To Protect

She couldn't believe her eyes when she saw who was at the door. "Dane?" she exclaimed. "Dane! You're home!" She drew her son into a fierce hug.

"Dane! Dane!" A little girl ran toward him and threw her arms around his waist. "You've come back!"

"Can I come in, Ma?" he asked somewhat uncertainly. "My friends, too?"

"Of course," she nodded. She was so glad to see him again that she was crying.

"Is Dad home?" he wanted to know.

She shook her head. "No. Not yet." She unconsciously touched the healing bruise on her right cheek. "Come in quick. Come on." She led them to the small living room. "So, who are your friends?" she wondered, smiling a bit nervously at their guests.

There was a brief and oddly tense silence. Then a young blond man spoke. "I'm Pyro."

This seemed to be a cue to the others to give their names, too. And all of their names were as strange as the first one. "Spine." "Rake." "Necro." "Battle." "Shard." "Rumble."

She frowned at her son. "Dane, are you in some kind of – rock band?"

"No," he shook his head. "It's something else. And my friends here know me as Summon."

"Well," she shrugged, "anyway, I'm just glad you're home. I was so worried about you when you just disappeared without a word. I was so scared you were dead!" She became teary-eyed.

Summon held her hand comfortingly. "It's all right, Ma. I'm back. I'm gonna make things all right." Then he grinned as he looked at his little sister and gave her a hug. "Hey, Ciara. You been a good girl?"

"Yeah. I missed you, Danie," she told him. "Why'd you leave? Daddy was so mad when you went away that he hurt -"

"Ciara!" Her mother gave her a warning glance. She looked embarrassed.

They all heard the front door suddenly slam open. "Sondra!" a man's voice called out. "Is supper ready? You won't believe what my bastard captain did to – You son of a bitch!" Summon's father stopped in his tracks when he saw his son. "You ungrateful little shit! You run away and now you have the guts to come back!"

"Eddie!" His wife tried to calm him down. "Please, we have company!"

"I don't give a fuck!" he shouted. He pushed her out of his way. "You kids get out of here before I arrest you! And you!" he pointed a finger at Summon. "You and I are gonna have a little talk!"

"No, we won't." Summon held out his hand and his father's feet left the floor. The man suddenly began gasping for breath as if someone was choking him.

"You can't hurt me anymore," Summon told him. "And I won't let you hurt them anymore, either." He made a twisting motion with his hand and his father's head immediately lolled crookedly. His neck had been broken.

Ciara screamed.

"Oh, my God!" Sondra fell to her knees in shock. "Oh, my God! Dane, what did you do?"

"It's over, Ma," he said softly. "He's dead." He embraced her. He gestured and Ciara was pulled toward them by an invisible force. Sondra finally realized something.

"Dane? You're a mutant?"

"Yes," he nodded. "Listen, Ma. I love you. There's a war coming, and I'll do what it takes to protect you and Ciara from ever being hurt again. And this is the only way."

"What do you -?"

She slumped to the floor, her neck broken like her husband's. Ciara suffered the same fate less than a second later.

"Are you done?" Pyro asked. "We have an appointment to keep."

"Yes."

Before they left, Summon kissed his mother and his sister one last time. They were safe now.