“Let me rephrase: I’m sure I have one. I just don’t know where it is.”
“Then how do you keep your phone charged?”
“I don’t. Or rather, I don’t have to charge it.”
Electra continued looking at me oddly. “You’re going to have to explain that.”
I sighed. “A while back, Mouse took my phone and made some upgrades to the architecture. One of the things he did was install an advanced battery that really doesn’t have to be recharged.”
I didn’t bother talking about any of the other improvements, like the enhanced casing that made the phone nigh unbreakable. The issue of the battery alone was apparently surprising enough.
“Well,” Electra droned, “that’s impressive. Mouse didn’t do that for me – or any of the other teens that I’m aware of. All we got installed was a tracker so the League can find us whenever they like.”
“Come on – he’s my mentor,” I stressed. “Of course there are going to be some perks that go along with that. But on the downside, I think Mouse said this battery thing isn’t perfected yet, so I’m really just a guinea pig. Once it becomes clear that it’s not going to explode in someone’s pocket, I’m sure everybody will get one.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure,” she demurred. “But why don’t we put that conversation on pause and discuss something else until Alpha Prime gets here.”
“Works for me,” I said.
Chapter 36
Instead of chatting, we ended up watching television in the theater room – a soundproof chamber with a one-hundred-twenty-inch projector screen and rows of seating that consisted of powered recliners. It was a room that had seen limited use since my family’s departure, so I was happy to have a reason to put it in service.
The show we watched was one of Electra’s choosing: a prerecorded horror anthology comprised of thirty-minute segments. However, rather than sit in her own chair, Electra chose to squeeze in next to me. Although oversized, the recliner wasn’t really designed to accommodate two, but after a little shapeshifting on my part – basically, altering some of the contours of my body – we were able to sit comfortably. (And even if we’d remained uncomfortable, I wasn’t going to complain.)
We were perhaps five minutes into the second show segment when the doorbell rang, sounding on a device built especially for the theater room.
“That’s Alpha Prime,” I announced, after reaching out and confirming that fact empathically.
Electra stood up as I grabbed the remote and turned the television off. A moment later, I was on my feet as well, and then – after shifting my body back to its normal shape – teleported us to the front door. I immediately opened it to let my father in.
“Hey,” Alpha Prime said as he walked inside.
“Whoa!” exclaimed Electra, noting (as did I) that my father was holding five pizza boxes in each hand. “Did you get a second job delivering fast food or something?”
“Hardly,” my father replied with a laugh. “But I’ve been watching Jim stuff his face all day, so after our last escapade in the Vault, I figured he’d be hungry enough to eat a horse.”
Electra and I both laughed at that, but his statement wasn’t far from the truth. I had tweaked my internal systems after our run-in with Mouse so that I wouldn’t get hungry. However, given my druthers, I probably would have eaten much earlier (and in copious quantities).
“Let me give you a hand,” I said, taking a stack of the pizza boxes from my father. “All right, let’s go eat.”
***
We wound up eating in the breakfast nook – a cozy area near the kitchen that was dominated by a counter-height table that could seat eight. It was the place where I’d normally taken meals with my family, so it was second nature for me to eat there on this occasion.
Apparently Alpha Prime was of the same mind as Electra in terms of taking a step back from our Mouse hunt, so to speak. He didn’t mention it at all during the meal, instead choosing to regale me and Electra with some humorous anecdotes from his past adventures. I had to admit that he was a good storyteller, and I enjoyed listening to him.
After eating, the three of us played a couple of board games, at my father’s suggestion. In all honesty, it felt weird to me to be doing so when the issue of Mouse was still so prevalent, but Alpha Prime had insisted.
“Listen,” he’d said, “I’ve been where you are – in the middle of a mission that not only has high stakes but personal relevance. If you don’t do something to keep your spirits up, you’ll get into a funk so overwhelming that it will be impossible to be fully effective.”
Thus, I had reluctantly given in, but ultimately had a great time. I didn’t win any games, but it was lots of fun playing with my father and Electra. (And it did feel good to take my mind off my problems.)
“Okay, it’s obviously not my night,” I declared after losing the fourth game. I then pushed my chair back from the table and stood up.
“You’re quitting?” Electra asked in a surprised tone.
“Just going to grab some more pizza,” I replied. At the same time, I hooked a thumb over my shoulder towards the kitchen, where we’d placed the food.
“I’ll get it for you,” Electra stated, coming to her feet. “Just stay here and chat with AP.”
I simply stared at her as she walked to the kitchen. Frankly speaking, I was a little surprised; typically Electra despised stereotypical roles, like a woman fetching a man’s food.
“Well,” my father intoned, getting my attention, “I think I’m going to head out.”
“Oh, okay,” I responded as Alpha Prime stood up. “I’m sorry it wasn’t the dinner you probably had planned, but I really enjoyed this.”
“Me, too,” he conceded with a nod. “This was great. I mean, I still want us to have some father-son time, but I wouldn’t mind doing
