Young Heroes

Eight Cupcakes

"WAKEY WAKEY YOU GIANT DING DONGS." Rianna screamed, clanging a wooden spoon against a metal pot, is what I was awoken by. It was also what caused me to fall out of my bed. And it was also what caused me to march out of my quarters, take her spoon, and snap it in half.
"Ok I know you didn't mean that because your a bitch in the morning." She said, following me even after I tried to slam my door in her face.
I flopped face first onto my bed and tried to pretend she wasn't there.
"What. The hell. Is going. On." I heard Sophia growl in my doorway.
"I have news." Rianna said. I looked up from my pillow to see her grinning ear to ear, and the rest of everyone had pretty much crowded in my doorway, looking extremely irritated and disoriented. I rolled my eyes and buried my face into my pillow again.
  "I found something on the S.D.I Agency." She said. My head shot up and I sat up, criss crossing my legs.
  "What is it?" I asked.
  "Well I went back to the explosion site—"
  "YOU went back?" Joe snarled. "You poured water on my face at 2 in the morning and pinned my arm behind my back until I teleported you there."
  "Well I couldn't sleep, and usually I drink warm milk when I'm tired, but we're all out." She said.
  He stared at her like she was insane. "Yeah I can see how you got there."
  "Anyway, I went back to the site and I dug around a little bit while he bitched and moaned about how cold it was, and I found what I think was a scrap from one of the robots. Part of a serial code, and what looks like part of a logo." She explained. I sat up straighter, more intrigued. "And I ran it through the system. The logo came back and matched to this secret global lab that's extremely confidential. No one knows about them. Their company isn't illegal because the very few people who know about it, don't know exactly what their doing."
"But you said they're a global corporation." I pointed out.
She snapped her fingers. "Exactly. So if this operation is so huge, how has it remained off the map?" She asked looking around at us all.
"...And? Did you find out why?" Nathan asked.
"If I did, you think I'd be here talking to you losers." She replied. "No I didn't. I'm looking more into it. But they're called 'società di cielo rosso'. Roughly translates to Red Sky Corporation. It's Italian." She said. Rianna was fluent in every possible language you could name, and it came in handy a lot. The first time we found out was when we ordered Chinese food and the takeout man came to drop it off. We couldn't understand a word he was saying and she came waltzing in speaking fluent Mandarin.
"Red Sky Corporations?" Carson said. "Lame ass name..." he muttered.
"Ok so where's their base?" Joe asked.
Rianna shrugged. "Other then a name, I've got nothing. They obviously wanted to make themselves impossible to find. But nothings impossible for me." She said. And with that she winked, and walked out of the room.
I stared at the floor, absorbing all the information, for what felt likes hours.
"So...you guys wanna play some COD?" Carson asked.
I threw my pillow at him and glared.
"STOP THROWING PILLOWS AT ME!" He yelled.
"STOP SAYING STUPID STUFF!" I retorted.
"STOP BEING STUPID STUFF!"
"Ok that's enough." Alysa said, rolling her eyes. "As much as I hate to put an end to that...epic roast," she emphasized sarcastically. "I'm too tired. Now I'm gonna go play COD."
"Wha—" I started.
"HELL YEAH I CALL FIRST GAME!" Sophia yelled, running out of the room with everyone following. I shook my head, following.

An hour later, we were still playing and being very unproductive. We were playing the zombie campaign mode and I was walking through an abandoned lab, looking out for zombies.
"Watch the corners." Nathan said obsessively. I rolled my eyes and Sophia slapped the back of his head.
"You've said that like 30 times in the last 20 minutes. SHES WATCHING THE CORNERS." Sophia said, irritated. He rolled his eyes and held up his hands defensively.
I came to a room that was filled with giant barrels of radioactive waste.
"Ah get out of there that stuffs radioactive, it'll kill you fast." Carson said, making gestures with his hand.
"Well what if there's a clue in here. They wouldn't have a room with radioactive chemicals for no..." I trailed off.
Alysa looked at me. "What?" She asked.
"Radioactive..." I said to myself. It felt like a light switch in my head had just flipped on. I looked at everyone excitedly. "Radioactive!" I jumped up and threw my controller somewhere, jumping over Carson and the couch, and running out of the room.
I ran to the computer room and Rianna wasn't there. I checked the lab and found her typing on her laptop at one of the tables. Everything in the lab was pristine and everything just glowed bright white it seemed because it was so well kept. There were refrigerators on the walls that had bacteria samples and what not in them. There was all kinds of machinery and computers too.
"Rianna!" I cried, grinning and out of breath.
"Ashlyn!" She deadpanned, not even looking up.
"Where's the sample?" I asked quickly, my eyes wild.
"From robozo? Over there." She said gesturing to the examination area, which was basically a glass box the piece of metal was sitting in. It was about the size of a quarter.
I blinked my eyes and switched into my radioactive detection mode, and the irises of my eyes turned a pale purple.
Everyone came rushing into the lab.
"What the hell?!" Nathan yelled, panting as he walked inside the lab with everyone else.
"Weren't you in track?" I mocked.
"Shut up."
"Guys I was right! Radioactive traces!" I said basically jumping with excitement. I looked at everyone and they flinched.
"Ashlyn turn off the eyes!" Nathan yelled, closing his eyes.
I rolled my eyes. "I thought, if these people are so dangerous and have such advanced technology and energy, there must be huge traces of radioactive elements on their technology, and I was right." I looked back at the metal. "It's...Polonium...how in the world did they get Polonium?"
"Ok I failed science in middle school, so I think I speak for everyone when I say what in the hell is Polonium?" Joe said condescendingly.
I turned to him and he jumped back from my bright, pale purple eyes. "Have you ever said anything without the condescension?"
"No." He deadpanned.
I rolled my eyes. "Polonium is an EXTREMELY rare and EXTREMELY deadly radioactive chemical element. It destroys your DNA and leads to a high risk of cancer, it basically kills you. Rianna please tell me you didn't touch this without protective gear." I said turning to her desperately.
"You think I'm stupid?" She said with a smirk.
"Sometimes." Carson mumbled. She whipped her head to him, and she squinted her eyes in deep concentration.
  "AHHHHH FUCK STOP SCREAMING IN MY HEAD!" Carson screamed, doubling over and covering his ears.
  Rianna has telepathic powers, meaning she couldn't read people's minds for some reason, but she could only have conversations and talk to them. Sometimes if we pissed her off she'd scream in our heads.
  I refocused on the piece of death in front of me. How could such a small fragment of metal be so deadly?
  The containment we had contained it in was more then safe though, not to mention the particles from the radiation it emits doesn't travel far.
  "Ok so if this metal is so rare, how do they get it? And why would they use radioactive metal just to make a few robots?" Sophia asked, crossing her arms.
  I pointed my pen at her. "Precisely, mon chéri." I said chewing the end of my pen and spinning in a wheelie chair, and everyone looked at me. "What? Rianna's the only one who can be bilingual?" I stood up and walked back over to the box. "The answer to your second question...Polonium is classified as a metal, but that's not what it's used for, so I believe what we're actually seeing is HEAVY leftovers remnants of it. Now we've got a game plan though." I said. I turned around and looked at Sophia. "Did you eat a banana? You have radiation in your stomach."
  "I HATE IT WHEN YOU DO THAT STOP LOOKING INSIDE ME." She shouted, wrapping her arms around her stomach.
  "Right sorry." I said, my eyes turning back to normal. "Ok here's the plan. I'm gonna scout the city for any traces of this."
  "Ash, there's so much different types of radioactive stuff in the city, how are you going to tell if it's this polio crap?" Nathan said doubtfully.
  "It's Polonium."
  "Whatever."
  "Trust me, I'll know." I said. I turned and began walking out of the lab, everyone following.
  "Suit up, I'm gonna need your guys help." I said. I heard the security bell ring, meaning someone was at the elevator.
  "I've got it!" Alysa shouted from down the hall.
  I grabbed my hood and pulled it on with my bow and quiver.
  "Ashlyn..." I heard Alysa behind me.
  "Hey are you gonna stay—" I said, stopping when I turned and saw her face pale. In one hand she was holding a small card. In the other she held a small basket of mini cupcakes. Eight cupcakes.
  My blood started heating up. "Alysa did you see anyone? Did anyone talk to you?" I questioned, walking quickly to her.
  "No, no I'm fine. Only, this was in the elevator...Here..." she said handing me the small card hesitantly.
  I took it and it read three words in a typewriter font that made my blood turn to ice.
  "Keep it up". -SDI