He nodded and pushed himself under a table, out of the way. “Go help your dad!” he said. He looked at Mac and smiled weakly. “Nice suit,” he said.
Mac clicked off his helmet. A look of awe came over his face as if he’d just realized he was actually meeting the Mark Three’s creator. “You made it,” he said with a grin.
“Mac, pay attention!” shouted Charlie. “Dr. Goldstein, stay hidden.”
Dr. Gray and two of the new soldiers were coming toward them. “Fang!” he cried. “Morph! Attack those children!”
Charlie’s eyes widened when she noticed the woman Dr. Gray had called Morph. She had a giant crablike claw for one hand, and she wore a different bodysuit from everybody else. Was this one of Dr. Gray’s new experiments he’d talked about—one with multiple animal abilities? If so, she didn’t look quite finished with only one claw. Charlie didn’t wait to see what the woman could do. She let her hand fly like she’d learned in the videos they’d watched, striking Morph in the throat. The soldier’s eyes bulged and she dropped to the floor.
“I’ve got Dr. Gray!” cried Mac, whirling around to face the enemy. With renewed fervor Mac ran forward, claws raised. Dr. Gray saw him coming and paled. He stepped behind the taller soldier, Fang, as Mac attacked. Fang batted him away with a wolflike howl, then veered off toward Charlie, her dad, and Dr. Sharma.
Charlie turned to face Fang; he was a tall, thin man who was making a curious hissing sound now instead of a howl, which was totally confusing. Was he a wolf? Or a snake? Or . . . both? Her father struggled to his feet and limped over to help. “These two are new chimeras!” he called to Charlie. “Multiple animals and abilities!”
“That explains a lot!” said Charlie. “And be careful, Dad! Stay back!” Charlie laid into Fang. He crouched, then snapped forward into Charlie, appearing to open his mouth beneath his mask. Fangs ripped through the fabric, tearing a gaping hole there. The fangs gleamed and connected. Immediately Charlie felt a sharp sting in her shoulder that almost became debilitating within seconds. She yelped in pain and dropped to the floor, rolling around and clutching her shoulder. “Ugh, poisonous snake!” Charlie cried, trying to warn the others as the man started after Dr. Sharma. “Run, Dad! Run, Dr. Sharma!” The scientists obeyed, sliding under the table with Dr. Goldstein.
Across the room Maria had just knocked Miko out cold and was on her way to help when she heard Charlie. She jumped up, nimbly grabbing on to the ceiling tile grids, and began swinging swiftly across the room toward them, out of the reach of the soldiers but slapping them with her tail and kicking at every opportunity, even swatting Dr. Gray on the back of the head. She let go and sailed into the thin rattlesnake soldier, her feet smashing him in the chest. The soldier went down and lay still, his mask ripped farther across his face and down his neck, revealing a snake head. But a pop of gray wolflike fur poked out at his neck.
As Charlie writhed in pain, Maria landed at her side. She immediately pushed Charlie’s short sleeve up to look at her injury and watched in awe as Charlie’s body seemed to reject the rattlesnake venom. Clear liquid shot out of the pierced skin onto the floor. Charlie moaned and rolled, still clutching her shoulder in pain.
“Whoa!” Maria said. “You should be feeling better soon, chica. Hang in there.”
Even with the venom forced out of her body, Charlie was too weak to get up. “I’m okay,” she muttered. “What’s the body count?”
“Miko, Zed, and the snake guy are down. Prowl’s waking up. Dr. Gray is . . .” Maria looked around. “Where did he go?”
Just then Mac cried out for help. Maria shot up, then bounded over to where he was fighting the short, clawed soldier named Morph. Charlie lay still a moment longer, then took a deep breath and sat up. Prowl was coming her way. She staggered to her feet and groaned, then summoned her strength and charged at him, socking him in the face. She expected him to go flying, but the leopard man dug his claws into her shoulders like he’d done before in the warehouse, ripping through her skin right where the snake man had struck her. “Yow!” she screamed, dizzy with pain. She tried to shake him off but he stuck fast. Charlie yelled in his face and threw her head forward, trying to strike his forehead. She hated Prowl more than any of them. They tumbled to the floor.
Morph chased after Mac, and when she reached him, her pincer-claw hand shot out like a bullet, striking Mac in the helmet. It sent him flying through the air. He crashed to the ground and slid into the wall.
Maria sprang at the woman, knocking her to the floor. Mac found his footing and staggered back, striking Morph with his pangolin hand. She stopped moving.
Mac ran to help Charlie, and Maria took to the ceiling to aid her as well. Maria flipped and sailed at Prowl, but he released one hand from Charlie’s shoulder and batted at her, sending her crashing to the floor, hurt. Maria lay still.
“Oh, no you don’t!” cried Mac, running to them. He swung his claws at the leopard man, clocking him a good one and knocking him out.
Grimacing, Charlie pried Prowl’s claws out of her shoulders, spun him around, and grabbed him by the suit at the back of his neck. He dangled in the air. She spotted Morph getting back up. With all her strength Charlie flung Prowl across the room at her.
“Bull’s-eye,” said Mac.
The lab was suddenly and eerily silent. All the soldiers were out cold or writhing on the floor. Dr. Gray had disappeared. Charlie, Mac, and Maria looked around, a bit dazed, then dashed over to the scientists.
“Come on,” Charlie urged them, “Let’s get you out of here.” Charlie helped her father to his feet. “Can you run?”
“I think so.”
“I can carry you, but I might have to drop you if somebody comes at me.”
“Let’s try it this way first.” He glanced at the workstations. Materials were flung everywhere. Charles started picking up a few pieces.
“Dad, we don’t have time!” said Charlie. She wanted to grab stuff too, but they’d barely gotten through this. “We need to get you to safety before they wake up!”
Meanwhile Maria had helped Dr. Sharma to her feet. Mac clicked his device, made the scales disappear, and took Dr. Goldstein’s arm. “Stick close by me,” said Mac, “but not too close, in case the scales come out. They’re sharp.”
Dr. Goldstein half-smiled as they limped along. “Got it,” he said.
Charlie and her dad followed them out with a few small components. “At least some of it was destroyed,” he said, lunging for another piece that caught his eye as they hurried out. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, Dad,” said Charlie. “The healing power works really well.”
When they heard some soldiers stirring, they turned sharply. Morph and Fang had regained consciousness and were coming after them. Charlie sighed. “Overeager newbies,” she muttered. Behind them came Zed. Charlie let go of her father. “Stand back,” she said, preparing to fight. “Mac, take the snake-wolf dude! Maria, go after Morph! I’ll get the cat woman.”
Mac ran at the snake-wolf man. The soldier struck out with his fangs, but Mac slammed one of his claw hands into Fang’s mouth, breaking one of the fangs off. The man hissed and howled, curling into a heap onto the floor.
Maria ran up the wall in an arc and pushed off at Morph, soaring straight into her and sending them both flying into the opposite wall. They dropped to the floor. Maria lay still for a moment, groaning in pain, then she crawled away and staggered to her feet.
Charlie stepped toward Zed.
“No, Charlie,” called her father. “Wait.”
“Dad, I know what I’m doing. You have to trust me.”
“I do.” He lowered his voice. “But leave Zed alone. I’ll explain later.”
Zed stopped her approach and regarded Charlie. She lifted her chin slightly, then cased the hallway to see if anyone was watching. The two new soldiers were out cold. “Go,” Zed whispered. “All of you. Get out while you can. Gray’s coming back.”
Charlie’s eyes widened. She
glanced at her father, who nodded. Charlie regarded Zed for another second, then said to the others, “Let’s go.”
The six of them shuffled and clunked into the hallway, stumbling into the elevator. “Quickly!” Charlie commanded. Maria punched the button, and they descended. Once on the ground floor, Mac led the way outside, everyone helping each other.
The strange-looking crew hobbled to the back entrance of their building, Charlie helping her father, and Mac and Maria helping the other two battered biologists.
Since the elevator was still out of service, they climbed the stairs slowly, waiting for Jack to keep up. When they reached the sixth floor, they hurried toward their office. A tearful Andy was waiting for them inside, with the door to the surveillance area open. “You have to go back!” he cried. “Mom’s still in there!”
“What?” said Charlie, rushing to him. “What are you talking about?”
“Didn’t you see her? Dr. Gray came into the lab with a huge box and gathered up all the rest of the supplies. She went to find you and stop him from escaping with everything!”
Maria gasped. “Have you been watching the cardinal cam? Did he get away?”
“I don’t think so—he went into the elevator but only went down one floor. I texted Mom and you, Charlie—she replied that she was going to meet you on the eighth floor.”
“Oh no!” Charlie pulled her phone out of her pocket and saw the notifications on the screen. In the craziness of the rescue she hadn’t noticed them coming in. “Why didn’t you call?”
“I didn’t know if you’d be able to talk—what if you were hiding or sneaking up on somebody? I figured texting was quieter and faster to get you the information.”
Charlie squeezed Andy’s shoulder. “Smart boy. You did the right thing.” She looked at her friends. “We’ve got to go back to get her before the soldiers all regain consciousness or my mom’s in big trouble.”
“Let’s go,” said Mac.
“Text me if you see Mom!” said Charlie. “And take care of Dad and the scientists!” The three friends set off once more.
This time nobody tried to stop them.
CHAPTER 38
Casualties
Charlie, Maria, and Mac peered down the dimly lit hallway on the eighth floor, where Andy had last seen Dr. Gray exit the elevator. They could make out the silhouettes of Prowl and Miko moving swiftly toward the stairwell, leaving the area clear. But they could hear voices coming from halfway down the hall, where a large round, out-swinging door stood open.
“That must be the bank vault!” whispered Mac, pointing at it.
“Those voices sound like Zed and Dr. Gray,” Charlie whispered. She checked her phone, but there were no texts from Andy. That meant Mom was still around here somewhere. Charlie texted her, “We’re on the eighth floor looking for you.”
Her mother didn’t respond. The conversation in the vault grew louder. Heated.
The three waited a moment longer, then crept toward the voices.
When they neared the open vault, Charlie could make out a few phrases.
“ . . . let them come to us,” said Dr. Gray.
“They’re children,” said Zed.
“Dangerous children,” said Dr. Gray. “We need them out of the way.”
Charlie, Mac, and Maria looked at one another, wide-eyed. He was talking about them!
Just then they heard a scuffling noise. Charlie and the others peeked inside the vault, and they saw Charlie’s mother at Zed’s feet. She was gagged and tied up, struggling to get loose. Charlie had to stop herself from crying out.
At Dr. Gray’s feet was a box of components—all the stuff he’d grabbed from the lab that Charlie and her father had failed to pick up. He held her mom’s cell phone and sneered as he typed something. Charlie and the others scooted back from the door, and Charlie put her hand over her phone in her jeans pocket, anticipating a response and wanting to muffle the vibration. She looked at her friends. “What should we do?”
Mac frowned. “I don’t know. It feels like a trick. Is he texting you back from your mom’s phone? Is he trying to get us to go in there so he can trap us?”
Maria nodded. “I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
“But he has my mother!” Charlie whispered. She felt her phone vibrate and pulled it out to read the text. “I’m here! In the vault! Help!”
“Ugh. He’s such a creep,” Maria said.
Mac and Charlie nodded. They snuck back to the vault entrance, trying to figure out what to do. “It’s just the two of them,” Charlie reasoned. “The three of us can totally take them down and be out of here with my mom in a few minutes, tops.”
“I don’t know,” Mac said again. He looked nervously over his shoulder. “This doesn’t feel right.”
“Well, I can’t just stand here,” said Charlie. “I have to do something! Are you guys with me or not?”
Maria and Mac exchanged worried glances. “Of course we are,” said Maria in a low voice. Mac agreed.
Charlie’s eyes shone. “Thanks. I really mean it.” She took a breath, then said, “Mac, on my signal go after Zed. Maria and I will take down Gray and then come assist you.” Just as Charlie was about to cue the others to attack, a strange figure seemed to step out from the shadows of the safe door in front of them. Charlie wasn’t sure what she was seeing at first, but then the person changed color, grabbed her by the shirt, and yanked her up in the air. It was Morph, the pincer-hand woman.
“What the—” Charlie said, flailing, trying to make sense of what was happening. She twisted and saw that Maria had also been picked up by Morph, and Mac was being held by the snake-wolf soldier.
“Hey!” shouted Mac, striking out with his claws, trying to connect with the guy. Charlie’s fist shot out, but Morph dodged it. Maria slapped her tail at the pincer woman and pummeled her. It didn’t faze her. They marched into the vault.
“Look who we found,” said Morph.
Zed narrowed her eyes and said nothing. Dr. Gray smiled. “That didn’t take long. Set them down and guard the door, please.”
When Charlie’s feet hit the floor she ran toward her mother.
“Stand BACK!” roared Dr. Gray.
Charlie skidded to a stop and stared at the man. But she wasn’t about to start obeying his demands. She continued forward. “Let’s get them!” she yelled to her friends.
She caught Maria and Mac off-guard, but after a second Mac ran at Zed, who sidestepped and skittered past him. Maria and Charlie dived at Dr. Gray.
“Morph, come and help me!” Dr. Gray called out. “Fang, take the tin can over there!” The woman ran to help him.
Fang hissed and struck at Mac, his remaining good fang breaking as he tried to sink it into Mac’s armor. Mac swung his claws around, striking the man in the face and knocking him down. The soldier growled deeply and attacked Mac, futilely biting at his arms and legs and pawing at his suit as if trying to rip him apart. Mac flipped on his back and rolled up. His pangolin scales pivoted outward a bit more in defense and gleamed, razor sharp. The soldier hissed and bit down again but soon backed off, the scales proving to be too sharp. Mac rolled and got to his feet, then sent his claw hands beating against the soldier. Fang turned and ran out of the vault.
Charlie barely got in a sharp uppercut to Dr. Gray’s jaw before Morph threw a jab with her pincer hand. She hit so hard that the punch knocked Charlie through the air. She hit the wall and slid to the floor, the breath knocked out of her. She saw stars.
Maria, exhausted and injured from the earlier fight, was no match for Morph—she ended up on the floor next to Charlie. Mac ran at her and Zed, but the two managed to tie Mac up without getting cut by his scales. They tied the girls up, too, using steel cables for Charlie. Clearly Dr. Gray had been anticipating this.
Dr. Gray staggered to his feet and grabbed the box of components. “Okay, team,” he said. “That should have given Prowl and Miko enough time.” But he looked disappointed and angry at his new soldiers. ?
??Next time protect me better. Remember, you’re nothing without me.”
Morph and Fang cowered, while Zed just looked away and walked out of the vault. Dr. Gray rubbed his jaw gingerly and waved the other soldiers to get out, too. Charlie struggled against the cables, trying to get a good grip so she could break out of them. “Enough time for what?”
“Enough time for them to pay a little visit to your hideout across the street,” Gray said with a satisfied smile.
Charlie felt the blood drain from her face. “Oh no,” she whispered. Was her dad okay? What about Andy and the others?
Dr. Gray held up his box, almost as if he was taunting her. “And now, thanks to your father and his friends, and my loyal subjects, of course, I think I’ve got everything I need to begin the next step of my journey. Good-bye forever.” He went out in the hallway and started to swing shut the vault door.
“Wait,” said Mac, panic rising in his voice. “Where are you going?”
Charlie paled. He was going to lock them in the vault! And leave them . . . forever? To die in here? “Stop!” she cried.
“What’s the next step?” Maria hollered out to him. Charlie looked sidelong at her and realized she was desperately trying to cut her ropes using Mac’s scales and stall Gray from closing them in.
“Yes,” said Charlie as she saw Dr. Gray hesitate. “What’s the plan? Come on, you can’t just leave us here wondering forever.” Charlie gave up trying to get a handhold on the cables and instead took a deep breath and pressed outward with her shoulders, feeling the steel bite into her skin. Then a thin strand of the cable broke—she detected it springing against her back. She kept pressing, breaking one strand at a time.
Dr. Gray hovered in the doorway and looked down his nose at Maria and Charlie as if they were simple children. “Once I figure out the perfect combination of traits, I’ll help all my soldiers become chimeras. And then? I’ll go into mass production.”
“What?” said Charlie.
“Did you really think I would stop with them? No, I want to give this gift to the whole world.”