Dancing in the Shadows

Topeka, Kansas.
April 12th, 2007

What do you do when your parents are super villains and you're just trying to be a normal kid? Trust me, it isn't easy, even when my mother dumped me off on non-mutant relatives after she finished nursing me. As a result I don't really remember much about either my mom or dad.

Not that the fact keeps my Uncle Kevin and Aunt Leslie from constantly reminding me of my origins. Or that I'm quite likely to manifest' myself around puberty. Like I need that kind of thing, meaning the reminders or insinuations that I'll turn out just as bad as the parents I don't even remember.

Sheesh! Can't a kid just be a kid without all that crap? Or having law enforcement agencies watching you all the time just in case one of your parent's actually came to visit? As if. I'd never seen them in person and didn't expect to given that I was fourteen and neither one had ever tried to contact me all my life. In fact I wished all the bull shit about them and me being their offspring would just go away so I could live a normal life. Yeah, riiiight. Like that was going to happen with the child of two badass super villains like The Iron Queen and Asmodeus who quite regularly kick the asses of super heroes trying to stop them from implementing their nefarious plans. Individually, because apparently, after my birth they split up.

The child of a super villain got watched by the MCO, sure. There is a reason for that and I understand. But the child of TWO super villains? If the MCO could get away with it, they would have set up a permanent camp in my aunt and uncle's front yard. At times I was tempted to knock on the windows of one of those 'discrete' SUVs and invite the people inside to have lunch with us. Or to offer them cool drinks.

Needless to say, my aunt and uncle were not amused about me trying that. Or even mentioning that I was thinking about it. Go figure.

Fate or whatever idiotic entities ruled the universe weren't about to let anyone, especially me, forget the facts of my parentage though. Just my luck, you know?

Not that I blame them at all. With two mutants for parents, it's pretty likely that I'll be a mutant, too. Given what I knew about my parents, that possibility was not at all enticing. In fact, I dreaded it.

Topeka, Kansas
April 14th, 2007

"Ethan Allen Anders!" My Aunt Leslie shouted while pounding on my door. "Get up NOW or you'll miss your bus and this time neither I or your Uncle Kevin are going to drive you to school! If you aren't up and dressed in ten minutes you'll miss the bus. Again. Then you'll be walking and late without an excuse from me or your Uncle!"

"I'm up, I'm up!" I hollered back while working my way out of the sheets and blankets with a groan. Gawd, I hated my name. It sounded like I should be a character in a history book, or a couch or coffee table in someone's living room. Even if the spelling of my middle name was a little different.

I sniffed my pits then sprayed a scented deodorant on them to hopefully hide the worse of my BO, then rummaged around the room for some clothes that didn't stink too much, or were too stiff to really wear. Like the first pair of socks I checked. Those would have made decent weapons, but weren't fit to be on anyone's feet.

I snorted while pulling on a pair of jeans that weren't too bad and wonder of wonders, a fresh tee-shirt. I didn't care that the printing on it said, I hear voices. And they DON'T like you. I'd probably get in trouble for it at school, again, but didn't care. Grabbing my backpack and making sure that all the completed homework was in it, I ran down the stairs waved to my aunt and uncle then charged out the front door.

Breakfast? Not happening. That was for morning people. I couldn't even face food till after noon. Coffee would have been nice, but I didn't have time to grab a cup if I intended to catch the bus to school. Walking the mile and a half to get there was something I really didn't want to contemplate, let alone do.

I waved to the MCO guys on watch this morning and shoved down the urge to ask them for a ride to school since they always followed me wherever I went. That and their blue SUV looked like it was a lot more comfortable than the school bus. Oh well. Passing them I did yell, "Hi guys!"

They were not amused, either. I wondered at times why I seemed to be a magnet for disapproval. I was a straight A student, really didn't get into trouble in spite of my sarcastic and often weird sense of humor, never stayed out past curfew, didn't drink booze or take dope. Okay, so off and on I would pop someone ragging on me about my parents. A guy can only take so much, you know. Thanks to the MCO, everyone in town knew who my parents were. Its tough being the child of super villains, really!

I reached the bus stop just before the bus arrived. Good, no walking to school today.

If anyone ever tells you that high school was the best years of their lives they're either lying through their teeth, or are brain dead. Okay, that might be a bit harsh now that I think about it. But only a bit. Imagine a pool full of sharks, circling, biting each other and nearly obliterating the weaker ones in that pool. Not fun at all if you aren't one of the alphas who seem to rule in that setting.

My classes were easy, even the college level trig and English I went to. I was a great student so far as the teachers were concerned. Socially? Not so much. Near absolute failure on that last one comes to mind.

"Hey, Iron Prince!" Garth Holloway, one of the leading jocks in school shouted at me during the crowded break between classes. "I hear you aced two more tests! Suck up!"

"You do know that I have never met my mother, right dick head?" I responded. Probably not the smartest thing to do but I was so tired of that nickname. "I can't help it that I'm smarter than you Neanderthals!"

That earned me a bunch of hard bumps in the hallway and more than a few well hidden punches. While I was gathering my books, notes and other things that had fallen out of my upended back pack a hand gently touched my shoulder.

"Why do always have to aggravate them?" Marla Crane, one of my few real friends in school asked as she helped me get my things back together. "You know what happens every time you do that."

I looked up and back at her beautiful face, and shrugged. "I'm not like my mom and dad. I hate it when anyone implies that I am. As for aggravating people like that I think I have a suicide wish or something. I can't help saying the things I do at times. They just pop out before I can edit them."

Marla was really beautiful. I had no idea why we were still friends even if we had been since before grade school. Her perfect oval of a face, full lips, large green eyes and well defined cheekbones belonged to a model or actress in the movies. All framed by her wavy, auburn hair that cascaded down her equally lovely body to the top of her gorgeous bottom. She was an A-lister in school and I was lucky to be even an extra. But she still liked me. "You can't help who your parents are, but some of your behavior does show that you could end up like them."

"I know," I let out a sigh then said, "Try being reminded that I'm the son of The Iron Queen and Asmodeus since you were old enough to understand what people were saying. Sometimes I just can't take it any more."

"I know." She cupped my cheeks with both hands and lifted my head so she could kiss my forehead. "But you're going to keep getting hurt if you don't try to control that mouth of yours."

"Yeah." I leaned my forehead into her with a long, unhappy sigh. "I just can't stop myself, and I know its because I know I could kick the shit out of any of those goons. But I can't do that."

Tai chi, the martial form not the exercises, Karate, Tai Kwon Do, and Judo were things I had studied and practiced since I was around four years old. I had advanced belts in all of those. Which is why I never fought back. Aunt Leslie and Uncle Kevin wanted me to be able to defend myself and to learn how to control my baser reactions. My vote for the real reasons is the latter.

"That you don't do that," Marla answered with another kiss to my forehead, "Shows that you aren't like your parents. I just hate to see you getting bruised and battered just because you can't keep your mouth shut and refuse to even defend yourself."

"I don't want to hurt anyone, Marla." I lowered my head and felt the tears stinging at the corners of my eyes.

"Just block the punches, the kicks, and show them that you aren't going to just let them do that kind of thing to you. Then serenely walk away without throwing a punch." She lifted my face again, and this time kissed me firmly on the lips.

My Gawd! Marla Crane, one of the most popular, sought after girls in school had just kissed me on the lips and her green eyes had a softness that you only read about in those bad romance novels. And fine! I did read some of those.

"Ask me to the spring dance?" She questioned in that velvet voice of hers and my bones just melted.

"Sur...Sure," I answered still not sure I hadn't been hallucinating that request.

"Ethan, I've known you since we were two years old and I've been your friend since." She softly told me. "I know you so well, you know me so well. Ask me."

"Okay." I got out then stammered. "Marla, w...wou... would you go to the dance with me?"

"Yes you goof." She answered with a huge smile and hugged me so hard I thought I might get broken ribs. "I've been waiting for you to ask me out for so long. I just finally decided to throw the idea into your lap and see what you'd do with it."

"Wow. Now I have to go get a tux." I breathed.

"It wouldn't matter to me if you showed up in jeans and one of your ratty tee shirts, Ethan." She quietly told me. "I've loved you since we were five years old. You just wouldn't see it."

Holy... The most beautiful girl in the school, and one of the most popular, was in love with me?

Was it a cruel trick? A scam to get me to show up for a date and discover that she was going with someone else and just wanted to have fun with me? Hurting me beyond the capability words could express? No, not Marla. She never did that kind of thing to people and was nice to everyone no matter the clique they were in or their status in the school pecking order.

"Don't think this a nasty joke, or something to hurt you, Ethan." Marla told me as I was still gob smacked by what had just happened. "I've turned down six invitations so far just so I could get you to ask me."

"Really?" I barely got the word out.

"Really." She answered me and pulled me into another electrifying kiss while pressing her breasts against my chest and working her lower body against mine. "I love you Ethan Allen Anders."

All of a sudden, I didn't hate my name any more. At least not nearly so much.

Topeka, Kansas
April 17th, 2007

To say I felt like I was on top of the world would be understating things there. Me, the often reviled and teased child of two notorious super villains going to the dance with the most beautiful girl in school. Well some would differ on that opinion, but the blondes and brunettes they liked didn't hold even a flickering candle to Marla in my eyes.

And there were more than a few others who held the same opinion.

Three or four days later I still felt great about taking Marla to the dance. I still remember breathlessly telling my aunt and uncle about that and their enthusiastic responses. For the first time since I entered school, I was a happy camper, if that term applies. I'd never been camping or to a camp in my life. But I was actually happy to be in that state of mind for a change.

My mood darkened when a familiar and much disliked voice interrupted my thoughts while I was getting some books from my locker.

"Hey, Iron Prince."

I slowly turned around with a sigh to see Garth Halloway and some of his cronies giving me predatory looks. "What is it this time, Garth?"

"I hear that you're going to the spring dance with Marla Crane." He said, almost as if he didn't believe it was true. "How did a dweeb like you manage to get her to say yes?"

"Simple." I shrugged. "I asked her."

You asked her." Garth said that like it was a condemnation to get the plague. "So unask her."

"What?" I asked and was actually kind of puzzled about that. "Why would I do that?

"Because my date told me she won't go with me." Garth looked like he was sucking lemons as he said that. "So I'm going to take Marla."

"Wait!" I answered a bit too gleefully. "You mean some girl actually got smart and told you to take a long walk off a short pier?

Or, heaven forbid," I smirked, "told you to roll up a magazine and put where the sun don't shine?"

Okay, that last one was over the top. I admit it. But the guy had been picking on me since second grade and I wasn't about to disappoint Marla by backing out on our date. Then again there was that thing about my mouth engaging before my brain did. Okay, oops. Did I mention that I tend to be kind of self destructive at times? If not, consider it said now and we can just leave that part of things out from now on. But this time, finally, I'd had enough and wasn't going to let these guys bully me. "Marla wouldn't go out with you if the entire human race was dead and you two were all that were left. Though you being human is kind of a stretch."

"Why you..." Garth's eyes actually did bug out and his face turned bright red. Then he balled up a hand into a fist and aimed it for my face.

Okay. That was IT. Like said before, I'd had more than enough so responded. As non violently as I could, of course.

Unfortunately, the strike I deflected ended up hitting one of his cronies square in the nose. Said crony sank to the floor with his hands over his face while screaming in pain. Wimps. They had no idea what pain was, but I did get a little bit of satisfaction over that.

I dodged an attack from the side and that fist landed quite nicely on the side of Garth's head. That one I really liked. Okay, I can be a bad person at times. That doesn't mean I'm like my parents at all. I was just letting out years of frustration, and will point out that I hadn't even hit anyone through all this.

One of the cronies tried to grab me from behind to hold me so Garth could work me over. once he recovered from the slam to the side of his head. That one got an elbow in the sternum to persuade him not to do that. I swear I didn't hit him hard enough to break bone or anything, but he collapsed like someone had suddenly turned his bones into jello.

When all that was over I shook my head and looked at five members of the varsity football team groaning on the floor. And I'd only hit one of them. They did all the rest of the work.

Going over to Garth, still holding the side of his head, I commented. "That's what happens when a linebacker hits you and you aren't wearing your helmet. Oh, by the way, I'm not going to tell Marla I can't go to the dance with her. Please don't mess with me again. I'd really hate hurting any of you guys."

All of them looked at me as if I'd just hatched from some prehistoric egg and I had to chuckle. "This time you guys did all the heavy lifting. Think about that if the idea can penetrate your thick skulls."

That moment was interrupted with a bellow from down the hall. "What the Hell is going on here?!"

Mr. Foster, the football coach and a proud H1er glared at me, checked my eyes, then shook his head and turned his ire on Halloway and his cronies. "Just how did half of my starting offense let some wimp like this beat you up, at the same time?"

"Uh, I didn't beat them up, sir." I offered as politely as I could. "They hit each other. I was just trying not to get hit."

Coach Foster grabbed my shoulders and started marching me down the hall. If you can call it marching when your feet might have hit the floor a couple of times. He turned his glare at the jocks and ordered. "Get up and follow me you poor excuses for men."

They did. Groaning, the guys got up off the floor and followed in a line like ducklings going with their mama.

Of course, I ended up in the principal's office. With a very irritated football coach there to add just that right bit of menace and blame to the whole thing. His 'boys' were standing around shuffling their feet in embarrassment until Mrs. Garner, the Principal opened her door to see what all the commotion was about. The school secretary, Miss Welch was on a bathroom break when we all trooped in so wasn't there to run interference.

Mrs. Garner looked at us, took in the battered football players, me, and the clearly angry football coach and let out a sigh. "What brings all of you here?"

"This," Foster prodded me, "gene filth used his martial arts to beat up half of my starting lineup is what."

"I'm not a mutant!" I shot back, okay yelled, then got hold of my rampaging emotions to go on with what I thought was commendable calm. "They jumped me and all I did was duck, dodge and weave. I only hit one of them and that was an accident when he ran into my elbow while I was trying to stay out of the way. They hit each other."

"You two," Mrs. Garner gestured to me and the coach, "in my office.

"The rest of you," she glared at the jocks, "don't even think about leaving this office until I talk with each one of you. Got it?"

I got to see subdued nods from all of them before the office door closed and the Principle gestured to a couple of chairs. "You two, sit."

Sitting behind her desk as we seated ourselves in the chairs, she gave Coach Foster a direct look and told him. "Nothing from you just now, I want to hear what Ethan has to say.

"And I've seen what you are wanting to say about things so just wait your turn, Brian." she went on. Mrs. Garner has a presence and force of personality that just demands that people do what she says. "So you'll have your turn, don't worry.

"Now, Ethan, I know you've caught all kinds of grief about who your parents are, and your martial abilities are registered with the school system. Did you attack those boys? Out of frustration, maybe?"

"No." I answered slowly but without hesitation. "They jumped me, and I'll admit that for once I decided not to be a punching bag, but all I did was what I said earlier. I didn't deliberately hit any of them. Can I help it if they were so close to each other that when they missed me they hit one of their friends? I was just defending myself as non-violently as I could."

"Okay." She nodded the turned to Coach Foster. "Now what did you see?"

"Half of my starting lineup on the floor groaning and this gene filth dervish standing right in the middle of them without a mark on him." Foster answered.

"Did you see Ethan throw a punch?" Mrs. Garner questioned, then gave him a glare. "As for the gene filth thing, the boy can't help who his parents are and he certainly hasn't manifested, so please refrain from using that term in this school. It's offensive and definitely against school policy. Which you should know if you've read the rules of conduct for the district's teachers and councilors."

There was more 'discussion' and the jocks were questioned about the incident along with some students who had seen it all.

I ended up with a one day suspension and the jocks got detention. Okay, I already knew that life wasn't fair and tended to delight in biting you in the ass at times. But still, I was a little put out about that decision.

Oh, well. Into each life and all that.

April 19th, 2007

When I got back to school my cred had skyrocketed. Okay, not with the jocks or the 'Do whatever it takes to win' bunch. The coaches weren't very happy with me either but they fell into the second category.

The regular kids, and even some of the teachers were looking at me like I was some kind of hero. Like I needed that with the MCO up my ass all the time, but I have to admit that seeing the bullies and jocks giving me a wide berth was kind of nice for a change. A lot of those even gave me looks of respect. Jocks. Respecting me. I just knew the world was going to come to a violent and messy end when that happened.

Other than that the day was just a day at school. I still had to go to classes, deal with late homework, and some really boring stuff. What's a guy to do? I just went with the flow and hoped my grades wouldn't suffer too much.

The good thing was that it was only two days to the spring dance and I already had my tux rented. I really didn't want to disappoint Marla and if I was a little overdressed, so what? Besides, it was a pretty basic tux. More like a suit with a ruffled shirt and bow tie. I was floating on cloud nine just thinking about going to the dance with Marla.

And none of the usual bullies even tried to mess with me for two whole days. I have to admit that fact gave me more than a little kind of evil, self satisfied pleasure. Hey, I'm only human. And it was only a little.

April 21st, 2007

The day of the dance I was floating through things as if nothing in the world could ruin my day.. Marla was going to the dance with me! Plus she'd told and showed me the loved me! Wow. I would have been totally on cloud nine if it weren't for the cold in the hallways and classrooms. Evidently, the custodians had turned on the AC early this year. Weirdly, even though chilled, I was sweating, too.

"What a wonderful time to come down with the flu." I grumbled. It never once occurred to me that maybe, just maybe, it wasn't the flu. Okay, I'll admit that I wasn't thinking too clearly at that point in the day.

I got called out, and in some trouble for not paying attention in history and for just going through the motions in gym. The hot shower after that second class felt like heaven had come for a short visit and I was even a bit more clear headed for Trig.

Mrs. Aarons, the teacher of that class gave me a long look and asked, "Ethan are you feeling all right? You look a little flushed and I can see you're sweating."

"I dunno." I answered as the desk I'd just sat down at began a slow spin, along with the rest of the room. "Don't feel so good right now."

"Let's get you to the nurse's office." She ordered while helping me up from my desk while giving instructions to the rest of the class that I entirely missed. Things were spinning around and added to the fun by going in and out of focus. Mrs. Aarons carefully led me out the classroom then down the halls to our destination. I don't even remember that walk, or lying down on one of the beds while Abigail Lorne, the school nurse checked my temperature and other vital signs.

"... high fever, disorientation, this boy needs to go home, or to a hospital." I heard like a lucid fragment of a dream. I drifted out again for awhile to come back and hear, "... Call his Aunt or Uncle. We need to get him out of here and they need to know.

"Tell her to call her sister and ask if there is somewhere I can take him other than their house." Mrs, Aarons ordered. "The MCO has been up this poor kids ass since he was born. They'll jump on this like a flea on a dog if they find out."

We should call the MCO." another voice interrupted that I dully recognized that as belonging to Mr. Foster, the gym teacher and football coach. My weird, kind of squishy vision zeroed in on the little H1 pin on his lapel. "There's no telling what damage he could do, even sick as he is right now.

"The school has protocols for that kind of thing." Mrs. Aarons voice interrupted him. Under no circumstances do we allow law enforcement agencies come in and take a student unless they can prove that there is a clear and present danger that needs to be taken care of to save other students or the staff from being harmed.

"The MCO has been dogging this poor boy for years, and I for one will not stand by and just let them come in and take him."

"Look at him!" Mr. Foster's voice shouted back. "Any gene filth like that is a clear and present danger to normal people! I'm calling the MCO right now.

As he took out his cell phone, I frantically looked for something that would give me an out. My peculiar and very clear, at the moment, vision spotted a shadow beside a cabinet and that seemed to call to me, I can help. Just reach out to me. In desperation, I did.

A long, thin tendril shot out of the shadow to knock the phone out of his hand, then another hit him squarely in the chest, knocking him against the wall. Like he'd been hit by a very large fist or an NFL linebacker going full out Mr. Foster slammed into the wall and slowly slid to the floor. Much to my relief I saw that he was still breathing.

"Suh - sorry." I managed to get out.

My teacher sighed as the nurse checked on Mr. Foster and declared that he was largely unhurt but would have some bruises later on.

Mrs. Aarons grimly looked at the unconcious man then to me and simply said. "We need to get Ethan out of here."

"But he..." Miss Lorne started.

"Was only defending himself. "Mrs. Aarons shot back. Foster will be all right. But we need to get this child to safety.

"That H1 idiot is not going to be out for long and when he wakes up you can bet he'll call the MCO and some of his H1 buddies. I'll do my best to hide his phone, but there are office phones all over the place he could use."

"My car's out back." Miss Lorne nodded. "I run errands all the time. Let's get him in the back seat and I'm still waiting on an answer from his Aunt."

"Tell her to call her sister." Mrs. Aarons shot back again.

"The Iron Queen?"

"They're sisters." Mrs. Aarons answered. "His aunt has to have a way to contact his mother for emergencies."

She glared at the still out of it Coach Foster, and added. I can't keep him from using a phone once he wakes up even if can't find his cell."

"Oh, I think I can slow that down a bit. "Miss Lorne poured some liquid from a bottle onto a square of gauze and nodded. "That should give us another fifteen minutes."

The twitching figure of coach Foster slumped back into a boneless heap and Mrs. Aarons urgently said. "Get him out of here. Hide him if you can. The MCO won't buy the story that he's got the flu. I'll keep trying to get hold of his aunt or uncle."

I did hear something about four wheeling and race drivers before just snuggled into the nice warm blanket being wrapped around me. That felt soo good and I drifted out of things again. I felt myself being wrapped in a wonderfully warm blanket then drifted out of things again.

"Ethan, Ethan. Can you hear me?" My aunt's worried voice penetrated the deep fog I was in and I managed to open my eyes. It felt like my eyelids weighed about a ton apiece but I managed it. Briefly. I was in my own room though everything still had a surreal look. Fuzzy at times, sharper than I'd ever seen things before at other times and everything still had that tendency to spin around at odd times.

"We have to get out of here." Aunt Leslie's voice was urgent. "The MCO isn't buying the story that you just have the flu. You're manifesting."

"But the dance," I managed to get out, "Marla."

"Not going to happen, honey. I'm sorry." She told me. "You're manifesting and have already used a power. You might burn out if we don't get you to someone who knows how to handle this kind of thing."

"Manifesting?" I moaned. "Don't want to be a mutant."

"I don't think you have a choice here, hon." She answered, bundling me up again and carrying me. "We have to go meet your mother."

"Mom?" I twisted in her arms. "Don't want to see her. She's bad."

"I know she is, honey." My aunt answered in a soothing voice. "But she's the only chance you've got to be free right now. And she's coming. We just need to stay ahead of the MCO and H1 until she gets here."

"Yeah." I croaked out but my voice sounded more wrong than it should have, even as sick as I was.

"You've been talking with my mom all this time?" I felt a little betrayed even if that seemed to take more energy than I had to spare.

"No, I don't call Angie and she doesn't call me. My sister is pretty paranoid. What I have is an emergency number that she gave me when she brought you here. I'm just glad it still works."

I found myself wondering at the absurdity of the much feared Iron Queen having a normal sounding name before sinking back into the roiling fog that seemed to overwhelm most of my senses.

I vaguely heard a splintering crash before I lost things again.

I returned to some sort of consciousness to hear an argument in progress. Or at least the last part of it.

"... manifesting. Our charter gives us the right to take him somewhere safe and to determine if his powers will be dangerous." A male voice said with an authority that nearly sounded like God's own judgment.

Needless to say, I was terrified. Like most people, I'd heard stories about how the MCO handled 'dangerous' mutants and wanted no part of that. I was clearer headed than I'd been since I'd gotten sick and did not want to get disappeared just because of who my parents were. Or worse, be used as bait to pull them into an MCO trap. I'd had no contact with either of them in all the time I remembered, but that didn't mean I wanted to draw them into a trap either.

Or to be taken by the MCO.

Frantically, I searched the room and my mind, for anything that would keep that from happening.

Remembering what I had done in the nurse's office at school, I looked around the room and my search found a small shadow in the corner of the otherwise rather brightly lit room and again, my mind reached out to it. It seemed eager to please and I tried to hide in it. No go.

There was a tendril in my still fevered mind that seemed to say, Not big enough for that, but you can use me.

I wanted to hit the MCO agent, just to let him know I wasn't going with him willingly. Or at least was not happy at all with that idea.

To my shock even though it had happened before, part of the shadow shot out to envelope the agent in a cloudy looking shadow. He had an instant to look surprised then just slumped to the floor. As he slid down the wall I almost idly wondered just what I had become.

The noise of him falling had gotten the attention of others outside the room. Dammit. I was exhausted from just doing that and the amazing, not to mention scary incident left me with no energy to do anything else.

The idea that I had just become as bad as my mom and dad filled me with dread.

"He's still breathing." Uncle Kevin announced, though he was watching me with no little fear.

"Good." I managed to breath out. "I don't want to kill anyone."

More MCO agents flooded into the room with weapons drawn, when there was a loud crash from the outside wall of my bedroom. I turned my head to see a familiar form, at least from news coverage walk arrogantly into the room. Her rather baroque looking armor told me who she was. Mom.

The MCO agents opened up with everything they had available. Doing a LOT more damage to my bedroom and the house in general. Not sure if I was hallucinating or not, I saw pistols, shotguns, automatic weapons and some things that made strange sounds as they fired off weirdly colored beams of some kind.

The armored figure staggered as some hit it, dodged others which added more to the damage to my room and my aunt and uncle's house, shrugged off some and then a bluish grey kind of thing that came up in front of it absorbed other things.

The Iron Queen, my mother was in the house and didn't seem at all pleased just then. Why did that make me feel just a bit better?

She didn't seen too worried about the damage that was being done either.

In fact, it was quite obvious that she was really, really pissed off..

My aunt and uncle dove to the floor, and happily the spasms I was going through with whatever was happening to me shook me off the bed just before a few three shot bursts shredded the mattress and the rest of the bed.

"You DARE threaten my child?!!" I heard a slightly distorted feminine voice come from her helmet and she reached to her back and withdrew a short tube with a flaring end kind of like the blunderbusses used long ago. "I will NOT allow that!"

I couldn't see anything coming out of that thing, but as she swept the room the MCO agents stiffened the toppled to the floor.

The Iron Queen looked around the room and I heard what I could swear was a sigh before she said, "Sorry Leslie. I'll see that you and Kevin have money for a hotel and repairs to the house, or to have a new one built. Don't contact me, I'll know what you need."

"Uhh, thanks, Angie." My aunt responded while hesitantly sitting up. "You do know what a pain it is having a super villainess for a sister?"

"Yeah." The Iron Queen nodded. "Can't be helped at times."

"I'd rather not risk my life every time you come to visit." My aunt shot back.

"That's why I don't come very often."

"Well," Aunt Leslie admitted, "you had a really good reason for coming this time."

"Yes." The Iron Queen, Angie, Mom, whatever, turned to look and me just as heavy thuds shook the whole house. "Uh oh, sounds like the MCO brought their power armor to play. Much as I'd love to play tag with them I have something more important to do right now.

"It's okay, sweetie, Mommy's here." She told me. Now just how ludicrous was hearing something like that from the Iron Queen? "Mommy is going to get you to a safe place."

"Oh great." I managed to get out before she picked me up and everything went from clear to grey to black. I think the sarcasm was lost on the super villainess who was my mother.

Or maybe not. I think I heard her say, "Yes it is. At least you aren't in the clutches of the MCO and I AM your mother after all."

Being mostly unconscious at the time, I couldn't give her a snappy comeback.