There were a few moments of tense silence in the room. Otis and Olympia were in a state of shock. for once Otis regained his voice before Olympia did.
"How could this have happened?!" he cried
"Apparently after they dressed his wounds they left Olin unattended for several minutes during which he escaped down a back staircase in the south wing." replied Ms. O
"Agent Owen was supposed to be on guard wasn't he," snapped Otis, "He's always bragging about his ability to secure the perimeter!"
"Owen didn't know about the staircase until is was too late," replied Ms. O, "the south wing is a fairly recent addition to the hospital and Owen's floor plan was drawn before the south wing was added. but rest assured when he gets back here he's going to get an earful from me about not keeping his information up to date."
"Ms. O," said Olympia, sounding scared for once in her life, "Olin won't stay gone for long. now that he knows which precinct i work at he'll becoming after me again."
"Why is he after you in the first place?" Ms. O asked then she stopped short, "That story i heard about a cadet turning in another cadet for joyriding in the tubes and causing a serious accident that put another cadet in the hospital for several weeks."
Olympia nodded.
"That Cadet was me and the joyriding Cadets were Olin and O' Flannery, of course I didn't know that at the time."
"How did you find out that it was them?" asked Ms. O
"I spend every free moment of every night of the next week backtracking through the security footage and Tube control Data logs. Olin tried to cover his tracks but he failed i turned him him and he and O'Flannery were kicked out. So he hates me for getting him kicked out of Odd Squad and for being only person that has ever out cyber hacked him."
"What happened to your friend?" asked Otis
"She survived thank God," replied Olympia, "All though she's been plagued with back problems ever since."
"you did the right thing, Olympia," said Ms. O
"I know that," said Olympia, "But when Olin was kicked out he swore revenge, now i never worried that much about it before because I knew with my ability I was more than a match for him but now my power is gone!"
"Yeah, about that," said Otis, "I don't think that your power is gone."
Olympia and Ms. O gave Otis puzzled looks.
"What do you mean it's not gone," said Olympia, "I told you I can't even do a partial change I tried."
Otis sat down on the coffee table in front of Olympia, Looked her straight in the eyes and took her hands in his.
"Listen to me," he said gently, "I've been thinking, what you did to Olin Earlier scared you pretty bad and I think it's got you subconsciously suppressing your power."
"You mean, somewhere in the back of my mind I'm stopping myself from using my powers." said Olympia.
"Yes," Otis nodded, "All we have to do is find that subconscious block, remove it and you'll be able to change again."
"How do we do that?" Olympia asked
"Well," said Otis, "There is a deep Meditation technique i know, unless Oona has a contact-your- subconscious- inator gadget."
"Knowing her she probably does," said Ms. O.
the trio got up and started down the lab. Just as the reached the bottom of the stairs agent Owen came back from his latest break. he tried to slip by without being seen but it was too late. Ms. saw him,
"Owen," she snapped, Owen froze in his tracks.
"Go wait for me in my office," Ms. O growled, "I'll deal with you later!" Owen hung his head and walked dejectedly up the stairs toward Ms. O's office.
when they arrived in Oona's laboratory, they found her just putting the finishing touches on a black-hole close-inator gadget. Ms. O got right to business.
"Oona," she said.
Oona jumped a foot and threw the gadget over her head!
Ms. O didn't even blink as the gadget dropped right into her outstretched hands.
"Oh hi, Ms O," she said nervously, "Oh did you see what happened to that Black hole-in, of course you did your holding it-nice catch by the way."
"Oona, settle down!" said Miss O., "We need to know if you have a device that can allow Olympia to contact her own subconscious mind?"
"by a strange coincidence I do," she said, she turned and went running into the back room her lab coat flapping in the breeze. she came back a few seconds later carrying the gadget. it looked like a white and green striped flat ring with a touch screen in the side of it. she had Olympia sit down in a comfortable chair, and she place the device on her head like a crown. when she activated it Olympia fell into a trance.
Olympia found herself standing in a dark and shadowy forest. in the center of a clearing was a campfire that illuminated the nighttime around her. suddenly she looked up and saw a figure approaching her in the shadows. it morphed into several different animals before becoming human again and stepping into the light. When the figure stepped into the light, Olympia took a step back. the figure was herself dressed as an ancient medicine woman and warrior.
"What do you fear?" said Olympia's other self
"I fear the power," Replied Olympia, "I fear the responsibility that comes with the power."
"even if you don't use the power again the responsibility yet remains," replied her other self, "But if your accept the power you accept a gift that makes you equal to your responsibility."
"I still fear the power," said Olympia, "But I also know that it's a part of me and I need it to truly be my whole self. I accept the responsibility, and the gift. the Other self became translucent and melded into Olympia. there was a white flash of light and instantly Olympia was awake.
her friends looked at her anxiously. Olympia concentrated, took a couple of deep breaths and looked down at her hands, the skin began to ripple and her fingers began to fuse together. she looked up and smiled as she took a deep breath and her hands returned to normal.
her smiled turned to her trademark ear to ear grin.
"I'm back!"
TBC....in Crisis part 3: the final showdown with Olin!
Thanks for all the reads, views and comments thus far! happy writing!
