Free Virus Attack by Andy Briggs

impossible,” said Basilisk, never taking his eyes from the island.
    â€œEscape
was
supposed to be impossible,” said Trojan. “It was some new guy they had in there. You guys aren’t very clued in to current events, huh? Very uncool. How’re you supposed to know what’s going on in the world around you?”
    â€œWorm’s television is a couple of decades out-of-date,” muttered Basilisk.
    â€œThey’re calling him the Hunter. There’s a big search on apparently.”
    Unease crept over Basilisk—and for somebody whose gaze can turn a man to stone, that was a rare occurrence.
    â€œThe Hunter? Who is he?”
    Trojan shrugged and turned away from the magnified screen. It was starting to give her a headache. “Dunno. Some newbie hotshot. Course they’re all saying how impossible escape is. But I don’t believe anything’s impossible. I’ve yet to come across somewhere
really
impregnable.”
    If the Hunter was who he thought, then Basilisk would have to watch his back from now on.
    Worm looked away and rubbed his eyes. “So how do we get in now that the guard has doubled?”
    Basilisk composed himself and extended a hand toward Trojan. “There are very few places in the universe that Trojan can’t walk right into. And she’s taking us along too.”
    The aircraft rocked as it hit a pocket of turbulence. Emily gripped the overhead luggage compartment for support. She was returning from the bathroom, where she had changed from her school clothes into the plain black canvas pants and black thermal jacket they had all been given.
    â€œMore appropriate hero attire,” Mr. Grimm had said.
    Their benefactor had shown them a presentation highlighting what was known about Basilisk, Worm, and Trojan. They had watched a video about Diablo Island. It reminded Toby of some kind of elaborate commercial with swelling music and a narrator who spoke every line with a sense of awe. But in a nutshell they had learned all about the Enforcers and the island prison that had been built to contain supervillains.
    Toby realized they hadn’t even begun to scratch the surface of the amazing new world they were immersedin. Pete was oddly quiet, but at least Lorna had brightened up when they were offered some fruit to eat during the flight. She polished off almost the entire bowl.
    Even though the main site was off-line, Mr. Grimm had been able to access Hero.com’s RSS news feed, or Really Simple Syndication–news headlines that are common across most Web sites and displayed the latest news and gossip. The headlines described the aftermath of the Hunter’s escape from the island.
    They were all given a small mobile-phone-size wristband, with a touch screen on top. Mr. Grimm explained that it would attempt to control the energy storm that was rampaging through their bodies at the moment. He warned them that it was experimental technology and not one hundred percent reliable, but it should allow them to use the powers they had inadvertently downloaded. Although without the control pulse from the Hero.com Web site, there would be no telling just how long the powers would last or exactly how controllable they would be.
    Mr. Grimm indicated a small touch screen with a single button. It was a teleport power that was stored in the device. He tapped a transparent cylinder on the side of the casing. A brownish liquid sloshed around.
    â€œThat’s a raw superpower?” Pete asked, amazed.
    â€œYes, an artificially created power,” said Mr. Grimm.
    â€œLooks like sewage.”
    â€œIt’s just strong enough to get you back home. It’s already been preprogrammed so you don’t have to visualize where you want to go.”
    Toby put on the bracelet. The strap immediately constricted around his wrist, and he winced as he felt several pinpricks. Mr. Grimm confirmed they were biosensors injecting themselves into his skin.
    A soft