I watched from below. The secure joints of the tower will still hold for another 4 minutes. They will be down in three. But there were still too many vibrations going on. And it was not from the tower. Cordy was tugging my shoulder asking if I could compensate the cabby boy to show him her benovelence. There was a loud crackle like thunder and a plume of concrete dust bursting out from the other side of the building. I saw a long 30 foot metal girder slide out and plunge 20 storey down to the road. The tower began to break free of the building. Not even his fine-core nano steel can save the day.
I got down from the perch at the car door and turned the engine back on.
"Strap up kids! We're gonna ride up there and pick a few passengers."
The cabby boy was stunned. "Oh no... Please Sir. Not agaaaaain!!!!!!" I barreled the vehicle straight at the wall of abandoned building where other half of the tower rested. As it's fire-escape stairway came into view. I stretched my right hand and ignited my instrument.
I popped off all of it fixtures to wall and made the zig-zag stairway tumble down to us. I found an old fuel cell service station and yanked out it's power drum letting it roll. A half-ton metal cylinder coming in from behind. It crashed into back of the taxi pushing us forward, but I have gotten hold of it. I flooded the back of the cab with fission cinders. I peeled off the outer coverings of the drum, leaving it's enormous spokes. I mounted the drum onto the car's spare to the back. I re-rerouted power directly from front engine, then formed the spokes into a turbofan.
A red button appeared at the centre of my steering wheel. I punched it and we flew foward at the speed of sound. The vehicle mounted the first set of stairs. I focused hard at the falling segments of stairs flattening them out to form a snake and ladder ride of sorts, but we were travelling up not down. I calculated the tragectory needed to intercept Malcolm and the jumper and on the last 2 segments over-clocked my instrument into afterburn. There was a scorching sensation on my hand. We went into a round-about and finally launched off the end of the line into air.
The tower was breaking apart in descent heading straight down towards us. The kids screamed again. "Hang on!" I screamed and turned the steering wheel sharply. I pulled up and banked the turbofan thruster at 45 degrees to do mid-air somersault clearing us of the tower and setting us right on top of it. I detached the turbofan as it succumbed to the rain of rusted steel debris and flamed out. We landed on the tower with a smash. I spotted Malcolm at the mid-section of the tower and put my foot down to the accelerator pedal. It was gone. My foot touched air.
Now, Malcolm had to climb higher. The lower half was going down fast. Things have never been the same since he stopped using his powers. But he saw it all coming. They can take away your powers. They can blow you out of your house, but they have forgotten that Fission sight was only a tool. It's the welder who was the key and the Galdanians never realised it. Malcolm put his hand to a bar to sense the remaining structural integrity. They were now in the middle of a teetering bridge that was collapsing on them from 2 ways. The only option now was to go down. And go down properly.
"Okay Jerrod. We'll have to ride this place down in the elevator! I will open the door and you get in first!"
Jerrod nodded. And Malcolm pulled 2 cables and secured them. One to the old fire-hydrant and the other onto a defunct gas pipe of the lift shaft. This momentarily arrested the buckling. Then, he kicked the elevator grille. Once. Twice. Three times. The lock gave way and Malcolm held it open for Jerrod to get in. At this juncture, the shaft lurched downwards. Malcolm slipped and hung on by his arms. Jerrod reached out to hold him.
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