by James Riley
“Yes,” Owen said quickly. “It’s just like in Kiel Gno . . . like when you and Kiel found the infinite dimensions that Dr. Verity gathered all of his Science Soldiers from. This is another dimension, only in this one, there’s no magic, and science is a lot less cool.”
“I’m not even picking up warp signatures,” Charm said, a disgusted look on her face. “No magic and no science?”
“There’s plenty of science,” Bethany said, taking out her cell phone to show to Charm. After her outburst, she seemed a little embarrassed, but it wasn’t like Owen was going to get on her case about it. She’d brought Charm into the real world, after all!
Charm looked at the cell phone, then at Bethany, then back at the cell phone. “No magic and no science beyond toys for infants? Where exactly have you brought me?”
Owen stepped in front of Bethany, who went from embarrassed to violently angry far faster than Owen could believe. “This is a sort of nexus between worlds,” he said, gesturing around at the books. “All of these books lead to other dimensions, and Bethany’s the one who can take us there. That’s her form of magic.”
“It’s not magic,” Bethany said.
“It’s close enough,” Owen said, throwing her an annoyed look. Couldn’t she just play along for two seconds?
“So we needed to come to this nexus first, and from here we can teleport to the other world you spoke of,” Charm said, nodding in understanding. The radar dish collapsed back into her arm, and the skin restored itself as if nothing had happened. Apparently she’d gotten some upgrades after the war ended. “I see. Well, let’s get on with it, then.”
“It’s not that simple,” Bethany said. “You don’t know what we’re getting into. That’s why I wanted Kiel, because his magic could—”
“Anything Kiel can do, I can do better,” Charm said, giving Owen a look that basically dared him to disagree. When he just smiled at her, she sighed. “Besides, I don’t see him here, so I guess you’re stuck with me.” She glared at Owen again, and he swallowed hard.
Bethany growled in frustration, dropping her head into her hands. “You don’t get it, and it’s not your fault, because you shouldn’t even be here, but still. The place we’re going? It’s a whole city of people with powers. Like if they each knew one really dangerous magic spell and could cast it as many times as they wanted.”
“You know I’m not an infant, right?” Charm said, finally turning away from Owen to glare at Bethany. “I’m aware of what powers mean. The Volka of Magisteria gave themselves the power to speak to animals through magic.”
“Exactly!” Owen said. “Just imagine that instead of talking to animals, people in this city will be able to control shadows, or are as strong as Science Soldiers, or can fly.”
Charm shrugged. “And?” She clicked her hips and two ray guns popped out. “I can lift half a ton with my robotic arm, and my ray guns will cut through steel. I’m not worried.”
“You should be,” Bethany said. “I am. I can get us there, yes. But other than that, I’ve got no real powers. And neither does Owen.”
“I wouldn’t say no powers,” Owen said quickly. “I’ve done magic before.”
Charm sighed. “Are we really going to keep playing this game?”
Owen turned bright red. “I don’t know what you mean?”
“Fine,” she said, throwing her hands up in surrender. She grabbed a chair from the nearest table and sat down. “Tell me what you need, and I’ll make it for you.” She began sketching lines on the table as if she were using a touch screen. Wherever she moved her fingers, electric-blue lines appeared.
Bethany narrowed her eyes. “What are you talking about?”
“You said you wanted powers,” Charm said. “I’m going to make them for you.” She looked up at Bethany, and the red grid in her eye lit up for a moment. Back on the table a full sketch of Bethany appeared. “That’s what science does, you magical heathens. Science makes things using logic and electricity. Magic makes things up, science makes things work. Now what do you want to do?”
“What powers do we want, you mean?” Owen asked.
Charm just sighed, tapping her foot.
Bethany paused, then looked off toward the book stacks. “Would you be able to give someone the power to fly?”
Charm raised an eyebrow. “Like in a spaceship?”
“No, just by herself?”
“Of course,” Charm said with a snort. “You’re talking about jet packs. I made those in kindergarten. I’d just need some materials.” She tapped the table in a few places, and an elaborate list of items appeared, then came together to form what looked like a jet pack on Bethany’s back in the image.
“Be right back,” Bethany said, smiling out of nowhere, and disappeared into the bookshelves, leaving Owen and Charm alone.
“And what about you, magic boy?” Charm asked, scanning him in as well. “What power do you want? Since you’re apparently not using magic. Try to make it at least a bit challenging. I’m getting bored quickly.”
Owen felt his entire face burn as he looked at her. She obviously suspected that he was Kiel, if just from his heart. Couldn’t he just say who he was? Well, who he’d been pretending to be? I was Kiel Gnomenfoot, Charm, but not the real one. I was the version that you actually kind of liked, the one who saved you, and you saved right back. I have the robotic heart that you gave me. And I’ve missed you so much !
“I’d like to run really fast,” he blurted out.
Charm stared at him. “You want to run . . . fast.”
His face turned even redder, and he nodded, trying to make it sound good, while inside, he just screamed at how stupid he was being. “You know, really fast.”
“Not helping,” Charm said. “What are we talking, the speed of sound? The speed of light? Faster?”
Owen’s heart began to race with excitement. “Yes! Is that possible?”
“No,” Charm said, giving him a pitying look. “Not unless you want to gradually become so heavy that you suck the whole world into the black hole you create. You’d need warp technology to avoid that, and I don’t see us getting an entire warp engine on your back.” She paused. “Though that’d be fun to try. I wonder if . . .” She tapped the desk a few times, and Owen’s image began to spin around as various lights ran up and down him. “Would you be okay if I made you move faster without running? It’d be cheating, but it’d get the job done.”
“Uh, yeah, that sounds amazing!” She was going to give him speed powers like the Flash? This would be the greatest thing ever! Maybe he could move faster than the speed of dark, not even letting the shadows touch him.
“Give me a second, I just need to think through some variables,” Charm said, nodding. She tapped the desk a few more times, her robotic fingers leaving more trails of light.
And then the Owen on the screen burst into flames, began screaming, and collapsed into a pile of ashes.
“Huh,” Charm said, erasing the image. “I must have forgotten to carry the one.”
Owen’s eyes widened and he backed away. Maybe it was time to give Charm some room to plan? He glanced around, suddenly realizing Bethany hadn’t come back. Was now really the time to just disappear? What was more important than coming up with their superpowers, anyway?
CHAPTER 16
Bethany floated into the air over Argon VI, a planet whose green sun granted anyone from Earth superpowers. She spun slowly in a circle as she scanned the horizon. At first she couldn’t see anyone, but then realized she could use her enhanced zoom vision to get a closer look.
There. Off to the east, a girl in a T-shirt with a symbol of the Earth on it was doing loop-de-loops in the air.
In spite of everything that had happened that day, Bethany grinned and took off so fast she left a sonic boom in her wake. EarthGirl had just enough time to look up and scream in joy before Bethany slammed into her, hugging her close as both girls laughed.
“Bethany!” Gwen shouted, squeezing Bethany hard
enough to almost crack her ribs. “I can’t believe you’re back. I’m so happy to see you!”
“I’ve missed you too,” Bethany said, and really meant it. After Kiel not showing up, and being so worried that he was hurt . . . no, that wasn’t worth even thinking about. Now it just felt good to see Gwen, who’d been sent to Argon VI as a baby when her Earth had supposedly been destroyed, and here she’d become a superhero.
If Owen wanted superhero help, EarthGirl was perfect . . . at least, once Charm gave her some non-alien-planet-related powers. Gwen herself being awesome was just a huge bonus.
“What brings you to Argon VI?” Gwen asked, raising an eyebrow. Then her face lit up. “Tell me you’re here just to visit. I have so many things to show you!”
Before Bethany could speak, EarthGirl grabbed her hand and pulled her into flight fast enough to take Bethany’s breath away. They sped through cloud banks made of every color not in the rainbow, dove to the very bottom of the sea and saw the great fish queen Poi Poi Gan, then floated above Gwen’s home city on Argon VI, just high enough in the clouds for no one on the ground to make out their faces as EarthGirl pointed out the sights, all faster than the speed of sound.
Finally, Gwen led them straight up, up and away, right out of the atmosphere and into outer space. Bethany immediately held her breath, but Gwen shook her head, smiling. “You don’t need to worry!” she said. “Argon’s green sunlight actually causes human cells to create oxygen, among other things. Look!” She pointed down at Bethany’s arm, and Bethany followed her gaze, using her enhanced vision.
Her eyes widened, and she looked up at Gwen. “They are making oxygen,” she whispered, staring at her cells. “I can actually see them doing it!”
“C’mon!” Gwen said, then flew off ahead of Bethany, just slow enough for her to keep up. She led Bethany to one of Argon VI’s twin moons, then landed down next to what looked an awful lot like a small house made of moon stones with the word WELCOME carved into the dirt at the door.
Bethany just stared at her. “Is this . . . your Fortress of Solitude?”
“Solitude? No, I call it my Friendly House of Welcoming!” Gwen said, gesturing for Bethany to enter.
Bethany quickly floated inside, unable to stop smiling. Everything was just so cozy and wonderful and adorable, from a brick fireplace with some kind of blue flame (how did that work without oxygen?) to a twenty-foot-long bathtub to a whole row of hot chocolate makers. “How did you do all of this?”
Gwen shrugged, leaping into what looked like an incredibly comfy beanbag chair. “It doesn’t take long when you can move as fast as we can!” She pointed to another beanbag chair. “These are filled with moon rocks that I pulverized, so let me know if it’s not comfortable and I’ll punch it a few more times.”
Okay, none of this was in the books. When had she made it? Bethany settled into the chair, then gasped at how comfortable it was. “This is amazing,” she said, feeling more relaxed than she had in days. “You should sell these!”
Gwen laughed. “Stop it, it’s not that great. I just wanted this to be nice and welcoming, if you ever came back. Like a clubhouse for my friends, you know?”
Bethany froze. “You made this for me?”
Gwen blushed. “Well, for both of us, and anyone else you brought along from Earth. I know you were worried about not being seen down on my world, so you don’t accidentally break the timelines and all, so I figured this would make things easier on you.”
Right. Bethany had told Gwen when they’d first met that she’d come from the future and was searching for her missing father. That was before Bethany had taken Gwen to the nonfictional world, just to give Gwen a glimpse of an Earth she’d never known. Not Bethany’s wisest move, but that, at least, was one thing she didn’t regret.
Gwen continued the tour. “There’s a kitchen back there, and nothing ever goes bad because it’s all frozen in the vacuum of space. Just use your heat vision to cook it. I built a plumbing system that should work, but I might need to unfreeze some of the water, just to get it started. I’ll go check on that in a second. Can I get you anything?”
“No, I’m fine,” Bethany said quickly, holding out a hand to stop Gwen from getting up. Was this really all true? Gwen had done all of this for her? “I just . . . I don’t know what to say.”
“Don’t say anything,” EarthGirl said. “You did the nicest thing in the world for me, when you brought me to Earth. This is really the least I could do. I wish there were more, honestly.”
Ugh, seriously? Bethany felt even worse now about asking for a favor. “Speaking of that,” she said, sitting forward in her moon rock–bag chair so she didn’t have to look Gwen in the eye. “I actually could use your help.”
“Done,” Gwen said, leaning forward too. “Are we heading back to the future? Is this about your father?”
“No. Yes. It’s a bit complicated.” Bethany gritted her teeth, the day’s events all flooding back. “I did find my father,” (Gwen gasped), “but he’s being held captive by someone, and I need help to rescue him.”
“That’s awful!” Gwen said, looking shocked. “I’m so, so sorry. But don’t worry, we’re going to rescue him right now!” She leaped up to her feet, and almost flew out of the house before Bethany grabbed her hand to stop her.
“Here’s the thing,” Bethany said. “This guy who’s holding my father . . . he has powers just like yours. The whole city there does. The powers aren’t exactly like yours, some are really different, but—”
Gwen gasped. “Are they all Earthers? Is the sun green as well?”
“They are from Earth. This city’s actually on Earth, sort of—”
“You’re taking me back to Earth?!”
“But the sun is yellow,” Bethany finished. “So if you do help . . .”
“I’ll be powerless,” Gwen finished, then shrugged. “So when do we leave?”
Huh? How could she be so confident in her decision? “You’d come help me without any powers?”
Gwen looked confused. “Of course. Why wouldn’t I?”
“Because it’s dangerous, and you’d be . . . well, normal!”
Gwen laughed. “So? I’m not helping you because I’m super strong, Bethany. I’m helping because you need it and you’re my friend! So how do we take down this bad guy and rescue your dad?”
“There actually might be a way to keep at least one of your powers,” Bethany told her, feeling so thankful she could burst. “But just to warn you, you’re going to meet some odd people. One Earther, yes, as well as someone who looks like she’s from Earth, but isn’t so much, and is also incredibly obnoxious.”
“Stop it, you’re getting me so excited!” Gwen shouted, jumping to her feet. “I mean, not the part about this bad guy and your dad being held captive, but that’s all fine. We’re going to stop him and rescue your dad, and maybe spend a little extra time on Earth, just to visit some places!”
Bethany grinned, stood up, and gave Gwen the biggest hug she could.
Gwen hugged her back, then gave her a questioning look. “What was that for? Not that I mind . . . hugs are obviously amazing.”
“Don’t ever change,” Bethany said, then grabbed her hand and jumped them out to the real world.
CHAPTER 17
Got someone else to help!” Bethany shouted from the stacks, and Owen looked up in surprise to find a girl wearing a T-shirt with the Earth on it standing next to Bethany, looking incredibly shocked.
“So many books,” said the girl as she ran her hands over the shelves. “I never thought I’d actually see this many! My parents left me a few, but they’re all I had. There are more books than just detective novels?”
“A lot more,” Bethany told her. “Though see that section over there? Those are all mysteries. Maybe you can borrow some more detective novels if you want!”
“Um, take all you want,” Owen said, trying to decide which story he knew her from, and how he felt about Bethany just pulling random characters ou
t to help her. Hadn’t that been against her rules? “The fewer mystery books we have here, the safer I feel. I’m Owen, by the way.”
The girl turned to stare at him with a huge grin. “So you’re from Earth,” she said, sounding amazed. “I am too! I don’t live there anymore, though. I’m Gwen! Some people call me—”
“EarthGirl?” Owen’s mouth dropped open as he finally made the connection with her T-shirt/costume. Bethany had pulled out EarthGirl? Then why exactly couldn’t they ask Batman for help?!
Gwen gave Owen a confused look. “You’ve heard of me?”
“He’s from my time,” Bethany explained, giving Owen a dirty look. “Everyone in the future knows about EarthGirl. You’re famous!”
Gwen began to blush, and Owen flashed Bethany a whoops look. Still, he wasn’t going to take the blame for anything now that Bethany was pulling fictional people out of books left and right. And another fake story, this time about being from the future? How was he supposed to keep track of all of these?
“What’s an Earth?” Charm said, rifling through a book on quantum physics. She shook her head. “This thing’s so out of date. No wonder you people need my help.”
“So you must be the one not from Earth,” Gwen said to Charm, sticking out her hand.
“I’m from Quanterium,” Charm said without looking up. “It’s a different dimension. Don’t worry about it. I’m just here to find a friend of mine and yell at him.” She looked up and gave Owen another dirty look.
Gwen nodded, then whispered to Bethany, “Is her friend your father?”
Bethany sighed. “Let’s all just stop asking questions that no one really should have the answers to, if that’s okay. I shouldn’t have brought you all together, since—”
“Time travel,” Gwen said, nodding again. “We don’t want to reveal too much about the future.”