Chapter 6

  “Yes!” Solomon pumped the air with his fists. “I’ve always wanted to be a superhero! What kind of powers will we get? Super-strength? Super-speed? Flight? Invisibility? Laser beams that shoot out of our eyes?”

  “How safe would ‘turning on’ these powers be?” Luna asked skeptically. “Has this process been used previously?”

  Dr. Fischer adjusted his glasses for the millionth time. “Well, this is actually the first time we’ve seen a density of DSP high enough for triggering it to be possible. Since it seems as if there is already a triggering sequence in place that would gradually happen over your lifetimes, this shouldn’t be too dangerous. We simply have to speed up the sequence, so it happens in a few minutes instead of a few decades.”

  “But what about-“

  “Look, kid,” Igor interrupted her, “We need to run some tests, and then we can give you more definite answers, alright? Just bear with us.” Solomon wasn’t totally sure, but it seemed like Igor’s previous friendliness had faded away. Suspicious… I wonder if he was pretending to be friendly this whole time. I better be on guard for anything else he might pull.

  Luna hesitated. “Fine. Can we get this over with already? I just want to go home.”

  And so the tests began. Scientists took DNA samples, ran X-rays, and conducted experiments. The rest of the afternoon whirled past in a blaze of motion. Solomon could feel his excitement growing as the day wore on, but Luna seemed to shrink inside of herself, her replies growing shorter and shorter. At last, Dr. Fischer waved the twins away, and they were swept out of the lab into a conference room.

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  A large table filled most of the room, and leather swivel chairs were arranged in two neat rows down each side. Three of the walls were mahogany wood, just like the large double doors that led into the room, but the farthest wall was pitch black. There was a basket sitting on the table, filled to the brim with a variety of snacks. Solomon’s eyes grew wide at the sight of food, and he instantly dove into the snack basket, dropping his backpack on the floor.

  Luna put her backpack down as well, albeit much more gently, then ducked as a bag of chips flew over her head. “Watch it!” she snapped. “We don’t have time for tomfoolery! Igor is really suspicious. I don’t think he has our best interests in mind. And what’s more, when we first met Dr. Fischer, he almost called us ‘test subjects,’ like we’re just their guinea pigs or lab rats. What happens if something comes up and we don’t want to have our powers activated? What then? Will they force us to do it against our will?”

  Solomon munched on some hard pretzels. “Mmff, I have no idea what you’re talking about. Wow, these pretzels are really salty. Sure, some things are a bit fishy, but Igor gave us sodas in the SUV, and now we have snacks galore! What more could you ask for?” Chomp, chomp, chomp.

  “I still don’t trust him.”

  Seeing Luna’s inner turmoil, Solomon paused his snacking. He placed his hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eyes. “If Igor pulls something on us, I will not hesitate to tackle him – and throw in a few punches, too. You have my word on that.” He couldn’t resist cracking a smile. “And for goodness sake, eat some snacks! Weren’t you complaining about how hungry you were?”

  Luna gave a shy grin. “You’re right. I’m starving!”