The Prospects (6 page)

He also remembered he won against the Bone Terror, and he did it by remembering everything Sergeant Hammer taught him about fighting bigger and stronger opponents.

Sergeant Hammer’s voice from a training session years ago popped into Alex’s head: “Don’t be a sitting target, you mindless maggot!” He faced the Iron Pirate just in time to dodge a vicious punch by rolling forward.

Alex crouched and remembered Sergeant Hammer’s words again: “Find the weak spots! A baby could find them.” He looked at the Iron Pirate and noticed the spaces in the knee braces and shoulders, the slight leftward sway when he walked indicating a misplaced center of gravity, and how blood poured from the bullet holes in his flesh.

The Iron Pirate ripped off the keypad’s faceplate.

Alex twisted his hips back and launched a flying reverse-roundhouse kick that hit Iron Pirate’s left shoulder. His heel dug into the gap where the cyborg’s metal arm met his fleshy shoulder. It knocked the cyborg off-balance.

The Iron Pirate got back up. Alex slapped a new clip into his pistol.

The Iron Pirate sent a jet of black liquid at him.

Sergeant Hammer’s words were in his head again: “Of course he’s going to counterattack! How goddamn stupid are you?” Expecting the shot, Alex dropped and fired every shot at the robotic yellow eye. Most of the bullets bounced off, but it only took a couple to destroy the eye’s glass lenses.

The Iron Pirate lunged at Alex with his arms spread wide. Rather than dodge, Alex caught his shoulders, put his feet into his half-metal stomach, and judo-threw the Iron Pirate the way Sergeant Hammer made him do countless times. He remembered how Sergeant Hammer gave him a black eye for an imperfect throw once.

The Iron Pirate rolled down the hallway. Alex popped out his pistol’s empty clip.

The Iron Pirate charged. Sergeant Hammer’s voice in his head: “When your gun’s useless, don’t cry about it like a baby girl with a broken dolly!” Instead of reloading, Alex dropped the gun and jumped towards Zany.

Zany moaned and held her face. Blood trickled between her fingers.

The Iron Pirate lashed out and grabbed his ankle. Sergeant Hammer’s words: “Find something you can use and use it! Jesus Christ, you’re stupider than a goddamn monkey!”

Alex lashed out and grabbed Zany’s jester stick. He put all of his weight behind a swing aimed at the flesh part of the cyborg’s face. The spikes dug deep into the Iron Pirate’s temple.

Stunned, the Iron Pirate released his grip. Sergeant Hammer’s words: “Kill! Kill! Kill or be killed! Save that mercy crap for pansies!”

Alex pressed on the attack. He hit the cyborg’s head until it was a mess of blood and dented plate.

He didn’t notice a Gale Force screaming until he stopped hitting the Iron Pirate.

Black fluid streaked down her cheeks below her covered eyes. “I can’t see, I can’t see, oh God I can’t see.”

Alex jumped and broke a sprinkler head with the jester’s stick. He wrapped his arms around Gale Force and forced her head under the water.

“Open your eyes.” Alex forced her eyelids open. “Keep them open.”

A drop of the black fluid got on Alex’s lips. “It’s just machine oil. You’ll be fine.”

Gale Force calmed down. Over the noise of water from the sprinkler Alex couldn’t hear Asura gasp, “Behind you.”

Two metal tentacles wrapped around Alex’s throat and twisted in opposite directions.

Alex swung his fist straight back. His knuckles hit teeth. The tentacles loosened enough for him to turn around.

This new Iron Pirate almost a foot shorter than Alex and had a human face. Blood poured from holes where his front teeth used to be. Instead of a right leg he had three tentacles, and the one tentacle not around Alex’s neck was snapping at Alex’s nose.

Alex grabbed the tentacle with both hands. The tentacles around his neck tightened.

Gale Force wiped her eyes. “Another one is coming!”

Alex pointed his head at the hallway.

Gale Force threw another blast of wind against the corridor. The air got so cold each drop of sprinkler water felt warm.

Asura ran to the keypad. “What’s the combination?”

Alex gurgled. If he could talk, he wouldn’t have given it anyway.

Asura ripped out the wires and reconnected them until the trophy lab’s door opened. “Take what you want, just don’t kill him.”

The Iron Pirate released his grip. Alex fell to the ground and wrapped his hands around his throat.

Mind Dame popped her head through the door. “What’s going on?”

The Iron Pirate leered and licked his bloody lips. “I see what I want.” He bounded down the hallway. On the way he slapped Asura with a wide tentacle swing.

Alex’s heard Mind Dame pleading, “No, please no,” and metal slamming against the concrete floor.

Water splashed on the keypad’s exposed wires. It sparked. The door fell shut.

Alex stumbled to his feet and tapped the combination repeatedly.

The door wouldn’t open.

Alex punched numbers into the keypad so hard the numbers fell out of the broken plastic case.

The door didn’t open.

“Damn it!”

Oil and cold water stung Gale Force’s eyes. She couldn’t make out many details from the Iron Pirate coming down the corridor. She saw that it had tank-like treads instead of legs under its torso and a line of nails that ran through the middle of his shaven head.

She put her hands together and sent another burst of wind against the glowing skull and crossed wrenches in the middle of the Iron Pirate’s chest. Her arms ached from so much extended weather. The air got so cold each drop from the sprinkler stung her cheeks.

The Iron Pirate grabbed the walls on each side. His treads slapped slowly against the floor, but he still advanced.

Gale Force pushed harder. She generated so much wind it literally howled through the corridor.

The slain Iron Pirate tumbled against his comrade’s treads. Zany would’ve followed if she didn’t roll on her stomach to present no air resistance on the weak edge of Gale Force’s wind blast.

The sprinkler couldn’t wash away the puddle of blood that formed under her face. Her body shook as she cried.

Behind Gale Force, Asura twitched and shivered. “Why is it so cold?”

Alex lifted Asura by his shoulders. “Fix the keypad. Trista’s trapped in there.”

Asura took one look at the destroyed number pad and shook his head. “Can’t do it.”

“Why did you open it?”

“To save your life. He was gonna kill you.”

“But what about Trista?”

“Why do you care? She’s a villain.”

“She’s …” Alex paused, “I save everyone I can. Now get that door open.”

“I don’t have any tools and my fingers are numb.”

Gale Force couldn’t hear what Alex said when she threw a fresh burst of wind down the hallway.

A stalk popped out of the Iron Pirate’s shoulder blade and let out a red laser that blinded Gale Force.

The wind vanished when she instinctively covered her eyes.

A small laser popped out from between the Iron Pirate’s metal knuckles.

“Down!” Alex grabbed Gale Force’s shirt and yanked her down. Two dry cracks of air rushing into a stream of vacuum came through the tinkle of sprinkling water.

Gale Force stopped sending wind to land on her hands.

The Iron Pirate threw his fallen comrade’s body over his shoulder. The engine between his treads roared as he rolled forward.

A surge of adrenaline made Alex forget about being soaked in a freezing room. He sized up the approaching Iron Pirate. He instinctively reached for his holster. His fingers clutched air.

“Where’s my gun?”

“It blew away,” said Gale Force.

The Iron Pirate stopped. He tapped the metal pad over his ear. His body swiveled to the back and the treads reversed.

“He’s falling back,” said Alex.

A huge man in a dark-red and black appeared apparently from thin air between Alex and the Iron Pirate.

Gale Force blinked but her vision remained blurry. “What is that?”

“We’re going to be fine, he’s on our side.” Alex waved his arms. “Harry!”

The huge man turned. He tapped a bracer over his wrist and shrank to the size of a normal human. “It’s Professor Photon while I’m in …”

“Forget about the tank-guy. One’s trapped in the lab with …”

Professor Photon looked around. “Who are these kids? And why does one have Captain Sonic’s rifle?”

“They’re the Prospects.”

“Oh, the losers Lady Amazing kept in the basement. How cute. I don’t remember saying you could take things from the staff research lab.”

“Harry, one of them is trapped in there with the Iron Pirate.”

Professor Photon adjusted his red goggles. “The keypad’s destroyed.”

“Geez, you really are a super-genius. Did the dangling sparking wires tip you off?”

“I don’t appreciate your attitude, Agent. What do you want me to do?”

“Make yourself super-small and go through a crack. Or inject me with particles and send me in there.”

Professor Photon tapped on the door. “I designed this door to be blast-proof and airtight to a molecular level. Nothing can get in or out.”

“But a girl is trapped in there with him!”

Professor Photon’s mouth, the only exposed part of his face, twisted. “The only other way in is the maintenance entrance, which is …”

“We came in that way,” said Alex. “Come on.”

Professor Photon tapped his watch. A stream of tiny glowing particles overwhelmed his body. His body grew until his head almost brushed against the ceiling and his shoulders went from wall-to-wall in the corridor.

Each step from his huge foot made the floor shake. The vibrations got weaker when he and Alex turned around the corner.

The sprinkler went dry.

Only when Gale Force realized the battle was over did she feel soaked and frozen. Her t-shirt and sweatpants clung to her numb skin, which made her more conscious than ever of her flabby physique.

Asura’s wet clothes hung from his skinny frame. He hugged himself and shivered. “Why do you have to make everything so cold?”

“I make air molecules heavier. That makes things cold. That makes wind. I thought you knew science, Asura.”

“Stop calling me that, Panda Bear.”

“Stop calling me that, asshole.”

He slung the sonic rifle over his shoulder. “Whatever, Jenny. We’re not wearing our stupid costumes and Agent O’Foul-up isn’t around.”

“What are we supposed to do?”

“As the smartest guy in the room, I say we clear out.”

“What about Trista? She’s trapped in there.”

“Well, if it had to happen to anyone else, that’d be sad. But she’s a …”

Candilyn got on her hands and knees. Blood fell in a thick stream from her lowered head.

Jenny crouched next to her. “Are you okay?”

“I need a Band-Aid.” Candilyn put her head back. Her thin nose was flattened. A hundred small holes in the face of a footprint in covered her face.

Vijay recoiled. “Oh, you ain’t pretty no more.”

Candilyn moaned.

“You’ll be fine.” Jenny helped her to her feet. “You heal fast. Come on, let’s get you to the ground floor.”

“You get her there.” Vijay pushed past them. “I need a hot shower.”

“Seriously? You’re abandoning us?”

“If you were injured, we’d need two people to carry you, but Candilyn is light, so …”

Vijay stopped talking when, far ahead in the corridor, Alex shouted, “Did that closet door move?”

Vijay jumped behind Jenny. “Oh, crap, is that another Iron Pirate?”

Professor Photon said, “Wait here.”

Jenny looked ahead to see Professor Photon cover himself in silver swirling particles. He shrank to the size of a cockroach and ran under a maintenance closet’s door.

Then she looked back at Vijay. “You’re hiding behind me?”

“Sarge said always take cover.” Vijay fidgeted with the rifle’s battery. “Sure hope I can get this thing to shoot.”

Candilyn spat blood. “You’re the worst superhero-wannabe ever, Vijay.”

The closet door opened. Professor Photon stepped out, enlarged to the size of a professional basketball player. He had the back of a giant hand around Deon’s neck. “I assume this is one of yours?”

Deon covered the dark wet patch that started on his tight costume’s groin and ran down both legs.

Alex looked Deon over. “Did you piss yourself?”

“Agent,” said Professor Photon, “isn’t there still an Iron Pirate in the weapons lab?”

“Right, and Trista too.” Alex and Professor Photon ran to the stairway.

Vijay pointed at Deon. “See? He’s the worst superhero-wannabe ever.”

“No, this isn’t …” Deon stammered, “I mean, I spilled some water on my …”

“You hid in a closet?” said Jenny.

“I mean, I scouted ahead to see …”

“You couldn’t tell us another Iron Pirate was coming?” said Viijay.

“We almost got killed, and you hid in the closet.” said Jenny.

“You suck, Deon,” said Amienlyn.

“Screw you guys.” Deon vanished in a gold streak.

“And, once again, he runs away.” Vijay pushed past Candilyn and Jenny again. He pushed the elevator door and got in.

“Hey, wait for us,” said Jenny as the doors began to close.

Vijay waved and lowered all of his fingers but the middle one when the doors came together.

“That asshole,” said Jenny.

Candilyn lolled her head over. “I think I got blood all over your shirt. You can have one of mine.”

“Forget it.”

“You’re real nice, Panda Bear.”

“I don’t like being called that.”

“That’s why you’re my hair-dye buddy. Remember back when we thought Deon was hot and Vijay was funny and we didn’t know Trista was a villain?”

Jenny pressed the down button. “Back when I ran from one audition to another to get on a real team? All I got was a month and a half of humiliation after each rejection.”

The elevator doors opened. “But you always came back,” said Candilyn.

“I’ll be gone soon.”

“Oh, sure you will.”

“I’m done. I sent Mister Griffin an e-mail asking to leave yesterday.”

“You’re quitting?”

“Call it what you want. I can’t understand why you’re staying.”

“Hey, if I go back home, mom and step-dad will make me get a job.”

“So you don’t want to be a hero or anything?”

“Please. I don’t even know what that means.”

The elevator doors finally opened. Jenny helped Candilyn off.

Candilyn rubbed her broken nose and slapped a bloody handprint on the wall. “So why are you going?”

“I can’t do this anymore. I’m tired of everyone saying I’m not good enough.”

“Ah, come on, Panda Bear. Who cares what everyone else says? People always say I’m stupid and you don’t see my crying. Okay, I’m teary now, but that’s because of the nose. Nothin’ hurts like a broken nose.”

“And you’re handling it pretty well.”

“I get beat up a lot. I’m good at it.”

“Well, I’m not. I told myself I’d come through in my first battle. I thought I’d do well enough to prove I could be a hero.”

“And I’ll bet you saw yourself as a thin blonde with white mid-thigh socks too.” Candilyn grabbed Jenny’s stomach fat and wiggled it. “Give it up, Panda Bear. You’re you.”

Jenny slapped her hand away. “Don’t remind me.”

“Did you think one lucky minute can change that? You’re a short chubby Japanese girl. You will be for the rest of your life.”

Jenny groaned. "I'm Taiwanese-American."

“It’s all Japan to me."

She wanted to fight back by calling Candilyn a skinny idiot. She wanted say that Lady Amazing got so frustrated with Candilyn’s stupid questions she answered through clenched teeth, which Candilyn never seemed to notice.

But why bother? Soon Jenny would never have to put up with Candilyn again. No more faking friendship to stay on her good side. No more phony laughs at her horrible jokes. No more thinking of excuses to distract Candilyn to keep her from bullying Trista. No more trying to be Gale Force. She would throw away her homemade costume. For the rest of her life she’d be Jenny Feng, who dropped out of college to chase her dream but was too short and fat to catch it.

“You know what the worst part is?” said Jenny. “I never got to meet Stormhead.”

“What, the silver-haired guy who throws electricity?”

“Yeah, he’s the hottest New York Guardian.”

“Well, maybe, if you like mutants.”

The doors opened.

Red and blue flashing lights reflected off of the flat granite floor of Griffin Tower’s front lobby. Men in light-blue security uniforms opened the door for paramedics.

The door next to the elevator opened. Professor Photon came out, panting. He puffed an inhaler and waved to the paramedics. “Upstairs, thirty-eighth floor. Agent O’Farrell will meet you there.”

A paramedic asked, “What’s the situation?”

“I don’t know. Agent O’Farrell only said we need medics.”

Jenny gasped. “Is Trista okay?”

Professor Photon ignored her. “There’s also a dead cyborg up there. Don’t touch his remains. Our agent will call for a special MAB to handle that mess. And don’t touch any of the weapons.”

The paramedic pointed to Candilyn, whose lower face was covered in blood. “What about her?”

“Take them to the hospital too.”

“If I’m good, do I get a lollypop?” said Candilyn.

“I think I’m okay,” said Jenny.

“Let the doctors decide that,” said Professor Photon