Chapter 41
Ill Reunion
When Tick opened his eyes, the face of Reginald Chu was staring back down at him. It was a face that had once meant so much to him—this terrible man was the Alterant of Tick’s beloved science teacher, one of the greatest people ever. It was crazy how two opposites could look so much alike.
Tick was surprised at how little panic he felt. The ordeal that had happened near his home had been terrible. The movement and disorientation from whatever it was that had captured him had caused him to faint. He’d eventually awakened on a gurney of steel in some kind of bright washroom, reeking. He almost gagged from his own smell. He’d barely been conscious enough to have the thought, however, before someone pricked him with something that made him doze off again. His last memory was of a big hose washing him off before the darkness took him away.
And now, here he was again. Waking up. He could feel clean, fresh clothes on his skin. He could see lights in the ceiling. And the ugly, smug face of Chu peering down at him as if he were nothing but an insect specimen.
“Don’t even think about reaching for your Chi’karda,” the man said. “Before I say anything else, I’ll warn you on that front. Do you understand?”
Tick stared at him but said nothing. His mind went back to his failed attempts to escape from that weird silver coffin that had captured him. Twice he’d tried to destroy the object and free himself by throwing out his power, only to have it rebound and practically fry his brain. He still didn’t really understand the whole strange turn of events.
Chu continued. “I can see the light of understanding in your eyes. I’m sure you remember when you and Jane came to Chu Industries, invited by yours truly. I wanted the best for my Dark Infinity project, and I knew there had to be something in place to block your Chi’karda levels. Well, obviously it didn’t work then—now did it? You destroyed my entire building and ruined Jane’s body for life.”
“Maybe I’ll do it again,” Tick responded. His confidence was returning, and he still felt no real fear, despite the situation.
“You’re missing my point. Once again your arrogance is preventing your brain from processing my words. I’m reminding you of the measures I had in place because they have been improved upon. My people are very clever, and you would be wise not to try anything. You felt what happened when you tried to use your force against the Bagger.”
“The Bagger?” Tick repeated. He lifted his head up and saw that he was lying on a small bed with several metal cords wrapped around his body, holding him down. The cords were much thinner than the one that had sprung from the long silver box and grabbed him by the waist, but seemed to be made from the same material.
“It’s an invention of Chu Industries that I have neither the time or the desire to explain. It uses technology that lies beyond terminology you would understand anyway. But the key is that it was armed with my anti-Chi’karda recoil mechanism. And it worked. Sorry to test it on you—I’m sure you don’t appreciate being the guinea pig, considering you could have died. What a pity that would’ve been.”
This supposedly grown man was acting like a child, and it annoyed Tick to no end. “Maybe you can just tell me why I’m here.”
Chu’s head pulled back ever so slightly, as if he were surprised that Tick would take such a tone considering his obvious disadvantages. “Don’t mistake bravery for stupidity, boy. With all the people I’ve crushed or pushed aside in my lifetime quest to rule the Realities and make them better, it should be clear that I have many, many enemies. But no one comes close to being a target of my sheer . . . animosity as you do. Mr. Higginbottom, I despise you—there’s no other way to put it. And your margin of error with me is as thin as a red blood cell. Do you understand?”
“You despise me?” Tick asked, incredulous. “How do you think I feel about you?”
“I’m sure the feeling is mutual. But it hardly matters now that I have such complete control over you. I suggest you take a more humble approach.”