Chapter Eighteen

Haruki’s heart pounded. He swallowed his fear, but it threatened to come up again.

Operative brought up the maps. “Let’s go over this one more time.” Haruki nodded. “Like it or not, you’re the only one that’ll be able to go through with this.” He indicated the enormous blind spot that was the base. “We’ll have to be somewhat close in order for you to be able to maneuver unseen, but we can’t go in with you.”

“Falling Star will be able to make you invisible to their cameras, even heat,” Combat Queen said, “but the fact is, if your electromagnetic manipulation fails, or they have some redundant system to alert them of her being in two places, there’s not much we’ll be able to do.”

“I got it,” Haruki said. “I’ve got to hurry, and find something important.”

“That’s the gist of it,” Operative agreed.

Haruki turned to the group. “Falling Star, make us undetectable. Push & Pull, Blade Extender, connect everyone except Fast Mover to me like a backpack.” He gestured at Fast Mover then pointed, and the speedster took off. Within moments, the others latched to him. “We’re off.”

He sped them out of the house and toward the base. The outer perimeter had changed, with new arrangements. Fast Mover reported to Haruki that sensory supers had been placed to seal even slight gaps. This time, there was no room for error.

“I’ve still got enough distance to project my power onto you,” Falling Star said, “but as you move through the base, it might occasionally wear out. Try not to stay in one place too long.”

“Understood,” Haruki replied. Falling Star made him invisible, and covered up his heat signature. He turned up his Lightning and planned the route in his mind, visualizing every step along the way before taking a step. He focused on his faux electromagnetic tattoo.

When his eyes snapped open, he dashed forward, both powers turned up, stepping so as not to create explosions of dirt. Flies and leaves stood frozen midair. His body weaved like wind through the tall grass of the soldiers and sensory supers. He mounted over the barrier in front of the entrance leading down. He stopped in front of the door, pulled the latch open, slid the door out, and scooted in. His hands slid the door shut gingerly, the alarm mechanism not having time to fall out of place and trigger.

Inside, he descended the stairs and entered the hallway. His power revealed to him the alarm systems in the wall. He could ‘listen’ to the communication between the sensors and his tattoo. So far, it read as nothing wrong. His mind could pick up on the alarm systems shutting off as he passed into different areas.

Since his time ran short, he took a quick tour of the facility. In less than the blink of an eye, he’d covered the basic layout. His power also let him sense the light manipulation over him, and he knew where to go to top up his invisibility from Falling Star. His Lightning gave him a basic overview of each room. His senses told him where the woman behind Freedom’s Ring was, watching a film in the base theater to be exact, and so, he had a destination.

Her personal living quarters resembled a five-room hotel suite. She had an elaborate multimedia center, complete with enough goodies to make Kenshi’s media room blush, and a California King-size bed with multiple layers of plush covers. A thorough scan of her things revealed nothing of importance. She had a few pictures of prior candidates for her power, but nothing out of place.

Opposite her personal area of the base was a computer and data room much larger than the security room he’d been in earlier. None of the computers had visible power buttons. It seemed they had to be turned on from security. His power revealed a gap in otherwise continuous electromagnetics in the wall. He found a pinhole and forced it open with a loose wire found in a drawer. The wire in the hole popped open a hidden compartment. The compartment had a dial on the front, and thankfully, the tumblers in the lock were electromagnetic, not physical. He moved them into place and the handle turned open.

Inside was a stack of papers, and a laptop. He sped-read the documents. His mouth dropped open as he saw the diagrams and formulas. The text spoke of the replication of superpowers in drug form. There were pages of DNA samples taken from Haruki, and various attempts to duplicate the energy his Spirits channel through him. So far, there hadn’t been much success. The pills tended to burn out their users. To secure a continuous sample of material to study, they attempted several times to clone him, and only one demonstrated powers. When he felt no security on in the room, he dropped out of super speed briefly to let his helmet camera capture the documents before returning to super speed.

So, the pills replicated his power, in a sense. They, in miniature, recreated the way the Spirit of Fire enhanced his body. It made a kind of sense. Stacking his power on top of another ability would magnify both. What was worse was that it meant they’d gotten his power very early on. When Aeriesai possessed that metal manipulator, he must’ve gotten the blood.

The single most damning detail, however, had to be the lab that was working with them.

In text at the bottom of several pages were the words “in collaboration with Sugawara Pharmaceuticals.”

What did it mean? Other than Kenshi’s parents being potentially involved, how did this affect the boy? Would they involve their son in these activities? All his worry about the boy roiled up to the surface.

How much more he could find here, he didn’t know. There weren’t that many more areas of the base that seemed useful. He’d have to get back to Masukawa-san and give him the information. He turned to go.

Suddenly, he felt his muscles swell a bit, and his body froze in place.

“Hello there,” Samantha Bordman said. She stepped in front of him. “What do we have here? Japan’s top hero, snooping around?”

He felt a vague connection to her, and realized she’d shoved some of her power into him to seize control enough to freeze him in place.

“There’s a terrible force working with your government,” Haruki said, in English. “I’m trying to determine how to stop him.”

“Forgive me if I don’t just trust a super who snuck into my home,” Samantha replied.

“I don’t want to fight,” he said, “and I really don’t care about national governments. I’m just trying to save the world.”

“Whether or not I believe you depends entirely on what your government plans to do with the knowledge that I exist,” she warned.

“My boss could’ve leaked the information,” Haruki replied. “But he just gave it to my team.” He considered his words. “We don’t even really know how you transmit your power.”

She seemed to think. “Okay, seeing as you were shocked I could control you with my power in you, I’ll believe you, for now.” She took the papers, put them back in the container, and replaced it in the wall. “We’re going to go back to my room, and you’re going to tell me everything.”

They retreated back to her quarters. Only once he sensed no active recording devices did he begin talking. He covered everything from his human life, to the truck crash that revealed his powers, to his non-human life and Aeriesai. She sat listening, a collage of emotions playing across her face. The stark contrast between their ages struck him. He wasn’t even sixteen yet, and she was an adult in her mid-twenties. She had a look about her of mistrust and confusion.

“So,” she said, breathing in to clear her head, “that’s what’s been going on out there.” She shook her head. “I try to keep up to date as best I can, but it’s hard when you’re watching the world from a bunker.”

“I can only imagine what it must be like living your life inside all the time,” he replied. “None of the world’s troubles, and yet, none of the joys of outside.” He looked down and spent a few seconds pondering how nuts he’d have gone in her situation. Yet, he knew why she’d done it. If his parents had been in the dire straits hers had, he’d have done the same. There was, however, work to be done. “Look, I hate to intrude, but I’m going to need some information.”

“My power works in two ways,” she said. “the strength and durability of Freedom’s Ring is mine, and I can broadcast it to anyone I’m familiar with. My broadcast ability, though, that is an ability that’s part mine and part technology.”

He perked up at the last statement. “Technology?”

“Yes,” she replied. “I can broadcast, but there’s a drug I can take that can broadcast more than just my powers.” She went in a medicine cabinet and produced a locked box. “Any way you can open this?”

He held it up to the light. “It’s certainly complex.” His Lightning told him it was alarmed to transmit if damaged. He dropped his electromagnetic tattoo, and as he predicted, close proximity to her kept the sensors off. Focusing his power on the locking mechanism, he saw a similar pattern to Aeriesai in it, and by imitating that pattern, the box clicked open.

She pulled out a small bag of eight pills. “These are hard to make, they tell me.” She handed him one. “It might come in handy.”

“Thanks,” he said. “So, other than your powers, what else do you know about the pills? About what’s going on?”

“Not much,” she answered. “They keep some of the stuff here because it’s relatively secure, but the rest is somewhere else. All I know is there’s a Inten Pharmaceuticals outside Phoenix that has Sugawara company guys coming in and out often. That’s probably it.” She frowned. “Sorry I couldn’t be more help.”

“No,” he said, “it’s fine. I’m glad you could even help this much.” He paused. “Wait, can those broadcast pills work the other way?”

She sighed. “I already know what you’re going to ask. Yes, I can use the pills to force someone else to broadcast to me.” She saw his optimistic expression fade. “I tried to get the guy you’re calling ‘Aeriesai’ to broadcast his knowledge to me and it didn’t work.”

“Must be too powerful to do that with,” Haruki said. “Let me try something though. How does this work?”

“Think of someone,” she explained, “someone you know, and what you want to broadcast what way, and crunch the pill in your mouth and swallow.”

He closed his eyes and concentrated all his thoughts. Then, he crunched the pill between two teeth and swallowed. A orange aura overtook him, and he felt a surge go through his body, and suddenly, two minds connected as one. The sensations of two bodies became shared. It lasted a long minute, then passed. “That’ll make my job a lot easier.”

“I’ve used it like that a few times,” she admitted. “Shame it’s so hard to come by.”

“I’m sure Aeriesai has at least a few more,” Haruki said, “Anyway, I’ll take one more with me and then I’ll go. The documents I scanned will be a huge help.”

“Be careful getting out of here,” she advised. “I’m not supposed to leave, so be careful.”

“You’ve been a huge help,” he said. “I hope to see you again sometime when this all boils over.”

With a final goodbye, he left. Sneaking out meant a winding path of ducts and service exits. He’d made an important connection, and learned a new target. It also meant his enemy would be surrounded by tools that could make him unbeatable. Haruki and his team would have to work hard and hope against all odds.