strength.
Would have done better against Sundancer if I hadn't exhausted
myself pulling that stunt."
"What did you do, anyway?"
"Earth's core is one big iron crystal," she
said, gingerly picking carpet fibers from her wounds. "I can tune
into it and trigger a magnetic quake, then surf the resulting
shockwave. Takes me anywhere on Earth in seconds. I only use it in
real emergencies. Father worries that frequent use might cause the
magnetic poles to flip, which could be bad."
She grimaced as she rose, steadying herself
against the seatback. "This chair has a steel frame. Sit."
Nobody sat.
The chair lurched upward, as a single steel
rail materialized beneath it.
"Hold on."
The rail snaked upward through the hole in
the roof and they began to rise along it. Nobody felt like he was
on the front seat of a roller coaster, only there was no bar to
hold him down. He clenched the seat edges with white knuckles.
The studio parking lot was filled with police
cars and ambulances. Nobody coughed as Rail Blade steered them into
the smoke.
"Sorry," she said, coughing. "Don't want them
to see which way we're going. I can't make it far."
"Explain to me why we're running away?"
"I killed Rex Monday on live television,"
said Rail Blade. "I guess I should have gone for the cameras first,
but I didn't want to give them time to exit. Monday has some kind
of teleportation device. These guys can vanish in a blink. I did
what I had to, but it's still going to be bad PR."
The rail slowly slinked into the tops of a
nearby grove of trees. They’d barely traveled two hundred yards,
Nobody guessed. She sat them down in the middle of the grove. She
leaned against a tree, panting.
"Take the chair," said Nobody.
She collapsed into it.
"Just need a minute to catch my breath," she
said. "Left so fast, I don't have my radio. Can't call Father for
help."
"I don't have mine, either," said Nobody.
"Maybe we should turn ourselves in. Or you turn yourself in, at
least. You need a doctor. You look like you're about to faint."
"No," she said, jumping out of the chair.
Then her eyes rolled up into her head.
He rushed and caught her before she hit the
ground. She was surprisingly heavy. He struggled to place her back
in the chair, worried about laying her on the ground with her open
wounds.
Before he could decide what to do next, he
heard the crunching sound of someone approaching over leaves. He
pulled off the sweatshirt he wore and draped it over her. The
sweats she had been wearing earlier were mostly burned away,
leaving her wearing only a sports bra and tights. The beam of a
flashlight glinted across the chair's metal legs. The crunching
grew closer.
A tall, heavyset man entered the clearing. He
looked like a former football player gone to pot but still
physically formidable. He was dressed in a cheap blue suit with
cowboy boots and a string tie. The guy looked around, then walked
over to Rail Blade. He checked her pulse, then he took a small
radio from his pocket, the type Dr. Know had given Nobody before
his first mission.
"Dr. Knowbokov says that there's an invisible
man here and that I should put this radio down then turn around if
the little lady here couldn't talk," the man said and turned
away.
Nobody grabbed the radio and held it to his
ear. "Hello?" he said.
"Richard," said Dr. Know. "Is my daughter
alive?"
"Yes. I don't know how badly injured she is.
She took a pretty bad beating, but was conscious a minute ago. I
think she's gone into shock."
"The man who found you is named John
Starkner. He's the warden at the nearby state prison. Keep close to
him. He'll take Amelia to safety."
"OK," Starkner said. "Guess that's long
enough. I'm going to turn around now."
As he did, Nobody feared the radio would slip
from his grasp. It didn't. Apparently, Starkner no longer expected
to see it.
Starkner gently lifted Rail Blade, and
carried her through the woods with his flashlight turned off.
Nobody followed.
"How did you find us, Doc?"
Would have done better against Sundancer if I hadn't exhausted
myself pulling that stunt."
"What did you do, anyway?"
"Earth's core is one big iron crystal," she
said, gingerly picking carpet fibers from her wounds. "I can tune
into it and trigger a magnetic quake, then surf the resulting
shockwave. Takes me anywhere on Earth in seconds. I only use it in
real emergencies. Father worries that frequent use might cause the
magnetic poles to flip, which could be bad."
She grimaced as she rose, steadying herself
against the seatback. "This chair has a steel frame. Sit."
Nobody sat.
The chair lurched upward, as a single steel
rail materialized beneath it.
"Hold on."
The rail snaked upward through the hole in
the roof and they began to rise along it. Nobody felt like he was
on the front seat of a roller coaster, only there was no bar to
hold him down. He clenched the seat edges with white knuckles.
The studio parking lot was filled with police
cars and ambulances. Nobody coughed as Rail Blade steered them into
the smoke.
"Sorry," she said, coughing. "Don't want them
to see which way we're going. I can't make it far."
"Explain to me why we're running away?"
"I killed Rex Monday on live television,"
said Rail Blade. "I guess I should have gone for the cameras first,
but I didn't want to give them time to exit. Monday has some kind
of teleportation device. These guys can vanish in a blink. I did
what I had to, but it's still going to be bad PR."
The rail slowly slinked into the tops of a
nearby grove of trees. They’d barely traveled two hundred yards,
Nobody guessed. She sat them down in the middle of the grove. She
leaned against a tree, panting.
"Take the chair," said Nobody.
She collapsed into it.
"Just need a minute to catch my breath," she
said. "Left so fast, I don't have my radio. Can't call Father for
help."
"I don't have mine, either," said Nobody.
"Maybe we should turn ourselves in. Or you turn yourself in, at
least. You need a doctor. You look like you're about to faint."
"No," she said, jumping out of the chair.
Then her eyes rolled up into her head.
He rushed and caught her before she hit the
ground. She was surprisingly heavy. He struggled to place her back
in the chair, worried about laying her on the ground with her open
wounds.
Before he could decide what to do next, he
heard the crunching sound of someone approaching over leaves. He
pulled off the sweatshirt he wore and draped it over her. The
sweats she had been wearing earlier were mostly burned away,
leaving her wearing only a sports bra and tights. The beam of a
flashlight glinted across the chair's metal legs. The crunching
grew closer.
A tall, heavyset man entered the clearing. He
looked like a former football player gone to pot but still
physically formidable. He was dressed in a cheap blue suit with
cowboy boots and a string tie. The guy looked around, then walked
over to Rail Blade. He checked her pulse, then he took a small
radio from his pocket, the type Dr. Know had given Nobody before
his first mission.
"Dr. Knowbokov says that there's an invisible
man here and that I should put this radio down then turn around if
the little lady here couldn't talk," the man said and turned
away.
Nobody grabbed the radio and held it to his
ear. "Hello?" he said.
"Richard," said Dr. Know. "Is my daughter
alive?"
"Yes. I don't know how badly injured she is.
She took a pretty bad beating, but was conscious a minute ago. I
think she's gone into shock."
"The man who found you is named John
Starkner. He's the warden at the nearby state prison. Keep close to
him. He'll take Amelia to safety."
"OK," Starkner said. "Guess that's long
enough. I'm going to turn around now."
As he did, Nobody feared the radio would slip
from his grasp. It didn't. Apparently, Starkner no longer expected
to see it.
Starkner gently lifted Rail Blade, and
carried her through the woods with his flashlight turned off.
Nobody followed.
"How did you find us, Doc?"
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