by Alesha Dixon
The slabs of pavement lowered to our level, before lifting us back into fresh air and beautiful sunshine. I heard a loud scream as we magically appeared from beneath the ground. Looking for the source, I realized that a crowd of tourists was gathered around the Richard I statue in the front courtyard of the Houses of Parliament and every one of them was staring at us.
“Nothing to see here!” I said, attempting a cheery tone. “Wow, look at that great statue! It must have a fascinating history!”
“Aurora,” Cherry said suddenly, lowering her headphones back around her neck. “It was difficult to make much out when I was on the Superhero Express but there were definitely people in that underground complex who are not in the main conference room. I could hear their footsteps.”
“It may have been Aunt Lucinda and Alfred.”
She shook her head. “No, Alfred’s ostrich footsteps are very distinctive; I know which ones were theirs. There were others.”
“Wait,” JJ said, holding up his hands and trying to ignore the tourists now taking pictures of us. “Others? Plural? You mean…”
“I think whoever has stolen the Light of the World isn’t working alone.” Cherry gulped.
“OK,” I nodded, attempting to stay calm. “That’s good to know. They all have to come up this way some time, right? And we’ll be ready for them.”
“Lightning Girl?” A voice squeaked behind me.
I spun round to see a woman smiling nervously at me.
“Can we have a picture with you?” she asked, nodding towards her group of friends who were shuffling towards us with their phones.
I was just about to launch into a hurried explanation about how I didn’t exactly have time to pose for photos right now because I was in the middle of stopping a load of bad guys from getting away with the most precious stone on the PLANET, but as I opened my mouth to speak, we were all suddenly distracted by a loud whirring noise coming from the sky.
There were cries and gasps of amazement as everyone looked upward, squinting against the sun.
“What is that?”
“That,” I squeaked, barely able to contain my excitement, “is NANNY BEAM!”
Hovering above our heads was a sleek, bright pink sports car, preparing to land right in front of the Houses of Parliament. The crowds parted as it came lower and lower, parking itself neatly next to the Richard I statue. The engine switched off and the driver’s door opened upward, revealing a cheerful elderly woman with matching pink hair.
“Nanny Beam!” I cried.
“Hello, Aurora,” she waved cheerily, pretending not to notice everyone staring wide-eyed at her. “You may have noticed the invisibility function isn’t working. Must work on that. Anyway, thought you might need some back-up.”
She climbed out of the car and opened the back-seat door. I saw a blur of fur pelting towards me before it leapt on me, causing me to stumble backwards.
“Kimmy!” I laughed, as my dog covered my face in licks. “I am so happy to see you!”
“I know a flying car is cool and everything,” I heard a voice say as someone else emerged from the back seat, “but next time I am not sitting next to Fred. He hogs the armrest.”
“Well, maybe next time you can stop yourself from dousing yourself in hairspray right before you get in the car. You practically suffocated me. And at least you didn’t get your eye almost poked out by one of Georgie’s knitting needles.”
“It is not a knitting needle, Fred. I was sewing! And it wasn’t my fault that Kizzy’s books were taking up so much room that when we took that right turning through the cloud, they jolted my arm.”
“Those books are necessary for research and I couldn’t fit them in the front seat with me when I already had all the chickens in the footwell.”
JJ and Cherry turned to look at me in confusion.
“Aurora,” JJ asked, “who are these people?”
“JJ and Cherry,” I grinned, “meet the Bright Sparks!”
I raced towards Suzie, Fred, Georgie and Kizzy, pulling them into a big group hug. Kimmy jumped up and down at my legs, barking happily.
“Ow, Aurora!” Suzie grumbled, although she was smiling as she said it. “Watch my hair.”
“What are you all doing here?” I asked, feeling as though I might burst into tears at the relief of seeing them.
“Nanny Beam came to get us,” Kizzy explained. “We all saw the news and were working out how to all get to London to help you in time. Then Nanny Beam appeared out of nowhere. She picked each of us up.”
“We knew that there was no way that it was you who had stolen the Light of the World from the conference,” Georgie said firmly.
I smiled, squeezing Kizzy’s hand as she nodded in agreement with Georgie. “I knew you would believe me. Aunt Lucinda and Alfred helped me escape, along with JJ and Cherry.”
JJ and Cherry waved as the Bright Sparks all turned to look at them.
“Where’s the Light of the World now?” Nanny Beam asked seriously.
“We don’t know, and we don’t know who has it. But” – I pointed at the lamp post – “whoever it is must emerge from there at some time. We planned to stop them as they tried to get away. Well, if they haven’t already.”
“Emerge from … the lamp post?” Suzie said, raising her eyebrows at me.
“Actually it’s a door. It’s a long story.”
“Aurora, we know who has the Light of the World,” Kizzy announced.
“What? How can you possibly—”
“As soon as the news broke on social media about the Superhero Conference taking place here in London and that the Light of the World had been stolen by you… Well, Alexis got straight to work,” she said, getting out her phone and pressing a button to make a video call. “He wants to speak to you.”
Kizzy held up the screen of her phone for me and my brother waved from his desk in his bedroom.
“Hey, loser,” Alexis grinned, positioning his phone on the desk so that he could type while speaking to me. “Any chance you can go a day or two without causing a national disaster?”
“I didn’t take the Light of the World!” I said, grabbing the phone and frowning at the camera.
“Duh. As if you’re that genius. But lucky for you, I know who is.”
“You do?”
“I traced the IP address of the laptop that leaked the stories about the conference to the press. I figured that whoever wanted to point the finger at you, wanted it pointed away from themselves.”
“And you managed to track who the laptop belonged to?” I asked urgently.
“Yep,” Alexis nodded. “In just a few seconds.”
“Who is it? Darek Vermore?” I asked.
Alexis frowned. “Darek Vermore? Why would you think it was him? No way, he’s an icon. You know, he developed his first computer program at the age of four and—”
“If it’s not him,” I interrupted, “then who could it be?”
“I’ve never heard the name before. Someone called … David Donnelly.”
JJ’s jaw dropped to the floor.
“What?” I shook my head at the phone. “That can’t be right. David Donnelly is just an assistant, he’s not even a superhero. He’s really nice. Are you sure it’s not Vermore?”
“The leak came from David Donnelly’s laptop, Aurora,” Alexis said stubbornly. “Whoever you think he is, he isn’t.”
“But, why would David Donnelly do that?” Cherry asked, turning to JJ who looked as baffled as she was. “He seemed so … harmless.”
“Well, I managed to hack into his laptop and he had copies of blueprints of the conference centre on there, along with stolen notes on the vault and safe mechanisms.” Alexis folded his arms and leaned back in his chair. “Trust me, he’s a bad guy.”
“Hang on,” Georgie said suddenly, grabbing my arm. “LOOK!”
She pointed at the lamp post and we spun round just as the paving slabs opened and David Donnelly emerged from the ground, wearing a huge
backpack AND a satchel round his shoulders.
“Thanks for the heads-up, Alexis. I’ve got to go,” I said, passing Kizzy her phone back.
“Go save the world, loser,” I heard Alexis say before hanging up. I’m almost certain that he sounded quite proud when he said it.
David Donnelly froze as he saw us all staring at him. Kimmy began growling loudly at him as soon as she laid eyes on him. She has always had a good instinct.
“It’s him! David Donnelly!” I cried. “He’s got the Light of the World!”
“No, no! You’ve got it all wrong!” he croaked, edging backwards and glancing nervously at Kimmy. “I don’t have it! I … I came up here to help you find the culprit!”
As he turned on his heel, about to run away from us, Kimmy pounced, knocking him to the ground, his glasses scattering across the pavement. She then gripped his hair in her jaws and pulled. His mop of hair came clean off, revealing his shiny bald head.
“A wig!” Cherry exclaimed as Kimmy spat it on the ground. “It’s a disguise!”
“Who are you?” JJ yelled.
David Donnelly turned to look up at us from the ground. “I suppose there’s no need to hide it from you any longer.”
His Scottish accent had vanished. And I recognized that voice. A familiar, menacing, thin-lipped smile crept across his face. He lifted a hand and slowly peeled off a very realistic fake nose.
“It can’t be,” Kizzy whispered.
I shook my head in utter disbelief.
“Mr Mercury,” I gasped.
“Hello, Aurora,” he cackled, getting to his feet. “It’s been far too long. Have you missed me?”
16
It couldn’t be. It just couldn’t be. I rubbed my eyes but no matter how many times I blinked, Mr Mercury was still there standing in front of me.
“You’re supposed to be in prison,” Fred croaked.
“You didn’t hear? I was set free,” Mr Mercury said smugly.
Kizzy scowled. “Escaped, more like,” she said. “How did you do it?”
“I’m disappointed you think so lowly of your old science teacher, Kizzy. I did no such thing. I was released fair and square … with a little help from some old friends, of course.” He sniggered.
“The same friends who employed you to steal the precious stones from the Natural History Museum?” Kizzy asked.
“I couldn’t say,” he said, shrugging.
“You’ve been under my nose this whole time,” I said, shaking my head. “How could I not have noticed?”
“Yes, well, I know someone who works in a theatre props department and he was only too happy to show off about how to master the art of disguise. I picked up some excellent tips and became shy, clumsy David Donnelly very easily.”
“How did you blag your way into the conference?” Suzie asked. “You’d never pass as a superhero, no matter what your disguise.”
“I could too,” he growled irritably. “But for ease, I saw that Darek Vermore was hiring a new assistant. It was the perfect way in without gaining any suspicion.” He smirked. “It was an added bonus that when the Light of the World was stolen, the blame fell on you, Aurora. I have been longing for revenge since you, your friends and that pesky ostrich put me behind bars.”
“All right, that’s enough,” Nanny Beam said, stepping forward. “Hand over the Light of the World, Mr Mercury, and tell us who you are working for. There’s no way of out-running us, not when JJ is here.”
JJ blinked at her, stunned. “You … you know about my powers?”
“Running? Running?” Mr Mercury cackled loudly before she could answer. “Oh, Nanny Beam, how quaint you are. I won’t be running anywhere. I’ll be … FLYING!”
He reached behind him and tugged on one of his backpack’s toggles. The cloth of his backpack fell away, revealing a high-tech jetpack.
“The Rocket-750!” Nanny Beam gasped. “The latest model. How did you get your hands on one of those?”
“My friends are very generous,” he said. “So long, Bright Sparks! Until next time!”
As he reached to press a button on his jetpack, I tried to muster my powers to work but I was too panicked and taken off-guard to focus properly.
“He’s going to get away!” I cried, as flames billowed behind him.
“Not on our watch!” Fred bellowed. “Suzie, catch!”
Out of his backpack, he drew a thin white stick attached to a long piece of bright pink ribbon and threw it towards Suzie. She caught the gymnastics ribbon perfectly and with a sharp flick of her wrist, twirled the ribbon swiftly through the air in a neat spiral above her head, before sending it flying in Mr Mercury’s direction just as he was propelled into the air.
The ribbon wrapped itself around Mr Mercury and his jetpack, stopping him with a sharp jolt.
“Perfect, Suzie!” Georgie cried, addressing our gobsmacked audience. “Twice-Nationals winner everyone!”
“I won the Nationals three times in a row,” Suzie corrected.
Mr Mercury roared with anger, trying his best to break free of the ribbon coiled around him, as Suzie tried with all her might to pull him back to earth.
“He’s too strong!” she yelled, gripping the handle tightly and digging her heels into the ground. “My hands are slipping!”
“Here, let me,” JJ said, taking the gymnastics ribbon out of her grip.
Suzie’s eyes widened in awe as, with seemingly no effort whatsoever, JJ pulled the ribbon sharply back towards him and Mr Mercury came tumbling down to earth, his jetpack landing against the pavement with a loud clunk.
Wobbling to his feet, Mr Mercury tried pressing the button on his jetpack but it spluttered, letting out black plumes of smoke, before cutting out altogether.
“No!” he shouted, pressing the button again and again. “Work! Argh!”
He furiously wriggled out of the jetpack and threw it to the ground, before turning on his heel to make a beeline for Nanny Beam’s supercar.
“JJ, quick!” Cherry yelled. “Don’t let him get away.”
But it turned out there was no need for JJ to run after Mr Mercury because Nanny Beam was ready and waiting behind him.
Bellowing a karate battle shout at the top of her lungs, Nanny Beam did an incredible high kick, knocking Mr Mercury sideways.
“Whoa!” Fred cried. “Go, Nanny Beam!”
Mr Mercury regained his balance and narrowed his eyes at Nanny Beam, lifting his clenched fists and moving into a prepared, forward stance.
“You’ve met your match, Nanny Beam,” he growled threateningly. “I’m no stranger to the Martial Arts!”
To support his point, he began to dance on his toes around her, showcasing his head-level kicks and swinging his elbows, just missing her jaw. She dodged and defended, blocking any blows he threw at her, but there was no denying that Mr Mercury was actually very good and a lot stronger than her. JJ ran over to help but Mr Mercury spun round and sharply struck him in the stomach, winding him badly, before he turned his attention back to Nanny Beam.
“Aurora,” Kizzy said, clutching my arm, “use your superpowers to stop him before he hurts Nanny Beam! The energy blast might stun him and we can get his bag.”
“I … I can’t,” I replied, wincing as Nanny Beam just managed to duck another kick. “I’ve lost most of the ability!”
“No, you haven’t.”
“Yes, Kizzy, I have,” I told her desperately. “I’ve let the Bright Sparks down. I’m not a superhero any more! Just look online. It says so.”
“I don’t need to look online; I know a superhero when I see one,” Kizzy said stubbornly.
“You are Lightning Girl and you always will be to us, no matter what anyone else says,” Georgie said, as Kizzy nodded vigorously. “Here.”
Georgie reached into her pocket and pulled out a pair of sunglasses. All around the frames were tiny glittering lightning bolts.
“Where did you—”
“I designed them for you. For Lightning Girl,”
she said, holding them out for me to put on. “I know Alfred destroyed yours. Why would I go to the trouble of making these if I didn’t think you deserved them?”
“Come on, Lightning Girl,” Kizzy said urgently. “Everyone needs you.”
I don’t know whether it was what Georgie and Kizzy were saying or if it was the way they were looking at me, but something happened as I took the sunglasses and put them on. The Bright Sparks were counting on me and they believed in me, even if no one else did.
“You can do this.” Kizzy smiled encouragingly.
I forgot about all the times I’d messed up; I didn’t think about the Good Morning Britain disaster or the upside-down-ladder incident or how silly I’d felt in the superhero training room. All I was focused on was that wonderfully warm sparkling feeling running through my veins, up my spine and down my arms towards my hands, which grew hot. The swirled scar on my palm began to prickle and a silver glow appeared around the outline of my fingers.
The crowd suddenly gasped as Nanny Beam was struck in the chest by Mr Mercury and went flying backwards.
You can do this, Kizzy’s voice echoed in my head.
Go save the world, I heard Alexis saying.
“Unlucky, Bright Sparks,” Mr Mercury said, throwing open the front door of Nanny Beam’s pink car. “Say goodbye to the Light of the World!”
You can do this, Lightning Girl.
Light beams exploded from my palms, basking the Houses of Parliament and all those around it in a blinding, glittering light. It happened with such force that Mr Mercury stumbled backwards, shielding his eyes and then crying out as Kimmy – who had chased him to the car, barking madly – tucked herself neatly behind his feet, causing him to lose his balance and tumble back over her, landing with a thud on the ground.
As I brought my powers under control and the light faded, I saw everyone staring at me in amazement. Nanny Beam wiped a tear from her eye.
“GERROFF ME!”
We all turned to see that Mr Mercury was pinned to the ground by Alfred, who had come from nowhere and was now standing on Mr Mercury, pecking at his bald head.
