by Alesha Dixon
“How come you never get caught?” Kizzy had asked, her eyes as wide as saucers.
“It’s an art,” Mum had chuckled. “The bad guys know who I am, but of course the police never believe them when they say someone with light beams shooting out of their hands had got in the way of their evil plans.”
Kizzy was so excited about reading through Mum’s files, that she’d invited the rest of the superhero club over to her house that evening for pizza to discuss her findings. “Don’t worry,” she assured me as I slid into the taxi next to Alexis, “I’ll call you if I find anything really interesting.”
It was only when I got to the museum that I realized I’d forgotten to tell her that no phones were allowed into the exhibition, to stop any unauthorized photos of the artefacts being taken. I put my phone in a labelled bag and reluctantly handed it to a security man at the door. Kizzy would have to wait until tomorrow to tell me all the weird, and likely embarrassing, stories she was going to discover about my mum.
Her eighties hairstyle alone is a story in itself. Trust me, I’ve seen photos.
I’d much rather have been at Kizzy’s house eating pizza with my new friends than standing awkwardly in the corner of a big glamorous party at the Natural History Museum. Apart from Alexis and Clara, I didn’t have anyone to talk to, and frankly they were no use at all. As soon as we arrived, Alexis started his mission to snaffle as many canapés as possible so I lost him in the crowd. Clara sneaked off to the cloakroom, at the first chance she got, to read her book under the coats. I stood at the back with Alfred for a bit, but then he also left me, to size up to the ostrich skeleton standing in the Large Birds of Africa section. Thankfully I couldn’t see Mr Mercury anywhere; I was hoping to avoid him the whole night. He was probably thinking the same thing about Aunt Lucinda, who was busy parting the crowds as she cheerfully made her way through to the Champagne Bar set up at the side of the gallery. At least she was easy to spot and he could ensure he was on the opposite side of the room at all times.
I helped myself to a sparkling elderflower drink and went to admire one of the stands that had been set up alongside the main cabinet, because that was what everyone else seemed to be doing. A man wearing a red velvet jacket smiled down at me as I approached.
“Splendid, isn’t it?”
“It’s… uh –” I peered into the case at what looked like a weirdly shaped brick “– it’s quite something.”
“Are you interested in mineralogy? You must be, being the professor’s daughter.”
“Oh yes. Yes, it’s all very… ”
I hesitated, not because I was stuck in a big fat lie, but because I started feeling … odd. That same feeling I’d got last time in the museum on the school trip: as though all the blood running through my body was growing hot. The scar on my left palm began to tingle.
Uh-oh.
“Excuse me,” I said quickly, shoving my elderflower glass into his hand and backing away from the cabinet. “I need to get some air.”
I turned and began pushing my way through the guests, aiming for the main entrance. I felt stronger this time round, as though I might be able to stop my powers blasting from my hands, but I didn’t want to risk losing control. I glanced down at my hand and panicked as I saw a dim glow beginning to appear, like a flickering bulb. Why did this keep happening?
Just as I broke free from the main crowd, Dad grabbed my arm.
“Aurora, there you are. You forgot to come say hi when you arrived,” he said, leaning down to give me a hug. “You look very pretty! Everything OK?”
I thought about telling him the truth but I knew that, after what happened last time in the museum, he’d suddenly panic and I didn’t want him to worry when he already had so much to think about. I quickly put my hand behind my back.
“Everything’s great,” I said. “Well done, Dad, this is a great launch.”
“I’m a bit nervous about my speech,” he admitted quietly, fiddling with his shirt collar. “I’ve tried to make it short and sweet.”
“Great. Perfect. Well, I’ll leave you to go practise.”
“Aurora –” he stopped me, looking about us nervously “– you, um, haven’t seen your mother anywhere, have you?”
“No, but she’ll be here somewhere. Why?”
“Just … well… She’s always been very good at making me feel relaxed and more confident. I was hoping she’d come tonight and I thought I saw her across the room earlier but I … well, I guess I was wrong because I haven’t seen her for a while. Maybe it was a hallucination. Wishful thinking or something.” He gave me a sad smile. “Well, I had better get back to my guests.”
“Dad,” I said hurriedly, still trying to push aside that warm, fluttering feeling in my stomach that was beginning to spread up my chest and down my arms, “she’s really proud of you. Mum, I mean. There’s no way she’d miss this. She’ll be here in time for your speech.”
He nodded and gave me another quick hug before throwing his shoulders back and striding into the crowd. I darted between the mingling guests and rushed through the doorway and into the cold night air, inhaling deeply and instantly feeling better. I looked back over my shoulder suspiciously at the museum, wondering why on earth it had such a strange effect on me. I leant against the wall, waiting for the glowing on my palm to ebb away and enjoying a moment away from the bustling throng. My feet were rubbing in my shoes, so I shook them off and slid on my trainers. My dress was just about long enough for me to get away with it, as long as no one decided to study my footwear. Not that anyone was paying any attention to me.
I must have been a bit dizzier than I’d first thought because I kept hearing Kizzy’s voice in the background. I shook my head and decided that I should go and get some water pronto; I shouldn’t have given away that elderflower drink. I closed my eyes and took a couple of deep breaths but, there it was again: Kizzy’s voice ringing through the air.
“Aurora! Aurora!”
Did I bang my head on the ostrich skeleton or something in my mad rush to get out of the museum just now?
“Aurora!”
I thought I’d been very clear-headed after I’d spoken to Dad; I’m sure I’d remember if I’d walked into anything.
“Aurora!”
Maybe I depend on Kizzy so much that her voice is now for ever in my subconscious?
“AURORA BEAM, WOULD YOU LOOK OVER HERE!”
I jumped as I heard the shout from the queue of guests lining up against the barriers leading to the entrance. Trying to push their way through the security guards at the front of the line were Kizzy, Georgie, Suzie and Fred, all waving madly at me.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, once I’d raced over to them and the security guards had allowed them to come through.
“We’ve been calling you!”
“No phones allowed,” I explained, nodding at the security guards collecting phones from guests going in.
“Nice shoes,” Georgie said, and winked, spotting the glitter peeking out at the bottom of my dress.
“What is wrong with your hearing?” Suzie huffed. “We could see you standing over there talking to yourself for ages.”
“If you’d all wanted invitations to the event, you could have just asked.” I shrugged. “I didn’t think you’d want to come but I’m sure if I just say to my dad—”
“That’s not why we’re here,” Georgie said with a serious expression.
“We need you to see something,” Fred said, sliding the strap of his heavy-looking gym bag off his shoulder and down to the ground.
“Can’t it wait until tomorrow?” I laughed. “I’m loving your enthusiasm for this superhero club but this evening is kind of a big deal for my dad and I need to—”
“It can’t wait,” Kizzy said firmly, her tone taking me by surprise.
She leant down and unzipped Fred’s gym bag, pulling out a file and opening it to show me the old newspaper clipping inside, with a headline that read: BLACKOUT BURGLAR CAUGHT RED-HAN
DED.
“Twenty years ago, your mum stopped a major robbery. This guy, known as the Blackout Burglar, was a renowned criminal, capable of shutting down electrics and causing blackouts, giving him the perfect cover of darkness to steal anything he wanted.”
“Yeah, I’ve heard of him,” I said, vaguely remembering one of Mum’s stories.
“He robbed houses, banks, anywhere you can think of with anything valuable,” Georgie said, as Kizzy nodded, “but his speciality was jewellery, gems and precious stones.”
“It was years before he was caught but in the end, according to her notes, your mum was able to work out his next move,” Suzie continued. “She waited until he caused a blackout on a glamorous evening in London when a priceless diamond tiara went up for auction, then she used her powers to light the room.” She sighed. “The tiara, by the way, was so gorgeous. Does your mum have access to that kind of thing or does it all go into evidence?”
“He was so shocked by the sudden flash of light,” Fred continued, shooting Suzie an impatient look, “that your mum was able to pin him down and tie him up ready for the police to arrive. When she lit up the room, the hidden cameras she had placed earlier caught him red-handed. Perfect evidence to put him straight in jail.”
“OK, this all sounds very cool,” I said, “but what has some tiara burglar from twenty years ago got to do with right now?”
“Because the Blackout Burglar swore vengeance on your mum. It’s reported in the article that he kept saying he would one day take his revenge on the ‘light-beam woman’. The police just thought he was speaking rubbish to try and plead insanity. But he didn’t, he pleaded guilty and was released from prison a few years later for good behaviour.”
“And?”
“Didn’t you hear us?” Fred sighed in exasperation. “His speciality is diamonds and precious stones. Tonight is all about the most interesting precious stone discovery ever and, not only that, but your mum, his great nemesis, is married to the professor putting on the display. He knows who she is. It’s the perfect revenge!”
“Wait a second, you think that—”
“Aurora,” Kizzy said, tapping her finger at the newspaper clipping. “The photo.”
I sighed and looked at the picture in the middle of the article of a young man being dragged away in handcuffs.
“What about it?”
“Look closer,” Kizzy instructed. “Don’t you recognize him?”
I brought the article closer and scrutinized the photograph. Suddenly, my breath caught in my throat and a feeling of ice-cold dread swept through my entire body. I brought my eyes up to meet Kizzy’s.
“Mr Mercury.”
16
My head was spinning. It seemed impossible. Mr Mercury, the most boring science teacher on the planet with a big bald head and coffee stains splattered across his shirts, was a world-class criminal? The Blackout Burglar?
It just didn’t make any sense!
And yet…
The more I thought about it, the more it kind of did. He had always been weirdly interested in my dad’s exhibition and the precious stones at the centre of it. As soon as he’d arrived as a new teacher at the beginning of the year, he’d asked me about Dad’s work and organizing a school trip to the museum.
“We think he used the school trip to scout out behind the scenes of the museum,” Kizzy said, as the others nodded in agreement. “It was the perfect opportunity to do a reccy.”
“A reccy? What’s that?”
“When you check out the area ready for attack. He knows exactly where everything is and what to do when it comes to stealing the precious stones.”
“I can’t believe this,” I whispered, shaking my head and still gripping the newspaper article. “You really think Mr Mercury is going to steal from an exhibition?”
“Why else would he have wangled an invitation to this evening?” Georgie shrugged. “And you saw him on the trip, asking your dad hundreds of questions.”
“Yeah, I mean, come on,” Suzie said. “No one is that interested in a bunch of rocks.”
“Precious stones,” Kizzy corrected.
“Whatever, it’s still lame, if you want my opinion,” Suzie grumbled. “Why not rob somewhere like Tiffany’s and take all the diamonds?”
“Diamonds,” I repeated, as it all began to dawn on me. “The Dream Diamond.”
“What dream diamond?”
“My aunt, she has this diamond. It’s really precious. He saw her wearing it the other day when she came to pick me up and he knew what it was. He knew it was the Dream Diamond. He said so as soon as he saw it. He looked … excited. I thought they were just flirting.”
“Your aunt and Mr Mercury were flirting?” Suzie wrinkled her nose. “Ew.”
“It would make sense that he’d be able to identify things like that,” Kizzy reasoned.
“Kizzy, he asked if she’d be wearing it tonight. I didn’t even think about it at the time but that’s kind of a weird question to ask someone, right?”
“It’s a double heist!” Fred cried excitedly. “He’s going to take both!”
“How did Mum not recognize him at the parents’ evening?” I asked, my eyebrows knitted in confusion.
“It’s a pretty good disguise he’s got going on,” Georgie said. “And it’s been a good few years; think how many criminals your mum puts away. She can’t remember them all. Plus, you know,” she shifted awkwardly, “your mum was probably a bit distracted with that fabulous ostrich running around and your aunt being there in a big ballgown. She didn’t even realize her hair was a big ice block. It’s understandable that she might not have noticed Mr Mercury all that much.”
“Seriously, though, who has an ostrich for a pet?” Suzie asked.
“He’s very well accessorized,” Georgie pointed out.
“Let’s stay focused here,” Kizzy said sternly. “Aurora, we think Mr Mercury is going to try and steal the precious stones tonight and we have to stop him.”
Fred lifted his gym bag up and patted it. “We brought plenty of supplies to bring down a bad guy.”
“Yeah, because whoopee cushions are super helpful,” Suzie muttered under her breath.
“Oh, and a bunch of colourful ribbons are really going to save the day,” Fred retorted. “Good idea, Suzie; let’s stop a big heist with bows in our hair.”
“It’s not hair ribbon, pea-brain,” she snarled. “It’s rhythmic gymnastics ribbon. And I’ve won four competitions with those.”
“The point is,” Georgie said over them loudly, “that we’re ready to help.”
“But I haven’t seen Mr Mercury all night,” I replied hopefully. “Maybe he got cold feet.”
“No way,” Fred snorted. “He’s been waiting for this moment for a long time. Everyone loves a good revenge and this is his time. I reckon he got the job at the school specifically because he found out that Professor Beam’s children went there. A school trip is the perfect cover to get all the information you need about a place without arousing any suspicion. It’s classic comic book stuff.”
“Aurora, does Mr Mercury know about your superpowers?” Georgie asked.
I shook my head. “I don’t think so.”
“Then we have an advantage,” Fred nodded, his eyes twinkling. “He won’t be expecting you to get in his way.”
“But he knows your mum will. We need to find her and tell her,” Kizzy said, glancing towards the entrance. “And we need to tell her now. He could strike at any minute.”
“You’re right.” I nodded, squeezing her hand. “She should be here by now. Let’s go.”
I hurried towards the door with the superhero club hot on my heels, hit by an overwhelming surge of determination. The shock and fear I’d felt a few moments ago on discovering my science teacher was in fact a criminal mastermind was replaced by the resolution to stop him in his tracks. There was no way I was going to let Mr Mercury get away with this.
I was glad I was wearing my special Lightning Girl t
rainers. They made me feel confident somehow.
As soon as I stepped back into the main gallery, the scar on my palm started to tingle. I clenched my fists. I didn’t have time for any of that. A security woman on the door immediately stopped us to take the others’ phones and check their bags. Her forehead furrowed in confusion as she peered into Fred’s gym bag.
“Is that … an ant farm?”
“Yes,” he admitted, looking at it lovingly. “You know how it is, you can’t leave the children at home alone.”
She blinked at him, completely stunned, and for a moment I thought she was going to kick him out but she finally gave him a wary smile and pointed him in the direction of the cloakroom in case he wanted to leave it in there.
“If you would like, I’m sure the attendant will take good care of your … ants. And all those whoopee cushions,” she added.
Fred thanked her and we approached the crowd, standing on our tiptoes, trying to spot Mum among the loudly chattering guests.
“Anyone see her?” Georgie asked, her eyes darting across the room.
“It’s rammed in here,” Suzie grumbled as someone knocked her shoulder going past. “As if a few pebbles can draw this kind of a crowd.”
“Precious stones, not pebbles,” Kizzy corrected before turning to me. “I can’t see her anywhere.”
“Me neither.”
“Maybe your aunt will know where she is,” Georgie suggested. “Isn’t that her ostrich? His monocle is so on point.”
She pointed towards the far side of the room where I saw Alfred had discovered a fun new game. Standing perfectly still like a statue as though he was part of a taxidermy display, he was waiting for guests to come up and inspect him, and then suddenly lunging at them, making them scream in terror. As an unsuspecting female guest became his next victim, screeching at the top of her lungs as he came to life, I saw Dad excuse himself from a nearby conversation with a pained expression and attempt to tell Alfred off, but Alfred just wiggled his bum feathers in Dad’s face defiantly and stalked off to help himself to an entire tray of canapés.
