An intercom turned on and made a beeping noise similar to the one you'd hear in a high school.

The speaker boomed. "Cease this, now."

"Mr. Furyk?" Axel said. Even though the speaker was down the hall, who was speaking was clear. They're taking plenty of safety precautions, mostly with distance and staying out of sight.

Connor stepped up, "Where's Stephanie?"

Mr. Furyk remained silent.

"Connor," Teresa spoke softly, "I just need five more minutes, and I can get the other Aeon Switch that'll have enough juice to send us all back."

The intercom turned on again. "We've tried to reason."

And the wall separating the lab from the living quarters turned yellow, orange, and bright enough to hurt their eyes.

"What the?" Axel said.

Teresa saw the wall begin to warp, and she quickly dove for Connor, "Move!" The wall disintegrated as a molted steal blasted through. The sudden brilliant burst shocked Axel into running across the hall. As his shirt caught on fire, he quickly put it out by pushing his body against the wall. The environment changed nearly instantly from the blast causing the tear gas to evaporate, and the pressure on their masks to increase.

Teresa got off Connor and grabbed her Aeon Switch, removing it from the wire.

The intercom turned on, "We'll fire again if you don't drop it."

"Christ. What was that?" Connor said.

"A plasma rifle." She shouted down the hall to guarantee the intercom could hear her. "You nearly shot the other Aeon Switch."

"If it's not here, then no one gets it."

A small light glimmered beyond the haze, like a train near the end of the tunnel expanding from dark red to bright yellow.

"Oh God," Teresa said. "Move." She grabbed Connor by the arm, and they hauled ass, Axel, not far behind as they turned down another corridor, and a burst of heat went straight through the hallway. The plasma hit the end of the main corridor and metal sparks flew and bounced around like fireworks in a tin can.

Axel peaked his head around the corner and took in the destruction. "I was promised safety."

"It's Area 51. Their tech comes first. We gotta keep an eye out and find a new place to charge the Aeon Switch."

Even through Axel's mask and the haze of smoke and pepper, she could tell he was looking at her like she was an idiot. "Why didn't you bring a charger? Or bring two?"

"Yeah, gee, why didn't one of the smartest people ever think of that? Oh wait, I did."

That shut him up as she floated down the smaller hall and found what she was looking for. An outlet. And she unwrapped the two wires from her ankle. Compared to the main corridor, this wall still looked pristine. She nuzzled her switch against the wall and carefully touched two ends of the switch and the other two ends into the outlet. She jumped, startled. Not because something happened but because nothing did.

Connor saw the makeshift charger. "What's going on?"

"They must've cut some circuit breakers. It's not charging."

"Did the smartest person ever think to bring a battery?"

She lifted her switch to Axel's face so fast it nearly hit him. "Do you see a slot for some double-a batteries, dumbass? No battery carries enough energy for this. Raw heat or electricity is what I need."

Connor knew just to ignore him. Teresa would soon have to learn to do the same. "We can't charge the switch. They'll shoot at us if we stay still," Connor said.

He was right. They can't dodge it forever. She floated over and peeked her head out to look at the damage. The plasma radiated all over the walls, ceiling, and floor. "That's a lot of heat."

***

Thomas grew used to the UI his brain was visualizing. A few partially translucent buttons were accessible if he looked into his upper peripheral, which would move the controls closer to his view. It was surprisingly easy, even for a tech-illiterate person such as himself. One button to lessen how much gravity is to take effect, which didn't have a zero option, and how much downward force is allowed, which did have a zero option. A high-tech deflector shield could change how much any kind of force affects the wearer. One didn't want to fly off the planet or fall through it.

Walking and jogging were much more manageable, and he barely broke a sweat as he reached the facility. Officers crowded, and airships above gathered around the only building with smoke billowing out of it. The officers looked familiar and wore the same black uniform with an American flag on the shoulder as the ones he ran into in Blue Ashe.

Thomas didn't hesitate as he walked across one of the runways and approached the crowd. Heads turned, and guns came out. Regardless, Thomas continued his march. It was clear he wasn't one of them with him wearing his casual buttoned shirt and slacks. There was no hesitation when they spotted the civilian. The bullets hitting the Zero Shield bounced off him like rubber. He wasn't skeptical of what Dr. Rodrigues told him, considering what happened to the rental van, and he remained unphased by every bullet.

Thomas waved his hand, telling them to stop. "Teresa, where is she?"

"You're wearing United States property. Turn it off, now." An officer called out.

Thomas sprinted to the nearest person, grabbed his arm, and threw him like a toy. He kept holding back, but the man screamed midair and rolled across the dirt. The crowd backed away and a natural circle formed around Thomas. It was such an eclectic group—researchers with soldiers, most men, some women.

"Now."

No one responded as they kept their focus on their intruder. He noticed several large cables going into the door they were near. Some monitors were placed on several carts by the wall next to it, wrapping around the back and continuing into the building next door. They're being cautious, going up against an Aeon Switch.

He began for the door, and several men stepped in his way. A few officers and a woman in a lab coat tumbled over each other as he brushed them aside. He was careful not to step on the cords while walking in.

He grinned at the missing ceiling. Nice work, Teresa, and he followed the wires to a stairwell. The cables on the stairs disappeared into blackness.

Thirty floors.

The sound of jets flying over caught his attention for a moment. He hadn't seen those before.

Have to hurry. After checking options on the UI, he leaped over the railing and hurled down the staircase that hugged the shaft. He wasn't falling as fast as he should have, having changed the force of gravity allowed to affect the Zero Shield. Floating down took longer than he liked, and it was easy for him to keep count of which floor he was passing. Once he spotted the ground, he changed the setting to lessen gravity, even more, to have a softer landing, like a tossed blanket unfolding over a bed. He switched the gravity setting back and proceeded to the large doors, still following the cords.

Red smoke crept around him as he approached a sight similar to what he saw on the surface. Several officers and personnel in masks surrounded a thick gun on a large tripod. It was unlike anything he had ever seen.

Who am I kidding? This is the least exciting thing I've seen lately.

The gun glowed hot around the chamber and the steam coming out of the barrel was so thick it may as well have been a chimney. The cord's topside led right to the back of it. Everyone was wearing a mask.

"We might need more rounds, or better yet, another rifle," someone said.

"Just radio for one."

"First time down here?" the first person said. "Radio frequencies don't get in or out. Gotta find an intercom."

A third person chimed in, "Just prepare another shot."

Thomas covered his mouth with a fist and intentionally let out a fake cough. Instantly guns were on him.

"Teresa, where is she?"

Bullets bounced off of him and the surrounding walls of the corridor. An officer quickly spread his arms in front of the others and yelled, "Stop firing!"

One officer was down from a ricochet, and blood began staining his uniform.

"Take it off, now." The officer in front ordered.

"Teresa, and the boy, Connor. Where are they?"

"The Zero Shield doesn't last forever," the officer said. He nodded to his fellow officers, and they all went for him.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

Shit, Thomas thought. He covered the device on the back of his neck and carefully pushed the men away with little effort. And then he felt a rank spicy taste in his mouth. He turned his head and caught an officer holding a canister by his neck behind him. Tear gas leaked around his hand and into the small holes of the device meant for air. His instincts kicked in, and he pushed the man off of him, which sent the canister bouncing down the hall.

The switch was exposed, and an officer pounced on it and turned it off.

He felt the weight shift, and the tear gas caused him to start coughing. The officer who had turned off the switch wrapped his arms around Thomas's neck. Thomas flipped him over and crashed him to the ground. As he spotted the other officer lifting a rifle, he lifted the officer as a shield with one arm. Quickly, he took the mask off the soldier and put it on himself. Even with tear gas affecting his vision, Thomas spotted a sidearm on the officer he held captive.

"Just want the girl and the boy," Thomas said.

The officer with the gun looked at the researchers with the plasma rifle. "You still have your orders."

The officer looked back to Thomas and readied his assault rifle. Thomas pushed his captive forward as he drew the sidearm and dove as bullets pelted the man. Thomas fired one shot to the head and turned and fired a few shots at the last standing officer.

The researchers looked stunned and scrambled to get their giant plasma rifle to fire again. It burned bright, and a metal rumbling noise rattled from it. Thomas knew of only one other threat in here who wasn't him.

It's pointed at Teresa.

He grabbed the Zero Shield device off the floor, and instead of putting it back on, he ran to the rifle. The staff backed off, too afraid to stop him, and he placed the device on the plasma rifle and turned it on. The wires snapped off as the zero shield light surrounded every nook and cranny, a few millimeters from touching the surface.

"Don't!" Someone said.

The gun fired. Everything inside the Zero Shield glowed orange, and it was so bright the entire corridor reflected its light severalfold. The pressure hissed out the Zero Shield's tiny holes and sent the rifle flying through walls faster than a rocket.

***

Gunfire echoed down to their location. Teresa quickly flew back into the corridor and rejoined Connor and Axel.

Teresa kept one head around the corner and looked down the far end. "Gunfire. The heck?"

"Does It mean they can't use that thing anymore? We're winning, aren't we?" Axel said.

Teresa looked back at him. "We?"

"Yeah."

"You've done nothing, and they weren't shooting at us."

"Please. Who else would they be shooting at other than us? It's probably an engine that fires the gun, and it's breaking down. Like a busted car. We got this."

Teresa ignored him, postured herself in a floating cross-legged style, and thought for a brief moment. No way that's Thomas. Realizing she had sent Dr. Rodrigues back to the van in a moment of panic changed her thoughts. No way, it is Thomas.

"Okay, gotta hurry. Remember to stay here. That stuff is electrified."

She straightened out and headed back to where the plasma collided against the end of the corridor. The static was palpable, and gold sparks of steel and metal radiated heat. With her feet off the ground, she figured she should be fine.

She held her Aeon Switch out, and streaks of lightning reached out from the debris. It looked similar to those toy glass balls which shot electricity to the areas your hand touched. The electrified noise intensified as she got closer. There was no way for her to know how fast her switch was charging, but she could hear the power and see the inner nanotech swirl around the Aeon Switch, and the hum sped to an unchanged rhythm.

Awesome.

She quickly flew back with a fully charged Aeon Switch. "The watch." Axel was hesitant. "We need to get out of here."

Connor straightened. "Just do it."

"How will I know I'm coming with?" Axel said.

Thunderous crashes roared down, and one by one, like a drum beat, came hurtling towards them.

"You don't." She yelled.

The crashing continued, and the floor rumbled. Connor dove for Axel and reached for the watch. Axel got the watch out of arm's length by turning away from him. Connor didn't let up and wrapped an arm around his neck and tugged on Axel's arm with the watch with his free arm. Teresa fought for it as well, flying to the watch. Axel's grip wouldn't budge, but she could see and operate the display through his grip. The thunder grew closer, and Teresa activated the first option that appeared. Twenty feet ahead.

[]~*

The three were together in a neon-lit park. A piñata hung from a tree, and a puppy ran around the field.

"Damn it, Axel," Connor yelled at him. "She'll get you out, but we must work together."

"That's really you?" Axel said.

"It's us," Teresa said. She wasn't in a tight antigrav suit but a sundress. "Axel, stop being an idiot."

"I was promised money," Axel said.

"They're not going to give you any," Teresa said. "You're property of the US government now."

"But they said—"

"It doesn't matter what they said. I'm telling you reality."

"The gold Aeon Switch," Axel said. "Get it to me, and I'll give you the watch back."

"Have you been doing this?" Connor said. "The Lucid Passage?"

"Yeah, they've sent me to Mars. Believe it or not."

*~[]

It grew dark in the corridor, and the sudden shift sent Axel and Connor falling while Teresa jolted a few feet higher in the air. They looked up in awe as a hole in the wall appeared near where they had been a moment ago. A powerful, almost deafening sound came hissing from the final impact of destruction, along with an intense glow reaching out into the corridor.

Axel shoved Connor off of him. "A little space."

"Whatever," Connor stood and checked what had almost crashed into them. "What is that?"

"That thing crashed through half a mile of walls," Teresa said. She carefully floated beside Connor. "Oh my God."

"What?" Connor said.

"That's the Zero Shield," Teresa said

Axel looked at what she was talking about next to her. "What do you mean Zero Shield?"

"See that black rectangle? That's the Zero Shield. Well, it's not a shield until you put it on, but it's generating the field around the plasma rifle, which keeps all the plasma inside. Someone covered the rifle with the Zero Shield just before it fired."

"Why did it stop at the wall?" Connor asked. "Shouldn't it go through everything?"

"I'm sure there's a setting, perhaps mass related. That's why Dr. Rodrigues didn't fall through the floor when he had it on."

"What kind of gun is that?" Axel approached from behind.

Teresa turned to him. "You wouldn't be interested. It's top secret."

"Oh, do tell."

"We don't have the time."

"Sure we do."

"Fine." She sighed. "If you look closely, you can see it's powered by a lot of electricity and fires plasma. That thin black square where the energy is exhausting is the device producing the beaming field around the gun. If you take it off, which you shouldn't do right now, and put it on yourself, nothing can stop you or move you against your will."

He observed the gun, the heat and hissing coming out of it, and it was stuck in the corner of the room. There must be nothing but solid rock beyond where they stood. But it wanted to keep going, inching slowly across the wall.

"Thanks," Teresa said as she floated to Connor.

"What?" Axel said.

She tapped her watch, and she and Connor were gone.

[]~*

Connor hustled through a classroom door, and Teresa found herself sitting in the chair next to a mentally projected Neville.

Stephanie was at the front of the class and looked perturbed. "Where have you been?"

"What?"

"It's the last day of school. You've missed every single class."

Teresa spotted the final exam in front of her. It was a few sheets of paper stapled together, and each question had plenty of room for working through the equations and problems.

"Can I take the final?" Connor asked.

"Connor!" Teresa nearly jumped from her chair onto her feet. "This isn't real."

Connor was confused and looked between Teresa and Stephanie.

"You can take the test if you want," Stephanie held out the exam, and he took it from her. "But even a perfect score with your attendance record won't get you to pass the class."

"I can't pass?" Connor asked.

"You're not the real one?" Teresa said.

He broke character and looked right at her. "Stop trying to help me."

"It is you. Good. But that's why I'm here."

"You came here to live your high school fantasy because you aren't as good as Stephanie," Connor pushed his way through desks and imaginary students. "You thought I would play that role. And when I didn't give you what you wanted, you abandoned me for them." Teresa bumped into the desk behind her, terrified at his outburst. "And when they weren't genuine, you came running back to me. And the only way you knew how to get me back was to try and fix my problems. Fix your own damn problems," he said as Teresa knocked the desk over and crashed backward onto the floor. "And I was pretending just now, for your sake!"

*~[]

They were twenty feet away, and the two gaped at each other for an endless moment. Teresa was shocked, back to the frozen state she believed she had conquered. Connor, who had unloaded on her, had nothing more to say.

"Connor," Teresa said. "Then why did you come?"

Connor remained silent.

"You didn't have to come with me. You could've stayed, wallowing and listening to Mr. Furyk on the couch. Or are you going to pretend you don't want to try? Did you bother to think why I sent the doctor away and not the two of us? It's also for Stephanie, whom you're not concerned about now. Stop being selfish and start trying! At least I am trying!"

"Hey!" Axel yelled from in the room.

Shit.

The two bolted down the corridor. It seemed as if every time Connor saw the darkened main corridor, the more destroyed it had become.

As they ran from him, she considered sending Axel alone to the desert, but with the way things are going right now, who knows if he'd stay put. As a last resort. Teresa rotated midair to face Connor and spoke through her mask. "I think The principal is here."

It was hard for him to hear as she was quicker than him. "What?"

"Just keep up."

Teresa continued to pull ahead, and as the tear gas thickened, she heard the commotion. She hurried, and before she knew it, she crashed into a man, tumbling over him and bouncing against the wall. Straightening herself to see who it was, but another man dove over him. All she could see through the tear gas was a few silhouettes reaching for something, and then she heard Thomas Bailey's voice.

"That's enough," the principal said through the mask. "Get!" He jerked the handgun up.

The researcher hustled away and began running up the stairs.

"Principal," Teresa floated to him. "How?"

"Don't worry about it. Find anyone?"

"Connor and Axel. Come on."

They hustled back further in, and a figure appeared.

"Here!" Connor waved as he caught up, clearly catching his breath. "Right here." He leaned against a wall.

"Great," Thomas said, breath intact. "Your brother?"

Connor relaxed as much as he could. "Thought he was chasing us, but he's probably still back at the end of the corridor."

"Chasing?"

"He's being a pain in the ass," Teresa butted in. "He wants the other switch to barter it for money."

Connor chimed in. "Doesn't matter. We gotta get him out of here."

"And also Stephanie," Thomas said.

All three trembled as a booming noise rattled them all.