Twinepathy (Part 35): I’d Like You To Meet…

Hullo, everyone! Ready for another part? I am! And there are a few new characters here, too. Enjoy, my friends! Check out Part One if you’re new!

I push the button. But this time, we know what it’s going to do. I look over at Brooklyn. “We really need to get a non-emergency way to contact them.”

She nods. “We can ask Jen about that.”

The instant I had pressed the button, I also started the stopwatch on my phone. I’m just curious. And exactly two minutes and forty-three seconds later, Blaze appears. He looks exhausted. “What?”

“Do you know where Voltage is?” I ask.

Blaze frowns. “No, and if I did know, I wouldn’t be allowed to tell you.”

I gape at him. Is he, Blaze, in a bad mood? Because he sure sounds irritated to me. I look over at Brooklyn, who looks just as surprised as me. “What’s going on?” I ask curiously.

He sighs. “I should be asking you two that. You contacted us just to ask about your brother’s girlfriend?”

“She got an emergency call from her ‘work’ saying that she needed to go in,” I explain. “She ditched Denver for that, so I’m guessing it wasn’t the computer shop calling.”

Blaze tilts his head to the side. “Well. One more thing to check on.” He nods at us. “Don’t worry about her, I’ll check with Jen and get back to you.”

“Wait!” Brooklyn says, grabbing his arm before he can teleport away. “Take us with you. I want to meet Maddie’s sister and talk to Jen about her.” She hesitates. “Besides, I have a feeling something’s wrong.”

Blaze looks at me. “She’s not going to give in, is she?”

I shake my head. “She’s more stubborn about her feelings than I ever am.”

He sighs. “Fine. But you all have to be on your best behavior. Data’s really stressed with all the craziness.”

What craziness? She seemed fine the last time we saw her. What happened? Does it have something to do with Keller? Blaze looks normal, not like he just left a battle or something. Does IDIA do battles? I force myself to relax. “When are we not on our best behavior?” I ask sweetly.

Blaze gives me a death glare. Apparently now is not the time for humor. “Let’s go.” He teleports us, and my eyes adjust to the bright white of the IDIA lobby area. We walk towards the door into Jen’s office, and I notice that there’s a guy sitting at the desk outside Jen’s office. He lifts an eyebrow as we approach and then stands up, blocking our path to the door. We stop in front of him. He’s fairly tall, but not muscular. In spite of that, he’s definitely imposing. I’d guess he’s in his thirties, maybe.

“Do you have clearance?” he asks, his voice deep.

Blaze smirks. “I was enjoying you not being here, Com. You finally finished your vacation, huh?”

The man – Com, apparently – levels a glare at Blaze. “You cannot pass without clearance from Data.”

Blaze sighs. “Still no sense of humor, I see. Data’s expecting us.”

Com’s eyes glaze over, the pupil and iris turning cloudy gray. My jaw drops in shock, and Brooklyn squeaks, her freaked-out squeak. His eyes return to normal a moment later, and he nods. “Data will see you now.”

I pause, grinning, while trying to forget his weird eye thing. “Is that like ‘The doctor will see you now’?”

Com gives me an indifferent stare, and Blaze elbows me. “No sense of humor, remember.”

I frown and follow him into Jen’s office, Maddie and Brooklyn trailing behind. Jen is sitting at her desk with Keller sitting across from her. Keller’s back is to us, but there’s no mistaking that hair. A guy I don’t know, with spiky blond hair and a distracted expression, is sitting on the couch Brooklyn was on before. He’s staring up at the ceiling, not seeming to care about us, or anything for that matter. I’d guess he’s about Denver’s age.

Jen smiles at us. “Hello, girls… and Blaze. Just the people we needed. Pop, this is Keller – your sister and Maddie already met her.” She motions toward the blond guy. “And I’d like for you three to meet The Finch.”