Nancy's Superpower

Prompt used: Levitation
Word count: 2386
(sequel to: "Nancy's Discovery" )
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Nancy sat down on her bed. She thought about the Tests that Lizard Girl had given her, surprised that she managed to pass all of the tests meant for superheroes. She smiled as she remembered the three tests. The bell that was too high to reach was solved by swinging her belt around. The camera was pretty easy to stay behind, although, Nancy did admit to herself, she did have a hard time when it would slow down and speed up randomly. Then there was escaping the glass dome. Nancy once again chuckled at how easy it was. All she had to do was open a door!

Nancy realized it was going to be dinner time soon, and her mom would need her to help. However, when she looked down, she found that she was no longer sitting on the bed. Instead, she was hovering above it. With a short shriek, she fell back down and landed on her bed. Nancy ran from her bedroom, unsure of what had just happened.

I can't tell anyone, Nancy told herself, Or should I?

Nancy quickly got to setting the table, even though the food wouldn't be ready for a little while. She did it so that she could go out and have some alone time without being bothered until it was time. She walked out of the house and to the park next door.

Memories from the day she found the secret room at that very park invaded her mind. She began to think about superheroes as she walked into the field. She didn't realize she was going. As her mind wandered, so did her feet, until she walked into a tree.

I remember this tree, Nancy thought, This tree has the secret superhero hideout underneath it!

Just as it had the last time she had walked into it, a door-like piece of bark moved toward the inside, then aside, giving Nancy room to walk into the elevator. However, this time there was a superhero in the tree, right where Nancy could see her. The adult superhero wore a light gray suit, which included a mask that covered nearly her whole face. Her thick, nearly white hair stuck out of the back of her mask at the top of her neck.

“You!” the superhero said, being careful not to attract attention.

“Gale?” Nancy asked.

“What are you doing back here?” Gale asked, then her eyes widened, “You're a spy, aren't you?!”

“No, no! I didn't mean to find the secret entrance either time!” Nancy defended.

“Well, what are you doing here, then”

“I think I need to talk to you,” Nancy explained.

“Really, Kid? What about?”

“My name isn't 'kid'.” Nancy said.

“Well, what can I call you? You haven't told me your name yet.”

“Oh, I'm sorry. I'm Nancy. Nancy Richardson.”

“And I'm sure you know mine,” Gale said.

“Yes, everyone does.”

“No, listen. I know what you did in that room. I saw you. Lizard Girl doesn't know yet. It would be best if she didn't.”

“So you know that I know who you and Lizard Girl are?”

“Yes, Nancy. And I am trusting you with this information. You better not tell anyone, okay?”

“Yes, Miss Gray, er, Gale. I won't even tell Julia Prescott,” Nancy agreed.

“I assume Julia is your – ”

“Best friend, yes. I suppose I shouldn't even tell her I met you.”

“That would be best. Now, about what you thought you should tell me?” Gale asked.

“I . . . was sitting in my bed and I-I was going to get down, but, well, I wasn't on my bed, see, I was hovering directly above it.”

Gale's eyes flew wide open, her light skin appeared to be slightly paler, and she stumbled back into the tree.

“Gale, are you okay?” Nancy asked.

“Yes,” Gale said, shaking the shock out of herself, “Were there any other times?”

“No,” Nancy answered, “I probably should have made sure I wasn't dreaming or something, shouldn't I?”

“It was good for you to tell me what happened,” Gale said, “Is that why you came over here?”

“No, I was just out for a walk. But I figured it would probably be good to tell someone, and who better than a superhero to tell, right?”

“You know the Tests, that you took, right?” Gale asked.

“Um, yes?”

“They weren't always Lizard Girl and mine, you know. A different superhero, an old woman by now, I'm sure, used to have this hideout. One day, two excited girls, each about your age, came by and accidentally got in. One girl accidentally knocked against the lever and began that series of Tests. Now, back then the lever was an automatic thing, not manual, like we have now. One girl was trapped in the globe, her only way out being to follow the instructions. She barely passed, using similar techniques as what you used. When she finally escaped, the girls left, the one who activated it constantly apologizing for what she had started. But after a couple days, the girl who passed the Tests began to get superpowers. It started off small, but soon escalated. The superhero trained her and she joined with another trainee of that superhero, only a few years older, for a long time.”

“How long?” Nancy asked.

“Long enough for the woman to get old. She became deaf in one ear and couldn't see without glasses. She retired, leaving the business to her two trainees, to Lizard Girl and me. And that wasn't the only time someone who took the Tests got superpowers. Another time a boy – probably about eight years old – became unconscious near the tree. This was when I was training, by the way. It was getting dark, and we had no way of knowing who he was, so we took him inside. Unfortunately, he was so startled by his surroundings when he woke up that he got bumped into the lever, then fell into the area where the Tests were. He was so scared, but he still followed our instructions to get out – at that time we didn't have the safety door. We never heard from him after that night. Since then, you are the only one without superpowers prior to taking the Tests.”

“So I'm a superhero now?” Nancy asked.

“Not quite. First we have to test you and make sure you have superpowers. If you could show me exactly what you were doing, then I might be able to figure it out. Do you want to come inside?”

That was a rhetorical question, Nancy could tell, because Gale pressed on the tree in a certain spot and the elevator came into view. Nancy followed Gale inside. When she stepped into the main area after the elevator went down, she saw pretty much what she had seen the first time she came into that room: a big computer on the far side, with a whole lot of space in the middle of the room. A lever on the right, and close up were two chairs, one in each corner.

Gale walked across the huge room and opened a drawer in the desk the computer sat on. She pulled out a big, round, metal thing as long as Nancy's hand from the tip of her middle finger to her wrist. The middle all the way through was hollow and the top was flat, with a screen and a button on it. Nancy walked up next to Gale.

“What is it?” Nancy asked.

“A Superpower Tester.”

“So it sees if I have superpowers?” Nancy asked, following Gale to one of the two chairs in the room.

“Yes. But I can't read the information from this. I have to put it on the computer first.”

Gale slipped the tester onto Nancy's arm and held it there a moment before pressing the button. Then Gale slid it off and walked over the the computer, plugging a cord into the top of the machine. Nancy stayed seated as Gale clicked and dragged things on the computer.

“Interesting,” Nancy heard Gale mumble, “Very interesting.”

“What is it?” Nancy asked.

“You do appear to have superpowers. Or at least one. More may develop as time progresses. But we will need to train you,” Gale said.

“Gale, report,” Lizard Girl said.

“I have a surprise for you when you come back. Just don't come with company. And be prepared. Anyway, other than that, nothing to report. How is it going at the museum?” Gale asked.

Nancy ran to where she was sure Lizard Girl couldn't see her, so that the “surprise” would stay a surprise.

“We don't have any clues yet as to who stole the jewels from Mr. Gem's shop. I thought the lead was pointing to a worker here, but I couldn't find anything. I'm on my way back now, to look at the tip we were given.”

“Come on, Nancy, it's okay,” Gale called after a moment's hesitation.

“What was that about?” Nancy asked as she stepped up next to Gale.

“The police are trying to find the thief who stole Mr. Gem's jewels. But then we got a tip from anonymous sources. You can see it on the computer, here,” Gale explained, bringing up a picture of a piece of paper.

Go to the museum for the thief you are looking for.

Nancy read the note. Then she noticed smaller letters:

Lizard Girl, go alone. They have old Mrs. Laribee.

“Which museum?” Nancy asked.

“We don't know. Lizard Girl has checked the only museum we can think of,” Gale answered.

“So they're threatening Lizard Girl with her mother?”

“Grandmother, but yes,” said a voice from behind them.

“Lizard Girl!” Nancy exclaimed.

“Is this the surprise?” Lizard Girl asked.

“Yes,” Gale answered, “But I can explain.”

“I would like to hear this explanation. How did this girl get in when you were supposed to be keeping guard?”

“Well, you see, she – ” Gale started.

“I came to her for advice. And apparently I do need you to train me, after all,” Nancy said.

“After all? What is the meaning of this? Have we met or something?” Lizard Girl asked.

“Yes. My name is Nancy Richardson. I took the Tests a few days ago.”

“Oh, yes. You left saying you didn't have powers. Why are you back, then?” Lizard Girl asked.

“Well, it turns out, the Tests gave me superpowers. Like how it did for Gale. Then she wanted to show me this,” Nancy explained, pointing at the note on the computer, then she noticed something about the note, “Why is there a design on the bottom?”

“I don't know. Perhaps they wanted to add a little flourish to the note,” Lizard Girl said.

Nancy leaned in closer to the computer screen.

“Aha!” Nancy said, “That isn't design, it's words.”

“Well, what does it say?” Lizard Girl asked.

Gale zoomed in, and the advanced computer didn't blur the words

“It says, 'The old, abandoned museum, Lucy, not the new one.' This is written in a different font, though, and it looks more like someone wrote it by hand.”

Lizard Girl looked more closely, then said, “That's my grandmother's handwriting. She must have wanted me to know where to look. I-I have to go. By myself, like the note says. I'll see about Nancy when I get back.”

“Be careful,” Gale called as Lizard Girl walked into the elevator.

Gale got no messages from Lizard Girl in the next hour. Nancy knew she was already really late for dinner, so she convinced Gale to let her give her mother an excuse.

“I know, Mom. I'll be home before bedtime. I'll have dinner late. I'm sorry, but they wanted me to stay longer.”

“Whose house are you at again?” Nancy's mom asked.

“Um, I'm with, uh,” Nancy started.

Gale kept pointing at herself. When Nancy didn't seem to understand, Gale pulled her mask off and pointed at herself.

“Um, Gail Gray?” Nancy finished.

Gale nodded, then put her mask back on.

“Who's Gail Gray?”

“Oh, she's nice. I, um, met her at the park. She and her friend are letting me stay over for a while. Actually, the friend is gone right now. I'll be home soon after she gets back.”

“Because she needs to drive you?” Nancy's mom asked.

“Um, yeah, that's it! Bye!”

As Nancy slipped her phone back into her pocket, she sighed.

“How did it go?” Gale asked, “Was she buying it?”

“Yeah, I think so. How's it going with Lizard Girl?”

“I haven't heard back from her for a while.”

“Could she have been kidnapped?” Nancy asked.

“No, she wasn't,” a voice said from behind them.

Nancy spun around to see Lizard Girl, drenched in water. She had an old, white-haired woman with a cane next to her.

“Gale, Nancy, meet Gramma Laribee. People who are not me call her old Mrs. Laribee, but she wants you to call her Gramma.”

“I can talk for myself, Lucy!” the old woman said, then turned to Gale, “You must be Gail!”

“Yes, Mrs. Laribee,” Gale said, shaking Gramma's wrinkled hand.

“And Nancy! What a great name! You know, I used to have a dear friend named Nancy. She got into a car accident, though. She would have wanted to meet you all, if she were still with us.”

“Gramma,” Lizard Girl smiled – the first time Nancy had really seen her smile when talking about her – “Nancy is the new girl I told you about. The one that I'm going to train.”

“Oh, how sweet! Well, I'd love to stick around and see exactly what you girls have been working on, but I've got to get home now. I'll see you tomorrow, Lucy,” Gramma said, heading toward the exit.

“I need to go home, too,” Nancy said, “I told my mom I'd be home just after you got back.”

“Alright,” Lizard Girl agreed, “I will see you tomorrow at three pm for training. Don't be late!”

“Got it. I'll be here,” Nancy promised.

Nancy couldn't think of a time in her life she was more excited. She was so happy, she felt like she could fly home. Then she looked down, and realized she was floating. Carefully, she lowered herself to the ground.

I guess we'll have to work on that first! Nancy thought.