Replication: A Kid Sensation Novel (Kid Sensation #6)

by Kevin Hardman

  I blinked as understanding suddenly dawned on me. Throwing my thumb back on the plunger, I pressed down as hard as I could. The syringe’s contents squirted out in a powerful jet, striking my ear and the side of my face, and then running down to my neck. And onto Jack’s hand, which was still locked around my throat.

  Without eyes, Jack couldn’t see what I’d done, but he undoubtedly felt the neural blocker running over his hands. Plainly surprised, he stopped his efforts at trying to inject me with the syringe. Then he must have had some sort of revelation, because he simultaneously let go of my fist and throat like he’d just touched a red-hot poker.

  The Jim-2 version of me dropped to the rooftop, but I managed to stay on my feet. As Jim-1, I put one hand on the heel of the foot Jack had on my chest and the other on its toe, and then I twisted. My action had the combined effect of getting his foot off me as well as throwing him off-balance, and he went sprawling.

  As Jim-2, I let the syringe fall from my aching fingers before wiping its dripping contents from my face, then reached out my other hand to help my Jim-1 self to my feet. Nothing seemed to be permanently broken in either body, so I turned the attention of both Jims to my evil twin.

  Jack had gone down on his stomach, and he lay there for a moment, making harsh breathing noises, as if he couldn’t catch his breath. Slowly, he rolled over and sat up. As I suspected, his eyes were back. I interpreted that as meaning his powers were gone. It begged the question of why my own powers were still present (as evidenced by the fact that I was still two Jims), but I filed it away for later.

  Jack looked at me with an odd expression that seemed to combine deep-rooted melancholy with profound loss and sadness. As both Jims, I took a step towards him and he recoiled slightly, at which point I realized that I was still sporting Gray’s countenance – on both Jims, no less.

  Switching both faces back to my own, I spoke as Jim-1, saying, “It’s over, Jack. You’re done.”

  “No,” he insisted firmly as he got to his feet.

  “Your powers are gone,” I stressed. “It’s time to face up to what you’ve done.”

  “You mean go back into stasis,” he muttered, taking a step back. “Probably forever.”

  “You don’t know that,” I countered.

  “It’s you who doesn’t know,” he shot back. “They’ll stick me back in a box, only this time it’ll be for good. Powers or not, I can’t go back to that. I won’t. I’d rather die.”

  I should have seen it coming, should have known what he was about to do. Should have realized what he was capable of.

  Without another word, Jack turned and raced towards the nearest edge of the roof. Being slow on the uptake, it was another second or two before I realized what he had in mind, and I took off after him.

  I wasn’t going to catch him; we were too evenly matched and he had a head start. Nevertheless, I shouted to him as we ran, begged him not to, yelled that he’d be treated fairly.

  My words fell on deaf ears. Jack reach the edge of the roof and calmly stepped over the side without a word and without looking back.

  Chapter 93

  Jack didn’t hit the ground. The building we were on had a balcony that ran around the fiftieth floor, and that’s where he landed. Fortunately, there had been no one around to see it. After the tremors Jack caused when we were on the roof, the entire place had been evacuated.

  At present, I was actually on the fiftieth floor (known as the “Sky Lobby”) of the building in question, sitting in a lounge chair. After Jack went over the side, I had reached out to Mouse telepathically, letting him know it was okay to stand down on repairing the nullifier. He had done so – turned it off, actually – and I’d immediately gotten my powers back. (I had been particularly grateful to have my healing ability back, as it quickly remedied the injuries I’d received at Jack’s hands.)

  I had then teleported to Mouse and given him a quick telepathic overview of everything that had happened, but not before bringing the two Jims together again. (Basically, all I’d had to do was want them unified again, and it happened.) Following that, we had coordinated with Gray, essentially telling him to come clean up his mess (although it was obviously a poor choice of words).

  Gray had shown up with a small army, sealed off the building, and was now having a deep and intense discussion with Mouse in a far corner of the Sky Lobby while his people put things in order. Mouse had told me that I didn’t have to be here, but – although others may have found it morbid – I had to see what had happened to Jack for myself. It wasn’t pretty, and I’d been grateful when Gray’s people, showing a decency I wouldn’t have expected considering who they worked for, had covered the remains with a sheet before respectfully taking them away. Now I was primarily just hanging around to get debriefed by Mouse.

  Eventually, the conversation between Gray and Mouse ended, punctuated – to my surprise – by a handshake. Then, while Gray stayed put, Mouse headed in my direction. I got up and met him halfway.

  “Look,” Mouse began, “you’ve had enough on your plate for one day. Let’s just shoot for catching up in the morning.”

  “Does that include what you and Gray were talking about?” I asked.

  Mouse glanced back at Gray before responding. “Yeah, we’ll talk. For now, though, I think our mutual friend wants a word with you.”

  With that, Mouse gave me a time to meet at his lab the next day and then said goodbye. He turned to leave, but then expectedly spun back towards me.

  “Also, I just wanted to add that it was a pretty gutsy move deciding to squirt the neural blocker on yourself as well as Jack,” he said. “Most supers would have been too worried about losing their powers.”

  I shrugged. “My powers were going to be forfeited anyway if Jack injected me – or so I thought. That being the case, I didn’t have anything to lose, and if nothing else, I figured it would stop him.”

  Mouse merely nodded in understanding before turning to leave, at which point I sauntered over to speak with my new boss.

  “You rang?” I said when I got close.

  Gray smiled. “I just wanted to say that I thought you did well – not just today, but during this entire episode with Jack. There aren’t many people who could have bested him on his worst day. Just proves I was right about having you on our team.”

  “And if Jack had killed me?”

  Gray shrugged. “Then I guess I’d have been wrong.” I gave him an incredulous stare, at which point he laughed and said, “I’m kidding; I’m kidding.”

  “Then why does it feel like all I’ve done today is literally survive some probationary period? And my reward is that I get to fix your screw-ups on a full-time basis now.”

  “Oh, come on – it won’t be that bad,” Gray insisted. “Especially after Mouse started haggling on your behalf. Your friend drives a pretty hard bargain.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “Bargain?”

  “For having you on my team,” Gray said. “Mouse negotiated some terms that I think we can all live with.”

  I frowned. “I don’t think I understand.”

  “We had to figure out a way to coordinate things such that working for me doesn’t interfere with your League duties.”

  “Wait a minute,” I muttered. “I don’t have to quit the League?”

  Gray chuckled. “What gave you that idea? I’ve never intimated that you had to chuck your cape.”

  “Yeah, but that was back when you wanted me operating as a mole,” I stated, remembering how Gray had first approached me. “I thought this would be more overt.”

  “You’ve got the wrong idea about us. We’re very flexible.”

  My eyes narrowed in contemplation. “Mouse – he gave you something. What was it?”

  Gray hesitated for a moment, giving me an appraising glance before responding. “Nothing really. We merely formalized some arrangements that had generally been casual in the past.”

  I shook my head in exasperation. “This is worse than I ever im
agined. Not only have I gotten myself sucked into a decaying orbit around you, now I’ve done it to the people I care about.”

  “You’re blowing things way out of proportion,” Gray retorted. “I know you think you’ve sold your soul to the devil, but there are a lot of benefits to being in this organization.”

  “Like what?” I demanded.

  “You tell me,” Gray replied.

  “Huh?” I muttered, not quite understanding.

  Gray spread his arms in a magnanimous gesture. “Make a wish – anything you want. What’s something you’d like to see happen?”

  I just stared at him for a moment, thinking this had to be a joke. On an empathic level, however, I sensed nothing but truth. But Gray was wily; he didn’t have to be lying for this to be a ploy of some sort.

  “No thanks,” I finally said. “I’m already in too deep. I don’t want to be any more in your debt.”

  “This one’s on the house,” Gray stressed. “A goodwill gesture.”

  I spent a second deliberating before responding. “Alright, you can clear my name. Without Jack, it’s going to be difficult to show I wasn’t framed for some of the stuff he did, so feel free to take care of that.”

  Gray pooh-poohed my concerns. “That’s done –took care of it days ago.”

  “What?” I practically growled.

  “Well, I knew you were innocent,” Gray declared, “so it was just a matter of informing the proper people that you weren’t the guy.” He then leaned in conspiratorially. “Now, come on. Give me a real challenge.”

  I pondered for a moment, then came up with something that I thought was sufficiently onerous.

  “That’s it?” Gray remarked, obviously unimpressed by what I’d asked for. “Consider it done.”

  “Just like that?” I asked, having trouble hiding my skepticism.

  “Just like that,” Gray confirmed. “Welcome to the big leagues. I’ll call you when it’s done.”

  I nodded and then teleported.

  Chapter 94

  I didn’t immediately teleport home after leaving Gray. Instead, I went to get something to eat.

  One thing I hadn’t shared with Mouse was that, after the two Jims became one again, I was famished. No, it was worse than being famished; it felt as though I hadn’t eaten in years, and the hunger pangs were excruciating. I’d initially tweaked my systems so that I couldn’t feel the pain, but now that we had seemingly wrapped up for the day, I knew I needed to get some food in me asap.

  I addressed the issue by going to fast-food places, first walking into a burger joint and ordering everything they had under the heat lamp. (Or rather, as much as they’d let me order, since they said they had to keep something on hand for other customers.) I did the same thing at a second fast-food restaurant – this one specializing in chicken sandwiches – and then another burger place. (In retrospect, I probably should have just gone to a buffet, but they would have taken a severe loss that day.)

  Eventually, I felt as though I’d gotten enough sustenance, and at that juncture I teleported home, popping up in my room. I immediately reached out on a telepathic level, letting my mom, Indigo, and Myshtal know I was fine. It just so happened, however, that they had already received the news. Mouse had told them.

  Apparently my family had been eagerly waiting to hear about the outcome of the final encounter with Jack. (In fact, I learned that Electra – rather than wait alone at home – had joined them, only leaving after Mouse had confirmed that we’d been successful.) Although being told by my mentor that all was well put everyone’s mind at ease, there was something about hearing it directly from me that seemed to give them an additional sense of comfort.

  They were obviously relieved, but also buzzing with excitement on such an elevated level that I could have picked it up empathically from a mile away. Quite clearly, they had been extremely worried about me.

  Mentally exhausted from the day’s events, I asked quickly about Gramps and – after being informed that he was fine – told them I was turning in, and no one naysayed me. I stretched out on the bed and immediately fell asleep.

  *****

  I slept soundly that night, and woke up the next day feeling completely invigorated. Performing a little psychological self-analysis, I chalked the good vibes up to no longer having an evil twin. I didn’t like the way things had ended with Jack, but I was certainly glad not to be dealing with the problem anymore.

  That settled, I hurried through my normal grooming and hygiene regimen before getting dressed and going downstairs.

  I went into the kitchen and suddenly stopped short. There was a strange man standing at our refrigerator.

  He was maybe an inch or so taller than me, with a solid muscular frame and a rich, chocolate complexion. He had a bright smile and a handsome face that made me peg his age as maybe mid- to late twenties.

  He didn’t immediately say anything – just stood there with a cocksure grin, but one which I somehow didn’t find offensive. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but there was something familiar about him. Hoping for a clue, I reached out to scan the surface of his mind telepathically, and…

  My eyes widened in surprise. “Gramps?”

  He laughed. “In the flesh.”

  Before I knew what I was doing, I dashed over and gave him a fierce hug, which he returned. Then I stepped back, and looked him all over, still surprised by what I saw. Now I understood the odd response I’d received when I’d asked about seeing him, and perhaps what my family had been so excited about the night before.

  “When did this happen?” I asked.

  He winked. “You should know the answer to that. This is your handiwork.”

  Of course! I’d almost forgotten: when I had healed Queen Dornoccia back on Caeles, she had actually grown younger as a result. The same thing had apparently happened to Gramps.

  “So what does this mean?” I asked. “Are you putting on a cape again?”

  “Ha!” my grandfather barked sharply. “No, your grandmother and I lost a lot of good years. In a way, this gives us a chance to get those back, and I’m not going to squander it. Besides, I think the world’s in good hands with this new generation of capes.”

  With that, he gave me another wink and clapped me on the shoulder.

  *****

  I spent the next couple of hours at the embassy, first talking to Gramps, and then everyone else as they trickled down for breakfast. As I’d suspected, my grandfather’s rejuvenation was why everyone had felt excited the night before, but they’d decided to let me be surprised. (Needless to say, they all laughed when Gramps told them my reaction upon seeing him.)

  We were all having fun – it seemed like forever since we’d simply been able to enjoy one another’s company without some issue hanging over our heads – but before long, it was time for me to meet Mouse. That being the case, I quickly said goodbye to everyone and teleported.

  I popped up in the lab, where Mouse and BT were already waiting on me.

  I thought we’d immediately launch into a discussion, but instead they had me put on an electrode cap (which, as the name implied, looked much like a swim cap with a bunch of electrodes attached to it).

  “This has been slightly modified,” BT said as I donned the cap as requested. “It’s going to give us an idea of your synaptic patterns.”

  “I thought you guys already had that info,” I stated. “Isn’t that what you got from my Caelesian crown?”

  “We’re just trying to confirm,” Mouse replied. “It’ll take a few minutes to get any useful data.”

  “That’s fine,” I declared. “In the meantime, can we talk about yesterday?”

  Mouse nodded. “That’s the plan. Where would you like to start?”

  “The neural blocker,” I replied. “Jack lost his powers but I didn’t. Why not?”

  “Let’s come back to that later,” Mouse suggested.

  “Fine,” I acquiesced. “Let’s move on to the nullifier. What happened to it?”
>
  “You have to understand a little about the configuration first,” BT began. “Each of the four corner skyscrapers housed part of the nullifier equipment. For power, we hooked them into the electrical systems of their respective buildings.”

  “Unfortunately, one of the buildings had an older power grid,” Mouse said. “There was a short that caused a power surge, which in turn caused the nullifier equipment in that building to turn on. However, because all of the nullifier components were synced, the entire thing switched on.”

  “That’s when you told me to veer off,” I surmised.

  “Right,” Mouse acknowledged. “I figured you could do without the experience of zipping around skyscrapers and then losing the power of flight.”

  I merely nodded, as this was the same thought that had occurred to me when the event actually happened the day before. (Also left unsaid, but coming to mind unbidden, was how things had ended for Jack.)

  “What followed next is pretty much elementary,” BT declared.

  “Yeah,” I agreed. “Jack’s precognition allowed him to see the nullifier threat, so he took out part of the equipment with his Bolt Blast.”

  “And with only three-fourths of the necessary equipment, I couldn’t get a fully functional nullifier,” Mouse admitted. “No matter how hard I tried.”

  “Well, it worked out for the best,” I noted. “And I even developed a new power.”

  “So I heard,” BT said. “How exactly did that come about?”

  I launched into a quick overview of Jack’s heightened sense of smell and how it played a role in the advent of two Jims.

  “Basically, I was trying to leave a portion of myself behind while at the same time go somewhere else,” I explained. “The end result was that there ended up being two of me – one in each desired location.”