Ben Braver and the Vortex of Doom Read online

  ‘Dude, seriously,’ Noah said to me as he and Penny caught up. ‘You gotta stop taking off like that!’

  ‘I don’t have a power,’ I reminded my friend. ‘You guys can defend yourselves, but I’m a sitting duck out there!’

  ‘But that’s not teamwork!’ Noah said, angry.

  ‘Fight about it later!’ Penny said. ‘Right now, we need to get to the lab!’

  The three of us started running. As long as the Abandoned Children were busy in the lobby, we’d be fine. Or so we thought … until the giant lizard-dude burst through the wall next to us.

  We bolted, going all out like we were racing in some kind of horrific version of the Olympics where a giant dragon chows down on the losers.

  Noah lit a trail of fire behind us, setting the whole floor ablaze. Too bad it didn’t slow Matthew down. He bounced off the wall and onto the ceiling, where he continued chasing us upside down.

  The door to the west wing was at the end of the hall. As soon as Penny and Noah pushed through it, I got an idea. I hid behind the open door, and when Matthew caught up to us, I slammed it shut in his stupid lizard face.

  It would’ve been awesome if it had worked.

  But it didn’t.

  Not even a little.

  He tore through the door like it was paper, sending me rolling on the floor.

  Noah shot fireballs from his hands, but Matthew’s skin was thick. The fireballs didn’t even slow him down. He smashed Noah against the wall so hard it cracked. Then the lizard scooped Penny up with his tail.

  A burst of yellow energy flared from Penny’s body, pushing the walls out like a balloon. Matthew was launched backwards through the door.

  Penny dropped to the ground, her skin glowing as she scrubbed her forearms. ‘Please, no, no, no!’ she repeated.

  Penny’s power was coming out without her uke.

  And without her control.

  It was the same problem Angel had before she almost exploded.

  I tried to help her up, but she pulled away.

  ‘I’m FINE!’ she said. ‘We gotta go!’

  I was more worried about Penny than Matthew, but she was right. We had to get to Donnie before the Abandoned Children found him.

  The three of us ran down the steps and into the secret tunnel under the school. It was dark and dank and smelled like something had died down there.

  Noah’s fiery hairdo lit our path as we jogged to the end of the tunnel, our footsteps echoing through the shadows. The lab door scanned my face, slid open, and then sealed shut behind us.

  The walls of Duncan’s lab came to life with lights and holographic displays. The last time I was there, the table in the centre of the room was filled with gadgets and gizmos, but those were gone. Now, the only thing on the table was Donnie Kepler.

  He was laid out, his eyes rolled back. Headmaster Kepler’s weird lightbulb helmet sat on his head.

  Donnie sat up, swaying like jelly. ‘Well, hello, sweet cheeks!’ he slurred as he bopped Penny on the nose. ‘How’s about we share a milkshake sometime?’

  ‘First – ew!’ Penny said. ‘Second – what the heck’s wrong with him? Is that the same hat Headmaster Kepler had all year?’

  ‘Yeah, but I don’t know what it does,’ I said.

  Donnie gave Noah a wonky smile. ‘Whoa, your head’s on fire, buddy! Better put it out!’

  ‘Does it make him drunk?’ Noah asked.

  ‘I think it keeps him from using his power or something,’ I said.

  Just then, Matthew slammed against the entrance, rattling the whole room. We spun around as the slams came again and again.

  ‘It’s a lizard monster that wants to capture you,’ Noah said.

  ‘Whaaaat …?’ Donnie said. ‘You guys got lizard monsters in the future? Oh, that’s cooool …’ He slid off the table and hobbled towards the door. ‘I wanna see it!’

  ‘No!’ I shouted, holding him back.

  The door slid up a bit with the next slam. Matthew bent over and peered inside, his eye scanning the room like that velociraptor from Jurassic Park.

  Nobody moved.

  Nobody even breathed.

  It was like time had stopped, and I got this glimmer of hope that maybe Matthew thought we were gone. It was possible that we weren’t gonna die in there!

  At least until Donnie opened his big mouth. ‘Lizard monster!’

  Matthew gripped the bottom edge of the door and started pulling up, slowly scraping it open.

  ‘Is there another way out?’ Penny said.

  ‘Nope, that’s it,’ I said.

  ‘Then we’re done,’ Noah said. ‘Game over.’

  ‘Are we playing a game?’ Donnie asked.

  As the crack widened, Matthew pushed his tail under it and slid the door further upwards.

  ‘I played a game,’ Donnie said. ‘Hide-and-seek. And I WON.’

  ‘Can you shut him up?’ Penny asked.

  ‘No, wait,’ I said as a wrinkle formed in my brain. ‘We can use Donnie’s power to get us out of here! Just make sure you’re touching him when he does it!’

  Noah and I tore the contraption off Donnie’s head.

  His eyes squeezed shut as he sucked air through his teeth. He pressed his fingers against his forehead like he had the worst migraine in the history of all migraines ever.

  KA-CHUNK!

  The door finally buckled, sliding open all the way, and Matthew entered the room.

  Donnie opened his eyes and screamed. ‘WHAT IS THAT THING?’

  Penny held onto Donnie’s wrists, Noah touched his head and I grabbed his shouders.

  The lizard dived for us.

  And then everything disappeared.

  I glanced over my shoulder to make sure Matthew was gone.

  He was.

  I got to my knees, staring in awe at the entire universe that was under me. The stars. The galaxies.

  It was all so beautiful.

  Everything above the water was black. Blacker than black. It didn’t exist. It was nothing. And it went on for eternity. This was the Outside – the last place I had seen Headmaster Kepler. But if he was still out there, he wasn’t anywhere nearby.

  I hoped he was okay.

  Penny and Noah stared at the stars through the water.

  ‘Is this it?’ Penny whispered. ‘Are we … outside the universe?’

  She and Noah beamed with smiles when I nodded.

  And if we could’ve admired it a little longer, we would have, but that’s when Donnie started hightailing it out of there.

  ‘Get away from me!’ he shouted at us.

  ‘We can’t let him go back without us or we’ll be stuck here!’ I said.

  We ran after Donnie, splashing water with each step. He was about half a football field away when he slowed down to peer into different spots in the water.

  ‘What’s he doing?’ Penny said.

  ‘Looking for a place to drop back in!’ I said. ‘The reflections show us the past and the future!’

  ‘This is crazy!’ Noah shouted. ‘I can see my fifth birthday!’

  ‘Hey, there’s the time I accidentally set fire to the living room rug!’ Penny said.

  The further I ran, the younger I got in the reflections, until I ran past the day I was born. After that, there was nothing but clear water.

  Donnie looked back at us with fear in his eyes.

  ‘Donnie, wait!’ I said. ‘We’re the good guys!’

  ‘Nice try!’ he shouted as he hobbled to a stop, searching the ground. Then he sank into the water.

  I slid like I was stealing home and reached my hand into the water ripples Donnie made, gripping the neck of his shirt.

  Noah and Penny dived across the water and grabbed my ankles just in time, and we all suddenly fell into the middle of a dark forest.

  The stars were overhead where they belonged, which was a good sign. It meant that we were back inside the universe and that it was nighttime.

  Donnie’s shirt was still in my
hand, but Donnie wasn’t in it.

  I must’ve ripped it right off him.

  ‘Where are we?’ Penny asked.

  ‘Looks like we’re in the forest,’ Noah said.

  Penny glared at Noah. ‘Are you sure?’

  ‘Yeah, I’m … oh, you’re being sarcastic,’ Noah said.

  ‘Where’d he go?’ I said, looking around.

  ‘He couldn’t have got far,’ Penny said.

  ‘Shhh,’ I said, finger to my lips. ‘You hear anything?’

  Noah and Penny fell silent. They shook their heads at the same time.

  ‘We’d hear his footsteps if he was running,’ I said. ‘So he’s either hiding, or he went back Outside.’

  ‘And if he went back Outside, then we’re stuck here,’ Penny said. ‘Wherever here is.’

  Noah’s hair-on-fire took some of the edge off the darkness. He just needed to be careful of all the dead pine needles at our feet. Wouldn’t want the whole forest to burst into flames.

  Penny cupped her hands around her mouth. ‘Donnie Kepler! Come out, come out, wherever you are!’

  ‘Do you want it to sound like we’re hunting him?’ Noah asked.

  ‘But … we are,’ Penny said.

  ‘Right, but … still,’ Noah said.

  All of a sudden, branches cracked to our right. As soon as our heads snapped towards the sound, Donnie’s shadowy figure bolted, and the chase was on again.

  ‘Stop!’ I shouted as tree leaves slapped my face.

  Donnie didn’t respond. Obviously, he was too busy running for his life.

  Noah had to slow down once he realised his fire kept toasting low-hanging branches. ‘Guys, I gotta stop!’

  Penny was ahead of me, tearing through the forest like some kind of tree ninja.

  Without Noah lighting the way, it was harder to see her or Donnie. Actually, it was harder to see anything.

  Just for the record, my pain tolerance is pretty low, but on a scale from one to ten, I’d say that face-planting a tree trunk at full speed is a record-breaking eleven.

  Penny doubled back to help me just as Noah caught up to us. I held a finger under my bloody nose. ‘Where’d he go?’

  Penny army-crawled to the edge of the forest. Just past that spot was an open field of freshly cut grass. ‘He’s out there.’

  Noah and I shuffled up next to her and looked out.

  Everything was familiar, but at the same time, it wasn’t. We were looking down at a massive ski lodge. Out-of-order ski lifts were in the yard behind the building, snaking their way up the mountain and disappearing over the peak.

  Donnie was at the front door of the ski lodge, hugging a woman tightly.

  ‘You see who he’s hugging?’ Penny asked.

  Noah and I nodded together.

  I had seen that woman’s picture in the very first Kepler Academy yearbook. She was even wearing the same outfit from the photo. Her hair stood straight up over her head like she was the Bride of Frankenstein’s prettier sister.

  It was Mary Kepler – Donnie’s mum.

  We had travelled back in time.

  It was 1963.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Penny, Noah and I hid in the forest, watching Donnie hug his mum.

  ‘Go get him,’ Penny said.

  But I couldn’t do it.

  Donnie was holding his mum the same way I would’ve held my mum if I had just woken up from a nightmare.

  Mary knelt by her son and listened as he spoke. I couldn’t hear what he said, but he kept pointing right where we were hiding.

  You see, the thing about Noah’s flaming hair is that it makes it hard to play hide-and-seek.

  ‘We’re busted,’ Noah said.

  ‘He wasn’t supposed to come back!’ Penny said. ‘We might’ve just screwed up the future!’

  ‘This is what Headmaster Kepler was afraid of, wasn’t it?’ Noah asked.

  ‘We just need Donnie to take us back,’ Penny said. ‘So somebody has to run out and grab him.’

  ‘We can’t just grab him, though,’ Noah said. ‘He’ll put up a fight. His mum will totally set off the alarms and all the students will come outside and it’ll become this whole big thing that’ll be known as the incident in 1963, which will affect the future.’

  All this time-travel stuff was making my brain cry.

  ‘If we go out hard and fast, then they won’t have time to understand what we’re doing,’ Penny said.

  ‘But then what?’ I asked. ‘We can’t force him to help us. We need to come at this differently.’

  We looked back at the academy.

  Mary and Donnie were gone.

  ‘Well, this just got harder,’ Penny said.

  ‘What about asking him for help?’ Noah suggested.

  Penny shrugged. ‘That’s not bad. We can just tell him what’s up, and maybe even talk to a teacher or something.’

  ‘It’s 1963, so Headmaster Kepler is in charge,’ Noah said. ‘We’d be in a tonne of trouble, but he’d definitely help us. Maybe he’d even take us back himself.’

  My heart sank at the thought of seeing Kepler.

  ‘No way,’ I said. ‘We should stay far away from him while we’re here.’

  ‘Why?’ Penny asked.

  I thought about it, but I didn’t have an answer.

  Honestly, I wasn’t sure why I didn’t want to see him. It was just something about having to talk to him while knowing his future. Knowing where he was gonna end up. Knowing that he’d get fried in an explosion and then be trapped outside of the universe for eternity all because of … me.

  Oh.

  Guilt.

  That’s why I didn’t want to see him.

  ‘Fine. Let’s talk to Donnie’s mum then,’ Noah said. ‘She looked nice.’

  ‘Okay, but who’s gonna go first?’ Penny asked.

  ‘Seriously?’ Noah said, shaking his head. He stepped out of the forest. ‘So immature.’

  Penny and I followed at a safe distance behind our friend as he walked to the lodge.

  ‘The first fourteen descendants are in there,’ I said.

  I don’t think Penny cared. ‘Yup,’ was all she said.

  ‘Abigail’s in there,’ I added.

  Abigail was the villain from our first year. She ran the school’s security but went ballistic when she figured out Headmaster Kepler had changed history.

  I still don’t know how she figured that out, though.

  In Kepler’s original timeline, Abigail was a legit superhero with maxed-out stats and a killer costume, saving the world in style.

  In our timeline, she was a low-level security guard. Not that that’s bad or anything, but you can imagine how peeved she was when she discovered what she could’ve been. Kepler had thwarted her destiny.

  But all that was gonna happen in the future.

  At this moment, she was just a happy-go-lucky kid.

  I don’t know why, but I felt incredibly sorry for her.

  ‘It’s cool,’ Noah said. ‘We’ll just go inside and talk to whoever’s at the front desk. You see, Ben? This is what a plan looks like. You might wanna take some notes.’

  I made a face. ‘They’re gonna freak when they see your head on fire. There are only fifteen kids in the world with superpowers in 1963, and they’re all inside that lodge.’

  ‘Wait,’ Penny said. ‘We might not have to go inside.’

  Mary walked out the front doors alone. She moved like royalty, with perfect posture, long strides, and her arms behind her back. The way she was headed for us was intense. Intimidating. Scary.

  Noah stopped in his tracks. Penny and I did too.

  ‘Ah, hello, Mrs Kepler!’ Noah chirped as friendly as possible. He sounded corny as heck and absolutely guilty.

  Mary didn’t say anything.

  ‘My name is Noah Nichols, and these are my friends, Penny and—’

  Noah couldn’t finish his sentence though, because that’s when Mary planted her feet and swung a gigantic crossbow
out from behind her back.

  ‘Ohhhhh no,’ Noah said.

  She pulled the trigger. The crossbow fired loudly, sounding like something from the Middle Ages.

  KER CHCK!

  A glowing net shot out, covering Noah and tightening around his body as he fell flat on his back. He was tied up, but whatever she did extinguished the fire that had been on his head for the past couple of months.

  Mary pulled another arrow back on the crossbow, fixing her eyes on Penny and me. She hoisted it up, aiming at Penny, whose skin was radiating energy again.

  Penny stumbled back, covering her face. I could feel the warmth simmering from her body. She was losing control again.

  ‘No, don’t!’ Penny pleaded. ‘I’m not doing this on purpose!’

  But as soon as Mary fired the weapon, the net wrapped Penny up like a human burrito, and the glow disappeared from her skin.

  Both of my friends were on the ground, trying to tell Mary they weren’t the bad guys, but she wasn’t listening.

  She was reloading.

  I laughed nervously with my hands up. ‘I’m good! I’ll go quietly! I give up! Seriously, if I had a white flag, I’d be waving it so hard right now!’

  Mary pointed the crossbow at me.

  ‘Please?’ I said.

  She paused for a second.

  There was a fire in her eyes – the kind that said, ‘Don’t mess with my kid.’

  And then she pulled the trigger.

  CHAPTER NINE

  About half an hour later, the three of us were sitting in a cabin in the woods. In the future, it was the crummy cabin where Totes and his friends lived. In 1963, it was home to the Keplers.

  Donnie’s dad, Richard Kepler, was in the chair across from us, patting the crossbow in his lap like it was an animal.

  Mary leaned against the kitchen counter, and Donnie, wearing a fresh T-shirt, sat in the chair next to his dad.

  ‘I must apologise for my wife,’ Richard said. ‘She loves this crossbow. I made it myself. I call it the Power Dampener. Do you know why?’

  ‘Because it dampens powers?’ Penny said.