by Lucas Flint
Putting a hand on his forehead, Beams thought, Where am I? How did I get here? This doesn’t look like prison. Did someone take me here?
As if in answer to his unspoken question, the door to his room opened and Lauren entered. She carried a tray with a sandwich and a glass of water on it and, unlike him, she was fully clothed and seemed to be okay. Her blonde hair was done in a ponytail and she wore a simple blue t-shirt and jeans. She looked almost like an ordinary teenage girl, rather than a member of the Dissidents.
As soon as she turned around to face Beams, however, she nearly dropped the tray and said, in a strangely high voice, “You’re awake!”
Her high-pitched voice hurt Beams’ ears, but he nodded slowly and said, “Yeah, I am. Did you think I was dead or something?”
Lauren set the tray on the desk next to the bed and said, “No, not at all, but we were worried there for a second. We didn’t have a healer on hand, so Genius had to close your wound himself. He’s a brilliant guy and all, but he’s not really a master surgeon and we weren’t sure if you would be all right or not.”
Rubbing his back, Beams said, “Yeah, I think I’m going to be okay. I’m just exhausted.”
“I bet,” said Lauren. “You were out cold for three days.”
Beams’ eyes widened. “Three days? You’re joking.”
“Not at all,” said Lauren, shaking her head rapidly. “I thought that the shock from the bullet entering your body must have taken you out, but Genius insisted it was something else. Even when your vitals dropped to near zero, Genius insisted we keep you alive just in case. Looks like he was right.”
Beams rubbed his forehead. How did Genius know that my soul wasn’t in my body? Then again, he is one of the smartest men in this universe. He’s also the father of Bolt, which is something I think I should mention to him the next time I see him.
“What happened?” said Beams, looking up at Lauren again. “Since I lost consciousness, I mean?”
Lauren folded her hands in front of her lap. “Well, Genius saved us with his Teleportation Buckle after you got shot. He even saved White Lightning, too. White is doing okay, though unlike you, he didn’t get hurt, so that’s to be expected.”
“What about Sagan?” said Beams. “Is he still—?”
Lauren shook her head. “He died yesterday. He was rushed to the hospital after we got away, where some of the world’s top doctors worked day and night to save him, but whatever you did to him must have irreparably damaged his body, because they didn’t even stand a chance. And, of course, O’Brian was also declared dead at the scene. Lots of wailing and crying on all of the news media outlets, but I figure that’s only because they don’t want to get their news licenses yanked more than anything.”
“So the mission was a success?” said Beams. “Sagan is dead. Wasn’t that what you guys were trying to do?”
“Yeah,” said Lauren, nodding. “We still don’t know what all of the fall out is going to be, exactly, but we’re already hearing rumors from our spies on the inside that multiple competing factions have already risen to take Sagan’s power, including one led by Sagan’s granddaughter, Sarah. But I don’t think there will be a clear, peaceful transition of power, because Sagan didn’t have a chosen heir to succeed him in the event of his death.”
“Meaning that chaos will engulf the country?” said Beams.
“Meaning there’s a chance for us to take power and set things right,” said Lauren. “But like I said, the Dissidents aren’t doing anything yet, though we have several groups poised to act when the time is right. At least, that’s what Genius says, anyway.”
“Speaking of Genius, where is he?” said Beams. “I’d like to talk to him.”
“He’s downstairs in the basement last I checked,” said Lauren. “He’s almost finished building that portal generator you asked for.”
Beams’ eyes widened so much that they nearly fell out of his sockets. “In three days? You’re pulling my leg.”
“Not at all,” said Lauren, shaking her head. “This is actually kind of slow for him, but I suspect it’s just because he’s never built a portal generator before. But he’s been working on it day and night in order that you and your friend can return to your universe.”
Beams was still skeptical about Lauren’s claim, even though she seemed to be one hundred percent serious.
Where did he even get the parts for something like that? Beams thought. Glad Genius is a good guy. If he ever decided to put that big brain of us toward evil, we’d all be screwed.
That made Beams wonder if there was an alternate universe out there where Genius was a villain. He shuddered at the thought.
“Speaking of my friend, where is Hypno?” said Beams. “Is he okay?”
“Yeah, he is,” said Lauren. “We didn’t get him when Genius teleported us away, but he managed to make it back to base on his own anyway. Said that New York City has a lot of friendly people who are willing to give complete strangers a ride for free.”
Beams rolled his eyes. “Sure there are. His powers had nothing to do with it, eh?”
Lauren shrugged. “He’s kind of a weird guy, but a good weird guy, I think.”
“Well, I’m just glad to know he’s still alive,” said Beams. He swung his legs over the side of the bed. “I want to go see Genius and find out how the portal generator is coming along.”
“There’s no need for you to go anywhere,” said a voice from the hall, “when I can just bring it to you.”
Genius stepped out of the hallway and into the room, and with him was Hypno, who smiled and waved at Beams when he saw him. But Beams’ attention was drawn to the small handheld machine in Genius’ hands.
It looked kind of like a miniature film projector, albeit one with a gun-like handle. It was sleek and metallic, like something out of a science fiction B movie from the 50s, yet with a distinctly modern sense to it as well. A line of glowing lights on the barrel of the gun added to its futuristic look.
“Whoa,” said Beams. “Is that the portal generator?”
Genius nodded. “Yes. I just finished it less than ten minutes ago. It should be able to get you back home.”
“And you built that in three days?” said Beams, unable to hide his amazement.
“Yes,” said Genius bluntly. “It was tricky at first, because I’ve never built something this advanced, but I’ve never failed to build anything I can see in my mind. But because I had to use what I had on hand, rather than more expensive materials, it is somewhat fragile so I would suggest not using it too much to avoid overheating it.”
“How does it work?” said Beams.
Genius pointed the portal gun away from them. “Just aim it in the direction you want and pull the trigger. It will open a dimensional portal through which you can enter.”
“Will it take me back home?” said Beams.
Genius sighed. “That, I am afraid, is outside of my abilities. I don’t know enough about the multiverse to be able to pinpoint it back to your universe specifically. Still, it definitely does open a portal to the void between dimensions, so you can probably find your way home from there.”
Beams’ shoulders slumped, but he supposed he couldn’t complain. “Thanks so much, man. I honestly didn’t expect you to pull off something like this.”
Genius lowered the gun and looked at Beams with a serious expression on his face. “You saved my remaining son. Even if you hadn’t killed Sagan, I would have been in your debt for that alone. After losing Kevin … well, I couldn’t stand to lose Ronald as well. Giving you a way to go back to your home is the least I can do, believe me.”
Beams was struck by how similar Genius and Bolt were. And he now understood where Bolt’s own heroic sensibilities came from. Genius may have been a deeply intellectual man, but it was obvious to Beams that Genius was just as good as he was intelligent, maybe even more so.
Reminds me of Rubberman, actually, Beams thought. This is just the sort of thing he would do if he was in
Genius’ position. Man, Bolt is lucky to have a dad like this guy, though my dad ain’t half-bad, either.
“Well, what are we waiting for?” said Hypno, clapping his hands together eagerly. “Let’s use this portal gun and go home. Director Smith is probably wondering where we are and it isn’t good to make him impatient.”
“Right,” said Beams. “I just need to put my costume back on and we can head out.”
“Don’t you need to rest for a little while longer, though?” said Lauren. “Your wound hasn’t healed up yet.”
Beams grimaced when he touched his bandaged wound, but said, “Nah, I’ll be fine. Besides, I don’t have the luxury of sitting around all day resting up. There’s a threat to the multiverse out there that I need to deal with, that we need to deal with, and we can’t stop it unless we leave now.”
“I agree with Beams,” said Hypno. “Besides, I’ll make sure he doesn’t overexert himself. You don’t need to worry about us.”
“Very well,” said Genius. “Beams, Hypno, your help to the Dissidents has been invaluable. We will remember your aid in our time of need forever and make sure that future generations don’t forget you. You don’t know just how much help you’ve been to the movement as a whole.”
Beams smiled. “Thanks, Genius. I—”
Without warning, a dimensional portal exploded open in the corner of the room. Lauren yelped and hugged Beams, while Genius and Hypno turned to see who was coming through. Beams’ first thought was that the Dread God must have changed his mind and sent the Darzens to finish him and Hypno off once and for all, but the person who stepped through the portal wasn’t a Darzen at all. In fact, he was a familiar, friendly face who Beams had thought he would never see again.
“Space!” said Beams in surprise. He cracked a smile. “Space, is that you?”
Mr. Space smiled when he saw Beams. “That’s Mr. Space to you, my friend, but yes, it’s me. I’m so glad I finally found you two.”
“Who is this?” said Genius uncertainly.
“Jason Space,” said Mr. Space, bowing. “Deputy of the Adventure and an agent of the Interdimensional Elite Agency, or IEA for short. But you can call me Mr. Space. It’s what all my friends do.”
Genius looked as if he did not believe a word Space said, but Beams didn’t care. He just pushed Lauren off him and, swinging his legs off the other side of the bed, stood up and said, “I didn’t think I’d see you again, Space. How did you even find us?”
“I put tracking devices on your costume when I first brought you aboard the Adventure,” said Space. “So when the Avatar kidnapped you on HQ, I was able to track down where you went. I gotta admit, it was hard at first because you kept moving around, but eventually, the Adventure’s computers managed to pinpoint your location.”
“What about Galaxy?” said Beams. “Is she with you, too?”
“Yeah,” said Space, nodding. “I found her first, which was another reason I took so long to find you guys. She’s currently trying to find Bolt and Shade, so with any luck, we’ll all be together again in just a few minutes.”
“Awesome,” said Beams. “This is great news. Once we’re all back together, we’ll be able to stop the Dread God once and for all.”
Space’s smile suddenly vanished, replaced by an uncharacteristically serious frown. “About that …”
Beams frowned in response. “What’s the matter? We’re going to stop the Dread God, aren’t we?”
Space looked down at his feet. “I mean, yeah, I would like to, but there’s a small complication that may make that … impractical.”
“What complication?” said Beams. “Get to the point, Space. We don’t have all day.”
Space looked up at Beams again, a worried expression on his face. “The IEA has been taken over by the Darzens. And they want to take you and Bolt prisoner.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. The bit of the Rubber Ball falling, bouncing off the floor once or twice; Sasha raising her foot and bringing it down onto the Rubber Ball piece; and finally, the heel of her shoe piercing the Rubber Ball’s surface.
As soon as that last bit happened, however, time went back to normal. Rubberman screamed, screamed harder and louder and more painfully than Bolt had ever heard anyone scream in his life. His body became more and more limp, while his limbs flailed about pointlessly. His eyes drooped out of their sockets onto the floor, while his teeth became long and rubbery. His tongue also extended from his mouth, yet he still managed to scream despite that.
Breaking out of his paralysis, Bolt rushed toward Sasha. He grabbed her by the collar of her pantsuit and slammed her hard against the wall. Her foot went off of the Rubber Ball bit at the same time, causing Rubberman to stop screaming, but Bolt didn’t look to make sure he was okay. He just forced his arm against Sasha’s throat, making her gasp in pain. She struggled to throw him off, but he was so much stronger than her that she might as well have not resisted him at all.
“You jerk,” said Bolt through gritted teeth. “Trying to kill Rubberman at the last minute, despite knowing how you failed? What is wrong with you?”
Despite the obvious pain she was in, Sasha smirked. “I told you. If I can’t have him, then no one can. And I never said I was above petty revenge.”
Bolt wanted to crush her windpipe like a can, but he settled with head-butting her instead. It was a very light blow in comparison to most of his attacks, but it knocked her out instantly.
Dropping Sasha like a sack of potatoes, Bolt turned around to see Rubberman. Already, Rubberman’s body was beginning to return to its normal proportions, though he lay very still on the floor. The bit of Rubber Ball that Sasha had stepped on was also where Sasha had dropped it, with a small hole the shape of Sasha’s heel in the center of it.
Bolt rushed over to Rubberman and flipped him over onto his back. “Rubberman, can you hear me? Rubberman, are you still there?”
Rubberman, however, was about as responsive as a rock. He heard movement and, looking up, saw Shade sitting up, rubbing the back of her head and wearing a puzzled look on her face.
“Ow,” said Shade. “What happened? Did I miss anything?”
Her eyes darted to Sasha, who still lay unconscious on the floor, and a smile spread across her lips. “Oh, now who knocked her out?”
“I did,” said Bolt. “One head-butt, out like a light.”
Shade’s smile grew even bigger. “Oh, I wish I had been conscious to see that. I’d been hoping to sock that dumb woman myself, but I guess I’ll just have to settle for living vicariously through you. You’ll have to tell me all about it later.”
“Yeah, sure,” said Bolt. “Right now, I need to make sure Rubberman is still alive. Sasha nearly killed him, maybe did kill him, so—”
All of a sudden, Rubberman’s eyes opened and he began coughing and hacking. His skin was pale and he was sweating profusely. Despite the fact that his body was no longer the stretched out monstrosity it once was, his limbs were still a little too unnaturally long and floppy.
“Rubberman?” said Bolt. “Can you hear me?”
“Yes …” Rubberman coughed and hacked. “Pain … worse pain I felt since I first touched the Rubber Ball … living hell …”
“Don’t worry, man,” said Bolt. “We’ll get you to the hospital. The doctors—”
“Can’t do a thing about this,” said Rubberman. He shuddered. “Damn it. I should have realized that Sasha would try something like this. She doesn’t trust anyone, even her own employees. I’m such an idiot.”
“There’s got to be something we can do,” said Bolt. “Isn’t there?”
“Doubt it,” said Rubberman, his voice getting weaker and weaker by the minute. “I’m dying … fading away … what a terrible way to die …”
Bolt couldn’t let Rubberman die. He looked around for anything, anything at all, he could use to help Rubberman, and his eyes fell on the bit of the Rubber Ball lying on the floor. An idea occurred
to him and he said to Greta, “Greta, give me that piece of the Rubber Ball. Do it now.”
Greta didn’t even hesitate. She picked up the Rubber Ball Piece, albeit gingerly, and then handed it to Bolt. Bolt immediately pressed the Rubber Ball piece against Rubberman’s chest.
He had no idea what was going to happen. Bolt just hoped that the Rubber Ball, being the source of Rubberman’s powers and tied to his life, might somehow be able to save Rubberman from dying. It was a long shot, but it was Bolt’s only hope.
To his surprise, the Rubber Ball piece slowly but surely melted into Rubberman’s chest. It felt kind of like pushing a rock into a mud puddle, and the Rubber Ball piece vanished, leaving Rubberman’s chest looking no different from the way it did before.
At first, Bolt thought that he had failed and that Rubberman was going to die after all.
Then, without warning, Rubberman’s skin began to return to its normal color. Rubberman’s breathing became regular and his eyes snapped open again, this time full of new life.
“Whoa,” said Rubberman, blinking rapidly. He looked at Bolt. “What did you do to me? I feel great.”
“I put the Rubber Ball piece into your chest,” said Bolt. “I thought that it might be able to heal you.”
“I think it did,” said Rubberman. “I feel like I just drank a fresh cup of coffee in the morning.” He looked down at his body. “Let’s get my body back into shape.”
Rubberman’s body suddenly snapped back into its original shape and size. He sat up, rubbing his forehead and looking both relieved and tired.
“I feel much better now,” said Rubberman, rubbing his chest, “though I’m still very tired. Then again, I always feel tired after stretching my body beyond its original size like that.”
Bolt nodded. “I suppose you’ll be fine?”
