Absinthe 2: The Absinthe Of Malice free porn video

Absinthe 2: The Absinthe of Malice By Morpheus The flight from Seattle to Boston had been extremely long and uncomfortable, even with the two hour delay in Chicago where I got to stretch my legs and change flights. My book had given me something to do during the countless hours in the air, though admittedly, Collin had been my largest savior from boredom. The two of us had ended up talking for over half the flight, and by the time we finally landed, I was even starting to consider him as a friend. "And then, Adam goes and scrambles up this wall like he was a damn squirrel or something," Collin said as we got off the plane, still in the middle of telling me about how I'd escaped him the last time he'd actually chased after me. "I've never seen anyone move like that, at least not until I saw the way you were running from those guys..." "It's called free running," I told Collin with a faint smirk. "It's all about being able to move around your environment as fast and efficiently as possible." "It was like something out of an action movie," Collin said with a sigh. "I mean, are you sure that moving like that isn't part of your powers?" "Pretty sure," I responded. "I learned to run like that well before I manifested." "And Adam is a baseline," Collin mused to himself. Then he paused to give me a curious look. "Your brother is a baseline, isn't he?" I didn't bother answering Collin since I didn't want to lie to him, but I didn't want to tell him that I actually was Adam either. Instead I just smiled and let him stew in the question that was sure to annoy him for awhile. "I guess I'm probably lucky that Mike and I couldn't catch him," Collin finally said with a wry smile. "I mean, the one time I did get your brother to fight, he kicked my ass before I even threw one punch." He shook his head at that and muttered, "Who knew the runt had it in him?" "I did," I responded in my best innocent tone. Then I added, "Adam and I learned to fight from the same guy. We just...prefer not to." At that moment, something made me look up and I saw a black woman in a black suit coming straight towards us. As she got close, she suddenly held out a badge and announced, "I'm Grace Winslow of the MCO." We stopped at that and Collin's eyes went wide with a look of fear. I kept my expression as calm as possible and said, "Yes?" "Are you Gwen Wylann and Collin Reynolds?" she asked, giving me a look that suggested she was already pretty sure of my identity. When I nodded, she smiled and told me, "Your father asked me to come pick you up from the airport." "What?" Collin asked, looking vaguely confused. "Thank you," I told Grace with a faint smile of my own. "But I kind of need..." "Of course," she responded with a chuckle. "Miles told me that you'd need a pass phrase in case someone approached you like this. The phrase he gave me is Gozer lost the squirrel." I couldn't resist grinning at that, especially since I was the one who'd given Dad that pass phrase to use. "Dad told me that he'd have someone pick me up at the airport, but he never said who." "I'm here to drive you both the rest of the way to Whateley," Grace explained pleasantly. "Miles and I used to work together, so he asked me to pick you up and keep an eye out for you." As we began walking to baggage claim, with a stunned Collin following behind, she continued, "One of the conditions for the program you are in, Gwen, is that you will have to put some hours in at the Berlin field office, though only once or twice a month. There are a couple agents there who are...shall we say...distrustful of mutants, but I'm the one you'll be reporting to." Collin gave Grace a suspicious look, then commented, "I didn't think the MCO let mutants join." "There aren't many," Grace admitted, giving Collin a curious look. "The program Gwen is part of was created to bring a greater mutant presence to the MCO, partly to increase trust with the mutant community, and partly to help curb some of the more extremist elements of our own organization. Needless to say, there are those who disapprove of the program and may try to discredit it." Though Grace didn't say anything specific, the message was there. Don't trust everyone within the MCO. Dad had also made that point quite clear with all the trouble he'd gone through to protect me from some of his own people. I was getting the feeling that there was a quiet civil war going on within the MCO itself, something that I never would have guessed before all this. Once Collin and I had our luggage, we went out to the parking garage where Grace was parked. As soon as we were there, I opened my pet carrier and released my two faeries, both of whom immediately began flying around overhead. Grace watched the faeries in silence, though she clearly had an expression of fascination. "Sorry little one," I said, looking at the oldest of the faeries, who was also full of glamour energy. I willed her to fly away from us and then self-destruct, safely releasing the glamour energy in the process, well away from where anyone would get caught in it. Then I snapped my fingers and released enough energy to create two new faeries. "Much better." "That is an interesting power," Collin stated with a nod of approval. "Thanks," I responded, blushing slightly. At first, the drive was fairly quiet, especially since Collin was nervous in Grace's presence. It was strange since he'd always seemed so tough and confident back in school, but I guess he was pretty wary of the MCO. Once he realized that this wasn't some kind of trap, he began to relax. "I know the MCO has a rather unpleasant reputation," Grace said, speaking more to Collin who was sitting in the back seat than me. "And unfortunately, a lot of that reputation was well earned. Our purpose is to work with local law enforcement, including super groups, in order to deal with mutant criminals and ones who are a threat to public safety. The problem is that there are too many who join with the assumption that all mutants are dangerous threats. They make it difficult for the rest of us to do our jobs." "I can imagine," I said, having seen a bit of that from my short time with the MCO. There were a lot of people in the Seattle office who were professionals who didn't seem to have anything against mutants, but there were also those who had definitely been hostile. "I spent a year working as a liaison for a team called the Liberty League," Grace said with a sigh. "Then a few weeks ago, one agent let a personal issue ruin it all." "A personal issue?" I asked curiously. Grace let out a sigh at that. "When he was a teenager, a mutant killed his sister in front of him. I don't know if it was intentional or an accident, only that it left him with a sever dislike of mutants. He joined the MCO to fight 'the mutant threat'." "Honestly," Collin said almost apologetically, "I kind of thought that was how everyone in the MCO was." "And that is one of the problems we face," Grace responded with a scowl. "Owens became obsessed with a couple suspects who kept slipping away from him and led an entire assault team after them. When he found that the Liberty League had the suspects cornered, he attacked them too. In the end, someone was killed, Owens was arrested for murder, and half the assault team is facing charges. And as a direct result, the Liberty League no longer trusts me, so a whole year of working with them was flushed down the toilet." I thought about what Grace had said as we drove in silence, wondering how any organization could possibly function with people like that in it. That was exactly the kind of thing that gave the MCO a bad reputation among mutants, and why people like Grace and my Dad had to work extra hard just to maintain their credibility. I let out a sigh, wondering what I'd gotten myself into when I'd agreed to work for the MCO. After hearing this, I was even less inclined than before to make a career out of it. But for now, at least I could get then to pay for an expensive private school, and all I'd have to do was occasionally fetch coffee. After spending so many hours in the plane, the last thing I wanted to do was spent another couple hours riding in a car. Still it was far better than having to catch a bus, so I wasn't about to complain about the fact that my butt was starting to get numb. We eventually arrived in the small town of Dunwhich New Hampshire, where we stopped briefly in order to stretch our legs. Then from there, we took a scenic road the rest of the way to Whateley Academy where we finally stopped in front of the large iron gates. "We're here," Grace stated as she parked the car and we got out to check in with security. I stared at the gates nervously, remembering how my hand had burned the last time I'd touched iron bars. I shuddered at that, making a mental note to be very careful not to touch the gate. After a moment, I shook my head and followed Grace and Collin to the security stand. After Grace showed the guard her badge, he gave her a suspicious look than a clearly fake smile before asking, "What can we do for the MCO today?" "I'm just here to drop off two new students," Grace told him in a professional tone. "Gwendolynn Wylann and Collin Reynolds." "Here they are on my list," the guard responded, giving me and Collin curious looks, probably wondering why we had the MCO dropping us off. "If you'll wait here a few minutes, I'll contact the Dean of Students..." While we waited, Grace handed me a business card with her name and number on it. "Once you get situated and settled in, give me a call so we can schedule your visit to the office. Just make sure you call in the next couple days." I nodded at that, knowing that I'd really be reporting back to Dad and the Seattle field office, but that Grace would effectively be my onsite boss and reporting official. The idea of actually having a job of any sort was still kind of weird to me. I'd always thought my first job would be something like flipping burgers or bagging groceries, not working for the MCO. At least they weren't really expecting much of me. Eventually two students arrived, both wearing uniforms. One was a beautiful blonde girl while the other was a tall and muscular black guy, both of whom had the too 'perfect' look that practically announced they were exemplars. Collin was quite noticeably giving the blonde the once over, which annoyed me just a little for some reason. "Hello," the blonde announced with a pleasant smile. "I'm Zenith." "Tektonix," the black guy responded with an easy grin. "And in case you're wondering, the name is because I'm a devisor with a specialization in geology and plate tectonics." "He makes earthquake machines," Zenith said flatly. "And earthquake detectors," Tektonix said defensively. "And subterranean borers..." "I'm Absinthe," I said, introducing myself by my codename since that was what they'd both done. Collin followed my example and did the same. "I'm going to get going now," Grace told me with a smile. "And don't forget to call me." Once Grace was gone, Tektonix and Zenith both gave me an odd look before Tektonix asked, "How did you two rate the MCO giving you a ride?" Collin snorted, then said, "Her Dad is with the MCO." Zenith and Tektonix both gave me a look as though I'd grown an extra head. I was just glad Collin hadn't told them that I was working for the MCO too. "Anyway, I'm assuming that you're Gwen Wylann," Zenith said, looking at me. "And you're Collin Reynolds." She looked at Collin. Tektonix just chuckled and said, "It would probably be pretty awkward if it was the other way around." For a moment, Zenith had an odd look on her face and something flashed across her aura that I couldn't quite make out. "Absinthe, you've been assigned to Poe Cottage, so I've been sent to escort you there and show you around. Flytrap, you've been assigned to Emerson, hence Tektonix will be escorting you." "But first," Tektonix stated, "we need to make a stop at Schuster Hall. One of the school's largest contributors put in a requirement that we show every new student his portrait within their first twenty-four hours on campus." I nodded and began picking up my luggage, but the security guard shook his head. "You can leave your bags here. We'll make sure they get to your dorms." With that we began our walking tour around campus while Zenith and Tektonix pointed out various objects of interest. I was just thankful for the chance to finally get out and really stretch my legs after having spent all day sitting down. Tektonix pointed to a large crystal dome that looked incredibly impressive and said, "That's Crystal Hall...the cafeteria." We finally arrived at Schuster Hall, a large building which Zenith and Tektonix immediately led us into. Then we went through an honest to God secret passage and into a large room that looked almost like some kind of super hero museum. There were ray guns, some kind of robot, mannequins with super hero costumes, and even a pile of gold bars. Neither of our guides seemed very interested in the various artifacts, only in a large painting that hung from the wall. It was of a man, who was staring at a really old fashioned painting of another man. "This is Lord Paramount," Zenith stated in a flat tone. I stared at the portrait, immediately recognizing the name of the world famous super villain and dictator. Dad had told me that Whateley Academy was considered neutral grounds, supported by both heroes and villains. I hadn't really considered what that meant until that moment. Once our tour was over, Tektonix told Collin, "Emerson Cottage is this way. Come on, I'll show you to your room and give you the house rules." "I'll see you later," Collin told me with a grin as he followed after Tektonix. Zenith started leading me in a different direction, and once we were alone, she asked, "So, from your body language, I'm guessing you used to be a boy." "What?" I gasped in sudden fear, wondering how she could have possibly known that. "I used to be one too," she admitted with a wry smile. "That's why we're assigned to Poe Cottage. It's where they house the gay, transgendered, and changeling students like us. However this is a secret and you can't share that fact with anyone outside of Poe. Trust me, most of the residents don't want to come out of the closet and would take it VERY personally if you outed them that way." I just stared at Zenith, still trying to absorb what she'd said. "You mean, there is an entire dorm just for...?" "Students with alternate sexualities," Zenith finished with a faint smile. "And those who have changed or are in the process of switching sides in the war of the sexes. Poe is a place where we can be ourselves without being judged. Mutants in general tend to be a bit more open- minded than baselines, but there are still homophobes and others on campus who wouldn't hesitate to make things difficult for us. We prefer to avoid giving them that opportunity, especially since most of us already have enough to deal with as it is." When we reached Poe Cottage, a large brick building, Zenith introduced me to Mrs. Horton, who was the 'house mother'. I'd never heard the term 'house mother' before, but I gathered that it just meant she was the adult in charge of supervising the entire building. I had a feeling that with as large as that building was, she'd have to be a very busy woman. Zenith led me down a hallway to a room and unlocked the door before handing me the key. I opened the door and looked inside, seeing that it had two beds and some furniture, but the only sign that anyone was actually living in there was my luggage, which was piled in the middle of the floor. "You're lucky," Zenith told me as she gestured at the room. "You get a room to yourself, though I wouldn't expect it to last long. Mrs. Horton likes to have changelings room together so we can help each other out, so you and Dana will probably end up rooming." "Okay," I said, not sure what to think. I was actually feeling just a little lost, so I looked to the faeries flying above me and smiled faintly. At least I had some familiar company. They might not be much for conversation but they were great listeners. "Now to introduce you to some of the motley crew of misfits who live around here," Zenith told me, taking me down the hall to a common room where six people were sitting around, doing homework, or just talking. In one corner, a pair of girls were holding hands in a romantic manner while talking. One of them was a very pretty blonde girl who was just below exemplar standards, but the hot looking red head she was with was definitely an exemplar. The girl was tall, athletic looking, and had breasts that were a bit too large for most girls our age. Two boys who also appeared to have romantic interests in each other were on the opposite side of the room. Suddenly one girl jumped up and ran to my nearest faerie, exclaiming, "Oh my God, they are so cute..." She was a cute Asian girl who appeared to be about twelve years old, and she was actually wearing a 'Hello Kitty' T-shirt. Then she turned to stare at me with a look of surprise before asking, "Are these yours?" "Yeah," I responded with a grin, showing off by making a couple more faeries suddenly appear. The Asian girl clapped excitedly. "Everyone," Zenith called out loud enough to get the attention of all the students in the room. "This is Absinthe. Absinthe, this is everyone." "I'm Jade," the Asian girl introduced herself. "Gwen," I responded, having one of my faeries land on her shoulder, much to her obvious delight. "In spite of appearances," Zenith told me with a faint look of amusement, "Jade is a sophomore." I gave the girl a look of surprise, wondering how someone who looked three or four years younger than me could actually be a grade ahead. "Really?" "Watch out for her and her Kimba friends," someone else called out with a laugh. "Last year, they got into more trouble than everyone else in school combined." "It wasn't our fault," Jade protested, sticking her tongue out at the other girl. "Not mostly..." After this, the cute blonde came over and said, "I'm Amanda, but most people around here just call me Jinx." "She's bad luck," one of the boys in the room chimed in. "I'm a probability manipulator," Jinx stated proudly. "And I have full control over my powers..." Jade grinned mischieviously and asked, "Then how come every bathroom in Poe got backed up at the same time?" "That's what happens when you put a power mimic in with a probability mangler," the previous boy added again. "The bad luck gets amplified." The red headed girl blushed brightly and said, "Hey, I haven't copied her powers since then. You know I've learned not to copy someone unless I want to..." That resulted in a round of teasing and joking among the students in the room. I noticed that Zenith had taken the opportunity to excuse herself and leave, probably because she seemed to be a senior, just a little older than everyone else in the room. Once the joking quieted down, the red head held out her hand and said, "I'm Dana. And it's nice to not be the new girl around here anymore..." Then she paused and had an odd look on her face before admitting, "Well, I'm still sort of new to being a girl, but at least not the newest one around here..." "You too?" I asked in surprise. She was so hot looking that I never would have guessed that she used to be a guy. And even from her comment, I probably wouldn't have realized what she meant if Zenith hadn't already told me that I might end up rooming with a changeling named Dana. Just then an athletic looking black girl with amber eyes stepped into the day room, moving with such an easy grace that my eyes were immediately drawn to her. "I came to meet the new girl," she announced with a cheerful grin. Then she spotted one of my faeries and called back down the hallway, "Hey Nikki, your hobgoblins are running loose again..." With that the girl poked my faerie, and suddenly my faerie popped, releasing all the stored up glamour energy in one burst. The girl staggered as she was hit with a full doze of hallucinations, making me groan as this wasn't a great way for me to make a good first impression. But then she shook her head and was suddenly acting fine. "What was that?" she asked, looking surprised. "What are you talking about?" another girl said as she came into the room as well. "I haven't created any hobgoblins in over a month." All I could do was stare at the latest newcomer into the room, who was probably the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen. She had long red hair, almond shaped eyes, pointed ears, and features that were very much like what I saw every morning when I looked into the mirror. A single look was enough to tell me that she was Sidhe. "Oh my God," someone joked. "Another faerie princess..." With my mage sight, I could see her aura, and nearly gasped as it wasn't quite like any aura that I'd seen before now. And there was a lot of magic tied to it...a LOT. Whoever this girl was, I could instantly tell that she had a lot of power. She was even radiating her own glamour, one that was stronger than mine. And if it wasn't for Mrs. Lauriant teaching me how to shield myself from outside magical influence, I was sure I'd be feeling it already. "Hi, I'm Nikki Reilly," she greeted me pleasantly, though she was giving me an odd look as well. "Gwen Wylann," I answered nervously, feeling a chill run down my spine. Something about this girl tickled the back of my memory, making me think I'd seen her before, though I couldn't remember where. Then her aura and body language suddenly shifted and she stared at me with a different expression. There was now something about her that almost seemed...regal. "It can't be," Nikki said with a look of surprise. Nikki's glamour had become stronger and now broke through my defenses. I suddenly felt extremely attracted to her...and wanted to obey and protect her. There was some part of me that even thought about bowing before her. Then I felt a surge of fear and anger as I suddenly realized where I knew her from. Nikki looked a LOT like the elf queen from one of my barely remembered dreams, the one who'd ordered my dream self into exile. "Hey Aung," the black girl demanded. "What's going on?" At that moment, I felt an instant of panic and suddenly the air around me exploded into new faeries. This was the first time since my crash course in magic with Mrs. Lauriant that I'd lost control and created hobgoblins by accident. However I didn't stop right then to consider this mistake as I was rushing out of the common room as fast as I could, getting to my new room and slamming the door behind me. Only then did I collapse to the ground, realizing that my first day at Whateley was a complete and utter disaster. -------------------- I awoke to the sound of girls talking in the hallway, along with what appeared to be a playful shriek. I groaned and sat up in bed, knowing that it was Saturday, and even if it wasn't, I still wouldn't have to go to class. After all, I still had a lot of in-processing to do, not to mention getting a class schedule and uniforms. Last night, Mrs. Horton had given me a list of things I needed to do before classes started again on Monday. I was still debating about whether or not I should get up when someone began pounding on my door. "Hey Abbie, time to get up," a voice called out a moment later. "You'd better hurry and get showered if you want to come to breakfast with us." "Who said I wanted breakfast?" I called back, though my stomach grumbled and told me that it did. "Traitor." After climbing out of bed, I began digging through my luggage for the bath robe that Mom had bought for me. It was green, which seemed to have become 'my' color. As I put my new bathrobe on and gathered up my shower kit, I made a mental note to get everything put away today. When I opened the door a minute later, I was surprised to find Dana still standing there. "About time, Abbie," she said. "I was afraid you were gonna make me late for breakfast." "My name is Gwen," I corrected her. "Not Abbie..." "Abbie," Dana pointed out with a grin. "Short for Absinthe. Now hurry up." Dana was fully dressed and appeared to have already taken her shower, so it looked like she really was just waiting on me. I appreciated that, especially since I'd just arrived yesterday and hadn't really made any friends yet. Still a lot of the other people had been friendly, even after I'd had my little freakout. I carefully looked down the hall, relaxing a little when I saw no signs of Nikki. Yesterday evening, I'd done my best to avoid running into her again, something which was made easier by the fact that she was a sophomore and lived on the floor above my own. However we lived in the same building, so I wouldn't be able to avoid her forever, though that had never stopped me from trying to avoid a confrontation before. As Doug once told me, sometimes if you're able to delay a fight long enough, the problem would solve itself. Of course he'd also said that sometimes delaying a confrontation will only make it worse. As I thought about Doug, I smiled faintly, still finding it hard to believe that my meek and mild mannered self-defense teacher was really a badass mutant who worked with the MCO. Actually Doug had never been the least bit meek or mild mannered, but it was still surprising. I went down the hall to the communal showers and hesitated at the entrance, not quite sure if I should go in. Then I took a deep breath and reminded myself that some of the girls in there were former guys like me while the rest were lesbians who were probably busy ogling each other. With that in mind, I stepped inside. Several girls glanced at me, but none stared in horror or yelled at me to get out. There was a short line for an available shower stall, so I stood behind a pretty blonde with long hair. I'd been introduced to her last night, though I had to struggle to remember her name. "Cinderella, right?" "Yeah," she responded with an easy smile. "But everyone just calls me Cindy." I nodded at that, remembering the brief demonstration she'd given last night when she actually made a glass sword appear in her hands. She was a manifestor who could summon clear glass swords and armor, though she'd assured me that the armor could be as flexible as she needed and none of it was nearly as fragile as I'd imagine. I glanced to the flip-flops she was wearing and asked, "No glass slippers?" "Not today," she responded cheerfully, in a tone that left me wondering if she was serious or joking. The girl standing behind me was rather pretty as well, with a tall and slender build. Her hair was shoulder length and brushed back, however, it was also a brilliant blue color with green and purple highlights. "Hi," I greeted her, not having met her yesterday. "I'm Gwen." "Lina," she responded in a musical voice, though she was scowling as she said it. "But my codename is Peacock." I looked at her hair again and nodded. "Definitely peacock colors there." Then I paused to point out, "But the only peacocks that look like that are boy ones..." Lina gave me a look that suggested I'd just said something stupid, then pointed out, "Peacocks are all male. The females of the species are called peahens." "She's a little touchy," Cindy told me, giving Lina a quick look. "The spirit she's bonded with gave her a little something extra down below, if you know what I mean." "Okay, he gave me boy parts," Lina spat out bitterly, though her voice was still very melodic and feminine. "And he made me like girls too. But I'm still a girl..." It seemed that Lina was an avatar, and apparently not a very happy one. I couldn't help but feeling a bit sympathetic. "I went through a whole body change," I admitted, blushing as I quietly added, "Just a couple weeks ago, I was a guy." "I know some girls who'd kill to have changed as fast as you did," Cindy told me. Just then one of the stalls opened up and it was Cindy's turn. She took off her bathrobe and stood there completely naked in front of me, not seeming to care that I was there. I stared in surprise since the closest I'd ever come to having a girl get naked in front of me was when Mom and I had been at the spa. "You're staring," Lina pointed out with a scowl. "Sorry," I muttered, looking away awkwardly. Cindy just laughed at that, not appearing to be bothered. "At least we're not sharing the showers with Phase. I heard he really ogles all the girls..." "He?" I asked in surprise. "You do too," Lina responded with a faint smirk. "True," Cindy agreed. "But at least I have the grace to be subtle about it." Then she gestured to Lina, who had a noticeable bulge in the front of her bathrobe. "Unlike some people." Lina turned bright red while Cindy laughed and then climbed into the shower stall. Another stall opened up just seconds later so it was my turn. I hesitantly took of my bathrobe, feeling extremely self- conscious. No one laughed, but Lina was obviously watching me, still having the bulge in the front of her robe. The shower had some odd equipment and nozzles in it, and though I wondered about the purpose of all this extra stuff, I didn't bother messing with it. There'd be time enough for questions later on. Right now, I just focused on getting showered. As soon as I was done, I stepped out of the stall and dried off while Cindy did the same a short distance away. Lina had already gone into a stall as well but came out just as I was finishing up. Though I wasn't trying to look, I couldn't help but catching a look of her naked and then gasping. She definitely had guy parts between her legs instead of girl parts. "I didn't ask to grow this thing," Lina said defensively, quickly covering herself up with a towel. "Sorry," I muttered in embarrassment, feeling bad for making her uncomfortable that way. Once I finished getting dried, I put my bathrobe back on and then stood there while some of my faeries undid any tangles in my hair and began brushing it for me. Several girls watched me in amusement. "Fey has a spell that lets her dry off instantly," Cindy told me. "You should ask her to teach it to you." "Fey?" I asked curiously. "Nikki," Lina added with a smirk. "The red head you ran away from yesterday." "I don't think so," I responded with a scowl, not wanting to spend any more time around that girl than I absolutely had to. I really didn't like the way she made me feel, either with her glamour or with that dream she reminded me so much of. As it was, I'd already boosted up my magical shields, just in case. A minute later, I left the showers with a small cloud of faeries trailing behind me, much to the amusement of several girls who giggled at the sight. I returned to my room and got dressed, then met up with Dana and Jinx to go to breakfast. Crystal Hall was the most amazing cafeteria I'd ever seen, or even heard of. It was a huge crystal dome with three stories of seating, each of which actually had waterfalls and pools on them. And for the food, there was an enormous buffet, as well as an area where the chefs were handing out 'specialty' items. One reptilian girl walked away with a small cage containing a couple rats, making me shudder at the sight. "I love this place," Dana told me as she began loading her tray up with enough food to feed a half dozen people. She gave me a somewhat embarrassed look as she added, "Ever since I manifested, my appetite has been through the roof." "You can say that again," Jinx responded with a roll of her eyes. "My appetite has been through the roof," Dana repeated with a smirk, only to have Jinx punch her in the arm. One of the servers looked up and said, "Hey Dana, we might need you in a little early tonight for some help with the prep." "Sure thing," Dana responded with a grin. "Just remember to have my go juice ready." "What was that about?" I asked, putting some waffles onto my tray along with some strawberries and whip cream. "I used to work in my Dad's diner," Dana explained, "so when I got here, I took a job helping out in the kitchen. I mean, I've got a lot of experience doing dishes and helping with food prep, so it sort of made sense." Jinx laughed and added, "I think her real reason for working there is that they give her some of that good coffee they usually save for the faculty." "That might have something to do with it," Dana admitted. "It's hard getting a good espresso here otherwise." Once we'd loaded up on food, we sat down at an empty table and were soon joined by several other Poe freshmen, including Lina and Cindy. Cindy took the opportunity to show off a bit by making a glass knife appear in her hand, then using that to cut her pancakes and breakfast sausage. I glanced at Lina, who was actually the subdued one, being a little surprised since I figured that someone with a codename like Peacock would like showing off. Also at our table was a slender and somewhat feminine looking black boy named Shawn, whom I'd briefly met last night after coming out of my room. According to him, he used to be a girl and was more than ecstatic about turning into a boy. However he was still in transition and it would probably be a year before his body was finished with the change. At the Moment, Shawn was in conversation with Cindy and Lina while I was talking with Dana and Jinx. "Wait," I said after Dana had made a comment that caught my attention. "You two knew each other before you manifested?" "Yeah, we used to go to school together," Jinx told me with a sigh, looking rather sad. "Then my so called best friend outed me and my family had to move. After that, they sent me here." She shrugged at that. "I didn't even know she was here," Dana told me with a grin. "Not until I got here and found out we were roommates. Talk about a weird coincidence." "Those tend to happen around me," Jinx said with a shrug. "Before I came to Whateley, some guy nearly ran me over with his car. When we got to talking, it turned out that he was my Dad's brother. Apparently they lost touch when I was just a baby and hadn't seen each other since." Dana took a sip of coffee, then told me, "It was pretty awesome getting here and finding out that I was rooming with the girl I liked..." Jinx smiled at that while Dana added, "And I was afraid that I wouldn't know anyone here..." I nodded at that, then told them, "I came here with someone I went to school with before too... We even sat next to each other the entire flight." "Yeah?" Dana asked curiously. "That should make it easier." I just chuckled, then explained, "Yeah, but he doesn't know who I am. As far as he's concerned, I'm actually my own sister." I shrugged at that. "We weren't exactly friends before I manifested." Then I snorted at that bit of understatement before adding, "He used to chase me around, trying to beat me up." "And you sat next to him the entire flight here?" Jinx asked, giving me a look of surprise. "What did he have against you? Or was this just typical bully stuff?" "Actually, he's a pretty decent guy," I admitted wryly. "He just thought I was a mutant hating bigot or something, because of what my Dad does for a living." Jinx gave me a curious look before asking, "Okay, so what does your Dad do for a living?" "He's with the MCO," I answered. Suddenly all noise at my table stopped and everyone stared at me as though I'd suddenly grown another head. For a brief moment, I wondered if someone was going to jump me so I prepared to deal with that if I had to. "I'd be tempted to beat you up too," Cindy said. "Those MCO guys are assholes," Dana spat out bitterly, giving me a suspicious look. "They beat the crap out of me, then chased me all the way to Whateley, trying to kill me. Hell, one of them shot down my neighbor and even a super hero...even if he was a piss poor excuse for one." "My Dad isn't like that," I protested, never having imagined that I'd find myself in the position of having to defend the MCO. "He's trying to clean up the MCO." "Everyone with the MCO is like that," Jinx stated as though it was a simple fact. "You don't join the MCO unless you're an evil scumbag." "Do you think I'm an evil scumbag?" I asked grimly. At her blank look, I set my MCO employee ID on the table. There were several gasps of surprise as they saw it. "The MCO is paying my tuition here. You might not believe it, but there are some good people in the MCO who are trying to fix things." With that I grabbed my employee ID card and got up to leave, but Dana said, "Wait... I know, you can't really judge a person by their job... not all the time." She had a wry smile at that. "I mean, my big sister robs banks for a living, and she's the nicest person you'll ever meet." Lina and Shawn were still giving me suspicious looks, but the others appeared more curious. I settled back down into my seat and took a bite of my waffle, trying to calm down a little. My faeries continued to circle overhead, still ready to dive down as a distraction so I could escape of necessary. Fortunately that didn't seem to be the case. "I know the MCO has a pretty bad reputation," I said carefully. "And I'm pretty sure most of it is well deserved. But not everyone in the MCO is a mutant hating bastard. In fact, most of the people in the office back home are pretty professional and were friendly to me." "I've heard some pretty bad things about the MCO and how they make mutants disappear," Jinx told me carefully. Dana nodded agreement. "I find it hard to believe that it's a case of a few bad apples." "More than a few," I admitted wryly. "But there are also a lot of people in the MCO who are actually trying to stop things like that. You could say, there's sort of a civil war going on inside the MCO, with one side actually trying to make things better for mutants. I mean, I'm here as part of a program to try recruiting more mutants into the MCO in order to make things better." "Then how come I've never heard anything like that before?" Lina demanded. "Because the people who are doing their jobs don't make as much noise as the ones who screw everything up?" I asked. Jinx nodded at that, saying, "That does kind of make sense." I shrugged and let out a sigh, remembering what Grace had told me on the drive from the airport. "Some people in the MCO are trying to work with hero groups and law enforcement, but others kind of sabotage it. A few weeks ago, some agents went off on some personal vendetta and ended up attacking a hero group called the Liberty League. They even killed one of them. Before that, an MCO agent had been working as a liaison with the Liberty League and trying to build a professional relationship, but this whole event ruined everything. You might not believe it, but this really pissed off people in the MCO. They're even making sure that the agents involved are facing some serious criminal charges that they can't just slip out of." "Wait," Dana blurted out, staring at me in surprise. "You mean they're not just letting Owens go?" I blinked in surprise, then gave Dana a curious look. Grace had told me the name of the head agent involved, but I hadn't mentioned it just now. Then I realized that just a minute ago, Dana had mentioned that she'd watched the MCO kill a super hero. "You were one of the suspects they were chasing," I exclaimed. Dana just gave me a defiant look, almost as though daring me to do something about it. I just shrugged and said, "They only hired me to fetch coffee, not to find their suspects." "Fetching coffee is a noble and worthy occupation," Dana told me with a deadpan expression before she began giggling. After this, the mood lightened again and we returned to more lighthearted topics. Lina and Shawn both gave me a couple more suspicious looks before they relaxed as well. I was just glad that my new friends hadn't decided to lynch me, because that would have been an even worse start to my new school than running away from Nikki had been. When breakfast was over, most of our group returned Poe, though Cindy took off to meet up with one of her friends for a trip to Dunwhich, the closest town to Whateley. "You've got to check out this clothing shop they've got there," she exclaimed before running off. "Celia is almost like my own personal faerie godmother..." I still had some time before I had to go to Schuster Hall to do my in- processing paperwork, so I took advantage of the opportunity to sit down in the common room and read through one of my magic books. Other students kept coming through and making noise, so it was difficult to focus, but I actually kind of liked the company. It actually made me feel a little more like I belonged here. I was in the middle of reading an interesting chapter on familiars when I heard someone yell, "You get back here..." A moment later, a little stuffed Hello Kitty doll came running through the room, followed a short distance behind by that girl Jade. To my surprise, the doll called back, "Catch me if you can." Out of curiosity, I shifted over to my mage sight and saw that the stuffed animal actually had an aura, one that looked almost identical to Jade's. And more than that, there was actually a very solid threat tying it back to Jade. "It's not fair pranking me like that," Jade told the stuffed cat, standing there with her hands on her hips in a way that nearly made me want to burst out laughing. "Someone has to," the cat teased back. "Besides, I couldn't resist the opportunity. You know that." "Arguing with yourself?" I asked, wondering if this was some kind of telekinesis. Jade and the doll both froze and Jade gave me a faintly worried look before saying, "I'm a devisor and one of my artificial intelligences here decided to get a little too independent." I could see both the aura of the stuffed animal as well as Jade's, so I could see the flickering colors that I'd learned meant she was being deceptive. However I didn't bother to challenge her obvious lie. Whatever she was up to, it was her business. "I see you've got a thing for Hello Kitty," I commented wryly, gesturing to the stuffed animal as well as the pink Hello Kitty bow that she had in her hair. "And I see you've got a thing for the color green," she pointed out smugly. I looked down at the green hoodie I was wearing and shrugged. "You've got me there." I remembered the way she'd reacted to my faeries yesterday so I let them come down and fly around her. She watched them with a look of fascination. "Your hobgoblins actually do what you want them to," she commented as she watched one land on my shoulder. "Even Nikki can't get hers to really obey..." "Yep," I respond, feeling rather proud of the fact that I could get my hobgoblins to do things that other people couldn't. "Anything I want." With that all of my faeries came and landed on top of the Hello Kitty doll and actually picked it up off the ground. The doll struggled a little, or at least played along and pretended that it was struggling, as my faeries dropped it right into Jade's arms. "Anything?" Jade asked, though she had a mischievious grin that suddenly made me think she was up to something. I kept an eye on her aura, which also convinced me that she was up to something, though I had no idea what. "Very interesting," the stuffed cat commented before letting out an 'evil' laugh, "Bwa ha ha ha ha..." "I don't know what you've got against Nikki," Jade abruptly said. "She's really nice and feels kind of bad about what happened last night. I mean, I know she can get a little intimidating sometimes, but that's no reason to avoid her. Besides, I think you two have some stuff in common." With that Jade left the common room, carrying the stuffed cat that was actually singing something that sounded like it might be some kind of Japanese pop song. I shook my head, muttering, "That is one strange girl." A few seconds later, I settled back into my seat and returned to my book. After all, I'd just been reading something really interesting about familiars, something that was giving me some ideas that I'd have to test out. -------------------- Nine children occupied the courtyard, spread out in front of me in the shape of a crescent moon, each having positioned themselves to get a clear view of me as I played my flute. A beautiful melody filled the air, one inspired from the sound of the wind blowing through a chime tree. The dryad girl sat with her eyes closed, slowly swaying her body back and forth as though picturing the wind flowing through the leaves of her own tree. The parents of these children were lords and ladies of the Court of the West, though one child belonged to an ambassador from the Court of the South. Today it was my pleasure to entertain them, to keep them occupied while their parents were here in conference. After having spent time serving my queen as a scout, it was nice to be home where I could turn my talent to more amusing pursuits. Admittedly, I had enjoyed leading enemy scouts and advance forces off course and into traps, but there was nothing quite like seeing joy in the eyes of an innocent. When I finished with my tune, I set my flute aside and then decided to entertain the children with some other tricks. I formed several balls of phantom fire and began to juggle them in the air, earning some clapping from the eager eyed young ones. Then I stepped back and began clapping along with the children as the balls continued to move as though being juggled by invisible hands. I cast several more simple spells in order to entertain the children, then I realized that I had another in my audience that I hadn't noticed until then. It was a pixie, keeping her appearance shrouded as her kind were wont to do. When she realized that I'd seen her, she ceased her hiding and came out, floating in clear view. The tiny thing had green skin, and to my amusement, hair that was nearly the same shade of green as my own. The pixie darted to my hair and grabbed hold of it for a moment, holding her own hair up beside it as if for comparison. Then she darted away, appearing to be laughing. It was hard to tell what was going through her mind though as pixies were such silly creatures. I woke up with a faint smile on my face, wondering why all of these strange dreams couldn't be as nice as this one. Then before the dream could fade, I grabbed a notebook and began scribbling down what I could remember of the spells that I'd cast in the dream. I was pretty sure I remembered enough to duplicate at least a couple of them. It took me a couple minutes to get out of bed and get my bathrobe and shower stuff together, then I hurried down the hall, hoping I could get a stall before any lines built up. Fortunately, unlike yesterday, no one else was there. When I finished with my shower, I stepped out of the stall just in time to see Jinx walking in, wearing nothing but a towel around her. I'd seen the way she and Dana were when they were together, and Dana was a lucky girl. "Morning," Jinx greeted me cheerfully. "How's the water this morning?" "Wet," I responded with a self-conscious smile. I grabbed my towel and began drying myself, covering myself up in the process. "I've had a couple times when the hot water went out on me," Jinx admitted. "Let me tell you, I can usually control my powers, if not the effects, but whenever I slip up..." She shuddered. I just nodded at that, remembering quite well what it had been like to make people around me sick without being able to control it. Not having control of your powers was a pretty scary thing. Once I returned to my room, I sat down and began going through the exercises that Mrs. Lauriant had taught me. When I was finished with those, I began to actually practice several of my spells, creating faerie fire and then practicing with my illusions. I'd discovered that with my illusions, the secret was to clearly picture what I was trying to create and then hold that image in my head. The book Mrs. Lauriant had given me said that once I got better, I'd be able to preprogram the illusions and then just let them go without having to keep focusing on them, but that would take practice. Before long, Dana started knocking on my door, calling out, "Hey Abbie, you ready for breakfast?" "I'm coming," I responded, letting my illusion fade away and then going to the door. As I joined her out in the hall, I saw Cindy was standing outside her room with another girl. The other girl was a slender Asian girl with dark blue streaks in her hair and a literal raincloud over her head. The floor was getting wet as the rain fell on her and Cindy. "Oh no," Jinx said as she joined us. She was looking at Cindy at the other girl with a worried look. "What's going on?" I asked. "That's Downpour," Jinx told me with a grim look. "She has clinical depression and weather manipulating powers. Whenever she loses control and starts raining on herself like this, that usually means we need to keep a suicide watch." Cindy was hugging Downpour, obviously trying to comfort her. The rain slowly faded away but didn't stop entirely. Jinx hurried down the hall to join them. "I don't really know what Downpour's story is," Dana told me awkwardly. "But she's a nice girl. She just has...issues." "You guys go on," Jinx called back, right before going into Cindy's room with Cindy and Downpour. "We might as well go," Dana said with a sigh. She was clearly worried, but like me, had no idea of what to do to help. I guessed that being empathic and comforting was something you learned, not something that automatically came with being female. Dana and I went to breakfast, though unlike yesterday, it was just the two of us at the table. And since it seemed to be a lazy Sunday morning, Crystal Hall was also fairly empty compared to what it was like at dinner. I watched in amazement as Dana ate a huge breakfast, wondering where she had room for all that food. She noticed me watching and just grinned, taking another big bite. "I'm an energizer," she started to explain. "And energizers often have enormous appetites," I finished for her. Then I asked, "What exactly are your powers? I mean, I thought you were a power mimic..." "I am," she responded cheerfully. "It's just that the first time I copied someone's powers, I imprinted on her. I got all of Jackie's energizer powers, her regenerator abilities, and I even became an exemplar like her." She gestured down at herself and added, "But I also got her BIT, hence my current appearance." "Wow," I said, thinking about those abilities. "All that and you can copy powers too..." "Yeah, but my mimic abilities are pretty much used up," Dana admitted. "Whenever I copy someone's powers, I get a weaker version of them. I can't get more than a level one or two at most, except for some energizer abilities..." I gave her a curious look, then asked, "What do you mean?" "Well, I guess I had natural energizer abilities of some sort along with my mimic powers," Dana explained. "I can make force fields like Jackie can, but I can also do a few things she can't. And when I copy an external energizer, I can usually copy their powers at about the same level. I don't get that bonus for internal energizer abilities though, only external ones like energy blasts." "Still, that's an impressive mix," I told her. "I'm a magic user, so I'm still learning what I can really do." Dana and I continued talking about our powers while we ate, until someone called out, "Hey, Gwen." I looked up and saw Collin standing there with a tray of food in his hand. There was another boy with him. "Collin," I responded with a grin, happier to see him than I would have expected. This was the first time we'd seen each other since our tour with Zenith and Tektonix. "This is Dana." "Nice to meet you," Collin said. Then he asked, "Do you mind if we sit here?" "Go ahead," Dana responded. The boy with Collin was lean with a mop of auburn hair. "I'm Fixx," he introduced himself. "Nice purse," Dana commented, gesturing to the fact that Fixx was wearing some sort of purse slung over his shoulder. "It's a satchel," Fixx responded defensively. "Lots of guys use satchels..." "Name one," Dana teased. Fixx sat down at the table before answering, "Indiana Jones wears a satchel. Chewbacca uses one too." "Fixx is my roommate," Collin told me, then looked to Dana. "Is she yours?" "No, I've got a single for the moment," I responded a little smugly. Dana stared at Fixx for a moment before asking, "Aren't we in English together?" Fixx nodded at that. "Yeah, I sit on the other side of the class from you." "I'm still pretty new here," Dana told him apologetically. "I'm still trying to remember who everyone is." "So, what do you do?" Collin asked Dana curiously, obviously checking her out in the process. "Mostly force field bubbles," Dana answered with a grin. "Hence my name Sphere." "She's also an exemplar, has regeneration, and is a power mimic," I added. Dana got impressed looks from both Collin and Fixx. "I'm just a magic user who barely knows any spells." Collin snorted at that, then told Fixx, "Don't let her fool you. I've seen her take on like a dozen mutants by herself." "If you call running away as taking on," I pointed out with a grin. Dana snickered at that, then asked, "So, what do you two do?" Collin just smiled pleasantly and answered, "I'm an exemplar two, and I can stick people in place so they can't run away." "Or even teleport," I added, remembering Slippery. "I fix things," Fixx responded with an easy grin of his own. "Basically, I'm really good at finding ways to either fix or work around mechanical problems. I used to do most of the maintenance work in the apartment building where I lived." I nodded thoughtfully at that. "So you're a devisor?" Fixx just shrugged. "Low level. Technically, I'm a devisor one, gadgeteer one, wizard one. Not really all that impressive compared to some of the people like Loophole or Generator." "I didn't know you were a wizard too," Collin said, giving Fixx a look of surprise. Fixx shrugged again, then admitted, "I don't consider myself one because I can't do any spells or anything. As far as magic goes, all I can do is enchant things...basically just amplify their properties so they're better at what they already do. Still that's pretty useful when I'm fixing or building something." Then he paused for a moment with a thoughtful look before abruptly asking, "Have you ever seen reruns of those old shows A Team or Macgyver?" "My little sister absolutely loves the A Team," Dana said with a chuckle. "I guess that just last week, my Dad caught her as she was about to cut her own hair into a mohawk so she could be more like Mister T." Then her expression turned sort of sad at that for some reason. "Well," Fixx said with a grin. "In the A Team, they can go into a garage full of junk and just throw together a tank, and in Macgyver, he can take a shed full of yard equipment and build an ultralight, or take a bunch of household chemicals and build a bomb. That's the kind of stuff I can do. It's not exactly ray gun or power armor level." "That's still better than me," Collin told him. "I can barely put together a model car." We all continued talking about our powers for another fifteen minutes, until Collin paused to exclaim, "What the hell is that?" I turned to where he was looking and saw a stocky black kid with dark glasses and one of those white canes that blind people use. However what caught my attention wasn't the fact that he was blind, but that that his clothes were the most bright and garish I'd ever seen. He was wearing a pair of yellow and orange plaid golf pants, a shirt that was pink with lime green spots, and he had on a white golf cap that probably would have looked perfectly normal on any normal golf outfit, but which somehow stuck out all the more when compared to the rest of his outfit. "That's Jericho," Fixx explained wryly. "A brilliant devisor, but a horrible fashion sense. Hell, I don't have any fashion sense and even I can tell his is bad." "The first time I saw him," Dana commented with a grin, "I had to ask Amanda if she'd cursed his wardrobe. Anyone who gets that combination has to have REALLY bad luck." "Or he's doing it intentionally," I mused, thinking that dressing like that would be a great way to distract people and make them underestimate you. Our conversation finished up a short time after that and we all got up to leave. "What have you got going on today?" Collin asked me curiously. "Well," I answered, "I did most of my in-processing yesterday, and bought most of my uniforms and stuff, but I've still got to meet with my faculty advisor and get my schedule." "Maybe we'll see each other at dinner," Collin told me, sounding rather hopeful. I found myself blushing slightly at that, actually looking forward to it. After all, I told myself, it would be nice having someone else around from my home town. After this we went our separate ways with Dana and I returning to Poe. We were met at the entrance by Mrs. Horton, who said, "Dana, I need to talk to you about..." "Dana," Jinx exclaimed as she came rushing in. "Downpour is doing a lot better, but we're going to be taking turns keeping an eye on her..." Then she paused, apparently realizing that she'd interrupted Mrs. Horton. "Sorry..." "This concerns you as well," Mrs. Horton said patiently. "As I was saying..." Just then the phone in Mrs. Horton's office started to ring. The house mother looked back at the phone, gave Jinx a faint glare, let out a sigh, and then went to answer the phone. She shook her head as she did so. "I'm going to see about getting some reading in before my appointment," I told Dana and Jinx, who seemed to want to spend some time by themselves. "I'll catch up with you later." I stopped off at my room to grab one of my books, then went back to the common room to sit down and read. The four faeries that I currently had active continued to flitter around the room, doing what they usually did when I hadn't given them any specific commands. The other kids who were using the room kept looking up and watching my faeries with amused looks. "Too bad you guys can't just go and fetch me a pop," I told one of my faeries, who shrugged in response. They didn't really have enough intelligence and initiative to do much unless I actually controlled them the entire time, and it would probably take all four of them to really fly the pop to me. Still, as I considered it, I realized it might actually be possible. A moment later, I realized that someone was coming straight towards me, and I looked up just in time for her to demand, "I hear your Dad is with the MCO." The girl was tall, about six feet, with the kind of solid muscular physique that made her look like a fitness competitor or professional athlete. She had tanned skin and Hispanic features, and I might have thought her beautiful if it wasn't for a nasty scar across her cheek and the fact that she was completely bald, not even having eyebrows. "Well?" the girl demanded with a cold, angry look. "Is he?" I let out a sigh, realizing that someone had been talking. It could have been any of the kids I'd shared breakfast with yesterday, or even the security guard at the gate. I guess it didn't really matter who told her, only that she was obviously unhappy with the fact. "My Dad does work for the MCO," I responded carefully as I slowly got to my feet. "Hey Rose," Lina asked from the other side of the room. "What's going on?" I didn't take my eyes off the girl in front of me, but I had noted that Lina called her Rose. I'd heard someone mention a girl on our floor who was called Iron Rose, so I guessed this had to be her. She just glared back at me with a look of near hatred. "Her Dad is with the MCO," Rose stated, then reached up to the scar on her face and told me, "The MCO gave me this..." "I'm sorry about that," I told her, not sure what I could say. I suddenly felt a strong sense of deja-vu as this reminded me a great deal of how Collin had reacted after he first found out what my Dad did. The other kids in the room were staring at me in surprise now, except for Lina who'd already heard the news. I felt the temperature drop several degrees and I squirmed uncomfortably under the suddenly hostile attention. Rose snarled, "I'm gonna make you sorry..." Rose telegraphed her punch well before she made it, easily giving me time to dodge to the side. Lina jumped to her feet and demanded, "What are you doing?" "I'm gonna give this point eared bitch a message to send to her Dad," Rose answered, making another swing at me. This time, I dodged her clumsy punch and moved back, sending my pixies in as a distraction. Three of them grabbed her hair and began pulling while the fourth one hit her and self-destructed, giving her a good dose of my glamour. "Let me tell you," I commented with a sigh. "This kind of thing is really starting to get old." "What the hell," Rose yelled, looking around with an expression of surprise and confusion. She swung a punch at something that only she could see, then her skin actually rippled and changed so that her entire body was now made of a dark gray metal. As she made another punch at the air, I turned and hurried down the hall to the safety of my room. When I emerged from my room again an hour later, I was relieved to see no sign of Rose. However I did find Cindy and Lina in the day room, both of whom gave me odd looks when I came in. "What did you do to Rose?" Cindy asked me curiously. "She was going on about alien robots..." "I can make people hallucinate," I told her cheerfully. "These faeries of mine are good for more than just looking cute." Lina stared at me for a moment, looking just a little hesitant before she asked, "Can you show me how you do that? My power messes with people's minds too, and if I can learn to do more than just make people stare at me..." "You make people stare at you?" I responded. Lina let out a sigh and then scowled. She stepped into the middle of the dayroom, and suddenly there was a giant glowing peacock tail behind her, though I was sure it was just illusion. Still, her entire body was glowing and there was something almost hypnotic about her. I couldn't take my eyes off of her. Then her tail and the glow vanished and I snapped out of it. "That was...kind of cool," I said, earning a blink of surprise from Lina. "You really think so?" Lina asked me, looking almost like she thought I was messing with her. "Sure," I insisted with a grin. "I mean, it looked really cool, and if you can do that when you're in a fight, the other person will be way too distracted to chase you or fight back." "I never thought of it that way," she said with a thoughtful look. "I just kind of thought my power was useless..." I shook my head at that and insisted, "No way. Your powers are great for distraction. I'd love to learn how to do something like that." I thought about it for a moment, then told her, "I probably can't teach you how to do the hallucination thing since its part of my glamour, but I can try." Lina got excited at that and we spent ten minutes talking about her powers and how she might be able to make use of them. Cindy watched with an amused look, not really adding anything to the conversation. By the time we were done, we'd agreed to meet up sometime this week to see if we could possibly learn how to do each oth