Van Terra II: Overdrive [NOW A PUBLISHED BOOK]

Chapter One ~ Jade Project

The Sky Labs scientists were anxious when they entered the room. She could sense it in the way they moved, their footsteps, their hushed voices.

Subject 12-99-Janus-18—the scientists just called her Subject Eighteen, though she preferred Janus—didn't move when the team arrived. She remained still with her back pressed to the cold metal table, eyes closed, giving no indication that she was conscious.

"—and prioritize the final physical exam. I just got off a call with Governor Starr." Janus recognized the haughty voice of the project's head scientist Dr. Morr, a North Kronosian distantly related to the Starr family. "He wants her sent out this pentasol."

"To catch Van Terra?" another asked. This voice belonged to a maroon-skinned East Kronosian woman. "Or does she have orders to kill?"

"Starr is interested in a conversation with Van Terra," Morr replied. "Subject Eighteen is to attempt capture first. Should her attempts fail, plans may be adjusted."

Janus opened her left eye. Her brown one. A stray piece of her long, white hair hung at the edge of her vision, and she resisted the urge to brush it aside.

"Why now?" the second scientist asked. "Is it because of the leaked audio file? I thought he had that under control."

"His team can only do so much. And if we can prevent something like that from happening again, all the better."

"Are we sure this is a good idea?" a new voice asked. Male. Apprehensive. Janus didn't recognize this one. Probably a newer member of the team. "Fighting fire with fire? We've never tried dealing with our enemies this way before."

Morr replied, "We do what Starr asks."

"But...this whole project was his idea, and he's a politician, not a scientist. And Van Terra's unpredictable. If this backfires—"

"This is about serum compatibility, not personality. We've been preparing Subject Eighteen for nearly two years. She's shown far more promise than the other subjects." Morr's voice lowered. "And if she succeeds, everyone on the Jade Project will be rewarded."

Morr crossed the room to the metal table and clapped his hands. "Subject Eighteen. We have an assignment for you."

Janus opened her other eye and sat up. "About time."

"I hope you'll be just as confident when you're face-to-face with Van Terra." Morr grabbed the tablet tucked under his arm and held it out to her. "I know you've already been through her files, but it's all here in case you'd like to take another look. You're to bring her in alive."

"Anything new?" Janus asked as she took the tablet. She began swiping through the clips of Van Terra she'd seen dozens of times already. The Jade Project had pieced together decacycles of articles and net posts and security footage to assemble a rough history of the villain's life on Kronos. And the other places in the Janus system she'd left a mark. There were even pieces of her origins in another star system.

"She was last spotted here on Kronos, at a place called the Discovery Center. Take a look at the footage from this morning."

Janus opened the newest video in the folder. "But still no idea where she lives?"

"Nothing on that front. You may have to lure her out of hiding."

A smirk touched Janus's lips. She'd already expected that, and her plans were already in motion.

She'd been anticipating this assignment for some time now. And now that it was official, she could assume that the Jade Project scientists were done putting her through tests and training and simulations. Disorienting, painful simulations. Janus had spent her entire life trying to guess the scientists' motivations. The ones they gave her were obviously lies.

Even with all of the games meant to screw with her memory and make her doubt herself, Janus had figured out that the lab hadn't created her to be a hero like they claimed. They'd made her to be a weapon. A weapon designed to destroy Jasper Van Terra.

It wasn't enough to play dumb or act like she was happy to be here. Governor Starr and his team would never trust her fully. Hence, the tracker in her arm, the camera in her right eye that the scientists could tap into whenever they wanted, and the pulse device that would shock her into unconsciousness if she tried anything they didn't like.

Not that any of it was a problem for her, anymore. Thanks to some outside help, the tracker and camera could now be manipulated so that Janus' other plans could be laid out without the Jade Project having any idea. And the pulse device had been quietly deactivated, though it still sent out a signal suggesting it was online.

Everything Governor Starr himself had told Janus was a lie, too. Well, except for the fact that he really hated Jasper Van Terra. But Van Terra was far from the worst villain out there. Starr's vendetta was obviously personal, not stemming from any moral obligation to protect the people he ruled. It was also self-defense, in a way. He had to take her down before she destroyed him. Which, judging by her recent actions, was likely her goal.

Based on her initial assessment, Janus didn't think Van Terra had much of a chance at beating Starr.

But that wasn't Janus's job to worry about. Despite everything Starr said about her having the opportunity to work by his side, to be a member of Kronos' elite, to be the star system's first hero in decacycles, she was nothing more than a tool to him. Even if she convinced him she truly wanted to help him, he would never see her as anything more than that.

He hadn't even given her a name. She'd given herself one, instead.

And someday soon, the whole star system wouldknow it.