Here Today, Gone Tomorrow

Amanda-Sarah moved quickly. She leaned over Martin's shoulder and snatched the controller out of his hand.

'Hey!' Martin cried in outrage.

'Too bad for you, Martin,' Amanda-Sarah sang.

Martin jumped up. Amanda-Sarah held the controller high over her head. Martin, who came up only as far as her shoulders, hopped up and down, trying to get it.

Amanda-Sarah laughed. 'Give up, Martin. You'll never be tall enough to reach this.

'Give it back!' Martin yelled.

'Does itty-bitty Martin want his toy?' Amanda-Sarah said. 'Maybe Emily will give it to you.' She tossed the controller across the room, and Emily caught it.

It wasn't as easy for her to tease and ridicule Martin-she just didn't have Amanda's natural gift for meanness. But she did her best.

'Come and get it, Martin, if you can.' She waved the controller in the air. 'What's the matter? Are you scared of me?'

Martin ran over to her. When he was within a foot of reaching her, she threw the device back to Amanda- Sarah.

Once again, Amanda-Sarah taunted him by holding it too high. By now, Martin was shrieking, and his face was red.

'Here, Martin,' Amanda-Sarah said, extending the controller in his direction. But as he reached out for it, she threw it to Tracey on the sofa.

Tracey held the controller. 'Martin, I'm not moving. You can come right over here and take it out of my hand.'

Martin raced over to the sofa. But just as he reached Tracey, she disappeared. And since she was holding the controller, it vanished along with her.

'Come back!' Martin screamed.

She did. He reached. She disappeared again.

Emily recalled her vision of Tracey blinking on and off like a Christmas tree light. And here it was, happening in real life-another accurate vision!

Martin's screams were louder now, and Emily wasn't surprised to see George and Clare run into the living room. She was a little worried though. Would she be able to get out the door before they came after her? Could Tracey and Amanda-Sarah block them to give her some extra time?

Martin was completely frustrated now. He'd been teased to his limit, and he responded just as the girls had assumed he would. In a rage, he grabbed one end of the sofa and lifted it. He raised the large piece of furniture in the air over his head and leaned back as if to give himself the momentum to throw it. Emily tensed up and prepared herself to move. And then. .

Martin let out a high-pitched squeal. So did Amanda-Sarah. And Emily saw why. A little gray mouse raced across the baseboard and disappeared into a little hole. It must have startled Martin so deeply that he forgot about being teased.

Which meant he lost his superstrength. The sofa dropped to the ground with a thud. There was no open door for Emily to run through. She'd screwed up the vision again.

At least Clare and George were impressed. 'Martin, you are strong!' Claire exclaimed.

Once again the woman had changed her look. Now she looked like she could be a celebrity, a singer or an actress. Her hair was blond again, but this time it was long and big, all curls, very glamorous. Dangling gems hung from her ears and she wore a tight, sparkly red dress and stiletto heels. Amanda- Sarah gasped.

'Ooh, you look hot!' she exclaimed.

It was hard to read any expression in those transparent eyes, but Emily could have sworn the woman was pleased. 'Do you think so?' she asked.

'Absolutely!' Amanda-Sarah said. 'I love that dress. In my opinion, this is definitely your best look.'

Emily and Tracey exchanged looks. This was so Amanda-Clare could be pure evil, and Amanda would still be impressed by her style.

Or maybe Amanda was faking her admiration, trying to buddy up with Clare so that Clare would trust her, and then she would use that trust to help her classmates. For the zillionth time, Emily wished Jenna was there. A mind reader would be so useful- much more useful than a second-rate fortuneteller like her.

'Red is your color,' Amanda continued, but now Clare had turned her attention back to Martin.

'Was it easy for you to lift the sofa?'

Martin looked smug. 'No sweat. It wasn't even heavy. I could have tossed it across the room.'

George was clearly intrigued. 'And you don't have to do anything to prepare yourself? Go into a trance or chant something?'

'No,' Martin said nonchalantly. 'I'm just your run-of-the-mill superhero.'

'Bull,' Amanda-Sarah muttered. Clare heard her.

'What are you saying, Sarah?'

'He can't just snap his fingers and turn into Superman.'

'Amanda!' Tracey hissed. 'I mean, Sarah!'

But as usual, Amanda was too caught up in her own announcement to catch the warning.

'He's acting like he can just turn it on and off. He has to be teased first until he's ready to cry, and then he gets the power.'

'Interesting,' Clare said. 'All right, I think it's about time to get started.'

'We're going to rob a bank now?' Tracey asked in dismay.

'No, not right this minute,' Clare said. 'We're going to have a little rehearsal first. I assume that in the past you've all used your gifts independently, to serve your own purposes. But to my knowledge, you have never worked together as a team, combining your gifts to achieve one common goal.'

'How do you know that?' Tracey asked in bewilderment. 'We've never seen you before-not until we were brought here.'

Clare looked at her coolly. 'But we've known about you for some time now, Tracey. And we know what you've all been up to.'

Emily felt sick. This could only mean one thing- there was a spy among them, in their class. Charles? That could explain why he hadn't been brought here. Maybe he was already a member of this criminal team.

Then another candidate came to mind, one that made her feel even sicker. Madame … She knew them better than anyone. The students confided in her. She knew their strengths and weaknesses. She'd always claimed to be on their side. Was it possible they'd all been fooled? Had Madame betrayed them to these people?

She had no opportunity to envision Madame's future.

'Let's begin our rehearsal,' Clare said. 'Howard!'

The chubby guy hurried into the room. He was rubbing his hands together in delight. 'Are we going to practice now? Can I play the bank manager?'

'Yes, all right,' Clare said, but Emily didn't miss the look of scorn that flashed across her face. Clearly Clare didn't have much respect for Howard. So why was he on her team?

Clare indicated the sofa. 'This will serve as the bank counter. The bookcase is the bank entrance. Tracey, Martin, Sarah, go and wait in front of the bookcase. Emily, where will the security guard be standing?'

Emily just glared at her. Clare sighed.

'Sarah, make Emily tell us where the guard will be standing.'

By this time, Amanda might very well be able to do that, Emily thought. And who knows what else.

'Okay, okay, I'll tell you. He's next to the door.'

Clare eyed her keenly. 'You could be lying, I suppose. Well, it doesn't matter-the guard will be in uniform. Sarah, you shouldn't have any problem identifying him. George, stand over there and be the guard. Now, Tracey,