Zac Power Extreme Missions

by H. I. Larry

  ‘Boys, come on!’ called their dad.

  Grandpa and Zac’s parents were running for the entrance. Zac and Leon raced to catch up with them. The White Ninjas sprang forwards, trying to cut them off.

  Zac and Leon sprinted towards the entrance, getting there seconds before the ninjas did. Then all five Powers dashed out of the cavern, into the long stone tunnel that led outside.

  More ice-disks whooshed through the air as the White Ninjas gave chase. One of the disks smacked into the back of the Holomet, and Zac’s White Ninja disguise started flickering on and off.

  Zac ripped the Holomet off as he raced through the tunnel. It was easier to see where he was going without the Holomet, but he knew they couldn’t out-run the highly trained ninjas for ever. He had to think of something!

  Then he had an idea. Still running, Zac tapped at his SpyPad, setting it to Sonic Pulse. The SpyPad began to vibrate, and a loud, low hum filled the tunnel. The hum got louder and louder until the whole tunnel started rumbling around them.

  CRACK-THUD! CRACK-THUD!

  The walls trembled from the sonic pulse, until enormous rocks came crashing down from the ceiling, slamming into the ground just behind Zac and his family.

  ‘Run!’ Zac shouted.

  ‘I am running!’ puffed Leon.

  The rocks piled up into a giant wall behind Zac, trapping the White Ninjas inside the cave. Zac could see dark sky just up ahead. He bolted through the crumbling cave, just ahead of the rocks that were hammering down from the ceiling.

  CRACK-THUD! CRACK-THUD!

  The tunnel finally ended and Zac burst out of the cave. The others were close behind.

  Leon let out a sigh of relief. ‘I’m so glad that’s over,’ he panted, trying to catch his breath.

  ‘Not over yet,’ said Grandpa, patting Leon on the back. ‘We’ve still got work to do. Next stop: GADGET headquarters!’

  CHAPTER

  THREE

  A few hours later, Zac, Grandpa and Leon were rocketing out over the ocean in the MicroLab. They were closing in on GADGET HQ, where the final piece of IRIS was hidden. Zac’s mum and dad had gone off in the Ski-Pod to get back-up.

  ‘I still don’t get why I couldn’t have gone with Mum and Dad,’ said Leon from the pilot’s seat.

  ‘It doesn’t take three people to call for back-up,’ said Zac, rolling his eyes.

  ‘Besides,’ said Grandpa, ‘you’re GIB’s top gadget expert. You’re going to help us find the last piece of the most powerful gadget ever built.’

  Zac’s heart pounded. Rescuing his family had eaten up precious time. They had a lot of catching up to do if they were going to beat Caz and Blackwood to the final piece of IRIS.

  ‘Where exactly is this place?’ Zac asked, watching the ocean rush past underneath them.

  ‘We’re headed for a tiny island in the middle of the ocean,’ said Grandpa. ‘That’s not where GADGET HQ is, though.’

  ‘Then why are we going?’ asked Zac.

  ‘Because GADGET HQ was built at the bottom of the ocean,’ said Grandpa, ‘and the water pressure down there would crush this MicroLab like a can of drink. We need a vehicle that’s custom-built to survive deep underwater.’

  ‘But why would you hide the last piece of IRIS at HQ?’ asked Zac. ‘Blackwood was in GADGET, and she can get there without a map!’

  ‘Yeah,’ said Leon, with one hand still on the MicroLab’s tiny steering wheel. ‘And why did you hide the IRIS computer chip in the City of Snow? Those people hated you after what IRIS nearly did to them!’

  Grandpa shrugged. ‘I put the IRIS chip there because I thought it was the last place Elizabeth would look,’ he said. ‘And by the fourth piece, I was running out of good hiding spots. Besides, GADGET HQ was shut down years ago.’

  Leon glanced out the window. ‘Island sighted,’ he said, turning back to the controls. ‘Preparing to land.’

  Zac looked out the window as the MicroLab zoomed down to land on the island. He could see a sandy beach that stretched around the edge of the island, but there wasn’t a person in sight.

  When the MicroLab was safely on the ground, the three of them climbed out.

  ‘Quick,’ said Grandpa. ‘This way.’

  Grandpa led the way along the shore to an old wooden pier that stretched out into the ocean. Bobbing up and down at the end of the pier was a rusty yellow submarine.

  ‘This is the sub I used in the old days to get down to HQ,’ Grandpa explained as they ran along the pier. ‘It’s old, but it’s a good little vehicle.’

  There was a heavy door on top of the submarine. Grandpa jumped across from the pier, spun a small dial, and heaved the door open. Zac and Leon followed him down into the sub.

  ‘Whoa!’ said Zac, as his feet hit the floor. The front of the sub was completely see-through, from the floor up to the roof. It was like standing inside a giant glass half-bubble.

  ‘So,’ smiled Grandpa, ‘who’s driving?’

  Zac dived into the pilot’s seat. He’d had plenty of experience with underwater vehicles on previous missions, and he was itching to drive. It had been almost two days since he’d been at the wheel!

  He grabbed the steering wheel and eased his foot down on the accelerator. The sub slowly drifted away from the pier and sank down into the water.

  Zac guided the sub over the sandy ocean floor, sending schools of fish darting out of the way.

  Then he glanced down at his PSU. The first three IRIS pieces were five kilometres away, but the last piece was still further out.

  Good, he thought. That meant Caz and Blackwood were out there somewhere with the other pieces of IRIS – but they hadn’t made it to GADGET HQ yet.

  The ocean floor suddenly dropped away, and the submarine sped out over a gaping underwater valley. Zac stared out through the front of the sub. The valley was so deep that he couldn’t even see the ocean bed.

  ‘The old HQ is just down there,’ said Grandpa, pointing into the darkness.

  Zac spun the steering wheel, guiding the sub downward. The deeper they went, the darker the ocean became around them.

  Grandpa reached over in front of Zac to switch on the submarine’s headlights.

  CLICK!

  ‘Whoa!’ shouted Zac, slamming a hand down on the emergency stop.

  ‘Zac, look out!’ cried Leon.

  Jets of water shot out in front of the sub, slowing it to a halt just in time.

  Zac gazed out at the valley. Floating in the water down below them were hundreds of giant metal balls, covered in spikes.

  CHAPTER

  FOUR

  It was an underwater minefield.

  ‘What do we do?’ said Leon, his eyes fixed on the mines.

  ‘We find a way to get through them,’ said Zac. ‘We’re not turning back now.’

  ‘What? No!’ Leon sounded panicky. ‘No, we should go back to the MicroLab.

  There might be a gadget in there that –’

  ‘No time,’ interrupted Grandpa, pulling open a store cupboard. ‘Blackwood and Caz planted those BIG mines to stop us, which means they’re almost inside HQ.’

  Zac’s mind was racing. They had to find a way through the mines. If Caz and Blackwood got to the final piece of IRIS before Zac could stop them...

  ‘But how are we going to get through?’ said Leon.‘If we hit even one of those mines, the whole minefield will explode!’

  ‘Right,’ said Grandpa, taking a dusty old scuba suit out of the cupboard. ‘So one of us needs to head out there in this Aqua Armour and defuse them.’

  ‘I’ll do it,’ said Zac straight away.

  G.A.D.G.E.T. AQUA ARMOUR Jet-propelled Protective Scuba Gear

  Leon look extremely relieved.

  ‘Thought you might,’ Grandpa smiled, as Zac grabbed the Aqua Armour and started pulling it on. Even though it was old, the suit was lightweight and flexible, with a box on the back that looked like some kind of jetpack.

  ‘There must be hundreds of mines out there,’
protested Leon. ‘It’ll take forever to defuse them all!’

  ‘I won’t defuse all of them,’ said Zac. ‘I only need to knock out enough for the sub to get through.’

  ‘And how are you going to do that?’ asked Leon.

  ‘Actually,’ Zac told him, ‘I was hoping you’d have an answer to that one.’

  Leon thought for a minute. ‘OK, I’ve got an idea,’ he said. He started to look excited for the first time in ages. ‘Zac, give me your SpyPad. Lucky it’s waterproof!’

  Zac handed the SpyPad over. Leon pulled out a USB cable and connected them together, then began downloading something. Meanwhile, Grandpa reached back into the cupboard and pulled out what looked like an old power drill with a big fat magnet on the end.

  Zac took the gadget. ‘What’s this?’

  ‘This is how you’re going to get back inside the submarine,’ said Grandpa. ‘It’s a Magnetic Grappling Hook. Once the mines are defused, just fire it at the sub’s airlock and it’ll pull you back in.’

  ‘All right,’ said Leon, tapping at Zac’s SpyPad screen. ‘I’ve reconfigured your Spy- Pad to emit a low-grade electromagnetic pulse. Just point and shoot. It should be enough to defuse the mines.’

  ‘Thanks,’ said Zac, taking back his SpyPad. Then he sealed the Aqua Armour’s heavy glass helmet down over his head.

  There was an airlock in the floor of the submarine. Zac opened the door and climbed down.

  HISSSSSS! HISSSSSS!

  The door slid shut above his head, sealing him inside the airlock. A second later, another door slid open under Zac’s feet.

  HISS!

  The airlock filled up with water and Zac swam out into the open ocean, warm and dry inside the Aqua Armour.

  The submarine’s headlights shone way off into the distance. Through the dozens of mines in front of him, Zac could just make out a big, murky orange shape sitting on the valley floor. GADGET HQ.

  Time to get to work, thought Zac as he swam towards the first mine in the sub’s path.

  When he got near, he slowed down and treaded water. Up close, the mine was almost as big as he was. At the end of each spike was a dim, greenish light. Zac could hear a soft ticking sound coming from inside the mine.

  Zac knew that one false move could set the whole minefield off. He carefully pointed the SpyPad right up close to the mine and fired the electromagnetic pulse.

  The water rippled slightly in front of the SpyPad. Zac held his breath.

  A moment later, the mine stopped ticking and all of its lights flickered off.

  Yes! Zac cheered silently. It worked!

  He left the deactivated mine behind and swam carefully over to the next one.

  The submarine edged forwards behind Zac, lighting up the ocean ahead of him.

  Zac fired the pulse and deactivated the second mine. Too easy, he thought. Slowly but surely, he swam through the minefield, defusing just enough mines to make a path for the submarine. The submarine glided smoothly behind him.

  Finally Zac came to the last mine blocking the submarine’s path. He aimed the SpyPad and fired.

  Another job well done, Zac smiled, swimming out of the sub’s way. There were only 50 metres between the edge of the minefield and GADGET HQ.

  But then Zac saw something that made him go cold. A dark, shadowy shape was gliding through the water towards him.

  It was an enormous shark!

  CHAPTER

  FIVE

  Zac swam hard through the water, kicking away with all his might. But he knew it was pointless. He was no match for a huge shark. Then he caught sight of a button labelled JETS on one of his gloves, and quickly slammed his other hand on it.

  WHOOOOOOSH!

  Twin jets of compressed air suddenly blasted out behind Zac. He zoomed forwards, twisting his body left and right to steer – like Superman, but underwater!

  Excellent, thought Zac. This is more like it! He whooshed along, trying to put some distance between himself and the shark.

  He glanced back over his shoulder, checking to see how far away he was now. But even with Zac’s jetpack firing at full power, the shark was still behind him! Up close, Zac could see into its huge, gaping jaws. He gulped and kicked even harder.

  Then Zac looked up ahead and realised he’d gone off-course. He was swimming straight at an active mine! He leant hard to the left, veering out of the way just in time.

  The shark swerved around behind him. It stayed well clear of the mine, almost like the shark knew they were dangerous. Then Zac saw more shapes moving in the water. There were two other sharks up ahead!

  They were right next to the sub, weaving through the minefield towards Zac.

  WHOOOOOOSH!

  Zac did a high-speed tumble-turn and raced away in another direction. The three sharks shot through the water after Zac.

  Zac veered back around toward the sub. It was gliding slowly through the water up ahead, just clear of the minefield. He glanced back and saw the sharks right behind him. Their huge jaws glinted in the submarine’s light.

  Time to get back to the sub, Zac thought, pulling out his grappling hook. He steered through a narrow gap between two mines and aimed the hook up at the sub’s airlock. He pulled the trigger.

  SHOONK!

  The magnet flew out on the end of a thin grey wire, rocketing towards the sub.

  CLINK!

  Yes! It was a direct hit. Zac squeezed the trigger again, and the magnetic grappling hook started reeling him in towards the sub. Zac was dragged along through the water, finally clear of the sharks’ jaws. He shot up inside the airlock, and the door slid shut automatically beneath his feet.

  HISSSSSS!

  The water slowly drained out of the airlock. Zac looked out into the ocean and saw that the sharks were still out there, racing to catch up with the submarine.

  HISSSSSS!

  The second door opened above Zac’s head, leading back into the sub. Grandpa reached out and grabbed hold of Zac.

  ‘Nice work, kiddo,’ Grandpa smiled.

  ‘Mum and Dad just radioed in,’ called Leon from the front of the sub. ‘They’ve got back-up and they’re on their way.’

  Zac stood up and pulled off his glass helmet. ‘A bit late for that now,’ he said, slipping out of the scuba suit. ‘Caz and Blackwood are probably already there.’

  ‘Better late than never,’ Leon shrugged. ‘Anyway, we’re clear of the mines. Should be smooth sailing all the way to –’

  The sub gave a sudden lurch and Zac was almost knocked back down into the airlock. He stumbled sideways and stared out through the front of the sub.

  ‘What’s going on?’ Leon shouted.

  ‘It’s the sharks!’ said Zac. ‘They’re attacking the sub!’

  CHAPTER

  SIX

  CRUNCH!

  Another shark slammed into the side of the sub, like it was trying to swim straight through the wall. Zac knew it couldn’t see him, but it obviously knew he was inside.

  ‘Wow!’ Leon said, sounding interested. ‘Those deep-sea sharks are really vicious! I wonder what species they –’

  Zac couldn’t believe it. Leon was the biggest scaredy-cat ever, but he wasn’t afraid of sharks?

  ‘Come on, Leon, get us out of here!’ Grandpa called. ‘Full speed ahead!’

  Leon slammed on the accelerator and the sub surged forward. ‘Sorry,’ he said over the roaring of the engine. ‘I just really like sharks!’

  CRUNCH!

  Zac jumped back as a shark crashed into the sub, and another shudder ripped through the vehicle.

  I’m sure Leon wouldn’t like sharks so much if he’d just been chased by them through a minefield! thought Zac.

  CREAK!

  Zac froze.

  A short, thin line had suddenly appeared on the wall in front of him. There was a crack in the submarine’s hull!

  ‘Uh… Grandpa?’ said Zac nervously as water began spurting in through the crack. Grandpa was dragging a long, grey hose down from a r
eel on the wall.

  CRUNCH-CRUNCH!

  Zac braced himself as two sharks rammed the sub together. More cracks started spreading out across the walls as water rushed inside.

  ‘They’re definitely great white sharks,’ said Leon admiringly. ‘Or Carcharodon carcharias, to use their scientific name. Looks like two males and a –’

  ‘Leon,’ Grandpa said urgently, ‘come and give me a hand here. Zac, you take the wheel. Get us down to GADGET HQ, now.’

  Zac nodded, splashing across to the driver’s seat. He took Leon’s place and stomped on the accelerator. The sub jerked forward, shaking horribly. Zac knew it wouldn’t hold together much longer.

  He raced the sub down to HQ at full speed, checking the PSU to make sure the last IRIS piece was still down there.

  Zac looked back over his shoulder. Grandpa and Leon were both holding onto the hose now, firing out a stream of sticky green goo. Grandpa aimed the stream at the cracks in the submarine’s hull. The goo was gluing the cracks shut.

  SPLOOSH!

  ‘Fascinating,’ Leon was saying to Grandpa. ‘How did you get this glue to solidify underwater?’

  ‘Leon,’ Zac yelled, ‘would you please stop talking and focus on what you’re doing?’

  The cracks were spreading faster than Grandpa and Leon could seal them up. The water was up to their knees now, and rising quickly.

  Then Zac saw another shark come shooting towards the front of the sub.

  CRUNCH!

  Zac pumped the accelerator. The sub shuddered forward, rattling and shaking.

  Zac circled around the giant orange dome of GADGET HQ, looking for the way inside.

  ‘How do I get in?’ he yelled.

  ‘The entrance tunnel is down there,’ said Grandpa, pointing. ‘Beneath that clump of seaweed.’

  Out of the corner of his eye, Zac saw the sharks coming to ram the sub again. All three of them were closing in at once. Zac didn’t think the sub would survive another hit. They had to get out of here, and fast.