June 2008

Thomas holds Mary's hand while they both look at Emily. Joshua keeps playing by himself nearby. They are all in their small garden in their two-bedroom house, waiting for the moment of truth.

Emily just turned seven. Would she have any ability?

Please, something useful... make her powerful. Thomas smiles at Mary and kisses her forehead.

Emily is sweating, the sun hits her face, and she has her parents' eyes heavily focused on her.

"It's okay, honey, you'll feel it. You'll just know," Mary tells her. What if there's nothing to feel? Seven years we wasted...

Emily breathes in and out. Nothing is happening. She can hear her brother laugh in the background. Pretending that he's playing rather than mocking her. Tears begin to form in her eyes.

I don't have it. She looks up and sees the smiles from her parents' faces slowly disappearing. The laughter of her brother echoes, but it isn't the same as before. She looks around and a bug passes in front of her in slow motion, this scares her, and everything returns to normal again.

"It's okay, honey..." Mary tries to hold in the tears.

Emily gets up, focuses on the tree nearby her, it starts happening again, everything is slower.

"Having an ability isn't everything," Mary tells her and she hears every syllable being pronounced.

Lights begin to form around the tree and she knows it in her heart what she can do. She breaks one of the branches and sends it flying all the way to her feet. Time goes back to normal.

"Was that you, Emily?!" Thomas asks.

Emily looks at her father and smiles.

"What did you do? Do it again!"

Thomas and Mary take a deep breath and smile. Emily does the same, this time with the law mower and moved it a bit. Thomas smile grows bigger when he realizes it.

"What's her ability?" Mary asks.

"Telekinesis."

"Impressive!" Mary cries and runs to hug her daughter.

"Can I rest now? Watch my cartoons?" Emily smiles and holds her mother tight.

"No, Emily, someone important is coming tomorrow to see you. You have to practice a bit more. You have to be at your best." They both go inside to call Edward Hall.

Joshua creeps in from behind and fires his toy gun. It'll hurt her, and he smiles, thinking about it. She stops it, sends it back surgically close to his face.

On the next day, Mary greets in Edward, Saif, and a mental controller. They all watch Emily using her ability on the garden.

"Impressive, isn't it?" Mary brings a glass of ludicrous expensive wine to them.

"Yes," Edward takes a sip and pretends that it isn't the least tasteful wine he had in a while.

"Telekinesis is such a useful ability for the war," Thomas makes a toast.

"That is true."

"We feel that we can do more for our government, Edward. And Emily... she could be useful in the war!" Thomas smiles.

"It isn't up to me." It's up to them. "Saif, the results, please?"

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Saif calls the mind controller, and they speak briefly. He calls Edward and the three men speak for over thirty minutes in a distance.

"Impressive, right?" Mary paces around.

"We'll take her into consideration." Edward starts to leave.

"But... won't she be useful?" Thomas stands in front of him, preventing Edward from leaving.

"Her levels are impressive." His tone sharpens, and he immediately corrects it. "But it will take her years to control it. We'll stay in touch."

As soon as they turn their backs, Mary and Thomas look at each other, still holding the glasses of wine, slowly their eyes look down and they follow them to the door. When they get back, Emily runs to them, using her ability to move all the toys out of her way.

"How did I do, daddy?"

"You need to practice more." He goes inside.

Emily is about to cry when a sharp sensation runs through her body.

What's going on? What's this? As if it isn't hers. As if it's something that she's only observing.

On that night, Emily experiences her side effects. Seeing things that aren't there, objects moving, lights glimpse even when her eyes are closed. She runs crying to her parents. Thomas goes back to sleep and Mary brings her back to her room.

"This is part of having an ability, honey."

"It hurts..."

"I know, I have it too. You need to stop being afraid of it. Fear will prevent you from reaching your true potential." Mary kisses her goodbye and shuts down the door on her way out.

From that day on, Emily stayed with her father all day. He keeps training her, but whenever the mind controller comes by, Emily's levels are the same. They tell Thomas that it's common for deviants to stagnate.

***

October 2009

"They have other children. They won't choose her," Mary says while the two watch Emily practicing outside.

"Her levels are extraordinary; it's just a matter of patience."

On that week, Thomas is working early in the office when Saif knocks on his door.

"Want to see what the specimen is capable of?"

A 12-year-old Megan Grant turns her right-hand blue, points to a massive wall, and shoots against it, turning it into dust. A younger, blonde girl runs to her barefoot and hugs her. They start playing on the field, Megan shooting up against anything that she wishes and the younger girl clapping and laughing, pinching Megan's face, and she laughs too.

Marianne Olsen shows up.

"Who's the woman? I've seen her around," Thomas focuses on Marianne.

"Marianne. She works with me. Edward got her a job here."

"I can see why," Thomas smirks.

"Thomas, don't. She's very capable, highly intelligent, more than me, I can admit. She shocked everyone when she took the specimen in as her own. Adopted it. Not formally, of course."

"Adopted it?" Why? "What can it do? Besides destroying unmovable objects," Thomas smirks.

"Its ability is death. With levels unmatchable. And today it showed that it can control it. The other side won't stand a chance."

"Matthew Moore is invincible."

"No one's invincible. And I don't think his ability would be much of a fight against it."

"What are they waiting for to use it?"

Saif shrugs and tells him he has to take care of some affairs.

"Have a good one!" Thomas smiles and stays a bit longer, looking at Marianne hugging the girls.

His future would be hers. She has a powerful child, one that can get rid of the Five, even end the war. Emily will be considered a knock-off version. No one cares about the second most powerful. You have to be the best and they aren't.

Emily practices when Thomas finally gets home. He doesn't even acknowledge her and shuts himself in his small office. He throws some books off the shelves.

"Thomas... Emily is asking for you." Mary knocks on the door.

"Leave me alone!" he shouts and she leaves. I won't give up. Emily isn't what we needed, what we wanted. But I'll find a way to make it all better. To show them we can be useful. Our family has value.

Outside, Emily keeps training. Every day. Her father stopped showing up. Stopped helping her.

If I become stronger, daddy will be proud again. The objects around her move even when she isn't doing anything. The lights blind her. You can't give up. You can't... give up. Tears fall down her face.

A sharp pain interrupts her thoughts. She decides to look up her symptoms online later that day when her father is sleeping. It's probably another side effect. One that she must respect and control. On social media, people talk about a shared deviant connection. Supposedly, if two deviants with abilities are born on the same day, they can feel one another. Nothing but a story, scientists assured, but she believes it and wants to meet this other person. Wherever they are, whoever they are. One day, she hopes to meet them.

Dear other, I wish I could share part of your pain, or even make it all go away. Tears roll on her cheek.

Later that day, Matthew Moore announces that he has a daughter. He says, "she is the most powerful deviant in the world". Urges the government to surrender.

Emily keeps replaying the video, Matthew, and Amanda smiling, singing wonders about their child. How her ability, which they refuse to tell, isn't anything like the world has ever seen, how magnificent it is to watch her use it, how she doesn't even experienceside effects.

She wishes her parents would talk about her like that, they didn't for a while now. In her heart, she knows that if she keeps practicing, if she keeps working harder than everyone else, one day they'll be proud of her again.

Whoever the Moore's child was, she wouldn't stand a chance against Emily Roberts, the world's most powerful deviant.

Just watch out, world. You'll all know my name by heart. You'll love and respect me.