Daughter of Zeus ✔

14.5

Ada crouched to speak with the girl that seemed a mirror image of herself.

"What are you doing?"

A response was not forthcoming, as the girl continued to writhe in pain. Ada gently pressed a hand to her forehead, absorbing the electric shock to ease her agony. She stilled briefly, then her head flailed from side-to-side, gaze falling on her comrades who were flipping like pancakes on a Sunday morning. Though the girl wasn't in anymore pain, she couldn't move. In all her tinkering, Ada had made sure to keep her immobile.

The plan backfired, because the girl grew anxious. She tried to move and panicked when she discovered her limbs wouldn't receive commands. Ada took the girl's face in her hands, repeating the question.

For a moment, it looked like the girl might spit on her. Finally, she opened her mouth to answer.

"Here to." Words seemed hard. They emerged haltingly at first, gaining momentum. "I'm here... Here to document. Expose. Freaks."

She glared at Ada, but most of her anger she directed at the golf cart, at Moretz.

"Freaks?"

There had to be more to things than that. Hand still on the girl's head, Ada delved deeper in her thoughts, finding motive. Apparently, exposing Moretz was a priority, but not because of a hate for freaks. The group before her had all lost family members to the State, family members thought to be "Special." As added punishment, they were branded as N.A.'s for affiliating with Specials and left to scrap in the worst neighborhoods. Rich people like Moretz, Special as he was, managed to evade State capture by bestowing influence, bribes, or turning in other Specials. They wanted him to suffer as an equal.

Their cause was admirable, but put a blight on Ada's vendetta. The kids weren't thinking things through. Due to his influence, Moretz could maneuver out of any plans to out him or turn him in. He had to be dealt with another way. 

Next to the girl lay a recording device, a new glass titanium model. Expensive tech that housed evidence to leverage against Moretz. Ada picked up the device, but not with her hands. A freak, yes, she was a freak, and she would show more of her power.

Levitating metal objects was an ability she had nearly mastered. For the last few weeks, she practiced on interfaces, lamps, and even chairs. Lifting a small recording device was a easy peasy.

With a small tweak, Ada crushed the small rectangle dangling before her. Inwardly, it bowed  until it reduced to a fraction of its original size. With the device tangled into a ball of glass and metal, she released her hold on it, allowing it to drop with a clunk into the dirt. The defiance on the girl's face shrank from to terror.

"You won't be exposing anything today." Ada patted her on the shoulder as if they were buddies. "All you're going to do is go home, wonder why your head hurts like hell, shrug it off, then take a shower. Maybe with one of these lugheads."

She nodded at the twitching duo beside the girl.

"What? Why—?" The girl frowned, then clutched her head.

The re-wiring had yet to take root in full.

"Shhh. When you wake up, you'll feel better. And we won't be seeing you ever again." Ada tuned a final switch in the girl's head.

The girl fell back, eyes closed. She looked to be sleeping. Once done, Ada moved to work on the  two other vigilantes. They ceased twitching, and soon resembled sleeping teens.

Shaping their memories had sapped Ada. She stumbled. Everything tilted.

There was a question in her head, and she needed to ask it before she forgot, before she—

Kressick caught her before she fell. As she leaned against him, she struggled to regain the words. The question. How—

"How did they see us?" Ada's words were barely audible.

Kressick's dome was meant to conceal the purge, but clearly it hadn't shielded them from the rebels. After dismantling the energy post-purge, the intruder's presence had been easier to gauge. Her grandfather always had a plan, and she wanted to know if he let the shield down on purpose.

"They must've been within the radius of the shield before it went up. It's the only way they could've seen anything," he replied with a level gaze.

After weeks of living together, she could read his face. He hadn't expected their uninvited guests. Had she anymore energy, she would have pinched the truth from his nerve endings.

Moretz left out any input. He sat slumped in the cart, squinting through bloodshot eyes that were blue for the time being.

When Ada had returned to the back seat, he finally said something. "Thank you."

Ada realized he was addressing her. 

"I didn't do it for you," she said.

Moretz swayed, eyes closing. Ada's world darkened, too. The adrenaline which had kept them awake drained away. Purging consisted of more than she anticipated. Moretz had expended as much as she. Most interesting of all, the ritual had shown her how powerful she was.

With the last of her energy, she crawled to the golf cart. Through half-open lids, she watched with mild satisfaction as Moretz gave in to sleep, with Kressick having to carry him like a child.