Part XII

Tuesday 14th November

Jazz held the Booomerang in both hands, a part of her feeling like she had done this once before but she couldn't remember searching for Danny like this. She made sure the rubber band was tight on the paper she had attached to it, the note just saying they were coming for him, and looked towards her parents standing behind her in the lab. "Are you sure you've got the tracking on this?" she asked, looking more at her mother.

"We'll be able to follow it no matter where it goes with this baby!" Jack announced, slamming a large hand down on the side of the Spector Speeder.

"We'll find him," Maddie promised, hope on her face.

Jazz turned back to the open portal, green tinting her hands as she gave the Booomerang one last silent wish before pulling it back over her shoulder. She stepped forward and tossed it only to quickly duck to the floor as it shot back into the basement.

"After it, Jack!" Maddie ordered, running after it as it flew up the stairs.

Jazz jumped into the Spector Speeder, slamming her palm on the button to activate the tube to the back yard. As the exit way opened up, she pushed the buttons to call up the tracking program. She threw a glance back into the lab to see both of her parents had taken the foot path, surprised the Booomerang had gone back inside. Jazz pushed the button to close the side door, strapping herself into the driver's seat as a ping came from the holo-map poking out of the dashboard. A dot signified the device had caught onto the tracing device Maddie had put on the Booomerang as it made its way out the front door. She looked up at the exit way, glad to see light as it finished opening, giving her the freedom to take the Spector Speeder out of the house.

Flying it upwards, she quickly turned it around, swallowing as she became level with the ground once more, and pushed the Speeder to go at its max speed towards the runaway Booomerang. She looked through the window, hoping to make eye contact with the little device instead of solely rely on the map, and found it glinting in the sunlight as it rose above the houses at a speed she hadn't seen from it before. The Speeder did its best to stay a few feet behind it, but the Booomerang started to gain speed as well as altitude. Grinding her teeth, she gripped the steering wheel tighter and ordered the vehicle after it.

The sky darkened as she rose higher and higher before an alarm sounded within the cockpit. She glanced down at the dashboard, sure it was important but she didn't care. Looking back at the speck she knew to be her father's invention, she forced the Speeder higher after it. Stars started to filter through what remained of the atmosphere as something in the vehicle cracked.

"Alert, exterior pressure exceeding seventeen thousand Newtons," a female robotic voice said through the speakers. "Please return to normal air space."

"I will not lose you, Danny!" Jazz ordered, pushing the Spector Speeder upwards. A crack got her attention, putting fear into her as she looked up and saw the glass creating a line down from where it connected to the metal hull. She gave the Booomerang one last look before another loud crack forced her to slow down to a stop.

"No!" Dani cried, becoming visible as her ghost self came up to the seats.

"Dani, we can't," Jazz said, tears of frustration running down her cheeks.

"But Danny's been in space," Dani pointed out, reaching her hand towards the glass.

"But he had a helmet!" Jazz pointed out, jumping up to grab hold of the girl's wrist. She looked up at Dani, the girl staring out at the dark expanse before them with a tear running down her cheek. "Dani," Jazz whispered, wanting to know she could let go without losing her too.

Dani lowered herself to her feet, dropping her hand.

Jazz let go of the girl and looked back out the window. Her little brother had been so close… "So close," she whispered.

"It's still tracking it, right?" Dani asked, taking a seat beside the red head.

Jazz looked down at the little green holo-map, watching the Booomerang fly farther and farther away from them. "Yeah." Looking back at space above them, the Spector Speeder slowly floating downward as the sky took on a more blue hue again, she tried to see where the little device was now only for a larger something to catch her eye. "Dani, what is that?" Jazz asked, trying to make out what she was seeing.

"No way," Dani gasped, standing again to lean against the dashboard, trying to get closer.

The best Jazz could figure out how to describe it was that it was a structure in space. She could make out stars behind where it floated, like it was trying to be invisible but wasn't fully functioning. "He always did want to go to space," Jazz mumbled, wishing she could tell what country had built the structure floating father from Earth than they could reach.

Another crack in the glass stole Jazz's attention back to where a spider web was forming. The robotic woman voice called out again, "Alert, exterior pressure exceeding seventeen thousand Newtons. Please return to normal air pressure. Exterior hull has only 70 percent integrity left."

Jazz took hold of the steering wheel once again and turned them around, letting herself have a moment to take in Earth below them. They weren't far enough out that they could see it completely, but the view they got was breath taking as it is. The beauty was taken from her as she realized they had to go down now. "I didn't think this part through," Jazz admitted, fear gripping her.

"Not used to being up this high?" Dani asked, sitting down in the seat again.

Jazz shook her head as a laugh escaped her. "Not this high. It's gonna be a slow decent." She gave a look at the girl and ordered, "Put your seatbelt on."

"Do you want me to drive?" Dani asked, doing as she was told.

"I've got it," Jazz enforced, gulping down her fear. She started them on a spiral decent, remembering it from one of her brother's ramblings about spaceships from years ago. A smile pulled at her cheeks as the memory resurfaced, realizing they all that that trait; to blab about something they were really interested in.

"Jazz, I've thought about what you said," Dani said, pulling the girl out of her head. She gave the little girl a glance, silently urging her on. "You parents should know about me."

"Maybe you can tell us all the truth?" Jazz carefully prompted. She glanced back at her, seeing Dani looking at her hands in her lap as the lights came over her to change her back to her human self. "You're not our cousin, I know that much."

"Do your parents know about Vlad?" Dani asked, looking up at Jazz.

"No, but they should." Silently Jazz added, I've been trying to figure out how to do that one.

"But I can help save Danny better than anyone else could," Dani mumbled as answering her own silently thoughts.

Jazz concentrated on making their way down safely, giving the girl beside her one last glance only to see her visibly scared. "We don't have to do it today. Telling them he's trapped on a spaceship will be enough of a shock. But I would recommend doing it before the end of the week."

Dani made a sound, her head nodding in Jazz's peripheral.