"I used to be neutral," Mother Nature said. "In most ways, I still am. I am still angry at my father for trying to replace me. But when I thought he had died, it made me realize just how much I still love him. Now that I know he's alive, I want him to stay that way.
"I've been watching you, Beth Howard, and you remind me of myself."
Beth just stared. "I do?" How could she possibly be like this powerful woman? Sure, they might have the same hair color, but that was about all they appeared to have in common.
"Yes. There is a reason your Power-Inducer ability is lightning. You have a driving force, desire that tries to destroy all in its wake. I want to help you learn to use it. I will not defend my father myself, but I am willing to help you."
"But how? You don't have a Power-Inducer. You don't know what they're like. And they all work differently..."
"No, not your Power-Inducer ability. Real power."
Beth's eyes widened. "What?"
"I can sense that you have an affinity for it. Usually, it would take many years to learn, but you're different. Some say that the power can only be given by a certain person, a god, but that is just a lie. He, the one who taught me, wasn't a god at all, although many thought so, but simply a man who had learned how to control the elements. Anyone can learn, but most don't know how."
"I...I..."
"You have the potential to be a powerful woman, Beth Howard. We can train you for an hour, and then I will take you to my father's lair to keep him safe."
"Okay." Beth wished she was as tall as Mother Nature. Then maybe she wouldn't feel as powerless.
"Good. Let's begin."
The training was vigorous and intense. Lightning was a finicky element, one of the hardest to learn. It could randomly jump out of one's control if one wasn't careful and strike something unintended. Beth was similar to lightning herself, and that was why it was easier for her. Irene tried to learn, too, but didn't get further than a single tiny spark. For her, it would take many, many years. She wasn't like Beth.
But throughout the training, Beth still had a pit in her gut about how the power seemed to be best controlled when angry.
And too soon, it was time to leave. Mother Nature promised that she would vouch for Beth and Irene if Beth protected Pitch. Beth said goodbye to Irene, and then the two dark-haired women were off into the air, clouds, and wind, Mother Nature using her control of wind to lift Beth. This time, the ex-agent would be ready to fight. She would make sure of it.
*/*/*/*
Mallory sat in his seat on the plane, doing some of the work on his laptop that he could do offline. Around him, about fifty L.E.R. agents were murmuring, chatting to each other. He had bribed his way into getting originally-full plane seats.
He leaned forward, anxious for it to become time to land. Once the plane landed and Pitch was killed, his children would be safe. Sure, the Fearlings and Nightmares would still be threats- the ones who survived the attack, anyway- but they would lack organization, right?
"Right. Don't worry, Mallory. Pitch threatens your children, but once he's gone, the Fearlings and Nightmares will have no reason to go after them."
Mallory liked the sound of that. He almost didn't notice his past injuries vibrating.
He went over the plan in his head: once they got there, everyone would retrieve the luggage that contained their weapons and go to the entrance of Pitch's lair. Then, most of the agents would start shooting down into the hole, drawing out the Fearlings and Nightmares. Pitch was weak- the voices assured Mallory so- so he likely wouldn't come out himself. Then, the four Mallory had chosen for the job would enter the lair via a rope with the map, where Mallory had marked where he had found Pitch the last time. They would check there first, then search around if he wasn't there. Once they found him, they would kill him and report back to Mallory.
Mallory himself was only going along for the ride to supervise from a distance, to make sure nothing went wrong. He couldn't risk a mishap this time. He had to make sure Graham and the others succeeded, or else his children would remain in danger, according to the voices. They had never been wrong before, so they had to be right now.
There was no other option.
YOU ARE READING
To Be Like the Guardians
FanfictionThe darkness was never done with Mallory when Pitch had let him go, and Beth was never done feeling strange things once she decided to join the L.E.R. Six years later, as Matt and Haven go off on their honeymoon and Whisper searches for the only fam...
