Elements Headquarters, High Above the Atlantic Ocean
July 14
"Okay, okay, one at a time!" Layla shouted to get everyone's attention. They were all in a video conference and each party had been trying to relay new intel to each other as quickly as they could. They paused and looked at her expectantly. Layla nodded at them and they knew she would moderate the meeting.
"From what I'm hearing, this is all about a number of power plants across the country being controlled by the government. Why don't we start over there in the West Coast? Maj, Zach, and Mandy?"
Magenta started, "The trooper we interrogated said that a large unit was being sent to the Olympia power plant for security. We were able to access some classified information and found that the plant has been receiving government funding in covert transactions in order to increase production. They have a continuous surplus of energy, but we haven't been able to find out what they've been doing with that surplus."
When Magenta finished, Layla looked at Vee and Tom, who were inside an IAS outpost in Arizona. She had previously heard them talk about power grids.
"Vee and Tom?" Layla prompted them to speak next.
Vee stood up and grabbed a large transparent screen. She held up the screen to her camera so the others could see it clearly. When she turned it on, it showed a network of power lines across a map of the East Coast.
"I've been accessing our satellites with Ethan and Gabby's help there in the Headquarters. This was the projection of the East Coast power grid the day the dome shield appeared," Vee pointed to two spots, one in New York, and the other in Florida. The map showed interconnected yellow lines but the lines near those two spots were coloured red. "The red represents a vast amount of electricity being sent out from their original sources- a hydro plant in New York and a nuclear plant in Florida. The output was so large that it should have overloaded the systems, but it didn't. The force field dome and neutralizers appeared just after this overload, which suggests that these plants could have powered them."
"Mia, Warren, you mentioned meeting the owner of the Florida plant at the White House?" Tom asked the couple who were inside their house in DC.
"Yes, it makes more sense now," Warren pondered. "The owner, Flynn, was complaining that the government had insisted his plant to increase production. They convinced him that there was a large demand from the state's power grid, so he had to comply. After that, he has had to deal with government agents hanging around his plant."
Mia stepped in, "They needed that surplus of energy to power either the dome shield or the neutralizers, maybe both. That's what they're doing now in the West Coast from what you've found," she directed her gaze to Maj, Zach, and Mandy, who nodded at her speculation.
Layla, who was in the Elements Headquarters with Ethan and Gabby, suddenly saw an alert in one of her monitors. She clicked on the notification and saw that it was a similar satellite image of a power grid, only it was focused on the map of the West Coast.
"The satellites are picking up another power grid overload in the West," Layla quickly informed the others.
Gabby rushed to one of the larger screens nearby and was able to zoom in on the red zones, "There it is, the red is concentrated exactly in Washington state. The other is in... Arizona."
"Surprise, surprise," Vee muttered sarcastically from her position.
Not a minute later, an alarm blared from Vee and Tom's end, followed by another alarm from where Magenta, Zach, and Mandy are.
"There's the shield," sighed Mandy.
Zach spoke up, "Four power plants near the four corners of the country. It's clear what we have to do now- we need to disable the energy supply."
"It won't be as simple as just turning off the power exactly," Ethan answered quickly. "We don't know whether this energy is being used for the dome shield, the neutralizers, or both. They may be backed up by external sources and if that's the case then shutting down the plants won't make a dent. What we need is to get into the plants' systems to override commands and worm our way into a bigger network."
Everyone waited for Gabby to speak since she was a technopath who could create such an override program. She looked uncertain however, when she informed them, "Creating an override system will be easier if I knew exactly what the energy is being used for, and more importantly, how it's being used."
They fell silent as each person in the conversation speculated about their circumstances. Specifically, they needed to find whether the plants were powering the dome around the country, or the neutralizing field within it. It could be both, but it was unlikely; it would be illogical for the President to place his trust solely on the power plants, no matter how well guarded they were.
Mia, who sat beside Warren, looked at the screen that showed the Elements Headquarters and noticed a large picture behind Layla. The wall behind her was a gallery that held many mementos of the Elements Team's adventures. The one picture she noticed was of the team in front of a large pyramid. A memory from two nights before, and a conversation she had from the White House event earlier, immediately came to mind. At once, everything clicked into place.
Mia broke the silence by whispering, "Ancient Egypt's neutralizers."
Warren turned to her swiftly with a questioning glance, "What do you mean?"
When everyone looked at her questioningly, Mia started, "Former President Abe Clyde was at the White House earlier and he mentioned an unpublicized trip made by President Johnson to Egypt. He said it may have been a diplomatic meeting, or a military deal. What if he went there to visit the Pyramids?"
Everyone from the Elements team immediately knew what that meant. Vee stood up, surprised at that realization.
"Pyramid of Khufu's neutralizers!" she exclaimed, referring to a previous mission their team had in Egypt.
Mia nodded, "Exactly! Johnson could have met with someone there who knew about the neutralizing effect inside the pyramid. The technology may be ancient, but it can still be duplicated."
"He would need a technopath to do that," Gabby added.
"And he could have found one if he wanted to. I don't think anyone really buys his 'no superpowers' business," Will said tensely.
Zach piped in, "Wait a minute, are you talking about the same pyramid that took off your powers when that villain lured you there?" he asked Mandy, Tom, Vee, and Warren, who nodded in reply. "Did you ever get a chance to analyze that place afterwards?"
Warren answered him, "We found out that the pyramid walls emitted electro-magnetic waves that disrupted the mutated genes in our DNA which gives us powers. It's been monitored by the JL and the IAS ever since."
"He didn't have to go inside to find out what the place does," Tom contemplated with a frown. "I'm sure a number of villains know about it and would be willing to reveal information for the right price."
"Okay, so if that's the case, then does that mean the dome around the country is emitting these electro-magnetic waves just like the pyramid walls?" Zach asked curiously.
"No," Vee shook her head quickly. "We examined that force field dome and there was no electro-magnetic activity around it. It's similar to what Mia produces as force fields- it's an impermeable wall of light energy."
"Then how?" Will muttered to himself more than anyone else.
Gabby thumped her hands on the table, and everyone turned to her, "It may be the power lines. Apart from the dome, they're the only constant around the country. The electricity overload around those plants may have carried the neutralizing electro-magnetic waves and they were relayed across the power grid."
"It makes sense," Tom agreed after a few moments and he looked back at the power grid map from before. "Gabby, if you can reverse the polarity of those electro-magnetic waves, we may just deactivate the neutralizers around the country."
The rest of the team voiced out their agreement and Gabby nodded comfortably.
"How long until you can create an override program?" Will asked Gabby.
"Maybe a few hours," she offered. "Creating the computer codes to hack the system will be easy. It's reversing the polarity of the waves that will need careful work."
"Okay," Will nodded. "While we wait, we need to set up our own teams to go to those power plants. I assume we'll be going to the ones closest to us?"
Mia agreed, "Warren and I will take a plane to Florida, we'll grab some supers to join us from the base here and there."
Their mission was soon planned; Will was headed to New York, Vee and Tom will stay in Arizona, and Magenta, Zach and Mandy will go to Olympia. They weren't able to use teleporters but fortunately, flights around the country were still permitted.
When their conference ended, Layla remained at the Elements Headquarters with Ethan and Gabby, who started to work on the override program. She soon looked at the news from the West Coast and saw the chaos caused by the recently expanded force field dome.
She walked towards the large floor to ceiling windows and looked down at the land below. The headquarters was positioned in the sky above the coastline in Maine. Layla could see the lights from the city below, but it was slightly diffused by the force field dome around it.
Her phone rang and she quickly answered to hear a familiar voice.
"Hi Layla," Will greeted and she sat down on a bench overlooking the windows.
"Hey Will," she started, and Will noticed the sad tone in her voice. "So, what do you think?"
Will sighed, "It's the best plan we have for now, I have a good feeling about it."
"I suppose, I'm just worried about the execution. Those plants are filled with troopers and you're not invulnerable...None of you are."
"We'll make do with our weapons and our skills, and once we upload Gabby's program, we might have a better chance. Hopefully."
Layla sighed and rubbed her tired eyes, "I guess..."
Will steered the conversation, "How are things up there?"
"Ethan and Gabby are working on the override program," Layla informed him. "I've never seen them work so fast, I won't be surprised if they're done by the morning."
"That's good."
Layla continued in a serious tone, "You will try to be careful won't you Will?"
"Of course, am I not always careful?" he added in a teasing tone. Layla laughed.
"I love you," she softly replied.
Will immediately missed her even more at that moment, "I love you Layla. I miss you so much."
"We'll see each other soon," Layla stated confidently. "This will all be over soon, I feel it."
"Yeah," Will agreed. "Give Cam a kiss goodnight for me, you better grab some rest."
"Will do, I still have to stop by at Sky High later on though. Your parents are up there with Wonder Woman trying to work with the UN and INTERPOL. They're tracking down known suspects who captured a number of IAS and Justice League heroes and brought them out of the country before the dome appeared."
Will shook his head at the news and soon said his goodbyes to Layla.
Layla took one more look at the seemingly peaceful city below and walked back to grab her things. She said her goodbyes to Ethan and Gabby and informed them that she would be back early in the morning. She walked along the hallway and reached the transportation room. She entered the coordinates for Sky High and in a flash of blue light, she ended up inside her old high school.
TBC