A Whateley Academy Tale

Seeing is Believing

by

Phoenix Spiritus

 

Part Two

 

The Retreat

Carting the bags inside and leaving them at the door Solomon thanked the groundsman who nodded and drove off. Solomon turned to the security officer "Now what?" he asked.

"Officially you're not here. You are not on the roster for the guests, nor on the notices for any of the security reports even this cottage is just listed as 'in use by Mrs. Carson for Magical Working stay clear and increase vigilance for perimeter. Magical workings may attract unwelcome external interest of highly skilled and resourced operators. Note and observe. Call in as priority, do not engage unless directed to. Operatives may not respect school neutrality.'"

Solomon smiled. "Good she's taking it to heart. Warn off those that can be warned, confirm location for those that won't. Let's not have accidents I assume students, staff and guests will be actively discouraged and escorted away?"

"Correct."

"Excellent by the way there will be magical working going on here just not Mrs. Carson doing them, I would make sure your fellow colleagues understand that the dangers are real."

The security officer sighed. "Unfortunately if you want the best they tend to be a curious bunch, they may not warn off easily."

"Find the most gossipy and magically sensitive to drive Mrs. Carson too and from here a few times then rotate the task through the most likely to be curious after that. If they see her here a lot 'by herself' they might better get the message."

"I think we can rely on the chief to know his job," was the security officer's comment as he took his leave, waiting until Solomon and Shelly closed the door before driving off.

As Shelly raced for the bathroom with Selanothis still hidden in her hair and Maggie flying along behind her Solomon went through to the retreat's study and found the phone. Sitting back in the comfortable padded leather chair at the desk he dialled a number.

"Father Timothy?" he enquired as the phone was picked up.

"Well if it isn't Crocodile Dundee the Monsignor!" was the happy answer.

"Oh come on I neither dress nor sound like him and we don't use that rank anymore."

"Hey can I help it? There is a dearth of Australians in the movies."

"Now that's just untrue, there are a multitude of Australian actors and more and more of them all the time!"

"Yes over here telling our stories. I basically have a choice between Crocodile Dundee, a bunch of guys in dresses and some Kelly guy for Australian movie characterisations."

"I tried to steer you to some classic Australian well made movies ..."

"And I told you if they can't be bothered releasing them in our theatres I can't be bothered seeing them. I go to the movies not sit at home watching things, it's a harmless thing I can do with a bunch of teen and preteen kids with no worries, let's not get into the wealth of potential issues with a priest, a number of teenage boys, or girls, and a video player could get accused of doing."

"Well on the subject of problems with your Bishop ..." Solomon started with a huge smile in his voice.

"Oh not again!" Father Timothy moaned.

"You know how my mother's from the country?" Solomon said with laughter in his voice.

"No defiantly not! If your uncle the 'Poor forgotten country Cardinal' wants any more jobs done for the Vatican tell him I'm waiting for the Pope to ask next time and you better not be getting your Rolodex out to find the Pope's personal unlisted phone number again. I nearly had a heart attack when you handed me that phone last time and merely said 'my bishop wants to thank you in person'. 'My Bishop' the Bishop of Rome you bastard! With no warning!"

"Hey I told you he'd help with those problems your Bishop was giving you!"

Silence greeted him at the other end until finally, begrudgingly, "What do you need?"

"So really, you know how my Mum's from a country town?"

"And is related to a Cardinal, yes I know. What does his Eminence want this time?"

"Actually I'm just riling you up it is the priest from the small country town that needs help."

"Is he related to a Cardinal too?" came the weary question for the other end of the phone.

"Probably, it is a small country town," Solomon said with a smile before getting suddenly serious. "You know that plane crash in Nevada?"

"Oh I heard, there was some Australians on it right?"

"Yes a couple from his Parish and there was also a little more bad news, we are keeping it out of the papers but part of the trip involved visiting an elderly relative and unfortunately the shock caused a heart attack and well, she was elderly."

"I am sorry to hear it and I appreciate your humour to start the call. I assume this will be distressing?"

"Mostly paperwork, the crash of the plane and the death of her 'heir' complicates her will probation and it looks like it's going to end up tied up in courts, the family being in Australia and the amounts not being much we wondered if you could contact someone in the local area and help the family gets some competent representatives locally to speed things along?"

"Easily."

"Thanks the next may be a little more difficult."

"A little! If you make me gather more sworn statements of the type 'well everyone knew they were together no matter what they were telling the government the kids weren't appearing by immaculate conception after all Ha Ha!' I'll, I'll, I'll confess it all to my Bishop and do what he tells me to do and I've got a new Irish Bishop now, he'll know exactly what it'll mean when I describe you!"

Solomon just laughed letting Tim vent his unease of what he was about to ask. Sighing he became solemn. "Thanks for this, really, thanks. I'm sure you know what I'm going to ask."

"The plane victim's bodies?"

"I don't know if they'll be able to identify them, but if they do if you could do the rites before they are shipped back...?"

"I'll contact the right people straight away, would there be any problems with the embassy?"

"No they'll be organising the return home but they'll take the bodies after they are released, what we were hoping for was between them being identified and released ...?"

"Sure, usually after they are identified they let us in to perform the appropriate rites with the undertakers I'll see about getting put on that list for you. If I'm there I might as well pass the word, see if there are others it needs doing for I'm sure the locals would like the break or, if nothing else, some company."

"Also there were some personal items, jewellery the mother was wearing, a watch of the fathers and the like that the family would appreciate someone keeping an eye out for, just in case. They are aware most things go unclaimed and if someone could pass on the word they would appreciate it."

"I will."

"You're a good man Tim."

"Say a prayer for me and I'll say a mass for them."

"Let me know the time I'll pray with you. I'll send all the details in an email and I'll get Father Michael to fax you all the paperwork, I know you're fine to handle the U.S. end of that for us."

"Yeah do that and welcome."

Solomon hung up and turned around seeing his audience for the first time.

"Who was that?" Shelly asked.

"A friend, Father Timothy is a Jesuit Priest and lawyer, he works with a lot of U.S. Government agencies helping the Catholic Church do its work. Oh don't look like that you two, it's nothing black or hidden! The Catholic Church owns a lot of land, Churches, Schools, Hospitals, Universities, Monasteries, Nursing Homes, the list is nearly endless. Add in our charities like the St. Vincent De Paul Society with all its second hand shops, Caritas with all its overseas missions often in places that are officially sanctioned by the U.S. Government and you get the picture. There is a lot of legal interactions of a completely innocent nature but on our side they are being done by volunteers, priests or nuns so we have people like Father Tim who gets sent from parish to parish, agency to agency to negotiate the mess of U.S. law for those that are just trying to help people who keep getting caught in the gears."

"I thought the Catholic Church, well you know, The Catholic Church!" Shelly asked wide eyed.

"Most people do," Solomon replied with a sigh. "But you've played sport right? How you all belong to one big club but actually the different teams almost never see each other or have anything to do with each other? It's all these individual teams and the people and parents in them doing everything they each need and well if another team really needs a hand they're there for each other but mostly you're on your own? Yeah that's the Catholic Church too. Only really the Bishops get staff that is trained and hired and paid to do their jobs, nearly everything else is in the best hands free labour can provide and I mean that as in 'free as in beer', they volunteer to do it for nothing."

"So what was that?" Shelly pointed at the phone.

"That was us building the beginnings of hiding and also making sure your parents get back and buried properly." Solomon sat up and leaned forwards. "First Selanothis, I'm sorry your official identity 'Dorlean Kelly' just died and Father Timothy will make sure that your bank accounts, shares and other investments will all be officially shut down, the death payouts collected and the whole lot sent to your 'heirs' in Australia." Looking to Selanothis Solomon waited till she sighed and nodded her understanding. With that Solomon turned to Shelly. "Next Father Timothy will go to Nevada for us and make himself available to the victims of the crash while waiting to see if they can identify your parents bodies Shelly. Once they do he'll make sure that the Australian Government properly ships them back for burial and that they'll get to the priest in your home town for burial in the cemetery there."

"Really?" Shelly asked wide-eyed before diving into his arms and crying while thanking him, which inevitably turned to crying for her parents loss as Solomon held her and Selanothis 'pathed as much love and understand as she could to Shelly.

Mrs. Carson

"Do you have somewhere you know we won't be monitored, that what we say and see won't be heard or seen by anyone else?" Solomon asked Mrs. Carson as she entered the retreat cottage with the setting of the sun. "I'm aware of the reputations of the kids at this school and that you like to, shall we say, 'encourage' the smart ones by letting them think they are getting away with things of an espionage nature."

"And that there is more then a few well equipped, well staffed, well motivated organisations with considerable power that like to know exactly what goes on in my school?" Mrs. Carson finished.

"Precisely. I'm unused to dealing with scrutiny, I've always relied on the passive security of being unknown rather then any sort of active security."

"The retreat was swept yesterday by Whateley security when I booked the place, by members that I trust that don't know what I need the cottage for but are fully briefed on the threat I expect. For today I believe it is sufficiently clean but of course the longer after security checks the more likely there is of new bugs being re-introduced."

"And we are not in a position to have frequent re-checks done." Solomon grimaced.

"No but I might be able to leave some magical tripwires that will let us know if someone has come snooping at least," Mrs. Carson offered.

"No need," Solomon said gesturing her towards a door down the corridor that stood open. "My contact has agreed to help us and she'll be staying with Shelly and I, she is quite the competent Mage, decades of experience using magic to hide from people. Magical wards are covered you could say."

Mrs. Carson raised an eyebrow. "Nobody was seen with you either this morning nor entering school grounds or your tent in fact."

"You see? Quite the competent operative," Solomon smiled at her not-quite frown. "Through here Mrs. Carson we have setup in the entertainment room in the basement, less chances of being seen and commented on when you are not here."

"The basement?" Mrs. Carson smiled. "Excellent idea, you might want to stay down here all the time if I'm the only one seen in the retreat that will add a layer of confusion. The glass windows and doors make observing from the woods outside childishly easy, the basement is fully enclosed with no external windows and only the one way down and that's not visible from the outside."

"We noticed that ourselves," Solomon commented as they took the stairs down arriving in the basement recreation room. The room was setup with a large entertainment system, including wall projection TV with accompanying surround sound system and comfortable couches. Behind that at the foot of the stairs was another set of couches setup to be a comfortable conversation nook with a refreshment bar behind them and a restroom including shower next to it. "Would you like a drink?" Solomon offered.

"Just some coffee please," Mrs. Carson suggested noticing the drip coffee machine on the 'bar'.

Smiling Solomon poured her a cup and using boiled water made a cup of black tea too. Opening the bar fridge he removed some milk and offered. "Milk? I think we have some cream or something as well."

"No black is fine," Mrs. Carson indicating the cup of black coffee on the bar.

Passing the coffee to Mrs. Carson he indicated a cup full of sugar packs. Picking up the tea he led her to the conversation couches with a low table between them where Shelly seemed to be playing cards with herself. Leaving the tea at Shelly's elbow Solomon sat down next to her.

"What are you playing?" Mrs. Carson asked politely as she sat down opposite Shelly.

"Tricks," Shelly said taking a card from her hand and laying it down.

"I'll play the jack Shelly." Mrs. Carson was startled to hear the voice coming from Shelly's shoulder. "And then you can lay down the cards in my hand, you can't beat any of them."

Shelly turned over the cards on the table and sighed. "How come you keep beating me? I taught you this game!"

"Tricks are tricks Shelly no matter which game of cards we are playing. You need to start learning to count the cards and also how to draw out your opponents big cards with your weakest cards so you win tricks with your mid ranged cards too, now its time to put away the cards I think." Nodding Shelly gathered up the cards placing them in a neat pile on the table. Smirking Selanothis flew down from Shelly's shoulder and alighted on the table and curtsied to Mrs. Carson.

Smiling Solomon made introductions. "Mrs. Carson meet Selanothis, she's a mutant that manifested as a pixie in the sixties she's also a potent Mage. Selanothis has agreed to help me with teaching Shelly and also with our plan to hide ourselves to prevent escalation issues with Shelly setting off events we'd prefer not to happen."

"Pleasure to meet you," Mrs. Carson said with a smile before turning to Solomon. "Does this mean that you are finally ready to discuss your plan with me?"

"Of course, I merely wanted Selanothis to have her chance first to agree without added pressure."

"Pressure?" Selanothis asked.

"Mrs. Carson is not quite a free agent," Solomon explained to Selanothis and Shelly. "As the headmistress of this school she has responsibilities on one hand to the safety of the students and staff for one, to the long term safety of the school for another and obligations on the other hand to the schools sponsors, board of governors, the members of the communities that host it, the list is nearly endless," Solomon explained to Mrs. Carson's somber nod
"You and I, Shelly," Solomon continued. "Represent complications to the delicate balances that allow this school to continue operating, not to mention valuable assets some of those with agreements or other points of pressure on the school will be manipulating to get Mrs. Carson or others in power in the school to act in ways they might prefer not to.

"I'm glad to see you understand my difficulties," Mrs. Carson acknowledged with a smile.

"I'm glad you used the word difficulties and not position," Solomon returned the smile. "It tells me we still have your support."

"I am my own woman still you are correct" Mrs Cason agreed. "But I do have responsibilities to my staff and students. I will need to know the full plan before I can offer further support and I'm sorry as a contingency I have asked ARC to prepare capsules for the both of you, and preposition them here."

"ARC?" Selanothis asked.

"Arkham Research Consortium," Mrs. Carson clarified.

"They are a high security, extremely well funded and connected research group specialising in the paranormal and the parapsychic, think 'Area 51 for things that go bump in the night'," Solomon expanded. "They also have an ultimate security housing facility for the most dangerous paranormals in America, I assume the capsules you are talking about are for securing and moving Shelly and myself to this facility?" Solomon asked Mrs. Carson with a raised eyebrow.

"That is correct," Mrs. Carson nodded. "As you yourself said it will work. I need to prepare for the eventuality in case it is needed." Solomon sighed and nodded.

"If this place is safer why are you not there?" Selanothis queried.

"Because ARC's containment facility is a very secure combined nuthouse and prison," Solomon explained sadly. "People who run nuthouses and prisons are not very receptive to the idea that inmates are innocent or sane without their say so on the matter. Once there no matter what the circumstances of our arrival the controllers will take the position all inmates are potentially dangerous to public safety until proven otherwise. It may be easy to get into ARC but I assure you it would be considerably harder to get back out."

"I don't want to go to prison!" Shelly blurted out.

"I'm well aware of that," Solomon said giving her a gentle hug. "Mrs. Carson is just being overly cautious."

Turning to Mrs. Carson Solomon sighed. Seeking inspiration he looking down at the table and laughed. "Time to put our cards on the table," he said wryly before turning grave as he looked back up to Mrs. Carson. "You asked if my intent was to fake our own deaths? No it's not. My plan is to change us so much that those trying to find us will be looking for the wrong people and then we can once again disappear while they chase phantoms."

"And when will this occur?" Mrs. Carson pressed.

"Timing is critical, I'd like sufficient time to prepare for this but I'm aware we are not going to get it. It is a race between how fast we can train Shelly and how much time our enemies will give us."

"So when?" Mrs. Carson repeated.

Solomon sighed. "I can't say. Events that happen today, events several states away and beyond my control will dictate the timing. I need to wait and feel how the cleft points move."

Mrs. Carson frowned. "And what about Selanothis? Besides magical protection how is she helping?"

"Selanothis is a Mage of quite a bit of power she can tap into the essence of the grove, I believe you know what that means?" Mrs. Carson raised her eyebrow at that revelation. "Shelly is powerful but totally untrained, usually it would be madness to use her skills on ourselves but we have two trump cards to hopefully let us succeed. One Selanothis is a telepath and someone Shelly instinctively trusts already, we are hoping to have Selanothis guide Shelly through the process rather then Shelly do it alone. Tightly linked by telepathy to Selanothis this should give Shelly the experience of Selanothis to help guide her through the process."

"As I understand it Selanothis is a Mage not a Reality Warper, how will her experience help?" Mrs. Carson asked leaning forwards with a slight frown.

"It's not knowledge of the same skills that is true," Solomon agreed. "But a Mage of strength controls powers of similar scope to those Shelly manipulates, their learnings have instilled in them appreciation for the dangers of such powers, understanding for the areas of concern. Selanothis has decades of experience carefully planning her spellcasting to have the fewest undesirable effects. 'How can this go wrong' is second nature to her, it is this skill Shelly most desperately needs. Basically Selanothis is the best of us to understand the ways in which innocent intent, enormous power and lack of proper forethought and planning can lead to unexpected and dangerous events, she's the best person we have to stop Shelly making a fatal mistake."

Mrs. Carson frowned. "Even so magic is not reality warping. The dangers of the two are similar, true, but not the same. A week is nowhere near long enough for Selanothis to learn the differences she could still unwittingly allow Shelly to make such a mistake!"

"And now we come to our other trump card, me." Solomon smiled. "I have abilities to see futures, more importantly with the help of Selanothis I can show those futures to Selanothis and Shelly this can allow them to experience over and over the futures were we make mistakes and fail, safely giving Shelly and Selanothis the experience they require until they have reconciled the differences between magic and Shelly's skills, at least enough to know how to do this one warp. Understand we don't need to learn all the ways it can go wrong, just all the cleft points to make the one way we want to go work. After we disappear, Selanothis and I will have a lifetime to teach Shelly how to do it right so that she no longer needs foresight to guide her actions."

"A lifetime? You'd leave the Church for Shelly?" Mrs. Carson asked stunned.

"My bishop knew of my intention and agreed with my decision even before I left. In my own person I needed surety of my own commitment." Solomon shrugged. "Shelly has the need and I have the skills she needs."

Mrs. Carson sat looking carefully at Solomon before spreading her gaze to Selanothis and finally Shelly. "And?" Mrs. Carson pressed. "None of you have the body language of those free and clear. What is it that presses you still?" she demanded.

"Time," Solomon sighed. "Time to read the futures and experience them. Time to learn. Time to plan and test. Plan and test until the foreseen event goes as we plan and the future is as we wish. Our problem is that we need time, learning cannot be rushed, the changes are delicate to do and take time all on their own but learning to do them is critical and we can't skimp on that otherwise we'll die in the attempt. Already off campus people gather to confirm my presence and others are on their way to plan and implement capture operations on myself."

"How much time do we have?" Mrs. Carson asked concerned.

"Not enough," Solomon sighed. "We are going to need to use subterfuge to confuse them and in their confusion we'll just get enough time but I cannot guarantee it. It is like with Las Vegas, I can see all the cleft points but I can't be in enough places to influence all of them. I will push the ones I can but for the rest I can do nothing more then pray. From here the cleft points I can push are few the events are already set in motion, I can merely react and control what little I can, mostly the decisions on how fast to push Shelly. Luckily in that Selanothis has a lot of advantages, her telepathy is going to allow us both to move faster and more importantly manage Shelly's learning exactly allowing us to move at precisely the fastest speed Shelly can go, know when to break to allow her time to independently absorb the information at precisely the right times." Solomon smiled. "You will be startled at how fast we can go Mrs. Carson."

"When?" MrsCarson demanded. "How long? I need to know the details so I can plan the contingencies!"

"I will go over in detail now all that we are sure of and the contingencies we have" Solomon promised. "Tonight I will read again and get a feeling for the cleft points that have closed off due to events I cannot influence today and I will be able to give you some very specific dates and times tomorrow in plenty of time for you to sort out your contingencies also I will know who, when and where the other local players will be for you to accommodate as your needs dictate."

Mrs. Carson nodded unhappily. "I will listen but I will be waiting for tomorrow and your promised details before I commit school resources above what I have now to the project."

Nodding Solomon begun detailing their plans.

"Mrs. Carson before you go," Solomon called as they stood. "I have been careful to keep certain things quiet, Shelly's full name, mine. Nobody but the three of us knows about even the existence of Selanothis, Selanothis in particular I'd like to remain unknown and Shelly and my names would also be nice to keep out of any records."

"You are still afraid of the MCO?"

"My history is interesting to way too many people, if they can't get me they will want to try and get the imbued device instead, tracking down all they can find about me and mine as they hunt. I'd prefer to spare my family and friends that."

"And Shelly?"

"She is a child taking away her past is unnecessarily cruel, someway to retain it may be possible if there is none who know what that past is."

"There were only so many Australian teenaged girls on that flight," Mrs Carson replied dubiously.

"Most here will never learn that she is Australian and only the five of us in Las Vegas and now Selanothis know about that flight. There are other teens on that flight who's remains will not be identified, all I'm asking is that you leave nothing but the name 'Shelly' in your records."

"How many teens on the flight named 'Shelly' can there be?" Mrs. Carson asked pointedly.

Solomon smiled. "None" he laughed at her stunned look. "Shelly is a nickname not a name on any of her records, it's not even a short form of any of her names. Searching the records of the flight will not find her."

Mrs. Carson looked thoughtful before nodding slowly. "All right I'll consider it. I promise to keep them out for now, I reserve the right to change that in future once the full outcomes are known."

Solomon sighed. "Well enough but I hope you keep in mind my plea at the appropriate time."

"I will." With a nod Mrs. Carson turned and made for the stairs and the exit.

As Shelly made for the door to the basement's toilet Selanothis flew up and hovered in front of Solmon's face. *What is it you aren't telling me about ARC?* Selanothis demanded as soon as they were alone.

*Not you, Shelly,* Solomon defended checking over his shoulder to confirm where Shelly was.

*It's just you and me though I don't promise to not tell her. I dislike secret conversations,* Selanothis reminded him sternly.

Solomon nodded. *ARC black level isn't a prison it's a containment facility," Solomon explained. "If we are put into ARC Black containment it will be as human popsicles, frozen until such time as an ARC advisor group feels it is a good idea to unfreeze us again. ARC Black is the 'lock them up and throw away the key' prison for awkward mutants."

*Awkward?*

*Highly dangerous but not actually guilty of doing anything yet. Those locked up for 'societies' good without trial or parole, mostly for the sin of their power's existence and poor control. Oh there are a few super dangerous criminals in there too, the ones that get rolled out when someone asks what the facility is for.*

*As good as being dead?*

*For us no, we are too useful to throw away the key but we'd not be in control of our destinies there. We'd be released once they've found ways of making us do what they want us to do, and by 'they' I mean 'The United States Government' not actually a very appealing future,* Solomon grimaced. *Anyway while we are chatting, Shelly and I will be having a Buffy marathon tonight and we'd love for you to join us.*

*What? Buffy? Why Buffy!?*

*It's a good show!* Solomon defended. *Something Shelly will like watching and I'll enjoy watching again with her. After this afternoon's revelations I will want something to cheer her up, allow her to think of something else.*

*Why Buffy the Vampire Slayer! I can feel your smugness.* Selanothis demanded.

*OK, OK. She's a high school girl who is dealing with monsters, a destiny and people coming after her for things she's not even sure she wants and she deals with these things by hitting her enemies. Anything that gets Shelly to try something other then her talents first gives us time to get to her and protect her and prevent her getting out of hand with anime instead.*

*So you're trying to brain washing Shelly into hitting things and not throwing anime at them?* Selanothis asked giggling.

*It is a good show! You should give it a chance!* Solomon defended.

*I think I'd prefer to wash my hair,* she laughed at him. *Do we have time for this?* she asked seriously.

*As I said to Mrs. Carson Shelly can only link with you and me so much before it overwhelms her. She needs some time to just be Shelly get back centred as herself and this evening's revelations will shake her badly. We needed her shaken and careful but we also need her functioning. This will give her some time to relax and process things subconsciously before we move onto the project tomorrow.* Solomon considered Selanothis thoughtfully. *What if I make some hot chocolate for Shelly and I and coffee for you?* Solomon offered hopefully.

"This evening's revelations?" Selanothis demanded, glaring at him.

"Well the first session of linking my visions and Shelly's choices this evening with you linking us together. You and I already know that it's not going to be pleasant for the first few tries, it's going to take a while for her to learn the paths she wants to go to avoid, the outcomes she doesn't want to see but first she's going to see those outcomes."

Selanothis winced at the thought then stopped and stared at Solomon. *OK, what aren't you saying, what is it you were hopping I'd miss in that unpleasant reminder?*

*I just want the three of us to be together tonight,* Solomon tried to innocently protest.

Selanothis looked at him. *In the basement, behind that illusion you've asked me to setup today on the basement door. Let me guess you'll have the tent, sleeping bags and all your's and Shelly's bags down here too right? You know someone's coming tonight!* she accused.

Solomon sighed. *I don't want Shelly to get excited. I want her to fall asleep watching the show and we'll all just sleep down here. Tonight's visitors wont find us and we'll get the extra days we need.*

*The 'event' that was happening tonight that you needed to see what happened before you could tell Mrs. Carson the timing?* Selanothis guessed.

Solomon sighed. *One of them yes, the one I could influence. Another will be a phone call many states away today and the third an event in Montreal neither of which I can influence.*

*But if we all stay in the basement, behind the illusion that will give us time?* Selanothis pleaded.

*Yes,* Solomon promised. *How much will depend on the other events but yes this alone gives us days of extra time.*

Selanothis sighed. *I hope you know how hard its going to be to watch this and not correct it all the time. The writers didn't even try to stay true to any mythology, just making it up and 'borrowing' things form all over the place as they went along!*

*Your fortitude is appreciated,* Solomon said with a smirk. *Just for you we can start with the movie so that we'll all get to laugh at the absurdity.* Speaking aloud Solomon continued as Shelly returned to the main room from the toilet. "Right as we agreed with Mrs. Carson keeping our presence clandestine would be best so let's base ourselves down here in the basement. There is a 'bar' here at the back it even has a sink and dishwasher of its own, we'll go up to the kitchen and steal the microwave and a few other things and move them down here along with the food and turn the bar area into a kitchen, we can bring down the camping gear and set up our mattresses and sleeping bags here in the basement as well."

"That's not very private Mr. Creepy Catholic Priest man!" Shelly objected looking around at the 'open plan' basement which only had the toilet and a shower as separate rooms.

"If it's that much of an issue you can setup the tent in the corner next to the shower and sleep in it."

"Yay camping! Can we have a campfire too?"

"Inside Shelly?" Solomon asked confused.

"What about a magic one?" she wheedled.

Solomon started to answer then stopped at Selanothis smirk. "I guess that's up to Selanothis," he finally answered sighing. "I'll go fetch the microwave you discuss that with her, don't take too long Maggie and Selanothis have some flying to do."

"They do?" Shelly asked surprised.

*I want to set up some wards,* Selanothis explained. *Just warnings of when people approach, maybe some subtle wards of disinterest and the like to get them to leave us alone. It will be easiest to do so with Maggie and will allow her out, she needs to fly and feel the sun cooped up in here she'll sleep to much.*

Shelly looked over to the corner where Maggie was perched on a chair with her head down dozing and nodded. "OK but I'm starting with the tent and it's girls only in there!" Shelly stated mock glaring at Solomon.

"Certainly," Solomon replied calmly.

Selleny

"Selleny what do you have planned for the week?" Agent Banks asked distractedly, calling his partner on her private cell as he worked on the computer to book airline tickets and a rental car.

"Well I thought I'd get a haircut buy a new outfit or three, there's that new dance club I've been hearing great things about..."

"Pack your bags, come with me to New Hampshire," he ordered.

"I've been looking forward to the dance club..." Selleny half whined.

"It'll still be here when you get back, if it's as good as you say I might even go with you see those dance moves you've always teased you'd show me."

"Is that an invitation?" Selleny asked her voice conveying much more interest suddenly.

"Could be. Come with me to New Hampshire, I'm sure that dress you bought last fortnight as we staked out that mall, the one with all the fall colours would look great in the mountains with their scenic forests all turning red."

"I ..."

"Great, I've got the tickets booked now."

"You've got the tickets? For both of us? Paid?!" Selleny demanded in disbelief.

"Of course."

There was silence and then, "Pick me up in thirty minutes, I'll wear that dress since I know you liked it."

Smiling Banks replied, "Great pack enough for the rest of the week and the weekend too." Hanging up he printed out the ticket receipts and standing knocked on his bosses door. "Sir, I've contacted Selleny and I'll pick her up on the way, I'll call from the airport when we arrive before we drive out to Whateley to see if anything has changed while were are in the air."

"You do that," his boss replied waving him back out of the office before turning back to the smiling office aid seated across the desk from him. "What?" he demanded puzzled.

"You both seem to be forgetting Selleny is on leave this week," the office aid smirked. "What on earth do you think she believes Banks just offered her with his call to spend the rest of the week and the weekend together with him in New Hampshire in the Fall?" she queried with a naughty smirk.

Las Vegas

"Shelly?" Solomon invited her to sit next to him on the couch once she had finished putting up the tent, blowing up the air mattresses, moving in her bags and setting up her 'room' as she wanted it. Shelly had been doing this while Solomon setup their 'Kitchen' and Selanothis took Maggie for some exercise and to setup magical wards around the retreat.

Placing a cup of tea Solomon had just made and a plate of cookies on the table, he waited for Shelly to join him. Taking a cookie and dunking it in her tea Shelly slurped it up looking at Solomon curiously as she sat down. "We are going to start your lessons tomorrow, today we are just going to get you used to Selanothis linking you and me and you showing me which decision points you want to take, basically letting you learn to control my gift."

"Really? I'm gonna get to see the future!" Shelly gushed.

"Eventually," Solomon laughed. "This afternoon I'm going to show you the past, more importantly a what if past in particular what didn't happen in Las Vegas. You need to understand your power and fully know its dangers if we are to have any chance of doing this."

"Didn't something awful get avoided in Las Vegas?" Shelly whined.

"Yes. You need to see it and it will be very unpleasant." Solomon watched as Shelly shut down, laughter fading away as she withdrew into herself. Solomon took a deep breath and sighed. "Shelly I need to you know no matter what you see, no matter what it feels like you did not do it Shelly," he emphasised sharply before almost whispering. "And no matter what Selanothis and I will love you still even after we see it with you."

"Do I have to?" Shelly asked crying.

Solomon held her tight and let her cry on his shoulder until Selanothis flew back in on Maggie's back. Seeing the crying girl Selanothis nodded to Solomon who nodded back. "Come on Shelly," he shook her gently, leavering her off his shoulder. "Time to start. You lie down on this couch here and get comfortable." Giving Shelly a squeeze he helped her lay down as she wiped her eyes with her hands.

*Shelly?* Selanothis 'pathed hovering above her chest where it was easy for Shelly to focus on her.

"Yes Selanothis?" Shelly answered still wiping her face. Solomon handed her a hankie and she smiled gratefully to him and used it instead.

*Just think it I'll hear it. This is for you, when you are ready close your eyes and think of nothing.*

*OK.* Shelly closed her eyes to concentrated on the blackness, slowly she felt wrapped in strong arms, held close safe and loved. Then that faded and before she could even cry out at its loss she felt cuddled and held, rocked as though she was a baby, comfortable and warm, until that too disappeared. This time she did cry out in loss they both came back but this time just there no longer overwhelming her senses.

*What is it?* she cried happily.

*I am linking us deeper then before,* Selanothis explained. *This will not be like reliving the memories this will be like you yourself have telepathy, at least between yourself, myself and Solomon. The first you felt is Solomon's love for you, the second is my love for you. We are here for you through all that is to come. You will feel us through it all it will be how you know that these memories are not real,* Selanothis whispered flying down to gently kiss Shelly's brow

*This will run as though you are living the events,* Selanothis explained. *But unlike last time where it was played back and you could only experience it now Solomon will let you run his gift yourself, your decisions will decide what you see and it will be your alternate futures, or in this case alternate pasts, that you see.*

*This is going to be Las Vegas right?* Shelly asked fearfully.

*Yes Shelly. For this one it will just be practice, a chance for you to learn,* Solomon thought to her as he placed a thin blanket over her. *I will still be running this one but you can push the decision you want and if I feel them I'll follow them, by the end you should be able to push all the decisions yourself but for now lie comfortably.*

Shelly nodded and closed her eyes. Nodding to Selanothis, who flew down and settled on Shelly's chest, Solomon quickly stepped over to the other lounge and lay down on it too closing his eyes.

*OK Shelly Solomon is starting now. Remember we love you,* Selanothis 'pathed as she gently reached out and wiped away a stray tear from Shelly's cheek.

Aftermath

"Shelly! Shelly its not real, it didn't happen! Shelly."

Crying in terror Shelly became aware of Solomon holding her, crying hard she clung tightly to him tight. "You were dead! You were dead!" she sobbed into his shoulder.

"Shh Shelly, it wasn't real it didn't happen."

"He shot me! He ... just shot me. I hadn't done anything! Why did he shoot me?"

"Shh Shelly it didn't happen. Remember? That's not what happened. Come on Shelly. Shh.”

As her heart stopped racing and her mind stopped playing over and over the gun coming up pointing at her head Shelly realised that she could still feel the love of Solomon and Selanothis. Looking up she saw Selanothis hovering anxiously just in front of her, almost automatically she smiled and raised a hand of thanks to her. Darting in Selanothis reached out too, carefully wiping away a tear with her tiny hand. Shelly closed her eyes and sighed, luxuriating in the felling of love and comfort Selanothis projected through her link as she did this. Relaxing finally Shelly let go her tight grip on Solomon's back.

As Shelly relaxed back into the lounge Selanothis flew down landing on Shelly's shoulder. Selanothis reached out and touched her cheek, pouring emotion down her telepathic link to Shelly, causing Shelly to close her eyesight and unconsciously half curl her head and shoulders around the little pixie on her shoulder like a cat purring to a fire.

Seeing Shelly being well comforted by Selanothis Solomon carefully arose and moved to the counter preparing a mug of tea with the ingredients he had left there before they started. Returning to the couch he passed the tea to Shelly who smiled up at him sipped her tea and staring at nothing, jerking slightly when Solomon spoke. "It didn't happen Shelly, you must try and remember that."

"It felt so real," she whispered. "No matter what I tried, he just kept shooting me." Looking wide eyed to Solomon she demanded. "Did I die? Were we dead?"

"It didn't happen Shelly," Solomon repeated.

"Did we die?" Shelly almost screamed.

Solomon sighed and after looking to Selanothis and getting a nod from her answered. "Yes Shelly. He shot both of us and we were dying from the wounds but that's not what was going to kill us."

"We survived?!" Shelly asked disbelievingly.

"No we died. I'm not sure if you remember above the pool?"

"I. I released something. I. I think it scared me more then the gun," she mumbled.

"That was your danger sense trying to stop you, it knew what you were doing would kill you."

"What happened?"

Solomon sighed. "There was a huge explosion Shelly."

Shelly blanched and started crying again. "I killed the world!? I'm a monster? That's all it takes for me to destroy the world!?" she demanded.

*No! Shelly never think that!* Solomon interrupted projecting through the link Selanothis was still holding between them. *If it was not so important I would never let you see this.* Continuing with his voice he tried to sooth her. "These possibilities are not real, they are not happening they did not happen. They are not you. Shelly I want you to think about this as a very realistic simulator a computer game, one where you can save your progress and try over and over again till you get it right. You've played those games right? Ones where there is only one way forward and many, many wrong ways that kill you and you have to try over and over all the different ways till you get it right? Can you do that?"

"I. I'll try," Shelly mumbled.

Solomon smiled and reached out and rubbed her back. "Good girl I know you will and Selanothis and I will be here always to help you, now finish your tea and lie back down Selanothis is going to massage your head for you, help you relax while I make us some dinner. After dinner Selanothis has promised to sit with us and watch that Buffy marathon I promised you, let's see if we can get through the movie and the first few episodes of season one tonight."

Trying to smile her thanks Shelly finished her tea. Relinquishing her cup she lay down as Selanothis small hands worked expertly on her temples, Shelly once again felt the warm comforting love of Selanothis through her link. As Shelly relaxed into the massage the tensions in her body relaxed and she faded to sleep without even realising it.

Dinner

As the food cooked, Solomon came over to where Selanothis hovered over the sleeping Shelly and looked worriedly to her. "How is she?"

*Scared, very, very scared. She is afraid of her talent.*

"Inhibited?"

Selanothis looked carefully to Shelly and then puzzled turned her head. *No,* she drawled. *She is intellectually afraid of what happened but emotionally it doesn't connect to her talent.* Selanothis looked to Solomon who just nodded relieved.

"Good, let her sleep for now. Do you mind going upstairs and setting up those 'workings' for our friendly visitors to find tonight? I'll watch her for you I promise." Solomon smiled at Selanothis who flew to his shoulder and tenderly touched his face before flying off, neither of them noticing Solomon's eyes half closing at her touch.

Needlessly straightening the blanket thrown over the sleeping Shelly Solomon returned to the counter, removing the dish from the microwave just before the counter reached zero so that the beeping would not awaken Shelly. Adding a few more ingredients to the large bowl before adding two steaming bowls stacked with vegetables on top Solomon returned the whole lot back to the microwave and turned it on again, checking the timer before coming back to sit with Shelly.

When the timer on the microwave finished and it started beeping Shelly stirred and sat up, looking to Solomon she asked "How long?"

"Just a quick nap, only half an hour. Feel like helping me finish getting dinner ready?"

Pushing herself up Shelly nodded, accepting a hand from Solomon to stand. "What's dinner?" she asked curiously.

"Beef stew for you and me."

"What about Selanothis?" Shelly asked as Solomon smiled.

"I wondered how long it would take you to ask," Solomon replied with a smirk. "She can eat the same as us but her stomach is tiny, she basically needs to eat nearly all the time to get the energy she needs during the day to fly and do the magic she does. She eats as much sugar as she can get."

"Sugar?"

"Lots of energy in a small size."

"How did she get that living in a forest?"

"Bee’s honey, nectar, fruits, that sort of stuff. Here she just drowns her coffee in as much honey as it will take, she's basically drinking coffee flavoured Fanta there is so much sugar in it," he smirked at her. "She likes the taste of other stuff too, especially home cooked meals that remind her of before she mutated to a pixie and she can't live only on sugar, she needs other things in her diet too."

"If she eats all the time, how come I've never seen her do it?"

"You have you just haven't noticed, she munches on something each time she goes to the kitchen to get a coffee refill but it'll be something like a single cornflake or a similar sized piece of bread, mostly she's been nibbling the fruit in the muesli."

Shelly stared at him. "But she does that all the time! She's never without a thimble of coffee!"

"As I said tiny stomach, it only takes a few minutes for things to go through then she can eat again."

Shelly blushed red. "What about, you know, the other end?"

Solomon laughed. "Don't worry she eats very little fibre, she needs to eat as close to pure sugar as she can get and she sweats nearly all her liquids back out, just the mechanics of small bodies. She doesn't go to the toilet any more the you or I would."

Taking the stack of microwave dishes out of the microwave Solomon poured all the contents into the bottom dish and stirred it all together before adding some seasonings and putting it back in the microwave. "Want to toast enough bread for you and I?" he suggested pointing to the toaster and waiting for Shelly's nod, keeping an eye on her thoughtful expression and waiting for the question.

"Solomon?" Shelly finally asked. "You can see time right?"

"Not really Shelly, I can see cleft points, important decisions and events in the future."

"In the future? But ... you just showed me the past!"

"That wasn't my talent that was Selanothis. She let you experience my memory of examining a potential future while I worked to prevent it." Shelly stood there looking confused. Putting down the plates he had just retrieved from a cupboard Solomon tried to explain. "Selanothis is a telepath, you know what that means?"

"She reads minds?"

"Yes and she's a very good one, not just able to read but also project into minds."

"So she's reading your feelings of love for me and projecting them into my mind?" Shelly asked slowly.

"Is she still doing that?" Solomon smiled. "Actually there's a bit more to that, she's kind of clamping onto our love for her and projecting back her love unintentionally because she's been lonely for so long. I think projecting my love to you is kind of a bonus there, it's her love she is projecting, she wants to do more but her size stops her." Solomon looked to Shelly and saw the understanding there. "Now when she shares she goes even deeper, not just reading the mind like words in a book but actually reliving the events as though she was the person doing them.”

"OK so that was just me reliving your reading a potential future?" Shelly tried to understand.

"It was my memory and Selanothis let you live it like you were there, correct."

"But it didn't happen?" Shelly confirmed.

"No."

"Would it have happened if you were not there?" Shelly almost whispered the question.

Solomon looked at her silently for a bit and then sighed. "You saw me get shot right?" Shelly nodded. "Could that have happened if I was not there?" Shelly shook her head. Solomon stood and stared at the cupboard for a while before turning back to Shelly. "I don't want to lie to you, something equally as bad would have happened had I not been there. The MCO agent had no intention of letting you go and had steeled himself to kill 'a helpless girl' for the good of mankind before he arrived. He was so ruthless in hunting you down not because he hated you but because he hated himself for hunting an innocent girl like that."

"What?" Shelly asked startled.

"You are everything he swore to protect," Solomon explained. "But to protect everyone else he had psyched himself to the point where he could kill you, he just wanted the dirty work over as fast as possible. He wanted it over as fast as possible because he knew what he was doing was monstrous and he was worried he was too weak to carry out the task."

Shelly stared at him before once again starting to shake and cry. "So not only am I a monster that destroys the world, I make others monsters too?" she wailed.

Kneeling down Solomon held the crying girl close. "It's not like that Shelly, it really isn't. You remember the first time we shared? The future you saw there?" Shelly nodded. "Now that Selanothis and I am with you it's almost certain you will not have problems with your talent."

"Certain?" Shelly begged tearfully.

"Certain," Solomon assured her. "If you dedicate yourself to learning what Selanothis is going to teach you once you learn her teachings you will not unleash such destruction in future accidentally, it will all be under your control," Solomon stared Shelly in the eye. "Is ending the world something you want to do?" Shelly quickly shook her head no eyes wide and horrified. "It's just knowledge you need Shelly," he assured her. "You are not dangerous, you have full control of your talent and what it can do, if people left you alone there would be no problems."

"How are you going to stop people chasing me? How am I going to stop doing things that hurt people?" she wept into his chest.

"We are going to teach you and protect you Shelly, then you and Selanothis are going to change the three of us so much that no matter how hard they look they will never find us again."

Whateley Security

With Shelly peacefully sleeping curled up against his shoulder Solomon reached over using the remote turned off the TV and the sound system as he sat there in the almost darkness, just the light from the microwave clock and standby lights on the TV and Stereo to see by.

Listening to the steady breathing of Shelly Solomon became aware of the sudden stillness of Selanothis. Closing his eyes tried to hear, loud in his ears sounded his heart then so soft that he couldn't tell if it was imagination or not a half heard noises came from above. Almost imagining it he tried to trace the sounds of quiet footsteps above when suddenly there was nothing quiet about it and the sounds of running could be heard followed by the front door opening and then slamming above. Turning at the silent giggling in his mind from Selanothis he asked. "What happened?"

*I borrowed from you,* Selanothis laughed. *Right across the main room from the entrance door appears to be a portal sucking in all not tied down. Our visitors from Whateley Security ran so as not to become 'accidents' sucked into a portal to who knows where,* she replied still giggling.

Solomon blinked and smiled. "Illusion?"

*The Fae are good at them,* Selanothis agreed. *Light, sound a little bit of projected fear,* she smiled before looking down. *Will you move her now?* she asked indicating Shelly sleeping against Solomon's shoulder.

"Give me a little light Tinkerbell and I'll pick her up and move her now."

Solomon stood as with bad grace Selanothis started glowing slightly, illuminating herself and quite a bit of the room because of how dark it was. Without comment Solomon smiled and picking up Shelly, moved to the tent he crouched down to manoeuvre the sleeping Shelly inside. Removing her dressing gown he slipped her into her sleeping bag and zipped it up, waiting for Selanothis to drop her glove in and crawl into it herself before closing up Selanothis inside Shelly's sleeping bag and leaving the tent.

"Night you two," he murmured placing a night light on near the tent in case Shelly woke then zipped up the tent and made his way over to his own sleeping bag and air mattress, stripping down to t-shirt and boxers before crawling into his sleeping bag himself.

*Goodnight David* he heard a sleepy Selanothis say, not even twitching at her use of a name he forgot he had never told her was his own he too slipped off to sleep.

Distracted

As Shelly happily buttered toast for her breakfast, spreading honey on some and Vegemite on others, Selanothis flew down and settled on Solomon shoulder. *Now that Shelly has the memories of the fight should we worry about errant reality warping?* she asked concerned.

*Nope,* Solomon replied swiping a piece of Vegemite toast from Shelly as she went to pile them all on her plate, putting it in his mouth and crunching on it before she could demand it back. Protecting the plate with her body to prevent any more thefts Shelly huffily scurried away to the couches to eat in peace. *She didn't just manifest she's been reality warping for months it's just that it's almost unconscious like wishing, later we'll need to make her aware of it and get her to control that too but currently it's not an issue.*

*What do you mean 'unconscious'?* demanded Selanothis.

*Well like the Vegemite,* he said picking up the jar and screwing the lid back on. *Shelly's Australian and breakfast was toast, when she went to the pantry she expected honey and Vegemite so that's what she found, now this being America it's not actually true that this is the case anymore, Americans don't stock Vegemite in their pantries...*

*I don't know how you can eat that stuff!* Selanothis shuddered.

*I don't think it's possible to get a small enough amount of Vegemite for a pixie to enjoy it, you saw how little we put on the toast right? Merest scrape? It's a very powerful taste you just need a hint of it, anyway that’s not the point. Shelly expected Vegemite to be in the pantry and as it wasn't there her desire for Vegemite pushed her talent into producing it, same with this," he pulled a hair elastic from his pocket, a red one.

*What about that?* Selanothis asked confused.

Solomon pointed to the pony tail Shelly was sporting this morning complete with its red hair elastic. *We only bought a single one of each colour, I happened to remember where she left this last night and had put it in my pocket to return it to her this morning. Shelly expected it to be where she left her other things last night and her gift produced, now there is two red hair elastics.*

*So one of the reasons you're so sure we can do this is because Shelly didn't just manifest, she's already got pretty good control over her abilities we just need to teach her how to direct them?* Selanothis asked impressed.

*Yep,* Solomon replied taking another bite out of his toast and chewing thoughtfully. *Nearly all the time is going to be like yesterday with its interruptions, but we got a break.*

*A break?*

*Yep a break. Agent Banks will be arriving but he bought his own distraction, she'll keep him a little off balanced and distracted which will prevent him noticing anything unusual we do, also our MCO friend is on his way to Montreal he thinks we went to ground and are hiding in Canada.*

*Why would he think that?*

*I may have bought Shelly's and my winter gear from a survival store in Montreal that the MCO monitors as its used a lot by groups that are mutant friendly to supply mutants they intend to hide from the MCO in wilderness locations across Canada that they built. Last night the local MCO agent retrieved this weeks footage from their hidden cameras and found both myself and Shelly on it, being a conscientious and thorough operative he went looking through the MCO alerts and found our descriptions and correctly put one and one together and called it in, our friend from Las Vegas rerouted a flight booking and is now flying from Boston to Montreal and will be tied up with false leads and red tape for a bit and won't be here in our hair. In one day we managed to get Whateley's corrupt Security convinced Mrs. Carson is just doing dangerous Magical workings here, our main antagonist in the MCO diverting himself to the wrong country and our DPA operative more then a bit distracted.*

*Distracted?*

Solomon smirked. *Here they come now,* he said to the sounds of multiple people entering the retreat upstairs. Shooing Selanothis to go hide in Shelly's hair he finished cleaning off the breakfast ingredients from the bench and walked to the bottom of the stairs to great their guests.

"Agent Banks." Solomon smiled. "Couldn't keep away?" he greeted the man Mrs. Carson had escorted to the retreat that morning as he came down the stairs into the basement. Mrs. Carson followed with a second woman closing the door behind her as they trooped down the stairs into the basement area where Shelly, with Selanothis hidden in her hair, also waited to greet them.

"My boss was less then happy reading my report and he wants me to learn more about something that can end the world and see that it is being properly contained."

"Shelly's not going to be contained she's going to be trained, as I keep trying to explain to everyone," Solomon declared. "Containment is just another way of saying under pressure till she explodes like a pressure cooker. I'm stopping the explosions by training her."

"So while you're training her I'll look at the containment protocols and make sure they are something my boss can live with," Agent Banks continued as though Solomon's interruption hadn't contradicted him, ignoring the presence of Shelly scowling at him from behind Solomon's back.

After giving him a sigh Solomon turned and smiled to the new woman Mrs. Carson had been escorting. "Agent Selleny I presume?" he greeted the striking graceful woman with a dancers gait who was wearing a stunning flowing long sleeved dress in autumnal colours, startling yellow and white patterns at the top that flowed in to reds and oranges around her waist and down to browns and reds in her long skirt, all this was in a light cloth that moved freely over her tight trousers, knee high brown leather boots and a tight woollen top.

"I heard you believed I'd have let you go if I'd been the one that met you in Vegas?" she demanded forthright of Solomon.

"Come to make sure your partner does not make the same mistake twice?" he replied back with a smirk.

"I'm here on holidays!" she replied dramatically. "I was promised a trip through the mountains, quaint forgotten towns, picturesque covered bridges, scenic mountains full of forests in fall colours." She turned to Agent Banks and grinned possessively. "Cold nights, warm open fires and hot blooded men keeping me warm all night long." She licked her lips suggestively. "There was to be dancing, close and tight."

"I apologised already," Agent Banks said bright red. "I didn't remember you were on leave when I called and invited you to come with me to New Hampshire, I'll clear it when we get back to the office and get you your leave returned."

"We'll see," Agent Selleny smiled languidly reaching up to stroke his biceps lightly. "If you apologise to me the right way I may not mind the lost leave," she said huskily causing Agent Banks to try and discreetly rearrange his trousers as Agent Selleny laughed throatily.

*That is some distraction!* Selanothis 'pathed delightedly to Solomon. *And do I detect some denial in our reluctant paramour's reactions?*

Turning back towards Solomon and Mrs. Carson Agent Banks blushed brightest red at Solomon's raised eye. "She's a tease," he mumbled. "DPA guidelines are that close colleagues aren't to work in the same teams, so she does everything she can to get a raise out of me every time she partners me," he explained squirming while Agent Selleny gave him a daggered look from behind then smiling beatifically walked up to him grabbed his arm and cuddled up to it.

"He was my first love! Straight out of the Academy together he looked me up and proposed out of the blue, I knew he'd be my only partner for life," she turned and looking up into his eyes with a love struck gaze.

*You know I do believe she's serious,* Selanothis 'pathed delightedly.

Wide eyed and panicked Agent Banks gave an embarrassed laugh at his partner's antics before turning to Solomon. "Perhaps we can sit and discuss your plans? See what we need to do?" he suggested his voice slightly strained.

*I do believe you are right,* Solomon replied to Selanothis with a concealed smirk. *And boy-o-boy do I think Agent Banks might just have received the blunt end of the clue stick finally.*

"Certainly," Solomon replied addressing the DPA agents. "Agent Selleny this is Shelly," Solomon introduced them. "She's both the problem and our solution, now as I have explained to Mrs. Carson Shelly isn't dangerous unless cornered and threatened, even then only for a limited time period while she is inexpert in controlling her powers she's not inherently dangerous to the planet she's just potentially problematic and our plan to prevent accidents is two fold. First is to change our identity and hide so well that we can't be found easily, if at all. If we cannot be found the short term problems of a confrontations getting out of hand are negated. The second part is a mid-term plan to teach Shelly how to control her powers herself so that in any future confrontations she can limit herself and prevent accidents."

"What about long term? Are we to expect Shelly to be fighting villains?" Selleny asked looking to Shelly with a raised eyebrow.

"Shelly's abilities are spectacular but not very heroic, I'm sure Shelly's experiences so far have already taught her the dangers of confrontations, she is not going to go deliberately seeking them out in the future, are you Shelly?"

"Na uh!" Shelly replied wide-eyed. "My talent’s too destructive for that! Everyone would be after me even if I survived doing it!"

Mrs. Carson blinked then looked speculatively at Solomon. Turning to the DPA agents she enquired. "Agent Banks you said you wished to check the containment?" Confused at the unexpected question Agent Banks nodded cautiously. "Well then I believe I can kill two birds with one stone, as you know part of our agreement with the United States Government is to allow the DPA to 'inspect' our school yearly since you and your partner are here and wish to 'check the containment' I will allow you and your partner to carry out our yearly inspection for this year, at the standard rules."

"Standard rules?" Agent Banks enquired confused.

"You may inspect any buildings bar the student residential cottages but only when they are not in use by the student body. There is to be no attempting to sight or meet or track or in any way whatsoever to interact with the students, the students are to be totally oblivious to your presence but any of my staff may be interviewed away from the student body by request. You are not to attempt penetration of Whateley files of any sort by any means, be those financial, medical, surveillance, disciplinary or even just a list of students attending the school or any classes in it. Basically Agent Banks you may inspect the school but its student population is totally off limits at all times and in all ways, am I understood?"

Agent Banks blinked. "I can have full access to the security cameras for this retreat since it is away from the student population?" Mrs. Carson nodded. "I can liaise with the Whateley security about perimeter patrols, surveillance of this cottage and the wider grounds away for the students?" Another nod. "I can access information they have about any undesirables and their movements outside the school grounds?" A nod. "I can access the records of the staff, especially the security staff?"

"You may interview my staff but I will not provide their records," Mrs. Carson countered. "Too much of it pertains to information about their interactions with the student body, information I will not be providing. How co-operative my staff are to your enquiries is your problem and not mine."

Agent Banks looked solemnly at Mrs. Carson and finally nodded. "Agreed I will call my office and have them send the paperwork for this inspection, I will also wish to spend some time discussing it with the last Agents to inspect you."

Mrs. Carson smirked. "Well one of them is currently attempting to get your attention right now," she said pointing to Agent Selleny sitting next to him who had been attempting to subtly gain his attention and get him to look her way ever since Mrs. Carson first started making the offer.

Smiling sweetly Agent Selleny stood. "If you'd excuse us I think there are some things I need to talk to my partner about upstairs." Without looking back she strode to the stairs and exited the room.

As Agent Banks stood to follow Mrs. Carson gently restrained him. "I'll have security send over some escorts, whatever you want to inspect let them know and they'll organise for it to be free of students when you arrive. If you can give them a list they'll be able to organise things so that while the students are in one area you can be in another." She gave him a hard stare to let him know that access to the students was never going to happen. Nodding Agent Banks left the room too by the stairs.

As Agent Banks left Mrs. Carson looked firmly at Solomon and Shelly. "I believe you have some information for me? In particular I'd like to know by what means Shelly became so aware of her power's destructive potential?"

Not waiting for Solomon to answer Selanothis removed herself from Shelly's hair and flew down to sit on the table before Mrs. Carson. *By combining mine and Solomon's talents,* she explained. *A 'first run' for the teaching method we'll be using with Shelly from now on.*

"Can I ask what happened?"

"I showed Shelly what my powers showed me would have happened if you had not subdued our friendly MCO operative," Solomon explained.

"He shot Father Solomon, then he shot me and he just kept shooting me no matter what I did and then and then ..." Shelly got wide eyed and whimpered causing Solomon to wrap her up in a hug.

Once Shelly stopped shivering Solomon released her and suggested. "Shelly we are going to get very busy over the next few days and unfortunately after today we're going to need to stay in this basement practically all the time, why don't you get dressed in your snow clothes and exercise Maggie?" Thinking hard Solomon projected *And Selanothis you can listen into Mrs. Carson through me while we discuss things that are just going to make Shelly upset while keeping an eye on Shelly outside.*

*Solomon! I hate private conversations and secrets!*

*I know but this isn't secrets, this is Mrs. Carson getting very detailed reports about exactly what nearly happened in Las Vegas, do you think Shelly could sit here while we did that? Do you want her to?*

Selanothis signed. *No you're right.* Smiling at Mrs. Carson she jumped up and whistling took off flying for Shelly's tent as Maggie woke up from where she was snoozing and flew to follow her.

Mrs. Carson watch the two fly to the tent and follow Shelly inside then turned back to Solomon who casually put his finger to his lips and started talking. "As promised yesterday, I can give you more information." He smiled at her calm expression only revealing her unhappiness at his behaviour by slight tightening around the eyes and mouth.

"As you saw, Agent Banks is here and he managed to bring his own distraction with him. Agent Selleny will keep him mostly off balance enough for us to work around the two of them comfortably also Agent Selleny is already pre-disposed towards allowing our plan to continue since she has a slight pre-cognitive ability of her own, little more then trained intuition but she 'feels' no danger from Shelly. No matter what people are saying Agent Selleny has a lifetime's experience of following her own 'hunches' over other people's 'logic'.

"Next our gun happy MCO Agent is currently lost in the wilderness around Montreal, looking for mutant 'safe houses' in an attempt to find Shelly. As the only MCO Agent on the case who has seen her and believes I exist that means the MCO is not a problem at the moment.

"Finally 'payola platoon' of your own Whateley security paid the retreat a visit last night and found your magical working in progress and reported back such to all their masters, they will be concentrating their endeavours for the next few nights in other likely places in their attempts to find Shelly and me and prove that we are here, until they find such proof the ones they report to will be content merely to gather and preposition their forces and will hold off attempts on me and Shelly until such time as they have the proof along with the required intel to make those attempts successfully."

"So you will now restrict yourself to the retreat so that they do not get that proof?" Mrs. Carson suggested.

Solomon held up a hand in the 'wait' sign and stood turning to the tent as Shelly rushed out with Selanothis back in her hair and Maggie flying above her head waving happily to Solomon she ran up the stairs. Standing with his head twisted slightly to the side Solomon waited till he heard the cottage door slam shut then a moment later much quieter it closed again. Turning back to Mrs. Carson he smiled and sat.

"Now unless our DPA Agents were smart enough to leave bugs we are alone." Mrs. Carson frowned and pointed to the seat Agent Sellany had been sitting at, Solomon winked with a wicked gleam in his eye as he put his finger to his mouth grinning at her.

*There is a bug!* Selanothis almost screamed in his mind.

*Just the one planted by Agent Selleny almost automatically. Its battery will run out before you get back, nothing has been said about or from you.*

*I whistled!*

*So? They can tell your whistle from a Shelly whistle how? Relax Selanothis you can do a full sweep when you get back.* Smiling at Mrs. Carson Solomon explained. "Now that payola platoon has done their expected snooping we can put in place full wards, barriers as well as warnings and not let people back in without your presence to walk them through the wards. With that up they'll concentrate on plain old observation and they can't see into the basement so as long as you seem to be doing your workings in the main room above and don't disappear from view for unexpectedly long periods of time the cover of the retreat being reserved for you will hold."

"How long?"

Solomon sighed. "Days unfortunately not weeks like I had hoped, we should have enough time to train Shelly but it's going to be close. Very close."

"What are you training Shelly to do?"

"Change us, right down to the DNA. We won't look like we do now nor have the same DNA. Once that’s done a simple teleport spell and we'll 'disappear' and it will be impossible for the MCO to find us. We can live normal lives, Shelly can learn without even the possibility of being tracked."

Mrs. Carson looked sceptical and Solomon laughed. "All right would you accept the statement practically impossible? I know technically there would be people with the skills to track us anyway but they would have no reason to try. The MCO is global but without DNA, descriptions of us, clues to where we would go and who would help us the resources they'd actually assign to looking for us don't have a hope of finding us. Next the DPA only have jurisdiction in the United States, if we are not in the United States their abilities are crippled below a level effective enough to find us. Finally there is you, as either Headmaster of Whateley Academy or Lady Astarte do you really have any reason to want to track us down?"

Mrs. Carson sighed and shook her head. "You're right, I shouldn't be surprised with your abilities obviously you have advantages in planning things like this."

Solomon smiled. "Yes I do and it's not really your fault, everyone else who has abilities similar to mine likes to play 'spider in the web' and sit there pulling the threads to make people follow the paths they decide. I either have the choice of acting the same way so you'll remember my skills or acting the way I do and you forgetting I have them, let us just say people forgetting me is how I prefer things."

Mrs. Carson frowned. "So what did you show Shelly that has her so aware of her potential?"

"An alternate past one that very nearly came to pass, just a few seconds hesitation on your part would have been enough for our MCO agent to have got his gun pulled and the world to end."

"Would it really have ended?" she asked curiously.

"Oh yes, extinction level event," Solomon assured her. "Shelly would have set off an explosion easily as strong as a super volcano or massive comet hitting the earth."

"How dangerous is she?" Mrs. Carson gasped.

"I can't really say the someone who could set of an extinction level event isn't a danger but at the basics her talent doesn't even sound dangerous," Solomon sighed. "At its simplest Shelly can reality warp about one hundred kilograms of matter from one form to any other form she wants, with some limitations."

"Limitations?

"It has to be real, it can't be impossible," Solomon explained with a shrug. "Also raw materials are easier for her as are living things for some reason, things she is intimately familiar with. So such things as lumps of raw elements or compounds are easy as are living things strangely. Mechanical or technological 'things' require her to know what it is and how it's made, so she could easily get a lump of iron, with practice should could get an iron bar but she'll need lots and lots of skill before she could get even a bare metal iron sword let alone one with a wrapped leather grip or made of steel. A computer is way out of her league. all she’d end up with is the outsides with none of the working internals.

"That covers her limitations then we get to the powerful part of her talent, it just has to be real matter. Shelly doesn't have to know its real nor understand it to make it in fact she can think any unreal thing she likes and her talent will produce the closest real analog to it can."

"And in Las Vegas? What would have happened if I hadn't rendered that MCO Agent unconscious?"

Solomon sighed. "Anti-matter not properly contained interacts with a similar amount of matter to convert to pure energy, the largest nuclear bomb ever detonated converted about two kilograms of matter to energy and produced an explosion so large that the designer of it on seeing the explosion became a lifelong proponent of limiting nuclear weapons, eventually culminating with the Nuclear non-proliferation treaty. Shelly could conceivably produce one hundred kilograms of anti-matter which would interact with a like amount of real matter making a two hundred kilogram matter to energy event. With an event that large we've left the realms of nuclear war and moved into the realms of super volcanoes, things like the Yellowstone Caldera exploding or a substantial comet impacting the earth, an event similar to that which ended the age of dinosaurs."

"So she could make an event so bad it causes the extinction of the human race!?" Mrs. Carson gasped.

Solomon nodded. "When scared, cornered and pushed in fear of her life she can strike out. When doing so pushing her gift to its limits, wishing so hard for an explosion then yes, conceivably it's possible but she knows about it now it's almost certain she'll not wish for an antimatter or nuclear explosion no matter what. Shelly understands what will happen not just intellectually but emotionally, She has seen the results."

"But her skill can do it?" Mrs. Carson pushed.

"You know it can otherwise why were you there? Mrs. Potter wouldn't have pointed you in the right direction and warned you again of the reactions of scared committed men if she'd known Shelly couldn't do that!"

"Mrs. Potter," Mrs Carson stated with a grim expression. "You are probably aware that she gave me two instructions for that day?" Solomon carefully nodded. "Believe you and 'prepare for the worst.' Do you want to explain to me how I am to reconcile those instructions?"

"All I can say Mrs. Carson is that I can see the future but I can no longer control it. I have made my choice, I will stand beside Shelly come what may because I believe in her and I believe in her ability to learn what we have to teach her in the time we need but it is a belief Mrs. Carson not a certainty/ UAnfortunately even with my great power to predict and modify the future it matters not because while I stay in this basement I am no longer able to get to the cleft points and influence them the way I want.”

"In that case all wise and powerful Solomon I wish you all speed and success with your endeavour but I must warn you that I will be, as instructed, preparing for the worst."

Solomon sighed and then nodded. "Mrs. Carson may I request a favour then, well two?"

"A favour?"

"If the worst is needed please intern both myself as well as Shelly in ARC Black section. Combine our stays, make it so that neither can be revived without the other."

"Something you have foreseen?"

"Nothing world ending just personal. Shelly is a child and would be an easy target for those we know exist, to control and manipulate if she was locked in ARC Black. I merely wish to make sure that in that circumstance I will still be there too to continue helping her."

Mrs. Carson examined his face carefully before nodding. "Alright," she agreed "And the second favour?"

"When you talk to Mrs. Potter ask that she contacts me."

Mrs. Carson blinked. "You wish to contact a pre-cog?" she asked in disbelief.

Solomon laughed. "No I merely wish to ask that she stops interfering."

Mrs. Carson stared at Solomon. "Interfering?" she enquired in a deadly cold tone.

Unfazed Solomon stared back. "You've heard the saying 'too many cooks spoil the broth'?" he asked waiting for her cautious nod. "Well we have too many clairvoyants stirring the possibilities. Mrs. Potter has her own skills, her own contacts and a set of cleft points she can manoeuvre, I have my skills, my contacts and my cleft points. It should be obvious that we are not necessarily talking about the same cleft points nor possibly the same wanted outcomes from even the subset of cleft points we both can manoeuvre. With more then one clairvoyant the complexities spiral exponentially and neither can achieve the outcomes they wish, I merely ask that you pass on my invitation to talk so I can persuade her to let us be.”

Mrs. Carson favoured him with a long stare before giving him a short nod. Turning towards the stairs she made her way up them and away.

About a future

At the first ring Solomon picked up the phone. "Mrs. Potter so good of you to call," he greeted her.

"Spare me your drama David, you know that being with Ragnarök enables the chance for the very worst of outcomes to occur."

Solomon smiled. "Only if I die and I have no intentions of doing that, even then it is only the remotest possibility that Shelly'll embrace her power and become a Super Villain Vigilante bent of punishing the MCO for my death by raining down antimatter explosions on all the MCO bases she can find."

"But it's not even a possibility if you leave her," Mrs. Potter reminded him.

"And all the life ending possibilities disappear from the table if Shelly is left in my care," he reminded her. "In fact no possibilities of life ending events would have ever been possible at all if all clairvoyants had left her to her fate unhindered!"

"Now David that was always a low probability," Mrs. Potter chided him.

"Two of the agents there were yours, are you telling me your reputation alone would not have forestalled the last one of those?" he asked dryly.

"I only sent mine when it was certain you would be there."

"And I only went as it was certain you would send trouble." Solomon sighed. "That is the past I have not asked to speak to you for a she said he said who shot first debate, I was always in the camp that Han Solo was perfectly justified in shooting first," he defended with a laugh. "I asked to speak to discuss what will we do next? You have moved your chips, I have placed mine. I will pledge no more manipulation if you do the same. I have faith in Shelly and I believe the course that is going to happen will have a happy ending, will you allow it to run its course?"

Sweating slightly Solomon awaited her reply.

"You know the most likely outcome?" she finally asked. "It is next to impossible that you will succeed, I have already advised Mrs. Carson to be prepared for your failure."

"I believe in Shelly," Solomon replied simply. "Miracles do happen I have seen them myself this very week."

Stunned silence greeted that claim before it was broken with rueful laughter. "Solomon I see now why that title commands such respect, the knowledge to change the world and the faith to let it be so changed, that is a terrifying combination!"

A thoughtful pause followed that exclamation with both Solomon and Mrs. Potter seemingly awaiting the others reply. "So be it," Mrs. Potter finally sighed. "I have my contingencies in place already and the sure knowledge Ragnarök will not leave the school except in your care or mine, we will allow you your chance to perform a miracle."

"Thank you," Solomon replied simply ended the call. Putting down the phone Solomon breathed deeply as though a weight had been removed from his chest, he had been bluffing and he knew not still if Mrs. Potter had known or not. Giving up pushing the cleft points from here on out would be no hardship for him, that call had been the last cleft point he could manipulate before all would be decided anyway now it was all in the hands of God, and in those hands Solomon long ago had placed his trust. Standing up Solomon went to prepare lunch.

With warm bowls of soup for lunch Solomon greeted the happy flushed faces of Shelly and Selanothis as they ran and flew back into the basement room. As Shelly slurped her soup and Selanothis sipped her's from her thimble Solomon explained what they were going to do that afternoon.

"Today is going to be about control," he explained. "About getting used to Shelly guiding me in the use of my gift through the telepathic linking Selanothis can provide us."

"Will it be like yesterday's sharing?" Shelly asked excitedly, pausing in her eating to look up at Solomon.

"Not quite," Solomon smiled back. "It's going to be less deep then that and much more two way. Selanothis is going to try and link us just that little bit below conscious thought, at the level of intentions. Not just when we speak aloud but at the level where we decide to speak."

"So this will let me control your gift?" Shelly drawled skeptically.
"No," Solomon confirmed with smile. "But it will allow me to know how you want to move the cleft points, hopefully as we get better and better with practice I can learn to respond to your desires fast enough so that it seems to you like you are experiencing a reality of your own choosing and we can use that illusion to help you learn the consequences of your actions, basically use my gift like a huge Virtual Reality simulation of real life." Shelly stared up at Solomon eyes wide in amazement causing him to chuckle.

*Then little bird,* Selanothis continued. *I will start revising with you the choices you make and what the results were, together we'll decide on improvements and then we'll try again. Slowly working our way through the future after future like a video game till we achieve the results we want.* Selanothis flew up in front of Shelly with a huge grin. *And then my dear it all gets a little bit difficult,* she intoned with dark humour.

"Difficult!" Shelly squeaked.

*Difficult!* Selanothis agreed. *Once we know the path to the right future then we start drilling you over and over and over again until you can make those choices, fulfil those tasks perfectly at exactly the right time always no matter how tired you are, no matter what else is happening around you.*

"What? Why?" Shelly asked confused.

*Because you'll only get one chance to do this and most likely people are going to be very serious about stopping you doing it,* Selanothis explained solemnly, reaching out a hand to gently touch Shelly's cheek.

Silently Shelly contemplated this before Solomon offered her the plate of toast and silently encouraged her to finish her soup. Absently taking some toast Shelly dipped it in her soup and chewed on it as she stared blankly down, obviously thinking deeply on what Solomono and Selanothis had revealed to her.

Sighing Solomon opened his eyes rubbing the palms of his hands against his forehead before sitting up and smiling at the patient face of Mrs. Carson, sitting primly on a chair pulled close so she could study Shelly's face.

"We'll let her sleep until dinner," Selanothis projected her voice audibly as she massaged Shelly's temples, slowly relaxing Shelly into a deep sleep.

"How does the training progress?" Mrs. Carson asked standing to settle a blanket over Shelly before taking her chair back to the secluded nook at the back of the basement room and resettling herself there.

Moving to the nook himself Solomon sat and addressed her. "Well already in a single afternoon we have progressed to Shelly controlling the Seeing. It's still something she must concentrate on to do successfully but with practice it will become automatic and then the real training can begin."

"What were you scrying?" Mrs. Carson asked curiously.

Solomon winced. "All too many Princesses, celebrities and boy bands," he grimaced. "Understandable, with the death of her parents she's automatically shying away from looking at those she knows, her unconscious is protecting her from seeing any more of them dead. Selanothis is also subtly influencing her so that we keep her away from emotional areas, we unfortunately just don't have time at the moment to deal with any unwanted emotional outpourings, the foreseen ones are going to cause us enough difficulties as it is. Dealing with her grief is something we hope to delay a little bit till we have the time we need to help Shelly work through it properly."

"So it's all still on schedule?" Mrs. Carson tried to confirm.

"It's all proceeding according to plan," Solomon promised.

Mrs. Carson nodded and moved onto her other issue. "Our DPA Agent has asked for testing of Shelly to confirm what exact powers she has, failing that he wants to conduct a series of interviews with her."

Solomon grimaced. "We don't have time for testing, nor for him to do interviews with Shelly. Shelly doesn't know what her powers are and I doubt Agent Banks will have the time he needs to tease it out of her." Solomon sat thoughtfully for a bit before suddenly he smiled at Mrs. Carson. "Counter with an offer instead to interview me, he can have as many interviews as he likes with me in the evenings after Shelly goes to sleep. I do know Shelly's powers and it will give me time to work on putting him at ease with our plan."

"Your plan Solomon," Mrs. Carson reminded him. "I still haven't decided if I fully support it."

"Our plan Mrs. Carson," Solomon repeated firmly. "Selanothis, Shelly and myself have all agreed to it."

After regarding him silently for a few moments Mrs. Carson stood without further comment. "I'll tell Agent Banks to come here this evening," she said as she took her leave and left the basement room.

Free will

Solomon sat down with a cup of hot chocolate and took a sip, sighing internally as he considered the angry glare of Agent Banks seated before him.

"What seems to be the problem Agent Banks?" he finally inquired politely.

"You know!" Agent Banks growled.

Solomon allowed himself an audible sigh. "Yes Agent Banks I do know but it helps things if I don't address people's 'private' thoughts out loud, I can't read minds and I may be misreading the cause of your distress. Despite what you think I don't spend all my time trying to read the future so that I can know everything of every interaction that will happen to me in a day, I have more important things to do!"

"More import things then the future?" Agent Banks demanded incredulously.

Solomon laughed. "I find the present infinitely more important then the future, after all if you get the present right the future more or less takes care of itself."

"So you expect me to believe that you didn't spend the day making sure I did all the things you wanted me to do?" Agent Banks demanded.

"I could do things like that but I don't want to," Solomon assured him.

"Why not?" Anger Banks demanded disbelievingly.

"If I sit here all day looking for all the cleft points of your day and then manipulating them so that they go the way I want them to go, how does that not make you just my puppet? My plaything? I've basically taken all free choice away from you!"

"You feel you would be usurping God?"

"Hell no! I've still got my self-determination I've not usurped God only a delusional would think that! But I have taken your identity away from you, the very things that make you you are no longer being controlled by you, they are controlled by me."

"Taking what makes me me? What? How?"

"You think controlling all someone else's decisions is good?"

"Well no..."

"You're right it's not, it's evil."

"Well that seems a little strong..."

"No Agent Banks, removing the free will from someone is just about the most evil thing you can do to them," Solomon assured him. "Agent Banks remembering I am a priest, a Christian. What is the purpose of life?"

"The purpose of life?" Agent Banks blinked caught of guard by the change is subject. "I don't know I vaguely remember a saying that ..."

"The purpose of life," Solomon stated forcefully interrupting Agent Banks. "Is to discover God. The purpose of life is to become closer to God and show God that you wish to be together with God for all eternity. The purpose of life it to do acts that get you to heaven. Taking away free will is evil because it denies someone the chance to fulfil their purpose in life, it denies them the choices that can show their desire to enter heaven”.

Agent Banks blinked and stared at Solomon in disbelief. "What about Shelly? Are you making an exception for her?"

"Why would you say that?" Solomon asked puzzled.

"Well obviously Shelly is doing everything you want her to."

"Shelly is doing what Shelly wants to do, Shelly's free choice is unhindered I am not making Shelly do anything, merely showing her the consequences of her choices and allowing her the chance to make other choices. Shelly is deciding which choice she wants to make each time."

"But you know what choices she is going to make! That's why you are showing her the consequences!" Agent Banks argued fiercely.

"I know and I'm very proud of the decisions she is making," Solomon said with a fatherly smile.

"But you are manipulating her to make them!" Agent Banks snapped.

Solomon glared at Agent Banks then took a deep calming breath. "Agent Banks what would happen if your boss told your partner to put a bullet in the brain of a mutant under her care?" Solomon asked calmly.

"She'd give him the finger," Agent Banks replied immediately with a shrug. "No way is she going to be overruled in the field by a pencil pushing xenophobe."

"And knowing that if you left a let us say 'controversial' mutant in her care, like you did in Colorado, would you be guilty of manipulating Agent Sellany when she ignored an order to do something like that?"

"What? Of course not! Like I could manipulate Sellany, she'd as happily tell me to fuck off as she would our boss!"

"So why do you keep insisting I'm manipulating Shelly just because I can foresee how she's going to react? I'm not changing her reactions just foreseeing them! Accuse me of manipulation when I get someone to do something they'd normally never do!" Solomon snapped as Agent Banks sat there blinking at him.

Calmly Solomon read through the report Whateley security had prepared and Carson had delivered to them as soon as breakfast had finished. Passing the final piece of paper from the file to Agent Selleny Solomon sat back and looked to Agent Banks. "So, now we know," he commented.

Frowning down at the papers spread on the table before him Agent Banks accepted the portfolio of the last of the operatives from Agent Selleny when she finished reading it and added it to the papers spread on the table of the nook in the Summer Retreat basement. "It's an extraction team," he stated bluntly. "You don't gather this many skilled ex-special forces personnel together without a target in mind."

Agent Selleny reached out and pointed to a particular portfolio calling attention to a particular skill of the operative. "Not just extraction, while a sniper is a good backup a kill rate like this with the non-war history of this operative screams 'Assassin'. I'd say it's a 'capture or kill' mission."

Agent Banks grimaced then nodded. "Agreed but what is the target and who is their employers?"

"The target is me," Solomon stated bluntly. "And their employers are The Syndicate."

"How can you know?" Agent Banks growled glaring up at him. "All these are just hired guns, they work for anyone if the pay is right it's impossible to guess who they are working for at the moment!"

Solomon just smiled and tapped his head giving Agent Banks a sly wink. As Agent Banks glared at him Solomon turned back to Carson. "They are assembling but are not yet ready to attack, their handler is not convinced I am here and his masters would prefer to avoid an incident with you if at all possible. We still have time this hasn't changed the time table at all."

"You still believe you can succeed?" she pressed him.

"The odds have not altered," he assured her.

Nodding Mrs. Carson turned to Agent Banks. "I assume you will want to observe them?" she asked pointing at the portfolios on the table.

"If possible," Agent Banks agreed.

Nodding Mrs. Carson stood. "I'll take you to security, they can take you to the team keeping them under surveillance." As Agent Banks gathered the papers back into the file she turned to Solomon. "I assume you will continue Shelly's instructions?"

"I will," he agreed. "As I said the timetable is unaltered by these arrivals, it was always expected that my enemies would gather," he reminded her.

Grimacing Mrs. Carson nodded then turned and led Agents Banks and Selleny from the basement.

Once they had left Selanothis calmly strode from her concealment in Shelly's hair and onto Shelly's shoulder fixing Solomon with wry grin. *'The odds are unchanged'* she smirked at him. *I supposed once the chance of something occurring has already fallen into the drain and started circling it additional complications aren't really able to change the odds,* she commented dryly.

"It was always known that Shelly and I would be pursued by The Syndicate," Solomon reminded her. "Their arrival is confirmation of this."

Selanothis laughed. *I have access to your memories Solomon I know exactly what this means and what you haven't told Carson* she reminded him.

Seeing the concerned look on Shelly's face Solomon quickly assured her. "It truly hasn't changed the timetable Shelly, you will still have time to learn all you need to learn."

Shelly stared at him for a few seconds before unexpectedly she broke out into a huge grin. "I have access to your memories too Solomon and a priest should be ashamed of what you did! Lying by omitting is still lying and that was a big, huge, whopper of a lie you just told Mrs. Carson there! She's not gonna forget in a hurry you did that when she finds out!"

Blushing brightly Solomon quickly stood and started gathering the left over mugs from the meeting, scrambling off to clean and dry them as the laughter of Selanothis and Shelly followed him.

Training

Alarms!

Sitting up on her mattress Shelly looked desperately around as the mental sirens of Selanothis' wards sounded in her head. Silent to the ear Selanothis had set her magic wards to shriek mentally to Shelly, Solomon and herself whenever the wards were disturbed and now they were sounding. Desperately scrambling from her sleeping bag Shelly grabbed the nightlight beside her and diving out of the tent she ran for the stairs.

Running up the stairs Shelly cried out in horror as the door above opened and when she saw the holster on the side of the figure, hand already reaching for the gun she screamed in fear and raised her own hand in terror.

"Shelly no!" Solomon called in terror himself when a bolt of light left him, zinging straight for Shelly who collapsed bonelessly, thumping painfully down onto the stairs.

"What happened? Is everyone alright?" Agent Banks demanded gun drawn as he cautiously came down the stairs to where Solomon was carefully gathering Shelly in his arms.

"Just a sleep spell," Solomon assured him before standing with Shelly in his arms and giving Mrs. Carson, who had defended the stairs behind Agent Banks a hurt look. "We'd gone to bed and set the wards, Shelly woke to them screeching and thought we were under attack," he accused her.

"I'm sorry for the late arrival," Mrs. Carson apologised contritely. "Agent Banks stayed observing our unwelcome guests until late in the evening."

"I wanted to see what their night protocols were," Agent Banks defended himself when Solomon's accusing glare swung his way. "How well the team was interacting, if there were frictions."

"And?" Solomon asked curiosity as he carried Shelly back into the basement.

Agent Banks shook his head. "No issues, it's very professional no egos at all. It's not a tight knit team, too many spoken instructions and meetings to organise things, they've not worked together frequently and already sorted all these things before but there is no egos, no disagreements, just instructions and acknowledgements."

Solomon nodded his understanding as he lay Shelly on a lounge and covered her in a blanket before pulling up a chair to sit beside her.

"So how is the training of Shelly progressing?" Mrs. Carson enquired softly as she and the two DPA Agents also pulled up chairs close to the lounge Solomon had laid Shelly out on and sat.

"Excellently," Solomon replied stroking Shelly's head comfortingly. "Tomorrow we are going to do a test of her control, prove to Shelly that she does not need to fear her gift."

"Control?!" Agent Banks bleated disbelievingly. "Does she have any?" he demanded pointing to the sleeping Shelly, deliberately slept in order to prevent her lashing out with her gift.

"She has enough for the test," Solomon replied unconcerned.

"Enough for the test?" Agent Selleny jumped on the qualification. "That sounds ... ominous?" she queried.

Solomon shrugged. "Shelly has fears about the test. Concerns, emotional issues that if not dealt with will hinder her abilities, abilities we need her to use soon."

"You need her to destroy the world?" Agent Banks demanded horrified.

Solomon looked at him with disappointment. "Agent Banks as I keep trying to tell you 'destroying the world' is not Shelly's power, that is an out-of-control manifestation of her powers bought on by emotional distress and extreme situations much like a telepath can cause headaches screaming for help or a TK superman can accidentally punch through walls swinging widely. Shelly's gift is wondrous and if used correctly it is the answer to our current dilemma."

"OK what is Shelly's gift?" he growled.

Solomon sighed and pointed to the magpie perched asleep on the back of a chair. "As I have told you she is a reality warper. She has the ability to transform up to one hundred kilograms of mass into all that she imagines."

"And this will help you how?" Agent banks demanded.

Solomon smiled. "I weigh less then one hundred kilograms, as does Shelly herself."

"You!" agent Banks exclaimed in disbelief. "You're going to have Shelly change the two of you?!" he demanded. "Into what?"

"Into not us," Solomon replied calmly. "The plan is to be so different nobody will ever be able to identify Shelly or myself ever again."

In stunned silence Agent Banks stared at Solomon in disbelief.

*What If I fail? What if I can't stop her and she makes a black hole?* Selanothis worried privately to Solomon the next morning as Shelly happily busied herself making toast for breakfast. Smiling slightly Soloman again snagged a piece of Vegemite toast from Shelley’s plate as Shelly shrieked and stamped her foot at him, glaring before gathering the rest and scurrying off to the nook to eat in peace.

Solomon laughed then quickly covered his mouth and manfully swallowed the laughter so as not to offend Selanothis.

*I fail to see what is so funny about that!* Selanothis decried.

Solomon took a bite of his toast to hide his grin. *Its just that I made the point of a black hole to Shelly because its big and scary and 'end of the world' sounding but at the same time not actually a problem with her.*

*She can't make black holes?* Selanothis exclaimed in relief.

*Oh no she can,* Solomon said with a smirk. *They are just not so very dangerous,* he explained.

Selanothis stared at him in disbelief. *A black hole isn't dangerous!* she mentally screeched.

*Not the ones Shelly can make,* Solomon assured her smiling down at the upset pixie. *It would take better equipment then the very best physics labs in the world have to even detect any black hole Shelly could make.*

*What?* Selanothis asked stunned.

*Black holes have mass right? It is their extreme mass that makes them so dangerous, able to hold in light. Well Shelly can only manipulate around 100 kilograms of mass, she could turn it into a black hole but it would still only be 100 kilograms of mass. To turn that into a black hole you'd need to compress it to a really, really, infinitesimally small volume, 3 times 10 to the minus 22 meters in radius. Zero point 22 zeros and then a lonely trailing 3 meters in size, the smallest things even the machines at CERN can detect are about ten to the minus 20 meters in size and this would be a thousand times smaller.*

*What about the black hole's gravity?* Selanothis asked confused.

*It's 100 kilograms it would be as dangerous as standing next to a 100 kilogram motorcycle, does that rip you apart? Do you even feel any gravitational pull from it? Basically while she could create a black hole you'd be hard pressed to even be able to detect it before the galactically larger earth's gravity field ripped it apart hence why I used it, 'big and scary' sounding to make Shelly sit up and take notice but not actually that bad if she really did it.*

Sighing Selanothis smiled up Solomon just before he finished. *No it is the release of all that matter as energy as the micro blackhole disintegrates in the Earths gravitational field that would be the problem, not any issues from its gravity! It wouldn't be quite as bad as an anti-matter explosion but only because it would only be the mass of the black hole being converted into energy not like for anti-matter where you'd also have an equal amount of normal matter converting to energy as well. If Shelly created the biggest black-hole she could it'd only destroy any nearby cities not rip the earth apart or anything like that.* Solomon assured her.

Selanothis stared at Solomon in horror the smile freezing on her face like rigour mortis.

*Once I explain to her that she can only manipulate one hundred kilos and that the gravity from that is pitiful she'll understand instinctively how useless black holes are and her talents should stop her building them,* Solomon continued turning to look across the basement at the girl eating at the nook who on spotting him looking her way stuck out her tongue before pointedly crunching down on a piece of toast.

Smiling Solomon returned his regard to Selanothis and frowned at her grey sickly expression. *You all right there Selanothis? You're looking awfully nervous,* he asked worriedly.

Without answering Selanothis took off flying for the basement's bathroom.

"What's with the side of beef?" Selanothis asked as they stepped out onto the deck and saw the beef carcass that had been left on the deck's patio table. The test with Shelly had been all that they could have hoped for and Solomon and Selanothis were taking the time for a bit of air while Shelly slept off her exhaustion.

"Well Shelly is going to need some mass and a pig is about the right size and similar to a human in important ways. We'll get her to change this side of beef into a full pig carcass instead, if she can do that successfully we'll then test some live warping."

"Live warping?" Selanothis looked scared.

Solomon sighed. "I ordered a couple of pigs, they'll be delivered here day after tomorrow if all goes well with the side of beef test tomorrow." At Selanothis glare he shrugged his shoulders. "You ate bacon this morning, these pigs were bought from the abattoir don't pretend like you've never killed an animal before! I'm sorry yes its animal experimentation but we have to know she can do exactly what we need."

Sighing Selanothis nodded her understanding as carefully Solomon wrapped up the side of beef in a cloth. "I'd better take this in," he explained. "If we leave it out here it'll freeze and be useless for tomorrow's test with Shelly."

Solomon grunted as he lifted the side of beef, breathing heavily got it up on his shoulder and started manoeuvring it inside. Grunting Solomon quick-timed it through the cottage before finally putting it down, breathing heavily Solomon leaned against the bathroom wall smiling happily to where he had the side of beef propped up in the shower stall.

"I wondered why you cleaned that so carefully last night, bleach and all," Selanothis commented having followed him.

"Well I don't want it going to waste," Solomon smiled at her. "Once Shelly turns it into a pig's carcass we can put it on the spit out on the deck and cook up dinner for everyone. We've only got a few more days to go now, the beef carcass tomorrow the two live pigs the day after and then we'll need to go straight into the main event the next day," he explained. "The Syndicate team minder has made up his mind, he's sure I'm here and he's given them the go-a-head for an extraction. They'll wait a couple of days to see if they'll have an off-campus opportunity then he'll ask for permission to enter the campus to get me.

Selanothis gave Solomon a worried look. "You know how tricky this is, aren't you going too fast?"

Solomon shrugged. "I believe in Shelly," he stated simply. "Maggie alone proves that she can do it, these test are more for Shelly's benefit then because I believe an anyway they will go wrong."

"Shelly's benefit!?" Selanothis demanded stunned.

Solomon grinned at her. "Well it would be better for her in her own mind after seeing all the ways it could go wrong for her to see it in real life working perfectly before she tries it on us," he assured her. "And really a dinner the night before gathering together all those who are helping us?" he patted the side of beef happily. "Always good for moral and Shelly likes roast pork better then she does roast beef." Turning to Selanothis he smiled at her happily.

Returning

Having been sitting beside the phone Solomon answered it after a single ring. "Father Timothy?" he greeted the caller.

"How did you know it was me?" Father Timothy asked stunned.

"This time of night? This number?" Solomon countered logically.

"Yeah I suppose so," Father Timothy sighed. "I have news they positively identified the remains of the man and woman from your small town today they will be releasing their bodies tomorrow, I just finished saying the rites over them and watching them being placed into coffins for the trip."

Solomon closed his eyes and slumped down. "I don't know how to thank you enough for doing this for us," Solomon apologised softly.

"Actually it's not as bad as I thought, well it is as bad but I'm handling it better." Father Timothy sighed. "There is a lot of need for my skills out here, both legal and spiritual. These people are getting circled by the absolute worst of ambulance chasers, getting caught up in all sorts of dubious things when their grief is such they have no idea what to do. Whenever the situation gets too much for me and I feel too angry or upset I can vent by tearing through the crap documents some of the scum are getting these poor people to sign. Filling out the paperwork to get them invalidated and the scum sanctioned for their actions is very cathartic, it helps me calm down again and get back to the right state of mind for helping these people."

"What about the locals?" Solomon asked in concern.

"Desperately in need of the help too," Father Timothy confirmed. "Luckily once here I could use my contacts to get other sympathetic and willing helpers out here too and reduce the load on the locals, let them take some breaks from it all. Get some clear thinking to help them start planning not just trying to react."

"Once again Tim thank you, if there is anything you need..."

"No need I have the contacts and we are getting offers of help from all over, we have the numbers we need on the ground now. Oh I almost forgot that other detail you asked me to look into? Apparently it was open and shut, the assets were just money and investments and a check has already been made out, its on the way to the address you gave me now."

"I will keep an eye out and pass that on too."

"Listen sorry I'm being called, they have identified some more remains and I'm on call for the Catholics tonight and I'm being waved through that they are ready for me again, I just wanted you to know first so you can inform those that need to know and prepare them."

"I will. Thank you Father Timothy."

Putting down the receiver Solomon sighed and turned *Will you tell her now?* Selanothis asked. *She has a busy day tomorrow and could use the sleep.*

Solomon sat there and thought looking towards the tent Shelly withdrew into to when she wanted privacy, the tent Shelly had entered hours ago and could be heard peacefully sleeping in. Finally he looked to Selanothis. "All I can go by is what I would want and I would want to know. What about you?"

*The same, I would want to know too. I know she can't do anything but still letting her know matters it's her choice not ours, however she handles the news we shouldn't deny her the choice.*

"Please wake her up then, I'll put the kettle on for her and dig out the chocolate biscuits I've been saving."

Holding the crying girl Solomon concentrated on hugging her and letting her cry it out. Shelly had taken far to little time thinking about her parents deaths she needed this time to once again process that they were truly gone and to move a little further down the bumpy road of grieving.

When Shelly started wiping her eyes on the back of her hand Solomon handed her a hankie and sat back a bit. "I assume you'll be wanting to go to the funeral?" Shelly nodded. "With a case like this, there being well international interest in the funerals there are a few things that need to be done. Do you want to plan the funerals yourself or are there people you feel will handle it well?"

Shelly thought for a minute. "Mum once said she had a will and it's all written in there, she also said that when she and Dad divorced both of them wrote wills so that I'm taken care off and they setup funeral thingies so that their needs would be taken care off and not impact me."

"So it all should be in their wills and they wrote them together?" Shelly nodded. "OK then I'll make sure that's passed on to those planning things. Next you personally, do you want to be involved?"

"I I couldn't talk but I want to be there, am am I able to be there?" Shelly asked looking at Solomon fearfully like she dreaded the answer he would give her.

Solomon smiled. "That's why we have never told anyone any name but 'Shelly' for you. It may take some trickery with the larger the funeral the better for hiding in it but if what we hope happens as we plan then yes you will be at your parents funeral."

"Thank you," Shelly whispered before once more she dived into his arms and started weeping.

"Well you have your proof," Solomon proclaimed gesturing to the two bodies on the floor, perfectly formed copies of himself and Shelly created by Shelly earlier. Mrs. Carson grimaced as she looked down on them. "Are you able to handle them?" Solomon enquired.

Mrs. Carson sighed and nodded. "I'm still not convinced you must do it tomorrow," she grouched.

Solomon sighed. "Our time has run out," he reluctantly admitted. "The Syndicate is at this very moment giving permission to their catspaw to release his team and authorising them to enter Whateley's grounds to come for me."

"And you were planning to inform me of such when?" she asked icily.

"This afternoon," Solomon promised. "As soon as your security chief and Agent Banks returned."

Mrs. Carson sighed and nodded. "Alright I'll get rid of the bodies then," she agreed bending down to pick up Shelly's which she cradled tenderly in her arms. "What are you going to be doing? More training?"

"No," Solomon smiled. "Shelly's too emotionally exhausted for that. Shelly and I have the pig's carcass she created yesterday to spit and roast, this afternoon we'll be holding a barbecue in thanks for all those that helped us."

"Tonight? Now?" Mrs. Carson explained in surprise.

"Well we're leaving tomorrow," Solomon reminded her. "When else are we going to be able to thank everyone?"

Momentarily speechless Mrs. Carson opened and closed her mouth a few times before ruefully she chuckled. "All right Solomon I'll make sure to gather up everyone for dinner tonight and bring them over," she promised before she disappeared up the stairs cradling the duplicate of Shelly.

"What is with the tent?" Agent Banks asked as Father Solomon gave it to him.

"As I explained earlier," Solomon sighed, "though admittedly after your eyes started glazing over, once we put the wards up for the night you're not getting back in. Now if you insist on staying outside the wards the tent is so you can setup a warm place to rest and store some food and the like. We are being careful and trying to pretend this Guest Cottage isn't in use at the moment so parking a car out front for you to use would be counterproductive, hence a tent hidden in the bushes."

"I'm not here to play hide in the bushes …"

"Not even with a pretty lady?" Agent Selleny asked huskily licking her lips and leaning forward in her chair so that Agant Banks could see … Christ did she forget to put a bra on today? He could see all the way down and usually …

With his eyes closed so he could turn his head Agent Banks wrenched it around and opened them to look at Solomon. "I don't see…"

"Agent Banks its quite literally freezing around here at the moment. We asked to be isolated from the rest of the school especially the students and they obliged, giving us the summer retreat lodge. It's not usually used in winter as it has no garage, it has no underground links to the school and it's a long walk from everywhere else, now since we are warding the one building around here protected from the weather your choices are stark. Stay inside the wards and warm in the cottage, stay a long way from the lodge in the next closest building, freeze to death or build a shelter. Hence the tent!" Thrusting two sleeping bags at them he turned around and placed a gym bag on the floor as well. "Camp stove, a pot, some bottled water, coffee, whatever 'creamer' is it ain't like any bovine product I've ever seen before and some two minute noodles because they are made with boiling water and quite warming in their own right. Now go, make camp. You'll need to be bedded down in it before everyone leaves and we set the wards for the night and once again I know they are not going to do anything tonight you don't need to do this."

Quickly standing and grabbing the tent and sleeping bags Agent Selleny almost ran from the room calling back over her shoulder. "No, but Agent Banks wants to do it."

Looking towards Agent Banks Solomon again warned him. "As soon as you've cleared the perimeter and we've confirm the boundaries again we'll raise the wards, remember no getting back in once you leave so you might want to catch Agent Selleny and suggest she makes a detour past the ladies room?" he suggested with a smirk.

Agent Banks glared at him and once again Solomon sighed. "Agent Banks? Really I know that the Syndicate team have authorised their catspaw to break their agreement with Whateley and try and snatch me on school grounds but they are not coming tonight! There is no need for you to patrol the perimeter."

"I'm here to protect the public and allowing the Syndicate to get their hands on you or Shelly is not fulfilling that oath. I've seen them Solomon, the Syndicate snatch squad are ready to go at a moment's notice and I'll use my skills to the utmost to protect the public even if that means tonight I patrol the perimeter."

Sighing Solomon nodded. Watching Agent Banks quickstep off to catch his partner Solomon rolled his eyes and shook his head before with a wry smile he turned and made his way back to clearing up after the dinner.

With cleaning up finished and Agents Selleny and Banks outside the perimeter Selanothis took off flying on Maggie to strengthen the outside wards while Shelly went to take a shower. Seeing the stiff way Mrs. Carson was standing examining him Solomon made a cup of hot chocolate and a mug of coffee and gestured her into the nook in the corner of the basement.

"Why are you doing this?" Mrs. Carson demanded as soon as they were seated.

Solomon blinked. "Why am I doing this or why is Solomon the Catholic Church's great Foreseer doing this?" Solomon sought to clarify.

"Yes! Why!" Carson demanded.

"Has asking me why ever made things better or easier?" Solomon cautioned. "Are you sure you want to know? It's a little late for cold feet."

"I still control your destiny," Mrs. Carson reminded him. "This still fails if I so will it."

Solomon sighed and nodded conceding her point. "First then me the man. Why am I doing it?" He cocked an eyebrow at her nodding at her demanding expression. "At least that is simple, for the same reason Selanothis' is doing it." Solomon looked her directly in the eye. "Love," he replied simply. "Shelly needs it and we can give it too her. Our hearts strive to give it to her, be crystal clear about that it will clear your sight as far as Selanothis and I are concerned.

"Second why is the Catholic Church's 'Solomon' doing it?" Solomon smiled. "Because even with great wisdom Solomon was still a man and all men are bought low by love as the poets like to write. Personally I see little low in love and consequences are usually not from love but other darker stains interacting with it. Love is the final command of Jesus to the Apostles and I feel a worthy guiding light for my actions." Looking up Solomon smirked at Mrs. Carson's thunderous expression.

"Putting words in your mouth for your real question," he continued. "Why would a priceless unique asset to the Catholic Church, the holder of a legacy as powerful as mine leave the Church to flounder as I dedicate myself to guiding a single girl?" he wiggled his eyebrows and smirked as Mrs. Carson nodded sharply.

"I'll let you in to a truth the Church tells over and over again but nobody seems to hear, mayhap you will." Solomon lent forward the playful smirking expression replaced with one that was deadly serious. "There is no Solomon Legacy. There is no line of Imbued from the time of Solomon to the present working within the Catholic Church to continue the work of Solomon. There are no Immortals. There is no secret rights. There is no vessel of power. There is not, there has never been. I. Am. Not. Solomon," he stated firmly.

"And yet you called yourself such," Carson pressed.

Solomon smiled. "And I did it for exactly the same reason all have done so before, legends have power, names have a mystic appeal all of their own by saying 'I am Solomon' I got us here exactly where I promised I would and everyone believed and pulled to make it happen. No other name I could have used would have done so, so I used the name I needed."

Mrs. Carson lent forward. "If you are not of the line of 'Solomon' what then are you? A mutant?"

"Oh no I am Imbued," he promised then leaned forward with a playful smile gesturing her closer. "But I'm not uniquely Imbued," he whispered into her ear before leaning back with a great laugh at her shocked expression.

"What do you mean?" she demanded crossly.

"Have you heard of the 'Gifts of the Holy Spirit'?" Solomon inquired. "No? They are Wisdom, Understanding, Knowledge, Counsel, Fortitude, Piety and Wonder, these gifts are but some of the Gifts given to the Apostles and the first Christians at Pentecost and God never stopped giving them in greater, or lesser, degrees to those who dedicate their life to his work."

Carson's eyes widened in shock. "The Catholic Church has more!" she demanded.

Solomon smiled. "To greater, or lesser, degrees," he repeated sitting back. "Basically there is no conflict for me, I was always my own man working as I see fit and I know that this is where I need to be, what I need to be doing. There are plenty more in the Church who can step up to cover other duties I may have been fulfilling."

Carson sat there blankly staring in shock finally Solomon prompted, "Is this what you wanted to hear?"

Shaking herself Carson returned her gaze to Solomon. "No but it is what I needed to hear," she admitted. While she sat in thought Selanothis flew back in and seeing the posture of Mrs. Carson winged over to see what was happening. Shelly coming back from her shower followed her, glancing fearfully at Mrs. Carson before jumping up and cuddling close to Solomon.

"Are you with our plan?" Solomon asked finally. "Tomorrow will you do what we need you to do?"

Mrs. Carson looked steadily at him and sighed. "I don't know," she replied eventually." You said it yourself tomorrow may not work, you cannot guarantee the outcome. Already the vultures circle and ready their attacks timing for tomorrow is not in your hands and it is not in mine."

Looking between the three of them she sighed. Solomon who waited patiently for her answer, Shelly who stared up at her still awed to be in the presence of an idol of hers and finally Selanothis, who had flown to Shelly and was scowling at her unconsciously stanced protectively between her and Shelly even though she stood on the later's shoulder.

"I have put in place what is needed for my and Whateley's parts in your plan," finally she conceded. "But it will happen only if I so will it. I will make the call according to what I see happening." She looked to Selanothis who reluctantly nodded then to Solomon.

"I trust your wisdom," was all he said standing and gesturing her towards the exit.

"Oh by the way this arrived on my desk today," Mrs. Carson announced as she stood. "With a letter asking that I forward the contents to the heirs of a 'Dolores Kelly', I assumed it was for you?"

Solomon took the letter from Mrs. Carson and thanked her. "It's part of our funding for disappearing, I'll make sure it gets where it needs to go I didn't want to send it here under my name and assumed one more letter from a bunch of lawyers would raise no eyebrows if sent to you even if someone opened it."

Mrs. Carson nodded. "Certainly there have been more than a few 'secret identities' I've performed the same service for." Turning she walked to the door and left while Solomon removed the check from the envelope and placed it in a waiting addressed envelope and sealed it. Placing the envelope on the table as Selanothis flew down and landed next to the envelope. Selanothis stared at the envelope and then looked up at Solomon concern in her eyes.

"I know Selanothis it's everything you've ever had, sent as a check through the post. Decades of clandestine work building up the resources to have anything to put in a bank account and all the difficulties of holding on, even partially, to the last vestiges of your former self. I'm sorry but we need to sever everything and posting it is the most mundane and hardest to intercept way to do this."

*It will arrive?* she asked vibrating her distress.

"Yes, even better it will be meet by a lawyer who will get it into a new account ready for your new identity, all nice and legal and traceable and everything above board and legal, just tracing back to the wrong thing so nobody will connect it to us."

Solomon looked at her conflicted body language merely place the stamp on the table next to the sealed letter. "I think it's time for Shelly and I to do another Buffy marathon," he commented waving Shelly to follow him. "We have a few hours this evening I'm sure we can get through another DVD together." Smiling briefly he reached out and let the back of his finger brush gently against her cheek as Selanothis once again sighed and leant into it for the briefest of instances before Solomon stepped away calling out to Shelly to make some popcorn leaving Selanothis alone with her letter.

Aggressive seduction

By the time Agent Banks had finished confirming his sight lines, noting his paths around the perimeter and finally crawled back into the hidden 'clearing' under the large fir tree Agent Selleny had pitched the tent. Looking dubiously up at the branches above him, the lowest bent nearly all the way to the ground by the snow on them Agent Banks turned to the smiling Agent Selleny.

"Relax Chicken Little," she laughed. "The grounds keepers specially checked out this tree for us and confirmed all the branches, nothing is going to come crashing down on our little love nest in the middle of the night and cause you to come running out 'in flagrante delicto'."

"It's not a love nest Selleny," he growled. "It's a hide for us to warm up in between maintaining vigilance on our targets."

Selleny gave him another amused look, together with the propriety ones she'd been given him ever since they arrived on this mission they seemed to be all the looks she had thrown him since today started Agent Banks noted absently.

"So do you want first watch?" Selleny suggested. "I'll get the inside set up?" she pointed at the tent.

"Sure it will be dark soon and then we'll see what security has as updates for our expected guests."

Nodding Agent Selleny ducked into the tent leaving Agent Banks carefully making his way out from the hidden space under the tree branches and starting his patrol from vantage point to vantage point looking down on the Whateley grounds.

Less then half an hour later Whateley security came in over the radio "Banks, you there?"

"Go," he replied shortly.

"Snowstorm coming in, blizzard expected to drop another few inches of snow time to huddle up. Confirmed your guests turned home and have garaged up themselves nothing's going to happen tonight."

Swearing Banks thumped the ground then calmly replied. "Wilko squirrelling in." Returning to the tree he carefully inserted himself into the clearing underneath, again making sure not to disturb the snow on the branches of the tree a clear giveaway that someone was hiding under it to those that new what to look for and crawled into the tent backwards zipping it back up before kneeling and removing his coat, sitting to remove his shoes and finally sliding out of his cold weather pants.

Turning to look inside the tent for the first time Agent Banks stopped shocked frozen on his hands and knees looking down at the smiling siren face of Agent Selleny lying head right below his on the joined-together air mattresses in the middle of the tent his favourite of her assets, her breasts, caught and held his attention. Like he'd thought Agent Selleny wasn't wearing a bra today she was instead covered in a black lace bodysuit. Crotchless he couldn't help noticing and she was grinning like the cat that got the barrel of cream.

"Oh dear," she murmured wickedly. "All dressed up and nowhere to go I do love a good blizzard, all those hours of lying side by side cuddling close for body warmth just whatever shall we do?" she asked breathlessly. With a throaty laugh she pulled down his face planting a kiss right on his lips. So surprised was Agent Banks her lips were locked with his and her tongue invading his mouth before he could so much as catch his breath let alone protest.

Kissing long and lingeringly Agent Selleny didn't let up until a gust of wind rattled the tent. "Right on time my new best friend," she purred finally releasing him from her kiss. "You have nowhere to run now." Fixing him with a penetrating stare Agent Selleny all but growled at him. "For the record I don't tease what I don't want, I flirt with what I intend to have and I'm all through with flirting I will have my dessert."

Spinning round she rose to her knees pulling him up too. Untucking his top she pulled that over his head followed by his shirt and thermal underwear leaving him naked above the waist. Leaning back she pulled him down atop her. Running a foot up his thigh she smiled. "Yes I knew you liked me." Rubbing her foot up and down until he drew short of breath Agent Selleny smiled and stopped then casually she popped her foot in through the waistband of his trousers and licked her lips. Pushing down with her foot on his waistband she effectively pantsed him before rolling him over and onto his back slipping a hip over him and then slowly pushing down as she sighed. "Now dear," she all but purred "Let me show you some dance moves I'm particularly proud of."

Throwing a fully unzipped sleeping bag over them as a blanket Agent Selleny lay full length on top of Agent Banks with a leg on either side undulating happily. Leaning forward she whispered in his ear "Mine. Aaalllll Mine."

Alternative measures

"Doctor Trent," Mrs. Carson welcomed the man exiting the first of two vans to pull up to the loading dock for the Doyle Medical Centre.

"Mrs. Carson," he greeted her back. "Interesting drive, we barely made it in before the blizzard I hope you don't mind putting up me and my crew for the night?" he said gesturing to the flying snow behind them.

"Not at all and I'm afraid it might be a cold and late one. Did you bring them?"

Doctor Trent nodded. "Two anaesthetic transport capsules, guaranteed to keep even the highest regen mutant sleeping peaceful as a baby for at least twenty four hours."

"I need you to prep them, one for a baseline male six foot late thirties a little bit flabby but still fit. The other for a fourteen year old girl, caucasian also a baseline physique. No regen."

"Do we have medical records on them?"

"No but I have been assured that the standard settings for their baseline profiles will be sufficient and non-dangerous for them by a trusted psychic."

"And when do you need them ready by?"

"Tomorrow and then I need your team to be ready to move at minimal notice. Something may happen tomorrow our psychics say and there is a chance we'll need to transport these two to ARC."

"And what will we be doing with them there? I just need to know so I can get the right setups for the chambers, wouldn't want to drug them into insensibility if they need to start therapy straight away."

"That won't be a problem if we need to transport them it'll be because we need to insert them into the ARC Black facilities. The girl's codename is 'Ragnarök', we've already had one event with her that we barely survived if we get lucky at another event I want your team ready to act."

"Lucky!" he gasped. "With a codename like 'Ragnarök' define 'lucky'?"

"The Earth’s still here," Mrs. Carson stated coldly to the wide-eyed stare of Doctor Trent. "The name is warranted, a title given to her not something she chose herself," Cason explained to the doctor. "Can you get those chambers prepared?"

"We'll work through the night if we have to," he promised fervently waving to his team and wheeling the two ambulance trolleys with their coffin-sized tube-shaped cargos through the doors and into the Doyle Medical Complex.

"Are you really planning to put Shelly into ARC Black?" the security guard with Mrs. Carson asked quietly.

"If the timing goes wrong and they cannot complete their spell in time we won't have a choice," she admitted sadly. "They have until the first attack on them to get it done, once the attacks start they are not going to stop and it then becomes Russian roulette with the world on the line and an unknown number of bullets in the gun."

"They can't just try again?" he pleaded softly.

Mrs. Carson closed her eyes in pain. "The players against them are not amateurs, they have their own precogs and clairvoyants too. If they attack they believe they'll succeed and I believe they'll at least get to them, that's all it will take to spook Shelly. Once spooked Shelly can so easily escalate, slowly or fast the spiral is inevitable and we know its eventual outcome doesn't bear thinking about."

"But she's such a good kid."

"As are all too many of the others held there that I failed," Mrs. Carson sighed turning away and walking into Doyle Medical Centre face bleak.

Morning after

"Father Solomon I want to discuss with you that tent!" Agent Banks cried out as soon as Solomon and Shelly stepped up from the basement into the main floor where breakfast was being served to all those 'in the know' for today's endeavour.

"I wasn't responsible for what happened last night!" Solomon replied calmly. "I told you it wasn't needed to guard us."

"You can't tell me you didn't know about the snowstorm I ..." Solomon held up a hand to stop him.

"I didn't plan last night someone got up yesterday morning and planned what she would be wearing all day it wasn't me, anyway Agent Banks it takes two to tango." Solomon favoured him with a smirk. "Though admittedly one leads and the other follows." Leaving the red faced Agent Solomon made his way to Shelly and hidden in her hair Selanothis.

*Our reluctant paramour?* Selanothis smirked.

*I think he feels we cheated somehow,* Solomon confirmed.

*He had as much chance of escaping her as the Titanic had of making New York, he was sunk years ago she has no shame in taking her man.*

*I think 'taking' is exactly what he feels she did.*

*Tell me that when his pants stop tenting at her merest scent,* Selanothis laughed. *He needed a good screw and she definitely enjoyed giving it to him, look at her marking her conquest rubbing all over him.*

*I do seem to notice a slightly changed 'alpha' / 'beta' feel from them,* Solomon suggested smirking as Agent Selleny casually reached around both sides of Agent Banks to take things off the breakfast table, not so accidentally rubbing her breasts into his back and making him stiffen and pale. Agent Selleny just lent sensuously into his back, eyes closed and an expression of bliss on her face as all around the room jaws dropped as Agent Selleny all but purred into Agent Banks' back.

*Oh my! I need to take notes that's the way to mark a conquest complete!* Selanothis enthused.

"OK people," Mrs. Carson called attention to herself waiting as the gathered quieted down and shuffled over to her. "This is the situation, today Solomon will be attempting to guide Shelly through a working that has a high degree of risk with possible explosive outcomes as such they will be attempting this in the hollow near the grove right at the edge of campus." The security guards turned frowning gazes on Shelly at the mention of 'possibly explosive outcomes'.

"Now as you know," Mrs. Carson continued gathering back their attention. "There are several outside powers that want our guests and are prepared to initiate hostilities in order to get them, here then is what you will be doing in order to prevent this.

Hiding

As security set-up their perimeter Agent Banks walked up to Solomon who was staring down into the hollow and occasionally glancing at the Grove nearby as well. "How will we know you are successful?" Agent Banks asked.

"There will be an explosion a huge crater will be created and we will no longer be there, you can tell everyone I died containing 'Ragnarök's' final event that consumed us both," Solomon replied solemnly.

"And if it doesn't work?" Banks pushed.

Solomon smiled wryly. "There will be an explosion, a huge crater will be created and we will no longer be there, you can tell everyone I died containing 'Ragnarök's' final event that consumed us both," Solomon dead-panned with a slight smirk.

Banks blinked. "How will I know which it was?" he exclaimed frustrated.

Solomon laughed. "You won't, nobody will only we will know if we succeeded or not. If you want you cannot lie to your boss by using words such as 'we believe they perished' instead," he suggested grinning widely.

"You're a cruel, cruel man," Agent Selleny stated laughing at the shocked expression on her partner's face. "Some men handle uncertainty so poorly and you're giving him no certainty at all."

"He has access to precogs, it's not like he can't check with them for his certainty." Solomon laughed at Banks outraged expression raising a hand in farewell before he left setting off quickly down the hill to the hollow they were going to use today where Shelly and unknown to most Selanothis waited for him.

As he arrived in the hollow Solomon hugged Shelly and concentrated hard. *Selanothis, prepare the sleep spell just in case, the syndicate has moved and we may not have the time we need,* he thought loudly trusting to Selanothis to hear his thoughts.

*No! If they take her...*

*Lady Astarte will get her back. I fear more for what Shelly may do, the hurt she may cause herself accidentally then that anyone today will take her far from the school. Lady Astarte is right here with her fighting to keep Shelly safe. Please let's not have mistakes Shelly could not control on her conscience.*

*But...*

*Please?* Solomon begged.

Selanothis sighed *Alright, I'll prepare the spell but I will not use it!* she fiercely declared.

*Thank you Selanothis!* he sighed in relief. "I believe we are ready," Solomon announced giving Shelly a final hug before he released her and looked her in the eye. "Are you ready?"

Shelly took a deep breath and nodded. Closing his eyes Solomon concentrated calling to Selanothis *Link us. I will start monitoring the patterns when you have that link tight reach out to Shelly and bring her in with us.*

*Sharing with you*"now" Solomon finished her sentence.

"Ready to bring you in now Shelly" Selanothis voice came from Solomon's mouth.

"Completing the link" "now!" Solomon and Shelly chorused in one voice as simultaneously identical smiles rearranged their faces. "I think therefore I am," they intoned together before stepping close, touching forehead to forehead they apparently entered a trance together.

"How long?" Agent Banks queried of Lady Astarte who was standing next to Selleny and himself after thirty minutes of watching Solomon and Shelly stand still as statues with their eyes closed with nothing seeming to happen.

"Solomon said an hour or more. We'll know when they are done," Lady Astarte reminded him wryly.

"Stop worrying about them," Agent Selleny muttered. "Instead worry about why the Security Officers just pulled their guns and have started scanning the sky."

Pulling his own gun Agent Banks strode to the top of the hill and shielding his eyes, starting to scan the horizon towards the town of Dunwich. "I thought they were going to warn us when the kidnap squad in Dunwich stirred," he muttered.

Agent Selleny too had climbed the hill but she was looking to the right to the closest perimeter scanning worriedly over the Native Lands. "It's not them," she warned readying her sidearm as she heard the base rumble of chopper blades.

Turning towards her Banks was just in time to see her lower thigh explode in blood as Selleny cried out in pain and collapsed a thick geyser of blood shooting out the hole in her leg.

"Shit they got an artery!" Dropping next to Selleny Agent Banks desperately undid his belt as he reach forth a hand to stop the spurting.

"If I'd known all it took to get your pants down was to show a little thigh I'd have done it long ago," Selleny mumbled staring in shock as again blood geysered out of her leg.

"Stay with me Selleny," Banks cried desperately as he pulled off his belt wrapping it around her upper thigh above the wound, pulling it as tight as he could as the loud cacophony of a helicopter roared over their heads.

Flying low the helicopter dropped grenades onto the girl and the man in the bottom of the hollow. Crying out in surprise Shelly raised her arm in front of her eyes as the flash grenade blinded her then again in anguish as a concussion grenade threw her and Solomon through the air where Solomon heard a crack and then a pained scream as Shelly landed awkwardly, bending her arm under her body and then breaking her wrist as the force of the concussion caused her body's full weight to bend the wrist all the way back caught as it was between her chest and the ground.

Crawling towards the sounds of sobbing Solomon heard the muffled retort of shots. Desperately diving forward he tried to get between Shelly and her assailants as he felt impacts on his arms, reaching out he felt darts and realised that instead of bullets they were shooting darts to subdue them. Already loosing feeling in his arm he cried out "Selanothis!" Solomon screamed. "It's lost Shelly is down. Fly!"

*Solomon no!*

"Selanothis! Please!"

Watching the armed men running for Shelly Selanothis whistled and as the magpie swooped from the sky she jump from Shelly's hair to the magpie's back keeping her glamour of misdirection active. She looked back just in time to see a black suited assailant grab and pull Shelly by her broken arm, shrieking Shelly pushed her other arm towards the assailant and Selanothis felt Solomon's desperate cry in her head at the glow appearing around Shelly's outreached hand as Shelly screamed in pain. Weeping herself Selanothis turned back towards the fight and released the spell she had prepared, the one she had hoped not to need.
Knocking Shelly unconscious Selanothis shrieked her unhappiness to the wind, a cry not just of voice but of mind too. Writhing on the ground the assailants desperately tried to cover their ears against the pain but as it was a shriek of mental anguish it mattered not. Swinging back around for a third pass Selanothis struck out this time with magic and mindful of Solomon's feelings she struck not to harm but with the same spell she had used on Shelly. One by one she hunted them down and slept them all, careless of her own ethics on telepathy she ruthlessly used the fear they were screaming to goad them and find them with her gift then render them unconscious with her spells.

Eventually she realised that though they couldn't see her they had started to associate the magpie with the effects of her spell and after a couple of wild shots had come particularly close to injuring Shelly's gift Selanothis came to her senses enough to pull back. Circling away she realising in her rage she had slept not only the assailants but also Whateley Security guards, even Agents Banks and Selleny were victims of her magic.

*Go! Run!* Solomon desperately pleaded as the effects from darts overtook him and he succumbed, slumping unconscious.

Crying Selanothis paused about to circle back but more Whateley security was arriving and taking no chances they started firing on the magpie. Selanothis wheeled and dove into the Grove crying and not realising where she was going till she arrived at the tree deep in the Grove that hid the hole she had hidden in ever since she'd arrived at the Grove soon after manifesting, after making her way to where she had felt 'called' to go.

Dismounting she crawled through the defences against animals she had slowly painstakingly built up over the years and into the bed of moss and dried grass that had been the best she'd ever learnt to make herself. Laying down Selanothis wept her unhappiness.

Slowly fighting off the dual effects of Selanothis mental scream and sleeping spell Lady Astarte stumbled to where Shelly had been rendered unconscious and grimaced at the revealed injuries Shelly has been stopped in the middle of unleashing. While her assailant still breathed his clothing had been burnt off all along the sides closest to Shelly. From his wrists along both arms to his chest and up his chest to and through his face nasty burns covered his skin all along where the clothing had been burnt off. Shelly herself wasn't as badly burnt but it was obvious that whatever she had been about to do was also reflecting back on herself.

Sighing she turned toward the newly arriving Security Officers. "Have Doctor Trent bought now along with his two chambers, Ragnarök and Solomon will need to be transported to ARC and we need to do it before they wake and fight us. This is the one chance we’ll have of doing this we must take it."

With tears seeping from her eyes she knelt down and gently turned the girl to her back, moving the injured arm so that it lay across her chest. Tenderly she brushed a stray lock of hair from her face then sighing she stood to check on the others.

Sitting nearby where it had landed the syndicate’s helicopter was starting to wind down its whiting blades as the arriving security officers powered down the engines while removing the unconscious pilots from the craft, disarming them and securing them in case they awoke. Quickly the other six men of the extraction team were all also secured tightly, even the burnt one, by the arriving Whateley security teams. Looking further out she saw the lights of security and medical teams racing for the hollow near the Grove and sighed finally looking towards Agents Selleny and Banks back up the hill. Banks was collapsed over Selleny where he had been tying his belt on as a tourniquet, judging by the lack of pumping blood from her wound Agent Banks had managed to successfully finish that before he was rendered unconscious, already security officers were with them one animatedly calling into his radio presumably for urgent medical aid.

Lady Astarte sighed and pulling on her "Mrs. Carson" persona went forth to organise the response.

ARC

"Where am I?" Agent Banks growled as he awoke looking around the medical room he was in.

"ARC," Mrs. Carson said simply. "Your partner was taken for immediate medical attention to Whateley's Doyle Medical Clinic and her leg operated on successfully, she is recuperating at the schools medical clinic. You were only unconscious and so transported here with Ragnarök and Solomon, the contingency plan is being enacted already they will not awake and are being prepped directly for insertion to ARC Black right now."

"I thought you believed in Solomon?" Agent Banks accused.

Carson sighed anguish showing through her usually impeccable teacher's mask. "I did but as he always said today was a one shot. They ran out of time and our enemies got lucky, they managed to render Ragnarök unconsciousness and unable to respond to her danger sense we will not get a second chance like this so, as I always warned I would, I have acted. Rest here when we are ready you will be able to watch and confirm for your employers the insertion, our MCO Agent friend has also been invited to attend so be warned." Turning she left Agent Banks to his thoughts.

"Agent Banks?" Banks looked up one of the technicians was standing there holding something, Agent Banks had no idea how long he had been sitting there thinking since Lady Astarte had left. "We found it in Solomon's clothes when we were prepping him it's addressed to you." The technician held out what he could now see was a letter. Numbly taking it Banks stared down at "For Agent Banks of the U.S. DPA. Open now". The technician left quickly closing the door behind him and again leaving Agent Banks alone.

Turning the letter over Agent Banks saw it was an ordinary envelope, though Banks couldn't help smiling as he noticed it was sized for A4 paper not US letter. Smiling at Solomon's almost obsessive snub of US imperial measurements Banks pushed a forefinger under the tab and opened the envelope, inside was a letter and another envelope with no marking on it at all. Shrugging he started reading the letter.

 

Agent Banks looked at the unopened letter for a while then carefully placed it inside his jacket pocket. Folding the letter he'd just read carefully too he put it back into its envelope and sat there holding it before finally he sighed. "You gave me the second letter already, you knew I'd accept your request where is your free will in this?" Smiling he stood and opening the door left to oversee the interment of Ragnarök and the completion of his mission to prevent her from ending the world as they knew it.

Epilogue

Finally, after crying herself out Selanothis sat up and wiped her eyes. Looking around at what was little more then a hollow she'd excavated out among the roots of an Oak tree - dirt floor, dirt walls, kittle else to show for all the decades she'd lived there - Selanothis turned and spied the one aspect of modern life in her hole, the letter with her check in it secreted here when she had taken it from the desk last night.

Face firmly set Selanothis marched to the letter, picked up the stamp from the dirt nearby peeled it off its backing and firmly attached the self-adhering stamp to the letter. Taking hold of the letter Selanothis started pulling it down the tunnel. At each of her defences Selanothis deliberately dismantled them leaving the tunnel free of obstructions, she no longer intended ever to return here and something else might as well claim her shelter.

Reaching Maggie huddled in the snow outside Selanothis apologetically reached out and warmed her with some magic then climbing aboard she set off for the main school buildings where she intended to post her letter and then talk Mrs. Carson into helping her 'return' Maggie and herself back to Shelly's home, a place she fully intended to start living - no more would she huddle here in the Grove and merely 'survive'.

Secure Syndicate Tele-conferencing channel

"Report." Even distorted the command in that voice was unmistakable.

"Solomon and Ragnarok have been interred in ARC Black. ARC operatives were on site already, when they were both rendered unconscious Carson ordered them to action both targets were confined in portable sleep chambers and transported to ARC where they were immediately incarcerated, never regaining consciousness."

"What happened? How did you fail?" another voice demanded.

"Both teams performed flawlessly," the second voice responded calmly. "The decoy team was discovered and placed under surveillance immediately as planned, Whateley Security finding them and identifying them quickly ..."

"Did they trace them back to the organisation?" interrupted another voice.

"Of course, that too was part of the plan," the second voice replied smoothly. "At no time did the team identified by Whateley Security as being a Syndicate team enter or violate the Whateley neutrality."

"But Whateley believes they were planning to?" the planner's accuser rang out again.

"Correctly, the team was planning to enter Whateley grounds, the fact remains though they did not. As far as Whateley is concerned a different 'unknown' group attempted extraction," the planner replied calmly.

"But your second team was captured!" the accuser rang out again.

"You and I know that," the planner replied not even the distortion hiding his humour. "But no one else does, not even the members of that team. I hired them directly by anonymous means, giving them full intelligence on the first team as a 'rival' concern and they acted independently at all times. As far as they are all concerned they were hired by a competitor organisation."

"So Whateley is completely unaware of our organisation's involvement in the incursion?" the commanding voice demanded.

"Completely."

"Good. Wind up team one, double-check no links between the organisation and the second team exist and then close down the operation."

"But the Asset!" the accuser squealed.

Silence descended as all waited to see what the commanding voice would do about the interruption.

"This is the best possible outcome," the voice declared slowly, enunciating clearly as if to a simpleton. "The target's threat to our organisation in neutralised and no additional strain has been placed on our association with Whateley."

"But he failed to obtain the asset!"

A silence of stunned disbelief greeted the additional outburst.

"The target's value as an asset was marginal at best," the commanding voice growled. "The resources needed to gain co-operation and protect him likely would have negated most of the gains from obtaining him. Due to the actions of our agent the target is now no longer a threat to us. The operation was an outstanding success it is to be closed and liquidated immediately with the minimum of ripples."

"Understood," the planner replied breaking the connection immediately.

Twenty four years later

"I should have known," Banks' last boss in the DPA before his forced resignation and retirement cursed when Banks was escorted to the control room, beaten and handcuffed.

"Fifteen years you spent blocking me now that I have what I want despite the best efforts of your protégé," he gestured to a corner "you appear again like you matter, well you don't matter. Sit here and watch as I unfreeze Solomon and get some real Talent for the Department, make our country great again!"

Looking to the corner Banks stared horrified. Running over he knelt down quickly, removing his tie and taking out his hankie he bundled up the hankie and tied it over the gunshot wound to the leg of the woman laying there as he checked her breathing finding it really faint. Moving the leg he saw why, quite a lot of blood had already been lost from the wound. Turning growling, he stopped facing the rock steady opening of the wrong end of a gun.

"You'd have been proud of her," his former boss gloated. "Proper protégé of you and her mother." He spat. "Once she realised what I was doing it took a bullet to drop her and then bleeding out to stop her."

"You bastard! She's one of your own Agents!"

"As I said poisoned by you and her mother." Turning dismissively he ordered another Agent," Guard them, take them somewhere else no need to tempt fate by having another of the subjects' oversights here no telling what he could do with these computers. Lock him up somewhere safe."

Growling Banks stooped and gathered Deborah in his arms and strode from the room with her. "This way," the guarding Agent tried to insist.

"Fuck you she's one of ours! I'm taking her to the infirmary, shoot me in the back if you have to otherwise clear out of the fucking way!" He strode off knowing that without the direct order of the man in the room none of the Agents here would shoot him, especially as he was striding away from the area of concern.

Banks stumbled into a run, jaws clenched as he remembered his first introduction to Deborah as a fresh recruit straight out of the Academy. As Solomon had hinted his former partner, her mother, had sacrificed her career for the welfare of a mutant child, escorting the kid to Whateley over the express orders of the piece of filth he'd just left, at that time an up-and-coming golden boy desk jockey writing orders 'For the good of the Department' and not caring about the lives of the Mutants he so summarily traded like sides of beef. His partner had taken her sacking in silence, making them go through with the threat refusing to quit, refusing in any way to make it easy for them.

Bursting through the infirmary door he growled to the Agents with drawn guns standing over the staff. "Get out. She's hurt and they'll stay to fix her, they believe in their job and the oaths they took." Carefully laying Agent Selleny down on the table he waved over a doctor and then personally escorted the DPA Agents from the room by sheer force of fury alone.

Leaving the doctors to do their job Agent Banks sank down in a chair and removed from his jacket pocket a letter, envelope sized for A4 paper and completely devoid of all markings. Sighing he slipped his finger under the flap and tore it open. "Well Solomon I guess this is the time you foresaw happening just as you feared, what pearl of wisdom do you have to get us out of this mess?" he wondered aloud.

A gold ring came out of the envelope and a single piece of paper. Taking the single sheet of paper out he opened it and read:

 

Silver laughter caused Banks to look up where the daughter that had hidden her relationship to him for years smiled at him from the bed. "Doc I think you need to send a nurse with a paper bag for my father, I may have lost all the blood but he looks like he's the one that's gonna faint!"