"So wait, Diego is an allegory for bigotry?"

Gabriel shook his head. "No dad, Diego represents the false belief that joy and honor can only be found by traveling to other countries instead of working in your own back yard to solve the problems that affect you on a daily basis."

Valencia nodded. "Dora represents all the negative Spanish stereotypes, wrapped up in a fake pro-spanish covering. I mean, look at it: This is a little girl that is allowed to wander around without parental supervision, her parents not caring about her whereabouts. She is constantly robbed, she can only have meaningful relationships with a monkey, and to celebrate she sings. When is the last time I danced with a monkey and sang?"

Vally grinned. "That's what I've been trying to tell him!"

Carter groaned. "I think you are taking this too seriously…"

Madrid stroked her chin. "Does make sense…"

"MADRID!" Carter snapped.

"I like the Powerpuff girls." Everyone stared at Sarah. "…just saying…"

Vic leaned over towards Malcolm. "Believe or not, they are actually behaving themselves."

"I believe it, mate." Malcolm stated. "I can see the lines connectin' them all…they love each other very much."

Helena smiled. "My son has that way with people…especially after he gained his powers. As a boy, he was always shy, skittish. But I think, being able to control emotions…its allowed him to trust others."

"And he has a habit of picking up strays." Vic stated. Helena glared at him. "Sorry Malcolm…I'm just being senile…to be expecting, being over 300 years old and all."

Malcolm nodded to himself. "None taken. I do find your son interesting though…"

"I'm sorry, I like Jamie, but Ted Kord will always be the true Blue Beetle." Carter argued.

"What about Dan Garret?" Derek asked.

"…shut up."

"…the chaos lines, they tell me about his life…they show me the events that shaped him. Good and bad, like everyone else, but more than anyone, it amazes me just how much his powers altered his fate. And I don't mean just getting the powers…its what he can do. Any other power, like fire or water control…and his life would be completely different."

"Interesting how random things can alter fate." Vic said. "A chance meeting with Helena forced me to finally settle down."

"IF there is one thing I've learned in this life, mate…Nothing is random …nothing."

^&^&^&^

(Our Lady of Faith Private School-Manchester, England)

(16 years ago)

"Malcolm! Malcolm!"

Malcolm Grant forced himself not to giggle as the nuns searched for him. He knew he would get smacked real good if he let them catch him now…he'd been on the receiving end of those beatings far too many times. No, Malcolm knew how to play the game, even at the tender age of 10, and he played them well.

He was in his favorite hiding spot, one no one but him knew about. In the middle of the school's enclosed garden, there was a great statue of Christ on the cross, placed upon a large wooden base. The base, unbeknownst to all, had a small hollow spot, big enough for a boy and a cooler of soda to hide and take a break from memorizing the names of all the sons of Adam.

He pulled this stunt once a month, sometimes less often, sometimes more. He knew exactly how to do it without getting into trouble. Everything played out rather easily, as long as he stayed on track: Malcolm would sneak away during breakfast, pry away one of the boards and pour some ice on the drinks he hid there. Then, he would read his lessons in the base, waiting for the soda to get cold, drink some, then appear again, most times in the lunch line. The nuns would question him, but he would know all the answers to what had happened in class.

He enjoyed learning, just not by there hand.

And the soda tasted so much sweeter when he was doing something so bad.

The nuns were walking away now, more active than normal. Probably feeling they needed to put on a show. He was a good student, and other than disappearing, there was nothing they could nail him on.

Settling back to enjoy his drink, Malcolm found himself interrupted once more, only this time by soft whimpers. Setting the lesson plan down, he crawled forward, peaking through a tiny hole in the wood.

There, kneeling before the statue of Christ, was a young girl, 7 or 8 at most, body shaking as she cried. Malcolm noticed at once that she wasn't like most of the girls at the school. Her hair wasn't a dull brown, but the color of caramel. And when she did lift up her face, though red and watery, her eyes were a shiny blue, as if made of metal.

Crawling out of his hiding spot, not knowing why he was doing so, Malcolm made his way around the statue, sitting down next to the girl.

"Why are you crying?"

The girl sniffed, startled. "Who…who…" she hiccupped, "..are you?"

"I'm Malcolm…what's your name?"

"Eleanor…" The girl whispered, taking in shaky breaths.

"What's wrong?" He asked, with the bluntness only a child could posses.

The girl sniffed. "My mommy called." She whispered.

"…and you don't like your mommy?" Malcolm asked, confused.

The little girl shook her head. "no…she…she said daddy…she said daddy went away." She closed her eyes. "She said my daddy went to go live with God." She looked up at the statue. "I…I came here, asking Mr. Jesus if he could send my daddy back…if daddy could live with me instead." The little girl's face screwed up. "He ignored me!" She broke down, sobbing again.

Malcolm bit his lip, unsure what to do. He was use to skinned knees and bullies, not crying girls. In fact, this was the longest time he'd spent with a girl. Finally, he scooted over to his hiding spot and pulled out a soda, bringing it over. "Thirsty?" He ventured.

Eleanor shook her head, but her raw throat demanded the drink, so she quickly snatched it and chugged it down, coughing after a moment. Malcolm reached over, rubbing her back as he did so.

"I…I need my daddy." She whispered. "Who will protect me? Who will chase the monsters away and stop the bad things from getting me?"

Malcolm considered this, his mind rather quickly arriving at a solution. "I will."

"Huh?" Eleanor said, confused.

Malcolm grinned, happy with the idea. "Yeah." He kneels down before the statue. "Dear Lord…"

Eleanor shook her head, sadness forgotten for a moment. "No no…you have to call him Mr. Jesus. It's polite."

Malcolm rolled his eyes. "Ok, ok…Mr. Jesus…could you please ask Eleanor's daddy if it's ok for me to take care of her? If he has a problem, let me know." The two waited for a moment. "I'll take that as a yes."

"Malcolm!" One of the nuns shouted, finding them. "There you are…no weaseling out of this one, young man…you will have a load of detention for this." She looked down at Eleanor. "And you…"

"It's my fault, Sister Mary." Malcolm said. "Blame me. Ellie did nothing wrong."

The nun glared at him for a moment. "Very well then…Eleanor, go back to class…Malcolm, we are seeing the headmaster."

Malcolm smiled at Eleanor as he was dragged off.

^&^&^&^

(Present Day- London)

Vally's face screwed up. "This place smells funny."

"It's called English Spirit, bite size." Malcolm stated. He turned to Valencia, or "Regular Size" as he'd coined, leading to the bite size, or 'bit' nickname. "Ain't that right?"

"More like English Spirits." Valencia complained. "Damn super-smell…why did I give myself that one?"

"How are we going to do this?" Vic asked. "I mean…do you even know where to look?"

Malcolm nodded. "Yeah, know where to look. Can't have all of us going, though. How about the future folks and ma and pa kettle stay behind. Me, the Metatron, the bit and the starlet will head over and grab my girl."

"Ma and pa kettle?" Helena questioned.

"Sounds good to me." Sarah said. "I'm getting a deep whiff of that English Spirit right now…ew."

Malcolm chuckled. "Come on kids…time to walk down memory lane."

^&^&^&^

(12 years earlier)

"Why did you do it, Malcolm?" Eleanor asked, dabbing his brow. The two of them sat on a bench near the Christ statue, no one around as the 12 year old dabbed at the cut on Malcolm's forehead.

"He touched your bum, Ellie." Malcolm said, annoyed. "OW!"

"Sorry." Eleanor said, carefully pulling the cloth away. "He didn't mean too."

"He did too." The 14 year old complained. "He was braggin' to all his friends, and I wasn't gonna stand for it."

Eleanor huffed. "I can take care of myself…took care of you! If I hadn't called for help, those boys would have killed you!"

"Would not." Malcolm complained. "And don't do that again! I don't need your help!"

Eleanor crossed her arms. "I'm not a baby, Malcolm! I can take care of myself!"

"It's my job to keep you safe!" Malcolm shouted, frustrated. He clutched his ribs, knowing a few were probably cracked.

Eleanor glared at him. "And see where that got you?" She scoffed. "This is because of that silly promise, isn't it?" She looked at the Christ statue. "Well, you don't have to do it anymore. Jesus Christ, please tell my father that Malcolm no longer needs to protect me."

Malcolm grit his teeth. "I will always protect you!"

"And why is that? You don't need to…God doesn't need to…"

"Because I…I…I bloody well like you!" Malcolm snapped, lunging forward and giving her a quick kiss on the check.

Both of them blinked, startled.

"Uh…I…I'm gonna go to the nurse…" Malcolm stammered.

"And…and I need too…"

Both of them ran.

^&^&^&^

"Maybe you should take the cap off." Madrid whispered.

Malcolm raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"That wool cap…maybe a good idea to get rid of it?"

The Englishman frowned as they approached the door of Eleanor's apartment. "Love, the last thing I want my girl to see is my shaved head, understand?"

"I'm just saying, it makes you look like a thief…doesn't help 3 of us are wearing leather."

Carter heft Vally up. "But the toddler does downplay that."

Malcolm scoffed. "It will be fine." He knocked on the door. "Love, open up."

The door swung open after a moment…revealing a woman in her 80s.

"She's…older than I expected." Carter commented.

"AAAA!" The woman screamed, pulling a gun from the table that stood next to the door. "Get away, crock!"

"I told you!" Madrid complained.

"Whoa…hold on there duchess!" Malcolm cried out. "I ain't no thief…just lookin' for someone that lives here."

"Only I live here! Now get away from here, you hooligan!"

"What's a hooligan?" Vally asked.

"He use to wrestle…or he escaped a Nazi camp." Carter stated.

Malcolm kept his hands up. "I'm looking for Eleanor Mardest! She lives here!"

The old woman frowned. "El…you must mean the girl that lived here before. She left months ago."

"m…months?" Malcolm stammered.

"Left in a hurry, from what I hear. Don't rightly care, its my apartment now…now, if you leave me be, I'm trying to watch Are You Being Served?."

The door was slammed in their faces.

"…I'm…I'm so sorry Malcolm." Madrid said.

"We can go back to France, have Kelly look…"

Malcolm shook his head. "No…no, not yet." He frowned. "Was stupid to come here…only one place she would be…come on."

^&^&^&^

(9 Years Ago)

"Malcolm…" Eleanor moaned. "Wait…"

Malcolm sucked on her collar bone, letting his tongue run along her skin. They currently laid on the grass, the stars shining above them as they rolled about the garden.

"Waitting…is the last thing…on my mind…" Malcolm stated.

Eleanor moaned as his hand came up to cup her breast. "But…in front of Jesus?"

Malcolm grinned, looking at the statue. "You don't mind watchin', do ya mate?" He waited. "I'll take that as a no." He pulled open Eleanor's top, licking his way down towards her bra.

"Malcolm…oh God…"

Malcolm paused. "I said he could watch, not get involved!"

Eleanor slapped him. "Less talking."

Malcolm chuckled.

^&^&^&^

"Where are we?" Carter asked, looking at the building.

"The place that matters most to me in the world." Malcolm said softly. "It's where Eleanor will be…I know it."

"How do you know?" Madrid asked, looking at the sign that read "Our Lady of Faith". "Did the chaos lines tell you?"

"I'm ignoring them, for once." He smiled. "No…I know it in my gut…Ellie has to be here."

^&^&^&^

(8 Years Ago)

Life runs in circles.

People call it déjà vu. The Matrix called it a glitch. Some called it fate. Others just blind luck.

For Malcolm Grant, he didn't know which it was.

All he knew was, once again, he was watching the woman he loved crying at the feet of their Lord.

"Ellie…what's wrong, love?"

Eleanor sniffed, her long caramel hair, normally hanging free, done up in a pony tail, her makeup smeared. "He's doing it again."

"Who is?" Malcolm asked, concerned.

"Jesus…he's taking people from me again."

Malcolm sighed. "I take it you saw the letter?"

Eleanor nodded. "Oxford, Malcolm…you promised you would stay close!"

"And I will, Ellie, I will. I only applied for my mum, she wanted me to go there so badly, since my da did and his da before him." He kneeled down. "I'm still gonan stay here, go to the local college…"

"NO!" Eleanor shouted, startling her boyfriend. "I will not be the reason you disappoint your mother, Malcolm." She sniffed back tears. "You need to do this…you need too." She closed her eyes. "I'm…just going to have to miss you."

Malcolm considered this for a minute, before finally coming to a conclusion. "Ellie…you don't have to miss me."

"…what?"

Malcolm smiled. "Listen…when I'm gone, you just come here, to this spot, and you pray to the Lord…and he'll let me know you need me and I will come."

Eleanor frowned. "I could just call you…"

"No…" Malcolm said. "This…this is more special. It connects us, Ellie…that way, no matter what, you'll have a place to go when you need me, a place I can come and know you'll be."

Eleanor nodded. "I guess…I could study out here…need better grades if I'm gonna go to Oxford too."

Malcolm smiled. "That's my girl."

^&^&^&^

(Present Day-5 hours later)

Vally looked up at Malcolm, resting her hands on his knee. "I'm sorry Uncle Malcolm."

Malcolm smiled weakly. "I'm sorry too."

Carter sighed. "We can still get Kelly…"

"No." Malcolm said softly. "no." He lowered his head. "She moved on…if she ain't here, she moved on. Better for her to go on with her life, not get dragged into my insanity…better for her to live how I always wanted us to live…even if I'm not apart of it."

Madrid wiped her eyes. "Malcolm…she must still care about you…"

"I'm sure she does…in her own way." Malcolm whispered. "But…I'd rather her live on in my memory as I knew her, as I loved her, than see her eyes not the way I want them, with the love in them." He smiled weakly, lifting Vally up, the little girl sniffing as she hugged him tight, tears trailing down her face. "Maybe…when this is all over, when I've helped you all fix your problems, maybe then I will look for her, let her know I'm ok…but give her the time to get on with her life, without me popping up just as she's finishing her mourning."

Carter nodded. "Ok Malcolm…if that's what you want." The group began to walk away, the sound of children laughing in the school halls echoing about them. "Why here, Malcolm?"

Malcolm smiled, shifting Vally. "It was our spot…the place where all came to be." He sighed. "Was a fool's hope, really…"

"But it was hope." Carter said, wrapping his arm around a now crying Madrid, helping her walk towards the door. "And we need hope, Malcolm."

"I suppose we do…even a fool…" Malcolm whispered, blinking away tears.

^&^&^&^

"…some strangers out there, don't trust the look of them. Especially the one in the black cap." A nun said from the other end of the garden, having just opened the door that led from one wing of the school to the special place. "Are you sure you want to be out here by yourself , Miss Mardest."

"I'm sure." The other woman said. "I need too…for him."

^&^&^&^

Malcolm froze.

"Ellie?" He said.

^&^&^&^

The woman stood still, slowly taking in the rough looking man on the other side of the garden, watching him pass a small child off to a tan woman. He turned, yanking the wool cap off, his bald head, even covered in the light fuzz of regrowing hair, shining in the light.

"Malcolm?" She whispered, realizing that all those months of praying…had not been in vain.

Her knees shook, her legs turned to jelly, and she suddenly found herself on the ground.

^&^&^&^

Malcolm raced forward, focused on the woman before him, leaping over a hedge and twisting away from a stone bench. His foot caught a tangled bush, and he fell face first, dirt smeared along his face. Still, he didn't care, not even wasting time to stand up, Instead he began to drag himself, his fingers digging into the cool wet earth as he pulled himself towards the woman.

"Ellie!"

^&^&^&^

Eleanor shoved the hand of the nun away, crawling on her hands and knees towards the rough looking man. She didn't care if she looked like a klutz, or if the grass stained her faded jeans. All that mattered was getting to him.

"Malcolm!"

^&^&^&^

Malcolm forced himself not to blink as he reached the statue of Christ.

"ELLIE!"

^&^&^&^

Eleanor's heart pounded in her chest as she lunged at him.

"MALCOLM!"

^&^&^&^

"You're here!

"You came!"

"You waited for me!"

"I prayed every day!"

"I sorry, I was kidnapped…"

"I moved here, to be close…"

"It doesn't matter"/"I don't care"

"I missed you!"/"So much!"

"I knew"/"You would come!"

"I love you!"/I love you!"

^&^&^&^

And under the statue of Christ, Malcolm and Eleanor reunited with a kiss.

And all was right in the world.