Sector 20, Aqua Park
Metro City, Canada
April 28th, 2015
10:08 AM
"Rachel Parker"
I hate water. I always have and I always will. Over time I've kind of sort of gotten over my fear of it. Not so much that I'm totally cured, but enough that I can take a shower or go to the beach without having a downright panic attack.
I don't really remember why I hate water. I think when I was really little, I almost drowned or thought that I almost drowned and ever since, I've been terrified.
When I go to the beach, I don't really swim, I sunbathe on the sand, play volleyball or something to that effect. At most, I'll just wade into the water until I'm waist deep, but anything more than that I can't handle it.
So when Riley invited everyone to go to the beach for the day, I had no choice but to agree. Riley, Chloe, Amanda and my Dad are the only people who know about my fear. Other people who knew were my mother and Riley's parents. But all of them are out of the picture at this point.
Once we got to Sector 20, we didn't even go to the beach, instead, we went to the new water park that had several dozen crazy water slides. Fantastic. Trapped in a dark plastic tube with chlorine filled water. Why other people find that fun is beyond me.
"I don't know about you guys," said Oz, "But I'm going down the Riptide first."
"You can't go down any of those insane rides until you do laps first." said Riley.
"Oh yeah..." said Oz, "That's such a pain in the ass."
"Why?" I asked, "You can swim, can't you?"
"Of course I can swim," he said, "But I hate being watched like that. It makes me feel like I'm an animal in a zoo."
"Wait, you're NOT an animal?" asked Marcus.
"Speak for yourself, monkey boy." said Oz.
"You okay, Rachel?" whispered Chloe in my ear.
"Yup," I said, "I'm nervous, but I figure if I do this in little baby steps, the day won't end with me sobbing hysterically, curled up in the fetal position."
"There are some slides that you go down riding a tube," said Riley, "Maybe you could try those?"
"Maybe," I said, "That doesn't sound too bad."
"Hopefully those rides are tame enough that you can ride them without doing laps." said Chloe.
You might be asking yourself why I never tried to overcome my fear by taking swimming lessons or something. Well, I did. It didn't go well. The first time I tried, I almost drowned because my instructor was too busy showing off his muscles for the cute lifeguards. Needless to say, he got fired, and my fear got worse.
The next time I tried, I swallowed a big mouthful of water, which reminded me of the traumatic incident and caused me to have a panic attack.
Maybe if I were to try now that I was older, it would go much better, but I already have so much on my plate to begin with that learning to swim is not my biggest priority. I have such little skill that literally anyone in the world could teach me.
We had all brought our Digitizers, because experience has taught us to never assume that a virus attack would be impossible. But, that was worst case scenario.
We hadn't even made it in to the actual park yet. We had just been walking through the parking lot. Chloe and I both had our towels wrapped around our bodies and the boys all shirts on. I didn't bother wearing a bikini this time. I just put on a one piece with a shirt over it. It's not like I was planning on swimming anyway.
Once we got into the park, Chloe took off her towel. She wore a bikini because she likes making immature men drool over her. Also, she could swim. By now, Riley and Marcus were immune to her, and Oz was getting there.
"Come on, Rachel," said Chloe, stretching, "Don't be shy. Have some fun and show off a little."
"Yeah," said Oz, "If you've got it, flaunt it."
"I'm not even wearing a two piece, you weirdo."
I could see Oz start to formulate a word. If I had to guess, I would say that he was about to ask me why I was acting so weird. He has every reason to. I was acting very different than usual. The last time I was around water like this, none of us were rangers. Plus, Oz wasn't our friend. Thankfully, Riley came to my rescue.
"Hey, Oz, see that lifeguard over there?" he asked, "I think I saw her checking you out."
"Not surprising," said Oz, "I worked hard to look this good."
Oz is very good looking. I'm not interested in him, but there's no denying that he's a hunk. I had to hold back a laugh because Riley just randomly pointed to a female lifeguard. It didn't matter whether or not she had actually been checking him out, because he's charming enough to get a reaction out of her regardless. Once Oz had left, I glanced over at Riley and mouthed "thank you".
As we walked by Oz and the lifeguard, I overheard them talking.
"So, did you like what you saw?" he asked.
"What are you talking about?" she asked.
"Oh, that's right, you weren't checking me out, I was checking you out."
"Really?"
"Can you blame me?" he asked.
"Well, I have been working out." she said.
"It shows." said Oz.
I'll admit, that was impressive. The minute he learned that she hadn't actually been checking him out, he turned the tables instantly and tried a new approach that blended in seamlessly with the first one.
An ear-splitting scream echoed throughout the entire park. We all whipped around to see a young girl, who couldn't even have been 10 years old.
"Oh my god, she's drowning!" I wailed.
"Somebody please help her!" screamed an older woman, who was likely the girl's mother.
"Rach, it's okay, just breathe," said Riley, putting his arm around me, "Don't pay any attention to it, look at me, and only me."
"Into your eyes, right?" I gasped.
"The lifeguards will save her." said Riley.
I closed my eyes tight and tried not to listen, but it didn't help. Riley kept holding me, so I was able to stay calm.
"I think it's passing." I said.
"Rachel, are you okay?" asked Marcus.
"Yeah, I think so," I said, "Just a bit of a panic attack."
"A bit of a panic attack?"
"She has hydrophobia," said Riley, "Fear of water."
"It's not the water, per say," I said, "More the fact that I could potentially drown in it."
"Well, that's still called hydrophobia." I said.
"Help me! I can't move!"
That time it wasn't the little girl. That time it was the lifeguard that Oz had been hitting on.
"I don't like the sound of that." said Marcus.
"Why is nobody helping her!?" screamed the Mother.
"Calm down, lady," said Oz, "I'll help."
He ran forward and dove into the pool. Although trapped, the lifeguard was holding the girl above the water. Oz took the girl and handed her over to the mother.
"She'll be fine," he said, "Get to safety."
"Yaaagh!" screamed the Lifeguard.
"What's wrong?" asked Oz.
"I don't know!" she groaned, "Something has my foot!"
Taking a deep breath, Oz dove under the water.
"Excuse me, coming through."
That was Silver's voice.
"I take it your vacation didn't work out?" asked Silver as he approached us.
"Why are you here?" I asked.
"It's been a while since I got some fresh air," he said, "I was planning to surprise you and join in on the vacation."
"Well, we are surprised." said Marcus.
"Where's Heath?"
Oz surfaced from the pool with the lifeguard unconscious in his arms. Some of the other park staff arrived and took her from him.
"Silver? You're outside?" panted Oz.
"It seems I arrived just in time." said Silver.
"Something weird is going o-" began Oz.
He was pulled back under the water by someone or something. But Oz wasn't planning to go down without a fight. He was straining against whatever had grabbed him. Every now and then, he was able to come up for air, but he wouldn't be able to keep doing that indefinitely.
"Silver, we can't fight this thing with all these people here." said Riley.
"I'm working on it."
"Oz is the strongest of us when unmorphed," said Marcus, "It would take something insanely powerful to outmatch him."
"Rachel!?" said Riley, shaking me gently.
"I-I-I'm o-o-okay..." I said, struggling to breathe.
I hadn't even noticed that I was starting to hyperventilate. In all the commotion, I hadn't been paying attention.
"She doesn't look too good." said Chloe.
"Get her out of here quick," said Riley, "If she stays here, she'll just keep getting worse."
"But what about Oz?"
"Marcus and I will help him," said Riley, "Please, Chloe, take Rachel home."
"Stephen "Silver" Silverstone"
I needed to act fast. Heath was losing strength. It seemed to me like there were no morally right choices. I needed to lie, but do it in such a way that it couldn't come back and bite me later.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" I announced to the park at large, "On behalf of the Silversoft Corporation, this park is hereby closed until further notice!"
As I said this, I withdrew a blank sheet of paper and flourished it so briefly that no one would notice that it was blank.
Everyone started to leave, except for a chubby, bearded man, who glared and approached me.
"I take it you're Mr. Silverstone?" said the Man.
"Good guess..." muttered Marcus.
"Tell me," said the Man, "What interest would a software development company have with my water park?"
"I received an anonymous tip that your park was never properly evaluated for its safety."
"I assure you," said the Manager, "That's a false accusation."
"I'll be the judge of that," I said, "Think about it, would you rather have a real inspector do this? Or me?"
"Very well," said the Manager, "But I expect to be reimbursed for this."
"I'll do you one better," I said, "I'm going to buy this park. Once it opens up again, you'll have access to a small percentage of Silversoft's money. It'll be more than enough for you to keep this place running for years to come."
"You've got yourself a deal." said the Manager.
He followed the remaining employees out of the park. Once Chloe knew that the situation was back in our control, she covered herself up and took the barely conscious Rachel from Riley.
"Take her home," said Riley, "She'll be fine... I hope."
After Chloe had left, Riley and Marcus ran forward to grab Heath. They each took a firm grip of his arms before the mystery menace pulled him under again. Their combined strength was enough to pull him to safety.
"Oz, say something!" said Marcus.
"I had it right where I wanted it." he gasped.
"Who are you trying to kid? None of us even knows what it is." said Riley.
"I don't suppose you got a good look at this thing?" I asked.
"Yeah," said Heath, "It looked like water. A swirling vortex of water."
"Is it even remotely possible that this thing is a virus?" asked Riley.
"Based on everything I know about viruses, the only things that they can physically manifest from are electronic devices," I said, "Or at least things that have some sort of electrical current."
"Water can conduct electricity." said Riley.
"But it can't maintain an electrical charge," I explained, "Once the source of electricity is cut off, water will return to normal."
"But if this isn't a virus," said Marcus, "Then what the hell is it?"
"I have no idea." I said.
"That thing might look like water," said Heath, "But that's not all it is."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"He has bruises," said Riley, "Look!"
I knelt down with Riley and Marcus to get a closer view. There was no denying it. Whatever had grabbed Heath was much more than just water. If I had to guess, it was something that can shift between two states of matter. Liquid and solid. Possibly even some form in between those two. Almost like solid water.
Even if this was a virus. I can't think of what Trojan could have possibly used to make it manifest in our world. I don't know of anything electronic that can shift between two states of matter.
"I think we should start preparing ourselves for the possibility that this is something altogether separate and unrelated to Trojan." I said.
"Well, if this monster needs water to camouflage itself in, then why don't we just drain all the water?" asked Riley.
"That's a good idea," I said, "With a little luck, it'll get trapped in the park."
"Rachel Parker"
"Chloe? Where are we?" I asked.
"In your bathroom," she said, "You threw up all over yourself and then passed out."
Her words sparked my memory.
"Sorry about your car." I said.
"Don't worry about it," said Chloe, "My family has enough money to have it cleaned a billion and six times."
"Why are we in the bathroom, though?"
"I figured you wouldn't want to spend the rest of your day wearing your breakfast."
"What if I have another panic attack?"
"Oh, I'm not leaving," said Chloe, "I'm going to help you."
"I know how to take a bath."
"I know," she said, "I just thought it'd be kinky this way."
"You might be into experimenting, but that's not my thing."
"Geez, Rachel, I'm only messing with you." said Chloe, unable to keep a straight face.
"Sorry," I said, "I'm not really in the mood."
"You never did tell me where these fears came from."
"I don't really remember what happened," I said, "My therapists told me I should put it behind me, so, eventually, I repressed it."
"Wouldn't it make more sense to remember it and use it to make yourself stronger?"
"Maybe."
"Why don't we try and make it resurface?"
"How do you plan to do that?" I asked.
"Have you ever heard of an isolation tank?" asked Chloe.
"No."
"Last summer, I was at this weird spa that specialized in meditation," she said, "And one of the things I got to do was spend an hour in something called an isolation tank."
"Meditation?"
"It was my Mom's idea," she continued, "Anyways, basically what they do is put you in a soundproof tank full of water and close the door. As you float in there, you can't hear anything but your own thoughts. I came out remembering all kinds of stuff. It was awesome!"
"Sounds like it's worth a try," I said, "The only problem is that we don't have an isolation tank."
"Not a genuine one, no," said Chloe, "But if we improvise, I'll bet you we could turn the bathtub into something that will work just as good."
"You'll be right here in case anything goes wrong?"
"Of course."
"Then let's get to work."
"Stephen "Silver" Silverstone"
I was hard at work and deeply absorbed in research. Apparently, Riley, Marcus and Heath had teleported to Headquarters at some point. The only reason I knew this was because Riley said my name, scaring me so much that I thought I was having a heart attack.
"How goes the research, Silver?"
"I wish you would knock or something." I gasped.
"That only works if you actually use the door." said Heath.
"You seem cranky, Silver," said Marcus, "I'm going to assume that's because you haven't found anything?"
"Of course I haven't found anything!" I snapped, "I don't even know what I'm looking for!"
A burst of anger erupted from me despite my better judgement. Because of it, slamming my fists into my keyboard felt like a fantastic idea.
"Perhaps cranky was a bit of an understatement." said Marcus.
"I hate being useless," I said, "99.9% of the time, I either have all the answers, or know how to find them. But this time around I barely even know what the question is!"
"I've been thinking," said Riley, "Maybe we don't have the facts straight?"
"Care to elaborate?" asked Marcus.
"The reason you can't find anything about a matter-shifting monster is because there's no such thing as one." said Riley.
"You seem quite sure about this," I said, "Ever since you destroyed your GameSphere, you've been acting differently."
"I don't have an explanation," said Riley, "Lately, it just feels as though my destiny has been laid out before me."
I could tell there was something that he wasn't telling me. I would assume that there was a very good reason for that, but I had no intention of prying. He would tell me when he's ready.
"So, you think this is a virus then?" asked Marcus.
"Yeah, one that was created due to a clever scientific loophole." said Riley.
"I've been thinking too," said Heath, "If we focus on what the virus does, there's no guarantee that we'll find it."
"Care to elaborate?" asked Marcus again.
"Take the Battery Virus for example," said Heath, "You'd think that because it's a battery, it would attack us with electricity."
"But instead, it was based on defense." said Marcus.
"Right," said Riley, "So if we apply Oz's theory and my theory, I think we'll have more luck finding what kind of virus this is."
"Let me get this straight," said Marcus, "We're looking for a virus that defies science and uses attacks that aren't based on what it used to manifest into our world?"
"Yes." I said.
"So what scientific laws did it find a loophole in?" asked Heath.
"I'm getting to that," said Riley, "Silver, when you shut down the park, you said you had received an anonymous call about the park's safety or something?"
"I just made that up," I said, "That paper I whipped out didn't even have anything written on it."
"But if you made it up, then why did the manager let you shut down the park?" asked Riley, "If he had been telling the truth about the accusations being false, then there would be no reason for that."
"Especially since Silversoft doesn't actually have the power to close down a park like that." said Heath.
"Are you saying that the manager is in league with Trojan?" asked Marcus.
"No," said Riley, "But what if something he did or didn't do is what Trojan exploited to make a virus out of water?"
"I think I get it now," said Heath, "You're thinking that something about the water at the park allowed for the virus to be created there?"
"Yes." said Riley.
"Good job. I think we just discovered our question," I said, "What was added to the park's water?"
"Do you have a periodic table?" asked Riley.
Without saying another word, I went over to my computer and typed a command. Shortly afterwards, the Periodic Table of Elements was displayed on the screens.
"Eliminate everything but the metals." said Riley.
I typed in more commands and narrowed down the table.
"Nearly all these metals can conduct electricity," said Riley, "Let's say that the manager ran out of money during the building process of his park."
"Which is likely, considering how eager he was to accept your deal, Silver." said Marcus.
"His funds run out just before he can set up the chlorine filters," said Riley, "Not wanting to waste time with bank loans, he goes online to find a cheaper alternative."
"Trojan can theoretically be monitoring the web browsing activities of the entire planet," I said, "If he saw what the manager was researching, he probably thought of a way to use it to his advantage."
"But which of these elements did he add?" asked Heath.
"Potassium, Sodium, Zinc, Manganese and Magnesium," said Riley, "All things that can be found in run of the mill multivitamins. All of them are metals and therefore, they could all potentially conduct electricity."
"And since the water keeps circulating through the park, the chemicals stay in the water constantly." I said.
"But we drained the water..." said Heath.
"Then the monster is loose." said Marcus.
"Rachel Parker"
Chloe might be considered stupid by most people, but on many, many occasions, she has proven that when she needs or wants to be, she can come up with very good ideas.
The idea of me surfacing my dormant fears was one I never would've agreed to before I was a ranger. Not only does the codec make me strong, but it gives me extra courage.
If there was a chance that reliving the traumatic incident would help me overcome it once and for all, then why on Earth wouldn't I go for it?
The makeshift isolation tank was made quickly, but Chloe felt quite confident that it would still work. Okay, "makeshift" might even be an overstatement, as all we really did was use a mattress and some duct tape. I would also be wearing earplugs to make sure I don't hear anything.
"Are you ready?" asked Chloe.
"Not even a little bit," I said, "But this is for my own good."
The mattress served as the roof or lid of the isolation tank. I stripped down as Chloe lifted it up. As I went underneath the mattress, she pretended as though she was going to spank me, and then lowered the lid.
As I floated in there, everything Chloe said started to happen, except for the memories resurfacing.
"Is there some sort of magic word I have to say?" I asked.
"You're probably just too distracted," said Chloe, "Try pushing everything that isn't related to your traumatic incident as far away as possible."
"Abracadabra..." I said.
What happened at the water park today; gone. How stupid I felt lying naked underneath a mattress; gone. How concerned I was about Riley's change of behaviour lately; gone. The fact that I really had to pee; gone.
It happened so fast that I didn't even notice. Less than a second ago, I had pushed the last thought away. Then instantly, I was on a trip through memory lane. I knew I hadn't completely forgotten why I was afraid of water.
My Mom was still alive and had long hair. That was useful for making a timeline. She didn't get her shorter hairstyle until after Riley's parents died. The car that we were driving in was purple and cramped. They got rid of that thing when I was around 7, As we drove, I peered into the trunk of the car and saw a poorly hidden birthday cake in a box. Taped to the box was another box with a candle shaped like the number 6. That settles it, the traumatic incident happened on my 6th birthday.
"Rachel!" said Riley, who was sitting in the backseat with me, "You're not supposed to look back there!"
He pulled me back into a sitting position and put his hands on my shoulders.
"Pretend you didn't see anything or your Mom will be mad!" he said.
"At least I still don't know where we're going." I said.
As I talked, my tongue kept rubbing against a large gap in my teeth. Yet again, more proof of when this happened. I lost my two front teeth when I crashed my bike. I remember bawling because Dad had promised he wasn't going to let go of me.
But then when I realized how far I had gone without my training wheels, I cheered up, but then started crying again when I noticed I was missing two teeth. Riley was a late bloomer with his bike. He didn't get rid of his training wheels until he was 7.
"Well don't ask me." said Riley.
"Why?" I teased, "You afraid you'll give away the surprise?"
"No," he said, "Because I don't know neither."
We started laughing and were still at it long after we arrived at our destination.
"Calm down you two," said my Mother, "We're here."
"We had been driving for so long." I said.
"Well, Sweetie," said my Father, "That's because we're not in Metro City anymore."
"Welcome to Ontario, Rachel," said my Mother, "Happy Birthday!"
"Do you see that little cabin over there?" asked my Father.
"Yeah?"
"It belongs to us." said my Mother.
"You mean we're moving away!?" I shrieked.
"No, no, no," said my Mother, "Nothing like that, Rachel."
"Anytime we want to come here, to Lake of the Woods," said my Father, "All we have to do is stay at this cabin."
"Instead of a hotel?" I asked.
"Yes," said my Father, "This cabin is what we call a Lake House."
"Then what are we waiting for!?" I yelled, dashing past them in the direction of the lake.
"Rachel! Come back!" hollered my Mother, "You can't swim!"
I couldn't hear her. I was already on the dock. I was smart enough not to go into the water without anyone watching, but in my excitement, I tripped on the dock. I felt and heard something snap as I fell face forward into the water.
I tried to move, but my arm wasn't working. Each time I tried to use it, a surge of pain came from it.
"Oh my god! I think she fell in!" came my Mother's voice.
"Riley, stay with Aunt Lauren!" came my Father's voice.
"No! I want to help!" yelled Riley, "She's my best friend!"
"Then take my phone and give it to Aunt Lauren!"
"Daddy! Is that you!? I can't move my arm!" I panted.
"It's alright, Sweetie," said my Father, "I'm right here."
He leaned over the dock and reached down to me. I watched his arm get bigger and bigger until it transformed into a tentacle that wrapped itself around my throat. It was like a transparent worm that you could actually see was made up of water.
I struggled with it, but my hands couldn't actually touch it. During the struggle, I flailed around desperately and ended up kicking the mattress away.
"Rachel!" screamed Chloe.
Knowing that it's cover was blown, the tentacle released its grip on me and escaped down the drain. Coughing and sputtering, I stared in horror at my reflection to see a massive bruise all around my neck.
"Well, that's certainly not a hickey." said Chloe, handing me a towel.
"Very funny." I choked.
"Did you at least remember what happened?" she asked.
"Yeah," I said, cringing as my throat hurt from talking, "It was my 6th birthday party. My folks brought me and Riley to Lake of the Woods."
"Isn't that where you used to have a cabin?" asked Chloe.
"Dad sold it after Mom died," I said, "It reminded him too much of her."
"So you're cured?" she asked, "No more fear of water?"
"I don't think I'll ever not be afraid," I said, "But at least now I remember where my fears came from."
I left the bathroom and headed for my room.
"Where are you going?" asked Chloe.
"To get dressed," I said, "If I'm going to track down that virus, I'm not doing it in my birthday suit."
"Stephen "Silver" Silverstone"
"The water park is located here," I said, "But here's the problem. The sewage pipes in Sector 20 lead to all the other neighbouring sectors."
"I thought Metro City's plumbing was self-contained?" asked Marcus.
"It is," I said, "But all that means is that our sewage isn't shared with any other Canadian cities."
"If this thing is using the sewers to get around, then all we have to do is use this map to find an area with only four exits," said Riley, "But that might not exist."
"Why only four exits?" asked Rachel, who had must have teleported in while we were preoccupied.
"Rachel?" asked Riley, "What are you doing here?"
"I'm a ranger, aren't I?" she asked.
"You didn't have to come back so soon." said Riley.
"I know," she said, "But I want to help."
"Your neck-"
"It's nothing," she said, "Just a little souvenir."
"Now that there's five of us," said Marcus, "We can broaden our search parameters."
"If you think I'm setting foot in a sewer-" began Chloe.
"None of us want to do it either," said Heath, "But we do it because it's our job."
Before bonding with her codec, Chloe probably would've had a tantrum or something, but not so much now. It was both intriguing and impressive to see how all the rangers have grown. If I had actually invented the codecs, then I wouldn't be so fascinated with them.
"Fine," sighed Chloe, "But I'll be taking a very long shower after this is over."
"Rachel Parker"
The plan was fairly straightforward. We had found an area in the Sector 20 sewers, which based on how we interpreted the diagram, appeared to have exactly five large pipes connected to it. Now all we had to lure it in there.
"I don't think this virus is interested in anyone but us." said Oz.
"But it attacked the lifeguard and that little girl." said Chloe.
"When it attacked me, it took two people to overpower it," said Oz, "But when it attacked the others, it barely had any grip on them at all."
"Maybe it only attacked them to get our attention?" asked Marcus.
"I think that's exactly right," said Silver, "It's no coincidence that this virus was created from the conductive water of the park that you all happened to be at."
"Which means that if we want to trap it, one of us will have to be bait," I said, "And by one of us, I mean me."
"Rachel-" began Riley.
"Don't try to talk me out this, Riley," I said, "If you do, then I won't do it and my fears will just get worse."
"I was just going to say," said Riley, "Be careful."
I know why I was afraid of water. I know why I'm afraid of this virus. I also know that if I don't face my fears and fight, that I'll never live it down. Even after this virus is long gone, I'm pretty sure I'll still be afraid of water, but at least I won't be afraid the virus too.
"Ready?" asked Riley.
"Ready!" we said.
"CYBER POWER, ACTIVATE!" we shouted together.
"Teleporting to a place you've never been can be dangerous," said Silver, "So this time, I'm going to transport you to the trap manually."
"Much appreciated," said Orange, "At least this way I won't actually have to climb down into the sewer."
Being transported by Silver was exactly the same as teleporting. Once we arrived in the sewer, I took a deep breath and positioned myself in center of the area. The others spread out and stood in front of each of the connected pipes. Red turned to me and nodded.
"Hey you slimy bastard!" I hollered, "I'm right here! Come finish what you started!"
Not wasting any time, I leapt out of the water and took my place in front of the unguarded pipe. I could see ripples in the water. It had taken the bait.
"Now, Silver!" I screamed.
From within the safety of his mansion, Silver had hacked into the city's sewage control system. Once we knew the virus was among us, we were to notify Silver so that he could temporarily close off all the escape routes.
There was a series of metallic clanking sounds as shutters lowered themselves in all five of the connected pipes. Now there was nowhere for the virus to run. It was trapped. It could still turn into water, but it wouldn't be able to leave with the shutters blocking all the pipes.
"Blue," said Silver, "Since you were the bait, I think you should have the honours of defeating the virus."
"By myself?" I asked, "When it attacked me, my hand went right through it."
"First of all, you were in civilian form," he said, "And secondly, he was in liquid form."
"So because I'm morphed now, I can hit it?"
"Well, that and I made you a special weapon," he said, "I call it the 'N-Bomb'. It's sure to stop the virus cold."
From out of the water, a familiar tentacle emerged and came right at me, but I ducked and ran towards the others.
"Don't use the bomb until the virus is completely out of the water," said Silver, "If you only get it's tentacle, it won't do any good."
"So how are we supposed to make it come out of hiding?" asked Orange.
"Outnumber it," said Red, "Give it more than it can handle."
He ran into the water and urged us to join him. Then he started running around in circles.
"Come on, help me out!" he whispered.
"I get it." said Green, following suit.
Eventually we all caught on. By running around aimlessly, the virus would have no choice but to surface. There was no way it could catch us with only one tentacle.
"ENOUGH!" roared the Virus.
It had a very distorted voice. It sounded exactly like someone who was talking with their head underwater.
What looked like an immense cyclone appeared, and we all got sent flying.
"THIS ENDS NOW!" roared the Virus again.
As the cyclone subsided, I could see the virus' true form. It looked like a humanoid jellyfish. That explains the tentacles.
"Before you kill us," I groaned, getting to my feet, "I just have one request."
Before it could answer, I withdrew the N-Bomb and hurled right at the virus' face. With the sound of a water balloon exploding, the bomb detonated, only there was no explosion.
As the smoke cleared, I stared in amazement at the virus, which was now frozen solid.
"Stop it cold?" I groaned, "Silver, you're terrible."
"Why do you think I went on to become a software developer?" he asked, "My stand-up comedy career was over before it started."
"Um, Blue, you should finish it off," said Orange, "It might thaw."
"Good idea."
I walked forward and kicked the frozen virus as hard as I could. It snapped at the base, separating itself from the rest of the water. As it fell, I could feel a wave of satisfaction and relief rush over me.
The virus hit the frozen water and shattered into several large chunks, which in turn, disintegrated into a flurry of binary code.
There were more metallic clanging sounds as Silver reopened the shutters. The remaining frozen water melted, returning the sewers back to the way they were before we went down there.
Not wanting to waste anymore time, we powered down and teleported back to headquarters.
"Excellent timing," said Silver, "Any later and you would have to explain to the park manager how you appeared out of nowhere."
"I got your message," said a voice, "I take it your search came back clean?"
It was the park manager.
"More or less," said Silver, "All I found were traces of metallic elements in the water."
"I assure you," said the Manager, "I never would've done that if I had enough money to use chlorine. I even went online and did some research!"
"Don't worry about it," said Silver, "Remember you have access to a percentage of my money now."
"I think I'll use it to disinfect the water properly," said the Manager, "Thanks again Stephen."
He left.
"Nice job, Rachel," said Silver, "You faced your fears and saved the day."
"Well, I faced one of them, at least." I said.
"After this whole fiasco, you could use that vacation more than ever," said Silver, "I'm sure I could pull some strings and get you free tickets to park once it reopens."
"Count me out," I said, "I still hate water."
"Well, I don't," said Chloe, "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to take a shower."
I felt better knowing that the only thing I needed to fear about water was the water itself. Even now that I could remember where my fears came from, it didn't really change anything. As it is, there's many things that I can do that don't involve water. So it's not like I'm going to let this fear control my life, but I'm also not going to try and push my luck.
Chloe was right. I planned to use the memory of that fateful day and use to make myself stronger. I just had no idea how to do that yet. I'm sure I'll figure it out eventually though...