The Octopus Effect (32 page)

“Wait a second,” Targa said. “How do we know someone's not pretending to be this Ralfagon guy?”

“I assume you're from the Order of Biology,” Ralfagon said. “Would you like me to discuss some of your Keeper's habits? Such as how Gilio always wants to watch
It Came from Beneath the Sea
each time there's an Order movie night?”

“Anybody could have told you that!” Kender said.

“Told me what?” Ralfagon asked.

“It's Ralfagon,” Simon, Owen, and Alysha said at the same time.

“Told you,” Loisana said.

“That's great,” Alysha said. “So why is she here now?”

“After you took over as Keeper, I asked Loisana to offer her help to you,” Ralfagon said. “She missed the Gateway to Biology, though, and I figured it was better for her to wait here than to try finding you in
that
place. I get lost almost every time I go there. I'd have joined her in person, but I'm supposed to keep a low profile until the meeting with the Board this Sunday. I could risk it if you feel you'd need my aid.”

“No, but thanks, Ralfagon,” Simon said. He thought of how much faith Ralfagon had shown in his leadership and his control. “For everything.”

“My boy, it's my pleasure. Be careful, though I know you'll do well. I look forward to hearing the whole story later.”

Simon hung up the phone and floated it back to Loisana. “Sorry I doubted you.”

“You can't be too careful these days,” she said. “So what's going on?”

Simon introduced her to the visiting Bio members and shared their plan.

“You're bringing Sirabetta here to fight?” Loisana asked. “Is that wise?”

“Even if she has her powers back, we outnumber her,” Simon said.

“We have the element of surprise,” Alysha said.

“But her allies? A former Keeper?” Loisana asked.

“They won't even know what happened; she'll disappear and reappear here, leaving them behind,” Simon said.

“I'll stick around, if you don't mind. An extra formula pitching in couldn't hurt.”

“Sure, why not.” Simon said. He wasn't too worried about Loisana's lack of battle experience; after all, he figured this would be a quick and easy fight.

They continued along the path until they reached the spot where Simon had turned Sirabetta into a thirteen-year-old. “Here we go,” he said.

Kender generated his exoskeleton and stood between the target spot and the path to the entrance, ready to nab Sirabetta if she tried to run.

Cassaro spat out a cloud of spores on either side of the path and speed-grew them into huge mushrooms that would block Sirabetta from dashing into the forest.

Targa used her adrenaline powers to boost Simon, who'd need a lot of focus if he was going to make this space-time twist work.

Flangelo changed to emu form, ready to kick or head-butt as needed.

Alysha continued to draw in electrical energy from the air around her, storing up as much as she could muster. She wouldn't mess with plasma; she didn't want to risk any damage to the woods. Instead, she took two handfuls of assorted metal pieces out of the duffel bag she was carrying. There was plenty more to grab, if needed; she'd filled the bag at the town junkyard.

Owen stood between the path and the clearing. He took some metal rods and several small but heavy appliances from his and Alysha's duffel bags, also gathered from the junkyard near his house. He could use them to batter or at least distract Sirabetta if she tried to flee through the other end of the woods.

Loisana positioned herself alongside the trees. She turned some of the moisture in the air into water, letting it flood across the ground. Zeroing in on the area where they expected Sirabetta to appear, she froze the water into a thin sheet of ice. When Sirabetta materialized there, she'd lose her footing on the slippery ground.

Simon surged with intensity from Targa's influence. He stood a few feet apart from everyone else so he could better concentrate on his space-time control. “In case we can't knock her out quickly, make sure she can't see those tattoos,” he said. “She can only use one at a time and can't use them if they're covered.”

The group braced themselves, ready to pounce on their foe. I had to admit, leaning forward on my recliner, it was a great plan. I wished I had time to make popcorn.

Simon closed his eyes and activated his space-time formula. He concentrated on the memory of that tingling feeling that stemmed from Sirabetta's altered form.

Keeping that sensation in mind, Simon narrowed his attention so he was more intent on space than time. He imagined a thin, limitless rope extended between him and Sirabetta, using that one spot on the path as ground zero for it.

Then, with all the intensity he could gather in mind and body, he yanked the rope.

Nothing happened.

A few minutes passed.

Still nothing.

A few more minutes passed.

By now, the nothing was getting quite good at its job. It seemed smug somehow.

Flangelo shifted from emu to human. “Can we assume this isn't how it's supposed to work?”

Simon frowned. “I don't understand. I felt it. I felt the connection and I pulled on it. It should have worked!”

“Hey, it's a new technique,” Alysha said. “It's not like turning friction on or off. You might need a few tries to get it right.”

“Yeah, remember how long it took to get good at plain old gravity?” Owen asked.

“Okay,” Simon said. “Give me a few more minutes to work on this.” He closed his eyes and pictured what he wanted to do in his mind again. Then he clapped his hands together and rubbed them, exhaled, and opened his eyes. “This time it'll work.”

Once again, about fifteen minutes after the first attempt, Simon pictured the rope of space-time, the distance it covered, and then the pulling. He visualized the air ripping open and Sirabetta falling through it, only to plop onto the ice patch and into their trap.

The nothing did its equivalent of saying
nyeah-nyeah
as Sirabetta, rather stubbornly, I thought, persisted in not appearing.

“Maybe I need more rest,” Simon said. “Maybe I should reread that section of the Book. Get more clues on how to do this.” He reached into his backpack for the Book.

And that's when everything exploded.

The air in the middle of the group burst apart with a deafening
boom
, flinging them in all directions. Most of their falls were cushioned by the giant mushrooms lining the path.

Simon, positioned far from mushrooms or friends, wasn't so lucky. He was launched up into the trees, smacking through dozens of branches before disappearing from sight. Moments later, he could be heard crashing down, branch by branch, and then striking the ground with a wrenching thud somewhere deep in the forest.

“This place brings back memories.” Thirteen-year-old Sirabetta strutted down the path toward them. She wore a jet-black wet suit that let her show off the assortment of perfectly formed tattoos on her arms and legs—gone were the days where she had to hide them. She was also soaking wet, which made the wet suit a practical choice of clothing.

And she wasn't alone. Preto, Krissantha, and Aleadra—similarly drenched—walked behind her as she approached the scattered Physics and Biology members.

Sirabetta didn't bother to hide her triumphant grin as she addressed her stunned enemies. “Funny thing: there I was, thousands of miles away, when I felt this buzzing. Like an alarm in my head and body, telling me
exactly
where Simon Bloom was.”

I groaned as I realized that Simon hadn't worked his formula properly. Instead of teleporting Sirabetta, he had only managed to alert her.

“A quick Gateway trip, a soaking from the Union's trusty rainstorm, and here we were. Only fifteen minutes, door to door. Back to good ol' Dunkerhook Woods.”

She scanned the faces of the fallen. “Hmm. Was my attack too rough for poor Bloom?” She looked off into the forest. “I'll scrape him off the ground when we're done with you all.” She rubbed her hands together. “I've been looking forward to this.”

Kender, protected by his shell, was the least affected by the blast. He'd been knocked down but rose and stood between his enemies and his friends. “So you're the famous Sirabetta. You don't look so tough.”

“Really?” Sirabetta asked. Five feet tall and slender, Sir gave a sweet smile to the seven-foot-plus, massively armored man. She thrust an arm out and pointed to a silver tattoo. It was one of her favorite weapons—from the Order of Astronomy.

“Does this help?” she asked and read the tattoo aloud. It glowed brightly and a pulsating, grapefruit-size ball of silvery light shot from her outstretched hand. The searing globe was made of the same stuff as a star: it was superhot and devas tatingly powerful. It streaked through the woods, covering the twenty feet to Kender in a second, and detonated in a burst of silver-white fire across his right side.

Kender was sent spinning up and back through the air before striking some trees with a loud crash. He rose to his feet unsteadily; the part of the shell covering his right side had been destroyed.

“I guess I'm out of practice,” Sirabetta said. “The next one'll do the trick.” She hesitated; one more star-ball would probably kill him. Was she ready to get blood on her hands? Then she reminded herself that these hands were just part of the misery these people had heaped onto her.
Yes
, she thought darkly.
It's time for them to die
.

Before she could act, the tall, bearded one heaved himself up to his knees and spat a cloud of tiny dots that enveloped her. Sirabetta shrieked with disgust as she saw they were mushrooms and with pain from the sting of them latching onto her flesh. The multiple fungi began growing instantly, gaining length and depth with every passing second.

They weren't fast enough, though. Sirabetta quickly regained her composure and read from a blue tattoo on one arm; the tattoo glowed brightly and a burst of intense heat incinerated all the mushrooms on her.

“A giant bug-man and a mushroom-spitter,” she said with a snort. “Is this the band of warriors trying to keep me from my destiny?”

Preto and Krissantha laughed while Aleadra looked on stone-faced. “Before you get overconfident . . . the others are recovering, too.”

Sirabetta looked over; the skinny bird-man, Flangelo, and the short, velocity-wielding boy, Owen, were rising. She didn't know the two women with them, but she recognized the girl, Alysha, stirring beside them.

“Not a problem,” Sirabetta said, her voice almost mania cally cheery.

“No,” Alysha snarled. “It's a problem.” She threw a handful of sparking metal pieces on and in front of Sirabetta; they exploded and raised a huge cloud of dirt.

Sirabetta coughed and waved her hands to clear the air, but she was laughing. “Stupid, stupid, stupid, Lite Brite. Did you forget I'm electricity proof?” She pointed to a glowing half-yellow, half-green tattoo on her left shin; it was a biochemical tattoo she'd chosen for complete insulation.

“Forget? No. Care? Nope,” Alysha rasped. “Ever hear of a distraction?”

As Sirabetta and her allies finished waving away the dust and debris from the attack, they found a surprise. Though the redheaded woman was still sprawled on the ground and Simon had not returned, most of their opponents had gotten to their feet.

“I remember how tricky and persistent you were,” Sirabetta said. “This time, no more asking for what I want. No more offers of surrender.”

“No problem,” Owen said through gritted teeth.

Sirbetta snapped her fingers at her allies. “Get them.”

Aleadra stood to the side, folding her arms, as if she was just going to observe. But Preto reacted right away, changing into his half-man, half-manta ray form and gliding on winglike fins toward his enemies. Flangelo shifted into emu form and stepped in front of him, letting out an emu roar and fluttering his tiny, flightless wings. Preto let out a keening wail and swooped at the large bird.

They collided, and Flangelo was thrown back by the more massive, faster-moving attacker. He got to his feet quickly and let out a booming challenge in emu language: the equivalent of telling Preto his mother smelled funny.

Preto swiped one of his wings at Flangelo's head; Flangelo ducked under it, but Preto lashed out with his tail and yanked Flangelo off his feet.

Kender rushed to attack Preto, but Krissantha blocked him.

“I warned you before,” she said. She swiftly darted to his side and grabbed his armored leg while activating her hydrogen bond-formula. The chitin that made up Kender's exoskeleton started to dissolve, exposing his flesh-and-blood leg underneath. His human leg was much shorter, so Kender had to balance on his still-armored leg to keep from falling.