"And this is why an annodyte's power is considered nearly limitless." My history teacher Mrs. Reitz finished her afternoon lecture. All around me, annodytes were either listening intently or attempting to do yesterday's assignment- learning how to grow a plant just by touching it. I'd pretty much given up on it after the first few plants died. If Mom were here, she'd have made me practice until I got it right. But she and Dad were away on another plumber's mission along with Uncle Ben, which meant my brother, sister and I were stuck with our Aunt Julie babysitting us. She was only human and since the rest of us-me, my siblings and her kids, - had alien super powers, that wasn't gonna be a problem.
"-and this will all be on tomorrow's test. And I do hope that you have all been paying attention, because God knows some of you can't afford another F," she said the last part directly to me. I might have inherited my mother's powers, but I had Dad's inability to study, plus a lot of other stuff I'd inherited from him. In fact, whenever someone met me, the first thing that would pop into their minds was: "She's Kevin Levin's daughter." As if though the fact that I had pale skin, black eyes and hair, always wore jeans and a clingy T-shirts and couldn't stand preppy clothes and skirts, swore out loud on a daily basis, didn't study for anything except combat classes, and could drive a space ship at the age of five was a tell-tale sign of that. OK, so maybe it was, but still. People didn't need to be so damn obvious about it!
Thank God for the bell. My next class was advanced combat with osmosians. I smiled. At least in this class I'd get to kick Devon's butt, even if he was getting better at using his powers. Mom and Dad kinda thought he was human, and only found out about his powers when he was eleven and I was ten. Yeah, yeah, I know. A brother and sister- the girl's an annodyte, the guy's an osmosian. Go figure. He, unlike me, is a total nerd with straight As in everything that doesn't have to do with fighting. He got the brains, I got the combat skills. Seems fair to me. Or at least it did until a couple of weeks ago when we found out he had Dad's supernatural strength. Hell, the guy can put a hole in a concrete wall without breaking a sweat or absorbing anything! Oh, well. I'm still better than him in fights.
I entered the classroom with a smile on my face. But when I got there, it was dark and empty. My instincts told me to run, but my overall enthusiasm about danger kept me rooted to the spot. The teachers gave me something extra hard in combat classes from time to time. I was way ahead, compared to the other students, and this was their way of keeping things fair. Of course, they could've just graduated me already, but that would be cheating. Or, at least, that's what Mom says.
Suddenly, a light flickered on a couple of feet away and I saw the figure of my 16-year-old second cousin Max. He had short untidy black hair, green eyes, a long, lean body, and an Omnitrix on his left wrist. He was gazing at me with a strange look in his eye. Not the usual look that said: I'm gonna kick you're ass and then make fun of you, but a look that said he wasn't playing. He was gonna take me down and when he did, I'd stay down. But I don't back down from a challenge. That's something that Dad's been drilling into me ever since I was born: Don't back down until you actually are down.
"Hello, cousin," he said in a dangerous voice, "You ready for today's lesson?"
"Sure, Maxie," I answered, smirking at him and gathering manna in my hands, "Ready when you are."
He reached for the dial on the Omnitrix, but before turning it he looked up and said, "You can still back out, Jane," that evil smile never leaving his mouth.
"You wish," I said, smiling a dangerous smile of my own.
He turned his eyes away from me for just a split second, but that second was all I needed. Manna stretched from my fingertips, enclosing around his wrist, and with all the force I could manage- Damn Devon was lucky to have Dad's powers! - I hurled him against the far wall, face first. When he slammed against it, I pulled back and dragged him to the floor, my manna still around his wrist. He howled in pain and I made the biggest mistake of my life- I let him go.
"Had enough?" I asked, stepping towards him, a scowl on my face.
"Hell, no," I heard him breathe against the mat. He rolled over onto his back and pulled me down on top of him, his hands ensnaring my wrists. I kicked him in the nuts and he let me go. I rolled off of him and landed in a crouch. That was all the time he needed to press the dial and turn into-
"Humongousaur!" he yelled out.
He had kept all the names for the aliens that his father had given them about thirty years ago. What a dweeb. However, I didn't exactly have time to think of new things to tease him about. Then again, that was the most effective way to keep someone's mind off a fight…
"Still haven't thought of your own pet names for those things? Or are you too afraid of what Daddy's gonna think when he finds out you've actually taken charge for once in your life?" I teased, as he threw a punch at me. I quickly put a shield up so that he couldn't hurt me.
"You're one to talk!" He yelled, as I dodged another blow, this time by dropping down on my stomach.
"You're too afraid to tell your parents when your baby sister has a power attack! How are you ever gonna take charge in your life?"
I'd jumped right back up as soon as his fist had disappeared from my line of sight and gathered more manna in my hands. As soon as he said those words, I felt more hurt than I would have if he'd put me out of commission for a week. They hurt because they were true. I froze and so did he, apparently realizing his mistake.
"Wait, Jane," he started, turning back to his normal human self. I knew now that the strange light in the middle of the room was supposed to make him look more terrifying, but in his dark green T-shirt that had a black stripe running down his shoulder to the hem of his shirt and a black 10 stitched over his heart, (which I normally considered pretty cool,) and his dark blue skinny jeans, he just looked pathetic.
"Forget it," I snapped at him. I turned around walked out of the gym.
I wouldn't have done this on a normal day. Despite the dreadful lectures about my powers, I actually liked school. It wasn't like life at home sucked or something. Not at all. When Dev and I got home, it was like we were in a Hallmark family card or something. Mom would be in the kitchen making dinner and Dad in his arm chair, our 5-year-old sister Caitlyn in his arms, reading her a book about something or other. Sometimes it was cars, sometimes it was fairy tales. It depended on her mood. That was something Catie had gotten from Mom- the ability to make anyone do whatever she wanted- especially Dad.
The reason I didn't want to go home was because of her. I loved her more than anything, and she really is the sweetest girl ever. She's like a mini version of Mom, except for the brown eyes, which are exactly like Dad's. Her hair isn't as perfectly styled as Mom's, though. It's messy and long, almost to the middle of her back. Mom usually makes a ponytail out of the top layer of her thick red hair, and lets the rest fall down her back.
Caitlyn is the third child in the family, and, since Dev's an osmosian and I'm an annodyte, she should be human, right? Nope. She's part human, part osmosian, and part annodyte. The power attacks Max mentioned are a little like asthma attacks. You never know when they'll come on. One moment she could be walking down the street, the next, her eyes glow pink, she starts screaming, throwing around energy beams, and if there's anything electronic around, trying to absorb it. Dev and I never let it get that far, though. We inject her with anesthetic or whatever it's called, and get her to the hospital.
I hate seeing my sister like that, but that's not the worst part. The worst part comes later when Mom and Dad find out about it. Mom talks to the doctor, asks if there's anything we can do, and, as usual, he tells us there isn't. Meanwhile, Dad's yelling at me for not taking care of my baby sister. He knows as well as I do that it's not my fault, but he doesn't care. Just as long as he has someone to yell at. And God forbid he yells at Devon! The straight-A student who never gets into trouble! Then, of course, Mom gets involved and tells him to "Leave Jane alone, Kevin. It wasn't her fault." Dad does what she says and his face hardens in that ice-cold mask that I hate more than Amy and Mike Darkstar- Charmcaster and Michael Darkstar's twins.
But I would rather have him yell at me than see that mask, even though whenever he starts yelling at me for something I have no control over seriously pisses me off. Most of the time I start yelling back before Mom can say anything, and end up grounded. But anything is better than that stone mask of anger, disappointment, and somehow indifference. The first time he wore that expression around me was when Vilgax almost killed Mom on a Plumber's mission. I was seven years old. The three of us were in the waiting room outside the hospital room where Mom was resting. That was the first and only time I've ever cried in front of anyone in my family. Only Dad was too busy pacing to even notice. It was Devon who comforted me and told me she would be okay. Sometime later I fell asleep, and was woken up by a plump, human nurse in her forties. She had dark red curls, pale skin, and freckles. Probably an alien disguised as what she thought a human would look like. The sight was…disturbing.
"Are you okay, sweetie?" she asked, shaking my shoulder gently.
"Yeah, fine," I answered, "Where's my dad? And my brother?"
"They went home, honey. Your Mom's awake," she smiled a soft, comforting smile. My eyes widened and I got up, practically running into the room. It was big, with a large window overlooking the city. In the corner there was a TV. Everything was white. If it weren't for her red hair, I wouldn't even have noticed Mom there.
She was lying on a gurney, reading. There was a small smile on her face. It was hard to believe she had just been in an accident, she looked so peaceful.
"Jane!" she exclaimed, setting the book down as I ran into her arms.
"Mom! I'm so glad you're okay!" I told her, sobbing into her shoulder.
"Me too, sweetie," she told me gently, hugging me and stroking my back, "Your dad said you were worried."
I pulled back and looked at the floor, smirking at the floor. "I'm surprised he noticed."
"Honey, your dad loves you. He was just-"
"Worried about you," I finished for her. She nodded, sighing. Then I found I didn't even care about Dad. Mom was okay. That was all that mattered.
"Whatever," I said, shrugging, "I'm glad you're okay."
She smiled and then reached into the collar of her hospital gown and pulled out a golden locket. She took it off and held out her hand for mine. I placed my tiny hand in her somewhat large one and she put the locket in my palm, curling my hand around it.
"What's this?" I asked, opening my hand and trying to open the locket.
"Your dad gave it to me when we were teenagers. Something happened and he said he wanted me to have something to remember him. The way he used to be," she answered, smiling at me.
"Why are you giving it to me?" I asked.
"Because I want you to know that no matter what, we'll always be with you, and we'll always love you," she told me, leaning forward and kissing me on the forehead.
Suddenly, the window above me shattered, bringing me out of my memories, and inside tumbled Dad, some sort of robot on top of him. I froze. Wasn't he supposed to be on the other side of the galaxy?
When the robot exploded, he looked up at me. Uh oh.
"Look, Dad-" I started, putting my hands up in surrender, bracing myself for the lecture on the importance of staying in school or some other crap. It didn't come. Instead, he grabbed my wrist and pulled me down below the windowsill. He was dressed in dark blue jeans and a light blue button-down shirt over a white T-shirt.
"Jane," he said breathlessly, "I don't have time to explain. You have to get home. Take care of Caitlyn. Devon's already there. Max and Vera are too. They know what's going on. You have to go back twenty three years ago and find me, Gwen, and Ben."
"But, Dad-" I started again.
"Please, Janie!" he begged. I froze again. He had used to call me that when I was little. Now he only used my nickname when he wanted- no, needed- me to do something important. I nodded and grabbed the locket I kept hidden inside my shirt collar, just like Mom had. I summoned up all my strength and magic and teleported back to the safety of my living room, nearly collapsing. Luckily, a pair of strong arms caught me before I hit the floor.
"Jane?" I heard my brother's voice above me. His red hair hung in his emerald green eyes as I stared up at him. He was wearing a dark blue denim jacket, jeans, and a pale blue T-shirt. For him it was a definite step up from the preppy sweater vests he usually wore.
"Are you okay?" he asked as I stood up. I immediately saw my fourteen-year-old second cousin Verdona pacing the length of the living room. She had shoulder length, brown hair, and was wearing a white blouse with large black buttons, a white and black checkered skirt, black tights and shoes, and a grey knitted, cotton jacket tied around her waist. Max leaned on the arm of our dark blue couch, his arms crossed, a frown on his face. In the middle of the couch sat Catie, cross-legged, a pale gold cashmere sweater and blue jeans on. Her elbows rested on her knees as she supported her chin on her fists, trying to figure out what was going on. That made two of us.
"What's going on?" I asked.
"Mom and Vera came to get me right before practice," Devon explained, as I went over to the couch and sat down beside Catie, "Mom said that Bellwood was under attack by Vilgax and Darkstar, and, well, almost anyone else they've ever fought. Apparently they're working on some plan to take over the Universe again."
"So, what's the problem? They kick their butts, put them in the Null Void, and everyone's happy," I said, not understanding what the big problem was.
"Didn't you hear anything?" Vera snapped at me suddenly, "ALL the evil enemies of our parents are working together!"
"And if they were dumb enough to come to Bellwood of all places, that means they have a plan," Devon added, his exterior calm as always.
"And what is this great plan?" I asked sarcastically. In my experience, bad guys were nothing but aliens with too much muscle and not enough brains.
Devon sighed in exasperation and took my wrist, dragging me out of our living room to the kitchen.
The kitchen in our house doesn't look like a normal kitchen in a human house. It's more fit to be in a restaurant. In fact, that's exactly what it looks like- a kitchen from a five star restaurant. Some of the other rooms in our house are like that, too. For example, Devon's room looks like a library. No, it is a library. There are, like, thirty bookshelves in that room. I don't even know where he sleeps!
Then there were rooms like the living room that looked like they belonged in a normal house There's a door off to the side on one wall that led into a short hallway that led to the front door and the stairs to the second, third and fourth floor. The walls of the living room are white, the floor's carpeted, there are three windows that show the front yard, the wall opposite has two doorways. One leads to the kitchen, the other to the dining room. The fourth wall is lined with bookshelves. Only in the middle of the wall is a large fireplace. On top of it there's a painting of some meadow that Dad took Mom to for her eighteenth birthday. On the opposite wall there's a flat-screen TV and some family pictures. In the middle of the room there's the dark blue couch, facing away from the windows, a green arm chair, facing away from the two doorways. In the middle there's a coffee table, and in front of the TV there's a dark green ottoman.
Back in the kitchen, I sat down on the kitchen counter. I don't know how Mom can prepare dinner for two hours standing up. Why don't they put chairs here?
"So, what is the evil villains' master plan?" I asked, giving him a teasing smile.
He sighed and leaned back against the silver table in the middle of the room.
"They need a massive living power source. Mom, Dad, and Uncle Ben came back to warn us. They've probably been captured by now. Almost the entire town has. Did Dad tell you to do anything after you got here?" he asked, trying to change the subject.
"Yeah, he told me to go back in time and find them and ask them for help," I answered, "What do you mean, a living power source?" I frowned, crossing my arms.
Devon sighed, turning his gaze to look at the floor.
"I mean, they need a living being powerful enough to do whatever it is they plan on using, making or doing," he explained.
"And we're supposed to stop them?" I asked, wanting to make sure I had every detail on this right.
"Yes, and keep the power source safe," he said, nodding.
"Who's the power source?" I asked, frowning at him. He was still looking at the floor.
"Does it matter?" he asked, lifting his jade eyes to finally look at me. They were begging me not to ask. But I never was that good a listener.
"Well, if we're gonna be protecting someone, we might as well all know who it is," I said stubbornly, hopping down from the counter and walking forward so that my face was soon only a few inches from his. I glared at him. Devon sighed and looked at me. This time he was the one who looked defiant.
"Think about it," he told me, "Who do we know that has more power than she can bear?"
I stepped back. No, it couldn't be. She was so fragile, so protected. Only people in the family knew about her powers. But it made sense. She was the most prized thing in the family. Next year she should be starting school, but instead our great grandmother would be home-schooling her. The villains must have found out about her somehow, but how?
"Catie…" I whispered.
"Exactly," Devon confirmed, "They're after our baby sister."
I looked up and let his concerned eyes meet my horrified ones.
"Jane-" he started. I stepped back again and snapped my fingers. Immediately I was engulfed by a pink force field. I was doing what Dad told me to- going back in time and protecting my baby sister.