Ben Braver and the Vortex of Doom Read online

  ‘Whatever, okay?’ Penny said. ‘I’d never just leave you like that. I’m not Victoria.’

  ‘What happened to Vic?’ I asked.

  ‘Nothing,’ Totes said. ‘She just went home. Dexter asked about her when he woke up, but she was already gone. He was pretty bummed about it.’ He paused. ‘Maybe that’s why he’s eating so much …’

  ‘Huh,’ I said.

  Feeling sorry for Dexter was weird.

  That’s when I noticed Jordan wasn’t there, either.

  Or, if he was, he was invisible … and naked.

  ‘Wait, where’s Jordan?’ I asked.

  ‘Oh, he peaced out, too,’ Penny said. ‘I tried telling him to stay …’

  I wasn’t surprised. That was Jordan – living in his own world, doing his own Jordan things. Sometimes our worlds collided. Sometimes they didn’t.

  It wasn’t a big deal.

  The ghost of Professor Duncan floated through the wall. He smiled, happy to see me. ‘Ben! Welcome back! Sorry about almost killing you back there. We’ll monitor you until the morning, and then you’re free to go home.’

  ‘What happened?’ I asked, still feeling sore.

  ‘You were shocked,’ Duncan said.

  ‘I saw one of your discs land on Donnie’s neck,’ I said. ‘But who threw it?’

  ‘You know who that kid is?’ Duncan asked quietly.

  ‘Yeah, I do, but do you?’ I said.

  Duncan nodded.

  ‘Who threw the disc?’ I asked again.

  ‘Headmaster Archer,’ Duncan said. ‘After Donnie appeared, he ran inside to grab one.’

  ‘You mean it wasn’t an accident?’ Noah said. ‘He meant to electrocute Donnie? Why?’

  ‘That’s classified,’ Duncan said.

  ‘C’mon,’ Penny said. ‘We already know everything about that kid.’

  Duncan took a deep breath and then peeked out the door to make sure nobody else was around. ‘Fine,’ he said. ‘Unfortunately, yes, Archer and I have been under strict orders to use whatever force necessary to catch Donnie if he ever showed up.’

  Noah cocked his head. ‘Is he dangerous?’

  ‘He’s not,’ Duncan said, ‘but what he’s doing is –skipping forward through time. According to the history books, Donnie went missing in 1963. That means he never went back home. If he does return to 1963, then his actions will alter our current timeline, and history will be changed, yet again.’

  I chewed my lip. ‘A small change back then could mean a whole different world now.’

  ‘Precisely,’ Duncan said. ‘So the simplest solution is to prevent him from going back.’

  ‘By keeping him prisoner,’ Penny added.

  ‘How can you even stop him from using his power?’ I asked.

  Wherever they were keeping Donnie couldn’t have been good. I’ve never really heard of a nice way to keep somebody trapped. Even the Reaper was a prisoner outside the – oh no – the Reaper.

  I totally forgot!

  ‘What happened to the Reaper?’ I said, frantic. ‘Did anyone catch him yet?’

  Penny and Noah looked at each other like, ‘What?’

  Duncan narrowed his eyes. ‘Excuse me?’

  ‘The Reaper!’ I said. ‘Donnie was wrestling with him when he appeared!’

  ‘Donnie didn’t appear to be under any stress on the stage,’ Duncan said.

  ‘Are you kidding me? He was screaming for help!’ I said. ‘He was all, “Get it off me, get it off!”’

  ‘His mask,’ Duncan said. ‘He was talking about his Elvis mask.’

  ‘Nooo, he wasn’t talking about the mask!’ I said. ‘The Reaper was on his head, trying to connect with him!’

  ‘How do you know all this?’ Duncan said, suddenly very concerned.

  At that moment, a terrible noise pierced my ears. It was like thunder had cracked right next to my face.

  Penny, Noah and Totes covered their ears. Even Duncan was trying to block the sound, but how does a ghost cover his ears?

  The thunder grew louder, transforming into a violent whooshing sound until suddenly… it stopped.

  Dead silence is a creepy thing.

  But it didn’t last long.

  That’s when Kepler Academy shook like a bomb had gone off outside. The walls split as glass shattered and wood splintered.

  We all looked at one another, none of us sure what exactly was happening, but I knew we were all thinking the same thing.

  The Reaper was back.

  And he was not happy.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  We ran down the hall, but it’s not so easy when the ground keeps moving underneath you.

  As we passed the kitchen, I saw Dexter lying trapped under a fallen metal table on the floor, food splattered all over him. His eyes were closed. His lights were completely out.

  I had to help him.

  I’m not a fan of the kid, but I didn’t want him to die.

  Ceiling tiles fell as I stumbled towards him. When Penny, Noah and Totes saw what I was doing, they didn’t hesitate to help. Good thing, too, because I wasn’t strong enough to lift Dexter by myself.

  That kid’s a beast.

  Totes put his head under the metal table and lifted it so Penny, Noah and I could slide Dexter out.

  The three of us hoisted him onto Totes and ran back to the hallway to get the heck out of the school.

  The building was still shaking when we reached the lobby, so Duncan went ahead of us to make sure it was safe.

  It wasn’t.

  Headmaster Archer and a handful of teachers were in the lobby, too.

  ‘You kids need to take cover!’ Duncan said to us. He pointed at the coffee shop. ‘Get behind the counter and stay hidden!’

  ‘Stay hidden? What’s going on?’ I said. ‘Is it the Reaper?’

  Duncan shook his head. ‘No, it’s not the Reaper! Now stay low, and hurry!’

  We scooted along the ground until we got to the coffee shop, and then one by one, we climbed over the counter.

  The earth rumbled as we huddled together, hiding from whatever Duncan had seen. If it wasn’t the Reaper attacking the school, then what was even happening?

  Duncan floated above us, staring in awe.

  I couldn’t help myself.

  I peeked over the counter.

  The night sky was an eerie yellow, and the entire front of the school was gone, ripped to pieces, getting sucked into a giant vortex of doom hovering overhead.

  In front of the school stood the source of the vortex – a younger-lookin’ dude, wearing an outfit that would make Star-Lord jealous, circling his hands to control that thing in the sky.

  I can’t lie – he looked super cool.

  Behind him were a woman wearing a similar outfit and a giant lizard wearing nothing at all. It was the first time I’d ever seen a supervillain team in real life.

  The leader clasped his hands shut, and the vortex dissipated. The shaking stopped, and the dust settled as the three supervillains walked into the lobby.

  Archer stood his ground, but the rest of the teachers bailed. The bad guys didn’t even bother chasing them.

  ‘Is it him?’ Penny asked. ‘Is it the Reaper?’

  ‘No,’ I said, somehow relieved, even though three new screwballs were threatening our lives.

  Archer said nothing.

  ‘Really? The silent treatment is gonna get you nowhere,’ the leader taunted.

  Archer wasn’t in the mood for games. ‘What do you want, William?’

  ‘You remember me!’ William said with a giddy hop.

  ‘Of course I do,’ Archer said, stiff-faced. ‘You graduated only four years ago.’

  William walked around the lobby, scooting rubble aside with every step. ‘Has it been only four years? Feels longer.’ He held his hand out to the woman. ‘You remember Delilah?’

  Archer nodded.

  ‘But do you know who this is?’ William asked, running up to the lizard and patting him on his scaly ch
est. ‘Take one guess. If you get it right, we’ll leave. No harm, no foul. Except for tearing the front of the school apart.’

  Archer shook his head, confused.

  William grabbed the lizard’s jaw and squeezed his scaly lips together. ‘C’mon … he was quiet. Kinda dorky. No friends. Probably because he stinks like a turtle.’

  Those were some pretty harsh clues, but Archer still had no idea.

  ‘It’s Matthew!’ William said. ‘Matthew Alexo … Alexou … Alexa …’ He sighed. ‘Delilah, how do you say his last name?’

  ‘Alexopoulos,’ she said.

  William snapped his fingers. ‘Yes, that.’

  Archer’s face softened. ‘Matthew?’

  The lizard snapped his jaw at William, lightning fast, but William yanked his hand back before it got chomped off.

  Matthew looked away with a snarl.

  Penny looked at Totes. ‘Do you know those guys?’

  Totes nodded. ‘Yeah, I remember him. William Wolff. He was a total wad when he went here. Doesn’t look like he grew out of it.’

  ‘What’s his power?’ I asked.

  ‘He creates funnels of dark energy that suck everything into them,’ Duncan said from above us.

  ‘What about the woman?’ Penny said.

  ‘That’s Delilah Spring,’ Totes said. ‘She generates electricity or something … I don’t know. And then Matthew – his skin had scales when he was here, but he never went full Geico gecko on us. That must’ve happened after he graduated.’

  ‘Poor Matthew,’ Duncan whispered sadly.

  ‘What do you want?’ Archer said again.

  ‘We want the kid,’ William said immediately.

  ‘Me?’ I whispered. ‘But why would they want me?’

  Noah rolled his eyes. ‘Pretty sure he’s talking about Donnie. Not everything’s about you, bro.’

  Oh right, why would they want me?

  I’m a nobody.

  ‘So where is he?’ William demanded.

  Archer didn’t skip a beat. ‘I don’t know who you’re talking about. Everyone left for the summer.’

  ‘Look, I don’t want to be here longer than I have to be, so just tell us where Donald Kepler is. Please?’

  ‘Haven’t you heard?’ Archer said, unfazed. ‘The old headmaster’s dead. We had a service for him earlier today. There’s leftover hot dogs if you’re hungry.’

  ‘Uck.’ William made a face. ‘Funeral food. No thanks.’

  Delilah’s eyes flashed and glowed bright white. ‘We’re wasting time! Give me a minute alone with this old fossil. Let me light him up.’

  William raised his fist. ‘No! I got this, okay?’

  Delilah scowled but didn’t argue.

  ‘Mr Archer,’ William said, stepping over debris. ‘You know who sent us here, right?’

  ‘The Abandoned Children,’ Archer said coldly.

  My heart dropped.

  I’ve heard of them before.

  The Abandoned Children are a group of descendants who believe Kepler Academy abandons and ignores students once they graduate.

  William continued. ‘So if we really wanted to mess this place up, then we all would’ve come, and trust me, there’s a lot of us now. But that’s not what we want. The vote was close, but most of us were in favour of keeping this place around.’

  ‘We know he’s here,’ Delilah said.

  ‘Is that right?’ Archer said sarcastically. ‘And just how do you know that?’

  William clapped his hands, beckoning someone still outside. ‘Come on in, darling, don’t be shy!’

  Footsteps crunched as the fourth member of their supervillain team stepped up.

  Victoria had joined the Abandoned Children.

  Vic scowled at the headmaster, her arms folded. ‘I know it was Donnie,’ she said. ‘He told us his name and then said he hated our hot dogs, but our hot dogs are awesome!’

  The smiling William turned to Vic. ‘The hot dog thing doesn’t matter, sweetie, but it’s okay – you’re new. For future reference, be as simple and clear as possible. Avoid frivolities.’

  Vic nodded. ‘Sir.’

  William cringed. ‘And don’t call me sir. It sounds so gross.’ He turned back to Archer. ‘So there it is. We want your time traveller. Simple as that. Easy peasy pumpkin pie.’

  ‘Lemon squeezy,’ the giant lizard corrected.

  ‘Shut up, Matthew!’ William snapped, clenching his fists like a toddler. ‘You’re only here because you’re a cool reptile, but nobody actually likes you!’

  I leaned into Noah. ‘A time-travelling kid would be pretty dope to a team of supervillains.’

  ‘Right?’ Noah said.

  Duncan motioned for us to huddle up. ‘Okay,’ he said. ‘William wants Donnie, and it’s only a matter of time before he tears this school apart to find him.’

  ‘Not if we stop him,’ Noah said.

  By we, Noah meant himself and Penny.

  I wasn’t included in that, but y’know what? I was cool with it. It had been a long day, and I just wanted to go home.

  Penny shook her head. ‘I’m not using my power. I’d end up blowing this whole mountain to kingdom come.’

  ‘A fight isn’t the answer,’ Duncan said, peering over the countertop again. ‘If you all teamed up against Matthew, you might have a chance, but there’s no contest against William or Delilah. They’re two of the most powerful students I’ve ever known.’

  ‘We’re pretty powerful, too,’ Noah said.

  ‘Not like them,’ Duncan said. ‘If anything, those two are overpowered, as in, overwhelmingly powerful. And they won’t let you come back for round two. They will kill you.’

  ‘So what do we do?’ Noah asked.

  ‘We need to get Donnie out of here,’ Duncan said.

  ‘That’s great,’ I said. ‘You guys do that. I’ll just hang out here until all this blows over.’

  ‘They’ll find you,’ Noah said.

  ‘Nah,’ I said. ‘I’ll run into the forest or something.’

  ‘So that’s it? You’re not gonna help?’ Noah asked.

  ‘I’ll just hold you back,’ I said. ‘What can I do?’

  ‘You’re the most important one here,’ Duncan said.

  ‘Nooo,’ I said, blushing. ‘I don’t even have a power. You guys are the ones who can—’

  ‘We need your biometrics,’ Duncan said. ‘Donnie’s in the lab.’

  ‘Oh,’ I said as Penny hid a chuckle.

  Last year, I got to work in Duncan’s lab. My biometrics were used to unlock the door – it’s like using your DNA as the key.

  ‘But you never deleted my biometric data,’ I said, trying to save face. ‘Which means you wanted me to get back in there someday, right? Like, to redeem myself?’

  ‘False.’ Duncan wiggled his fingers at me. ‘I would’ve deleted them long ago if I could actually touch a keyboard.’

  ‘Whatever. That means Donnie’s safe,’ I said. ‘They can’t get in there.’

  ‘The lab isn’t impenetrable,’ Duncan said. ‘They’ll break into it eventually.’

  Guess I wasn’t going home as soon as I thought.

  Pebbles suddenly pelted our heads, like the walls were throwing rocks at us.

  ‘Ow!’ Penny said, rubbing her noggin. ‘Whatever we do, we need to hurry before this whole place caves in.’

  ‘There’s an exit behind the coffee shop,’ Duncan said. ‘William and his friends are distracted by Archer, so you can … sneak … what in the…?’

  He stared past the lobby, his attention caught by something outside the broken building.

  ‘What is it? Are there other Abandoned Children?’ Penny whispered. ‘Is it the Reaper?’

  The ghost’s eyes narrowed. ‘Go on without me, kids. I think this whole thing is much bigger than we understand.’

  He didn’t wait for us to say anything. He just floated into the floor and disappeared.

  ‘How can he just leave us like that?’ Penny said, t
aking quick breaths and squeezing the palms of her hands. ‘Wouldn’t he wanna make sure we got out in one piece?’

  Penny’s skin was lit, but not the cool kind of lit, like, ‘Yo, that party was LIT!’ Her skin was literally glowing.

  ‘What’s going on with you?’ I asked.

  She shook her head quickly. ‘Nothing, I’m fine,’ she said, even though she very obviously wasn’t.

  She was scared. Really scared.

  I put my hand on her ankle. It definitely helped, because she relaxed enough that the glow died down.

  ‘I’m good,’ she sighed. ‘I’m all good.’

  I hate to say it, but I didn’t believe her.

  Dexter groaned from the floor, his eyes half open. ‘What … what happened?’ he asked a little too loudly.

  ‘Shhhhut your mouth hole!’ I whispered.

  ‘What? Why?’ Dexter asked, sitting up. ‘What’s going on? Am I in Cool Beanz?’

  ‘Yes!’ Noah said quietly. ‘The school was attacked, and we’re hiding here!’

  ‘Attacked? By who?’ Dexter asked, scratching the back of his neck as he looked out at the lobby. He stopped abruptly. ‘Is that Victoria?’

  Dexter’s eyes went from the lobby to us, and then back to the lobby as his brain churned away in that Neanderthal head of his.

  He didn’t have a clue what was happening. All he knew was that his best friend was on the opposite side of where we were.

  Dexter and I made eye contact for a split second.

  I wanted to plead with him. To tell him to get down because those were the bad guys out there.

  But I was too late.

  CHAPTER SIX

  ‘They’re back here!’ Dexter shouted, slapping his fat hands over and over on the counter.

  Totes took matters into his own hooves, ramming Dexter so hard that the kid went flying.

  ‘What’s the plan?’ Noah said.

  But I was already gone, running towards the back of the coffee shop.

  ‘Go! I’ll hold them back!’ Totes shouted.

  ‘I love that goat,’ Penny said, ‘but he needs a better battle cry.’

  I burst into the hallway, where I could hear the sounds of a bazonkers Power Battle coming from the lobby.