave a nod of acknowledgment, and then I teleported.
Chapter 54
My quarters at HQ were much the same as those of all members of the League’s teen affiliate – essentially, a one-bedroom apartment. When I popped up, I immediately turned the lights on before flopping down on a sofa in the living room. I took a moment to simply relish the solitude; it felt like the first time I’d been alone in days.
In all honesty – despite the seriousness of the situation with Mouse – I had enjoyed spending time with my father and friends (especially Electra). That said, occasionally having time alone did a lot to help recharge my batteries. More to the point, it felt like something I really needed at the moment. Unfortunately, my seclusion was short-lived, as I’d only been resting about five minutes when a knock sounded at my door. Reaching out empathically, I sensed that it was Electra.
Sighing, I got up and opened the door.
“Hey,” Electra said, surprising me with a quick peck on the lips as she stepped inside.
“Uh…hey,” I greeted her in return. “I’m sorry – I wasn’t expecting you.”
“Well, the way you vanished after the meeting, it’s almost like you were trying to avoid me.”
“You’re right,” I acknowledged. “I should have said something. I’ve just been so wrapped up in this thing about Mouse that I’m not thinking straight.”
“It’s okay – you’re forgiven,” she said with a wink. “Anyway, I brought you something.”
For the first time, I noticed that she was holding a brown paper bag, which she now held up.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“Dinner,” she said.
I frowned. “It’s a little early, don’t you think?”
“I admit it’s only a little after five,” she said, “but you never finished lunch so I figured you were probably hungry.”
“Honestly, I don’t have much of an appetite,” I confessed truthfully. Even without tweaking anything internally, I simply hadn’t felt hungry.
“All the more reason to eat,” Electra insisted before heading to the kitchen (although it was really more of a kitchenette).
I was tempted to argue with her, but simply decided to relent. Thus, I followed in her wake and found myself in the kitchenette a few moments later.
“No, no, no,” she said, suddenly shooing me out. “I’ll prepare the plates. You just go kick your feet up.”
“Uh, okay,” I responded uncertainly, heading back towards the living room. As with the pizza the previous night, this kind of behavior wasn’t typical for Electra. I could only assume that she was doing it because she thought I was under a lot of pressure.
Unexpectedly, a fanciful thought entered my head: me and Electra once again a couple, but with her constantly waiting on me hand and foot. I snickered to myself, knowing that it was something that would never come to pass, but it was fun to imagine.
A soft musical ding suddenly interrupted my thoughts – the sound of the microwave going off in the kitchenette. I assumed it meant Electra had finished warming up the food.
As if reading my mind, she unexpectedly called out, “Almost ready. I’ll be out in a minute.”
Taking that as my cue, I began heading for a small breakfast table near the kitchenette, which was where I usually ate when staying in my quarters. I took a position behind a chair on one side of the table, deciding to wait until Electra joined me before sitting down.
She came out of the kitchen area a moment later carrying two plates. She placed one on the table in front of me and the other on the opposite side. It was my first time actually seeing what she’d brought, and I noticed that it looked like some kind of fried rice, and that Electra had already placed a fork in it for me.
“When did you order this?” I asked out of curiosity.
“While we were sitting in that debriefing,” she replied, and I had a sudden recollection of seeing her play with her phone a few times in the meeting. “I thought you might enjoy some takeout, so I got one of the guards to go pick it up.”
I fought to keep my face impassive, but sirens immediately started screaming in my brain. Several pieces of a mental puzzle unexpectedly fell into place, and I suddenly realized I was quite possibly in a very dangerous situation.
“You know,” I intoned, trying to sound casual, “I’m actually not that hungry.
”
“What?” Electra blurted out. “No, you have to eat.”
“I’ll just get a power bar or something from the pantry,” I countered.
“No, no, no. I went through the trouble of getting this for you – the least you can do is eat it.”
“I’ll get some later,” I promised.
“No, not later. I want you to eat it now.”
I gave her a hard stare. “What’s the big deal about eating it now?” I asked.
Electra merely stared at me for a moment, looking vexed, and I felt frustration and anxiety starting to roll off her in waves.
A moment later, she sighed and said, “Look, I miss you, okay? I’ve enjoyed being around you the last few days and I was simply hoping we could have dinner together, like we used to. So could you please just sit and eat with me – even if it’s just a few bites?”
“Sure,” I said with a nod. “It actually sounds a lot more enticing when you put it that way. Just let me run to the bathroom.”
“Okay,” she said with a coy smile, “but hurry up.”
“For you, I’ll go at super speed,” I promised with a smile. I then shifted into super speed and went into motion, but was back in place probably before she knew I was gone.
“All right, let’s eat,” I stated as I sat down.
“Wow, that really was quick,” Electra admitted as she took her own seat.
“I aim to please,” I shot back as we began to eat.
I took a quick bite of the food on my plate and discovered it was actually rather tasty.
“Mmmm,” I droned. “This is really good.”
“Agreed,” Electra stated with a nod. “So, where exactly did you go when you left us in the lounge earlier? I don’t believe you ever said.”
“Just to check out a lead. Like I said in the meeting, it didn’t pan out.”
“What kind of lead?”
I shook my head. “Nothing major – turned out to be a waste of time.”
“Hmmm,” Electra muttered, clearly not satisfied with my answer.
As we ate, Electra continued to ask detailed questions about where I’d gone and the lead I’d been following. I gave generic responses to all her questions, which she plainly didn’t care for. However, after eating about a quarter of her food, I noticed that she was starting to yawn. By the time she’d eaten close to half, her eyes were starting to droop. In essence, she looked like she was incredibly tired and sleepy. In fact, she was in the process of raising her fork to her mouth when she suddenly pitched forward, unconscious, and face-planted in the middle of her food.
More like face-plated, I said to myself as I dropped my own fork and stood up from the table.
I stared at her for a moment in absolute disgust. I now understood why I’d practically passed out the past two nights: Electra had been drugging me.
How does it feel to get a taste of your own medicine? I thought.
Of course, it had been the older version of myself who had tipped me off. He had mentioned “takeout” – specifically, not wanting any – and just a few hours later, Electra brought me takeout. It had seemed too spot-on to be mere coincidence. Thus, when I had asked why it was so important that I eat, I had telepathically peeked inside Electra’s mind.
Unlike a lot of other telepaths, I can’t do a deep dive into another person’s brain and root out any info I want. I can only see surface thoughts and what they willingly want to share. The good news, however, is that when you ask someone a question, the answer usually comes to the fore of their mind – even if they verbally lie about it. In this instance, I saw what Electra had planned for me. Ergo, after I shifted to super speed, rather than go to the bathroom, I had instead switched plates. Result: one knocked-out ex-girlfriend.
Despite having figured out what she was planning, I was still in the dark on a lot of things – like why she was drugging me in the first place. Was this even the real Electra? From all indications, it was, which made her actions all the more confusing. Somehow, though, I knew it all related to Mouse. I needed answers, and there was only one place I thought I could get them.
With that in mind, I was about to teleport when I took one last look at Electra. She was still face down in the plate but from what I could see, she appeared to be breathing, so – in my estimation – she wasn’t in danger. Still, it seemed kind of insensitive to leave her like that.
Shaking my head at what I was about to do, I reached out and – against my better judgment – pulled Electra’s face out of the plate. I then leaned her head gently back, making sure that she was positioned in a way that made it least likely that she’d fall out of the chair.
Satisfied that I had gone above and beyond the call of duty, I then teleported.
Chapter 55
I popped up in Mouse’s lab. As was typically the case, the lights came on a few seconds after I appeared.
I spent a moment looking around. This was the last place Mouse had been seen before allegedly going rogue. This was where he’d left clues for me on his computer. This was the spot where he’d left his bug-out bag (and leaving it implied that he was somewhere close by).
All roads lead to Rome, I said to myself.
Now that I was here, however, I was at a loss with respect to what I was supposed to do. Was Mouse maybe watching or listening in some way? Sure hadn’t seemed like it when Electra and I were in here shouting for him. Of course, in hindsight, I had been wrong to trust Electra or have her with me.
Hmmm, I droned mentally. Did Mouse know that Electra couldn’t be trusted? It sure seemed that way. After all, he’d essentially left clues only for me, rigged the computer to only turn on for me, and so on. Everything was solely for me – or hinged on me being by myself.
At that juncture, an idea occurred to me. It probably wouldn’t pay any dividends, but it certainly wouldn’t hurt.
Feeling a little foolish, I said out loud, “Mouse, I found your clues. I’m here like you wanted.”
I wasn’t sure what else to say, so I just stood there quietly waiting. After about a minute, I was ready to give up. This had been my best guess, and it turned out I was wrong. Apparently I needed to go back to the drawing board.
Feeling exasperated, I wiped my face with my hand as I prepared to teleport. At that moment, however, I heard someone speak.
“You certainly took your time,” said a familiar voice.
It had come from behind me, and I swiftly spun around to find myself facing the speaker.
Mouse.
Chapter 56
He was dressed as he’d been the last few times I’d seen him – in his Alpha League uniform. Unsurprisingly, he had his computer tablet tucked under one arm; he rarely went anywhere without it. It looked like there were bags forming under his eyes, giving the impression that he was tired, but otherwise he didn’t look too bad for a guy who had taken on the world’s premier team of supers several times in the last few days.
“You’ve been busy these past few days,” I remarked.
“I think the same could be said of you,” he replied. “A lot of people, in fact.”
“Well, the League has been suffering a continuous string of attacks,” I said.
“Is that a fact?” he intoned with something of a cocksure grin.
I frowned. This conversation was kind of odd. Normally Mouse and I quickly fell into an easy banter, maintaining the ability to joke with each other even when the topic being discussed was serious. Our current exchange felt stiff and formal, like Mouse was somehow wary. In fact, reaching out emphatically, that’s exactly what I picked up from him: a certain watchfulness – as if he felt the need to be cautious and guarded around me.
If he was somehow suspicious of me, it was an indication that maybe he wasn’t himself yet. It was entirely possible that – despite appearing fairly lucid and leaving clues for me to find him – Mouse was still somewhat under the effect of whatever the Tristan Construct had done to him. And if that were the case, he might still be dangerous.
“Anyway,” he continued, bringing me back to myself, “I’m glad you were able to figure out my clues. I was worried there for a bit that they were too tricky for you.”
“No, it was absolutely perfect,” I attested. “Whatever the Construct exposed you to or infected you with, it didn’t affect your ability to leave a great trail of breadcrumbs.”
As I finished speaking, my eyes went wide as I realized what I’d done. I had somehow drifted into speaking casually with my mentor, and thus had slipped up by saying something I shouldn’t have. There was a chance that Mouse wouldn’t catch it, but one glance at his face told me it was a futile hope.
Frowning, Mouse said, “Excuse me?”
As had happened many times recently, I wanted to kick myself. In telling Mouse he was infected, I had violated a basic tenet of psychotherapy: never tell a crazy person he’s crazy. More importantly, I wasn’t sure I could fix my blunder, but I had to try.
“I just said you left a great trail of breadcrumbs,” I explained.
“No,” Mouse said, shaking his head. “You said I was infected.”
He looked at me expectantly, waiting for me to say something. I spent a moment considering various things I could try to tell him to convince him he’d misheard or misunderstood me. Ultimately, I rejected them all. Plainly speaking, even half crazy, Mouse was too smart to lie to. My best bet was to come clean.
“Yes, you’ve been infected,” I declared. “The Construct exposed you to something that altered your thinking. You’re not yourself.”
Mouse simply stared at me for a moment, and then, to my great surprise, burst into laughter. And to be clear, it wasn’t just a few chuckles; it was gut-busting, side-splitting, knee-slapping laughter – the kind that brings tears to your eyes. It was probably a full minute before Mouse regained his composure, but for me, it just seemed to reaffirm the notion that he wasn’t himself.
“Oh, man,” Mouse finally muttered, wiping tears from his eyes. “I needed that – really, I did. That had to be the funniest thing I’ve heard in a while.”
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