Morph [EDITING] || Wattys 2017 Winner

~TWENTY EIGHT~

~amelie~

Crackling tension fills the air, and immediately I feel the others stiffen. I glance around, seeing Hunter's distrust, Lila's attempt to hide her fear, and Amber's wide-eyed expression. Elian's fists are clenched so hard they're turning white. I step away from him, towards the door. After everything that's happened recently... I'm not sure I can handle anything else that life decides to throw in my way. So I slip out silently, leaving Elian and the rest of my team to further question my dad. The hallway I step into is dark, most of the light emanating from behind the one-way glass. I turn and stare through the window, watching my father.

"How can we stop him?" asks Elian shortly.
My father shrugs. "I don't know. Can you get close to a man who's untraceable, secretive, and has lifelong combat training and experience? Then kill him. But otherwise... you'll just have to prepare for what's coming. Defend yourselves, and try and beat him."
"What if we can't?" says Hunter quietly, voicing what everybody must be thinking.
"Then we're all dead." My father's voice is expressionless as he says it. It's not a malicious phrase, not designed to anger or provoke the rebels. It's fact.

Elian mulls this over for a few moments, considering this. Then, he asks, "How do we know we can trust you?"
"I know a little about how Roman works. I know where he's going to go first, and I know the identities of my closest advisers. Or, I suppose, now... his advisers," Dad answers.
"Prove it." Lila hasn't spoken much yet, but now she's standing straight and confident. "Give us something to prove it."
My father stares at the wall, and I recognise his thinking face. "About a month ago, we compiled a list of all the camps. Sorted them by location, security, the danger level and abilities of the inmates. If I were a betting man, I'd say that Roman will use that to find his soldiers. If you get the list first, you can predict exactly when and where he will be." He hesitates, and as Elian's eyes narrow he glances up. "The only catch is that there's only one copy. Digital records can be lost, hacked, stolen... even with the best cybersecurity in the world, it doesn't make a difference if a superhuman with technological abilities suddenly joins the rebels. So we decided to keep it on paper. If Roman hasn't retrieved it yet, it will be in the primary camp's prison hub. We put it in a brass lockbox, keypad-secured, but I'm sure the code will have changed. I can't help you there."

I turn away as Elian resumes his questioning. I can see the idea forming in his mind - a quick strike, in and out. Grab the list now, and Roman will never reach it. But I have a different plan. "Get it myself," I mutter. If I can do this myself, I can fix everything.

"Amelie?"
I jump as I turn and a person materialises out of the darkness, blinking at me. "Wh-?"
It's a small boy, with bright blue eyes blinking up at me. From what I can see, he's a little older than my sister. He says, "I heard everything, both them and you. I know what you're planning. And I want to help you."
"What? Why?" I was expecting the first two sentences, but the last? I have no idea how someone his size could be any help at all. I don't even know who he is.

The boy doesn't answer, just leans over and begins to trace a pattern on my left arm. I watch him suspiciously, but he doesn't look harmful. So I stay still as his finger draws circling, looping lines on my forearm. As I stare, my suit - disguised as regular clothes - begins to ripple, the real colour of the material showing through. I've been wearing the suit for the last few days, terrified to take it off in case I need to use my powers against someone. I haven't yet come to terms with the fact it's Ryan I'm so scared of. Momentarily distracted, I miss the point when the boy stops, and I shake my thoughts away as he stands up straight and looks at me.

"What did you do?" I ask, but even as I open my mouth a vibrant trail of green races across my arm. I stare in fascination as the colour follows the pattern the boy traced exactly, and the trails begin to interlock and combine. "I... I didn't know it could do that."
"Of course you didn't," replies the boy, smiling. "You didn't design it, did you?"
I look up as I suddenly realise who he is. "You're the Professor." I've met him before, but I didn't recognise him in this semi-darkness until now.
His face brightens immediately. "I knew that would catch on!" His voice is pleased, and I can't help but smile. "Anyway, if you need that at any time -" he nods to my suit, "- just touch your forearm here." He taps my arm as the lines fade, and suddenly they materialise again, glowing slightly.
I frown, studying the lines. They seem random, but the way they intersect seems so specific... "Why would I need it?"
He stares at me oddly. "To help you navigate the camp. Or... do you have a map already?"

A map. That's what it is. It's so incredibly obvious once he's told me, and as my eyes move across the diagram I can make out corners, intersections, entrances... and one glowing green dot that I assume is the prison hub.

"Thank you... so much," I say, still a little bit in awe. What else can this suit do that I don't know about?
He smiles. "You're welcome. You should probably go now. They're coming for you."

I jerk my head up, back to the window, to the interrogation room I've completely forgotten about. Elian, Amber, Lila and Hunter are turning away from my father, who's silent at last. For now, he's run out of information. As I watch, I see them talking among themselves, and I catch the words "get Amelie". I glance back at the boy as the door swishes open, and I make a split-second decision.

I sprint past the doorway as the others spill out, and I race along the corridors, taking corners at lightspeed before I finally reach the dead end I'm looking for. I think back to my first mission, the first time I left the compound, and how Lila pushed me through this very wall in front of me. I take a deep breath, remembering the cold sensation I got when I passed through, so like my morphing power. And I stretch out my arm, reaching towards the wall, and my hand passes through and-

"Amelie?" comes a voice, and I spin round for what seems like the millionth time today as I turn to face a frowning boy with shaggy hair and dark eyes, while yanking my arm back out of the wall. His name floats just out of reach as I try to remember why he's familiar - and then it hits me. Thomas. One of Genevieve's friends - one of the people I met before Cade, before Ryan... before Dad. "What are you doing?"
"Uhh..." I scrabble for a reasonable explanation, but he must see the panic on my face, because his frown deepens. "I..."
"You're not supposed to be here, are you?" he asks.
I don't have a lot to say. "No."
"Where are you going?"
I decide to answer honestly, because I don't think any lie I can come up with is going to cut it. "I'm going to steal something from the primary camp."
Thomas' eyes widen, and he whistles softly. "Wow. Okay. How?"
"Well, I have a map, and I can knock the guards out."
"How are you getting there, though?"
I could kick myself for forgetting this - the most important part of this plan. Getting there, and getting back. "I... don't know."
He laughs, grinning, and holds up a hand. As I watch, a small, blood-red disc appears in his palm, swirling like a vortex. "Ever tried travel by portal?"