Superpower Showdown

by Alesha Dixon

  Mum inhaled deeply. “I can’t believe we’re finally here.”

  “I know. Everything has been such a whirlwind. At least it’s over now.”

  Mum nodded. I was glad Mum had stayed on with me after everyone else had returned to England, so that I didn’t have to do this alone. We were still digesting what had happened, especially the revelation that Nolan Vermore had been alive all this time.

  When Nanny Beam came parachuting down from one of the secret service helicopters yesterday – I spotted her among the other agents floating down from the sky, as she had a personal parachute which was the Union Jack flag with a lightning bolt across it – she’d landed and then stood frozen to the spot, staring at Nolan as her agents pounced on him and tore his hood back, revealing his disfigured but recognizable face.

  She’d looked as though she’d seen a ghost. Which, I guess to her, she kind of had.

  She hadn’t made a sound but I saw her mouth the word “Nolan” as she watched him being pulled to his feet, a tear running down her cheek.

  “Nanny Beam!” I cried out at the top of my lungs, pointing at the agent standing just behind her. “She’s Selena Silicon! She’s been betraying you all this time!”

  Horrified, Nanny Beam turned around to face her. Selena started to back away slowly, her eyes darting around nervously at all the MI5 agents staring at her in shock.

  “It’s lies,” she said hurriedly, shaking her head. “It’s all lies!”

  “She’s been feeding Nolan information about the precious stones,” I shouted. “She warned him that we were coming here to Iceland so he could set a trap. She’s Mr Mercury’s sister!”

  “No,” Nanny Beam said, as Selena continued to retreat towards the helicopter.

  Suddenly, Selena’s expression transitioned from innocent and frightened to sly and determined. She spun round quick as a flash and darted towards the helicopter. The other agents raced after her but there was no need.

  Nanny Beam lifted her hands and cried, “SHABEAM!” Light beams blasted from her palms with such force that Selena Silicon was knocked to the floor, as though struck by a lightning bolt. Two more agents grabbed her while she was lying dazed on the ground, pulling her to her feet.

  “Don’t let her out of your sight,” Nanny Beam instructed her agents, her voice filled with disgust.

  She then turned back to see Nolan being escorted towards her.

  “Get him back to London, too. I’ll deal with both of them there.”

  Before anyone came to fuss over me, I hurriedly put the Light of the World back in its box and safely tucked it into my pocket. I told the agents that came to check that I was fine but they insisted on doing all these tests to make sure. After I told them about the tunnel, they went to save the others from the underground lair, while I went over to Nanny Beam. I had never seen her look so vulnerable.

  She wrapped her arms around me. I couldn’t think of what to say so we stood in silence for a while, and then I spoke.

  “Nice touch yelling ‘SHABEAM’ just then.”

  She laughed through her tears. “I thought it added a bit of flair.”

  We stood there hugging until Mum emerged from the tunnel and ran over, relieved to see that I was OK and Nolan’s plan had been foiled.

  “I knew you wouldn’t let him win,” she said, tears running down her face as she held me so tightly I could barely breathe. “I knew it.”

  Then, she turned to Nanny Beam and, with Aunt Lucinda who came tottering over to us, still in her heels, we had a big Beam group hug.

  “My girls,” Nanny Beam whispered, before drawing back and giving us a weak smile. “I have a lot to sort back in London. Can I leave everything that’s still to do here to you, Aurora?”

  I patted the precious stone box in my pocket. “I’ve got it covered.”

  Mum put a hand on Nanny Beam’s arm. “Mum, we should talk about Nolan and how—”

  “Another time, Kiyana,” Nanny Beam said gently. “I’ll be all right.”

  With that, she gave us a sharp nod and then switched into MI5 mode, wiping her tears away and barking orders at her agents, before marching towards one of the helicopters waiting for her. She climbed into the front next to the pilot and put on a headset, and the helicopter had flown off into the distance.

  I felt sick with worry about her but didn’t have too much time to dwell on it as Cherry came running over to check I was OK, and then JJ and Alfred came to stand with us because the Pope and the Dalai Lama wanted to thank us all for rescuing them.

  It was quite a surreal moment, if I’m honest.

  We then all watched Mr Mercury, Darek and all their guards being led away in handcuffs by the secret service agents. Mr Mercury and Darek were still bickering and busy blaming the other one for everything as they were led up into a helicopter.

  Mr Mercury spotted Selena being held next to the helicopter he was about to be led into and he rolled his eyes and said, “Here I was thinking my day couldn’t get any worse! PLEASE tell me I don’t have to sit next to you.”

  He looked at one of the agents escorting him and said in a pleading voice, “Any chance I can go back to London in a different helicopter to her?”

  “Like any of this is MY fault?” Selena yelled at him thunderously. “Everything my end went perfectly to plan. But then Lightning Girl gets here and you lot mess it all up!”

  “Yeah? Well YOU try wrestling a gigantic ostrich! I’d like to see you try to win that battle.”

  She snorted. “Oh please, I could win against an ostrich any day. You’re completely useless at everything. Just like Mummy says.”

  Mr Mercury flinched as though someone had slapped him across the face. “HOW DARE YOU BRING MUMMY INTO THIS?”

  “Touched a nerve have I, Desmond?” Selena replied smugly. “You wait until Mummy hears about what you’ve done now. Stealing the Imperial State Crown from the Queen; kidnapping Lightning Girl. She’s going to be FURIOUS! You’ll be grounded until the next century!”

  “What about you?” he seethed, his face red as a tomato. “She’s always been so proud of her darling daughter, the top-secret spy. HA! She won’t be so proud when she hears about your part in all this.”

  “Yeah, well YOU—”

  “All right, enough of this,” one of the agents interrupted in a tired voice. “All of you are coming in this helicopter. No arguments.”

  “No, please!” Mr Mercury cried. “Don’t make me sit with her! It’s torture! Her voice is so GRATING! I had to put up with it my whole childhood!”

  “Please don’t make me sit in there with him!” Selena begged. “He’s so annoying! Plus, he smells. Can’t I go in that helicopter over there?”

  “If anyone is going in a different helicopter, it should be ME!” Darek argued. “PLEASE do not put me in the same transport as these two bickering idiots!”

  “You should have all thought about this before you decided to team up together and try to take over the world with your evil plans,” the secret service agent barked impatiently. “Now, in you get!”

  Stifling our giggles, we watched as they were escorted into the helicopter one by one, Selena Silicon managing to kick Mr Mercury’s ankle as he went up the steps, causing him to fall flat on his face, much to her pleasure. Once he was back on his feet with the help of an MI5 agent, he tried to get his revenge by kicking back at her. But he missed and kicked Darek’s shin instead. Darek howled in pain.

  As the door shut behind them, the last thing we heard was Darek swearing his vengeance on Mr Mercury.

  “Good riddance,” Mum sighed, leaning her head on Aunt Lucinda’s shoulder.

  After we’d been checked over again by the agents to make sure we really were OK like we were insisting, we were offered a lift back home. Cherry and JJ happily hopped into one of the helicopters, along with the Pope and the Dalai Lama, desperate to ask the MI5 agents a million questions about their job, none of which they were allowed to answer.

  Aunt Lucinda offered to
wait around with Alfred for a couple of days while we finished our mission and then fly us home in her car. We found a hotel in the nearby town, had the best night’s sleep we’d had in a long time and woke up, ready for the big day ahead. Over breakfast, Aunt Lucinda let out a long sigh.

  “Four precious stones with powers…” She smiled mischievously. “Priceless jewels and gems. Think how good they’d look on me!”

  “I’m glad we have the answers to everything now,” Mum said, ignoring her. “It all makes sense.”

  “Almost everything. I still don’t understand who visited Darek in prison,” I pointed out, still troubled by this tiny factor. “I saw their visit in the logbook but it can’t have been Nolan. He really couldn’t go into the light.”

  “It must have been Mr Mercury – or should I say Mr Silicon – in disguise. Or Selena Silicon maybe.”

  “I don’t think any of them will be getting any prison visitors this time round,” Aunt Lucinda said. “I hope they’ve learned their lessons. I suppose if Mr Mercury ever needs reminding, Alfred would be happy to pop in and see him.”

  She then stood up and announced that she was heading off for the day. She and Alfred were going to the Blue Lagoon Spa.

  “One of the twenty-five Wonders of the World,” Aunt Lucinda declared, sliding into the driver’s seat as Alfred sat in the back of the car, ready to go. “Ostriches are particularly partial to geothermal seawater. And the Icelandic cuisine at the restaurant is to die for. But enjoy your … sweaty hike! Toodle-oo!”

  But no matter what Aunt Lucinda thought, there really was nowhere I’d rather be than standing under the Northern Lights after walking up this mountain.

  Up here, looking out at the view, I felt so calm and peaceful.

  I hadn’t really felt that in months.

  “So, what do you think we’re looking for?” Mum asked, putting her hands on her hips, her eyes scanning the rock beneath our feet.

  “I think we’ll know when we see it,” I said hopefully.

  We both began to walk slowly about, examining the ground as carefully as possible. Then, I saw it. An indent in the rock at the highest point of the mountain. So small, no one would notice it. But it was the delicate, swirled pattern in the indent that caught my eye.

  “Here,” I called to Mum, who came rushing over to stand next to me.

  “You’ve found it. You’ve really found it,” Mum whispered, her eyes filling with tears. “The exact place where the Light of the World was first found, centuries ago, under the Aurora Borealis.”

  I pulled the box out from my pocket and opened it, revealing the precious stone sitting in the middle. My palms immediately began to glow and so did Mum’s, sparks flying from our fingers.

  “You should do this on your own. But I’ll be right behind you,” Mum said calmly, kissing my head and then stepping back to stand a few metres away.

  I took a deep breath and lifted the Light of the World from the box. I knelt and held the precious stone in my hand, gently tracing the swirl on it with my finger.

  “It’s time,” I said to no one but myself.

  I set the stone into the mountain. A wave of dazzling light rushed through me the moment I placed it down.

  “Aurora! Look!” Mum gasped, holding out her hand to help me to my feet and gazing up at the sky.

  Magical glowing lights of every colour stretched across the sky as the Aurora Borealis shone like never before.

  21

  “Here we are,” Nanny Beam said, getting out of the car ahead of me and clutching the box to her. “Welcome to the Royal stables.”

  I followed her in and someone came out from behind one of the horses, wearing a patched-up, mucky coat and holding a grooming mitt and a thick bristled brush. At first I thought it was someone who worked there, but I quickly curtseyed as I realized it was the Queen.

  “Good morning, Patricia.” She smiled warmly, as the horse began nibbling at her shoulder. “And good morning, Aurora. It’s lovely to see you both. Excuse my appearance, I was just giving Lord Barnaby here a groom.” She put the brush and mitt down and stroked the horse’s nose affectionately. “Magnificent, isn’t he?”

  “He really is,” I agreed, stepping forward and reaching up so that I could give his mane a pat. “And Lord Barnaby is a great name.”

  “Thank you,” she said, and chuckled. “I love sneaking out to the stables whenever I can. I never feel calmer than when I’m around animals. It sounds odd, but one might even say they seem to … understand me a little better than people do.”

  I nodded. “I get that. I feel the same about my dog, Kimmy.”

  “I remember her from the medal ceremony,” the Queen said, reaching into her pocket to hold out some oats for Lord Barnaby to gobble up eagerly from her palm. “She looked very elegant in her big red bow.”

  Her eyes drifted to the box that Nanny Beam was holding and she inhaled sharply, blinking back tears. “Is that…”

  Nanny Beam stepped forward and held it out to give to her. I took it and then, looking round me to make sure that the stables were empty except for us, opened the box and revealed the Imperial State Crown.

  The sapphire at the very top glinted in the light. The Queen brushed the rest of the oats from her hands – much to Lord Barnaby’s delight, who promptly hoovered them up from the floor – and took the box carefully.

  “You did it,” the Queen whispered. “You really did it.”

  “The Jewel of Truth and Nobility is back where it belongs,” I said firmly. “Just like the other precious stones.”

  She lifted her eyes to meet mine, shutting the lid of the box. “Thank you, Lightning Girl.”

  “You’re welcome, Your Majesty,” I said, giggling as Lord Barnaby began sniffing at my cheek, which really tickled. “And if it ever goes missing again, you know where I am.”

  Nanny Beam laughed, coming over to put an arm round me and give Lord Barnaby a pat on the neck.

  “You know, Aurora, I think after this adventure, you deserve a bit of a break from saving the world,” the Queen said. “Don’t you?”

  “I’m so happy you’re back, Aurora,” Kizzy said, rolling her sleeves up to get her arms in the sun. “Are you sure you’re feeling completely better? Your flu must have been really bad.”

  “I’m fine, promise,” I assured her. “I missed you lot so much.”

  It was a lovely sunny day and we were sitting on one of the benches outside during our lunch break. With only a week to go before the Easter holidays, everyone was starting to get in the holiday mode. Everyone except for me, that is. Due to the number of days I’d missed, I had a pile of homework the size of the Eiffel Tower.

  (“Don’t worry,” Kizzy had told me excitedly on my first day back. “I made sure to note down every piece of homework we got given while you were sick, so you wouldn’t miss out on ANYTHING.” Why was I friends with her again?)

  “School wasn’t the same without you,” Suzie said, taking a sip of apple juice. “There was no one to yell at during gym class for being so slow. It wasn’t right.”

  Kizzy and I shared a smile, and Georgie burst out laughing.

  “Thanks, Suzie. I think.” I giggled. “I’m sorry I missed out on you winning another gymnastics competition. Someone filmed your routine, though, right? Why don’t you all come over to mine tonight for a viewing?”

  Fred groaned dramatically, slumping his head forward into his hands.

  “We have to sit through it AGAIN?” he complained.

  “Nice try, Fred, but you’re not fooling us,” Georgie said, prodding his arm. “You were spellbound during Suzie’s routine at the competition. How did you describe it again?”

  “I don’t remember,” he sniffed.

  “I do!” Kizzy smiled. “You described it as ‘unbelievable’.”

  “You hear that, Aurora?” Suzie grinned triumphantly. “Even my worst critics thought it unbelievable.”

  “Whatever.” Fred frowned. “I’ll only come over tonight if
I can pick the pizza toppings.”

  “Deal.” I held out my hand to shake Fred’s.

  “What’s it like without Alfred and Aunt Lucinda living with you?” Kizzy asked. “It must be quite nice having your space back.”

  “I guess so.”

  Kizzy was half right. It was nice not to be so crowded but with Cherry and JJ gone home too, the house felt weirdly empty. When we got back from Iceland, Mum filled the family in on what they needed to know, while I got pinned to the floor by Kimmy, who tried to slobber me to death. Dad had cooked an amazing meal and we’d sat round the table together, laughing and joking about Clara’s idea of distracting the agents and how Alexis hacked into a high-security prison system.

  “Nanny Beam gave me the biggest lecture about that,” Alexis had told us, rolling his eyes. “I never thought I’d hear the end of it.”

  “She did offer you a job with the MI5 tech team for the future, though,” Dad had pointed out. “So, that’s something.”

  “Yeah.” Alexis had grinned. “That’s something.”

  “And while you were away in Iceland, an envelope came for Clara with some exciting news,” Dad had said, winking at her.

  “I got into the most prestigious science summer camp in the country,” she said matter-of-factly, helping herself to some potatoes. “It’s meant to be for age thirteen upwards, but they’ve decided to make an exception for me, which is very nice.”

  Mum and I had screamed and smothered her with a congratulatory hug, causing Kimmy to bark loudly in excitement and chase her tail madly, no idea why we were so happy but wanting to join in anyway.

  I was glad so much was going on at home to keep me distracted, but my room felt too big without Cherry’s mattress in it too, and I missed Aunt Lucinda’s constant cheerfulness and sense of fun.

  I even missed Alfred a little bit. Which is weird, considering he’d torn up so many of my clothes that he’d found in my hiding place under the bed and stolen my Lightning Girl sunglasses.

  Luckily, Georgie designed me a new pair to cheer me up after being sick for so long.