My Super-powered Diary Chapter 46 Intruders By Amethyst When Maddock Ainsley gets involved in a rescue operation with his unit things go horribly wrong and his life is forever changed. Can the newly minted Merida cope with being a girl and a teenage super hero?

Mom gave the new baby a proper newborn health examination and filled out the paperwork she had prepared, including all of the essentials and the time of ‘birth’. The latter had been backdated to the day before since Mei had made Dawn about a day old to avoid any issues and it was after midnight anyway. Then, she used the costume maker to make a few cloth diapers and a warm onesie for Dawn until Kendra could get some baby supplies to start her off. Kendra didn’t take her eyes off her new baby for one second and it was nice to see her face filled with wonder and happiness. Hell, it was nice to see her face not covered by that containment suit she had been wearing since I first met her.

“I’ll need some formula, bottles, clothes, diapers, baby powder, baby oil…” Kendra started rattling off a list. “Oh! I can’t possibly take her with me, I don’t have had a baby seat for my car!” She looked torn; on one hand she didn’t want to let Dawn out of her sight for the moment, but on the other hand she didn’t want to risk the baby’s safety.

“Kendra, you didn’t bring your car, I used a portal to get us here. And I can get us to the Wal-Mart the same way so you can get the essentials,” Dr. Edwards offered with a laugh. “We can add a car seat to your list when we get there.”

“I’d come with ya, but I imagine tha’ the HAA will be showing up soon and we’ll want to be ready,” Mom said with a groan as she handed Kendra a slip of paper that looked suspiciously like a check. “But this should help wi’ the expenses.”

Toxin was holding Dawn securely and had to shift her a bit so she could free one arm to take the paper. Her blood red eyes widened and she shook her head. “I can’t take this, Blair. This is a lot of money.”

“No’ really, it’s no’ even as much as I put in the girls’ trust funds. I can afford it jus’ fine since I’ll be receivin’ the other half o’ my payment fer the infiltration suits now tha’ they’ve been completed an’ delivered. Yuir still jus’ getting’ started on yuir career an’ raisin’ a child as a single parent can be expensive. If you like, think o’ it as child support, since this was my bright idea,” Mom insisted. “Now get goin’ she’s goin’ to need feedin’ soon. We’ll see all o’ ya at Kasumi an’ Paul’s place fer the barbeque right?”

“We’ll be there,” Dr. Edwards agreed with a smile toward Toxin once she had cast the portal. “I expect that Kendra will be anxious to show off Dawn and we have plans with Hana if that DNA sample checks out.”

“I’ll check ma messages while we wait,” Mom promised. “The Brain promised to examine the sample analysis and let me know by late tonight or tomorrow mornin’.”

With that our school headmistress and our counsellor said their good nights and stepped through the portal. As soon as they were gone Mom turned to us. “Okay girls, off ta bed wit’ ya. We’ll wan’ ta be ‘surprised’ when our next guests arrive.” As Andy sat back down in front of the TV and Mom went off to her lab us non-adults and the Fairies headed upstairs to our rooms, changed into our nightclothes and turned out the lights.

Fawn and I snuggled in the darkness of my room and waited, careful to stay awake in case we were needed. I hated not being able to hear anything through the soundproofing of my room, but Tasha and the others had promised to update me through the psychic network if anything happened. I kind of wished Peaches was with us too, but she was still being dragon-sat by Hana until we went to her place for the barbeque. We had been waiting in bed for at least an hour and it made me uncomfortable. With a sigh I made a little construct of Peaches while we waited. I needed practice on the fine details anyway if I ever wanted to make my constructs as convincing as our mother could when Blair and I were little.

*An Agent Hartley and Agent Gillis just showed up and want to search the house and interview everyone, without a warrant. I told them that it’s damn well after three in the morning and my kids are in their rooms asleep,* Mom sent along the network. *Gillis is being very insistent, and loud so it’s time for one of you to make an appearance.*

*I’ll do it, I’m the once they seem to hate the most anyway.* I offered.

*You might as well bring Fawn with you, we don’t want to look like we’re hiding anything. The HAA already knows about the Fairies anyway, though Smith only told them that Mei had summoned them. He didn’t feel that it was safe even letting his own organization know the full scope of her abilities,* Mom sent back.

*Something I’m in complete agreement with,* Andy put in. *We’ve seen the way they treated Merida just to save face. I don’t want to think of what they’d attempt if they knew about Mei’s true powers.*

*Let them try it,* Mei grumbled along the network as Fawn and I climbed out of bed and prepared for our performance. *If that Director Anders tries it or goes after Merida again, I might just have to put him in a mutant body just so he could get a taste of what it feels like to be persecuted, something really obvious, but I wouldn’t trust him with any type of powers.*

As much as Mei was talking big, we all knew that she would hate doing something like that. She wanted to use her powers to help other people and make them happy. Even what she did with Phantom was to try and give her a chance at a happy life, and she hated Phantom as much as any of us. She would do it if she saw no other way, but she wouldn’t like it. *Let’s save that as a last resort, Mei. I still have some leverage if we need it and we’ll milk this visit for everything we can,* I sent back over the network as I headed down the stairs with Fawn riding my shoulder, both of us rubbing at our eyes sleepily. That act wasn’t too hard since we were both dead tired. “Wot’s wi’ all the bloody noise?”

The twins came out right on my heels. “Mom, Andy, what’s going on?” they said in unison. Ouch, sad and scared-looking sleepy preteen twins and they were even holding their teddy bears. That was really going to ramp up the guilt factor.

Mom gave the agents a dirty look and the woman looked like she would rather be anywhere but where they were right then as Mom snapped, “Well, ya bloody well woke up the little ones so ya might as well come in and ask yuir questions and do yuir search now. Since ya don’t have a warrant though, and I activated the house security system the moment ya rang the doorbell at this ungodly hour, it’s goin’ ta be recordin’ everythin’. If ya get out o’ hand even once we’ll toss ya out on yuir ears an’ I’ll have an army o’ lawyers and media on yuir agency before the day is over. After what happened earlier tonight in L.A. I don’t think you’ll be wantin’ any more bad press.”

“And one of us will be with the both of you the whole time you’re here,” Andy quickly added. “We are not leaving you alone with any of the kids for any reason.”

“But the interviews, we need to interview everyone separately…” the male agent argued angrily. He was almost as big as I used to be with black hair shaved into a buzz cut and he looked like he was probably sent just because he looked that intimidating.

Andy wasn’t backing down one bit though. “These are minors you’re talking about, you can’t interview any of them without a parent or guardian present unless we allow it. Given what I’ve seen of how your agents treat young Hypers in the news earlier, that’s not happening.”

The blonde woman of the pair winced at that and put a hand on the other agent’s shoulder and said, “Let’s just get this done with quickly.” I had a feeling that she was one of those like Smith had been. She looked like she really didn’t want to be doing this at all. “Maybe it would be best if I do the interviews while Agent Gillis searches the house. Mr. Tomkins can accompany Agent Gillis and I can start by interviewing you, Dr. Ainsley. Then we can go up to the kids’ rooms to interview each of them so they can get back to sleep.”

Mom and Andy agreed and Andy watched Gillis like a hawk while he started using a scanner there in the living room, scanning the walls, floors, and everything else that he could think of. Mom shooed us back upstairs to our rooms and as we climbed the steps Agent Hartley started talking to Mom. “We know who all of you are and we may not know what powers all of you possess, but let’s not pretend that you weren’t the ones who saved the Governor earlier. Where were you, and what have you been doing since the incident?”

“We came home since findin’ Phantom would be next ta impossible, Packrat opened a gate on live television. The kids needed sleep an’ I got ta work in ma lab.” Mom answered as I got to the top of the stairs.

“And what would that work entail Dr. Ainsley?” Agent Hartley pressed.

I gave in to the urge to hesitate a moment and hear Mom’s answer. “I’m a medical doctor and the chief of medicine at the Pacific Seaside Academy clinic, Agent Hartley. What that involved was checking over a friend’s newborn baby, going over a patient’s lab results, working on a treatment plan, and a whole lot o’ doctor/patient confidentiality.” Ouch, way to stick it to her, Blair. I smiled as I made my way to my room knowing that this wasn’t going to be a pleasant experience, for them. We all had our stories straight and not one of us was going to crack, not while we were doing the right thing.

I didn’t have to wait long since I was the first that Agent Hartley wanted to interview after Mom. She came into the room with Mom right behind her. “You must be Merida and Fawn right?” she asked trying to give a friendly smile.

“Aye,” I responded simply as Fawn merely nodded from where she sat in my lap.

“I don’t see any harm in interviewing you both at the same time then once we’re done and Agent Gillis comes in for a quick look around we can let you both get some sleep okay?” It appeared that she wasn’t in on the real details of my case. But then the only person in the HAA that was authorized to know other than Smith was the director himself and I didn’t think he’d want General Nelson or the President pissed at him. He was probably on thin ice with both the President and Governor Brown as it was with the incident in L.A.

“Aye, thanks,” I replied hugging Fawn.

The agent smiled at me and it seemed to be a genuine smile. “I think that what you did to save the Governor was very heroic. Now, what have you been doing since you and your sisters saved the Governor in L.A., Merida?”

“We came home an’ got changed fer bed. Mom wanted us in bed earlier since we go’ tae ge’ intae a proper sleep schedule fer school on Tuesday. I couldnae sleep so I was playin’ wi’ ma constructs a wee bi’ tae try an’ ge’ better control o’er them. An’ Fawn an’ I talked aboot stuff.”

Agent Hartley nodded and smiled but pressed, “What were you talking about? And could I see one of these constructs?”

I nodded and created another Peaches construct my brow furrowing in concentration as I tried to get the details just right and had it fly around the room. While I was doing that Fawn fielded the question. “We were talking about school, our friend’s new baby, and what happened with Phantom.”

The agent listened as she watched the construct fly around the room. "Are they always red and see-through? What did happen with Phantom?”

“Aye, it’s ‘cause o’ the energy I make ‘em from. It’s the same stuff tha’ ma force field is made from,” I said in response to the first question.

Fawn looked at the Agent like she was surprised by the question posed to her. “She disappeared while the people in suits were taking her away didn’t she? I saw it when we were there and again on the television when we got home and Merida’s mom told us to get ready for bed.”

“Did Phantom or Agent John Smith come here or try to contact any of you since you left L.A.? Did you help them in any way?” Agent Hartley pressed.

“Nae, if’n she came ‘ere it’d prob’ly be tae kill me,” I said allowing some of my anger at the agency to slip into my tone and letting my force field to flicker to life. “She could be anywhere in the world right now an’ she wants tae kill me. Agent Smith is one o’ yuir goons an’ he came ‘ere tae take me an hand me o'er tae her. In ‘andcuffs an’ a fookin’ inhibitor collar! Like I was the bloody criminal! If ma sisters had no’ come tae protec’ me an’ ge’ the damn collar off I’d prob’ly be dead right now! Why would I ‘elp either o’ them?!”

The blonde woman blanched as my emotions and powers seemed to flare and then I made it look like I was concentrating on getting control over both. Once I got myself ‘under control’ Fawn and Mom both hugged me. Mom took the cue and turned to give the agent an apologetic look. "Sorry, Agent Hartley, but I warned ya tha’ this was a bad idea. Merida has a medical condition tha’ makes her very emotional. It’s hard ta control her powers when she’s like this and she’s had a very long and difficult day.” The last was said in such an accusatory tone that the agent shrank back a bit.

Then to everyone’s surprise Agent Hartley reached out to hug me as well, though a little awkwardly. “I… I apologize. That’s all the questions I have for you, Merida. For what it’s worth, I’m sorry that the agency has treated you this way. I work with the office here in Costa Verde and I’ve seen some of the things you kids have been doing here, you don’t deserve this. I’m only here because Agent Gillis was sent from headquarters and requested an agent come to the airport to get him and back him up the moment he landed. I didn’t even know what this was about or who you were until the drive over. When I found out I was against it, especially without a warrant.”

I suddenly felt bad about playing her, but it was all technically true and it was the agency that was in the wrong here. Admittedly not all of their agents were, there were people like Smith and Hartley who seemed to be doing it for the right reasons. “Umm… thanks. It’s nice tae ken tha’ no’ all o’ ya are assholes,” I offered in apology.

Agent Hartley stepped back and nodded, “I don’t know why your case files haven’t been transferred to our local office so you could be assigned a contact worker. You’re obviously in the system already and you’re willing to work with law enforcement. I’ll see if I can get it done and get assigned as your contact.” Then she leaned in to hug me again and whispered, “Were you telling the truth about the security system?”

“I installed it myself,” Mom replied quietly. “There are micro-cameras in every room o’ the house. They’re usually inactive an’ retracted into the wall fer privacy, but when a break-in is detected or I activate the system manually, like I did before answerin’ the door they pop out of their covers and start recordin’ everythin’ ‘til I manually deactivate the system. There are two cameras in this room alone an’ the little red LED light over the doorframes tells us all tha’ the system is active an’ we’re bein’ recorded. Usually there’s a siren too, but I can disable tha’ when I activate it manually.”

Agent Hartley let out a sigh and muttered in a hushed tone, “Good. Gillis seemed pretty eager to run right over your rights, and I don’t really trust him, so I’d keep all of that video footage handy.” Then she pulled away and said in a louder voice, “Maybe we should go interview the twins next and give Merida some time to calm down a bit.”

Mom quickly agreed and led her out the door and down the hallway to the twin’s room, leaving the door open a crack. It was a good ten minutes later and I had nearly fallen asleep when Andy knocked on the partially open door. “Merida, Agent Gillis wants to do some scans and take a look around.”

Gillis didn’t even wait for my assent before pushing his way past Andy and into the room running his little scanner over the floors, walls, my bed, and even in the closet, shoving clothes aside to do so. I drew the line when he started opening the top drawer of my dresser. “Leave tha’ the fook alone!”

“Look you little freak, I’m a federal agent here to look for evidence that you’ve been harboring fugitives so I’ll search where I please,” he said as he opened the drawer and pulled out a bit of pink and white fabric.

Andy went to grab his shoulder to stop him but the larger man pushed him aside. I was so mad that my force field activated and the field around the bed followed immediately after. “No fookin way! Yuir no’ pawin’ aboot in ma knickers. Yuir ‘ere wi’out a fookin’ warrant an’ we’re cooperatin’ ‘cause we go’ nothin’ tae hide. I think if Phantom were hidin’ in ma bloody knickers I would ‘ave noticed ‘er ridin’ up ma arse! Wot agency did ya say tha’ yuir wit agin?”

“I’m with the HAA, so if you know what’s good for you, you’ll cooperate,” he snapped angrily, glaring at me. I was floating in the air above my bed, my force field bubbling dangerously. I tried to think calming happy thoughts and despite the deadly red aura around me he didn’t seem scared until he saw me lower myself to the bed, power down my force field, and smile as I looked at Andy, who was picking himself up off the floor as Mom and Agent Hartley stood in the doorway summoned by my angry shouting with the door wide open. “What are for smiling for, freak?”

“The cameras o’ course. An’ I’m thinkin’ o’ all the charges tha’ could be brought up against you an’ yuir agency. Say ‘ello Agent Gillis,” I said as I pointed to one of the tiny cameras poking out from a recess in the corner of my room.

He finished his scans of the other rooms in record time. Agent Hartley seemed eager to get him out of our home before he could cause any more damage and she even confirmed for us, on the living room cameras, that his scans showed no traces of DNA matching Smith or samples of Phantom that they had found on the Governor and her other victims. They had of course found some of Smith’s outside the front door, but that was to be expected since he had come to take me into custody earlier in the evening.

I didn’t want to sleep until they were out of the house, or at least Gillis was. It was almost five by the time they were done and gone so I figured that I probably wasn’t going to get any sleep at all. So I emptied the top drawer of my dresser and threw the lot in Mom’s sonic cleanser until I no longer felt like I was going to throw up by putting any of it on. Then I started my sisters and the Fairies on a morning workout and training session before breakfast. It had been a long night and we still had a big day ahead of us.