by Greg James
‘Stop struggling. Tell me what’s going on.’
With a gargantuan effort, Murph managed to twist his head slightly to see the blotchy, patchily moustached visage of Gangly Fuzz Face. It was he who was holding Murph down.
‘Get …. off! You … oaf! You don’t understand. None of you do! You’re going to ruin everything.’
‘What do you mean?’ asked Fuzz Face. ‘Listen. Is the secretary really a Rogue Hero?’
‘NO! Of course not!’ Murph grunted into the floor. ‘It’s complicated, but … we’ve got to try and help her. She’s in danger! So’s Carl! It’s a trap! Why doesn’t anyone trust us?’
There was a pause. Then Murph felt the grip on his arms loosen.
‘I trust you,’ grunted Fuzz Face.
Murph thought he must have taken a stray hit to the head from Mary’s umbrella. ‘Sorry, what?’
‘I trust you,’ repeated Fuzz Face. ‘You lot might be a bit lame … but you know what? You were right about that wasp guy last year. You saved us all and I reckon I owe you a favour. So here it is. Go! Quick! I’ll hold ’em up for as long as I can. Tell your lot to get on the floor!’
And with that Fuzz Face leaped to his feet, raising his hands as he activated his own Capability.
‘Zeroes, get low! Drop!’ Murph yelled wildly, and he watched open-mouthed as Fuzz Face’s invisible force fields began pushing the whole battling, yelling mob of people down the corridor and back into the main hall until they were all trapped behind an invisible wall.
The Zeroes dusted themselves down. Murph and Fuzz Face regarded each other for a moment. At last Murph held out a hand.
‘Thanks …. Fuzz …. Face …. erm, Furry … fur … gotten your name actually.’
‘Nathan,’ replied Gangly Fuzz Face, holding out his own hand and shaking. He glanced over at the rest of the students, who were glaring at him from their transparent prison, then back to Murph. ‘Run, then!’ he suggested.
There was a squeaking of sneakers on the polished floor as all five Super Zeroes leaped to their feet and hotfooted it out of there at maximum speed.
‘Running again,’ panted Billy as they made for the back doors, ‘always running, backwards and forwards, run, run, run.’ His right elbow puffed out slightly with the effort. But when they actually made it out on to the field, his entire head blew up in panic at what he saw landing on the grass ahead of them.
It was a huge black helicopter, and several figures in black were already jumping off the ramp at the back and running towards them in a way that said ‘when this running is finished you’re not going to like what happens next’.
But, before the burly Cleaners could reach them, there was a blur in the air. Murph felt as if he’d been hit by a sudden tornado as he and his friends were gathered up, lifted off their feet and whisked away in a fraction of a second. The Cleaners looked around in disbelief as their targets seemed to vanish before their eyes.
‘Fan out! They can’t have gone far!’ instructed their leader, gesturing with her gloved hand.
The Super Zeroes found themselves at the side of The School, clutched in the burly, bulging arms of Mr Flash. The CT teacher had scooped them up at lightning speed, the same way he’d stopped Murph being burned alive earlier in the week.
‘KEEP QUIET,’ said Mr Flash loudly. ‘They won’t take long to find us. I couldn’t carry you lot very far.’ He was wearing an odd expression, and it took Murph several moments to decipher it. Mr Flash was … smiling.
‘Go on, then,’ he prompted them. ‘Off you go and save the day. Flora would never betray the Alliance, I’m sure of it. Which means you must be right, and she’s in trouble. I’ll hold them off for as long as I can.’
Murph’s mouth opened and closed a few times but no sound came out. He looked like a fish playing an invisible tuba. First Fuzz Face – a.k.a. Nathan – and now Mr Flash. This day couldn’t have got more surprising if the Easter bunny had suddenly appeared and smashed an egg in his face.
‘Erm … thanks?’ he finally managed to blurt.
‘There they are! All units engage!’ came a shout at the same time. A large group of Cleaners had come round the corner and caught sight of them from afar.
‘GO ON, YOU MANGY SATSUMAS. HOP IT!’ bellowed Mr Flash, sounding a little more like his old self. He turned towards the Cleaners, slapping one fist into the other palm and murmuring, ‘Come on, then, let’s see what yer made of!’
‘Let’s get out of here,’ urged Murph. ‘Once we’re clear of the Cleaners we can work out another way to get to Shivering Sands.’
‘Hang on!’ sang Mary, reaching for her umbrella. They all grabbed on to the handle, and just as the men and women in black reached Mr Flash, the Super Zeroes rose elegantly up into the air. Shouts and slaps came from below them.
‘Up there!’ shouted a Cleaner, who had spotted them from the playing field. ‘On the umbrella!’
‘Back to the chopper,’ ordered another. ‘Prepare for aerial combat. Move, move, move!’
‘They won’t get far,’ they heard a third Cleaner add. But he was wrong. The Super Zeroes were about to get very far indeed.
Before the Cleaners could reach their helicopter, the air was filled with a droning clatter and Mary had to hold tight to her umbrella to stop it bucking in the strong wind that had blown up out of nowhere.
Screwing up his eyes, Murph glanced behind them. Hovering nearby was a jet-black car. It flew with the aid of two silvery rotor blades that stuck up on either side, beating the air furiously. For some reason, it immediately reminded him of the Banshee. This car was smaller, and it was a matt black rather than the Banshee’s silvery blue, but it was just as sleek and effortlessly cool.
A door in the side popped open, and the Zeroes were startled to see the grinning face of Sir Jasper Rowntree looking out at them.
‘Need a lift somewhere, young chaps and chapesses?’ he piped in his upper-crust accent.
The friends needed no more encouragement. Mary steered them towards the hovering car and they piled in through the door as fast as possible.
‘All aboard?’ asked Sir Jasper. He flicked a switch above his head and the door whisked shut behind them, blocking out the noise of the wind and the unfolding chaos below.
‘Nice car,’ gasped Murph weakly, collapsing to the floor. Now they were inside, he could see that Jasper’s wheelchair slotted cleverly into the control panel at the front of the vehicle’s cockpit.
‘I call her Gertie,’ declared Jasper affectionately, as the miraculous car rose higher into the air, leaving the Cleaners – still scrambling back to their helicopter – far too late to give chase.
‘Seriously?’ blurted out Hilda.
‘And what, pray tell, is wrong with Gertie?’ retorted Jasper, sounding a bit stung.
‘Oh, nothing,’ said Hilda airily. ‘It’s just a really, really cool car. So I thought that it might have a really, really cool name to match. Like, oh, I don’t know, the Sky Panther.’
‘Or Air Beast,’ suggested Murph.
‘Black Vengeance!’ added Mary.
‘Or Blades of Fury,’ chipped in Billy.
Nellie stuck up a thumb. Clearly this was her preferred choice.
‘Gertie just sounds like the name of a cartoon cow,’ Hilda complained.
‘Well, excuse me, I’m sure,’ said Sir Jasper, widening his eyes and smiling. ‘But if you’ve quite finished, I’d like to get on with the business of rescuing our friends.’
This sounded like an extremely high-quality idea to everyone.
‘Whither shall I direct old Gertie, young Murph?’ Sir Jasper asked.
‘To Shivering Sands!’ said Murph. ‘As fast as you can!’
Sir Jasper couldn’t hide his look of astonishment as he piloted Gertie rapidly above the clouds and they were lost to sight.
19
Party Time
Flora and Carl stepped slowly into the lift that would take them to Magpie’s underwater cell. They’d been expect
ing to have to use the full extent of their skills and experience – not to mention Flora’s invisibility Capability – to get this far. But instead, their path had been left suspiciously clear of guards and Cleaners, and as they worked their way towards the centre of the main tower, the doors they needed to pass through had their security systems disabled.
‘I think we can safely say that he knows we’re coming,’ said Carl as yet another door slid open to let them through without the need for a command or an access code. Their footsteps echoed loudly on the metal floor.
‘I don’t like it one bit,’ Flora replied grimly. ‘It feels like a trap.’
‘Well, of course it’s a trap,’ Carl told her, grabbing her hand and squeezing it reassuringly. ‘But you know what we do with traps, eh, Flo?’
‘We spring them,’ responded Flora, with a slight smile. ‘Then we kick some serious bottom.’
‘That’s the spirit,’ said Carl, trying to sound more confident than he felt. If there was the smallest chance that Angel might be alive, they had to grab it with both hands. Even if that meant playing the game to somebody else’s rules.
Under the sea, Magpie waited. He could hear the lift descending, and he licked his lips in anticipation. ‘Of course I know you’re coming, you imbeciles. Now, let’s make sure that nobody is able to follow you. One last security measure …’
He turned to his HALO unit once again and ran a finger across the screen. A plan of the prison tower appeared, and as Magpie concentrated, the message SECURITY SYSTEM DISABLED flashed across it.
Up in the main prison, every single cell door popped open with an almost imperceptible click.
That should keep the attention of any remaining guards firmly away from us. If only my own cell were as easy to override, Magpie thought ruefully. I might have escaped years ago. But no matter. Soon I will have what I require.
With a smile he imagined the many Rogues of Shivering Sands emerging from their cells and tasting the air of freedom. If all went to plan, he would soon join them.
Magpie’s eyes narrowed as the lift finally hissed open, and Flora and Carl stepped out into the murky light of his lair.
Yes, very soon indeed.
Carl and Flora were on their guard as soon as they set foot in the cell. Magpie looked entirely too pleased to see them.
‘Welcome!’ Magpie’s voice was jovial. ‘Come in, come in, make yourselves at home, I’ve been looking forward to seeing you again for quite a while now. A very, very, very long while, in fact.’ As he spoke, his face twisted into an expression of pure hatred. ‘I take it you received my message, then? I knew the boy would be efficient. I knew it wouldn’t be long before he had to rely on the help of some more Capable friends. Nothing if not predictable.’
‘Yes, very clever, well done you,’ blustered Carl, wanting to show no fear in front of this villain. ‘Murph showed us the message. Bravo. Now stop wasting our time and tell us what you know.’
‘I’ve been stuck down here alone for three decades, and it was your wife and her heroic colleagues who made sure of that, not you,’ Magpie hissed, slowly and quietly. ‘So it’s the legendary Blue Phantom I want to speak with now, the greatest Hero of all time’ – his voice was scornful – ‘not her Capability-free chauffeur. Hold your tongue, you bumbling fool, and let the grown-ups talk.’
Carl started towards the top of the stone steps, red with anger, but Flora grasped his hand to hold him back. ‘No. You know how this cell works. If you cross that line down there we’re all done for. Don’t give him the satisfaction,’ she said tightly, before turning to address Magpie for the first time.
‘You deserve never to see the light of day again,’ said Flora carefully, but her voice betrayed her emotion. ‘What you did at Scarsdale was unforgivable. There isn’t a sentence long enough to justify your actions.’
‘Shush, shush, shush,’ said Magpie, waving a patronising hand towards them both, ‘there’s no need to be unpleasant. And in any case, let’s leave the past behind and concentrate on the matter at hand. I have a transaction to propose.’
Magpie walked a little closer to them, towards the white circle on the floor, his feet slapping on the cold stone. His long black coat dragged behind him as he took up a position as close as he could get to the bottom of the giant staircase.
‘I,’ he said forcefully, spreading his hands wide, ‘have something you want. And you’ – he pointed at Flora – ‘have something I want.’
‘Come on, then,’ Flora said assertively, ‘out with it.’
‘You have always laboured under the delusion that Angel was in my facility at Scarsdale when it exploded. Such youthful exuberance as she had – such a desire to be the one to save the day, that she followed all the grown-up Heroes there to try to help, and perished in the effort. Well … here’s a plot twist for you …’
He dropped his voice to a whisper and looked around mockingly as if to check that nobody else was listening, raising his hand to his mouth like you do when you’re whispering a secret …
‘She wasn’t.’ Magpie widened his eyes, performed a melodramatic gasp and started smiling. ‘I captured her the day before, somewhere very different indeed. She was off on her own secret mission, determined to do her bit for the cause and find out everything she could about me to help you, her darling heroic parents, bring me to justice. And she found out lots of juicy information, you can be sure … but then I found her. She remains safe and well to this day.’
Flora’s knees buckled and Carl rushed to prop her up. ‘You’re lying!’ he shouted.
‘He isn’t lying,’ said a shrill voice from behind them.
They spun round to see that a small man, dressed in filthy rags, had appeared from the lift.
‘Ah! Right on time! Blue Phantom, Chauffeur, may I introduce a friend of mine?’ said Magpie. ‘Or perhaps introductions aren’t necessary …’
‘Drench?!’ said Flora, peering at the small, stinking creature in disbelief. ‘What happened to you?’
‘Drench? Drench? There’s no one of that name here,’ gloated the little man, capering around. ‘Drench is the name of a pathetic sidekick. But I am no sidekick. I am the MAIN kick. I am DoomWeasel! Ahahaha!’
Carl and Flora looked completely bemused. And rightly so.
‘I am DoomWeasel and this is my sidekick, Ratsputin,’ Mr Drench went on. He gestured to his pocket, where a very sweet whiskery brown face could be seen darting its head from side to side.
‘Squeak?’ squeaked Ratsputin.
‘Feast upon the sound of pure evil!’ cackled his master.
Nobody said anything for a few seconds. Flora and Carl had too much information to take on board to worry about Mr Drench and how he had come to lose, seemingly, every single one of his marbles. So Flora concentrated on the only thing that Mr Drench had said that made any sense.
‘What do you mean Magpie isn’t lying?’ she said. ‘What do you know about it?’
‘I’ve been there,’ DoomWeasel continued, stroking Ratsputin. ‘I’ve seen her.’
‘You’ve seen Angel?!’ asked Carl.
‘I saw her. She’s trapped. But she is alive!’
Flora rounded on Magpie. ‘How is this possible?’
‘I’ll tell you that,’ Magpie replied, ‘once you’ve given me what I want.’ Turning to DoomWeasel, he said, ‘Show them the device.’
DoomWeasel pulled a metal cube out of his pocket – small enough to fit into the palm of his hand. It was studded with flashing red lights.
‘That,’ Magpie told them, ‘is an ingenious little gadget of my own invention. I call it a Proximity Detonator. It is linked to a bomb inside the secret laboratory where Angel has been … preserved. While it remains nearby, she is safe. But, unfortunately …’
‘I took it!’ squealed DoomWeasel in delight. ‘I took it away!’
Magpie smiled thinly. ‘Yes – I asked your former colleague here to remove the Proximity Detonator from the bomb several days ago. Unless it is replace
d within the next twenty-four hours, I’m very much afraid that the bomb will explode – taking your daughter with it.’
Before even Flora, with her lightning-quick reflexes, could react, he held out a pale hand, and DoomWeasel threw the metal cube through the air and down into the base of the stone amphitheatre.
Magpie caught it neatly and placed it in the pocket of his coat.
‘So,’ he snarled, ‘as I said, now I have something you want: the only way of saving your daughter’s life. But I can only replace the detonator if you allow me to escape from prison.’
‘How can we do that?’ shouted Carl. ‘The security system will blow this whole cell up if it sees you try to get out of the circle …’ He tailed off, suddenly working out what Magpie was demanding.
Flora let out a small cry.
‘Yes, you’ve finally puzzled it out,’ said Magpie smugly, folding his arms. ‘Blue Phantom, I need to take your power of invisibility. In return, I will go back to my laboratory and stop it self-destructing.’
He spread his arms wide, his wrinkled face breaking into a hideous grin of triumph. ‘Choose, Blue Phantom! What will it be? Your power … or your daughter?’
Compared to the cramped interior of the Banshee, the inside of Gertie was relatively luxurious. Jasper’s wheelchair was clamped into place in front of the semicircular main control panel, but further back were two full rows of comfortable, leather-upholstered seats. The Super Zeroes flopped into these as the car clattered away from The School, and for a long time they slumped there, panting, regaining their energy after a morning that had seemed like a constant cycle of sprinting, mystery solving, fighting and getting rescued. Oh, and attempting to play the bassoon.
At no point, Murph realised, had it included any eating, and his stomach rumbled loudly.
‘I made sandwiches, if anyone’s interested?’ called Sir Jasper over his shoulder, pointing to an old-fashioned wicker picnic basket on the floor at the back of the cabin. ‘Never like to set orf to save the world without a spot of lunch handy.’
The Super Zeroes fell on the hamper like a group of gannets who had skipped gannet breakfast, and for a while there was no sound but the clatter of Gertie’s rotor blades and the munching of cucumber sandwiches.