by Alesha Dixon
“I guess it all started at the end of the summer holidays.” I gulped. “When I got into a little bit of trouble…”
Her eyes twinkled mischievously.
“That sounds like my favourite kind of story,” she said. “Start from the beginning.”
2
Four Months Earlier
I was in trouble. Big trouble.
To be precise, I was in prison.
This was all just one big misunderstanding. I kept saying that to the officer as she led me into the police station, but she ignored me, even though I was explaining myself very clearly. I had to fill out all this paperwork and then she asked me to write a statement of “my version of events”, giving me a very suspicious look as she said it. Except my statement wasn’t my version of events, it was the absolute TRUTH. And anybody in my position would have done exactly the same.
You know, if someone actually told me what was going on once in a while then none of this would have happened. The whole reason I’d got myself into this mess in the first place was because I was being kept completely in the dark. It was the end of the summer holidays, the new school term was just about to start, and the Light of the World was still missing.
And we didn’t seem to be any closer to finding it.
The Light of the World was not only the source of our family’s superpowers, but it was also the most precious stone on the planet. We had no idea where it was or who had it or what they wanted to do with it. It could be anywhere on Earth.
What if whoever had it intended to destroy it? Would my superpowers just … disappear? Would something bad happen to me? And Mum? And my grandmother and aunt, who also had powers?
Not knowing why someone would want the Light of the World and what they were planning to do with it made me feel sick. It wasn’t just my family in trouble if it landed in the wrong hands, it was the whole world too. We didn’t fully understand how powerful that stone was yet – and it was very likely that the person who had it wasn’t planning to use it for good, considering they’d stolen it at the Superhero Conference.
We had to get it back safe and sound.
All we knew was that the criminal mastermind who was behind stealing the stone from right under our noses during the summer, was the same person who had tried to steal it from the Natural History Museum last spring, and whoever they were, they had employed Mr Mercury both times to do their dirty work. This meant that Mr Mercury was the key to finding the Light of the World.
“I know, Aurora, don’t worry; we’re doing everything we can to track down Mr Mercury,” Mum kept saying in a tired voice every time I reminded her just how bad this situation was and pestered her for an update.
She refused to tell me any more than that, so can anyone blame me for trying to take things into my own hands? This was a BIG deal and, in my opinion, everyone was acting WAY too calm.
I kept calling Nanny Beam in Cornwall about five times a day to see if she had any updates, but she was even cagier than Mum. Not that I should have been surprised, considering her job. After the Superhero Conference, we’d all found out that Nanny Beam didn’t just run a rescue sanctuary for animals in Cornwall but also happened to be head of MI5, with a secret underground lair in her house and a bright pink flying car.
It had been quite the revelation.
Personally, I thought it was awesome. How many people can say that their grandmother is a spy? But I can kind of see why Mum was still weirded out by the whole thing. She’d thought that Nanny Beam was retired and chilling with rescue alpacas and chickens in Cornwall, while Mum had taken over saving the world from bad guys. But Nanny Beam had secretly been keeping an eye on her all the time, anonymously sending her on rescue missions for years. Mum was still trying to get her head round it.
On top of all that, we’d gained a new family member at the same time. Darek Vermore, one of the most famous and successful technological businessmen in the world, turned out to be the only son of Nanny Beam’s brother, Nolan.
Yeah. Darek Vermore was Mum’s cousin.
I never met Nolan or knew all that much about him, because he died when my mum was a teenager and then he was hardly mentioned when we were growing up. Nanny Beam had a big falling-out with him right before he died and, according to Mum, she didn’t like to talk about it. It was too painful. When I was staying at Nanny Beam’s house in Cornwall during the summer I found an old photograph of Nanny Beam, her brother and a young boy. It was nice because I’d never seen what my great-uncle Nolan looked like before.
Then, with the excitement of the Superhero Conference, I forgot all about the picture until Nanny Beam revealed that Mr Vermore was her nephew and I suddenly realized he was the young boy in that photo. Nanny Beam told us that even though she’d fallen out with his dad, Darek had stayed in touch and then they’d ended up working together.
I keep meaning to ask Nanny Beam what had happened to make her fall out with her brother in the first place, but it never seems to be the right time.
Anyway, before all these crazy family secrets came spilling out, I had thought it was strange that Mr Vermore, a non-superhero, was in charge of the Superhero Conference and it was held in the building he’d designed underneath the Houses of Parliament. I’d even become suspicious that he might be the one trying to steal the Light of the World. But obviously now I know he was Nanny Beam’s nephew and had been working alongside her to protect the precious stone, I feel a bit guilty about suspecting him.
Although, to be fair, he thought I was the one who’d stolen it, so I guess we’re even.
My older brother, Alexis, couldn’t have been happier about our new family member. A big computer nerd, Alexis worshipped Darek Vermore, and ever since we’d discovered we were related, Alexis wouldn’t shut up about him. My little sister, Clara, and I were constantly rolling our eyes at him because he always managed to bring Darek into any conversation.
“Why don’t you just call him and ask for a chat? Maybe he could give you work experience at his company or something,” Clara had said when Alexis had spent about half an hour reeling off Darek’s many achievements.
Alexis’s eyes had grown as wide as saucers. “I can’t just pick up the phone and call Darek Vermore! He’s Darek Vermore!”
“Sure you can,” I’d said. “He’s family.”
“You don’t get it,” he’d said, shaking his head. “You just don’t get it. He is an ICON.”
He was absolutely right. Clara and I didn’t get it at all. Our brother was a big weirdo.
The thing was, I really believed that after Mr Mercury sped away into the distance, slipping through our clutches, it would only be a matter of time before we caught him again. I mean, HELLO, my grandmother was head of MI5! And her nephew happened to own the biggest tech company in the country! He was literally in charge of developing and manufacturing the most advanced spy equipment out there.
There was NO chance Mr Mercury could escape for too long.
But he had. He was nowhere to be seen and neither was the Light of the World. And no one would tell me anything. So, I had been doing what anyone in my position would and spending all my spare time trawling through social media and online news reports for any sign of Mr Mercury or any clues that might lead us to the Light of the World.
At one point, there was some weird light phenomenon going on over Jamaica – witnesses had seen the Northern Lights appear in the sky there. It HAD to be linked to the Light of the World. It just had to be. It was in Jamaica! So, I asked Mum what we were going to do about it and she just said the same thing she always did.
“Don’t worry, Aurora, we’re sorting it. Now, have you got the list of textbooks we need to get you for the new school year?”
WHAT WAS WRONG WITH HER?
Who cares about textbooks at a time like this? Had she lost her mind?! As soon as she brushed me off, I went straight online and booked flights to Jamaica using Dad’s credit card. And OK, yes, sneaking his credit card from his wallet was maybe wrong b
ut this was important!
They both got really angry at me when I appeared at the bottom of the stairs with our passports and the boarding passes printed out, announcing that we had to leave now or we’d miss our plane. Dad’s eyes almost bulged right out of his head when he saw the price of the flights and he got straight on the phone to the airline to try and get a refund, while Mum said in a very strained manner that we “needed to have a little chat”.
Apparently, Nanny Beam had already sent agents to Jamaica and nothing had been found. If the stone had been there, it had been moved somewhere else now.
But that was all Mum’s fault, because if she’d just told me that in the first place, I never would have felt the need to take a trip to Jamaica into my own hands.
It was my birthday the day after the flights fiasco and I was worried that Mum was still going to be mad, but luckily she wasn’t. The Bright Sparks came round, and we had an amazing pink, yellow and purple lightning bolt cake that Dad had spent ages making. Suzie said it was the best cake she’d ever tasted, which is really something. And when I quietly apologized to Mum about nabbing the credit card and booking the flights, she just put her arm around me.
“Don’t worry about it, I know you were doing what you thought was right,” she’d said gently. “And anyway, it’s your birthday! That means everything is forgiven.”
It was a very nice moment.
Unfortunately, I had a feeling she might not be so forgiving about this whole prison thing.
I was only trying to help. I was scrolling through Twitter like I did every morning, searching for the words “Mercury” or “blackout burglar”, and amongst all the tweets discussing his crimes was a sighting. An actual sighting.
@Unicorn245
Pretty sure that I’ve just seen that dude wanted by police, Mr Mercury, lurking in Broxbourne Woods. He’s shorter than I imagined. Called the police #MrMercury #LightningGirl
I almost fell off my chair. Broxbourne Woods! That’s in Hertfordshire, where we live! He was so close! I didn’t even hesitate. I ran downstairs to tell Mum and Dad, but I only found Alexis on his laptop and Clara lying on the floor next to a contentedly snoozing Kimmy, reading one of her new science textbooks.
“Where are Mum and Dad?” I asked urgently.
“Out,” Alexis replied, not looking up from his laptop.
“Out where?”
He shrugged.
“UGH!” I cried out in frustration and ran back up the stairs to get my phone, calling a taxi straight away.
I left the house, yelling behind me to Alexis and Clara that I would be back soon, climbed into the taxi and was driven at speed towards Broxbourne Woods, my hands shaking in anticipation. I thought about letting the Bright Sparks know what was going on but there wasn’t time for them to all get here and I didn’t want to risk waiting around and giving Mr Mercury the time to escape. I’d have to handle this myself.
When I got to the woodland, I realized that I didn’t really know where to start. The woods were big, and he could be anywhere. So I followed the path for a bit, weaving through the trees, staying as quiet as possible and keeping my eyes peeled.
That’s when I saw him.
At first, I just saw a glint of light among the trees, but then I realized it was the sunlight reflecting off a big round bald head. Mr Mercury. He had his back to me and a satchel hanging from his shoulder. I couldn’t believe how lucky I was to have come across him so easily. I quickly called the police and told them that I could confirm that their earlier caller was correct, Mr Mercury was in Broxbourne Woods.
“We have officers on their way. Please go back to the entrance to the woods and wait safely for them to arrive,” the operator said.
“No, don’t worry, I’ve got this,” I said confidently.
“What? Wait! Miss, you need to—”
But I hung up, conscious I was wasting time. At any moment, Mr Mercury might notice he wasn’t alone. I tiptoed towards him, holding my breath and careful not to step on any cracking twigs. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to hold him by myself before the police got there but I could take his bag, which might have important information or even the Light of the World in it. And when the police got here, they could capture him.
I waited until I was close enough and then I held out my hands and I focused.
I hadn’t used my powers since the last time I’d tried to stop Mr Mercury, outside the Houses of Parliament a week ago after the Superhero Conference. I closed my eyes and concentrated on that warm, tingling feeling running up from my toes as though sparklers were going off through my veins.
Suddenly, dazzling light beams burst from my palms, bathing the woodland in a bright light and catching Mr Mercury off guard.
He yelped, shielding his eyes, and I pounced, knowing this was my only chance to have the upper hand.
I snatched his bag from round his shoulder and before he even knew what was going on, I sprinted away from him as fast as I could.
“STOP! THIEF!”
I kept running, hearing his footsteps close behind me, but I was much faster, taking random turnings round trees, darting left and right to throw him off the scent. When I was certain that he wasn’t in close pursuit, I hid behind a wide tree trunk and, catching my breath, I tore open the bag and looked inside.
“Huh?”
There was a pair of binoculars and … a book on British birds? It didn’t make any sense.
Obviously, now I know that it made perfect sense. Because it wasn’t Mr Mercury. It was a birdwatcher. He just had a bald head. And I’d attacked him and stolen his bag with no explanation.
Whoops.
In my defence, the person who tweeted about spotting Mr Mercury in Broxbourne Woods should really have checked it really was Mr Mercury before they told the internet about it. And as soon as I realized my mistake, I gave the bag right back and apologized maybe a thousand times to the random bald birdwatcher.
Unfortunately, by that time the police had arrived, and I was driven back to the station with the siren on and everything.
It was actually quite cool.
Mum arrived to pick me up from prison with a face like thunder. Dad was with her and kept whispering, “It was just a misunderstanding, Kiyana, she didn’t know,” while she pursed her lips and ordered me to get into the car. Matters weren’t exactly helped when some of the police officers asked for selfies with me before I left. Mum’s eyes narrowed to slits as she told them that under no circumstances could they take any photos of Lightning Girl right now, and the police officer in charge stepped forward to assure her that, as per their agreement, this “incident” would not become public knowledge.
We sat in silence as Dad drove us home until, eventually, Mum spoke through gritted teeth.
“Luckily, the birdwatcher has decided not to press charges and he’s agreed to keep the story to himself. It turns out he’s a big fan of Lightning Girl and can understand the … mix-up,” she said, staring straight ahead.
“Great!” I said. “That’s good news.”
Silence.
“So,” I began, “how’s your day been?”
I realize now that this was probably a bit too flippant a question.
“How’s our day been?” Mum hissed, swivelling to look at me. “I just picked up my twelve-year-old daughter from a police station. Do you have any idea what you’ve put us through? How worried we were when we got a call from the police to say our daughter had committed THEFT?”
“I told you what happened! I was just trying to help!” I argued. “The Light of the World is out there, and we haven’t got any closer to finding it! I wanted to do something!”
Dad reached over and put a hand on one of Mum’s. She took a deep breath and her voice was softer when she spoke.
“I know, Aurora. I know you were just trying to help. But” – she swivelled to face me again – “you must start trusting us. We are doing everything we can to find the Light of the World. The best people are on the job and ju
st because it doesn’t look like anything is going on, it doesn’t mean that’s the case. It’s very important work and a lot of it is top secret. Not even Dad or I know a lot about what is happening. That’s how MI5 works. You just have to trust that everything that can be done is being done. Will you do that for me?”
I let out a long sigh. “I guess.”
“Good. Aurora, this is important. I want you to promise that you will stop looking for Mr Mercury and the Light of the World.”
“But, Mum! Me and the Bright Sparks can help! We’ve shown that we can—”
“Yes, the Bright Sparks have been amazing and stopped Mr Mercury several times. But it’s bigger now,” Mum said firmly as Dad nodded in agreement with her. “It’s more dangerous. We don’t know who is pulling the strings or what they’re capable of. Your safety, the Bright Sparks’ safety, comes first. It’s my job to protect you. As soon as you need to know anything, or you can help in some way, I will talk to you straight away. OK?”
I stared out the window and didn’t say anything.
“Aurora, I need you to promise me you will stop looking for Mr Mercury and the Light of the World.”
“But—”
“Aurora,” she said sternly. “Promise me.”
I lifted my eyes to meet hers.
“I promise,” I said quietly.
She smiled, satisfied, and said we could all forget about my arrest before changing the subject. She had no idea that the whole time I had my fingers crossed behind my back.
3
“They’re trying to kill me.”
Fred slumped forward on to the table, knocking over his water glass so that it flooded his lunch tray.
“Who is trying to kill you?” Kizzy asked, passing him a spare napkin.
“The teachers!” he cried in exasperation. “They’re all in it together! It’s the first week back at school and already I’m behind. Aren’t we allowed to have any fun any more? I haven’t even had time to play a joke on Suzie.”