Just a Happy Christmas Story
Part 1
By
Domoviye

Doyle
Mid-Morning
Friday, December 14^th, 2007

Jane sat on the chair watching Dr. Markham, the therapist Whateley insisted she talk to since Thanksgiving. She refused to say anything. After crying on Smile's shoulder at breakfast, the suicidal thoughts had been pushed back a little, replaced by her old friend, darkness. She had forgotten what it was like to have friends. Mille had spent too many years hiding and killing to make any. And like his family, having friends would have put them in danger. He had had too many enemies who wanted him dead no matter the cost.

And now Jane was in the same predicament.

If she stayed whoever had gone after Shaun and was now after her, would try again. Smile, Aella, Cooper, and most importantly Shaun would be in danger. Leaving them and her life at Whateley behind would be safest for everyone. Disappear and use Mille's assets to travel the world, popping up every once in a while to keep the attention on her, it would keep Mille's family safe.

“Jane,” Dr. Markham said, trying to get her attention. “After your combat final yesterday, there must be something you'd like to talk about.”

“No,” she replied, looking the woman straight in the eyes. The less she said the better for everyone.

“You have quite a few people worried about you, not just your friends, but your teachers, and myself.”

She stayed quiet, her face not betraying anything.

“We want to help you, but we can't do much if you won't talk to us.” The doctor paused, giving her time to think. Silence filled the room. Dr. Markham decided to fill it. “When was the last time you trusted someone?”

Jane didn't answer. She couldn't. If she said the truth Mille would come back, he'd have to. The last person Jane had trusted was Katherine, Mille's wife, partner in crime, and the mother of his child. He had left her fifteen years ago, trying to keep her safe. Jane would sooner slit her throat than put her in danger. Mille had been a monster, and she was little better, but he would never betray his family, neither could she.

Taking a sketchpad and an art box off the shelf, Dr. Markham handed them to Jane. “All right, you don't have to talk to me. How about you draw a picture, don't think too much about it, just whatever you feel like.

Staring at the blank paper, Jane took a charcoal pencil and began drawing. She wasn't an artist, but Mille had had to pretend to be one at times, and had learned how to do sketches as if he was preparing a painting. Her mind wandered as she drew. She avoided her first thoughts of drawing a murder scene. Instead she went with a picture that wouldn't set off every red flag imaginable.

By the time the session was done, she had a decent sketch of Katherine when she was twenty-four, shortly after she had agreed to become Mille's partner in crime. A small smile rose as she remembered happier times, before everything had gone dark.

Handing the sketch pad back, she waited while Dr. Markham looked over the picture. “She's very pretty,” Dr. Markham said.

“She is,” Jane replied, fighting back tears.

“Who is she?”

“Someone who doesn't exist anymore,” Jane replied. Looking at the clock, she stood up, got her coat and left.

Spy Kids Headquarters
Late Afternoon

Ace yawned as the last of the Intelligence Cadet Corp sat down, he'd been up late the night before pressing his contacts for any info they could get on the girl Just Me. Having read it earlier, he really didn't like what it implied.

“Reach, did you see Just Me do anything odd today?” he asked the warper.

“She got out of Doyle this morning, went to breakfast, sat down with her friends and everyone acted uncomfortable. Then her roommate, Smile, moved to sit beside her and said something I couldn't overhear. A moment later Just Me hugged her and started crying,” Reach said with a Southern twang. “And before you ask, they were real tears or she deserves an Oscar.”

A-Plus snorted, but didn't say anything.

“What did she do afterwards?” Ace asked.

“She went with her roommate to Dickinson, Smile left soon after looking upset. At ten Just Me went to Doyle to see her therapist, and left at eleven going back to her cottage. She headed for lunch shortly after noon, ate quietly with her friends, and went back to her room. She didn't talk to anyone except her friends,” Reach said.

“She's lying low?” A-Plus asked the group.

“Maybe. She clearly didn't want to show off her fighting skills yesterday until she absolutely had to,” Kew said.

Reach didn't look convinced. “If she wanted to lay low she could just change her face. You saw her shifting yesterday, she could look like almost any girl on campus and no one would suspect a thing as long as she kept her mouth shut.”

“So why doesn't she change her face?”

No one at the table had a good answer for that question, so Ace decided to move on. “We already knew that her friend Incognito was suspected of being the assassin Mille's son. That's why he was attacked by Matthew Fusco in November. Because Whateley dealt with it so quickly, and he isn't part of the Bad Seeds, we decided not to follow up on it after our initial search didn't discover anything useful. I decided to look into things a bit more closely, which included getting the police records of the Fusco massacre. The files had been wiped.”

“Whateley probably wanted to clean things up to protect whoever did it,” A-Plus said.

Ace nodded. “Most likely. But I was able to put in a request for copies of statements that were written down, and they were interesting. According to the lone survivor, a single woman attacked the mansion. She was a shapeshifter who was working for Mille. She'd been paid posthumously, and was sending a message to 'Leave the monster in the ground'.”

The spy kids exchanged nervous glances. They all knew that over thirty people had been massacred along with the crime boss Fusco, but knowing that one of their fellow students had likely done it, all by themselves, that was disturbing.

“We need to bring her to the police,” Geist, the youngest member of the group said.

“If she did kill them, Whateley knew about it. They probably sent her to do it,” Reach said.

“B-but...” Geist looked like she wanted to say it wasn't true, but everyone knew Whateley would protect its students from outsiders in very violent ways when necessary.

“If,” A-Plus started, stopped, then started again. “If Whateley used her to go after Fusco, maybe they wanted to get rid of Counterpoint?”

“Would Carson really do that?” Reach asked.

“He's a psychopath, worse than Bloodwolf,” Ace said. “They just needed to get him to overreact against a 'weak' student, and they can not only expel him but throw him in prison. Just Me acted helpless, letting him get angry at not having a good fight, then she kept upping the ante making him even angrier. They could have faked the door being locked easily enough to give them an out.”

They chewed on that pleasant thought for a moment.

“So what do we do?” Kew asked.

“We keep an eye on her from a distance. If she is being used by Whateley to go after problems and we get in the way, we could lose our club status. We're already on thin ice thanks to Imp,” Ace said, scowling at the memory of how the supervillain had played them like a fiddle.

“So we can't do anything about a mass murderer on campus?” Geist asked in disgust.

“Not if she's being used by Whateley to deal with problems they legally can't,” A-Plus explained.

“Let's talk about what we can do,” Ace said, hoping to find something productive for them to focus on in the last week of the term.

Crystal Hall
Suppertime

Sitting with the other Good Ol' Boyz, Ferret tried to look calm while Fantastico went on about how he was going to do so well in the upperclassmen combat finals next week. He just nodded along whenever someone looked at him, his mind was not on the finals. In fact the finals were the last thing on his mind.

He knew for a fact Hartford and a few others were scouring their systems to find out who had hacked the Just Me combat final and set her up against Counterpoint. There weren't that many suspects, it had to be a gadgeteer, devisor or technopath who focused on computers, and he was on that list. With his less than legal habits of snooping around computer systems and doing things with the information he found, he was probably at the top of the already short list. He had to hope his security measures were good enough to keep him from ending up in jail.

It had all seemed so good. Set up the fight between Just Me and Counter, don't get caught and his future was secure with a great job that would make him a millionaire before he was twenty-five. Then what should have been a small beating had turned into a death match. He'd had to torch his workspace and his computers to ensure no one found anything physically incriminating. The thought of turning all that equipment into ash still made his stomach roil. It had cost more than many people would make a year.

Fantastico finally shut up and looked over towards the stairs. Ferret did the same as casually as possible and wished he hadn't. His stomach cramped up, security was heading straight for their table. The other members of the group looked around, curious about what would make security bother them, they'd mostly been playing things quiet this term.

“Ferret, get on your feet and come with us,” Officer Victor said.

“What did I do?” Ferret demanded, needing to keep up appearances.

“That's for Hartford to tell you. Now come with us or we have orders to drag you in.”

Snorting in disgust, Ferret put his coat on and grabbed his hamburger, muttering curses under his breath. “Let's go.”

He finished his supper on the way to Kane, doing his best impression of an asshole teen who didn't want to be there. He'd had a lot of practice hiding his guilt first from his father and the police, then the MCO, and finally from the teachers and staff of Whateley. As long as they didn't bring a psychic in, he was pretty sure he could handle things.

Hartford and Everheart were waiting for him, both women looked ready to tear his head off. His mask slipped just enough to show his worry. Gulping, he took a seat. “Whatever it is, I didn't do it.”

“Mr. Lark,” Hartford said, in a tone of voice that implied interrupting her or being a smart ass would end extremely poorly, “we have a very good reason to suspect you tampered with the combat finals yesterday. If you tell us who asked you to do it, and anything else you know, you will be allowed to remain at Whateley. If you do not, we will search your personal computers, and when we find the evidence, you will be charged with attempted murder.”

His ass puckered at the way Hartford spoke, a blizzard in Antarctica had more warmth in it. For a moment he was tempted to tell them everything, starting with the phone call from his former mentor Arnold. He stomped that thought down hard. If he ratted out his friend, his future job prospects were in the gutter. And he had a feeling that his life wouldn't be worth shit the moment he graduated from Whateley, maybe sooner. Whoever had gotten Arnold to set things up was willing to play very dirty and violently. Staying quiet, even if he had to spend a few years in prison could even make him look better to whoever might hire him later on. He knew he wasn't cut out for a safe, boring job, so it was best he get a reputation for shutting up and loyalty.

“I don't know what you're talking about,” he said.

“You're claiming you don't know anything about hacking the computers to make Counterpoint and Just Me face each other in a combat final?” Everheart asked.

“Who's Just Me?”

“Get up, we're going to look over your computers.”

“HEY! Don't you need a warrant for that?”

Hartford scowled at him. “No. We're you Parentis in Loco, and you're using school property, it's reasonable for us to look over your computers to make sure you aren't doing anything you shouldn't. Now let's go see your things, unless you want us to charge you right now and throw you in a cell with Counterpoint.”

“Fine. Fuck! You're going to see a lot of porn.” Getting out of the chair he led the pair to the tunnels.

No one said anything as they walked through the maze to his second hideout. He used it a few times a week for projects and basic things on some of his older computers that had been very carefully scrubbed clean. Older for him was still cutting edge for most people and even quite a few companies. As he upgraded his main set up, the old computers were moved to his backup. He knew something like this could happen, he hadn't thought it would be so serious, but he was a realist. So there had been a very discreet link between his two stations, that with the right commands would show his work from his now destroyed main set up, making it look like it had been done on the backup. This let him keep his very black hat programs and activities separate from his more gray-ish activities, while making it seem like his backup was his main computer.

Coming to his backup space, which looked from the outside like a dented door that had been rusted shut. He flipped open a concealed panel several feet down the corridor, tapped in the code, and the first door popped open. The second door was much better looking, and had a keypad along with a scanner. Putting in another code, he placed his hand on the scanner, and peered at a pinhole letting it scan his retina. The thick metal door opened, and he stepped aside to let the women in.

Everheart sat down and touched the computer, not bothering with the keyboard or monitor. Hartford turned to look at Ferret. “If we find anything even remotely suspicious you will regret it.”

“I don't know what you think you'll find. The worst I have on there are some projects that would get me a slap on the wrist. So have fun, I hope you both like hentai,” Ferret said, doing his best to sound annoyed.

“Go back to your cottage. You are not allowed to leave the campus, and we will be keeping an eye on you while we look over your computer,” Hartford said.

He was about to say something rude, but thought better of it, being too much of a smartass would probably not go over well. Instead he left the pair, silently praying he was as cautious as he'd hoped.

Emerson Cottage
That night

Shaun sat on his bed staring at his phone. His roommate Cooper was out, doing something with his girlfriend, Smile. He wasn't sure if he was glad his friend was out or not, it would have been nice to talk, but he didn't know if he actually wanted to talk to someone. And Smile had really needed someone to help her relax. He knew a bit of the girl's past, discovering her parents were serial killers, and nearly getting killed by them. Finding out her roommate was a vicious and bloody fighter who was more than willing to kill human looking ANTs couldn't be easy.

It wasn't exactly easy for him either. Having the Spy Kids following Jane around hadn't made things easier. Now he knew why Mischief and Monkeywrench called them the Stalker Club. He was pretty sure his friends hadn't noticed them, none of them had a mother who had made it a game to be aware of his surroundings.

Well Jane might have noticed them. She hadn't reacted to them at all, but she didn't really react to a lot of things in a big or noticeable way. How much of that was just her personality and how much was a mask?

He already had concerns about his best friend. She had lied after Thanksgiving about how bad she was feeling, being on the edge of dying from the way Dr. Tenant had spoken to Delarose. She'd also been really concerned about the Combat Finals, and really any time fighting came up. It was like she was afraid of violence, but against Counterpoint, she had killed ANTs, and eventually tried to kill the rager. Watching the video of her poisoning the psycho, it seemed like she had done it instinctively. There hadn't been any hesitation between shooting him to injecting the poison straight into his neck.

Hitting speed dial on his phone, he waited for his mom to answer.

“Hey mom,” he said as soon as she answered. “I... It's about Jane.”

“The combat final yesterday?” his mom asked.

“Yeah, you saw it?”

“Yes. I was waiting for you to call, I wanted to give you some space, but I was getting worried. Was it as bad as it looked?”

He shuddered remembering how Jane had shrieked when her knee was broken. “Worse.”

“How is she handling things?”

“Her usual way, not talking about it. She cried at breakfast with Smile, I don't think I've ever seen her cry. But after that she just shut down.”

“She'll still be coming for Christmas, won't she?”

That caught him off guard. “Are you sure about that? After seeing the fight, I'd have thought that, well you know...”

“That I wouldn't want her to come? Has she ever hurt you or your friends?” his mom asked.

“No.”

“Then I want her to come. It sounds like she needs a fun Christmas. I know it can be hard for foster kids who don't have a family, and having this happen so close to the holiday, it would be cruel to leave her alone at the school,” she said in a tone that made it clear she considered the issue settled.

“Alright. I'll let her know that you really want to meet her.”

“Perfect. And your Aunt Magali will be coming with her kids. Uncle Pierre probably won't be able to make it. Something came up and he'll be up north sorting things out at the new mine his company built.”

Sighing, Shaun wished his uncle could be there, Pierre was a talented gadgeteer with a focus on mining. He'd been able to get three-year-old Shaun interested in science, and kept giving him cool science projects and equipment, nothing like the cheap lab stuff most kids got. “That sucks. I wanted to show him some of the things I made.”

“Well, he promised to do his best to make it by New Years Eve, and if he can't do that, he'll visit us on Spring Break.”

“I'll hold him to that.” Shaun paused. “You really are OK with Jane visiting?”

“Yes I am. I may be old and worn out, but I have had an interesting past. Your father and I had quite a few adventures when we travelled the world. I'm sure I can handle Jane, especially since it seems like she just needs someone to care for her,” she replied.

“Alright. If you're sure.”

“I insist. Now tell me about your combat final. How did you get those gas bombs on the brick?”

Chuckling, Shaun told her about his clever bit of deception and sleight of hand mixed with his gadgets.

Dickinson

Jane tried to ignore Geist as she got out of the shower. She hadn't needed to wash up, but it was habit from her daily evening run. The run hadn't happened tonight due to her injuries, despite being healed her knee still felt like sandpaper rubbing together whenever she bent it, and she was still suffering from vertigo and a headache from the concussion.

It was difficult ignoring the incompetent girl. Reach had done a better job of trying to look casual while spying on her and her friends. She'd have thought the Spy Kid would have improved after following Mischief so much, but she still had a lot to learn. Going to the sink, Jane began brushing her teeth, keeping her eyes down to avoid looking at anyone else, she was on edge and had to actively stop herself from holding her toothbrush like a knife.

Limping back to her room, she saw Geist following her. Anger threatened to boil over after being on edge all day, the pain of her mostly healed injuries, and the side eyes and worried looks. It would feel so good to drag the pest into her room, gag her, and show her what real life did to incompetent idiots. Paper, a hanger, and a pencil were all she'd need, a sheet would catch most of the blood, and that could be destroyed easily enough in the tunnel. Keeping the cuts and bruises to places under the clothes, while making some threats would stop Geist from telling on her.

Entering her room, she closed and locked the door, less to keep people out and more to keep herself locked in.

Putting on her pyjamas she laid down, breathing a sigh of relief at taking the weight off of her knee. In the silence she had time to think. Shaun would probably insist she go with him for Christmas. That promise had already been made, and he was too nice to take it back.

That would suit her perfectly.

She couldn't stay at Whateley. She couldn't risk someone hurting Shaun because of her. If she stayed, Mille's enemies would probably hurt her other friends as well. They had had no part of Mille's life, there was no way she could let them get hurt or die.

The Christmas Break started on December 21^st, and they had to be back at school on January 6^th. Leaving before Christmas would spoil the holiday for Shaun, he deserved to have a good Christmas. After New Year would be best. There was almost a full week where she could walk away with as clear a conscious as she was ever going to have.

One of Mille's last few usable ID's would get her a car and she could travel to Atlanta. There were some people who owed Mille favours in the city. That would get the attention focused solely on her, and Mille knew a person who could give her a passport and ID for a reasonable price. From there, a trip to England would let her grab a few more ID's for the right amount of money, and her travel options would greatly increase. From there, it didn't matter what she did, as long as she made sure to resurface every few months. Two or three years of that, and everyone would forget about Shaun. Then it didn't matter what happened to her.

Wrapping herself up in her blanket, she tried not to cry at the thought of abandoning her life for a third time.

Jogging Path, Whateley
Saturday, December 14^th, 2007
Just After Dawn

Jogging in the middle of winter was not Jane's idea of fun, but she accepted the biting cold and frozen face stoically. The discomfort didn't matter, and she needed to work off her feelings. Once she ran enough, dulling her anger and stress, she would be able to face the day. Until then the too tight feeling of her skin threatened to let loose feelings she had to keep safely inside.

The desire to go faster and really push herself was held in check by the pain in her knee. Dr. Tenant would likely chew her out for even slowly jogging so soon after having it broken, but Jane was never very good at following doctors orders. And the pain lancing through her with each step helped her focus on containing her feelings.

A man in camo winter gear came out of the bushes just ahead of her.

Still on edge from her fight with Counterpoint, being stalked by the Spy Kids, and everything else, she reacted without thinking. Leaping at the man, her knife slipped out of her sleeve where she'd hidden it before heading out. She hit him in the chest, riding him to the ground, placing the blade against his throat before he could do more than let out a pained yelp.

“Who are you?” she demanded.

“Don't kill me! I just want to talk!” he gasped, barely able to speak with the wind knocked out of him and her sitting on his chest, her knees pressing painfully into his shoulders.

“About what?”

“I'm with the Syndicate. A recruiter. I saw your combat final. I'm here to offer you a job after you graduate.”

Mille's laughter filled her head, it took her a moment to push the invasive thoughts away. “I'm not interested.”

The recruiter gulped and turned white as the blade pressed more tightly against his jugular. “We can offer you protection, money, the best doctors and healers in the world, any tools and papers you need.”

Jane's eyes turned blue, and she began to laugh. “All I want is to be left alone and forgotten.”

“That's not going to happen. You're Mille's daughter, and he taught you too well. Everyone is going to want you.”

It wasn't until her fist broke the recruiter's nose, that Jane realized she had punched him. Closing her eyes, ignoring the pain filled curses from the man who didn't dare move with the razor sharp knife so tight to his skin, she tried to get control of herself. This could be turned to her advantage.

When she had herself under control, she leaned in smiling. “You know Mille was a monster. Barely controlled. He would wander around looking like a rich idiot hoping to be mugged so he could break someone who deserved it. By the end no one wanted to hire him because he was so messy, hoping that someone would kill him. You must have heard what I did to Fusco. Are you sure you want me to slip off the leash?”

Spitting out some blood, the recruiter turned his head partly to take his eyes off of her smile and partly to let his nose drain onto the icy path. “You're not the first psycho we've hired. We have empaths who can help you keep calm between missions. And we can set you up as a spy, or a thief or something where you probably won't have to kill anyone.”

“It always ends in death,” she whispered. Without meaning to her blade started cutting into his skin.

“OK!” the recruiter shouted, trying to push his head into the ground to get away from the knife. “I'll tell my boss you said no. Very forcefully. We won't bother you again!”

Once more Jane closed her eyes. Opening them again, they were brown and she was able to pull her knife from his throat, leaving a thin line of red. “Good. Tell anyone who asks that I am not interested in following in my father's footsteps, but I will defend myself.”

Wiping her blade off on the man's coat, she placed it back in her sleeve and started running. Even as her knee screamed in agony, joined by an intense throbbing in her shoulder, she kept going faster, trying to leave the feelings, memories, and most importantly Mille's laughter behind her.

Dickinson
After Breakfast

“Are you sure you won't need anything?” Smile asked.

Fighting against the pain that filled her, Jane forced herself to give her friend a small smile, the first one she'd had since Friday afternoon. It wasn't easy with her knee inflamed and throbbing, “I'm fine. I'll be spending most of the day studying for the exams. You go and do whatever it is you're planning. What is it anyways?”

“Well first I'm going to help out at the stables. Stable Master is training a new gelding, so she needs a bit of help shoveling out the stables and caring for the other horses. Then,” Smile got a goofy smile, “Tink and I are going to spend the afternoon doing some things.”

“What kind of things?” she asked genuinely curious. Smile usually avoided the fairy as much as possible, which wasn't that easy since the pair shared a BMA and English class.

“Well Tink had an idea of going around as a good fairy and bad fairy, and teasing people. We did it to the Imp last night, and it was pretty silly. I think it would be fun to do a bit more of that today. To take the stress off before exams, you know.”

“OK,” Jane replied dubiously.

“But if you need anything, I can tell her something came up. You're more important than practically anything else.”

“Go have fun. I'll be here reading up on world history and memorizing equations. Just don't get into too much trouble.”

“I won't. And if you need help, any help at all, just send me a message.”

Hugging her, Smile threw on her coat and hurried out of the room, leaving her alone. This didn't bother Jane at all. With the privacy she stretched out her leg, gasping as it felt like knives were slicing through her knee. Taking a bottle of painkillers provided by Doyle, she popped three of them into her mouth, washing them down with lukewarm water she kept by her bed. The potent medicine quickly took the edge off the pain.

Once the pain had died down to something she could ignore, she pulled out her history notes and began reading them. The World History course was very American focused, but the few parts focusing on European history were easy.

Old memories from a classroom decades before came to her mind. A bored boy doodling in his notebook as a man droned on about French history, making it as dry as possible. The boy had already read the text book, and several more history books he had gotten from the village library. The classes were so easy, he was several grades ahead of his classmates. Despite the boredom, it was better to be in school than at home.

Jane shook her head, pushing away the memories that weren't hers. They belonged to Mille, and she wasn't Mille.

A knock on the door was a happy distraction.

“Come in.”

Mrs. Nelson came in, giving her a warm smile. “Jane, if you're up to it, Headmistress Carson would like to see you.”

“Is it serious?”

“I wasn't told what it was about, but it's nothing bad for you. If you need some help getting there, I could ask one of the older students to go with you,” the Housemother offered.

“It's fine. I just need to go slowly and my knee doesn't hurt,” Jane replied.

After a few more assurances and offers of help, likely more for moral support than due to her knee, Jane made her way to the Headmistress' office. It was the first time she'd been there, and it was nice enough. From the way some students talked about Carson when they were forced to talk to her for some particularly monumental rule breaking, Jane had half expected a torture chamber, or at least an imposing and ominous office.

The Headmistress motioned for her to take a seat and smiled. “Hello Jane, I hope you're feeling better.”

“I am,” she replied, refusing to give anymore information than necessary.

“I'm glad to hear it. Now we have your statement about the fight with Counterpoint already, is there anything else you would like to add?”

“No. I told you everything on Friday.”

“You didn't tell us quite everything, did you?”

She stayed quiet.

“Were you ever planning on telling us that you are Mille's daughter?”

Pausing to think about her answer, Jane decided to do the same thing she had done earlier, keep the attention on her rather than Shaun. “You didn't need to know it.”

Carson raised an eyebrow. “If we had known that little detail, we could have more effectively dealt with Matthew Fusco. Having a student take it into their own hands to deal with a problem like him, and nearly dying in the process, is not something we can support.”

“Who is Fusco?”

That earned a frown. “Don't play dumb with me. I may not know everything about you, but I have a very good idea of the broadstrokes.”

That was met by silence as Jane decided that the less she said the better.

“Don't worry about Mr. Fusco. I am not in the habit of throwing one of my students to the MCO without a very good reason. And while you were messier than I would have approved of, his fate was sealed when he went after your half-brother Shaun.”

It took every bit of Mille's decades of experience to not rise to the bait. All Jane did was look at Carson questioningly.

“Does Shaun know you're related to him?”

Very grudgingly Jane decided she had to answer. “No. Neither does his mother. They never heard about me until I met him here. If you let anyone know, it will get them both killed.”

“I understand, so it hasn't been written down anywhere, and it has only been discussed in secure rooms between myself and one other person. We figured it out from different details that only we had access too, and watching how you interact with him,” Carson assured her. “The safety of all of our students is something we take very seriously.”

“So. what happens now?”

Carson looked her straight in the eye, her posture and expression hinting at the power she held. “First, I'll give you a warning. While I am willing to look the other way in regards to Mr. Fusco, that is a one-time deal. If I even hear a hint that you have taken it upon yourself to go after one of your father's enemies or worse, follow in his footsteps while a student at Whateley, I will personally deliver you to the MCO. If another such situation arises, come directly to myself or Chief Delarose, and let us deal with it. Is that understood?”

She nodded in understanding.

The smile returned to Carson's face. “Good. Now the official reason you're here is to talk about Christopher Watson, Counterpoint. We appreciate that you didn't kill him, and tried to run away at first, that fight couldn't have been easy for you.”

Jane shrugged, not sure what to say.

“Because he was trying to kill you, combined with his long list of previous infractions, we are officially charging him with aggravated assault alongside several other offences. We could increase the charges to attempted murder, but it was decided that aggravated assault would be easier to show in court. He will no longer be a student at Whateley, and will most likely spend the next several years in Arc where he can hopefully get the medical help he needs to deal with his anger issues.” The headmistress didn't look happy as she spoke.

“Thank you,” Jane replied.

“I am going to speak to his friends, making sure they understand that this is my decision. If they are foolish enough to threaten you in any way, immediately go to security. And for the rest of the month, all the staff has been told to keep a close eye on you, so that no one tries to challenge or push you.”

“I don't need to be watched.”

“This isn't about your safety. It's for the many foolish students who are now looking at you as a challenge. After watching your combat final, I have to agree with something Chief Delorose said, if you're attacked, your attackers will need rescuing. I would prefer to keep your officially spotless record nice and neat.”

“Thank you. I... I really don't want to have to fight anyone.” For the first time, Jane let some of her real emotions show in front of an adult.

Carson's tone became sympathetic and gentle as she spoke. “I'll do my best to make sure that you don't have to. And if you'll trust us, it will make that promise easier to keep.”

“I'll-” Jane paused, not sure what to say. She didn't want to lie anymore, and almost anything she said would have to be a lie. “I'll remember that.”

Crystal Hall
Suppertime

Biting into his burger, Shaun wished that Smile was eating with them. He and his friends all got on pretty well, but the small girl was the most talkative of all of them, with her playing shoulder angels with Tink, their table was pretty quiet. Having Cooper and Aella poring over their notes in preparation for the upcoming exams, meant that there was an awkward silence between himself and Jane. What exactly was he supposed to say after finding out his best friend was an expert fighter who kept lethal poison in her devised belt?

Jane didn't look up from her steak when she said, “Thud just came in. He looks really angry.”

Turning in his seat, he saw she was telling the truth, the bully was glaring daggers at him. His heart dropped into his stomach. “I'm glad he's following the rules that what happens in the arena stays in the arena.”

“Maybe you shouldn't have made the deal of leaving each other alone and then gassed him so he passed out and stank for the rest of the day,” Cooper said.

Aella nodded in agreement. “With your costume you looked different enough that he'd never have known it was you if you had walked right past him.”

Gritting his teeth, Shaun hung his head. Using sleight of hand and attaching two gas bombs to the brick had seemed like a good idea at the time. “If I don't fix this, he's probably going to make my life hell next term isn't he?”

“Probably,” his roommate agreed.

Sighing, he stood up. “I'll go talk to him.”

Jane got to her feet as well. “I'll go with you.”

“You don't have to Jane. We're in Crystal Hall, he's not going to do anything to me.”

Biting her lip, Jane looked almost embarrassed when she said, “I've talked with him a few times. I'll stay back a little, but if it doesn't go well, I can maybe talk to him.”

“OK...” he said, not entirely sure what she meant by that. Why had she and Thud talked? Were they friends?

Heading to the second floor, he and Jane went straight to Thud's table where the well known bully was sitting with his friends. Any one of them could easily smash him to a pulp, and probably do the same to Jane, so it took all he had to not look scared when all of the big exemplars and energizers glared at him.

“What do you want?” Thud snarled, then very unexpectedly the bully turned pale and his hands started shaking just a little.

Not sure why Thud was suddenly acting scared, Shaun said, “Thud, I know I screwed you over at the combat final. I saw a chance to show off and get a good mark, and I took it. I really shouldn't have done it, so I want to make things right.”

It looked like Thud was about to say something nasty, whatever it was died when Jane cleared her throat. More calmly the oversized teen asked, “How are you going to do that?”

“I promised to make you a really nice coat, I'm still going to do that, but I'll give it a few extras. Really comfortable, the kevra lining I promised along with some shock gel for extra protection, removable sleeves for warm weather, a heating system for winter, the works. I get to go all out with my gadgets, you get a really nice coat worth several thousand dollars. How does that sound?”

“OK. You do that and I'll consider us even. But if you fuck me over again, all bets are off.”

Even as Thud threatened him, it seemed like he was looking at Jane. And the threat didn't have the usual aggressiveness that was so common when the bully usually spoke. Pushing the thought aside, Shaun smiled and held out his hand to shake on it.

“First week back we'll meet up and I'll get your measurements and we can talk about the style. Sound good?”

Shaun was certain that the bully was looking at Jane as they shook hands on the deal. Even stranger, there was fear in his eyes.

Walking back down to the first floor, he leaned in close to Jane. “What the hell was that about?”

“Nothing important. Thud and I just have an understanding,” Jane said.

“What type of understanding?”

“A private one,” she replied cutting off the discussion.

More confused than ever, Shaun shut his mouth.

Whateley
Mid-Morning
Sunday, December 15^th, 2007

“You have detention every day until the end of January?” Jane asked Smile as they walked towards Hawthorne.

“Yes,” Smile said trudging along like she was heading for a funeral. “Who would have thought that playing as shoulder angels would be so bad?”

“You were doing it with Tink, she's the detention queen and proud of it.”

“But we were just teasing people as shoulder fairies. We weren't even insulting them!” Smile exclaimed at the unfairness of the world.

“Live and learn. When are you done detention? I'll help you study for French if you want.”

“I'll be done in an hour. And thanks, I was never very good at French and it's a lot harder here, especially since they teach Parisian French, not Quebecois. How are you so good at it?”

Pausing, Jane felt her barriers go back up at the question of her past. She had kept so many secrets from everyone it was instinctive. It hadn't worked out very well, but every part of her practically screamed to shut up and run. She was so tired of lying.

“I... the man who took care of me spoke it,” she almost whispered.

“You mean your foster parents?”

“No. Not them. Before that.”

Her friend gasped at the revelation. “I thought-” Smile cut herself off.

“I don't like talking about it.” She paused for a moment, getting her voice under control. “He was a monster.”

Jane suddenly and unexpectedly found herself being hugged by the tiny girl, almost knocking them both into the snow. She let out a small grunt as her ribs flared with pain for a moment and her knee nearly gave out.

“I know people say they understand, and most of the time they don't have a clue,” Smile said, her voice muffled in Jane's coat. “But I honestly have an idea of what it's like to have monsters for parents. If you EVER want to tell me about it, I'm here for you. And I won't tell anyone, no matter how bad it is.”

Slowly Jane hugged her friend back. “Thank you,” she said, her voice cracking. “We should get to Hawthorne, you don't want to be late.”

Reluctantly, Smile let her go. Slipping an arm around her waist, the small girl started walking again. “You're right. I don't want them to add on another month to my detention.”

Quietly they made their way to Hawthorne where Jane waved goodbye to her friend. The day was cold enough for most people to be staying inside, but it didn't bother her too much. Walking without much thought, she wandered down the campus paths that were mostly snow free.

She wasn't sure how to feel about having so much of her past revealed. They were focusing on the part she wanted them to at least. If she had to be knowingly connected to Mille, being his daughter was better than being him. Still after so long keeping secrets, it was disconcerting having them peeled back.

In one way it was almost freeing, like the end of a long undercover mission where all that was left was leaving with an explosive exit. But it also signalled the end of Jane. She couldn't stay close to Shaun now, she would attract enemies and they could hurt him getting to her. Or worse they could discover that he was Mille's son.

Now there really was no choice, she had to leave during the Christmas break.

Looking around at the snow covered trees, Jane realized she would miss the school. It had been peaceful. And without being watched by foster parents, she could relax a little more, just a quiet girl lost in the crowd.

A tall girl came walking down the path. Even bundled up it was obvious she was an exemplar, and a particularly pretty one. As they neared each other, Jane realized it was Majestic, she tensed up, but kept walking, ready to grab her knife if she needed it.

“Hello Jane, we need to talk,” the senior said, her voice full of confidence and power.

Jane came to a stop, ready to dodge or attack if necessary, silently watching the powerful mage.

“Relax. If I wanted you hurt, I wouldn't be here. I just want to talk.”

Something about the young woman made Jane want to gaze at her in wonder, listening to everything she had to say, hoping for just a hint of approval. Stubbornness and decades of living on the edge pushed the feelings back to a much more manageable polite attention. “OK.”

“Tell me why someone set you up against Counterpoint,” Majestic demanded, sounding like she was the queen and Jane was a piece of gum on her shoe.

Sighing, she decided to just continue with the secondary cover story, there was no point trying to hide it now. “Someone didn't like my father.”

“Who doesn't like him?”

The laughter bubbled up, impossible to stop even with the sense of awe pressing against Jane's soul. Majestic didn't look very impressed or happy as she laughed in her face. It took a few moments until she was able to get herself under control. “Too many to count. I don't think Mille could have even recalled more than a quarter of them.”

“Listen to me child, Counterpoint is going to jail because of you. I am only here because if Jason were to talk to you, you probably wouldn't survive. You will tell me everything you know.”

The power emanating from Majestic grew to an almost overwhelming intensity. Jane felt herself falling to her knees, eyes watering, wanting to admit everything she had ever done. She wasn't worthy of being in the goddess' presence, she was just a filthy, ugly mortal, barely worthy of breathing the same air as Majestic.

She closed her eyes, biting her tongue until it bled to keep from speaking. The taste of iron filling her mouth shook her a little way out of the worshipful stupor. Reaching into her coat sleeve, Jane pulled out her knife. Slowly, barely able to move from the pressure in her mind, she took off her glove and gripped the razor sharp blade, cutting herself to the bone. Blood welled up in her hand and dripped down onto the white snow. The pain helped clear her mind.

Getting back to her feet, still clutching the blade, icy blue eyes glared at the young woman, while a smile fit for a horror movie twisted her face. “You don't want to get into my mind, Majestic, it's not a pretty place. If you don't believe me, ask Stygian to show you my ghosts,” Mille said.

Majestic looked down at her, eyes locked on the dark red blood, surprised and maybe with a hint of fear. “What are you doing?!”

Seemingly oblivious to the blood pouring from her hand, she stared right into the senior's eyes. “If you find out who set me up, let me know. Anything you would do to them is nothing compared to what I will do. Now I am going to continue my walk. Leave me alone and I'll leave you alone.”

Keeping the blade in her fist, Jane picked up her glove and walked away, leaving a trail of blood from her bloody left hand.

Majestic watched her go, it was wasn't the first time someone had defied her, but she had never seen someone purposefully hurt themselves so badly to overcome her power. And the blue eyes had been filled with a madness she hadn't seen in millennia.

Library
Morning
Monday, December 16^th, 2007

“We're all agreed on doing Team Tactics in the Winter term?” Shaun asked.

All eyes turned to Jane. She looked down at the papers on her lap which listed all the Winter term classes, wishing that she had never agreed to join Team Unexpected. “I'll do it,” she said, knowing it wouldn't matter, she wasn't coming back.

Pencils and pen scratched against paper, as they marked down their decision.

“I'm taking the civics course,” Smile said. “It's useless for me since I'm Canadian, but if I have to take it I might as well get it out of the way. Why don't you take it with me, Jane?”

All of her friends had been trying to get Jane talking since they'd met at their usual spot in the library to do some last minute studying for the exams and plan out their next term classes. Many students seemed to be waiting until the last minute, but Shaun had insisted they get it filled out early so they would be sure to get the classes they wanted.

“I can fit that in,” she replied.

“Anyone else want to join us?” Smile asked.

Shaun shook his head, “I'm pretty full with shop classes. I've got time for the tactics class and maybe Advanced Survival. Mom and Mr. Anderson both said I should take it.”

Aella grinned. “Advanced Survival? So you'll learn how to run away faster?”

“Not just that. It's supposed to be learning how to defend yourself without being a martial artist or boxer. Going for weak points, using improvised weapons like keys and bags, properly using pepper spray and things, quick change to hide when you're being tracked, and a lot of other stuff.”

“So...” Cooper looked at her with a mix of curiosity and nervousness, “kind of like what you did Jane?”

The table grew quiet as the elephant in the room was brought up. No one who had seen her combat final could believe that quiet, shy, non-threatening Jane wasn't trained to fight and kill. Not only that, but she had hidden weapons and lethal poisons on her for who knew what reason. Combined with some of the rumours that had popped up over the weekend about who she might be related to, and even her friends were rightfully nervous.

“Yeah,” Jane answered quietly.

“Will you take the class?” Aella asked.

“I don't know.” It felt as if her skin was tightening, strangling her, crushing her.

“Who taught you?” Cooper asked, not letting it go.

“Drop it, Cooper,” Smile said. Despite her small size, iron filled her voice as she glared at her boyfriend.

Jane needed to get all the attention on her. By making herself the target for all of Mille's enemies, she'd make sure Shaun and Katherine would be safe. Speaking in barely more than a whisper, she answered, “You know who.”

Cooper and Aella gave her nervous looks, Shaun didn't seem surprised. Jane had expected that, he was the smartest in the group, and the most observant, just like his mother.

Smile looked around the table frowning hard. “We can't pick our parents, we can only try to be better than them. And Jane hasn't done anything bad to anyone except Counterpoint after he tried to kill her. You know my parents are serial killers, so if you're going to blame her for who raised her, you need to blame me for my parents. And if you do that, I don't want to be friends with you.”

Aella looked down at her lap. “Sorry, Jane.”

“Well this will make team tactics interesting,” Cooper said, giving her a weak smile. “You want to be the leader?”

Shaking her head, Jane said, “No. I wouldn't be a good leader. But... I can give suggestions.”

“That'd be great, Jane,” Shaun said. “I appreciate it. How about we start studying again, we can go over the rest of our schedules at lunch?”

Everyone seemed happy to let the awkward topic go. Picking up her math book, Jane didn't add much to the conversation.

Kane Hall
Afternoon

Ferret sat sullenly in the uncomfortable chair waiting for the axe to fall. He'd been marched to Kane from his dorm, and told to sit and wait in the empty office until Officer Everheart showed up. Wiping his brow, he wondered if he'd be put in regular juvie since he was just a devisor or if it would be a prison for mutants. When Arnold had called him last month, he hadn't thought it would end like this.

The door opened, making him jump, and the pretty blonde security officer went to sit at the desk. She glared at him for a minute, giving him plenty of time to panic. He fought hard to push it down and not plead for mercy.

“You are very lucky, Ferret,” she finally said.

He couldn't stop the sigh of relief.

“I wasn't able to find any evidence that you tampered with the combat finals, however you are still the top suspect,” she told him.

“I told you I didn't do it,” he replied, resisting a smirk, sticking to his usual look of sullen annoyance when dealing with adults.

Everheart smiled. It wasn't a pleasant smile, and Ferret was sure someone was tap dancing on his grave.

“I did find several of your industrial espionage projects. If that was handed over to the police, you would go to prison until your eighteenth birthday.”

“So why haven't you thrown me in one of your cells?” he asked. Ferret was able to keep his cool over that threat. Those little projects hadn't damaged anything, with a decent lawyer he'd get a slap on the wrist.

“After discussing it with Chief Delarose, Headmistress Carson and Ms. Hartford, it was decided that prison wouldn't be very productive. You could be more useful working for Whateley.”

“What do you mean?” he asked.

The unpleasant smile became predatory. “You are on probation. You will work under my supervision, helping out with any computer related issues that might come up. And I will watch over you, to make sure you keep your nose clean. If you screw up, or decide to be an idiot and do something illegal, those projects of yours will be handed over to the police.”

Ferret turned pale. There was no way he could do his usual work for the Good Ol' Boyz with Everheart looking over his shoulder. Fantastico was an asshole, but he and the rest of the group made sure no one did anything too bad to him. He'd be kicked out of the group, and the many people he had pissed off, mostly by helping Fantastico, would be waiting to get some revenge.

Even worse, if less physically painful, he wouldn't be able to get money. Sure his investments were doing OK, but he'd been hoping to have a college fund in the high six figures by the time he left Whateley.

“This isn't fair,” he said, wincing at how it sounded like whining.

“You'd prefer prison?” Everheart asked.

“Fuck! Fine, I'm your bitch.”

“Smart boy. Now let's go over how this is going to work,” his new boss said, pulling out a tablet.

Crystal Hall
Suppertime
Wednesday, December 18^th

Anvil was waiting in line for the Salisbury steak when he saw someone he'd been thinking about for a while. Just Me, the secret little psycho was ahead of him trying to look shy and innocent. She'd kicked the shit out of Counterpoint, if he beat her down it would show he was better than that freak.

Glancing around, he saw security was busy with a scuffle between some seniors who were still hyped up from their combat finals, and with the supper rush, no one was looking their way. Checking the kids in front of him, none were really tough, so he barged his way through until he was right behind Just Me, and pushed her with his tray.

As he pushed her, he raised his foot to step on her heel, planning on bruising her ankle so she'd be hurt before the fight started. Instead, the girl seemed to use the bump to help her dodge his sneak attack, and spun around, nimbly avoiding hitting the boy in front of her. He found himself looking down at the girl who was watching him warily.

“You should watch out little girl. You could get hurt,” he said with a smirk.

“If you want to go ahead of me, feel free,” Just Me said, stepping aside. Her voice wasn't angry, scared or much of anything.

“That wouldn't be nice of me, butting ahead of people.” He shoved his tray into her own, making it bounce against her stomach, almost knocking over her small bowl of salad. “Hurry up, you're holding up the line.”

Her eyes went from brown to blue, and then she was leaving the line like a little coward. Grinning he followed her to the soup table, which had a lot fewer people around it. Anvil hadn't realized the big scary fighter was a coward, this could be fun.

“Come on, bitch. I thought you were cool. You're just going to run away?” he asked. Using his longer stride, he kept trying to trip her up as she walked, somehow she managed to avoid his foot each time.

She stopped next to the tomato soup and glared up at him. “What do you want?”

“Just wanna talk. See what the big bad girl who took out Counterpoint is like.” He put his tray down and flicked her tray away making it hit the ground. Her eyes moved, looking around the room, probably searching for help, but no one was paying any attention to them.

“I don't want to talk to you,” Just Me said. “Leave me alone, or else.”

“Or else what? You don't have a car here, and you'd need it to even have a chance at hurting me.”

The girl got a bowl, filling it with steaming tomato soup, she was probably hoping if she ignored him he'd leave her alone. Too bad for her, Anvil didn't care what she wanted. He spit in her soup, making sure to hawk up a big booger first. “What are you going to do about that?” he asked, poking her hard in the side.

When Anvil had done things like that to people before, they would usually recoil in disgust, or start yelling at him. He was expecting Just Me to do the same, most girls freaked out at spit and things. At the very least he figured she'd jerk away from the poke, it was hard enough to bruise anyone who wasn't a brick. He was not expecting Just Me to throw the bowl of steaming hot soup in his face.

The liquid went straight through his PK field. The hot soup burned his skin and eyes, while the bowl itself bounced harmlessly away. Screaming and seeing red he wiped his eyes, planning on grabbing the little bitch and ripping her in half.

As he started to reach for her, his burning eyes widened in shock. Just Me had grabbed the large pot of hot soup, yelling as it burned her hands, and threw the bright red contents all over him. As it soaked his clothes, giving him first and second degree burns from his face to his thighs, Anvil shrieked, ripping his shirt off, hoping it would stop the pain. He never saw the pot of chicken soup flying at him, covering him in even more near boiling liquid.

Falling to the ground screaming in agony, Anvil saw security and students come running. Someone doused him in freezing cold water, easing the pain a little. Just Me was holding her hands up, stepping back from security. Looking down at himself, his chest, stomach and hands were scarlet red and already forming blisters.

Shaking in pain, he wondered what the hell had just happened.

Doyle

Jane stared at her gauze covered hands, wishing she could shift the burns so it was more spread out. Unfortunately the bad burns on her palms and fingers made it hard to shift with the necessary precision. At least the painkillers helped dull the pain.

Chief Delarose stood by the door not looking happy. “What part of Carson saying go to security if you are threatened did you fail to understand, Jane?”

“He attacked me,” she said.

“He poked you in the ribs and spit in your soup. If you had walked fifty feet to the nearest guard after he bumped your tray and tried to trip you the first time, I wouldn't need to be here, you wouldn't have second degree burns, and Anvil wouldn't have a mix of first to third degree burns,” the Chief said.

Looking away, Jane didn't know what to say, she had acted without thinking just like Mille would have. She knew Anvil was a PK brick, so she'd gotten him to a spot where she could hurt him and waited for him to go a step too far. It had felt right at the time.

“It's too late in the term to give you detention. And with your hands you aren't medically fit to do anything,” Delarose said. “Since you were provoked and this is your first official fight, you are going to help out at Doyle for three weeks starting in January. You're so eager to hurt people, maybe seeing the aftermath will make you stop and think next time.”

She nodded in understanding.

“Don't let me see you again for a few months,” Delarose said as he left the room.

“You won't,” Jane whispered, more certain than ever that she needed to leave this life behind.

Crystal Hall
Breakfast
Thursday, December 19^th

With stiff and stinging hands, Jane carefully ate her porridge, keeping her head down, trying not to be noticed. The Spy Kids were still watching her, and the Capes had joined in on the fun. She wasn't sure if the trainee superheroes were spying on her because of the combat final, or how she had taken out Anvil the other day, but it was getting her even more on edge. Her seizures were coming more often because of it, even with her medicine, she'd had one every day since Friday.

As if the thought was enough to cause it, she felt her blood turn cold. Putting her spoon down a moment later she shifted uncontrollably growing larger and more muscular. The bandages on her hands came off, hanging by tape on just one side, revealing the mostly healed blisters underneath. Sighing, she went back to her usual body. Awkwardly her stiff fingers tried to fix the bandages back in place. Most of her bruises and aches from the combat final had finally gone away, leaving just her knee and shoulder feeling stiff with a dull pain she could easily ignore, the now the burns were bringing new pain to her life.

“Here let me help,” Aella said. The large, blonde girl deftly put the bandages on properly, with only a few winces from Jane. “There, they should hold for a few more hours.”

“Thanks,” Jane replied.

“Those look painful. Want me to cast a spell to help heal them a little more?”

Jane considered the offer. Out of her friends Aella and Cooper had been acting the most nervous around her. She could understand why, it was Smile and Shaun who were confusing her by sticking close and trying to help in their own ways. Shaun tried to act like everything was normal, and Smile was hovering over her like a protective mother hen.

“That would be nice,” she finally said, holding her hands out.

Aella hurried off to get a clean glass of water. When she came back, she took off the two bandages again, and poured a few drops of water into Jane's burned palms. Next she used the water to draw some symbols while muttering under her breath.

Jane and the rest of the table watched curiously as the magic was cast. The water glowed briefly then faded into her blisters, bringing a sigh of relief from Jane. There was still a dull pain, but the blisters were shrinking, and when she flexed her fingers there wasn't the painful pulling like before.

“Thanks, that feels a lot better,” Jane said.

“I'm glad I could help,” the blonde said. “I never liked Anvil, he's a jerk in Melville. It was good to see him taken down a few pegs.”

“How did you know you could get through his PK field with soup?” Cooper asked.

“Most PK fields don't block liquid, heat, cold, lasers, or gas,” Jane replied. A memory from Mille filled her vision for a moment, a beast of a woman screaming in pain as acid was flung into her eyes. She shook her head to clear her mind.

“So... you know how to take out almost anyone with powers?”

Smile and Shaun both glared at him. Jane just nodded.

“OK, that's enough,” Shaun said.

“Right. Who has what tests today?” Smile asked, poking Cooper in the side to let him know the topic had been changed.

Tunnels
Evening

“Are you done your big project?” Jane asked, as she walked with Shaun away from the workshop.

“Yeah,” he replied. “Handed in the new polymer this afternoon, I was just tidying up things and locking down the stuff I couldn't take home. You're done your exams?”

She nodded. “Did my oral French test just before I came here. I got 90%.”

“What about your hands? Are they feeling better?”

Holding up her hands, she gave them a firm squeeze. It only hurt a little. “Not perfect, but the ointment they gave me really helped, so did the healing spell Aella used this morning.”

Shaun smiled at that bit of good news. “You ready to go tomorrow?”

Pausing, she reluctantly nodded. Jane had no idea how she would handle seeing Katherine after fifteen years, and once she left Whateley she would never come back. It would hurt Shaun when she ran away, but staying would hurt him even more.

“So...” There was an uncomfortable silence. There'd been a lot of those moments in the last week. Shaun pressed on. “What was Mille like?”

Her eyes went to her feet. Somehow she kept walking when all she wanted to do was run away. “You don't want to know.”

“I think I should know about my father.”

Jane stumbled to a halt, staring wide eyed at Shaun.

“So it's true,” he said, grimacing.

She wanted to deny it, to make up a lie. Back before it had all gone bad, Mille would have been able to spin an elaborate tale that would confuse everything so much Shaun wouldn't know what was true and what was a lie. Jane couldn't do that, she'd forgotten how. Looking away she found herself running away, not thinking, just reacting.

Shaun grabbed her arm, almost getting jerked off his feet before he could brace himself and brought her to a halt.

Instinctively she spun around and with blinding speed she went for his throat. Only at the very last second did she stop, her fist touching his adam's apple, ready to break his trachea. She could picture him dying, gasping for air that wouldn't come, like so many others who had died from her hands.

Shaking, Jane realized she had nearly killed her son. She slid to the ground, almost convulsing as she cried.

Distantly she felt Shaun wrap his arm around her shoulders, saying he was all right, that everything would be fine. She tried to jerk away, he refused to let her go, and she was too confused and distraught to do much more than sob.

Mille's voice rang in her head, screaming at her to just fuck it all and leave. Get out of Whateley and go out in a blaze of glory hunting down whoever had set up the combat final. No more worries, no more doubts, just the hunt and the kill. It would probably end in her death, and wasn't that exactly what she deserved?

A softer voice, the coward, was crying, wanting to leave and hide. Try to start over again, and do whatever it took to survive. She wasn't Mille, she didn't owe anyone anything. She could have her quiet, peaceful life, she just had to abandon everything once again.

The two voices argued and shouted at each other, as Jane desperately tried to make them stop. Through it all Shaun kept talking to her.

A new voice cut through the clamouring in her skull. “Well isn't this sweet,” the harsh voice said.

Looking up, struggling to see through her tears, Jane saw an ultraviolent leering at her and Shaun. It was Willie, a speedster who sometimes hung around with Bloodwolf, looking for fights and chances to show off. He swept his shaggy brown hair out of his eyes and grinned psychotically.

“We don't want any trouble,” Shaun said, moving to get between her and the ultraviolent.

“Most people don't.” The psycho's hands blurred and he was holding two knives. “It never stopped me before. I want to see how good the girl is. She took out Counterpoint and Anvil, this will have to be one hell of a fight.”

Getting to her feet, Jane pulled out her own knife. The plasma field flared to life, reflecting off her blue eyes. She ignored the tears that drenched her face and the snot running from her nose. No one was going to hurt Shaun.

For his part, Shaun realized he was between two people who looked like they were ready to kill each other, and had the skill to do it. Flicking his wrist, a little packet the size and shape of a large marble fell into his hand. Throwing it to the floor he jumped away from Willie as a yellow cloud erupted from the gadget.

Willie rushed through the gas, and yelled as he slipped on the slippery liquid that coated the floor and hung as droplets in the air, his feet went out from under him and slammed onto his back. He'd been sprinting at over 50 miles an hour when he hit the cloud and the speed kept him going, whipping past Jane and Shaun, covered in Monkeywrench's slipperiest banana grease.

Jane started going after the sophomore with murder in her eyes. Shaun grabbed her arm.

“Jane, come on. You're better than this. You're not your father. You're not Mille,” he said.

For a moment she just stared at him in confusion, not really comprehending the words. Mille was in her mind, telling her to put down the enemy, who had come to a stop in a groaning heap against a wall. Then she recognized the concern in Shaun's eyes. Flicking the knife off, she jogged after him down a side tunnel, forcing the intrusive thoughts down.

He led her out of the tunnels into one of the class buildings, and dragged her into an empty classroom. Closing the door, he made her sit down and took a seat of his own. “Are you with me?” he asked.

Slowly Jane nodded, her brown eyes looking at the floor, unable to look him in the face.

“Smile told me about how you look with blue eyes. Now I know why they almost gave her a panic attack. You were ready to kill him weren't you?”

She nodded again.

“Why... why didn't you kill Counterpoint?”

“Because Jane wasn't supposed to be a killer,” she whispered. “She... I... I was supposed to be quiet, harmless, peaceful. Grow up, go to college, learn something that would be calm and peaceful. Maybe become a librarian, and live a boring, peaceful life. None of this was supposed to happen. I didn't want any of this.”

“Did you decide that after Mille died?”

She shook her head. “When he died, he wanted me to have a good life. To do the things he couldn't do. Have a family, a home, peace.”

“He had a family with my mom. Why did he leave?” His voice was full of sadness and a need to know why he had been abandoned before he'd even been born.

“Some of his enemies had found him. They would have killed him and Katherine. He thought the only way to keep you both safe was to keep all the attention on him. No one was supposed to find you.”

“And what about you? Are you my... sister?”

She desperately wanted to tell him the truth. What little was left of her soul begged her to tell him everything. Slowly, she shook her head.

“But you're Mille's daughter,” he said in confusion.

“He found me,” she lied. “He taught me everything he could. H-he told me about you and Katherine. Showed me pictures of you both.”

“Did he hurt you?”

“He hurt everyone. But not like you think, not like that. He was a monster who wanted to die, but was too much of a coward to do it himself. No one was good enough to get the job done. Even when they hunted him down to Boston, they couldn't manage to kill him. He faked it all, and a month later he found the courage to pull the trigger.”

There was a long silence, neither of them able or willing to speak.

Finally Jane asked, “How did you figure out that Mille really was your father?”

“Those guys who attacked me, they knew who my father was. So that was one clue, even if I didn't want to believe them. Watching you was another one. You remember how we first met, you bumping into me when you weren't paying attention. You don't do that, you always know where you are and never hit anything, even when you're sick. So you had to bump into me on purpose to find a way to meet me.”

“Most people wouldn't have noticed that.”

“I didn't think of it at first. Then I saw your fight, heard the rumours, it all started to come back and click. And I was reading up on Mille, he had a partner for years as a con artist, Marionette. A lot of their known crimes happened in cities I know mom and dad visited around the same time. And Marionette was known for her sleight of hand and costumes. Mom taught me how to pick pockets, and she was always really good making Halloween costumes.” He paused, smiling softly probably thinking about his past when everything seemed normal. “And some things I've heard mom and aunt Magali talking about over the years when they thought I was asleep or not listening are starting to make a lot of sense.”

Jane had to hide a smile at hearing Shaun call Magali his aunt. Mille had grown fond of the girl after rescuing her from the Paris MCO and paying for her to go to Whateley.

He wasn't done talking. “And how you acted gave you away. You were really angry after we got attacked, Smile said it usually showed after you talked to me or about me. And you've been really protective of me, almost as much as my mom would be. I figured it had to be something a bit more than friends, and we aren't dating, so...”

“Mille would have been proud of you for putting all of that together,” she said, allowing herself to smile. “He always said Katherine was one of the smartest people he knew, it seems like you got her brains.”

He blushed a little, and got a sad smile of his own. “So did you come to Whateley because of me?”

She shook her head. “No. I didn't even know you were here. I manifested, had a seizure, and they sent me here early. Then I saw you, I was surprised. I almost wanted to avoid you, but something made me go and say hello. When I invited you for supper, I hadn't planned that, it just came out. I spent the rest of the day cursing myself for doing it.”

Shaun chuckled. “I was surprised by that. I hadn't thought a pretty girl would even talk to me, considering all the exemplars and buff energizers here, and there you were asking me to dinner. I should have realized it wasn't because of my good looks.”

“I wouldn't say that. You look really good in a dress,” Jane said with a leer, remembering his combat final cross dressing outfit.

Blushing, he ran his hand through his hair. “If I fail as a gadgeteer I guess I can always become a drag queen.”

“I'm sure your mom can help you make up an act.”

“Yeah she could. She used to dress up as a magician for my birthday and put on a show. She even did it for free for some of my friends if she liked their parents and they asked nicely.”

“I wish I could have seen that.”

“Maybe I can ask her to do it for Christmas.”

It was her turn to smile. “Maybe.”

“Are you ready to go get supper? You look more relaxed then you have for the last two weeks.”

Sighing, she got to her feet. “Yeah, I think I can handle it.”

Smiling encouragingly, Shaun led her out of the classroom.

Whateley Entrance
Morning
Friday, December 21st

Jane, Smile and Shaun waited at the Whateley gate hoping they wouldn't be made to stand around for too long in the cold. They'd already said goodbye to their friends at breakfast, Smile had cried a little when it was time to say goodbye to her boyfriend, now they were just waiting for their ride. Unlike the dozen or so other students waiting for the bus to get to Dunwich and the local train or bus station, they were going to be picked up by a friend of Shaun's mother.

A plain looking mini-van pulled up and a man with bright red hair stepped out of the passenger seat. “Shaun Solace, Jane Fisher, and Amber Ashton, I'm Jerald Canali, an attorney hired by Ms. Solace. My associate and I are here to get you to Tulsa.” He didn't look thrilled at having to do the job.

Shaun smiled at the man. “Hi there, did my mom send a message for me?”

“Your mother said, Indian tacos and pecan pie with chocolate ice cream are waiting for you.”

“Great, let's get going,” he said, grabbing his large backpack and climbing into the minivan.

Smile and Jane hopped in after him with their own bags. None of them were travelling with much, Shaun had clothes and things waiting for him back home, and the girls didn't exactly have much being wards of the state. Once they were settled, the driver, who was big and muscular, looking a lot like a well dressed hired thug, started the vehicle and headed for Dunwich. Jerald was busy tapping away on his phone, discouraging conversation. A mile out two more cars pulled out, one in front and one behind them.

“We've got a problem” Jane said, her hand going to her Mobius belt.

“Don't worry, they're with me,” Jerald said, still looking at his phone. “Ms. Solace insisted that you all arrive home safely, so I'm making sure if anything goes wrong, we can fix it.”

Jane nodded in understanding, and Shaun gave a wry smile at the overprotective habit of his mother.

Smile on the other hand looked a little weirded out. “Isn't this a little overkill? Whateley said the guys who attacked you won't do it again,” she asked.

“My mom doesn't like taking chances. She usually keeps it more low key, but you get used to it,” Shaun said.

“How does she have the money for this?”

“My dad was an investor. When he skipped town,” his mouth twisted in a grimace, “he was nice enough to leave mom most of the money, and all the stocks setting it up that we'd get a lot in dividends. She used that to invest in some businesses and made herself a lot of money.”

“What type of businesses does she have?” Smile asked.

Shaun puffed up his cheeks and blew out a puff of air. “She owns a limo company, a lot of vending machines, a string of laundromats, and she rents out bouncy houses for parties and events. And she's a partner in at least a dozen restaurants, along with a few other places. She likes to keep busy.”

Jane hid a smile. It was nice to hear that Katherine was doing well for herself, not that she had expected anything less, but the businesses sounded a lot like something a money launderer would own. All of them used a lot of cash, made dozens to hundreds of small transactions daily, or could be rented out daily without a lot of overhead, and if several hundred dollars was added to the final tally each day no one would notice. She could be moving tens of thousands of dollars each month, even more depending on the size of the restaurants and what the other businesses were. If her suppliers were owned by her as well or partners, even more money could be cleaned up and appear completely legitimate.

Smile and Shaun talked about family and what Tulsa was like on the ride to Berlin. Jane nodded along, listening with half an ear, trying to hide her feelings. Leaving Whateley wasn't a big deal. It had been comfortable at first, but it was just another in a long line of places she had stayed at for a while and left with no plans on coming back. She would miss her friends. It had been nice being able to say she had friends.

Aella and Cooper were fun to listen to, even if she hadn't gotten really close to them. She hoped they would do well in the future.

Listening to Smile talk about what to get Katherine for Christmas, Jane realized she would really miss the tiny girl. Months of living together, listening to her talking about her parents and family, Jane thought she could call the girl her best friend. She hoped that when Smile returned to Whateley she would get a nice roommate. Smile had had enough hardship in her life, she deserved something nice to happen to her.

A sudden urge to hunt down Smile's parents, kill them and get her brother somewhere safe came to Jane. That would be a good thing she could do as a last gift for her friend. Nodding to herself, she decided that would be her first mission once she ran away and got some fake ID's.

The thought amused her. Instead of following Mille's path, she could hunt down and kill criminals and supervillains. That would focus attention on her, as well as push the belief that she really was Mille's daughter. And maybe if she killed enough criminals, it would make up for some of the blood that she had shed in the past. She began planning how to find Smile's fugitive parents, as well as what she'd need for her new goal.

The minivan parked outside the small Berlin airport, and Jerald turned around in his seat. “All right, you guys have your MID's ready?”

They all nodded.

“Any weapons or contraband that you shouldn't have?”

That got a round of no's. Jane had her plasma knife, but in the Mobius belt, it would pass the scanners easily enough.

“Jane, I need your belt,” Jerald said.

Reaching down to cover her belt buckle, Jane asked, “Why?”

Sighing, their babysitter said, “The MCO knows about your belt and what it can do. Everyone who watched your fight knows about it, and it's been added to your MID info. They will search it, and I'm pretty sure you have at least a few things you really shouldn't. Take it off, and my partner will put it in his carry on. They have no reason to suspect him of anything, and he'll keep it safe for you.”

Frowning, but realizing it was the right thing to do, Jane took of her belt and handed it over. After wearing it every day for the last month, she felt almost naked without it. She watched as the driver silently put it into a small backpack.

“All right,” Jerald said, “when we get in there, let me handle everything. You just shut up and follow along, until you get to Tulsa I'm your lawyer and my job is to get you to your location safely. So as long as you act like obedient young teens, the MCO won't want to bother you and risk a lawsuit. Got it?”

They all nodded.

“Good. Hand me your MID's and let's go.”

Passing the MID's over, they piled out, grabbed their bags and went inside the airport. Jane saw four people from the two cars that had been guarding them get out and follow along seemingly casually and not paying attention to them. They did a pretty good job of acting like they were at the airport for their own reasons, she wondered how much they were being paid.

Check in was easy enough, with Jerald handling it all, and all of them just had their carry-on bags. Leaving the check in area, the silent driver left them to go through security, while the rest of them headed for the MCO area. There was a small line of Whateley students waiting for their turn to go through and catch their plane.

It took several long minutes before they made it to the front of the line. Jerald stepped up with a firm, no nonsense expression, holding out their MID's. “I'm Mr. Canali, an attorney who is responsible for ensuring these children get home safe to Tulsa, Oklahoma on time. Here are the MID's for Smile, Incognito and Just Me.”

The two MCO agents, a man and a woman, looked a lot more alert when they heard her codename. Taking the MID's they eyed her, then looked at the supposed lawyer. Smile and Shaun were rushed through, without anything more than some questions that were answered by Jerald, and a quick scan. Then it was Jane's turn.

“Just Me, take off your belt,” the the male agent said.

Looking up at Jerald, she just raised her shirt a little to show she wasn't wearing one.

“She left it at Whateley, we thought it would be safer that way,” Jerald replied.

“Any weapons, poisons, devises, or restricted objects?

Jane shook her head, not talking.

The agents looked at Jerald again, frowning in frustration. The woman motioned to a side door, “Just Me come this way for an advanced search.”

“On what grounds?” Jerald demanded, putting a hand on Jane's shoulder.

“She is listed as a risk due to her holdouts, training and powers. This is all standard procedure, sir.”

“Would you like me to phone Whateley and see what they have to say about you doing an advanced search? I understand that typically includes a strip search.”

“It's a part of our responsibilities, and it will be done by me, so it's all legal,” the woman replied.

“I'm sure it is. But I am still going to contact Whateley, and file a complaint with the airport, the MCO, and the police about your needless traumatizing of a child who was almost murdered a week ago. I also have Evolution Rocks, and several mutant friendly reporters on speed dial.” Jerald took out his phone for emphasis.

The two agents shared a look that made it look like they'd both tasted rotten fish. “Step through the scanner, Just Me.”

Jane went through the scanner, while the agents examined her bag much more thoroughly than they had for anyone else as Jerald watched them like a hawk. Several minutes later they were satisfied, although her seizure medicine had made them pause, and gave her her things back.

Smiling, Jerald said, “I'll meet you three at the gate, don't wander off.”

Nodding the three of them hurried away, not wanting to risk the MCO agents trying to mess with them while their caretaker went through security for baselines.

“I'm glad he was with us, I don't like those MCO agents,” Smile said.

“Yeah, I've heard some of them will purposefully make people miss their flights,” Shaun added.

Jane just nodded, not sure what to say. Despite Mille having been a frequent flier, she had only gone through the MCO checkpoint twice in her life, once on the way to Whateley while under the watchful eye of a Canadian government employee, and just now. She vowed to herself that this would be the last time she bothered with the MCO.

They met Jerald and the silent muscle at the gate. Neither one seemed very talkative, so Shaun and Smile kept talking to each other about the plans for Christmas. Jane just watched the people around them, keeping an eye out for anything suspicious. When it was time to board their flight, they pulled out their first class tickets, and took their rather luxurious seats. Smile couldn't keep herself from smiling and looking around in awe at everything. Shaun just acted like he travelled first class all the time.

As the plane took off Jane stared out the window, thinking of the role she had to play for just a little longer. She couldn't hurt Katherine by letting it slip who she had been. Mille was gone, Katherine had probably mourned the man he had been. Jane could not become him again, he was dead, maybe not in body, but the soul had died over a decade ago.

The only thing left of Mille was the monster and her. And she wouldn't be around for much longer.

Like so many other times, Mille would only leave pain and ruin in his wake. It was up to her to limit the damage to Katherine, Shaun, and Smile as much as possible.

Fighting back the urge to cry, she watched her life disappear.