Thursday, April 6th, 2017
Above the Chesapeake Bay,
United States of America
US Navy MH-60R Seahawk
Willow could not believe the view both inside and outside of the amazing flying machine.
"You ready to take her?" Lieutenant Barton asked.
"Me?"
"You can fly, right?"
"Yeah, I can."
"Feet on pedals, hands on controls. Feel my control inputs as I keep her flying straight and level."
Willow followed instructions and her legs tingled as she felt the pedals moving slightly beneath her feet and the cyclic stick between her legs shift slightly.
"Now, I am going to make a right turn..."
Willow felt the movements of the controls and the tiniest of inputs required to tell the MH-60R what the pilot wanted. After a few more alterations of their course and altitude, Willow's hopes came to the fore.
"Ready?"
"Yes, sir."
"Co-pilot's aircraft."
"Co-pilot's aircraft," Willow repeated as she tightened her grip on the controls.
The large helicopter wavered slightly in the sky, but over the next few minutes, Willow stabilised the Sixty Romeo much to the Lieutenant Barton's surprise.
"Very good, Willow!"
The pilot was impressed; Willow was a natural when it came to flying helicopters. The aircraft was not all that forgiving, but it was light on the controls which allowed for long flights. Over the next fifteen minutes, Willow altered course and altitude as she figured out the aircraft's quirks. Then Lieutenant Barton set a course for Willow taking them over to Cape Charles. Willow followed the steering bug on the display and reduced altitude as she approached the land under instruction from Lieutenant Barton.
"See if you can execute a hover in that field."
Nervously, Willow slowed the helicopter to forty knots and brought it down to one hundred feet as she aimed for the indicated patch of green.
"No way!" Willow said as she pulled up on the collective and increased speed. "People down there."
Lieutenant Barton nodded his approval.
"Sorry, a little test for you – try the field to the right."
"Funny, sir!" Willow growled as she translated right and spun the tail around.
She decreased speed and altitude, bringing the helicopter into a balanced hover, sixty feet above the ground. The hover was a little shaky but considering she had never flown in a Sixty Romeo, let alone at the controls, she was doing well, Lieutenant Barton thought.
"Set us down without hitting anything."
Willow gently eased the helicopter downwards under the direction of Petty Officer Heart who had his head out the side door of the helicopter and he was calling out approximate altitude and watching for any obstacles in the helicopter's blind spots.
"Touch down!" Heart said as the front tyres touched the grass.
"Pin us!" Lieutenant Barton ordered and Willow pushed the collective down, forcing the helicopter into the ground, the oleos compressing. "Good! Get us up to three thousand on a heading of one-eight-zero."
"One-eight-zero at three thousand, aye, aye, sir!" Willow responded as she pulled up on the collective and then at thirty feet, she spun the helicopter around to point south and then dipped the nose and twisted on the collective, increasing the angle of the rotor blades and then pushed forward on the cyclic stick. The helicopter dipped at the nose and began to accelerate.
"Take us to one thirty knots."
"One-thirty knots, aye, aye, sir!"
"What's this aircraft's Never Exceed Speed?"
"One-eighty knots, sir!"
"Service ceiling?"
"Twelve thousand feet, sir!"
"Rate of climb?"
"Sixteen-fifty feet per minute, sir!"
"Rotor diameter?"
"Fifty-three feet eight inches, sir!"
"Fucking know it all!"
"Yes, sir!" Willow grinned.
"Pilot's aircraft!"
"Pilot's aircraft!" Willow responded instantly, taking her hands and feet off the controls.
"You are one squared away young pilot, Willow."
"Thank you, sir."
The MH-60R dived low and they flew parallel Virginia Beach, putting on an impromptu mini airshow for those braving the chilly weather. Willow hung on tight as the helicopter flew up ten-thousand feet and then nosed over. Willow felt herself lifting out of her seat under negative G before the helicopter rolled and she was forced into her seat under positive G. The Sixty Romeo was an extremely manoeuvrable beast as demonstrated by Lieutenant Barton who knew exactly what to do with it.
Finally, the aircraft turned back towards Hampton Roads and they soon landed upon Pier 5 and as the engines wound down, Willow knew her flight was over.
..._...
Captain Ryan Bennett was waiting on Pier 5 with his daughter.
Lieutenant Barton walked up to his commanding officer and saluted smartly.
"Well, lieutenant, is my helicopter still in one piece?" Ryan responded as he returned the salute.
"Yes, sir!"
"Did Miss Harrison dent my helicopter?"
"No, sir!"
"Can Miss Harrison fly, lieutenant?"
"Yes, sir!"
"Does Miss Harrison have the potential to one day become a naval aviator?"
"Absolutely, sir!"
Willow was grinning fit to burst and Chloe was laughing.
One week later...
Thursday, April 13th, 2017
Training Centre Echo
Main Armoury
Abigail was not happy.
"You know, there are easier ways to die."
"Abigail, stop being such a wet blanket!" Stephanie shot back.
"Better a wet blanket than a dead blanket."
Stephanie ignored her friend as they walked along rack after rack of weaponry.
"What are we in here for, anyway?" Abigail asked as she wished they were somewhere safe.
"I need some empty magazines and some ammunition."
"You could have just asked Mindy."
"Where's the fun in that?"
"There are times I think you deserve all the shit that finds you."
"What have we here?" Stephanie asked rhetorically as she spied a cardboard box right at the very back of the armoury.
"What's that black shit?" Abigail asked.
"Soot," Stephanie responded as she swiped a finger through the black substance which covered the box. "I think this box must have come from Safehouse A in New York – Joshua burnt it down a few years back. Wonder what's in it."
"I don't wonder – I am not interested in the slightest . . . ooh, that looks cool!"
Stephanie had opened the large cardboard box and she had produced an array of empty pistol magazines – all seemingly brand new and shiny.
"You got what you came for, now let's get to safety," Abigail tried.
"Hold on, there's a book here," Stephanie said as she reached under a few more magazines and she hauled out a small A5 pink binder.
On the front of the binder was a simple number:
2009
"A diary?" Abigail ventured.
"Let's see..."
"Let's not."
Stephanie opened the binder and she read what was written on the inside of the cover:
If you are reading this, then you are dead!
I will hunt you down to the four corners of
the earth and I will...
Stephanie stopped reading the various ways in which the writer might viciously and callously mutilate the reader as she moved onto the first page.
...+...
September 25th, 2009
Everything is different now.
It was hard leaving my home and I cried – I hated myself for being weak.
I don't know Marcus. I know I should – after all, I did live with him for the first five years of my life. Marcus hates Hit Girl and everything she stands for – I think I'm out of the superhero business.
My bedroom is almost the same – maybe. I can't remember much but I can remember the pink and the purple – Marcus says I loved those colours. Maybe I got my live of pink and purple from Marcus?
My Daddy is dead, and a man I barely know is all I have left in the world – except maybe for Kick-Ass.
Sleep tight, Daddy.
...+...
"We should not be reading this," Abigail stated for the record. "We're fucking dead!"
"Abigail, this is a part of my Mum that I never knew; I need to read this."
"Exactly, she's your Mum – I should not be here."
"I trust you, Abigail."
"At least we'll die together."
Stephanie flipped through a few pages before she stopped and began to read.
...+...
October 2nd, 2009
I think I'm getting to know Marcus a little better.
At least, I've found out some things he doesn't like very much:
· He does not like being sworn at.
· He does not like to receive calls from the school principal.
I also learnt that he has a nasty sense of humour and in return for what he calls 'my reprehensible behaviour', he has showered me with gifts and discipline:
· I have a swear jar: damn thing is almost half full after just a few sodding hours ! ! !
· I have a curfew: that sucks BIG TIME ! ! !
· I am grounded: that sucks even more ! ! !
· I am suspended from school for three days – actually, that was a gift from the school principal and not from Marcus. I have no comment on that whatsoever.
An interesting haul for my first few days as a 'normal girl'.
...+...
Abigail laughed.
"Creative use of the exclamation mark," she commented.
"She's truly certifiable!" Stephanie agreed.
"I don't think I was that bad, and for the record, the boy deserved the broken nose!"
"Oh, fuck!" Abigail exclaimed as she suddenly felt a frosty chill run down her back.
Stephanie grimaced as she closed the folder and she grinned up at Mindy.
..._...
Mindy gave Stephanie a very cold stare which did not seem to have much of an effect on the girl.
"We found them when I was looking in a sooty box for pistol magazines," Stephanie said truthfully.
"That box came from Safehouse A – everything was covered in soot after Josh . . . let's not go there."
Mindy's mind drifted back almost eight years to when she had been quite a lot shorter and she had just lost her Daddy. Things had been so vastly different, and she had not known what was ahead of her – so long ago. She had poured her heart out into that diary because she had had nowhere else to turn. They were the ramblings of a different person who was so alone. Only she had not been alone – she had had Dave, only she had not known it at the time.
"I wasn't much older than you are now."
"Dad says you were wild," Stephanie said.
Mindy laughed.
"That's putting it mildly! As you read, my early days with Marcus did not go so well."
"We noticed," Abigail muttered.
Mindy rummaged through the diaries and then pulled open another sooty box as she searched for one in particular.
"Here – page twelve," Mindy said as she passed the diary to her daughter.
...+...
October 1st, 2011
Evil, evil, evil bitch ! ! !
She dared – she DARED – to insult Marcus ! ! !
What the fuck – how fucking DARE SHE ! ! !
Marcus was not amused by being summoned to the see the arch-bitch principal. He also did not like it when I told the cunt where to get off. I called her a loathsome bitch who needed a dripping cock shoved up her dried-up cunt. I think she suspended me – I didn't hang around long enough to find out. Apparently, I am spoilt, and I know nothing! It was so hard not to just snap her scrawny neck right then and there – I was so fucking pissed ! ! !
Apparently, the death of Daddy has had a bad impact on me psychologically – what a cock-sucking surprise! Give the fucking bitch a poisoned fucking apple! Of course, I'm fucked up and watching my Daddy burned just fucked me up some more – Christ!
Marcus settled with the fact that I did not kill the bitch, so he was not too pissed off with my behaviour – oh, hold on, Marcus wants to know if I've stopped ranting yet.
Better go – I'm starving!
...+...
"The exclamation marks again," Stephanie grinned.
"The pen almost goes through the paper each time she made the period," Abigail said.
"I had some issues to work out of my system."
"Looks like it!" Stephanie grinned. "I tend to do the same thing when I write in my diary – oops!"
"You have a diary?" Abigail asked before adding facetiously, "I didn't know you could write."
"Forget I said anything," Stephanie said pointedly. "You go looking for them and I will gut you like a..."
"Okay, girls!" Mindy said with a chuckle, not wanting to endure a Stephanie/Abigail bickering match.
"Looks like you stopped writing for a bit," Abigail said as she returned to the diary. "No, here we go, some months later..."
Mindy suddenly felt a chill of horror.
"No! Stop!" she called out.
...+...
November 3rd, 2013
Fuck me!
Fuck me!
Fuck me!
He fucked me!
Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!
My God! He fucked me!
It was fucking heaven! I fucking exploded!
His dick fucking almost killed me!
He fucked me!
He fucked me!
He fucked me!
Fuck I love you Dave Lizewski!
And my swear jar is not a fucking fifty-gallon drum – asshole!
...+...
"Either one of you speaks a word of that and..." Mindy growled with as much menace as she could muster out of her extreme embarrassment.
"A fifty-gallon drum huh?" Stephanie grinned.
"Doesn't sound big enough in my mind," Abigail said.
"Nobody asked you," Mindy scowled, and Abigail flinched away.
"You and Dad use 'sleep tight' – did you get it from your Dad?" Stephanie asked.
"Yes, I did," Mindy replied. "It was the last thing I said to my Dad as he died."
"Mum, I'm so sorry for dragging all this up," Stephanie responded, appalled by what she had done."
"Don't be sorry, honey – I'd forgotten all about my diaries. You are my daughter and I have no secrets from you, Steph. Read them, but be warned, you utter a word and I slit your throat – same goes for you, Abigail."
Abigail squirmed uncomfortably and she made a squeaking noise in acknowledgement.
That weekend...
Saturday, April 15th
36th Place & Albany
19:56
Eva and Ruth were not overly happy.
It was dark and the street was not all that appealing. Indeed, both girls had instantly gone on guard at their surroundings which screamed out that it was the number one place to get mugged. The bus driver had asked them if they really wanted to get off there, but it was what they had been directed to do. Eva had considered it some form of a test, only she had no idea what the test might be for.
"I don't like this," Ruth said as they walked down the street.
"I think your Stephanie is having a fucking laugh," Eva growled.
Ruth began to feel concerned for her safety as they approached a brick warehouse facility. Then Eva scowled as the street was lit up by blue flashing lights as a marked Chicago Police SUV pulled up beside them and the window on the driver's side came down.
"What might you two be doing out in this neighbourhood at this time of night?" the officer in the driver's seat asked.
"We're looking for a friend," Eva replied.
"Is that so?"
"Yes, sir."
"What are your names?"
"I'm Eva and this is Ruth."
"You out causing trouble?"
"No, sir," Ruth said.
"Are either of you carrying anything you shouldn't?"
Eva winced.
"Yes, sir."
"Is it sharp?" the other officer in the SUV asked.
"Huh?" Eva responded. "Yes."
The officer behind the wheel grinned.
"You see that gate, girls?"
"Yes," a very confused Eva responded as she turned to see a wire mesh gate sliding open noiselessly.
"Through the gate and up the ramp, turn left at the top. Good night, girls. Good luck – you're gonna need it!"
Eva looked over at the officer's name badge: Sergeant Fellowes. She grimaced and then turned with Ruth to walk through the gate. The blue lights and the SUV to which they were attached soon vanished and the gate silently motored closed.
"I think we're committed," Ruth said as the two girls walked up the concrete ramp.
Eva grimaced as she gazed ahead into the looming darkness.
..._...
As the pair rounded the corner at the top of the concrete ramp, they found themselves facing eleven loading docks on the end of the massive warehouse.
Ahead of them was a low building which looked very dishevelled like everything in the surrounding neighbourhood. Beside them, a door suddenly clicked open and the two girls exchanged a look of concern. Every instinct told them to run, but Ruth trusted Stephanie and she knew that she was safe – to a point.
"The rabbit hole beckons," Eva sighed as she reached for the door and she pushed it open.
"I suppose," Ruth agreed as she followed her friend into the darkness.
Both girls went on alert as the door closed automatically and audibly locked. All around them lights snapped on illuminating just the first fifty feet of a desolate warehouse with detritus scattered across the concrete floor. Ruth yelled out a warning as she heard movement and then turned to see a large dog bounding towards her. The dog wore body armour and growled menacingly as it approached, forcing Ruth to backup against the wall. Eva noticed that the animal's body armour bore markings – a name: Kes. Another armour-clad dog appeared from out of the darkness and cornered Eva – that dog was called Siren. Seeing the armoured animals told the two girls one thing – they were in Fusion territory.
A female vigilante appeared, dressed in body armour which accentuated her womanly features. Two swords could be seen mounted on her back and Eva's mind recognised the vigilante known as Petra. She had them memorised – well, those whose appearance was known. Another appeared, a male: he was muscular and could only be Jackal. Out of the darkness came a pale white glow which formed into another female vigilante appearing out of the darkness, but Eva could not put a name to her as her jet-black, figure-hugging armour was unknown. But there was something vaguely familiar about it, especially the pale white line markings on the suit which resembled electronic circuitry, only Eva could not put her finger on it. The only weapons which the woman appeared to be carrying was a black-hilted Katana on her back and a black pistol with markings on the butt which matched her armour. The black-clad woman walked up and at a sharp command from Petra, both animals stepped back and sat staring up at their quarries. Then a wand was passed over Eva and Ruth as they stood, more than a little concerned for their safety.
"Turn around," they were ordered in an electronically enhanced voice, and they did so as the wand was taken down their backs. "They're clear."
Ruth figured it was an EM scan looking for a communications device – neither carried anything, not even a cell phone; Stephanie had been emphatic about that.
"Well, well, if it isn't Nox," a voice growled from the darkness and another vigilante appeared. "I say strip search the bitches."
The combat suit was made up of several shades of green arranged to produce a scaled effect like the skin of a fish. Her entire body was encased in armour with olive green gauntlets which extended to her elbows. The same shade was used for her greaves which rose from the tops of her dark green boots to her knees. The suit was topped off by a golden mask attached to a fiery red wig of loose-flowing long hair which surrounded her piercing red eyes and extended down the sides of her face. Her utility belt was moulded to the combat suit and came together in her crotch. On each hip, she carried a pistol. On each thigh, a brace of four throwing knives was stowed. Finishing off her combat suit, a pair of fighting swords in a daishō. Both blades were aligned on her back with the Tsuka of each weapon protruding over her right shoulder.
Nox took in the colour scheme and the stance of the female vigilante. A thought came into her mind which she instantly shook off – it could not be, no fucking way! If it were . . . but what could that mean? She took a chance.
"There's something fishy going on, here," Nox grinned. "Piranha, I presume?"
Ruth scowled in understanding.
"Psyche, you inhuman bitch, get your useless fucking ass out here!" she yelled.
Someone stepped out of the darkness, but it was not Psyche – it was the purple devil incarnate.
..._...
Eva glared at the purple body armour and she knew exactly whom it was beneath the armour.
It was a test – it had to be. There was Lucy fucking Ford in Fusion body armour and that fucking Psyche had to be there somewhere as Ruth had realised. Both girls were armed with two knives and a pistol each. Obtaining a firearm in Chicago was child's play – literally! Eva reached behind her back and she saw the vigilantes tense up, but none reached for their weapons. Eva gripped her Glock 26 and she pulled into view held loosely in two fingers. Then she ejected the magazine and racked back the slide to demonstrate that the pistol was empty. Eva then dropped both on the concrete floor before she added her two flick knives to the pile.
"I am not playing your little game, Hit Girl. You want me to take a shot at you? I won't. While I may blame you for what happened to me and my friends, I know it was not your fault. Shooting you would not help anything, but I think that is what you want me to do: you want me to shoot you. Now, can we just get to the point where someone explains what the fuck is going on?"
Ruth nodded as she too unloaded her own .32 Browning and dropped it to the floor along with her two blades.
"What she said."
"Suit yourselves," Hit Girl shrugged. "Psyche, get your butt out here!"
Ruth scowled as another armour-clad vigilante appeared out of the darkness and stood beside Hit Girl.
"You and I are going to talk," Ruth said to Psyche. "Now, is someone going to remove these puppies?"
Siren whined as she looked up at Ruth.
"Okay, fun over," Psyche said. "Siren, Kes, fallout."
The two dogs stopped their fierce growling and Siren went up to Ruth and sat down directly in front of her. Kes did the same with Eva.
"They want you to pet them," Psyche said as she pulled off her mask.
Ruth and Eva did so, allowing their hands to be licked by the two dogs.
"Come on," Stephanie said as she guided the two girls across the warehouse, further lighting coming on as they went. "We just had to be certain you weren't being followed or tracked. Once Hal scanned you, Hit Girl was able to play her little game which you aced, Eva. Everyone else tries to take a shot at Hit Girl – no idea why."
Eva looked around and she noticed that the vigilantes had all vanished, including the two dogs.
..._...
Stephanie led Ruth and Eva over to an elevator which appeared dilapidated from the outside, but in perfect condition and far too clean for the warehouse on the inside.
The two girls were still very unsure of their surroundings, fearing the unknown as they watched Stephanie press a simple button labelled 'F'. In fact, it was the only button available other than the button at the top labelled 'D' which was currently lit. The elevator descended quickly before stopping just as quickly. It was difficult to gauge how far they had descended but as they followed Stephanie out of the elevator, they were amazed to find themselves in a smartly lit corridor with a concrete floor painted red and concrete walls painted grey. After about fifty yards, their path ahead was blocked by a steel and glass barricade. The glass was an inch thick and obviously armoured. The steel structure supported the glass sections, one of which moved towards them and then to one side allowing them to pass inside what was obviously a kill zone as their route forward was off to the right and blocked by a similar inwardly opening glass section. Once the first door had closed, Stephanie placed her hand on a glass pad jutting out from the wall beside the opposite door. The pad blinked green and then the glass section ahead of them moved inwards before it then slid out of the way. Ahead of them was a short corridor ending in a very solid-looking steel blast door.
"Woah! What the fuck is this place?" Eva asked, fear creeping into her voice.
"It's all okay; I promise," Stephanie offered reassuringly.
"I trust you, Steph," Ruth said as she nodded at Eva.
Eva trusted Ruth with her life, so she went along with whatever it was, wherever they were.
..._...
To say that the two girls were gobsmacked just did not cover it.
For a moment, Eva thought that she was back in an Urban Predator facility, but she knew that that was not true, that it was not possible, but... Every other person they saw was a Predator. There on a ginormous mat which had to be over twenty metres to a side stretched before them as they stood on a two-metre walkway which was raised up about a metre above the mat and went all around. On the mat were familiar faces: Sarah Hampton, Marc Ryan, Shannon Millar, Kendra Rhys, the Lau sisters, Willow Hartman, Hunter Graves, and others, but also many they did not recognise. Ages varied from adult to pretty young, Eva considered.
"What the fuck?" Eva asked, totally lost for words.
"What in hell's name are you involved in now, Steph?" Ruth demanded to know. "Are we safe?"
Stephanie laughed.
"You are in the safest facility in the city, if not the state," she grinned.
"What is this place?"
"This is Training Facility Echo," Stephanie advised the two girls.
It was then that both girls noticed the clothing worn by those sparring on the giant mat. All wore dark blue shorts and T-shirts which were marked with the Fusion symbol – they were all vigilantes. They were quite literally in the heart of the beast. If that were so, then the queen...
"Welcome to my safehouse," a voice said, and the two girls turned to face the elevator as four people emerged.
All were dressed alike in dark grey uniforms and beneath the Fusion logo on the right chest were some awfully familiar names: Shadow, Jackal, Kick-Ass, and Hit Girl. However, what unnerved Eva and Ruth more was that none wore masks – did that mean...
"No, Eva, we are not going to kill you – but I am hoping that I can trust you both with our secrets," Hit Girl said.
Eva immediately recognised the woman who had brought them home and she quickly understood why those green eyes had been so dark. It explained so much, in fact.
"Stephanie, for all her faults, is trustworthy and while some of her decisions can be seen in hindsight as being somewhat disastrous, if she says I'm safe, then I will go along with whatever she has going on here," Ruth said.
"Nice speech," Mindy said. "You're an American but you sound so much like Electra."
"That's what I get for spending my time around Brits!" Ruth said sourly. "You have my word, Hit Girl."
Eva laughed.
"You have mine too, Hit Girl, on one condition..."
"And what might that be, Eva?" Hit Girl asked somewhat dangerously.
"How do I get one of those awesome T-shirts?" Eva asked.
"You stop pissing me off for a start," Hit Girl growled ominously, but then she grinned. "Eva, you have more than proved that you can fight, and you have proved that you can integrate into the real world – the Admiral has only good things to say about you, and from what I understand from Harmon Rabb, that rusty derelict rarely has anything nice to say about anybody!"
"I'm working on his manner towards other human beings," Eva grinned.
"Stephanie, go introduce Eva and Ruth to the others, although I know some will already know them both."
Hit Girl watched as Eva and Ruth were all but dragged by Stephanie down to the mat where the sparring stopped, and everyone gathered around the newcomers.
..._...
One person was not all that amused as she watched the welcome.
Stephanie reminded Saoirse of Adria the Orici from Stargate, with her Priors (her crew), spreading The Religion of Psyche. Saoirse was convinced that one day Psyche would overthrow Hit Girl and take over Fusion, turning the vigilante organisation into her own religion which she would then use to take over the world using her brainwashed followers.
"It's sickening, ain't it?" Abigail said from beside Saoirse.
"You could say that, yes," Saoirse agreed.
"It's creepy," Megan threw in.
"I can't believe everyone fawns over her," Abigail said, her tone full of disgust.
"She is the chosen one, you know," Saoirse reminded the other two girls.
"I was here first!" Megan scowled before she relented. "But Stephanie needed a family, and can you think of anybody else around here with the same mental problems as Stephanie?"
"You?" Abigail deadpanned.
"Okay, I have a wide variety of mental problems, but I could not be a mother to anybody. Mindy and Stephanie have something really special between them and while it panders to Stephanie's ego, I could not think of a better pairing.
"Fuck!" Saoirse growled. "I hate to say it, but I have to agree, and despite the fact I tried to kill her on a number of occasions, I would not be here without her."
"Me too," Abigail sighed. "Sometimes I just want to hate her for what she did to me and for just being her, but..."
"I know, guys – I felt pushed out when she first came along as I was Mindy's favourite, I suppose – or at least, I saw it that way. But Stephanie is my big sister and family, so I love her, and she is also my best friend who I know I can talk to about anything."
"Except for what you and Curtis get up to," Abigail teased.
"Except for what me and Curtis get up to," a red-faced Megan confirmed. "Although, nobody really seems that interested in me and Curtis fucking."
"I wouldn't say that," Saoirse grinned. "Still using the kitty collar, or have you moved onto leather and whips?"
Abigail burst out laughing as Megan seemed to wilt and her face looked like she had suffered from some catastrophic sunburn.
..._...
Eva and Ruth had been mobbed by former friends and new friends alike.
For Eva, she had gone through the usual surprise at seeing so many that she thought she might never see again. Yes, she knew that there were over fifty surviving Predators but to actually see them in the flesh and see that they were happy and having fun, was something vastly different. Learning that her former colleagues were now active vigilantes working for the one person they were being trained to both emulate and destroy, was a little surprising, but to be honest, not very much was surprising her anymore. However, what was surprising Eva was her desire to be with her former colleagues and the desire to become a Fusion vigilante.
Since their return, just four weeks earlier, the pair of them had not even started school – that would be come that Monday, and they discovered that some of their colleagues would also be there, although Eva and Ruth would be attending different schools. Which was probably a good thing as Eva started to get a little creeped out about the whole Ruth-Stephanie relationship which had been blossoming ever since their return. Mind you, Eva was keen to create a relationship between herself and Hunter Graves; she had known the boy for a matter of days in Toulouse, but that had been a year before. In the meantime, though, she was setting herself a target of getting into Fusion and putting her skills to good use – taking down those pirates had felt good and knowing how their reputations had spread like wildfire throughout the fleet had felt really good.
She wanted that awesome feeling of doing something good to continue – not to mention that the killing was also fun – and that would be covered by her becoming a famous vigilante.
Several days later...
Wednesday, April 26th, 2017
Glenview
Mindy grinned at her eldest daughter who, it seemed, could not sleep.
"Hi, Mum."
Stephanie looked up at Mindy, but Mindy just stood in the doorway, smiling down at her.
"Kids, I'd like you to meet Steph.
Steph is going to be staying with us for a while.
Please make her feel welcome."
"Sorry, I was just thinking back to when you first set foot in this house. You were just nine-years-old; a little girl who was recovering from her wounds and struggling with her past."
Stephanie grinned.
"It was one of the best days of my life, however, meeting Anne-Marie still gives me nightmares."
"That's not funny!"
"What have you been told about eavesdropping?" Mindy asked her other daughter.
"Don't make a noise and give yourself away?" Anne-Marie tried.
"Correct!" Mindy laughed as Anne-Marie jumped up onto the bed and she cuddled into Stephanie.
Stephanie rolled her eyes in mock annoyance at the wriggling nine-year-old, but Mindy knew differently – Stephanie loved Anne-Marie and the pair would quite literally kill to protect one another. In fact, Stephanie had killed to protect Anne-Marie on one dark night in the Caribbean.
"Having you come live with us was really special," Anne-Marie said. "Then the best thing happened that Christmas."
Stephanie could remember back to her first Christmas with the Lizewski family; it was a day she would never ever forget. It was the day when Anne-Marie had asked a question which had meant so much to Stephanie: 'Steph, would you be our big sister?' Stephanie could remember the happiness and lots of tears as she was almost hugged to death.
"I can't believe that I've lived long enough to make it to my eleventh birthday," Stephanie grinned.
"I can't believe it either!" Anne-Marie exclaimed. "I mean, between SD, the sniper, SD a second time, falling off the Willis Tower, SD a third time, Sunset Phoenix, the bomb – not to mention Mindy's driving – honestly, I'm surprised you even made it to ten-years-old."
Stephanie cringed for a moment before she laughed.
"She has a point, Steph," Mindy conceded with a scowl at her youngest daughter.
"I love you guys," Stephanie said meaningfully.
"Can we join in?"
"Why the hell not?" Mindy said as Jamie and Danny jumped onto the bed and each gave Stephanie a big hug.
Keen to see what was going on, Horatio slipped out from under the bed and he jumped up beside Stephanie before he curled up and started to purr. Not to be outdone, Razor and Kiara strolled in and they sat on the floor beside the bed, their tongues hanging out to add to their otherwise vacantly happy expressions.
"Looks like the gangs all here," Dave commented as he and Sophia entered the bedroom to complete the family unit.
Stephanie could feel the tears which began to stream down her cheeks unbidden, and she had no idea why. She felt like she was the luckiest bitch on the planet to have such an amazingly wonderful – but fucking strange – family.
"Thank you, all of you," Stephanie said.
Razor jumped up with a bark and he gave his owner a big sloppy lick as he flopped down across Stephanie's legs.