THIS STORY IS CURRENTLY BEING RE-WRITTEN. THIS IS THE FIRST PUBLISHING OF THE STORY.
Adi glared at the uncooperative music box on her desk. Leaning back, she crossed her arms in her yellow hoodie. Seventeen years old and here she was, solving yet an...
"This is the address right?" Adi squinted at the abandoned can factory walls. The charred, hollow corpse cast a shadow over Adi and Lex.
"'Course! At least, that's what the underground net says."
"And you're sure you didn't find a match for that voice?"
Lex turned, waving her prong like a tail. "For the billionth time, no! Maybe Nadya can help."
"Yeah, but she did create you." Before Lex could recognize the insult, Adi shouldered her backpack and snooped to the back of the factory's warehouse. It smelled like rotting fish.
"Do we knock?" Lex tapped the metal hangar doors.
"It's Knot. We're fine." Adi shoved the rusted doors and stepped into a Vacuum Port. Her ears popped and lips peeled back. Suddenly, Adi landed on her butt in what looked like a dimly lit computer lab. Wires, chips, and assorted parts spilled over desks of computers and various robot prototypes. The floor was littered with hand-drawn blueprints, some of which had been crumpled and thrown in a corner. A girl with a long, dark braid hunched behind mounds of graphing paper, pointing a fusion laser at a small cartridge. She wore layers on layers of clothes: a green jacket over a red button-up over a faded blue t-shirt. It made her look like a homeless kid. Of course, she was, so that made sense.
Peeling back safety goggles, she revealed one bright green eye. Her other eye, which she lost years ago during a robot malfunction, had been replaced with a silver bionic one. "You didn't really think I moved to that dump did you?" She raised an eyebrow.
"Well, you are only twelve," shrugged Adi.
"Age's got nothing to do with finding a decent place to hide," the girl rolled her eyes. "Plus, I'm almost thirteen."
"Hi Knot," piped Lex, appearing from the port.
"Sup Lex?" Knot grinned. "Come for another check-up?"
"No, Adi needs you this time."
Knot squinted. "You missing a limb, Adi? Or an eye? I'm pretty good with those." She tapped her prosthetic.
Adi stepped up to the workbench. "Ransom's been kidnapped."Her eyes pricked. Blinking, she unslung her backpack. "We think you can help." Adi pried the music box from the bag and thumped it onto the cluttered desk.
"What's this?" Knot picked up the pink cube, sweeping mounds of paper away.
"Holo-transmitter. I'm not sure why it's a music box," said Adi.
"And the timer?"
"That's how much time I have until Ransom..." Her voice cracked. Adi cleared her throat. "I found it at his place when I went to ask why he didn't show up for the move. Guess I found my answer."
Knot flipped the box over and examined the parts underneath. She squinted, then sniffed. "Someone's been tampering with the gears."
"Yeah," Adi said, guilty, "I was trying to open it."
Knot flicked the button on the lid. Of course, it opened. Cue the eyebrow.
While Knot continued examining the box, Adi sized up the new place. The room could probably house a small airplane, but the only occupied space beside the desk was a bed in the corner that looked like it hadn't been slept in for weeks. Knot's desk sat in the center of the room, and behind it, a cluster of robots and weird inventions. One oval shaped contraption hummed quietly by Knot's swivel chair.
"What's that?" Adi asked, pointing to the egg.
"Bio-dome. Hamster. Not much work," Knot mumbled from under the gears.
Confused, Adi pushed around junk to take a closer look. The Bio-dome was about the size of a large beach-ball, made of glass, and had so many screws and buttons, Adi couldn't guess its function.
Knot sighed. Putting a pair of pliers down, she explained, "That's where my hamster, Turbo, lives. The Bio-dome basically does everything for me except replace food. It takes moisture from the air and filters it into the water pocket." She pointed to the dish. While Knot expounded on the Bio-dome's mechanics, Turbo the hamster peeked out of his hut. Adi smiled.
"Hey, Knot? Adi?" Lex started, making Adi jump, "I think I found something."
The two girls rushed to Lex, who projected a male Webfeed reporter onto the white wall.
"-seventeen reported break-ins throughout Madison County. Nothing was stolen, but every drawer, closet, or cabinet had been searched, contents scattered across the floor. The intrusions seemed random, but almost every victim claimed to know one another. Detectives suspect gang members are targeting these specific individuals to search for cash or possible weapons. Deborah Pace interviewed a young victim two days ago about her experience. Let's review the feed."
The projection then showed a girl with pink hair and a green crop top. She seemed distressed, only coming halfway out of her apartment door. Adi heard Lex snap a picture. While the girl angrily tried to close the door on the reporter, Adi noticed an assortment of necklaces on her throat. One of them was a familiar pendant- one that Adi owned- an omega symbol.
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Knot grumbled, "Mycah. She's with the team." Adi nodded. She remembered Mycah. When Adi and Knot were members of an underground investigation society, Mycah was an intern. Before they quit, Mycah had been promoted to Lower-01-watch, the first level of Operative Members Engaged in Ground-Air Surveillance, or O.M.E.G.A.S. That was two years ago. There was no telling what level Mycah was on now.
"What do you think is going on?" Lex asked.
"I think," Adi scowled, "That whoever took Ransom is looking for something. Whoever it is, knows O.M.E.G.A.S. are expert investigators. They also know that Ransom and I worked for the team. The question is, what are they looking for, and what do we have to do with it?"
Knot nodded and reached out for the music box. It read:
69:40:23
"Knot?" Adi began, "Let's give Mycah a visit, then try to plan something out. We need Ransom back."
