Special

The Plan

"So none of you have gotten sick?" Suzi asked. Suzi had made a group video call to "the guys"—the only people besides herself and her cousin Maddie who didn't have powers, to talk about this strange illness.

"Nope," Said Matt.

"Strange," Suzi said. "I wonder why we seem to be immune?"

"It is strangely irregular." Wil said.

"Think," Matt finally spoke up. "How are we different from everyone else?"

"No powers..." Ben said. "Duh."

"But why would that mean anything?" Suzi asked.

There was a long pause, as the guys all pondered her question.

"Are you saying this sickness only affects people with powers?!" Suzi asked again.

"I guess it is plausible enough." Wil said.

"Sure it is!" Matt insisted. "Whoever created this illness thinks there are only people with powers living here."

Matt could be a bit of a geek sometimes, but he was still a great friend. Suzi rolled her eyes."Yeah right."

"Just think about it!" (Matt now continued in a murder-mystery-narrator voice.) "A mysterious illness covers the land. No one knows where it comes from. It affects everyone. Everyone but the five un-popular powerless kids. dun, Dun, DUUUUUUUUUUUN!"

"I guess Matt might have a point." Ben said. "We are the only people who haven't gotten it in our neighborhoods. All the other teens have it."

"Who said someone even created the sickness? On purpose?!?!?!" Suzi argued.

Now Matt acted like a famous scientist: "It is highly unlikely that anything of the sort would happen on accident, and no illness that has ever occurred naturally in our history resembles this 'sickness.'"

"Do you really know that?" Ben asked, kind of excited.

"Well, not really." Matt looked a bit sheepish. "But I could be right!"

"I guess so..." said Suzi reluctantly. "But if someone really did create the sickness why wouldn't they just have made it affect everyone?"

"What if they live here?" Ben asked.

"Then they wouldn't have created it," Suzi argued. "They wouldn't want to get sick!"

"Exactly!" Ben said. "What if they don't have powers either?!"

This was getting way too complicated. Suzi finally gave up logic. "Fine. Whatever. But still, I don't think that's it. It would be so...WEIRD!"

"Sorry to spoil it for you, Suzi," Matt said. "But this sickness is weird!"

"Yeah!" Ben piped in. "No one has ever lost their powers from getting sick before."

"Well, they haven't proven that it makes people lose their powers..." Suzi argued.

"So everyone's powers are suddenly just disappearing at the exact same time that they get sick?" Matt questioned doubtfully.

Suzi knew it was of no use. "Okay, fine!" She said. "Then what can we do about it?" She looked at the others as they all artfully avoided her glance—Wil looked at his watch, Ben yawned while looking at the ceiling, and Matt just ducked out of view of their webcam.

When he saw that Suzi expected to be answered, Ben finally spoke up."Do about it?" he asked dubiously. "How about staying inside and waiting it out...?"

"Wait it out?!?!?!" Suzi almost yelled. If she waited it out, mom might... gulp. Anyway, she had to keep her promise to Aunt Hazel. "Until everyone is either dead or unable to do anything?!?!?! Besides, I made a promise to Aunt Hazel, remember?" Suzi said.

"You have a better plan?" Ben retorted.

"I say we find the cause of this sickness." Suzi said triumphantly.

"But how?" Matt asked.

Now it was Suzi's turn to avoid the stares of the others. "Ummmm...." she didn't know how to answer that one.

"How about we go to where it started and look around?" Matt suggested.

"Where will we stay?" Wil actually sounded excited.

"We could stay at Maddie's house." Suzi suggested. Things were suddenly moving almost too fast.

"Uh-huh..." Ben sounded doubtful.

"Look," Suzi said. "It's no good waiting for something to happen on its own. Everyone except us is sick. No one else is able to go hunting around for an antidote—they're all sick! Maddie agrees."

"She's right. I'm with Suzi." Ben backed Suzi up. "Are we all in?"

"Yes!" Suzi cried.

"Sure." Matt shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe we'll even get captured by aliens and they'll take us away to their home planet to be tested on and..."

"Ahem." Wil cut him off. "I'll go as long as we're properly prepared."

"Great!" Suzi smiled. "Deal?"

"Deal!" They all replied.

"This feels like we're in a movie," Matt joked.

Everyone laughed.

"At least we all have each other." Suzi thought.

*******

Suzi walked into her mom's room. Mom looked worse than ever. Suzi sat down on the side of mom's bed.

"Mom?"

"Yes (cough) dear?"

"I need to go on a trip for a few days."

"Why (cough)?"

"I am going to find the cure to this illness." Suzi said with conviction.

"You might get (cough) sick." Mom sounded concerned.

"I'm not sick yet, and if I do get sick it might as well be while I'm finding the cure." Suzi's plan of what to say was actually working pretty well.

"How will I know that you're safe?" Mom still sounded worried.

"I'll take the bus to meet Ben, Matt, and Will at Golden Cross, and then we'll ride to Maddie's house together. We'll stay there with her and her family. They already said we could come. The guys can protect me. Matt's mom invited you to stay at her house while I'm gone to make sure you're alright. She hasn't gotten sick yet." "Because she doesn't have powers" Suzi thought. "She said that you can stay as long as you want."

Mom started to sigh, but it ended in a cough.

"Mrs. Greenfield is so (cough) kind. I guess you can go." Mom said. "When will you leave?"

"We'll leave on Friday the 21st." Suzi said.

"Two weeks from now?" Mom asked.

"Yep."

"Be (cough) prepared. We might have an early (cough) winter this year."

Mom was so thoughtful. Suzi just couldn't lose her!