Carl calmed down a bit, realizing that Katy would likely handle everything. Then, a thought came to him.
"Anyway," he said, remembering, "how's the girl doing?"
Brody, catching on, responded with a touch of humor. "Oh, the one that fell from space?!"
Carl shifted uncomfortably. "Now you're just making me feel guilty."
Brody chuckled. "She's still unconscious, but she's fine."
Carl sighed in relief.
"I'll be going now," Brody added. "I've got a lot of things to do, so catch you later." With that, he left the room.
Carl thought for a moment, then stretched and stood up from the bed. "What do I do now?" he wondered aloud.
Just then, a voice came from one of the room's speakers. It was Link, the AI of ITF.
"Good evening, Mr. Carl."
Carl was startled at first but quickly recognized the voice. "Oh, you're an AI just like Beatrix."
"Yes, of course," Link confirmed. "I'd like to inform you that you are now discharged and allowed to leave the premises, under certain conditions."
"Conditions?" Carl asked warily. "Like what?"
"First, you are not to disclose any information about this place to anyone. Second, a meeting of heroes will be held the day after tomorrow at 11:30 AM. You are to be in attendance."
Carl looked confused. "A meeting of heroes? That's got nothing to do with me. I'm not one of them. But anyway, how am I going to get here? Heck, how am I supposed to leave in the first place?"
"I am able to teleport you both in and out of this place to keep its location confidential. However, since I have no way of communicating with you outside, I ask that you be ready by the time of the meeting so I can bring you here."
Carl nodded slowly. "Hmm… okay. Can I get my gadgets for now?"
"They'll be with you the moment you are teleported out," Link replied.
"Okay then. I'd like to go home now. No need for me to stay here." Carl began dressing in his normal clothes.
"Okay," Link acknowledged. "Beginning teleportation process. Teleporting… 74u3t32txr4."
Carl's body began glowing as a horizontal line scanned him from head to toe. Then he began to disappear.
"Teleportation complete," Link said.
Carl appeared in his living room. The house was empty—his mother had traveled out a while back. "Wow, that was neat," he said, checking himself over. "And all my things are here." He pulled his phone from his pocket. "Well, guess I've got to get ready for school tomorrow." He dialed Katy's number.
At her office, Katy picked up. "Hello?!"
"Hey, Katy," Carl greeted.
"Oh, I see you finally thought to call me after you disappeared," she said, mockingly annoyed.
"It's not like that," Carl said nervously. "I've been unconscious for the past three days after the battle."
"I thought you pulled a fast one on me," she replied, pretending to be angry.
"Sorry about that, but I'm back home now."
Katy sighed. "Anyway, do you have any idea where you were all this time? The moment you disappeared, we lost all contact with you."
Carl laughed nervously. "I can't say exactly… for numerous reasons."
"I see," she said knowingly. "I have a rough idea of the place. If my guess is correct, then you must have been forced to swear to secrecy. If that's the case, don't worry about it."
Carl exhaled in relief. "Okay."
"We'll talk at school tomorrow. A lot has been going on since you disappeared. We'll have to talk about that there."
"Alright, see you tomorrow." He hung up.
The next day at school, Carl walked through the hallway and overheard students gossiping.
"I heard something like a meteor was headed for the city and he caught it before he disappeared," one said.
"But I heard the youngest space engineer in the world was involved in an accident and fell from space," another added.
"Don't tell me… is it possible the two incidents are related?" a third chimed in.
"It's actually very possible," the second student replied. "Both she and Magnograv disappeared and there have been no traces of either of them."
Carl passed by, thinking to himself, Now that I think about it, I didn't ask about the girl or how she was doing. But wait… He paused, realization dawning. That was the youngest space engineer in the world? Wow, the world is really a small place. He entered his classroom.
During lunch break, Silver came to Carl's classroom.
"Hey, Carl," he said with a small wave.
Carl greeted him, trying to hide his suspicion. "Oh hey, Silver. How have you been?"
"I've been good. Can't say the same about you though."
Carl laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head. "Sorry if I worried you."
Silver's expression turned somber. "Katy told me you were under the weather. Honestly, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was somehow responsible, since you came from my house the previous day."
"It wasn't your fault, pal," Carl reassured him. "I was just being too reckless with my health. That's on me." In his mind, though, Carl was unsure. Honestly, I can't tell if this is an act or his genuine feelings. That's the problem—it feels like this Silver and the other Silver are different, even though they're the same person.
The bell rang.
"Anyway," Silver said, "I'm glad you're alright. I've got to get to class now." He left.
Carl watched him go. Hmm… he thought.
After school, Silver rushed home as usual. Meanwhile, Carl and Katy went to Katy's house-office together.
Once there, Katy sat in her chair. "I'm sure you've heard the rumors, right?"
"About Magnograv's disappearance and the connection to the youngest space engineer? I've heard the basics," Carl replied.
"On the day of the incident," Katy explained, "there was briefly some news about an accident involving Sia Martins, the youngest space engineer."
Sia, huh? Carl thought. So that's her name.
"Though nobody knows what it was, people claimed they saw a beam blasted into space moments before something fell into Earth's atmosphere. Other than us who were aware of the battle that day, obviously."
Carl frowned. "But I still don't see the problem here."
"Of course you wouldn't," Katy snapped. "You wouldn't see it even if it was placed in front of you."
"Why are you getting angry? I just said what I meant," Carl said defensively.
Katy took a deep breath. "Now the question on everybody's minds is this: was what happened a mistake, or was it intentional? And if it was a mistake or coincidence, then what happened to Magnograv and Sia?"