extraterrestrial,” said Alex. “We got it from the Skreaks and have no idea what it does.”
“Is your exoskeleton here?” asked Vijay.
“No. The virus is attached to the self-destruct mechanism. They’re working on it in the sub-basement bomb bunker in case it explodes.”
Alex noticed a partially dissembled antenna against the wall. It was almost Alex’s height, a little taller when in its wide circular base, and connected to many cables that branched out of the sides.
That was the neurotransmitter, the device the Ultra-Geniuses used in their effort to take over the world. For some reason they wanted to connect it to the Empire State Building’s broadcast tower.
“Trista, where are you?” asked Alex.
“Right behind you,” she said.
“Woah.” Vijay stood before a giant cannon ending with two vents on one side. “This is Sunburn’s helio-blaster. Is it true he melted a skyscraper with this?”
“Yes. It hasn’t been disarmed yet, and it shoots out of the heat concentrator on the other end. Those big vents in front of you are the exhaust. I remember the air it let out almost overheated my exoskeleton.”
“I need a weapon,” said Vijay. “How about that staff with blades all over it?”
Alex grabbed a rifle that ended with a large funnel-shape aperture and slapped a battery into it. “This is Boss Sonic’s rifle. It’s non-lethal but incapacitating at low frequencies. He wasn’t exactly the toughest villain we took out.”
Vijay cradled the rifle. “Awesome. A real weapon.”
Alex entered a code into a keypad near the blast door on the far side of the room. It slid open to reveal a long corridor.
“Everyone through. Mister Griffin insists on using code names during engagements so we feel like heroes, so I’ll do it his way. Gale Force and Asura, take positions at the midway point. If anyone comes through, blast them. Gale Force, use your wind power to hold them back. Asura, adjust the acoustic settings until you hurt them. Zany, stay between them. If the attackers get too close, fight them. Goldstreak, stay back. Help Zany if she needs it.”
As the team took their positions Trista asked, “Where should I be?”
“Mind Dame, behind me.”
She tugged her psychic nullifier’s chinstrap. “I’m useless with this on.”
“Better useless than dangerous.”
A loud crash echoed through the corridor, followed by the rapid clangs of metallic footsteps.
Alex felt naked without his suit. He had no armor, no enhanced strength, no vision and auditory enhancements, and his only weapon was his service pistol. He made himself remember he had fought without the suit for years before as a junior Bureau agent. He was field agent Alex O’Farrell, the only one of a hundred deemed worthy to become a superhero.
That gave him enough courage to hold his voice steady as he said, “Here they come.”
Gale Force’s body trembled as she formed a cone with her hands.
Asura fiddled with the levers and switches on the sonic rifle.
“Come on, come on,” said Zany as she shifted her grip on her bladed jester’s stick. “I wanna bash some heads.”
Goldstreak shadowboxed tensely.
Mind Dame clasped her hands in prayer.
An Iron Pirate ran around the corner with a roar of heavy metal thunder. His head almost scraped the ceiling. A yellow cybernetic eye let off enough light to reveal a face that was a mess of scars and circuitry. Underneath was a body of mismatched steel plates with shining wire and raw flesh visible through the joints. The logo on his chest, a skull over crossed wrenches, glowed in the dark.
He raised his multi-barreled minigun.
“Hit him!” shouted Alex.
The room got very cold as Gale Force imagined the air molecules between her and the Iron Pirate clumping together. When she envisioned them falling, a gust of wind blew through the narrow corridor. The Iron Pirate slammed against the wall hard enough to make him drop the minigun.
Beneath the wind’s whistling was a loud
“Is your exoskeleton here?” asked Vijay.
“No. The virus is attached to the self-destruct mechanism. They’re working on it in the sub-basement bomb bunker in case it explodes.”
Alex noticed a partially dissembled antenna against the wall. It was almost Alex’s height, a little taller when in its wide circular base, and connected to many cables that branched out of the sides.
That was the neurotransmitter, the device the Ultra-Geniuses used in their effort to take over the world. For some reason they wanted to connect it to the Empire State Building’s broadcast tower.
“Trista, where are you?” asked Alex.
“Right behind you,” she said.
“Woah.” Vijay stood before a giant cannon ending with two vents on one side. “This is Sunburn’s helio-blaster. Is it true he melted a skyscraper with this?”
“Yes. It hasn’t been disarmed yet, and it shoots out of the heat concentrator on the other end. Those big vents in front of you are the exhaust. I remember the air it let out almost overheated my exoskeleton.”
“I need a weapon,” said Vijay. “How about that staff with blades all over it?”
Alex grabbed a rifle that ended with a large funnel-shape aperture and slapped a battery into it. “This is Boss Sonic’s rifle. It’s non-lethal but incapacitating at low frequencies. He wasn’t exactly the toughest villain we took out.”
Vijay cradled the rifle. “Awesome. A real weapon.”
Alex entered a code into a keypad near the blast door on the far side of the room. It slid open to reveal a long corridor.
“Everyone through. Mister Griffin insists on using code names during engagements so we feel like heroes, so I’ll do it his way. Gale Force and Asura, take positions at the midway point. If anyone comes through, blast them. Gale Force, use your wind power to hold them back. Asura, adjust the acoustic settings until you hurt them. Zany, stay between them. If the attackers get too close, fight them. Goldstreak, stay back. Help Zany if she needs it.”
As the team took their positions Trista asked, “Where should I be?”
“Mind Dame, behind me.”
She tugged her psychic nullifier’s chinstrap. “I’m useless with this on.”
“Better useless than dangerous.”
A loud crash echoed through the corridor, followed by the rapid clangs of metallic footsteps.
Alex felt naked without his suit. He had no armor, no enhanced strength, no vision and auditory enhancements, and his only weapon was his service pistol. He made himself remember he had fought without the suit for years before as a junior Bureau agent. He was field agent Alex O’Farrell, the only one of a hundred deemed worthy to become a superhero.
That gave him enough courage to hold his voice steady as he said, “Here they come.”
Gale Force’s body trembled as she formed a cone with her hands.
Asura fiddled with the levers and switches on the sonic rifle.
“Come on, come on,” said Zany as she shifted her grip on her bladed jester’s stick. “I wanna bash some heads.”
Goldstreak shadowboxed tensely.
Mind Dame clasped her hands in prayer.
An Iron Pirate ran around the corner with a roar of heavy metal thunder. His head almost scraped the ceiling. A yellow cybernetic eye let off enough light to reveal a face that was a mess of scars and circuitry. Underneath was a body of mismatched steel plates with shining wire and raw flesh visible through the joints. The logo on his chest, a skull over crossed wrenches, glowed in the dark.
He raised his multi-barreled minigun.
“Hit him!” shouted Alex.
The room got very cold as Gale Force imagined the air molecules between her and the Iron Pirate clumping together. When she envisioned them falling, a gust of wind blew through the narrow corridor. The Iron Pirate slammed against the wall hard enough to make him drop the minigun.
Beneath the wind’s whistling was a loud
Similar Books
