‘That’s impossible,’ Brodie said.
‘It’s a trick,’ Chad said. ‘Someone’s trying to fool us.’
Precisely what they were trying to fool us into doing was beyond my understanding. The dead boy was my duplicate. Even in death, his hair fell back across his forehead in exactly the same way as me.
Ebony’s tone was hushed. ‘Axel,’ she said. ‘Look at his chin.’
I looked more closely at his chin—and stared.
No.
The day I first awoke, I’d looked at myself in the mirror and seen a person I’d since become accustomed to. Brown hair and eyes. Average build. Nothing too different from anyone else.
Except for my chin.
There was a small scar on my chin. What had caused it was impossible to determine. It had merely been there from day one. Since that first day, I’d seen it so many times in the mirror that I barely noticed it anymore.
Now this dead boy on the slab, who looked identical to me, had exactly the same scar in exactly the same place.
‘He must be a clone,’ Brodie said. ‘A copy.’
‘Except a clone wouldn’t have that scar,’ Ebony pointed out. She glanced over at Doctor Kennedy. ‘Would it?’
The doctor shook her head. ‘We can’t clone people,’ she said. ‘Not yet. Anyway, a clone would have the same DNA, but that doesn’t explain the identical scar. The other issue is that you can’t grow a person overnight.’
‘Wait a minute,’ I said. ‘This person has the same DNA?’
That made them identical to me.
‘And the scar,’ Dan said. ‘How can that be?’
‘Could it be your brother?’ Chad asked.
I’d had memories of a wheatfield, a farmhouse, and someone who looked similar to me since the day I first woke up in the hotel room without my memory.
‘That still doesn’t explain the scar,’ I said.
Mister Brown cleared his throat. ‘Maybe we should sit down,’ he suggested. ‘Doctor, would you mind accompanying us to my office?’
Nodding, she closed the drawer and followed us back to Mister Brown’s office. We didn’t speak until we sat down.
‘What was his name?’ I asked.
‘Glen Johnson,’ Mister Brown said.
Glen.
Our own names were taken from the alphabet's first six letters: Axel, Brodie, Chad, Dan, Ebony, and Ferdy. The letter G would be the next logical letter to be used for a name.
Why does he look like me?
‘What happened to him?’ Chad asked Doctor Kennedy. ‘How was he killed?’
‘An energy blast to his chest,’ the doctor said. ‘He would have died quickly.’
‘So he was attacked?’ I said.
‘It seems so,’ Mister Brown said.
Brodie spoke up. ‘And where was he found?’
‘He was living alone in a Washington apartment. It wasn’t in one of the better neighborhoods. We’ve closed up his apartment in case you wanted to check it out.’
In case I wanted to?
Nothing could hold me back.
‘How does this relate to The Alpha Project?’ Dan asked. ‘Did Axel’s double get experimented on as well? Was he one of us?’
The Alpha Project was the program devised to give us our powers. One of the many scientific endeavors run at The Agency, little was known about it. All the scientists involved with it had been killed rescuing us.
Mister Brown spread his hands. ‘I don’t know,’ he confessed. ‘We don’t know much about The Alpha Project. As you know, the Bakari, known as Twelve, was in charge of the South Carolina branch where it was conducted. He had complete control of The Alpha Project. Modification of humans has been taking place for centuries, but the memory loss you suffered was…unforgivable.’
He looked sorry about the whole thing, and I think he meant it.
‘I don’t know how you can all look so calm,’ Brodie said, her bottom lip trembling. ‘Because I can only think of one reason why he looks like Axel.’
‘Which is?’ Ebony said.
‘He is Axel,’ Brodie said. ‘A future version of Axel.’
This announcement was met with silence.
‘What do you mean?’ Chad asked.
She looked around at each of us. ‘Think about it,’ she said. ‘He’s not a clone, and he can’t be a relation. That means he is Axel. We’ve time-traveled once before. We got to see the future. This may be a future version of Axel who traveled to the past—and has now died there.’
A chill went through me. What Brodie was saying made terrible sense. We’d experienced time travel before when an adult version of myself came back from the future to convince us to change history. On that occasion, we’d traveled to the future with him to see a world devastated by conflict. This had led me to travel back in time to kill the inventor of time travel, James Price. In the end, his life had been saved, but the whole experience had opened up a world of possibilities.
I thought again about Glen Johnson.
Could he actually be me?
‘They look identical,’ Ebony said, swallowing. ‘If it’s a future version, then he must only be from a short time in the future.’
‘That’s an intriguing theory,’ Mister Brown said, frowning. ‘This Glen Johnson was living in the Washington apartment for only around six months. His life before that is a complete mystery.’
Ebony stroked her chin. ‘So Axel could have arrived here six months ago,’ she said. ‘And stayed hidden the whole time.’
I tried to imagine what this would be like. The whole rise of superheroes had happened over this last year. If a future version of me had been living in the past, it meant I’d sat by and watched it all happen.
But what else could I have done?
It wouldn’t have been in my nature to stay hidden, but I knew it would have been the safest option. I didn’t understand time travel—I doubt anyone did—but the entire timeline could have been upset if I’d revealed myself. Meeting a future version of myself could have completely shattered the space/time continuum. The future may have been altered. Anything could have happened.
‘We need to see his apartment,’ I said.
‘I agree,’ Chad said. ‘I still think this is some kind of trap, but we’ve got to know.’
We thanked Mister Brown and the doctor and headed back up in the elevator. Brodie was strangely quiet the whole time and then grabbed my arm as we arrived at our floor. Chad glanced back, saw the look on her face, and kept going.
‘Axel,’ Brodie said, her eyes bright. ‘I don’t know…’
Then she burst into tears.
‘Hey,’ I said. ‘It’s okay.’
‘It’s not okay!’ she bawled. ‘What if I’m right? What if you’re going to get killed?’
The elevator was still heading up, so I hit the button for the roof. It wasn’t the best view, but it was still enjoyable. Pigeons often wheeled between the buildings and landed on a nearby roof. The cacophony of traffic, drifting up from the street, fought against the thud of music from a nearby dance academy.
Today was clear and warm as I held her tight.
‘Everything will be fine,’ I said.
‘You can’t know that for sure,’ she said. ‘In fact, it looks like everything won’t be fine. It looks like you’re going to die.’
I stared into her eyes. ‘Then I’ll do everything I can to stop that from happening.’
Brodie gripped my arms. ‘But maybe that’s what you were already doing,’ she said. ‘Maybe you were sent back in time and got stuck there. You might have done your best to stop this whole disaster from happening—’
She started crying so hard she couldn’t speak. I understood what she was saying. Maybe, despite my efforts, I’d failed to stop myself from ending up in the morgue.
‘Brodie,’ I said. ‘Listen up.’
She wiped the tears from her eyes. ‘Yeah?’
‘Then I’ll try harder,’ I said. ‘I promise.’
I just hoped it would be enough.
Chapter Four
‘This is it?’ I said.
‘This is the building,’ Ferdy said. ‘And the fantasy role-playing game, Dungeons and Dragons, was designed by Gary Gygax and David Arneson.’
Ferdy was often sharing interesting but unnecessary information with us. We landed on the roof of the apartment block in Anacostia, Washington DC. The view from here was of other similar apartments. Some looked to be in good order, but a few appeared to be quite rundown. Taking in the neighborhood, I glanced back to our ship. The new Liber8tor was the shape and size of an army helicopter but without the rotor blades. Silver and sleek, it was certainly a classier-looking ship than the old.
Dan seemed to read my mind as he followed my gaze. ‘Missing the K’tresh?’ he said.
I shuddered as I recalled the premade food packs from our old ship.
‘Never,’ I said. ‘That stuff tasted like soapy fish.’
‘I could have gotten used to it,’ Dan said. ‘After about a million years.’
We made our way down the stairs to the apartment where my double had lived; it wasn’t hard to miss. The doorway was the only one with police tape across. Fortunately, Mister Brown had given me a key. Unlocking the door, we navigated under the tape and entered to find a pretty ordinary-looking apartment.
I wasn’t sure what I’d expected to find. Maybe I thought it would contain an enormous photocopier that duplicated people or a time machine with the engine still running. Instead, the place looked as normal as could be. The off-white plaster walls matched the greying curtains at the windows. Half a bottle of old milk sat in an old refrigerator that whirred and chugged in the tiny kitchen. A loaf of moldy bread sat on a bench. A few spreads were in the cupboard. Next to the trash bin were dozens of old pizza boxes.
Brodie opened the top one. ‘Looks like your double really loved pepperoni pizzas,’ she said.
She gave me a look, and I nodded.
Pepperoni was my favorite too.
Two chairs faced a television. A third chair sat by the window overlooking an alley filled with trash cans. A bookcase contained a bunch of books, but they seemed to be random paperbacks.
‘Axel,’ Chad said. ‘I’ve gotta say that this place is…uh…’
‘Depressing,’ Ebony said.
I nodded. ‘Yeah. It doesn’t look like my double had much fun.’
‘We need to systematically search,’ Dan said. ‘From top to bottom.’
‘Mister Squirt,’ Chad said. ‘That is a fantastic suggestion.’
‘I know—and don’t call me Mister Squirt.’
The girls searched the kitchen. I took the bookcase while Dan and Chad searched the tiny bedroom and the wardrobe where my double kept his clothing. I heard them going through every item in the wardrobe while I flicked through every book. I even examined behind and under the bookcase.
Nothing.
‘What do you think?’ I asked everyone.
Ebony sighed. ‘I don’t think your double led a happy life,’ she said. ‘All this is kind of depressing.’
‘What about the books?’ Brodie asked.
‘They’re mostly action-adventure stories,’ I said. ‘I’m not even sure he read them.’
Dan frowned. ‘It’s hard to believe he actually lived here.’
‘That’s true,’ Chad agreed. ‘This place feels more like a drop-in center than a home.’
‘It doesn’t seem to have been somewhere where a person lived,’ Brodie said. ‘It looks more like a cover for something else.’
‘Then it’s an excellent coverup,’ I said. ‘I have no idea what it's hiding.’
Ebony’s eyes scanned the room. ‘Did anyone check the oven?’
‘The oven?’
‘Your double obviously didn’t do a lot of cooking. The stove looks like it was never used.’ She opened the oven door and peered in. ‘No,’ Ebony said after a moment. ‘There’s nothing…wait a minute…’ Reaching in, she pulled out a key on a string. ‘What’s this?’
‘Ebony,’ I said, taking the key from her. ‘You’re a genius.’
Brodie peered over my shoulder. ‘That’s a key for a storage facility,’ she said. ‘The address is even on it. That’s not too far from here.’
Chad took another glance around the room. ‘We’ve probably seen everything we can—watch out!’
He dived for me, pushing me aside as an orange power beam smashed through the window and struck the opposite wall. More blasts hit the side of the building as I struggled to throw up a protective barrier. Sections of the wall began to collapse.
‘Everyone out!’ Brodie yelled.
We crawled towards the door, finally making it to the hall. Residents from other apartments, some bleeding and helping injured friends and family members, were also escaping the attack. The long wail of an alarm cut the air.
‘We’ll help people out of the building,’ Brodie said. ‘You and Chad find out who’s shooting at us.’
Heading back into the room was too dangerous, so Chad and I went charging back up the stairs. Seconds later, we were peering over the edge of the roof. A figure in black floated motionless before the building. The outfit could have been made from liquid.
‘Is that a person or a robot?’ Chad asked.
There was no obvious way to breathe in the outfit. ‘A robot—I think.’
It raised an arm to fire off another volley.
‘Hey!’ Chad yelled. ‘Shoot at someone who can fire back!’
Lifting its head, it pointed at us and let out another volley. I threw up a barrier and deflected the orange blasts. These are powerful. Chad pointed at the figure and encased him in ice. This stopped the robot’s barrage—for a second—but then it fired off another blast, exploding the ice.
Taking to the air, I fired a series of air cannonballs at it as Chad leaped off the building and landed on his fireboard. Chad had gotten much better at riding the board in recent months; his training with The Agency had paid off.
The robot quickly dealt with both of us, continuing to fire blasts as we attacked it. Finally, it seemed to change its mind, turning to fly away from the scene. I’ve never seen anyone fly like that. Remaining in a standing position, the robot simply coasted away as if aerodynamics meant nothing to it.
‘Come on,’ I said to Chad. ‘After it!’
Chapter Five
‘Help!’ the boy yelled. ‘Help me!’
Ebony was at the end of the corridor when she spotted the boy. He was about ten with red hair and a round face. Smoke billowed from his apartment. Ebony raced to him, leaving Dan and Brodie to evacuate people from their homes.
‘Can I help?’ Ebony asked.
‘My dad’s hurt,’ the boy said. ‘He can’t move.’
She hurried into the room after him. The wall facing the street had collapsed entirely, exposing the room to the outside. A man lay pinned under a section of the wall. Ebony knelt beside him.
‘I can’t move,’ he gasped. ‘My legs are trapped.’
Ebony touched the wall and turned it to oxygen. It looked like one of his legs was broken. She wondered if it was safe to move him, but then the building gave a threatening groan.
This whole place is going to collapse.
She helped the man up, put one arm under his shoulder, and assisted him to the door and into the hall. Most of this floor had been evacuated. A cracking came from above as the ceiling overhead began to crumble. Pointing to it, Ebony transformed it into iron.
Good. That’s holding.
Ebony got the man to the stairwell and started downstairs with him and the boy.
‘What’s your name?’ she asked him.
‘Jack,’ the man grunted. ‘That’s my son, Bill.’
‘We’ll be out of here soon. Just hang on.’
It seemed to take forever, but she finally got him down to the street. By now, ambulances and other emergency vehicles were filling the street. Brodie was talking to one of the firemen. It so
unded like they were evacuating the whole area. Dan was looking after a distressed woman who was bleeding from the head.
Help.
The voice seemed to come from somewhere near the top of the building, but it was impossible to pinpoint its source. Surrendering Jack and Bill to the emergency service workers, Ebony headed back into the building. She went racing up the stairs, checking from floor to floor to see if she could locate the person.
‘Hello!’ she yelled. ‘Is there anyone in here?’
‘Help!’
The voice came from the floor above. Ebony went racing up the stairs. It only took a few minutes to locate an old woman trapped in a bedroom. Her wardrobe had toppled over onto her. Ebony pushed it away and gently helped the woman to her feet.
‘Can you walk?’ Ebony asked.
‘I’m a bit battered,’ the lady said. ‘But I think I can make it—if there’s time.’
The lady was quite frail. Ebony didn’t want to rush her, but she wasn’t sure they could make it downstairs in time. She asked the woman’s name, who said it was Doris.
Ebony accessed her wristcom. ‘Ferdy,’ she said. ‘Can you hear me?’
‘Ferdy can hear you, Ebony.’
‘Are you still on the roof?’
‘Ferdy is.’
‘Wait there. I’m coming up.’
Rather than taking the lady downstairs, Ebony hurried her up to the roof to where Liber8tor sat.
‘My goodness,’ Doris said. ‘I’ve never flown in one of these.’
‘It’s safer than most planes,’ Ebony said.
She certainly wasn’t about to tell Doris all the hair-raising adventures they’d been on. Ebony helped the woman into the main cabin and raced to the cockpit. Within seconds, they were airborne and flying over the street. There was no sign of Chad or Axel, but Dan and Brodie and emergency service workers were still working to get people safely to the street.
Ebony watched as pieces of the building rained down onto the sidewalk.
The building’s not going to last.
She flew Liber8tor further down the street, set down, and let Doris out. Ebony then returned to where Dan was assisting a man into a waiting ambulance.
Teen Superheroes Box Set | Books 1-7 Page 97
