by Francis Tint
“Being in college helps,” Rachael added. “I said we’re reps from my college, hoping to seek out some intern partnership opportunities. All businesses love some cheap slave labor.”
“You four from the college, right?” the Hermes rep approached them. “My name’s Ivan. Please follow along and allow me to show you the lab area. It will be most pertinent to our conversation.”
“Yes, please,” Rachael replied. “We have a strong life sciences program at our college. Actual lab experiences for our students would be amazing.”
The group followed Ivan up the glamorous stairs in the middle of the gorgeous lobby. The main lab area was on the second floor behind floor-to-ceiling glasses, showcasing state-of-the-art technology and lab devices. “We have hundreds of pipeline drugs in development at any given time. I imagine your students would provide great value in accelerating some of the required lab work.”
“Translation,” Rachael whispered, “manually collecting data from overnight test runs and cleaning up after the senior lab techs.”
“Excuse me,” Blake asked Ivan, “would you tell me where the restroom is?”
“Down the hall to the left.”
Blake departed the group and followed the first part of the instruction. At the end of the hallway, she made a right instead in an attempt to locate the hub of the Capacify program. She got to an elevator and read the directory. As expected from Corey’s intel, the fifth floor was blanked out. The elevator did not stop on that floor.
She used the elevator to get on the sixth floor, and used the stairs to access the mysterious level. The stairwell opened to a bare, windowless hallway.
In contrast to the other part of the building, Hermes had definitely spent way less on interior design and furnishing on this level. She knew she was getting close. She continued down the hallway until she arrived at a door. Clack-clack. She pulled on the door but it was locked. Of course it wouldn’t be that easy. Corey was right about the tight security system.
A staff member materialized behind her. “Excuse me. Can I help you?” the staff asked her in a bleak tone. “Restricted personnel only.”
“Apologies,” Blake reacted. “I’m just… looking for the restroom. Would you tell me where it is?”
“There isn’t any on this floor. Let me walk you out to the fourth floor.”
“Oh, don’t worry about it. I would not want to trouble you. I’m sure I could find my way out.”
“I insist. Please, follow me.”
“Did you get in?” Julia asked in a muted tone.
Blake shook her head. “But I know I was close. It’s definitely on the fifth floor. You have to get there through the stairs. And there’s strict access control.”
“Leave it up to me,” Julia smirked. She slowly stepped back from the group as Ivan continued to explain the history of Hermes and all of its amazing accomplishments. She found a fire alarm station and decidedly pulled on it. The siren went off immediately.
“I didn’t know there’s a fire drill today,” Ivan said. “I suppose we should evacuate.” The group followed him, except for Julia who stayed back amid the chaos during the fire alarm. All access controls should drop during emergency situations.
Following Ivan’s direction, the trio reconvened near the entrance. “I thought there were four of you. Did we leave someone inside?”
“No,” Blake said. “Julia wasn’t feeling well so she left earlier. Here’s her badge.”
“Thank you for the tour, although it was unfortunately cut short,” Rachael concluded. “I’m sure we’ll be in touch.”
The team reconvened with Corey. “Good job on the files, Jule,” Blake applauded.
“No problem,” she replied. “I grabbed what I could from the office. It’s probably not the complete list, but I hope we can find our invisible kidnapper.”
“Look. A lot of these candidates are developing weird symptoms,” Corey remarked solemnly. “This one lost mobility since he grew webs between his toes. This one died of suffocation. All her cavities were shut tight.”
“Oh my god,” Rachael lamented. “What is Hermes doing to these people? How can they get away from it?”
“All these people have very distant next-of-kin. Minimal social connections. It’s really sad,” Tylor said.
“Here’s Kevin Bates,” Blake pointed at one of the files. “He has developed the ability to undergo physical adaptive metamorphosis.”
“I guess that means shapeshifting,” Julia added. “I’m still having difficulty believing that this is not some science fiction.”
“I think this is our kidnapper,” Tylor said. “Optical transparency. Kaitlin Baker. Her address is listed on the file. Not a very decent part of town.”
“Before we go, Rachael, can you ask your IT friends to tamper with the surveillance footage at Hermes?” she requested, air-quoting “IT friends”. “I didn’t really have time to be discreet during our theft mission.”
The team arrived at Kaitlin’s residence. “Put on these thermal-imaging glasses,” instructed Tylor. “Although Kaitlin is invisible, she is not immaterial, and should still generate heat. We should be able to see her through them.”
“Woah, this is literally checking out how hot everyone is. Weird,” said Julia.
“Sort of like playing video games,” commented Rachael.
Corey kicked open the door, allowing the group to enter the apartment. The meagre space was disorganized and stuffed with misplaced furniture. “No heat signature in the vicinity,” Blake remarked.
“I think I got something over here,” Rachael noted. “Small heat signature. Looks like it’s from Sam.” She removed her thermal-imaging glasses but couldn’t see the kidnapped child. “Strange, how is he also invisible?”
“He’s probably covered in some invisible material,” Corey suggested. “Be careful. She’s likely still around.”
Bam! The invisible kidnapper landed a punch on Rachael, knocking her unconscious.
“Rachael!” Julia yelled. “Why aren’t we seeing her with these glasses?”
“She must be carrying something that neutralizes her heat signature,” Corey said. “But she won’t leave without the kid. Her movement should still generate sound.”
The group gathered around where Sam was lying invisibly, beside the unresponsive Rachael. They took off their glasses. The deafening silence filled the room with tension. Thump! A chair materialized in midair and flew across the room toward the group. They jumped away to dodge the flying object and scattered around the room. Corey took out an aerosol spray can and splashed yellow paint in the direction of where the chair had originated. Most of the paint fell on the floor, but a small portion caught onto a part of the invisible kidnapper, Kaitlin.
“You carry that around for some graffiti action?” Julia inquired.
“It’s my plan B,” Corey explained.
The four of them stood guard around the room. Tap-tap-tap. Blake felt movement near Sam and threw a nearby broom toward that direction. They heard a sound of someone tripping over. Corey quickly applied spray paint near the sound, slowly outlining the silhouette of the invisible kidnapper.
They slowly gathered around the paint-coated silhouette. Without warning, the yellow figure pulled the rug underneath the group, sending the four of them to the ground. The silhouette grabbed Sam underneath an invisible cloak and ran toward an open window.
Julia threw at the fleeing kidnapper some silver dust, the nanochemical Tylor had previously used to charge atoms into super micromagnets. The dust landed just before the invisible kidnapper, sending all sorts of lethal weapons near the criminal. Corey’s superpower-dampening device also flew out of his back pocket. Carrying Sam in her arms, the yellow contour narrowly escaped and hopped out of the open window. Corey followed quickly after, jumping through the numerous metallic objects.
The rest hastily pursued the target. As they approached the open window, the floor started to tremble. Heavier metallic items and appliances flew acro
ss the room and blocked the way.
“Damn it,” Julia said. “I guess my Plan B ain’t as great.”
“You tried your best,” Blake consoled her. “Hopefully it slowed her down enough for Corey to catch up with her.”
“We should follow them,” Tylor suggested. “He can probably use our help.”
“But what about Rachael?” Blake asked.
“You two go,” Julia said. “I’ll look after Rachael.”
With that instruction, Blake grabbed the device Corey had left behind and followed Tylor out the door.
Corey vicariously climbed down the external ladder outside the apartment building in pursuit of the invisible kidnapper covered in yellow paint. Rain started to pour down, blurring his vision. It washed the color off of the criminal. He followed the yellow footprint and chased the kidnapper down to a dead-end aisleway. Why did lawbreakers always prefer a showdown in dark alleys with no exits?
Corey lifted his hand, and summoned wind to knock down some of the boxes piled up on the side in hopes of taking down the criminal. She agilely dodged the boxes with dexterity. As the yellow paint continued to wash off, he needed to rely on the faint silhouette outlined by the rain to track down the kidnapper.
“Why don’t we go old-fashioned?” taunted Corey. “No superpowers. Hand-to-hand combat. Show yourself, coward!”
The kidnapper didn’t fall for his words. She hid under coverings so the rainfall could no longer betray her. He gingerly took a few more steps toward the end of the alleyway, trying to get a glimpse of the criminal. One mistake was all he needed. He waited. His breath echoed in the rainfall.
Corey spotted footsteps and followed the trail deeper into the alleyway. He futilely sprayed paint into the air, only to have the color melted onto the concrete floor. He kicked around the water puddles, hoping that the splashes would land on the invisible kidnapper. “Stop hiding!”
Clang! He heard a sound from above him. He looked up, and saw a splash of translucent glowing fluid fall on him. He closed his eyes and attempted to duck, but did not escape getting drenched in the unknown liquid. He opened his eyes, surprised to find that no painful sensation had been triggered in the attack.
“That’s all you got?” Corey roared.
“Here,” Tylor yelled. “This is where the footprint ends.”
“A dark alley again?” Blake lamented. “And flickering lights.”
“It’s ok. Just wait here. I can go in by myself. You don’t have to live through this again.”
“No way I’m sitting this one out. Let’s do this together.”
“Alright. We will fight whatever monster together. No one left behind.” He put on his thermal-imaging glasses, and encouraged Blake to do the same. “Hopefully these will come in handy. Maybe whatever trick the kidnapper was using has worn off in the rain.”
They entered the aisle cautiously, listening for anything mysterious. The footsteps squeaked against the wet concrete. They walked past some fallen boxes. “Looks like we are at the right place. The damage looks recent,” Blake said. “We should be getting close.” They strode past a tipped-over bucket.
“I’m getting some reading from my glasses,” Tylor remarked. “Looks like her trick is indeed wearing off. She’s just a little bit farther down the alley, on your right.”
They heard retreating footsteps, not far from where they were standing. Slam! Tylor charged against the thermal heat signature and pinned down the suspect against the wall without much resistance. “Looks like this is the end for you.”
Blake took out Corey’s device. “Let’s see what you really look like, Kaitlin.”
She placed it close to Kaitlin. An image slowly materialized under Tylor’s arm. Instead of a feminine figure, revealing under the device was a shocked and defenseless man with platinum blond hair, Corey.
CHAPTER FOUR
Common Enemy
“I’m telling you,” Tylor proclaimed. “It’s him all along. He’s toying us with all the shapeshifting, invisibility crap. He’s as guilty as those freaks. And he’s one of them.”
“I can’t believe I fell for you,” Rachael lamented. “You seem like such a nice guy. But it’s you! You’re behind all this! I almost flew away, and I got knocked out. I can’t believe you’re responsible for all that!”
“And are you too ashamed to even show your face? Why are you still hiding under your invisibility?”
In Tylor’s basement, the four of them surrounded an empty chair, with ropes around the back and the legs, and a cloth hanging in midair. Still transparent, Corey grunted from the cloth in his mouth.
Julia removed the restraint. “Let’s hear him out,” she said in a rather neutral tone.
“I got attacked. A bucket fell from the sky. I was drenched in this strange glowing liquid. Then my hand started to disappear. They made me invisible,” Corey protested. “And I can’t undo it.”
“He’s got a point,” Julia concurred. “I mean, why would he be waiting for you in the alley if he could just slip away, literally right under your nose.”
“Maybe he got sloppy. He probably thought he had already gotten away,” Tylor suggested. “Everything it’s just all too convenient. The shapeshifter, shattered. The kidnapper, invisible, so we actually can’t see her.”
“I didn’t ice the shapeshifter.”
“It could just be one of your tricks. Seriously, you played on our gullibility and sensibility. You made Blake think she killed a person!”
“Listen to yourself. How does this make any sense? Without me, Rachael would still be in the air. The spray paint was my idea. Your fancy thermal-imaging glasses didn’t work. Kaitlin is the real kidnapper. And she’s still out there. We got to get to her and rescue Sam.”
“No. You need to tell us where Sam is!”
“Blake,” Corey pleaded. “Tell me you believe me. Tell them to release me, so we can go get the real monster out there. I did not betray you.”
Blake, looking a little dumbfounded and confused, opened her mouth but no words came out.
“Blake, if you want me to beat this guy up,” Tylor offered, “seriously, just say the word.”
“No,” Blake said starkly. “That would not be right.”
“We all have a long day,” Julia added. “I don’t think we should make any decision right now.”
Blake stared at the empty chair, at where Corey’s eyes should be. For a moment, she thought she could actually see him. Was he really innocent? Or was he just fooling her, playing on her sensibility?
She left the room without saying a word.
It was a good attempt at the knots, likely acquired from his boy scout years, but the amateur quality really showed. In their defense, it was difficult to tightly secure a target that wasn’t visible. With ease, Corey loosened up his restraints and freed himself from their contraption. Escaping Tylor’s basement was effortless since Corey was still nevertheless invisible. Bonus perk from the attack.
A few thoughts came to his mind as he strode down the dimly lit street, passing by pedestrians who were completely oblivious of his existence. He could capitalize on his current state and find out more about the kidnapper still at large. Or maybe even break into Hermes and gather the remaining details about the Capacify program.
But it could all be a trap. His attacker made him this way, in an attempt to alienate him from his comrades. “Friends” would not be the right word to use, considering how quickly some of them had turned on him. Worst of all, he was quite disappointed that Blake had not defended him. After the fight with the shapeshifter, how could Blake not believe him? It was obvious that the whole invisibility thing was a setup, wasn’t it?
If his enemy had made him invisible, then for sure they could detect his presence if he broke into Hermes. Doing anything rash would not be the wise approach. Plus, although he wasn’t feeling any pain, the mysterious fluid could still be toxic. It’s best to get rid of it. There’s only one person who could help him at the moment.
&nb
sp; Knock-knock.
A man in his early twenties looked through the door peephole in his leg braces, but did not see anyone. Maybe the sound was something else. He turned around, limping to get back to his workstation. He took a few slow steps.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Three loud knocks interrupted the peace. What’s with these pranksters?
“Zach! Open up. It’s me, Corey.”
The prankster really did their homework, and it sounded awfully like him. However, as a mechanical genius, he wasn’t going to be fooled. There were ample off-the-shelf devices that allowed for sound modification, providing an easy means for impersonators.
“Good job, you got the sound right. But having trouble faking the face?”
“It’s really me. They poured some stuff over me and made me invisible. That’s why you can’t see me.”
“Isn’t that just convenient? Would it hurt you to come up with a more plausible excuse?”
“Take a look. I’m really invisible.” Zach decided to take the bait and approached the door to look through the peephole. One of his outdoor planters was suspended in midair, flying slowly toward him.
“Nice trick. But I have a few ideas how anyone can pull that off. Got to try better than that.” He stepped back from the door.
Silence followed. Zach was a little shocked that the prankster had given up so easily. He was hoping to see how more creative they could get. He approached his kitchen, and started to make himself a fresh cup of espresso. He turned to his fridge, hoping to get some regular bovine milk for his coffee. Slam! He walked right into an invisible wall. It felt positively strange.
“You left your backdoor unlocked,” a familiar voice emerged out of thin air right before him, catching him by surprise.
Zach reached out to feel the invisible object before him. If this was a fabrication, they had truly done a good job modelling human texture. He placed his hand to where Corey’s bicep was and squeezed hard.
“Ouch. It’s really me. They made me invisible. Do you believe me now?”
