Shake Your Foundations
8. Never Alone
It was late Wednesday evening before the Cobra transport arrived, and during that short time frame Zartan and his siblings had carefully planned out a schedule of activities and watchers to keep the new addition to the spy team from getting into more trouble than she already had. Zartan remained unsure of whether or not the planning would do any good, but if they didn't do something, there would be a repeat of the paint sprayer incident. Nobody wanted that.
He eyed her critically as she stepped off the aircraft and what he saw worried him. Her hair was oily, limp, and knotted with tangles. Her scales were dull in color, and her eyes were sporting some rather impressive dark circles underneath them. She also appeared to have lost quite a bit of weight over the last few weeks, depressing as the notion felt. Gnawgahyde and Burn Out likely forgot that she would need a lot of extra calories to heal from her injuries without reverting to the walking skeleton she had been up until about four months ago. It would likely take another four months to get her back to where she had been a few weeks ago, given how fast her metabolism worked.
"My dear, we simply must stop meeting like this." He sighed as she came closer, a red rolling suitcase following like a puppy on a leash. To his relief, both the dog and the pig stayed in Chicago. Explaining the presence of either animal to the Baroness would have been highly stressful. "You look like hell." She glared at him, but didn't seem terribly shocked by that statement.
"Hard to take care of personal grooming when I can't stick my arm higher than my shoulder." She grumbled. The limited accelerated healing she possessed obviously wasn't functioning at peak performance lately, or the surgical marks would have been healed enough to allow her to wash her hair by now.
"I'm sure Zarana would be willing to help with that if you ask her." Actually, once Zarana got a good look at the kid, she probably wouldn't leave the girl much choice in the matter. He doubted anyone looking in from the outside would believe just how motherly Zarana behaved with the kids. He'd noticed little things in that vein when Zanya was younger, but how she'd acted since Shadowatch moved in went above and beyond anything he'd expected from her. "Come along, dinner's ready in the kitchen."
Andi's expression screwed into a frown. "Is the Baroness joining us tonight, or are we too low-class for her sensibilities?"
Ah, so the sarcasm hadn't gone anywhere. That was a relief. "No, she's off on a date with the vice-principal." He informed her, watching as her expression relaxed. "She doesn't fancy him much at all, but he's close to Trask-the man behind the Sentinels- and Cobra Commander wants more information."
"Doesn't matter; Destro's still gonna flip out when he hears this." She remarked as they entered the base.
Yes, he would, but now was not the time to inform the arms dealer. "Let's wait until we actually need his help before revealing that particular trump card." He told her. With the way things were shaping up, they would need to use that particular bit of information soon. "Why don't you focus less on what everyone else is doing and more on recovering?"
"Because that's boring; I don't get to do anything useful." She griped. He sighed and fought the urge to rub his temples. Even if she hadn't phrased it all that clearly, he knew exactly what she meant.
"But you are doing something useful, kid—you're healing. You can't do anything 'useful', as you put it, unless you're well enough to do so without injuring yourself further." He hated taking sick leave for the same set of reasons, but had learned (mostly through experience) that cutting corners and arguing with the medical staff would keep you out of work much longer than if you'd done what you were supposed to do in the first place. He disliked being dependent on someone else like that, but found his own recovery time cut in half when he actually asked his siblings or Zanya to help out.
How the hell Zanya missed inheriting that trait while his ward picked it up on her own still puzzled him.
"Cor, kid, didn't they feed you back in Chicago?" Zarana exclaimed in worry as the pair entered the kitchen/dining room.
"Yeah. Exactly what everyone else ate." Andi eyed the woman warily, as if unable to understand what the fuss was about.
"Obviously you didn't get enough of it." Zarana groused. "Sit." Andi complied and Zarana set a plate of food in front of the girl before fishing a small black comb out of her back pocket. As soon as the woman was certain her young charge focused more on her dinner than her surroundings, Zarana began to comb the tangles out of the girl's hair.
"Hey!" Andi protested around a mouthful of casserole.
"Be still, I'm trying to fix this mess." Zarana scolded. "I'm surprised Regan or Kristen haven't cornered you before now!"
"You've been hiding in Bryan's room, haven't you?" Zartan inquired, earning a reluctant nod from his young ward. The older of the two Dukes boys wouldn't begrudge her much, especially not while she was injured. "I'll need to speak to him about that." Not because the boy would dream of taking advantage of her, but rather that one of the other girls needed to make sure she was properly taking care of herself.
"Why? He didn't do anything wrong." She glared defiantly back at him.
"Perhaps not, but he certainly hasn't been helping you take care of yourself." He remarked. "And the other handlers let you get away with not doing anything. We won't." She looked as if she were about to protest but instead yelped when Zarana found one of the larger knots of hair with the comb.
"Don't move so much; you're making it worse." The woman chided. "If you'd let the other girls deal with this instead of hiding like a scared animal…"
"What does my hair have to do with anything?" the girl grumbled. "It's not a big deal!"
"I beg to differ. If you can't wash it or comb it, it means those ribs and the stitches over top of 'em haven't healed like they should've yet." Zarana answered, pain-stakingly combing the matted knot of hair loose.
"Again, why does it matter?" Andi tried to turn her head so that she could see what the older woman was doing, only to have Zarana turn her so that she was looking straight ahead again.
"Stop moving." She chided. "It matters because it's a reflection of how well you're doing. If you can't even groom yourself properly, you're obviously not well." Andi tried to turn her head again, but soon got whacked with the comb.
"Ow!"
"I told you to stop moving."
"It's only gonna get worse if you fight her, trust me." Zandar grumbled into his glass of water.
"Should I be offended or pleased with that comment?" his sister glared accusingly at him.
"Whichever you want; doesn't change the fact that it's true."
"We have a slight hiccup in that plan of yours." Zarana announced the next morning at breakfast. Zartan muttered sharply under his breath.
"Is it at least better than having to meet early to go over the paperwork?" He griped. "I just got off the phone with Principal Kelly; he wants to meet with her."
"She's in no shape to meet anyone right now; definitely won't be after we have to medicate her." His sister responded flatly. "Seems relocating like this messed up her allergies."
Zartan sighed. Allergy season posed a big problem for the team as a whole and Andi in particular every year, but he'd thought they were well outside of the normal runny nose and itchy eyes weather. Obviously there was something floating in the air here that didn't exist in Chicago or Florida. "What kind of medications do we have at this base?"
"The one that make her sleep for four hours." She answered. They'd learned fairly quickly that their time in the labs had done a number on the kids' immune systems and their reactions to medications in particular. Andi and Neal, having been in the lab the longest and lacking Kristen's healing ability, were the worst off in the group and could only take a few over-the counter medications without some rather…interesting side effects. At least it was the 'sleep it off' meds in stock this time and not the 'I'm seeing spots' or 'migraine-inducing' ones. "Don't have anything we usually give her, but one of us can sneak out on lunch break and fix that."
"All the more reason for one of us to stay with her all day." He pointed out. "But neither of you can watch her this morning…" And no way in heaven, earth, or hell he was asking the Baroness to babysit.
"Mainframe said he'd watch her if something came up during first period." Neither she nor Zandar were free, but Blaine didn't have a class first thing in the morning and could be trusted (as far as she was concerned, anyway) to keep an eye on the girl. "I don't think that paperwork is going to take up the entire morning, especially when you actually have to teach a class in second period."
He frowned, but didn't make any scathing comments about her choice in an 'appropriate' child-watcher, especially since it happened to be their only viable option right now. "We'll give her the allergy medicine right before we leave; she'll be passed out in the car otherwise." And he really didn't fancy having to carry her through the school hallways any more than she would fancy being carried anywhere in the first place. Though naturally a rather light sleeper, he was fairly certain she'd sleep through most sporting events if forced to take medication. With any luck, most people would take the hint and leave the poor kid to sleep.
Mainframe was fixing his third cup of coffee when his latest assignment was lead through the doors of the Bayville High School teacher's lounge. She shuffled in slowly, eyes half closed and a box of tissues in her hands. Her height surprised him—seeing the measurement on a computer screen and actually standing nearly eye-to-eye with a fifteen-year-old girl were two totally different things. He suspected that without the cast on her left arm and the big white bandage over her right cheek, she'd look rather intimidating. "Rough morning?"
Zartan sighed as the girl flopped onto the lumpy break room couch. "Allergies, but at least while she's medicated she can't actively go looking for trouble." It must have been a rough morning and a difficult evening last night for the man to be this talkative, Mainframe noted. The two groups tended to avoid talking to each other if at all possible.
"I don't think she'll be any trouble today, will ya, kid?" Especially not passed out on the couch, he reasoned. She barely cracked her eyes open to glare at him, but made no verbal response.
"If anyone asks, her name is Amy." He met Zartan's gaze and fought the urge to flinch. "If anything happens to her, I will end you."
"I doubt it will, but if it does, I'll give you a free shot." Why anyone would want to come after the kid was beyond him, but he'd do his best to make sure she could sleep off her medication in peace.
Zartan glared at him again but said nothing else before leaving the room. The girl, now curled up into a ball and sound asleep, didn't seem too concerned about it.
Mainframe used the quiet time to go over his lesson plan once more before his first class. It never hurt to be prepared, after all. He glanced over at the sleeping mutant a couple of times to make sure she was alright. Fifteen minutes after the start of his 'shift', however, Gyrich arrived in search of the girl. Given the tone he'd used with Zartan two days ago, the vice principal likely hoped to find her doing something wrong. Unfortunately for the little man, "Amy Tanzar" still slept semi-comfortably on the couch.
"Shouldn't you be in your office filing her paperwork?" Mainframe asked, frowning at the red-haired bespectacled man. "I do believe there is a coffee machine inside the principal's office." A nicer one than the teachers used, in fact.
"I just wanted to meet the lazy brat in person." Really, the man had no business being around children.
"She's not lazy, she's healing from serious injuries." He corrected. "Rest is important for that."
"She's dressed like a slob."
"And half the girls here dress like hookers since you don't have a dress code at this school. At least she's completely covered. Besides, she can't lift her arm over her shoulder; makes getting dressed a bit difficult." And he'd been injured enough times to know and relate to that.
"Watch it, Parker." The redheaded man snarled. "I am in charge here and if I catch that brat acting up…"
"You will report her behavior directly to me and leave my daughter alone." Gyrich jumped a good two feet into the air when 'Mr. Tanzar' spoke up behind him. He obviously hadn't heard the man enter. Hell, Mainframe wouldn't have known he'd entered the room if he hadn't been facing the door. "In fact, if I catch you prowling around while she's resting again, I will file charges." Or kill him and hide the body. Whichever worked.
Gyrich had enough sense to be very afraid. Even in such a harmless looking disguise, Zartan was a master of intimidation. "Y-yes. I understand."
"Good. Now leave." Gyrich couldn't get away fast enough.
"That man has no business working at a school full of children." Mainframe muttered more to himself than anyone in the room.
"Neither does Edward Kelly or the Baroness, but in desperate times anything is apparently better than nothing." Zartan sneered. Yep. Definitely in a 'kill him and hide the body' kind of mood today.
"Well, now that you're back, I doubt anyone else will want to bother her." Aside from possibly the Baroness, but she seemed to be content to avoid the staff room like the plague today. He almost pitied anyone stupid enough to try hurting the kid…almost.
Zarana took over babysitting duty for the class period right before lunch. Falcon, mercifully, wanted to avoid her for the time being and decided that no amount of curiosity was worth her throwing a knife at him. Jinx, however, wanted a closer look at the new variable in their mission parameters and decided to invite herself into the staff room under the ruse of making a cup of tea. Like Gyrich before her, she seemed disappointed to find the kid sleeping on the couch.
"What were you expecting to see?" Zarana scowled at the female Joe. "She's been out since we got here this morning."
The ninja quickly hid her chagrin behind a mask of cold indifference. "She's one of yours. She's bound to be nothing but trouble for the rest of us."
"She's better behaved than most of the miscreants in this school." She knew that for a fact, given how much trouble most of the teachers had controlling their classrooms. "Thought you knew better than to judge a kid you've never interacted with so harshly." Which was true; the Joes rarely ever saw rumors of Shadowatch let alone got the chance to observe them up close.
Now the small woman was getting mad and not bothering to hide it. "How can there be anything redeeming about her?"
"I bet that cousin of yours would have something to say about that." If they thought goddamn Storm Shadow was worth saving after killing or seriously injuring so many of her teammates, their girl should be worth the effort as well. "Besides, she's hurt and half-sick. It'll be a few days before she's up for doing anything more than eating and sleeping."
There was no good argument for that and Jinx knew it. She knew how petty her actions seemed; how disappointed her Senseis would be with her behavior. Even the new apprentice, Todd, probably wouldn't approve. He'd been in the girl's shoes before finding a home with Roadblock and the Joes. And, as the other woman stated, the girl was still too weak to do much. She wasn't a threat…yet. "It changes nothing."
"Be that way and leave her alone, then." Zarana griped. She apparently griped a little too loudly because Andi groaned and blinked at the pair warily. "Sorry to wake you up, kiddo." She winced.
"Can't you two argue quieter?" The words sounded nasal and slurred, but the female Dreadnok managed to understand them.
"I think we're done with that for today." She answered. "It's almost time for lunch anyway."
Andi made a disgusted face. "If it's from the school's cafeteria, I'd rather starve. I've eaten bugs that tasted better that that stuff."
She chuckled. "And that's why Zandar's going off-campus to grab something to eat when he picks up your new meds." She wasn't sure if a flock of gourmet chefs could save this school's food.
"Okay." Andi yawned, settling back down. "I'mma rest 'til he gets here."
"You do that." She smiled as Jinx stole out of the room. Poor kid needed all the rest she could get.
"I can't believe you let her rope you into babysitting." Falcon griped to the team's resident computer expert. The Joe team had taken over one of the unused classrooms in order to discuss their progress and eat lunch.
"You act like it's some kind of punishment detail." Mainframe remarked. "All she did this morning was sleep. And after having to head off Gyrich from doing whatever it was he planned on doing to her, I think having an adult handler with her is entirely necessary."
"I don't like that man." Alpine frowned. "He's barely doing whatever top-secret work Trask asked him to do because he hates kids too much to focus on it."
"If he had to teach, the kids would eat him alive." Gung Ho put in. The Cajun chuckled at the thought of Gyrich being forced to teach a class full of teenagers. "However questionable his methods, the kids here like Zartan and he keeps most of his classes under control."
"And the only reason the other one's not in control is named Quicksilver." Alpine added. "The other teachers unanimously hate dealing with him."
"He needs discipline and a more productive outlet for his energy." Jinx stated solemnly. "He is far too accustomed to doing what he wants when he wants because no one has been willing or able to stop him. The Institute children aren't much better behaved."
"If that's even half-accurate, putting them in a class with the Creed girl will end in disaster." Falcon sighed. Their new files contained only the bare bones of a psychological profile, but it had been noted repeatedly that the girl had a short fuse and was in charge of the team due in no small part to her willingness to beat the snot out of anyone stupid enough to challenge her to a fight.
"Good thing they won't be in the same classes, then, isn't it?" Mainframe smirked.
"Why? Isn't she technically in the same grade as most of the 'New Mutants' and the Daniels kid?" Alpine asked.
"Nope. With the estimated time she spent absent from school, she should be a grade below where her age dictates, but she's tested out of most of those classes." The Dreadnoks had evidently put a lot of time and effort into getting her and the other kids caught up to where they should be. "It's only algebra and the electives that they'd possibly share since she's exempt from PE, but the schedules don't line up enough for her to share with anyone but Wanda or the Guthrie boy. And they won't be dumb enough to antagonize her in the first place."
"That's a very good thing." Falcon sighed. He had not been looking forward to watching the fallout from that fight. "How long do you think she'll need a keeper?"
"Until she's well enough to walk to class on her own, so I'd give it until Monday, at least." Mainframe shrugged. "Even then, she'll probably be too worn out to manage a full day until the end of next week." The fact that she was even well enough to try working a paint sprayer was impressive.
"That seems awfully optimistic given the extent of her injuries." Falcon frowned. His secondary training was in Medic school, so he had a rough idea of how long it would take a normal person to heal from the injuries the girl sustained.
"She has a low grade healing factor. It's nothing on what Sabretooth or Wolverine have, but she does heal much faster from injuries than most humans." The computer teacher shrugged. "It's pushed to its limits trying to get her back together right now, apparently, but if they can keep her from getting sick, she'll recover fairly quickly."
"So we don't have to deal with her in class until Monday?" Alpine asked. Mainframe nodded. "Good. Gives us time to prepare for her."
"Somehow I doubt she's the one we really need to be concerned about, but that's a whole other debate that I don't have time to get into right now." Falcon sighed. "Last I checked we all had classes to teach once lunch ends and since the girl is apparently too weak to go to them, discussing her presence in class is a moot point. We'll deal with whatever she gets up to come Monday."