Benjamin Franklinstein Meets the Fright Brothers (15 page)

“You're talking about focused heat projection,” said Victor. “Ben, isn't that how the Hyperion coiling system works?” He pointed to a large spring leading into the ground at the rear of the laboratory.

“It is,” said Franklin. “When lightning strikes the antenna on the roof, excess heat is dissipated down into the earth through those coils.”

“Like a radiator,” said Scott.

“Exactly,” said Victor. “Now, what if we could redirect that coil upward? If we had a big enough charge, it would generate an enormous amount of heat. I've been down here during a thunderstorm, and the temperature in the room rises a good twenty degrees every time the Hyperion coil kicks in.”

“Okay,” said Skip, “but don't you have this backward? Your coil there generates heat when lightning strikes. But you guys want to
make
lightning with the coil. How are you going to heat it up in the first place?”

“We could plug it in,” offered Scott. “Or use lots and lots of batteries.”

“Or,” said Franklin, pointing to the large metal orb hanging from the ceiling, “we could use just one big battery.”

Hours later, the plan was finally starting to take shape. Skip stood at the chalkboard, going over the details.

“The timing on this whole thing is going to be critical,” he said. “As soon as the Wright brothers are in view, we'll need to fire the Hyperion coil. That should heat the air directly above us. When the air rises high enough, it will cool and form ice crystals in the cloud tops, generating electricity. We'll have to ionize the kite net right away in order to draw the lightning down.”

“What if there isn't any wind?” Scott asked. “How will we get the net in the air?”

“Shouldn't be a problem,” Skip explained. “All that heat should create a massive, localized front. We'll be generating our own wind.”

Victor couldn't believe it. He was actually
impressed
with Skip Weaver.

“A million things could go wrong, and it will be enormously dangerous. But from what you've told me about this Megabat, we have no other choice.”

“Are you are certain you can secure a WURP news van?” Franklin asked.

“Leave it to me,” Skip said. “There's an old one out back that they never use anymore.”

“Excellent. In the meantime, we shall disassemble the necessary equipment and prepare it for our mission.”

“Scott and I will run to Ernie's to get the stuff for the electric kite net,” Victor added.

“Good thinking, Victor,” Franklin said. “We haven't a moment to spare. Let's get to work.”

Victor and Scott
hunkered down behind a Dumpster, a block from the Wright brothers' warehouse. Nothing had happened in the hour they had been waiting. A light drizzle began to fall.

Scott's mountain bike leaned against a wall. Victor's own bike was still at the Right Cycle Company, surely by now a piece of the Megabat. He'd had to make do with his mom's old bike—a ladies' pink three-speed that had only one working gear.

“You've triple-checked the radio, right?” Victor said. “If it doesn't work, the whole plan falls apart.”

Scott patted his grandfather's old radio, which he had crudely duct-taped to his bike's handlebars. “I checked it this morning. Then I dunked it in the harmonic fluid again. You know—for extra harmonica. See anything yet?”

“Not yet.”

“What's that noise?” Victor asked.

“Look!”

Atop the warehouse, two giant hatch doors split open like a drawbridge and clattered flat onto the roof. Slowly, a massive shadowy form rose from within.

Victor peered through the bioptiscope. “The Megabat!”

Despite its evil purpose, it was a stunning achievement. Perhaps forty feet long, the Megabat was black, sleek, and frightening, but in a strange way, Victor found it beautiful. Wilbur Wright turned a large crank, and its four wings, which had been pressed vertically against the fuselage, slowly opened and leveled off.

“Let me see,” Scott said. Victor handed him the bioptiscope. “Holy cow! That is
so cool
.”

Wilbur turned another crank.

The platform beneath the Megabat tilted up at a fortyfive-degree angle, pointing the plane's nose into the night sky. Now Victor could see the tank of harmonic fluid suspended beneath. He shivered at the thought of the mayhem it would cause should the Emperor's terrible plan succeed.

Orville and Wilbur slowly walked around the plane, inspecting it. Dressed in black, their bodies blended into the night. Victor turned a dial on the bioptiscope and zoomed in on the brothers' heads. Their ashen faces stood out boldly against the darkness around them.

Victor gulped. They
did
look like vampires.

The brothers climbed onto the lower wing and lay down beside each other on their stomachs.

“It's almost time,” Victor said. “Get ready.”

The Megabat began to rumble, its propellers spinning wildly. The boys hopped onto their bikes.

“Switch it on,” Victor directed.

Scott hit the switch on his grandfather's radio. Nothing happened.

“I'm trying,” Scott said. “It's not doing anything.”

“Well, try again! They're about to take off.”

The propellers whirred louder. There was a clang, and the Megabat launched into the air and began to soar away. Within seconds, it would surely be out of range. Victor tried to keep himself from panicking. “Scott!”

“I just thought of something,” Scott said. “See if this helps.”

He turned the volume knob all the way up. A horrible static blared from the radio.

“Fixed it!”

But were they in time?

Victor and Scott scanned the skies. The Megabat was already gone.

“We're too late.” Victor sighed. “We missed our chance.”

Then came the buzz. First soft, then steadily louder.

“There it is!” Scott yelled.

A giant bat-shaped silhouette swooped low. For one horrible second, it seemed to fill the sky. Then, with an acrobatic roll, it vanished from sight.

“Let's move!” commanded Victor. The boys tore down the street.

Suddenly, the Wright brothers reappeared, circling high above in their terrifying machine, banking and swirling.

“It's working!” Scott screamed, pouring on more speed. “They're coming at us!”

The Megabat plunged into a steep dive. A bone-chilling scream pierced the air.

As he struggled to keep pace with Scott, Victor huffed into his cell phone headset. “Ben . . . Mr. Weaver ... they've taken the bait. Fire up the Hyperion coil!”

“Faster!”
Victor hollered. They sped down alleys and side streets too narrow for the Wright brothers to fly through. The boys had planned their route carefully. As long as they stayed away from major roads, they would be safe.

High above, the Megabat zigged and zagged like a monstrous mosquito.

Skip Weaver's voice crackled in Victor's headset.
“The coil's at optimum temperature . . . Raise the kite, Dr. Franklin!”

Victor and Scott paused at the end of an alley to catch their breaths.

“We'll have to cross this street fast,” Victor said. “As soon as we're out in the open, we'll be exposed.”

The streetlight turned green. They each took a deep breath and kicked off, speeding across the intersection. Victor looked up to find the Megabat close behind, flying so low that he could see the confused madness on the brothers' faces.

Static hissed in Victor's earphone:
“
. . .
wires are snapping . . . going back . . .”

Going back? What was Ben talking about?

Victor heard Skip's voice shout back.
“No! . . . too dangerous . . . be killed!”

The boys steered their bikes into the next alley. “Mr. Weaver! . . . Ben! . . . We're almost there! Is everything all right?”

“No!”
Skip shouted.
“There's a problem! The kite net—”

“There is no problem!”
Franklin insisted.
“Proceed as planned!”

Victor felt the air temperature rising and the wind picking up. The Hyperion coil was evidently up and running.

The boys careened into the next alley. Victor spotted the chain-link fence at the edge of the Arthur Parker Art Park. The park had been the perfect place to set their trap: full of wide-open spaces, secluded, and devoid of people. They skidded their bikes to a stop and dragged them under the fence.

“This way,” Scott shouted. “Past the giant nose!”

They hopped back on their bikes and took off across the park, swerving between the enormous sculptures on their way to the trap. The Megabat's propellers buzzed close behind.