window in the room so it was impossible to tell if it was day or night. She checked for her phone. Gone. So there was no way to call for help.
Still, whoever had kidnapped her may not know about her enhanced strength or fighting abilities. She went to the door of the cell. Also constructed from metal, it had some sort of complicated electronic locking mechanism. She had never seen anything like it.
Brodie peered around the cell, her eyes finally settling on a metal box set into the wall near the lock. Burying her fingers into the groove around the edge of it, she pulled hard and broke off the cover. A series of blue and orange leads wrapped in translucent silver filaments filled the box. She dragged at the wires.
Bang!
A shower of sparks erupted from the interior and Brodie released the wires.
“Kids,” she murmured to herself. “Don’t try this at home.”
She grabbed the wires again and dragged them across to the electronic lock. Keeping her hands free from the ends, she took a deep breath and touched the ends to the electronic display. This time there was no sound, but the display flickered a few times before failing completely.
“Yes!” She dropped the wires, pulled at the door and opened it easily. “Escape à la Brodie!”
She peered into the hallway. Despite the grimy appearance of the flooring and walls, this was obviously some sort of high tech ship and she was stuck in the bowels of it. She would have to try to get above deck without being seen and then steal a rowboat or send a mayday.
Great.
And all she wanted was a new handbag.
Still, no one ever said the life of a superhero was meant to be easy. Not that she really thought of herself as a superhero. She just happened to be an Australian girl with three times the strength and speed of a normal man, a multitude of martial arts abilities, and an employee of a secret agency operating within the United States.
If that made her a superhero, then –
Actually , she thought. That probably does make me a superhero.
Still, she wished Axel were here. A pang of emotion gripped her chest. She might have superpowers, but she was also a girl. She found herself thinking about Axel all the time although she was not sure he felt the same way. He often seemed preoccupied with other things.
Brodie drove the thoughts from her mind. Now was the time for action, not for girly-girly-mush-mush. She hurried down the corridor. There seemed to be doors on both sides – possibly other people were imprisoned within – but she couldn’t do anything about them right now. She had to focus on escaping.
The corridor ended with a set of stairs heading upward. Racing up them, she found herself facing another set of stairs and a passageway identical to the one she had just left. Up had to be the best direction. Brodie ascended again and reached another corridor, but now the stairs had run out. Making her way along the passageway, she sighted an elevator at the end. There were strange symbols on the display.
What language is that? She didn’t recognise it. The up button was the only thing that mattered and it was obvious enough. She pushed it and waited.
A few seconds passed. The doors opened and –
Brodie’s mouth fell open. The occupant of the elevator was over six feet in height, covered in scales and had a face not unlike that of a fish; its eyes were placed back on the sides of its head. The hairless creature fell back in surprise as it stared in astonishment at Brodie. Its mouth fell open to reveal two thin rows of even teeth. A weapon vaguely resembling a pistol hung from its belt.
“I’m looking for handbags.” Brodie recovered quickly. “Which floor is that?”
She didn’t wait for a reply. The creature reached for its weapon as she leapt into action. Brodie aimed a kick directly at its groin – she assumed its physiology was similar to that of a human – and followed up with three rapid punches to its jaw.
The thing hit the back of the lift before