Extraordinary Mistakes

With all the confusion, people stomp over each other trying to escape.

Emily already stopped seven shots, and it is costing her greatly. She falls to her knees screaming.

Don’t you dare give up... You’re number one. They need you. She looks back to the moment that her father told her she was number one in the world. The most powerful deviant. A title that belonged only to her. A title that came with responsibilities.

Time is still much slower for her, she focuses on the people in front of her. How much they are suffering. She can’t focus on the faces, because several beams of light pass by. Emily shakes her head, trying to ignore it.

Not now.

Usually, stopping just seven bullets wouldn’t make her side effects appear. But the bracelet is forcing her to use too much of her ability.

Her shoulders give in, and so does her back. Emily is practically lying on the stage, looking up, focusing on the bullets.

I can’t take it anymore... no... you have to... She knows that as soon as she releases the bullets, they’ll hit their targets. How can you say that you are the number one if you can’t protect these people?

The security corps run around with no plan. They keep searching for the source of the bullets but there are too many points that the sniper could be hiding. Madeleine Clark shouts at her secretary, but to no use, the bracelet can’t be turned off, they didn’t expect it to be necessary.

One more bullet and it’s done.

You are number one. Act like it. She takes a deep breath and her strength gradually comes back to her. The shocks are lighter. She can now put herself on her knees and stands up.

Everyone’s eyes fill with hope.

Have I underestimated you, Emily Roberts? Or maybe the bracelet is just pure propaganda. Or... Rachel looks to her side and sees a shy blue light coming out of Megan’s right pocket.... a third option, none of the above. Megan is healing you.

“Don’t,” Rachel whispers and faces Megan, who refuses to look at her.

“You can end this,” Megan says.

Why would I help her?

“Just look around, will ya?” Megan faces her.

Rachel ignores it at first, but eventually gives in. Several children cry in the arms of their parents, who hold their wounds. She looks back at Megan and nods. She draws a deep breath and looks at Emily Roberts.

Let’s do this. Rachel sees the ability of telekinesis and feels it on her. But loses the connection once someone hit her shoulder passing by. This is going to be harder than it has to. Again she breathes in and sees all the other abilities around her, feels them, before focusing on Emily, on her telekinesis again. She connects with it and time slows down for her too. She bends Emily’s bracelet until it cracks.

Madeleine Clark and her secretary see the bracelet breaking into several pieces and cheer.

With the weight of the bracelet gone, Emily sends easily back the bullets, showing the security corps where the sniper is hidden, and ends the shooting.

“An elite, desensitized to both human and deviant suffering, controls us. While half the country struggles to pull through, the Institute receives millions for a facade of inclusion,” Rachel’s speech on the screen continues, but no one heard it.

It wasn’t that hard to connect the sniper to the terrorist group lead by Rachel. The video, a conspiracy theory spread across social media explained, was used as a sign for the sniper to know when to shoot. A decoy to focus the attention of everyone elsewhere. Those posts weren’t deleted. Social media also was filled with posts showing appreciation for Emily Roberts, she saved the day, everyone was thankful that she made it alive. Unlike the president of the United States of America, who died there on the hands of the terrorists.

As soon as the bracelet broke, the three left, avoiding the security corps and returning to the same place they entered. The protests gathered even more people, over one thousand now. They look away, trying to avoid being pushed. Quietly entering the same bus again, ready to head home.

It takes longer now with all the emergency vehicles. When they finally get home, a young woman sits on the couch in the living room watching the news.

“The sniper is part of the deviant terrorist group led by Rachel Moore.”

Diego, back to his normal self, grabs the remote and turns it off. He sits with his laptop on the armchair.

“I was watching that!” Ánh Nguyễn tells him straight away, her colorful clothes contrast with the all black attire that usually Megan and Diego wear. “I can’t believe that we are being accused of murdering the president!”

“No such thing as bad publicity, no? Our followers seem okay with. They only criticize the use of a human weapon.” Diego skims through the posts of the deviant forum, a secret online place where some deviants hang out virtually.

“Ánh, you should take a break... your side effects are showing,” Rachel notices her foot tapping.

“I spent the day running calculations... needed to do it.” The tapping increases.

“Leave the calculations to the computer. We need you healthy and as stressless as possible, please,” Rachel goes near her and puts her hand on her shoulder.

“We can’t have people thinking we murdered the president... we are a peaceful movement!” Ánh continues.

“What has peace done for us so far, my dearest?” A new face comes into the living room, he holds his silver hair and approaches the rest of the group. “You heard Diego. Our followers support it, and we could use that.”

“We don’t kill!” Ánh starts biting her nails.

“Let’s be honest with one another. Especially you and I, sis,” he focuses on Rachel.

What do you want now, Alex? Rachel looks at him.

“Ten years of movement and we have made no progress. Our enemies keep on winning. What is this bracelet I heard about? It stops deviants from accessing their power?” He laughs.

“Apparently...” Diego says.

“That’s just chef’s kiss! How long until they make it mandatory for every deviant with powers to wear it? How long?” Alex continues.

“If you saw how it worked today, that’s not something we have to worry for now,” Rachel tells him.

“For now...” he smiles, “we are losing and we are delusional about it with our ridiculous educational videos, sis.”

“Please, Alex. What should we do in your opinion?” Rachel sits next to Ánh and puts her hand on her knee to stop her from tapping.

“Since you asked...” he teleports next to her, “first, we should either use the power of death or get rid of Megan.” He looks at her. “No offense!”

Megan looks at him and doesn’t react.

“But I mean... who in their right mind would join a movement that has the person responsible for the death of their loved ones?” He looks at Diego. “Perdón, amigo... sin ofensa, sí?” he says in broken Spanish.

"Mira, ¡No me molestes!" Diego shuts down his computer and leaves the room.

Ánh tries to get up to go after him, but she starts trembling instead.

"Scusa, hermano! Stay, please!"Alex puts his hands on the air.

Is he wrong, though? Has my fixation on achieving equal rights by peaceful means being nothing but an unrealistic, childish belief? One that I forced Rachel to accept as hers as well. Is he right? Are we losing? Megan continues to look around seeing their discussion play out.

“I’m just being honest here, sis... your father would’ve done so much more for us than you have,” he puts his hand on her shoulder and moves away from her, sitting on the armchair that Diego was in.

“Alex, I never expected to see you miss him other than his ridiculous style of clothes. Shame ... shame... shame... that we can’t ask any of the Five for advice, right?” she smiles back at him.

“Oh, and whose fault is that?”

“Let’s see. Two, they did it to themselves. It’s no one’s fault. Two, that was my treat. And one...” she looks at Alex, “is on you.”

It’s your fault she’s dead, Alex. Your fault, and your fault only. He remembers Rachel’s parents saying it years before. Alex’s smile disappears, and he teleports out of the room.

“You can come back, Diego, he’s gone,” Rachel shouts.

Diego comes back to the room and sits next to them, caressing Ánh’s head.

“We will not take any responsibility for something we haven’t done. Megan, please help me with the speech,” Rachel says.

On the following morning, at Emily Roberts’ house, everyone gathers in the living room when the trio shows up in the television. Emily turns up the volume.

“Morning, my fellow citizens! We could pretend to be surprised when your faux investigation concluded us to be the culprits of the death of the president, but that is dishonest, and chicanery is your government’s modus operandi. Not ours. A government that considers you gullible. Why use a sniper when I can absorb Megan’s power? Emily Robert hardly stopped a few bullets. Think she could stop us?”

I can stop you, devil. Emily’s shoulders tighten.

“Don’t play into their hands and seek the truth. Who gains the most with the president’s death? Who loses the most? This one I’ll answer for you. Deviants. Fellow citizens, especially the gene carriers, our future is uncertain. Please fight back!”

Emily turns off the television and her father grabs the remote to turn it on again. He wants to see the follow up with the comments on the news. She gets up and goes to her room, grabs her phone to see what people are saying online. A smile takes over and she falls to her bed.

No one takes the terrorists seriously. Several posts show her support and disdain them. Jokes fill the socials. All in her favor. She laughs when she sees a viral animated video. In it, Rachel and Megan show up. Rachel’s hand turns blue, and she evilly laughs. Emily stops her right away. Easily overpowering them both.

In real life, Emily never faced Megan or Rachel. But she knows it, and everyone seems to know as well, that if that day comes, she would win. She’s the world’s most powerful deviant. Rachel only claims to be it and the Angel of Death hasn’t been a threat since the day of the massacre. She would win without even sweating.

Come on, devil, come at me if you want. We’ll see who should fear who.