Diary of a Teenage Superhero

  Chapter Thirty

  Ebony stifles a cry. Brodie looks shocked. Even I can’t quite assimilate this latest piece of information. Chad and Dan have been captured. This was not mentioned in any scenario we planned.

  We need to get them back, but it’s more important we take out the computer first.

  “I’ve got an idea,” I tell the girls.

  A few minutes later Ebony reduces a sheet of the metal roofing to oxygen, exposing the recess in the roof. Climbing in, we find ourselves among air conditioning ducts and cross beams. The ceiling beneath our feet seems to be made of timber. As long as we move quietly we should remain undetected.

  We make our way across the roof. I get Ebony to create a coin sized hole and I peer down through it to the room below. It takes me a moment to get my bearings. I can see men moving around a large chamber. A computer terminal sits in the center. A man seems to be adjusting dials.

  This must be the missile computer. I’m just about to get Ebony to create an even bigger hole when she grips my shoulder.

  “We can’t go down there yet,” she says.

  “What do you mean?”

  “We have to save Chad and Dan.”

  I shake my head. “Stopping the missile is more important.”

  “After they know we’re here it will be impossible to save the boys.” She lets this information settle. “Let me go back and get them.”

  “We’ve got to take out the computer!”

  “Give me fifteen minutes. That’s all I ask.”

  I look at Brodie. She says, “Ebony’s right. Once Typhoid knows we’re here it will be impossible to save Dan and Chad.”

  I slowly nod. Once they know the building’s under attack they’ll try to hold Dan and Chad as hostages. Or worse, they’ll simply kill them.

  “You’ve got fifteen minutes.” We check our watches. “I can’t give you any longer. There’s too much riding on this.”

  She makes her way across the roof and disappears from sight. I turn my gaze to Brodie. It’s uncomfortably close in here. My mind floats back to the previous night. I want to speak to her about it, but now is not the time.

  The minutes tick by slowly. Eventually I’m counting off the seconds. Sixty seconds. Forty-five seconds. Finally we’re out of time.

  “We’ve got to do this,” I say.

  Brodie nods glumly.

  The ground shakes as if there’s an earthquake. A resounding explosion rocks the camp.

  What the –?

  Grabbing my arm, Brodie hisses, “That’s our cue!”

  I had intended using Ebony to dissolve the roof under us. Instead I drive a force field straight into it. It collapses under us and we rapidly drop to the floor below. We have the element of surprise – but only for a few seconds. Scientists are staring at us in astonishment. Even the guards look amazed.

  Then one of them yells, “Shoot them!”

  The bullets start to fly. I throw up a shield and the bullet’s rebound off it in all directions. One of them hit a scientist in the head, killing him instantly. At the same time Brodie grabs one of the guards, breaks his arm and uses him as a shield as another guard opens fire.

  The man is dead, but then Brodie grabs his weapon and strafes the chamber with gunfire.

  “The computer!” she yells.

  Keeping my shield in position, I build up my concentration.

  Now, I tell myself. Now. Now.

  Now!

  I throw a blast of air as powerful as a small tornado at the computer and it explodes into a thousand pieces of jagged metal. The debris flies in all directions. Some of it even tears straight through the walls, creating serrated holes through which we can see daylight.

  Yes!

  Now for the others. Not that Brodie really needs my help. In a matter of seconds we’ve created a scene of utter mayhem. Men are dying all over the place. I remember a few days ago I had reservations about taking a human life. It saddens me to think about how casual it all now seems.

  But it has to be done. It’s them or us. It’s war.

  I sweep a group of men toward a wall and they’re knocked out or killed immediately. We head to a door. We’ve got to find the others and get out of here. I demolish the door – indeed, the whole side of the building – with one blast of air. In the clearing beyond there are guards racing toward us, firing madly.

  Thank God for the shield.

  We would be mincemeat without it. Now we have to find the others. I suddenly remember seeing a building on the map that Hodges marked as a storage block. Why didn’t I think of this before?

  I angle Brodie and myself between two buildings while I pick up debris and hurl it at the approaching troops.

  “Do you know where we’re going?” she yells.

  “I think so.” We approach a brick building and I try building up enough focus to punch a hole in the side of it. My efforts don’t work. I can’t concentrate. I’m already deflecting bullets and hurling as much debris at these guys as I can.

  “I can’t open the door!” I cry. “I can’t –”

  Brodie darts forward and grabs the door handle. It swings opens easily.

  “You ever heard of one of these?” she asks.

  I follow her inside. The interior of the building is far quieter than I expected. The walls must be reinforced. No wonder I couldn’t break in. We follow a narrow corridor to the end. I make the mistake of momentarily dropping my shield. As we turn the corner we are confronted by an artillery gun.

  It’s aimed right at us.

  I throw up my shield as it fires its mortar. It hits my shield, but the blast is so powerful it still permeates the barrier. We both hit the floor – hard. Lifting my head, I check on Brodie. I’m relieved to see her staggering to her feet.

  “What hit us?” she asks.

  “Something big,” I tell her.

  The artillery gun is set to fire automatically. Beyond it lies another metal door. This building is proving to be something of a Chinese puzzle box. No sooner do you infiltrate one level than you are confronted by another. A small slit allows access to the room beyond.

  Brodie peers through it. “I can see them! They’re on the floor! They’ve got Ebony too!”

  “Stand back.”

  I build up a blast of air. I’d like to say it tears the door off its hinges, but my focus is completely haywire now. The door sort of flies off and slides to the floor. We enter the room beyond and check their pulses.

  “They’re unconscious,” Brodie says. “I think they’ve been drugged.”

  Something about this doesn’t make sense. I can’t initially work out what it is. Then realization hits me. My stomach churns over uncomfortably.

  If Chad, Dan and Ebony were all captured and knocked out, then who was causing all the explosions?

  It’s almost as if we’ve been drawn here on purpose –

  The answer comes to me in a flash.

  “It’s a trap!” I yell to Brodie’s confused face. “We’ve got to –”

  But the gas is already pouring from the ceiling. I’m supposed to be a master of air, but now I can’t get enough of it to even sustain myself.

  Within seconds the floor rushes up to meet me.