Issue 1: March of Mephisto

Dirk looked expectantly down at his son, who required no prompting to reply, "I'm Scott, Miss Jenny," and shook her hand politely.

Jennifer half-laughed. "How do you know who I am?"

"Seen Dad's pictures," he replied simply, which made Dirk blush red to his ears. "You're in them, too," he told Mark, "only I didn't recognize you with the gray beard."

Dirk wasn't sure weather to blush redder or laugh.

"Aaaaaand on that note," he blurted out awkwardly, "I think we have a Brotherhood situation to take care of, so let's go." He took his son's hand and led the way to the stairs.

Mark laughed at Scott’s innocent comment, more-so than was probably necessary. Then realised that he and Dirk were walking away.

“Hey, where are you going? The elevators are over there.”

“But aren’t the elevators out with the quarantine?” asked Dirk slightly confused.

“Yes,” Mark grinned, “But I can get them working again. Or if you fancy it you could just jump down the stairs. That would be quicker!” Mark chuckled. He felt ten years younger. Actually, no, that would make him 64. He felt much better than that, as he hadn’t felt since he’d been a proper superhero. Not that he’d ever mention that little fact to Dirk. There was a little reputation to uphold.

Mark forcefully opened the doors of the elevator, followed by the roof hatch and climbed out, planting a little device on the elevator cable. The rest of the group entered the lift and looked up.

“Ok, this lift won’t go under its own power. However, there is a manual brake level up here. So everyone hold on and hope the brakes don’t wear out. Everybody ready? 3… 2… 1!” Mark pressed a button on his watch and the small explosive on the cable detonated, snapping the cable. He released the break and the elevator started dropping. Before it started picking up excessive speed Mark began applying the brakes and kept the descent controlled, albeit noisy and with sparky flying everywhere.

The elevator landed with a greater bump than normal, but before anyone could recover Mark was already back in the car and opening the doors. The rest staggered out, some better than others, glad to be back on solid ground. Dirk walked over to the end of the corridor and opened the door to the main lobby, then paused.

“More Brotherhood. And they’ve got hostages!”

“Get down Dirk,” Mark reached up and pulled Dirk back behind the door. “We can’t go rushing in there. We need some kind of plan.” Dirk looked at Mark agog, not believing what he was hearing. But then Mark had been acting differently since Jennifer had appeared. Less grouchy, more… happy. Even his voice had lost a little of its harshness. Mark opened the door slightly, taking in the scene. There was a large group of civilians in the centre of the lobby, surrounded by a group of Brotherhood guards. Other Brotherhood mercenary’s patrolled the upper and lower levels of the lobby, but inexpertly. Crucially there were lots of blind spots, and no one seemed to be keeping tabs on each other.

“Ok, here’s the plan. Shame we don’t have a speedster. Someone to disarm the guards before they can shoot.”

“Dad, I could..” Scott began.

“No. Don’t even think about it,” replied Dirk. Scott looked crushed.

“New Kid,” Mark addressed the Asian, “Sorry, but I don’t know your name.”

“Umm, it’s Richard,” replied the Asian with a bit of reluctance.

“Ok, Richard. You look like you can remain unseen if needed. The two of us are going to sneak around and take out as many of the patrolling guards as we can. There’s a dispensary just behind us if we want to stalk up on some silent tools for the job. I’m sure there is something in there that can put those fanatics to sleep.”

“Dirk, Jenny, I need you two to pair up here. The moment those thugs in the middle begin getting suspicious or spot something array, Dirk, leap into the middle of the hostages and cover them with a force field. The moment he has he that field up Jenny, blast them.”

Mark then turned to the youngest member. “And Scott…”

“Yes?”, the youngster exclaimed excited.

“I need you to stay here and keep down,” before the boy could look crestfallen Mark continued, “and keep an eye on all those Brotherhood mercs. If you see one leaving or making a break for it, let us know.” He paused. “It’s times like this I’d give my right arm for a telepath. Silent communication is so much more useful.”

Once Dirk got over the shock of seeing Mark transformed--was even prepared to reopen questions as to whether this was indeed Mark!--and absorbed his plan, which was sound--was this really his Mark Wilson?--he crouched down until his eyes were level with his son's.

Scott was already rolling his.

"I know, Dad, keep my head down and out of sight," he sighed, despondently.

"And? What did Mr. Mark say?"

"Oh!" Scott brightened a little at that. "I'm supposed to watch the bad guys!"

"That's right. And if we have any...trouble, you know how to get home from here? Check on your brother and sister?"

"Yes, sir."

"Okay. Love you, kiddo." Dirk kissed the top of Scott's head and stood up.

"Love you, too, Dad." Which was a bit of a surprise. Scott was usually strongly averse to displays of affection. Jennifer just had that effect on people, apparently: bringing out the best in everyone.

He stepped up beside her with a smile. He didn't glance to her, instead focusing on keeping his eye on the hostages, but he made a grab for her hand and squeezed it. She took her hand back almost immediately, but when she looked at him, he was able to mouth "I'm glad you're back."

She didn't reply. Which was fine. It had to be stressful, such a meeting.

"Okay," he said, his voice very low and in Planning Mode. "I can create a field from here, but it'd be much stronger and better if I'm in the middle of it. So give me time to run over in the midst of them before you, aha, 'open fire'." He grinned widely at her, half-expecting her to haul off and whack him, as she always used to, for his notoriously atrocious puns.

Jennifer looked at him. This was all very confusing. She always expected them to be mad that she wasn’t dead. But here they were all happy and smiling. She didn’t do it on purpose but she learned the best way of keeping people away is to have so hot skin that they can’t touch you.

“You would be surprised what I can do when I open fire nowadays. Your forcefield better be strong.” She grinned, while small flames actually started to appear around her. This was actually turning out into fun, and she had to admit Scott was a really cute kid. It was a wonder he was having Dirk as a father. She wondered why he had kept pictures of her. She couldn’t recall any pictures of them together.

“You will have a moment to run into the middle of your field, so go on create your field and don’t blow us up please.” She didn’t look at him, since the shock of meeting them again started go and the anger came.

Richard smiled at Marks assumption that he could stay unseen, unseen wasn't the objective here it was to pull the Brotherhood goons away from the hostages until Dirk and this new girl could ensure their safety.
"Mark I have a slight adjustment to the plan... I am after all a doctor, or as near as looks it. let me serve as a distraction as a loose hostage that they 'missed' wandering the halls they'll move to secure me pulling them out of position where you can take them down without a treat to the hostages. In the meantime Dirk and Ms.... Jenny can take care of the minimal number left over as we come in to distract from the other side of the foyer." While he said this Richard picked up a chart from the nurses station they where crouching behind and flipped it open palming several scalpels and small hypodermic syringes from the medical trolley next to it sucking some air into the syringes.

“Good plan. But try and look a little panicky. There’s a quarantine on after all!” Mark grinned and slid into the dispensary, digging out two injection guns and rummaging through the bottles for something suitable to load them. A few moments later he emerged and nodded to Richard, who began walking looking hurried and harassed and just in view of one of the guards.

Surprisingly, there wasn’t a general call of alarm, but instead the guard who spotted Richard just called over the three nearby guards and followed. Obviously they have no proper training. thought Mark, but at least it played into their plans for now. Following the path Richard was taking Mark moved through a side door to get ahead a wait in ambush. For a few tense seconds nothing happened then Richard walked past. A few moments later the Brotherhood followed, passing Mark as they yelled at Richard to stop.

Mark leapt from his hiding place. He thrust the injection guns into the exposed necks of two of the Brotherhood fanatics. Hearing the exclamations of pain the other two turned to face Mark. Who promptly head-butted the nearest one. He turned to the forth but Richard had already taken him down. A few moments passed, then the two Mark had injected crumpled unconscious.

“Round 2?”

"Agreed, time to take out the guards on the upper balcony overlooking the lobby itself. I'm not sure this will work a second or third time but if you can get behind them again I think I might be able to give them another little surprise." Richard replied with a smile warming to this Mark.

Richard and Mark slipped up the stairs in the corner of the lobby and paused at the top of them, before staying just out of view of the two brotherhood guards on lounging on the balcony railing chatting away about the usual bragging rights as most guards do. "Hold on here a sec Marc let me get their attention again." Richard stepped out before Mark could reply straight into line of sight of the guards. A shocked terrified look flashed over his face and he turned to run down the balcony away from the guards who started almost as much as Richard had feigned and then started after him raising their Laser rifles to shoot him down, as the first silent flash flew over his right shoulder Richard threw himself sideways rolling across the corridor to slam his back into the balcony wall cursing the guards for not playing ball and chasing after him while drawing the two laser pistols in one fluid motion as he rolled so as he came to rest against the wall each guard looked down the barrel of his rifle and into the muzzle of one of the two stubby weapons. Faced with something of a Mexican stand-off an idea came to Richard and he reached out with his mind and depressed the magazine release catches on the side of both rifles. The Magazines of the rifles clattered to the corridor floor to the faint sound wounding down sounds of the rifles losing power,
"oops, now where were we, ah yes be good boys and drop the guns."

As their now useless guns dropped to the floor Richard looked over the guards' shoulder and saw Mark again catching up after the sudden change in plan.
"Sorry Mark I had to improvise a little there, would you do the honours" indicating the guards with a wave of one pistol.

Dirk was growing nervous as more and more guards began to disappear. He heard the near-silent oofs! and the thuds! of bodies hitting the floor, but he was listening for it. None of the other guards had noticed, so far, that their numbers were being decimated. And if that was Mark up there on the balcony, Dirk mused, leaning forward to get a look, then surely--

"Hey, you!"

Oh, of course. They saw that.

Dirk flashed Jennifer a warning, apologetic look, but she was already stepping back into the shadows as two of the Brotherhood mercenaries jogged over to him, weapons trained.

Dirk resigned himself and put his hands up. "What is going on here?" he demanded as the guards grabbed him and searched him--rather ineptly--for they only found and relieved him of his gun, not his badge--the Brotherhood had fallen a long way since he'd last tangled with them. They didn't answer, and rudely shoved him in with the rest of the hostages. Few people were distressed, most were merely annoyed: but maybe that was just New York for you.

Dirk was similarly minded. Although annoyed at being so caught, at least he had provided an additional distraction from the dwindling numbers of guards being taken down by Mark and Richard.

And, for that matter, this was where he wanted to be in the first place.

For a moment Jennifer wanted to pull him with her in the shadow and run, but she that this was not the plan and it was silly. He didn’t like her and she shouldn’t get used to him around. Jennifer sighed, this was a pretty big mess she was in. She stayed in the shadow but kept an eye on Dirk and just waited for him to create a force field, even though she was not yet sure how she would open fire. Scott was standing on the other side in the shadows watching his father.

Weird to think of Dirk as a dad.

Dirk was waiting for it.

And presently he heard it.

"Hey...where'd Thompson go?" one of the guards mused.

"And Stanley's gone! What the--"

Just as the last guard Mark took down gave a louder than usual yelp of pain, which put everyone instantly on the alert.

"We're under attack!"

"The hostages! Get them--"

Dirk never did hear what it was the mercenary thugs were going to do with the hostages before he put the dome up: at least a foot thick, colored a nearly opaque neon red, impermeable, airtight, and soundproof. The best defense he could manage, and, though he was pretty sure he could control it at this level, he was presently sweating from the effort.

"Hey--what the...?" someone asked.

"Yes, I'm afraid so," Dirk responded. It could barely be seen, but just beyond the red the world flickered, as Jennifer blanketed the area in flames. "Now please allow me to concentrate, good people, unless you'd prefer that wall of flame as a roof instead?"

Jennifer was for a moment really amazed. Dirk’s force field was unbelievable. She hoped it was not just looking good. Releasing her fire was the best thing she could do right now, she felt to angry to talk and as usual burning something calmed her down a little. The fire was running in circles around the force field, the few guards that were still there got roasted extra crispy. As soon the guards and all danger were gone Jennifer let the fire die. The nurse uniform she was wearing was burnt at several places.

“All clear, you can come back out.”

Jennifer giggled. “This was fun anything else I can burn?”

Dirk flicked the energy shield down by increments: it became thinner, pinker and lighter, until you could see through it as if through red sunglasses, and air and sound could pass through.

"Please do not touch the wall," Dirk warned a young teenager. "I assure you, it will not be pleasant. Once the coast is clear I'll get this wall down and you all can go back to your busy lives..."

"Who are you?" a woman asked. Hopefully this was shock and awe talking and not a faintly-recognized-him kind of query. He really ought to invest in a mask, or perhaps glasses when he wasn't Heroing...

The hospital alarms screeching back on startled everyone: RED ALERT! THERE HAS BEEN A SECURITY BREACH! RED ALERT! and Dirk immediately started reinforcing the shield again until it blocked out the sound:

Just in time, as bullets and laser blasts began to ricochet off the energy field--again. Where did those goons come from? And who's the cyborg in charge of them?

Dirk began to worry about Scott, and tried to peer through the power of his own energy field to catch sight of him, with no success. But Scott was a smart boy (usually) and Mark would look after him, worst case.

He had to believe that.

Jennifer ducked behind a pillar when someone shot at them. She peeked around worried making sure that Dirk’s force field also protected him from the laser and the bullets. She felt relieve when she saw that he was safe, she didn’t see Scott but hoped he was somewhere safe. She felt a bullet fly by her nose by millimeters, she ducked back around the pillar and threw a fireball at the shooter. She concentrated and found the heat of the laser gun. She set it on fire and grinned, juggling with a few fireballs ready to throw them at everyone and everything that moved.

It doesn’t look as if we get out in one piece.

They were still near the edge of the balcony above the lobby, so it was best to try and stay out of sight. At least the floors seemed to have been cleaned and polished. Mark swapped his run into a slide, kicking out the guards legs as he slid past them. The remaining standing guard just looked opened mouthed at the sliding nut, and was rewarded with a swift kick between the legs. With them all on the ground it was a simple matter of rendering them unconscious.

Mark looked out into the lobby and saw a squad of Brotherhood rushing into the lobby. Dirk had his shield up protecting the civilians, but where was Jenny? He couldn’t see her. Suddenly there was a shout for behind.

“Mark, look out!” He turned straight into the oncoming rifle butt of a Brotherhood fanatic. The force of the blow pushed him back, and over the side of the balcony. He fell into the lobby on his back with a large crash.

The breath was knocked out of him as he landed. Although nothing seemed to be broken, though he wasn’t sure about cracked, it would be a few seconds before he was back on his feet.

Hopefully he’d have those few seconds.

They say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Young Scott Rogers didn't exactly know what that meant, but he figured it had something to do with him being like his dad.

Which, even though that was of course all Scott ever wanted to do (and even at the tender age of 7) Scott also knew that his dad was kind of a moron.

Dad hadn't listened to him, first of all. They really shouldn't be here. Well, of course, he was glad to be here to help these people, but they didn't need to be here for him.

The chip didn't work. It never had. He still totally had his powers. Only Alex and Annie knew. This was a surgery to remove a paperweight from his back.

When he saw Mr. Mark fall, like, 50 feet splat! on the ground, he thought he'd be dead. In his panic, Scott didn't think twice about dashing forward to see if the man was still alive and, if he was, drag him to safety.

At full speed.

Scott was at Mr. Mark's side in less than a second. He actually ran faster than Mr. Mark had fallen. Which was pretty cool.

Mr. Mark's eyes were open, but they didn't look right. "Mr. Mark, wake up!" he pleaded, but got no response. He thought he remembered learning somewhere that when people fell you weren't supposed to move them, but--

Scott looked up. Part of the balcony, which had been burned in the fire, was collapsing. Right on top of them. So moving was the only option.

Luckily, moving was what Scott did best.

He was exhausted when he reached the safety of his pillar again. Just because he could do so quickly did not mean that pulling a 200-pound old man who smelled like beer to safety was easy. He was just congratulating himself on a well-executed rescue mission when someone grabbed his shoulder.

Or something.

A cyborg thing.

And for the first time in his young life Scott realized he was turning out to be just like his moronic father.

Dirk was sure that he wasn't seeing things correctly through the warped red energy field that surrounded him and the civilians.

At least he desperately hoped he wasn't seeing things correctly.

As if Mark falling from the great height of the second story wasn't bad enough, shaking Dirk to the core and making the protective field flicker worryingly, suddenly a speedster was rushing toward him and--

And, when the speedster paused long enough to be seen clearly, it turned out that the Super in question was his son.

This was shocking on multiple levels. First, Scott's powers shouldn't have worked! He had been fitted with an inhibitor chip when he was five, when his powers first manifested. And the surgery today to allow him to do precisely this hadn't happened yet!

Second, Scott wasn't even supposed to be out there! He had told Scott to stay hidden, and disobeying that order meant a certain young man was going to be playing no video games until he was eighteen.

Third, he had saved Mark's life, judging by that pile of rubble that covered the area they had been seconds before. Maybe no video games for a year, then.

Then a heavy weight settled in the pit of Dirk's stomach, as the hulking cyborg laid a hand on his eldest son.

And in his shock and panic, Dirk's protective energy field flickered out.

Jenny flinched when she saw Mark fall, and a second time when the balcony was about to crash down, a third time when a cyborg got Scott (the only nice guy in her new team, well at least the boy seemed very nice) and the fourth time when Dirk’s force field flickered and went off. She tried to bend the fire around the hostages to keep them safe, but slowly she started to lose the control. The building had caught fire and she could keep a few people safe from the fire but not all. It looked safe enough for her to get to the hostages, at least none of the weapons could permanently harm her. She ran as fast as she could ducking and hiding to the hostages, for the moment she actually ignored Dirk since he didn’t look to happy about the danger his son was in and she remember all too well how a angry Dirk was. After all he had nearly killed her when they first met.

“Get out, now! They are not after you anymore.”

She pushed a couple of people to the direction of the stairs and pulled the fire out of their way just to release the fire wall again so that no one could follow them. She was just about to turn to Dirk and ask what to do now when a bullet hit her waist, she felt the blood run down her side. She moaned, feeling that it was a rather deep flesh wound. Jenny took a deep breath and tried to hide that she was for a little while, okay a few hours, injured.

“Doing anything stupid won’t help Scott right now. You should think before you act. I can try and hit the cyborg with a fireball while you protect Scott with one of your fields?” She didn't dare to touch Dirk because of the bad memories she had of their past.

Crap that kid must be one of the immune for his powers to still work with the chip in and now that cog head has the kid by the neck and there ain’t no way his dad’s just gonna stand by and let that stand, meaning the brown stuff just well and truely hit the rotary impeller! I’ve got to do something before Dirk does and gets out of possition to cover those hostages and the plan disintergrates completely. all this ran through Richards head in the half second of the cyborg lifting the boy from his feet by his collar. Richard slid both laser pistols back into the back of his waist band and pulled one of the brotherhood rifles to him as he fast crawled over to the hole Mark had just dropped into he sighted down the scope bringing the crosshairs of the sight over the forhead of the man, Richard could feel the waves of rage and fanatacism radiating off the man even without trying to probe his mind and something worse under those currents as Richard slowed his breathing to steady the rifle and his aim he felt something cold metalic and twisted in there as well. Something wasn’t right with the mans mind, something beyond the obvious. He’s more machine than man now, if I take a head shot the systems may still have time to act out retribution on the kid better to take out the arm directly. Richard shifted slightly shifting his aim point to a small servo joint on the man’s inner elbow the connection that allowed power to flow down into the artificial structure of the arm. Richard slowed his breathing and felt into the man’s mind to feel the flow of his movements before he even made them allowing Richard to keep the crosshairs covering that exact point no matter how much the man gestured as he waved the kid about in the air.
Breath…
In…
Out…
In…
Ou…BANG
Halfway through the last breath when is body was at its most stable he squeesed the trigger sending the half centremeter thick line of white hot laser fire pirecing through the weak point in the artificial limb’s armouring and severing the command lines and power to the forearm causing it to relax completely letting the boy drop to the ground and roll out and onto his feet away from the Cog-head’s reach.

Jenny made sense. Deal with this intelligently. He wasn't going to do anyone any good by rushing in there half-cocked and probably getting himself, if not his son, killed for his troubles.

But when a lucky bullet snapped off the cyborg's arm, and Scott fell with a cry and hit the ground with a sickening smack! Dirk saw his chance. There were few times where Dirk believed that going in with no plan, his brain clouded by rage and fear, with destruction only on his mind, was actually excusable, much less preferable.

This was one of those times.

With a barbarous cry, Dirk sprinted at the cyborg and, flicking the force field around his arms, bore down on him with a solid punch. If it had been without the energy, certainly, and, if he hadn't been so darn furious, probably, the impact would not have so much as dented the machine-man. But, as it was, he caved the side of its head in.

And Dirk kept punching. And kicking, as the field of red bled down his chest, over his legs and even up to his head, until he was fully encased in a suit of armor. Honestly, he didn't care if his field went nuclear and exploded him and this cyborg into a million pieces, which was absolutely irresponsible, but he was just too angry to care. He was screaming his own brand of obscenities and threats, and he didn't realize for a long time as he continued to turn the cyborg into electronic pulp that the it was sparking and had stopped moving.

"Dad?"

Dirk wheeled around, breathing heavily.

Scott flinched, scooted back. He was still sitting more or less as he had fallen, next to the cyborg's severed arm. Which made it all the more horrifying when Dirk looked back at his handiwork and realized that he had done all that damage in a matter of seconds.

The red fizzled out, and Dirk, still breathing heavily, turned back to his son. Now his face was red, from embarrassment as much as exertion. "Scott, I'm sorry you had to see that. Are you all right?" He climbed down off the wreckage he had created and knelt down by his son. "Are you hurt?"

Scott's face suddenly broke into a wide grin. "Dad, that was freaking awesome!"

Dirk huffed out a laugh and pulled Scott into his arms. "Don't ever scare me like that again, understand?"

"Hey, don't ever scare me like that again!" Scott retorted, still smiling, and clinging tightly to his father's coat.

Jennifer looked at the scene in front of her that was so unfair.

Why does everyone have someone who looks after him, everyone but me?

The fire in her started to stir, she had to physically restrain this fire. The last time she was so angry she had set an entire building on fire, not to mention that she had troubles to turn her powers off again. She had to get away as soon as possible, when she stays with them all that happens will that she will get hurt. And she was hurt enough.

“Guys get a grip, the fake doc shot an arm off and Dirk punched a cyborg to mush that’s nothing I haven’t seen in fact I know how it feels to be the one getting punched by him. We have to go.” Jennifer sounded angry, annoyed and impatient, yes she was glad that the little Scott was safe but that didn’t make it easier to be around mark and Dirk.

There was a hand on his shoulder, and Mark grinning down the end of a cigar at him.

"Way to loosen up, there, Kid."

Dirk rolled his eyes. "Oh, golly, Mark, you too? That was an embarrassment! I shouldn't have lost my cool like that!"

When Jennifer (probably wisely) broke up the "moment," Dirk stopped, finally hearing her: The things she had been saying were slightly off, but then they had other things to worry about. Now the hostages were safe and Scott was safe, and the bad guys were smoldering. Sure the building was still on fire, but priorities. He scooped Scott into his arms, brooking no denial, and stood up, turning to Jennifer.

"You know how...what feels?" Dirk asked, hurt and concerned. Had he blacked out in his rage? Had he hurt he accidentally? "I'm so sorry, Jenny, did I hit you? It was an accident, but I shouldn't have flown off the handle like that, I'm very sorry." Now he looked closer. Was that blood staining her side? "Jeepers creepers, Jenny, are you hurt?"

Mark chucked at Dirk’s reply. Even after all that, he was still the same uptight goody-goody Dirk. His eyes shifted beyond Dirk as he spied movement behind. Pushing past he laid a foot on the back of a surviving Brotherhood mercenary who was trying to get up.

“Ok idiot. What makes a bunch of fanatics like you target a hospital of all places. Not exactly a demonstration of brotherly love, is it?”

His humour slowly turned to shock as he realised what Jennifer had said.

“Really, he hit you?” Mark spun Dirk round, his face and voice barely containing his anger.

“We’ll talk about this once we’re out of here. Now, back to you.” He gave the Brotherhood soldier a light kick as he struggled to reach his weapon. “That’s not the right answer. Now, why are you here. Or do you want to end up in the same state as your mechanical friend here?” Ok, that was a lie. No way would Dirk perform an encore, but as long as he kept quiet the bluff would hold.

“I’m not going to torture this man Mark. And I’m certainly not going to kill him.” Mark sighed and rolled his eyes in exasperation.

“I knew that Kid, but he didn’t.” There went the bargaining card. Then he heard Dirks next words, and forgot all about the Brotherhood.”

“Jenny? You’re hurt?”

Jennifer looked a little confused from Mark to Dirk, it nearly seemed as if they cared for her. “What do you mean if you hit me?” Jennifer back away from the angry looking Mark. She remembered too well how he was when he was angry.

Why do they act so weird? Dirk knows that he hit me on a regular basis, since he never thought hurting me with words was enough. And Mark never cared if she got hurt, I’m sure he sent to every bully who hurt me a gift basket.

Jennifer checked her side, the shirt was bloody and so that she got time and didn’t have to answer the other question she lifted her shirt. She saw a bullet hole in her stomach. “Oh. I guess I am hurt. Looks like I got shot.” Blood was running down her side now also staining her pants.

Richard came down the main stairs laser rifle slung over one shoulder brushing cement dust off his doctors coat to join the rest of their impromptu group. He could feel the waves of anger and confusion flowing off the one called Jenny and the concern and the confusion from Mark and Dirk, Scott just seemed to be frankly confused rather than anything else but was doing a good job of stoically holding up under the afternoons event quietly but determined.
Shit, she feels like she's about to bolt. Richard reached out to her mind with waves of reassurance and calm.
"Jennifer why don't you go with dirk into the exam room through there and let him patch that hole up till we can get someone to have a better look at it? and Dirk why don't you take Scott with you. I think Mark and I should have a chat with our friend here." Richard asked the group with a rueful smile to the girl and a wink to Scott.

Dirk didn't have to pretend to look chastised when Mark scowled at him, and he dropped his eyes and nodded until Mark said he'd discuss it later. He knew what that meant, and he wouldn't put it past the older man to tear him a new one even now.

As Richard approached them and suggested he look after Jenny while he and Mark dealt with the prisoner, Dirk nodded, not even daring to question what they were planning on doing with the mercenary.

"Yes. I'll look after her, Mark. I give you my word," Dirk said solemnly, setting Scott down, but keeping hold of his hand, and then he turned to Jenny. "Jennifer, will you go with me? This must all have come as as much of a shock to you as all of us, and I hope we can talk and get this sorted out. But most of all I want to make sure you're okay." He held out a hand to her, his face inviting, bordering on wistful. "Will you come with me?"