“Hermit,” I said. “That’s what Siren needed him for. She probably got Mr. Sage and Johnny to move the gate, then let him do the rest.”
Since Hermit had done the hard part already, I opened one of the metal doors that led from the garage to the observatory, and we scuttled inside.
“Where do we go from here?” I asked Lulu in a hushed voice.
Normally, I would have gone in fireballs a’blazing, but I couldn’t risk alerting the ubervillains to our presence. Not with the others following behind me like ducklings waddling after their mother.
“According to my calculations, they’re probably in the main auditorium,” Lulu whispered. “That would be the most logical place to set up the VAMP device. And if I remember correctly, that’s where SNN usually does their live feeds from.”
“Then that’s where we go.”
The four of us made our way through the silent, empty halls. A few of the interactive displays flickered to life as we passed, spewing out facts about the observatory and other scientific babble about stars and planets and black holes. A couple of heated jerks from me, and the machines died a painful, fiery death. We stopped at the edge of one of the observatory’s main crosswalks to catch our breath and get a little more direction.
“Time?” I asked.
Bella checked her watch, which looked like a smaller, female version of Johnny’s, complete with wings. “Ten minutes until seven.”
“We need to keep moving,” I said, pushing away from the slick, marble wall.
After some more slow going, we reached the auditorium. I moved the others back down the hall. Then I dropped down on my stomach, slid forward, and stuck my head around the doorjamb.
We’d guessed right. They were all inside. Siren, Intelligal, Johnny Angel, Mr. Sage, Hermit, and the same weary cameraman I’d seen the night of the observatory benefit. My eyes flicked over my fellow superheroes. They looked no worse for wear, even though their eyes and faces were as blank and smooth as sheets of glass.
My gaze lingered on Johnny, and my heart squeezed in on itself. He looked fine, physically. I just wondered what the toll would be when Johnny realized that Siren had roped him into doing her bidding. That he’d tried to kill me and take over the city on orders from one of the women he hated most in the world.
As for the ubervillains, they stood in the middle of the auditorium in all their foul glory. They must have felt supremely confident in their dastardly plan, because they didn’t even have their masks on. I looked at Erica Songe and her geeky scientist sister, Irene. I’d been right on that count too. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Didn’t they know something always went wrong with the best-laid plans of ubervillains? And here they were without their masks on, running around for the whole world to see.
I shook my head. Sometimes, ubervillains just weren’t as classy—or as smart—as they used to be. Frost certainly would never have tried to take over the world without wearing his mask. Neither would Scorpion or Mad Maria or any of the other colorful, certifiable characters I’d battled over the years. If things went wrong, as they so often did, then they wouldn’t have their real identities to protect and hide them. Erica’s, Siren’s, ego was definitely as big as her overinflated chest.
Intelligal fiddled with switches on the VAMP device, which sat on the auditorium stage. Her face was set in its usual dour expression. You’d think she would have been a little happier about her Frankenstein machine finally coming to life. Every once in a while, a loud squawk would fill the air. A series of wires snaked across the floor from the radio-like object and plugged into the SNN camera standing in the middle of the empty auditorium, along with some lights. I eyed the machines and wires. I’d definitely have to do something about those.
As for Siren, she used the fancy VAMP microphone to berate and bark orders to her hypnotized cameraman about the hot lighting ruining her makeup. At least, that’s what she did when she wasn’t cuddling up to Johnny and rubbing herself against him like a cat in heat. She purred something into his ear. The tramp. Johnny stared blankly ahead, as if he couldn’t even feel Siren’s slutty hands roaming all over him.
I hoped he couldn’t. More than that, I hoped he wasn’t enjoying it, dazed though he was. My own hands clenched into fists. A couple of sparks shot up in the air. I was so going to enjoy reducing Siren to a crimson stain on the floor and throwing her ass in jail.
I watched them for a few more seconds before sliding back out of the auditorium into the corridor.
“Well?” Bobby asked in a low voice, his eyes bright. “Are they in there? Is Johnny with them? How does he look?”
“Easy, easy. They’re all in there. Siren and Intelligal are fiddling with the VAMP machine. Johnny and the others are fine, if a little spaced out.”
“So what’s our next move?” Bella asked, clutching the case full of bombs.
I thought. Planning and strategy weren’t my strengths, but improvising was. “We’ll do what we usually do. Or rather, what the Fearless Five usually do. I’ll go in through the front door, and you guys circle around the back. Is there another way to get in there?”
“There’s another entrance on the far side,” Lulu said, pounding keys. “The one that leads out to the gardens.”
Of course. I flashed back to that wonderful night I’d spent with Johnny out next to the waterfall. I allowed myself to remember. All the hot kisses, the soft caresses, the whispered endearments. Then, I pushed those thoughts, those feelings aside. It was time to put on my game face. My angry, I’m-going-to-kick-your-evil-ubervillain-ass game face.
“Here’s what we’re going to do. I’m going in through the front door and toss a couple of fireballs at them. While I’ve got Siren and Intelligal occupied, you guys go in the back and get the others out. Don’t forget the cameraman. Stuff the extra earplugs in their ears. Maybe that will bring them around. If the ubervillains try to stop you, somebody throw the bombs at them and retreat with the others. Any questions?”
Everyone shook their heads no.
I took a deep breath. “Then, let’s go.”
*
Lulu, Bella, and Bobby snuck off to skirt around the building and come in through the back of the auditorium. I gave them three minutes to get into position, then eased into the room, crouching behind a row of chairs. Intelligal was still fiddling with the VAMP machine. Siren stood nearby, checking her pale, flawless reflection in a small, compact mirror. I narrowed my eyes. Too bad the Pimpler wasn’t here right now. He’d turn Siren’s smooth face as red and ragged as the top of a pizza in a matter of seconds.
“How much longer?” Siren asked.
Intelligal checked a watch on her wrist. “Five minutes until the SNN studio cuts to you.”
“Excellent.” Siren snapped her compact shut and fluffed out her black hair. “Just think, in a few minutes, we’ll own this city and everyone and everything in it. No more doing stupid live shots of superheroes flaunting their latest triumph. No more skulking around abandoned factories. No more taking insults from Bigtime’s high and mighty. We’ll be the ones in control. Permanently.”
“Don’t get ahead of yourself,” Intelligal cautioned. “Things could still go wrong.”
Siren waved her hand. “You worry too much. Things won’t go wrong. Karma Girl and Striker are nowhere to be found. We’ve taken care of Fiera, and Mr. Sage, Hermit, and Johnny Angel are under our control. “
“Not completely,” Intelligal snapped. “They all balked when you wanted them to take off their masks.”
Siren’s thick lips turned down in a poor imitation of a pout. Her lips had so much collagen in them that it didn’t quite work. “Yes, well, keeping your real identity secret is the very first thing you learn to do as a superhero or ubervillain. It’s ingrained so deep in their subconscious even I couldn’t break through that particular barrier with my hypnosis. At least, not yet. Don’t worry, sister dear. We’ll uncover their identities soon enough. And have the rest of the city’s superheroes and ubervillains eating out of our hands.
Let’s talk about something more interesting. What’s the first thing you’re going to do when we take over the city?”
Intelligal spliced two wires together. “Quit my miserable job here at the observatory. Perhaps use some of the other scientists as test subjects. I’m curious as to what the effect of explodium is on a normal human body. Angel’s remains didn’t give me much to work with.”
My eyes went to Johnny. I thought I saw a bit of anger spark to life in his green eyes, but it was quickly swallowed up by the emptiness.
“And you, sister?” Intelligal asked.
Siren tapped a finger on her lips. “I’m not sure. Perhaps I’ll have a little fun with Mr. Johnny Angel here. He certainly has the equipment for it. And I plan on taking certain individuals down a few pegs from their lofty heights. Speaking of Johnnies, perhaps I’ll start with Mr. Johnny Bulluci and his trashy cohort, Fiona Fine. What the world sees in that woman’s fashion designs is beyond me. Yes, I think those two will be the first ones to feel the new city order under Siren.”
I smiled. That was my cue. Siren wanted a dose of Fiona Fine? Well, she was sure as hell going to get it. And then some. I straightened up and stepped into view.
“Oh, why wait another five minutes?” I called out. “Let’s get the fun started now.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Siren and Intelligal’s mouths dropped open so far that their teeth almost hit the floor.
“You...you...you’re supposed to be dead!” Siren shrieked. “Frozen solid like the rest of those fish sticks!”
I winced at the high-pitched sound, grateful the earplugs muffled the worst of it. “If I had a dollar for every time I’d heard that, I’d be even richer than I am right now. But enough chitchat.” I took aim and lobbed a fireball at Siren. “I’ve got some ubervillains to get rid of.”
Siren ducked down, and Intelligal soared up into the air. The fireball sailed right between the two ubervillains.
“You missed!” Siren crowed in a loud voice.
The red-hot ball of fire streaked through the air like a meteor and slammed into the television camera in the middle of the auditorium. The wires and camera exploded like firecrackers. Metal and glass zipped everywhere. When the smoke cleared, all that was left of the camera and the large majority of wires attached to the VAMP machine was a puddle of melted black metal.
“No, I didn’t.” It was my turn to crow. “Oops. Did I break your television camera? So sorry. I think your feed’s been interrupted. Permanently.”
“You’re going to pay for that,” Siren hissed.
“Bring it on, bitch.”
An energy ball popped into Siren’s hand, and she threw it at me. I ducked down, and the ball smacked against the back wall of the auditorium. Sparks flew everywhere, and static electricity gathered in my hair and on my fingertips.
Unnoticed by the ubervillains, the door that led to the gardens behind them opened. Lulu motored into the room, followed by Bella and Bobby. Lulu clutched the open case full of bombs on her lap. The Bullucis ran over to the three frozen superheroes and the cameraman and stuffed the Siren-proof plugs into their ears.
I threw another fireball, this time at Intelligal. She zipped out of the way, and the ball burst into flames on the ceiling. A display of planets hanging there went up like kindling. Somewhere in the distance, a fire alarm blared to life.
“Turn on the machine!” Siren screamed. “Now!”
Intelligal started to whirl her chair around, but I sent another fireball her way. She turned back to me. I kept lobbing my fireballs at the two ubervillains, trying to give the Bullucis enough time to get the others out the back door. Bella stuffed the earplugs in her brother’s ears and shot me a thumbs-up. She half pushed, half dragged Johnny toward the door, where the others were waiting.
Intelligal saw the sudden movement out of the corner of her eye. Her mouth dropped open for the second time in as many minutes. “Get them, Siren! Don’t let them get away!”
Siren spun, formed an energy ball in her hands, and hurled it through the air with a furious shriek. It seemed to grow in size as it sped through the room, as though all the ambient energy were attracted to it. The ball zoomed through the air toward the others. Right at Johnny’s retreating back.
My heart froze in my chest. Even as I started running, I knew I wouldn’t get there in time to save him. I wasn’t going to be able to save Johnny. The man I loved was going to die.
Again.
Suddenly, Lulu did the one thing I’d asked her not to—she played the part of the self-sacrificing hero and zoomed in front of Bella and Johnny. Siren’s energy ball hit her in the chest. Lulu’s dark eyes lit up with an inner fire, and her arms and legs twitched wildly. Then, the computer hacker slumped over in her wheelchair. The metal case slipped from her lifeless fingers, and the bombs rolled over the floor like shiny, chocolate marbles.
“Lulu!” Hermit screamed. He ran back inside the auditorium.
The sight of Lulu getting electrocuted also snapped the others out of their Siren-induced reverie. Mr. Sage and Angel stormed back into the room. I raced forward. Siren and Intelligal swiveled back and forth between us. They didn’t like being in the middle of a superhero sandwich.
“Get the machine and let’s get out of here!” Siren screamed.
“I don’t think so, bitch,” I muttered.
I put on an extra burst of speed and reached the VAMP machine the same time Intelligal did. A mechanical arm shot out of her chair and grabbed the device, ready to lift it into the trunk on the back of the chair. I grabbed the other side of the machine, latching on to the frame. The VAMP machine seesawed back and forth between us. In the background, I heard Siren battling the others. Energy balls zipped through the air. People screamed and shouted and cursed. Ash fluttered around like confetti.
“Oh, to hell with this,” I said.
With a mighty roar, I yanked the VAMP machine toward me and drove my free hand through the metal casing at the same time. Glass tubes and bits of metal snapped deep inside the device, which let out something that sounded like the screech of a wounded animal.
“No, no, no!” Intelligal screamed. “Not my beautiful machine!”
“Hell yeah, your beautiful machine.” I grabbed some of the wires inside and yanked them out, along with my hand. Then, I reared back and punched another hole in the side of it. Intelligal’s eyes bulged so far out of her head I thought they’d bust through her thick goggles.
“No!” she wailed, sounding just like the broken machine.
I let go of the device. Intelligal’s chair floated down, and she hovered over the ruined machine. I knew from experience that she’d be out of commission for a few minutes. All the geeky, science types hated it when you destroyed their pet projects.
I turned to the others. Bobby and Bella were pushing the unconscious Lulu out the door, while Hermit and Mr. Sage guarded their backs.
But Johnny wasn’t retreating with the others. Instead, he stalked toward Siren, who shot energy ball after energy ball at him. Angel flexed and laughed as the bolts bounced harmlessly off his chest.
“Don’t you know, you can’t electrocute a rock?” he snarled.
“Johnny!” I shouted. “Don’t do it!”
He didn’t even looked at me. “Stay out of this!”
I raced toward him, desperate to get to him before he got to Siren. My foot slipped on something, and I almost fell. Johnny shot ahead of me, reaching for Siren. I looked down. One of Jasper’s bombs rolled past my feet. It kept going and going and going across the floor. The bomb stopped—in front of the still-smoldering camera.
Flames licked at it, and the plastic shell began to melt before my horrified eyes.
“Get out! Get out now! The whole place is going to blow!” I screamed.
With a burst of speed, I grabbed Johnny’s leather jacket and yanked him away from Siren. He struggled against me, but I was stronger. Thank heavens for superstrength. I picked him up, panting from the effort, spu
n around, and tossed him toward the door.
Mr. Sage did the rest. His eyes glowed, and he used his telekinesis to float a still-struggling Johnny outside. I looked over my shoulder. Siren and Intelligal hovered over the machine, trying to salvage it, oblivious to everything else. Including the bon-bon bombs rolling around on the floor.
“Get out now!” I yelled. “There are bombs everywhere!”
“Go to hell, bitch!” For once, Siren and Intelligal were in agreement. They screamed the epithet at me.
Well, I’d tried. It was all I could do. My conscience was clear. I started running for the back door.
But I wasn’t quite quick enough this time. A loud roar sounded behind me, followed by a rush of heat and fire. The shockwave from the bombs threw me forward. I slammed into the back wall of the auditorium and out into the gardens below. Darkness overcame me just before I hit the ground.
Chapter Thirty
My eyes fluttered open, and my dazed mind wondered what had happened. Where I was. Why the sun was searing my eyeballs. Then, I remembered. Ubervillains. Battle. Explosion. The usual.
I was lying on the garden overlook on the back of the destroyed auditorium. The stone platform felt rough beneath my cheek. The rest of the fog faded from my mind. I wiggled my toes. Then, my fingers. Everything seemed to be in working order. Good to know. I focused on my arms and legs, moving them just a bit. Pain rippled through my body, but it wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle, being a superstrong superhero and all.
I pushed myself up on my hands and knees. Debris fell off my back, and glass tinkled out of my hair and crunched under my fingers. I winced at the stinging sensation in my palms. Somehow, I made myself stand up and dug the plugs out of my ears. I groaned and staggered back as more pain ripped through my body. I’d be sore for a week because of this escapade. But that was the price of saving the city and the world yet again.
I turned to look at the auditorium. Or what was left of it. The whole back of the building had been blown out, and nothing remained except the stone platform I was standing on and some smoldering bits of debris and rubble. Soot blackened the air, making it hard to breathe. Jasper had been right. His new bombs made Intelligal’s explodium missiles look like toy sparklers. I’d have to come up with some extra-special designs for the bomb guru.