"First thing you'll have to know, and it takes a leap of faith to understand it. Magic is real."

"Jien tah duh guay." Mal said, purely as an opening position.

"Weird, but no less true. I'm what is called a wizard. I'm human, but I've got, both by genetics and by training, the ability to control the elements and perform spells."

"Magic is impossible. There's never been a scientific basis for it." the doctor said, (Simon?).

"You'll have to forgive the doc." Mal said, a gleam in his eye. "He's just not happy because he and his sister nearly got burnt at the stake one place because they thought she was a witch."

"She very well may be. I'm not getting a feel of her aura right now, but...come over here, little grasshopper. I'm not going to harm you, I just need to touch your hand."

Mal smirked at my use of the phrase, but his eyes narrowed as River stood and walked next to me. I took her hand in my left, and closed my eyes, focusing.

Nothing. Just the normal life aura of a human. Well, almost...I began to have images flash in my mind, almost random images of different kinds; some of safe comfort aboard this ship, some terrifying, whirling images of a bloody melee with brutalized monsters, some of a girl on a table having surgery performed on her head, some of strange looking men with blue gloves, and some faded memories of a childhood filled with dancing and mathematics.

I pulled my hand away, quickly; something had happened to this girl. I never got emotional or image transfer just from a touch.

"You're a psychic." I said matter of factly.

She simply nodded, then went back to her seat.

Mal had been watching, and finally spoke up. "You don't seem particularly surprised by that."

"I had my suspicions when she said my full name, and when she pulled things out of my past that not even some of my closest friends know."

"But it doesn't surprise you."

"No. My apprentice is actually capable of reading minds, to some extent. It's just not pleasant when she does. Magic used to enter the mind, especially uninvited, is damaging to both victim and user. I didn't get that feel from River here; she's a natural psychic, without any magical ability."

I heard River murmur from down the table, "Can't change. Only read."

"Never heard tell of actual wizards out in the 'Verse, so I'm assuming they're not that common."

"They're not that common, even in my world, my time; who knows where they are here." Then my brain caught up. "What was that you said, Verse?"

Mal smiled. "Look up."

I noticed that I was sitting under a skylight; outside, I could see the bright points of light of the stars, much more clearly and starkly than is normally possible on polluted old earth.

"Okay, that explains the ship without water motion. Are we in space?"

"Call it the Black. But yea."

"Okay, that raises a whole host of questions. Have I earned a few answers?" I asked with a smirk.

"Fair enough. Where do you wanna start?"

"It's the year 2519. We're on a spaceship. Hyperdrive?"

"No, nothin' like that, Mr. Dresden." the little woman with honey-colored hair said matter-of-factly. "Heard tell of folk trying out things like that, but never successful-like."

"Okay. How do you go from planet to planet then?"

"It's called a radion core accelerator. It uses deuterium fuel to push the ship on a plume of ejected energized plasma. Serenity's class is called a Firefly because of the engine bulb in the back."

"But are there many planets?"

"15 planets, and what is it, 300 or so moons? Most all inhabitable in some way."

"16 planets, Captain." murmured River.

"Right. 16." I saw barely-mitigated fury settle over Mal's face, and wondered what I had gotten into.

"Not sure you wanna know." whispered River, directing her gaze at me.

"Look, kid. I really don't want you messing around in my head. It's not a real friendly place, plenty of dark memories."

"Can't help it. You're broadcasting."

"You can't control it?"

"She can't control it, Mr. Dresden, because a government-sponsored academy, funded by the biggest corporation in the 'Verse, decided to make her brain their rutting playground." Simon said, his tone hostile.

"Those memories...they came from that time."

She nodded, her face a bit pale.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart. Nobody should go through that." She gave me a wan grin.

"So, what form does the government take?"

"Evil, immoral, and overbearing." was the immediate response from the dark-haired black woman, who hadn't spoken yet.

"That's about the size of it." Mal said glancing at her.

"Apart from the evil part, sounds about the same. The White Council, the governing body for people like me, is only obliged to uphold the laws of magic and protect wizards from supernatural threats. They aren't obliged to do what is right."

"Does this council experiment on 14 year old girls?"

"Nah, but they do execute teenagers who've learned magic the hard way and broken one of the laws." I said bitterly.

"That's horrible!" Kaylee said, holding a hand to her face.

"Nearly happened to you once." whispered River.

"Yea. I killed my adopted father with magic. Fire, actually. That's a big no-no, violation of the First Law."

"Why didn't you get killed then?"

"Because my adopted father was trying to kill me back. There's leeway for self-defense. After a fashion, that is."

"Sword of Damocles."

"Still under it, sad to say. 'Least this time, it's my own damn fault."

River nodded, saying "Rescued your apprentice."

"Ain't nothin' wrong with killin' someone back what tries to kill ya." Mal said, feeling some sort of approval for this strange feng le man.

"So can ya see the future?" the big man, Jayne, said.

"Not really." He frowned.

"Love potions?"

"They work. Bit more sleezy than that though. And no, I won't make one. Not sure where I'd get the materials out in space, anyways." I caught a smirk between Mal and the dark-haired woman in the silk dress. She frowned at him.

"Summoning demons?"

"I can. It's not a great idea though. Either they're too strong for you and kill you, or the price they want for things is too great. And outright compelling them to serve you is a violation of the laws."

"What the hell use is magic then?"

"Only as useful as you make it." I said, with a very teacher-like nod.


"Okay, so you've told about this government. I assume you're rebels?"

"Were, once. War's long done though. Now just try to put my thumb in their eye as often as possible."

I laughed, then; this was the kind of guy I could respect.

"So you just transport cargo?"

They all met eyes, and turned back to me.

"Ahh. Clandestine dealings?"

"Less than legal. Until we trust ya a bit more, probably not safe to say more."

"Fair. Don't expect mighty secrets from me then, either."

He frowned, then sighed. "Okay. Yea, we take the jobs as they come. Sometimes they are legal; our Ambassador has been getting us legitimate cargos lately, after-"

I caught the pause. "After what?"

"Miranda." River whispered.

"You feel up to tellin' the tale, little one?" Mal said; I could see the concern, the fatherly bond between the two, and smiled in approval.

She shook her head.

"Okay, s'alright. You can go on the bridge if you want, let us know if anythin's goin' on."

She nodded, and floated off up the corridor opposite the one I had entered through.

"Anyways, we get legit cargos when possible, but ain't always been so. Done train heists, stole a priceless artifact from Earth-That-Was, often smuggle things about. Robbed banks before."

"Sounds like a well-rounded resume." I snarked.

"About the size of it. We robbed a bank about 6 months ago, on a moon called Lilac." Mal explained, settling down for a story.


I threw up. I managed to make it to the sink, at least; still, kind of embarrassing.

"S'alright, Mr. Dresden. Just about the right reaction."

"So...are there still Reavers?"

"Yea. Not sure how many still about. Quite a few got taken out in the battle over Universe's moon."

"Hell's bells."

River came back at that point. She had slipped off to the infirmary, and brought back anti-nausea medicine. "Thanks, little one." I murmured.

"No problem, Harry." I smiled at her use of my name. She suddenly stopped, and looked at me curiously. "Who's Bob?"

I grinned, then sat down and reached into my bag. They tensed for a moment, then relaxed when I slowly brought out a skull, and set it on the table.

"Everybody; this is Bob. Wake up, lazybones."

"Always with the bad puns, Harry." the skull said, rattling in a yawn. His eyelights blinked on, and he looked around the table. "Wow, how is it you end up on a ship with 4 beautiful women on it?" He leered at the one that had been introduced to me as Inara; she glared back at me.

"Don't look at me. Blame the skull."

"It's a skull..that talks." Mal said, eyes nearly out of their sockets.

"His name is Bob. He's a spirit of intellect, he just uses the skull as a home."

"Hello Bob." River whispered; the others just gawked.

"Well, she's a cute one, Harry. Replacement for the blonde brickhouse back home?"

"Shut up, Bob." I growled.

"What do you keep him around for?" asked the dark-skinned woman, eyeing the skull.

"He's a pretty good barometer of the current state of magic, and he's got a whole bag of tricks. Just in general, he's useful, even when he's annoying.

"Bob, you got any idea of the current metaphysics of magic? I've noticed that nothing is breaking down around me; back home, if I spent this much time on a boat full of technology, it'd be drifting by now."

"Checking." the eyelights dimmed. After a few moments, they brightened. "Looks like you're in the clear. Technology isn't reactive to magic anymore."

"Any idea why?"

"I could give you the long, complicated answer, or I could just say 'I don't know.' Which would you prefer?"

"Never mind. Okay. Looks like my second excuse for not being able to show you anything I can do is moot. If you invite me on board your boat, I might be able to show you a few things."

"Invite?"

"Because your ship is a giant threshold."

"Care to explain that?"

I smiled. "They're called homestead laws. Any place that mortals live in, or make a home in, develops a threshold. A rented place, or one used as a place of business, doesn't develop much of a threshold. A home that's been lived in by generations of the same family creates a strong threshold. Inside that threshold, supernatural creatures have a hard time existing, and people like me have a hard time using even the simplest magic."

"Still not sure how this ship got a threshold, Harry." Bob said.

"I know now. Now that you told me the story about Simon and River, and about Miranda. You were crew before; now you're family. That kind of sacrifice and love has power. In spades."

Mal smiled; he thought he finally understood this stranger. "Alright. You're welcome aboard Serenity."

I smiled, feeling the rain curtain of the threshold part around me, from its former suppressive force. I saw a candle on the table, unlit; "Flickum bicus." I murmured, and the candle lit on its own.

They sat back from the candle, probably waiting for it to explode.

"Just a fire-lighting spell." I said. I put will into my amulet, and it began to glow with blue light. Eyes widened at that.

"Ventas Servitas."

With a gust of wind, my staff whirled up from the floor of the bay, and flew through the door, into my hand.

Mal stood up at that, knocking over his chair. "Jien tah duh guay!"

"Just a few of the tricks I can do. I think I could probably leave from here, if you wanted me to.

"Aparturum" I whispered, pushing the staff into the doorway near me. Nothing happened.

Hmm. Could be a problem. "Normally that would open a doorway into the Never Never, letting me just walk out of here." I saw eyes go a bit blank with my mention of the Never Never, No time to explain now.

"Doesn't look like you did, Boss." Bob said.

"Thanks, Bob. Never would have noticed. Why didn't that work?"

"Not sure. It'll take some thinking and figuring. I'll let you know when I find out."

"Okay. Well, it looks like I'm stuck here for a while. Do you think you can drop me off somewhere?"

"Depends. Where do you think you're gonna go?"

"Figured I'd try to find a planet, see if I can step into the Never Never there."

"Worth a shot. Next place we'll be planetside is a moon called Whitefall."

"Still don't see why we gotta deal with that lao puh." Jayne groused.

"Cuz she's got the coin to pay us."

"She shot you. Twice." Inara said, looking at Mal like he was crazy.

"A bit, sure. Still, her money's good."


Zoe, the dark-skinned woman that had stood apart from the gathering, just shook her head, a small grin coloring her formerly flat face. Now that I understood what had happened to these people, the reactions around me were making sense.

I stepped closer to her, and said "I'm sorry about your husband."

"Thank you." she said, giving me a tight smile.

"I know what it's like to lose someone."

"You haven't mentioned it yet."

"Her name is Susan. She was a reporter, and she got exposed to a lot of the supernatural world because of me. Because of me..." I choked off. "Because of me, she's been infected with something that she can never get rid of...that will eventually kill her in the end."

She put a hand on my arm, a comfort I hadn't expected from this former soldier. She patted it once, then dropped her arm, her cool reserve back in place. "If you'll excuse me, I've gotta get the cargo moved."

Mal heard that, and turned. "Jayne! Help her. Mr. Dresden, if you don't mind, could you give them a hand?"

"Sure." I said. "Might as well call me Harry; we're gonna be together for a bit, and you'll get tired of calling me Mister." Just saying that name on its own gave me a pang of sadness; Mister and Mouse. Would I ever see them again?

"Guardian spirit will join you before long. Impossible to keep you apart."

I smiled at that, brightened by hope; did she know something I don't?


River and Mal walked onto the bridge, sitting in their customary chairs. River refused to sit in the pilot's seat, often saying that Wash still needed to sit there. They had gotten tired of arguing with her about it, and usually the other person on the bridge sat there.

"So, what do you think, little Albatross?"

"He's trustworthy. Strange, not altogether there, but trustworthy."

"Don't make him all that different from the rest of us, little one." Mal smirked. "So he's actually doing magic?"

"It seems so. Not anything I could do, nor any of the others at the Academy. Certain we haven't seen his real ability, his real strength yet."

"You mean..."

"He's more than he seems."

"Again, not much different from the rest of us."


I was sweating profusely; the cargo they were moving was heavy! We had just finished up when I heard a popping/snapping noise, and turned quickly; a large, grey-ruffed dog stood there, tongue lolling happily.

"Mouse!" I yelled, and he ran into me, knocking me to my ass. "Glad to see you too, buddy." I said, scritching his ruff.

I noticed that the other two had drawn their weapons; and Mouse noticed too. He growled his usual subaudible growl; it was his first warning of danger. It actually vibrated through the floor plating, and they both noticed the vibration in their feet.

"He won't harm anybody. Just put away the guns."

Slowly, they holstered. Mouse checked both of them out carefully, sniffing their hands and most of their lower bodies. He met their eyes for a moment, then his tail began wagging happily again, tongue lolling. Jayne gave him a few pats, mussing with his ruff; I knew the big man was a dog person.

Mal strode in, having heard me shout. River was beside him, big grin on her face.

"Sorry about that, Captain. Looks like he found me. This is Mouse."

"What are we gonna do with a dog on board?"

"He'll be fine. We can figure out something for the...waste disposal." I said, eyes shifting to Zoe. She snickered at Mal's discomfiture. "He's friendly. He's just overprotective."

"Well. Fine then." Mal said, turning around and muttering in Chinese. Something continued to translate in my head, and I felt a wave of panic again.

River came down to see him, and he regarded her cautiously; he must have sensed my own mental state and the dark memories in her, sensed what she could do. Finally, he seemed to reach approval, and held up a paw gravely to her. She shook it, and just for a moment, looked like a much younger girl.

Kaylee bolted out of the engine room, and ran down to greet Mouse. He lolled happily, and enjoyed a good few minutes of petting and belly-scratching. Simon treated him coolly, but was soon won over by his good nature, and spent a few minutes petting him with the girls.


I went to find Mal.

"Sorry, I honestly didn't know he'd show up here as well."

"S'fine. You're gettin' off at Whitefall, anyways, right?"

"Depends on what I find. If I can't find a Way back home, I may be stuck here, in this 'Verse." Damn; I was 500 years in the future. I didn't think that time travel was possible with Way travel, but it was possible that my sense of time had been skewed in that place. If that was so, it was even worse than I had imagined.

"Well, we can figure that out, I conjure."