Perils of Penelope (Part 2) - Eight Crazy Nights by Wasamon

Afternoon/evening of Christmas Eve.  Given this is Penny, I think I see where the 8 nights comes from now.

Those cats must have done a real number on the town, given their impact on part 1.

GiGi deserves better family - Though she's only really stuck with them for another 6 months or so (assuming they don't give her an eviction notice as an 18th birthday present).

Nice to see that Morton and GiGi are settling into the reality that is having a future Nazi hunter as a best/girlfriend. The gift for the two of them from GiGi is something that money probably can't buy. And the grade probably was icing on the cake.

Enter Marion. Seems like she didn't learn anything from homecoming. Hopefully Penny won't have to rescue her again.

And I just had to go and jinx the situation (even though Jynx probably isn't within 500 miles of the place). Halloween 06 - I'd hazard a guess that maintenance is still buffing out the damage from that. And the labcoat crew learned from it. At least Penny didn't have to do anything special to obscure the camera feeds. And she does have a soft spot for damsels in distress.

Melissa, welcome to the rabbit hole. Do you follow the rabbit to see how far it goes? If your parents share certain common views about mutants, you may just have to. At least the steins are doing their best to help you through a messy situation. Let's see... TK is obvious (even if I was guessing Siren from the initial description of the destruction). Don't know if it's enhanced senses or clarivoyance (kinda leaning towards the former). Let's see if there's an energizer appetite to go with the other powers.

Reading Adolph as the former spy that he is. Probably clarivoyance rather than senses. Perhaps Melissa is a PDP? (I'm kinda having fun with the 'guess the powers' tangent) From that half of the conversation, it sounds like the big W is in the loop, and we may be getting a new student for winter term.

I smell an impromptu powers test, once Melissa gets her bearings again. And Penny (or LAN?) pulled what camera footage they could grab to help with the memory reboot.
Well, attempted reboot at least. Why'd Marion have to drop a complete collection of self esteem issues on her? To be fair, she might not have manifested without them.

Emotion triggered power bursts. (Even if they are pseudo-siren) I'm almost surprised she hadn't been set off sooner at school. Hopefully the positive emotions won't have their own effects.
Seems that they don't? And some practical but useful gifts. Welcome to the deep end Melissa.

Enter the backups. I'm glad to hear that GiGi's family supports her, even if the extended family doesn't. And Penny has (un)offically been welcomed to Morton's family. I guess we're about to find out what Melissa's family thinks of her dissappearance.

And Morton's sitrep is just about the worst case scenario regarding Melissa's family. At least Penny took the standard precautions against exposure. You never know when you'll need them.

Hanukkia gifts, part 3. Margarit probably cackled picking out those shirts. And I think I know what the mockingbox is for, given the name and subtext. Morton, it's going to be a crazy ride. You'll need that fresh underwear.

I think I can see why Margarit has a special place in her heart for the Maccabees.

Perhaps Melissa is starting to come to terms with the emotional trauma? She may need an emotional support Penny for the first couple therapy sessions, but she lasted longer than the initial attempts at a reboot.

Behold the power of an LLM. I keep a bit of an eye on news surrounding them, and I shutter to think what that box could do if placed in unscruplious hands. And the outcome was indeed as bad as we expected it to be.

Seems like Margarit has an interesting evening ahead of her. Once Melissa is over her trauma, she may be empowered individual number 2 on a future 4-person team of Nazi hunters. Morton's family seems to be taken with Penny at least, so that's never a bad thing. Uncle Shane knows Penny's grandparents, so they've probably had the opportunity to subtly vet him.

And a covert meetup. I'm going to guess it's Tawny, though it could easily be Tek Knight or someone from that side of the spectrum. It's almost a shame she had to cut the evening short.
And it indeed was Twany, almost certainly to ask about the latest incident.
Seems like she's onboard with the plan. Just as long as she doesn't start asking you about your boyfriend SilverStar. If she doesn't you know your cover's been blown.

And Penny gets tasked with the clinic appointment. Probably for the best, as she has a fairly reliable way to dial things back of the chaos gets bad. Hopefully Melissa isn't a Hawthorne candidate.
I wonder what tickled the danger sense. Hopefully it won't come back to bite them.
Bit of a panicked choice for a code name on Melissa's part, but it's for preliminary testing. With a bit of luck, she'll be able to figure out a better one before graduation.

Siren, mostly confirmed. Have to wait until she gets to the big W to get the rest of her readout. I get the vibe that the clinic may be on the borderline grey side of the scale, but at least everyone seems professional and willing to work with a scared mutant.

And there's the danger sense trigger. Don't tell me that Bogart got out in the prison break as well. At least Melissa's picked up the resistance to sonics portion of the Siren package. Not that that does much against Chanell # 9.
Leaving Penny behind? Probably a smart thing on the surface for Ravenge and friends. But the kidnapping is going to tick her off.

And ticked off she was. Wooster's heart might have been in the right place, but he went about things in the exact wrong way.
Low level exemplar for CryBaby? I'm thinking she might be starting to develop a resistance to the stuff. Definitely not the calm place she woke up the previous times. Let's see how her tactical planning is.
Ravange poked at the tiger and nearly got her hand bit off. The Adventists don't know what ant hill they kicked over.

Rattel as a backup. I guess she did say she was local (though I thought she was in the New Orleans area for some reason). I was almost expecting Tek Knight, but he might not be local.
Rachel is ... surprisingly serious for the ad-hoc mission planning. If the Green Cross and her crew decide to come out of the shadows, I'm starting to sense a team ready to punch them off the stage.
It'll be interesting to see how closely the plan mirrors reality when the honey badger hits the ant hill.

I love Rattel's entrance. At least Ground Pounder seems smart enough to stay clear. And the sense to contact the authorities (if indirectly) so that he doesn't get blamed for shit going down. And an understanding of what Whateley neutrality means. And Rattel will take any (known) ally in a fight.

Not a bad plan it seems, Rattel (and Ground Pounder) for the distraction, Penny for the extraction. It's a shame Ravenge is so stuck in her preconceptions, but I think the experience getting kicked out of her home left some serious scars. Nice trick with the dummy, Penny is probably going to learn something from it. And Melissa shows that she has the potential to be a self-rescuing damsel, if she can get her powers under control.

Ok - Self rescuing damsel on a rampage. To be fair, the past few days have been lots of sleeping, punctuated by chaos. Cleanup is going to be messy. At least Blue Blaze is jaded enough to know how to deal with a Rattel incident. I'd ask just why Rattel had a bottle of chanel #2 on hand, but I probably don't want to know the answer.

Saturday, December 24th, 2016
Muncie New Mall
Penelope Stein

Ouch, doesn't care for Christmas and with good reason. Hanging out with friends at the food court on Christmas Eve is a normal teen thing to do. Morton is a lucky guy, I hope her cousin likes him when she visits. Girasol 'GiGi' Dupress, what troubles does she have at home or with her aunt and uncle? The dreidel game is seen in various TV shows and movies, but rarely explained to the audience.

That tactical suit was one of the best gifts Penny ever got. Of course, Margit gets first dibs on the gelt, so she takes as much as she wants before the holiday officially starts. That is grandma's privilege. Aww, GiGi got them gifts, and Penny got her something too.

Her friend decorated practically everything in pale pink, sky blue, and off-white, and so was the pattern of the knit muffler: pink rosettes on a pale sky weave with fluffy clouds—or sheep. Something white and nebulous.

A cute transgirl with cute clothes, no one better harm GiGi.

Whoa, GiGi has jewelry skills to make those pins. Such great gifts. She got an A+ in her jewelry-making class for them, I should think so, those are professional grade imo. Oh no, not Marion Serris, who is on her bad side today? Picking on Missy, I wish that poor girl would wise up and leave that group. Marion needs to learn some empathy. Danger sense goes off, and Penny pulls GiGi and Morton under the table.

Whoa! Who or what caused the intense sound capable of causing such damage? Penny has ear protection and tries to tap into the security camera feeds, but those are out. GiGi and Morton are temporarily suffering from hearing loss, ouch. 2 more sets of ear protectors for them.

The standard kit from Whateley included enough sonic nullifier plugs to fit a team of heroes, with the documentation referencing 'Halloween 06' and nothing else.

Trust me, you don't want to know if you weren't there.

Where are those sonic cries coming from? A dash to escape after the next cry, I hope those teens are just unconscious too, otherwise this just went up from assault and vandalism to multiple murders.

But at the epicenter of the chaos—WAAAAAAAH!!!—was Melissa Mathers, huddled amid the rubble and bawling her eyes out. Each WAAAAAAAH!!! manifested a blue shockwave of PK that slammed outward in a random direction.

Melissa Mathers, so this is when Missy first manifests and why she gets the codename of Crybaby, yikes.

Oh boy, Penny tells GiGi and Morton to get the car ready; she will need a quick getaway. Darn it, no one else to stop this, and she is going to do some heroing without a license. Good thing she is wearing the tactical suit, I forgot if she has a full superhero license as SilverStar. Oh, good, PK blasts aren't omnidirectional. Good, close enough that Missy can hear her, poor girl got bullied too hard by Marion, and is having a breakdown. Oh god, Marion has made Missy feel this way about herself. If Marion doesn't learn to stop being such a B to others after this, she needs a much harsher lesson on how to treat others.

Cuckoo Channel's Knock-Out #9; it is to save lives, and sometimes you have to knock someone out to get them calmed down. Yeah, no way you should leave a newly manifested mutant who caused such damage for the police or MCO to deal with.

December 25th, 2016
Melissa Mathers

Melissa sure has a unique way of thinking to try and remember things. Though with how she keeps getting distracted, I wonder if she might be attention-deficient or have full ADHD. The next day, Christmas, at 9:30 AM, just how potent is that knockout spray? Oh, so it wasn't fully the spray's fault she was out so long. Missy was working through her brain, all that might have happened, and yet only some details, none about what happened when she manifested her power.

Her eyes are red, puffy, and twinkling, please say the red and puffy aren't part of her mutation. Pancakes and hash browns, yum. Margit just exudes grandmotherliness, I like how Missy sees people.

"Cream cheese pancakes," said the senior girl, "with lingonberry syrup, a side of turkey bacon, and latkes."

Stop, you're making me hungry, and I just ate an hour ago.

The man who came in through the other door was grandfatherly only in age. Otherwise, he looked like the kind of guy who might've played international spies in action moves from a few decades ago, and not necessarily for the good guys.

Missy is incredible at reading people from their appearance, I don't know why she got sucked in by Marion's group.

When Margit says something, you do it. Yeah, Missy's head is in a spin after all that happened, and I think the Cuckoo Channel's Knock-Out #9 might have some lingering effect on her thinking clearly. Lighting the candles just after sunset, seeing their traditions through Penny, who is new to the religion and culture, is enlightening. This is the best food she has had all week; either her family can't afford better, or her parents are neglectful. Poor girl is crying, at least she has Penny and her grandparents there to help her through all this.

Down into the hidden basement level, Missy gets to see what few else do. No wonder Missy is so calm, blocking what happened out with some fault to the #9. A projector with footage showing what happened.

"Okay, so this is how it all started. You're over there with Marion, Millicent, and Salutation—"

"Sally," she corrected automatically. All the girls in Marion's circle went by the queen bee's preferred nicknames, but Sally was the staunchest defender of that particular status quo.

Wait, does Melissa even like the Missy nickname? I will use Melissa from now on for her.

Marion, upset over something her parents said or did, Melissa drops something, so Marion tears into her, with Sally goading Marion on.

Every awful thing she'd ever thought about herself, verified and vilified and victimized and—

Shit! Remembering this triggered her, it is PTSD from the mental and emotional trauma this poor girl has endured. Her own father says that about her, now I want to see him suffer for doing this to his daughter. Crap, another crying freakout and Melissa's powers are out of control again.

Memory and reality were smushed together like two slightly different shades of playdough, and the colors of anxiety and sadness were running through and through, and if she took the sadness away there'd be nothing left at all.

This isn't right. She had to endure what her own father and possibly her mother said to her, and then to be put in Marion's group, she needs a lot of help. Darn, Penny has to use the #9 again.

SilverStar

At least they learned a few things, I hope one of them is how to keep Melissa from having another breakdown. That is some destructive power Melissa has.

"Well, first, we have confirmed that her PK blasts are carried on a sonic component, even if they do not travel at the speed of sound, that they are not directed but are unidirectional..." Her grandmother ticked the items off on her fingers. "As well, we see that there is an emotional trigger and, ah..."

Too much feelings of sadness and her powers activate, yikes. Oh, good, I thought Adolf was in contact with someone at Whateley. It is the only place that can help Melissa in all the ways she needs.

Melissa

Wakes up, and it is 5:12 PM; I hope it hasn't been over a day this time. Oh boy, I hope this isn't something Melissa has done in the past, pushed memories in the back of her mind when she doesn't wish to deal with them. Chinese takeout for dinner, almost time to light the candles. 3 blessings for Hanukkah, interesting. So that is the siddur, I wish this were taught about more. Melissa, for your good, if you still wish to be involved in Christianity, please find a better church to attend.

"Basically, the First Temple in Israel, dedicated by Moses and all the tribes, which is why the Torah goes into so much detail about who brought what in the weekly reading. They were sort of cutting the ribbon on their new Holy of Holies. And the word for 'dedication' in the sense of establishing a new place of worship is hanukkah."

Oh, I'm tearing up at this, I don't know why. This is something that needs to be taught in schools, people need to learn about others outside their own cultures and religions.

Is there any culture in that area of the world that the Greeks didn't screw over at least once? 8 days of presents with mostly useful things, I wouldn't mind. Dang, new clothes and underwear for Melissa from Margit. What kind of living hell was Melissa's life like before this that she starts to break down crying over any show of compassion or kindness to her?

Monday, December 26th, 2016
SilverStar

I only like Christmas specials like Yogi's First Christmas and the other Hanna Barbera stuff. I sympathize with Penny on this. Charlie Brown is at least not as preachy as some of the other Christmas specials. GiGi and Morton are there.

"Remind me to call you next time I need to hide a body," she quipped. "Got intel?"

"Tablet in my bag," said Morton. "Our combined efforts."

She nodded. "Good. No trouble getting here?"

Intel on Melissa's home life and other stuff, I'm guessing. GiGi's parents are chill about her being trans, but the extended family, no wonder she doesn't like the holiday as much.

Dang, Morton's mother rushed him out that fast, she is hoping they get married and give her grandchildren sooner rather than later, isn't she? Every Christmas special they could find on streaming services back in 2016, gah! Christmas overload. I hope they can get the blasts so they aren't keyed to Melissa being sad. Dang, Penny doesn't take things slow with her boyfriend. If her grandparents were in hearing range, they would do more.

Date at a bad movie just so they can make out, these two are so cute together.

"Well, I assumed you've seen the security footage leading to Missy's breakdown and breakthrough?" He nodded. "Right. So it turns out someone closer to ground zero had a working phone and enough wits left to record you breaking her out."

What did Marion say to finally set off Melissa? Millie, Sally, and Marion are still in the hospital, but no fatalities from the incident, good. Melissa's family, I doubt she wants to go back to them. She didn't break down from Marion and the others in that group tormenting her alone.

"We knew her big sister's the golden child, and that she treated Missy like crap before handing her off to Marion's crew for further abuse. Her dad's good with Marion's dad, too, and Mr. Serris is—"

"The unofficial head of the local Humanity First branch that doesn't exist, according to all the cops who are members. Right."

Great, an older sister treated like she could do no wrong, tormented by her and their parents, then handed over to Marion's crew, this is nightmare fuel. As for why they can't return her, Melissa's mother and the local cops would see her dead, and the body would disappear within hours. No word from her parents, crud, that is worse than them acting concerned and looking for her. Rats, funtime ended by a knock from Margit.

Lighting of the candles again, guests being made to be welcome, gifts for Melissa, GiGi, and Morton.

"One of LAN's designs," he told her. "He called it a mockingbox. We'll go over how to use it later, for a certain phone call."

Those inventions sure make great and useful gifts. Oh god! There are Hanukkah-themed ugly Christmas sweaters, and Melissa and GiGi both got one. Ack! Morton got Hanukkah-themed, novelty underwear. Gah! Penny doesn't get embarrassed to say to Morton upon reading the sayings on the underwear.

The old lady certainly had a cavalier approach to sex ed., which was why Penelope had herself a full selection of birth control and STD preventatives available in her bag.

When you grow up in times like Margit and Adolf did, you tend to be more lax on such things. Penny, are you trying to see if the top of your boyfriend's head will break like a cartoon thermometer and spray the red from the blush into the air?

Except for the salmon, that all sounds great. Sorry, Melissa, you are still too young for wine. The story of Hanukkah, told by Margit, will be informative. An army to quell a revolt he thought might happen, what a foolish king. A temple to Zeus, what the ****! I've heard the name of the Maccabees, but never knew anything about them. I know this is taught in the various Jewish schools, but it needs to be taught to everyone. This is an important part of history and needs to be learned by all. I've never heard the story of Hanukkah until now.

"And so," her grandmother concluded. "We all, at one time or another, make a stand against those who would tear us down, for whatever reason. When knocked down, we must find within ourselves the dedication to see it through, the trust in the divine will that things shall pass, and the willingness to take that will into our own hands and make things right, when necessary. Thank you."

I've been needing to hear those words for a while. Hey, the world needs more anti-establishment speeches right now to remind us to fight back against corruption and fearmongering. I like Margit, more girls need to learn from her. Cake and ice cream, a great way to end the day.

Tuesday, December 27th, 2016
Melissa

LAN has made an invention that could help out those who have a hard time dealing with face-to-face therapy with fellow humans. Melissa is chatting with Cathy, I hope this helps her out.

She was talking to the dumb scribble-face like it was her best friend and telling it all about how she didn't have a best friend, how Sally and Marion used her as an emotional punching bag, how her big sister could do no wrong and so all the mistakes were Missy's, and—

I was right, Melissa has been living a nightmare thanks to her parents, her sister, and Marion and Sally. Crying is just background noise to her life. God, I've never wanted to hug and comfort her more than now. An hour until the main event, oh boy, I hope Melissa can handle it.

Penelope

So that was the mockingbox, an incredible invention and faster than expected too. A simulacrum of Melissa's personality. Boy, those are some limitations that LAN has had to put in it. Who are they connecting this thing up to interact with? Oh no, Gary Mathers, Melissa's father.

If they were to get Melissa into Whateley, then they'd have to show that it wasn't safe for her to return to her family, and then invoke Raelynn's Law if they had to.

The lengths they are going through to make sure Melissa is in a safe environment away from her abusive family.

Daughter gone for days, gets a call, and this is how he reacts. Berating her over what is on the news, hurting her "friends", etc. This man is a psycho! Threatening to kill his own daughter because she is a mutant.

"You ain't a daughter of mine, you freak. Missy died in that food court, and you're just a feckless mutant bitch who needs to be put down. I—"

God, now I see why they needed the mockingbox. If Melissa had been subjected to this, the house might not be left standing. Her family is nothing but monsters.

Margit teaches Melissa how to cook latkes, she will be popular at Whateley if she makes those. Poor Melissa, she can't get anything back from her former house. A big family Hanukkah experience, yay! Penny, Morton's ears are going to turn permanently red from blushing so much if you keep that up.

Margit

Hey, you are new to being a grandmother, but are one of the best I've seen already, Margit. Doting grandmother to Melissa, she needs someone who is family to her now, but by choice. A Muppet Christmas Carol, Melissa needs these right now.

And any film that opened with a huge song-and-dance number telling the capitalist tyrant to go fuck himself in happily insulting PG ways had her seal of approval.

It is still the best Christmas Carol movie ever made, imo.

SilverStar

Morton's Uncle Shane hosts a dinner that big, such a generous guy. Why does the description of Uncle Shane bring to mind a Jewish version of Mr. Fezziwig? He isn't wrong about Adolf being a bit intense. Penny, don't put Morton on the spot like that, you know he is crazy about you already. Hehe, figures Margit likes Die Hard. The story of how Uncle Shane got his name from his grandfather, and how his grandfather chose that name when coming to America.

"Shoyn fargesin!" Everybody around them yelled the punchline in a chorus of laughter and groans.

"Which means, 'I already forgot!' in the old language," Uncle Shane concluded. "And so the guy at Ellis Island wrote down his name as Shane Fergusson."

"...seriously?" she asked.

"Nah, but it's too good of a joke not to tell," their host admitted. "In all seriousness? I'm named for an old friend of my father's from high school who died in a car crash. Good guy, by all accounts. I try to live up to the namesake."

Priceless, just priceless.

Mental notes for who was who, you have a lot of work to do tonight, Penny. Is the call about a job for SilverShield, or is it about getting Melissa into Whateley? A lift back to her house, but no time for anything else, rats.

Margit

So it is a job, Adolf coming to pick her up afterwards as usual. Melissa is smiling in her sleep, she needs a loving family like this in her life. Hehe, time for Margit to watch Die Hard.

SilverStar

Penny changed into her tactical suit in the car and gave Morton a good show at the same time. Seesh, they are going to give Adolf and Margit grandchildren sooner than expected at this rate. Henny-Penny Diner on the edge of town, nice meeting place. Hehe, even with a magic amulet to hide her true appearance, there is no hiding Tawny due to her size and grace.

Great, they think she kidnapped Melissa.

"Would you like a list?" She ticked them off on her fingers. "The police, first of all. They would've shot her down to shut her up, and they would've been in the right, if for all the wrong reasons. Next, from other would-be heroes. The girl's got a wild talent, unpredictable and uncontrollable, and not everyone would try as hard to help. Third... I don't suppose you've talked with her father?"

Great, her father calls it a kidnapping even though he wants Melissa back just to kill her, true scum. The video of 'Melissa' with her father has Tawny reaching for her chest.

It was her turn to nod. "Rumored but unconfirmed that the local H1 chapter has significant presence in the city police department."

Considering how they are reacting to a 'kidnapping' of a mutant girl, I would say that is proof enough not to hand her over. Oh, good, Tawny has connections to get Melissa a provisional powers check and temp MID. Possibly good to go in a couple of hours, thank you, Tawny.

Darn it, the psycho who tried to Carrie her old school's homecoming got freed by a mutant liberation group. Aww, why isn't Mus your boyfriend?

Wednesday, December 28th, 2016
Melissa

Aww, Melissa wants to sleep in, but they have an important trip to make today. On a drive to Indianapolis, Melissa will have time to sleep on the way there. Boy, she is out of it to get put in the car and wake up while they are on the road. They are almost already there; how long was the drive? Underground clinic network, not something you want to hear while drowsy.

"A group of physicians and medical researchers who specialize in the mutant condition," the senior explained further. "National system, but regional providers, and the Midwest clinic in particular has a floating point entrance for security. Ever see Howl's Moving Castle? Sounds like the front door to that place."

Sounds like a fun place to visit. A codename for paperwork, oh boy.

SilverStar

If someone like Penny wants missile launchers after a swing on that stretch of road, I never want to visit. Her grandparents took a different route in the van, I wonder why. An hour and forty-five minutes drive sounds like torture to me.

The sedan's plates were dusted with some gadgeteer gimmick that made them unreadable to surveillance aggregators—and in any case, they weren't showing the correct numbers at the moment.

That sedan is designed to avoid notice, I love it.

Melissa made do with doubled-up coats and tripled up mufflers topped by a pom-pom ski hat. A pair of large spectacles completed the image of a winterized Minion waddling after her.

I'm sorry, but we need an image of Melissa in this outfit. It sounds adorable on her. The Mountain Clinic with a college student at the front desk. Dr. Ketjap has a room ready for them, now that is service.

The girl giggled. "Um, you do have that dark and mysterious thing going on. Maybe it wasn't what he was expecting?"

"Well, if he was hoping to see spandex and Wonder Bra engineering, he went looking at the wrong heroine."

Oh, good, Melissa is giggling at jokes she made. Glad to see her happy.

Melissa

Definitely a clinic for mutants, looks like a good one too with the posters in the room. Melissa, it is best not to worry about something until it happens. I speak from a lot of experience. Good lord, her internal thoughts, her family, and Marion's group have made Melissa into an emotional wreck who can't even look at someone without worrying if they are staring or being rude.

"Thanks, Dr. Ketj... wait, Ketjap at the Moutarde Clinic? Seriously?

Ketchup at the Mustard [French for mustard] Clinic, groan. Though Ketjap is a type of soy sauce in India.

His regular name is Suparman, a popular name in Java. Melissa, it may be true, but you shouldn't use it as your codename. That is some biometric scanner. Ouch, blurred vision for a minute after the flash, could have warned her.

The doctor nodded some more as he tapped in a note. "Perfect pitch acquisition. It is a common secondary mutation for the siren trait package. Proper lessons should develop it further," he advised. "Though if that is not possible, some time in a karaoke box or even just singing in the shower would help as a start."

Huh, so that explains why most sirens are good singers.

Penny, what Cally has and what Melissa has are two different versions of the siren trait.

"The siren designation covers a suite of abilities," the doctor was explaining. "And not every siren has all, or even most, of them. Looking at the footage you forwarded to me, I see psychokinetic shockwaves. That is one manifestation of the power suite."

I thought so, it is one of those designations that takes testing and study to figure out what an individual is capable of. Oh boy, all those things for preliminary testing.

Out through the other door they went, and even to her confuddled brain, Melissa could tell that the hallway they were walking along could not have coexisted with the hallway they arrived on without crossing somehow, and yet they didn't. For that matter, there was no way all of this fit in the little shopfront back in Cloverford. The Moutarde Clinic was seriously weird business, she was realizing.

Is it multiple facilities in locations across the country, all connected by a dimensional space of some sort?

The next hour singing karaoke.

As it turned out, vocal mimicry was within her range of ability. She couldn't copy a voice perfectly, but she could match the music after a few tries, no matter what the song, from modern pop to heavy metal.

Yay! Something else for her to enjoy and be happy about. No vocal projection, it seems. Gah! That is one hell of a way to confirm a defensive shriek. Discuss the specifics of her school application, she had better be on the special list of 'do not bully'.

She doesn't want to think, has been conditioned to think others are potentially judging her. Melissa didn't even get to enjoy kids' shows as a kid because Madelyn decided she had outgrown them, and her parents only cared about her sister. Aww, that sounds like a fun cartoon. Darn, had to ask her that because of strange situations with 'minders' in the past. Now she is too worried to enjoy the cartoon, arrgggh.

Good, at least the cute cartoons kept her balanced and calm. Time to go get lunch before they head back home. Oof, her MID has her on the verge of tears again. Plans to go to G-Burger for food and to hang out.

A tall, willowy woman in a stylish red and blue overcoat held her head high as she sang. Black hair streamed behind her, the tips dancing at the notes, and it didn't occur to Melissa that anything at all hinky was going on until Penny slumped into the driver's seat and began to snore lightly.

Crud, a siren, and she just put Penny to sleep, but Melissa's powers made her immune. What is with the blobby, green, Disney dwarves knock-offs? Tina is the siren, another is a manifester, it seems, and who is the girl who just spoke and is oddly familiar?

SilverStar

They took Melissa, but not Penny, so she was the target.

Mental note to self, but abilities with non-contact, non-violent effects apparently did not trigger a danger sense alert.

If that is how all danger sense types work, that is a scary thing to learn with some of the students at Whateley and what they would do with such powers.

After that, there was a weedy gentleman with hair like powdered orange drink leading a set of green homunculi.

Hhm, were those manifested or created homunculi?

Black outfit, flame highlights, cheerleader base model plus strategically ripped sections filled with fishnet for a poser-punk image.

*facepalms* Ravenge, why the hell did she have them take Melissa?

Back to the clinic, and the receptionist panics upon seeing her and tries to bolt. Only to be pinned to the ground by SilverStar fast. She fills the doctor in, and the idiot receptionist thinks SilverStar is a villain, ugh.

"My friends are not villains; they are semi-retired Nazi hunters. As such, they know a great deal about information extraction and have few foibles about using that knowledge. And as they see Ms. Crybaby as a sort of foster granddaughter for the season, they're likely to have no foibles or fucks left to give."

Keptjap demands an answer from Wooster after this. The idiot thought she was being trafficked! Called in some friends who help save mutant kids in trouble, you moron! Idiot didn't think to talk to the doctor on the case, thought he knew better. Now he is fired and in the care of SilverStar to get an answer as to where his friends have taken Melissa.

Melissa

That #9 has got to stop being used on Melissa before permanent side-effects happen. Melissa is once again confused and in an unfamiliar room. This doesn't look like a place you take a supposed trafficking victim to assure them they are safe. Left one of the little green dwarfs to guard her, not smart. Gwynnifer Easley, aka Ravenge, so Melissa knew her when she hung out with Marion's crew. That smirk makes you want to smack it off her face.

Ugh, Melissa corrects her on her name, not to use the stupid nickname she hates, and Gwynnifer still uses it! Great, having to talk about her own family didn't even take her to a dinner to celebrate her sister's first semester in college grades. Gwynnifer, the difference between you and Melissa is that she is sorry about what her powers did at the mall; you are only upset you got beaten and sent to jail. Knocks her out just because she starts crying, Gwynnifer, you are a true psycho.

Ravenge

Heh, she doesn't realize the stuff she just used is the same stuff SilverStar used to knock her out. I don't like Boggart, the kind of help learning how to use her powers sounds like there is a price attached. Great, Sookie and Sarabine will be quiet. How to get Melissa away from these creeps?

"Go on, then," Boggart told her. "We work to bring the advent of a new age of mankind, after all."

Recruiting mutants for this kind of organization, this never ends well.

SilverStar

A holding company known to be an Evolution Rocks front. Great, some of Evolution Rocks have gone way too far if they are supporting groups like this. They have to strike tonight with just SilverStar and Adolf, Margit on overwatch. Darn, no help from Whateley due to the situation, and Melissa not being a student yet, limiting the options. Don't tell me, SilverStar is calling in Tawny and friends for help to rescue Melissa.

Waiting outside the public library, she is texting with Morton and getting images of him in his new underwear. Mrs. Altus, oh no, she called in Ratel for backup!

"Oh, she has been," the girl's mother said with a sigh. "She's been on her best behavior while family was over for Christmas. I think the strain was getting to her. So, thank you for giving her something to do. Just don't tell me any details," the woman added. "And Rachel? Do try to stay out of the evening news this time."

With Ratel, that is the best you can ask and hope for. Rachel knows to be polite to Penny's grandparents, as she has met them before.

Bad vibe, trying too hard to be happy. Yeah, you are smart to only visit it once, Rachel. Rachel filled in on Melissa and her powers. Sonatina, Tina for short, so that is the siren.

"Met her once," Rachel confirmed. "One of the main hosts at the SLC. One punch, no prob."

Oh, the Specialized Learning Center is bad news with someone like her in charge.

"The guy with the orange-mix hairdo. Terrence Humphreys, a.k.a. Boggart. Ectoplasmic manifestor and puppeteer."

"Also a known specialist in counter-demonstrations and crowd control," said Safta Margit. "He's been busting up Rights of Man demonstrations across the Mid-West for years now."

"Righteous."

"...as well as acting as a front man for a mutant-supremacy group known as the Advent," her grandmother concluded.

I knew it! Mutant supremacy, any supremacy group, is always bad news.

"Classic cult recruitment tactics, which would explain that 'hinky' feeling of yours, as well as a strong belief in a reading of the Braeburn Report that supports the Great Mutant Replacement Theory. Basically, they want more mutants, fewer baselines, and tend to think both proactively and procreatively. Going by the FBI dossier we have on them, that does not bode well for any young women they recruit."

Okay, that almost made me puke. Ravenge, for all we know, her psionic projections can do more than she has shown in the past. Ratel in the mood for mayhem, nice to know there is a tell to that.

At the party

A Christmas party, and Boggart seems to want everyone drunk. Claude Rousse, aka Groundpounder, chatting up Sarabine Newcastle, aka Pixelette, and her friend Sookie Webster. Bracelette, ugh, she needs to find a new codename. Why is Groundpounder here if he goes to Whateley? Tales from Whateley, trying to impress the girls, but drawing in more of an audience. There goes the lights and music.

A small breacher charge and Ratel is inside. Groundpounder recognizes her voice and uses the excuse of getting the girls out of the way to hide. Everyone is confused by Ratel, but not Groundpounder, he crossed her once and knows how dangerous she is.

"Here to pick up a new Whateley girl. Melissa Mathers. Seen her?" challenged Rachel. "Seems that someone here kidnapped her from protective custody this afternoon."

Near his chest, Groundpounder heard Sookie gasp. "Is she talking about that one girl..." came the whisper.

"But they said they rescued her..." Sarabine whispered back.

This might get some of the potential recruits to run away from this group.

Groundpounder thinks Rachel is here on official school business and is even more scared. Tries to get the girls to leave and call his parole officer, but they think Tina will take care of it. The song doesn't work with Whateley brand ear protectors in, so Boggart tries #9 on her, and Rachel just thinks it is the good stuff. That bitch! Tina is forcing the party-goers to attack Rachel; only Groundpounder, having the same ear protectors, is immune.

The body of a basketball, GSD can be so cruel. Gah! Lanky won't be using that arm for a while. Bertram Boys, EX-2, they don't stand a chance. Oh no, Sookie and Sarabine are being forced to attack. Huh, Sarabine seems to manifest constructs made out of something like Lego blocks. Darn, pinned by 4 of the 6 who blitzed Rachel.

Groundpounder goes to help and suckerpunches Tina in the stomach, everyone breaks out of her siren's song. Boggart is pissed, Groundpounder doesn't want Whateley trouble or to break his probation. Time for a buddy brawl, and Rachel has her PK claws out, this is going to be brutal.

SilverStar

SilverStar believes Rachel has her end in hand; she is good at creating a distraction and disturbance. Of course, the first person she runs across is Ravenge. You aren't a poor, innocent mutant, and Melissa, you have bad intel, you idiots. All that just because she wasn't made prom queen, and she is still ranting about it, let it go already!

"Me. Queen. I was supposed to get homecoming and Marion would get prom, but that bitch betrayed me! She stole my dress colors! She deserved what she got!"

You knew Marion how long, and didn't expect her to betray you to get what she wants? Darn it! Tricked by a mannequin in Ravenge's costume. A scream like that, I wonder if Melissa will react and come to the rescue upon seeing someone who saved her in so much pain.

Melissa

Wakes up, remembers where she is and the situation she is in, only to hear a scream. Oh, good, she looked out the door despite the flames, saw Ravenge dancing in the flames, and SilverStar on the floor being tortured by Ravenge.

Not. Good. Who did that bitch think she was? What gave her the right? Or gave Marion? Or Maddie? Or her parents? Or the entire fucking world except for the one person now screaming her lungs out and Melissa's ears out and damnit but there was too much light and sound and she just wanted it all to stop stop stop stop STOP...

One big shout was all it took, but Melissa didn't stop there.

Oh boy, I think Melissa just found a new emotion to channel her power through, pure raw anger.

Ratel

Hehe, Boggart, with Rachel and Groundpounder fighting, your brainwashed thugs never stood a chance. She fights dirty, there is a reason most guys try to avoid her at Whateley if she is in a fighting mood. Goblins, dwarves, and garden gnomes, Boggart sure has a theme with his manifested constructs. Only Rachel could see that and say wack more into it. A ten-ft. tall ogre. So, of course, Rachel does a flying kick into its stomach and gets bounced back.

Darn it, Rachel, you just had to think about fun instead of winning the fight. She has an idea of how to wittle it down over time, have fun with the fight. But a loud shout of STOP and the doors bursting open with Ravenge flying in unconscious kind of broke up the fight. Oh boy, Melissa has gone full rage mode and isn't listening right now. *eyes bug out* She can propel herself as speedster velocity, just how powerful is Melissa? I have to wonder if Ravenge will be alive after all is said and done, with how Melissa seems focused on her.

Nope, Boggart opens his big mouth, and she rushes the ogre. She beats on it, but then unleashes a scream that destroys it in a second.

An energy blast came on a wobbly wave of unpredictable colors, only to splash off the carnelian PK field surrounding Mad-as-Fuck Melissa.

I repeat, just how powerful is Melissa!?! Crap, now Sookie has drawn aggro. Oh, good, Claude shielded them, but I don't think he can do that again anytime soon. Rachel to the rescue with Cuckoo Channel's Knock-out #2, pours it in a rag, and throws it in Melissa's face. Down for the count and caught by Rachel. Penny, that is Melissa when her powers are fueled by rage. Terrifying to say the least. I knew she would be more powerful if she fueled her powers with rage. But not that much more powerful. That is like going from a grenade to a bunker buster.

SilverStar

Of the long list of things this girl was to do that evening, the first was to organize the casualties into guilty parties, likely bystanders, and innocent bystanders, then wait in front of the old YMCA for the regional superhero to arrive.

I hope they aren't read the riot act by the local superhero. Blue Blaze shows up. I see he has dealt with Rachel before. Good thing SilverStar has the credentials and did all the paperwork for this investigation and rescue operation.

"It's a Whateley matter, she's a student there, and we needed backup at extremely last-minute notice. The kidnappers hadn't realized they'd nabbed a potential Rager."

"And this mess?"

"They realized they'd nabbed a potential Rager. A little too late."

Out of all the Ragers we have seen in stories, only Razorback, when raging, has been scarier to me than seeing Melissa like that. And she is a very close 2nd.

Tina controlling everyone sure made it so that everyone but those three will probably get off with a warning about the dangers of who they associate with. Claude chose to do the right thing, and I hope it shows in how he is treated. I hope Sookie and Sarabine can get into Whateley and also help shut down this whole operation. Boggart's organization needs to be stopped. Yay! Blue Blaze is going to do the paperwork for Whateley for Sookie and Sarabine.

The real Claude Rousse was a nebbishy teen smudged in dirt, with a messy mop-top and a babyface.

"Lookin' good, Claude! Been working out?" called Rachel.

"Um, yeah." The boy flexed a bicep. "I mean, might as well, right? Um..." His head whipped left and then right, to where his two new biggest fans had him by the arms and hugging tight.

"I like this look," said the one with the bracelet.

"Yeah, it's nice," her friend agreed. By the bewildered look on the boy's face, he wasn't sure how to process this situation, and after a moment his brain blue-screened him into a happy resignation to the attention.

Claude, trust me, some teenage girls like that look, go with it. Hehehe, I just love how Melissa convinces her mom to let Penny, Melissa, Sookie, and Sarabine come have a sleepover tonight. Oh, good, take their statements, and they can all leave. At least Melissa is awake; that #2 has a kick.

Friday, December 30th, 2016
SilverStar

The sixth day of Hanukkah, and SilverStar is on a train platform. Eep, I knew it, Rachel got her ideas for sleepovers from teen movies. Oh, good, Sookie and Sarabine are happy to help keep Melissa calm by night two.

"I'm happy to see her interacting with girls her own age without violence," her mother admitted. "How they met, notwithstanding. I wish they could stay longer."

Aww, Rachel is learning how to make friends without fighting, give it time, and she will have more friends.

Boy, when Claude gets back to Whateley, I think he is going to have two girlfriends with Sookie and Sarabine wanting to share him. Heading down to New Orleans to meet Rachel's teammates for New Year's. That will be an interesting New Year's. 3 new Whateley girls are on their way to school on the train, I hope they remain friends.

Ouch, Penny stuck in traffic due to road work on the 465. Boy, she and Morton sure have some time to make up for the last 3 nights of Hanukkah.