[OLD] The Supers Experiment (#1)

Nine

"But you guys are safe?"

Claire looked over at Victoria. "Yeah, we're safe," she told their father.

"Dad, if you want us to come home, we can," Victoria said. Claire bit her lip. If Dad wanted them to leave, she'd have no choice but to go.

"No, stay there. I'm going to stay away from our house for a while. I don't want this Scorpion group to come back. And I don't want to get involved with the police either."

Victoria sighed "Fine, we'll stay here."

"Good. But please be safe. Don't trust anyone unless you're certain they want to help you, not hurt you."

"Of course, Dad," Claire said.

"We'll be careful," Victoria added.

A few seconds of silence passed before Claire spoke up. "Dad, how much did you know about what happened in Cladis Point? And our powers?"

"I suppose it's about time I told you what happened." There was a pause before Dad continued. "May twelfth. I was a math teacher at the elementary school. We were at recess when everything started to shake. I thought it was some sort of earthquake, but then there was this really bright light. By the time I could see again, the building had been nearly destroyed. I quickly found out that almost everyone else was dead. Just dropped to the ground for no apparent reason." He sighed. Claire shuddered, trying to imagine how terrible that would be too see.

"I searched the town and it seemed like mostly children had survived. I was relieved when I found you two alive."

"But mom... didn't survive," Victoria said.

"Unfortunately, no."

Claire narrowed her eyes, struggling to remember something, anything from Cladis Point. "What happened after you found us?" she asked.

"Not long after that, some people came into town," her father replied. "Scientists, apparently. They asked me to come with them so they could figure out what happened. I helped them find the other survivors.

"Like I said, mostly kids survived, but we found a few adults too. We all went back to the lab and they made a list of everyone who was still alive. Then one night I overheard some of the scientists talking. They said that it was some sort of experiment gone wrong that caused the accident. And they were..." Claire tensed as her dad trailed off. The phone let out a small burst of static and after a moment, he continued.

"They were excited about it, even though their own co-workers had died. They said something about 'getting closer?' And shortly after that, some of the children began developing powers. The scientists were beginning to talk about experimentation. Before things got too crazy, I snuck out with you two and left."

A sound from behind Claire made her look up. She turned to see Ivy and Summer standing in the doorway.

"One second," Claire mouthed to them. The two nodded and Claire turned her attention back to the phone. "Do you remember anything else, Dad?" She asked. "Anything that could explain why we survived?"

"Don't be ridiculous," Victoria said. "How is he supposed to know? No one does. Why does it even matter?"

Ivy shot Victoria a dirty look, but she didn't seem to notice.

"Victoria," their father said sternly. "It's a reasonable question. In fact, I do remember something strange that took place a few weeks before the accident. I'm not sure it was connected, though."

"What happened?" Claire asked, leaning in eagerly. Victoria rolled her eyes.

"I took you two to your doctor for a checkup," Dad said. "You got some vaccinations, and then a nurse I didn't recognize came in. I figured she was new. She told me that you each needed one more shot. I don't remember what she said it was for.

"So she gave you each the shot. Claire first, then Victoria. In the middle of injecting Victoria, we heard footsteps coming down the hall. The nurse almost dropped the syringe and practically ran out of the room."

Claire, wide-eyed, shared a look with Victoria.

"Did you tell someone?" Victoria asked.

"Yeah. I ran out into the hall and she was gone, so I told the next person I saw what happened. They came in and checked on you two, and you seemed to be fine. While they got the doctor, I stayed behind to watch you.

"There was a drop of this silvery liquid on the examination table. I guess it was whatever the nurse injected in you. I touched it, but I forgot that I had a papercut on my finger from when I was filling out your paperwork. When I touched the liquid—whatever it was—my cut started stinging like crazy."

Whatever it was got inside him, Claire realized.

"Wait, so you just touched this weird stuff with an open cut on your finger?" Victoria asked.

"I forgot about the cut. Admittedly not my brightest moment. But hey, everything worked out. Now you two be safe, okay? Call me and check in whenever you can."

"Of course, Dad," Victoria said.

"Okay. Love you."

"Love you too," Claire and Victoria said at the same time. Victoria hung up the phone and turned to face Ivy and Summer.

"What do you two want?" Victoria asked.

"We just needed to have a conversation with you about training and whatnot," Summer said.

"Fine," Victoria muttered.

Summer smiled. "Come with me, I'm going to show you where we train." She gestured for them to follow her and Ivy into the hallway. Claire thought she heard Summer whisper something to Ivy, but it could've been her imagination.

Summer started up a conversation with Victoria, leaving Claire to walk with Ivy. Claire opened her mouth to speak, but Ivy beat her to it.

"Summer wants to sneak out and go to Cladis Point."

Claire's eyes widened. "What?"

"She wants us to train first," Ivy continued. "So it won't be for a few days. Would you want to come?"

Claire's gaze darted to Victoria. She'd be furious if Claire snuck out. And to be honest, it didn't sound like a good idea. Dr. Newman told them not to.

Then again, Summer had a lot of experience. She was pretty much their leader. If she was okay with it...

Ivy was waiting for an answer.

"Yeah," Claire said. "I'll come."