3. “What am I hearing, where am I?”

“Hey Valencia, you awake?”

“Victor?”

“Guys, she’s waking up.” Astrid says.

“Good, her doctor did tell us that she can hear, her sedative should have worn out by now.”

“Arrow too?”

“Can you hear me? Valencia!” Melodie says, standing closest to her.

Suddenly Valencia wakes up and starts gasping for air, calming down once she takes in her atmosphere.

“You’re up, thank goodness, now we need you to explain what the heck happened last night.” Victor says, highly concerned.

“Victor, you have a cut on your neck.” She tries to reach for it.

Victor puts her hand out of the way, while everyone stares at her for answers. 

“Guys…” 

“If you're okay enough to speak, we want answers for last night.” Maximus replies, crossing his arms. 

“Yes, how do you date someone like that?” Melodie questions.

“And when did you have time to date him?” Astrid says.

“Well...We met during homeschooling earlier this year and we started going out last month," she looks up at them, "he is Mrs. Vandova’s son.”  

“You should have told us.” Arrow says sternly.

“I know Arrow, I just didn't want to say anything yet, and...I didn’t know he was a maniac?”

"You definitely shouldn't have been dating then if you could not see these signs." Arrow replies.

"True, and he's more than a maniac, this dude tried to stab me, and he stabbed you?” 

“I know Victor, but I tried to stop the fight, to settle everything, I didn't want to make matters worse by using any of our powers.” 

“By dating behind our backs...Listen Valencia, I understand your emotions of a beautiful girl you are, but...You should not date behind our backs like that. I told you before about permission, and you did not listen! Like always." Victor says, clearly the most pressed about this.

“Stupid, yes.” Arrow adds to Victor's words.

“But Arrow, I didn’t think it'd go this way.” Astrid replies with, “what else did you think, because you’re beautiful with your long hair and precious face that nothing will go wrong for you! The only good thing that came out of last night is that we got Cora’s headphones.” 

“And my green drink...” Maximus adds in.

“Mom and dad are talking with the doctors right now, with Cora.” Arrow says.

“You were being so careless Valencia," she turns to Victor, "and why are you taking this to heart?"

“Excuse me, what? I have a reason to over our sister being stabbed!” Victor says to Astrid.

“Maybe you should just be more watchful!” Valencia says back.

“Maybe you should not open yourself up so early!” Astrid yells back at her.

Everyone goes silent, as Valencia starts tearing up, saying, ”I can’t believe you, not like you even tried to talk with me…”

Then during this conversation, their parents walk in with the doctor and Cora. 

“She should be able to walk tomorrow since the stab wound wasn’t so deep, but she does have to stay another night.” The doctor says.

“Good, gives you time to think about your poor choice.” James says to Valencia, clearly angry about the situation as well.

Valencia lays back, still upset over this whole ordeal.

"Let's go." Melissa says, being the one staying calm.

“No wait," Valencia sits back up, "don’t all leave, can someone stay with me?” 

“Well, that depends if anyone wants to.” James says to her.

“No, I’m starting to..." Suddenly Valencia starts shaking, with her now holding herself as if she is really cold, "I'm literally shaking and I can't control it…” 

“Are you cold? Or is it…” Celsius questions, his tired eyes progressively getting wider.

"Uh..." Maximus starts to say something, but the doctor walks over to her, saying with a worried tone of voice, "this must be an effect of the Arkemia."

Valencia sits up causing the doctor to say, “please Valencia, you must lie back.”

"Don't tell me what to do!" Valencia in an uncontrollable manner, uses the forceful power from the Arkemia’s telekinesis, throwing everyone in the room back.

Everyone eventually gets up, hurt from medical equipment, looking at Valencia in shock of that strong power.

The doctor runs out of the room, getting other doctors and nurses to see about her ability. But James and Melissa stand there looking angry if anything, with James saying, "why would you do that! What did we tell you guys about using your powers in public! They could have found out the other way..."

Celsius starts laughing to himself as usual, saying, "that was cool as hell." 

Then Maximus says, "what do you mean we? We didn't do anything??" 

Melissa cuts him off saying, "we know what we meant."

“Why did you do that...?” Victor replies, looking right at Valencia.

Valencia can’t say a word, she keeps looking at her hands, and herself. Then a nurse comes in saying, “she did all of this?” 

“Yes, this room is major proof.” 

“She must be one of those kids, with that illness, we must test her.”

“Wait, test her? What do you mean test her?” “Just to see what this power is sir, we must, I’m sorry, everyone come get her!”

“No, leave her be this instant!”

“Ma’am, stay back.” 

“No!” 

The doctors and nurses take Valencia to another floor, while everyone follows them, causing everyone to stand back, wondering where they are taking her.

"What’s going on?” Melodie whispers.

“Let’s go home, now.” James says, in an expressionless tone.

Later that night, as they are eating dinner, things become a bit awkward, no one says anything to each other as they eat in the dim lit dining room. They are all thinking of earlier with one mind, but different versions of it at the same time.

They continue in silence, until Victor breaks the silence, slamming his fork on his plate saying, “what is this really? Why are you guys so afraid of something that's been here for years?"

“Excuse me...” Melissa says, wiping her mouth as she eats.

“You heard me, what are we here for really?" 

“For your protection." Melissa answers him sternly.

Arrow starts saying, “does it have something to do with her real parents? Or what about ours? Why do we need to be so protected when everyone else is going through this? Regardless of our differences?"

“Yeah, what were our parents like to cause us to be like this?” Celsius questions as well, being oddly serious and truthful.

“Arrow and Astrid are the only ones who remember their parents, but what about us? What were they like!”

“Lower your voice, Victor!” 

“But what happened with our parents, mine, Melodies, Max’s, Cel's, Cora’s.”

“Everyone, just shut up!!” James shouts at them.

“I’m not calming down until I get an answer!” Arrow shouts.

Melodie tries to say something, but she just ends up ignored during the argument.

The kids start arguing with each other, until James ends it saying, “everyone! Shut up! Finish your food, then leave our faces until I say you can come back.”

They continue eating, and they go about their business afterward.

They linger around In the lounge room, with them not talking to each other, until Melodie puts her DSI down, saying out loud, "what do you all think happened to our parents?"

Astrid turns to her, saying, "we are still trying to figure that out." She crosses her arms after, turning her music back on from her ipod.

As Melodie turns back to play her DSI, Arrow suddenly says to them, "we'll figure it out, regardless of how long it takes."

After about twenty minutes go by, Arrow starts to notice something weird on the ceiling, noticing as he was thinking his head off, he tries to figure out what it is, but just then...

“Why are my hands shaking?” 

Arrow turns to Astrid as she puts her ipod down, looking at her hands.

“Guys, look, does this look like smoke a little bit.” Astrid says, holding her hands out. 

They walk over to her, then Maximus starts saying, “mine are too.” 

“We were all angry, that’s why.” 

“No, Victor, this smoke or whatever is not from anger, you should know that, you have anger issues.” Astrid says to him.

“No I do not!” He counters, "it's just this situation that has taken a toll on me."

Melodie starts saying, “It’s happening to all of us, I can't even play my game."

"Let's just continue to stand together and see.” Celsius says.

They all continue to stand together and all their hands begin shaking, causing the entire room to shake, like an earthquake, but they still stand together through it. 

“Everyone hide! It’s an earthquake! Oh wait? It isn’t shaking outside?” Melodie looks around, questioning this.

James and Melissa make their way to the lounge room, and as they come in, everything stops.

They all fall to the ground, trying to breathe. They then look at each other, the room a mess, with James and Melissa looking at them, upset, once again.

"Your anger is withheld in this home, you all know that." James says, with them looking guilty at him for breaking a house rule, well, except for Arrow.

"We were just..." Melodie starts to talk, but James nor Melissa want to hear it, immediately they tell them to leave the room, and this, they all do.

...The next day....Back at the hospital.

“We’ve been waiting for an hour now, where is Valencia?” 

“Be patient, Victor.” 

“My patience meter ran out a long time ago.”

As they all sit in the waiting room, Jinn walks up with Valencia, along with another doctor and nurse. 

“Oh sweetie.” James and Melissa hug her, then she starts saying, “I’ve been learning to control this power of mine again pretty well for the day, better than my....Well you know.”

“Well, that’s good, just keep being careful like we said, your siblings didn't follow that rule last night.” Melissa says sternly.

“Of course.”

As James and Melissa talk with Jinn, Valencia runs up to hug Victor, then everyone else. 

“Alright then.” Maximus says after being bypassed by Valencia, but she turns around and hugs him too, and all the others.

“Guys, this power is so weird isn't it?” 

Then Arrow adds in, "yes, it is Valencia, we've all been living with it since we were kids."

"I know that, Arrow, I'm just talking about the experience of using it outside the house." 

“Hm..." Arrow adds in, walking away from her.

“Alright, we have something to tell you, first I’m doctor Shjean pronounced Sheen, Jinn’s younger brother," he says to Valencia, then he turns back to James and Melissa, "it seems that what Valencia did is a result of the illness Arkemia, it also causes change in eye color and for your hands to vibrate at times, this though can be very dangerous, a lot of the kids, teens, and young adults have this now, but yours....Comes with a lot of hold and power, which is strange, you're the only one I tested like that so far.”

“This is why we say that Valencia has to be very careful, especially with school next month.” 

“Yes, Julie, you guys must watch out for her.”

“They are homeschooled by their own teacher.” James says back. 

“Well that's a great way to do it, I’m Nurse Julie by the way, also, Shjean’s wife.” She smiles, giving off a caring look.

Jinn walks over to them saying, clearly cutting off that subject by saying, “to change the subject, I am having a get together as well as dinner this weekend, bring the kids too, I'm making sure Xavier will stay for the get together.”

“Sure, we will be there.” James replies.

“Great, see you all this weekend.” He says with a smile.