Gary, the boy who had recruited Lucy and Luke, and the apparent leader of the rag-tag team, stared down at the ground. He flicked a coin up into the air and used his power over metal to spin it in hypnotic circles.
Lucy held in another outburst. The kid had never even gone on an assignment. He'd only arrived from the elementary ward at the sister facility a few weeks ago. She looked at Luke again, begging him with her eyes to make some sense. What was he thinking, going along with all this?
Gary cleared his throat and attempted eye contact with the wall behind Lucy. "We have to do something. Sitting here waiting for them to decide our fates isn't a plan."
She'd have agreed if a plan wasn't already in place: Sam would get help. But she couldn't tell this group that—no one but she and Luke could know Sam's plans—so how could she convince them this was a fool's errand?
"Okay, how would you do it?" she asked.
The other teens perked up.
Wally spoke first, "We'll use our powers to create diversions. If we organize our whole team, we can do this. We may not have as many people as they have soldiers, but we have para-powers. That should count for something, right?"
Lucy looked around the classroom. She knew some of the teens by name, others by sight. Laura, a girl from her calculus class, smiled at her. They'd been friends in the lower grades, but had since grown apart. Still, she liked Laura and didn't want to see her get hurt in this stupid plan that wasn't even a plan.
A girl of about fifteen spoke up. "My name's Lisa. I can hover above ground, and I'm learning to fly. We have a lot of powerful paranormals in this room and there is a way we can use these collective powers to escape. I know our ideas may not seem very thought-out yet, but that's why we need you two. You've got more experience in assignments, and you have friends on the outside. With your help we can do this."
"You don't understand," Lucy said. "My friends escaped, yes, but in the process, someone very important to us was killed. Do you get it? They killed her!"
She pounded her fist on the desk in frustration. "And they weren't trying to free an entire school. Do you think we'll all make it out alive? We won't. Some of us will die." Her voice escalated to the point of yelling. "Are you ready to carry that burden, to watch your friends die because you sent them in to disarm a guard or start a fire? Do you have any idea what you are doing? You don't know the first thing."
Luke put an arm around her shoulders as she fought the sobs building in her chest. No one moved or even breathed.
Lisa wiped a tear from her face. "You're right. We don't know what we're doing, but we can't just sit here and wait. We have to do something. I'm sorry you lost someone close to you. But, yes, I am prepared to die." Lisa looked everyone in the room in the eyes. "What about all of you? Are you prepared to do whatever is necessary to take this place down?"
Lucy held her gaze the longest, weighing the truth of her words and intentions.
"Am I lying?" Lisa asked.
"No. But that doesn't mean this is a good idea."
"Right now, it's the only idea we have. But with you and Luke on the team, maybe we can think of something better."
One by one, each person affirmed they were ready to sacrifice everything to fight Rent-A-Kid. Lucy paid close attention, but couldn't catch anyone in a lie.
It still didn't change her mind. She looked to Luke for support, but he didn't make eye contact. At that moment she wished she could read minds like Sam, or talk to Luke mentally. She needed to get him alone before he agreed to this mess.
"I need to think about all this, okay? And talk to my brother." Lucy shot Luke a warning look. Do not speak, Bro. We need to talk first.
He got the message and nodded once sharply.
Gary smiled. "We're having another meeting on Thursday. You could come then. Maybe you'll be ready?"
That gave her two days to convince Luke this was a mistake. She hoped it'd be enough.
"Yeah, okay, we'll be back then."
The collective group seemed to relax. Gary fidgeted, and his coin dropped to the ground. He held his hand over it, but nothing happened. Lucy looked around the room. Richard, a fire-starter, had been playing with a small fireball all through the discussion—something he'd gotten in trouble for more times than she could count. He too stared at his hand in confusion. No fire. Others shifted nervously and whispered to each other.
Lucy turned to Luke. "Lie to me."
"What? Why?"
"Just do it."
"Okay fine. Um... I love broccoli."
Nothing.
Lucy couldn't tell he was lying. Normally a pressure would build inside of her and buzz in her head when someone lied. This time, nothing. And she knew Luke hated broccoli. The emptiness inside her shook Lucy to the core. Without her power she was... ordinary, useless. Bad enough to have a passive power like lie detecting, but to lose even that terrified her.