NaNo2013: Speedster's Secret: Part 27

“What?” Speedster asked, having not been aware for any of that.

“They took blood and dna samples from all of us, you included.” Luna informed Speedster, “We’ve been taking bets as to what they’re using them for. Currently top theory is super soldier army.”

“You guys are such nerds.” Speedster chuckled, easily able to see the group arguing over such things. “So if we’re all here, why aren’t we out already? There’s no way they should be able to take us if we work as a team.”

“We were waiting for you to come around.” Snap replied, “One less person to worry about and one more butt kicker available. Except you’ve been out longer than the rest of us, like hours and hours longer.”

Speedster sighed and struggled to her feet, wavering for a moment before stumbling over to the door. “Yeah, I got hit by three darts.” She informed them, managing to look up and down the narrow, whitewashed corridor full of identical doors and see a couple of faces. “Also someone’s going to need to break my chains.”

“And this is why super strength is better than super speed.” Mako informed her, her door practically exploding out of its hinges as Mako hit is so hard it went flying across the corridor. “Guys?”

One door changed shape and opened of its own accord, another opened in a burst of purple light, yet another was knocked off one of its hinges and swung forlornly in the corridor.

In moments the other doors had been busted down, restraints broken and Speedster was scouting the base as best she could.

“The doors to this corridor are locked. I did find an office though that probably should have had someone in considering it was linked to security cameras monitoring our cells, but we got lucky and they were just coming back from a bathroom break.” Speedster informed them. “They’re currently in a supply closet.”

“Locked doors aren’t much of an issue.” Mako flexed her muscles, confidence radiating off of her as Luna started flicking through a bunch of cards she had pulled out of a hidden pouch she kept close to her chest, her eyes already shifted from purple to red.

“No, but we don’t know what’s on the other side.” Sparks pointed out. The tall, broad shouldered male with hair in various shades of purple, looked around, a thoughtful expression on his features, “We shouldn’t just break the doors down.”

“I have a question.” Shorty piped up, the Alchemist had a manic expression on his features, a slightly evil smirk that had the others worrying. “Why don’t we just go through the walls? I mean they’re expecting us to go through the doors. I can make holes, Luna’s creatures can make holes, hell I bet Speeds could bust through a thin enough wall if she was going fast enough.”

“Or I’d go splat.” Speedster pointed out, “But I get your drift. Going through the doors when we can go through the walls is a bad idea. And if we get lucky and hit an outside wall, we can just leave.”

“Exactly.” Shorty grinned at her.

“Alright then, this is going to seem daft but pair up.  Each pair is to watch each other’s back. Buddy system, got it?” Speedster asked, looking around. When everyone nodded she found herself with both Luna and Tails waiting to pair with her.

“Okay, no, I can’t pair with both of you.” Speedster shook her head, not wanting the pair to get into a row about it, “So you can pair up with each other, that way I can keep an eye on both of you.” She smirked at the startled and slightly irritated look the two girls shot at each other. “In fact,” She looked around, “Can everyone make sure that they have at least one offensively powered member in their pair?”

Several already prepared pairs split up, changing so that everyone had someone who could back them up.

“Speedster?” Sparks asked, stepping up, “I’ve got magic, but no really offensive spells, so if you’re not taking Luna or Tails...”

“Sure.” Speedster nodded, irritated slightly by having to have someone with her, but knowing it was both right and fair. Even if the person she was partnered with couldn’t keep up. She and Sparks took point, Mako and her partner bringing up the rear.

Speedster scouted ahead, Sparks watching her back as she moved up the corridor ahead of the main pack. While it was Speedster who found the release switch for the electrically locked doors, it was Sparks who saw the movement from one of the side rooms.

“Speedster!” He yelped, purple glow surrounding the man who leapt at them, stopping the attacker in their tracks by floating them in midair.

The speed freak wheeled around, glowering at the startled man. “What do we have here?” She asked, looking him over.

“Ha, hahaha, hahahahahaha.” The captured man started laughing, “You’re all screwed. So screwed.” He managed as the horde caught up, “They’ll pump this area with sleeping drugs in a minute and...” There was a hissing noise, “Hahaha, there it goes.”

“Shit.” Speedster yelped, darting for the electronic switch, only to get a nasty electric shock when she slammed her hand down on it. Mako went the more direct route, smashing down the door, only to find another door beyond it, and another door beyond that in an airlock system.

“Screw it.” Shorty snarled, clapping his hands together before pressing them against the wall, transmuting a doorway that led out into a corridor, only for them to dart into what they thought would be clean air to find more of the same tainted smelling air waiting for them.

“We’re underground!” The guy Sparks had captured cackled, “You won’t get out. Not unless you find the stairs before you all pass out.”

“What’re we in, some kind of bloody dungeon?” Mako grouched, even as Shorty swiftly worked out angles and transmuted his way through walls, trying to find a passage to the surface, and Speedster left Sparks behind to dart around the underground level to find the doors upwards.

The air grew thicker the longer they took, a couple of them trying to get answers from the manically laughing guy. The smaller members of the party collapsed before the bigger, the ones exerting themselves following quickly. Speedster had just found the door marked ‘exit’ when she finally succumbed to the poison in the air.

When she came round, she was back in her cell.

“Damn it.” She hissed, noting the fact her door had been fixed and this time her ankle shackles were attached to the floor. “Everyone okay?” She called.

Not everyone answered to start with, but slowly over the course of the next hour or so everyone role called in.

“So that didn’t work.” Mako sounded surprisingly cheerful considering what had just happened.

“No, no it didn’t.” Sparks spoke up, “So what’s the plan now?”

“We would suggest,” A voice spoke up from speakers embedded in the ceilings of the cells, “That you don’t try anything else funny. You see we have people watching you carefully and should you try to break out enmass again, we’ll just knock you out again.”

“Who are you?” Mako demanded, fuming.

“That’s not important.” The voice replied, “We have a game for you all. A simple game. And if just one of you win, you can all go home free.”

“And if we lose?” The Other Luna was in control now, unsurprising considering they were being challenged to a game.

“You can keep trying, one after another, after another, in the order we choose.” The voice informed them, “But each time you lose, we get to run an experiment on you.”

“I’ll play.” The Other Luna spoke up, “I’ll go first.”

“No.” The voice disagreed, “You won’t.” Speedster heard one of the doors slid open, “Mako will.” There was a pause then, “Oh, and if you try to break your friends out, the game is over, for everyone and the deal is off.”

“I get it, I get it.” Mako grouched, “Guys, I’ll be back for you.”

“Good luck.” The Other Luna spoke up, sounding like she was pacing her cell.

“Thanks.” Mako started down the corridor and vanished out of audio range.

Speedster couldn’t help the half grin, half grimace that appeared on her features when someone started singing the words to ‘Still Alive’ from a popular game. The whole situation felt very ‘Aperture Science’ she had to admit.

“I spy,” She spoke up, lying back against the floor when she had finally had enough of tugging on chains that wouldn’t move, “With my little eye something beginning with S.”

“Seriously Speedster?” Chi complained.

“Why not? It’s not like we have anything else to do for now.” Snap commented, “Is it speaker?”

“Yup.” Speedster nodded, despite the fact the only person who could see her was the people watching the cells through the security cameras. “Your turn.”

“Okay, I spy with my little eye, something beginning with...” Snap trailed off as there was a loud crash and a bunch of men stalked past, carrying something. There was the sound of something hitting the floor hard and a door sliding shut and then the voice spoke up.

“Next.” It called, another door sliding open, “Gold.”

“You know,” He said as one of the men entered his cell and unshackled him, “I’m really beginning to regret giving them our Club names.”

By the time it was Speedster’s turn, she was beginning to seriously wonder if they were ever actually going to let her have a go. The moment she was loose, she shot off, speeding up the corridors until she found the ‘exit’ sign again, breaking through the doors.

She shot up to the next floor, only to find another maze of locked doors and corridors.

“We’re bloody rats in maze!” Speedster hissed, narrowly avoiding a trap, one that had blood on, suggesting one of the others had run afoul of it. Her reaction times saving her where others would have failed, only for her to run afoul, just shy of the second set of ‘exit’ doors, of a horrible sticky substance that caught her feet the moment they impacted with it, gluing her feet to the floor. A substance her mind insisted was MegaMuck.

“Ewww.” She complained, the MegaMuck making a horrible sucking noise as she managed to pull one foot free, only to fall on her rear and end up glued down completely.

She did, however, get the delight of watching three men in hazmat suits attempt to traverse the MegaMuck coated floor and end up just as bogged down as she was.