by Lisa McMann
When the man smashed his clawed foot into the side of her head, everything went black.
Charlie lay on the floor, unable to move. Her head throbbed. Poison took over her body. In her altered state, Charlie pondered over Dr. Gray and his new abilities, still not sure what they all were. She tried to remember the one-liners and random facts that Ms. Sabbith had given them over the past few weeks about the animals they’d been seeking.
Dr. Gray was just too powerful. Too strong for them—for anyone. She realized with a sinking heart that they could fight him forever, but he’d always be able to come back. There was no way to beat him.
This battle, she realized, was useless. And it was only making Charlie and her friends weaker and more vulnerable. He was wearing them down. And they were falling into the trap.
It was in this haze between life and death, in this paralyzed, dreamlike state caused by the poison, that Charlie remembered something Dr. Jakande had said. An idea began to form.
Meanwhile, Maria, Mac, and Kelly grew weaker. They couldn’t keep up against Cyke and Dr. Gray. As if in a bubble, Charlie could hear a breathless Dr. Jakande using her communications device to summon help from the other scientists. All the while, Charlie’s starfish ability began to push the poison out of her body. And after a few minutes, Charlie could think a bit more clearly again. But she held on to her idea, hoping it was just crazy enough to work.
CHAPTER 45
Explosion
Charlie opened her eyes and blinked. The noise from the fighting grew clearer. Her vision was back to normal. Her breath hitched as she realized the world hadn’t stopped with her. In fact, Dr. Gray was growing stronger as he learned how to use his chimera abilities.
Charlie realized how backward the man’s thinking was. He talked about saving humanity, but his only purpose here, in the top of this giant statue, was to destroy Charlie and her friends. He was a monster, way more than any of them. Even more than Mega had become. And he was unstoppable. Unless …
Charlie sat up and almost blacked out again. She steadied herself and looked around, seeing Maria swinging from a chandelier with her feet outstretched and speeding toward Cyke’s chest. And Mac, slamming his extended blades into Dr. Gray and clawing at him with his sharp pangolin claws. The man was injured and bleeding, but he was going strong. With a start, Charlie realized her dad had arrived and was in the fight now too, trying to use his strength to keep Dr. Gray from going after Dr. Jakande, who was still hurt and moving slowly.
Dr. Gray loomed over Dr. Wilde. He jabbed at him, then snatched him up and tried tossing him down the stairwell. But Dr. Wilde grabbed onto Dr. Gray’s hair, yanking out handfuls of it. Dr. Gray cried out.
Charlie couldn’t sit by. Her team needed her. She staggered to her feet as Maria let out a scream of pain. Her foot had been pierced by Cyke’s fangs. She dropped from the chandelier and crumpled to the ground.
“Dad! Maria needs help!” Charlie cried out. “Hurry—she’s been poisoned by Cyke!”
Charlie tried to think. Fighting Dr. Gray was a lost cause unless there was a way to destroy him. But she also had to keep him from destroying her friends. She stopped short of attacking when she noticed her mom sneaking up the stairs. Charlie turned sharply and went to her, crouching down.
“What can I do?” Mrs. Wilde whispered. “How can I help?”
“Sneak out to the balcony. Turn off the machine,” Charlie said, pointing to the door. “Use your mask! And … there’s a syringe on the floor somewhere near there. You’re going to need it.” She whispered some more instructions to her mother, who nodded.
Dr. Gray looked furiously at Charlie. “Don’t you dare turn off my machine!” he bellowed at Mrs. Wilde. He shoved Kelly into Mac’s sharp scales, then ran at Charlie’s mom and slammed his foot into her throat, knocking her down a few steps.
“Mom!” cried Charlie. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine!” Mrs. Wilde said, sounding not very fine. Charlie barreled into Dr. Gray, but he was like an iron statue and went nowhere. He shoved her to the ground easily.
Charlie rebounded. She took a couple breaths, then wound up and slugged the man in the eye as hard as she could. He teetered and went down. For the moment, at least. She turned to find Cyke. Who could help her take him down? They couldn’t get Gray until Cyke was out.
Maria was down with a Komodo dragon poison bite. Dr. Jakande still hadn’t recovered from being thrown into the wall. Charlie’s dad was helping Maria expel poison, so he didn’t have a device to use. Mac was rolled up into a pangolin ball while Cyke tried to pry him open. Determined to end the battle, Charlie spied Kelly and sidled up to her. “Listen. We have to take out Cyke for good, or there’s no winning this. My strength, your poison. Let’s do it.”
Kelly, bruised and limping, wiped blood off her face and nodded. “I’m ready. You lead.”
Charlie sneaked around Cyke’s back as he continued digging at Mac. Kelly followed her. Then, together, the two girls ran at him. Charlie leaped and grabbed him around the neck in a chokehold. She pulled him backward and slammed him on the ground. “Now!”
Kelly swiveled and aimed her heel at him, but Cyke blocked her leg just in time.
But he wasn’t prepared for Kelly’s other heel. She anticipated his block, and as she jumped up again, she switched legs in midair like some wild soccer goddess, and scored with her other heel, sinking it deep into his side. His fist connected with her stomach.
Kelly grunted and flopped to the ground. Cyke let out a scream. And Dr. Gray came thundering over.
Dr. Wilde looked up in alarm. He ran to get between Dr. Gray and the girls to keep the ogre from helping Cyke. Without a device, though, there wasn’t much Mr. Wilde could do. “Nubia! Mac! Help me keep him away from Cyke!”
Mac peeked out of his rolled-up form, then scooted away and got up.
“One more, Kelly!” Charlie shouted. She struggled as Cyke flopped on top of her, pinning her under him. Kelly moaned and rolled to her side. Then, with supreme effort, she finished the soldier off with another poison kick to the backside.
Dr. Gray’s largest soldier flattened, his body writhing until the poison halted all movement. Only his screams remained. Mac and the two doctors kept Dr. Gray at bay.
Charlie lifted the meaty soldier off herself and pushed him aside with a grunt. She staggered to her feet. “Kelly, are you okay?” The girl was still clutching her stomach.
“I just … need to … catch my breath,” said Kelly.
Now the team, minus Maria, faced the lone scientist, who appeared to grow even larger and more monstrous before their eyes. Everyone was injured and exhausted. Only Dr. Gray seemed energized.
Charlie signaled to the others to hold back for a moment and catch their breath before rushing at the man as a team. She caught a glimpse of her mother, who’d stealthily slipped past the various fights, and had finally made it to the balcony. She unplugged the machine and the vaporizer fan blades stopped. Then Mrs. Wilde pulled the cylinder of formula out and crouched down next to it, using her body as a shield to hide what she was doing. She glanced over her shoulder occasionally as she worked, fear in her eyes.
A moment later Mrs. Wilde slipped something into her pocket and put the cylinder back. Then she waited by the door, peering in, and watched for the right moment to come inside. Had she at least minimized the effect of the formula on the people below? Or was it already too late?
Inside, Charlie, Mac, Kelly, and Dr. Jakande struggled to corner Dr. Gray. Finally out of danger, Mr. Wilde pulled out two reversal devices and ran over to Cyke. He slapped one on Cyke’s wrist, then moved on to Fang and did the same. The two soldiers morphed back into full human form, removing all indicators of their hybrid animals.
Dr. Gray looked over the heads of his challengers and stared in shock. He wrenched away from them. “What? Charles! Stop ruining my soldiers!”
Mac, Kelly, and Dr. Jakande struggled to contain him. Charlie pushed him back against the stair railin
g. “Hold him down!” she cried. She looked over at her father, waiting expectantly for him to come with a reversal bracelet.
“You get this one, Charlie,” said Mr. Wilde. He tossed the remaining reversal bracelet to her.
Charlie caught it. “Keep him still!” She opened the bracelet’s clasp and lunged for the man’s wrist. But Dr. Gray’s strength overpowered the others. Before she could snap the device around his wrist, he wrenched loose and slapped it away. It flew through the air, over the stair railing, clinking and clanking until they couldn’t hear it anymore. Then Dr. Gray plowed through them and went to see what had happened to his soldiers.
“Are there any more?” asked Mac.
“They’re downstairs with Dr. Sharma,” said Mr. Wilde.
“I’ll go after it,” Kelly said, panting.
Charlie leaned over the railing but it was out of sight. “No, Kelly. Don’t waste your energy. He’ll just fight us off again.” Charlie turned away and said softly, “But there’s one more thing we can try.”
From where the soldiers lay, Dr. Gray muttered incoherently, furious about the state of his soldiers. He turned sharply toward Kelly and Dr. Jakande. “You’ve set me back. But you’ll never beat me.”
“You’re probably right,” said Charlie before the others could answer. She walked toward him. “You’re invincible. Stronger than all of us put together. Right?”
Dr. Gray narrowed his eyes at Charlie and took a step toward her. “Perhaps.”
The others glanced uneasily at one another but stayed put, waiting for Charlie to direct them.
“We should probably just give up right now if you’ve got that,” Charlie said. “There’s no way we can ever beat you.”
Mac and Kelly exchanged a look. They could tell Charlie was bluffing. But why? What was she going to do? Was she just buying time to get stronger? Or was something else going on?
“That’s the smartest thing that’s ever come out of your mouth,” snarled Dr. Gray.
Charlie snorted. He didn’t know her. He was just trying to make her feel weak. She stayed where she was, and for the moment they were at a standoff. Charlie glanced at Maria. Was she conscious yet? They needed her. But more importantly in this moment, Charlie needed the Mark Five.
Charlie continued asking Gray questions, and he, being vain, continued to answer them. Soon Maria was sitting up. When she saw everyone standing together, she staggered over to be with them.
“I guess we’re at least going to try one last time to take you down, though,” Charlie finally said to the scientist. “So, maybe you could humor us.”
“What? That’s ridiculous. Why should I?”
“Get him!” cried Charlie. Everyone charged at him, weak though they were. But Dr. Gray wasn’t weak at all. He swung his fists, knocking Charlie and her friends left and right. They couldn’t get a good shot at him.
It seemed like Charlie’s plans were quickly falling by the wayside. Their team had lost too much strength. And Dr. Gray was more than they could handle.
Suddenly the door to the observation deck opened.
“Not yet, Mom!” yelled Charlie, without looking. She and her team were falling. Failing. And she didn’t want her mom to get clobbered too.
But Mrs. Wilde opened the doors wide. The room filled with a tremendous wind, and the sound of … flapping wings. Charlie whirled around and looked up to see Miko soaring in. Below her, along for the ride, was Prowl.
Miko circled in the ballroom and dropped Prowl onto the evil scientist, knocking him back. Prowl sank his claws into the man’s chest and sent an electric shock through him.
“Aaah!” cried Dr. Gray. “Miko! Prowl! What are you doing? Help me!”
“Help yourself!” yelled Miko. “We heard what you said about us. Maybe it’s time to terminate YOU.”
Dr. Gray stared, shaking and not comprehending.
Charlie saw her chance. “Kelly,” she whispered, and nodded at the man. It was time for Charlie and Kelly to team up once more.
They glanced at each other with a new understanding, and attacked together. Charlie held him down and Kelly slammed her poisonous spikes into him. He writhed and moaned, but couldn’t get up. Prowl added another electric shock for good measure.
“Mom! Now!” cried Charlie.
Mrs. Wilde came running over. She held a syringe in her hand, filled with the formula Dr. Gray had created for the masses. She sank the needle into Dr. Gray’s shoulder and depressed the plunger.
“What on earth, Diana?” asked Dr. Jakande, alarmed. “Why are you making him stronger?”
“She’s not!” said Charlie. “She’s trying to make him unstable!” Charlie knelt down. “Remember what you said that one time? Too much DNA could cause big problems. And I knew we needed a backup plan.” She watched Dr. Gray carefully. He didn’t seem to be any more unstable than before. “Hmm,” she said, growing worried. “Maybe it’s because it’s made up of the same DNA he already has. Maria, where’s the Mark Two?”
Mr. Wilde dug it out of his pocket and handed it over. “Smart, Charlie,” he said. “Very smart. I think you’re onto something.”
“If not, we’re in big trouble.” Charlie stuck Maria’s device on the man’s wrist and activated it.
“We can call Dr. Sharma to bring up a reversal bracelet,” said Mac.
“I don’t know if we’ll be able to hold him that long,” muttered Charlie as Dr. Gray continued to struggle free. “Let’s hope this works. Take your device off and stick it on him, Mac. Dr. Jakande, yours too!”
They both hurried to do so, immediately transforming to their normal bodies. Dr. Gray began to squirm harder. His face reddened.
“Something’s happening,” said Maria. “Charlie, here! Add this one!” She shoved the Mark Five at Charlie, who slapped it onto the scientist’s other arm, hoping the healing power wouldn’t work against them in this case.
“What about yours?” suggested Mac.
“It won’t work,” said Charlie, distressed. “It’s tied to my DNA.”
“Use mine!” cried Kelly. She removed her device and gave it to Charlie.
“Awesome,” Charlie muttered. She closed the device around Dr. Gray’s wrist and Kelly activated it. “Come on. Please.”
Dr. Gray began groaning and shaking. His body shape started to change, turning to something like a big blobfish, but soon he took on the features of the animals from the other devices. He morphed from alligator to panther to monkey, all the while turning strange colors. Fur, claws, and tails sprouted on him, then receded.
Miko and Prowl crouched nearby, watching, unable to believe their eyes as Dr. Gray began to swell and turn red.
Suddenly Mr. Wilde shot to his feet. “Get back!” he said, waving everyone to move out of the way. “Take cover! Something’s happening.” He looked around the building frantically, then pointed to a wide, solid marble archway. “Stand under there and shield your heads!”
“What?” cried Charlie. “Why?” But she and the others didn’t wait for an answer. They dived down the hallway under the giant arch.
“Here it comes!” shouted Mr. Wilde, joining them.
Miko spread her wings to protect them. The floor shook. Dr. Wilde’s eyes widened. “I think he’s going to—”
Before he could finish his sentence, a huge explosion rocked the statue. Silt and hunks of plaster and rock rained down on them.
Terrified, Charlie glanced up just as the archway began to crumble around the edges. The ceiling cracked and the posts splintered, and the wide marble arch came crashing down. Instinctively Charlie jumped up, arms outstretched, and caught it before it could crush them all.
When the noise and crumbling stopped, Charlie gently moved the arch out of their way. The team began to pick through the rubble. They could see the sky in places where the roof had caved in.
“Where’s Gray?” asked Dr. Jakande anxiously, looking around the area where they’d last seen him. “He didn’t escape, did he?”
“A
h, nope,” said Prowl, sniffing everything. “He’s … everywhere. Blown into a zillion pieces. Eww.”
“We need to get out of here before the whole statue crumbles,” said Mrs. Wilde. “Everybody take the stairs! Now!”
“I can fly a few people down,” offered Miko. She looked at Maria and Mac. “How about it?”
The two eyed Miko warily. “Aren’t you the bad guys?” asked Maria.
“We didn’t mean to be,” said Miko with a shrug.
Maria was skeptical, even though they’d helped save the day. She turned to Kelly. “Are these two all right?”
Kelly caught Miko’s eye and smiled. “Yeah,” she said, sounding awfully pleased to be trusted. “They’re all right.”
“We’ll see you down there,” said Charlie. She turned to Kelly. “Come on, I’ll race you down.” She took off running.
“Hey!” cried Kelly, about to say how unfair it was since Charlie still had her device. But Kelly could never turn down a challenge, especially one from a friend. She charged after her. And for a moment, in the midst of rubble and ruin, life felt normal again.
CHAPTER 46
The State of Things
Charlie and her team gathered a short distance from the base of the statue. Surrounding the area were US government officials and Mexican police, all trying to figure out what was going on. Ms. Sabbith and Dr. Goldstein were there, too.
Kelly stood uneasily to one side, eyeing the police. She had mixed feelings about being so close to them after what she’d done. Would she end up in jail when all of this was sorted out? At least they were busy with other things for the moment.
Beyond them, tourists and locals alike who had become chimeras wandered around confused. Some of them were freaking out at their newly changed appearance, others trying to listen to the authorities to understand what had happened to them.
Charlie’s jaw dropped when she saw them. There were hundreds of people affected by the mist—with claws and fur and scales, they all looked like a tamer version of Dr. Gray. Clearly their job wasn’t over yet. She left Maria, Mac, and Kelly, and went up to her father. “How many of those reversal devices do you have left?” Charlie whispered. “Did you get the ones back that you put on the soldiers upstairs before the place blew up?”