“He’s after arsenic,” Duncan said.
“To poison people?” Jackson asked.
“No, he’s building a bigger version of his machine hypnotizer and he needs lots of superprocessors to make it work,” Duncan said. “We use the same kind of chips in Benjamin, only a few of ours equal about ten thousand of what you can buy commercially. To make these chips he needs lots of arsenic, and active volcanoes contain some of the richest arsenic deposits in the world.”
“See, Pufferfish! Look what we learn when we bring Sticky with us!” Jackson laughed.
“Well, he better get down here and join us,” Pufferfish grumbled. “He’s not wearing a Wind Breaker. You think his dad was mad before, wait until he finds out his little boy hit the ground going a thousand miles an hour.”
Duncan spotted four black specs against the blue sky—his teammates below. “On my way!” He tilted his body so he was pointing straight down, and the world suddenly came toward him faster and faster. He was like a human bullet, and in no time was right above his friends. He leveled his body off to allow the wind to slow his descent, then searched for Flinch. The others could have easily helped him get to the ground, but to be on the safe side, he chose his friend with superstrength. Flinch reached out with a free hand and snatched him by the arm. His grip was like a vise.
“Fancy meeting you here,” Flinch said.
As they dove, Duncan looked out over the Kilauea crater— the site of one of the world’s most active volcanoes. It must have been several miles in diameter with a thick, black crust covering everything. It was awe-inspiring.
“I don’t see Simon or a hoverplane,” Duncan said.
“He’s not down there,” Matilda said. “He’s a few miles south at a place called Pulama Pali. The flow of lava from the volcano actually travels underground through tubes and comes out on the side of a cliff.”
“All right, people,” Ruby said. “Let’s activate our Wind Breakers.”
Flinch’s jacket billowed out, slowing their fall. The two boys drifted south with the wind and were soon floating over the rocky Hawaiian cliffs. There, Duncan saw a craft that looked like a combination of a plane and a helicopter. On each side was a huge barrel-like engine that blasted blue flames. A gigantic tube hung from the machine. It was sucking up the horrible ash that covered everything. The arsenic seemed to be sifted through a filter in the back of the ship, and the leftover ash was dumped into the ocean.
Flinch pulled the cord on his jacket, and the tether shot out of the bottom. He and Duncan slid down it to land on a nearby cliff.
“I don’t approve of this, Gluestick,” Ruby said once everyone had landed. “But if my family were attacked, I’d do the same thing.”
“Here’s the problem, dude. You’re powerless,” Jackson said as his braces started to swirl. “We all have the upgrades. We’re back online. Are you OK with being a normal kid? No gadgets? No powers?”
Duncan nodded his head. “I’m manning up. Are we going to talk all day, or are we going down into that volcano to kick some bad-guy butt?”
Matilda grinned. “You, my friend, are suddenly the coolest person I know.”
The children looked down the cliff face. The lava was flowing in a red, hot stream into the ocean, raising the temperature dramatically and turning the water into thick, muggy steam. It was going to be hot down there. Just above the lava flow, the hoverplane continued its work sucking up minerals off the rocky cliff. Duncan reached into his pack and found some rope, clips, a hammer, and a handful of pins. He pounded a pin into the hard, volcanic rock, then looped the rope around it. Within seconds he was ready to rappel down toward the hoverplane. The others shrugged their shoulders.
“Um, I guess we follow Gluestick,” Ruby said.
Matilda snatched Flinch around the waist and then fired her inhalers so the two soared over the edge. Jackson’s braces created four long, spindly legs. He took Ruby in his arms and the two crawled over the side.
Duncan struggled with his ropes but refused to ask for help. All of the team had been trained in rappelling, but he remembered not taking it too seriously. He remembered thinking that it was pointless to learn, as he could stick to any surface. If only he hadn’t taken the shortcuts. Was Brand right? Was he lazy?
Before he could get too frustrated, he stopped, took a deep breath, and focused on what he had been taught. Ms. Holiday had shown them all what to do. What had she said? Kick off the side of the cliff and ease the rope through your gloved hand. He took a deep breath and followed her instructions and it worked. In no time, he was out of rope. He tied himself off and then pounded another pin into the rock and attached a second rope from his pack.
He caught up to the rest of the team yards away from the hoverplane.
“So what’s the plan?” Matilda called to Pufferfish.
“I think the best—”
Duncan interrupted Ruby. “Matilda is taking me over there. That’s the plan.”
Everyone looked at Pufferfish. “Umm.”
“No arguments,” Duncan said. “This is personal.”
Pufferfish nodded.
Matilda took Duncan in her arms and flew him over to the hoverplane. Once there, she used one of her inhalers to blow a hole in the side of the ship. The two spies flew inside the cockpit, ready for a fight . . . but something was wrong. The ship was empty. Glowing letters on the control panel read REMOTE PILOTING ENABLED.
“There’s no one here!” Matilda said.
“What?” Ruby said over the nose comlinks.
“Let the lunch lady know we need a pickup. Simon’s flying this ship from somewhere else,” Duncan said. “He’s been playing us since the beginning—running us around in circles, guessing what we’ll do before we even do it. He knows us too well.”
“No arguments there. But if he’s not here, where is he?” Matilda asked.
Duncan had an idea, and the answer made him very, very nervous.
Albert walked down the halls of Nathan Hale Elementary with a thousand eyes watching his every step. He hadn’t been in the school in twenty-five years, not since he had been a student there as well, but that wasn’t why the children were watching him. He was wearing his Captain Justice costume and carrying a ray gun. He was also not alone. Simon, with his skull mask and army of hypnotized squirrels, was right behind him. Not to mention the goon with his razorsharp hook. And Mama—who turned heads with her gaudy jewelry and tiger-print jacket. A rumor began to spread that the foursome were new teachers, which caused many students to faint.
Albert knew they were being gawked at but shrugged it off. Kids had never been kind to him. He remembered how his peers used to break his beakers and contaminate his petri dishes just for fun. He couldn’t blame them. Being dressed like a scientist was like taping a sign to him that read PLEASE PUNCH ME AND TAKE MY LUNCH MONEY. Mama had made his life a misery, but soon the bullies and jerks would be begging for his help. Soon he would be the superman he was always meant to be.
“You had to wear the costume?” Simon said to Albert. “You couldn’t have put it on after you got your powers?”
“You should talk,” Albert said. “Your skull mask doesn’t exactly scream sanity.”
“Are you calling me a mad scientist? ’Cause I’m an evil genius! There is a big difference,” the boy cried.
“Let’s just get this over with,” Albert said. “We collect the superchips, I get my superpowers, and you shoot the weapon into space and do what it is you plan on doing.”
“Boys, this is no time to squabble,” Mama said. “We are very close to getting our hearts’ desire. Fighting and petty arguing are what always bring the bad guys down. Just keep your eyes on the prize and we’ll be fine. You’re sure those kids won’t swoop in and stop you, right?”