The basement lab buzzed with the faint mechanical hums, quiet whirs, and soft beeps from various machines. Miles of wires coiled and snaked across the floor like a maze, connecting to multiple monitors, a computer, Asante’s tablet, and a mysterious mass draped under a massive red cloth in the center of the room.
Asante scrambled around the lab like a possessed man. He’d drag a cord around and plug it into something, only to check again and have to wrap it around to plug into something else across the room. Occasionally, he’d dart over to his table, furiously typing something and muttering under his breath.
“No, no, not there. Why was this even–ugh! Okay, now…perfect. Dang it!”
Michael leaned back against a nearby desk with his arms crossed, his eyelids drooping heavily. His head dipped slightly, but he jerked back upright, catching himself before he dozed back off. He blinked his eyes rapidly, desperately trying to resist the temptation to sleep. What kind of person willingly chooses to not only wake up but sneak back into school at 5 AM on a Sunday morning?!
“Hey, genius,” Michael complained. “Did you know some people choose to sleep at this hour?”
“This isn’t right…where did I put that cable?” Asante continued mumbling to himself.
“Don’t even bother,” Zuriya said, “He’s in his zone. He’s been like this since I got here.”
She sat perched on top of the same desk Michael was leaning on, her legs swinging idly as she scrolled through her phone. Asante brushed past them again, his figure nothing more than a blur to Michael in his state. Geez! Just slow down. Zuriya didn’t even look up, completely unfazed by his behavior. Michael rubbed his temples, a headache slowly beginning to set in.
“Does his ‘zone’ at least have an on/off switch?” he asked, “Or does he just thrive off the chaos?”
“I’d say it’s more of an organized chaos. Like an artist at work. Don’t ruin his vibe.”
Michael released a deep sigh, attempting to relax. He rubbed his face and shook his head, trying to shake off the exhaustion. He turned his attention toward the red cloth on the center table.
“So, what’s the deal with the mystery tarp?” he asked.
Zuriya finally looked up to see what he was referring to. She shrugged her shoulders. Michael turned to Asante, who was trying to troubleshoot a blinking monitor.
“Techno-wiz, what’s the deal with this thing?”
Asante didn’t answer. He was too engrossed to even glance back at them.
Hello? Is this some big reveal, or what?” he asked.
“Can’t talk. Almost done…why isn’t it–”
“Asante?”
“Later! When everyone’s here,” Asante shouted back.
Zuriya checked her phone again, this time sighing as she tossed it onto the desk beside her. The noise startled Michael. Even Asante whipped his head around at the sound before returning to his madness.
“Still no word from LaNiya or David,” she grumbled.
“You text them?” Michael asked.
“Yeah. In the group chat.”
“And?”
“Nothing yet.”
“Think they’ll show up?”
“Probably.”
“Probably? You’re supposed to be the optimist. What’s up with you today?”
Zuriya looked down. Her legs stopped swinging. She tapped her fingers on the desk, her voice turning thoughtful.
“Do you think…David’s going to be alright?” she asked weakly.
Michael hesitated. He shifted uncomfortably against the desk, eyes trained on the floor.
“I don’t know,” he said.
Zuriya laid back on the desk, arms sprawled out. Michael glanced back at her.
“You seem too comfortable down here. What happened?”
“Who? Me?” Zuriya asked, surprised.
“Yeah. The first time we came down here, you looked like you were ready to bolt out of here at every second. You nearly did.”
“I don’t know…I guess it just doesn’t feel as creepy anymore. And everything isn’t as tense as before. Plus, since Asante changed the codes on the basement door, and so long as those guys don’t show up again, it kinda just feels like…our space.”
“Hmm…I didn’t think about it like that.”
“Plus, you’re not stomping around, ready to pick a fight with David every few minutes. That definitely helps.”
“Give it time,” Michael said, rolling his eyes, “He’s still running late.”
“We’re here!” a voice echoed from the stairwell.
“Speaking of,” Michael said.
LaNiya and David soon emerged from the stairwell, dashing over to the trio.
“Sorry we’re late,” LaNIya said, catching her breath.
“We had trouble with the new codes,” David said.
“Took you long enough,” Michael said.
“We’re here now, aren’t we?” David retorted.
“Did we miss anything?” LaNiya asked.
“Nope. We’re waiting on Asante,” Zuriya said.
“And…done. Perfect timing,” Asante shouted, “now for the final calibrations.”
He walked over to the center table, tapping something on the computer. A bunch of whirls and beeps came from whatever was beneath the red cloth. Everyone else collectively jumped back from the sudden noise coming from the table. What does he have under there?
“So…what exactly is under there? Is it something cool? Dangerous?” Michael asked.
“Both?” LaNiya added.
“See for yourself,” Asante said as he dramatically pulled off the cloth.
Underneath the clot, there was what looked like a metallic spine, one that ran from the neck down to the waist.
“What is that?” Zuriya asked, her voice filled with disgust.
“This is the basis for the suit,” Asante answered proudly.
Taking a closer look, Michael examined the metal device–a metallic spine that flexed and bent as if to mimic a human backbone. It looked to have been constructed for a fully grown adult to wear. The two pairs of limbs extending from the base looked to align with the arms and legs. It also had thick, adjustable straps that seemed to hook around the neck, waist, wrists, and ankles to hold it in place. But what was more shocking was how thin it was. This thing looks as delicate as a toothpick.
“Awesome,” David said.
“Cool,” Michael said, mimicking his tone.
“It’s…something,” Zuriya said.
“Did you build this thing, Asante?” LaNiya asked.
“I can’t really take credit. All the parts were from scrapped projects,” he said, “I just got the wiring up and running. It’s fragile but should be quite powerful. These parts must not have been used in decades because they were located in the far back of the cooler.”
Asante swiped up on his tablet, sharing his screen with the large monitor nearby. The group watched as he pulled up a set of blueprints with the same model as the mechanical spine on the table.
“Everyone, meet Aegis,” Asante said proudly.
The four kids looked at Asante with a judgmental stare. Michael raised an eyebrow.
“You named it?”
“Of course I did. All inventions need names.”
“Well, that helps ease some tension,” Zuriya said, finally coming down from the desk. “Doesn’t it mean something like shield or protector?”
“Exactly.”
The monitor zoomed in on the Aegis models as Asante continued explaining.
“Although this is just the base of the suit. If everything went according to plan, the skeleton should adjust to fit whoever is wearing it. But…it’s still incomplete. We’ll still need to build on it. This includes armors and enhancements, each customized for each wearer.”
“And what about that part?” David asked, pointing toward the blueprints, “What about this section labeled ‘Resonance’?”
“Umm…that part is tricky,” Asante said, zooming into the section. “I don’t understand it exactly. It has something to do with the way it reacts to movement and feedback. But it says it has to be synced to the user.”
Zuriya began tapping on her phone.
“The quality of the sound or a sound vibrating with another sound,” she read.
“Think you’ve got the wrong definition,” Michael said.
“That’s what’s here. Just stuff about music and sounds.”
“And what about this ‘essence’ part?” LaNiya asked.
“The notes weren’t very clear,” Asante shrugged, “My best guess was that it needed to be perfectly tailored to its user–height, weight, arm span, etc.”
“Makes sense to me,” Michael said.
“Great. You can be the first one to test it,” Asante smiled.
“W-what?” Michael stammered.
“Hold on a minute!” LaNiya shouted, “Think back. Remember what those guys who took Dr. Reed said about the suit being dangerous?”
Michael had to think back to that night. She was right. They had overheard two of the scientists talking about how someone had died trying to test out one of those suits. And that they were planning on using their teacher as a replacement test subject. But is this version of the suit still just as dangerous as the prototype they stole?
“Oh yeah. Something about it barely being able to move, but that it was nearly indestructible, right?”
“That was the larger version,” LaNiya said, “They said that it had killed the last person who had tested it before.”
“Seriously? And you were just going to let him do it?” Zuriya shouted at Asante.
Asante held his hands up in defense.
“Relax. It’s not dangerous. Well, at least not yet. It’s just the skeleton.”
“But–”
“We’re going to make this one better and safer.”
“Safer?” Michael asked.
“That’s what the testing is for,” Asante said, “Now…who wants to test it out?”