Thursday, April 27th, 2017
Glenview
Stephanie awoke that morning and went about her normal morning tasks.
It was only in the shower that it struck her like a haymaker punch – she had made it! She was eleven years old! Damn! She had gone to bed the previous night feeling really happy about everything. She had a family who loved her and a family she loved – even Anne-Marie! Her life had meaning, and she had a future – at least, she hoped she had a future. Her little sister had been right about several things: she had been through the proverbial ringer and she had endured a lot of threats to her life, some of which had come awfully close to ending her life. However, one big threat to her life which had accounted for three of the attempts on her life had been one incredibly special person who had become a key part of Stephanie's life and her ability to remain a functioning member of society.
Once Stephanie was dressed, she picked up her cell phone and hit a speed dial.
Glen Oak Drive
That incredibly special person was just as amazed that she was still alive.
Saoirse Hella sat up in her bed as she contemplated turning sixteen. Then her cell rang, and she grinned when she saw who it was.
"Happy Birthday, Saoirse!" Stephanie almost yelled down the phone.
"Morning, Steph – Happy Birthday!" Saoirse said. "Morgan's had me up for a whole fucking hour with her damned antics."
"I had Jamie and Danny walking me up with Razor – sucks! How do ya feel being sixteen?"
"Surprised."
"Me too – for you and for me."
"Well, I did kinda try to stop you reaching your tenth birthday, didn't I?"
"Yes, but you failed, and now you're stuck with me!"
"Don't fucking remind me," Saoirse laughed. "Been one hell of a year, right?"
"Yes, it has," Stephanie admitted. "My last birthday was on the road as Mindy tore up Europe taking down Urban Predator."
"Yeah, that was my first outing."
"We brought it down together SD."
"Yes, we did, and we freed so many."
"Makes all the suffering worthwhile, I suppose," Stephanie admitted.
"Even me trying to kill you?"
"That just added some entertainment."
"You're such a fucking nut job!"
"I suppose I am."
"Hold on, bird-girl is calling!" Saoirse growled.
"Take it easy."
"Stay alive, Steph."
"I'll try."
Glenview
Stephanie headed downstairs and into the kitchen.
Apart from the usual drooling mutts and the obnoxious kitty, Stephanie found her entire family waiting for her.
"Congratulations for staying alive, eleven whole years!" Dave chuckled.
"It's a bit of a surprise, to be honest," Stephanie admitted.
"I can believe that, Steph," Mindy said with a grin as she gave her eldest daughter a hug.
"Hey!" Jamie growled as he was pushed out of the way by Anne-Marie.
"I'm going first!" Anne-Marie declared as she glared up at her big brother and then handed her big sister a present and a card. "Happy Birthday, Steph."
"Thanks, Anne-Marie," Stephanie said, slightly embarrassed by all the attention.
"Open it, already!" Anne-Marie said excitedly.
Stephanie grinned at the excited nine-year-old. The package was oblong, not enormous, but there was some weight to it.
"I picked it out just for you," Anne-Marie said as she watched Stephanie's – in her mind, painfully slow – unwrapping.
Actually, Stephanie was being a bitch and taking her own sweet time over the unwrapping which Mindy had noticed and she frowned at Anne-Mari jumping up and down full of excitement. Stephanie could also see that Jamie and Danny were bobbing up and down excitedly as they held their own gifts. Stephanie pulled off the thick navy-blue wrapping paper with the red bow to reveal a plain cardboard box. With a quizzical look at the now decidedly over-eager Anne-Marie who might have been about to wee herself, Stephanie eased off the lid and then studied what was laid inside the cardboard box, wrapped in tissue paper for protection.
It was a one-inch thick circular wooden segment cut from a disc of what appeared to be lightly varnished British Oak. To be exact, it was a third of a circle: 120-degrees. The apex towards the centre was cut out to a depth of about a quarter of an inch. Running around the outer edge of the segment was the name Anne-Marie. Overall, the full disc was probably about a foot in diameter. Stephanie figured, correctly, that the remaining two sections were held by Danny and Jamie. Danny stepped forwards with an identically wrapped present. He too was put through the same torture which was not easy on Stephanie as she was extremely keen to know what she was assembling. On revealing an identical cardboard box, she also encountered an identical segment of lightly varnished British Oak only the name around the edge said Danny and the section fitted neatly to the left edge of Anne-Marie's segment, clicking into place. As Danny stepped back, Jamie stepped forward, and Stephanie could see that the boy was a little shy as he handed his big sister a larger present which was also a lot heavier the previous pair. Jamie grinned through his shyness and Stephanie could see the boy's concern and expectation etched in his expression.
Swiftly, Stephanie pulled off the wrapping paper and she found a slightly larger cardboard box. However, on opening the box, she revealed what she had expected: the final segment which clicked into place using the same embedded metal clips as the other segments and read Jamie around the edge. But then she noticed that there was something else in the cardboard box and she pulled out something heavy and circular – about six-inches in diameter which matched the countersunk space in the very centre of the one-foot diameter circle of lightly varnished British Oak. With shaking hands, she unwrapped the object, noticing the three pairs of eyes which watched her every move. Then the tissue paper was clear, and Stephanie was left holding a quarter-inch thick disc of solid silver weighing in at 1,200-grams which had a market value that month of almost eight-hundred dollars. Stephanie clipped the silver disc into place where it was held tightly by discrete metal clips made from aluminium.
Then Stephanie read the inscription cast into the silver disc at the centre of the completed plaque and she simply burst into tears.
Stephanie
Summer
Lizewski
Our Big Sister
'Alive, by the Grace of God
and the Love of her Family'
Never Alone
Dave stepped forward and he took the plaque from Stephanie as all four siblings hugged.
That evening...
Training Centre Echo
Level Two: Recreational & Briefing Space
Everyone had turned out looking smart.
Everybody was on their absolute best behaviour – what that meant for Predators and vigilantes was unknown. As a result, the adults had amassed a truly shocking collection of over thirty Taser's which were strategically stashed around the safehouse. Almost the very first to arrive had been a very wide-eyed Michael Boone with his two charges: Ruth and Eva. Naturally, Ruth had almost flattened Stephanie while Eva had simply said 'Happy Birthday' before heading off to see Saoirse, leaving Ruth and Stephanie to 'make out' as she put it.
"Welcome, Mike," Mindy said.
"This place is truly awesome, Mindy."
"It is."
"Happy Birthday, Stephanie," Michael said.
"Thanks, Mike!"
Stephanie had then squealed and bolted as...
"Tommy's here!" Jamie announced.
"So is Abigail," Anne-Marie grinned as Jamie grinned enormously.
Brad ignored Abigail's own squeal of joy as he looked around for Lauren but then pouted as he saw that she had not yet arrived.
"There's some food over there, Brad," Mindy laughed.
"He's been unbearable for the past two hours," Rachel Murphy grinned as she and Paul walked over.
"Well, if they're kissin', then they ain't causing trouble," Mindy pointed out.
"There's some truth in that," Paul Murphy chuckled. "Hi, guys!"
"Where's the birthday girl?" Joshua asked as Chloe gave Mindy a hug and Becky bolted to see what trouble she could cause the moment she had spied Anne-Marie.
The youngster had just turned nine the day before and Chloe was recovering from the longest day of her life.
"I was never that bad when I turned nine," Chloe whined. "Kids are exhausting!"
"Tell me about it," Mindy scowled before she chuckled. "But we would not swap 'em for the whole sodding world."
"Too right," Rachel agreed as Chloe nodded somewhat reluctantly.
"Kids are a menace!" a loud voice declared.
"Hello, Marcus," Mindy grinned. "Hi, Paige."
"Ah, there she is!" Joshua said and he strode off to where he could see Tommy and a mass of blonde hair which he assumed was attached to the birthday girl.
Megan, though, was quicker and she shot past with Curtis in tow.
..._...
Kendra was all smiles as she stepped out of the elevator and into the capacious space which was getting crowded.
The young girl had just one week to go before she turned eleven – and her big sister Willow had not been allowed to forget it! In fact, Willow and Rachel were both getting annoyed with their younger kin, who seemed to think that annoying their sisters was their main calling in life. Willow and Rachel both headed to where Sarah stood with Kelly. The pair were watching Shannon whose tonsils were being inspected by Marc's tongue while his hands checked out every curve Shannon's body possessed, all while Leo Graves and Iain Millar made crude comments about what they were observing. Part of the show was stolen by Megan and Curtis who were doing their best to imitate the older members; however, Danny was annoyed to find that his two elder siblings were both engaged in some remarkably disgusting behaviour.
"Find anything up there?" Anne-Marie teased as she strolled past Tommy who had his left hand up Stephanie's top. "You will be the first."
Stephanie giggled as she kissed Tommy all the harder.
..._...
Eventually, Stephanie decided that trying to outdo her brother and Abigail was superseded by her curiosity towards a shrouded object which was being pushed into the space from the elevator by Marty and Patrick.
"Can I have my boob back?" she asked Tommy who reluctantly slid his left hand out from under Stephanie's blouse.
Stephanie got up off the boy's lap and she stepped closer to the object, leaving Tommy to adjust his trousers. Others were gathering as curiosity overcame prudence, including Saoirse and Morgan.
"Can I have everybody's attention, please!" Dave called out. "I think now is as good a time as any to embarrass the two birthday girls."
Saoirse scowled as she tried to blend into the crowd, but Morgan stopped her and pushed her younger sister towards a resigned Stephanie.
"While I am not one for favouritism," Mindy said. "I also have no desire to reward people for trying to kill my eldest daughter – I'd never stop!"
"So not funny," Stephanie muttered sourly.
"While Saoirse received her large present at home from her parents, Mindy and I decided now would be a good moment – especially as this one is classified," Dave said. "Steph, would you?"
"Is it safe?" Stephanie asked.
"Mindy was not involved," Dave reassured the girl.
"Cool!" Stephanie grinned as she pulled off the black cloth which covered...
Stephanie's mouth dropped open as she laid eyes on the Ducati Monster 821 Dark for the very first time. The machine was almost identical to that ridden by Wildcat except for the dark royal blue gloss fuel tank and the gold symbol denoting the Greek letter 'psi' which was painted on either side of the tank. The tyres were non-standard and dual-purpose.
"Bloody awesome!" Abigail announced as she ran her eyes over the machine.
"Thank you," Stephanie managed to say as she gave Dave a hug.
"It's time you had a grown-up motorcycle," Mindy said.
"Not bad, Steph!" Saoirse commented.
Stephanie grinned broadly.
..._...
Then came Saoirse's turn.
Admittedly, they were a little smaller than the Ducati, but they were exactly what the sixteen-year-old girl wanted. They were a combined gift from Mindy and Stephanie. The matched pair of Sig Sauer P320 X Carry pistols in nine-millimetre were matte black and fitted with custom grips and matching accessories which included a flashlight, laser sight, and a suppressor for each pistol.
"She has pretty much hinted at the damn things for a full six months!" Stephanie laughed.
"Thanks, Mindy," Saoirse said. "You too, Steph."
"Here's some empty magazines," Mindy said, handing Saoirse a cardboard box as she glowered at Stephanie. "Saves Stephanie from routing through the boxes in my armoury."
Stephanie grinned uneasily but was rescued by Paige who stepped out of the crowd with a package for the new eleven-year-old who eagerly took the package and began to rip open the thick red paper. Inside was an item of clothing which intrigued Stephanie and she dropped the wrapping paper so she could get a better look at the item. The dark royal blue knee-length coat was lightweight, and Kevlar lined. It was sleeveless and trimmed in a deep royal red. Stephanie pulled the coat on over the top of her blouse and knee-length skirt which looked strange but gave the girl and everyone watching the general idea. The coat felt good and would replace her cape, providing extra protection and a more grown up look for Psyche. It had been Paige's idea and Mindy had thought it a great idea in the general evolution of Psyche into a tweenaged girl.
As Stephanie checked out the coat, Marcus was grinning in his evil manner which Mindy knew from bitter experience meant that the old man was up to something. Indeed, he strode up to his granddaughter and he handed her a small wrapped present which the girl dutifully ripped open to reveal a small leather pouch. Stephanie opened the pouch and tipped out the contents into her hand. She then studied the steel handcuffs for a few moments before she looked up at Marcus with a quizzical expression.
"Megan seems to enjoy using them, so I thought you might like a pair of your own for Tommy."
"You evil old man!" Mindy exclaimed as Megan burst out laughing.
Stephanie had never felt so embarrassed as laughter echoed around the safehouse.
..._...
Over in one corner, three boys were studying the throng of youth.
It was not often that they visited Mindy's subterranean fun houses, considering that only one of them was actually a member of Fusion and the three of them spent most of their time above ground with the two girls who stood a short distance away talking with Chloe. Michael 'Mike' Taylor and Ethan Anderson were Joshua's best friends and senior instructors at D-JAK along with Chloe's former flame, Kyle Andrews. While Kyle had moved on and was dating Chloe's best friend Avery Lee. As for Riley Scott, she was currently 'between men' as she put it. The two girls were also senior instructors at D-JAK and cleared into Fusion.
"Ethan, your girlfriend is here," Michael grinned.
Ethan turned to find two girls moving towards him. "Yours too, Mike."
Saoirse and Morgan stopped before their respective men. Both girls then turned and lifted their T-shirts to reveal identical tattoos on the left side of their lower backs.
"I thought you didn't like getting tats, Morgan?" Kyle commented.
"They hurt, but it was for my little sister," Morgan admitted.
"It was her idea," Saoirse informed the boys. "But I thought it was a nice idea, so..."
"What are they?" Michael asked.
"They are Celtic knots," Saoirse stated. "Means we are sisters."
"You two are Celtic nuts, if you ask me!" Avery commented as she peered over at the tattoos.
"Nobody was asking you, Scout!" Saoirse growled.
"Girls!" Chloe admonished. "Play nice."
"Oh, I'm not playing nice," Saoirse said as she kissed Ethan. "I'm playing dirty, so very dirty!"
Ethan grinned as he was dragged off towards the couches.
"She's not having all the fucking fun!" Morgan said as she dragged a not-very-reluctant Michael off after her sister.
"Kyle?" Avery said pointedly.
"Come on, hussy!" Kyle grinned as he swept a giggling Avery off her feet and carried her off.
"Joshua!" Chloe called out.
"Yes, my sexy sex goddess."
"Gross!" Becky pointed out as she bolted past with Billy and Danny.
"I need a good going over," Chloe suggested.
"I can sort something out there," Joshua grinned.
"Well?"
Joshua wrapped Chloe in a bear hug, and he carried her off into a distant corner of the space.
..._...
Willow barely looked up as Saoirse and Ethan flopped down onto the couch beside her and her boyfriend.
Joel had felt very self-conscious at first as Willow had dragged him down beside her in the semi-darkness which was the 'sex corner'. It was rather a surprise – a pleasant surprise, but still a surprise – as Willow tended to be a little more reserved, both in private and in public, but maybe she just needed some attention, Joel thought. Not that he was complaining; Willow had a lovely pair of breasts which his left hand was currently fondling. The nipples were hard beneath his fingertips and Willow groaned as they kissed. His right hand was somewhere warm and decidedly moist, albeit a little hairy. Willow had once been an exhibitionist but that had stopped the day that she and Joel had been forced to publicly fuck on stage. The humiliation had been too much, and the thirteen-year-old girl had never been the same again – maybe she was softening, unlike his...
Willow just wanted attention and she so wanted Joel's attention, only she did not feel ready – or was there more to it. She was scared that she might lose him, but she was also scared of drawing him close. Joel loved to visit, and he got on well with Kendra – most of the time at least. Kendra was an enigma who occupied most of Willow's time and that did not leave much time for Joel. Twice Joel had spent the night but only during the second night had they actually had full on sex which had not gone all that well as Willow had suffered some nasty flashbacks to a jeering crowd as she had failed to perform within the crowd's eager expectations. Kendra had found her sister sobbing in the living room the following morning after Joel had left but Willow had refused to explain what had gone on.
Needless to say, Willow was happy to just kiss and be fondled, all while she fondled Joel.
..._...
Before things got out of hand and most of the older girls were impregnated, Paige and Taylor made themselves unpopular by rounding up the lovebirds and directing everyone to where there were two enormous birthday cakes arranged on wheeled trolleys.
The one on the left was circular and covered in royal blue icing with a two-inch royal red band around the circumference. Atop the two-foot diameter cake was a three-dimensional rendition of the gold symbol denoting Psyche. Either side of the gold symbol which represented the Greek letter 'psi' a real Sai was embedded. Psyche instantly recognised them as being her very own weapons. As for the square cake on the right, that was a dark brown with several two-dimensional edible foxes creeping along each two-foot side. Atop the cake, amidst the chocolate icing, a curling representation of a fox tail rose up, to a white tip a good twelve inches above the cake. Each cake was also festooned with candles – eleven for Stephanie and sixteen for Saoirse – which burned brightly.
"You both know what to do, I expect," Paige said to the grinning pair.
Stephanie blew them all out in one go, making a wish as she did so, even as Saoirse did exactly the same thing, and everyone around them cheered.
Later that evening...
Glenview
Stephanie Lizewski was the happiest girl on the planet at that very moment (except maybe for Saoirse Hella).
Her world was amazing, and it seemed to have calmed down some. No more were people trying to kill her or her family. No more was she suffering now that the likes of FEAR and Sunset Phoenix were gone. Her hope of rescuing every living Predator out there was working and the total stood at fifty-three – an amazing number which paled against the number of those known to have been slaughtered and murdered over the years. She had friends – real friends – and she felt loved. Okay, sometimes she rubbed people up the wrong way, but that was just her character, and nobody really minded. As she studied the list of recovered Predators, several jumped out at her. Number eighteen: Jamie – her very own brother; that had been amazing. Number nineteen: Abigail – it was a meeting from hell, but they had both moved on.
"You okay, sport?"
Stephanie looked up into the reassuring eyes of Dave.
"Yes, I'm good – just putting my thoughts in order. I'm glad all the crap is over, and we can get back to being a family. We have a city to protect, after all."
"Yep, we do," Dave confirmed.
"I'm looking forward to this summer," Stephanie said. "We can relax and have fun as a family and with our friends. No hassle. No bullshit. Maybe we can hunt down some more Predators."
"That does sound good," Dave commented. "My old bones need a rest."
"From Mindy pounding on them?" Stephanie grinned.
"She does like using me as a punchbag – always has."
"I do not!" Mindy exclaimed somewhat indignantly from the door.
"You do, Mum."
"I do it out of love for my husband."
Dave chuckled as he pulled his wife into a hug.
"Stephanie says we have an easy time ahead of us," Dave said.
"Sounds good – I could do with a rest; these old bones are sore," Mindy said.
Stephanie laughed.
"I fancy a holiday," Mindy said. "Why don't we look into going somewhere hot?"
"Then Steph can wear a bikini for Tommy," Anne-Marie interjected with a broad grin. "Well, the bottoms at least!"
"Can I hurt her – just a little?" Stephanie begged.
"Not at this time of night," Dave said.
"Is Steph going to hurt Anne-Marie?" Jamie asked as the two boys appeared, his voice full of hope.
"No!" Anne-Marie declared.
"Come on, little hooligans," Mindy said. "The princess needs her beauty sleep."
"Princess!" Anne-Marie threw over her shoulder.
Stephanie stuck out her tongue at her little sister, an act which was promptly returned.
"Night, sis – glad you made it to eleven," Jamie said.
"I'm glad you were here to celebrate it with me," Steph said as she gave her brother a rare hug.
"Me too," Jamie said with a smile as he gave his big sister a kiss on the cheek. "Love you."
"Love you, too, Jamie."
"I am very happy that you are still alive," Danny said. "Please, never leave me with Anne-Marie – she's a nightmare!"
"I heard that!"
Stephanie laughed.
"I couldn't want a better family, Danny – thanks for the being there for me."
"Always, Steph."
As the boys left the room, heading for their own bedrooms, Dave looked down at his daughter.
"Happy Birthday, Steph. Sleep tight."
"Night Dad.
"Sleep tight," Mindy said as she pulled the door closed behind her.
Stephanie lay back on her pillows and she wondered if maybe she had been tempting fate, what with believing all the bad was behind her. Mindy laughed to herself as even her perverse mind could not consider anything worse that what she had already endured. 'Oh, well,' she thought, 'if fate has been tempted, then they would find out on the 'morrow what disasters lay before them.'
Only, Stephanie did not really believe in fate, so she simply turned over in her bed and she reached for the light switch before she closed her eyes.
Author's Note: This is where we leave Forsaken, however, the storyline is picked up the following morning in Chapter 1: Fusion One of my story: Vigilante Fallout.