Lethal Combat by Max Chase Read Free Book Online

said.
    There were no bits of trailing wire or circuitry in this part of the head. Peri thought about trying to attack the optic nerve – but it was too thick to break, and even a blinded Xio-Bot could still do a lot of damage. There was only one thing for it. He looked down at the giant spongy mass below.
    ‘Wish me luck!’ he said – and dived right into the brain.

 
    Chapter 10
     
     
    Peri hit the brain with a splat, and sank straight in. It was like falling into a giant, sloppy cauliflower cheese. He couldn’t see anything. It was too dense for his illuminator to work. And he couldn’t breathe. How long could he hold his breath – a minute, two minutes? Longer than that and he’d drown in the Xio-Bot’s brain.
    He floundered about in slow motion. He didn’t know even what he was looking for. He was too small to cause enough damage to stop the beast just by swimming around in its huge brain. He had to do something to its circuitry – rewire it, or power it down somehow. But could he do that before his lungs burst?
    Suddenly, Peri felt a tingling in his limbs. Strength surged through him. His bionic powers were kicking in!
    He pushed his way down into the heart of the brain. His bionic nature intuitively understood the workings of this giant cyborg. His hands grasped a knot of wires that pulsed with energy. He pulled, but they didn’t break. He was desperate to breathe; his chest felt as if it was on fire.
    His hand followed the wires down. They ran into a metal box, hot to the touch. Peri ran his fingers along its sides. He located a plastic knob as thick and chunky as his own hand.
    A lever? he thought. Surely it can’t be this easy?
    But his bionic half told him that it was. Using both hands, he tugged at the lever. There was a loud, juddering sound. The darkness was broken by sparks and flashes. Then the blackness returned, blacker than before, and with it, an eerie silence.
    Peri felt the Xio-Bot lurch sideways. He got his feet on the metal box and pushed upwards, swimming as hard as he could through the gloopy mass. His head broke the surface. He sucked in lungfuls of air. He had never felt such relief in his life.
    Selene was perched above him, shining her illuminator down. ‘We have to get out,’ she said. ‘It’s going to fall!’
    The optic nerve she was sitting on swayed dangerously. She reached down. Peri grabbed her hand. She pulled. He jumped.
    For a moment he hung on the optic nerve, legs scrabbling, in danger of slipping back down into the brain. Then Selene hauled him up. They crawled up towards the eye socket, Selene first. Peri emerged after her, blinking in the light.
     

     
    The Xio-Bot tottered like a struck skittle.
    We have no time to climb back down , Peri realised. He saw one of the flagpoles, with its banner fluttering in the wind, about four metres away. Quite a leap – but it was their only chance.
    ‘Jump, Selene!’ he cried – and launched himself off the Xio-Bot’s face.
    His fingertips touched the flagpole and curled round it. Yes!
    A moment later, he felt a violent tug on the leg of his Expedition Wear. Selene had missed the flagpole but caught him instead. They began to slide slowly down.
    The Xio-Bot’s legs buckled. It fell, slowly at first and then faster as gravity took hold. It hit the ground so hard it bounced up again, before settling down, face first on the sand, a cloud of dust hovering around it.
    Peri couldn’t hold on any longer. Selene’s weight was too much. He let go of the flagpole and they fell backwards.
    Peri landed on the Xio-Bot’s furry stomach. He bounced off like he had hit a trampoline, and landed feet first on the ground. Selene landed beside him.
    The crowd cheered.
    Diesel, the prince and even Otto ran up and high-fived them.
    ‘Well done, Selene!’ the prince said.
    ‘That was im-press-ive ! ’ Diesel said.
    ‘You did pretty good,’ Otto grunted, ‘for Earthlings.’
    Still the crowd cheered.
    Then Peri heard another