Young Writers Society

Dawn was speechless as their group approached Evan. This wasn't right... None of it was. And yet, that was the mom Dawn knew. She was always demanding the most out of people. She gingerly reached for Avery's hand again, but then she raised her voice. Her hand quickly went back. "It was harmless," Dawn let out in a meek whisper.
She felt entirely out of place, so, she ran to meet her mother's side. Izzy didn't bother to notice. "Mother! What is going on?!"

"Nothing, dear," she explained calmly, "Simply a little fight."

"That's anything but a little fight! Someone could've died!"

"And they didn't. Now, go back to your friends while we take care of this."

"What's going to happen to Sam?"

"They will recieve due punishment, as will Izzy, and likely Evan. But for now, I'm simply too busy to deal with that boy." The Adjudicator held the door open for Izzy- the first act of kindness she'd shown the pooe girl. "Keep them entertained in the mean time."

"I-... I guess, but mother-"

"What now?"

Dawn bit her tongue at her mom's harsh words. She was supposed to bring up how she completely forgot the promise she made, about finally spending time together, but all that came out was a bland, "Nothing. I know you're busy."

The Adjudicator left without any thanks for understanding. Dawn returned to the group woefully.

Avery lowered her head, covering her eyes with one hand. "What am I going to do with you?"
"Nothing," Evan replied harshly. "You're my sister, not my mother. You have no power over me, nor do you hold any responsibility for my actions. Let it go. We have more important things to worry about."
"Yeah, like expulsion," Avery hissed. "Look at this place! You and Sam have absolutely demolished it! Do you think the Adjudicator will just...let it go? No! You caused thousands of dollars in property damage, if not millions!"
"I guess I'll just go somewhere else, then," Evan muttered, shrugging.
"Like where?" Avery demanded. "You're a Prodigy, Evalyn! Normal people just don't accept supers like us! You can't get a job, or a house, or anything! There's nothing for you in the human world. You'll be stuck on the streets, scavenging for scraps!"
"Don't call me Evalyn." he growled.
"Well then what do you want me to call you?" Avery asked. "Steve? Adam? You're never going to be a real boy, anyway, so what does it matter?"
Evan stepped back, eyes wide. He had forgotten all about the pain in his chest--his sister's words stung deeper than any burn.
"H-how..." his voice lowered to a whisper, cracking as tears spilled over the rims of his eyes. "How could you say that?"
His body melted into the background, a mere shimmer of air as he ran back inside the school.

In shock, Dawn quickly swatted Avery on the shoulder. "How could you say that?!" Although Avery made a fair point, Dawn was stunned by what she said. It barely felt like something the kind-hearted Avery would ever say! Dawn abandoned the hope of holding Avery's hand today and ran into the shimmer, though Evan was already gone. "Evan! Come back! I can talk this out with my mom!" she yelled, running in the first direction she saw fit, "Maybe we can make Avery and Izzy apologize?"

Sage was just kind of...gone. She'd been struggling to keep herself there when the fighting happened, but Avery's words were the final straw. So many things had gone wrong in so little time--it was too much for Sage's nervous brain to handle.
Suddenly, Avery coughed. She leaned over, bracing her hands against her knees. Black goo dribbled out of her mouth, pooling at her feet.
"Oh my God--" Sage rushed forward, forgetting what had happened for a moment. "Are you okay? Do you need to go to the nurse?"
Avery straightened up, wiping her mouth on her sleeve. She had an odd look on her face, like she'd just woken up from a long nap.
"W-where am I?" she asked.

Dawn cursed under her breath when she couldn't track down Evan. The footprints led inside, and he could be anywhere in the school by now. She wasn't one for swearing, either, but this was all just so strange and stressful.
So, she made her way back to her friendgroup, coughing and wheezing when she ran a bit too fast. Then, she saw the slimy, gooey ink puddled at Avery's feet. She forgot any grudge than and there and ran to Avery, standing in front of her and holding her shoulder's lightly. Even if prior comments puzzled and angered her, she wouldn't leave her friend like this.
Dawn's worried expression deepened. "What's the last thing you remember? I mean- we're at school, you know that, I hope. Um, we're in the little training grounds. Evan and Izzy got into a fight. Do you remember that?" Panic spread through Dawn's entire body, though it was hard to tell sickness and concerned flushes apart.

"I remember...fire," Avery murmured, leaning into Dawn slightly. She looked up, gazing blurrily at her friends' faces. "You guys were there...I know that. And then..."
She rubbed her temples, squinting her eyes shut. "I don't know. Where's Evan and Sam? I thought they were here, too."

Dawn blushed when Avery leaned forward, then suddenly tilted her head. "They... Well, you called Evan a girl and then he ran away. And Sam was... I dunno," she said. "Do you remember any of that? Do you have some evil darkside? That might be a bit of a problem. Do we need to sit down?"

"I'd like that," Avery murmured. Sage and Dawn led her over to an undamaged bench, sitting down on either side of her. Avery took a few deep breaths, steadying herself against the warm metal. She glanced at Dawn. "I...don't think I have an evil darkside. Nothing that's ever come up before, at least."

She tilted her head, thinking. "...No, this has definitely never happened before. I think. I'm not entirely sure...I don't remember much other than the fire. It was kind of like...falling asleep."

The tall girl lowered her eyes, shrugging. "You don't realize it's happened until you wake up."

"Did you notice anything about it?" Sage asked. Nervous Semavry vines wound their way around her legs. "Like, did you feel a presence or something? Someone taking over your mind?"

Avery shook her head. "Like I said, I didn't realize it was happening until I woke up just now. But...I don't think that rules out mind control. I'm not well versed on the topic, though, so I don't know how to identify it..."

Sage looked at Dawn. "Does the school have a library or something? Maybe we could find more information there."

Dawn rubbed Avery's back as the conversation went on, her brow creased. "Well, there might not be any books on it, but there are sure to be articles. We can use the school computers," she said, "But I can always ask my mom. She must've faced off against some mind-controllers at some point." Then she stopped.

The comfort movement on Avery's book completely stopped. Dawn's worry became even more apparent. "Why would anyone take control of Avery? Just to make Evan upset? How'd they even learn that about Evan? Did they steal it from your mind?" After her first question, Dawn seemingly rambled off every single thought that went through her head. It didn't help the mood any, but she was caught in her own head.

"Izzy!" Powder shrieked as Izzy emerged from the nurse's office. She trudged out of the room slowly, bandages across the left side of her face and arm. Along with a side of her face, her hair on the left was entirely gone. At least it made the bandage wraps look slightly more neat across her face. The one eye in tact seemed hollow of the energy she was known for. She just looked... older. Powder was hesitant to go any closer. "Are you... okay?"

Izzy didn't respond.

Evan's footsteps slowed to a walk, striding down an empty hallway. It was silent--nothing but the sound of his feet against the floorboards. Suddenly, he pulled up short.
Izzy and Powder were passing by now, the former wrapped in layers of thick bandages. She looked so...broken. Dead. Like all the usual vibrance had been sucked out of her.
Literally, Evan thought, glancing at her beige-colored shirt. ...If even the Healers couldn't fix her, Sam must've done a lot of damage.
Evan flattened himself against the wall, making sure that Izzy and Powder wouldn't see him as they made their way down the hall. His stomach twisted nauseously as they turned the corner.
I didn't think Sam was capable of such a thing, he thought. Impulsive and excitable, yes, but never dangerous.
He sank to the floor, holding his head in his hands. This is all my fault, isn't it? If I hadn't tried to pick a fight...stupid, stupid, stupid. What was I thinking?!
He lowered his arms, staring at the carpet. They dragged Sam away. Where? Are they going to be expelled? Well, probably. They literally burned off Izzy's face. But...where are they?
Evan stood up again, checking the still-empty hallway. He looked down at his body, practically invisible against the wall. Only one way to find out, I suppose...

Back in the stadium, Dawn was still rambling.
"Um, maybe we should go to the library now?" Sage interjected slowly. "No point in asking questions if we don't have any answers, right?"
"Maybe we'll find Evan, too," Avery added, nodding. "I need to apologize..."

"Yeah, I um, that's a good idea," Dawn said, finally catching on and realizing she shouldn't have been so frantic. It's not like she could help it! "Also, if we do see Evan, let's lead with the "mind control" thing. Not sure if he'll listen otherwise."

Powder lead Izzy to a bench just outside the dorms, holding her hand tightly. "So, are you okay?" he asked again. Izzy slowly sat down on the metal-gridded bench, hunching over. For the first time, there was hint of life in her eyes.
"Healers said it'd take a while for them to get me fully better," she mumbled, rubbing her arm gently. Powder found a seat next to her, a sympathetic expression under his glasses.
"If it helps any, I hear Sam is getting expelled. I dunno about Evan."
"They deserve worse."

Powder's eyes widened. "What?"

"You heard me. If I ever see Evan or Sam again, I will end them."
"You can't just say that!"
"You're right. I have to keep my word. Do you where Evan went?"
"What?! No!"
Izzy stood up. "Fine. I'll go myself. I won't let them get away with this. Evan's the one who started this, anyway."
"But-!"
"Being a hero's about getting justice, right? Well, here I am, getting justice. Are you with me or not?"

Dawn welcomed them into the library and instantly found her way to the computers. "Maybe we can find a research article or something? I'll searching the books. Doubt there will be much, but better try, right?"

Sage nodded. She sat down at the computer, fingers flying over the keyboard. Avery hovered behind her, plucking books off the shelves and flipping through them.
"What did you say your symptoms were?" Sage asked her.
"Dreaminess and amnesia," Avery replied, placing The Art of Mindbending back on the shelf. "And of course the black goo."
"Right," Sage squinted at the screen. "According to this article, black goo can mean one of two things--either it's a corruption of your life force, or the mind control was transmitted via some sort of food, and the black goo is your body trying to expel it. I'm kinda hoping it's the latter, because draining your life force is...well, very bad."
Avery leaned over her shoulder, scanning the computer. "Huh. Well, I don't feel any...weaker than usual, so I don't think it's the first option. But...the only thing I've eaten today was Evan and Sam's questionable spaghetti. Do you think that could be it?"
"Maybe," Sage muttered, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. "But if that's the case, we're probably all infected with some sort of mind disease."
"That's very...not comforting."
"No," Sage opened a new tab, typing hurriedly into the search bar. "It says here that the infection can lay dormant for several weeks, only activating when the controller decides it's necessary."
"And if we've eaten all the same foods..." Avery trailed off.
"Then we've probably all been infected for a while now."

Evan padded down the hallway, scanning for any sign of Sam. He wasn't entirely sure what he was looking for--a burn on the wall, perhaps? But it didn't matter, anyway, because the little pyro was nowhere to be seen.
Wait a minute... he stopped, squinting at the wall. What's that?
It was a tiny gap in the boards, just slightly wider than normal. As he came closer, he realized it made a sharp right turn just above his head, angling once more to create a rectangle.
A trap door, he realized. But...what for?

Dawn held herself tightly, rubbing her arms in a comforting motion. She was used to having to hold herself. Once her brother was gone, there was nobody else to do it for her. "So, you're saying that the cafeteria staff must be doing this? That or someone's tampered with vending machines. Those are all we've eaten out, recently." Dawn started fidgeting with her hands as a tight swelling grew in her chest. "I mean- Why? Why put mind-control stuff in our food but not use it immediately? As if..." she took a deep breath, "As if it's a precautionary measure. If something doesn't go right."

This was meant to be a state of the art facility! How could this happen? Who would want to do this? Why did someone want to drive a wedge between Avery and Sam? None of it made sense and Dawn hated it. She took several calming breaths, as Darcy Lane instructed her to do, but it was getting harder to keep from complete panic. At any moment, they'd just be a puppet to some villain's strings! "I-I should tell my mom," she said. Then, she looked at her friends. "Should we tell my mom? I mean, she- she's gotta know what to do, right? She always does. That's- She has to!"

"Evan?" Dr. Emily called. He stood with his hands folded behind his back. "Are you alright? I heard about the incident. It's fortunate there were no casualties." He smoothly approached him, standing just in front of the trap-door. "I heard about your friend, Sam... I thought I'd let you know first." Dr. Emily's posture softened as he looked down at Evan. "Have you ever heard of a burnout in relation to Prodigies? There's a few other terms for it, such as: overcharge, build up, etc. It's extremely rare, but the point is that after such a fierce display of powers, Sam..."

Dr. Emily pondered his next words, before gently telling him the truth. No point in sugarcoating it. "Sam is no longer a Prodigy. They have been expelled and I assume their belongings have already been taken care of. The Adjudicator said that due to their young age, such violent blasts posed a large threat to burnout and to the general public. She... states that it may be better that their powers, ironically, burnt out."

Sage looked up at Dawn, mirroring her friend's anxiousness in her own movements. It was hard not to do so. Fear was contagious.
"Do you think your mother could fix it?" she asked, picking at the side of the keyboard. Little vines sprouted between the buttons, unfurling like tiny snakes. "Or..."
She trailed off, staring at the flickering computer screen. She didn't want to say it, but...what if the school hadn't been infiltrated? What if the Adjudicator had been doing this...from the beginning?
No, Sage shook her head. She couldn't...she wouldn't! What would even be the point of that...to control us?
But the more she thought about it, the more it made sense. Put a bunch of superpowered teenagers in one building together and there were bound to be issues...the easiest way to fix that would be to just force them to work together.
But we're not working together, Sage realized. We're creating problems...like with Avery and Evan. If the purpose of the mind control is to make sure that everything goes smoothly, why would they be creating conflict? Unless there's something else they want...
"What're you thinking about?" Avery asked. Sage jumped a little. She'd forgotten where she was.
"It...doesn't make sense," she shook her head.


Evan was surprised when the Healer called his name. Evidently, in his curiosity, he had forgotten to uphold his invisibility. The news made him feel even worse, although it wasn't exactly unexpected.
"Do I at least get to say goodbye?" he asked.

The pause after Sage's "Or" was enough. Dawn stared for a solid minute, then looked straight down at the floor.
No, she wouldn't-
Oh yes, she absolutely would-
But she wasn't deranged!
Well, she is getting up there in age.
She wasn't a lunatic! Eccentric maybe-
She hasn't been the same since his death.
Don't put anything past her now.
But why?
Why would she-
How could she-

"She'll fix this!" Dawn blurted out, clutching her chest tightly. Thoughts ran a mile a minute. "She fixes everything. My mom knows what she's doing. It has to be a mistake. It has to be! She's not... She wouldn't do that."

Dawn quickly grabbed Avery's arm to stabilize herself, though it was a terrible attempt at it. "It has to be a mistake. Why would she wait until now? It makes no sense, like Sage said. She'll fix this. She'll fix it." Those words were moreso spoken for her own sake.

The teacher smiled. "Yes, of course. Sam is packing now. You may be able to catch them if you hurry." Then, Dr. Emily sighed and pat Evan's shoulder. "I am sorry it had to be like this. Truly." Then, with nothing more to add, the historian walked off.