There was no sign of the team outside the funhouse. Ringmaster’s animal guards were gone, too. Jasper sprinted through the building’s entrance but didn’t make it far before the shaking ground knocked her off her feet.
As she slammed into the floor, a nearby wall collapsed. Mirrors exploded and shattered glass sprayed in every direction. Jasper raised an arm to shield her face. Light spilled in from the gaps opening up in the ceiling.
Relief washed over Jasper when she lowered the arm and spotted the team picking their way through the rubble.
“Van Terra!” Ringmaster emerged from behind a half-collapsed wall, closer to Jasper than the team was. Aymes came running after him. “I said I didn’t want to kill you. Not that I wouldn’t.” Golden energy swirled around his fists in glowing streams.
Jasper climbed to her feet and pointed her blaster at Aymes. “I’m sorry, what was that?”
Aymes froze, his eyes widening. A couple of gasps came from the team’s direction. Was one of them from Grace? Jasper forced herself to keep her eyes locked with Ringmaster’s.
“Why would I care if you kill him? He betrayed me.” Still, Ringmaster lowered his hands. If he was trying to mask his hesitation, he wasn’t entirely succeeding.
Jasper raised an eyebrow. “Don’t bother. I know the truth.”
“What truth?” Aymes asked, glancing at his mentor. “What is she talking about?”
“Oh, I bet you didn’t tell him,” Jasper said. “Even better.”
Uncertainty faded from Ringmaster’s face, turning to a slight smile. “All right, Van Terra. You’re not the only one with information. I got my hands on Starr’s lab records.”
“Great. That’ll come in handy when I steal them from you. After I catch you and get all your employees arrested, that is.”
“You and what police?”
Jasper pointed up to the sky. “Those ones.”
Small police ships descended on the moon’s surface, red and yellow lights flashing and sirens blaring. The number 421 was plastered on the side of each one.
“Thank goodness,” Jasper said. “I was afraid my timing would be off and I’d look like an idiot.”
“You already look like an idiot,” Ringmaster told her.
“Are those your last words before I shoot you and tie you up?”
“Whatever you say, Jane.”
Jasper’s hand tightened around the blaster. Determined not to let him get to her, she asked, “How’d you figure that one out?”
“Like I said, lab records. But I’d like to make you an offer. You want to know where my powers came from?” A ring appeared above Ringmaster’s hand, and he twirled it around his finger. “I’m like you. Taken from Earth. Brought to the labs. I never got around to being experimented on, though. My powers were the result of an accident with some other project of theirs. It allowed me to escape.”
“Then why are you working for Starr?”
“Unlike you, I’m grateful for my abilities.”
Jasper’s jaw clenched. “Grateful to be ripped from your home?”
“It wasn’t exactly a good one.” Ringmaster shrugged. “And I’m working with Starr because it benefits me. You want to take him down? Join me. We can take over his empire together.”
“I don’t want to take his empire. I want to destroy it,” Jasper hissed. “You might not be the dictator he is, but how many innocent people have you hurt doing what he tells you?”
“Who cares?” Ringmaster laughed. “I thought you were a villain, Van Terra. And all of those ‘innocent people’ contribute to the society that ruined your life. They all serve Starr, in a way.”
“It’s not their fault,” Jasper said. “Not all of them. There’s nothing they can do.” Her gaze flickered to the team, who watched her with wide eyes.
“Starr’s the bigger fish. Work with me. I’ll let you see the lab records. There are more things in there that would interest you.” A cold smile crawled onto Ringmaster’s face. “Think of your team, if that’s what really matters. What’s best for them?”
Jasper’s hand trembled. All she could see on the team’s faces were concern and apprehension. What did they want her to do? Starr would be a challenge even with Ringmaster imprisoned. And every day he was in power, Grace was in danger.
“Trust me,” Ringmaster pressed. “If we work together, Starr will be easy. Especially with what I know about the spacetime warps.”
“Oh, hell no! We’re shutting down that machine and throwing out everything related to the warps.” Jasper shot an anxious glance toward the sky, as if mentioning the warp might make it act up again. The fact that a low rumble filled the air as she looked up didn’t help her nerves any.
Ringmaster’s nostrils flared. “Are you insane? The warps are the greatest source of power the universe has ever seen!”
“Trying to drain the energy from that one nearly ripped this moon apart! And you have no idea what happens if you get too close.”
“And you do?”
“We’re running out of time,” Jasper said. “Police are going to swarm the place any second now.”
“I agree.” Ringmaster folded his arms. “So, what’s it going to be?”
Jasper looked at the team. At the kids she’d lost to a warp. At the girl she’d sworn she’d protect, even if for her own gain in the beginning.
Jasper lowered the blaster.
“That’s what I thought—”
Jasper fired at Ringmaster’s foot. He shouted in pain and dropped to one knee.
“Not going to kill me?” he gasped. “What, you’re too good for that?”
“I’m keeping you alive as long as there’s a chance I can use you as evidence against Starr.” Jasper drew a dagger and stalked toward him.
“I’m not going down that easy.” Ringmaster summoned a blade twice the size of Jasper’s. In the blink of an eye, he lunged. The weapon grazed the side of her face.
“Jasper!” Grace exclaimed. She and the team surged forward. With a flick of his wrist, Ringmaster threw up a shimmering, semi-transparent wall to stop them.
Gritting her teeth, Jasper plunged her dagger into Ringmaster’s side. He swiped. She tipped her head back. The blade missed her face by inches. Another slash left a wound on her shoulder. She hissed.
“I know more about you than you do,” Ringmaster growled. He grabbed her wrist. “All the plans they had for you. All the things they put in you. Right arm, right?” He stabbed his dagger down.
Jasper cried out as the blade sank in. Ringmaster twisted it. She screamed.
When he pulled the blade free, it glowed and transformed into a whip that wrapped around Jasper’s forearm and yanked her to the ground. She immediately pushed herself upright. As she did, a new layer of pain settled over the sharp sensation of the knife wound. She glanced at the arm.
White arcs of electricity danced around the bleeding gash. Her muscles clenched under the pain of electric shock. Pain that coursed through her veins. Her nerves. Her bones.
“Ringmaster!” Aymes yelled. “We need to leave. The moon—”
“You can go. I’m not done here.” Ringmaster’s whip changed again, this time into a staff. He swung.
Jasper’s left hand flew up to grab the staff. The sting of it hitting her palm was nothing compared to everything else. The electricity leaping across her skin spread farther across her body. “What is this?” she gasped.
“Seems they were right about the pain.” Ringmaster yanked the staff from her grasp. “Though with some modifications—”
Jasper sprang to her feet and grabbed Ringmaster by the shoulders. Lightning jumped between them. He hissed in pain, and when she released him, he dropped to his knees. She threw a punch at his jaw.
The electricity reduced to scattered sparks and faded, offering Jasper some relief. Her shoulders sagged. Now, they just needed to contain Ringmaster—
With one swift movement, Ringmaster formed a dagger and slashed at Jasper’s legs. She jumped backwards. He was on his feet and running in an instant.
“Oh, come on!” Jasper sprinted after him.
Ringmaster stumbled, giving her hope for that she could catch up. That hope lasted about five seconds. A massive gold eagle swooped down from above and knocked a racer off their motorcycle. Ringmaster grabbed it, hopped on, and sped off.
Jasper’s lungs were burning by the time she made it to where she’d left her motorcycle. Still, she scrambled on and followed. She was faster than Ringmaster, but not by much. The gap between them closed inch by inch.
The air ahead shimmered. A shining ramp rose from the ground, into the sky, toward—
“Have you lost your mind?” Jasper screamed.
Ringmaster looked back. “There’s another side, isn’t there?” he called over the wind. “That’s where Hollixa Faye went and came back from.”
“Yes.” Jasper’s hands tightened. “But wherever you end up—it’ll be another place and time. And you might not—”
Ringmaster sped up.
Jasper gritted her teeth. “You’re not getting away.”
At the end of the ramp, the warp had returned to its usual appearance, save for the fact that it was much smaller now. Ringmaster drove onto the ramp, and while every instinct screamed for her to stop, Jasper followed. She drew closer. Closer. She stretched out an arm. She could almost reach him…
Ringmaster reached back and fired a blast of energy from his palm. The beam struck Jasper’s motorcycle head-on and sent her spinning. Energy coursed through her, golden light blinded her, and she screamed in pain.
She fell.
As the wind whipped past her falling body, her vision returned in time for her to watch Ringmaster fly into the warp. A heartbeat later, the warp collapsed. Vanished.
Jasper reached for something, anything. Where had the motorcycle gone? The ramp had disappeared with Ringmaster. There was nothing to stop her from hitting the ground—
Something slammed into her. Hands grabbed her. Grace’s wings spread to catch the air.
The two collided with the ground a moment later. Grace stumbled, and Jasper slipped from her grasp. She hit the dirt with a grunt of pain and rolled onto her back, desperately fighting to get some air back into her lungs.
“Jasper!” Grace knelt next to her. “Jasper? Are you okay?”
The rest of the team was already gathering around. Dax dropped into a crouch at Jasper’s side. “Hold on,” he said. His hands glowed blue.
As soon as Jasper could speak, she gasped, “I’m sorry.”
“What?” Grace rested a hand on her shoulder.
Jasper pushed herself up, ignoring Dax’s protests. “I failed.” She shook her head. “I should have taken Ringmaster’s offer.”
Thea shook her head. “I don’t think that would have been a good idea.” Next to her, Dax mumbled something that sounded like agreement. Grace was still wide-eyed, still looking Jasper up and down as if she feared she would drop dead at any moment.
“Why didn’t you?” Holly asked. “I mean—for a moment I really thought you would.”
Jasper trembled violently, and even though the electricity Ringmaster had somehow triggered was gone, she could hear her inner systems crackling with static. “I couldn’t. I couldn’t let him keep messing with the warps. Not after what happened to you guys.”
Something flashed in Holly’s expression. “What are you talking about?”
Jasper closed her eyes. “Thea. I need you to fix—whatever’s wrong with me. My system’s all screwed up.”
Thea rested a hand on Jasper’s shoulder. An appalled expression overtook her face. “Stars, Jasper, what happened?”
“I’m still figuring that out,” Jasper muttered.
“You’re overloaded. It’s okay, I can fix it.” Thea’s eyes closed. “Hang on. Breathe.”
“What do you mean what happened to us?” Holly pressed, her voice strained. “What happened with the warps, Jasper?” She sounded…closer to tears than anger.
Jasper was relieved to find her internal buzzing was lessening by the second. Thea stepped back and folded her arms as she looked Jasper over. Concern still lingered in her gaze.
“Earth,” Jasper said, finally meeting Holly’s eyes. “I met you three on Earth, in 1977. There was an academy. They recruited us and sent us into space and we found a warp and—” She grimaced. “You all got pulled in. I barely got away. And then, decades later, you all showed up five years younger on Kronos.”
The team stared at her with stunned expressions. Before anyone could muster a response, footsteps approached. Aymes.
“Ringmaster went into the warp?” Aymes asked.
Jasper nodded. Rubbed her forehead.
Emotions and fatigue warred on Aymes’s face. “Maybe it’s for the best.” He pulled a data drive from his pocket. “I grabbed this from the funhouse basement. I think it’s got those lab records he was talking about, and the warp research.”
Jasper held out a hand, and Aymes tossed her the drive. “Thanks,” she said. “Do you know if there are communication logs in here with Starr?”
“Not sure. Sorry.”
“Stop! Police!” a voice shouted.
“Oh, great,” Holly said under her breath. “More running.”
If they had to run, Jasper was screwed. Even with Dax’s healing boost, every part of her ached. “Wait,” she said. “I know that voice.” She climbed to her feet and turned around. “Detective Park!”
Detective Park stopped, blaster in hand. “The hell?”
“It’s me! Detective Jasper! From Dr. Prime’s murder case!” Jasper forced a smile and weakly waved her hands.
“I knew there was something off about you. But Van Terra?” Detective Park’s gaze moved to the others. “And let me guess, your team?”
“Yes. Look, I called you, remember?”
“You did. I’m guessing that wasn’t to get yourself arrested?”
“No,” Jasper said. “See, I was hoping in exchange for helping you get your hands on so many other villains here, you could maybe let me and my friends go. Just this once. As a tiny little favor.” She made a gesture with her thumb and forefinger pinched together.
“I do have to admit, this has been a great night.” Detective Park kept a tight grip on his blaster, but he did lower it a little. “We’ve already made a lot of arrests. I even found the guy who really killed Dr. Prime. You were right about him working for Ringmaster. Name’s Viper.”
“Huh. That doesn’t surprise me,” Jasper said. “Did you guys get South Siren?”
“I don’t think so. Someone on the radio said something about her getting away earlier.”
Damn. Jasper sighed. “Well, what’s it going to be?”
Detective Park’s face was unreadable as he assessed Jasper, undoubtedly realizing what terrible condition she was in. Finally, he said, “I don’t understand you. After everything with the precinct…” He shook his head. “All right, I’m only letting you go because I’m outnumbered, understand?”
Jasper grinned. “Right. I’m just so terrifying that you knew you didn’t stand a chance against me.”
“I’ll be sure to leave out the various stab wounds that seem to be plaguing you.” Detective Park holstered his weapon and walked away.
As he left, Jasper turned and surveyed the crumbling carnival. “Oh no!”
The alarm in her voice sent fear into the other’s faces. “What’s wrong?” Holly asked.
Jasper pointed to the wreckage twenty feet away. “My motorcycle! It’s completely destroyed!”
The others groaned.