There's No Good

Eight

Arden
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Cue the crickets and awkward silence.

"Had?" Lily asks, looking around. Everyone but Will seems shocked.

"Yup." I pick up my fork and shove some eggs into my mouth. I'm surprised that the food actually taste good.

"Did you..." I hear Carter start whispering to Will.

"Obviously." I answer for him. "I wouldn't be surprised if he knew everything about me."

   "Oh." Carter says looking down at his food.

   "I know I shouldn't ask but..."

   Lily interrupts her brother. "Then don't."

   Levi sighs, leans back in his chair, and slowly picking his food. "Ok." I could tell curiosity was eating away at him.

"Your people tried capturing my father, didn't know she was with him, there was some explosives, she was killed." I say with bitterness seeping out my tongue.

"My parents gave no order for that." Will crosses his arms and looks at me.

"Didn't say they did."

"You said your people." He argues back.

"Your people, the so called good guys, the ones that want my father dead, call them whatever, they killed a four year old girl." I sit back against my chair. Anger starts to sneak it's way up, and then gone again in a second. Im guessing due to Levi again.

"I'm sorry." Will says looks down, everyone else seems to be avoiding my gaze.

Fuck. I'm doing the thing to them, that I curse them for doing to me. They aren't accountable for other people's doing. Just like I'm not for my fathers.

But Will still apologizes. And for some reason, I feel like he actually means it. I want to laugh. Of course, he's sorry. Every good person would be. And that's what he was, good. A hero.

I turn and look at Levi. "So what's exactly your power? You control people's emotions? Whatever it is, it's very invasive." I cross my arms, changing the subject.

"Diminisher?" He asks the group. "Yea, I think that's the word to use. I diminish, decrease, lessen, weaken, whatever you want to call it."

That peaks my interest. I've never heard of someone just being able to do that. "So you take away people's feelings, even powers maybe?" I ask genuinely curious.

"Emotions are easy. I have to have a lot of energy to take away someone's powers fully. I mostly weaken them."

"Once you get stronger, you'll be able to do it with no sweat." Carter says encouraging Levi. Levi gives him a grateful smile.

"That's so cool."

Levi beams at the complement. "You think that's cool? Everyone says it's lame, since I can't move things or like shoot stuff out my hands."

"No, that's amazing." How can people think that's lame? It's incredible. I look around the dining hall. Now curious to know what other people can do. "How about you?" I say turning to Carter.

"Nothing too cool." He laughs. "I'm just super strong." I look at the skinny Asian boy in front of me.

"He might look little, but this guy can lift this whole table with one hand if he wanted to." Lily laughs.

I turn and look at him eagerly. I definitely wanted him to. "Maybe another time." He scratches his neck nervously.

"It's super cool." Levi adds. "Our powers together make us a great team. Good for stopping the bad guys, right Cart." He says nudging his shoulder.

"And me." I add. Now it makes sense. The reason they are stuck on babysitting duty.

I have this bracelet, but they are scared it might not work. I can tell it's not working as much anymore. A couple more days with it on, and I don't know why, but I feel as if I can break through whatever hold it has.

So that's why they are always with me. A person to weaken, maybe even stop my powers if it does stop working. And a person to carry me back.

I look at the boys, both of them scratching their necks embarrassed. Knowing that I caught on.

"What can you do?" I look at Lily. "Is it the same thing as Levi, since you guys are twins?"

Twins are common, but a set of twins both with abilities is almost unheard of. My father thought I didn't have any powers for awhile, he said my sister's powers came in way before mine.

Lily looks at me septically. Probably trying to see if I could use this against them on day. You can't blame her, to them I am the villain's daughter.

"I don't know much." I go on to explain. "My father never really talked about anything besides his powers and my own, or lack of them." I look down fiddling with my bracelet.

This is going to sound bad, I mean it is bad. But I am manipulating her. I'm curious to know, so I might be using the guilt trip card.

"Oh," she says. It worked. "Every twin's powers are reversed. There's only been three set of twins with powers ever recorded. Levi and I included." Four if you count me and my dead sister, I almost say. "But all the set's of powers have been opposite. If Levi is a Diminisher, as he likes to call himself." She laughs looking at him. "Then I guess you'd say I'm a amplifier."

I nod my head amazed. So where he can weaken, she can strengthen.

"So I would of be opposite with my sister?" I ask. I note that they seem to tighten up and seem uncomfortable every time I bring her up. "It's ok to talk about her, I know it wasn't your fault."

Lily nods, already seeming more comfortable. "Yes, do you remember her powers?" She asks.

"No, not really." Now that I think of it, I can't remember her powers at all. I was four after all, but it's strange my father never brought hers up. Did he know that ours would be related?

"Oh, well you can guess her power based on yours." Carter adds.

"What are yours?" Lily asks me.

"Oh you weren't there!" Levi says excitedly. "Yesterday she fought Gwen, whooped her ass." He laughed.

"I definitely wouldn't say that." I mumble. I don't think almost drowning counts as ass whooping.

"She has like these white sparks, like white electricity." Carter says.

"Oh not." Levi says, "I've been hit before. It doesn't feel like you're getting shocked. It's as if you're burning, like I imagine that's how it would feel if acid touch's skin."

"Whatever it was," Carter says. "It was cool."

"Yea! Gwen did that stupid water arm trick she always does, and then whoosh! Arden sends her spark things straight through the water, straight to her." He laughs explaining.

Lily turns and looks at me in awe. "Damn it, I'd kill to see that. Can you show me?" She asks hopefully.

I lift up my hands, about to say yes. But frown when I see the bracelet. Lily's eyes follow my gaze.

"Maybe another time." I smile at her, she nods understanding. Hopefully there's another time.

"That's still cool though." She says.

"That's not all she can do though, right Arden?" I meet Will's gaze. He's been quite almost this entire conversation.

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