Chapter 24

On Monday, Doug came to my office, and together we made all the reservations for our flight and stay in DC. The flight was not a problem, but the hotel was. Since I was senior, I was given a place in one hotel, but being more of a junior member Doug had to make reservations at another.

But I called Dr. Tran and explained the situation. As I obviously could not drive, I was going to have to rely upon Doug for my transportation. “Instead of two rental cars, just take the money that would go for mine, and upgrade Doug so we can have adjoining rooms.” He said that was a great idea, and he would call me back after he talked to the bean counters.

We were having lunch when Dr. Tran joined us and said it had all been arranged. “You two have rooms with an inside door, so now that kills all the problems. So, may I ask when you two were going to tell me?”

I looked towards him and asked him what he meant. Tell him what, exactly?

“Well, tell me that you two appear to be a couple. And no, so long as neither of you is in a supervisory position to the other it is allowed.”

“Doctor Tran, what makes you think that Miss Wong and I are a couple?”

He chuckled. “Remember, analytical enhancement. I did not until I saw how the two of you were sitting. And how Dianne has one finger touching the side of your hand. Little things, but I can see them. Is this why you asked for the change?”

“Well, yes and no. Yes, it would make things a hell of a lot easier, as you know I am going there as Dianne and not Dire Wolf. I would have asked for this even without our relationship, as it makes moving around a hell of a lot easier. But I will not deny I want to spend my spare time there with Doug as well.”

“And that’s perfectly fine. But so you know, you will likely be Dire once the meetings start. I expect this to be a ‘death by PowerPoint meeting, and being able to see it would help. But this is a heads up, you are going to want to fight one of the changes to the structure that has been proposed.”

“Why, what do they want to do?”

“Well, one of the changes would shove both of your jobs into a department called ‘Paladin Affairs’. Fight them, insist that you remain with the science group and that even though you will be dealing with Paladins all the time you are working on their abilities, not them. Otherwise, your position would be directly over Doug, and that could cause problems.”

I nodded and said I would do my best. He then said he would be sending me a file of data to go over before the meetings. “Mostly my own observations, and suggestions of what we have here that should be done nationwide. Especially the vehicle program Kirk and Sean worked out with you. It’s a good idea. Fiscally more expensive at the outset, but with long-term cost benefits.”

“Well, even though I started here in HR, I agree with you. My job really has moved more into analysis of them and their abilities, and less in taking care of their needs. OK, when that comes up I will be sure to bring it up and what we both think.”

I was just telling that when the alarm went off. I quickly rushed to my office and changed, and got in what we now called the ready room as Sarge was going over the intel. “Right now, you are just on standby. It seems to be a cryo, but not a particularly dangerous one. They are not breaking the law, but a block of Darktown is covered in ice, and the police are saying seems to be from a teen girl who is lashing out.”

I looked around and saw that Glenda was there. “Sarge, I am going to take Glenda and head on over. I can see the feed from the news chopper, and it does look like a scared girl. Maybe we can talk her down, I know I was terrified when I first got my powers. Maybe between the two of us, we can end this easily.” He said it was a good idea, so we raced and got into my old van and headed over.

The cops stopped us 2 blocks away, and I simply said “Control Response Team” and he let us through. And sure enough, a block away everything was covered in ice. We all hopped out, and with Fang in the lead, we headed over to where they said she was.

We found her, screaming under the overhang for a gas station. Water from burst pipes was all over, and turning to ice to adding to the problems. I got onto the radio and told Sarge to get one of the pyros ready to respond. “No Sarge, not to fight her! She looks to be around 13, I bet her powers just came to her. We can use a pyro though to help melt off all this ice, it’s a mess here.”

I walked closer, and she saw me and screamed. “No! Stay back! I don’t want to hurt you!” I had Fang sit next to me, and Glenda stand next to me. I told her I was Dire Wolf, and I just wanted to help her. And as I thought, she was terrified. And the waves of cold she could not control. It took 15 minutes, but finally, we were able to approach her. She passed out almost immediately afterward, and I told them to send in the capture wagon.

She started to look around again as it pulled up, and I could feel the cold again. “Stacy, stop! Relax, I will not let them hurt you!”

“But that is what they use for the bad mutants!” she screamed.

“Yes, but also for people who need help. You are not bad, you just need help. Fang and I will be there with you, I promise. We are going to the Navy Base, we can help you learn how to control this. Relax, nobody is going to hurt you. In fact, look at Fang. He is looking at them with his hackles raised. He would attack them before he let them hurt you. So relax, it’s alright.”

Finally, I tossed my keys to Glenda to drive my old van back. I sat in the back with Stacy, and she had her arms around Fang the entire trip. She told me that she was being bullied, and one of the girls had pushed her into a wall on the way home from school. And that the fear and anger is what caused her powers to come to the front.

And this was something I had heard and read all too often. Latent powers or ones that had not manifested yet, suddenly surging out when the body went into “fight or flight” mode. And once she started, it only scared her all the more, causing a condition she could not stop.

Sarge told me on the radio as we pulled in the gate that a pyro had arrived and was melting the ice. Once we got to the building for medical, Stacy was calming down again. I ended up staying until her parents arrived. She was a scared 13-year-old girl, but soon Clint arrived and with her parents we got her calmed down finally.

And Clint as usual was impressive. He told her he was going to visit her every day, and together they would help her learn to use the new powers she has. She asked if he was going to teach her to fight, and he laughed.

“Oh, maybe someday. But not yet. No, first I am going to teach you how to be calm, and remain calm. Then after you learn how to control your fear and not let your powers out, we will start on that. Dire, would you say she is a Paladin?”

“Unquestionably, Clint. Stacy, cryo is one of the powers that at this level grants automatic Paladin status. Yes, you are now a Paladin. But for the next 5 years, only one in training. But it comes with good and bad things. First, you will be collecting a stipend of $5,000 a month, and it includes free tuition. So you can go to any school you want. But for now, you will be living and going to school here. But once you can control these powers, you can return home.”

“Do you all have an academy somewhere, like X-Men?”

I laughed, and so did her parents and Clint. “No, but there is something similar here. You will have a house here, and if you and your parents want you can live here. It’s available for all Paladins, and as you still need to learn control you will remain here until then. And while you are one of the youngest mutants there is, most of the kids here are actually children of mutants and not ones themselves. But we do have a few.”

Her mother then asked me why it only now appeared. I leaned in and whispered a question to Stacy, and she nodded. I whispered another question, and she blushed but nodded again. “OK, here are some things we do know. Every mutant only started to show their powers once they passed puberty. And Stacy is in her second cycle. And like many of this kind, it only manifested itself when an adrenaline surge makes it react in a protective reflex. She is not the first person we have found that was prepubescent on the Night of Madness, but once they passed that line their powers manifested. And we are going to keep seeing this for years. But Clint here is a martial arts instructor and is very good at teaching calming techniques. Stacy, I bet that once you learn to control and how to use your powers, you are going to be an amazing Paladin.”

“But I don’t want to be a mutant!” she said, and her mom hugged her tighter. “Oh, you have no choice. It’s just who you are now. But let me explain how this works. You are not allowed to patrol until you are 18. So until then, you get a half-stipend for your living expenses. And like I said, we will pay for any education you want. That even means college. If you want to do that, we will pay for it. So you can be a doctor, or a teacher, or whatever you want. And even though you will be registered as a Paladin, if you want to do patrols or not will be entirely up to you. Get a partial stipend and do nothing, get a larger one to be on-call in case you are needed, or do like Clint and I do. Four 2 hour patrols a week, and we get $10,000 a month. But that is years away, and you can change at any time.”

Finally, her parents put her into bed, and her father was arranging to have some of their things moved there as Clint and I talked to her mom. She thanked us for what we had done, and Clint said he looked forward to working with her. “She has a special gift and is powerful from what Dire told me. All she needs to do is learn how to control it. If she wants, once she does that she can simply live a normal life. Unlike Dire Wolf, Fang, and myself.” She looked at us, and I nodded.

“I can pass myself off as a normal person, but there is no way I could ever do that with Fang here. And Clint, this lovable teddy bear also can never hide who he is. My friend Glenda helped me calm Stacy down. She is a mutant, but not a Paladin. We got called to Control, and once I saw it was just a scared girl, I insisted we go out and help her. It was like that for me, my first time. I was suddenly much bigger, as was Fang. But I have a feeling Stacy is going to be alright.”

Clint and I hugged when we got to his trike, and we were waiting for a van to pick Fang and me up and take us home. “You did good there, Di. I was already on the way, but Sarge told me to hang back. Your instinct was spot-on. Not a danger, just a scared little girl. I am going to be spending a lot of time with her until she learns how to control that fear.”

“Clint, what about the bullies that were tormenting her?”

He sighed. “Well, there were three of them. One ran away, and the other two are in the hospital. The worst is in ICU, frostbite. The other mostly hypothermia. Both are expected to make full recoveries, but one may lose a finger or two. But I bet they have all learned their lesson about bullying others, and I bet this might even start to become something taught at all schools.”

I admitted it was a hard lesson for them to learn, but it sounded like they deserved it also. He gave me a hug as the van pulled up, and he rode off as Fang and I climbed in the back and I had them drop us off on the outskirts of Chinatown. I called Doug when I got home, and he said he was proud of me. “Dr. Tran and I were talking after you left. That was a good call, as with Glenda and Fang it was obvious you were all mutants. And also women, so not as intimidating. You calmed her down and defused the situation perfectly. And calling for a pyro was a good call also. He shortly had all the ice melted, and the city is already working on repairing the damage she did.”

And I really did feel good when I went to bed that night.

On Sunday afternoon Doug picked me up and took us to the airport. We held hands for most of the flight, and once we finally got to the room I removed the harness and after stripping to my panties changed. I looked around, and it was a nice room. Doug slipped out and went into his room, and we opened the door between them.

Soon we settled down the sleeping arrangements, and Doug got room service as I took a shower. I got out and after eating, Fang climbed onto the bed in Doug’s room, and Doug climbed onto me in mine.

The next morning we had the buffet breakfast at the hotel, then drove to the Pentagon. It had been decided that Control would set up there, and they took over an entire section for their own use. A lot of heads turned when we came in, as after arriving I had gone into a bathroom and changed from Di to Dire.

I greeted everybody, and soon they started. In short, it was a week of meetings and making policy decisions. But thankfully, I had the briefing prepared by Dr. Tran, and they agreed that I and all others involved in analysis would be part of the sciences branch. And that Paladin Affairs would be assigned under HR.

Once in a while, the government does make a decision that makes sense.

Doug did a presentation on the R&D department at our office making a vehicle for me, and the one they had rebuilt for Clint. “One thing that has to be realized, is that many can not just use any vehicle available. Dire Wolf can, but Fang can not. Clint certainly can not. So we need to start implementing a program to provide most with vehicles to suit their special needs. As you can see, for Dire Wolf that meant a larger vehicle, with this active camouflage system to help conceal it. And ballistic armor, and capabilities so she can go into the back in the event she has to change forms and not be seen.”

When that meeting was done, we took a break then returned and were broken up into multiple groups. I really wanted to talk with the group from Sciences, but Doug asked me to stick with him instead. And it is a good thing, as together we pushed through the idea that we should own our vehicles, but find some way to get them outfitted and still maintain control of the technology.

Ultimately, they decided on a compromise. We sign over the vehicle to Control, on the agreement that they would “buy it back” at full retail value. That way if we wanted to move to something else, they kept the old car, but we still had equity in it. And if we did, that would give them a vehicle that could go to another Paladin.

The night before we left we were walking the Mall at night, and we finally professed our love for each other. And making love that night was particularly sweet and gentle.

When we got back Friday night, and early the next morning drove to the training site. Control and the unit of Navy and Marine engineers had been hard at work over the months, turning the old salvage yard into our training area. And I heard my name called, and turned to see Stacy trot up. I dropped to my knees and gave her a hug, then she hugged Fang also. Clint and her dad were walking up and said she was joining our class that week.

Most of it was what Clint called exploring our potential. And I had to admit, Stacy was impressive. She could radiate cold, and if she touched something like a wall, it would soon encompass an entire building or more. Within a minute any moisture would precipitate out of the air, and a fine coating of ice would spread along the ground from this effect.

And she could project it from her hands, but not very far. But Clint had hopes that over time she would gain in powers. And when we did a light no-contact skirmish, she got Racer good by freezing the ground. He was not hurt, but he was embarrassed as he picked himself off of the ground.