"So what exactly is happening?" Jonas inquires.
Mason is currently flying above our heads as I rush Jonas and myself to the same warehouse. Before I know it, we're back in Kingsville. I turn around and put a finger to my lip to hush Jonas.
When I spot Mason landing a few yards away, I take Jonas behind a neighboring building to give a brief explanation.
"We're going to eavesdrop on Mason's conversation with one of the Red Ravens. We're going to go through the back door and I'm going to turn us both invisible. So all you have to do is be quiet and if you feel like he's not telling the whole truth, read his mind. Got it?" He nods, starting his silent state immediately.
After we watch Mason enter the warehouse, I lead Jonas to the back of the building. With a quick look of assurance at him, we both nod and I push on the back door.
It doesn't budge. There's no way we're going through the front doors without being noticed. Okay, now what do we do?
Jonas gently grabs my elbow and leads me away from the building about ten feet. Then he finds it safe to talk aloud.
"Get us to the roof. We can go in through the vents."
My eyebrows raise in question, however I'm still not talking. Jonas gives me a pleading look to let him prove himself. He doesn't have to do that, he already gives me plenty of reasons to believe in him.
Jonas was truly a great hero. However, a super's suit always reflects their power or character. My mask had a lightning bolt across the nose, Crossfire flew across the sky in a golden bolt, and Red Raven had the signature black color of the bird he was named after.
Jonas wore a plain black, long sleeve, spandex shirt along with black spandex tights. The only thing special about his suit were the blue stripes down the side of the sleeves and his mask was a solid deep blue. He deserved so much more, but I guess Ash ran out of time.
I rush us to the top of the building and wait for Jonas to further explain himself. When he doesn't, I shrug and follow his lead. I guess from here on out we're playing the silent game.
Jonas searches the roof for some sort of ventilation system, I'm assuming. When he finds the grate looking object, he pries it off.
I can't hold back my questions anymore, "How did you do that without any tools?"
He looks back at me and smirks, sitting in a squatting position. "I was wondering how long you could go without talking." He jumps into the hole.
Rolling my eyes, I jump in after him and find myself cramped and already sweating. Can the two of us navigate the vents?
Jonas starts to crawl, the top of his bushy hair brushing against the metal. Well, if Jonas can manage, I guess I can move along too.
We stop in our tracks when we hear the voices below. We must be over the main part of the building. How much of their conversation have we missed?
"It's great to finally meet you in person, Red Raven."
"Same to you, Crossfire. However, I'm disappointed in you."
"For what reason?"
"You haven't been setting buildings on fire or spitting on pedestrians as you fly. You've been very... Reserved lately."
I wish I could see what was happening.
"I assumed you would have something for me to do."
Jonas shifts in his spot, making the vent wobble. I mentally scold him. Thankfully, the dialogue below resumes.
"Oh, I do. In fact, you have a very important job on Friday."
"Friday? What's happening Friday?"
There's a pause as Red Raven answers. What I wouldn't give for x-ray vision right now. Jonas' backside in my face isn't helping the irritation building inside of me. But there's no where to go and there's no room to even turn to sit comfortably.
"This Friday there will be a raging thunder storm. This machine behind me is going to harness the energy."
"Wait a second. How does the machine harness the energy?"
"A lightning strike."
"Come again?"
Red Raven sighs, "It's quite simple really. Do you see this metal plate on the right side of the block? Rapid Glare stands on the plate, the lightning strikes her, her powers are absorbed and then transcribed through the machine to the other side. On the left side is a metal chair and an I.V. that runs from the machine."
"Okay, I get it. You're taking Rapid Glare's powers. But who are you giving them to?" Mason interrupts.
"Me."
"You're going to drain her. Well, I must say that's quite impressive. You would have an abundance of powers, plus your own."
A long, uncomfortable pause rings out through the entire warehouse.
"Well, yes, but I don't exactly have my own powers to contribute to the fact."
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm not exactly a super. I'm just... I'm just Red Raven's stunt double." He quickly stutters out.
This is not news to us, because we've known there were two of them. The terrifying part is they're going to eliminate me so that there will be two of them with powers.
"You're not Red Raven?"
"Not technically. Anyways, your job is to get Rapid Glare here on Friday night." Red Raven has become short tempered in a matter of seconds.
"How can you predict a lightning strike?" Mason asks.
It's almost as if I can sense a sinister smirk creep onto Red Raven's face. Before he even speaks his next words I get a chill down my spine.
"We gave her the power." My heart drops into my stomach.
"How did you manage to do that? Why would you do that?" Mason is trying his best to seem like he's still a villain, but he's getting a bit of a temper with his 'boss'.
"We had to. Once we gave her the weather controlling power our plan would work flawlessly. She would cause her own self destruct."
Mason is back to being calm, "How did you do it?"
"The actual Red Raven caused her to go into the hospital. Then he showed up in her room to distract her long enough that he could sneak the mutated chemical into her I.V."
"What? How did you mutate her genes through an I.V.?" Mason seems to be just as confused as I am. I press my ear down to the metal.
"Well, she already has the genes for super powers. We just created a chemical substance to inject into her body so it would activate new power mutations." Red Raven says this all in a simple, matter-of-fact tone.
"You presume she has the super genes in her blood?" Mason sounds baffled. Now that he's cleared that fact up, I'm a little on edge. Red Raven presumed I inherited my powers, which is not true. I received my powers from a lightning strike years ago.
"I don't presume. I know. I've done DNA tests on her. She inherited her powers. The lightning strike only activated them."
My breathing hitches and I decide it's time for me to get out of the stuffy vent. As quickly but as quietly as I can, I backwards crawl out of the ventilation system. Jonas notices my lack of presence and does the same.
I gasp for air when I reach the top of the roof. My heart is beating a thousand times a minute. Before I know it, I'm hyperventilating, collapsed on my knees, and Jonas is by my side.
"What happened back there? We were getting every detail of his plan!" He shouts at me.
"Believe me, I heard enough." I wheeze.
He leans back on his legs. "You didn't know you inherited the genes, did you?" I stay silent in response.
"Come on, I'll take you home." He says in a hushed tone.
I grip onto his arm, "No. I-I can't right now." What if what Red Raven said was true? I can't face my parents.
"Okay," Jonas gives in, "We can go back to my place. I'll tell Ash and Mason to meet us there."
"Okay." I murmur.
I have enough strength to rush us both to his house, but I'm mentally exhausted when I step inside. My head is swarming with questions and theories. Jonas grabs my hand and leads me over to the couch, and for once I don't feel awkward at his touch.
"Do you want something to drink?" He asks quietly. He knows if he were to be his normal rambunctious self I might snap.
"I'm okay. Did you text Ash and Mason yet?" I wish 'okay' wasn't the only word I could think of.
Jonas pulls out his phone to send them a text while my own phone starts to ring. I'm not exactly in the mood to talk to anyone. As I look at the caller I.D., I groan. It's Mickey.
Why I answer, I have no clue.
"Hey." Jonas snaps his head to face me, curiosity growing on his face.
"Hey babe. So I was thinking we could go out tonight, see a movie or-"
"Mickey, I'm not in the mood." I grumble.
He huffs, "Fine. You know-"
Jonas snatches the phone out of my hand before I can hear the rest of Mickey's rant. He ends the call and tosses it to the other side of the couch. He glares at me for a few seconds before I speak up.
"Thanks," His eyes soften at my sincerity. "I don't know why I even answered."
Jonas scoots closer, "Because he was the one person you felt connected to. Now you can't even trust him."
I roll my eyes, "He wasn't the only person. I feel like he just used me this whole time to figure out my weaknesses."
"You? Weaknesses?" Jonas comments.
"Ha-ha, very funny. I know I have plenty of weaknesses but-"
"Actually I wasn't being funny. You really are the strongest girl I know. Anything I've ever said otherwise is my jealously speaking." I let out a light laugh.
"I'm not invincible, Jonas. I don't know why you think so highly of me." I rest my head on my hand that's propped up by the couch cushions.
He tilts his head to the side in thought, "Because you don't believe in yourself. And someone has to."
I close my eyes and run my fingers through my hair. Mickey wasn't who I needed at all. He may have been what I wanted, but in the end he's everything I've ever dreaded in a guy.
The way Jonas looks at me now, the way the corner of his lip turns up and his eyes sparkle, is the way I wished Mickey had looked at me. Instead, I was called beautiful without him even looking at me.
I eyed Jonas' lips, because I thought he was looking at mine. He was sweating a little, but so was I. He bit his lip.
There's at least one time in life when you don't have a clue of what you're doing. You just go for it and don't hesitate. Take a chance, Della. My brain whispered to me. In that moment, I dared to lean in. I took a risk.
So did Jonas.
His fingers reached up to push the hair away from my face. My cheeks were a crimson red, I could tell from the burning sensation. His lips were just inches from mine.
Then the front door busted open and we split to opposite ends of the couch. Mason and Ash were standing in the doorway, bickering about something.
Jonas was staring at his hands in his lap like he had committed some crime. Then I noticed he kept sneaking a glance at me. He wasn't guilty, he was embarrassed. Was he embarrassed that he had almost kissed me?
A lump formed in my throat. I was severely ashamed now. Why did I do that?
"Can Mason and I go into the den and do some research?" Ash breaks us both out of our trance. Jonas nods a little too eagerly.
Once they leave the room, Jonas laughs aloud. Oh my gosh. I embarrassed myself so bad that he's laughing at me.
He slides over to my side of the couch, making me feel even more awkward.
"You want to play a little game?" He asks me. How is playing a game relevant to the almost kiss?
I sigh, because I may never fully understand Jonas. "Sure." I reply.
He smirks, "First one to lean in again has to finish the job." He stands up and walks into the kitchen.
A/N
...Well... I knew this day was coming... but I didn't think it would be here already. Characters grow up so fast.
So I want to know what y'all's thoughts are! Do you think Della actually inherited her powers? Did Jonas and Della's moment throw you a curve ball?
P.S. Sorry for the song attached. It's a great song and it has a lot of meaning to this chapter. For some reason there hasn't been a lyric video made. Please enjoy the audio and the random mountain picture.
Thanks for reading!
Always, Sunny