Defiance (Significance #3)(45)

But he wasn't the only new guest to the party. Marla, Marcus, Gaston, and even a couple of others came over the rooftop.
As Rodney wiggled my hands free, I kept them behind me so no one would know I was free. And then Rodney attempted to creep over to Caleb. He was pretty hidden by the shrubs, but someone would see if they were looking.
I tried to focus their attention on me as they plotted in a huddle.
"Ok, I guess I'll consider your offer to stay here," I told Donald.He laughed. That turned into a cackle. "Oh, my dear, that deal has passed."
"But you just said-" I tried to stall even as I heard the squeak of a chair being moved swiftly and saw the rest of the Watsons coming across the patio.
"That was before I knew you knew about the previous Visionary. And you've seen the Visionary records." He tsked. "I can't let you stay here now. I'll just have to kill you and your significant."
I peeked to see Caleb's hands were free and I held back no more. Even though Haddock was the only Watson missing, I let my ability blaze to the most angry part of me and let it loose. The greenhouse glass didn't rattle and the windows didn't shake. No, they shattered.
Every window in the building, floor to ceiling, burst in an angry shower all at once. It was like an explosion and glass rained down all around us. I saw my enemies running away, and I refused to let them. I controlled it all, and knew exactly what do. I forced the bigger shards to head for my targets. They sliced through legs, arms and backs as the cowards ran. Marcus whined and groaned while Marla shrieked. Walker cried out as a shard sliced his face and neck.
But Donald was determined. He walked through the assault right for me, only pausing when I got him with a shard. When he'd almost reached me I saw Caleb jump for him. He grabbed his head from behind and Donald went as still as ever.
Caleb was borrowing Donald's ability and using it against him. Everyone else just watched as Donald froze and even seemed to stop breathing. He could have been a wax figure as Caleb's hands fell away and Donald was left to stand there. Marla screamed in rage, stood all bloodied and wild, and ran right for Caleb. He swayed on his feet, but stopped her with borrowing my ability. I didn't see Walker come up behind him until almost too late. I knocked Walker back into the post so hard that the frame of the greenhouse shook. We really needed to get out of here.
Rodney emerged from behind me saying pretty much the same thing to me, that the greenhouse was done for.
I ran to Caleb, putting my hands under his shirt to heal him and evaluated the situation as Caleb sighed and let my touch make him new again. Marla was in Caleb's ability's grasp. Walker was unconscious. Donald was a statue and Marcus was crying on the ground and the rest of them stared in silent horror. Most of them weren't imprinted so they didn't possess much power as a whole and the ones who did didn't have good ones.
Caleb pushed Marla with his mind so she'd fall back toward them. She ran back to a woman who could have only been her mother. I didn't understand why she let them control her daughter that way. Rodney took my other side and we waited for a move to be made as the glass crunched under our feet. 
Caleb, seeing the opposition in some of them, took it upon himself to demonstrate that he was not sitting quietly while they tried to destroy us. He lifted his hand and let the flame come. The man who'd held little Maria against her will in Uncle Ken's house just a few days ago cursed and came forward to stop Caleb from borrowing his ability, but someone stopped him with a hand on his chest.
"We get it," the Marla said. "You took down Donald, that's all that matters. He's been controlling us all for years."
"You made your own decisions," I told them and glanced at Marcus who was glaring at me. "In fact, Donald was just a guy who handed out orders. You all were the henchman!"
"He threatened to have us denounced!" Gaston said and begged. "You have to believe us. We only did what we did to save our own necks."
"It still doesn't make it right," I said and waited for him to argue. He didn't.
The groan and buckle of metal alerted us and Caleb was moving before I even had time to think. The North side of the greenhouse was collapsing. We leapt out of the greenhouse doorway right into the Watson's arms basically and it was too late to do anything about it. Marla had me around the neck with her long sleeve dress and was giggling in a seriously evil way as she shoved a large glass shard into my back to motivate my cooperation.
Caleb thought about lunging for her or using my ability to throw her, but was afraid I'd be hurt in the process.
"You actually believed all that dribble!" she yelled and laughed more. "Donald was a douche, but he was never running me. He only thought he was."
"I…" I started to argue with her, but I remembered that the vision I'd had of Donald's past would be his perception of events, not facts.
Caleb and Rodney were circling her with palms raised. Walker and another Watson started to inch toward them and I flicked my fingers at them to stop them. Caleb turned in time to see another one coming, so he borrowed the man's fire and set a line of fire between them and Rodney out of the greenhouse debris. They seethed on the other side and I tried to figure out a plan as Marla dragged me. I could feel the glass scraping my back and knew a little blood was running down the back of my dress.
"Let's go for a ride," she said and I realized where we were. The lift. She reached for the string and opened the gate, all while securely holding me.
"Come on, Marla, stop," Caleb tried to reason. "What are you doing?"
"Going for some girl talk," she said and shoved me onto the lift. It rocked and creaked as she hopped on with me and began to lower it.
"Stop!" Caleb yelled.
"I’m ok, Caleb," I tried to soothe him, but it was no use. I could feel his erratic heart beats make their way into my chest.
"So," she sang and smiled as she tossed the glass shard over the edge. Her hair was a mess from the wind and her dress was torn in several spots from the shards I'd descended on her. "Just us girls. Thanks for taking out Uncle Ego," she joked.
"Caleb took him out, not me."
"That's right. It was pretty impressive. I could really use that gift." She cocked her head to the side and looked serious. "Now, down to business. My work is not done. I have your blood and I know that there is something in it that will give me some power, it just has to. So, what I want from you, since I can't kill you, is for you to agree to meet me once a month to fork over a supply of your blood." Wow, she was deluded. You couldn't get power from blood. Like she could read my mind, or maybe just my face, she explained. "Uncle Sikes achieved the impossible by never giving up his research and I intend to do the same, getting the results that I want.""You're delusional," I told her and shook my head at the insane girl staring back at me. "You can't just manipulate everything just so you get everything you want. Don't you understand that your family meddling and being a menace was the reason the imprints were taken away to begin with?"
"Are you talking about the other Visionary? I don't care about that. Of course we've always known what Granddaddy Lionel did. Every Champion in our line has bragged about it for years."
"Bragged?" I said, feeling the warming of my blood.
"Yeah." She held her hand out. Her gloved hand. "Do we have a deal, Visionary?" she mocked.
"Or what?"
"Or I'll send the order to my man who has your precious brother and his star crossed lover Jen locked in your bedroom. For safekeeping," she taunted.
Twenty Five
I recognized Caleb in my mind and knew he'd heard it all. I gave him the go ahead, but he was caught between saving me and saving his sister. But it turns out it was a moot thought, because I heard Bish's mind as he made his way to us. And boy was he pissed.
But now I was worried because he was coming up behind the Watsons, I saw it in his mind, and he had Jen with him. I begged Caleb to go to him and make sure he was safe. I could handle Marla. He cursed up a storm in his mind, but eventually left with instructions with Rodney to not leave the roof edge.
"So?" Marla was saying. "Deal?"
"No," I answered and gripped the rail of the lift. "No, that doesn't work for me."
I contemplated if I had the guts to kill this girl. It may come to it.
"No," she scoffed. "No?"
"No. I'm not playing into your juvenile plans. Can you even hear yourself? Meet me once a month and give me your blood or I'll hurt your brother?" I taunted. "What was your back-up plan if I didn't go through with it?"
"I already have your blood," she said. "You already can't read any of our thoughts or futures. It'll only get worse for you. And once I figure out the secret that Sikes discovered, I'll finish you."
"Be my guest to try."
She growled a yell for her henchman. When she got no answer I almost smiled in satisfaction that she had no idea what was going on topside. But then she seemed to catch on. She turned her murderous gaze to mine and sucked in angry breaths through her nose. Then she charged me. The lift rocked as she crossed the few feet between us and tried to ram me against the post on the side. I wanted to fight her off and use my ability, but was afraid she'd fall off the side if I did. 
I held her arms back and she tried to strangle me. She was strong for a girl, but I was stronger because I ascended. I pushed her back and she swayed, but caught her balance again swiftly. She charged again.