High Noon

[Thorn Hawk]

Thorn hurriedly checked the clock on the wall while stuffing a small bag far past what volume it should be carrying with more books and papers.

"Ah crap, crap, crap! I'm late!" He groaned to himself, finally becoming satisfied with the status of his backpack before slinging it over his shoulder in an odd way so that it wouldn't impede his wings. A few puns drifted through his head, oddly in Alex Dutchman's voice about how he'd need wings to get to school on time, but he dismissed them quickly like a man swatting away a fly. His mom had already shot off to the RISU campus, having a lecture on something like proteins or lipids or the like. Hey, Mike wasn't in college yet, he didn't need to know it.

The TV continued to blare on as Thorn rushed back into his room to grab another book he forgot while chowing down a pop-tart at the same time. "More news from downtown, a fire-bombing occured late last night in King's Row. Charlie Dasher has the story. Charlie?" The news channel cut to a bland-looking middle aged man. "Thanks Susan. Apparently at around 2 AM this morning-" Thorn's attention wavered back to finishing the pop-tart, which had fallen on the floor in his haste, and turning the TV off. "-ulted in no deaths, but the injury total is well into the double digits-" The power shut off on the TV when a small, blunt spine smacked against the power button of the machine and fell to the ground. Satisfied that he had everything, Thorn grabbed the bag and headed to leave. Instead of going out the door, Thorn merely opened the large window in the living room and moved onto the thin balcany, giving a fairly good Sigourney Weaver impression from Ghostbusters 2 while closing the window. With a grin, Thorn faced the wall of the building and fell backwards off the fifteen story high apartment edge. The familiar lurching in his chest of weightlessness spiked a rush of adrenaline in his body. If he wasn't awake at this point, he would be now easily. Twisting in the air, he moved his body to face the ground and spread his wings, catching the air and soaring off faster than most cars normally travel on highways towards the school.

[Thorn Hawk]

It was a little after third period when Thorn had his scheduled meeting and after waving goodbye to Nova and Stormy in the hallway, he made his way towards the administrative wing of the school. He wasn't quite sure what to expect as he paced down the long and partially deserted hallway. He had heard very different things about the woman from different people, including such extremes as that she's a comedian who acts more of a kid sister than a faculty member, to a scary psionic who will go inside your head and plumb out the secrets you have that you aren't even aware of. That second part scared him a bit, but he managed to push down the rising anxiety and knock quickly on the open door to the office.

Valerie Atwood stood up from her deep brown mahogany desk and smiled. The woman had blonde hair done up in a bun and tied with chopsticks and deep blue eyes the color of a summer sky. She had a bland, almost common appearance of someone who you'd look over in a mall, but still maintained a scrutinized beauty if you gave her an appraising glance. She smiled warmly and ushered Thorn inside.

"Mr. Pechna, please come in and take a seat." She said with a somewhat calm and distant voice. With a nod, Mike moved and sat down in a chair, carefully draping his wings over the back so that they stayed out of the way. The school psychologist took out a large pad of drawing paper and sat down behind her desk after closing the door. "Now, I know this is your first time coming in to see me Mr. Pechna, and you might have some reservations about talking to me but I promise you that anything you say in this room will stay here with me." Thorn nodded, looking a little uncomfortable. "Well then, so how are you liking the school so far?"

Thorn coughed a bit and folded his hands in his lap. "Well, I like it quite a bit. The people here, for the most part, are quite nice and are a blast to be about. I feel like I've made friends pretty easily so far." Valerie nodded and started writing and scribbling in her notebook.

"Now, you said mostly...are you getting into any trouble with the students?" Thorn frowned a bit and looked down. Well, he could tell her about his ongoing feud with Nennya, but he dismissed the thought of her from his head quickly. Then there was the dangers he had gotten into with his Heroing on the side, and there was no way he was going to mention Iapetus to her...

"No, I'm doing pretty well. I'm getting into some extra-curricular events around the school, including the Drama club and even giving a try for the Cheerleaders." His face was a little red, but he hid it well with a shift in his seat.

"And how are you enjoying that?"

"So far so good I guess...Haven't heard anything yet from Brianna or Franky about the Cheer Squad and as far as I know, Yuki's only just now getting the Drama club on its feet." Valerie nodded and continued to make notes in her notebook. She continued to ask him questions about various things on the campus between how he liked the food, to his thoughts of the faculty and his general well being. Typical questions. After about thirty minutes, Valerie stood up with a smile, ushering Thorn to his feet. He stood with a weary smile.

"Thanks for stopping by Mr. Pechna, and if you ever want any advice, or just want to talk, please don't hesitate to stop by and talk. Now then, I think you're off to lunch?" Mike nodded wordlessly and shook his wings a bit to stretch them out. "Take care then Mr. Pechna." She said with a final wave before watching him stride back out the door and into the hallway. Sitting down at her desk, Valerie Atwood picked up her notebook which had two and a half pages of notes and doodles. The first two pages were normal, with notes about what he was talking about with a few different doodles about them ranging from a stretching cat to icicles hanging down from a tree branch. However, the real oddity was that on the third page, a doodle taking up about half of the page.

It was a picture of a bird inside a cage made of flame and writhing in agony.

[Thorn Hawk]

Thorn smiled as he passed by Tammy in the hallway, waving to her as they passed one another on their way towards class. He could spy a few other friends of his on their way towards their next class as he moved towards his locker, Diyar, Mal, Nova and Stormy. A few pleasant hellos and waves later, Thorn reached his locker and opened it quickly, pulling out his math books with one hand and reaching further back in order to grab his notebook when a piece of paper, blackened as if burnt by a fire on the sides, fell out of one of his books. Blinking at it, he knelt down quickly and picked it up swiftly before it could be swept away by the flood of people. A startled shout came from behind him, causing him to whirl around quickly and sweep his wings in close around him. A boy with glowing green eyes glared at him a moment before moving on. "Sorry!" Thorn called out, putting a hand to the back of his head nervously. I really need to get better with that...

Turning his attention back to the piece of paper, Thorn held it up carefully and read it as a few flecks of black ash fell from the edges. In a flowing script written in dark red ink, the letter read as follows:

Michael Pechna, Thorn Hawk,

I have been observing your....heroics for some time and I believe it would be in our mutual interest to have a little...encounter. You see, I'm impressed with your skills and would like to see just how good of a hero you think you are. Now then, it would behoove you to be at Talos Park within the district known as Siren's Call tomorrow at noon. You will come alone and tell no one of this or what had happened in King's Row last night shall happen, in a more localized sense, to one Professor Pechna at RISU. Should you alert any authoritative figure or try to warn Professor Pechna, then perhaps a hospital would be a more appropriate target. On the converse, should you try to warn the authorities about this threat on the hospital, your mother's life will be forfeit. I look forward to our encounter Mr. Thorn Hawk.

Fa'Amu

The bottom of Thorn's stomach fell out as he read the letter again. A flash of warning hit him that this was genuine, he remembered the news this morning...a fire bombing in King's Row...and now he was threatening his mother...and threatening a hospital. This was beyond serious. He stood there, his books in his hand, knuckles white as he gripped the book so hard he thought he might crush it. If he tried to save one, then the other was a goner, and if he went to this...Fa'Amu, whatever he was, it was likely to be a trap. This person was apparently watching Thorn, as he had managed to get the note in his math book in the first place, so Thorn could take no chances talking to the police, or anyone in the Freedom Corps.

Making up his mind quickly, the paper crumpled in Thorn's hand and dropped to the floor with a whisper. He shoved his books back into his locker and closed it with a slow but angry hand. He was going to skip math...there was no way he could concentrate on school now.

[Thorn Hawk]

Thorn finished belting on the last of the straps before tossing his leather jacket on. After finishing the practiced steps of donning his flight gear, Thorn looked about the apartment one last time. The familiar weight of his flight goggles were missing from the top of his head, however, sine he had given them to Tam to hold onto the night before. While a part of him missed having them, another part of him was glad that they were in a safe place.

Thinking about the goggles brought his thoughts back to last night and the conversation he had with Tam. His throat tightened a bit, which he quickly tried to swallow through. It wasn't fair to her that he couldn't...and didn't tell her about the fight he had today, but he couldn't really help it. If he had told Tam about the fight, then she would be worried and possibly get a hold of the police, which Thorn didn't even want to think about what would happen then. That, and Thorn didn't want Tam to be worried while she was at the Sock Hop. Cursing Fa'Amu again for his horrible timing, Thorn flexed his fingers inside of his gloves and moved towards the windows to take off.

The wind hit his face, a bit stronger than normal, even after being funneled around the tall buildings of Founder's Falls. Having to squint his eyes to see past the gale, he wished for a moment he had his goggles again before taking off towards Siren's Call. He just hoped, however, that he wasn't in over his head.

=====================================================================================================

After briefly flashing his security clearance to the gate guards at the Siren's Call entrance, Thorn flew through the gate and arced upwards, spiraling around the hospital in this district once before beginning a lazy, high altitude flight above the ruined city. Skirmishes between Longbow and Arachnos happened in this area often, but at the moment, things looked fairly calm. Letting the wind out from his wings, Thorn fell about three feet onto a rooftop, slowly approaching the edge and trying to get a better view of the area. He could see Talos Park from his vantage point easily. The raised circular veranda with the spiraling comet statue shined as best they could in the sunlight and through the grime of battle which had coated them. Thorn could see no one at the Park, but with many hiding spots nearby, Fa'Amu would definitely be close at hand. A few deep breaths later, Thorn began to calm his thoughts, going through an old routine of mental drills and practices in order to get himself in the right frame of mind and to harden his will.

Ten to noon, Thorn bit down on his lip and launched himself off the edge of the building, falling about three stories before he caught wind and slowly glided towards the Park, landing just to the south end of the comet statue. With everything at his disposal on high alert, he spun in a slow circle, looking towards every location where someone could hide. Area about the statue, clear. Rooftops, clear. Doorway to the old hotel, clear. Sidestreets, clear. Alleyway down under the ramps of the Park, clear. Doorway to the old hotel, shadowy figure. Statue-. Thorn stopped and whirled to face the doorway to the hotel. A young male, perhaps four to five years older than Thorn, stood up from his seat on the stairs leading to the hotel's entrance.

While Thorn only had a little bit of Pacific Islander in his appearance, this man looked like a full blooded Samoan. Only a scant two inches taller than Thorn, he still had the high schooler outweighed by about forty pounds. Heavily tanned skin, close cropped black hair cut in a military style high-and-tight and swirling tribal tattoos adorned the man. The tattoos were intricate, long and traced from the left side of his face, down across his chest and arms, and eventually snaking around to the sides of his legs. He wore little, looking more like an extra out of a Muai Thai video with scarlet boxing shorts on with cloth wraps around his forearms and calves, adding to the fierce tone that his ripped muscles on his bare chest showcased. Thorn thought he could see some holes in the man's skin where piercings would be, but no actual studs. Smart choice on his part to take them out before a fight. The whites of his eyes and the white teeth shone in the sunlight, breaking the dark mahogany brown of his skin tone.

Thorn suppressed an involuntary shudder. It wasn't the size of the man before him that frightened him, it was that this guy had come out of nowhere and Thorn hadn't seen him...and Thorn could see through illusions almost as if they weren't there if he was looking hard enough. Which he was.

"Welcome Thorn Hawk." The islander in a deep basso. "I am Fa'Amu."

Keeping his voice in check and his mind as clear as he could, "So you are...alright, you called me here jackass...what the hell do you want?" Thorn replied, unable to keep the venom and anger from his voice. Fa'Amu only smiled in response.

"Like I said...I only want to see just how good you really are...and to what lengths you are willing to fight." Fa'Amu said in response, speaking as if he were talking to an old friend.

"That's what this is all about?! To see how good I am?! What the hell is your problem!?" Thorn roared, spikes beginning to poke through his skin.

"Frankly...yes. You see...you're one of the few people who has managed to escape Iapetus." At the mention of the monstrous Devoured that Thorn had encountered nearly two months ago, scarlet lightning began to play upon the spikes jutting out of his skin. Anger washed over Thorn, as well as dread. A little part of Thorn's stomach fell; Iapetus was involved. Fa'Amu smiled, catching the reaction from Thorn. "Ah yes...Iapetus' little pet project. I heard he was quite furious when you had managed to escape him."

"How the hell do you know him?" Thorn growled out. Fa'Amu smiled and said nothing, only shaking his head softly. "When I'm done wiping the floor with you hothead, I'm going to beat out all that you know about what the hell that thing wants with me."

Fa'Amu's eyebrows went up and a curl came to his lips. "Very well then." At that moment, the islander's hand raised up and a lance of yellow-orange fire erupted from his palm, throwing out a wrist-thick beam of fire directly at Thorn. While Thorn was ready for anything, a sudden attack like this caught him off guard and the fire crashed into his chest, throwing him completely off the veranda of the Park. Ignoring the burning and using the backwards momentum to flip over, Thorn's wings beat into the air, the downwash helping to put out any small flames that had stuck to his body and he soared back up into the sky and back towards the Park. Fa'Amu was smiling and met Thorn's gaze. "Let us begin."

[Thorn Hawk]

Thorn stood, panting heavily on the edge of a nearby rooftop. It had been a full hour since Fa'Amu and he had started to fight and things were not looking well for Thorn. The islander was nearly impossible to get near for Thorn to use his spikes on since Fa'Amu could move even faster than Thorn could. Now, Thorn's not the slowest guy by a long shot, and in the air, he can outdistance most other fliers with ease. Yet those who had faster than normal land speed could somehow go even faster. Fa'Amu was no exception. Heat from various burns across his body rose and fell as Thorn's concentration wavered, adding a little more distraction to a fight he was already on the losing side of.

At first, the fight was a lot of Thorn charging Fa'Amu, in which case, the islander would strike him with a lance of fire, pushing him back to where he started. Once Thorn figured that little tactic out, he started using feints, which, in turn, forced Fa'Amu to retreat a few steps to the side and hit Thorn with the lance of fire again after he overextended. Since then, Thorn fled back to the sky, starting a wicked game of cat and mouse. It seemed as if every time Thorn fled to a imaginary boundary line, Fa'Amu would appear there from out of nowhere and launch more flames at him; and Thorn's new strategy of "wearing out" the islander was not going anywhere fast.

Launching himself from the rooftop, Thorn fell and caught air, gliding himself down towards where Fa'Amu last was. Heat waves, like those you see on a hot asphalt road, shimmered in front of him and peeled away to reveal Fa'Amu, ready to toss another lance of flames. The islander smiled, shaking his head slightly as Thorn charged directly into him again, only this time Thorn's vision flashed scarlet and twin beams of pure energy struck the islander high in the chest. The beams bore into his skin, but did nothing more than stall the man for a moment or two...just the amount of time Thorn needed.

The youth collided into the stunned man at full speed, spikes fully out of his skin, wrapping his arms around the islander's midsection and pushing down like a linebacker trying to take out a halfback. Upon contact, Thorn's skin screamed from the burning sensation. It felt as if Fa'Amu's skin was made out of liquid fire, similar to how Tammy's body was far below freezing, but hot. Ignoring the heat, Thorn pushed with his wings, sinking more spines into the islander and launching both of them into the air. Fa'Amu had recovered his surprise when they had barely reached two feet off the ground, bringing his elbow down and knee up at the same time, striking Thorn in the midsection with swift and deadly efficiency causing one or more of Thorn's ribs to crack. On reflex, Thorn dropped the islander, all of about three feet, to the ground; where he rolled slightly and threw fire from both hands. The resulting cone of magma-hot flames washed over Thorn's backside and the heat took all air away from him, stifling his screams. Thorn fell, hitting the concrete with a sickening thud and didn't move. Fa'Amu stood from his kneeling position and walked towards Thorn's body, his legs wobbling just a little.

"Nice trick boy...too bad it didn't work." The islander sneered. His body was already feeling the effects of the toxin within Thorn's spines, which he got a heaping dose of. By the looks of things, the islander was putting a lot of concern into moving his body, fighting through the toxin. Looming over Thorn's body, the islander took a good look at what he had wrought. More than one of Thorn's ribs was broken and the lower bone and a few of the "fingerlike" bones of his left wing were cracked. One of the boy's arms was held out at an awkward angle, most likely dislocated, and the right foot was swollen and purple. With a shake of the head, Fa'Amu crouched down next to Thorn's body. "How did you ever escape Iapetus with these pitiful skills?" He asked, in a curious tone, shaking his head. Then, in a sudden jerky motion, Thorn pushed himself onto his knees with his right arm, his left dangling uselessly, and threw a wild hook towards Fa'Amu. The islander, shocked from the boy whom he thought was unconscious, jerked back to dodge the punch. However, he did not back away far enough to escape the cascade of red energy that poured out of Thorn's right arm. The scarlet torrent of energies hit Fa'Amu high in the chest, throwing him back a good fifteen feet, landing with a heavy thud upon the asphalt.

Thorn smiled, unable to stand up from his knees, and unable to do anything more than kneel there. He tried to laugh or talk, but that hurt too much from the cracked ribs. Take....that...hothead... Thorn thought to himself, desperately hoping that the islander wouldn't stand up.

Unfortunately, Fa'Amu stood as if he had only been pushed down, eyes blazing and focusing on Thorn. "Color me impressed boy...that you still have strength to move after all this." With no further ado, Fa'Amu suddenly blurred and closed the fifteen foot distance in a fraction of a second. The last thing Thorn saw was the wrapped instep of the man's right leg before succumbing into blackness.

Fa'Amu stood over the now unconscious boy and exhaled loudly. Thorn had put up more of a fight than he had thought, which was not only surprising, but satisfying. Reaching down to pick up the youth, Fa'Amu's hand suddenly lurched back from a combination of two things. The first was an arc of scarlet lightning which struck Fa'Amu's hand, numbing it. The second was the hiss and snap of a bullet striking near him. His head spun towards where the shot had come from, eyes widening as a squad of Longbow charged from the nearby street.

"For Longbow!" They cried, half taking up defensive positions and laying down cover fire while the other half charged forward, shoulders down and guns trained on the islander. With a curse, Fa'Amu looked at Thorn for a brief moment.

"Be glad I am not my siblings." The islander spat before fading into those shimmering heat waves and vanishing from sight, leaving the Longbow squad alone with Thorn's body.

============================================================================================

Professor Mei Pechna sat in the waiting room of the Steel Canyon Medical Center, wringing her hands with a hung head. She had been there for about four hours after hearing the word that her son had been found in critical condition in Siren's Call earlier that day. Her head snapped up, spying a man in a white lab coat walk into the waiting room, clipboard in hand. He gave the room a once-over and walked up towards Professor Pechna.

"Doctor...how is he?" She asked, voice strained but under control for the moment.

"He's stable. Unresponsive, but stable. He suffered some serious burns along with more than a few broken bones. His left shoulder was dislocated with damage to the clavical, whereas his 7th and 8th false ribs were cracked severely. His metatarsals were shattered and it'll take a Super to heal them back to normal. As for his wings, his left avian humerus and ulna were fractured along with the peripheral phalanges of his right wing. He also suffered a moderate concussion and..." The doctor looked at her with a frown. "He's currently in a coma."

Professor Pechna's face fell and the blood drained from her face while listening to the long list of injuries Michael had sustained. "M...may I see him?" The doctor looked at her face a moment and then nodded gravely. After a moderately long walk with a lot of twisting, they came to a room where a boy lay upon a high bed so that his wings could hang down underneath the actual bed itself. Thorn was covered in bandages and his eyes closed, breathing shallowly and slowly through the oxygen tank hooked up to him. Purpleing bruises covered his face, chest and legs where skin showed through the hospital gown. Tears fell silently from Professor Pechna as she moved forward and into the hospital room. The doctor didn't stop her but followed her inside, pulling up a chair next to the bed for her to sit in. Professor Pechna nodded a bit in thanks, her whole focus on her son. The doctor left soon afterward and hours passed between Mother and Son with Professor Pechna softly stroking Thorn's hair. She was interrupted by a light cough behind her and the thick voice of an elderly British man.

"Doctor Pechna?" The voice asked, causing mother to turn around, hands never leaving her son. Through teary, red eyes, she was able to make out an old man, clean shaven, with short gray hair cropped close to his head, as if in homage to old military days. "I'm Sir Arthur Winston III. I'd like to speak to you in private if I may." The headmaster of SJS said, standing confidently in the doorway. When she hesitated, he added; "I promise, this will not take up much of your time, and it is of importance to your son." After looking once between the school headmaster and her son, she nodded, rising to follow him out before giving one last look back towards Thorn. Sir Winston nodded and escorted her to one of the emptier waiting rooms, where they sat down facing one another. Reaching into his coat pocket, Sir Winston pulled out a piece of paper, blackened at the edges as if burned and rumpled as if someone had crushed it up. "There's something you should know."

[Thorn Hawk]

"Wait, WHAT?!" Sally Summers, one of the students at SJS asked over the lunch table, her antennae wobbling in the air excitedly. The boy across from her nodded enthusiastically, with both heads.

"I'm serious! I was over at the hospital to go pick up my brother. He was in there again for his monthly checkup on the whole plant-invasion thing, but anyways. I saw that Thorny guy that's been absent for more than a week. He was in one of the intensive care sections and covered up in bandages. I asked one of the nurses who it was to be sure, and it was! Michael Pechna, they said. The guy is in a coma!" The two-headed boy said in a hushed tone, but loud enough so that it didn't matter.

"Really!? For what? I heard that guy was some sort of adrenaline-risk jockey, but that's kinda extreme right?" Sally asked, leaning forward with a grin, eager to hear more news to spread around as rumors. The two headed boy, a bright kid named Kyle, nodded with his left head while stroking the chin of his right.

"Well, I honestly don't know, they didn't say. But that was kinda odd I think. I wonder why the teachers didn't tell anyone about it..."

Sally shrugged. "Maybe they just didn't want anyone to go visit him? Or get all freaked out that he was in the hospital. Or maybe he did something he wasn't supposed to do and they want to keep it hush-hush. OH! Maybe there's some sort of conspiracy about! He could've gotten wind of some sort of devious plot and got beaten up to silence him! Ohmygod, this is gonna be such an awesome story!"

[Tamesis]

Something bothered her.. You know that feeling you can get when you know some thing is horribly wrong but you can’t prove it? It just eats away at your mind as you try and put the facts together.

“Thorn? Um... no. Not for days and days.”

Aura’s voice echoed in her mind.

“Not for days and days.”

As it turns out, over a week and she could at least prove that. Checked his locker and the note she stuck in the top of it was still that little amount of it was sticking out, un moved and un touched before she left for Rome on last Sunday. It was now Tuesday the first day of school; they were supposed to meet up on Monday.

“I promise you we will go out Monday night. Some where really nice.”

He’d never shaken so bad Friday night. That had bugged her then, but now, now it really bugged her. She held her books close to her chest, like hugging them would make her feel better in some odd way.

“Here, hang on to these until then.”

They were his, the black and blue flying goggle’s that sat around her neck. She’d worn them around Rome to make sure they didn’t get lost. They kinda suck out with the School uniform, but that never mattered to her.

I should switch my books for my next class.

She was lucky she got a hold of her school schedule; she’d lost it before she left for Rome. It was her luck but it seemed to work out for her in the end. She kept her pace as she walked bye the cafeteria towards her locker. Still pondering what might of happened she passed by a pair of students at a lunch table.

“I asked one of the nurses who it was to be sure, and it was! Michael Pechna, they said. The guy is in a coma!” The two-headed boy said in a hushed tone, but loud enough so that it didn't matter.

Never in her life time did she think 3 key words would stop her in her tracks. She felt like her heart stop beating.

“Really!? For what? I heard that guy was some sort of adrenaline-risk jockey, but that's kinda extreme right?” A girl’s voice chimed up.

Tam stopped breathing. The boy’s voice kept going.

“Well, I honestly don't know, they didn't say. But that was kinda odd I think. I wonder why the teachers didn't tell anyone about it...”

“Maybe they just didn't want anyone to go visit him? Or get all freaked out that he was in the hospital. Or maybe he did something he wasn't supposed to do and they want to keep it hush-hush. OH! Maybe there's some sort of conspiracy about! He could've gotten wind of some sort of devious plot and got beaten up to silence him! Ohmygod, this is gonna be such an awesome story!”

They slipped away; her books did anyways striking the ground with a very intrusive thud. Gasping she bent down to pick her books up in a ackward rush. She could tell the pair were looking at her, how could they not. She totally just eavesdropped on the most upsetting new’s she’s heard all week. She kept her face down looking at the ground and she hugged her books tightly to her chest. For once, she felt her body start to get cooler due to her getting so upset. Trying to hang on to whatever composure she had left she uttered a few words, the words she needed to ask.

“Which hospital?”

Silence.

“Which hospital is he in?” She spoke a little more forceful

“Steel Canyon..” The boy’s voice finally spoke up.

“Thanks.”

She felt the strength in her legs come back as her stride quickened. She heard a girls hushed voice speak excitedly clearly trying to figure out who the girl was. It didn’t matter, they didn’t matter. Tam had to be somewhere now.


------------------------------------------

Nothing sucked more then Emergency entrances. Standing in the door way as some citizen got wheeled in from a beating they took from who knows what gang, she didn’t want to go in. The thought of being in hospital brought back unpleasant memories as she took in a deep breath to try and burry the upsetting thoughts back in her mind. She needed to keep it together. Adjusting her school skirt and her blazer she stepped into the hospital.

The room was almost full of people, few of which took a look at the ice girl. Some kids pointed and asked their mommy if she was a hero, others quickly looked away. Trying to ignore the looks she made her way nervously to the check in desk. The nurse was a younger lady with brown hair and blue eyes, chatting away on the phone. Clearly it was a co worker given the nature of the conversation. Tam leaned on the edge of the desk and waited looking around. Didn’t take to long for the nurse to notice her as she placed the call on hold..

“Hi there! How can I help you?”

“ Oh! Hi I’m here to..”

The phone interrupted

“One sec. Hello Steel Canyon Emergency Room how can I help you?”

Tam sighed, as the nurse kept talking for a brief moment before transferring the call.

“Sorry about that. Who would you like to see?”

“Michael Pechna.”

“You are?”

“Tamesis Egeria”

“Some ID?”

Tam pulled out her wallet and showed the school ID, the nurse looked at the photo and then to the girl, nodded and ran her finger down the list to her right side.
The Nurse looked down a list to her side.

“He’s in the ICU room 2B.”

“Where is that?

Another ring the nurse held up her hand again letting Tam know that she needed to wait. Tam tightened her jaw and rolled her eyes at the nurse when a tried voice came from behind her.

“I can show you.”

Spinning around she found an older woman behind her that stood a little shorter then Tam, slender build, wearing a white lab coat, orange Shirt and blue jeans. She was wearing her long black hair in a low ponytail; she looked like she was in her late 40’s with the few grey hairs that frosted her hair, warm brown eyes which gave her face kind appearance. However she looked as if she hadn’t slept well for days being beaten by something on her mind. A grin warmed Tam’s face.

“I’d like that very much!”

The woman nodded to the nurse who simply raised her hand in response as she continued to deal with the phone call.

“Come this way.”

Tam nodded and quickly took a few steps to catch up to the woman. Surprisingly she walked slowly and not in the usual rush that most Doctors are. The pair walked a slow pace as the woman kept looking at Tam but unsure of what to say. Tension oddly built as the two made their way closer to the ICU.

“Thank you again, for helping me find his room. It means a lot to me.”

“Does it?” the woman choked out.

The words cut threw her like they were daggers thrown into butter. Where did this woman have the place to tell her if something or someone meant a lot to her? Tam stopped allowing for the woman to take a few more steps a head of her before she turned around to face the already upset ice girl.

“Ex… cuse me?”

She stood still facing Tam. Her posture unsure and nervous she held her arm draped across her body. She managed to look at Tam.

“Does.. it? Mean a… lot to …you.” Her voice was still shaky.

“Course it does! I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t want to see him.” She responded defensively.

The answer didn’t seem to be enough for the woman as she was faced with another sensitive yet pain stricken question was assaulted at Tam. At this point she was sure this wasn’t a hospital worker but someone a little closer to Thorn..

“Why…? I.. want to know…why. You care.” She stared directly into Tam’s eyes. It was like she could feel the pain the woman was in, her eyes looked as if she’d been crying for a while now red and puffy and the glazed appearance suggested that she might start to again very soon. Her hands shook a little fearful and scared of something that might come to harm someone she cared immensely for. Tamesis fell quite, unsure of how to react; it felt like she could break this woman with her words even though she didn’t know her.

“ Well?.. Why does it?”

“Because of how he makes me feel..”

They both paused and a few moments pass by before Tam could look at the pained woman again. It was clear by the way she could feel the eyes of some one who wanted to know sat upon her waiting, waiting silently for her to elaborate more on the given reason.

“I feel normal when I’m around him… I know that doesn’t sound like much but it is a lot.”

The woman’s eyes widened a little but Tam kept going.

“He’s one of the few people I’m not scared to let touch me. He was never scared to, I know he felt the punishment which is my skin.. It never stopped him, kinda like he appreciates me, for me. He’s helped me out a few times when I got in over my head. If I could I’d help him even though I know if he needed help I’d be way in over my head, couldn’t let him do it by him self.”

A smile, it cracked on both their faces. It’s amazing what power having a smile on someone’s face does for anyone. It almost seemed to heal the stressed woman. Her face and composure seemed to change almost immediately

“Tam, you’d do that for my son?”

The phrase didn’t shock Tam, her thoughts were confirmed and now she wanted to help the mother of the boy she cared for.

“In a heart beat, he’d just have to ask.” She nodded with a grin at Thorn’s mother.

Another tired smile from the mother gave to the girl of ice that had caught the attention of her boy.

“Let’s keep going. He’s just around the corner.”

Thorns mother offered a wave to signal Tam to resume following her. A few quick steps and Tam was right beside as they turned the corner. A nurse blocked the door way, she was an younger lady with long brown hair with blond highlights in it.

“Good afternoon Mrs. Pechna.” The nurse smiled with a British accent

“Good afternoon Miranda, How is he?”

“He should be good now. I just finished cleaning everything up for him. Oh! A new visitor?”

Tam grinned a little.

“Well I shall not keep you waiting.” Miranda stepped out of the way and Tam finally got to see Thorn.

At first, all she saw was the bed hanging up in the room, and the wings hanging below it. She stepped by his mother and into the room. Looking around the room it triggered an internal battle struck as rough memories attempted to flood her mind. Tam took in a breath before looking at Thorn again.

“Ohmygod…”

A rushed whisper escaped her lips as her hands came to her face covering her mouth, her eyes wide with shock. Unsuspecting of the injuries that happen to him since all she’d ever known was the Hollywood version of comatose people which looked peaceful and just asleep. This, however, appeared to have not be the case. Something far more unfortunate had happen to him. She could see the colourful assortment of bruises on his skin as they have had some time to heal, the many bandages and the ventilator which helped his still shallow breathing along with the IV’s that fed into his arm. Dazed by the swelling pain inside her chest, she slowly made her way to the tall chair which was positioned at the side of his bed. She assumed a seat in the chair and her eyes remained on the beaten young hero. Absent mindedly she reached to touch his hand, tears built in her eyes as she suddenly retracted her hand realizing what she was doing, even at this distance away from him she could see his skin bunching up forming goose bumps. Instead she clasped her hands together and squeezed them tightly, using them as a head rest to help try and control the multitude of emotions welling up inside. The ice tears creeped down her face as she sat there lost and confused about what happened.


------------------------------------------

Mei leaned in the doorway with her arms crossed looking at the Tam girl she’d heard so much about.

She’s pretty.

A soft sigh escaped her lips as she shifted allowing her hand to drop into her lab coat pocket. A crinkle of paper met with the contact of her fingers over the note that the headmaster had handed to her when he informed her. Her head lowered a bit away from the two.

Did she know? … No, He didn’t even tell me.

She glanced back towards them. Studying with her eyes she looked over Tam a bit, she was in fact totally ice.

What was that sound?

Her eyes darted around looking for the sound. Again it sounded, from under the chair. There she observed a two small ice bits on the floor. Moving her attention back to Tam she pulled out the note of her pocket.

I’ll tell her.

[Thorn Hawk]

A few weeks later

“Tamesis…” Mei Pechna began, sitting down in a chair, across from the ice girl. The young girl had been coming to see Mike like clockwork, and her constant presence, and clear concern for her son tore at her heart. The parchment, still in her pocket, brushed against her fingertips as she nervously touched it. “Tamesis…there’s something I think you should know. It’s about what happened to Michael.”

Tammy’s eyes snapped up to meet Mei’s. Behind them, Mei could see a torrent of emotions mixed with a great deal of sadness. “What…what is it?” With a nod, Mei pulled out the piece of paper from her lab coat and handed it towards Tammy. The paper was a weathered brown with its edges burnt almost artistically. A flowing script was written on it, like some relic from the days of the British Empire. As Tammy read the challenge letter from Fa’Amu, her face went from shock to anger, and then a pale-blue dread.

“He…he was blackmailed into fighting this man.” Mei said, shutting her eyes, trying to keep herself from falling into the deep swirling emotions which surged inside her. She wanted to cry, she wanted to hug her son and have him wake up so that she could wash away all the pain. She wanted this all to disappear and most importantly, she wanted her ghosts to stop haunting her. “He used me…as a lever to get at Thorn. He didn’t tell me because he didn’t want Fa’Amu to hurt anyone…”

Tammy’s face, still pale, nodded grimly. “And he didn’t tell me…because he didn’t want you to get hurt.” She said softly. Mei smiled and leaned forward, reaching to put a hand on Tammy’s; stopping inches away because of the cold. Tammy watched but stayed still.

“I think he didn’t tell you because he didn’t want you involved.” Mei responded, looking from Tam’s face to Thorn’s. Smiling weakly, Mei hoped that she could make the young girl feel better; it would take her own mind off of the terrors that were swimming back up to the surface. She knew more about what was going on than she let on, and it was terrifying her. “Come on…I could use a drink…would you like anything?” The mother said, standing up weakly while dusting herself off. The ice girl looked once more towards Thorn, her hands trembling in her lap before standing slowly and shaking her head.

“No…drinks don’t do well with me, but if you want company…” Mei smiled to her and nodded gratefully. The two of them walked in relative silence as they headed for the hospital cafeteria to get a drink for Mrs. Pechna. “Mrs. Pechna…um…if there’s anything I can do…” Tam started but was cut off by the smile and gentle settling of Mei’s teacup on the surface of the table.

“The fact that you are there for him would be enough. I appreciate that you came down to see him.” Tam smiled faintly and looked into Mei's cup of tea, eyes bleak.

“I just don’t understand why…why he wouldn’t tell anyone…we could’ve helped…” Mei frowned, closing her eyes and reliving past memories. After a quick motion to suppress them, she looked back towards Tam, her voice holding something in it which spoke of experience.

“You never do…unless you’re in a similar situation. Sometimes the right thing to do hurts those you love the most…”

[Thorn Hawk]

Mei's eyes were downcast in the slowly spiraling green tea before her, the steam rising off of it like an ethereal whisper. "Sometimes..." She began, keeping her eyes off of Tam, who was sitting at the table nervously, biting her lower lip gently. It was then that a scuffle of feet and an out of breath heavyset nurse came up to the table.

"Mrs. Pechna." She said, trying to catch her breath and lower the redness in her plump face. Mei's eyes widened, fearing the worst and she jumped to her feet, spilling her tea. Tam's face went pale.

"What's wrong?" She asked quickly, voice wavering a bit, but her posture rigid and controlled.

"Your son. He's awake."

[Stasis Kiss]

Hospitals made her skin crawl.

"I'm here to see Michael Pechna, please. The front reception said he was on this floor?"

The nurse behind the low counter looked up, the overhead fluorescent sparking on her wire framed glasses. She was dressed in pale blue which didn't really suit her dark brown hair but it probably wasn't like she had a choice. At least it wasn't puke green.

Internally, Stasis braced herself. She waited while the catalogue happened; a glance that took in how tall she was even slouched, touched the mess of spiked blonde hair, checked her for piercings... then locked onto her face for a few seconds before shying away. She was used to it. She didn't like it, but she was used to it. A lot of people couldn't look directly at her for long, not with the scars. Not even most nurses.

"Your name?"

"Tara Grey."

She knew this game too, answering by rote. She wasn't any more Tara Grey then he was Michael Pechna. Not really, not where it counted. But she didn't want to be stuck at this counter for the next half hour trying to explain it to a normal either.

The nurse looked down, rifling through a sheaf of papers. She wrote something down on a sheet. Upside down, Stasis couldn't tell what but it was the latest entry on a surprising short list.

"Relation?"

"No, just a friend from school. Is that okay?" He wasn't in Intensive Care, but she gnawed on the corner of lip anyways. Sometimes the nurses could be real sticky about people visiting if they couldn't claim they were a cousin or something. Maybe she should have lied.

But the nurse just nodded, scratching that down too. "He's down the hall to your left. Room 11A. Visiting hours are until 3:00pm." The nurse looked up again and smiled, but her eyes were focused somewhere around Stasis' left ear. "I believe there's somebody in with him right now." The teenager nodded.

"Thanks." She moved away before either of them got any more uncomfortable.

Room 11A smelled just like a room in a hospital.

If there'd been visitors, they were long since gone because the room was empty of hovering anxious bodies. Well, unless you counted hers but she wasn't actually anxious and the hovering part was fixable. Stasis snagged one of the moulded plastic chairs with a foot, hauling it closer to the bed. The privacy curtain was closed thankfully, blocking off whoever was in the next bed. She plopped down and stared at her sleeping friend.

"Picked a good time to go out for the the count, you know," she started conversationally, rubbing her hands over the legs of her jeans. "Chem lab nearly blew up last week and I never did get the whole story. They had to clear the floor for a half hour and everything. They assigned extra homework on describing if the results of certain spontaneous reactions would be endothermic or exothermic so if it was a prank, it sucked bigtime."

The machinery beeped encouragingly. Thorn was eagle spread on his back, his wings somehow tucked down and through the bed. She had no idea how they'd managed it. The blanket only came up to his waist so she was able to count most of his ribs too, could see the rougher, red patches where pressure against the skin was threatening to cause sores. Being fed through tubes wasn't exactly on the recommended list for body building obviously.

"Let's see. Half the school is walking around in the football team's colors and Homecoming's pretty soon. If you want a date, you'll better hurry up and ask somebody or you'll be left with slim pickings. Oh, hey! Somebody nominated the Wingra Tree for Homecoming Queen. I near died of a heart attack when I saw the poster. I bet you love that." She grinned as her mind painted a picture of Thorn perched on one of the branches, dressed in a tuxedo. It faded after a moment though. She watched his eyelids flutter as he dreamed of something she'd never know about.

"It's a little quieter now that you're not busy knocking people over in the hallways with those wings of yours. Math's downright boring, actually. There's this new girl, I forget her name, but you ought to meet her. You both have dumb senses of humor so you ought to get along great." His fingers twitched as if in answer. "Oh, that reminds me." Stasis dug into the front pocket of her jeans, hooking out a small blue stone. "That weird girl you hang out with made me promise to shove this under your pillow or something. It's supposed to help you focus your strength or chi or whatever, I didn't really listen."

Stasis stood up then, half frowning. Now that she was here she realised if she did stick it under the pillow, somebody would be sure to find it and toss it away. Not that that would bother her any but if the girl asked Thorn about it... well, if Thorn was around to ask, that is, not that she was even going to think that... and he said he'd never seen it, she'd be the victim of sad, reproachful looks for the rest of the school year. Besides, she had said she'd make sure he got it.

Problem was, hospital rooms got cleaned pretty frequently and anything she left lying around would probably get knocked to the floor pretty soon. She glanced around, unsure, and her gaze fell across Thorn's relaxed hand, upturned and half curled on the white sheet.

Perfect. She leaned over and put the small stone in his palm, her fingertips brushing against the calluses. She curled her fingers around his to close his fist. That should do it. Even if he let go, it would still be obviously his.

One of the monitors hiccuped, a medical tone arcing into a higher bracket. Stasis looked at it, surprised. "Heyla?"

Something grabbed her wrist, hard enough to bruise. Startled, she half pulled her arm away, looking back.

Thorn's eyes snapped open.