THE COP led me out of the car and into the tiny Doolittle Police Station. They seemed nervous. Not much crime happens in Doolittle Falls, and when it does, there are usually five people in capes on the scene before the cops have time to start their sirens. Johnny and his two police escorts entered right after us.

We walked past a few desks, some closed offices and a very sad ficus tree. I could hear Johnny struggling as they dragged him behind me. “Stay strong, sis,” he shouted to me. “We’ll get out of here.”

“You too, bro,” I said as we turned sharply and entered a small interrogation room. There was a metal table in the center of the room bolted to the floor with a thick hook on its top. On the side closest to the door were three wooden chairs and on the side near the wall a folding chair. They sat me down in the folding chair and undid my handcuffs.“Sorry about that,” the fatter of the two officers said. His badge said O’Grady.“Protocol,” said the other officer sternly. His name was Walters.

“So is everyone okay?” I asked.

“What?” Officer Walters responded.

“At the party. I’m worried after what happened. Did anyone get hurt?”“You’re a good kid,” O’Grady said. “First question isn’t about why you’re here or if you’ll get out or begging us not to tell your parents. Real good kid.”

“Everyone’s fine,” Walters said. “As far as we know. Some sprained ankles, a few cuts and bruises. Nothing major.”

“Oh thank god!” I said.

“Attica, Attica, Attica,” Johnny screamed from the other room.

“Your brother on the other hand is a real piece of work,” Walters said.

“So, why am I here?” I asked.

“That party of yours drew a little attention,” Walters said.

“But, I didn’t think you arrested kids for noise complaints,” I said.

“Well, booze to minors and all that,” O’Grady said.

“But there wasn’t any booze,” I said, hoping they didn’t know about Johnny’s power.

“Seriously, no booze?” Walters said. “How dorky are you? When we used to throw down, it wasn’t a party without at least two kegs.”

“No kegs,” I said.

“Hmm,” Walters responded.

“Look. It wasn’t our call, kid. Whenever there’s an unauthorized use of powers, we got to bring you in. Our chief made the call,” O’Grady said.

“Normally we’d just break it up,” Walters added.

This situation sucked. Why hadn’t the bracelets worked for Rosa? They worked during all the practices. The weight of the situation fell over me. Dad would kill me. And Johnny. I hope we wouldn’t be expelled. Or get a record. A terrible thought crossed my mind.

“You’re not going to send me to juvie?” I asked, on the verge of tears.Walters and O’Grady laughed. “No, no. Not at all. Just need to clear it all up, file a report, and you should be on your way. With your parent’s escort of course,” O’Grady said with a smirk.

“Not getting out of that one,” Walters said.

“I’ll never snitch pigs,” Johnny shouted from the other room.

“Are you sure you two are related?” O’Grady asked.

“I ask myself the same question all the time,” I replied.

A man in a brown suit poked his head in the door. “We need to talk,” he said.“Sure, Chief,” Walters said. “Please give us a minute.”

The two of them got up and walked out the door. They left it slightly ajar so I could see out. Behind the Chief were two men in black suits with dark sunglasses on. They looked like members of the Secret Service Paladin Division. This can’t be good, I thought.

They spoke in whispers but I could tell they were arguing. The detectives were incredulous about something and kept raising their voices. I heard them say, “Are you serious?” “This is crap” “She’s just a kid.” The last one made me really nervous.

Finally Walters said, “Fine!” loudly in protest and walked back in the room with O’Grady. “I’m sorry about this. It’s BS,” Walters said.

“Walters!” The chief castigated.

“Ugh,” he groaned. “Look, you’ll be fine, okay? These two men from the federal government want to talk to you. It shouldn’t be too bad.”

“We’ll keep an eye out for you, kid,” O’Grady said.

“Okay,” I responded, but I felt more like I was reassuring them then they were comforting me.

O’Grady patted me on the head and the two of them left the room. The two men in the black suits walked in and closed the door. They had no names tags and did not introduce themselves. They both had severe faces, with sharp noses and high cheeks. They looked strong and compact. The only distinguishing features between the two were their eye colors. One had green eyes the other brown.

“You’re in a lot of trouble,” Brown Eyes said.

“A lot,” Green followed.

“Why? It was just a party. So Rosa’s bracelets failed. The police officers said it was nothing,” I said.

“Nothing?” they said in incredulous unison. “Terrorism is nothing,” Green followed. He shook his head.

“Terrorism?” I gulped.

“Unauthorized use of powers in public, threat to human lives. Could have been a disaster, Ms. Robinson,” Brown said.

“And known affiliation with known and wanted terrorists,” Green said.

“Are you referring to my mother in this case, sir?”

“Lady Oblivion. Not only are you a blood relation, you have known contact with her. And have been seen fighting alongside her,” Brown said.

“We’ll have plenty of time to discuss this further, Ms. Robinson. But for the safety of this town and this nation, you will have to come with us,” Green said.

“But can’t I call my dad? Or my lawyer? Or my best friend Alice?”

“Terrorists don’t get lawyers,” Green said.

“Or dads,” Brown added.

“Or best friends.” Green reached into a brown briefcase and pulled out two metal circles. They were not attached by a chain like the other handcuffs. They had no hinges. Just solid rings of metal. He slid them over my hands and they got tighter somehow when they reached my wrists. He pressed a button and a blue glow emanated from them and a bolt of blue shot between them and stayed there. My hands were immobile, and then my body.

“I … Can’t … Move …” I said slowly, my mouth freezing shut.

“That’s the point,” Green said as I froze completely still.

Brown got up and pulled something out of his pocket. I tried to turn to see it but couldn’t turn. Then he pulled it over my head and the world turned black.