Question Fox Tails

OMG, OMG. He doesn't know about the school. :rofl:

And their hinting / joking. Wow. It was sooo blatant.

The last line of the first section, was nicely foreshadowed by her lack of appearances.

Both parents having noun last names. Interesting.

Meliferra... Well, Fiddlerfox was a Fanfic author. I never finished that story, IIRC.

"[Siona] was asked to help heal [Kitty]"... Asked by who??

Briar Rose's ex-husband. Betting he's the Big Bad of Seattle. Or something else about their history... Wait, Kitty's 4 kids, with two of them being fathered by Maximillian Alexander Westbrook III... Is that important? How much bloodline / family magic stuff is involved????

Wondering about how many more cousins of Siona there are... There are a lot of generations between her and Kitty, meaning a lot of potential for a lot of cousins...

Nice gloss over him getting used to his new body!

January 1, 2007, Breakfast
Seattle, WA

A father calling down his children for breakfast, Max, Claire, and Anna. Remove the mushrooms and I would love that dish.

Claire Elizabeth Westbrook is not my daughter by birth; she is technically the younger of my two step-children. At 22 she is a Senior at the nearby University of Washington, majoring in pre-Med.

Cool, the world needs more doctors and nurses. The wife's name is Jennifer Claire Fox, a charming name.

I suppose I should introduce myself, I'm Conner Jeremy Fox, father of four. If you try to tell me two, we'll have to go outside and have some words.

Already liking this guy a lot.

Maximillian Alexander Westbrook IV was the eldest of my four children. He actually had just earned a Bachelor's Degree in Economics and was studying at the UW for a Master's in Business.

23 years, done all that and turned down college football to focus on academics, I'm loving this family.

Anna Ophelia Fox was the youngest of my four children at 17.

Great names must run in this family, rarely see Ophelia even as a middle name anymore and it is a great name. A private school on the east coast, the way Anne talks about it, she goes to Whateley, doesn't she.

"I've been thinking about Archaeology or History," Anna said. "I've been getting intrigued about the past after all, museums are interesting places."

"You could almost say the artifacts talk to her," Max said with a wink at his sister. Claire smacked him across the shoulder. "Be nice," she chastised. "Just because Will isn't here doesn't mean you have to crack jokes in his place."

A joke like that sounds like Anne has psychometry as a power which is awesome.

William Bradley Fox was my third born. He was 19 and currently away as an apprentice stage magician on tour.

And an apprentice stage magician as well, this family must have great reunions with their extended family. *clutches heart* Lost his wife, their mother, about a year ago.

Conner walks with a cane, I haven't been to Seattle in decades but remember the seafront some, great description. Powered sugar donut holes from a vendor in Pike Place Market, so want some now. An older woman ask if she can sit on the bench with Conner, silvery grey hair and a timeless quality, supernatural being would be my guess. Asian ancestry and the title of this story, she is a kitsune!

Yikes, that history of how Conner got his knee injured, knew he was a good guy. 10 to 15 years to get knee replacement though sucks big time.

"Exactly. And well, it needed done. I couldn't stand there and do nothing. It's certainly made things interesting since then, but I don't regret it. Life doesn't always go according to plan. All we can do is adapt and deal with the hand we've been dealt."

Wish I could live like that. And Conner opening up to this woman at his life so much, either he is a very open person or something about this woman makes you trust her.

Shit! Armed robber on the run from the police and a park full of children, this couldn't be a worse situation. Conner has the good sense to call 911 about the situation and warn everyone in the park about the gunman. Being a hero, trying to distract the gunman by talking to him only to have the gun aimed at him. Tries to reason with him about being a hostage and letting the kids go.

Suddenly the man dropped the bag he had been carrying, a selection of rock crystals shining within the brown paper as it fell onto the docks. The crook's left arm shot out with a blinding speed and a whirring noise, sending me flying while my cane dropped to the ground with a clatter. I flew perhaps twenty feet before landing on my back, my cell phone falling out of my pocket and landing a few yards away.

Great, we have someone with at least one cybernetic arm if not more cybernetics.

The thug finds out Conner called 911 and is still on the line with them, leaps landing with a metallic thud next to Conner, definitely has more cybernetics. Picked up and thrown like that, spits up some blood, yet Conner goads the thug on, brave man. Calls Conner a baseline after he dodges a punch from the thug, are the whirling sound and metalic thud not cybernetics but some form of GSD due to mutation?

Oh god! The thug beat him up, cracked ribs and possibly punctured lung. Creep flees when Squires show up and Max is among them as Claire calls his Gladius, don't tell me both Max and Claire were secretly superheroes and their father didn't even know it? Why did Max say Claire is commited now, does she have some form of healing power and can't move while using it on their father?

Unknown time
Unknown location

Conner floating in a void as memories of his life together with Jen comes to him, including their first meeting. Reading up on mythology, fascinating subject. And she is interested in Ancient Celtic, cool. Wakes up and Claire doesn't understand why he is getting worse, eep. Anna is a minor level regen and wishes to give Conner some of her blood, I like Anna pushing them to do it and Max agreeing, the kids are as stubborn and heroic as their father.

Slips under again and another memory, Conner making pancakes for breakfast 3 or 4 years ago.

"What? We are all entitled to rights by being alive, aren't we? Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Why the hell should there even have to BE demonstrations for rights that all of us have? They're people, just like us. All of us have rights and we shouldn't have to keep fighting the same battle over and over. First it was skin color, now its gay rights and mutants. Mark my words, give it ten years, fifteen at most and half the country won't give a damn if you're black, white, gay, straight, mutant or not."

Okay, thought I couldn't like Conner any more but you proved me wrong.

Wakes up feeling on fire, Claire holding his hand and Max trying to comfort him, uh oh. Claire helping keep him under while they wait out what is happening, Anna blaming herself for it.

"I have no idea what's going on. He's not himself anymore, but he's not Anna either. I don't know if her blood or genes activated a BIT or what, but something is happening. Whatever it is, Dad isn't dying anymore."

Okay, anything below a regen 3 should have a chance of triggering this so what is going on? The Asian woman from the Pier standing at the side of the bed and no one notices her except Conner, knew she was supernatural.

The silver haired lady smiled down at me, touching me on the forehead. "Awaken," was all she said.

Whoa, her saying this just brought up more questions as to what is going on. Another memory of after he got home from the hospital after the on-the-job incident injured his knee.

"You need to remember this. Never let yourself be defined only by what you do, because one day you won't be able to do it anymore. You might get hurt, you might get old. The job you had might not exist anymore. There's no way of knowing exactly what will cause it, just that it's going to happen. On that day, you need to be defined by who you ARE. Just make sure who you ARE is always someone you can face in the mirror and be alright with."

So much wisdom at his young age, don't tell me he is some old spirit reincarnated into this form.

Hair is now red with white tips, definitely kitsune vibes here.

I looked down at myself and saw a pair of breasts sticking from my chest. Looking from side to side I saw that I had a tail. In fact, two tails. Two fox tails. A mirror was across from me over a sink and I saw a young girl, somewhere between her mid-teens to early twenties, with a pair of fox ears, a pair of fox tails, and chin to shoulder length red hair with white tips, matching the color of her ears and tail.

Don't tell me he is an avatar with a kitsune spirit or is something else going on?

"Well fuck..."

One of the more calm reactions to such a drastic change I've seen.

January 28, 2007
Seattle, WA

27 days, has Conner been mostly unconscious for 27 days? That voice and those looks are going to get Conner a lot of attention at Whateley.

"Well, Dad," she said, "You had multiple fractures over almost your entire body, multiple gunshot wounds to your chest, and massive internal bleeding. You were in a coma for about a month."

Whoa, much worse than first thought.

"Ferrous. Petty crook, well what passes as petty for a mutant. He's got some basic physical enhancements, then he's actually got cybernetic limbs to repair old injuries. We were able to recover some of the video from your phone and ID him."

So a mutant with cybernetic limbs, wasn't expecting that.

Max sighed regretfully and nodded. "Yes. Claire and I are members of the Seattle Squires. We're affiliated with the Seattle Knights; it's sort of an internship Super Hero Group."

Pretty good team to have an internship with. Nice to have two super hero teams for such a large area.

Max sighed again. I could tell he wasn't comfortable with the present situation and having to explain things to me. "I'm Gladius. I'm a Physical Exemplar with a degree of force field manifestation and manipulation."

Interesting set of powers.

"I make a sword, shield and armor that I can use, and I'm exceptionally fast and strong. Claire's name is Minerva. She's a PDP, or a classic psychic. She can use telepathy or telekinesis, and also has the ability to accelerate healing in others."

Dang, that force field manifestation and manipulation is awesome and Claire's powers are astounding.

Was not expecting Anna's power to be a medium, see and speak to ghost and spirits, guess a lot of artifacts and historical items would have some of those hanging around. And Requiem, wonderful codename. Will is Will-o-Wisp, an illusionist, no wonder he became a stage magician.

Something from Conner's line has to do with what happened to him, don't tell me the last name of Fox isn't a coincidence, a kitsune in their family history possibly. A latent mutant activated by Anna's regenerator blood, if they give her history to Whateley the testing wonks are going to be put her through the ringer to try and figure out what happened. Conner has very good hearing to overhear everything Anna, Max, and Claire are saying. Called in an Agent Klein, saying Briar Rose has one last favor to call in, don't tell me their mother was a mutant superhero too!?!

January 29, 2007
Seattle, WA

Ouch, going from 6' to 5'2" sure messes with your sense of perspective. 130 lbs. and busty from how Conner talks about it, she is going to need help at Whateley. 32DD, I hope she has Exemplar strength to help with those or the back pain is going to suck. And whoever the government agent is if it is Agent Klein is around 6'2" and between 250-275 lbs, scary. Agent Robert Klein, Department of Paranormal Affairs, good.

First the Roswell division joke and now saying a little tall for a Stormtrooper, Conner is certainly snarky right now.

The reason I am here is because of favors owed to your late wife, Jennifer Claire Fox, who we knew as Lady Briar. She worked with the DPA for just about twenty years before being declared MIA and KIA over a year ago. Her superhero identity, and involvement with the DPA, was strictly confidential for her protection, as well as the protection of yourself and your children."

I knew it, that Briar Rose piece earlier just screamed superhero to me. Didn't start working for them until after her and Conner were married, protection for her children and Conner as part of the deal, dang, wish we could have gotten to know her.

"All of your children have MMID's, due to the fact that when they manifested your wife was an employee of the DPA. This grants them some safety from MCO records and a bit more privacy. In addition, we've gone to great lengths to ensure their civilian identities remain safe and secure. This was in part to keep your wife's service as safe and confidential as possible. Your children were protected until they ceased being dependents. What we have done for Max and Claire is employ them as an official consultant of the DPA. I call them once a month and get their opinions on things for an hour and they get paid for it. This technically makes them employees which allows us to keep their MMID status current. Your younger children will receive the same deal when they are of age, as per our agreement with Jennifer when she signed on."

Hehehe, I love the DPA, one of the few government departments you can trust it seems.

Ouch, from the way Conner calls it they might have to rename Conner with a new last name and make her adopted by her own kids or some other arrangement. And yup, make it so Conner Fox dies and everything going along with it happens, new identity as he and his wife's fifth child, homeschooled for 14 years and now going to public or private school. An analysist who can notice things someone her new apparent age wouldn't, hope they don't want a spy inside Whateley.

February 1, 2007
Seattle, WA

A large screen plasma TV, don't sell it! Take it to school with you.

Watching mountains of dishes, silverware, bubble wrap, packing peanuts, boxes and packing paper move about in a levitating symphony straight out of The Sword in the Stone was something I'd never get used to.

That is the kind of power I would love to have. Anna returning to Whateley tomorrow and still blaming herself for what happened to her dad, poor kid is going to need to see the counselors.

"Anna, stop! It's alright." I hugged her back then struggled to get out of her grasp enough that I could look at her. "It's NOT your fault. I'm ALIVE. I'm alive because of what you did, okay? Sure, it's different, but half the planet are women so it can't be that bad." I gave her a wry smile. "It's going to be fine."

Still considering the feelings of her children over her own, Conner needs to learn to take care of himself.

Will on the phone and demanding to know what is happening, probably knows enough to know that not everything in the newspaper is even close to the whole truth. ALICE as a codename for their father and Wonderland references as code, nice and simple. Will can't come home for 2 to 3 weeks due to his contract, I would be going frantic wishing to see my father at this point.

February 3, 2007
Seattle, WA

Waking from vague dreams like those, still wondering what is going on with Conner. Moved in Claire's condo in Seattle, that was quick. And Conner plays all those instruments, impressive. Binging Ranma 1/2 episodes that fast, she is in bad shape emotionally. Anna back at Whateley Academy now despite being told to return when she is ready, guess she is coping in her own way.

Observant of people, good skill to have especially when she ends up at Whateley. A Celtic Crann Bethadh amulet, the Celtic Tree of Life medallion Conner gave to Jennifer long ago, Claire sure knows her father well.

Maximillian Alexander Westbrook III

, Jennifer's ex-husband, why does that name sound so familiar? Glad Conner is able to cry, whether due to joy or sorrow. Going out wearing a long coat and a scarf with a cowl, something could happen to make her exotic features exposed still. But I guess she can't live in fear. D'oh! Did you have to think that fateful phrase, Conner?

Pike Place Market sounds as fun as I remember from my one visit.

At least I like to think most of the admiring male glances were at her. Thinking back on it I probably had received a decent amount myself.

At least Conner realizes she is going to be getting looks now as an attractive girl.

I did have a purse worn over one shoulder but under the coat (take that, pickpockets) mostly due to the fact that Claire's choice of clothes left me distinctly without pockets. Personally, I think it was part of a grand feminine conspiracy.

Nah, that is due to idiot fashion designers not thinking women want or need pockets in their clothes. Aww, having to use old school headphones due to her fox ears.

Is the long coat a reference to Doctor Who, HIghlander, or some other science fiction show? A woman signing autographs on the pier, interesting. The outfit alone calls attention to her, the fairy wings put her over the top.

"Oh! That's Meliferra. She's one of the local independents. She's pretty famous actually, been a teen role model for ages. Anna is a huge fan, she got an autographed poster back in Middle School, remember? She's been active for fifteen or twenty years I think. Makes a big production of being a positive role model for tween and teen girls."

And able to pull off a bee-theme as well, dang.

4-year-old girl runs across 4 lane highway and large city bus can't brake in time, shit!

And was suddenly right in front of the girl. The air whipping from the traffic blew the cowl down from my head without me noticing, exposing my quite non-human ears. Wrapping my arms around the girl as I caught her I knelt down, shielding her with my body from the bus (like I would be able to stop it somehow) and closing my eyes braced for the impact...

That never came. When I looked up the two of us were somehow back on the sidewalk. Claire was running towards us from one direction, as was the girl's mother from the other.

Teleportation, cool! And perfect for such situations. Little girl back with her mother and Claire trying to get Conner out of there before they are spotted, good luck with that. Of course the police are coming over right now, if they harass Conner after she saved a little girl's life I would be pissed off.

They called in backup on a girl who saved someone's life, those asshats! On the run and reflexively turned into a fox to avoid an officer, kitsune! An hour or two on the run, back in girl form, goes to call but the battery on her cell phone died, darn it.

What's Sisu? That's actually a hard question to answer since it doesn't translate directly. Having guts or grit, tenacity, determination. Of sticking to your course no matter the difficulty and succeeding. Of having an inner reserve of strength, bravery, toughness, that allows you to simply keep going after anyone else would have quit and still having the will to win throughout.

Finnish-American, great expression that Sisu. And nice Goonies reference.

International District and hungry, good place to get some food. Knew they would call her Kitsune, her appearance and powers, everything that has happened including the Asian lady at the park suggest kitsune in her ancestry or something along those lines. This couple is nice, keeping her safe and feeding her. Ouch, a feeling of unpaid debts, don't tell me she has that burden as part of her new nature.

How did the couple get Meliferra to come? Mr. and Mrs. Watanabe, good to know the nice people like them outnumber the SPD.

"She noticed that you did not have one. As you saved the small girl at great risk and cost to yourself, you must be a Kitsune in service of Inari. According to legend they often wear a red scarf or bandanna. So in thanks of your actions from earlier this evening, she would like you to have this."

I love learning about such things, read some about Inari in the past.

$40 to pay the debt, is this part of her being a kitsune or is it more Conner's nature? Meliferra flying Conner home, police called off the search, good. Flown all the way to the back patio of the condo, they live on the twelfth floor, eep. Huli Jing, is that another term for a kitsune? Kitty Fox, nice thinking on her feet by Conner. And feels a small weight building about Melferra helping her, oh boy.

February 5th, 2007
Seattle, WA

I felt like Luke Skywalker.

Let me be a little more specific in that I felt like Luke Skywalker on Dagobah being tortured by a little green Muppet. This was bullshit, being that I wasn't even given a lightsaber for my effort. At this point I would have taken a gold star sticker on a report card or even a cookie.

Torturous training tends to be similar I guess.

I was currently doing a one handed handstand with Tome standing on one of my feet, while simultaneously trying to dodge tennis balls by leaning one way or the other without dropping him and attempting to draw magical energy and using it to levitate stack and balance a small collection of wooden children's blocks.

I see Tome has taken training ideas from the Star Wars series almost literally. Though the leotard is a new twist. And Conner accomplished it, mostly, dang.

Catherine Jennifer Fox, with the reasoning why Claire chose that first name being a bit of a stretch. The same initials as before all this, too perfect.

The scarier part is I was now officially fifteen, with a 'birthdate' of January 1st, 1992.

Making her birthday the day Conner got shot might not have been the best idea, Claire. Oh, it was Bob over at the DPA who did that, always someone with a twisted sense of humor. Nice high-tech HQ for the Seattle Knights.

Interesting look for Tome and how he chose his codename, a Wizard and PDP, surprised if they don't ask him to work in a fantasy movie someday. A presence laughing at her thought, don't me that Asian lady from the park is watching over Cat still.

I also apparently had low levels of ESP. I wasn't a mind reader or clairvoyant, but apparently I had remarkable intuition and an innate sensitivity to spirits and spirit energies.

Fascinating power, wonder what kind of spirits she will encounter. Uses 'soul' energy for her blinking and shifting into fox form, hhm. Distance of 30 to 50 yards is nothing to sneeze at for teleporting.

Wasn't the whole point of mysticism and spirituality working with things from another realm that didn't work the way ours did? Why not just accept that something is so and adapt to it as opposed to trying to impose your own sense of order or control over it?

Oh, she is going to be fun for the Mystic Arts department to teach.

Apparently the reason he was using blocks now was due to how hard it was and better measuring Essence usages versus recovery rates or some other thing.

I was wondering the purpose of her doing this test, surprising.

Ugh, whoever that Knight is talking about Cat this way better watch it, Max is very protective of family. Kit for her codename, simple, to the point, and gives little away about the nature of her powers beyond what her appearance already does.

"Well Kit, here you are. Officially I put you down as an Avatar 4, ESP 1, Exemplar 2, and Wizard 1. There are a few fuzzy areas in there but I've erred on the side of caution and the fact it can always be reclassified later if need be. Your Exemplar level is one example. While you could be classified as at least a 2 if not a 3 in some areas such as your agility and response time, your strength is no more than one would expect a fairly fit athletic adult woman to be. You will not be flipping automobiles or hurling boulders. Your body appears to be more or less post puberty, although given your small size it's hard to tell. Likewise Wizard talent is notoriously difficult to quantify, particularly since you are also an Avatar. Whatever spirit is residing in you has some power of its own and it's difficult to say how much of your abilities are actually enhanced by its presence. I feel safe placing these ratings and should you actually perform higher than you are rated for, that should not be a difficulty."

And the biggest question for me is answered, Avatar with a kitsune spirit, things are going to be interesting for Cat.

Tome wants to give Cat magical instruction, I hope they don't get on each other's nerves too much.

"That's El Fuego, who needs to remember to keep it in his pants. He's a low level Speedster and a moderate Pyrokinetic. He mostly just likes to work on cars."

"And bikes, planes, boats, anything with a motor," El Fuego added with a grin. "I like 'em fast and loose."

I wish I could hit El Fuego with an Anime Mallet for perving on Cat. 7 feet tall, 400 pounds, small giant but still a giant. Gigas has been dating Anna the past year or two, heh.

"Ohhhh! Wonder Wiener!" I exclaimed to the vast surprise and amusement of everyone not in the family.

Claire put her hand over her mouth at Gigas's surprise and explained. "My other brother, Will, nicknamed you that since you'd not been around the house ever. Anna didn't show you to anyone for a long while, so Will being a joker talked about wondering who the wiener she was seeing at Whateley was. The name just kind of stuck, I hope you're not offended."

Gigas smiled and shook his head. "My father runs the docks down in Tacoma," he explained. "I'm used to strange nicknames."

Good, Anna found herself a guy who doesn't mind strange nicknames. Though sounds like Will needs to learn not to run his mouth so much.

Lastly was someone I could only describe as a bubble head. Blond hair, chewing gum, dressed in a light blue crop, hip hugger jeans with a belly piercing and shoes.

"Hi, I'm Ratchet!" she exclaimed as she waved at me.

"She's our techie. She's a Gadgeteer and Devisor. She keeps everything running." Max explained. "For a group of students with a lot of in and out every few years we ended up with a very balanced group right now. Fuego and Gigas are Freshmen this year; they each graduated Whateley last year. Ratchet is a Junior."

Ratchet is a bit like Bunny, should teach Cat not to base things on appearances alone.

I looked up at him with a smile, before my face turned icy cold and serious. "If you hurt her, I'll kill you." I smiled again before winking at him. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go change."

Cat can still act the part of scary father when needed, yikes.

February 7th, 2007
Seattle, WA

Coffee smells horrible, I hate coffee like Cat does too, tastebubs just can't stand it. Taking notes on yellow legal tablet, guess some habits are hard to break. Claire is now Cat's legal guardian, I just knew this would happen.

"I'm doing research on foxes and fox spirits in mythology and taking notes as to what powers they were attributed in stories and folklore. Since I've been working with Tome it seemed like having something to go off of would be handy, especially since he is positive I'm also an Avatar. Apparently it's difficult to determine how much of what I do is me, versus what is coming from the spirit that I seem to have picked up."

There is a fun branch of research, just don't stumble into a TV tropes page about Kitsune or you will get trapped there for hours.

Ooo, a lot of cool stuff on foxes in mythology and folklore, many I didn't even know about, engaging stuff. That glamour of non-detection wielded by someone like Kat, she is going to learn so many secrets at Whateley. *shudders* Please say that part of the legends won't apply to Cat, sex after all that has happened seems cruel.

Instinctive use of magical version a version that is more logical and scientific, headache-inducing to me at least. Chewing on the end of a pen when she didn't used to, uh oh. Going to a sauna to commune with her spirit, nice details about saunas history. Ratchet going with Claire and Cat to the sauna, nice to learn more about what saunas are like beyond TV shows and animes.

The spirit called Cat cousin.

Yes. Your great great great something grandmother dallied with a mortal after giving birth to my mother. There are numerous removeds involved." She almost seemed to grin before looking back at me. "

So one of my earlier guesses about Conner now Cat was right, yay. Siona calling Cat Kitty, sense of humor this spirit has.

Siona tilted her head in thought before replying carefully. "You were broken in both body and spirit. I was asked to help heal you. You are family, and I have not yet been able to interact with your world before now. There are things that need done here after all. So I have joined with you to help heal you and to do that which needs doing."

Well that answers no questions while bringing up more about what needs doing.

Finnish paganism sounds very interesting, never heard of it before.

"You are of the blood of foxes! Your powers are your own; I merely help strengthen that which you already possess." Siona did pause and contemplate before continuing. "It is true that were you not of our bloodline I most likely would not be able to assist you in this way. With the blood of your daughter combined with my presence your body did change, though it might have without my influence on its own. I helped direct its change to be more beneficial."

Figures, changed Conner's body into Cat, her current form, so she could exist within it to help save his life.

"You've been doing alright so far. You know much and have learned much before, and will now have the opportunity to learn and do more. Many forces are at work in this world, some here in this city. Not all are good. You understand that people with the means to act must do so for the good of all. This is part of why I am helping heal you; you are worth saving and can do much good."

I don't like the sounds of forces in Seattle, what kind of forces would need a kitsune to help deal with them?

"So I'm what, a teen-aged Tiresias turned superhero?"

Nice use of the Greek legend as a link, fits far too well with what Cat is going through. No mention of things which need doing, leaving it to Cat to figure it out, typical spirit. Crude, Ferrous stealing those crystals was our first clue something was up, sounds like he is working for someone who deals in or is supernatural in nature. Clothes shopping with Claire, Cat may live to regret it after the way Claire smiled. Loving this whole family and their friends so far, can't wait to read more of Cat and her adventures soon.

February 9th, 2007
Seattle, WA

Cat running and enjoying the simple pleasure of being able to run again. Running on a treadmill with a movie to watch, wish I had that set-up. Shorts and tank top, El Fuego better watch what he says to Cat. And Cat left wondering if she likes grease smell now, heh. And Cat having to adapt to her physical changes, especially the boobs, when working out. Some stories gloss over that stuff, glad to see it brought up here.

Ack! Having those kinds of thoughts about Max, her own son, awkward doesn't begin to cover it. Ooo, sparring with swords and Max with a tower shield, cool.

Granted there's really only so many ways for a human body to move so some crossover was to be expected. Until they invented people with four arms or extra joints...

Hunh... wonder if they covered that at the school my children attended. Something to ponder later...

Martial arts class is going to be interesting for Cat. Great sparring, love the thought and detail put into wielding a single weapon over two weapons or a sword and shield. And Cat has thought out this tactic well, make your opponent think they are in control and baiting them. Dang, now that was expert maneuvering of her opponent and skillful timing.

El Fuego lost a bet with Claire that Cat would win the duel, Gigas too.

"Imagine what she can do after Mrs. Beaumont or Laird Fitzgibbons get a hold of her," Max added.

"Or she takes Exemplar Grace," Claire piped in.

After she gets that kind of training I would pity anyone who challenges Cat to a sword fight.

I found myself sucking the juices off of the whole pickle itself graphically and enthusiastically before taking a large bite out of it. The shudder all three boys gave was simply priceless.

Bwahaha, way to mess with their heads.

February 11th, 2007
Seattle, WA

Cat playing the mandolin while in the Squire's HQ, wonder when she will be able to go out into the city again without worry of the police coming after her. Cute uniform, love why she is keeping the red bandana as part of her outfits, never know when a goddess is watching. And even being able to follow along some of the work a gadgeteer or devisor does is impressive imo. Hehehe, Cat thinking about Ratchet like that, she is going to have to get used to such thoughts.

Ratchet and Cat the only ones in the HQ and the emergency alarm goes off, yikes. Killer robots and Cat has to ride on the back of Ratchet's motorcycle as she speeds and weaves through traffic, I would be having a panic attack! 6 killer robots and they've trashed everything in range, who sends out killer robots for a random rampage. Gatling-style cannon that fires lasers, their creator sure went for firepower.

Cat recalling Max at 13 asking why he didn't have a gun.

Max looked curiously at me but did sit at the table as I went into the living room and picked up the small hatchet from the woodpile next to the fireplace. I added a broom from the hall closet, a cooking knife from the butcher's block in the kitchen and a large pan from the sink. Placing all of these on the table I looked at him. "When you can tell me the thing that makes a weapon different from these tools you'll understand my answer."

He spent the rest of the evening looking over the four assorted objects before asking me what the answer was. I gave it to him, and he spent the next twenty four hours thinking about it. The next evening he told me he got it, and the matter never came up again.

The difference between a tool and a weapon is simply the will to use it as such.

Wiser words I've never heard.

I figured the robots were made of metal so it's not like I could bruise them to death, but there's a reason a heavy mace or hammer was the weapon of choice against armored knights. You beat on joints of plate armor enough they warp, when they warp they don't articulate correctly any more. You mess up a visor and they can no longer see.

Wonder how many students who create their own power armor think about this kind of thing. Ratchet has a laser pistol, a classic science fiction weapon for a reason.

Cat is just brutal with that piece of pipe on these robots, Ito would be proud of someone who fights with what works and doesn't care for sportsmanship when lives are on the line. Darn, robot 4 wised up and caught the pipe in its hand, at least Cat isn't banged up badly when she is thrown. Westco, where have I heard that name brand before?

And so glad Ratchet had that one short remote to take apart the robot attacking her. Meliferra shows up to take out the last robot before it can hurt Cat or Ratchet. A stun gun that uses a charged mass of plasma, intriguing. You have to wonder if someone planned this knowing everyone would be busy except for Ratchet. And given the stun gun and a charging cable by Meliferra, the debt to her grows, oh boy.

February 13th, 2007
Seattle, WA

6 more robot attacks throughout the city, someone is either trying to gauge the Squire's powers and abilities, doing the old "wear the heroes out with repeated attacks" bit, or working a big scheme and these are just distractions. 9 different attacks dealt with by the Seattle Supers, okay, so not just the Squire's then. And Cat using a map trying to find a pattern to the attacks, curious what this is all about myself.

"It's a booga booga booga," I stated. Max nodded, while Gigas just watched us all silently.

So distractions for their actual crimes.

"They're trying to keep us moving, wear us down, distract us and draw us away from what they're really after. We don't want to look at where they've been, we want to look at where they haven't been, which is there."

Going after an art museum and distracting the heroes away from their real goal with attacks like this, smart but sloppy and unprofessional.

A call to the Seattle Supers and Max has a thing for Crucibelle and Max volunteered the Squires for that kind of "favor", good grief, ask her out already! Max, stop pussyfooting around the girl, for the good of the team and yourself ask her out. I swear, with the number of times an artifact in a museum has turned out to be magical and the target of a supervillain you would think they would require magical screening on all artifacts for museums.

Positronic, out of Taiwan, and owned by WestCo, knew that van being there wasn't a coincidence.

"Which means we're really up against our father," Max added. "Maximillian Alexander Westbrook the Third, owner and CEO of WestCo. What is less well known is that he is also the third bearer of the codename Overlord. Continuing a long family tradition of villainy."

I didn't like their mother's ex but never suspected he was a supervillain, nor part of a long family tradition of villainy. Learned something new today, the Hammering Man is an impressive sculpture. Tailored holes for her tails to stick out, nice.

The thoughts running through Cat's head about talking to the police because she is "truant", guess everyone analyzes things.

The Squire's uniforms were primarily variations of blue with green trim, sashes, cloaks, et cetera. Patches were present on the shoulder (or chest in Gigas's case as his had more of a wrestling singlet look) with symbols for their code names. An owl for Minerva, a sword for Gladius, a flame for El Fuego, a clenched fist for Gigas, and a ratchet for Ratchet (obviously a play on words).

Good costumes for a team of interns, solid theme with symbols to make them each stand out.

A few hours of lookout and finally the robots show up. Her description of the robots is priceless. Crud, Ferrous is with them, figures. Panic attack, know those too well, poor Cat. Goes to bolt only for Siona to take control, at least Cat doesn't fault her for doing it. Cover behind a trash can, two robots down before they counterattack and Siona has to blink away. *eyes bug out* Ferrous threw a car at Cat and Gladius has to deflect the car away from her.

Ack! That is one way to snap Cat out of her panic, no ogling her own son, Siona. And Cat is back at the helm, Gladius dealing with Ferrous as she goes off to help the rest of the team. Cat blinking in and out, firing her stun pistol at point-blank range, never fight fair, fight to win. Gladius and Ferrous evenly matched, too many robots to destroy them all, but keeping them from their goal inside the museum.

"Overlord," Max said. "He must have been here in the museum the whole time, waiting. When we exited to fight the robots he grabbed what he wanted and took off." Ratchet nodded in confirmation.

Even when Cat figured out his goal he outmaneuvered them, dang it.

February 14th, 2007
Seattle, WA

Ah, what I like to call Single's Awareness Day.

Turns out that Overlord had stolen some stick with a snake head on it which belonged to some ancient pharaoh with a name I couldn't pronounce.

Why does this feel like it is going to come back to bite them in the butt, literally? Poor Cat dealing with a nightmare again, at least she realizes it is a nightmare. Boy, when Cat is trying to figure something out she needs someone to force her to sleep when required.

(Which I had come to learn was his actual name. Luis Montoya, Freshman at the UW studying Mechanical Engineering on an academic scholarship. He was a lot smarter than people gave him credit for.)

So why does Fuego act like such an ass towards females, trying to cover for something or what? Cat doesn't know who Tails from the Sonic franchise is, you poor kid.

Claire and Max are coffee addicts too.

My train of thought was completely derailed at that point by all three of them suddenly dropping their cups of coffee. The two boys went rail stiff while Claire cried out, dropping to her knees and clutching her hands to her head. She was gritting her teeth and sweating in effort with something, where the boys...

Had now turned and began walking towards me.

Don't tell me, mind control nanites in the coffee. Claire fought off the control and frees the boys after Gigas protects Cat from Max and Fuego. Ouch, 40' bubble which Max and Luis have to stay within distance of Claire as she blocks the nanites' control.

Meliferra's residence/secret laboratory is wonderful. A Goodkind facility used as a cover for nanotechnology research, no guess as to one of their goals for it. Meliferra's real name is Beatrice Jenkins, curious.

"I didn't 'til just now. I won't tell a soul without you saying it's okay. I promise," I said. "I remember reading about the incident at Hanford twenty years ago. I thought I saw you in a photo, but my friends said I was crazy. You were there... Overlord was responsible wasn't he?"

And her mother's research, I wonder what it could have been used for if one of the Overlord's haven't stolen it and from the way they are talking, killed Beatrice's mother. The pharaoh stick to control the nanobots, Overlord sure has big plans.

December 24, 1987
Hanford Nuclear Facility, Tri Cities area, WA

Beatrice going to met her parents after a gymnastics meet, her father Doctor Malcom Jenkins. Just turned 17 and dad is still worried about her driving, what parent wouldn't be. Sneaking their daughter into a secret lab, good parents. Clarrisa, 5 and a half feet of red-haired Irish-woman, so Beatrice got her spirit from her parents.

Considering they way the world was going in 1987, Clarrisa's research would be vital to survival in the event of a nuclear war. An answer for why some mutants change but others don't, now there is one of the big questions of the Whateley Universe. Talking about the 'mutated' queens right when the skylight breaks and two large robots open fire. At least Beatrice got to safety, her father going back for her mother, her ducking down and hearing all that chaos and destruction.

And now Overlord speaks and he is just here for their findings. The coward murders her father, then her mother when she helps the bees to escape, monster! Stealing their notes and feeling, not realizing Beatrice is still alive as their sensors don't detect her. Saying goodbye to her parents in her own way, taking something of each of them and their love for her to remember them by, Beatrice is forced to flee as the fires spread. And her insides feel like they are on fire, don't tell me this incident caused her to manifest as a mutant later than normal? Villains like this, who destroy lives without a thought, need to be taken down.

Back in the present as Beatrice wipes tears from her eyes, Cat giving her a hug to comfort her. And Hanford isn't something taught in school nowadays, so Cat has to reveal her secret in exchange for the secret Beatrice just revealed to her.

December 26, 1987
Seattle, WA

A flashback to Conner in the past, hanging out with his best friends Sam and Frank. Only to learn about what happened to Hanford through a newspaper. Over 20 dead, closing down the reactor over this, Overlord and his evil must be ended. And Conner made out the person moving away from the planet in the picture which was shot, very good eyes.

Back in the present once more.

"I was only mostly dead. Mostly dead, is slightly alive."

Love a good Princess Bride reference. And Cat has to rush back to HQ as the Seattle Supers need help, don't tell me Overlord has already made another move. A homeless man warning about the zombies, yet he was drinking Starbucks coffee and not being mind-controlled. A tinfoil hat actually works to block the signal, who knew.

An army of robots marching on 1-5 and they have to stop them all because Max has a crush on Crucibelle, good grief. All those places that have to be protected, times like this you wish the city had one or two more teams of superheroes. Aluminum foil hats, all those times in different media people were called crazy for such things and it is the solution here, too good.

Fighting hard, resources and stamina being depleted, so of course, an armored vehicle with a giant cannon on top shows up with more robots. Fasting move by Claire to bring up the dome of force. Fuego's plan is smart, get that plate open on the driver's side and you can take out the driver. That...that was the gas tank cap and Fuego pushed himself to ignite it to explode the vehicle, at a loss for words..

"That was really just a normal civilian grade frame and parts with armor plating," he explained. "Most every kind of plastic melts at 'bout 500 degrees, 700 tops. Even gas caps is just zinc plated plastic. That melts at 787 degrees. They don't make cars like they used to, Chicka. Es no bueno."

Ah, now it all makes sense, armored plate over the gas tank cap which Cat flipped open. At least the robots are done, thought that fight was going to be a lot longer, without Luis' stunt it probably would have been.

Witchling of the Seattle Supers shows up with a message, only to badmouth Cat that way because she has a fox-spirit, don't like her. Need to hold for another hour, Max volunteers them for 2. *facepalms* And Max doesn't even care that Crucibelle knows he likes her that way or not, he needs to be confident and just asks her out.

And the army of robots is the easy tasks in all of this, fighting against mind-controlled hordes you don't wish to hurt has to be a lot rougher. That long and more dropships of robot troops or other, Max is right, this makes no sense whatsoever. A backwards crystal radio using the stolen crystals, who would have thought to look for WW2 tech like that, good think Cat is there.

Now Cat running towards the city to where Overlord and his antenna is while Meliferra is moving to meet her.

Picture a sprinter good enough for Olympic qualifiers, and now let him go full speed with the endurance of a marathon runner also good enough for Olympic qualifiers (Thank goodness I bought one of the better sports bras on the market, geez!).

Just how fast is she going? Ouch, blinking becoming that sluggish, is it due to fatigue of repeated us or is something interfering with her power?

The Space Needle! Of course, the biggest antenna in the whole Seattle area, it should have been obvious before. Hope she isn't too fatigued to deal with Overlord now, fighting on even a rooftop that big is risky at best. Darn it! Shielded, he is definitely not a pushover. A devise to drain a battery remotely, now that is scary. An energized mace and Batman-style utility belt, eep.

And the creep knows who Cat really is, as if this can't get any worse.

"A bit bitchy and snippy as well. Is it that time of the month already?" He chuckled with an oh so superior expression. I was beginning to personally see why Jennifer divorced this tool.

Okay, I want to see this ass left in traction. And that speech just earned him pain beyond measure. Stating they never quit being his about Max and Claire, sick, power-mad, arrogant F. Oh great, he is a mutant supremicist.

OL taunting Cat about not being able to do anything as she pleads to the spirits for just a little more help.

Animism is essentially a belief that spirits are everywhere. Trees, rocks, buildings, cities. They fill the world around us and among us. The realm of life and that of death are separated by but a hair's breadth. I am not saying I or my actions deserved the attention of some powerful divine spirit. But here I was asking for help from whatever spirit could hear me, on an object that has been considered the heart of an entire city of millions that was recognized by the entire world. I don't know from where exactly the energy came, or what exactly heard me, but something did.

Blink out and reappear a foot from his strange Devise as Cat bodychecks right into it, sending it and herself plunging over the edge. Lost consciousness during the fall, only to have been saved by Meliferra, yay!

The Devise destroyed, Overlord fled, and the city waking up from its nightmare and upset about the robots. Wakes up in Squire's HQ and ask how long, they held out for 2 hours, 17 minutes, and 23 seconds, now those are heroes who don't give up despite the odds. And Cat slips back off to sleep, after how she pushed herself and her powers I think she is going to be a lot of rest for a while.

she uses instinctual methods to recharge her essence

February 15, 2007
Seattle, WA

Crud, waking up and this kind of hunger gnawing at Cat, very not good. Walking towards Luis purposefully, no! Why did she have to get this kind of need, why?!? Please let it have just been oral and nothing else, these are the kind of urges a former adult male shouldn't have to deal with.

Crap, they went all the way from how Claire gave her a dressing down and what was mentioned.

Truth be told, I wasn’t exactly sure how I felt about what happened myself.

Great, Cat is going to be even more confused now. Luis having to explain what happened and defend himself from Max, good grief. At least Cat bails Luis out, why did she have to get those kinds of urges from her kitsune heritage.

And now the full shock of it hits, throwing up and disgusted with herself, yikes. Siona quiet and that had all been Cat, can see why she doesn't want to think what that means right now. And drawn to the Freemont Bridge Troll, and something feels off, hhm. Wonder if the sculpture was created around an actual troll who turned to stone.

Could it be that the Freemont Troll really WAS a troll? Something sealed away inside of a statue or the statue built to cover up something? If I acknowledged that apparently I now hosted the spirit of a Kitsune out of myth, what other sorts of creatures from legends and myths that I had thought to be mere fantasy before actually existed? It was a realization that ballooned all sorts of out of proportion very quickly. It was almost like a second childhood was coming to a close; that the world you thought you knew was actually a lie, a fabrication meant to shield you from everything that was actually going on and now as a grown up you were expected to deal with all of these things that you hadn’t even been aware of.

Glad I'm not the only one who's thought of those bridge trolls and wondered if they were real trolls.

February 16, 2007
Seattle, WA

“I wasn’t trying to hide anything from you. Honestly I didn’t even know that would happen to you. I mean, you aren’t a full Kitsune yourself so I had no way of knowing it’d come up. I mean, it’s not like I’ve exactly done this before.”

“Siona, I’m not angry.” I was fairly certain that was true. “What happened?”

“It’s kind of an involuntary defense mechanism,” she finally said. “You had used a lot of our Quintessence throughout the last week and you finally got to the point where we’d ran out. We Kitsune… well most people can’t do this, but… ugh, this is embarrassing.”

“Embarrassing for You?!”

“Alright, fair point. People expend some of their Chi when they um… through sex. Kitsune have the ability to take that expended Chi and turn it into Quintessence directly. No, it doesn’t do anything to your desires or take over, and it doesn't harm the other person. It’s just something we can do. Your body was just trying to get more Quintessence by the quickest means possible in case we needed to defend ourselves or use our powers to survive. As I am more spirit than corporeal right you were able to make Quintessence for me, and I imagine if you were doing it for you it would be the energy you are short of.”

Well, at least it was just some drive to have sex alone and had a purpose, don't have to like it though. And Siona is thinking about how to avoid it in the future, good. So Siona is basically the Kitsune equivalent of a teen or College-aged, no wonder she doesn't know that much, learning alongside Cat.

February 18, 2007
Seattle, WA

Crud, just making food for herself and Claire when she manifests foxfire which sets the kitchen on fire.

“Alright, so you’re telling me I have this… Essence stored up inside me. It just fills up all on its own over time, and if I boil over because there’s too much these little flamey wisp hobgoblins show up to keep me from overcharging?” I asked.

A safety valve for her essence levels, handy but also dangerous. It could be useful in the right situation. Good thing she has Tome as a teacher, already learning some of the techniques taught at Whateley for dealing with Essence handling. Legends based upon magical facts or practices, very interesting.

February 19, 2007
Seattle, WA

Trans-Siberian Orchestra-What Is Eternal, those are some heavy lyrics, leaves me wondering what it will mean for Cat. Drinking mead and lamenting the life she lost it seems, with half-finished admissions packet and knowledge test on the kitchen table.

As I was putzing about the house earlier I had found it over on Claire’s desk. It had a Post-it note from Agent Bob. “Have Conner try this. I hope my boys are wrong – Bob”

Knowledge and academic memories full of holes like Swiss chess, no wonder she is drinking.

Something about Burnout destroying my body, which wasn’t a huge surprise. I mean, I had been shot probably at least a dozen times, then add on whatever changes that Anna’s blood triggered and losing perhaps 40 per cent of my body mass. Yeah, I still understood percentages but I couldn’t do basic math.

She had fought to save every aspect of myself she had recognized. Every memory of my life was still there, events that had happened. My wedding, the birth of my children, graduating college, high school even. Apparently things she recognized as skills and art she fought for. But she could only do so much.

I knew surviving all that would take a heavy toll, Siona did her best. This is a kind of pain I can't imagine, the loss of part of who she was and his wife gone and not there to comfort her. Calling Agent Klein to get set up at Whateley, good to know when you need help. Dang, Claire crying as she watches Cat cry over her loss, I hope she can gain it all back with time.

February 21, 2007
Seattle, WA

Will shows up with two pizzas, wearing a fake mustache, goofball dressed up as Mario. Dick's Drive-In, who thought that was a good name for take-out food. And Will finally seeing what happened to his Dad, at least he didn't faint from shock. Hugging it because Will worried he was going to lose his dad, then joking about the top shelf being her newest nemesis, goofball was right.

February 23, 2007
Seattle, WA

Cat eating on a bench at the Pier's of Puget Sound, sounds like a good way to pass the time. Strange tales of Whateley Academy from Claire, Max, and Will, oh boy, hope Cat doesn't get them thinking it is all weirdest all the time. Seattle, have family up there, sounds as great as the when I last visited decades ago.

Meliferra shows up and takes a seat to chat with Cat for a while. Living like that as a father all those years and now having to adjust to a new life and identity, tall order for anyone. Ah, Meliferra went to Whateley too, wonder what it was like back then.

"Yes and no. Yes I was all alone and you're not, but it wasn't that bad building a future for myself instead of a new life. But as my grandmother told me, do not let yesterday use too much of today. What's done is done and there's no where to go but forward."

Wise woman, her grandmother.

March 4, 2007
Whateley Academy

5 day trip from Seattle to Boston by train, at least she didn't have to deal with the MCO. Nice Lord of the Rings reference.

"You are you," Siona insisted again. "What does the name by which others call you matter? Just be you."

Listen to her, fretting over who you are will just leave you stressed and confused. And you are lucky to have Claire escort you, Cat.

A boy called Matt Walker trying to talk to a brunette from France who is very rude, superiority complex. At least Claire does the right thing and calls Matt over to help him out.

"Intent on acting like a heartless, frigid, bitch cunt?" I supplied helpfully.

I love Cat for not holding back her opinion on that girl. Claire is giving good advice for all students at Whateley. Matt has a good family who helped him go to Whateley, wonder what kind of powers he has to need to go to Whateley.

Waiting for the last van to Whateley, smart.

To be honest, it looked like we were driving into the scene of some supernatural horror movie with all the old architecture around. I started jokingly going over some of the rules in my head: Never explore the basement with the power out, avoid all graveyards, never split up to investigate strange noises, etc.

Actually those are good rules at Whateley as well. And Cat learns about the flag system from Claire, green flag day means fun with Claire's TK. The old Lord Paramount painting never gets old knowing what it does now.

Hartford is polite to Claire, she must have behaved well while at Whateley. And polite to Cat because of her "mother and father" and wishing to help if she needs it. And learning who Ms. Hartford is, figures Will and Anna can't stay on her good side, too free-spirited. Boy, Cat can read Mrs. Carson and the mood in her office well.

"That's excellent to hear. It's refreshing to hear about some of our Alumni doing well in the lives they've chosen for themselves. Many of us come to Whateley due to circumstances outside of our choice or control, as you yourself know and your... sister... is finding out."

Guessing Carson has already been informed of the truth about Cat.

"Because I have no where else to go," I finally said softly. Claire and Mrs. Carson both looked at me in puzzlement as I looked up sadly. "Everything is gone, all that I worked for and knew... I don't even know who I am any more. I need someplace to be so I can start over, where I'm not a burden or holding back someone else's life while I try to find mine again."

Perfect answer. Mandatory counseling makes sense for each of those reasons, humans can be stubborn by nature and not wish to ask for such help when they need it. In Whitman with Anna, fun and lots of nice girls to meet. Calling the other students children, I hope she never has to burn off a lot of Essence fast and gets into "that" situation again.

Anne flying hugs Cat, apologizing again, the poor girl needs to realize it isn't her fault and no one could have predicted any of this would have happened. And Anna has been to Carson's office more than once from how she responds, eep.

"Well, Whateley is certainly a bit unpredictable. On any given day there's explosions, killer robots, ninja attacks, I mean, it's entirely populated by mutants and what nots! Mrs. Carson keeps a firm hand on things, and she does NOT take rule breaking lightly. Miss Hardass...er, Hartford is just as bad. Detentions are very creative."

Sounds right to me, just life at Whateley Academy.

Calling Anna Whoopi, talking about her dead parents like this, whoever this guy is is a complete ass. Victor Scott aka Haymaker and his two bros, great. Bashing on her family, then talking to Cat like that after she reveals Anna and her are related, Victor has all the tact of a brick. Victor taunts her and still has his stuffed teddy bear from when he was a baby in his dorm room, talks big but small. Dead grandmother of Victor told Anna, able to talk to ghosts is very handy power.

Mrs. Savage gathering Cat and Anna into a hug, love seeing her friendly. Cat and new roommate have meeting with counselors, wonder how this will go. Miss Rhys, Persephone, is her roommate, wonder why so difficult getting her a roommate. An artist painting, sculptures in the room, who freaks out when she sees Cat.

"But I don't WANT to go to Poe!" she wailed before her entire body stiffened and trembled, then fell into a ball on her bed. She kept repeating the line as a sort of mantraas she rocked back and forth "I don't want to go, I don't want to go, I don't want to go..."

What kind of trauma has this poor girl been put through? Sounds like she is a projective empath and projecting her own despair, ouch.

I couldn't help it; the fatherly part of my being was torn between wanting to help the crying young woman in front of me and wanting to destroy the thing that made her break down and cry. I settled for sitting down on the bed, wrapping my arms around her and gently pulling her into me. "It's alright, no one is going to make you go anywhere. It's alright."

"It's not alright! Everyone is going to know and then I'll have to go to Poe because Poe is for all the crazy people and they're going to know I'm crazy because I can't hide it anymore because you're here and now everyone will know and they'll make me go to Poe!"

"I won't tell anyone, I promise. It'll be okay, you won't have to go anywhere. It'll be alright."

I lost track of time as I tried to help her calm down, but then again it didn't matter. It needed to be done.

Oh, Persephone needs a lot of help, Cat was the perfect choice as her roommate.

No wonder she goes by Rhys, being reminded of Hades' wife with your name is far from pleasant. Just deals with emotions, if she receptive in addition to projective empath?

"Oh yes I am." Rhys nodded quite sincerely. "Anxietyand panic attacks. I've done a lot of reading on the internet and it all matches right up. It happened ever since I manifested, so I'm not sure if it's part of being a mutant for me or if I would have had it anyway. I've always been too afraid to go ask the counselors about it."

Those don't make you crazy, I have those and prone to depression, just means you are different and need help coping.

*eyes bug out* Rhys has worse anxiety than even me, spiraling thoughts like that of worse case scenarios, though I know about the fear of being judged, makes it hard to get out in the world, poor girl reminds me a little of myself when younger. Cat is a good friend to help her like this.

Rhys was a very nice girl, and I saw a lot of brightness and creativity bubbling up in her. I just didn't understand or really be able to relate to having to shut all of that away forever.

You are doing more than some would, Cat.

I just had read and been told by my children powers testing was a very complicated subject, enough of one that even the experts disagreed on much of it.

I hope that isn't true of the Whateley testers, otherwise, it would be a headache for the students. Victor and his bros, catcalling Cat, pathetic. Insults Anna again and introduces himself and his bros, Mikey and Beau, as if it makes a difference. They were going to harass Rhys too, creeps.

Cat goes to walk away with Rhys and Victor dares to call her a commoner, the guy needs to be taken down 10+ pegs at least.

“Hey I wasn't done talking to you, don't you dare turn your commoner back on me,” Victor said with a low growl. He reached out and grabbed me by one shoulder and spun me around again to face him.

Rhys stopped, looking like she was torn between running and falling down in a crying heap. “Why can't you just leave us alone?” she asked plaintively.

“Shut up, you simpering hermit!” Victor snarled at her, shoving her. He didn't seem to mean to hurt her, but due to the difference in size Rhys stumbled backwards, tripping over a tree root and falling to her knees on the ground.

Okay, this guy needs to be put into Doyle to teach him a lesson in respecting women and others.

A TK who knocks Cat to the ground without touching her, can't stand guys like this.

“Now I may be new here, but one thing I don't need to be taught is how you're supposed to treat a lady. Looks like that might be a class you need to repeat.”

Matt Walker to the rescue, always pays to help and be polite. Flynn, a friend of Matt's, helps Rhys up from the ground.

Matt hit with a TK shockwave and moves just an inches, not even losing his cowboy hat, impressive. And Flynn catches a punch from Mikey, strong kids. Matt doesn't like bullies and with that Victor calls his goons off with the excuse they aren't worth their time, typical coward. An escort to Doyle and Flynn treating Rhys with a great deal of care, wonder if he has experience dealing with traumatized individuals.

Dr. Markham, good counselor to have. And she knows the truth about Cat and who she was.

“I don't really know the answer to your question,” I said truthfully. “As an example, I realized a few weeks ago that technically I'm my own grandpa. How messed up is that? Who am I really? Whatever I prefer it really doesn't make much of a difference because Conner died. I'm Catherine now whether I want to be or not.” I crossed my arms and slunk in the chair grumpily.

At least you are getting it out now, healthier for you. Yikes, are we sure Will and Anna didn't learn their sarcasm from thier father?

March 5, 2007
Whateley Academy

Exact same results from power testing at Whateley as in Seattle, dang, that is rare.

Remedial math and basic history. Apparently when Siona had picked and chose what I forgot, I had well, lost most of my academia. I'd rather be alive, but.. I had lost a lot. I also got a couple of Magic Theory and Practice courses. I mean, it made sense thinking back to the great kitchen fire incident. Probably a good idea to get a handle on that as quickly as possible.

Yeah, you don't want to have a Fey level "Oops" incident because you don't get trained. And gun safety course for the zapper gun, at least she will get to meet some of the more interesting teachers of Whateley.

Sergeant Johnny Bravo, please say that is a nickname. So Cat is learning all this all over again, wonder where she learned them before the big change. Crud, panic attack triggered by the sounds of gunshots, with how her old life ended not surprising she has PTSD. Covering her ears and blinking away in a panic, she needs to tell her counselor about this. Going to the Crystal Hall to eat and bunch of creeps taunting her about being an orphan, ugh.

Blinking into her dorm room through the window, then sneaks out with her mandolin to find a music group she'd seen on a flier, Cat needs an escape right now. Opening the door to a room and blasted with a feeling of pure wrong-ness, Siona telling her to run, what the heck is in that room!

“Part of what real Kitsune have always done is fight evil spirits. Kitsune are protectors, but also teachers and guides. That... was a very powerful spirit.”

“But it was here, surely they wouldn't let something so horrible here if it had a chance of...”

“Killing everyone here? I would like to think there is a reason, but I feel safer with us not in the vicinity of something that powerful.”

Just what was the spirit she encountered?

Finding herself in a Salle d'Armes with all those practice swords, and practices with a hand-and-a-half sword, only to be broken out of her trance by a powerful female voice.

Eventually into my field of vision came a willowly blond woman with a long angular face. She didn't broadcast whatever she was thinking. Instead, she seemed to be studying my form, looking at the stance of my legs and arms, how I was standing.

“It is clear you have been taught before. You also are shorter now, and perhaps a little more... blessed, correct?” She smiled slightly as her head indicated my chest.

Mrs. Beaumont, been a while since we've seen her, wonder if this means Cat will meet Fey soon. So Max most likely sent a letter about Cat attending Whateley, Mrs. Beaumont will be a great teacher for Cat, already started on her first lesson in footwork.

Time to start over from the basics.

And Cat at least realizes you can start over from the basics, a good start on the path into her new life.

March 12, 2007
Whateley Academy

Cat going to visit her "sister" Anna to see her dorm room. Cammie, is that Anna's roommate? Ouch, picture of Cat's old self and his other daughter together last Christmas.

"Yeah, she's my roommate. Her name is actually Gwynhwyfar Cameron, but everyone just calls her Cammie."

First name like that I would go with a nickname too, complicated. Nice, into robots and video games. Her brother is Flynn, real name Errol, I wonder how many get the reference at Whateley.

Charlie on the campus LAN, now who could that be. Hhm, that good at shooting games, could it be Hive or is Eldritch having some fun?

Apparently dying was the way to grow closer to your daughter, who knew?

Ssh, you will give people ideas.

March 13, 2007
Whateley Academy

Rhys and Cat just finding an empty table on the first floor to eat at, smart not to worry about social bs when it should just be for eating in. Wondercute, no Jade, leaving the cute girl with fox ears alone. Naming colors off a color chart, a fun little challenge for artists.

"Hey, I told you it was all the same um.." I paused a moment, counting on my fingers, "nine colors, just with light and dark and combinations. Eh, ten. I suppose you can say grey instead of white-black."

"You wound all artists everywhere!"

Cat, how could you?!

Falling on her rear because someone tied her shoelaces together, who pulled a childish stunt like that? Siona, be kind to your host. Out patient a school bully, uh oh, that rarely works.

March 19, 2007
Whateley Academy

Huh, first time Miss Grimes has been described to have that kind of look about her. Nice athame, sterling silver, we know at least one bully who will avoid her if he is smart for once. Calling Team Kimba a walking disaster crew, Anna has been spreading rumors and not all the details about each incident. Mystical symbols, cool. Symbology for fire, kitsune heaven right there, what kind of spells could Cat work with fire, can't wait to see.

Rhys might have been crying, what happened, and does someone need to be taught a lesson?

"Are you.." I started to ask as she simultaneously looked over at me, "What's in.."

We both smiled and laughed involuntarily before I inclined my head at her. "You first."

Such a short amount of time and already such good friends.

"More the opposite, it worked a little too well." I scrunched up my face as I picked out another bit of burned... something. "So after I managed to set fire to my workroom on the first day and extinguished it, I spent a while having to go over exactly what happened and fill out various forms."

Siona, master of the understatement, Cat has a strong natural talent for fire magic.

"I... my Psychic Arts teacher called me over after class today. Said I was intentionally holding back. I'm so embarrassed; I don't know what I'm going to do."

*sigh* If her teacher is Fubar he needs to explain things more delicately. Dealing with Rhys issue, starting to make progress.

What happened was suddenly one half of my shirt was pulled with enough force to cause all the buttons to pop off, leaving me with a rather useless situation and flashing the entire cafeteria.

Whoever did this is going to be in serious trouble.

Matt Walker with a jacket to the rescue, Flynn there as well.

"Geometry, Relativity and the Fourth Dimension? What's it about?"

Reading that, don't tell me Flynn is in THAT math class. Trying to explain that, I'm surprised Cat's eyes didn't start spinning from the disorientation. Nice way of explaining such a complex subject though.

Going to Foxfire to ask for help, hhm.

"Fantasy is Psychology, while Science Fiction is Sociology," she offered. "Fantasy isn't about the past, it's about archetypes and the resolution of fundamental conflicts, whereas Science Fiction is about the exploring the possibilities of Technology, and what lies beyond the Stars "

Nice explanations of the genres. Meep, Foxfire calling her fly in that line.

"Okay, the real thing to remember is that there are Three Laws, and everything else is an application of those three laws. Think about all the stories where the witch does this, the fairy does that, and the ghost can't do the other thing; they'll all bound by the Laws of Magic, and what they're running into is one of those applications.

"The First one is the Biggie: The Rule of Definition. 'The World is what we say it is.' Some say that the other two are really just applications of the Rule of Definition, but let's skip that. How we define things sets how we and others interact with it. I mean, Elizabeth Windsor is really just a little old lady who wears a lot of pastels with a job in Public Relations for the British government. But she is also Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of England and Scotland, Princess of Wales, and a bunch of other stuff. In a very real way, she helps bind the United Kingdom together, makes it a family, and all that stuff. She rules, the Prime Minister governs at her behest. But she only has that power because everyone agrees that she has that power.

"The Second Law is, like I said, sort of an application of the Law of Definition, but it's major enough to be a Law. It's called the Law of Domain. Basically it says 'when you're on my turf, I call the shots'. You see this in Haunted House stories a lot- the Haunt has tons of power within the walls of its house, less power inside the garden and yard of the house, and almost no power at the boundary of the property. The Haunt says 'This is my turf. What I say here goes.' Now, you can fight that, but it's hard because, like I said, you're on its property. BUT, if you can fight the Master of the Domain- that's the proper term for it- you can break that power. You can even set the terms of whatever so that whoever wins is the Master of the Domain, and take the domain for your own. The downside being that if you lose, well, you're screwed. And, one of the downsides to all of this is that if the Master of the Domain makes a statement as the Master, in the Domain, he's stuck with it along with everyone else. Oh, there are some weird and twisted things you can do with that.

"The Third Law is the Law of Cyclicality. Y'see, one of the reasons why magic is called 'supernatural' is that it's NOT NATURAL. You're making the universe do things it normally wouldn't. So a magical working has to have a Beginning, a Middle and an End. You've got to overcome the inertia and get the working going, you've got to keep it on track or it'll go running off every which way, and then you've got to STOP IT. If you don't stop it, it'll just keep going until it runs out of juice, and Ghoo only knows what it'll do. Part of the Law of Cyclicality is the Rule of Opposition: like Isaac Newton said 'for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction'. No matter what you want to do, no matter how nice and benevolent, you gotta watch out for the Boomerang."

No wonder magic track students are told repeatedly magic isn't the answer to everything.

March 26, 2007
Whateley Academy

People still talked about ninja raids, Halloween massacres, it was enough to make me wonder what kind of chaos I had found myself in.

Cat, that is only the tip of the iceberg for the stuff that happened last year, you don't want to know it all.

Alright, that's overly harsh. I had apparently found a few good apples at least, but the majority of them seemed to be a bunch of superficial, petty, overly dramatic assholes.

Judging the majority by a small number you have heard or met, Cat, you need to meet more students.

Okay, whoever these students are gossiping about Cat needs to be taught a lesson. *hits head on desk* Jade, just because someone is cute and adorable doesn't mean they chose to look that way, nor wish to join Wondercute and be reminded of it every day. The intro to Thunderstruck played by Razorback, Cat should try hanging out with the Outcasts when her regular friends aren't around.

Jade hasn't given up, now I fear for Cat. Wallflower and Lancer sitting on either side of her, I hope they show Cat that Team Kimba and associates aren't a walking disaster crew. Lady Briar was a legend.

Lancer leaned towards me intensely. "I asked Ayla to find the official news report for me. Your dad saved eighty seven people. Three teachers, five parents, and seventy nine children. He stood up to a known mutant felon as a baseline knowing there wasn't anything he could really do to him, and managed to notify police and make sure eighty seven people got away. He was a hero, and if I could I'd shake his hand myself and tell him so."

Dang, this is what Cat needed to hear after all she has been through.

He continued, "Anyway, I'm done with this nonsense. I talked with the Grunts, and Lily has talked with the Capes. All of us have either lost people in the business or know folks who have. You're not alone and I'm done with you getting treated like this."

Doing what is right for those left behind, so happy to see this happen. A Capes member or Grunt sits with her at lunch if she is alone, now I'm tearing up.

March 30, 2007
Whateley Academy

Going to the firing range just to sit, to last just a bit longer each day, dealing with PTSD on her own terms.

She would cave every time for herself, would never stand up for her own needs, but apparently the fact that I was hurting was enough to turn her into a she-bear.

Not every battlefield was physical, and unfortunately this was one I was going to have to try to face on my own.

"Not entirely on your own, Cousin."

Siona was right, as she often was. At least this was not entirely on my own.

I'm so glad Cat has Siona and Rhys to help her with this.

April 17, 2007
Whateley Academy

A nice and peaceful night, yet something is going to happen. Woken from a dream like that by a knocking at the dorm room door, rats. Cammie there and Anna is missing, just what is going on? Blinked outside to go looking for Anna, impulsive, should have waited for Cammie to form a search party.

A vague sense of wrongness and Siona on high alert. Off of school grounds, past the stone border wall, and Anna is in a dreamlike trance moving towards a bluish figure. Who or what is that? Spectral woman, mother was Lady Briar, don't tell me we have a banshee.

One moment it showed a beautiful woman, reaching out towards Anna in friendship; the next it showed a decayed corpse of bone and flesh, ratted hair blowing out from her head like a sort of necromantic halo.

Okay, sure sounds like a banshee to me. Blasting a spirit with magical flames, badass.

I looked down at myself and noticed, really noticed that my hair and tails had changed from their foxish red to platinum blond. I blinked and looked back towards the school and saw Rhys, Flynn and Matt standing in a group, along with Cammie. There was also a squad of Security personnel.

"Did.. did Catherine just go Super Sayan and throw a Hadouken?" I heard Flynn ask out loud.

I guess having a sister so into video games has its benefits. And whoa, the kind of power Cat just tapped into, is she going to have to be tested again?

Off to the Security Office for debriefing and paperwork, odds of getting any sleep tonight=low. Light shining right into their eyes so they can't read the officers' badges, I can't believe Carson is allowing this.

Anna was grilled nine ways from Sunday about at what point she should have suspected some kind of psychic effects on her brain.

Okay, I really don't like this security officer.

All this, dressing down on all the things they should have done or done better, and now they have to deal with Carson.

"The various wards and protections of the grounds are in place for precisely one reason, to ensure the safety of all the students and faculty of this school. These wards and protections Only work if you Remain On The Grounds!" The Headmistress turned her head and locked eyes with all of us, one by one. My initial assessment of her continued to hold true as she continued.

"As you have seen from the recorded video, the school security teams were already ready and mobilized without need for any of you to put yourselves into danger, unprepared, without any knowledge of what you could have been getting into." Her gaze traveled across all of us in turn, before settling in on Matt. To his credit, his expression had remained relatively calm this entire time, unlike the others. What was he thinking? "Mister Walker, what precisely motivated you to leave your cottage in the middle of the night, past curfew, with your roommate to a completely unknown situation?"

Matt shrugged. "It's pretty simple, ma'am. When a friend needs help you help them." He gestured over at me with his head.

Mrs. Carson paused for a moment, blinking her eyes. "Really? That's it? When a friend needs help you help them?"

"Yes ma'am," he confirmed.

"You would not ask any questions, or be remotely concerned about what they were doing at this hour? You aren't the slightest bit concerned that what they are doing could be illegal or potentially dangerous to others?"

"Well with all due respect ma'am, someone who would do things like that wouldn't be someone I would consider a friend," Matt replied.

Carson, if the security teams were ready and mobilized, had been watching Anna for that long, why in the world did she even get over the wall let alone all the way to the spirit without any of those security teams have started to move out yet?

1 week of detention, ugh, security ready and mobilized yet Anna was already with the spirit. It could have killed her in the seconds it took them to reach Anna, while Cat already reached her and took it out. It was already moving to grab Anna and probably suck out her soul, what would security do then if they were too late?

Anna gets a psychic examination at Doyle, while Cat is getting to meet Louis, uh oh.

Mrs. Carson looked over at this Louis and addressed him directly. "As it is clear that we will not be able to stop Miss Fox here from protecting those she feels need protecting, we should utilize her talents where they might be useful."

"I had considered that myself," he seemed to agree, nodding. I was completely lost at this point.

"Miss Fox, in addition to your week of detention, you will also be required to join the Whateley Gaming Club for the duration of your studies at Whateley," the Headmistress said with a bit of a smirk. "Professor Gentz will bring you up to speed. Dismissed."

Isn't the Gaming Club a cover for the group that protects the campus from the astral plane? At least if I recall correctly. Plus D&D, ooo, I wonder what their campaign is like and if Louis creates psychic illusions for the game.

April 29, 2007
Whateley Academy

I'll just say that some areas of the school have things happen which creates evidence that needs cleaned up that no living soul should ever have to witness. Additionally, I had a whole new level of respect for the Super Mario Brothers.

All those times going in and out of pipes, walking around in pipe levels, what were the Mario Brothers walking in? *shudders*

Life looking up again, I'm sorry, but the universe has other plans right now. Spring combat finals, crud, she missed the Winter combat finals, this is not a surprise she will like. A weapon for combat final from Matt, I wonder what it is. Crap, talking about getting a costume done in time and Team Wondercute is walking by right then, I hope their price for helping out isn't joining.

It was at this point I was more or less abducted by the squad. I managed to look over my shoulder towards my friends. "If I don't come back, tell my family I love them!" I called out.

I was only half joking.

*hears gallows march music as she is dragged off by Wondercute*

"This never happened," I said as I stood in the doorway in what resembled a white anime Sailor Moon-esque sailor fuku, with black as the off color. My other outfit had been borrowed for measurements so I was told.

I hope they didn't get any pictures of her in that, blackmail is just so mean.

The "price" had been a complete photo shoot of anime cosplay. I lost count of the number of ridiculous outfits I had been stuffed into while the giggling chaotic mayhem made design sketches and pictures and plans and... I don't even know. I'm sure they had incriminating evidence for days at this point; I was trying not to think about it.

Nooo, Cat is doomed!

May 1, 2007
Whateley Academy

You didn't make it through four children without acquiring patience, or learn anything about music or swordplay without a lot of practice and getting used to slow improvement. I had always found it better to be doing something though, even if it was mentally working through a problem. To be active instead of passive.

All that to learn patience for, no wonder it took her so long before she snapped at someone. A sauna and the solution involves interacting with one of the people she has been trying to avoid, don't tell me, Ayla.

Oh, not Ayla. Hangs out with Rough-Coat and Honeypaw, who could this be?

I had to reorganize my whole shower schedule and everything, which was already difficult as I tried to avoid showering at the same time as the other girls as much as possible.

Look, yes I was still attracted to the female form. I can't help it. But I meant what I said to the Headmistress at the beginning, and it was far easier to keep to my goal if I minimized the potential problems in the first place. It was just easier for everyone involved that way.

Cat has an incredible amount of self-control. Ooo, the Nations sweat lodge, doesn't wish to deal with Kayda due to her being so close to Team Kimba members.

Spying on Kayda to gather intel, hhm. Hehe, teasing Siona about talking in her head so much. Cat has a pretty good read on how some of the tribal elders have been treating Kayda, even if she doesn't know who has been treating Kayda that way. The truth, Cat is going to simply tell Kayda the truth, finally someone who knows how to deal with others the right way.

Going straight to the point, telling everything about herself that Kayda needs to know, and stating why she wishes to talk to Kayda right away. Now we just have to hope the Nations will agree to the request.

May 3, 2007
Whateley Academy

A reply in two days, that is fast for the Nations.

"The Nations have agreed to your request," she started as she held up a finger, "But there are some conditions. First, The Nations always have priority of usage. It does belong to them. Second, permission is granted just for you and your own spiritual purposes. Don't bring guests. Third, you always treat the sweat lodge with the respect it deserves. It is not a place for frivolity or lewdity. Fourth, you always clean up after yourself and if any major improvement projects or repair are needed you help along with everyone else."

Completely reasonable conditions to her use of the sweat lodge as well, finally something went her way.

May 5, 2007
Whateley Academy

*blinks* Crud, this is the time Kayda was framed for murder. Horrible time for everyone.

May 12, 2007
Whateley Academy

Cat, stop being so down on yourself, it takes time to adapt to such a massive change in your life and to a new situation such as going to Whateley Academy. Sweat lodge stay and chocolate chip cookies for her hosts, such a good guest. Okay, how does she go to sleep in her bed and end up in this cabin? Siona there in her fox form, this is a dream space, isn't it? Cute outfit for Cat.

Kayda and Tatanka at the door, is this Cat's dream space and Kayda is visiting? Yup, Cat's dream space and the first time she has ever been there. So Kayda and Tatanka wished to meet Siona, get to know Cat and Siona better.

And ensure we weren't a threat to her and whatever "Destiny" she had, was the part that went without saying.

There is prepared and then there is paranoid Cat.

Siona sighed and thought a moment before she replied. "That is a complicated answer. To start, Kitsune are teachers, but not everyone wants to receive the lesson. Let me give you an example. Say a rich, greedy man is walking through town with a pouch of gold coins. He is rich because he has exploited the workers of the town in which he walks, paying them little and keeping all the profits to himself. Now say a fox causes the pouch to rip and the coins to fall out a little at a time, spreading the wealth to the poor people he has oppressed. Is the fox a trickster, stealing the man's money? Are they a guardian, protecting and improving the lives of the people in the town? Are they a teacher, showing the man that money is not as important as the lives and well being of your fellow people? Or are they perhaps all of these?"

Nice to learn so much about Japanese mythology and lore.

May 15, 2007
Whateley Academy

He meant what he said, and said what he meant as a general rule.

Oh my god, Matt is secretly Horton the elephant! *whistles* That Bowie knife is a thing of beauty, Matt's uncle has great skill as a knife maker to create this in so short a time. The sheath made by his aunt, I wouldn't be surprised if those protection and friendship symbols have some power to them.

May 29, 2007
Whateley Academy

I was wearing a red Cheongsam dress with black trim, a circular 'look at my bewbies' keyhole opening, and an almost indecently high hemline. There was a skin tone suit of kevra under it, similar to Olympic figure skaters.

Wondercute does good work but did they have to make it so sexy. Poor Cat, please let Peepers and Greasy not be the announcers for her match.

Rats, no stun gun until she can pass that class.

A lot of the other students in the magical classes seemed to jump into the rivalry between the tech departments and the magic departments. Personally, that seemed foolish to me. A tool is a tool, and the more tools you had at your disposal the better you tended to do. Pick the right tool for the job.

Smart, a tool is a tool, just look at Eldritch, a mix of artifacts and tech gear. White kitsune mask, with her powers she could really scare someone by using a mix of illusions and blinking about.

Matt in that outfit, all he needs is a white horse to complete the look. Errol and Persephone aka Flynn and Rhys, just a mask to their uniforms, I hope their clothes don't get wrecked. Cat has to go up against Lancer, good grief, I hope she has a chance with all his combat experience and power. Ugh, the people jeering, especially one talking about nothing being left of her as if he thinks these matches are to the death.

Queen-The Show Must Go On, perfect song and lyrics for Cat right now. Infiltration into a base with armed guards, eep. Hostage situation to rescue them, a tall order for her first combat final. Whoa, two ANTs down like that, Cat has skills and doesn't even realize it yet. Hank finds her so Cat runs, a fireball at him and he no-sells it. Bwahaha, pair of black panties thrown into Hank's face, priceless. And he just wants to talk, work together to rescue the hostages, about time.

An assist from Hank to launch Cat into the air before she blinks.

First, they were limited to line of sight; I had to actually see where I would be blinking to. Through a window was fine, I hadn't really gotten to try looking through a security camera or something like that. Second, my longest range so far had been about fifty yards or there abouts. Third, I could take just myself and roughly someone of the same mass as me, give or take a bit.

Fourth was the big one. As Flynn put it, my orientation and speed with respect to the jump point remain the same although I can rotate the exit direction for my momentum as desired. Honestly that was entirely too much math for me to wade through. I just think of it as if I start the jump feet first, I exit feet first. Same speed, same pose, different direction.

So she retains orientation and momentum, brutal as shown with the kick breaking the ANTs' neck.

Every sound I made felt like it was too loud, too sudden, wrong enough that it would give me away.

Pretty sure that is because of your augmented hearing, Cat, normal humans probably wouldn't pick up the sounds you make unless they are almost on top of you. Return of the PK paper sword! Yeah, things are never this easy, especially when Bardue is one of those programming these combat finals.

Ouch, punched by a Brick who broke through a wall and even made a Kool Aid Man joke as they did it, poor Cat. Getting the hostages into army trucks while Hank is fighting the Brick, and...Cat doesn't know how to drive anymore! Hank is going to have to drive while Cat keeps the Brick distracted, oh boy.

Holes in the gas tanks of all the remaining vehicles using a dremel, power tool for the win. Spell globes, those are new.

When the globe was 'armed' and thrown, a spell was cast that would convert the kinetic energy of the spell globe hitting a solid object into magical energy, which would trigger the second stored spell. The second spell would go off, casting it at the point of impact and consuming the globe.

Okay, I'm impressed. With more training in tactics she could take out a small army on her own, she is scarily effective. All these explosions, all these ANTs she has taken down, after this combat final I don't think too many are going to underestimate her anymore.

Avoids the Kool Aid Man only to get hit in the leg by rounds from an ANT, trapped and on the verge of a panic attack when Hank comes barreling back in. Rescues Cat in a blaze of action and escape to the finish line. Never leave a teammate behind, Team Kimba and associates all have that rule.

Crud, panic attack, comes to with Lancer and Wallflower still there, Rhys next to her, Matt and Flynn in the room, and faculty there as well.

"Alright, if you're sure," he said. "And Catherine... you did good. Real good. Don't let anyone tell you that you don't belong here. I'd be happy to work with you again any time."

Cat, when Hank gives you praise he means every word of it.

June 1, 2007
Whateley Academy

A package snuck into Matt's room, what did she get him? Emerson boys know to look, but keep their mouths shut about things, never tick off a girl who you've seen take apart ANTs like that. Ooo, Steven King's Dark Tower series, Matt is going to enjoy those. And the school year is coming to a close for Cat, I wonder what the next year will hold in store for her.

The tale of Conner Jeremy Fox, father of 4 whose wife died a year ago. How a bank robbery and his sacrifice to distract the robber from innocents leads him down a new path and to a heritage he never knew about. It was so interesting learning alongside Conner/Cat along the way through her origin story and time at Whateley. From her kitsune heritage and cousin Siona being in her hollow, the transformation she underwent, learning about his own children's powers, and even his wife's identity as Lady Briar.

Meliferra, debts to repay, so much folklore and magic information learned. The fact Cat is the one who figured out why all those robots were attacking different places, her analysis of it was excellent. Overlord and the tradition of villainy make you question how such a tradition gets started. And the whole mess with Overlord, him being behind the death of Meliferra's parents, so glad they foiled his plot without anyone dying.

I only hope nothing, like what happened with Luis, will happen again to Claire, she has enough to deal with already. Her meeting Matt on the way to Whateley, her answer to Carson as to why she needs to be at Whateley, as great examples of show, don't tell. I hope we get to see Haymaker and his buddies taken down a notch from time to time. All the help Cat gave Rhys, helping her come out of her shell, seeing how much she has grown since meeting Cat, and having her as her roommate, it shows and I love all of it.

How Cat and Rhys first meet Flynn, seriously, I want to see Victor and his buddies taught a lesson in manners more than once. All the things Cat has to relearn, math, history, sword fighting in her new body. Foxfire explained the 3 basic rules of magic in a way anyone should understand, loved that. The Capes and Grunts sticking up for Cat due to her "parents" was perfect and the kind of thing I hope to see more of, students standing up for each other against bullying of any form.

And that combat final. I knew Cat had skills, she doesn't realize how badass she already is, but I didn't realize it was to that extent. Her skill at blinking, wielding that knife in deadly fashion, and her spell spheres, except for when that Brick was coming after her I kind of pitied the ANTs.

Overall I loved this origin story, the complex details it weaved throughout, and all the things answered and still left to resolve in future stories. I can't wait to read more about Cat and her friends.