Strange Country Day by Charles Curtis

basket of raw cookie dough on the table.
    “For goodness’s sake, Morimoto,” Dad said, shaking his head. He turned his attention to Sophi.
    “What you did back there was incredible.”
    “Is he okay?” she asked.
    Dad nodded. “He’s a bit woozy, but he’ll be fine. I heard you bumped into a couple of our men. After you left, they posed as police officers and took down a report when he woke up. He told them he didn’t know how he had been knocked out and that he wouldn’t press charges.”
    He turned in his chair to face me. “Alex, I’m sorry about what happened, but I couldn’t stop Flab from attacking,” Dad said. “We can’t blow our cover for everybody. Once we ID’d him as your teammate, we were forced to let it play out. Only if you were in further danger would we have stepped in. The two of you going into the woods didn’t exactly help matters … ” Sophi blushed furiously. “ … But, hey, look on the bright side. We discovered quite a secret.”
    “Martin!” Mom scolded.
    “Okay, sorry.” He got serious again. “Sophi, before I explain a few things to you, you have to promise to keep this a secret.”
    “Of course.”
    Dad opened the laptop and typed. He turned the screen around. It was a long list of categories and a box for a photo that was blank. The categories were filled in with all kinds of information: Date of Birth: 6/17/02; Weight: seven pounds, three ounces; Blood type: O positive.
    “Sophi, it’s nice to finally meet case number 574912BK.”
    Dad explained that Sophi had a rare heart defect that her parents had discovered before she was born. They brought her in right after her birth, and Dad’s team figured out a solution—a nuclear-powered battery attached to her heart.
    Sophi’s already-wide eyes got even larger after hearing that.
    “There’s another wrinkle to this story. When we dropped off the grid, some of the parents of the babies we’d helped save didn’t approve of us going underground to hide from the government. They thought their families would be harmed if they were associated with a group being hunted down.
    “So when we decided to move, we sent out a message to every family we worked with, even those who wanted nothing to do with us. We told them they might be in danger whether they had stayed in touch or not and that we’d be better off moving close to each other to pool our resources. A few agreed, including Sophi’s parents.”
    “Your parents also played another important role,” Mom interjected. “They thought this town was a perfect place for everyone. You’re the reason why we moved here.”
    “But little did we know you had those powers. We had no idea this was going to happen,” Dad said.
    “So we’re moving again,” I cut in.
    “No,” Mom replied. “Like I told you, we’re still figuring it out. The problem is that there could be other kids we don’t know about out there developing powers like yours, without protection. That’s what we’re working on at the moment: getting the old group of scientists back together to find and help those kids.”
    “Do my parents know I’m like this?”
    Sophi spoke for the first time in what felt like hours.
    “I don’t think so. Seeing you exhibiting these … side effects … isn’t something we’re ready so share with the group until we figure everything out,” Mom said.
    Sophi shifted in her seat. “Why are you so open with telling me all this?”
    “That’s how confident we are about protecting you. It’s taken us a long time to put those measures in place.”
    “One more question: Why can’t I control myself all the time?”
    “That’s a little more complicated. As I told Alex, I’m still working on that. But I believe part of the reason is your fluctuating hormones. Theoretically, sometimes you can control them, sometimes you can accidently blackout an entire city block.”
    Dad paused. “My turn. I have a favor to ask of you.”
    Mom started shaking her head.