The Magical Journey Home from School

[Feral]

Apollos had a special assignment today. Anna was busy and needed him for it. He felt proud to be needed for something, and the house work was getting to be a drag on him.

The more time he spent at Redencion House, the more he realized it was more important for him to be there for the residents than to do things for them. Ronnie appreciated the time spent playing a game more than the new toilet and the bathroom door that actually locks.

And so it was with nearly everyone. So he was taking an extended break from fixing up the house.

It was for that reason that Feral was taking care of one of those "Being there for" tasks today. He had to pick up Jamie from school.

Feral walked: he feared none of the gang members of Los Santos. His natural bearing made him a person no one really wanted to mess with. He was not worried for him or for his small charge.

Apollos stood on the sidewalk outside of Jamie's school and checked his watch. The bell would ring soon and any second that sweet little girl would come rushing out. He just hoped she wouldn't be too disappointed to find him rather than Anna waiting.

[Jamie Morrigan]

The whine of the electronic bell was just audible through the school's walls. It wasn't half a minute before the front doors burst open to disgorge a flood of children rushing down the sidewalk to the waiting school buses. Others emerged at a more leisurely pace; some of the buses hadn't arrived yet, and some of the children had to wait for parents or older siblings to pick them up. They milled around in animated clumps, talking, playing, joking, teasing.

Five minutes passed, and Jamie was nowhere in sight.

[Feral]

Feral looked out over the tops of all the little children to see if the one he was after was among them. Plenty of redheaded little girls littered the front of the school, but none of them seemed to be his redheaded little girl.

Resisting the urge to get annoyed and go hunting her himself, he stood in one place to see if she would eventually find him. He didn't want to be accused of not being where he said he would when Jamie tried to find him.

Still, he worried. So at last when he could no longer withstand the wait, he found a teacher who was supervising children on their way to their buses and asked, "Have you seen a little red headed girl? Her name is Jamie and she has a uh, over-active imagination that sometimes gets her into trouble?"

The woman kept her eyes on the kids, but acknowledged the man's question. "She's the mutant girl that attends here?"

Feral nodded. "That's right. I'm her guardian and I just want to make sure she's not in trouble at all."

[Jamie Morrigan]

A look of recognition dawned on the woman. "Oh! I'm sorry, Quita had told me to look for Miss Fernandez. Go on into the office and ask for Quita Suarez, she'll be able to help you."

[Feral]

Feral nodded and entered the building. Luckily the school's office was right by the door. He entered and looked about before addressing the woman at the desk.

"Excuse me, but I'm Apollos Apatmos. I'm here to pick up Jamie in the place of Anna Fernandez. I was instructed to ask for Miss Quita Suarez?"

The woman directed Feral to Suarez's office. He walked down the hallway with apprehension and mistrust. If anything happened to Jamie, it would not turn out well for whoever did her wrong. He resisted the urge to unsheathe a spike and knocked on the designated office door. Apparently Miss Suarez was the guidance counselor.

The door opened to him and the woman in question looked at Feral's intense features and perfect posture with some surprise. "We were expecting--"

"Miss Fernandez, I know. Unfortunately she is busy and has sent me for Jamie. My name is Apollos Apatmos and anything you have to say about Jamie can be addressed to me directly. What's the deal?"

Feral was having a hard time staying civil. He was well aware of the discrimination several organizations placed on mutants, and he was not about to fall victim to whatever prejudice this woman had. Jamie ought not have to deal with it.

"Why is Jamie here?"

[Jamie Morrigan]

Quita Suarez was a petite woman with a round, worried-looking face, and she quailed momentarily under Feral's impatient glare, but she stayed in the doorway almost protectively.

"I'm sorry, I don't believe you're on record as Jamie's guardian, and we can't release her without--"

"Is that Apollos?"

Jamie's voice was unmistakable. Miss Suarez leaned back from the door to look, which gave Feral enough room to lean in. Jamie was seated at the other end of the small room. She held a towel-wrapped ice pack in her hand, and her face was reddened from the cold. There was a darkening bruise on her right cheekbone.

Another woman sat with Jamie, a very pretty, impeccably dressed young woman with a smile that was almost too bright, especially considering the state Jamie was in. She quickly thrust herself in front of Apollos, all but barring the way, and extended a hand.

"Hello, I'm Sandra Baumgarten - Mr. Apatmos, was it? I'm sorry, we didn't know you were coming. I'm afraid there was an altercation earlier today."

[Feral]

Feral raised an eyebrow at Jamie's face and turned to the two women who seemed to insist on keeping him from her.

"I didn't know I was coming myself until an hour ago. Now I find Jamie has been hurt."

Feral fought back the urge to make himself even more intimidating. It was simple really. He didn't have to show any blades or spikes, only to sharpen up the bones in his face to give himself the look he was named for.

"I want full details. What happened, when, and where. I also want to know what you will do about seeing to it that she is not hurt like this again."

Feral entered the room, using his sheer presence to back Suarez into the seat behind her. Miss Baumgarten was likewise placed under his severe, penetrating glance. His expression softened only when his eyes rested on Jamie.

"Are you ok, little one? Nothing broken?"

[Jamie Morrigan]

Jamie was certainly more subdued than normal. Her legs kicked gently forward and back under her chair. "I'm okay," she said, and she lifted the ice pack again to cover her bruise.

"We're trying to find out exactly what happened, too, Mr. Apatmos," Mrs. Baumgarten said, giving Apollos what room the small office would allow. "There were other children injured as well. But Jamie seems to think it was by accident?"

Jamie caught the question mark at the end of the sentence and shrugged. "They pushed me around and then they ran away. I guess they were clumsy."

You couldn't miss the note of defiance in her voice.

[Feral]

It was with great effort that Feral didn't smile his biggest and laugh his loudest. Jamie probably gave the kids a scare and they tripped over themselves to get away from her. Such was the majesty and power of the mutant race.

"They did, did they?" Apollos asked. He squatted next to Jamie's chair. His face softened still more and the smile he finally gave was more low-key. He took the little girl by her free hand and gave it a light squeeze; an unspoken signal that things were going to be all right and he wasn't going to let these women push her around.

He would help her through it. He would keep her safe.

"So, Miss Baumgarten, let's be clear," he said. His face was now stone and his voice took a strictly business tone. "These children that pushed Jamie around are not in your office. Is it because of the lack of space, or have they already been handled for bullying Jamie? Or," his voice hinted at accusation, "are they not going to be punished for their rude behavior?"

[Jamie Morrigan]

Mrs. Baumgarten's smile tightened. The effect was not altogether pleasant.

"Two of them are in the nurse's office," she replied evenly. "The other two are on their way to the emergency room. I assure you, Mr. Apatmos, we have zero tolerance for any kind of bullying."

"Sandra." Miss Suarez gave the counselor a cautionary look.

"Of course, I'm not saying Jamie's in any sort of trouble," Mrs. Baumgarten added, her smile returning. "We want to find out what happened before we make any decisions. Of course we take this sort of thing very seriously."

[Feral]

Feral shifted in place to better look at Miss Baumgarten. He kept back. When he leaned forward it placed him in a mindset to pounce on a person. He also kept his back straight.

"Indeed."

Feral looked over at Jamie, then back at the guidance counselor. "What happened is plain and simple: the bullies tried to attack Jamie and the poor girl defended herself because the teachers and administrators at this school were either unable or unwilling to stop it. Now if you are finished, I would like to take Jamie home and take better care of her injury."

Of course, Feral was going to take Jamie home no matter what they said. He stood to his full height. "Jamie, where are your things?"

[Jamie Morrigan]

"We'll have to place a call with Anna just to be sure," Quita said.

"It's okay, I know him," Jamie broke in.

Quita smiled warmly. "Of course, dear. We just can't take any chances. Why don't you go gather your school things while I make the call?"

Moments later, Jamie was gathering her books and school supplies from her locker and piling them indiscriminately in her backpack. Once she was done, she gave the locker door a shove, but it bounced back open, wobbling. It bounced on the second try, too. Suddenly, she balled up a fist and slammed the door shut with a crash.

She stared at it as if wondering why she'd just done that. Then she shouldered her backpack and meekly said, "I'm ready."

[Feral]

Feral watched Jamie deal with her things and then slam her locker shut. He knelt down in front of her and brushed her hair back out of her face.

"It's been a rough day. But before we go back and check with those ladies about whether or not I actually can take you home, I want you to know how proud of you I am for being brave and facing those mean kids who tried to hurt you. I'm glad you fought for yourself."

Feral scratched at his beard. "I'm afraid you are learning all too quickly that you are sometimes going to be the only person who can fight for you. But just so you know, as long as you're with me, I'll make sure things are ok."

He felt awkward having this heart to heart with Redencion House's youngest resident, but at the same time it felt good to support her.

"Don't regret a thing you did today. Not in front of those two teachers. Not in front of anyone. It's not wrong to fight for the things that are important and good. Ok?"

[Jamie Morrigan]

Jamie's eyes moved from the floor to Feral's, back and forth several times. Finally she landed on Feral's eyes and nodded, but she didn't say a word.

Quita came hustling up the hall toward them. "I just got off the phone with Anna," she said. "She's stuck in traffic, but she's on her way home now."

Jamie looked alarmed. "She doesn't have to come back for a silly thing like this!"

"You're not in trouble Jamie," her teacher reassured her. "She just wants to see you. And, Mr. Apatmos, she wanted me to tell you to take care of her, and to call her if anything else comes up. She's still downtown, so it may be a while before she gets back. And..." Her face softened, and she looked as though she wanted to sweep Jamie up in her arms and hug her. "I really am sorry, dear."

Jamie looked down to the floor, then back up to Apollos. "I'm ready when you are," she said.

[Feral]

Feral smiled a bit easier than before. The school issue had been dealt with. They could go home.

"Come on," Apollos said. "Let's get out of here. If you want, we can just walk together, but if you'd rather," he leaned in conspiratorially and whispered to her, "You can ride on my back and make me look like a velociraptor."

He stood and held out a hand to her. "What do you say there?"

[Jamie Morrigan]

Jamie wrinkled her nose as she tried to decide whether he was being serious. Then she smiled slightly.

"Okay," she said, "but let's wait until we're outside."

She waved at Miss Suarez and led Feral back out through the lobby and the front doors. "You know, Velociraptors weren't as big as they were in the movies," she said brightly. "They were more like my height. You'd be more like a Deinonychus."

[Feral]

Apollos nodded. "Ok."

He got down lower and hoisted Jamie onto his back. "Ok, let's be a Deino-thingy and trek through the prehistoric rainforest on the way back to the cave."

Feral rocked forward onto his toes and took off at a run. She was lighter than most of the things he ever had to carry while running, even with her books. It let him move at a nearly unencumbered pace, which was pretty fast. At a relaxed jog Feral could make a 10 minute mile. Maybe he'd get creative with the route home.

[Jamie Morrigan]

She squeaked in surprise when he took off, but she wasn't scared. This was fun! And the bouncing gait seemed just right for a giant, bird-footed dinosaur...

Feral's toes splayed out on the concrete sidewalk like a roadrunner's, only on a much bigger scale, and roadrunners didn't have an upturned toe with a huge, wicked-looking sickle claw on each foot. His forward-leaning head became narrower and longer and covered in scales, and she gave him a brilliant crest of red and orange feathers, and feathers on his arms and on his long, swaying tail.

Oh, if those bullies could see her now!

Cars slowed down on the road and drivers craned their necks to see if that really was a brightly colored, feathery dinosaur running down the sidewalk with a little girl on its back. As they hurtled along, a patch of jungle seemed to travel along with them - ferns sprouted at Feral's feet, and carpets of moss crept up the trees and fencerows, only to fade again behind them as they passed.

[Feral]

Feral laughed, which he was sure would be translated into a reptilian screech by his tiny passenger. "Having fun, Jamie? Want me to go faster?"

Up ahead was the corner they turned to get home. It was a quick right. Apollos leaned into it and skidded a bit as he changed his course. Then he took off again. When he could he jumped up onto low walls and ran along them for a moment or two before jumping down again. Anything to give Jamie a little extra excitement and further pull out the sting of her last moments at school.

"Let me know if you feel nervous or scared."

He knew she wouldn't. She was such a brave girl. It seemed that almost nothing could intimidate her. And yet the situation at school had. He wondered what i was about.

It would keep for now he was a dinosaur, not a concerned parental surrogate. Feral jumped over a knocked down garbage can and continued his jog.

[Jamie Morrigan]

Jamie improvised as they went along. The stone walls became rocky ridges, and the trash can became a hollow log. A woman on the sidewalk seized her Pomeranian in her arms and jumped back against a wrought-iron fence in fright, then nearly dropped the dog when it turned into a stubby-legged, short-furred lizardy thing.

In a surprisingly short time, they were on Banyon Street with Redención House looming ahead. Jamie ruffled Feral's head feathers affectionately.

"Good boy! We're almost home!"

[Feral]

Feral leaned into Jamie's hand as she gave him a scratch behind his ear. He laughed. The house was maybe two blocks away. He decided to sprint it home. Feral reached behind him to better seat the little girl on his back.

"Hold on tight!"

Feral's 10 minute mile became an 8 minute one as he tore down the sidewalk. No one was coming down the side street, luckily and he was able to get all the way to the front door without incident. He set her down on the front stoop--after all, dinosaurs can't open doors--and shook his legs out.

"That was fun," he said. "Am I still a dinosaur?"

[Jamie Morrigan]

Jamie looked at the front door - oh, right, it was a round knob, and dinosaurs could only open doors with handles. She took one last look at the Apollonychus and then turned him back to plain ol' Apollo. But she'd be sure to remember that one. Maybe she could be a velociraptor next time and they could run together.

"Not anymore," she said. "C'mon!"

She threw open the door and hopped inside, and she immediately caught sight of her face in the hallway mirror. Jamie sobered immediately and disappeared upstairs to unload her school things.

[Feral]

Feral walked in behind her, pleased to see himself back to normal in the hallway mirror. Jamie, however, bolted to her room with a dark look on her face.

Apollos sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. What would Anna do? The little girl often liked to spend time alone in her room and Anna would inevitably knock on the door with her mixture of Spanish and English and chat the little wonder out of her bad mood.

But he couldn't be like that. Greek was far more complex than Spanish and he was pretty sure that Anna's tactics wouldn't work for him. It was obvious though that she needed someone to talk to.

There was only one thing left to do. Apollos went to the kitchen and found the Chips Ahoy cookies that were kept hidden away. They were the chewy kind--his favorite. Apollos didn't like cookies that crunched. Then he poured two glasses of milk and went upstairs to Jamie's room.

"Jamie, I have a snack for us. Can I come in?"

[Jamie Morrigan]

There was a brief pause. And then Jamie said, "Okay."

She was sitting on her bed with a dinosaur book in her lap when Apollos opened the door. There was no sign of any bruise on her face.

[Feral]

Feral set the cookies on the small table next ot the bed along with the milk and again, crouched down to look his small charge in the eye. "More dinosaurs, huh? Would you mind scooting over and letting me look too?"

Feral decided not to press Jamie like he had her teacher and guidance counselor. He reached over and opened the package of cookies. He took one and handed it to her and then took one for himself.

[Jamie Morrigan]

"Thanks."

Jamie shifted to make room for Feral and then propped the glass of milk in the middle of her crossed legs so it wouldn't tip over. She broke off a piece of cookie, dipped it into the milk, and popped it into her mouth.

It was easy to see where she'd taken the inspiration for the brightly-colored feathers. The artist for this book had a flair for color, even if the resulting dinosaurs looked a bit conspicuous in their mesozoic habitats.

"This one's you," she said, pointing at the Deinonychus. Then she pointed to the sickle claw on its foot. "You could probably really make a claw like that, couldn't you?"

[Feral]

Feral kicked off his shoes and socks with his toes. "Let's see what I can do."

The older mutant flexed his toe and tried to get a feel for how that might work. It would have to start out of the top of his foot and arc around. Plus his toenail was in the way.

"Usually when I make the claws and spikes appear, they just pop straight out at particular angles. Most of it I figure is natural, but I have only managed to actually make a certain number of bones in my body shift and change the way I want."

He focused on his big toe and slowly the bone appeared. It started at the knuckle as a tiny point, then rose up and arced forward until he could tap the point on the bedpost.

"Well what do you know."

Feral clicked the blade on the bed while he spoke to Jamie. "You know, I've had to use my powers to protect myself from time to time."

He took a sip of the milk in his glass and put his arm around the girl's tiny shoulders.

"These blades are always sharp," he said. "No matter how much I use them I can still cut through nearly anything."

He pulled the blade back into his toe. "I never ever take them out unless I'm intent on using them for some purpose. Whether it's tearing something apart, cutting something into pieces." He set the glass down on the table and ate the whole cookie in one go. "And if I ever have to use my powers to defend myself, I know that I have to accept the fact that I might kill someone with them if things get out of hand."

Feral helped Jamie turn the page in her book. "When I fight, Jamie, I fight for my life. Or sometimes I fight for other people's lives. Like yours. Like Anna's."

He idly twirled a few strands of Jamie's hair around his finger without twisting it up. "You were scared for your life today, weren't you?"

[Jamie Morrigan]

Some people might have found the display gross. Jamie was fascinated.

But it didn't take her long to figure out where he was going once he started talking. She simply stared forward through the opposite wall.

"My powers can't actually hurt anybody, you know," she said in a small voice. "It's all just fake."

[Feral]

Apollos shrugged. "Sometimes the things that are fake can seem more real than what is actually there."

He chuckled. "Sometimes people want something to be a certain way so badly that they can't accept what's plain in front of them. And sometimes things are so scary and so big that even though we really know they're not real, we act like they are anyway because we can't resist our instincts. Even when they're wrong."

He pressed her nose like a button with his finger. "Jamie, that's what's so amazing about your powers. You can make the window on the wall move down five inches towards us and when someone walked in, they would wonder to themselves if the window was always there."

He chuckled a little. "You can turn a snake into a garden hose and a garden hose into a snake. You can even turn a big ol' softie like me into a large, fearsome dinosaur. And people notice and are amazed."

He took a look at her cheek. "I know that injury is still there, but your face looks fine. If I hadn't seen it earlier today, I would have never believed you were hurt."

He sighed and reached for the glass of milk again. "So tell me all about this fight you had at school."

[Jamie Morrigan]

She dipped the other half of her cookie in her milk and finished it off. Then she took a slow, steady drink before she said anything.

"I had to go to the bathroom," she said. "So Miss Suarez gave me a hall pass, and I went. When I got out, there were four boys carrying trash cans out of the cafeteria. One of them said they should put me in a trash can, too, because I was 'mutie trash.'"

Her account started out detached and unemotional, as if she were describing something that had happened to someone else, or on TV. But now that she was safe and at home and away from the danger, some of the fear crept back into her throat and tightened it up and made her voice higher and shaky.

"They backed me against a wall, so I made snakes come out of the wall. Two of them ran away, but the other two weren't afraid of the snakes. They just cursed and told me to stop, an' one of 'em hit me."

[Feral]

Feral nodded and handed her another cookie. "So what happened after that? What did you do about the other two?"

He chose to hold back his opinions and comments. They wouldn't do the little girl any good anyway. Right now she just needed to tell him about what happened.

He squeezed her tighter to him as her voice started to get shaky. He picked her up and set her in his lap and gave her a big hug.He felt bad for her, but he couldn't go out and crush those children like he might others.

He could only practice his newest skill: listening and being there for the child he was trying to care for.

[Jamie Morrigan]

Jamie leaned into him and took a small bite of her cookie.

"I spun the school around," she said. "Tried to make them dizzy. And I made them see me run away, down hallways that weren't really there. One of them ran into a wall. The other ran over a staircase. I think he got hurt bad. There were paramedics in the school."

She started trembling, and she put her cookie in her glass of milk so she wouldn't drop it. "I'm not sorry at all," she said bitterly. "They deserved it."

Then she realized she'd crossed a point she'd been trying to avoid ever since the fight. But there was no holding it back now. The room in front of her turned into a big blur, and she started to cry.

[Feral]

Feral held her tightly and patted her back. "Just cry. It's ok to cry."

Jamie's tears were wetting his shirt. He took the glass of milk from her and set it on the table so they wouldn't have to worry about it later. With nothing at all coming to mind to comfort the girl he did what he could: He let her cry.

[Jamie Morrigan]

She buried her face in his shirt, which muffled the sound of her sobbing somewhat. The tension that had been building up all afternoon was pouring out now at once. But Feral was solid and warm and steady, which was all she needed him to be right now.

It didn't last very long. A minute at the most. When she was finished, she stayed in his lap with her head pressed tightly against his chest, feeling his heartbeat and the slow, even rhythm of his lungs.

"I thought of other things I could've done," she said at last. "I could've made 'em all look like me. Then they would've been fighting each other."

She laughed a little and sniffled.

[Feral]

Feral chuckled. "That's true. You could have also made yourself look like something else. Or make them look like something else."

He dried her eyes with the hem of his shirt. "There we go. That's much better."

[Jamie Morrigan]

Jamie was still at that awkward stage where she was finished crying, but everything was still all puffy and wet. She sniffed again, wiped her nose, and laughed. "I think I need to go clean up," she said. "I'll be right back."

She slid off of Feral's lap and disappeared into the bathroom next door. The sink ran for a bit, and then she blew her nose and came back into her room.

Her glass of milk was on the end table with a soggy cookie iceberg wedged inside. It came apart as she tried to fish it out, but she ate the milky, spongy mess anyway.

"Thanks for the cookies," she said, smiling at last.

[Feral]

Feral laughed and expertly scooped her up without upsetting her glass. "You're welcome. Old Apollos knows something about what makes bad days better. And cookies are some of the best remedies."

Now that Jamie was feeling better, he stood up with the girl and spun her about then blew a fuzzy raspberry on her neck. "Now that we have all that out of the way, do you have any homework? We need to get that done. Then we can start dinner."

[Jamie Morrigan]

Jamie squealed at the sneak attack and escaped giggling onto the bed. After that, she had to settle down and comb through her backpack for the day's homework - a history reading with comprehension questions and a small battery of math problems. The thing with history was that the book was so dry she couldn't help filling in some juicy details of her own, and when it was time for a quiz, she always had to work to remember what she'd read and what she'd just made up. That wasn't a problem with math. There was just no way you could make fractions exciting.

When she was finished, she showed her work to Apollos, and he helped her catch a few fractions she'd forgotten to reduce. It wasn't the most stimulating thing to do, but at least it was a problem Jamie could solve. Finally she packed it all up and bounced down the stairs to join Apollos in the kitchen.

The older mutant already seemed to be at work laying out ingredients on the center island. Jamie leaned her elbows on the counter for a better look. "What are you making?"

[Feral]

"Well," he said. "We're going to make a pizza. I've been watching the Food Network at night and I thought I'd see if I could make a pizza like they do at all those fancy restaurants. I have my dough all set. I've got the sauce for the pizza. There's three cheeses here that need to be grated. I also got some pepperoni we'll have to slice ourselves and I'm about to sautee the oninos and the green peppers."

He jerked his thumb at the sink. "If you wash your hands I'll let you shred cheese and slice the pepperoni."

[Jamie Morrigan]

"Sure! It'll just take a second!"

Jamie rushed to the sink, turned on the hot water, and very studiously rubbed the hand soap all over her hands, between her fingers, and under her fingernails. Then she rinsed them and rubbed them together until they were red from the hot water.

Once she was finished, she found a footstool so the counter was at her waist level, and Apollos showed her the cheese grater and how to be sure not to cut her fingers on the blades. She went at it with a will, reveling in the soft, squishy texture of the mozzarella, which was different from the firm provolone and the hard Asiago. Some of the cheese flakes crumbled over the rim of the bowl and landed on the countertop, but she quickly scooped them back inside. Her hands were clean, and the counter was clean, so it was all okay.

[Feral]

Apollos started with the ball of dough. It was as big as his two fists and it needed to flatten and get broad enough to cover the circular pan he bought. He pressed his knuckles into it to flatten it out, then picked it up so it still rested on his knuckles. Then he began to turn the dough about on the backs of his hands. He gave it a small turn and soon it was stretching into a roughly circular shape.

"That's good work, Jamie," he said. "I think that's enough cheese. Use the side of the grate with the long crescents to slice the pepperoni."

He chuckled. "Dare me to throw the dough in the air like they do on TV?"

[Jamie Morrigan]

Jamie's grin was full of conspiratorial mischief. "Do it!" she goaded him.

He'd only just spun the dough into the air when the phone rang.

[Feral]

Feral turned to look at the phone and nearly missed the dough on its way down. It hung on his fists and threatened to decorate his head. He set the dough on the pan--it still needed a little more work, but he had to get the phone.

He grabbed the phone on its fourth ring and a little breathless said, "Hello?"

[Jamie Morrigan]

Jamie just gave him a long-suffering shrug and started on the pepperoni.

Feral was answered on the other side of the phone by an unfamiliar woman with a cordial but commanding voice. "Hello, I'm Lisa Sanchez with Action Nine News. Is this the home of Ms. Anna Fernandez?"

[Feral]

Feral was not pleased with who had called him. The news? "May I take a message?" It was the best he could think of to say. He put a pot on the stove and turned on the eye. He needed to heat up his sauce.

He looked over Jamie's shoulder to see what she was up to.

[Jamie Morrigan]

The woman continued undeterred. "I'm doing some fact-checking for a story about San Miguel Elementary School," she said. "Can you confirm whether a Jamie Morrigan lives at this address?"

[Feral]

Feral nearly hung up the phone. But this sounded bad. So he decided to ply for information. "What story?"

He rested the phone between his ear and his shoulder and helped Jamie with the pepperoni.

[Jamie Morrigan]

Jamie turned from her work and looked at Apollos with a crimp in her brow. He looked and sounded worried.

"It seems there was an accident earlier this afternoon that injured two students," Lisa Sanchez replied. "Is there anything you can tell us about Jamie Morrigan? What's your relationship to her?"

[Feral]

"Jamie Morrigan is a sweet little girl."

He smiled and patted Jamie on the head.

"It is enough for you to know that she is a good girl who means no harm to anyone. That will be enough for you. Good-bye."

He hung up the phone without another word.

"If they show up at the house," he said to Jamie, "go upstairs and do not look out the window or even come downstairs to see what I'm doing."

He planned to take the news crew by surprise if they showed up. Maybe make it look like a gang happening. He just didn't want Jamie to get involved or have the newscaster catch sight of her or get her on camera.

"That was a news crew," he said. "Wanting to figure out what happened at school. They're nosy, mean-spirited people who want to use you to get people to watch their show."

He finished setting up the dough for the crust and stirred the tomato sauce. It was nearly finished. "Pretty soon we'll be able to put the sauce on it."

[Jamie Morrigan]

Fear coiled around Jamie like a snake. She felt her neck prickling painfully, and everything in the room sounded ten times louder than before.

Silently, she cut a few more slices of pepperoni. She laid the rest of the stick down and carried the bowl of pepperoni slices over toward the stove.

"Why?" she said in a tremulous voice. "Why would it be on the news? Jared and Clayton get into fights, and they've never been on the news before."

[Feral]

"Well, baby," Feral said in a quiet voice, "I'm sorry to say that it's because they chose to pick on you today. They're interested because you are a mutant."

Apollos turned off the stove and let the oven continue pre-heating. Then he sat on the linoleum while he leaned against the island. "Come to me, Angel."

He let the little girl fall into his embrace again. "I'm going to tell you a little story about me."

Apollos took a deep breath and took one of the kitchen towels from the handle on the oven door.

"When I was fourteen I was finished with school. My family was poor, but we were all very happy. I spent two years working with my father building cabinets and tables. We had a good time together."

He took a big breath and looked outside as the sun started its descent. "I met a pretty girl and fell in love. Then one day I'm on the job. The girl I love comes to see me on the job to bring me lunch since I forgot it."

He laughed a little. "One of the other men on another crew starts to say bad things to her. Mean things. Rude things. Things a man ought to never say to a woman. Not ever."

His face turned hard. "I stood between them to protect her because I loved her. The man got mad at me. Told me to go back to work because I was young and I should know better to tell an older man what to do. I insisted he leave her alone. He pushed me. Then he tried to his me with the wrench on his belt."

Feral rocked Jamie gently. "I got mad at him. I made a fist and my whole arm became like a porcupine. I hit him with that fist."

Apollos actually started to tear up. "The news came to my family's house that night. They hounded us to all our jobs. The police took me away after the third contract we did that day."

He wiped his eyes with the towel. "The news shamed my family into silence. They moved away and my father gave up his business. The girl I loved also left me. And then they left me alone."

Feral placed a hand on his knee and squeezed to relieve himself of the stress. "I left that place with people throwing rocks and bricks at me. Some shot at me."

He didn't tell her about his retaliation. How he left his hometown looking like a butcher store. How every one from the next three or four miles treated him like a monster. And how he gave them what they wanted. A monster.

"Men got into fights on the job every day. Sometimes over how they treated each other's wives. Sometimes over politics or lunch. I saw one guy get his arm broken because he disagreed on how the sink drains ought to be put together."

He nearly laughed. "No one ever got put on the news for that."

Apollos sniffed a little. "I protected someone I loved. I protected myself. And I lost everything. No one cared that my love was in danger. No one cared that that bad man was willing to kill me because he knew I was right."

He kissed Jamie's forehead. "The only thing anyone cared was that I was a mutant. And they held up that bad man as a hero and a martyr for 'standing up to me.' I lost everything because of that."

Apollos shifted his legs into an Indian-style position and held Jamie tighter. "We are mutants. We are different. But we are good. But they are against us, most of the time. We can explain to them all day that they started it and you were defending yourself. But all that matters to them is that you were a mutant."

A single tear fell on top of Jamie's head. "I'm sorry that the world is so mean to people like us. And you have to spend your whole life putting up with it."

He smiled though and kissed her again. "You are lucky that Anna has this house for you. To keep you safe. And I'm going to work hard to keep you and everyone here safe as long as I can."

The oven beeped. It was the signal that it was hot enough to bake their pizza. "I think it's time to get the pizza ready."

[Jamie Morrigan]

Jamie had never seen Apollos cry before. It was almost unthinkable. But if something like that had happened to her, she was certain she'd cry when she told anyone about it, too. It was so sad and so unfair.

But it made her feel better to know that Apollos was watching out for her and Anna and the rest. Maybe, together, they could start making things better.

And making pizza was a great place to start.

"Can I help?" she asked brightly, hoping to cheer Apollos up again.

Soon they had the sauce spread across the crust, and they sprinkled the three cheeses as a collaborative effort. Even though the pizza wasn't baked yet, Jamie's mouth was watering. She'd even forgotten all about the bruise on the side of her face.

[Anna Fernandez]

The front door slammed. It always slammed, something about wind currents in the house. Apollos had looked into it.

"No puedo creer que el tráfico en el camino a casa hoy mismo!" Anna called up the hall, dropping the van keys on the long table in the entry.

"Mmm," she said, entering the kitchen. "Something looks good." She smiled at Apollos, "Thank you for picking up Jamie. The school didn't give you any trouble did they? I haven't put you on the list of approved family members yet."

Anna gave Jamie a squeeze from the side as the girl studiously sprinkled cheese over a pizza.

[Feral]

Apollos returned the smile. "You like the pizza? Just wait till we cook it. We're about to put on the other toppings. Jamie slices the pepperoni herself. There's onions and green peppers for it. I also have some sausage to go with it. Is there anything else you want to add to the pie?"

He felt good. Soon the pizza would go in the oven. He'd probably clean up the extra dishes and things he dirtied to make dinner.

[Jamie Morrigan]

Jamie leaned into Anna's hug and quickly made the bruise disappear again. She'd half-expected Anna to come running in to fuss over her and pepper her with questions; now Jamie wasn't sure whether Anna even realized what had happened at school just a few hours ago.

If she didn't know, Jamie wasn't going to rush it. She'd rather spend a little more time pretending this was just another normal day.

"This has three different cheeses," she said proudly. "We're like Iron Chef in here!"

[Anna Fernandez]

Apollos didn't say anything about the school, which meant he was avoiding the subject. Anna looked down at Jamie. "When the school called me on my cell they mentioned a fight?"

She crouched down a little, to put her face on the girl's level, and held onto her chin, turning her face from side to side. "Someone got hurt? They wanted to talk in person. I have to call the office and go to a conference with the principal tomorrow."

There were no signs of bruises or scrapes on her foster daughter, but that didn't really mean anything. "Want to tell me your side of the story, Jamie?"

[Feral]

Apollos watched Anna scrutinze Jamie's face. He moved to look over her shoulder and discovered that the little girl had once again hidden the bruise on her cheek.

"Go ahead and show her your face, Jamie. Let's not play." His voice was still low and gentle, but still held just enough authority to let the little mutant know she needed to just go ahead and get it all over with without fuss.

He finished the pizza himself and put it in the oven while Anna took care of things with Jamie. Then he set to work on the dishes. He would let them have their conversation without him until Anna decided she wanted to hear from him.

[Jamie Morrigan]

Jamie winced slightly when Anna put her finger right on the invisible sore spot. Much as she'd been hoping she could put it off a little longer, she knew there was no use.

She gave Anna a sheepish look, and then the ugly purple mark reappeared right over her cheekbone. Then she braced herself for a whole lot of Spanish.

[Anna Fernandez]

"Jamie! Esto es malo ... lo que pasó? Voy a decirle a su maestra lo que pienso de ella..." Anna took a deep breath, and said, "What happened? The principal said someone else got hurt too... oh Jamie, Jamie..."

Anna crushed the girl in a fierce hug, still muttering Spanish into her hair. "Y pensar que esos matones probablemente salido con la suya. Voy a decirles a sus padres lo que pienso de eso!"

[Feral]

Apollos ran the water until it got hot, plugged the sink and filled it with sudsy water. The pots and pans he used to prepare the ingredients went into the sink to soak a bit while he found something to scrub them with.

Unable to find the sponge, the man wondered if it was in the sink under the water. He plunged his hands into the water and felt around until he couldn't withstand the temperature and pulled his hands out again. He couldn't find it so hopefully he could find another sponge under the sink.

He couldn't help but smile in spite of himself. It always made him smile when Anna spoke her long lines of Spanish. Mostly she only spoke Spanish like that when she was upset or angry, but sometimes she spoke Spanish when she was very excited.

Apollos was slowly picking up on the language though and he could almost understand her. He could probably understand more if she would slow down. But she was busy doting over Jamie in a loving and maternal way.

Apollos took the time out to reflect on his life. Had things in Greece went well, maybe he would have married that girl. What was her name? Maybe they would have a daughter too. She'd probably be older than Jamie by a few years. Even so, Feral hoped that the girl that never was would have been just as bright and bold as Jamie was.

He didn't realize how quickly he was falling in love with the residents of the house and how much he was content to have a normal life.

He stopped his search for the sponge and decided to just stand and watch the scene unfold. It was quite endearing to him.

[Jamie Morrigan]

"It's okay, I put some ice on it," Jamie said, her voice muffled in Anna's shirt. She didn't want her foster mom to linger over the injury too terribly long - she was afraid that, if she did, she just might start crying again.

[Anna Fernandez]

"What happened," Anna gasped. Jamie had never come home with bruises before. The thought of her girl getting beat up at school was infuriating. "Those kids - voy a golpear esas pequeñas mierdas hasta que pedir limosna para su mamá..."

[Jamie Morrigan]

"It... well..."

Somehow it felt harder to explain this time around. Jamie wasn't sure why - maybe it was because the news had called. Who else were they talking to? And what were they saying?

"I was coming out of the bathroom," Jamie started, "and these four boys... I think they were sixth-graders... were coming out of the cafeteria with garbage cans, and they said they wanted to put me in. So I made snakes come out of the wall to scare them off, and two of them ran, but the other two just got mad. And one of 'em hit me."

[Feral]

Feral finished the dishes with due haste and laid a hand gently on Anna's shoulder. "Anna, I need to speak with you in the other room please. It's about a phone call I received while we working on dinner."

He kept a smile on his face for Jamie's sake. "Jamie, Could you set the kitchen timer for fifteen minutes while I talk to Anna?"

He didn't want to upset Jamie any more, but it looked like Anna was only reaching the tip of her stress iceberg this evening. Hopefully he could manage to help both of them forget the stress of the day over dinner and maybe a fun movie. He just wasn't sure that Anna was going to want a movie when she found out her foster daughter was going to be a topic on the nightly news.

[Anna Fernandez]

"I need to talk to my dau- to Jamie," Anna frowned, but when she turned to look at Apollos something in his manner made her change her mind. "Okay, for a minute."

She looked at Jamie one more time. "I am not done with you, niña."

Anna followed Apollos down the hall into the living room. "What is it? A phone call?" She raised an eyebrow.

[Jamie Morrigan]

Jamie's eyebrows crimped as she watched Anna and Apollos disappear down the hall. It was something about that mysterious phone call, the one Apollos wouldn't talk about.

The timer on the oven didn't work properly, so Jamie hurriedly pulled an egg timer out of the drawer and wound it up for fifteen minutes. Apollos hadn't said what she should do after she set the timer...

Visible Jamie hopped down from the stepstool and went over to sit at the dining room table. But the invisible Jamie tiptoed down the hall to find out what the grown-ups were talking about.

[Feral]

Apollos turned to face Anna when they entered the living room. "Anna, the local news called the house today asking about Jamie. They were curious to know about the fight at school. I wasn't sure how they got the house number, but at any rate I didn't tell them anything that might hurt Jamie or this house."

He took a deep breath and scratched at his beard. "I'm worried they might show up at the house or try to get Jamie at school. News media nowadays seems to hold no restraint about invading a person's private life and this could turn out real bad for her if things don't go well. But they're going to talk about it tonight on the news and I thought you ought to know."

[Anna Fernandez]

"What!" Anna's voice was a little louder than she wanted it to be, and she quickly hushed herself. "What happened at the school, Apollos? I don't think a little fight is reason for the media to get involved."

Even as she said it she was wondering which parent had called the news about the mutant girl scaring the mierda out of their little angel.

[Feral]

"Jamie told me the same story that she told you. Unfortunately I had to go inside the school and get her from the guidance counselor's office. They wouldn't say what they were talking about, just that two of the kids that attacked her wound up in the hospital due to self-inflicted injuries."

Feral took a seat on the very edge of the sofa. He was surprised to find that he felt much more on edge than he sounded. So he sat, but did not lean back. It was a habit he formed when he sensed danger in an apparently benign situation.

"Jamie scared them with snakes and made them think the school was laid out differently. In their panic about the snakes, I guess they didn't stop to think about why things were different."

Feral propped his elbows on his knees and rubbed at his temples with his palms. He resisted the urge to let the bones in his fingertips emerge from his hands.

"I don't like it, Anna. It reminds me too much of...well, something I went through. This could permanently change how she is viewed at school. Other schools might not take her if you transfer her. I don't really know what your daily schedule is, so I'm not sure about homeschooling."

Feral did at last vent some of his spleen by slamming his fist on the arm of the sofa. "It's not even her fault!" he growled. "A few kids get in over their heads and now they're going to be excused or even treated like small heroes for 'facing up to a mutant' and it's only going to make the other kids more hostile towards that sweet little girl."

He wanted more than anything to hunt. To destroy those kids who were making his little girl miserable. He felt the sharp bones prickling underneath his skin and took a deep breath. "I've been trying to keep things light around the house. Talking about dinosaurs, making a pizza. I hope I've been taking care of Jamie well enough while you were out."

The anger was subsided for now. Focusing on Jamie's well-being and making her happy was enough to soften his hard attitude.

Wait, did he just think of Jamie as his?

[Anna Fernandez]

"At the hospital?" Anna gasped, her hands flying to her mouth. "Oh no, this is not good."

Apollos kept talking, not letting her get a word in edgewise, his anger growing. She put her hand on his, giving it a little pat. "You don' know that is how it is going to happen. There are plenty of good people in the world, and I have had many good experiences with Jamie's school. She just... it is hard enough when an ability presents during puberty.

"She just hasn't had enough training with her illusions. To know how to use them without hurting innocents. Not," she added quickly, "That these bullies were innocent. But there have been so many incidents at school lately with her... many people equate a mutant child or teen as the same as allowing someone to bring a machine gun to school."

And the news wanted to talk to her. Fantástico.

[Feral]

Feral felt better with her touch and turned his hand over briefly to give those sweet slender fingers a light squeeze. He gave consideration to Anna's words and took a deep breath out.

"Perhaps I can find some time to help her with her powers. Or you could. She might like that better."

He looked at Anna's beautiful hand resting on his and decided to let her have it back. As much as he loved the closeness of it, he knew there were more imporant things to do. He had to take care of little Jamie.

"Well, we can discuss it all in greater detail after hours. Let' see about that pizza and helping Jamie unwind a little."

'After hours' was Feral's way of referring to the time when the people with bed times went to bed.

"I hope Jamie's been keeping an eye on that pizza. It should be nearly ready." He started to the door to go to the kitchen. "Anna, if you think of a way I can be of further help, let me know."

[Jamie Morrigan]

Jamie's heart sank as she listened. They seemed to think it was her fault those boys got hurt - that it was because she didn't have enough control over her powers? She'd had her powers longer than Ronnie, or Chelsea, or most mutants twice her age! How was she supposed to know he'd be stupid enough to run right over a -

She choked down on a gasp and stumbled backwards as Apollos nearly walked right into her. Good thing she was just in her socks, which barely made any noise on the hardwood floor. She tiptoed behind him into the kitchen, then hurried around the far side of the center island so she could join up with her illusory double.

"Hi," she said, coming from the table. "I think it's like eight more minutes on the pizza."

[Anna Fernandez]

Anna opened her mouth a few times while Apollos continued to speak, not giving her a chance to get a word in edgewise.

But he was in the kitchen already, and the last thing she wanted to do was make Jamie feel worse than she already did. Pasting a smile on her face, she left the living room and entered the kitchen. "Well, the pizza smells good. I need to call the school though, and talk to the principal. See if they are planning on talking to the news."

She picked up the cordless phone and retreated back into the other room so Jamie wouldn't have to hear the conversation.

[Feral]

Feral watched Anna leave again and peeked into the oven. "It might be less than that."

Feral checked around for a moment. "Let's get the table set."

He pulled forth some knives (not the sharp ones) and a set of forks. "Jamie would you grab some napkins please? I'll get us some plates."

[Jamie Morrigan]

Ronnie and Chelsea appeared for dinner, and Aidan and Jake even drifted through the kitchen to grab a slice of pizza on their way out the door - they'd been taking off together a lot lately, and they never said much about where they were going, as far as Jamie could tell from the way Anna's eyebrows crinkled up when they left. With the other kids there, Anna wasn't about to press Jamie further on the incident at school, but that didn't make it any better. Jamie knew her foster mom would be full of questions as soon as dinner was over. The little girl's appetite vanished halfway through her first slice, and Aussie the fierce snake emerged from her shirt sleeve to poke gingerly at the remaining pizza.

As they loaded the dishwasher afterwards, Ronnie surprised Jamie by squeezing her around the shoulders and saying, "I'da put those retards in the hospital, too."

[Anna Fernandez]

The conversation had gone as well as could be expected. Unfortunately the school had already issued a statement to the local news about the 'incident.' It was only a matter of time before a reporter showed up on their doorstep.

Anna wasn't sure what to do. She would shield Jamie as much as possible, and the House, of course. After dinner she found the girl and Ronnie loading the dishwasher, and walked up just in time to hear his last statement.

"Ronnie," she said, chiding softly. "Can you go water the garden before it gets too dark? I'll help Jamie with the dishes."

[Jamie Morrigan]

Ronnie took the hint and scurried out the kitchen door to the garden. Jamie took a deep breath - and then put on her best smile.

"I think that might have been the best pizza ever," she said. "Maybe we should start selling those. Apollos's Pizza! Only then people would think it was Apollo's."

She'd already gathered up the plates into two piles (she couldn't carry all of them at once) and carried them to the dishwasher as if she hadn't a care, real or imaginary.

[Feral]

From where he still sat at the dinner table, Feral smiled, chuckled, and shook his head. A pizza parlor. What would they think of next? He reached in his back pocket and pulled a pamphlet on getting a business license. He'd rather be a contractor again. Building, repairing, flipping houses. It was what he was good at. What he enjoyed. Maybe he could set up abandoned and foreclosed houses all over the world into their own Redencion Houses. It could work.

Maybe if it did work, he wouldn't have to fight anymore. He could be Apollos forever and leave Feral behind him.

[Anna Fernandez]

"Jaime..." Anna said softly. "We need to talk, chica."

[Jamie Morrigan]

The plates clattered a little more loudly than Jamie meant them to when she set them on the counter. She turned around toward her foster mother and tried to read what was in her eyes.

"Okay," she said back, just as quietly.

No more pretense. No more illusions.

[Anna Fernandez]

Anna reached for the plates, putting them into the dishwasher as she talked. "Did I ever tell you about when my mutation manifiesta?"

The girl shook her head solemnly, silverware clinking as she gathered the utensils out of the sink.

"I was fourteen and looking forward to my quinceanos. My mama was so excited - as the only girl in a house full of niños I was special already." Anna placed another plate into the dishwasher. "I was at school. I felt like I had a fever. It was so hot!

"In the hall between classes I bumped into another girl. Missy Collins." She made a face, "She was a cheerleader, and sooo odioso. She bumped me and made me drop my books on the ground in front of my locker. I... I turned and grabbed her arm. I just wanted to tell her to leave me alone... but that isn't how it turned out."

[Jamie Morrigan]

Jamie winced in empathy - more for Anna than for Missy. Anna had told her before that she was never ever to touch her when she was all iced up, because she got cold enough to burn the skin off your fingers. Jamie had looked up pictures of frostbite after that. They weren't pretty.

"What happened?" Jamie asked, even though she was pretty sure she knew the answer.

[Anna Fernandez]

The last plate placed, Anna turned her attention to the pans the pizza had cooked on. "Missy's arm froze almost completely." She sighed softly. "I was terrified. She was screaming... her boyfriend was swearing at me."

She looked at Jamie, adding, "The paramedics got there quickly. Her arm was saved, but she was in physical therapy for a long time. Paolo got there almost as quickly. I think he used his power to keep some of the most hurtful words from me, but I knew what people were saying.

"Mama and Papa never yelled at me. They'd already been through a manifestation twice, with Alonso and Paolo. But it was hard... their mutations are not as destructive as mine can be. And school got worse. A lot worse. I almost had to transfer to another one... but I didn't."

[Jamie Morrigan]

It sounded awful. Jamie's vivid imagination could easily fill in the gaps. Screams and angry shouting in a school hallway, footsteps rushing to see what was going on, accusing eyes all around.

The horrible sound of a body ragdolling down a steep flight of stairs.

Jamie blinked rapidly to dismiss the stinging in her eyes. "But things turned out okay in the end, right? 'Cause you had your brothers, and you all looked out for each other, and nobody was goin' to mess with all of you, right?"

She just wanted the story to turn into a happy ending.

[Anna Fernandez]

Anna made a non-committal noise as she turned on the water in the sink and started washing the pans. "Era difícil. Kids would pick on me openly in the halls. My locker was painted with rude names... Paolo's too, because he was my brother." She smiled faintly, her eyes tightening in the corners at the painful memories.

"But Mama always told me that the other kids were special too. Everyone is unique, no? We all have the same choices, though. Are we going to say hurtful things without thinking? Are we going to help the new kid find their next class and invite them to sit with us at lunch?"

Anna looked at Jamie. "Accidents happen. My run in with Missy was an accident. I didn't mean to hurt her... I didn't know I could! But in my corazón... I think I did want her to feel pain. You know what I mean?"

[Jamie Morrigan]

Something quivered in Jamie's chest, making her lip tremble.

"I didn't hurt anyone," she said, but it came out like a stammer. "I can't even hurt anyone. I just made them see me run away, and they hurt themselves 'cause they ran after me."

She was dangerously close to losing her battle with the tears for the second time today.

[Anna Fernandez]

Anna's heart melted at the expression on Jamie's face, and she pulled the girl in for a warm hug, despite their wet hands. "Oh, Jamie, mi dulce niña, I know. I know."

The girl sniffed, her thin shoulders starting to shake, and Anna smoothed her hair with one hand, still holding her close. "But we must hold ourselves to a higher standard than the others at school, because those dark thoughts in our hearts might come true because of our special abilities. Like Spiderman... with great power comes great responsibility."

Anna blinked back tears of her own, Apollos completely forgotten at his seat at the kitchen table where he was listening quietly. "Things are going to get difficult, Jamie. But I will stand with you. If things at school are not getting any better, I can teach you myself here at the House."

She pulled away, hands on Jamie's shoulders as she looked at her. "But I think we should wait and save that decision for another day."