The Superhero's Summit (The Superhero's Son Book 3) (11 page)

I pushed the door open and stepped into the office, which was completely black. But then a light flickered on in the ceiling, revealing to me an office that looked exactly like all the others: No furniture, no wallpaper, no pictures or bookshelves, nothing. It was just empty and abandoned, like the rest of the place.

Damn it. I thought for sure I'd find something juicy, but I guess it was just nothing. Maybe the door was locked because the guy who used this office—Director John Smith, based on what the door said—was really paranoid about people entering his space even when he wasn't using it anymore.

Shaking my head, I turned around to leave, but then I noticed a light peeking out from underneath the wall on the left side of the room. It was very, very dim and weak and at first I thought that it was a light from the ceiling perhaps, but then I looked more closely and realized that it was indeed coming from behind the wall.

Curious, I walked over to the wall and started examining. That light meant that there was something behind this wall, maybe a secret room or something, and I was going to figure out how to access it.

I put my hands against the wall and started running them over its surface, searching for any hidden panels or buttons I could push. It took me only a couple of seconds to find a portion of the wall that, while blending in perfectly with the rest of the wall, was actually a panel. I pressed the panel inwards and, an instant later, the wall shuddered and slowly slid to the side, allowing more and more light from the other side to shine through until I found myself standing in front of another room.

But this room was different—and smaller—from all of the other rooms I'd found so far. It had actual furniture, a chair in front of a desk that had one of those really large, clunky computers from the 80s on it. There were also stacks of papers and a file cabinet that looked like it hadn't been opened in forever.

As for the light, it was coming from a small lamp on the desk. I didn't know how it had turned on, since there was no one here who could have turned it on, but I wondered if that was connected to the light switch.

Anyway, this was an awesome discovery. I stepped into the hidden room eagerly, but started coughing when some dust got into my throat. The place was really dusty, so I covered my mouth and nose with my hand to keep myself from breaking out into fits of coughing.

I walked over to the papers on the desk and looked down at them. They were in a folder labeled 'PROJECT NEO TEST SUBJECTS 001-010.'

Test subjects? Who had Project Neo been testing? And what had they been testing on those subjects?

I flipped open the folder and saw that there were about ten different type-written documents, with pictures attached via paperclips, in it. But what really caught my attention was the picture on the document labeled 'TEST SUBJECT 001.' It showed a man who was probably in his forties or so, frowning at the camera.

I recognized the face as the face of Cadmus Smith, the current leader of the G-Men and Director of the Department of Superpowered and Extraterrestrial Beings. I had met him last year, after Dad and I defeated Master Chaos. He had invited me to join the G-Men, which I refused, partly because I was too young to join, but also because my parents didn't want me involved with them.

I hadn't expected to see Cadmus Smith's face here, of all places. The photo was black-and-white and old, but it otherwise looked like him exactly. I looked at the date in the top corner of the page and I was shocked to see that it was dated in June of 1985, which was about a year before the first superhumans appeared on Earth.

I picked up the document and looked at what else was written on it. It showed Cadmus Smith's personal information; height, eye color, weight, etc. Nothing very important or interesting, except for his birth date. I almost skimmed over it, but when I saw the year it said he was born, I had to stop and read it again just to make sure I hadn't misread it.

According to this document, Cadmus Smith had been born on July 5th, 1925, and had served in World War II. That was 92 years ago, but Cadmus didn't look 92 to me.

Then I noticed, right underneath the line stating his age, was another line labeled 'POWERS':

Test Subject 001 has displayed an ability to age slowly. Additionally, there are signs that Test Subject 001 can also read minds, but further testing will need to be done to confirm this.

Ah, I hadn't known what Cadmus Smith's powers were until now, so this was good to know. He aged slowly and could read minds. That explained why he looked the same in this photo as he did today, because he aged so slowly that his appearance probably didn't naturally change all that much over the decades.

But I still didn't understand this document. According to what I had been taught, the first superhumans—including Omega Man and my Dad, Genius—appeared in 1986, but if this document was correct, then the government had been testing on at least ten superhumans in June of 1985, which was the previous year, and possibly even earlier than that.

I reached for the rest of the documents, because I wanted to see who else was in the Project Neo program and how long the Project had been in existence, but then I heard feet shuffling behind me. Then the lights went off.

Without thinking, I whirled around, swinging my fists. Someone was standing behind me, but I heard them dodge my fist, which hit nothing. Then I felt a hand grab my outstretched arm and hurl me forward, using the momentum of my own punch to send me flying.

I crashed flat on my back on the floor, the impact dazing me. Nonetheless, I tried to sit up, but then shadow appeared on my body and held me down against my will.

“What?” I said, struggling against the shadow. “What is this? Who's there?”

“What, did you forget me already?” said a feminine voice above me that I instantly recognized. “Then again, our last meeting was a while ago, so maybe I shouldn't be so surprised that you don't remember me very well.”

I looked up, but the darkness was too thick for me to see. Then a flashlight blinked on and I saw the face of Shade—one of the G-Men and a superhuman herself—looking down at me with a creepy smile, her pale face floating in the darkness seemingly by itself.

Chapter Ten

“N
ow do you remember me?” said Shade. She sounded amused. “Or do you need another reminder?”

“Shade?” I said. I was instantly reminded of our conflict on the roof of my old school in Texas last year. “What are you doing here?”

“Following you, of course,” said Shade. “Not because I'm some kind of stalker or anything, but on official orders from the top.”

“Cadmus?” I said.

“I can neither confirm nor deny that,” said Shade, without meeting my eyes. “But I can say that I am technically not supposed to even show myself to you. I'll probably get in trouble for this … well, unless I take these documents to the Director.”

I noticed that she was now holding the folder I had been looking through, the one with the document about Cadmus Smith and the other test subjects. “Is that why you followed me? So you could get that folder?”

“No,” said Shade, shaking her head. She waved the folder in front of her. “This folder was just a bonus. Like I said, I'm just supposed to follow you and not talk with you or even let you know about my existence.”

“Let me go,” I said. I struggled against her shadow again. “Now.”

“Why should I?” said Shade. “If I did that, then you might take these documents from me and give them to the NHA. And we certainly can't have that, now can we? Then Omega Man and those other losers would have all our secrets.”

“Do you mean that you know what those documents are?” I said.

Shade shrugged. “Not really. The Director has mentioned them before, but we thought they had been destroyed years ago. As you can imagine, finding them is kind of like finding the Holy Grail. I really should thank you for leading me to them, even if you didn't know you were being so helpful.”

I stopped struggling against the shadows, mostly because they seemed unbreakable at the moment. “So you know what the Cavern is, then.”

“The Director told me of this place once,” said Shade. She looked around with a displeased face. “I can see why the government abandoned it. It's so ugly and dirty.”

“Why was it abandoned?” I said. “What connection does Cadmus Smith have with this place?”

“I don't know and I don't care,” said Shade with another shrug. “The Director will be very interested in reading these documents, so I think I will just go and take them to him. He's going to be upset that I'm reporting in early, but once I show him these, he'll probably forget all about it.”

“What are you going to do with me?” I said. “Are you going to kill me?”

“Kill you?” Shade sounded disgusted. “Of course not. The Director's offer to you to join the G-Men is still open. You can't very well accept it if you are dead, now can you? No, I'm just going to leave you here, I think. The shadow will eventually evaporate on its own, so you won't be stuck down here forever, though I can't guarantee you won't get in trouble with the INJ.”

That was somewhat comforting to hear, but not as much as Shade made it out to be. I figured that if Cadmus Smith wanted those documents, then they were very important, so I had to get them from her before she left. If the government didn't want the NHA knowing about these, then that was all the more reason to get them.

I needed to distract Shade long enough for me to free myself, so I said, “Don't leave.”

“Why?” said Shade. “I really don't have the time to stand around and chat, you know.”

“I know, but I have to ask you a question,” I said. “Did you sneak into the House and reprogram our practice robots to try to kill me and one of my friends?”

Shade paused and looked at me in confusion. “What? Someone broke into your base and tried to use your own robots to try to kill you? I didn't know that.”

I cursed under my breath, because I realized I shouldn't have shared that information with her. So I said, “Oh, um, er, that was actually just a hypothetical question. I just didn't phrase it correctly. What I actually meant to ask was
would
you sneak into the House to reprogram one of our practice robots to try to kill me and one of my friends?”

Even I could sense how fake I sounded. But I didn't stop and think, because I was working hard at breaking through the shadow. I was using my super strength to help me push against it and break through it, but I didn't want Shade noticing that.

“A hypothetical question,” said Shade, sounding completely unconvinced by my save. “Right. You do realize you just revealed some very sensitive information to me, didn't you? What did I tell you about telling your enemies your secrets when you first meet them?”

I could feel the shadow starting to weaken under my effort, but I needed to keep her distracted for just a little while longer to ensure I could escape. “I know, I know, but you still can't prove it actually happened.”

“I don't need to,” said Shade. “I just need to tell the Director what you told me. He's always interested in knowing what you're up to.”

“That sounds creepy,” I said.

“It is,” said Shade, nodding. “But hey, the Director's the boss, not me, so I have to report to him about you no matter how creepy he is.”

“Wait,” I said. “If you've been following me, does that mean you've even watched me while I shower?”

“I can neither confirm nor deny that,” said Shade, though I noticed her pale skin was going slightly red. “Anyway, I need to leave. It was nice—and awkward—talking to you!”

Shade walked toward the exit, but I wasn't about to let her escape. With a roar, I broke out of the shadows, snapping them like rubber. Shade stopped and looked over her shoulder at me as I jumped to my feet.

“What?” said Shade. She scowled. “How do you keep doing that?”

“It doesn't matter,” I said. I held out a hand. “Now give me the folder or else.”

“No,” said Shade. She waved at me and smiled. “Good bye.”

With that, Shade ran out the door. I activated my super speed and zoomed after her, but then I noticed a straight line of shadow at the foot of the door and I tripped over it. I crashed into the wall out in the hallway hard enough to leave an imprint of my body on it, but I recovered quickly and pushed myself out of the imprint just in time to see Shade disappearing around a corner at the end of the hall.

I ran after her, using my super speed to give me a brief boost, but not enough to cause me to lose control and run into another wall. Rounding the corner, I saw her running down the hallway, causing me to shout, “Stop!”

But, of course, she didn't. So I activated my super speed and shot after her. I was just about to grab her arm, the one in which she held the folder, when her body suddenly turned into shadow and I staggered forward. Because I was still going fast, I tumbled head over heel until I collided with yet another wall. This time, however, I got back on my feet in an instant and blocked Shade's path, forcing her to stop before she could go much farther.

“Okay,” I said, panting and sweating. I held out my hand again. “I'm just going to ask nicely one more time: Give me the folder or else.”

To my confusion, Shade smile. “Oh, you're so cute when you're determined. Has any girl ever told you that before?”

I was about to say no, but then Shade melted into the shadow, taking the folder with her, and went under my feet. I turned around to try to go after her, but then shadow tendrils rose from the floor, wrapped around my ankles, and yanked me forward.

I fell to the floor with a crash just as Shadow rose from the shadows, gave me a mocking smile, and then ran down the hall, but she seemed to be moving faster than before, as if the shadows themselves were helping her move.

Gritting my teeth, I jumped to my feet and, instead of running, I flew after her. Just as I was about to grab her, Shade once again turned into shadow, but I was prepared this time. Before the folder could sink into the shadows with her, I snatched it from her hands as I flew through her intangible and zoomed to the other end of the hall, where I landed with ease.