Prologue

Alright, let’s clear this up: my Name’s Nova. I’m only thirteen. I live in a supernatural world where everyone has some sort of power. Only one in five thousand people is actually normal. Nowadays, no one was regular. And if you were, the Government would kill you. The Government runs our society. They make the rules, they enforce the rules, they decided who and what is dangerous. And what powers were dangerous. I always promised myself over and over again that if I ever came into contact with someone who had a power labeled as dangerous, I would report them to the Government right away.

I know, boring. But I’ve got to come here. Sometimes, it’s not so bad. Right now I’m in history, and we’re learning about the different supernatural powers we could have soon. Yeah, if you don’t get your power by the time you are fourteen, the Government labels you as an Impota and kills you.

For those of you who don’t know, an Impota is a person with no supernatural ability. A Normal, as I like to say.

I am thrown out of my thoughts by a voice saying my name.

“Nova? Do you know the answer?” Mr. Brown asked. Mr. Brown is my history teacher. He was usually pretty mean.

I look around the room, hoping to find out what the question is. When I find nothing, I say “can you please repeat the question?”

He says “what is it called when a person has the ability to control the four main elements?” He looks at me with an expectant look.

I take a deep breath. I know that a person who controls water has Hydrokinesis, a person who controls fire has Pyrokinesis, someone who controls air has Aerokinesis, and someone who controls Earth has Geokinesis. What was the combination? I take a deep breath and say “umm, Hydrokinetic?”

He shakes his head and says “that’s water. I asked you about fire, water, air, and Earth.”

I say “what if I can name the four of those?” I know the four of them, I just don’t know the combination.

He says “I’ll give you a bonus point if you name them all, but you still have to tell me what a person is if they control all four.”

I sigh and say “fire is Pyrokinesis, air is Aerokinesis, water is Hydrokinesis, and Earth is Geokinesis.”

He says “very good. Now, what is it called when a person controls all four?”

I think back to the rest of them. Atmokinesis? I think that’s it. I ask “is it Atmokinesis?”

He says “no, that is controlling the atmosphere. But it is close. Atmoskinesis.”

I say “close enough, I forgot to add the s.”

He says “but instead, you gave me an entirely different power. People who have Atmokinesis are much more common than people with Atmoskinesis. No one has Atmoskinesis in over three hundred years, and someone with Atmokinesis is probably sitting in this room right now.”

I sigh and say “isn’t Atmoskinesis the most uncommon power?”

He nods and says “it is very, very rarely that someone is born with the power to control all of the elements. No one has had that power in a long, long time. And no one probably ever will again.”

I sit back in my chair and look over at my best friend, Finn. Yeah, my best friend is a dude. Don’t judge. It’s not weird. We’re just friends.

Finn looks at me with a mischievous grin on his face. He whispers “look at the door.”

I turn to look at the door to the classroom. It was slowly opening and shutting, all by itself. I look back over at Finn, and he is pointing his index finger at the door, slowly moving it left and right, and the door follows his finger.

Yeah, I should’ve mention this before; Finn got his power a couple of months ago. Telekinesis. He could move any object with his mind, if he wants to.

Mr. Brown looks at the door and says “who developed the telekinesis?”

Finn slowly puts his finger down. He didn’t tell teachers that he developed powers, because he wanted to be able to pull pranks like that.

I laugh and cover my face, so Mr. Brown doesn’t see that I’m laughing.

Mr. Brown says “Nova? Is it you?”

I pull my face out of my hands and see everyone in the room is looking at me, except Finn.

“No, Mr. Brown. I did not develop telekinesis.” I haven’t developed any power, I thought. Yeah, it’s true. I’m thirteen, and I have no power. And if it doesn’t develop by the time I’m fourteen, my family is going to have to send me to the Government. They’ll either test me to find my power, or they’ll kill me. If you’re wondering why they’d kill me, it’s because they’d fear I’m an Impota. I already mentioned the Impota, right? The Normals? I think I did. So I’ll skip it for now.

I was really hoping to either have telekinesis, like Finn, or maybe Chronokinesis, the ability to slow down or speed up time. Then I’d have as long as I want to do my homework. Or maybe even Hydrokinesis. I just want something. Anything.

Mr. Brown continues to teach the class, and I just sit there and listen, writing down all the different powers we could eventually develop.

After about fifteen minutes the bell rings, signaling that class is over. I gather my books and stand up.

Finn walks over to me and says “enjoy my little trick?”

I laugh and say “yeah, it was funny until he asked if I had telekinesis.”

He says “but don’t you want telekinesis?”

I nod and say “that’s beside the point.”

He says “then what is the point?”

I sigh and say “I don’t even know. Just don’t let me get blamed for your stuff, now he thinks it’s me who’s doing all that stuff.”

He says “and there’s the point. You don’t wanna be blamed.”

I say “that is not the point.”

He laughs and says “well there are no other point-like options. So that must be the point, that you don’t wanna be blamed.”

I sigh and roll my eyes. I say “whatever. We’ve gotta go now, we’re gonna be late for our next class.”

The bell rings, signaling that our next class is starting.

He says “too late. Don’t worry about it, I’ll take the fall for it this time.”

I say “same as always? I go in a minute late, you go in even later?”

He nods and says “now we’ve really gotta go if this is gonna work.”

I laugh and start walking to the door. The hallway was practically empty. We get to the stairs we need to go down to get to our class. I tell him “levitate my stuff for a minute, please?”

He sighs but points his finger at my books, and they lift into the air. It was only about an inch, but it was still impressive.

“Don’t follow me, just walk.” I take a few steps back and run towards the edge of the stairs. I do a flip over the railing and grab onto the rail of the next floor down. I swing myself over the rail.

Fin comes running down and says “are you insane?! You could’ve gotten hurt!”

I say “well my birthday is in a month anyways and I still have no powers, so I guess YOLO.”

He says “do not invoke the YOLO policy on this. This isn’t a YOLO thing.”

Yeah, we created what we call the ‘YOLO policy’. As most people should know, YOLO means ‘you only live once’. So we made a deal a few years ago. We could do anything we wanted and as long as we didn’t get hurt, the other couldn’t yell at us. If we only live once, why not be reckless now and then?

He says “here, take your books and run into that classroom. Now.” He hands me my books.

I nod and run into the classroom, where our math teacher, Mrs. Nelson, was handing out a packet. I say “oh my god I’m so sorry I’m late I fell in the hall and I dropped all of my books and all my papers went everywhere.”

Mrs. Nelson says “Nova, that’s not an excuse. Deten-”

Suddenly Finn comes bursting into the classroom. He says “I’m sorry I’m so late Mrs. Nelson but I had to stay in my last class for a minute because I had to ask my teacher a few questions about what we were doing.”

Mrs. Nelson forgets that she was yelling at me and says “Finn, detention. Tomorrow.”

Finn sighs and takes his place next to me.

I whisper “thanks.”

He nods and says “anytime.”

Suddenly, a light appears in the back of the room. A girl’s voice calls out “Mrs. Nelson?!”

I suddenly realized that it was my other friend, Blaire.

Mrs. Nelson says “Blaire! Oh my god! A Photokinetic!” Yeah, that means she can manipulate light. Basically, my second best friend is now a light switch.

Blaire smiles and says “oh my god.” She flicks her wrist, and all the lights in the classroom go out. She does it again, and they turn back on.

Just another person getting their powers, I thought. Just another person that isn’t me.

Chapter 1

Three weeks passed by, and still no powers. The next thing I knew, it was one week before my birthday. And I was completely and utterly terrified.

I had no powers, and no sign that I’d be getting them. Which scared the crap out of everyone.

Even my friends made sure to check in often, asking if I got them yet. Everyone was nervous, because in a week, if I had no supernatural power, they’d be forced to send me to the Government.

Exactly one week before my birthday, during math class, Finn says “we need to talk. After school.”

I say “why can’t we talk now?”

Mrs. Nelson says “Nova, Finn, quiet!”

Finn says “that’s why.”

I just nod and do my math problems.

-After school that day-

I walked out of the school, looking for Finn. Suddenly, something grabbed my arm and started pulling me. I thought for sure I was being kidnapped, so I turned around and kicked the guy in between the legs, where the sun don’t shine.

A familiar voice says “what the hell Nova?”

I look down at the person on the ground, and it’s Finn. I say “oh crap. Sorry Finn. I thought for sure you were a kidnapper.”

He says “that’s what you said last time!”

I say “and one of these times I’m gonna think it’s you and not kick the guy, and it will be a kidnapper. You know damn well not to scare me like that.”

He says “whatever. We need to talk.”

I sigh and say “about what?”

He says “next week.”

I sigh and say “let’s go find somewhere to sit so you can, uh, recover a little easier.” I help him stand up and we go over to a nearby bench.

He says “so about next week…”

I say “I’m scared out of my mind, Finn. What if I don’t get my power? What if I’m a Normal?” yeah, instead of saying Impota we always said Normal because it was easier.

He says “you’re not a Normal. You can’t be. If I have to I will give you half my powers dammit, you just can’t be a Normal. You’re my best friend, I can’t let you be a Normal. Maybe we can trick your parents or something, just say you developed telekinesis and I’ll move the thing while you pretend to.”

I sigh and say “it’s not that easy. They’ll wanna see it when you’re not around. And, what if I develop another power? What if I develop Hydrokinesis or Geokinesis or Pyrokinesis? What then, Finn?”

He says “alright. One, the powers you just listed are relatively rare, I highly doubt you’ll get that. Two, if you fake it now and develop something else then you can tell them it is a lie. It wouldn’t matter, you’d have powers.”

I sigh and say “Finn, it’s more complicated than that. We can’t fake it.”

He says “then we need to find your power within seven days.”

I say “I don’t even know where to begin! You think I’m not scared?! I’m terrified! I can’t sleep, I don’t really eat much, I’m terrified! I don’t want to fake having your powers I want to get my own!”

He says “Nov, calm down. We’ll figure it out.”

I sigh and say “and what if we don’t?”

He says “we will. We have to. I’m not ready to lose my best friend yet.”

I say “Finn, there’s not much we can do at this point. We’ve got seven days to find my power. Or else the Government will probably just assume I’m a Normal, and they’ll kill me.”

He says “If I have to, I will find a way to give you some sort of power. Now, I’ve also got something else I wanna tell you.”

I nod, thankful that the conversation about me possibly being a Normal is finally over. I ask “what is it?”

He says “so Blaire, Ace, and I wanted to do something fun with you for your birthday.”

Yeah, so this is probably when I should explain who Ace is. Ace is my third best friend, behind Finn and Blaire. He developed his power literally yesterday. He’s a shape shifter. Yeah, a little different, but they happen. There’s so many types of powers I lost track. But yeah, Ace is a shape shifter. He likes to turn into a wolf, because he thinks it makes him tough. So now we all call him a werewolf, just for fun.

I say “you guys seriously don’t have to do that.”

He says “we want to. For a few reasons. One, because you’ve been really stressed about being afraid that you’re a Normal, we wanted to help you relax. Two, you just need to relax in general. Three, it’s your birthday and you deserve to have some fun.”

I sigh and say “if I’m a Normal then I’m not gonna be here past my birthday.”

He says “already thought of that. The four of us are going out the night before. We’ll have some fun and have you back home in time for your birthday.”

I say “I’ll need to ask my parents about-”

He says “already done. They’re fine with it.”

I laugh and say “wow you thought of everything.”

He says “we started planning it about two weeks ago. We thought of everything, we did everything, it’s all set.”

I laugh and say “okay, I guess we’ve got a plan then.”

He nods and says “okay, now you’re free to go.”

I say “do you need help getting up? Does it still hurt?”

He says “no, not really. I can get up.” He stands up and says “I’ll walk you home.”

I nod and he says “give me your bag.”

I hand him my backpack and he levitates it. He takes off his bag and levitates it too. He says “now no one has to carry a heavy backpack.”

I chuckle and say “thanks.”

Before you assume anything about me and Finn, just because he’s walking me home, I’m going to tell you now that no assumptions should be made. Yeah, he’s a guy. Yeah, he’s my friend. No, we’re not dating. Yeah, he’s walking me home. So what? He’s been walking home with me a lot, because my house is on the way to his. So it’s not weird. We’re not dating. Just clarifying that.

When we get to my house he drops my backpack one inch and catches it. He hands it to me and says “here you go.”

I say “no, take it back. If I don’t have it then I don’t have to do my homework.”

He laughs but hands me the backpack.

I sigh and put it over my shoulder.

He says “you need help with the homework?”

I say “it’s not that I don’t understand it. I understand it completely, it’s so simple. I just don’t want to do it.”

He laughs and says “the quicker you do it the quicker it’s done.”

I say “oh my god you sound just like my parents.”

He laughs and says “just go do your homework.”

I nod and go inside to start my homework.

Chapter 2

Six days passed by, still no power. Everyone got really nervous. Tomorrow is my fourteenth birthday. If I don’t get my powers today, I’m going to die.

Finn, Blaire, and Ace had all refused to tell me what they planned on doing for my birthday tonight, so I had two things making me nervous.

Thankfully, Finn assured me there were no alcohol or drugs involved in the plan. That calmed me down a lot.

I was still afraid about if I was a Normal. The thought never left my mind.

My younger sister, Simone, came and sat with me on the couch in the morning.

So, now I’m gonna explain Simone. She’s only eight. She has six years to develop her power. But, my parents think she’ll have it by the time she’s ten. The signs are already beginning to show. That’s basically all there is to say about her. Other than the fact that she’s my only sibling.

She asks me “so, I can’t go out with you and your friends tonight?”

She always wanted to hang out with me and my friends. It was that annoying sibling thing.

I sigh and say “no. Sim, no. Sorry.”

She says “are you going to be here in the morning?”

I look down at the ground and say “I don’t know.”

She says “where are you gonna go?”

Oh my god, I thought. I thought my parents were going to tell her.

I take a deep breath and say “Sim, we need to have a talk about that.”

She nods and stares up at me.

I say “you’ve learned about the term Impota, right?”

She nods and says “the people who have no supernatural power whatsoever. The dangerous ones.”

I nod and say “yeah, those people.”

She says “what about them? Oh my god, is one of your friends an Impota? Did they get sent to the Government?”

I shake my head and say “no. No, not one of my friends.”

She says “then who?”

I say “you know what happens to Impota, right?”

She nods and says “since they’re normal and not like us, the Government uses something they used to do to people that used to have supernatural powers, before it became normal.”

I nod and say “you know what that is, right?”

She says “burning them at the stake.”

I nod again and say “you know that if you don’t develop powers by the time you’re fourteen then you get burned at the stake, right?”

She nods and says “you already got your power, right?”

I shake my head and say “that was Finn. And then Blaire. Then Ace.”

She says “so you… don’t have powers?”

I say “no, Sim. I don’t. It looks like I might be an Impota. Unless I get my powers within the next fourteen hours. The Government will send people, they’ll be here at midnight. If I don’t have powers by then, I’m considered an Impota unless mom and dad pay for me to be tested. But that’s a lot of money. Money we don’t have.”

She says “how can you get your powers?”

I say “I don’t think I can. I’ve got to face the facts and admit that I’m probably an Impota. And if I don’t have powers by midnight, then they’ll take me and burn me alive.”

She says “oh my god.”

I nod and say “and there’s no way to avoid this fate.” I wipe tears out of my eyes and say “I need to get really lucky if I’m gonna live.”

She says “I’m so sorry.”

I whisper “it’s not your fault, Sim. It’s not your fault. If the Government would just give me a little more time, I could possibly make it. But it’s the law. Tonight, it’s live or die.”

She says “I don’t think mom and dad will let you go out tonight if you need to be back for midnight.”

I sigh and say “I should get to have one last day with my friends.”

The three of them were my only friends. We weren’t cool, but we weren’t losers. We were those kids in between. We had each other, that’s all we really needed. My parents should let me have one last day with them.

We sit in silence for a while, then Simone gets up to go watch TV. I just stay and sit by myself. After a few minutes, I find myself crying.

I don’t even know why Impota are so dangerous, I thought. They’re just normal people.

I thought about it for a minute, then I realized why. If we let Impota live, then they’ll keep reproducing, making more people without powers. And eventually, there’s gonna be more people without powers than people with powers, just like there used to be. There’d be so many innocent young lives lost just for having powers. Innocent people like Simone, or Blaire, or Ace. Or Finn.

I took a deep breath. I have to let this happen, I thought. If Impota don’t die, then eventually there will be more regular people than supernatural. They’ll be burned at the stake, again. Innocent people. If I had to die to secure the future of the supernaturals, then so be it. I’d do it for my friends, for my family, for the people of the world. I had to do it if I wanted them all to survive.

I got up and wiped my eyes again. I will not be afraid, I tell myself. What happens will happen, what doesn’t happen doesn’t happen. I will not be afraid.

Why couldn’t I even listen to myself?

-Later that day-

I walked out of my room, towards the door. I was waiting for Finn, Blaire, and Ace to show up.

My mom walks into the room and says “curfew’s 11:30.”

I nod and say “yes mom.”

She says “and if your powers develop you come home right away.”

I nod and say “yeah, I got it.”

She says “I mean it.”

I say “I get that.”

She nods and says “have a good time.” She walks out of the room.

I sit down and wait for my friends. They are all waiting outside five minutes later. I go outside and Finn immediately says “happy early birthday!”

I laugh and say “thanks, Finn.”

He nods and says “alright, so we’ve got some places to be. Let’s get going.”

Chapter 3

I asked “so where are we going?”

Ace says “well it’s gonna be a long night so we’re gonna eat first, if that’s alright?”

I nod and say “yeah, that’s fine.” We ended up going to Burger King. Not the place where I imagined having my probably last meal, but definitely the people I wanted to have it with. And I was really shocked that when Finn mentioned that I was probably gonna die tomorrow, we got our food for free.

After we eat, I say “we’re gonna have to try that I’m probably gonna die thing more often.”

Blaire says “then never go to that place again.”

I say “maybe in a disguise?”

Ace laughs and says “what, you expect someone to just walk into Burger King wearing one of those huge floppy hats?”

I look at him with a very serious expression on my face and say “yes, Ace. I expect someone to walk into the local Burger King wearing a very large floppy hat.”

They all burst out laughing.

We sit and talk for a while, then we get up and go outside.

I ask “so, what’s next?”

Finn says “well, since you’ve loved bowling since we were little, wanna go bowling?”

I say “depends, are you gonna cheat?”

He says “only if I’m on your team.”

Ace says “no fair!”

Blaire says “let’s keep it fair, boys against girls. Finn, no cheating.”

I say “Blaire, no turning off the lights to mess them up. Ace, no becoming a bowling ball so you can walk down the lane yourself and knock all the pins down. Got it?”

They all laugh.

I say “I am totally serious. Unless I develop powers by the time we get to the bowling alley then no one gets to use theirs.”

Everyone sighs but agrees, so we go to the bowling alley. We do as Blaire suggested and play guys against girls.

When Finn threw his first ball, it was a perfect throw and the ball hit all the pins.

I instantly call out “cheater!”

He says “can’t I just have skills?”

I say “no, you can’t. You cheated.”

Blaire laughs and says “Nova just let him have the one.” She whispers “if he’s not cheating then he isn’t gonna get another one.”

I laugh and nod.

Ace says “I seriously can’t become the ball?”

I say “nope.”

Finn says “people always say to be the ball, why can’t Ace do that?”

Blaire says “because that’s not what people meant when bowling was invented. Now go.”

I laugh and watch as Ace throws the ball and gets a perfect hit.

I say “Finn?”

Finn says “nope, not me.”

Ace says “I’ve got skills.”

Blaise says “yeah, you’re skilled at cheating. I saw you cheat on the math test the other day.”

Ace says “no, you didn’t. I didn’t cheat.”

Finn says “yeah, on that one. What about the English test last Wednesday?”

Ace says “can we stop playing interrogate Ace and just bowl?!”

I say “we’re not done with this conversation, Ace.”

Ace rolls his eyes and sarcastically laughs.

Blaire throws her ball down the lane, and she only misses one pin.

Ace says “now Blaire is cheating!”

I say “no, because she missed a pin. If she was cheating she would’ve gotten all the pins.”

Finn says “crap, she figured out how to cheat the right way.”

Blaire says “Finn I didn’t cheat!”

Ace says “or so you say…”

Blaire says “I swear to god Ace, I will slap you.”

Finn says “you’re only mad because he’s right.”

I say “alright, next person caught cheating is gonna get slapped.”

Blaire says “thank you!”

I laugh and take my turn. I miss three pins.

Ace says “now that’s cheating done right.”

I turn to him and say “I will slap you.”

He says “sure you would.”

I say “I kicked Finn between the legs last week, I can slap you across the face.”

Blaire says “why’d you kick Finn in the private place?”

I say “I thought he was a kidnapper!”

Finn winces at the memory of being kicked.

I say “Finn, I apologized like seven times. I don’t know what else you expect me to do.”

He says “can’t a memory just hurt, Nov?”

I say “memories shouldn’t cause physical pain.”

He sighs and says “whatever.”

I laugh and we all continue to bowl for the next couple of hours. Before we know it, it’s 10:45. Which was logical, because we left my house at 7:00, and left Burger King at 8:00.

Blaire says “it’s too late to go out and do anything at this point, let’s just walk around.”

Everyone nods, and we start walking.

After about ten minutes, Finn says “hey Nova, wanna try telekinesis?”

I say “Finn we’ve gone over this there isn’t a way for me to get half your power.”

He laughs and says “not what I meant.”

Blaire says “how could she try it?”

Ace says “dude, it’s impossible.”

Finn says “Nova, come here.”

I walk over to him, and he puts out his hand. He says “grab my hand, okay?”

I look at him for a minute.

Ace says “are you just trying to get her to hold her hand? Are you saying that you’ve got a little crush on Nova?”

Finn says “Nova just grab the hand. Trust me, okay?”

I slowly nod and grab his hand.

Again, just friends.

He points his index finger and says “point to what you wanna move, and move it in the direction you wanna move it. Just make sure to use the hand that I’m holding.”

I nod and point to a sign on a lawn. I slowly move our hands left and right, and the sign starts to sway. I move our hands all the way to the left, and the sign goes flying.

I say “oh crap!”

Finn laughs and says “that’s the fun part about it.”

I let go of his hand and say “if I get caught-”

He says “you’re not gonna get caught.”

I say “you don’t know that.”

He laughs and says “Nov, you’re not gonna get caught, alright? Just pretend the wind blew it down or something. Or say that one of the people with wind powers was walking around and blew over their sign.” He whispers “or maybe you could just blame it on Ace, it’s totally believable. He’d do stuff like that.”

I laugh and say “Ace, why’d you kick down that sign?”

Ace says “I did what now?”

Blaire says “Ace, you kicked down that sign.”

He says “no, I didn’t. Finn and Nova telekinetically blew it away.”

Finn says “shh, no one needs to know.”

Everyone laughs.

I say “let’s just pretend it didn’t happen.”

Everyone nods in agreement and we keep walking.

After a few minutes we pass a house with a bunch of lights on.

Ace says “Blaire, I dare you to dim the lights in that house, then bring them up, and do that until they notice.”

Blaire says “piece of cake. Challenge accepted.” She closes her eyes, and suddenly all of the lights in the house dim down. Then they suddenly go back up. She keeps doing that, and it keeps getting darker each time. Eventually, a woman came running out and yelled “where’s the Photokinetic?!”

None of them said a word, and they all heard the woman go back inside.

Blaire lets out a sigh of relief and says “there, I did it.”

Everyone laughs and Finn says “it’s like 11:15 now.”

I say “half an hour, then I’ll most likely never see any of you again.”

Blaire says “no. Don’t say that. Not yet. Give us time.”

I sigh but say “alright. But we can’t hide from the truth forever.”

Finn says “can we hide for another half an hour?”

I nod and say “we can hide for that long.”

Ace suddenly falls down on all fours, and transforms into a dog. A wolf.

I say “oh my god he’s a werewolf! Run! It’s a full moon!”

Blaire laughs and says “run for your lives!”

Ace looks up at the moon and howls.

Finn just stands there laughing.

Ace transforms back and laughs.

Blaire pulls her phone out of her pocket and says “I’ve gotta get going.”

I say “okay. Thank you, Blaire. For everything.”

She nods and says “that’s what friends are for.”

I walk over and hug her.

While we’re still in the hug, I say “I’m sorry this has to happen.”

She says “it’s not your fault. The stupid Government is doing this.”

I say “there’s still forty-five minutes.”

She says “let’s hope you get a sudden rush of power.”

I laugh and say “yeah, let’s hope.”

She pulls out of the hug and wipes tears from her eyes.

Ace says “hate to say it but I’ve gotta go too.”

I nod and turn to him. I say “thank you.” I hug him.

He says “my pleasure, Nova.”

I sigh and say “I hate the Government.”

He says “me too.”

I pull out of the hug and say “goodbye, Ace. Try not to cheat on any more tests.”

He says “that was one time!”

I say “and now you’ve been labeled. You’ve gotta be more careful. If we caught you, the teacher probably did too.”

He laughs and says “I’ll try not to cheat.”

I laugh and say “my ghost will be watching you.”

He says “no promises though.”

I nod and laugh again.

Finn says “we should probably start getting everyone home.”

I nod and say “yeah, that’s probably the best idea.” I choke back a sob.

We all start walking, and we go to Ace’s house first. We hug again, then he goes inside. Then, we go drop off Blaire. She cried a little, we hugged a couple of times, then she eventually went inside. That left just me and Finn.

He says “did you have fun?”

I say “I did. Except for the last ten minutes.”

He says “wasn’t easy for any of us either.”

We start walking to my house.

I say “I’m sorry that this has to happen.”

He says “so am I.”

We walk in silence until we get to my house. When we get there, I pause at the bottom of the steps.

I say “thank you, Finn. I don’t know where I’d be if I didn’t have you.”

He says “same here, Nov.” He looks down at the ground, then says “look, I’ve gotta tell you something.” He looks at me, right in the eye.

I say “anything. What is it?”

He says “I um, I know this isn’t, uh, I’m…”

I say “you’re what?”

He sighs and says “Nova, I think I’m in love with you.”

Chapter 4

I say “what?”

He says “I know it’s probably not the best time to say it, but I had to tell you. And if I’m probably never going to see you again, it was now or never.”

I say “no offence in any way, but why are you telling me this? The Government is coming in less than an hour.”

He says “I just had to tell you before I lost you. I get it, you probably don’t feel the same way, if you get your powers in the next half hour then we can just forget this conversation happened, if you want. But I just had to say it. Just once.”

I sigh and say “Finn, you’re my best friend in the whole world. You know that. But with the Government coming for me, I wasn’t exactly worrying about if I have feelings for my best friend. I was terrified so much, I’m still terrified. I just wasn’t really thinking about a relationship, and it’s kind of late to have one.”

He says “I know, I understand that. I knew it wouldn’t accomplish anything, I just had to tell you. I needed you to know.”

I just look down at the ground and whisper “I’m sorry.”

He puts his hand under my chin and makes me look at him. A moment later, before I know what he’s doing, he’s kissing me. When he pulls away he says “so am I.”

I just stand, looking at my best friend in the world who just admitted that he was in love with me, and feeling nothing but guilt when I couldn’t say it back.

He says “I love you, Nova. Whether you’re dead or alive. I just needed to tell you that.” He turns and starts walking away.

I say “Finn…”

He turns back to me and says “don’t be sorry. I get it.”

I just stand there, staring at him.

He walks back over tome, kisses my cheek, and says “goodbye, Nova.”

He starts walking away, and this time I couldn’t even get myself to look at him. Instead, I looked down at the ground, went inside, and broke down into tears.

Chapter 5

As soon as I got inside, I ran to my room and started crying.

A minute later there was a knock on the door. My mother’s voice says “Nova? What happened?”

I sigh and say “don’t worry about it. There’s nothing we can do about it now.”

She says “open the door.”

I sigh and open the door.

She walks in and shuts the door behind herself. She says “is this about the Government? Because I was talking with your father, and if you want we’ll pay for the testing-”

I interrupt “no. I don’t want to go through the testing. I’d have to live with all of this guilt.”

She says “guilt? For what? Nova, what happened?”

I sigh and say “something with Finn.”

She says “are you in a fight?”

I say “no, we’re not in a fight.”

She says “what is it?”

I sigh and say “he told me that he’s in love with me. And that even though he knows that it’s too late, he just wanted to make sure I knew.”

She says “oh my god. What’d you say?”

I wipe my eyes and say “the only thing I could manage to say was I’m sorry.”

She says “and… how do you feel about Finn?”

I sigh and say “I don’t even know, I’m so confused right now.”

She says “take some time, think about it. The Government agent will be here in about ten minutes.”

I nod and say “I’ll come out in a few minutes.”

She nods and stands up. Before she leaves she says “maybe also try to see if you actually did get your powers.”

I nod and start focusing on the different elements, trying to see if anything happens. I try it with every power, but nothing works.

Ten minutes later, there’s a knock on my door. My father’s voice says “Nova? The Government agent is here.”

I get up and go out to the living room. There was a woman standing there with a clipboard.

The woman says “you are Nova, correct?”

I nod and say “yes.”

She says “I’m going to ask you some questions, and then you’ll demonstrate your power, if you have one. Okay?”

I nod and say “I don’t. It never came.”

She says “well I still need to ask you the questions. Has your hunger increased lately?”

I shake my head and say “decreased.”

She writes something on the clipboard, then says “have you recently had more energy to do physical activities?”

I sigh and say “no.”

She was asking me about all the signs of getting a power.

She says “and have any of your friend’s powers shown up yet?”

I nod and say “my friend Finn got his a couple of months ago, my friend Blaire got hers last month, and my friend Ace got his last week.”

She nods and says “and you say you don’t have your power yet?”

I shake my head and say “it never came…”

Now I know the final step. They’ll either let me free if I have powers, test me, or label me an Impota and kill me. Sometimes, if a person seems worthy enough, they’ll test them for free.

The woman says “I need your parents to demonstrate their powers for me.”

My father steps forward and flicks his wrist. All the lights go off.

Yeah, my dad and Blaire are human light switches. Beautiful, isn’t it?

He flicks his wrist again and the lights turn back on. Then he takes a step back.

The woman nods and says “a Photokinetic.”

My father nods.

My mother steps forward and points to a plastic cup. She moves her hand to the right, and the cup goes flying. Then she puts it back where it was.

The woman nods again and says “a telekinetic.”

My mother nods and stands beside my father.

The woman looks back at me, shakes her head, and says “such a waste.”

Simone comes running out of her room and says “what’s happening?”

The woman says “who’s this?”

I say “sorry, that’s my little sister.” I turn to Simone and say “Sim, go back to your room. Now.”

She says “why’re you crying? Are you an Impota?”

The woman says “I’m afraid she is.”

My parents gasp.

The woman looks at me again. She says “you disgust me. Come, you filthy Impota.”

Chapter 6

The woman grabs my wrists and pins them behind my back. Then she puts handcuffs on me. A little excessive, in my opinion.

She says “you filthy excuse for a being.”

I say “could you at least-”

She says “quiet!”

My mother says “Nova…”

The woman says “I’ve gotta take this to the President, right away.”

Yeah, now I guess I have to explain the President. His name is Dexter. So Dexter is a Pyrokinetic. We have a President who controls fire. And he terrifies me. That’s all I have to say, basically.

I look at my parents. I say “I’m so-”

The woman clamps a hand over my mouth and says “no talking! Impota don’t deserve it.”

My mother says “can we at least say goodbye to her?”

The woman sighs and says “you have one minute.”

My father walks over to me and hugs me. He says “Nova, I’m so sorry this happened to you.”

My mother says “I wish I could just give you my power, and I’d be burned instead.”

Simone says “is Nova going away?”

I nod, and my mother says “can you take your hand off her mouth for one minute?”

The woman reluctantly drops her hand.

I say “I’m sorry Sim.”

She hugs me, and I can hear her crying. I whisper “Sim, it’s gonna be alright. You’re gonna be okay.”

She says “are you going to be burned at the stake?”

I nod and say “yes, I am. But don’t worry about me.”

She continues to cry.

My mother says “Nova, I’m so sorry this happened to you.”

I say “nothing you can do about it. We can’t control who is and isn’t an Impota.”

My father says “if you want us to pay for the testing-”

I say “no. I don’t. I don’t want to live with all my guilt.” I am still in shock about Finn.

My father looks at me and my mother says “something happened with Finn and she feels really bad about it.”

I look down at the ground.

The woman says “minute’s up.”

I hug my family and say “thank you. For everything.”

My mother says “that’s what you do for family.”

Simone continues to cry.

I hug her and “Sim, don’t cry. Stay strong. Please.”

She wipes her eyes and takes a deep breath.

I say “be good for mom and dad.”

She nods and says “I will. I promise.”

The woman pulls on my handcuffs, obviously trying to get me to wrap it up.

I turn to her and say “I want to visit someone before we go.”

She says “no.”

I say “I’m sorry, I don’t recall asking.”

She says “I do recall telling you that Impota don’t have the right.”

I say “well I’m going.”

She says “what could even be so important?”

I say “I’ve gotta talk to someone.”

She says “nope. Right to the Government.”

I sigh and say “I’ll break out of these handcuffs.”

She says “not possible.”

I try to pull my wrists apart, but it doesn’t work.

Please, I think. I need to talk to Finn.

She says “come on, we’ve got a car waiting.”

I sigh and say “please?”

She says “no. Now come on you filthy excuse for a being.”

My father says “don’t talk to my daughter like that.”

She laughs and says “I’m surprised you’re still willing to call this… this thing your daughter. It’s not natural.”

My mother says “she is still a human being.”

The woman says “if this is a human being then the world is flat.” Without another word she drags me out of my home and throws me into a car. But not before I can see a figure standing on the sidewalk right next to my house.

A figure I knew very well.

Finn.

Chapter 7

So, Finn waited outside my house. Maybe he wanted to see if I suddenly got powers?

Right before I was thrown into the car, he calls my name.

I yell “Finn!”

He runs over, but the door closes. He starts pounding on the door, but it doesn’t open.

I reach for the handle, but the woman shoves my handcuffs down.

I just stare at Finn through the window. He closes his eyes for a second, and suddenly the window starts to go down.

He says “Nova!”

I say “why are you here?!”

He says “I just wanted to see if you were a Normal or not.”

I sigh and say “I’m sorry Finn.”

He says “it’s not your fault.”

I say “no, not about this.”

He says “what?”

I sigh and say “you’re my best friend in the world and if I weren’t a Normal I probably would’ve gone out with you.”

He says “really?”

I nod and say “yeah, probably.”

Then suddenly the window starts going up. And the engine starts.

Finn says “Nova!”

Then, the window is all the way up, and the car starts moving.

Chapter 8

It took four hours to drive to the Government, so it gave me plenty of time to think. I mostly thought about what happened with Finn.

He had been my friend for almost ten years. We literally went through everything together. I was the first person he told after he got his powers, mostly because I was right next to him when it happened. We had been friends for years. Maybe I did like him. I never really thought about it.

The ride seemed like it took way longer than it should have, so I guessed someone was manipulating time somewhere.

After a couple of hours I asked “can we stop and get some food? Please? I’m starving.”

Yeah, I suddenly wanted to eat again. I hadn’t eaten since Burger King.

The woman opens up a bag and takes out a bag of chips. She throws it at me.

I say “umm, thanks?”

She just nods and returns to the email she was reading on her phone.

I open the bag of chips and eat the whole thing.

We eventually did arrive at the Government, after what felt like days. The woman, I found out her name is Cecily, led me inside. I didn’t say a word.

She brought me to Dexter’s office and knocked on the door. A guard answered it.

Cecily says “I’ve got an Impota that needs burning.”

The guard opens the door wider and Cecily pulls me inside.

Dexter is sitting at his desk, looking over some papers.

Cecily clears her throat and says “excuse me? Dexter?”

He looks up at her, then he sees me.

He says “is this child an Impota?”

She nods.

He turns to me and says “what’s your name?”

I say “Nova.”

He says “and how old are you?”

I sigh and say “today is my fourteenth birthday.”

He says “and you’re an Impota?”

I nod and say “yes, I’m an Impota. Sadly.” I look down at the ground.

He says “it’s sad that anyone has to be an Impota.”

Wow, this guy is not what I expected. I expected him to me harsher than Cecily.

He says “you do understand why Impota have to be killed, yes?”

I nod and say “because if Impota keep breeding, then eventually there might be more powerless people than supernatural, and they’ll kill people with powers all over again.”

He nods and says “smart girl. Very smart.”

I say “I accept that I’ve got to die, if it’s for the good of the supernatural people.”

He says “that’s very brave, Nova. Very brave.”

I just nod, still looking down at the ground.

I slowly look up at him.

He looks at Cecily and says “Cecily, this plan is an excellent idea.” He points to the papers on his desk. Some of them looked like blueprints.

She smiles and says “thank you.”

I just remain silent.

Dexter says “now as for this Impota…”

I look from Cecily to him.

He says “kill her. At sunrise.”

Chapter 9

Okay, so Dexter isn’t as nice as he seemed at first.

Cecily nods and says “should I put her in the dungeon?”

Dexter nods.

So, apparently this place has a dungeon. Wonderful.

Cecily drags me out of the room and down a bunch of steps, until we reach what was obviously the dungeons. It was dark and cold. Ironic, because in a few hours I’d see nothing but bright fire and it’d be burning hot. And, it smelled like dead fish. Basically, it was horrible. And worst of all, I was still hungry.

Cecily took off my handcuffs, finally. But then I was chained to the wall.

I sigh and sit against the wall, waiting for sunrise. Yeah, I knew it was going to hurt. A lot. But it was for the good of my friends and family, so I’d do it.

A few hours later, through a tiny little window at the top of the room, I could see the first hint of dawn. The door opens a minute later, and Cecily comes down. She unchains me from the wall and says “can I trust you not to run away if I don’t handcuff you?”

I nod.

She says “okay, then I’ll trust you.”

Finally, I didn’t have to be chained up for the first time in hours. I rub my wrists, where there were marks from the handcuffs and the wall-chain.

She says “I’m surprised about how calm you seem.”

I say “trust me, I’m horrified.”

She says “I would be too, if it were me. You’re handling this better than I would. I’d be kicking and screaming.”

I sigh and say “if it’s for the good of my friends and family then I fully understand it.”

She nods and says “you seem like a nice kid. So I’m gonna give you a tip. This is gonna hurt. A lot. When you see the light, run towards it as fast as you can, and the pain will go away.”

I nod and say “thanks.”

She nods and pulls me up the stairs. When we reach the front door, she pushes it open. And I’m horrified by what I see next.

A single pole in the ground. Just an ordinary metal pole. And Dexter was there, holding a torch. There was someone else right beside him, holding a rope. But the most horrific thing was the circle of people surrounding the area, all staring at me eagerly. As if they wanted this to happen to me. It was horrifying and disgusting. They looked as if this was entertaining.

Cecily brought me over to the pole, and I was tied to it. My hands above my head, my legs tied to the bottom.

Dexter says “we are gathered today to witness a burning. Nova has been sentenced to death on account of being an Impota. She shall now be burned.”

He walked towards me, holding out the torch.

People started chanting “burn! Burn! Burn! Burn!”

It made me absolutely sick.

Dexter was literally a foot away from me now. He extends the torch towards me, and then something amazing happens.

Chapter 10

Right before the torch hit me, the ropes that were keeping me tied to the pole burst into flames. Both of them. And I didn’t feel a thing. My eyes widened. I put out my hand to slap away the torch, but it went flying before I even touched it. I look at my hand, my eyes wide. I slowly put it out, and a wall of water rises around me.

Oh my god, I think. Is this actually happening?

I am absolutely horrified. I just showed Hydrokinesis, Pyrokinesis, and Telekinesis! No one has more than one power. Ever. That’s just not how it works.

Wait a minute, I think. Maybe the fire and water is Atmoskinesis!

I stomp my foot on the ground, and a crack starts forming. And it keeps going. I trace my finger along part of it, and it seals the whole thing.

So, Geokinesis.

I put my hand out and flick my wrist. There’s suddenly an intense wind. I flick my wrist again and it stops.

So, Aerokinesis, Hydrokinesis, Pyrokinesis, and Geokinesis.

I’m Atmoskinetic. And apparently telekinetic.

Dexter picks up the torch from the ground, but his movements are very slow.

Oh god, I think. Chronokinesis.

Did I seriously have three powers?

I focus on letting time go back to normal, and it does.

Dexter says “a telekinetic, Atmoskinetic, and Chronokinetic? One person? Not possible. You’re one of the three. And I highly doubt you’re Atmoskinetic.”

I say “believe it, Dexter.”

I put my hands above my head, and there’s suddenly a huge tidal wave ready to crash down.

I say “it’s been three hundred years, Dexter. Isn’t it time for a new Atmoskinetic?”

I take one of my hands down and point my finger at the ground, right in front of Dexter. I draw a circle with my finger and imagine fire. Suddenly, he’s surrounded in a ring of fire. I flick my wrist, and the tidal wave goes away. I telekinetically bring the torch to myself, summon a small amount of water, and put the flame out.

I can’t believe I actually have three powers. And one of them is the rarest one ever. The most powerful.

Dexter turns to a Government official and says “I want her dead.”

Chapter 11

I take that as my dismissal.

But, I always promised myself that once I got my power I’d use it to make a grand exit, just one time.

First, I focused on slowing down time. Everyone else was moving slowly, but I could move at my normal pace. Then, I focused on speeding up the wind. It was really, really fast. So I jumped into the air, and the wind carried me away.

It was awesome. I was technically flying! And I telekinetically threw the pole at Dexter.

I flew all the way home, and I ran inside.

Simone was sitting in the living room watching television, so she saw me first.

She says “Nova?”

My parents run into the room at the mention of my name. I finally let the people back at the Government building have their normal pace back.

My mother says “Nova, what are you doing here?”

Simone says “did they let you go?”

I say “no, I let myself go.”

My father says “Nova, how are you here? They’re supposed to be burning you.”

I say “yeah, they were about to. I was tied to the pole and everything. Then, something incredible happened.”

The television starts buzzing. A recorded voice says “dangerous threat alert. This is a danger alert. A dangerous fourteen year old girl is on the loose. Remain inside your homes and do not answer the door. If you see a girl named Nova, please contact the Government immediately. This girl is a threat to all of us. If you see her, call the Government immediately. This is not a drill. This is a danger alert.”

My parents look at me, and Simone says “Nova? What’d you do?”

I say “my powers showed.”

My father says “really?”

I nod and say “yeah, really. And there’s three of them.”

My mother gasps and says “Nova, that’s not right. You’re only supposed to have one.”

I laugh and say “wait until you hear what they are.”

Simone says “are you telekinetic, like mom? Or Photokinetic, like dad?”

My mother says “Nova what are your powers?”

I say “I’m telekinetic, Chronokinetic, and Atmoskinetic.”

Their eyes widen.

My father says “you mean Atmokinetic?”

I say “no, dad. With the s. Atmoskinetic. I can control the four elements.”

My mother says “Nova, please tell me this is a joke.”

I say “I got my power! I can live! I thought you’d be happy!”

My father says “Nova, you’re highly dangerous. We’ve got to turn you in.”

I say “you’re seriously going to turn me in to the Government?”

My mother says “Nova we don’t have a choice. If they find out you’re here they’ll kill us all.”

I say “fine, then I’ll leave. I thought my family would actually be happy to see me, not throw me out on the street because I’m potentially dangerous.”

My father says “you aren’t potentially dangerous, you are dangerous!”

I say “not the words I expected to hear from my own father on my fourteenth birthday right after discovering my powers.” I turn towards the door.

Simone says “Nova wait!”

I say “I’m sorry Sim.”

I walk out the door and slam it shut behind myself. Thankfully, the streets were deserted.

Where can I go now?

I have nowhere to go. I can’t even go see any of my friends, because it’d put them in danger. And they all probably saw the alert on the television.

I speed up the wind, so it carries me slowly. I fly down the sidewalks, not exactly sure where I was going.

I have to get out of here. I need to get away from this place.

I took a deep breath, and suddenly a door opened. I jumped and turned towards it, my palms filling with fire.

Finn was standing in the doorway, and I realize I’m right in front of his house.

He says “Nova?”

I slowly start flying backwards.

He says “no, Nova. Don’t go. I won’t turn you in. No one else is home, no one’s going to turn you in. Come inside.”

I slowly lower myself to the ground and put out the fire that was burning in my palms.

I walk over to him.

He says “don’t be scared, you know I’m not gonna turn you in.”

I say “I don’t know if I can believe you. My own family even tried to turn me in.”

He says “Nova, I promise, you can trust me.”

I slowly walk inside. He shuts the door behind me.

He says “what are you doing here? Why is the Government calling you dangerous? What the hell is happening?”

I say “well first, I got taken this morning. I was thrown into a dungeon for a few hours, then they brought me out to be burned, which was where I found my powers.”

He says “you found them?!”

I nod and say “there’s three of them. Telekinesis, Chronokinesis, and Atmoskinesis.”

He says “wait, Atmoskinesis? Controlling the elements?”

I nod and say “yeah, that’s the one.”

He says “and telekinesis?”

I nod and say “and Chronokinesis.”

He says “so you can move anything you want with your mind, slow down or speed up time, and control the elements?”

I nod and say “I’m kind of dangerous.”

He says “so what’re you gonna do?”

I sigh and say “I’ll probably run away. Leave the area, I don’t think I can ever come back.”

He sighs and says “okay, let’s go.”

I say “Finn, you’re not coming with me.”

He says “you shouldn’t have to do this alone.”

I say “and yet I can’t ask you to go with me. Anyone found being associated with me is gonna be killed.”

He says “I don’t care, I can’t let you go alone.”

I say “Finn, I can-”

He says “if you’re leaving I’m going with you.”

I say “no. I don’t want you to.”

He says “I’m your best friend. Please, take me with you.”

I sigh and say “Finn, I can’t. I’m sorry. If you got hurt because you were associated with me, I’d never forgive myself.”

He says “Nova, please?”

I look at him in the eye, and I can tell that he actually wants to go.

I take a deep breath and say “if you really want to, then I’m not going to stop you.”

He says “thank you.”

I sigh and say “get a backpack and fill it with anything you’d need, write a note for your parents, and then we’ll go.”

He nods and walks into his room.

I sit on the couch and put my head in my hands.

So, now I’m apparently a wanted fugitive.

Great. Exactly the birthday present I wanted.

A few minutes later, he comes out with a full backpack and an envelope.

I say “ready to go?”

He nods and says “we just need to get Blaire and Ace first.”

I say “wait, what?” I don’t recall inviting them.

He says “we can’t leave them behind, Nov.”

I say “Finn I am one minute from leaving you behind.”

He says “what if the Government comes and tries to interrogate them?”

I say “they don’t know anything.”

He says “I already called them both.”

I say “Finn!”

He says “they deserve to at least know what’s going on!”

I say “I will fly away right now. Really.”

He says “wait, you can fly?”

I nod and say “I use my Aerokinesis to make the winds really strong so it blows me around.”

He says “I’ve gotta try that.”

I nod and say “come outside.”

He nods, puts his backpack over his shoulder, and follows me out the door. He tapes the envelope he was holding to the front door, then turns to me. I close my eyes and focus on speeding up the wind. Once I get the wind really fast I say “jump!”

He jumps, and I make the wind carry him around. He laughs, and a minute later I bring him back down to the ground.

He says “that is awesome.”

I say “glad you like it because that’s probably how we’ll be getting around for a while.”

He nods.

I say “last chance to change your mind, Finn.”

He shakes his head and says “I’m coming.”

I say “okay then, but you need to realize that once you’re associated with me there’s no going back.”

He says “I can deal with it.”

I nod and say “so, let’s go get Blaire and Ace, and we’ll be on our way.”

He nods and I speed up the wind, and have it carry us to Blaire’s house.

I knock on the door, and she immediately jumps out. She has a backpack over her shoulder.

She hugs me and says “you’re alive!”

I nod and say “I’m alive, and I’m a dangerous fugitive wanted by the Government so I’ll explain everything once we get out of here.”

She nods.

I say “I’ll also explain this later.” I speed up the wind, and it carries us all the way to Ace’s house.

He jumps out before anyone even knocks on the door.

I say “I’ll explain this later, right now we just need to get out of this area.”

Ace nods, and I have the wind carry us away. We fly for about twenty minutes, and we end up really far away, so I slow down the wind and we go back to the ground.

We landed right at the edge of a forest. It was dark and damp. Just like the dungeon. Except hopefully, I wouldn’t be chained to a wall this time.

I say “okay, so I’ll explain now.”

Ace says “what the hell just happened?! We like, we flew! We were flying! How is that-what was-who did-how is it possible?!”

I laugh and say “Ace calm down, I’m gonna explain it all.”

Blaire says “good, because we deserve an explanation.”

I say “so I got taken to the Government this morning because I had no powers and they thought I was an Impota. They tied me to a pole and Dexter was about to burn me, when suddenly the ropes holding me down burst into flames, everyone slowed down, and the torch flew out of Dexter’s hand.”

Finn says “long story short, she’s telekinetic, Chronokinetic, and Atmoskinetic.”

Blaire says “you mean Atmokinetic?”

I say “no. With the s.”

Ace says “wait a minute. You’re trying to tell us that Nova can control the elements, time, and move things with her mind?”

In unison, Finn and I say “yes.”

Blaire says “that is awesome!”

I say “trust me, it’s not. My family threatened to send me to the Government, I got kicked out of my own home, and I just basically made the four of us homeless.”

Finn says “we’ll figure it out.”

Blaire says “I’d rather know where you are and be in danger than not know where you are but be safe.”

Ace says “same.”

Finn says “third.”

I say “well it’s only like eight in the morning, so we’ve gotta figure out what we’re doing.”

Blaire says “maybe we could hide in the forest?”

I say “that’s a good idea. But first, we should probably figure out how we’re gonna stay alive.”

Ace says “what exactly do you mean by that?”

I say “oh I don’t know, food, water, shelter, a bathroom?”

Finn says “for food we can find, kill, and cook animals, for water you can use your power, for shelter we could try to make houses out of wood and sticks, for a bathroom you can just make a hole.”

Ace says “there, everything is all set.”

I sigh and say “okay, let’s go look for a spot then.”

Ace leads us into the forest.

Blaire says “it’s really dark in here.”

Finn says “so work your light-switch powers.”

She says “there isn’t a light to turn on.”

I say “guys, don’t fight. I got this.” I put my hand and focus on fire. Suddenly, there’s a small flame in the palm of my hand. I telekinetically get a stick, and I light the end on fire, like a torch. I hand it to Blaire and say “there you go.”

Finn says “resourceful.”

I nod and we continue walking. Eventually we find a small clearing. It wasn’t much, but it was enough. There was enough space for a fire, a bathroom, and a shelter.

Finn says “alright, let’s stay here.”

Everyone nods, and they all take off their backpacks.

I say “and just like that, we live in the woods.”

Ace laughs and says “maybe it won’t be that bad.”

I say “what if there’s predators?”

Blaire says “then we’ll have Ace scare them off by becoming something.”

Everyone nods in agreement.

I go and sit at the edge of the clearing, against a tree.

Blaire comes and sits down next to me. She says “you okay?”

I say “I’m fine I just haven’t slept in a day.”

She says “you didn’t sleep this morning?”

I shake my head and say “as soon as the Government took me I was in a car, then a dungeon, then about to be burned, then I was rejected by my family, and now I’m here. So no, I haven’t had time to sleep.”

She says “then go to sleep. We’re gonna get some stuff set up.”

I nod and she gets up and walks back over to the others.

I just close my eyes and instantly fall asleep.

Chapter 12

When I woke up, I was amazed at how much they’d done.

There was a small fire going, and they were eating… something. I got up and walked over, and I was disgusted to find out that what they were eating was a squirrel.

Ace says “hungry? We caught some food.”

I look at the squirrel and my stomach growls. I go against my better judgement and take some of it. I sit next to Blaire and say “so, how long was I asleep?”

Finn says “do you really wanna know?”

I nod.

Ace says “you slept through all of yesterday. The sun just rose.”

I look up at the sky, and sure enough, the sun was rising.

I say “oh my god.”

They all nod.

Blaire says “we didn’t want to wake you because we knew you were exhausted, so we let you sleep.”

I nod and say “thanks.” I close my eyes and take a bite of the squirrel. It was actually not bad. It was thoroughly cooked, and it tasted a little like chicken.

Finn says “Ace and I are looking for some stuff that we could build shelter out of. Even maybe just large sticks or something.”

Blaire says “all I did was cook.”

I laugh and say “so what am I gonna have to do?”

Ace says “make a bathroom. Don’t make it too far away, but not so close that we can smell it.”

I laugh and say “that’s all I have to do?”

They all nod.

I say “alright, I can do that.”

Ace says “can you do it now please?”

I say “why? You gotta use the bathroom?”

He says “just make a damn hole!”

I laugh and get up. I walk about a quarter mile from the clearing, and stomp on the ground. A small crack opens up. I open the crack so it makes a hole. I walk back to the clearing and say “alright, whoever needs to use the bathroom can-”

Ace immediately runs past me.

I laugh and say “wow he really had to go, didn’t he?”

Finn nods.

Blaire says “we’re gonna need water.”

I say “we’re gonna need a place to keep water.”

Finn says “Ace and I will figure it out.”

I nod and sit down by the fire. I stare into it for a minute, then I put my head in my hands.

Finn sits next to me and says “you okay?”

I say “no. I’m not okay. I’m only fourteen and I’m already a wanted fugitive, homeless, and living in the woods. My family almost gave me to the Government, I almost got burned alive. I made you all homeless. I have three powers instead of one, and one of them is the most dangerous power there is. I sure as hell am not okay. I ruined four lives within an hour.”

He says “you didn’t ruin anyone’s life.”

I say “I ruined mine. I lost my family, my home, everything.”

He says “you’ve still got us. You’re always gonna have us. We’re not gonna leave you alone. That’s why we’re here. If this ruins our lives then it’s our faults for coming, not yours for bringing us. None of this is your fault. You don’t control what powers you get or how many you get. You didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”

I sigh and say “what if someone dies?”

He says “then they died trying to protect someone innocent who is being hunted down for no reason.”

I sigh and say “what if I kill one of you? What if my power goes out of control and I kill someone?”

He sighs and says “look, Nov, you’re not going to kill anyone. You wouldn’t ever let yourself do that. You know that. So just stop worrying for a little bit.”

I sigh again and say “I’ll try.”

It seems like he forgot about the conversation we had the other day, about him apparently being in love with me. I was kind of thankful for that, I kind of liked everything the way it was.

We sit in silence for a couple of minutes, then Ace comes back into the clearing. He sits next to Blaire and they start talking about something.

I stand up and say “I’m gonna go for a walk.”

Finn says “want me to go with you?”

I shake my head and say “I think I just need to be alone for a bit. I’ll be back.”

He says “is this about what I said the other day?”

I say “no, it’s not about that. I just need some time to think about everything that’s happening.”

He says “can we just talk for one minute, then you can go?”

I sigh but say “about what?”

He says “what I said the other day. Are we gonna, like, talk about it? Or are we just going to ignore it?”

I say “I um, I don’t know.”

He says “could you maybe think about it then? If you don’t want to talk about it that’s perfectly fine with me, if you want to talk about it we can. Whatever you want to do.”

I say “I’ll think about it on my walk, and if I decide to talk about it, I’ll tell you when I get back.”

He nods and says “enjoy your walk.”

I nod and walk off into the woods.

Chapter 13

As soon as I’m far enough from them that I know they can’t hear me, I sit on the ground and start to cry. I cried because I wrecked my life and my friend’s lives, I cried because I lost my family, I cried because we were four fourteen year olds living in the woods, I cried because of my new stupid powers, I cried for everything. I hardly even thought about what Finn said.

After what felt like hours, I heard movement. It sounded like a person, but I wasn’t sure.

I silently stood up and started walking back. The sound followed me. I say “Ace? Finn? Blaire?”

No response.

I continue to back away until I back into a tree. Thinking it was a person, I scream. Suddenly, a dog jumps at me from the bushes. Not a dog, a wolf.

I try to smack it away, but it bites my hand.

I scream “HELP!” I hear things running towards me. Hoping it was my friends, I swat at the wolf again. It bites my wrist.

Suddenly another wolf jumps over my head and tackles it to the ground. Something grabs my arm, and I turn around. While bringing my leg up to kick the person in between the legs. I stop when I see it’s just Finn. I lower my leg and look at my hand. It’s covered in blood.

Finn says “what happened?!”

Blaire runs up to us and says “are you okay?!”

I look and see the rabid wolf is on the ground, not moving. The other wolf, which I guessed was Ace, came and sat at my feet.

I take a deep breath and say “it just… it just attacked me.”

Finn says “are you alright?”

I say “my hand is covered in freaking blood!”

Blaire says “come on, we’ll bring you back, I’ll clean it up.”

I nod and follow her as she leads us all back to the clearing.

Wolf Ace follows right next to me, and Finn stands on my other side while Blaire leads us.

I take a deep breath and say “sorry, Finn.”

He says “I’m just glad you didn’t kick me this time.”

I laugh and say “you’re lucky I saw you this time. Otherwise we’d have to make Ace become a stretcher and push you back to the clearing.”

He says “I’d rather walk.”

I laugh and say “I would too.”

He laughs with me for a moment, and it almost feels like nothing ever changed. It feels like we were back to where we were a few months ago, before either of us had powers. But that feeling quickly subsides when I feel the pain in my hand.

We get back to the clearing and Blaire says “okay, summon some water. And make a hole.”

I nod and stomp on the ground to open a crack, then rip it open to make a small hole. Then I summon some water.

She says “put the water in the hole.”

I nod and drop the water in the hole.

She says “now, put your injured hand in there.”

I slowly put my bloody hand into the water. It stings at first, but then it starts to feel better.

I sigh in relief.

She says “keep it in there for a few minutes, I’ll be back to check on you in a bit.”

I nod and she walks away.

I sit by myself for a minute, then Ace comes and sits next to me.

I say “thank you.”

He says “you’d do it for me.”

I say “wolf or not.”

He laughs and says “how’s your hand?”

I say “it feels a little better…”

He says “I honestly thought Finn was gonna beat me to the wolf. He was ready to kill it, too.”

I say “wait, its dead?”

He nods and says “he went bac to check it, trying to see if it’s good to eat. If it is he’ll bring it back here and we’ll have that for dinner.”

I sigh and say “I can’t believe our diet will now consist of squirrel and wolf.”

He says “Blaire suggested starting a vegetable garden.”

I laugh and say “when she finds seeds, she can start a vegetable garden.”

He laughs and says “that’s what Finn said.”

I sigh and look at the water. It was red and brown.

He quietly says “so what’s happening with you and Finn?”

I look at him, then back at the water. I say “what do you mean? We’re friends.”

He says “you know that he’s totally in love with you, right?”

I say “he told me the other day. Now I just don’t know what to do about it.”

He says “the two of you should just talk it out, go from there.”

I sigh and say “why are you asking about this?”

He says “he told me he was in love with you.”

I say “when’d he say that?”

He says “maybe a year ago?”

I say “a year?!”

He says “a year, ten months, somewhere in that area.”

I sigh again and say “that still doesn’t tell me why you’re asking about it.”

He says “it’s in my natural nature to get curious. And he told me that he was going to tell you. So naturally, I got curious. I wanted to try asking Finn, but I didn’t know if it’d be the best idea. So I asked you first.”

I say “I guess I’ll talk to him about it. What’s the worst that could happen?”

He says “tell me how it goes.”

I sarcastically laugh and look at my hand again. The water was mostly red at this point, which was starting to scare me.

Blaire walks over and says “okay, take it out.”

I take my hand out of the water. There was no trace of blood on my hand and the wounds were all clean.

I say “wow…”

She nods and says “you’re welcome.”

I say “thanks Blaire.”

She nods and sits with us.

Ace says “hey Blaire, did Finn ever mention to you about him being in love with Nova?”

She nods again and says “oh yeah, a bunch of times.”

I say “why did he tell everyone but me?!”

Blaire says “he was afraid of being rejected.”

Ace adds “that was probably his biggest fear. Him telling you, then being rejected.”

I sigh and say “oh god, what’ve I done?”

Blaire says “wait, you rejected him?! It’s Finn!”

I say “I think I did. I don’t know. I never gave an answer.”

Ace says “well what’d you say when he told you?”

I sigh and say “I’m sorry.”

They both shake their heads.

Ace says “that’s hardcore rejection.”

I put my head in my hands and say “I don’t know what to do. I’m so confused.”

Suddenly, Finn runs into the clearing. He says “guys, come on. We have a problem.”

I say “what kind of problem? Worse than four teenagers living in the woods?”

He says “I found a person. And she needs help.”

Ace says “how bad are they?”

He says “bleeding out.”

Blaire says “what?!”

Finn says “I found a girl that’s dying! Seriously, just come help!”

We all get up and follow him to a tree where there’s a girl siting against a tree. And she had blood all over her hands, arms, and legs. She looked like hell. She was really, really pale.

We all grab a limb and carry her back to our clearing.

Blaire says “Nova get a bigger hole and fill it with water!”

I stomp on the ground and rip open the crack to make a hole. I fill it with water and Blaire drags the girl over.

She slowly lowers the girl into the water and says “I’ll watch her. You should go fix the fire, it’s almost dead.”

I nod and go over to the fire pit they built. I put out my hand and focus on sticks. Suddenly, some sticks fly into my hand.

The wonderful power of telekinesis.

I put the sticks on the fire pit, then point to it and focus on fire. Suddenly, a blazing hot fire shoots from my fingertips. Thankfully, it doesn’t burn me. I can’t burn, apparently.

I go over to Blaire and the girl. I say “what do you think happened to her?”

Blaire says “I don’t know. But whatever it was, it wasn’t an accident.”

I look at the girl soaking in the now blood-red water. Then, I look over my shoulder and see Finn talking with Ace.

I sigh and say “do you think I’m being fair to Finn by ignoring that he’s in love with me?”

She says “well, how do you feel?”

I look back over my shoulder at Finn, then turn back to Blaire. I sigh and say “I, I don’t think I feel the same way.

Chapter 14

Blaire says “really? If this was a movie, this would be the point where you realize that you’ve been in love with him all along and just never admitted it, and the two of you solve the problem and live happily ever after.”

I sigh and say “life isn’t a movie, Blaire.”

She says “I know but, usually this isn’t what happens.”

I say “does this make me a bad person?”

She shakes her head and says “you don’t control how you feel. It’s not your fault. Just, don’t hurt him.”

I look down and say “I don’t want to lose him. He’s my best friend.”

Blaire says “wow you’re really making me feel appreciated.”

I say “you know what I mean. He has been my friend for almost ten years. I’ve only had you for eight. I just don’t want to hurt him.”

She sighs and says “I don’t know what to tell you, Nova. You say he’s your best friend, and that you don’t want to hurt him, but yet you feel indifferent and feel like you can’t tell him without hurting him. I don’t know what to tell you at this point.”

I sigh and say “what should I do? Start a relationship that might make me unhappy, or don’t date him and make him unhappy?”

She says “Finn isn’t the one in danger right now. You need to think for yourself, not about others.”

I nod and say “okay, I think I get it now.”

What Finn doesn’t know won’t hurt him.

She says “glad I could be of help.”

I nod and go to the edge of the clearing, to where I slept all of yesterday, and close my eyes. Of course I’m not going to fall asleep, but I just couldn’t look around anymore.

A few minutes later, someone’s tapping my shoulder. I open my eyes, and it’s Finn.

He says “Nov, come on. I got the wolf. We’re gonna eat.”

I nod and get up and go over to the fire. I look away when I see there is a stick through the wolf, holding it over the fire.

The wolf cooks for about half an hour, then Ace takes it out of the fire.

I say “Ace, how do you know how to cook this stuff?”

He says “I’m just using it like an oven. This may need to cook longer.” He pulls out a pocket knife and cuts down the wolf’s side.

I look away, because it looked gross.

He says “yeah, at least another forty-five minutes.”

I nod and he puts the wolf back over the fire.

I look over to where Blaire is sitting by the hole with the girl in it.

Blaire’s eyes widen, and she looks over at me. She motions for me to approach.

I get up and slowly approach them.

Blaire says “Nova. Uh, the girl is awake. And I think she knows you.”

Chapter 15

I say “she knows me?”

Blaire says “apparently.”

I say “I’ve never seen her before in my life.”

She says “well apparently she knows you.”

A weak voice says “Nova…”

My eyes widen. I’ve never seen this girl in my life, and now she knows my name.

I say “wait a minute… what’s your name?”

She says “who are you?”

I stand in front of her and say “I’m Nova. Now, tell me your name.”

She says “Nova!”

I say “yeah, that’s my name. What’s yours? No two people have the same name.”

She says “I’ve found you!”

Blaire says “are you from the Government?”

The girl says “please don’t insult me like that.”

I say “are you planning on giving me to the Government?”

She says “why would I do that? What do they want with you?”

I say “you know, the danger alert? Having three powers? Being Atmoskinetic?”

She says “so it is you!”

I say “who are you?!”

She says “my name’s Kathryn. I came from a group working to bring down the Government.” She sits up, and for the first time I can see her clearly. She was still pretty pale, but now I could actually see what she looked like. She’s tall, she has short brown hair, and when she looked at me I could see she has blue eyes.

I say “how do you know me?”

She says “everyone at our organization knows who you are! It’s finally happening!”

I say “alright, you have two seconds to tell me what is going on.”

She says “you’re not the only one who wants answers here, pace yourself Nova.”

I say “who are you?!”

She says “I’ll explain everything just help me get out of this giant puddle.”

I slowly reach out my arm and help her up. Her clothes were soaked.

Blaire opens up her bag, pulls out a pair of clean clothes, and says “here, try these on.”

Kathryn takes the clothes and says “is there like, anywhere private?”

I say “go behind a few trees, we’ll keep the guys looking in the opposite direction.”

She nods and starts walking into the trees.

Blaire and I go over to Finn and Ace.

Blaire says “okay, so we’ve got something strange going on.”

I say “apparently there’s a whole organization that knows exactly who I am.”

Ace says “seriously?”

I nod and say “it’s freaking me out. That girl, her name is Kathryn. She’s from them. She knows who I am, she knows it’s me, she’s freaking me out.”

Blaire says “hopefully she’ll give us some answers.”

Finn says “does she seem dangerous?”

Blaire says “not really, but her organization might be.”

Ace says “so what’re we gonna do?”

We’re all silent for a minute, then I say “we figure this out.”

There’s a rustling in the trees and suddenly Kathryn’s voice says “alright, I’m back.”

She was wearing dry clothes, and she was staring directly at me, which freaked me out. She says “mind if I ask to see the Atmoskinesis?”

I put out my left hand and my palm fills with fire. I put out my right hand and water circles around my arm. I stomp my foot, and a crack appears. I put my right arm in the air, and suddenly the wind picks up. I concentrate on slowing it down, and it stops.

She says “oh my god it’s really you!”

I say “alright, I’m gonna need some information.”

She says “sit, I’ll tell you everything you wanna know.”

I nod and sit next to the fire, and she sits next to me.

I say “okay, so I wanna know a lot of things. Let’s start with how you know who I am.”

She says “so I come from a group going against the Government. We’re called the Super Nova’s.”

I say “I’m already really freaked out by this, but continue.”

She says “our founder was named Nova. She told us that someday, someone with the same name as her would come along, and that they’d be the key to everything. They’d be the most powerful person alive, that person would have the power to stop the Government.”

Blaire sits on the other side next to me and says “so, you think Nova is the key to destroying the Government?”

Kathryn says “well, it’s hard to tell. We obviously pictured someone with almost all if not all the possible powers a person could get. But, she is named Nova, and she is probably the most powerful person alive right now.”

I say “so you expect me to believe that I’m supposed to bring down the leaders of this country because that’s what some girl who my friend found dying in the woods told me?”

She nods.

I say “how stupid do you think I am?”

She says “I think you’re highly intelligent, actually. Which is why we need you. The Government is planning something. Something horrible.”

Finn sits next to her and says “which is?”

She says “Dexter is dying. And you remember what they do when a President is dying, right?”

Ace whispers “the Battle Royale.”

She nods and says “you know how it works, right?”

We all nod.

So, I’ll do you a favor and explain to you what the Battle Royale is. Well, it’s not much of a favor. The Battle Royale is horrifying. So, our country can’t go without a leader. What they do is take two people for every power (one female, one male) of any age, erase their memory, and throw them into a giant arena. They’ll remember their name, and their power. That’s it. And they won’t even remember it right away. So the point of this is to figure out which one is more powerful and intelligent. How do they do that, you might wonder? They have to kill each other. The last person alive is the power and gender of the next President. Like, when Dexter became President. The winner of that Battle Royale was a male Pyrokinetic. And whoever wins does not become the President, in case you’re wondering. So, back to what’s happening.

Kathryn says “they’re planning another Battle Royale. They have to build an arena for it, and Dexter already has blueprints for it.”

I suddenly remember the blueprints I saw on Dexter’s desk. Maybe they were for the arena.

Kathryn continues “and if they already have the blueprints, then that means that they’ve already selected who will be taken to go in. It’s not a volunteer option, and once you’re picked, you’re picked. There’s no volunteering for someone to save them, it has to be the person they pick. They will go to the ends of the Earth to find a person they’re looking for to fight in the Battle Royale because they believe there’s something special about that person.”

I say “okay, so they’re planning a Battle Royale.”

She says “they don’t even give the President the blueprints for the arena unless they’re almost done. That means that-”

Ace interrupts “the Battle Royale is coming soon.”

Chapter 16

I sigh and say “alright, now I’ll answer your questions.”

Kathryn says “when did you develop your powers?”

I sigh again and say “so, I was taken yesterday by the Government because they thought I was an Impota, so they were going to burn me at the stake. I was tied to the stake, and all of a sudden the ropes burst into flames. I thought it was Pyrokinesis so I was going to try and make a fire, but when I put out my hand it was water. So I tried Aerokinesis and Geokinesis, and I had all four. And I went to smack the torch out of Dexter’s hand, but it went flying before I could touch it. Turns out, I’ve got telekinesis too. Then, I noticed how slow everyone was moving. So I thought it was Chronokinesis. I focused on putting time back to normal, and there it was. Just like that, Dexter wanted me dead.”

She says “wait, wait, wait, Dexter wants you dead?!”

I nod and say “yeah, that goes with the danger warning thing.”

She says “I’m bringing you to the Super Nova’s.”

Blaire says “so, you think Nova is going to save everyone?”

Kathryn nods and says “she just needs to learn to master the rest of the powers.”

I say “wait, I can master every power?!”

She says “it’s incredibly hard and you have to already have a power to be able to do it.”

I say “is that even possible?”

She puts out her hands. One fills with fire, one fills with water. She says “it’s very possible. I was born with Pyrokinesis, and I learned Hydrokinesis.”

Finn says “what if the rest of us want to learn it?”

She says “learning the four elements are the hardest, as they are the rarest power. Nova will be learning how to do every power, but the rest of you are only allowed one more. Don’t worry about it now we’ve actually got to get to the Super Nova’s first.”

Ace says “alright, but I’ve got one question first.”

She nods and says “go ahead.”

He says “how’d you end up in the woods?”

She sighs and says “I saw the danger alert, about a girl named Nova. I knew you were the one we’ve been looking for. We’ve been looking for decades. And I was sent out to try and find you. I wandered into here, and I got attacked by a wolf.”

I say “that’s what happened to me, I got attacked by a wolf.”

She says “we’ll fix up any injuries you sustain, but right now we should really get going.”

Ace looks at the fire, where the wolf was still cooking. He takes it off, cuts the side again, and says “the wolf’s done. Anyone hungry?”

Kathryn says “the Super Nova’s have real food.”

Finn says “I’m sold let’s go.”

Ace says “so, no one wants the wolf?” He cuts a large piece off the side and starts eating it.

I look away in disgust and say to Kathryn “alright, let’s go.”

She says “follow me.”

The four of them start walking, and I use my wind powers to carry me a few feet off the ground. After about five minutes, Blaire and Ace are having a conversation, and Kathryn and Finn are whispering to each other.

I just flew in silence by myself. No one to talk to, no one to question me, and I was thankful for it. I’m honestly really confused. First, I had no powers. Then, Finn says he loves me. Next, I get all these powers. After that, we run off and find this girl who tells us there’s a whole organization that knows exactly who I am. I am so confused and I don’t know what to do. I’m lost, I’m scared, and even though I’m with my best friends, I feel alone.

We follow Kathryn for what feels like hours, and I begin to wonder if I was accidentally slowing down time. I focused on setting it back to normal, but nothing happened. We follow her for another hour or so, and eventually we come to a large building.

Kathryn says “okay, we’re here. Sorry it took so long, I should’ve warned you.”

Everyone nods, ad she leads us inside. A woman comes up to her and says “Kathryn, where did you go?”

She says “I went out in search of Nova. She had danger alerts out about her, I needed to find her before the Government did.”

The woman says “did you even find her? You have four people here.”

She says “yeah, I found Nova. She’s the one with the long brown hair.”

So, you want descriptions or something? I’ll give short ones. I have long brown hair and green eyes. And my height is average for a fourteen year-old. Blaire has blonde hair and blue eyes. She’s a couple of inches taller than me. Ace has red hair and dark brown eyes, and he’s about an inch shorter than Blaire. Finn has brown hair and hazel eyes, and he’s the same height as Ace. There, mini-descriptions.

The woman says “where was she?”

Kathryn says “she and her friends were hiding in a forest.”

The woman turns to me, and for the first time I can see her clearly.

She says “Nova…”

My eyes widen. I’d seen this person before. Yesterday.

It was Cecily.

Chapter 17

So, Cecily was from the Super Nova’s and the Government? Something’s up.

I say “you…”

She says “you’re welcome.”

I say “for what?! For saying that I wasn’t human? For refusing to take me to see my best friend before going to die? For throwing me in a dungeon? For tying me to the steak at which I was to be burned? Yeah, thanks a lot Cecily.”

Kathryn says “wait, you know her?”

I nod and say “she’s not who you think she is.”

Cecily says “Nova, I can explain everything to you. I have reasons. And they know exactly who I am.”

Finn says “who is this?”

I say “Cecily. She’s the one who came to bring me to the Government. She works for Dexter.”

Kathryn says “she was doing her job, Nova.”

Blaire says “so, you would be alright if Nova died and didn’t get her powers because this woman brought her to the Government?”

Cecily says “it was all a test. Come to the conference room, I’ll tell you everything you wanna know.”

Ace says “these people are surprisingly cooperative.”

I say “Cecily isn’t.”

She sighs and says “Nova, I knew that what I was doing would probably make you not trust me. And I was okay with it. I’ll explain the whole thing, just follow me.”

I say “my friends are coming with me.”

Finn stands next to me and says “she doesn’t go anywhere I can’t.”

I look at him, and he had a look of pure confidence on his face.

Kathryn says “you can all go. Just let her tell you.”

I sigh but say “where’s the conference room?”

Cecily leads us down a few halls, and we eventually enter a room with a long table and a bunch of chairs. I sit at a chair, Finn sits next to me, Blaire sits on my other side, and Ace sits next to Blare.

Cecily says “okay, so I’m a spy. I work for Dexter, yes, but I give all the information I learn to the Super Nova’s. I was born into this organization, and I will die for it if I have to. I asked if I could be the one

administering your power test, because your name is Nova and I wanted to see if you could be the person we’ve been looking for. When I saw that you had no powers, that you were the opposite of what we were looking for, I was so disappointed. I was being rude because I wanted it to be you. I wanted to finally find the Super Nova.”

The Super Nova? Really? That’s the best these people could do?

Finn says “and when she developed her powers, what’d you say?”

She says “I was shocked beyond belief. I thought I was actually in the presence of the Super Nova.”

I sigh and say “it’s making a little sense now.”

She says “I want to stop the Battle Royale before it begins. I don’t know who they’ve picked, but I know they’re almost done building the arena. When that’s done, they kidnap the people they want. I don’t know who’s been picked, but no one is actually safe. For all you know it could be one of you.”

I look at my friends, then look back at her and say “what can I do?”

She says “we need you to master the remaining powers. You already have telekinesis, Chronokinesis, and Atmoskinesis which is Hydrokinesis, Geokinesis, Aerokinesis, and Pyrokinesis combined. Now you need Cyrokinesis, Electrokinesis, Umbrakinesis, shape shifting, and Photokinesis.”

Okay, so now I’ll say what those powers I’ve never mentioned are. Cyrokinesis is the ability to control ice. Not very common, but not uncommon. Electrokinesis is the ability to control electricity, in case the name isn’t a give-away. Umbrakinesis is the ability to control shadows. And as you should know, people with Photokinesis are just human light switches.

Finn says “are we allowed to pick a second power to learn?”

Cecily nods and says “but you can only learn one.”

Blaire says “is Atmoskinesis an option?”

She says “no, it is not.”

Blaire says “I want shape shifting.”

She nods and says “we’ll have you set up with a tutor in a couple of days.”

Blaire nods.

Ace says “Pyrokinesis.”

She says “you sure? That’s hard to learn.”

He nods and says “I’m sure.”

She nods and says “okay, we’ll find you a tutor.”

Finn says “Hydrokinesis.”

She nods again and says “it shall be done.”

I say “are we done here?”

She says “they are, you’re not.”

Finn says “then I’m not done here.”

She sighs and says “we’ll give your girlfriend back to you later but right now we’ve gotta tell her about what she’s gotta do.”

When she says the word girlfriend Finn looks down at the ground, and I blush.

Finn says “she’s not my girlfriend.” He looks at me and says “are you?”

I sigh and say “not the time Finn.”

He nods and says “but if she’s gotta do it, I’m gonna do it too.”

Cecily says “no, because she’s got to master one skill by the end of tomorrow. She’s going to need practice. With no distractions.”

I say “Finn, I’ll be fine.”

He reluctantly nods and says “just be careful…”

I nod and turn to Cecily and say “what power shall I start with?”

She says “to make it easy for you, we’ll start with the simplest. Photokinesis.”

I nod and say “let’s get started.”

She says “you’re going to need to stay here. I’ll have someone escort your friends to where they’ll be staying.”

I nod and say “I want to go see them later.”

She nods and says “after we begin training.”

I say “so when do I start?”

She says “right now.” Suddenly, the door opens and the light suddenly goes off.

Blaire says “sorry” and suddenly the lights go back on.

I look at the person who stepped in. It was a man, about the same age as my father.

I turn to Cecily and say “please don’t tell me this is the Photokinetic that’s training me?”

She says “what’s wrong with him?”

I sigh and say “he looks like my father, who is also a Photokinetic. He threw me out for being dangerous.”

She says “well it’s just for the next day or so.”

I say “what if I can’t master the skill in a day?”

She says “then we kill you, and look for a Nova who can.”

Chapter 18

I say “let’s start.”

The man nods and says “so this is the fabled Super Nova?”

Cecily says “we hope.”

He turns to me and says “I’m Felix.”

I nod and say “I’d introduce myself, but you already know my name.”

He nods and says “alright Cecily, lead these other children out of here. I need to work with Super Nova.”

Cecily leads the others out.

I say “it’s just Nova.”

He says “not if this works.”

I say “I will not respond to Super Nova.”

He says “you’ll grow used to it.”

I say “my name is Nova, and only Nova. You got that?”

He says “if you develop all the powers people here might just start calling you Queen Super Nova.”

I say “you’re really making me mad.”

He says “good. That’s the plan. Channel that anger. Focus the emotion on the light. Focus on turning it off.”

I close my eyes and focus on channeling my emotions into the light.

He says “send all your emotions into the light. Then tell it that you’re in charge, and turn it off.”

I focus on sending every emotion I have into the light.

I’m in charge now.

Suddenly, the lights go out.

He says “oh my.”

I say “power outage?”

He says “you did it!”

I say “I did?!”

He says “turn it back on.”

I close my eyes again and focus on turning the light on. And it turns on.

He says “oh my god.”

I say “did I do it wrong or something?”

He says “no you, you did it. You’ve given yourself Photokinesis. Now you have to master it. Keep doing it.”

I focus on turning off the lights, and they turn off. I focus on powering them on again, and they turn on.

He makes me do that for an hour, then he says “it won’t be as easy for your friends. The amount of powers you already have makes it easier. You must really by our Super Nova.”

I say “never call me that.”

He says “I’ll try.”

I put my hand out, and a fire hits the floor right next to him.

I say “you won’t try, you will.”

He nods and says “you must be the one we’ve been looking for all along. Nova, it’s you.”

I nod and say “can I go now? I’m exhausted.”

He nods and says “be back in here at ten o’clock tomorrow morning. You got that?”

I nod and say “got it.”

He leads me to a room, with three beds, a couch, and a TV. Ace was sitting on one bed, Blaire on another, and Finn on the last one.

I say “hey guys.”

Finn says “that was quick.”

I nod and say “well it’s pretty easy because I have three other powers. I already finished this one.”

Blaire says “really?!”

I nod and say “yeah, really.”

Ace says “show us.”

I focus on shutting off the lights, and they all turn off. I focus on turning them on, and they turn back on.

Finn says “Blaire, was that you?”

Blaire says “nope, all her.”

Ace says “that was fast.”

I nod.

Blaire says “in case you were wondering why there are only three beds, it’s because you get your own room.”

I say “huh?”

Finn says “they’re going to treat you like a queen. These people are going to worship you. They think you can do it. They think you’re the one they’ve been looking for.”

I say “I’m starting to think I might be the one they’re looking for, too.”

Finn says “you probably are. You learned Photokinesis in an hour.”

I say “so, where’s this room of mine? I’m exhausted.”

Blaire points to a door across the room labeled Nova.

I walk over to the door and open it.

When I step inside of the room, it’s amazing. There is a large bed, a huge flat-screen television, a stocked closet, a ceiling fan, and a fire place.

I say “oh my god.”

Blaire looks over my shoulder and says “why does she get the big room? I vote we share it.”

Finn says “Nova’s going to be working really hard. She deserves it. Plus, they won’t let anyone else have it. She’s practically their queen now.”

I say “can we please stop calling me their queen? I’m not gonna be anyone’s queen.”

Ace says “Queen Nova. I like it.”

I say “well I don’t. I’m gonna take a nap, wake me for dinner.”

They all nod and I shut the door and lie on the bed. I instantly fall asleep.

Chapter 19 (make author’s not about it being a dream)

I will always turn in danger.

My old promise that I always made to myself rang through my head.

Danger is bad.

Turn in danger.

Danger.

You aren’t potentially dangerous, you are dangerous!

Why was this happening?

Danger. Danger. Danger.

The word ran through my head over and over again.

You are dangerous!

Nova, you’re highly dangerous. We’ve got to turn you in.

The Government considers people with multiple powers highly dangerous.

We’ve got to turn you in.

Danger.

We need you to master the remaining powers.

Why was this happening to me?! Why are these thoughts going through my head?!

Danger. Turn you in. Master the remaining powers. Multiple powers highly dangerous. You are dangerous! I will always turn in danger.

Suddenly my eyes flew open, and it all clicked. I understood it all.

I always promised myself to turn in dangerous people.

I am a dangerous person.

Chapter 20

I take a deep breath and look around, taking in my dream.

I’m thrown out of my thoughts by a knocking on the door.

Ace’s voice says “hey Queen Nova, it’s time for dinner.”

I close my eyes and focus on turning the light off out there. I telekinetically open the door and step out into the darkness.

Finn says “Blaire turn the lights on!”

Blaire says “it wasn’t me!”

I sneak up behind Ace and whisper “never call me Queen Nova again.”

He jumps and turns around. He punches me across the face in the process.

I fall to the ground and grab my face. I turn on the lights and say “ACE!”

He says “oh my god, Nova I’m sorry.”

Finn comes and kneels next to me. He says “you alright?”

I say “besides the fact that I just got punched in the face?”

He says “come on, I’ll take you to the Infirmary.”

I say “I can do it myself.”

He says “you might not be able to see out of your left eye, it looks like it’s gonna swell up. So just let me take you, alright?”

I sigh but nod. I stand up and Finn stands up with me.

He says “you two go to dinner, I’ll take Nova to the Infirmary.”

Blaire says “I’ll do it.”

He says “no, I got it.”

Ace grabs Blaire’s wrist and starts pulling her out of the room.

Finn says “okay, let’s go.”

He leads me to the Infirmary, and as soon as we get there someone yells “SUPER NOVA!”

I put my face in my hands as several doctors’ rush over to me.

I sigh and say “I only need one doctor.”

All of them go away, except for one. A man. Who I’d seen many times before.

Mr. Brown.

Chapter 21

My history teacher was a doctor in the Infirmary at the Super Nova’s base? Shocking.

He says “Nova.”

I say “Mr. Brown, why’re you here?”

He says “I’m a member of this group. Of your group.”

I say “oh no, this isn’t my group.”

He says “it will be soon.”

Finn says “can we just pass the Super Nova leading this place for a minute and approach the Super Nova’s swelling face?”

Mr. Brown says “right, of course. What happened?”

I sigh and say “my friend Ace punched me in the face.”

He says “the Ace from school?”

I nod and say “yes, that Ace.”

He says “if you wish, he shall be put to death.”

My eyes widen and I say “no! I don’t wish that! I was trying to scare him and he got defensive! He didn’t know it was me!”

He says “well let’s just have a look at this.”

He examines my face and says “just ice it for a while, and don’t get punched again.”

I nod and he hands me an ice pack. I say “thanks.”

He nods.

I start walking out of the room, and he says “Nova?”

I turn back to him, pressing the ice to my face.

He says “I picked you for that question for a reason.”

Finn says “what?”

He says “in class last month, when I asked you about Atmoskinesis. I asked you for a reason.”

I say “did you now?”

He nods and says “I hoped it’d be you.”

I say “well thank you.”

He says “I’ve heard you made quite the name for yourself.”

I say “yeah, most dangerous person in the country.”

He says “a danger to the Government. But us? Well Nova, you might just be our savior. What’re the powers?”

I say “telekinesis, Chronokinesis, and Atmoskinesis. And I learned Photokinesis today.”

He says “good for you. Go get some food now, its dinnertime.”

I nod and Finn leads me from the Infirmary.

I say “so our history teacher is now a doctor.”

He says “this place is kind of strange. All these people know who you are.”

I nod and say “it kind of bothers me.”

He says “well hopefully you can stop the Government and be out of here.”

I sigh and say “this is gonna be really hard. And really stressful.”

He says “I know. But you can deal with it.”

I say “I swear to god, if you ever call me Super Nova I will personally kill you.”

He says “I’m not going to. I promise. I won’t call you Queen, Super Nova, or Queen Super Nova. But Ace probably will.”

I say “then I will personally kill him.”

He laughs and says “go ahead.”

We get to the place where we were supposed to eat, and it was packed. A hand reaches up in the air and Blaire stands up. She motions us towards her. We approach and see there’s two empty seats at the table.

Finn and I sit down, and I look at who else is sitting at the table, because it could probably seat eight. There was Blaire, Ace, Kathryn, and three people I had never seen before.

Kathryn says “this is Finn and Super-”

I interrupt “do not call me Super Nova. Ever.”

She says “this is Nova.”

The three people look at me, and I see that one is a guy, and the other two are girls. One girl had long blonde hair, and green eyes. The other girl had long orange hair and brown eyes. Then the guy had blond hair, brown eyes, and his arm was around the blonde girl.

Kathryn says “Nova, Finn, this is Beatrix” she points to the girl with the orange hair and continues “Echo” she points to the blonde girl then finishes “and her boyfriend Tiberius.”

Finn says “hey guys. I’m Finn.”

I say “I’m Nova.”

Beatrix says “you’re Nova? As in, like, our Nova?”

I nod and say “yes, I’m probably the person you’ve been looking for.”

Echo says “what’s your power?”

I say “Chronokinesis, telekinesis, and Atmoskinesis.”

Tiberius says “Atmoskinesis?”

I nod and say “I also learned Photokinesis today.”

Echo says “oh my god it’s really you!”

Kathryn says “I told you!”

I laugh and say “where can we get some food?”

Echo hands me a paper and says “this is like a restaurant, you order whatever you’re in the mood for.”

Finn and I study the paper, and it’s a menu. At the same time we both say “chicken and fries.”

We look at each other, then laugh.

Beatrix laughs with us and says “are they a couple?”

Finn and I stop laughing and look in opposite directions.

She says “oh my god you are!”

Finn says “it’s uh, complicated.”

She says “is she your girlfriend? Yes or no? It’s a simple question.”

He looks at me and says “yes or no Nova?”

I just stand up and walk away.

I hear Beatrix say “I guess no?”

Finn runs after me and says “Nova?!”

I exit the room and start walking back to my room.

He catches up to me and stops me. He says “you okay?”

I just look down at the ground and say nothing.

He says “is it about what Beatrix asked? If you wanted to say no then just go ahead. That’s your right. No one is making you do anything. If you don’t want to, you don’t have to date me. I just had to say it because I thought I was losing you.”

I sigh and say “Finn you’re only making this harder.”

He says “I’m sorry. I’m not trying to.”

I say “I know, but that’s why it’s so hard.”

He says “what do you mean?”

I sigh and say “Finn, you’re like a brother to me. You know I love you. But there’s two types of love, and I think we feel different ones. There’s being in love, and loving someone as if they were part of your family. I think we feel different types of love. I’m sorry. You’re being so nice about this, not avoiding me or anything, not hounding me about it, and I know that any girl would be lucky to have you as her boyfriend. And I want it to be me, but I don’t know if I feel that way about you. I’m sorry.” I walk past him.

He calls out “Nova?”

I stop walking and slowly turn back to him.

He says “its okay.”

I say “stop saying that. You’re only making it harder.”

He says “do you love me? Yes or no? It’s a simple question.”

I sigh and say “I don’t know. I never thought about it. I never took the time to think about it.”

He says “well you’ve got time. Think about it. Right now. Please.”

I sigh but start thinking. Did I love him? He was my best friend, I loved him like a brother, but did I love him the way he loved me? I am so confused. I don’t know what to do.

He says “I know I said I wouldn’t mention it, but not knowing is killing me. I just, I need to know.”

I sigh and continue to think. All of a sudden, the word pops into my mind.

Yes.

He is my best friend. He’s always there for me. He’s awesome. He loves me.

He says “I love you, Nova. But if you don’t feel the same way, I’ll understand.”

He loves me. I look up at him, and when I see his face, full of hope, I think I know my answer.

I walk over to him and kiss him. When I pull away I say “yes. I think I do.”

Chapter 22

He says “I don’t want you to lie to me. It’s alright to say no.”

I say “if you don’t want me to lie then I won’t say no.”

He says “really?”

I nod and say “really. It just took me a while to figure it out.”

He says “that’s alright.”

I say “alright, let’s go back in. I’m starving.”

He nods and says “okay, let’s go.” He looks at me for a second, then slowly reaches out his hand towards mine.

I grab his hand and say “seriously, I’m starving.”

He laughs and leads me back into the dining room. We sit back down where we were and I say “sorry. I uh, I was just-”

Beatrix says “you don’t need to apologize. What I said was probably way over the line, I’m sorry.”

Finn says “don’t apologize, something great came from it.”

Echo says “what?”

I raise up my hand, which was still holding Finn’s.

Blaire gasps and says “it finally happened!”

Ace says “’bout time.”

Kathryn says “congratulations! But if you don’t mind, we kind of have to order.”

I nod and say “good, I’m starving.”

Tiberius says “the food here’s really good.”

Beatrix says “the best around. Trust me, you’re gonna like it here.”

Finn says “I hope so.”

Kathryn calls over a waiter and we all order our food.

Beatrix looks at me, then Finn, then whispers something to Echo. I decide to ignore it.

Echo gasps and whispers something back.

I turn to Blaire and say “this place freaks me out. Everyone knows my name, everyone keeps calling me Super Nova, and people say I’m going to end up being their queen!”

She laughs and says “yeah, it does sound strange. Oh well. Sucks to be you.”

I roll my eyes and make a sarcastic laugh.

She says “but seriously, it is kind of freaky.”

Ace says “maybe if we’re friends with the queen-”

I interrupt “I’m not the queen!”

I press the ice pack back against my face and say “but they did say that if I choose I can have you killed for punching me across the face.”

Blaire says “seriously?!”

I nod and say “and Mr. Brown is a doctor here.”

Finn says “it’s weird.”

Ace says “sounds like it.”

Kathryn says “who’s Mr. Brown?”

I say “our history teacher from before I became a fugitive.”

She says “he’s here?”

I nod.

She says “that’s strange.”

I nod and say “it is.”

I suddenly remember the dream I had. About me being dangerous.

I look around the room, at all the people. People who expected me to save them.

I will not tur myself in. I will go against my own promise.

I will fight.

Chapter 23

After we all ate our food, Beatrix and Echo invited Kathryn, Blaire, and I to go hang out with them. We went, and we got to know them pretty well, then we went back to our rooms. I went into my room and sat on the bed.

I take a deep breath and say to myself “maybe now I can relax.”

I lie down and close my eyes. But, I can’t fall asleep. So I just sit there for a while with my eyes closed.

I don’t do anything, I try not to think about anything. I just sit and relax.

I actually works, and eventually I fall asleep.

Chapter 24 (make notation of dream)

When I woke up, I was in a completely different place. It took me a moment to realize it was a lab.

There was a scientist standing over me, a small knife in his left hand and a razor in his right.

I say “what’s happening?”

The scientist, a man, says “we’re going to find out what makes you different.”

I say “where am I?”

He says “the Government. Your+ Super Nova’s are dead. All of them. Even your boyfriend.” He points to a nearby table, where I can see Finn’s body lying, still and lifeless.

I say “Finn!”

The man says “don’t worry. You’ll see him again soon. We’re going to get into your brain, see how you got multiple powers. We’re going to look for what makes you different.”

I try to sit up, but my arms and legs were secured to the silver operating table on which I laid.

He says “don’t worry, you won’t feel a thing. Soon you’ll be back with your Super Nova’s. But just know that the Government always wins, and we can stop a war before it begins.”

I focus on the knife in his hand, and it flies into a wall across the room.

He says “stop that!”

I focus on fire, and there’s fire coming out of my index fingers. I say “let me out or I fire.” No pun intended.

He says “what’re you going to do?”

I say “this.” I focus on a large mass of fire, and suddenly my whole body burst into flames. The restraints melt away and I move my wrists and ankles. I extinguish my fire and say “you’ve already lost.”

He says “you think you’re so tough.”

The door opens, and three other people pile into the room. Two women and a man.

The first man puts out his hand, and fire shoots from his fingers.

The second man who just entered puts out his hand, and a mini-hurricane appears.

One of the women puts out her hand, and water shoots from her hand.

The second woman stomps her foot and a crack appears.

I say “I’m the four of you combined.”

The first man says “but, you see, four against one is better odds.”

I point at him and focus on water. Then, suddenly, water comes shooting out of my fingers, right at him. It extinguishes his fire. I shoot him with a great force of water, and he falls. I turn to the woman who has water in her hand. I put out my hands and a mini-tornado appears, like the other man has. I shoot the tornado at her, and her water is sucked into the hurricane. The hurricane smashes into her, and she falls.

The remaining two turn to the door, but I telekinetically lock it.

I say “you really think it’s that easy?”

I turn to the man who had the tornado. I focus on slowing down the wind, and his tornado disappears. I turn to the woman who made the hole. I trace my finger along the edge and the crack begins to close.

I say “nothing is easy when I’m your opponent.”

I turn back to where Finn’s lifeless body is lying on another operating table.

I say “Finn?”

The body remains lifeless, and I refuse to believe that he’s dead. I smack his arm and say “Finn, it’s not funny.”

Nothing happens.

I say “don’t be dead, don’t be dead. Please don’t be dead.”

Still, nothing happens.

I feel tears start streaming down my face, and I fall to my knees. I look around the room, and I suddenly see two other tables. I slowly approach the closest one.

Blaire’s body laid upon the table, pale and lifeless.

I say “Blaire?”

Nothing happens.

I say “oh god not you too! Please! Blaire, wake up!”

Nope, still nothing. I look at the final table, and I know it’s probably Ace.

I approach it, but instead of it being Ace it’s Simone.

And there’s a label right above her head:

DUE FOR EXAMINATION

LOREM MULTIS

Lorem Multis? What is that? Does it mean something? I think I learned about it in school a few years ago, but I can’t remember what it was.

A sound scares me out of my thoughts, and I turn from the sign.

Finn, Blaire, and Simone all sit up.

I say “you’re alive?”

They all look at me. They all had blank expressions on their faces, and their eyes looked glazed over, as if they were mentally somewhere else.

I say “Finn? Blaire? Sim?”

Finn says “you aren’t potentially dangerous, you are dangerous!”

Blaire says “we’ve got to turn you in.”

Simone says “you’re highly dangerous.”

I say “what?”

Finn says “you are dangerous!”

Blaire says “we’ve got to turn you in.”

Simone says “you’re highly dangerous.”

I say “guys, snap out of it. C’mon, we’ve gotta get out of here.”

The door opens and a voice says “I don’t think you do.”

I turn to see Ace walking into the room.

I say “Ace?”

He says “do you like my little project?”

I say “what is happening?”

He says “I created some drones. They say what I program them to. They aren’t alive. They’re dead, Nova. And soon you will be too. So get back on the table and let our scientists examine your brain.”

I say “what’ve they done to you? It’s me, your friend! We’re friends, Ace!”

He says “we were friends, until you made me a fugitive.”

I say “you agreed to go!”

He says “and you’re the one who left the Government. You brought this upon yourself.”

I say “I didn’t do anything! I didn’t ask for this!”

He says “then let us take it away. Get back on the table.”

I look from him, to the table, around the room at the drones, then back to him.

And suddenly, my eyes fly open.

Chapter 25

My eyes fly open, and I say “never!”

The door opens, and Blaire enters.

She says “you okay?”

I say “yeah, sorry. I was having an awful dream.”

She says “you were talking in your sleep. Like, a lot.”

I say “oh god, what was I saying?”

She says “hmm… you said Finn a couple of times, you said my name once or twice, you said Ace maybe once, and I think you said Sim. And Lorem Multis.”

I say “what is Lorem Multis?”

She says “I can’t even remember, we learned that five years ago.”

I sit up and say “what time is it?”

She says “nine o’clock.”

I sigh and say “I gotta go get ready for the day, I’ve got training at ten.”

She nods and says “I’ll leave you to get ready.” She exits the room.

I walk over to the fully stocked closet and look at the clothes. Somehow, these people even knew my size. It was really freaking me out. I picked out some clothes and got dressed, then went to the dining room.

I sat down again with Fin, Blaire, Ace, Kathryn, Beatrix, Echo, and Tiberius.

Echo says “where were you?”

I say “sorry, I was having a bad dream.”

Ace says “really? Didn’t sound like it?”

I say “you were a Government scientist, Finn, Blaire, and Simone were dead-”

Beatrix interrupts “who’s Simone?”

I say “my younger sister. As I was saying, Ace was a scientist for the Government, Finn, Blaire, and Simone were dead, I was in a lab with people trying to examine my brain, and I almost killed four people.”

Finn says “that sounds like a horrifying dream.”

I nod and say “it kind of was.”

We all order our breakfast.

We talk until our food arrives, then we eat, then Cecily walks over.

She says “hello Nova, Finn, Blaire, Ace. How’re you all fitting in?”

Ace says “pretty good.”

Blaire says “nice.”

Fin just nods.

I say “I’m a little creeped out but I guess other than that it’s fine.”

Cecily says “we in no way intend to freak you out. You are our Super Nova, and we respect you.”

I just shrug.

She says “how’s it going with Photokinesis?”

I say “I’m already done. I did it in an hour. Kathryn made it sound difficult.”

She says “because for Kathryn it was difficult. The more powers you have, the easier it is. Kathryn was only born with one power.”

Echo says “it took Kathryn two weeks to even get Hydrokinesis to work, and another week on top of that to master it.”

Finn says “it takes that long?!”

Tiberius says “well she already has the hardest out of the way. It’ll be easy for her to learn the rest, then we plan the attack on the Government.”

I nod and say “hey Cecily, I’ve got a question.”

She nods and says “ask anything.”

I say “the term Lorem Multis, what does it mean?”

She says “you’re a Lorem Multis.”

I say “but what does it mean? What’s the definition?”

She says “it’s Latin. For many powered.”

I say “if I had a dream where someone was called a Lorem Multis and I don’t even know what it means-”

She says “you should probably go find that person before the Government does.”

My eyes go wide and I whisper “Sim.”

Chapter 26

Ace says “what?”

I say “I, I need to go home.”

Cecily says “are you crazy? We can’t let you go with the Government putting out a manhunt for you!”

I say “I need to get Simone!”

Finn says “Nov, Simone is gonna be okay.”

I say “she’s already showing signs of getting her powers!”

Blaire says “so? She’s an early bloomer.”

I say “in my dream she was labeled a Lorem Multis! I need to get her!”

Cecily says “we’ll go get her for you.”

I say “no, it has to be me. She’ll trust me.”

She says “Nova, you can’t-”

I interrupt “I’m in charge here. I’m the Super Nova. You’ve spent decades looking for me, and if you don’t let me go and get my sister I will leave, and you’ll probably never get another Super Nova.”

She says “Nova, no.”

I say “I am the Super Nova. If I want to go save my sister, I will go save my sister. And you’re making me so mad I am three seconds away from walking out the front door.”

Cecily puts her hand over the table and says “imagine the shadow from my hand expanding. Put all your anger and emotions into it.”

I say “I’m not in the mood!”

She says “just do it!”

I focus on pouring all my emotions into the shadow and expanding it, and the shadow slowly grows.

Finn says “holy crap.”

Cecily smiles and says “make it smaller.”

I focus on making the shadow small, and it shrinks.

Ace says “did she just master another skill right before our eyes?”

Cecily says “yes. Yes she did. Umbrakinesis.”

I say “I want to go save my sister.”

She says “since you’re doing so well you can go. But, you must bring three people with you. One of them must be an adult from this group, one must be a teenager from this group, and you can pick one of your three original friends, or not.”

I say “you, Beatrix, and Finn.”

She nods and says “okay, are you done eating?”

I look at Finn and Beatrix, and they both have no food left in front of them. I turn back to Cecily and nod.

She says “okay, let’s go.”

The three of us stand, and she leads us out of the room. Cecily leads us to a garage with three cars in it. She turns to someone who is walking into the building from the garage and says “tell the Director that Im taking Finn, Nova, and Beatrix for a while.”

The person nods and leaves the room.

Cecily grabs a set of keys off a hook and turns to a red car. She says “okay, get in.”

We all get into the backseat.

Cecily starts the car, and I look out the window.

After a couple of minutes, Finn says “she’s gonna be alright, Nov.”

He grabs my hand and says “everything’s gonna be alright.”

I say “I just hope she hasn’t developed her powers yet. If my parents find out she’s Lorem Multis then they’ll send her to the Government.”

Beatrix says “how old is she?”

I sigh and say “eight.”

She says “and she’s already showing signs of development?”

I nod.

She says “wow, that’s a really early bloomer.”

I nod and say “I’m just afraid of what she might be. What her powers might be.”

She nods and says “I get that.”

Finn says “she’s eight, she can’t be that dangerous.”

I say “you don’t know that. I’m fourteen but I could probably kill all of you in ten seconds if I wanted to.”

Beatrix says “but you don’t, right?”

I shake my head and say “no, of course not.”

She lets out a sigh of relief.

We spend the rest of the ride in silence.

We eventually pull up in front of my house, a couple of hours later.

I sigh and open my door.

Beatrix says “you want us to come in?”

I say “yeah, sure. Cecily, you stay in the car.”

She nods.

Beatrix, Finn, and I all get out of the car. I take a deep breath, and lead everyone up to the door. I ring the doorbell, and it opens a minute later. My mother was standing in the open doorway.

She says “Nova?”

I say “am I too dangerous to come save Simone’s life?”

She says “what do you mean save Simone’s life? She’s fine.”

I say “you don’t want one child with multiple powers around, might as well hand over the other one now.”

She says “what’re you talking about?” She suddenly notices Finn and Beatrix. She says “you seriously dragged your friends into this?”

I say “Finn found me and Beatrix is from my organization.”

She says “come in, you’ve got a lot pf explaining to do.”

We all go inside and sit on the couch.

She says “one, who’s this?” She points to Beatrix.

I say “that’s my new friend Beatrix. She’s from my organization.”

She says “and what organization?”

I say “the Super Nova’s. It was founded decades ago by someone named Nova, and the goal is to abolish the Government. Decades ago, Nova said that someone with the same name as herself would come along, and they’d be the strongest person alive. And said person is supposed to master the rest of the powers and bring down the Government.”

She says “master the rest of the powers?”

I say “I already have Atmoskinesis, Chronokinesis, telekinesis, Photokinesis, and Umbrakinesis. I just need Electrokinesis, Cyrokinesis, and shape shifting.”

She says “now what does any of this have to do with Simone?”

I say “are you familiar with the term Lorem Multis?”

She says “many powered.”

I say “can you put together the rest of the puzzle?”

She say “Simone isn’t Lorem Multis she doesn’t even have one power yet!”

I say “they’ll both come in at the same time. But right now I need to bring her to the Super Nova’s before the Government finds out about her.”

She says “I’m not letting you take my only remaining child away from me!”

I say “well you didn’t want your other dangerous daughter hanging around! Sim is dangerous too!”

A small voice says “I’m what?”

I turn and see Simone standing in the doorway, a concerned look on her face.

I say “Sim, you need to come with me.”

My mother says “no, she doesn’t. She’s going to stay here. Just because I can’t keep you around doesn’t mean I can’t keep Simone.”

I say “if you want your children so badly but don’t want to deal with danger than have another kid. That’s all I can tell you.”

Simone says “what’s happening?”

I say “Sim, there’s something special about you.”

She says “I know. I was going to tell you.”

I say “when?”

She says “when you were leaving, I told you to wait. I was going to tell you.”

I say “and what were you going to tell me?”

She says “it’s probably be easier to just show you.”

I say “Sim, what is it?”

My mother says “why wouldn’t you tell anyone besides Nova?”

She says “because Nova might be the only one who can help me at this point.”

I say “tell me.”

She closes her eyes, and suddenly a wall of ice forms around her. Then, all of a sudden, the shadows beneath the ice disappear.

I say “Sim…”

She says “I have two powers.”

Beatrix says “Umbrakinesis and Cyrokinesis.”

My mother says “no, Simone not you too.”

I say “you either get the danger or live with no kids. Your choice.”

She says “Simone isn’t as dangerous as you. At this point you have five powers. Hers is closer to normal than yours.”

I say “nice to see how you treat your family.”

Suddenly, there’s a knock on the door.

My mother opens it, and Cecily is standing there.

She gives me a look that says stay quiet.

My mother says “you’re the woman from the Government, correct?”

She nods and says “I was sent by Dexter to retrieve Nova. He thought you might be hiding her, because you’re her family. And I can see her, so don’t try to hide her.”

My mother turns to me and says “goodbye, Nova.”

I walk right past her and stand with Cecily.

She says “and the two accomplices.”

Finn and Beatrix come and stand beside me.

She says “is there anyone else here with more than one power?”

She looks at Simone and says “a wall of ice. Very impressive for a child. But, the ice should be casting a shadow. Where is it?”

My mother says “she developed her Cyrokinesis and one of our friends with Umbrakinesis came over and they made shadow-less ice.”

Cecily says “is that so?” She walks over to Simone, bends down to look her in the eye, and says “is that true?”

Simone looks at me, and I shake my head.

She says “no, it isn’t. I’m Cyrokinetic and Umbrakinetic.” She closes her eyes and the shadows from beneath the ice reappear. And then the ice disappears.

My mother says “you can’t take both of my children.”

She says “it’s my job. You know the rules.” She turns back to Simone and says “you’re going to come with me.”

Simone’s eyes fill with fear.

I say “Sim, come here.”

She runs over to me and whispers “what’re we going to do?”

I whisper back “I’ll explain everything in a few minutes.”

Cecily says “you were hiding two Lorem Multis in your home?! I could have you killed for even having one!”

My mother says “Simone never told me and Nova just came to take Simone!”

I say “and this is why. I told you, I needed to save her.”

She looks at me and says “save her, please.”

I just look away, and Finn grabs my hand.

Cecily says “out of here, all of you.”

We all go out to the car. Beatrix, Finn, and I all get into the backseat, and Simone sits up front.

When we start driving away Cecily says “excellent, all of you.”

Finn says “at first I had no idea what you were doing.”

She says “you were taking too long. It was supposed to be a rescue mission, not a Q&A session.”

Simone says “where are you taking us?”

I say “Sim, don’t be scared. I promise, we’re alright. We’re going to the Super Nova’s, where-”

She says “what is that?”

Finn says “long-story short we’re working to stop the Government before the Battle Royale is put into motion.”

She says “Dexter is dying?”

Cecily nods and says “I’ve got some bad news.”

Beatrix sighs and says “what else is new?”

Finn says “what is it?”

Cecily says “while you were inside Nova’s parent’s house, I got an e-mail. From the people designing the Battle Royale.”

I say “do you know who they’re going to take?”

She sighs and says “no, but remember, no one is safe. It could even be someone in this car. But, the e-mail said that they already had everyone picked, and they’re going to start capturing them in less than one week.”

I say “try to push it back! That’s not enough time!”

She says “I can’t! I called them and I tried to get them to push it back, but they said it needs to happen before Dexter dies!”

I say “I have a week to learn two more powers, make a plan to bring down the whole Government, and actually put the plan into motion?! You expect me to save the country in seven days?!”

She says “you have people helping you. And we believe in you. Everyone does. We know you can do this.”

I sigh and say “when we get to the Super Nova’s I want to start working on whatever the next power is, I want to learn at least one a day while formulating a plan.”

Simone says “Nova, are you the boss or something?”

I say “why do you think they’re called the Super Nova’s? Sim, I was literally born for this.”

She says “let’s take these people down.”

We spend the rest of the ride in silence.

Chapter 27

When we get inside, I bring Sim to my room and have her stay in there, then I go to see Cecily.

When I get there, I say “okay, what power is next?”

She says “first, spend an hour practicing Umbrakinesis so you can be sure you’ve mastered it.”

I nod and spend the next hour expanding and getting rid of shadows.

After the hour she says “okay, I’m gonna give you to someone else to do the rest of your training. I’ve got to go to the Government.”

I say “you can’t stay another day?”

She says “trust me, when you find out why I’m going, you’ll be thanking me.”

I sigh and say “who’s going to do my training?”

She says “well, we were thinking Felix, the man who taught you Photokinesis.”

I nod and say “sounds good.”

She leads me into the conference room where I met with Felix yesterday, and he was already in there. Then, she leaves.

Felix says “okay, so now it’s only shape shifting, Electrokinesis, and Cyrokinesis.”

I nod.

He says “I don’t think you can do it.”

I say “what?”

He says “not in the time provided. I don’t think you can do it.”

I say “I can do it. I can! I will! Everyone believes in me.”

He says “not me. You only have a week to save the whole country, then they kidnap innocent children and kill most of them. Do you honestly believe you can do it?”

I nod and say “I do. And if you don’t then I’ll find another teacher.”

He says “Nova, you can’t do it.”

I put out my hand, and a fireball appears. This guy was making me mad. I say “say it again and you get burned.”

He says “focus your anger on my phone. Focus on turning it on.” He pulls a cell phone out of his pocket and places it on the table.

I focus on the phone, and at first, nothing happens.

He says “try harder. Prove me wrong.”

I pour all of my emotions into the electricity of the phone, and the screen lights up.

He says “alright, do that for the next hour.”

I sit there turning the phone on and off with my mind for an hour.

By this point, it was already almost two o’clock.

After the hour, he says “you done for the day?”

I say “no, I can keep going.”

He says “Nova, I think you’re done.”

I say “no, I can keep going. I’m running out of time.”

He says “Nova, no.”

I say “I will find another teacher.”

He says “you look like you’re going to pass out. If you really want to learn more today, we’ll work on Cyrokinesis after dinner. Right now I think you need to rest.”

I say “no, I don’t.”

He grabs his phone and hands it to me. He says “look at your reflection.”

I look into the screen of the phone. I had small purple circles under my eyes, and I was really pale.

He says “go rest.”

I sigh but exit the room. I go to my room. When I have to pass through the room that Blaire, Finn, Ace, and now Simone share, Ace says “Nova?”

I look at him.

He says “you okay?”

I nod and say “I’m just going to rest for a while.”

Finn looks up and says “dear god. Nova, what’d you do to yourself? You look like the walking dead.”

I say “I worked too hard.”

Blaire says “are you okay?”

I say “I, I think I’m going to pass out.”

I look and see Sim asleep on a bed.

Fin stands up and approaches me. He says “Ace, get the door.”

Ace gets up and opens the door to my room.

My vision slowly begins to go black.

Blaire says “come on, just go to your room and go to sleep for a while.”

I start walking towards the door to my room, and my vision gets even darker.

Finn says “Nova, stay with me. Stay awake. Just until you get to your room, okay?”

My vision goes fully black, and the last thing I remember before passing out is all three of them yelling “NOVA!”

Chapter 28

When I wake up, I’m in my bed in my room. For a moment, I panic because I forget where I am. But then I remember that I’m with the Super Nova’s. I look at the clock on the wall. Eight o’clock. I get up and walk out of my room.

Finn runs up to me and says “good, you’re awake.”

I say “how long was I asleep?”

Blaire gets up and says “It’s eight in the morning, Nova.”

I say “you let me sleep for eighteen hours?! That’s almost a day! I only have six days to learn the last two powers, make a plan, and execute that plan!”

She says “Nova, you were dying. Do you not remember how awful you looked? They said no more than one power a day.”

I sigh and say “well, I’m starving so I’m gonna go eat.”

Simone sits up, rubs her eyes, and says “Nova?”

I say “yeah, Sim. I’m here. Let’s go get some breakfast.”

She nods and gets up. We all go down for breakfast. We sit with Kathryn, Beatrix, Echo, and Tiberius again.

Echo says “who’s this?” She points to Simone.

I say “that’s my little sister, Simone. The other Lorem Multis.”

Tiberius says “seems highly unlikely.”

Simone says “I’m Umbrakinetic and Cyrokinetic, what’re you?”

He says “I’m a shape shifter.”

Ace says “shape shifters rule!”

The two of them high-five.

I laugh and say “how about you two?” I point to Echo and Beatrix.

Echo says “I’m Pyrokinetic.”

Beatrix says “Geokinetic.”

A waiter comes by and we all order our food.

After we order, Tiberius asks “what happened to you yesterday, Nova? You weren’t at dinner.”

I say “I was exhausted from learning two powers, and I passed out.”

Blaire says “you literally collapsed onto the floor.”

I say “aka passing out.”

Ace says “don’t fight.”

In unison, Blaire and I say “we’re not fighting!”

Everyone laughs.

Beatrix says “okay, you passed out aka collapsing. There, problem solved.”

I laugh and say “yeah, that’s the short version of it.”

Echo says “how long is the long version?”

I shrug and say “a few more sentences? But I don’t wanna say more sentences, I’m so tired.”

Simone says “you were asleep for eighteen hours, how can you possibly be tired?!”

I say “I’m always tired.”

Echo snaps her fingers in my face and says “wake up!”

I laugh and slap her fingers away.

Tiberius says “who froze my water?”

I say “Simone!”

Simone says “Beatrix!”

Beatrix says “Echo!”

Echo says “Finn!”

Finn says “Kathryn!”

Kathryn says “Blaire!”

Blaire says “Ace!”

Ace says “we all know it was the kid with the freaking ice powers!”

Simone sighs and says “fine, it was me.”

Everyone laughs and Echo points her finger at Tiberius’s glass of ice. The tip of her finger ignites, and there’s a small flame. Moments later, the ice is melted and returned to the liquid state.

A few minutes later, a waiter comes by and we get our food. We all eat quickly, then Felix walks up to me and says “you ready Nova?”

I nod and say “let’s go.”

He turns to Finn, Blaire, and Ace. He says “you three return to your rooms. We’ve got tutors coming for you.”

They all nod and everyone stands up. I follow Felix back to the conference room.

When we get there, Felix says “I’m honestly surprised. I didn’t think you were stronger than a hummingbird.”

I say “what’s that supposed to mean?”

He says “that when you got here you looked weak and pathetic. You still do, a little. You’re just a fourteen year-old girl, did you expect to be thought of as strong? I heard the danger alert on the television and I laughed. A fourteen year-old girl being dangerous? I found it impossible. I still do.”

I glare at him and says “let’s count the reasons I probably look weak. One.” I put up one finger, and it lights on fire. I continue “I was thrown out of my home. Two.” I puts up another fire-tipped finger. I continue “they threatened to send me to the Government. Three.” I put up a third finger covered in fire and say “I lived in the woods for a couple of days. Four.” I put up another fiery finger and say “I don’t understand anything that’s going on. Five.” I make a fist, and it is still on fire. I say “you keep insulting me like I’m a pile of nothing. Even though I am the Super Nova.” I throw my fist in his direction, and the fire shoots at him.

He jumps out of the way and says “focus on becoming as fierce as a hawk. Or a wolf. Or a bear. Anything fierce. Focus on becoming one.”

I close my eyes and focus on a wolf. The fire goes out in my hand, and I shrink. When I open my eyes, I see a snout, and I’m lower to the ground.

He smiles and says “you really are our Super Nova. Our strong, impressive Super Nova.”

I growl at him.

He says “I only said those things to make you mad. Anger helps you channel all your emotions into a power. It’s the most powerful emotion.”

I focus on myself, and I change back.

He says “just do that for an hour.”

I sigh but spend the next hour shifting between a wolf and myself.

After the hour, he says “I know I said only one power a day, but I just want to try something. I’ll be right back.” He leaves the room and comes back a minute later with a cup of water. He puts it on the table and says “try to freeze it.”

I stare at the cup and pours all of my emotions into freezing it. I imagine it becoming a solid. After a moment, the glass is full of ice.

He says “oh my god.”

I say “did I just-”

He says “yes, you did. Nova, you did it. You learned five powers in three days. It takes people months to learn one, and you learned them all in less than a week.”

I say “I am the Super Nova.”

He says “you don’t have any time to waste, it’s time to plan your attack. You have six days.”

I nod and says “where do I go to start?”

He says “back to your room. You’re the one with all of the powers, you have to be the one to make the plan.”

I sigh and says “by myself?”

He says “you can get help if you ask for it, but help will only be given by those you ask.”

I nod and says “thank you, Felix.”

He nods and says “now go.”

I walk back to my room and sees there’s a notebook and pencil there. I grab the notebook and start thinking.

Chapter 29

I had my plan ready four days later. And Cecily had still not returned, but I didn’t think much of it. The day my plans are finished, I go to Felix carrying three notebooks, nine folders, and a binder. I approach him and say “I’m done with the plan.”

He nods and says “we’ve got a conference going on right now about you, you can go in and tell them everything. I was actually about to go get you, they wanted to know what your plans are.”

I nod and say “where is it?”

He leads me to the conference room where we practiced the powers, and I realize it’s probably the only one here. He opens the door and says “ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the Super Nova. She’s got her plan.”

One of the people, a man, stands up and says “thank you, Felix.”

Felix nods and sits in a seat.

I say “am I supposed to tell you my ideas or just leave the plans here?”

The man says “tell us, please. Explain it to us.”

I nod and walks to the center of the front of the room. She puts her notebooks, folders, and binder down on a small table and says “get comfortable, it’s not exactly quick.”

I spend the next three and a half hours explaining my carefully designed plan. When I’m done, the man (I found out his name is Jamison) stands up and says “excellent plan, Nova. I honestly never expected to say that to a fourteen year old girl, but here I am. I honestly have full belief in your plan and will assist you in any way possible.”

I say “just get me as many people as you can who are willing to fight. I need them all ready to leave within the next twenty four hours.”

He nods and says “how many people are you thinking?”

I say “as many as you can get. Good day, Jamison.” I leave all my notes there for them to copy, and walk out of the room. I go back to my room, sigh in relief, and say “it’s almost over.”

The door opens a little, and I see Simone’s face in the crack. I say “come on in, Sim.”

She opens the door and walks in. She says “did you finish it?”

I nod and say “yeah. It’s all done. Now I just have to go and make sure it happens. And then we’re free. I just can’t believe how easy this was.”

She says “what happens after we win?”

I say “we form a new society where it’s alright to be powerless or multi-powered. A society where everyone is equal, no matter how many powers they have.”

She says “and I’m assuming I can’t go to fight?”

I shake my head and say “I’m sorry Sim. You’ve gotta stay here with Finn, Blaire, Ace, Kathryn, Beatrix, Echo, and Tiberius.”

She says “you’re not bringing any of them with you?”

I say “can’t. I can’t risk any of them getting hurt.”

She sighs and says “okay.”

I say “I’m leaving tomorrow but I’m still here today.”

She nods and says “are you gonna die?”

I say “not without a fight. Not without making sure that our goal is achieved.”

She says “what if you do die?”

I say “then my friends will be your family. Mom and dad, they’re not our family anymore. They threatened to send us to the Government because we’re different. That’s not what you do to your family. If I get killed then my friends will be your family.”

She hugs me and says “be careful. Please.”

I nod and say “I wouldn’t do anything else.”

I look at the clock and see that it’s already 3:52. Finn, Blaire, and Ace should all be coming back soon.

Ace runs into the room he shares with the others and yells “NOVA!”

I jump up and run out there. I say “what?!”

He says “you need to come. Now. It’s an emergency.”

I say “what is it? Is someone hurt?”

He says “just come.”

I turn back to my room and say “Sim, stay here.”

I follow him as he runs out the door. He runs down a few hallways and then stops in one. It had a long window down the side, and the window was shattered.

The area was blocked off by tape and there were people looking around.

I shove to the front of the group and say “what’s going on?”

Blaire runs up to me and says “Nova!”

I say “what’s going on? Where’s Finn?”

A man stands I front of the group and says “everyone just needs to back away and avoid this area while we search the perimeter. For all we know he isn’t missing.”

I say “who’s missing?”

He says “a young man. Brown hair, brown eyes, no lock on a name yet, but there were a few people who thought it was a few different things.”

I say “was one of them Finn?”

He looks at a paper and says “they thought it was either Hunter, Colton, or Finn.”

I say “what happened?”

He says “who’re you? Why should I tell you?”

I say “because I’m the Super Nova and I’m leading you people to victory tomorrow. Now tell me what happened.”

He says “well there must’ve obviously been someone inside who wanted this boy gone. They grabbed him, jumped through the window, and ran off before anyone could catch him. A Chronokinetic named Dashiell.”

I say “why aren’t there people looking for him?!”

He says “there are and we’re doing the best we can under the circumstances but-”

I say “listen to me. You’re going to find out their name and report it to me immediately. You got that?”

He nods and says “understood.”

I say “I’ll be in my room. Come and get me when you lock on a name.” I turn away and walk out of the hallway. I wipe tears from my eye as I walk back to my room and start crying.

Simone sits next to me and says “what happened?”

I wipe my eyes and say “someone might’ve kidnapped Finn. He’s nowhere to be found, and Finn was one of the people who might’ve been taken.”

She hugs me and says “I’m sorry.”

I say “I have to find him.”

She says “send out people to search the perimeter of the building or five miles, if it just happened they can’t be far even if they are Chronokinetic. You own these people now. Send out groups to look for him.”

I say “they’re already working on it.”

She sighs and says “hang on, someone’s knocking on the door.” She gets up and walks out into the room she shares with Finn, Blaire, and Ace.

A moment later the door opens wide. Kathryn, Echo, Beatrix, and Blaire all walk into the room.

Beatrix says “its okay, Nova. It’s gonna be okay. They’re gonna find him.”

Kathryn says “don’t cry. They’re gonna get him back.”

I say “but what if they don’t?”

Echo says “they will. Trust me.”

I say “how would you react if this was Tiberius? If your boyfriend was stolen and taken to god knows where.”

Kathryn says “Nova?”

I look at her and wipe tears from my eyes.

She sighs and says “I told you, Cecily told you. No one’s truly safe from the Battle Royale.”

Chapter 30

I say “he can’t be the one for the Battle Royale. There’s thousands of telekinetics, what are the odds of it being him? He probably just got taken as a hostage by someone who wants something from me.”

Blaire says “I know it’s hard, he’s my friend too. But sometimes you just need to take a deep breath and focus on the task at hand, then when you’re done you can come back and cry.”

I say “how am I going to focus when my boyfriend was just kidnapped by someone who I’ve never met for a reason that no one can figure out?!”

Echo says “Nova, take a deep breath.”

Beatrix says “you have to leave for the Government tomorrow, right? Focus all your attention on that. Don’t think about Finn.”

Blaire says “he’d want you to save the country before you save him.”

I take a deep breath and say “alright. I’ve gotta focus.”

Kathryn says “we’ll stay here and protect your sister.”

I nod and say “thank you.”

They all nod.

Beatrix says “now, at least tell us this plan.”

I explain the plan to them in a short-version.

Kathryn says “I don’t see how this could possibly fail.”

I say “careful, don’t jinx it.”

Echo says “it’s seriously a good plan Nova.”

I nod and say “Dexter’s gonna die even quicker.”

Beatrix says “are you going to kill him?”

I say “I’m gonna think about it. But either way, he’s going to be dead quicker than he thought.”

Blaire says “hate to break it to you, but we’ve gotta leave for dinner.”

We all get up and go to the dining room. We all sit in our normal places, except for Kathryn. She took Finn’s seat next to me.

After dinner the detective man approaches me and says “his name is Finn.” He turns and walks away.

Echo says “Nova, take a deep breath and don’t focus on it. Focus on tomorrow.”

I take a deep breath and nod.

Simone says “I think she needs to get some rest, she’s got a big day tomorrow.”

Everyone nods, and I go to my room. I collapse onto the bed. I cry for what feels like hours, and eventually fall asleep.

Chapter 31

I wake up early in the morning, sit up, and rub my eyes. I look at the clock. 4:15. I get up and silently walk out of my room, through the room my friends share, and go to the conference room. I was supposed to meet Jamison there at 4:30. Of course, he was already there.

He says “ah, Nova. We’ve got your troops ready to go, all familiar with the plan.”

I nod and say “then let’s get to work.”

He leads me outside, and there are three busses filled with people. I nod and say “should be good. Let’s get on the road, we’ve got a long ride ahead of us.”

He nods and leads me to a car with dark windows, probably bullet-proof. He opens the passenger’s side front door for me, and I sit in the seat. He gets in the driver’s seat and starts the engine. He dials a number on his phone and says “we’re ready.”

The busses start their engines, and he says “feel free to go back to sleep. You look exhausted.”

I say “because I am exhausted.”

He says “then go to sleep.”

I say “I can’t sleep. Not after yesterday. Just drive.”

He drives ahead of the busses and leads the way.

Chapter 32

A few hours later, we arrive at our destination. Ten blocks away from the Government building. I say “alright, this is it. Everyone stops here, everyone gets out.”

Jamison nods and stops the car. He pulls over, and we get out of the car.

All the people on the busses do the same.

I say “if you’re Photokinetic, go over here.” I point to my right.

About eighteen people walk in that direction.

I sigh, hoping there were more, but dealing with it I say “the rest of you go back on the bus.”

Everyone else retreats to their busses. I assign all but two Photokinetics an area to black-out, and send the remaining two back to the bus.

I say “let’s go dark.”

All the lights in the area turn off.

I say “Electrokinetics.”

He goes to the busses and comes back with about fifteen people.

I say “take the electricity.”

Suddenly, the power goes out in all the nearby buildings.

I turn to Jamison and say “we walk from here. Get me the two remaining Photokinetics and the Umbrakinetics. They’re next.”

He nods and goes onto a bus.

I look to the Government building and take a deep breath.

“For Finn,” I whisper to myself.

Jamison says “okay, I’ve got the Photokinetics and Umbrakinetics with all the others in a separated group.”

I say “perfect. Now we head to the Government.”

He nods and I begin to lead the way.

We get there after about an hour.

I say “Photokinetics, go inside. One on the left, one on the right. Each of you take half the Umbrakinetics with you. Every room you make dark, they cover in shadows. Got it?”

They nod and the Umbrakinetics split into two groups.

I say “and half the telekinetics.”

The telekinetics also split into two groups.

I nod and say “go.”

They walk into the building, half on each side.

I say “Cyrokinetics, I want you to seal all entrances shut with ice once we’re inside. The water for the ice will be provided by the Hydrokinetics.”

Two groups of people nod.

I say “pair up. One Cyrokinetic, one Hydrokinetic.”

Two groups of people walk towards each other and begin to form groups of two.

I nod and say “stay in the back. Geokinetics, Aerokinetics, and Pyrokinetics, you all guard the doors and make sure no one escapes.”

The remainder of the people nod.

I say “let’s go.”

Chapter 33

I lead the remainder of my troops into the building. Instantly, an alarm starts blaring. The Cyrokinetics and Hydrokinetics begin to seal all doors shut.

I say “alright, the group of you just do your jobs, Im going to find Dexter.”

They all nod, and I run up a grand staircase. I remembered where his office was from the one time I’d been in there.

This is too easy, I think. It’s just too easy, I don’t get it.

After a couple of minutes I find Dexter’s office and throw the door open. No one was in there, but his computer was open. I walk behind his desk and looks at his open laptop. It was a note. I read it:

Nova,

I know what you’re doing. I know who you are. I know who your group is. You really thought no one would tell me about the Super Nova’s? I know what you’re up to. As soon as the power went out all around the building, I knew it was you. I knew what your plan was. That’s how it was so easy. Dashiell was at your meeting, and he told me everything. You’ve lost, and all our competitors have been taken for the Battle Royale. You’ve lost, Nova. We win yet again. Take a look at the papers I left on my desk. From,

President Dexter

I look at the desk, and see the laptop is sitting on a pile of papers. A file-folder. I pull the folder out and its labeled TOP SECRET!

So, of course, I open it.

The front paper was a set of blueprints. The ones I saw on his desk when I was brought here powerless. The blueprints for the Battle Royale arena. I study them for a moment, and apparently it’s going to be a desert. I shake my head and flip past it. There were file-folders in the file-folder.

One of them says Male Hydrokinetic: Rhett

I open the file. It has a name, picture, and information about him.

I pull that file out and look through all of the folders. I see another one that catches my eye. Female Photokinetic: Blaire was written across one of the files.

I take the file out and put it on the table. I keep looking, until I find another one that I notice. Male Shape-Shifter: Ace was written across another file.

I pull that file out too, and try to keep myself from crying. I flip through the rest of them, not noticing any others until the last one I find. Male Telekinetic: Finn.

I suddenly can’t keep myself together anymore. I sink to the ground and cry.

I’d lost them all.

END OF BOOK ONE