‘What do you want to know?’ I groaned.
‘Nothing!’ the man smiled, revealing a line of thin teeth. ‘This time, there is no need for questions. I want nothing from you. Nothing at all.’
I stared at him.
‘Of course,’ he continued, ‘it is not quite that easy. When I was a young man, women in the street used to turn and look at me. I was a fine specimen. As I grew older, the women did not look as often, but still, I was vain about my appearance.’ He frowned. ‘I imagine girls look at you. They see your pretty young face, and you swell with pride. You dream of a future filled with a wife and family.’
Ravana picked up a scalpel. ‘Girls will still look at you when I’ve finished,’ he said. ‘But they will look at you as they look at me, with fear, horror, and revulsion.’ He turned to the guard. ‘Boris, the injection.’
The guard picked up a needle.
‘This needle will immobilize you,’ Ravana said. ‘You will be unable to move or make a sound. But you will feel everything that happens to you.’
Looking into Ravana’s eyes, I saw a look of complete hatred. Boris came close, lifted the needle high...and plunged it into Ravana’s arm. The doctor screamed and tried to slash Boris with the scalpel, but was too late. The guard had already stepped out of reach, his features changing into another person.
‘Quinn!’ I cried.
‘The one and only,’ she said.
Ravana had dropped to the floor, his eyes open, but unable to move. Quinn searched his pockets, removed a set of keys, and had the handcuffs off me in seconds. I rubbed my wrists.
‘How did you find me?’
‘My father placed trackers on each of us, just in case things went wrong.’
I remembered him grasping my shoulder back at the old lady’s house. Usually, I would have been furious about being tagged, but I could hardly complain about it. His actions had saved my life.
‘Are you alone?’ I asked.
‘The others are outside. Chad wanted to storm the building—’
‘He would.’
‘—but I pointed out they might kill you out of revenge,’ she finished. ‘I convinced them to let me do this alone.’
‘Thanks,’ I said. ‘For everything.’
‘We’re not out of trouble yet. We’ll be lucky to get out. There are a dozen doors between us and freedom. This place is built from reinforced steel. There are dozens of guards. Even with your powers, it’ll be almost impossible to break apart.’ She pointed down at Ravana. ‘And then there’s him. What do you want to do?’
There were a million things I could say—or do—to this man. He had, after all, tried to destroy us more than once.
Instead, I bent low, peering into his hate-filled eyes. ‘I’m sorry about what happened to you,’ I said. ‘I’m sorry you were badly injured. But you were trying to kill us at the time. I could do terrible things to you, but there’s already enough hatred in the world. I don’t need to make anymore.’
We would inform the authorities about this place. They would come and arrest Ravana and his men. No doubt they would all spend a good many years in jail. As we started for the door, Quinn gave my hand a quick squeeze. She was right. We would be lucky to get out of here alive.
Good thing I didn’t believe in luck.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
‘Welcome to my home,’ Mister Okada said.
‘It’s...it’s...’ I struggled for words. ‘It’s a missile silo.’
‘It is indeed.’
Mister Okada’s residence was an old military base, set into the side of a hill in West Virginia. Located in the Monongahela National Forest, the area was dominated by a mountain range covered in red spruce, firs, and mountain ash. Sparkling rivers and streams ran through virgin valleys. Eagles flew overhead, and deer frolicked in the undergrowth.
A low lying stone building, it was nestled among trees, impossible to see from above, and only visible at eye level if you were standing next to it. The plush interior had windows that overlooked quiet green hills and valleys that stretched into the distance. Not another building was in sight.
Beneath it was an old underground army base, six stories deep, and designed to survive a nuclear attack. The lower sections even had the old equipment in them; computers and control panels from the nineteen fifties.
Circular tunnels, lined with reinforced concrete, linked each section. Three underground missile silos, now empty, were adjacent to a fourth chamber that housed Liber8tor. Quinn and I had escaped Doctor Ravana’s clutches. He was now residing in a New York City prison due to a tipoff to police.
How he survived being turned to zinc was a mystery—and would remain one for the time being.
We were gathered in the plush living room like shags on a rock. It had been so long since we’d had a real place to call home that no-one was quite sure how to behave.
Chad asked the question that was foremost on our minds. ‘Is this safe?’ he said. ‘I mean, the authorities...?’
‘I purchased this place several years ago,’ Mister Okada said. ‘It was legal and above board. The Department of Defense has sold many of these old facilities over the years. I’ve made some modifications to bring it up to scratch.’
‘They’re pretty impressive modifications,’ Brodie spoke up. ‘I had a peek down below. One of the levels is as big as a theater. It looks like it’s been set up as a training facility.’
‘It has.’
‘To train what...exactly?’ Ebony said. ‘Or should I say, who?’
Mister Okada smiled. ‘All in good time.’
‘Most of the computers are pretty old,’ Dan said. ‘But there’s a few that are really high tech.’ He paused. ‘In fact, they’re so advanced they look kind of...well...’
‘Otherworldly?’
Dan nodded.
‘Perhaps it is best if you settle in,’ Mister Okada said. ‘Rooms have been prepared.’
‘Who says we’re staying?’ Chad asked. ‘We’ve got things to do. People to see supervillains to vanquish.’
‘We can stay,’ Ebony said, glaring at Chad. ‘For a while.’
Our quarters were on the next level down. We each had our own room. Porthole windows had been carved into the rock, allowing in light and a glimpse of the outside world. My room was warm and comfortable, fitted out with a television, computer, and a games console. I glanced at the games.
If all the rooms are like this, I thought, Dan will be in Heaven.
Brodie appeared in the doorway.
‘Hey,’ she said. ‘Thoughts?’
‘Oh,’ I said airily. ‘It’s all right.’
We laughed. This was the lap of luxury compared to the quarters on Liber8tor.
‘How are you feeling?’ I asked. ‘It’s not every day that your brain gets taken over by a computer.’
As we sat down on my bed, I was suddenly aware that this was the closest we’d been in a long time. A barrier had formed between us when we’d journeyed to the future—and a lot of it had been of my own making. Sometimes walls made of anger are more difficult to overcome than those made of stone or steel. For the first time since then, I wondered if there could be a new beginning between us.
‘The back of my head is still sore,’ Brodie said. ‘But I feel surprisingly okay, considering what we went through.’ She frowned at me. ‘More’s the question, how do you feel? You gained your family, only to lose them again.’
I nodded. It was taking time to process my feelings. ‘I was taken in completely,’ I admitted. ‘I believed what they said about my parents. I believed Quinn was my ex-girlfriend. I believed Louise and Henry were my aunt and uncle. The longer I stayed, the more real it became. But you know the worst part?’
‘What?’
‘I wanted to believe it was real.’
‘There’s nothing wrong in that,’ Brodie said, taking my hand. ‘Family is important.’
I gave her hand a squeeze. ‘I’ve got everything I need right here,’ I said. ‘Wel
l, almost everything.’
We looked into each other’s eyes.
‘I’ve missed you,’ Brodie said.
‘I’ve missed you, too.’
As I leaned towards her, a sound came from the door.
‘Sorry,’ Quinn said. ‘I didn’t mean to interrupt.’
‘That’s okay,’ I said, letting go of Brodie’s hand. ‘What is it?’
‘Dad would like us in the living room.’
We met the others in the corridor. As we climbed the stairs, I thought about them—Brodie, Chad, Dan, Ebony, and Ferdy. Maybe they were all the family I’d ever need.
Mister Okada directed us to plush chairs in the living room. ‘Please take a seat,’ he said. ‘Would anyone like a drink?’
‘Sure,’ Chad said. ‘As long as it’s not lemonade.’
As Mister Okada went to fetch refreshments, Quinn plonked herself onto a couch opposite me. So much had happened over the last few days that I felt like I’d known her for years. She didn’t look like Brodie now. She looked like herself.
I wouldn’t want her any other way.
As she gave me a small smile, I glanced over at Brodie. She was staring at me with a troubled expression. Don’t tell me she’s jealous. That was the last thing I needed. Giving me a sad smile, Brodie jumped up and helped Mister Okada with glasses and bottles of soft drink.
‘You must have a lot of questions,’ he said after drinks were served.
‘Only one or two hundred,’ I said. ‘People usually don’t do very well after they’ve had a bullet to the brain.’
Mister Okada nodded. ‘All right,’ he said. ‘That’s a good start.’ Taking a sip of coke, he said, ‘My name is Robert Okada. At least, that’s the name I’ve used for many years. You would not be able to pronounce my real name.’
‘Why?’
‘Because I am an alien,’ he said. ‘I am Bakari.’
Bakari? The Bakari were an alien race who had lived on Earth for thousands of years. They’d been behind The Alpha Project, working with The Agency to create superheroes. We were the result of one of those experiments. We had already met two of the Bakari, but this guy was nothing like them. Those Bakari named themselves after numbers—Twelve and Twenty-Two—and were Caucasian. Mister Okada was Japanese—or appeared to be.
‘How old are you?’ Brodie asked Mister Okada.
‘Nine thousand years. Give or take a few centuries.’
He looked good for his age.
‘We were told the Bakari had all left Earth,’ Ebony said.
‘They have,’ Mister Okada said, nodding. ‘I am the last Bakari, but I have not been aligned with my people for some time.’
‘Why?’
He sighed. ‘We had differences of opinion. I was opposed to the superhero program, and the endless ongoing experimentations.’
‘No arguments there,’ Chad said.
‘Why did they leave?’ I asked.
‘A great war is being waged. It began with the Tagaar’s aborted invasion of Earth. When their attempt failed, the Union of Planets—’
‘Who are they?’ Dan interrupted. ‘I forget.’
‘The Union is an intergalactic league that makes the laws that govern the civilized worlds. They are very much like the United Nations. When Earth was attacked, the Union demanded that Tagaar withdraw from other disputed territories it had held for the last year. When they refused, the Union declared war.’
‘War,’ Ebony echoed.
‘Interstellar war,’ Mister Okada confirmed. ‘At this moment, hundreds of species are fighting battles against the Tagaar across the galaxy.’
‘Surely the Union will win,’ I said.
‘The Tagaar are a warrior race. They would prefer to die than be defeated. Ancient Tagaar texts state that they must constantly grow their territory, or they will die out.’
‘What will happen?’ Chad asked.
‘They will fight to the death.’
‘This all sounds really...chilling,’ Brodie said. ‘Apocalyptic, actually. But what’s it got to do with us?’
‘Ultimately, that war will come to Earth,’ Mister Okada said. ‘And the results will be devastating when it does. Earth is in no condition to defend itself. There can only be one outcome when the Tagaar return—the complete destruction of your world.’
Dead silence filled the room.
‘I hope it doesn’t happen before the next Star Wars movie comes out,’ Chad said. ‘I’ve been dying to see it.’
‘Chad...’ Brodie groaned, rolling her eyes.
Mister Okada smiled gently. ‘It is common to make jokes when faced with a grave situation,’ he said. ‘I know humans quite well, having lived among you for so long. It tears my heart apart to know that you are doomed.’
‘It doesn’t exactly thrill me either,’ Chad said.
‘You sound pretty resigned,’ I said to Mister Okada. ‘If you know us so well, you also know we don’t give up. We’ll do everything we can to defend ourselves.’
‘I know. And you will fail. Earth is not equipped to defeat an alien race as technologically advanced as the Tagaar. It will be like an ant trying to defeat a man with a flamethrower.’
‘I’ve got an off-topic question,’ Chad intervened. ‘How can Quinn be your daughter? Or is she an alien too?’
‘She is my daughter. The Bakari experience love just as other races.’
‘I’m half-human,’ Quinn explained, ‘and half-Bakari. I can transform myself into anyone providing we’re roughly the same size.’
To prove her point, she turned herself into a complete copy of Chad.
‘That’s creepy,’ I said. ‘One Chad is bad enough.’
She transformed back.
‘So what are we doing here?’ Chad asked. ‘We appreciate the comfy chairs and all, but...’
‘I hope you will make this your home,’ Mister Okada said. ‘You can train here, hone your skills, and learn the true extent of your powers.’
‘And then?’ I asked.
‘And then you will be ready for whatever happens.’
None of us said anything for what seemed an eternity. Then Dan spoke up.
‘I vote, yes,’ he said.
Ebony nodded. ‘Me too,’ she said. ‘I don’t mind staying for a while.’
‘Ferdy votes yes, too,’ Ferdy’s voice came through the intercom.
‘You can hear us?’ I said.
‘Ferdy is patched into the Asgard communications array.’
‘Asgard?’
‘The name of this military base,’ Ferdy said. ‘Named after one of the nine worlds in Norse mythology, it—’
‘Thanks, Ferdy,’ I interrupted. ‘Brodie?’
‘Gotta sleep somewhere,’ she said, shrugging. ‘Might as well be here.’
Chad’s eyes settled on me. ‘Looks like it’s up to you and me,’ he said.
‘And?’
‘Yes,’ he said. ‘The beds here are better than Liber8tor. The food’s got to be an improvement, and we need a place to call home.’
Home.
‘But it needs to be unanimous,’ he added.
I swallowed. Maybe we would never find our parents. Maybe we would never discover our true identities. Maybe we would be forever searching. The answers to life weren’t always straightforward. Mostly they were messy and incomplete. The world had a way of taking you places you didn’t expect and dishing out pain you didn’t deserve.
But everyone needed a place to call home. A place to prepare for whatever the future had in store.
Even a bunch of teenage superheroes.
‘All right,’ I said. ‘I vote—yes.’
TO BE CONTINUED IN…
Teen Superheroes
Book Six
The Invisible Weapon
The Story So Far…
Where should I begin?
How about at the beginning?
My name’s Axel, I’m a teenage superhero, and I’m a fugitive from justice.
Hmm. That’s not re
ally the beginning. Plus, it’s a lot to take in, so let me backtrack.
I was one of six teenagers who had their memories wiped and were given incredible powers by a secret organization known only as The Agency. We’re on the run from them—and just about everyone else—so the fact that we’re alive is pretty incredible in itself.
I’m sixteen years old—I think—as are most of the others.
My power is that I can control air. That is, I can turn it into weapons, fly on it, or create barriers. I’m an American, whereas my friend Brodie is Australian. She’s red-headed and has the strength and agility of three grown men. We were once in love, but love’s hard at the best of times, even when you don’t have superpowers. Now we’re just friends.
Then there’s Chad. He’s Norwegian and can create ice and fire. He’s also the most painful person you’ve ever met. Having said that, I mostly think of him as a brother—although at other times I want to kill him.
Is that what brothers are like?
Who’s next? Oh, yes. Dan. He’s the youngest of our group, Chinese, but speaks perfect English and can control metal. He can make it fly around and use it as projectiles. Those are pretty good abilities to have in a fight. Sometimes he can read and control minds, but those powers are iffy at the best of times.
Next, we have Ebony. She’s Chad’s sister, but if he’s chalk, then she’s cheese. Where he’s abrasive and a know-it-all, she’s quiet and unassuming. Now, this isn’t to say that she’s not a good fighter or hasn’t got the heart of a lion. She has. Ebony can transmute substances—that is, turn lead into iron, or gold into oxygen—which makes me glad that she’s on our side.
Finally, there’s Ferdy. He’s a savant and suffers from autism. Once as human as any of us, Ferdy was almost killed while saving the planet. To survive, his consciousness was turned to energy, and he now lives in the Liber8tor computer.
What’s Liber8tor? I hear you say. It’s our spacecraft, and it used to belong to an alien race known as the Tagaar. But it’s more than a spaceship. It’s our home.
Mind you, all that changed recently, and that’s because of some new additions to our team. That’s Quinn, and her father, Mister Okada. He’s an alien, a member of the Bakari, the alien race who have secretly been interacting with humans for centuries. They’re the ones who worked with The Agency to give us superpowers in the first place.
Teen Superheroes Box Set | Books 1-7 Page 79