"Omigod!" Marci said. "Tell me everything."
"There's not much to tell," Amber said, pacing in their dorm room. "The whole meeting was over in about five minutes."
Future Girl returned Mirai Academy the night before. She had never attempted a cross country flight before, and it wore her out more than she thought it would.
Now, Future Girl was back to being just Amber Veda – petite, mousy, with light brown hair that refused to do anything but be straight.
"Who all was there?" Marci said.
"Only four of us," Amber said. "There was me, U.S. Amy, the dork from London, and the psycho from Theater City."
"Was he scary?"
"It was more like he didn't want to be there," Amber said. "I don't know why someone like that even showed up."
"And who's the English guy?"
"An American who lives in England. He's called Dreamsmith, and he and Amy know each other somehow."
"Are they a couple?"
"Maybe, but I doubt it," Amber said. "You know your friend Wendell? Dreamsmith's like that."
"Oh."
"You didn't learn anything about the Temple?"
"I'm sorry."
Marci turned her head away from Amber. Amber knew Marci was still bothered by her abduction by campus security, but didn't say anything.
Amber sat down next to Marci. "We'll get this figured out somehow."
* * * *
It started as a typical day for Amber Veda, more typical than Amber would have preferred.
The morning began when Marci's alarm went off first. Amber huddled under her bedsheets in a half-daze as Marci gathered her things and headed down the hallway to the showers. Amber almost fell asleep again when Marci returned and started getting ready for the day.
Amber groggily stumbled out of bed once Marci's hairdryer turned on. She walked down to the hall to the bathroom, peed, and walked back. By now, Marci was hurriedly dressing and putting on makeup to get ready for class.
Amber hoped next semester she'd be the one with the early class, so she'd be the one waking up the sleeping roommate who has an extra hour to sleep.
Once Marci left for class, Amber did some reading. Thanks to the energy of the Paradoxicon coursing through her, she was able to read faster and retain more information faster than most people, which helped her keep up with her genius classmates.
After an intensive 30-minute study session, Amber showered and did her best to pretty herself up for the day. The morning's classes were advances calculus and advanced gravitational physics. Amber preferred physics.
Lunch was a small veggie burger and a Sprite while chatting with Marci and friends in the cafeteria. The afternoon then started with engineering theory – also known as robotics – not Amber's best subject.
In her next class, just as Amber's biology teacher began discussing the genetic complexities of a hedgehog's quills, Amber heard a familiar sound.
woot-woot-woot
Outside, campus security sped toward the engineering building. All of Amber's classmates rushed to the classroom's windows to watch the security guards race by on their souped-up golf carts while Amber's teacher tried to calm everyone down. A few of the more unruly students rushed out the door into the hallway to get a better look at the action.
This was Amber's cue. She followed them on the way toward the exit, and then ducked into the girls' room.
A quick check revealed the room was empty. The woot-woot-woot of the security sirens still blared. Amber pressed her thumb against her right palm. She immediately felt the rush of energy through her body as she transformed into Future Girl.
Knowing that it wouldn't be much of a positive image for a superhero to fly majestically out the bathroom, Future Girl opened the door a crack and leaned out to make sure the outside hallway was empty. From there, she flew down the hall, not toward the main exit but in the opposite direction, up a stairwell and towards a skylight at the roof, which shined sunlight down a center shaft through the whole building.
Future Girl decided against smashing through the glass – too much unnecessary destruction – and instead undid a latch and flew outside, into the warm sunshine.
She saw the security carts surrounding the engineering building as flashes of blue light burst from within the two-story building.
Future Girl flew straight at the building, choosing this one to smash through.
Inside the classroom, a teacher and about ten students cowered in one corner, as an eight-legged walking robot about the size of a motorcycle stomped around the room, knocking over desks, tables, and other student-built robots. This particular robot had a long silver rod where a spider's head would usually be, and it spit out bursts of bright blue sparks.
Future Girl wondered how could any student have built this, and how itcould be anything other than a weapon.
# # # #
Next: To arms.