Chapter Nine

Daria stood up. "Dad, wait. You can't go."

Jake's shoulders slumped as he looked from her to Quinn. "I have to, kiddo. But you know, I'll always love-"

"If you go, he won't follow you," said Daria. "He knows that you're our father. He'll just stay behind and keep us captive until you come back. And then, who knows what will happen? If he doesn't just kill us for wasting his time, he might try to force some big concession out of you."

Jake's eyes widened. He hadn't considered that.

"Then I'll have to take you all with me," he said, raising his chin with determination. "I'll take us someplace real nice, I promise."

"Dad, you can't take us away!" Quinn burst out.

"The girls and I aren't going anywhere!" Helen announced firmly, griping her hands to keep them from shaking.

"But we have no choice now, don't you see?!" Jake cried, his gestures more frantic. "I can't let him hurt you!"

"Have you ever tried standing up to him?" asked Daria.

"Yes." Tears now flowed out of Jake's eyes, which he made no move to wipe away. "And although I'm more powerful than he is, he has terrible gifts of his own, and has defeated many who were stronger."

He started pacing in a tight circle, consumed by nightmares that only he could understand. "It was Earth Year 1978, and he was in hot pursuit through the Northwest Territories. One thing you need to know about him, girls, is that he never tires out the way a human does. He can pursue his target night and day, until he has completely worn it out. I had just scaled an icy peak and lay on the edge, exhausted. I thought I had lost him for sure, but suddenly he was right there beside me, looking down with this almost kindly smile. Like a parent ready to take his child home from school. And then, like the icicles that glistened around us, his eyes began to get colder and possess me. But before I completely lost myself, I told him that I wasn't just going to give up. And with the last bit of strength I had, I brushed snow into his eyes.

"He stumbled back, blinded for that moment. I struggled to my feet and stood up. Then, letting my essence race through me, I created a powerful jolt that split the peak in two. My pursuer found himself on the wrong side, the side that was crumbling quickly and sliding into the gulch below. His scream of rage was the last sound I heard.

"But I should have known that wouldn't kill him. I'm not even sure he can be killed. He found me again, with his terrible hypnotic stare, after I had climbed back down to the ground. I couldn't believe that he didn't even have a scratch! Except for shredded human clothing, he might as well have been wearing a shell. This time, revived, I vowed to fight him until one of us dropped - and if that should be me, then I would take my life before he could return me to Xulfanex.

"So we battled for I don't know how many days. I used every power in my arsenal - I shook the earth, made icicles rain down from the peaks above, tried mind control, and freezing his human body to trap him inside. And when that didn't work, I tried punching him out. These human bodies can be pretty effective.

"Still, every time he seemed about ready to give out, some inner force kept him upright. Finally, with my last gasp, I unleashed my greatest jolt yet. The ground gave way beneath him, and he plunged into a dark abyss. I have no idea how many miles it was, but he might as well have fallen forever. And then I left."

Jake sighed quietly, his face clouding as he relived the memory. He looked at his family. "But as you can see, even that wasn't enough. He's back. And... I'm older." Jake gazed down at his hands morosely. "My costume isn't as tight as it used to be. My power has diminished from lack of use. Sometime long ago, I realized I didn't want to be Norlek from Xulfanex any longer; I was happy being Jake Morgendorffer from earth. Bumbling and completely ordinary. I want to live out my human life. I'm tired of running."

Jake leaned heavily against a wall and stared off into space.

"One thing I'll say," Helen said in a low tone. "If it keeps that man from coming near my babies, I'll face him down myself."

"Helen, no!" Immediately Jake was by her side, his arms around her, as though physically trying to prevent her from running out to find Phelps. "He'd kill you!"

"He froze pretty easily when we tried to stop him," said Quinn.

Jake and Helen turned slowly to face her.

"What do you mean 'froze'?" asked Jake.

Quinn looked at Daria, her cheeks slowly reddening. Throughout their parents' story, she had wondered when would be the right time to explain what she and Daria had done to Phelps in the hallway. Hearing her mother's spoken pleasure at their normalcy had left her even more in doubt. But now, Daria looked at Quinn squarely in the eye and nodded slowly. DeMartino stepped away from the wall and walked over to them.

"We have... powers," Quinn murmured in a scarcely audible voice.

Her parents looked at her, their faces growing pale with shock.

"What kind of powers?" Jake whispered.

"We made the earth shake, and then shot Mr. Phelps into the next room and froze him."

Helen just stared at Quinn. "That's ridiculous," she said faintly.

"Is it?" asked DeMartino.

"Yes!" Helen leaned forward and cupped her hands around her younger daughter's face. Quinn felt her palms pressing tightly, as though she were afraid to let go. "They've never once shown any unusual powers! If they had, I would have seen it!"

"People from Xulfanex don't ALWAYS develop their abilities right away," said DeMartino. "I know that NORLEK didn't reach full strength until he was two HUNDRED."

"How long have you had them? What else have you done?" There was curiosity and eagerness in Jake's face.

"What did you do to them?!" Helen asked DeMartino angrily.

"You interbreed with an ALIEN, and you ask what I'VE done?" DeMartino returned, unable to conceal a grin, which looked hideous with half of his face torn away.

"I've only had them since this morning," said Quinn. "When I was in the bath..." At first Quinn resisted saying more, dreading the painful memory of Stacy's death. Then suddenly, she realized. "No, it was when I first got to school." She lay her mother's hands aside gently and turned to DeMartino. "When I got to school, I felt this force. I felt like something was trying to keep me out. Then I started to run, and I got hit by a car..."

"You what?!" Immediately Helen's arms were encircling her, and Jake was standing behind, searching frantically for major wounds.

"I'm... fine!" Quinn gasped. "Or I was."

Helen let go. Quinn took a deep breath, and her eyes clouded with the memory. "I was scared about what would happen at school, and the school tried to keep me out. I ran, and got scared someone would chase me, and... it did. I did all that to myself... didn't I?"

Daria looked solemn. DeMartino nodded slowly, as did Jake.

"Anxiety projection," Jake said. "I do that to myself a lot, though not as often as I used to. It's often why, when I think I'm going to have a really bad day, I do."

Quinn smiled the smile of someone trying to find the humor in a frightening situation. Inside, though, her thoughts churned. If that's true, that means I did it. I did kill Stacy. But I didn't mean to! I would never kill her on purpose! Sandi maybe, but - no!

Jake turned to Daria. "So kiddo, you discovered your powers on the same day as your sister?"

"No," said Daria, "I've been aware of them for much longer than that. I just didn't know what they were until today."

Helen looked at her speechlessly. "What do you mean?" asked Jake.

"I've just always known I was different," Daria said, with a touch of weariness, "that it went beyond just being smart. I could feel things the other kids couldn't. I could think things they couldn't. Whenever a teacher gave a test, I knew all of the answers before I'd read the questions. Hell, there were times I could swear I changed the answer just to suit my knowledge. Just by thinking about it."

"You're clairvoyant?" Helen murmured.

"No," said Daria. "Well... maybe some. But I can change things. I can make people believe what I say just by thinking it. It used to scare me a little, that I could just manipulate people."

"But you love manipulating people, Daria," Quinn pointed out.

Daria's eyes narrowed. "With words. With arguments. But this manipulation, in a way that they couldn't fight back, felt wrong. I knew it, and somehow the other kids did, too. I didn't just withdraw; they stayed away. It wasn't until Jane that I finally felt I had someone who could get me. And even with Jane..." Daria's eyes trailed away thoughtfully for a moment. "I felt she was wrong for Tom, and then she decided it, too. Was it her own decision, or did she just act according to mine?"

"And you say you just do this without thinking?" Jake asked.

Daria nodded. Quinn could feel her anxiety, and felt stabs of her own. If I could kill Stacy without knowing it, I could kill any of you.