The Quad, Whateley Academy.

Fall in New Hampshire has a charm all its own, the autumn colours are a spectacle to behold as the deciduous trees take on hues of yellows, oranges, and reds. But the temperature now in mid October, especially in the early morning hours foretold the onset of winters bite.

A chill in the air made Cameron thankful he’d remembered to put on a jacket, and seeing a puff of steam when he exhaled after stepping outside his dormitory confirmed the change of season was well underway.

It was a dreary looking day, overcast with fog and a slight drizzle of rain. You could call it gloomy, but that didn’t affect Outlook’s outlook on the day. Rather, he was intrigued by what the day held for him: a trip into Berlin for a meeting with a gaggle of lawyers, he’d needed to check what the dictionary called a group of lawyers: an Argument, it fit, but it sounded a touch derogatory.

The meeting itself was no doubt going to be a drawn-out affair, but the reason behind it had piqued his curiosity. His lawyer: Emit Paulson, had said the schools “good reverend” contested the insurance companies’ assessment: that the destruction of Dillon Chapel had been an ‘Act of God’ and was thereby not covered by the school’s insurance policy.

Fascinating how invoking God in any situation was an open invitation to insist that you, and only you and yours, have sole proprietorship over the proper way to worship - No wonder religion is at fault for being the single biggest reason people wage war - certainly a situation not at all to God’s liking.

Cameron carried a medium sized hot box, filled with breakfast sandwiches and a few sweet rolls. He imagined those he would be riding with had brought their drink of choice, no way to know how a person liked their coffee – best not to take on that challenge beforehand, it explained the proliferation of coffee shops.

Food was easy in comparison, he’d baked the buttermilk biscuits last night, cooked up the eggs and bacon to fill them with after taking a shower in the morning. The smell was enticing, but he’d resisted the temptation to partake in favour of waiting to offer them to everyone as they drove.

Cameron arrived at the designated pick-up spot, Schuster Halls parking lot. Already present was Patricia Conner, not surprising - given the events around escaping from the null void.

She, however, was looking tense and worse for wear.

“Morning” offered Cameron, his greeting a friendly welcome and a way to alert her to his presence.

“Hi” was the subdued response, she barely even lifted her head to acknowledge him. The poor girl had her issues, and being dragged into town to answer questions was something of a weight she wasn’t coping with very well.

Cameron had watched her since school started, she had a few friends that she sat with at meals in Crystal Hall, they had seemed amiable enough, but those friends had begun to dwindle when a pressure campaign orchestrated by Reverend Englund started. The cleric’s devotee’s: student, minion, zealots, began ceaselessly harassing the girl, purely a result of having a target painting on her back by the Reverend.

In a school where avoiding attention made all the difference for your survival, Patricia was being singled out by the worst pariah of all: self righteous, judgemental, wound-up, religious adherents, who were pointed at defenseless prey.

What teenager didn’t love the chance to vent their own angst upon a defenseless person?

Cameron too, had been pestered by those same devotees, but he had a solid group of friends to support him. Plus, Cameron had been forewarned about not letting what other people thought affect his outlook.

Sadly, Patricia was being victimized all over again, after the wraiths in the void, could life get any worse? It could certainly feel that way to her. Cameron had empathy for Patricia, but didn’t know the best way to help her, not with her current woes.

Through Emit Paulson, Cameron had established an anonymous non-profit organization, to assist needy students, special cases that otherwise wouldn’t be able to attend Whateley Academy. It was all done secretly, nobody needed to know he was behind it. But it had revealed many unfortunate details about Patty: her mother had died from a drug overdose – how she’d dealt with Patricia’s disappearance. Her father lived on the streets somewhere, a shattered man after being accused of killing Patty, but no evidence linking him to the crime.

Patricia’s life was a mess, coming to Whateley was better than being placed into an orphanage, which is what Child Services proposed to her as the only option, before the paid tuition offer. At any rate, Patty had been assigned a social worker to guide her, but they kept distant, only checking in on her every blue moon.

It came down to Patricia needing to learn how to control her ability – she’d been classified as a Mage, but making a portal was a specialty. Whateley didn’t have a teacher with a background in creating portals, as only extremely skilled Mage’s could muster the essence it required. The school had put out a call to find someone to help her, but nothing so far. Instead, she was in classes designed to teach casting spells – which she had no affinity for.

Patricia was consistent in her conviction to never use her ability to create a portal. She never wanted to see another portal as long as she lived. She hated her gift, to her it was a curse. You could tell from the way she caried herself, from her distraught look and distant eyes.
Not that it was an unreasonable reaction, her ‘gift’ had wrought dreadful consequences, ruining her life and family.

So, yes, to get a ‘hi’ from the girl was as good as it got. But they had history together, so it was a start from which to build bridges.

“Are you cold?” asked Cameron, the girl had been standing with her arms wrapped tight around herself and was suppressing shivers as she stood waiting out in the cold.

Without needing a reply, Cameron retrieved a heavy coat from his Cupboard, it was a bright tan colour – not yellow, which seemed to be her favoured choice, but near enough that it didn’t offend her sensibilities. She wrapped it around herself and gave him a trepidatious smile.

“You didn’t steal this? Did you?” she asked as she flipped the collar up to cover her neck.

That was the icebreaker he’d hoped for. “No, at least not from anybody you’d know.” In truth he’d bought it – on sale at a huge discount … it was almost like he’d stolen it, but he’d kept the receipt.

Cameron had never been a boy scout, growing up as a girl kinda excluded him from that, but he still liked to be prepared for any situation, today was no exception.

“Thank you” was offered as Patty settled into the coat, putting her hands into the pockets, giving a sigh of relief.

“You’re welcome,” returned Cameron. “Which cottage are you in?” He already knew, he knew more than anyone else had a right to, but this girl had saved him, even if it had been unwittingly. Cameron felt indebted to her.

“Dickinson”.

It wasn’t an enthusiastic response, more like an admission of guilt a child gave when found with their hand in the cookie jar. Yeah, she wasn’t having a great time at Whateley, Cameron understood the feeling.

“That’s…” Cameron stammered; he didn’t want to flippantly mention having a plethora of friends to her.

“The same cottage as Lynn, R.E.D., Rachelle and Charlotte. Your teammates. I know.” Said Patricia with a sigh.

“You don’t like them?” I was a thinly veiled attempt to encourage her to befriend them.

“They’re the – like, IT crowd. The pretty, popular, and powerful girls that every guy drools over. Besides, I doubt they know I even exist.”

That didn’t sound like his friends at all, definitely not Lynn. If a guy told Lynn she was cute she’d gouge his eyes out – with or without claws, still sensitive about changing gender. Rho was self-conscious about her height and was reserved because of her hot hands. Charlotte certainly turned heads - for which Rach would give em a solid cuff physically or psychically (depended upon the guy).

“Would you like me to introduce you to them?” offered Cameron.

“I don’t want to intrude. You’re probably on a secret mission and they’re your cover. I’m nothing special.” Sloughed Patricia to avoid committing.

“That’s not true Patricia, your plenty …”

“Could you drop the Patricia, I go by Tricia now. New start, new life and all that.”

“Okay, I’ll try,” granted Cameron. “This looks like our ride,” as a bland looking white minivan pulled up.

The driver looked familiar, off-duty security – or undercover today. Either way, it was nice the school saw fit to provide protection. In the front passenger seat sat Dr. Hewlett – from the greeting made, he would be Tricia’s mental health therapist.

Tricia took the rear bench seat, leaving Cameron the second row. Tricia said she wanted to get some sleep, a sign she was retreating back into herself, but Cameron had made inroads. Offering the still warm sandwich’s also won him points with the van’s occupants.
Outside Berlin, New Hampshire.

The drive to Berlin was nice enough if sightseeing was the goal, conversation had been polite but curt, no chance they’d break into song anytime soon. Dr. Hewlett reviewed his notes mostly, and the driver would only begrudgingly answer a question when asked. Pat – Tricia slept nearly the whole way; it reminded Cameron of the expression “any port in a storm” If she could sleep – let her, she probably needed it.

A road sign said they were only a few miles outside Berlin. Ahead, a small bridge over a creek narrowed the highway. As the minivan crossed the bridge, a truck pulled out from a side road and blocked off the highway.

The van came to a screeching halt barely avoiding an accident by veering off the roadside, from behind a man smashed the rear window and threw in a smoke bomb.

The gas cloud quickly filled the vans interior. Tricia, already asleep woke with a start – and just as quickly succumbed. Dr. Hewlett and the driver both gasped and coughed then slumped limp in their seats, held upright by the safety belts. Knock-out gas then, determined Cameron. He’d not breathed any of the gas but slid down to lay across the bench seat to mimic the effects the others displayed.

Out of the truck poured a small contingent of men wearing tactical gear, markings were limited to an elongated diamond and pips designating rank, no identification as to who they were, no flags or nametags worn. Just near black clothes and similar coloured bullet proof vests and helmets.

A woman emerged wearing a gas mask – and little else, a touch underdressed given the weather noted Cameron. Leather short shorts and a skintight top that exposed her midriff, again all in black – maybe there was a theme going on: black-ops wear black? Maybe good idea at night, but kinda a dead giveaway in the middle of the day – and in the middle of the road.

“Get the girl!” demanded the woman, her voice was rough – having a gravelly quality, but very piercing. That demand caught Cameron’s attention, this wasn’t about him. Still, his protective nature flared, someone meant Tricia harm. Cameron looked closer at the black clad woman; she had the power signature of a Siren.

“Check who else is with her, maybe we’ve snagged someone worthwhile.” Voiced the woman with a sharp bark.

The side door opened, and rough hands pulled Tricia out with more force than needed, she’d definitely have bruises later.

A bright light was shone on the Driver and then the Doctor as pictures were taken, sent for identification, then disgusted noises meant the results didn’t meet with anticipated expectations. Cameron was dragged outside, equally rough, and his head was lifted to face the camera after removing his visor, keeping his eyes closed didn’t allow the light Cameron’s eyes emitted to be noticed.

No point making this easy reasoned Cameron, you don’t learn anything if it just gets handed to you, and he so wanted to know why the overzealous interest in Patricia – Tricia, sorry. So, the camera failed to work since the battery inexplicitly died.

“Bring him!” directed the black clad woman with a wave to quicken their departure. She needed a boost to get back into the truck, and the hesitation in the men to help her up spoke volumes about her leadership.

Cameron and Tricia were laid down on the truck bed, between the feet of the dark clad men. The truck bounced and jolted during the short drive, during which the woman was intent upon checking her painted fingernails, anything to avoid interacting with her subordinates.

The truck stopped behind an abandoned convenience store, the store had been gutted and the windows boarded over. They were carried fireman style through the back door and deposited onto two sturdy chairs and bound securely to them.

Whatever remained from the empty store had been pushed to the front in a heap, leaving room for some tables and chairs. A few computers sat interspersed upon tables, but one table was off to the side with a deck of cards splayed out – left in mid game.

The Siren waltzed in like the queen of the world, master of her domain. All told there was 10 people present, including the five soldier types. Only two of those had signatures: the Siren and a young girl.

“Crystal. Come here my pet, I brought you some toys to play with.” Called the Siren to the young girl, who came as asked.

Cameron assessed that Crystal was a Psychic from her power signature, pretty strong too, equivalent to Rachelle when not boosted. But she was very young, no more than thirteen – fourteen tops. Her jacket bore the all too familiar insignia: Whateley Academy. The picture was coming into focus: kidnapping and extortion, or maybe even slavery.

So why was Crystal helping them? His past encounter with Tammuz had them using Psychics to implant mind controls, erasing people’s memories. Why would a Siren be headlining the show?

“Now Crystal, I want you to read this girls’ mind. Tell me what’s she’s thinking, find out exactly what her ability is.”

“Yes Mistress.”

That’s not good, surmised Cameron, he didn’t waste anytime, he put Tricia into a deep sleep, blocking all her senses in an effort to protect her from whatever coercion they had planned.

“Mistress, she’s not conscious, I can’t see much.”

The Siren – Mistress, yelled across the room to the soldiers who had resumed their game of cards: “Hey Dummies! How much knock-out gas did you hit her with?”

There was some low volume conversation at the card table as information got processed: “Only enough to put a person down for twenty minutes at most.” Responded the leader of the pack.

Checking a clock, the woman muttered that she hated waiting. “Everyone! Hearing protection ON, now! Bending beside Tricia’s left ear she began to speak in a deep voice with a specific pattern and tempo. “Girl! you will wake up now.”

Interesting: hypnosis. Cameron had researched what a Siren was capable of, with training a voice could be used to hypnotize someone, it took training and typically some kind of focal aid. This was unique, perhaps a specialized use of her mutant ability. Crystal appeared to be under her thrall, since she hung on every word the Siren said.

Fortunately, due to Cameron’s interference, Tricia didn’t wake up, she didn’t even stir. Of course, at the moment: she was deaf, so couldn’t hear the command she’d been given.

“WAKE UP!” yelled the woman, again in her practiced voice.

Still no response from Tricia. Aggravated the Siren tore the ear- muffs off Crystal: “Go deeper!” demanded the Siren of Crystal as she pointed at Tricia, Crystal had no choice but to obey.

Crystal placed her hands on either side of Tricia’s head and closed her eyes to concentrate.

“She,” began Crystal. “She’s dreaming. She’s riding a horse through a bright yellow field – I think it’s called canola; the yellow is so intense it hurts the eyes. She’s not thinking about anything in particular, just enjoying the experience. I don’t think she’s ever ridden a horse before or been in a canola field. She has a vivid imagination.”

“Yes, yes,” scoffed the mistress. “What’s her power?”

“That’s buried under many layers. She doesn’t like her power, hates it even. Has no desire to ever use it. Oh my, I see a memory attached to it: she was in a dreadful place, dark and dusty, ghosts kept attacking – hurting her, it was her power that saved them, but she blames herself for being there in the first place.” Crystal gasped and had to release Tricia. “She’s some kind of Mage, a Portal Generator.”

The shared psychic experience between Tricia and Crystal left her trembling. “Her fear is debilitating, it will not be easy to overcome,” stated Crystal.

“I can make her forget” touted the Siren. “A Portal Generator is a major score, they’re so rare they are almost unheard of. This is huge; every dog and pony show will pay through the nose to be able to portal anywhere – anytime. And we’ll be holding the keys.”

“Yes Mistress” politely replied Crystal, a likely implanted feature to demonstrate her submissiveness.

“The Boss must have known about this girl, that she was coming our way. Why he had us stationed here for so long.” Mused the Siren.

So, there’s an informant. Whateley does love its graft, and here’s a group willing to abscond with mutants, to enslave, or sell to the highest bidder. Cameron felt sick to his stomach at the depths of depravity mankind regularly sinks to.

Destroying a person’s freewill was on top of Cameron’s hitlist of violations he was supposed stop, all restraint on his part was now lifted, he could act without restraint or impediment.

“Now, lets see what the boy has brought us,” delighted the Siren. “Crystal! Read him.”

Crystal stepped close, and soon took on a concerned look, biting her fingernail, an indicator that not all of her personality had been subsumed.
“There’s nothing there, it’s a blank” protested Crystal, worried she’d failed her mistress.

“What? Is he dead?” Demanded the Siren
.
She walked over pushing Crystal aside and placed a hand on Cameron’s throat to check for a pulse.

Cameron disappeared his bindings in quick order so’s to grab her wrist, he held it tight, in surprise she yanked hard but couldn’t release Cameron’s hold.

“Hi,” said Cameron, opening his eyes, letting the golden glow shine. “You’ve been naughty.”

“You’re a moron – an imbecile! You can’t even get basket weaving right.” Screamed the Siren in her deep hypnosis voice in an effort to gain release.

The activity in the abandoned store came to a stop, nearly everyone had removed their hearing protection when they saw Crystal without any, so almost everyone had heard the Sirens outburst, and became exactly as was told.

Cameron was okay, his energy absorbing filtered out harmful effects of powers directed at him. Not so for the rest.

“Tell me how you really feel?” sassed Cameron. “I mean, we’ve barely met.”

Across the room, two of the soldiers, those who had their backs to the room and hadn’t yet removed their hearing protection. Now though, seeing the situation, stood and reached for their weapons stacked against the wall.

“Kill him!” yelled the Siren seeing her salvation, it wasn’t an order, but a fear inspired shriek.

The soldiers reacted by readying rifles and pointing them in Cameron’s direction, but with the Siren in the way, they didn’t immediately open fire. Giving Cameron time to remove the molecular cohesion of the guns metal, the weapons became dust in the soldiers’ hands.

Startled, but not deterred, the men began to approach threateningly. Cameron tsk’d, to then switch off the electrical activity within their brains, it was a tried and tested way to quickly render someone harmless and immobile. Without mental faculties, they slumped to the floor, much to the Siren’s chagrin as she saw her rescue fade away.

Cameron stood and maneuvered the Siren down into his now vacated seat, binding her hands and feet into thick solid iron gloves and shoes without clasp or hinge, her appendages were fully encapsulated and immobilized without a way to remove the restraints.

“Look what you’ve done!” Chastised the Siren, directing Cameron’s attention to the room full of stricken people.

“That’s on you,” corrected Cameron. Many of the people around them had begun to drool resultant from the command denigrating them as imbecilic, including Crystal.

“What do you want? A cut of the profits?” She inquired, bribery was always a ne’er-do-well’s weakness, and she tried to exploit it.

“Want? Why, I don’t want anything from you. Aside from releasing Crystal, and any other mutants present who you’ve enslaved,” instructed Cameron.

“I’ll won’t do it!” spat the Siren.

“Actually, I’d hoped you’d say that” smiled Cameron. “I’ve been wanting to try out a new interrogation technique. I imagine it’ll be quite effective.”

Cameron’s eyes could elicit the truth from a person, but not their cooperation. This situation might require more than truth, for that he needed to apply a means of coercion.

“I’ll never talk” affirmed the mistress, sure of her fortitude.

“We’ll see” noted Cameron.

Outlook manifested a shiny silver tray with a lip. He looked at the Mistress and gave a twisted kind of smirk. “If your ready, let’s begin.”

The Siren was going to curse at him, but couldn’t as she was suddenly racked with pain, first in her abdomen, then chest.

Cameron brought the tray over into her view, on it rested three masses of flesh that oozed blood. “What we have here is one of your kidneys, a liver, and a lung. If you cooperate, I’ll return one of them – your choice. If you’re forthcoming; I’ll consider returning two.”

The Siren sat slack jawed, her pain confirmed her situation, she began to cry.

“How can you be so cruel?” she complained.

“In my experience, evil knows no bounds. I, however, won’t kill you. Which if positions were reversed, I have no doubt you wouldn’t hesitate to facilitate my death - as was just observed. No, you won’t die today, but you’re not coming away from this unscathed.” Revealed Cameron to a shocked Siren.

“That’s inhumane!” she balked.

“And what do you call kidnapping and forcing someone to become your puppet. You’re hardly a pillar of kindness and compassion” advised Cameron. “Better hurry, these organs don’t like being kept out in the open for too long.”

Cameron assisted Crystal to come closer, leading her by the hand to stand in front of her Mistress.

“Crystal, I release you from any compulsion upon you. You don’t heed my commands or carry out my orders anymore. You're free.”

Crystal waivered on her feet, she stepped with difficulty to a chair and fell into it, her sobs wracked her body.

“Very nice” complimented Cameron. “Any others?”

“None here, but I’ve entranced dozens.” Confirmed the Siren.

“Do you need to remove the binding, or can it be lifted another way?” sought Cameron.

“Please, give me back my lung and kidney.” Begged the Siren.

“I wouldn’t say you’ve been all that cooperative, answer the question, and we’ll see.” Deflected Cameron.

“My hold can be broken by a Psychic – as long as they erase most of the brain.” Revealed the Siren, not in a peasant manner, more akin to a brag.

“Not a good option.” Mused Cameron.

“Call it job security” sneered the Siren. “Give me my lung and kidney.”

“You can have them back, once you tell me who you work for?” pursued Cameron.

“That’s not fair!” complained the Siren, near to tears.

“Do you really want to sit here and talk about what fairness entails? I’m happy to oblige, but times almost up on your organs.” Coerced Cameron.

“Damnit! My boss works for the Syndicate, we’re freelancers contracted to him.” Spat the Siren, running out of options, and time.

Of course, the Syndicate, should have guessed. Cameron’s last go-round with a Syndicate operation had severely hampered their mutant smuggling endeavours. So, now they’re trying the same thing again, but distancing themselves by dealing at arms length.

“That wasn’t so hard now, was it?” consoled Cameron.

“What about my organs? – you promised!” wept the Siren.

“Oh yeah, those!” Backtracked Cameron. First the flesh on the tray vanished, then the tray as well. It wasn’t that Cameron had actually removed her organs – a visit to a butcher had supplied him with a pig’s innards. But the pain he’d twinged within the woman was convincing enough to make it feel real.

The Mistress began to feel better having achieved some relief, she began to breath easier and relaxed a little in her chair, her comfort was hindered by an ache in her side, coming from the area of a missing liver. Cameron had to keep up appearances after all.

Crystal rose from her seat in a heated effort to extract a pound of flesh from her tormentor, seeing that retribution wasn’t going to be coming in a suitable manner.

Cameron stepped in her way to prevent her attack.

Crystal snarled; her anger evident. “Do you know what she did to me!”

“I can imagine” comforted Cameron.

“She – SHE, violated my mind and body!” accused Crystal.

“Will killing her heal your wounds?” reasoned Cameron.

“It will damn well make me feel better.” Countered a frustrated Crystal, in an emotion fueled rage.

“But it will make you no better than her” counselled Cameron. “You have your life, hers is in ruins. Take consolation in that.”

“Not enough!” breathed Crystal barely audible. She closed her eyes and brough her right hand against the side of her head, touching the head of the Siren with her other.

“Crystal – don’t.” advised Cameron.

“Too late, it’s done. I gutted her mind; she’s not going to hurt anyone ever again.” Said in a satisfied tone.

“Thereby condemning the dozens of others who she hypnotized. I hope that is something your conscience can live with.” Cameron’s comment came with a heavy sigh.

~o~O~o~

Cameron’s phone call to the Police had at first been treated as a crank call, with the 911 attendant just trying to humour Cameron. Certainly not an easy story to believe: that a kid thwarted a kidnapping and slave trading ring in town. But once details began to be revealed the tone quickly changed.

Once the Police got notified they requested that Cameron remain on site, to make a full accounting. Before the first responders arrived, Cameron erased the recording of the Sirens vocal commands off his phone – no need to spread the disease further.

Detective Roberts took over the questioning after arriving, he greeted Cameron and extended his gratitude to Cameron by affording him latitude from the usual grilling done to extract details. That, and a recording downloaded from Cameron’s phone was hard evidence that the Detective could build an iron clad case around.

In handing over his prisoners, Cameron dissipated the heavy iron blocks he’d used to restrain them.

Detective Roberts arranged to drop Tricia and Cameron off at the Police Station, Dr Hewlett and the driver were still there, after a patrol car had found them on the highway. It was heartwarming to watch Tricia and the doctor hug, an emotional bond that the girl sorely needed.

The investigation into culpability for the destruction of Dillon Chapel was being held at the Hotel a block from the Police Station. The ‘good Reverend’ was seeking to have them blamed, or more rightly, charged with a crime – someone had to take responsibility. Somebody was going to pay to replace his church.

The Hotel’s conference room was an open meeting space that could be used for wedding receptions. The room wasn’t jam packed, as many concerned parties had chosen to attend via video conference, which meant multiple screens had been set up.

Each party had at least one lawyer representing their interests. Except for Tricia, she had no legal representation, none had been assigned to her from Child Services.

When Cameron and Tricia entered the crowded room, one person in particular had been eagerly waiting their arrival: Emit Paulson rose to shake Cameron’s hand in greeting.

Cameron asked to speak with him privately, they stepped out of hearing range for some privacy. “Mr. Paulson, Tricia Conner has no lawyer. Would it be possible for you to represent her? I’ll cover any costs.”

“I imagined you might, I’ve already prepared a brief. Oh! and Cameron, I won’t reveal who her patron is.”

“Thank you.”

Dr Hewlett and Tricia had already taken a position away from the hub, taking chairs against the rear wall. The doctor ensured they remained close together. Tricia was in a state of bewilderment; all these people wanted a piece of her. You could see her shrink inside herself, wanting to hide and make all this go away.

From his perch to the right of the Moderators position, Reverend Englund sneered when he saw they’d arrived, he stood to draw attention to himself and garner sympathy: the poor priest who’d lost his church. In reality, he looked like a cobra preparing to strike its prey.

“Finally! they showed up’ crowed the Reverand, unconcerned about the reason for their delay, only that it inconvenienced him.

The room had been configured so the tables made a large V, the monitors faced so all could see who was joining remotely, chairs ringed the lines of tables, and three rows of seats filled out the remaining space. Each table was intended to be apportioned out to each of the parties involved, indicated by a name placard placed on the table.

But as in any office space – whoever has the biggest office holds the most power, or so its assumed. Some groups had spread themselves out over two or three tables, to ensure their interests got addressed. The Reverend’s entourage for example took up three tables.

With so many interested parties, the situation left the room feeling tense. Mr. Paulson directed Cameron to a table at the very end of one side of the V. At that, Mr. Paulson took a couple minutes to speak with Tricia.

Apparently, Mr. Paulson advised that she stay seated at the back, it lent credence to the notion that she was not important.

Reverend Englund called to the room, still standing, in the middle of his slew of his legal team: “Now we can get this meeting started” he announced.

“Kindly sit down Reverend.” Admonished the Moderator sitting at the head table, a woman who was a retired judge – someone each party had agreed upon to act as moderator. From her tone she didn’t look kindly upon grandstanding.

“Mr. Stewart, please continue with the details of your report about Dillon Chapel.” Sought the moderator.

“Everyone already has a copy of my report, I was just finishing up with diagrams of the building prior to the event, and post. As mentioned, most of the front wall had remained standing, with the vortex forming three to four feet on the inside, the vortex devastated the three other walls leaving only a scattering of stones and cement mortar chunks in its wake. The front wall later fell into the site obscuring some details.” Detailed Mr. Stewart, to the look around the room in case his description hadn’t sufficed.

A hand was raised by a remote participant, as seen by a digital hand on screen. The moderator called upon them: “There was no crater?” was asked.

“No, unlike the other sites, Dillon Chapel had no epicenter as evidenced by a crater. Everything in front of the vortex was damaged leaving a clear indication as to where it formed.”

“Unless there’s anything further, is Great American Insurance willing to yield the floor?” motioned the moderator.

Mr. Paulson raised his hand to ask a question, he was called upon: “Please clarify something for me Mr. Stewart. The Chapels debris field did not appear to contain all the remains of the building, what became of them?”

“We postulate that much of the materials got sucked into the vortex.”

“So, the vortex was a two-way street?”

“It appears so.”

“Any other questions?” none were forthcoming, so the moderator asked: “Does Great American yield the floor?”

“We yield the floor” advised the companies spokesperson after a quick deliberation.

“Very good. Now then, let’s hear from one of the key figures in this dispute: Miss Patricia Conner.” Instructed the moderator.

Tricia looked to Dr Hewlett, who comfortingly said “You can do this, you’ll be okay.”

Her gaze then locked onto Cameron; he smiled to impart encouragement.

After signaling for Tricia to stand beside her, the moderator gave an introductory greeting, saying: “I understand you’ve had an exciting day?”

“If being abducted and nearly sold is your idea of an exciting day, you can keep it.” Replied Tricia.

“Poor girl, what happened?” sought the former judge.

“Our transport was highjacked, I was drugged and taken to be ‘processed’, that is to say - made a slave.”

“Who would do such a thing?” reeled the moderator.

“Who indeed! A tip-off that I would be coming here today, then the attempt made upon me, most assuredly came from someone in this room. Obviously, one of you, or all of you, have it out for me. I decline your invitation to speak of my own volition.” Stated Tricia, after which she walked away.

The brief conversation between her and Mr. Paulson must have been some high-level counseling. Certainly nothing like what Cameron had received. But she made a valid point, one Cameron hadn’t considered, he was too centered on Whateley’s misdeeds to see that the attack might have been orchestrated from another place.

The room was in pandemonium, with the Reverend shouting “Bring her back!” repeatedly, unaccustomed to being denied. His face was flushed as his anger bested his demeanor.

In the hallway, Dr. Hewlett and the driver agreed to take Tricia back to Whateley. Mr. Paulson volunteered to return Cameron later – he needed some time to review other concerns with his client. At that, Cameron and Mr. Paulson walked them out to the van, where Cameron repaired the rear window and fumigated the van, then bid them farewell.

When Cameron and Mr. Paulson returned to the meeting, it had quietened and took on a façade of decorum. They took up a position at their table again.

“At this time, I would like to ask Outlook to provide his testimony to our proceedings.” sought the moderator, noting the boys return.

Cameron raised his hand, saying: “I’m here your honour.”

“Perhaps you could come stand beside me, so the whole room can see you.” directed the moderator.

A quick look at Mr. Paulson, said it was Cameron’s choice.

“My preference is to remain at my current location Ma’am.”

“As you wish. We have your detailed statement taken by Mr. Stewart, and corroborating statements from several of the others present. But could you give us a brief recap of your involvement in the destruction of Dillon Chapel?”

Cameron paused for a second to collect his memories: “I stood in its ruins; after escaping from a null void. I was arrested for trespass and damages incurred to school property.”

“Were you charged with any crimes?” sought the moderator.

“No Ma’am. After a preliminary investigation conducted by Whateley Security, all charges against me were later dropped in that regard.”

“Did you have anything to do with the Chapels destruction?”

The room keened to hear the answer, Cameron kept them hanging as he considered the question as asked.

“I benefited from the portal created, to affect an escape from null space.” It was short and to the point, as answers go every word was true. Sadly, it directed attention off himself and placed it firmly onto Tricia.

A lawyer, from one of the insurance companies, raised his hand to get the moderators attention; to ask a question.

“Mr. Altman, you have a question?”

“Yes Ma’am, many here would like to hear more about this ‘null space’, and the events that transpired therein?” asked Mr. Altman – the man was attending on an Insurer’s behalf, one of the other locations, if Mr. Paulson's notes were correct.

“Outlook? Are you willing to oblige the request?”

“To a point” confirmed Cameron, to than add: “I will only identify individuals in general terms, I will not use names.”

“That will suffice.”

“Thank you, Ma’am”, acknowledged Cameron, who then began his accounting of events:

“An associate and I were forcibly evicted mid – teleport, we found ourselves in a place of no direct light, a thick layer of dust, and a heavy grey fog enveloping the area.

We had been pushed out of teleporting by a trio of youths who had been seeking a means of escape. Shortly after arriving in the null void, we were attacked by ghostly creatures I refer to as Wraiths. The Wraiths were looking to fed upon our life energy. This first grouping of Wraiths was able to be defeated only after several in the group had succumbed to the feeding.”

A member of the Reverends group raised his hand seeking permission to ask a question. The moderator chose not to entertain the interruption.

Cameron continued: “As we recovered, the full number of those caught in the null void joined us, a total of eleven – including myself. We devised a plan to hold off the Wraiths. During the next attack, I stumbled upon protrusions that rose above the dust layer.

It was discovered that striking a protrusion caused an explosion and shockwave which hindered the Wraiths, a few protrusions wound up being struck in the battle which resulted in the Wraiths retreating.

During that brief respite, several of the group made impassioned pleas to a young lady in the group to make a portal to escape through. I advised against it.” Informed Cameron.

Now three of the reverends team had raised hands, to also not be called upon, causing much consternation.

Cameron pressed on: “Regardless, the young lady relented to the pressure being placed upon her. She managed to make a portal by tracing the route supplying a much larger protrusion than those that had been struck during the fight.

The portal emitted us at Dillon Chapel.” Concluded Cameron.

Mr. Altman sought a clarification, receiving permission to ask, much to the religious group’s frustration: “What purpose did these ‘protrusions’ serve?”

“The Wraiths fed upon them. They share characteristics with nipples. The dust and grey fog consisted of particles akin to what’s in milk.”

“You know this, how?” sought the moderator.

“Laboratories analyzed samples collected off our clothes, and I observed it.” Informed Cameron.

Another Insurance company representative: a Ms. Reynolds, raised her online hand to ask her question, getting permission: “Did you, at the time, know where these nipples derived this ‘milk’?”

“I did not. It was only later that a possible connection was established by Mr. Stewart to the various sites that were destroyed.”

“But you admit to striking four of the protrusions?”

“I personally struck two, others in the group hit another two, that I know of.”

Please explain “That I know of”

“I was entirely blind at the time, the number could have been more, but I only felt four distinct blasts.”

The moderator declined to allow additional questions, favouring to let the narrative continue, but decided to direct the next topic: “Please describe arriving at Dillon Chapel?”

“Exiting the portal was particularly violent, each of us got cast out onto a debris field of rocks and mortar. The portal remained open until the young lady was rendered unconscious.”

Finally, the moderator called upon one of the five raised hands seated with the Reverend: “Your account is full of inconsistencies. How can we believe anything you say? First you say your blind – then you make ‘observations’?”

“While in the null void I was blind, it is after all: null and void there. Once back into normal space, I regained sight.”

“How convenient” was remarked by someone at the table – not seeking permission to speak.

“I will not tolerate ignoring this inquiries rules, nor allow berating a person who’s volunteered to speak. You,” gruffly said the moderator – pointing at the offending lawyer “you are excused.”

“Your honour …” protested an associate, standing to emphasize his outrage.

“Do want to join him?” sought the moderator.

“My apologies,” backtracked the called-out lawyer resuming his spot at the table.

Another of the Reverends lawyers raised his hand – as dictated by the agreed upon terms of conduct and was called upon: “Why did you lose your sight – to have it return later.”

“The null void is a realm entirely disassociated from God, as my sight is a gift from God, I became blind while in the void.”

That lawyer kept his hand raised, and could ask a furtherance: “Who are these; Wraiths?”

“The sworn enemies of God; rebels against his rule, and seek to usurp his will.”

“So, deceased humans, in spirit form?”

“No, former angels who chose to disobey God. Some call them demons.”

Another of the Reverends lawyers had his hand raised and was called upon: “When arriving back at Whateley Academy, you skewered another in your group; a young boy. For what reason?”

“A Wraith had taken possession of the boy. This was mainly who persisted in pressuring for a portal to be made, so as to gain escape from the null void. Please note: the boy was not harmed – by me at least, and the Wraith was cast back into the null void.”

As the lawyer’s hand was still raised. He continued his questioning: “Did you discern, while in the null void, that this individual was possessed?”

“I had a suspicion but could not verify such until my sight returned.”

“Your God sight?” he asked, holding back a snicker.

“I don’t call it such. But yes, it’s a gift from God, but everybody’s sense of sight is a gift, as is their life. For the record: God forbids the subsuming of a person’s life by another, either by possession or through mental or physical manipulation.”

It was Reverend Englund’s raised hand called upon next: “Your claim is that God sent you. Why is it then, that in all the time you’ve spent at Whateley Academy, you’ve never attended a single church service?”

“I was advised not to attend any religious services, celebrate any holy days, or get further instruction regarding God. Since this could be construed as favouritism, taken as a sign of God’s blessing.”

“And who would tell you such a thing?” scoffed the Reverend at the absurdity of the claim.

“His mentor provided that advice.” Informed Mr. Paulson, having raised his hand after Cameron became tight lipped.

“His Whateley assigned student advisor?” dug the Reverend, harping upon a perceived edge. “Hardly a suitable religious guide for the boy.”

“No, I was given that direction long before arriving at Whateley.” Defended Cameron.

“By whom?” chased the Reverend.

“This line of questioning is going far beyond the scope of this inquiry. I advise my client to refrain from answering.” Interjected Mr. Paulson.

“If I understand the objective correctly, I believe they are attempting to establish if you are in fact working on God’s behest.” Explained the moderator.

“Indeed, your honour. If, the events we’re investigating, are indeed ‘Acts of God’, we need to establish a link between them and God.” Inserted one of the Reverends team – with a quickly raised hand to cover his tracks.

“Let’s drop the charade, shall we. Honestly, what you want to do is discredit me, dismiss me as being delusional or deranged. If I have a choice in the matter – go with delusional.” spoke Cameron, garnering chuckles from the other attendees. “But that tack doesn’t solve the issue at hand; how four buildings inexplicably exploded, and a church was leveled to the ground.”

“On the contrary, by proving you were not acting under Gods influence, the devastation you caused cannot thereby be claimed as being an ‘Act of God’”. Accused a lawyer working for the church.

“I fear you are greatly mistaken, in the first place: I was only there because God allowed it. Secondly, God would not just leave innocents to the machinations of the Wraiths. And thirdly: I would like permission to ask a question of Mr. Stewart, please?” deflected Cameron.

“Go ahead:” granted the former judge.

“Mr. Stewart, could you enlighten me about insurance policy conditions, are occurrences of fire, flood, earthquake, and disasters like hurricanes and tornados typically covered?”

“Why, yes. A policy holder can get coverage specifically tailored to encompasses such occurrences.” Instructed Mr. Stewart.

“So, if after a thorough investigation, when there is no discernable cause - such as faulty electrical wiring, ergo nothing explains why the accident happened. Is that not when an insurance company will claim it was an ‘Act of God’?”

“Yes, that’s an accurate assessment.” Concurred Mr. Stewart.

Cameron nodded gratefully at the man’s input, to further ask: “I noticed that there is only a single person attending to represent one concerned party, Can I ask why there isn’t greater involvement from that group?”

“That policy holder included an ‘Act of God” provision in their policy and have already received a pay-out. I am here on behalf of the insurance company to ensure we didn’t make a mistake.” Responded the sole participant on that particular video screen.

“Thank you.” Offered Cameron. “It appears to me then, that everyone else in the room decided against obtaining “Act of God’ coverage. Thereby running the risk that nothing inexplicable would happen. So, my third point of contention is that perhaps you should be looking internally, to see who decided to not get sufficient insurance coverage.”

“The Whateley Board of Trustee’s concluded that holy ground was unlikely to encounter an inexplicable event, so insurance coverage wasn’t required.” Defended Reverend Englund.

“Yet, here you are.” Illustrated Cameron. “Do not you sit on said Board of Trustee’s?”

The Reverend was seething at the boy for his audacity but said nothing.

Cameron continued: “What I am puzzled over, is: What was happening in Dillon Chapel to have succour being supplied to God’s enemies? Honestly, you cannot claim ‘holy ground’ if you do unholy things there.”

Mr. Paulson took that as the cue to hasten Cameron out of the room, before the peaceful setting became one of violence, since the Reverend was at the cusp of throttling whoever he could get his hands on.

Outside the two walked to Mr. Paulson’s rental vehicle, once securely inside and a short - safe distance away, Mr. Paulson voiced his concern: “You went off script.”

“Your script was entirely believable” said Cameron giving him a heartfelt smile. “But it didn’t get the wheels in motion. The situation needed to get kickstarted, and I’m the one wearing the boot to do it.” Revealed Cameron. “Sorry for the trouble I’ve brought you.”

“I work for you Cameron; you keep paying the bills and I’ll continue to look after you.” Assessed the lawyer. “If you don’t want an easy out – I understand. It makes my job ever so interesting.”

“Wouldn’t want to see you become bored now, would we?”

“Apparently not.”

Whateley Academy

Lunchtime at Crystal Hall was as chaotic as ever, with a mad rush to get food, eat it, then get back to classes. If, and only if you could navigate the swarm of hungry students, you might have a couple minutes to visit with friends between mouthfuls of food.

Having an established table, that nobody else laid claim to, it gave Northern Lites a focal point to gather at on the main floor. If it bolstered others sense of superiority by sitting on an upper level and looking down on them, it was of little concern. Max’s need of enough space, level ground, and a wide passageway became the teams need.

Rho, Debbie, Lynn and Cameron had arrived first to their table, Lynn was attempting to eat a balanced diet – only half her plate was meat, the other food groups had some representation – not lots but some.

Cameron noticed that an altercation was happening over at the buffet tables. Three of the ‘Holy Rollers” a six-person team based upon their religious affiliation, which was of course under Reverend Englund’s guidance. These zealots had encircled Tricia, and begun to verbally harass her, and physically jostle her around. It resorted to one of them; the girl in the mix, slapping Tricia’s tray to the ground.

Cameron stood in response to the conflict, but before he could make a move, Max stepped in. As it happens, Max had been behind Tricia in the line-up, he had his extra-large tray in hand with the beginnings of his lunch.

Crystal Hall had decided to incorporate three sizes of trays to satisfy the students appetites, they ranged from regular, large, and extra-large. The extra-large trays looked like half a sheet of plywood in size, this was Max’s choice, as it was for many of the big eaters.

Max stood in front of the girl who’d accosted Tricia, he pushed his tray into her hands, to then raise his right hands index finger and wag it back and forth three times, a universal indicator of ‘no’.

The two boys had begun to push Tricia about, trying to knock her down as she scrambled to collect her fallen tray. Max grabbed both miscreant boys by the scruff of their necks, hosting them by the collars of their school jackets. Max lifted them into the air, their feet dangling aimlessly since they’d been lifted clear of the floor.

They both looked up at who had dared to interfere, with their eyes getting huge at the sight of Max. They each began to squirm and kick about, the ring-leader balking: “Let me go!”

Max turned around with them in tow, walking away from the food tables over to the large wastebins where leftover food scraps got disposed of by the students. Max in midair turned first one, then the other, and dumped them both headfirst into the garbage cans so only their legs stuck out.

Max made the motion of wiping his hands clean, to then return back to the girl and retrieve his tray. Tricia had her tray in hand as Max nudged her along the food arranged on the tables. They both gathered what looked good to them. Max, as usual, had amassed a heaping amount on his tray.

At the end of the food line, Tricia stood and looked at the throng of students, many of whom still had their attention focused on her. Max coming up behind her, balanced his heaped and weighted down tray on one hand, using his other hand to delicately guide Tricia to Northern Lites table.

Having watched the altercation, and the shepherding being undertaken by Max, the team shifted to open up a seat for her.

Max ‘a-hem'd, after coming to stop above them, he then pointed at Tricia with a single finger, then with an open hand to direct her to the waiting chair and everyone present.

Rho was the first to speak: “By all means, please, join us.”

“I … “Tricia wanted to object, to decline the offer, but Cameron smiled up at her and motioned for her to take the seat beside him. Tricia acquiesced and took the invited chair.

“Hi Tricia” greeted Charlotte from across the table. “Are you okay?” she asked as she took her seat – having been a couple places back in the food line and seen everything.

Tricia needed a moment to recalibrate, not only had someone stood up for her, but it shook her that the ‘beautiful people’ knew who she was.
“I’m alright” she squeaked out, not even raising her head to look at anyone.

“Your safe here,” advised Lynn, speaking across Cameron.

Without volition, Tricia let out a restrained ‘ha!’, quickly followed by a hiccup, a purely nervous reaction. After swallowing her bile Tricia could speak again: “This is Whateley, there is no ‘safe’ place.”

“I know it feels that way. I’d come to that conclusion myself” revealed Cameron. “But sometimes we need to look beyond our first impressions, maybe even the second and third to discover what’s really going on.”

Looking at him critically Tricia said: “Easy for you to say.”

“Nothing comes easy, I had to die before Whateley even gave me the time of day.” Resolutely affirmed Cameron.

Both Debbie and Tricia gave Cameron their undivided attention, but he wasn’t forthcoming with further details, rather he took a bite of his Rueben sandwich and left them hanging.

Max diverted his attention from his meal to swing his hand between those assembled, his way of asking if everybody knew each other.

Charlotte spoke up: “Tricia is a couple doors down from Rach and I at Dickinson. I think she’s being trained as a Mage; I only share Powers Theory with her.”

Tricia, rather sheepishly, nodded her head that what was said was true.

Rachelle and Timothy arrived together, arguing over some trivial matter, as most siblings do. After taking the seats next to Charlotte, Timothy said “Hello” to Tricia adding a swagger to his voice, it had only taken him a couple seconds to notice someone new at the table.

Rachelle, for her part, reached across the table to shake Tricia’s hand “It’s nice to finally met you Tricia, I’m Rachelle, the doofus is my brother Tim.”

It took a moment for Tricia to timidly react to the invitation, but did eventually raise her hand to accept the offered gesture of greeting.

Northern Lites quickly devolved into eating lunch, some conversation punctuated the emanated sounds consistent with consuming vast amounts of food.

It was Rachelle who raised the alarm that someone was approaching with intent.

“We challenge you to combat!” spouted out the here-for-to designated leader of the Holy Rollers, four of the six had approached – minus the two Max had dealt with, likely having to go get cleaned up.

They stood behind the row of seats Cameron sat at, so he turned to size them up: The leader was a level three Exemplar, his second standing to his right was another Exemplar but he was a level four, to the leaders left was a female Mage her essence well indicating level three. The last of the contingent was another girl; the one who’d accosted Tricia, she’s a level two Siren. Missing were the last two members, those who’d been introduced to the insides of garbage cans, they were an Energiser two and another Mage at level two.

“Another time perhaps.” responded Cameron, to then turn his attention back onto his sandwich.

“You can’t refuse a challenge!” balked the Holy Rollers leader.

“Sure we can. Whateley’s rules are very clear on the matter, since we’ve been given multiple lectures from Security at Kane Hall about our conduct. So, I quote: ‘A training team is not obligated to accept a challenge issued outside a classroom setting, plus any challenge issued should meet the objectives of the course being attended to enhance the training being received.’” Conferred Cameron, to then add: “Considering its lunchtime, and unless you’re desiring to engage in an eating contest. Then no, we rightly refuse your challenge.”

In a huff the other teams leader exclaimed loudly: “We demand satisfaction!”

“Try the sweet and sour pork over rice, it’s really good” recommended Debbie between mouthfuls, instigating Rho to nearly spew chunks.

Returning his full attention back onto the Holy Rollers as a whole, Cameron asked: “What possible inducement would make us even consider accepting your challenge?”

“We,” through a sweeping gesture to include the entire team. “Will leave you alone,” Offered the leading ‘Roller’. “On condition you accept responsibility for the destruction of Dillon Chapel, when you lose.”

“Now, you see, that’s not going to fly. First off: Tricia isn’t a member of Northern Lites. Secondly, since only Tricia and I have any connection to events at the Chapel, everyone else in the team doesn’t have a stake in this.” Summarized Cameron. “So, would you like to change your challenge so its just us two? And maybe Max – since he took out the trash?”

“Just the two of you, you’re the ones who destroyed our church.” Sneared the lead.

“What do you think Tricia? Do you want to wipe the slate clean?” questioned Cameron.

“I don’t want to fight anyone” admitted the shaken girl. “And … I never want to use my power again.”

“I promise, you won’t have to. But you will need to join me, to set things right.” Affirmed Cameron encouragingly.

“You’re serious.” Doubted Tricia.

“I guess I am at that.” Nodded Cameron in acceptance of the designation.

“Okay.” Shyly agreed Tricia.

“Good” exclaimed Cameron. “There you have it, will you all vow to leave Tricia and I alone?” head nods agreed to the condition. “Then challenge accepted. Now let’s get down to terms.”

“No terms, it’s you against us.” Countered the female Mage.

“As in all six of you – against us two? A bit unfair, but not egregious odds.” Considered Cameron, his comment baffling the opposing team. Who eventually clued in when they figured out he was serious, and dissing them. “Since we’re the challenged, we get to chose either the location or the contest.” Informed Cameron, again quoting the rules.

“We challenged you to armed battle.” Protested the leader of the Holy Rollers.

“But you never outright claimed that as your challenge, so we get to pick.” Confirmed Cameron, enjoying putting them off their game.

“That’s not what we want, you’re supposed to suffer.” Spoke the Mage girl.

“Well, that’s just too bad. You should have read the rules of engagement before sticking your necks out” chastised Cameron at their lack of foresight. “Now, I was initially thinking a rousing game of Tidily-Winks, but I know this school has an obstacle course sim or two that should do nicely.”

“When?” demanded the Holy Rollers leader.

“Weekend after next, we’re scheduled to be off campus for Survival testing in a couple days.”

After the Holy Rollers left, Cameron addressed his teammates: “Will anyone second a motion to admit Tricia Conners as an alternate member of Northern Lites?”

Iqaluit, Nunavut Territory, Canada

Tricia pulled down on the fabric of her new clothes, it had just arrived from Cecilia Rodgers Boutique the night before, and this was her first time wearing it. The custom uniform held to the pattern chosen for all the Northern Lite’s: a midnight blue with imbedded sparkles that looked like stars.

Each team member had a distinguishing colour to set them apart, hers was yellow – a deep rich yellow that was very different to Cameron’s gold, his almost glowed.

The skirt was a nice touch she thought, but could have been longer, Tricia didn’t like people to see her knobby knees, they weren’t really - but its hard to break the habit of self depreciation.

All her teammates - It was hard to believe they’d asked her to join. Anyway, the other members of Northern Lite had been lounging around the pile of gear they had brought with them: backpacks and duffle bags stuffed to overflowing. All Tricia had was a small satchel holding a change of underwear and her toiletries. In comparison she wasn’t nearly as prepared as the others.

Although, it was only late October, the sun in Iqaluit barely broke the southern horizon, it looked more like the twilight period after sunset than mid morning. And cold! Tricia hadn’t ever known a cold like this before, a cloud formed in front of her face every time she exhaled.

That said, the thermal underwear she’d be given by Werx to wear underneath her uniform was keeping her warm enough. It had an internal heating system that seemed to work just fine, despite Debbie’s constant fussing over how the heaters functioned. That girl had issues with letting her creations go. On her utility belt, Tricia had a pouch full of little white balls that she’d been instructed to swap out the ball when it turned black, she’d checked the holder on her hip to see if the ball was still white, it was her response to feeling cold.

They all waited for Max to show up, he was the last one to be teleported. The Teleporters Whateley had hired could move a group of people at a time, but they needed to take Max by himself. Tricia supposed they had weight limits. Tricia didn’t enjoy teleporting; she’d needed to use the barf bag handed to her from the get-go.

Her stomach had settled, and she was wandering around checking out what she could see of the far northern town – even though it was the Territories capital, it wasn’t very big, so calling it a city didn’t sit well.

Max’s arrival was followed by the ensuing gaging from the big guy, at least she wasn’t the only one, they weren’t ready for the next leg of the journey, not yet. But the Teleports had a schedule to adhere to, paid by the trip Tricia supposed.

The briefing Whateley gave in class on the days leading up today, provided an overview about what was expected of them: A shipping container full of supplies had been brought ashore, but due to bad weather the project had been abandoned. A lighthouse and weather station needed urgent repairs; the job fell to Northern Lites to complete.

Just how Whateley Academy knew about this job hadn’t been disclosed, only that it impacted maritime traffic and left a hole in the ability to forecast weather in the region. Northern Lites was assigned the task rather than undergo combat finals (whatever those were). Only details of what the scope of work needing to happen on the North-Eastern shores of Baffin Island had been explained.

The first group to leave consisted of Cameron, Lynn, Tim and Charlotte, they all had baggage hanging off themselves as they teleported away.

The second Teleporter gathered her crew together: Rho, Rachelle, Debbie, and Tricia. They each held onto as much cargo as possible, so the final transit with Max had nearly nothing but him to move.

Arriving was as jarring as the first time, but without any contents in her stomach Tricia only felt like puking, that unmistakable involuntary lurching feeling accompanied by that sour taste which still lingered from her prior experience.

Charlotte flew up low and fast, holding out her arms in an effort to prevent them from getting closer to the shipping container, some twenty feet ahead. She motioned for them to back further away. Turning around they saw Lynn a distance away standing in the snow, directing them to come towards her.

“What’s up? Asked Rachelle, she likely already had a good idea – Psychic’s are like that. But she asked so everyone was brought up to speed.

“We have uninvited guests. There’s a mother polar bear and her two cubs sleeping in the C-can” explained Lynn.

“What? How?” asked a confused Debbie.

Cameron joined them now; he and Swift had been scouting the area. “It looks like somebody found the C-can and opened it up – taking what they wanted, leaving the door ajar.”

“That’s …” stammered Debbie.

Lynn took up the narrative: “The good news is, the bears aren’t hibernating, just waiting for the ice to set up so they can go out and hunt seals.”

“So, we were looking for another den we could move them to,” explained Tim.

“Can’t we just wake them up and shoo them away?” questioned Debbie, it sounded reasonable.

“The mother bear is above eleven hundred pounds; I doubt she will look kindly on us disturbing them. Plus, she has two young cubs with her, mother bears become extremely protective of their cubs. We don’t want a confrontation – trust me.” Detailed Cameron, his comments intoned of prior experience.

Tricia felt the need to know more about the plan, asking: “So, what are we going to do?”

“We found a big snowbank; Cameron said a snowshed would be a good spot to put them into.” Supplied Tim.

“We’ll wait for Max, he should be able to carry the mother, it’ll take two or more of us to carry each cub.” Said Cameron.

“And if they wake up?” questioned Debbie, it was exactly what Tricia was thinking.

“I’ve taken care of that” assured Cameron. “They’ll be asleep until we’re gone.”

“Did you tranquilize them?” Tricia figured it to be the case, its what game wardens did.

“No, I convinced their brains to remain in a deep sleep pattern. I don’t know if bears dream but it’s like REM.” Provided Cameron.

Cameron never went into great detail about how and what all he does, so it was a steep learning curve for Tricia to keep up with the boy, but she had concerns she’d like addressed: “Is that what you did to me? Back in Berlin?”

“No” was Cameron's reply, he was going to leave it at that, but Tricia gave him an expectant glare, so he continued. “You’d been hit by knock-out gas, I kept you unconscious so you couldn’t be manipulated.”

Tricia needed more information: “Is that something you do often?”

“Sometimes the best way to protect people, is to keep them out of the equation.” It wasn’t that what Cameron said was heartless, it just felt cold.

“You make it sound so – calculated” retorted Tricia.

“To minimize risk, I’ll take calculated over having to clean-up the damage.” His response was a touch cryptic, but then, he had prevented her being carted off in chains. She allowed him some latitude, not much mind you.

“I’m not sure how I feel about you: what? Playing God. I didn’t ask for your help.” Tricia didn’t want any of this, being a mutant, being at Whateley, being in this god forsaken place in the middle of nowhere. But you make the best of any given situation, but she wasn’t a push-over.

“You’re right, I should have asked, gotten permission first. But I didn’t have time, circumstances demanded I act – quickly. I hope you can forgive me, I did it so you wouldn’t get hurt. Please believe my intent was to keep you from harm.” Cameron spoke in earnest; he meant every word.

Tricia was grateful to Cameron, but she wasn’t some damsel in distress needing to be rescued – normally. “Just – okay. Don’t do it again!”

With a nod Cameron accepted her rebuke.

Max had arrived and Rho had shown him the situation, He puzzled over how he might go about lifting a sleeping polar bear, shaking his head to say it wouldn’t work. He tried to demonstrate how the bears size and shape couldn’t be lifted by a single person: the hind quarters being much heavier than her front, and her length was too much to hold onto. He signed that setting her down, then pulling her along would be a better way to move her.

Cameron saw what his concern was, and withdrew from his dimensional holdings a large sheet of plastic they could lay the mamma bear on and drag her away for the storage container.

The whole team aided in hoisting her up and bringing her outside. The Exemplars in the group doing most of the work. Then dragging her was undertaken. Cameron placed slick ice underneath the plastic, as Debbie and Tricia compacted the snow on the route being taken by stomping it down with their feet.

If a rock was in the way, it was moved, otherwise they didn’t alter the course taken to get over to the deep snowdrift. Max was the main engine moving the bear forward, assisted by Lynn, Charlotte, and Rachelle. Rho couldn’t grab the plastic as it would melt, but she moved rocks and warmed up cold hands and feet with her touch.

Tim was left to watch over the shipping container with the two sleeping bear cubs, a special type of babysitting job.

Returning after leaving momma bear fast asleep, the two cubs were similarly loaded onto the plastic sheet, it was a much lighter load the second trip. As they neared the site Max slipped on the slick ground, he hit the ground hard and moaned in pain.

Cameron kneeled beside the big guy and looked at him. He’d cracked his collarbone and sprained both arms, roughing up his knees in the fall he’d taken.

Lynn, Charlotte, and Rachelle kept the cubs moving, helped by Tricia, Deb, and Tim. Rho stayed as support with Cameron.

Cameron dove into Max’s skeleton and repaired Max’s collarbone. The sprains had twisted ligaments and some tearing of muscles, Cameron did what he could, but they would hurt and swell. Max’s knees had some deep cuts from the sharp rocks he’d fallen onto, Cameron could stitch the skin together and mesh muscle tissue, but there would be massive bruising.

Tim came to tell Cameron the cubs had been placed beside their mother, he was needed to place snow overtop them, providing a protective layer as they’d discussed earlier.

Tim and Rho stayed to keep Max company as Cameron left.

Tim looked sympathetically at his big friend, to say: “Guess the sayings true; ‘the bigger they are the harder they fall’.”

Rho giggled, but Max gave Tim a sour look.

After Cameron finished making a shelter for the bears, he also erased scents. No point giving the bears a way to track them, in case they weren’t happy.

Rho and Tim had managed to help Max onto his feet, the team made their way back to the shipping container. Max needed a helping hand to lumber along the path they’d created, He leaned heavily onto Rho and Lynn, switch out with Charlotte and Rachelle to not overtax anyone.

They had a quick lunch before going through the container’s contents, to inventory what they had, if anything critical had been taken.

It soon became apparent that somebody had come across the container sitting on the shore, opened it, and took what they wanted – or could carry away. For food, all they had left behind was three cases of canned baked beans, plus all the fuel was gone. On the bright side: a single snowmobile and pull behind sled had been left – the other, which was also supposed to be there, was missing.

More digging revealed that all the materials to replace the weather station hadn’t been touched, the pieces needed to repair the lighthouse also remained intact – opened but not disturbed.

Lynn and Rho decided to check over the snowmobile, cause they’d driven them before. Debbie took over checking on the repair parts, and began sorting through them, dividing them between tasks.

Cameron asked Charlotte if she could do an aerial survey, pointing her in the direction they’d need to trudge, there was very little light left in the day at only two in the afternoon, so she’d need to be quick.

Rachelle, Tim, and Cameron began to unpack the cold weather gear. The heated clothes Debbie had designed was working great, but it couldn’t face severe cold temperatures, another layer was required. The insulated coveralls and snowpack boots they’d bought had arrived just a day before they’d departed, a rush was placed on the order, an order that needed the sizes confirmed: twice. Max was hard to buy clothes for.

Max needed help to get his coveralls on, the medium blue material was more functional than stylish, and the reflective stripes gave them an industrial feel, but the company guaranteed they would keep you warm at minus forty Celsius – which is the same as minus forty Fahrenheit.
It was only minus fifteen now, but at night the temperature would drop considerably.

Tim took a run along the waters edge which had remained snow free to scout out the surroundings, it was only a ten-foot-wide strip of loose gravel, beyond that the snow was almost a foot thick covering the ground.

Lynn informed Cameron that the snowmobile was basically brand new but had no gas. There was only a single gas container left – and it was empty. Fortunately, Cameron had some of the combustible held in his dimensional stores, so filled the snowmobiles gas tank and the container.

It had gotten much darker, very quickly, and Charlotte hadn’t returned yet. Rachelle asked if Cameron could improvise a searchlight, to help her sister find her way back, they must have been communicating telepathically.

Cameron retrieved one of the high-powered flashlights he’d used to fight off the voodoo wolves, it provided a strong beam that acted as a beacon to bring Charlotte back to them.

They all donned the insulated coveralls now, the wind was cutting and making it hard for Debbie’s heaters to keep up. After the extra layer was added everyone felt warmer and the mood improved.

Cameron asked for a meeting, to get options on how to proceed: Lynn and Charlotte would take the snowmobile and set a track for everyone else to follow on foot, he opened the floor to see who would ride in the sled being pulled behind the snowmobile. It was between Tim, Tricia, and Debbie as to who got to ride; Tricia volunteered to walk.

They tried putting Max into the sled but he weighed so much the snowmobile couldn’t budge him. Everyone had stashed their backpacks into the shipping container after getting kitted up, when the C-cans door was closed Cameron had it disappear into a blue haze.

It had been explained to Tricia what Cameron was capable of, even so, seeing it for herself on a grand scale, she was dumbfounded but kept her questions to herself.

Charlotte boosted Rachelle so she could be a support to Max with Rho on the other side.

It was close to four o’clock by the time they started to march, it was so dark that each of the walkers used headlamps to illuminate the path left for them by the snowmobile.

Charlotte had described the lay of the land, roughly a mile and a half down the beach was a large rock mass that extended all the way from the ocean to nearly a mile inland. Confirmed by Tim’s scouting who added that it couldn’t be climbed over. They would need to travel around it.

The group only walked as fast as Max could manage, which was pretty good for the first while, but soon enough Max slowed down, and he relied more and more on the girl’s for support.

Tricia came to walk beside Cameron, saying: “We need to something else, Max is struggling, he’s wheezing, you can see the hurt on his face.”

Cameron halted to look intently at his big friend, Max was in distress but wouldn’t complain. Cameron had worried that Max would need an intervention, a way to retain his dignity and contribute to the team’s success.

“What do you suggest?” sought Cameron, to engage the newest member of Northern Lites into becoming part of the team.

“I don’t know” shrugged Tricia, to add: “You’re the team leader.”

“It’s ever so easy to complain, the hard part is to solve problems” counselled Cameron. “Do try, when you see something wrong, to also provide a solution. It’s said: ‘the squeaky wheel gets the grease’ so try being the person with the grease.”

“Why don’t you make him disappear, like you did the C-can? You’ll bring that back later? Right?” wondered Tricia.

“The C-can is inanimate, no harm will come to it. If I dematerialize a living person it could kill them, it’s too big a risk.”

“Hmm, I didn’t know” mused Tricia. “How about putting him on a slide, like the polar bears?”

“And how do we convince Max that he isn’t a burden? It would take all of us to pull him. How would you feel in his place?”

“Yeah, okay. I’d feel pretty useless” admitted Tricia. “We need a way to convince him, to have him rest.”

“That’s not a bad idea. Thanks Tricia.” Cameron’s comment left her puzzled: what idea?

Cameron made a show of being tired and asked if they could take a break. Max breathed heavily as he sat down with a grunt of relief, traversing snow in the cold saps strength. Rho and Rachelle came to speak with Cameron privately – they had become concerned; they’d done all they could to help Max along, but it wasn’t working.

Cameron said Tricia had said the same thing and had come up with an idea.

Cameron came to sit beside Max, he spoke so the whole group could hear. “Max, how you doing?”

Max gave a thumbs down sign.

“I was afraid of that. How do you want us to proceed?”

Max pointed to himself to then indicate he stay here, while the rest go head. He would catch up later.

“We can’t do that. We won’t leave you behind, we’re a team. No, we need you for the heavy lifting my friend, and you won’t be in any condition to do that - if you can’t rest and heal-up first.”

Max hung his head, he was thinking. He looked up and through gestures said he should be slid along.

“Good idea Max” agreed Cameron. “How about I make a toboggan for you to sit on?”

Max nodded his acceptance, it was a bad situation, but foremost, he wanted the mission to succeed, for his friends to pass the survival course.

Cameron constructed an extra wide sled with six struts underneath, on each strut he affixed ski’s, each with an extremely slick surface. The sled had to be hefty enough to carry Max’s weight, but light enough to minimize the effort to pull it.

Cameron attached long ropes with harnesses, each harness would allow a person to pull as part of combined effort, sharing the load. He fashioned it after a dog teams tethers – but wouldn’t make mention of that fact.

The snowmobile returned with Lynn driving; they said the rock ahead was maybe another hour away. But warned they had seen all kinds of polar bear tracks in the snow, bigger than Momma and her cubs.

The day was getting late, they could set up camp here, but it would attract unwanted attention from very large carnivores. Cameron asked about the rock shelf. Tim had described it as at least a hundred feet high at the ocean, Lynn, Rho and Debbie claimed it was maybe twenty to thirty feet high before it disappeared into the mountain side.

“I recommend we get to the rock wall before we make camp.” Cameron’s suggestion was agreed upon.

A rope was attached to the snowmobile, it may not be able to pull Max alone, but with everyone lending a hand to move Max, it would lesson the load on the whole team.

Max helped by pushing the sled before hopping on, it was difficult until the snowmobile could join in pulling, they made good progress now. Max nodded off soon after sitting down; the strain was proving too much for him, his heart, lungs, and body was on the verge of exhaustion.

The rock was huge, it stretched as far as the flashlight beams would go. It wasn’t a shear cliff, but with the snow and ice, climbing it would be dangerous. The group came to a halt at what looked to be the rocks low spot, still, it stood twenty to thirty feet above them.

Cameron checked his battery; it was in the mid eighties – no risk of him going empty. He calculated what would be needed to dissipate a tunnel the entire hundred and thirty feet through the rock. An idea came to him, why not make camp in the tunnel, it would be safer to have solid walls – and warmer than a tent.

Cameron asked his teammates to stay clear as he began to bore into the rock wall, he kept the opening small until well inside before making a cavern. The cavern was a large dome shape, enough room for everyone to lay out sleeping bags and get some sleep.

He constructed a heater out of sheet metal with a cooking surface, using his energy balls to power it, and strung lanterns to illuminate the space.

Cameron stepped inside, so he could finish the cave all the way to the other side, he fashioned doors at both ends to keep the heat in and the bears out. Coming back to join the team outside, he manifested the C-can so everyone could collect their overnight gear.

After ushering everyone inside, Cameron disappeared the C-can, snowmobile, and toboggan so nothing was left outside.

Cameron brought out thick cuts of steak to cook for dinner, along with baked potatoes, garlic bread, and salad, enough to satisfy the biggest of appetites.

Before settling in for a night’s sleep, Cameron asked if everyone would join him outside.

Looking up there was an amazing display of the aurora borealis with multi-coloured bands dancing across the sky.

“I thought you’d like to see what we’re named after” mentioned Cameron as everyone stood with necks craned back and mouths held agog.

~o~O~o~

It was cold in the morning and a fresh layer of snow had fallen in the night, not that you could tell if it was day or night since the sun hadn’t made it’s presence known. Cameron returned the snowmobile from Warehouse, sending Rho and Tricia off to set trail – making sure Tricia learned how to drive it.

The remainder of Northern Lites broke down camp and geared up for a trudge to the lighthouse. By the time everyone was harnessed to pull Max’s sled, the snowmobile returned to help pull.

The distance to the lighthouse wasn’t too far away, they could get to work making repairs before noon. Max was feeling stronger but still decided that riding would leave him better equipped for the work ahead.

Arriving at the lighthouse site was uneventful, wearing the artic rated clothing made the cold temperatures bearable. The lighthouse had been installed on a rocky outcropping at the end of a sandspit, dividing two bays. The lighthouse tower had been constructed of four metal posts that supported a beacon twenty feet in the air. The ice from last winter had twisted and bent the tower to the extent of becoming useless.

The conditions encountered required much more durability than had been built, the movement of ice flows demonstrated a stronger structure was needed. Debbie estimated the forces at play and laid out a guide as to the size of base the new, stronger lighthouse would need.

Up on the shore, Cameron manifested the C-can, he’d been thinking how to use it as a shelter for protection against the elements – and wildlife. He modified the shipping containers size, making it higher so Max could stand-up inside, moving the back wall out to give more space. Adding windows and a door, the windows had metal bars to prevent a bear coming through, and the door was a heavy gauge metal.

He installed three three tier bunk beds to make best use of the space and provide a place for each of them to sleep. Cameron also inserted another energy ball heater. The container got insulated, and the structure was reinforced to prevent unwanted intrusion. It was an ugly orange colour, but safety first.

Cameron split the team: He, Lynn, and Debbie would take the snowmobile up to the weather station at over a thousand feet up on top of the mountain. While the others piled rocks to make a new lighthouse. Rho was left in charge of the lighthouse crew.

Lynn drove the snowmobile with Cameron holding onto her tight, Debbie rode in the plastic sled dragged behind. Cameron gave her a pile of blankets to help cushion the ride and provide extra covering.

The mountain the weather station was installed on had a depression on the ridge, Lynn headed towards the lowest spot since the mountain was too steep to go directly up. Lynn carefully chose a path across the mountain face, to then cut back to climb the rest of the way up. The mountain top was baren, only rock and snowdrifts dotted the windswept landscape.

The weather station had taken a beating from the elements, wind had knocked down the antennae, and the sensitive equipment’s housing had been utterly devastated – left in shambles. Making best use of the limited daylight, Debbie began inspecting the existing equipment to see what was salvageable.

Cameron dissipated the old antennae, setting a foundation deeper down into the rock, and boring down secure anchors, setting them into the solid rock to affix guywires that could hold the antennae upright in severe conditions. He was finished his task long before Debbie had started to curse the stupidity of whoever provided her equipment needing two different power sources.

Lynn had been keeping Cameron company – a protective eye on him. As a Were she had smelled the polar bears yesterday, and didn’t want to be confronted by one. Her Sabretooth Panther form might be able to deter a polar bears attack, but with them at over a thousand pounds, a polar bear would win a fight.

Cameron came to stand beside Lynn, asking: “Do we dare?” motioning to Debbie.

“Let’s give her a minute, it’s how she processes information: Frustration gives way to anger, then despair sets in, after that the first sparks of imagination seep through, till she gets all giddy with finding an amazing solution” counselled Lynn. “How about some tea?”

It was a great suggestion, the cold sapped moisture right out of your body, and taking a break sounded terrific. Cameron put a kettle on a small stove and waited for it to boil. Not long later, Cameron poured hot water into three mugs. Debbie came over and plopped down beside Cameron, she held out her hand – using a gimme motion to be handed a mug, she wasn’t ready to talk yet, but she was close.

They huddled together, sipping hot tea, looking out over the vast land and sea. It was barren and desolate, yet it held a magnificence that captured the heart.

Debbie started with: “I’ve got one-twenty-volt AC equipment, and six-volt DC equipment. I can knock down AC current to DC, but I don’t have a one-twenty power supply.”

It was a simple enough statement, to a Gadgeteer or Devisor perhaps. Lynn had only understood one if four words Debbie had said. Cameron however, asked “How many amps?”

Which set off the techno babble between the two, Lynn felt like a third wheel, so she volunteered to heat up some soup and make grilled cheese sandwiches. It was a good solution all around, because after lunch they had a plan.

Cameron mounted a wind turbine onto an arm off the main antennae’s mast, it was part of the original equipment that Debbie repurposed, plus it gave the power Debbie needed to energize the weather stations sensors and telemetry. It was good as new after Cameron gave it a complete rebuild.

Cameron and Lynn ran wires to and fro as Debbie connected it all together. As a further protection, Cameron set up a chain link enclosure around the station.

The day had grown late by the time they had finished; Debbie had double checked all the equipment and was satisfied it worked. But now came a tough choice: travel back now, or hope for better conditions tomorrow? A storm was brewing, the winds had gotten worse, and snow was falling in horizontal sheets.

They were here as participants in Survival training, so Cameron manifested a tent which they all helped set up inside the chain link fence compound, that tent was large enough so they could set up a second smaller tent inside, it acted as insulation against the bitter cold. A suggestion the schools survival manual had recommended.

Hunkering down inside the tents. Cameron asked his companions what they wanted to eat: Lynn chose BBQ back ribs, Debbie felt like lasagna, Cameron had Wor Won Ton soup. Bringing out plates of food from restaurants he’d frequented, they were as fresh as when he’d collected them – having been stored in the dimensional pocket without time.

Mid meal, Debbie, being ever curious, asked Lynn: “What’s your story?”

Lynn became wary “Sorry, someone’s saying I have a story?”

“We all do” admitted Debbie. “We’re different from normal folk. I just wondered how you came to be a cat shapeshifter – and a Precog? You gotta admit, it’s an odd combination.”

“You won’t tell another soul?” required Lynn.

“Cross my heart and hope to die” confided Debbie.

Lynn looked at Cameron in bewilderment, he added: “She promises.”

“To start with my father is a shapeshifter, my mom is a Were; specifically, a Were Panther.”

“Wait, a Were, as in Werewolf?” reeled Debbie.

“There are many types of Were, none are anything like the stories about Werewolves you’ve heard. We are an honourable people but have been forced to separate ourselves and hide our ability to shift. Although only I seem to be able to take multiple forms – all cats.” Soothed Lynn.

“How many, ‘forms’, do you have?” pondered Debbie, her mental gears clicking away.

“Four.”

“Does it hurt to shift?” asked, based upon the movies Debbie had seen.

“Does it hurt for you to come up with gadgets?” defended Lynn.

“Well, there might be some smoke pouring out of my ears, but no.”

“Then no, it doesn’t hurt.”

“How about precognition? Does that mean you’re a mutant Were?”

“Maybe, I don’t know. It might explain the multiple forms, but I come from a long line of Were Panthers with Precognition, it passes down to the females, but sometimes it skips a generation. My Mom is a precog, but my aunt isn’t.”

“How come there isn’t a rating for precognition?” Debbie never ran out of questions.

“Your guess is as good as mine. I asked Cameron about what he saw when looking at my mom and me, he said the glow around my head was much brighter than moms. That’s all I can tell you.”

“Cause, if you said anything more, you’d have to kill me?” joked Debbie.

“That’s the general idea” humoured Lynn, getting a gasp of shock from Debbie. “But no, Were by their very nature are secretive. I trust you to keep my – our secrets.”

“How did you two meet?” Debbie’s focus shifted to include Cameron.

“On a train traveling across Canada” answered Cameron.

“Kinda” revealed Lynn. “I’d been seeing glimpses of the future that included Cameron. I knew where and when he’d be and arranged a meeting.”

“That sounds like stalking to me” commented Debbie.

“I prefer saying hunting. It sounds less predatory” teased Lynn.

“What about you?” Debbie directed her attention to Cameron. “How do you feel about being - ‘hunted’?”

“You’re kidding, right? A pretty girl, interested in a guy like me? Yeah, any guy with a pulse will take being hunted any day of the week.” Scoffed Cameron.

“So, what’s your story? How come you can do what you do?” Debbie wanted to hear directly from him – not some inuendo laden gossip that was floating around Whateley.

“My family was killed in a car accident; I was left in a coma for over seven years. During that time, I was provided training on another plane of existence. When I awoke, I’d been gifted by God with enhanced vision, energy absorption, and matter manipulation.”

“You've met God?”

“No, only one of his agents” deferred Cameron. “I was recruited to be a spy, to expose villainous acts committed against mankind in opposition to God’s will.”

“Oh! That’s just dandy’ exclaimed Debbie at the brevity given. “Nothing like leaving a person hanging. How is the – Why is the - never mind, don’t let it be said I questioned God.”

“Mighty decent of you.” Assured Cameron with a smirk.

“Where did you live?” Debbie decided to take a different approach.

Cameron had achieved a point where he could talk about his family: “We lived in Victoria, BC. Our house was on my grandparent’s property just outside city limits. Dad was a structural engineer and built bridges and stuff, Mom was an artist but drove school bus to help with expenses. We had been on vacation when they got killed.”

“I’m so sorry.” Debbie vocalized the regret, both she and Lynn felt the pain laced in his words.

“I woke up in Prince George, and since I didn’t have family anywhere, I stayed there till coming East.” He didn’t go into minute details, it hurt to say as much as he did. But Cameron knew the process of healing started with baby steps.

“Your grandparents didn’t want you close?” Lynn asked a question she’d wondered about.

“My grandfather had already died. And while I was in the coma my grandma passed, she’d been living in a care facility and wouldn’t have been able to visit me.” A tear tracked down Cameron’s face which he wiped away, he could talk about it but it still hurt.

“That’s so sad” empathized Debbie, Lynn for her part took Cameron’s hand and held it in both of hers.

“It made me a prime candidate to work for God.” Informed the boy, his comment was said with a note of cheer.

“You had nothing else to lose?” Deduced Debbie.

“No, I had so much to live for, and the resolve to keep trying” countered Cameron, his decision wasn’t based on negatives, but the positive of doing God’s will.

“You make it sound as if anyone could have god’s favour.” Debbie had never been inclined to be religious, those who did were scoffed at as being weak minded and gullible.

“They can. All it takes is to allow God to lead you.” Cameron tried to explain what his motivation was.

“So, what is his will?” It was a perfectly understandable question that Debbie asked, one that people for centuries have begged the answer for.

“I can’t answer that” came Cameron’s response.

“You don’t know?” Debbie couldn’t grasp why he hadn’t delved into a drawn out sermon.

“I know. But each person must learn it for themselves, figure out the 5 W’s: who, what, where, when, why.” Cameron could see that Debbie hadn’t understood the implication, so continued: “It’s the way you live your life that defines who you are, we’re all free moral agents, God lets you choose what path to take. Which also means you’re accountable for what you do.” Cameron had only wanted to show the good, but the bad must also be represented to impart a truth.

“No pressure.” A hint of sarcasm meant Debbie had heard with her ears but not her heart.

“You asked.” Cameron could only speak of what he knew. Cameron shifted the spotlight back onto Debbie. “What about you, what’s your story?”

“I’m just your run-of-the-mill mutant, I manifested as a Gadgeteer,” minimized Debbie, her story didn’t interest her.

“There’s more to it than that.” Quietly inserted Lynn, trying to encourage the reserved girl to open up a little.

“You want details?” damn her thought Debbie but being a Precog she probably already knew. “Fine. I was at boarding school when I started to come down with what I thought was a cold: a fever and feeling crumby. I didn’t suffer burnout, neither did the symptoms last long: just one night. I understand from others experiences I got off easy.

After that, I started to exhibit talents with mechanical and electronic systems. My roommate became suspicious and ratted me out to the school when I began fixing derelict computers in our dorm room. I got expelled, then my parents sent me to Whateley on the first train leaving town.” Bitterness and hurt spilled off Debbie’s tongue.

“Look at the bright side, you met us.” Cameron tried to sooth her sore mind.

Debbie took a moment to look at the two of them, seeing nothing but concern – no judgement, just friendship. It was unexpected but not unwanted. “Don’t get me wrong, but coming to Whateley exposed a dark underside of my family. Turns out my dad worked for the mob, laundering money. When the mob found out I was a mutant they handed dad a gun which he was forced to give to me – one that had been jimmied to explode, to kill me.

My dad’s become an informant; my parents are in witness protection now. A far cry from the estate we used to live on.” Debbie hadn’t told anyone about the upheaval in her family. “But not to worry, my tuition is paid for this year, next year will be a different story. So, there you have it: I’m just another poor little rich girl.”

“Debbie, I …” Cameron stammered at the revelation.

“Just leave it alone. I’m tired. I’m gonna go to sleep.” Debbie closed the conversation, not wanting their pity. It hurt to know she’d just lost the first friends she’d ever had.

She unfurled her sleeping bag and climbed in, she turned away from Lynn and Cameron who just looked on in bewilderment – neither of them had known. Cameron ensured the small heater would last the night; taking the edge off the cold as it sought to encroach upon their temporary shelter.

Lynn shifted to her housecat form and lay upon Cameron, the wind howled up on the mountain top shaking the outer tent as it creaked and groaned through the night. Lynn heard a new sound: suppressed crying. Lynn rose to pad over to Debbie, then climbed into her sleeping bag, laying so her fur rested against the girls back. Debbie gulped back a sob to then whisper: ‘thank you.’

~o~O~o~

Morning was as black as the night had been, the sun wouldn’t rise for several hours yet, but a dim glow on the South-Eastern horizon said a new day was upon them. A hearty breakfast of sweetened oatmeal with nuts and fruit mixed in was eaten before camp was broken, and the trip to rejoin the rest of Northern Lites was made.

Cameron directed that Debbie ride with Lynn on the snowmobile, he’d take the pull behind sled for the return trip. Going downhill is always quicker, and they’d arrived before the sun had cracked the sky.

The area around the modified C-can was now devoid of the rocks that had littered the ground, they’d been taken to build up the lighthouse, it had been a monumental task. Out on the lighthouse outcropping stood a huge pile of rocks.

Before entering the metal clad shelter, the claw marks running down the exterior walls could not be ignored.

Lynn brought the matter up: “You had company?”

Rachelle came to hug them, “A polar bear, last night. Big fella, must have smelled our food and came knocking.”

“Everyone safe?” Cameron

“Yeah, but he made a racket for several hours, nobody got much sleep.” Responded Rho as she exited the shelter.

Max was still in bed, a gentle snore coming from him. Tim was laying in bed reading while the girls had been playing a card game at the table. Cameron brought out the ingredients to make pancakes and started preparing a meal.

Lynn and Debbie walked with Rachelle and Rho out to the lighthouse, to make room and stretch out sore muscles. Cameron assembled a feast of pancakes, bacon, scrambled eggs, and toast. The smell woke Max and he took a seat at the table in anticipation, joined by Tim and Charlotte.

“How did the weather station go?” asked Charlotte, as she stirred her hot chocolate after pouring hot water into hers the boy’s cups.

“Very windy up on the mountain top, had to secure everything deep down in the ground so it would stay standing. The parts didn’t mesh so Werx had to cobble stuff together. Other than that, it went okay. How about for you guys?”

“I don’t want to look at another rock for – forever” admitted Tim.

Max nodded his head in full agreement, holding up his hands showing the blisters on top of his callused skin.

“Didn’t you bring gloves?” questioned Cameron.

Max nodded yes, to Charlotte adding: “He wore out two pair of gloves but kept working. He felt bad about not being able to walk here.”

“I’ll take a look after breakfast. You might as well start eating, the others aren’t far away.” Directed Cameron

It was a huge stack of pancakes put on the table which quickly got devoured, they disappeared as fast as Cameron could cook them. Something about hard work making for big appetites.

The sun had risen by the time Cameron wandered over to the Lighthouse site, it was a truly impressive mound of rocks. Unfortunately rocks alone wouldn’t stand up to the pressure of moving ice flows, so Cameron began the process of melding the rocks together into a single solid mass. Making a more defined cylindrical shape that tapered as it rose.

The new lighthouse stood at almost thirty feet, an improvement from the previous one. The team took pride in the accomplishment, asking if each of their names could be inscribed. Debbie for her part, had asked for some pieces and bits to construct a new light for the lighthouse, she’d taken over the table in the shelter to spread her latest creation out.

At lunchtime, Rachelle and Tim volunteered to make spaghetti.

Debbie attempted to explain her idea for a high intensity lamp for warning nearby shipping lanes. She put a series of Cameron’s flashlights in a row and sequenced them so it would look like a rotating light. Her question to Cameron was about powering it for long periods.

Cameron gave the problem consideration, with so little light a solar collector was pointless, but with the winds they’d encountered, a windmill would be the best energy source. But what about calm days? A battery would be required to power it for extended periods.

Cameron sat at the table and began assembling a windmill similar in design to the one’s at Lynn Franklin’s family ranch, just smaller to sit like a crown on top of the lighthouse. He also took some of the black energy absorbing material and fashioned a battery.

Cameron imparted a small amount of energy into the battery so Debbie could test her lights. It was a go. Back out at the lighthouse, Charlotte lifted Debbie up to install the lights aligning them to shine out over the water. It was up to Cameron to install the battery and wind turbine, as the windmill turned in the stiff breeze the battery was charging.

The mission had been completed, however as a bonus, the team smoothed out the area that had started out as a rock field, making it a suitable spot for a helicopter to land. Cameron even installed a weather sock on top of the nearby shelter.

With a steep slope covered in snow so close by, it was time to play. Cameron produced toboggans for everyone, and a mad rush was made to climb a distance up the hill to then slide down. Whoops of laughter ensued.

Lynn slid up beside Cameron, saying: “Companies coming,” to point at an inflatable boat heading towards them. The little craft bobbed and weaved around the forming ice chunks, carrying five men. A long distance away, parked out in the deep channel was a military patrol boat from which the men had come.

Rachelle stopped beside the two, alerting Cameron: “They’ve come to talk to you, they don’t have good intentions.”

“Figured as much” surmised Cameron of the situation. “I’m curious to see what they have to say for themselves.”

“How do you want to handle it?” wondered Rachelle.

“Can you two stay with me? It would be best if the others stayed clear.” Sought Cameron. Rachelle sent out a mental message to inform the team, and what the plan was.

By the time the men had landed with four coming ashore, Cameron, Lynn in housecat form, and Rachelle had entered the shelter and taken seats at the table. Cameron had brought out his laptop and some papers, setting them on the table.

The men entered the shelter with guns drawn, although one of them held a camcorder instead of a rifle.

“Nobody move!” called out the second to enter. “Hands on the table where we can see them.”

Cameron and Rachelle complied, Lynn in cat form ignored the demand, as would be expected of a house cat. “What can we do for you gentlemen? If, you are indeed, gentle.”

“Which one of you is Outlook?”

“That would be me” revealed Cameron. Raising just his hand off the table-top in a slight gesture – a blend between a wave and affirming being present in class.

The first sailor, on the far right stiffened at the boy’s movement and brought his gun to bear upon Cameron.

Cameron, with his visor firmly in place, looked at the man – no older than twenty years old, and nervous as all heck judging by his heart rate. Glancing at the rest of the men, they all displayed anxiety to varying degrees, interestingly the one with the camcorder was a minor Psychic: at a one – maybe one and half rating.

The speaker looked at the camera man; likely the newest man onboard considering how young he was, he held a bewildered expression. It became clear: he was expected to glean a reading off the room and report the threat level.

But a Psychic being presented with Rachelle; another Psychic but higher ranked, he couldn’t read her. The cat on the boys lap merely gave him a dismissive look. As for Cameron, there was nothing to even register that he was in the room aside from what his eyes told him.

“I would suggest you de-escalate the tension, none of us are armed” directly spoke Cameron to the man who had taken the lead. “Perhaps introductions are in order: As you’ve determined, I’m Outlook. Beside me is Perspicacious. And this beautiful lady is Aware” giving Lynn a long stroke down her fur.

Lynn leaned into the sign of affection and relished her betrothed’s comment.

The third man voiced his opinion: “That’s a dumb name for a cat.”

Lynn hissed at the man.

“I wouldn’t recommend insulting her, she has a temper when provoked.” Commented Cameron while giving Lynn a scratch between the ears.

He laughed before saying: “We’re the one’s holding guns.” Swinging his rifle so it pointed a Rachelle then Cameron.

“That you are” concurred Cameron. “If it’s your intention to shoot us in cold blood. Perhaps making a recording of the deed isn’t advisable, unless you require proof for your superiors.”

“You’re a mutant, your always armed.” Spoke the second sailor, the groups leader.

Cameron read his papers: Lieutenant Brian McWaters, but since no introductions were given, then he wouldn’t antagonize them by using names. But the situation wasn’t improving, rather the men’s anxiety has risen as manifested by their readiness to shoot.

Cameron couldn’t allow his friends to be jeopardized, so took measures to prevent an accident. To keep them distracted – and talking, he said: “Please get better intelligence. I, am not a mutant.”

“Fine: your empowered, same difference.” Debunked McWaters.

Apparently, they had accumulated some information regarding Cameron now, but intelligence is only as good as the person using it. “Did you never learn that you attract more bees with honey than vinegar?”

“I don’t care about bees.”

“It’s a metaphor, it means that if your nice, there’s a greater likelihood people will cooperate.”

“Not my concern.”

“Good to know” replied Cameron. “So, that must mean you’re from the school that believes in carrying a big stick and beating people into submission. The mentality of a bully; I don’t like bullies, sadly the military seems to attract them like flies – or is it that you’ve been trained to become one?”

“What you like, or dislike is of no consequence. You’re under arrest, we’re here to take you prisoner.”

“And the guns are the stick you intend to bully me with. A sad, sad situation” bemoaned Cameron. “Rachelle, can you tell who sent these men?”

“Their Captain gave them an order; he didn’t reveal where the order came from.” Rachelle’s reply shook the Psychic – he’d thought his role was to collect information, not disseminate it.

“Too bad. These guys are just doing what their told, not knowing why, or even how to get the job done. It’s a shame really.”

“Enough games! Come with us now!” there was no need to yell, the room was small enough that sound carried fine inside, but it made the lieutenant feel in control.

“No.”

“Are you stupid! On your feet soldier!”

“No, and no.”

“What?”

“No, I’m not stupid. And no, I’m not going with you” stated Cameron. “Also, not to nit-pick, but I’m not a soldier, I'm a policeman."

“Take it up with a magistrate. Either by your own feet or dragged in chains, you’re coming with us.”

“Interesting you mentioned that. I have in my possession a letter requesting my attendance in court to answer outstanding questions. Wherein, I’ve been promised unhindered and unfettered freedom to conduct my affairs before and during those proceedings. Your actions today have shown a complete disregard for the promises made by the upper echelons of the Department of Defense.”

“Prove it.”

“Here’s the letter, read it for yourself."

The lieutenant snapped up the letter, giving it a read, to blanch and hand it back.

Placing a notepad and pen on the table in front of McWaters, Cameron requested: “I require all your names, the name of your Captain, and the name of your ship. I’ll be providing that to the military as further proof of misconduct. So your aware, I have my own recording of our exchange. I expect disciplinary action will be forthcoming.”

That was too much for the man, he aimed his gun at Cameron and pulled the trigger, it made repeated clicking sounds but that was all. The other two gun bearers followed suit, each obtaining the same result. McWaters went to the extent of inserting a new magazine into his gun and trying again, it didn’t help.

“I see you had orders to bring me in dead or alive. I suppose I should arrest you for the attempted murder of me and my friends, another day perhaps” contemplated Cameron, to then address the four. “I do believe you have worn out your welcome, please leave – quickly, before I change my mind.”

The sailors filed out in haste and ran double time back to their waiting craft.

All the team members of Northern Lites now came into the shelter, seeing how the uninvited guests had left.

Debbie was shivering and stood by the heater, Rho put her hands on the girls’ shoulders to aid in warming her up.

Cameron addressed the room: “We’ve finished what we set out to do – and more. We’re not expected to be back at Whateley until tomorrow. By a show of hands, who wants to go back now?”

It took a second for his friends to share looks to gauge how everyone felt. Debbie’s hand shot was up immediately, she’d had enough of the frozen north. Tricia joined the vote followed by Max, wrapping his arms around himself and shivering. Soon the whole room joined the vote to leave.

“All right. Let’s pack up our stuff and head home” voiced Cameron.

At that, Debbie dug out the satellite safety device to signal Whateley they wanted to return. It was an odd thought; how Whateley had become home, or a second home, to this misfit group. Cameron smiled thinking about the success they’d achieved and become a closer-knit team. He slung his pack over his shoulder in anticipation of a hot meal and warm bed, Cameron’s smile was shared on the faces of each of his friends.

To be continued.