Breakout Read online

  “Move along!” he said. “I’ve got this under control.”

  To their relief, the guard pushed Zugu and the other guards in the opposite direction.

  Cole didn’t understand what had happened until the guard who had rescued them came back and lifted up the helmet. It was Chamille, the Master of Form! She winked.

  “The coast is clear,” she whispered. “Get that fan out of here!”

  “Nice work!” Cole told her.

  Together, the friends quickly moved the fan down the steps into the main workroom just as the smoke was clearing. One of the noodle machines had a big sheet on it and a sign that read, “Broken.”

  Cole realized it was the perfect setup! They could stash the gathered parts under the sheet, and Karlof could pretend to “fix” the broken noodle machine. But he would actually be building the jet. And the guards would never notice.

  They slipped the exhaust fan underneath the sheet just as Zugu yelled at them from the overhead balcony.

  “Hey! Get busy down there!” he ordered.

  “Karlof fix broken noodle machine,” Karlof said, ducking under the sheet.

  “Well, make it snappy,” Zugu growled, stomping away.

  Cole nodded to Zane, and the two of them ducked down next to the machine.

  “That was a close call getting that fan,” Cole said. “Good thing Chamille helped us out.”

  Chamille sidled up to them with a sneaky smile. “Well, I am used to being able to take the form of others,” she whispered. “I saw one of the guard’s uniforms stashed in the corner, and I thought that even though I can’t take the form of a guard, I could still look like one!”

  “It seems that we are not powerless, even without our powers,” Zane said.

  Then Zugu’s voice boomed across the factory. “Workers! It’s time for your three-and-a-half-minute daily meal break. Noodle scraps for everyone!”

  The workers groaned. But they were all so hungry, they lined up in front of the guards. Each one got a bowl filled with bits and pieces of broken noodles.

  “Freshly swept up from the factory floor,” one of the guards said with a laugh. The workers groaned even louder.

  Meanwhile, Cole and Zane remained under the sheet, hidden from view. Cole’s stomach rumbled loudly. “I’m so hungry that I would eat just about anything scraped up off the floor!” He started to get up.

  Zane stopped him. “We must not get too close to the guards. They think we have escaped.”

  Cole sighed. He peeked out from under the sheet. The workers sat on the floor, munching on their bowls of noodle scraps.

  “Man, I could go for a pepperoni pizza,” said Chamille. “With extra cheese.”

  “Or a nice, big salad,” said Bolobo.

  Karlof looked angry. “Broken noodles are no meal for muscled fighter like Karlof.”

  Up above, a malevolent gleam came to Zugu’s eye. “Time’s up! Meal break over!”

  “But I’ve still got some scraps left!” Ash pleaded as a guard snatched the bowl from him and dumped them on the floor.

  “Now you don’t,” the guard said with a smug smile.

  Karlof came back to the “broken” noodle machine and started taking it apart.

  “Many good parts here,” Karlof told Cole and Zane quietly. “But still need more wires. And other stuff.”

  Zane’s eyes flashed. “Pixal,” he asked, “Can you bring up a retained memory image of the dungeons?”

  “Certainly,” replied Pixal.

  Zane scanned over the images as Pixal brought them up on his internal screen. “There were many spare parts and wires in the prison cells,” he said. “We could go get them for you.”

  “Karlof should go,” Karlof said. “Make sure parts are good.”

  “You’re right,” Cole agreed. “But how are the three of us going to get past the guards? And won’t they notice if Karlof is missing? He doesn’t exactly blend into the background.”

  “Perhaps the powers of the powerless can help us again,” said Zane.

  Cole looked up at the line of workers. “Got it,” he said. He walked up to the Elemental Masters and whispered his plan.

  A few minutes later, Chamille had finished stuffing a worker’s uniform with scrap paper. She shoved it under the sheet of the broken noodle machine with the legs sticking out.

  “See? It looks like Karlof is there, working,” she said.

  Then Gravis, the Master of Gravity, walked up to them. He pulled a small box out from under his turban.

  “I am ready to start the diversion,” he said.

  Zane scanned the guards as they paced back and forth on the balcony.

  “According to my calculations, the time to start the diversion is … now!” he said.

  Gravis tiptoed over to the balcony. He climbed onto a noodle box. Then he quickly opened up the box and dumped out its contents.

  Tiny ball bearings spilled out! The small metal balls rolled across the balcony. The guards didn’t see them, and they stepped on them. One by one, they lost their balance and fell down. They began to shout and wave their arms as they tried to get back up.

  “Zugu go boom!” the big sumo wrestler cried. “What is happening?”

  Gravis grinned as he silently slipped back down to the main work floor. “The power of gravity at work!” he said quietly.

  Thanks to Gravis’s distraction, Cole, Zane, and Karlof were able to sneak away from the noodle factory. They made their way down the dark hallways to the prison cells.

  “I still don’t get why we’re building a jet,” Cole said to Zane. “We’re underground.”

  “That is correct,” said Zane.

  “But jets need to fly! In the air!” Cole flapped his arms like a bird.

  “That is also correct,” said Zane.

  “Aaargh!” cried Cole. “Am I the only one making sense here?”

  Walking behind them, Karlof wasn’t even listening. His mind was busy running through the jet schematics inside his head. The sooner he could build it, the sooner he could get out of this place. It was so miserable in here! He missed the snow-covered fields and busy metal quarries of Metalonia, his homeland.

  The three friends came to a turn in the tunnels. Zane and Cole veered to the left. Karlof was about to follow them when he saw something from the corner of his eye. A light!

  Curious, Karlof veered right. Maybe light is way out, Karlof thought. Could be easy escape!

  He was halfway there when he realized that Cole and Zane were not with him.

  Karlof should go get them, he thought. But then he looked longingly back at the light. But first, Karlof see if light is way out. He moved toward it.

  The hall ended in a big, iron gate. But it was cracked open.

  “It is way out!” Karlof exclaimed quietly. He opened the gate and stepped through.

  Over in the other hallway, Cole noticed he and Zane were alone.

  “Where’s Karlof?” he asked.

  Zane turned around. “He appears not to have followed us. I can analyze the dust pattern on the floor to determine his direction.”

  Cole sighed. “I hope we didn’t lose that rusty rascal.”

  Light shone from Zane’s eyes. He scanned the floor as they walked back the other way. When they came to the turn in the tunnel, Zane started down the other path.

  “Is that a light down there?” Cole asked.

  At the very end of the hallway, he could see a dim red light.

  Zane analyzed it. “Yes. Source unknown. But Karlof has gone in that direction.”

  Cole and Zane moved toward the light. It came from a bend at the end of the tunnel.

  “Karlof! Are you there?” Cole whispered loudly.

  There was no answer.

  Cole and Zane went around the bend and saw an open gate. Past it, the light was coming from a heat lamp … hanging above an enormous purple snake! The snake’s body was almost as wide as the tunnel. It looked very long, too. But it was hard to tell because its body was coiled
up, and the snake was sleeping.

  Then they saw that something was curled up tightly in the end of the snake’s long tail.

  It was Karlof!

  Karlof!” Cole whispered urgently. “Are you okay?”

  “Shhhh!” Karlof warned. “Yes, Karlof okay. But accidentally stepped into snake’s tail, and now Karlof is trapped. If we wake snake, then Karlof is dinner!”

  Cole turned to Zane. “The other guys and I have seen this snake before,” Cole whispered. “It’s the second-biggest snake I’ve ever seen, next to the Great Devourer. It’s Clouse’s pet.”

  Clouse, who used dark magic, was Master Chen’s right-hand man.

  “If we try to free Karlof, the snake will wake up,” Zane said.

  “Exactly,” said Cole. “So what do we do?”

  Inside Zane’s mind, Pixal scanned the snake’s body. “Analysis shows an energy point under the serpent’s neck,” Pixal told Zane. “If it is pressed, the snake will remain asleep.”

  Zane repeated the information to Cole. Then Zane projected a hologram from his eyes, showing Cole the exact point on the snake’s neck.

  “So you mean we’ve got to pet that thing? By its head?” Cole asked in disbelief.

  “Not we,” said Zane. “You. I am made of titanium. The cold temperature of my hand might wake the serpent. Once you press the energy point, I can free Karlof.”

  “Oh, great,” Cole said, rolling his eyes.

  “Please hurry!” Karlof whispered. “Karlof hate snakes!”

  Cole sighed. “Fine.”

  Pressing his body against the wall, Cole inched slowly toward the snake’s head. He held his breath. If the giant creature woke up before he got there, he would be snake food for sure!

  Cole reached the snake’s head. It was big enough to swallow him, Zane, and Karlof together in one gulp! The snake’s eyes were closed. Its thin, red tongue moved in and out of its mouth as it breathed.

  Cole shuddered. Then he looked closely at the snake’s neck and found the pressure point Zane had showed him — a glistening purple scale. He slowly reached out to touch it … and his empty stomach growled!

  The snake stirred for a split second! Cole gulped and held his breath. Was he done for?

  But the snake’s eyes stayed closed. Cole sighed in relief. He knew he couldn’t wait any longer. He gently placed his hand to the snake’s scale and pressed. Almost instantly, the snake’s breathing grew heavy. Even its thin tongue stopped moving. It was deep in sleep.

  Cole looked to Zane and made an “okay” sign with his other hand.

  Seeing the sign, Zane quickly went to work. He might have lost his ice powers, but his new titanium body was superstrong. He carefully unwrapped the snake’s tail and Karloff slipped out.

  “Mission accomplished,” Zane told Cole. Cole removed his hand and bolted back toward Zane and Cole.

  “Hurry! Before it wakes up!” he hissed.

  They left the snake’s lair and ran down the hallway toward the prison cells.

  Karlof breathed a sigh of relief once they were in the clear.

  “Thank you,” he said as Zane led them into a cell filled with scrap metal and wires. “Karlof glad to not be big snake’s lunch!” Then he handed Cole and Zane two large flour sacks. “Karlof brought flour sacks to stuff wires and extra parts in.”

  But Cole wasn’t ready to get to work just yet. He looked at Karlof questioningly. “Why did you go down there?” he asked slowly. “Were you trying to leave?”

  “No, of course Karlof not leave,” the Master of Metal replied.

  “Then what were you doing?” Cole asked.

  Karlof scratched his beard. “Well, Karlof think about leaving.”

  “But you just said you weren’t leaving!” Cole cried.

  Karlof nodded. “Cole asked if Karlof was leaving. Cole did not ask if Karlof think about leaving. Karlof saw red light and thought maybe was way to escape. For all.”

  Cole shook his head. “But everyone else is stuck back in the noodle factory! We can’t all sneak out at the same time. That’s why we need to build the jet. And we need you to build it.”

  Karlof sighed. “Karlof know,” he said. “Team needs Karlof. It’s just … dungeons and noodle factory and no powers get to Karlof. Karlof thought if there was way out in tunnel, maybe escape would be quicker for all.”

  Zane shook his head. “The current plan is the only potential escape route with a positive success ratio.”

  “And we need every member of the team for it to work,” Cole added. “Without Ash, Gravis, and Chamille, we would not have gotten this far. Let’s not disappoint them.”

  “Karlof not disappoint,” Karlof promised.

  Working together, they filled the sacks with wires and spare parts. Then they headed back to the noodle factory.

  Cole and Zane were used to sneaking in and out already. But now they had Karlof and three heavy sacks with them. Sneaking back in wouldn’t be so easy this time. Zane scanned the room.

  “In five point six seconds, the guard will move ten paces to the right,” he calculated. “During those ten paces, we can get back to the noodle machine.”

  “Got it,” said Cole.

  Zane counted down. “Four … three … two … one!”

  Just as Zane had predicted, the guard turned his back and began to walk to the right. Zane, Cole, and Karlof quickly made their way down to the noodle machine. Cole and Zane quietly slipped their sacks under the machine’s sheet. Then they got back in line with the workers.

  Karlof wasn’t thinking. He dropped his heavy sack to the ground.

  Clank! The noise rattled through the factory.

  The guard’s head spun around.

  “What was that?” he growled.

  Bolobo and Chamille quickly moved in front of the sack so the guard couldn’t see it.

  “Sounded like thunder!” Bolobo called up.

  The guard looked suspicious. “Thunder? Down here?”

  “Hey, I used to be the Master of Nature. So I should know,” Bolobo reminded him.

  The guard shrugged. “Whatever. Get back to work.”

  Karlof nodded to Bolobo and Camille.

  “Team help Karlof,” he said. “Thank you.”

  Then he ducked back under the noodle machine.

  He had a jet to build.

  Noodles, noodles, everywhere, and nothing good to eat,” Cole sang as he worked on the factory line. His stomach growled. “How can you stand it, Zane?” he asked his friend. “Not eating, that is.”

  “I have my own internal power source,” Zane reminded him. “I do not need food.”

  Cole got a dreamy look in his eyes. “But food is so good. I could go for a bowl of yummy noodles right now. With cake for dessert. Cake …”

  “It appears that you are drooling,” Zane told him.

  Cole wiped his mouth. “This is ridiculous. We have got to get out of here.”

  He lifted the sheet of the noodle machine that Karlof was transforming into a jet.

  “How’s it going? Are you almost done?” he asked.

  “Karlof making progress,” the Master of Metal replied. “But cannot figure out how to control fuel output to thrusters. Cannot make work.”

  “Did you just say something about ‘cake’? Because that’s what I heard,” Cole said.

  Zane joined them. “I will run a diagnostic. But it may take some time.”

  “Did you just say cake again?” Cole asked.

  “Cole sure he not Master of Cake?” Karlof teased.

  Suddenly, they heard a commotion in the factory. Cole and Zane got back in the line.

  Two guards were pushing four new workers into the factory.

  First came Shade, the Master of Shadow. He looked completely drained, like he had been on the losing end of a battle with Clouse’s dark magic.

  Behind him came Mr. Pale, the Master of Light. With his powers gone, he was no longer invisible!

  Griffin Turner followed next. He used to act pr
etty slick, with his mirrored sunglasses and lightning-fast pace. But now the Master of Speed plodded along slowly.

  Finally came Neuro, the Master of Mind. Before he lost his powers, he had read the ninja’s minds and knew that Master Chen was up to no good. He became one of the first fighters to help the ninja.

  “Oh, no,” Cole whispered. “Master Chen has all their powers! Thank goodness Kai, Jay, and Lloyd are still out there.”

  But then Zugu stomped in — pushing Jay in front of him! He set him to work in front of a fortune cookie machine.

  “Work,” Zugu ordered.

  “It’s not work if you love what you do,” Jay said cheerfully. “The power of positive thinking!”

  Cole and Zane looked at each other. They knew what they had to do. They inched their way down the production line until they were right across from Jay.

  “Psst,” Cole whispered. He lifted the brim of his work hat.

  Jay’s eyes got wide. “Cole?” Then his eyes got wider. “Zane?! Is that you? You look amazing!”

  “Not so loud,” Cole hissed. “They think we’ve escaped and don’t know we’re here.”

  “Why would you come back?” Jay asked.

  “’Cause we’re breaking our way out,” Cole replied.

  “Correction — we’re building our way out,” Zane said. He nodded to the sheeted noodle machine.

  “They think we’re fixing the noodle machine, but we’re actually building a Roto Jet,” Cole explained.

  Jay looked confused. “A Roto Jet? But aren’t we underground?”

  “That’s what I’ve been saying!” Cole exclaimed.

  Karlof stuck his head out from under the sheet. “What happened to positive thinking?” he asked.

  Zugu glared at them from above. “No talking! And hurry up with that noodle machine!” he growled.

  They all got back to work. But Cole was full of questions.

  “What’s happening out there? Where is everybody else?” he asked.

  “Nya came to help us,” Jay explained. “She spied on Master Chen and Clouse. She found proof that Master Chen plans to use a spell after he steals everyone’s powers.”

  “A spell?” Cole asked.

  “Not sure what it does, but it can’t be good,” Jay replied. “Master Chen discovered that Nya was spying. He brought us all to the jungle to find her and capture her. But he was really just picking us off one by one. I’m pretty sure that Nya and Lloyd got away.”