"Uncle Harry"

NOTE: This is not a cannon story, it's one of my own that follows V for Vengeance. This is an attempt to further the adventures of Harry and Lash, as many have asked for another story. Here she is back and healthy now.

"Hey... Um... Mister?" came the soft small voice as I trudged down the cold, blustery city street. I stopped, pulling my collar up against the crisp and frosty October breeze. Turning towards the line of monolithic towers that fill downtown, I saw her. She was a small pale thing, her cheeks and nose red from the cold as she huddled between a garbage can and a newspaper box. Her dirty brown hair was matted against her face and her clothes were not in much better shape, as she shivered squatting down trying to find shelter from the wind. She looked up at me with clear bright green eyes, while the rest of her face a forlorn look about her.

"Could you please spare seventy five cents, please?" She asked, her arms wrapped around her body trying in vain to retain some body heat. "The lady at the cafe said I could stay for an hour if I order a hot chocolate..." she said, her voice trailing off, lost in the traffic noise and hustle bustle of the city street.

I felt my heart burn with anger as it broke in two, seeing the nine or ten year old girl sitting by the side of the street, being passed by the crowd as just another piece of garbage blowing through the city. I reached my hand out to her and tried to smile as best I could.

"How about I throw in a burger and some fries with the hot chocolate?" I asked taking her tiny pale hand in mine. Even through my leather gloves I felt the icy cold of her fingers in mine. She gave me a bright but weary smile as she slowly stood up and followed me down to the cafe.

The warm air rushed against us, smelling of hot oil, fried meat and stale coffee as we entered the small cafe. The heavyset waitress smiled over her shoulder at the little girl as we walked in.

"Seat yourself, I'll be over to take your order in a minute." She said hefting a try full of the blue plate special and drinks to her shoulder and bustled off to another table.

We found a corner, u shaped booth and she slipped in quietly, rubbing her tiny pale hands together as I pulled off my duster and folded it in half tossing it between us before sitting down at the table.

"Order whatever you want, it's on me." I said leafing through the slick, plastic coved menu, thick with grease and coffee stains and a little sticky. The girl timidly held her menu in front of her hiding her face as she looked at the options available. Still stiff and unsure as she looked through the menu, I had to smile to myself. I couldn't blame her for being weary of me. Who knows what kind of creeps had talked to her in the past. I didn't know and knew that for my blood pressures sake I'd do well to not try to imagine such things.

"Um... Thank you mister..." she finally said, still hiding behind her menu. Her voice was barely audible over the chatter and clinking of plates. She sounded relieved and scared at the same time. Her fingers were starting to turn pink as circulation began to return to them, now that she was in from the cold.

"You can call me Harry, and you're very welcome...? Miss?" I prompted her, hoping she'd offer her name.

"Okay then, thank you Harry." she said, still hidden behind the glare of the menu. I sighed, knowing it'd take a lot of time for her to trust me and decided to call in reinforcemts.

"If the waitress comes back, order me a coffee and an order of fries and whatever you want as well. I'll be right back." I told her slipping out of the seat, leaving my duster behind. I saw the top of her matted hair move as she nodded her head. I made my way down towards the bathroom and made a couple of short phone calls at the pay phone before returning to the table.

When I arrived at the table and slipped into my seat, a hot cup of coffee, a glass container full of sugar and a small pitcher of cream waited for me. In front of the girl was a half empty cup of hot chocolate, the remnants of the whipped cream adorned the tip of her nose and cheeks. She smiled shyly at me over the cup, her cheeks now a more healthy pink color as she sipped the sweet hot liquid.

"Miss, we'll need another chocolate here when you get a second." I told the waitress as she lumbered past us again with a try full of steak and pasta dishes.

"Sure thing sweetie, give me a minute though." she replied cheerfully. The girls eyes widened in joy but she remained silent as I started emptying a good portion of the cream and sugar into my cup.

"That's a lot of sugar." she said finally as I began to stir the heavenly brown concoction in my cup.

"That's a lot of whipped cream." I replied giving her a wink and glancing at her cheeks. She blushed slightly and wiped her face with her napkin, removing more dirt and grime than whipped cream. She looked at the napkin and quickly hid it in her lap.

"How long have you been on the streets?" I asked nonchalantly.

"A couple of days." she replied staring at her cup.

"Did you run away from home?" I asked sipping my coffee, the hot earthy bitterness mixed with the cream and sugar sending waves of happiness through my soul.

"I don't have a home. I was sent to a girls school when my parents died." she said, her voice quivering, barely audible now.

Another cup of hot chocolate with a ridiculous amount of whipped cream and sprinkles slid next to her current, nearly empty cup before a large plate with a hamburger and side order of mac and cheese clinked down onto the table in front of her. Then a large plate of thick cut French fries slid in front of me as the portly waiters smelling of bacon and cigarette smoke smiles at us. Her cheeks were pink and chubby but she still had a bit of her youthful girl next-door beauty about her as she set down the catsup and tartar sauce in front of my plate.

"Can I get you anything else?" she asked brightly, giving the girl a wink on the sly.

"We'll probably need some pie later, but for now I think we're good. Oh and there may be another person joining us." I said.

"Just holler when you're ready sweetie." she said tearing the check from her order pad and setting it down on the table before turning and hurrying back to the counter for her next tray full of greasy goodness.

The girl flinched when I mentioned another person joining us. When the waitress was out of ear shot she looked up at me worriedly.

"Are you going to turn me over to the police or make me go back?" she asked, her voice quivering and her eyes glistening, threatening to spill sad tears based on my answer.

"I didn't call the police and depending on your reason for leaving you may need to go back." I said honestly. "But let's not let that ruin our meal, we can figure that out later. Eat up kiddo." I said dunking one of my warm, salty planks of rough cut, deep fried potato into the tartar sauce before biting it in half.

"Okay..." she said not fully satisfied with my answer but accepting it as she picked up her spoon to taste the mac and cheese. Her face brightened as she took a bite, then another and another in quick succession. It would seem she hadn't eaten recently seeing how the bowl of cheesy goodness vanished quickly.

"I can't BELIVE YOU!" Came the soft lilting voice over my shoulder. "I send you to the store for a few basic things and here I find you with none of the shopping done, dining with a beautiful, younger woman." Lash said as she slipped into the booth next to me, giving me a playful smile and a kiss on the cheek, before turning to the girl with a wide smile. "He hasn't tried to ask you out on a date or anything did he?" She asked with mock shock, giving me a light punch on the shoulder.

"No... He's been nice." the girl said shyly giggling and then giving Lash a warm smile.

I could feel her silky blond hair against my cheek as she leaned her head against my shoulder, the lavender fragrance of her shampoo with the light floral scent of her perfume tickling my nose. She hugged my arm with one hand and reached out with the other to the small girl sitting across from me.

"I'm Lash, this big lummox's girlfriend. It's nice to meet you." She said with a perky smile. The florescent light from the diner glimmering off her cherry red nails emphasized her long sender fingers and arm as she shook hands with the young girl.

"I'm Simone." The girl said grinning shyly, her small hand in Lash's.

"It's nice to meet you Simone. Do you eat here often?" she said picking up a menu from the table and leafing through it half interested, like a fashion magazine.

"Sometime, they're nice here." Simone said sheepishly, taking smaller bites of her hamburger now and actually chewing it.

"Hmmm, that looks good. Would you recommend the burgers then?" Lash asked, setting aside the menu and stealing one of my fries. The fry crunched softly as she took a bite, the morsel disappearing between her glossy pink lips.

"Yes, the burger are good here. So is the Spaghetti and meat balls... I haven't tried much else. The waitress snuck me the spaghetti last night when she got off work..." Simone said, her voice getting softer and more timid towards the end. She seemed embarrassed or ashamed of her plight as she spoke. Then a sweet smile flashed across her face, remembering the waitress's kindness.

"Spaghetti you say... I haven't had a good spaghetti in centu... ages.." Lash caught herself, giving Simone a dazzling smile.

"Waitress, one Spaghetti and meat balls with a side of garlic bread and a small house salad." I barked at the waitress as she bustled by. She looked back and nodded happily, not missing a step as she moved quickly to the next table.

Lash gave me a raised eyebrow and a slight, seemingly happy smile, then turned back to Simone. "So, what's a pretty girl like you doing hanging out with a guy like this?" Lash asked teasingly, poking me in the chest with her thumb.

"Well, I asked for Seventy-five cents and we ended up in here." She said, looking down at her cut seeming a little embarrassed.

"hmm Seventy-five cents huh? Did you lose your purse?" Lash asked in a softer more concerned tone.

"Something like that..." Simone replied over her cup of chocolate.

"She left her boarding school in a hurry it seems." I told Lash quietly, nodding to Simone.

"Oh, I see." Lash said seriously, giving Simone an appraising look, that I suspected had more to it than a normal once over. "Something happened at school didn't it? Something that scared you?" Lash asked softly, her eyes kind but concerned.

"Yes..." Simone admitted quietly setting her cup down. "But nobody would believe me and some of the other girls started to make fun of me. Then... something bad happened and I ran away." Simone said, fear and tears welling up in her eyes.

Lash gave her a concerned look and then sighed. "Well, it seems like you're in a bit of a bind. Although I'm sure a girl like you could handle it yourself, this guy here kind of specializes in problems others don't believe in. He may not look it but he's a pretty responsible and handy guy. So how about tonight you come back with us and you can tell us all about it later. Then we can look into it tomorrow?" Lash said reaching over and putting her hand on Simone's.

"I don't know..." Simone started, her face hesitant as she looked from me to Lash.

"There's a warm bath and soft bed in it for you if you do. That and we can get you a change of clothes while we wash those." Lash said with a hopeful smile. "I wanted to go shopping today anyway! Do you want to go with me?"

The offer of a warm bath seemed to be the deciding factor, and Simone gave us a nod before taking another bite of her disappearing burger.

One thing about being a wizard is you live for a very long time. I'm still considered very young in the eyes of the older wizards, who live for many centuries, if nothing happens to shorten their life span unnaturally. Fallen Angles on the other hand have been around since, basically, the dawn of time. So in comparison they are an Ancient people. Lash, is something of a hybrid. Having been a fallen angel's shadow, who was given a body by a particularly troublesome arch angel that felt she showed 'promise'. She not only has her wizard powers but also the memory the Fallen one. This gives her a long history to draw from and a different perspective on life than others. It also means she was around when fortunes were created and lost, throughout history. By lost I mean swallowed up by the desert, sunk off the coast of Central America, lost as in misplaced not squandered. Given her years of research and practice as a wizard and her, literally eons, worth of memories, she's formidable in many respects.

After moving in with me, we lived happily in my tiny apartment in the basement of a small building. That is, until things became too dangerous for us to remain there, given the kindly but elderly land lady and inhabitants of the other apartments. When ghouls and an insane warlock laid siege to my apartment we decided it was time to move to some place where there would be less collateral damage. That's when Lash took a week off and disappeared to go on a little scavenger hunt. She returned with a few paintings and a few pirate-ish looking boxes of gold and jewels. Lash made a deal to keep her anonymous while the auction house sold the lost masters paintings and antique artifacts from Central and South America from about the time of the Spanish 'exploration' of the area. Although I never asked how much money she made off her little trip, I do know it was enough to buy us a nice, smallish, two bedroom two bath home with a full basement and two car garage, a few blocks away from the Carpenters home.

Although I've always had simple tastes, Lash is a little more like my brother when it comes to living space. Even though she never once complained about my small apartment, when we were ready to move, she had the kitchen, both bedrooms and bathrooms redone before we moved in. That and new carpet/flooring and a new coat of paint inside and out. Michael Carpenter and his crew did most of the work for us and he recommended people for the things he didn't do. Lash had them add closet space and had the bathroom done in more of a traditional Japanese style bath. The guest bath on the other hand is more European with a claw foot bath tub with a shower head. She replaced my small twin bed with a large queen sized rake bed and added a lot of warm soft pillows and comforters. Since she has good taste and is willing to put in the work to make the hose comfortable for us both, I didn't complain. Especially since the garage and basement are my domain, where she may come in from time to time to mix a potion or research something but she never tries to organize or move things around. So we found a happy balance in the end.

We finished our meals and I left a thirty percent tip for the waitress and we headed out into the cold evening. I headed to the shops that cater to the more arcane denizens of Chicago while Simone and Lash headed for a department store and then a grocery store before meeting me at my classic, cherry red F150 pickup truck. It was a birthday gift from my brother the last time the Blue Beetle was mangled by something particularly ugly.

We slid into the truck, Simone sitting between Lash and I. Simone leaned against Lash as the truck roared to life and growled happily as we pulled slowly onto the city street. We weren't half way home when Lash tapped me on the shoulder and smiled, Simone was curled up with her head in Lash's lap, snoozing quietly. Lash's ice blue eyes smiled happily and flashed in the passing street lights as she softly laid her hand on the young girls head. The shadows quickly slipped into and out of the cab of the truck as the street lights slipped by like quiet sentinels watching the city.

Then, with a serious look she said softly, "Harry, I don't know what she's gotten herself into but I can tell you that when she was talking about her school, I could feel her fear. I can't say for sure, but I get a feeling of residual magic from her. More like she's been around something magical and powerful than that she's been the target of magic." Lash said shaking her head, unable to put her feelings into words.

"We can ask her about it when we get home, or in the morning if you'd rather." I said softly wondering how someone so young could end up in such a situation.

"Tonight after her bath. She's Definitely taking a bath..." Lash said tugging at her dirty clothes and making a sad, concerned face.

"You handle bath duty and I'll handle the ice cream when you're done." I said with a smile. It seems nothing is better for soothing a girls nerves than chocolate ice cream, no matter how old the girl is.

Lash just smiled and watched Simone sleep as we rumbled through the city and into the suburban tree lined streets and eventually pulled into the driveway, letting the engine purr for a few seconds before turning it off.

As I got to the door, I released the wards and charms that guarded our home and the lock clicked open with a solid clunk as the heavy bolt moved back into the door. I opened the door to be met by a hit to the back of my legs as the thirty pound cat bounced into my legs as a greeting before quickly darting into the house. As Mister shot into the house, Mouse shot out nuzzling my thigh as I was catching my balance. I reached down and scratched his cheek.

"We've got company, buddy. I want you to keep an eye on her while she's here okay?" I said softly as we headed back to the truck. I grabbed the bags from the back of the truck as Lash and mouse gently roused Simone and lead her into the house.

When I came inside I found Simone and Mouse sitting on the floor, Mouse licking her face while she hugged him happily, giggling and hiding her face in his fur.

"I see you've made a friend." I said to them both, kicking the door closed and heading for the kitchen.

"He's So Furry!" Simone squealed, laughing as Mouse gave her wet doggy kisses.

"He's a good boy. Just don't get him too excited or he won't want to sleep tonight." I told her as i passed them and started setting bags on the kitchen table.

Lash came out of the laundry room with an arm full of pink bedding and big fluffy pillows, that I didn't know we had and made her way into the spare bedroom.

"Harry would you draw a bath in the master bathroom for me while I make up the spare room?" Lash called from the spare room. Her voice muffled while she put new pillow cases on the big down pillows.

"Um.. Sure." I called back. Still not used to a bath made for a small group. I made my way back to the master bath and started drawing the water, checking the temperature to make sure it wasn't too hot.

"Wow, I've never seen a bath like that..." Simone said from the door to the bath area.

"Neither did I until a few months ago. It's nice though." I said watching the large tub starting to fill. "It's a Japanese bath. You wash off in the shower here, then soak in the tub. It seemed weird to me at first but it's really relaxing." I said turning to Simone, sitting on the edge of the bamboo enclosure.

"But why does it have to be so big?" Simone asked curiously

"I hear that in Japan, sometimes whole families bath together." I said scratching my head, noticing the worried look on Simone's face.

"Don't worry though, I'm not going to... I mean I wouldn't..." I said caught in the skeptical glare of the young girl.

"It's just going to be US GIRLS!" Lash said stepping up beside Simone and her a bright smile. "I love this bath and I think you'll like it too."

Simone's face brightened and Lash took her hand and lead her back to the living room, until the bath was ready.

I took a quick shower in the extra bathroom as the girls bathed leisurely. I slipped into my PJ's and a robe and was about to drift off with Mouse's head in my lap on the overstuffed leather couch, when the girls made their way into the living room. Lash was wearing her black satin robe that stopped mid thigh and Simone was wearing a long, pastel pink night gown and a white terry cloth robe. Both girls had their heads wrapped in large fluffy white cotton towels as they made their way into the living room and sat on the matching love seat.

"And that's why the forty-seven ronin really attacked the shogun." Lash said as they sat down. Simone's eyes were wide and sparkling as she eagerly listened to Lash's story.

"So he and his advisor were really monsters?" Simone asked amazed.

"Well they were letting evil spirits live inside them, to use their power." Lash said, trying to explain without going into too much detail.

"That's amazing." Simone cooed looking admiringly at Lash.

Lash smiled back happily, "It's all true, I promise!" Lash said raising her right hand. "So now that you know about that. Do you think you can tell us about what happened to you?" Lash asked becoming more serious.

Simone's smile disappeared and at first she looked hesitant, looking at me then Lash. She took a deep breath and turned to Lash. "Well, it started about two weeks ago. Jenni, my roommate at school, she started being tired all the time." Simone said softly looking up nervously at Lash.

"It's okay Simone, nobody's going to make fun of you or not believe you. Just be honest and tell us what happened." Lash said calmly, taking Simone's hand in hers.

I could feel a small rush of magic as the room became warmer, calmer and more comfortable. Lash's eyes sparkled, nearly glowing as I felt a gentle wave of relaxation and wellbeing wash through the room.

"A few nights ago, I woke up in the middle of the night and saw Jenni sleep walking. I've never seen her do that before and we've lived together for two years." Simone said sounding more at ease and earnest. "So I followed her. You're not supposed to wake up a sleep walker, so I followed her." she said starting to cling to Lash's hand.

"Well, she went downstairs, past the kitchen to the storage rooms and opened a door to some more stairs going to the basement. I followed her to a room at the end of an old stone hallway. It was a big circular room with big chairs set in a circle. There were other girls there too, most of them older than us. I stopped and watched as Jenni walked over to one of the chairs and sat down." Simone said starting to become visibly shaken. "Then the chairs started to hum, kind of. It's hard to explain but I could feel it in my bones. Then as all the girls sat there a line of light went from their chairs to the center of the circle and made a pool of light. Someone walked into the circle and had a golden rod that they waved and chanted over the light and that's when I saw it... The monster... It was big and scary... I couldn't help myself and I screamed.." She said becoming nearly frantic, looking up at Lash with pleading eyes and wringing her hands.

"It's okay Simone, what happened next?" Lash asked, giving me a concerned look.

"They saw me... So I turned and ran upstairs and hid in my neighbors closet... I heard someone go to my room and toss stuff around then left, saying 'she couldn't have gone far, go find her!'. I was so scared.. I couldn't move and fell asleep in the closet. The next morning I woke up and snuck into my room and got dressed. When everyone went down stairs for breakfast I slipped out the back door and hid in the grocery truck until it left." Simone said her body trembling as silver tears leaked from her big green eyes.

"It's okay Simone, we believe you." Lash said, hugging her close and holding her as Simone sobbed against her chest. Lash gave me a knowing and worried look as she held the small girl.

I went into the kitchen quietly thinking over what I'd just heard. From what the girl said I surmised that someone was using the girls energy to summon something from the never never. Given her description of the 'monster' I wasn't sure what it was but I knew it wasn't good.

I brought in the three bowls of ice cream to a much calmer room. Mouse had his head in Simone's lap and Lash was talking to her softly with her arm around her as I came in.

"I know it's late but I thought this might brighten up the mood a little bit." I said handing a bowl to each of the ladies, then moving to the couch and sitting down.

"Thanks Harry. For dinner and everything..." Simone said giving me an honest if not shy smile.

"Damsels in distress is my specialty!" I said bowing my head to her.

"It really is..." Lash said with a wry smile.