Shadows & Mirrors // f.hargreeves fanfic

:::: Thirty-Nine ::::

Manuela sat with her legs crossed on her meditation mat and cushion that Ben had gotten her a few years ago. Her brother had noticed how much time she had spent practicing her powers in the zen garden and figured she would be more comfortable sitting for hours at a time on something padded as opposed to concrete. Now Manuela held a bundle of golden azaleas in her hands with her eyes shut. She focused on the feeling of the soft silky petals beneath her fingertips. Manuela focused on finding the living energy within the flower before ripping it away.

"So, this is our zen garden," Sloane's voice cut through the peaceful silence in the zen garden. With a groan, Manuela's eyes fluttered open to see that her sister was giving Luther a tour of the garden. "We sometimes train out here. Things like tai chi and yoga. Mainly things that help us focus on our inner energy and manage our emotions and powers while on missions. But mostly Manu uses the zen garden to practice her powers."

"Whoa, did you just kill those flowers?" Luther asked and Manuela nodded her head slowly. "But your eyes didn't even turn black."

"My eyes?" Manuela asked in confusion.

"Yeah, uh... when Nova uses her powers all of her eyes turn black. Sometimes depending on how much power she uses at once her hands get this dark glow and a few times these black tears stain her face. It was kind of terrifying. She wouldn't let anyone near her after she killed a bunch of Commission soldiers that were coming after us in a bowling alley once," Luther rambled and Manuela narrowed her eyes in confusion.

The death part of her powers had always been something she struggled with. She was more practiced in giving energy without losing much of her own. Kind of like a battery for her brothers and sisters while on missions. Growing up Hargreeves let her practice her death powers but only in controlled environments. Even now she still wore the protective gloves so as not to hurt anyone.

"Hold on, how many people did she kill at once?" Manuela asked as she quickly revived the flowers she was holding and placed them back in their proper spot. She dusted the dirt off of her hands before slipping her gloves back on that had been in her pocket.

"Like twenty or thirty. But that wasn't even the most I've seen at once. Back in 1963, she ripped the souls out of more than a thousand Commission soldiers at once while under fire. It's honestly terrifying," Luther continued to explain.

As he spoke Sloane's uneasy eyes met Manuela's. Everything that Luther was telling them if it was true, gave them a reason to be worried. It seemed like Nova's powers were a lot more practiced and powerful than Manuela's. During the Sparrows debrief Manuela had warned her siblings not to underestimate Nova but now she realized that she herself may have underestimated her doppelganger.

"How's that possible? It's not like she can be in contact with thousands of people at once," Sloane asked and this time Luther gave them a confused look.

"Oh, Nova doesn't have to physically touch someone to kill them," Luther said and the girl's eyes widened. "Wait, Manuela, can you not do that?"

"Well, you see, growing up, Manu, practiced more on the life and energy side of her powers as opposed to the death. It comes in very handy during hard missions. Her powers help replenish our energy without losing any of her own," Sloane quickly jumped in as she talked up her sister's powers.

"See now that's cool. Nova can help heal people or give them energy but it has to come from her own energy and then it takes time for her to recharge," Luther jumped in when Sloane glared at him and he saw the uncomfortable look on Manuela's face. "But you know Nova is also like over fifty years old technically and she's a trained assassin who used to work for a time-traveling bureau."

"Wait, fifty years old? How is that even possible? She doesn't look like she could be more than sixteen," Manuela asked.

The more she learns about Nova the more she feels like the Sparrows may be biting off more than they could chew. Hargreeves had said to all of them that Manuela was a version of Nova who had lived up to their full potential. But now it seemed more like the opposite.