The Powered People

Chapter 13

 "We are going to obliterate these people," Taiga quietly declared. "Crush every last one of them into the ground under our feet!"

"That's a little much, cuz," Evian whispered, "but you seem to get the point."

"If we must overcome our foes, we must know them," Imani added. "Nolan, what could you share?"

Put on the spot, Nolan blurted out, "Well, they-"

"Macabre would know better!" Taiga interrupted, followed by a shush. "She was a prisoner herself. And escaped on her own."

"Well, Toby made a hole in the wall, then-" Evian muttered.

"You shush!" They were all sitting in the middle of the kid's room in the dead of night (or super early in the morning). "Macabre, any insight you could offer?"

Macabre, who was half asleep, simply stared at Taiga for a second before looking away. Mack stared down at her fingers, fiddling with a loose fingernail.

"I...know where the security guards are posted at night," Nolan pointed out, cringing at the pure fact that he giving ways to hack into his own home. "But there's less security during the day-"

"Going during the day!" Evian suggested. "I did get Toby out. If we take down the guards at the top then-"

"That was one person you saved. This is a ton. On your own-"

"Who said I was going on my own. Imagine what more manpower could do."

"The oldest ones wouldn't agree," Imani said. "We should try to convince the young adults of the house to join us. And perhaps the oldest of children as well."

Nolan scoffed. "We can't take-"

"You'd be surprised," Evian told him. "Evie could burn down a building with a laughing fit. Toby broke through a wall."

"But should we really risk it-" Imani started.

"Don't try to contradict your own kind," Taiga interrupted, spewing out her bigger words with a harsher tone.

"But...when should we do it?" Nolan whispered.

"Do what?"
"The...jailbreak...thing."

"As soon as possible, probably," Evian answered.

"They will control and enslave all of us the second they could," Taiga thought out loud, a little dramatically.

"Did your companion tell you if any creatures have been controlled?" Imani asked Nolan.

"Uh..." was all he could blurt out before answering: "No."

"Well, lots of help you are," Taiga grumbled.

"Guys," a little voice called out. Nolan's eyes scanned the room before fixing on Toby. "Go to sleep."

By the next morning, Nolan had partially forgotten about the conversation from last night. Evian woke up and it was the first thing on her mind. Taiga had charged up to Imani as soon the two woke up and said, "Think up anything last night?"

"Uh...not anything specific," Imani croaked, rubbing her eyes.

Nolan took one look at Imani trying to force out larger words and rolled his eyes. He noticed that he didn't get that same weird feeling in his throat when he saw her. He didn't suddenly start trying to act less guilty. And the way she talked seemed a bit irritating, as well. To put it in simple terms, Nolan was over it.

Macabre was distant, as usual, unless Nolan was standing next to her. But to specify, only Nolan. Everyone else she would hiss at or scratch the air in front of their faces. It crept Nolan to the core, but being on her good side seemed wise enough.

Evian slid next to Macabre, saying, "G'morning, Mack!"

Mack didn't react too harshly but did stare at Evian, a little confused. She glanced over at Nolan, who simply shrugged.

"Did you...get a good sleep?" Evian tried.

"Or come up with no ideas?" Taiga called from across the room.

"Taiga, please stop yearning for a response to your query if-" Imani proclaimed.

"I came up with ten ideas. You people hafta to better."

"An idea about what?" the little blonde kid, Desmond asked. Nolan looked down to see the child was right in front of him, staring up at Nolan with a blank face. Nolan nervously glanced at Evian, desperate for an answer.
"Eh...Taiga has a lot of ideas. Not all of them are good ones, but..." Evian voice droned off with one glare from Taiga.

"Are you sure it's not the mind control thing?" Desmond asked, each word in a higher tone.

"Who knows what she thinks about," Evian scoffed.

"Shut up!" Taiga called out.

"Ignore her."

"I already do." Taiga marched towards him, assertive as can be. Without hesitation, Desmond ran down to the ladder as fast as his little legs could take him. Evian grabbed Taiga's arm.

"Try not to blab about our plan," Evian whispered. Taiga ripped her arm away, grumbling, "I'm not."

On the first floor, kids could only whisper about this "mind control killing everyone." When Nolan walked in, all the adults stared at him. Demetri stood in the corner of the room, his eyebrows raised. He maneuvered over to Evian.

"Why are all the kids still talking about that thing from yesterday?" he questioned.

"You don't exactly fix everything with a smile and a song," Evian told him, crossing her arms.

"But they're kids! All the last times, the songs worked. I mean, you didn't get too-"

"Yes, I did. Remember Harry? Or when I sneaked out?"

"Yeah, but that was-"

"They've known what to if they were kidnapped pretty much since they came here. But they can't talk about it?"

"But should they-"

"Demetri! Evie's hair is on fire again!"

Demetri rolled her eyes and marched right away. Smirking, she took Macabre's hand and started walking towards the door. Evian grabbed her leaf coat and threw it over herself.

"C'mon girls plus Nolan!" Evian announced. "We're going on a 'nature walk.'"