It's not every day that the Supernatural Investigation Agency SIA evaluates three teenagers whether they are fit for duty. But defiant Sally Storm, genius Ryan Montgomery and special kid Moe Doe are not everyday kids. They handled monsters before, s...
Ryan Montgomery, the genius black kid who is always right and doesn't care if you are, too. Beware of his inventions, you might be on the receiving end. Especially if you are monster, beast, alien, or vampire. If you want to see some of his inventions at work,check out the first adventure of our three heroes.
"Teen Monster Hunters" by Alex Ames — now out in your favorite electronic bookstores in print and as ebook.
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Ryan Montgomery was in the school's lab and the room in the basement of Hawthorne High smelled like a caramel factory.
"Early Christmas bakery?" Agent Black asked from the door.
"Extracting the sweetness out of sugar, leaving calories behind," Ryan said, fully concentrated.
"You are aware that NutraSweet beat you to it by approximately forty years?"
Ryan looked away from his experiment. "The first artificial sweeteners are much older, Agent Black. Late nineteenth century, actually. But nothing beats refined sugar when it comes to taste. And that's the holy grail. Sugar taste, no calories."
A flash of a flame created a small atomic mushroom cloud, intensifying. Black glanced around for the location of the fire extinguisher. "Kid, you know what you are doing?"
"I do. But unfortunately the school does not allow me to perform tests on lab-rats." Montgomery was a chocolate brown skinned African-American kid and the certified school genius. Thin as a reed at thirteen, with a gigantic afro hairdo and black-rimmed glasses that constantly slipped from his nose.
"Might not go well with the parents of many of your schoolmates," Black shrugged and came closer. "It sure smells good in here."
Ryan cut off two pieces of a brown substance from a small glass dish. "Taste it."
Black stepped back. "Not sure that I fancy sweets now." Her confidence in geniuses only went that far, and she had scars to support it.
Ryan put one of the pieces into his mouth. "Nice excuse to avoid being a part of my experiment. Unfortunately, all I can say is that it still tastes like sugar. But the calories in this pieces are unknown to me. A mass spectrometer or some rats would be nice to..."
"Are you bored?"
"Never," Ryan said. "But maybe there is something sexier out there?"
"Like to join my organization?"
"You mean the organization that does not exist, has no name, which is super-secret and deals with scary monsters?"
"The very same."
"Does it come with access to mass spectrometers or rats?"
"I can't guarantee that, as no junior agent has ever requested this. But I'll see what I can do."
Ryan smiled. "Beats calories-free caramel any time of the day. Where and when?"
"I'll let you know and arrange for transportation. You might want to discuss with Sally about a good cover. A trip into the woods, maybe."
"She'll find one; Storm is good at that," Ryan said.
"That's it? No other questions out of curiousity?"
"You know my IQ, right?" Ryan retorted.
"I had a look at your school file, yes."
"See, that was a curious question from my side."
"I meant clarifying questions about joining the organization, what we will do..."
"The Freedom of Information Act is a beautiful thing, Agent Black. You can read up on most governmental practices, and despite your organization being super-secret, most rules apply to you as well. Neither of us —Sally, Moe, or I— have a college degree or comparable education, you will need to test us first. That will be the first step. You can't tell us anything more until we pass the test and after we sign various non-disclosure agreements. You can't put us on the payroll, as our parents would notice. So there will be sort of benefit-in-kind payment, like a future college scholarship fund. The tests will be designed to test the core functions of your outfit. My best guess is—physical, reactive, and intellectual. We will be picked up on the day of the test. How did I do? Does that answer all the questions I did not ask?"
Black muttered to the boy. "Pretty handy to have such a high IQ."
"Having a good friend who calls you on the phone and briefs you ahead of time helps tremendously."
Black laughed, turned, and left the lab without a further word.
