by Alesha Dixon
“I HATE THIS OSTRICH!” Mr Mercury bellowed, his arms and legs flailing about wildly.
“I LOVE that ostrich!” Georgie cried out.
The crowd who had witnessed the whole thing burst into applause and cheering, chanting “Lightning Girl” over and over. Alfred plucked the satchel from Mr Mercury and chucked it towards me.
I opened it and peered inside, my breath catching in my throat as I saw the contents.
“Aurora?” Nanny Beam said, joining the Bright Sparks who gathered around me. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s … it’s empty,” I croaked. “The Light of the World isn’t here.”
Underneath Alfred’s talons, Mr Mercury began to cackle manically.
“Where is it?” Nanny Beam demanded.
But he didn’t need to answer. As she spoke, a helicopter took off from the other side of the Houses of Parliament.
“Mr Mercury was just a decoy,” Kizzy gasped.
“That’s right! We’ve won this time,” Mr Mercury boasted gleefully. “And I can promise you this, Bright Sparks. I will NEVER tell you who I was working for!”
Suddenly, a shiny silver sports car with blacked-out windows pulled up on the pavement next to us, its brakes screeching loudly as it came to a stop. One of the front windows wound down and a hand protruded out of it, a beautiful diamond necklace dangling from a finger.
Alfred’s eyes lit up.
“ALFRED, NO!” I cried, but it was too late.
He had already jumped off Mr Mercury and pelted towards the car. Whoever was holding the necklace tossed it high into the air for Alfred to catch, while Mr Mercury, no longer weighed down by a large ostrich, scrambled to his feet, dodged past Kizzy and leapt into the back seat of the car before any of us could realize what was happening.
The door slammed shut behind Mr Mercury, the engine roared as the accelerator pedal was slammed to the floor and the car sped away down the road, disappearing from sight.
I could hear the menacing sound of Mr Mercury’s cackle echoing through the air as I helplessly watched it go.
17
“AURORA!”
I jumped about five metres in the air as I heard my name echo loudly, booming off the walls of the underground dome, before I was quite literally swept off my feet into the biggest hug I have ever had. Kimmy began barking and jumping up and down in excitement.
“Mum,” I wheezed, “I … can’t … breathe!”
“Oh, sorry!” she said, breaking free from the hug but keeping her hands on my shoulders. “Are you all right?”
“Yes, although next time, maybe don’t squeeze so hard. I think you may have cracked a couple of my ribs.”
“I’m not talking about the hug! I’m talking about us being trapped down here and you being left alone to stop the thief up there!”
She pointed to the ceiling.
“Oh that! Yeah, I’m OK and I wasn’t alone.”
She nodded, tears in her eyes, and stepped aside so that Dad, who came rushing up behind her, could give me another rib-crushing hug. Meanwhile, Kimmy jumped up at Mum to cover her face in licks.
“We were so worried,” Dad said, pushing his glasses up his nose. “We were completely trapped in that conference room; the whole thing was superhero-proof! No contact with the outside world, no idea what was going on, no idea whether you would be safe…” He paused for breath. “It was awful.”
“I’m all right, Dad. I had reinforcements,” I assured him, gesturing to the Bright Sparks who were sitting around the water fountain with Crystal, asking her over and over to disappear, gasping every time she turned invisible.
The Bright Sparks had been given special permission by Nanny Beam to come down to the Superhero Conference centre. Fred had loved the Superhero Express and had his arms up in the air the whole time, going “WOOHOO” loudly at every twist and turn, irritating Suzie who claimed as it came to a stop at the platform that he’d burst her eardrums.
Dad looked over his shoulder at them and smiled.
“Now, how on earth did they get here?”
“Tell us everything that happened,” Mum said, her expression serious.
So I did. I told her how Aunt Lucinda and Alfred had come to my rescue, along with Cherry and JJ; how we’d realized what was going on, so we’d raced up above ground to beat the thief before they escaped; how the Bright Sparks and Alexis had worked out who the culprit was; and how in the end, I had failed.
“Failed?” Mum held up her hands, stopping my story. “What do you mean?”
“Mum, they got away,” I said, patting Kimmy’s head as she came to sit next to me, leaning against my leg. “We don’t have the Light of the World.”
“That doesn’t mean you failed,” she said, shaking her head.
“If you hadn’t been brave enough to try and stop Mr Mercury, we’d have no clue where to start when it comes to tracking down the Light of the World,” Dad pointed out. “We know that Mr Mercury is somehow involved. That’s a good start. Along with the police, we can do everything in our power to try and discover where he is and who he is working for.”
“But aren’t we in a lot of danger?” I asked. “The Light of the World is the most precious stone there is and the source of our powers. In the wrong hands, couldn’t something awful happen?”
Mum and Dad exchanged a worried glance.
Dad nodded. “Yes, Aurora, you’re right. We don’t know what this criminal mastermind wants with the Light of the World. But the important thing is that you’re safe and we’re all together.”
“Dad’s right,” Mum said, reaching for his hand and smiling up at him. “Whoever it is, they won’t be a match for the Beams and the Bright Sparks.”
Kimmy barked loudly.
“I suppose if Kimmy says so,” I agreed, stroking her ears.
“There you are, darling!” Aunt Lucinda called out, sauntering over to us with Alfred trotting along behind her.
“Isn’t it simply marvellous how we saved the day! There Kiyana was, trapped in a conference room while the thieves got away and who came along to rescue her and set her free? Why, her glamorous and talented younger twin sister!”
Mum rolled her eyes. “I’m never going to hear the end of this, am I?”
“Not for several years at least.” Aunt Lucinda grinned, winking at me. “That control room was particularly tricky as well; I had no idea how to turn off the security lockdown at first. When I saw all those buttons on the security panel, I felt quite faint! But luckily, Alfred was there to show the quickest, most effective way of hitting the right one.”
“How did he do it?” Dad asked curiously. “Some kind of elimination process?”
Aunt Lucinda laughed. “You might say that,” she said. “He hopped up on to the control panel and began stomping all over it. Eventually, he must have hit the correct button. Such a clever ostrich.”
Alfred, who had found a long red cape and was wearing it with pride, wiggled his tail feathers smugly.
“What?” Mum gasped. “He could have pressed anything, Lucinda!”
“Indeed, he did, Kiyana. He actually set off several more alarms before turning off the right one and lifting the lockdown. At one point, he hit a button that said ‘self-destruct’ in bold letters across it, but luckily he hit another one which deactivated it.”
Mum and Dad looked horrified.
“I’m just grateful Alfred came to help us when he did,” I said, trying to steer the conversation into a more positive direction. “Even if Mr Mercury got away in the end, it was still satisfying to see Alfred pecking at his head.”
“Yes, I’d wondered where Alfred had got to after we found the right button, but I should have guessed he’d gone above ground.” Aunt Lucinda chuckled. “He absolutely loves the Superhero Express. I imagine he was rewarding himself for finding the button with a ride in one of those pods, when he spotted what was going on with you and rushed to your aid. Although, he’s very disappointed that the diamond necklace he was distrac
ted with was fake. I thought I had taught him better.” She hesitated. “I can’t believe it was Mr Mercury again.”
“And he was here all along in disguise. I felt bad for David Donnelly,” Dad grumbled. “I even lent him my book on advanced minerology. I doubt I’ll ever get that book back now. And I hadn’t even finished the chapter on mineralogical geothermobarometry.”
We all stared at him in silence as he shook his head gravely.
“Er, yes, Henry. Well don’t worry, we can order you another copy of that … fascinating book,” Mum said soothingly.
“It’s all right,” he said. “I’ll just borrow Clara’s copy when she’s finished with it.”
“HEY!” JJ cried as he noticed Alfred from where he was sitting with his parents. “THAT’S MY CAPE!”
We all burst out laughing as JJ began to chase Alfred – who looked delighted with the situation – round and round the water fountain. Despite JJ’s super speed, Alfred’s long legs were quite a match.
“Kiyana and I do owe you and Alfred for coming to help Aurora,” Dad admitted to Aunt Lucinda, chuckling as Alfred galloped through the water fountain and watching JJ stomp in after him, getting soaked in the process. The Bright Sparks cheered them on loudly.
“As soon as I saw the ridiculous accusations about Aurora taking the precious stone on the news, there was no question about Alfred and I attending the Superhero Conference.” Aunt Lucinda smiled. “Plus, I was wondering whether I might be able to get away with stealing it myself.”
Mum narrowed her eyes at her. “I know you’re not joking.”
“Please do feel free to thank me for saving your daughter, Kiyana,” Aunt Lucinda continued smugly. “Whenever you’re ready.”
Mum appealed to Dad but he just gave her a stern look.
“Thank you,” she said eventually, through gritted teeth.
“You are most welcome,” Aunt Lucinda replied, before adding, “I will send you a bill for my services.”
Mum opened her mouth to say something but her phone beeped loudly in her pocket.
“How … how are you getting mobile service here?” I asked, baffled.
“I don’t know.” She pulled out her phone, her eyebrows knitted in confusion. “I haven’t had any since I’ve been down here. I don’t know how this message has…”
She stopped, blinking at her screen in amazement.
“What?” I asked eagerly. “What is it?”
“It’s … it’s my source,” she said quietly, as though hardly daring to say out loud. “My secret source from the British Secret Service.”
“They need you to go on a superhero mission now?” Dad said. “Haven’t they seen the news? They must know you’re busy.”
She shook her head. “They don’t want me to go on a mission. They want to meet me. They’re here. In the Superhero Conference. They say that it’s time.”
“WHERE?” I practically screamed, I was so excited.
“They’ve said to come to Mr Vermore’s office.”
“What are we waiting for?” I cried, grabbing her hand. “Let’s go!”
“What’s going on?” Aunt Lucinda called out after us as I dragged Mum away, with Dad in hot pursuit. “Kiyana! Where are you going?”
We didn’t stop to answer her, rushing through the spaceship door and down the maze of corridors that led to Mr Vermore’s office. When we got there, stopping to catch our breath, we saw the door was slightly ajar.
“This is it,” Mum whispered, grabbing Dad’s hand nervously. “I’m finally going to meet them. After all these years of secrecy, I’m finally going to meet the person in charge of it all.”
Dad nodded encouragingly at her and I stood aside to let her open the door and go in first … you know, because I kind of felt she should probably lead the way, even though I was desperate to burst right on in.
Mum took a deep breath and rolled back her shoulders, before pushing open the door and striding into the office confidently. Dad and I followed anxiously.
A large leather chair behind an antique mahogany desk was facing away from us.
“You … you wanted to meet me?” Mum said cautiously to the back of the chair.
“Yes. Yes, I did,” a voice said.
The chair slowly swivelled round. Mum gasped as she saw who it was. Dad’s jaw dropped to the floor. I could NOT believe my eyes.
No. Way.
“Hello, Kiyana.” Nanny Beam smiled from the chair, stroking a chicken nestled in her lap. “I’ve been expecting you.”
18
Mum looked as though she’d seen a ghost.
She stood frozen to the spot, staring at Nanny Beam with her eyes wide in shock and her mouth opening and closing silently like a fish as she tried to form words.
“Yes, Kiyana,” Nanny Beam said, tickling the chin of the chicken on her lap, prompting it to cluck happily. “It is I, Nanny Beam.”
Mum still didn’t seem to be in a fit state to speak, so Dad jumped in. “You’re Kiyana’s source?” he asked in disbelief.
Nanny Beam nodded.
“But … how?”
“That’s a very good question, Henry. And one with a very simple answer. It’s about time you knew. I have been working for the Secret Intelligence Service since my early twenties.”
“You’re a spy?” I squeaked, finding it difficult not to jump up and down on the spot with excitement.
“Technically, yes.”
My grandmother is a spy.
MY GRANDMOTHER IS A SPY.
THIS IS THE COOLEST THING EVER.
“It was you?”
We all turned to look at Mum as she managed to finally find her voice.
“Yes, Kiyana. It was me. I’ve been anonymously sending you on rescue missions to stop evil taking over the world for years. In my government position, I have access to the equipment and information necessary to know when a dangerous individual is a threat. And that’s where you came in.”
“But … but you’re retired!” Mum croaked, trying to get her head round all this. “You have a stray chicken sanctuary in Cornwall! You can’t possibly work for MI5! None of this makes sense!”
“Oh yes, my animal sanctuary is a very important part of my life, but by no means my only occupation. I may have retired from saving the world physically, but I haven’t retired from saving the world altogether.” She grinned. “A truth that Aurora stumbled upon this summer.”
Mum and Dad turned their attention to me.
“Aurora found my underground lair and I was forced to admit that I still had a hand in the game as it were,” Nanny Beam explained, lifting the chicken off her lap and tucking him under her arm so she could stand up.
“You didn’t tell me you were a SPY!”
She shrugged and let out a long sigh. “Yes, well, I wasn’t planning on ever telling you that I was head of the Secret Intelligence Service but now that the Light of the World is in danger, I decided it was time that you knew so we could all work together.”
“Hold on.” Dad held up his hands. “Did you just say … head of the Secret Intelligence Service?”
“Did I not mention that already?” Nanny Beam said, her brow furrowed in thought. “Oh, must have missed that detail. Yes, yes, I’m in charge.”
“My grandmother who has pink hair, stray chickens and spends her time Sun Gazing is the Head of MI5,” I whispered. “Am I dreaming? Is this really happening?”
Now the whole underground lair thing TOTALLY made sense.
“How else would I be able to know where and when to send Kiyana on superhero missions?” Nanny Beam said breezily. “I know everything.”
“I don’t believe this,” Mum said, her stunned expression changing to anger. “You told me you were RETIRED! And the whole time you were HEAD OF MI5! Spying on me!”
Nanny Beam sighed. “It’s hardly something you shout about, Kiyana. And besides, I wasn’t Head of MI5 the whole time. Just for the past ten or so years. I had to work my way up of course. I believed it to be
a very savvy career choice, once I learned about my superpowers. How better to keep an eye on the world and make sure I was always there to save it than within the Secret Intelligence Service? The resources at our fingertips are quite spectacular.”
“And then when you gave up the superpowers, you used your position to spy on your daughter,” Mum growled.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Nanny Beam tutted. “As if I would ever give up my superpowers. But yes, it was time for me to retire from the physical side of things and let you step into that role. Although, I’m pleased to inform you that my martial arts skills aren’t as rusty as I thought they’d be after all these years, as your Mr Mercury can attest to.”
“Didn’t you trust me to save the world on my own?” Mum was practically yelling. “You didn’t have faith in my ability, so you never retired, is that it?”
Nanny Beam stared at Mum very calmly. “No, Kiyana, that’s not it. I just wasn’t ready to retire from MI5 quite yet, and besides, wasn’t it easier getting all that information about bad guys? You have to admit it saved you a lot of time, not having to seek them out. You’re a wonderful superhero, even better than me I might add.”
She hesitated and her eyes flickered towards me, twinkling with excitement.
“Although, Kiyana, you should have seen Aurora today when she used her powers. It was like nothing I’ve ever seen. There is something truly special about—”
“Mother, don’t change the subject!” Mum cried out in exasperation. “Why haven’t you told me any of this sooner? You’ve been lying to me!”
“I wasn’t allowed to tell you,” Nanny Beam answered simply. “MI5 is very cagey about these things. James Bond hardly went around blabbing about his job description. Anyway, I’ve told you now. You know my secret.”
The room fell into silence. Dad was looking at Mum worriedly as she leant on the desk and just shook her head at Nanny Beam.
“Well,” Dad said brightly, clearing his throat, “I guess it’s not every day that you find out your mother-in-law is the most powerful intelligence officer in Britain, eh? I had better watch my step!”
