Oh great! the kid thought, looking around him for an exit plan. He pulled out the Omega Blaster and blasted the roof of the elevator. Yet it did nothing but fire a stun pulse. It worked before, he thought. He looked over the gun and flipped one of its switches and tried again. This time, it blasted a hole in the roof and knocked him to the floor.

Now that's more like it, he thought as he pulled himself up to the roof of the elevator cab and looked for a cable. No cable-it used anti-gravity lift technology to travel on a vertical rail. So he climbed the old-fashioned way, using his gloves to adhere to the walls and pulling himself up with upper-arm strength.

When he reached the top, the door was shut. The thief opened his trench coat one-handed and unsheathed a black, one-foot blade. Parts of a blade shifted, and it lengthened to the size of a sword. The kid stabbed it between the two doors. He slid a switch on the handle down and a second double blade rotated from the center, forcing the doors open. He was now on the rooftop. The space was used as a public garden. It had a variety of plant species, but there were no insects. Does the planet even have insects, he thought. Although the public had access to the area from the elevator, he didn't see anyone else. He let out a sigh of relief and retracted his Crossblade into its compact form, then slipped it back into his trench coat.

"I won, right?" Crysilis asked.

"How the . . . ?" The thief looked behind him and stumbled.

"It's no use," Crysilis said. "Just hand over that stinkin' weapon, OK, pal? You're startin' to get on my nerves. And, look, I'm trying to help you here-trying to save you from having Vecto find you. Believe me, you don't want that."

In reply, the kid reached into his coat and tossed a smoke bomb at Crysilis. Once again, he ran, while the purple smoke solidified over Crysilis' body, locking him into a cocoon.

Meanwhile, Vecto used his outer shield to adhere to and climb the side of the building. When he reached the top, he flipped over the edge to see Crysilis in a cocoon. He analyzed the material, then saw the culprit standing on the edge of the roof with his arms folded.

"Enough of this foolishness!" Vecto yelled at him, standing up.

"Well said," the kid replied, looking over his shoulder and falling backward.

Vecto rushed to the edge in time to see the kid land on a passing lift vehicle. The vehicle swerved, and the kid leaped on a truck that flew by.

"Help!" Crysilis yelled. "Man stuck in cocoon here!"

Vecto ignored him. "The nerve of that kid!" he said. He paused and sent coordinates for irregular transportation. In a flash, a vehicle shaped like a half spade transported beside him, resting on three spherical wheels. It was his Arc Velos XT, a vehicle he had nicknamed "V-Extreme." It was an old vehicle, bought years ago, yet it still worked like a charm.

"Don't worry. I'll take care of him," Vecto repeated what Crysilis had said. The curved glasslike frame of the silver car slid forward like a jet's cockpit to make room for a pilot. Vecto lifted himself in and sealed the frame, checking his vehicle's gauges. It brought back memories, being in this car-memories of him racing Gyro, who was riding a liftcycle, the two of them chasing down a thief long ago. Now it seemed that history was repeating itself . . . only, his friend wasn't here to share the moment.

"Hey! Are you listening?" came Crysilis' muffled voice. "You just gonna leave me here?"

Vecto mentally commanded the vehicle to start, and its self-sustaining magnetic propulsive engine hummed to life. The V-Extreme turned on its wheels, then slowly lifted into the air with antigravity systems. Boosters flared, and it shot after the culprit.