The Doomsday Device Read Free Page B

realized the plane was now rising again. For a few seconds it seemed level. Then the nose continued to rise.
    “The pilots must be trying to get control of the plane,” I said to Dan.
    “You’ve got to seal the hole,” Dan yelled.
    I tried to focus on creating a shield in the hull. Usually when I created shields I could see them as a faint out of focus bubble. I held out my hand and focused hard on knitting the air molecules together that would create the barrier. Nothing was happening.
    “Come on,” I groaned in desperation. “Work!”
    Still, the shield would not form.
    What was wrong with my powers?
    Before I could dwell on the issue further, I saw a crack appearing in the hull next to the breach. It looked like the whole plane was starting to tear apart.
    I had to seal that hole in the hull, but nothing was happening.
    “Take a breath!” I told Dan.
    He looked at me in confusion, but followed my command. I dropped the air bubbles around us and put all my focus into creating the shield. The hull continued to tear, ripping into a window next to an elderly woman.
    The shield would not form.
    I cast a despairing look across the rows of seats. I could see Chad staring at me in confusion. The preferred option was for me to create one of my shields. It was invisible and while people might wonder later how the plane held together it would forever remain a mystery.
    The second option was Chad.
    With my powers out of commission, it was time for option two.
    I nodded to Chad and he immediately pointed at the break in the hull. Ice started to form at its edges. Within seconds it had crept across the gap and covered the hull. The terrible screaming wind that had filled the cabin dropped away to silence. Even the terrible cold subsided. The temperature outside the hull had probably been below zero. Now it was slowly starting to rise.
    A groan sounded throughout the entire plane. Chad had sealed the breach, but it sounded like irreversible damage had been done to the fuselage of the aircraft. The whole plane would rip apart in seconds.
    I caught the eye of the stewardess we had just spoken to – Kelly – and she opened her eyes in horror. Someone came racing down the aisle, pushing Kelly out of the way and almost knocking me over.
    Ebony.
    I instantly realized what she intended to do. I chased her down the aisle. She positioned herself next to the icy barrier that her brother had created.
    “What are you making?” I asked.
    “Titanium.”
    She placed her hand against the ice and the barrier immediately began to change color. It was changing to a shade of dull silver. Within moments Ebony had used her transmutation ability to strengthen the plug.
    “It’s one of the strongest and lightest metals known to man,” Ebony said. “I’m changing most of the hull as well.”
    The terrible groaning that had affected the hull subsided. I was just about ready to relax slightly when I realized the plane was veering wildly to one side again.
    Chad and Brodie joined us.
    “What’s going on with the plane?” Chad asked. “Why can’t the pilots get it under control?”
    “I’m not sure,” I said.
    Kelly, the stewardess, joined our group. Her eyes opened as wide as plates.
    “What’s going on back here?” Her mouth fell open. “How did you fix the hull?”
    “We didn’t do anything,” I said. “It just fixed itself.”
    Okay, it was the worst explanation in history, but I didn’t have another option at the time.
    The plane veered back level again, but began to go back into a dive.
    “Why isn’t the plane leveling out?” I asked.
    “I don’t know,” she said. “Maybe some other damage occurred when the explosion happened.”
    “It’s the tail,” a voice came from down the aisle.
    We grouped around a couple of seats where a man was peering out the window towards the rear of the plane.
    “I think debris hit the tail,” he said. “It looks like part of it is missing.”
    Brodie pushed past him and looked out