Chapter 5

Kyle crept down hallways. He wasn't sure what he was going to do. He didn't know any of the people in here. Would they be so eager to help him? Or would they just take the key and run, leaving him back at square one. He looked into the window of the nearest door. Sitting in the corner, reading a book, she hardly noticed his presence. She was beautiful, with long flowing brown hair and deep green eyes that made him melt. She looked up from her book and stood up. She must have been here for a long time. There was no fear in the way she moved, almost like it had become second nature. Of course, dressed in his uniform, she had no idea he was here to help her. He unlocked the door. She would not look him in the eye. He stared at her for a moment until he noticed her obvious unease. "What had they done to her?" he wondered sincerely.

He took of the mask (trusting that the guard was keeping what he was doing a secret) and she finally looked his way.

"I'm here to help you, to help everyone here. I was a prisoner here just like yourself, but I must find a way to escape. One of my friends is trapped and I have to help him before they kill him," he tried to explain.

She studied him as though trying to see if he was lying or not. When she seemed satisfied she held out her hand.

"I'm Grianne, and I'll do anything if it means getting out of here," she said gratefully, offering her hand.

He declined and she frowned.

"I'm sorry, it's just I can't shake hands with people. They just end up doing everything I say, and I'd rather you think for yourself."

She nodded. She should have assumed he had a power of some kind. Everyone in here did after all.

"I'm a little out of the ordinary as well," she told him. Then she hesitated not knowing how much too tell him. She looked at him once more and then decided he was trustworthy

"When I was a kid, only 6, when my house caught on fire and I was severely burned. It was the day I was having surgery to cover the scars that the meteors hit. The explosions came from all around. A piece of meteor came between the laser and my chest and the beam hit me straight in the heart. I felt surges of energy run through me and then I passed out. When I woke up, my father was standing over me. I don't exactly know how to explain it, but it's like his veils of secrecy were lifted. I just knew that he had started the fire at my house and I knew that he had done it because he had been cheating on my mother and wanted to take all the insurance money and run with the woman. I tried to tell people but they wouldn't listen. A week later he killed my mother, saying he needed to be rid of her burden, so I ran away. Then Lionel found me. He took me back to this place and used me to find out what people really thought. I was too young to understand that it was wrong. If I didn't have this gift, I would probably think of him as my father but I know his secrets. He is not really Lionel he is a shape shifter. He had been working in secret until he felt the need for Lex's help. He kidnapped Lionel and keeps him in a basement downstairs."

"Wow," was all he could muster. Compared to her, his story seemed pathetic but he explained to her what had happened to him and she nodded and seemed to truly care.

"That's not all," she added. "The power also allows me to deceive others. It's like it creates a veil of secrecy and they think what I want them to. They believe what I want them to see."

"That is going to be useful," he said with a smile.