He wanted the Aeon Switch in her hand. She flew for a quick dodge, but Axel caught onto her ankle, and she crashed on top of Connor. Axel jumped onto both of them and tried to wrestle the Aeon Switch out of Teresa's hand. Amongst the awkward pileup, she managed to chuck it behind her, and the ring started to roll down the corridor like a small hula hoop. He ran over the two stacked bodies, but Connor grabbed his ankle and tripped him face-first onto the marble floor. The echo of the aluminum ring rang across the floor as Teresa floated off Connor and over Axel to make a break for it. Connor's grip remained on Axel's ankle, but Axel kicked Connor's hand off before Connor could get a better hold, and he was already on his feet chasing down Teresa.

Shit, Connor thought.

He began running after him but stopped when he heard Teresa yell back. "Stay there." The switch was twenty feet ahead of her, about eighteen once she stretched out like a superhero. She thought about trying to send herself, or even Axel, away, but with it moving and how little charge is left, it may only send a part of his body that would kill him.

As a last resort, she thought.

Now a few inches above the floor, moving just fast enough to preserve power and stay ahead of Axel, she about reached it, but the Aeon Switch bumped on some debris from a blown-out wall and bounced into another room. She spun out as her shoulder clipped the rubble, and Axel jumped off the same wreckage and then off her midair, sending him forwards and her backward. Axel caught the Aeon Switch and landed flat on the ground.

Shit, she thought. "What's your problem?"

Axel rolled over, holding the ring in the air as if he had caught a foul ball. "I need this to get out. They were never going to pay me."

"We're trying to save you."

"Yeah, I bet you are," he said sarcastically.

She wasn't going to deal with someone like him. He was friendly one minute, then killing a dog another. She lifted her watch and tapped a ‘Thirty Seconds Prior' setting she made in her app, and the Aeon Switch disappeared from his hand.

The small flash of light shocked Connor as it appeared about a dozen feet ahead of him and on its side. He ran and grabbed it, but something felt off.

The light, it's gotten dimmer, he thought. Teresa was right. No charges left.

But he knows how to power it. All it takes is electricity or heat. The nanotech adapts to anything that charges it. At least, that's what Stephanie said at the school a week earlier.

Connor refocused and looked around. There were plenty of loose wires and sparks he could use. He hurried for the closest one.

"The fuck do you think you're doing?" Axel yelled down the hall.

Connor turned to see Teresa's neck locked in the nook of Axel's right arm. Her feet hovered above the ground, stuck in position.

"The Aeon Switch, I tighten as each second goes by."

Connor got his first good look at Axel since the night Optimal invaded Blue Ashe. Axel remained unchanged, cocky, and arrogant, while Connor's hope and enthusiasm had been sucked dry.

Connor lifted the silver Aeon Switch. "It's broken."

"Bullshit," Axel yelled back.

"Go ahead," Connor spun it around his finger like a gunslinger, "try it."

Axel whispered to Teresa. "I saw you use your watch. Send it back."

Teresa carefully raised her watch to her face. It was clear Axel could see the display. It just looked like a button that said 30s Ago. She slid the display, and a new button appeared, and then a new one said Return.

"There it is," Axel said.

Teresa pushed the button, and Axel watched intently down the hall about a hundred feet away as the Aeon Switch in Connor's hand tried to light up and whimpered down. Zero charges.

Axel continued. "Then we need to get the other one, the gold one down here."

"And you know where that is?" Connor said.

"I sure do."

"Bullshit."

"Look back in my room. The glass window."

With some hesitation, Connor stepped back a few feet and leaned back to look into the wall that Teresa had sent away with Dr. Rodrigues. It looked like a lab to Connor. White walls and marble floors will look the part. But there was an opened door with a bed and furniture.

And through that door was another room. It had a metal plate similar to the one he'd stand on in the middle, along with a few high-tech-looking suits hanging on the wall alongside some other equipment.

On the other end of that room was a wide glass window. It was easy to tell that glass looked damn near indestructible. And Connor spotted Stephanie's Aeon Switch as a bolt of electricity flickered beyond the other side of the glass. It was floating on a slick display, like a priceless artifact. At the far end was a sealed vault. Unlike any other he's seen down here, a vaulted door looked isolated from the rest of the corridor. The only way to get in was to break down the walls, break the glass, or figure out where the vault led.

"They held you prisoner?" Connor looked back.

"Right there on the other side of their lab, this is as far away as I've gotten aside from them sending me around with that Aeon thing. I've tried breaking that glass a few times with a chair. They didn't flinch or bother to tell me to stop."

"Where's Stephanie?"

"Don't know. But she shows up to operate the Aeon Switch."

That struck Connor. He felt unique, extraordinary even, working with Stephanie. No one else aside from Teresa had done what he was doing. Axel, who, when they were kids, would keep toys away from Connor at arm's length, now kept away his livelihood.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

Of all people, it had to be Axel.

"Let her go, and we can charge this and get the other one."

"Don't trust you," Axel said.

"I don't trust you."

Teresa took her watch off and spoke. "Guys, calm down. Axel, let me go and take my watch."

Axel took the watch with his free hand and carefully let her go. "Alright, now figure out a way to get us out of here."

A metal sphere whizzed by and landed between them, and smoke started pouring out. Everyone began coughing as tears poured out of their eyes. Axel acted fast, running straight for the tear gas canister. Covering his face with his shirt didn't help much, but he grabbed it and threw the canister back from which it came. They reconvened with a sudden sense of urgency as a chorus of coughs and tears.

"Well," Axel groaned, "now what's the plan, genius?"

The gas began filling the hallway as the metal clanks of another canister bounced down the hall.

Teresa quickly floated into Axel's room and pointed to the space suits on the wall. "Get the masks on, now."

Axel was the first to get a mask on with a hooked-up oxygen tank. Teresa was second as it was similar to what she wore when she met Connor on the neutrino meteor.

Axel tried to help Connor. "Back off," Connor said. Teresa helped attach the oxygen tank to his mask. The tanks were small enough for them to carry in one hand.

"Well," Axel's mask let out air, "now what's the plan?"

Teresa ignored him and floated to the broken portion of the walls. An opened electrical wire was dangling. Carefully, she grabbed the part still covered in plastic and pulled it out. She yanked it further to where it could reach the ground and placed it against the inside of her Aeon Switch. Sparks flew and settled as the inner nanotech rearranged itself and swirled in an array of colors.

"It's charging?" Connor asked.

"Yeah, but it'll take a minute, maybe even longer than Stephanie's. I couldn't make one with more juice in it. I'm sorry."

As Axel approached, Teresa floated up and met him halfway. "Don't think about interfering."

"Do you always wear a skin-tight outfit?"

"That's what you're thinking of right now?"

"Yeah," He tried to step around her, and she got in his way again. "Hey, I want out of here as much as you do," Axel pushed her away and approached the Aeon Switch. "So it is charging. The officers will be here any second, though."

"They're being cautious," Teresa said. "Trust me. They're taking their time."

"That doesn't make sense," Axel said.

"The last time they went up against an Aeon Switch, they lost half their airships, and before that, dozens of people died. If we see them coming in guns blazing, we can either send them all away or send us away."

Connor turned his head, and even through the gas and the mask, anyone could tell he looked surprised. Stephanie did that? Dozens of people?

The three stood awkwardly, staring at the Aeon Switch, radiating rainbows of color.

"I guess we hope they don't come further as this charges," Connor said. "Speaking of sending them away, where did your Superman doctor friend go?"

Teresa didn't look concerned with what she said. "Next to Thomas Bailey's rental van."

"What? Is he in danger?"

"No way, Dr. Rodrigues wouldn't hurt a fly. Principal Bailey will be fine."

***

Principal Bailey leaned on the hood of the roof and watched a bunch of metal debris appear in the sky and crash down. He let out a whistle at Teresa's handy work. He believed she could do it. As excellent as what they've invented, he was impressed by how they handled themselves when Optimal went after Connor and had all the faith in Teresa that she would do her best to get Connor, Axel, and Stephanie out of there. For their deceased father, he had to have faith in her.

With each passing minute, his worry grew. He had yet to learn how large Area 51 is, or Optimal as Teresa calls it. Was she running? Flying? Did she find anyone? Thomas doesn't have much imagination, but today was different, and the more he imagined Teresa unaided on her mission, the more his gut told him to act.

Shit.

He texted his wife and son he loved them and got into the van, and as soon as he was about to turn the key, a flash of light appeared about twenty feet away, precisely where Teresa had left. Great, let's get this show on the—and then panic set in as he saw a man and some collapsing walls instead of Teresa. The man checked his surroundings and looked around, dazed about where he was.

"Who are you?" Thomas Bailey said out the window.

"Dr. Rodrigues, who are you?"

Thomas Bailey caught a glimpse of a weird shine warping around his face and hands, but not his clothes. "You know Teresa?"

The look on Dr. Rodrigues's face gave the answer Thomas needed. He turned the keys and hauled ass past the warning sign.

In the rearview mirror, he watched Dr. Rodrigues start a light jog, and then he jumped hundreds of feet into the air and landed ahead of the car, forcing Thomas to swerve.

"The Hell?"

He turned around a cliffside, and a flat dry bed engulfed most of the terrain ahead. In the middle were a few buildings, and next to those were several runways littered with the debris Teresa had caused. Overall it didn't look too extravagant, but bland. He reminded himself that Teresa said there are at least thirty floors of rooms beneath the surface, and it's much larger than it looks.

Again Dr. Rodrigues landed in front of him, closer this time, and Thomas Bailey caught a glimpse of something on the back of his neck. It reminded him of the part where Teresa tapped on that tightened her suit. He swerved the van again, but Dr. Rodrigues stretched an arm out this time. The jolt was intense as the arm impaled through the side, sending the van spinning and crashing into the side of a cliff. Dazed from the impact of the airbag, he hurried and got the seatbelt off, and as he did, Dr. Rodrigues was already at the door. Without effort, he ripped the door off and pulled Thomas out of the car. Thomas punched him with his free hand. Which hurt like hell, and a rare grunt of pain came out of the principal.

"I don't want to hurt you," Dr. Rodrigues said in his accent. "Why are you here?"

Thomas realized struggling was useless. The man's grip remained unchanged, and just a moment ago, he jumped hundreds of feet in the air.

"I said, why are you here?"

Thomas didn't answer, and he felt the grip tighten on his arm. Without thinking, he used the arm as leverage to lift both his legs and wrap them around the back of Rodrigues's neck.

"Why try?" Dr. Rodrigues said. "Just tell me."

As Thomas got a tighter grip around the neck, his heel clicked something. The subtle glow around Dr. Rodrigues disappeared, and the two fell over.

"Merda," Dr. Rodrigues struggled as Thomas Bailey pinned him down to the dirt. Thomas saw the doctor reaching for the small device where it had fallen to the sand. Thomas grabbed his arm and pinned him differently, keeping him out of reach.

Thomas grabbed the device with his free hand and gave it a good look. It was nearly pure black but highly reflective at certain angles where the corners met. It was unlike anything he's ever seen, and it was no wider than a baseball card, and aside from a switch—that he accidentally kicked with his feet that turned it off—it was no thicker than a few sheets of paper.

"What's this?" Thomas asked.

Dr. Rodrigues didn't respond. Thomas lifted the doc's arm, and Dr. Rodrigues screeched in pain. Anymore, and his arm would be ripped out of his socket. He gave in and spoke with a part of his mouth in the dirt. "Okay, stop. I'll tell you."

Thomas Bailey loosened. "I'm all ears."

***

The Zero Shield, a prototype not ready for use, he said. Thomas thought as he headed towards Optimal. Seems ready to me. Dr. Rodrigues was surprisingly cooperative, unlike his students. Rodrigues was even thankful for the water and cell phone Thomas pulled out of the wrecked van.

The switch can't be inside the glow otherwise, the wearer can't turn it off. Also, air needs to flow through. Be careful turning it on, as you risk breaking the switch with immediate unstoppable force from your finger.

"Alright."