Dark Hunter
Page 19
Both orbs hit the door with such thunderous force that the metal buckled and the door was blasted from its hinges. The warped steel propelled the man across the cabin and into the far wall, knocking him unconscious.
Toby gained altitude to join Emily and Lorna.
“I thought there would be more of them,” said Toby. “And I thought pirates would be a lot tougher.”
“Wrong type of pirates,” said Lorna in her best “ye olde pirate” accent.
“It’s turning!” exclaimed Emily. As they watched, the boat increased speed and began to slide in the water. “Must be somebody at the wheel.”
Toby felt slightly disappointed at what seemed like an easy victory—he had been expecting the mission to be a lot more fun, but knew better than to say so out loud. “We didn’t need Pete after all, the slacker. Let’s get onto the boat and stop it.”
Toby wondered if Pete was okay. The last time he’d seen him was when Pete had plummeted underwater several minutes ago, convinced he had downloaded aquatic powers. Toby wasn’t too concerned, since Pete was a strong swimmer. Besides, his friend had been acting differently since they had been using the superpowers. Toby just hoped being a hero wasn’t going to his head, like it was with his sister.
They edged forward toward the ship’s dark helm at the front of the boat. As they drew nearer they could see the captain inside the control room, bathed in pale lights. The captain didn’t look around, but instead stared at his instruments. The ship was old enough to be steered by a large wheel, instead of the small computer joysticks of modern vessels. The captain was using all his weight to keep the wheel level.
Toby landed on the raised deck and took a step forward when Lorna suddenly gave a loud yelp. She had been about to follow her brother through the control room door when she was violently dragged up and backward into the sky by some invisible force. She suddenly stopped and hung stationary for a second, before rapidly zigzagging through the air like a balloon—coming to another abrupt halt. She stopped screaming for a microsecond before plummeting into the water.
Lorna’s screams alerted the captain. He spun around to see Toby—who had his back to the man, watching his sister’s plight. He didn’t see the captain pick up a small fire extinguisher and raise it to strike Toby’s head.
Emily dragged her gaze from Lorna, who was thrashing in the ocean, to Toby, who was about to be clocked by the captain.
“Tobe!” she screamed and extended her hands. The orbs appeared as before—but then they popped like harmless soap bubbles. For a brief second she panicked—the friends’ powers were only temporary and liable to run out at any moment. But she reasoned that her powers hadn’t expired, or else she wouldn’t still be flying.
Toby heard her warning and turned just as the captain swung the fire extinguisher down. Toby ducked aside but the extinguisher still clipped his shoulder. The might of the attack forced him to the floor, his right arm numb from where he’d been struck. The captain loomed over him and hissed in an unfamiliar language. Toby could see the bloodthirsty rage in the man’s eyes. …
A sound like a million waterfalls rumbling interrupted the captain. After years on the sea, he knew trouble from the ocean when he heard it. He looked through the control room’s window. Toby followed the captain’s gaze, his eyes widening.
A wall of water rose in front of the ship, almost one hundred feet tall and four times as wide. It was a tidal wave—except this one didn’t move, but stood up from the sea like a liquid wall, seawater rising on one side and cascading down the other. The cap of the wave bubbled and frothed, betraying the force of the water contained beneath—and Pete stood on top of it like a champion surfer. Dressed in his black wetsuit with his arms folded, he was laughing in delight.
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Also by
ANDY BRIGGS
HERO.COM
Virus
Attack
the nemesis of VILLAIN.NET
WHICH SIDE ARE YOU ON?
Read an exclusive excerpt at the back of this book!
AND FIND OUT HOW IT ALL BEGAN …
Copyright © 2008 by Andy Briggs
All rights reserved. You may not copy, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (including without limitation electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, printing, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages
First published in Great Britain in 2008 by Oxford University Press
Published in the United States of America in January 2010 by
Walker Publishing Company, Inc., a division of Bloomsbury Publishing, Inc.
Electronic edition published in October 2011
Visit Walker & Company’s Web site at www.bloomsburykids.com
For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to
Permissions, Walker & Company, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10010
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Briggs, Andy.
Dark Hunter / Andy Briggs.
p. cm. — (Villain.net)
Summary: In a desperate attempt to reunite with his family, teenaged
bully Jake Hunter reluctantly downloads another batch of supervillain powers
and soon finds himself kidnapping the president of the United States.
ISBN: 9780802728104 (ebook)
[1. Superheroes—Fiction. 2. Good and evil—Fiction. 3. Bullies—Fiction.
4. Adventure and adventurers—Fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.B76528Dar 2010 [Fic]—dc22 2009007463