Guardians Inc.:Thundersword (Guardians Incorporated #2) Read Online Free Page A

rod.”
          Bolswaithe rewound the video again, stopped it when the line crossed the screen, and they all peeked in closer.
          The thing looked like a rod with a long, undulating wing on each side, but the image was so blurry they could only make out the general shape.
          “Alien rod,” Tony repeated, as if by saying it again it would become the truth. “I'm sure the Guardians know the truth about them.”
          “It’s only a well-documented optical illusion,” Bolswaithe said, pressing a button. Numerous windows appeared on the screen, from kids’ birthdays to base jumpers. The same rod-like things zoomed past the frame. “Everyone sees them only after they review the video, Tony. Nobody sees them during the event. It’s just the effect of the motion blur as an insect passes in front of a camera with long exposure.” Bolswaithe pulled up images being reproduced in controlled environments. “There are no ‘alien rods.’”
          “Well…I saw one,” Tony said, crossing his arms, “and it wasn't an optical effect.”
          “And that’s why you were hiding behind a rock?” Elise mocked him. “The alien scared you?”
          “They were also shooting bugs at us!” Tony said. “And we were in the frontline, unlike you.”
          “Did you get one?” Killjoy stood up, interrupting what promised to be a fight between Elise and Tony.
    Elise flashed a final glare at Tony before pulling out a glass jar from her bag; the live centipede was walking inside, its mandibles clacking against the glass. A shiver ran through Tony as Elise handed the jar to Killjoy, who then opened it. The centipede walked around her hand and arm as she took a closer look at it. The centipede seemed to be at ease on her hand, almost like a pet.
          “A beautiful, little, dangerous beast isn’t it?” Killjoy stroked the little animal with her hand. The centipede arched like a cat to the caress.
          “You see that thing, Doc?” Tony said with disgust. “Why do we have to use darts when they are using those things?”
          “Reciprocation,” the Doctor told him.
          “What?” Tony asked.
          “Reciprocation. We deal out what we receive,” Killjoy said, throwing the centipede at Tony.
          The centipede landed over Tony and ran up and down his chest while he jumped around trying to get it off. As he finally grabbed it, the centipede bit down on his hand, and he let it go. He grabbed his hand in pain, and as he yelled he became rigid and his skin took a grayish hue. He was completely paralyzed, and Killjoy stopped him from hitting face-first on the floor with her hand on his forehead. The centipede crawled back onto Killjoy and cradled in her arm.
          “Don’t worry,” she told Thomas. “These don’t kill; they just give you time to think what you did wrong.” She pushed Tony back toward Bolswaithe, who caught him and propped him up with one arm.
          “So he can hear us?” Thomas asked. A grimace mixed with surprise, pain, and anger was frozen on Tony’s face.
          “Hear us, see us…he’s just in there with nowhere to go.”
          “That’s Morgan’s idea, I bet.” The Doctor stood up from the desk. “He doesn’t want to see you hurt, Thomas. So we act in kind, with non-lethal weaponry.”
          Elise stood in front of Tony. “Does he feel anything?” she asked Killjoy.
          “Not really, but he will feel it when the effect passes.”
          Elise gave Tony a flick on his nose with her fingers. “That’s less than what you deserve for…OW!” She grabbed her neck, turning toward Killjoy. “Why did you do thhh…” she turned gray and fell forward over Tony.
          “We don’t take advantage of our own either.” Killjoy pulled her hand back with the centipede. “You are a team.” She picked up her coffee mug and metal pad and