The next day, after spending all morning researching with Mac and Maria, Charlie was even more convinced she’d chosen right. “I’m going to go talk to my dad,” she announced right before lunchtime. “I’ve made my decision.”
Mac and Maria stayed behind. Charlie found her father alone in the lab and told him her idea. “A pit viper,” Charlie explained, “has heat sensors on its head. They’re, like, actual pits near the snake’s eyes—that’s where the name comes from.”
“Hmm,” said Dr. Wilde. “Go on.”
“Some scientists think the pit viper can use the sensors at the same time as their regular eyesight,” Charlie continued. “They use the infrared to detect live prey in hiding. Day or night, they can tell if there’s something alive nearby—they can see it because its body temperature gives it away. It shows up differently to the snake than a tree or a building, for example.”
“And the tree or building—you can already see those things in the dark with your bat sonar.”
“Right. I mean, with the night vision I’d see a silvery outline of a person, too, because people are solid. But it only works in the dark. And I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between, like, a living person and a statue. So with the viper’s vision, whether it’s day or night, I’d be able to detect body heat.”
Her father frowned like he wasn’t quite understanding Charlie’s enthusiasm for this feature, but then his face cleared. “Ah,” he said, beginning to nod. “So it would help you see Kelly when she uses her camouflage.”
“Exactly,” said Charlie.
“Yes,” said Dr. Wilde, leaning forward. “That’s very smart. Not only does Kelly have her cuttlefish ability, but that soldier, Morph, also has a chameleon camouflage feature. It’s an extremely dangerous power if none of us can see them coming.” He scratched his stubbly chin, then squeezed Charlie’s shoulder. “Nice thinking. I’m game if you’re settled on it. I reckon this will foil their plans pretty well, don’t you?”
Charlie nodded as Dr. Jakande breezed into the lab with Maria’s device. She glanced at Charlie and her father while flipping the high collar of her suit down, covering the built-in microphone. “How’s the researching coming along?”
“Okay, I guess,” said Charlie, eyeing the woman. “Maria is still looking for animals. She had a list started, but I think she just scrapped everything on it.”
The earpiece in Dr. Jakande’s mask crackled and Charlie could hear a muffled voice on the other end. She couldn’t make out what the words were.
“Who’s talking to you?” Charlie asked, trying to act casual.
Dr. Jakande’s expression was worried—or guilty. Charlie wasn’t sure which.
“It’s, um . . . it’s Miko. She tries every now and then to get me to talk to her. I’ve thought about answering it so I could maybe, you know, find out where they are. But I decided . . . not to.”
Dr. Wilde smiled sympathetically. “It must be hard not to be in touch with your old friends,” he said. “But it’s for the best.”
“It’s just that I’d thought there might be a way to figure out where they’re set up,” Dr. Jakande explained. “That’s all I wanted. I don’t . . . I don’t miss them.”
“I doubt Miko would tell you where they are if she’s still loyal to Gray,” said Mr. Wilde. “And we don’t want them to suspect we’re looking for them. I believe Victor thinks we’re no longer a threat because we’re not organized enough—or ambitious enough—to go after him.”
“Or foolish enough,” agreed Dr. Jakande.
“So we don’t want to give any hint at all that we’re working to stop them.”
“Of course not,” Dr. Jakande said quietly.
Charlie looked at the floor, feeling awkward. And wondering again if they could trust Dr. Jakande.
Luckily the conversation was ended by Maria and Mac, who came running into the lab. “What did your dad say?” asked Mac.
“Thumbs-up,” said Charlie, beaming. “We’re doing it.”
“Oh,” said Dr. Jakande. “You chose your animal ability?”
“Yep,” said Charlie. She hesitated. Should she tell her? What if Dr. Jakande wasn’t really on their side and going straight back to Dr. Gray or Miko with the information?
“Well?” prompted Dr. Jakande with a grin. “Are you going to keep us in suspense?”
Charlie’s face grew warm. She told the woman what she’d chosen, hoping she wouldn’t regret it.
“That’s a great idea,” said Dr. Jakande. She turned to Mac and Maria. “And you two?”
“We’re not quite at that point yet,” said Maria.
Mac concurred, then listed off the variety of animals they’d researched for Maria. But none of those animals seemed quite right now.
“I just can’t decide what I want,” Maria lamented.
“Why don’t we ask you some questions?” said Dr. Jakande. “That might help you figure out what you want.”
“Okay,” said Maria. “Go for it.”
“First, what do you like and dislike about the monkey feature you already have?”
“I don’t like the howling part,” said Maria. “It’s embarrassing.”
“Ah, but if you ever get separated from the others, they’ll be able to find you,” the biologist pointed out.
“True,” said Maria. “I hadn’t really thought about that.” She pursed her lips. “I love being able to swing up above people’s heads, and do parkour moves like running up walls and jumping from building to building. And swinging around poles and slamming into the bad dudes.”
“Those are great things,” Dr. Jakande said. “Is there anything else you don’t like about it, though? Or, to rephrase the question, what do you wish you could do?”
“Well,” said Maria thoughtfully, “I’m not very strong or ferocious. You know what I mean? I’m not dangerous. I don’t have sharp claws or horns or teeth or anything like that. And if I’m out in the open, there aren’t many options for jumping and swinging. So that leaves me sort of useless.”
“Okay,” said Dr. Jakande, nodding approvingly. “You want something a little more ferocious. You want to be able to attack someone who is after you even if you don’t have something to swing on.”
“Right. So maybe an animal that would give me some serious power or sharp claws and teeth in case we end up fighting in a field, or a parking lot, or whatever—that might be good.”
Dr. Jakande nodded solemnly. “You do have some vulnerabilities as a monkey. I agree something to balance out your current abilities is the direction we should lean toward. What about physical features? I heard you were quite upset at first about the look of the howler monkey changes.”
“I was,” Maria admitted. “Mostly because I wasn’t expecting it. But the worst part was that I thought I’d be stuck like that forever. Now that you’ve fixed that part, it’s not so bad. So I guess I’m not going to rule out an animal based only on its physical traits. But it’s a factor.”
“And we have a little leeway with that based on how I put the formula together,” said Dr. Jakande, nodding thoughtfully. She turned to Charlie and Mac. “Okay, well, it looks like you have a lot to go on now, so come back to us with a new list when you’re ready. If it helps, I brought in a set of encyclopedias and National Geographic magazines from the library that might give you ideas as well. I left them on the table.”
“Oh cool,” said Mac. “Thanks! I brought a book too.”
“The one about the lizard?” whispered Maria.
Before Mac could answer, Dr. Goldstein and Dr. Sharma came in carrying sandwiches from the local deli. “How goes the research?” Dr. Goldstein asked.
The kids filled everyone in on their progress.
“Got your eye on anything, Mac?”
“Um, not really.”
Maria elbowed him.
Mac gave her the stink-eye.
Charlie could tell he was nervous to make a suggestion to the biologist. And she totally got it. Dr. Goldstein was a genius and Mac was just a kid—even if he was pretty great with technology. What if the man thought his idea was dumb? Charlie gave him an encouraging look.
Dr. Goldstein peered quizzically from one kid to the next, not sure about the silent conversation going on between them. Then his face cleared. “You know, kids, a lot of what we do as professionals is come up with ideas and figure out if they’re any good or not. Sometimes we have some pretty crazy ones, too, right?” He turned to his fellow biologists, and they nodded.
“And sometimes they don’t work. But we don’t make fun of an idea that isn’t viable,” said Dr. Wilde. “Sometimes that idea can spark a new one that leads us to a winner.”
Mac pursed his lips thoughtfully. “Well,” he admitted, “there’s an animal I keep coming back to, but I’m worried that I only want it because it was my favorite animal when I was little.”
“That’s not a bad place to start,” Dr. Goldstein said. “What is it?”
“It’s called a basilisk lizard,” said Mac.
“A lizard,” Dr. Goldstein mused. “I’m listening. What does it do?”
“It can run on water.”
The scientists exchanged intrigued glances.
“I can show you—I have my zoo book with me.” He hesitated. “It’s a little kid’s book. I don’t read it anymore or anything.”
“I understand,” said Dr. Goldstein. As Mac went to get it, the scientists pulled up the basilisk lizard on their phones. When Mac returned, he opened the book to the right page and Dr. Goldstein set his phone down and read it silently.
Mac’s expression was strained, which made it clear to Charlie just how much Mac wanted this to be his second animal. No wonder he’d been so scared to suggest it—what if Dr. Goldstein thought it was a bad choice?
After a moment, Dr. Goldstein set the book down. “This looks promising for a number of reasons, Mac,” he said. “I’m very interested in giving you an option to be nimbler when you need to be. Don’t get me wrong—your pangolin protection mode and your claws for attack are working great. But I’m less satisfied with how your suit slows you down. Not to mention the noise it makes. It puts a target on you.”
Mac nodded and looked more hopeful. “Yes,” he said with a rush of air. “I was thinking the same thing. I want to be able to sneak up on people.”
“And walking on water is an excellent feature. Nobody would see that coming. You could get places no one else could go. I’m going to read up on this lizard some more. The mechanics of it seems promising.”
“Cool,” said Mac lightly, but he looked like he was holding back a wide grin. Charlie held her hand up to high-five him. He slapped it and then bumped fists with Maria. The grin came out.
The scientists laughed. “That wasn’t so hard, was it?” asked Dr. Sharma. “Nice presentation.”
“Thanks,” said Mac.
“Mind if I hang on to this book for a few days?” asked Dr. Goldstein.
“Not at all,” said Mac.
The man tucked the book under his arm and picked up his lunch. “Let me know if anything else strikes your interest.”
“I will.”
The three kids returned to Charlie’s room, this time determined to focus on Maria’s new animal. Maria was starting to wonder if they’d ever find the right one for her.