Vanishing Into Thin Air
A special project from Manticore....
DISCLAIMERS: I don't own these people, yada yada. Except for Lyra, Abe, and Goldy. Don't sue, please.
A.N: This chapter is a double one, partly because my other chapters were so short and partly because I'm going out of town soon. If anyone has questions, comments, existentialist ramblings, etc., please send them to azurepenguin@hotmail.com. Thanks!
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Lyra left the store, yawning, at seven o'clock. Abe's voice rasped a faint good night, kid behind her as the metal door closed. She began to head home, walking quickly through the dark alleys. Her home was only five minutes away by bus, but the buses were crowded if they even showed up, so she chose to walk.
The building Lyra lived in was once a business office before the Pulse. Now, the bottom two stories were used as a warehouse. The top story, the roof sagging in several places, was occupied mainly by squatters, pigeons, and rats. Lyra climbed easily up the graffiti-encrusted fire escape to the third floor. The squatters used the fire escape, along with a ladder on the roof, to access their makeshift apartments. Lyra's own apartment was a former supply room in the northeastern corner. She shared it with another girl, a 17-year-old named Goldy.
She grappled with the padlock on the apartment door, placed to deter the few thieves who might rob a poor squatter. She opened the door and entered the cluttered room. It was actually divided into two rooms by a curtain of plastic tarp: Lyra slept on a battered couch in the main room, which also served as a kitchen, and the other, narrower room was Goldy's. The older girl sat now on the couch, sewing a patch onto a much-worn pair of jeans. She had chocolate-colored skin and curly brown hair that was tied back in a bandanna. She looked up as Lyra came in and stubbed out her cigarette on a piece of foil.
Lyra wrinkled her nose at the cigarette smoke hanging in the air. I don't see how you smoke those things, Goldy. They smell terrible.
Goldy grimaced. Girl, these the on'y things that keep me goin' sometimes. It ain't easy workin' in them factories. She put down her needle and thread, then said in a conspiratorial voice, Did you see that Eyes On'y thing today?
Lyra shook her head as she made herself a sandwich in the kitchen. Abe doesn't have a TV.
Eyes On'y sez there's a factory owner down in Renton that been stealin' money--embezzlement, he calls it.
Lyra asked, taking a bite of the sandwich. She wasn't really interested, but Goldy loved to gossip.
That ain't all. He sez the foreman in the factory been flirtin' with the women workers, even makin' them sleep wid him. Makes me glad I ain't workin' at that factory, no doubt. Goldy finished this statement with an emphatic nod of her head.
Lyra sat down near the door on a crate that served as a chair. She speedily ate her sandwich, washing it down with milk. Goldy looked at her curiously and said, Why you in such a hurry, girl?
I gotta go somewhere. Can I borrow your bike?
Sure, long as you bring it back.
I will, Lyra said, standing up. She vanished into Goldy's room, returning a moment later with the bicycle and a pair of black gloves. She wheeled the bike to the door and opened it. See you later, Goldy.
LYRA: So I left the apartment, partly because I hated Goldy's cigarette smoke but mostly because I had some hacking to do. I biked across town to the old Swenson Memorial Library. It's not a library anymore; the city keeps records and other documents there. It was easy to break in. The metal door kept me from melting straight through, so I picked the lock. You'd think they would guard the place better, wouldn't you?
I went to the second floor, where the DMV records are kept. I hacked my way onto the main computer and looked up license plate number GPB-555. Bingo: slate blue Aztek, under the name of Logan Cale, Fogle Towers. This guy lives in a penthouse that probably costs more each month than I make in a year. So why was he selling a painting to Abe?
The night guard made his rounds on the second floor, flashlight in hand. He also carried a slim flask of whiskey. It helped him feel a little less lonely, kept him warm on cool autumn nights like tonight. He quickly checked the floor. Nobody except him, his footsteps echoing eerily. The man was about to continue downstairs when he heard a tap-tapping noise, like someone typing on a computer keyboard. He moved toward the source of the noise, between the tall file cabinets of the DMV records. The guard had just glimpsed a person--a girl?--typing steadily on a computer when the noise stopped abruptly. The person seemed to vanish into thin air, and the computer screen went blank. The guard shook his head. That's some strong stuff, he muttered, looking at the flask of alcohol in his hand. Then he walked away.
LYDECKER: The ability of the Z-3s were amazing. They could go completely invisible at will, within a few tenths of a second. When invisible, they could not be detected by cameras or lasers. Most of the Z-3s had learned to make small objects invisible simply by touching or holding them. They could also walk through doors or walls, as long as they were not made of metal. We did not learn this, however, until the rogue Z-3s escaped.
Logan sat at his computer, watching the screen saver blink on. He had finished the Eyes Only broadcast hours ago and was now contemplating all that had happened recently. He had tried to forget the girl, tried to focus on his work, but ended up trying to hack into Manticore's files. It was no use. Logan absentmindedly spun a pen between his fingers, his mind buzzing. After several minutes, the man sighed and stood up, stretching his stiff arms.
Tired of playing on your computer? a sarcastic voice asked from behind him.
Logan turned to see nothing but air.
Oh, for God's sakes, the voice spoke again, this time from his left. A girl stood where there had been nothing a moment before. It was Lyra.
Logan struggled to regain his wits. How did you get in here?
She sighed. Do you really have to ask?
I suppose not. The question is, why did you come here?
Lyra leaned on the doorframe, crossing her arms. With a twinge of sadness, Logan realized that Max had stood in the exact same place so many times.... he forced himself into the present as Lyra said, I wanted to ask you about some things. Like how you knew I turned invisible back in the store.
Her blue eyes seemed to pierce him as he replied, I turned around just as you kicked the boy. A mirror behind him reflected you when you reappeared.
The girl nodded. She was about to say something else when Logan's curiosity overwhelmed him and he asked, Have you ever heard of Manticore?
Lyra's eyes flashed angrily. She leapt at Logan and kicked him squarely in the chest, knocking him over. She grabbed the front of his shirt and pushed him flat against the computer desk. Never mention that name again, she growled at him. Then the girl suddenly let go of his shirt. She backed a few steps away, staring at her right hand. Logan wondered what was going on ..... until he saw her hand flicker out of visibility. Lyra whimpered and grabbed at where her hand had been.
Lyra, what's wrong? Logan asked, bewildered.
The girl ignored him. She clutched her invisible hand and gritted her teeth, concentrating. Logan watched, horrified, as a pearly haze appeared where her hand had been. It grew denser and brighter until he saw her fingers slowly coming into visibility. The haze flickered perilously once, but Lyra kept concentrating. At last her hand was back to normal. Panting, she looked up at Logan.
LYDECKER: There was one flaw with the Z-3s' invisibility skills: the longer a Z-3 remained invisible, or the more frequently they used their abilities, the more unpredictable and dangerous it became. If a Z-3 tried to stay invisible for too long, he or she might lose control, causing them to flicker in and out of sight, or even freeze.
Freezing was the most dangerous risk of Project Phoenix. It was discovered when Z3675 and Z-3221 both froze after a particularly long experimentation session. The Z-3s were unable to move, though their bodies functioned normally. It took the doctors several hours to discover that fast-acting sedatives could be used to unfreeze them. Though the Z-3s were knocked unconscious by the drugs, it prevented them from disappearing altogether.
I'm a Z-3. we were designed to be spies--photographic memory, enhanced hearing and vision, that kind of stuff. They used us as lab rats, too, Lyra added. She was seated on the couch in Logan's living room. She felt a little weak, though her hand was all right.
The scientists did experiments on us, called it Project Phoenix. They started turning us invisible when we were four or five.
How did they do it? Turn you invisible, I mean? Logan asked.
Lyra frowned, trying to remember. Neither the scientists nor Lydecker had explained what they were doing to the children. I think they used generators or magnets or something. They put metal plates in our necks, but took them out later on.
Logan nodded. Then what happened?
The girl smiled a little, her eyes faraway. We discovered that we could control the invisibility on our own. If we concentrated hard enough, we could make ourselves disappear, either partially or entirely. Pretty soon it got as easy as breathing.
For some reason, I don't think Lydecker would've liked that.
He didn't find out until it was too late. They tried locking us up. Lyra smiled again. It didn't work. Fourteen of us escaped, but we had to split up so they wouldn't find us.
Now it was Lyra's turn to ask questions. How do you know about Manticore?
Logan avoided her eyes. He didn't want to tell her about Max--it was too painful. I.... investigate things. Corruption scandals, conspiracy theories, government cover-ups....I found someone a few years ago who said he'd worked at Manticore . But he only mentioned the X-series, not a Project Phoenix.
Project Phoenix would be highly classified; only the top officials would have clearance to it, Lyra explained. She looked carefully at Logan. He didn't seem like a Manticore spy--no spy would have mentioned Manticore straight off. But she could tell he wasn't telling her something. What was it?
The girl glanced at the clock on the living room wall. I have to go, she said as she stood up. Logan stood up also. I could give you a ride home if---
No, thanks. I'll be fine. Lyra walked quickly to the door. Suddenly she stopped and turned, her hand on the doorknob. She looked at Logan again, her eyes piercing his own.
If you try to catch me or turn me in to Manticore, I swear that I'll kill you.
Then she was gone.
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AUTHOR'S NOTE: How do you like it so far? More will be added eventually, but I'm going out of town for a couple of weeks. Please be patient!