Secret Supervillain

by Alesha Dixon

  He smiled, following me into my bedroom and waving at the screen.

  “Hey, Alexis!” JJ grinned. “How’s the internship?”

  “It’s OK. How are the superpowers?”

  “JJ has been using his to destroy school buildings,” Cherry informed him, prompting JJ to frown.

  “I’m pleased to hear it,” Alexis said with a laugh.

  “Any secret leads on the whereabouts of Mr Mercury that you can accidentally let slip?” Cherry asked hopefully, winking at him.

  “Sorry, no can do, all top-secret stuff,” he said, before throwing an arm around me. “But as I’ve told Aurora maybe six hundred times: don’t worry, Mr Vermore has got the best people in the building working on it and I’m helping out in any way possible. As if I’d ever let anything happen to my little sister or her superpowers.”

  I beamed up at him in surprise at such a lovely comment.

  “I mean, she may be the biggest, smelliest loser in the world, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to let her deal with this on her own.”

  Ah. Well, it was nice while it lasted.

  “I’m going to go take a nap,” he said, laughing at my expression and punching me playfully on the arm. “Nice to see you both.”

  “You’re so lucky to have such a cool big brother,” Cherry said once Alexis had left and gone to his bedroom. “It looks like the internship is totally wearing him out, though.”

  “We’ve hardly seen him since he started,” I told them, climbing back on to my bed and balancing the laptop on my knees. “The secret project Darek is making him work on has taken over his life. It’s so weird to see him like this. Normally in the holidays, he doesn’t emerge from his room until midday and then he just slobs around playing video games and eating everything in the fridge.”

  “He’s dedicated to his art, so nothing else matters,” JJ said, in his wisest voice. “I know how he feels.”

  “Oh, really?” Cherry raised her eyebrows. “I didn’t realize that smashing windows was an art.”

  “That may not be, but football is,” he said huffily. “I don’t understand why I can’t just quit school and play for the Nigerian team full-time.”

  “Aurora, PLEASE jump in now and tell us more about these precious stones before we’re made to listen to one of JJ’s football rants again,” Cherry pleaded, running a hand through her newly dyed black and orange hair.

  “With pleasure.” I smiled, ignoring JJ blowing a raspberry at us both. “So, get this. According to legend, there are four precious stones with powers.”

  “Four?” Cherry gasped.

  “You’re kidding,” JJ said.

  “Nope, I’m not kidding.” I shook my head, reaching for the book and lifting it into my lap. I held up the page for them to see and they both leaned eagerly towards their screens. “Along with the Light of the World, there are meant to be the following three: the Jewel of Truth and Nobility, the Gem of Wisdom and Peace, and the Heart of Love.”

  “Whoa.” Cherry exhaled. “This is so weird.”

  “And it’s about to get even weirder,” I warned her, pointing at the bottom paragraph of the page. “This may just be a strange myth, but it says here that each stone had a guardian to protect it, and a long time ago those guardians believed that there was a possibility they could transfer their powers.”

  “What?” JJ’s forehead crinkled in confusion. “What does that mean?”

  “Well, I’ve read it a few times and it hasn’t been expanded on much in the chapter, which makes me think that the author of the book didn’t take these claims that seriously,” I said thoughtfully. “But according to this one wizard dude from the old days, those people with the powers of the stones, the guardians they call them in here – I guess, like the Beam women, who have the powers of the Light of the World – could transfer their superpowers to others using the stones.”

  “WHAT?” Cherry almost fell off her chair. “But HOW?”

  “Does this mean that, if I wanted, I could transfer my powers to you two?” JJ asked, leaning so close to his camera that I could only see his forehead and eyes. “And I could gain other people’s superpowers?”

  “I don’t think so. I think it’s only those whose superpowers are connected to these precious stones.”

  “Let me get this straight,” Cherry began slowly. “There is a possibility that there are four precious stones in the world. So, as well as the Beams who have the power of light, there could be potentially three other families who have superpowers from these stones – truth, wisdom and love.”

  “Yes, that’s right,” I said. “There could be. It is just a legend that’s been repeated down the ages, and apart from the details in this book, that legend seems to have almost vanished from history. I’ve tried searching for more about it online and I haven’t found much. I don’t think many people believed it, and if they did, they didn’t take the time to record anything about it.”

  “Do you think that’s what the bad guy wants with the Light of the World?” JJ asked. “To gain its powers for himself?”

  I bit my lip. “Maybe. I don’t know. It makes sense, doesn’t it? What’s the point in having it unless you want its powers?”

  “Or you want to sell it,” JJ pointed out. “I bet its worth quite a bit.”

  “Quite a bit? It’s priceless,” I corrected him. “I don’t believe they would have gone to as much trouble as they have just to sell it on. Do you?”

  “Wait a minute,” Cherry said. “You mentioned that the book says it’s the guardians who might be able to transfer the powers from the precious stones, right?”

  “Right.”

  “Well, that’s great news!”

  I looked at her in confusion. “It is?”

  “If that’s the case, they’re not going to get anywhere without the Beams!” she explained excitedly. “They need one of you in order to transfer its powers. The Beam women are the guardians of this stone, surely, considering you have its powers.”

  “I think so. In the book it seems to talk about just one guardian per stone, but maybe that’s changed over the years and there can be whole families acting as guardians, like us. Although, I’m not sure we’ve done a very good job over the years if we are the Light of the World’s guardians.” I grimaced. “It was lost for centuries, then discovered a year or so ago and we’ve already lost it again.”

  “The point is, if they believe its powers can be transferred, they can’t do anything without you or one of the other Beam women. The stone is useless on its own. If this legend is to be believed, then to get its powers, they need one of you,” Cherry said, folding her arms triumphantly. “And they clearly don’t know that.”

  “You’re right, there’s nothing they can do,” I said hopefully. “Without the Beams, the Light of the World may be safe after all.”

  “You just need to find it before they work that out,” JJ said.

  “Yeah. If this is true, I wonder where the Jewel of Truth and Nobility might be and if the—”

  There was a creak outside my door and I instantly stopped talking. My bedroom door was slightly ajar. I hadn’t closed it properly. I quickly jumped from the bed.

  “Aurora?” I heard Cherry ask from my laptop. “Where did you go?”

  I opened my door and saw Alfred standing at the top of the stairs, pecking at the framed picture of me and Kimmy on the wall. Today, he was dressed in a silver sequinned jacket and a top hat that had a matching sparkly brim.

  “Hello, darling,” Aunt Lucinda said, appearing behind him on the stairs. “We were just coming up to see if you wanted a hot chocolate? Your dad is about to make some.”

  “No, thanks.”

  She got to the top of the stairs and, stepping round Alfred, eyed me suspiciously.

  “What are you doing so secretly up here? It’s a lovely day; your fabulous, obscenely youthful-looking aunt has come to visit you and you are hiding away in your bedroom.”

  “Just chatting with friends about … hom
ework.”

  “Uh-huh.” She sighed. “Well, I won’t bother pressing you. Are you sure you don’t want a hot chocolate?”

  “I’m sure.”

  “Come downstairs when you can, darling, Alfred has been performing his cabaret number for myself and your father, and it’s really quite the spectacle. Like your dad said, you haven’t seen anything until you’ve seen an ostrich tap dance.”

  She wiggled her fingers at me and swanned back downstairs, Alfred stomping down after her, leaving the now-broken photo frame of me and Kimmy dangling wonkily from one corner.

  13

  I’d completely forgotten about Paris.

  At school, it was all anyone could talk about. Suzie had even started wearing berets every day in preparation.

  “The thing is,” she’d announced to us a couple of days before the school trip, “I’m pretty sure it’s in my blood.”

  “What is?” I asked. “Being sporty?”

  It was the start of our PE lesson and Miss Nimble was leading the stretches. Suzie had been droning on for ages about us forcing her to stand in the back row. Before she was friends with us, she was always in the front row leading the charge in PE lessons and would often take over from Miss Nimble in barking out instructions.

  I’d already zoned out a second or so into her rant.

  “No, not being sporty, being Parisian,” she corrected, adding in random twirls on the spot as she embellished the warm-up stretches. “Keep up with the conversation, Aurora.”

  “Why? Is someone in your family French?” Kizzy asked curiously.

  “No, I don’t think so,” Suzie replied, bending down to touch her toes. “It’s just that I’m so naturally Parisian-chic. In both style and attitude.”

  Fred laughed so hard at her observation that he snorted loudly. Suzie’s eyes narrowed to slits as he continued to chuckle while following Miss Nimble’s instructions and leaning forward in an attempt to touch his toes.

  Suzie gracefully reached towards him and gave him a sharp push.

  He toppled forward clumsily, knocking into the student in front of him, who also lost his balance and they both ended up in a heap of limbs on the floor.

  “Everything all right in the back row?” Miss Nimble called out.

  “Perfect, Miss Nimble,” Suzie smiled sweetly, elegantly leaning forward to touch her toes with ease as Fred scrambled grumpily to his feet.

  “That was NOT funny,” he hissed.

  She grinned. “Personally, I thought it was hilarious.”

  “I don’t think the itinerary is extensive enough,” Kizzy quickly interjected, before they could start squabbling. “I’ve looked through it and there’s only half the things I want to see listed.”

  “We’re only there for a few days, Kizzy,” Georgie said, as we began the torturous star-jumps. “The teachers can’t fit in everything there is to see in the whole of Paris.”

  “I don’t see why not. If they let me take charge of the schedule, I reckon I could—”

  “Ugh, no way,” Suzie interrupted. “If they put you in charge, we’d only go to all the boring stuff and miss out all the cool stuff.”

  “Like what?” Kizzy retorted. “You think the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci isn’t cool? It’s the most famous work of art in the world.”

  “Yes, and I’m sure that this Leonora di Vicky person is a really great French artist or whatever, but the best thing about going to Paris is the chic atmosphere. I just hope the teachers have put in enough time for us to see some real sights. Like that famous hotel, Le Meurice, where all the celebs hang out.”

  “It’s Leonardo da Vinci,” Kizzy groaned, her head in her hands. “And he was Italian.”

  “Why is his Mona Whatever in France then?”

  “I just want to go to Chanel.” Georgie laughed as Kizzy looked pained. “I’m excited about the museums, Kizzy, I promise, but Paris is the Fashion Capital of the world. One day, I want to live in Paris and learn from the best designers out there.”

  “I hope you’re still going to design Lightning Girl accessories when you’re famous,” I said, shooting her a smile.

  “How many baguettes do you think I can eat in five minutes?” Fred asked. “Place your bets.”

  “I think two,” Kizzy said.

  “I’m betting on a strong three,” Georgie declared.

  “Two and a half,” Suzie said.

  “I think two is a push,” I admitted. “You have to give him time to chew.”

  “I reckon I can do five,” Fred said, putting his hand on his hips and swirling them in time with everyone else. “Easy.”

  “That’s one a minute!”

  “BACK ROW!” Miss Nimble shouted suddenly, making us all jump.

  She made her way through the class of swivelling hips to waggle her finger at us.

  “You have been talking non-stop! And don’t think I didn’t see you push into Jeremy, Fred!”

  Fred’s mouth fell open in protest. “That was Suzie! She pushed me and I accidentally knocked into—”

  “I don’t want to hear it. You’re all being very disruptive. Not like you at all, Suzie. You’re usually the star in sports classes,” she said, making Suzie blush furiously.

  “Sorry, Miss Nimble, we were just talking about Paris. We’re very excited.”

  Miss Nimble’s scowl softened. “I see. Well, I am very excited too.”

  “Are you coming to Paris with us?” Suzie asked hopefully, while Fred muttered something about teachers’ pets under his breath.

  “Yes, I’m one of the teachers in charge of the trip. And I haven’t been able to stop thinking about how wonderful it’s going to be.” She folded her arms. “But that’s no excuse not to pay attention in class, is it?”

  She stared us down and we all quickly looked at the floor, shaking our heads.

  “Ten laps of the hall. Now!”

  “Miss Nimble, please,” Fred pleaded as all of us, except for Suzie, groaned. “We promise we’ll be quiet.”

  “Too late, Mr Pepe. Ten laps of the hall and then you can join in with the rest of the lesson.”

  “Don’t worry, Miss Nimble, we’ll be raring to go before you know it. It’s an excellent warm-up,” Suzie said, clapping her hands. “Come on, Bright Sparks! I’ll lead! Let’s go!”

  She launched into an enthusiastic jog along the side of the hall and we all followed her dismally.

  “KNEES UP, BRIGHT SPARKS!” Suzie bellowed, as she stormed ahead. “COME ON, LIGHTNING GIRL, YOU’RE DRAGGING THOSE FEET!”

  “What do you think the chances are that we accidentally leave her behind in Paris?” Fred said, his mouth twitching into a smile. “Place your bets.”

  When we got home from school, Aunt Lucinda was in the kitchen with Mum. Dad cheerily greeted his sister-in-law before his face fell at the sight of the garden.

  “L … Lucinda, what’s Alfred doing?”

  She got up and went to stand next to him to look out.

  “He’s gardening! What a clever, talented ostrich he is.”

  “He’s tearing apart all my flowers and plants!” Dad cried, rushing out to try and stop him, even though we all knew it was an impossible task to stop Alfred from doing anything.

  “It’s called PRUNING, Henry!” Aunt Lucinda called after him. “Haven’t you ever seen an episode of Gardeners’ World?”

  “How was school, Aurora?” Mum asked as I gave Kimmy a cuddle.

  “Not too bad. Miss Nimble made me do laps. How was your day?”

  “Not too bad. I stopped an evil woman from taking over the world using a giant laser beam.”

  “Equally eventful, then,” I said, grinning at her.

  “I think I may have developed a new pharmaceutical product in my science class today,” Clara said breezily, giving Kimmy a tummy rub. “I need to carry out further tests, but it could be a very important breakthrough in medicine.”

  “Wow!” Mum smiled, coming over to plant a big kiss on her cheek which Clara immediately wi
ped off, with a frown. “I can’t wait to hear about this. Have you told Dad?”

  “She told us all about it on the journey home from school,” Alexis informed Mum, reaching into the fridge and pulling out a bottle of juice. He drank big gulps straight from the bottle, which he knows I hate but he does it anyway. “It’s EXTREMELY interesting.”

  “And your sarcasm is extremely lacking,” Clara retorted, brushing Kimmy’s fur off her clothes. “Just because it’s nothing to do with computers—”

  “All right, boy and girls,” Mum said, smiling. “Why don’t you go and get changed out of your uniforms and then we can sit down for dinner.”

  “And I’ve got a wonderful story to entertain you with while we eat,” Aunt Lucinda declared. “It involves your mum being foolish and me saving the day.”

  “Let me guess,” Mum said in a strained tone, putting the oven on. “Is it the one where I got locked in a room during the Superhero Conference, and you and Alfred got us out?”

  Aunt Lucinda placed a hand dramatically on her heart and pretended to look shocked. “Why, Kiyana! Have I told that one already?”

  I laughed, following Alexis and Clara upstairs to get changed. When I reached my bedroom, it took me a few minutes to work out something was different.

  I couldn’t put my finger on it, but something seemed weird. My eyes darted around the room trying to work out what it was and then it hit me. My desk!

  I’d left it … messier than this.

  I scanned the piles of textbooks. I could have sworn I’d left them strewn across my desk, but they were in an untidy stack now. Almost as if someone had picked them up one by one and piled them up on top of each other as they were looking through them.

  And the books next to my bed, too. They had definitely been moved.

  “Why would someone go through my books?” I said out loud to no one.

  A thought crept into my mind. I quickly ran across the room to my bedside table and threw open the bottom drawer.

  The book on precious stones was gone. My breath caught in my throat.

  Don’t panic, Aurora, I thought, don’t panic. Maybe you didn’t put it back in that drawer when you were last reading it.