Heroes (The Young Neos Book 5)

by Lucas Flint

  “That’s convenient,” said Shell. He took his glasses off his face and wiped the red dust off of them before putting them back on again. “Will the Servants realize we’re here? Or are we safe from being detected?”

  “We’re safe,” Sparky confirmed. “I have a built-in cloaking device that allows me to hide myself from all but the most advanced forms of detection. This cloaking device can be extended to people around me, so let me activate it now so our enemies don’t notice us.”

  Sparky tapped a button on his chest and the air around the four of them shimmered. Shell looked down at his hands, but was disappointed that he could still see them.

  “Not much of a cloaking device if we can all still see each other,” said Shell, looking up at Sparky.

  “The cloaking device only hides us from people who are not protected by it,” Sparky replied. “As all four of us are under the device’s range, we can still see each other just as easily as if the device wasn’t activated at all. But be careful; others can still hear us, and if we make too much noise, the Servants will be able to find us, thus rendering the cloaking device useless.”

  “Gotta be quiet,” said Shell, nodding. “Gotcha.”

  “Good,” said Sparky. “Now, follow me up the canyon walls. It should not take us long to reach the prison, but again, be careful and be quiet.”

  Sparky began walking toward the canyon walls, with Shell, Treehugger, and Blizzard following closely behind him. Even though the canyon appeared to be entirely empty, Shell still couldn’t shake the feeling that they were being watched. He didn’t think it was because of the winged scorpion he had noticed earlier, but something else. Maybe it was just the very alien atmosphere of the canyon, which, despite its resemblance to some canyons on Earth, gave off a very unearthly vibe and made Shell wish he was back home.

  There were other reasons that Shell wished he was back home besides just the general dislike of the alien atmosphere of the Crimson Canyon. He also still needed to steal the Midas Hammer for Eli. He had intended to do that as soon as he got back to Hero Island, but the sudden arrival of Sparky had changed all of his plans. And Shell did not try to stay home because he knew it would look rather suspicious to the rest of his teammates if he refused to help Sparky for no good reason. The last thing Shell needed was his teammates suspecting him of being up to no good. Besides, Sparky had insisted that the mission would not take very long to complete, so Shell figured he would still have plenty of time to steal the Midas Hammer when he and the others returned to Earth after rescuing Space and Galaxy from the Servants.

  Eli will understand, Shell thought. He’s patient, so I’m sure he won’t mind my being a bit late.

  Even so, Shell wondered if it was still possible to come up with a legitimate excuse to go back to Earth, because now would be the best time to do it before they got very far. Then again, he doubted that Sparky would be willing to take him all the way back to Earth even if he asked, because that would just be very inconvenient for everyone at the moment. Shell told himself that he would be able to get back to Earth soon enough, and once he was, he would try to get the Midas Hammer for Eli.

  A few minutes of walking later, they reached the top of the canyon and Sparky gestured for them to double over so as to not be seen by the Servants. The four of them made their way across the dusty ground until they reached a group of boulders at the top of a cliff. The boulders had a gap between them, allowing Shell and the others to see the prison in which Space and Galaxy were being kept.

  It was a huge building, much bigger than Shell expected it to be. It looked almost like a castle, with rising towers at each corner of its massive walls and an empty, open dusty area in the center. It was impossible to tell what kind of materials it was made out of, because Shell did not recognize the metal used, although given Shell’s lack of knowledge about metal in general, he supposed that that wasn’t surprising. The prison, like the rest of the Crimson Canyon, gave off an extremely alien vibe, making Shell feel more than ever like he was no longer on Earth.

  Along the walls walked strange humanoid creatures which Shell had never seen before. Despite their humanoid appearance, the creatures were quite clearly not human. They had heads like squids and wore clear domed helmets which looked kind of like fish bowls. Their armor was spiky and thick and the rifle-like guns they carried in their hands would put any Earth gun to shame in both size and appearance. There were only a handful of them, but Shell figured that there were far more inside the prison itself.

  “That’s it,” said Sparky, pointing at the prison. “The name of the prison is unpronounceable in English, but a rough translation would be Doom.”

  “What an inviting name for a prison,” said Shell in a sarcastic voice. “Sounds exactly like the kind of place I’d like to visit.”

  “It is by no means a nice place,” said Sparky, evidently not noticing Shell’s sarcasm. “This prison is well-known for being where Servants of the Starborn keep the enemies of the Starborn. Torture is common here, as the Servants take sadistic glee in torturing the enemies of the Starborn.”

  Treehugger gulped. “How do we get in there, then?”

  “Easy,” said Blizzard. She raised a hand. “I can create ice steps we can use to walk over the walls. Heck, I could probably make an ice bridge from here to the prison walls, which would allow us to walk over there quickly and efficiently.”

  “It won’t be that easy,” said Sparky. He gestured at the guards on the walls. “For one, the guards would notice and either destroy the bridge or shoot at us. For another, Doom has far more defenses than what is visible to the naked eye. Allow me to demonstrate.”

  Sparky picked up a rock from the ground and tossed it toward the prison. When the rock was halfway to the prison, it suddenly struck some kind of invisible barrier which flashed red for a second and the rock was instantly turned into dust.

  “See?” said Sparky. “Doom is protected by an energy barrier which instantly incinerates anything that touches it. That includes humans such as you and robots like me.”

  “How do we get past the barrier, then?” said Shell.

  “That is what I am trying to figure out,” said Sparky. “The barrier does have an entrance that allows Servants to enter, but it is unlikely that we will be able to convince the Servants to open it for us.”

  Shell tapped his chin and looked at the barrier thoughtfully. “So the barrier instantly incinerates anything that touches it, right?”

  “Right,” said Sparky, nodding. “Human flesh, metal, stone, wood, ice … absolutely nothing can pass through the barrier without getting incinerated.”

  “Maybe I could create an opening for us with my ice powers,” said Blizzard, raising a hand. “I could create an ice barrier around us, which we could use to pass through the barrier. The ice would get destroyed, but—”

  “No, that won’t work,” said Sparky, shaking his head. “The barrier’s incineration capabilities are incredibly fast. Your ice would not last long enough to protect us from the barrier itself.”

  Blizzard frowned and muttered something about Sparky being a downer, but Shell suddenly got an idea. He wasn’t sure if it would work, but he decided that it wouldn’t hurt to pass the idea by Sparky.

  “Hey, Sparky,” said Shell. “You said that the barrier incinerates all materials, right? Flesh, metal, stone, and so on?”

  “That is correct,” said Sparky. “It is an incredibly effective defense mechanism, certainly better than anything you humans have back on Earth.”

  “It does sound advanced, but what if we used an immaterial substance to protect us?” said Shell. “Like, say, a shield made of pure energy?”

  “That might work,” said Sparky, though he sounded doubtful. “But where would we get a shield made of pure energy? I know that the Adventure’s shields work that way, but to the best of my knowledge, no one has ever built a machine capable of creating a shield or barrier made of pure energy for individual usage. Unless you happen to have such a ma
chine on your person?”

  “Nope, but I do have the ability to generate energy barriers from my body,” said Shell. “Allow me to demonstrate.”

  Shell stepped backwards away from the rock and focused on his body. Immediately, a red bubble extended from his body, completely encasing his whole form from head to foot. The barrier extended around him on all sides by about three feet and its reddish tint also made Sparky, Blizzard, and Treehugger—who were on the other side of the barrier—look reddish.

  “Interesting,” said Sparky, reaching out and pressing a finger against the soft barrier. “Mr. Space once told me that the superhumans of Earth are capable of amazing feats like this, but I didn’t quite believe him.” Sparky looked at Shell. “Could you extend this shield to cover all four of us?”

  “I think so,” said Shell. “I’ve never done it before, but given how Doom’s barrier isn’t very thick, I don’t need to hold it for very long. Just long enough to help us get through the barrier.”

  “Well, it is the best idea that I’ve heard today,” said Sparky. He looked at Blizzard and Treehugger. “Unless one of you happens to have a better idea?”

  “No, we don’t,” said Blizzard. “Let’s go with Shell’s idea.”

  “Yeah,” Treehugger said. “It’s really creative and I think it should work.”

  Shell tried not to feel too satisfied with himself because of the praise from Treehugger. After all, he didn’t care for her opinion more than he did for the opinions of Blizzard or any of the other Young Neos, right? That’s what he told himself, anyway.

  “Then it is settled,” said Sparky. “But we must still make a plan of action before we charge into any situation. The Servants of the Starborn are much smarter and cleverer than they look and it would be foolish of us to rush into Doom without a plan.”

  CHAPTER TEN

  Upon reaching the bottom of the Crimson Canyon, Blizzard started to have second thoughts about the practicality of their plan. At the moment, she and the others were hidden from view from the Doom guards because the path they had taken to get down here was hidden by several large, red boulders, but the space between the boulders and the prison was a wide-open expanse of red sand and dust. Anyone crossing the expanse would be immediately noticed by any guards on the prison walls, who would have more than enough time to shoot at any potential intruders. And with that barrier in the way, it would be even more difficult for an intruder to break into the prison even if you avoided getting shot by the guards.

  Despite that, Blizzard tried not to let her nerves get the best of her. As she stood there, watching Sparky fumble with the distraction he would use to make it easier for them to reach the prison unnoticed, Blizzard thought about the plan they had worked out with him. It hadn’t taken them very long to hammer out the plan—probably less than ten minutes altogether—but Blizzard was eager to get this done and over with, if only because the heat of the Crimson Canyon was starting to get uncomfortable.

  The plan went something like this: Sparky would create a distraction, which would draw the attention of most of the prison guards toward the prison’s main entrance. While the guards were distracted, Blizzard and the others would pass through the barrier with Shell’s own barrier powers protecting them from the worst of its effects, scale the prison walls themselves, and finally enter the prison. Then they would locate Space and Galaxy and break them out. All in all, the plan should take less than an hour to execute, based on Sparky’s own estimations.

  As simple as the plan was, Blizzard could already see several areas where it might fall apart. The distraction might not work or would only draw the attention of a few guards, Shell’s energy bubble might not be strong enough to protect them from the barrier, maybe there were more guards than they thought, they might get spied on by the prison’s security cameras …

  No, Blizzard, stop worrying so much, Blizzard told herself sternly. If Bolt was in this situation, do you think he would waste his time second guessing himself? No. He’d just act and figure out the rest along the way and he’d expect you to do the same.

  Thinking of Bolt made Blizzard wonder how his mission to save Electrica was going. She didn’t really fear for his safety, because he was a competent superhero with plenty of backup from the other Young Neos. Despite that, Blizzard still missed him, though that was a pretty normal way for her to feel whenever she was away from Bolt for more than a few hours. She decided to put Bolt out of her mind for now so she could focus on the plan.

  “All right,” said Sparky, standing upright and holding something in his hands. “The distraction is ready.”

  Blizzard looked at the device in Sparky’s hands. It resembled a bee-shaped drone and was about the size of a small tablet computer. Blizzard was pretty sure that nothing like it existed on Earth, so she looked at Sparky and asked, “What is it?”

  “It’s my personal drone,” said Sparky. He tapped his chest. “Normally, I keep it inside my chest, but I can also launch it from my chest if I want.”

  “So how does it work, exactly?” said Shell. “Does it have an AI that controls it or is it remote controlled?”

  “It has two modes,” said Sparky. “Automatic and remote. Automatic mode allows its AI to control it; however, the AI is very simple, unlike my own, and leaves the drone very vulnerable due to its simplicity. Remote mode, on the other hand, is when I take control of it directly, allowing me to control its exact movements from a distance.”

  “Cool,” said Shell. “So it will be the distraction?”

  “Yes,” said Sparky. “I have it set to automatically fly to the front gates of the prison, where it will cause an explosion that will draw the attention of the guards.”

  “An explosion?” Treehugger repeated. “Is the drone itself going to explode?”

  “Yes, sadly enough,” said Sparky. “But it is for the greater good and it can be replaced, so it’s not a big issue.”

  “Aw,” said Treehugger, looking at the drone in disappointment. “It’s such a cute little drone. Are you sure you want to blow it up?”

  “It is either that or we let the Servants continue to hold Space and Galaxy prisoner,” said Sparky. “Besides, as I said, it can be replaced, so it isn’t a huge loss for me.”

  “Then what are we waiting for?” said Blizzard. “Send it out. Let’s get this mission done and over with.”

  Sparky nodded once and threw the drone into the air. Green lights on the drone’s eyes immediately flashed and the drone’s wings began buzzing like a bee, allowing the drone to fly toward the imposing walls of Doom not far from their current position. The drone was fast; in seconds, it was out of sight.

  “Okay,” said Sparky. “The drone should explode very soon. Shell, get the shield ready.”

  Shell raised his hands and a large red bubble suddenly expanded from his body and covered all four of them in seconds. To her surprise, Blizzard did not feel anything when the bubble covered her, though the temperature suddenly dropped a degree or two, making her feel a lot better than she did before. She looked at her body and realized that it looked red in the light of the bubble, as did the skin of everyone else.

  “Shell, how long do you think you will be able to maintain this barrier?” Sparky questioned.

  “I’d say …” Shell wiped sweat off his head. “Ten minutes, maybe fifteen. It’s taking a lot more effort to maintain than I thought.”

  “Understood,” said Sparky. “Now, any minute now, we should hear—”

  Sparky was interrupted by a surprisingly loud explosion coming from somewhere near the prison. Blizzard peered around the boulder and saw huge flames rising from near the prison gates, along with prison guards rushing across the walls to investigate the source of the explosion. It looked like the southern wall was left completely unprotected and, because it was the nearest wall, it was the most logical place to assault.

  “All right, everyone, let’s move!” Sparky said. “Now, before they realize it is a distraction.”

  The fou
r of them ran toward Doom, although Blizzard was forced to slow down because of Shell’s own slowness, because if she ran too fast she risked running through the barrier. She kept glancing toward the explosion, expecting the guards to figure out it was a trick eventually, but thankfully, she did not see any guards running toward them. It seemed like they were going to make it to the prison unhindered after all.

  That was when they finally reached the barrier. When Shell’s bubble came into contact with the barrier, a loud hissing sound emitted from the collision, along with what appeared to be steam rising from the bubble itself. Shell himself almost came to a stop; he clutched his head and groaned, but Sparky grabbed him and yanked him along.

  For a brief moment, it seemed like the bubble was about to be incinerated and they would all die. A second later, they emerged onto the other side of the barrier and Shell dropped the bubble. The heat of the Crimson Canyon hit Blizzard again, but she ignored it as the four of them reached the walls and stopped, panting and sweating, except for Sparky, who was now looking up at the walls as if they had not just passed through a death trap.

  “Oh … my … god,” Shell gasped, his hands on his knees. “I didn’t … ugh …”

  “Shell, are you okay?” asked Blizzard, looking at Shell in alarm. “You look like you’re about to throw up.”

  “No, I’m fine,” said Shell, though his voice shook. He glanced over his shoulder. “I just didn’t realize how powerful that barrier actually is. Felt like I was running through an inferno without any clothes on. My shield would have collapsed if I had stayed there a second longer.”

  “The important part is that you managed to get us through it unharmed,” said Sparky. “Our next step is scaling the prison itself. Blizzard, you know what to do.”

  Blizzard gave Sparky the thumbs up and thrust her hands toward the ground. A wide, thick ice pillar rose out of the ground underneath them, raising all four of them up to the top of the wall. Sparky was the first to jump off, followed by Treehugger and Shell, and then Blizzard, who used her powers to make the ice pillar vanish back into the earth, because she did not want it to be found or seen by the prison guards. Lowering her hands, Blizzard turned around to see what the interior of the prison itself looked like.