No Glow (A Michael Vey Fan-Fic)

Prologue Part 1: My Unfortunate Beginning

My name is Nichelle. Maybe my birth mother was a Trekkie, or maybe she was an idiot who didn't know the difference between 'M' and 'N.' I don't know. 

But one thing I do know is that I don't belong anywhere. And that brings us to the unique circumstances of my birth.

Elgen Inc. had recently developed this new machine that was supposed to detect cancer early on, or stop diseases or whatever. It was called the Magnetic Electron Induction, or MEI for short. Supposedly better and more efficient than an MRI scan.

They were given permission to do limited human testing at a hospital in Pasadena, CA. So they decide to test it on a a little over two dozen newborns in a 10 day period. But the machine malfunctions and what do ya know? A teeny little accident occurs. And by 'little," I mean that electron waves leak through the machine, killing some of the babies they tested on. All in all, they killed 42 babies out of a threescore. And they didn't even test on all of those babies. Waves leaked out of the machine, and it killed babies that were in rooms adjacent to the ones where the testing was done.

And guess what? A cute little baby named Nichelle just so happened to be one of the lucky babies that was tested on. And instead of dying, me and 17 other babies were permanently... gifted with various abilities, all dealing with some form of electricity.

My birth mother ditched me, which is probably the reason why I'm cursed to not belong anywhere. Maybe she accidentally became pregnant and wanted to get rid of me without aborting me and ending my life before it began. Maybe her and my father couldn't take care of me. Maybe my father hated my mother, and she didn't want to be reminded of him every time she looked at me. Maybe she was taken advantage of and adoption was her favored option. 

A host of questions with no answers is the basic summary of my life.

I was immediately placed in a foster home after birth. The first five years of my life were spent in about 6 different households. But every single place I stayed ended up having problems with the electrical wiring. By the age of three, I had involuntarily burned down my potential parent's home, and ended up being sent to another one. I know now that I was sent elsewhere because they didn't have the money or housing to take care of me any more, but how was I to know that at such a young age? 

So I hardened my heart and used tantrums as my way of getting back at the world for my "injustice." My social worker called me a "little monster," and that moniker just made me realize even more that I would never really belong anywhere.

My only escape was my favorite TV show at the time, The Backyardigans. There was a penguin, a hippo, moose, a kangaroo type animal, and a one-of-a-kind animal named Uniqua, who was my favorite. All of them were different, yet they shared a common goal: a quest for adventure. They also shared a common set-back: they were just children, and they seemed to be poor since they all shared the same backyard. But that never stopped them from stepping over their differences and making their own adventures in their shared backyard. Except I knew that I was different. And I could never step over that difference.

The moment I entered my third home, I made sure that they knew that I was not to be trifled with. I made sure to make it especially hard for my social workers.

"Nichelle, the Holtsens are waiting for you. When we get inside, just make it easy for all of us and be polite to your new foster mommy and daddy. And the other kids that are here with them."

"No. I hate them! I hate them all!" I said, stopping to stamp my foot on the ground.

The worker's eyes rolled up to look at the sky, and she proceeded to do a series of rapid blinking.

"You don't have to make it hard for yourself. Sweetie, they just want to help you."

"No, no, no!" I yelled at her. Then, to add fire to the flame, I let out a scream loud enough to wake up a sloth of hibernating bears. 

The worker's lips spread into thin line, and as she reached for my hand to lead me into the house, I bit her, drawing blood.

She let out a sharp cry and immediately grabbed her injured hand with her other one. I gave her a dark, ugly smile and then proceeded to run down the street, away from her and away from the house. I clutched my Uniqua stuffed animal in my right hand and I turned around when I reach the street corner. A man and a woman stood in the street near the social worker, the door to the house still wide open. The Holtsens. 

Needless to say, the arrangement didn't work out. I lived in three different houses after that. I behaved badly, and ran away when one of the families said that they didn't have a TV for me to watch The Backyardigans. I was apprehended, obviously. The electric wiring malfunctioned in the house I stayed in, and after awhile they gave me to a new family. That one ended up burning down, and I was taken to yet another foster home. 

And then there was Hatch. About 4 months after my fifth birthday, social services told me and my foster parents about an opportunity for me to go to an school for gifted children in Pasadena called The Elgen Academy. They met with the school's "superintendent," an impressive man named Schema. The social workers were thrilled to get rid of me, and my foster parents had no choice but to let me go since the state was involved. 

It was really weird when I arrived. It was supposed to be an academy, so why was I the only child present? Why were there so many doctors? My behavior was still beastly, and every time I saw the principal, Dr. Hatch, I was rude and disruptive. He was kind for the first week, but after I kicked him and bit his hand for reprimanding me, he reacted. He slapped me across the face and locked me in a rectangular room that closely resembled a cell. Except that the entire room was lined in pink rubber.

A door that locks electronically from the outside, with surveillance cameras, speaker boxes and and monitoring sensors. Fluorescent lights lined with plastic, a porcelain sink and toilet, a wooden bed, and two metal bars sticking out of the wall, which kinda looked like the one's that they had in the "doctor's office."

A cell. Inside of an "academy" for young children.

I sat in near darkness for hours. No food was given to me, and a bowl of water was roughly shoved in from a slot in the door. Most of it spilled onto the floor, and it was warm and unpleasant tasting. Outraged, frustrated and hungry, I began screaming at the top of my lungs. After two minutes of it, a nurse came in and told me to quiet down. Of course, I refused and began to scream louder. 

The nurse walked swiftly towards me, and I tried to kick him, but it was no use. He held me down, and injected me with a clear fluid in my arm. Instantly, I felt my resolve begin to melt away and a docile feeling came over, but my hostility was still present. I sat down on the metal slate, feeling a bit worn out and tired.

A few minutes later, Hatch came into the room and sat down in a chair that was located next to the door.

"I hate you," I said, fatigue evident in my voice.

"Of that I am aware." He stared at me intensely with his dead, gray eyes. 

"Nichelle, the reason you are here is because you're different. This difference is what makes you stand out from the rest of society... and it's what makes you superior to anybody you'll ever see in the outside world." He gazed past me at the wall, dramatically pausing for effect before turning back to look at me. I didn't have the energy to say anything negative to him.

"Special people get special privileges, but that is only if they know how to behave. I'll have you know that I do not under any circumstance tolerate children who are insubordinate. Attitudes such as those result in time outs. We don't want to have another time out in here, do we?"

I slowly shook my head and yawned loudly. His thin lips spread into a satisfied smile.

"Excellent. Now it's time for your nap. And after that nap, you'll see a doctor. If what we suspect about you is true -- if our research based on previous tests is right-- then something of a celebration shall be in order." He nodded with satisfaction and stood to leave.

"Rest well, my eagle."