The Dominion Key (24 page)

Any second now, I was going to wake up in my usual bed in Sheepsdale. Go downstairs to see my parents waiting for me with my usual breakfast. Micus would throw his usual clump of soil at my face.

Everything would be back to normal.

But when my eyes flickered open, the scenery above looked nothing like the ceiling of my bedroom. And if all that was only a dream, then why did my body feel like it had just been used as a punching bag?

My back was stiff as a board. Pain shot down every inch of my arms and legs. I couldn’t even turn my neck to look around. About the only thing I
could
do was let out a weak, gurgling moan. So that was what I did.

“Oh my gosh, he’s awake!”

Sophie appeared above me. Her face broke into a relieved grin. Her hair hung down around me like a blond tent. Her eyes looked red from crying.

“Joshua—I was so worried,” she whispered in a trembling voice.

She leaned toward me. If I could’ve moved, I’m sure I would’ve squirmed awkwardly at being so close. At least I didn’t let out another pitiful gurgle-moan.

Sophie’s face was only a few inches from mine when I heard another voice.

“Careful not to touch him!” said a woman I couldn’t see.

I felt a strange rush of disappointment when Sophie pulled away. Another face replaced hers in my field of vision—that of a middle-aged woman with short gray hair and a worried expression.

“Any sudden movements could worsen the injury,” she said. “Just keep perfectly still.”

“That shouldn’t be a problem,” I croaked.

“I’m Bernadette Oakley,” said the woman in a gruff voice. “I’m here to help you get better.”

“You’re in good hands, Joshua,” came a voice that I recognized as Principal Alabaster’s. I couldn’t see him—only hear him. “Nurse Oakley is exceptionally qualified for this kind of situation.”

Through the clouds in my head, I remembered Cassie and Dr. Fleming mentioning the name Oakley. The school nurse with the power of healing. And if there was one thing I could use right now, it was some superpowered healing.

“Do you remember what happened before your injury?” Nurse Oakley asked.

“Yeah,” I whispered. “There was an explosion. Knocked me backward. Then I hit something.”

“No memory loss. That’s a good sign.”

I wasn’t so sure about that. After the experience I’d just been through, there were a few things I would’ve been glad to wipe from my memory forever.

“Vex?” I said. “Is he … I mean, did he—”

“He’s gone,” said Alabaster. “Vanished into an interspatial gateway.”

“But where’d he go? What if he—”

“Don’t concern yourself with that right now,” the nurse said. “At the moment, the priority is making sure you get better.”

There was so much more I wanted to know. Where did Phineas Vex get transported to? What happened to everyone else? Were there any other injuries? But I was already feeling so weak, and the strain of speaking had taken its toll. When I opened my mouth, all I managed to get out was a groan that sounded like
“Bluuurphh!”

“Just relax.” Nurse Oakley gently placed a hand on my chest. “I’m going to begin the healing procedure. And just a warning—this might sting a little.”

The nurse’s hand pressed into my chest. An instant later, a bolt of pure pain surged through my entire body. Then I lost consciousness again.

Nurse Oakley had a twisted idea of “healing.” While I was out, I dreamed of pitchforks and blankets made of fire ants. When I finally awoke, I heard people talking somewhere out of my line of sight.

“… sure he’s okay?” asked Milton. “Looks like he’s hurting pretty bad.”

“That’s part of the process,” Nurse Oakley replied. “In order to heal him, I first have to extract the injuries from his body all at once. Sort of like pulling a tooth. Ordinarily, his recovery would be slow and painful. Instead, it’s very fast and very painful.”

“I’m just glad he survived,” said Cassie. “The way he hit the wall, that was—”

“Awesome, right?” Milton guessed.

“Actually, I was going to say deadly.”

“Oh, right. That too,” Milton said. “But I wasn’t worried. Joshua and I have been in
tons
of deadly situations.” He made it sound like something to brag about.

Another voice joined the conversation. My mom’s. “How long until he’s fully recovered?” she asked.

“Tough to say,” said Nurse Oakley. “Couple of hours, most likely. Maybe longer.”

“The portal that you opened back there?” Dad began. “Where
was
that?”

“Antarctica,” the principal replied. “We took a family vacation there a few years back—”

Cassie interrupted her dad with a groan. “Worst. Vacation. Ever.”

“It was an opportunity to witness a completely unique ecosystem firsthand,” Alabaster said, before adding: “Although I
will
admit, it did get rather tedious after a while. Now it’s where I send anything that I never want to see again. Like Vex.”

I thought of the gateway Alabaster had pulled open. The endless white landscape and cloudless blue sky. I imagined Vex suddenly appearing there. No doubt he would find his way back to civilization eventually. But by then we would be long gone.

The only question was … 
where would we go?

I didn’t have much time to wonder about this, though, because right then I felt Nurse Oakley bring a hand down on my chest again. Another burst of pain shocked my system and I blinked out like a light.

When I came to, Marvin and Gus were looking down at me. Marvin had a grisly cut running along his forehead and Gus’s faded uniform was ripped and burned in about twelve different places, but at least they were okay. They
seemed surprised to see me open my eyes. And even more surprised when I spoke.

“Thanks for letting us borrow your car,” I managed to wheeze.

The two elderly superheroes grinned.

“How ya feeling?” Gus asked.

“Been better.” The words came out in a slow, weak voice. “Sorry that … we got you involved in all this.”

“You kidding?” Marvin’s smile widened. “This has been the most fun we’ve had in thirty years!”

Gus nodded eagerly. “We’d been out of the superhero business so long, we’d forgotten what a thrill it is to kick some supervillainous butt.”

“How’s Daisy?” I asked.

“Wrecked,” Marvin replied. “After Vex’s lightning strike, she crashed hard. Wing’s all busted up. Tail’s out of whack.”

“But since your former teacher won’t be able to take care of her any longer, we’ve decided to adopt the old bird. We can have her all repaired and in flying condition again in six months.”

The “former teacher” comment sent my thoughts hurtling in another direction. “Dr. Fleming?” I asked. “Where is he?”

“We found him unconscious upstairs. Sophie told us everything. How he lured you here. Took you kids hostage. Summoned Vex.”

Gus shook his head sadly. “When Fleming woke up, he confessed to all of it.”

“What’s going to happen to him?” I asked.

“I’d say there’s a good chance he’ll have his teacher’s certificate revoked.” Gus smirked.

“And that he’ll spend the next couple of decades in Graavenskall,” Marvin added.

Graavenskall
. The maximum-security prison for supervillains. It’s where the world’s baddest bad guys get sent when their schemes go awry.

“What about nFinity?” I asked.

From the look that Gus and Marvin exchanged, I knew they wouldn’t have good news. “Unfortunately, nFinity escaped.” Gus let out a heavy sigh. “By the time the authorities got to the house, he was gone.”

“The police are searching the woods,” Marvin said. “If he’s anywhere within a twenty-mile radius, they’ll find him.”

I wasn’t holding my breath. By now, nFinity would be long gone.

At least for the time being. Soon enough, he’d be back again. And that was a reunion I definitely
wasn’t
looking forward to.

Marvin glanced sideways and his forehead wrinkled. “Uh-oh. Looks like the school nurse just noticed you’re awake.”

I heard Nurse Oakley’s voice in the distance. “What’re you two doing talking to my patient? He needs to rest!”

Marvin turned back to me. “Take care of yourself, Joshua Dread. What you did back there was truly heroic.”

Coming from Mr. Marvelous, this was a pretty big compliment.

My view of the superheroes was replaced by that of Nurse Oakley. I could see from her expression that she was gearing up for another round of her torturous “healing.”

“Do we really need any more of the whole pain-extraction thing?” I asked in a quavering voice. “I’m actually feeling a lot better. Really—I’m practically—”

Her hands came down on my chest. A fresh wave of agony blanketed my body.

The next time I opened my eyes, I felt a million times better. Nurse Oakley’s methods might’ve been unusual, but they seemed to have worked wonders. I was wide awake and bursting with energy.

Rising to a sitting position, I blinked at my surroundings. Dr. Fleming’s safe house looked like a disaster zone. Charred furniture. Ashes littered across the floor. A gaping hole in the wall revealing a view of even worse chaos outside. A scarred landscape of motorcycle parts and mangled trees.

And crossing this scenery toward me was Miranda. “I can’t believe you survived,” she said.

“I had the exact same thought when I saw you,” I said.

Miranda gave a half shrug. “I guess we’re both lucky to be here.”

“But what happened? How’d you—”

“Make it out alive?” Miranda finished. “After I fell, I eventually washed up on the shore of Alabaster Island. I must’ve passed out, because the next thing I remember is hearing people calling my name. It was a search party of students and teachers. Principal Alabaster was with them. Once I was back inside the school, there was an assembly of everyone at Alabaster. I knew exactly where you guys were headed. And I had a hunch that Vex and his foot soldiers might end up there too. By the end of the assembly, we’d made up our minds—we had to get to Bear Creek. We packed a few hover buses with students, teachers, and a whole lot of deadly weapons. And, well, you know the rest.”

“You saved our lives. If you hadn’t shown up when you did …” I shivered just thinking how close we’d come to complete catastrophe. Death, imprisonment, world domination.

Not exactly my idea of a good time.

Miranda’s dark eyes considered me for a moment like she’d just gotten a glimpse of my future. “Hey, Joshua,” she said. “One last thing …”

“Yeah?”

Her face broke into a grin. “You’re about to get run over by a trash can.”

I blinked. “Huh?”

Our conversation was interrupted by a screeching electronic voice.
“JOSHUAAA!”

I turned just in time to see a silver blur rushing in my
direction. A squat shape that
did
look a lot like a dumpy metal trash can. Except I knew at once what it really was.

“Ellio—”

Before I could get the rest out, the robot butler knocked me onto my back with his “hug.” All of a sudden, I had a feeling I might need another visit from Nurse Oakley.