Control

Fort hid his strange expression as he pulled his wife away from the doorway. One of the men with him had secured the entrance, and he wanted whatever was said next not to be overheard.

"What do you mean it is all your fault? You had no way of knowing that crazed lunatic was behind the comments on the article, did you?" Fort was genuinely confused.

"What? No!" Noble rubbed her forehead. "How can I explain…" She searched for the words.

"Take your time." Fort brushed back her hair from her face. "I will restart Bee Two. I think that fool found a way to short-circuit your assistant."

"That explains why the switch on my desk didn't work. I thought maybe the battery was drained."

Noble watched the Director go over to the wall panel and press the appropriate buttons. The covering shifted to the side, releasing the android from the wall.

"Danger! Danger, Noble!" Bee Two nearly took off Fort's head in the mad dash from the hidey-hole.

"Everything is taken care of!" Fort ducked as he spoke.

"Where is he?!" The android scanned the room. "He—"

"Is in custody and will not hurt you or anyone else again." Fort remained calm. He knew Bee Two would only take a moment to catch up to speed.

Noble touched the android's arm gently. "Are you alright?"

The intensity in Bee Two's eyes lessened when no threat was found. "Other than needing a new wire or two, I'm just the same as always."

The professor sighed, relieved.

"Good. I wouldn't forgive myself if he had done something to permanently damage you."

"Ha! As if he could!" Synthetic hair flipped through the air indignantly.

"I will get someone to repair what I bypassed soon," Fort assured the android. "But for now, can you watch the door while I have a moment alone with my wife?" 

Bee Two nodded and headed to the door. 

"You know the distance won't matter when it comes to being able to hear us," Noble reminded him as Bee Two ascended the stairs.

"I don't care. I want to know what you meant before. What had you looking like you saw a ghost?" Fort ran his thumb across his wife's cheek.

"Something is going on with me." 

"You mean that crazed look in your eye when you were dangling Lorne?" The Director immediately regretted his choice of wording when Noble scowled. 

"What look? I know I lost control a little when Lorne threatened you, but did I really look insane?" 

"Insane? No! You know what? Nevermind. You tell me what you wanted to." Fort decided to let the matter drop. 

Swallowing, Noble tried to make sense of her day. "Well, it started this morning I went to see Julius. The ceiling fell above his head and the only reason he missed being hit was because he was leaning forward to shake my hand." 

Fort knitted his brow and then smiled softly. "Then it was lucky you were there!" 

"That's what he said also. Only he mentioned he felt compelled to move toward me when the calamity occurred. Compelled!" Noble ran her fingers through her hair. 

"That is odd choice of word," Fort wasn't sure what else to say. 

"There's more...that man. Lorne." Noble took in a sharp breath. "I could tell he was trouble when he came in, but I thought he was just overzealous. I guess he was in the end. The moment I realized he was more than an enthusiastic fanboy, I knew I needed to act quickly."

The Director listened intently to his wife's words. He was angry at himself that he had not gotten there in time after learning that the extreme fanatic had decided to act on his crazy fantasies. 

While he kicked himself for letting his wife go to work, he also knew that he couldn't have been able to stop her from coming to the Academy that morning. 

Reading his thoughts, Noble reached out and squeezed his hand. "I was never in any real danger. Even Lorne should have known that he could not overpower a Master if it came to that. Or perhaps because of my bracelets, he thought I was weaker than I am...either way he was delusional." 

Sighing, the woman continued. 

"I wasn't worried for myself, but for the Sleepers who were in my class." 

"You had Sleepers in here with you? They should have helped you subdue him!" Fort pressed his lips together. 

Noble shook her head. "I sent them away. Don't you see? Lorne couldn't hurt me, but depending on his power, he could have decimated them without blinking an eye. They were entrusted into my care. I had to keep them safe no matter what. So I dismissed class."

Noble dropped her eyes as she remembered. 

"I felt Lorne's emotions spike. Just when I knew he was going to put up a fight about losing his audience, I felt something." 

"Something? Was it a good or bad something?" Fort held onto his wife's hand before she could pull it away. His warm touch gave Noble strength. 

"Not good or bad. It was like a pull. The moment I cared for the student's safety, I felt it. I cannot explain it, but when I moved away from the door and toward my desk, I pulled Lorne's attention from the other people. Almost like he forgot about them entirely. Even when Talitha spoke to me and I sent her to get help, it was like he didn't hear her. It was weird."

Noble turned to look at the top of the stairs. The spot in the floor had finally stopped growing. 

"And then there was just now. I wasn't fast enough to react. All I had was a thought for your safety. The moment Lorne threatened you and the kids, my mind went crazy to protect you. I hate to think what I might have done if you hadn't arrived when you did..."

"Then don't think about it," Fort didn't want the beautiful woman to feel guilt for something that hadn't occurred. 

"But I was thinking about it, even when they were taking Lorne out of the classroom. I would have done anything to protect our children and you. So when Lorne spat, I felt the same sort of pull as I did with Julius and my students. Then, inexplicably, the acid moved away from your chest and landed on the floor instead." 

Fort tried to process her words. "You mean that you think you can change reality?" 

"I have enough evidence to consider that I am affecting it," Noble answered carefully. 

"What? How? Did something change?" The questions tumbled out of the Director's mouth. His curiosity was almost as intense as Noble's own.

"I'm not sure...but I think it has to do with my new Attribute, Kingdom Keeper. The runes say that others are safer under my care." Noble tried keep her voice even. 

"So by worrying about someone, they are automatically safer?" The Director looked deeply into the woman's eyes. 

She nodded slowly. "I think my emotions impact who is protected and who is not. I know that if I had tried to kill Lorne just now, I would have succeeded." 

Noble's emotions had always been intense. But with the sword in hand and her fear for the safety of others, she has nearly lost all sense of reason. It was too close of a call. 

At least it was over now and everyone was safe. The psychopath would end up where he couldn't hurt anyone again. Things could have gone considerably worse.

Kingdom Keeper. 

There was more meaning in the Attribute than she had initially realized.

Placing her head in her hand, Noble released a groan.

"This is horrible!"