The Invasion

by Katrina Kahler

  Another possibility is someone else from Adam’s town, his “uncle” Eddie. Eddie is way bright but has at least two or three screws loose as well as some missing. The guy also happens to be in jail right now. Though, I can’t rule him out. He could somehow be behind this weirdness. The guy loves weird.

  Of course, when it comes to super and weird, I certainly have to consider Tanya’s younger sister, Kayla. Kayla has the same time and space power potential as Tanya. Even though Kayla looks older, she still has the maturity of a young kid and very little fear of using her power. Would she create strange giant butterflies? Could she? I think the answer to that is most likely yes. Since Kayla lives at BMS Labs in a special containment room, I think it will be best to start there. I hope we can get in touch with Tanya so she can help deal with any problems Kayla might have. The kid did turn Jason into a door once. So you never know what else she might be capable of!

  Girl Issues

  When we reached BMS lab’s main building, we dropped off the insect husks and goo to the labs of Doctor Joe and Doctor Jenny. Joe and Jenny were entomologists who specialized in unique and enhanced insects. Doctor Joe was a short stocky man who looked like he could wrestle alligators. Doctor Jenny was a tall slim woman, who always had a smile on her face.

  “We brought you some samples!” Jason said as we walked into their bug filled lab.

  “Great!” Doctor Joe said. “I wish we could have gone to the field to investigate but we can do more here in the lab.”

  “Also, we have terrible allergies this time of year,” Doctor Jenny admitted. “Those fields make us sneeze and cough.”

  “Anything from the initial results sent in from Doctor’s Meg and Jodi?” Jason asked, all serious.

  Jenny showed us a computer printout. It looked like gibberish and wavy lines to me. Jason examined it, his eyes wide. “The DNA of these super big flying caterpillars of destruction was altered…” he said.

  “Isn’t that kind of obvious?” I asked.

  Jason nodded. “It is, but it happened so fast it couldn’t have been random and natural. This had to have been done on purpose or by accident by somebody or something.”

  “Therefore, it just kind of mostly confirms what we already know,” I said. “Right?”

  “Exactly!” Jason said more excited than I thought he should be. “We have confirmation, well, likely confirmation, and that’s great! Now we know that somebody or something is behind this!”

  “Exactly!” Dr. Joe said, making a fist.

  “Double down on that!” Dr. Jenny said.

  “So…” I said slowly. “That means Kayla could have something to do with these things. Right?”

  “Oh, she is scary…” Doctor Jenny said.

  “So scary,” Doctor Joe said.

  “So…” I said slowly. “That’s a yes?”

  “Yes,” Doctor Jenny said.

  “Yes,” Doctor Joe said.

  “I believe so,” Jason said.

  “Then let’s go see her!” Zeke said.

  I pointed at Zeke. “Here’s something I don’t say a lot. I agree with Zeke!”

  “Kayla is cute!” Zeke said.

  Adam spoke up. “Let’s make haste then to Kayla’s quarters!”

  “Make haste?” I asked.

  Adam grinned. “I thought it sounded more superhero-ish.”

  “It sounded more geek-ish,” I replied.

  “I liked it!” Jason said.

  “I rest my case,” I said with a smile.

  We said goodbye to Doctor’s Joe and Jenny and headed to Kayla’s room.

  We found Kayla sitting in the dark floating above her bed. With super-vision, I could tell Kayla had her eyes closed.

  “You have finally come to see me,” Kayla said. “I take it this is not a social visit?”

  “Do you have any sticks, fish sticks or popcorn to eat?” Zeke asked. “If you do, I can be very social.”

  Popcorn and fish sticks appeared in Zeke’s hands. “Wait, no sticks?” he asked.

  Kayla popped open one eye. “Don’t push your luck or I’ll make you into a stick.”

  “I’m happy with what I have then,” Zeke said.

  I noticed Jason and Adam had disappeared. Putting two and two together, I shouted to Zeke, “Wait, don’t eat those!!”

  He paused, a fish stick in his mouth. “Why?” He asked without closing his mouth.

  “Kayla, what did you do to Adam and Jason?” I asked firmly.

  Kayla laughed. “I just moved them out of my room. I didn’t turn them into food for Zeke. That would be gross. I wouldn’t do that to Zeke!”

  “Thank you!” Zeke said. He finally bit down and started chewing.

  Kayla lowered to her bed. The lights came on. “I am not a fan of those boys,” she said coolly. “Jason paid too much attention to my sister, Tanya.”

  “And Adam?” I asked.

  “He just annoys me. So wholesome and sweet. Plus, he’s not natural. It’s all just so not right,” Kayla said, sticking out her tongue.

  Zeke made a fist and shook it at Kayla. “Hey, don’t say anything bad about my BFF, Adam!”

  Kayla smiled at Zeke. “Poof!” she said.

  Zeke turned into a giant stick on the floor.

  Kayla laughed. “I like him better like that!” she said.

  “You can turn him back?” I asked Kayla with a frown.

  “I can,” she said coolly.

  “Will you?” I asked.

  “Do you want me to?” Kayla asked. “He’s much quieter like this. He smells better and I can water him. He’ll be like my pet stick.”

  I actually considered her words. Zeke could be a giant, massive pain in my behind. He seemed to always be around when I didn’t really need him to be around. Truthfully, I never really needed him to be around. Of course, he was Adam’s best friend. I didn’t understand it, but it was just the way it was.

  The door to the room burst open – literally. Tanya stormed into the room carrying a frozen Adam and Jason in her arms. She placed my frozen friends down.

  “Turn the zombie back and unfreeze these two!”

  “Ugh, I don’t want to!” Kayla whined. “They all talk much less this way!”

  “Plus, I want you to answer Lia!” Tanya told her sister firmly.

  “She hasn’t asked me anything yet,” Kayla countered.

  “Did you create the giant flying caterpillars?” I asked her.

  “Sounds gross!” Kayla said. “Why would I create anything like that?” She stuck out her tongue.

  “Is she telling the truth?” I asked Tanya.

  Tanya locked eyes with her sister. “Are you telling the truth?”

  Kayla kept her eyes steady, non-blinking. The room started to shake. I’m pretty sure the entire building shook; if not the entire grounds.

  “Okay, you two, don’t bring down the building,” I said.

  “I’ll keep it standing,” Tanya told me. Her forehead was sweating a little.

  Using super-vision, I saw Kayla sweating much more.

  “You telling the truth, little sis?” Tanya demanded.

  “Yes!” Kayla shouted. “Yes, I am!! I would never make something so unnatural. I’m all for natural. I love natural. I don’t mess with nature…” Kayla groaned falling back on her bed.

  Tanya turned to me and smiled. “Nope, she didn’t do it.”

  Tanya looked at Kayla. “You can sleep now.”

  Kayla closed her eyes and went to sleep.

  Pointing to the two frozen boys and the zombie that was now a tree, I remarked, “She could have turned them both back.”

  Tanya snapped her fingers. Zeke became Zeke again. “Man, I feel like a tree!” he said.

  Adam and Jason started to move.

  “Hey, when did Tanya get here?” Jason asked.

  “Just now,” Tanya told him. “My little sis had nothing to do with those giant bugs.”

  “Actually, butterflies are insects!” Jason correct.

&nb
sp; POOF. Jason became a tree.

  “To think I dated him for a while,” Tanya rolled her eyes.

  “Ah, you didn’t have anything to do with the butterflies either. Right?” I asked.

  “Nope!” Tanya said. “Not my style.”

  At a snap of her fingers, Jason turned back into himself.

  “Let’s make like a tree and leave!” Zeke said.

  Once again, I totally agreed with him.

  If you need me, Tanya communicated via her thoughts to me, “just whistle and I’ll be there!

  Dear Diary: I try not to think much about Tanya and Kayla’s powers. They are kind of scary. But my dad’s team insists we can keep them both under control. Hana agrees with that. Plus, as Hana keeps reminding me, neither of the girls have my raw power or endurance. To make things even more complicated, Hana computes that if I really worked at it, I could mentally do some of the things that Tanya and Kayla can do. When enhanced by tech, I’ve previously managed to move things with my mind. I think I could keep doing that if I concentrated enough. Yikes. I’m a little scared of me now. After all, I’m only 13. I shouldn’t be able to create things with my mind. Though I kind of liked it when Kayla turned Zeke into a nice quiet tree.

  But Tanya has such control over her power, it’s scary too. Scary in a mostly good way. It’s also funny…even though she used to date Jason, she didn’t hesitate to turn him into a tree when he became nerdy with her. I kind of liked that too. That means she no longer has feelings for him. Man, I am being petty, but I am human, so I can’t help it.

  The good thing is, at least we can rule out Kayla being responsible for the freaky insects. That means we most likely won’t have to deal with her again for a while. When it comes to Kayla, as far as I’m concerned, the less contact the better.

  Hey, why are you thinking bad things about me?! I heard in my brain.

  Kayla, get out of my brain! I thought back as hard as I could.

  Sorry, Lia. I get carried away sometimes…

  Kayla left my brain. Yep, the girl bugged me.

  Frenemies

  Jason and Hana told me they’d work on a list of people who could be responsible for creating the weird super butterflies. They suggested I go home and rest. My might and power would be needed later. This worked for me as I really wanted to prepare for the new school year that was fast approaching.

  Adam and Zeke also had to get back to their town to make sure no superbugs had appeared there. I actually didn’t mind having some nice quiet time to myself. Quiet time was good. As I flew home, I looked forward to a little peace, maybe have a nice dinner with my mom. My mother was the one piece of normal in my world. Yes, Mom, like me, was super powered. She could knock out a rhino with a tap, a glare, or a fart. Yet, she never really used her powers. For all intents and purposes, she acted like a normal human doctor; which, I really liked. My mom led by example.

  Flying over my house at super speed, I checked out the area around my yard with super-vision to see if it was clear to fly into my room. Sadly, Wendi and Patti were sitting on my porch. I had no idea why those two mean girls were waiting for me. Wendi was the scourge of my school existence. Nothing I could do or say at school, on student council or on the LAX field was ever good enough for her.

  I had no idea what the two girls wanted. I landed at super speed about a block from my house and used MAC to turn my holographic suit into a regular outfit…a green knitted top and a flared purple polka dot skirt.

  Walking up to my porch, I said, “Hi ladies, to what do I owe the pleasure?”

  The girls looked me over. “Fairly quite okay outfit,” Wendi said. That was the highest praise she had ever given me.

  “You look nice in green,” Patti said. “It suits your skin tone.”

  “So… you’re here to tell me I look good?”

  “Cute-ish,” Wendi said slowly, almost choking on the words.

  “There is hope for you,” Patti added.

  “Thanks,” I said walking up the stairs to my porch. “I appreciate you stopping by with the awesome compliment. It makes me feel all special inside.”

  “It should,” Patti said. “We don’t compliment everybody.”

  “Yes, I am aware…” I told them. “I’ve seen you make girls cry…”

  “Only weak girls,” Wendi said. “We help make them stronger…we’re just playing our part.”

  I fought back the urge to drive the two of them away with my super command voice. I guessed they must have something important to tell me though. I had to hear them out.

  “Okay then, why are you really here?” I asked.

  Patti pointed down at my feet. “Your shoes…”

  “I like my shoes…”

  “They’re flats,” Wendi noted.

  “They are,” I agreed. “They’re very comfortable.”

  “Look, you are on the student council with us. You play LAX with us… You HAVE to have a pair of heels…to wear for special occasions, at least.”

  “Mom has heels I can borrow,” I said. “We have the same size feet and she’s a doctor, so she has nice shoes.”

  The two girls put their arms around me. “True, but girl, you need your own pair of heels!”

  “We’re taking you to Dandy Dan’s shoes…” Patti said.

  “Now?” I gulped.

  “Now!” they both said.

  Okay, I actually didn’t mind clothes shopping. Sure, I had cool nanotech that would allow my clothes and shoes to change at will. But man, I’d love to actually be able to go shopping for a pair or two or three of heels. After all, I was almost fourteen. Problem was, I hadn’t taken my shoes off all day and it had been a long crazy day. I felt concerned that a whiff of my feet would drop the mall. (Been there, done that.)

  I thought about asking the girls to wait for a second while I changed. Instead, I ordered them to freeze.

  The two girls stood there frozen.

  I used super speed to race up to my room. I found my trusty dog, Shep sleeping on my bed. Shep stood up and rolled off the bed when I entered the room. He licked me.

  I kicked my shoes off.

  Shep groaned and rolled over.

  Poor Shep, he got a lot of whiffs of my feet. Being a dog, though, I think he kind of liked the smell.

  I used super breath on my feet, trying to cool them down and literally blow off the odor. Racing into the bathroom with my shoes, I dropped a LOT of talcum powder into them.

  MAC spoke up. “Those shoes do have nano odor control bots, but when you get really active, it’s hard to keep up.”

  “That’s why I’m using good old fashioned talcum powder.”

  “Smart…”

  For added measure, I sprinkled some powder on my feet.

  I slipped the shoes back on and sped down the stairs. I ran into Mom entering the house.

  Mom pointed to the two frozen girls. “I see we have company!” she said.

  “Yeah, they want to take me shoe shopping for heels,” I told her.

  “Why?” Mom asked.

  “For my image,” I said.

  Mom looked at me. “You’re a super bright, super special girl who saves the world. You should be very proud of that!

  “I am!” I reassured her. “But I still want the mean girls to like me. It makes my life easier.”

  Mom sighed, hitting me with a bit of her super breath. “I get it.” She pointed out the door. “Go have fun!”

  I gave her a kiss on the forehead. “Thanks, Mom! You’re the best!”

  A part of me felt a little angry with another part of me for being kind of excited about hanging out with Wendi and Patti. After all, they’d made my life tough over the years with their mean words and gestures. But I figured that made me tougher. Plus, I’d saved the world several times now, so my confidence in myself was pretty high. But still, I figured the less minor annoyances in my life, the better. Plus, it felt good to have people like me. When I had arch-enemies like Glare Girl and the mad scientist wanna-be, Paula in my
life, the less mean girls, the better. I also admit that it felt good to do regular girl things for a change.

  Dapper Dan’s was a cool little boutique shoe store in the center of town. It had been run by Dan for what seemed like forever. The story was…Dan used to be a famous actor but got tired of the glamour life and moved to our town to open a shoe store. Yeah, not sure why. None of my business. But the man knew shoes and style.

  Dan greeted Wendi and Patti the moment they walked in the door. “Wendi, Patti, nice to see my two fave clients.” He looked at me. “You’re new.” Looking down at my nano-bot changing shoes, he gushed. “My, I have never seen shoes like that!”

  “Thanks,” I said.

  “My dear, that was not a compliment. Those shoes look like they were made to work, but they just don’t work…” He pointed to one of the chairs. “Sit!”

  I did as I was told.

  He bent down and looked at my feet. “Size 6.5. Correct?”

  “That’s right!” I said.

  “I’m always right!” Dan said.

  “He is!” Wendi said.

  “So right!” Patti said.

  Dan clapped his hands and shouted. “Danny boy, bring out XRSS in 6.5 narrow!”

  A boy who looked like a younger version of Dan emerged from another room. He carried a shoe box with him. He formally handed the box to Dan.

  “Dismissed!” Dan said.

  Danny bowed and walked away backward.

  “Now that was different,” I said softly to myself.

  Ignoring my comment, Dan popped open the shoe box to reveal the loveliest, shiniest pair of red grown-up heels I had ever seen. He placed them on the floor in front of me. They seemed to glisten in the light.

  “Wow!” I said, my jaw almost hitting the ground.

  “Let’s see how amazing these look on you!” Dan said.

  He gently removed one of my high tech shoes. I felt relieved when neither he, Wendi, nor Patti passed out. Dan slipped a red shoe over my left foot. I felt like Cinderella at the ball. Dan popped off my right shoe. He let it fall to the ground in disdain. “A pretty girl needs pretty shoes!” Dan said. He slipped the other red shoe onto my right foot. “Stand!” he said.