Shimmer *The Seattle Superheroes*

Chapter Thirty Six: A Fault in the System

Chapter Thirty Six: A Fault in the System

Seattle; July 27, 2010; 10:41 a.m.

Despite the undeniable animosity between Shimmer and Cane, she and Megaman made an undeniably powerful team. They were so similar that their thoughts seemed to reflect the other's to a tee.

"Wait," Nash's voice said, causing both Shimmer and Cane to pause next to the door. "Now go."

They burst out of the stairwell instantly.

"Left," Nash said. "Right."

"Anyone behind this door?" Cane asked, hand on the knob.

"Two. Shimmer?"

"Got it."

Now on the fourth floor, Shimmer was close enough to Nash for the telepath to implant the exact location of the two people into her mind. It took only enough time for her to swing her aim around to tranquilize both.

They rushed into the now silent room and locked the door behind them.

Shimmer took a look at the two people in lab coats now unconscious on the floor. "Ooh," she cringed. "That's Rena's fiancé."

Cane's eyebrows rose. "He turned evil?"

"Maybe," Shimmer muttered, noncommittally. "Maybe not. Let's just see what else is here."

The two of them shuffled through piles of papers and drawers full of notes, scrabbling to find everything of use that they could before any SEEL agents took notice of them.

"Hey," Cane said, pointing to a paper. "This is about DNA alteration."

"Grab it."

"No, Shimmer, look," Cane said, making her pause in her own search. "They figured it out."

Shimmer swore. "Let me see."

He handed her the stack, worrying his lip.

Shimmer muttered to herself as she scanned several of the papers. "Trials to begin soon," she finished with. "Do you think they started yet?"

"Only one way to find out," Cane said, pointing to a door in the corner of the room labeled 'Experimental.'

"Make a stack of everything important in here. We have to make sure that any data they have is taken."

Cane nodded, then shooed Shimmer towards the door.

Hesitating only slightly, she turned the knob. The stark whiteness of the room surprised her, causing her to blink rapidly to clear the image of steel tables and white tile from her seared eyes.

As the spots cleared, Shimmer anxiously took a look around. No people--that's a start, she thought, taking in the emptiness of the room.

There were rows of cabinets and long sheets of gleamingly sterile stainless steel. Every surface was bare.

Along the left wall, however, she found something.

Five reinforced wire cages, held shut with padlocks, sat cold and imperious on a table.

Slowly, she made her way to the first cage. Empty.

The second, also empty.

Then, the third. A whimper came forth.

"Shh," she hushed, automatically, then realized what she was looking at. "Puppies?" she asked the room, incredulous.

The next cage contained the same. In all, there were six small canine bodies lying in the two cages, but only one lifted its head to look at her.