PHENOMENAL GIRL 5

by A. J. Menden

  I was already on my feet and heading toward the door. “It’s the full alert.” I raced down the hallway, knowing he’d be behind me. Since I couldn’t go out, I had become monitor girl well and true, except it had actually become an important position, since the team was split up into two groups while doing reconnaissance for the Dragon.

  I went to the monitors, barely sitting as I hit buttons. Mindy had created tiny devices that acted as GPS systems, transporters, and communicators to link the teams to each other and to home base. Each gadget was barely bigger than a pinky fingernail, and was hidden behind the hero’s ear, so no villain could see it, grab it, or end up somehow using it to get into our base.

  “Report,” I said into the microphone in front of the computer.

  The speakers hissed and a tinny sound came through. “Lainey?”

  Wesley joined me. “Who is it?”

  “It’s Mindy,” I said to him, and then to her: “Mindy, I hear you. Go ahead.”

  “It’s chaos out here,” she said, and I could hear blasting and God knows what else going on in the background. “I can’t tell if it’s the Dragon, but someone major’s running the show.” A strange sound like snarling could be heard, and Mindy cursed. Her voice was temporarily lost to blasting from the laser gun she had with her. “It’s like a horror movie down here, all sorts of nightmare creatures attacking.”

  Wesley was clacking keys furiously next to me. “Ben and Kate are still with the Power Squad, trying to recruit a new member to take Simon’s place.” He pulled up a new frequency. “I’ll call them, see if I can send them and the Power Squad to her location.”

  I nodded. “Min? Help’s on its way, okay? We’re calling in the Power Squad and Rath and Kate. Can you see anyone else?”

  “I’m hunkered down, I can’t see anything,” she said, and I could hear more blasting. “When we got here, he split us up. Last I saw, Toby was in the air somewhere, and Paul was blasting something that looked like a giant troll. I… ” Her voice broke. “I haven’t seen Luke since he was fighting this thing that looked like the Devil with claws.”

  I winced, knowing how much that would hurt her. “Just hang tight, okay? They’ll be there soon.”

  Wesley gave me a thumbs up and nodded. “They’ve got the coordinates, they’re on their way. It’s a big enough mess that some other teams are already going in. The Five should be there any minute.”

  I bit my lip, knowing Selena would be there and that magic was her super-vulnerability, her weakness. “Mindy, some other teams are going to be on location.”

  “I’m almost out of power,” Mindy said, referencing her gun. “These things are still coming at me.”

  Wesley started typing again. “I’m locating the others, give me a minute.” The computer was running slow as usual. “Damn it, we have the world’s most superior technology, and this computer’s still worthless. Lavoro ora,” he said, and laid a hand on the computer. It brought up the locations of the others.

  I stared at him. “Teach me that sometime.”

  “It’s tricky. Machinery doesn’t like magic.” He scooted closer to look over my shoulder. “Paul’s too far away from her, Toby’s…”

  He cut off as we both heard Mindy scream, and a loud roar filled the speakers.

  I stared in horror at the computer. “Oh, my God. Mindy!” I smacked the button to speak to her. “Min? Mindy? Can you hear me?”

  Wesley was talking to someone else on the other computer. He sounded just as panicked as I was.

  My fault. All my fault, ran through me. If it weren’t for me, they wouldn’t be in this situation. Because I knew this was about the Dragon and his scheme.

  “Mindy?” I called one more time, tears beginning to well in my eyes.

  Silence greeted me.

  A new voice trickled in, laced with an Irish accent. “Come to me, little girl. It’s inevitable.”

  An icy feeling raced through me. It was the voice of the Dragon! I recognized it from my dreams.

  “I know you can hear me, my innocent,” he continued. “It’ll be easier on all your little friends if you just submit to me now. Our time is coming, can’t you feel it?”

  I didn’t realize it, but I had backed away from the computer.

  “Next time, they all die, not just one,” he said, and then what sounded like an explosion followed. I jumped, feeling the tears trickling down my face.

  Seconds later, there was a strange sound in the corner, and Luke teleported in, holding a body in his arms. I panicked, remembering Mindy’s scream, until a second later, she teleported in too, holding her bleeding stomach.

  “Simon—he just showed up to help,” she said, obviously thunderstruck and cocking her head toward the body Luke was carrying over to the nearest table. “That thing would have killed me if he hadn’t fought it. I can’t believe it…after what happened, he still wanted to help.” She shook her head when Wesley went to her. “No, help him first.”

  Luke frowned, going to her side. “You need help too, Mindy.”

  “I’ll be okay, I just need to lie down.” She stumbled, and I hurried to catch her as she passed out from the pain.

  Luke’s face paled, and he rushed over to me, sweeping Mindy up and knocking a bunch of stuff off the war room table to lay her down, his normally calm demeanor gone. A hundred emotions played across his face. “There was some kind of monster trying to eat her and Simon.” He looked murderous and sick at the same time. “Simon had already done a number on it, but I finished it off.”

  “With what?”

  His eyes were blank. “My hands.”

  My eyes skittered down to look at his hands, which were coated in strange blood that was not Mindy’s or Simon’s.

  “Simon’s fading fast, but he’s not gone yet, thank God. I wouldn’t be able to work the resurrection spell again. I shouldn’t have even been able to do it with Lainey.” Wesley was talking more to himself than us. “And I’ve lost a lot of power since then.”

  “You can do it,” I said, slipping my hand into his. “I’ll help.”

  Toby and Paul teleported in. Toby announced, “Well, the Dragon did the typical my-evil-plan-is-in-place-and-you’ll-pay-next-time thing. Everything just disappeared and…” He trailed off as he saw Mindy, who had passed out, and Simon. “God, no.”

  “This shit’s getting old quick,” Paul said to Wesley, who was standing over Simon, beginning a spell. “Look at the unholy mess you’ve brought on us. You stay away for years…”

  “You all need to leave,” Wesley interrupted, his voice commanding. “You’re breaking my concentration.”

  I got up, and he sighed. “It figures you’d be the only one who listens to me. No—Lainey stay; everyone else go. I may need to borrow from you,” he said to me.

  Oh, joy. But if it would save Simon and help Mindy, I’d take the excruciating pain.

  Toby snagged Paul. “Come on, man. Mindy has some sort of alien healing technology in her room, but I’ll be damned if I know which of all the gadgets it is. You’re a scientist, you might be able to figure it out.”

  Paul nodded and gave Wesley a look. “We’re not finished.”

  Wesley’s blue eyes shot him a challenging look, then he went back to work on Simon, whispering softly in Italian. Toby yanked Paul out of the room.

  “Luke, out,” Wesley said, looking up, pausing a moment in his incantations.

  “I’m staying with Mindy,” Luke said.

  “There’s nothing you can do,” I argued, going over to him.

  He shot me a nasty look. “There’s nothing you can do, either.”

  “I have some magic, so that’s where you’re wrong. Believe me, sometimes I’d rather not, what with the horrible pain of being drained, but if it’ll help save them…”

  “If she dies…”

  “Now, Luke,” Wesley snapped.

  “Wes, it’s okay.” I realized why Luke was freaking. “What the hell is wrong with you men? Why do you wait until a girl is dying
or critically injured before you realize you have feelings for her?”

  “Wh-what?” I had at least shocked Luke out of his rage. He glanced back at her. “I don’t…I mean, it’s not like…It’s out of the question; she’d never…”

  Wesley gave me a warm look. “Sounds familiar.”

  Then he motioned me over and I knew what was coming. But if it would help, I’d do it. “Sorry about this, my love,” he said.

  I didn’t get a chance to brace myself as he reached out for me. The pain hit me harder than it had before, coursing through as one solid wave. I grabbed hold of the table for support, choking back vomit and tears as my head pounded. I could hear Wesley chanting in Italian, and my skin vibrated as the magic took effect.

  I focused on Luke. “When Mindy wakes up, you should tell her. Better yet, don’t say anything, just take her on this table.” I heard Wesley snort. “She’ll appreciate it, trust me.”

  Luke shook his head. “It’s not like that at all, Lainey. We’re more like brother and sister.”

  I didn’t have the strength to argue with him. “Fine, be more stupid, Luke. I’m going to take a nap now.”

  I heard Wesley snap, “Well, grab her, Luke!” before I passed out.

  I woke several hours later in my own bed with Wesley beside me.

  “Did you hit me with a spell and take advantage of me?” I asked, giving him half a smile.

  He brushed a strand of hair away from my face. “I wouldn’t need a spell, now would I?”

  “No.” I lifted the covers. “I seem to remember passing out fully clothed, though.”

  “I just wanted to make you comfortable.”

  “Then I’d be in a sweatshirt and pants.” I tried to sit up and found I still felt too dizzy. “Is Simon okay? What about Mindy?”

  He sighed. “I couldn’t heal Simon completely, but he is alive, which was touch and go for a while. His senator father has him being looked after by the best doctors in the country, so I’m sure he’ll be fine. He’ll live to hold his beloved press conference.”

  “He did help when he was needed,” I reminded Wes.

  “True. He has potential—if he would just get over himself.”

  “I don’t see that happening anytime soon,” I admitted. “What about Mindy?”

  “Toby found some sort of healing orb the aliens gave her, so that helped a lot. It’s a good thing, because I was pretty tapped out after Simon. But she’s good and resting. She’ll probably have to take it easy for a bit.”

  My stomach flipped again. “This is all my fault.”

  Wesley frowned. “How so?”

  “If I hadn’t been here, he wouldn’t have gone after them. He was trying to draw me out.”

  “You can’t do that, Lainey. You can’t blame yourself. If it wasn’t the Dragon, it would be someone else—you know how this life is. And maybe, if you weren’t here, the Dragon might have already cast the world into darkness by now. You may be the only thing holding everything together.”

  I gulped. “No pressure or anything, Wes.”

  “You’re doing fine. Better than fine, actually. You’re wonderful.” He kissed me softly.

  I held on to him and kissed him back, taking strength from his presence and his love. And then I noticed something.

  “Wes, did you feel the need to get comfortable as well?” I said, moving a hand in between us, finding bare skin and more bare skin.

  His smile was mischievous. “Maybe.”

  “Wes?” I moved my hand lower.

  “Yes?”

  “I think you have more making up to do for not talking to me for so long,” I said, kissing him again.

  Maybe it was selfish to lose myself with my love after everything that had happened to my friends today, but I felt like Cassandra, doomed to see her people’s downfall and unable to stop it. I needed something to live for, and he had just what I needed.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  Wesley had been looking jittery all morning—not that I blamed him. But there was something new to his obvious discomfort, something other than the fact that two of our colleagues were sleeping off grievous injuries from the day before.

  “We just bought the coffee, why is it you look like you’ve drank ten espressos already?” I asked, sipping the caramel latte the barista had just handed me.

  Wesley held his espresso but didn’t drink it. “It’s tension.”

  “Yeah, you do look tense,” I agreed, frowning as I took another sip. “It’s the stress of always being on guard for the Dragon. You’re not doing enough meditating.” I gave him a saucy look.

  “It’s more than that,” Wesley said, not catching the joke. “I can feel the tension in the magic.”

  “The tension in the magic?” I raised an eyebrow. “Cue the overly dramatic scary music.”

  “Now is not the time to be making jokes,” he snapped.

  I gave him a sideways glance as I hit the elevator button to go back upstairs. “Now is the time for you to switch to decaf, Mr. No Sense of Humor.” I took another sip of coffee. “I think the milk is off; this tastes weird. Try it.”

  “You need to take this Dragon threat seriously, and if you think it’s off, why do you need me to taste it? Am I your food taster now?” He punched the elevator button again and sighed.

  I almost snapped back at him. “I am taking the Dragon seriously. That’s all I’ve done from the day I got my soul eaten! People keep getting hurt, including my friends, somebody wants to impregnate me with a demon baby…all because some nutjob wants to blow up the world? The only thing decent in all of that time has been this.” I motioned back and forth between him and me. “Us. The Dragon’s assault will come any day now, according to all those moldy books upstairs you and Rath have been translating, and I’d like for us to not fight each other. I’m sorry for making jokes and trying to forget that dark, lurking evil is, well, lurking. Ready to pounce at any moment.” The elevator appeared and we stepped inside. “And maybe I just have morning mouth or something, and that’s why the coffee tastes off, which is why I wanted your opinion. I’d hate to throw it away and waste four bucks.”

  “I have enough money to not worry about your wasting four dollars, love.” He took the cup from me and sipped. “And it tastes fine, except for that awful caramel syrup you have them put in it.”

  “See, my taste can’t be trusted.” I took the cup back. “And you may have more money than the Swiss National bank, but I don’t.”

  “You will once this chaos is over.”

  “Is there a cash reward for saving the world from the apocalypse or something?” It occurred to me then what he might be driving at, considering how close he’d acted toward me lately. It was as close as a someone stuck in his own world like Robert or Wes would ever act, and I loved him for it. “Oh, my God. You did not just propose to me in an elevator!” The doors dinged open.

  “Alright, I didn’t.” He stepped out.

  I followed. “Without even a ring!”

  “What, like this one?” He turned and snapped open a jewelry box.

  I stared. “Wow. That is truly a rock.”

  He snapped it shut again. “But since this conversation never happened…”

  I caught his arm. “When I tell this story to our kids, it will be infinitely more romantic.”

  “Roses, champagne, and no apocalypse?” He put the ring on my finger.

  “Something like that.” I kissed him by way of saying yes to his unanswered question.

  It seemed like reality shifted under us, but not in a good way. A wave of dread and revulsion swept through me, and what felt like an electric current tingled in my spine. Wesley turned pale and I knew he felt it too.

  “What the hell was that?” I asked.

  “It’s the reason for all the tension,” he answered.

  Then the alarms proved him right, howling to life, and we headed toward the war room, everyone else appearing in our wake.

  “What’s going on?” I asked.

/>   Mindy and Rath sat the monitors, looking terrified.

  “This is it,” Mindy said.

  “The Dragon?”

  “Power level’s off the charts,” Rath said. “It’s as if a bomb went off, magically speaking. And the timing is right.”

  “He’s opened a portal,” Wesley said from behind us. “It’s leaking out all kinds of nightmarish things.”

  I glanced back at him. “How do you know?”

  “I can feel it.”

  I wasn’t going to argue with magic hunches.

  “He’s right,” Rath said. “The Dragon’s opened a gateway—not the big one he intends as a final destruction of the world, but something almost as bad. Every team in the country is heading for the site, but you’re the only one that can close it.” He looked at Wesley.

  “I don’t know if I can anymore. My power’s been depleted, remember?”

  “A couple of other minor magic users are heading that way as well,” Rath said. “Together you may all be able to close it, but you’re the only one with the knowledge to actually do so. You’ll just have to boost your power.”

  I sighed. “Oh, thrill.”

  “I’m calling Fantazia. It’s about time she got involved.” Wesley looked around. “Who’s going to stay with Lainey?”

  “We’re going to need most of the team to help with the cleanup,” Rath said.

  “Someone has to stay. This is exactly the kind of distraction he needs for the main event. And we know time is running out.” Wesley picked up the phone and dialed, probably calling one of Fantazia’s bodyguards.

  Rath shrugged in surrender. “I’ll stay, along with Paul and Toby.”

  “They’re our heaviest hitters!” Kate said, walking up. “The rest of us aren’t exactly long-range.”

  “Mindy, load them up on weapons,” Rath said.

  Tekgrrl nodded. “We’ll be linked up, sir.”

  “I’ll stand by,” Rath said as they exited to prepare for battle.

  Wesley put his arms around me. “Be careful, Lainey.”

  “I think I’m the one who should be saying that, not you. You’re the one going off into battle.” I was worried. I wanted to be there if he was going to risk his life against demon hordes. And I couldn’t forget the prophecy, and the mention of a noble sacrifice, and the fact that he had just proposed to me…