Super Spy (Book 2)

15. Faded

Jace's powers didn't fade any more as she and Tali made their way through the Outskirts, but they didn't come back, either.

Jace kept waiting to feel the flare of energy slowly regenerate. Maybe she had just used up too much energy at once; sometimes, when she did that, it took a few hours before she could pull on them again. But the fight had only lasted a few minutes, and something about this felt different. Still, she refused to give up hope. They'll come back, she told herself firmly. Don't panic. They have to come back. 

She and Tali walked back in silence. Tali's powers weren't working properly, either. Every minute or so, her silhouette flickered slightly, like she was trying to make herself invisible. But she never fully disappeared out of sight, and each time, she made a quiet huff of frustration. 

Once we get out of this swamp, Jace thought desperately. Then they'll come back.

By the time they crawled back in through the gap in the fence, mud had soaked through every part of Jace's clothing, even trickling down her shirt like cold slimy fingers reaching down her back. "I really don't like the Outskirts," she mumbled. Then panic struck her again. How would she get back to the Super Sector like this? She could hardly crawl in encrusted in dirt and no explanation, or at least none that she could tell the Enforcers or Tristan and Nia. 

She looked to Tali, who had closed her eyes and was breathing deeply, hands clenched at her sides. As she concentrated, she seemed to shimmer and fade slightly, but when she opened her eyes, she was once again fully visible.

"I can't go back like this," Jace told her, gesturing down at her clothes.

Tali turned bright blue eyes to her, paused, and then nodded. "Follow me," she whispered.

With not much choice, Jace followed her through the Lower Sectors until Tali had led them back to the lair where the vines had attacked. Instead of going to the room where Jace had seen Xavier, however, they wound their way to a different part of the building, tracking dirt all over the tiled floor. There was a small room there with a mattress and dirty blanket on the floor. It took Jace a moment to realize it was Tali's bedroom, since the only personal possessions were some knives and suspicious-looking vials on a table, and some clothing hanging on hooks. 

Tali gestured to a dingy bathroom attached to the bedroom, separated by a curtain. "It has running water," she said.

Good enough. Trying not to think about how Tali lived in this bare, dirty building, Jace stripped off her clothing, which was encrusted in dried mud, and rinsed off in the shower. Her skin was covered in dozens of tiny red welts where bugs had bitten her. She borrowed a towel from Tali and a gray sweatshirt to pull over her dirty clothing, which she ran under water and cleaned off as much as she could. 

Shivering in the wet clothes, hair sticking to her forehead, she stepped out, only to find Tali sitting on the mattress with arms wrapped around herself. 

"What's wrong?" Jace asked, crouching beside her. 

Tali jumped up, startled, and flickered but didn't turn invisible. "I can't hide anymore. I don't know what to do if I can't hide."

"Our superpowers will come back," Jace said, frowning.

Tali shook her head. "No, I think . . . I think the irae did something. I think . . . this might be permanent."

*     *     *     *     *

Even after she'd returned to the Super Sector, Jace couldn't stop thinking about Tali's words. It didn't seem possible to take away a person's superpowers, but then, everything about the irae seemed impossible. And Xavier had done it, hadn't he? Kara had told her about how he'd temporarily taken away her superpowers with some chemical he'd concocted, but what if he'd really learned the ability from the irae?