"Told you guys we should've told her,'' Theo whispered a few minutes after the jet bulleted out of the hangar and left the mountain range from which it came.
Rolling his eyes, Chase readjusted the tarp covering them all. After Stella somehow made it inside the aircraft, she'd almost ruined their cover. Luckily, she didn't completely give away their positions. Not yet, at least. The Atlas agents sitting just a few feet away still had no idea the six teenagers were hiding behind them.
Stella sat across from Chase, her expression fierier than an active volcano. He wasn't afraid of much, but the anger in her eyes put fear in his heart. So much that he wouldn't even meet her scathing gaze. For a person people often heralded as the 'nicest girl they've ever met', she could be extremely intimidating.
She held out her hand with her palm facing upwards. A tennis ball-sized sphere of light bobbed above it, illuminating the inside of the makeshift tent they were in.
Emily dubbed the girl's abilities to be the weakest out of the group. While Chase didn't necessarily disagree, he did find them fascinating. She had the power to control light particles and even conjure her own. She could manipulate her own gravity—to an extent. The scientists back at The Acropolis theorized that she'd be able to fly at some point. But, for now, she could only jump farther and higher than the average person. Coupled with her gymnastic skills, she often looked like an Olympic athlete when testing her limits.
No one was quite sure how her powers worked. In fact, all their abilities were pretty much a mystery. At this point, Chase didn't even question it anymore. He'd go crazy if he tried making sense out of them.
''What the hell were you guys thinking?''
No one answered her.
''How'd you all even get in here?'' She shook her head. ''You know what, never mind. It doesn't matter.''
''For the record,'' Theo said while holding up his finger, ''I wanted to tell you...just saying.''
Emily side-eyed him, her nostrils flaring as she held in her anger. He cowered beneath her gaze.
''You should've.'' Stella ran a hand down her face. ''So, what's the plan? You guys were just going to stowaway on this jet and potentially get yourselves killed?"
''Something like that—minus the dying part, of course.''
''This isn't a time to be joking, Oscar.''
The smile on his lips disintegrated.
Chase sighed. ''We didn't expect you to understand. That's why we didn't bother telling you in the first place. You would've only tried to stop us.''
''And that's a bad thing because...?"
He sighed. ''Kismet needs to be stopped and Atlas needs help, as much as Director Shaw doesn't want to admit.''
Disappointment surfaced on Stella's face. A frown pulled at Chase's lips, his shoulder's slumping. He wasn't sure why he cared so much about what she thought but he did. He understood why she didn't agree with their idea to secretly join in on Atlas' mission, but it was something that needed to be done. This was their chance to land a critical hit on the terrorist cell.
''Do you even have a strategy for when we get to wherever it is this jet is going?''
''It's going to Canada,'' Oscar offered.
''Calgary, to be specific,'' Chase said.
''Thanks.''
Chase see-sawed his hand. ''I figured we'd come up with something along the way. We're kind of short on intel.''
Stella laughed quietly. Though, she made sure to keep her voice down. While the jet's engines were loud, if they weren't careful, there was a chance they'd alert the nearby Atlas agents. And Chase was sure no one wanted that. If they got caught now before they could even help, it'd be a disaster—and a waste of time.
''So,'' she said, her tone slow and considerate, ''let me get straight. You all snuck onto a military jet to fight a group of trained mercenaries without having a concrete game plan? Are you all insane.''
''Probably,'' Theo joked with a toothy grin.
His playful comment solicited a chuckle from Andre.
''You know there's a high chance you'll all get killed right?'' After no one acknowledged her question, she blew air out her nose and shook her head again.
''We're willing to take that risk,'' Chase said after a while.
Stella looked around at everyone before exhaling. ''You're all sure about this?''
The others nodded.
''Fine,'' she said. She stuck a finger in Chase's face. Surprised, he stiffened up and crossed his eyes to look at it. ''But if things go sideways, it's on you. Okay?''
''Okay.''
Huffing, she crossed her arms. ''Alright. Now, everyone be quiet before they hear us.''
They all did as they were told and continued to sit in silence for the duration of the ride.
#
Chase fell asleep again.
This time, he was awoken to sharp jolt of the jet's wheels touching down onto the ground. Apparently, he'd slept through their descent. Either the jet's pilots were incredibly gifted, or he was just incredibly tired.
He was wide awake now. An injection of adrenaline pumped through his veins. It was almost time for them to confront Kismet.
The others were still maintaining their hiding spot. Thankfully, they still hadn't been discovered. As he opened his mouth to say something, Stella shot him a pointed look and pressed her index finger to her lips. The words died in his throat.
Footsteps stomping across the metal floor passed by the six teenagers. Everyone seemed to be holding their breath as they waited for all the agents to finish exiting the aircraft. Chase peaked through the tiny opening in the tarp covering them to check if the coast was clear. Gulping, he retracted his head. One last soldier stood near the crates around them.
He wasn't sure if they saw him, but he wasn't going to check again.
His heart jumped in his chest when he heard them approaching. Pressing his back against the metal box behind him, he tried his best to look as invisible as possible. The others did the same. It would prove to be useless, though, if the Atlas agent pulled the tarp away; it was the only thing keeping them out of sight.
''I must be losing it,'' the agent grumbled to themselves. Chase exhaled silently and wiped the sweat from his brow.
Just when it seemed like they were in the clear, Theo's eyes widened. With his button-like nose twitching, it was clear what was about to happen.
Andre caught on and wrapped a large hand around the boy's mouth and nose.
Then Theo sneezed. While the sound had been muted, it could still be heard.
Chase cringed while everyone else went still like marble statues.
''What the— ''
Chase could hear the agent inching towards them. From the shadow on the ground a few feet away from him, he could see the man reaching for the gun at his waist.
''Jameson let's get a move on!'' someone outside yelled. 'We just got an alert about vehicles arriving at the lab.''
Jameson stopped. After a few seconds, he sighed and turned around. ''Alright, alright! I'm coming.'' He shot one last look at the hiding teenagers before stepping down the jet's ramp.
The sound of it closing behind him drowned out his heavy footfalls.
Emily narrowed her eyes at Theo, whose face resembled a tomato. ''Way to almost get us caught, idiot.''
''Sorry, jeez.'' He rubbed the back of his neck. ''My allergies start acting up around this time of year.''
''We're in a jet,'' she retorted, exasperation present in her tone. ''What allergies could you possibly have?''
Chase pulled emerged from their cover and stood up. His knees were tight from sitting for over an hour and his legs screamed when he stretched them. ''Lay off him, Emily. He obviously didn't do it on purpose.''
She rolled her eyes but seemed to listen to his order.
''So, what now, boss?'' Oscar said as he got up.
Chase thought for a moment. ''We'll let them get a head start on us before we follow. That way they won't see us, but we'll be able to see them. Then we'll find a way into the lab and figure out where Kismet is.''
''Sounds good to me.''
''Great,'' Stella said. ''There's only one problem.'' She pointed at the raised ramp, which now served as the back wall of the jet.
Scratching the top of his head, he tried to find a solution. After discovering there were no controls near anywhere in this section of the aircraft, he figured they'd be in the cockpit. He journeyed into the pilot's cabin and looked around.
Two joysticks sat in front of the two seats inside. Behind those was a dashboard fitted with a multiple radar screens, altitude gauges, and other monitors. Buttons, switches, and levers were built into the roof a few inches above his head. There were way too many things there for him to figure out which one controlled the ramp.
While he was familiar with various military vehicles, thanks to the handbook his father gave him, he'd never seen a layout like the one this jet had. Of course, it looked familiar but the things he didn't recognize outnumbered the things he did.
Sighing, he rubbed his chin.
''Maybe it's that one,'' someone behind him said.
Turning around, he saw Stella pointing a button on the side wall next to the pilot's seat. In big, bold letters read ''RAMP''. Scoffing, he pressed it.
''Yeah, I knew that,'' he lied. ''Was just making sure I wasn't missing anything.''
She laughed at him. ''Of course you did.''
The two of them shared a smile before it was interrupted by an impatient-looking Emily.
''You two just gonna stare at each other forever or are we gonna get a move on.''
Clearing his throat and looking away from the other girl, he nodded. ''Let's go everyone.''
He left the cockpit and made his way down the ramp.
The jet sat in the center of a grassy field. Tall strands of yellowish-green blades stretched on for at least a mile in every direction. A thick forest of pine trees bordered the southern portion of the grassland. Mountains hid beyond the misty veil to their north. His feet touched down on the dirt floor while he continued to look around. He picked up on the boot prints in the ground. They diverted off towards the west.
That was where they needed to go.
He pointed at the makeshift path the Atlas agents paved through the tall grass. ''This way.''
Leading the way, he followed the tracks, hoping they'd bring him to the Nexxus Industries lab.
Above them, dark clouds lingered in the sky. A cool breeze slithered through the field, moving the grass and spreading the earthy scents of the foliage to Chase's nose. Glancing up, he assumed it was going to rain soon. They were in Calgary after all; the place had a heavy annual rainfall count.
He and his group of super-powered friends continued down a sloping hill. In the distance, he made could see the tip of a stark, white building peaking from the bottom of the clearing it sat in. That was the lab. It had to be.
''These suits really aren't good for the cold,'' Oscar complained while pulling at the black material clinging to his body.
They all had equipped the suits before leaving the jet. Their clothes had been left strewn across the floor of the aircraft. Chase agreed with Oscar. The material, while seemingly durable, was thin and didn't do well against the fall temperatures. Rubbing his arms, he soldiered forward.
''Are we almost there?" Theo asked for what felt like the hundredth time. Chase had tuned the boy out for the most part.
''Why don't you go look for yourself, Speedy,'' Emily told him.
He grinned at her. ''Good idea.''
Shaking his head, Chase watched as his friend disappeared into the grass. He could see him zipping around ahead of them, appearing in different areas in quick succession like a meerkat. Seconds later, he regrouped with the others.
''We're...almost...there,'' he said between pulls from his inhaler.
''Good to know.'' Chase did his best to contain his laughter. He just couldn't help but see the irony in Theo's abilities. He had little to no stamina, yet his power involved him running faster than humanly possible.
The six Primes ventured forward for a few more minutes until they reached the bottom of the hill. The grass gradually faded in size until all that was left were thin patches of weeds protruding from the wet ground.
Chase halted and held his hands up for the rest to do the same. He stared ahead at the modern-styled building just a few yards in front of them.
''Well,'' he said. ''We found it.''
''What now?'' Oscar asked.
He turned to look at the him.
''Now...we find a way inside.''