Morgaine had seen only the result of the argument, not the cause; so when she saw the acid marks on the floor and several large indentations in the walls, she figured to let the mutant blow off steam for a day or two before venturing over to Drac's castle an inquiring as to why her place of business had been so rudely remodeled.

            When she finally reached the main portcullis, she was nearly trampled by a pack of wild animals. More correctly, a pack of quickly growing hybrid reptiles. Junior had gained nearly a hundred pounds, or so it felt with him standing on her chest and fawning all over her face. He nearly stood as tall as his two siblings, a silver and gold pair whose metallic gleaning were from fur, not scale; clearly Aurora's two hatchlings. All three were doing a wonderful job of dousing her in drool, thankfully not the corrosive variety Junior could produce.

            Finally she was rescued. She could hear BS pulling them off one by one with a grunt. "Down! Heel! Get Off her you Load!" With one more tug, she was freed from the pack and pulled back to her feet. "Sorry," he muttered. "Pack mentality."

            "I know all about packs, BS. I raised wolves, remember?"

            BS nodded, then escorted her to the main hallway, if just to clear a wider path to travel. Morgaine could feel his mind slipping around, already dodging a subject she hadn't even broached yet. "Where's Megan? In the kitchen?"

            "Naw, she's still upstairs, brooding. We had a bit of a row."

            This Morgaine knew. She watched as Echo Nyght, the newest teleportational guest, tried to slip across the room, only to find three dragonlings in quick pursuit, nudging her pockets for the tidbits she was prone to give them. Morg watched almost enviously as Echo smiled softly and produced several candies for the warm blooded reptiles. Drac came in as well, skirting around the sugar-induced feeding frenzy to join Morgaine and BS. "A row? That is an understatement if I ever heard one."

            "We I don't see why she's all in a snot about it now. It happened ages ago!"

            Morgaine smiled, though she still couldn't get at the subject. "I think you all have a penchant for holding grudges," she reminded BS before turning to the stairs. "I'll head up there and see if I can poke her into some sort of a good mood." As she mounted the staircase, she caught Echo holding her headphones close to Junior's ears so he could listen to the song pounding away. The dragon was twisting his head like a dog listening to a high pitch, a sight that was insanely funny to see on the demonically innocent face.

            BS watched as Morgaine headed up the stairs before turning to Drac. "How long do you think before all this blows over?"

            "Who knows?" was all the lord could reply.

            What the Soothsayer found in Megan's room was far removed from the amiable mood below. There was no reply when she knocked. When she did open the door, she found Megan sitting on her bed, staring at Zelgadis's side of the room. The place had gone through a hurricane tantrum. Books, clothes and even chunks of wallboard, brick, and wood were scattered about; however Zel's half of the room was untouched. He was still wrapped in yards of police warning tape and some sort of pulsating silk which had grown some in size since her last visit; but with no end in sight.

            Megan lifted her head slightly, but didn't turn around. She didn't have to. "He killed my husband, Morg."

            It had been a long time since the Soothsayer had heard the mutant's voice that empty. there was no tone left. She picked her way through the rubble and sat down next to her friend, slowly encompassing her shoulders in a hug and pulling the girl against her chest, giving Megan all the excuse to bawl away. She was already cried out but took some comfort in the gesture. Finally Morgaine asked. "Who?"

            "Brimstone," she sighed, resting against the warmth. "Actually it was Jason who did the deed, but it was under BS's behest. They admitted to it."

            Cold. How cold these people can be, especially to each other. "And have either of them paid for this.. atrocity?"

            Megan shook her head slowly, as if she were too weary even to fight anymore. "No. It was all for the better good, at least that's what they all said. It's just... when they killed Sasha... Why the killed Sasha.. was to kill my baby. My only one, Morg. He would have been my first born." Filling with another wave of loss, she slowly flopped onto her side, curing up in that fetal ball, waiting for the painful emptiness to go away.

            Morgaine though a moment, feeling that same echo in her own frame, then leaned down and kissed Megan on the brow. "You didn't get to hurt him, but I swear I'll finish what you started." She covered Megan with a fleece-throw to keep the chill off, then made her way back down the staircase to BS and company. Drac was introducing his niece to the mutant, whom was marveling at how quickly Drac's brood grew in comparison to his own race. She kept her mind clamped down, hiding her intentions from both the telepathic dragon mind of Drac as well as Brimstone's empathic abilities. In fact only Vanagald seemed to sense her intentions and was flaring up read, but Drac, engrossed in his pride over his niece, failed to notice in time. "Brimstone!" she smiled innocently at the one time 'borg. "May I have a word with you outside?"

            "Oh sure!" He stood up from where he had knelt down to better interact with the wee one, dusting off his knees before following Morgaine out to the front of the castle. "So," he asked. "Is she doing any bet...OOPH!!"

            The "ooph" came as Morgaine buried a balled fist into his unprotected stomach. The second right cross buried into his nose, spraying blood everywhere. Off balanced by the attack, he tumbled to the ground. "You are utter crap!" she spat, kicking him once for good measure. "Even Dogs won't piss on you! I hope you rot in the lowest pit of Hell for what you have done to her and hers!"

            That's when Junior attacked. He had picked up on Morgaine's smoldering fury and had followed them out to the entrance gates. When Morgaine flared, he flew into a rage,, burying his teeth into Brimstone's chest, ripping out chunks of flesh while spraying him with spittle, the acid eating into the bared upper torso. High pitched screams from BS brought Drac, Claw, and most of the Vashtalian team out to break up the fight. Drac leveled his blade towards Morgaine as she stepped back from the carnage, reveling in the pain the reptile was inflicting on his would-be uncle. "Under the laws set forth in this realm, Morgaine; I order you to surrender!"

            She looked to either side, then managed to gather some of her emotions under control. Dracon and Melissa were struggling with the heavyweight drake, just managing to pull him off poor Brimstone but the reptile still fought. Morgaine grabbed him by the scruff of his plated neck with the intent of pulling him away from danger. Drac reacted with a well timed binding spell, tying her up so that she could not even think to struggle away.

            But the damage was done. Echo cringed as she ran up to the scene. Brimstone was still alive, though he was barely recognizable. The acid had eaten most of the flesh and muscle from his chest cavity, upper arms, and neck, exposing bone and organs to open air; and even these were in peril as the acid continued to eat through him. She carefully hefted the man like a bag of dog kibble and was off to the infirmary. With no Randall or Aerich about, she was the only tech-minded person that would have a chance of saving him. She had been informed about BS's 'condition' ; that of being a cyborg at one time and still having the nano- techs flowing through his system, but even these were being sorely taxed as they barely kept him in one piece; the acid eating faster than they could repair. With not many options open, she injected the deteriorating body with her own version of the microscoping technology. Side by side the tiny machine repaired, but as they encountered the acid, it ate away at their tiny hulls, destroying millions. Only their replicating programs kept them just about par with the continuing damage. Serenity soon joined the flight, searching the cabinets for balms and salves to somehow neutralize the acid and bring relief to the mangled body.

            As Echo exercised her hand at doctoring, Drac had his guards take Morgaine to his office while he had Melissa collect Megan. He knew full well what had spurred the attack, an escalation of empathy. He had stood next to Megan on enough occasions to feel those emotions. Someone close like Morgaine would even be influenced by the waves of guilt, anger, and emptiness that were part of Megan. A spike in those emotions and chaos ensues. If was fading now. He could see Morgaine's aura change. Oh she still was incensed, but Junior's safety was becoming a priority as he continued to spit acid at anyone nearby, destroying one of Dracon's favorite capes, and almost taking out some of Dracon himself. Finally Morgaine pushed her way into the little drake's mind. Junior sneezed, blinked, then just dropped out of his rage, looking around as if weren't the focus of attention. Dracon was able at that time to scoop up the dragon and carry him off to a secured cell.

            Soon all were ensconced in Drac's chambers. Morgaine was still full of fury. The idea of being restrained in any way, much less magically; fretted away at her nerves. Megan was the opposite. She had followed Melissa to the chamber with no argument and currently sat, just staring out the office window the courtyard, staring at nothing.

            Drac glared at them both. "Full story. Now."

            Megan continued to stare out the window, but replied again in that empty tone. "Husband number two. Sasha. Arraigned marriage. He was a vampire. Very high up in their social ladder..." She sighed as an arm flopped into her lap. "Stupid me fell in love. And when I got pregnant..well.. we were ecstatic. It was a technical impossibility. And I guess not many on both sides of the fence were happy about it. He," she tossed her head towards where BS laid in the infirmary," ... plotted to kill the baby by killing Sasha. Guess it worked cause I lost them both. I didn't Know it was him at the time.. and I didn't know Jason then either. I thought it was an outside job on Sasha cause nobody outside the circle knew I was gravid." She lifted the arm and rested her brow against the palm. A stray tear leaked down her cheek, which was why she was facing the window. She could feel Morgaine's eyes trained on her, and she knew her friend could feel the pain as readily as she did, but she couldn't help it. " 'Abomination', he called it. How dare he!"

            Drac stepped in. "So naturally when you learned about it you set about to beat both Jason and BS to a pulp. I understand how much hatred you must be feeling over this, but you must learn to let it go. The past is the past and has no bearing on the present or the future."

            Morgaine continued to glare, but now Megan began to flare up. "Drac, they do this All the Time! Pick away at my life. But to kill.. over a baby? Even I am not that cold! Why does every step I take have to guarded and guided and controlled by the like of them?"

            Clearly the "them" was beginning to grow. The implication was that there were more than BS and Jason attempting to control her life. He was sure that included Timothy, but he was currently out of her hair. Yet the venom was still there. Morgaine could no longer keep her piece, not with Megan's emotions fluttering back dangerously. "Have you lost a child?!" she snarled at Drac. "If you had, you would never utter those words!"

            "Silence, Soothsayer! Try losing your family along with most of your realm to some damnable war! I feel for ever single soul lost in that war!" He caught himself, realizing that he was beginning to sway under Megan's projecting emotions. He slowly sat back down in his chair. "If Megan's kin were murdered while under my charge, I would not defend it. I do not claim by any right that it was the right thing to do, However it happened in the past. There is no point in beating them to death."

            Megan sniffled a bit, catching their attention. "The point, Drac, is that I can't trust them... not ever."

            "Then don't"

            Now she looked up at him, honestly stunned that someone could utter that sentence with complete confidence. Drac continued on. "I don't care if you never speak to them ever again, however I consider all of you my friends. I will not tolerate these insane attempts at killing each other. I've lost too much getting to this point and I do not want to lose anyone else. Please.. I ask of you to do me this one favor. Let it go."

            Megan continued to stare. She could feel Morgaine struggling against her bonds, so much wanting to break free and rant and rave against such lunacy. But Megan could also hear, fell even, how much Drac needed this truce. She had no idea he was that caught up with them. With her. But she had concerns, now that logical thinking was beginning to flow back through her brain. "Drac, tell me this. Can you trust him with any of the children at this point? If he's willing to kill one of his own, can you trust him with Emma? Justin? Surely not with Junior." She held up a finger as Drac was about to answer. "Keep this in mind. He is supposed to be our grand mutant Pooh-Bah, but frankly he doesn't have the support anymore. Somebody else will probably try to become top dog, and you know how we do that."

            When Drac again had to pause to take that tidbit into consideration, she pushed forward her own worries for the immediate. "What ARE you going to do with my son, Drac? Keep him locked up forever?"

            The Vashtalian lord shook his head vehemently. "He was just reacting to Morgaine's actions. As far as I'm concerned, he's innocent. As to Morgaine," he turned to face her and her wrathful glare. "This was a problem between Megan, Brimstone, and Jason. You had no right to include yourself in it."

            Megan jumped up at that, already incensed. "Hey, she is My Soothsayer. My Second. She had Every right. Granted it was for the wrong reasons, but she still was in the right."

            Morgaine trusted up her jaw, lifting her chin proudly while she stared Drac down with angry amber eyes. "She's been loyal ta me since the day I met her. If I had the option to do it all over again, I would; and I would make damn sure that I put his ass out of commission entirely."

            "Regardless," Drac sighed.

            But Megan was up again. "Drac! You are Not locking up my only Spell caster!"

            "I never said I was locking her up."

            Megan gestured to the invisible bonds as if that sentence was being contradicted.

            "That was just a binding spell because she refused to cooperate."

            Megan could see how this was hurting Morgaine, being confined so. "Alright, Alright, you win. Let 'er go. I promise she will Not kill BS. That is My prerogative, and I'm not feeling especially malicious anymore. Besides, I think Junior got the point across." Megan sighed as Drac continued to stare, so she lifted one hand. "I promise not to kill the Tin Head, even if he begs me. There, you happy?"

            "Fine, I guess. I suppose I should take your word, even with the sarcasm."

            "Great. My Soothsayer, please?"

            Drac gestured. Before the bonds completely dissipated, Megan lunged forward, encircling Morgaine's body, pinning her arms to her sides before she could lunge at Drac. "Okay dokay Morg. Why don't we go get a drink or ten at the local watering hole and talk this out. I'm quite sure they'll have a decent supply of vodka.

            Morgaine knew she was beaten for now. "Good. You drink. I'll pour."

            "Deal."

            A few days later Megan found what she deemed to call the "Imperial Guard"; Dracon, Claw, Aerich and those just under their command; milling about in the main courtyard. Waiting for the impending doom?" she asked non-chillingly, a bit in better spirits.

            "No," Dracon replied. "We're waiting for the first shipments of upgrades BS ordered from Lahnia."

            Randall was already in a tizzy. With BS heavily sedated and out of commission, the task of cataloguing, sorting, and assembling the new surveillance system fell on his shoulders and he was pacing impatiently, trying to sort through BS's chicken scratch on what went where and why. The crowd continued to grow. Morgaine joined Megan, with Junior in tow; the two as thick as thieves since the day of the mauling. Soon Junior was flanked by his furry relations and the trio vied for Morgaine's attention. Shortly after than, the Soothsayer was running the triad through mental commands, having them sit, lay down, stand, bark and shake hands in record time. Megan snorted. "Maybe YOU should take over their education. They at least listen to you."

            The first round of cargo arrive with a low thrumming sound, then a zap. Twelve large pallets of electronic gear we accompanied by a woman with long lavender hair tied back with braid. She was dressed ore for the office, with a black dress with a long slit that ran almost the full length of her thigh. She narrowed her gaze, focusing her orange-red eyes on the crowd as three feathers wavered in the fading current. She quickly spotted Dracon and walked up to him, performing a very graceful bow. "My Lord, I am Lady Prier II'Kilan; Guard Captain, Scout, and Weapons Master of House Lahnia. I have brought the first shipment of parts as requested."

            Randall was already moving to introduce himself. "Good day, Miss. I'm Randall Riggins, temporary project leader."

            "G'day, Lord Randall," and Lady Prier performed another graceful bow, making Randall that much more nervous. "I assume that you are in charge of receiving these parts then?"

            He nodded.

            "Then we best move this first load to a staging area so that we can bring in the second load, yes?"

            He nodded before he realized what was being said. "Oh.. yes.. We have a holding facility over here. Please.. If you'll come with me." As they walked, Prier handed Randall the shipping manifest; nearly 5 pounds of printed material catalogued. Randall groaned, now seeing how great the task at hand really was; and wished that BS would quickly recover.

            Megan looked over Randall's arm at the massive paper log. "Yeesh, he must be major paranoid about these portals or he wouldn't have ordered so much crap for the Grainger's Catalogue of Magic." She grabbed an inventory sheet and began to help unpack the crating.

            While the first loads were arriving, Janis made her way up to the infirmary, finding Serenity tending to his wounds, applying another layer of salve on the bared flesh before rewinding the bandages on his arms. "What happened?" she asked, almost stunned by his condition.

            Serenity had to bite her lip a moment. "You don't really want to know. Let's just say he did something incredibly stupid and he is now paying for it."

            Janis pulled back her sleeve then reached for one of the eye coverings, pulling back the bandaging. Mush of his lower face had holes in the skin and muscle. Everything had a bright red to it, as if freshly grated raw. The eye was totally white as if boiled in the socket. "Who did this to him?" she asked.

            "I got slimed." BS's white eye rolled a bit as he tried to chuckle, but ended up groaning in pain.

            "Oh," Janis seemed a bit relieved that the man was at least alive. "Does Meli know?"

            Again another painful giggle. "Probably laughing her head off," he mused.

            But Janis was shaking her head slowly. "I don't think you know her quite as well as you assume."

            A sigh that was more a wheeze escaped him. "I know. Story of my life." The pupil-less eyes wiggled again. "How's Fafnir? He hasn't gone rogue again, has he?"

            "Oh he's better now, it's just that he never came home last night. I'm hoping he hasn't gone and gotten himself all hopped up on the drugs again."

            A louder groan escaped him this time. "Great. The lug falls off the bandwagon and I can't even twitch to defend myself. I'm just a living piñata, I swear.."

            "I wouldn't worry about him. At least he doesn't fall prey to women."

            The giggle sounded more like a giggle this time. "Yeah, I seem to have that problem. Maybe it's a character flaw."

            "Maybe you shouldn't be so gullible. Or so quick to judge. Just don't expect the worst until it happens... then you can kick the bucket." She turned to see Prier heading down the hall with a handful of medical supplies.

The lady had been "warned" about the mutants staying at the castle and their rough lifestyles but nothing had prepared her for the site in the bed. Much of the skin, flesh, muscle, and even bone; had been dissolved. Normally this would kill a normal person, but BS was not "normal".. Yet his enhanced healing powers hadn't repaired the damage at all. Thus the care package at the request of Drac. "So, how long before you are well enough to leave the infirmary?"

            The bandages coughed a moment, then cleared a throat. "I don't know. The acid not only ate my skin, it seems to have left some sort of electrical discharge. My nano's seem to fry on contact when they try to repair the damaged areas. I guess I gotta heal the regular was. It'll probably be weeks afore I get near normalcy."

            Prier set down the box of drugs. "We should have some new medicinal supplies in the third batch coming over later this week. Maybe those will help."

            "I hope so. the bandages are starting to smell. That can't be good."

            Both Serenity and Prier had to agree as the underlying sweet smell of decay was indeed noticeable. "If worse comes to worse, we may need to order alchemical replacements for the most damaged parts of you." Prier suggested.

            Another coughing snort escaped the bandages. "So your thinking of making me a 'borg again? Funny how the world turns." He sighed a bit. "Meli really doesn't like metal.."

            Serenity was up again. "Just think about it. We won't force anything on you.

            Janis just smiled as Prier and company left to tend to the next arriving shipment. She slowly pulled out a small jar of cream and sat it on the nightstand. She took a handful of the gel and carefully lifted the bandage that hid the unsightly eye, then softly rubbed the cream into the skin. She watched as the flesh seemed to fill out right under her fingertips as the cream seemed to kick start his regenerative abilities. Within a few minutes, the redness around the eye socket had faded and even the eye itself had developed a pupil. It was a pale pink and still milky, but it was zounds better than the useless white mush of before. She grimaced as she watched the flesh move as if a separated creature from the patient and she gave out a disgusted cry.

            "Yeah, I know," the mutant sympathized. "Gross and disgusting. But that does feel better. I'm even starting to get vague shapes. Just light and dark, but it's a start." He turned a bit to look at her through the murky scene. "Thanks"

            "I'll get ya some more. Just make sure to keep the skin moist." She bit her lip a bit, closed up the jar, then retreated from the body, leaving him to tend his own wounds.

            The next three weeks at the castle were hustle and bustle. Megan help Randall with the unpacking and inventory, keeping well away from BS and the infirmary. BS himself would go through fits and spurts of healing, only to lose any ground overnight. the salve that Janis supplied him with seemed to help the most, but it also seemed he was building a tolerance for the medicine and it took more applications to make the skin heal at the same rate. Morgaine seemed to keep herself entertained by babysitting the three drakes, especially Junior, whom seemed to be the most in tune with the Soothsayer. Not many noticed the budding romance between the surely Fafnir and the quite Echo Nyght. Any that did notice the pair holding hands were decent enough not to bring the relationship to light.

            Alix also seemed to have a new friend Heathantos whom she brought back to the castle one day. Unfortunately the pair were nearly run over by the growing pack of mutant dragons running free throughout the castle. Both had to dive out of the way as the stampede turned out the front gate. They in turn were pursued by a small woman in a brown shift, waving a metal brush. She turned to the duo, dipped her head in what would have been a draconic greeting, has she been a dragon; then ran off after the pack. "Does this happen here often?"

            "More often of late," Alix growled.

 She was a bit perplexed as the last time she had seen Megan, she looked as if to explode. Now the mutant girl was empty. Alix turned and almost walked into Jason whom had seemed to ooze from the brickwork to be in her path. He was snickering at the confused look on her face. "Uhm, that black armor pelted devilish lookin' critter that almost ran you over IS Megan's kid."

Alix turned to look back over the pack. Gods, how much weirder was this place going to get?

Suddenly Jason was rudely shoved aside as Emma made her way past, casually pushing him with her mind to get him to budge. Jason gave her plenty of berth so that she could pull Justin along. He then stepped forward to shake hands with the new visitor. "You should be thankfully it isn't feeding time around here."

Alix's friend smiled. "Glad to know. I'm Heath."

"Jason. Welcome to the funny farm."

This clearly was not making points with Alix. In fact she was looking more dour and upset with every passing minute. Even Heath could see the change in her manner.

As she lead Heath away to introduce him the more saner of the group, Jason spotted Echo trying to slink around the group. He easily caught up to her and tapped her on the shoulder. She spun around and almost caught his arm and probably would have broken it if his reflexes weren't so fast. "Please don't touch me," she whispered, barely in control of herself.

Her plea as emphasized by a beef hand that clamped down firmly on Jason's shoulder as Fafnir steering him away from Echo and back towards the group. "You should be moving on now," Fafnir insisted in a firm but calm tone. "Really. See? There's guests."

Jason was not about to argue that he had already met Heath. He knew a duo when he saw one. He would have turned his attention back towards Alix, but it seemed that BS had managed to crawl out of bed to field this one. He was totally bandaged from head to toe, but insisted on wearing his acid-eaten Stetson. Between that and the pink bunny footies, he was a sight to behold. "We have a guest? And nobody told me? So, whose our new chew toy?"

Alix turned all sorts of red. Heath leaned in close to her. "Are you alright? You don't look yourself."

The bandages seemed to stretch as if smiling. "Alix! Don't tell me you're Ashamed to bring him home to meet the family."

"You are Not my Family!" she spat back.

Heath now saw the problem. "Hey, It's okay. When people put on productions, it just means that they are trying to impress. Frankly I like being impressed." He now turned to the stranger on the stairwell. "What happened to you sir? What is with all the bandages?"

BS gestured to the trio of dragons now wrestling with Megan on the front lawn. "that little black dragon out there sneezed on me. I'd watch out for him if I were you."

Heath stared a moment. "Oh. Thanks for the tip."

"No problem, now, if you will excuse me," because BS had seen Randall running down the hall with papers scattered anew. "Hey, Just the man I was lookin' fer. Got the new updates." BS handed the bedraggled scientist several wads of paper, along with a couple of snipped bandages from where he had written down new specs when he ran out of paper.

Alix tried to hide by bringing Heath to the kitchen for a snack. There she encountered Emma making dinner for herself and Justin. This was normally a dicey proposition, but Emma didn't take much notice of the duo. Heath tried to strike up a conversation with them, but the only word that Emma said was echoing the word "weird" in a sing-song pattern. Only when Meli came into the kitchen and barked at the children softly in their native tongue did Heath realize that he wasn't being ignored, nor were the children slow, but that he was not speaking in their known language.

All in all, he enjoyed the visit, even if Alix was upset by all the weirdness. Heath found it endearing.

Several days later found BS one again in the infirmary. The main cause was being in the path of a stampeding herd of over-exuberant mutant dragons. Junior's sheer weight cracked a few ribs and he sported many foot patterns on the front of his bandaged body. Normally he would have bounced back, but nothing was bouncing. His nanotech enhanced blood seemed sluggish and his own mutant ability was working in fits and starts. Currently he was going over several charts, comparing the results of ten different blood tests when Jason showed up, tossing a pack of cigarettes on the mummified man's chest. "Thanks," BS grunted. He had a dickens of a time trying to open the pack, but he eventually gets one lit, despite the oxygen tanks and warning labels plastered all over the infirmary.

"So?" Jason asked as he brought out his own rolled preference of smoke.

BS inhaled slowly, enjoying every bit of toxin. "Installations seem to be humming along. Only fried two circuits so far."

Goury walked in and stopped short, having not seen BS in some time, and certainly no in this state. "Wow, you look like hell."

Both men rolled their eyes at Goury's understatement. "You should see what it looks like underneath," BS replied.

Still the swordsman stared. "You remind me of a guy I ran into quite a while ago. My friend Lina cooked him with a fire spell."

It could have been a twitch of the eye, but Brimstone seemed to twitch a moment, then settle back into his bed. Jason picked up the conversation. "It wasn't fire. It was acid. Apparently Megan's get has some bite to him. Surely you've seen the rug rat, right? Black? Rocky? Demonic red eyes?"

"Has a TK kick so hard it rattles your teeth?" BS added.

"Yeah, I think so. Megan has him with the others down the hall."

Jason had sidled over to the window, movement catching his eye. "Ut oh. The Bobsy twins are at it again. I swear, they're just as dangerous as you Satchell."

"I wish you wouldn't call me that," BS groaned as he shuffled his way over to his kinsman.

"Well it's not like your gonna be doin' the superhero tangent anytime soon..."

BS didn't bother to argue the point as he lifted himself to peer our the window. Aerich and Randall were out on the far sparring field assembling what looked to be a full sized robot. In reality it was a mechanized power suit, the EX ADA-1 to be more precise. currently Aerich was hanging off the right shoulder housing and was trying to rewire the firing mechanism. Soon he dusted himself off and gesture for Randall to climb into the battle suit.

"Twenty says it explodes," Jason giggled.

"You're on," BS answered automatically.

As the machine hummed to life and Aerich went through the prechecks a small figure toddled out into the grassy area. Emma eyed the machine with interest, making almost a complete circle but keeping far from it's reach. Suddenly the machine jerked to life as it bonded to the wearer.

This brought Jason on point. "She's gonna get hurt," he grunted as he turned and bolted out the door. Within a minute, Brimstone and Goury could see Jason truckin' across the field at Emma in an attempt to pull her from danger... and got a TK blast to the body for his effort, sending his body tumbling off the playing field.

"Dink," was all BS could reply.

Both Randall and Aerich had froze, seeing Emma dangerously close, and her attack on Jason. "Don't move," Aerich whispered to Randall, whom stood stock still, not wanting to incur Emma's wrath.

Except that Emma didn't seem very wrathful. She looked to Aerich and gave him a grumpy snort that matched the Oscar the Grouch figure on her t-shirt. Her gaze drifted back to Randall in the battle suit and she slowly struck up a defensive posture. She then gestured, curling up her hand, daring him to charge her. She actually was going to spar against the machine.

BS was now glued to the window. "Crazy kid.. she's barely trained.." He turned around and almost lost his balance, falling back into the bed. "Goury. Help me. I gotta stop her!"

He got as far as the steps. More likely the top of the steps before the momentum carried him over and brought him tumbling down in a pile of twisted metal and bandages. Goury was at a loss as to who to call at that point.

Aerich slowly talked Randall through the ins and outs of the machine; the mana power source, the alchemic spear, the generating shields, the anti-mutant defenses specifically engineered to deal with enhanced beings like Emma, the idea being to defend against attacks from Rooslan; and so on. He kept on eye on Emma as she coughed and stamped one foot impatiently and coughed. Suddenly the machine coughed itself, then the back hatch popped open and ejected Randall. He looked white as a sheet. Apparently he couldn't take the strain the machine caused to his system as it cycled.

It looked as if Emma had lost her sparring partner when Prier made her way across the field, pleased to see the battle suit assembled and ready to go. It didn't take her much coaxing to get into the suit herself and the mana charge seemed not to affect her as much. She had worn battle suits before and it would be interesting to see what this child could do. She had heard rumors, but this really would be a test. She snapped her right arm out, the barbed spear sliding out of it's house to be caught up into her hand.

Aerich just managed to clear the field, dragging Randall with him, when Emma opened up with a TK punch. The blast was extensive, gouging the ground out around the mecha, but the defensive barrier absorbed the blast, only pushing her back several feet instead of mowing her down. The pylon supports dug into the ground to keep the unit from topping. Man that kid had a punch! She retaliated, pulling a charge from the suit and sending a blast right back at her with the same intensity. Emma merely dropped her head, taking the brunt of the blast, letting it roll over her like water. When she lifted her head, she had a slight nosebleed but she was smiling, truly enjoying the test. She was playing. She tried lifting a rather large boulder and heaving it, using mostly mind instead of brawn, but she had no accuracy and Prier was able to step aside. She tried to swat the child with the flat of the spear but found the little girl's speed and agility amazing, quicker than the suit's by far. Emma took advantage of this, spinning past the blade and aiming a punch for the back of the head, one that Prier just avoided. In defense she brought out the lasers and shot at the girl's feet. Again Emma danced out of the line of fire and brought her feet to bear on one of the mecha's knees.

Prier winced as the metal gave at the joint and tried to chase Emma off with a barrage of laser fire, but the girl could smell victory. She dodged again, honing in on that knee, crippling the mecha and bruising Prier's knee in the process. The mecha would repair itself, given time, but Prier would have to make some breathing space. Finally she was able to get a clean shot, this time for Emma's own knee, and with a yelp, the child fell down.

What happened next was frightening. Megan had heard the commotion and had lead the pack of mutant reptiles out to the porch to watch. And they were quite entertained, until their sibling cried out in pain. Suddenly there was a concerned stampede of scales as Junior lead the pack onto the field. Prier stepped back, hoping she would not have to fight the lot of them, but she was lucky. Junior pulled up next to Emma while the two furry companion dragons glared at the mecha suit. Prier thought they would attack, but it was Emma that barked at them, pulling them back from her. Then the child, buffeted on either side by a concerned drake, bowed to Prier, ending the spar. With her escort, she limped inside as Megan gave her wide berth.

Prier had returned the salute before beginning shut down preparations. There was a good deal of damage to the suit, all of it somewhat unexpected. After all, if a mutant toddler could inflict this much damage, how much destruction could a trained militant psi do?

They got their answer a few days later as they again finished tweaking and aligning the power cells in the new and improved unit. Emma had spent the next three days bubbling with renewed excitement. Only those that spoke that distorted strange language understood her, but barely as she rattled on faster than most could keep up. And she was even a bit more bearable to be around. She wasn't the ticking bomb anymore.

BS was even in better spirits, once he was dragged back up to the infirmary and re-taped. He had gone over the stats of the machine before and after the spar and had at least three pages of suggestions to improve the model. These Jason brought down into one of the machine shops to give to Aerich for approval. Much of it had been applied to the unit and Aerich was just about finished with the upgrades. Jason had watched thoughtfully. "You think you can talk Emma into dishing out another pounding?"

Aerich wiped his brow. "I think she will once she sees it is back up and running. She might want another rematch."

Jason snorted. "I don't think she knows she lost. She's been babbling on and on. If she knew she lost, she doesn't care."

"Let her brag," Aerich insisted as he closed the hatch on the shoulder-mounted mana cannon.

Jason looked over the armor. It once again shown brightly as the shop lights illuminated the workstation. "Pity we don't have any of our heavy hitters to really test it out on. Aurora and Estor are off doing that whole Sphere- hunting thing, and we won't go on about Nine. BS is in eternal infirmary mode and Megan can't punch her way out of a paper bag...."

"Excuse me!?"

Funny how Megan could turn up at the most inopportune times. The tone made Jason flinch, but he didn't turn to face her. "I'm only stating the obvious. You have no talent." He easily dodged Megan's punch, the fist plowing into the masonry work, causing Megan's knuckles to bleed if but for a few seconds before her mutant healing factor kicked in.

As the duo shuffled about, Aerich slammed the last hatch down. "Finished," he announced.

"Great!" Jason perked up as he moved behind Prier to avoid another punch from Megan. "All we need now is somebody to pound on."

Megan never hesitated. "I'll do it."

Jason's jaw dropped. "Are you serious? You can't even deflect a spell without passing out."

Aerich nodded his agreement. "Are you sure you're feeling up to it? We don't have to use spells, just physical attacks if you wish."

The mutant girl just rolled up her sleeves. "Won't know what I can do until I try. Jason, get me a stick."

While they prepared for battle, Drac dropped in on Brimstone. Once again he was bandaged from head to foot. This didn't stop him from going over the reports and stats, but he was clearly hindered by all the bandages, splints, and painkillers. "How ya doing?" Drac finally asked him.

BS sighed and sat down his paperwork. "I could be doing better. Everything IS falling into place. Got the sensors up and the security cameras in place. I probably should be doing the rewiring work on the south wall, though we didn't blow as many fuses as I thought we would. I'd get Aerich to help me but he seems a bit focused on his new toy."

"That 'toy' is what we needed to bring the human Dragoons up to par with our draconic fighters. It'll take some training, but they would be able to match them step for step."

The mummified mutant snorted. "You keep that up and they'll all start looking like me during my Heavy Metal years."

Now Drac gave BS a sly smile. "You may think about getting a suit for yourself. You are a member of the civil service. Even you may be called upon to fight."

"Fighting is not a problem. It's just I'm finally getting used to Not having the armor and you're thinking of putting me back into it. Meli would disapprove, and frankly I'm at a point where I don't think my body can deal with much more of her disapproving."

Jason returned, not only with a rattan sparring stick, but a light set of armor; leather wrapped around Kevlar; that he insisted that she wear, just because. Prier had already closed the access panels to the ADA-1 and was walking the mecha out to the sparring fields. Megan followed, strapping the padding one piece by piece. Jason had to cough at the ensemble. "You look like a rugby player."

"Hopefully I won't feel like one after we're done."

BS heard the commotion outside and sat up a bit to peek out the window. "Dear God, not again... and with Megan this time?" He looked to Drac, the "mother hen" look that Meli complained about very evident in the man's eyes, even through the bandages. "She's gonna get clobbered. She's no where back in tone after popping out that hell spawn...."

Drac likewise peeked out the window. "Apparently, she thinks she is."

"Well she's not know for being smart. Go down there and break that up before she really gets hurt and gets Junior all upset. He might end up sliming somebody that can't heal."

"Oh let them spar. Let Megan prove herself."

Prier was going through the final checklist with Aerich. "Alchemic Drive System is running smoothly. Mana siphon and conversion system engaged and operating at peak performance. All systems showing green. Ready when you are, Megan."

The mutant grinned. If Emma had shown any enjoyment during her spar with the mech, apparently Megan was going to enjoy it just as much if not more so. She started low, weaving back and forth as she charged, the six foot bamboo pole behind her, until she darted inside and swung the staff around, slamming it into the breastplate. It had been a crack, literally, that had caught her eye, and now the staff was wedge between the weldings, sending the suit stumbling back under the blow. She tied to follow through with a roundhouse kick the imbed the stick further, but her aim was way off, aided by an awkward parry from Prier. "Easy!" the mecha's driver protested. "You stab that toothpick through the armor, you'll get me as well!"

As the tussled, five sets of mutant eyes watched the battle unfold. The kid's heads bobbled and rolled with every twist and turn on the field. Above BS watched from his third story window, wincing with every blow Megan took. Prier had tried several types of mana blasts, but they seemed to disintegrate around the mutant. Finally Megan had another clear shot and attacked the same knee Emma had crippled the last time. Once again the metal gave and a crack ran up the casing on the leg.

Drac smiled softly, even as BS fretted. "Seems she is having and easier time than Emma did," he noted allowed.

Indeed she was. Granted most of her punches weren't as crippling as her kicks, but even a head butt made the helm ring, rattling Prier's brains while making Megan see stars. Even the row of kids winced at the impact.

It was stamina that Megan lacked. Soon she was gasping for breath and her punches and kicks were beginning to falter. But she didn't give in. She got a few more kicks into the exposed knee, exploiting what she saw was a weak spot, and finally Prier had to eject from the suit, clutching her own knee in pain. Megan stumbled over to her. "Dear God, I'm sorry.. MEDIC!"

The team rushed the field. Jason helped Megan to her feet. "Okay Princess, lets get you to sick bay. I'm betting you've got a few broken things..."

But Megan struggled against him. "Let me go, you pervert!"

"Excuse me? I'm only trying to help. You're the one that had to go prove a point.."

Try as she may, she simple didn't have the strength to break away. She turned to look at Aerich, if just to avoid Jason's smug look. "Sorry about the mecha."

"It's all right," he insisted, even as he helped Prier to her feet. Once upright, the pilot soon found she had a team of dragons and mutants surrounding her, giving her something to brace up against. Junior was licking the back of her left hand with the two furry critters offered their broad backsides for her to lean against. Aerich let them take over. "Besides, we had to see where the weak spots were. You almost stabbed through that armor."

"Surprised me as well. Didn't think the wood could shoot through metal like that, but I saw this," and she pointed with a toe to the lifted plating.

With a bit of exuberant fanfare from the youngsters, but Megan and Prier were escorted to the infirmary. As they moved out of sight from the window, Brimstone flopped back on his bed. "See?" Drac insisted. "It didn't end as badly as you thought now, did it?"

"She got hurt," he grumbled back. "She should know better. There was no reason to risk herself, not over a little thing like that."

"Now now, it wasn't all that rough. We weren't using any energy weapons. It was just a spar. Besides, isn't this just preparing Megan for the day when she takes over?"

"Not if she keeps breaking every bone in her body. She should know better," he insisted sourly, even as the wounded entered the infirmary.

Soon Megan and Emma were back on the sparring field, doing their odd sort of bonding. They kept to using the "traditional" long bamboo poles. It was the safest way to fight without killing each other outright. As it was Emma was the one in command of the field. Even though she had the body of a six year old child, she was holding Megan at bay, and the girl's "sister", if one followed the twisted layout of their family tree, wasn't exactly being gentle.

While the female folk sparred, BS hobbled into Serenity's office, finding the priestess buried in paperwork. How he had managed to walk down the hallway was puzzling as the bandages clearly cut down much of his movement. He leaned against the doorway, waiting patiently for her to find a stopping point in her work. When she looked up, he smiled sheepishly as best he could from behind he bandages. "Can we try another round of healing herb? It's beginning to sting again."

Serenity knew it had to do more than just sting. She had been working on his problems since the start, but it seemed the only means that worked, and haphazardly at that, was magic. She knew how much it hurt him when she wove those spells, so clearly he was being driven to desperate measures. This was confirmed when he pulled the wrapping back from one hand. The skin was an angry red and seemed to pull listlessly from the muscle. "I thought as much. I've got a new formula for you to try," and she stood up to assemble the ingredients.

"Oh boy, guinea pig time..."

"I've been thinking. We've been trying to attack this from the outside with creams and verbal spells. Maybe if we attacked it from the inside it won't have anyplace to retreat to. I've matched the mana profile to your wavelengths so this shouldn't be too painful."

Still BS thought it prudent to sit down the leather backed chair opposite her own desk before downing the brew. He made a horrible face at the taste of it, then braced himself for the worst. Instead of spontaneously combusting like he thought he would, the skin began to tighten back up on his frame and the redness subsided substantially. "Well beat me until I'm blue... it worked!" He looked about. "You got a mirror?"

She hesitated about giving him one, but allowed him to use the one hanging from the closet. He unwrapped the rolls from his face, exposing the red and white blotched skin to the light. She almost winced, seeing just how bad the acid had chewed away at his flesh, though he didn't seem ruffled by the unseemly scars. "We can try reducing those mars with some spells, though I don't know how they will work on you..."

BS was almost smiling as he poked and prodded at the skin on his face. "Scars? Don't worry about that. I'm just happy that I don't look like a Sharpei. A few scars are nothing to fret about. I just hope this lasts, or that I don't develop a tolerance to the drugs or spells."

"Maybe your nanos will begin to do repairs." She wasn't exactly sure how or what nanos were, other than little machines so tiny they floated in his bloodstream and they fixed things, but she knew he had been fretting over the lack of them.

He seemed in better spirits now as he grabbed his Stetson and pulled it down over his head, covering the patchy baldness caused by the attack. He then stepped up and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "This'll do, Serenity. Thanks." and he was off on his rounds.

The planning was flawless. Jason was being his obnoxious self, peering over Echo's shoulder as she worked to upgrade the battle suit. His attentions had also made Echo very nervous, so nobody was particularly surprised when Alix stormed over a clocked Jason in the jaw. Brimstone's response had been predictable, though no where near as volatile as what his female counterpart would have done. He protested. challenged and berated Alix, even as he followed her out of the room, down the hall, up the stairs and into the north tower. Perhaps he had been suspicious and was playing her role of mutant leader too well as his eyes did shift about, waiting for the ambush. He knew it was a set up when Alix shifted into her dragon form and flitted out the window, leaving him for Meli.

Their reunion was a bit awkward; Brimstone was full of amiable suspicion, Meli with quite frustration. But it seemed once they spoke, the apologies and inquiries spilled out and some of the caring they had for each other reformed a bit.

What nobody had counted on was Megan's response and the comedy of errors that unfolded afterwards. She happened upon the scene of Jason's beating shortly after Brimstone left. Instead of laughing at his fate as most would have assumed, she came unglued, demanding that the hangers-on reveal the culprit. Soon she was tearing after Alix, determined to chastise the woman with a mutant-raged beating, her bevy of draconic students chattering on her heels.

Meli and BS hid outside the window to the parapet, not wanting to be in that path of destruction as they heard the mutant snarling and swearing her way past their room. When Emma opened the window and peered around the corner where they stood on the ledge, they had thought their hiding place discovered, but they were relieved when the child just closed the window, leaving them undiscovered. When Megan couldn't find anyone the thump, she returned to Jason's side and made such a fuss and bother about tending to his wounds that many questions if she was still in love with the slimeball.

This hubbub had been mostly forgotten in a day or two. Jason had recovered, and when the swelling had gone down he pulled out a set of sparring sticks and challenged Brimstone to a fight. BS should have swept the floor with him, being larger, more skilled in battle, and a mutant; but between his own slow-healing injuries and Jason's hurt pride; he found himself on the defensive. Clearly Megan's ex had been practicing and had nearly won the day, but just as he was bringing his staff down for the winning stroke, chaos interfered.

"YOU!" This was bellowed from Megan across the ring, not at Alix, but at the born again winged angel Melissa. It was then clear that Megan had managed to mix people up and had gotten Melissa pegged as the wrong transgressor. She rampaged across the field, right through the boffer battle, breaking up Jason's would-be victory stroke, before pouncing on Melissa. The first few strikes and punches had caught Melissa off guard, breaking the joints in one of her wings, but soon she rallied back and finally got inn a decent headshot with her halberd, knocking Megan senseless.

It was hours later when Megan was given the whole story. She had woken in the infirmary, her home away from home, and had overheard from Serenity gently yet firmly raving about the whole affair. Only then did she realize that she had attacked the wrong person. Now the mutants and their draconic friends now trying to figure out how to get Megan to stop in her quest to cave Alix's head in. Some had to wonder Why the petite mutant had this particular mad-on. Was it chemical? Was it hormonal? Was it love? Had she decided that Zelgadis would never come out of his cocoon and was she looking for a new mate?

No matter the reason, she could not be allowed to thump on anyone "just because." Randall had managed to turn the whole incident on its head, suggesting that Jason had instigated the punch just to get Megan on his side; an explanation that she agreed to, if just mildly. The "guard" had been assigned once more. If Megan went to a bar, somehow Claw was there nursing a drink. She may seem to be in a lighter mood, but there was always the danger that she would fly off the handle. At least Junior wasn't as empathically linked to his mother anymore. He spent most of his time with Morgaine anyhow, so wasn't as dangerous as he had been.

Megan spent most of her time educating the pack. This was evident when Randall had followed a trail of muck, mud, and grass from the baths to one of the side rooms, only to be nearly decapitated by a ping pong ball. The two drakes were pitted against Megan and Junior and it was all out combat. The table already sported a diagonal crack on Megan's side and the playing field teetered as one of the aluminum lags was bent in two places. Another emphatic swat with a wing and the table collapsed, but the ball remained in play. Now it was hackey-sack, using everything; wings, tails, feet, and noses, to keep now dimpled ball aloft. Megan had to step back from the frantic flinging, almost tripping over Justin as the child grinned at the chaos. He and his sister Emma had stayed to the relative safety of the walls, keeping clear of the trampling talons. Megan looked down at the toddler. "Where are your shoes?"

Justin pointed down the hall. Megan's brow narrowed at the slime trail leading up to the room from the baths and made her way down the hall. The room was the lockers and baths for those sparring or training on the battlefield. Normally towels and exercise equipment lined the walls neatly, but it was clear that her children had taken time to "clean up" some before coming to play inside. It had been raining outside as the snail trail of mud showed her. That mud was now swilling about in the bath, along with quite a bit of gold and silver hair. The mud also was all over the marbled flooring, the benches, the walls and there were even three-toed footprints on the ceiling. Towels were flung about; two floated in the pool. Much of the workout equipment laid scattered and rolled about.

When the children heard the angry bellow of the mutant cow erupting into a volcanic slew of Del Marian curses, the drakes nearly ran over Randall as they bolted back outside into the rain, and almost over a woman and her red pony as they pulled up to the courtyard. The silver drake jumped over both beast and rider while Junior skittered underneath the pony's belly. The woman dismounted shakily, then sling her spear over her shoulder and made her way cautiously inside. Though armored and helmed, she still kept her guard, even as she came across a small woman grumbling as she mopped the hallway, just as a young blond man joined her. "Odd kids," this man joked with the mopping maid.

"You expected normal?" the girl quipped back, never lifting her head from her task, even as the red clad warrior woman came within arms growth

"Kids?" The warrior woman couldn't believe that those.. creatures.. were just juveniles. This idea hadn't even phased the duo, even as the woman turned to finally look her over. "Can we help you?"

With that the woman smirked. "Better get some water to put out that fire." and she gestured down the hall where one of the old woven tapestries had ignited. Megan took her advise to heart by running down the hall and swatting out the flames with the only weapon she had left; the mop. By the time she was done, the curtain was damp and muddy, but as she turned to confront the woman, she failed to notice the tapestry re-mending itself, becoming nearly as good as new in seconds. Megan was back to full blown iration. "What the hell do you think your doing?" she shouted at the woman, not thinking that maybe on of her children had turned over one of the hallway braziers and lit the wall aflame. "Are you Trying to burn the place down?"

Her answer was a shrug from the warrior woman, whom then quickly turned and headed out the door, the same door Megan's brood had just retreated to. It was too fast for Megan to cut the woman off herself, but a sharp and loud bark had warned her children. The drakes has already turned about and had formed a fighting formation, Emma at their center already with her arms out and her talents building quickly. But before any would attack, Janis rushed on the scene. "Lilka! My little girl!"

With that announcement, the woman removed her helm, revealing the hereditary bright red hair and features that identified her as one of Meli's clan. Megan inhaled then let out a low disgruntled snarl. "Figures," she grumped before tossing the mop into the mud.

When Jason once again challenged Brimstone to another stick fight, Melissa made sure to have in attendance ten of her best dragoons, lest this match spun out of control like the last one. It was a challenging match. Jason skipped through his attacks as if he had been born to battle the likes of BS. The larger mutant may have been slower due to his injuries, but he still had a weight advantage along with experience and finally was able to pin Megan's ex, ending the battle with a right cross to the face. "That aughta settle things for a while," he grunted as he stood up slowly.

"What in the Nine Hells was all this about anyway?" Melissa finally relaxed a bit, now that the confrontation was over.

"Oh nothing much. Just trying to knock me off the ruling roost." He helped Randall heft the unconscious Jason up on his shoulder and dragged him back to the infirmary. "Damn, he got fast," BS had to mused. "I don't remember him being so limber."

"Won't Megan be pissed that he got his ass kicked again?"

"Nah. I'm family. She only seems to get fussy when somebody Else tries it." He now gave Melissa a sidelong glance. "Has she apologized yet?"

"Not personally, but I have over heard the conversation."

He flopped Jason down on the gurney and began his examinations, noting that the skin around the eye socket was beginning to discolor. "Give her time. She may get a bit squirrelly at times, but she's the sanest one of us."

            The round of spell casting that followed was painful, at least not to Jason; but poor Brimstone caught the brunt of it. He had to stand in the kitchen downstairs before any of Serenity’s spell began to work on resetting the fractured bones in Jason’s body. The sorceress hadn’t wanted to bring up the point, but it seemed that BS was not the only one inhibiting the spell’s potential. It appeared that Jason himself had some resistance to magic, though not nearly in the psychedelic display of arcing light that seemed to skitter along Brimstone’s hide. No, this was more subtle. But did this mean that Jason himself was a mutant? All of Megan’s kin, and even Jason himself, emphatically said no. Still there was something stranger than normal with Megan’s ex.

            Then there was the question of public education. Megan had come down for a late breakfast to find BS tossing bits of ham, bacon, egg, and toast to the children; whom jockeyed and elbowed for their fair share of the portions flying through the air. “And how does this teach them table manners?” she growled at BS

            “You expect them to eat at the table when they’re fully grown?” he replied.

            When Megan rolled her puffy eyes at him and grabbed a carton of orange juice, Brimstone expounded on the problem. "You know, if you’re so gung-ho about learning them, how about giving them a real education? Did you even thing of letting Drac have a go at them? Surely he’s got a schooling system in place here. He’s Got everything else.”

Drac could never tell for sure if BS was ribbing him or critiquing his judgments. “Actually most everyone in this realm is home taught.”

Everyone knew Megan had been in a combative mood, but nothing really prepared them

for the tangent she was about to take. “You Really have no structured educational system at all?” She clearly was irked at the thought. “So what? Does the general populous learn by osmosis? Stupid people get to stay stupid? Is This how you oppress your people? They just don’t know it?”

            Brimstone was already moving since the tone of the questions had grown in pitch and octave, though he didn’t quite understand why she had brought her ire to bear on Drac. “Now Megan, he’s not saying….”

            “It’s a unique situation here,” Randall added hastily, also recognizing the warning signs.

            “I was hoping that our information distribution system would improve with the new upgrades,” Drac replied, hoping to placate Megan, though he was bamboozled as to why she had focused her tirade on something not normally on her plate.

            And she clearly was on a roll. “Oh Sure! Flood them with information, but don’t give them the tools to Understand! MEN!” she spat as she slammed her hands on the tabletop, sending a spray of orange juice all around before storming out. The children parted the way like the sea giving before Moses.

            BS sighed. “The girl is a bonified nutcase,” he grumbled as he began to wipe the mess up.

            Shortly afterwards Megan could be seen with her “students”, trying to wrestle through several primer readers. These were in Elvish and it as clear that both teacher and students were having a difficult time pronouncing, much less translating the ancient script. Drac just shook his head.

            When Morgaine came to visit, it was much like the zoo she imagined it would be. Emma was not nearly so childlike now, appearing to be closer to ten years of age, though Morgaine knew the girl was much younger than that. Justin also was losing the pudgy toddler look, but unlike his temperamental sister, he still had the non-plaus smile. He probably could have been in a pre-school if he only would talk.

Her favorite, Junior, easily topped 300 lbs, much stockier than his furry cousins (or would they be his uncles? It was hard to follow the exponentially confusing flow chart that represented the Del Marian family tree) Even now he skidded to a stop when he spotted his favorite psionic playmate. Unfortunately it was right in front of the furry duo and all three went tumbling across the meadow, snarling at each other in mock anger. Morgaine grinned then slipped behind the portcullis, playing their favorite game of hide and seek. He was getting very good at the game. She didn’t have to put out so much effort in calling to him before he came around the corner, grinning his toothy dragon grin from mulish ear to ear. But Emma had beat him to the prize. She was already standing there, her arms folded, staring up at Morgaine. The girl never smiled, but she gave a short grunt, then headed off to do whatever it was she did.

It was the crash from the south side of the castle that caught all of their attention. A full sized Vashtalian dragon skidded out from behind the building, sliding along the ground on his side. As they approached the combat field, Megan joined them, perhaps a bit curious herself.

Melissa was standing in the middle of the field, just folding her own angelic wings behind her. “Is that the best you can do, Lieutenant? Even in your full form, you cannot defeat a single humanoid opponent? You shall never make Dragoon with that weak of a display! Now, again! And put some soul into it!”

As the dragon shook himself off and plunged back into battle, Megan leaned in towards one of the many soldiers standing guard around the perimeter. “Melissa on a tear this morning?”

The Dragoon leaned in slightly as well. “One of the soldiers vying to become a dragoon got a little impatient during his training. He challenged her to an early test.”

All wince as the charging beast was bested again. Melissa had merely turned aside at the last moment and brought her halberd across the dragon’s shoulder, knocking him off balance and sending him across the field again. "Melissa's got bite," Megan commented dryly.

The Dragoon grunted. "Apparently he thought he needed only two years of training before ascending to the status of Dragoon."

"And how long is normal training?"

"At least ten years."

Megan snorted. "I'd be dead in ten years. Heck Emma here'd be old and grey. Glad we don't hafta struggle our way through That course. Besides, you can see he's off balance from the start." She gestured as the attacking trainee had shifted into his human form, attempt to match his bipedal movements with Melissa, only to find himself thrown once again across the ring.

Emma nodded, barking something in Del Marian, apparently echoing the same fault, then pushed her way through the throng of legs and feet to watch the combat in closer, leaving Megan behind to chat quietly with Morgaine. "You makin' any progress with the gang?"

The Soothsayer smiled. Megan hadn't specifically told her to train any of her kindred in mental standards, but she was glad that the effort had been noticed. "Junior's doing wonderful. I may not be able to get him to speak out loud, but his mental conversations are becoming clearer. Emma's powerful, but she won't let me in. All she does is block me out. As to Justin, all he does is stare at me. I don't know if anything is getting through to him at all."

Megan nodded. "I'm beginning to think that Justin is more human than the lot of us." She grinned a bit as Junior nudged his head into Morgaine's chest, insisting on her attention. "Seems you're stuck with Prince Charming there.." Megan's gaze shifted back to the field, watching a strange scene unfold...

Emma had watched as the fight ended with a severely bested Dragoon hobbling off the field of battle. As Melissa dismissed the rest of the troops, Emma walked forward, entranced by the winged warrior as she pulled her halberd from the ground. Melissa turned, looking down at the child, then bent down on one knee to be at eye level with her. "Hi." Melissa offered.

It seemed to be a struggle, but Emma managed to reply with a "hi" of her own. Melissa nodded, then noticed where Emma's gaze had turned to. "Would you like to look at my weapon?" When Emma nodded, the winged warrior handed the halberd over carefully. "Mind the edge. It is very sharp." She winced a moment as the child's fingers brushed the runes on the handle, sending a flurry of sparks down the shaft. She had forgotten that Emma was mutant, and that the magic embedded in the weapon could harm her, yet the flurry of manna didn't seem to hurt Emma. It was more like sparklers to the child.

Then Emma smiled.

Megan was impressed. "Looks like the leader of the imperial guard has just picked up a fan," she grunted, though it was more a content sound than any disgruntlement.

This was affirmed when Melissa left the field, and Emma fell in line right behind the woman. Apparently Emma had found her calling.

Megan nodded again, then looked down at Justin, wondering who he would chose. It was clear that Junior had picked Morgaine as his mentor and Emma had just chosen her teacher. Where would Justin's path lead?

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

            It was in the early hours of the morning when it came. A pulsating ball of light floated in through Megan's window as she slumbered restlessly, as she did most nights. It hovered over her bed, waiting patiently for her to wake, which she did, with a start, finding herself face to face with the very essence that she herself bore once, if briefly.

            The Orb of Entropy.

            For a force of absolute chaoticness, it seemed quite placid, hovering over her bed, bathing her with its changing light as is shifted from yellows, to blue, to reds, then into a deep gray before settling briefly on green. Megan stared unblinking at its depths for a moment as monumental amounts of information drifted into her.

            She sighed deeply, her eyes drifting momentarily to the mound of yellow caution tape and silk cocooning that housed her mate, or what had been him. It was hard to tell what Dusk had been planning, but it was growing clear that whatever it was surely wasn't going to come to fruition anytime soon. She turned back to the orb, nodded, then reached her arms out, caressing the glimmering casing before she was sucked inside.

            Brimstone was putzing around in the kitchen gathering himself a late night snack of barely edible leftovers discovered way in the back of the primitive icebox. He was just about to take a bite when his gaze moved upwards to the high ceiling, spotting the iridescent ball floating, loping around in random circles. "You have Got to be kidding me," he murmured as the ball descended hovering within inches of his face. The burned scars on his skin tingled, but not in the numbing pain he had grown accustomed to.

            But BS did not live so long by being naive. What would the Orb of Entropy want with him? He had no great mutant talent......

            ...but he did have a reality bending curse....

            He sat for a moment, even as the ball dipped and rose on some unseen current, then finally sighed. "Alright, alright, you got me. Just hang loose a sec." He pulled out a sheet of drawing paper left behind by the kids and used a magenta crayon to write a brief message. He then turned to face the fridge and with a sly grin, impaled the note into the door. "Let him chew on that for a while," he chuckled, then turned to face the waiting orb and sighed. "I am so going to regret this," he groaned, then reached out and grabbed the ball on both sides with his bandaged hands.

            He felt pretty good once he was sucked in.

            Emma woke with a start at the foot of Melissa's bed. The winged warrior had argued to no avail about Emma choice of sleeping arraignments, but in the end, she relented. Melissa sleep, totally unaware of the softly glowing ball hovering over Emma's end of the mattress.

            The young girl furrowed her brow as the influx of information poured over her brain like syrup. Danger. Great Danger. And she was needed. But as the ball dipped low for the girl to touch it, Emma held out her hand in a rejecting manner.

            "No," she stated firmly.

            The orb bobbed a moment, as if it couldn't believe that she would reject.. refuse.. the offer. It floated closer, only to be pushed back by the telekinetic power it had hoped to harness.

            "No," Emma insisted again.

            The Orb of Entropy then pulled back, then turned, spotting the smaller form of Justin sleeping in a smaller bed on the other side of the room, it hovered over him, pulsating once again, gently waking him. Emma barked a low growl and tried to move closer, but found herself repelled, mush as she had do to the Orb. She was helpless as Justin woke up, rubbing his eyes at being awaken so early in the morning, then looked up at the psychedelic beach ball. He smiled, squealed happily, then reached up to touch the smooth surface, only to be sucked into its depths.

            It then disappeared in a puff of purple and black smoke, just as Emma erupted in a howl of anguish, waking the castle.

            Drac staggered into the kitchen some time later. It had taken nearly and hour to calm Emma down enough to glean any sort of information. They had scoured the castle, but found no orb, and no sign of Brimstone, Megan, or Justin. The three drakes were fine, happily piled up on each other in the corner, blissfully unaware of the missing mutants.

            He was beginning to wonder what had happened when he found the note:

                                    "Drac

                                    BIGGER Sphere trouble.

                                    Watch over them all.

                                    Brimstone "