by Lucas Flint
But Seeker One was faster. It fired a beam of energy, but not at Thaumaturge or Incantation. The energy beam struck the floor a few feet from them and there was a bright flash of light that forced the two magicians to cover their eyes. When the light faded, however, I was surprised at who was standing there.
Dad—in his full Genius costume—stood in front of Thaumaturge and Incantation. His gauntlets were sparking with electricity and, although I couldn't see his face, I could tell that he was very, very angry.
“Genius?” said Thaumaturge, looking at Dad in astonishment. “What are you doing here?”
“Saving my son,” Dad replied, his voice slightly muffled through his helmet.
Incantation snarled. “You might have technology, but it's no match for our magic!”
Incantation threw her sword at Dad, but Dad turned the dial on his belt and disappeared. Incantation and Thaumaturge looked around wildly, trying to find Dad, but then he reappeared behind them and grabbed their shoulders with his sparkling hands.
Immediately, Incantation and Thaumaturge screamed as the electricity from Dad's gauntlets flowed through their bodies. Dad didn't even flinch. He just stood there silently, charging electricity through them, until both Incantation and Thaumaturge collapsed onto the floor. The only way I knew they were both still alive was how they twitched every now and then.
Lowering his hands, Dad turned to face me. “Are you okay?”
I hadn't realized it, but my mouth was hanging open. “Uh, yeah. But how did you know where I was?”
“Because I've had Valerie keeping track of you and she told me you were here,” said Dad. He looked down at the unconscious Thaumaturge and Incantation at his feet. “I just wish that I hadn't had to meet my old friend again like this.”
“Dad, do you know what's going on here?” I said. “Do you know what's up with Thaumaturge and the Young Neos?”
“I don't, but Triplet does,” said Dad. His hands balled into fists. “But we can talk more about that once we're safe.”
Dad raised his hand and shot a laser from his gauntlet at the box's hinges. The hinges snapped, allowing me to push open the door and step out of the cramped box.
“Come,” said Dad. “We need to get out of here before the rest of the NHA arrives.”
Dad put a hand on my shoulder and then twisted the Teleportation Buckle. In an instant, we left the House and were back in Dad's laboratory, which was built underneath our house back in Texas.
But we weren't alone. Triplet was leaning against the wall, his arms folded over his chest. Once he saw us, he pushed himself off the wall and stood up straight.
“Ted?” said Triplet. “How did it go?”
“As well as it could, under the circumstances,” said Dad with a sigh. “But your theory turned out to be correct. Thaumaturge was compromised.”
Triplet cursed in Japanese under his breath. “I knew someone in the upper ranks of the NHA was, but I didn't know it was Thaumaturge. It doesn't surprise me, though; he was always a freak.”
“What's going on here?” I said, looking between Dad and Triplet in confusion. “What theory? What are you even talking about?”
“We're talking about my investigation,” said Triplet. “Or rather, what I found through my investigation. And none of it is pretty.”
“What did you find out?” I said. “Weren't you investigating whether Plutarch was planning to take over the United States?”
“I was,” said Triplet, nodding. “But through the course of my investigation, I discovered something far worse than Plutarch.”
“What would that be?” I said. “And what are you even doing back here in my house? I thought you were going somewhere else.”
“Because your father here is one of the few people I trust enough not to sell me out to those who might want to kill me,” said Triplet. “Trust me, what I know would get me killed if the wrong people knew about it.”
I looked at Dad. “Does Mom know that Triplet is here?”
“She does,” said Dad. “She isn't happy about it, as you can imagine, but she accepts his presence.” He looked at Triplet. “Mieko, why don't you share your findings with Bolt? He deserves to know, given what he was just put through.”
“All right,” said Triplet. He looked around, like he thought someone might be eavesdropping on us, even though we were the only three people here in the Lab. “As you know, I was investigating Adam Plutarch, who I believed was running for President of the United States in order to turn the country into a dictatorship. My initial theory, which seemed borne out by the evidence I found, was that Plutarch had never truly reformed but was instead using the growing anti-neohero sentiment in the country to win the election.”
“Right,” I said, though I was really thinking about my conversation with Plutarch that seemed like a long time ago now. “Someone hired you to do that, right?”
“Yes,” said Triplet. “A man who called himself the Citizen hired me to investigate Plutarch. But since our last talk, I made a deadly discovery that, if brought to the public's attention, could turn the entire election on its head and maybe even change the country as we know it.”
“What is that discovery?” I said.
Triplet jammed his hands into the pockets of his overcoat. “I discovered that a cult called Vision has embedded itself in the Neohero Alliance. It is led by the Visionary, who I believe bailed out Steel Skin, Firespirit, and Nail Gun from Ultimate Max for the purpose of framing Plutarch.”
“Who is the Visionary?” I said. “And how did you discover this conspiracy?”
“Not conspiracy,” Triplet corrected me. “Well, I guess you could call it that, but it operates more like a cult. As for who the Visionary is, I don't know for sure yet, but I do know that he controls the entire group from the shadows, directing their movements and giving orders in order to achieve their plans.”
“Thaumaturge mentioned someone named the Visionary,” I said. “But I still don't understand how you found out about this.”
“I probably wouldn't have if I hadn't gone to Plutarch's mansion after Nail Gun's attack,” said Triplet. “I managed to search Nail Gun's body and stole his phone, which had a lot of emails and texts from this same Visionary I told you about. It's how I learned that someone in the NHA leadership was part of the cult and was ensuring that the organization was following the dictates of the Visionary even if no one realized it.”
“Did you trace the texts and emails back to the Visionary's phone?” I said.
“No,” said Triplet. “I tried, but the Visionary must change his email addresses and phone numbers regularly, because the email address and phone numbers I investigated were no longer in use. A smart way to avoid getting caught, that's for sure.”
“You described Vision as a cult,” I said. “What do you mean by that?”
“He means they act like one,” said Dad, causing me to look at him. He had removed his helmet and was holding it under his arm, a frown on his face. “They brainwash younger neoheroes into their group, usually through the Neohero Academy on Hero Island. I believe that that is how the Young Neos, such as Incantation, were taken into it, because most of them were students at the Academy before they joined the team.”
“Yes,” said Triplet, nodding. “And they worship their leader like a god. They do not question him or his dictates. They believe wholeheartedly in their mission, which they refer to as the 'Vision.' They put on a kind, accepting face in public, but behind every face is a raging psychopath ready to kill anyone who opposes their grand Vision for society.”
“They're brainwashing students through the Academy?” I said in shock. “Why don't we tell the NHA about this? Shouldn't they be aware of this cult and what it is doing?”
Dad and Triplet exchanged looks, like they knew something I didn't. I didn't understand it. Was I missing something?
Finally, Dad looked at me and said, “Because no one would believe us. You saw Thaumaturge. He is a part of the cult. It is possible,
also, that some of the other NHA leaders are also cultists, but we don't know that for sure.”
“But wouldn't they listen to you guys anyway?” I said. “I mean, both of you were once members of the NHA. Dad, you were even one of the Four Founders. Don't you think they would at least hear you out, even if they didn't agree right away?”
“I doubt it,” said Dad. “The rest of the NHA hasn't quite forgiven me for quitting the organization, even if they understand why.”
“More than that, I already tried investigating a conspiracy within the NHA years ago,” said Triplet. “I was kicked out when they found out what I was doing. They claimed that I was threatening the unity of the organization and that there was no conspiracy in the NHA at all.”
I looked at Triplet in surprise. “You mean you didn't leave voluntarily?”
“Oh, I technically did, but I wouldn't have had to if the NHA hadn't attacked me and painted me like some kind of loon,” said Triplet, shaking his head. “I didn't even get very far. I just started asking questions and noticing certain oddities, such as how many young neoheroes that came out of the Academy all shared essentially the same basic ideology and always reacted with great hostility if you ever questioned it. It wasn't even a serious investigation at the time, which is why I was so surprised when I faced the blow back that I did.”
“Who led the charges against you?” I said.
“Thaumaturge, actually,” said Triplet. He chuckled darkly. “Even before I started asking the wrong questions, Thaumaturge didn't like me, though I assumed that was because I asked too many questions about how his mystical powers worked. But apparently, he was the one behind it all.”
“Thaumaturge is not just in charge of the Young Neos,” Dad said. “He is also the headmaster of the Academy. He is in charge of deciding what to teach the students there.”
“So are you saying that Thaumaturge has been brainwashing young neoheroes?” I said. “And no one has ever noticed this?”
“No one thought of it as brainwashing,” said Triplet. “All Thaumaturge ever said was that he taught his students how to be 'good' and 'responsible' superheroes. It was hard to prove that there was a problem because his students were always very good at pretending to be saner than they are.”
“And not all of the teachers or students succumbed to the brainwashing, either,” said Dad. “It was hard to prove that there was any brainwashing going on when most of the faculty said otherwise.”
“But now we know for sure,” said Triplet. He smiled. “Vindication is sweet.”
I looked at Dad again. “Is that why you didn't send me to the Academy for training? Because of Thaumaturge's teachings?”
Dad nodded. “Yes. I saw it as early as the very first class of the school, which Thaumaturge taught. At first I tried to ignore it, but I found myself growing disgusted with what I knew was going on in that school, even when no one else agreed with me and I could not prove that anything nefarious was going on. That was another reason I resigned; it was my way of protesting what I saw was being taught in the Academy, though based on what I've learned, my resignation did nothing to change what they taught to the students there.”
“Did you ever believe the charges laid out against Triplet?” I said to Dad.
“At first I did,” said Dad. He sounded ashamed. “But I was always a little doubtful, because I knew Triplet was smart and what he was saying fit with what I knew. But it wasn't until he found Nail Gun's phone and showed me what was on it that I realized he was telling the truth.”
“How long has Thaumaturge been part of Vision?” I said. “How long has this indoctrination been going on?”
“I don't know,” said Triplet. “Like I said, Vision is very good at covering its tracks. My theory is that Thaumaturge was the first Vision agent to join the NHA, but it's possible he's converted others since. We know, at least, that he's converted the Young Neos, and probably other young neoheroes, too.”
“But why?” I said. “What is the end game of Vision? What is the Visionary trying to do?”
“That's the question, isn't it?” said Triplet. “My theory is that the Visionary is trying to create an army of brainwashed neoheroes who will serve him without question and he is using the Vision ideology to accomplish that.”
“World domination, then?” I said. “Like most supervillains?”
“That is very likely,” said Dad. “An army of brainwashed neoheroes could make you the most powerful man on Earth. And what better way to create that army than through the Academy, a place where many impressionable young people with incredible powers go through?”
“Then we have to stop them,” I said. “We need to expose their plans to the world.”
“Nice idea, but unrealistic,” said Triplet. “We lack any real proof to support our assertions. It will be our word against Thaumaturge's, and Thaumaturge is far more respected than us. Even Nail Gun's texts and emails aren't proof enough.”
“No one in the media would ever listen to us anyway,” said Dad in a disgruntled voice. “They're too obsessed with the election to care about what a conspiracy nut, a retired superhero long past his prime, and a young kid like yourself have to say about a cult operating within the NHA.”
“Then what should we do?” I said. “Just let them get away with this?”
“No,” said Triplet, shaking his head. “As it turns out, I also know what Vision's next move will be.”
“Really?” I said. “How did you figure it out?”
“Nail Gun's phone,” said Triplet. “I found an email from the Visionary stating that if Nail Gun failed to kill Plutarch yesterday, then he could try again at the first presidential debate between Sagan and Plutarch in Austin, which is on Monday.”
“But Nail Gun is dead,” I said. “That means he can't try to assassinate Plutarch again. Even if he wasn't, the debate will probably have a lot of extra security to make sure no one harms Plutarch or Sagan.”
“You're assuming that that means that Vision has canceled the assassination,” said Triplet. “It's possible, but unlikely. I think that they will go through with it anyway. They seem to hate Plutarch and want him dead, so I doubt they would let him stay alive until Election Day.”
“What about Sagan?” I said. “Are they going to try to get him, too?”
“Possibly, but none of the texts or emails I read even mentioned him,” said Triplet. “Vision might want him to win because he's more pro-neohero than Plutarch, which means he's less likely to support anti-neohero laws that would make it harder for Vision to operate. I doubt he's connected with the cult, because as far as I can tell Vision only recruits neoheroes and Sagan has no powers of his own.”
“What are we going to do, then?” I said.
“Go to the debate and try to stop the assassination, assuming that they haven't canceled it,” said Triplet. “With luck, we can at least catch Vision's assassin, who might be able to tell us more about the cult and its leader and his ultimate plans.”
“I want to help,” I said.
“Kevin—” said Dad in a warning voice, but I whirled around to face him before he could finish.
“Dad, I know what you're about to say, but you're wrong,” I said. “I know it's dangerous, but at this point I can't just sit back and let you guys deal with it. I know too much. Besides, if catching Vision's assassin will keep other young neoheroes from becoming like the Young Neos, then I have to do it no matter what.”
“Kid's got a point,” said Triplet, nodding. “We have no idea what Vision will try at the debate, so we'll need all the help we can get.”
Dad looked like he didn't approve of this at all, but then he sighed and said, “All right. But we'll need to be careful. Now that Vision knows that we're aware of them, they will try to kill us if we get in their way.”
“Of course,” I said. I looked at Triplet. “So how are we going to get into the debate without being seen?”
“I think I know how,” said Triplet. “Listen closely, because we'
re going to need every bit of time we have if we're going to pull this plan off without any flaws.”
Chapter Fifteen
On the night of the first presidential debate of the election season, I sat in the audience, in the very back row, where I had a good view of the debate stage. There were a few hundred people sitting around me, chatting and talking as we waited for Plutarch and Sagan to come out on stage and start the debate. Dozens of cameras from all of the major news networks were near the debate stage, most of them not yet activated, while cameramen operating the cameras checked on their equipment to make sure it was working correctly.
Looking around, I didn't see anything suspicious. The people in the audience seemed like normal, non-powered individuals, as did the cameramen and other studio staff. I noticed security guards and Secret Service agents everywhere, but I didn't look at any of them for too long because I didn't want to arouse anyone's suspicion. I just wish I knew who the assassin was, but Triplet had already told me that the assassin was likely undercover, meaning that he could have been anyone in the audience or even among the Secret Service or security guards.
I probably shouldn't have been too worried, because no one knew that I was actually Bolt. In fact, no one paid me any attention whatsoever, but I still rubbed my suit-up watch anyway, which Dad had returned to me yesterday so I could have access to my suit. I was happy to have it back, but that didn't stop me from wondering what I'd do if Vision's assassin came after me.
I took this moment to think over our plan, because the debate was going to start sometime within the next five minutes and I would probably not have a chance to think about it again soon.
The plan was pretty simple. Triplet and I would go to the debate so we could deal with the assassin in person, while Dad stayed home in the Lab to monitor communications coming in and out of the building in which the debate was taking place. The reason for that was because Triplet believed that the assassin might be in communication with the Visionary, so if the assassin attempted to contact the Visionary while in here, then Dad could hack into his communication line and use it to track down the Visionary himself.
