That night at dinner, Mom and Eric were quiet. We were alone in our worlds, thinking.

"I'm going to the branch," I said to no one in particular. I bit the naan from the Indian food we ordered out that day.

"Be back before dark." Eric returned to Earth before zooming out again.

I picked up my phone and headed out the door, stealing one last glance at my family. At the door, I gasped and walked backward into my house. In front of me was the wailing man, no trace of tears left on his pale face.

"Uh, Mom?" I said. "Eric?"

Eric arose and joined me at the door. He sighed when he discovered what was going on. "Yes?"

"Your daughter is in grave danger, sir," the man said.

Eric sighed, no sign of surprise in his features. "And?"

"Lola is evil! She isn't who she claims to be! Eve! Ms. Eve! When she put your finger into the ink, did something jutt out of the ink pad and poke into your finger, drawing blood?"

How did this man know? "Yes! Yes, that did!" I said. "I have this cut to prove it!" I lifted my thumb, a bandage wrapped around it.

"Come in, come in." Eric pulled a chair out for our guest.

"Lola has been doing this for years! She claims to work for Queen Swan when she really works for King Lion!" the man said. "She needed a sample of Eve's blood to start on a new experiment! I cannot believe you fell for her act! She'll arrive to take more samples every week, claiming it's for her safety, but the only thing it's doing to your safety is putting it in danger! You must come with me before it's too late!"

"How do we know you're not a fraud?" Mom asked. "What if you're the fake here? Miss Lola seemed very kind!"

"How would I know, you ask!" the man bellowed. "Because she's my ex-wife!"

Eric glided his hand through his hair and muttered a curse under his breath. "I'm so sorry, Lia. I pressured you into taking Eve and—"

Mom cut him off by kissing his cheek. "It's okay, Eric. It wasn't your fault. What do we need to do?"

"You must go into hiding." The man's gaze flickered from Mom to Eric to me. "All of you."

"We can't go into hiding!" Mom snapped. I lowered my head. I caused these problems, just because of my powers. "Eve has school! Eric and I have work!"

"I'm afraid that's the only way you'll be safe. You must go into hiding until Eve is trained for combat. We can't have an inexperienced Electro out there to deal with people like Lola. King Lion doesn't conduct experiments on people; it's a myth. It happened with the sisters' feud.

"Lola and Elena are sisters—Elena is the head of Queen Swan. They've been orphans, and their parents inherited an enormous fortune. When the sisters became of each, they collected the money. Elena wanted to help individuals with unique abilities since she once had a friend who committed suicide from being bullied.

"Lola wanted to live a normal life and be happy, so the sisters split the money. Elena started the organization, and Lola—angered and hurt—created her own organization. They've been rivals since, and the sisters have been dragging people into their feud for years!"

I nodded and crossed my arms. "What about Lucas and his family?"

"They will join you, but I can't believe you've been safe this whole time," the man said.

"Why not?"

"Lola sees potential in you. She wants you to be on her side. Lola's envy for her sister—her anger—has made her want to kill her sister so she can be the only bearer of their fortune. She plans to get all the help she can have."

I shook my head in disbelief. All my life, I convinced myself that I was living in everyday life, but I was so, so wrong.

"I'm afraid I need to take you and your family to HQ right away," the man said. "Remember, we're being watched."

Mom and Eric exchanged a glance before they nodded. I rushed upstairs to change back into my outdoor clothes. After that, I threw on some sweatpants and a T-shirt and grabbed my phone to text Lucas.

I frantically typed and clicked enter, not caring that my last message have spelling and grammar mistakes. Yo, Lucas! Get desed. Cming 2 ur hose in a fw. Pck sutcse. Alrt ur fam.

Wth, Eve? What's going on?

I read his message while I threw a few sweatshirts and jeans into a suitcase I left in my closet. Will explain. Trust me. How would I explain to my best friend that we must go to a headquarters and train for combat?

Eve! Wry talking about?!? Ur freakin' me out. I drew a deep breath. Breathe, Eve, breathe.

After packing my things, I glanced at my room before I sprinted out of the door.

"Mrs. Hall?" the man called, his voice lined in panic. "Mr. Young! Lola is heading here right this moment! If she finds me, he—"

Lola swung open the door, facing us. "Well, well, well. Did I not tell you to be aware of King Lion?"

Uh oh. I grabbed the car keys from a peg on the wall, my heart thumping in my chest.

"MOM! ERIC!" I shouted, alarm rising in my throat with every syllable. "GET OUTSIDE! NOW!" Mom and Eric arrived downstairs as I reached the back door.

I pressed the buttons on Mom's keys, internally cheering when the car beeped. Mom and Eric were right behind me. I threw open the backseat's doors and plowed in.

"GET IN!" I shouted, unlocking the doors for Mom, Eric, and the strange man. We panted as Lola speed-walked towards us, her hair strangely wild.

"Get us to Lucas's house," I said. "Hurry!"

Mom nodded, and the danger crept in the air. Mom pressed down on the pedal, and the car lurched forward. To add to the chaos, rain fell from the sky in thick droplets, plopping onto the windows in big clumps.

I wanted to scream, but I bottled up my anger, for now. Once Lucas and his family were safe with us in Queen Swan's HQ, I would release my anger through the weather. Maybe a massive thunderstorm. A flood? Nah.

I clicked call next to Lucas's name. As soon as he picked up, I shouted into the phone, "I hope you packed up because you need to get into your car, now! Go, go, go! Your family too! Don't ask questions! Just trust me! GO, LUCAS!" I watched Lola make her way across the street.

A few seconds later, Lucas, his little sister, and mom jumped into their car. His mom's forehead wrinkled in worry, so was Lucas's. Lucas turned the steering wheel, his phone by his ear.

"Follow our car!" I shouted, and we drove onward, Mom pushing as hard as she could on the pedals. "Mom! Faster!" I glanced behind us as Lola was now in her hot pink limousine, close behind Lucas's car.

"I'm trying!" Mom cried. "Which way?"

"Left! Go left!" the man said. My mom obeyed. "Now, right! Straight!"

Finally, we pulled up into the parking lot of a building that looked similar to King Lion's, except this one was a snow-white color.

"Come on," Eric said.

"Wait," I said. "Let me stop the rain." I closed my eyes. "Happy, be happy." Soon, the clouds closed up, leaving the ground to be soaking wet.

Eric smiled and pulled me towards him as we made our way inside. "Thanks, honey."

I shrugged. It was no big deal, really.

"Did you guys pack your bags?" the man asked.

"Yes, it's in the trunk," I answered.

"Well, I'm Bob," the man said. It took everything in me to keep in a giggle.

"Hello there, Bobby!" a woman said as we entered. She wore high, three-inch heels and a cream tuxedo. Her ebony hair almost reached her neck, with bangs hanging on her forehead. Her eyes were a light shade of green. "You three must be terribly frightened! Come with me for some soup."

We followed the woman into a comfy lounge, much like the one in King Lion's headquarters. There, the woman handed us each a bowl of soup that a man with blond hair gave her.

Chicken-noddle soup, yum! I sipped with the wooden spoon.

Lucas and his family arrived, and I patted the spot next to me. He obliged and drank some of his soup.

Later, the woman—Elena—returned with blankets. She switched on the fireplace. "I'll be back in a few."

I tried to imagine her hugging Lola, but I couldn't. They looked nothing alike—Elena with her fair skin and light eyes, and Lola with her dark hair and olive skin.

Eric handed Lucas and me a velvet blanket, and we took it, folding ourselves into it.

"This is so scary," I muttered to Lucas, who gave me a weak smile in return.

"Never thought my powers would lead me here," Lucas said, eyeing a bruised apple leaning against the counter. Lucas always loved fruits and vegetables rather than whole dishes.

He closed his eyes and reached out until the apple flew into his hands. He could control anything related to nature, except the weather.

"Was that you who stopped the rain?" Alice, Lucas's eight-year-old sister, asked.

"Yep," I said. "Do you wish you didn't have powers, Lucas?"

"All the time," he murmured under his breath, "but Alice makes it sound like I'm a superhero."

I laughed, and he chuckled along with me. I set my bowl onto the coffee table and then put my hands in my lap. We sat in awkward yet comfortable silence for a while until Elena returned, this time with her hands empty.

"Hello, there, everyone," Elena said. "Well, you guys must be frightened. I'm happy that Bob reached you before Lola did something bad to you all." There wasn't a single twinge of emotion in her voice as she spoke about her sister. "I'll take you guys to your private chambers so you can settle in for the night, but tomorrow we'll add you to our records and start training. Be up by seven A.M. We'll send someone to fetch you guys. That's all. Now follow me."

Elena guided us down a long hallway until we reached two large doors. She opened one, and I gasped. Inside was an enormous living room, with two rooms connecting it. One has a large King bed with white comforters and two nightstands on either side.

In the other room was a Queen bed with dark blue comforters and one grey nightstand beside it. A large glass desk was in the middle of the room, over a grey, shag rug.

I flopped down onto the bed, waving at Elena as she shut the chamber doors. I closed my eyes, hoping for sleep, but nightmares awaited me. Unable to sleep, I sighed.

There's no point in sleeping.