Just For One Day

20

   Eagle Scientific headquarters was a truly impressive building. Housed in a skyscraper that seemed to stretch on into the stratosphere, it was encased in a brick and marble exterior with gargoyles every few stories. The door was a large affair made of sliding glass so you could see into the lobby. The raised emblem of a robotic eagle was sculpted into the stone above the front door.

     "Well, that's a relief," I said, pointing at it.

    "What is?" Teravolt asked me. She seemed winded from our power walk from the bus stop.

     "The eagle," I replied.

     Teravolt breathed heavily and wiped a drop of sweat from her nose. "Why is it a relief?"

   "I don't know," I said. "I guess it's just carved that way."

    Teravolt said nothing, but she slapped my arm.

   "Ow," I said, rubbing it.

    Meteor came up a minute later, huffing like a coal train.

     "My apologies, team," he said. "It seems I've been neglecting my cardio lately!" He looked at the building, a stone and ivory monument to unnatural science and twisted mechanics. "Well, that's a relief."

    He missed the glare that Teravolt gave him.

    "Do we have a plan?" I asked. "Or is the plan 'stop Ranvier at all costs'?"

     "He could be doing any amount of crooked misdeeds in there, and we have no way of knowing!" Meteor said. "We're going to have to leap before we look!"

    And, true to form, he swept off into the lobby.

     Teravolt and I exchanged a tired look.

   "He's always like this, isn't he?" she asked.

   "He wouldn't be Meteor if he wasn't," I said.

    We followed Meteor into the building. The lobby was brightly lit and very serious looking, with lots of white marble, potted plants, and statuettes. It was very reminiscent of a museum. Sitting behind the big receptionist's desk was a very large, very unfriendly looking man in a security guard's uniform. He had a week's worth of stubble, an eyepatch, and a tattoo that actually said 'MOM' with a heart around it. I guess you have to really keep up appearances when you cater to a supervillain clientele.

    "I told you, we're closed," he was saying to Meteor. "Nobody goes in without an appointment."

   "I have an appointment with destiny!" Meteor exclaimed. I mentally face palmed.

     The guard squinted suspiciously. "Dr. Jennifer Destiny, in the genetics department?" he asked.

     "...Yes." said Meteor.

     The guard sighed and picked up his desktop phone. "I'll see if she's in, but I'm pretty sure she left for the day." He began to dial a number.

     "Is this actually working?" Teravolt whispered.

    I was just as amazed as she was. It remained to be seen if our luck would hold out, however. What would we do if Jennifer Destiny picked up and said that we absolutely did not have an appointment?

    "I'm pretty sure this is going to go south soon," I whispered to Teravolt. "We need a plan B."

    "I'm gonna zap him, and then we'll all run inside," she replied.

     "We can't do that, we're the good guys!" I whispered. "Besides, I bet there are security cameras all over this place!"

     "Oh, uh, hi, Dr. Destiny," the guard said into the phone, looking surprised. "I thought you might have left by now. What's that? Surprise party for Dr. Pullman becoming a father? Aw, I wish I could be there. No, no, I couldn't; I'm the first line of defence. Anyway, I've got three people here wearing crazy costumes who say that they have an appointment with you. Yeah."