“I just wish my superhuman powers would kick in! You’ve got your enormous IQ, and you’re way stronger than me! You’d think that clones would develop the same abilities at the same time!”
“People are more than just their DNA: there’s a lot of other factors that go into making a person.” Yvonne paused for a moment, thinking. “Though I’ve got a hunch that you are developing something…”
“Like what?”
“How did you know it was me who came into the room?”
Mina shrugged. “I just knew.”
“Maybe you’ve got some sort of telepathy.”
“I don’t think so…”
Yvonne climbed off the bed. “Just close your eyes for a minute, OK?”
Mina closed her eyes. “Now what?”
“Count to five and then tell me where I am.” Yvonne quietly moved towards the door.
Mina counted to five and pointed straight at Yvonne. “There.” She opened her eyes.
“You could hear me?”
“No, I just sort of knew.” Mina shuddered a little. “I never really thought about it before, but…I think this has been happening for a while. I just seem to know where everyone is.”
“How does it work? Is it like X-Ray vision?”
“Gimme a break! X-Ray vision! That’d be weird. You’d be able to see through your eye-lids. How would you get to sleep? And maybe, like, you’d forget to open your eyes and be wandering around and people would think you were sleep-walking. Here’s a thought, though…If you did have X-Ray vision, then wouldn’t you be able to see out through the back of your head as well? How would you shut it off?”
And she’s off again, Yvonne said to herself. She’s like a dog with a bone when she gets started on an idea. “Mina, where’s the General?”
“He’s in his office.”
“OK, that’s not a good test because you know I just went to see him. How about that new guy, Josh?”
Mina closed her eyes. “I can see you, you’re orange, but turning redder. Probably because you’re getting annoyed with me. Josh…I think…I think he’s heading into the dining hall. Yeah, it’s definitely him. Josh has that thing about him, you know? The aspect that only you and me have.”
“You’ve lost me.”
“He’s different to everyone else.”
“He used to be a superhuman. Would that be it?”
“Could be,” Mina said. She opened her eyes. “I’d have to be able to see more people with the same aspect to be certain.”
“This is amazing,” Yvonne said. She took Mina by the hands. “You can’t tell anyone, OK? If they don’t know that you’re a superhuman, they might let you out one day. It’s too late for me because they already know about my intelligence, but you’ve got a chance.”
“I have to tell them, Yvonne! This is exactly the sort of thing they’ve been looking for!”
“They’ve already got me scheduled for years of tests. I don’t want you to have to go through that too.”
“But they’re always asking me if I’ve noticed any signs that I might be a superhuman! And, well, you know I’m no good at keeping secrets!”
“That’s because you talk too much!” Yvonne sighed. “Look, just promise me you won’t tell them.”
“No, I can’t make that promise.”
What does it take to get through to her? Yvonne stared at her sister, and – as she spoke – tried to force the words into Mina’s brain. “Promise me.”
Mina nodded instantly. “I promise.”
Yvonne stepped back and let go of Mina’s hands. Wow…That was weird. It had felt as though something invisible and intangible had jumped from her mind into Mina’s.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Mina asked.
“No reason,” Yvonne said. Did that really happen?
“You’re still doing it!”
I have to try that again! “Mina…You do talk a lot to the others.” Yvonne concentrated as she had before. “From now on, talk only when it’s absolutely necessary.”
Mina nodded.
“Understood?”
Mina nodded again.
She’s not responding verbally, because it’s not necessary for her to do so. Just like I ordered.
Yvonne moved away, and sat down on the edge of the bed. Maybe it only works on her, but…Maybe it’ll work on anyone. I need to check out the files on Max Dalton – he used to be able to control minds.
Yeah, some chance that the General will give me access to the files…
Then Yvonne smiled.
But if I can control people’s minds, then he wouldn’t be able to stop me.
I could do anything I wanted.
Anything at all.
Now, in her apartment in the Trutopian town, Yvonne thought, Since then it’s worked on almost everyone I’ve met. Almost.
Wish it worked on Victor. Then we’d start getting some things done around here.
The phone finally rang and Yvonne grabbed for it. “What kept you?”
“Busy working with Colin,” Cross said. “I think he’s almost ready.”
“Almost? Just let me talk to him, Victor. I’ll make certain that he doesn’t drift back over to the other side.”
“Mind-control isn’t the answer to everything.”
“But it is the answer to the question, ‘How do we make sure that Colin Wagner doesn’t kill us all?’”.
“Colin’s not a killer.”
Yvonne dropped into her armchair. “Maybe not. But he is a beater-upper when he needs to be.”
“So tell me, then. How would you play this out? The whole thing.”
“First I’d take control of Colin. Then I’d start making broadcasts on the Trutopian cable network. They’d have to be done live, of course, but if we were careful we’d be able to do it without anyone actually seeing me.”
“And what would these broadcasts contain?”
“Instructions for all non-Trutopians to join up.”
“Go on.”
“Next, I’d contact the heads-of-state of the most powerful countries. Get them sympathetic to the Trutopians. After that, it’d be plain sailing.”
“The New Heroes would never let you get that far. Renata Soliz is immune to your control.”
“That’s why we need to be certain that Colin is on our side.”
“Suppose that they find a way to defeat him? What then?”
“Then I’d break out the secret weapon.”
Victor paused for a moment. “Mina’s really that powerful?”
“Absolutely. And she has no idea. Her ability to sense auras makes her almost untouchable, and she is immeasurably strong and very fast. I started suppressing her abilities before they could develop fully…There could be even more to her.”
“So that’s your plan for taking over the world? You could do that in a month. Maybe less.”
“I know.”
“And then what? You’ve taken over the world, so what next?”
“Whatever I want.”
“Example?”
Yvonne shrugged. “Well…”
“Exactly,” Victor said. “You don’t know. You don’t have a plan. I have a plan. I know what I want, and I know how to achieve it. Your way might get you the world, but my way will get me something much more precious than that.”
“OK, now you’re beginning to sound like a crazy person.”
Victor laughed. “What do you mean, beginning?”
Two months after Yvonne and Mina’s twelfth birthday, Yvonne stopped General Piers in the corridor outside his office. “General, can we have access to the Internet?”
He said, “No,” and brushed past her.
Yvonne hissed an angry sigh. Right. That’s it! She marched after him, and shouted, “Stop!”
The general stopped walking.
“Give me a computer, and full Internet access.”
“I’ll get Dalton to set it up for you.”
“You will cease all the tests on Mina a
nd me immediately.”
“I think you’re right. We’ve done all the testing we can.”
“General?”
“Yes?”
“Tomorrow morning, you will resign from Sakkara. You will appoint Joshua Dalton as your successor.”
General Piers nodded, stared at Yvonne for a moment, then walked away.
Two hours later, Josh Dalton carried a brand-new laptop computer into Yvonne’s bedroom and began to set it up. “I don’t know what you said to make the old man change his mind, but it must have been good.”
“Thanks, Josh.”
“So how are you and Mina getting on? Any sign of her developing superhuman abilities?”
“Not yet.”
“Maybe it won’t happen.” He smiled at her. “But don’t worry, you might not be the only superhuman. There’s a kid in a military academy in Alaska who looks like he might have some extra-normal abilities. It could be a while before we’re certain, though.”
“Why?”
“Because he doesn’t know about it himself…Every year his school plays a friendly football game against one of the rival schools. The guy we’re looking at – Butler Redmond, his name is – knocked over another player but wasn’t even close to him. I’ve checked the camcorder footage: the other kid was definitely hit by something invisible, and from the way Redmond was moving, it could only have been him. Some sort of force-field.”
“Couldn’t you just requisition him?”
“No. Military academies are out of our jurisdiction unless we can prove that someone is superhuman. And that’s almost impossible to do if the person doesn’t know they’ve got powers. So we’re just going to have to sit back and wait.”
“But if he is a superhuman…”
“I’m sort of hoping that he isn’t. He’s arrogant and obnoxious. A couple more years in the academy should knock the rough edges off him. At least, I hope so. His father’s just as bad, so I wouldn’t be surprised if Redmond grows up to be a supervillain.” Josh paused. “Ah. Sorry. I’m not suggesting that you and Mina are going to turn out bad because of who your father was.”
“That’s OK,” Yvonne said. “We choose our own paths in life.”
While Josh returned his attention to the computer, Yvonne watched him carefully.
They all know that we’re clones of Ragnarök, so they’re never going to really trust us.
I’ll talk to them – to every single person in this place – and I’ll make them forget where we came from. Get them to change their files, and then forget that they’ve done that.
Two years later, Yvonne entered Joshua Dalton’s office and ordered him to tell her everything about the incident in California.
Josh said, “After they lost their powers ten years ago, Titan and Energy moved back home. They were joined a few years later by Quantum and his wife and son…Except that it wasn’t Quantum. Façade had been masquerading as Quantum for about a year before Mystery Day.”
“Why?”
“He’d been recruited by my brother. Max wanted full access to Quantum’s visions of the future.”
“How could Façade replicate Quantum’s powers?” Yvonne asked.
“He didn’t. Most of the time Quantum was still Quantum, but Façade played the role of his civilian identity, Paul Joseph Cooper.”
“I’ve read enough about your brother to know that he wasn’t smart enough to build the power-stripping machine on his own. So who was behind it?”
“A man called Victor Cross. He’s twenty years old. A genius.”
“So he would have been ten when Ragnarök’s power-damper was used. If Cross is a superhuman, his own powers wouldn’t have appeared for at least another year. Where is he now?”
“Escaped. But not for long. We have a good lead on him.”
For a few moments, Yvonne was silent. Then she said, “You will find Victor Cross and tell me how to contact him, then you will forget all about him.”
11
AFTER MUCH NEGOTIATION, the two lawyers chose Bloomington, Illinois, as the meeting point, the city being roughly half-way between Sakkara and the Trutopian community in Breckin Falls, Cleveland.
Now, with the meeting about to start, Renata Soliz waited nervously in the small office, chewing her fingernails.
“Don’t do that,” the lawyer said as he flipped through his pages of notes.
“Don’t do what?” she asked.
“Bite your nails. It’s a sign of weakness. When they get here, just sit still, look like you’re paying attention. If there’s anything you don’t understand, just pretend you do. OK?”
Renata nodded, then realised that she was already biting her nails again.
A few moments later, the door opened and a well-dressed heavy-set man entered, followed by Renata’s parents.
Renata jumped to her feet and began to move towards them, but her lawyer reached out and put his hand on her arm. “Don’t,” he said quietly.
Renata hadn’t seen her parents in four months. She smiled at them, doing her best to give the impression that everything was going to be all right.
“Not a word!” the Trutopian lawyer muttered to Mr and Mrs Soliz, steering them to their seats on the opposite side of the table.
What Renata wanted to do now, more than anything in the world, was leap over the table and wrap her arms around her mom and dad, and never let go. Remember what Caroline said, she told herself. Slow, deep breaths. Everything will be fine as long as we all remain calm.
Renata’s lawyer shuffled through some of the papers on his desk, and said, “We’re all agreed that we can proceed – for this meeting at least – without third-party arbitration?”
“Agreed,” the Trutopian lawyer said.
“Fine. For the record, my name is Douglas Landron, representing the Government of the United States of America in this initial discussion to determine the custody of Renata Maria Julianna Soliz, also known as Diamond.”
“Mackenzie Shoell of the Trutopian Organisation, on behalf of Maria and Julius Soliz, biological parents of the child in question.”
The two lawyers looked at each other for a moment, then Shoell said, “So how are you doing, Doug?”
“No complaints at this end, Mack. You?”
“Things are pretty good here. So…Down to business?”
Landron nodded. “Sure. I’ve got a copy of Renata’s birth records here. As you’ll see from the highlighted details, she was born almost twenty-five years ago.” He slid a bundle of pages across the table. “I’ve also got affidavits from three Supreme Court Judges that any person over the age of eighteen cannot be considered to be a minor. Therefore, your clients no longer have any legal status as Renata’s guardians. Case closed, as far as I can see.”
“No, case still open,” Shoell replied. “Renata spent ten years in her solidified form during which she did not age and was unaware of her surroundings, and as such cannot be considered to have lived during those years. Therefore, Renata is still only fourteen years old. Testifying to that point I have preliminary letters from specialists in genetics, brain functions, and” – Shoell gave a slight smile – “philosophy.”
“Philosophy? Seriously?”
“The real question in this case is whether Renata was alive during those ten years. The definition of ‘life’ is of paramount importance.”
Renata looked up at her mother and father. They seemed to be just as upset about all this as she was.
Landron said, “A person in a coma will not usually be aware of his or her surroundings, and may not necessarily age in the same way as a person who is conscious. By your definition, such a person would not be alive. That definition is clearly rendered inaccurate by far too many precedents to go into here.”
Renata said, “Isn’t anybody going to ask me what I want to do?”
“Sorry, Ms Soliz,” Landron said. “It would be best if you didn’t speak at this time.”
Renata raised her eyes to the ceiling, then slumped back in her ch
air.
“Sit up straight,” her mother said, automatically.
“Maria, please!” Shoell said. “You agreed not to say anything!” He looked back at his papers. “The Trutopian Organisation will argue that not only is Renata a minor who is being held against the wishes of her legal guardians, but also that Renata has been involved in military action.”
“Even if Renata were a minor – which she is not – as she is a superhuman being, Congress allows this under the Extraordinary Circumstances bill. Unless you want to claim that she is not superhuman?”
Shoell shook his head. “No, no. That one we will concede. Let me put it all on the table and tell you what we want, Doug. We want Renata out of Sakkara, back with her parents, and no longer working for the military. We are going to fight you every step of the way, so it would be much better all round for you to relinquish your claims to her right now. Sakkara has already had enough bad publicity without the media getting hold of this one, too.”
“Mackenzie, if you want to try to bring the media into this, feel free. But you won’t get anywhere. Renata can be considered to be a military asset. If her identity was to be made public, the security of this nation would be compromised.”
“As a minor, Renata is subject to certain laws regarding her care and her schooling. I believe that she is being tutored by one Caroline Wagner, correct?”
“Incorrect. Ms Wagner is indeed schooling the three other children at Sakkara, but not Renata. She is not a minor and therefore is not legally required to attend school. That she may have chosen to sit in on these lessons is entirely irrelevant.”
“And does Ms Wagner have teaching qualifications recognised by the US Department of Education?”
“Irrelevant. I refer you to the previously mentioned Extraordinary Circumstances bill.”
Julius Soliz said, “May I just say something here?”
“I’d rather you didn’t, Mr Soliz,” Mackenzie Shoell said.
“Well, tough. Renata is our eldest daughter. I have only seen her once in the past ten and a half years. We thought she was dead! And you two fools are sitting here arguing over her like she was a stolen car or something.”
Absolute Power (The New Heroes, Book 3) Page 9