I reached out to the systems that surrounded me, trying to figure out what I could use.

  Though I couldn’t say that I was a massive X-Men fan, I remembered Cerebro from the comics. It was a device that allowed telepaths (or maybe just Xavier) to detect mutants.

  This wasn’t the same thing, but for Artificers. I knew this because I connected with it, specifically with its systems. One allowed messaging of other beings connected to the device. That included visitors who weren’t Artificers. Another system was the life support, which allowed me to request various forms of support ranging from the energy Artificers fed off of to air and food for physical needs. I noted that one. I might be able to pinpoint Magnus’ location by tracking life support use if it came to that.

  I also, as it turned out, could give guests access to those systems under my control.

  I could sense the existence of other systems as well, too many of them to absorb or understand at once. These weren’t in reach, for lack of a better way to put it. I hadn’t passed whatever standard the device required yet, or simply hadn’t taken enough time to examine any of them.

  Did the messaging system allow me to see who was available without notifying them? Ours did.

  I looked over at Spark, “Is there a system here that I could use to locate Magnus without notifying him?”

  “I’m not allowed to assist anyone in locating him without his permission,” she said.

  I thought about that and asked, “Would you have any problem with assisting me in cataloging all the beings in the spheres around this control center?”

  She smiled and said, “No.”

  I doubted I’d be able to rely on using questions and the process of elimination to find him, but this narrowed his location down. It wasn’t in the various pocket universes that the spheres represented.

  She’d said that he needed to achieve some additional level of control to take over this thing. Since he was doing it, I needed to do the same. It seemed likely that with that control, I could open a portal to wherever I needed to be next.

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  I should concentrate on that—which meant narrowing down which of these controls were important. The sheer number gave me a hint as to why Magnus hadn’t figured out how to control this thing ages ago.

  I couldn’t try all of them. There had to be a smarter way to figure it out.

  Then, without notice, I felt pressure, almost like a tap on my shoulder, but this was more of a tap on my mind. Without understanding how I knew, I understood that it came from one of the spheres. I also knew that I could talk to whatever it was or even bring the creature here.

  For lack of a better idea, I took the call.

  The voice on the other end said, “Please… Whoever you are, let me out.”

  Could I get a visual? I thought it at the control, and I saw the being in my head. I knew and recognized the guy. Spark had shown him to me only minutes ago, and it was far from the first time I’d seen him. The middle-aged look, square face, mustache, and red and white costume said all of it. This was Prentkos, the Polish speedster who’d been cloned to serve the Nine. I’d fought him at least twice. This one had a stronger accent than either of the others.

  Even if this were the original, did I dare to let him out?

  For lack of a better idea, I asked, “Who is this?”

  An indrawn breath came from the other end of the connection, followed by the words, “Prentkos. Are you an American? I’m on Euro Team. You may not be familiar with us, but we are the European Union’s team.”

  I said, “I know who you are. We’ve met a couple of times. This is the Rocket,” and then I waited to see where he’d go with that.

  He said, “The Rocket? We’ve never met, but this place… This place is wrong. I don’t know where we are, but I believe that we are outside reality as we know it. How did you get here?”

  Well, I thought, in for a penny, in for a pound. “I followed Magnus in.”

  “Magnus,” Prentkos said, his voice rising. “Don’t trust him. I don’t know what he wants, but he brought me here. I’ve been investigating him. I don’t know what he’s doing, but I got too close, and when he told me to follow him through a circle in the air, I couldn’t do anything else. He’s doing something here. This is… a well of power. I don’t know how, but get me out if you can. I need to warn my team.”

  Spark had shown me Prentkos among Magnus’ allies earlier. He might not be a willing ally, but if Magnus could tell him to follow him through the portal and expect him to do it, he was compromised. I could let him out if I won.

  “I’m sorry,” I said. “Magnus runs the Nine, and if you follow his orders, well… You know what the Nine does. You’ll betray me the next time you see him.”

  “Oh,” Prentkos paused. “That makes sense, but I know where he’s going and I can’t tell you unless you let me out.”

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