Glumly, Blue watched the other kids. Without Wayne calling attention to him being left out and insisting they were all classmates, Blue had been easily ignored by the other kids and not much was said to him. Even if the words weren't nice before, at least there had been a conversation and hope for improvement, to better words. This now, it was…disheartening.

After the first day of Wayne snubbing him, Blue had inched carefully close to the boy, attempting to figure out what he had said or done wrong. Not that it'd done any good. Wayne was still clearly upset and refused to listen, flying away and back to the other kids instead.

Missus Doe didn't seem concerned by the other kids drawing away and continued on like she had before. Bothered by it, Blue drew himself further apart, watching hopefully for someone to glance over at him. A good chunk of when Wayne began ignoring him was spent reminding himself of comforting words and knowledge. Everyone makes mistakes. He had a good heart. Yet as days and weeks passed on, Blue's alert watching dimmed with his hope.

Finding more time on his hands, Blue had set his mind on a challenge, focusing on his strengths in what he was good at. Wanting to disappear had been a stray thought. Yet the ideas began running through his head. Blue had raided the prison library and asked Charlotte and Fred to bring him more books surrounding the subject, devouring them faster than Fred followed, who still followed his thought process more than anyone else.

The free time at home and school led to him managing to dehydrate animate objects. One way to disappear. And one only needed a little bit of liquid, water being the best choice in that a body held mostly water, to rehydrate.

Blue had been briefly excited about finally managing to get the hang of it at school. He had turned to Wayne, to see if the other boy was looking, to prove 'metal things' could be made and he got this one to work. But Wayne, the other kids, the teacher…they were too busy singing about a spider.

Spee-ider, Blue corrected in his head, an image of a grinning Delbert in mind. The younger boy had discovered a cellar spider in the visitor's room a few weeks ago and had been wide eyed in delight at his discovery. Charlotte had kept distance from the spider, keeping her eye on it, yet smiled gamely at Delbert's excitement about it. Bailey had said to squish it, it didn't belong inside. Before a huge argument broke out, Fred stepped in. And somehow, between them all, they managed to convince Missus Oh to carry the spider safely back outside. After Delbert placed it into a box of course. Turned out Missus Oh was afraid of them.

And sure, Minion had tried to cheer Blue up with 'playing possum' as he had grown rather good at after several times of playing hospital or rescue operation types of stories with the Kimbles. But it didn't help too much. At school, it was just Blue and Minion. Just them, off to the side from it all. Blue's best days were spent at home. And especially on Fridays.

But at school…no one picked him anymore. Not without Wayne voicing it. In fact, the other boy had joined in with the rest of the kids, they were all a settled group.

Like playing dodgeball. They choose teams. But the teams only played each other after trying to get the most balls striking Blue first. At least before when Blue was hit, he had been on a team. Picked last, sure, but on a team where balls were being thrown at everyone.

Every game had grown to be like that on the playground.

It was only dodgeball was the worst of them. On top of being set apart and the laughter and the ridicule…he was being physically struck along with all of that. And there was only so much Blue could do about it. There was no way he could dodge all of them. Or catch all those balls. As soon as his attention was on one to avoid or catch, another one came from another direction to strike him. And he found himself standing there, arms slightly up to deflect the severity, hoping less on joining with a team again and hoping more that the game would be over soon.

Except, Blue thought elatedly. Missus Doe had excused them all for recess and he'd perked up at seeing dodgeball chosen by the other kids for the recess activity. This time, this time would be different. Thanks to an idea that came about with the Kimbles.

Specifically, Delbert.

"I choose Sir Knight to raise up his she-auld—"

"Shield."

"She-auld," Blue had said together with Delbert. The boy had grinned and giggled at that, Blue grinning widely back as Bailey rolled his eyes. Charlotte giggled too.

"To defend the castle from everything thrown at it. And for Sir Knight to draw his sword to—"

"A shield!" Shaking his head, Blue repeated. "A she-auld! I can make one! To rise up around me! A…a deflector of some sort! A perimeter set up around me! That way none of the dodgeballs hit me!"

Delbert had gasped, eyes lighting up. "My Sir Knight with a real she-auld? So no one hits you anymore?"

"You could do that? Oh, that'd be great! I'll help," Charlotte immediately said. Her story idea this time for knights and dragons was tossed out like that. Blue had grinned, delighted.

"Exactly!"

"Not without me," Fred said. The older boy already going over to their large tote box of gears and batteries and everything they had collected since their original small box for a toaster and few extras. Blue had leapt across the room, eager to start.

"Or me," Bailey had added with a glint.

And together, with some interesting advice tossed in, Blue and Fred managed to make it.

To make this.

They had tested it. Tossing crumpled up balls of paper at it. The device on Blue's head hummed. Delbert had squealed in delight as the device tossed the paper back, bouncing and dancing around the room. The humming died down when Charlotte gathered all the paper tossed away up, the device at the ready. Then, she crumped all the paper together into one huge ball that Bailey kicked at Blue. The ball hit the perimeter, the device hummed, and had pushed it away from Blue.

Confident, Blue now attached it onto his head, ignoring the jibs of the other kids.

This time, the dodgeball game would be much different. He would be the winner. With a device of his making. Then maybe Wayne would see and listen and the other kids too, that they could become friends like the Kimbles were, see who Blue was past what he looked like or came from. To see who he was. And Blue would not be with just Minion at school. He would have people at school too. Even if he couldn't be at the same school or classroom as Charlotte. The other kids would see soon.

He turned the device on, ready to prove it did just as he told the kids it did, standing tall.

They all began throwing. And Blue, smiling, puffed out his chest. Each time a ball came, there was a hum, the ball shooting away from him. Working. And…

Crash!

Oh no.

A ball through the window of the school.

There was an imbalance of energy with all the balls. He had not tested multiple targets hitting like this, only that it worked, but with this many coming at him…

A ball careened off into the distance, towards the prison.

The distance. The speed shooting away was going faster than the balls came at him.

Another ball zipped right for Missus Doe, who had been keeping an eye out on them during recess. Something else zipped over faster. Or, more precisely, someone. Wayne.

The speed had picked up with all the leftover energy!

Why had he not realized that was a possibility? Why had he not tested that? When he knew balls would not be coming for him one at a time. Why? Why had he not thought of this before?

The corner. Punishment.

Again.

Wayne cheered on. Celebrated.

Again.

Was this to be his destiny? That no matter his hopes otherwise, he would be in the place he landed in? Perhaps the place was meant for him? That this, being bad, was the thing he was good at?

Could be…undisputedly the best at?

No one here would argue that.

They could and would argue against anything he'd learned. Scoff at any of his invented mechanical things. And say he was not one of them.

But to be punished, seen as a bad boy? All of them here would agree. No disagreement there. This is what they all saw him as. That perhaps they'd seen something Blue could not as he lived in his own head, couldn't see the outside perspective. And if they all saw him as a bad boy, someone to put repeatedly in the corner and to avoid, then he was going to make sure there was no question of it in his mind to why.

And so, he gave them the bad.

"What were you thinking, sir?"

Blue looked up from a collection of children's stories Charlotte had given him, being in the midst of reading it through for a third time. He closed it over a finger to keep his place on the story of 'The Ugly Duckling' and blinked at Minion. Minion had apparently burst into speech after spending an hour of rolling the length of their cell back and forth.

"When? Be a little more specific, Minion."

"When you decided to cover the inside of the school with a cloud of blue! What were you thinking? You did that on purpose! Not a mistake, but on purpose! I don't understand, sir! And now, now you are likely expelled and cannot return! I thought you liked school and learning an—"

"No."

Scowling, Blue went back to the book in front of him. Except Minion rolled in front of him. Agitated, bewildered. Huffing, he put his focus back onto Minion.

"What?"

"No? No, you don't enjoy learning?" Minion squinted up at him. "I know that is a lie, sir. Are you…happy you possibly got expelled? And, I still don't understand what you were thinking! You have always made things to be helpful to others, you have never gone out of your way to do otherwise!"

"It wasn't going to change, Minion. Days, weeks, months. All the lessons and books, they were easy and I read all of them. I wasn't learning anything there. I learn more by mistakes with things I invent, trying to figure out why and improving them, then anything tied to a specific place. I spent far more time being told to stare at a wall than anything else there. School, as I found it, was found to be lacking in any of the things I looked forward to finding there."

There was silence as Minion stared up at him.

"You," Minion said slowly. "Finished reading all the books inside that room, including Missus Doe's old teaching textbooks tucked in her desk, months ago, right around Thanksgiving."

Blue quickly looked back to the book, flipping a page. "A nicely stated fact that bears no relevance to this conversation."

"Oh," Minion spoke a bit darkly. "I believe it does, sir. You are avoiding the real issue of why you found school lacking, the real reason you purposely acted up and are not the least bit unhappy about being potentially expelled. And you still aren't happy now either, are you? You gave up on yourself."

Blue fidgeted at Minion's sad tone in stating that. "No! I didn't give up on myself. I just…decided if I landed here and am so good without trying to be bad, well, this must be my destiny and I will be the best of being bad around."

"You know, I'm a little relieved to hear that is what you do, to be the baddest kid around," interrupted a dry voice.

Blue swiveled his head and Minion swiveled in his globe to see Warden standing at their cell.

"Warden, hello," Minion greeted hastily. "I'm sorry I didn't see you when you got here!"

"Can I come in fellas?"

Wide eyed, Blue scrambled up, moving the books he'd had spread out back into a neat pile.

"I will take that as a yes."

Unlocking the cell, Warden entered, sitting awkwardly and stiffly on the edge of Blue's bed. Blue stood before him, feeling about as awkward as Warden appeared. Warden actually coming into Blue's cell was unprecedented. Minion failed to speak as well, only clearing his throat after a long moment went on in awkward silence.

"Your stunt has you expelled from that school. I realize, from accounts shared to myself, that school had not been the best experience during your attendance. Unfortunate and I had hoped otherwise considering how well Friday visits had been going."

Blue's breath caught.

"Had been going?"

"Before you were enrolled at that school."

He relaxed. Warden hadn't been suggesting visits from his children where a thing of the past. "Oh, good."

"Good." Warden hummed the word, ruminating it. "They are good. Charlotte tells me you enjoy the stories she tells, especially of a certain kind. Do you mind if I tell you a story fellas?"

"No, not at all Warden!"

The mustache twitched up at Minion's quick response. "Right."

And he began to tell a tale of a man. A criminal. Of how the man returned to society, finding it impossible to get a job and finding a very unhappy wife and son about what he had done, the two choosing to leave him. They had feared, worried, hated him because he might return to what landed him in prison. Return to doing such things and return to being around such people. The man did. Yet, despite them leaving him, the man would ask around about his wife and son, walk by where they lived, wishing to keep up with them and wishing them the best in their lives. His son became a big time lawyer for a big time company, able to pick and choose clients, and easily able to make sure his mother was not left wanting for anything. And the man's son also married, having two boys, twins.

Blue nodded along, showing he was following along with the story, even if he was uncertain to why Warden was sharing this or what the point of the story was. Then, Warden continued on, Blue brightening at the part that followed.

The man figured out ways to treat his grandsons, presents and notes and cards and all sorts of little things found their way into the home. It upset the rest of the family, but the man continued gifting the two grandsons items, the boys learning to hide them and treasuring these items from their mysterious grandfather, enjoying them. They knew the man was a criminal, this had been all they'd been told of him, but could tell there was more to him than just that because of the fun and thoughtful gifts they received from him. The man doted on them as much he could from a distance. Such a man couldn't be all of what their father and grandmother said of him, right?

Despite the horror their parents or grandmother may have wanted, unfortunate circumstances led to the boys meeting the man. At ten, their grandmother passed due to health issues. The following year, their parents perished in an automobile accident on an icy road.

Blue gasped.

The man raised them after that. With help from the people he'd surrounded himself with, people his deceased wife and son would have hated those two boys to be around. Yet, the boys grew up fine, despite what their parents and grandmother would have thought, despite what others around may have said, scorning what good the boys would amount to now that their criminal of a grandfather was raising them. One became a renowned surgeon. The other became a protector of justice. A warden at a prison.

"Like you," Blue said.

He jolted. His eyes going wide at that. Realizing.

A certain kind of story he liked. Ones about things that happened in the Kimble home, the family stories. This was a story of Warden.

"You? Your grandfather, you were raised by a criminal and… I thought your family was all good, never getting in trouble with anyone kind of people. Not like…"

Warden chuckled. "Never getting in trouble, you say. Knowing full well of the story about the old toaster and Fred."

"He's a kid, younger then, mistakes happen."

The man's eyebrow rose. "Like you? Or any person?"

"Yes." Blue frowned, not sure what Warden was trying to make a point about. Minion huffed from his globe.

"You do not have to live up to other people's expectations, they are not you," Warden said. "And it does not get rid of the feelings of wrongness inside of you when you set out living up to those expectations. Because it is not you. It is only you trying to hide so you are not hurt. Trying to make it true so their words don't hurt. But…it still hurts though, doesn't it? Even though you plastered the schoolroom blue?"

"No," Blue quickly denied. But he couldn't look Warden straight in the face. Warden had gone through something similar. Maybe not raised in a prison as a home, but still, similar. Blue mumbled. "Maybe."

Warden smiled at him, then stood.

"Well, fellas, it's getting late. Getting time for me to head home and debate more about Eleanor or Elizabeth for a girl's name."

"Ah, still going for Elizabeth then, Warden?" Minion asked with a grin. "We've not heard much on if it is a boy."

"I'm afraid I'm told I am not quite as picky about any of the boy's names, possibly why my wife gave in on Charlotte's name. Elijah will be the name if it's a boy. Speaking of, made any headway for your own name?"

Blue shook his head. "I only know for sure that I want Lightning for the family name. I do have a list made out of various first and middle name combinations, but nothing really…fits right? Not for a name name. There's something like Aoi, which feels kind of right, but it's only another way to say blue. Which, feels okay, because that's the nickname I like and go by the most, but…it doesn't feel like a name."

Warden hummed, nodding. "Makes sense."

"Warden? I'm just… In narrowing names, I haven't yet crossed off Arthur. I like the way it sounds. Even if the meaning doesn't really seem right for me from what it said in the book. It was the only one you gave as a suggestion. Those were enough for me to leave it on. But it feels like there was more meaning to it? Than how it shortens to Art or Artie and being creative."

Somehow, something Blue said gave Warden pause on his slow leave from the cell. Curious at it getting Warden's attention, Blue watched the man carefully, searching for a clue as to why. Then, to Blue's surprise, Warden smiled and chuckled.

"You never asked about the crimes my grandfather committed."

Blue blinked. Frantic, panicked. "Should I have done that? Is it not right to ask about Arthur after all this time, that I should have asked for more specifics about your grandfather? It wasn't that bad, right? I mean, you're you and—"

Blue stopped suddenly. For Warden had broken into chuckles again.

"My grandfather was pretty creative in how he broke the law. And how he got myself and my brother those gifts when we were younger," Warden tagged on. "But he was a man with a good heart and meaning well, he broke laws to help others. Specifically at that time, people who were fleeing Europe. Fleeing from Nazis. The kinds of people my father refused as clients. Different."

"That's right," Minion chimed in with sudden understanding. "World War II. From the history books. That was going on about…forty years ago?"

Nodding, Warden looked right at Blue.

"People may look at you and think badly of you and not give you much of a chance due to coming from a prison, not taking time to see your good heart. You're pretty good at creative methods and I'm pretty good at being stubborn. It's going to prove difficult to get those outside of this place to agree to you attending school again after your, fairly understanding, moment of blowing up. To you going to a place like any other kid to have that chance to really learn and socialize. Very difficult, but I believe it can be done. Think you may be willing to give school another chance?"

Blue fidgeted and looked to his feet. "I don't know," he mumbled. "Maybe. If…"

Hopeful, Minion rolled up to Blue, staring up at him. "If what sir?"

"If…"

Blue hesitated. It had been something thought, imagined, not anything he voiced aloud as he had heard the difficulties about even the small school agreeing. And knew of the trouble there would be with a larger school. The trouble voiced at a larger group of kids possibly coming to visit him, back when Warden first had Blue's now favorite visitors come.

Green eyes peered slowly up at Warden. "Do you think, maybe, I could attend school with…with your kids?"

Warden stared for a moment, taken by surprise, then his mustache quirked upwards. "My wife is right. You only do say it as 'shool' with Delbert."

Blue took in a quick breath, eyes wide. "Did I say shool? Yes, I totally said shool, I always say shool!"

The man cracked into laughter, a rarity, much less so around Blue as Warden tried to be so careful showing too much toward him. Blue beamed, a toothy smile, pleased and ducked his head down at feeling his face warm. By Blue's feet, Minion rolled about, a toothy smile on his own face. If a bit sharper than Blue's own.

"We'll aim for that then," Warden said. "Give you a few familiar faces to have around. See you later, fellas."

Blue barely saw the man leave, lost in thought at the man's parting words.

To attend school and spend more time with them. With Charlotte, who was his age and school grade. And with Fred and Bailey there too, Delbert in a section of the building called preschool. It'd be so much better. Right? Well, if they could make it happen.

"I still can learn from making things and books brought here for me," Blue said to himself. There was always that, if going to a place of learning didn't pan out. He still could do that here, on his own, with Fred. And still have time with the Kimble children.

He jolted. "Oh! He never answered me about the name Arthur!"

"Sir? I believe Warden did."

Blue frowned, confused, and looked to Minion. "Nooo. He did? When?"

Minion rolled a bit, eyes sliding away from Blue. "Sir, I… Did he not use similar words when speaking of his grandfather? How creative the man was. Helping others. Speaking about the good heart his grandfather had. Similar words tied to the name, his grandfather, and…you sir."

There was silence. Blue's green eyes had gone blank in shock. He stumbled back, then fell onto his rear, jaw hanging open.

"I, what, he, no, that's just, no, it'd be, no, I…"

Minion carefully came close to where Blue sat.

"It is possible sir and…sir! Sir!"

For Blue had scrambled, twisting around and crawling over to yank a cluster of papers, flipping one out to write on. "Blessing, goodness. Creative, a name with ties to the Kimbles that…a nod to prison, but not, I mean, I liked the way it sounded and kept it before, but now, it's got more meaning tied to it. And then with Lightning for a last name… Initials spell mal, bad, which is super neat, but oh! I could write it as a nod to my big head, but not obvious. Still, I'd know and… I think I like this option. This one might work!"

"What might work, sir?"

Blue held up the paper, grinning and pointing at the bottom. "For my name! I mean, there's no 'l' name in there like I hoped and tried with all of them, but still, there's the 'l' in Lightning, so this possibility still technically works. What do you think, Minion?"

Ah. The paper that had the short list of name combinations Blue was leaning toward with Lightning as his family name. At seeing what the paper was and Blue's excitement, Minion broke into a huge grin.

"I think it looks great sir! I like it!"

AN:
And back again. Marathoning another weekend to adding more. Well. At four whipping up things on a weekend, I think this is a thing. Probably. And honestly, him deciding he was going to be the baddest boy around and it all added up to flinging the color blue everywhere, well, he grew up in a prison. The worst thing he could think of doing, on purpose, was something that is far more of a prank. Venturing slightly into vandalism considering if it did or did not cause damage worth money...or easily cleaned off. That was the worst he could think of? His accidents with both machines he made were far worse than what he decided to actually do as being bad. I kind of found that interesting when watching the film. Family entertainment, can't show anything too bad, but still. His on purpose act compared to acts of accidents...factoring in he grew up in a prison? Interesting. And, man! I really can't believe I spent another weekend adding to this! Crazy!