Disclaimer: I DO NOT own any Four Brothers characters…sadly…

Claimer: Marie Mercer is my character…I just loved my name sooo much…

Rating: PG, blah, maybe PG13, I dunno…anyway, you're all cautioned!

A/N: Thanks to everyone who's reviewed. I was so happy! You guys are awesome. Neways, enjoy part two. This is kinda an in-depth look at Marie... oh, and sorry part one was so short. I wanted to put more, but I didn't wanna ruin it. Chappie, two, enjoy!

The Fifth Mercer

Chapter 2: Newcomer

"…Past the second set of lights and turn left. The house is right in the corner. A soft yellow colour, you can't miss it. There should be a dark green van parked in the driveway. Drive safely!" A female voice faded away as the engine of a white '97 Ford Escort roared to life. The woman who had been issuing instructions stood on the porch of a rust-red brick building, her gloved hands shoved deep in her coat pockets to keep warm.

This building, however, was no ordinary building. It was Detroit, Michigan's 'Determination Faith and Family' Foster Care Agency. The woman standing on the porch was Shayla Patterson, one of the many people who ran the Agency.

In the car, sat two individuals. The driver- Diane Cross- was a forty- something year old woman with black hair that was cropped close to her scalp to give her that supposed 'younger' look. Her eyes, a dull grey, were lost under her thick black lashes and layers of glittering blue-grey eye shadow. This woman's clothes concealed just enough skin that nothing was left to the imagination. At least, that was what you needed after looking at her. A strong imagination to take her face out of your mind. But at least today, she was decent. Blue jeans- though to tight for her age- and a cream pullover were concealed by her white, floor-length, fur coat. It was a relief from her usual attire. Clothes that she thought made her prettier only exposed more of her age- and in all the years working in a foster care facility, it took a toll on any one person. But the change from unflattering to decency didn't surprise the person sitting beside Diane.

Marie Claire Preston was sitting in the passengers' side of the battered old car. At 15 years old, Marie had been in the foster care system for nine years. No one knew the entire truth of how she got there, as she had never told anyone- not even Diane, who was her personal foster care guardian.

At six years of age, Marie had seen enough of her family to know what was right and wrong, but it didn't stop her from becoming a total fuck- up. Until she was 12, Marie had done nothing but abide with every law the foster care system put in front of her. When she was seven, she had been put in the home of the Gluttons, a law-abiding, God-fearing family with two twin boys a year older than her. She remained there for a year until she turned eight and the family went broke. They sold their house and moved in with relatives in Monroe, Michigan, leaving Marie back in the foster care system. However, in October of 1994, three months after she turned nine, Diane had found another home for Marie- the Burkley's. They had two daughters and a son. The eldest child, one of the daughters, was 25 and getting married in six months. Their only son, Elmer, was 19 and was always out of the house, partying, clubbing and drinking. The youngest daughter was 5. She was unintentional, but that didn't stop her parents from loving her. Six months later, when the wedding rolled around for the Burkley's daughter, found Marie back in foster care. This time, it had been a case of 'not enough room for the family'. Their daughter and her husband were living in her parents' house until their home was ready, which would be in eight to twelve months. They just didn't have 'enough room'.

But Marie was used to it. After leaving the Burkley's in April 1995, she moved in with the Gerts until August of the same year where she was then moved into the Cadres home until January '96. After leaving, she remained in the foster care centre until late August of '96 where she lived with the Weber's for eight of the most pleasurable months of her life. However, the Weber's were elderly and their lives ended two weeks apart and found Marie once again in that stupid care centre. On the 21 of July, '97, three days after her twelfth birthday, Marie was placed with the Cashmere's, a family who liked to have fun. But sickness threatened to take one member of the family and in November of 1997, after they could no longer look after her, Marie refused to go back to the foster care centre. However, she had no choice, and on the verge of frustration, Diane stuck Marie in the home of the most unpleasant people alive- the Mendes'. They were strict and law-abiding, with punishments and rules and 'time-outs'. Marie rebelled against the family until they called Diane to take her away merely ten months later. In doing this, Marie remained in the Determination Faith and Family Foster Care Agency for an entire year. Not until September of 1999, when Marie was 14 years old, was she taken into the Riley family. Once again, her stay was short-lived because of her actions and rebellious attitude. No one like her rocker style attitude, tough exterior and smart remarks. When Diane had picked her up, once again, from the Riley home and driven her back to the foster care centre, it was one week before Christmas. It looked like Marie would be spending it in an old building now being reused to keep hundreds of foster care children.

Marie looked back on those memories and wondered what life would be like if any of those families had actually adopted her. There was something she didn't think about everyday- adoption. She laughed to herself. She was Marie Claire Preston Glutton Burkley Gert Cadres Weber Cashmere Mendes Riley. How many homes was that? Eight foster homes in around seven or eight years, give or take.

And now, she was leaving to yet another home. It had been eleven months since she had left the Riley's, now November 2000. She had turned fifteen in July and two months later had heard Diane and Shayla talking about plans for moving her. She was growing up and in one year, Marie had planned to leave the system and live for herself. Diane had doubted and even argued about Marie going to live with this next family because the woman was elderly- 57 to be exact and she had four adopted sons, who, Marie overheard, had all been foster care delinquents as well. In three years, after Marie had turned twelve, she had become a drug addict, stealing money from her foster families to pay the drug lords. She had done just about everything. Weed- that was old. Cocaine, hash, speed, E, LSD or 'acid', even heroin for a while and crystal meth. She was a hard core rocker, her hair, though it still held its natural chestnut brown, was streaked at one point with blue, then purple and red. She had been to prison countless times until Diane had gotten her out. Diane had once let her serve her sentence of 60 days when she was 14 for illegal possession of a narcotic and resisting arrest. She had laughed in the cops' face, which hadn't done her much good. But that was over. She hadn't been to jail in almost a year and hadn't been high for three months. It was all the rehab. But it didn't matter. Rehab hadn't changed her attitude, hadn't changed her style- who she was.

Now, sitting beside Diane for the umpteenth time, her feet propped against the dashboard, leaving muddy streaks from the snow outside, Marie could care less about where she was going. Her baggy black jeans rattled with several thick chains and underneath her loose black hoodie (which had Dark Angel written in the centre in blood red and silver in raised lettering) she had a grey long sleeve shirt with white sleeves with the words ACDC written in black.

Her straightened chestnut hair fell in her face. The red highlights were fading out but the purple was still noticeable. She would have kept her curly hair, but the curls were starting to bother her. Diane never looked at Marie and didn't need to either. She knew there was a scowl on Marie's flawless face, her blue eyes piercingly cold. The black eyeliner- the only makeup Marie chose to wear (other than black nail polish) - extended from her eyes into a thin line stopping a few centimeters from the corner of her eye. Above and below the line, Marie always had some dots in strange patterns. Today, three above and three below. Marie felt the car stop and looked up.

Her hair fell back and she saw the house in front of her. Diane made a left turn and parked in the driveway beside a dark green van.

"Alright, here we are. Grab your bag and let's go," Diane ordered. Marie opened the door, got out, closed her door and opened the back door on her side. She took her duffel bag, which didn't contain much, and shut the car door. A beep told her Diane had locked the doors. "Hurry up, now," Diane told her impatiently. "Evelyn's expecting us any minute. I told her I'd be here around 2:30 and it's nearly ten minutes past."

Silently, Marie climbed the four steps to the screened porch. The front door stood in their wake and Diane rapped loudly three times. Footsteps could be heard and a soft, "Boys!" was heard. Evelyn Mercer opened the door and though she didn't see her face, Marie knew the old woman was smiling.

"Diane, nice to see you again," Marie wasn't surprised to hear a voice that sounded like music. "You've brought Marie, I see." Marie? Marie looked up suddenly. This woman hadn't called her 'girl' or some other harsh word. Only the Gerts had ever called her "young one". Evelyn's smiling face beamed down on Marie. And for an instant, her ice cold blue eyes melted.

Hope you enjoyed and please review. I'll try to update often, at least until 12th grade rolls around. I appreciate all constructive criticism- no flames! I love all my fans. Special thanks to elainekins and xPunkRockHeartX my first reviewers!