“Again, it’s not grounded in our reality. As a result, it’s sensitive to abnormal spatial distortions.”
“Like teleportation,” I surmised.
“Yeah,” Mouse said with a nod. “I think it views anything like that as a prison break. It will go into lockdown mode, and the Construct Magnet will be useless.”
“Okay, no teleporting the mid-dimensional prison,” I noted. “Regardless, it’s nice to know this will all be over soon.”
Mouse stared at me for a moment, plainly contemplating something.
“Look, Jim,” he finally said, “I know it seems like we probably have this situation under control, but I need you to be just as careful and vigilant as always.”
“I know,” I assured him. “What makes you think I wouldn’t be?”
Mouse shrugged. “Sometimes people in your situation have a tendency to get ahead of themselves, and it creates problems.”
“My situation?” I repeated. “Are you talking about the Busuigno attached to me?”
“I’m talking about the future you,” Mouse explained. “Because you’ve met him, you may be thinking that somehow everything turns out okay. I need you to understand that that’s not necessarily true. The future isn’t set. It’s not fixed. It’s variable, and the decisions you make can easily change things – alter what you think is a set course.”
“Honestly, I hadn’t even thought about that,” I admitted. “It hadn’t occurred to me to consider what the future Jim might mean in that context.”
“Good, because you need to approach this as you would any other mission, bearing in mind that the fate of the world is at stake.”
“No pressure there,” I muttered.
“You ready?” Mouse asked, chuckling.
“If I said I wasn’t, would it make a difference?”
“Not at all,” Mouse assured me with a grin.
Chapter 62
I came through a dimensional gate that opened on the helipad, which was the place Mouse had pinpointed as the location of the Construct. Needless to say, the Busuigno had lied to me about moving it to another location. When I appeared, it was sitting in the middle of the helipad, unguarded, as though waiting for me.
A few minutes before I’d arrived, Mouse had gone to another part of HQ to create a diversion by wreaking general havoc (as he’d done the past few days). It was supposed to send almost everyone scurrying to his location, but common sense said that someone should have remained with the Construct. Thus, the fact that the helipad was deserted was somewhat bizarre.
All of my instincts screamed Trap! However, when I stretched my empathic and telepathic senses, I didn’t pick up on any other presence nearby. Of course, that didn’t mean anything. Someone like Buzz could cover miles in seconds, as could Alpha Prime. With that thought, I took note of the fact that the retractable roof was open.
Maybe they threw in the towel, I thought, but found it extremely unlikely. Considering everything they’d done thus far – everything that was at stake for them – I couldn’t see the Busuigno simply chalking this up as a loss. Still, there was no use wasting time. If there was a trap here, I’d find out soon enough.
I shifted into super speed and raced over to the Construct. Surprisingly, nothing and no one tried to stop me. Once there, I opened up a leather satchel Mouse had given me, which contained the doomsday components. I then began placing them in their appropriate positions on the front of the Construct.
Triangular doodad in the upper left corner… I said to myself. Black cube goes dead center…
Keeping in mind Mouse’s instructions, I placed each item from the satchel in its proper spot. Based on what my mentor had said, I’d garnered the impression that some action would begin immediately after the components were in place. That being the case, I stood there, waiting with bated breath.
Nothing happened.
Something was wrong. I spent a quick moment glancing around, trying to determine if the Busuigno were somehow interfering in some way. Again, I saw and sensed no one nearby. Turning my attention back to the Construct, I doubled-checked my handiwork and concluded that I had done everything as Mouse had instructed.
Did Mouse do something wrong? I wondered. Did he make some mistake?
I quickly dismissed the notion; Mouse didn’t make mistakes. That meant it was something on my end – whatever was wrong sprang from a gaffe I had made. I mentally began retracing my steps, recalling everything I’d done since arriving at the helipad – and then almost laughed as I suddenly realized what the problem was.
The issue was me! I was still moving at super speed. That’s why nothing seemed to be happening from my perspective.
I shifted back to normal speed, and immediately began to see action with the Construct. One of the attached components began to glow with an azure light. Another started to hum, while a third crackled with electricity. Basically, each item I’d placed on the Construct began to do something.
I stood by, watching excitedly, thankful that this particular nightmare was about to be over. Thus, it took me by surprise when I suddenly heard my father’s voice.
“Jim,” Alpha Prime said. “Don’t do this, son.”
His voice seemed to come from all around me, and I realized that he was using the League’s PA system. That said, it didn’t sound like he was at HQ; there was a rush of air in the background, giving the impression that he was outside.
I kept my mouth closed. This was not the time to be distracted. Instead, recognizing that this might be – and probably was – a trap of some kind, I phased and became insubstantial.
“You never heard me out about my offer,” he continued. “What I’m putting on the table is your father.”
I frowned. Was the thing on my father trying to say it would kill him if I didn’t stand down? Could it? I didn’t know – my father was practically invulnerable. Still, the thought of the Busuigno threatening him made me clench my fists in anger.
“Don’t you want dear old Dad back?” he asked.
“I’m getting him back!” I uttered in fury before
