Hours turned into days, days into weeks, and weeks into months. Soon Michael Whitmore, Elizabeth Orcheta and Shysie Johnson became Michael, Elizabeth and Shysie Guerin.

When Hank had finally came home that first day, Michael new by looking at him that he didn't like or trust him. His opinion of the man had changed though rather quickly, in the place of dislike and distrust he now only found pure and unadulterated hate.

He never hit the three children, merely made crude and hurtful comments. Cherokee wasn't so lucky though. Bruises, broken bones and degrading words were the only promises he ever kept to her.

In the beginning, Hank had treated the kids merely as thorns in his side. Something that got in the way, but for the most part he ignored their very existence all together. Something changed one day though, something that frightened Michael.

Lately he had noticed Hank watching Liz and Shysie. The way he looked at them made Michael extremely uneasy. He wasn't exactly sure why it bothered him so much, but his distrust for the man brought him to a decision. He needed to keep his sisters away from Hank Guerin as much as possible. He new that that was the only way to keep them safe.

Michael quickly came up with a plan. He had seen a flier on the door of his classroom advertising after school programs for students. He quickly went to the office and grabbed three parent permission forms, for Cherokee to sign. The after school groups met Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 3pm-5pm. He made a few minor changes to the paper, using alien magic he altered the papers to state that the groups met Monday-Friday. Silently reminding himself to change them back before turning them in.

Liz, he decided would join the science group. He truthfully felt she would be good in that class, she was always questioning everything. Shysie rarely participated in much of anything, so his choice for her was a bit more difficult. She refused to talk so chorus and drama were out, he thought about signing her up for art, which is the class he would be taking, but decided against it because although she seemed to enjoy the things he made she never tried to do it herself. So in the end he decided the reading group would probably be best for her.

Liz was a bit upset at him, to say the least. She complained that she hated school and didn't want to spend her free time "surrounded by science dorks". Michael was eventually forced to resort to bribery. On days they weren't in their respected "club" they would go out near the canal behind the old burned out apartment complex and practice their powers. Michael, however, had become suspicious of Liz's dislike for science when she had begun excitedly telling him and Shy the proper names for all of the plants they came in contact with.

He became utterly pleased with himself. By the time they would get home from school, Hank had generally already left for work. Liz and Shysie had become more animated and he too felt good about the times they were getting to spend together. Not to mention every time they practiced their powers he felt stronger. They had each been able to manipulate structure all were equally adequate in that department. They attempted healing occasionally when one of them would get a bug bite or a scratch and found that they could heal minor things, but all felt very strongly that they would never be up to what Michael explained Max could do. Power Blasts, as well, went the same way. While the girls could do them they were unable to match the force Michael was able to unleash. Dream walking was hard and they had yet to figure it out, also Liz was unsure of her special power, and Shysie never showed anything she was especially skilled at other than winning a silence contest.

Things were going well for the three of them. They felt somewhat safe in the times they spent alone together. Life always gets in the way though, and just when everything seemed to be looking up, everything started spiraling down.

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Hank came home early from work one day. He'd lost his job, was drunk and looking for a fight. Cherokee had quickly rushed them to the room they shared. Her eyes pleading with Michael to keep the girls and himself in the room and quiet.

He silently prayed that Hank would pass out drunk or that he would suddenly decide to avert his anger toward him. He rationalized that if Hank were hitting him at least Cherokee would be safe. That she would get a moments peace from the constant onslaught of pain Hank brought her.

Hanks screaming and ranting only escalated outside of the room. Things breaking at slaps could be heard coming from the living room. He blamed her for everything, demanding that she was the reason she was being hit. It was her own fault, he tried to teach her, but she was stupid and would never learn. Her pleading nearly tore Michael's heart out, but Hank was unaffected he continued to get louder and more violent with every passing second. Glass breaking and slaps echoed throughout the house, along with loud sobbing from Cherokee.

Suddenly Michael remembered that his sisters were here too, looking away from the ceiling he saw that Liz had buried her head in a pillow and was too crying. Shysie on the other hand just sat on her bed, a look of sheer concentration on her face.

Moving to comfort Liz. He laid down next to her on her bed and began whispering assurances to her, trying to convince himself as well. Neither of them noticed the look of determination on Shy's face, nor did they hear her slip out of the room.

A scream from the living room, quickly followed by a thud brought both Michael and Liz to a sitting position on the bed. Both sat there for a moment afraid to move, afraid to speak. The noises in the other room had completely stopped. Suddenly Liz jumped from the bed, looking around frantically.

"Where's Shy!" Liz nearly screamed frantically. Michael looked to her now empty bed, jumping up he prayed she was hiding. Not in the closet, not under the bed. She wasn't in here anymore.

"HEY! Come on. Your mother has fallen and hit her head on the coffee table!" Hank yelled, slamming their bedroom door against the wall. Michael grabbed Liz's hand and ran out of the room dragging her along.

He was relieved to see Shysie standing there in the living room, but his relief quickly turned to horror when he saw the only mother he had ever known laying in a heap on the floor. Her once beautiful face was purple and swollen, her arm was twisted beside her at an awkward angle and her hair was covered in a sticky red substance that was now growing into a large puddle on their once off white carpet.

The ambulance came and took Cherokee away, Hank followed with the kids. The entire ride there Hank reiterated his story. She had slipped and fallen into the table. Michael noticed that he looked mostly at Shysie when he told them, over and over again he said it. Giving Shy warning looks, as if to tell her to stick to the story.

Much of the damage was inconsistent with Hank's part of the story. Although it was true she had hit her head on the table, the doctors nor the cops believed that she "slipped". Hank acted outraged that he was even being accused of such a thing, he would sue he assured them. The problem was he wasn't a very good actor.

The three children were then questioned. What had happened to their mother? The cop promised that Hank wouldn't be allowed to hurt them. Liz and Michael stuck with the story that Hank told them. Had silently decided it better, to keep their mouths shut. So imagine their surprise when the girl who refused to say a word for 10 nearly 11 years decided to spill the beans.

"The truth will set you free." Michael had once heard, but he couldn't help but wonder if this time, the truth would get them killed.