Ratcatcher sat in the back of the ambulance, patiently allowing the medics to clean and work on her wounds. The police and firefighters had finally arrived and were now busy putting out fires. Reporters had already arrived, eager for news of any kind, but the police had so far refused to make any statement, leaving that tall man, Argus, to speak with them.

The headmaster personally arrived from the Academy, giving her a sharp look. He briefly asked the paramedics about her condition and left an instructor to watch over her before taking the other trainees to drive them home. The wounded terrorists, or Numbers as one policeman called them, were taken into custody and the civilians were taken to a nearby hospital, except for a select few who had only minor injuries. Thankfully, the headmaster had also brought a set of spare clothes fitting her size, although Ratcatcher had no idea where he had found the exact same jacket with a hood to hide her head. Mom and she had to work three whole days to make one!

Nadya sat in the same car, quiet like a mouse, with a blanket over her shoulders, and holding her fists as a medic worked on Ratcatcher’s tail. After applying a medical gel, the swelling on her face disappeared, but the missing fangs and teeth will have to be replaced by a dentist. She dreaded this visit, remembering the last time that scary man had brought his drills and tools to fix her tooth. The medic also told her that the wound on her shoulder would leave a nasty scar, but that was nothing to worry about. One more, one less, who cares? Worst of all, Dad was getting closer by the minute! Ratcatcher felt it through a connection made by her power. Dammit, she made him worry so much!

“The boy and girl who were with me. Will they be okay?” She didn’t see Elina, but Carlos was immediately driven to the emergency care.

“Of course,” the medic confirmed, injecting her tail with something that made the painful tingling disappear. After cleaning the wound, the medic began to bandage her tail. “The girl has been taken by her family and the boy… Well, his wounds are bad, but nothing really critical. Not for someone like a Barjoni,” the medic said after Ratcatcher looked at him. “Saw some stuff, I gather? I won’t pry, but I am not lying. Not to worry, a few months in the hospital and he’ll be as good as new, along with a new hand.”

“And Ratcatcher?” Nadya asked, and the medic looked at her. The girl sighed. “I mean Eliza. What about her wounds?”

“I can’t do much for the tail here, so she'll have to go to a clinic to have it regenerated. Same with the teeth. The rest is confidential information, sorry.” The man gave Nadya a stern look. “And using nicknames is degrading, little lady. Your friend is just as human as we all are, and she has a real name.”

“Yes, and that name is Ratcatcher!” the trainee grumbled, smiling to Nadya.

She had hundreds of thoughts and ideas in her head about how to ask Dad's forgiveness for worrying him and making him drop everything at his new job and rush here. His manager had just started letting Dad work without constant supervision, and the girl remembered how happy and proud Searcher was when he told his family all about it. What will his company think of him now that Dad has no doubt dropped everything and rushed to his daughter's side? Will they ever trust him again?

But when Pol Erickson and Dad walked in, both girls found themselves in the embrace of their fathers, and all worries disappeared. Instead came tears. And peace, along with a sense of security.

****

"Thanks for the ride, Pol." Dad shook Pol's hand after Pol had driven them to their house.

Mr. Erickson’s car was hardly a new model, but its seats were comfortable enough for Ratcatcher to find herself dozing off along with Nadya. She felt her face burning with shame when she woke up in Dad's arms. The night was slowly creeping closer and closer, but there were still dozens of families walking with their children. And everyone saw her being carried. Like a baby.

I will never live this down. The girl thought, seeing Nadya laughing in the car. The other girl's laughter turned to embarrassed indignation when her father also took her in his hands, and this time it was Ratcatcher who showed her tongue, enjoying the moment. Or not.

"Sis!" A cry came from the entrance, and she trembled, feeling the impact of her brother’s head coming straight into her belly when young Liam jumped into Dad’s hands, covering a distance in several steps with a single, not-so-graceful leap. Wrapping his tail around Dad’s shoulder, Liam hugged her. "Play! Race me around the house!"

The girl laughed, kissing her brother’s forehead and ruffling his hair. Squealing with delight, the boy spun around and tried to use his tail as a rope to swing across Dad, only to have his sister catch him and press the sturdy body against her chest. Liam made a few attempts to break free to maintain a facade of independence, before letting out a happy squeal and wrapping his powerful limbs around her.

Of all of them, Liam loved the surface the most, treating the open sky as something natural. When Ratcatcher first arrived in Morningstar, she would sometimes spend time hiding behind the wardrobe, enjoying a sense of familiar confinement, only to have Liam to move it aside and ask curiously what she was doing. The boy wasn't stupid, either; he knew full well that the road meant a scolding, and Mom was ready to catch him and end any walk prematurely.

An innate reverence for all things mischievous had driven the boy to develop a more insidious tactic, which he proudly named "Catch me if you can, suckers." Upon coming home, Ratcatcher, Mom, and Liam would take a walk, which always ended up with Liam weaving around the children’s playground, charging everywhere on all fours, while Mom laughed her ass off, seeing how Ratcatcher and sometimes Nadya desperately tried to catch the little rascal. Liam would occasionally slow down, just enough to give them a whiff of victory, before speeding up rapidly.

Technically, he never broke any rules during this game, and he never bumped into any other kids, thus giving Mom no reason to scold him. But Ratcatcher knew that the little smartass was doing it precisely because it made his sister worried, and he enjoyed every single second of their chase, rarely tiring up. And Liam’s cleverness didn’t end there. Noticing how riled up his sister gets, he would often let Nadya catch himself, smiling with a shit-eating grin at the sight of his fuming sister.

How someone so young could have boasted such iron muscles, Ratcatcher had no idea, but she was envious of his casual grace in a good way. A solid jog is good for health, and these crazy chases did wonders for coordination.

"Liam!" Mom shouted, coming closer and grabbing the boy by the ear. "Behave, or may the Planet be my witness; I will make you wear a collar for your own safety! Your sister has had a hard day." She looked at Mr. Erickson and pursed her lips. "Pol. Thank you for your help," she said unhappily. "Hi there, Nadya. Would you like to come for dinner? We have enough food for two more people."

The girl’s ears moved. Mom had always disliked Pol, to the point of snapping at him at the first opportunity. Seeing her invite him in was kind of cute. Even if Mom clearly wanted Mr. Erickson to refuse.

"Nadya!" Liam howled, breaking free of Ratcatcher’s embrace and climbing on top of Dad’s shoulder. "Play! Cath me!"

"Wait, no! Stop, you buffoon! I am not that strong!" Nadya cried out.

Liam jumped. For his age, the boy was already strong. Dad actually grunted with a mixture of respect and surprise at the strength behind Liam's legs. Nadya’s eyes turned into two wide plates of shock, and a nervous twitch appeared in the corner of her lip as she imagined being flattened by a sturdy boy.

Mom’s tail rose like a rope, wrapping itself around her overly eager son and returning the pouting Liam back to Ratcatcher.

"Sorry, but we must go home." Pol held out his hand, and Mom actually shook it, fighting back the scowl.

"See you tomorrow, Dragoon! Don't forget, at the mall!" Nadya waved her hand. "And bring Liam, too, if he promises to behave!"

"Will do!" Ratcatcher barely managed to say, before Mom wrapped her arms around her and Liam.

"My poor girl." Mom carefully stroked the remains of her tail. "I swear, I will find whoever did this and skin them alive. I’ll grind their bones into dust and…"

"The one who did it is dead, Bloodsworn," Dad said, and Mom gasped.

"I… Ratcatcher, dinner time and then off to bed, homework be damned! And tomorrow you will sleep for as long as you want! If you want, I or Dad can stay in your room! We can even take you to our bed…"

"Mom, stop embarrassing me in front of others!" Their daughter shrieked, turning red under her fur.

"No-no, it's cute; keep it up, Mrs. Vong! Hug the life out of them!" Nadya shouted, climbing into the car.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

I am so going to get you for this. Ratcatcher sourly promised.

She came home, holding the wringing and struggling Liam in her hands. Immediately, Dad and Mom set about preparing something really good. Not only did Ratcatcher get her favorite beef for dinner plus extra, but Mom even decided against salads today and brought in two home-made pizzas. Of course, Liam, whose body demanded more and more food to grow, tried to hog at least half of it, and his happy sister allowed it, hugging the ever-hungry boy. It was so good to be home! It was great to be safe!

Once fed, the girl played with her brother, ignoring the tension in her muscles. The medics weren't lying; none of her wounds had opened or bothered her in any way. In fact, when Ratcatcher touched the damaged gums with her tongue, she found perfectly smooth skin. Something that Old Mak was doing through his power, the people of her new home easily replicated with its technology.

Liam and Ratcatcher's chase had caused a bit of chaos in the hallway, in terms of the closet nearly falling down, but a promise was a promise! Ratcatcher had vowed to herself to always find time for her little brother, and she wasn’t about to walk back on it now! Also, the feeling of rushing blood in her veins and Liam’s teasing had banished today’s horror a bit. The boy almost knew that someone was bothering his sister and found just the right words to enrage her when the girl tried to fall into brooding and remember what had transpired.

“Dimwit!” Liam gloated, leaping off the wall and leaving Ratcatcher splattering against it. “You’re too slow! Stop furrowing your brows and play! Or your fur will fall and your tits…”

“Liam!” Dad’s tail wrapped around the boy, stopping him in mid-air. “How many times must I tell you not to use words you don’t understand?”

“But I understand!” Liam furiously tried to break free. “Tits, or breasts, or most commonly called milkers…”

"Honey, what kind of programs are you watching!" Dad grabbed his head.

Ratcatcher caught herself thinking that Liam sure learned way too many words he wasn't supposed to know from TV serials.

In the evening, yawning and preparing for sleep, she found a new staff in her pocket. Someone in the Academy had actually made a replacement for her makeshift weapon. After some hesitation, she decided to take it to bed with her.

The problems started when she turned off the light and lay down on the bed. The crackling of the floorboards played with her imagination, making her think that Eight had somehow come back and was now sneaking after her, steel claws at the ready. A mess of her clothes on a chair scared the life out of her for a second, making her mistake it for a standing skeleton of the poor man. And when a spider descended upon her from her wardrobe, she screamed like a kid.

Dad and Mom were already here, leading away the "spider", a confused and hurt Liam who had sneaked into the room and now could not understand why his sister refused to play with him for a bit more. Ratcatcher hugged her sides, breathing slowly, and tried to calm herself as Dad sat nearby. They spoke for a while, and she assured him that everything was okay and once more tried to go to sleep, hearing Dad preparing to sleep just outside the door to her room.

She stood and followed a standard workout routine, not caring to count the exact number of push-ups or squats. The feeling of her body moving freely helped to banish the memory of the utter and complete helplessness she had felt in Eight's grip. Alive. The fight had ended, and she was still alive. Ratcatcher looked at the ceiling. She had seen people die; she had fought spiders and survived the pursuit of the outsider. Why is her body shaking?

The girl went to the table and admired her collection of geodes for a while. Mom had shown her how to make a special wooden structure in the shape of a honeycomb, and now her little treasure trove hung proudly on the wall. Even Liam had left it alone after she had begged the boy not to break it. He wasn't happy about it; if something could be disassembled or broken, the boy usually tried it, but the boy respected her wishes in that regard, often asking why he couldn't juggle the stones.

There was nothing special about these rocks. They were cheap and could be easily broken, but they were hers! A reminder of her home and her life. She added a few more geodes over the years and enjoyed the growing collection. The coldness of the pretty looking stones calmed her nerves a bit. She was home. Mom and Dad were close. No one could hurt her.

Struggling to fall asleep, Ratcatcher crawled under the blanket, extended the staff to its maximum length, and turned on the late news, holding the weapon with trembling hands.

"…and this is exactly why we need more VI archangels and military gear in the force!" The screen showed Argus Rho standing, surrounded by his bodyguards, and giving an interview in front of the ruined building. "I in no way wish to denigrate our police force, but let’s face the facts, shall we? More and more abnormals are coming to Iterna. That is a fact, and we had better get used to it. Today’s incidents have proven our utter vulnerability. The terrorists struck in two places and nearly carried out a massacre in one, along with stealing a valuable decryptor from another. Normal humans are physically incapable of matching their speed and strength. And the new generation of our brave protectors is still too young, in training, or too scarce. According to the latest research, our beautiful country has less than ten thousand natural-born abnormals!"

Argus lifted his hand, asking the reporters to keep quiet.

"Yes, I remember the atrocity committed by Iterna. It is unsurprising that abnormals refuse to immigrate in masses, and who can blame them? But we have a problem on our hands now, people! Thus, we either have to provide the police with better equipment or better officers. I say no shortcuts; do both!" Argus raised a clenched fist. "Our brave men and women in the force deserve nothing less than the very best! They are the ones who put their lives on the line to keep us safe!"

“Can Numbers use the decryptor to harm Iterna?” A reporter asked, and Argus smiled reassuringly.

“My friend, my expertise lies in more mundane weapons, but I would say no. Iterna’s encryptions are not that frail to allow its citizens to be endangered just because an experimental device has been stolen. The horrors of the Extinction had taught us well…”

"Have you any commentary about the growing fears of the abnormals?" A reporter interjected.

"Mostly I have trouble understanding why," Rho laughed, snapping his fingers. One of his bodyguards approached and the man whispered something in the woman's ear.

She nodded and took off her jacket and glasses, handing them to Rho. Instead of a shirt, a tight white body glove with the gold letters "Rho Corporation" was pulled over her body, down to her black pants. Kicking off her boots, the bodyguard bowed briefly to the reporters and asked them in a high voice to remain calm.

The woman stood head and shoulders shorter than Argus, but when she clenched her fists, her body expanded; each limb became twice as large, and, with a series of loud and with a series of loud and wet snaps and pops, the spinal column stretched out to support the massive head. Her long, flowing black hair became nothing but a tuft, and her tanned skin turned to a gray hide. When the woman opened her eyes, two horizontal slits of red color with no pupils looked out at the crowd. The bodyguard's fingers merged to form three-fingered, clawed hands and legs.

Argus gestured for the reporters to step back to make room for the woman, and she punched the air, her arms moving fast enough to become a blur. Then one of his bodyguards quickly raised his hand and pointed a handgun at Argus' head, and Ratcatcher felt her heart go cold as the tall man continued to clap at the woman.

The weapon fired. So fast, far too fast for any reporter to notice or scream in time. The abnormal woman had twisted her torso a hundred and eighty degrees and caught the bullet before it could hit Argus. The bodyguard showed the gasping reporters the bullet on her palm.

"Witness this!" Argus pumped both fists above his head. "What would have cost a fortune to create using biotechnology is simply waiting for us behind the shield!" He nodded to the bodyguard, and the woman had reversed her appearance. "People who could predict the probability of a catastrophe, people who could move faster than a bullet, fighters who could send a tank flying with one kick! And you expect me to worry about their arrival? I say it's a steal! If others won't hire them, I will!" The man beamed and addressed the crowd with his arms spread. "Guess what, ladies and gentlemen? Today's attack was carried out by Iterna's sin and..."

“Do you or Augustus feel any responsibility for what happened today?” Another reporter fired a question.

“What?” The smile and warmth vanished from Argus' face.

“Considering your family ties to the perpetrator and the fact that the Numbers were made by him, our viewers would like to know…”

"Enough!" Argus cut the air with his fist. He pointed a finger at the woman’s face. "Leave my nephew out of it. He paid with his blood, trying to stop the Numbers before, which is more than I can say for any of the cops involved in today's incident! If I find out that any of you vultures came within a step of him with this question, I will sue the company foolish enough to hire such an imbecile into the ground. Besmear me all you want, but leave my family out of it." He shook his head. "What has happened to Iterna lately? How dare you insinuate that a murderer's relative should feel guilt for something out of their control?" Argus put a hand to his chest and looked at the reporters with a blank and pleading expression. "I am not my brother. Did any of you seriously think we haven’t suffered?" He looked in the face of the reporter who asked the question, and his features hardened. "Of course you are. Well, this is a privilege of being alive, isn’t it? Something my parents had lost trying to save lives. But in the eyes of the likes of you, they are the villains, right? This interview is over; get out of my way."

"Mr. Argus, I am truly sorry if my question sounded insensitive; I did not mean to imply in any way that the Rho family was responsible, but merely wanted to know if…" Argus spat in the woman’s face while walking past her and left in an uproar.

The image on the screen changed and a host began to discuss Argus' wild and inappropriate behavior. While most of the guests agreed that his reaction was somewhat reasonable, all agreed that such behavior was unbecoming of the former Elite and that he should apologize for the threats.

Ratcatcher switched the channel for something more fun. The man looked scary, true. And that trick with the shot was crazy. And that trick with the gunshot was crazy. But he saved her, and he was willing to risk his eye to save Carlos' life without hesitation. Fiery temper or not, in her opinion, this man was just as heroic and fantastic as Eugenia.

She hesitated a bit, but finally found Argus Rho's contacts Net. The dude ended up being the CEO of one of the largest weapons manufacturing companies in the country, supplying soldiers with something called biological armor. Remembering Dad's words, she wrote a small message thanking the kind gentleman for saving her and the others, never doubting for a second that there was no chance Argus would ever read it.

She checked further and pressed a hand to the mouth, recognizing Eight in the evening news. Only the deceased person wasn’t called Eight; according to the reporter, he was a police officer with a near-perfect service record named Mark who had gone missing while on patrol last month. The captured Eight's minions were the missing officers from that patrol, and to honor Mark's memory, the police chief announced a small memorial service. Confused and worried, Ratcatcher spent the rest of the night staring at the ceiling, too afraid to look at who the Numbers were. Eight’s words to Elina kept circling in her head, filling the girl with even greater dread at the implications.

In the morning, Mom received an offer from Rho Medical, a very prestigious hospital, to restore her tail and remove all the scars from her body. And of course, Mom took the offer.