by Lucas Flint
I scowled, but took a fighting stance and said, “So what are your powers, exactly? The ability to jump really high?”
“My ‘powers’ are an altered physiognomy to more closely resemble that of a frog’s than a human’s,” said Scourge. “I can jump higher than normal humans, yes, but I’m also quite slippery and excellent at swimming in the water. And, of course, I also have a long tongue.”
Without warning, Scourge opened his mouth and a long, pink, slimy tongue shot out of his mouth and slapped me in the face. The blow sent me staggering backwards, stars in my eyes, as Scourge withdrew his tongue back into his mouth and chuckled.
“I will admit that it isn’t as sexy as super strength or the ability to fly, but it has far more versatility to it than you’d think,” said Scourge. “Not that you’re going to live long enough to see the full power of my tongue, of course.”
Scourge leaped into the air and aimed a flying kick at my face, but I dodged at the last second, allowing Scourge to fall behind me. I whirled around and, grabbing Scourge’s shoulders, turned and threw him toward the mast of a nearby ship.
But Scourge recovered in midair quickly and launched his tongue out of his mouth, wrapping it around the foremast’s body and swinging around and throwing himself into the air. He landed on the ship’s crow’s nest, where he peered over the edge at me with a smirk.
“Nice try, but I’m also a trained acrobat,” said Scourge. “Maybe you should try to throw me in the water and see if I drown next.”
I didn’t answer that. I just shot through the air toward Scourge and began flying in a circle around him, throwing disk after disk at him as fast as I possibly could. Scourge ducked and dodged each disk, however, and then launched straight up into the air. I looked up just in time to see Scourge fall back down toward me. Both of his feet struck me in the chest and I went crashing down onto the ship below, smashing through the roof of the cockpit and landing on the floor hard enough to crack it.
But I managed to roll out of the way just as Scourge landed on the spot where I’d been mere moments ago. I rose to my feet and the two of us faced each other for a moment in the confined space, with my fists at the ready and Scourge’s tongue whipping through the air about him like a snake seeking out prey.
Then Scourge’s tongue lashed out at me, but I caught his tongue and pulled Scourge forward. A shocked and pained expression appeared on Scourge’s face as he flew toward me, but then he kicked me in the face and sent me staggering backwards. I hit the wall, but before I could recover, Scourge kicked me in the chest again and I smashed through the wall out onto the upper deck of the ship.
I crashed down onto the deck and then Scourge appeared and landed on top of me, his weight crushing the air out of my lungs. Before I could do anything else, Scourge wrapped his tongue around my neck and constricted. I gasped for air, but with Scourge’s tongue around my neck, I was unable to speak. I could only stare into his scuba mask and, though I couldn’t see his eyes, I could tell they were gleaming with anticipation at my death.
All of a sudden, an energy rope appeared around Scourge’s neck and yanked him off me. Scourge gasped in shock and retracted his tongue into his mouth as he was lifted off the ground and into the air, hanging from the bottom of the mainmast. He pulled desperately at the rope, but because it was solid energy, there was little he could do to get rid of it.
“What the hell?” said Scourge, his voice weak and barely audible. “Where did this come from? Who did this?”
“I’m surprised you don’t recognize my handiwork, Scourge,” said a familiar sarcastic female voice. “Given all the missions we’ve worked on together, I thought you’d recognize my powers easily.”
Gasping for breath, I managed looked over in the direction from which the voice had come. Standing on the bow of the ship was a woman whose form was shrouded in shadow, but then she stepped forward and my eyes widened when I saw her:
It was Christina Madison. And she wore a chilling grin.
CHAPTER FIVE
“Christina?” I said, staring at her in shock. “Christina Madison?”
“Hi, brat,” said Christina, waving at me. “Long time, no see. And thanks for stating the obvious, by the way, even though my name isn’t really Christina, but you can keep calling me that if you want.”
“Christina?” said Scourge, who still hung from the mainmast. “What … what are you doing here? Did the Superior send you to help me?”
Christina’s grin became even more chilling. “Oh, no. The Superior doesn’t even know I’m here, though he will soon enough, I think, once he finds my resignation letter.”
“Your resignation letter …?” Scourge said. “What are you even talking about?”
“Oh, didn’t you hear?” said Christina. Her grin was almost wolfish now. “As of tonight, I’m officially a traitor to Icon. Bye.”
All of a sudden, the energy noose tightened around Scourge’s neck and I heard a loud snap emit from his neck. Then the noose dissipated and Scourge’s lifeless body fell down onto the deck with a dull thud. His head lolled in an unnatural way, forcing me to look away to avoid throwing up.
“Man, I’ve always wanted to do that,” said Christina with a sigh. “Scourge was such a creep. That tongue of his was just disgusting. Ugh. Anyway, Tricky, you can thank me now if you—”
I rushed toward Christina and, grabbing her, pinned her against the deck. She gasped in pain, but I twisted her arms behind her back as much as I could without breaking them.
“What are you doing here?” I said, bringing my lips close to her ear so she wouldn’t miss a word I said. “And why shouldn’t I snap your arms like twigs and hand you over to the police for your crimes?”
“Nice to see you, too, Tricky,” said Christina, her voice strained. “Do you do this to all of the girls or am I just special?”
“Stop joking around,” I said. “Answer my questions. Or else.”
“Fine, fine,” said Christina. “But you already heard the answers. I betrayed Icon, so we’re not enemies anymore. Therefore, you don’t have to break my arms unless you get a sick thrill doing that or something.”
“You betrayed Icon?” I repeated suspiciously. “Why?”
“Because I’m sick of those people,” said Christina. “Bunch of liars and criminals who would sell their own mother if they thought they could make a quick buck. I decided they were probably going to betray me sooner or later, so I took the initiative and betrayed them first. That’s just the kind of girl I am.”
I found it very hard to believe that Christina would betray Icon, mostly because every Icon agent I’d met so far seemed fanatically devoted to the organization. Then again, Christina was such a selfish lady that it wouldn’t surprise me if she really did betray Icon for her own self-interest. That was just the kind of person she was.
I wasn’t ready to let her go yet, however, so I said, “How do I know you’re telling the truth?”
“Well, I just mercilessly killed one of my former comrades in cold blood and saved you, if that means anything,” said Christina. “I mean, I suppose it could just be a practical joke, but even I’m not that psychotic.”
I had to admit that that was pretty compelling evidence that Christina had betrayed Icon, but I still didn’t trust her. “Why did you save me? What do you hope to gain from it?”
Christina shrugged awkwardly underneath me. “What can I say? I hate Icon and I know that Icon has been trying to get rid of you for a while now. So I thought I’d just save you at the last minute like some kind of superhero, mostly to spite Icon. Plus, I’m just nice that way.”
I snorted. “’Nice’ is the last word I’d used to describe a woman like you.”
“Like I care,” said Christina. “I’m just trying to do the right thing regardless of consequences. I understand if you don’t believe that, but it’s true regardless.”
“You’re a liar at heart, Christina,” I said. “I’m not holding my breath that you’ve changed significan
tly since the last time I met you.”
“Believe what you want,” said Christina. “But ask yourself why I would risk my life killing one of my own comrades if I hadn’t betrayed the organization I used to work for, the one known for murdering traitors so they don’t reveal any secrets they know to their enemies. Ask yourself if that makes any sense.”
I had to admit that Christina had something of a point there, but I was still very skeptical of her change of heart.
But before I could say anything else, I heard footsteps walking toward me and looked up to see Uncle Josh, Mack, and Gina walking toward me. All of them looked mostly uninjured as far as I could tell, and based on the absence of the Icon agents, I assumed they had been successful in avoiding them.
“Jack!” said Uncle Josh as he, Mack, and Gina came to a stop a few feet away from me. “We beat the Icon agents and came to see if you were okay as fast as we could. We saw Scourge’s corpse back there and—” Uncle Josh stopped speaking and stared at Christina in confusion. “Who is this?”
“Christina Madison,” said Christina before I could respond. “Former agent of Icon, now on the side of angels. Nice to meet you.”
“Former agent of Icon?” Gina repeated in confusion. “What does that—”
“She claims she betrayed Icon and doesn’t work for them anymore,” I said. “To prove it, she killed Scourge back there and also saved my life in the process.”
“She was the one who killed Scourge?” said Uncle Josh, glancing over his shoulder. “Huh. I thought his corpse looked odd.”
“Yeah, but don’t be too nice to her yet,” I said. “I’m not convinced Christina here has actually had a change of heart or is actually on our side. I’ve met her before. She’s a master liar and manipulator and loves deceiving people.”
“You can stop complimenting me now,” said Christina. “You’re making me blush.”
“See what I mean?” I said. “I’m not convinced she’s actually changed her mind. I think it’s more likely that she’s just lying to us in order to get on our side.”
“Icon agents are known for their deception,” said Mack, nodding. “It really wouldn’t surprise me if this woman is just lying to us.”
“But she killed Scourge,” said Gina. “I know how tricky Icon agents are and everything, but that doesn’t seem like something an Icon agent would do if they were just trying to trick us.”
“See? That girl knows,” said Christina. “Call it female intuition, if you will. Clearly we’re both on the same wavelength.”
“Shut your mouth,” I said. “Don’t talk unless we speak to you. Got it?”
Christina nodded and said nothing, but I could tell that she was amused at my strong reaction to her sarcasm. I wanted to tear that smug grin off her face, but at the moment I would have to settle with breaking her arms if she kept snarking. Pain was the only truly universal language, in my experience, and it was something Christina would understand even if she didn’t understand anything else.
“Regardless of whether her betrayal is genuine or not, she’s a good capture,” said Uncle Josh. “I know we’re on a bit of a deadline here, but we might be able to make her talk and tell us more about Iconia to make it easier for us to sneak onto the island.”
“We don’t need her help,” I said swiftly. “We already have the plan. We just need to put it in action.”
“Icon also knows your plan, by the way,” Christina piped up. “So if you want your submarine to get blown out of the water and all of your body parts scattered to the four corners of the Earth, you can go ahead and do that. Not my cup of tea, but everyone is different.”
“What did I say about talking when not spoken to?” I said, increasing the pressure I was putting on her arms. “You little—”
“Hold up, Jack,” said Uncle Josh, holding up a hand. He looked at Christina curiously. “Did you say Icon already knows our plan?”
Christina nodded, her grin never leaving her lips. “Sure. They know you are going to try to take a submarine to get around Iconia’s defenses, so they’ve set up a series of underwater mines all around the island that will blow the second your sub brushes against them. And if you somehow make it past that, they’ve got a dozen agents set up on every major beach to gun you guys down the second you make landfall. Oh, and they’re hidden, too, so you won’t know they’re there until their bullets are already in your heart.”
“Is that true?” said Mack uncertainly. He looked at Uncle Josh in confusion.
Uncle Josh shook his head. “I don’t know. We have no way to confirm Christina’s statements.”
“Oh, and did I forget to mention they’ve got a bomb squad set up to take care of that nasty little bomb of yours in case you somehow manage to get past all of that?” said Christina. “I mean, you can still go ahead with your plan as is, but that’s kind of like walking into a lion’s den after covering yourself with meat. Sure, you can still go in, but it’s not very smart.”
“And you came all the way here to tell us that?” I said.
“Of course,” said Christina. “It’s part of my betrayal of Icon, you see. I knew that if you went there as is, you would either be killed or captured, which is exactly what Icon wants. Because I want to see Icon burn, I decided it would totally mess up their plans if you knew about their defenses ahead of time.”
“But how could Icon know about our plan?” said Gina. “We haven’t even told anyone about it yet.”
“Icon has agents everywhere, girl,” said Christina, “including more than a few in the Bright Light Hotel where you guys stayed. Trust me, when Icon wants to know something, they get to know it, no matter how carefully kept that secret is.”
I couldn’t disagree with that. Icon had managed to find out my secret identity, despite my best efforts to keep it, well, secret. Learning about our plan for the assault on their island seemed like child’s play in comparison to that. “Meaning that, if we leave now, we’d be walking into a trap.”
“Right,” said Christina. “See, you’re catching on after all. Guess you’re smarter than I thought.”
I looked up at Uncle Josh. “What do you think, uncle? Do you think she’s telling the truth?”
Uncle Josh folded his arms in front of his chest. “At this point, I think so. I’ve fought Icon for years, remember, and what she just described to me makes a lot of sense and fits in with my previous conflicts with them. Icon’s intelligence gathering operation is second only to the CIA and sometimes even surpasses it. We’d be a fool to ignore what Christina just told us because we’re not entirely sure we can trust her one hundred percent.”
“Then what should we do?” said Gina, rubbing her hands together anxiously. “Abort the mission and come up with a new plan?”
“You guys can do that if you want,” I said. “Me, I’m going to go to Icon no matter what kind of defenses they have. I can’t turn back now.”
“Actually, I think you guys should go there anyway,” said Christina, “but on one condition: You bring me with you.”
“Why?” said Uncle Josh, eying Christina suspiciously. “How could you possibly help us?”
“Because I know all of Icon’s defenses inside and out,” said Christina. “I know where their security is strongest and where it is weakest. I know the best way to circumnavigate their security without them even being aware of it. And, before you ask why, it’s for the same reason I just told you what I did: Because I want to see Icon burn.”
I still didn’t trust Christina, but I knew that Uncle Josh was ultimately in charge of this mission. He was stroking his chin now, clearly considering the pros and cons of bringing Christina along with us. I hoped he said no, but at the same time, Christina made a very strong argument for why she should be brought along. It would definitely be useful to have an ex-Icon agent on our side, especially one who was familiar with all of the ins and outs of Iconia’s security systems.
“All right,” said Uncle Josh at last. “You can come with us and help us
figure out how to get past Iconia’s security systems.”
“Excellent,” said Christina, flashing a smile at Uncle Josh. “Very wise. I—”
“But,” Uncle Josh said, interrupting Christina as if she hadn’t said anything, “you have to agree to be under our watch at all times, and if you try anything … and I do mean anything … to interfere with our mission, we’ll kill you before you even know it. Got it?”
Chillingly, Christina’s smile did not even waver upon hearing that. “No problem, Joshua. I hereby promise to be on my best behavior and not cause any trouble with you guys or your very important mission. You can count on me.”
CHAPTER SIX
As per our agreement with Christina, we tied her hands together with some thick rope we found on the deck of the ship in which I fought Scourge. She didn’t protest or even say anything as Mack bound her hands with some of the tightest and most elaborate knots I’d ever seen. She tugged at them slightly, but it was a pretty half-hearted effort that only served to prove that she couldn’t break them. Even so, I was well aware of her powers and decided to keep a close eye on her in case she tried to use her energy ropes to escape.
“Now, everyone, let’s get into the Diver,” said Uncle Josh. He gestured at the sub. “I’ll go in first.”
Uncle Josh unscrewed the hatch and climbed down the ladder inside. Gina went in next, followed by Mack, leaving just Christina and me standing on the deck.
Christina glanced at me. “You go first, kid. I’ll come in after you.”
I shook my head. “No, you first.”
Christina smiled. “Afraid I’ll run off when all of you guys are in the sub?”
“I’m more afraid I’ll have to catch you again and break your legs instead of your arms this time,” I responded. “I doubt that would be very fun for you.”
Christina just shrugged in response to that, but climbed down the hatch next anyway, where Mack met her at the bottom and helped her down, due to the fact that her bound hands made it hard for her to climb very well. Then I went in last and closed the hatch behind me, screwing it shut once I was inside.