Dimensions (The Young Neos Book 4) Read online

  “Dizzy, what’s she doing here?” said Strike, suddenly snapping Treehugger out of her reverie. “What’s her name, Treehugger, I think?”

  Treehugger nearly gasped. He knows my name, he knows my name, he knows my name! Act cool, Treehugger. Don’t let him know that you’re freaked out.

  “H-Hi, Strike,” said Treehugger. “Um, how are you?”

  Treehugger bit her lower lip. Damn it. At least you didn’t shriek or faint.

  Apparently, neither Strike nor Dizzy heard her, because Dizzy said, “Oh, she’s just here to check on you. Apparently, Bolt wants to know if he killed you or not.”

  “Oh, okay,” said Strike. He looked directly at Treehugger and gave her the thumbs up. “You can tell Bolt that I’ll be okay. He doesn’t need to worry about me holding this against him or anything.”

  Treehugger looked at Strike in surprise. “You mean you aren’t angry that he nearly killed you on a stage in front of hundreds of people?”

  “Nah,” said Strike, shaking his head. “Why would I be? I heard from Healing Touch that Bolt was controlled by some sort of supervillain. I kind of suspected it, because Bolt didn’t look very normal when he tried to kill me.”

  Oh. My. God, Treehugger thought. Not only is he hot, but he’s also incredibly kind and gracious. He’s too pure for this sinful Earth.

  “Besides, I’ve been through worse,” said Strike. “Like when I fought Tsunami and nearly drowned. Remember that, Dizzy?”

  Dizzy nodded. “Yeah. He nearly sank the entire city of San Francisco under the sea, too.”

  “Uh, okay,” said Treehugger. She took a step backwards. “Well, I guess if you are okay and aren’t angry with Bolt, then I’ll just leave and—”

  “Wait,” said Strike, holding up a hand. “Don’t leave just yet. I have something I need to tell you.”

  For a moment, Treehugger had a vision of Strike rising from his bed. He walked over to her, took her in his large arms, and declared his undying love for her while Dizzy sat there, looking both stunned and betrayed, but eventually smiling as she realized that she cared more about the happiness of the man she loved than her own. Treehugger imagined looking deeply into Strike’s sensitive brown eyes as his lips came closer and closer to hers …

  But then Treehugger shook her her head and said, “Yes, Strike? What is it?”

  “It’s a message for Bolt,” said Strike. He leaned forward, looking quite serious. “I need you to deliver this to him as promptly as possible. And don’t tell anyone else about it, okay? Not even Mecha Knight or any of the other NHA leaders.”

  Treehugger tilted her head to the side, debating whether she should agree to such conditions. After all, she was not supposed to keep secrets from Mecha Knight or any of the other NHA leaders, especially in important matters relating to superheroes. She had no idea what Strike’s message for Bolt might be, of course, but given the context of her visit to Strike, she doubted it was anything minor or insignificant.

  On the other hand, Treehugger also didn’t think Strike was up to anything bad. After all, he wasn’t just another pretty face. He was also a good person who would never lie or do anything morally questionable. Of course, Treehugger didn’t know Strike as well as Bolt, but she still felt that was a reasonable assumption to make about him. Besides, she doubted that Strike would ask her to tell Bolt anything wrong or bad, and anyway it might just be a personal message, not anything relating to the Venetians or anything like that.

  “Okay, Strike,” said Treehugger with a smile. “What’s your message?”

  “I need you to tell Bolt that the plan was a success,” said Strike. “Don’t worry. He’ll know what that means.”

  But I won’t, Treehugger thought, though aloud, she said, “Okay, sure. I’ll let him know as soon as possible.”

  Strike suddenly smiled at her, showing off his bright, pearly white teeth. “Awesome! Glad to hear it. Also, tell Bolt to come by whenever they decide it’s safe to let him out. I want to talk to him about some other stuff, too.”

  Treehugger nearly fainted on the spot from Strike’s smile, but she nodded and then turned around and left without another word. As she walked down the clinic’s main hallway, Treehugger couldn’t help but feel like she had been blessed by the gods.

  Strike actually smiled at me because of something I did, Treehugger thought, her head almost spinning from happiness. He smiled at me. That has to be considered some kind of divine blessing, maybe a sign from heaven that I’m doing something right.

  At the same time, however, Treehugger also found herself wondering what Strike meant about the ‘plan’ he told her about. Treehugger hadn’t known that Bolt and Strike were working on a plan of some sort. She hadn’t even heard about it before. She wondered if it had anything to do with the Venetians or if it was related to something else.

  It’s probably not anything bad, I’m sure, Treehugger thought as she passed through the clinic’s lobby and out the front doors. And probably doesn’t have anything to do with me, so I don’t see any reason to worry about it.

  Putting that thought in the back of her mind, Treehugger allowed her mind to start to wander off into visions of romantic fantasies with Strike before a bag suddenly came down on her head and everything went dark.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Treehugger’s head felt as swollen as balloon. She rubbed her head, though she found that movement difficult because of what felt like some chains tied around her wrists. With her eyes closed, she did not know where she was; however, she could feel the cold metal underneath her and what sounded like the muted roaring of an engine somewhere in the distance. She also seemed to be wearing her green suit and her braids were still okay, but when she ran a hand over her wrists, she discovered that her suit-up watch was gone. She quickly tapped her earcom, only to discover that the earcom was missing, too.

  What happened to my earcom? Treehugger thought. Where am I? Did someone kidnap me? Am I even still on the school grounds anymore?

  Panic starting to creep up her spine, Treehugger opened her eyes and sat up. She looked around at her surroundings and was astonished by what she saw.

  She was sitting in a metal cell, but it looked nothing like the jail cells back at the Academy. The walls, floor, and ceiling were covered with some kind of strange silver-gray metal. Not being an expert in metals, Treehugger didn’t know exactly what kind of metal they were made out of, but somehow she could tell that this was not a type of metal that could be found on Earth. She was sitting in the middle of the cell, with two thick chains tied around her wrists, connected securely to the floor. Though the chains were loose enough that she could move her arms freely, she did discover that if she stretched her arms out too far, that the chains would become taut and her arms would be pulled back to her sides; clearly, these chains were either intelligent or were part of some complex computer system that she knew nothing about.

  The cell, at least, was well-lit, with pure white lights pouring down over her like the rays of the sun. Beyond the bars of her cage, she could see a hallway plated with similar metal, but she saw no one out there. She sat very still, listening as closely as possible, but she did not hear the sounds of any living creatures nearby, whether human or otherwise. She did, however, hear that muted engine, which seemed to be coming from somewhere behind her, although it must have been separated by several layers of thick metal based on how loud it was. She also heard air coming from the vents; evidently, there was some kind of circulation system at work in this place, wherever she was.

  This looks nothing like the Academy, Treehugger thought. This doesn’t even look like Earth. Where the heck am I?

  Treehugger tried to remember the last thing that happened to her. She remembered walking out of the Academy clinic, a spring in her step, imagining Strike taking her into his arms and away from the Academy to live happily ever after, but after that she couldn’t remember a thing. She vaguely recalled a bag being thrown over her head, kind of like how kidnappers sometimes kidnapped
their victims, but she didn’t understand why she immediately lost consciousness when that happened.

  Doesn’t matter, Treehugger thought. Someone has kidnapped me. Who, why, and what they plan to do with me, I don’t know. All I know is that I need to get out of here and find my way home or at least find a way to contact the others so they can save me.

  Unfortunately, Treehugger had no idea how she was going to escape this place. She had the ability to control plant life, but metal surrounded her on every side, with not even one blade of grass in sight. And given how she heard an engine sound, she guessed that she was either on a boat or some kind of airplane, which meant that she would not be able to escape very easily even if she did somehow break the chains currently holding her down. She still needed to escape, but exactly how she would go about doing that, she did not know.

  She tugged at the chains to test their strength, but found that they were too strong for her to break. If she had super strength like Bolt or White, she would be able to snap them easily; as it was, all she could do was uselessly tug at them.

  Must not let my fear get the best of me, Treehugger thought as she lowered her arms to her sides. Maybe this situation isn’t so bad. Maybe you weren’t really kidnapped or maybe they just want to hold you for ransom and won’t kill you. Don’t let your imagination get the best of you.

  Suddenly, Treehugger heard the sounds of footsteps outside the hallway. It sounded like someone was walking down the hallway, possibly to her cell. Given how those footsteps were the very first sounds of life she had heard aboard this ship—if that’s where she was—aside from her own breathing, Treehugger felt both dread and anticipation. She lay very still, watching the outside of her cell until a figure stepped into view.

  The figure was humanoid and probably about half a foot taller than her. It wore a strange-looking space suit that reminded her of the environ suits that she and her friends had worn during the second Pokacu invasion of Earth earlier that year, except more futuristic, with what looked like touch screens embedded in the arms where buttons should have been. The figure’s face was obscured by a shiny helmet and visor, so Treehugger could not tell if the figure was a man or a woman or if it was even human. Its suit also hid any tertiary sexual characteristics, though Treehugger thought it was a man based on its size.

  Treehugger immediately noticed a weapon at the man’s hip. It looked like some kind of gun, except instead of bullets, it shot … well, she wasn’t sure what it shot, given how it had no barrel, just a pointed end kind of like the head of a flathead screwdriver. It might not have even been a gun at all, but rather some kind of strange tool or medical device, but it was so different from anything that Treehugger had seen on Earth that she just didn’t know for sure.

  Not that that was the worst of her problems. The figure stood in front of her cell rather still. He might have been looking at her, but it was impossible to tell thanks to the darkness of his helmet’s visor. Perhaps he was observing her to see what she would do or he had heard her moving earlier and came to check on her. In any case, Treehugger did not move; she was worried that if she made any sudden movements, he might draw that weapon from his side and shoot her with it.

  Then the figure raised his right hand and knocked twice on the bars, like a kid knocking on the glass wall of a zoo exhibit. It was a small gesture, but the situation was so tense that Treehugger practically jumped out of her suit when she heard the sound of his hand hitting the metal. She pushed herself as far away from the figure as she could, at least until the chains went taut again and pulled her back toward the center.

  “Whoa, there,” said the figure in unmistakable English, although his voice was muffled by the visor of his helmet. “No need to be scared. I was just seeing if you were awake. You’re in good hands, don’t worry.”

  Treehugger gulped. She couldn’t speak, because she was so shocked to hear clear English coming from that unearthly figure that she was wondering if this was all just part of some weird, wacky dream she was having. Or perhaps it was a nightmare instead; that would certainly explain why she had no method of escape.

  The figure lowered his hands and muttered in a voice that Treehugger could nonetheless hear, “Almost forgot that not all supers can speak English,” before looking up at her again and saying, in a slower voice, “Hi. No be afraid. Me friend. You safe. Okay?”

  The silliness of the figure’s way of speaking caused Treehugger to snap out of her fear and say, “Hey, I’m not an idiot, you know. I can speak and understand English perfectly well, thank you very much. No need for this ‘me am friend’ nonsense.”

  The figure stepped backwards like he had just received an electrical shock. “Whoa! So you can speak English after all. I gotta tell the Captain about this.”

  “Captain?” Treehugger repeated; the figure no longer seemed quite as scary as before, so she felt less afraid of asking him questions. “Am I on a ship?”

  “Sure are,” said the figure, nodding. “The Adventure. Best starship in the multiverse.”

  “Starship?” Treehugger repeated again, this time with more fear. “Am I in space?”

  “Technically, it’s really a ship with dimension-hopping abilities,” the figure said with a shrug. “It can fly in space, but it also flies through the void between universes. It takes a lot of energy to do that, though; as a matter of fact, it will be a while before we can dimension hop again.”

  This had to be a really weird dream. Starships? Dimension-hopping? The void between universes? This was the stuff of science fiction, and not the kind of science fiction Treehugger enjoyed, either. The suited figure had to be lying. They were somewhere else, still somewhere on Earth, and the figure was just telling her about all of this stuff just to mess with her. That’s what Treehugger told herself, anyway, because she just wasn’t yet ready to embrace the alternative.

  “You look pretty freaked out,” the figure said. “Are you hungry or something? We’ve got a lot of food on board and I could get you a great meal pretty quickly.”

  “I’m not hungry,” said Treehugger. She pointed at the figure accusingly. “You’re just lying. You kidnapped me from the Academy and now you’re playing mind games with me by claiming we’re on a dimension-hopping starship. You’re probably one of the Venetians or someone working with them, though I don’t know why you’d go to all of this trouble to mess with me when you could have just shot me instead.”

  “What are you talking about?” said the figure. “We didn’t kidnap you. We rescued you.”

  Treehugger paused. “Rescued … me? What are you talking about? I don’t need to be rescued from anything.”

  “Oh, I see,” said the figure. “You really don’t know, huh? I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. We didn’t know, either, until they came to our world and destroyed it. Guess that means I’m gonna have to explain it.” He sighed. “I hate giving exposition.”

  “Who are ‘they’ and what do you mean that your world is ‘destroyed’?” said Treehugger. “This is just more of the mind games you’re playing with me, isn’t it? Just make vague, ominous-sounding references to things that happened in the past just to make this entire situation seem more real.”

  “Actually, I just haven’t gotten around to explaining any of it yet,” said the man. “But I think my suit is freaking you out. Let me take off my helmet to show you my face. Maybe that will make you trust me more.”

  The man unclasped the clasps around the neck of his suit and slowly lifted the helmet off his head. Soon, Treehugger could see his face. He was a young, black man, probably in his early twenties or so, although Treehugger didn’t know for sure, as he had a certain timelessness about him that made Treehugger think that the laws of time didn’t apply to him for some reason. He had short, curly hair and pearly white teeth, making him look less like an astronaut and more like a model.

  “There,” said the man. Without the helmet covering his face, his voice sounded higher-pitched. “Better?”

  Treehugger put h
er hands together. “Sort of. You look more human, anyway.”

  The man chuckled. “More human is good. Anyway, allow me to introduce myself.” He pointed a thumb at himself. “My name is Jason Space and I am the lieutenant of the dimension-hopping starship Adventure, under the command of Captain Helena Galaxy, Captain of this ship. And your world is going to be destroyed very soon unless we save it quickly.”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  “What do you mean, my world is going to be destroyed?” Treehugger asked. She sat up and leaned toward Jason, her eyes narrowing. “And are you a superhuman of some sort? I’ve never heard of you before.”

  “Yes. I mean no. I mean …” Jason shrugged. “It’s complicated.”

  “Uh huh,” said Treehugger, who still didn’t know whether to believe this Jason guy or not. “So, Jason—”

  “Call me Space,” Jason interrupted. “Mr. Space. I prefer to be called that.”

  “Okay,” said Treehugger, who now secretly decided that Jason was probably more arrogant than evil. “So, Mr. Space, where did you come from? Are you from Earth?”

  Mr. Space scratched the back of his head. “Yes, but—”

  “It’s complicated,” Treehugger finished for him. “Right?”

  “Actually, it’s surprisingly simple,” said Mr. Space. “See, I’m from Earth, but not from your Earth.”

  “That’s not simple,” said Treehugger. “That’s just confusing.”

  Mr. Space sighed. “Listen, does your Earth have the concept of alternate universes? I ask this because I’ve been to some universes where the people just think you’re babbling if you start talking about alternate universes and I don’t want to waste time explaining stuff to you that you won’t understand at all.”