TT1: Twisted Triplets

The shift

Head hurts and feels funny, some warehouse with golden bamboo, Stacy seems to be in for strange times ahead. Lexi aka Alexis, a red-haired girl who is a pixie somehow and naked, has to get Stacy to listen when she says she isn't their size again and that isn't bamboo. Just what have they gotten themselves into?

Stacy is a pixie now as well, oh boy. Just how long has Lexi been stuck as a pixie to react like this to be able to hug and hold Stacy? They are surrounded by hay, at that size, it looks like golden bamboo, yikes.

"I wasn't supposed to be a pixie!" Stacy nearly hyperventilated within Lexi's arms.

"No something's off," Lexi agreed rubbing Stacy's back between her wings with one hand as she pulled Stacy tight to her with the other. "Where's Sue? She should know what happened after all it was her plan." Still comforting Stacy Lexi started looking around.

Plan, just what kind of crazy plan backfires in this way?

"I know nor can I like I can't say Stacy either nor Alexis. It looks like Sue's idea of rewriting our names in people's memory worked really well."

They did something like that and didn't expect any trouble, who has been watching over these kids?

"Us three," Lexie said softly kneeling down again pulling the shaking Stacy with her. Enfolding the shivering Stacy in a full body hug from behind Lexi pressed her body tight to Stacy's back between her wings, head on her shoulder talking quietly in her ear. "Then I took from your memory those that are close to you and those that are close to them and kind of felt for you in all of them. When they had poor memories anyway I left them alone, those that knew you well I changed ever so slightly so they remembered you only as 'Stacy'."

"How many?" Stacy pleaded.

"Possibly as many as a couple hundred from around this town and district that's all and all we changed was your remembered name just so that they’d only call you 'Stacy',” Lexi promised the unhappy girl. "Also I changed the memories of the three of us so that we would not say Sue or Stacy or Alexis, finally the spell changed maybe as many as a score to have the 'knowledge' that your father had more then one teenaged daughter, not just you but Sue and myself too. That's it, that's all I changed I promise," Lexi hugged Stacy tight until she stopped shivering.

What the heck is going on in their lives that this was the solution because this is every extreme. Wait, this is a continuation of Seeing is Believing, don't tell me this is what happened to Shelly and Solomon, and the Sue they keep referencing is Selanothis who didn't get affected by the plan? No, wait. Solomon made the plan so he would be Sue. But Selanothis went off to live her own life, just what is going on here?

So if this is what happened to them then Stacy would be the former Shelly, Alexis aka Lexi would be the former Selanothis, and Sue would be Solomon. But that doesn't fit with what we saw happen unless all of that was one big illusion by Selanothis to fool the enemy forces.

"A girl!?" Stacy declared stunned. Turning to Lexi she demanded in disbelief "Is that Sue?"

"Well it explains 'Sue'," Lexi murmured carefully approaching the blonde pixie, crouching down almost touching her knees.

"Why are you a girl Sue?" Lexi asked being carful to not quite touch the shivering pixie.

"Ha happiness" Sue stuttered through her tears.

"You thought you'd be happier as a girl?" Lexi confirmed confused.

"K content. S siblings and ha happy" Sue explained through hiccups.

"You thought you'd be content as a girl?" Lexi questioned disbelievingly.

"B both of us" Sue forced out, eyes locked on Lexi's face in desperation. "Siblings sh shouldn't have those m memories. Sh shouldn't have those d desires. Content now" Sue finished trying to smile at Lexi despite her tears.

Solomon did this for their happiness, dang, I wasn't expecting anything like this. All that for their happiness, yet she can't think right, and feels it isn't her, Sue made a hard decision and is having to live with it. And it broke Sue, I hope she can adapt in time.

All because of the memories of that potential future together as husband and wife, this hard path was forced upon them. Everything changed, no wonder Sue is in shock.

"I reacted the same when I found myself a pixie the first time," Lexi smiled with a shrug. Reaching up she pulled forward a lock of her red hair. "I was not always a redhead" she mused. "Nor pretty and buxom either." Looking up at Stacy she laughed a short surprised bark of humour. "Funny" she stated. "After all this time I'd be as bad as Sue if I was to get changed back." Wryly she smiled at Stacy. "She'll get past this but it'll take time. She'll need to become herself again."

Ouch, so Selanothis becoming human again after all this time would have been as big a shock for her. Accepting the person is the mirror is you, well, this is going to take a long time for Sue.

Oh brother, Sue looks like Tinkerbell, don't say that to her when she is awake.

"She can't see her own future?" Stacy asked incredulously.

"Either as a limit of her power or by conscious choice no" Lexi smiled at Stacy. "She only sees her future in the lives of others."

That is one heck is a limitation, no wonder her new form is such a shock. Constable Stevens setting up a search party for Stacy, uh oh, this whole plan has a lot of complications to work out.

Sue freaking out upon waking up, memories of that potential future as husband and wife hitting again, Sue is going to have it rough for a while.

"I'll be all right" Sue mumbled with tears falling. "I'm a priest. I can cope. I will be all right" she hugged herself rocked back and forth repeating it like a mantra held against the memories like the words could make them go away.

There had to be have been another way they could have taken on new lives that wasn't this extreme. Lexi slept Sue to help her, I see this being an issue in the future.

"No! Please let me deal!" Sue wailed. "I … I need to take it in to start dealing, I can't just sleep through it" she begged piteously. "I … I'll get better I will."

Good, she doesn't want to hide from it, that is the first step.

Locking her eyes on Lexi's face Sue tried to control her shaking and answer. "Nnot permanent" she stuttered. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath she waiting for the shaking to subside further before continuing. "Stacy and I are k copies of you, need to be to get magic abilities. Magic part of fairy form fae blood. Nneed fae blood" Sue looked up fearfully trying to see if Lexi had understood.

Fae blood helps with magic and new memories to go with their new lives from how Lexi is answering Sue's questions. And they can switch between human and pixie forms, including Lexi, which is a huge deal.

Solomon kept his promise in a way to Selanothis. So happy to see her able to take human form, be normal size so she can interact with others again. Lexi learning to walk without wings again, Sue learning to walk as a teenage girl with a different center of balance. Ouch, a painful way for Stacy to get Sue's attention.

"She wants to know how you became a girl again, she feels we are too excited by our changes and are ignoring her," Lexi finally explained.

Stacy having to learn how her tiny vocal cords work now, heh.

Uh oh, Sue is stuck in human form and Stacy is still stuck as a pixie, this is going to complicate things even more. A higher section of the hay bales, just how high up are they going?

Jumping Sue got her hands to the top of the bail and was scrambling for a foot hold when sharp pains in her left hand caused it to jerk and lose hold leaving her dangling by a single hand and screaming for help as the sharp pains attacked her other hand. Screaming she felt it give and falling she closed her eyes and screwed herself into a ball waiting for the impact and the bounce? as she landed. Startled Sue opened her eyes to find herself as a pixie again siting on the ground.

An instinctive shift between forms when needed, handy but also could out them easily in a bad situation. Time for Stacy to learn how to fly, I wonder if she will crash into anything during her lessons.

So even though pixie flying is most likely magic-based it takes a lot of endurance to flap their wings, as draining as running or more. And they aren't even halfway to their goal yet, eep. Having to fear snakes that much more at pixie-size, now that is terror.

"It's all different!" Lexi cried. "Nothing like the forests and woodlands I'm used to. The colours are all wrong, the trees are all wrong, the grass is all wrong I don't even know what it is I'm supposed to be looking out for anymore anymore!"

And this has me scared for them now. Maggie is being sent to Australia by teleporter, I hope she can find the girls.

A bird flying at them, the girls react to this new threat, Lexi thinking to lure it away, but no plans as to where. Should have known it was Maggie, black and white bird, that warble of hers. Stacy and Sue riding on Maggie at those speeds, no wonder they have to hold on tight. Lexi got too excited to be back with Maggie, scaring them with all that, silly. And finally, they have made it to the Police Station, at that size even what would a short trip for a human is an adventure.

Just what is Sue planning to get them inside the Police Station, a letter from the mailbox and the chimney, hhm. Something written on the envelope with soot on her hands, this better be one big message for all this work. Now to the screen door, so using the letter to get Constable Stevens or someone else to open the door and read the message on the envelope, clever. Sees Stacy is a pixie and asks what happened to her, what a world they live in where this didn't freak him out.

"Allow me to introduce us I am Alexis Kelly these are my half sisters Sue Kelly and Stacy Kelly who you have already met."

"Wait Sue and Alexis? You're the two that ran away from your foster homes when your father died!"

"We did not run away but it's complicated. Do you really want me to explain it with the three of us standing naked in front of you?"

And no clothes for them yet, darn it. So that is what a phone tree is, heard it said before and never knew what it meant. Lexi sure does get excited when she is making clothes.

Poor Constable Stevens, getting his face to imitate a tomato so much since the girls showed up. Stacy should have spoken up sooner with her idea, but then we wouldn't have gotten to see them in action as pixies.

Sue and Lexi both stared at each other in their dishcloth ponchos going red as Shelly finished fitting the dishcloth around Lexi's waist. "There! Just put the twist tie around and all done!" Stacy finished happily as Sue silently pushed the tie around Lexi's waist and Stacy twisted it and pushed it flat against her leg. Standing up happily Stacy looked confused at the weird expressions of her two sisters. "What?"

For improvised outfits they sound good.

Search called off, good. That is some story they are making up, though probably their new memories. Lexi having manifested a while ago, with Sue and Stacy manifesting recently and all as pixies. Lexi has to say how she kept it a secret from foster care, go next door to show him how.

"Why didn't you go to Mrs. Havelock's? She's like three? doors down" Lexi stared at him and he laughed. "It didn't even occurs to you did it?" Lexi red faced shook her head. Chuckling still Constable Stevenss went out the front door of the station with Lexi flying along behind and Sue and Stacy standing on his shoulders.

Even with their new identities it seems they haven't gotten all the new memories to go along with it just yet.

"Oh we're not doing that that would takes ages. We are just trying to find a look Lexi can rock that will present the right first impression to both Constable Stevenss and others. Giving them an impression about both what Lexi is but also showing maturity and self reliance while hinting at a layer of venerability and the need for protection so that the father instincts in Constable Stevenss are subconsciously engaged and he unconsciously just wants to hug her and protect her" Stacy finished smiling at the shell shocked Sue.

"Woman do all that?! With clothes!?" Sue squeaked.

Hehehe, so many things for Sue to learn about being a teenage girl. Oh no, Sue is going to get a crash course on clothes and fashion very soon after saying all this.

Lexi, you have to take into account your sisters and how they will react to you being reckless now. Look what happened from going too high in a closet, at least they are in human form now, well except for Stacy. Yikes, Sue is in a lot of pain, another thing she has to learn is how to use her muscles without straining or spraining them. Oh boy, Sue is the bustiest of the group, that is another shock to the new girl. They may have changed their names, forms, and even history, but their memories are still there and the pain still needs to be worked through, Stacy has a lot to handle.

Child Services of the Department of Community Services, you try and separate them and you're in for a world of trouble. Funeral for Stacy's mother and their father, I hope there will be no one crashing it. Making stuff to eat and Sue is making chicken soup, yum, and a good distraction.

"Well pixies exist whereas fairies are actually just storybook creatures, the original 'fairy tales'" Lexi started in a lecturing voice when Constable Stevenss' expression bought her up short.

"And who told you that?" Constable Stevens queried still calmly.

"Umm Mom?" Lexi fearfully whispered.

"Is she the one who also taught you magic?"

"Um a little bit" Lexi confirmed cautiously.

"How?"

"Ahh she was like me."

Pixie for a mother, I wonder how much of this is Lexi's memories of her new life and much are from her old one.

"Well Australia isn't like the " Constable Stevens comforted her. "Oh I won't say we don't have our bigots and haters but well be all and end all we have fewer guns, actually killing mutants is kinda not that common a thing here and speaking as the local law enforcement we're dead set against lynch mobs and other forms of 'group justice'."

"So…?" Lexi asked cautiously.

"So" Constable Stevens replied with a smile. "We'll get the three of you tested and then see about finding you someone to teach you control."

Constable Stevens is a good man.

"Teach. I have no idea about magic but I doubt good things happen if you use trial and error to find out the limits of your skill, I wouldn't let a baby play with a loaded gun I sure as hell ain't letting the three of you run around without lessons for your magic!"

A very good point that some students at Whateley in the Magic track could do with hearing. No MID required unless you are flying somewhere, no arresting mutants who don't have a MID by the MCO, I wish these kinds of common-sense laws were in place in the United States.

"Maybe in the , who knows what sort of laws some states or towns have passed, over here the MCO is a non-government organisation. As ex-convict colonies we keep the law nice and tight within the hands of the state and territory governments thank you. Governments are not pleased to have 'police-like powers' in the hands of anyone who is not their police force. No matter what they like to think the MCO doesn't have the powers to arrest anyone for anything in Australia, only the police have arrest powers."

This is the kind of attitude all governments should have towards the MCO.

A bunk room for guests, what a great idea for local law enforcement to have. Eep, listen to Lexi when it comes to healing things, Stacy. Panadol! I hope they use that only as prescribed. Sharing a memory of Lexi shifting will be interesting.

Sue having another memory of the life that might have been, at least the pain is gone and she is resting peacefully.

*Magic* Lexi replied with a sad smile directed at the face of the pixie in her lap. *I um well in her pain Sue latched on a little closer to me then I expected. Instead of guiding Sue through the change to pixie like I wanted she basically copied me including a spell I had forgotten I invented, a spell that swaps out the clothing between my forms.*

They all need to learn that spell! Meep, so no preservation effect on the clothes stored in the pocket dimension.

*It's not me* Lexi sniffled. *Its Sue. She's so confused and each time she lets go and remembers she's so happy and then the reality comes back and I can feel her heart break all over again.* Weeping she clung desperately to Stacy. *She did all this to save me and I feel her hurt. She looks at me and the love swells up and then she remembers and it hurts, oh she hurts!" Lexi wept heartbrokenly into Stacy's shoulder.

One of the many pains of being a receptive empath.

Potential timelines lost, all the what-ifs and if only.

*Only because Sue has no memories of me this young to reference first, we don't need to change my appearance I just need to give her memories of me at this age that have nothing to do with that dangerous future for her mind to latch onto instead and I know exactly the ones to give us.*

*Us?*

*Yes us.* She smiled up at Stacy. *You don't mind sharing some of your memories with Sue to help her?* she asked anxiously.

Why does this seem like a potentially bad idea right now?

*I was thinking of building some memories for us as sisters. From me I will share my memories of learning magic, learning to fight and learning to be a pixie. Those memories will give you and Sue all the knowledge you need to protect yourselves in your pixie forms to enable you to become as aware as you need to be to survive being snack-sized in a world of predators …*

The change in identity didn't have any effect on Lexi's skills as a telepath, right? Because if they did this could have unforeseen consequences. Wait, all this time I thought they got new memories to go along with the old ones, this sounds like I was way off there. Others have memories of them that are different, they have seemed to have some new memories, but nothing related to how they grew up, being related, etc.

Stacy is reluctant to share memories of her times with her father, ouch. And wanting to share in Sue's pain in this way, she doesn't do things by half-measure.

"Why Stacy?" Lexi asked concerned. "You can see her pain why do you want to feel it? She hurts so much why would you want to feel that?"

Breaking down Stacy started crying. "Because he's gone! I'll never get another memory of him and I miss him. I … I don't want to lose more of him even the most fuzziest of memories. I … what … Lexi what if I forget him? What if I forget my own father?" she wept.

"Oh Stacy I'm so sorry." Lexi reached towards Stacy pulling her in and hugged her tight. "We don't need to do it, we can use just my memories it's OK" she patted the crying Stacy on the back.

"Please share with me?" Stacy begged. "I want to help I just need to know! Please?"

I seriously wish they could have been a family together with another way, all this pain they are going through, Stacy having to confront her fears, even more, you just wish it could have been different. And Stacy experiencing Sue's despair, it tears at you.

An agreement had been worked out that the three girls would stay with him temporarily while the details for the funerals of their father and Stacy's mother were finalised.

That is a bit of good news after all they have been through. Setting all that up for the girls on the bed, Constable Stevens is already acting like he is their father.

Sisters

Sue wakes up and not freaking out due to a memory of what might have been, good sign so far. Reminding herself she is now female, good progress.

Breast-to-breast with Sue as she hugged her Lexi smirked and in her huskiest voice purred "You certainly have taken to your skin well, flying around showing it all off like that." With a leer and a smack of her lips Lexi let go and ogled the confused Sue.

Blinking Sue followed Lexi's gaze down frowning at her naked self confused at Lexi's purr ...

Naked?

Lexi teasing Sue like that, way to make her embarrassed. I think she teleported somehow to get back to the pillow fort that fast.

"Wooh Fern Gully! You three going to shrink me and drag me off into the woods with you?" Constable Stavens asked with a laugh.

Lexi glanced confused towards the smiling Sue and giggling Stacy. Getting her giggling under control Stacy smiled up at Constable Stevens. "We're not fairies" she admonished smiling. "Pixies don't do that!"

If Constable Stevens adopts them they will make a very silly family. Ah, so they can all teleport like that, I was wondering when Maggie would show up here. That many times teleporting, I hope they get it under control before they teleport somewhere dangerous. Lexi doesn't know how she teleported in the first place, this is a new ability even for her, well this complicates things a bit.

So not all the clothes reappeared on Sue's body nor immediately after she became human again, curious. Stacy! You don't do that to your sister so early in the morning, what if Constable Stevens saw her. Lexi has dressed already, that pocket dimension is very handy. Breakfast over at Stacy's place, brushing her and Sue's hair first, so many rules for Sue to learn.

Aww, Stacy is jealous is Sue and Lexi's hair because of how her hair gets when it is longer. Sisters supporting each other, Sue has to get used to being able to call other females beautiful without it meaning she is attracted to them, especially her sisters. *eyes bug out* No wonder Sue never reads her own future, that sounds like a nightmare to deal with.

"Stacy I'm an adult and you are a very curious child, it's not hard for me to make situations that are just too tempting for you. Not force you I would never force you, it's no more then any child does looking through all the drawers in a house to see what is in them. I merely made sure you saw me put that folder down open on the desk."

Heh, Sue isn't wrong, even the most well-behaved child has a curious streak that would find it hard to resist reading that.

Sue finds out what they did to help her with the issue of the future that couldn't be and the memories of it.

Turning around on the stool Sue grabbed for Lexi and hugged her tight weeping into her waist. "Thank you. Oh thank you!" she sniffed. "I was trying oh how I was trying but…" she sniffed and cried some more. "But I … I just couldn't stop thinking that."

I'm so glad that one major obstacle to Sue adapting to her new life is out of the way.

Constable Stevens deciding to make sure the girls remain together no matter what he has to do, I like him the more I read.

Leaning forward Stacy grabbed a tissue and wiped Sue's eyes and then sighed. "It's so unfair! You even cry prettily!"

Stacy, you need to realize how pretty you are yourself.

"Well ah um. You see Lexi is a telepath and we married and ah um…" Taking a deep breath Sue quickly finished. "Lexi had all my memories as well as her own and after the viewing her memories my memories joined with mine in the same way they would have if I had looked at my future self." Then with her head down and her cheeks flaming Sue sat there bunched up.

Eep, no wonder Sue is blushing so hard right now. Sue having to spell it out for Stacy and now all of them are embarrassed, oh brother.

Checking with the girls about the arrangements for Stacy's mother and their father, I hope Father Michael is gentle with them. Ouch, bodies in no condition for Stacy to see them, not able to welcome them home at the airport even. At least Father Michael seems concerned for them about this whole matter.

So glad the parents made all the arrangements before they died, Father Michael walking them through their options at each step. Combined mass, the stress of it all I agree with the girls, I wouldn't want to do it twice. A private wake, I would be thanking him profusely for arranging this.

"Hmm maybe you should get your lawyer girlfriend, or is it fiancée yet onto it? She does public defendant work right? Could you get her assigned the girls cases?"

"I don't think the girls have legal cases yet" Constable Stevens stated puzzled.

Father Michael spelling all that out for him, he has dealt with the legal system a lot, hasn't he? And Julie, I wonder what she is like.

"You have my memories" Lexi explained. "You have the knowledge of my magic and my fighting skills but you don't have the muscle memories, the training or the strength for the skills. You intellectually know what to do but without practice and dedication it will remain but daydreams."

Oof, so it's like having technical knowledge of something, but no practical ability with it yet. Ouch, that short race shows the difference in their abilities. How to build up stamina for flying quickly, I wonder. Training and practice, but with a headstart compared to what Lexi went through in her previous life.

Stacy looking like Crysta in her outfit, Sue like Tinkerbell, it is a start for their own personal wardrobe.

"Stacy Sue I warned you, at first your emotions and your subconscious would have great control of your magic. Both of you will need a lot of practice before you can properly control the details of what your magic does be thankful that you have enough control to give yourselves some clothes even if it is your 'idolised' versions of them."

"But Crysta and Tinkerbell?" Stacy asked confused.

Smiling Lexi gestured her sisters to sit again as she settled cross-legged on the straw before them. "Your subconscious did that" Lexi explained. "Building 'ideal' clothes for your forms, forms you both associate with fairies. So Stacy you got the clothes to go with 'Crysta's' body and Sue got Tinkerbell's dress."

It could be a lot worse and the magic could backfire on you.

Ow, Sue explaining all this I can follow but it gives me a bit of a headache all of the details she would have had to keep straight to end up with the exact result. So she became a true pixie upon mutating, like how Sidhe "mutants" become actual Sidhe, dang. I love Lexi's reaction, so heartwarming.

"I'm so sorry" Sue repeated. "I never meant for you to become Fae like us too I just meant for you to have the tiniest bit of Lexi's DNA so that we'd all still look like half-sisters if anyone did a DNA test on us and you could do Fae magic like Lexi teaches nothing else, I never imagined your BIT would activate the same for you as it did for me!"

"Activate the same way?" Stacy asked puzzled.

Sue nodded looking forlorn. "I'd deliberately meditated concentrated on the readings I'd done where I become as I am now, coercing my BIT to activate so that it changed me to be like Lexi be Fae. But for you! I'm not sure how it activated the same! I never dreamed it would activate the Fae blood in you! You should have stayed the same, your BIT the same as it already was!"

Stacy blinked then started laughing out loud. "You mean all it takes to activate a BIT would be to just dream of how I wanted to be? Dream night after night of being a certain way?" Astonished at her laughter Sue nodded dumbly.

Laughing in childlike delight Stacy flew to Sue engulfing her in a hug and settling next to Sue on the opposite side to where Lexi still pressed up against her. "Dummy! That wasn't you that was Lexi! Who wouldn't want to be as awesome as she is?" Stacy demanded. "Of course I dreamed of being like her how couldn't I!" Giggling in delight she cuddled up to Sue.

"Stacy! You don't understand" Sue said desperately trying to get her to understand. "Your BIT when it activated it activated Lexi's DNA! You changed to be like Lexi! You're Fae now not human and ..."

"And pixies live forever I know Sue. But. Pixies!" Stacy squeaked excitedly. "Magic and flying and I get to be with you and Lexi forever! The three musketeer pixies! All for one and one for all for always!"

Despite herself and her regret Sue couldn't help smiling at Stacy's enthusiasm. "All for one" she agreed softly hugging her sisters tight.

I should have known, Sue never planned for Stacy to become like Lexi and her, but Stacy wanted to be a pixie like Lexi was and it influenced her own BIT. These 3 are just so loving and sweet, I can't wait for the next part of the story.

Bittersweet homecoming

Thursday Lunchtime, Station House

Teehee, showing off their new pixie outfits to Constable Stevens. What the! How did Sue's dress somehow grow with her instead of switching with the outfit in the pocket dimension? So we will finally get to meet Julie, if only it wasn't about legal issues. Hehe, Stacy still has her bubbly personality. I knew something was up, Sue's outfit disappearing like that and leaving her in her birthday suit, these powers just love to embarrass them sometimes or so it seems.

Thursday Early Evening, Station House

Pixie training with Lexi as the teacher, I wonder what Constable Stevens would say if he saw that. Bwahaha, Lexi and Stacy playing fighting with chopstick 'spears' while in pixie form, too good. And they get Sue involved, hehe.

It wasn't until the awed gasp of "Tinkerbell!" that they realised they weren't alone and worse nor was Constable Stevens!

I guess the secret is out to Julie already, oh well.

A pixie to human transformation into a hug, Stacy has some talent. =P Stacy really doesn't want to let go of hugging Julie, aww.

Keeping her tight hug Stacy turned her head and when she found Constable Stevens relaxed smile she deliberately stuck out her tongue. "Mine now! Julie is my lawyer so there!" she finished giving Julie an even tighter hug causing Julie to squeal and laughingly hug her back.

Ouch, my sides, too funny. I understand why Sue isn't in a hurry to change back, worried the clothes will pull the same trick as before. And it happens again, the outfit stored in the pocket dimension raining down once again, Sue needs to train more to get a handle on that clothes spell. Stacy and Lexi laughing about it, yup, they are sisters alright.

Oh oh, Julie found out Julie and Lexi arrived here as pixies, are borrowing clothes, and have none of their own, I smell shopping trip!

"Both of you?" Julie pressed, at the girl's embarrassed nods Julie turned and glared at John. "And you thought a lawyer was their most pressing need?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

John sighed. "Julie we need to sort out the will before we can access their father's accounts to pay for clothes."

"John! I love you and I want to marry you but sometimes!" she rolled her eyes. "An ill fitting bra is hell John it's not something that can be borrowed! I'll need to take both of them to Wagga tomorrow so you'd better organise a time with your Sergeant so you can take us all."

I like Julie, she is the woman John needs to knock some common sense into him from time to time.

"It's not that simple" Julie sighed. Turning she looked towards Stacy. "Both your parents assumed the other one would survive them and while their wills leave everything to you they leave the other as your guardian and trustee of the estate until you are eighteen." Turning to the other two girls she frowned. "Unfortunately for you two while your father was trying to get custody of you he hadn't updated his will since he divorced Stacy's mother and the estate was all still willed only to Stacy."

*resist hitting head on desk* Never assume one of you will survive to take care of the kids, especially when it comes to wills. Split the estate to sell it, not a good idea.

"It's Dad" Stacy spoke through tears. "It's where Dad always was where we were always together." Tearfully looking up at Julie Stacy begged her. "It's all my memories of Dad!"

Ouch, felt that one big time.

Glad that Lexi and Sue are such good sisters, wanting Stacy to have the business, to keep the memories of her father.

Glaring at Julie Sue almost snarled. "You're our lawyer right?" she demanded. Julie blinked then nodded once. "Well then you need to do what we say and all three of us are telling you not to contest the will!"

"It's not that easy, I'm supposed to actually act in your best " Constable Stevens reached out and touched her shoulder gently shaking his head when she looking his way. Sighing Julie nodded giving each of the girls an apologetic look before delicately dropping the subject.

The law and inheritance, wills, so much pain from the death of a loved one that can be made worse, *sigh*

Cards for accounts that will arrive tomorrow, smart move, Sue. Identity stuff, even more useful. Not in trouble for running away, another worry gone. The girls better get to stay together, they would fall apart without each other right now.

Stacy is really organized when doing chores, washing dishes like that. And the DoCS better have some good news, try and separate the girls and they will break their promise to Julie not to run away again.

The way Julie and John are talking it sounds like he is going to adopt the girls if the DoCS confirms it's okay for him to. John thinks the girls might be hiding in his room and watching him and Julie, oh brother. *eyes blink* One of the girls hide in the clothes sitting on the dressing desk, I can't believe it.

"How did you know?" John asked stunned lying down on his back.

"Only child!" Julie laughingly teased him, snuggling close to his side and leaning in for a kiss. "All younger sisters spy on their older siblings kissing" she explained. "It's how you learn to do it right." Leaning over Julie proved that she'd been especially dutiful in learning from her own older siblings.

Just how many older siblings does Julie have?

It was Stacy, even warned not to do it by Sue, too curious for her own good.

"But we need to know if he made the offer to DoCS!" Stacy wailed. "How else were we going to find out! He dodged all my questions when we came back!"

Oh, should have known it was for another reason she was spying on them.

"We'll live with John and Julie" she promised. "Just things will get complicated and uncertain for a while but please always believe they will work out!" Sue sat holding Stacy begging her with her eyes.

Complicated and uncertain for a while, Stacy upset and worried again, I hate seeing her crying like this, so painful to watch and not be able to do anything.

Saturday Morning, Station House

Julie smiling down in wonder at the girls like that, who could resist such a scene of abject cuteness and wonder.

"No you can't cuddle them to your chest all day like baby chickens" he admonished her.

Who else would want to do the same thing in her situation, I know I would. Well, that is one way to wake up someone the size of a pixie.

Grocery shopping first before clothes shopping, Julie's frown suggests she wants to get to the clothes shopping already.

"I didn't want her to see how unfamiliar both of you are with 'feminine hygiene products'" Stacy whispered softly. "There's no way two girls as pretty and developed as you two could be naive about them" she sniggered as both Sue and Lexi's eyes widened in understanding.

Meep, that is a complication that needs to be dealt with.

"We won't need shavers" Lexi informed her finally shaking free from her daze at the almost endless products shelved around her. "Fae have almost no body hair."

"We don't?" Stacy asked confused glancing down to her privates and then quickly back at Lexi with a slight blush.

"Body hair Stacy" Lexi smirked pointing to her underarm and then running a hand on her thigh emphasising it's silky smoothness.

It is a good thing they aren't going to Whateley, so many girls jealous of them because of that alone. Poor Sue has been thrown into the deep end of feminine hygiene.

After a single glance at the still shell-shocked expression of Sue she grabbed a box of the next size up as well and put them all in Stacy's basket. With a warm smile Lexi took Sue's arm and gently guided her to the selection of hairbrushes further down the aisle.

I hope Sue snaps out of it before Julie gets back or she is going to start getting suspicious.

That is some of the fastest shopping I've ever seen done, many hands make light work.

Smiling happily she led the excited Stacy back to the main street while a laughing Lexi dragged the reluctant Sue along behind them, not even pausing she led them through the doors of the department store. "Bras first I think then we can grab you Sue and Lexi some basics then it's show time! We've all morning to go through every single clothes store there is!"

Eyes glowing in excitement Julie completely missed the look of horror on Sue's face as her sisters chuckled gleefully and dragged her along between them.

Sue might need some therapy after all this clothes shopping.

Friday Lunch Time, Wagga Police Station.

Stacy, Lexi, don't bully your sister Sue like this, making her buy and wear a green dress just to tease her about it. She already is having to adjust to so much, there is a limit to sisterly teasing. Julie laughing at them ganging on Sue like this, seesh, just what did her own older sisters put her through that she thinks this is funny?

A Tinkerbell-style dress for when human, Stacy, Lexi, she will prank you so badly for this later. Ouch, a great friend of Stacy's mother shows up and she breaks down in tears. So the funeral is tomorrow, at least they can get past this part soon.

"Mrs. Kelly was one of our civilian support staff for over ten years, she'll get a proper police turnout including special leave for all who want to attend the funeral. You'll need to organise shift swaps though if you plan to attend the wake" he apologised.

"There'll be two wakes" Julie informed them. "A private one tonight when the coffins arrive to let Stacy and the girls as well as anyone else say goodbye to them privately if they want to. There will also be a big one at the club after the burials."

Honoring one of their fallen, she may not have been an officer in the field but she was one of them.

Bwahaha, Julie doesn't remember John's reaction to saying she wants to marry him because she was scolding him about buying the girls proper clothes. All that untangling of the wills, you would think a devisor would invent a will detangler devise by then. =P Julie as the trustee of Stacy, I hope it is easier to make happen in Australia than in the United States.

Friday Evening, Stacy's house

Sue winced. "Ah the Catholic Church runs lots of hospitals most of them with maternity wards, they're all linked into the government computers we just slipped in a couple of 'births' into one of their updates one for you and one for me and then legitimately sent a request to Birth's and Marriages for print outs of them."

"And the passport?" Lexi waved some papers.

"It's not a passport its travel documents. Before 9/11 it was common for babies to travel under their parents passports so the story is your mother did that when you left Australia and then when she needed to bring you back she got 'travel documents' from the Australian Consulate to get you back in the country."

Sue's plan is seeming more and more complex the more details we learn about what went into making all this happen. Bwahaha, Lexi's teasing of Sue about what she could have grown up into without Stacy and herself keeping Sue on the straight and narrow.

The 'cover' story for Lexi to John and Julie, Lexi is that powerful of a magic-user, eep. Stacy is in rough shape due to the upcoming funeral, without Lexi and Sue I think she would have stayed in her home rather than go over to the Station House. Time for the private funeral.

Stacy and her family were a part of this town and its people, driving all that way to cheer on the younger female Constable when she graduated, people like Mrs. Kelly are the heart and soul of towns. Julie's offer to drive her to the church to say a private farewell, the tears in the woman's eyes, taking a moment to collect myself here.

Ah, the Constable is named Kathy.

"I know but ..." Kathy sighed and took off her own seat-belt. "It's still them it's still a chance to say goodbye."

Everyone deserves a chance to say goodbye to those they love. Father Michael and John being quiet, Sue singing in the choir loft as Stacy and Lexi say their farewells. The choir songs of a mass all on her own, Sue must have been singing a good while to reach the final song now. Now onto the wake, no one had better say anything to hurt these girls or else.

Saturday Afternoon, Local Cemetery

Stacy is in shock, the finality of it all hitting her, and just can't respond right now. Tanya Smith of the DoCS there.

"I'm not just a DoCS case worker I'm also a trained counsellor" she explained. "When there is no surviving family we like to be available at times like this in case our charges need comforting."

So glad to hear they have trained counsellors in their ranks.

"There are non-mutant mages but it takes years of study not something a teenager could teach to other teenagers." Worriedly she frowned at the three girls.

"Is it a problem?" Julie asked. "Neither John or I mind ..."

Tanya winced. "It's not that, with all the issues and frankly all the problems we've seen happening overseas we have very strict procedures when a ward is even suspected of being a mutant, for their own protection you have to understand!" Tanya anxiously explained to Julie and John.

Oh thank you, so nothing like what the MCO would like it to be. Disappearing mutants, want no chance of that happening there. Seriously, why haven't more mutants signed up to immigrate to Australia already?

"When a mutant State Ward is suspected they must be tested at the government testing centre and their status confirmed, then there must be a hearing to assign custodianship of the mutant Ward in front of a Judge of the Family Court. We can't just assign them as we wish ..."

So we need a Judge of the Family Court to look favorably on John as a father for the girls, gulp. I like Tanya Smith, I wish more social works who worked with children were like her.

And Lexi has to tell the cover story to John and Julie.

Lexi swallowed. Hands gripping the cup so tight they were white all blood drained from her face Lexi tried hard to force the words through her desert dry mouth. "I'm Fae" she whispered. "I have all the knowledge and power of a spell-caster of the Sidhe courts. It means I'm an unusually powerful Mage and the MCO they track powerful mutants. Mum. Mum didn't want the MCO to know about me."

*jaw open agape* That explains a lot. An illusion to show them something, did becoming a pixie give Selanothis/Lexi the memories of that pixie as well?

"A Queen of the Sidhe in waiting" Lexi murmured "and her companion and attendant since birth." Lexi pointed to herself, glanced between Julie Stacy and Sue before turning her frightened eyes on John. "I have all the memories of her the attendant" she whispered. "All her knowledge all the knowledge the Sidhe taught their royalty as she too took the young Queen's lessons with her, most especially I have all the knowledge and skills of the Magic the Sidhe were known and feared for, all the knowledge and skills of one of their most powerful Mages."

*goes to pick up jaw off the floor* Whoa, I have no idea how to respond to this reveal, this would put her on par or almost with Aunghadhail in knowledge and skills of Sidhe magic.

"I thought they were myths, stories told to frighten children" Julie breathed.

Lexi shook her head slowly. "Legends removed from time by a cataclysm that threw their shattered souls to the four winds but real. Creatures of Magic and pride cast down and thrown from the world, the loosing side of this planet's first real world war."

The Sundering, Lexi has memories of it, calls the GOO and their minions' demons though, I wonder if she knows the truth and is toning it down as saying Great Old Ones is so much worse than just demons.

The way Lexi describes it sounds just like how Sidhe mutants manifest except in her case she got a full lifetime of memories and experience to go with it.

"A single nuclear warhead has more destructive power then I could ever hope to wield" Lexi answered tears barely held in check. "And there are lots more powerful mages in the world even today than me!"

John has some good questions, how many are more powerful mages in the world today than Lexi? Lexi is so afraid of the MCO finding out what she can do, I hope there is a way to keep her records sealed or redacted so the MCO doesn't find out what she fears they will.

The Big Smoke

Wednesday, New South Wales Family Court Parramatta

Very reasonable magistrate so far, asking questions and not getting frustrated. Not old enough to be these girls' father, oh brother, when has that ever stopped someone from being a father to someone. Oh good, Stacy's home is hers free and clear.

Yikes, so adoption of teens, let alone mutants, is still an issue in Australia. Under the care of John and Julie, I wonder what the potential worries that Sue mentioned earlier are in their future. Temp Guardian of the girls until Friday when they have to come back, the legal system never makes anything easy. A proper ruling on Friday, I hope the stress of it all doesn't get to the girls. Mary, Jane, and Sarah for pseudonyms, Ms. Fields must be pressed for time.

"Most of these are mutants, unfortunately even in a helping organisation such as the Department of Community Services there are bigots and racists. I have such a large case load because we have too few staff for our work but also because some of my colleges would rather just report mutants to the MCO and hope they disappear rather then do the work to help them and even those who are not so inclined tend to find other cases to do in preference to mutants who inevitably turn out to be difficult and time consuming cases that give you bad performance reviews due to all the harassments and inevitable swapping of foster homes until the mutant finally lands with an accepting family and school and neighbourhood, so many things" she sighed.

Arrggh! Why are bigots and racists always making things worse?

Testing

Thursday Afternoon, Westmead Hospital Sydney

Low-level magic gift and nothing else, please don't let their powers act up while there.

"Yes well your girls are our only appointment today" the assistant explained a bit primly. "And well we're a research centre, there's always great excitement when we get to test a new subject."

Not sure I like the sound of that. All those tests mentioned, hhm.

"Very similar" the assistant agreed with a smile. "The only difference is we'll have the girls hooked up to a raft of machines and computers measuring everything nice and scientifically so that the doctors can go over the results with a fine tooth comb and debate everything to their hearts content."

*eyes bug out* I hope those machines and computers can't detect if they are holding back, or the plan is in big trouble.

Rebecca Mackay, I hope all lab techs researching mutants aren't like her when meeting new individuals. All those degrees, paediatrician at 26, and trained at the Children's Hospital nearby, oh boy.

"Rebecca could have joined any medical facility in the country, trained for any specialisation she wanted but what she has always wanted to do is study the mutant phenomenon." The assistant shrugged. "She really is the best in the country at this" she promised Julie.

I wonder if they know about Whateley Academy. =D

"I'm Mrs. Farnst" she replied holding out her hand to Julie. "I'm the director of the centre."

A bureaucrat, nooo! Rebecca sounds like she would fit right in at a certain school, as a student!

"Keeping the scientists in check and their experiments within the bounds of common sense is part of my duties I'm afraid and while Rebecca really is the best in the country she does tend to let her excitement override her common sense."

Yup, she would definitely fit right in down in the Workshop.

"It lights up in the presence of Essence!" Lexi exclaimed. "Stacy is powerful but unpracticed, like you she can't contain her Essence without concentrating on doing it. With all the exercises she's been forced to do Stacy's distracted and not concentrating, that sneak just got a true reading on the amount of Essence Stacy attracts!" Lexi wailed. "She knows not just that Stacy has a Mage gift but that it's a relatively powerful one too!"

She had Stacy holding a Mage Light without telling her, I don't like Rebecca anymore.

"Everything we can, hopefully we can get away with just Mage ratings nothing else."

Oh crud, if that is the least she is hoping for just how powerful are they?

Lexi sighed. "She's thorough. She got Stacy's proper Mage rank and also her danger sense but luckily nothing else."

Oh good, no idea they have access to Sidhe magic. 'Fail' the psychic tests, if they knew what Lexi could do with her

"Congratulations!" Doctor Mackay said with a huge smile. "You have three of the highest rated Mages we've ever tested!" Singling out Lexi Doctor Mackay fixed her with the full force of her infectious grin. "Lexi you're a strong five and your two sisters are both strong threes!"

They must not get many Mages/Wizard trait types tested there.

"No that's not right 'accumulate' that's the better word. They naturally accumulate Essence. As such mutant Mages just need to learn how to store and channel it. The Mage ratting is an indication of how much Essence they naturally accumulate from 1 to 7. For such young users strong ratings of three and especially five are amazing!" she finished with her normal enthusiastic excitement.

"Why does it matter that they are young?" Julie pressed.

Doctor Mackay smiled happily. "Well with practice and maturity most young Mages increase the Essence they can accumulate at least a little. I would not be surprised to see your girls jump another rank by the time they've finished training."

Is this unreliable narrator on Rebecca's part or is this really how Mages/the Wizard trait works for mutants? I'm curious to know.

"Military Mutant IDs" Dr. Mackay explained. "Because they are State wards and protected by the comprehensive privacy laws Australian has for its State wards the New South Wales Government issues MMIDs to their wards."

This is the best news ever!

Dr. Mackay gave her a shark's grin. "The MCO wants people to think that but actually the official records of MIDs is kept by the appropriate government authorities, which in Australia is the various state offices of Birth Deaths and Marriages. The MCO by treaty has access to those records but for MMIDs only the information on the cards is kept in the "Official" database. For these ones" she waved to indicate the cards Constable Stevens was holding. "The details of the testing and such are only kept in our records here and in the Australian MMID database which is looked after by Commonwealth Department of Defence somewhere, so probably has armed soldiers guarding it 24 / 7." Doctor Mackay smiled comfortingly at the subdued Stacy before turning to glance at her two sisters.

I wish this was true of all records for mutants, the MCO would be a true paper tiger.

Sue is Mary, Stacy is Sarah, and Lexi is Jane, if they get to chose codenames I wonder what they will each choose?

"We use court cases because in New South Wales even in official court documents minors are never identified, it's always done using aliases so we can 'prove' the need for a MMID but still not identify the owner" she finished grinning at them.

All cases involving minors should do this to protect their identity, worldwide.

"There's no medical issues with them though with such strong magical ratings you'll want to make sure they are well trained, that much loose Essence floating around is bound to cause gremlins and the like unless properly controlled."

"Gremlins?" Julie asked startled. "Like the movies?"

Rebecca laughed. "No manifestations, usually subconscious. Whenever the girls have too much Essence floating around there is a chance for their subconscious to cause manifestations, training to control their Essence is vital."

Aww, but I want to see what kind of gremlins Stacy would manifest, just once. And yes, the more compassionate healers/magic-users skilled in healing magic must have to force themselves to avoid hospitals or risk leaving themselves exhausted or casting until their Well burns out.

Thursday Early Evening, MCO Response Centre Sydney

The MCO monitors them, I should have known they go to any lengths.

The 'Australian' MCO was an American organisation and all the management positions, not to mention anything else exciting like field agents seemed to be given to American ex-pats rather then local hires. To add insult to injury for the local employees it was fairly obvious that the US MCO deemed Australia a convenient dumping ground for their 'problem' employees.

If the government knew this about the MCO I think they would be booted out of Australia pretty fast. And just like the USA's MCO set-up, those poor Australians.

"All a mutant has to do here to hide is become a state ward?!" the supervisor exclaimed in disbelief.

This idiot being dumped here thinks like this, must restrain fist of death. Tracking them to their court case will get you arrested when you are caught, moron supreme! Messing with them through lawyers, you are toast!

Thursday Evening, Rydges Parramatta Hotel

That a**hole got the time moved and into an actual courtroom. *sees red* Please let Ms. Fields be able to counter this legal move by the MCO. They are trying to get guardianship of the girls! That can't be legal, an organization trying to become guardians of minors shouldn't be allowed.

"The Catholic Church!" she whispered horrified. "For as long as we've had welfare it's been normal to put children in the care of organisations such as the Catholic Church, Anglican Church all sorts of religious and state run orphanages. It's perfectly legal for an organisation to have guardianship of a child!"

But those are organizations that are expected to protect the welfare and wellbeing of the children, the MCO wants neither of those things.

Julie figured out how they did it and Ms. Fields has to keep DoCS agents sympathetic to the MCO off the case, this is at least part of what Sue mentioned.

If they fuck up anywhere near enough for our Australian law enforcement to even look like they'd be able to make something stick to one of them they simply declare an 'emergency' and scuttle back home to the US and laugh at our attempts to prosecute them. They believe they are above the law and past experience has proved that they have nothing to fear from Australian law enforcement at all. There is nothing they don't believe they can get away with doing if they feel like it.

Arrgggh! This is why the majority of the MCO needs to be taken down and hard.

Trial

Friday Afternoon, Parramatta Family Court, Courtroom 1

New testing under the MCO, that isn't part of the law in Australia and shouldn't be allowed. A senior Silk, just what kind of law firm are they that would support the MCO?

"At a Bier Cafe?" Julie asked puzzled.

The clerk nodded. "A nice red. Sit at the bar, back left corner." With a last pat on her back he returned to his table gathered up his papers and left.

Is that clerk directing Julie to a secret meeting with someone who can help without saying it?

"Indiya" he smiled. "You're in Parramatta today right? Guess who I just saw at the Family Courts?"

Hhm, sounds like someone who doesn't like these Silk lawyers very much.

"There's a big name Silk and an MCO mouthpiece oh so carefully implying without ever quite saying so that you should be locked up for unnamed infractions of a serious nature , never once using such a crass word as 'paedophile'."

Those scum need to die now. John having to explain to the Sergeant what is happening, now we know what he looks like when he is really angry, scary.

"Indiya what are you doing here?" she gasped standing to greet her old university roommate with a smile and a kiss on the check. "I thought you had a job at a big law firm in Macquarie Street?" she questioned.

"I do" her friend smiled as she sat on the bar stool next to her pointing at a beer to the enquiring look of a bartender. "But then some country solicitor makes the head devil-silk at Wolfram and Hart stink worse then the Bondi deep water discharge and I had to come congratulate her" she said accepting her beer and clinking glasses with Julie with a smile. "I told you you were good enough for Macquarie Street, no need to hide out in the sticks like you do."

Didn't expect Indiya to have that connection to Julie, plus I love they both hate the Silk creeps. Indiya knows all the details already, her law firm works for the New South Wales Government, dang. The case is that political, Julie does need all the help she can get.

Dang, John's Commander still having to put Constable Gibbs to investigate the false accusations from the MCO just to clear John's name.

"It is but like Australia most of the countries of ASEAN, South America and the Pacific felt no need to ratify the MCO's UN charter so the MCO had been restricted basically to Airport security in the region. Somehow the MCO got the United States to insert increased powers for them into the TPP and then when the US announced that the TPP superseded its two party free trade agreements with individual countries in the region and were therefore ending them Australia and the other countries have no option but to sign up to the TPP or loose their access to the US markets."

"The US government's blackmailing us into accepting the MCO?" Julie gasped wide-eyed.

"That and other things" Indiya snorted before looking apologetically towards her boss for interrupting.

Whoever in the US government pulled this BS needs to be taken down hard, corrupt tactics like this make me sick. MCO wants automatic guardianship of abandoned and orphaned mutant children, those monsters need to be destroyed!

Julie nodded and sighed. "What I really really need right now is a clerk who knows the intricacies of the Family Court backwards and is an expert at family law."

Indiya's reaction to her boss' smirk, she is dating the clerk who called her about Julie! Nice to see how even old friends can tease each other, Indiya's face got so bright.

Friday Night, Rydges Parramatta Hotel

Those creeps made Stacy cry! Julie frustrated and John trying to encourage her, right now I just wish I could reach through the computer screen and somehow grab that Silk by his throat and not let go.

Retested

Saturday Afternoon, Westmead Hospital

"He's a baseline Mage" she explained to them. "He accumulates no Essence of his own he needs to rely on rituals and pendants to gather and store Essence and he's not very good at it. Despite all the showy wealth the few magical items I can see on him all seem to have been made by someone else."

An arrogant baseline mage who hasn't even lit his Well, this idiot is dismissing Mrs. Farnst, oh, he is the type who thinks anyone without magical training is beneath is. He will be easy to bluff. Sue has this guy's number pegged.

"And what rank are you in the Arts?" He demanded of her.

Oh god, I was right, no real mage asks that. His response to Dr. Mackay when she mentions a device, the height of arrogance. Letting John in on the plan, and asking Lexi what she has in mind, I hope this pretentious fool is shown for the fake he is.

The MCO chased a girl and she got injured that badly, Julie not wanting Rebecca to be here when she could be helping the girl.

"Oh Rebecca wants to be here" Mrs. Farnst assured her with a growl. "It was the MCO who put the poor dear into intensive care, Rebecca is determined to stop them causing any more issues with your three or any of our other patients. Rebecca despises everything the MCO stands for." Mrs. Farnst took a deep breath and then sighed giving Julie a slightly fearful look. "Actually that's not the whole story, Rebecca is terrified the MCO will find out the girl is here and do the same to her as they're doing to you and your three."

*string of curse words in unknown language*

An ICU for those mutants with issues and not all of them make it, it's the ones you don't hear about. Oh thank you, Ms. Fields being brought in to help this girl out is a huge step.

"Yes they did" he admitted. "At Lexi's suggestion they concentrated on gathering in and holding onto their Essence as much as possible all through the testing."

Any tester for the Mage/Wizard trait who is fooled by that is strictly amateur hour.

"For newly emerged magical Mutants all the testing concentrates on measuring is the raw Essence surrounding them! By gathering and containing it you make it appear there was less Essence and tricked him into under-report your ranks! No wonder he gave them Ranks of low twos and 'barely a four'!"

Okay, so not a complete amateur, but still only rating them based on the raw Essence surrounding them, that is a poor way to test the rating for Mage/Wizard trait imo.

Darn, good news, bad news. The MCO probably still going after them. Great, ex-foster mother of Mary will rat her out in a second to the MCO. Doctor Mackay says she will adopt Mary right now, above and beyond for her patient to keep Mary out of MCO's clutches. They're also a state foster institution, so many hats this place wears. Mrs. Farnst works fast, paperwork is already done. Just need a judge to approve the adoption, dang, a lot less complicated than the US system. Paperwork, legal stuff by Julie, and a Judge's clerk for who Ms. Fields has the number for, whoa. Ah, a guy she has dated before, hehe.

That was fast, already seeing the judge and Doctor Mackay signing documents. All-day in a law library, I hope Julie finds something to use against the Silk working for the MCO to destroy his case completely. Nice judge, and even names Indiya's boyfriend for us, Tom.

"Watching good lawyers argue cases is a spectator sport amongst the legal profession" Julie explained with a shrug before going over to congratulate the new mother.

Boy, I wonder if there are any sapient sharks in the WAU that watch them too?

Endgame

Early Sunday Morning, Office Law Library Parramatta

Now that is a good boyfriend, remember the name of your girlfriend's university roommate and watch her case, even informing Indiya of her need for help. Julie did all that in court already, she is big-league material alright. The strategy by the opposing side should be illegal and seen as unduly influencing the judge imo.

"Well that's a surprise, how have the MCO managed to become almost exactly opposite to their supposed 'United Nations Mandate'?"

"Really? The United Nations? A place that has countries like China Russia Zimbabwe and Libya in its Commission on Human Rights? Allows these countries to chair the Commission on Human Rights? Are you kidding me?" Julie blushed as Indiya's worldly tones beat down on here idealism.

*sigh* In a better world the UN would work how it originally envisioned.

Late Sunday Night, Office Law Library Parramatta

Uh oh, just what is Indiya's plan that Julie won't like?

"In a straight up legal fight yes it is, it's us two against all of Wolfram & Hart but if we can get the case adjourned then it becomes a clerking battle about when the case is heard again and while we can't replace you as the lawyer for the case there's absolutely no reason my firm can't look after the paperwork for you ..."

Sneaky, I love it, using the scumbag's own tactics against them.

"This isn't a win it's a stalemate, all we can hope to do is stall the trial for two years until the girls are sixteen, after that they get a say in who they go to that the Judge cannot ignore he'd only be able to award them against their wishes if the guardian was proved incapable of looking after them."

I'm pretty sure there is nothing to worry about there. Oh shoot, there is the catch. Only as a foster parent, not as their adoptive father. Sometimes you can only force a long-term stalemate until conditions changes, still better than the alternative.

Mid-morning Monday. Parramatta Family Court 1

No precedent set to stop the MCO from pulling this with another kid, no adoption, the MCO needs to pay for all this somehow. At least they get to go home together as a family of their own making.

A rollercoaster ride of a story with a lot of emotions. At first, I had no idea who these three girls were, why they were pixies, why they were acting like certain things shouldn't be the way they area. Until I realized this was a follow-up to Seeing is Believing and figured out who the girls were. They sure pulled a fast one on everyone, including Mrs. Carson. I thought Selanothis was going off on her own to live her own life at the end of that story, had me fooled. Them all becoming female pixies together I didn't expect, especially not Solomon turned Sue.

The shock Sue goes through due to extensive changes, the emotions Stacy is still dealing with, the emotions Lexi is dealing with, all well shown and depicted throughout the story. Just the trip from the hayloft to Stacy's home seemed like a big adventure, though Maggie sure helped cut down the time it would take. Seeing Stacy and Sue adapt to their pixie forms, their use of magic, learning so much about their connection was great. And the bond they have with each other shows strongly throughout the whole story, supporting each other, even when they are teasing each other.

Constable Stevens not even startled by them showing up in pixie form must have some experience with mutants. And before too long he was already acting like a father figure to the girls, you could just tell he would make a great father to them. Julie upon first meeting them is enthralled, not just by their pixie nature, but by the girls themselves. She acts as their mother almost immediately, taking them shopping, protecting them however she can. I want to see John and Julie get married.

Teleportation, the clothes spell, switching from pixie to human form and back, and they are just scratching the surface of their potential for Stacy and Sue if not also Lexi. I wonder what being their guardians is going to be like, the additional challenges and potential hardships. And the power testing, I can't believe Doctor Mackap used a Magic Light on them, sneaky. Or that their ratings as that high.

The MCO, I knew they were mostly made of scumbags and worse, but to pull this kind of stunt is beyond the pale. The US government blackmailing Australia into a treaty they didn't want to join, the MCO using it as a backdoor into trying to gain more power in Australia. I hope something comes out of all of this that sees the MCO kicked out of Australia completely.

I hope this isn't the last we have seen of the Triplets, they are fun characters to read about along with John, Julie, and everyone else surrounding them.