I flew low over the landscape back towards The Agency complex, doing it just as Mister Brown had trained me. I had to stay low to keep off the radar. Coming into land near one of the external bunkers, I used my power to angle one of the cameras away from me. Then I used a hard clot of air to snap open the door.
Minutes later, I was making my way through the corridors of the main complex and across The Cavern. Administrative personnel and scientists were everywhere, but I was looking for one man. I was pretty sure that most of the staff had no idea what had been going on. How could they? The Agency worked like most secret organizations. Everything was on a need-to-know basis. There were a hundred projects taking place here at any one time.
But some people knew about The Alpha Project. They'd always known what was intended for us: the experiments—the abuse, the deaths—and one man had certainly known right from the start. I went to our dorm rooms first. I hoped to see the others before I went on the attack, but they were nowhere to be found. Disquiet seized me. They could be out partying. Or maybe they'd been sent on an impromptu training exercise.
Or maybe they've been ambushed like me.
Returning to The Cavern, I spotted Mister Jones stepping from an elevator. His eyes widened slightly when he saw me. It wasn't much, but it was enough. I grabbed him and shoved him back through the elevator doors. They slid shut behind us.
'You've known all along?' I said. 'Haven't you?'
'I don't know what you—'
His reply was suddenly choked off.
I spoke calmly, though deliberately. 'It's hard to speak without air,' I said. 'The vocal cords don't work. The lungs refuse to function.' He tried to grab me, but I used my powers to force his arms down by his side. Hitting the emergency stop button, the elevator ground to a halt. 'How long can the average person survive without air? The world record is seventeen minutes. How long can you last?'
Jones stared at me in horror as he struggled to breathe.
'Will you answer my questions?' I asked.
He nodded.
'Really?' I said. 'And you'll tell me the truth?'
A kind of pathetic horror came into his eyes. I released him, and he fell gasping to the floor. His hand reached for his jacket.
'Don't even think about it,' I warned him. 'I can crush you like an ant.'
I didn't actually know if I could crush him like an ant, but it was a good line. He was almost crying. 'What do you want?' he asked.
'Where is Twelve?' I asked. 'Where are my friends?'
'They're in the main lab on Level Fourteen.'
'Why?'
'I don't know.'
I forced his arms back to his sides. 'Please,' he begged. 'I really don't know. I think he's lost it. He said he needs to carry out more experiments, but—'
'But—what?'
'He's not a scientist!' Jones said desperately. 'What can he be doing?'
What can he be doing?
Yep, that was the sixty-four million dollar question. What do you get when you combine an alien without ethics, a lab full of potent mixtures, and a collection of human guinea pigs? It was a horrifying thought. I hit the elevator button, and we descended into the earth.
The elevator drew to a halt, and the doors opened. I gripped Mister Jones by the arm and pulled him close. 'We're going for a walk,' I told him. 'If you make so much of a squeak, you're going to be very sorry. Do you understand?'
'Yes.'
'Now take me to this lab.'
We made our way down the corridor. Two scientists passed by, giving us a long glance, but said nothing. If I'd been alone, alarm bells would have rung, but it was Mister Jones who got us through. He had clearance for just about every part of The Agency.
'I want you to know I was against these experiments,' he whined. 'I've got kids of my own. Why would I want to harm—'
'Shut up.'
He shut up. We reached the door of a lab, and Jones took out a swipe card with a shaking hand. The door clicked, and we entered. My friends—Brodie, Chad, Dan, and Ebony—were lying on lab tables. I released Jones and gripped Chad's wrist. Thank goodness. A pulse. He was still alive. My eyes scanned the lab. There was equipment all around. The corners lay in darkness, but along one wall lay coffin-like containers.
That's where we were born.
Correction.
This is where we were reborn.
Twelve stepped from the shadows. He was laughing. It was a little high-pitched and strangely unsettling.
I swallowed my rage. 'What have you done?' I asked.
He ignored my question. 'Do you know how long I've been watching your race?' he asked. 'I've been stuck on this insignificant little world for over two thousand years. For all that time, I watched your species, and I tried to steer you away from your animalistic natures. I watched your wars and your petty disagreements. I watched you kill and mutilate each other. And you know what I've realized?
'There's something…intoxicating about violence. The way you happily kill and mutilate each other. It's strangely satisfying.' He shook his head. 'Oh, the other Bakari don't share my beliefs. In fact, they're in the process of having me replaced. Can you imagine? I'm returning home after two thousand years.' He laughed again. 'Guess what? I don't want to go. I'm more human than Bakari now! But why be human when you can be superhuman? Can you imagine? A human who can kill and destroy with ease, tearing apart anything in his way?
'I asked Doctor Richards to modify me—and he thought me mad! He and the other scientists stole you away to keep you safe. We only caught up with them again when we realized they were using Cygnus Industries—one of our safe houses—as a meeting point. But Typhoid was ahead of us. They wanted the secrets of The Alpha Project too.'
I had to get out of here with the others. 'You have your formula,' I said. 'Just let us go.'
'Don't you understand?' Twelve's face twisted with rage. 'We no longer have the formula! Richards destroyed it before he left! The remaining batches he mixed together so that we could never replicate it again.' His face twisted again, this time into a sick smile. 'All the formulas mixed together. Do you know what that means?'
Actually, no, and I didn't care. Glancing over at Jones, I saw even he looked terrified. Not only had Twelve exceeded his authority, but also his reason. Somewhere along the line, he'd crossed the boundary between sanity and madness.
'Did you really think we would leave such power in the hands of children?' he asked.
Twelve curled his hand into a fist and held it out before him. He unfurled it and stared at his palm.
He's completely lost it.
But then a tiny flame appeared in the palm of his hand. It grew into a white ball of fire, hot and bright in the dimly lit laboratory. Only then did I begin to understand what he'd done.
Oh no.
'You've drunk some of the remaining formula,' I said.
'No.' The alien began to laugh. 'I've drunk all of it.'