Power Play

Chapter 6: Lily

Chapter 6: Lily

Lily was standing on the sidewalk near the center of West Seventy-Second street. Her watch read eight twenty-seven PM. At first, after her meeting with Neil Bardings, she hadn't even been sure that she was going to come here tonight. After all, even if Bardings's prediction was right, this wouldn't be the first new freak to come to the city. And if they stuck around she'd eventually meet them one way or another, it didn't have to be immediately after their arrival. Yet Bardings had seemed to think she'd want to meet this freak, enough to send her out here at least, which had made her curious. And that curiosity had been eating at her ever since. Her curiosity would be the end of her one day, she was sure, but for now she'd finally decided to come to this place, as Bardings had directed. There had to be a reason he'd sent her here, and she wanted to know what it was.

It was only a few seconds after eight twenty-eight when she sensed the shadowy aura that meant another freak. Quickly her eyes scanned over the people walking along the sidewalk, searching for the source, before finally settling on a woman, blonde, green-eyed and rather pretty. The woman was already looking at her with a smile on her face. As she approached, the woman quickly glanced around at the surrounding crowd before looking back to Lily and then inclining her head towards a nearby alley. Offering a short nod, Lily walked into the alley, striding in far enough that she'd be able to talk in a low voice without being overheard by those who passed, and a few seconds later the woman followed.

"Hi," the woman greeted as she came to a halt a couple feet away. "It's really lucky I found another freak, I thought I was going to be wandering around all night."

"Why is it lucky?" Lily asked.

"I was given a number to call Derek Vanning when I got into the city, in order to present myself, but I must've written it down wrong. I couldn't call the freak who gave me the number because he's out for the night. I don't know anyone else to call who's familiar with the area, so I was worried I was just going to have to wander around all night and call to get the number after the freak gets back in the morning. I was sort of hoping that I might run into another freak, but I honestly didn't think there was much chance of it, so this is a pleasant surprise," the woman said, still smiling.

"Well, to be honest it's not a coincidence. I was told that I'd run into you if I was at this street at this time. At least, that I'd run into a freak who was new to the city, which you obviously are," Lily stated.

Only now did the woman's smile disappear, she looked puzzled. "Told? By who?"

"Another new freak to the city, by the name of Bardings. He has the most powerful form of the vision that I've ever encountered. Strong enough that when he said I'd find someone here tonight, I thought it was worth checking out. Apparently he was right. There was one thing he was wrong about, though. He implied that you'd be male," Lily said. Still, despite that mistake, Bardings had been accurate enough that Lily was once more amazed by the strength of his ability.

"Actually..." the woman started, then paused for a second. "Here, I better just show you. Close your eyes."

"Close my eyes?" Lily asked, confused. Then, after a second's hesitation when the woman just stared at her, Lily finally gave in and shut her eyes.

"Alright, you can open them," a male voice said a few seconds later. Opening her eyes with a start, Lily found herself staring at a man standing where the woman had been a minute before. He was at least half a foot taller than the woman had been, with pure white hair despite only seeming to be in his twenties, and blue eyes, wearing completely different clothes than the woman had. "Bardings wasn't wrong about my gender."

There couldn't have been a switch, Lily had sensed the shadowy aura the entire time, they hadn't moved so much as an inch, so she was still facing the same person she'd been facing a moment before, but... "You're... A shapeshifter? But... That's impossible," Lily muttered, feeling as shocked as she sounded. Everyone knew that True Minds could change their appearance at will, but she'd never heard of any freak being capable of doing it. If there were such a power, she had to imagine she'd have heard of it by now. So how? It couldn't be an illusion, it was too complex.