Sarah finally got enough energy to get up and head downstairs to eat supper. Her parents had brought home fish and chips from a local restaurant that in Sarah’s opinion, did it right. She was eating spoon full of mushy peas when the kitchen door was kicked in. At the same time the front door burst open. The men who entered had vests that read ICE in big white letters. One started by throwing her father to the ground. The other one came in through the living room and did the same to her mom. Blair being the bratty shit he was hit one with his plate. The agent threw him to the ground. Sarah could feel the panic rising up in her. The table started shaking. Each agent had a foot on one her parents and one had a gun on Blair who was on the ground crying. The other pointed his rifle at Sarah.
“Hands up girl.”
Sarah put her hands up. Blair twitched and he hit him. The house was starting to shake now the two agents were looking around. Glasses were clinking together where they sat.
“On the ground!”
Sarah was in full panic mode her breathing was erratic and when the agent moved to slap Blair again both agents were lifted off the ground and their guns shattered. They were holding their throats and trying to scream. By now things were falling off shelves and the earthquake wasn’t getting any less severe. Sarah was hyperventilating and was completely lost in her panic. The agents were gasping for breath and finally stopped moving. Eyre appeared out of the shadows and slapped Sarah hard across the face. The shock snapped Sarah out of her panic momentarily enough for Eyre to get her attention. Eyre met her gaze and commanded:
“Stop!”
Everything stopped shaking suddenly. The agents fell to the floor. The reprieve was momentary as Sarah started to panic again. Her father spoke calmy to her.
“Sarah-Bear, what’s next?”
Sarah was looking around the room everything was starting to spin and vibrations in the house grew worse again.
“Sarah-Bear focus on my voice. What’s next?”
Sarah answered.
“Breathe.”
“Good, breathe in and out like I taught you. In… out… in… out…”
Sarah started to take deep breaths, and everything started to settle once again.
“Good.”
The vibrations slowly ceased completely. Leaving an odd silence save for everyone’s labored breathing and Sarah’s father’s voice.
“Keep breathing in… out… in… out… Good lass, now Sarah-Bear what’s next?”
“I…I don’t know dad.”
“Sarah-Bear just keep breathing and sit down. That’s it, that’s a good lass.”
He hugged her tightly. Sarah’s hands were still trembling her eyes were drawn back to Eyre she’d never seen someone so…perfect. Her dad wasn’t meeting Eyre’s gaze. Eyre reached her hand out after meeting Sarah’s gaze and motioned downwards.
“Sleep.”
Sarah’s head hit her arms and she was snoring. Eyre told each of the twins to forget what they had experienced and put them to sleep. She turned off her body camera and did the same on both unconscious agents. She checked their vitals. Then for any signs of internal injuries. Once she was satisfied, she stood up and looked at Liam and Mòrag. The former was pacing, the later had found a kitchen knife and was glaring at Eyre.
“You get out of my kitchen witch.”
“No.”
“You dinnae have a right to be here, do you know how many laws you are violating?”
“I am fully authorized to undertake these actions as of this morning.”
Eyre produced two documents from a pocket and offered them to Sarah’s mother. Who put the knife down and started reading them her face growing paler with each line. Her hands began to tremble, and tears started falling down her cheeks. Her hand grabbed Liam’s arm.
“Liam, she means to take her from us. The president signed a national emergency order today and suspended rights of individuals considered a threat to the safety of the United States. Sarah’s name is on the list!”
Sarah’s father was still pacing. He was keeping his gaze away from Eyre though he would glance at her from time to time, like a student who had been caught and sent to the headmistress’s office. Eyre was looking at them both, shaking her head and appeared utterly speechless.
“What am I going to do with two of you? Liam you have violated enough laws on both sides of the border that I could throw you into supermax for the rest of your natural lifespan, and you, Mòrag, I have no jurisdiction over you, but I believe the president wants to make sure you get charged for a lot of crimes. Considering the drugs, you were pushing on Sarah I think child endangerment is the least of your worries. You’re her parents for God’s sake. You are supposed to protect her, not victimize her.”
She leaned on the table and glanced down at the sleeping Sarah.
“Puberty blockers? Mood stabilizers? Anti-psychotics? Anti-Depressants? I’m surprised she hasn’t caused more damage. You two have caused your daughter so much pain and suffering and all you had to do was bring her home to us. God damnit. One person is dead, one girl is intensive care, your daughter has third degree burns. Can you see the kind of madness you’ve caused?”
Liam was staring at his wife now. Shock evident on his face. Eyre looked at him and then to Sarah’s mother who wasn’t looking up from the counter.
“He didn’t know. You were stunting your daughter’s development, keeping her drugged into a stupor and he didn’t know. He had no idea the reason his daughter was getting bullied and wasn’t developing properly. That it was caused by you getting her injections behind his back.”
“I… thought… I thought…”
“You thought wrong, you’re her mother! Oh you… you are the worst kind of parent.”
That seemed to snap Mòrag out of her complacency and she started going off at Eyre in Gaelic. Liam winced at the choice of words. Eyre let her finish.
“And that changes what precisely?”
“Listen you British twat you can’t come in here and tell me how to raise my daughter!”
Eyre stood up to her full height which was almost as tall as Sarah’s and looked down at Mòrag.
“Someone had too. All you had to do was raise her in Scotland. Once she hit twelve or thirteen and she started developing we could have taken her. Got her acclimatized. Prepared her, made her feel normal. But no, you ran away to the one place where we can’t just snatch her legally. Then your husband had the ballocks to call our MANA office here and ask for my help. I came, I cleaned up your daughter’s mess. I made Sarah forget. You promised me once she hit puberty you would bring her to the office. I gave you the benefit of the doubt. I let you have your last few months with her then you vanish again. Liam, I told you this would happen, I said to you: Liam if you do not give her to us someone is going to get hurt, maybe a stranger, maybe you or your wife, maybe Sarah, or the twins.”
He was staring at the floor his ears red his eyes drifting to his wife. Eyre looked at Mòrag. The woman was still looking as defiant as ever.
“Oh, she stopped you, did she? You were always too quick to listen to her at home, and it seems this version isn’t any different.”
Mòrag looked at her and then to Liam.
“Oh, didn’t he tell you? He was married to you before, or at least your other self. Until she died in a car accident. He was distraught. He found out you existed here as well, and he came to me in tears begging me to help him get approved for a visa to Earth-2’s Scotland. You see there was never a Liam here before. His parents are alive back home.”
Mòrag glared at Liam then started yelling in Gaelic and throwing things at him. Eyre let it go on for a few minutes before she yelled at them.
“Stop it, you are adults, act like it.”
Eyre waited for them to calm slightly, at least enough so that Mòrag wasn’t hitting him.
“Now you two have issues you’re going to have to work out. Right now, I have more pressing concerns. The three of us have a few choices here, all of them end with Sarah in my custody and on her way to Aurelius Academy in the fall. The question is: Are you going to resist me further and I toss your asses in prison and throw away the key? Do you cut your losses accept phone calls from her and keep communications open? Or do you come back with us to Earth Prime and start new lives where you can see your daughter regularly? The final one, which is the one I’m most tempted by is to leave you both here wallowing in your own misery and tell her exactly what you did to her, I suspect she might choose to never speak to either of you again.”
She pulled a tablet out of her pack and placed it on the table.
“Take your twins, put them in bed, then go somewhere and watch this. I want you to see why your daughter snapped and you can decide which option is best for her. The only reason you aren’t both on your way to Earth-18 right now is that I think that as terrible as your choices have been, they were out of love for your daughter and that with some counselling you can be a happy family again. A girl needs her parents. I will not break you up on purpose. This is a limited time offer when I leave Earth-2 with her she is never coming back. You can be there for her, you can stay here, or there is always prison.”
She crouched and she touched Blair’s cheek and chanted and transferred his injuries to her and did the same with Malcom. Liam and Mòrag were still looking at each other and the tablet. She reached out to touch Liam, but he leaned back out of the way.
“Let me heal you Liam.”
He paused then seemed to relent and she healed him as well. She looked at Mòrag.
“If I try to heal you, will try to stab me?”
“Maybe.”
Eyre touched her and healed her as well. Mòrag looked a bit stunned.
“I’m not the monster you’ve built me out to be Mòrag. I am a mother several times over. I know how much this hurts you. Take the boys put them to bed take the tablet, look through our files. You need to see what she has gone through. Go. I will not take her until we all have a talk.”
Eyre picked up the agents and carried them to the SUV and put them in the back seat. By the time she returned Sarah was the only person in the kitchen. She approached her and shook her hand gently.
“Sarah, Sarah, wake up.”
Sarah stirred and rubbed her eyes.
“Where am I? Who are you?”
Eyre sat down across from Sarah. She tapped something just under her neck. Her imaged shifted her clothing changed to black body suit. She had a sword strapped to her back. Sarah blinked at her.
“What the fuck?”
“You are going to regret using that language in front of me young lady. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow but one day you are going to realize who you were talking to, and you are going to be embarrassed.”
Sarah gulped.
“Who are you?”
“My name is Eyre Aurelius. I am from another dimension. I am the headmistress of a school that was built specifically for our kind.”
Sarah was still groggy she pointed at the floor and then to Eyre.
“You put me to sleep.”
“I did. I am a super, like you. I am here to take you into custody because you are a threat to your family, to yourself and to others.”
Sarah started to get a panicked look in her eyes.
“It is not what it sounds like. I am taking you home with me. There you will be safe; You will be taught to control your abilities as well as attend normal high school classes. I am the headmistress of the Aurelius academy. Think of it like a posh private school.”
“But what about my family?”
“That is a discussion for later. For now, I wanted to tell you some things you may not be aware of. First off, you are a super. Second you are a very powerful super. Third, I have known about your existence since you were six years old and you saved your family from a terrible accident. Your parents were informed of your potential and advised that you would need to come with us when you reached puberty so we could assist you in growing into your powers so you wouldn’t fear them and hurt others by accident. They hid you from us. There is more but its not for me to tell. Your mother and father have done some things that they will have to explain to you. Once they finish you can decide if you still want them in your life or not.”
“What do you mean? They’re my mom and dad.”
“Your father was my student. He is from Earth Prime. By concealing you and aiding you in your… crimes he is guilty of all of them and unlike you he was well aware of the threat you posed. He has more than earned a life sentence in our supermax prison. Your mother while not bound by our specific laws has broken several of this country’s laws and is likely to be arrested. Your brothers are not supers and I cannot bring them with us without special permission which I would seek if you asked me. Otherwise, they will go into foster care here.”
Sarah was starting to panic again.
“Sarah focus, on me. These are all things that will happen if you don’t come with me of your own accord. If you chose to come with me, I will make all that go away, and they have the option of coming with us to Earth-Prime. If they come with you, you will stay with them until the new school year starts at Aurelius Academy, if they do not you will stay with your father’s parents who contrary to his lies, are quite alive and well and eager to meet you.”
“So let my parents rot in jail, or abandon my life and friends here?”
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“You don’t understand Sarah, if you resist I will either have to kill you or subdue you. Then you will be joining your father in the Supermax prison on Earth-18. You are too dangerous to leave untrained and loose in the world.”
“So, I have no choice?”
Sarah had tears dripping down her cheeks.
“I didn’t mean to hurt anyone. It is not my fault I was born this way.”
“The first statement is categorically wrong, you always have a choice, it’s just sometimes the selection is absolutely shitty, the latter is true. You did not willingly harm Candace, but you did none the less. I cannot say what she deserved for the torment she put you through, but just because you have power it does not make you the judge jury and executioner. You could no sooner change what you were born as then you could change the fact the Earth Orbits the sun. But the fact remains you were born with superpowers and that means even if you didn’t want it, you have a responsibility to your fellow humans to keep yourself under control.”
“So, what I go with you, and you train me to be your soldier?”
“No Sarah, this isn’t a movie. We train you to control your powers, we guide you into becoming a productive member of society and a mature adult. If you decide to work for MANA or Earth Gov that is up to you. I don’t care if you decide to go onto be a doctor, a lawyer, a kindergarten teacher, what I do care about is that you can do so at all. With proper training and control you will be provided with a license to use your powers however you see fit within the bounds of law, if that means you decide to never use them again that is up to you, for the most part there are some provisions enshrined in law that say your country of origin/citizenship can conscript you to aid with disaster relief and national emergencies, that may include enforcement action.”
“So even if I’m free I’m never free?”
“Yes. Sarah look at it from this perspective, you have to be licensed to drive, you have to be licensed to legally carry a firearm, both of these require training and passing a test. You are a living nuclear weapon; Does it not stand to reason you require training and testing and licensing to use your power safely? And you’re worse than either of those two things because you can’t control your power. You can put a gun down, you will always be a super, today, tomorrow, ten years from now, you will never not be dangerous. But with our help you can put your powers down and pick them up when you need.”
There was a loud noise from another room. Mòrag screamed. She started curse in Gaelic and Liam could be heard trying to calm her down unsuccessfully. Sarah pushed her chair back. Eyre held up her hand.
“They are fine. I just provided them with a detailed report of the cyberbullying that Candace has been putting you through. I suspect the just saw the video that precipitated your latest episode.”
Sarah looked like she was about to throw up.
“You remember what it was now don’t you?”
Sarah had her hand over her mouth and nodded she rushed to the sink and threw up.
“I…kept them from finding out.”
Eyre stood and pulled off some paper towels of a roll. She offered them to Sarah who with some difficulty wiped her face. Eyre motioned to Sarah.
“Come here love, give me your hands.”
Sarah offered her hand to Eyre with some hesitance. Eyre took Sarah’s wrist. She started chanting as she did her hands grew bruised and bloody and the burns seared into her flesh. She winced and then miraculously all the injuries healed in seconds. Sarah looked down at her hands quickly pealing the bandages off.
“How?”
“Magic.”
“No seriously how?”
“I used magic to transfer your wounds to myself and since I have what we’ve come to refer to as regeneration they healed quickly. That spell allows me to take your pain away. Here it is the best I can do, there is no well spring of magic like there is on my Earth. There I can heal with more conventional magics. The spell I used on you is archaic from a time when all we could do is redirect energy.”
“Can I use magic?”
“I don’t know, some people have the talent some people don’t. We will not know without testing.”
Sarah rubbed the fresh and smooth unblemished skin of her hands.
“There is no sign of the burns. They said that I would be scarred for life.”
“They are not aware of Earth-Prime or what we are capable of. Let’s clean up this mess so it won’t smell.”
Eyre cleaned out the sink and rinsed it with soap. Sarah sat down at the table and kept staring at her hands. They were so thoroughly healed that the callouses she had worked so long to develop to make them harder were gone. It’s like they were new. She would glance at Eyre every so often.
“You don’t seem like a Headmistress or principle or what-.”
Sarah blinked and her cheeks went a deep red. Eyre smiled.
“There it is. I told you that you would be embarrassed you used that language in front of me.”
“You’re the headmistress of the school you came to take me, too, aren’t you?”
Eyre nodded. Sarah buried her face in her hands.
“And you know about everything Candace did to me? And… oh god I’m so embarrassed.”
“It comes with the territory of being a teenage girl in the 2020’s Sarah. Actually, most decades. Even 14th century England I am afraid. Hormones are a bitch.”
“If I come with you… can you help me with… my…”
Sarah blushed again burying her face in her hands.
“Why am I asking you, you’re just a teacher.”
“I am more than a teacher Sarah; I have had many careers. Doctor has not been one of them. However, I am aware of the issues you’ve been having with your development. I assure you that is going to change very soon, now the injections are off the table. Unfortunately, that means the things that have been happening around you, like say, computers suddenly catching on fire, houses shaking, plants growing randomly, is just a precursor to the main event which if our scans are not lying to me could be big enough to wipe out several city blocks.”
“You are talking like this is normal.”
“Sarah, for us it is normal. I deal with this on a daily basis. Well not this in particular, on Earth-Prime you would never have been left to your own devices to understand your power, your father should have had this talk a long time ago. You keep getting hit with two things at once, your emotions get out of control and then something strange happens. Which causes you to panic even more, which causes more things to happen… do you see where I’m going?”
“I do ma’am.”
“I would love to say I can snap my fingers and remove your abilities and let you go on with your life, but it is not possible. Your life as you know it is over. That is the bad news. The good news is, where you are going this is normal, you will not have to hide who you are. You will meet new friends, join new sports teams, you have two sets of live grandparents on the other side. And with your abilities you’ll be a superstar. Every government on Earth will want you.”
“There is another version of my mother?”
“No, sadly she died in a car accident which is partially what led us to this predicament.”
Sarah’s face twisted slightly her eyes narrowing.
“Sarah she wasn’t your mother, she was a different person. She had a different history. A different schooling. However biologically she would have been identical to your mother. So, your alternate grand parents may want a relationship. We stay out of such matters. However, courts do not. So, if your mother’s alternate parents want a relationship with you, they can technically sue for visitation. That being said usually the courts will ask your opinion if you’re old enough, which you are. Your father’s biological grandparents could theoretically demand custody and based on your parent’s behavior the courts would grant it. What I am saying is you have a lot of confusing times ahead, but I will be there for you, Earth Gov will be there for you, and your parents if they come with you will be there with you. Now you also have grandparents who can stand with you too. You are not alone, and you will not be alone.”
“If I go, what can I take with me?”
“Everything. You can even keep talking to your friends here. You have to be careful not to mention you are on different version of Earth or anything about superpowers, that will be caught and blocked before transit here. Basically, it’s up to the people of this Earth to decide when they will tell their people about alternate earths and powers.”
“Can I go on my date with Richard?”
“No, I’m sorry when we finish talking, you and I are going to transit quarantine where you will receive two doses of T-Cell Enhancer and you will stay there for two weeks. Then when you are fully protected from possible infections on our Earth you will transit to your new home world. From there you will be flown from Munich to Scotland. Once in Scotland you will stay with your grandparents while undergoing a crash course on Earth-Prime laws and power control. You will be equipped with an ankle monitor which serves two functions, it will dampen your powers and will allow us to track you in real time. Once we have a better picture of your power signature and you have completed your first year the monitor will no longer be necessary while on Earth-Prime. Any PL10 or above is required to wear one during the initial stages of puberty.”
“So, I’m a prisoner?”
“No. On the contrary you can go anywhere your Scottish and American passports will let you go on our Earth. You are fourteen and your grandparents will have temporary guardianship of you until we have sorted out your parent’s status. So, if you want to go far, you’ll need their permission and likely their money. And do not worry you will not be a burden on them financially. I have already arranged for financial aid from Earth Gov. Look at it this way, you’re going to spend the summer in Scotland with your grandparents while attending summer school. The ankle device is so you don’t need to worry about your powers getting out of control and hurting anyone. And the law dictates that as an PL10+ MANA and your local government are able to determine your exact location in real time.”
“I don’t understand why are you so scared of me?”
Eyre nodded.
“Before I show you what I’m going to show you, you need to put this on your ankle.”
She offered a small anklet that was made of almost soft-rubber cloth. It was in two parts.
“This is the first step in accepting my deal.”
Sarah took the two pieces and looked at it. She put it on the table and stared at it. She would be giving up her freedom for her parent’s lives. She looked back up at Eyre.
“This isn’t fair.”
“Sarah, life isn’t fair. Your parents made their choices, now you need to make yours. Will you be law-abiding citizen, or will you try to swim upstream?”
Sarah looked at it and touched the halves sliding them along the table.
“Sarah, if you put that on, I can make an exception and let you go on your date with Richard, let you have one last party with your friends. I’ll even pay for it. If you don’t put that on now, I cannot trust you not to hurt anyone else. I cannot trust that your parents will not try to run off you again and start this whole chase again. If that happens, I can assure you our conversation will end very differently.”
“Shouldn’t my parents be present or something?”
“They are wanted criminals. The Scottish government has revoked your citizenship. The US president has revoked any rights you have, human and otherwise. You are a person with no country. And because I like ensuring I have all my bases covered.”
She reached in and handed Sarah a bundle of paper.
“That is an arrest warrant for you, your mother and your father.”
She pulled out another bundle of papers.
“These are court papers granting your paternal grandparents’ temporary guardianship.”
She put another bundle of papers in front of her.
“And these are authorizations by the US Government, and Scottish Governments of Earth-Prime granting me extraordinary powers to return you to your Grandparents.”
And finally.
“This is a document from the US Government of Earth-2 acknowledging the change in guardianship.”
“You can get your mother to read them all, I’ll wait. She’s a lawyer, most of our laws are very similar. Or you can trust me and understand the only choice you have is whether you come with me in chains, in a box, or in a comfortable limousine and private plane after you have one last fling with your friends. Your parents will never need to know what you did to protect them. That will be between you and I”
“Why are you here? Why not some police agent type thing? You’re a teacher.”
“There are precisely eight people who could be sitting in this chair. Six of them are four-thousand-year-old vampires who would have just killed you at the first sign of resistance. The other is my sister who is younger than me, but a lot more mmm… anal retentive, that’s the word. She would throw your parents in jail, and you would be dragged to the school in chains. If you gave her too much resistance, she would throw you in jail. She’s big on laws. So, because I felt bad for you, and I care about your father I made sure it would be me.”
“What are you then?”
“I am a twelve-hundred-year-old vampire. I assure you the show I put on tonight wasn’t for you. I could have come in here snapped your parent’s necks and incapacitated you before anyone realized what was happening. And that is exactly what would have happened if it had been any of my ancient cousins.”
“You could just look me in the eyes and make me do this.”
Sarah lifted both halves of the ankle device.
“True. But that is not the relationship I want to have with you Sarah.”
She tapped her necklace and was wearing a stylish business dress. She crossed her legs and leaned back in the chair.
“The question is what kind of relationship do you want to have with me? Do you want to trust that as your headmistress and instructor I have your best interests in mind? Or do you want an antagonistic one where you believe I am out to get you?”
Sarah nodded. She took both halves and leaned down putting them around her ankle there was a flash and it fused. She didn’t feel any different.
“Thank you, Sarah.”
Eyre picked up the arrest warrants and pulled fire from the gas stove’s pilot light and it burst into flames and vanished. She pulled out another tablet from what appeared to be a purse and handed it to Sarah.
“You asked me why everyone is so scared of you. This is what you did to Candace.”
Sarah took the tablet and put it on the table and swiped it open. She watched the video of Candace fighting against an unseen force then she was treated to a picture of her in the hospital. Sarah’s hand went to her mouth, and she started having a panic attack and she ran to the sink and dry heaved for a few minutes. Eyre waited for her to calm down.
“You did that to someone four kilometers are away from you. That means you could do it to everyone in a four-kilometer radius at a minimum, at once. Do you understand?”
Sarah sat down again. She poured a glass of water and took a long drink. She pushed the tablet away and was refusing to look at what she’d done any longer.
“Yes ma’am.”
“It is not the worst you’ve done, but that is a discussion for another time, when you’re more mature. I’m not here to make you feel bad about yourself. You’ve got the monitor and power limiter on. And we had a deal. I’ll let you and your parents get back to your dinner. I want you to understand it limits your powers it doesn’t eliminate them. You need to make sure you keep taking your ADHD medication. It gives you a chance to make the decision on whether to hurt someone or not. With that anklet that is all you need, the chance to make the choice. Without it even with your meds you have no chance to stop it at least at the moment.”
She took the tablet back and put it in her pack.
“We are going to change up your medication regimen.”
Eyre stood up and started going through the pill bottles looking at each. She put a bottle of white and blue capsules on the table in front of Sarah.
“These are the only ones you need. The rest of these are not for ADHD, they were to keep your mood stable, but they are having the opposite effect, they’ve been giving you panic attacks according to MANA’s medical staff. You have a mostly normal brain you don’t need these. So, you should not take them. You do have ADHD and we will make sure you continue to get treatment and meds on Earth-Prime.”
Sarah nodded and looked in the direction of her mom and dad.
“Look Sarah, there is a lot you don’t know, and if your parents are any kind of parents at all they will be honest with you before you leave. Please trust me when I say that you will start puberty before you start school next fall.”
Sarah nodded and wiped away a few more tears. Eyre smiled at her.
“You made the right choice Sarah. The best choice you had out of a bunch of bad ones. That is the best you can hope for in life.”
She pulled out a phone of an odd design.
“This is activated and has my number in it. If you need anything before, we leave, you call me. Also tell me where you want your party, I will make it happen. The other number that has been programmed in it is your paternal grandparents. You can feel free to call them if you want.”
Sarah took the phone and looked at it.
“How? What kind of phone is this?”
“Kennedy Industries. Its cross-dimensional.”
Sarah’s eyes went wide.
“Don’t worry I’m not leaving Earth-2 without you. And I almost forgot.”
She reached into her pack and pressed device against Sarah’s skin and hit hissed Sarah looked at her.
“What was that?”
“First dosage of your T-cell enhancer. You need another one in a week.”
“What is that?”
“It will basically increase your body’s ability to fight off infections by around one thousand percent. In other words, if you get a bad flu, it will last a couple of days at the worst. It also stops cytokine storms as I’m told and what that means is the deadliest parts of infections are stopped. Alright I’ll be back to pick you up in a few days. Make sure you pack what you need. The rest we can ship over. So, focus on clothes, ones appropriate for a Scottish summer. You can also bring your electronics, there is a good chance they’ll work with our technology. Okay?”
“Yes ma’am.”
“Have fun with your friends.”
Sarah nodded. Eyre called out.
“I’m leaving, you’ll find all the legal paperwork on the table.”
“See you soon Sarah. I’m so excited for you. A whole new world is about to open up for you.”
Eyre walked out leaving Sarah staring at the phone and the paperwork. Her dad looked around.
“She just left? Just like that? What did you say to her?”
“I just agreed to go with her dad. She gave me a way to limit my powers and said I could stay, get packed have a farewell party with my friends. She said you could come with me.”
Her mother started going through the paperwork. By the time she reached the end of the second document her face had fallen. She collapsed in a nearby chair.
“Liam, our parents have been granted temporary custody of her and the boys at that British bitch’s discretion!”
Sarah picked up her pill bottle and her new phone and started to walk away. Her mother called out.
“Sarah. You come back here.”
Sarah turned around tears in her eyes. Things had begun to become very clear. The haziness the dullness. The inability to feel much sometimes. The delayed puberty.
“No mom, you don’t get to tell me what to do anymore.”
“You need to take your supper meds.”
“No, I’m not going to do that mom. I can’t trust either of you. You lied to me, you drugged me, and you let me endanger my friends and my brothers. I am going to my room and when I feel like talking to you I will, but until then leave me alone. She said this ankle thing limits my powers but can’t eliminate them so I don’t know what I might do to you by accident so stay away.”
“Sarah, lass Dinnae be that way.”
“No dad, no just no. I’m fourteen and I look like a fucking boy.”
Her mother looked like she was going to say something about her language.
“Did you do this to me? Is that what the injections were for? To make me a boy? Was that whole get pretty for the dance my last chance to prove I should be a girl?”
Sarah’s mother dropped the paper.
“Did that Briti-.”
Sarah was full on bawling now; Tears were flowing freely.
“No mom, no she didn’t, but I’m not stupid mom. I’m not stupid. I need a pill mom! One pill a day for my ADHD the rest…the rest was. I have no idea what sick game you were playing. But I’m a girl I was born a girl, I am a girl, and I am not your boy or whatever you were trying to make! No more. No more!”
Things started to shake in her immediate vicinity, she did her breathing exercises and it stopped.
“You better thank Ms. Aurelius mom; She just saved your life even if I don’t want hurt people, I hurt them. You did this, you both did this to me! I’m going to go upstairs and I’m going to start packing and I’m going to call my granddad and grandma because they want me how I am. They signed papers saying that I was free to choose my gender. Right here.”
She rushed forward and poked one of the pages.
“You don’t get to choose that: I do! I do. Guess what mom, I choose girl! Fuck you both!”
Sarah ran upstairs and slammed her door.