Leo Quits Ch 7

Shelly and I arrived upstairs, after a very brief but stressful search through my bag for a swimsuit.  Once I had changed, we made our way outside in the darkness of night and found the beach.
"I really should've grabbed the mag light," I muttered.
Shelly took off her shirt and night clothes, revealling her two-piece swimsuit.  "We've tried it before, sweetie.  It doesn't work underwater."
"I know, but it's just so cool seeing light down there," I whined.
With a smile, she slipped off her shoes and left them next to her other clothing on the beach.  "You have the pearl, right?"
"Of course," I replied.
"Wait... bring my shoes, I may need them," Shelly said.
"Got it," I replied.
She sprinted out into the surf and dove into the water, as I troddled on behind carrying her shoes.  A moment later she crested the surface.
"Ready to go underwater?"
I removed my pearl from the pocket of my swim trunks, and held it in my hand.  "Ready."
"Take a breath and follow me!"
I did so, and ducked underwater.  Shelly, now with her fins swirling behind her, approached me and took her lips to my left hand, in which I was holding the Neptune pearl.
She blew air into it, and a moment later I could feel air in my lungs.  I exhaled, and was now breathing underwater normally.
"All good?" she asked.  
I always marveled at how no air came from her mouth, yet she spoke.  That was really something.
"Gregory?"
"Yeah, I'm ready."  Of course, air came from mine.
Then, she took my hand and her tailfin went into motion.  We arrived at the far end of the bay a moment later, at the bottom and looking directly at a doorway.
"This is it... what code shall we try?" Shelly asked.
Remembering the code that the doc had given me, I found the keypad and entered a few digits.
7... 2...3...2...  and 4.  
Red light, followed by an audible buzz.
"No?  You're kidding me," I groaned.
"That was for the shuttleway, wasn't it?" Shelly asked.
I nodded.  "The doc suggested Leo would use the same code... I guess we should've expected him to be original."
"Try a few of the same numbers... maybe he just used a different sequence?" Shelly asked.
I began entering random numbers.  Sure, I could try another order of numbers... but one can quickly forget how many combinations there can be with nine digits to choose from.

Michelle, Pattie, Dr. Chase and Dr. Leo were passing through the kitchen as Carrie ran to catch up with them.  
"Bret said I should come... what did I miss?"
Dr. Leo slid aside the panel in the rear of the room.  "Nothing yet.  Is Bret's arm okay?"
"Fine, he'll recover in time," Dr. Chase replied.
"How did you know about Bret?" Carrie asked, raising a fist threatingly.
"I told him," Pattie said.
Carrie gave Pattie an odd look before relaxing.  "Oh."
Leo pulled open the cargo door, giving Michelle a stern glare.  "No cars in the elevator, okay?"
"I'm not looking forward to this any more than you are, doctor," Michelle replied.
"Now now, Bret made the trip with no trouble.  Just don't give her a reason, Vince.  Everyone on," Dr. Chase said.

They made their way down, and soon arrived in the storage room and shuttleway.  The cart was waiting, still in standby on this end of the track.
"Everyone on... hurry!" Leo said.  Although the vehicle was only designed for a few passengers, everyone climbed aboard.  
With a few clicks of the keypad, Dr. Chase entered a code and the panel glew in a bright blue light.  He had been the closest to the panel, as he was the last to get on.
"Hey?  How did you break my-" Leo began.
"I know you too well, Vincent.  It's this button, right?" Dr. Chase asked, pointing to the flashing blue button on the top right.
Leo nodded.  "You always could break my codes, Thomas."
Dr. Chase hit the button, and the vehicle lurched as it sped down the rails.

I had been hitting buttons to no avail.  Nothing seemed to be working.
"4...2...3...7...7...?  Done!"
Red light, buzz.
"What about other numbers?  Do you suppose he went with a different set?" Shelly asked.
"Maybe... but in the water there'd be no trace of which buttons were used most often.  In fact, for all we know, he may have never even entered here," I said.
Shelly leaned up close to me and tried entering a few digits.  2...1...7...0...9.
Red light, buzz.
"No good, fishkins... should I try zapping it?" I asked.
"No, you might short it out... and electrocute me," Shelly said.
I nodded.  That'd be bad.
"You'd still be cute, though," I said with a smile.
She smiled back, and then gasped.  Apparently, something had caught her eye
"What?"
With a swish of her tail, she spun around so that her tail was above her and her head was upside-down.  She made no notice of the orientation shift- something that would've made me dizzy beyond recognition- and began looking over the keypad carefully.
"What do you see?" I asked.
Then, without a word, she pressed five digits on the keypad.  8...7...3...0...8.
Green light.  A white light appeared around the round handle.
Shelly spun back around upright, cheering to herself.  "I got it!"
I stood, asghast.  "How...?"
"The numbers!  They spell out Leo's name!  The eights are just filler, but 7 is L, 3 is E, and then the zero!" Shelly cried.
"And it worked?  Wow...."
"I knew I'd find it if I just looked at the lettering... no wonder they looked odd!  Well, open the door, sweetie!" Shelly exclaimed.
I pulled on the handle and turned it, and then lost myself as the door opened, apparently sucked in like a vacuum as the sea pushed us into the tiny dive well.
Shelly and I were thrown against the wall, but the metal walls were much less forgiving than the drywall in the maintaince room.  
"Ooph!" I spat as Shelly pushed against me.  The two of us found ourselves strewn on the floor of the dive well, mere inches from a wooden bench.
"Sorry... the well must've been empty.  Apparently Leo didn't design a water level check into the system," Shelly said.  She kicked her tail and floated upright.
I stood up myself and closed the door.  We were both still underwater, but my pearl's breathing power was still active.  "Yes... or he assumed that it would be full when he came in, so there was no need for the computer to verify that the dive well was full.  Take a seat on the bench."
Shelly moved her tail with gentle strokes, and floated onto the bench.  Her tail was the last part of her to settle... her hair, of course, did not settle even in the still currents of the dive well.
Turning behind me, there was another doorway with air behind it.  A bright red light located above this door was illuminated, along with the dim lighting of the closet-like chamber.  To my immediate left, however, was a control panel.
A brief visual crash course later, and I activated the draining mechanism.  The grated floor beneath us began to take in the water, and air slowly began to pump in from the ceiling.
"At least we're not shallow enough to worry about the bends," I said as the water level lowered.
Shelly nodded, waiting until after the water level was below her neck to speak again.  "I need to ask nana next time I visit... we've gone deep before, and yet the Neptune Pearl seems to counteract any water pressure changes, just the same way I can."
I smiled.  "It's nice to see you're reading those science textbooks I got you."
"Well sure, you said I have to keep studying," she said modestly.
The water now drained from the room, the panel indicated a system shutdown.  The red light faded, perhaps by use of a fiber optic line, into a rich blue.
Reaching forward, I checked the handle and pulled the door towards me.  The main gallery  of Dr. Leo's underwater apartment unfurled before us.
"Okay.  Now we just need to find Deanna," I said as I started into the room.
Shelly cleared her throat.  "Uh, Gregory?  Little help?"
I chuckled, placing her shoes on the bench next to her.  "It's uncanny how much you and Michelle are alike!  Okay fishkins, get ready for a little steam dry."

In the shuttleway, the fast ride became even more thrilling as Michelle suddenly grew nervous.
Because of the tight confines of the shuttleway sled, Pattie and Carrie were nearly on top of each other.  Michelle was near the bottom, and perhaps due to the friction of the trip the bottom of the sled grew quite warm.
"Guys... can you give me a little room?" Michelle asked as she pulled her hand free from beneath herself.
"There is no room, Michelle," Carrie began.
"I know, but... oh no!" Michelle gasped as her left hand turned into a tire.
Dr. Chase reached into his coat and pulled a small sticker from his pocket.  He pulled off a piece of the wax paper and slapped the patch onto Michelle's tire, which quickly reverted into a hand once more.  Her transformation had been immediately halted.
"Phew, that was close," Pattie sighed.
Leo shook his head.  "Once a car, always a car..."
"That's enough out of you!  If you had designed this sled bigger-" Michelle began.  She rubbed her fingers warm as the cold patch dissolved.
A lurch in the sled stopped Michelle’s rantings.  Soon, the sled began to slow down as the end of the line came into view.  “Where did you last see Deanna, Vincent?” Dr. Chase asked.
“In the main lab... she could be anywhere now,” Leo said.
The sled slowed and came to a stop.  The assembly area here was much smaller than on the island side, and the only element in the rock across from the shuttleway was a solid, reinforced steel laboratory door.  It resembled either a watertight door on an ocean cruiser or the door of a bank vault.
Leo approached a small keypad on the right side of the massive door.  A series of musical tones sounded as he entered eight digits.  
A blue light appeared above the doorway and slowly moved open.  Inside, there was a second doorway.
“Double security?” Michelle asked.
Leo entered yet another keycode sequence, nodding his head.  “Everyone in?”
Everyone already was.  Leo pulled Carrie aside from the doorway.
“Hey!  Hands of the material!“ she cried.
“Relax, Carrie, it’s okay,” Dr. Chase said.  
Leo pushed a button on the wall panel, and the door quickly closed itself shut with large hydrolic levers.  Another indicator light turned green, and turning a lever, Dr. Leo opened the inner door.
A jet of white light flashed behind the door, and ice formed on the wall as everyone jumped backwards.
“Came back, have you?”

Upstairs, Shelly and I worked our way through the underwater apartment.  Very, very posh accomdiations, if I do say so myself.
“I gotta ask Leo where he came up with this decor... I want to retire here,” I said.
“Gregory, we still hate Leo?” Shelly asked.
“Yeah but still... the man has got taste,” I marveled.
She pulled me by the arm towards the stairs, forcing me to drop her shoes.
“That’s right!  The only way you’re getting in here is as an icicle!”
I pulled Shelly close as I whispered to her.  “Was that Deanna?”
She nodded.  “Maybe she doesn’t know we’re up here?”
“Right.  Stay silent, and stay behind me,” I said.
The lazer blast from the freeze ray echoed in the lab chamber.  “Cold, isn’t it?  Go on, keep trying!  I’ve got lots of firepower, too!” Deanna taunted.
I came down and looked through the steps as a fireball spewed across the lab towards a door on the far side.  
Michelle’s yelp came from the other room, as did Leo’s pleading voice.
“Give me back my lab!  I’ll do anything!”
“You’ll give me the secrets to Turbo Teen before I yield!  Start talking!” Deanna cried.

Shelly whispered in my ear.  “Got a plan?”
I looked carefully towards Deanna, who was carrying the combination lazer that Dr. Chase had invented.  Capable of both extreme heat and fire, it was not something I wanted to contend with.
“Gregory?” Shelly said again.
I nodded, waving her to hush.  “I’m going to remove the lazer from her and make her change... then she’ll be-”
“No, wait!  Shadow’s got weapons, remember!  That’s the last thing we want!” Shelly cried.
Another blast of ice crossed the room.
“Regardless, she needs to be disarmed... just get ready to grab the lazer then.  I’ll do my best to subdue her...”
“No lightning!  Who knows what else she is carrying?  She may be armed to the teeth!” Shelly said.
“Shh!  I got it, no lightning... just get ready,” I said.

Outside in the lab’s antechamber, they were preparing their own strike.
“It’s an impass, we’ll never get in without a distraction!” Michelle gasped.
“Don’t we have any weapons of our own?” Pattie asked.
Leo shook his head.  “Not out here!  I put a stun gun into the office but that’s no good now!”
“I’m going to just go after him... she caused my two friends to fight, she’s responsible for Bret’s injuries... I’m going now!” Carrie cried.
“Carrie, no!” Dr. Chase exclaimed.

But it was too late.  I used my pearl to create a bit of telekenitic pull on the lazer, and it was pulled from her hands and landed near the base of the stairs.  Shelly ran ahead of me and retrieved the laser.
At the same moment, Carrie ran across the room and charged towards Deanna, tackling her and going for the face.
“You bitch!  You hurt Bret- when I get my hands on-”
Deanna, however, managed to fight her off.  The others had entered the room, and Dr. Chase was her closest target.
She pulled a syringe from her pocket, drew the cap of the needle and pointed it towards Dr. Chase’s neck.
“Enough!  This needle has formula YX-7!  I’ll inject him and then you’ll all be in trouble!” Deanna cried.
Leo, Carrie, Michelle, Pattie and everyone backed away.
“Gregory!  Shelly!  Drop the laser... take your pearl out and roll it across the floor towards me, now!  Do it already!”
Shelly slowly placed the laser on the lab floor.  I placed my pearl on the floor carefully.
“Kick it towards me, now!”
“You can’t use it, you know,” Leo said.
“Shut up, doctor!  I’ve had it with all your silly formulas!  I saw what happened to that mouse you injected this stuff with... if it wasn’t for my quick thinking he would’ve destroyed the lab and you know it,” Deanna fumed.
Leo nodded.  “And I doubled your pay that week.  Put the needle down... I’ll do whatever it takes... give me time, I’ll find another lazer...”
Deanna turned back to me.  “Go on, Gregory!  The pearl!”
I held out my hand, and with magic I carefully directed the pearl across the floor towards her.  
Dr. Chase had begun sweating.  He was not a good prisoner.
“What...does... YX-7 do?” he asked nervously.
“Shut up!” Deanna spat.
With what little magic I had remaining, I cast my fingers and shot a blast of magical lightning towards Deanna’s syringe.  She dodged it and made her way towards the exit.
“Nice try!  You really want me to stick him, don’t you?” Deanna challenged.
I glanced towards Dr. Chase’s face.  Clearly, he did not want me to fire again.
Deanna slowly backed out.  I closed my eyes and directed what energy I could towards Pattie, who was the nearest to me.  She marveled as she watched her arm vanish, turning invisible.
She glanced at me as her face faded, her body turning invisible.
I motioned towards Deanna, who was backing out of the room.
Pattie must’ve gotten an idea, because she picked up a nearby steel cup and headed behind Deanna, who did not notice the cup floating through the air behind her.
“That’s right... nobody moves.  Pray if you feel the need.  I escape with Dr. Chase, and you all go about your merry little lives.  Farewell!”
Deanna reached for the door, and Pattie threw the metal cup towards Deanna’s hand.  I lost my focus and became dizzy, making Pattie visible again.
However, the needle had been knocked free, and landed clear of both of them.  Michelle and Carrie then charged Deanna, sending her backwards towards the hydraulic door.
Dr. Chase broke free from Deanna in the scuffle, taking the hyperdermic needle and breaking it against the floor.
Leo then pushed a button on a nearby control panel, and the hydraulic door began to open.  The heavy duty door was now pushing Deanna and all three girls into the corner.  A red light and a buzzing alarm signaled the door opening- apparently, both doors were never meant to be opened at the same time.
“Nice try...I’m out of here!” Deanna cried, and she pushed her way clear of the others and through the door.  Michelle had a bead of sweat on her forehead, but she did not change.  
Oddly, Deanna had not changed either.  She made her way onto the shuttleway sled and hit the control.
“Oh no you don’t!” Michelle cried, running behind her and grabbing onto the lowest rail of the sled as it moved backwards.  She was now sliding along the floor and atop the rails that were embedded into the floor.
“Aren’t you a daredevil!  I make you change, and you’ll not only lose your grip but block the tunnel!  How about that!”
“I don’t think so,” a tenor voice said behind her.
“Bret!  Wow... um... hi!” Deanna cried.
Michelle had been holding as she slid between the rails, her body sliding along the stainless steel floor.  “Bret!  Stop the sled!”
He did his best to do so, but because of his broken arm he could not outwrestle Deanna’s quicker advances.  

Back at the lab, Leo and the others began running behind the sled on the steel floor.
“Come on, they’re getting away!”
Carrie and Pattie began to chase, as they were younger and better runners.  Leo did his best to follow.
Dr. Chase, meanwhile, picked up the broken needle and ensured that the purple fluid inside was broken and unable to do its work.
“What was that stuff?” I asked after retrieving my pearl.
“YX-7... whatever it is, I don’t like the sounds of it.  But I’ll make a note of the formula... in fact, I’ll make copies of all his work.  You two head after them... hurry!”
“But doc-” Shelly began.
“Go!  I’m fine, just go!”
I nodded and headed towards the exit.  “Right.  Come on!”
Shelly glanced towards her bare feet, not really in shape to run.  “Ohh... okay, I’m coming!”

At the end of the trail, Deanna had twisted Bret’s arm and his scream echoed in the enclosed passage.
“I’ll do it again if you try any more tricks!” Deanna cried.
Bret leaned in the corner of the vehicle, holding his broken arm in its sling tenderly.
The sled came to a stop and Michelle climbed up, dusted herself off, and threw a punch as Deanna pulled a second lazer out of her pocket and fired.
The yellow beam hit Michelle in the arm, making her nerves instantly stiff and numb.
“Ugh!  What in the world?” she cried, shaking her arm to restore the feeling.
Deanna laughed.  “Stun gun!  Leo’s own design.  Ta ta, loser!”  She pulled the cargo elevator door open, quickly closed it, and then moved the lever and acended.
Michelle rubbed her arm with her other hand, doing whatever she could to get the feeling back.  Bret came to her side.
“How’s your arm?” she asked.
“Hurts like hell, but she didn’t break anything new.  You?” he asked.
“I can move my arm at least... gosh Bret, I’m so sorry I hit you earlier,” Michelle said.
“Forget it.  Oil under the pan,” he replied
Michelle drew aback.  “Oil under the pan?”
“Mechanic talk... changing oil, changing into cars... never mind.”
Carrie and Pattie emerged from the shuttleway tunnel.  “Bret!  Honey, I told you to stay-”
“Couldn’t miss this party.  She took the elevator, though,” he replied.
Michelle caught her breath, wiping the sweat from her forehead.  “Man... wow, I should’ve transformed by now.”
“You couldn’t have.  CCC inhibitor,” Leo said.
He had emerged from the tunnel, followed by the others.  Shelly and I came out last.
“A what inhibitor?” I asked.
“It’s a receptor in the air.  It connects to the terminal inside both of you and prevents your cells from reacting to the transformation.  While inside the lab enterance, you couldn’t have changed,” Dr. Leo explained.
“But... in the tunnel earlier,” Michelle began.
Leo shook his head.  “You’re just lucky those cold patches are so effective.”
“Yes...” Michelle said quietly.  She wasn’t ready to admit he was right.
“How long does the elevator take?” Pattie asked.
Leo walked over to the cargo door.  “Five minutes each way... she’ll have a ten minute lead on us.”
“At least it works by itself, right?” Carrie asked.
“Of course, you can call it like anything else.  Just equipped with manual controls inside in case of heavy loads, that’s all,” Leo replied.
“Heavy loads?” Michelle asked.
“The buttons on the ground floor or this level activate them.  We’d fill up the elevator in the top to a team down here, who would then unload.  Made for a quick job in setting up the lab equipment.”
“Of course,” Carrie muttered.

When the elevator returned, the seven of us stuffed ourselves into the cab and began to acend.  Luckly, the ride up passed quickly- with so many bodies around, none of us had a chance to feel clausterphobic.
Quickly, we worked our way towards the lobby and the employee parking lot.  
“Deanna’s going want to make a quick change... if she gets away she may yet have some formulas memorized... we’d really be in trouble then!” Leo said.
“Then we can’t let her get away!” Bret cried.
Carrie held Bret tightly.  “But you can’t transform, Bret!  You took the serum, remember?”
“And your broken arm?” Shelly asked.
“We split up.  I’ve got another car on the other side of the property... Thomas, you ride with me.  Michelle, transform and take Pattie or Gregory with you, and-” Leo began.
“Look!  There she is!” Carrie cried.
From the rear of the parking lot, Shadow fired a missile towards the group.  We all dove for cover, and only Michelle, Pattie and Dr. Leo were in the clear.  
“I’ll take my truck... Michelle, transform already!” Leo exclaimed as he climbed into his truck.  “My car’s outside the lobby, go!” he cried to me, tossing me a second set of keys as he started the truck.
I caught them, and headed towards the lobby.
“I’m about to... ugh, forget it, there’s no time!” Michelle replied.  She climbed into a minibus with the resort logo on the side.  The keys were in the ignition, and she started it up.  Pattie jumped in behind her.
Shadow sped towards the exit, leaving a pair of traverser mines behind her.
Michelle threw the minibus into gear and floored the accelerator before she noticed the mines.
“Michelle!  They’ll flip us!” Pattie cried.
Michelle whipped the steering wheel to swerve, but still hit one of the mines.  The bus jumped and hit the celing of the parking garage, landing hard but still moving.
Pattie rubbed her head, as it had hit the ceiling.  “Ouch!”
“Sorry... hang on!”
Dr. Leo drove his truck beside them, speeding up and chasing Shadow as best he could.

I hit the button and unlocked Dr. Leo’s car, a speedy but discrepit Toyata Supra.  
“Do you think it’s safe?” Shelly asked.
“It’s his car, he wouldn’t trap it,” I replied.
Bret was about to get in, but Carrie stopped him.  “No, Bret... stay.  Your arm is too injured.”
“She’s right.  Bret, we’ll be back,” I said.
He hesitated, but nodded.  “Carrie, keep an eye on him.”
“I’ll do what I can.  Let’s go get ‘im,” Carrie said to me as she climbed into the back.
I climbed into the driver’s seat, Shelly got at my side, and we drove away.