Shift

Chapter 17

Shift POV

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This time we decide to infiltrate the Cube. It's sounds much more promising if we want to get information than some building where villains might show up. We don't know much about the Villain Alliance, but the superheroes at the Cube probably do. If they don't then they really need to do a better job.

Thanks to superpowers the Cube has already been rebuilt. Superheroes go here and there like cars at a busy intersection. It's almost hypnotizing.

We enter through a back door into an empty hallway on the first floor. There are five floors. I don't know what floor to go to, so its a good thing I have Phoenix with me. He's been to the Cube before.

"What floor?"

"I don't know."

"What?! You don't know?" I yell as quietly as I can.

"Shhh," Phoenix looks around. "Follow me."

We go into a room that looks like an office. There is a desk and several filing cabinets. I'm not sure if it is really an office because there is also a TV in the corner and a stack of books. Superheroes must have a lot of free time. I know from experience that supervillains do, too. On the desk is a computer. Phoenix turns it on. The screen takes a minute to load. The background is a picture of the city taken from the air.

Password:

"Do you know the password?" I ask him. He nods and types in a five letter word.

Password:

*****

"What's the password?" I ask, planning to use it in the future.

"Super."

Boring, I was hoping it would be something more interesting or an inside joke. They should have just made the password password. That would have been better than 'super'.

The screen changes to show a bunch of files. Phoenix clicks on each one. Suddenly, he stops. I watch him. Did he find something?

"This is it," he says.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. All of the villains had this symbol." He points to something. I lean in closer to see. The symbol looks like a V and an A intertwined.

"It's not very creative," I mutter. I read the rest of the page.

Villain Alliance

Warning: This is classified information

Known Members- The Shadow, Doppelganger, Zap, Gloom, Hypnosis

Suspected Members- Deathbloom, Indigo

Other Information-

Unknown

Enter password for access to second page.

The password for the second page is a different password, so we are unable to access it. There is however a different page with photos taken of the Villain Alliance in action. The pictures are blurry but still pretty impressive. The Villain Alliance looks powerful. I'm scared and worried that I won't be able to help Phoenix and will get hurt trying. Phoenix doesn't notice that I'm upset and reading the file just makes him more determined to defeat them.

We split up to find more information. At least that's my excuse. After Phoenix leaves the office I go through the desk drawers and the filing cabinet. They don't contain anything interesting. I go into the closet. The closet is a mess of fancy suits, crumpled up papers, and several cans from energy drinks. Superheroes aren't that busy, so why do they need energy drinks? After moving some dress shirts I see the closet is bigger than I thought. Way bigger. The closet is seriously huge. Disappointingly, the rest of it isn't much cleaner.

I leave the office and walk around. I have to hide a couple times to avoid being caught. Strangely, the Cube is almost deserted. I find an unlocked room and go inside. Its just a lounge. I look around for a couple minutes, take the money from a wallet left on a chair, and go into another unlocked room. This room contains a long table surrounded by chairs. Probably for meetings.

Suddenly I hear voices. Someone is coming into the room. I look around for a place to hide. There are not a lot of good places. I end up crouched under the table, as far from the door as I can get. If only I had the teleportation marbles with me! The door opens and a group of people walk in.