On the way back home, I wondered about what Ben had said and whether it was true or not. D'Void couldn't be Dr. Animo but he may also be lying. How would I make certain that he wasn't Dr. Animo? I brainstormed ways to test him and as I approached my house, I began to wonder if dad would know anything about D'Void.
As I walked in, I saw that our large resistance group was having a meeting. I had totally forgotten about it. They meet every Friday when curfew is thirty minutes more than usual because of the weekend. I was welcomed warmly being a plumber's child like most of them. I sat my backpack down and pulled up a seat with my dad.
"Anything new, Maybelle?" my dad asked me as he put his arm behind me. I noticed Ben and Gwen among the many faces in the kitchen.
"No, nothing new," I replied. I hadn't found anything that they wanted to know anyways.
"I guess that pretty much wraps it up," Max said as he stood up from his chair. He was Ben and Gwen's grandpa and was pretty old but he moved better than the average elderly person.
"You all are welcome to use the bathroom or grab yourselves something from the fridge on the way out. Just don't take too long, we are only minutes away from curfew and no one will be allowed out in the streets," my dad told them after he checked his watch, "If you don't think you can make it home, you are more than welcome to stay with me or Max."
Most of the members dispersed through the house so as to not attract attention. Two would leave out the front; one would leave out the back. It was a slow process but it was best to be safe than sorry. When everyone was gone, my dad turned to me with a serious look on his face.
"Ben told me about the brief talk he had with you this afternoon," he started and I stared at him blankly, "About D'Void?" I nodded to show him that I was on the same page. "Max confirmed that D'Void is Dr. Animo and he wanted me to talk to you about it now because I know how you look up to the scientist," he stopped and put his hands on my shoulders, "Sweetie, you have to understand that Dr. Animo was a mad scientist. He did unorthodox genetic experiments on animals and that's why he didn't win that award many years ago. He is not the best role model for you."
I pulled away angrily and stared down at the white tiled floor. So what if Dr. Animo did bad things? He was an intelligent man. I sat and listened to my dad as many arguments ran through my mind.
"Two years ago, before D'Void came here, Ben and his grandpa was battling him in a different dimension called the Null Void. D'Void admitted that he was Dr. Animo and he was drilling through the dimension to come here. He was too powerful and no one could defeat him. When he succeeded in coming here, Max, Ben and Max's helpers retreated to regroup and make a plan. So far, this is the only effective way we can defeat D'Void. The whole world is relying on you Maybelle. You're the inside source. Dr. Animo will begin to trust you because you are like him," he stood up and began to walk into the living room, "in so many ways," he whispered so I would not hear but I heard him well.