by Jamie Zakian
“I can have the sub-basement prepped and all your equipment delivered by night’s end.” Simon loosened his tight shoulders and delivered one of his lady-killer smiles to Evie. “Plus, I have some pretty swanky corporate suites. Plush carpet, whirlpool tubs, balconies overlooking the city.”
“I can’t be bought, Simon.” Evie leaned against the railing of the raised platform. “But, I can be reasoned with. I want this to work, for you all to be happy. We’ll move everything across town. I’ll alert the rest of the agents.”
Shay headed for the long hallway that led to the lab. “I’m gonna take inventory of the equipment before they haul it away.”
Everyone whipped out their cell phones, and Max snuck down the hallway. He crept up behind Shay, who was hunched over a steel table in the lab, and poked her shoulder.
Shay yelped, spun to face Max, and then whacked him on the chest.
“Thank you,” he said, backing out of the lab.
“For hitting you?”
“For having our backs.” Max walked into the hallway. He peeked over his shoulder, catching a glimpse of Shay’s smile before the wall blocked his view.
As Shay stared up at the largest building in Gemini City, a heavy layer of dread settled over her. Ling Enterprises had thousands of glinting windows, which reached into the clouds and spanned an entire city block, but that wasn’t what sent sharp vibes to attack her body. There was something under the ground.
A wickedness dwelled somewhere beneath Shay’s feet, beneath the pavement. The energy it emitted was strong enough to create an invisible barrier, one that choked her with each step she took toward the wide glass doors of Ling Enterprises.
“What’s wrong?” Evie asked. She placed her hand on Shay’s shoulder, which slowed the shivers in Shay’s bones. “You’re pale.”
Evie slid her palm along Shay’s forehead, initiating her smother-mother mode. Shay pushed Evie’s hand away, just in time to spoil a paparazzi from getting an ultra-embarrassing shot.
“I’m fine. Got a little dizzy for a second.”
“Let’s get inside.” Evie took Shay by the arm and led her toward the building’s main entrance. “We’ll find our suite. You’re probably just hungry. It’s six o’clock and we haven’t eaten since breakfast.”
Once inside, the feeling of doom wore off. Ling Enterprises could be any old office building. Any old marble floored, vaulted ceiling, priceless statues in the lobby, office building.
“Think they have room service here?” Shay asked as they walked past an elegant hand-carved stone fountain and toward the elevator.
“It’s not a hotel, but we can get delivery. How about Italian?”
When they got to the seventy-sixth floor, the elevator opened to an alcove of floor-length windows.
“Wow.” Shay leaned against the window to gawk at the endless sparkle of city lights. “I bet it’s even cooler on the hundred-thirteenth floor.”
“I don’t think we’ll get to see the view from the top. I heard that’s Simon and Alexie’s penthouse.”
“There’s no way those two are in love with each other,” Shay said, walking down the hall.
“What?” Evie pulled a keycard from her pocket and stopped at the last door in the hallway.
“They don’t have that … look when they’re near each other. It’s not at all like the magazines make it seem.”
“It’s really none of our business.” Evie opened the suite’s door and the most succulent aroma wafted into the hallway.
“What’s that?” Shay followed the wonderful smell to a cart in the foyer of their suite, which put their overpriced condo to shame.
“It smells like,” Evie lifted a silver lid, smiling at a seasoned hunk of meat, “roast beef.”
Shay lifted a smaller lid and the scent of garlic trailed a puff of steam. “And mashed potatoes.”
“That’s … so nice. I’m surprised.”
“They’re superheroes,” Shay said with a mouthful of buttermilk biscuit. “They wanna help people.”
“I want to help people too.” Evie carved into the roast, setting out two slices per china plate. “People like Mom and Dad, who could’ve lived if someone like me were around.”
“I know.” Shay loaded up her plate with sides and headed for the huge television in the spacious living room. “Now grab your silver fork and enjoy your gourmet meal.”
Evie fell asleep on the leather couch, sitting up, halfway through Runway Wars. Now she’ll never get to see the tawdry dress that got her favorite contestant voted off.
Gently, Shay guided Evie onto her side and covered her with a satin throw. How her sister could sleep remained a mystery to Shay. Her brain was wired, and a newly designed sonic blaster waited to be tested. Somewhere in this monstrosity of a building, a lab sat with all her fancy new toys.
Shay grabbed the suite’s keycard and slipped out the front door. After hitting the elevator button twenty times, she took a step back. Finally, the door slid open and there stood Max, with his cheesy grin.
“Dude,” Shay said, narrowing her stare on Max. “Now it’s getting stalkerish.”
“I was just headed to the lobby. I swear.”
“All right.” Shay walked inside the elevator, but kept far from Max.
“What floor?”
“Umm.” So many numbers lit the keypad, including several levels of basement. “Do you know where my lab is?”
“Yeah.” Max pressed B3 and the door closed. “Whatcha working on?”
“I adapted the sonic field generator into a sonic burst shooter, even fashioned it to look like a pistol.”
“You already made it?”
“Yeah. There are thousands of videos on the internet, from all over the world, of the equipment in that lab. I know how to dismantle each machine, what every part could possibly be used for.”
“That’s … impressive.”
“I can’t take all the credit. My new assistant is a genius, literally. We had the sonic gun welded together in an hour, even tested it on the brick slabs at the other lab before Simon’s movers hauled everything away. It’s safe on structures. Now, I need a live test subject. I have no clue what it’ll do to a person, let alone a super-person.”
“You can test it on me.”
“No way.”
The door opened to the lobby and Max hit the button to close it before anyone could step on. A soft sway rocked the elevator as it continued its downward decent into the basement.
“I’m not afraid,” he said, staring into Shay’s eyes.
“I am. It could kill you.”
Max stepped closer to Shay and every muscle in her body locked stiff. She was getting used to that magnetic jolt, which hovered around him like a cloud, starting to like it in fact. The elevator lurched to a stop and Shay inched away from Max.
“I’ll just have to wait and hope a bad guy shows up.”
A devious gleam lit Max’s eyes, and he blocked the doorway as it opened to a dark concrete hall. “Will your sonic thing go through holes in thick glass?”
“It should. The sound waves will follow any open path, expanding to the space around them. Why?”
“I have the perfect test subject. Come on.” Max took Shay by the hand, pulling her from the elevator. “Let’s go get your weapon.”
Shay gripped a small metal case as she followed Max in what could’ve been circles. All the hallways they walked down looked the same—narrow, dark, and twisty. The only difference was the air. A thickness hung in the air, growing thicker with every turn. At the pace Max walked, she’d never find the route back. After two more elevator rides, one of which was hidden in a wall, they ended up ten stories underground.
Lights flickered on overhead as they walked, casting a yellow glow on the concrete walls. A sense of dread hit Shay, nearly pushing her backward, but she forced her shaky legs to keep moving. They neared a bend and Max stopped short.
“You can�
�t tell anyone about this,” he said in a hush.
“About what? I don’t even know what’s happening. It feels weird down here.”
“Don’t freak out.” Max led Shay down the passage. A light blinked on at the end of the corridor, shining down on a tall man trapped behind a solid, clear wall.
“Who’s that?” Shay asked, leaning close to Max.
“Lucius Grant, Antiserum.”
Shay yanked her hand from Max’s grasp. “He’s here! That bastard killed my parents—almost killed me.”
“I know, and now you get to shoot him with your sonic ray-gun thingy. Isn’t karma awesome?”
“Max. I …”
“Don’t be afraid. The cell was specially designed to contain him, and the glass is some kinda ultra-strong plastic. It’s unbreakable. He can’t hurt you, unless you listen to the crap dribbling out his mouth. So don’t.”
“But—”
Max latched onto Shay’s arm and pulled her down the narrow hallway. If it weren’t for him practically dragging her, she never could’ve made the short trek to the end of the corridor. Invisible waves shoved her back. Walking toward Antiserum was like walking through a wall of quicksand.
“What’s this?” a deep voice rumbled through a crackling speaker. “You brought me a gift to apologize for your cowardice?”
“Yeah,” Max said through a smile. “I do have a gift for you.”
Max nudged Shay’s arm but she just gawked at Antiserum. Even though the man had been trapped in a small concrete cell, behind a sheet of unbreakable glass, his dark eyes penetrated every fiber of her being.
“Get the thing,” Max whispered.
Shay’s grip on the case in her hand tightened. She’d like to arm herself with a weapon, perhaps twenty, but she couldn’t move. Her gaze had become locked on Antiserum. His haunting stare, and the slight smirk on his thin lips made her muscles tremble. He couldn’t touch her. A solid barrier stood between them, yet he had a hold on her mind.
Max nudged Shay’s arm again, harder, which broke the clutch Antiserum had over her and allowed her to take a breath.
“I’m impressed, Max,” Antiserum said, without parting his gaze from Shay. “Why did you bring her here, gloating?”
“You probably don’t remember, since you’ve done so many despicable things, but you killed her parents.”
“And?” Antiserum stepped close to the glass. His wide, tall body crowded Shay. It didn’t matter that they stood feet apart. The fact she could turn around and walk away didn’t make a bit of difference. The way he stared at her, the mixture of confidence and malice in his eyes would follow her for all time.
“That’s not enough?” Max yelled. “Destroying an entire family doesn’t faze you?”
A cruel laugh flowed from Antiserum’s mouth. It streamed from the speakers, blasted into Shay’s ears, and traveled through her body to break her courage. She tried to unlatch her case, but her fingers quaked and she missed the latch a few times before finally clicking it open.
“No.” Antiserum smirked. “It’s perfect. Kismet.”
Shay wrapped her hand around the cool steel of her sonic gun. It was heavier than she remembered, clunky and awkward, definitely in need of a reconfiguration.
“Okay,” Shay said, pointing the gun at Antiserum. “Let’s do this.”
“Are you forcing this little girl to shoot me, Max?”
“No,” Shay said with a sneer. “It’s gonna be my pleasure, douchebag.”
Shay pressed the barrel of her gun to a circle of little holes in the glass. She waited for doubt to strike her, for apprehension to weaken her grasp on the gun, but it didn’t happen. She wanted to shoot Antiserum. The tiny piece of her that held cruelty had been awakened, and it needed the man to hurt.
Antiserum narrowed his stare on Shay, as if daring her, and she pulled the trigger.
A sonic wave burst from the barrel of her gun. The clear wave rippled the air as it sped toward Antiserum, moving faster than the villain who backed away from it.
The energy wave hit Antiserum in the chest and flung his body against the wall. Long cracks splintered the concrete he’d slammed against. His grunt streamed from the speakers and echoed through the hallway behind Shay as he dropped face down on the floor.
“Nice,” Max said. “What’s the range on that thing?”
“Is he alive?”
“I’m sure he’s fine.”
“Are you guys immortal?”
“No. We can die. It’ll just take a lot more than that.”
Antiserum rolled to his knees, coughing up a wad of blood. His stare beamed pure rage, and he directed it at Shay.
The ground trembled. Shay took a step back from the cell but that was as far as her freaked-out body would go. A loud hum blared in the hallway, growing louder by the second. The sound rattled Shay’s insides, wrenched her already twisty stomach.
When Antiserum rose to his feet, the gun slipped from Shay’s hand. She hurried to Max’s side as the floor’s tremble amped up to a full-blown quake.
“What’s happening?” she yelled over the growl filling her ears.
“I was gonna ask you that,” Max said, pulling Shay close.
She looked at Antiserum. He nodded at her and winked, as though they shared some type of secret. The cracks on the wall behind him grew wider. Chunks of stone rained down to the floor and Antiserum doubled over, gripping his stomach.
A rolling tremor ran through the building, dropping Shay to her knees. She looked up from the floor and Antiserum flew backward through the air. His back slammed flat against the wall. The stone behind him crumbled and a bright flash clouded the world in white.
The rumbling stopped, leaving a silence louder than the violent roar. Shay rubbed her eyes, tried to blink away the glare that hazed her vision.
“He’s gone,” Max muttered.
Shay gripped onto the wall and pulled herself off the ground. A thump drew her gaze to Antiserum’s cell. On the other side of the unblemished glass, hunks of concrete fell from a giant circular hole in the wall.
“I thought you said that gun was structure safe,” Max said, in more of a gasp than an accusation.
“It is. My weapon couldn’t do something like this.” Shay pointed at the perfectly carved hole that now ran through Ling Enterprises and curved upward toward the street. “There’s no way we can keep this a secret.”
“Cyrus. It had to be him.”
“Who?”
“Dr. Mayhem,” Max said, heading back down the long corridor they came from.
Shay still couldn’t get over how pleased Antiserum looked to see her, like he’d found something he’d lost long ago.
“She’s been … recycled.” Shay had been speaking to herself, but Max stopped short in the dim hallway.
“What did you just say?”
Shay took off running down the corridor. She wouldn’t say it out loud, wouldn’t even think the thought pressing against her mind until it had been confirmed. When the passage split two ways, she slid to a stop. Damn her big brain, it had the worst sense of direction. She doubled back, spotting Max in a jog.
“Can you take me to my lab? Please.”
Lucius slammed his fists against a rusty metal table, spilling Cyrus’s soda.
“Yo, man,” Cyrus shouted. “You splashed on my controller.”
“How can you just sit there playing video games? Go load up the weapons so we can finish off Ling Enterprises.”
“I just busted you out. This is how we regroup—Call of Duty, gummy bears, and soda.” Cyrus pointed a stiff finger at Lucius then went back to pressing buttons on his controller.
Rage fell over Lucius like a blanket, except it wasn’t comforting. The fury brewing within him throbbed at his temples and threatened to blow his last fuse.
He stomped across the room and drove his fist into the large screen on the wall. Broken glass tumbled around his hand, slicing his skin. T
he now fuzzy television blinked off. He pulled his fist back from the shattered display, watching little shards of glass pop out of his flesh as it healed.
“There,” he said, glancing at Cyrus. “I won the game. Regroup over, let’s go.”
“What’s the hurry?” Cyrus tossed his controller onto the dusty, cracked floor. “We got other things going on.”
“They have something of mine and I want it back.”
The muscles in Shay’s back screamed, but she couldn’t move from her hunched position over the long steel workbench in her lab. Not until she finished splicing together the last of the wires she’d stripped. With half the parts from the X-ray generator and most of the electron microscope ruined, this harebrained scheme of hers better work. Those were her two favorite, most useful machines.
“There you are,” Evie said, walking into the lab.
The semi-snippy tone of Evie’s voice slowed Shay’s hands, just a tad.
“I’ve been looking everywhere for this place. I think we had an earthquake.”
“Not exactly.” Shay took a second to choose her words. The right combination would explain the situation while leaving her clear of culpability.
“We were attacked.”
“What?” Evie shouted. “See, I knew coming here was a bad move.”
“It would’ve happened anyway. They had Antiserum in the basement.”
Evie looked around the room of tables Hetal had loaded with dismantled million-dollar high-tech equipment parts. “We are in the basement.”
“There’s other basements, but I might have a bigger problem.” Shay looked up from her concoction and into Evie’s worried eyes. “I think …”
The thoughts brewing in Shay’s mind were too far-fetched to share, but she couldn’t leave Evie hanging.
“I think there are two souls inside my body.”
“That’s, umm—”
“Not possible, right?” Hetal called out from across the room. “Many cultures don’t even believe a soul exists.”