The Gathering: Quantum Prophecy 2 (7 page)

Haltingly, Junior translated the text on screen: “Mr. Warren Wagner, revealed today as the true identity of the long-missing superhero Titan. His super-powered son is the new Titan. Also revealed are the two sons of Quantum, rescued from a crowd by the former hero Paragon. Mr. Reginald Kinsella, newly appointed leader of the Trutopian organization, has offered the new heroes sanctuary among his people, in exchange for their help in saving the Earth from evil, poverty and corruption.”

“Enough.” Dioxin turned back to the old man. “Let’s make a deal, Sheng. You get me all the information you can on these people, and arrange for immediate passage to the U.S., and I’ll
transfer the money back to you. Hell, I’ll even forget that your boy tried to kill me.”

Mr. Sheng considered this. “Agreed. But what interest do these new heroes have for you?”

Dioxin stared at the screen. “I’ve got some old scores to settle…”

Warren Wagner ended the call on his mobile phone, then turned it off so that no one would be able to ring through. “Good news, for a change,” he said to his family and Renata. “Josh says that our passage has been fully cleared by the government. The transport’s already on the way. One of his people is going to stay here and take care of the house until we can arrange to sell it.”

“What about the Coopers?” Colin asked.

“Danny and Niall were picked up in town and their mother’s about to be collected from the flat. There’ll be someone watching their place too.”

“Mr. Wagner,” Renata said, “I don’t really like the idea of working with Josh. Not after what happened with his brother.”

“Josh is nothing like Max,” Warren said. “He’s OK. You met him, didn’t you? I mean, before you were frozen.”

“Yeah. We captured Dioxin together.” Ten years earlier, Renata had been in her solid form when Ragnarök’s power-damping machine had stripped all the superhumans of their powers. She had remained frozen until a couple of months ago, when Maxwell Dalton had tried to duplicate Ragnarök’s machine: an accidental power-surge from the machine had somehow freed Renata from her solid state. Now, Renata was technically twenty-four, but physically still only fourteen. “Josh was only about twenty-three
then, I think. But everyone thought that Max was OK too, and look how that turned out. He was prepared to kill thousands of people just because of one of Quantum’s visions.”

Colin said, “I’m willing to give Josh a chance. You can’t judge someone just because his brother is a nutter. Besides, it was Josh who sorted everything out after what happened in California.”

“What about the Trutopians?” Renata asked. “From what Reginald Kinsella was saying, we might be better off going to them instead. They’re trying to save the world without using violence.”

“Good luck to them,” Colin said. “But they can do it without
my
help. There was a documentary about them the other week. You know how they keep the peace? They have a system of points. You park your car illegally, that’s one point. Nick something from a shop, that’s three points. Play your stereo too loud, that’s another point. If you build up ten points, they throw you out. They just barge into your house, round up the whole family, put you on a truck and drive you to the gates. You know what that is? A dictatorship!”

“It’s not a dictatorship if there’s no dictator,” Renata replied. “It’s just peace at the cost of a little freedom. And it’s not like the people don’t know all that when they join.”

Colin’s mother sighed. “Can’t the two of you agree on
anything
?” To her husband, she said, “Two days ago they had a fight over whether the top part of a slice of bread was better than the bottom part!”

Warren laughed.

“Oh,
that
helps!” his wife said.

Under his breath, Colin muttered, “Top.”

“Bottom!” Renata said. “And I’ll tell you
why
—”

“Enough!” Caroline said. “The two of you, go upstairs and check your rooms one last time. Make sure there’s nothing there that you can’t leave behind.”

Reluctantly, Renata and Colin trudged up the stairs. They stopped on the landing and Renata said, “I think your mother is really worried.”

“The two of them are. I suppose we should be too. But it’ll all turn out all right, won’t it?”

“How would
I
know?”

Colin shrugged and went into his bedroom. He stood just inside the door, looking around.
Schoolbag—won’t be needing that for a while.
He dropped to his knees, fished around under the bed and pulled out Toto, the ancient, frayed teddy bear that he’d had since his first birthday. Toto was covered in dust and cobwebs. Colin stared at him for a few moments, wondering whether he should be feeling some sort of sentimental attachment, then shrugged and tossed the bear aside.

He resumed searching and found a bundle of comics, two Matchbox cars with only three wheels between them and a lot more dust.

“Find anything?” Renata said from the doorway.

Colin stood up. “Nah.”

“Oh, you have a teddy!” She picked it up off the floor and tried to brush the dust off.

He blushed. “Oh, that old thing. I was going to throw that out.”

“What’s his name?”

“Toto.”

“After Dorothy’s dog?”

“Probably. I can’t remember. I’ve had him a long time.” He noticed the way Renata was holding the bear. “He’s yours, if you want him.”

“Well, he’s not in bad condition. It’d be a shame to throw him out. I could give him to my niece, if I ever get to meet her. I told you that Samantha has a two-year-old, didn’t I?”

“Yeah. Your sister’s, what, twenty-two now?”

“And my brother is nineteen. Which means that he’s five years older than me
and
he’s five years younger.”

“All your friends will be grown up too.”

Renata nodded, hugging Toto close. “I know. But I try not to think about it too much.”

Colin smiled. “Does that work?”

“Not really. I keep thinking that it must be absolutely
hell
for my parents. Every year the whole world has a great big celebration for Mystery Day and all they can think of is that it’s the day their eldest daughter disappeared.”

“You went missing on the same day that all the other superhumans did, so maybe they figured out that you were a superhuman too.”

“No, they didn’t. Josh said that a lot of families contacted the authorities after Mystery Day, asking whether their loved ones might have been superhumans. My family didn’t. It probably never crossed their minds.”

“You’re going to go home even if my parents and the others don’t think you should, aren’t you?” Colin asked.

“They wouldn’t be able to stop me; I’m probably the strongest person in the world. You’re the only one who even comes close and I know
you
won’t try to stop me. Will you?”

Colin shook his head. “Of course not. But you have to…” Colin froze. His superhuman hearing picked up a familiar sound from far away. “Transport’s here.”

They ran back downstairs, Renata still clutching the bear. “It’s here, Dad!” Colin shouted from the hall as he picked up the largest of the suitcases.

He opened the front door and ignored the sudden onslaught of camera flashes and the cheering. The two police officers turned to look at him.

“Thanks,” Colin said.

“That’s what they pay us the big bucks for,” one of them replied. “But I should be thanking you. My wife’s cousin Dave was one of the people you rescued from the toy store tonight.”

“The shop assistant?”

“That’s him. You and Diamond saved his life.”

“Is he OK?”

“Cuts and bruises, a few minor burns. He’s a lot better than he would have been if you two hadn’t been there…” The police officer’s voice trailed off as he became aware of a low rumbling noise. He glanced upward and saw a large black vehicle descending slowly from the night sky. “What on earth is
that
thing?”

“That’s a StratoTruck,” Colin said.

“I want one of those!”

The StratoTruck was about the size of a transport helicopter, but shorter and wider. It had short wings at the back, and was powered by four large turbine engines that could pivot to provide forward thrust as well as lift.

As Colin’s parents and Renata filed out behind him, the StratoTruck gently settled on the road, the downdraft from its
powerful turbines blowing dust over everything. The craft was immediately surrounded by neighbors and reporters, all taking photographs or trying to touch it.

The StratoTruck’s hatch opened, and a burly man wearing combat gear and full body-armor climbed out and strode up to Warren. “Titan?” he asked, his voice gruff and low.

“That’s me,” Warren said, shaking hands with the man. “So you’re house-sitting for us?”

The man nodded. “Four tours of duty with the marines. I’m an expert in weapons and security. I’m the best man for this job. I give you my word that while I am here, no unauthorized person will gain access to your home.”

“That’s nice to hear,” Caroline said. “There’s food in the fridge and I’ve left a list of phone numbers just in case anything happens.”

Colin said, “You can use the video if you like but you’re not allowed to have your friends around.”

Renata laughed, but the soldier didn’t.

“Get in,” Warren said to the teenagers.

Colin climbed on board and saw that Danny’s mother was already there. “Where’s Danny and Niall?” he asked as Renata passed the bags to him. Mrs. Cooper didn’t reply; she looked extremely angry about something.

Then the StratoTruck’s pilot turned around and said, “We’re going to pick them up next.”

Colin almost dropped one of the suitcases. “
Façade?
What are you doing here?”

“Don’t worry, I know how to fly this thing.”

“That’s not what I meant! I just thought…”

“I’m as much a part of this as you are, Colin. Now get the others on board and strap yourselves in.”

Warren and Façade exchanged reasonably courteous nods, but Caroline refused to even look at him.

“All right then,” Façade said. “Everyone ready?”

As the hatch swung closed, and the StratoTruck’s powerful turbines whined into life, Colin peered out through one of the little windows and realized that he was almost face-to-face with Brian McDonald, who was staring back at him with a betrayed look on his face. Colin felt a knot twist in his stomach.
Oh God…I should have told him!

The police officers began to usher everyone away from the StratoTruck.

Colin looked at Brian one last time and mouthed the words, “I’m sorry. Good-bye.”

Then the StratoTruck lifted off the ground, spun about and soared into the night.

A
FTER
D
ANNY
, N
IALL AND
P
ARAGON HAD
been picked up, Façade piloted the StratoTruck to the west and ramped it up to full speed.

The interior of the vehicle was not large, but it was just about able to accommodate all the passengers, including Niall, who had fallen asleep shortly after takeoff and was now stretched out across two seats.

“How fast
is
this thing, Dad?” Danny asked. He noticed his mother glaring at him and quickly added, “I mean Façade.”

“Top speed is a little over Mach two,” Façade replied. “Mach one is the speed of sound at sea level: seven hundred and sixty-one miles per hour. We can travel twice that fast.”

Renata asked, “What’s our destination?”

“Kansas.”

“So what’s in Kansas?”

Solomon Cord said, “You’ll find out when we get there. Until then, no more questions!”

“Just one,” Colin said. “Why did you decide to become Paragon again?”

Solomon Cord stared out of the hatch’s tiny window. “I thought I could escape the past, Colin. I was wrong. After Max Dalton betrayed us, I realized that he knew everything about me.
Everything.
He knew where my daughters went to school, who their friends were, where my wife’s mother lived, what my brother did for a living.”

“But you told me you’d destroyed your armor.”

Cord nodded. “I did. It was practically ruined after the last battle against Ragnarök anyway. This”—he thumped the armor on his chest—“is just a prototype.” He smiled. “The new version will be much more powerful. Now everyone get some sleep! We’ve got a long journey ahead of us.”

Ignoring his mother’s disapproving look, Danny climbed into the copilot’s seat. “Façade…How do you know how to fly something like this?”

Façade smiled. “I used to be in the U.S. Air Force. I was a test pilot.”

“Seriously?”

“Seriously.”

“But—”

“Danny!” Solomon Cord said. “I said no more questions.”

Gradually, Colin became aware that someone was saying his name. He opened his eyes and looked around. Danny was staring at him. “What?”

“We’re almost there.”

Colin looked out of the StratoTruck’s window, but all he could see was darkness. He concentrated, focusing his eyes. He still wasn’t sure how his night-vision worked, but somehow it did: the landscape outside became brighter, almost as though a weak sun had suddenly appeared.

“What can you see?” Danny asked.

“Everything’s covered in snow. It’s pretty flat out there…There’s a lot of fields, a couple of lakes, a few small hills.”

Façade’s voice called out, “Hold on tight! We’re about to
bank to the right! You should be able to see the lights of Topeka on your left, about twenty-five kilometers away. That’s a little over fifteen miles.”

Colin climbed into the copilot’s seat. “There are some hills ahead. Can’t see much else. Wait! There’s a platform in the middle of them and there’s a guy standing on it. He’s freezing. Stamping his feet to keep warm.”

“You can
see
him?” Façade said.

“Sure.”

“Amazing…But that’s not a platform. That’s a roof.” Façade picked up the radio. “Josh…Hit the lights.”

The StratoTruck crested the top of a small hill just as the building ahead was illuminated. Through the thick flurries of snow, the passengers could see their destination: an enormous snow-covered stone structure with sloping sides. It looked almost like an Egyptian pyramid with the top third removed. Close to the top of the building were two rows of large windows, and far below, at ground level, was a covered entrance.