The Dominion Key

by Lee Bacon

  Nurse Oakley had a twisted idea of “healing.” While I was out, I dreamed of pitchforks and blankets made of fire ants. When I finally awoke, I heard people talking somewhere out of my line of sight.

  “… sure he’s okay?” asked Milton. “Looks like he’s hurting pretty bad.”

  “That’s part of the process,” Nurse Oakley replied. “In order to heal him, I first have to extract the injuries from his body all at once. Sort of like pulling a tooth. Ordinarily, his recovery would be slow and painful. Instead, it’s very fast and very painful.”

  “I’m just glad he survived,” said Cassie. “The way he hit the wall, that was—”

  “Awesome, right?” Milton guessed.

  “Actually, I was going to say deadly.”

  “Oh, right. That too,” Milton said. “But I wasn’t worried. Joshua and I have been in tons of deadly situations.” He made it sound like something to brag about.

  Another voice joined the conversation. My mom’s. “How long until he’s fully recovered?” she asked.

  “Tough to say,” said Nurse Oakley. “Couple of hours, most likely. Maybe longer.”

  “The portal that you opened back there?” Dad began. “Where was that?”

  “Antarctica,” the principal replied. “We took a family vacation there a few years back—”

  Cassie interrupted her dad with a groan. “Worst. Vacation. Ever.”

  “It was an opportunity to witness a completely unique ecosystem firsthand,” Alabaster said, before adding: “Although I will admit, it did get rather tedious after a while. Now it’s where I send anything that I never want to see again. Like Vex.”

  I thought of the gateway Alabaster had pulled open. The endless white landscape and cloudless blue sky. I imagined Vex suddenly appearing there. No doubt he would find his way back to civilization eventually. But by then we would be long gone.

  The only question was … where would we go?

  I didn’t have much time to wonder about this, though, because right then I felt Nurse Oakley bring a hand down on my chest again. Another burst of pain shocked my system and I blinked out like a light.

  When I came to, Marvin and Gus were looking down at me. Marvin had a grisly cut running along his forehead and Gus’s faded uniform was ripped and burned in about twelve different places, but at least they were okay. They seemed surprised to see me open my eyes. And even more surprised when I spoke.

  “Thanks for letting us borrow your car,” I managed to wheeze.

  The two elderly superheroes grinned.

  “How ya feeling?” Gus asked.

  “Been better.” The words came out in a slow, weak voice. “Sorry that … we got you involved in all this.”

  “You kidding?” Marvin’s smile widened. “This has been the most fun we’ve had in thirty years!”

  Gus nodded eagerly. “We’d been out of the superhero business so long, we’d forgotten what a thrill it is to kick some supervillainous butt.”

  “How’s Daisy?” I asked.

  “Wrecked,” Marvin replied. “After Vex’s lightning strike, she crashed hard. Wing’s all busted up. Tail’s out of whack.”

  “But since your former teacher won’t be able to take care of her any longer, we’ve decided to adopt the old bird. We can have her all repaired and in flying condition again in six months.”

  The “former teacher” comment sent my thoughts hurtling in another direction. “Dr. Fleming?” I asked. “Where is he?”

  “We found him unconscious upstairs. Sophie told us everything. How he lured you here. Took you kids hostage. Summoned Vex.”

  Gus shook his head sadly. “When Fleming woke up, he confessed to all of it.”

  “What’s going to happen to him?” I asked.

  “I’d say there’s a good chance he’ll have his teacher’s certificate revoked.” Gus smirked.

  “And that he’ll spend the next couple of decades in Graavenskall,” Marvin added.

  Graavenskall. The maximum-security prison for supervillains. It’s where the world’s baddest bad guys get sent when their schemes go awry.

  “What about nFinity?” I asked.

  From the look that Gus and Marvin exchanged, I knew they wouldn’t have good news. “Unfortunately, nFinity escaped.” Gus let out a heavy sigh. “By the time the authorities got to the house, he was gone.”

  “The police are searching the woods,” Marvin said. “If he’s anywhere within a twenty-mile radius, they’ll find him.”

  I wasn’t holding my breath. By now, nFinity would be long gone.

  At least for the time being. Soon enough, he’d be back again. And that was a reunion I definitely wasn’t looking forward to.

  Marvin glanced sideways and his forehead wrinkled. “Uh-oh. Looks like the school nurse just noticed you’re awake.”

  I heard Nurse Oakley’s voice in the distance. “What’re you two doing talking to my patient? He needs to rest!”

  Marvin turned back to me. “Take care of yourself, Joshua Dread. What you did back there was truly heroic.”

  Coming from Mr. Marvelous, this was a pretty big compliment.

  My view of the superheroes was replaced by that of Nurse Oakley. I could see from her expression that she was gearing up for another round of her torturous “healing.”

  “Do we really need any more of the whole pain-extraction thing?” I asked in a quavering voice. “I’m actually feeling a lot better. Really—I’m practically—”

  Her hands came down on my chest. A fresh wave of agony blanketed my body.

  The next time I opened my eyes, I felt a million times better. Nurse Oakley’s methods might’ve been unusual, but they seemed to have worked wonders. I was wide awake and bursting with energy.

  Rising to a sitting position, I blinked at my surroundings. Dr. Fleming’s safe house looked like a disaster zone. Charred furniture. Ashes littered across the floor. A gaping hole in the wall revealing a view of even worse chaos outside. A scarred landscape of motorcycle parts and mangled trees.

  And crossing this scenery toward me was Miranda. “I can’t believe you survived,” she said.

  “I had the exact same thought when I saw you,” I said.

  Miranda gave a half shrug. “I guess we’re both lucky to be here.”

  “But what happened? How’d you—”

  “Make it out alive?” Miranda finished. “After I fell, I eventually washed up on the shore of Alabaster Island. I must’ve passed out, because the next thing I remember is hearing people calling my name. It was a search party of students and teachers. Principal Alabaster was with them. Once I was back inside the school, there was an assembly of everyone at Alabaster. I knew exactly where you guys were headed. And I had a hunch that Vex and his foot soldiers might end up there too. By the end of the assembly, we’d made up our minds—we had to get to Bear Creek. We packed a few hover buses with students, teachers, and a whole lot of deadly weapons. And, well, you know the rest.”

  “You saved our lives. If you hadn’t shown up when you did …” I shivered just thinking how close we’d come to complete catastrophe. Death, imprisonment, world domination.

  Not exactly my idea of a good time.

  Miranda’s dark eyes considered me for a moment like she’d just gotten a glimpse of my future. “Hey, Joshua,” she said. “One last thing …”

  “Yeah?”

  Her face broke into a grin. “You’re about to get run over by a trash can.”

  I blinked. “Huh?”

  Our conversation was interrupted by a screeching electronic voice. “JOSHUAAA!”

  I turned just in time to see a silver blur rushing in my direction. A squat shape that did look a lot like a dumpy metal trash can. Except I knew at once what it really was.

  “Ellio—”

  Before I could get the rest out, the robot butler knocked me onto my back with his “hug.” All of a sudden, I had a feeling I might need another visit from Nurse Oakley.

  “How wuuuzzz your new sch
oool?”

  Elliot’s squeal rang in my ears. I climbed to my feet, wiping the dirt off my tattered clothes even as the robot’s protractible arms wrapped tightly around me.

  “Not so great, actually,” I admitted.

  “I misssed youuu!”

  “I—uh … missed you too.” I wriggled free of Elliot’s grasp. “How’d you get here?”

  My dad stepped forward with an explanation. “Your mother and I decided to bring him with us. He rode on the back of my hover scooter.”

  “I ooonly felll off onccce!”

  “We parked the scooters in the bushes,” Mom said. “Elliot waited there until we were sure you were okay.”

  “But we’ve already filled him in on what he missed,” Dad said.

  “Baaad man got zapped tooo North Pole!” Elliot chimed in.

  “Actually, Antarctica is the South Pole,” Dad corrected. His eyes turned to me. “You showed great courage back there, Son.”

  The memories flickered in my brain. The world coming to a sudden standstill. Nothing moving but a string of light. Vex flying backward through the gateway.

  I shook my head, as if that would rid me of the thoughts. “I don’t even know how I made it happen.”

  “You’re getting stronger,” Mom said. “More powerful.”

  “Yeah, and thanks to that power, the whole world is gonna suffer if Vex ever does get his hands on me.”

  Dad’s magnified eyes didn’t blink. “Then we’ll make sure that doesn’t happen.”

  “Unfortunately, that means you won’t be able to return to Alabaster,” Mom said. “Now that Vex knows you were there, it wouldn’t be safe any longer.”

  Our conversation was interrupted by a sound outside. A steady thwumping that grew louder and louder. My family and I rushed to the front yard. Gazing up at the sky, we saw a bright red helicopter coming in for a landing. Stanley was in the pilot’s seat. Squeezed into the cockpit beside him were Captain Justice and Scarlett Flame.

  The spinning propellers blew away broken branches and loose chunks of earth. By the time the helicopter had touched down, a mob of excited students and teachers had gathered close by.

  Captain Justice kicked open the door to the helicopter and leaped outside. Ignoring the screaming students around him, he scanned the swarm of faces until he saw who he was looking for.

  “Sophie!”

  The superhero rushed forward and wrapped his muscular arms around his daughter. A wave of whispers passed through the crowd of classmates.

  “Oh my gosh!”

  “The newbie knows Captain Justice!”

  “I’m jealous!”

  Captain Justice held Sophie by the shoulders, gazing at her. “Scarlett and I came as soon as we heard. Are you all right?”

  “I’m fine, Dad,” Sophie said.

  Scarlett Flame approached, sunlight glistening across her golden body armor. She placed one manicured hand on Captain Justice’s shoulder and the other on Sophie’s. “We were so worried that we canceled the rest of our publicity tour.”

  Sophie glanced up at her dad’s girlfriend. I could see a hundred snarky thoughts pass across her face. But instead, Sophie swallowed. And all she said was “I’m glad you guys came.”

  “We’re just sorry it couldn’t have been sooner.” Captain Justice gazed at the destruction all around: A massive crater in the ground. Scorched trees. A log cabin with half its front wall missing. “Looks like we missed all the fun.”

  Milton pushed through the crowd of onlookers and wrapped his arms around the two newly arrived superheroes.

  “Group hug!”

  “Yes—uh … it’s nice to see you as well, Marlon,” said Captain Justice.

  As the sun gradually rose higher in the clear blue sky, Captain Justice and Scarlett Flame signed autographs for everyone. Eventually, Principal Alabaster separated from the group and approached my parents. “Delightful seeing you again after all these years,” he said. “I’d love to stay and catch up, but I’m afraid we’ve got to get back.”

  “We truly appreciate everything you did to keep our son and his friends safe,” Dad said.

  “Just doing my job.” Principal Alabaster’s twinkling gray eyes moved from me to my parents. “You know, your twenty-five-year class reunion is coming up. Perhaps I’ll see you there?”

  A half smile appeared on my mom’s face as she replied, “Not a chance.”

  “That’s what I thought you’d say.” Principal Alabaster turned back to the excited mob. “Okay, everyone. Autograph time’s over. Back to school.”

  The crowd let out a disappointed groan. Principal Alabaster pulled open another seam in the universe. By the looks of it, this portal led directly into the stone entrance of Alabaster Academy. As the principal ushered students and teachers through the gateway, I stood to the side with Sophie, Milton, my parents, and Elliot, saying our goodbyes.

  Cassie emerged from the group. “Too bad you guys can’t come back to school.” She pushed a strand of silver hair from her forehead and her eyes landed on Milton. “I’ll miss hanging out with you.”

  “Me too,” Milton said at once. “I’ll let you know where we end up. Maybe your dad can teleport you there on weekends.”

  Cassie smiled. “That’d be nice. And you can show me your Supersonic uniform.”

  Milton nodded eagerly. “My jet-boots still fit!”

  Cassie let out an excited chirp. She rushed forward and kissed Milton on the cheek. When she hopped backward again, Milton’s face had gone red all over.

  “See ya!” Cassie waved as she vanished through the portal.

  For a few moments, Milton stood there with a goofy grin on his face—until Miranda knocked him out of his daze with a punch to the shoulder.

  “Snap out of it, lover boy.” She chuckled, turning to the rest of us. “Well, I guess this is goodbye.”

  “What do you mean?” I knitted my brow. “Aren’t you coming with us?”

  I knew at once from the look on Miranda’s face that she wasn’t. I guess it shouldn’t have come as such a surprise. Out of the four of us, she’d done the best at Alabaster. She’d excelled in everything—from defusing bombs to avoiding dodgeballs. She was obviously meant for a place like Alabaster.

  But none of that meant I was happy to see her go. Miranda had become one of my best friends over the summer. I had no idea where I’d end up, but knowing she wouldn’t be there really bummed me out.

  One glimpse at Sophie and Milton was all it took to let me know that Miranda had already broken the news to them. Probably while I was unconscious.

  “My mom and I have spent the past two years traveling the country, trying to improve my Gyft and get noticed,” Miranda said. “Along the way, I’ve lost every friend I’ve ever had. But at Alabaster …” She couldn’t help grinning. “It’s the best of both worlds. I’ll be able to train my powers without switching schools every few months. There’s only one downside—I’ll miss you guys.”

  “We’ll miss you too,” I said.

  Miranda hugged Sophie, Milton, and me, then turned and skipped through the portal, into the entry hall of Alabaster Academy, where a large group of Gyfted kids were waiting for her.

  Principal Alabaster gave us one final wave. Then he stepped into the entry hall, closing the interspatial gateway behind him as if he were zipping up a tent.

  There was enough room in Scarlett’s helicopter for three additional passengers. Since my parents’ hover scooters were parked close by, they would travel separately with Elliot, while Milton, Sophie, and I would hitch a ride with the superheroes.

  “I call shotgun!” Milton raced excitedly to the helicopter door.

  Captain Justice and Scarlett Flame followed him, holding hands.

  “Ugh.” Sophie made a face. “They better not make out the whole way.”

  As Sophie trailed them, I waited behind with my parents and Elliot.

  “What’ll we do now?” I asked.

  Dad shook his head. “We’re not e
ntirely sure. At the moment, we don’t even know whether we can call ourselves supervillains. I mean, just look at us. These days, we spend most of our time with Captain Justice.”

  “Don’t forget his girlfriend and her solid-gold swimsuit,” Mom grumbled.

  “Maybe it’s time we get back out there. Show the world we’re still capable of awful treachery.” Dad’s expression filled with sudden purpose. “After all, it’s been nearly a year since our last wicked plot.”

  I shuddered. That’s just what I needed in my life—more wicked plots.

  “First things first,” Mom said. “We’ll all meet up again in Sheepsdale. We figure we have less than twenty-four hours to vacate the house before Vex regroups and comes looking for us. Wherever we end up, we need to make sure we can bring the zombies. And Micus.”

  “Don’t forget about Elliot,” Dad said.

  “Yeaaahhh! Donnn’t forrrget meee!”

  “And as for you”—Mom ruffled my hair—“we’ve got to ensure that you get a good education.”

  “And that you remain safe,” Dad added.

  “Maybe we’ll try homeschooling.”

  My head filled with dreary thoughts of never leaving the house, enduring lessons interrupted by the groans of hungry zombies, with nobody to hang out with but two supervillains, a dysfunctional robot butler, and a murderous mutant houseplant.

  Now, that would be a wicked plot.

  I hugged my parents and Elliot goodbye. Once they took off in the direction of their hover scooters, I climbed into the back. My shoulder pressed up against Sophie’s as I settled into the cramped cabin.

  Stanley started the engine. I heard the whoosh of propellers beginning to swirl above us. Soon, the helicopter lifted off. We were on our way.

  Acknowledgments

  Joshua Dread began as a Microsoft Word file on my computer, and it would’ve stayed that way were it not for the intelligence and efforts of my agent, Sarah Burnes. Thank you for your excellent guidance over three books now. Many thanks also to Logan Garrison, who spotted Joshua in her crowded slush pile and got this whole thing started. Rebecca Gardner and Will Roberts have done an extraordinary job of sharing this series with the world and setting Joshua Dread up with all his different aliases: Joshua Schreck, Lucas D., Jack Vandal, and more to come. Thank you to everyone at the Gernert Company. Without a doubt, the best agency a guy could ever want!