"W-What are you talking about? My father can't be captured--" I choked as my breathing came out in short puffs, my body growing numb.

My father was the only living member of my family that I had! 

If I lost him too...

I shut my eyes and willed my breathing to even out, attempting to ignore the thundering sound of blood rushing through my ears. 

"This is a joke right?" I couldn't stop my voice from coming out in a whisper but it still echoed in the empty hallway. "This is a joke... right?"

The silence stretched out between us, and with each heartbeat, I felt my chest squeeze tighter. 

Sobbing, I slid to the ground and brought my knees to my chest. The last time a villain had been captured, they were publically executed, and if my dad was captured on mission...

I sat bold upright.

The mission. What happened? 

I was almost afraid to ask.

"W-Wait," I took in a shuddering breath. "What happened during the mission--what caused him to--" 

I choked on my words, gulping down my sobs as I curled into a protective ball. 

He can't be gone. He can't be captured. He was fine yesterday. He was fine, he was fi--

"It was your fault! It was your fault!" he shouted in pain, sounding like he had just lost his best friend.

I glanced up with tear-filled eyes, at where my phone had fallen beside me in confusion.

"Huh--?" I mumbled, picking it off the floor and holding it to my ear. It felt like someone had stuffed cotton wool in my brain and I couldn't think straight. 

All the places where I touched the icy tiles felt numb and there was a faint buzzing in my ears.

"IT WAS YOUR FAULT! You were the one who your father insisted was capable of hacking their server. You were the one who your father said we could trust with our escape. You were the one your father said would never betray us! YOU!" he took a deep breath, as if calming himself. 

"You can only imagine the pain he felt when he realised that you had."

I had? I had what? Betrayed them? 

When did I betray them?

I only realised that I spoke aloud when I was met with cynical laughter.

"Hah! That's convenient. Of course you wouldn't remember. Why would you? To you, we were just a bunch of old crazies doing things just for the thrill of it. Someone like you wouldn't understand. Someone who just leaves their team stranded with the coordinates for a fire escape which didn't even exist wouldn't understand.

"We had to escape out the front door! And what a success that was! Oh, it was a success alright. A success with injuring us. We all got shot at least four times, and almost made it out before they started trapping us in the lockdown mode. We wouldn't have made it if it weren't for your father. He had to sacrifice himself because of you. 

"If you had stayed online and used your skills that your father always boasts about then he wouldn't be captured. He would still be here." He stopped talking to laugh, the sound making my head spin.

"So how does it feel now? Knowing that you've killed your only living family member?" he laughed cruelly, but it didn't even register. All that was ringing through my head was that I killed my father.

I killed my father. I killed him. It was all my fault.

All my fault...

I stumbled down the corridor, not even noticing as the bell rang and the doors to the classroom burst open. Carried by the flow of people, I blinked when I saw myself standing outside my house. 

Absentmindedly, I pulled my keys out of my pocket and unlocked the front door. I shakily stepped inside, noticing the small, white table beside the door.

A memory of my father laughing about how ironic it was that most of our furniture was white even though we were villains flashed through my mind and guilt slashed my chest.

Forcing it down, I closed the front door behind me, the semi-darkness casting eerie shadows over the hall.

Remembering that I had left my bag at school, I pulled out my phone to text Addison when I caught my reflection in the hallway mirror.

My dark hair and arching eyebrows were just like his, and I my stomach twisted.

Damnit, why is everything reminding me of what I've done? Can't I get a break?

The churning in my stomach grew harsher as the pain in my heart returned. I clenched my eyes shut and crossed my arms over my chest, as if hugging myself would help relieve the pain. 

Why was I only thinking of myself that night? Why did I go to sleep and not wait for my father? If I had just been there, watching, I might have been able to do something, anything. 

But I went to sleep. I went to sleep, and just left my father there! And now he's captured because of my selfish actions! All because of--

I snapped my eyes open when I realised that my hair was flying everywhere. All the items in the kitchen and living room were in a whirlwind mess, furniture and other items flying around in a blur.

The sharp gusts of wind made my eyes water and I gasped as a sharp shard of glass sped by my face, the edge nicking my cheek. 

I ducked as a chair came towards me from the other side, stumbling a few steps in an attempt to regain my balance. 

Shielding my face with my arms, my eyes widened in horror as I realised what had happened.

My powers--I had lost control. 

I dimly remembered my father warning about how my powers were deeply connected to my emotions, and as I grew in power, the amount of damage I could do would grow as well.

My father. The one I'd basically killed.

Gasping at the sudden increase of wind in the room, I knew that it was true. I coughed as the wind picked up dust in long forgotten corners of the room, making it hard to breathe.

I have to calm down.

My bangs fluttered around and obscured my vision, making me squint my eyes in order to see. 

Taking in a deep breath, I let my hands drop to my side.

I have to calm down.

Closing my eyes, I slowly sank to the ground and crossed my legs, feeling the pull of the rough wind subsiding.

I have to calm down.

Exhaling, I felt a temporary relief settle over me as the winds settled, seeing spinning items slowly lowering down to the nearest flat surface in my mind's eye.

Picking up a nearby chair, I heaved myself up onto it and opened my eyes, wincing at the mess. 

Although I didn't think it was a good idea to start using my powers again so soon just after them going berserk, I had to use them to clean up the room. 

The house was a mess, and I couldn't clean it all up by myself manually. It would take too long and some of the furniture was too heavy for me to carry. If I concentrated on the task at hand and didn't think about my father, I would be fine.

My father...

I gasped as the object I was sending my power towards suddenly jerked forward in a crazed frenzy. Gritting my teeth, I willed myself to calm down again, sighing in relief when it stopped and continued at its normal pace.

Standing up, I decided to sweep up the broken shards of glass by hand, feeling a stab of guilt at the amount that I had destroyed. I could only hope that my father would have forgiven me by then.

Sighing, I slumped down on the couch, suddenly exhausted. Losing control of my powers, and then using them to clean up had put a lot of stress on my mental energy and I could feel myself start to lose consciousness.

The sudden ding of the doorbell had me sitting bolt upright, startled. It seemed it wasn't time to sleep yet; I still had to figure out how to find my father and rescue him.

It was my fault he was in this mess, so I was going to get him out, no matter what.

a.n.

Slightly longer chapter than the last, what do you think of this new development? I love hearing about your thoughts! :)

SpiderPrincess

edited: 18/01/17