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Author's Note: Here's part 2 of a 3. Thank you as always to all my readers for the comments, kudos, and thinking that my work is worth reading. Also thanks to the Big Closet team who work tirelessly to give us all a wonderfully supportive venue to read and post TG fiction ~Amethyst.
 

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Part 2: Strange New World

We appeared at night in a concrete courtyard in front of a metal door. My new knowledge indicated that it was a roll-up steel door. There was a padlock at the base and I used the key to open and remove it, freeing the door to slide upward. The storage room was dark and despite my night vision it took me a minute to find a switch to turn on the lights. The place, the door, the switch and the lights overhead; it was all strange to me, and yet with my mother’s knowledge somewhat familiar as well, which only made it stranger. I ushered Hope inside and pulled down the door behind us to give us some privacy as we looked through what was inside.

The room was mostly dominated by some sort of black monstrosity that my mother’s knowledge identified as an SUV. I ignored it and began looking around the room since I would have no idea how to ‘drive’ the thing. There were weapons hanging from the walls; swords which I assumed belonged to my Uncle Tom as well as some knives, bows and some quivers of arrows. Those might be useful, I noted mentally as I began looking through various boxes. Most of the boxes were filled with black bodysuits or white togas so I passed those by and looked at the workbench at the back of the room. It was littered with various tools, a whetstone for sharpening blades, and a duffel bag.

The duffel proved to be half filled with paper money in various denominations. I took some and placed it in my purse but left the rest in the duffel since it would be useful for carrying other gear as well. I quickly added the whetstone, a first aid kit, and a pair of combat knives. I would have taken a body suit, but the material irritated my skin and I was hoping to take a sword and a compound bow, but I wasn’t sure how I could carry them around inconspicuously. I sighed sadly at that thought. If I only still had magic, I could have connected them to me with a summoning spell.

Wait a minute! A summoning spell! I thought in glee. I concentrated on the ribbon mark and my clothes were replaced by my costume. Hope blinked at me in confusion. “Terri, you said you can’t use magic anymore.”

I can still use my Eenuka marks sweetie, and I got a few new ones before we left. The one I just used hides what I’m wearing and I end up in this costume. I’m hoping that if I wear some weapons with this costume that they will go where the costume does when I use the mark again.”

She just looked even more confused. “Why d’you need weapons Terri? You have powers.”

“Yes I do,” I agreed, “but I’m still learning to use them and now I don’t have magic. I already know how to use swords and bows though, so it might be a good idea to have them if I can’t use my powers for some reason. I need to keep us both safe and I would rather have the weapons and not need them then not have them when we are both in danger.”

I looked through the weapons and found some things that I thought would work. I put on the black leather belt and on my right side secured the case containing the compound bow to both the belt and a thigh strap just above my knee. On my left side I secured both the hip quiver and a sword called a katana that was somewhat similar to an elven blade. The setup would likely fall off when I changed to my Pixie form since they weren’t enchanted to shrink when I do, but I was far more concerned with whether I could get them to appear and disappear with my costume.

“Well, here goes nothing,” I said as I thought again on the ribbon mark. To both my relief and joy the weapons disappeared when my clothes and purse returned in place of the costume. “Looks like I was right, the spell applies to anything I’m wearing, or carrying, at the time I use the mark. That should make things easier.” I finished packing the duffel bag with a pair of wool camping blankets to cover the rest of the contents and hefted it over my shoulder. “Okay Hope sweetie, there’s not much else we can use here at the moment so we’re going to lock this place up so we can take a look around and try to find a place to sleep for the night. First though, we need to go over two rules, okay?”

The munchkin nodded soberly. “Okay Terri.”

I smiled at her and ruffled her hair. “That’s my girl. First rule, and this one is very important: Remember to stay with me and don’t let go of my hand unless I tell you that it’s okay or you need to hide. The second rule is that if you do have to hide, stay in your shell, but do not let me out of your sight, and don’t turn visible again unless I say your nickname.”

It was snowing heavily as we managed to find our way out of the storage complex and into the poorly lit city streets. Hope had my hand in a death grip and frankly I didn’t blame her for being nervous and scared since I was feeling much the same way. This place was nothing like home, it was smelly, noisy, and something about it was setting me on edge. I was really glad that Hope’s hair and eyes were currently within the human norm, because I felt far too many eyes on us already as we walked the streets.

Maybe we were just nervous because the city was so different then we were used to. I for one longed for the presence of trees and nature. Perhaps I could find a park or something. It was nearly an hour before I found a park alongside a river and my feeling of unease had yet to leave me, in fact it got even worse when we entered the park. People were watching us, I was certain of it, I could hear them, several people moving and breathing heavily in a patch of brush by the water’s edge. I knelt down beside Hope as we came alongside a large tree that would shield us from their eyes and whispered, “Honey I need you to hold onto this bag, stay right here and use your powers to hide. Remember to keep me in sight and no matter what happens don’t drop your shell until I say your nickname. Understand?”

The poor tyke looked scared but she nodded and whispered back. “Yes Terri.”

“Good girl.” I kissed her on the forehead and stood up as she activated her invisibility shell. Then I took a few more steps to put me in their view once again. “Whoever you are, you might as well come out where I can see you.”

Five men stood up from their hiding spot in the brush. “Awww it’s not as much fun if they’re not surprised,” said one, a tall athletic looking man in his late teens with short dark hair.

“We can still have our fun with her,” said another with a cold smile. “If it gets boring for you, we can always get creative.”

Dammit, I cursed mentally as I tried to get a read on the five men. They were all bigger, and likely stronger than me, but I had been taught to fight bigger and stronger opponents. I thought that I might have trouble with the five to one odds though, especially when two of them produced knives and a third had something that my mother’s knowledge told me was a baseball bat. If I tried to fight them in my human guise some of us, myself included, could get seriously hurt. I decided a warning was probably the best course of action and if that failed then I would have to use a show of power to scare them off.

“Listen guys, I think it would be better for all of us if you just leave me be and go home for the night. You really don’t want to do whatever it is you’re planning.” I had a pretty good idea what it was they were planning, and it made me sick to my stomach, but I tried not to let it show on my face as I projected a calm confidence.

They were moving now, circling me, and the second one came within arm’s reach, sneering as he spoke again, “I think we do want to.”

“You really don’t,” I shot back as I punched him in the stomach. I followed it up with a leg sweep that landed him on his back while I moved into a defensive position. He scrambled backward out of my reach and, once one of his friends helped him to his feet, he glared at me. “Nice moves, but there’s five of us and only one of you, what are you going to do about that?”

“I guess I can always get creative,” I retorted as I activated the marks to drop the glamour, change into my costume and release the seal on my powers. They were all still staring when I drew my new sword and pointed it toward the leader, purple bursts of electricity arcing along both my body and the blade. I was hoping that show of power would be enough to scare them off without anyone getting badly hurt, but it was about then that things got crazy.

One of the three who hadn’t spoken before spat out, “The bitch is a fucking Hyp…” He didn’t get to finish that sentence as a strange young man jumped on him from behind yelling, “There can be only one!” and laughing maniacally. Another was sent flying by a blast of water emanating from the mouth of some sort of humanoid fish as an unfamiliar voice entered my mind, ~Don’t worry, the cavalry is here.~

“Okay you jackasses, this is the part where you run away,” muttered a young girl not quite in her teens, with quite possibly the strangest hairstyle I had ever seen. Her dark hair was cut short and spiky, with the exception of the center which was long and resembled a horse’s mane. She was also wearing sunglasses and asked as she calmly approached, “Are you okay Miss?” While she turned her attention on me to make sure I wasn’t hurt the man with the baseball bat took a swing at her head.

The girl didn’t even move, she just took the hit right in the face. Her sunglasses shattered and the baseball bat broke at the impact, but rather than being hurt she looked annoyed. “Why do they always go for the face? Now I’m going to need another fucking pair of shades.” She turned to regard the man who hit her and was now staring at her in stunned disbelief. Disbelief turned to horror and I could have sworn I smelled urine as he collapsed on the snow covered ground and began twitching.

My other attackers seemed to take that as their cue to leave and took off running, leaving me with my would-be rescuers. “Ed I’m going to need some eye coverage here,” the green-haired girl said, covering her eyes with one of her hands. “Seriously Bailey, ‘There can be only one’, what the hell was that about?”

“You really need to watch Highlander Becca, it’s a must see, though the sequels sucked,” the young man who appeared to be maybe a bit older than me replied. It was hard to tell with my night vision, but it looked like he had long blond hair and he almost looked like one of my own people. “Trust me, at that moment it was totally appropriate.”

The voice spoke in my mind again as a boy about the same age as ‘Becca’ and wearing a dark wool hat handed her something. ~That’s the last pair of shades Becca, we’ll need to try and get you some more spares soon. I guess we won’t be able to sleep by the river tonight though, those guys will likely be back with friends or the cops will show up. At any rate, we should get this girl and ourselves somewhere safe.~

The blond sighed as he went to pick up a discarded backpack, “Well I guess we can find a safe spot in the sewers, nobody wants to go there and I might have enough money left for a pizza.” He laughed at that, but there was very little humor in it.

“Who are you people?” I finally managed to blurt out.

“We’re mutants like you,” Becca said with a shrug. “We had nothing better to do and we were looking for a place to sleep, then we found you. We saw you in trouble and thought we’d help out. Interesting look you got going there. You can put the sword away any time y’know.”

~She might want to keep it out actually,~ the voice replied. ~There’s something else here but I don’t know exactly where or how close. It’s like it’s blurry to my mind.~

“Oh!” I realized he was probably talking about Hope. I grinned as I sheathed the sword and resealed my powers. “That would be Peekaboo.”

“Peekaboo?” the fourth member of the group asked. It resembled a child with golden eyes, blue scaly skin, and a large fin atop his head.

“PEEKABOO!” Hope shouted from behind them as she appeared from nothingness.

They all swung around in surprise and the young man named Bailey jumped and squealed at Hope’s sudden appearance. “Holy crap! Where the hell did she come from?!”

Becca frowned as she put in, “Talk can wait, I hear police sirens. Let’s take them home and find a place to sleep for the night.”

“Thanks for the help, but we’re a long way from home, and we can’t go back.” I told the group with a sad sigh.

“Runaways huh? Stick with us then, we homeless Hypers gotta stick together, you don’t want punks like those guys, or worse social services, catching you alone on the streets at night in this neighborhood.” Bailey told me grimly.

Becca nodded in agreement, though she seemed a bit impatient. “Yeah, yeah, welcome to the Brat Pack and all, now can we please get the hell outta here and find a safe place to sleep?”

These seemed like decent kids and from the sounds of it they were as alone in the world as Hope and I were. From the looks or their worn clothing, it would seem that they had been living on the streets for quite some time as well. Was this world truly so harsh toward Hypers? I gripped Hope’s hand in mine, but whether it was to reassure her or myself I wasn’t certain. “Actually I might be able to help with that, you see I have money for a place to stay, I just don’t know this… area very well,” I admitted reluctantly.

Bailey took my free hand and started leading us in the opposite direction that Hope and I had come from. Well, I think it was, but I was a little distracted by the warmth of his hand holding mine. Focus Terrilae, you’re not here for cute boys, even if they do look like a Fae. I wonder if he has Fae blood somewhere in his family line… My line of thought was interrupted by him saying, “There’s a cheap motel not far from here and I’m pretty sure they take cash, but they probably won’t rent to kids, so Ed… Jedi mind trick?”

~Jedi mind trick,~ the voice known as Ed confirmed. ~I hate messing with people’s minds, but since we can actually pay for the room I’ll just nudge the motel clerk’s perception to make them think you two are a married couple and we’re your kids.~

Jedi mind trick? What are they talking about? I was wondering as Bailey turned his attention back to me, “Okay, so if the clerk asks for our names we’re Mr. and Mrs. Lucas.”

“These are not the kids you are looking for,” Bailey said with a wave of his hand and a laugh once we were safely inside a double room.

We had managed to check in without incident, which came as a huge relief to me. Even with my mother’s knowledge of the time I felt like a fish out of water in this world and time. I placed the duffel bag on one of the beds and picked up Hope to sit her beside it. “Are you doing okay sweetie? It’s been an eventful night and we’ve been walking a lot.”

“I’m tired an’ hungry… an’ I miss Momma an’ the others,” the three-year-old replied despondently.

I wrapped her up in a hug. “I know sweetie, so do I, but there’s not much we can do about that right now. Let’s see about getting something to eat and then we can get some sleep.” I reluctantly let her go and turned to Bailey, “Do you know some place where we can get something to eat? A… umm… restaurant or something?”

“I could use the phone in the room here to order some pizzas,” he suggested. “The little ones are all pretty hungry, and I have to admit I am too.”

I couldn’t blame him since I was starting to get hungry again myself and who knew how long it had been since these street kids had eaten properly. “Okay, could you please do that then? I have plenty more money, so get enough so we can all eat our fill. ”

“Sure, and while we’re waiting we can all get to know one another,” he said as he began looking though a large phone book. “So what do you like on your pizza?”

“We’ve never had pizza before,” I admitted. “So just get whatever you think would be good and we’ll be fine with it.”

Becca looked at me like I had just grown a second head. “Never had pizza?! Where are you from?”

“I was curious about that as well, you have a weird accent,” Bailey put in from where he was sitting on the other bed holding the phone, “but, you know the rules guys, don’t overwhelm them with questions. We’ll introduce ourselves first and then let them open up when they’re ready.” He seemed to hear something on the other end though, since his attention was on the phone again. “Oh, umm yeah could I get three extra-large pizzas delivered to Room 105 at the Sleep-n-go motel on Empire Street. One meat lovers, one all dressed, and a deluxe… oh and two six-packs of Pepsi. Twenty-five minutes? Great thanks.”

Bailey put down to phone and said, “Dinner is ordered and should be here soon. It’s going to cost fifty bucks plus tip, but it should feed us all.” I looked through my purse, took out the handful of multicolored bills I had placed there earlier, extracted three green twenty dollar bills, and handed them to him. As he took them he smiled at me. “Wow, you are loaded.” I was unsure what he meant by that so for a moment I just stared at him before he added, “Anyway, thanks for letting us stay here with you tonight, and for paying for the food and all.”

“You did say homeless Hypers need to stick together,” I reminded him.

“I did,” he agreed, “but it was still nice of you. Anyway, welcome to the Brat Pack. I’m Bailey Winters, but when I’m doing the whole saving damsels in distress thing I go by Charisma. My parents took off two years ago when I was fifteen and my powers first activated, so I was placed in an orphanage where I met Eddie and Matt. None of us really fit in there being as unique as we all are, so at the first opportunity we broke out and I’ve been taking care of them as best I can since. I’m a shape shifter with flexible empathy.”

Now that was interesting, with those Fae looks was he descended from a changeling? No wonder he looked so much like one of my own people. Hoping to find out more I asked, “You’re a shape-shifter? So what kinds of things can you turn into?”

“I don’t really have any conscious control over it,” he admitted with a shrug. “I’ve always been what people call genderfluid, sometimes I feel male, sometimes I feel female and my powers activated one day when I was feeling very strongly male. My physical sex seems to be determined by the gender I’m feeling at the time. Details like hair and eye color and general appearance are trickier. My shape-shifting abilities seem to be connected to my empathy. I can get people to notice or not notice me, especially if they project strong emotions. If I don’t want a specific person to notice me my features change to something they would generally ignore, but if I want them to notice me, even unconsciously, my features change to suit their preferences.”

“I’m Matt!” the aquatic member of the foursome introduced himself eagerly, barely giving Bailey time to finish his explanation. In the better light of the motel room I could get a much better look at him. He had golden eyes and seemed to have two separate sets of eyelids. He also had scaly skin in various shades of blue, slits that I thought might be gills on his neck, and webbed hands and feet. The large fin on top of his head was a translucent blue.

“The people at the orphanage said his name was Matthew Sawyer but we jokingly call him Squirt,” Bailey told me with a grin. “He’s a great swimmer and can fire high pressure water blasts from his mouth. He’s five years old now, but he Activated in a boating accident when he was two.”

The third member of the group had removed his heavy coat and wool hat and he looked to be Hispanic. He was a little on the skinny side, like his companions, and I wondered how long it had been since they had eaten three decent meals in a day. I assumed he was the telepath, because I hadn’t seen him say anything out loud yet. ~I’m Eddie Lopez, I’m ten years old, and to answer your question before you ask; I can’t speak. I was born deaf and mute, but I’ve had my telepathic abilities for as long as I can remember. The kids at the orphanage called me Special Ed.~

Bailey rolled his eyes at that and put in, “Which he found hilariously ironic given that he has a genius level IQ and is a powerful telepath. He insists on using that as his codename now.”

“How powerful?” I inquired.

~Since we left the orphanage I’ve been mentally searching out other telepaths and comparing notes. I’ve talked to people in Australia, Japan, England, and a bunch of other places. The thing is that I have to be the one to contact them; they don’t seem to have my range. I can do other things they can’t too. I used to experiment a lot, but I don’t like going into other people’s heads for more than just talking unless it’s necessary or they’ve agreed to it.~

“I’m Rebecca,” the girl of the group said. Her strangely styled hair was forest green in color and her skin was very pale. “The guys call me Becca though, or Gorgon. I’m eleven. I ran away from home when my powers kicked in and bumped into these guys a few months ago. Nothing hurts me unless I let it.”

“Word of advice, never look into her eyes,” Bailey offered. “It’s why she wears shades all the time, her eyes have this hypnotic glow and I don’t know what people see when they look into them, but they become terrified to the point of sometimes wetting themselves. Sometimes it’s even more severe, like with our friend with the bat in the park, but her eyes never kill and usually just cause temporary paralysis due to overwhelming fear. And like she said, nothing we’ve come across seems to hurt her, or can even move her unless she wants to be moved. I’m pretty sure she only has one power, being that badass. So of course she thinks she has to look and act all badass too.”

“Nobody asked you. Besides, you try having green hair and having to wear shades all the time and see how many fashion options you have,” she snapped back, sticking out her tongue.

Eddie pointedly ignored the pair’s arguing to add, ~It’s strange, I have no clue how her powers work or what the source could be. It seems to be a form of invulnerability, but even with normal invulnerability it would have to be combined with super strength to do some of the things we’ve seen. She’s shown no sign of strength or any other physical abilities beyond those of a normal girl her age though.~

The four were looking expectantly at Hope and me now, so I guessed it was my turn. I let my glamour drop so they could get a better look at the real me. “I’m Terrilae Evans-Sòng and this is my cousin Hope, though I’ve been with her since she was born so she’s more like a sister. Hope has a healing factor and can turn herself and whatever she touches invisible. I have electric powers, but I’ve only had them a few days. I was sent here on a quest of sorts, I guess.”

Bailey stared at me for a moment before grinning. “Let me guess, you need to throw that ring your cousin is wearing into the heart of Mount Doom. I should warn you though; One does not simply walk into Mordor. Ow hey!” he turned to glare at Becca who had slapped him upside the head.

The girl ducked out of his reach to sit beside me on the bed. “Sorry, Bailey is weird, but you’ll get used to it.”

“Oh come on! She totally looks like an elf and the little one has invisibility, I couldn’t resist. Oh and Becca is a grouch, you’ll get used to that too,” Bailey grumbled.

“Actually I’m only half Fae,” I clarified. “My mom’s a Hyper which is how I ended up with these stupid powers. You probably won’t believe me, but I’ve come from the future.”

Bailey was quick to supply yet another joke I couldn’t understand. “Well you should have no problem going back, you already have one point twenty one gigawatts of electricity. Or should I say Terri-watts?” His grin seemed to broaden at that. “That’s perfect! We should call you Terawatt!”

“Terri is fine,” I assured him.

“But you already have a costume and powers, you totally need a codename, so that’s what it’s going to be.” I didn’t think he was going to take no for an answer and I didn’t really care much so I just let it go. “I’ll try to stop with the jokes now so you can tell us why you’re here.”

It was then that the pizza arrived. It was kind of strange, but it tasted good and the ‘Pepsi’ was all fizzy, which Hope seemed to get a kick out of. Over dinner I told them about the future, the world I came from, and why I had come back. I was really worried they would think I was crazy or something until Eddie used his powers to confirm that I was telling the truth. All things considered I thought they took the news very well. ~Well damn, so the world is going to end if this Hyper gets killed? That sucks. So how do we stop it?~ Eddie asked.

“We?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Of course Miss Spock, it would only be logical for us to assist you,” Bailey insisted. When my look turned to one of confusion he quickly apologized. “Sorry, pointed ears, I couldn’t resist. Anyway I’d kind of like the world to keep on spinning, so if I can help I will. Besides, you’re one of the Brat Pack now, and we stick together, end of the world or not. So besides mutant powers, what do we have to work with?”

I began to list our assets. “Well, we have a book that will tell us the locations and times of the assassinations, a crystal that will let me know if the timeline changes, a duffel bag full of money and the contents of a storage unit. I took everything I could carry from there, but there may be some things you could use as well. I also have some inherent abilities from being Fae that I haven’t told you about yet.”

“What? Like magic?” Matt asked with wide eyes.

I nodded. “Sort of, I was an accomplished mage before I got my Hyper powers.”

“Yer a wizard Terri?” Bailey asked with a grin. As usual, whatever the joke was it went over my head, but even Becca was suppressing a laugh at it.

I tried to just shrug it off again. “Not anymore, I can’t use magic that way now; the magic energy I gather is all being transformed into electricity. Each of these marks on my arm is a spell that’s part of me though so I can use those, and I have all the combat training of my people; hand to hand, swordplay, and archery.”

“So what do these marks of yours do?” Becca asked, trying to use a hand to hide the fact that she was giggling, as she looked in interest at my arm.

I pointed to each mark as I described what it represented. “These three are healing spells, this one allows me to seal or unseal my powers, this one is a glamour that makes me look human, this one changes what I’m wearing for my ‘costume’, and this butterfly is my clan mark; each clan has a different mark. Hope has a mark that allows her to change her features, but she can’t really control it yet. My clan mark allows me to change to my other form.”

That seemed to pique Bailey’s interest. “You have another form? Can you show us?”

“Uh sure, I’ll just change into my other outfit first; it’s spelled to change when I do.” I used the ribbon mark to change into my comfy Fae clothes and then used my clan mark. As expected my weapons simply fell to the floor as I shrank out of the belt and straps. In Pixie form I flew around the room before landing on the bed and changing back.

~That is sooo cool, and weird at the same time,~ Eddie said as I made myself comfortable again. ~How do you get used to the change in size perspective?~

“I guess I’m just used to it, I’ve been able to do this since I was a baby so it’s second nature to me. It’s everything in this world and time that’s weird to me. Carrying weapons might not be as practical as I had hoped though if I have to change form often,” I admitted with a sigh. I busied myself putting my weapons back in place and once I was finished I used my marks to once again change outfits.

There was a bit of an awkward silence then, none of us really knowing what to say and I looked over to my cousin who was trying so hard to stay awake, despite the fact that her eyes were drooping and she was laying down rather than sitting. “Anyway, I think it’s time for Hope to get some sleep.” I said.

“I think you’re right Terri,” Bailey agreed, “and that goes for you other three as well. Get a good night’s sleep while we have warm beds to do it in. Girls in that bed, boys in that one. I’d like to talk to Terri a bit longer; we should probably make plans and stuff.”

Making plans was probably a good idea, and he could probably answer any questions I might have too, so I nodded in agreement. While Bailey got the boys sorted in one bed I pulled the blankets of the other aside and picked Hope up to place her gently in the middle before covering her up and kissing her lovingly on the forehead. “Good night Peekaboo. I love you, and I’ll be just outside the room if you need me for anything.”

“I love you Terri…” She was tired, but it didn’t take an empath to sense that she was also scared, despite wanting to prove how brave she was.

I was torn and I considered just laying down with her until she fell asleep when Becca, emerged from the bathroom, still dressed and climbed into bed beside her. “Hey Hope, how about I protect you while you sleep and Terri’s outside with Bailey? I know I’m not an awesome Fae or anything, but nothing hurts me and I won’t let anything hurt you either. I’ll wait for them to come back before I take off my shades and go to sleep so I know you’re safe, does that sound okay?”

To my surprise and relief Hope nodded shyly and let Becca put an arm protectively around her. “Thanks Becca,” I said.

“It’s no big deal,” she replied, “I know what it’s like to be scared. Besides, I always try to wait until everyone else is asleep before I take off my shades anyway.”

Once we were sure the kids didn’t need anything else Bailey took me outside to get some ‘fresh air’ and talk. The smell and even the taste of the city air bothered me and I frowned as soon as we stepped outside. “You call this fresh air?”

“It was a figure of speech,” he said with a shrug. “Look, thanks again for the food and place to stay tonight, the kids, they really needed it. Sleeping outside in winter really sucks and we’ve been sleeping in some pretty nasty places lately. I promised to take care of them, but I guess I’m not doing a very good job of it.”

I put a hand on his shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. “You’re doing the best you can, and it looks like you give them the most important thing, a family. Believe me, when you know every day might be your last, little things like family are pretty damn important. Hope and I will never see ours again; we’re all one another have now. I know I can’t take care of Hope alone though, I barely know how this world works. So here’s what we’re going to do. You’ve offered to help me with my mission so I’ll help with yours. I’ll help you take care of these kids and you help me save the world.”

“Thanks, I’m not sure how much help we’ll be, but we’ll do what we can,” he promised. “I’m glad you’re letting us help though, the others seem to like you and frankly, I think you’re just what Becca needs.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, blinking in confusion.

He sighed as he leaned against the wall. “That thing she did with Hope in there, she’s not usually that open emotionally. Becca doesn’t really talk much about her home life before she ran away, except that her mom died when she was really young. I think she really needs another girl in her life to look up to and talk to. I was a guy when we met so she was really uncomfortable with us at first, and I’m a boy half the time so she won’t really open up to me, even when I am female. Having you and Hope around should help her a lot, she’ll get to be a big sister of sorts to Hope and she’ll have you to look up to and do things with.”

“I’m sorry to break this to you, but before I was Activated a few days ago I was male,” I explained reluctantly. “Even if that weren’t the case though, I know nothing about feminine behavior in this world and my people have no set gender roles. To us, the person inside is more important than the form they wear.”

“I’m not saying you have to teach her all things feminine,” he countered. “I can handle that for both of you when I’m in one of my girly moods. She sees you as another girl though, and I’m not talking about teaching her to be a woman, just spending time with her. Do what you know, get to know one another, and maybe teach her to fight? Right now she just lets things hit her and soaks up damage. “

“Actually, you could all probably benefit from learning how to fight,” I pointed out.

“Don’t I know it,” he agreed with a groan. “These kids all want to use their powers to help people, and I think that’s great, but look at us: I’m an empathic shape shifter with no offensive abilities, at best I’m a distraction; Nothing can seem to hurt Becca, but she hates using her eyes on people; Eddie could use his powers offensively, but he’s afraid he’ll turn his opponents’ brains to mush; out of all of us Matt was the only one with a real offensive ability until you showed up, but he’s only five.”

I began to consider what was ahead of us and how I could let the others help while minimizing the risk to them. I had some ideas, but there was still a chance they would have to defend themselves. “Maybe while we’re traveling to the first assassination site we can find a place to start training. We’ll have to figure out how we’re getting to Toronto from here though, and tomorrow we should get whatever gear we think we’ll need. “There’s still a bunch in the storage place, but we’ll need spare clothes and other things too.”

“If we had a car and a road map I could drive us,” the shape-shifter suggested. “I was preparing to get my license before my powers activated. It wouldn’t take more than a few hours straight driving and we wouldn’t have to worry about security like at an airport or train station, or keeping our abilities and appearances hidden among large groups of travelers. Otherwise we’ll have to take a bus or train and hope for the best. As for the clothes and other stuff, we can probably get everything we need at the mall. We could probably get it cheaper at Sprawl-mart, but since we’ve only got cash it’s probably better to spread out the purchases. Paying cash all at once, for as much as we’ll need to buy, would gather too much attention.”

“There’s an SUV at the storage place, would that do?”

Bailey’s face split with a huge grin as he made a show of rolling his eyes. “Well, why didn't you list that among our assets in the first place? Oh, what I wouldn’t give for a holocaust cloak.” At my confused look he sighed and said, “Nevermind, an SUV would be perfect. It should fit us all and any gear we get comfortably. So what did the journal say about the first assassination?”

“It’s actually a pair of assassinations,” I corrected him. “Two super villains called Golem and Recoil, my uncle also called them the Two Towers. Apparently they are partners and have a reputation for destruction. Golem has Cat four strength and invulnerability and Recoil absorbs kinetic energy and uses it for explosive energy blasts. We have to expect that if we do manage to engage Null that we may have to deal with the two of them as well.”

“Fuuuuuck.” He had his head in his hands, shaking it for a moment before he looked back up at me. “That is not going to be easy Terri. I’ve heard of those two and their reputation is well earned, the Sentries have trouble with them.”

“We’ll try to come up with a plan then in case we do have to deal with them, but if at all possible I’d like to keep the little ones out of danger and try to deal with Null on my own, away from those two bruisers. We’re just kids; let the real heroes deal with them.”

I didn’t sleep much that night, my stomach was bothering me and Hope was having similar problems, so she kept waking up. It was a good thing that the knowledge I inherited from my mother included the use of ‘modern’ plumbing because we were both making good use of it. Finally Hope settled into a deep sleep though and I watched over her briefly before managing to fall asleep myself. Still, I awoke before it was light out.

Since nobody else was up yet I decided to make use of the shower to clean myself up a bit. My body still felt different to me, but given all the other upheaval my life had gone through the past few days, it was really low on the list of things that could possibly bother me. Once I had finished toweling off I wiped my hand across the steamy mirror to gaze once more at my new face. That was a bad idea since it only made me miss my mom more than I already was. “Face it Terri, you can never see her again. Even if you did she wouldn’t know you,” I told myself firmly. “Focus on your mission and taking care of Hope and these other kids.”

I stepped out of the bathroom, hoping to get dressed before anyone else got up, and nearly collided with a girl close to my own age, probably slightly older. Her features seemed to blur and shift until she was blonde with green eyes and slightly pointed ears. “Oh, good morning Bailey. “

She blinked at me in surprise, before looking down. Her face turned red and her eyes shot right back up to focus on mine. “Ummm…. Yeah… good morning.”

Dammit Terri, nudity bothers humans, I quickly scolded myself. “Sorry Bailey, I forgot that nudity makes humans uncomfortable, I was going to get dressed and I didn’t think anyone else would be up yet.”

“It’s… okay, you just surprised me,” she replied, giving me a strange look, “In more ways than one.”

I felt kind of bad about not thinking to dress in the privacy of the bathroom so I went to the chair I had placed my clothes in and began hastily putting on my human clothes. “How so? Besides the being naked thing, I mean.”

“Most people usually react badly when I change genders overnight, but you seemed to know it was me right away, and were so casual about it,” she replied, looking in the other direction as I dressed.

“One of the Fae clans are Changelings,” I told her once I had my undergarments on and began putting my blouse on. “They are constantly changing appearances and genders, and Hope’s adoptive Fae parents are Changelings, so Hope and I are both used to it. You’re the only one here that age, and your scent isn’t too different than when you’re male, so I figured it was you. I’m sorry; did my casualness about it bother you?”

She shook her head as she smiled at me. “No, it was nice actually; I guess I’m just not used to it. The kids have gotten used to it, but most other people treat me differently when I change gender. Even if they know I’m a shape-shifter, people often freak out when I do the gender flip-flop.”

“That’s stupid,” I told her bitterly as I put on my miniskirt. “It’s just the outside that’s changing; it’s no different than wearing your hair differently or something. You’re still the same person on the inside.”

“I wish other people looked at it that way,” she responded sadly, before stepping into the bathroom. “I’m going to take a shower, while we have the luxury, before we get to all the things we have to do today. I’ll try not to be too long.”

I finished dressing and decided against waking Hope and the others yet, they needed their rest. Becca had seemingly already stirred though and said, “Anyone who’s awake close your eyes or look the other way while I find my shades.”

I turned my head away, “Good morning Becca, how did you sleep?”

“Probably better’n you and Hope,” she replied. “You two sounded like you were sick or something, and you were moving around a lot. You can look now.”

I turned back to find her sitting up on the bed wearing her sunglasses once more. “We’re not used to some of the things they put in the food here, I was told it might take a few days for our digestive systems to adjust.”

“So, did you and Bailey figure out a plan for today?” the young mutant asked.

“Yes we did,” I replied with a nod as I sat on the bed beside Becca and quickly checked on Hope. Her hair color had changed to a light copper, and her skin tone had lightened while she slept. At least it was in the human norm and it didn’t look horribly out of place since she was only half Chinese. With the light strawberry blonde hair of my glamour we could even pass as related. I considered it a lucky break since our group had more than enough ways to stand out in a crowd at the moment. “The first thing we’re going to do is let any of you who want a shower take one, then we’ll get some things and the SUV from the storage place, then we’ll go for breakfast and get some clothes and other things before we leave for our trip. You said you’ll need some spare sunglasses right?”

“Yeah, people seem to like hitting me in the face…” She trailed off and there was a grimace on her face when she continued speaking. “I took some money when I left home, but that didn’t last long so usually I swipe a pair from jerks like the ones that attacked you last night when I can. Its winter though, so there’s not a lot of criminals out there wearing shades.”

“Make sure to remind me okay? I’ve never been shopping so I might miss or forget things. We’re going to try and get a few changes of clothes for all of us and proper cold weather gear too,” I told her.

To my surprise she shook her head as I said the last part. “I don’t need cold weather stuff. Heat and cold don’t bother me, it’s part of whatever keeps me from being hurt. I’ve been in a fire, shot, and even hit by a truck. None of it bothered me, that truck was totaled though.”

Eddie was awake now and obviously ‘listening’ as he sat up in bed. ~We think she can be restrained by normal means, she needs oxygen to breathe, and non-physical things like my telepathy seem to affect her, but otherwise nothing can hurt or move her unless she allows it. The cold doesn’t bother Matt either, he can swim in freezing water with no problems. Still Becca, it’s probably a good idea to get you both at least some good boots, a hat, and a jacket so you can blend in better.~

When Bailey had finished her shower Becca and the boys each took a quick turn as well. I just let Hope sleep until Matt was in the shower since she needed her rest and I had a feeling that if she was going to take a shower I’d have to go in with her. I also wanted to give her some time to adjust before I sprang anything strange or potentially scary on her, going shopping and riding in that SUV were probably going to be unnerving enough for both of us for one day.

Once Matt had finished in the shower we got him and Hope dressed as quick as we could, and then we all headed to the motel office to check out so we could be on our way. I couldn’t really remember which direction the storage place was in so I pulled out the journal and let Bailey check the address and rough directions so that she could get us there. She knew her way around town pretty well and it didn’t take her long to find a direct route that would get us there quickly. Bailey had us stop at a bakery/café and wait together outside while she stepped in to get a dozen muffins and some bottles of juice. Her idea was that we could eat in the storage unit so Eddie could get a break from making Matt look normal.

Once we had gotten there and were safely inside and eating, Eddie let out a silent sigh. ~It doesn’t take a lot of power to keep people passing by seeing him as normal, but keeping up my concentration for hours at a time while doing other things isn’t easy.~

“We Fae have some mental techniques that may help you with that, and improve your control and multitasking ability,” I offered.

~If you think it would help, then that would be awesome,~ his mind voice agreed as he ate his second muffin. ~Becca doesn’t get too much attention just wearing a hat or punk style clothes with her hair and shades, but I have to keep Matt looking human to everyone around anytime we’re in public.~

Bailey had already finished eating, found the keys for the SUV and opened the rear door. “I found camping gear and some sleeping bags we can use in case we can’t stay in motels.”

I stood up to have a look at the rolled objects Bailey was placing in the trunk and reached out to touch one. There was a very faint burning sensation in my fingertips. “Don’t bother packing one for me; if I try sleeping in one of these I’ll have a full body rash by morning. My friend Candy told me that Fae seem to be allergic to some synthetics.”

“We’ll have to be careful clothes shopping for you then,” she replied with a frown. “Maybe we can find you something made from natural fibers while we’re shopping. Do you want any of those weapons packed?”

I shook my head at that. “Maybe pack a spare quiver or two in case, but I already have a bow and sword and there’s no sense taking up space with weapons we won’t likely use. You might want to look through those boxes of clothes though. The material bothered my skin, but you might be able to use some.”

Bailey began looking through the boxes and took one of the black bodysuits out to stretch it experimentally. “Not very stretchy. The togas are lame, but I think these are some sort of thermal suits. They seem pretty durable and there are even smaller sizes in here that would fit the kids, though I don’t think they’ll work very well for me. All this stuff and the bag full of money, who owns this storage and how did you get access to it?”

“It belongs to a mutant terrorist group called the Titans that think Hypers should rule humans. I knew somebody who used to be a member and he gave me the key. I was warned to stay away from them if I can; their leader is nuts, and they try to corrupt mutant kids to their way of thinking early if they find them.”

“Great, so we’re stealing from crazy terrorists, I guess that explains the crate of guns and grenades I saw.” the shape-shifter muttered. “At least we’ll get to try and do some good with this stuff. With some accessorizing we could use some of the bodysuits to make costumes for all of the kids.”

“Yeah they could make cool costumes, but it would have been nice to find you something to wear that won’t be too tight or too loose whenever your looks change,” Becca put in as she looked over one of the smaller suits and tossed it to Matt. “Hey Squirt! I think this one will fit you.”

Unfortunately they couldn’t find a body suit small enough for Hope, though they did find bodysuits that would fit Eddie and Becca. With that done, we looked through some of the other boxes of items for anything useful while Becca, Eddie, and Bailey explained some of the items that were unfamiliar to me. Seeing nothing else that we wanted to use, we all climbed into the SUV while Bailey opened the rolling door. I got the feeling that Hope was feeling a little left out as the other kids talked about what they could add to their suits to make costumes. I also figured that the costume talk was making her miss our mothers, so once I had managed to tighten her seatbelt I ruffled her hair and hugged her gently. “I miss our moms and the others too sweetie. You’re being so good and brave, and I think they would be just as proud of you as I am. Maybe we can find some things to make a costume for you too, to show how brave you are.”

She was sniffling and her eyes were teary as she hugged me back tightly. “O-okay Terri. Can I show it to Momma when we get home?”

I just hugged her back and stroked her hair. How could I tell her that there was no going back, that we likely wouldn’t see our mothers ever again, that it would probably be a bad idea to even try? I couldn’t. “Sure Peekaboo, I think she’d love that.”

We were all belted into our seats and I was trying my best to look calm and confident when Bailey opened the driver’s side door and climbed in. I was anything but. I was a mess inside, but the kids were better off not knowing that. I was even making an effort to try to think only about our plans so Eddie wouldn’t sense anything wrong. Bailey though could sense it, of course she could, she’s an empath. She was giving me concerned looks whenever she stopped at a traffic light, but we both knew it was something that shouldn’t be talked about in front of the kids.

As we drove, Bailey and the others would point out various street signs, businesses, and other items of interest to Hope and me and explain the reasons or purpose for them. It wasn’t long before we pulled into a large parking lot nearly filled with vehicles. Bailey circled the SUV around until she found a spot fairly close to the large building that Bailey claimed was a mall. “Okay we’re here,” she said as she turned off the vehicle. “Everyone stick close together so Ed can keep people from paying too much attention to us, and let’s try to make this trip as quick as possible.”

After a brief discussion on how best to do the shopping it was decided that Bailey would quickly go inside and get an inexpensive purse for both herself and Becca so that we could divide some of the money amongst us. While she was doing that Becca and Eddie gave me a crash course of the value of money. Becca also suggested that I should count out the money in my purse rather than pulling out a wad of bills and trying to find the right amount. We really didn’t want to draw attention to the amount of money we had as it could make us the targets of thieves.

Bailey returned fifteen minutes later with a plastic shopping bag with the name ‘House of Leather’ on it. “They were having a sale,” she explained as she took out a tan suede purse with tassels and a black leather one with metal studs. She kept the former for herself and gave the latter to Becca. “I got some wallets too since they were two for one. I got ladies wallets for you both and a man’s wallet for me and Eddie. That way the money won’t be loose in our purses, I’ll have a wallet for my male forms, and we can give a bit of the money to Eddie to spread it around. Terri, you and and I will be doing most of the purchases, I just think we should make sure Becca and Eddie should have a bit in case we get separated, there’s an emergency, or if we need them to take Hope and Matt for a drink or something.”

She kept one of the thicker brown leather folding wallets and gave the other to Eddie before passing Becca and I matching slim black wallets with simple clasps to close them. Once those were all distributed she had Eddie get the duffel bag. He and Becca both got one hundred dollars in smaller bills while Bailey and I both filled our new wallets with two thousand in mixed bills. “Why so much?” I asked, figuring that it might be excessive.

“You never know what we might see that could be useful,” she responded with a shrug. “Also I’d rather we both have a decent amount in case there’s an emergency or we’re not able to get back to the SUV for some reason. Eddie, make sure that the duffel is well hidden underneath the seat and we’ll get going.”

~Actually Bailey,~ Eddie replied with a shake of his head. ~It’s probably better if Matt and I stay and wait here. There are a lot of people in that mall today, and I would have to use a lot of power to keep all of them from noticing Matt. It’ll be easier if we just stay here behind tinted windows. We can play some card games and I’ll be here to keep anyone from taking too great an interest in the SUV. Besides, you four can pass for human without me there and you’ve guessed clothes sizes for Matt and I pretty well before so I think you can do it again.~

“Are you sure?” she asked, looking a little concerned. “We’ll likely be gone a while. Terri doesn’t know much about this kind of stuff and we’ll need to make sure her clothes won’t cause an allergic reaction.”

Eddie nodded and took off his wool cap, handing it to Becca. ~Here, you can borrow this to help you blend in a bit better until you get new clothes. We’ll be fine Bailey, you just try to keep a low profile and bring us back some lunch. I’ll stay in mental contact in case anything happens or if you need my input for clothes for me and Squirt.~

Once we were all out of the vehicle and certain that it was properly locked so the boys would be safe, Bailey dropped the keys in her new purse while I shouldered my own purse and picked up Hope. My cousin had looked a little bit scared as she looked around at the maze of vehicles around us and the huge building ahead so I decided to carry her. I think we both felt a little more secure with her in my arms. “It’s okay Peekaboo, I’ve got you sweetie.”

Hope was hanging on tight to my neck as we entered the mall beside Bailey and I couldn’t really blame her. As big as the mall looked from the outside, it seemed even bigger once we got inside, not to mention more intimidating. I had gleaned from my mother’s knowledge that a mall was a collection of various shops selling clothing and other important items, but I hadn’t expected there to be so much. There were so many different stores selling different types of things; I probably wouldn’t know what half of it was or how to find the things we did need.

Bailey took immediate charge of the situation, leading us first to a popular ‘thrift store’. As she helped me to arrange Hope in the child seat of the shopping cart, and buckle her in, she quietly explained her plan. “Okay girls, here’s what we’re going to do. We came here first because we won’t attract too much attention shopping in a thrift store, they’re meant for people without a lot of money or who want to make their money go further. It will also help Terri and Hope get used to being in large stores and shopping in general. Third it will allow us to buy some clothes for the four of us that should allow us to fit in better while we shop around the rest of the mall.”

“What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?” I asked in confusion. I could see why Becca and Bailey would need new clothes to shop in, theirs were pretty worn and hadn’t been properly washed in some time, but Hope and I had just had ours made the day before.

“Nothing,” she admitted, “but your skirt and blouse seem more suited to someone a bit older. Not to mention it’s a little cold to be wearing a skirt. Your goal when we shop the rest of the mall is to look like the spoiled rich foreign girl who is spending all the money your daddy gave you for Christmas. The suede and fur for your outer clothes look custom and expensive, so they should work, but you’ll likely take those off while shopping so underneath you’ll need something more your age.”

I could see her point, and she knew more about this stuff than I did so I conceded. “Okay, so I guess you’re right about that. I’m not sure I know how to act like a foreign rich girl though and I know even less about fashion.”

“That’s a simple fix,” she said with a smile. “Your accent makes you sound foreign and your unfamiliarity with the culture is an advantage, Becca can just tell people you’re from some tiny country in Europe if they ask. Since she’s tall enough, with the right clothes, she could pass as maybe fourteen and be your snarky punk cousin who’s showing you around. Hope is your sister and you both need clothes because the airline misplaced your luggage. That way Becca can help you with half of the shopping while I do the rest. I’ll be shopping in most of the same stores, but we’ll have different things to buy so we’ll be in different areas and we’ll meet not far from the exits when we’re done. In this store we can probably get all the clothes we need to pull off the looks we’re going for and do it inexpensively.”

With that we got to work. Shopping was strange, but as we went along Bailey and Becca explained various styles, items of clothing, and what would work well with my coloring. Hope and I were both starting to feel a little less nervous as time progressed, but to reassure her I made sure to keep a firm hold on the shopping cart unless I was testing clothes for an allergic reaction, or trying them on. When I did that though Becca was quick to take my place and talk to my ward. Before I knew it, we had paid for our purchases and made our way to the mall’s nearest restrooms.

We entered a room between the ladies’ room and the mens’ room that was labeled ‘family room’ and locked the door behind us. From my mother’s knowledge of this time I knew that there were separate bathrooms for men and women in most places, but I wasn’t quite sure what the family room was for. Bailey explained that some malls have these rooms to allow mothers to nurse and change their babies, help toddlers who are still toilet training, and for other family situations that might require some privacy. Since Hope was still learning to use modern plumbing and would be nervous in a restroom full of complete strangers, I was thankful for the opportunity to let her do so in relative security while the rest of us began to change.

Becca was apparently pretty pleased with all she had found for her punk look as she changed. The outfit she decided on consisted of a short plaid skirt with a dangling chain a black t-shirt with the words ‘Green Day’ and some other smaller text emblazoned on it, black leggings, her shades of course, and slightly worn sneakers. Bailey had also found her a padded training bra that would make her seem more of a teenager than a preteen. Becca’s only complaint was that she couldn’t find combat boots since they would look better and be more practical.

Bailey had chosen a look that wouldn’t be too awkward if she changed shape, though she too wore black leggings, a stretchy pair in case her powers made her grow a bit. In addition to those she wore the spandex sports top she usually wore in place of a bra, a light blue sweater dress that would look good even if she shrunk or grew a bit, a pair of winter boots that were a size too large, and a roomy winter jacket with her gloves in the pockets.

I had been a bit more difficult to shop for. A lot of the clothes we looked at were either synthetics or blends that were more than 25% synthetic and caused a faint burning in my fingertips when I touched them. I ended up wearing my silk undergarments from Dana with the clothes we bought for me to blend in over top. Those clothes consisted of a 95% cotton white crop top shirt that said ‘Princess’ in cursive pink letters and a pair of low rise jeans. Denim is apparently made out of cotton, and it doesn’t seem to bother my skin.

By the time we had finished changing Hope was finished with the toilet and I gave her a boost so she could wash and dry her hands before I dressed her in the pink t-shirt with some cartoon girl named Dora and the romper Bailey had picked out for her. While I was doing that Bailey and Becca disposed of their old clothes and put the clothes that Hope and I had been wearing into one of the shopping bags. Finally we headed out into the mall proper once again so we could get started on the real shopping.

L’il Tykes was our first stop, and it was a store that specialized in clothes and other items for kids under six. Before we went inside Bailey looked around and smiled as she caught sight of a happy looking man who looked to be in his thirties. “Something has that guy in a very good mood, he’s really projecting. Cover me while I try to form an empathic link. I hope he’s not into teenagers or something, I want to look old enough to have a kid Matt’s age.”

I adjusted Hope in my arms as Becca and I moved to shield Bailey from the sight of passersby. There was this moment of concentration on her face before her features began to blur and shift and she grew maybe a couple inches, both up and out. Soon she was a slender and tall brunette with green eyes who looked to be in her mid-twenties. She was also busty enough to make her sweater dress look uncomfortably tight around the top. She looked down and gave a disgusted look that made Becca and I both laugh as she muttered, “Damn powers, he’s into big boobs. Well, let’s get a move on girls, I’ll only be able to hold this form for an hour or so.”

We went inside and Bailey went to get clothes for Matt, posing as a mother. Meanwhile Becca, Hope, and I went to go find some things for my little cousin. We were hoping to get five complete outfits for all of us and since Hope seemed to like the t-shirt and romper combo we got her three more of those, a dress with some tights, some running shoes, pajamas, dress shoes, and a five pack of girls’ underwear that Becca told us had pictures of ‘Disney Princesses’.

I was glad Becca was helping us because she made some good suggestions that I wouldn’t have thought of on my own. First she found some light pink leggings, white boots and gloves, and a long sleeved tunic style hooded top in a swirling pink and white smoke pattern that she thought we could make into a costume for Hope. There were also the crayons, coloring books and pair of Disney Princess dolls that Hope took an instant liking to. Those things didn’t cost much in the grand scheme of things, but they would help entertain Hope and keep her mind off missing home, and make her feel more a part of the group, and at the moment that was invaluable.

Hope was starting to get tired and hungry at this point; since I had been letting her walk so long as she held my hand, so Bailey led us to a place called the food court where we went to a fast food place called McDonalds and ordered lunch. My cousin’s small meal seemed to make her happy. She really enjoyed the French fries, chicken nuggets and orange soda. Playing with the toy also helped keep her occupied while we ate and talked about what else needed to be done. I thought I would try the adult version of the same meal with an iced tea, and while it was good, I found it a little too greasy and I just knew that it was going to bother my already upset stomach later.

After lunch Mayfields was Bailey’s next stop, a discount clothing store where she bought similar clothes for Eddie as she had gotten in the last store for Matt to cover the basics. She also bought a roomy night gown as well as boots and two complete outfits for both her male and female forms; boxer shorts, socks, stretchy track pants, extra-large t-shirts, panties, leggings, and tops. I wondered how she chose sizes, but afterwards she explained that usually changes between forms of the same gender for her were mostly cosmetic: muscles, breast size, hair and eye color, facial features, skin color. Only rarely does she end up in a form where her height, weight, or shoe size goes through any severe changes from her base forms for her current gender.

While Bailey was doing her thing Becca, Hope and I made our way outside and back to the SUV to drop off the shopping bags and deliver the lunches we had bought for Matt and Eddie. Lunch, lack of sleep the night before, and all the excitement had conspired to make Hope tired so I wasn’t surprised when she started getting irritable and complaining. “We still have a lot to do Peekaboo,” I told her with a sigh when she said she didn’t want to go back into the mall.

~She can always stay in the SUV with us and take a nap or play with those toys you got her,~ Eddie suggested as he and Matt dug into their lunches.

I hesitated before answering, “I don’t know Eddie, Hope is my responsibility. I don’t really want her out of my sight if it can be helped.”

~You can’t have her with you all the time,~ the young telepath pointed out. ~She needs to get used to being with us for when you go after Null. You’re both part of our crew now and we all look out for one another. I’ll make sure nobody takes too much interest in the vehicle so she will be safe. If I even think we’re going to be in any trouble I’ll contact you right away.~

I reached out to brush an errant lock of hair out of Hopes eyes. “Peekaboo, do you think you’ll be okay in here with Matt and Eddie for a little while?”

She was uncertain; I could see it in her expression in her eyes. These people were helping us and had welcomed us into their group. But while they seemed nice she just didn’t know them well enough to be comfortable without me there yet. On the other hand she was very tired and I was pretty sure she wanted to show how brave she was too. Finally she nodded. “Okay Terri.”

“That’s my brave girl, Eddie and Matt will take care of you, but you need to be good and listen to Eddie. Got it?” When she nodded again I looked uncertainly back to Becca and the mall beyond, before wrapping her in a tight hug. “I promise we’ll finish up as quickly as we can Peekaboo, I love you sweetie.”

“Love you Terri, I’ll be good” She hugged me back until I reluctantly let go, made sure the door to the SUV was locked, and Becca and I headed back into the mall.

When we got back inside the mall Becca took me to Teen Scene where she found a pair of training bras that would be a better fit for her than the one she had found at the thrift store, some cotton panties, and a pair of gloves. She helped me to pick out three pairs of jeans, a nice skirt, and four cotton tops in various styles. Then we made our way to a shop called Loving Lace that specialized in high quality undergarments. There I was measured and once we had explained my allergy to synthetics the sales lady guided us to bra and panty sets made of silk.

I was a bit confused by the options that we looked through as they were all very nice looking and it seemed odd that they should be hidden under other clothes when so much work had been put into making them so eye-catching. When I asked Becca about it she just looked at me strangely and handed me others to try on. Once I had four sets that seemed comfortable in the colors white, black, lilac, and cream, as well as a black lace and purple silk item called a negligee to sleep in, we paid for the purchases and left the shop to meet Bailey at our next stop.

I was getting more and more uncomfortable the longer I was away from Hope. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust Eddie to watch over her, it was that this new world was frightening in some ways and I worried that something would happen to keep us separated and right now I needed her as much as she needed me. I needed to know I had some part of my family and home left and that she would be safe from harm. So with that in mind we rushed through the next few stores.

First we went to ‘Pharma-C’ where we bought things that Bailey termed as necessities; it seemed to consist mostly of self-grooming and self-care items like toothbrushes, shampoo, conditioner, and such. We bought a few things that we didn’t need at the moment but might need soon as well. Becca was entering puberty so Bailey bought enough tampons and sanitary napkins for all three of us, since I would likely need them soon as well. My mother’s knowledge seemed to include a general idea what those were for and while I felt a bit intimidated about that aspect of womanhood, I tried not to let it bother me since it was part of who I was now and no good would come from complaining about it. She also got some razors for when Becca would need them even though neither of us would; Fae don’t grow body hair and Bailey’s shape shifting allowed her to avoid it as well.

After that we went to a shop called ‘Sleeping In’ where we bought some blankets and sheets for me made from cotton and flannel as well as a pillow and comforter made of flannel and filled with goose down. They were a bit pricey but at least I would be warm and not wake up with a rash. So I was pretty happy as we left there and headed to the Dollar Store where we bought ten pairs of wraparound sunglasses, a package of colored glitter glue, some sweets and some items and accessories that Becca and Bailey thought the others would like to go on their costumes.

Our last stop was for Becca’s clothes. She and Bailey had decided that to preserve Becca’s punk image we should do most of her clothes shopping at a store called ‘Alternative Empire’ that Becca said catered to the local punk, emo, and goth scene. Bailey and the others had met Davis, the owner of the store, just after Becca had joined up with them. He was a mutant supporter and the one who came up with the idea for Becca to adopt a punk look to blend in. He had also let Bailey work there under the table sometimes to earn money, though Bailey never explained why he would need someone to work under a table or what kind of work was involved with that.

“Bailey! Becca! It’s good to see you again, Matt and Eddie aren’t with you today?” a man in his early thirties behind the front counter called out in greeting as we entered the shop. Davis, at least I assumed it was Davis, was at least six foot six with no visible fat, spiky blue hair, several piercings in his ears, and a ring through his eyebrow as well. I imagined that most people would probably be intimidated by the appearance of the man, if not for his friendly demeanor.

“Eddie thought it would be best for him and Matt to stay out of sight so he could stay out of minds,” Bailey responded with a shrug. “This is our new friend Terri, She and her little cousin Hope have joined up with us.”

“More rescues?” he inquired. There was a brief look of confusion and wonder when he looked at me, but it passed so quickly that I thought I might have imagined it as he turned his smile on me. “It’s nice to meet you, the brats are a good bunch, they’ll take good care of you.”

Bailey nodded in agreement, but was quick to explain, “Terri’s offered to help me take care of the others and we’re going to help her with something she needs to do. We’re going to be leaving town, so I wanted to say goodbye. Becca needs some clothes too since we have the money, and we know you can always use the business.”

Davis’ expression was deeply pensive for a moment before he nodded. “Becca, why don’t you start picking out everything you need and watch the store for me while I talk to Bailey and your new friend in the back room. I may have a few things for you Bailey.”

Bailey and I looked at one another in confusion, but she nodded so I followed her and Davis, who I noticed walked with a bad limp, toward the aforementioned back room. The room was small consisting of a desk littered with papers, three chairs and a large metal trunk with a thick padlock. Once we were all inside I sat down in one of the chairs facing the desk as the large man took the seat behind it to look directly at me. “What are you and what do you want with these kids?”

“Davis!” Bailey quickly objected, but I put my hand on her shoulder and when she turned to look at me I shook my head.

“He is just concerned for you,” I told her simply before looking the man over again. I wished that I could use my magic senses to ‘look’ at him, but I didn’t dare unseal my powers in such a small room for fear of shocking someone. “I am of the Fae, though my mother was a Hyper, and I was sent here to prevent a disaster that will lead to the end of both Humanity and the Fae. Since my Hyper abilities have complicated things and I do not know this world well, Bailey and the others have offered to assist me in finding the person I’m looking for. In exchange I am going to help Bailey care for Becca and the other children. Now I must ask you the same, what are you and what is your interest in my new friends?”

“The Fae?” he asked as his eyebrows rose at my admission. “I thought your kind was a myth, or long gone from this world. I’m a Hyper like them, I sense energy flows, and have a small talent for magic and seeing through illusions, it’s also why I look like I do. I’ve been trying to help these kids as much as they’ll let me. I would have let them come stay in my home, but it’s taken almost two months for Becca to become comfortable enough to say hello to me, so I helped them with a set of clothes to help her blend in and by giving Bailey work to earn some money.”

“Why didn’t you tell us you were a Hyper before?” Bailey asked with a stunned expression on her face.

“Matt figured it out when we first met, but I asked him to keep it private,” the blue haired man replied with a sigh. “For eight years I’ve been living a normal life, not using my powers actively and hiding from my past. Then you kids came along, determined to carry on and help others, despite the way the world has treated you. You reminded me of myself and my friends back then. I figured you’d all run off to try to save the world one day and I wanted to try to convince you to give up the idea, but I know you all well enough by now to know that you’re all too damn stubborn to stop when you know you’re doing something to help others.”

Bailey stood up from her seat, her hands on the desk and her voice raised in anger. “Why would you want to stop us from doing what’s right!?"

“Because I know it can lead only to heartache,” Davis responded sadly. “When I was your age I had been activated and studying magic for two years. I was still a novice at best when I met Melanie and Jocasta. They were mutants too; they weren’t scared of me like a lot of people and we became close friends. None of us were really powerful, but we all thought that we could become superheroes and take on the world.”

There was pain in his eyes as he took a moment to collect himself before continuing his story. “Jocasta was a tinker who took the name Gadgets, Melanie’s ability to dramatically change her size and mass earned her the name Surge, and I called myself Chant. We mostly fought muggers, bank robbers, and low level super villains until 8 years ago. Three weeks before Jo and I were going to be married we fought Arsenal. Melanie and Jo were both killed and I nearly lost my leg. You’re all young, too young to be risking your lives like that.”

“Bailey’s only task is to get me to the place I need to be, when I need to be there,” I argued. “If all goes to plan, she and the others will be a safe distance away when I deal with the man I’m looking for; I don’t want any of them in danger any more than you do.”

“Lesson number one in being a superhero, nothing ever goes to plan,” he replied with an indignant snort. “As soon as you put on a costume you become a magnet for dangerous and unexpected things. You seem willing enough to put yourself in danger, but you’ll be putting these kids in danger too, just so you can play hero.”

I shook my head as I thought how best to answer him. “My mom was a superhero too, and the first lesson she gave me was that it’s not what you do or how you do it, it’s why you do it and who you’re doing it for. I don’t have a choice; this task needs to be done, I’m the only one who can do it, and I’ll give my life to see it done if need be. I never wanted to do this, and I’m not doing this because I want to be a hero, but because I refuse to let this atrocity happen again while I can prevent it. My family and friends I had to leave, my cousin, and every other human, Hyper, and Fae needs me to do this. It’s my life against billions; even if it wasn’t the right thing to do the math would make the choice pretty simple.”

“She’s right Davis, and I need to help her for the same reason,” Bailey added as she frowned across the desk at him. “If I don’t help her and what she’s warned me about happens then I’ve failed to protect Becca, Matt and Eddie and to do the right thing. I made a promise and I intend to keep it. The world might be a sucky place for mutants to live, but if we ever want to change that then the world needs to keep spinning.”

To my surprise Davis nodded, though the sadness was still present in his eyes. “I didn’t think I would be able to stop you Bailey. If I can’t stop you, I guess I’d better help you then.” He stood up, wincing slightly, and made his way toward the large metal chest as he produced a key from his pocket. “There might be some things in here you can use, just in case things don’t go to plan.”

The chest contained some of the things from when Davis and his friends had been superheroes, including the remains of their costumes, some broken devices, some multicolored material all folded up, and some photos and newspaper clippings. Bailey ran her hands experimentally over the strange material before asking, “What is this? It feels like a bunch of tiny beads.”

“Jo made it for Melanie before they died but she never got it to work as well as she had hoped,” Davis responded. “It’s a body suit made from a material that reacts to and harnesses the metamorphic energy produced by shape shifters. It allows the wearer to apply their shifting ability to the material as well as themselves. Jo was hoping she would be able to get it to expand to Melanie’s maximum size but she only got it to work to about 5 times her normal mass and size before the material reached its limit.”

“What do you mean by applying the shifting ability to the material?” Bailey asked, her face lit up in sudden interest.

A distant memory lingered in the large man’s eyes as he looked over the material in Bailey’s hands. “For Melanie it would change size as she did and she was able to change its appearance as well, to simulate a costume and various types of clothing. She only had to be picturing what she wanted to be wearing in her mind. I was thinking that you might be able to use it… and this as well.” He handed her a black pistol of some sort.

My friend’s eyes lit up as she looked over the gun. “That looks just like…”

“I thought you might recognize it, there’s a belt and holster in there too.” Though his eyes were still distant and sad Davis laughed. “Jo was such a geek and thought that our powers gave us a duty to help others… you remind me a lot of her. When she came up with a device to catalyze some of the magic energy that’s all around us and use it to fire energy blasts she just had to make it look like Han Solo’s blaster. It’s one of the few things that I know is still usable. Try to keep it on the stun setting, it’s safer and uses less energy, which is important since even that setting uses a lot of the stored energy and the gun takes a while to recharge.”

Bailey took a long look at the material in her hands and the offered weapon before shaking her head. “I can’t take these things Davis, They belonged to someone you loved and they’re obviously important to you.”

Davis’ response was to close the trunk and place the weapon and belt in Bailey’s hands with the bodysuit she was still looking at. “Jo made these so they could be used to help people. I can’t do much else to help you kids and I think she’d be happy to have someone like herself using them in our place. Use them to keep yourself and the others safe. Whatever clothes Becca picks out I’ll sell you at half price too.”

Becca had finished picking out the clothes she wanted by the time we were done in the back room. It seemed to mostly consist of tank tops, skirts and a few accessories as well as a black studded denim jacket with buckles and a plaid under layer. “Uh guys, I was wondering if I could get a few things to use for my costume too?” she asked uncertainly as we returned to the storefront with Davis carrying a box he had picked up from behind the chest he had kept his hero memorabilia in.

“As long as Terri doesn’t mind,” Bailey replied, looking toward me for confirmation. When I nodded she asked, “What do you have in mind?”

Becca dashed to the back of the store and returned with a pair of knee high black combat boots with buckles all down the front instead of laces and a pair of black fingerless gloves. As she added them to the pile Davis gave her a long look. “Becca, your hair lets you blend in with the punk look, but it’s pretty distinctive. I think if you plan on going around in costume you should hide it to try and keep your identity safer. You might want to wear something with a large hood that can cover it and obscure your face a bit; I have just the thing. I figured you kids might want something unique when you decided to play hero, so had a friend of mine who designs some of the clothes I sell here make something special for you, Eddie, and Matt. Hopefully we guessed your sizes right.”

Davis had Bailey start removing security tags from the items and scanning them as he opened the box he had been carrying. He pulled out three bundles of fabric, of varying colors, the first of which was a black mask and grey ‘trench-coat’ with three black vertical wavy lines on the back and said, “This is for Eddie.” Next he pulled out a gold colored belt and vest with a lot of pockets and a dark blue water drop symbol on the back of the vest. “And these are for Matt, they’re waterproof with seal-able airtight pockets, but this is for you Becca,” he added as he handed her a bundle of red and black.

The bundle turned out to be a dark red jacket and a domino mask which he had Becca try on. The mask was of a durable black material with lenses tinted a dark red covering the eyes. The lenses could also be flipped upward to expose her eyes if she needed to. The jacket had long flared sleeves and a high collar from which emerged a black hood that when worn not only covered her hair, but obscured most of her face in shadow as well. Rather than a zipper or buttons it closed with a series of black leather straps with buckles, like those on the boots she had chosen. The straps buckled in the front from collar to midriff where the jacket parted in front and the back and sides flared out like a thigh length skirt. On the back there was a coiled snake embroidered in black and gold.

Davis had had those made specially even though he clearly didn’t want them doing the hero thing, and despite the fact that Bailey said business hadn’t been so good lately. It showed how much he cared about these kids, possibly he saw them as the children he and Jocasta could have had together if things had turned out better. I decided to help him in return and rather than just paying the amount he had tallied, I insisted on giving him what was left in my purse. We still had all the money Bailey had left over and over forty five thousand in the duffel bag, so it seemed the proper thing to do.

Becca loved her jacket and mask, and the whole time I was arguing with Davis about him taking the money she had this uncertain expression on her face. She was obviously grateful for what he had done, but at the same time she seemed pained. Finally, as we were leaving and saying our goodbyes she said, “Ummm… thanks Davis. Y’know, for everything you’ve done for us. You’re… a good man.” It made me wonder, not for the first time that day, what had happened to her. Hypers activate due to stress, and the environment or the cause of that stress usually have some hand in what powers manifest. Given Becca’s powers that was a truly frightening thought, and it made me want to help take care of these kids even more.

Hope and Matt were napping when we returned to the SUV. It was also beginning to get dark, and since Bailey didn’t want to make the drive to Toronto at night and we needed to do some research anyway we decided to spend another night at the motel we had stayed at the night before. Bailey said the motel had something called Wi-Fi and that if we had a computer we could use it to access the internet there and do some research on the area around the first assassination site and possible nearby places where we could stay. With that in mind she drove us to a large building with a sign saying ‘Best Buy’.

I figured that Bailey could handle that by herself so while she went inside I stayed in the vehicle with the others and talked while trying to ignore just how horrible my stomach felt. Bailey seemed to take a while and Matt and Hope had both complained about being bored at least ten times by the time she returned bearing a plastic bag. She had managed to get an inexpensive notebook computer that wouldn’t take much space, a shoulder bag to carry it in, and three prepaid cell phones.

“I bought the phones for several reasons,” she explained as she drove us to the motel. “First, we might need to contact people for information or give others a way to contact us that doesn’t involve Eddie’s telepathy. Secondly, if gives us another way for me, you, and Becca to contact one another in case something happens to Eddie or while he’s sleeping. Thirdly you and I are teenagers, and if we need to socialize other teens will expect us to have phones. The models I chose have cameras, internet, and a bunch of other features that might be useful and should be easy to learn to use. If we need to add time to them then we just buy prepaid phone cards and use them.”

We made another brief stop to a grocery store where Bailey picked up a loaf of bread, some fruit, milk, cheese, crackers, and meat to serve as a light dinner for us all. Then once Eddie had once again used the Jedi mind trick and we were safely in the motel I dropped my glamour. I wanted to be myself as much as possible around these people; not only did it make me more comfortable, but it showed that I trusted them. Besides, using the glamour was for hiding, and it would be rude to hide my true self when we were alone and safe when the others saw no reason to.

Once dinner was finished Eddie and Becca kept Hope and Matt occupied with various games and talk about their costumes. While they were doing that Bailey began showing me how to use the phone and the computer as we started to research the area of Toronto we would be going to. She helped me find some pretty good current maps of the area, as well as photographs, and I thought that it might really help me to find possible locations were Null may choose to fire from, though nothing could beat actual physical surveillance.

According to Uncle Tom’s notes, Recoil and Golem had been shot outside a bank they had been about to rob on the corner of King Street East and Jarvis Street. Looking at photos of the area I saw that there were several tall buildings in the area, but the journal had said the shots came from the north. Given that information the most likely vantage points that would afford Null a good view of the bank entrance were the tower of the cathedral on the other side of a park and a really tall condominium building a bit further away.

The journal also said that Uncle Tom suspected that Null had contacts feeding information to his targets that they wouldn’t be able to resist so that they would show up where and when he wanted them. Uncle Tom had nearly been killed when the Titans followed a false lead on some mutant kids who were being shipped to a research lab. There were no kids there when he and the other Titans had shown up at the indicated time and place and Null had managed to kill two Titans and wound Uncle Tom before Hermes managed to teleport him away. It was also very likely that Null was working with a teleporter, given how many times he had eluded capture.

This information was not reassuring. Finding Null before he made his move would be like looking for a needle in a haystack, especially if he was firing from the condominiums. I would have to visually check most of the windows facing the bank and hope he didn’t fire before I found him. If he really was working with a teleporter, that could complicate things as well. If I did find him I would have to try and land a killing blow before he saw me. Using my bow would be unlikely if I had to fly to do recon, it would take too long to remove the bow from the case, set it up and fire a shot once I returned to human size and changed into costume, especially if he noticed me coming. Even with four days to train I wasn’t certain that I would enough control over my powers yet to do more than lash out wildly and hope for the best. No, the sword would be best, quick and clean.

I think that’s what was bothering me the most as I tried to come up with a plan that evening. Fae don’t fight to kill unless it’s life or death like with the Fomorians. We fight like this for a very good reason, some people who kill find that they enjoy it; and Fae are taught from an early age not to make a habit of giving into anything that could lead to dark desires such as murder or senseless violence. Usually we try to subdue, disable, or disarm, but there were billions of lives counting on me and the only way I could be absolutely sure to prevent a future like the one I came from was to kill him. As long as he lived and his power still existed, there was the possibility he would still try to kill Stellar.

Understandably I was a bit preoccupied by those thoughts and others as we helped Matt and Hope to get ready for bed that night. Between that and the stomach ache I was having problems paying attention to much of anything, though I was doing the best I could, to keep my mind on Hope’s needs. I had decided that Hope would probably be more comfortable having a bath than using the shower, especially after Becca had suggested putting in a little of our new floral scented shampoo while the water was running to make it a bubble bath. Hope loved it and I tried to distract myself by playing with her and washing her hair as she played. Apparently I wasn’t hiding my mood as well as I thought though because once I had finished rinsing her hair my cousin said, “Terri you look sad, d’you miss home too?”

I nodded slowly, slightly confused and wondering what had brought this on. “Yeah I do Peekaboo, but I’m also thinking about what I need to do while we’re here and trying to make sense of this world. At least we’ve made some friends, what do you think of them?” I almost felt guilty using such an obvious attempt to change the subject on a three and a half year old, but there was a lot on my mind that it was better to keep to myself.

“They’re nice,” she replied simply. I was worried that my attempt to change the topic hadn’t worked and she would just leave it at that, but after a moment of thought she seemed to figure out what she wanted to say. Of course it all came out at once though. ”Bailey is like Momma Keera, but she says weird stuff, Becca an’ Eddie are really nice to me an’ said they’d pertect me…” she trailed off as she tried to think of anything else. “Oh! An’ Matt showed me how to color an’ play fish.”

I was confused about the last bit, wondering if it was something related to the young mutant’s powers or appearance. “Play fish?” I asked, hoping for some clarification.

“Yeah!” she nodded excitedly as I helped her out of the bath tub. “There’s cards wit’ numbers and pictures on them an’ I had to try an’ guess what cards Matt had. He had to guess too. Oh! An’ Becca tol’ me I’m da best hide n’ seeker! An’ she’s gonna help make my costume!”

I was glad that the others were managing to make this new world exciting for her and keep her mind off of home. As I began ruffling her hair with a towel to dry it I tried a smile for her. “I’m glad you like them, because we’ll be with them for a while. Just like our family at home, we’re all going to stick together and keep one another safe.” I finished drying her hair, got to work on drying her body, and then got her dressed for bed.

“But I don’ wanna sleep yet Bailey,” Matt was complaining as we left the bathroom and Bailey was putting him into bed. Becca and Eddie were going to stay up a little longer and were looking on the internet for likely places for us to stay and hopefully get some training in while in Toronto.

Bailey gave Matt a stern look. “I know Squirt, but we have to be up early tomorrow. I don’t want to be driving when there’s heavy traffic if it can be avoided. So you and Hope both need to go to bed now if you’re going to get a good night’s sleep.”

Matt was pouting and he didn’t seem too thrilled about the idea, but he grudgingly replied,” Okay, I’ll try to sleep.”

The shape changer tucked the blankets around Matt and tweaked his nose. Then she said in a croaky voice, “No. Try not. Do... or do not. There is no try.”

I plopped Hope onto the other bed and covered her up before giving her a light kiss on the cheek. “Sleep well Peekaboo, I love you.”

“I love you too Terri,” she replied, reaching up to wrap me in a big hug and return the kiss.

A few hours later, Becca and Eddie had joined Hope and Matt in their respective beds and joined them in slumber as well. Becca was wearing a sleep mask that Bailey had bought for her at the drug store so that she could sleep without fear of waking up and somebody accidentally catching sight of her eyes. During yet another bathroom trip, I had changed into the negligee I had bought for bed, so I could soon join them. When I emerged from the bathroom Bailey looked over to me. “Sorry that the food hasn’t been agreeing with you, hopefully It’ll get better…” She trailed off as she caught sight of me and was suddenly staring at me intently. “So, you’re… umm… wearing that to bed?”

“Yes, I know how nudity makes you humans uncomfortable. I asked the lady at the shop where we bought the undergarments what someone might prefer to see me wear to bed, and she told me that this would suit me very well. She suggested one in red, but I thought the purple might look nicer without the glamour on. Should I have chosen something else?” I wondered if I had done something wrong, Bailey seemed nervous for some reason.

“Ummm… no, that’s… ummm… good. You’re not naked, and that’s what matters right?” She replied as she fidgeted with the nightgown she was holding in her hands. “So… yeah, you’ve been pretty out of it tonight; your emotions have been all over the place too, do you want to tell me what’s wrong?”

I did need to talk about what was bothering me so I let her change of topic go. “I’ve just had a lot on my mind. I’m trying to get used to everything in this world, have no idea how to tell Hope that we’ll likely never see our family again, and I’m worried about whether I can really kill Null.”

“Whoa! Just a second! We’re the good guys, we don’t kill people,” she countered, shaking her head violently.

“Normally I would agree with you Bailey, but it’s the only way to be sure. If we get him imprisoned he’d get out eventually and probably go back to his little hobby, only then the future will have changed and I won’t have the information to prevent it. As long as he still has that power he’s a danger. I don’t want to kill anyone, Fae don’t kill for a good reason. What if I like it and I become one of the Yiantuul-sair?” I shuddered and barely managed to finish that sentence, the mere thought of that horrified me.

“The what?” Bailey inquired with a confused expression.

“Fae who have turned to darkness,” I explained. “My mom used to refer to them as dark elves or the Winter Court. We Fae are creatures of magic, and our bodies reflect what’s in our souls. That’s why we don’t kill, and try to keep from giving into dark desires or negative emotions of any sort. We cherish life try to fill our lives with positive things. If one of us gives themselves too much to fear, hate, or anger or finds that they delight in the suffering of others they begin to change, they become twisted beings of dark magic.”

“So what you’re saying is that fear is the path to the dark side? You know… Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.” She seemed to be quoting something again, but there was no laughter or smiling this time.

“Any negative emotions or actions could lead to it really,” I clarified. “That’s why I’m so worried. I’ve seen what it turns us into. A few of us turned when the attacks from the Fomorians started getting really bad and we had to banish them from the settlement, like the elders did Queen Minira not long after she led my people to Tír na nÓg.”

Bailey’s jaw dropped and she gaped at me for a moment. “Wait, your people banished your own queen for this?”

I nodded as I tried to relay what I recalled of the story. “It was roughly eight centuries ago. She turned not long after becoming queen. The elders later discovered that in her jealousy of her sister Tessily being chosen to rule instead of her, she had cursed her. Then she lied, telling our people that Tessily had asked her to lead our people to the safety of Tír na nÓg while she prevented the humans from following. This started her on the dark path and she became a creature of lies and deceit; her golden hair turned black, her skin lost its color, she became cruel and violent, and the feel of her magic changed to a cold darkness.”

“Terri, I think, she was just that kind of person. Anyone who would do that to her sister, already had some darkness in them,” Bailey said, stepping forward to wrap me in a hug. “Besides, didn’t you say that the first lesson your mom gave you was that it’s not what you do or how you do it, it’s why you do it and who you’re doing it for? Besides, maybe we’ll think of a way where we won’t have to kill him.”

She was right, even if I did have to kill him, I didn’t think I was going to enjoy it and I would probably never feel good about it, but if it had to be done to save billions of lives than I shouldn’t doubt that it’s the right thing to do. It was a necessity, not for the thrill of it; in fact the thought of killing him had been making me feel even sicker than the food had. He was like the Fomorians, a danger to everybody, but there was no sense worrying over it until the time came. So her words, and the warmth of her body so close to mine, had their intended effect. I was calmer now, though now my heart was fluttering a bit as I tried to think of positive things. “You’re probably right. For now I’ll try to stay positive.”

Bailey let me go and went into the bathroom to change, and as I climbed into bed beside Hope I had something else on my mind. I wasn’t going to complain though since those thoughts of Bailey, in either gender, were far more preferable to what had been occupying my thoughts beforehand. It only got worse when she climbed in ‘the girls’ bed’ beside me and had to stay close for the lack of space. I did manage to sleep for a bit though, and it was nearly three in the morning when I had to get up to use the bathroom again. It was fortunate that I had. That is when I heard the noises outside; a strange humming, clanking sounds, a man’s voice, and finally a loud bang as what was left of the motel room door exploded into the room.

I moved swiftly toward the door, summoning my costume and unsealing my powers. I gathered as much energy as I could as I launched myself toward the door to place myself protectively between Hope and whatever had just broken down the door. Whatever was about to enter the room wasn’t human, it was eight feet tall and man-shaped, but it looked mechanical. That meant I didn’t have to hold back, so I let loose with everything I had. Electricity arced along the body of the mechanical man and it began to spark and spasm, falling to the ground as a smoldering heap of partially melted metal. Damn, what would have happened if I used that on a person? I shoved the thought brutally aside as I looked out the doorway to see five more of the constructs in the parking lot with a man holding an electronic device. He wasn’t terribly impressive physically, barely 6 feet tall and wiry, and he wore a black costume with green lines running all over it in a circuitous pattern and a black helmet with a dark green visor covering most of his face.

The noise had woken the others and they were all scrambling to get out of the beds as Bailey muttered, “What the hell?!”

“We’re under attack. Everyone stay back,” I warned them. Then I glared at the man and said, “You have exactly three seconds to start explaining yourself before I take care of you and the rest of your metal friends like I did the first one.”