"Come over fast," Shaggy had said.

So Melissa fearing the worst jumped into the C5 without question and barged into the house expecting a fight but she found Shaggy, head in his hands, sitting at a closed door while the other Shaggy knocked repeatedly at the door. Velma just sat quietly watching them both.

"So, where's the danger?" Melissa drawled, looking around expectantly.

"It's Christina," the two Shaggys said in unison.

"Did she combust?" Melissa tried to lighten the mood.

"She's singing,"

"She's still upset"

"Christy, please come out"

Melissa face-palmed, "I'm not a shrink, what do you-"

"TALK TO HER!" they yelled.

"I'm not a Christina expert, why me?"

"Because I broke the thingy"

"Because she like, hates my guts"

Nearing the door Melissa could hear the singing they were talking about.

"And you call me up again just to break me like a promise
So casually cruel in the name of being honest
I'm a crumpled up piece of paper lying here
'Cause I remember it all, all, all
Too well

'Cause there we are again when I loved you so
Back before you lost the one real thing you've ever known
It was rare, I was there, I remember it all too well

Wind in my hair, you were there, you remember it all
Down the stairs, you were there, you remember it all
It was rare, I was there, I remember it all too well"

She knocked.

"Go away,"

"It's Melissa, please, open the door"

Christina opened the door swiftly, grabbing her and yanking her inside before slamming the door.

"I have no idea, why they called me, I'm no shrink but-hey, hey, don't do that"

Christina was scratching her arm so roughly, so fast that she was bleeding. Worse, she didn't seem to be listening, slumping onto the floor with a frustrated snarl.

Melissa grabbed her arms, hindering the self-inflicted pain.

"Talk to me, Christina, talk to me,"

"I-I-I can't deal with this, I can't"

"Then send them home"

"I can't!"

"Why?"

"The gem! The gem statue that Shaggy broke, his blood is on it, my feelings are tethered to it-"

"So now you can't feel anything?"

"No, I feel too much!"

"I don't understand"

Christina curled herself into a ball, continuing to scratch at her arms.

Melissa left the room quietly.

"She stopped singing"

"We like, noticed that!"

"Like, don't snap at Melissa,"

"Why call her? She like, has no idea how to handle Christina!"

"And you do?"

"Of course I do!"

"STOP IT! STOP IT! STOP IT!" Melissa was breathing heavily, "Unless, unless you want two panic attacks on your hands"

"Two?"

"Christina's scratching herself raw, I can't help, I'm sorry. May I go now?"

"Yes, you can go now," Shaggy said.

He was kicking open the door as she left.

…...

The mission was simple. Follow the girl, learn her routine, her habits, what made her tick. Then and only then could they strike.

...

"You let them go out in Gotham? What if someone saw her?" Carmen stressed.

"I had a tail on them the entire time," Batman declared, watching Carmen's concerned face fill the screen.

"Robin? Batgirl?"

"Me," Catwoman sauntered in with a smirk, taking pleasure in Carmen's reaction.

"Selina"

"Carmen"

"Why?" Carmen challenged, "I thought you and Bruce were at odds right now"

"None of that matters when my kitten's in trouble"

"She isn't yours"

"I'll have you know-"

"Ladies, can we focus?" Batman gruffly questioned, rolling his eyes behind his mask.

Each took deep breaths and returned to the purpose of the conversation.

Melissa's safety.

…...

I'm so not used to having little people around. Seriously, I don't think I'll ever get used to it! Luckily, I don't have to worry about them during the week. Jenny takes Anya to pre-school and Timothy goes to a babysitter. So, I have the house to myself. From six to noon I do school then I have all the free time on my hands.

Unless we're called in for a case which surprisingly hasn't happened yet. Sometimes Zack or Ivy call for my opinion on whatever Mom's up to but I'm not her so I can't say.

Melissa put her journal down and pushed it aside. Looking around at her art studio, rubbing her hands in front of the space heater she'd dragged out of the house. Through the corner of her eye, she saw the Nightwing turned Carmen wall that she really, really, really didn't want to repaint but she knew her boyfriend who was NOT and never WOULD BE a cheater needed to be represented somewhere.

She eyed the blank closet door that sat between the Harley & Ivy wall and the wall with a cat for Selina.

None of the doors in her studio were painted come to think of it

…...neither was the ceiling.

"JENNIFER PAIGE PETER'S WHERE ARE YOU?"

the sudden shrill unpleasant voice startled Melissa putting her on high alert.

A sudden beating on the door to the studio made her growl. Standing, she grabbed the baseball bat usually reserved for spiders from her storage closet, and yanked it open. Melissa found a scowling woman who was dressed as if she were going to a meeting, blonde, graying hair framed a sharp face that reminded Melissa of the cartoony witch decorations that were already appearing in stores. Brandishing the bat she demands:

"Who are you and what the heck are you doing in my backyard?"

"Your backyard?" said the woman raising a poorly drawn eyebrow, "No, this is my daughter's house and I demand to know where she is!"

"Sure thing, Karen" Melissa slammed the door, locking it and the windows tightly before whipping out her phone and dialing Jenny's number.

"Melissa is everything-"

"There's a crazy old bat in the backyard who demands to know where you are" Melissa interrupted adding, "Your middle name is Paige?"

She heard jenny groan, "I'll be there shortly"

"You're working from the office in Gotham," Melissa deadpanned, "There is no shortly"

"Just ignore her until I arrive," Jenny said, bitterly.

"Will do,"

Ignoring the woman yelling at her, Melissa set her phone stand on the edge of her fold-out work table and started a playlist at random. In seconds The Hex Girls were blasting and the indignant screams were drowned out.

Could I even paint the ceiling? Maybe if I had a harness?

...

Jenny killed the engine and hopped out of the car. The fence was wide open, Jesse and Marley lounging in the sun staying well within the yard. For a fleeting moment, jenny couldn't help but smile. Months of training, tears, and frustrated screams had resulted in her daughter having some well-behaved pets. Granted they were by no means guard dogs.

Maybe I should get one or three Jenny thought, mood souring once more as she marched into the yard, closing the gate behind her with a loud bang.

"Mom," she greeted shortly when the intruder turned to face her, "What are you doing here?"

"No hello? I've come to visit, Jennifer" the woman responded, "Now tell me," she waved to the building she stood in front of, "What is this eyesore?"

"That is Melissa's studio, perfectly legal you can't even see it from the road or the front of the house"

"Melissa?"

"Melissa," jenny called to no response, "MELISSA!"

the music stopped and Melissa, wearing a smock covered with blue and black, poked her head out curiously, ponytail falling to the side, "Hey, Jenny, sorry, I was trying to block out the noise"

"Melissa, please get cleaned up and come inside, okay?"

Melissa's shoulders heaved with disappointment, "Okay,"

…...

I can't believe I got paint in my hair Melissa walked into the house trying to remove the blue paint while dropping into the closest empty chair she could find.

The stranger glared pointedly at her but Melissa only smirked.

Jenny walked in, pocketing her phone while glancing between the two, "That's freaky"

"What?" Melissa inquired.

"The resemblance to your mother when you well, do just about anything except laugh, that you definitely learned from your sister"

"Ahem!"

Jenny rolled her eyes, "Melissa, this is my mother, Florence"

"Hello," Melissa ground out.

"Am I right in assuming this is the heathen you were so set on adopting?"

Melissa clenched her fists but did nothing.

"Melissa is my daughter, not a heathen"

"Could've fooled me," Florence stood, "I'll be in my room,"

"Room?" Jenny followed after her mother who walked, uncaring into Melissa's bedroom.

"Um, I don't think so," Melissa sidestepped Florence who'd come to the doorway, "This is MY room"

she threw the heavy leather luggage into the hall.

Jenny didn't scold her, instead, she turned to her mother, "What on earth are you thinking?"

"I was thinking I'd come to visit for a few months, get acquainted with the baby of yours"

"You're stalking my accounts again!"

"I just want to know what you've been up to"

Jenny let out an exasperated sigh. The woman before her was a nightmare but also her mother and a tiny piece of her heart wanted to bury the hatchet and move on, "You're sleeping on the couch!"

…...

Later that day Melissa, already tired of Florence who'd taken up residence in the kitchen to talk with Jenny while she cooked, went to the living room with her laptop under her arm. Anya sat on the floor stacking brightly colored mega blocks and paid Melissa no mind.

Netflix don't fail me now.

Headphones on, Melissa watched as the screen exploded into bright colors as her show's intro started. At the fifteen-minute mark, she felt she was being watched and turned to see, Anya as close as she could get without touching or being touched.

"Yes?" Melissa asked confusedly.

"What's that about?"

"Princesses fighting an evil army"

"How do they do that?" Anya inched closer.

"Magic and tech,"

Anya inched closer again, intrigued, "Magic? What magic?"

Melissa paused the show, "This one controls water"

closer.

"This one controls plants"

closer.

"Ice"

closer.

"This one can make sparkle bombs,"

closer. Melissa could have touched Anya now, "What about her?" Anya pointed to the screen.

"She has a magic sword"

"Magic how?"

"watch,"

Melissa hit play.

…...

Desperate for air that wasn't filled with her mother's voice and sneakily suspicious regarding Anya's whereabouts, Jenny slipped from the kitchen. She was startled to find her snuggled close to Melissa while they watched cartoons together.

"Melissa!"

Melissa barely glanced away from the screen, "Yeah?"

"How'd you do that?"

"What?"

"That," Jenny pointed to Anya.

"I dunno"

astounded, Jenny returned to the kitchen.

…...

a week later, Melissa's nerves were shot. Jenny had no vacation days so she HAD to go to work. She didn't trust Florence with Timothy or Anya so they too had to go. That left Melissa alone for several hours with Florence.

The first day the woman tried to make a maid of her, lounging and doing business from the couch but Melissa, with a calmness that would please her mother, refused and pretended to bury herself in schoolwork, reading father than she had to and taking copious notes.

The second day, Florence complained about Melissa.

Then about the dogs.

In fact, she still hadn't shut up about the dogs.

Melissa, biting angrily into her grilled cheese stomped to her room only to drop the sandwich in panicked shock.

Marley, her precious black and white border collie was seizing.

SEIZING!

dropping to her knees she speed-dialed Dick and with the phone on speaker, waited anxiously.

"Firecracker! I got you-"

"Call the vet! Call the vet!"

"Why? What's the matter?"

"Dog seizure! Seizure!"

"Okay, okay, stay calm, I'm calling her right now"

"What do I do?"

"Keep away from his head and keep an eye on him," said Dick before turning the conversation to the sectary at the vets' office.

Melissa watched hopelessly, her anxiety dangerously close to attack level.

Anxiety.

PTSD

minor depression

anger issues.

The doctor's report spun around in her head as she rocked back and forth paying no mind to Florence's yells.

Please be okay baby.

...

"I'm sorry, Melissa but Marley...didn't make it"

Melissa broke down, "W-w-what did I do wrong?"

"You didn't do anything wrong, Melissa," the vet reassured her, "Seizures are common in Border Collies, here this is for Jesse since they're from the same litter I think he might be at risk too." she handed the prescription to Dick who was trying to keep Melissa from falling to the floor.

It was a silent somber ride back to Melissa's house afterward. There was no goodby kiss, no puns slipped into the promises to call. Melissa only dragged herself to her room and with a moan, finally let the floodgates open, crying herself to sleep