More Sleepy Adventures - Part 20
Sara
Traps)
Ampere moved carefully through the corridors, her knuckles white where
they coiled around the weapon's grip. Already she had encountered
four concealed traps. Two were electronic and therefore easy to spot
and evade. A second bubble trap she had only recognised because of her
previous experience. The last had looked like some kind of landmine and
she had decided to completely avoid that corridor, instead finding an
entirely different route.
Navigation initially consisted of following the faint pulse of energy
which filtered into the shut-down portion of the base. Once she had
found her way out of the maze of corridors, it became much easier. Data
flowed through the walls and ceilings, and inexorable led Ampere to the
nearest computer terminal.
Although the level of security would have stymied even the most
confident of hackers, the heroine's powers meant that she could
"walk" into the system, practically unchecked. She quickly
identified Geist's holding cell and plotted the shortest route. Next
she disarmed all of the computer-controlled traps. Finally, she used
the base's own surveillance system to locate everyone inside the
perimeter.
The Gadgeteer was almost exactly where she had left her. Except
bizarrely, she seemed to now be wearing Ampere's goggles. Something
very strange was occurring here, first the collar, now her
"modified" goggles. The heroine reluctantly returned her focus to
rescuing Geist but filed the information away, instinct telling her
that it might be important later.
She saw Dr Castle, naked but currently unrestrained, pacing her cell.
Caitlin and The Adherer dozed peacefully in their own storage cylinders
and Geist lay cuffed and masked in yet another cell. Of The
Anaesthetist though, there was no sign. Ampere gently coaxed the system
again, looking for signs of tampering, but everything seemed to be
running smoothly, the only person that the security system was
currently "ignoring" was herself it seemed.
Unable to shake the uncomfortable feeling that she was missing
something, the heroine nevertheless left the terminal and began the
short journey to Geist's cell.
...
The Anaesthetist knew that Ampere would almost certainly be able to
subvert his security. He had not exactly prepared for such an
eventuality, but he did have a way of moving about the base undetected.
Intended to let him go where he wished, without fear of being watched
by The Gadgeteer, the villain had included a series of hidden ducts
when he had first arranged construction of his lair. It was in one such
duct that he was now crawling.
The villain knew that Ampere would try to rescue her friend. He also
knew that even with her powers over electricity, she would have to move
slowly or risk falling into one of his traps. That should give him
enough time to reach Geist's cell first, and prepare a suitable
"welcome".
...
Meanwhile, the heroine had already made steady progress to her goal.
Although she knew that some of the traps which barred her way had now
been disabled, she remained alert for anything that appeared out of the
ordinary. As she reached an intersection, something tugged at her
subconscious, and she reluctantly came to a halt.
She knew that Geist's cell was only a few meters away, but she could
not shake the feeling that something was not quite right. Ampere stared
at the corridor, willing it to give up its secrets, but it still
appeared completely benign. The heroine knew that time was ticking
away, she had to get to her friend as soon as she was able.
Throwing caution to the wind, she fired three bolts of electricity into
the cross-section. The energy coalesced over the walls and floor, but
did not reveal anything more. Ampere took a deep breath, then carefully
took one step forward. The instant her foot touched the floor, she knew
that she had made a mistake.
...
By now The Anaesthetist had reached Geist's cell. Swiftly he crossed
to where the heroine lay helpless, then he pulled a small sachet from
his pocket. Outside he heard the hissing discharge of energy and knew
that he had to work quickly. In one fluid motion, he ripped open the
sachet and emptied its contents over Geist. There was only a slight
shimmering in the air to reveal that anything had happened.
The supervillain moved back quickly, making sure that he did not
inadvertently get any of the sachet's contents on him. Then, he
retreated back into the vent. From there he would have the perfect
vantage point to see what happened inside the small room.
,,,
Ampere felt the floor give slightly beneath her foot, and she tried to
scramble backwards. The floor tilted alarmingly, and didn't seem to
offer any purchase. She flailed her arms, furiously back-pedalling, as
her legs seemed to slip from beneath her. Desperately the heroine
looked for something to grasp hold of. But there was nothing there.
At the moment the floor completed its transformation into an almost
frictionless slide, the heroine pressed her palm flat against the wall.
She exerted her power, causing the lighting to dim around her. She
gritted her teeth against the pain, but somehow her ploy worked, she
was able to generate enough of a magnetic field to hold her firmly in
place.
Eventually, when she was sure that her arm must surely dislocate, the
floor swung slowly back into place. She did not dare imagine what fate
would have awaited her down that slide. All she could focus on, besides
the pain, was getting to Geist.
Using the magnet field, she was able to crawl, spider-like, across the
cross-section. Finally, she dropped, almost exhausted, in front of the
cell entrance. Perhaps with two heroines they would be able to rescue
the other captives?
...