5

Elle woke up in the white room of the hospital ward, the morning light shone relentlessly though the little window, it reflected off of the glass of juice on her lap, and glared her vision, making it even harder to recall. She'd fainted after Josephine and Adam had left. Her eyes fluttered, and slowly everything merged into focus.

"Elle, finally you're awake" her father, Bob spat in a more disappointed than concerned tone. "I don't think you quite realise what you've done." He said, as he stood from his chair and headed towards the door.

"Daddy, Josephine she, could… you said that, I was out of her league?" she dropped her head to the floor.

"I thought you were" he muttered shaking his head as he left the room.

"She was amazing." Elle spoke to the empty room "That isn't fair, that she can do what Peter can do. I didn't know that there could be more than one of them." She started to breath more and more heavily, she could feel her heart racing in her chest, beating frantically at it's cage like a barbaric animal. "IT'S NOT FAAIR!" She screamed like a primal animal, letting off electricity like a powerhouse. The room shook, and smoked, Elle's entire body was a shining blue, as strands and bolts flew from her. There were shrieks and cries from the hall, as the glass of the front window shattered, and the door burst off its hinges, cascading into the adjacent wall. Though Elle couldn't hear a thing, she could see nothing but white, slowly she forced herself to calm down. Gradually her vision began to return, she panted heavily and watched as the electric current, which was pumping through her like blood receded, from the tips of her fingers, and toes, slowly to her centre. She sat bolt upright, and felt energised, awake. She smiled as she looked around the room, blinking at the damage she'd caused. She got up from her bed, and walked cautiously towards where the door was, though she wasn't really sure as smoke from the small remaining fires interfered with her vision. She heard a crash from the rubble in the hallway, and jumped to face where it had come from. She didn't move as a shadowy figure moved through the fog, though she soon recognised who it had been.

"Elle!" Doctor Suresh said, looking around and the wreckage and chaos, and then up at Elle. She was standing there, bending one knee, and tip toeing one foot. Her hands behind her back, fluttering her eyes and swaying slightly with a little grin on her face. Though when she caught his stern stare this quickly reverted to a very sorry looking pout. He folded his arms, in astonishment, when the sprinklers all of a sudden came on. He couldn't help but laugh a little himself, Elle just smiled and shrugged, her shoulders, with her arms behind her back. "Look at what you've done! This is going to cost a fortune." He exclaimed.

"Yeah, I know. Is, any one dead?" She replied smiling

"I certainly hope not. Why are you doing Elle?" He said, still utterly bemused by the situation.

"I'm going to show her, who's out of who's league." She said staring of into the distance with palpable determination, an intimidating smirk swept her face, as she glared at Suresh greedily, her tongue between her teeth.

Adam woke up, and turned over in the bed, looked at Josie, and then turned back round. He washed his hands over his face, and smiled to himself.

"Adam" he heard her call in a slumberous tone, quickly he turned back over, and leant one arm over her. He looked over her face, smiling faintly, with one eyebrow raised.

"Yes?" He said, quietly, stroking her shoulder. She looked so angelic entangled in the cream sheets.

"What are you doing?" She said, turning on her back to look up at him "What time is it?" she asked. For a second he just looked at her, intensely right into her eyes, so much it scared her. Then he sunk in to a deep kiss, but only for a moment then releasing.

"It's seven-thirty, I'm sorry… I'm just used to it I guess." He sighed, laying on his back, folding his hands behind his head, then turning to her. "Though, we should get up you know." He said sitting up, and clutching onto his knees. Josephine, shocked grabbed the cover and pulled it up again.

"What? No! Why?" She said hurriedly.

"Because we have things to do today." He said tugging at the sheet.

"No! Like what, what do we have to do today?" She said, dragging the blanket back up.

"No, no, no" he said snatching the sheet away from her "I won't have anymore of this, there are always things to do. Today of all days as well, we have plans to make." He said enthusiastically. Josephine sat up in the bed cross legged, and stared at him for a moment, looking at him as though he'd just spoken to her tongues.

"What the fuck are you on about? Have you been smoking my weed?" she said laughing.

"No, well maybe. Not now though later, later." He said throwing clothes at her, whilst somehow simultaneously buttoning his shirt. Josephine sighed, crossed her brow, and bit her tongue, but eventually conceded, dragging herself to her feet. Adam took seconds to get dressed, whilst Josephine leisurely dragged herself out of bed, and slowly put on her clothes, and then sauntered over to the dressing table, and began brushing out the knots in her long wavy, blonde locks. "You're wonderful you know that." he whispered in her ear before kissing her cheek, whilst he did up the last button on his shirt. "Cup of tea?" He said as he reached the door, "two sugars?" Josephine nodded. Adam turned around, and dwelled on how wonderful he felt as he woke up this morning. He felt like he did, before everything got complicated, and my, that was a long time ago. He realised, as he flicked the switch on the kettle "A good four hundred years" he muttered to himself, as the kettle began to steam. Being as meticulous as he was, he'd already set out the cups, and saucers, the tea bags and two sugars already in each, the milk was next to them, and he'd even found a packet of custard creams, tucked neatly away in a cupboard. "I found some custard creams" he said as he walked back out in to the lounge, Josie was sitting on the settee, she looked a vision, in that little floral dress. Her lips were first to get his attention however, a passionate shining crimson.

"Why are you acting like a complete flounce?" She asked, eh was feeling a little odd today admittedly.

"I'm not really sure, I guess I was just getting carried away with myself." he said smirking, setting the tray on the coffee table. He sat next to her, and lay his arm around her shoulder. "Though really, we need find out what's going on?" Adam's mind began racing, hundreds of years of wisdom, he could almost feel the thoughts, like a cool liquid cleansing his mind.

"What's going on about what?" Josie asked frustrated "You see you're doing that face again, the one that lets me know that really, we've not known each other more than a week, and I know nothing about you."

"I asked you what you wanted to know last night and you said nothing." He replied, though his mind was still formulating this plan, then all of a sudden he knew exactly what to do.

"Well I'm asking you a question now, what do you mean what's going on?" She said, desperately.

"I was locked away again, before The Company found me, but before that I was about to do something amazing, and, until I got back into Company hands I didn't know I'd failed. My success was my only consolation, but even that he took away too from me" He bit hard on his lip "but I don't know what happened afterwards, when I was locked away in that box, I don't know where anyone is and it's so frustrating! But now I know who I'm looking for, we must find Caitlyn." He said, though of course Josie wasn't satisfied by this hapless attempt.

"Right so just a few par quos, who's he? And who's Caitlyn? And all these other people."

"Oh Josephine why must you be so insistent all of the time?"

"Because you never tell me the whole story about anything, and I know you're doing it it's all over your face. And it makes me, makes me want to just go into your mind and find out but I know that isn't right so won't you just tell me, if you've got so much to thank me for just tell me!" She said her arms

"It's Carp, Carp okay the one that kissed Yaeko. Though there's a brilliance in it, he's been the motivation of everything great I've ever done or planned. Though now I won't rest till I reaped my vengeance." The glare in his eyes unnerving Josie in her seat, but exciting her at the same time. "Though, Josephine." He said smiling at her in an odd manner "Josephine Windsor isn't it? How little do I know about you? Tell me, because I'm sure I could place you, there really is something missing here." He said, analysing her with his eyes as he spoke, softly to her.

"My name isn't Josephine Windsor, it's Josephine Victoria Raleigh." She thought it fair enough that she answered his questions, as thinking back, she's told him far less than he has her.

"You said that you were two hundred years old." He said inquisitively leaning in at her, inspecting her every reaction.

"For an old guy, you're memory's pretty crystal Adam." He couldn't help bowing his head to laugh for a moment before looking back up at her.

"What did you do when, when you realised?" He asked, wondering how long it's been since she began using her abilities, that way he could estimate a time of record or establishment.

"Well, when I was young I was the smallest of seven, we were a well off family, though we were large, daddy had his own business in the jewellery industry, he could read minds, and well convince people. But well the two eldest Caspian and Heratio. They had abilities too, and they used to bully us but especially me. Caspian could move things with his thoughts, and one day he had been playing outside with Heratio who could fly and, he had a cut on his forearm. I must have been about nine, and he wanted me to lick the wound because I" She smirked, he gaze had become distant, and in her eyes Adam could almost see the reflection of her memory. "…I was afraid of blood, and he smeared his arm all over my face, while Heratio held my arms, then he made me lick the wound, and I had to do it because Caspian was flinging me about the room. I let the very tip of my tongue emerge, and the I can remember feeling sick at the salty, metallic taste for a minute. Then, I felt this sort of swelling inside me, and it was like my body for a split second went luminous, only very slightly, like a pulsating light. I glanced over and I could see a bottle of milk we'd left out from our breakfast, and I just willed it to my hand." She laughed a little more enthusiastically now "My brother's looked on in bewilderment, as I smashed the bottle on the wall behind me. I walked towards Heratio, who was backing away slowly, then I pounced at him, hauling my body weight onto him to make sure he wasn't going anywhere without me. Maybe it was the shock of the whole experience but I wrestled him to the ground and held the bottle to his face. I cut slowly just a little slit at the edge of his eye, about an inch long. I dipped my finger in the blood, and firmed the same loathsome taste and then, crossed my legs and let myself float into the air and out of the room. Heratio cried there for a little while, and admittedly he was left with a minor scar, though I think it gave him character." She snapped out of it to look back at Adam who was smiling, raptly at her, completely enthralled in her story. "When I was thirteen I went power mad, killed my whole family. That's where I inherited this from." She said, though her voice was twisted, and not out aloud, it was a little distorted, as it was inside his own head. Instinctively he blocked his ears.

"Argh! Don't do that" He said, hating the idea of someone in his mind, sifting through. Though he was very impressed with what Josephine had just told him, maybe he could come clean to her after all.