The following morning
Monday
Glenview
The kitchen
"Oh – my – God!" Stephanie groaned.
"I have a bad feeling about this..." Anne-Marie added.
"Is that a pair of knickers on the kitchen floor?" Danny enquired.
"A bra over there..." Paige commented with a grimace.
"Those clothes scattered about the kitchen belong to Chloe," Stephanie said.
"I think we should run away!" Megan growled, fearful of what else might be discovered.
They all turned as Sophia appeared at the top of the stairs to the basement. She lay down and whined, covering her eyes with her paws – even the dog was freaked out!
"What's this?" Danny asked as he inspected some gloop that dripped from one of the steps on the stairs.
Megan's eyes went wide and she looked like she wanted to be sick.
"Don't touch it!" She warned.
"Found 'em!" Anne-Marie shouted.
The master suite
"Okay..." Paige commented as we entered Dave and Mindy's room to find four people asleep in the enormous bed.
There was movement and Chloe sat up from between Joshua and Mindy. She was topless, but she rapidly pulled the duvet up to cover herself when she discovered that she had an audience.
"Err, morning, Paige, err, kids!" She said as she blushed furiously and nudged Mindy who was asleep on her front, but it was obvious that she was topless too.
"Fuck off Chloe – I'm fucked out..." Mindy growled, but then she looked up and followed Chloe's furtive glance towards the foot of the bed.
"Oh great!" She growled.
"We'll just leave you all to get showered and dressed," Paige said delicately and she pushed the four eager-eyed kids out of the bedroom.
"Well, that was embarrassing!" Chloe commented.
"Ya think!" I groaned – poking Dave hard in the ribs as Chloe did the same with Joshua.
"I need a shower," Dave groaned as he regained consciousness.
"I'm first!" I yelled, jumping out of the bed and I ran naked into the bathroom.
Not surprisingly, an equally naked Chloe soon joined me in the shower and we quickly cleaned ourselves off.
"That was a fun night..." Chloe said with a laugh and a quick giggle.
"It was a first, I can say..." I replied with a devious smile.
We had enjoyed a great night together.
A short while later...
The kitchen
"Morning, kids!"
"Hi, Mom!" Danny and Anne-Marie said as they ran over for a hug.
"It's disgusting, that's what it is!" Stephanie growled as she reluctantly gave me a hug.
"Sorry, Paige – we kinda got carried away last night, and..."
"Don't apologise for being human, Mindy – Marcus and I have fun when Megan's away too..."
"Ewww... I did not want to hear that!" Megan exclaimed looking horrified.
"Me neither – how long now?" I enquired, ignoring my little sister's horrified expression.
"Eight to ten weeks left – I hope!" Paige commented, running a hand over her very visible bump.
"You still 'have fun' even with that in the way?" I asked, winking at the horrified Megan.
"Oh yeah; I was still having sex until about a week before Megan was born..."
"I... Yuck... Ewww... I'm going to check on Piper!" Megan growled and the girl ran out of the kitchen.
Later that day
Lake View High School
It was a normal Monday, but boy was it gonna be a doozy, as my Dad would put it.
Life was normal for me – well, as normal as it ever got for the twelve-year-old son of a CPD cop. I also kept a secret; one of the most awesome secrets ever. Forget Roswell, or who shot JFK, I knew a much better secret; I knew the secret identity of Hit Girl and Kick-Ass, not to mention many others. It killed me not to be able to tell anyone but I knew the consequences of that, besides I had integrity.
Bradley Murphy was doing well, I thought.
..._...
I was dragged out of my reverie by the sounds of crying. In the next corridor, down beside some lockers, I found a girl sobbing her heart out. I paused and then my heart skipped a beat – it was Lauren Edwards; I had fancied her ever since I had started at the school. The girl had had a particularly turbulent couple of months, if the rumours were right. I knelt down beside the girl.
"Lauren?"
She looked up at me from red eyes and her beautiful looks were marred by the tears that streamed down her cheeks.
"Hi, err, Brad isn't it?"
"Yeah."
Wow, she actually knew my name! She was in eighth grade while I was only in seventh...
"What happened?"
"I'm a fucking slut..."
What?
"Woah, there – no you are not, Lauren..."
"She said that I was a slut for allowing it to happen..."
"That's rubbish, and you know it."
We were interrupted by another voice.
"He's usually full of shit, but for once he's speaking the truth, Lauren."
I turned to see Chloe standing directly behind me – damn; that girl could move like a shadow.
"Who was it?" I persisted.
"That Grant bitch..."
I saw anger in Chloe's face and I knew what that meant. Chloe was a tenth-grader and guys in seventh grade rarely even talked to girls three grades higher.
"Chloe, I know what you're thinking – you can't..."
She turned and glared at me.
"You little fuck; you do not tell me what to do..."
"I didn't mean it like that, honest."
"Sorry, Brad – me and that Grant bitch have a history – but no. While I would like nothing more than to punch that fucking lesbian in the..." Chloe calmed down slightly. "I think that Lauren should have a go..."
"What can she do?"
"She's spent time at D-JAK, Brad; she can look after herself.
"If you're sure, Chloe – I trust you, but Lauren's not like you..."
"You'd be surprised!" Chloe replied with a wink.
I thought back over a year to that fateful Friday night in February.
She had landed a fair few punches on me as her minions had pinned me to the wall of a cinema. Those punches had hurt, brushing me badly and putting me out of action. I never did get my own back on her, but Joshua had considered killing her once he had found out what had happened. I had been saved by Kyle that night.
Now, she was getting her claws into somebody else and that had to stop. The only reason that the bitch was still breathing was because I was better than her and I knew when not to kill – if only the ugly snapdragon knew how close she had come... Lauren had to face her; it was the only way for Lauren to get past her problems.
While I supported Lauren; I would never want to be in her shoes.
"Where are you going?"
Chloe just stalked off – I checked my watch; Juno Grant would probably still be in lunch. I grabbed Lauren off the floor and we both ran after Chloe, towards the dining room. What exactly did the devious Chloe have in mind? I was actually glad that Chloe was not going to do the need...
If she did, then there was going to be a blood bath and Chloe would be exposed as Shadow.
The dining room
I knew trouble when I saw it
I nudged Josh and pointed over to the doors that led into the dining room.
"Oh, fuck!" Josh groaned.
We had both recognised the expression on Chloe's face, not to mention the force that she had used on the doors – she was going to kill, literally. She made a bee-line for the table, two over – it was not a great leap of intelligence to figure out that Juno Grant was her target.
"Kyle – we gotta stop her..." Josh warned.
It was a strange relationship really; I had dated Chloe for a while, before Josh had come onto the scene. Then I had stepped back once I had seen where Chloe's true feelings lay. Despite that, Josh and I were firm friends and we both enjoyed teasing the hell out of Chloe; an act, which while potentially very dangerous, was great fun!
However, we both knew the girl intimately, including her expressions and we both knew what she was capable of when she was angry.
Something was happening.
I went to the same school as Chloe and Josh – although they were both in tenth grade, but I was only in the ninth. My first day at the school had been daunting to say the least... Something new, meant something dangerous – at least it did to me; a new environment needed checking and all my senses operated automatically as I walked into the school. Chloe had offered to come in with me, but I had politely declined the kind offer; I had to manage on my own.
My eyes took in the cliques and the bullies, the jocks and the geeks – the usual groups found in the average high school. I kinda wished somebody would try to rip off my dinner money, but no, the school had little problems with bullying; certain people had stamped that out... My previous school had been very similar, but it had been much more rigid, which was why the CIA had chosen it for me.
My eyes also took in the entrances and exits... Places where I could hide in an emergency... Locations of alternative weapons... I couldn't stop myself; it was an automatic impulse, wherever I went.
At least I would know other kids at the school; mind you there was also Lauren in eighth grade, too. That felt a little strange, considering that I was training her to become a vigilante... I saw Lauren enter the dining room and I saw the tears on her face. She was being helped by a boy that I recognised from the seventh grade.
I had seen Chloe storm into the dining room and I had read her eyes – she was on a mission and somebody was about to get hurt – badly. I saw Josh jump up from his own seat along with another boy that I was acquainted with, Kyle. That kind confirmed my suspicions.
I decided to get closer so I could help my friends.
..._...
"SD!"
It was Lauren and she sank into my arms, sobbing. I looked at the boy, begging for an explanation.
"Somebody accused her of asking to be . . . you know..."
Naturally, I knew all about Lauren – and what had happened to her. I was incensed that somebody would use that against her.
"Who?"
"Juno Grant – Chloe's about to kill her..."
I had no idea who the boy was, but I sensed that he knew more than he was letting on – did he know about Chloe being Shadow? He used the word 'kill' like he knew that she could actually kill the girl. As I watched, I saw Josh and Kyle intercept Chloe. Oh, shit – she floored Kyle as he tried to restrain her! The Grant girl jumped up from her seat and tried to escape; I saw the fear in her eyes as she backed away.
Then Lauren pulled out of my arms and she bolted forwards. The Grant girl had backed away towards Lauren . . . I smiled – it was a fucking setup! Lauren struck Grant in the cheek with her right fist causing the older girl to crash into another table. Another boy jumped up – this one an eleventh-grader. I saw some resemblance to the girl – a big brother? Oh, wow – Chloe flattened him, too. Josh was trying to grab hold of his girlfriend, but she kept pushing away from him as she guarded Lauren's back.
I moved towards Lauren and Chloe.
..._...
As I got there, Lauren smacked Juno Grant hard across the face. The thirteen-year-old girl then seized the fifteen-year-old girl by the jaw and she stared into her eyes. Lauren was no longer crying, nor was she shaking, she was ice-cold.
"Don't – you – ever fuck with me again; you hear me, bitch?"
Juno just stared at Lauren – her face red and beginning to swell from the onslaught. She was angry, but I detected a trace of fear – and that trace was growing. I heard movement from my right and I turned to see two large girls pushing through the other kids – I had a feeling that they usually protected their boss. As they passed by me, both girls... How should I put it...? They banged heads and hit the floor rather hard... I noticed a boy from tenth-grade watching me; he smiled and nodded approvingly – I blushed, much to my annoyance and turned back to Lauren.
"You fucking hear me!" Lauren growled "Or are you deaf as well as fucking retarded?"
Lauren slapped Juno hard across the face. Like most bullies, Juno had very quickly had enough.
"I hear you..." She muttered.
"Louder – so your friends can hear you..."
Juno scowled as she raised her voice.
"I will not fuck with you, anymore... I'm sorry..."
The fifteen-year-old girl was suitably humiliated at the hands of a girl two-years her junior. Lauren released the girl and let her fall to the floor of the dining room. Then she turned and walked out of the dining room to a round of applause from the other kids. Chloe made to kick Juno in the side, but I looked at Josh and we both seized an arm and pulled her back, which was not easy... Josh used his considerable strength to hold her while I put my mouth to her ear.
"Are you fucking stupid? Stop this, now!"
Chloe growled as she looked at me – but she nodded.
"You going to behave?" A very pissed off Josh demanded.
"Yeah, sorry."
Later that afternoon
Cathy was not happy!
Neither was Lauren's mother. Both had been called in to see the school Principal as their respective daughters had punched two boys' and one girl's lights out! I went with Cathy for moral support. There, I found two rather annoyed looking teenagers. I vividly remembered one of my very own visits to the Principal at the school in New York – Marcus had been very angry and I had been a grumpy bitch – much as Chloe was at that moment.
It was obvious that both girls were guilty as hell – they both kept their heads down and neither looked up when we arrived. Isaac was there also – thankfully. I had received a call from Joshua who had explained everything that had happened. It had all been in defence of Lauren – at least it had started out that way, but somebody had lit Chloe's fuse and there was no putting that out!
I had also learnt that Lauren had a fuse too – and a vicious streak...
..._...
They both escaped with a suspension – two weeks for Chloe, but only a week for Lauren. Chloe was also grounded for four weeks and Lauren for two. Their mothers were both incensed at their daughters' behaviour, however, they did allow for the reasons if not the actual actions. As both mothers worked; I offered to monitor both girls at the Safehouse during the day. I saw Chloe grimace at that suggestion, but Cathy smirked and Lauren looked a little worried.
That night
Safehouse F
"Kind of nice to see some others doing that for a change," Anne-Marie chuckled.
Down below, two girls were on their eighteenth lap of the Safehouse. For Chloe it was the ultimate humiliation, considering that she was the number three operative in Fusion and therefore a senior member. Now, she was being punished along with our newest member. There was no room for Fusion members to operate on their own and I was not happy with Chloe allowing Lauren to get involved, but I understood the reasons.
So, as far as Chloe was concerned, I was punishing her for not having better judgement concerning Lauren, but a brief humiliation for her was good enough for me. For Lauren, she needed to learn to control her temper, especially in public. Rape had a lot of stigma attached and others saw it differently, with not everybody showing compassion. I also had a sharp word with Saoirse as she had been involved to some extent and she had not stopped Lauren from attacking the other girl.
I intended keeping an eye on Lauren; Nightmare was working out just fine.