-----

Author's Note: I thought seeing as it was April Fool's Day, I might take a stab at another Melanie Crane story. There isn't really much to this one, just a bit of fun on my part. I don't expect it to get high praise or accolades like the last. I thought it up this morning. And no its not a joke, its the true thing, so yes it is in line with all my other stories. I'd like to thank djkauf for the great editing

-----

You’re kidding right,” I said as Kris and I walked down the hall.

She stopped and turned to me. “Does this look like the face of someone who’s kidding?”

I shook my head. But why did it have to be there. “Isn’t there anyone else?”

Kris sighed. “Due to the nature of the situation, Melanie, I think you’re the best person suited for this kind of job.”

I nodded. This had to be some kind of horrible hazing ritual, mess with the new girl. First, it was Santa’s village a few months ago and now this, it was clear someone was punishing me. Ok, so maybe not really but it seemed awfully convenient that I was the only girl they could get to do this job. After I got back with the new girl---Victoria---formerly Victor Cruise, people praised me. It sure helped with my tarnished reputation after all. What reputation you ask, well there was this little problem about me being a big bad Dominator and hurting a lot of people. Hey, I’m getting counseling now and things are going so much better.

Things were going better for me too, all thanks to Santa. Well, not him personally but it did help. After the Village, I opened up a lot more. Our team, Delta, had been a trial thing before the mission. After it was successful, Kris made us a full team. We were sorta what she liked to call Special Circumstances, meaning that we were brought in on the really bizarre ones. I guess that’s what you get when your team leader is a wicked strong Telepath and I’m a Dominator, reformed of course. But being SC---my word, not Becca’s---meant that we didn’t always get to go out. I think the team was itching for something, I know I was but I just didn’t expect something like this.

“So when do we leave?”

Kris started walking again. “As soon as I find your other team mates.”

“I think I might know where they are.”

She nodded. “Good, it saves me from getting someone to look for them. Once you have them, meet in the debriefing room, you’ve got one hour.”

“Yes ma’am” I said, giving her a sloppy salute.

She smirked. “You don’t salute me you know.”

“I know”

She shook her head and walked off, leaving me standing there.

As soon as she was out of sight down the hall, I took off in search of the others. I didn’t need to look for Privates Jones and Thomas; both of them would either be in the Cafeteria or the Firing Range, that’s the only place they liked to hang out. There was a Barracks for the soldiers too, but I was unauthorized to go there. I also had a pretty good idea where to find Marcus too. He spent most of his free time in his room meditating, he said it helped him relax and channel his abilities. He tried to get me to join in whenever possible but all I wanted to do was fool around. Yep, you guessed it; the two of us are now officially an item. I know what you’re thinking but he’s good for me.

We hooked up the night after we got back, he was a little shy and awkward, me I was terrified. We had dinner together and then he took me to a private screening of some new Tom Cruise movie. I’m not sure how he got the Entertainment Room for just us but it was so cool. The whole thing was a bit weird at first but after a few misses, we connected. It helped that I kinda took the initiative and climbed on top of him halfway through it. We made out through the rest of the movie and I must say I’m not really sure what happened in the movie. The two of us have been together since, pretty hot and heavy too.
But enough with the mushy stuff.

I took off down the hall, heading toward where I knew I’d find two of my last three team members. Yep, two because we had a third member now as well. Seeing as she was our first pickup, Marcus petitioned to put Victoria on the team too. Kris was a little reluctant to do so at first, seeing as Vicky was sorta new to the club as it were. But Becca went to bat for her---saying she’d help Vicky train and make her a valued member of the team. The coolest thing, the two of us have gotten awfully close. I guess it helps that I did so much for her little sis. How could I not, Daisy was after all the sweetest little thing in the world.

They were actually my first stop. I didn’t take me long to get to the dormitories, the girls dorm together and the boys dorm together. I guess it helps to keep us all separated, what with all the raging hormones and things like that. I think I was one of the few on this floor who didn’t have a roommate, at least not yet. Things like that have a tendency to change really quick. Even though a lot of us were now at Beta and Gamma, there were still kids coming here every day. Vicky decided to stay here, what with circumstances being what they were.

I knocked on her door. There was a giggle and scramble from behind it. Then the door was yanked open. I smiled at the bundle of energy on the other side. Daisy smiled up at me too then threw herself at me, wrapping her arms around my waist. Yep, Daisy as in Vicky’s kid sister. It was kinda a sad story really. After we took her brother---now sister---from Santa’s Village, there was an accident. Both her parents died in a horrible car crash. Daisy would have ended up in foster care, what with her not having any other relatives. But the Colonel pulled some strings, it helped that their father had a lot of pull when he was still alive---i.e. Pentagon type pull.

So now little Daisy was the Center’s first ankle biter. She was an amazing little kid, so cute and innocent. It didn’t take her long to adjust to the fact that her older brother was now her sister. The fact that the two of them didn’t look anything alike anymore---Daisy had flaming red hair that she always wore in pigtails---didn’t seem to bother her in the least.

“Melanie, are you here to play with me?”

I shook my head. “Not today, kiddo.”

She frowned. “Aww.”

I patted her on the head and she took my hand, leading me into the room. I was often Daisy’s companion whenever I had the time. It helped that I was so used to being a kid myself. Before all this started, I spent a good portion of my time masquerading as a ten year old. How you ask? Well I’m an Illusionist, I can create things that aren’t really there. It’s something to do with entering the mind and changing people’s perceptions. One of those things I used to do was make people see me as a ten year old. Dr. Tipps says it was a coping mechanism. She helped me break myself of it. But after Daisy showed up here two months ago, I saw how sad she was. It was kinda hard on her–what with her being the only kid---so I played kid with her.

“Sissy, Mel’s here” said Daisy, letting go of my hand and huffing over to her bed.

There room was a mishmash of styles. On one side it looked like it belonged to a teenager, all decked out like a teen girl might have it. On the other side, it looked like something a five year old would decorate. The Center had been very accommodating. I smiled as I looked at the clashing elements, Vicky’s pastel blue did not go at all with Daisy’s bright pink and kitty motif.

Vicky was sitting at the desk; she turned around with a smile. We were the best of friends, doing practically everything together now. Dr. Tipps said we were the best thing for each other. It helped that I was sorta socially awkward and she was the new girl. But to look at us, you would never be able to tell that we had anything in common. Me, I was the short girl with green hair and she was the tall Nordic beauty. And I mean tall. She was at least six four, towering over almost every other person here. She was also a far cry from what she used to be too. Victor used to have flaming red hair like his little sis but Vicky could have been from Sweden. She had the long blonde hair---well, it was almost white and her eyes were the iciest blue I’d ever seen.

She smiled. “Mel, what’s up?”

I looked at Daisy, then mouthed “mission.”

Vicky’s face lit up. She fist pumped then said quietly. “Let me put my game face on.”

Daisy was sitting on her bed, brushing the hair of one of her dolls. “Are you two going somewhere?”

“I have to go out for a bit but I’m going to find someone to watch you why you’re gone.”

“Mattie?”

I laughed, besides me, Mattie was the only other person that Daisy wanted to be around. It helped that Mattie was pretty much a child herself. No, I’m not insulting her; she says the same thing all the time. Mattie and I are doing better too. Before she was a little scared of me, on the basis that the two of us have known each other longer than most people here. It’s a long and jaded history and I don’t want to get into it. Suffice to say, I did some bad things to her and I’ve been trying to make up for it every single day. At least she’s gotten as far as being in the same room with me on occasion which is a big start.

“We’ll see,” said Vicky with a laugh. “It might be Emma or Brad too.”

Daisy lit up. “Do you think they’ll let me play with Klondike?”

“I think that’s a big possibility.”

Daisy started to bounce up and down. Vicky and I laughed then I left. I started back down the hall, knowing where my next stop would be.

______________________________

“Stop being so damn insufferable”

“Well I’ll stop being insufferable if you pull that stick out of your ass.”

A gust of wind buffeted me as soon as I walked into the Gym. It whipped my hair and threatened to flip my skirt up, giving everyone a nice view of my panties. I quickly pushed my skirt down before anyone looked my way. Then I marched into the room just as Frankie burst into flames. Jessica was standing ten feet away now, a whirlwind of air whipping around her body. There were several other kids in the room, most of who were running in all directions to get away from the carnage. I don’t know why Jessica and Frankie insisted on going to Gym together. Every time they did Frankie always said something stupid---usually a sexist remark---and Jessica always lost her temper. The destruction the two of them usually caused cost thousands of dollars. It looked like today was going to be another whopper. Not that I had time for that.

I stomped over, looking to see if there was anything I could use to break the two of them up. I didn’t find something but someone---a girl, I couldn’t remember her name---but she was a hydrokinetic. I snapped my fingers and pointed at the two of them. She smirked and nodded. She walked over to stand in-between the two of them, pointing her hands out. I turned my head away as I heard my two teammates scream. When I turned back around, a group of kids were gathered around laughing. Jessica and Frankie were drenched.

I finished walking over to them. “You two done bickering?”

Jessica looked at me, frowning. She was only wearing a skimpy t-shirt and a pair of short bicycle shorts, suffice to say being all wet things showed. “That wasn’t funny.”

But Frankie thought it was. “I can see your…”

“If you say the last thing you’re about to say so help me God I’ll spin you around until you’re sick.”

He shut up quickly. Someone had run off to get them towels and was now just running back. I followed the two of them as they grumbled over to the benches. As they were drying off, I told them about our mission. Jessica raised an eyebrow and Frankie smiled. Of course, he’d smile; he was going to fit right in there. When they were done drying off I followed a still grumbling Jessica into the girl’s locker room so she could change out of her wet stuff.

“That guy infuriates the hell out of me.”

I nodded. It was obviously to me and everyone else that the two of them were in love with one another. The only people who weren’t in on it were Jessica and Frankie. But with all their bickering and constant power fights, you’d think the two of them would just get over it and take the plunge. Not that I’d ever tell either one of them that. Jessica was a wicked Aerokinetic that allowed her temper to rule her and Frankie was an ass but he was a damn good pyro. The two of them were the backbone to our team, kinetics were almost a must now, especially after what happened to Becca and her team in England. Now---according to the rules---no team was allowed to go out into the field without at least one kinetic present or one in backup.

I waited until she got dressed in her horrible gray uniform then the two of us went to retrieve Frankie. He was already waiting for us. I checked my watch, wondering if it was enough time. I led the two of them out of the Gym and toward the Briefing Room. I’m not going to bore you with the details to how to get there. Instead, I’ll just say that the three of us were a bit earlier. Vicky was standing outside, leaning against the wall. When she turned and saw us, I rolled my eyes. Vicky’s idea of her game face was actually blue makeup, electric blue to be exact. Her lips, eyes and nails now all matched, fitting in nicely with her whole cryokineticness. That’s a new word as far as the Center standards go.

“That’s so cute,” said Jessica, indicating Vicky’s creativity.

She wiggled her fingers. “I couldn’t resist.”

Jessica turned to me. “We should take Mel and make her match that hair of hers.”

I stuck my tongue out as the two of them laughed.

We only had to wait in the hall for a few more minutes, then the door opened. When the four of us went inside, Marcus was already sitting at the table. Private Thomas was there as well as Dani. Marcus looked over at me and smiled, I blushed. I took the seat next to him, Vicky sat next to me. Jessica and Frankie sat at opposite ends of the table. Kris rolled her eyes at them, Dani just shook her head. Even the two of them knew that there was something going on there. After we were all seated and situated, Kris started the briefing. This was the part I was dreading. You see I had this thing about Circuses, ok not so much circuses but some of the things that went on there. I felt Marcus reach over and take my hand. He knew about my apprehension, the two of us shared all our little secrets.

“We’re going to the Circus?” asked Frankie, “you’re serious?”

Kris nodded. “This isn’t for recreation, Frank,” she said, being one of the only people who called him Frank.

She addressed the rest of us by clicking her remote, bringing up a picture of a girl on the screen. “This is Marcia Eggert, age sixteen, this is the target.”

I nodded. “What’s her thing?”

Dani answered. “We’re not sure, only that by the time you get there, she’ll have already emerged.”

“Is there urgency involved?” asked Jessica.

Kris nodded. “We have reason to believe that a rival organization will try to move in on her. We need Delta Squad to go in as quietly as possible, intercept Marcia and get her out of there before this becomes a situation that we can’t even handle.”

“It’s not them is it?” I asked, referring to the Syndicate.

I couldn’t even bring myself to say the name. If it was them, they were in a load of hurt. I’ve been waiting a long time to come face to face with those bastards again.

“We’ve not sure who it is but just be on your guard, they’re highly organized.”

“What’s the time frame?” asked Frankie.

“Five hours” said Dani “like I said before when you guys get there she’ll have already changed so this picture is pretty much useless. Your best bet is to canvas the place and look for anything out of the ordinary.”

“Out of the ordinary?” I asked “at a Circus.”

Marcus squeezed my hand tighter.

____________________________

We took the jet; it took about four hours to get to our destination. We landed in a little airstrip where an SUV was waiting. It was dark green this time; I think the Center was trying to add a little more color to their ops. Jones took the driver’s seat again while Thomas rode shotgun. I got into the second row with Jessica and Marcus while Vicky and Frankie sat behind us. Marcus held my hand the whole time, trying to reassure me that everything was going to be ok. But I knew better. Things were not going to be ok at all. It wasn’t just the people either; the people were only a part of it. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m still a little wary around big crowds. People kinda scare me, what with me being locked up and sedated for so long. It still takes quite a bit for me to go out and be around them.

But Dr. Tipps was helping me get over some of that. Marcus was helping now too. Just last week, he was able to convince Kris to allot us some R&R time in the city. We even got her to let us bring Vicky and Daisy. The four of us had a pretty good day just being normal---well the three of us, Daisy is pretty normal as far as little kids go. I think they were trying to help me adjust and it worked but I’m still not one hundred percent when there’s a lot of people. So that’s one of my biggest problems about the Circus, the other I don’t even want to think about.

When the SUV stopped in front of the circus, I groaned. There was a picket fence centered around a huge colorful tent with other smaller tents around it. There were metal trailers off in the distance and lots of noise. I looked around the parking lot, seeing all the cars. So many people. Marcus still held my hand, making sure I didn’t freak. He helped me out of the vehicle, still holding my hand. I wanted to kiss him but I wasn’t sure how awkward that would make anyone else.

“Do you think we can look around a bit after?”

I turned to Frankie but Marcus beat me to it. “We’re not here for fun. There’s a girl…I mean a guy here…that’s in trouble. Why don’t we concentrate on the mission first?”

The frown on Frankie’s face reminded me of the one that Daisy often wore when something didn’t go her way. That wasn’t the only similarity between the two, trust me.

Marcus then addressed the others, Jones stayed with the SUV again. “We’re going to split up in teams of two again.” He pointed to Jessica, no doubt about to pair her with Frankie but she gave him a look. He rolled his eyes too. “Jessie, you and Mel, Frankie you and Vicky.”

Vicky groaned, Frankie pumped the air with his fist.

“You touch her I’m going to break your fingers” snapped Jessica.

“I didn’t think you cared, babe.”

“Don’t call me that, pig.”

“If you don’t like it you can always shut me up with your lips.”

Marcus groaned. “Children, please.”

Jessica and Frankie shot each other looks again. Marcus split them up then told us to get going. I took Jessica by the arm, dragging her toward the ticket booth. We were all dressed in civvies, trying to look like normal teens out doing what normal teens do. I was wearing a t-shirt, jeans and a light jacket. Jessica---ever the fashionista show off---was wearing a tank top and short jean skirt, accentuated by her knee high leather boots and over abundance of makeup. When we paid for our tickets, the pimple-faced freak behind the counter leered at us. His looks made my skin crawl.

“Hang in there, babe,” said Marcus’ reassuring voice in my head.

Dating a telepath had its advantage. I closed my eyes, sending him good, warm thoughts.

Jessica and I started at the entrance and made our way around the circle. Everything was centered around the main tent, where all the noise and laughter was coming from. There was a big line trying to get in there but I had no intention of going in there. Just thinking about what might be inside made me shudder. Instead, I concentrated on searching the faces, trying desperately to find one that looked scared or out of place. But the problem was that to me everyone looked out of place. I looked at Jessica and she frowned, apparently, she was having no such luck either.

“Let’s try some of the smaller tents,” she said, leading the way.

I followed, the two of us weaving our way through the crowd. This was just like my first mission except this time there was a little more danger. No, we were dealing with an already Emerged target and hostiles that could be anywhere. It was a scary thought indeed, a lot more scary than anything I used to be able to conjure up.

When we got to the closest tent, she went in first. I was about to follow when I felt a tug on my pant leg. I looked around, and then down. There was a little girl there, holding a pink balloon. She couldn’t have been much older than Daisy. I groaned inwardly, wondering how it was I seemed to attract them. I smiled big and bent down so that I was eye level.

“How can I help you, sweetie?”

She looked scared. “Are you a clown?”

The color drained from my face. “Why would you think that?”

She smiled. “You have clown hair.”

“Susie” said a woman, walking over and taking the girl’s hand. She gave me a look and sneered a bit. “You leave this nice girl alone.”

My hair had that effect on a lot of adults. I think they thought I did it myself, that I was either Goth or Emo. The truth was that this was my real hair, no dye job of cheap wig. It happens to the best of us I guess. At the Center, we had a rainbow of color as far as hair went, eye colors were the same. I’m not really sure why. I stood up as the mother dragged little Susie away, she shyly waved to me as they disappeared into the ground. When she was gone, I shuddered. How could she mistake me for one of those things? Yes, if you haven’t guessed it already I have this thing about clowns.

And when I say thing I don’t mean fetish either. I mean, well, don’t laugh. But clowns scare the hell out of me. Yes, this out of the self proclaimed Fear Mongers mouth. Not that I go by that title anymore but the point is that sometimes the things you fear most are the scariest things of all. That’s why Batman chose to be called Batman because he was scared of bats---at least according to that movie. I always felt a little like him actually, except of course for the whole billionaire thing. My comparison was more along the lines of two dark loners, looking for an outlet for our pain. Not that I was looking for an outlet, not anymore.

I looked around, realizing that Jessica was way ahead of me now.

I groaned and pushed my way into the tent. I groaned as soon as I got through the crowd, now realizing why the little girl thought I was a clown. I stopped dead in my tracks, there were clowns everywhere. A cold chill went over my body. I saw little Susie getting her face painted by a pink haired clown while another clown made balloon animals. I looked for Jessica and not to my surprise, some guy was chatting her up. I wanted to walk over but she caught eyes with me and shook her head. You have to be kidding me. I tried to motion her over to me with her eyes but she shook her head. I frowned and rolled my eyes.

Just like Jessica. I left her to it, decided to let Marcus reprimand her about it later. I scanned the tent but there weren’t many people here over the height of two feet, except maybe bored parents. So I turned and decided to search on my own. I left Jessica to do her thing---whatever that was. I wandered about the other pavilions, hoping maybe something would draw my attention. I’m not sure what I was looking for exactly. I didn’t know what people looked like after they emerged. My own Emergence I was unconscious for, I came to several days later in a bed. I wasn’t as shocked as most people I guess, I was always kinda girly to begin with. But I couldn’t imagine going from that pretty blonde girl, I saw in that picture into a hairy guy.

Something very similar happened to Marcus. He was once blonde and beautiful, a beauty pageant queen actually. When his parents saw their princess turned into a tall black boy, they freaked to say the least. It took him a long time and lots of therapy to get over it. So maybe that’s what I should be looking for, a freaked guy, possibly one in clothes that didn’t quite fit him. I guess that shouldn’t be too hard to find in a place like this.

I continued looking, wandering a lot longer than I should have been. I was getting a little annoyed. Then I heard some running and panting. I turned and saw a group of kids. I groaned, what was it now. I bent down so they were eye level. “What’s the matter?”

“Are you one of the clowns?”

I groaned. “Why not, sure.”

The little boy in the lead---there were four boys and a girl---nodded. “We saw a bunch of clowns take a guy.”

That piqued my interest. Clowns taking a guy huh? “Where did they take him?”

The little boy pointed toward the trailers. I smiled, patted him on the head and took off at a brisk walk. It was a little hard going, what with all the people. I pushed and shoved my way through, getting a lot of curses and grunts. I ignored them, finally coming to a spot where I could run. As soon as I was far enough, I tapped my throat mike.

“I think I’ve found him,” I said.

Marcus’s voice came in my ear: “Mel, do not engage, wait for back up.”

I shook my head. “They have him already. You guys will not get here in time.”

Marcus sighed. “Ok but let Jessica do all the work.”

I clicked off, not bothering to tell him that Jessie wasn’t with me.

I charged toward the trailers, weaving through the maze of them. I had a good idea where they might be going. It was kinda a pain moving in and around the damn things but when I finally got through them; I saw the group that the kid mentioned. They had a black SUV, parked by a little bush. There were at least six of them, all of them dressed as clowns. I stopped dead, my skin going cold. Why did it have to be clowns? I looked past them the two rough looking clowns, who looked like guards. One of the clowns got into the driver seat while the other three were trying to stuff a struggling boy in the back. I knew it had to be Marcia because he was in a crop top and skirt. If it wasn’t for the situation, I might even laugh.

He kicked and struggled, trying to break free. Why they didn’t sedate him was beyond me. Clearly, these guys were amateurs, which gave me a great idea. I closed my eyes and when I opened them, nothing had changed. At least nothing to me had changed. But to everyone else they’d see---well they’d see a little girl that looked a lot like Daisy. I plastered a big smile on my face and started humming as I skipped over.

The two thuggish looking clowns frowned at me. The two stuffing “Marcia” into the SUV stopped what they were doing, dropping him on the ground. He rubbed his wrists, looking confused. I could see he’d been crying.

“Why aren’t you guys with the other clowns back there?” I asked in a sweet innocent voice.

“Beat it kid,” grumbled one of the thug clowns.

I ignored him. “Did that boy do something bad, is that why you’re taking him?”

One of the clowns by the SUV stepped forward, looking annoyed. “How much did you see sweetie?”

I played innocent. “I saw the clowns and the elephants and the juggler and…”

The Thug Clown cut me off. “This is shit, just grab her.”

“Aww, you said a bad word.”

He groaned angrily and reached for me, grabbing my shoulder. The problem with my illusions is just that. Most of them are just make believe, like my child glamour. Others are a bit stronger---tangible even---like that Santa that I made, the one that Daisy was able to interact with. But when this guy grabbed my shoulder, touch usually broke the spell. You see they weren’t real at all, just in the mind. I was the only one who labeled myself an Illusionist; the Center categorized me as a Level Three Dominator.

“What the fuck?” said the guy, realizing that I wasn’t a little girl after all?

The Leader Clown spoke. “She’s one of those Center brats, put a bullet in her.”

“Yes, let’s shot the nasty Dominator” I said as men with guns appeared behind me, pointing them at the Clowns.

The Thug Clown took a step back, scared. “What the…”

“They’re not real,” said the Leader again. “It’s all in your head.”

The Thug didn’t look convinced. He shook his head, dropped his gun and ran. I smirked. The Leader didn’t look so amused. He picked up the gun and whipped it around, catching me off guard. It clipped me under the chin, sending me sprawling. I hit the pavement; my fake soldiers disappeared because I lost my hold on everyone’s minds. He stepped toward me, pointing the gun.

“You stupid little bitch, why couldn’t you have left well enough alone.”

I closed my eyes, waiting for him to shoot but he didn’t. Instead, he started laughing. I opened my eyes, he was laughing so hard that he dropped the gun in my lap. The other started laughing too, they were laughing so hard that they were doubling over in pain. I looked around, wondering who could be doing…then I looked at “Marcia”. She was glaring angrily at them, a look of murder in his eyes. This was it, this was his power. Somehow, he could make people laugh.

What was that old expression…oh yeah, “die laughing.”

The guys were now on the ground, laughing and rolling about. The Leader was whimpering, blood coming from his nose and mouth.

‘Make it stop, please make it stop”.

I looked past them at him. “Marcia, you have to stop or you’ll kill them.”

He shook his head. “They were going to take me; they were going to drag me off somewhere.”

I nodded. “But they’re not now. I’m here to help you but you’ve got to stop.”

I’m not sure why his power wasn’t working on me, maybe I was immune. It didn’t matter; if I didn’t get him to stop, he was going to kill them. And as much as I’d like to see that happen, the others might frown upon it a bit. So I took a cautious step toward, holding up my hands to show I wasn’t going to hurt him. He looked at me, crying.

“Stay back” he shouted “or I’ll…I’ll…”

“You saw what I did,” I asked, he nodded. “I’m just like you. I come from a place where there’s people just like you. We can help you but you’ve gotta stop.”

“Melanie” said Marcus’ voice in my ear. “We’re on the way.”

I pushed my throat mike. “No, stay there. Marcia can induce laughter; if you get too close you’ll get caught up in it too.”

“Laughter?’” came Frankie’s voice. “That’s so awesome; he’s going to be the life of the party.”

“Shut up you idiot.”

Marcus groaned. “Guys stay back. Melanie this is on you.”

I nodded and looked at “Marcia”; the clowns were still writhing in delightful pain on the ground. “Let them go and I promise I won’t hurt you.”
He shook his head. I closed my eyes and transformed back into the little girl. “I’m not going to hurt you, Mister. I’m only trying to help.”

That seemed to do it, for whatever it’s worth. I’m not sure what happened but one minute the guys were laughing and the next they weren’t. I smiled and walked over, taking his hand and helping him up. I transformed back into myself and he collapsed into my arms, crying. I held him, trying my best to comfort him. I looked at the thugs lying around me, none of them were moving but they were panting so at least they were alive. Not that it made much of a difference to me.

I tapped my mike. “I’ve handled the situation, everything’s in the clear.”

Marcus sighed. “So no more laughing?”

I laughed. “Only on the inside.”

A few minutes later, the others showed up, including Jessica. She looked around and mouthed “sorry”. I smiled and nodded. Thomas pulled the goons to their feet, securing each of their hands with plaster ties. Vicky took “Marcia” from me. Frankie tried to talk to him but Jessica elbowed him in the ribs. Marcus wandered over to me with a smile.

“What the hell took you guys so long?” I asked.

He smirked. “You know us, just clowning around.”

I smirked. “Not funny.”

He kissed me on the forehead. I rest my head against his chest, closing my eyes. He held me as he led me away. When I opened my eyes again, a clown tried to hand me a balloon. I gave him a dirty look and he ran off. Marcus laughed; I elbowed him in the ribs.

God I hate clowns.