by TR Moore Ede
“That makes sense,” I mumbled. “But I doubt he wants us to have any more bruises or scrapes than what we could get from being in the field.”
“We’re not going to be on the front line, remember that,” Jessie mumbled.
“I’m hoping you’ll get calmer missions,” I said, sitting next to her.
She nodded her head to one side. “That may be preferable, especially as my powers are mental not physical.” She took a deep breath. “And I’m getting butterflies again,” she said with a nervous laugh.
“You’ll be fine,” I said, rubbing her head.
She nodded but had a look of uncertainty in her eyes.
“There’s no shame in saying you’re not comfortable with this,” Irene said.
Jessie shook her head. “It’s just the thought of it, you know? I go on missions though, so I’m pretty sure I’ll be fine.”
The next Wednesday, we headed to Mr. Quinn’s house to try on our outfits. “I can't believe she’s done already,” Jessie said, bouncing from her heels to her toes.
Eve had greeted us but left to grab our uniforms.
“She probably had help and likely was only doing the shirts,” I said, stretching. I glanced around. Irene, Jason, Malissa and Victoria were there, but I didn’t see Zack. “Where’s Zack?”
Malissa looked away, her shoulders slouching.
Victoria put an arm around her. “Because he never told his parents about the kidnapping, this is part of his punishment. So, he won’t be joining us for a bit, I don’t know how long. Probably a good thing to give the stick some time to go to the gym. Which means you probably won’t see him until you get a mission together.”
I smiled. “Missions, sounds nice.”
“Does that mean Jason will be the only boy?” Jessie asked, looking over at him.
Jason nodded. “It’s not a big deal. Irene’s here.”
I doubt stuff like that matters to him. He’s just concerned about his family, I thought.
Jessie glanced at me then nodded.
You have to remember because of his past, his mindset is very different.
I know. But won’t it be weird to him?
Obviously not. Irene’s there and that’s enough for him.
Jessie gave a nod.
“Did you enjoy all the sewing you got to do?” I asked Eve.
A shy smile formed on her lips. “I did.”
“I’m glad to see everyone’s here,” Mr. Quinn said, walking in.
“Only four of us don’t live here,” Malissa whispered. “And Zack’s not here.”
“I’m sorry, Malissa, but that can’t be helped. He will be joining us, eventually.”
“Are they trying to punish me too?” Malissa muttered, folding her arms across her chest.
“Considering they don’t even know, I don’t think so,” Victoria told her. “Does Eve need a hand?”
“No, I got it,” Eve said, walking in, holding a basket of clothes. Her face was nearly glowing with excitement. The basket hit the ground with a thump as we all slowly began to gather around. “Here, Jessie, Jessica,” she said, handing us the two outfits, clearly not knowing who was who. “Irene, Jason, Victoria and Malissa.”
“This is yours,” Jessie mumbled, handing me a pile of material.
It was heavier than I thought it would be.
Jessie pulled me upstairs to an empty room where we could change.
My costume was a total of five pieces; shirt, pants, shoes, gloves, and a mask. The shirt was a bit heavier than normal, different parts felt reinforced. While it fit comfortably to my body, it wasn’t form fitting. Well, except the mask. It hugged my face nicely but the piece of material clinging to my face felt odd. I looked at myself in the mirror, turning this way and that to try to see myself from all sides. The black pants accompanied by the top made it look like a uniform, but as they were both black, it also looked like a bodysuit. “I kind of look like a cross between a superhero and a spy,” I muttered, running my fingers through my hair. A smile crept onto my lips. “Cool.” As requested, the tiny aiming symbols on my shoulders were dark red.
“You look amazing!” Jessie said, hugging me from behind.
“Of course I do,” I said, fluffing out my hair dramatically.
Jessie snickered and rolled her eyes. “Please never do that again.”
“I only do it for the reaction, you know that.”
“And unfortunately, I can’t seem to stop giving them,” she muttered under her breath.
I smirked before taking a step back to examine her outfit. Her shirt was a deep purple instead of black with grey, eye shaped ovals where I had aiming symbols. “Looks great. I honestly didn’t think they would turn out this well.”
“Me either,” Jessie whispered. She gave a small squeal then hugged me tightly.
“If it’s too dark, no one will be able to tell which is which,” I said with a smirk.
“Of course that’s the first thing you think about!” she said, whacking the back of my head.
I laughed. “Come on, let’s go see the others!”
Jessie grabbed my wrist and raced downstairs.
Chapter 10
Everyone else was in their uniforms. Malissa’s shirt was navy blue, almost black, with a medium blue wave in a small circle on her upper chest area, unlike Jessie and I. Her shirt, as well as the rest of ours, were essentially turtlenecks, it looked nice.
Victoria sat next to her on the couch. Hers was a blueish grey of two different shades. Her torso was a lighter blueish grey, and her arms and shoulders were darker. Around her chest was bound a rope.
On the other side of Victoria was Eve. Her shirt was a medium to dark blue, lighter than Malissa’s. It was the same shade as the diamond shape on her forehead. Around her wrists and elbows ran a darkened metallic bronze ring.
I stopped in front of Eve. “It looks nice, but, uh, what’s with this?” I asked, poking the ring.
She looked down at her clothes. “Well, back home I wore a lot of things that had at least a bronze element so it makes me think about home,” she said, rubbing her fingers along the sleeve.
“It suits you,” Jessie said, poking her head around me.
Eve smiled. “Thank you. Same with yours. I hope they are to your liking.”
“Yes. You did a wonderful job,” Jessie said.
Taking a step away, I looked at Irene and Jason. Irene’s shirt was a soot black, little points of red, like sparks or embers, running along the top of her arm and shoulder from her wrist to her neck. It was simple and suited her nicely.
Jason’s shirt was black like mine, the same color as our pants, and had a fire symbol on the outside of both of his shoulders.
“I thought yours would be a bit more similar,” I said, walking over.
Irene smiled and shrugged, examining the simple design. “Eve came up with it. I doubt I would have thought up something like this, but I quite like it. I see you almost match Jason more than I do.”
“Well, it’s better if siblings aren’t easy to detect,” Jason said. His eyes slid between Jessie and I. “But for you two, I’m pretty sure that will be unavoidable.”
“Probably,” I said with a shrug. “Have you settled on code names?”
“We’re sticking with Flame and Flare,” he said with a nod. “It will take a little bit to start responding to those, though.”
“That’ll probably go for all of us,” I said, stretching. “Jessie so far is calling herself Seer. I haven't chosen my name yet. I have suggestions like Aim or Target.”
“Aim,” Victoria said, walking over. “Zack had ideas, but I think that one fits. You have an aim and no one can stop you.”
Jessie nodded.
“It’s also short, so it’ll be easier to yell in the thick of whatever we may go through,” Victoria said.
“Aim works, I guess. I had another idea, but Jessie didn’t like it.”
“And that was?” Victoria asked.
I did my best to hold
back my smile. “Knockout.”
It took Victoria a moment to get it, but when she did, she started laughing.
Jason shook his head. “Really?”
I innocently shrugged.
Victoria was quick to compose herself. “That’s great! You need to tell Zack that. His reaction will be awesome.”
My smile grew larger. “Yeah, it will.”
“Just make sure I’m there.”
“Of course,” I said with a smirk. “So, what are you calling yourself?”
“Visible,” she said. “Malissa has gone with Wave and Eve with Sapphire.”
“Sapphire?” I peeked over at Eve. “Why that name?”
“Well, because everything about me is blue,” Eve replied, glancing down at her hands.
“Is her blue blood going to be a problem?” I mumbled, lowering my voice.
Victoria shrugged. “I’ll talk to Officer Rasper later, but I’m sure it’s been discussed.” Then she returned to her seat.
Mr. Quinn walked in. He smiled. “You all look great. How do your uniforms fit? They need to be moveable and comfortable because of what you’re going to be doing.”
“I think we can all agree that they are,” Victoria said. “Even with the reinforced bits.”
“Glad to hear it,” he said. “Jessica, you’d be the one with the most experience with outfits of this sort. Tell me, do you have any critiques?”
I shook my head. “Light enough to move in, flexible enough to properly maneuver in, and some reinforcement to help with whatever blows may come our way.”
He gave a nod. “Good. Please remember that they will not block everything. Does anyone have anything else to add?”
We shook our heads.
“Excellent. Please go change and come into the kitchen.”
After we got changed, we gathered in the kitchen for dinner. “What did the rest of the police force think of this?” I asked as I sat down.
“Some were skeptical, but others were on board with it,” Mr. Quinn said. “We told more of the older officers and are waiting to tell some of the newer ones. We would like to start training as soon as possible. Since all of you are homeschooled, it should make it easier to plan.”
“Especially as Jessie and I are now off missions,” I muttered.
Everyone turned to look at us.
“I thought you loved going on missions,” Victoria said.
I nodded. “I do, but we did something we felt was right and didn’t tell our boss something to protect someone else. He wasn’t happy, and he took us off missions for a while.”
Eve was quiet for a moment. “Does this have anything to do with me?” she softly asked.
Jessie looked at me, then down at her food.
I let out a long breath. “... Um, yeah. We didn’t know how he would react to a possible alien. He knows about our powers, and at first, I was worried about what he would do to us, so we glazed over that part in our report.”
“O-oh. I’m sorry-”
“It’s not your fault,” Jessie said. “It was our choice.”
Eve looked at her lap. “Thank you, I was so scared that no one would believe me or even want to help. It means a lot that you guys do.”
Victoria smiled and hugged her.
During dinner, Mr. Quinn told us a bit more about the team.
After dinner Jessie and I walked home, our outfits bundled in my backpack. “I can’t wait to show Mom and Dad!” she whispered, picking up her pace.
I quickly matched it. “They’re a lot more comfortable than I thought they would be.”
“I know, right. And they look amazing!”
I smiled. “You know, I’m surprised you’re still enthusiastic about this. Fighting crime has never really been your thing. Honestly, I’m waiting for it to wear off.”
She frowned.
“I mean, it’s not a bad thing that you’re excited. We may argue, but I do care about you. I don’t fully like the idea of you getting into danger like that.”
Jessie smiled. “Thanks. I feel the same about you, but I know I’ll have a hard time trying to talk you out of it.”
I laughed. “You got that right.”
She snickered as she headed up the front steps of our house. “We’re home!” She took off her coat and shoes then paused.
“Hey Jessie,” Miss Silver said, walking into view.
Jessie hurried over, arms wide. “Miss Silver.”
“Hey sweetheart,” she said, opening her arms to accept Jessie’s hug. She kissed the top of her head. “How are you?”
“Good. We got our uniforms!”
She smiled. “Why do you think I’m here? Go get them on.”
Jessie smiled and nodded. Grabbing my wrist, she yanked me upstairs. “Hi Mom, hi Dad,” she said.
“Hey girls,” Dad said, a hint of laughter in his voice.
A minute or two later, we gathered in the living room wearing our uniforms. “What do you think?” Jessie asked with a smile.
“You look amazing,” Mom said, capturing us in a hug. “What are you calling yourselves?”
“Seer,” Jessie said, sitting down on the couch beside Miss Silver.
“And Aim,” I said, pulling my hair out of my ponytail. “They’re actually quite comfortable,” I continued, tugging at my shirt.
“They’re supposed to be,” Jessie said, stretching.
“I just wasn’t expecting it to feel this good.”
“You need to look after each other, remember that,” Mom said, squeezing my hand.
“We will, promise,” Jessie said, leaning against Miss Silver
The next day, we went to the police station to start our training, dressed in our uniforms. An officer led us to a meeting room where we took a seat and waited.
Jessie’s chair lightly squeezed as she rocked back and forth, wringing her hands together. She took slow deep breaths, trying to remain calm.
I could sympathize with her. Quiet waiting always got me, but I doubt I had as many butterflies as she did.
Victoria, although a hint of jitters in her eyes, held her own pretty well.
Malissa’s hand shifted between tapping on the armrest and wringing her hands together while Eve sat there, still, her eyes wide, taking slow deep breaths. Her hands were tightly clenched together.
Jason and Irene looked bored, staring off blankly. Granted, their resting faces could make you think they wanted to wring your neck. So I took it as they were fine. Until I spotted Irene’s thumb rubbing against her fingers. A hint of butterflies was to be expected, even with them.
I exhaled a long breath, trying to keep my head clear and calm. I rubbed the side of my neck. Goodness! It felt like ten minutes had passed when likely it wasn’t even three. My eyes slid to the clock that hung on the wall. Yep. Man, I didn’t think I would be this nervous.
I glanced back at everyone. All right, Jason was Flame, Irene was Flare, Victoria, Visible, Eve, Sapphire, Jessie, Seer, Malissa Wave and I was Aim. Closing my eyes, I ran that through my head a few times, trying to familiarize myself with their names.
I was focused enough that I flinched when the door opened.
The officer meeting with us stepped inside, clipboard in hand. His eyes scanned the room with a hint of hesitation and skepticism, especially as his gaze fell on those who were more clearly nervous. “Hello everyone. I’m Officer Geok. Thank you for coming,” he said in a Jamaican accent. “Please raise your hand when I say your name.” He glanced down at his clipboard. “Seer?”
Jessie raised her hand.
He gave a nod. “Aim … Wave … Visible … Flare … Flame … and Sapphire.”
We each raised our hand when he called our name.
“Did I miss anyone?”
We shook our heads.
He gave a nod. “I don’t know if you were informed, but Officer Rasper will only be able to watch your training sessions. Some of us are worried that he will be biased as to your performance. There is no shame dropping out now o
r at any point in the training. This isn’t going to be like in the TV shows or movies where after being slammed into a brick wall, you’re able to get up and go straight away. That being said, we can and will keep you away from the bigger dangers. So, is there anything anyone would like to say?” It was quiet for a moment, as if he expected one of us to leave. “All right then. Before we begin anything, we need to start an evaluation to see what you can be called to, or if you should be doing this sort of thing at all. If you pass, from there we will go a bit more into detail about what training and out in the field will be like.”
In the field. Those three words sent a spark of energy through me.
“Are there any questions?”
Jessie slowly raised her hand. “If we fail, can we try again?”
“It depends. If you fail the physical side there will be a waiting period before you’re able to try again. There are certain areas where you only have one chance to pass. This sort of thing isn’t for everyone, and I want to emphasize that. If you aren’t able to do this, that’s fine. Any more questions?” He gave a nod after a brief silence. “During any part of the process, even after you pass training, we do have the right to pull you off a mission if we believe it is negatively affecting you.” He set his clipboard aside. “In order for this to work, we’re going to need you all to listen and be open to us. We need to know your powers so we can put them to good use. Have I made myself clear?”
We all nodded.
Chapter 11
Officer Geok picked up the clipboard again. His eyes roamed it for a moment. “Sapphire, have you been informed of your limitations and precautions?”
Eve nodded.
I discreetly nodded to myself. Yep, it made sense that they would have a bit more precautions laid on Eve because of her circumstances.
“Injuries need to be treated correctly and failure to either bring them forward or properly attend to them could cost you your spot on the team.” Officer Geok turned his attention back to us. “That is all that will be said for now. Things will be repeated and more information will be coming. Now, before we head down to the examination, if you don’t wish to proceed, please speak up now.”
