by Lucas Flint
“Yeah,” I said, feeling relieved that Strike was listening to reason. “We can only get to the bottom of this if we work together. Whatever is going on here, we can figure it out.”
“Then we need to go back up to the main floor,” said Strike. “I have to contact the Midnight Menace and let him know what's going on. Come with me.”
-
I thought things were going to be pretty easy from now on. After all, Strike was going to try to help me figure out who was behind the attack. I was impressed by Strike's desire to help us and it made me rethink my jealousy of him, but not too much because I still didn't like how he and his team seemed far more effective than mine.
But when we reached the main floor and stepped out of the lift, I suddenly realized that things were about to get very bad, very quickly.
Because I saw, standing in the center of the main floor, the Midnight Menace himself, in full black armor, with his hood pulled over his head.
Before today, I had never actually seen the Midnight Menace in person before. But I had checked out his Neo Ranks page before I left New York and saw the picture on his page there. The picture had been kind of blurry and dark, however, because the Midnight Menace was well-known for avoiding public appearances of any sort, often only appearing late at night and never staying still long enough to have a decent picture taken. He was so hard to find that some people even dismissed his existence entirely, even though there was plenty of evidence to suggest that he was just as real as any neohero.
Thus, seeing the actual Midnight Menace in person was like seeing the Loch Ness Monster in real life. He was tall, much taller than me, Strike, or the other New Heroes (who I noticed were sitting around their main table away from him). He wore pitch-black armor that blended in well with his black cape, which made him look like he was walking around in shadow even under the bright lights of the ceiling. He wore a mask that looked almost demonic, not helped by the fact that his eyes were a deep, blood red that made him look like a monster.
No one knew who the Midnight Menace was or even where he came from. Even the true extent of his powers was unknown. His Neo Ranks page had listed his powers as 'unknown.' Some said that he could control and travel through shadows, while others said that he was just an ordinary human being who wore armor and happened to be at the peak of human condition, and still some people didn't believe he was a person at all, but rather the creation of dark magic that just happened to take on a humanoid form.
Not that it mattered who he was or where he came from, because the Midnight Menace looked menacing just the same. He turned to face us, moving as slowly and silently as if he weighed nothing at all.
“Midnight Menace,” said Strike in surprise as the lift closed behind us. “What are you doing here? I didn't know you were coming.”
“And that is just the way I prefer it,” said the Midnight Menace. His voice was soft, but at the same time, I definitely sensed a threat underlying his words.
“Well, I'm glad you're here anyway,” said Strike. He patted me on the shoulder. “Bolt here has something important to share with you, something that may threaten the very existence of the INJ itself.”
“Interestingly enough, I came here to speak with Bolt as well,” said the Midnight Menace.
“You did?” I said. “Great! Well, I was going to—”
“I want you to leave,” said the Midnight Menace, like I hadn't been talking at all. He pointed over my head with one clawed gauntlet at the lift doors behind us. “Now.”
I blinked. “What?”
“I know what you are,” said the Midnight Menace. His eyes glowed. “A spy. You were snooping around in the bottom floor of the Cavern and even caused some damage to its structure.”
“How did you know that?” I said. “Were you down there, too?”
“I know everything that goes on in this place,” said the Midnight Menace. “And I know that you were sent by Omega Man and the others to learn our secrets and harm us from the inside.”
“Um, Midnight Menace, sir, Bolt is not here to cause any trouble,” said Strike. “He's actually investigating—”
“I do not care what he claims to be investigating,” said the Midnight Menace. “What I care is what he did. And he broke a portion of the ceiling in the bottom floor, which could have caused the entire Cavern to collapse if he had hit the right spot.”
“It was because I was fighting Shade,” I protested. “She's a G-Man. I found some old Project Neo documents and I was trying to keep her from following me and taking the documents away from me, so I broke the ceiling to block off the path.”
“The G-Men were in the Cavern?” said the Midnight Menace. “Where is your proof?”
I suddenly realized that I had none. I looked to Strike to back me up, but Strike was now looking at me with confusion and even a little distrust and I remembered that I hadn't told him about Shade.
“Bolt never mentioned fighting a G-Man agent down there,” said Strike. “Is there a reason for that, Bolt?”
“Because I didn't think to mention her,” I said. I looked at the Midnight Menace again. “Look, Midnight Menace, sir, I didn't mean to cause any damage. I wasn't trying to hurt anyone.”
“You mean it never occurred to you that your actions might cause the entire Cavern to collapse?” said the Midnight Menace. “That was on the lowest floor, after all. Imagine what might have happened if the ceiling had completely collapsed. Everyone in the Cavern would be dead right now, including yourself.”
I hadn't realized that, but the Midnight Menace had a point. Still, I said, “So what? It didn't collapse. We're all still alive.”
“What irreverence,” said the Midnight Menace with a snort. “Don't you care for the lives of others? Or are you just thinking about yourself?”
“I was just—”
“No more excuses,” said the Midnight Menace. “I know exactly what you were trying to do.”
“But sir, you aren't listening to him,” Strike protested. “He said that someone wearing an INJ badge tried to kill him and one of his teammates. He just came here to see if he could find out if we knew anything about her.”
“And did he give any proof of that claim or was it just a story he made up to avoid getting into trouble?” the Midnight Menace said.
Strike went silent, as did I, because we both realized that I hadn't actually provided any proof or even just evidence to back up any of my claims. I felt a little embarrassed about it, to be honest.
“Strike, I expected better of you,” said the Midnight Menace. “You are supposed to be highly intelligent and skeptical, which is why I put you in charge of the New Heroes. Should I revoke your leadership position for your gullibility that nearly led to the deaths of your team?”
“Please don't, sir,” said Strike in a pleading voice. “I was just … it was a mistake on my part. I'm sorry.”
I couldn't stand seeing Strike being berated like that, so I said, “It's not his fault. I didn't force him to do anything.”
“Correct,” said the Midnight Menace. “But someone did forget to keep an eye on you while you were here, preferring instead to take a nap instead of making sure that you didn't get into trouble.”
I noticed Slime sitting at the table, but he seemed to be trying to shrink himself, like he was trying to avoid being seen by becoming as small as possible. The Midnight Menace didn't actually look at him, but I had a feeling he was well aware of Slime anyway.
“So what are you going to do to me?” I said. “Are you going to take me and throw me into your dungeons or wherever you keep your enemies?”
The Midnight Menace laughed. It was an odd barking sound that sent shivers up my spine. “Of course not. I am well aware of your strength. You'd likely break out of any prison we put you into.”
“Then what are you going to do with me?” I said. “Kill me?”
“Kill you? My, you have a sense of humor, don't you?” said the Midnight Menace. “No, we're just going to send you bac
k to Hero Island in New York.”
I blinked. “What? Really?”
“Really,” said the Midnight Menace. “You can go back to your team and resume leading them, which, if I am not mistaken, is your job.”
“You aren't even going to try to hold me hostage?” I said.
“Hostage? Why would I do that?” said the Midnight Menace. “If I held you hostage, the NHA would see that as a declaration of war, and war is the last thing I want to occur between our two organizations. No, you can go home as safely as you came.”
I sighed in relief. I had been willing to fight the Midnight Menace, but I wasn't so sure I could beat him even with my super strength. I didn't know exactly what powers he had, but he was one of the most experienced neoheroes around and could probably knock me around like nothing if he wanted.
“Thank you, Midnight Menace,” I said. “I guess I'll be going now. Don't want to overstay my welcome, after all.”
Before I could take even one step back into the lift, however, the Midnight Menace was in front of me. I hadn't heard or seen him move. It was like he was in the center of the room one moment and then in front of me the next. He towered over me, seeming even taller than usual, forcing me to crane my neck to look up at his glowing red eyes.
“When did I say you could leave right away?” said the Midnight Menace. “I have a message I would like for you to deliver to Omega Man and the other members of the NHA Leadership Council before you leave.”
I gulped. “Um, okay. What is it?”
“Tell them that I know what they are doing even better than they do and that if they try anything like this again before the Summit, it will mean war,” said the Midnight Menace. “Understood?”
“Yes, sir,” I said, nodding quickly. “I'll make sure to tell them all that as soon as I get back home to New York.”
“Good,” said the Midnight Menace. Then he paused and added, “You are the son of Genius, yes?”
“Yes,” I said. “Why?”
“I have a message for him, too,” said the Midnight Menace. “Tell your father that I hope to see him at the Summit. It has been a while since I last saw him and I would like to see how he is doing.”
Surprised at the Midnight Menace's sudden change in tone, I nonetheless said, “Uh, sure. I'll mention it to my dad next time I talk with him.”
“Excellent,” said the Midnight Menace. He looked at Strike. “Strike, take him up to the hanger and have Horace fly him back to New York. After you do that, I want you to come back here without delay. We have much to discuss.”
The Midnight Menace's tone was hardly the most encouraging or uplifting, and based on Strike's own worried appearance, I could tell that he was thinking the same thing I was.
But Strike said, “Yes, sir,” and then turned and walked back over to the lift. I followed him without looking back at the Midnight Menace, mostly because I feared that if I looked back at him, then he might change his mind and take me prisoner against my will.
Chapter Twelve
I stood in the Leadership Council's meeting chamber, having just finished telling the Council what happened to me back in California. It had taken me about two hours to explain everything I'd done and was lengthy mostly because of the questions they asked me whenever I was unclear on a spot.
Now all seven of the Council members were silent. I could tell that they were all thinking about what I just told them. I had told them everything, including my conflict with Shade, as well as the Midnight Menace's final message, although I didn't tell them about the Midnight Menace's message to Dad, because that was for him and not for them.
“Interesting,” said Omega Man after a while. He stroked his large chin in thought. “So the INJ might not be behind that mysterious woman's attack at all.”
“I wouldn't be so quick to say that,” said Lady Amazon. “Just because the Midnight Menace denied INJ involvement doesn't mean that they weren't behind it. I think it likely that he was upset that we were onto whatever the INJ is trying to do. He only sent back Bolt because he didn't want to confirm our suspicions of the woman's connection to his organization.”
“Looks like it didn't work out, based on your response,” Mr. Miner observed. “But yeah, I agree. From what Bolt said, it sounds like the Midnight Menace didn't really talk with him so much as he scolded him. We still don't know for sure if that woman was a member of the INJ or not.”
“Did the Midnight Menace indicate whether the INJ would still be attending the Summit?” Omega Man asked me.
I shrugged. “He didn't say it wasn't. He just told me that message I just gave you. That's all he said about the Summit, so I guess he's going to be there.”
“Speaking of the Summit, I find it illogical that the INJ would attempt to attack us right before it,” said Mecha Knight. “I am not denying that the woman is part of the organization, but it seems odd that they would choose this moment to attack us.”
“Whoever said the INJ was logical?” said Lady Amazon with a snort. “Those fools act solely on instinct half the time. The Midnight Menace has never been a very logical man anyway. Always behaving in an unnecessarily mysterious way just to make himself seem cooler than us.”
“Agreed, but even the INJ still operates by some reason,” said Mecha Knight. “So I consider it a mark against the idea that they sent one of their agents to harm some of our kids.”
“I consider it irrelevant to the whole issue,” said Lady Amazon. She raised her fist. “When I see the Midnight Menace at the Summit, I will be more than happy to introduce his face to my fist.”
“Lady,” said Omega Man in a warning voice. “The Summit is supposed to be a place where neoheroes from all over can come together in peace. That means no punching out anyone, at least not unless they're punching you out first.”
Lady Amazon pouted like a child, while High Fly stretched his arms and legs and said, “I dunno. I've never trusted that Midnight Menace guy. He's probably hiding something; I mean, apart from his secret identity, powers, origins, and everything else about him. Can't say I liked the way he treated Bolt, either.”
“Well, he didn't harm me,” I said, patting my suit to show. “I'm completely unharmed.”
“But he treated you like a saboteur,” said High Fly. “You know, like you were trying to kill people. That's a pretty serious accusation to make against a seventeen-year-old kid, if you ask me.”
“High Fly is correct,” said Omega Man. “Nonetheless, we will not retaliate. We still do not have the facts necessary to know for sure whether the INJ was involved in this attack or if this was maybe a set-up by someone else.”
“Who else could possibly have set this up?” said Lady Amazon. “The G-Men?”
“I doubt it,” said Omega Man. He looked down at me from his chair. “You said that Shade, one of the G-Men, told you that they didn't even know about the attack, yes?”
“Yeah,” I said, nodding. “Shade told me that the G-Men weren't involved. The only reason she was in the Cavern is because she was following me, not because she was trying to kill me or anything.”
“Can't help but be a mite suspicious about that, considering how sneaky those G-Men bastards are,” said Mr. Miner. “But I agree with Omega Man. Without any facts, it's kind of hard to do anything, even though I don't trust the INJ much myself.”
“Do you think we should postpone the Summit until we can find out who is behind this?” said Beyond Man. “After all, the mysterious woman is clearly still active and free. Who is to say that she won't try to do something similar again, maybe even at the Summit itself?”
“Postponing the Summit would be useless,” Omega Man said. “Especially if it turns out that the INJ is not behind the attack. If we postpone it now for safety reasons, that will make the INJ hate us even more because they will believe we do not trust them.”
“But we don't,” said Lady Amazon. “At least not that much.”
“True, but the point of the Summit is to try to strengthen relations bet
ween the NHA and the INJ,” said Omega Man. “But we cannot do that if we cancel the Summit because of our own suspicions toward the INJ that may be unfounded.”
Lady Amazon didn't argue the point, but she still didn't look pleased about it. “So what should we do, then? Just go on and pretend like nothing bad happened?”
“No,” said Omega Man, shaking his head. “We will discuss what we should do later.” He looked at me again. “Bolt, you may leave and return to the House and tell the other Young Neos what you've found. The rest of the Council and I will be discussing your report in private.”
I nodded, feeling thankful that the Council was letting me go. “Yes, sir.”
With that, I flew up through the open ceiling and back to the House. The roof of the Council's chamber closed as I left, but I didn't mind, because I was more interested in seeing my team again than learning what the Council was going to do about what I told them.
A few minutes later, I landed in front of the House's entrance and walked up to the front doors, which opened without me even having to do anything. I entered the House's entry hall and said, “Hey, everyone! I'm back!”
“Welcome back, Bolt!” Carl's enthusiastic voice shouted. “How was California? Did you get to enjoy the beach?”
“Nah,” I said, shaking my head. “I didn't get to go to the beach. I actually spent most of my time underground. Where's everyone else?”
“Well, Shell is checking on the other robots and machines in the Training Room to make sure that none of them were reprogrammed by that woman, while Treehugger is in the garden picking some apples from the trees,” said Carl. “Stinger is shouting at some gamer on YouTube for not playing a game right and Talon is in her room doing her claws.”
“What about Blizzard?” I said as I walked past the statues of the Leadership Council that lined both sides of the entry hall. “How is she?”
“She's awake,” said Carl. “But she isn't doing so hot. She's still resting in the bed and probably won't be able to do much for a while.”