Page 49 of Emergence
“Except she’s kidnapped my son!” Libby complained.
“Allegedly. We don’t have concrete proof yet.”
“Why? Why does she want Lysander?” Libby asked.
“Because of me,” I said. “Am I right? She wants him to get to me.”
All three nodded at the same time. “If our theory is correct and Grace kidnaped Lysander, it’s probably to get to you.”
“And why? What can she do with me?”
Elana, who’d been sitting silently listening to the exchange, cleared her throat. “Do you remember the story of Vega?” she asked.
“Didn’t she try to nuke a city or town or something?” Pete asked.
“But do you remember why?” she asked.
Pete and Libby shook their heads. I racked my brain for the answer. We’d studied it in class, but I’d only half paid attention. Why would I ever need to learn about some dead woman? When they died, that was the end of that, right?
“Vega and Lowen were the first documented people to acquire powers,” Elana began to tell the story. “The two women were friends, or had been. They were both exposed to nuclear radiation during a government experiment. Vega was not an evil person, she simply believed in equality for everyone. She and Lowen had been actively involved in human rights projects both before and after they were exposed. But the problem was, Vega was willing to go to any lengths to create more Supes.”
“Was it so she could become more powerful?” Libby asked.
Elana shrugged. “That’s the story, but Erudo, the founder of this school, knew both women. He said he never believed that was actually the case. In fact, his testimony on her behalf plagued him for the rest of his life. Many established Supes, including Lowen, never trusted him after that. Regardless of her intentions, Vega hatched a plan to expose her town to nuclear material. She ended up dying in the process, leaving behind a five-year-old named Grace.”
“I don’t get it. Basically, you are saying Dr. Bisbee is retaliating against us because of what happened to her mom?” I asked.
All three people shook their heads. “No, Grace believed in her mom’s theory. That exposing people to radiation was the best way to increase super abilities.”
“And I’m a bomb. I’m a fucking nuclear bomb. She wants to use me to expose people to radiation?” I asked, already knowing the answer.
Dr. Fagan sighed and leaned forward in his chair. “Kaden, we all theorized you had the ability to do what you did in the South Pacific, but when you did it, you proved you could. Your powers are so much more powerful than just creating an island. I have no doubt you could do exactly what she wishes.”
“So, what do you think she’s going to do, threaten Lysander if I don’t comply? I’ll blow her to smithereens.”
“I doubt she’ll care,” Elana said. “I’m sure it’s worth her life if it proves her mom’s theory.
“How do you know all this, young lady?” Libby asked.
“I was her protégé,” she admitted. “I was also her teaching assistant for over seven years.”
“How do we know we can trust you?” I asked.
“Because Grace used her powers against me when you first arrived at school. She kept me away from you, away from her responsibilities to you. At the time, we thought it was due to her need for control, which seemed to increase every year. But we realized after she’d been sent away, and I told Dr. Fagan and Dr. Aynesworth what’d happened, that she was trying to get to you.”
‘You should’ve told me,” I demanded, angry enough to slam my fist into the table in front of me.
“We didn’t know she was that big a threat. Her polarity had abandoned her years ago, saying she was a threat to humanity. Without him, there wasn’t much she could do.”
“But you’ve changed your mind? Why?” Libby demanded.
“Because, he went missing the night before last. We’re almost sure she’s kidnapped him as well.”
“This keeps getting better and better,” Pete snapped.
“So, what do we do now? How do we get Lysander back?”
“At her full power capacity, she can hide Lysander from anyone, even you, Kaden. We’ll just have to wait until she contacts us. We’ll react then.”
