A Strange Fairytale Micro Scenes and Background

These are microscenes for various characters found in A Strange Fairytale . Currently they're all background stories from before the main story begins. As the story progresses more characters and scenes will be posted.
Comments and questions can go HERE .
Enjoy.

Miss Powerful


February, 2006

“Lightning Strike, I’m your biggest fan! Can you sign my book!” Miss Powerful shouted, holding up a limited edition History of the Miami Crusaders.

The superhero gave her a brilliant smile, her neon yellow hair gave off a brilliant glow that seemed to light up the school gymnasium. “Definitely. What’s your name?”

“Could you call me by my superhero name? It’s Miss Powerful,” she whispered.

That got a radiant smile. “So Miss Powerful, do you want to become a hero one day?”

She nodded madly. “I’m only eleven years old so I haven’t manifested yet, but I can’t wait to become a mutant and then I can join the Crusaders! I’m exercising a lot to, and my brothers are teaching me how to fight. I really want to join up because you guys are all so cool!”

Lightning Strike laughed, and patted her shoulder. “Keep up that attitude and you’ll go far. But remember you have to be an adult to join the Crusaders, and you need to do well in school. What are your grades like?”

“I’m at the top in most of my classes. My cousin Teri is a freshman in high school and she lets me do some of her homework with her. Is it true that you got a math degree. I’m not very good at math. I’m really good at English though. I’ve already read Taming of The Shrew, with my cousin’s help. I liked some of the word play, but the guys in it were jerks! I’d have punched them if they tried doing that to me.”

“Instead of punching them, you should get help. Fighting is only good as a last resort, even I don’t like fighting,” the hero said. “I did get a PhD in physics. You’d be amazed at how it helps me in my superhero career, letting me plan where my lightning bolts will hit, how to fly, and where and how hard to throw a villain so he can’t hurt anyone when he lands. But English is great to. We always need someone who can speak nicely for the crowd, and knows how to write things down so people understand how we’re helping them. Everything can be useful, it just depends on how you use it.”

The hero pulled out a pen that looked a little like a lightning bolt and glowed as she wrote in the book. Handing the book back, she gave her the pen as well. “Keep it, Miss Powerful. It’s not often I meet one of my future partners,” she said, giving her a hug.

She staggered away dumbly, a huge smile on her face. Looking at the book she read, ‘To my friend, Miss Powerful! You’ll be one of the great superheroes one day. Your future partner, Lightning Strike!’

“Best day ever!” she murmured to herself.
_____

Miami, Florida
February 11th, 2007

Miss Powerful looked at her phone which hung from her finger like a strange ring. “Uh, what happened?” she asked herself.

Holding her hand up, she bent her apparently unhurt finger, turning more of the plastic into powder. Giving it a tug, the phone split in two as if it were paper. Looking around her room to see if anyone was watching, she crushed the phone between her palms, there was a crunch, and powder mixed with some thin pieces of plastic fell to the floor.

“Cool!” she whispered to herself.

Grabbing her wooden bed frame, accidentally leaving fingerprints in the wood, she lifted it up. She had to spread her legs to keep her balance, but it felt like she was lifting a pillow.

“I’m a mutant!” she shouted, jumping up and down, denting the wall with the bed that she’d forgotten she was holding.

Putting the bed back down, she carefully made her way to the kitchen, thankful that her parents were outside.

Alone in the kitchen, she picked up the phone and very carefully dialed a number she had memorized a year ago.

“Hello, Miami Crusaders, how can I help you?” a man asked.

“HI! I’m a mutant. I talked to Lightning Strike last year, and I can lift my bed with one hand, and she told me that I could be a hero if I turned into a mutant. So now that I’m a mutant, and I put my finger right through my phone and it didn’t hurt! So how can I sign up to become a Crusader because I’ll do such a good job!” She stopped to gasp for breath.

“All right, thanks for calling, miss. I need to ask you some questions. First do you have an MID?” the person asked.

“No. I just did it. My eyes haven’t even changed colour, at least they were still the same colour when I was brushing my teeth. I thought most mutants had their eyes change colour. I was hoping to get really cool eyes, like electric blue, or fiery red. Maybe even pink. Pink is my favourite colour. Do you think my hair will change colour now. Because that would be cool!”

“Calm down, miss. Have you told your parents?”

“No. My parents don’t know yet. It just happened, I was about to call my cousin, and my finger went right through my phone like it was tinfoil!”

“Do you think your parents will hurt you if you tell them you’re a mutant?”

“No way! My parents are really great. One time I got some pink paint and started to paint the -”

“That’s enough. Now listen carefully, tell your parents what happened and tell them you need to get your powers tested. The MCO in Miami is a good place to go. Just make sure your parents call ahead for an appointment, and be sure to visit our website. It has a section about the MCO, what they’re allowed to ask and do, as well as other important information. You and you’re parents should read it very carefully tonight and make sure you understand everything,” he stressed.

“And then I can join the Miami Crusaders?”

“You can contact us and we’ll see about having you and your parents come by for a visit where a member can tell you about your options.”

She jumped up and down with delight, leaving a dent in the ceiling with her head, not that she noticed. “Can it PLEASE be Lightning Strike?!”

“We’ll try, but no promises.”

“OK! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!” she squealed, hanging up.

Running outside she shouted, “Mom you won’t believe what happened!”

_____

Miss Powerful made sure her mask was in place to protect her secret identity, it was only a black ski mask from when she and her family had gone up to New York state to go skiing with some family friends, but it was the best she could do. In the Miami heat, even though it was five in the morning, it felt too hot.

Putting on an old black t-shirt, and her mothers gardening gloves to keep her hands clean she crept out of the house, a big smile on her face. Going over to her Dad’s car, she rubbed her hands together, did some simple stretches and knelt down like her older brother had taught her. Gripping the edge of the car, she lifted it up, feeling around for a hard part, she let go with one hand and shifted her grip. It was like she was lifting an awkward cardboard box for all the trouble it gave her.

With a bit of manoeuvring she managed to get herself under the car and lifted it up above her head. “I can do it!” she squealed. Now to see what she could really do.

Walking out onto the deserted street of the Miami suburbs, she began to jog with the car above her head.

**

“Hello,” the woman said sleepily into the phone, looking blearily at the bedside clock.

“Um, I’m sorry to bother you Eve, but... I think I saw your car running down the street.”

“What? Is this some kind of prank, Wendy?”

“I hope so. But I just saw your car being carried by someone... running down the street. Should I call the police? I don’t want a mutant fight here.”

“I’ll deal with it Wendy, thanks,” she said completely awake and spitting mad.

**

Miss Powerful’s phone rang. Stopping, she kept hold of the car with one hand and pulled out her phone looking at it nervously. “Hey, Mom. Guess what I can do!”

“GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW! YOU’RE GROUNDED FOR THE NEXT YEAR! IF YOU’VE DAMAGED THE CAR IT’S COMING OUT OF YOUR ALLOWANCE UNTIL YOU’RE TWENTY!” her mother screamed at her.
____


“So you’ve got superpowers now, cuz.”

“Yep! It happened yesterday.” Miss Powerful told her slightly older cousin. “Isn’t it awesome! I can lift Mom’s car!”

Teri looked a little bummed out, and began playing with her colourful patchwork skirt. “I didn’t think my little cousin would able to beat up supervillains. What am I going to do?”

“Ah don’t be like that. You’re still super cool. Now that I’m Miss Powerful, I’m going to need a sidekick. You want the job? Just think Miss Powerful and -” she stopped suddenly. “We’re going to need a cool name for you.”

“If you call me Alfred, Robin, or Olsen, I’ll find a way to kill you. Just so there’s no misunderstandings or anything,” her cousin said.

“How about... Rainbow Girl!”

“Yeah... NO!”

“Fun Time Girl!”

“Don’t make me hurt you. And if you ever call me that, I WILL hurt you.”

“Girl Wonder!”

“No.”

“Princess Heroic! You used to use that name all the time.”

“When we were children. How about I be the brains behind the operation?”

“Oh, then I can call you Q or Professor! Terrific!”

____


“Happy birthday, Grandpa!” Miss Powerful said, giving the old man a big, rib cracking hug.

<Oh! You’ve gotten strong, little flower. I think you’re almost as strong as your brothers,> he complained in Spanish, pushing her back a little to protect his ribs which felt like they’d been put through a trash compactor.

<Why don’t you use English?> she asked in the same language.

<I’m an old man, I should be allowed to use my native language.>

She rolled her eyes. “You moved here when you were two years old, Grandpa.”

He gave a big laugh, rubbing her long curly hair. “I just wanted to make sure you could still speak it. Your mother says you always have your nose in Shakespeare and math books with your cousin, little flower. Go find your grandmother, she wants to show you her roses.”

Standing on her tiptoes she gave him a kiss on the cheek and ran off to where her grandmother was sitting watching the festivities with a large smile.

“Grandma!” she shouted, being a bit more careful with her hug. “Grandpa said you wanted to show me your roses.”

“I do, the new rainbow rare roses are just starting to blossom. You’ll love how they look,” the old woman said. “But first can you get my cane, some of the little ones were playing with it and it somehow got under the picnic table.”

“Sure Grandma,” she said.

Running over to the picnic table she saw it was right in the middle of it. Rather than getting on her hands and knees, she grabbed the steel bar holding it together, lifted it up above her head, knelt down to grab the cane and stood back up, ready to put the table back down. Then she realized that everything had suddenly gone quiet. Looking around she saw her Dad slapping his forehead, and her Mom rubbing her temples as if fighting off a headache, everyone else was watching her in shock.

Very carefully putting the table back down, she shuffled her feet for a moment before saying, “OH LOOK! Chocolate cake!” Grabbing a slice, she walked over to her grandmother, gave her the cane and began eating as if nothing had happened.

“Lead the way, Grandma! I can’t wait to see those roses.”

____


Miss Powerful walked through the halls of her junior high, bobbing up and down in time with her music. It was almost her thirteenth birthday and she was feeling great. She was going to be getting her MID soon, and then she could join up with the Miami Crusaders. She still had the lightning bolt pen the greatest superhero in the world Lightning Strike had given her last year when the hero and her team had visited the school. She could be the brawn to her lightning.

Maybe she could even learn how to fly. Or get a cool jetpack that would let her zip around the sky like a hummingbird. THAT WOULD BE SO COOL!!!!!

“Hey give that back!”

She stopped and looked behind her, Toby was running after two bullies had stolen his bag and were throwing the books, pens and papers on the ground as they jogged away.

Looking around, Miss Powerful saw that there weren’t any teachers around, but there were too many students watching everything for her to use her powers openly. Even though she was a really cool mutant, she had to keep her secret identity. She didn’t want her future supervillain nemesis finding out about her family because she exposed herself at school.

The two bullies were too busy laughing at Toby to pay attention to where they were going. Bobbing even more to the music, she waited until they were just in front of her and did a little dance step putting herself right in there way. As they tripped over her, she let herself fall with a squawk, elbowing them lightly and jabbing her fingers into their side. Not hard, at least not hard for her.

They started crying in pain.

“HEY! Get off of me you losers,” she shouted, pretending she was too weak to out from under them.

Some classmates helped her get out from under the two bullies who were holding their sides sniffling in pain. Everyone started jeering at them, while Toby got his bag back, and Miss Powerful, smiling secretly to herself limped away promising to go to the nurses office.

“Miss Powerful 1. Bullies 0,” she whispered to herself as soon as she was out of sight. With a big smile she began dancing towards class again.

_____


“Ready?” Miss Powerful asked her cousin.

“Are you sure no will come in here?” Teri asked.

“Yes I’m sure. I asked the gym teacher really nicely to let me use it after school. Although I may have accidentally signed myself up for the end of year talent show. You’re suppose to be teaching me how to dance,” she said.

“Right. Do you have a partner?” her cousin asked.

“Yeah, not really. That could be a problem,” Miss Powerful admitted. “Anyways, I figured this was a great place to practice some things and I wanted you here to see just how cool this is.”

“And to watch the door right?”

“Would you be so kind?” she asked, giving her best puppy dog impression.

“What's family for?”

She hugged her fourteen year old cousin, careful to control her strength so that she didn’t break any ribs or leave bruises. “Thank you! Now I think I might be able to fly, watch me.”

Going to the middle of the gym, she did some stretches, then with a look of concentration ran five steps and jumped. Her cousin watched in amazement as she went ten feet into the air and landed almost thirty feet away.

“ISN’T THAT COOL!!!!”

“Wow!”

“OK I’m going to try to reach the other end of the gym now.” Closing her eyes, she tried to visualize herself flying. She thought it would be a lot like swimming, only drier. Filling her lungs with air, she ran as fast as she could and threw herself into the sky. Looking down she saw the ground far below, at which point all her instincts screamed that she was going to fall and break every bone in her body. Her stomach began to churn.

On the ground her cousin screamed and ran, barely escaping the foul smelling mess that hit the ground, followed a second later by Miss Powerful.

“OW!” Miss Powerful said, holding her head which she had cleverly used to help soften her landing.

“Are you alive?” Teri called from the door of the gym office.

“Yes. Ow.”

“OK. I’ll get a mop, while you hit the showers.”

“Ow. Can you help me up?” Miss Powerful asked, holding up a dripping hand.

“Um....” Teri said looking carefully at the foul smelling muck covering the budding superhero. “No. You’re super tough now, you’ll survive.”

“Traitor! You’re no longer my sidekick!”

_____


“All right Miss Powerful,” her Dad said using her codename so she’d get used to hearing it, “when the MCO asks you for your name, what do you tell them?”

“I’m Miss Powerful, future protector of all that’s good in the world.”

“And if they ask for my name or your mothers?”

“My parents are dead, because evil aliens blew up my home planet. I’m actually Princess Powerful, and as the last survivor of my species, it’s my job to bring peace, love and happiness to my adopted homeworld. So if you want know my parents name, it will require massive reconstructive surgery on your tongue, teeth and throat to get the right pitch.”

Her father banged his head on the table a few times. “No. Keep it simple.”

“Fine. I’m Miss Powerful and my parents are Mr. and Mrs. Powerful, you can find us in the Yellow Pages.”

“Good.”
___


Miss Powerful looked at the treadmill which was a twisted wreck. A croquet ball rolled to a stop by her foot. The MCO stared at her, gaping like a fish. “Y-y-you broke it!”

“Sorry, you surprised me,” she said, dry washing her hands and biting her lip. “Please don’t tell my Mom, I’m already grounded for the year.”

Rose Blossom

“But Mom,” Rose pleaded, “I’m a mutant. I need to get some special training if I’m going to get this stupid power under control.”

“You’re not a mutant,” her mother replied. “You’re eyes haven’t changed colour, you still look exactly the same. Everyone knows that at the very least mutants eyes change when they manifest. You’ve simply gotten your grandfathers talent with machines. You should be happy and not worry yourself about this mutant nonsense.”

“I looked at my broken lamp yesterday and spent an hour working on it. It works again and uses half the energy. I didn’t even know how to check the energy level until I was digging through Dad’s toolbox.”

“Rose, you’re not a mutant! Now drop it or you’re grounded.”

She started to say something, not sure what it would be, but stopped and took a deep breath. Stomping out of the room, she headed for her computer. If her parents wouldn’t face facts, she would. Typing in ‘Missouri super heroes’ she began looking for ones who might be able to help her.

____


Turning on the band saw, Rose watched the blade spin while her mind showed her how the gears and motor inside the machine worked. Six months ago she wouldn’t have cared, even now she didn’t get much of a thrill out of machines, but it was the only way to make her brain calm down and she was learning to like it.

Right now she was just making some pieces for a template of her newest project, which if her brain was telling her correctly would be a bracer that could fit under her shirt and expand into something like a shield. She’d actually found the design on the internet, and her brain had decided to improve it, making it smaller, faster and stronger. Why her brain thought she needed it, she didn’t know but it was easier to just go with it. If she ignored it, she’d just start dreaming about the stupid thing until something else caught her attention.

With the basic shape ready, she went back to her table and halted with a groan. Her blueprints were covered in red paint, beside it was written ‘Mutant’. Looking around the shop, she saw that everyone was looking away from her, and the shop teacher was conveniently in his office. Sighing, she went to get some paper towels, she didn’t need the blueprints anyways, they were just there to seem normal.

**

The next day, Rose made sure to talk with some of her friends close to a Todd’s locker, he was the biggest jerk in shop class and most likely the one who had destroyed her blueprints. She watched him out of the corner of her eye as he opened his locker. Once it was fully opened there was a large bang that had every student yelling and ducking, Rose included, it had been louder than she thought.

Turning to face everyone, the boy looked absolutely stunned, everything from his chest down was covered in pink, glittery paint.

Rose was the first to laugh, but she was quickly joined by others, glad to see the jerk get his comeuppance.

____


“Do your parents know your here?” the grey clad hero asked.

“No,” Rose answered, looking nervously at the crowded restaurant that was apparently ignoring the presence of Kansas City’s only full time superhero, Mind Over Matter. “They’re on a little vacation, so I had the house to myself this weekend.”

She saw the disapproving look in the hero’s eyes.

“It’s not like I wanted to lie to them, or take a two hour ride on the Greyhound to get here. I don’t have a job yet, so I’m broke now. Its just that they don’t believe that I’m a mutant,” she insisted. “Even after fixing Dad’s car so that the radiator won’t leak, while improving the motor, and getting rid of the squeak in the shocks, not to mention everything else I’ve done for the last two months they keep saying I’m just talented. I hate grease! If it wasn’t for my stupid brain giving me all these plans and ideas I wouldn’t be doing any of this.”

He motioned for her to calm down, before taking a bite of his salad. “From your emails, it sounds like your a gadgeteer. Have you noticed anything else, getting stronger, eating more, strange sensations?”

“No. I almost wish I did, than I might be able to convince my parents that I need some help. A couple of kids at my school are calling me a mutant already because I decided to take shop class and I’m doing all sorts of things without anyone teaching me how to use the tools.”

“Are you being bullied or threatened?”

She shook her head. “No more than most kids who aren’t quite normal.”

Mind Over Matter took a hand size object out of his belt, it looked something like a flashlight. He placed it and a small pocket tool kit in front of her. “Here’s a test to see if your a mutant. This is broken, I’d like you to look it over and fix it. If you could tell me what it is, it would also help.”

“Will it explode?”

“No it’s completely harmless.”

Her mind got to work, and wanting to finally prove she was a mutant Rose helped it along as much as she could.

Fifteen minutes of switching wires around she pressed a button making a small red dot appeared on the table. “It’s a laser pointer, but it has something added to it. I don’t know what it is, something to do with noise I think, my brain started to hurt when I tried to think about it more.”

“It’s a sonic devise, that uses the laser pointer to act as a targeting system.” She gasped at the thought of fooling around with a devise, she’d heard in the news that they were dangerous. The hero gave a small laugh. “Don’t worry I took the power pack out of the devise, I wouldn’t want you accidentally making someone soil their pants. So you are a gadgeteer at least. Do you think it would help if I went to meet your parents and talked to them? I wouldn’t tell them that you came here, just that we talked by email and the phone.”

“You’d do that for me? Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Rose stopped thanking him as a possible problem appeared. “You’d come to my house dressed like that?” pointing at his costume.

“Don’t worry, no one will notice me. It’s why we’re being ignored now, I’m making people think we’re none of their business. Who says TV can’t teach you anything.”

_____


“I’m sorry that Rose wasted your time, sir. She is not a mutant despite her fantasies, and we do not need any help in raising her.”

“But Dad!” Rose started to plead.

Mind Over Matter waved at her to quiet down. “Mr. Edwards, I realize that this can’t be easy for you considering all the anti-mutant propaganda, but there is a very high probability that your daughter is a gadgeteer. While that is one of the easier mutant abilities to deal with, there are still problems such as Diedrick’s Syndrome and internal GSD to worry about. Getting her tested by the MCO along with a full physical and psychiatric assessment by a mutant specialist is in her best interest. I can give you the contact information for a doctor in Chicago, if she can publish any interesting results she’ll only charge for her time.”

“My daughter is NOT a mutant,” her mother didn’t quite shout.

“Rose is already being called a mutant at school. If something happens and the MCO is called in, having her unregistered could cause some serious problems for her. And if she tries to travel by plane without an MID, she will be arrested.”

“Rose, go to your room right now,” her father ordered.

She looked around the room, Mind Over Matter was watching her parents, who were glaring at her. With as much dignity as she could muster, she left the room.

An hour later she heard the hero leave.

Her phone buzzed. She didn’t know the number, but opened the message anyways. ‘Rose, this is Mind Over Matter. Keep this number. If there’s an emergency call me immediately.’

____

Rose rode to school on her new electric bike. She’d seen her neighbour riding one the other week, and her brain liked it so much she’d gone on the internet to see how it worked. She’d made a few tweaks to make it smaller and prettier, and had it running two days later.

“Cool bike, Rose,” her friend said.

“Thanks.”

“Did... did you build it yourself?”

“Yeah. I got the design of the net.”

Her friend looked at the bike nervously. “It’s kind of weird how you’re suddenly building all kinds of things.”

“My Dad is always getting me to help around the house, because my hands can get into places his can’t. I’m just doing things that interest me now,” she lied. “Do you want me to make your bike like this? It only costs about fifty bucks for the parts. Thirty if don’t mind it being ugly.”

The nervousness went away. “REALLY? How fast does it go?”

They started talking about everything she could do to improve the bike as they walked to class.

_____

“Hey Dad, I made the car run on kitchen oil, new or used, and it now gets 40mpg in town, and 53mpg on the highway,” Rose told her dad. Her eyes were ringed with black circles, not only from grease, but because she’d been working on it for the entire three day weekend, with practically no sleep. Her hands were thick with grease and oil, despite having cleaned them off outside.

“Thanks princess. But why didn’t you ask me first?” he asked.

“My mutation wasn’t letting me sleep, so I decided to just get it done. And you and Mom were gone all weekend, so I figured it was the best time.”

“Oh, OK.”

“So, since no other normal fifteen year old girl that I’ve heard about could do this in a weekend, with no training except for half a term in shop class, do you think maybe, possibly, I’m not normal?”

“No.”

“If I promise to rewire the house and lower our electricity bill by 40%, could you take me to the MCO to get tested to prove that I’m normal. Because a lot of kids at school are calling me a mutant.”

“No.”

“JESUS CHRIST!” she shouted, storming out of the room to go have a long shower and sleep for the rest of the day.

___

Mind Over Matter sipped his coffee, he wasn’t in Kansas City or on patrol, so he wearing jeans and a t-shirt, his winter coat by his side, while his powers made everyone ignore the table. Rose sat across from him, her fingers moved rapidly fixing a few little gadgets that needed a tune up.

“How are your parents?” he asked.

“It’s ridiculous. I keep trying to do bigger and bigger things, and nothing. I took a design off the net for an automated lawn mower and created robot that would plow the driveway and sidewalk whenever there’s more than 1 inch of snow. And what happens, they say good work. Nothing else! I threatened to create a gadget that would cut power to every appliance in the house whenever I left, unless they took me for powers testing. Do you know what they said?” she asked.

“Not a chance.”

“Exactly. Do you know where I can find someone to give me a third eye or something?”

He leaned in using his power to put out a calming aura, nothing that would do much more than a bit of incense and relaxing music. “You’re doing a good job of keeping a handle on things. You’re dealing with the bullies and your friends, not getting into trouble, and haven’t caused any accidents. Who cares if your parents are in denial. As long as you keep doing what you’re doing, when you’re a bit older and have your own car you can come to Kansas city and get your MID with no hassles.”

She slumped down. “I just keep thinking something is going to happen and they’re going to arrest me and throw away the key. I was thinking the only thing I’d ever have to worry about would be speeding tickets when I got old enough to buy a car, and maybe getting a little drunk and having my parents find out. Now I’ve got to watch out for all kinds of stuff, and my parents are just making it worse.”

“It’s not that bad, Rose. Once you leave for college you’ll be able to fly under the radar, get a job as an engineer or something, make millions of dollars and you can do whatever you want.”

“I know. I just wish I could get some more support. It’s tough sometimes feeling so different and having my parents refuse to see it,” she muttered.

___

“Hi Rose, how are you doing?” Mind Over Matter called from down the the street..

“Pretty good, but uh, why are you here? And who’s the lady in the silver dress?” Rose asked as she jogged over to the costumed hero. She was so used to Mind’s powers keeping them unnoticed she didn’t worry that they were talking in the middle of the busy street.

“This is Witch Mabel, she’s helping me out with a possible mutant criminal. Mabel, this is Rose, the girl I told you about.”

“Hello, Rose. You’ve made a very good impression on Mind,” the woman said, smiling pleasantly her chubby cheeks were bright red in the cold.

Rose knew she’d seen the hero before, there weren’t many chubby, older women who looked almost ready to be a grandmother acting as a hero. Then it clicked. “Hey I know you, you and your team got your asses kicked- Uh... I mean... it’s nice to meet you.”

Mind hit his forehead with his palm, while Mabel turned even redder as she said, “It’s a pleasure to meet you to. My team and I aren’t very martially oriented, but we do try our best.”

“Yeah, I’ve heard you guys have a great anti-bullying program. Uh, I’ve got to get going now, lunch break is almost over for school and I don’t want to be late for math class. Good luck with everything, it was really nice meeting you Witch Mabel,” Rose said hurriedly.

As she headed back to school, she shook her head in embarrassment. “Good going Rose, insult the second hero you’ve ever met.” Still she had to admit it really wasn’t her fault, Witch Mabel and her team were most often seen on Youtube under the title ‘curb stomped’, ‘humiliated’ and ‘how not to be a hero’.

_____



“Rose, we’re going to California for your aunts wedding at the end of November,” her mom said excitedly. “We’ll have to take you out of school for a week, but your grades are so good now it won’t matter.”

“We’re driving right?” Rose asked.

“Drive all the way there!” her mother exclaimed. “Are you kidding. We’ll take a plane.”

“But Mom, I can’t take a plane. Everyone knows that I’m a mutant, if the MCO finds out I could be arrested.”

The smile dropped from her mom’s face. “It’s been over a year now, why are you still going on about that foolish fantasy? You are perfectly ordinary.”

“YEAH RIGHT!” she shouted. “That’s why we haven’t had to replace a single thing in this house since I manifested! Why I can fix some of Mind’s gadgets without even knowing what they are until I’m opening them up!”

“We TOLD you not to talk to that man!”

“He’s the only person I can talk to! He at least listens to me!”

“GO TO YOUR ROOM RIGHT NOW!”

“I’m NOT getting on that plane until the MCO says if I’m a mutant or not! I won’t go to jail because you’re too stupid to see what’s right in front of you!” she screamed.

“YOU ARE NOT A MUTANT! YOU WILL COME TO THE WEDDING! AND THERE IS NO CHANCE YOU’LL GO TO THE MCO!”

“GO TO HELL!” she screamed, running out of the house.

_____

“But Mind I don’t want to go to jail,” Rose said into the phone.

“Rose, you don’t look different from a baseline. While people in your hometown know you’re a mutant, no one else does. Just bring a good book and no tools, you’ll be fine,” the hero replied.

She knew Mind Over Matter was right, but she was terrified that something would go wrong and she’d end up in jail for life. Or disappear like she’d heard had happened to other mutant kids. “But what if something goes wrong?” she asked.

There was a long pause. “You’re really scared about this?”

“Yes,” she whispered.

“I’ll phone the MCO here in Kansas City to set up a powers testing appointment. It will probably be on a weekday, do you think you can get out of school without your parents knowing?”

“Yeah,” she said. “I thought it might be useful, so I learned how to forge their signatures.”

There was another, longer, pause. “All right than, I’ll make the arrangements.”

_____


Rose walked towards the MCO office in Kansas City. Her parents thought she was at school, and her school thought she was out for a doctors appointment. Only Mind Over Matter and the MCO knew she was coming.

She wished she could have taken her car, she’d been fixing an old Beetle for over a month and it was almost perfect now, but it was still two weeks before she could take her driving test. So it was up to the bus and her feet to get where she was going. Looking at the message she’d gotten just over half an hour ago at the bus station again, she tried not to sigh in disappointment. ‘Sorry Rose, business came up. The MCO is expecting you. I’ll be their soon. Remember what I told you, no names, no details of your life. They’re OK guys, but NOT your friends.’

Oh yeah, he knew how to make her feel calm.

The modest office building that didn’t have any outward sign of who owned it, lay just ahead of her. Pausing to tie her shoe beside a grimy old mail box, she gritted her teeth, she needed the MID, she could do this, she forced herself to keep going. She couldn’t risk getting on the plane like a regular person.

She heard a noise behind her. It was the last thing she noticed before a sharp pain ran through her body knocking her out cold.

______


Mind Over Matter walked through the Kansas City police station silently cursing himself. No one had gotten a clear picture of what happened to Rose, and she’d been missing for hours. A door opened and he saw the local MCO director come out of a detectives office.

“Stimson,” he shouted, “I thought you were one of the good ones. Where the hell is she?”

“Don’t you dare accuse me of hurting a child, Mind,” the director snapped. “The Kansas City MCO office is one of the cleanest in the country. We’ve turned over all of our surveillance video from the outside of the building and the lobby to the police, she never came within spitting distance of my building.”

Mind suddenly found himself spun around and standing face to face with Rose’s father. “What were you thinking, telling my daughter to come here by herself?” Mr. Edwards demanded, almost in a rage.

Mind glared right back at him. “I was keeping her from being arrested. When you go on your trip next week, if she doesn’t have an MID she will be thrown into jail and charged. If you had opened your eyes and admitted she was a mutant you could have come with her.”

That did nothing to calm the situation down. “You were suppose to meet her at the bus station, why didn’t you?” Mr. Edwards snarled.

“I was stopping a gang fight. I thought she’d be safe going to the MCO on her own,” he said, his shoulders slumping.

Mr. Edwards sent him to the ground with a right hook to the jaw. “YOU BASTARD! THIS IS YOUR FAULT!” he screamed, kicking him in the stomach.

It took four officers to get the enraged father off the dazed and bloody hero. He was still screaming for his daughter as they dragged him away.

_____

Waking up strapped a chair, Rose saw a balding, grey haired man desperately moving a joystick and mashing buttons as the room shook and an explosion blossomed on a massive screen.

“Oh, you’re awake little girl. Sorry, sorry, no time for introductions or telling you about my brilliant plan. I’m trying to keep us alive right now. I’ll talk to you soon,” he said, not looking away from the screen.

“What?!”

There wasn’t time to say anything else, he pressed a button and the chair she was strapped to shot into a large tube. Lights and electricity began flashing around her. She took a few seconds to take in the devise, the purpose of it filling her mind, her whimper of fear turned into a shriek of terror.

**

“It’s time to wake up now,” a kindly voice said, giving her a gentle nudge.

She opened her eyes for the first time in her life. She felt herself smiling as she took in the pretty flowers, grass and bushes that surrounded her. It looked like the perfect place to play all day long. “Where am I?” she asked softly, her voice full of wonder at the beautiful roses and wildflowers that surrounded her.

“You’re in my garden. Do... do you like it?” the voice asked nervously.

Looking up at the speaker, she saw a handsome, grey haired man wearing lovely clothes. She knew instantly he was a nice man who would look after her and give her lots of things to play with. Jumping up she kissed his large nose.

“I LOVE IT!!! What’s my name?” she asked, knowing that the nice man would be able to tell her.

“Your name is Rose Blossom, and this is your home. I know you’ll be very happy here,” he told her.

“Oh thank you! You’re SO nice!” Rose Blossom squealed with joy, kissing the nice man on the nose again. A tiny voice in the back of her mind was screaming at her, telling her this was wrong, but it grew fainter by the second, until there was only peace and serenity. Everything was perfect, and she couldn’t imagine being anywhere else.

“Now Rose Blossom, lets go make the world a better place.”

Coming soon, Mouser.
She has a fun past.