Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports

111

"Okay, they got me," Total whispered. "I am one stunned little dog."

Angel, Nudge, and I nodded silently, our eyes wide at what was happening in front of us.

I won't describe the scariest things we saw that morning, 'cause it would depress the heck out of you. Let's just say that if these scientists had been using their brilliance for good instead of evil, cars would run off water vapor and leave fresh compost behind them; no one would be hungry; no one would be ill; all buildings would be earthquake-, bomb-, and flood-proof; and the world's entire economy would have collapsed and been replaced by one based on the value of chocolate.

However, since they were evil, basically we saw stuff that would fuel the world's nightmares for the next five hundred years.

"Max, if you survive your final test, can you steal one of those magic outfits for me?" Angel asked, leaning against me.

"I'll try to get one for each of us," I replied, and then I realized what she'd said. "Hey! 'If'?"

She looked at me seriously, and I hoped she hadn't developed a way to predict the future. "We're way outnumbered, and I don't think they're gonna fight fair."

I held her hand tightly. "They never do. But I will survive, and I will steal you one of those magic suits."

She smiled.

"Here you see our patented process for growing replacement limbs," said the Director. A man walked out, reached over, and detached his arm from the shoulder. He showed that it was made of flesh and bone, and was attached to him by an electronic interface that looked suspiciously like an iPod data port.

"Way gross," said Nudge, and we all nodded.

"We made the replica arm out of biogenetic matrix," the Director explained.

"Is that from Duncan Hines?" I whispered.

"It functions exactly like the limb he lost-and even better," the Director went on. "We laced titanium cells into the bone material, strengthening its stress resistance by four hundred percent."

"And guaranteeing him hassles at airport security stations all over the world," I murmured.

"Next we have one of our most successful human hybrids," said Dr. Janssen.

A woman walked out, totally normal looking. Did she have wings? Was she an Eraser?

"Mara here had Panthera pardus genetic material grafted into her human DNA. It's given her some unique qualities."

"What's that?" Angel whispered.

"I don't know," I said.

"Something feline," said Ari.

He was right. Up on the platform, the woman opened her mouth to reveal humongous razor-sharp fangs, which looked even more lethal than the typical Eraser's. Then she crouched down, sprang up as if made of rubber, and landed fifteen feet above the platform, clinging to a tall light stand.

Everyone who hadn't gasped when they saw her fangs quit trying to be suave and went ahead and gasped.

The Director smiled and motioned her down. "As usual, the leopard genes were expressed in some unexpected ways."

Meaning they still didn't know what the heck they were doing.

Mara turned around. The Director unzipped her jumpsuit at the back, and an excited murmur raced through the crowd. Ol' Mara had leopard spots trailing down her spine.

"Guess she can't change that," I said, and Total snickered.

"And Mara is just the beginning," said the Director.