Obligatory Credits: This is fan fiction for the Whateley Academy series. It may or may not match the timeline, characters, and continuity, but since it's fan fiction, who cares? To see the canon Whateley Stories, check out Whateley Academy at http://www.crystalhall.org
Pic Credit: Lady Death from Chaos Comics (pic adjusted for the story)

Author's Note: This is fanfiction, obviously. Here is a notice to all the fan-boys and fan-girls out there. I have not read every single Whateley fic and or fanfic out there so I don't know every single little bit of trivia there is to know. If you see a tiny little error that that has absolutely no bearing on the plot, please, restrain yourself from pointing your finger and gasping in abject horror. I think it's fairly close so slowly put your blades away and relax. :)

The Beginning of the End

Thus ends my sixteenth birthday celebration.

Don't be too disappointed that you weren't invited, nobody was except for my closet boyfriend, Jeremy. No matter how en vogue it is to be a lesbian, it's still very eww-o-rama to be a guy and be gay.

He was currently crashed out in bed, looking cute as always. I'd received my birthday present. Sigh. As I did up my blue button-down I mentally checked 'Lose Virginity' off my things-in-life-to-do list that I kept locked away in my head. With a smile, I added a few more checks next to that entry; Jeremy was quite energetic, and I was more than willing.

Once I had most of my clothes on I grabbed my socks and shoes before leaning over to kiss his cheek goodbye. He wrinkled his nose and murmured in his sleep before turning over and snuggling into the pillow I'd left behind.

A quick fantasy ran through my head of us older, married, and happy. I knew it was just a fantasy. Odds are we wouldn't last the remaining years of high school before moving on, but it was pleasant nonetheless.

Dad was in the car, waiting for me, by the time I made it outside. Hopefully I didn't have a glow about me or anything. That would be seriously embarrassing to talk about.

"Hey sport, did you have a good time?"

I smiled wide and nodded while I was putting on my seatbelt. "Yeah, party was great."

Wiggling around in the seat, I tried to get comfortable, but I was still a little sore from… well, you know.

Dad looked at me weird. "No presents?"

I laughed a little. "I'm not five anymore, Dad. It was just a get together with friends. I told them not to get me anything." That didn't stop me from fingering the platinum band on my right ring finger that Jeremy bought for me. He wanted to put it on my left hand, being all romantic and stuff, but we both knew that he wasn't ready to come out of the closet. Me, on the other hand…

Once we were well on our way I decided to break the news to my only living parent. I closed my eyes and steadied my breathing before opening them again. There were books, movies of the week, after school specials, magazines, websites, toll free numbers, you name it; everyone had their opinion on the best way to break the news to the parents. Knowing my dad as I did, I knew that he would respect the straight forward approach rather than listening to me talk circles around touchy topics.

"Dad, tough embarrassing subject time."

He glanced quickly at me and then set his eyes back on the road. That let me know that he was gearing himself up. When I saw the nod, afterward, I knew he was as prepared as he was going to get.

"I'm gay."

He blinked a couple of times, and I saw him swirl the thought around his mouth before swallowing and licking his lips. "When?"

I shrugged and slowly blew a little tension out between my teeth. "I guess about three years now. At least since I realized it."

"So, before Mom died."

With a nod I answered. "Yeah."

He checked his side mirror before changing lanes. It was kind of weird seeing him totally trying to keep control of himself. To be honest, I didn't know how he was going to take it. You can always hope for the best, but I'm really not that kind of person. I tend to plan for the worst. Back at home I had a backpack and a duffle bag in my closet, just in case. It had all the essentials in it, so that I could move on if need be. That's why I waited until I was sixteen. It left me with a lot more options, legally. Jobs were a heck of a lot easier to find. A Hardship drivers license was easier to obtain. While frowned upon, I could legally live on my own under the guidance of child services if I could support myself.

"Are you seeing someone?"

I nodded. "I can't tell you who it is. He isn't out publicly. It's not my secret to tell."

"He isn't older…"

I nearly gasped when I saw where he was going with that one. "No, god no. Eww. My age, Dad."

He released a breath in relief.

Two more miles went before either of us said anything else. "I thought you'd yell more."

There was that eye shooting thing again. "Have I ever given you a reason not to come to me with anything, Braith, no matter how bad you think it is?"

I shook my head. I'd really underestimated my dad. "I'm sorry."

He chuckled a little. "I may be a hillbilly, but I'd like to think that I'm somewhat enlightened."

"You're not a hillbilly, Dad."

"Our house is on the side of a mountain and we live in Kentucky. I wear overalls. I'm a hillbilly and you're the gay son of a hillbilly. There's nothing wrong with either of us."

Well, he kind of had me there at the part about the overalls. At least he didn't have a moonshine still, go 'coon hunting, or make his own chewing tobacco. Gag!

"Just do me a favor."

"Hmm?" I asked.

"If you ever bring your… boyfriend over, just don't make out in front of me."

"Daaad!" I whined and he laughed.

I didn't see the truck that crossed the median in front of us. I just saw Dad's shocked face. He stomped on the brakes and threw his hand out in front of me, slamming me against the seat.

Car wrecks don't sound anything like they do on TV or at the movies. There weren't any tire squeals or deafening crashes of glass shattering, no explosions, or bombs going off. There was just the sound of metal twisting in ways that wasn't normal. The impact was so jarring that I lost my sense of reality for an unknown amount of time. Nothing seemed right.

There were flashes of lucidity. I remember smelling burned oil. I remember my face wet and warm. I remember my skin itching. I remember my insides feeling like they were on fire.

"Braith."

Even behind the closed lids of my eyes I was trying to squint from the light. Reflexively I brought my hand up in to show the international sign for 'it's too fucking bright in here'.

"Close the blinds," I heard the voice say.

A few moments later the light receded and I said the first thing that came to mind. "Dad?" Except there was a problem. That wasn't my voice.

I tried clearing my throat, but didn't get a chance to repeat myself.

"Braith, I need you to relax for the moment and tell me the last thing you remember."

Taking the chance to blink away the sleep crust sealing my eyes, I focused on the guy standing beside me wearing a white lab coat, kind of like what doctors wear. On second glance I'd say, exactly like doctors wear.

The other person was a lady in a business suit, and I was obviously in the hospital.

The Hospital.

Dad.

My hands quickly reached out and I grabbed the railings on the bed. "Where's Dad? The car…"

The doctor closed on me and lay a hand on my wrist. "It's very important that you try to stay calm, Braith."

Something red shot out from behind me and latched on to the doctor's wrist, ripping his hand off me and hoisted him in the air, several feet off the floor. At the same moment a sense of calm washed over me, artificial, almost like I'd been dosed up.

My eyes glazed over and I dropped, boneless, back on the bed.

"Braith."

I slowly moved my eyes to the other side of and saw the business suit woman smiling at me. "My name is Morphine. I'm a mutant, and I'm using my power to keep you sedated. I'm going to ease up a little so you can calmly talk to us. If you think you can keep yourself calm then blink once."

I really didn't have a choice. I blinked.

Feeling immediately started coming back to my body. "Where's my dad?"

She looked over at the doctor who was brushing himself off, rather put out. "You were in a car accident. He didn't make it. You did."

I closed my eyes and tried to turn off everything. Dad didn't raise a crybaby. That didn't stop the golf ball sized lump from disappearing from my throat.

"Is there anyone you want us to call?" she asked, sympathetically.

Shaking my head I told her, "Mom's dead. I'm alone."

I sniffed and reopened my eyes to see her lips pressed together as she looked at the doctor.

"What happened to my voice?"

The doctor leaned in, somewhat warily. "First things first, Braith. How do you feel?"

Blinking for a few seconds, I took stock of my body. "Weird, different, like something's not right."

"We're going to tell you something else, Braith. Remember to keep control of yourself."

I nodded in fear. All sorts of awful things ran through my head, thought of missing limbs foremost.

"You're a mutant."

Standing in front of the bathroom mirror, I couldn't believe what my eyes were telling me. Being a mutant wasn't the end of the news for the day. Something about BIT and GSD -- scientific gobblygook that was supposed to explain away the massive changes that I apparently went through while I was unconscious.

I was a chick. A white chick. I'm so white I make chalk say, 'DAMN! You're white!' That only sets off how red my hair is. I'm not talking about Carrottop red or even fire engine red. Some of the doctors at the hospital called it auburn. It's all B.S. I know the color of blood when I see it. Not that fresh blood from a cut that's bright and glowing either. I got the dead blood color. In other words it was dark red, like it was mixed with black or something.

The weirder part? It moved, my hair that is. It was constantly in motion, swaying here and there like a light wind was passing back and forth. Sometimes a tendril licked my cheek or caressed my shoulder, but for the most part it just moved. The length had increased until it was touching my waist.

God, so much had changed.

"I'm here to help you through your transition, Braith," Morphine explained as she stood at the doorway, watching me in the mirror.

It felt like I was at the end of my leash, ready to snap at the slightest twinge in the wrong direction.

"I need some clothes."

She nodded. "We're having something sent up. I was only brought in this morning."

I closed my eyes and shook my head in confusion then reopened them when I asked, "Who are you?"

Morphine reached into a pocket of her blazer and withdrew a laminated card before handing it over. "My actual name is Tammy Morse, codename: Morphine. Kentucky is one of the more… enlightened states where being a mutant isn't an automatic 'freak sentence'. The local government has put a number of mutants on retainer to be brought in for new transition cases, to help."

I looked at the card, not understanding half of what was written, and then handed it back. "So, you're here to make sure I don't go on a killing spree?"

She frowned slightly. "Contrary to popular belief, Braith, most mutants are pretty normal people that are thrown into extraordinary circumstances. Sometimes they develop powers that are very dangerous until they learn control."

My attention was brought back to the mirror and my freaky hair. "Well, I don't think I'll be killing anyone with my new hairdo."

She shrugged her shoulders. "I think you'll be surprised at what you can do. There's more to you and your hair than meets the eye."

Glancing down at the twin globes of blinding white flesh on my chest, I agreed. "I look like a freaking demon or something." I did. That red color I told you about, the color of my hair? My eyes were a matching blood red. Thankfully it was just the irises and not my entire eye.

"I've heard stories, read about people that…"

She nodded. "There are quite a number of us that have changed a lot more than you have. Count yourself as one of the lucky ones. You could have turned into a big pile of goo."

I looked over at her to see if she was serious. The regretful nod was more than enough confirmation.

"You said you got my measurements?" I was curious, sue me.

With a nod she rattled them off. "Your current vital statistics are height: five-seven, weight: one-twenty-five, bust: thirty-four-cee, waist: twenty-two, hips: thirty-eight, inseam: thirty-two, shoe size…"

"That's enough, stop." It was too much for my head to wrap around. Jesus, I was a freak show.

"You should be prepared for further changes with time. You've just turned sixteen, correct?"

I nodded.

"Female puberty usually, not always, but usually, ends around seventeen years old." At the sight of my jaw loosening she continued. "Judging by how much you've developed already, I'd say that you're probably close to being finished. Your cup size may increase a little more, maybe your hips too, depending on how your new metabolism works."

"Wonderful."

A knock at the door interrupted my self-deprecation.

"That's probably your clothes." She closed the bathroom door and after a few seconds I heard a thank you, then nothing until she returned.

No matter how much I like taking the more stereotypical female role while in a relationship with a guy, I did not want to be a girl. I liked looking like a guy. I like all my guy parts just fine, and I like my men firmly on the gay side. There's a difference between gay and straight guys. I'm not talking about stupid lisps, limp wrists, or bright colored clothes like the way we are portrayed on TV or in the movies. I'm talking about something intrinsically different. That is what I'm attracted to.

How in the hell was I supposed to have a gay boyfriend now? Hopefully Jeremy will understand and stay with me.

Sounds a little cold-hearted doesn't it; me thinking about my sex life while Dad is sitting in some funeral home waiting to be buried. Well, it's not. I was trying my best to keep his death in the back of my mind until I could actually have some private time to grieve. No matter how many pustules of estrogen are floating around in my bloodstream now, I was still a guy deep down. Guys don't cry even if they're gay.

Tammy, or the hospital rather, provided me with green scrubs to wear. That was cool of them, very unisex clothing scrubs were. The underwear was a different matter: panties and a bra. They were utilitarian enough, nothing frilly, white cotton.

The shame of wearing them was limited to when I actually put them on. Once I was covered up with the scrubs I was perfectly fine. Out of sight, out of mind.

"Those'll do until we can get you out to the store."

Now the shame was back again. The only good thing about having freakishly white skin? The color didn't change, so no blushing would be apparent. However my scowl was more than enough to let her know my thoughts on the subject of shopping for girl clothes.

"You'll have to do this sometime, Braith. It's better to get it over with and meet your problems head on. Besides you'll need something suitable for your father's service later today."

I frowned. She was right, but I didn't have to like it.

Being out in the mountains, there are no super malls. We have Wal-mart and little strip centers here and there. Wal-mart sucks big squirrel penises. There was a fairly nice mini-mall over in Pikesville that, if I remembered right, had gigantic women's departments. That's where I got Tammy to drive me. The coat I got to borrow wouldn't keep me warm for long and I was currently freezing to death in the scrubs. While I'm sure they are all the rage at your local hospital, outside they sucked.

When we arrived at the mall Tammy called ahead to the store manager and told her who she was and what we were doing. Otherwise I wouldn't be able to use the credit card Dad had given me in case of emergencies. Fifteen minutes later, after they verified her ID, we were given the thumbs up.

Now while I told you before that Kentucky was one of the more enlightened states with their attitudes toward mutants, that doesn't mean that people don't stare, whisper, move to the side when you pass, grab their kids out of the way, etcetera, ad nauseam. It just means they won't necessarily grab the pitchforks and torches right away.

Seeing what amounts to a demon girl walking around in mismatched clothes was a little too much even for them.

I kept my head down, but nobody was fooled for a second. There was nothing I wanted to do more than just get something to wear and get the hell out. Thus the speed shopping.

"Braith, don't you think…"

"No, five of the same color is fine. I'm not a clothes horse."

Those mannequins they have all dressed up are how I shop. Someone thought they were good looking enough to put up there, that was good enough for me. So, five pair of thick black leggings, five black long-sleeved turtlenecks, five black cotton bras, and five black cotton panties.

"You can't wear those panties with those leggings, not if you don't want everyone to see what you are wearing underneath. Here…"

She grabbed two three-packs of cotton panties that looked the same as the others I had. So, I shrugged and added them to the shopping tote. I could see the disappointment on her face at my selections. I really didn't care.

Black knee socks and lastly a decent pair of boots. Decent meaning Doc Martins knee boots; virtually no heel, well no more than I was used to.

"You'll need a coat."

I sighed, as we were starting to draw a crowd. "Take this over and start getting it rung up, I'll grab something."

It was wool black and came down to my knees. Good enough? I grabbed a pair of gloves on the way back and I was set.

"You're going to want more things than this. You don't even have a purse."

I stared out the window on the way home. "I've got tons of pockets. I don't need a purse."

"Those are ornamental." At my confused looked she explained. "They're fake pockets. You have two to stick your hands in. The leggings have none. "

I shrugged. "I can use my backpack."

Hearing her sigh was starting to become a habit that I was learning to ignore. "Braith, I know you've been though a lot, and something are only going to get worse, but it would be best for you to take my advice about a few things."

Returning her sigh with one of my own I responded. "Such as?"

"Your body is female. You can try to deny it all you want and you can even live like a guy if you choose, that's all up to you. However a girl's body works differently than a guy's."

I snorted, somewhat, in a sarcastic way.

"What I'm trying to get at here is things would go a lot easier for you if you take my advice. I've been a girl for all of my life. It's not so bad."

Like Dad said before, we lived on the side of a mountain.

"Nice place."

I didn't bother saying anything. Really, what was there to say?

When the car stopped I opened the door without any revelry, like I'd done a thousand times before, but the moment before I stepped out, I froze and just looked at the front door.

"Braith?"

Before turning to look at her, I breathed in the crisp winter air.

"We can take this as slow as you want."

I just shook my head and stepped out. "I can't live in hospital scrubs the rest of my life."

Clutching at the four bags dangling from my hands, I led the way up the front steps with Miss Helpful right on my heels… well hospital slip-ons anyway. I tilted the planter beside the door and removed the hidden key underneath before I opened the door.

The heater was running in the background, and the house was warm. As I stood in the doorway, I imagined I heard Dad in the kitchen getting dinner ready and going through our daily routines.

"Braith," my companion whispered. "We need to get moving if you still want to go to the funeral."

I cocked my head to the side and then entered, allowing her to follow.

Family pictures lining the fireplace mantle caught my attention. Happy times. Turning away I attempted to compartmentalize the pain they evoked.

Tammy's irritating calm was getting on my nerves.

"Make yourself at home. I'm gonna go change."

She nodded. "Thank you. If you need any help just call down."

Ignoring her, I ran up the stairs. I think I can figure out how to put clothes on. I'm not a two-year old. As I passed Dad's room I slowed and glanced inside. Fresh laundry was on the bed waiting to be folded. There was no doubt that was a useless chore now. With a grimace I turned away and stalked to my room.

A few seconds of upending the clothes on my bed and I looked at my new wardrobe. Well at least I don't have to worry about what I'm going to wear anymore. Simplicity is what I needed, not lessons on how to be the prom queen.

Stripping out of the hospital clothes and state supplied underwear, I stopped for a second and checked myself out in the mirror. Yep, still a chick.

I tore open the bag of panties and picked one of them up. What the…

Turning them around didn't help matters, it still looked like a small panel of cloth attached to strings. I picked up the package and studied it. "Hanes Women's Tagless 100% Cotton Low-Rise Thongs (Black). She made me buy thongs!"

I love thongs, believe me, on other people, not me. Giving a look at the door, I weighed the choice of wearing what I had in my hand over going back to the store and buying actual underwear. The thought of being stared at made my choice all that my easier and thus that much more humiliating. Tammy won for now.

By the time I figured out the bra, on my own mind you, donned the leggings and turtleneck, I thought I would feel better. Again girlie items were out of sight and out of mind. But the feel of the thong wedging its way between my lower cheeks was distracting as hell. I can't even say what the rest of the clothes looked like.

The outfit on the mannequin was loose and warm looking. What I had on was almost skin tight. There was no hiding the fact that I was one of the most curviest girls I knew. Tammy said the sizes were right, and I just had to prove that I didn't possess the need to try on every single thing to make sure it fit just perfectly, like every other girl I knew.

Well I wasn't going to let her have the satisfaction of saying 'I told you so'. This meant that I needed to look like the clothes didn't bother me. Fine. I could do that. There was oh so much more that I can say sucks about my life than just the clothes.

The socks went next, which came up well above my knees. I shook my head. With a sigh I remembered that was the style with over the calf boots. Discarding the cardboard things that were holding the upper portion rigid, I pulled out the paper wadding from the toe and slipped on the boots. They were a little snug, but the socks I bought were brand new. A few washings and everything should fit fine. Once they were zipped up, I folded the socks down to just under my knee. There, now I looked like I actually knew how to dress.

I retrieved my Swiss Army Knife and snipped the remaining tags along with the tag on the coat and gloves.

Standing in front of the mirror on my dresser, I slipped on my gloves and almost looked human again. The only bit of white skin showing was on my head.

Jesus, my hair seems to be loving this. The volume had nearly doubled and some of it was sliding over my shoulders to frame my face. When I turned to the side a little, I noticed it seemed shorter than before, almost under my shoulder blades instead of at my butt. Even I had to admit, if I were a heterosexual guy, I'd love seeing me walk down the hallway heading my way. Except for the eyes.

With that in mind, I moved to my junk drawer where I kept my odds and ends, withdrew a pair of Oakley Pit Boss sunglasses. Dad bought them for me for my birthday. I didn't have the heart to tell the man that just spent six hundred dollars on a pair of sunglasses that they were too small for my head. Taking them out of the protective case I slipped them on. Of course they're a perfect fit now. Thanks, Dad. That's one thing I didn't have to throw away.

Okay, now I just looked like a goth girl. I could deal with that. That is if I could get my hair to stay still for a fraction of a second. It was the only thing that was giving away my freak status at the moment.

While I was in the drawer, I withdrew a silver chain and went back to the property bag that held the stuffed saved from the accident, both mine and my dad's. I found the ring that Jeremy gave me and slipped the chain inside before securing it around my neck. When I was a guy the chain was a little small for me. Now that my neck was much thinner the ring hung about three inches down from my non existent adam's apple.

The watch was useless -- way too big. I was about to put the diamond studs they took out of my ears back in, but guess what? Along with the next body, I got new ears too. So now I had to… OWW!

Before I realized what was happening the studs were snatched out of my hands and inserted into the new holes in my lobes, compliments of my hair. I watched in almost stunned horror as a single drop of blood dripped down from the new holes and a few strands of my hair brushed them away, absorbing it some how. That same stand curled up and then lengthened until it was long enough to caress my cheek softly, almost lovingly.

I swallowed, not bothering to move until it withdrew. Okay, no thinking about any more piercings in the future. Apparently my hair could read my mind and had a mind of its own. I closed my eyes and remembered when I woke up at the hospital. The doctor… it was my hair that grabbed his wrist and held him up in the air, several feet off the floor.

Reaching up I patted my strange locks. "Good hair, nice hair. Please don't draw any more blood before asking, okay?" I figured that was the safest route to go. It couldn't talk, after all.

Several strands quickly lengthen and shot toward my school supplies stacked on one side of the dresser. The books on top were slid to the side and the notebook underneath was opened to a blank page. I didn't see where the pen came from. My hair was wrapped around it, guiding it above the paper. My mouth just unhinged when I saw it writing something. Closing in, I realized that what I mistook as some freaky mutant power was nothing of the like.

My hair was sentient.

"Sustenance?"

I swallowed again before asking. "How much?"

"More?"

Think, Braith. Oh, idea! "Does it have to be human blood?"

Score. While the thought of having vampire hair is weird enough, I think I could deal with it as long as I wasn't the donor. "Okay, I can get you some more. Just don't take any from humans unless you get my okay. They kind of look down on things like that and they will hurt me.

"Thanks?"

The pen dropped and my hair reduced its length, caressing my face as it returned to its place along my shoulders. My body went on automatic, as I was too stunned to freak out and too freaked out to run around with my head cut off screaming about how my hair can think for itself and wants me to feed it.

Tammy popped into my head. Tammy! She'll know what to do.

Taking a few quick breaths to calm the pounding in my chest, I made my way down stairs. The state-appointed mentor was browsing the titles of the books lining the mantel above the fireplace when she heard me. Turning around she took me in and smiled.

"Wow, Braith…" She looked stunned. "You have my apologies. You look great!"

I stopped at the foot of the stairs, momentarily distracted, and looked down at myself. "Uh, thanks."

She quickly walked over to me. "Maybe it's the contrast in colors. I think some accessories in red, matching your hair wouldn't go amiss either. Well done!"

I closed my eyes and shook what she was saying out of my head. "My hair can talk."

She gave me a weird look. "Pardon?"

With a confirming nod I explained the earrings and how I had the impromptu piercing session, plus the conversation afterward. All the while my hair was stroking my neck sending pleasant shivers down my back, which was quite distracting.

"Blood?"

"Yeah."

The odd thing? She didn't seem to be too put off by the suggestion. "Well then, we'll need to get a supply of food so that your hair…" she stopped. "You're obviously an avatar, hold on a second." Tammy looked around. "Do you have some paper and a pen around?"

Not thinking too hard about how she was acting like this was an everyday occurrence I went to the counter by the phone and retrieved a notepad and pen. We sat on the couch and I put the items on the coffee table, and Tammy started talking to my hair. My life has become so strange.

"Hello, my name's Tammy Morse. May I ask whom I'm addressing?"

Nothing happened.

Her eyes centered on mine. "Can it hear me?"

I shrugged, then remembered that my hair could read my thoughts. How else would it know to pierce my ears? So I concentrated on talking to myself. 'Can you hear her?'

Two strands lengthened and picked up the pen.

Tammy seemed pleased at watching my hair write. "Braith, just repeat what I ask, okay?"

I nodded.

"Tell it my name, and ask if it has a name."

I repeated her question.

"You're welcome." I relayed that while Tammy looked thoughtful. "Were you the cause of Braith's transition?"

"I'll take that as a yes."

Now I was confused again. I thought I was a mutant.

'You changed me into a girl?' I thought.

Tammy seemed to have following the gist of our conversation even though I was keeping quiet.

"Ask Sangria if your relationship is symbiotic."

After the relay she received her answer, I just wasn't sure if I was exactly thrilled.

I guess I was acting more than a little antsy, so Tammy changed the topic of discussion. "How much do you need to feed?"

Tammy shrugged. "Makes sense I suppose. Somewhat like caloric intake." She looked at me. "Braith, we're in the mountains. There is tons of wildlife out there."

Good point.

The funeral was three in the afternoon at the family graveyard. Six generations of Brice are buried there. I knew my father planned to be beside my mother with a huge headstone that was only missing a date of death for him. He didn't want a big deal made of his death, electing to have a graveside service and no wake. This was probably a good idea considering that I was informed he was in no condition to be viewed.

Tammy and I were the first ones there. The funeral director didn't seem too pleased to find out I was Brice, which again took about fifteen minutes to prove with the provided agency numbers.

After asking her for some time to myself, I left Tammy at the back and went to sit at the small row in front that was set aside for family. I was the only living family now. No cousins, brothers, sisters, nothing. Nothing but Jeremy and now because of my change in gender, not even that. My boyfriend was purely in the gay category, not a bisexual bone in his body. There was no way he would want to be with me, especially now that I was a mutant.

A cold wind blew through the graveyard, working its way through the small portion of my leggings that was exposed. Bringing my knees together, they felt a little warmer.

I stared at the coffin, hovering above the open grave, held by some type of mechanism that would lower it after the service. Then I would never see my father again. Tears dropped unbidden down my cheeks and silently I thanked Tammy for making me take one of her handkerchiefs.

"Braith?"

Every muscle in my body tightened at the sound of Jeremy's voice. Sangria surged forward to provide my face with the maximum amount of coverage so that my face was relatively well hidden.

"Don't look at me, Jeremy."

"Is that really you?"

Who told him… Tammy, of course. "I'm a mutant. You don't want to be seen talking to me."

He ignored me. "Fuck them, Braith. I was going to come out of the closet anyway, after what we did on your birthday. I might as well be a mutant lover too."

Sangria relaxed and pulled away, letting him see me. "I'm a girl now, Jeremy."

"Yeah, kind of hard to miss."

We sat like that, quiet, for a few moments.

"I'm sorry about your dad."

I nodded.

He snuck his hand into mine and we sat like that through the service.

When we stood, I noticed exactly how much room there was between me and the other guests. Two rows worth. There were about fifteen other people standing in the back and on the sides. I suppose nobody wanted to sit near the freak. I could hardly blame them.

"I'll walk you to your car." Jeremy held my hand the entire way. When we reached Tammy's car I saw her waiting inside before turning to my soon to be ex-boyfriend.

Reaching up I fingered the platinum ring he had given me. "Would you like this back?"

He looked at it for a second before shaking his head. "If there was any way…"

"Stop, don't say anything else."

"I'm sorry, Braith."

Tears ran from under my sunglasses again. "Yeah, me too." Seeing his familiar posture, I knew he was about to give me a hug and I knew I wouldn't be able to take it, so I turned and got in the car as fast as I could."

"Braith…"

"Just go."

So I'm a crybaby.

I woke up the next morning alone. Tammy had other freaks to tend to, so I was left alone for most of the day. I hadn't had a decent shower in almost four days, not counting the washcloth and the sink at the hospital. Again, a new experience. Sangria reveled in the hot water using the soap liberally all over my body. I nearly laughed at the absurdity of the situation. I didn't need to do a thing but stand there and let my hair do the work for me.

There's a nagging question that's going through your head. No, I'm not psychic, just realistic. No, the hair down there does not have a mind of its own, since there is no hair down there. Feel satisfied knowing that?

Before grabbing the towel, Sangria shook itself dry much like a dog, whipping from the crown of my head and through its length in a matter of seconds. It held itself up while I dried off and grabbed my underwear. Tammy was right about one thing: the contrast between the black bra and thong was striking. Black was a good color on me.

I stopped and realized what I was thinking. Who gives a crap what looks good on me? The clothing was functional and practical, nothing else. A quick brush and rinse and I was out of the bathroom before I made anymore stupid observations.

Leggings, turtleneck, knee socks, boots, all were donned without thought. It was the necklace with Jeremy's ring that gave me pause. There was nothing extraordinary about it, just a simple platinum band, letting me know how my boyfr… my ex-boyfriend felt about me at one time.

Frowning, I pooled the chain in the palm of my hand and dropped it in my junk drawer. I grabbed my sunglasses and my gloves before heading downstairs.

Puttering around the kitchen, I found that nothing looked the least bit appetizing to eat. When I'd given up hoping for anything, I closed the refrigerator and was about to leave the kitchen. Sangria took that moment to lift a lock of hair in front of me. I stopped at watched it swirl in the air for a second before straightening and pointing.

Following its line I said, "The back door? You want to go outside?"

The lock of hair retreated and draped over my shoulder. "Okay, give me a second. I gotta grab my coat."

I had a sneaking suspicion about why my… what do you call something that's living in your body, or rather on top of my head. It called me its host. Did that mean that it was my parasite? There's got to be a better word than that. Anyway, I figured it was feeding time.

Armed with my coat and gloves against the December frost, I stepped outside and looked around. The dead grass, and everything else for that matter, was covered in a thin sheen of white. While there wasn't any sun worth mentioning, because of the cloud cover, there was a stiff wind that whipped at my face. Sangria closed in around my ears and cheeks to protect me from the worst of the bite. Donning the sunglasses helped my eyes.

"There's a cat around here somewhere that belongs to the Stensons over the ridge. Please don't eat it." An image of the black and white feline entered my head. "She hides out here sometimes when it gets cold. Pretty much anything else is fair game." No pun intended.

I'd like to tell you about our short lived hunting trip, but do you want to hear how my hair caught a family of squirrels that had made a home for themselves in a Red Oak, how Sangria shot up about ten feet, snatched the four of them, jammed my hair into their little chests and left their desiccated bodies at the base for other wildlife to feast upon?

Maybe you want to hear about how the fox that thought it was outfoxing us as it hid in a cluster of brush. Sangria tracked it every step of the way. Several strands of my hair disappeared into the brush. At least I didn't have to watch what happened that time. I'd heard plenty though.

Tammy called while she traveled in-between appointments. Were there that many mutants out there? She laughed at my comment. Apparently she provided other services. I didn't ask her to elaborate, since I wasn't really interested. I was informed that we would be going out again to pick up the necessities for living as a girl. While I didn't have a problem with being outside, I did have an issue with being stared at, which led me somewhere I hadn't been in three years, the basement.

The wooden stairs creaked as I made my way down into the rarely used portion of the house. You've heard tales of musty, dank, rat infested basements like in horror movies. Well, mine was just another room; it just happened to be located under the house. Dad and I used it mostly for storage, but he also came down when he missed Mom.

There was a recliner in one corner next to a couple of boxes with the tape torn off. It was obvious that he'd packed some of her stuff away and reopened the boxes to reminisce. Next to the recliner was a half full waste basket of empty beer cans.

"Aww, Dad."

The first year after Mom's death had been hardest on him. There wasn't a day that went by that he hadn't taken out most of a twelve pack of beer. Then one day out of the blue he stopped. Being a fourteen year old at the time, I really didn't have much say about how he lived his life. The insurance money and subsequent lawsuit against the negligent company that brought about Mom's accident paid off the house, not to mention the bills.

That left Dad with nothing to do once he was fired for drinking on the job. They weren't dicks about it. They understood why he was drinking and even tried talking him into counseling, but his refusal left them no other choice. Me? I knew he was being a man. You take care of your own problems, not pay a guy behind a desk to listen to them.

Eventually he came out from his funk. It was like night and day. He wasn't a dirty or mean drunk. Every day he'd get up shower, shave, put on a clean set of clothes and drink his breakfast. I never wanted for anything practical, and he even went out of his way to make sure I had some impractical things on my birthday and Christmas, hence the overly expensive sunglasses and the emergency credit card.

Looking at the crushed cans in the trash brought all of those memories back. When did he start drinking again? Or maybe he just never stopped drinking at all. It didn't really matter anymore, and that wasn't why I was down there in the first place.

Scanning the boxes stacked up against the wall, I found the one I was looking for labeled, 'Misc.' The rest were mostly clothes. Could I pull out her clothes and wear them now? Well, not only would that be majorly creeptastic, it also wouldn't be practical. Mom was a tiny woman. At thirteen, I was already taller than her and I was only five-three at the time. There was no way her clothes would fit me.

Unlike Dad, I wasn't a packrat. Sometime, probably that day, I'd start going through things and then contact Goodwill or something for hers and Dad's clothes.

Once I dragged the 'Misc.' box over to the recliner, I sat down and felt for my pocket knife. With a roll of my eyes I remembered I didn't have any pockets and my knife was upstairs on top of my desk. I didn't ponder on how to get the well taped boxed open for about three seconds before Sangria flung out a few strands and I watched as they whipped about the box.

"Um… thanks."

It was expertly cut, not digging into the cardboard like I always did. With that, the writing, the washing, I was coming to realize how much 'limber?' Sangria was. There was probably nothing I could do with my hands that it couldn't do better.

Not wanting to dwell on every item and relieve good and bad memories, I dug in and set aside what items I could use. Purses: I took the black ones that looked somewhat plain and medium sized, along with a pocketbook. It was still filled with Mom's ID, credit cards, pictures, and forty-seven dollars in cash and coin. I set aside the cards, and pictures of me, all except for one where I was in my little league uniform and Mom was hugging me from behind. I think I was about seven or eight when it was taken.

At the bottom were two of Mom's jewelry boxes which joined the stack before I closed everything back up. I had no use for scarves and there wasn't anything else of any value in there.

Taking the least feminine purse, if there was such a thing, I grabbed the pocketbook and headed back upstairs. I'd do the rest later.

Tammy arrived after lunch, where I still couldn't find anything appetizing to eat. Maybe I'd go out for a burger later if she didn't have me doing make up lessons or some equally inane task.

"Are there other things down there that you could use?" she asked when I told her about the purse.

I shrugged. "Dad kept all of her stuff."

She measured me for a moment before easing into a suggestion. "I could go down there and look through them for you if you'd rather not do it."

I nodded just to get her out of my hair. She gave me a gentle smile and set a sealed manila packet on the counter. "This is an information and enrollment package for Whateley Academy. It's a school that specializes in in teens like you."

"School?"

She nodded. "I know it's not first on your priority list of things to do, but eventually you'll need to go. They're about to let out for Christmas break. I'd like to have you enrolled for the Spring."

Ah. "Are you my guardian now or something?"

Tammy didn't look exactly comfortable when I asked that question. "Technically, you're a ward of the State. In cases like these I'm given a bit of latitude as to how that takes place."

Laying my hand on the package I frowned. "So, I either go to this mutant school or…" I left the end hanging there for her to finish.

"Go to Whateley, Braith. You'll learn about yourself and be surrounded by others like you."

That brought a bitter laugh out of me. "Other guys that have been changed into girls with blinding white skin and hair that talks to them?"

She shrugged. "Stranger things have happened." Before I could smart off again, Tammy added, "There will be other Avatars there, those that have Patrons such as Sangria, and if what it says is true then it might have already been to Whateley in the past."

Might as well put that question to rest. "Sangria, you know about this place?"

It sprang to life and whipped across the room to grab a pad and pen.

While I gambled on the chance that my… Patron (at least I know what to call it now) did know about it, I was forced into asking, "Should I go to school there?"

This time I frowned. "I'll look it over, but I'm not promising anything."

It was a big bundle. At Sangria's request, I spread all of the admission forms out on the table and retrieved several pens. It was kind of funny to watch as it filled out the forms, seeing twelve different actions all at once. Talk about your multi-tasking. What I was wondering was, how in the hell did it know how to fill in the blanks? Were there eyes attached somewhere that I couldn't see?

Twenty minutes and a change out of all the forms and they were stacked neatly at the corner of the table, while I was looking over the pamphlets.

"It doesn't look like it sucks."

"It doesn't." Tammy had emerged from the basement with a single box. "I attended. Class of '97." She walked over and set the box down on the table, her eyes scanning the completed forms. "How…"

"Sangria helped."

She flipped through a few pages and then stopped, very interested in one in particular. "Sangria, how do you know these power levels?"

"Powers?"

Tammy nodded. "According to your Patron, you are an Avatar-3, which was obvious. That's probably your sole trait; the rest being what Sangria is supporting you with through the symbiosis."

"What's an Avatar?"

"Basically it means that you have the ability to host a spirit, and depending on your power level, more than one."

Tammy looked like she didn't know what to say to that. "Regen-3. That basically means that it's going to take a lot to keep you down. You can regenerate limbs if the need came up. Granted it takes a while, but as long as you don't incur any more damage, you could be up an about in a couple of weeks."

"Limbs?"

That got a cock-eyed look from me. "Why would I want to be harmed?"

Sangria didn't answer that one.

"It's given you TK powers too. That explains the whole moving around thing." Her eyes got big for a second. "With a Strength level of 3 and a Dexterity level - D."

She kept reading while I waited impatiently for an answer. "In English?"

Looking up at me, she shook her head. "Sorry, well if push comes to shove, it could probably hoist a small car up in the air, and then soon after paint your portrait. I figured the Dexterity was high since it could write and pierce your ears perfectly, but the strength is a lot more than I expected."

Uh… yeah. Shouldn't my hair be green then? Sorry, comic books joke. Topic change needed.

"What's in the box?"

I got the sly-eye from Tammy for that one. Okay, I wasn't a smooth talker. She set the paperwork down and looked inside. "I found some essentials that you'll need later. Plus some other things that you might grow into."

"You've got bigger bras in there?" I deadpanned.

"Costume jewelry, perfume, sanitary items, the makeup was mostly dried, but I did find two lipsticks that were salvageable, still in their original packaging."

With a sigh I pursed my lips. "I told you I'm not doing the girl route. Toss the makeup."

"Braith, I'm leaving it in there. You don't know what you'll want once Sangria and you merge mentally. Besides, it's not like you'd need to go the whole route. You won't be able to wear a lot of makeup, because of your coloring. Maybe some eyeliner, mascara, and lipstick. That's about it." When she saw the rebellious look I was giving her she said, "Just keep your options open, that's all I'm saying."

Fine, she wanted to go down this road? "Tammy, are you straight?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Are you straight, heterosexual, do you go for guys only?"

She shrugged. "Well… yeah."

I nodded and then leaned over to unzip my boots.

"What are you doing?"

Once I slipped the first one off I set it to the side. "Getting undressed."

She dropped the lipstick she was holding into the box. "Why?"

"So we can have sex. I want you between my legs showing me how to enjoy having sex like a woman."

Now I was the victim of her annoyed glare. "Braith, it's not the same thing. Makeup has nothing to do with sexual preference."

I shook my head calmly. "Never said it did. But I do remember something I said about going against my nature. It's not in my nature to put on make up, high heels, a dress and go prancing around hoping to meet the right hetero guy to make all my wedding dreams come true."

She crossed her arms, and still held the glare. "When did I mention anything but makeup?"

I smiled knowingly. "Oh, that was the part you were going to add after I reluctantly agreed to take your advice about something that goes completely against my nature. So, with all of that mind, I'll make you a deal."

"I'll bite. What's the deal?" She was toying with me, appeasing me to see what I would say.

"I'll wear your makeup. Hell, I'll even go get my nails done and wear a skirt and heels. All you have to do is something totally against your nature." With that I spread my legs and pointed at my crotch. "Come on."

With that announcement, Tammy turned and grabbed her purse off the counter.

"What's the matter, Tammy. Am I too much of a freak? Is it the white skin or is it because I'm a girl? You'll eventually enjoy doing it, you implied as much yourself. All you have to do is try it."

I got up and followed her to the front door as she tried her best to make her stride nice and even.

"Braith, when you decide you want to act like an adult, give me a call."

Her hand was on the door knob when I pretty much all but exploded. "When did I ever claim to be an adult?!"

Sangria whipped out and grabbed her by the arm, spinning her around, then let go.

"I don't know if you've been keep up on current events, lady, but I just buried my father yesterday! And that wasn't all," I laughed and turned around, throwing my hand up in the air. "I find out I'm a fucking mutant, and a girl!" Spinning around, I pointed my finger at her. "And you! All of this is just another fucking day in the life!"

Something knocked me back, almost dropping me to my knees. I suddenly felt so lethargic. It was her. Her and her damn mutant power. Morphine. This time I did drop, but I fought it every step of the way.

Help…

I heard a muffled scream and the pressing sedation dropped away only to be replaced with a burning rage and a stabbing pain at the base of my skull. I was to my feet again and staring into the eyes of the mutant that assaulted me.

"Hear this, mentor. Use your talents on my host again and I will separate your head from your shoulders. Do we have an understanding, you and I?"

She nodded, or tried to nod rather, before another lance of pain jolted me. I blinked for a second and looked down at the floor where she lay virtually mummified in my hair. From shoulders to toe I couldn't see an inch of skin, and the only thing that was showing from the chin up were her eyes… her terrified eyes.

"Sangria, stop! Leave her alone!"

As you wish, my love. Her voice was as clear as day in my head. Yeah, I was right in saying 'her', Sangria was female.

In seconds my hair pulled back and Tammy was scrambling to her feet, pawing at the door. I stared to apologize, but didn't even open my mouth before my Patron cut me off.

Let her go, my love. She must ponder the futility of attacking you and I.

Standing at the door I saw Tammy trip in the yard before picking herself up and escaping to the safety of her car. The sun took that moment to break through the clouds, nearly blinding me in the process. I retreated further in the house and watched as she tore out of the driveway and disappeared.

Sangria closed the door while I blinked away the yellow spots in my vision.

You must wear your eye protection, my love, all of the time.

"You can talk to me?"

You were in danger. I will not permit anyone to harm you, and you required my assistance. Encouraging the progression of the bonding this way causes pain, that is why I choose the long integration.

That must have been the stabbing pain in my head. It was now a dull ache, hopefully nothing that a couple of aspirin couldn't take care of.

Your regenerating ability is taking care of the problem, my love. You've no need to pollute your body with foreign substances.

My thoughts drifted back, playing over what I said and what Tammy said. "I overreacted, but so did she."

Your mentor was under no threat. She had no reason to use her talent. However uncomfortable it is to hear someone yell, you had more than enough reason to do so.

I waved off the excuse. "That doesn't mean it was right, Sangria. I need to call her and apologize."

As you wish, my love.

I subconsciously reached down to my front pocket for my cell before I realized that it was in my purse upstairs. I've got to get some jeans or something, this was getting annoying. Instead I went over to the counter and used the land line.

Tammy's phone rang and rang before switching over to voicemail.

"Tammy, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled." A few beats passed like I was waiting for a response. "I'm just… I'm having a hard time dealing with all of this, and getting me to accept being a girl right now isn't the way to go about making me feel better." Another pause passed. "I can't apologize for Sangria. She thought she was protecting me." I really hate voice mail. "I'm sorry for the whole thing."

Fifteen minutes was all the reprieve that I was apparently due.

Our physical integration is complete, my love.

I blinked after staring at nothing in particular. "What's that mean?"

It means that we share our senses. I feel what you feel, hear what you hear. Taste, smell, see what you see. All of this we share with one another.

I wasn't exactly sure how I felt about that. "So that's it then?"

It is the beginning. Within the next few months, we will share a stronger emotional and mental connection until we are as one mind, separate but one.

Panic should have set in at that moment, but considering what my life had become over the last few days, Sangria was the only friend and guardian I could count on. Nothing seemed to matter but my well being and happiness to her.

As it should be, my love.

Two hours later and I still hadn't heard anything back from Tammy. Maybe she was well and truly pissed or terrified of me; it was a toss up. That just brought thoughts of paranoia to mind. What if she washed her hands of me and called in the State. Would they send other mutants to lock me away? Would they just kill me outright for what happened? I'd seen mutants on TV that they chased down. Was it the same thing, a misunderstanding gone wrong?

The only thing that came to mind was 'prepare for the worst, hope for the best.'

With that at the forefront I donned my boots and raced upstairs. Opening my closet I pulled out my backpack and tossed it on the bed. The duffel was next. Upending it I tossed out all of the clothes. The only thing left were my amenities. I had three sets of clothes that were clean. I'd have to keep up on the wash or buy new ones on the run.

More problems popped up. Money. I had access to it if needed, but I knew from the movies that the government loved to freeze people's bank accounts.

Have no fear of that, my love. If need be I have ways to make sure you are taken care of.

"Hair has a bank account somewhere?"

I almost thought I heard a giggle in my head.

Have you forgotten my previous hosts? I know all that they knew, including their financial arrangements, places to hide, access to vehicles. Pack only what you wish to not lose. The rest will be provided.

Well, I'd like not to lose my house, but that's a little impractical, not to mention that it wouldn't fit in the duffle.

Consolidating Mom's jewelry into one box, I stuffed that at the bottom, on top of the single bath towel. My clothes went next. I retrieved the box that Tammy brought up from the basement and went through that next.

Tampax? Oh hell. That thought hadn't even occurred to me. Sangria helped out while I was in denial. I don't even remember how I moved from room to room, but when she was done, I was standing there with a full duffle that weighted about fifty pounds.

"I can't carry that for long."

You need not concern yourself. I will bear the burden.

I nodded and grabbed my backpack before heading downstairs and setting everything by the basement door, along with my jacket and purse.

"What next?"

Contact your mentor once more. If she still shows no signs of reconciliation then we shall flee until we know better her intentions.

I tried her on my cell phone this time. Still no answer. Folding the cell closed I sighed and looked around. This all might be gone before I'm able to return. My throat tightened. It's all gone to shit.

While I walked around to take a last look at my home, I stopped at my dad's room. His bed was neatly made and his slippers sat there on the floor beside. I eyed the gun cabinet for a moment. I couldn't take one of the shotguns, but dad had a pistol.

I am all the protection you will ever need, my love.

Crossing the floor I opened the cabinet. "I trust you, Sangria, but you never know what's out there, and maybe I'll have a chance to protect you too. There was only two boxes of ammo for the .40 Smith & Wesson, but there were five clips, plus the one already loaded in the gun itself. That took care of one box. The other would have to be my only back up. Spending the time to load each magazine gave me a moment to clear my mind.

The things that brought memories of my father were now cherished. He would take me out every Saturday, rain or shine, to the shooting range. That was since I was nine. Every boy should know the proper way to handle a firearm. Before he would even let me see a weapon I had to memorize ten rules. If I ever broke any of the rules I would never see another gun again. That was more then enough reason to listen to every word he said.

With just a whisper I repeated the rules, as I had to before each time we opened the gun case. "Treat every weapon like it is loaded." On and on I repeated the mantra while until I finished filling the last magazine. After tossing the empty cartridge box in the waste basket, I pulled out the gun case for Dad's pistol, and opened it. A single loaded magazine lay beside the well oiled M & P.

I couldn't use my regular holster; that required a belt to attach it to. Dad had a Velcro shoulder holster that he wasn't too fond of, but it would be very adjustable to my smaller body. It would have to do.

"Sangria, could you give me a hand?"

My hair took charge and had me fitted in about fifteen seconds. Methinks that she's done this more than once.

Lacy, two hosts previous, was military minded. She loved her weapons.

Closing the gun case, I returned it to its proper place and then grabbed the gun cleaning kit. It wouldn't really do me any good to have a weapon if it wasn't kept clean.

"I'd like to hear about your previous hosts."

When we have time, my love, I promise.

I nodded and went to retrieve my backpack. The outer pocket was emptied into the duffle and I stored the spare clips and cleaning case there. When that was done I snapped the last magazine into the pistol, jacked in a round and holstered the weapon. It felt ridiculous hanging under my arm, like I was trying to live a cop drama on TV. That I was dressed in black didn't help the image in my mind. Now all I needed was some ninja throwing stars and a katana then the cliché would be complete.

Actually a sword would be pretty cool.

I am all the protection you will ever need.

I smiled at that. "So you said before."

A loud knock sounded from downstairs. My hand twitched to the pistol, but if it was Tammy I didn't want to send her running again. Hurrying as fast and as quietly as I could downstairs.

"Can you reach my coat from here?"

I felt my hair moving again as I looked through the peephole. It was Tammy, but she wasn't standing in front of the door. She was out in the yard. Sangria held my coat for me as I put it on and slung the backpack over my shoulder.

I nearly shit myself when someone, other than Tammy, knocked on the door, louder this time.

The person is to the left of the door where you will not be able to see. Respond, but do not open the door.

I normally keep the doorknob locked during the day, which it was already, but for just a little added protection, I eased the deadbolt closed.

"Who's there?"

"Braith, it's me, Tammy," I heard her call out.

"Hi Tammy. Thanks for returning my calls."

There are three of them, not including your ex-mentor. Do not fear, my love.

Not receiving any response back from her this time I went ahead and blew their cover. "Your friends are trespassing on private property. This is your only warning. Leave!"

A crash of glass in the adjacent living room and I drew the pistol, but like Sangria said before. I already had all the protection I needed. She reached out, quicker than the nimble little sword-wielding fucker that just ruined my front window, and countered a cutting move with one of her own… well actually, with about seven or eight of her own.

He dropped to the floor sans the sword arm, his head, and both legs. It was over so fast that I didn't even have a chance to tell him to freeze. As I was standing there, in shock, Sangria gathered the pieces and tossed them back outside, while other strands of her hair absorbed the blood covering the floor.

That's when I almost lost my lunch, if I had eaten any that is. She spun me around and I watched as two pencil sized strands of hair literally punched through the wall to the left of the door and then a half second later, pulled back through covered in blood. A single ear piercing scream followed that one.

The door exploded inward. Luckily, I wasn't standing in front of it this time.

Brace yourself, my love.

Sangria picked me up, and don't ask me how because I was kind of losing my mind at the time, but she ran outside with me. I felt hair covering all of my body, cocooning me safely in her grasp. A few seconds later it was over and she released her hold on portions of me.

Tammy was in her car, screaming. The engine was running and I could hear tires squealing but her car wasn't going anywhere.

Sangria punched a whole through the hood of the car, killing the engine. The driver's side door was next, pulled right off of the car and Tammy retrieved and tossed, less than gracefully to the ground.

"I warned you about harming my host!" I heard myself yell.

Tammy scrambled backward, crying. "It wasn't my fault! I made my report and they insisted you were too dangerous. Please!"

Sangria bound her arms to her torso and wrapped her neck with my hair.

"Wait."

She will bring more, my love. We cannot let her live.

"And you don't think they won't send more when the ones we killed don't report in?"

I could almost feel Sangria's reluctance, but she withdrew everything from Tammy except from around her neck. Hauling her up from the ground I heard my ex-mentor gagging before she was held in front of me.

"I should let her, you know." I felt dead inside. Even if I wasn't the one that personally killed three people, I might as well have been. "She warned you. Then you bring them to my home."

"You can't run, Braith, they'll find you." Her voice sounded raw, tear-filled.

"Maybe. But then I was raised in these mountains. I know caves that aren't on any map. They'll have a hell of a chase on their hands."

"You won't win."

I smiled and closed in on her face. Lifting my sunglasses, I stared her in the eye, letting her see the red of mine as I narrowed my lids against the afternoon sun. "I don't have to win. I just have to make sure you don't."

Tammy struggled against the hair wrapped around her throat. "Let me go, Braith."

With a single thought, I sent out a whip of hair and struck her across the face. "You don't give me orders, Tammy. You've destroyed my life, made me a killer, took away the only home I had left in the world. Now the only thing I have is my memories and Sangria."

I sighed with resignation. "Maybe that's all I ever needed." Turning away from her, I lowered my sunglasses and hung my head. "You'll need your energy, my love. Go ahead and feed."

Sangria purred in my mind. As you wish, my love.

The End, for now.

Obligatory Credits: This is fan fiction for the Whateley Academy series. It may or may not match the timeline, characters, and continuity, but since it's fan fiction, who cares? To see the canon Whateley Stories, check out Whateley Academy at http://www.crystalhall.org
Pic Credit: Lady Death from Chaos Comics (pic adjusted for the story)

Author's Note: This is fanfiction, obviously. Here is a notice to all the fan-boys and fan-girls out there. I have not read every single Whateley fic and or fanfic out there so I don't know every single little bit of trivia there is to know. If you see a tiny little error that that has absolutely no bearing on the plot, please, restrain yourself from pointing your finger and gasping in abject horror. I think it's fairly close so slowly put your blades away and relax. :)

The Middle of the End

"Is there anyone listening out there? I was once like you: a normal sixteen year old guy, I had a father that taught me right from wrong, took me hunting occasionally, friends, significant other, the whole ball of yarn. Then my world changed."

I rubbed my eyes, the bright light, overhead, started to give me a headache. Reaching into my inner coat pocket, I withdrew my Oakley Pit Boss sunglasses, a gift from my dead father, and slipped them on.

"There was a verbal argument. I apologized. They didn't accept. Now they're trying to kill me. The newspapers call me criminally insane, even though they've never met me. Humanity First calls me a threat to life as they know it, even though they've never met me. Some of you in the blog-o-sphere call me a modern day Pancho Villa. Shouldn't it be Pancha? I'm a girl after all, thanks to a genetic mutation that I didn't have anything to do with, changed me nearly a month ago."

After taking a sip of water to ease my dry throat, I set the bottle down.

"They came to my home, my property, the land my family bought over a hundred years ago and tried to kill me. A ninja wannbe crashed through my front window and tried to slice me up with his sword. I defended myself."

The memory was still at the forefront of my mind. Watching the twenty-something guy literally falling apart at the joints in front of me from Sangria's quick actions.

"Did I kill him? Yes. I freely admit that. Did I kill the other two men sent to do the same thing to me? Yes. They were on my property with the sole intention of doing me lethal bodily harm. Excuse me if I didn't want to lay down and die.

"Did I have a right to defend myself? If you ask Humanity First, then no. Since I'm a mutant then I have no rights. If you check the Constitution of these United States then yes, I was born a citizen and thus have the right to defend myself with equal force. So, they're dead."

Sangria caressed my cheek with a tendril of my hair.

"Did the State appointed mutant adviser, Tammy Morse aka Morphine live, even though she's the one that started all of this mess, yes. She's less a couple pints of blood, but she's alive and under the tender mercies of the MCO.

"Now I've lost everything that meant anything to me. Being hunted like an animal. Dropships have carried dozens of flunkies in their so-called Power Suits on my mountain to bring me in." Leaning into the microphone I let an edge go over my voice. "Send more if you want. I'll keep sending them back to you. Maybe not in the most pristine of shapes, but they'll be alive. That's more than I can say you'd do if you had the chance to get a hold of me."

I eased up and tried to relax.

"For those mutants out there that are hunted like I am, you have a voice now. There's someone that is trying to fight back against the bigotry and hatred that's been a part of our country for decades. Don't lose hope. Don't give up. Let your voice be heard."

Leaning back in my chair, I breathed nice and evenly for a few seconds.

"I wish I could help you directly. I know that some of you don't have the power to defend yourself. If you don't, then find somewhere to hide. LIVE! Someday it will be better.

"Well, my time's up. They'll be closing in on my transmitter any minute. Keep your radio tuned to this channel and I'll be back with an update as soon as possible. Good luck."

I was dressed in military grade winter camouflage to blend in with the background and to provide a defense against the infrared scanners they were using to hunt me down. The small amount of heat that I was releasing only looked like one of thousands amongst the wild creatures roaming around. For all intents and purposes, I was invisible.

There never was an all out assault or massive search party for me. Apparently this type of thing happens all the time. The local police showed up at the house and washed their hands on the situation. They brought in a psychometrist who read the scene and told them it was self-defense.

That was good enough for the superheroes who wanted no part in furthering the ambitions of the MCO or Humanity First. So they weren't coming anywhere near my mountain.

But the newspapers and television crews wouldn't let it alone. They had a business to run, and nothing sold papers or raised ratings more than a fugitive mutant murderer on the loose.

Tourists would drive by hoping for a glimpse of me ripping apart one of the many Power Suit teams they sent against me. It was a big mountain and the odds were minuscule that they'd see anything, much less me in a fight, but they came anyway.

Below me, about five hundred yards to the south, was the base camp for the MCO. A single dropship sat along side, powered down. Odds are they wouldn't try anything tonight, but I stayed crouched in the tree, watching, waiting.

"Tell me a story, Sangria," I whispered.

As you wish, my love.

Three thousand and nine years ago lived a maiden girl, fair of face and body. She was sought after by dozens of suitors, the pride of her mother, and destined to be a governess of the local municipality. She lived a quiet life and was a devoted follower of her goddess.

One night she visited the temple to pay homage to her goddess as she did often, when she was visited upon by a tall muscular, bearded man who reeked of fish. They were a coastal township, you see, and men often smelled this way.

He set upon her and despite her pleading to her goddess, she was raped repeatedly in the very same temple. She fought as best as she could, never willingly giving in to his unquenchable lust.

Eventually he grew bored and left her there, on the goddess' altar to die. That is when her goddess deigned to reveal herself.

For the crime of desecrating her altar, the girl was cursed.

"Hold on. The girl was raped and this was her fault?"

According to the goddess, my love, that is correct. You see the goddess was jealous of the girl's beauty, her shining golden blond hair, the attention she was receiving from the men. She thought it an affront to her own supposed divine beauty. In so many words, she was asking for it.

"That is so wrong." Sangria didn't respond, and I saw something deeper in the new feelings I was experiencing through her. "My love," I said. "Was this you?"

Sadness and anger welled up inside of me. I was uncertain about the source. It might have been me or her.

She cursed me that night to never be looked upon again without dire penalty. My beauty was stolen from me, my hair brought to life to mark me and to taunt me.

"What did you do?"

I hid myself, far in the mountains, away from the judgmental eyes of the normal people. They saw her punishment as just. I came to find out later that it was the goddess's own uncle that that came to me that night, sent to fulfill her own machinations, her own petty jealousies.

"It was a setup."

Indeed. From that day on I swore revenge by any means, cursing their names.

"Were you able… did you…"

After a fashion, my love. Her father sent a champion to kill me and he was successful, but in the end I was able to seek another such as yourself before my life force was pulled into Tartarus.

"Hold on, I've heard that name before."

It is the Greek version of the afterlife, the Underworld, Hell.

All the pieces started coming together. "Are you telling me that you're…"

Medusa, my love. Athena was my patron goddess, the man that attacked me was Poseidon, and the god that sent his bastard son Perseus to kill me was Zeus. All because I was once beautiful.

Sangria was quiet for a long time after that. Her life, such as it was, had turned full circle, probably time and again. Here she was secluded in the mountains once more. Hiding from those that thought that she deserved punishment for being different. Granted, I wasn't a raving beauty before or after I turned into a mutant. In fact, I would probably scare the pants off of any guy that looked at me. Nobody wanted a girlfriend that looked like a demon, well, not the sane ones anyway.

It was just as well. I seriously doubt that I would ever come across a guy that I would be attracted to. Heterosexual males just didn't do anything for me.

Spotlights ignited and drenched the area in white light. Sangria was quick to shield my eyes while I dug out my Pit Boss sunglasses.

"What's going on?"

The enemy is on the move, my love. Something has attracted their attention.

"Me?"

No, I think not. Something else… there! A strand of hair pointed to the east. Two figures, one tall and imposing, the other short and very large. No, wait… the first one is carrying another. Three of them.

The whine of the dropship engines powering up drew my attention. Dammit, and here I was thinking it was going to be a quiet night.

"Get us in close, Sangria. I want to see who else is trespassing on my mountain."

Two shocks of hair launched out and I felt the rush of cold wind on my face as we moved from tree to tree, well above all of the action. The three newcomers were running uphill, blind, and we were on an intercept course catching them in seconds.

"Keep moving, Gordo. We've got to find somewhere to hide. They'll be on us in seconds."

The short fat kid was huffing up a storm, looking like he was going to have a heart attack any second when Sangria dropped us right in their path.

"Too late," I snapped. "They're already here."

They were obviously mutants. The tall one didn't have a face, only two slits of glowing solid green eyes. The one he was carrying was a girl, I think. She might not actually be alive if what I was seeing of her head was any indication. She had no skin. Muscle and bone was all that was showing. Jesus.

They stopped and the tall one's body language showed nothing but fear. Mutants, on the run, on my mountain!

I pointed to the side. "Three hundred yards that way is a road. You'll find an SUV there. Get in and don't move a muscle until I get there."

The squat fat kid, pale-white, and sweating went wide with his eyes. "You're her!"

A spotlight from above shot down on us. "Move now!"

Sangria grabbed the nearest tree and launched us into the air, straight at the dropship hovering close above.

It was a shoebox with wings; that was the best way to describe the aircraft that held an untold amount of Power Suits. Usually they just dropped a single capture team, but I've proven a little too evasive and stubborn for just a single team anymore. I've seen as many as three teams, and with mutants on my mountain being chased, there was no telling what to expect. That's why the deployment portals on the bottom were my target. They come from there, spat out one by one, the Power Suits.

The outer controls were shredded on two of them in seconds, compliments of Sangria, locking the portals closed. Only one more, but it was too late. Out dropped three figures before I had a chance to move. The only other opportunity I had before it got out of control was to take out the ship itself.

Sangria looped a length of hair around one of the wings and swung us up to the top.

Two engines on either wing swiveled around to provide the thrust and hovering capability that were the weakest part of the ship and my new goals.

The first pod was sliced off in a second sending the dropship swerving to the right while it was trying to compensate. That was probably a good thing since I narrowly avoided getting blasted into plasma goo from the Pitcher in his vain attempt to kill me.

"They brought out the big guns, Sangria!"

The second pod dropped to the forest below. There was no way it could stay up in the air for much longer, so we made our escape. The trees below were problematic at the moment, because of the rate the dropship was spinning. The only other way was straight up.

Needless to say, the Pitcher was caught off guard when Sangria latched on to his legs and spun me around to his back. He was the only airborne member to the Power Suit team and with me hitchhiking he knew he was now a target.

"Just drop me anywhere, flyboy."

"Get off! Get off!" he yelled.

Sangria looped around his neck and started to squeeze. It was one of the weaknesses of the armor, the joints. People tend to panic when their air supply is cut off.

"Get me to the trees safely and I'll go."

That's when we stared to receive small arms fire from below. I looked down and my own eyes widened. Trees were being shredded by the spinning dropship.

"I'd hurry if I were you."

Bullets were pinging off the front of the Pitcher's armor. I guess they really don't care who gets hurt just as long as they get their mutant.

The Pitcher took his cue and dove to the side. I braced myself on his legs and then jumped. Sangria took care of the flight pack attached to his back and I sent two arms of hair to the nearest tree before watching the Pitcher fall to his just reward a hundred feet to the ground.

He'll live. His suit will see to that. He might not be in one complete piece though.

That's when something went boom. I didn't get to see what it was, because Sangria wrapped me up nice and tight in a hair cocoon, but I felt the concussion blast send me flying into the air, knocking me senseless.

Cold wind in my face woke me.

Are you well, my love?

I took off my sunglasses and wiped at my eyes. "Fine. Where are we?"

Almost to the vehicle.

Good, I need a warm bath and some sleep.

Do not forget about our visitors.

Ugh.

Sangria set me lightly to my feet before pulling back and assuming her normal state at the bottom of my shoulder blades. I dug into my pocket and retrieved the keys to the SUV as I approached. The tall one was waiting outside, by the passenger side door. He didn't say anything to me as I neared.

Looking through the to the back seat I saw the girl being nursed after by the fat boy.

"I want to make one thing perfectly clear," I said to the faceless guy while I looked at the girl. "I'm in charge. You do what I say until you are away from here and safe. If you can't handle that then you're free to…"

"Fine," she said without any argument. "You're in charge."

Slowly, I turned my head and let him see the seriousness in my eyes. To his credit, he didn't flinch when he saw the red. Of course he had his own set of freakshow eyes to lay claim to so it was an even match.

"Get in."

Nothing was said the entire way home, although I could hear whispers of Spanish from the back seat. When I lowered the garage door, sealing us inside the mountain, I released a sigh of relief.

Nobody moved, obviously waiting for me to do something while everyone listened to the engine ticking away as it cooled.

I looked into the rear-view mirror at the fat boy. "Is she hurt?"

"My sister is exhausted," the boy answered in a heavy Mexican accent.

"Names."

The fat boy started. "I am Gordo, this is my sister, Crystal, and he's Void."

The faceless guy nodded in my direction. "Thank you for your help, tonight."

"Uh-huh." I opened my door. "Come on inside. It's not home sweet home but it has a bathroom, food, and it's safe."

Sangria disarmed the alarm system and opened the armored door before we made it there. I pointed to around the place. "Kitchen, bathroom is off the bedroom which is there. There's only one bed and it's mine, but the couch is a hide-away. Sheets are in the closet, there. Help yourself to the kitchen, books, TV, whatever." I turned around and looked at the three. "I only have three rules. Clean up after yourself, leave that door alone," I pointed to a closed door with a key pad positioned left of the frame. "And if you betray me… well, you've seen the news, use your imagination."

Nobody said anything. Chatty bunch aren't they?

"May my sister use your shower?" asked Gordo.

I looked at the skinless girl which was a lesson in keeping your lunch down. "Can your sister speak?"

Void held up a hand, silently asking me not to press the issue. "It's better if she doesn't. Gordo always knows what she wants."

I raised an eyebrow at that. "Linens are in with the sheets. Help yourself."

The girl leaned heavily on her obese brother as he led her into the bedroom and closed the door.

"Who skinned her?"

Void pulled at the fingers to his gloves before removing them. "That happened when she became a mutant. She has skin; it's just see-through."

That's got to suck. And I thought I had it bad. At least you could see my blindingly white skin. Speaking of which, it was starting to get hot. The camo I was wearing was specially made to be for cold temperatures. Unbuttoning the outer layer, I took it off, exposing the fitted tank underneath. I felt, more than saw, Void's eyes on me. It was hard to tell one way or the other since he had no visible irises or pupils. Ah well, no matter how weird I look, I knew I had a hot body, and he was obviously heterosexual.

"Hungry?"

He shook his head. "I don't eat, normally. Though I'm sure Gordo is starved."

I almost smiled at that. "You're kidding, right? He looks like he could live off of his reserves for a year."

Void unzipped his jacket and slipped it off. "He's a mutant too. Used to be skinny as a rail."

Entering the kitchen I opened the refrigerator and looked over the contents. With three, or rather two more mouths to feed I'd have to call in an order pretty soon. Sangria had a large buck for breakfast so she was good for a few days. After thinking about her exertion through the hubbub tonight I amended that, maybe a day.

Another thing that had changed for me: no processed foods. Everything had to be natural.

"What's your story?" I asked.

Void was down to a black t-shirt and from the way the little sleeves were stretched at the seams, I'd say he was powerhouse.

He shrugged and leaned on the counter, watching me toss a three steaks on the George Foreman and setting up the steamer for the veggies. Potatoes went into the microwave. "I was laying low in Atlanta when the wonder twins showed up and blew my hideout."

"That sucks."

"Yeah."

I licked the blood I'd picked up from the steaks off of my fingers. Yeah, I like my meat on the rare side these days. I blame Sangria.

"I was waiting for a acceptance letter for financial aid for Whateley Academy. That's in the toilet now."

"Whateley?"

He nodded. "Hogwarts for mutants."

"Yeah, I know what it is. Expensive I take it?"

He nodded. "Freaking private school times three. You can't learn your powers unless you go there and you can't go there unless you're rich. Just another case of keeping the black man down."

I snickered at the black man comment. Come on, he was black alright. There wasn't a single reflective surface on his skin. It was like looking into… well, a void. I got a scowl for that one, and the only way I noticed it was that his jaw line changed and his green slits narrowed.

"You got a problem with black people?"

This time I did laugh. "Nope. It's just that I didn't take you for African-American, but your skin is about as black as it gets."

He turned a little and looked the other way. "Yeah, well, look who's talking, white-girl."

Got me there.

"Anyway, I'm not from Africa, I'm from Jackson, Mississippi. I'm just plain old American."

I let it go for a little while and concentrated on making dinner. Handing him the plates and silverware I asked him to set the table. He may not have been eating, but he'd pull his weight around here regardless.

In the end he couldn't let the silence lay. "You mind if I ask what your powers are?"

I shook my head. "I'm an avatar." Pointing to my hair. "This is my patron, Sangria." A wisp of hair lifted and waved at him. Void waved back before he realized what he was doing acknowledging my hair.

"So it can move?"

"Obviously." I mean it was obvious. Sangria never stayed still, ever. That was part of Athena's curse. People would always know she was cursed by the gods. "You?"

"I'm a brick."

I eyed him for a second before checking on the steaks. "That doesn't explain the light absorbing skin."

He sighed. Apparently it was a touchy subject. "I've never been tested, but from what I can tell, I absorb radiation. During the day, if the sun's out, I can take in enough UV to look normal again."

I looked up from the grill and cocked an eyebrow. "I'm guessing doesn't last."

He shook his head. "If I go inside or am away from anything that I can't absorb then I turn back into this within an hour."

"We're all a bunch of Morlocks then."

"What?" he asked like I'd just confused him.

"Morlocks, H.G. Wells The Time Machine? A book?"

He blinked at me, so I rolled my eyes. "Guy builds a time machine and goes to the future, finds a race of evolved humans, well, devolved really, but basically they're mutants that can't show their faces above ground. They live in the dark away from the rest of humanity."

There was a pregnant pause in the conversation before Void broke the silence. "These Morlocks, they the good guys?"

"Uh, no, not really. They eat the regular humans and wind up getting thrashed in the end." I sighed. "The point I'm making is that we're underground, mutants… never mind."

Void stood up and straightened his back. "No, I like that. Morlocks. Sounds ominous. Maybe it'll keep people away."

Gordo and Crystal chose that moment to come back into the main room. She was still leaning on her brother, but not nearly as much. "Dios mio, something smells good."

"Have a seat. Dinner will be ready soon." I pulled glasses from the cabinet above. "All I have to drink is water." It was about the only thing I could drink unless I bothered to squeeze my own orange juice or go milk a cow. Why bother?

"I'll live," said Gordo after seating his sister at the table and coming in to help fill the glasses. "Thank you for the shower… and everything, really."

Eating next to someone that was exposing her blood vessels, not to mention her muscles, some ligaments, bones… you get my drift. Well, it's kind of appetite killing.

"Crystal says that she's sorry for putting you off your meal. She can go change if you'd like."

I shook my head. "I'll get used to it. Don't worry about it. It's just different."

"She says your hair is very beautiful."

I looked up at Gordo. "How do you know what she's saying?"

He shrugged. "I can hear her in my head." Then he snapped the t-bone in two and popped both large pieces into his mouth.

My jaw dropped a little. "Hungry?"

Void had himself a good laugh. "Gordo can eat just about anything. You really don't want to see his other power in action at the dinner table, believe me."

That made me curious, but I'd take his word for the time being. Gordo was eying the leftovers on my plate after eating what his sister left behind. I passed it to Crystal who sent it down the line.

"Thanks, it's been forever since we've had something this good."

I nodded. "Look, Void. I can get a hold of Whateley for you if you want."

I could almost see him grin. "Really?"

"Yeah, I've got some numbers that my…" I stopped before telling him about whose place this actually was. "Anyway, I could call them. See if they can come pick you guys up."

The sound of another bone popping sent my eyes to Gordo who was looking at me. "I thought…"

"What?"

He set the bones back on the plate and wiped his hands off with a napkin. "My sister and I heard about you on TV, then we heard you on the radio."

Oh hell. They actually came looking for me, like I was the newly appointed protector of abused mutants or something.

"Gordo, I'm not set up for a boarding house."

"We wouldn't take up much room. We'll be quiet." He started blathering before his sister put her hand on his. A look from her and he quieted down. "My sister says to thank you for your hospitality and that we'd be happy to accept whatever help you want to give."

Gordo didn't look too happy anymore. Hey, I'm not the leader of some funky resistance movement that takes in strays whenever the mood strikes.

"On the radio, you said you wished that you could help." That resulted in a scowl from me to Void.

Crystal tapped on the table and gave Void a reproving look. Gordo translated. "She says that we should be grateful that we aren't in a MCO detention center because of Braith's help, and not to be an ungrateful guest in a home that is not your own."

That was my cue. "Look, I'm happy to help, but…"

The red light that was installed over the secured room started flashing, and I was to my feet in a second. "Don't move." I raced to the door and Sangria had the keycode punched in and the door opened for me.

The locked room was a weapons and security repository, set up quite nicely with monitors and a video feed for two hundred yard perimeter. The monitors were showing movement at the road that ran parallel to our location. When I saw who it was, I breathed a sigh of relief.

Of course, my warning of don't move was ignored by Void. "Whoa."

I spun around an saw the stunned look in his eyes as he checked out the armory. "Planning on starting a war sometime soon?"

After flicking off the warning signal I pushed him out of the doorway and secured the room again. "Do the words 'don't' and 'move' exist in your lexicon?"

He looked down at me, and I could almost feel the resentment emanating from his body. "You got that number to Whateley? We'll be out of your hair as soon as possible."

I crossed the room and grabbed my coat. "The mail has run."

"At night?" Gordo seemed a little suspicious.

I shrugged. "You're in the mountains. Be happy that it runs at all."

Before I punched in the keycode to exit the room I turned around. "Okay, listen this time. Stay -- here."

I really wish I could tell what kind of look Void was giving me at the moment. Something told me it was one of reluctant annoyance. He turned around and went to sit at his place at the table, threw his hands up in a TADA! pose and leaned on a clinched fist. I just rolled my eyes and exited.

He is sexually stimulated by you, my love. He wants to protect you.

"Yeah? Well I'm stimulated by him too. So stimulated that I want to put a boot up his ass."

The night was quiet. A slight breeze lifted my hair, or that could have been Sangria. Keeping to the shadows as much as possible I worked my way down the side of the mountain to the road. The smell of car exhaust was still in the air. The mailman really needed to get that looked at before he broke down in a place that you really don't want to break down.

Yes, it was odd to get mail this late. Bordering on nine o'clock was late for anything to be running around there. But I knew the mailman, and that was him. Maybe he did break down and was just now finishing his rounds.

Checking the surrounding area proved to be fruitless. There was nothing out there but a… with the crunch of bones, the raccoon that was trying to make a getaway just got slurped up by Sangria.

"I really wish you would warn me before you do that."

My apologies, my love.

I retrieved the single envelope and returned to the shelter as quick as possible. Being out in the open hadn't set right on my shoulders since the incident a month ago. Once I was safely inside, I was able to breathe normally once again.

Gordo was washing dishes at the sink while Void still sat in his chair. "Good boy."

There was a sticky note on the front of the envelope.

Sophia was the previous owner of the bunker, also, conveniently, the previous host of Sangria. With me resuming the grocery delivery, people around here assumed that she had returned.

There was no return address in the corner and only an address in the traditional position. Sangria was nice enough to provide a few strands of hair to slice open the top. Inside was a single sheet of paper.

"What the hell?"

"What?" asked Void with intense curiosity.

I looked at my three guests then went to the security pad and punched in a series of numbers before closing my eyes. A white light pulsed then I checked the readout. All secure. There were no listening devices in the area. Then how in the hell did someone know… I reread the sticky note. The postman said he was paid this morning. How did this Mrs. P know about the Morlock thing when I didn't even mention it until an hour ago.

"Was that from Mrs. P?" asked Gordo.

In a daze I nodded my head.

"That's why we originally went to Atlanta," he clarified.

Void stood and grabbed the letter. "That's why I led them in to Kentucky. My note was stuck on the side of a Coke can at a rest stop outside of Atlanta."

Something didn't set right with that. "I thought you didn't eat normally."

Gordo saved him. "The Coke was for Crystal. She told him to get one for her."

"I thought she didn't talk." I was getting really confused.

"She talks, but the only thing that comes out is prophecy junk."

"Prophecy? Like she tells the future?" I asked.

Gordo nodded as he dried his hands. "That's why she doesn't talk much. It's almost always bad news."

"I see the future crystal clear."

"Ah, crap here she goes." Void didn't seem too excited.

"What?" I was looking at Crystal and she had a faraway look in her eyes.

"She's doing the prophesy thing."

If there is one thing I've come to realize in my life it's that I have control, nobody else. I don't believe in fate. While fortune telling or far-seeing is a proven fact where mutants are concerned, I'd much rather not know what's coming. Call it a phobia if you want. I call not stressing about what might be, staying sane. So, I plugged my ears with my fingers, and started talking to Sangria.

'Thoughts?'

Are you sure you wish to do this, my love? Knowledge of the future can surely aid you in your decision making.

'I've read Harry Potter and I've seen The Terminator, no thanks. Prophecies, in general, just suck,' I thought back.

As you wish. You might be interested to know that I have encountered the mysterious Mrs. P in the past.

'Oh really? Is she on the level?'

She is a manipulator. Her farsight is extraordinarily accurate, that is how she was able to have her message delivered at precisely the time it would do the most good. As to her motivations, only she knows.

'So this could be a trap by the MCO?'

No, I seriously doubt that. Mrs. Potter is wealthy and has strong ties in the mutant community. Nobody with any sense would cross her.

'You think we should trust her?'

You were originally open to the idea of attending Whateley Academy. With this small group of mutants and two others soon to be included, you would have like-minded allies should events turn against us.

I thought about that for a few seconds. 'Can we trust them?'

As much as you can trust anyone, my love. You will soon learn that there is nobody that looks after others' interests before their own. It is an unfortunate fact of life.

'Even you, Sangria?'

You and I are one, my love. Your interests are my interests. I freely admit that if using your new acquaintances will further our future needs then we should use them.

'That's kind of cold-hearted.'

Such is life.

I opened my eyes and saw everyone staring at me. Guess the prophecy is over with. "Sorry, I was talking with Sangria."

"It talks to you?" asked Void.

"She talks to me."

"Creepy."

I felt the sarcasm roll across my tongue. "Says the guy with glowing green eyes."

That brought a smile to Crystal's face. Speaking of creepy.

"Anyway, Sangria says that we should trust Mrs. P for now. She knows her."

Gordo wiped a meaty palm down his face. "So we're going to Whateley?"

I took off my jacket. "Not before I talk to someone first." Crossing the room, I headed to the secured door. "I don't plan on driving up to the front gates expecting everything to be all hunky dory."

"Whateley Academy, please hold Miss Brice, Mrs. Carson will be with you in a moment."

I didn't even have a chance to get a single word out, and I used the encryption program on the call. From what Sangria says, the signal is bounced off about ten different routers in ten different countries, not to mention the number of satellites that were involved. My question was, how in the heck did the receptionist know who was calling?

Just when the Girl from Ipanema was about to drive me to the brink of insanity, the line opened. "Miss Brice, you're speaking to Headmistress Elisabeth Carson. Shall I assume that you've received Mrs. Potter's missive and are arranging your travel plans?"

Uh…

"You're Headmistress at Whateley?"

"Obviously. And you are the new host of an entity known as Sangria." She said it as a matter of fact and not a question.

"I have three others with me."

"Crystal and her brother will be interviewing with Mrs. Potter. Void, Woodchuck, and Portia, along with yourself will be enrolling immediately.

I surmised that Woodchuck and Portia were the two others that we were supposed to meet tomorrow. "Who are you people? How do you know so much about what's going on?"

Her tone was straight forward and clear. "Miss Brice, it is my job to know everything that in any way pertains to Whateley Academy and the safety of its students. As to how I know Sangria, she was an instructor here for three years. We have extensive files on her, and she was my friend."

'You know this lady?' I thought to my patron.

Indeed I do. "Hello, Elizabeth."

I heard a sigh on the other end of the line. "I should have known you would have integrated with Miss Brice by now, Sangria."

"I hope you have been well these last thirty years."

"I have been fine, thank you. Since Miss Brice has been nice enough to allow us to converse I need to extract a promise from you before you are allowed on the grounds."

"I'm listening."

"Any threat to your host will be dealt with in a non-lethal manner."

I heard myself laugh. "I return whatever is dealt to me or my host, Elizabeth. As long as we are left unmolested then I will in turn not harm others. Lest you forget the last time my host agreed to the Headmaster's demands."

I broke into the conversation at that point. "What happened?"

"As I am sure our Headmistress will verify, my host was attacked while on school grounds by a student that did not appreciate a failing grade. Her scholarship was in jeopardy and refused to be swayed by her argument. She attacked me with deadly force and I swatted her down where I would normally have simply killed her on the spot. If I had done so then she would not have broken out of security and killed my host later that same evening. I did, however, deal the final blow before succumbing to fatal injuries."

"Sangria…" Mrs. Carson started.

"I will not allow my host to harmed, Elizabeth. Not again. Make your speeches that you are so fond of, my friend. Warn your students of the consequences of their actions if they want to test my mettle. I do hereby swear that I will only deal out what is dealt to me and mine."

There was silence on the other end of the line, and I thought that we may have been cut off for a moment. "I'm sorry, then, you will not be allowed to attend the academy."

"Hold on a second, Mrs. Carson," I told her. 'Sangria, what's going on?'

My love, Lacy, my host at the time died an excruciating death. Her organs were eaten alive by a plague so horrible that her regenerating abilities could not save her. That was her opponent's power, to visit upon the victim their worst fear. Lacy's fear was dying from an incurable disease. Except it wasn't drawn out over the course of weeks or even days, but mere minutes.

The steak rolled in my stomach. 'I'm sorry.'

It is why I have chosen to defend my hosts so cold-heartedly, my love.

I thought about that for a few seconds. 'Would you be open to a compromise?'

What do you have in mind?

'There are fates worse than death, Sangria. You'd be able to defend me and still not have to kill someone. Breaking all of the bones in their body would be one of those ways. They wouldn't be able to fight back and would suffer."

A mental sigh settled over my brain.

'How about an amputation or three. It's kind of hard to fight back if you don't have any arms or legs, and technically you wouldn't be killing them.'

That does ring a certain amount of justice, my love. Very well.

"Elizabeth."

"I'm still here."

"You have my promise that I will not kill anyone while on school grounds. However, you also have my promise that if anything happens to my host while under the auspices of your enlightened sense of nobility, when I find another host, I will be coming for those responsible and you as well."

My printer got a workout that night. Apparently we have to enroll to go to school. Who woulda thunk it?

Me? I still had my original papers that Sangria decided to slip in my duffel when I wasn't looking. Thoughtful of her wasn't it? Have you every had that feeling that you were being herded in a specific direction by forces beyond your control? Well, that was me. However, I had nobody to blame but myself. It was me that came up with the loophole to allow Sangria to protect me. If I didn't want to go to Whateley I'd have to kick my own ass for being all sneaky about it.

Maybe I was bored with protecting my mountain. Maybe I was holding on to the past out of some sense of loyalty to my father. Maybe I was just lonely and really enjoyed having company even if it was with a bunch of freaks just like me.

What was really bugging me, more than anything else, was that everyone had a cool code name and I was still going by my boy name.

"How about White-Girl?" Void offered that one. Original isn't it? Racism is alive and well in my mountainside bunker.

"Wraith is cool," suggested Gordo. "Except you have red hair and you don't really scream."

"I think that's a banshee. And I'm creepy looking enough, I don't need a ghosty name."

"Albino?"

I pointed at Void. "Okay, you don't get any more suggestions. Do you have a problem with the color of my skin?"

If I didn't know any better I'd say he was embarrassed. Void looked away and stuck his hands in his pockets in a very twitchy manner. I looked down at myself. Was my shirt inside out or… oh no. I hadn't changed before coming out for breakfast, which meant that I was wearing a black cami that was crawling up my ribs and some very tiny shorts. Void was checking me out.

Thank god I can't blush. He wasn't being racist, he just had his mind on other things. Oh brother. Like I need some overly hetero guy getting his move on. No thanks.

"Nevermind, forget about it. We need to get ready for the move." I had everyone's attention. "Gordo, if you would do me a favor, plan and out a menu for today, we leave at nine tomorrow morning. Everything else perishable needs to be thrown out. Crystal, if you could gather up everyone's laundry, the washer is in the garage." I received a nod from both of them.

"Void. If I can get you to load up the SUV I'd appreciate it."

"Sure."

"Thanks." I left it at that and stood to go change.

Void needed the last word or something. "What are you going to do?"

"I need to make sure the two newbies don't fall into the hands of the MCO, and I have a couple of loose ends to tie up before we leave."

The weather outside was frightful, and by no means delightful. I had to leave the SUV at the bunker. This left me with the motorcycle, which I had no idea how to ride. Sangria hooked up the side car, because there was no way I could fit two more people onto the back, and she took the lead in getting us to the safe zone just outside the MCO's patrol range.

The mess I'd left last night was considerable. Who knew a dropship could go boom like that. Charred and still smoking wood covered about two hundred square yards. That took out my primary perch. The secondary was closer to my house, which would give me one last look at the place I grew up before leaving for parts unknown.

The small barn where mom used to house a single horse, years ago was empty, as it should be. From that vantage point I could see clearly through most of the windows in the rear of the house. No movement, but that didn't really mean anything. I wanted nothing more than to go in there and see if there was anything else I could scavenge, but even I knew that odds are it was being watched in case I returned.

With a frown on my face I turned and made my way to the second perch were I could see what other mischief the MCO was participating in.

The camp was still there, sans one dropship. They hadn't brought in a replacement, so that was good news. No Power Suit team to screw with in the near future.

Look thirty degrees to the left, my love.

Ah hell. Two costumed heroes stood outside one of the tents and they looked like they were arguing with one of the higher ups. How could I tell that the person they were talking to was some type of muckity muck? Only douchebags wear wingtips with a parka in Kentucky. He had to be in charge. It wasn't that cold.

"Psst."

Sangria moved before I even turned around.

"URK!"

I spun and crouched to see… something. It was well-camouflaged, only five feet away. How had we not heard them. Sneaking up on Sangria is very hard. The figure that she had trussed up with my hair blurred for a second and then I could seem him as plain as day. Evidently, he had some sort of chameleon powers, which explained why we didn't see him. I probably walked right past him and didn't even notice.

"Ease up on his throat, Sangria. If he screams, tear his head off." I made sure the guy heard my threat. It was a bluff. I'm not that bloodthirsty, but he didn't know that.

"I'm not here to harm you," he rasped. "That's why I said, psst."

"Who are you?" I whispered somewhat loudly.

"My codename is Blender. I'm with Firefive. The State called us in after you took out the dropship last night."

Firefive was a superhero team stationed out of Lexington that serviced pretty much the entire state. I'd seen them on TV a number of times. "I see two others down at the camp. That leaves two unaccounted for."

"Gay Blade is in the house, and Big Head is at home sick with the clap. He couldn't come."

Too much information. 'Big Head', 'the clap', and 'couldn't come' are six words that should never be used in the same sentence. "Wasn't the first lesson good enough for everyone? Why is there someone trespassing in my house?"

"We're waiting for you." Sangria squeezed a little too hard around his midsection and Blender gasped. "We just wanted to talk. We're on your side, sort of."

I cocked my head a little and then slid my sunglasses off to take a better look at his face. 'What do you think, Sangria?'

He seems sincere enough. I do not think he is lying.

"Is my house under surveillance?"

"Except by us, no. There was a EMP set off when you crashed the dropship, it fried all active electronics in a half-mile radius. They haven't gotten any replacements yet."

'Awful chatty isn't he?'

Sangria didn't reply.

"Why are you telling me all of this? You're aware of the reputation I have. I'm a killer, a bloodthirsty mutant and all."

He sighed and then relaxed. "Because I'm not your enemy, Braith. We just want to talk and then we'll let you be on your way."

I turned and looked back at the house. The sun was just cresting over the rooftop and I was almost blinded by the bright light. Slipping my sunglasses back on I willed my hair to release Blender. "Stay in front of me and lead the way. Any tricks and you're first, before anyone else. Just keep in mind, Sangria hasn't eaten today."

Well, she hasn't. She didn't need to, but he didn't know that.

Laughter bubbled up in the recesses of my mind.

You are a wicked girl, my love.

'You try to be gay in a town of hillbillies and not learn to tell half-truths with a straight face, for three years.' This is the least of my abilities.

I unbuttoned my coat and made sure the pistol I had hanging under my left arm was clear. Yeah, I know, Sangria can handle just about anything, but the thought of her host being murdered by a school kid was still fresh in my mind. These were professional mutants. Heroes or not, I wasn't going down without a fight.

Gay Blade was sitting there at the breakfast table, her sword hilt sticking up over her left shoulder and her hands laying flat in front of her. "I see you found her."

Blender rubbed at his throat and the phantom feeling of Sangria twisting my hair around his neck. "Let's just say, I see why the MCO has a hardon for her."

"Hey, impressionable teenager here. Can we keep the damn cussing down?" was my response. "What are you doing trespassing in my home?" I wasn't one for pleasantries at the moment.

"Very well, we're here to find out what you plan on doing in the near future."

I glanced at my watch and back up at the sword wielder. "In about twenty-four hours I plan on hitting the road. I'm just waiting for some friends."

Gay Blade nodded. "Good enough. When they get here, you plan on leaving the… area?"

I thinned my eyes at her. Was she trying to tell me something? "The state actually, but yeah."

She lifted her left hand slightly, careful about not making me jump to conclusions. "My watch here is a transmitter to my other two teammates currently down at the MCO base camp. If I can signal them, I'll have your two friends brought up here."

Now this is the point that I started to get a little worried. Was I nervous that they possibly had Woodchuck and Portia? Not really. Yeah it sucks that they got caught, but they were nothing to me at the moment; faceless names.

"Four against one aren't really good odds. Maybe some other time."

She put her hand back down on the table. "Braith, to tell you the truth, I don't want to be here. I know exactly what happened here last month and I've been following your exploits through official and unofficial channels. From day one, when the MCO was brought in, Firefive was contacted. Considering their history with new mutants, we did our own digging around. Once we found out the real story we chose to stand back and let you do your thing."

I grinned, somewhat sarcastically. "Yeah, thanks for all your help there, Ms. Blade."

"What happened here last month was wrong, and we recognized that you were defending yourself."

There is movement from outside, my love. Move away from the kitchen.

I nodded, trying to look solemn and contrite as I crossed my arms inside my coat and walked slowly toward the living room. "They tried to kill me. I had no other choice." Thumbing the holster open, I eased the pistol into my grip.

"I understand. But you've gone a little overboard with your stunt last night. Twelve men were killed in that crashed dropship."

Bringing my eyes up to meet Gay Blade's I set my jaw. "Then they shouldn't have been trying to kill my other friends." She tried to say something, but I cut her off. "All I wanted was to be left alone, but no. First Tammy, then the MCO, hounding, hunting, threatening, attempted murder, all in the name of bigoted justice. Those guys in that ship knew exactly what they were up against. They knew what I would do if they came after me." I turned and paced to the living room. "For a month they've come after me with bigger and more deadly weapons and I've sent them back crying in their beatup Power Suits, all alive.

"But this time other lives were on the line. I was not going to sit back and watch them kill innocent mutants so they could have a good news day and a pat on the back by their buddies at Humanity First."

There is one on the other side of the door, my love.

"So pardon me if I don't shed a tear for the dearly departed." I eyed the new door that someone was nice enough to have replaced for me. 'Grab him and hold him, Sangria, on my go.'

"Braith, I know you have no reason to trust me."

'Okay, that's line's pretty much a go.' I looked back at her. "You're right."

Sangria launched two large arms of hair through the door and a second later whoever it was on the other side was pulled through a shower of splinters, spun in the air and slammed face down on the floor.

Gay Blade, and Blender were to their feet, one of them had their sword drawn quicker than I could blink, but I already had my pistol drawn and was kneeling down with it pressed to the head of the costumed man at my feet. "And you wonder why I don't trust anyone."

Blender stepped in front of the sword mistress, holding his hands where I could see them. "It was me. I signaled for them to bring your friends. They weren't here to take them in Braith, I swear."

I pressed the barrel harder into the back of the dazed guy's head. "Where are they?"

"In the kitchen." The fourth of the five person group showed up. The gang's all here.

'Sangria, can we take them?'

If you kill the one you hold your weapon against, I can handle the chameleon and the sword wielder easily. The last one will pose a problem. He uses plasma blasts as his primary weapon. I cannot protect you from their effects. We will have to flee.

'Get ready.'

Sangria spread herself all over the living room. "I'm not a happy camper at the moment, ladies and gentlemen."

"It looks like we are at an impasse, Braith," the newcomer said. I think his name was Hot Tamale, but I could be wrong. Who really cares?

"Not quite. I can kill this one here, Sangria can take the rest of you down before you can say, standoff. So… this is what we are going to do." With my free hand I reached inside my coat pocket and pulled out my cell. Hitting memory-eight I set the phone on speaker.

"Hello."

"Void, we have ears listening."

"Braith?"

"Listen. Change in plans. Can you find the place were you found the SUV last night?"

"Uh yeah, why?"

"You're gonna pick up the two newbies and take off without me."

"What the hell are you talking 'bout white chick?"

"MCO called in the big guns and we're kind of having an OK Corral moment here at the old homestead. Get to the place and get these kids to safety, okay. If they don't show up in thirty minutes then everyone's already dead, just go."

Silence ruled the quiet living room before Void broke it. "You're cool in my book, white chick."

I broke the connection and thumbed up the locator for the bike I had hidden. When I saw the red light blinking on the phone I yelled out. "Woodchuck!"

The costumes stepped aside and a mousy looking guy thinner than my left arm peered around the corner.

"You're Woodchuck?"

He nodded. "What's your friend's name?"

"Uh, Portia." Good enough verification for me. I really didn't have much choice at them moment. I tossed him the phone. "Follow the blinking red dot. You'll find an SUV with three other mutants. They'll take care of you. You've got thirty minutes. Go."

Hot Tamale nodded to his teammates. Gay Blade sheathed her sword and sat back down. That's when Woodchuck turned and ran.

The guy below me cleared his throat. "Um, if you're not going to shoot me right away, could you take your knee out of my back. That really hurts."

I gave the newbies fifteen minutes before holstering the pistol. Firefive just stood, sat and lay there, quietly.

"They should be gone by now. If we're going to do this then let's do this."

I stood, letting the guy beneath me get to his feet. He stretched his back and grimaced for a moment until I heard a pop. "Ahhh. That's it. Much better."

Hot Tamale stepped away from the wall and looked at me standing there, prepared for anything. "I think I've seen enough. Blade?"

"Transport's on the way."

"Hastings gone?" he asked.

What the hell was going on?

"He left when you came up here," answered Gay Blade.

"Braith, we weren't lying when we said we just wanted to talk. We had to find out just how far you would go to make sure the kids got out safely. Contrary to popular opinion, I don't exactly trust psychics."

Sangria pulled back in. "You mean this was all a set up? What would of happened if I just decided to put a bullet in his head?"

The guy I was sitting on shrugged sheepishly. "To tell the truth I wasn't expecting the gun."

"Sundown is your biggest supporter," Tamale informed me. "He was going to stay outside and just listen in but… " He spread his hands at the splintered ruin of another door.

I heard the whine of a hover jet engine. Thinking it might be another dropship I turned to the side and looked out the door.

"It's our jet on remote. The MCO is gone, Braith. You can relax."

Needless to say, I didn't take his word for it. I gave him my, 'I'm less than convinced' look before turning away and proceeding upstairs. The view from Dad's bedroom window wasn't the best, but I could see the edge of the camp and the tents being dismantled. Before going back downstairs I went to my room and grabbed my dad's cell phone, laying on my desk with the rest of his belongings from the accident.

After powering it up I noticed I had enough of a charge to maybe make a single call.

"He-hello?" It was the sound of a decidedly worried version of the boy I saw downstairs earlier. "Woodchuck, it's Braith. Did you make it safely?"

"Is that Braith?" Void's voice sounded in the background. I heard the phone being shifted. "Braith, it's Void, you okay?"

I sighed with relief. "I'm alive."

"Look, we talked it over. We're not leaving without you. So meet us back at the place."

A little spark of hope jumped in my chest. "It might be a while. I need to make sure I'm not followed." That's when the phone started beeping at me. "Void I got to go. The phone is dying."

"See you then, girl."

Sparing enough time to set up the charger for dad's phone I went back downstairs. Once I was about mid-way I smelled the aroma of fresh brewed coffee, my dad's blend.

Blender was standing in the kitchen looking kind of apologetic. "Sorry, I hope you don't mind the coffee. I'm still freezing."

I shook my head. I could really care less. There was a big piece of plywood covering where the front door used to be. My guess is that it was probably the same piece that was used to seal it when I destroyed it last time.

Mr. Oliver the local handyman was going to be getting another call from me in the near future. There was one good thing about having a household fund that took care of nothing but bills for the upkeep and utilities. Dealing with mundane things like people asking for money so the heat would stay on wasn't really at the top of my priority list.

"How did you get the MCO to pull out?"

Hot Tamale pointed at Sundown. "That was his doing."

The black-haired superhero shrugged. "I just pointed out the discrepancies in everyone's stories. That there was ample evidence to prove that the MCO is purposely instigating these incidences to amp up mutant hysteria and keep them in power. You aren't the first person this has happened to, Braith."

Letting that bit of information settle into my brain for a few moments, I watched as Blender passed out a mug of coffee to everyone. "So what happens now?"

Gay Blade sipped at her mug before setting it down. "Now we make sure you make it to Whateley, safe and sound."

I was through being surprised about what people knew concerning my plans. "I've already made arrangements. We leave tomorrow morning."

She looked at Sundown and pursed her lips.

"It would be better if you left immediately," said Sundown.

Shaking my head, I replied. "I have things to do, and I have my own psychic that said that would be the best time." There was no need in clarifying any of their assumptions.

Blender nodded.

Tamale set his mug on the table. "We should be able to keep them off your back until then, but I can't guarantee anything."

"Never asked you to."

He smiled at me with a knowing look. "It may not seem this way at the moment, Braith, but the entire world isn't against you."

I gave him a sardonic huff in return. "Only about ninety percent."

They took off soon after, literally. It must be nice to have your own little jump jet to ferry you around the state. I made a call to the handyman to make sure the door was taken care of and then shut the house down. This time I did it right. In the rush to exit the scene previously, I'd only performed a half-assed job of lowering the thermostat, and taking out the trash. This time I shuttered all the windows, did the dishes, and arranged to have the house looked after by Jeremy while I was away. While he wasn't my boyfriend anymore, he was still a friend.

Every time I turned around, there was something else that I wanted to take with me. Pictures, little reminders of mom or dad, something that I might need but really didn't want to take the chance on losing. Before I locked the back door I just stared at the house through the kitchen.

"I might not ever see this place again, Sangria."

We will return sometime, my love. For now, you have a much more important duty to fulfill.

"What's that?"

To live your life. To learn about yourself and those like you. You have a responsibility to the group you have brought together. I have a feeling they are going to take your lead in deciding what to do with their lives.

"Uh…"

I felt Sangria's mirth.

Do not worry too much. Sacrificing yourself for people you barely know has this type of effect.

I stood there for a few minutes thinking about what she said. It really wasn't my intention to 'sacrifice' myself. There just wasn't another way around the situation without going overboard like that.

You're going to keep me very busy in the future aren't you?

Okay the chick with six arms, that is definitely something you do not see every day, much less, oh pretty much anytime. She held one of them out to me, along with the attached hand, for a friendly shake.

"White-Girl, we got pizza."

I looked over Portia's shoulder -- luckily she only had two of those -- Five very large boxes were stacked on the kitchen table. "Quit calling me that. Everyone will think that's my codename." I was about to pull away from the newest female member of our little freak club when she grabbed my hand with all the rest of hers.

"You're like totally famous. I can't believe I'm like here in your secret lair and everything."

My eyes widened under my sunglasses. "Uh-huh. Well, welcome. Can I have my hand back now?"

She grinned wickedly and stepped back like she was star-struck or something. This, I did not need. "So, we're all ready to go?"

Void nodded as he was leaning back rubbing his belly in teenage contentment. "Yeah, baby. The family truckster is loaded and gassed up."

We spent the majority of the day getting to know one another. Woodchuck's name was actually Chuck and his power was burrowing through virtually anything, rock, dirt, heavy minerals, steel, transparent aluminum, you name it. Portia was into magic, of which I had no clue how that worked. I was more of a techno type person. I wouldn't go so far as to say geek, but I liked things I could actually touch.

When I woke up the next day I found myself wrapped up in more than one set of hands. I felt bad for relegating some of them to the floor since I had a queen-sized bed. Portia and Crystal slept with me while the guys got the living room and its various furniture. Needless to say the bed was a little crowded and thus the reason why there was a hand on my stomach, leg, breast, butt, and everywhere in between. Maybe Portia was a needy sleeper, or perhaps she had a little bit more than hero worship in mind seeing as how tightly I was spooned against her.

Sometimes, well, more times than not recently, I wished I was attracted to something other than gay guys. If I were straight I could probably go for Void, that is if I could get past his little attitude he had going. He spent a little time outside the day previous and um, yeah. He was smoking hot in his real skin. The only thing that made him stand out was his brown hair. It was unnaturally straight and long. Not that I have anything against fros, but there was a couple of times yesterday that I wanted to run my fingers in there just to see what it felt like. I bet it was soft. It looked soft.

Now I had a possible lesbian laying unconscious possession to me. That would be pretty easy too, if I swung that way. Portia was pretty in a girl next door way. If she'd wrap her additional arms around her waist and donned her coat, you'd never be able to tell she was any different than the average girl out there. Maybe a little on the hefty side, but she was cute.

Hey, I can be appreciative of how people look without jeopardizing my sexuality, or more to the point lack of. I'm so screwed up. I just don't know what I want anymore.

What I do know is that I needed to concentrate on the here and now if I was to stay sane. It's worked for the last month or so. If I didn't keep busy or have Sangria to distract me then I would have probably curled up in the closet and died by now. There was only so much pressure I could take. And now I have the added responsibility of being the defacto leader of my little band of Morlocks.

Yep, it's official. Void pressed the issue yesterday, holding a impromptu vote for the name of our band of cast-asides not to mention with me as the leader. With all of this in mind, I had to focus, once again.

Good morning, my love. It seems as if you've acquired an admirer overnight.

'Yeah, kind of hard not to notice.'

You could do much worse than a magic user as a mate. Once trained, she would provide you with protection even I cannot.

'Sangria?'

Yes, my love?

'Could you not play miss matchmaker. I don't really go for girls that way.'

I heard her sigh in my mind.

Sexual attraction is simply a state of mind. Given enough exposure to a single person, one can develop desires and needs.

'Are you saying that I could want Portia or Void if I just hung out with them more?'

Precisely.

'That isn't exactly how it works, Sangria. I'm a gay guy.'

And yet you are no longer male. Does it not stand to reason that perhaps your sexuality might have been affected along with your body?

I didn't leap to defend myself, and actually thought about what she said. 'I suppose that it's possible, but then why do I still desire Jeremy in my bed?'

Because that is what you have become accustomed to. As I said before, if you allow yourself to accept the possibility of change then you will have an easier time of adjusting. If you resist the prospect that you can have no other but the one that you have ingrained into your conscious mind, then you will be a very lonely person, my love. Gay men traditionally do not desire anything other than gay men.

'You're making my point for me.'

Do not be obtuse. Others do not have me to show them that they have other options.

'It's not like a light-switch, Sangria. I just can't say, poof, and all the sudden I like straight guys or even lesbian girls.'

I have seen into your thoughts, my love. At one time, you thought girls were quite desirable.

'I was twelve, going through puberty and had just found porn on the internet. Of course I thought they were hot.'

And at the time, did you not desire to even be one of them?

'That was before I realized what I wanted. I didn't want to be a girl. I wanted to be desired by men like the girls in the pictures.'

I believe I've made my point. Regardless of method, you are now desired by the male species, and it appears the female as well.

A couple of the hands that were around me tightened, moving slightly. The one clasping my breast shifted and I felt my nipple harden, which I'm sure was an involuntary response to external stimuli. Hey, I've read human biology books.

Deny what you will. You and I both know that being in the arms of this female is comforting to you.

I squeezed my eyes closed. 'Is it wrong to want someone to hold me, even if it's like this?'

Not at all. You have been forced away from your Jeremy. You have been alone these many weeks with only my company. It is only natural that you relish the contact you are receiving.

'I didn't say I relished it. I just like feeling someone beside me again.'

In trying to deceive me, you deceive yourself.

It was like I was arguing in circles. 'This isn't going to be settled in one day, Sangria. Just let me think about it for a while, okay.'

As you wish, my love. However I should let you know that I approve of a relationship with the magic user. She will have much to offer you. The brick is of limited value. There is virtually nothing he can contribute to your continued well-being except companionship and a penis.

'Well I happen to like penises. They give me a good feeling.'

So can six hands, my love.

"Mmmm, right there, Braith," Portia breathed into my ear, before I felt her hands slide across my body.

'SANGRIA! What are you doing!'

The feeling of delighted laughter bubbled up inside me.

Just helping things along.

I willed my hair to pull back from whatever it was Sangria had it doing, and at the same time I struggled away from Portia's grasp, which is a lot harder than it sounds.

She whined a little. That's when I fell out of the bed.

The shower was a little longer than normal. I think it was certain to say that I was frustrated. All this talk about sex and the thought of actively looking to date again made me… frustrated. Cold water seemed to take the bite out of it at least. Sangria was less than pleased, but I was in control of my body, not her. She just had the hair.

Gordo was panning out the last of the eggs into a large bowl while his sister was working on various meats. The breakfast table only sat four so Void and I went ahead and swiped some eats so the others could sit down when they were finished cooking.

The one thing I liked about having someone else cook was that I had orange juice, freshly squeezed.

Void was first up and I followed soon after. That's when Portia came out of the bedroom looking… um…

"Morning everyone. Isn't it like a beautiful morning?" Her eyes stayed on me a little bit longer than I was comfortable with.

"We're inside of a mountain, Insect-Girl. How exactly can you tell?" Ah, Void, ever the politician.

She gave him a withering glare. "Insects have six limbs. I have eight. Didn't they teach you how to count in down in Dixie?"

He didn't have a response to that. It wasn't until Portia came over and kissed my cheek before moving to the kitchen that Void became totally non-verbal. His eyes, however, went as wide as saucers. How, exactly do I get myself into these situations?

Obligatory Credits: This is fan fiction for the Whateley Academy series. It may or may not match the timeline, characters, and continuity, but since it's fan fiction, who cares? To see the canon Whateley Stories, check out Whateley Academy at http://www.crystalhall.org
Pic Credit: Lady Death from Chaos Comics (pic adjusted for the story)

Author's Note: This is fanfiction, obviously. Here is a notice to all the fan-boys and fan-girls out there. I have not read every single Whateley fic and or fanfic out there so I don't know every single little bit of trivia there is to know. If you see a tiny little error that that has absolutely no bearing on the plot, please, restrain yourself from pointing your finger and gasping in abject horror. I think it's fairly close so slowly put your blades away and relax. :)

"They're gone. The smell lingers."

The muted sound of laughter filtered through the secured room door as I went about my public information session. The Morlocks were somewhat happy that they were more free than they were only twenty-three hours previous.

"I'm leaving the mountain. An opportunity has presented itself. Some of you may be asking yourself, if I've given up. No, not quite. The MCO declared war on me. Now, while they didn't exactly surrender, they are gone, they are most assuredly not forgotten.

"Others have joined me here. They heard my message and were in trouble themselves. My duty has changed somewhat. Soon after my mountain went back to its MCO free state, I was elected leader of this merry little band of Morlocks.

Sangria caressed my face and neck sending pleasant shivers down my body.

"We are the ones that cannot go out into the light without persecution. We are the ones that the world is so afraid of, just because we look different. We are also the ones that have lost the most. Family, friends, our community… either they had died or have turned against us, calling us freaks, mutants, evil, whatever."

I stared at the cell phone in my hand and looked at the blinking flag on the map application. Our destination: Whateley Academy.

"Well, maybe some of us are one or more of those things, but odds are that the very family, friends, or community that we once held dear, has made us this way. Think of it like a mirror of their own souls. Being dark, angry, and hateful usually leads the focus of your attention slinging it right back at you."

I had no idea if I was going to continue this broadcast anymore. My point was made, sort of. Additionally, I was going to school, and they might frown on subversion. I snickered to myself; like I really cared.

"I'm taking the Morlocks to safety, and I have no idea if I'll be coming back to my mountain. Maybe some day. There's just too many memories here." With a single breath, I sighed. "We'll see what happens. If I can find a secure way, I'll keep in touch, so you keep your ears open.

"I'll leave you with this last thought. If you are on your own, don't give up hope. There are people out there that care about what happens to you, me being one of them. Good luck. I'm gone."

~O~

After squirreling away a few security items in the SUV I set up the navigation system for auto-drive. Considering the passenger manifest, it seemed the most prudent of courses to take. No need to have police pulling us over for 'routine traffic stops' if you get my meaning. The darkened windows pretty much assured us our anonymity on the road.

The supply of emergency cash that Sophia had in the bunker guaranteed that we'd have no money problems, and the slight laughter I heard in the back of my head made me a little bit more secure. Sangria had told me on a number of occasions that I didn't have to worry in that regard. Apparently living for thousands of years gave her an edge with monetary matters. At least it was one less thing to be concerned about.

The feeling of three hands sliding around my hips from behind let me know Portia was on the prowl again.

"Ready to hit the open road, Braith?"

I still hadn't gotten the nerve to tell her to ease up on the touchy feely stuff. Thing was, I liked it. Not so much for the reasons that you are thinking. I just missed being held by Jeremy, my ex-boyfriend. I missed Dad's hugs. I missed the feel of another person's affections. So I kept my trap shut.

The only problem was Void. Even I saw how he looked at me. Now he was a big black void of jealousy. His green eyes were fitting in that regard. We still hadn't addressed the issue and we'd have to before we reached Whateley. There was one thing I was sure of. High schools were the same all over the world: bad cafeteria food, annoying teachers lording their superior knowledge over their students, and cliques. While I couldn't do anything about the first two, I could make sure that we presented a united front for the last. Nobody would mess with my Morlocks.

If that meant having an uncomfortable conversation and ironing things out in a closed SUV then I'd make sure it happened. We're a family now, whether we liked it or not.

Checking my watch, I nodded. "Yeah. Let's do this."

Space was pretty much at a minimum. A couple of trunks attached to the roof kept our community supplies, and the area behind the bench seat in the rear held a stocked backpack for each of us, with clothes and personal items.

I was aiming to grab one of the captain's chairs in the first two rows, but Portia had other ideas and dragged me to the bench seat in the back. Void and Woodchuck took the front seats, which left the middle two for Gordo and Crystal.

~O~

The first couple of hours were the most quiet. It was almost like I was alone again, except for the constant attention from Portia. She was always touching me in some way. It didn't annoy me and for some reason I got the impression that it gave her some sort of reassurance. Don't ask me why; I haven't ever read any psychology textbooks.

"Do you want to lay down?" she asked me out of the blue.

I looked over and saw her patting her lap with a hopeful look on her face. Why not? I haven't been getting much sleep anyway. Without saying anything I lay my head in her lap and pulled my legs up so that I could curl into a little ball. Her hands went on automatic and I felt her many fingers in my hair. Okay, I knew there was a good reason for this.

Falling victim to the pleasures of hair stoking, my love?

I shrugged internally. 'I haven't had anyone do this since I've gotten long hair. I like it.'

Have you made anymore progress toward deciding which you will take as yours?

'You're in my head. Don't you know?'

She chuckled in amusement. I only garner innocuous information until such time as we are one. The decisions of your personal life are your own.

'Then why are you pressing this, Sangria?'

Several reasons, my love. We are no longer battling the MCO on a daily basis, and you are young. Having seen so much in the last month, I worry for your state of mind.

'How so?'

I felt her reluctance to move further onto the subject. You have experienced much over the last month. I fear that with little to keep you occupied that you will fall into despair.

'And choosing a mate, as you put it, will make me feel better?'

She didn't reply to that one.

'I'm sixteen, Sangria. Any 'mate' I choose will probably be temporary. Not to mention that I still haven't dealt with the issue of my sexuality. Just let things go for now. My love life will take care of itself.'

As you wish, my love.

~O~

Portia was in a chatty mood. Why we couldn't just enjoy the ride, I have no idea.

"So then all of my friends just freaked out. They thought Vietnamese girls were suppose to be immune from being mutants or something."

I shook my head, which was currently leaning back onto Portia's shoulder, while her hands were wrapped possessively around my waist. Yeah, I know I'm letting this cuddling thing go too far. Leave me alone.

"My crew was the same way," announced Void. "Which is stupid, 'cause we all knew about Black Storm, and he's Black. But since he's all normal looking he gets a slide."

Gordo picked at the arm of his chair. "It's the normals that get the love. When Crystal changed everyone thought she was a demonio… a demon lover and was cursed by the madre de dios."

I thought about that. If I didn't know any better, I'd probably think the same thing. The girl has translucent skin. It's a major freakshow.

"What about you mole-boy?"

The terminally thin mutant sitting beside Void got a sour look on his face. "My name is Woodchuck, and I don't want to talk about it."

And he didn't. Come to think about it, Woodchuck very rarely said anything at all. Probably a story in there somewhere, but I wasn't going to force it out of him. "Void, leave him alone."

I got narrow green eyes for that, but he let the subject drop.

Gordo shifted in his seat and looked at his sister in a pleading way.

"What's up?" I asked.

He sighed dramatically. "My sister wants you to know that she doesn't feel right about taking your money. She says we haven't done anything to earn it."

I pulled away from Portia and sat up. "It's not mine either."

"You mean you stole it?" Void laughed. "Hope it was from the MCO."

I shook my head with a little grin on my face. "No, it was Sophia's. She was Sangria's host before me."

Gordo looked back to Crystal for a moment. "My sister wants to know if that was her home we just left."

With a nod, I explained. "From what Sangria told me, Sophia was visiting her brother in Dunwich, New Hampshire -- that's where we're going by the way -- when Lacy, Sangria's host before that, was killed."

"She got a lotta hosts," Void pointed out.

I shrugged. "Not so much; just bad luck. Before that Sangria was with a girl called Briar Rose for sixty-three years."

I noticed Woodchuck taking a larger interest in the conversation. He wasn't participating, but at least he was listening.

"My sister wonders why she was in Kentucky, so close to you."

Leaning back, just a little, I made myself comfortable again before noticing where my right hand was. Snatching it away from Portia's leg would probably draw more attention than having it there in the first place, so I tried to relax and look as normal as I could.

"Sophia was somewhat of a recluse before they joined. She used to live in the White Mountains, a range near Whateley actually, but something drove her away. Sangria hasn't really been forthcoming about the details."

"Weird," replied Gordo.

"Anyway, her next choice was the Appalachians. Still some decent mountains, and the bunker was already there. She just upgraded it."

One of Portia's hands squeezed at my hip. "How did you get her money? Banks don't exactly give it out to anyone that asks."

My hand which was already seated more than mid way up her thigh, involuntarily squeezed back. "The money is Sangria's. She sets everything up for her hosts through a company of some type. I really didn't pay much attention when she added my name. It's all done through numbered accounts, by mail, telephone."

"So, you really are a rich white chick."

I rolled my eyes at Void. "Sangria's rich, I'm comfortable. My mom arranged a trust fund for the insurance money she left me when she died. Even the MCO can't touch that one, but since I changed I can't really prove I'm me without their help, since they leaned on the hospital that took care of me after the accident."

"That sucks."

With a shrug I let my hand slide to more neutral territory on Portia's leg. See, smooooth.

"My sister wants to know if you two are hooking up."

Crystal whipped a foot out and clocked her brother on the knee. He yelped and quickly revised his statement. "Sorry, that was a private question to me. Not so hard, hermana."

Well, so much for 'smooth'. Void's interest was peaked, along with everyone else's, most of all Portia's.

I face-palmed for a few seconds while I tried to think of a graceful way out of this. "You all know I was a guy before I became a mutant, right?"

Nods circulated and I strategically avoided looking at Portia. It really wasn't that hard with her to the side and a little behind me. "Well I was gay also. I had a boyfriend, just lost my virginity the night before… so I was a practicing gay guy."

Gordo was open staring, openmouthed. I guess he didn't know many gay guys were he was from.

Void didn't have any problem closing the brief silence that was permeating the SUV. "You should still like guys, so why are you with her?"

Raising my hands up to stress my point, I continued. "I'm not with anyone." Giving a quick look around, I went ahead with my original plan and decided to lay it out for him, in front of everyone else. "Void, you're amazingly hot. If you were gay and I was still a guy, I'd be all over you in a second. But your attitude sucks possum balls."

Woodchuck smirked at that, but kept silent.

"Truth is, I have no idea what I want. I'm still trying to figure it out."

"My sister wants me to ask if you are just experimenting right now."

I thought about it for a second. "Yeah, that's a good way to put it. Experimenting. Thanks Crystal."

She nodded at me and smiled, which did weird things with the muscles and blood vessels in her cheeks. Maybe if I got her some makeup. With a sigh, I spanked my inner idiot. Maybe she doesn't want to hide the way she looks. Crystal has money now; if she wants to buy something to cover up, then she can. Who am I to judge how someone looks, the demon girl.

~O~

Eventually everyone fell asleep, except me, since I slept earlier. Portia kept me in her embrace and I was severally comfortable, turned around with my face in her neck. How in the hell did I wind up in this position? I have no idea. Her scent was all I could smell, and the skin of her neck was millimeters away from my mouth.

It didn't take much imagination to bring Jeremy to mind for a mild fantasy. He was trim, much like Portia and very firm, again much like the girl I was snuggled against. Her arms were strong looking, full and defined.

A look out of the corner of my eye let me know that everyone else was still in dreamland, and the sound of Portia's deep breathing assured me that she was out of it. So, I didn't feel bad about testing the road a little.

I closed my eyes and ever so slightly opened my mouth. The scent of her hair and skin filled me up where I could almost taste her. It wasn't so bad. She had a lighter tone to her fragrance than Jeremy did, but then again my ex was a little on the effeminate side where cleanliness was concerned.

Moving forward, I checked again to see that the girl holding me was well in the arms of Morpheus before I set the very tip of my tongue against her neck to get just taste, just the smallest hint of what it would be like to be with a girl.

This all hinged upon Portia being asleep, so of course she came wide awake at my barest touch. Her arms stiffened and I heard her draw a sharp breath.

For all of her aggressiveness in front of the others, she froze once confronted with the possibility that I might return her affections.

"Sorry," I whispered. "I just…"

Her arms relaxed which also served to let me fall a few inches away from her. When she tilted her head down, I saw a slight smile on her face. "Want to see what it's like to kiss a girl?"

My eyes darted to the others in the SUV. Suddenly I was nervous. Sangria took the opportunity to expand her volume and created a mound of hair which covered the upper portions of our bodies. I guess I knew her opinion on the subject.

"I'm a lesbian, Braith. I tried hiding it before I changed. But now I'm a mutant, it's kind of like the least of my problems. I won't be hiding it again."

I swallowed and nodded. "This is for me. I don't know what I want yet."

Her smiled deepened. "Then let me show you a little of what you are missing."

~O~

We found a deserted rest area somewhere in southern Pennsylvania where we could get out and stretch out legs, not to mention the inevitable potty break. While Portia was washing her many hands, Void took the chance to make his move that I had been expecting since our little talk.

The shining sun gave him more than enough UV radiation to appear almost normal, except for the hair, which I still admired.

"Listen, um…"

I looked over at Gordo and Crystal near the SUV and Woodchuck sniffing around one of many picnic tables.

"Sorry about the way I've been acting," he finally spat out.

"It's okay." I adjusted my sunglasses on the bridge of my nose. It was still a bit bright out for me.

This time I could see the nervousness on his face, clearly showing how uncomfortable he was. "I can see that you're trying things out with insect… with Portia," he corrected. "I just wanted to see if you were interested in maybe seeing… I mean…"

It would be obvious to anyone with a brain, that Void wanted to see if he could get equal time with me. The one thing that was bugging me more than anything else was, why me? Okay, I could see where I was probably the best of our group. Portia was, to him at least, a lesbian. Crystal, however sweet she may be, is not in the least way physically attractive in her current guise. That left me. Yeah, I have a nice body, no doubt about that, but my hair is alive and I look like I want to suck your soul and eat it for a mid-afternoon snack.

Maybe he was just a weirdo. Maybe he liked goth girls. Maybe he hoped that he could bag my face and have at the body. Maybe I need to wear loose clothing.

I pondered the thought of a pair of Dockers and a baggy football jersey when he swooped down out of the blue and planted one right on my kisser. Freezing up for the first few seconds let my mind melt a little and realize that the really hot guy that had his lips attached to mine was kissing me.

~O~

"That looked interesting."

My head turned in the direction of the voice to see Portia standing there with a playful smirk on her face. "Wut?"

"Look at you. Can't even speak properly. So, I'm guessing I, like, have some competition."

Competition? I don't think I could live through the race between the two of them.

"You do realize that you and me will, like, be living together, right?"

That brought me out of my Void-induced stupor. "What?"

She smiled and looked over at the guy with the satisfied smirk on his face by the driver's side door. "You might want to take a look at the Whateley information guide. The cottage rooms are first come first serve. That means we'll be put in the first empty room… together." The edge of Portia's mouth quirked up in a seductive leer, of which I wasn't entirely immune to at the moment considering my semi-aroused state.

"We're both GSD females. So were probably going to the same cottage. We'll be showering in the same showers, sleeping right next to each other. You'll see me changing in front of you every morning and night."

I swallowed, noticing for the first time how dry my mouth was.

"You'll see exactly what I have to offer, Braith."

Trying to blink away the image that was just planted in my head was not the easiest thing to do. "Um… why, why are you so…"

"Why am I so hot after you?"

Being slightly embarrassed, I shrugged and nodded.

One of her hands slid into mine. "Even before Woodchuck and I made it to Kentucky, I've been listening to you on the radio. I downloaded your pod casts off the internet just to listen to your voice."

My other hand was taken up in another of hers. "You get it, Braith. You understand what's out there and you really get it. You're like me, not afraid to tell it like it is. Plus you're smoking' hot."

I swallowed once more. "I'm not…"

She smiled down at me like I was delusional. "Braith, get over yourself. You have beautiful hair that acts a lot like my extra arms and hands, your skin is perfect, your lips…" She leaned down and brushed hers across mine. "Mmm, taste so good. We could make some serious magic together."

"Car!" Void yelled from the SUV.

I broke away and brought myself back to the dangerous reality to see a car just exiting from the interstate. "We gotta go."

Portia's extra arms disappeared under her jacket, and Sangria lifted my hair to shield my face from being too noticeable. Moving swiftly, but not to quick as to look like we were running away, the last of us boarded and I punched the navigator to continue. When I turned around I saw Portia giving Void the evil eye. He was lounging on the bench seat in the back with a mild grin on his lips.

Crystal's eyes were darting back and forth to see who would start the first volley of argument.

I was so incredibly close to saying, 'screw it, I'm sitting up front,' that is wasn't funny. Instead I send a lock of hair to lightly twist around one of Portia's arms. Her attention broke away from Void and I gestured toward the front. Her lips pursed, angrily.

"Alright, fine. We do this my way then," I announced. Everyone's attention was on me by that moment. "You two want to play games, that's cool with me. I'll find someone else to date at school."

Void sat up with a protest on his lips, but I shushed him. "You want to date me?" He looked like he was trying to save his pride, but chose to nod his agreement. Turning to Portia, I saw the displeasure on her face, but she gave me a quick nod as well. "Good, great. Then we take turns until I figure out exactly what I want or until you get so annoyed you give up. Sound fair?"

Crystal and Gordo nodded their heads.

"Good, Great. I'm glad you two agree. If you decide that you want to fight over it, physically or by yelling at each other, then you both can take a hike. I really don't need the aggravation."

~O~

Void was not quite as comfy as Portia was, and I felt like a little girl sitting next to him, tucked into his arm. However, I did feel kind of content. It was almost like I was a kid again and sitting in my dad's lap, except I knew this was much more intimate. He didn't smell anything like my dad. There was something primal in his scent, and the bulk of his muscles were… well, let's just say I had a serious urge to rip off his shirt and compare skin contrasts. Of course the only way to do that would be to rub myself all over his amazing body. Some scented oil probably wouldn't go amiss, either, just to make sure things went smoothly.

~O~

New Hampshire was cold. And here I was thinking that I knew what cold actually was, living in the mountains of Kentucky. If we hadn't used the navigation system, I seriously doubted that we would have been able to find the ancient town of Dunwich. The only indication that we were in the proper place was the population sign on the edge of the city limits.

Old houses, almost taken by disuse and inevitable encroachment of nature, lined the entrance to the small town. Only after the first few hundred yards did I think that we were closing in on our destination.

"Creepy," I said to nobody in particular.

Portia looked down at me with a small amount of concern. "Are you okay?"

"What?"

Her arms tightened around me. "You got, like, all tense."

Looking out of the window, I let my eyes travel the area before closing them. "I don't like this place. Something's not right about it."

"Just looks like an old town to me," Void announced.

"And that's why you're a brick," Portia whispered to herself. I tapped the back of my hand on her leg. "Be nice."

Once we passed the older portion and entered the town proper, I felt decidedly better. "How far away are we?"

Void checked the navigator. "Got about ten more miles."

"Okay, listen up guys." Void and Woodchuck spun around in their respective chair, while Gordo and Crystal were already facing me. "Odds are we aren't going to wind up in the same cottage, and you two," I said as I pointed at Gordo and Crystal. "Are supposed to hang out with this Mrs. P lady for a while."

"My sister wants to know how to find you."

I nodded. "That's what I was getting to. Wherever we park the SUV at first, I'm assuming some administration building, that's where we'll meet up."

"Why there?" asked Void.

"Because it’s the administration building. They'll be adults around, and while I'm the first person to say, 'screw the olds,' you'll be less likely to be messed with by the normals."

Gordo agreed that was a good thing, but he got a weird look on his face. "I thought it was a mutant school."

"It is, but we're Morlocks. We're still outnumbered by all the beautiful mutants. Mutants affected by GSD are a lot lower percentage. Just think of it this way, there's a classification called Exemplar. For the most part, that means they make professional models look bad. I can just see a big group of these douchebags hanging out together jacking each other off over how much better they are than the norms or us."

"Good point." Holy crap, Woodchuck said something!

They're called the Alphas, my love.

I almost laughed. "Sangria just told me that they call themselves, the Alphas."

"She's been there?" asked Portia.

I nodded. "She taught there in 1970."

"Really, what did she teach?" she asked.

Without me asking, Sangria took over. "I taught European Literature and substituted for the Introduction to Avatars class." After a short pause she continued. "I must warn all of you, I have not been on campus for decades, however I know little has changed in the overriding rule. Good and Evil preside over this school equally. There will be those that will use you for their own personal gain if given the chance, but there will also be those that will oppose them."

Gordo's jaw dropped open. "That is so creepy."

"What?" I asked. "The good and evil thing?"

"No, your voice changing like that. You sound…"

"Hollow," Void finished. "Like we're in an echo chamber."

Woodchuck looked me straight in the eye. "Yeah, you have that whole Stargate thing going on. Do your eyes glow too?"

I frowned. No, I didn't realize that my voice changed like that. There was a different feeling when Sangria wanted to talk, but all I heard was me talking. I guess it was like having your voice recorded and then listening to it, not realizing it was you talking… or something like that.

I took off my sunglasses, and glared at him. "Levity aside, children, you must be on guard, even with those you might call friend."

Void got a thoughtful look on his face. "Maybe we should have stayed in Kentucky."

"Just be on guard, Void. Very little at Whateley is what it seems."

~O~

As expected, we were met at the entrance to the administration building. Apparently these people had nothing better to do until school started.

Void parked us behind a hover-limo while I checked out the new faces, along with that of Sangria's old friend. Ms. Carson apparently decided to greet us herself. "I don't see any cops, or MCO," he said with a tinge of anxiousness in his voice.

"It's not a trap, Void." I went ahead and switched back over to my authoritative voice, as if there was a difference in them. Maybe less sarcasm, and more, 'let's get this done.' "Alright everyone. This is it. Faces on, don't let'em see you sweat and all that."

I was first out. A middle-aged woman and an older black lady stood next to Ms. Carson, and I heard someone get out of the limo. A quick glance to the vehicle and I spotted the guy with the suit and tie.

"Welcome to Whateley, Braith." Ms Carson stepped forward with her hand held out. I decided not to be an ass and actually shook it. "Thanks." Nodding in the direction of the limo I asked. "Is that for Crystal and Gordo?"

"Yes, Mrs. Potter arranged transportation."

When the suit approached, I turned to him. "When will they be back?"

He didn't look like he was expecting that particular question. "I'm not exactly sure. There are tests…"

I waved him off. "Call who you need to and find out."

"Miss Brice," Ms. Carson interrupted. "The tests they run are subjective in some cases. There's no way of telling how long they will take. A few hours or all day."

Cocking my head to the side, I smiled sarcastically. Come on, you knew it couldn't last forever. "An old lady sends notes across the country, one stuck to a soda can at a random rest stop, and you're telling me that they can't take an educated guess." I shoved my hands in my coat pockets. "Ms. Carson, all of my friends here put their lives in my hands while we were on the run. That doesn't stop just because we're here. I want an estimate."

I may have been wrong, but I could have sworn I saw one of her eyes twitch to a quirk for a moment. "See if you can acquire an estimate, Mr. Parker."

A quick phone call later and he came up with one-thirty.

"You guys still cool with this? You don't have to go if you don't want."

Crystal smiled at me. "My sister says that we will be fine," translated Gordo. Stepping close to her I one arm hugged Crystal and her brother. "Here's my dad's cell. Call me no later than one. If I don't hear from you by then, I'll be coming after you."

Gordo smirked. "My sister says, thanks mom."

I gave her an arched eyebrow along with my pursed lips. "Go on kids, have fun. Play nice with the other mutants."

The black lady stepped forward to Void and Woodchuck. "Gentlemen if you would follow me, I have something to show you and then we'll get you settled into Twain Cottage."

Void looked to me for direction. I held up two fingers and then pointed down. Hopefully he'll understand that I meant two hours and not two days before meeting back at the SUV. With a nod to me I popped the rear of the SUV so they could get their backpacks.

The other lady introduced herself as Mrs. Savage. Well, that was ominous. "Lady's, you two will be lodging at Whitman Cottage. I will be escorting Portia and you, Miss Brice, will be in conference with Mrs. Carson. She will alert me when she is finished and I will return to escort you."

I looked back to the Headmistress. "Is it in the same place it used to be?"

"The campus has grown since Sangria's last visit, but Whitman is still standing."

"I already know my way around, for the most part, Mrs. Savage. Thanks."

~O~

Mrs. Carson closed the door to her office while I took a gander around. "I remember when you swore you could never understand why someone would want to be in charge of a school like this, Elizabeth, and yet here you are."

I saw her bristle. The once powerful Lady Astarte looked odd in administration attire, but then again I suppose a lot of superheroes would look weird trying to fit into an office situation.

"Sangria, this conversation will be between Miss Brice and myself, if you wouldn't mind." It wasn't a request.

"As you wish, Elizabeth."

We took our seats, Mrs. Carson behind her desk, showing her authority and me in the fake leather chair in front, the dutiful student. Before beginning she picked up the phone and speed-dialed an extension. "Chief Delarose, do you have someone that is available to pick up a weapon and secure it at Range 2? -- Yes, a new student. -- Thank you."

She hung up and stared at me for a moment.

"I was going to go by Kane after I was through here and do the same thing." Really, I was.

I could almost see the doubt in her eyes. So I rolled mine and looked to the bookshelves to the right of her desk.

"Miss Brice, you will obey the laws of this country while on campus. Until such time as you take and pass the required classwork and are legally certified to carry any weapon, your pistol will remain in my care."

I sighed, not dramatically or anything. "Are we through here?"

When I brought my attention back to the Headmistress all I got in return was a cold stare. "Disrespect to me or any of the staff at Whateley is grounds for detention. Do I make myself completely clear, Miss Brice?"

Leaning forward, I withdrew my sunglasses so she could get the full view of my red eyes. Since she was Sangria's friend in the past, I'm quite sure she's seen the whole show. "Do all of your students get this same hostile treatment, Mrs. Carson? Have I done something to earn this? Yes, I'm clear. I'm the lowly student who knows nothing about how the real world works and you and the teachers here are all knowing."

She didn't waste any time responding in kind. "We all have our sob stories, Miss Brice, some worse than others."

A knock at the door announced a security guard, here for my pistol. I withdrew it and with deft movements disassembled it, pocketing the full clip along with the barrel and the recoil spring. I got a wondering eye from the security guy at that action. No, I really don't trust anyone with my pistol. When I had it reassembled, I slid it to the side, on the desk and was given a receipt. "That's my father's pistol. It's one of the only things I have left from him. Please take care of it."

He paused for a moment and then carefully picked it up. "We'll keep it safe, Miss."

At least someone understood. "Anything else, Headmistress?"

"Classes begin Monday morning, see that you make your appointment for classification. There will be an information package in your room, provided by Mrs. Savage. You can go."

I took to my feet and grabbed my backpack. At the door, Sangria had me pause and look back. "There was a time that you would have hated the person that just addressed my host, Elizabeth. What has happened to you over the years?"

Seeing the flicker in Mrs. Carson's eyes was evidence enough that she was putting on a face. "Things change, Sangria."

"You've become hard, my friend. Even the hardest stone breaks under the right amount of pressure. Perhaps…"

Mrs. Carson picked up her phone. "You are dismissed."

"As you wish, Elizabeth."

~O~

Buttoning my coat against the biting winter wind was a necessity as I stepped outside. "What the hell was her problem."

Time changes people, my love. Elizabeth has experienced loss much more profound than yours.

"Well, if this is just a taste of what's to come, we won't be staying for very long."

I made the long trek across the campus to my assigned cottage. Let's just say I wasn't impressed, but then again I didn't know what to expect. What I wasn't expecting was Portia, half dressed, wearing only her tight jeans, and I mean only her tight jeans.

"Hey, roomie!"

I stood there, in the doorway, kind of shellshocked.

"I was thinking of moving the beds together over in that corner. It'll give us a little bit more space out here."

Well she did warn me that I'd see her dressing and undressing, but moving furniture, topless, was a bit more than I was expecting. Once I was over the initial surprise, I entered the tiny ten by 'not much more' room and closed the door.

She grinned at me. "You should have heard the speech Savage gave me. 'There will be no carnal relations at Whitman!'" With a laugh she waved the thought off. "I already know a great silencing spell so we can be as loud as we want."

Maybe it's not too late to move into another room.

I shrugged off my jacket and dropped the backpack on the side by desk under the window. "Is this the right time to start a pillow fight?"

Portia wrinkled her nose. "Lets wait until we go get some linens and new pillows. I really don't think they clean these things between sessions. Plus we have to get you some proper sleepwear. Maybe a black teddy or a red cami with matching panties. Then, like, let fly the pillows."

The problem was, I didn't know if she was serious. "Uh-huh."

I unzipped the backpack and unpacked my clothes, which pretty much took up all the space. No, I hadn't gone shopping. I still had the no-thought-needed wardrobe. While I'd already become accustom to being a girl over the last month, I still preferred utilitarian clothing.

"They have a store on campus?"

"Uh-huh. Savage gave me a map of the campus. You've got one too in your package over there."

I followed her finger to the foot of my bed. "Carson said that we're supposed to get classified."

Portia bounced in place which did weird things to her unbound breasts along with my eyes. "Oh, I know, right? I'm so excited. I can't wait to see what they say about me. I'm at ten, how about you?"

I shrugged, not knowing and ventured forthwith to the package. On top was a folder that had a welcoming letter, which was much more positive sounding than Carson's 'respect mah ah'thora'ty' speech. The next was a request from some doctor that I present myself for the cold instrument treatment at ten as well. "Me too."

While I had my back turned, Portia took advantage and did a sneak attack. Two hands were at my hip, two beside my breasts and one was pulling my hair away from the side of my face where her lips suddenly found something interesting to do. "I was going to take a shower and get the smell of the road off. Care to join me?"

"You know, having sex with me isn't going to stop me from giving Void his chance. Anything that we do, I'm going to let him do too."

Feeling her body stiffen, I let a self-satisfied smirk rise on my lips.

"Anything?"

I nodded. "Uh-huh. It's only fair."

Her lips found my neck followed by her teeth with a teasing bite. "I better make sure that you enjoy yourself with me then."

Hold on… that wasn't supposed to happen.

"That gives me a slight advantage. Remember that I don't have certain parts that he has. If I can't use them then he can't."

Damn, this girl is sharp.

"Uh, right."

The hands that were brushing the sides of my breasts slipped underneath and cupped them for a moment while she ran her tongue up the outside of my ear sending unfamiliar sensations to certain portions of my body. "We'll hit the store after I get out of the shower, okay?"

"Uh-huh." My voice didn't sound quite right, almost distracted and breathy.

It wasn't until I heard the sound of Mrs. Savage's voice yelling, "Portia, while this not a co-educational cottage. We do not gallivant around without the proper clothing," that I realized my roommate wasn't in with me any longer.

This should be an interesting winter session.

"That's the understatement of the year."

~O~

"This is the weirdest store I've ever been in."

Portia grinned happily. "I can't wait to see you in your schoolgirl outfit. Too bad they didn't make a naughty version, but I'm sure we can think of something."

"It's winter," I said with a relieved tone to my voice. "No skirts until spring, halleluiah."

"You're just happy that the school colors are black and white, so you don't have to break away from this monochromatic thing you have going on."

There was that. "Oh, this is what I wanted."

Portia looked up at the section sign. "What are we doing in Hardware?"

I checked out the area first to make sure we weren't being spied upon. "I had to give up my pistol when we got here. I need some everyday items that can't be considered weapons, normally that is."

A box of 20d nails, an economy bag of zip-ties, a spool of utility rope, and we were off to School Supplies, where some of the more deadlier items were stashed. A metal ruler, three boxes of pencils, their entire supply of Mr. Goo's Really Super Glue…

~O~

We were just able to make it to the SUV by the deadline. Void and Woodchuck were there waiting for us with pretty wide eyes. Maybe it was because Sangria was holding fifteen bags of stuff. I knew there was a good reason to love having super-hair.

"Find the campus store?" asked Void in a mystified voice.

I reached into my jacket and pulled out a plastic card. "Here, this is yours and Woodchuck's. Get what you need, don't go crazy."

Void took the card and looked it over. "We can get campus jobs, Braith. You don't need to go and make…"

"We're Morlocks. If you want some extra spending money, then get a job. This is part of your school needs, which I'm taking care of," I interjected.

Woodchuck looked at the card with interest, but also a certain amount of wariness.

"Don't bother trying to argue with her, Void," replied Portia. "Just say thank you."

His lips thinned out a little, but his hand closed around the campus card. "Thank you." That brought a smile to my face.

"Portia and I have to go get evaluated after dropping this stuff off. What time is yours?"

"Two o'clock."

I nodded. "Cool. It'll be good to know what everyone officially can do. After patting my cell in my coat pocket, I remembered that they still didn't have any form of communication. "Hey, see if the store carries anything we can use like a cell phone or something, small radios, something like that. I'm not too sure on their cell phone policy and I want a way for us to be able to stay in contact. Just in case."

~O~

Thirty minutes of unpacking the bags, unpackaging the stuff, clipping tags, and hanging clothes and we still weren't close to having the room livable. However, everything had to wait until later. We had a doctor's appointment to get to.

When we entered the clinic, hospital, whatever you called the place, there was a energetic redhead typing madly away at her keyboard, with her head rocking back and forth. That was when I noticed the earbuds and the trailing cord to her waist. When she saw us, she waved and tugged the buds out.

"Hey there! Can I help you?"

"Yeah," I said upon approach. "Braith Brice and P…" I turned around feeling supremely stupid. "You never told me your real name."

Portia giggled. "Stacy Harrington." God, I'm glad I can't blush.

Spinning back around. "Uh, and Stacy Harrington here for our classification evaluations."

The redhead grinned. "Just have a seat and the doctors will be right with you."

I made a beeline to the waiting area with Portia on my tail. When we sat, she grabbed my hand and rubbed her thumb along my palm. "You're cute when you're embarrassed."

Leaning forward I busied myself looking at the magazines. "Oh, look, someone famous is pregnant!"

"Braith, Doctor Tenet is ready for you, right through that door."

Saved by the yell! Okay, the redhead didn't yell, but it was the only thing I could think of on such short notice.

Portia squeezed my hand. "Good luck." When I looked back at her, she wasn't teasing me. All I saw on her face was compassion. It took me aback for a second, since she's been nothing but energetic and forward to me for the entire time I've know her. "Thanks. You too."

The examining room was bright. Everything was white and stainless steel so didn't bothering taking my sunglasses off.

The girl stood at the doorway. "If you would take off your clothes and change into the gown, there, the doctor will be right with you."

~O~

The physical went smoothly, I even took the feet up in the stirrups fairly well, before being shipped off to the powers testing lab.

Sangria had supplied the doctor with my powers breakdown, but that didn't seem to totally satisfy him. After witnessing my skin close up immediately after he withdrew some blood, he was willing to believe her about my regenerating abilities. There was a question about whether or not I should be classified with her dexterity since I wasn't the one that was actually doing the work, but in the end I still wound up with the same stats.

"Have you exhibited any other traits that I should be aware of?"

I shook my head, but then Sangria popped back up. "Doctor, when we initially entered Dunwich, my host felt considerable unease. A similar incident occurred near the mid-way point between Whateley and Dunwich. Is there something about these two areas that would have this kind of effect on an underdeveloped Esper talent?"

The doctor looked at me for a moment. "Mid-way to Dunwich you say? Can you describe this feeling?"

I nodded. "Um, giant tarantula crawling up my spine?"

He made some notes of which I wasn't privy to before looking back up at me. "Let me do a little investigating and I'll get back to you regarding some more testing in that area."

"Investigating?"

He nodded. "You may be sensitive to certain stimuli. I need to find out what separates those two places from the rest of society. If you happen upon anymore of these feeling be sure to note your exact location and let me know right away."

"Uh-huh."

~O~

I left a message for Portia that I was going to explore old haunts since I was told that she was going to be a lot longer while they tried to figure out the extent of her powers.

There were so many new building and annexes that Whateley looked like a totally new campus. A few people were walking around with obvious destinations in mind. The sight of the fancy hotel looking cottage led me to only one conclusion. "Has to be for the Alphas."

'What are those two buildings over there, Sangria?'

The first would be Poe and the larger one Hawthorne. I am unsure as to their current policy, but in my day Hawthorne was home to the more severe cases of GSD; those that cannot survive except under special conditions.

'It gets that bad?'

Indeed, though not as a rule.

I looked over at the smaller cottage that appeared more like my own. 'What's their story.'

Poe Cottage is loosely held secret. Those that prefer an alternative lifestyle or are changelings live there.

'Changelings?'

Like you, my love. Those that have transitioned to the opposite sex due to their Body Image Template.

That made me frown. 'Okay, if Poe is for people like me and Portia, then why are we in Whitman?'

Probably because, you've already let everyone in the range of your broadcasts know exactly what has happened to you over the last month, and Portia doesn't care in the least who knows about her sexual preference.

'Oh, good point.'

As I was about to head east to what I knew to be a library, I noticed a girl out in front of Poe kicking her trunk before sitting down on it and placing her face in her hands.

Without another soul in sight I headed over. She was tiny. If the girl broke five feet I'd eat my socks. Sitting on top of her trunk, her feet didn't even touch the ground.

"Are you okay?"

She jumped and slid off the trunk, well, more like fell off. Once she made it to her feet I could see her embarrassed face. "Who are you?"

"My name is Braith. I'm a student here. Having trouble with your trunk?"

She sighed and looked down at it. "Yeah, Belle got called away and told me to wait in my room, except there's nothing to do, and I'm the only one here, and I'm really board, and I've already read everything in my backpack."

My eyes widened at her speedy rant. "How about I give you a hand."

"Really? That would be really nice of you. Most people aren't nice. They leave you hanging around an empty dorm room twiddling your thumbs while they go off doing stuff that they want to do, not caring if you're sitting there with nothing to do, bored out of your mine."

"Uh-huh." Sangria lengthened my hair and grabbed the handles on either side.

"Whoa, your hair moves. That is such a cool power to have. It's really useful, especially if you have an itch in the middle of your back that you can't reach. I had an itch a little while ago, but my back-scratcher is in my trunk, and I can't really open it out here in front of the dorm, because it's near the bottom of the trunk and Belle had to go do something else…"

I was beginning to see why.

"… and that's why I was down here, so I could maybe drag it inside, but there's stairs and I know I'm not strong enough.

"Uh-huh."

The inside of Poe looked pretty much like Whitmore. A little more festive, but pretty much the same. I was afraid to ask the girl what her name was for fear that she was going to tell me her entire lineage. "Upstairs you said?"

She nodded. "Second floor. Thanks. You're really a lifesaver."

"No problem." Once we made it to her room, I set the trunk near the closet on the right side of the room. "Well, I guess I better get going."

The look on her face told me everything I needed to know. She was crestfallen.

"Okay." This time all the excitement was gone from her voice and she looked like she was going to pout, or maybe drown her sorrows in her pillow.

I knew I was going to regret this, probably sometime within the next thirty seconds. "What's your name?"

She looked up at me, hopeful. Her eyes were all glassy, which made me feel bad about wanting to desert her. "Bobby… uh Bobbie Jo Billings."

A split second of panic showed on her face, but she quickly covered it up. I held out my hand. "I'm Braith Brice. It's nice to meet you."

"Braith Brice? I've heard that name somewhe… " Bobbie Jo's eyes bugged out. "You're her?! The Killer of Kentucky? Bloodlust Brice? I knew they had villains here, but, wow! You've killed, what, thirty-seven people, by last count?"

I really need to come up with a codename. "No, just Braith Brice. Not a villain, just me, and it was twenty people at last count, all in self-defense or in the defense of others." Giving her a scowl I spun around and headed out.

"Is it true you have to drink the blood of virgin boys to stay alive? Because, I'm not a boy anymore, well not totally."

"No, I can pretty much drink anyone's blood. Are you volunteering? I am kind of hungry." Okay, I really didn't need to say that, but what the hell. She was starting to piss me off. Killer of Kentucky? Who thinks this shit up?

Bobbie Jo froze at her doorway. "Uh, no. You wouldn't like my blood. Tastes really bad. I'm part bird now, so that W chromosome probably makes it taste like animal blood."

'Sangria, help me out here.'

I turned around and took off my glasses. "I really love the taste of chicken." A strand of hair lifted up and wiped across my lips. "Finger lickin' good."

She went 'Eeep!' and slammed her door.

"Ahh, thanks."

I really am hungry, my love. Perhaps the cafeteria might have something?

~O~

Synthetic human blood, regular human blood, various animals blood, and about fifteen other types were available. Sangria was sucking on her third pint when I butted in. 'Storing up for a rainy day?'

I anticipate my contributions protecting our life to increase significantly over the next few days.

That sparked my curiosity. 'Are you saying we're going to be fighting for our lives here?'

Perhaps not, however it's best to be prepared, is it not?

I glanced around the semi-empty cafeteria in Crystal Hall. 'Anything I can do to help?'

Allow me to increase your hair volume and length. While I can do so at a moment's notice, it does require energy to do so which could be better spent in other areas.

This was news to me. 'Sorry, I didn't think that I was fighting you in keeping it shorter.'

You are not doing this consciously, my love. Your subconscious keeps me in check to social norms. Very few woman, in your experience, wear their hair past the upper third of their back.

I thought about it and she was right. While I did know girls in Kentucky that had butt length hair, it never looked right on them. Mom never let her own go past her shoulder-blades. 'Do whatever you think is best then, Sangria."

She caressed my cheek and the nape of my neck, lovingly before I actually saw my style change. On either side of my head, just in front and above my ears, she braided several finger width strands that hung over my shoulders, down past my knees.

These will be your primary weapons. The braiding increases the tensile strength of the whole.

'Tensile strength? Are you telling me that you can be broken?'

Everything in life has flaws, my love. While I can handle a very large amount of problems that you may encounter, there are Exemplars at Whateley, such as your Brick suitor, Void. He does not possess the training to take advantage of his gift, at the moment, but he could cause problems when he ages and gains experience.

Tiny prickles covered my scalp sending pleasant feelings all over my body. 'What are you doing now?'

Tripling the amount of hair follicle growth for defense.

'You're talking about that cocoon thing you do?'

In part. Against projectile or area based attacks, I must take total control of your protection, which means encasing your body. There are very few things that can penetrate one layer, much less three, however we are at Whateley, and all of those dangers are here in abundance.

That didn't make me feel very good. 'For instance?'

Plasma based weapons are most deadly. Certain mental powers can penetrate my defenses. I have worked on that problem ever since Lacy's death, but will not be able to affect significant change for some time. This is why you must take the Mental Defense course to supplement my failings.

'I'd hardly call it a failing, Sangria.'

I am practical, my love. Unless I can guarantee your total protection from all forms of attack then in must be labeled a failing, and I must take steps to insure that it is rectified. Before I could argue with her she requested more blood. Two more pints should allow me to finish alterations and set me at maximum strength.

'Two more pints? How much do you normally need, Sangria? You told me one time that you only needed a few drops.'

For normal, non-lethal situations this would be true. Even at your home in Kentucky we were only dealing with mundane opponents. I did not need to stay at top form. Whateley is a different matter.

The lady behind the serving counter didn't argue with the request, which was really weird. This whole situation was. My whole life as a mutant was.

On the way out of the cafeteria, I was eyed by its few occupants. Once I passed the first reflective surface I came upon, I saw why. Sangria was obviously at her prime. She'd increased the length well past my knees, but held it in tighter curls and spread out behind me. It looked like a blood-red halo background to my black encased body. The weight was no different. I would expect something like this would add five or ten pounds, minimum, but with her control I felt virtually nothing. Apparently the laws of gravity didn't apply too much to mutants. But I suppose that's was why they offered all those introductory courses, to explain why things work the way they do.

After checking my phone, I knew I had about fifteen minutes before Gordo was supposed to contact me. With the excess time I went to the front of Shuster, the administration building, and unloaded the last two trunks from the top of the SUV, before setting the auto-navigation system to the storage facility in Dunwich.

I personally didn't like having ready transportation on hand, but unless there was a valid reason, then it was severely frowned upon.

"Whoa, like, new do or what?"

"All done, Portia?" I watched the SUV as it exited the grounds before I turned to my new roommate.

"For the most part." She was distracted, looking at the new additions. "They said I had to come back after I speak with Circe." She finally found my eyes before I received her full attention. "I mean Circe. The real Circe. She's the head of the magic department here."

That sent Sangria on a thinking binge. While I couldn't exactly tell what was going on, I sensed concern and excitement.

"So you're a Wiz."

Portia bounced on the balls of her feet. "Oh yeah," she replied with not a small amount of pride. "Level 4 for sure, but probably a 5. That's why I have to talk to Circe. There were some things that we are suppose to have in common. The doctors didn't want to say anything, like, it was a secret or something."

The ringing coming from my pocket interrupted us. "Hello."

"Hey Braith, it's Gordo."

"You on your way?"

"Testing's over with but they said that they might be able to help Crystal out with her skin. Give us another thirty minutes or so."

Hearing the tone in his voice, I figured he was safe enough. He seemed almost too eager. "You're okay then?"

"Oh, sorry, yeah. We're cool. This place is amazing. We met Mrs. P. She's like someone's abuela, um sorry, grandmother." There was a short pause. "Listen, Braith, I gotta go, they're calling us."

"Alright, give me a call when you're heading back."

"Adios, Defensor."

"Pardon?"

I heard Gordo rapid fire some Spanish, probably to his sister. "I am still working on my English, Braith, forgive me. Defensor is like a protector in Spanish, someone who claims something as his own, and punishes those that would take it from him." He shot more Spanish back to Crystal. "My sister says the closest translation to what I am trying to say would be, vindicator. It is how I think of you."

~O~

While I went to sleep that night, alone in my less than comfortable single bed, I woke up the next morning in Portia's, virtually on top of her. Sangria was covering both of us from the chill in the air. It was a good thing too because I don't remember taking off my sleep-shirt, nor do I remember Portia going to sleep nude.

I was warm, cozy, and well rested, disturbingly so. The feel of her smooth skin against my own, the entire length of my body, felt so incredibly good it was crazy. My head rested above her breasts, my arm under them, clinging to her firm waist, and a single leg wrapped over the both of hers. This couldn't have been comfortable for my roommate, but it was like a little slice of heaven for me, physically. Psychologically, I was worried that I was becoming attached to Portia more than a casual way.

'Sangria, did you bring me over here last night?'

I assisted you, my love. But it was your decision.

'I don't really remember that.'

You were under no compulsion at the time. However, you were not fully awake.

"Good morning, sweetness. Comfortable?"

And here we go with the embarrassing morning conversation. My arm tightened around Portia. "Very."

I could hear her breath rush into her lungs and then release as she chuckled. "I guess we don't need a bigger bed then."

"Nope." Maybe if I kept to one word answers then I wouldn't make things even more embarrassing on my part.

Her hands slid across my thigh, back, through my hair caressing my scalp. One found its way to one of my plump cheeks and kneaded it lightly. "Do I get a good morning kiss, or maybe something more?"

It amazed me how she moved back and forth from being unrestrained in her sexual teasing, yet be so composed when I knew she wanted nothing more than to take advantage of the situation. Was I being unfair? Maybe a little. I really didn't remember climbing naked into her bed and using her as some sort of human pillow, but she seemed to be letting me move at my own pace.

I lifted up off of her chest and looked her in the eyes. There was a slight smile there, somewhat content, somewhat sexually frustrated.

So I kissed her.

I was the one who initiated the kiss this time. It was my choice. There was no clever excuse in the back of my mind rationalizing this away as some sort of experiment to see if I liked kissing girls, or rather this particular girl. It was just there. It was something that I wanted to do.

Shifting my body over hers, I straddled her hips and felt her hands guide me into place. Two were on my thighs, two on my butt, and two sliding up my sides to cup my breasts as I deepened the kiss. I felt Sangria getting active in the groping going on and a thought ran through my head that every relationship until I died was actually going to be a threesome.

I can restrain myself if you would like, my love.

Portia moaned into my mouth sending me a rush of satisfaction that made me feel like I was finally giving something to the world other than misery.

'Do whatever it is you are doing, Sangria. I want to be able to feel again. Please.'

She shifted across my body, tweaking every erogenous zone that was inhumanly possible. Sangria lifted us both up in the air. I felt her wrap us up, slide between our bodies in strategic places. Portia broke away from the kiss, rapidly gasping for air.

"Oh goddess," she moaned. "What are you doing to me?"

"Giving you what you most desire, magic user. You yearned for my host. She claims you as her own. Now relax and experience what is means to be our lover."

Portia's eyes widened and I could see whatever Sangria was doing, my lover liked it. Her arms tightened around me, pulling me to her and groaned into my neck as I felt her shudder in release.

~O~

A single pint of random animal blood was all Sangria required for the morning after spending a little less than two hours in our room exploring exactly what she meant when she said those last words to Portia. Lets just say that all areas of both of our bodies have been thoroughly introduced to what it means.

My regenerative abilities let me walk with a normal stride and sit in normal comfort. Portia wasn't as lucky, but she was not complaining in the slightest. There was more than a satisfied glow about her relaxed face and smile. It was like watching a cat stretch in a warm beam of sunshine. Little movements here and there betrayed what she was thinking as we ate our breakfast in silence.

Okay, there's one gigantic advantage in living at Whateley. I haven't seen such a wide variety of fruit in my life, of which I was taking great advantage. My diet had been so restricted by my little local store in the mountains that I had forgotten what natural diversity there was in the world.

"Buenos Dias senoritas."

Gordo and a very pretty Mexican girl were standing beside the table holding their trays. It actually took me a second to figure out that the pretty girl was Crystal. Guess that tells you how much my brain had turned to Jello that morning. "Hey… Crystal?"

The girl smiled and nodded her head rapidly. "My sister asks if we can join you for breakfast."

I smiled. "Yeah, you don't need to ask permission. Sit down. Crystal, you look gorgeous."

She looked at her brother and frowned when she saw him stuffing his face with a muffin. Looking back at me, she closed her eyes and nodded her thanks for my compliment. It was a whole lot easier to figure out her expressions now that she had skin again.

"How'd they change you back?"

Gordo swallowed and sipped at a milkshake, for breakfast mind you. "She's not changed. They gave her something to spray on the places that she wants to look normal." He leaned in and whispered, "We're supposed to keep it a secret. They said some student here developed it and they got a hold of the formula through, um…"

"Illegal means?"

Gordo smiled. "Something like that, yeah."

I looked over at Crystal. "Your secret's safe with me."

"What's up with her?"

Portia sighed with a contented smile on her face.

"Uh, she had a good morning, I think."

I nearly jumped when I felt my roommate's foot brush up my leg. Crystal looked back and forth between us for a few seconds before she smiled as well.

"Mornin'" Woodchuck set his tray down next to Portia and Void sat down next to me.

Portia wrapped an arm around the furriest member of the Morlocks and scratched him behind his ear. "Good morning Chuck. Isn't it a beautiful morning?"

Void was in his visible skin phase and he had a weird look on his face. "Insect girl okay?"

"I'm just beautiful this morning, Void, thank you. How are you?"

His green eyes shifted to me then back to her. "Uh… beautiful?"

Portia just smiled back, genuinely cheerful. "That's beautiful."

Oh brother. Topic change time, before anyone else, other than Crystal, started to twig on what Portia and I did this morning. "I picked a codename."

Void was holding a little foil bag like they use for those juice drinks where kids stick the straw in the side.

"Hey, I thought you didn't eat."

I got a big grin from him. "It's something the doctors call Iotrex. They use it to treat cancer."

I backed away. "Is it radioactive?"

He chuckled. "I could be holding plutonium in my hand right now and you would be okay. I really suck up the radiation. This is like a daily dose so my skin is normal. They couldn't do anything about the eyes. So, I need to buy a pair of sunglasses."

"That's beautiful."

Void glanced over to my roommate. "Thanks." Leaning in closer to me he whispered. "Is she stoned or something?"

"I have a new codename," I renounced.

"Oh yeah," remembered Void. "What'd you pick?"

"Well Gordo gave me the idea when we talked yesterday. Vindicator." Everyone looked at me weird. "What? I ran into some ADHD kid yesterday and she recognized my real name. I thought it would be easier if I used the codename."

Void shrugged. "It could go either way, I guess."

"What could?"

"Your name. If you wanted to go good or evil. Vindicator is right in the middle."

"I'm not evil."

"But you're not the perfect picture of good either, chica," said Gordo. "You got a rep."

I frowned. "Yeah, she called me the Killer of Kentucky and Bloodlust Brice." Poking at the last bits of pineapple on my plate I set my fork down.

"I think it's beautiful, baby."

My eyes widened for a second. "Uh, thanks Portia."

"Baby?" Void didn't seem pleased with that particular term of endearment.

It was really past the time for another topic change. "So, what cottage are you two in?"

Gordo was frozen in mid chew, staring at me and Portia when it finally dawned on him. Ah, crap. He jumped and then grabbed at his shin under the table while glaring at his sister. "We're in Melville."

My mouth dropped opened. "You're an Alpha?"

"What? No. That's where they stay, yeah. But there's only two co-ed dorms and they didn't want us at Poe for some reason. My sister insists that we room together because of the language thing. The doctors at ARC arranged it. Paying for Whateley too."

That surprised me. "Why are they doing that?"

Gordo shrugged. "The old lady, she's getting old and says that my sister is her negligee."

What?

The large Morlock looked at his sister who was rolling her eyes. "Oh sorry, I mean protégée."

That makes a little more sense.

You remember that creepy giant tarantula feeling that I experienced outside of Dunwich? It was back and getting closer. I turned in my seat and saw this girl entering the cafeteria. Her skin was dark colored and I'd swear she looked like an elf or maybe a fairy, with pointed ears, big wide eyes, the works. She went through the same serving line as I did to get Sangria's blood. That meant she dieted on something funky.

"Braith?" Void asked, wondering what had me so interested.

"Hold on a sec."

When she came out, she was holding a cage with a sickly looking beagle inside, and it was alive. Her eyes found mine and I could see a fine eyebrow arch in my direction. 'What is she gonna do with that?'

I would assume she is going to eat it, my love.

'A puppy! She's going to eat a puppy, here?!'

I would hardly categorize that fully grown, and apparently quite ill canine, a puppy.

'But it's a puppy.'

She sat at an empty table on the other side of the room and set the cage on the floor before looking back at me. My mouth had gone dry as I watched in morbid fascination while she stuck her hand inside the cage and grabbed the puppy by the neck before it disappeared into a puff of dust.

Perhaps staying away from this particular mutant would be in high order, my love. I have no idea how she accomplished that feat.

'She set off the creepy feeling, Sangria.'

I stood and was halfway across the cafeteria before the dark girl chose to rise from her seat. Determination crossed her features and I saw a glimmer of light reflect off of some wicked looking claws at her fingertips. Stopping in the middle of the room, Sangria spread herself out a little.

"Nice hair," she said.

I looked at hers, which was almost the exact same color as mine. Her skin looked like she hadn't seen the sun in ages. Mine was definitely more white, but then again, I was unnatural; she just looked goth. I swallowed. "What's your name?"

Her eyes narrowed for a second then moved to my left. "Hey, Crystal. Is this a friend of yours?"

Gordo appeared on the other side of me. "Hi, Sara. This is…"

"My name is Vindicator."

"Sara works at ARC too," explained Gordo. "She's cool."

I turned my head a little toward my large friend. "Cool? She's setting off my weird-o-meter like it's the fourth of July."

"My sister says that she is…"

"What's a weird-o-meter?" asked Sara the goth elf-like girl.

Slipping off my sunglasses, I took a better look at her. She was stunningly beautiful in a 'I'm going to rip your heart out and tongue the juices off while I fuck you to death' way. "It tells me something's not right about you."

The girl actually laughed. "You have no idea. Have a nice day, Vindicator."

She finger-waved at me with those deadly looking claws before grabbing the empty cage and placing it on a table and leaving.

Obligatory Credits: This is fan fiction for the Whateley Academy series. It may or may not match the timeline, characters, and continuity, but since it's fan fiction, who cares? To see the canon Whateley Stories, check out Whateley Academy at http://www.crystalhall.org
Pic Credit: Lady Death from Chaos Comics (pic adjusted for the story)

Author's Note: This is fanfiction, obviously. Here is a notice to all the fan-boys and fan-girls out there. I have not read every single Whateley fic and or fanfic out there so I don't know every single little bit of trivia there is to know. If you see a tiny little error that that has absolutely no bearing on the plot, please, restrain yourself from pointing your finger and gasping in abject horror. I think it's fairly close so slowly put your blades away and relax. :)

Portia lay there in her bed, eyes closed, the smile of pleasant dreams gracing her Asian features. I'm guessing she didn't get a lot of sleep last night with me all but laying directly on top of her. Our intimate workout and breakfast pretty much did her in for the morning. I stared at her while I waited for my laptop to warm up.

I was still mind-blown that I had sex with a girl. A small portion of my brain, the gay-guy part, was freaking out, and had been since I woke up.

You are no longer that person, my love.

'No, I'm not, am I.' I'm a whole new person. A girl. A mutant. A Morlock. 'I just wish I could get past this, Sangria.'

Is it a necessity or a desire to rid yourself of your former life and embrace that of which you are now?

'I wish I knew.' After a moment's thought I added, 'If I could just accept everything, what I am now, and start over, I think I could adjust better. I keep harping on what I've lost and it's doing nothing but making me… emo. And considering the white skin and tight fitting black clothes, this is not a good thing.'

Sangria caressed my cheek. When we are better integrated, once you have absorbed the knowledge of my past hosts, I think you will be at peace with your new life.

She had spoken of this with me before. Us melding our minds, I mean, but I ignored it. I mean really, if someone living in your head told you that you would soon know what it was like to live in ancient Greece or perhaps know exactly what it feels like to watch a loved one die from the Black Plague, how would you react?

At this point, I just wanted my past life as a male to just go away. 'Can you maybe speed things up?'

In this instance, I cannot. The human mind, with regeneration powers is physically able to meet transition requirements, psychologically you are not prepared. Your mind would literally snap at the combined knowledge of three millennia worth of hosts. I can force other portions through, such as my ability to read your mind or make use of your senses. You can have full use of your hair if you would like.

I didn't already? 'What do you mean? I thought I was using it already.'

In part this is true. You have physical control if you wish, but you do not have sensory capability as of yet. I daresay that would have made this morning much more enjoyable for your and your mate.

'Sensory capability? You mean I could feel what you were doing to her… and me?'

A warm chuckle rushed through my head. And so much more, my love.

The blackening of the screen on my laptop let me know that I wasn't paying attention and it was about to go into sleep mode. 'Um, remind me later. I need to get this sent off first.'

As you wish.

After connecting with the Whateley network, I pulled up my doctor's email address and let him know about that creepy elf-girl sparking off my weird-o-meter. It felt stupid, and a little like narcing on a fellow classmate, but I truly wanted to know why I was getting these feelings. Sangria was no help. Apparently this power is all mine and none of her former hosts had ever experienced anything close to what I was feeling.

A general search for all things Dunwich on the internet was a fruitless effort. I did find a shop that might be able to outfit Portia more to her liking. They specialized in clothing to fit 'all' types.

The town itself had very little history out of the mundane. It was settled in the late 1700's, factories had come and gone and now its sole claim to fame was the rustic scenery. Yawn.

A widened search turned up several conspiracy websites that didn't show much at all, considering that I couldn't access them since they had been shut down or blocked by the Whateley server. Methinks that I need some professional help in this matter, or unprofessional, as the case may be.

With more than a little tinge of frustration, I moved back to the student website and clicked on Administrative Services and then the Codename Database.

I had my choice of paging through the registered names or performing a Codename Availability function. Guess which one I chose?

*Vindicator is currently in use.*

Dammit! Someone stole my name.

'I don't guess you want to go with Medusa?'

I would prefer not. Anonymity has kept me hidden from Athena for these many years, until such time as I can serve my vengeance upon her.

'You actually think she's still out there somewhere?'

She's very much alive, my love. Every day I feel her presence.

Okaaaay.

*Gorgon is currently in use.*

Sigh.

*Godiva is currently in use*

*Scarlet Bitch is not allowed*

*Pookie is not in use. Would you like to register this name?*

Of course it's not in use.

*Naughty Nurse is not allowed*

*Wondertits is not allowed. Further use of this service will be suspended from IP address 142.158.2.259 if abuse continues.*

*White Chick is not in use. Would you like to register this name?*

I'm gonna kill Void.

May I suggest the designation Gordo bestowed upon you?

'What, Defensor?' I frowned. 'Is this so our names will be in the same language?"

Sangria's slight pause almost made me laugh. It is a strong name. The added aesthetic of language similarities is purely coincidental.

'Uh-huh.'

*Defensor in not in use. Would you like to register this name?*

~O~

I registered the Morlocks as a training team as well, whatever that was. I assumed I'd find that out in one of the classes. The information packet said that everyone needed to attend a meeting with our advisor for class counseling. Again, a new experience for me. The high school I had to drop out of offered the same standard classes that all the rest of the schools in the nation offered. Why I would need an advisor was lost on me.

Expecting to enter into the same old drudgery was on my to do list. At least I'd have Sangria as a tutor. She was actually around when Calculus was invented, and had the inside track on the literature of the world. While she didn't actually meet Shakespeare, she had been there when the plays were being debuted. How's that for expertise?

Looking through the curriculum for the winter session I didn't recognize hardly any of the standard fare. Instead, it concentrated on mutant-specific learning. This school wasn't like anything I'd ever seen before. I guess seeing the advisor was probably a good thing.

Sounds of student occupation filtered in from the hallway and I knew the first of hundreds were arriving.

"Hey beautiful." I glanced over at Portia laying on her bed, staring at me with a gentle smile on her face. I really wish she wouldn't call me that.

"Hey, good nap?"

She nodded cutely which made me feel kind of funny low in my tummy. I let my eyes follow her as Portia got up out of bed and stretched before grimacing at the wrinkles in her blouse. She stripped it off and dropped it on the bed before making her way to the closet and flipped through her clothes.

Her jeans hugged every inch of her legs and butt, I couldn't help but notice. The dark green color of her satin bra, offset her Asian skin, making me think thoughts that were foreign for me. Pictures of our coupling flashed back in my mind. Her scent and the little sounds she made at my ear as we held each other brought conflicting thoughts to mind.

There I was again, fighting my change. My body knew what it wanted; that was obvious from the current hardening of my nipples and the clenching of something down below.

Before I knew it, I was staring at Portia staring at me, now with a very naughty smile. "I've been waiting for you to look at me that way since we met."

Embarrassed, I turned to my laptop and thanked whatever mutant god out there for the inability to go red in the face. "I don't know what you mean."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her approach. "You don't have to hide it anymore, Braith." When she sidled up, pressing her thighs into the arm of the chair, I turned my face to her towering from above. It was either that or confront her satin covered breasts inches from my mouth. "You don't have to hide anything from me."

"I…" My mind was a blank.

One of her hands caressed my jaw, her thumb sliding over my chin and then my lips. "I want this. I want you as my lover, girlfriend, partner, anything you want to call it, and lovers look at each other like that."

After licking my lips I tried to steer the subject away from that topic, just a little. "People are going to be weird around us. You know that right?"

She giggled. "Are you talking about when we don't hide that we're lesbians?"

I nodded. There, I admitted it to myself. I was a lesbian. The thought made me laugh at myself deep inside. Was I doomed to find the same sex attractive all of my life? "Yeah." Portia pulled me to her chest and stroked my hair. "I just came out of the closet to my dad the day that I changed. I was planning on making it official at school the next day."

Smelling the scent she applied between her breasts that morning made me somewhat lightheaded.

"So what makes this any different?"

Truthfully, I had no idea. It was much harder being a guy and outting yourself than it was for a girl. Girls could expect the leers and idiocy from the males of the species when we make it known, but from the females, I had no idea. We're they going to make a big thing about showering together or living in the same cottage? The thing of it was that I wasn't attracted to women, I was attracted to Portia. Maybe it was the whole mutant or Morlock thing, but we had so much in common in that aspect. Not much else, mind you. She was bubbly and sexually assertive, I was no-nonsense with life, and submissive in bed. Sangria just tied us together. I kept forgetting about our third in the relationship.

"Nothing, I guess."

She bent down and brushed her lips over mine. It was just enough to make me want more, to make me actually desire for her to deepen the kiss.

That's when I heard someone try the door knob and finding it locked. A sharp knock sounded thereafter. Portia pulled back with a grin. "Guess it's time to meet the masses."

I rolled my eyes at her. "Get dressed, I'll get the door."

Sangria braced herself against the door while I opened it a crack. Old habits die hard, what can I say? After seeing that there weren't any power suits waiting there to take me in I let the door open further. There was, what appeared to be, a cat-girl standing there looking curiously at me. The ears flicked and her tail swished back and forth. That's probably what gave her away.

"Oh, hi. I thought this room was empty." She held out her hand. "I'm Miyet, your neighbor across the hall."

When I took her hand, I could feel fine little hairs on the back of her hand that could be nothing else but fur. Weird. Well, who am I to talk?

"Defensor. We just moved in yesterday."

"We?"

A fully clothed Portia took her cue and slid in beside me, setting one arm across my shoulders, another around my waist, and her third hand set itself firmly on my butt, giving it a light squeeze. Have you ever had the feeling you were being claimed? With so many hands and arms encircling me there would be no doubt, whatsoever, that I was Portia's girl.

"Hi, like, I'm Portia." She looked down at me. Since she was wearing heels and I was currently in my sock clad feet, it added quite a few inches to her height. "I thought you were calling yourself Vindicator, sweetie."

Well that pretty much cements the lesbian couple vibe that Portia was setting off for our first visitor. I frowned. "It was taken."

Miyet grinned, flashing little pointy cat fangs at us. "There's a team called the Vindicators. They think they're the Avengers."

"Uh-huh. I saw them when I was registering the Morlocks."

A tall athletic looking woman passed behind Miyet, on her way down the hall that sparked something within me that I couldn't exactly pin down. It wasn't unease, more like… tension.

"Who's that?"

The cat-girl turned. "That's Judicator, she's the house Fixer. If you have problems she's supposed to help."

"You recognize her, Braith?" asked Portia as her arms tensed around me.

Miyet went on. "There's a rumor that she's suppose to be the reincarnation of one of the Greek Goddesses. I mean she's pretty decent in Sims, but a reincarnation, please."

"Which one?" I absently asked.

Sangria rose behind me, obviously agitated.

"I'm sorry? What?" responded Miyet.

"Which goddess?"

"Oh… Athena."

~O~

Portia was kind of perturbed at me for slamming the door in Miyet's face and then with my pacing back and forth in our small room. "Would you stop for a second and tell me what's going on, Braith."

My patron was silent but I could feel the anger, the rage building. It was bleeding off to me. I could almost feel the adrenaline pumping in my veins. My heart was pounding against my chest and my hair was all over the place.

"Sangria knows her, Portia. She's no reincarnation, she's an Avatar just like me, and her spirit is Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom, war, strategy, and justice…"

Sangria blasted through my mind and my voice at the same time. "JUSTICE, HA! The jealous bitch wouldn't know justice if I pounded her to death with the scales that are the embodiment of the ideal! Ah, there's an idea. Death by irony!"

"You need to calm down, Braith."

I whipped my head around. "It's not me. Sangria is off the rails pissed right now."

"Magic User, how are you at binding spells? I don't want to expend all of my energy holding her down while I pierce every square inch of her body to suck the life out of her. Can you do this for me?"

Portia backed away, holding her many hands up. "Whoa, like, slow down there. She hasn't done anything to me."

"She is my immortal enemy and you are my host's mate. You would not… Pfft. Of course you wouldn't. Mortals these days have no sense of devotion to one's mate. You are here only for what my host can do for you in terms of sexual energy for your castings."

Portia's eyes widened in fear, followed by my own. "What?" I froze on the spot. "Do you not see, my love? The bliss she was exhibiting this morning after our coupling? Sexual energy is to her what adrenaline and endorphins are to mortals. It powers her magic. Lust is well and good; that is what got her the meeting with Circe. She is a vast pool brimming with power and you are the fountain that allowed her to be filled. Why do you think I wanted you to mate? But all she wants is the ability to use your body to increase her potential without payment in kind. So much for young love."

'Shut up for a minute, Sangria!' I braced myself before I asked my question. "Is this true? Is that all I am to you?"

Portia's eyes leaked panicked tears. "She's twisted it, Braith. It's just a plus."

My eyes narrowed. "So it's true then. I'm your battery charger?!"

She shook her head. "NO! Give me a chance to explain."

I lashed out at her with my hair, pushing her to the bed. "Did you enjoy seducing me? Were you laughing inside your head in triumph when we fucked this morning?" I lifted one of the braided lengths of hair and was about to bring it down on top of her when I saw her cringe back and hold her many hands out to fend me off.

The next thing I knew, all of my hair dropped back down, and I turned around. Sangria grabbed my boots and lifted me off the ground before slipping them on and zipping them up. Portia lay there crying and I was back to feeling the way I did in December. Broken and dead, betrayed by those that I thought cared for me.

Come, my love, let us dispense with the fallen Olympian and be on our way.

'Shut up, Sangria. You're on my shit list too. You knew about Portia, but you didn't say anything. We're not killing anyone.'

But…

'I'm nobody's puppet. You want to leave and go find another Avatar to do your dirty work then fine, piss off!'

Perhaps after you've calmed down…

'One more word from you and I'm going to Carson to see if I can get you forcibly removed from my head. Do you understand?!"

Yes.

'Fine, now leave me alone!'

I grabbed my coat and threw it on before opening the door to find a dozen girls crowded around listening intently. My eyes narrowed at them and I brought my hair up in a bloody colored halo around my body. "Move or I will move you."

~O~

The forest north of Whitman was the only place I felt safe, away from the campus where the grounds were teeming with students. I found the largest tree in the area and hoisted myself up as high as I could, to an appropriate nest of branches, before curling into a ball and letting hot tears fall down my cheeks.

By this point, I was no stranger to betrayal. Such was the life of a mutant. I should have learned my lesson by now. Let no one into your heart. In the end they will break it. Mom and Dad when they died, Jeremy when he dumped me, Tammy when she turned me in to the MCO, and now Portia, not to mention the manipulative spirit that invaded my head without so much as a by your leave.

She was there in the back of my mind, watching, always watching. Waiting for the chance to extract her vengeance on the goddess that cursed her to a living hell thousands of years ago. Well, I'm sorry, but I'm not a murderer. Would I kill to protect myself or others under my care. Hell yes. But I was not going to go out and torture someone like Sangria wanted just so she could feel better about what was done to her.

Now I was truly alone, and virtually powerless. If I went to Carson, I'd give up everything that made me a mutant. Sangria provided almost all of my powers, except that stupid weird-o-meter. I'd step one foot out of the front gates and the MCO would be all over me. Dead or incarcerated for the murder of twenty people. That was one of my options. The other was to let her take control and just fade into the background. Let her have free reign to do what ever the hell it is she wanted. At least I would be beyond caring at that point.

What else?

I could take full control, forcing her to my will. That's what being a Level 3 Avatar was all about, control. I could take the classes and learn exactly how to subjugate her.

'Do you hear that, Sangria? Would you like it if I took all of your choices away from you. How about if I made best friends with Athena? Maybe become her lover? How would you feel being manipulated into that?'

Wisely, she didn't answer.

'I thought so. See, it's not so nice being all Machiavellian with someone you are suppose to care about. I thought we were friends. I thought that you were supposed to protect me, not use me to get what you want. Maybe it's just better for everyone involved if you were removed.'

No, my love, please.

'You don't get to call me that anymore, Sangria. People who love each other don't use them.'

I felt a profound sense of regret emanating from my patron. You are right. What I did was unforgivable. At first I only sought to protect you…

'I don't want to hear it.'

How can I make amends, my lo… Braith.

Thinking about that for a moment I set about some ground rules. 'You stay out of my love life. That is for me to decide. If I pick wrong then it's my own fault.'

As you wish.

"Fine. Quit screwing around and do whatever it is you need to do to finish this integration. I want everything that you can give me."

I told you before, I cannot introduce you to the memories of my past hosts, at this point, without breaking your mind…

I was becoming accustom to interrupting her. 'You said you could let me have senses through my hair, do that. And also tell me what else you are hiding from me. I'm sick of the games, Sangria. Either shit or get off the pot.'

As you wish, Braith. Prepare yourself, this will be excruciatingly painful.

~O~

Take a stiletto, the knife not the shoe, and let it sit in a white-hot fire for about a year, pour in some wood grain alcohol, a pound of salt, maybe a lemon wedge or two and then shove it into your brain, then you can begin to feel what I felt at that moment.

I think I scared the crap out of any wildlife within a few hundred yards with the accompanying scream before I passed out. When I awoke, it was to the feeling of being wrapped up in a ball from head to toe in the insulating warmth of my hair.

Concern and intense love washed across me like they were my own feelings, but I instinctually knew they were not. They were Sangria's and they were nothing like I'd experienced over the last month. Whatever she had done, intensified what I had felt from her.

I have done as you wished, Braith. I have given you all there is to give without permanently damaging your mind.

Without thinking about it, I knew what she told me was true. It was like I was a part of her now instead of the other way around.

The sense of security and warmth along the outside of my hair let me know that we weren't in the forest anymore, and before I could even ask, I knew that we were in a bed at the campus hospital.

Security showed up soon after your scream alerted others that you were injured. I allowed them to transfer us to this bed, as a precaution, and insured that they did not bother you as you recovered.

Again true.

I cannot lie or mislead you any longer, Braith. You may now read my thoughts as easily as I can read yours.

Something was itching me, something affixed to my hair.

There are several monitors the doctors here have attached that measure blood pressure, heart rate, and various other vital statistics. They thought, wisely I may add, that your life was in danger. I assured them that your regenerative abilities would see to your health.

'How long have I…'

Three days. Oh, this was going to be annoying, having her answering every thought that I had before I finished asking it. It is currently four-thirty-seven, Tuesday afternoon.

I was fairly surprised. It took three days to heal? I thought I was able to do that at super-speed now.

I did as you ordered and shat. In doing so I had to invade several portions of your brain and make adjustments at the genetic level and beyond. It took two and a half days to make alterations to your body and allow your abilities to heal the changes before making even more adjustments. I tried to warn you about the consequences of forcing the integration.

'Don't be an ass, Sangria. I'm just surprised is all.'

Still angry I see.

I sighed. 'I'll tell you what. I'm going to hunt down Athena and see if she wants to hook up. After we have sex, you tell me how long it might be before you forgive me.'

My actions, while immoral, were in the best interests of your physical wellbeing. I will not apologize for not wanting you to come to harm. The magic user, once properly trained, will be an ideal mate. I sought only to take advantage of her desires for your use as you see fit.

'Her desires? I thought she was using me?'

Regret from Sangria bounced around along with my confusion. I may have acted rashly when I sought to play upon her guilt in an attempt to avenge myself on Athena.

'So, you're telling me that she didn't use me?'

She has spent all allowable hours here in your room, watching you and talking to you. Elizabeth had to threaten her visitation privileges if she did not go to class and eat.

Shame replaced Sangria's regret.

The magic user does, in fact, attain power from your sexual union. That part I did not lie about. However, I may have embellished as to her motivations in that regard.

'May have embellished? I swear, Sangria, if you weren't in my head right now, I'd slap you.'

She chose to stay silent for a moment. Someone approaches.

'I know. I can feel them.' Which was a strange sensation.

There are several dozen receptors in your hair that act like, to use a term you are familiar with, a radar. It is how I see beyond walls and doors. It is not exact, but using these, I can sense movement within approximately twenty foot radius, and within a few feet the image becomes much more clear. Practice with these receptors will allow you limited awareness beyond your five senses. I would suggest you keep this knowledge to yourself for defensive and offensive purposes.

I heard the door to the room open and once they moved next to the bed, the impression of a man entered my head. He was tapping at a device and moving from monitor to monitor.

"Are you awake, Miss Brice?"

Guess there's no use in trying to subvert the sensors. I pulled the hair cocoon back and unwound myself from the fetal position.

"Good afternoon, I'm Doctor Herbert. How are you feeling?"

With my hair's assistance I sat up in the bed and swung my legs over the side. "Fine."

He arched an eyebrow at me. "Would you like to explain why we've had you in our care for the last few days?"

"Um, not really, no." The less they knew, the better, as far as I was concerned.

"Very well, then we will be forced to perform an annoying amount of tests to insure that you are in good health."

Ah. "I had my patron make a few improvements to my body." Close enough.

If I may address him, Braith?

'Go ahead.'

"Doctor, the changes my host mentioned are within the standard evolution of all my hosts. They've simply been applied over the course of a few days instead of the traditional months usually needed. If you care to study the file of Lacy Worthington, a former faculty member and host, you will see where she listed…"

He nodded. "That's what I thought. If you experience any unusual symptoms let us know. And in the future, Miss Braith, if you choose to take a step up the evolutionary ladder, please notify your advisor or a medical professional before doing so."

I shrugged at his intent look.

~O~

I made my way across the Quad to Crystal Hall. Whatever Sangria did in her alterations of my body, it used virtually every ounce of her reserves. In short, if anyone pissed me off, they stood a good chance of being drained unless I fed her very soon. Knowing my temper at the moment, I thought it best to take care of that before I landed in jail.

The cafeteria was fairly crowded for dinner. The table that the Morlocks sat at previously was occupied by people, not of my group. As I headed to the special meals line I scanned the rest of the room and saw Void in the far corner waving at me. I nodded in his direction before noting Gordo and Crystal in attendance as well.

Acquiring seven pints of blood, at Sangria's prompting, brought a questioning look from the server behind the counter.

"They didn't feed me in the hospital. I'm starved."

I stopped by the regular serving line and retrieved a very large dry salad with chopped egg and plain-boiled chicken to add substance.

"You feeling okay?" asked Void as I took the seat next to him. "We visited, but you were just a big ball of hair at the time."

"Yeah, thanks." Sangria didn't waste a second and stabbed six of the blood bags at once, draining the majority dry in seconds. She actually took her time with the last two. And guess what? I tasted every drop. Somewhere deep in my psyche I was majorly revolted, but after eyeing the seventh bag, I paused.

I know I didn't set it there.

Your diet will have changed due to the latest transition, Braith. You require a certain amount of blood as well. Please do not argue. You insisted upon this course if you remember.

I gulped.

Try it on the salad. I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

'Uh, no thanks. If I have to drink it then I'll just…'

"Is something wrong, Braith. My sister is worried for you."

I glanced up at Gordo. "No, um, Sangria told me my diet's changed. I gotta drink that."

Everyone's eyes dropped to the bag containing the dark red liquid.

Your new changes require maintenance, Braith. Nothing comes without cost.

I looked at each of them. "You don't have to look if you don't want to. I know its gross."

Void laughed at me. "Sister, I drink radioactive fluids and Gordo can eat your boots. Blood ain't gonna freak me out."

"My sister says to do what you must to remain healthy."

My eyes flicked to the Mexican girl and I saw an accepting smile.

"Hold on a sec." Void got up and went to the drink fountain, returning a few moments later with a large empty mug normally used for coffee. "There. That'll make it look like you're just a coffee nut like the rest of the poseurs around here."

"Thank you, Void." I reached up and kissed him on the cheek. His eyes turned a darker green as he shyly shrugged. I lifted a lock of hair up to cut away a portion of the bag so I could pour it into the mug, but the lock was blunt.

You must will it to thin and hold an edge.

'You make it look so easy.'

I have been doing this for thousands of years, Braith.

With a little concentration the strand thinned and I ran it through the bag effortlessly. Void and Crystal tried to mask their interest by watching me with their peripheral vision, but Gordo watched the whole shebang straight on. "Want a taste?" I offered.

Gordo shook his head. "I just want to watch you drink it." He flinched and grabbed at his shin with a grimace on his face.

Okay, here goes.

"I told you she was a vampire." A voice I didn't recognize said out of nowhere.

I looked quickly looked around.

"I think she can hear us Sara."

"Whoops, damn acoustics."

There she was with a seductive smirk on her face, the girl from yesterday, uh, a few days ago. The freaky elf-chick.

"Seems like I'm not the only one of us that has a whacked out diet, Vindicator?" Sara seemed to take a little pleasure out of my current predicament.

"Name was taken already," I said back, even though she was well over thirty yards away. "I'm Defensor now."

Setting the cup to my lips, I tipped it back and as soon as the blood touched my tongue, I thought I was going to have an orgasm right there in the cafeteria. My nipples stiffened, and I could swear my uterus clenched. Memories of having sex with Portia were at the forefront of my mind. Halfway through the mug I felt my myself moisten and ready for penetration. Considering one of the things Sangria performed on Portia and me, I knew exactly what that felt like, and I wanted it again right then and there.

In between swallows little noises echoed faintly in the mug. I groaned when I was finished, but my tongue licked at the rim in an effort to claim every last succulent drop.

Another pint, Braith?

A throbbing between my legs let me know that it wasn't blood I desired anymore. 'I need somewhere private, very quick, Sangria.'

Satisfaction came from her right then. Allow me to address you as I will.

'Fine, whatever.'

To the left of the kitchen is a door marked Maintenance. If you go now, you will not be seen entering, my love.

I took a hold of Void's hand. "Come on. I need your help with something."

Dragging him along for the first five feet, Void finally got his footing and caught up. "What's going on?"

"Hold on and I'll explain." I licked at my lips, still tasting the faint traces of blood lingering.

Sangria assaulted the lock and picked it in under three seconds, then swung the door open as I pulled Void inside.

East corner, there is a metal covering on the floor, open it.

I threw open the cover and saw the metal ladder leading down. "Follow me, Void and close the hatch after you. Hurry."

I just stepped off into the darkness and fell, trusting in my patron to catch me before I went smack against the floor. My sunglasses were the first thing I tore off, but not the last by far. By the time Void made it to the bottom of the ladder I was down to my panties and bra. It was dark, there was no way he could see me. At the very least my modesty will stay intact.

"Whoa, uh, Braith, not that I'm complaining or anything, but why are you almost naked."

Brilliant. He can see in the dark. Well screw it. At this point I was too horny to care. "Void. I seriously have to have sex with you right now. Interested?"

I saw the glow of his green eyes widen. He was sixteen and a boy. Of course the answer to that question was going to be yes. In seconds he was stripped down as well and I was pushing him back toward the ladder so that I could have some sort of leverage. "Have you ever done this before?"

My hands trailed down the smooth muscled skin of his chest and abdomen until I had things well in hand.

He sucked in a lung full of air. "No. I wasn't exactly Mr. Universe before…"

"Shut up," I whispered. "I'll do all the work. You just have fun, enjoy the ride."

Oh god, please don't let him last for only five seconds.

I will assist in that endeavor, my love.

Sangria wrapped a lock of hair around the base of his hardness. Void jerked. "Hey, that's not one of the sharp ones, is it?"

I grinned and ran my leg up the side of his thigh. "Don't worry. It's just to help you last longer. Trust me, Void."

"Oh, okay. Yeah, that'd be good. Thanks."

"Ready?"

"Hell yeah."

I wrapped my hands around his neck and lifted my body up with my hair. "Kiss me, Void."

He had thick, soft lips and I fed on them like they were they were my last meal. Well, not literally. I didn't eat him. Maybe later. Right now I needed something else, which Sangria guided to it's intended target.

It couldn't have been more than five minutes since I had tasted the contents of that mug, but I was dripping with desire and more than ready for Void to fill me with as much as he could. His hips shot forward, burying himself within.

Pain broke through to my brain and I let loose with a hurt squeak. Okay, maybe the thing Sangria did with the penetration the other morning wasn't quite as much as I thought it was.

His is approximately triple the girth as I used, my love.

I held onto Void tightly so he wouldn't move and make things worse. 'Great, thanks for the warning.'

Give it a moment. Let your regeneration powers heal the tears.

'There are tears?'

Before she answered me I could already feel the pain ease to almost nothing. In its place was only the tightness that squeezed my new lover with intense pressure.

"Oh, god, Braith. You feel so good. I could stay like this forever."

I ran my hands through his hair, before grabbing a great fist full. "Let now be enough."

~O~

I don't remember shredding my thong, but it lay in one piece with the sides cut, on the floor. I picked it up and frowned before handing it to Void. "Souvenir?"

He grinned like a cat with its cream. In fact he hadn't stopped grinning since I screamed his name at the end, culminating with Sangria releasing her hold on his shaft and our orgasms meeting. Well, I had three, he had one. "Thanks."

I looked around at the empty room. It looked like it used to be a lead to an access tunnel that had long since been blocked off. Now it looked like a place for old file storage. Well, whatever. It was empty and served for a good cause.

"Does this mean that you've made your decision?"

I turned back to void as I was doing up the clasp for my bra. "What?"

He was just standing there with his pants on and preparing to put on his shirt. "You know, between me and insect-girl."

"Oh, uh, no. Sorry."

"Oh." He lost his grin.

"I did promise that whatever she got to do, you got to do too." Hey, I can still think like a guy if need be.

His jaw loosened. "So you and her…"

He made a fist and kind of pumped it forward a little. I rolled my eyes. "Yes, we've had sex."

Having once been a guy and having been exposed to locker room talk, I should have expected the next question, but for the life of me I couldn't figure out why I was surprised. "Well, uh, which of us was… you know."

Sangria helped pull my hair through the turtleneck as I tugged it down. "Better?" I almost laughed, but stopped myself. Never, under any circumstance, insult a guy's sexual prowess if you ever want to have sex with him again. Not that they won't do it with you. Guys are easy, they'll do it with anyone they find attractive, and most that they don't. But they won't go that extra mile trying to please you if they don't have to. "Apples and oranges." It wasn't really, but he didn't have to know that.

Before I slipped my socks and boots on, I stepped into him and tiptoed up for another kiss. "Void, for your first time, you were fantastic. I came twice. You did that to me. Don't worry about being upstaged by a girl." My hand slipped down to caress him above his pants. He was still semi-hard, or maybe it was just quick recovery time. There's one good thing about teenaged boys; virility. "I definitely want to work on three times next time."

His grin was back. He bent down and scooped me up by the thighs for another kiss, deepening it until I was tingling once again. "I'll find us a proper bed for then."

I shrugged. "Up against the wall was fine for me."

A warm chuckle escaped from his mouth sending shivers down my spine. Kisses trailed across my cheek and down my neck while I closed my eyes and enjoyed the attention.

"I'm glad you were my first, Braith."

~O~

Escaping from the Maintenance Room was a little more difficult. Dinner was in full swing, and the cafeteria was packed to capacity. From the time on my watch we had been down there for forty-five minutes. Considering the time it took to get undressed, dressed and the talk at the end, Void looked like he was going to be a pro at this once he got some more practice in.

We only got spotted by twelve year old Asian looking girl on the way out. Receiving a raised eyebrow at our exit, I returned it and sauntered back to the table and my now warm salad. Woodchuck was there. Gordo and Crystal looked bored until we showed. Then Crystal was all grins. She knew what happened. Gordo was clueless.

"What happened?" He glanced at Void. "And why are you so happy all the sudden? Owww! Quit kicking me, hermana. I'm going to have a limp soon."

I swallowed a mouthful of chicken and lettuce before answering. "I had to show Void something that I learned in school." That wasn't exactly a lie. I took quite an informative sex-ed class my freshman year in high school.

Gordo glared at his sister. "See, it was stupid schoolwork. She didn't have an itch that needed scratching." He thumbed at her. "Thinks she knows everything. Who scratches an itch for forty-five minutes?"

Void just kept on grinning.

~O~

With a sigh, I stood in front of the door to my dorm room, cottage room, whatever. I'd been thinking up some sort of apology for Portia, but was drawing a blank. 'I should make you say you're sorry. You're the one that caused all this mess.'

I would be more than happy to if it will close this rift between us, my love.

I huffed. 'It won't close it, but it will help. That is if she accepts.'

Steeling myself one last time, I opened the door and found that she wasn't in the room. So much for that. We probably passed each other on the way or something. Even if I truly didn't believe that, I held a fairly decent belief that she'd be back sometime in the near future. Maybe she was still in class.

After shedding the clothes I'd been wearing for three days -- eww, I hope I didn't stink when I was with Void -- I grabbed my bathrobe and took a shower. At least there was plenty of hot water. There were advantages to not having to style your hair in the mornings, taking a shower virtually alone in the evening was one of them.

While making my way back to the room, I passed a few girls that I recognized from the eavesdropping crew that was camped out in front of the door when I left the other morning. While they didn't look scared or anything, they gave me a wide berth. I guessed I had developed a reputation already for being violent. Ah well, at least it'll keep people from screwing with me, for the most part.

There are advantages to that sort of reputation, my love, however there are also disadvantages as well.

'Like what?'

There are always people out there that want to make a name for themselves. Defeating those with reputations is one way to do so. Very few people knew of Perseus before he killed me. And now they name a constellation after the bastard son of Zeus, and call him hero.

'History is written by the winners, Sangria.'

I opened the door to the room and found Portia sitting on her bed looking up at me with shock.

"Braith?"

"Hey." I set my bath caddie to the side and laid my damp towel on top.

She jumped up and looked like she wanted to run over to me, but instead held her ground fidgeting with her hands. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about the energy thing. I just thought it was…" She cringed at her words before finishing. "…afterglow."

'See.' I shot at Sangria.

I apologize, my love. I didn't…

'Not to me. To her, and her name is Portia, not magic-user.'

"Portia, you have my most sincere apologies. I was angry and sought to guilt you into action to rid me of the Olympian. I did not take into account your lack of training in not recognizing your well-spring of power."

"I'm sorry too, Portia. When Sangria gets angry it bleeds off to me. I should have known better."

She took a step toward me, smiling slightly. "Does this mean that we're all forgiven?"

I nodded and returned her smile with one of my own. A few steps later and we met in the middle of the room for a warm hug.

~O~

We verified the old saying that make up sex is some of the best sex you can have. Well, I was naked underneath that bathrobe and Portia is a very sexual girl. Don't give me any grief.

~O~

While the single bed is pretty small it was still big enough for me to lay in her arms and run my hand over her body afterward. "You should know something about Sangria, but you have to keep it a secret."

She kissed me on the forehead while I drew small circles around her navel with my finger. "I promise."

I then proceeded to tell her the story of Medusa, her rape delivered by Poseidon, her persecution and punishment by Athena, and eventual murder arranged by Zeus. At the end she understood why Sangria acted the way she did.

"I can't imagine all of that happening to me. I'm so sorry, Sangria."

A lock of hair traced Portia's jaw and then the line of her body in response.

"The thing is that you can't kill them for what happened."

"Why not, they are guilty. I have suffered for three millennia from her idea of justice. Even to this day, in this country, there is no limit to the amount of time one can be held responsible for the crime of murder."

Portia shook her head. "You don't understand. The people that they are using, like you use Braith, are innocent. They're teenagers."

Conflicting emotions built up inside me from my patron.

"It would be like someone from your past killing Braith for something you did fifty years ago. Would that be right?"

Even though I could tell what Sangria was thinking, I let it go. Now that she'd realized there was another point of view on the subject, this was something that she had to work out on her own.

"Let her think about it, Portia." I snuggled into her neck and drew my leg across hers. The last thought I had for the evening was how much I enjoyed the way she smelled after we made love.

~O~

I was up and dressed in the annoying school uniform. I looked ridiculous. But the thing of it was that every other student looked equally as bad. At least I didn't clash against the coloring.

"You should let me do your nails, maybe some make up. It would help."

My eyes ticked up at my lover. "I don't do, feminine fineries."

She smirked at me. "I didn't say you had to look all girlie-girl, but some black or even gray nails would look good on you. Keep them at the length you have now, that's fine. A little eyeliner and shadow to bring out your eyes. Some red lipstick. You're hot now, but you would be devastating if… " realizing what she was saying, Portia backed off. "Never mind. Then you'd get all of the attention and I'd have to share."

Leaning away from my laptop, I relaxed in the chair. "I have no interest in see anyone but you and Void."

She nodded while she did up her tie. "Yeah, right now. But wait until you see all the Exemplars out there. It's like walking around at the Playboy mansion and the offices of GQ at the same time."

I cocked my head to the side. "Yeah, but do the rest of them have two extra sets of arms and make that funny little noise when I lick behind their ear?"

She pointed at me, all authoritarian like. "You better not find out. You're all mine… and Void's somewhat." She frowned when she added my other lover.

"Does it bother you that I'm with him too?"

Portia turned her back to me and made busy with her backpack. "As long as you are in my bed every night, I'll deal with it. But don't think of inviting him in with us. I don't do threesomes."

I giggled. "Yes, you do."

She threw a look over her shoulder at me. "Oh, well, Sangria is part of you. That doesn't count."

I shrugged. "I'm not talented enough to do half the stuff she does that makes you nearly deafen me when you scream."

That brought a little sense of pride to her face. "By the way? I don't have to do the silencing charm to the room anymore. We have an exemption from Circe. Well, I do anyway, but since you're my lover, and that's how I pool my powers…" She left the end of that statement off and showed me exactly how wide her grin could get.

"So, last night… everyone could hear…"

"You should have seen the look on Savage's face when I dropped off that form." She giggled again. "I thought the poor woman was going to bust a blood vessel she was so shocked. She ran straight to her phone and called up the magic department like she was going to bust me forging Circe's signature. Like I'd be stupid enough to do that in the first place."

I face-palmed. "Do we have to let everyone hear us?"

She shrugged after slinging her backpack over her shoulder. "I guess not, but it kinda, like, adds a little excitement to think that the girls on either side are listening in, don'tcha think?"

Shaking my head at her mildly exhibitionist traits, I just groaned. She leaned over and kissed me lightly. "I have to get to my first class, and don't forget your appointment with your advisor this morning, baby." Her eyes focused on mine, and I could see the hunger in them again. "I could just eat you up right now. You look so sexy in that outfit. Maybe later." She danced off to the door with excitement. "Oh, and think about the nails and makeup for me, please. Just think about trying it out. If you don't like it then we don't have to do it again."

"Changing your mind again?"

She shrugged her shoulder and laughed again before disappearing out the door.

~O~

I had time for breakfast before meeting with my advisor. Since neither Void or Portia were with me I avoided the blood, not knowing if it would have the same effect as before. However, I did look at the little plastic bag with new appreciation while Sangria partook of hers. The taste I sensed through my hair was nothing like what it was when drinking normally. Maybe taste was the wrong word. What I feel through my hair is like a sixth sense, and not in the 'I talk to dead people' way. It's kind of a cross between taste and touch, with some smell thrown in there as well.

On my way out I noticed Athena again, or Judicator, whatever her name was. Meeting her eyes, briefly, she stilled for a few moments. Luckily, I was wearing my sunglasses, so she couldn't tell that I was staring back just as curiously.

From what I've come to understand, advisors are normally chosen through the students area of expertise. Basically this meant that I should be getting a faculty member that was well versed in Avatars, or maybe hair care. Then we would meet in their office to go over my options for classes, and training. So why was my appointment in Carson's office? Surely the Headmistress was too busy to involve herself in the day to day mundane life of a student's education. Shouldn't she be off procuring funding from some government agency or spanking naughty schoolchildren who were bad. There's a reason the words Master and Mistress were tacked on the end of Head. I could almost see Carson dressed up in tight PVC and high heeled boots, while she was holding a paddle. Can't you?

To my knowledge, Elizabeth does not participate in these activities.

'That was thirty years ago, Sangria, before she became Head-Mistress. Don't you have to be just a regular Mistress before you take on that role?'

No.

'You know, sometimes I think you don't have any sense of humor.'

Once I trudged my way upstairs to the bondage queen's office -- see how smoothly I segued into Carson's new title -- I noticed a grim-faced lady trying to look official. The name plate on her desk read, A. Harford, Asst. Headmistress. Ah, bondage princess. I knew there was a step below Queen.

"You are inside. Remove your sunglasses, young lady."

I grinned at her. "Sorry, eyes are sensitive to light. Doctor's orders."

"Miss Brice." I turned around to see Carson standing in her doorway. "If you please?"

"Good morning, Headmistress." Leaving my hands in my coat pockets I grinned. "Imagine my surprise when I saw you were my advisor."

"I'm not." She stood back and swept her hand toward the office.

"Oh." Well that explains that then. Guess it's time for my spanking.

When I hit the doorway I noticed I wasn't the only person meeting with Carson at the moment. However, the other three weren't exactly students, but with a nudge from Sangria's memory, I knew exactly who they were.

The first was the guy who I saw for my powers testing, Dr. Finkman. He looked a little too bouncy at the moment with a very thick file in his hands. For a second there I could have sworn he was humping it. The second was a man dressed in jeans, a plaid shirt, and worn leather jacket, sporting a beaded turquoise choker. His skin was a dark coppery color, which spoke of his American-Indian heritage, Charlie Lodgeman. And the last guy, Sangria knew all too well from her time at Whateley. Nobody who'd ever met him soon forgot the utter creepiness of the Most Righteous Reverend Darren Englund.

"Charlie, Darren, may I introduce my current host, Braith Brice, codename Defensor." I looked over at Carson, who was taking her seat. "Elizabeth, it's like old times. Who has the hooch?"

Charlie brought a closed hand up to his mouth, but I could see he was trying to cover an amused smile. Darren scowled like someone shrunk his panties in the wash. The good doctor was still humping his file, and Elizabeth looked constipated. Perhaps I ought to suggest some prunes be added to her diet.

"Sangria, please refrain from familiarity for the moment. We are here for Miss Brice's education."

"As you wish, Elizabeth. However I am curious as to why two of the current Board of Supervisors and the Headmistress are attending something as simple as a curriculum advisory."

"By the way," I snuck in. "Who's my advisor?"

"That would be me, Miss Brice," answered the most revved-up Reverend Englund.

Oh hell. Just what a girl that looks like a demon needs, a religious advisor.

"I thought that you taught Comparative Religions, Darren. I can assure you that we have no interest in thumping any holy book. No matter what the religion."

A palm slap against the desk and Carson's angry voice sounded. "Sangria! That will be enough. If you cannot restrain yourself then you will be asked to be silent."

'She can ask all she wants. I have a sinking feeling in my stomach that we are about to be railroaded into something here, Sangria. Do what ever you want.'

Thank you, my love. "Since my host has never had dealings with any of you in the past, I have been asked to represent her in these matters. Let me be perfectly clear here, Elizabeth. Braith Brice and her Morlocks are attending Whateley at your request and the request of Mrs. Potter. With the exception of Crystal, the rest of us have received a less than warm welcome. Additionally, the presence of three of the most influential people at Whateley poking their noses into her curriculum has me on edge. With Doctor Finkman's presence here, I can only conclude this has to with Braith's unclassified Esper talent."

Charlie bit the side of his mouth like he was trying to figure me out.

"Yes, that's it isn't it? Well, then, I suggest we keep our useless threats to ourselves. You need or want her for your own ends."

"That's enough." Darren looked even more disagreeable. "Sit down, Miss Brice." It looked like he was trying every trick in the book not to pull his bible out and whack me across the head.

He definitely wants you, my love. Darren Englund would never accept backtalk from a student. His ego wouldn't stand for it.

'You mean you're being rude on purpose?'

Of course. What better way to find out someone's motivations than to push them into losing control.

"I'll stand, thank you."

Carson sighed and laced her fingers together. "Will we be hearing from Miss Brice at all during this meeting? It is her education we will be discussing."

Sangria had me nod a single time in her direction. "Thank you for finally being civil, Elizabeth. If you need direct conformation of my intentions and right to represent my host, then you may ask."

"Miss Brice, are you in control of Sangria?" the Headmistress asked point blank.

"We're in control of each other, if that makes sense, Mrs. Carson. Our integration is virtually complete."

A dangerous falsehood, my love.

'What, it's true from a certain perspective. All I need are your previous hosts memories and we're done, right?'

True, but this will still take some time. There will be no rushing this forward. I will not sacrifice you in this way.

Carson's eyes widened. "This is why you were in the hospital."

I raised my eyebrows at her in confirmation, but she didn't seem totally convinced in the truth of the matter.

"Sangria, you once told me that the process takes months, possibly years depending on the host. From the information included in her application I was under the impression that you only joined a little over a month ago."

"All true."

Charlie held up his hand to forestall Carson's next question with one of his own. "If I may?"

He drew my attention to him. "Charlie."

"Why are you enrolled if you are already so far along? Surely you could test out of many if not all of the courses you would want to study. Why aren't you applying for a job here instead?"

"A good question. Thank you. Setting aside that Lacy, a previous host was murdered here while I was a teacher, I have not taught in thirty years. While I still have the knowledge needed, there have been many advances in education that I have not kept up on. There is also the needs of my host. She is sexually involved with two of the Morlocks…"

'Sangria!'

"Out of wedlock?!" Darren exclaimed.

"Yes, Darren, all condoned and exempted by Circe. Well the magic-user, Portia is. She draws her power from sexual energy…"

Carson tried to get the meeting back under control. "We're off topic here."

"Lesbians," muttered Darren under his breath.

"The point being, that regardless of my host's ability to run circles around a good number of the student body, she desires to be among them. Call it emotional education if you will."

The doctor cleared his throat.

"Quite right, Doctor," said Charlie. "We need to move on."

He's checked his watch for the third time. Curious, my love.

'I wasn't really paying attention.'

Charlie stood and straightened the rolled up sleeves. "Braith, we're going on a field trip. Care to join us?"

~O~

I was told to go get changed into civilian clothes, which was both a relief and an annoyance. Couldn't they have just sent me an email telling me to dress down for the day? But, who am I to look a gift horse in the mouth. After slipping on my gloves and wishing for the hundredth time I still had my pistol snuggled up under my arm, I grabbed my coat and met the olds in front of Schuster where a limo was waiting. Whoa, going in style.

The gang was all there. This must be one heck of a field trip. With these three in attendance, I supposed I wouldn't need my pistol after all. That is unless they were the ones that I'd have to fight, in which case I was dead. The Rev. probably no problem. Charlie, maybe, if I caught him unaware. Carson, only if she was asleep, drugged up, in chains, and in a good mood.

Since the Reverend was my advisor, I got to sit next to him. Oh joy. Carson and Charlie were muttering to each other as we traveled along the dirt road back toward Dunwich. This was strange because they didn't look like they were muttering.

Charlie is a Mystic, my love. He is probably using his magic to confuse what we are hearing.

"Here are my suggestions for your winter session schedule, Miss Brice."

I took the offered PDA from the Reverend and scanned the class titles. Needless to say, the average high school reading, writing, and arithmetic weren't represented anywhere on the same planet as these classes were. Specifically, these courses looked like I was preparing for an alien invasion.

Survival Training - Gunderson
Heavy Weapons - Gunderson
Light Weapons - Gunderson
Ancient Languages - Englund
Comparative Religions - Englund
Defense Against Magic - Lodgeman

"Hookaaay. Does this mean that I don't have to worry about memorizing anymore calculus formulas?"

Englund took back the PDA and wiped the screen. "All will be made clear today, Miss Brice."

"Darren, you and I both know of my knowledge of ancient languages. I believe they surpass yours by far, and I also believe that I've already mentioned that we weren't interested in religion classes."

He didn't really like that a teenage girl was addressing him so informally, but he did reply. "The course names are a cover. What we have to teach you will be one on one. You won't be attending any formal classes until the fall, but you will receive credit for the ones listed."

Now I was really confused. "Is there a particular reason that I'm being singled out for this training?" I don't know why I bother asking questions I already know the answer to. It was obvious, by Doctor Finkman's presence, that it was related to…

I snapped my head up and looked out of the side window. The feeling was back. My weird-o-meter was going into overdrive. "Stop. Stop the car."

Carson pressed a button on the console to her left. The limo came to a slow roll and then pulled slightly to the side of the road. There was probably no need to fully pull off since school was in already in session and that was the only place this particular road led.

I alit from the vehicle and stood beside the rear tire. Imaginary spiders were crawling all over my back.

"What are you sensing, Braith?" Charlie followed my line of sight into the woods.

There was no way I could put into words the ideas that were entering my head. "I don't know. Something… wrong."

I heard a beep from inside the limo and Carson saying something. A few seconds later the creepiness factor was much more subdued. Startled, at Charlie's hand on my arm, I jerked back and spun on him. "What was that? What the hell was that?" Backing away from him I brought my hands up to my chest, clutched into fists. My heart was pounding away, beating so hard I felt like it was trying to find a way out from beneath my breast.

"Braith, calm down. We're in no danger."

I didn't even notice Englund sneaking up until I heard him mumbling a prayer behind me. Spinning around I saw him holding up a relatively small cross toward me. With a wisp of hair, I batted at his hand. "Stop that. I'm not evil." Pointing off into the woods I spat, "Whatever's out there is evil. Spout your mumbo jumbo at that."

Englund sighed in irritation. "This is a prayer of protection for you, Miss Brice, not against you."

I backed away again, until I realized it was taking me closer to whatever the hell was out there. "Keep it to yourself. Sangria's more than enough protection."

"Perhaps we should move on, gentlemen," called Carson from inside the limo.

The crawling feeling kept me on edge until we were well past whatever the hell was out there. Once we were in the clear my brain decided to reengage. "Do you plan on keeping me in the dark about this whole thing or what?"

Pardon me for being an ass, but I hate it when I'm being played around with. I think I've told you about this trait of mine.

"Please bear with us for one more test, Miss Brice," asked Finkman. "I would rather see what this talent of yours acts like in its rawest form before I taint your reactions with explanations."

My lips tightened, but I could see the scientific aspect of what he was saying. I already knew what was coming next, so I closed my eyes and tried to relax.

"Can you tell us what the experience was like, anything would be helpful."

Slipping off my sunglasses, I rubbed at my eyes. "I can't get away from the spider analogy, Doc. It was annoying the first time I felt it, but this time. It was like a dozen times more powerful. Like something was being let loose. Something wrong, unnatural. It's not supposed to be here. I wanted nothing more than to tear it to shreds and burn it, but at the same time I wanted to run… anywhere but there."

Englund closed his eyes and sighed like he was remembering something from long ago. Charlie's face hardened and Carson looked --- I don't know -- constipated again. It's hard putting a read on her. It always was.

I blinked and shook my head. Okay, now I'm talking like I've known her for years.

You will find yourself subconsciously using my memories, my love. It is part of the integration.

The feeling was back and I knew we were near the entrance to Dunwich. It wasn't nearly as strong, but still creepy nonetheless. "I feel it again."

"Which way?" Finkman asked.

I pointed east of our position. "That way. Only it's not very strong, just annoying."

We didn't stop this time. Instead, Finkman got the nod from Carson. He opened the file in his lap, but Englund cut him off before he was about to hand me a sheet of paper. "Miss Brice, Sangria, we must have your word that what we reveal to you inside this car and any future conversations concerning this topic are to be held in the strictest confidence."

I gave the eye to everyone. "Uh sure."

Charlie looked more serious than I'd ever seen him before. "We are very serious, Braith. What's in that file is enough to have you put in the deepest hole ARC has and left there until you die. You cannot tell anyone without our consent."

"There really is an alien invasion?"

Carson looked up at the ceiling of the limo. "Not exactly."

Sangria sent a chilling emotion through me. Something was setting her on edge this time. Make the promise, my love.

"Fine, I promise not to tell anyone unless you give the thumbs up."

"What do you have doctor?" She gave me the impression that she had a really good idea, but that she was trying her best to hide it from me until it was confirmed.

"Reverend Englund let me know that you, Sangria, have a strong knowledge of dead languages."

"True."

"I've got a single sentence here, transcribed exactly from an ancient book. Can you translate it for us?"

He reached the paper over and I grabbed it. The characters were like nothing I'd ever seen, which considering that I'm only sixteen years old doesn't amount to a shocking occurrence. I've never seen Portuguese written down anywhere, but I'm fairly certain it's a foreign language. Sangria, on the other hand, felt like she was going to piss herself, if she were physically able, that is.

"The book where this was found…"

"Is very secure," revealed Englund.

I looked at him. "There is not enough security in the world to contain it. It must be destroyed."

Charlie sat forward. "You recognize it?"

Sangria made me release the paper and I watched as it dropped to the floor. "I was the one who dismembered and burned the author's body. I spread the remaining ashes within four containers bound by mystical means and personally rid the world of his taint."

Finkman's color didn't look very good at the moment. Sangria can sound pretty intimidating if she wants, or so I've been told. "And, if any of you have read this book in it's entirety then I will do so with you as well."

Englund almost appeared to relax. Funny that.

"No, Doctor, I will not translate the demonic script for you. It would be like handing a beaker full of hydrochloric acid to a toddler. You could very well prepare a key using the translation and decipher the rest of the text. I will not allow that to happen."

Carson took her cue and said something to distract me from the evil eye I was giving to Finkman. "What do you know of Class X entities?"

"More than I'd care to know, Elizabeth."

'Want to clue me in here, Sangria. I thought you couldn't hold anything back from me anymore.'

My love, you do not want to experience this horror that poisons everything that stands in its presence. While I cannot prevent you from accessing the memories if you truly wanted to see them, I can distract you from experiencing them through my eyes.

Now I was getting frustrated. 'Show me something here. A picture, maybe not the whole thing, but something to give me an idea of what they want me for.'

"Elizabeth. Please stop the car for a few minutes."

"You sense something here?" asked Charlie, clearly shocked.

"No, my host is insisting I show her what it is we are speaking of."

'Why do they have to stop the car?' She didn't answer right away. 'Sangria?'

When we pulled to the side of the road to a complete stop, an image, came to mind. Sangria held it there for maybe a couple of seconds, but it felt like forever. It was tall, maybe ten feet in height, tentacles extended from its face, if you would call what I was seeing a face. It's skin was green, slick with an oily substance, and various portions of its body were pulsing, like something was trying to eat its way out from underneath. Sangria lashed out with her hair, slicing the thing to pieces in a matter of seconds. I found out what was underneath the skin.

Grabbing at the door handle, I barely made it out of the car before my stomach heaved.

The image was burned into my mind. Creatures, babies or something like that… spawn, deformed, clawed hands, fanged mouths, screaming. No, the screaming wasn't them, it was me. Slashing at the creature. Must kill it. Nothing must be left. Mustn't drink. Blood is poison.

~O~

Someone was dabbing at my face with a cool wet cloth and fingering through my hair, gently, motherly. She was humming something, a song I didn't recognize.

Be still, my love. It is Elizabeth who is tending to you.

My stomach rolled angrily. 'What happened?'

I warned you of the consequences. You became ill and eventually lost consciousness.

I remembered. It was kind of hard to forget something that revolting. 'What was that… thing."

It was, what Elizabeth and the others classify as, a Class X entity. Creatures, demons, aliens, call it what you will, they are the truest essence of evil that exists. The one you insisted on seeing was once a human woman. Through the blackest of magic, or mystical arts she was impregnated and transformed into what you saw.

'You killed it.'

Yes, I did.

'Good.'

Not at the time, my love.

She was experiencing conflicting emotions that I couldn't make any sense out of. 'Your host?'

Josette was an explorer of a sort, from a time when women were looked down upon for such things. She met a man who traveled the roads of time by the name of Crow. A foolish risk-taker. He thought he had all the answers to defeat the monsters, one of which you have seen. For her help in defeating the creature she received a life of haunted dreams and eventually, in her later years, insanity and death.

I stayed silent and pondered that.

They would use you for the same purposes.

'You're saying that these things are still around?'

Undoubtedly. I have seen people, members of their cults throughout time, and have killed them without thought. If any of their knowledge exists then it must be extinguished immediately. To let them live is to invite the fruit of their madness.

'Then we have to help.'

Resistance built from Sangria. My love, Braith, what you are suggesting is beyond dangerous. There are things out there that would make you welcome death as the least of options.

'So, you're saying even though you have the knowledge and I have some type of power that could help in this fight, that we should go back into hiding and let everyone else die for us?'

Exasperation welled up through me. You are sometimes as infuriating as Josette. I will aide you and them, my love, however, I will extract a price from them for your service.

'I wouldn't expect anything less, Sangria.'

When I returned my attention back to the interior of the limousine, I could still feel Mrs. Carson stroking my hair and humming lightly. The cool cloth was gone and the warmth of her lap was comforting.

"Thank you for caring for my host, Elizabeth."

She was startled. Her hand froze mid way through my hair and then withdrew.

"There is no shame in showing your humanity, my friend. My host has seen more than enough from indifferent adults. She knows that they have their own agenda and care nothing for her. That is why she protects those that are hers, to let them know that they have someone to turn to in desperate times."

Mrs. Carson's eyes softened. "I've missed you, Sangria. When Lacy was killed, it was just a reminder that I had gotten too close again."

"Is this why you have been so cold to my host?"

The Headmistress didn't reply, choosing instead to stare out of the window.

"My apologies. I did not mean to intrude on a painful subject. Please inform Charlie that he may lower the privacy curtain. Braith is adamant that we assist you with your endeavor."

"We are returning to the Academy, Sangria. Braith has received enough of a shock for one day. Tomorrow we shall begin again."

The sound of pavement against the tires let me know that we'd already arrived. "What happens tomorrow?"

Mrs. Carson looked down at me. "We see exactly what you are capable of with that talent of your, Braith. So, get some rest. I guarantee it will be a trying day."

Even though it was cold out, the pathways between buildings were heated. Don't ask me how they did it. Do you care how your television works? Well, if you aren't a Devisor, that is.

Benches littered the Quad and I had chosen one. With my knees tucked neatly under my chin, I sat there and thought on what I'd learned about the world. We were not alone, and there were horrors out there that defied reason and definition. And here I was, some psychic power that I didn't have a clue how to control beyond pointing and saying, 'ovar dare ovar dare'. How helpful can that actually be?

The worst part was that I couldn't even talk to my friends about this. It was probably better that they didn't know. There was less chance of them dying in a painful and horrifying way. It was my job to protect them and if keeping this from them would do the job then who am I to feel self-pity?

"May I sit?"

I looked up and there she was. "What do you want Athena?"

She looked up into the sky and nodded in conformation to herself. "I thought it was you, Medusa." She sat anyway, without my permission. "I'm not actually Athena. She's just my patron. My name's Elizabeth Maza, or Judicator if you prefer."

I sighed. "Well watch out that you don't piss her off there, Lizzie. She has a really nasty streak with how she defines justice. You might just find yourself with a head full of snakes and a little hero wannabe with a sharp sword looking to take it as a trophy."

She didn't bother looking at me and just stared out into the Quad. "I don't want to harm you and neither does she…"

I laughed. It echoed in the cold winter air. "Harm me? HARM ME?!"

"Little Olympian, let me make myself perfectly clear. It is taking all of my will and a promise to my host that is keeping me from draining every ounce of blood from your body at this moment. I desire nothing more than to see you, your father and your uncle scream for hours on end as I dismember all of you inch by inch. I have wished for that moment for over three thousand years, fantasized about it, dreamed about it, written sonnets about it. So do not come to me with your futile attempts at trying to intimidate me. You are a gnat with nothing but childish powers at your disposal and a moderate amount of talent with which to work them."

I stood and started to walk away, but Sangria had one more thing to say. "Pray to your father or whatever you hold dear that my host holds me back for the remainder of your life, Olympian, because one day I will be there to exact my vengeance."

Shrugging my shoulders I smiled at her. "Sorry about the Mr. Goo's. Have a nice day." I tossed the three empty vials of Mr. Goo's Really Super Glue into the closest trashcan and made my way to Crystal Hall. Fighting evil was making me thirsty.

Obligatory Credits: This is fan fiction for the Whateley Academy series. It may or may not match the timeline, characters, and continuity, but since it's fan fiction, who cares? To see the canon Whateley Stories, check out Whateley Academy at http://www.crystalhall.org
Pic Credit: Lady Death from Chaos Comics (pic adjusted for the story)

Author's Note: This is fanfiction, obviously. Here is a notice to all the fan-boys and fan-girls out there. I have not read every single Whateley fic and or fanfic out there so I don't know every single little bit of trivia there is to know. If you see a tiny little error that that has absolutely no bearing on the plot, please, restrain yourself from pointing your finger and gasping in abject horror. I think it's fairly close so slowly put your blades away and relax. :)

Part 3

The library, not surprisingly, had virtually no information about Class X entities, other than vague references. The Whateley server also blocked any semi-interesting looking websites that held any details. It was like they wanted everyone to think they were either fiction or simply not to be messed with under any circumstances. Considering the creature from Josette's memory, I kind of didn't blame them. My problem was that I was a creature of information; the more I had the more I could figure out what I wanted to do.

About the only thing I could find, in a last ditch effort search, was a book in the fiction section entitled, Incongruity by Michael Waite. On a whim I presented it to a bored looking boy at the front desk who looked at it with a curious eye.

"This isn't a library book."

Okay, it was in the library and it was a book. What am I missing here? "It was in the Horror section."

He shrugged his shoulders. "Must of got shelved accidentally." As he pulled the book behind the counter, I protested. "Hey, I wanted to read that."

"It's got to go into the lost and found. Someone might come for it."

I pursed my lips in frustration. "How about if I leave you my cell phone number and bring it back to you if anyone comes for it. Once I get done, I'll bring it back."

His eyes took on a very interested look. "Your number?"

Oh brother. I was about to let him have a nice uppercut to his ego for suggesting that I was interested in him in any way, but hey… girls do this all the time for things they want, and I was a girl.

Astute observation, my love.

'Shh. I'm trying to flirt.'

Sliding off my glasses I looked him up and down. Letting the slightest grin lift my lips, I leaned forward on the counter and used my upper arms to push my breasts together. There wasn't any cleavage to see, but they looked pretty impressive anyway. "If someone were to maybe copy down that number and use it himself, I wouldn't mind."

I didn't even see him move. Out of nowhere a stack of post-it notes and a pen appeared.

"Warper?"

He waggled his eyebrow at me. Yeah, just one long hairy eyebrow. "I'm Hung Lo, but you can call me Hung Lo."

While I jotted down the number for a pretty good Chinese restaurant in Pikeville I made a stupid mistake. "Braith Brice."

"NO WAY! Bloodlust Brice?"

The pen I was holding came to a stop, midway through the last four digits. It didn't take much peripheral vision to see that everyone in the general area was staring at me. "Uh…"

"Oh my god, can I have your autograph! I listened to your show all the time!" Hung Lo -- was that his real name or some failed attempt at a codename to make him sound well endowed? Anyway, Hung Lo, scrambled for something nicer than a post-it, while I slid my sunglasses back on. Who was I kidding? Sunglasses weren't going to hide the massive amount of hair I was sporting or the white skin.

The stack of post-it notes was swept to the side and in its place was a sheet of blank white copy paper and a Sharpe. "Can you make it out to… uh, my brother, Brian. He's a big fan too."

I took the Sharpe in hand and was about to start writing so I could grab the book and leave as quick as possible, but it just wasn't meant to be.

"Oh, could you maybe make it out as, Brian, With Blood and Kisses?"

It was a red Sharpe.

I glanced back up at him.

"I'd really appreciate it. Uh… Brian will flip when he sees this."

My eyes ticked to the black name badge hanging from his school shirt pocket. Brian Homsey, Library Assistant.

Superheroes around the world have fan boys, fan girls, and fan clubs. I get Brian Homsey, Library Assistant aka Hung Lo. Oh, what the hell, might as well make his day. I scribbled out his requested message and added a heart pierced with an arrow with a single drop of blood falling from the tip.

"Oh wow. Thanks!" he slid the book over and I was out of there before some other hormonally challenged teenager got any ideas.

On the plus side, I never completed that phone number. Too bad for Brian; that Chinese restaurant has Moo Goo Gai Pan to kill for.

"You're giving out autographs now?"

I looked up after marking my place on page thirty-four, to see a playfully disgruntled Portia holding her tray of food. "You know about that?"

She giggled and sat down beside me. "If you were trying to keep a low profile then I think you're screwed. There's some kid in the library that's showing anyone that'll look. And if you're giving out kisses to someone I don't know about, me and you are going to have problems."

I'd explain, but I knew she was just yanking my chain. "It was the only way I could get this book."

"You read?"

I nodded. "And I can chew gum too. Not at the same time, mind you. What do you think I am, an Exemplar?"

Portia leaned over and kissed my cheek before eyeing me. "Any reason you're not wearing your uniform?"

I sighed at the inevitable. "I can't say." At seeing her confusion I made sure to include, "I want to say, but I've been sworn to secrecy by Carson."

"For wearing regular clothes?" she asked doubtfully.

I thought about it for a few seconds before coming to a, hopefully, reasonable reason. "You know the weird feelings I was getting in Dunwich?" She nodded as she took a bite of salad. "They think they know what it is and we left the campus to go make sure."

Portia's interest was peaked. "What was it?"

Frowning, I pursed my lips. "That's what I can't talk about."

"Oookay. That's not ominous at all."

"Sorry."

Seeing I wasn't going to budge, she shrugged it off. "How'd your meeting with your advisor go?"

I almost groaned. Maybe I could play this one off better. "It's Reverend Englund."

From the clueless look on her face I saw I generally wasn't having a good day. "He's a teacher, the local holy roller, and one of the supervisors of the school."

"How'd you manage getting him?"

I shrugged. "I guess I'm in need of holy intervention."

Void and Woodchuck never showed. Crystal and Gordo had been called away to ARC for Crystal's second round of testing and supposedly for them to fit her with some funky voice synthesizer, so she could communicate without having to spout prophecies all the time. I waited until Portia finished her meal before going to get my daily allotment of blood. There was no telling if I was going to be all pornoed up afterward.

Ask for animal blood, my love.

'Why?'

The blood you consumed yesterday was human. It has a slightly different effect on your body than an animal's.

'What? I thought you said blood was blood.'

For me that is true. For you, not so much. Your body reacts to the biological make up of the donor. Animals, for the most part are fed by nature, or with generic feed, grass, grain, and so forth. Human's are constantly poisoning their bodies with the unnatural. If I had to deduce a reason for your sudden amorous reaction to your last feeding then I would say that the donor had been partaking of pharmaceutical substances.

'Are you saying they were stoned when they gave blood?'

From my knowledge I would say no. Donators are normally screened, however this does not take into account the donor's lifestyle. If they choose to lie on the pre-screening questionnaire then there is nothing you can do about it. Donations are tested for the more deadly viruses and allowed through. I would assume the person that donated your pint yesterday has a history of consuming sexual performance drugs. Thus your reaction.

'Wonderful. Not only can I not eat a simple cheeseburger anymore, I have to eat animal blood because of the stoners, and old women that can't get a wet-on.'

You may ingest their blood, my love, and you may eat your cheeseburger, however you must be aware of the side effects of doing so.

I had tried eating normal foods once before. It wasn't pleasant. Chili-cheese fries. I swear, I couldn't stay away from the toilet for an entire day. I couldn't even take something for the intestinal cramps. Medicines are a no-no.

Portia was mildly disgusted watching me partake of the mug-o-bovine. It wasn't nasty, but then again it wasn't anything like the mug-full of love I had the day before.

"When did you start doing this?"

I shrugged. "After the upgrade Sangria gave me. She said I can't produce some sort of enzyme now. The blood helps keep that in check."

Her nose wrinkled up a little, but I could see she was trying her best not to yak at that particular moment. "Just make sure you brush your teeth real well after."

Yeah, I can see being grossed out. I couldn't blame her for that. We all have our loads to bear. Portia had to have sex at least once a day, since she's so active training with her magic, and she goes through anti-perspirent three times as fast as normal. Imagine having three sets of armpits and a really sweaty workout at the gym. Gag! It's not all wine and roses being a GSD. That was sarcasm by the way.

"Don't look now; your spiritual advisor is here and headed this way."

Throwing Portia's warning to the wayside, I looked anyway. Heads were turning as teachers weren't known for eating with the masses. The Reverend's features were stony instead of the regular face he put on for the plebes.

Making a few leaps in logic, I leaned into Portia. "Something's up. I gotta go." She grabbed my wrist as I rose. "You're not in trouble are you?"

Knowing me as Portia does, that was actually a valid question. "Uh, no. I don't think so. I'll talk to you about when I get back in tonight."

She pulled me down and pecked my cheek right when Englund arrived.

I dropped my tray off for cleaning and was escorted out of Crystal Hall before he'd said anything.

"Mr. Lodgeman and Mrs. Carson are unavailable at the moment and I'd like for you to accompany me on a trip if you will."

I looked around, seeing that we still weren't quite alone. "Is this about that thing…"

He shot me a meaningful look as we walked. "You don't have to come. In fact it's probably better for you if you just dropped the classes I suggested and became just another student."

Was he playing me? I had no idea. "I said I wanted to help, and you know as well as I do that with Sangria here, I'm not just another student."

He nodded once. "That's the only reason Mrs. Carson suggested you accompany me."

We'd made it around front and I spotted one of the school vans sitting out front. "Where are we going?"

I saw Englund grasping at something in his pocket. If I had to hazard a guess I'd say his cross.

"An associate of Whateley is dying and he requested my presence. He lives in Berlin, a short drive north of here." We reached the van and the Reverend opened my door for me.

That was a strange feeling. Ever since I'd changed into a girl, a little over a month ago, I haven't had anyone do something for me like that. Maybe it was in my nature to do things for myself. I just gave him a nod in thanks and waited until he made his way around to the drivers side.

Once we were under way. I sat there and tried to admire the scenery, but to tell you the truth, I really didn't admire scenery. Living in the mountains all of my life, I tended to admire cities instead. "So, what's the story? Why am I coming along?"

"Because you can detect the presence of evil."

Wasn't that part and parcel to being a holy roller? "That's what this thing is in my head? I'm the only one that can do this?"

"No, there are others." A sour look fell on Englund's face. "However, they are untrained, unpredictable, and due to their nature unreliable."

"I'm trained?" News to me.

"Your patron is trained, and can keep you safe."

"Oh." Okay. "So this person we're going to see is evil?"

I wondered how long Englund had been at this game. He looked very tired. "In the grand scheme of things he would best be defined as neutral. He was an explorer, a scientist. From what he told me, I suspect he found something that he should have left buried."

I took a educated guess. "A Class X something?"

"Perhaps."

"You're leaving me in the dark on purpose, aren't you?"

He glanced at me momentarily before resuming his scanning of the road ahead. "We are trained not to discuss this subject, Miss Brice. While it is generally known to those at Whateley, the government, its various agencies and so forth, the public believes the existence of these entities to be fiction. Forgive me, regarding this subject, I am somewhat closed-mouthed at times."

"No problem. So, what's the deal?"

He took a breath and I could see he was finding a starting point for his explanation. "Know that it is against the law, not to mention highly dangerous, to possess any artifact related to the entities, also known as the Great Old Ones and the Elder Gods."

I smirked somewhat sarcastically. "Like the book the good doctor has stashed somewhere."

He shot me a another look. "It is secure. You have no need to worry of that."

I could feel Sangria listening intently, waiting for the slightest clue as to its whereabouts. "Uh huh. I'm sure the guy we're going to see said the same thing at some point. Right before it ate his head."

"As I have said before, Darren, possession of a book such as this is not possible in the long term. It is somewhat sentient, in as much as a book can be. Eventually whatever wards our Indian friend and you have erected will fail. Perhaps the book will take possession of the doctor, or even yourself. Perhaps it will simply disappear from your hideaway and reappear in an innocent's bedroom one night. Then that weight of responsibility shall rest on your shoulders. I have seen such arrogance destroy others."

"I'm sure you have Sangria. That's why you are along tonight."

The lights of a fairly good sized town were approaching rather quickly. That must be Berlin. Before we entered the city, proper, Englund made a right turn onto a dirt road and followed its winding path through the woods.

The sun had settled before we had left Whateley. The only light in the sky was the last remnants of the city lights before the trees obliterated them.

What had to be two more miles of bumpy dirt road finally came to a close when we entered a clearing where the house stood. The only thing that let me know that we weren't swallowed up in a black hole was the van's headlights shining on a gothic mansion.

"Okay, cue the gothic lighting and the eerie organ music. Oh, and by the way, it's evil."

Englund killed the engine and the lights along with it. Wonderful. It's pitch black, and I'm alone in the middle of nowhere with a priest. Okay, he's a reverend, but you get my meaning. The church just doesn't hold the sort of respect it used to in regards to adult/minor relationships.

"You sense a presence?" he asked.

"Oh yeah. There's been some funky stuff happening here for a long time. It's like the one at the beginning of Dunwich." As an afterthought I added, "You know, you really should tell me what the heck it is I'm sensing. You know, just in case it goes into overdrive and you're about to get your soul sucked into oblivion or something."

I heard the keys slip into his pocket while my eyes were adjusting. Pretty soon I should be able to see better than him in the darkness.

"We think what you are experiencing is the presence of a Class X entity, artifacts, or portals."

I nodded and reached for the door handle. "Evil, right. Gotcha."

"If we encounter any of those items or beings, we are not taking them back to Whateley, Darren. They will be destroyed here."

He peered at me through the darkness, about to object, but saw the wisdom of remaining silent.

Even in winter there are sounds in the wilderness: wildlife running, a chilling breeze through the trees, squirrels chattering after one another. The only thing I could hear was the engine settling, the rapid ticking winding down after the thirty minute drive to Berlin.

My vision was almost at a hundred percent again, and all I could see were dead trees. Not the dormant woods with their fallen leaves that would soon spring to life in with the coming season, but the lichen covered branches and trunks that foretold the imminent demise of ancient guardians of the forest.

"Oh yeah, evil," I whispered to myself.

Sangria spread herself out like a bloody halo around my body at my nervousness. There was nothing I could do with my hands, so I shoved them in my coat pockets. This is why I wanted my pistol, to give my body something to do in preparation for defense. Standing there, relying solely on Sangria made me feel like a child atop her bed, praying that the covers held enough magic to keep the monster under the bed at bay for the evening.

"Miss Brice?"

I jumped at Englund's attention. "Sorry, this place is giving me the creeps and that crawling feeling at my back is driving me nuts."

His hand moved in his coat pocket. "Would you like to stay with the van."

My feet engaged. "Hell no. I'm not staying out here by myself." I paused for a second. "Sorry, I meant heck no."

Englund almost looked like he was going to crack a smile. "I think under the circumstances that accidental profanity is excusable."

I didn't bother saying anything else until we made it to the front door and the Reverend rang the bell. The siding of the house was dry and cracked, but not from lack of maintenance. The poor light emanating from a single bulb above the door displayed the semi-fresh paint on the exterior. The problem was that the house looked like it was dried up, like all the life had been drained from the walls.

"Why does he live here?"

"He was expelled from his ancestral home in Britain. This is all that's left of his estate. I would assume he would have a difficult time trying to sell the property."

It only took a few more moments until the door was opened and a young man was looking at us with displeasure on his face. "Reverend."

"Michael, it's been a long time. I hope you are well."

Michael stepped back and gestured for us to come in without offering any other pleasantries. "He's upstairs, third door on the left."

I received the hairy eyeball for a few moments and then followed Englund up the ornate staircase while I was taking in the furnishings. Everything spoke of old money. Gigantic paintings of dead family members, most of which had scowls on their faces, littered the walls. A couple of tapestries with fantasy scenes hung in the adjoining rooms. The hard wood floors looked like they needed stripping and resurfacing, but were covered in large ornate Persian rugs. The smell permeating the air spoke of old incense, candles, and death. You know death's smell; it's at funeral homes, hospices for the elderly, your grandmother's house.

"I really don't like this place."

"Be on guard, Miss Brice."

The feeling of spiders crawling up my spine increased as we neared the room. Englund knocked lightly on the bedroom door and opened it a second after. Tapping him on the shoulder before we entered, I whispered, "It's in here, whatever it is."

He withdrew his cross from his coat pocket. Well, that mystery was solved.

"Darren?" A male voice croaked from across the room. When I entered behind Englund the smell almost knocked me over. "Come in, who have you brought with… " His voice was cut off as he stared at me, aghast. "Josette?"

Have you ever seen someone that has actually seen a ghost from their past. I'm here to tell you what that looks like. Imagine, if you will, eyes bugged-out, jaw dropped, fear like the grim reaper has come for you etched on your face, the panicked agitation of your body as it won't respond fast enough to run away because you are bedridden. That was Titus Crow, and his ego that was responsible for causing the insanity of Sangria's former host Josette.

Englund cut me off before I said anything. "This is Braith Brice, Titus, a student of mine involved in this mess."

Crow's hand shakily rose to his mouth and I heard him whisper to himself. "Brice. Josette, you look so much…"

The only word I could use to describe him was gaunt. Gone was the thick black hair of his youth and in its place were wisps of white. He still sported the full beard, hiding much of his boney face. With the yellowed skin and liver-spotted hands, anyone with any sense could see he had mere days if not hours to live. Thanatos was coming for Titus Crow and he had no qualms about letting everyone know.

"I see your ego has run full circle, Crow. Now it is you who lay victim to your youthful folly. One too many quests through the Clock? Did you finally lose your soul? Did you even have a soul to begin with?"

My patron's words pounded upon the old man with each question.

"Sangria, enough. We are not here so you can have absolution," Englund snapped at me.

I frowned in disgust, or maybe it was Sangria's emotions pushing me to make the face. Instead of an angry retort, Sangria whipped out my hair to the base of the bed and jerked it and the carpet it was standing upon to the side. "It's underneath the bed, Darren, hidden away below Crow like a dragon on its horded jewels."

Englund looked torn between wanting to scold me and the eagerness to see what Crow had secreted under the floorboards.

"Wait, don't touch it," Crow whined.

"He never could stand to get to the heart of the matter. Everything has to be drama and pomp, doesn't it, Crow," Sangria spat. "What is it you have under there that radiates evil in such a way as to destroy all life in the area? Hmm?"

"Miss Brice, perhaps you should wait outside?" Englund was about to the end of the rope he had given me to be present.

I eyed him back. "Very well, if only to be out of this stink of death you have woven around you, Crow. Darren, do not touch whatever it is under there. Wait for me to return."

"Where… where are you going?"

I smiled evilly back at the dying man. "Why, to your private office of course. I must gather all of your notes and make sure that damnable Clock is not in working order." Sparing a glance to the Reverend as I left, Sangria said, "Call out if you need me, Darren."

I left the door open before making my way downstairs. Judging from the echo of my footsteps on the floor above I knew there to be a hollowness between the floor and the ceiling of the room below. My best guess was that's where I would find his office. Crow was always crap at hiding things. Pausing halfway down the stairs I shook off Sangria's memories intruding upon my own again.

The man, Michael sat in an armchair in the adjoining sitting room, keeping a watchful eye on the staircase and me as I pivoted at the bottom and made my way down the hall.

"Wait, where are you going?"

I didn't bother waiting for him, continuing along the hall, eyeing each door in turn. The creepiness was increasing once more until it maxed out in front of the most obvious choice for an office. The one with multiple locks.

"Stop, this is private property, you just can't…"

Sangria shot several strand of hair into the locks. Clicks followed along with several sounds of deadbolts sliding free before the door was opened. Oh yeah, there was evil in here as well.

Michael's protest trailed off when he found where I was going. "I take it Crow never let you in here?"

He stopped, mere feet away, looking at me and the open door with equal interest. "No, Dad said it was…" He stopped and reevaluated what he was about to say.

"Private, evil, dangerous? Any of those fit the bill?"

He was about to squeeze past me and enter the room, but Sangria had other plans. Barring the way with several locks of hair, she protested. "It seems your father finally grew some small amount of sense in his elder years. Let me go ahead and make sure the way is safe. There is no telling what is creeping around in this room."

Surprisingly enough, nothing jumped out and tried to eat my head. Sangria flipped the light switch illuminating the faux gas sconces along the wall and the row of locked cabinets along the wall to the left.

That is were we will find most of his research and written exploits.

The creepiness factor was drawing me to the right side of the room where stood the gigantic grandfather clock from Hell. It was coffin-shaped and inscribed with hundreds of runes, that to the lay person meant nothing but gibberish. Sangria, on the other hand understood each and every symbol. I noted four arms on the dial.

Still in its unholy working order, I see.

'What is it?'

The Clock of Dreams, my love. With it, Crow and his cohorts traveled the roads of time and space to arrogantly do battle with the unknown. It is inactive. Leave it for now, until Darren and I can properly dispose of it.

I noted Michael standing behind the mahogany desk, eyeing a single envelope that sat in the middle of the lone blotter.

"You might as well go ahead and read it. He doesn't have much longer to live."

I heard the tearing of the envelope as I brought my attention to the locked cabinets. Sangria made quick work of each lock, swinging open one pair of doors after the other. The first two sets were Crow's journals. While I'm sure they would tell amazingly heroic tales of adventures, there probably wasn't much fact to be found. The third through fifth sets were something Englund would be interested in. Potions, talismans, scrolls, the defensive and offensive tools of Titus Crow, that may or may not have worked, depending on what the user faced. I saw a set of fist-sized ruby colored rocks. The Star Stones of Mnar. Useless. Each of them were inscribed with a lopsided star containing an eye in the middle, The Elder Sign. They were about as helpful as a cross in the hands of someone warding off a vampire.

Darien Smith, a fellow traveler of Crow's and Josette's, made up a necklace for each of us. Protection against the foul creatures we fought. Yeah, his neck and chest, directly where the protection lay were just fine. It wasn't until one of the monsters wrapped him in its tentacles and ripped off his legs that he realized that a single stone didn't protect his entire body. This is the way that most of Crows protections worked.

Some of the potions did counteract the effects of terror that the creatures emitted. This did not take into account that fear is encoded into the human mind for a reason. One is not meant to stand in the presence of a thirty foot tall monster from the abyss with a handgun and think that one was going to survive unscathed.

The last cabinet held the most interest for me. It was lined with lead and protected with several runes on the outside. I secured the lock and warned Michael against even approaching it without me there. He was too engrossed with the lengthy letter his father left upon his death.

When I returned to Crow's bedroom, I saw Englund delivering the Last Rites like it was going to do Crow's soul any good. His destination was most assuredly Hell if there was one in existence.

I waited, respectively if not impatiently, at the useless gesture.

Englund noted my presence before nodding at the floorboard. "Go ahead. He's dismantled the protections."

"I know, I can feel it."

This time Sangria didn't bother with the locks and just dug my hair between the creases in the wood and ripped it up revealing the evil treasure underneath.

Englund held his hands outward like he was warming them on a fire. "We need something to wrap these in. Touching them would not be a good idea."

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm getting that impression from the condition Crow is in."

Ransacking one of the enroom linen closets I grabbed the thickest blanket and handed it to Englund. "Bless that and it should be enough."

"Should be?" he asked.

~O~

Reverend Englund stood by as Sangria ripped the Clock of Dreams to kindling for a nice bonfire in the back yard. I included some questionable texts that we found in Crow's office. As for the tome that was hidden away under the floorboards, that wasn't so easy. Nothing we did would have any lasting impression. It would not burn, neither would it be torn asunder.

"We cannot take it with us, Darren. You see what effect it has had on the surrounding area."

He nodded reluctantly. "I have resources that may have better luck."

My face was grim as I stared at the purple and green flames issuing forth yellow smoke into the night sky. Apparently demonic devices didn't burn like regular wood. "There's more inside."

Englund showed a little interest.

"Journal's, potions, magical paraphernalia, the works." I sighed at his reaction. "I'd like to burn the lot, since most of it is useless, but his journal's would be a good what-not-to-do-in-the-face-of-evil guide."

I was surprised when he restrained himself. "Show me what you've found."

In the end, I held a little more respect in the Reverend than I did when we started off. We seemed to be of a like mind regarding the trinkets. They were boxed up and I labeled them as to their ineffectiveness. While they wouldn't be destroyed immediately, since we didn't have the means to do so, they would be transported to a facility where it would eventually occur.

That's when the thrills of the day had ended. A heavily armored truck showed up escorted by several well armed military vehicles to cart the foul things away. The book, however remained in our possession. By the time we'd left Crow's home, he was dead.

Good riddance.

From viewing some of Josette's memories, I sadly had to agree with Sangria's sentiments.

That left us with the book, sitting in the rear of the school van.

"Can you tell me what its purpose is?" Englund asked.

I frowned. "Yes." Sangria had showed me the title and given me a general account of its contents. "Reverend, I know that you and Mr. Lodgeman believe that you can contain that thing." Pausing, I tried to come up with a proper analogy. "It's not possible. Sangria, has shown me exactly what happens to those that try. It's horrible."

He closed his eyes and leaned his back against the side of the van. I'm sure he could sense my reluctance. "It like holding onto a World War II atom bomb. It's ancient and radiates evil so profound that it kills everyone that is in its presence for too long. Except you don't die from radiation poisoning. That would be..." I chuckled in horror. "It would be a blessing to die like that, compared to what the book could do to you and your soul."

His lips turned upward with a relieved grin. "It is good to hear that from you, Braith."

I blinked at him, wondering if he heard me correctly.

When he opened his eyes, he explained himself. "I had almost lost faith that others felt as I do regarding these abominations. Some of the others think they can be controlled, or the spawn of the creatures that produce them have redeeming qualities. It's just not possible."

"Spawn?" Now I was confused.

His gaze hardened. "Sara Waite. You've met her, correct?"

My mouth went dry as I connected Sara to the creepy evil detector in my head to what Englund was saying. "She's..."

"Yes."

I felt betrayal from Sangria in regard to Carson allowing such a being to coexist with the students and me in particular.

"Darren, she cannot be allowed to stay at Whateley, much less live on this Earth. What is Elizabeth thinking?"

He didn't answer right away. "We should meet tomorrow to discuss this. Think on what I've told you, Braith, Sangria. Take no action tonight."

I was still stunned into immobility.

"I will take the book and have our best people find a way to dispose of it. Tell, the others nothing of its existence. They would want to ferret out its secrets."

I nodded.

~O~

The ride back to Whateley was quiet as I pondered what I knew of Sara, which, alarmingly, wasn't a whole heck of a lot. Before I acted, I'd have to know more, so that Sangria and I could come up with a sound strategy for her disposal. It was then that I realized why I had been brought to the school... to kill Sara Waite.

TBC...

Ninja Credit: Titus Crow is the lead character in The Burrowers Beneath, and others, Lovecraftian Horror stories written by Brian Lumley of Necroscope fame. I thought it apt considering the theme of Sangria...