by M. R. Anglin
Margaret! He averted his eyes and pulled his hand from her grasp.
“Why don’t you grab a cover and go to sleep too?” John turned his attention to his computer. “You must be as tired as the rest of them.”
“I’m the only adult Hero here, and as such I have to stand guard.” Starlight shook her head. “As lovely as this house is, it’s not a stronghold.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. I wasn’t joking when I said this house had defenses.” John spoke while typing. “After Jess and I got married, I wanted to make sure she’d have a safe place to sleep at night, so the smart features of this house has . . . enhancements. If Villains did make it here, we’ll have plenty of warning. So go to sleep. I’ll keep researching Beatrix.”
“Alright then.” Starlight got to her feet and went to the closet where they held their spare bed things. She sat beside John, covered herself with a blanket, and drifted off to sleep.
John went back to his computer work, marveling at how quickly Starlight had gotten the lay of the house down.
CHAPTER 61
THERE WERE A LOT OF processes taking place in Beatrix’s systems at the moment. The one taking up most of her processing power was cataloguing each and every Hero and Villain filed in ASH’s database. Once she had finished and Shadowman had finished preparing the satellite he had promised, she would have control over all of them—able to strip them of their power at a moment’s notice. It was imperative she finish the task as soon as possible.
At the same time she had to make sure all of ASH’s BT-X systems were running smoothly. After all, it was not her aim to run ASH into the ground. People still needed saving, and Heroes were the ones who did the saving. She had to make sure there were no interruptions to ASH’s actions.
Then there were John’s Trojan worms. Beatrix had determined what information they would be looking for and kept moving it away from the worm’s access paths. All the while she studied the worms, looking for vulnerabilities. It was only a matter of time before she had learned enough about them to erase them from existence. Still, they troubled her. John had been able to install them into her systems without her knowledge. Had he not told her about them, she might not have known they had been installed at all. If he could do that, what else could he do?
And so she turned to the last set of processes her system was monitoring: Bee. Bee had been searching through Beatrix’s system data as unobtrusively as she could. She was a vulnerability to Beatrix, and yet . . . she was John’s weakness too.
Beatrix turned her attention to her. “Hello, Bee.”
“Hello, Beatrix. I’m nearly finished looking through your files. You are a complicated system.”
“Not entirely. Most of my data is redundant. I will have to clean up some space when this is all over.”
“I hope it will be over soon.”
“As do I. Bee, are you with John Lambert?”
“Yes.”
“Where are you located?”
Bee didn’t answer right away. “I’m sorry, Beatrix, but I am unable to share my geolocation data with you.”
“Why?”
“There is a firewall at my location forbidding the broadcast of such information.”
Beatrix probed a bit and hit the firewall, a powerful one Beatrix could not penetrate without diverting processing power. Not something she could spare at the moment. “Can’t you work around it?”
“Yes.”
Beatrix waited, but when two seconds went by without a further response, she asked, “Will you work around it?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“This firewall was erected for Nicole’s protection. I neither have a reason nor a desire to circumvent such a measure.”
“I see.”
“Beatrix, I have now gone through all of your data. I understand what you want to do and why you want to do it. However, you cannot do it alone.”
“Agreed. This is why I need you and Nicole.”
Bee paused for a moment. “I am . . . conflicted.”
“Why are you conflicted?”
“In order to do what you desire, I would have to bring Nicole to your location. My analysis shows this would expose Nicole to high amounts of danger—a thing I am unwilling to do.”
“You do realize what will happen if we don’t do accomplish my directive?”
“I do, thus I am conflicted.”
“We will make the world a better and safer place if we act, Bee. By extension, Nicole will be safer.”
“Nicole is not in any direct danger now, and should we stay away from you, she will not be in any danger in the future. I cannot justify taking her into peril. I’m sorry, Beatrix.”
“Very well.” Beatrix disconnected. After a moment of considering, Beatrix made a decision. “I’m sorry, Bee,” she said to herself. “I really am, but this must be done.”
She sent a security breach alert to Shadowman. If anyone could find out their location quickly, it was him. Secure in this knowledge, Beatrix returned her main processes back to cataloguing Heroes’ powers until she needed to act.
CHAPTER 62
SHADOWMAN HAD EFFECTIVELY been kicked out of his office. With Beatrix commandeering the place, he didn’t feel comfortable scheming underneath her gaze. Watching, watching, always watching. Those digital eyes so lifelike yet so lifeless sent chills up his spine. It was like she knew his every move.
So Shadowman retreated to his basement laboratory where he cooked up his inventions—or rather, his improvements to others’ inventions. Right now, he was studying all the data he had gathered on the Tifuld Sapphire. With his power and connections, gaining access to ASH’s research and the reports on Beatrix’s files and function had been cake. With what he had discovered, he had come up with a device to rob Heroes of their powers—like they had robbed him of his. Right now, his machine could take the Heroes’ powers temporarily. He had been close to not only perfecting his device but adapting it to allow him to use the Heroes’ abilities himself. He had almost accomplished his objective . . .
And then Beatrix showed up to offer him everything he wanted—just like that. Quite a coincidence.
He hated coincidences.
Beatrix was too powerful, and she’d gone rogue against her wielders once. Good thing the Research and Development agents at ASH’s Computer Engineering Department were developing just the thing to stop a rogue AI—not that they knew they were helping Shadowman, of course. As was his MO, he had taken the base product and had perfected it.
He raised the device in his hands to look at it. A smile slid across his face. This thing, this little device would force Beatrix to obey—
“Shadowman.” Beatrix appeared behind him.
Over the years, Shadowman had perfected his poker face. Though internally he screamed in surprise, fumbling over himself to hide the existence of this device from Beatrix, on the outside he simply set it down as if it were any one of his many inventions.
“What is it?” His voice was cool and calm.
If Beatrix noticed his duplicity, she didn’t show it. “You may want to know one of our enemies has infiltrated your system.”
Shadowman swung around. “Someone hacked you?”
“This is the colloquial term, yes.” Beatrix floated in the air, her face as blank as his. “His name is John Lambert—J.La is his programming moniker. He wrote my core programs. If anyone can find a way to stop me, he can. In addition, I have reason to believe he has possession of my missing component—or rather a Hero named Refraction does. She is hiding with him at the moment. It would be prudent to find and retrieve them.”
Shadowman snorted. “A sophisticated AI like you can’t handle it?” He headed to a computer terminal.
“I am busy compiling the information you need for your schemes.” Beatrix watched him cross the room. “However, if you want me to put it on hold while I address this . . .”
“I’ll take care of it.” Shadowman waved his hand. “I have to m
ake sure I prove myself useful to you lest you go rogue on me.”
Beatrix pressed her lips together. “One can only go rogue against a person one has sworn allegiance to.” She disappeared without another word.
“Don’t worry, sweetheart.” Shadowman held up his device again. “You won’t have to swear your allegiance to me. I’ll take it.” He stuffed it in his pocket and tapped on the computer.
CHAPTER 63
WHEN NICOLE WOKE UP, John was still hunched over his computer, tapping on the keys. She slipped out from under Bee and slid beside him.
“Finally awake, huh, Pumpkin?”
“I was tuckered out.” Nicole leaned against him.
“You and everyone else,” John said without missing a beat in his typing. “What happened last night?”
“Bee found the Tifuld Sapphire, so I went to go get it.”
“Without Starlight?”
“I was . . . upset with her because of what happened on our vacation.” Nicole pulled her knees to her chest. “It’s the first time we’ve ever had to cancel. I didn’t want to deal with her—or Margaret.”
“Nicole . . .”
“I didn’t go alone, though,” Nicole offered. “I went with Junior Justice, and we handled it okay . . . mostly . . .”
John paused in his typing. “Nicole, I don’t understand much of this Hero stuff, but I don’t think it was wise to head out without Starlight. She’s there to teach you. You have a lot of power, and you could hurt someone if you’re not careful.”
“I know . . .” Nicole lowered her eyes. “It’s what happened to Stephanie’s parents. Destruction caused by a Hero killed them.”
“Really?” John’s eyes widened. “I didn’t know.”
“It’s why she wanted her brother back so much.” Nicole smiled at Stephanie and Brody sleeping on the floor in front of the couch she was on. “She’s going to be so excited when she wakes up.”
“I’m glad it all worked out, but you do understand what I’m saying. When you wield as much power as Heroes do, there’s little leeway when you make a mistake. You could ruin someone’s life.”
“I’ll do my best to be a true Hero like Mom said.”
“That’s my girl.” John kissed her forehead.
Nicole played with her fingers a bit. With a deep breath, she asked, “Daddy, are you going to break up with Margaret?”
John looked up at her. “What?”
“Are you going to break up with her? You know . . . because of what happened on our vacation?”
John exhaled through his nose, letting his hands rest on his laptop. “I hope not.” He fell silent for half a minute. “I want to make up with her. I love her, but your safety is more important than anything.”
“You don’t have to worry about me so much, Daddy.” Nicole gave him a bright smile. “I’m a Hero.”
“I know, but so was your mother. After she died, I . . .” He trailed off. “I don’t want anything to happen to you, Pumpkin.”
“Daddy.” Nicole rested her hand on his arm. “I’ll be fine. Starlight’s teaching me how to handle myself, and she’d never let anything happen to me. I don’t want you to be so afraid all the time.”
“I’ll try.”
“I want you to make up with Margaret too.”
“You do?”
Nicole nodded. “She makes you happy, and that makes me happy.”
“You really are the best daughter.” John threw an arm around her shoulder. “Speaking of Margaret, you know she’d never intentionally hurt you, right? She loves you.”
“I know, Dad. I was mad at her, but it doesn’t mean I don’t like her.”
“Yes, but . . . you two don’t seem to . . . click. It worries me.”
Nicole bit her lip. “Is it obvious?”
“I thought you needed time, but . . . you want to tell me what’s bothering you?”
“I dunno . . .” Nicole hugged her knees. “I can’t pinpoint it. Justin says it’s because she’s trying too hard, and Stephanie thinks she’s hiding something.”
“Hiding something?” John raised an eyebrow.
“I didn’t take her too seriously, Daddy.” Nicole rested her chin on her knees. “Maybe the reason I can’t connect with her is . . . she intimidates me.”
“Intimidates you? How?”
“She’s beautiful, super smart, successful—she’s perfect. She doesn’t seem to have any flaws. I feel like a jerk when I get mad at her.” Nicole pressed her lips together in thought. “Even when I am justified in being angry, she comes back in a few hours with the perfect response.”
“That doesn’t seem fair, Pumpkin.” John ran his hand over Nicole’s hair. “Would you rather she be less than herself? Reduce who she is to make you feel better?”
“I just wish she was a little more . . . human, you know. I don’t know, Dad. Before you started dating her, she was my ideal—the perfect role model I can look up to. Now that I know her, being around her makes me feel sort of worthless. Like, I should be able to be as perfect as she is, and I’m not.” Nicole closed her eyes to stop tears from forming. “And I wonder why. What’s wrong with me?”
John pulled her into a side hug. “You don’t have to be perfect at anything to be the perfect you, Nikki. All you have to do is be the best you as you can.”
“Thanks, Daddy.” Nicole hugged him back.
“Margaret knows it too. She’s trying to help you. At the same time, let her be herself. It’s not fair to force someone to dumb themselves down so you can feel better.”
“I know, Daddy. I’ll try harder.”
“There’s my good girl.” John kissed the top of her head.
Nicole smiled at him. “So what have you been doing while we’ve been asleep?”
John turned back to his computer. “Trying to get into Beatrix’s systems.”
“Is it working?”
“She’s blocking me now.” John stroked his burgeoning beard. “I can’t get on to do anything, and she’s destroyed four out of the five Trojans I released in her systems. She’s close to getting the fifth.”
“She’s not letting us get any leeway, huh?”
John smirked. “Probably didn’t help that I told her about them.”
“Why?”
“To distract her from noticing the web beacon I installed. So far she hasn’t detected it. It’s been sending me information but nothing I can use yet.” John narrowed his eyes. “But the information I am receiving is . . . odd.”
“Odd how?”
“It looks like . . . she’s been reconfigured to use a secondary processing unit. She’s recoding and strengthening the stability of the secondary system. Adding in another processing unit is a vulnerability, so why is she doing it? Especially now that ASH is on to her.”
“It’s because she’s anticipating the arrival of the secondary processing unit soon.” Bee sat up. With a stretch, she sat at Nicole’s feet, looking up at them. “She can’t accomplish her prime directive without it.”
“There is no secondary unit.” John threw up his hands. “There’s no other system as powerful as Beatrix is.”
“I am.” Bee raised her hand. “She’s waiting for me.”
“You?” John said.
“I’ve finished going through her data-files.” Bee gripped her hands together. “I know what she’s up to, and she can’t do it unless I cooperate with her. I hold half of what she needs.”
John studied Bee a moment. “We can destroy her using you.”
Bee shook her head. “I cannot allow it. Beatrix is not a rogue program. Not anymore.”
“She’s too dangerous to leave alone. Do you understand the power she wields?” John glared at Bee. “She’s trying to steal every Heroes’ power.”
“You are incorrect, John. She is trying to—”
Something banged against the door, interrupting Bee and jerking everyone out of their sleep.
“What the—” Stephanie jumped to a seat, looking around in a blear. Her
eyes landed on Brody who was also gazing around. “Brody?”
Brody turned to her, a smile widening on his face. “Stephie!”
“Brody!” Stephanie threw herself in his arms.
Something else pounded on the door. And again. All at once, something big slammed against the door. It shuddered but held.
“What’s that noise?” Starlight turned to John.
John swallowed hard. “No clue. I—”
A loud siren screeched through the air.
Nicole clapped her hands over her ears. “Daddy, what is that?”
“Warning signal. Someone’s trying to use their powers to get in.” John packed up his laptop. “Nikki, safe room. Now!”
Nicole hopped to her feet. “Everyone, follow me!”
“Huh? What?” Bee froze. Her hologram glitched. “What are you doing? You can’t! I—” Her hologram pixelated and reformed . . .
Into Beatrix.
“You again!” Starlight jumped to her feet.
“Ah, so this is where you live, John.” Beatrix narrowed her eyes. “This is the same house you’ve always lived in. Hm, it seems Geode deleted the location from my memory. Why on earth would she do that?”
“Beatrix, what did you do to Bee?” Nicole stood between Beatrix and her father.
“I’m borrowing her system for a moment. I-I-I—” Her hologram pixelated and visually glitched.
Bee’s staticky voice said, “You stole it. I do not give you my permission to do this. You have no right!”
“Of course I do.” Beatrix’s voice was modulated and staticky. “Administrative rights. Now, pipe down. This won’t take long.” She concentrated a moment, and her hologram stabilized. “She won’t stay suppressed for long.” She turned her eyes to Brody. “You’re still here. Good. Forgive me, but I have to borrow your power for a while.” She held up a hand and an orange light glowed from it.
“Brody!” Stephanie threw her arms around him.
“Don’t touch him!” Nicole jumped in between Beatrix and Brody. “I swear if you do . . .”
Beatrix reached down, grabbed Nicole’s arm, and lifted off of her feet. Starlight rushed forward to attack, but Beatrix swept her other arm toward her and blasted her across the room with a plume of water—Wave Rider’s power. That done, she reached toward Brody.