Albany
Penny flipped her lights on, letting the boy enter her apartment before her. "I'm calling the Professor."
"Go ahead, I'm not going back."
"Yes you are."
"No, I'm not."
"You're ten, you know what'll happen if you keep run away?"
He looked back at her curiously as she picked up a cordless phone, dialed a number from memory, and pressed it against her ear with her shoulder. "What?"
"You'll end up a rent boy." She rubbed her arms for warmth. "Hello, Professor?"
Tony looked around the tiny apartment. It was pretty empty, at least by his standards. His childhood home had the walls lined with photos and paintings(his father was an artist). Penny's apartment had none of these things. The walls were tainted a grayish colour and bare, as was the room he was standing in with the exception of a futon shoved in the corner. He wandered over to it and picked up the lone photo in the room from the refrigerator box she seemed to being using as a night stand.
A woman, maybe in her early fifties smiled back tightly at him, her salt and pepper hair pulled back in pony tail as her magenta eyes looked into the camera. Tony pursed his lips and set the picture down. Turning his head he listened to the woman go on.
"Well, he'll stay the night tonight and I'll give him a ride back in the morning."
"Jo?" He called over his shoulder.
"No, I think it'll be fine," Penny looked up from the conversation, "yeah?"
"Where's the bathroom?"
"End of the hall- yes I'm listening," she sighed, exasperated, "It's only a few hours, I'll pull over if I get dizzy." There was a pause, "I've got clothes for him. He'll be fine."
Tony made his way to the bathroom and did his business. But as he was washing his hands he noticed the medicine cabinet's door was slightly ajar.
"What kind of acquaintance?" Penny's voice carried down the hall, and the boy closed the door to block it out. A finger pried the cabinet open and he was annoyed to find there was nothing particularly interesting in it. Typical things he'd seen thousands of times in his own home, deodorant, hair gel, hair dye(a forest green shade), feminine hygiene products and a small pill bottle.
Frowning he pulled it out for inspection. Felbamate. His dark eyes skimmed over it, 1,200 mg every two hours or as directed. With pursed lips he put it back where he'd found it and shut the cabinet door.
Salem
"Psh, I'm not doin' that."
"Take it up with Mystique then."
Callisto rolled her eyes and stormed off, leaving Toad to sort through the box by himself. His goggles still firmly pressed over his eyes he pulled open a file. A picture of an average looking woman came into view, a young child at her side.
Neither looked happy. His eyes went to the woman's hand, holding her daughter's shoulder tightly, then back to the girl's face.
What was first written off as annoyance was now clearly fear in Mort's mind. He lifted his brows and held the black and white photo up to his goggles. A familiarity pulled at him, but he couldn't place it. So he discarded the photo and went back to the file.
Name: Robin Hallen.
Aliases: None.
Age: 47.
Status: Missing.
Last Seen Whereabouts: Friends of Humanity's Headquarters, Maine Division.
Humming quietly, he tucked the file back in place. Just in time to have his partner stomp back in. Panting angrily, Callisto paced the small room's floor. "I can't believe this!"
"I know," He drawled, not paying much attention as he pulled out another file, "I's terrible."
"You're damn right it is! Helping humans. I didn't sign up for this!"
He shrugged, "'Snot all bad."
"What's not all bad?" The woman cocked a brow and leaned against the wall, "helping humans?"
"'Snot like we gotta be nice to 'em or like 'em, sides gets us off the base, do'sn't?"
Her dark brown eyes rolled, "ugh. I'd rather rot here then help them."
"Well, then, that's too bloody bad, 'cause you're comin' t'a Massatuttes with me, an' ya damn well gonna act like ya like it."
"Excuse me!" Callisto snapped, "who the hell put you in charge?"
"Mags." He said simply, "now watch yer mouth and help me sort these files."
With an annoyed grunt she dropped to her knees next to him.
Albany
Penny ran a pale hand through her thick, now teal, hair. Her fingers slipped over her mouth as Tony stared at her. Her head buzzed annoyingly, but had calmed from its earlier protests.
His eyes were starting to flutter closed, not that it was surprising. It was near two a.m and he'd had quite a trip.
"Tony?"
"Yeah?" His voice was soft, tired, and she approached him cautiously. He was slumping against the wall the bed was crammed up against, and with a careful hand she pushed him over. It wasn't as bad as the last time, with his thick hooded sweatshirt blocking the contact, but a jolt still came. He hit the bed with a low thud, his hand seeking out the pillow above him instantly.
"How'd you find me?"
"Hitchhiked."
Penny sat down on the bed, "no, Tone, I mean how did you find me?"
"You sound different." A breezy sigh escaped his lips, and soon enough he was out. Rolling her eyes, the woman pulled his shoes off, tossing them into the corner without care. The boy didn't stir at the clatter, and she soundlessly slipped from the apartment and down the hall.
She stood in front of apartment 6B. This particular apartment was shared by a human couple, Harold 'Manny' Baker, an eccentric school teacher who suffered from ADD, and his girlfriend, Jenna Tayo, a dominatrix who apparently had a weak spot for chubby, eccentric Jewish men. With a smirk, she knocked loudly.
A petite woman, clad in a golden bikini, swung the door open with a curious look on her face. "Penny?"
"Am I interrupting Star Wars night again?"
"Yes," Jenna nodded, but didn't seem bothered by the intrusion. Nor by her scantily clad torso. "Is everything okay?"
"Fine," The (slightly) taller woman said emotionlessly, pleased that the ticking ache in her skull had evaporated. "Hey, you still got those gloves? The leather ones?"
Her lips pursed in a smirk and eyes narrowed, "Yeah, you just described half the gloves I've ever owned."
"Well. Ones that go to the wrists then?"
"Oh, sure!" Jenna chirped, "just a sec!"
The small brunette disappeared into the apartment, and Penny bit her lip. She really didn't want to go back in there with Tony. The relief in her brain was almost blissful, but she wasn't ready to leave the kid helpless in a strange place…for more then a few minutes anyway.
Jenna was back soon enough, a pair of black gloves held triumphantly above her head, "got 'em!"
"Thanks, Jen." Penny went to take them from her when a hand on her own caused her to look up. Her voice was weary when she said, "Jen?"
"You know, if anything's been upsetting you or you just need to talk, we're here right?" Her dark brown eyes shone with concern. "I mean, you've been so…distant, these past few months."
"I know." The woman pulled her hand away, "don't worry about it, Jen, I'm just working it out on my own okay?"
The door across the hall opened, and the buzzing started back up at the base of Penny's skull as a bare-chested man poked his head out. "Guys. It's two in the morning."
"Yes it is, Stephen." Jenna smirked.
"Go to bed," His clear blue eyes went to Jenna's outfit, "or, back to bed." He smiled softly at Penny. "Hey."
"Uh, yeah," She blinked, her eyes sweeping briefly to his chest, the chip beeped and she grimaced. "I'm gonna go back to my room now." She shifted uncomfortably before quickly making her way down the hall.
Stephen rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "She really doesn't like me, does she?"
"She doesn't know you," Jenna sympathized, knowing he had what according to him was a very minor crush on the elusive neighbor. "Go back to bed, Drake."
He did as he was told, and the woman all but skipped back to her playmate.
A/N: No, I didn't fuck up Stephen's name that one time, his last name is Drake. It's on my profile, that makes it official. Also, Felbamate is a pain med used to treat seizures (supposedly) and I just fucked up the dosage, it's also (supposedly) illegal in the states. I use the word supposedly because I got the info from good ole Wiki. Review with theories on where you think this is going…I'm interested in what you think. ALSO and MOST IMPORTANTLY FirstTimeLady on deviantart as agreed to make banners for my 3 X fics! If you like slash, check out her banners, they're great.