Chapter 16: Minors and Mischief.

"If he smiled much more the ends of his mouth might meet behind," she thought: "and then I don't know what would happen to his head! I'm afraid it would come off!"

-Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass.

John got up and went to the door. After a moment's hesitation, he opened it and looked out. No one was there. Then he looked down, and saw a little dark-haired boy standing there. He had to be five or six, even younger than Sammy.

"Hello," John said. "What's your name?"

The boy looked at him distrustfully. "Is Sammy here?" he asked. John nodded. "My name is Alec," he said, then slipped past John into the apartment. John raised his eyebrows, then closed the door and went into the living room. Alec was kneeling in front of the couch, saying his hellos to Sammy. "She says there's pizza?" he asked.

"It's in the kitchen," John said. "You can have two pieces, but no more until everyone eats." The boy ran into the adjoining room, and returned with his two pieces on a plate.

"Thanks," he muttered, before sitting down next to his friend. John went to get Sammy her pieces, but the doorbell rang, and John turned around to answer it. There was a tall, thin girl waiting outside. She was older than the other two, maybe eleven, maybe less.

"Yes, Sammy is here. There's pizza in the kitchen, but I want your name before I let you in, okay?" John said all together.

"My name is Kathy," the girl said, and John stood aside to let her in. Over the next several minutes, there came three more children. A blonde boy named Ben, an older dark-haired boy named Leo, and a red-head named Lily. They were all very common, forgettable names. John had a feeling they weren't the names that were on their birth certificates, but he didn't make an issue of it.

He was in the kitchen, washing one of the plates so that the last child they were waiting for could use it, when he heard a raised voice.

"It's true! John wouldn't lie to me!" He walked into the hall to listen, concerned.

"Sammy, listen. Almost no one has met M. This guy's just a doctor, why would he be so special? He's just telling you stories," another girl's voice came. That was Kathy. Sammy sounded distressed, so John stepped into the room, drawing all eyes to him.

"Actually, I'm not just telling stories. I met M several times. He… Killed a friend of mine." Sammy had already expressed the fact that she wasn't bothered with M killing people. And he figured that the rest of them would have similar beliefs. All the same, he felt the need to push, just a little bit, try and make them aware of who they were working for.

"If that's true, then why are you helping him?" Kathy sneered, challenging.

"Honestly, I'm not quite sure how I ended up here," John admitted.

"Tell us the story about how you met him," Ben said in his soft voice. "The one you promised Sammy. Then we'll believe you." John hesitated. There were so many reasons he shouldn't tell this story. How could he tell it without making M a definite villain? They'd never believe him if he told them the full story, bombings and all. There was also the fact that if he didn't get it right, it could link M to Moriarty.

Well, good! He didn't care if Moriarty got caught. In fact, if word got out that M and Moriarty were the same person, that would be great! But… then again, if Jim found out that John had told his Misfits the truth… the doctor had no doubt that he would be killed.

"Alright, fine," he said, sitting down in a chair. "I'll tell you the story. But just as a warning, I'm not actually one of the main characters, alright? I'm just in the background. Everyone ready?" Several of the children shifted to face him, and Sammy watched from her place among the cushions with a small smile and eager eyes.

"This is the story of M and… Lock," John said slowly. "Lock was a detective. He helped to catch criminals and put them behind bars. People like you, Kathy, because you took my wallet on the way in. Could I have that back, please?" He held out a hand, and the dark-haired girl sullenly returned it (20 dollars short, but close enough). "Lock was very, very smart. He solved every case, and lots of people were put into jail because of him. But he was bored, because all his jobs were easy, and no one was as smart as him. That was when he met M." There was a knock on the door "It's unlocked!" John called, and the door opened. After a couple seconds, an older boy ran in, taking his cue from the others and sitting down on the floor facing John. This happened several more times through the story, but John just invited them in and continued his narration as though nothing had happened.

"M was the sort of person that Lock would love to put in jail. He helped all sorts of criminals, just because he wanted to. He liked to cause trouble and see the police running around helplessly. But he was also bored. People came to him and asked him to solve their problems, and he did, but it was easy, and no one was as smart as him. Then he noticed Lock, and realized that he would make a good opponent."

"What's an appo-nent?" Alec asked suddenly.

"Someone you fight with. Or, in this story, it's someone you play a game with. Well, anyways, M offered Lock a game, and Lock accepted. M made up puzzles and crimes, and Lock had to solve them. Back then, I was working with Lock, because I thought that he was smarter. Then M decided to use me in one of his puzzles. He picked me up while I was walking home, and that was the first time I met him."

"What was it like?" asked Leo, leaning forwards. "What did he say?"

"It was really, really scary. M is hard to talk to when he's in a good mood, but when you're not on the same side, he's terrifying. The first thing I noticed were his eyes, these big black eyes that were so focused on me that I felt like the only thing in the world. Then he started to talk, and I realized that maybe, just maybe, M was going to beat Lock. He told me what I was going to do and why I was going to do it. And that was it, he pushed me out to meet Lock and play my part in the game. I can't tell you how it all happened. But it was dangerous. There was a bomb, and snipers. And Lock thought he had the answer, but M changed the rules at the last second. But in the end, neither M nor Lock was smarter, so they tied the game, and they both walked away." The kids all chorused their disappointment.

"You can't end the story like that! M has to win! It always happens!" Lily said sternly.

"He does, but that's in the second game. This story is how I first met M."

"Tell the next one!" A blonde girl said. She was one of the four people that had come while John was talking. So much for six kids, he thought absently.

"I want a drink of water first," he said. "And all you new people, there's pizza in the kitchen. Does anyone else want a drink?" Several hands went up, and he did his best to memorize the orders, before heading to the kitchen. He was pouring out the water and listening to the kids bicker about his authenticity in the living room, when a voice spoke from directly behind him.

"I liked your story." John almost dropped the glass he was holding, spinning around and bracing himself against the counter. Moriarty was standing very close to him, face inches from his own.

"Jesus, Jim, give me a heart attack why don't you?" John gasped. Jim just laughed.

"Need a hand with those glasses?" he asked, and John handed off several to him, watching him balance them expertly, somehow managing to carry six at once.

"Okay, number one, were you a waiter when you were younger? And two, what are you doing here?"

"One is irritating. Two is more interesting. Thought I'd see how you were getting on with my Misfits, see if you were trying to lecture them on the Light side or something like that. I was pleasantly surprised to hear the story you were telling. Funny to hear a tale in which I'm not the villain. I'm looking forwards to the second part."

"Would you like some pizza with that ego boost?" John asked sarcastically.

"Yes, please," Jim said. "I'll drop off the drinks, you get my meal." John sighed, then went over to slap two pieces of cheese pizza onto a plate, and went into the living room. What he saw there was, yet again, extremely surprising. He blinked a few times, then resigned himself to a very strange evening, handed over Jim's pizza, and settled back into his seat.

Jim and the children watched him, the former having two kids sitting on him, one on his shoulder and one in his lap. Both of them seemed very relaxed around the criminal mastermind.

"I was going to introduce our new member, but it looks like you already know him" John said carefully. He didn't know if they knew he was M, or if they knew him as Jim, or some other name entirely.

"Yeah, Jim gives us our iPhones when we join. He's tech support!" said the blonde girl sitting on his shoulders, giving Moriarty's head a big hug, The dark-eyed man shot John a Cheshire grin. John just shook his head.

"Right. Anyways… This is the second story of M and Lock." He took a deep breath and prepared to tell the story of Sherlock's fall, portraying Moriarty as the hero. God, he'd obviously gone 'round the bend.

A/N: So, I tallied up the Johniarty vs. no Johniarty, and they're tied at 5 for each. So I guess I'll be letting the story decide. Whatever ends up happening won't be for a dozen chapters anyways, so it doesn't matter right now. I'll still be counting late votes, by the way. I'll let you know a couple chapters ahead, anyways. Now for my announcement. *Shifts nervously*

I will not be posting any new chapters of this story until December.

You see, November is National Novel Writing Month, and I am taking part in the challenge to write 50,000 words in one month. I will, in fact, be continuing this very story! So after the month is up, the story will be done, and I'll edit the chapters one by one before I post them.

Wish me luck, because that's over a thousand words a day, and I have dance classes 3 days a week, and homework, and classes, and a hundred other things to do. But I will write, and I will succeed. For you guys, it's all for you guys. So give me some feedback and I'll give you your chapters.

Love you all. I'll see you in a month's time. Good luck to the readers who are also doing NaNoWriMo!