by Lisa McMann
“Are you going back to Chicago again?” asked Charlie. It was hard to keep track of her whereabouts.
“Nope,” said the woman. She zipped up a duffel bag and slung it over her shoulder. “I’m heading to Mexico.”
“To go after Dr. Gray?” asked Maria.
“By myself? No thanks. I’m going to set up our new spy headquarters and figure out how close they are to doing something stupid.”
Mac looked wistfully at the duffel. “Good-bye, cool electronics,” he said. “Hey, do you need an assistant, Ms. Sabbith?”
Ms. Sabbith smiled. “I think that might make your parents a little suspicious, don’t you?”
“Probably,” agreed Mac.
“Ahem,” said Dr. Goldstein pointedly from across the room.
Mac grinned. “And I guess I’m already busy.”
“I’ll hold your assistant position open until you get there,” Ms. Sabbith promised. “In case things go south with you and Goldstein. The bugs will love working with you again.”
Mac cringed, because bugs. “Yeah, thanks,” he said, not quite as enthusiastically. Though controlling the cameras wasn’t the worst thing he could be doing. He loved that part.
“Once I get there and assess Gray’s progress, I’ll be calling to give you an idea of how quickly you all need to get down there.”
“Sounds good,” said Charlie’s mom. “Thanks.”
“Safe travels,” said Charlie.
“Safe travels,” echoed Maria and Mac.
A black car arrived in the driveway to take Ms. Sabbith to the airport. The kids waved, then returned to the lab to see how things were going.
Charlie went up to Dr. Sharma, who was hunched over Charlie’s old device and using a delicate tool. “What are you trying to do with the Mark Five?” Charlie asked her.
Dr. Sharma glanced up. She was wearing magnifying safety glasses that made her eyes look huge. She lifted them and propped them on top of her head. “I’m trying to change this device so that the abilities are not tied to your father’s DNA anymore.”
“Why?”
“Because we want to be able to use it for anyone who needs it—thinking especially of the healing part, here, but the other attributes as well. We got lucky last time with Andy after Kelly stuck him with her platypus spike, because he shares part of your father’s DNA. But if the same thing happens this time to Mac or Maria or any of us … well, we need to have a plan in place.”
“Oh,” said Charlie. “But isn’t that dangerous? What if someone takes it?”
“They’ll need a code to activate it, like the others. That ought to protect it.”
“Since you’re untying all the abilities, maybe you scientists can share it,” suggested Mac. “Take turns fighting the bad dudes.”
Dr. Goldstein laughed. “I’m afraid this old body isn’t quite up to the kind of fighting you kids can do.”
“But wouldn’t the healing ability help you feel better?” asked Mac.
“It might—that’s not a bad idea. But I don’t think it can make me young again.”
“I’m not interested in fighting either,” said Dr. Sharma vehemently. “I’ll be stationed with Erica, keeping an eye on you all. And Charlie’s mom will be on emergency duty to help with any injuries that aren’t healing automatically.
“Like my dislocated shoulder,” said Charlie, remembering the fight with Prowl that had left her in excruciating pain. Her mother had had to pop her shoulder back in before it could heal.
“Don’t worry. I’ll be fighting alongside you, kids,” said Nubia. “My new werepanther device is almost done.”
“And I’m up for the challenge, too,” said Charlie’s dad, though he didn’t seem enthusiastic about it. “The Mark Five will still be my primary device. Quinn’s just making it more versatile and helpful. We’re up against a strong enemy.”
“Have you trained with your bracelet yet, Charles?” asked Dr. Jakande. She raised an eyebrow at him, like she already knew the answer.
“Uh, not yet.”
Charlie rolled her eyes. “Oh, boy. There’s a learning curve, I’m warning you. But hopefully Dr. Gray and the soldiers won’t even see us coming and you won’t need to do much,” said Charlie, thinking of Ms. Sabbith spying on the bad guys. Would this be a total sneak attack?
“We’re all crossing our fingers for that,” said Dr. Sharma. “With any luck, we’ll have more help from the government by then too. I still hold out hope that we’ll be able to stop Gray without having to fight at all.”
CHAPTER 31
A Costly Mistake
A few rainy days after Cyke, Morph, and Fang arrived and Dr. Gray was reunited with his lab equipment and his growing catalog of DNA samples, Kelly slipped out of the house. Technically she wasn’t supposed to go out. Even though her face hadn’t been clear on any of the security footage that had been shown on local news channels—only her long blond hair from the back—Dr. Gray had gotten increasingly paranoid and forbade her from leaving.
But that seemed stupid, and Kelly really needed a breather. She scoffed at the scientist’s rules and put on a knit hat to cover her hair. Then she started down the street toward the lake that she’d just barely been able to see from her upstairs window.
It was a relief to go outside and take in fresh air, despite the weather. And get away from everyone. It was still intense in the house. Prowl and Miko were being a little too obvious about their unhappiness, though Dr. Gray seemed oblivious for the most part.
The scientist had been working an insane number of hours since they’d been here. He’d finalized the shark treatment for Mega that morning, and they were planning to administer it to her later in the day. Kelly would make sure to return in time to see that.
Gray had also had been working on the other samples Kelly had gotten for him, including the ones from her most recent zoo trip—the electric eel, which would be for Prowl. And the Komodo dragon that Cyke had seemed to want. Kelly had even managed to snag the tiny jellyfish that had been so elusive. Dr. Gray had been very pleased with her lately. But he mentioned in front of the other soldiers how great she was doing, which didn’t seem to endear her to them. She wished he hadn’t said anything. She didn’t want Miko and Prowl to think she was enjoying this.
Kelly stopped when she got to the lake. She could see the island rising tall in the middle of it. It had houses all over the side on various levels, almost all the way up. At the top was a huge statue of some sort. Apparently Dr. Gray had been researching it—he’d told her so on their way to the zoo. He said it was so big and tall that there were a lot of shops and museums inside it. You could climb all the way to the top and stand on the observation deck and see for miles. It sounded cool, but Kelly didn’t hold out hope for actually getting to explore the area.
In the distance, storm clouds were rising like they’d done several times that week. As in Arizona, the summer storms here were predictable. Back home Kelly could see the clouds building up over the Superstition Mountains all afternoon, and they would produce wind-and rainstorms around dinnertime. It was much cooler here, though—Prowl had mentioned they were at something like seven thousand feet above sea level. That was higher than the top of the Superstition Mountains. Seven thousand—that was more like going up into the mountains of northern Arizona, where she and her parents had gone skiing all those winters before the divorce.
Kelly closed her eyes, squeezing them tight when a painful pang went through her chest. That feeling was all too familiar lately. Despite knowing she didn’t have a home to go back to, Kelly was still freaked out that she wasn’t able to leave here. Even if she escaped, she didn’t have any money to get anywhere. Even if she had money and could find where Gray was keeping her passport, and she made it back to the Guadalajara airport, she wouldn’t be able to get a plane ticket without a parent.
Kelly sighed. What good would going home be, anyway? Her parents didn’t know her. She’d never be able to convince her friends that she was a dec
ent person after what she’d done. Things were bleak. Was there any way to get her old life back? It didn’t seem like there was.
She watched a few birds squawking at each other near a marina at the lake’s edge. To the right, some ducks waddled around in a deserted park. A police officer strolled a couple blocks away. What would happen if she asked for help? If she told him everything? Would she go to jail for stabbing that customs officer? A wave of fear made her knees weak. She turned and swiftly walked back to the house.
As she sneaked up the walkway to the side door, a tiny ladybug flew across the road toward her. It landed on her hat, unnoticed, and crawled into a fold to hide.
Inside, Dr. Gray was calling everyone to come to the lab and witness Mega’s transformation. Kelly sidled up to Miko and glanced at her uneasily. The two were still friendly, but Miko seemed to have distanced herself even more from Kelly the last few days, since Dr. Gray had praised her. It made her feel bad, but Kelly didn’t know how to fix it, other than to try to explain to Miko that she didn’t like what Gray was doing. The woman didn’t seem to believe her, though she usually blamed the situation on Prowl. Miko didn’t want him to see her talking to Kelly because if he did, he might stop disclosing things he’d been learning by watching Dr. Gray all day.
The distance was easy enough for Kelly to get used to, even if it hurt. That was the story of her life.
Mega sat in front of the mist machine with her helmet off. Dr. Gray poured formula into the chamber and turned it on. Mist welled up and swirled around on the inside of the glass. Mega placed her chin on the bar and fastened the oxygen mask to her face, then began to take in deep breaths. They all waited to see Mega’s shark features appear.
“When the chamber is empty,” Dr. Gray told her, “and you feel tingling in your body, you can take that off.”
The rhino woman snorted and kept breathing until the mist was gone.
After a moment she sat back. “My face is prickly,” she announced. And then her body began to transform. Her nose and her mouth spread out and grew, flattening her nostrils, though the rhino horn still stood out. A single row of sharp-looking teeth populated her mouth. Gills appeared on her neck and began to waver. A fin pushed out.
“Wow,” said Prowl, impressed. “That’s frightening.”
The others agreed. Mega smiled with her new huge mouth. But after a moment her smile faded. She began to make more snorting noises. She grasped her mouth and nose, feeling all around, and then gasped, “I can’t breathe!”
She pushed back from the table and stumbled over to Braun. “Help me!” she rasped. “Do something!”
Dr. Gray followed her, trying to figure out what was wrong.
“Why can’t she breathe?” asked Miko, alarmed.
The scientist seemed completely befuddled and unsure what to do. He looked her over frantically, helplessly. He had no answers.
Kelly was confused. Her dolphin ability hadn’t given her this problem—she could switch it on and be just fine. Then she noticed Mega’s gills flapping. She pushed past Cyke. “Water!” she cried. “Mega needs to be in water!”
“Quick!” said Miko, springing into action. “Let’s get her to the bathroom!”
Mega staggered. Braun and Cyke picked her up by the arms and dragged her into the bathroom. Dr. Gray rushed in after them, with Miko right behind. Immediately Mega went for the toilet and stuck her head into the bowl.
“The toilet water isn’t deep enough!” said Miko, hopping over to the bathtub and flipping the handles. “Prowl, find a bucket!” she called, plugging the drain. “Fill it up from the kitchen and pour it over Mega. Cyke, get her in here!”
Prowl ran for a bucket. Cyke and Braun picked up Mega and dumped her into the bathtub. She flopped and splashed as the water inched up, her protruding new shark jaw stopping her from flattening her face to the tub floor. The water wasn’t high enough to cover her gills.
“Splash her neck!” yelled Kelly from outside the cramped room, standing on her tiptoes to see what was happening. On her hat, the ladybug emerged from the fold.
Cyke slipped outside the room and joined Kelly, trying to stay out of the way. Prowl came back with a bucket of water. He poured it on Mega, then went to the sink to fill it up again.
After a few agonizing minutes, the water was finally deep enough for Mega’s head and neck to be submerged. The gills moved like a real shark’s. Mega stopped flailing and floated more calmly as the water continued to pour over her head. She turned once and gave Braun a pitiful glance.
Braun tried to reassure her. “We’ll figure this out,” he said. “Won’t we, Dr. Gray?”
Dr. Gray stared at Mega in dazed silence and didn’t respond to Braun. It was as if he hadn’t heard his question. And now that the immediate danger had passed for Mega, everybody began to throw looks around the room. What had gone wrong? What were they going to do? Would Mega be forced to live in the bathtub—forever?
“I don’t know what happened,” murmured Dr. Gray. His eyes focused. “She wasn’t supposed to get the gills… . I—I don’t know how to fix this right now. And I need to finish the others and continue working on my ultimate formula. We’re so close. Incredibly close. I’m finalizing my plans as we speak.”
Miko and Prowl looked at Dr. Gray like he’d lost his mind—indeed, they already believed he had. “So,” said Prowl, “you’re going to just leave her in the bathtub indefinitely?”
“What about when we have to … you know … go?” said Braun, indicating the toilet.
“We could draw the shower curtain closed,” suggested Cyke.
“Guys!” said Miko with disgust. “Please! There are more important things to worry about than that. Sheesh. You’re a bunch of animals.”
Kelly spoke up. “What about the lake? It … it isn’t far,” she said. “I, uh, saw it out the car window when Dr. Gray and I went to the zoo the other day.” The others turned toward her, listening. Kelly continued. “Remember, the bull sharks can live in both salt water and freshwater. Maybe Mega would be more comfortable there. At least until Dr. Gray can figure out how to fix her.”
“I can hear you, you know,” said Mega, sounding garbled and slightly put out. Bubbles floated to the surface of the tub. She didn’t seem excited about the prospect, but there weren’t any other ideas on the table. “I guess that’s better than nothing.”
“How are we going to get her there?” asked Prowl. “Her head and neck are too big to fit inside any bucket I’ve seen around here.”
Kelly’s brow furrowed. How did other people transport fish? She’d won a goldfish before, when she was in third grade—it had come in a plastic bag full of water. “How about a giant trash bag?” she said. “She could climb in and …”
“She’s too big to fit inside a trash bag,” said Braun, “especially if you expect to fill it up with water high enough to cover her gills.”
“We could fill a bag with water and put her head in so she’s upside down,” said Miko, “then tie it around her torso. And carry her that way.”
“That won’t look suspicious,” muttered Prowl. “Besides, the rest of us can’t be seen or we’ll be discovered.”
“We can do it after dark,” said Miko. “And we’ve got the van now. We’ll do what Kelly suggested—sneak her into the back of the van, drive to the lake, then back up to the edge of the water and shove her out.”
Mega didn’t have much of a choice. It was either live in the bathtub or in the lake. At least in the lake she could move around. And she wouldn’t have to be present when Braun had to go to the bathroom.
It was settled. That night, almost the whole team set out to release Mega. Only Dr. Gray stayed behind, working frantically on his next animal formula and checking the other concoctions he had going simultaneously. He still liked the idea of including features from the shark for his ultimate chimera, but he’d have to figure out how to fix the gill problem. Fixing Mega? Well, that was at the bottom of his list. He was getting close to choosing t
he final list. With the DNA he’d stored from all of his soldiers’ previous transformations, and all the new samples from their missions, he had quite a library of options. Just a few more animals to test. And now that he had the machine working so beautifully, things would be going much faster.
CHAPTER 32
Time to Make a Move
Dr. Sharma pulled her ringing phone from her pocket. “It’s Erica,” she announced to the other scientists and the kids before swiping to answer. “What’s the status?” she said in greeting, and put the woman on speakerphone so all could hear.
“Ladybug just got an eyeful of something strange going down,” said Ms. Sabbith. “If only she had a microphone, I’d have gotten quite a scoop. Unfortunately I don’t have the miked insects in place yet.”
“What did you see?” asked Dr. Sharma.
“Someone in the bathtub, for one thing. And everyone else standing around, water splashing all over the place.”
“This is reminding me of when you destroyed the school bathroom,” Maria whispered to Charlie.
Charlie frowned and poked her with her elbow.
“Part of the bathroom,” Mac whispered, because somebody had to say it. Charlie caught his eye and they bumped fists.
Ms. Sabbith continued. “By process of elimination, the one in the tub was either Mega or Morph. I couldn’t get a good view, though, because I didn’t want to move the ladybug too much and risk being seen. Then later I saw one of them with a plastic trash bag over her head all bent over weirdly, and some of the others carrying her upside down like that. I’m dying to know what went wrong. A bunch of them left the house after dark. I had the ladybug stay behind, because I didn’t see Dr. Gray going along with the others. I brought her into the lab, so she’s in a good spot watching Dr. Gray. He’s all alone and he’s surrounded by beakers full of formulas. Some have labels dating back almost ten years.”
“Wow,” said Dr. Sharma. “I’m not sure what to think. It does sound like something went wrong, though. And those old formulas might be ones he used on his soldiers.”