by Lucas Flint
I increased my speed and soon found myself getting farther and farther from the portal, inch by agonizing inch. I was now running so fast that I couldn't hear or see anything except for the breath of my lungs and the sucking sound of the portal behind me, which was having less and less power over me the farther away I got from it.
Then I sent a huge burst of speed through my legs and launched through the air, moving so fast that I had no idea where I was going. All I knew was that I activated my super strength and smashed through a thick wall, rolling in the air before I landed on my back on the floor.
The impact jarred my senses, but only for a moment. In the next, I was sitting up, rubbing the back of my head. I looked up and saw that I was in the hallway of the House. There was a large hole in the wall above where I had broken out, but I could no longer feel the sucking force of the portal.
Rising to my feet, I knew I had to get out of here. I had to get home and tell Dad or Mom or someone what I learned. There was something very strange going on in this place and I was in no mood to figure it out on my own.
But before I could go anywhere, Ghost shot through the wall above me and, pointing at me, shouted, “Found him!”
Ghost fell toward me, forcing me to jump backwards to avoid him. He phased through the floor and, in a second, shot out of it again, his hands reaching toward me.
Instinctively I punched him, but my fist just went through his ghostly form without even touching him. I stepped backwards, while Ghost smirked at me.
“Forgot why I'm called 'Ghost,' huh?” said Ghost. “Here, let me give you a reminder.”
Ghost shot through me, his form passing through my body. Immediately, my bones became cold, so cold I screamed and fell to the floor as Ghost passed through the other side. He flew around me until he was facing me again, his arms folded across his chest and an annoying smirk on his face.
“How did that feel?” said Ghost. “Cold? I hope so. Because that's another one of my powers; the ability to paralyze whoever I pass through.”
I just grunted. My limbs felt like rocks. But I could still feel some movement in them, so I took a deep breath and activated my super speed, hoping that it would help me regain the feeling in my legs.
“But I am done talking,” said Ghost. He raised his hands, like he was about to dive into me again. “One more time and you will never awaken again.”
Just before Ghost could do that, however, another portal exploded into existence to my right. I immediately slammed my hands into the floor, using the metal plating to keep me from being sucked into the portal, but Ghost was not so lucky. He tried to fly away, but he was sucked into the portal, which immediately closed shut as soon as he passed through it.
I heard cursing above and looked up to see Hopper standing in the hole I had created. He looked horrified at what he'd done, holding his hands out with a terrified look on his face.
“Ghost!” Hopper shouted. “I didn't mean to do that. I—”
I slammed my fist into the wall, causing it to shake so hard that Hopper fell over backwards back into the room I had escaped from. I heard him scream as he fell, but I didn't stop long enough to hear him hit the floor.
Instead, I ran down the hall, although without my super speed, because I wasn't good at running fast indoors yet without slamming into walls. Besides, my current outfit wasn't fit for prolonged usage of super speed, which made me wish that Dad hadn't taken away my super suit.
As I turned down the hall, panels on both sides shifted to the side and twin laser cannons appeared. They immediately locked onto me and fired, but I dodged both laser blasts with quick applications of my super speed. But they kept shooting at me, so I flew through the air, still dodging their attacks, until I was right in the middle of them. The lasers aimed at me and fired, but at the last second I dropped, allowing the lasers to pass me and strike both cannons, causing them to explode.
I hit the floor with a roll and kept running. I had no idea where I was going. My only destination was 'anywhere but here.' It occurred to me that I was on Hero Island, which meant that I was near the NHA's base. Did the NHA even know about what the Young Neos were doing? If not, I'd be sure to let them know once I escaped.
But no sooner did that thought pass through my mind than the wall to my left exploded. I fell to the floor, covering my head as wiring and chunks of metal flew over me. Some of it hit me anyway, but I managed to avoid the bulk of it and looked up to see what had done that.
A large robot stood in the hole of the wall, aiming a massive cannon at me. But then I looked closer and realized that it wasn't actually a robot, but a humanoid mecha, because I saw Technical—wearing a mask that reminded me of Dad's helmet—sitting in the pilot seat in the center.
“What?” I said in disbelief. “Come on, now. How come you guys get awesome mechas and I don't?”
“Like it?” said Technical, who sounded crazy. “I made this on my own, though I was inspired by your dad's blueprints for a similar mecha. Not that it matters, really, because it is strong enough to break every bone in your body.”
I scrambled to my feet, but before I could do anything, a chain shot out of the mecha's cannon and wrapped around my body. It tightened, making me gasp for air, before it lifted me off the ground and threw me at the opposite wall.
I crashed into the wall hard and fell to the floor, stunned by the impact. I thought I felt a broken bone, but I wasn't sure. All I knew was that the mecha was now pulling me toward it while Technical laughed maniacally, like she was having a great time.
But I recovered when I was about halfway there and, activating my super strength, snapped the chain. Rolling to my feet, I grabbed the chain and, getting a firm grip on it, yanked it as hard as I could.
The mecha's arm ripped off with a loud tearing noise. Technical's maniacal laughing quickly turned into horrified shrieking, especially when the mecha fell over onto the floor. But just as it fell, the cockpit shot off and flew toward me, looking like a flying pod. Two laser guns appeared at its sides and started shooting at me. I dodged most of them, but one of them grazed my arm.
Instead of running, however, I sped toward the pod and, jumping into the air, landed on top of it. Technical looked up at me in shock, but then I smashed my fist through the glass and ripped her out of her seat.
Without Technical piloting it, the pod immediately fell, but not before I jumped off with Technical in my arms. The pod crashed into the floor and skidded and rolled until it crashed into the wall, where its cockpit immediately shattered upon impact and its engine exploded.
But that didn't stop Technical. She grabbed at me with her mechanical arm, but I broke it with a single blow and dropped her to the floor. Technical landed on her back, but before she could get back up, I tied her up with the chains from her own mecha, wrapping her up so much that she couldn't even move.
“Hey!” Technical shouted, struggling against her chains. “Let me go, you bigot!”
I didn't even respond. I just shook my head and continued running down the hallway. My body was in pain from being slammed against the wall like that and I was pretty sure that something was broken, but I didn't stop to examine my injuries. I knew that I had to get out of here. I didn't have the luxury of lying around and healing.
I ran down yet another corridor, thinking as I ran. Let's see … I had already dealt with Ghost, Hopper, and Technical. That left only Incantation and Sarah, but I hadn't seen either of them since I escaped that room. Knowing Sarah, she had probably been traumatized by my refusal to bow down to her twisted ideology, while Incantation was probably trying to comfort her. That thought brought a smile to my face, but a weak one, because I was starting to get tired and all I wanted to do was rest.
At the end of the hall I came across two closed doors, which I figured had to lead somewhere important, so I punched my way through them, knocking them off their hinges. I dashed through the doors, but came to a stop when I saw where I was.
I had entered the antechamber o
f the House, or at least that was what it looked like. On either side of the room stood tall statues depicting legendary heroes like Omega Man and Lady Amazon while at the end was yet another set of doors that probably led outside. I was surprised that I had managed to find my way to the exit, but I didn't question my luck.
I just ran toward the door, but before I could get very far, a shadow passed over me and Incantation landed on the floor in front of me. She was carrying her wand, which was glowing with a deadly red glow, its light reflected in her eyes, making her look almost evil.
I stopped when I saw her and said, “Incantation, what are you doing? Get out of my way.”
Incantation shook her head. “No. You can't be allowed to leave, at least not until you're dead or converted to Vision.”
“The what?” I said. I shook my head. “It doesn't matter. I don't want to hurt you, but if that's what I need to do to get out of there, then so be it.”
But even as I said that, Incantation waved her wand and a sword appeared out of nowhere and flew toward me. I barely managed to dodge it in the nick of time, but then it curved through the air and flew toward me again.
This time, I dodged it, but grabbed its handle as it passed and snapped the blade in two over my knees before tossing it to the ground. I looked at Incantation, who was staring at me in shock.
“I don't have any patience for your magic tricks,” I said. “Either let me go or I won't be so nice anymore.”
“You keep saying that, but I don't think you actually want to harm me,” said Incantation. “Too bad I want to harm you.”
Incantation suddenly pulled out a long chain of metal rings from her cloak and hurled them at me. I dodged most of them, but a few cut my arms or shoulder, actually drawing blood. I gritted my teeth and covered the wounds, but I had no time to deal with them at the moment.
So I ran at Incantation, intending to knock her down with one blow. But before I could hit her, she twirled around and vanished in an instant, forcing me to come to a stop where she had been and look around. I didn't see her until I heard a sound above me and, looking up, saw Incantation standing on top of the fist of the Omega Man statue.
Before I could fly up after her, Incantation took off her hat and pointed its interior at me. A gigantic dove, of all things, flew out of the hat toward me, flapping its large wings as it soared toward me like a missile.
But I didn't hesitate. I pulled my fist back and, at the last second, punched the damn dove in the face. Immediately, the bird exploded into dozens of smaller doves, which flew away.
Surprised, I stood there for a moment before I suddenly heard Incantation behind me shout, “Got you!”
I turned around just in time to see a long ribbon flying at me. But I flew into the air, narrowly avoiding it, as it wrapped around the leg of the Omega Man statue. Looking down, I saw Incantation looking up at me in surprise and seemed too surprised to react.
I shot toward her. She raised her wand, aiming it at me, but I snatched her wand from her hand and snapped it as easily as if it was a stick. Then I landed behind her and twisted her arm behind her back, causing her to cry out in pain and let go of her ribbon rope.
“All right,” I said in her ear, putting as much pressure on her arm as I could without actually breaking it. “I figure that without your little wand, you're completely powerless. So unless you want to spend the next few weeks with your arm in a cast, I suggest you give up and let me go.”
I expected Incantation to agree with my demands, but then she suddenly said, “When did I ever say that I needed my wand to use my powers?”
I noticed Incantation's hands glowing. Then I heard a clunk behind me and looked over my shoulder just in time to see a huge wooden box falling toward me.
At the same time, Incantation brought her foot down on mine, making me gasp in pain and let her go. She vanished in front of me just as the box closed around my body, leaving only my head exposed.
“Hey!” I shouted, struggling against the box. “That was a dirty trick! Let me go!”
Although the box appeared to be made entirely of wood, even my super strength was no match for it. Maybe it was magically reinforced wood or maybe it was only made out of a substance that looked like wood but was something else entirely. Whatever the case, all I knew was that I didn't like it and it was uncomfortable.
Incantation appeared in front of me again, only this time she was carrying a very long, very sharp-looking sword that made me feel even more uncomfortable than before. “Don't you remember what I said when we first met, Bolt? No one can escape my magic boxes unless I want them to. So you're just going to stay right where I want you until I'm done with you.”
I stopped struggling because I knew that she was telling the truth. I looked at the sword she carried. “Um, what are you going to do with that sword?”
Incantation smiled a very crazy, psychotic smile. “I'm going to perform my favorite magic trick on you: Poking swords through your body at different angles.”
I gulped and realized that the box had holes in it that were the exact shape and size for her sword. “But you're not actually going to stab through me, right? It's just a trick.”
“Nope,” said Incantation. “I'm going to stab swords—and they're very sharp, too, I should know because I sharpened them myself—through every inch of your body. You won't die right away, but you will probably be screaming for mercy, mercy I won't grant you.”
“Please,” I said. “Don't do this. You're not in your right mind.”
“On the contrary, I am perfectly sane,” said Incantation. She pulled back her sword. “Too bad I can't say the same about you.”
Incantation sent her sword aiming for the box. I renewed my struggle for freedom, but it was impossible. I could only watch as Incantation's sword shot toward me, wondering what it would feel like to be stabbed in the chest by a sword.
But then, out of nowhere, a hand grabbed Incantation's wrist, stopping her sword mere inches from the surface of the box. Both Incantation and I looked over at who had stopped her.
Standing right next to us was a middle-aged man in magician's robes … Thaumaturge, Incantation's master and one of the current leaders of the NHA.
Chapter Fourteen
I had never seen Thaumaturge in person before, but I had seen a lot of pictures online. The man looked like a mixture between Doctor Strange and Gandalf. He wore a tall, battered magician's hat, the tip of which drooped slightly, while a short gray goatee hung off his chin. He was older, taller, and stronger than Incantation. His gray eyes were hard to read, but Thaumaturge had a reputation as mysterious, so that was no surprise. I was just glad that he had saved me.
“What?” said Incantation. She sounded terrified, much to my satisfaction. “Master, what are you doing here?”
“Reeve informed me that there was an intruder on Hero Island,” said Thaumaturge. His voice was quiet, but impossible to ignore. “I came to see who it was.” He glanced at me. “Who is this young man?”
“Bolt,” said Incantation, though she still sounded afraid. “He's not in costume, but that's him.”
“Genius's son?” said Thaumaturge. He looked at me more closely. “I did not believe I would ever get the privilege of meeting the son of one of my old colleagues. Tell me, how is Genius doing nowadays?”
I relaxed, happy that Thaumaturge had come to my rescue. “Fine. He's been doing all right.”
“Good to hear,” said Thaumaturge. “I was worried about him when I heard that Master Chaos escaped, but I'm glad that he has managed to have a good life.”
Then Thaumaturge looked at Incantation again. “Why are you trying to kill Genius's son?”
“Because he's against the Vision,” said Incantation. “He beat us all and was just about to escape and tell the world about us.”
I expected Thaumaturge to berate her for saying something so stupid, but to my horror, he merely stroked his chin and said, “Is that so? Is the Visionary aware of him?”
; “No,” said Incantation, shaking her head. “He gave us orders to kidnap Bolt, but he doesn't know what's happening here. Sarah said she was going to contact him, though.”
“I see,” said Thaumaturge. “Yes, he does need to know about this.
“What?” I said, drawing both Thaumaturge and Incantation's attention to me. “Thaumaturge, what are you talking about? She was trying to kill me.”
“I know that,” said Thaumaturge. “But I also know that the Visionary gave us permission to eliminate anyone who tried to expose our existence to the world. And I have never been one to question the Visionary's orders.”
“What the hell?” I said. “You're on their side, too? Who is the Visionary?”
“I'm not going to divulge that secret to you,” said Thaumaturge. “Suffice to say, however, that you are clearly incapable of understanding the Vision. It is sad, because as Genius's son I thought you'd be smarter than most, but I see that I was mistaken.”
I had wondered how the Young Neos had been getting away with kidnapping and torturing me, how they had been getting away with their insane ideology and cult-like nature. I had thought they were keeping their true nature a secret from the NHA, but now I understood the truth: Thaumaturge was on their side and hiding their true nature from the rest of the NHA.
“It is pretty obvious, then, what we must do,” said Thaumaturge. He took his hand off Incantation's wrist. “Finish him off.”
“Wait!” I shouted. “If you kill me, my dad will get suspicious. So will lots of other people. They'll expose your little conspiracy before you succeed in whatever you're trying to do.”
Thaumaturge looked at me in confusion. “Before we succeed? I don't think you understand, Bolt. We have already succeeded.”
“And your death won't incriminate us,” said Incantation. She pulled her sword back again. “We've erased deaths from the public before. We can easily do it again.”
Just as Incantation was about to stab me, something smashed through the windows of the entry hall. Both Thaumaturge and Incantation looked up just in time to see a large white drone—which I immediately recognized as Seeker One—soar into the room. It aimed one of its guns at them, causing Thaumaturge and Incantation to aim their glowing hands at it.
