Secret Super (Book 1)

19. Out of Control

Zadia was going to regret this.

She couldn't believe she was agreeing to this in the first place. What would her parents think? No, don't think about that. She bit her lip.

"I'll do it," she blurted out before she could change her mind. "I just want . . ." To change something without risking her life. To make a difference without being seen. She'd had enough of politicians at the EPA; they talked for hours, but they wouldn't change anything until the world crashed down around them in a blaze of fire. Maybe not even then. Oh, they'd talk until the Smog crept into their lungs, too, but they wouldn't dare do anything.

"Are you sure?" Kian said, raising her eyebrows.

"No," Zadia admitted. "But I kinda have to do this."

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"Just try it." Kian pursed her lips. "Reach for the energy and pull on it. Illusionists are usually very powerful in their beginner stage. The ones I've known made me think I was hallucinating."

"No pressure," Zadia muttered. Trying not to think about the heart attack her parents would have if they saw her doing this, she closed her eyes and drew in a breath. She imagined herself with green hair and tried to hold that image, reaching for the energy inside her. She felt a slight thrum in her chest, but couldn't quite grab onto it.

When she opened her eyes and looked at the mirror, the illusion wavered. Streaks of her auburn hair shone through, but it was otherwise bright green, like a bad photo-edit. After a second, the illusion flashed out.

"You are really bad at this," Kian said with a smirk, flashing her sharpened teeth. "Try it again."

Biting back her annoyance, Zadia closed her eyes again. This time, though, she couldn't even get half of her hair to turn green. A few bright strikes shone through, but otherwise her hair remained stubbornly red. "I don't get it!" she said, gnashing her teeth together. "I could do better before. In the factory, and in the data-center with Kara . . ."

"Must have been because you were under stress." Kian crossed her arms. "Funny, illusionists are usually very rare and very powerful. I've seen a few before, and even the amateurs— skies, even the first-timers were better than you." She chewed her lip, narrowed her eyes.

Zadia said nothing, just tucked her hair behind her ear. She stared at her reflection. It'd been so easy back in the factory. . . .

"Can you try to— explain it more?" She flailed her arms.

"You clearly know how; you've done it before. There's not much to explain, kid. You just do it. It should come naturally." She paused, leaning against the wall with arms crossed. "Do you always wear that face-mask you carry around?"

Zadia blinked, taken aback. "Uh huh."

"You know you don't need to wear it, right? You're a super. They don't need face-masks."

"Isn't it obvious?" Zadia narrowed her eyes.  "If I don't wear it, people would find out."

"Sure, kid," Kian said after a slight pause. "You know, a lot of us wear really thin masks. Paper. They let most of the Smog filter through, but people don't know that, so no one knows we're supers." To prove the point, she reached into a point and snatched a thin cloth face-mask that dangled from her fingers, the fabric so thin it was effectively useless.

"I'd rather not take in poisonous acidic Smog, thanks," Zadia said with a slight shudder. No matter what Kara said, she hated the feeling of breathing in Smog, her breaths becoming more shallow with each second, her throat itching. "Why not just wear a normal mask?"