CHAPTER 4

Tony felt on top of the world. He had aced the test, apparently breaking all the records of endurance as he did so. Then he had gorged himself at the ice-cream bar, spent a couple of hours playing video games, and even read the newest issue of his favorite comic book, Gamma Blast Three. It was a pretty great day.

And then the power went out.

Which was a weird thing to happen in the lair of a government shadow operation.

Tony poked his head out of the rec room. It was quiet. Where had everyone gone? He tapped his spy watch. “Hey, Layla? Echo?” Nothing. Just static. “Ms. Nowhere?” he tried. Still nothing.

And then the static broke, and a deep voice hissed at him through his spy watch. “No one is here to help you, Tony. No way for you to cheat, either.”

Tony blinked. “Rowan? Dr. Rowan, right?” The lights flickered. The hallway of the facility was empty. “Hey, Dr. Rowan. What’s going on?”

At the end of the hallway, a monitor switched on, and it broadcast the very angry face of Dr. Rowan.

“That test was my life’s work. It was everything to me. I built a machine that was unbeatable.”

“I mean, you really didn’t,” Tony replied.

“You cheated! The test was supposed to be defeated by two people, working in tandem, as a team. You bypassed that with your little belt trick!”

The monitor started moving. Tony squinted. It was attached to . . .

“A robot?” Tony said, taking a step backward. “Is that a robot?”

“No, Tony Toretto,” Rowan said, his voice filled with menace. “It’s your doom.”