[OLD PREVIEW] The Phoenix Project (#3)

Five

There was an explosion, and within minutes the entire museum was on fire. Icarus watched in horror from above. Clouds of smoke drifted up to where he hovered, wings beating back and forth. He was beginning to tire, but the mission wasn't over yet.

"Arachne!" Icarus yelled into the comms. "Arachne!"

"Icarus, please. You don't need to yell."

"You're alive!" Relief washed over Icarus. Arachne was safe, at least. But the others...

"I'm on the roof," Arachne informed him. "If you could hurry, that'd be great."

Icarus dove toward the building, wincing as smoke assaulted his senses. He could just make out Arachne standing at the edge of the roof. The flames were creeping closer to her with each passing second.

Icarus grabbed her and lifted her into the air. They both broke into a fit of coughing as they flew through the smoke and away from the museum. Once they were a safe distance away, Icarus landed, stumbling to a stop on the street out front.

Arachne almost fell over, but Icarus grabbed her arm to steady her. Once she'd regained her balance, she yanked her arm free and turned around to survey the damage. Sirens sounded in the distance, rapidly getting closer.

Icarus gasped for air. "The others," he managed between breaths. "Did they...?"

"There's no way the survived the explosion in the vault," Arachne said. She held something up to the light. Their target. "I barely managed to get the Fragment out."

"Why was there an explosion? Was it a bomb?"

"A secret safety measure. Guess they really didn't want anyone getting their hands on this." Arachne ran her finger along the five notches at the bottom of the Fragment.

"Smith is going to be furious that our first mission failed," Icarus told her.

Arachne shrugged. "We got the Fragment. That was the mission."

"But Atlas and Medusa—"

"No offense, Icarus, but they were emotionless robots. Maybe it's terrible, but I don't feel that bad."

"They were still part of our team!"

"We're the flawed ones, Icarus," Arachne said, her tone very matter-of-fact. "You even more than me. If Smith hadn't gotten impatient, we'd have been terminated."

"What are you talking about?"

"I overheard him talking to that other scientist, Rivera. Look, here comes our ride."

The sleek, black jetchopper dropped down to the street. Head spinning, Icarus climbed in behind Arachne.

They rode back to headquarters in silence. Icarus watched Arachne turn the Fragment over in her hand as she stared out the window. He could just make out their reflections staring back at them in the dark glass. His fair skin, gold eyes, wavy blonde hair, broad shoulders, and feathery white wings, all designed by Smith and the other scientists. Next to him, the window reflected Arachne's dark skin, bronze eyes, and tightly-curled red hair. Despite only being alive for about a week, they appeared to be around seventeen or eighteen years old. And they were extraordinarily knowledgeable in the art of breaking and entering, plus well-trained in combat.

John Smith, their creator, hadn't told them much about the Fragment, except that it was extraordinarily valuable. He'd sent the team of four to break into the vault under the museum and steal it. Everything had gone according to plan, until the explosion.

Now two of Icarus's teammates were dead. And sure, Arachne was right. They didn't seem to have a shred of emotion in their bodies. They spoke mechanically and behaved like the robotic soldiers that guarded headquarters. But they were still kids like Icarus and Arachne.

What could they have become if they'd lived? Deep down, Icarus believed they could have learned to feel something. Maybe he was just imagining things, but he could swear Arachne was changing. She'd been colder when they were first created. He was sure of it.

When they landed on the roof of headquarters, ten soldiers were waiting to escort them inside. Icarus and Arachne were led to Smith's office.

Smith sat at his desk, and Rosa Rivera stood behind him, reading something off of a clipboard. Arachne held out the Fragment to Smith as they approached his desk.

"The explosion was on the news," Smith said as he took it from her. "Did the others not make it out?"

Icarus shook his head.

"Unfortunately not," Arachne said.

Smith picked up a remote and pressed a button. The screen on the wall behind him lit up. Two 3D models, clearly representing Medusa and Atlas, rotated slowly. Text scrolled past, stating their abilities. Atlas had super strength, and Medusa's gaze froze anything—or anyone—solid.

"It will take time, but we can remake them. They were the easier two, anyway. We simply took enhanced strength and amplified it for Atlas, and Medusa has heavily modified cryokinesis. Plus we've already worked out the programming issues..." Smith trailed off as he examined the Fragment. "In the meantime, you two will go back into cryo."

"Yes, sir," Arachne said.

Icarus tightened his hands into fists as the soldiers moved to escort them to the cryo tanks. Smith really didn't care about them as living things. Their value only came from their abilities. Did Arachne not see it? Or did she just not care? They were programmed to only care about completing their missions and following orders, but Arachne was flawed like Icarus, even if to a lesser extent.

They reached the narrow hallway where the cryo tanks were kept. Ten lined each wall, despite the fact that only four agents had been created. Did Smith plan to make more?

One of the soldiers opened the door to Icarus's tank. Icarus hesitated a moment before stepping inside. The door slammed shut as he turned around. He watched a soldier tap a button on the control panel at the side of Arachne's tank. Ice crept up the glass, hiding her from view.

Icarus took a deep breath and closed his eyes.