I was going to post this sooner, but I helped my uncle renovate a house, and I can assure you, it's a time-consuming process (not to mention exhaustive). Don't get me wrong, I love my uncle, but as a boss he is simply the worst. I mean, he's a huge man, and he does not seem to realize I'm no good at carrying heavy things or using tools (except for building furniture).
The good thing is that I was able to write some dialogues that I will use in the next chapters, as well as a new cover that I'm almost finished with.
DATE: MAY, 2, 2015, ROYAL WOODS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, 13H37M
After almost two hours evaluating the projects, the judges decided which were the best projects and announced their decision.
It was not hard for them decide to give David the first place, and the young genius was pleased to prove himself the best.
The second place was given to Jordan for her ecological project. Although both judges and parents appreciated the project, some students didn't find it to be so impressive.
But what surprised the most was little Alan receiving the third place. As much as the boy had scared some parents and students with his snake, the judges took into account the fact that his project proved that his knowledge was in the level of na adult amateur biologist.
All other students received a certificate of participation, and students with bad grades received extra credit to help improve their final grades (although some still needed more).
Although the science fair was officially over only a few began to put thir things on their cars, as most of the attendees headed for the cafeteria, where there was a special buffet offered by Dr. Pym.
That, like Lynn Loud and his family, wasn't in the cafeteria.
Meanwhile, in a classroom...
The Louds and Santiagos were sitting on small chairs of a first grade classroom, waiting for the Loud patriarch and the young heroes' mentor, like students waiting for the teacher.
Although some of them were waiting for a short time, some were full of boredom, especially Rita, who has stayed in this room with Lily since they arrived. Or even Mr. Santiago, who because of his paranoia kept out of sight to avoid being recognized by some undercover enemy agent.
And they were not the worst.
Lori and Lola were a little restless, giving worried glances to a smiling Leni.
Luna drummed her fingers on her table, bothering Lucy, who was trying to read one of her books.
Bobby was walking in circles around the room, and Lynn was about to do the same, but faster.
Even so, no one seemed more bothered than Luan, who seemed to be the embodiment of seriousness. It was almost as if there was another Lucy in the family.
Though there were toys from the fist graders and a table with snacks that Pym had provided, nothing seemed able to compensate for the boredom that this room was creating.
The wait seemed to have no end, until the door finally opened and everyone looked there immediately.
"Sorry for the delay." Pym said, carrying a small silver briefcase. "I had to make sure we were not being followed."
As soon as he came in, Lisa and her father entered, closing the door behind them. They both sat in vacant chairs, Lisa beside Lincoln and Mr. Loud beside his wife.
Pym stood before the blackboard and set the briefcase on the floor. He pressed a button and the case split in half, with the bottom generating an energy field that made the top float. The top half split into four parts, and then generated a holographic screen as large as the blackboard.
The screen was divided into three sections: the first was divided into four maps, showing the location of the four suspects. Haiku was sitting in the bleachers of the school's field; Jordan was in the library; and Rusty and Zach sat on opposite sides of one of the tables at the cafeteria. All of them accessing The Battleworld with their phones.
The next section was smaller and showed the homepage of The Battleworld, with the countdown to the sale. In the third section had some blank columns, implying that Pym would make some sort of table with the information they could get.
Before anyone could ask, Pym turned, smiling uneasily.
"I hope you guys enjoyed the mission so far, because we'll begin the less interesting part of the mission."
"What do you mean?" Lori raised an eyebrow at the scientist.
"Well, it's a bit complicated." Pym took a laser pointer, and then direct the light to the homepage of the game. "In a few moments, Battleworld's personnel will start their sale, and Larry will be monitoring their servers, focusing on IP adresses from Royal Woods." He then pointed at the blank table. "On that table, he will pass on the data that is useful for our investigation, and from that, we will know which one..." pointing to the suspects "is our hacker."
Pym's explanation was highly satisfactory, so for the first time it seemed that no one doubted the success of the mission.
Except for Lori, who facepalmed.
"(Sigh) You're literally worse than Lisa at explaining. What I want to know, is why you think this is the least interesting part of the mission."
"Oh, I get it. This, my dear Lori, is due to the fact that this can take from a few minutes to three hours, which is the duration of the sale."
At that moment, Lori, like the others, had her jaw dropped.
Everyone was shocked to know how exhausting this could be, but Lola, on the other hand, seemed to have been betrayed.
"(Gasp ) So we're going to stay here, staring at this screen, while everyone's in the cafeteria savoring that five-star buffet!?"
The Loud siblings just looked at her disapprovingly, while the parents were conflicted between reprimanding or supporting her.
Pym simply ignored her, staring at the screen.
"Look! I'ts about to start."
Everyone looked at the screen, which had a big countdown.
5...
4...
3...
2...
1...
The Sale is now on!
Pym crossed his arms and smiled, gazing at the screen with determination.
Everyone looked closely at the screen, patiently waiting for the moment when they would discover the hacker's identity.
As soon as the sale began, all four suspects began to buy items, however they were all doing so in a normal way, using credits from their game accounts or parents' credit card (in Rusty's case, his grandmother's card).
Whenever one of them made a transaction, a cell in the first column identified the item and how was the payment method, as well as the time it took to make the purchase. As they did their shopping, it became clear that Haiku and the boys bought random items as soon as they were seen, while Jordan seemed to read the description of each item before choosing to buy or not.
After the first 15 minutes Haiku logged out of her account, and according to the spy ant, she was leaving the school grounds. Lucy smiled slightly, glad to see that Haiku was not the hacker. Since Haiku's mother worked for her parents, she thought it should not be difficult to find the girl again.
Still, the other three remained suspect, but as time passed, more and more bank transactions were occurring, but few made by the suspects, and none of them following the hacker's method, not even the suspects.
.
It was almost at the end of the first hour of the sale, and everyone, except for Pym, was already believing that the plan had failed.
However, after a few more minutes of waiting...
"Bingo!" Pym said, smiling victoriously.
Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared intently at the screen, realizing that transactions were beginning to appear on the second column, in which were being separated some of the transactions. As they were registered in the second column, next to each transaction a small loading circle appeared, indicating the process of the system to identify the identity of the person. As soon as the process was over, the kid's name and data appeared, with a photo from the school records.
More than forty transactions of the hacker were being made per minute, and more and more kids were identified, but none of them were among the suspects.
"Wait, what's going on?" Lynn asked, looking at Pym in confusion. "Why are they on your table? None of them are among our suspect."
Others looked at Pym the same way, but he didn't look away from the screen.
"Do you remember what I said before, about the hacker performing multiple transactions for several different accounts? This means that he(or she) has a group of people to whom he/she employs his/her skills."
"But... how can you be sure it's the hacker?" Leni asked, feeling a little confuse. "It could be any of these kids."
"Actually, it's very simple." Pym approached his hand to the screen and a small keyboard appeared. He pressed a few buttons and then a small square appeared showing the school, with several flashing red dots.
"What is this?" Lana asked, approaching the screen. "Are they superhumans at school?"
"Actually, it's more complicated than that, Lana." Pym pointed to the column with the transactions, assuming a serious tone. "A new IP address is created each time one of these transactions is made, showing these points. That way, my equipment can say that the hacker is in this school, although it has not yet been able to specify the exact point."
"Oooooh..." Everyone was impressed with the equipment.
That's until Roberto thinks about something else.
"Wait, so we'll wait until the last of them leaves school?"
A brief chill passed by the others upon hearing this, and only grew worse after Pym shrugged.
"Maybe, maybe not. It is possible that the culprit leaves before the others, in which case we will know the same way."
Everyone looked at each other, coming to the same conclusion:
They should find a way to kill the time.
.
Another hour passed, and the snack table was already empty.
While Pym, Lori, Luan, Lincoln, Ronnie and Lisa stared at the screen in total concentration, the others were totally bored, even with the things they found to do.
Lucy went back to reading her book, while Lana and Lola sat on the floor and were playing with blocks. But it was not long before they started arguing about what they were going to build.
Luna and Lynn went to the back of the room and lay in bean bags in opposite corners, Luna tuning her guitar and Lynn throwing a tennis ball at the wall.
Leni played with her cell phone, using the app that changed the shape of her purse, testing new shapes and colors.
Rita was holding a sleepy Lily in her arms, while the other parents and Bobby followed the example of Lily and get sleepy.
As transactions proceeded, the column with transactions made by the hacker grew larger, and that was troubling Pym.
"What the fuck is going on here?" He thought, starting to get angry.
The hacker went on with the transactions, but none of the spy ants reported use of powers or equipment that could accomplish such a thing. There was an explanation that would justify this, but Pym didn't want to believe it.
After a few more minutes, Jordan also disconnected and the ant showed that she and her mother were already in the car and getting ready to leave.
Leni was glad to see that the little girl was not a villain, whereas Pym didn't even pay any attention to it.
And to make things worse, soon afterwards Zach also left, but in his case for running out of battery. That way, there was only Rusty left.
"So he's the hacker?" Lincoln exclaimed incredulously. "He didn't look smart enough for that."
The others also seemed a little surprised, but Lisa quickly composed herself and gave Lincoln a smug look.
"With all due respect, dear older brother, should point out that you are a good example that a seemingly ordinary boy can be more than meets the eye."
The boy blushed slightly as his sisters and Ronnie laughed.
However, to everyone's surprise Rusty also logged out of the game, while the hacker continued his transactions. This generated deadly silence for a few minutes, in which everyone looked embarrassingly at a sullen Dr. Pym.
The scientist just stared at the data, as stiff as a statue. No one seemed to be willing to bother him, but deep down everyone knew it was necessary.
Trying to show initiative, Lincoln took a step, trying to appear determined even though unsure.
"D-Doctor, w-what happened?"
For an instant, no sound was uttered, until they heard a brief indistinct murmuring.
"D-Did you say s-something?"
Pym sighed heavily and bowed his head, turning and giving a devastated glance to the families of his pupils.
"I'm sorry, guys. I... I don't know how, but somehow my investigation didn't worked."
Everyone was jaw-dropping, completely amazed. With the exception of Lucy, of course. She simply stared at the defeated hero.
The parents didn't know what to think, while Bobby, Lori, Luna and Luan looked worriedly at the younger ones.
Lana was shocked to see that Pym had made a mistake, while Lisa tried to review what happened to understand how the hacker could have escaped.
Leni, Lynn, Lincoln and Ronnie were totally confused. They were so disappointed that they began to worry about the future of the team.
Lola, on the other hand, was furious.
"This was a great waste of time!"
"Don't be so dramatic, Lola." Lisa rolled her eyes, then directed a confused look at the hero. "I know this might sound offensive, but could not have a miscalculation in your plan?"
Pym looked a little shaken for a moment, but then began to scratch his chin slowly as he reflected.
"I'm not so arrogant as to say I never make mistakes, but I don't see how my investigation could have gone wrong."
Everyone was surprised.
Although not satisfied with the result, none of them expected such a reaction from Pym.
Especially the young heroes.
"So... what do we do now?" Lincoln asked, beginning to feel depressed.
"I'm not sure." Pym turned and went to the window, watching the peaceful view. "I planned to do that today so that tomorrow we could celebrate and discuss what we would do, but that totally changes my plans."
The children began to feel lost with this, while the parents sympathized with the hero. After years of working as superheroes, they knew that some missions didn't end in success.
This was the group's first mission that went awry, and at that point he needed as much encouragement as the rest of the team.
" Don't be so hard on yourself, Pym." Roberto exclaimed, crossing his arms. "That certainly helped the kids to gain some experience points."
The children looked at the master spy with some surprise, while Leni whispered confusedly to Lynn.
"Wait, are we, like, Pokemon now? I thought we were heroes."
Lynn just rolled her eyes, putting a finger in her mouth to show the fashionista to shut up.
"My husband is right." Maria put her hand on the shoulder of her daughter, with a look of tenderness. "So far, your team seems to have been trained by a professional."
Pym just smiled, which was reflected by his reflection in the window. He realized that even failing he would still succeed with the ultimate goal of his plan, but that was not enough to console him as to what went wrong.
"(Sigh ) I know you're right, but I can not assimilate it." He turned, taking a lost stare. "I can not believe that all this operation was useless."
"But it wasn't!" Lana said, catching everyone's attention. "We visited your awesome ship, and you almost got the hacker!"
Pym and the parents were a little surprised, but Lana was not the only one who had something to say.
"I must agree with my tomboyish sister." Lisa blushed a little, looking to the side. "Your mission gave me the opportunity to meet someone very interesting."
"And I could see a side of Leni I've never seen before." Lori put a hand on the shoulder of the fashionista, which smiled with the compliment.
"And I got a super-cute poster!" Leni then took the polar bear cub poster and unrolled it, causing a chorus of awws.
"And I made a new friend." Lincoln exclaimed, and then get confused and start scratching the back of the head. "At least I think so."
"What are you talking about?" Lynn looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "Did you make a friend or not?"
The other sisters looked at Lincoln curiously, making him uneasy.
"I don't know if I can really say we're friends. I mean, Clyde sounds like a nice guy, and we have a lot in common, but we didn't had much time to talk."
The sisters were satisfied with this, while Ronnie felt a pang of jealousy when she heard that Lincoln had met someone who could be as good a friend as she was. The parents felt a little relieved now that it seemed the tension was gone, and Bobby was already planning to take Lori somewhere.
Pym, on the other hand, was perplexed.
"Wait, did you say the kid you met is called 'Clyde'?"
Everyone turned to the scientist, confused to see that he was interested in it.
"Yes...?!" Lincoln looked into the eyes of his mentor, feeling a little insecure.
Pym immediately turned, interacting with the screen. He began to look again at his file of Royal Woods, filtering out all the residents whose first name began with 'C'. He then proceeded to read several school records, with roll call lists and teacher reports.
Lynn was already confused before, but the situation got worse so she decided to get closer to her mentor.
"Uh, any problem, Coach?"
He was silent for a moment, until he stopped interacting with the screen and began to scratch his chin with his right hand.
"Actually, I think I have a solution." Pym smiled victorious, turning to see the others. "Lincoln, you could have saved our mission."
"What!? How?"
"My memory is infallible, and I was sure there was no 'Clyde' at this school."
"What!?" All they exclaimed, surprised.
"So he gave me a fake name?" Lincoln was completely perplexed, not knowing what to say.
"Actually, it's more serious than that. The only explanation for our hacker to have gone unnoticed by my investigation would be if he erased his school records." Using the laser pointer, he showed the documents he had analyzed. "I was so satisfied with my investigation that I didn't analyzed the data further. Accordingly, there is some discrepancy between the school's digital records and teacher reports."
"So this Clyde guy erased his informations?" Ronnie began to crack her wrists, feeling the anger flow. "He will regret wasting our time!"
"Yeah!" The Loud sisters and the mothers screamed, sharing Ronnie's frustration.
"Um, guys, we still have a problem." Bobby raised his hand as if he needed permission, feeling a little embarrassed. "We still don't know where he is, and if he has erased his information, then we can not know where he lives."
The girls were less excited, while Pym was ready to show off.
But before he could say anything, Lincoln had an idea.
"Actually, I think we can find him." Quickly, he took his phone, showing to Pym. "I've got his number. Can you do as in the movies and track the call?"
Everyone was surprised, while Pym was speechless.
He had a plan to find out where the boy lived, but that was even faster.
"In fact, this is very easy." Still with wounded pride, Pym grabbed his own phone and after sliding the screen sometimes handed to the boy. "Hold it with your cell phone and we'll be able to track the call."
On the big screen, the area with the suspects gave way to a map of the city, with a flashing green dot where Pym's cell phone was.
Lincoln raised his eyebrow at how easy it was to track the call, but then he set it aside and went with his plan.
His parents were impressed by the way Lincoln thought fast. It was obvious that the boy had talent for this.
After finding Clyde's number, Lincoln pressed the call button, remembering to hold the two phones.
It took no more than three rings, and someone answered.
"L-Lincoln? Is that you?"
At that moment, everyone looked at the screen as the program began to trace the connection. But the most impressive thing was that the hacker had stopped buying items.
"Got you!"Pym thought, smiling smugly.
"Hey, Clyde, how are you?" Lincoln tried to sound casual, but don't know if he could be friendly now that he was sure that Clyde was the hacker.
"Well, I'm still at school. One of my friends is late."
Everyone was focused on the screen, and in less than ten seconds Clyde had already been spotted. The boy was all this time in the cafeteria, probably eating the food Pym took to school. But the most impressive thing was that he was sitting at the same table as Zach and Rusty.
"I think I know who his friends are." Lincoln thought, a little surprised. Although he already knew where the boy was, Lincoln knew he should talk more. "I know how it is. Look, the thing with my family was canceled, so I thought maybe we could meet up at Gus' and play some games. What do you think?"
For a moment the boy was silent, but then he answered, quite euphoric.
"Are you kidding!? I wouldn't miss it for anything!" Clyde then turned away from the phone, and by the sound it seemed like he was talking to his friends. "How about thirty minutes? By then our other friend will be free."
"Sure. See you there."
Lincoln ended the call, and as soon as he hung up the hacker came back to action, this time even faster.
It seemed that everything was settled now that they knew who the hacker was, but there was still a big question.
"What are we going to do now?" Ronnie asked, folding her arms and looking thoughtful. "Are we going to ambush him in an arcade full of kids?"
"I can run and take him with me." Lynn said proudly.
"Not a good idea, kids." Maria approached the young heroes, ready to share their experience. "The people around him may realize that he has disappeared in a blink, not to mention that you still don't know all he can do."
"I agree with her, sweetie." Rita scratched her chin, remembering the past. "The best way to get information is when the person does not suspect your true intentions."
Soon, everyone began to give ideas, generating a cacophony of indistinct voices.
Pym sat down and waited, but after five minutes he got tired of it and put two fingers into his mouth, then whistled as loud as a gym teacher's whistle.
The noise made everyone pay attention to the scientist, who pressed a button so that the holographic screen returned to its briefcase shape.
"I'm sure everyone has a suggestion, but I already have a plan. Lincoln, you and Ronnie will go to the arcade to meet Clyde and his friends, and try to get as much information as possible." He then turned to the Loud parents. "In the meantime, I'd like you two to help me look for his address in the school archives, since you are accustomed with paperwork."
"Wait, what about us?" Lynn asked, annoyed at being left out.
"Yeah, you don't expect us to stay in this room, do you?" Lori crossed her arms, glaring at him.
"Of course not! You think I'm some kind of monster?" Pym said theatrically, very exaggerated. "I already sent a text message to the limousine driver, and Larry is already preparing our dinner."
The new plan didn't please everyone, but at least it was better than spending hours in a classroom on a Saturday.
With the new plan in place, everyone started to leave the room with their parents while Pym got his things. Soon all the children left, except for Lincoln and Ronnie, who approached Pym with concern.
The scientist didn't need much to see that something bothered them.
"What's up, kids?"
The kids looked at each other with some apprehension. Lincoln was worried about what might happen and Ronnie felt unsure.
"What do we do if he suspect about us?" Lincoln asked in a weak voice.
"That's easy. Nothing."
They both looked at the adult in disbelief.
Seeing that was not enough, he knelt down, putting one hand on Lincoln's shoulder and another on Ronnie's.
"Guys, listen to me carefully. All you have to do is watch this kid's behavior. Just be yourself and have some fun, and I'm sure he will not suspect about you."
Despite his optimistic smile, Lincoln and Ronnie didn't feel much better, though they admitted their new assignment was not so complex.
What really bothered them was Lisa's comment.
What if Clyde really was more than he appeared to be?
TO BE CONTINUED...
I watched "Ant-Man and the Wasp", and now I can not stop thinking about their powers.
Also, if anyone has seen the new Avengers movie, then you must have figured out why Mark wanted a gauntlet like that in Chapter 1.
The next chapter may take a while to come out, because I'm working on the next chapters of Fall of Dragon Domain and Earth Lewdest Heroes.
