Running through the darkness, part of me was conjuring up reasons for Sophia’s sobbing call, imaging everything, from the possibility that the League and the police were knocking on her door, to the idea that her father had tried to lay a hand on her and she had struck back, showing that she was Powered. Anxiety was driving my legs, causing me to run harder than I had thought possible and soon, I was in the neighborhood containing her house.

Not knowing what situation I was getting in, I was careful, slowly and stealthily making my way to the apartement Sophia’s family lived in.

The door was open, leaned against the jam and inside light was on. With a soft push, the door opened and I saw the inside of the living room and it looked like a warzone. Broken glass, scattered paper, ripped photos, dropped clothes, strewn over the mess I had seen before, a mess of old take-out boxes and dirt. I changed my stance, readying myself to fight or protect myself, depending on further events.

“Hello? Sophia?” I called out, while slowly moving inside. Listening closely, I heard sobbing from the direction I knew Sophia’s room was in, so I moved towards it, still careful, but no longer slowly.

Opening the door, the room was dark and the sobbing was coming from a corner. Galatea changed my glasses to let me see in the dark, and I saw Sophia curled up in the corner, sobbing her eyes out. There was no longer any caution in my movements, I just moved as fast as I could, getting down on the floor and trying to pull Sophia to me.

At first, she did not accept but once I started to softly talk and she realised it was me, causing her to turn into my embrace, squeezing as if trying to crawl into me. A tiny voice in the back of my head took stock of the strength used and thanked Darwin that the gene-treatment had strengthened my body, or there would have been bruises. Not that it would have mattered, I would have taken the bruises.

Not wanting to lie on the floor, I gently moved into a sitting position and pulled her into my lap. The sobbing slowly ceased, as she regained her composure.

Finally, she had calmed enough to want to start talking.

“He... They… They had a fight. A huge fight, mom was yelling and throwing things, shouting about money and where it was. And dad, he, he was yelling that she was trying to drag him to hell, called her a demon, a whore and an adulteress. He said that she should be ashamed and that she should be stoned, that he would not sacrifice his eternal soul on her heathen altar of capitalism.” Her words were tumbling out, slightly jumbled but clear enough to understand.

I wondered about a few of the phrases, they seemed oddly specific, as if someone had talked, or rather preached, to him, using them. Knowing what I knew about the church he was attending, there was no need for long intelectual leaps, the pieces fitted quite neatly.

“Mom screamed that he had taken the rent-money, asking what we would eat next month and it all went downhill, fast. Dad tried to pull me into the argument, shouting that I was learning to be a whore from mom, that the Revered Father would have to show me the true path. He tried to drag me out, but I shook him off and hid in here. Mom got even louder and threw more things, but I couldn’t understand what they were saying. I just knew, I needed you here, so I sent the message.”

“Well, here I am, running to the rescue of my damsel. Sadly, my white charger is at the farrier and the silver armour is getting polished.” I said, trying to elicit even the smallest of smiles from her. There was a small giggle, but it sounded a little hysterical. But at that point, I would take whatever happiness I could get.

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“How about we clean the living room a little. I do not know where your parents are but I believe it would be better if it does not look like a warzone.” I suggested, trying to find something to occupy Sophia’s mind.

There was a knock on the door, so I got up, pulling Sophia with me while marvelling at my strength before putting her on the bed and going to the door. She did not seem to be in any shape to answer the door.

When I opened the door, two police officers looked at me, one male, one female, both slightly surprised at my appearance. I was still dressed in an ensemble consisting of a sports-bra, a pair of exercise leggins, running shoes and glasses but my vigorous exercise had given me the muscular, hard body of a serious athlete.. My clothes were still damp with sweat and my hair was probably on the list of recommended nesting spots for migratory birds or something like that.

“Excuse me, miss, there was a call about a domestic disturbance. Is everything alright here?” the female half of the duo asked.

“Not really, no. I do not live here, but come in. My girlfriend called me, maybe half an hour ago, that she needed me here. As you can see, I dropped everything and ran.” I said, before inviting them in. I was not quite sure what to do, so I went with the simple solution of being polite and relatively truthful.

“So, your girlfriend lives here?” the male half asked.

“Yes. I strongly suspect that the call was about her parents. If you upset her further, I will end you!” I blurted out, still upset about my inability to help Sophia. It took me a second to realise what I had said and to whom. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, trying to expel the roiling feelings inside me, to regain my usual collected calm.

“Please excuse me, officer. I am just worried about my girlfriend and a little upset at the moment.” I said, projecting a sad smile.

Both officers had wry smiles on their faces, being threatened by a teenage-girl was probably more humorous to them than anything else and they were understanding that I was in a highly stressful situation.

I left them in the trashed living room and got Sophia. She did not quite want to stand, she wanted to be carried, so I indulged her, picking her up and carrying her out, like a child. I let her down, and the two realised that Sophia was only petite, not young, even as she pushed me onto a relatively clear chair to sit on my lap.

The statement that the two officers got was rather basic, but there was nothing really they could do, both participants in the disturbance were gone, the report would be filed and that was it.

During the statement, I had to actively keep myself from glaring at the officers, whenever they asked a question that made Sophia flinch. And there were a few of them, some about her mother, some about her father.

Soon, the two had everything they needed and as they left, the female half gave me a friendly smile, telling me that I would have to take good care of Sophia and wishing me luck. To them, the glaring girlfriend seemed to have been a source of amusement.

Sophia and I started to sort through the mess on the floor and I found myself doubting the idea. Finding family photos ripped apart was doing nothing good to Sophia, but the cleaning kept her moving.

After a while, the living room looked less like it had been bombed, but there was no way to get it into a better shape without causing some noise and it was late enough that I did not want to annoy the neighbors even further.

“Can you stay with me tonight?” Sophia asked in a soft voice. There was no way I could abandon her, not in her state, so I simply nodded. Together, we managed to whip something semi-edible up and ate together. I noticed how much Sophia stuck to me, making physical contact as if she wanted to make sure I was still there. Her behaviour worried me a little, but I decided to observe it for some time, before doing something about it.

Showering was a little strange, I had a feeling Sophia was standing by the door the whole time I was in the bathroom, ready to latch back onto me. She had given me some of her clothes, even if they did not quite fit, but it was better than wearing the sweaty clothes to sleep, so I put up with it.

Fitting onto her small bed together was surprisingly easy, with me laying on my side and she snuggling against me, hiding her face in my chest. I was not sure how comfortable that actually was, but it was what she wanted. What worried me, was that all that time, neither her mother nor her father had been back. Even if her father's return most likely would have sparked conflict. But at least, there would have been information.