“What about the vortex? Your timing couldn’t have been better if we’d planned it.”
“The minute we found out it was your blood, we tried to conference with the Academy and couldn’t get through. That’s not completely unusual. It was in a different dimension, after all - not like making a call to a neighbor down the street. But when we couldn’t get through after a day or so, we decided to open the vortex.”
“And?”
“Since our equipment isn’t designed to punch all the way through anymore, from one dimension to another, we were hoping someone on the other side would see that we were trying to get through and open their end of the vortex. When that didn’t happen, we had to reconfigure our equipment to do things the old-fashioned way - not to mention getting a special dispensation to re-route a tremendous amount of power. It took a little bit of time.”
I absorbed all of this in silence, and then something occurred to me.
“That special dispensation…did that come from the government?” I asked.
“Of course.”
“That was the tip-off,” I said. “That’s why they tried to abort everything so fast. They knew you were coming.”
Mouse seemed to consider this. “Possibly. Gray’s got his hand in almost every cookie jar imaginable, so they could have gotten a heads-up. But even so, we still almost bungled the whole thing.”
“What do you mean?”
“We actually needed two bites at the apple to get things right. We were doing everything in such a rush that we didn’t notice that our dimensional alignment was off, so when we first opened the vortex, it actually didn’t take us to the Academy. We ended up on the top of some mountain range.
“We were about to shut everything down and re-run all the numbers when we detected a brief vortex pulse.”
“Our attempt to open the vortex from our side,” I said, guessing.
“Yes. It didn’t work, but it showed us where our calculations were off, so we reset everything based on the new numbers and that did it.”
I smiled to myself, thinking how Li - despite not being able to open the vortex as we’d planned - had still been instrumental in saving everyone. That brought something else to mind.
“Were you there when Alpha Prime came back through the vortex with me?” I asked.
“I was the first one to meet him,” Mouse said.
“Before I lost consciousness on the other side,” I said, “before AP found me, I’d been holding a piece of ceramic. Do you know if I still had it when we came back through?”
“Oh, yes,” Mouse said, smiling. “You had a death grip on that thing, so tight that I thought we’d have to break your fingers to get it loose. It’s a wonder you didn’t crush it.”
“Do you know what happened to it?”
“I don’t know,” Mouse said, grinning. “Let me think…”
He got up from the worktable and walked over to an odd piece of computer equipment and flipped a small switch.
“Hello,” he said, looking up into the air, but at nothing in particular. “Can you hear us?”
“I can,” said a voice that - although disembodied - I had no trouble recognizing.
“Li!” I said, totally shocked. “You’re alive!”
“Technically,” said the voice, which seemed to come from all around us, “I was never alive biologically, but I am still functional.”
“It’s good to hear your voice,” I said with a smile.
“Yours, too,” said Li. “Unfortunately, while I have audio receptors and a voice module, visual sensory has not yet been established.”
“I’m working on it,” Mouse said in mock anger, holding up the schematics he’d been looking at. Now that I looked more closely, I could see that they were designs for an android.
Noting my interest, Mouse handed me one of the drawings. “I’m working on building Li a new body,” he said. “It would be great if I could consult with his designer, but he doesn’t know who built him.”
That brought a whole new series of questions to mind, but I decided to leave those for another time. Instead I asked, “How’d you even know what he was?”
“When I finally was able to pry it away from you,” Mouse said, “I could tell that what you were holding was some kind of processor. I hooked it into one of my machines to see what I could find out about it, and Li started communicating with me. It didn’t take long to figure out that I was dealing with an artificial intelligence.”
All of a sudden, I felt bad for intruding. Mouse was here trying to do something important, and I’d selfishly come barging in because I thought my own need for answers took priority over anything else. I mentioned to Li that Kane and Gossamer were more than okay, and prepared to leave.
“Before you go,” Mouse said, “I just want to say that you and your friends did an amazing job - but you especially. I think everyone pretty much realizes that if you hadn’t been there, we’d be dealing with a lot of bodies right now - especially if Schaefer had brought that virus back to Earth. And even if he didn’t kill every super outright, having the virus - and the cure - would have let Schaefer, and presumably Gray, control anyone who was infected.”
His words brought to mind Rudi’s earlier prediction (Rudi, whom I would still need to rescue whenever I got the requisite info), about how it was imperative that I go to the Academy. I felt a little pompous acknowledging it - even if only to myself - but apparently she had been right.
“What about Gavin?” I asked. “What will happen to him?”
Mouse shrugged. “Hard to say at this point. He was instrumental in spreading the virus at the Academy, but he also came around in the end. Bearing in mind that he’s a minor and that there were extenuating circumstances, my best guess is some type of probation.”
“I guess that would temper justice with mercy. Anyway, I should let you get back to work,” I said to Mouse. “I’ll see you later, Li,” I just shouted up into the air.
“Jim,” Li said, almost timidly, as I was preparing to teleport. “It may be a while before my new body is manufactured. In the meantime, will you…will you come visit me sometimes?”
“Of course, Li. I’ll bring the others, too, if that’s okay.”
*****
There was only one other person I really needed to talk to, and it was a conversation I both looked forward to and dreaded. Still, I made the call, and he showed up right on time.
Mom and Gramps had found reasons to be somewhere else, so there was no one else at home when Alpha Prime showed up. He was wearing a V-neck sweater-shirt and jeans; it was far more casual than I’d ever even pictured him, let alone seen him. We went into the kitchen and took seats around the breakfast table.
“Thanks for inviting me over,” he said. “The invitation was unexpected, but I’m happy about it.”
“No problem,” I said. “I, uh, I would have been happy to come to you, but I don’t know where you live. Other than League facilities, that is.”
He laughed at that. “I’m sorry, I should have told you. But yes, I have a place - several places, in fact. I just need to get away sometimes.”
I nodded, picking up a slight hint of exhaustion in his voice. He’d mentioned it to me before, about how having to deal with all the world’s-greatest-superhero stuff just felt like an unbearable weight sometimes.
“Anyway,” I said, “I just wanted to say thanks for what you did. They told me how you came after me. You saved my life.”
He waved off my gratitude. “You don’t have to thank me for that. Not now; not ever. You’re my son, so it’s not like I had a choice. It was either get to you or die trying.”
There was an earnestness to his words that touched me. He wasn’t saying any of this to make me like him or think highly of him. He was saying it because it was true.
“The last time we spoke,” I said, “you mentioned something about sons needing their fathers. I didn’t agree with you then, but I do now. Not because you saved my life, but because of the e
xample you set. That’s probably the greatest need that fathers fulfill for their sons - a role model. And according to Mouse, I need all the role models I can get.”
“Thanks,” he said, before adding almost furtively, “son.”
“Anyway, since the Academy is destroyed now and I’m back home permanently, there’s no need to wait for the holidays to go catch that game.”
For a second, he didn’t seem to know what I was talking about, and then he grinned. “I can get courtside tickets for next week.”
THE END
INFILTRATION
(Preview Page)
“That’s not Fred!” Gorgon Son shouted, pointing at me.
The White Wyrm and Grain Brain suddenly looked in my direction. Gorgon Son clearly was about to charge, and Diabolist Mage pointed his staff at me.
I threw a grenade towards the White Wyrm and Grain Brain; they both dove for cover, scrambling to get behind some computer equipment. I phased myself and the box containing Rune as Gorgon Son dove at me. He passed through without making contact with anything and smacked his head on a worktable that was behind me.
The Diabolist shot a beam of purple light my way, but it passed right through me. This time, however, I felt something – like the beam had tickled me a little. It occurred to me then that maybe Diabolist Mage had gotten enough power to somehow affect me in my insubstantial form. It was not a prospect I relished.
At that moment, the grenade went off, blasting a hole in the floor and sending shrapnel and shards of stone everywhere. Something grazed the Diabolist just below the eye, making him jerk his head to the side in pain. When he looked my way again, I saw a jagged red line near his cheekbone that was starting to weep blood.
The Diabolist gingerly put a finger to his cheek, flinching when he touched the wound. He gave me an absolutely murderous look. Near the computer equipment they had hidden behind, the White Wyrm and Grain Brain were just getting to their feet, as was Gorgon Son. They, too, all looked as though they’d like to bite my eyeballs out. Obviously, I had overstayed my welcome.
“Toodles,” I said, holding up a hand and giving a little finger wave. I wrapped Rune, box and all, in my power and tried to teleport us to safety.
Nothing happened.
INFILTRATION
A Kid Sensation Novel
By
Kevin Hardman
Chapter 1
I was actually having a good day until I heard the words no guy ever wants his girlfriend to say:
“We need to talk.”
Even worse, my girlfriend Electra hadn’t said it to me directly. Instead, she had left it as a message on my cell phone, along with a time and place to meet after school.
Her call had come in while I was in class. In accordance with school policy, I had left my phone in my locker. Thus, I didn’t get her message until my lunch break.
Needless to say, I was in something of a funk for the rest of the day. Not that anyone really noticed; I had always been a bit of a loner, and now that I was back at my old high school, I had fallen back into my regular pattern of keeping to myself.
In a perfect world, I wouldn’t have been here at all. Instead, I would have been attending school at the Academy – the prestigious high school that served as a training ground for teens with super powers. Unfortunately, the Academy was gone now – completely destroyed – and as a result, super teens the world over found themselves attending traditional high schools. (At least for now. Word on the street was that various superhero teams were coming up with options to help teens with powers attend “alternative” schools that would pick up our educations where the Academy left off.)
For me, the change was barely worth noting. I only got to attend the Academy for a few weeks before the place was obliterated, so coming back to my old school for my junior year wasn’t a big deal. For Electra, though, the change was a seismic shift.
As an orphan raised by the Alpha League – the world’s greatest superhero team – she had never spent much time in the company of “normal” kids (not to mention that her last two years of formal schooling had taken place at the Academy). Thus, there was a bit of a culture shock when she started attending a regular high school: how they talked, how they dressed, etc.
That said, it didn’t take her long to fit in. Within a week, she was one of the most popular girls in school and accepted by the most prominent cliques on campus. Thankfully, we didn’t attend the same school, which might have made things awkward.
Of course, I dreaded what the end of the day would bring, mostly because I already had an idea of what Electra wanted to talk about. Thus, after the last bell of the day rang, I slowly dragged myself to my car and headed to our rendezvous point – a diner called Jackman’s, which was owned by a couple of former superhero sidekicks.
My car was a boxy little number given to me as a gift by my mother and grandfather, a kind of thanks-for-not-getting-killed present after the Academy went belly-up. It was good for getting from place to place, but – at ten years old and with almost 200,000 miles on the odometer – it was far from anyone’s idea of a dream ride. Moreover, with my power set, a car was really a superfluous expense. Frankly speaking, it would probably have been years before I even thought about getting a vehicle, had it not been for a singularly embarrassing incident over the course of the previous summer: in essence, after arranging my first date with Electra and agreeing to pick her up, it came to light that I didn’t know how to drive.
Since then, I’d been on a tear in terms of getting comfortable behind the wheel of a car. Aside from my brief sojourn at the Academy, my grandfather had given me driving lessons almost daily until I was able to get a permit two weeks ago. That same day, I’d returned home from the DMV to find that Mom and Gramps had gotten me a new car (“new” being a relative term). Again, it wasn’t the trendy sports car that most guys my age dream of, but it was getting the job done.
*****
I arrived at Jackman’s about ten minutes after our designated meeting time. Electra was already sitting at a booth, head down as she apparently typed out a text message on her cell phone. She was wearing jeans, sandals, and a light blue blouse. Her hair, naturally straight and dark, was pulled back into a ponytail, except for a couple of recently-added blond streaks that hung down in front and gently framed her face. As usual, she wasn’t wearing any makeup, but she was blessed with an inherent beauty that didn’t require any kind of artificial enhancement. On the table in front of her sat a quartet of stacked saucers, a basket of tortilla chips, and a dipping bowl full of warm, melted cheese.
“You’re late,” she said without looking up from her phone as I slid into the seat across from her.
“Traffic,” I countered as I grabbed a saucer and helped myself to some chips. “Thanks for ordering the chips and queso.”
She placed the phone on the tabletop and gave me an appraising stare. “You can teleport and you have super speed. You’ve got no business being late for anything.”
“I also have a jalopy now that I use regularly so I can get used to driving.”
Electra groaned slightly, then gave me an odd look as she took a few moments to mentally prepare herself for what she needed to say. Sensing her emotions, I already knew what was coming.
“Look,” she said after taking a deep breath, “there’s no easy way to say this, so I’m just going to put it out there. I think we’ve been trying, but things just aren’t working out.”
“I know,” I said, lowering my eyes.
“I think you’re just too used to being by yourself, Jim. You’ve been doing things on your own for so long that you don’t know how to incorporate others and include them.”
I shrugged. “I can’t completely deny that, but I have been trying.”
She reached across the table and squeezed my hand. “I know you have, babe, but I just don’t think you’re ready to be with other people yet.”
“But I really want this. I mean, I really do.”
She sighed
. “Look, let’s not make it official until after the exhibition tomorrow.”
I simply nodded, eyes staring down at the table. This was exactly what I knew was going to happen.
“Geez, man,” said an unexpected voice, but one that I recognized. It was my best friend, Smokescreen. “Did somebody run over your dog or something?”
“Huh?” I asked. I was still absorbing what Electra had said, so lost in thought that I hadn’t even noticed him approaching us.
Smokey slid into the booth next to me. “You’ve got this look on your face like somebody just died. Or did the light of your life here just break up with you?” He nodded in Electra’s direction.
“I almost wish she had,” I said, which made Electra’s mouth drop open. I ignored her foot connecting with my shin under the table as I went on. “She’s kicking me out of the band.”
“What?” Smokey asked, slightly confused. “You mean off the team?”
“Yeah,” I said. “Apparently I don’t play well with others.”
“He’s a lone wolf,” Electra said defensively. “Every time we have a training exercise where we’re supposed to be acting as a team, trying to take down a supervillain, he goes off and does his own thing.”
Smokey appeared thoughtful for a second. “She’s got a point, Jim. You do tend to act like it’s the Kid Sensation Show sometimes.”
“I’m not trying to,” I said. “I’m just doing what comes naturally when it comes to taking down bad guys.”
“But when we’re working as a team, you can’t treat it like a solo act,” Electra countered. “You’ve got to know what your role is and be willing to play it.”
“I understand that,” I said, “but if I can end a confrontation without anyone else getting in harm’s way, why shouldn’t I?”
“Because if we’re operating as a team and hitting on all cylinders,” Electra answered, “nobody has to be in harm’s way.”
I sighed in resignation. Although I hated to admit it, she definitely had a point – several of them, in fact. I’d been trained extensively in how to use my powers by my grandfather (a former superhero) and Braintrust, a family friend who was actually a huge cluster of clones sharing a single hive mind. However, most of that training was centered on me operating solo; I hadn’t been groomed in how to function in a team environment. (And apparently that’s a necessary skill when you’re a member of a superhero team’s teen affiliate – even more so when the superhero team in question is the best in the world: the Alpha League.)
The Kid Sensation Series Box Set Page 38