Chapter 20 – Suspicions Aroused

May sat in a darkened control room where the only light in the room was coming from various TV and computer monitors around her. It was late in the night, and the main overhead lights had long since powered off automatically. After the first two trips out of her chair to the main light switch by the door to power the lights back on, May got lazy and just ignored them. She was too intent on what she was watching to be overly bothered by the lack of adequate light.

Subconsciously, she knew that staring at the bright displays in a darkened room was bad for the health of her eyes, but at the moment she just didn’t care. Observing all the video footage of her team’s performance over the last couple of weeks took top priority in her mind. Team. Her team. The words seemed almost unreal, even to her. Never in all of her wildest fantasies had she ever envisioned herself the leader of the Children of the Night. A much reduced team to be sure, but her team nevertheless.

They had come a long way in a very short amount of time. The team was still far under strength compared to the days when Jared was the leader. Most of the psions that May had contacted had refused to rejoin. They were still scared of the prospect of real live action against a monster such as Diablo. May understood how many of them felt, but at the same time she could not stem the flow of disappointment she felt about her fellow psions. Diablo was a threat to all the psions, not just to Sifu Chang and his immediate family. May’s eyes watched intently as her team participated in field exercises against the other psions that were currently at the school. While Jeff was the only psion to agree to join her team, there were many psions who had come to visit and help with the training.

There was only one psion that May had never asked, nor will would she ever. May recalled the look of fear in her mother’s eyes when she recounted her ordeal to Stella. One didn’t have to be an empath to see that Stella still bore the psychological and emotional scars she had received at the hands of a deranged maniac. Stella was a powerful telepath - powerful enough to send thoughts to psion and non-psion alike. With her ability, she would have been ideal to serve as the central communications link for her team when they went after the Demons because neither Tracy nor Michael were psions.

As if on cue, the thought of her friends drew May’s attention to another monitor to her right. This was the monitor that was showing the hand to hand fighting ability of the members of her team. Everyone on her team – with the exception of Michael – had benefited from several summers of instruction at the school. However, even without training, Michael had quickly proven himself to be a fast learner. Despite Brandon’s earlier boasts that he would personally train Michael, May had taken Michael under her wing. Brandon’s style of combat was too flashy and advanced for a mere beginner like Michael. After showing him the basics, May had let Michael spar with the other members of the team. On the screen at the moment, Michael was facing off against the diminutive Jade. Jade’s smaller size meant that she had to work hard to get inside Michael’s longer reach. It was almost comical to watch Michael trying to fend off Jade’s lightning fast but clumsy – at least to May’s eyes – attacks. Jade was just too hot headed to be effective at hand to hand combat. May turned up the volume in time to hear laughter coming from the spectators of the sparring match. A voice cut through the laughter, and although the volume was still too low to make out individual words, May recognized Brandon’s voice. Brandon’s tone was short and curt. He was directing his comments to both Jade and Michael alike. May checked the date and time stamp on the bottom right hand corner of the screen and nodded to herself. She remembered that day. She had been on the sidelines waiting for her turn to spar with Michael. Brandon had berated Jade for her clumsy attacks and Michael for his inability to launch any attacks of his own. On the surface, Brandon and Michael had seemed to bury the hatchet, but underneath there was an undercurrent of pent up hostility. May suspected that while Brandon was no longer challenging Michael’s right to be with the team, as a professional martial artist, it irked him when someone didn’t seem to be treating martial arts seriously. In Brandon’s eyes, that someone was Michael.

May’s eyes narrowed as the verbal assault from Brandon reached a climax. Michael stepped in and challenged Brandon to a match. Brandon seemed almost eager to take to the mat once more. The two combatants squared off, bowed and adopted their stances. Brandon suddenly leapt into action but Michael easily blocked his attack. Brandon regrouped and then attacked again. May focused her attention on Michael. That day, when she had watched the match live, all her attention had been focused on Brandon. That was just the nature of his style – it attracted attention. Now, however, she looked only at Michael. Gone was the clumsiness and shyness he had exhibited when he had sparred with Jade earlier. In their place was a confidence and smoothness of movement that belied his apparent inexperience.

May watched as Michael either blocked or turned aside every attack that Brandon threw his way. He still had yet to throw his own attack and Brandon’s frustration could be seen. Brandon barked something at Michael. May remembered his exact words to be: “What the hell are you waiting for? Attack me!” Michael had looked startled and then proceeded to do as Brandon had asked. It was in Michael’s attacks that his inexperience showed. He used none of the flashy moves that Brandon loved. Instead, his attacks were simple straight punches and kicks that May herself had taught him. However, what he lacked in style, he more than made up for in speed. Michael’s first punch was barely blocked by Brandon. May thought she saw a wince of pain briefly cross his face. The next punch missed Brandon by mere inches as he spun and dodged to the side. Before Brandon could recover, a simple straight kick arrowed in and caught him in the midsection. He doubled over, but when Michael paused Brandon quickly waved him on again. The sparring match continued for several more intense minutes until Brandon finally called a halt. He was totally breathless. He shook Michael’s hand and the rest of the team had converged on Michael to congratulate him.

May paused the playback and rewound the video to watch the fight from the beginning. She watched until Michael started his attacks and then slowed the video down. Even at slow speed, the kick was almost too fast to follow. May rewound again, and this time, inched the playback forward one frame at a time. At the instant of the kick, May paused the video and stared hard. Either the camera angle distorted the image somewhat or Michael’s leg was a few inches too long. May powered on her computer and transferred the video feed to it. Using the computer’s video editing software, she cleaned up the image and zoomed in. When she got the image as clean and zoomed in as possible, the result took her breath away. There it was. The proof was staring in her face. The snapshot she had taken was in the moment just before Brandon doubled over in pain. Michael’s leg was at almost full extension, with his toes arched back and the ball of his foot forward. There was at least three inches separating his foot with Brandon’s abdomen. Michael had hit Brandon without touching him!

While it was possible that Brandon was shamming, May knew that he was not. Brandon had brandished the bruise he sported like a badge of honor. How was this possible? May knew that she had scanned Michael quite thoroughly for any psionic abilities and had come up dry. Maybe this was an ability that Michael was developing due to his prolonged exposure to psions? May shook her head at the thought. Her meditation exercises with her grandfather had taught her to keep her gift open at all times. The world around her was virtually full of different colored sparks, each one representing someone’s psionic gift. The only ones that didn’t have it were Tank, Tracy and Michael. May looked at the snapshot again. It didn’t seem possible but there it was. Michael had hit Brandon without touching him and it had happened so fast that not even Brandon was aware of it.

May drew a circle around Michael’s foot and hit the print button. As the printer warmed up and hummed to life, May reflected on everything she knew about Michael. He was adopted and had a beautiful adopted sister. For over two years, he had existed in the background of the school, never associating with other people or visiting any school functions. Until Halloween, May had only been aware of Michael’s presence peripherally – the way she was aware of many other students who were not part of her immediate circle of friends. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Michael had gone from a virtual nobody to the hero of the school. She was not awake for most of the rescue, the night of the fire, but according to Tracy, Michael had entered the burning gym over and over to pull out people.

May closed her eyes and took in several deep breaths. In seconds, she had entered into a meditative state. She pushed her mind back over the last several weeks – back to the night of the Halloween dance until she got to the confrontation with Dan Harper. Normally, the memory would have been fuzzy, but in her current meditative state, the details came to her in startling clarity. May hit a mental pause button as Michael tore off his helmet. Although his features were strained and twisted with pent up rage, it was still recognizable as Michael’s face…or was it? She tried to compare it with a current image of what Michael looked like today, but as she tried to mentally pull both images together, they blurred and merged in her mind. May uttered a quiet curse and opened her eyes. Where was she going with this line of thought anyway? Did she honestly think that maybe Michael wasn’t Michael and was actually someone else pretending to be Michael? She gave a snort of derision at the incredulity of the thought. Perhaps the stress of leadership and the imminent battle with the Demons was getting to her. Michael’s identity was easy enough to prove after all. All she had to do was pull out and dust off her yearbook from last year.

A soft sound from yet another monitor caught her attention. She filed whatever thought she was thinking into the back of her mind as she focused on the sounds coming from the TV screen on her far left. She zipped her chair over to get a better look and turned up the volume. This particular TV was showing a live video feed from the girls’ dormitory. The dormitory should have been empty tonight since Jade had gone home already and May was in the control room. The lights were dimmed and May could make out two figures on one of the beds. The soft sound came again, and this time, May identified it as a soft feminine sigh.

“Yesss, right there.”

May’s curiosity was instantly piqued and she leaned forward to watch the events on the screen. It was obvious that the participants on the bed did not know about the surveillance camera currently being trained on them. There was just enough ambient light in the dormitory to make out two dark forms intertwined on the bed. Simple process of elimination and the sultry tone of the voice identified the female figure to be Tracy, and if that was Tracy in there then the other person could be no one else except Michael. May was tempted to turn on the light amplification features on the camera but didn’t want to risk alerting her friends as the camera shifted modes. Instead, she turned up the volume again and tried her best to make out the action in the darkened room based upon her friends’ conversation.

Michael: “Am I doing it right?”

Tracy: “Oh god, yesss…Mmmm, are you sure you’ve never done this before?”

Michael: “Believe me, if I’ve ever had a near naked girl in bed, I’d definitely remember it!”

There were soft chuckling sounds and then for the next couple of minutes, all May could hear were soft sighs and deep breaths.

Tracy: “Damn, you’ve got too many clothes on. Here, let me help get that off.”

One of the figures straightened up and raised its arms and the second sat up too and helped pulled something off. With that action complete, both figures lay back down on the bed again.

Tracy: “Ahhh…yess, that feels so much better. Help me with my panties would ya?”

There were more rustling sounds followed by a sharp intake of breath.

Michael: “Oh my god, Tracy, you’re so beautiful!”

Tracy: “Usually guys say that before they get the girl into bed, but the flattery is appreciated!”

Michael: “It’s not flattery but the truth.”

Tracy: “Aww, Michael, you say the sweetest things.”

May felt a flutter in her chest at the obvious affection between her friends. Part of her was feeling slightly guilty about watching her friends in what was obviously a rare moment alone, but she just could not bring herself to turn away from the screen. There was a lull in the conversation as the sounds of kissing and soft sighs replaced the words. Suddenly, there was a sharp intake of breath.

Tracy: “Hsst, careful! Gently, Michael, touch them gently. They’re very sensitive right now.”

Michael: “Sorry, Tracy. Like this?”

Tracy: “No, that’s too gentle. Heehee, that tickles. Here, give me your hands.”

Michael: “Ohhh, so soft…”

Tracy: “Ahh, much better. You can do more than just touch you know.”

Michael: “You mean this?”

Tracy: “Eek, ohhh…yesss…just like that.”

There was another lull and May could just make out one of the figures lying on top of the other one with its head below the neckline. It didn’t take much imagination to figure what was going on! May felt a warm flush that was quickly spreading throughout her body. She had watched the occasional porn movie – usually with Tracy – but those were nothing compared to this. She had watched the porn movies mostly because she was curious about them and truth be told, they had done nothing for her. She had found them to be way too graphic without any of the soft romantic overtones that she liked.

Tracy: “Oh, Michael…I need you so much. Make love to me right now!”

Michael: “Umm, Tracy…you know when May described the sleeping arrangements here? Well, I kinda never thought we’d have any time to ourselves so…well…”

Tracy: “What?! You didn’t bring a condom either?”

Michael: “Sorry.”

Tracy: “Oh man! Geez, Michael, you’ve got me so turned on right now.”

Michael: “Tracy, you have no idea what you do for me!”

Tracy: “Well…hmm…I think I do! Wow, you’re as hard as a rock! And big too! Have you been giving this guy a work out?”

Michael: “Hsst…careful, Tracy. I don’t know how much of that kind of attention I can take right about now.”

Tracy: “Well, we don’t want that right now, do we? Besides, wet sticky sheets are so uncomfortable to sleep in. So, what do we do now?”

Michael: “Well, this is the first time I’ve ever had a naked girl in bed with me. I suppose I should take advantage of the situation and go exploring.”

Tracy: “Be my guest, you intrepid explorer!”

There were more giggling followed by soft moans as Michael did exactly what he said he was going to do – explore the rich bounty presented to him.

May’s chest was feeling particularly warm and her left hand almost involuntarily touched herself through her thin shirt. Through the two thin layers of her shirt and sports bra, her nipples hardened under the attention of her seeking hand. Her right hand seemed to have a mind of its own and it traveled down her body and slid under her jogging pants. The heat coming through her panties surprised her. She let out a soft sigh of her own as the action on the screen picked up. Tracy’s arms encircled Michael’s head and they seemed to be putting a gentle but insistent downward pressure on it. Michael seemed to get the right idea as his head moved down from Tracy’s breasts and paused at her stomach.

Michael: “Umm, Tracy? I’ve never done this before. I don’t know what to do.”

Tracy: “I thought you’re supposed to be an explorer? Imagine yourself in a new city. Go downtown and explore!”

Michael: “Hehehe. Good idea. So, I guess your belly button is point A…”

Tracy: “Hsst! Yeah…”

Michael: “I then travel down Yonge Street…”

Tracy: “Unh huh…”

Michael: “I’ll hit Bloor Street and detour over to Bay Street…”

Tracy: “No! Go back to Yonge Street!”

Michael: “I go down Bay and then I hit Dundas and go west to University Avenue…”

Tracy: “Back to Yonge…back to Yonge!”

Michael: “Then, I’ll head south all the way down to Front Street…”

Tracy: “Heehee, stop that! My foot’s ticklish enough without you licking it all over!”

Michael: “Heh, your foot’s pretty cute but that’s not my final destination. I want to go shopping for goodies!”

Tracy’s breaths were starting to come short and fast.

Tracy: “The Eaton Centre is at Yonge and Dundas. Lots of goodies there!”

Michael: “I go back up University to Dundas. Then, I inch along, slowly but surely…”

Tracy: “Stop teasing me, Michael!”

Michael: “Finally, I arrive at the Eaton Centre, the main shopping centre of downtown Toronto.”

Tracy: “Go shopping!”

Michael: “I hear honey’s on sale…”

Tracy: “Oh…god…yesss…Right there!”

All conversation stopped as Michael dug into his task with exuberant eagerness. The dim lighting and the odd camera angle prevented May from getting a clear image of what was going on, but May didn’t care. In fact, her eyes were shut tight as she listened to Tracy’s moans of pleasure. Although her eyes were shut, her hands were anything but idle.

Tracy’s moans started to climb in intensity. In between moans, she would often pant in short fast breaths or squeak as Michael hit a spot that she particularly liked.

Tracy: “Oh…oh…yes…like that…ohhh god…aaiieee!”

Tracy’s exclamation came loudly over the speakers, but May didn’t care as she was lost in her own climax as well. May’s eyes squeezed shut and she let out a loud groan of her own as waves of pleasure swept over her body.

As the waves ebbed away, May opened her eyes. The only sound coming from the screen now was Tracy’s deep breaths and a self-satisfied chuckle from Michael. Suddenly, Michael jerked his head in the direction of the main dormitory door. His body was frozen in position for several seconds and before Tracy could ask him what was wrong, he jerked back down and swept the sheets over both himself and Tracy.

Tracy: “Michael, what’s – “

Michael: “Shhhh. Someone’s coming! “

As the door opened, light from the hallway spilled into the room. A figure was outlined briefly in the light before it walked in and the door closed behind it. “May? Are you in here?”

Tracy: “May’s not here right now, Stella!”

Stella: “Tracy? Is that you?”

Tracy: “Yes.”

Stella: “Oh, I thought May would be with you. Who’s that with you? Oh, nevermind. Hello, Michael. Did I interrupt something?”

Michael: “Uhhh, nope, we were just…um… talking.”

Stella: “Heh. Talking eh? Well, did either of you notice that while you were deep in your conversation, that camera over there seems to have taken an extraordinary interest in you?”

Tracy: “What camera? Hey, May said that she was going to be in the control room reviewing video footage. May! Are you watching?”

May laughed out loud. She was so busted! <<Ah, Mom! I was enjoying the show!>>

Stella: “May says that she was enjoying the show. Maybe I should be down in the control room instead!”

Tracy: “May! Just you wait! I’ll get you back!”

Stella: “I think I’ll leave you two lovebirds and go find my errant daughter. I never knew she had such voyeuristic tendencies.”

Tracy: “Make sure you make her shut off the camera! Michael and I still have some unfinished business.”

Stella: “Maybe I will and maybe I won’t. Who knows? I just may enjoy the show too!”

Light spilled into the room again as Stella walked out. Her laughter faded away as the door shut once more.

Tracy: “May, you better have that camera shut off or so help me god! May? Are you listening? Fine. If you like to watch, I’ll give you an instructional video you’ll never forget.”

Michael: “Tracy, what are you doing? May’s still watching for all we know.”

Tracy: “I don’t care. Who knows when I’m going to get you alone again. Besides, I’ve yet to see you totally naked. Stop struggling and help me get your pants off!”

The two shadowy figures seemed to dance on the screen for several moments and then something dark and vaguely V shaped flew up into the air.

Tracy: “Wow! I think I may have hit the jackpot! I wonder if I can fit it all into my mouth.”

Michael: “Um, Tracy? What about May?”

Tracy: “Screw May! Wait, no, on second thought, screw me…after we get a condom and some privacy!”

Michael: “Umm…Tracy…”

Tracy: “Shut up and enjoy this! May, I hope you’re watching closely! Mmmhmmm”

Michael: “Oh geez! Holy…”

Still chuckling to herself, May reached up and hit the switch that turned off the camera - finally giving her friends the privacy they needed. The screen in front of her dissolved into static as she scooted her chair over back to her workstation. The printer had long finished printing the image snapshot that she had taken earlier. She picked the picture out of the tray as she felt the approach of a familiar spark and knew that her mother was on her way. May considered briefly if she should share the picture with her mother or not. She frowned as she made up her mind and slid the picture into a folder for later reviewing. Whatever she had found, she was not ready to share it with anyone yet.

The door to the control room opened and Stella walked in with a briefcase in one hand. May looked up as she walked in and had the decency to blush. Stella merely grinned wickedly and shook her head. No more words needed to be said on that subject!

May nodded at the briefcase and asked, “Is that what I think it is?”

Stella sidled over and rested the briefcase on the desk in front of May. “Yup, Tank got it in earlier today but couldn’t resist the urge to test them out.”

“Testing, eh? I bet he couldn’t wait to play with them!” said May with a laugh.

“I sort of figured that out too. He did say that they worked perfectly and that his friend, the one who did the final machining, wants to market them to the police and security firms – after you road test them of course.”

“Of course,” said May with a smile. “Tank’s buddy is doing the work for free so I don’t have a problem with him trying to sell it. However, given the laws in Canada for stuff like this, he’s going to have a tough sell. As long as he doesn’t try to sell them to street kids or anything like that, I’m ok.”

“Tank vouches for him,” replied Stella. “Ba ba has worked with him too, so I know he’s ok.”

May shrugged noncommittally. As long as her grandfather vouches for someone, she was cool with it. Her attention turned to the briefcase in front of her. She could feel her excitement build as she reached with slightly trembling hands to the latch. The latch popped open, and, like a girl opening her first jewellery box, May slowly raised the lid of the briefcase. Her eyes widened as she beheld her new weapons.

After her first run in with the Demons, she had reviewed her own performance in her mind over and over and finally decided that she needed an edge. She took a pair of practice tonfas down to Tank and explained her idea. Tank had listened, and within a week had a working prototype. The problem with the prototype though was that it was too heavy for May to use effectively. Therefore, Tank had sent the prototype to his friend who had made the final product. On the surface, they resembled the nightsticks used by police and security personnel, but underneath they were different. Much, much different.

May picked up one and winced as she hefted it. “It’s still heavy,” she complained.

Stella grinned and said, “Tank said that you would say that. He told me to tell you that maybe a weightlifting workout would be more helpful than all that cardio prancing you normally do.”

May laughed and held the weapon in her right hand in a guard position with the longer end nestled under her forearm. She backed away from her mother and then swung it experimentally. It was heavier than the practice tonfas that she was used to, but the added weight actually felt very good and would allow her to deliver harder blows. On the handle, just above her thumb were two well disguised buttons. Remembering the design discussions she had with Tank, she pressed one down. Nothing happened.

At her frown, Stella spoke up from where she was standing several feet away. “The taser doesn’t work unless you hit something hard enough. It’s a safety feature so that you don’t electrify yourself accidentally.”

“So how do I use it in the middle of a fight?”

“Just hold down the button and then hit someone. The taser is built into the butt, so remember which end to hit with.”

May nodded her understanding. She swung the nightstick around so that the butt end was resting under her wrist and the long end was pointing straight out. Stella raised up both arms in mock terror. “Whoa, hey watch where you’re pointing that thing!”

“Relax, Mom! The safety’s on.” May reached up with her left hand and gave the barrel a hard twist. There was a soft click and May examined the tip. The tip’s normally smooth exterior now had 15 small openings spread evenly around its inch-and-a-half diameter. May arched an eyebrow and looked at her mother. “Flechette rounds?”

Her mother nodded and said, “Each flechette round is hollow and has a more concentrated tranquilizer than the darts Jared gave you way back when. The air canister is part of the firing assembly and you can quick load simply by snapping off the entire lower half of the barrel and snapping on a new one. The effective range is about 100 feet.”

“So, it pays to carry spares. A backpack is going to be too inconvenient to get spares out of if I’m in a hurry. Mom, can you come up with something that will allow me to reload in a hurry?”

Stella concentrated as she studied May’s figure. “Turn around for a moment.”

May complied and stood still as her mother studied her back. She picked up the second nightstick and held both of them behind her back. “I’m thinking that I can carry these back here so that they’re out of the way but close at hand when I need them.”

Stella nodded almost absent-mindedly. “Uh huh. I see what you mean. So we need some sort of baldric running down your back with straps to hold the nightsticks. I can modify your utility belt so that you can carry a spare clip down each thigh.” Stella gave herself a visible shake and said, “I’ll get right on it. It’s the least I can do.”

Stella turned to go, but May quickly headed her off. May reached out and touched Stella’s arm. “Mom, it’s ok, really. You have to stop beating yourself up about this whole thing.”

Stella looked up in surprise. “What do you mean?”

“Mom,” said May patiently, “I’m an empath remember?”

Stella’s eyes suddenly watered and were soon releasing large tears. “Oh, May! I’m so sorry! I want to be a part of this too…but…I just can’t! Every time I close my eyes, I still see him!”

“Shhh…its ok, Mom. I know.” May hugged her mother tight. “We’ll get that bastard. You’ll see.”

---

Tracy sat in the back seat of the Night-copter with her hand lightly holding onto Michael’s. From his totally relaxed attitude, she could tell that he was still recovering from her earlier oral ministrations. She smiled at the thought. In the past, it was always something that was demanded of her, and, while she had always enjoyed the giving of pleasure, never before had she given it to someone she loved. Michael, bless him, had never once demanded any kind of favors from her. From the onset of their relationship, he had treated her with respect, love, and an ‘I’m just happy to be with you’ attitude. She knew, deep down, that by now, she had completely lost her heart to him and that if she were to suddenly die, she would die happy.

Tracy gave herself a quick mental shake. Now was not the time to be thinking thoughts of death. Now was the time to be thinking of life, love and the joy of living. Now was the time to be thinking of the consummation of her love for Michael in the most intimate of ways.

After catching them on camera, May had suggested that perhaps Tracy and Michael should head home for a much deserved break – and privacy. To help them get home faster, May had even lent them the newly repaired Night-copter with Brandon as a pilot. Tracy gripped Michael’s hand tightly for a second as she sent her friend a silent thank you.

Michael glanced over at her and smiled. “Penny for your thoughts.”

His smile caused her heart to flutter. However, instead of melting into a pool of goo, she rallied her playful side and replied, “I think my thoughts are worth more than a mere penny.”

“Oh? How about a Loonie?”

“Nope, not even that. No currency is going to be good enough for me.”

Michael grinned impishly and leaned over and said softly, “Maybe another trip downtown will loosen your tongue.”

Tracy barely suppressed a shiver of delight as Michael’s words caused her to remember the pleasure she had received. It had been a first for her - to have someone try so hard to please her for a change. “Perhaps, but you’ll have to keep your tongue in tip top shape!”

Michael blushed red at Tracy’s comment and for the moment seemed lost for words. Tracy found Michael’s naiveté to be very refreshing and loved him more for it. On the one hand, he seemed so inexperienced yet eager to please and on the other, it was just so easy and so much fun to tease him!

Her other hand absentmindedly fingered the strap of her overnight bag. Her thoughts wandered to the little piece of metal that she carried everywhere with her but had shown no one except for May. May had taken one look at the bullet and had shrugged. May had claimed that her guardian angel had intervened at the last moment, thus saving Michael’s life. It didn’t ring true to Tracy. If some interstellar alien had saved Michael’s life by catching the bullet, then why didn’t he prevent May from being kidnapped in the first place? Why hadn’t he zoomed in like the avenging angel he resembled and blasted the Demons to hell and back? And why did Michael try to brush off the gunshot by making that inane comment about his wallet stopping the bullet? Any other person would have been freaking out. The events of that fateful night had happened so fast that Tracy hadn’t had time to properly review and question them. They’d been on her mind a lot recently though. Tracy had asked May to scan and rescan Michael for any psionic ability, but May claimed to have found nothing. Psionic ability or not, Tracy couldn’t shake the feeling that it was Michael, and not some mysterious invisible alien who had stopped the bullet that night.

Tracy took a deep breath and, with a conscious effort, redirected her thoughts to the present. There would be time enough later to try to puzzle things out. Tonight was the night for fun, love, and of course…sex!

---

The cab pulled up in front of Michael’s house and Michael paid the fare with an extra large tip. The grateful driver then helped Michael and Tracy with their bags and drove off into the night.

Michael grabbed both bags and then paused and stared at what should have been an empty driveway. There were two cars parked on it. Once was Serena’s familiar and battered Honda Civic. The other one was a large dark colored Buick that Michael didn’t recognize.

Tracy noticed Michael’s concern and followed his gaze to the parked cars. “I thought Serena was going to be away tonight!” she said with a groan.

“I thought so too,” said Michael with a deep frown. Normally, Serena parked her car in the garage. That her car was currently in the driveway meant that she either came home in a hurry or was trying to leave but was stopped. Either way, he didn’t like the implications. The Demons rode large loud motorcycles so Michael was reasonable sure that the Buick didn’t belong to them. Besides, the Buick had a green Enterprise sticker on the bumper so he knew that it was a rental. No, a rental meant out of town visitors. Maybe old friends of Serena dropping by for a late night visit? Only one way to sort this out!

<<Maybe you should send in your senses first, young one.>>

Nah, Tracy’s getting fidgety and I don’t want to explain why I’m just standing around outside with my eyes closed when we could be inside warm and comfy. Besides, whatever’s going on inside, I’m sure I can deal with it.

<<Suit yourself, young one.>>

The voice of Big Bro disappeared and Michael grabbed Tracy’s hand and led her to the front door. He unlocked the door and pushed it open. The first sound to reach his ears was the sound of someone crying - sobbing actually. A long heart wrenching wail came from somewhere inside the house and his own heart skipped a beat as he recognized Serena’s voice. Suddenly filled with an urgent sense of haste, Michael rushed into the house with Tracy right on his heels.

In the living room, he found two strange men. One of them was sitting on the sofa while the other one was standing beside Serena, who was sitting on the loveseat with her head in her hands. At his approach, all three looked up at him.

Serena’s tear streaked face brightened when she saw him. Another sob escaped her mouth before she launched herself off the loveseat and into his arms. Michael wrapped his arms around her as she cried uncontrollably into his shoulder.

The man who had been standing beside Serena came over with a box of Kleenex in his hand. Michael accepted it gratefully from him and then did a double-take as he realized the man was wearing some sort of military uniform. “What’s going on?” he asked to no one in particular.

The man in the uniform answered with a question of his own. “Are you Michael Wellington?”

Michael nodded and the man replied, “I thought so. I can see the family resemblance.”

“I’m adopted,” said Michael automatically. “What happened? Serena? What’s wrong?”

The man in the uniform gestured with his hand and said, “Perhaps you should sit down first, Michael.”

“I’ll stand,” said Michael stiffly. He wished someone would just tell him what the problem was!

Serena sniffed and paused long enough to get her sobs under control. Wordlessly, Michael presented the box of Kleenex and Serena snatched a sheet from it. She wiped her tears and used another one to blow her nose. Somewhat more composed, she pulled out of his arms. However, as she looked him in the face, fresh tears welled up in her eyes. “Michael…David and Mary…your parents and mine…they’re dead!”