This fic is rated PG for violence.

Disclaimer: Marc Brown owns the Arthur characters. He can keep D.W.

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This is the story of two remarkable individuals—Tegan Powers and Raymond Mansch.

When Tegan Powers started first grade, she could already read at a fifth-grade level.

Sitting through school was a tedious chore for her, as she could easily read the important points from the teacher's mind before the lesson started. Her telepathy was a two-way street, as the pupils in the surrounding desks could see into her daydreams whether they wanted to or not. This proved especially awkward for the boys in her class, who over time began to avoid her.

Everyone who came within a short distance of Tegan was compelled to share her thoughts; she was unable to turn it off. The structure of her brain baffled scientists. Finally, when Tegan was seven and her little brother Alan (later known as The Brain) was three, the wonder girl was moved into a special school where she could be studied and protected. The world's greatest scientific minds came to visit her, and she assimilated their knowledge simply by standing next to them. The rare occasions on which she was allowed to venture into the world outside the school were carefully controlled. Her guardians knew of the vast potential, both for human advancement and for evil, inherent in her powers.

Her brother Alan was told nothing of her until he reached age ten. His parents feared that if he manifested unusual powers of his own, and then learned of Tegan's institutionalization, he might run away to avoid a similar fate. However, when a classmate of Alan's displayed a freakish ability to control the fears of others, and was transferred to the Ballford Preparatory School, his parents decided the time was right to reunite him with his lost sister.

When Raymond Mansch started first grade, he could already read at a fifth-grade level.

His advantage was not a telepathic gift, but two parents who valued his education over all. They banned him from TV and forced him to read constantly. As the years went by he stood head and shoulders above the other children his age in intellectual endeavors. Not only could he learn rapidly, but he displayed an incredible knack for problem solving.

Unfortunately, Mansch's moral development lagged far behind his mental development. He fell in with a ruthless crowd, and started to use his brilliance to plot and execute crimes. His passion for shiny objects led him to become a master jewel thief. His career enjoyed moderate success, and he eventually began to mentor others in the illicit arts. One of these was a young husband and father named Ben McDonald.McDonald was slick, clever, and loyal to Mansch; when he was captured and sentenced to prison after a heist, he declined to implicate his teacher. After several years of incarceration,McDonald was paroled for good behavior, and reunited with his wife and his daughter, Molly. Having found religion,McDonald rejected any further business with Mansch, much to his former partner's displeasure.

One morning whileMcDonald was away, Molly and her friend Binky found a diamond necklace hidden in his secret compartment. Believing her father had resumed his life of crime, Molly hurried to the police station with the stolen necklace. On the way she and Binky had an altercation with Mansch, which led Molly to realize that the master thief must have planted the necklace in order to frame her father. Unsure of how to thwart the wily criminal's scheme and protect her father, Molly chose to take the blame for the diamond theft on herself. Binky went along with the deception, and the two kids were sentenced to juvenile detention, in spite of the glaring fact that their youth and inexperience made it impossible for them to have pulled off such a crime.

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Sue Ellen had never seen Francine in a two-piece suit before. She had long ago given up hope of ever wearing one herself, since the plane accident in Africa had left her with unattractive scars. She and Francine were standing at the deep end of the Olympic-sized pool in the Elwood City Aquatic Center, the first time she had gone swimming since the murder of her parents.

"Last one in the pool is a rotten..." said Francine, but her curly-haired friend was in the water before she could finish.

The girls swam a few laps, then lounged at the side of the pool. More children arrived, and the pool became crowded. It was a Monday evening.

"I forgot how much fun swimming is," Sue Ellen remarked. "Now I want to swim all night."

Francine noticed a familiar boy walking toward them—an anthro-Pomeranian lad with fuzzy red hair, wearing blue boxer trunks. She observed that a woman who resembled the boy was sitting in a beach chair near the entrance to the pool area; this woman was fully dressed, and her attire was modest and obviously homemade. Based on previous experience, Francine knew that the boy was named Ezekiel "Zeke" England, and the woman was his mother.

"Uh-oh," she muttered to Sue Ellen. "Here comes Zeke."

The pom boy extended a hand to the cat girl. His skin was almost as red as his fur, suggesting that he spent much of his time laboring in the sun.

"This is Sue Ellen Armstrong," Francine introduced her. "She's in my class."

"I'm happy to meet you," said the boy politely as they shook hands.

"What school do you go to?" Sue Ellen asked him. "I don't think I've seen you at Lakewood."

"I'm home-schooled," Zeke replied.

Sue Ellen wasn't sure what the term "home-schooled" entailed, but she had seen so many patterns of education in other countries, that she didn't imagine it to be anything remarkable.

Then Zeke asked her an unexpected question. "Are you a Christian?"

She fumbled for a response. "Well, uh, I've been to some Christian churches before."

"Have you accepted Jesus as your savior?" was the pom boy's next inquiry.

"Uh, no, not really."

"Don't sweat it, Sue Ellen," said Francine casually. "He asks everybody the same thing."

"Call on the name of the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved," said Zeke flatly, and then he strode off to the pool and jumped in.

Sue Ellen shook her head in disbelief. "He just met me, and he's already trying to convert me."

"Just wait till you get to know him better," said Francine.

The girls swam for another hour. Zeke made a few more devoutly Christian remarks, and then left with his mother.

After they had showered and changed into their street clothes, Sue Ellen and Francine wandered into the lobby of the aquatic center. There Mrs. Frensky was waiting to pick up her daughter.

"I don't see Carla or Nigel anywhere," said Sue Ellen, looking around.

"So they're a little late," said the unconcerned Francine.

"I guess I'll wait." Sue Ellen took a seat on a bench. "'Bye, Francine."

She sat impatiently for half an hour, but there was no sign of the Ratburns.

Meanwhile, Francine was welcomed to her apartment by Muffy and Beat.

"You're not gonna believe this, Francine," Muffy told her. "The rumors are true. Binky's in juvie."

"Again?" said Francine in astonishment. "For how long? What did he do?"

"Supposedly he helped Molly steal some diamonds," said Beat.

Francine's jaw dropped. "Diamonds...? Real diamonds?"

"Big ones," said Muffy.

"I'm sure Molly's father is mixed up in it somehow," Beat speculated. "I guess the straight and narrow wasn't crooked enough for him."

The phone in the kitchen rang, and Mrs. Frensky picked it up.

"But Molly and Binky insist they acted alone," Muffy pointed out.

Francine shook her head. "Weird. Has anybody talked to them?"

"Fern and Buster have gone to the detention center to visit them," Beat replied.

"Good," said Francine. "This looks like another FernBusters mystery."

"Girls!" Mrs. Frensky called to them urgently. In one hand she gripped the phone receiver.

"What, Mom?" Francine responded.

"Nigel and Carla Ratburn are in the hospital."

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to be continued