I try to follow him. It isn’t like I haven’t thought about time travel an inordinate number of hours in my life.
“How can you not change the past? Does some unseen force stop you?”
He pulls himself up, leaning against a cabinet. “It’s not like I can’t change events when I go back. But when I return to my present, nothing has changed. I tried a dozen times to save them and each time I thought I had succeeded. I would come back... and the house was still empty, they were still dead. I don’t know why when I change things in the past they don’t affect my present, but they don’t.”
My mind goes into overdrive... it has to be alternate reality theory. Wow. Of course, that doesn’t prove anything. It’s not like I could build a machine to travel in time. His powers come from a dimension where one can move through time in any order. Which mean his powers—and the effects they have on people and things—are unique to him... still, the possibilities?
“What’s your plan then? Why do you need my kinetic manipulator to save them?” If he can’t change events, then what is the point in going back? Torturing himself?
He yawns, rubbing his jaw. “The first time my powers activated I was in my car on the way to work. I was in a daze thinking about them. I shouldn’t even have been driving, to be honest. I didn’t even want to go to work—I just didn’t know what else to do. I was thinking about a time on the Oregon Coast where we went on vacation a few years before the girls were born... then I was falling. Have you ever been bungee jumping?” he asks.
The non sequitur throws me for a second then I look down at my legs with a grin. “Not exactly recommended for people in my condition.”
“Right, sorry,” he says. I wave away his apology. “Anyway,” he continues. “Going back in time is like jumping off a bridge in free fall. The farther I go back, the more the journey slows. When my destination arrives it’s like that moment where the bungee cord is fully extended, and for a second I don’t move, just hang there. That first time, the portal opened and I was on the beach, not far from where we were all those years before.” He laughs a little. “My car was there too, completely torn to pieces as if it had gone through a blender. Bent, warped, shredded.” He shrugs. “I didn’t stay long, I hadn’t figured that part out yet. The farther back I go, the more I have to focus to stay there. Before I knew it, I was hurtling back forward to the present. Only a few seconds had gone by, but now I was on the road without my car. That took some creativity to explain to the insurance company.”
I nod. “Anything you take with you is destroyed? I’m guessing—based on you taking the kinetic manipulator—G-forces?”
He smiles. “Can I have a Coke?”
“Sure,” I say, reaching into the mini fridge I keep in the lab and handing him one of the good ones. The Mexican brand ones with sugar cane instead of corn syrup. My hand pauses just before I pop the tab on mine. How did he know I had Cokes in the fridge? Right; museum.
He takes a long drink before continuing. “If I can fit it in my hand,” he nods to his notebook, “then it’s fine. But if it’s bigger and fragile, then it’s destroyed. I tried with a neighbor’s dog from two weeks before the coup in DC...” he says with a shiver. “That took a while to wash off.”
“My God, man. A dog?”
He shrugs. “I had to test it on something living and it was a really annoying dog,” he says with a sad grin. “Used to chase the girls when they went out front to play.”
I grin a little. Being in a wheelchair as a kid made me terrified of dogs, even little ones. An idea hits me. “Can you bring anything forward? I mean if you can’t change the past?”
He shakes his head, stretches, then climbs to his feet. For a second I think he’s going to run, but instead, he makes his way over to one of my chairs. “Nah, it doesn’t work like that. This notebook,” he says holding it up. “It’s my daughter’s from when she was five. I keep track of everything in here then transfer it to a computer I have at home. Every time I need a new notebook I just go back to that same moment and grab it. I don’t run into myself, so I assume that whatever I do in the past splits off into its own timeline. No matter how many times I go back, the past is always the same. I can take things and change things, but the next time I go back it’s exactly as it was. Which is why I need your tech. With the ZPFM from the government, your kinetic manipulators, and some things Strungel built for me, I’ve made a cocoon. It can carry three people and withstand the g-forces of time travel while protecting them—which means I can go back and bring them forward with me.” He sighs. “At least, that’s my theory.” He downs the last of his Coke and throws it into the can. “The way you fly and stuff—you’re brilliant.” He says the last bit so casually it takes a second for my brain to catch up.
“One, thank you. Two... you know Strungel?”
He nods, taking another sip. “When I started this, you were missing. When I went into the future it was a world without you. Let me just say, not pretty. Don’t do that again,” he says with a sad smile.
I shake my head. “I don’t plan too. Do you know where he is?” I ask.
He nods, putting the empty Coke bottle down beside him. “Yeah, yeah I do. He doesn’t know I do... but... time traveler,” he says with a shrug.
This is it. I can close two accounts with one stroke of the pen. Take Tempus off my plate and Strungel. “Frank, I promise you on my life, if you tell me where Strungel is I will do everything in my power to help you get your family back.” I hold up my hand as his face lights up. “You will still need to pay for your crimes, but I’ll provide the best lawyers money can buy. I doubt I can get you off, but I can make sure you see them as often as possible.”
He nods, still elated. “It’s more than I could have asked for... especially after what I did.”
“You didn’t hack my satellite, and you didn’t provide Strungel the codes, right? You just knew it was going to happen and took advantage of the situation?”
“Pretty much.”
“Okay then,” I say. “I’m going to call in Kate and Carlos. They have some questions for you about your abilities. But I just want to know one thing.”
“If it helps me find my girls, anything,” he says.
“Where is Calhoon Strungel?”
Costa Rica. What a gorgeous country. Full of rainforests, blue water, and white sands. It also has stupid amounts of rain. More rain than I think I’ve seen in my entire. Life. The Emjet is on approach toward Juan Santamaría International Airport—miles and miles of green jungle stretch out under the plane. The whole team—minus Luke of course, and Teddy—crowds around the electronic windows. Monica and Tessa have never been out of the country before. The rest of us have, officially and unofficially. Since Agent Brown is hellbent on seeing me behind bars this is an unofficial visit for me, using one of the cover IDs Epic has whipped up for me. If I ever have to go underground again, I’m going to be prepared.
“It’s so green!” Lux cries out. She has her face plastered against the “window” despite the fact they’re electronic. “Oh I wish we could visit when the sun is shining?” she asks Tony over her shoulder.
“For you babe, anything. I’ve heard the weather here is pretty extreme. One day rain, the next day, eighty degrees and sunny skies,” Tony tells her. “I bet if we ask Milton real nice, he’ll let us know the perfect day to come and you and I can zip on down here.”
Lux’s smile brightens the whole craft—literally.
“Ooh check out that beach!” Tessa points excitedly as the plane banks over the far part of the city. Epic has the wheel, following local ATC. Technically, this trip is filed under a corporate retreat for Mars Tech. Major Nelson owed me after the debacle with my armor, so he made sure I would be covered—as long as we’re not too visible. He contacted the Costa Rican ambassador, explained the situation, and made all the necessary arrangements. All without informing the FBI. I love that our government is so massive that one hand and the other can have no idea what each are doin
g. It inspires a lot of confidence. Not for me, but I’m sure for someone.
The beach Tessa points at is all white sands and blue water; there are plenty of people on it. Even with the massive rainfall, the stats on the window show the local temperature at seventy-one degrees. It’s only a couple of degrees cooler than when we got on the jet in Phoenix
Kate nudges me from the side. “Don’t think I’ve forgotten,” she says quietly.
“Forgotten what?” I say innocently.
“We missed your birthday,” she says with a sly smile on her full lips as she opens a map on her phone.
“Kate, you know how much I hate birthdays,” I whisper back to her. All I need is for Tessa to overhear and we’ll have another night of me watching my friends drink like fish.
“I’ll table it for now, but we’re doing something... and soon,” she says giving me the eye.
“Fine,” I say back.
Please buckle up. We are coming in for our final approach. Epic flashes the warning across the screen. Everyone slips into their seats, followed by a chorus of buckles. Each row has four seats. Kate, Carlos, and I are in the first row. Carlos has his shield and spear resting int he fourth seat. Monica, Tessa, Fleet, and Lux make up the back seat. Teddy stayed behind in Spire’s med lab—if anything goes wrong, Kate can teleport the wounded directly to him. This is his day to remain with his wife and I didn’t think it was right to ask him to leave her to go on a mission. Besides, I have some local-ish help coming.
Epic handles the landing as smooth as any piloted plane I’ve ever been on—the wheels touch down with light bump and hardly a sound. The Emjet vibrates a little as the engines go into reverse to slow us down and within minutes we’re pulling into the private hangar Mars Tech rented for us to use as our temporary base while we plan our assault. This all had to be done on the sly for a lot of reasons. Mostly, though, if Strungel catches wind of what we’re doing he’ll just bolt. And I want him dead to rights.
We have arrived at our destination. Please secure all carry-on luggage and put your trays up and your seat backs in the upright position... I am looking at you Fleet.
“That hurts man. I always clean up after myself,” our speedster declares.
The team pauses as he speaks, then we burst out laughing. “Pshh, try and sell that line to someone who hasn’t seen you demolish the kitchen after a mission,” Tessa says. “They had better table manners in prison.” Another chorus of laughter follows as Tony turns beat red.
“You try and feed the beast sometimes,” he mutters.
Lux pats him reassuringly on the back. “It’s okay Tony, when you’re hungry you’re hungry. It’s not your fault twenty-percent of the food ends up on the floor.”
“No, that’s the definition of his fault,” Tessa replies to the blonde alien.
“Oh, my mistake. Then yes, you’re a messy eater.”
“It’s a good thing you’re so frigging gorgeous, or I might take offense,” Tony says with a smile.
“Maybe you should try taking a bib,” Tessa says jokingly.
Before this gets out of hand, Kate steps in. “Focus people. We’re here under cover until we’re not. No costumes, no powers, no armor...” she looks at me with a raised eyebrow. “You all know how serious this is. Be cool,” she says with a glare at everyone.
“I’m always cool, or like, haven’t you heard?” Monica says with her valley girl accent.
I groan. It only takes a minute for everyone to disembark the Emjet, then Epic uses the advanced hydraulics to lower the jet, making it easier for me to roll off. The hangar is a bit chilly, made more so by the open door letting in the driving rain and wind.
Three black SUVs with drivers wait for us near the front of the hangar. The team huddles in a circle at the bottom of the ramp waiting for me. As I approach, the rearmost SUV disgorges its passenger and I can’t help but grin ear to ear on seeing her.
“Tia!” Kate cries as she bursts from the team and runs over to our friend. My two friends hug before Kate puts her arm around Tia’s shoulder and drags her over to meet the team. “This is Catia Tichenor. She’s the police officer who helped us when we were trapped in Buenos Aires,” Kate explains.
Enamored as I am with Tia’s power-set, I, of course, told the team all about her. I’m only too happy she could come up to help us on this one.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you all. Amelia and Kate speak much of you,” she says as she shakes hands. Besides me, she’s probably the shortest person here—which I find highly amusing since, physically speaking, she is without a doubt the strongest.
“I saw the cell phone footage of you flattening that robot like a bomb,” Tony says. “That was impressive as all get out.”
Tia looks to me to help decipher his Boston accent and idiom. “It means—you’re awesome,” I tell her with a grin.
“Oh—thank you. You too. All of you. The Protectors are something of a legend and it’s an honor to be here.”
Something’s a little off about her, a sadness I can sense but not put my finger on. I’m no empath—I’ll leave that for Kate. “People, hop in the vehicles and we’ll get a move on,” I say. Then to Tia, “Hang on a sec.” She nods and the team picks up their luggage and boards the three vehicles.
Kate hangs back as well. I’m sure she senses the problem too. “Tia, what happened?” she asks when we’re alone.
“I suppose there is no hiding from you, sim?” she asks with a smile. She glances down at her booted feet then back up and I can see the tears in her eyes. She’s not crying, but they are certainly wet. “I was fired after what happened,” she says with a sigh.
“No!” I can’t believe they would do that. She mentioned they had some corruption issues but this seems ridiculous.
“Did they give you a reason?” Kate asks.
Tia shakes her head. “Not one I believe. Something about a property damage clause in my contract. They hung all the damage square on my shoulders. I lost my job, my pension, everything. If it weren’t for my mom…” she says unable to finish. She discreetly wipes her eyes with a finger. “But it will be okay. The sun will shine again.”
“Damn skippy it will,” I say with a grin. I have a plan for her, but I can’t go into it with her right now—we have more pressing matters. “Let’s roll,” I say, pointing at the waiting vehicles.
San José is a gorgeous city of stark contrasts. Green, jungle-covered hills surround the city of glass and metal. Driving down the road we could be in any city, but then we take a turn and we’re face to face with a wall of jungle that comes right up to the street—and sometimes over. Rain washes over us in waves, pelting the car hard enough to make it hard to talk over the pounding. The wipers are on overtime trying to keep the rain off the windshield as we drive toward downtown.
Kate, Tia, and I are in the front vehicle. I’m using the opportunity to fill Tia in on the details.
“This Strungel built the giant machine that attacked my city?” Tia asks.
I nod. “Among other things. He also made the armor that was used to frame me, and he attacked my—our—headquarters with my own weapons. He’s dangerous, determined, and deadly. Don’t take him for granted—I have no idea what his superpowers are or what he can do. Part of why we’re here covert-like is to do some recon before we take the fight to him,” I explain. “Oh, while I’m thinking about it, here.” I hand her a pair of stylish glasses. “They polarize automatically, and they let you speak to Epic.”
Her eyes light up as she puts them on. The glasses are programmed to work only for a specific person. Epic knows who.
It is nice to meet you, Tia. Thank you for helping Amelia in Argentina.
She looks between me and Kate for a second, confusion clouding her face. “Who am I talking too?” she asks.
I am Epic. An autonomous intelligence created by Amelia. My full-time job is keeping her from blowing herself up.
“Hey now,” I say. “It’s not your full-time job.”
You
are correct. It would be more like two full-time jobs… if I were a human.
“Everyone’s a critic,” I mutter. Kate just laughs. “Oh Amelia, you’re precious. Hon, you do tend to solve things by blowing them up.”
I open my mouth to argue but she holds up her hand. “The Creature, the Th’un, the Robots... the list goes on,” she says.
She’s right. I hate it when she’s right, which is pretty much always. “Fine, fine, I blow things up.”
Tia chuckles. “It’s good to be back with you, my friends. Now, what’s the plan?”
“Simple,” I say. “Scout the island he lives on, work out its vulnerabilities, and take him down. No mess, no fuss, and no giant robots.”
She nods, running a hand through her short blonde hair. “Oh good. The last one left me sleeping for a week.”
The weather here is unpredictable, to say the least. When we arrived yesterday it was seventy-one and pouring down rain. Today, it’s almost eighty and sunny. Perfect yachting weather. A yacht. Just the idea of owning one kind of turns my stomach. The last place I ever want to be is out on the water. Yet, here I am, out on the water.
The yacht, named “Unreal”, is a hundred feet long with five stories from top to bottom, it feels like a floating hotel. Thankfully, you can rent these things, even if it costs an exorbitant amount of money.
“Amelia, you don’t have to wheel around with a life jacket on,” Kate says to me as I come up the specially designed ramp from the lower decks.
“Says the supermodel in the bikini,” I retort.
She looks hurt and I soften my expression a little. “Sorry, Kate, I know you don’t get a choice. It’s just... you can feel how scared I am, right?”
She closes her eyes for a second and nods. “Yes. I was blocking it a little because of how overwhelming everyone’s emotions can be. I’m sorry too, hon. Leave the life vest on if it makes you feel better. Just know, if you fall in I’m coming in right after you, okay?”
Full Metal Superhero (Book 6): Explosive Arsenal Page 10