A Whateley Academy Adventure

Drinking and Gambling

by

Morpheus

 

Part One

 

Poe Cottage, Saturday morning, Dec 22nd 2007
Absinthe

“Are you about finished, Abbie?” my roommate Dana asked me with a smirk.

“My name isn’t Abbie,” I reminded Dana, more out of habit than because I thought she would stop calling me by that nickname. “My name is Gwen.”

“You know,” Dana continued, musing to herself. “If you got a fake ID, you should get it with the name Abbie Normal.”

“That would be funny,” Dana’s girlfriend Jinx added with a giggle.

Dana nodded emphatically. “And with your dad’s connections, I bet he could hook you up with it too.”

“Or,” I pointed out, giving my roommate a flat look. “I could go to nearly any fixer on campus and get one made, WITHOUT my parents finding out about it.”

“Oooh,” Dana responded with a grin. “Good point.”

I looked around the dorm room that I shared with Dana, then at my luggage which was currently packed up and sitting on my bed. It was nearly time to catch my ride to the airport. I was NOT looking forward to the long flight across the country.

“It’s going to be strange being home again,” I said a little self-consciously. “And Christmas is already going to be hectic enough as it is.”

“At least you have the right coloring for it,” Dana told me with a grin. “Just throw on a red sweater and you’re good to go.”

I absently ran a hand through my long green hair at her comment, remembering that I also had the pointed ears that marked me as an elf, or as a Sidhe, which was the correct term. Dana had already been teasing me about being a Christmas elf, so I expected at least one more joke about that before I left for Christmas vacation.

“You know,” Dana teased me, “when you’re back home at the North Pole, maybe you can learn to make proper toys.”

“And there it is,” I replied with a roll of my eyes. “Seattle is hardly the North Pole, and my toys are hardly the kind you can play with.”

With that, I held out my hand and released a small burst of magic. A tiny green pixie appeared in my hand, then she flew up into the air and joined the two identical pixies that were flittering about overhead. Technically, my pixies were actually hobgoblins that just looked like pixies, but I preferred not to think about that. Pixies were much cooler.

My pixies were always green, but lately there had also been other pixies, ones of other colors flitting about near me. Those ones were REAL pixies, ones that seemed to like me for some reason, and who enjoyed playing with the ones I made. Of course, I suspected that one of the other reasons they followed me around was that they were using my pixies as camouflage, so that they could fly around in the open and explore Whateley without anyone really noticing them.

“I don’t know,” Jinx pointed out as she watched my pixies. “The Dylans seem to really like your toys.”

I hesitated for a moment before nodding. “Good point.”

Dana nodded agreement, then let out a sigh. In spite of her joking around, I could tell that she was still a bit nervous about going home for Christmas, and for good reason. Home wasn’t exactly with her family, or at least not with her birth family.

“Spending Christmas with your big sister should be interesting,” I told Dana. “I mean, staying with a supervillain can’t be boring.”

“True,” Jinx agreed. “I mean, I just have to go stay with my boring normal family.” She was clearly trying to make Dana feel a little better about the situation.

“I am looking forward to seeing Jackie and Emily,” Dana admitted. “I just… I miss my old home.”

Jinx gave Dana a hug and told her, “Maybe next year you’ll be on better terms with your parents.”

“Maybe,” Dana responded with a sigh.

“That might seem like long odds,” I commented while looking at Jinx. “But when a mangler says it…”

Dana brightened up at that and gave Jinx a hug back. “Yet another good point.”

I looked around my room one final time, trying to remember if there was anything that I was missing. I was going to be home for a couple weeks and I didn’t want to leave anything important behind.

“Well,” I finally announced. “I guess I’d better go meet up with Collin so we can get going.”

“Have a safe flight,” Dana told me. “And a good Christmas.”

“You too,” I responded as I gave her a grin. “See you next year.”

Hawthorne Cottage, Saturday morning, Dec 22nd 2007
Roulette

I looked over my domain, the common kitchen area for the cottage. Officially, it was a shared space that any of the Hawthorne residents could use, but I spent so much time working in there that I couldn’t help but feel a sense of ownership. That was why I wanted to leave it in good shape before I left for vacation.

“Amy,” Alyss said as she and Sapphire stepped into the kitchen. “What are you doing? You should be getting ready to leave.”

“I’m just making sure that everything is in order before I leave,” I explained with a shrug. “A lot of people are staying on campus, so I wanted to make sure that everything was ready to go if anyone wanted to cook something.”

“That is…very diligent of you,” Alyss responded with a chuckle.

“Besides,” I admitted a little self-consciously, “I was also removing a few of my personal items and ingredients. I don’t want to get back and find any of those were broken or missing.”

“That is a possibility,” Sapphire agreed. “People are not always respectful for things that belong to others.”

“Tell me about it,” I said with a sigh. “Back when I was still in Poe, I left one of my devises in the common room when I went to use the bathroom. I was only gone for five minutes, but when I got back, I found that Breakdown had already dismantled the entire thing.”

Alyss laughed at that. “Yeah, she does that.”

“I can understand not wanting to risk that kind of thing again,” Sapphire said with a sympathetic nod.

“It is to be expected,” I mused aloud. “I mean, nearly every gadgeteer and devisor I know feels at least some level of compulsion when it comes to making things. I suspect it’s a natural instinct…a desire to use our powers.” I shrugged at that. “And since Breakdown’s specialty is dismantling things, I’d imagine she probably has a similar urge.”

“I’d never thought of it that way,” Alyss mused. “But you’re right. Every gadgeteer and devisor I know does that.”

“What about you two?” I asked, giving them curious looks. “Shouldn’t you both be getting ready to leave too?”

“I have someone coming to pick me up,” Alyss answered with a faint smirk. “A family member.”

I nodded at that, remembering that Alyss had a relative who could teleport. That would have to be a lot more convenient than dealing with airports and security checks, not to mention the planes themselves.

“I also have someone coming for me,” Sapphire added. “I was about to meet up with Darqueheart so we could wait together.”

I nodded again, remembering that Sapphire had invited Darqueheart to stay with her family over Christmas break. I was happy for Darqueheart, because she would have been stuck on campus otherwise.

With that, I grabbed the small bag that contained my personal knives and some of the special spices and ingredients that I normally left in the kitchen. Now that everything was in order and I had my things, it was about time to go catch a ride to the airport.

“I guess I’ll see you guys next month,” I said. “I hope you both have a great Christmas.”

“You too,” Alyss responded. “And before I go…” She held out a small present. “Merry Christmas, and I hope you like it.”

I accepted the present in surprise. “Thank you…”

“Don’t open it before Christmas,” my tiny friend insisted.

“Thank you,” I told her again, before we hugged each other just a little awkwardly.

Alyss pulled away and gave me a wry smile. “Don’t get too mushy on me,” Alyss said with a wink before she turned and walked out. Sapphire laughed before saying goodbye and leaving as well.

Boston Ma, Saturday early afternoon, Dec 22nd 2007
Absinthe

“I think I’m getting a bit of deja-vu here,” I said as I glanced at my boyfriend Collin, who was walking along beside me.

“I know what you mean,” Collin responded with a chuckle. “This is a lot like when we came to Whateley together.”

“You know,” I pointed out, “some of my friends are being teleported back home. It’s too bad we couldn’t get something like that too.” I glanced ahead to the airport security checkpoint that we had yet to go through. “I REALLY would have preferred that.”

“Me too,” Collin agreed. He let out a long sigh. “Let’s just get this over with.”

Collin and I went to the security gate, specifically, to the MCO checkpoint. A couple of our classmates were already there ahead of us, so we had to wait in line until it was our turn. When we finally reached the front of the line, I was a little surprised to recognize the MCO agent who was stationed there. I didn’t know the man’s name, but I’d seen him in the Berlin MCO office a couple times.

“Hello,” I said politely as I presented my MMID and MCO employee ID. He examined them and then gave me a more thorough look.

Before the agent could say anything, I carefully set my pet carrier down onto the desk. It contained one of my pixies since I couldn’t go anywhere without at least one of them to soak up my glamour. The last thing I wanted was for everyone on the airplane to start tripping out, especially the pilots.

“My familiar authorization forms,” I said as I handed those papers to the agent as well.

Fortunately, familiars were allowed in planes, as long as they were in pet carriers and all the paperwork was properly filled out. I had definitely made sure to fill out the paperwork. I might hate rules and paperwork on general principle, but I’d learned the value of using them.

I remained calm, trying not to show how nervous I was about going through the MCO security check. Sure, I was an intern for the MCO and had a few connections, but none of that would have stopped that security agent back in Seattle if my dad hadn’t shown up personally.

“Your paperwork looks good so far,” the agent said in a professional tone as he handed me back my forms and IDs. “I remember seeing you in the Berlin office.”

“I’m an intern,” I told him with a faint smile. “And I do have one more thing to declare.”

With that, I carefully set a small box into the desk. The box was an official MCO supplied, small-size lockbox for air travel. What was important wasn’t the box itself, but what was inside of it.

The agent gave me a curious look, then opened the lockbox, revealing the dagger that rested within. As soon as he saw Needle, I placed the paperwork on the desk in front of him.

Normally, security would never allow someone to bring a weapon like this onto an airplane, at least not without it being checked in. However, Needle was no ordinary dagger. It was a magic item made out of mithril, which made it extremely valuable. I’d never had Needle fully appraised, but I knew that it was worth millions of dollars. There was absolutely no way that I was going to let this out of my sight.

“Interesting,” the agent said, looking over Needle but making no move to touch it. He then read over the paperwork, pausing to reread several bits before nodding. Once he was satisfied, he pulled out a special padlock and locked the box shut. “It can be unlocked once you reach your destination.”

“Thank you,” I told him with a genuine smile and a feeling of relief.

I quickly grabbed my pet carrier and then moved to the side so that Collin could go through his security check as well. While I waited on that, I put the box containing Needle into my carry-on bag, then grabbed my pet carrier.

A few minutes later, Collin joined me, saying, “That was easier than I expected.”

“Yeah,” I agreed with a nod. “And it’s a good thing for him that he was so professional. If we’d run into someone who REALLY gave us a hard time…” I paused at that before chuckling evilly. “Well, Dad would have had them assigned to Bumfuck Alaska.”

Portland Or, Saturday late afternoon, Dec 22nd 2007
Roulette

“Welcome back,” My girlfriend Kara exclaimed.

I had barely stepped past the secure area of the airport when my girlfriend came rushing over to greet me. Kara was pretty, with brunette hair that was tied up in her usual ponytail. Before I could even respond to her verbal greeting, she had me wrapped up in a tight hug.

“Hey,” I finally responded, giving her a quick kiss while being a bit self-conscious about doing so in public. Portland was a bit more open about two girls making out than a lot of other places, but we still got a bit more attention than I was comfortable with. But to be fair, I would have been just as uncomfortable with such an open display if I’d still been a guy.

“Is that all you can say to me?” Kara said, pulling away and giving me a look of mock disapproval. “Just, hey.” She shook her head at that. “We haven’t seen each other in forever…”

“One month,” I reminded her with a look of amusement. “I was back home a month ago for Thanksgiving, and we talk on the phone all the time.”

“That isn’t the same,” Kara told me.

“No, it isn’t,” I agreed with a chuckle.

Then I turned my attention to the other two people who’d been there waiting for me. Both of them were standing back, giving me and Kara a minute for our reunion.

Kara’s aunt Beth was the one my eyes went to first, because not only was she six-foot-four…not including her stiletto heels, but she was also built like some kind of amazonian superhero out of the comic books. Of course, that was appropriate because she actually was a superhero, with the accurate name of Statuesque.

“Hey, Beth,” I greeted the woman who was not only Kara’s aunt, but my mom’s best friend.

Then I turned my attention to the other person, a lean but athletic man with brown hair and a somewhat plain look. Nothing really stood out about the man, especially when he was standing next to someone as eye-catching as Beth.

“This is my brother, Kyle,” Beth introduced the man. “He’s staying with me for Christmas.”

“Hey,” Kyle said, giving me a nod. “Nice to meet you.”

“Hi,” I said with a polite nod back. “I’m Amy.”

I glanced around but didn’t see any sign of my mom, which was only a mild surprise at most. If Mom hadn’t come to pick me up herself, then it meant that she was either caught up in building something, or recovering after a long building session. Those were both pretty normal states for her.

“How was your flight?” Beth asked me curiously.

“Long,” I answered with a sigh. “One lady kept making snide comments about my hair color…” I reached up and touched my purple hair. “And my violet contacts.” I rolled my eyes at that since I wasn’t wearing contacts. “She kept accusing me of being rebellious and trying to get attention.”

Kara burst out laughing. “Well, I guess it’s better than accusing you of being a mutant.”

I quickly glanced at Kyle, who didn’t even blink at that comment. Then again, his sister was a mutant and he was staying with her for the holidays, so I doubted that he had any real problems with mutants.

“So, how is Whateley?” Beth asked. “It’s been awhile since I’ve been there.”

“Interesting,” I answered in a clear understatement. “I still can’t believe the things that people are able to get away with.”

Beth gave me a knowing look and a nod. “Whateley has always been pretty loose with discipline. I suppose that is to be expected when you consider the kind of students they have there. They have to be a LOT more open minded.”

“I want to go there,” Kara insisted. “I want to be a mutant so we can go to school together.”

“That would be fun,” I told her with a smile. “And I think that you’d get a kick out of it.”

“I can’t say that I’ve ever gone there myself,” Kyle commented with an amused look. “But Beth has told me so many stories about the place…” He shook his head and chuckled. “The place sounds pretty chaotic.”

“Well,” I said with a wry smile, “we recently had a campus-wide prank war going on. And let me tell you, you haven’t seen anything until you see a mushroom cloud of glitter.”

“NO,” Kara gasped with a look of disbelief.

“Unfortunately, yes,” I responded with a sigh. I reached up and plucked a bit of glitter off my shoulder for emphasis. “Half the campus is still covered with the stuff.”

“You’ll have to tell me all about it,” Beth said with a laugh. “In fact, I’m sure your mom would love to hear about it too.”

“Well, it was a devisor glitter bomb,” I mused aloud. “Or was she a gadgeteer? I can never remember.”

Then with a shake of my head, I decided that it didn’t really matter. What mattered was seeing my mom again and making sure she was all right. I hadn’t been there to clean the house or make sure she was eating properly, and while I trusted Beth to look after my mom a bit, I needed to check on her for myself.

Seattle Wa, Saturday evening, Dec 22nd 2007
Absinthe

I leaned back on the couch, carefully sipping cocoa from my mug while absently petting my cat Gozer, who was curled up on my lap. Several of my pixies flittered about overhead, apparently playing a game of tag with each other. All in all, I was feeling nice and contented. It was good to be home.

My flight had landed at the Sea Tac airport a couple hours ago, where I’d been met by my Mom. I wasn’t surprised that Dad was absent, especially once I found out that he wasn’t even in the state. Apparently, he was off on one of his assignments for the MCO and Mom had no idea when he’d be back.

After a stop for dinner, Mom and I returned home and settled into comfortable positions in the living room. However, I noticed that Mom kept giving me curious looks, and she had been doing so ever since we met up at the airport.

“You’ve changed,” Mom finally said, still giving me that odd look.

“You’ve already seen my changes,” I pointed out, thinking about the time she’d taken me shopping for women’s clothes, and even more embarrassing, when she’d given me lessons in female hygiene.

“That isn’t what I meant, Gwen,” Mom told me with a look of amusement. “I meant, you seem a lot more comfortable as a girl than before you left for school.”

I blushed a little at that. “I guess I’ve had more practice being one.”

“Two months more,” Mom said. That was how long I’d been at Whateley, though sometimes it seemed a lot longer.

I hesitated for a moment before admitting, “There are a couple other people around the school with similar situations to mine.” I shrugged a bit self-consciously. “We kind of talk and share tips for adjusting.”

Mom seemed a little surprised at that. “Really?” She gave a faint smile. “Well, I’m glad that you found people who can understand.”

I nodded at that, deciding not to mention just how many Changelings there were. There were quite a few in Poe, not to mention a few others around the school who were publicly known.

A faint smile formed on my lips, and with a brief command to my pixies, two of them dove down to the plate of cookies that was sitting on the coffee table. A moment later, each pixie grabbed a cookie and brought it over to me.

“That looks convenient,” Mom commented with a smile.

I grinned at her as a pixie fed me a cookie. “Very.”

“Is that what they teach you at that school?” she asked.

“Among other things,” I told her before going serious. “It’s…weird. I mean, I have classes for magic and martial arts. Everyone has powers, and you never know what craziness is going to happen.”

After this, I told Mom about some of the things that I’d seen around the school, though I was careful to leave a few things out. She didn’t need to know about how nasty the bullies could be or that Centurion had actually put me in the hospital. I didn’t want to risk her pulling me out of the school.

“And then,” I told my mom excitedly, “this giant Hello Kitty shaped balloon goes and throws this enormous cream pie at me and ends up hitting like, a dozen kids.”

“Oh no,” she gasped. “You can’t be serious…”

I nodded emphatically. “Yeah. It was a huge mess and ended up starting this big prank war all across the campus.” I shook my head and shuddered. “You should have seen the glitter bomb that ended it…”

“A glitter bomb?” Mom asked a bit skeptically.

“This was like the atomic bomb of glitter bombs,” I assure her, knowing that I’d never be able to explain just how horrific it had been. “I’m still finding glitter in my panty drawer.”

Mom laughed at that. “That does sound exciting.”

“But we do have serious classes,” I quickly assured her, not wanting her to think that it was all fun and games. “We do have all the regular school stuff too.”

“I should hope so,” Mom said with a serious look. “I’d hate to spend all that money on such a fancy school, and then have you only learn how to play jokes.”

I sat there with my best innocent expression, deciding not to tell her about the prank club or the itty bitty, teeny tiny role that I may or may not have had in setting off that prank war in the first place. Mom gave me a suspicious look, but I maintained my composure and refused to break.

“Well anyway,” Mom said as she changed the subject. “Do you have anything planned while you’re home, other than the usual Christmas stuff?”

“Well, I was thinking of seeing Mrs. Lauriant,” I answered thoughtfully. “And maybe Doug”

Mom nodded at that. “I suppose that make sense.”

I nodded as well, then hesitated a moment before adding, “And I’ll probably hang out with Collin a bit.”

That got Mom’s attention. “Collin? The boy you arrived with at the airport?”

“Um, yeah,” I answered self-consciously. “We’re…friends.”

“I see,” Mom mused with a strange expression and the hint of a smile. “Why don’t you tell me about Collin?”

I gulped at that and wondered if I could turn invisible and slip away. After all, quick escapes were kind of my specialty. But unfortunately, Gozer was still sleeping on my lap and even snoring a little bit, so there was no way I could possibly disturb him. That meant I was well and truly trapped.

Portland Or, Monday morning, Dec 24th 2007
Roulette

“What are you doing?” Kara asked me with a curious expression.

I was sitting on the living room couch with several metal disks spread out before me on the coffee table. They were part of something that I’d been working on before Kara had arrived for a visit.

“They’re,” I started to answer, then glanced over at Beth and Kyle, who’d both arrived with Kara.

I wasn’t sure how much I should say around Kyle, until I remembered that his sister was a mutant and he already knew that I was too. I didn’t know him well, but he obviously wasn’t the kind of person to freak out around mutant powers.

“They’re essence batteries,” I explained as I picked up one of the golden disks. “I’m a mage today, so I was charging up my batteries.”

“Okay,” Kara responded. “Cool.”

“That’s right,” Kyle mused as he looked over my batteries. “Beth said that you change powers.”

“I’m a power shifter,” I agreed pleasantly. “Basically, I rotate through several different power sets. Today, I’m a mage.”

Kyle nodded at that. “So, you can throw fireballs and such?”

“Not really,” I told him with a shrug. “With magic, I’m more of an enchanter… I usually put spells on my devises so that they work better.”

“You don’t see magic and devises mixed very often,” Beth said.

I took one of my essence batteries and clipped it onto my belt, right where it would be on hand and convenient for when I needed some extra essence. I usually kept a couple essence batteries on me, along with some other batteries for when I was in energizer mode.

“That is kind of my thing,” I told Beth. “I keep jumping between powers, so I’ve been focusing on how they can work together. Spells on my devises, which are powered by batteries charged when I’m an energizer, and so on.”

“That sounds pretty cool,” Kara exclaimed. “Now, show me what else you’ve made.”

“I am curious to see what you’ve built,” Beth agreed, though she glanced towards the door to Mom’s workshop. “I imagine Liz would love to see your devises too.”

“There isn’t much to show,” I explained. “The only thing I have ready is my needle gun.” I gestured to the counter, where my needle gun was resting.

“A needle gun?” Kyle asked curiously. He went over to the counter and looked down at my weapon. “Do you mind if I touch it?”

“Go ahead,” I told him. “It isn’t loaded right now.”

Kyle picked up the gun and looked it over. In spite of what I’d said, there was a clip installed, though the clip was empty. I had a couple others that were fully loaded and ready to go, but for now, the weapon was harmless.

“It looks like a flechette gun,” Kyle said after examining my devise. “With an EM coil system.”

“Good eye,” I complimented him.

“I’ve seen similar items before,” the man responded with a casual shrug.

Beth laughed. “You know Liz, and I know she’s shown you some of her weapons.”

Kyle chuckled as he nodded agreement. “Yeah. I remember when she brought that disintegrator to our house and it accidentally went off.”

I winced slightly. “How bad was the damage?”

“We lost the couch,” Beth answered. “And part of the wall behind it.”

I considered that for a moment before nodding. “It could have been a lot worse.”

“Yes, it could,” Beth agreed with a shake of her head. “I’m just glad that Liz has gotten a lot better about safety.”

Kara looked a little annoyed at being cut out of the conversation. “So,” she said, gesturing towards my needle gun. “I’ve already seen that before. Do you have anything new?”

“Not really,” I responded. “It has only been a month.”

My girlfriend gave me a look of disappointment. “So, you haven’t made anything new?”

“Of course I have,” I protested. “I just didn’t bring anything with me.” I shrugged at that. “It was troublesome enough just to get my needle gun through the airport.”

“Airport security tends to frown on devisor weapons,” Beth commented wryly. She shook her head and I knew that she was thinking about my mom and the problems she had every time she flew anywhere.

“I did bring a few parts,” I admitted. “But I have to wait until I’m a devisor again before I can reassemble them.”

“And I’m sure that Liz can’t wait to help you,” Beth said. “By the way, what is your mom working on now?”

I glanced towards her lab and shrugged. “She got into it with Mrs. Bonner again, and she said something about a killer robot before she disappeared into her lab.”

“That sounds like Liz,” Beth agreed with an exasperated sigh. “I doubt we’ll see her for another day or two, at least.”

“Probably not,” I agreed, letting my annoyance of that slip into my voice. “She was supposed to give us a ride to Seattle today, too.”

I didn’t allow myself to actually get angry over this because I hadn’t really expected anything different. After all, I’d learned a long time ago that I couldn’t count on my mom to be reliable about anything. It was all part of both her Diedricks and that obsessive focus that so many devisors develop.

“No,” Kara cried out with a grimace. “I was looking forward to that too…”

“What’s in Seattle?” Kyle asked, tilting his head slightly.

“The Seattle Supers,” I explained, naming one of the local superhero teams. “One of their members, Witchling, has been giving me some advice on magic, and she asked me to come by while I was on vacation so she could teach me something new.” I let out a disappointed sigh and shook my head. “I need to be in magic mode to get the most out of it, and by the time Mom is done with her current project, I’ll definitely be in another mode.”

“It’s okay,” Kara told me, putting a hand on my shoulder. “You might get another chance while you’re here on vacation. I mean, you’ll definitely go into magic mode again before you have to go back.”

“I’m sorry about that,” Beth told me with a sympathetic look. “I know you were both looking forward to that…” She paused and shook her head. “I would give you a ride myself, but I can’t leave Portland right now. The Roadster is still running around, and I have to be ready when he makes his move.”

I nodded at that, not surprised that Beth had other plans. In fact, I’d never even considered asking her for a ride. She was a superhero, which meant that she had certain responsibilities.

“Hey,” Kyle said with a grin. “I could give you kids a ride.”

“Really?” Kara asked in surprise.

Kyle shrugged. “Sure. I’m on vacation, so its not like I have anything else planned.”

“It is a long drive,” I pointed out. “A couple hours, each way.”

“Not a problem,” Kyle assured me. “I’ve always liked a good road trip. Besides…” He flashed Kara a grin. “This gives me more time with my niece.”

“Woo hoo,” Kara exclaimed as she jumped up excited. “I get to meet some superheroes.”

Beth gave her a wry look and asked, “What am I? Chopped liver?”

Seattle Wa, Monday afternoon, Dec 24th 2007
Absinthe

“So, how have things been at your place?” I asked Collin as we walked down the sidewalk.

I was fully aware of the curious looks I was getting because of my green hair, though I imagined the attention would have been a bit more hostile if people realized that my hair-color was because I was a mutant. Fortunately, in Seattle, green hair wasn’t quite as unexpected as it could be in other places.

Overhead, several of my pixies flittered around. I was using them to keep an eye out for trouble, almost like little drones. They were hiding and being sneaky so as not to be seen, but I was also covering them with minor illusions as well.

“Home has been fine,” Collin answered with a shrug. “Almost like I never left.” Then he shrugged. “But things have been a bit weird with Mike.”

“Oh?” I encouraged him to continue. Mike had been Collin’s best friend before we’d gone to Whateley and was one of the people who used to bully me before I’d manifested. “Weird, how?”

Collin frowned for a moment before answering. “I guess, he’s being kind of distant. I can’t really blame him though. I’ve been gone and he started hanging out with other people instead.”

“And now he probably isn’t sure if he should hang out with you or his other friends,” I said with a nod of understanding.

“Prety much,” Collin agreed. “Maybe we can meet up after Christmas or something.” Then he gave me a curious look. “And what about you?”

“And what about me?” I asked with a chuckle. “I never really had a lot of close friends. About the only people I have to see, besides my mom and dad, are Mrs. Lauriant and Doug, and they’re both teachers rather than friends.”

Collin nodded at that. “And your dad?”

“Still away on business,” I responded with a shrug, acting casual to hide my disappointment. “He probably won’t be home by tomorrow.”

“Too bad,” Collin told me before abruptly announcing, “We’re here.”

The building in front of us was three stories tall, with a brick façade and a metal gate around the parking lot. This was our destination, the headquarters for the Seattle Supers, one of the local superhero groups. They were also the only local heroes that I’d personally met before.

“Are you sure they won’t mind us visiting?” I asked Collin. “I mean, they’re probably a bit busy for social visits.”

“Aunt Leah is expecting me,” Collin responded.

I nodded at that, not bothering to repeat my point about them being busy. For all we knew, his aunt, Crucibelle, was off fighting some villain.

Collin went to the call box on the gate and announced our arrival. A few minutes later, we entered the main building where we were met by his aunt.

Crucibelle was a gorgeous blonde exemplar with a red and grey costume that looked something like spandex but was probably some other high-tech material instead. She had a red cape on her costume as well some gold metal accessories in the form of a belt, bracers, and brooches.

“Collin,” she exclaimed with a wide smile as she grabbed him in a hug. “It’s good to see you…”

“Hi, Aunt Leah,” he greeted her, blushing a bit self-consciously.

“It’s Crucibelle when I’m in costume,” she reminded him before giving me a questioning look, as though trying to decide if I would be a security risk for her real identity. Then she seemed to decide that I wasn’t. “And it’s good to see you again too, Gwen.”

“Merry Christmas,” I told her, though it was still a day off.

“Thank you,” she responded with an amused look. “And Merry Christmas for you too.”

“I brought you a present,” Collin told his aunt as he handed her a small, wrapped package.

Before Crucibelle could open it, a strange sight suddenly appeared. A human sized, anthropomorphic golden retriever rushed into the room, coming from deeper within the headquarters. I immediately recognized Goodboy, one of the more exotic members of the Seattle Supers.

“Someone saw Spot,” Goodboy told Crucibelle, “and I’m gonna go get him.” He growled at that before adding, “He’s a bad dog.”

“Spot?” I asked, remembering the anthropomorphic dalmatian who’d played such a large part in the trouble that resulted in my going to Whateley.

“Spot escaped from custody along with Slippery,” Crucibelle admitted with a scowl. “I have reason to believe that Slippery was headed to the east coast, but Spot has remained here, causing more trouble.” She shook her head and gave me a wry look. “He and Goodboy have developed a bit of a rivalry.”

Goodboy nodded with overenthusiastic agreement. “I’m gonna get that bad dog.”

And with those words, Goodboy hurried out the door and was on his way. The three of us remained where we were, watching the GSD mutant leave.

“You know,” Collen commented with a chuckle, “I almost asked him if he wanted a Scooby Snack.”

Crucibelle chuckled at that. “Actually, Goodboy prefers bacon.”

“Who doesn’t?” I asked.

“Well, come on in,” Crucibelle told us, looking pointedly at the present that Collin had given her. “I’ve got a little something for you too, Collin.”

As we went further into the building, I soon spotted another member of the Seattle Supers, a man who was wearing a black and white costume that was somewhat reminiscent of orca coloration. I’d never met Natsilane before, but I knew who he was.

“Two more kids?” Natsilane asked as he saw us. His eyes moved between me and Collin. “This place is starting to feel like a high school.”

“Two more?” Collin asked his aunt.

“You two aren’t the only visitors we have right now,” Crucibelle explained before introducing us to Natsilane. “This is my nephew Collin, and Agent Wylann’s daughter, Gwen.”

That seemed to get Natsilane’s attention. He gave us another look before nodding faintly. “Interesting.”

Natsilane looked like he wanted to talk to Crucibelle about something, but then he glanced at me and Collin and seemed to change his mind. I suspected that it was superhero business, the kind that he didn’t want to talk about in front of outsiders. Instead, he gave Crucibelle a polite nod and then continued on his way.

Next, we stepped into their large rec room where three people sat around a table talking. One of them was Witchling, who looked like she was around the same age as me and Collin, in spite of the fact that she was far older. She wore her red and gold costume, though her red witch hat was on the table, off to the side.

I knew Witchling since she was the one who’d first tested my magical abilities and revealed that I had become a Sidhe, though she worked with a completely different style of magic. Because of that, she’d introduced me to her sister, Mrs. Lauriant, who’d become my mentor instead.

However, my attention wasn’t really on Witchling, but the two girls who were with her. Both girls were around my own age, and one of them not only had purple hair, but was also familiar to me.

“Roulette,” Collin greeted the purple-haired girl before I could.

Roulette, or Amy as I also knew her back in Whateley, looked up in surprise. “Flytrap and Absinthe,” she said, following Collin’s example of using our codenames.

“You know them?” the pretty brunette beside Amy asked.

“We go to school together,” Amy told her, gesturing to us. Then she introduced the brunette, saying, “This is my friend Kara.”

“Girlfriend,” Kara added, fixing Collin and I with a look that practically dared us to say something about that.

“Nice to meet you,” Collin said.

“Same,” I agreed.

“You two can wait here,” Crucibelle told us before settling her attention on Collin. “I’ll go get your present.”

Once Crucibelle was gone, Witchling stood up and grabbed her hat. “Talking magic has been fun,” she told Amy, “but I should probably get going. I do have some work to take care of.”

Amy nodded at that. “Sure, I understand. A superhero’s work is never done.”

“You have no idea,” Witchling responded with a roll of her eyes.

Kara laughed. “I’ve got a pretty good idea. My aunt is a superhero, and she likes to complain about all the paperwork.”

Witchling chuckled at that. “It’s good to see you two again.” Her eyes settled on me as she added, “And my sister is expecting you to visit her sometime soon.”

“Of course,” I agreed with a nod. “I was planning on doing that anyway.”

“Good,” Witchling responded with a smile. “Just don’t let that stick up her ass get to you.”

With that, Witchling left the room, leaving four teenagers all by ourselves. Three of us were classmates, but the fourth one, Kara, was almost a complete unknown to me.

I smirked to myself, then let my pixies emerge from hiding and flitter around, just to see how she reacted. Kara watched them with wide-eyed excitement.

I looked at Amy. “I heard that Witchling has been mentoring you.”

“A little,” Amy replied with a shrug. “Mostly, just a little advice here and there.”

Kara tore her eyes away from my pixies, then looked at me. “Did she say your name was Absinthe?”

“Well,” I responded with a grin. “That’s what it says on my MID.”

Kara stared at me for a moment more, then looked at Amy and burst out laughing. “Absinth and Roulette. So, you two are named after booze and gambling?”

Amy smiled faintly at that. “Pretty much.”

“Maybe you two should join the Dylans,” Collin joked.

“Are there any more of you at that school?” Kara asked. “You’ve got drinking and gambling, so is there someone named after smoking?”

I considered that for a moment. “Does Smoke Test count?”

“I don’t think so,” Collin offered half-heartedly.

Amy grinned at her girlfriend and said, “Well, we do have a classmate named after moonshine, so there is that.”

It was at this point that Crucibelle came back into the room, holding a present that she handed to Collin. He looked like he wanted to tear into it but held back to be polite.

“That’s for tomorrow morning,” Crucibelle told him with a look of amusement.

“Okay,” Collin responded with a resigned sigh.

Crucibelle chuckled at that, then turned her attention to me. She stared at me for several seconds before abruptly asking, “Do you two have anything planned for this afternoon?”

“Not really,” Collin answered.

I silently groaned at that, knowing that I would need to have a little talk with my boyfriend. He was old enough to know that you NEVER volunteered free time to an adult. They always got ideas about how you should fill it. This was almost as bad as complaining that you were bored.

Crucibelle suddenly grinned, sending chills of warning down my spine. “Good,” she said with exaggerated cheerfulness. “Then I’m sure you won’t mind helping out with a little charity event.”

 

To be continued…