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he studied the small screen. ‘Yes, it looks like everything is responding beautifully. Better than I imagined, actually.’
    ‘What do you mean, better than you imagined?’ asked M, whose nervousness was building in the pit of her stomach. ‘You’ve done this, like, tons of times, right?’
    ‘A little less than that, if my math is correct,’ said Keyshawn distractedly.
    ‘Let’s assume you’re great at math,’ she continued, ‘because if you designed these suits and wrote those equations on the boards over there, then your math is probably pretty brilliant.’
    M twisted and grabbed Keyshawn in a single, swift movement that caught them both off guard. Lifting the taller boy off the ground, she asked, ‘How many suits like this have you made?’
    As Keyshawn’s toes dangled and reached for the ground,he creaked out an answer in the tiniest voice M had ever heard. ‘Including yours? Four.’
    ‘Hold up,’ exclaimed Merlyn. ‘You’re saying that we’re the guinea pigs?’
    ‘I’m saying that I have been given orders to introduce a new tech on a trial basis with a small team,’ admitted Keyshawn calmly while still in M’s grasp. ‘I didn’t know in advance who would be chosen for the team. And I was under the impression you knew about the test.’
    ‘Did it look like I knew what was going on when I was paralyzed on the table?’ asked Jules.
    ‘He doesn’t care whether we’re willing subjects or not. Do you, Keyshawn?’ said M. ‘You only care about the suits and how they work.’ Then she tossed him heavily to the floor, where he landed hard.
    Even though he lost his breath on impact, Keyshawn spoke through his windedness. ‘You have to understand. I’ve put so much time and thought into making sure these suits are in excellent working order. This is the future of the Fulbrights. With this, maybe, hopefully, we can end this conflict once and for all.’
    ‘Oh yeah, you care so much about ending the war that you created a supersoldier,’ answered M. ‘That makes you about as smart as the guy who invented the atomic bomb.’
    ‘Well, that guy was pretty smart,’ added Merlyn thoughtlessly. Then he caught M’s look. ‘Oh, but, yeah, not in the way you’re referring to.’
    ‘Who signed off on this trial?’ M asked Keyshawn. ‘Beyond Ben, that is. I want to know who he reports to. I want to know who you all report to.’
    ‘John Doe,’ declared a new voice from the doorway. M, Merlyn, and Jules all turned, ready to fight. Between the harsh backlighting of the hallway and the dusty darkness of Keyshawn’s lab, they couldn’t make out the newcomer’s face.
    ‘And don’t be so aggro on Keyshawn,’ the voice continued. ‘He may not be the most personable guy, but he means well. Besides, by now you must have figured out that all facts in the Fulbright Academy come on a need-to-know basis.’
    ‘Thanks for the straight answer,’ called out M with a cautious edge in her voice. ‘Now, why don’t you come in and join us, friend?’
    ‘Come on, guys, relax,’ said the figure as he strolled toward them. ‘It’s just little old me.’
    And into the light of the room stepped the fourth suit, the mysterious voice from the darkness, none other than Calvin Fence – the Lawless student they had left for dead.

CHAPTER 4
MAZE, MAYHEM, MEDUSA
    A gray smudge, floating lifelessly in the freezing river current, shoulders slack and sliding against the thick layer of ice that held him underwater – that’s how M remembered Calvin Fence. She wished her most prominent memories of Cal were from their first days at the Lawless School, when he was a goofy, green-eyed, awkward kid. But those memories had been replaced with the sight of Cal in heavy, soaked clothes, arms like dangling ropes cut loose from their moorings, and a body adrift like an unmanned lifeboat discovered in an ocean storm.
    Even now as he stood before her alive and well, M knew she would never forget that terrible vision of