Free The Superpower Project by Paul Bristow Page B

Seismodulatron! Nobody else has ever invented anything that can cause miniature earthquakes in small spaces.” Mr Finn allowed himself a humble chuckle, then shook the robot head. “But it didn’t unlock the power! The idiots managed to hit an
actual
fault line under the river and create a proper earthquake!”
    It hadn’t been a big earthquake, but it was big enough for Mr Finn to put the Seismodulatron back in the big box of unused inventions along with the Quantumbler and the Octopants.
    â€œIt was after the earthquake that I decided to follow Sarah Stone. She seemed to be the only person still around who was involved last time.” Mr Finn nodded the robot head to acknowledge the cleverness of this plan. “I followed her for weeks, hoping I would see something, anything, that suggested she knew about Tin Jimmy or the sigils. But she just did lots of old-lady things like going to the shops on the bus or walking round the dam with her granddaughter. And then she just wandered off on holiday. Useless. I may have lost my temper with her… while holding a hydroboom.”
    Mr Finn was still sure Sarah Stone had been hiding vital information. He had even forced himself to read all her rubbish books and comics, just in case there were any clues there:
The Moon Pupil, Santa’s Little Werewolves, The Boy Who Wasn’t There, Candybones
. There were lots of monsters and weird things, but nothing useful like a map or something written in code, which was what he’d been hoping for.
    â€œWe need more information,” said Mr Finn, putting the robot head neatly on a shelf beside the Defabulator. “The very friendly Mr Garvock from the local museum was telling me about a massive store of James Watt’s old pictures and documents that the museum currently doesn’t have room to display. Some of the documents were gifted by the noted collector Professor Finn – or ‘Dad’, as I used to call him.”
    Mr Finn looked at the shelved robot head once again. “I know what you’re thinking… why not ask to borrow it? And I did consider that. But I might need it for a while, so that’s why Evolve and I are going to break into the museum and steal it instead. It’ll be easier that way. And more fun.”
    ***
    The museum was 150 years old, a friendly looking structure fringed with stone castle battlements.
    â€œJust beautiful,” said Mr Finn, gazing up at the expertly crafted turrets and windows, “an excellent site for a new supermarket.”
    Mr Finn had dressed in his best black tracksuit and balaclava, and brought a sports bag full of gadgets and inventions he thought would be useful during a burglary.
    Evolve, standing nearby, was mostly silver, but also a giant round robot, so it was harder for it to blend in.
    â€œLet’s be quick,” said Mr Finn, “in case someone sees you. Is there a back door I wonder?”
    Evolve rolled around to the rear of the building and stopped, flashing its lights at Mr Finn. There, a newer building had been added on to the main structure. It had no doors, but there was a slightly rusty set of metal shutters.
    â€œRight. We could get in quietly that way I’m sure,” said Mr Finn.
    Before he could work out the best way to do that – perhaps something involving the Magnomatic Beam – Evolve simply rolled forward, smashing through the doors and setting off the alarm.
    â€œWhat? Why did you…” Mr Finn ran inside the building.
    Evolve was waiting beside a pile of stuffed animals he had knocked over.
    â€œStay here,” said Mr Finn, scowling. “Please switch your lights on so we can see, and don’t move until I tell you.”
    Evolve beamed its coloured lights from underneath its circular rim, illuminating rows of old paintings, engine parts and model boats.
    Mr Finn scuttled towards some rows of crates at the back of the room, and quickly started reading the