Not Your Villain (Sidekick Squad #2)(24)

With Abby’s quick thinking, they get away from Claudia, and Jess leads them to Genevieve, Abby’s mom. She looks exhausted as they release her from her tantalum cuffs.

Bells keeps an eye on the hallway as Abby and her mom have a tearful reunion. They’re lucky they found her without running into any of the guards, but their luck doesn’t hold. There’s no sign of Master Mischief, and no time to look for him because Claudia catches up with them again. She’s armed with something Bells didn’t think could exist—a serum she injects into Abby, rendering her powers null. Then she starts for Bells—

Bells has training. He knows how to do this; he can fight back, but he can’t move. He’s holding a metal bar. All he has to do is knock the syringe out of Claudia’s hands, but the bar is slipping from his hands. Pull it together. I’ve lifted ten times this bar’s weight, why can’t I…?

Claudia walks toward him holding a needle aloft like a weapon; a bead of liquid drips from it, and Bells can’t, he can’t move, can’t think.

“You don’t want to let go of your precious powers, now do you, Chameleon?” Claudia taunts, stepping into a fighting stance.

He needs to get his body into ready position; he can see Claudia’s about to launch the classic Attack Formation 14-A, and he knows which blocking move to counter it, but he can’t get his body to respond.

He looks at the serum and is frozen with fear at the possibility of losing his powers, of being useless in a fight, useless to everyone—

Jess steps in with more confidence than Bells has ever seen and she goads Claudia into ranting until a pipe falls from the ceiling and knocks her out.

The escape plan changes now that the compound is on high alert. Bells has only enough power left to shift himself and one more person, so they split up. Mistress Mischief and Bells will try to send a message from the compound’s computer room. Jess and Abby will try to escape without disguises.

“Come on; we’ve got to go!” Bells starts down the hall in a run. He doesn’t hear steps, so he looks back.

Mistress Mischief—Genevieve Monroe, isn’t that a trip—is staring at the other end of the hallway.

“They’re going to be okay,” Bells says.

“How do you know?” Genevieve’s voice is haggard.

Bells doesn’t know for sure, but he does believe in Jess’ stubborn determination. And Abby is resourceful.

Jess said this path was the easiest one, clear of guards, but how long would it remain the safest route? What if they run into Captain Orion or any of the guards?

Bells’ powers aren’t well-suited for an actual fight. He held his own in training, but despite the showy punches and kicks and the many sparring matches, no one was ever armed. League guards will have shockers and tasers and maybe even guns, and Bells has no idea how to handle that. Once, during training, he asked about weapons, but Harris just told him not to worry about that, and Crabb said he should run away and let someone else handle it.

Bells wills his hands to stop shaking. He can’t let Abby’s mom see how terrified he is. She’s been experimented on for so long; if Bells is scared, she’s probably frightened beyond belief.

But Genevieve seems alert, though wary, and follows Bells down the hallways, occasionally pausing to catch her breath.

Bells’ fears about guards with weapons aren’t the only thing on his mind. He remembers Claudia brandishing that serum and shudders. If that does what she says it does, takes away people’s powers, he doesn’t want to run into anyone carrying that serum.

Bells said Jess and Abby would be fine, but he doesn’t know. Genevieve’s weary “How do you know?” echoes in his head. How would Emma answer? She always knows how to make people feel better…

He pulls off his mask and regards Genevieve eye-to-eye. “They’ll be fine. Come on, Mistress Mischief, we gotta get to that mainframe and then get out of here. I’ve only got enough charge for one disguise for both of us, and you’re all tapped out—”

“No, not tapped out.” She pulls herself together and stands up a little taller. “I’ve been under prolonged exposure to tantalum, and it’s is hard on my powers, but they’re not gone. I can still… Just need to rest.” She sags against the wall.

“All right, take a minute.” Bells walks ahead and pokes his head around the corner.

The hallway is, indeed, empty of guards and other personnel. Instead of exposed pipes and half-crumbling walls, it’s finished with dull gray tiles. They’re covered in a thick layer of dust, but Bells is still on high alert. Even if this area isn’t used much, it might be under surveillance. He spots the gleam of a camera and curses.

Bells yanks his mask back on. It only covers the top half of his face. If he was shifted as Barry, it would be a complete disguise, but for now it’ll have to do. INCOMING CALL FROM LOWELL KINGSTON flashes across his eyes.

“I see you’ve gone above and beyond and helped us locate a missing asset.” Kingston’s smile is cold and calculating in the mask’s live feed.

“Asset?” Bells repeats, incredulous. “You guys were torturing her!”

“Some jobs are more glamorous than others,” Kingston says, steepling his fingers. “Harris informs me that your suit’s tracker is not functioning. The last known location we have for you is leaving Andover, and now I see you’re in a League facility. You must have sustained damage to your suit while fighting several criminals trying to commandeer our assets.”