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“Please have a seat,” the ball said.
Albert sat down and was immediately strapped into place. His ray gun fell to the floor. “Hey!”
“Just relax,” Benjamin said as a bank of lasers appeared on each wall. Their light beams traced every part of Albert’s body. “Sca
DETAILS REGARDING
UPGRADE EFFORTS
ON SUBJECT
ALBERT NESBITT
The flight back to Arlington was not quiet. Ms. Holiday spent most of it scolding Duncan for disobeying orders and, more seriously, for scaring her half to death. Agent Brand sat nearby, smoldering. He stood up, paced back and forth, then sat down again, only to repeat it all a moment later.
When the School Bus finally landed in the gymnasium, it was met by several panicked scientists.
“There’s four of them, not to mention the squirrels,” a scientist said between anxious gasps.
“One of them is Choppers and this guy with a hook for a hand. They’re tearing up the Playground,” another scientist said. “But they’re nothing compared to the woman. There’s murder in her eyes—pure evil. We snuck out but everyone else is down there with them.”
“You didn’t mention the other guy with them who was wearing the goofy costume,” the third scientist cried. “I saw them take him into the upgrade room. I think they’re trying to give him upgrades.”
“There’s no need to worry about that,” Ms. Holiday said. “Benjamin will only upgrade kids.”
“Albert’s ray gun could fix that,” Duncan said.
Agent Brand’s face fell. “Ms. Holiday, suit up. I’m afraid we’ve been invaded.”
Ms. Holiday raced off while Brand took the children through the tu
Brand took the gag out of one scientist’s mouth. “What’s happened?”
“It was Choppers—”
“Where is he?”
“He put that guy in the suit in the upgrade chair and then he and the rest of them emptied out the processors from every computer,” the man said.
“All right, you’re going to have to be patient. We’ve got a crisis on our hands and no time to untie you all. It’s best if you’re out of the way,” the agent said. Before he could give more orders, the door to the upgrade room opened and out came Albert Nesbitt.
Duncan was shocked at what he saw. Albert’s entire body was covered in computer ports—for USB cables, FireWire adapters, and all ma
“What has happened to me?” he asked. “What kind of superpower is this?”
The Benjamin orb floated around him. It made a series of chirps and then spoke. “Your body is a disaster, Albert. Nearly every physical quality a human being has is a tremendous weakness on you. Your muscles are like those of a kitten. Your skin and teeth are in bad shape. Your bones are truly overworked, and you are entirely too heavy. There isn’t enough nanobyte technology in the world for me to make the necessary changes. I was forced to improvise.”
“Improvise?” Albert said. “You turned me into a monster!”
“No. On the contrary, I gave you the tools to upgrade yourself. Every single one of the devices implanted in your body allows you to plug in technology and adapt it as your own.”
“His upgrade is that he can upgrade?” Matilda said.
Albert still seemed confused. “Show me.”
The orb darted across the room and Albert followed, roughly pushing past the team, who stood dumbfounded, not sure what to do. It seemed best to just let Albert discover his abilities so they would have some ideas for how to fight him.
Benjamin stopped at one of the experiment tables, on which sat a strange-looking pair of glasses. They were enormous, too big for a head, and they had a cable hanging from them that was plugged into a computer. “This is an early prototype for a device that allows the wearer to see through walls.”
Duncan knew the glasses. He’d spoken to their creator, Dr. Monroe, many times.
Albert unplugged them from the computer and fastened them into one of his own ports. Suddenly, his eyes glowed a bright green and he looked around the room with wonder. “I can see through everything. I can see the students walking on the floor above this room. Somebody lost a wallet behind this wall. It must have fallen when they were building the school. This is incredible. I have X-ray vision!”
Albert rushed to another table. “What does this thing do?” he asked, grabbing what looked like a piston from an automobile off the table.
“This is a device designed to increase the horsepower of any engine by a thousand.”
Albert plugged it in, and again his eyes turned green. In moments he was ru
“Benjamin, maybe you don’t need to help him,” Jackson said nervously.
“Oh, your little computer is under my control,” Albert said, holding up his ray gun. He waved it in the air and then rushed to another table to snatch up another project and plug it in. “I can turn invisible!”
“Albert, let’s slow down a little,” Duncan said. “You don’t know what a lot of those devices do and you might plug in the wrong thing.”
Albert jumped out in front of Duncan. “Look at this,” he said as his big hands caught on fire. He waved them around in the air and laughed. The flames did not seem to bother him at all. “I’m a superhero! I’m really a superhero!”
“All right, team,” Ruby shouted. “The more gadgets supercrazy plugs into himself, the more unstoppable he becomes. Let’s take him down!”
Duncan watched his teammates leap into action. They surrounded Albert and took turns attacking him, but Albert’s new powers were already making him a formidable threat. The team was having very little success.
I can’t just stand here, Duncan thought. The team needs Gluestick!
Duncan snatched Benjamin out of the air and rushed to the upgrade room. He hoped he had enough time. When the door closed, he pushed a tiny button on the side of the orb and watched all its lights suddenly die. Then there was a hum and the ball chirped.
“Rebooting,” Benjamin said.
“Are you back, buddy?” Duncan said.
“Affirmative. That man is not very nice.”
“Yes, I agree, and we’ll take care of him, but first we have another thing to think about. I need my upgrades, and fast!”
“I’ll give you express service, Gluestick!”
The chair rose out of the floor and Duncan hopped into it. His arms and legs were strapped down and the lasers began sca
“Just one more moment,” Benjamin buzzed.
There was a horrible explosion. It sounded as if the roof had collapsed. Waiting for the upgrade process was excruciating.
“Stop!” Duncan cried as he pulled off the straps. “I can’t let them fight him alone.”
“But I’m not finished. I can’t guarantee your powers are going to work properly.”
“I’ll have to do it on my own, then!” Duncan shouted. He raced to the door and got a face full of dust when it opened. A huge hole had been blasted in the ceiling, all the way to the sky. Flinch was already leaping upward with Pufferfish in his hands. Jackson had turned his braces into huge gorilla arms and was hefting himself up as well. Matilda was waiting for Duncan.