by M. R. Anglin
“Stop it!” Nicole fabricated a blocking frequency and got ready to blast it at Beatrix.
“Do it only if you want to delete Bee for good.” Beatrix turned her attention on Nicole. Nicole hesitated.
In the brief moment of distraction, Brody jumped to his feet. “Stephie, run!” At the same time he stretched out his hand.
“No, you don’t.” Beatrix held out her hand, and a power Nicole had never felt before erupted from it. Nicole saw the teleport energy and Beatrix’s energy collide as they reached Stephanie. Stephanie disappeared in a twinkle of light.
“No more of that.” Beatrix caught his arm before he could teleport anyone else. Her orange glow engulfed him. Like Margaret before, he stared straight ahead, eyes unfocused.
“Leave him alone!” Junior Justice swung at her with his staff. It went right through her. “Mr. Lambert, do something!”
“I’m trying!” John tapped furiously on his laptop.
Starlight had pulled herself to her feet, rushed to Beatrix, and tried to pry her hands off of Nicole.
“Beatrix, stop it!” Nicole kicked in her grasp. “You don’t have to do this. Bee told Dad you weren’t a rogue program.”
“I’m not.”
“Then why are you doing this?”
“I need an untraceable portal.” Beatrix let the light fade. Brody slumped to his knees.
Junior Justice caught him as he collapsed.
“This frequency is highly unstable.” Beatrix flexed her hands. “You don’t have much control over your power, do you?”
Brody cowered from her.
“When you receive it back, you need to practice.” Beatrix stretched her hand toward Nicole.
Bee glitched in over Beatrix’s holographic form. “I won’t . . . let you . . . take her!”
“Stop it!” Beatrix clenched her teeth. Bee’s form faded. Beatrix stood in the air, hissing through her teeth. “You are a miserably strong program. Fine. Plan B.” She stretched her hand toward John. He disappeared in a yellow flash.
“John!” Starlight said.
“Daddy!” Nicole struggled in Beatrix’s grasp. “What did you do?”
“Kept him safe.” Beatrix studied Starlight, struggling to free Nicole. “You’ll be useless in this fight.” She teleported her.
Turning her attention to Brody, Beatrix said, “I can’t allow Shadowman to get you again. You’ve suffered enough at his hands.” Brody disappeared.
“Now you, little inventor.” Beatrix glanced around. “Hm. It seems she has escaped. No matter. Time is of the essence, and she is of no consequence.” She tossed Nicole on the couch.
“Why? Beatrix!” Nicole scrambled to her feet. “Bee stood up for you!”
“Tell her I appreciate it. I would tell her myself but she’s blocking my communication port. Your loved ones are safe, Nicole—safer than you are, in fact. If you want them back, tell Bee it’s time to play ball.” Beatrix glanced at the door. “Shadowman is almost through your defenses. Get to the safe room and escape through the hatch. Bee knows the one. I promise everyone is safe where I’ve sent them.”
Beatrix faded, leaving Bee screaming, “Get out! Leave my system alone, you awful, awful spawn of a calculator. Never again! Never, ever again!” She stood there, tears streaming down her face.
“Bee?” Nicole said.
Bee stood still a moment, sobbing.
“Where’s Stephanie?” Junior Justice got to his feet.
“Here!” Stephanie appeared coming down the stairs. “I got teleported upstairs. It was weird, though. It almost felt like I was jerked back into reality before I got where I was going.”
Something banged against the front door, causing it to splinter. An explosion rocked the air. The entire house shook.
“Let’s go! They’re almost through!” Bee grabbed Nicole’s hand and darted down the hall.
Junior Justice grabbed Stephanie’s hand and charged after them. As they went, the impacts came again and again, shattering the windows and causing the entire house to shake. The front door burst open, and black smoke belched in.
Nicole didn’t look back even when she heard voices shouting and boots pounding on the floor but darted to the broom closet at the end of the hall. Beyond the mop, broom, vacuum, various cleaning products, and plastic grocery bags they used as garbage bags, was another door. Nicole swung it open. Beyond it was a white room. Nicole shuffled everyone in and stepped in last. A metal door slid shut behind her.
Bee flew to the end of the room and pointed to a handprint scanner. “Nicole, put your hand there.”
Nicole raised her hand to do it.
“Wait!” Junior Justice caught her hand. “Should we trust her? Beatrix can infiltrate her any time.”
“She can’t. Not anymore.” Bee clenched her teeth. “I’ve closed all her access points, revoked her administrative rights, and deleted any of her web beacons or cookies. She has no connection to me, and I have no connection with her. I will never let her take me over again—the traitor!”
“How do we know that’s the case?” Junior Justice crossed his arms.
“You don’t.” Bee hung her head. “The question is . . .” She turned to Nicole, eyes pleading. “Do you still trust me, Nicole?”
Nicole gazed into Bee’s eyes. A memory of this hologram, humming to her and stroking her hair while Nicole cried about her mother flashed into Nicole’s mind. Back then, she didn’t understand her mother had died. She thought Jess had gone missing and couldn’t understand why no one could find her. Bee had explained Jess wasn’t coming back but told Nicole would see her in Heaven because they both believed in Jesus. It had been a massive comfort to Nicole then.
Without a word, she slipped her hand on the handprint scanner. A door in the wall slid open, and a tunnel sloped downhill into the darkness.
“Let’s get out of here.” Nicole stepped into the tunnel. “Once we’re safe, you two don’t have to follow me, but I can’t believe Bee would betray me.”
Stephanie slipped into the tunnel behind Nicole, and Junior Justice heaved a sigh and followed.
Bee floated beside Nicole, “Thank you, Nikki.”
Nicole nodded before the door slipped into place, leaving them all in darkness.
CHAPTER 64
IT DIDN’T TAKE SHADOWMAN long to find John Lambert’s home. As a matter of fact, it hadn’t taken him much effort at all. It was almost as if Beatrix had asked him to do it because she couldn’t be bothered with such a menial task. Well, whatever. He needed to locate Beatrix’s missing component anyway, so he’d play along.
With all the tech at his disposal, including the teleporting machine and a receiver station nearby, he had a team sent out there in record time—to a residential community which looked like any other. He didn’t bother go out with the team this time, choosing to stay at the base and study the house from afar while his minions converged on the property. By the time they arrived, his scans had showed him every room and occupant therein—three civilians and three with powers. Currently, his scans were extrapolating the energy signatures of those with powers to identify them.
“We’re in position.” A video feed of a body cam one of his minions wore appeared on one of the screens in front of Shadowman.
“I want the people in the house captured alive,” Shadowman said.
“Sir!” The minion passed on the order to his comrades.
Shadowman watched them approach the house. Neighbors had peeked out of their windows at the scene but didn’t come out to stop them. He estimated about 10-15 minutes before the authorities showed up. Plenty of time.
One of his minions kicked at the door. It didn’t budge. He kicked again. Nothing.
“Stand back,” another of Shadowman’s minions shouted. He took a step back, extended his hand, materialized a boulder in the air and fired it at the door. Nothing. Not even a scratch.
Turning to the body cam filming the scene, the man said, “There’s some kind of shield on the house, sir.�
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Before Shadowman could issue an order, a loud siren wailed through the air. “Warning,” came a feminine voice which reminded Shadowman of Beatrix, “You are in violation of Penal Code 567-A. The police and ASH agents will be notified. Disperse or face legal action.”
The henchmen gave the house a poisonous look before turning to Shadowman. “What’s the order, sir? Give up or push through?”
Shadowman didn’t hear him at first. He was too focused on the scan results which had popped up on the left screen. According to the scans, one of the Heroes had turned into a civilian. It also identified one of the remaining Heroes as . . .
“Junior Justice.” Shadowman stared at the name. “How serendipitous.”
“Sir! Orders!” The henchman shouted.
Shadowman hesitated a moment, stroking his chin. With Junior Justice there . . . “Blow the house in. Burn it to the ground!”
“Are you sure? You said—”
“Do it!” Shadowman slammed his fist on the console in front of him. As he watched, three of the people inside disappeared from the scan. “Hurry!”
“Stand back.” One of the men made a gesture and materialized a flaming rock in the air. He aimed it at the house and fired. The rock impacted the house and detonated like a bomb. An explosion rocked the air, setting the grass on fire. When the smoke cleared, the house still stood.
“Again!” Shadowman shouted. “Again! Blow it to smithereens.”
As his men aimed bomb boulders and other attacks at the house, Shadowman kept an eye on Junior Justice and the other Hero’s energy signature—the Hero must be the girl Beatrix had been going on about—the one who had Beatrix’s missing component. Instead of disappearing, they and a third civilian rushed to the back of the house.
“Sir!” his henchman said. “We’re throwing everything we have, and the house is still standing.”
“Hey!” Another pointed. “Door’s blown open. Let’s go!” They all rushed in.
Shadowman’s men trooped into the house smashing things as they went, but according to his scans the three had disappeared into some sort of tunnel. They continued on until the scan could no longer track them. “Stand down, men! Get out of there before the authorities show up.”
“Sir, are you sure? You said—”
“You did just what I wanted you to. That’s enough. Get out of there. Don’t get caught.”
“Sir!” The men retreated.
Shadowman rubbed his hands together in glee. If his assumptions were correct, this raid had gone . . .
“Perfect.” Beatrix appeared behind him.
Shadowman jumped but otherwise tried not to look like she had surprised him.
“Don’t worry about their escape.” Beatrix crossed her arms with a smirk. “You’ve chased them right into my hands. Leave them be for now.” She smiled at him. “Well done, Shadowman. I knew I could count on you.” She winked at him before disappearing.
Shadowman clenched his teeth as he watched his men retreat. According to his monitoring scans, ASH Heroes were on their way, and his minions would have to make their way back to base without allowing ASH to track them. He didn’t worry about them too much; his team was infamous at evading ASH. Instead he turned his mind to the plan he had concocted to make sure he, and not Beatrix, got his hands on the girl and the missing component.
It all hinged on how well he knew Junior Justice.
CHAPTER 65
JOHN APPEARED IN DARKNESS and crashed onto a hard surface, knocking the air out of his lungs. Groaning, he sat up and spotted his laptop on the ground. It still worked, but he had no Wi-Fi signal to connect to down here. John swallowed hard as he gazed around him. He was in a black expanse with a dim, grayish light shining from somewhere above. Silence suffocated him. He glanced around, looking for a way out. He couldn’t tell if he was in a large room or small cavern with the walls closing in on him and the weight of thousands of tons of earth on top of him waiting to crash down and crush him. His breath started to come in heavier and raspier, and his heart pounded in his chest. His eyes widened as he jerked his head around looking for a way to escape this earthen prison.
“John!” Starlight’s call fell from above, jerking him out of his claustrophobia-induced panic. She appeared above him and plummeted to the ground. Unlike his ungraceful landing, she twisted in the air, landed, and rolled onto her feet. Instantly, she turned to him. “Are you alright?”
He tried to settle his pounding heart and ragged breathing. “I’m fine. I—”
Another shout interrupted him. This time Brody fell from the sky, his arms flailing. Starlight jumped up and caught him before he crashed into the ground.
“Thanks,” Brody said.
John climbed to his feet, willing himself to calm down. “Where are we?”
“I’m not sure,” Brody said as Starlight let him down. He clenched his fists. “I was finally reunited with my sister only to be ripped from her again. I won’t let anyone hurt her.” He held up his hand and extended it.
Nothing happened.
“What?” Brody tried again. And again.
“Don’t bother.” John examined his laptop to keep his mind off of the enclosed space. “The more you try to use your lost powers, the more nauseous you’re going to get later.”
“Lost powers?” Brody examined his hand. “So Beatrix . . . she took my powers? Why? I haven’t done anything.”
Starlight put a hand on her hip. “Other than break into the Museum, stalking Nicole and John on their vacation, trying to steal the Sapphire, and providing our enemies with new tech?”
Brody shrank back a moment. “Still . . . I . . . I didn’t even get a trail. Whatever happened to innocent until proven guilty?”
“Are you guilty?” John asked, closing his eyes and trying to picture a more open space.
“I . . . I had a reason for what I did. I needed cash to keep me and Stephie safe. I want to give her a better life. After our parents’ death . . . she deserves it.”
“Nikki told me what happened to your parents.” John parted his eyes long enough to put a hand on Brody’s shoulder. “I’m sorry.”
“What happened?” Starlight said.
“Flashpoint,” John said.
“You were involved in that?” Starlight’s eyes widened at Brody. “I can’t believe you survived!”
“Flashpoint is the reason Jess augmented Beatrix to use the Sapphire.” John paced around the room, keeping his eyes to the floor and focusing on calming his breathing. His heartbeat slowly returned to normal. “She didn’t think it was right for Heroes to go around unchallenged.” He heaved a shuddering breath. If he thought about his underground situation long, his panic was liable to return.
“Why’d Beatrix stick us here?” Brody turned in a circle to look at the place.
“No clue . . .” John gazed up at the vague, gray light. He jerked his head down as panic started to rise in him. “I hope Nikki’s alright. She’s still out there.”
“She will be, John.” Starlight sat beside him. “She’s a smart girl.”
“I hope so.” John buried his face in his knees. The thought of his daughter alone and afraid and facing the world on her own washed over him, overwhelming his fear of the closed place. He tried his hardest not to burst into tears at the thought of her scared face, wondering what was happening to him.
He failed.
CHAPTER 66
STEPHANIE GAZED AROUND at the tunnel they were travelling through. It was made from packed earth and had lights breaking up the darkness every few feet. Metal supports installed every so often kept it from caving in on top of them. She, Nicole, and Junior Justice wandered down the tunnel in silence with Bee floating beside Nicole.
Stephanie decided to break the silence. “All this was beneath your house, Nikki?”
“Escape routes aren’t unusual for Heroes’ homes.” Junior Justice shrugged. “It’s a way to keep civilian family members safe.”
“Must be nice to have so much
opportunity because of your family.” At the thought of her family, tears started to well in Stephanie’s eyes. “I . . . I . . .”
“Stephanie . . .” Nicole turned to her.
Stephanie hid her face as tears flowed down her cheeks. “I got my brother back, and he’s been taken again. That’s two times in the last 24 hours. I didn’t even get a chance to talk to him. I didn’t get to tell him I got into Sonmar Bridge Academy. My acceptance letter was delivered while we were on vacation.”
“You got in?” Junior Justice gaped at her. “Way to go, Stephanie!”
Stephanie glared at him. “Why do you care, Hero?”
“Uh . . . it’s a prestigious school. I’d congratulate anyone who got in.” Junior Justice returned her glare. “Even a criminal like you.”
“Congratulations, Steph.” Nicole stepped in between them. “I knew you could do it.”
“Brody would have been proud of me too. If we could get him away from the Villains, we wouldn’t have to go to Switzerland. We would have found a way.” Stephanie’s eyes watered again. “Why didn’t you stop her from taking him, Nikki? You could have if you wanted to.”
Nicole lowered her eyes. “If I hurt Beatrix, I’d hurt Bee.”
“So what? Bee is a computer program!”
“She’s not just a program! I can’t let her be deleted! I can’t.” Nicole bit her lips together. “I promise we’ll find Brody again, Steph. Beatrix took my dad and Starlight too. I won’t let her get away with it. We’ll find them if it’s the last thing I do.”
“No,” Bee said.
“Bee?” Nicole turned to her.
“We have to stay away from Beatrix. If we go after them, we’ll fall into her hands.”
“She took my dad, Bee.” Nicole clenched her hands into fists. “And Starlight!”
“And Brody,” Stephanie interjected.