Free Shifted by Lily Cahill Page B

… okay, here’s the good part.” Norine ruffled the paper again and smirked, obviously reveling in being the one to reveal the information. She finally started reading again when Aunt Patrice huffed in annoyance.
    The following powered persons have been identified: 
    Baker, Ruth: Fire Control 
    Briggs, Clayton: Projectile Energy
    Briggs, Cora: Water Control 
    Briggs, William: Teleportation
    Clark, Veronica: Supersonic Screams
    Crabtree, Ralph: Super Speed
    Dickenson, Theodore: Force Field  
    “I heard Teddy saved the doctor from a boulder,” Norine exclaimed, looking up from the article.
    “Keep reading,” Briar said.
    Norine shot Briar a look, but went back to the paper.
    Egan, Danny: Emotional Influence
    Fields, Margaret: Explosive Energy
    Greg, Frank: Illuminated Fingers
    Michaels, Kent: Indestructible Skin
    Murphy, Butch: Mind Control 
    “Mind control! Can you imagine? Sheesh, that just gives me the willies,” Norine interjected before continuing to read. 
    Authorities advise caution when interacting with any of the people who have alleged powers. “The effects of these bizarre abilities might be more significant than we realize,” said police Captain Brad Barton. “It is possible that there are psychological consequences that we don’t yet understand.” 
    “He makes it sound like they all might go crazy,” Norine said, and by her tone it was clear she could only hope for such a juicy story.
    “Well, it’s certainly not normal,” Patrice said. 
    “Who do you think the informant is?” Briar asked.
    “Could be anyone,” Patrice said, finishing her coffee. “But telling the public was the right thing to do. The people deserve to know who they are dealing with.”
    “Yeah, but where did this information come from? The public deserves to know that too,” Briar argued.
    “The whole town has been talking about this for weeks,” Norine pointed out. She scanned the article, muttering more names of the supposed Independents. “I already knew about most of these people. But Lucy Roberts has a power? Looks like Little Miss Perfect is finally taking a walk on the wild side.”
    “I can’t believe you,” Briar said. “Lucy has never been anything but nice to you, but as soon as someone says something scandalous about her, you assume it must be true.”
    “I am not,” Norine said. Her voice was tinny and warbling. “But it’s in the paper, isn’t it? Doesn’t that mean it has to be true?”
    “I’m sure the paper has a good source,” Patrice said. “And I’ll ask you not to speak that way to your cousin.”
    Briar sighed. Patrice always took Norine’s side. Attempting to stick to the point, she asked, “Don’t these people have a right to their privacy?”
    “At the risk of public safety?” Patrice asked archly. “Butch Murphy is getting out of jail soon. Don’t you think people have a right to know that he can control minds?”
    “Butch Murphy was a deviant and a criminal even without powers. We know he’s dangerous. The rest of the people here haven’t done anything wrong,” Briar countered.
    “What about the fight on the Fourth of July?”
    “They were defending themselves!”
    “And they destroyed half the town to do it. If you ask me, we ought to run them out of town, or put all of them in jail,” Patrice pronounced. 
    Briar laughed. “They have superpowers. How long do you think it would take them to get out?”
    “That’s the point exactly,” Norine put in. “If they have powers, that makes the rest of us powerless.”
    Briar and Patrice looked at Norine, both shocked by her eloquence.
     “I just mean,” she continued, looking directly at Briar, “I don’t want to have anything to do with someone who can manipulate or hurt me. And who knows, maybe if you don’t use your power it will just go away.”
    “Maybe they don’t have a choice,” Briar said, looking directly back. “Maybe they can’t control it.”
    “All the more reason to know what