During dinner, the group talked and laughed, coming up with some jokes, Phineas obviously feeling ten times better by how bright he looked.
"Ah, so only, you, Candace, Phineas and Ferb are actually related, the rest are under your guardianship. Is that right?" Dennis asked, not minding the simple dinner that had been handed to him, a glass of water sitting near his side.
"Yeah, course only Candace and Phineas are related by blood, the two of us were adopted later on. And I only recently became the legal guardian over the remainders," Perry chuckled as he ruffled the silent boy's hair, earning himself a halfhearted glare from him as he bore a small smirk.
"But man though, you picked the worst time to move, especially after what happened recently."
"What happened?" the redhead asked abruptly, the other taking notice of the naïve innocence on him and the other kids present.
The others seeing him trying to come up with something, Perry was the first to figure it out, quick on his feet as usual.
"You're talking about the multiple robberies putting the town in the red financially? Yeah, we sort of found out last minute, by then we didn't have money to pack up what we had and turn back."
"Yeah, that…it's been pretty bad, that's why they're so little officers out patrolling the streets and such. They had to do a lot of cuts, so a lot of people are out of work due to businesses closing and such," Dennis added almost nervously.
He could see that the kids didn't fully believe him, but the other two were willing to accept it, but not the redhead based on his determined look.
"But I haven't seen that many closed shops …" Phineas started to argue before being interrupted, a firm hand landing on his small shoulder.
"It's in downtown, the part where little kids shouldn't go to begin with. So I hope don't find you or the others down there anytime soon," Perry added with a bit of warning, the boy nodding at that.
After they finished eating, changing the conversation to happier ones for now, the kids were eventually sent off to bed, the teens heading to bed as well.
"Want me to walk you home or at least until you get a cab or something?" Perry offered to his newly acquainted friend.
"Sure and sorry for nearly letting it slip back there. Guess those kids haven't heard about the slaughter?" Dennis thanked as they stepped outside to talk freely.
"Obviously," Perry stated, "but to be honest, I kinda just heard about it. Things have been so crazy with us; I hadn't been keeping up with the news."
"Sheesh," the other breathed as he gave the other a look, "by the way, how old is your kid brother?"
"Turning thirteen next year, same with the rest of the kids," Perry answered, seeing the look given to him. "I know it seems crazy to protect him and the others like this, but where we came from, death wasn't a common thing."
"Really?"
"Yeah, I mean, they know about it, but not in a way to talk about it so casually as people seem to do here."
"How so?"
"Well, I remember when our parents took us to the museum and somehow a dog we used to own was on display. The sight alone nearly blew their cover that he went to live on a farm when falling ill. Course, it didn't help that the mentioned farmer was also on display too. Thankfully our dad saved the day by distracting the boys with milkshakes than trying to explain why their dog and the kindly farmer were in the museum."
"Wow, but you may want to mention it or at least let him know that it is sadly more common here if he is completely oblivious to what's going on."
"I know, been trying to think of a way, same with Candace and Jeremy, but we're pretty stumped. Some of them are really sensitive; it seems rather cruel to go and ruin what's left of their innocence with such cold reality."
"I know what you mean exactly."
"Really?"
"Yeah, the job I mentioned earlier? Seri and I are part of a group that helps a lot of orphaned children who've been basically thrown away and left to die at young ages. We also take in runaways; we even go into hospitals to pick up children that have been abandoned callously or have lost parents, but local orphanages refuse to take in."
"I never heard of a group like that."
"Yeah, it was recently formed, hence why."
"Hey Dennis, mind if I ask you something?"
"Sure, fire away."
"Well…god I'm going to sound like a retarded ass, but since we moved here, I've tried a few times to do some research…"
"What is it? Can't be that bad."
"What are diclonii? I've heard about them so far, but more in hushed whispers, not enough to actually dare myself to ask them."
The white haired man nearly tripped, sputtering a curse as he stared at the other as if he grew another head.
"Seriously? You have no clue about them?" the white haired man nearly shouted, his jaw hanging slightly in shock.
"Sorry, I lived in a pretty secluded place before we were forced to move," the agent pouted, shoving his hands into his pocket.
Shaking his head, muttering something in what sounded like Arabic, he gave the other a sympathetic look.
"I suggest that you start telling your brothers, all of them about death real fast, because it's a day to day thing outside wherever the hell you came from."
"What are diclonii? Are they some terrorist group?"
"No."
"A gang in town?"
"No."
"Then what the hell are they?" Perry nearly shouted, getting frustrated by the other's vague answers.
"Humans, only very, very special."
"What do you mean?"
"Diclonii are a recently discovered evolution within the human race. They have some features about them that make them very identifiable, but for the most part, are hard to tell. Depending on age, they could disguise themselves rather well, literally hiding in plain sight, but it isn't easy as more ways to find them are made each day."
"What do they look like?"
"Like your average human, though some do possess traits most humans don't have, namely the color of their hair and eyes. I'm sure you must've gotten complaints from the school about Ferb's hair?"
"Yeah, I did actually, but his hair is natural, but they still bug me about it with a note home or calling the house. Same with how vibrant Phineas and Candace's hair is. I even got a call that Isabella wasn't allowed to wear her hair ribbon on top of her head anymore, it really upset her next to having it cut up like that."
"Just that alone probably sent some alarms that they could've been diclonii, and if you knew about them, you'd understand. Fact they're still with you, probably to avoid suspicion, they put them all through multiple screenings to ensure they aren't, nor infected, the boys that is."
"What else about these diclonii should I know about?" Perry asked, now starting to get scared, not just for himself, but for the others, the children especially.
"When they first started showing up in Japan, they would have varying shades of hair between pink and red, sometimes even purple or bluish. There have even been some born with somewhat common hair colors, but at the same time not common based on ethnicity, such as blondes born in an Asian family with black and brown hair. And speaking of ethnicity, despite it, all diclonii have been Caucasian to date, a trait they likely inherited from the original generations. There has yet to be one found with a different skin color."
"So they have some odd hair and eye colors your average person doesn't have, but I still don't really get it."
"They're born with a mass of bone and cartilage on their heads. To give you an idea on how they look, they sort of look like cat ears."
"You mean, they…they have horns?"
"Pretty much, but these horns are a result from the pineal gland having expanded, granting them a very special, and very dangerous gift."
"A…a gift?" Perry stuttered, stopping in his tracks, staring at the other's back, feeling his body beginning to shake. "What kind of gift?"
"Gift, curse, however you view it, how diclonii themselves view it. But what it is, what they have, is a unique telepathic ability. With little effort they can create protrusions invisible to the naked eye."
"But if…" Perry started before the other interrupted.
"However, they can be seen, usually through intense training to locate slight shifts in the air or ground where the vectors are lying in wait. Then there's the fact that every diclinous has unique traits regarding their vectors, from their reach, their ability, and how fast they can use them in general."
"I can understand people being spooked, but how dangerous are they?"
"Very dangerous," Dennis sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose, pitying the man next to him. "Vectors, when seen, they appear as hands and arms extending from their backs. On average, they only reach a few meters, though some have been found to reach longer, either with age or based on their generation. But what makes them so dangerous than difficulty seeing them is the strength they carry."
"Strength?"
"Yeah, but its more than that alone. They can become intangible too, meaning they can go through anything and anyone if they wished. At the same time, they can touch whatever the hell they want. If they want an apple from the tree, they can grab it, phasing through all the others that are rotten or aren't ripe enough."
"So they could go through a wall and rip someone apart if they wished?"
"Not wish, they can, they will, and worst of all, they do."
"Oh my god, what kind of town did we land ourselves in?"
"I don't know where you lived prior, but diclonii are just about everywhere, so you would be dealing with them regardless. Add that with the recent economy crash and it's just about a hell on earth. Between banks and the government in general being shitheads and now rogue groups going around to try and deal with the diclonii problem, I'm surprised a lot of towns are as stable as they are."
"What the hell am I going to do?"
"Easy, Perry," Dennis comforted, seeing the man looked ready to throw up, walking over to rub his back. "I know it's a lot to take in, but diclonii, despite what you may hear or read about, they aren't that dangerous."
"What do you mean by that?" he nearly spat, looking up at the other's face.
"They only are because most of them are children who don't know how to properly control them. Most of them are letting their emotions get the better of them as any kid does. Most don't have any actual desire to hurt and infect people, let alone kill them. The few who do are the ones you need to watch out for and likely the ones who suffered the most emotional harm."
"This group you spoke of before…you don't save just random orphans, do you?"
Seeing eyes going downcast, it was enough to confirm it, wondering why the man let himself be found out so easily.
"They're just kids, most of them at least. They don't deserve to be treated like trash, like lab rats even."
Perry cringed at how harsh the other sounded, starting to pity the man and these so called diclonii.
"Yes, they're dangerous, yes they can kill and to an extent, want to kill humans, but it's more from nurture than nature. Very few have a natural desire to freely kill people, having had no psychological damage done to them."
"What?"
"They have other traits thanks to their gland being expanded."
"Tell me then, please."
"For the most part, they can sense one another out, seeking each other out far easier than simply wandering aimlessly. And from what we've collected when talking with the older kids and past research notes collected, sometimes communicate telepathically when they need to."
"But it isn't just that, is it?"
Dennis shook his head, a visible frown on his face, "I will be honest, I am scared of them, but not the individual child. What I fear the most are their instincts. If it's given a chance to awaken completely and turn them, it'll be almost impossible to save them."
"You make it sound as if it's a separate entity."
"In some ways, it is," he sighed as the two found someplace private to sit and chat without having to look over his shoulder too much.
"How so?"
"Unlike how most would think of instincts, a diclinous' instinct literally talks to them, one we've dubbed as the DNA Voice. We have no idea how to counter it without hurting them, so we try to love and nurture them when they're still very young. We care and raise them as equals, slowly revealing the world's cruelty so they can adjust and not panic on the spot."
"I can understand that," Perry sighed before hearing the other continuing almost in a ramble.
"But it isn't the voice alone I worry about; I worry on their mental stability to begin with. Just about every diclonii found and recorded, ones saved or had been cruelly experimented on have mental diseases, usually forming from the abuse they endure. They could range from schizophrenia to having OCD and variety of others making them far more difficult to deal with."
"So they have a lot of problems than their horns and discrimination alone."
"I wish it was simple discrimination, it'd make this so much easier to handle them. No, people want them dead. The infants we rescue? We have to steal them before doctors have a chance to euthanize them or sell them to some research facility."
"Oh my god," the teal haired man whimpered softly, his mind flashing back to his own trauma as being experimented on. "Why are you telling me all this?"
"You mean beside the fact that you have no idea the danger you and your family are in?" the white haired man half joked, giving the other a firm pat on the back.
"Okay, you got me on that; I did bring it on myself."
"But I'm glad you asked, you get the real source than believing the lies told by others, whether they're blogs or news stations."
"I guess so, but what should I do if I ever saw one? If Phineas or any of the others spotted one when coming or going to school? At a park or anywhere for that matter?"
"If you see one or what looks like one, put as much distance between you two as possible. And if you get a chance, call me immediately, tell me where they were, but do not tail them. Even if they don't see you, you could attract unnecessary attention of others, causing a potential panic."
"Alright."
"It's okay; I'm not saying you'd suck, but better play it safe. Some of these kids, being as they are kids, only ones that can rip you apart like tissue paper, they can be pretty sneaky. My group has experience dealing with them between negotiating if they're older and understand, or we use armor piercing guns to shoot tranquilizers into them, knocking them out. We'll take them to a facility and let them adjust, interact with other kids like them and us so they can heal and grow safely."
"I guess, but it's hard to wrap my head around why they would be so violent regardless," Perry sighed, feeling like his whole world was turning upside down again.
"I can tell you more later on if you'd like. Right now it's late and you have work tomorrow I presume?" Dennis spoke as the two slowly got back up.
"Yeah, I do, I have the weekend off though."
"Alright, then come to my place this Saturday. Seri can entertain the kids while I give you a full history lesson about diclonii. Same if those two…Jeremy and Candace if I remember right, are interested. They seem mature enough to handle it and it might make it easier explaining it to the others, especially Phineas."
At this point, they were just about at the house, the former platypus surprised how nice it looked, the neighborhood itself looking much nicer too as he had been told.
"I want to ask one thing before we part ways."
"If you're wondering why I told you about them so thoroughly, that's because a diclinous, a single diclinous slaughtered all those cops."
Perry could feel the color drain from his person, feeling lightheaded, just barely getting it together when seeing the worried look.
"Sorry, just the thought that a child could've killed all those people…"
"Whoever she is, it was out of self-defense."
"I figured, but what could've provoked her to that extreme, or even the cops to target her in such a large number."
Turning his head to the ground, the white haired man gave the ground a hard glare as if it were to blame.
"A friend of mine in the organization works for the morgue. He studied the bodies brought in, the two civilians, they didn't die by this diclinous' hands. They were already dead from bullets by the cops when comparing the rounds. I can only guess they were the kid's parents and were hiding her and the cops found out and deciding to butcher them all than simply arresting."
"You seem angrier about it," Perry asked, not that he could blame him.
He could feel his own hands clenching, trying to keep his temper under control at the thought that the people who were killed.
Not only were they innocent, but left behind a child because of those bastards!
He wasn't sure if he should be glad they were dead or more terrified that a child was the very cause.
However, his mind went blank at the next thing the other said.
"The woman killed was with child."
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