Tyler leaned against the empty doorframe, watching Felix and a few other Supers listen to the Fortuna's captain, who was apparently quite the storyteller. Sometimes, when he wasn't busy, he invited some of the kids to listen. Only a couple were really interested, Felix being one of them, of course.
"...and then he had to return home," the captain said.
Felix's hand shot in the air. "Did you ever see him again?" he asked.
"Sadly, I didn't. Now, there's some things I need to get done, so why don't you kids get back to training."
The kids streamed past Tyler as they left the captain's office. Felix was the last one out.
"Hey Tyler," he said. "Are they back yet?"
"No," Tyler said. "Ivy and the others are still out." They set off down the hallway. "What story was that?" she asked.
"Oh, the captain was just telling us about his dragon friend."
"Dragon?" Tyler asked.
"Or maybe it was an alien...?" Felix frowned.
Tyler smiled. "The captain's very creative."
Felix stopped and looked Tyler dead in the eyes. "His stories are real, Tyler. He said so."
Tyler fought the urge to roll her eyes. "I don't think dragon aliens are real, Felix."
"You don't know that," Felix said as they continued down the hall.
"Yeah, sure," Tyler said, a hint of sarcasm in her tone. "Aliens could be real. Maybe I'll marry one."
They reached the ship deck, where a few Supers were practicing their abilities in mock fights. Tyler had already trained for a while earlier that morning, so she walked over to the railing and gazed out at the ocean. Felix moved to stand next to her.
"Do you like it here, Felix?" Tyler asked.
Felix shrugged. "Yeah, it's pretty cool, I guess."
"You guess?"
"Well," Felix said with a glance behind him. "The people here are really... sad."
"Their friend almost died," Tyler told them. "And a lot of them got hurt. Of course they're sad."
"I know that," Felix said. "It's just kind of boring. I want to go on missions, like Ivy."
"Me too, Felix," Tyler said as she stared at the horizon. "Me too."
They watched the waves for a few minutes before Tyler frowned. There was something approaching them. A small boat. Tyler stepped away from the railing and looked around.
"Tyler?" Felix asked.
"Stay here," Tyler told him. He ignored her and stayed by her side as she made her way to the door.
"Dr. Newman?" she called as she approached the lab. She opened the door and peered inside. "Hello?"
Dr. Newman and a few other scientists were looking at something on a laptop. Dr. Newman looked up. "Tyler," he said. "Is something wrong?"
"I think there's a boat coming toward us," Tyler said.
"A boat? Everyone's here, except Ivy's team. And they took a chopper." Dr. Newman whispered something to one of the scientists before standing up and walking over to Tyler. "Come on."
They walked back out to the deck. When they arrived, Victoria was at the railing with binoculars.
"Dr. Newman," Victoria called when she spotted them. "Come here."
They hurried over and Victoria handed the binoculars to Dr. Newman. "Captain said he saw something approaching on the radar," Victoria explained. "It's a motorboat. He asked me to take a look."
"Can you see who's on it?" Tyler asked.
"There's a guy driving," Victoria said. "But I think he's the only one."
Whoever it was, they were only a few minutes away. "Call over a few Supers," Dr. Newman said. "Then get the crew to pull him up."
Victoria nodded and walked over to where a few kids were training.
Tyler turned to Dr. Newman. "Are you sure?" she asked. "We have no idea who this guy is."
"Whatever he wants, we outnumber him," Dr. Newman said.
"I could turn into a fish and go spy on him," Felix offered.
"That won't be necessary," Dr. Newman said as a few crew members approached. "We'll pull up whoever it is and talk to him."
The stranger parked their boat next to the ship. While the crew pulled him up, Tyler and the others waited in tense silence.
A boy about nineteen, dressed in all black, stepped off the boat when it came to a stop. Tyler and the others only had a moment to register his presence.
"Supers," he said. "My name is Malcolm."
Next to Tyler, Dr. Newman tensed. "I hope, for everyone's sake, that you don't mean Malcolm Somnus," he said.
Malcolm's gaze shifted to Dr. Newman. "You know who I am?"
"I've heard rumors," Dr. Newman said, taking a step forward. "When I worked for the government, there were whispers of some sort of special agent. Someone was sending him into U.S. facilities to steal information. They called him—you—the Nightmare Kid."
There were a few seconds of heavy silence. "Well, I suppose my reputation precedes me, then."
"So it is you?"
"Yes."
Dr. Newman turned to the Supers. "Detain him," he ordered. "I don't want anyone speaking to him unless he's locked up."
The Supers around Tyler surged toward Malcolm. He looked almost bored as he held up his hand.
Tyler gasped when the kid next to her fell to the ground. She knelt down and grabbed the kid's arm. He didn't seem to have any injuries. After a moment, Tyler realized he was asleep.
Newman was down, too, she realized with a jolt, and other kids were dropping. Tyler's heart hammered in her chest. Her gaze flickered to a gun lying a foot away from one of the Supers. She reached out and grabbed it.
No one was within ten feet of Malcolm. Staying low, Tyler made her way around the back of the crowd. She pressed herself up against the railing and inched closer, praying Malcolm would keep his back to her. She'd had one lesson on firing a gun, but she couldn't remember what she'd learned. Even if she did, her hands were shaking like crazy.
All the Supers that had been training on deck hurried over to the commotion. Clutching the gun, Tyler pulled herself to her feet and watched another wave of kids go unconcious. Her gaze darted back to Malcolm.
With a deep breath, Tyler lunged forward and swung the gun. It collided hard with the back of Malcolm's head. Tyler breathed a sigh of relief when he collapsed.
The sleeping kids began stirring, and within about a minute they were all up. As soon as Dr. Newman was up, he hurried over to where Malcolm lay.
"I'm so sorry," Dr. Newman said. He looked at Tyler. "I didn't even know he was real. If I had known it was him, I wouldn't have let him up."
"Who is he, anyway?" Tyler asked.
"If the rumors are true, very dangerous." Dr. Newman turned to a few crew members as they stood up. "Put him in a cell. Quickly. And post guards nearby, but make sure they don't get closer than twenty feet."
The crew members nodded and walked over to Malcolm. Dr. Newman turned to Victoria and Tyler.
"Call Ivy and the others," he said. "Tell them what's happened."
~
Ash opened the door to Claudia's office. She was on the phone, but signaled for him to come in.
"Yes, I'll do that," she said. "You know I care about this just as much as you do. Now I have to go. Goodbye." Claudia hung up and sighed. "Well?" she asked.
"What?"
"What happened, Ash? Did you find them?"
"No," Ash lied. "There weren't any Altered hiding out." Something at the back of his mind screamed at him. What he was doing was wrong. But another part of him was determined to keep Claudia from finding the kids. He couldn't explain it. He couldn't explain why he felt like he was losing his mind, but it was something he had to do. A feeling in his gut.
Claudia narrowed her eyes. "Are you sure?"
"Yes. I looked for hours."
"Fine," Claudia muttered. "Go train. I have something important to take care of." She stood up and stormed past Ash. Frowning, he followed her out of the office.
Claudia turned and headed toward the elevators. Where was she going? What did she have to do that was so important?
Ash followed her, staying out of sight as she made her way to the elevators. When the doors shut, he hurried over to the stairs and went down until he heard the ding of the elevator. Heels clicked on tile nearby. Ash peered out from the stairwell and watched Claudia walk down the hallway and enter the lab.
Part of Ash told him he should leave and go train, but he ignored it and walked over to the lab. He pressed his ear to the door and listened.
"John, there you are," Claudia said. "I have some... good news." She didn't sound very happy.
"What?"
"Andrew's moving forward with Project Phoenix. He wants you to take Wren and head back to the labs."
"Excellent," John said. "What should I tell her?"
"I don't care. Get some of the soldiers to help you if you must."
Footsteps came toward the door. Ash backed away and hurried to the end of the hall, where he ducked around the corner. The lab door opened, and John and Claudia headed down the hall in the opposite direction.
"I'll call you when I reach the labs," John said.
Ash heard the elevator doors open and close at the other end of the hall. Confused, he walked toward them. Why would Claudia send Wren to the labs? What was Project Phoenix?
If John would be leaving with Wren, he'd go to the roof. Ash decided to wait there and see if he could figure out what was happening. He took the elevators up to the top floor and hurried up the stairs to the top of the building.
Ash hid behind one of the jetchoppers and waited. Twenty minutes passed, and he was ready to give up and go back inside when the door to the roof swung open.
"Let me go," Wren shrieked.
"Calm down, Wren," John said.
Ash pressed himself against the chopper, heart pounding. John, Wren, and the three soldiers restraining her came into view.
"Where are you taking me?" Wren asked as they approached one of the choppers across from Ash.
"I told you, the labs."
"Why?"
"Soldiers, get her inside the chopper," John ordered as he pulled a phone out of his pocket.
"Are you going to experiment on me?" Wren cried.
John didn't answer. One of the soldiers let go of Wren to open the chopper door. With a grunt, Wren pulled herself away from the other two and sprinted across the roof. The soldiers followed.
Wren reached a different chopper and flung the door open. She climbed inside and shut the door just as the soldiers reached her. One of the soldiers grabbed the handle and tried to open it, but Wren had already locked it.
The helicopter blades began spinning. Ash watched the chopper lifted off the ground. Was Wren really going to try and fly away? The jetchoppers were pretty easy to fly once you knew what you were doing, but Wren had no experience. Soldiers usually piloted the choppers.
The soldiers pulled out their guns and took aim.
"Wait," John said. "We need her alive." Seconds passed, and Wren flew higher and higher.
"Sir," one of the soldiers said. "She's getting away. Should we pursue her?"
Hesitation crossed John's face. "Did she have a phone on her?" he asked.
"Yes."
"Then we'll track her," John said.