Caleb 52 – Danger

I was sitting working my way through the cafeteria menu, when Dana caught up with us an hour later. I had been eating steadily the entire time we had waited, much to the amusement of the cafeteria staff and some other visitors who’d watched me demolish my way through several trays of food. I was just about done when Dana joined us.

She looked at the table, eyes wide at the aftermath.

“Hungry?” she asked. I grinned at her.

“Not now,” I said. “But I get a bit peckish when I work like that.”

“Caleb,” she began.

“Not here,” said Gracie. “Save it for later. What are you doing now? Are you staying or coming back with us?”

“Coming back,” she said. “Mom’s fine, and I need to move my stuff out of the Dorm. If, that is,” she looked at both Gracie and me, “the offer still stands?”

I looked at Gracie who was beaming. “Of course,” she said. “You know I want you to move in with me.”

Dana looked at me. “Caleb?”

“Why don’t I get the girls to meet us at the dorms with my truck,” I said. “That way we should be able to get everything done in one trip.”

Dana smiled and nodded.

“I need to get a shower,” she said. “I must look like I got run over by a big truck.”

“You look beautiful,” said Gracie gallantly. I snorted. Gracie looked at me scandalized but Dana just grinned.

“We’re not much for social lies,” she explained to Gracie. “I know I look like shit. Thanks for the uplift though. Caleb, you and I need to have a long talk. Lots of long talks.”

I smiled at her. “I know,” I said.

The girls were at the dorms waiting for us with my truck when we arrived a couple of hours later. I’d kept them updated with the events of the day, and it took the seven of us no time at all to empty Dana’s room into Gracie’s car and my truck. We decided to move Gracie and Dana straight into the den bedroom, as it would save time later when we hired a contractor to come and start work on the ensuite.

I left the girls to finish off the last bits and went to make dinner. Despite nearly emptying the cafeteria less than four hours earlier, I was still hungry.

“It takes a lot out of you?” asked Dana watching me cook.

“Hmm?” I asked having been in a world of my own.

“Using your power,” she said. “It takes a lot out of you.”

“It can,” I said. “The more I use it, the easier it gets. I struggled to train more than my TK at first.”

“TK?” asked Dana. I held my hand out and the salt shaker jumped off the countertop and smacked into my palm. I added a pinch to the pot and then replaced the salt on the countertop.

“Telekinesis. When I started training my TK, I began by lifting weights,” I said. “I started small, and built up to where I could lift several thousand pounds.  But the first time I lifted anything significant, I was out for about six hours afterwards. It’s really a lot like physical training and body building, only with my mind.”

“And he nearly killed himself saving me,” said Ness walking into the kitchen.

“What?” said Dana looking concerned. Ness told her tale, and also the tale of the crashed tractor. Dana looked at me again.

“How many lives have you saved?” she asked.

I shrugged. “I don’t know. A couple. Do you remember the discussion we had about consent and healing after the superpower ethics class?”

Dana chewed her lip, and then smiled wryly. “You never once asked for consent to treat my mother,” she said. “And yet, until now, I hadn’t even considered it.”

“In her case, I couldn’t get consent as there was no one to ask,” I said. “You, as her daughter, are not her next of kin so you are unable to give consent. I couldn’t ask your father, who I technically assaulted with my power, and your mother was in no state to give consent herself. So where was my authority to act?

“Sometimes I have to make decisions simply because I’m the only one who can. I can’t allow people to learn my secret. You know why, Gracie told you. If the Healer network were to be exposed, it would cease to exist. The Healers would be hounded, persecuted, prosecuted and, eventually, slip away into obscurity, that is if they weren’t murdered by some weird religious nut. Then all those that they could have saved – would die.

“I’ve made mistakes, Dana, and you were right that day about Jasper. I worked those boys over, and the decision to break Jasper’s arm was cold, calculated, and deliberate. I wanted revenge for what he’d done to Jules. He drove that poor girl to the roof of the science building, wanting to end her own life, and for what? Because he wanted access to her father’s money, and he wanted to get his dick wet. I’m still not sure which one was his driving motivation.”

Dana looked at me then came over and put her arms around me, pulling me to her, and laid her head on my chest. I stepped away from the stove, and Ness took over while I held the young girl.

“One thing we never considered,” Dana said, her voice muffled against my chest, “never even spoke about, was that the supe would be a person. That they would have emotions, feelings, and faults. They would be under enormous pressure, coping with everything we norms coped with, as well as their powers on the top of that. I never considered that.

“You saved my mom. She was dying and you Healed her. If we were in ethics class, no doubt I would be raving about abuse given what you did to my father and the nurse, and the fact that you didn’t ask anyone’s permission; you just took it upon yourself to act. But in your actions, you saved her. And I can never ever repay what you did for me, for us.

“The really stupid, sad, and frustrating thing is that I can’t tell anyone. I can’t tell my father that my friend was the man who brought his wife back to him; it was you, and not his precious God, that snatched her from the jaws of death. Knowing him he’ll be claiming miracles and acts of God, meaning HE will be taking vicarious credit for your amazing act.

“But what makes YOU amazing, makes you a supe, is that recognition doesn’t seem to matter to you. You’re not doing this for the accolades. You’re doing it because you can, and because it’s the right thing to do.”

I looked down at her, where she was nestled against me. I had no answers, no affirmation, no rebuttal.

“I’m just like anyone else,” I said, “trying to make my way in the world. I have a slightly bigger toolbox than most other people, but I’m using what tools I’ve got in the best way I know how.

“Dinner’s ready,” said Ness gently and we, Dana and I, parted.

“Go get the others?” I asked Dana. She nodded as Ness and I served up the food and put the plates on the table. It was starting to feel like working in a restaurant. With myself, my girls, Josh, Louise, and now Gracie and Dana, we were feeding nine people at each mealtime. Our grocery bill was soaring even without my voracious appetite when I was training.

I didn’t mind. I loved having all these people around. It felt right to be in a big family and, without hesitation, l considered all of these people to be a part of my family. We sat around the table, eating dinner and chatting about all kinds of things. We spoke mostly about school and going back and it was then I realized that I hadn’t looked up my exam results for last semester. I’d meant to do it weeks ago, but just got side-tracked and forgot all about it.

After dinner, I logged into the college website. I goggled when I saw my results. I had a perfect 4.0. If I carried on like that, I would graduate summa cum laude which would look really good on my transcript. I doubted that I’d have a problem getting a job, if I decided to forego the FBI, but it was a matter of personal pride to do as well as I possibly could. I remembered my results for the first year. I had a solid 3.4 and was literally working my ass off. I grimaced once again. That amulet had a lot to answer for.

It was just after nine, and I noticed that Gracie had her head together with Amanda. As I looked across at them, they both looked at me and grinned. It was almost unnerving and I wondered what they were up to. Actually, that wasn’t true. . .I guessed what they were up to but I wondered what exactly was going to happen.

I didn’t have long to wait to find out.

Gracie stood up and wandered over in my direction. She held out her hand to me and, when I took it, tugged indicating I should get up.

I stood.

She turned her head and held her hand out to Dana, who stood and joined us, taking her hand, and my other hand.

“Caleb,” said Gracie. “You saved my life. You saved Dana’s mom. Even aside from those monumental gifts, we both have a great deal to thank you for. Will you allow us to give you our thanks?”

I looked from Gracie, with her stormy sea green eyes, to Dana, with her piercing blue ones, and both were gazing at me. I glanced across to where my girls were seated watching us. They were all grinning. It seemed that they had been consulted beforehand and had consented to these two ‘borrowing’ me for a while.

“You know that you have nothing to thank me for,” I said.

“Is that a ‘no?’” asked Dana getting closer.

“No,” I said, “but…”

“There’s no buts,” said Gracie, “except these.” She took my hand and placed it on her ass. Dana did the same. I had to admit, having two hands full of my favourite part of anyone’s anatomy wasn’t hurting their case any.

Gracie reached up and pulled my face down to hers for a gentle kiss, while Dana ran her hand down my front and across my very obvious arousal.

“I think someone is ‘up’ for it,” she giggled. I chuckled into Gracie’s mouth and we broke the kiss. Gracie turned, dislodging my hand from her ass, and took it once again in hers. She began to lead me from the living room and into their bedroom. Dana, too, moved, taking my other hand, and followed us in. She closed the door behind her.

This time it was Dana’s turn to step up to me. She cradled my face in her hands.

“Let us,” she began, “if not to thank you, then to show our appreciation for ALL you have done for both of us.” She leaned in and kissed me. It was gentle and loving rather than needy and lustful, yet her kiss promised more. I felt Gracie standing behind me and she began to undo my belt and pants. Dana broke the kiss momentarily while she removed my T-shirt and then closed in to capture my mouth once again.

While Dana was distracting me, Gracie was busily divesting me of my remaining clothing. Soon I was naked, with a very naked Gracie pressed up against my back. I wasn’t sure when she had found the time to get naked, but her body felt hot against mine.

Dana released me, turning me to her lover.  Gracie took both my hands and led me to their bed, pulling me to lie full length in the middle. Meanwhile I heard the susurrous sound of Dana’s clothing as she removed it. I looked at her, and she stopped for a moment appearing very self-conscious. This was the first time I’d seen her naked and she wasn’t sure how I’d react.

She was completely smooth, the only hair, on her body that being on her head and eyebrows. Her body was lean and toned. She obviously exercised. Her breasts were small, maybe an A cup, with small pink nipples that stood out from slightly darker aureole. Her cock was just slightly shorter than mine, and slender. She was circumcised and it had a graceful slight upward curve. The sight of her made my mouth water and my own cock twitch in anticipation.

“Beautiful,” I murmured after gazing at her for a moment. She smiled, and blushed slightly, before sliding onto the bed on my other side to Gracie.

Dana began kissing my chest, as Gracie closed in on me, then began working her way down my body.

“Dana is still a virgin,” Gracie said softly to me. “She wants you to be the one to take her virginity, but not tonight. Is that Okay?”

I opened my mouth to speak, but all that came out was a moan as Dana slid her mouth over the head of my cock. I looked down straight into her piercing blue eyes, the corners of her mouth turned up slightly as she smiled, while she bathed the head of my cock with her tongue.

“If you keep on doing that, I’m not going to last very long.”

“That’s the idea,” said Gracie. “Get the first one out of the way quickly, then we can enjoy the rest of the night together. Besides, since your birthday, Dana has been dying to taste you.”

Dana was really moving now, bobbing up and down on my cock, sliding her lips to about halfway down my length before sucking back up again, all the while lapping at the underside of my cockhead with the slightly rough flat of her tongue. Her hands were busy gently stroking and pulling at my scrotum. Already I could feel the tingle in my belly as my climax approached. I groaned again and Gracie moved in for another kiss. I slid my hand under her body so I could grasp her perfect ass with it, while taking my other hand and bringing it to cup her breast. She slipped her tongue between my lips and began to explore my mouth.  As my hands explored Gracie’s body, Dana brought me closer and closer to release.

Finally, I couldn’t stand it any longer. My hips started to jerk reflexively, and Dana moaned, as I began fucking her mouth. The wanton desire in that sound, and the vibration of the moan, undid me. I gasped as I began to unload into her. My cock throbbed as I shot wads of thick cream into her waiting maw. She didn’t let up at all, continuing the stimulation until she had drained me of everything I had to give. My balls were aching in a very satisfied way.

I laid back, still trembling from the sensations running through my body, as Dana sucked up the last of my cum. She finally popped my still rigid cock from her mouth and moved up the bed until she was kneeling beside me. Gracie knelt up on my other side coming face-to-face with her lover. They began to kiss, their tongues working together, sharing my load between them. Dana, engrossed in what she was doing, didn’t notice what I was doing until it was too late. She gave a squeak and her eyes opened wide as I took her cock into my mouth, determined to return the favour.

Initially she tried to pull away but Gracie held her in place, trapping her in the kiss, by keeping her other hand on Dana’s ass pulling her into my mouth. She tasted wonderful; the musky perfume of her sweat filled my nostrils and the sweet salty tang of her precum was delicious on my tongue. After a moment she stopped fighting, and her hand dropped to hold my head in place, as she started to move her hips. I allowed her to move in place, sliding her cock in and out of my mouth, fucking my face, while I worked my tongue over the underside of her head, which was a little difficult given the angle I was at. I brought my hand up and cupped the cheek of her ass, rhythmically pulling her into me, encouraging her to take what she needed. My other hand stroked and teased at her balls.

I decided for the moment not to use any powers, saving things for later. This, I’d assumed, was just the prelude to something much more.

Dana was moaning into Gracie’s mouth, her thrusts becoming more powerful, and less co-ordinated, as her body took over. I saw Gracie’s hand go to Dana’s breasts and tweak and pull at the younger girl’s nipples. That was enough to tip Dana over and she whined deep in her throat as I felt her cock pulse in my mouth filling it with her thick, creamy, salty-sweet cum.

I kept moving, continuing the gentle stimulation as her cock throbbed, gifting me with more of her nectar. I was forced to swallow some, or lose it and I didn’t want to waste a drop of her delicious offering. As the spasms slowed, I brought my hand forward and milked the remainder of her cum into my mouth, cleaning her head with my tongue before finally releasing her. A gentle lap at the underside of her cock head caused her to jump and giggle.

Dana sat back on her haunches, released by Gracie who had a new target. She turned my head and immediately plundered my mouth claiming her share of the spoils. We kissed for a good few minutes while we shared Dana’s bounty before each swallowing our share.

Finally she released me. By this time, Dana had laid down alongside me and I turned to gaze into her eyes.

“Thank you,” I said.

“I…” she began, then smiled. “Thank you,” she returned. “I wasn’t sure…”

“You are beautiful, Dana, and later I’d like to talk to you about where you want to get to. But now,” I grinned a little evilly, “I think we owe Gracie.”

Dana caught my grin, and Gracie squeaked as I rolled over, grabbed her and rolled back pulling her between Dana and myself.

Dana kissed her while I dipped my head and went to work on her breasts.

Since Gracie and I had been together before, I wasn’t shy about using my powers with her. It wasn’t long before she was mewing into Dana’s mouth as I, and my TK, nibbled, licked, and sucked at her nipples.

I was about to move south when I saw Dana’s hand slide down Gracie’s belly and move to her pussy. She began to massage, rubbing over Gracie’s clit, as her hips began to undulate. Dana dipped her finger into Gracie’s honey pot bringing it out covered in her juices and used that to diddle her clit. That stimulation added to the kiss, and what I was doing to her nipples, soon had Gracie climbing toward her orgasm.

Dana moved her hand and slid her middle two fingers into her lover, curling them forward, and began rubbing at Gracie’s g-spot. Gracie had turned her head from Dana, trying to catch her breath as she panted, her orgasm closing fast. Dana looked at me and grinned as she fingered the older woman, her pussy frothing with the motion.

I winked at Dana and with a flex of TK started working Gracie’s clit.

That was too much and Gracie shrieked, arching her back, as she hit her climax. Dana didn’t let up almost brutally fingerfucking her as she rode out her orgasm, wet squelching noises emanated from her pussy as she foamed and squirted around her young lover’s fingers. I, too, kept up the stimulation on her clit and nipples until, with a gasp, Gracie grabbed Dana’s wrist holding her still as she rode the dying throes of her cum.

I eased off and Gracie relaxed onto the bed, panting and trying to catch her breath.

“You, Mr. Stott,” said Dana, “are a cheat.”

I smiled at her while tweaking both her nipples gently with TK from my position well out of arms reach.

She jumped but then groaned at the sudden stimulation.

“Complaints?” I asked. She smiled at me and shook her head.

Gracie moved off to the side until Dana was, once more, laid between us. Despite coming only ten or fifteen minutes ago, her cock still stood up tall and proud and was bobbing gently in time with her heartbeat.

I leaned up on my elbow and looked down at her.

“You really are beautiful,” I said.

She smiled. “Thanks,” she said. “There are some things I want to change though.”

“Such as?” I asked running my hand over her smooth stomach. She shivered. Gracie also leant up on Dana’s other side to watch and listen in.

“My breasts are too small,” she said. “It seems that the hormones aren’t going to increase the size. My doctor says the only way to go bigger is surgery, so that’s on my list.”

I cupped one of her breasts in my hand. I was never one for huge breasts. If a woman had them naturally then fine, but artificial breasts were actually a turn off for me.

“How big did you want to go?” I asked.

“Not huge,” she said, “maybe a b or a c cup. No more than that. I want them to look and feel natural.”

I nodded.

“What else.”

“I need lazer treatment” she said. “Again, hormones are kind of keeping my beard at bay, but it still grows in. . .and on the rest of my body too. I like being smooth, and Gracie likes it too.” She smiled at her girlfriend who smiled back.”

“And what about this?” I asked, grasping her cock and squeezing slightly. She moaned.

“For a while,” she said, “I was seriously considering having it removed. I don’t hate it, and it feels good. But girls didn’t have cocks and I felt like a girl inside. But the more I think about it, the more I live my life the way I want to, the more I realize it doesn’t matter. What matters is how I feel about it, and how my lovers feel about it.

“If I were to get it removed, I could get some of my sperm frozen and if and when I wanted kids, I could father them. Maybe medical science would give me the option of carrying children one day, but since I’m bi, with more of a leaning to girls, the chances are I’m going to end up with a girl.”

She took Gracie’s hand.

“Why go through all that pain, suffering and cost, when I could simply keep my cock, and impregnate my lover the ‘old fashioned’ way. That is,” she said gazing at Gracie, “if my lover wants children?”

“Your lover definitely wants children,” Gracie said. “Not yet, but I do. I know we’ve only been together a short time, but I’d love to think that one day I could be carrying your baby.”

Dana leaned up and kissed Gracie, I stayed quiet giving them space to be together. Since I was doing nothing else I ‘looked’ at Dana. Turning her hair production off would be simplicity itself. I could stop her body hair from growing with no difficulty at all. Stopping her beard would take a little longer simply because I’d have to be more accurate about which hair follicles I switched off. I didn’t want her to lose the hair on her head.

Encouraging her breasts to develop also would be fairly easy. It would probably take about three to four weeks for them to grow in fully, but after that, she’d be set.

I was glad she was keeping her cock. It would be very difficult to remove it and form a vagina with any kind of sensation, but also it was a very beautiful cock and I would like the opportunity to play with it some more.

I realized that the girls had stopped talking and were looking at me. I, on the other hand, was staring at Dana’s body.

“What?” asked Dana looking a little self-conscious again.

“May I?” I asked.

Gracie grinned at me, knowing full well what I was asking, but Dana looked confused.

“What?” she said.

“This is not an emergency,” I said. “I’m asking for your consent. I can stop all your hair growing other than that on your head and eyebrows. I can also encourage your breasts to grow. We can go with a B cup to start and see how you feel. If you want more, then we can go more.

“I’m really glad you’re keeping this, though.” I said once more squeezing her cock gently. “It really is a beautiful cock.”

Dana was staring at me tears in her eyes.

“You can…” she began.

Gracie leaned forward.

“Look what he did for me,” she said gently into Dana’s ear, “and for your mom. If he can do brain surgery, surely a little boob job isn’t beyond him.”

“You can?” Dana asked the question this time.

“I can,” I said. “The hair would be instant. The boobs will take about a month to grow in.”

Dana’s erection had faded, her attention on something far more important to her than sex just now. I lay alongside her, my hand on her chest, and I could feel her heart pounding.

She stared at me for a long moment, then threw her arms around me causing me to fall onto my back. She scrambled on top of me, holding me to her, and feathering kisses on my face, while tears ran down hers.

Dana’s mind had been taken off sex, but now she was sitting astride me, my cock was nestling in the crack of her ass, and it noticed. Within seconds it was rock hard and pressing up against her. Finally, she noticed.

She stopped kissing my face and sat up slightly, trapping my cock between my belly and her natal cleft. She smiled at me slyly and moved her hips forward and back a little, hotdogging me.

I grunted at the stimulation.

“I guess,” she said. “I’m going to have something else to thank you for.”

“Save that for another night,” said Gracie. “You still haven’t given him permission.”

Dana looked at Gracie. “What? Oh. Yes. Of course, yes. FUCK YESS!!!!!”

I grinned up at her.

“While Dr. Caleb is consulting,” said Gracie. “Can I get a favour too?”

“What do you need?” I asked.

“I want you to stop me having kids until I’m ready,” she said. “I can’t take the pill, and I was going to get an IUD. Dana and I have had to use condoms and I hate them. I want to be able to feel her cum shooting inside me.”

That was but a moments work and it was done.

“Done,” I said. Dana looked at me.

“I’m going to have to take a little more time with you,” I said. “Stop teasing me for a few minutes and we can get it done.”

Dana grinned clenching her ass and gripping my cock between her cheeks. It was sliding back and forth easily now lubricated by my precum. She wiggled a couple more times and then dismounted, lying down between her girlfriend and me.”

It took no time at all to switch off her body hair production. And only a few minutes more to carefully map out the places on her face where I didn’t want hair to grow.

I stroked my hand over her chest, imagining her breasts becoming larger. I visualized them, increasing the size of her aureole a little, as I gently rolled and pinched her nipple between my finger and thumb. I got everything in place in my mind and then started to transfer that image to make it a reality.  I, all the while, continued to play with her nipple. She really was delicious to play with, top and bottom.

In the end I couldn’t resist for any longer, and leaned forward, bringing my lips to hers and kissing her.

Her cock, having decided it wasn’t getting attention and had gone to sleep, woke up all of a sudden and in seconds stood proud, bobbing up and down in time with her heart beat.

I felt Gracie move, and then Dana stiffen, as she took her in her mouth working her cock with her tongue. Dana mewed into my mouth but then pulled away.

She popped her cock out of Gracie’s mouth and then pushed me down on the bed, leaning down to kiss me again, as felt Gracie move. Gracie knelt up, straddled me, and then grabbed my cock, running the head of it up and down her pussy lips and coating me with her juices. She held me in position and then sank down onto it, taking me to the hilt in one long languorous movement. We both groaned at the sensation, and Dana grinned at me.

“Good, isn’t she?” she said. I had to agree. Gracie felt amazing wrapped around me. She was a perfect snug fit. I could feel every inch of me being massaged by every inch of her. She moaned again and began to gyrate her hips sending tingles up and down my spine. I reached up and palmed her tits, finding her nipples and pinching and rolling them between my fingers. She moaned again and lifted up a little allowing me to slip out of her some before dropping back down, impaling herself fully on my cock and mashing her clit against me.

She reached to the side and grabbed hold of Dana’s cock, drawing her closer so that she could suck on her while she fucked me. Dana stood up on the bed making it easier for Gracie to reach her while riding me cowgirl style. I, for want of something to do with my hands and TK, set them roaming Gracie’s body stimulating her clit with my TK and her nipples with my fingers. I also saw no reason why Dana shouldn’t get a little extra stimulation also, so her nipples also received attention from my TK.

I kind of lost focus for a while after that. Dana had moved so she was standing astride my chest holding Gracie’s head in her hands and facefucking her. Gracie had her hands on my chest and was feasting on her lover while riding my cock with rare skill, clenching on every upstroke and thrusting down hard, battering her clit into submission against my pelvic bone. She and Dana could both feel my TK, Gracie on her clit, and it was fast revving her up towards her peak, and Dana on her nipples, and she wasn’t very far behind.

Gracie, keeping her hands on my chest for leverage, was tweaking and pulling at my nipples. I was enjoying the view, between watching Dana’s cock disappearing into Gracie’s mouth, seeing her smooth balls swinging, and asshole winking at me from just a few feet away. I licked my lips, wanting to drill my tongue into that tight little star. That thought, along with the view and what Gracie was doing to my cock, had me fast approaching my own climax.

I’d never really watched someone’s balls as they were getting close to cumming before, but I saw Dana’s lift as the scrotum tightened. I knew that she was about to blow down Gracie’s throat. I could also feel Gracie’s movements becoming faster, and more uncoordinated, as she too was about to reach her climax. I was lagging a little behind and so I pushed back both of their orgasms, holding them on the very precipice of climax, getting more and more frantic with each movement searching,  needing, wanting, the drop to blessed relief yet not quite able to reach it. It was teasing, tantalizing, and delicious. It was that thought that pushed me over the edge and I began to pulse, shooting rope after rope of thick creamy spunk into Gracie’s pussy. I released both their orgasms at the same time. Dana, clutched Gracie’s head, pushing her cock as far down Gracie’s throat as she could as she emptied the contents of that beautiful smooth sack into her lover. Having us both spunking into her at the same time drove Gracie wild. She thrashed and twitched as her own huge orgasm tore through her. She couldn’t go anywhere though. I had her pinned to me, holding her hips tight as I ground my still throbbing cock deep inside her, and Dana held her head in place as she also finished dumping a huge load down her throat.

We sat still for a long second, then Dana released Gracie and stepped back almost falling off the bed. I supported her with TK and helped her lay down beside me. Gracie sat stunned atop me for a few more seconds and then slumped forward, head on my chest, panting. I got the sense that she would have shared Dana’s cum with me, but she’d not been allowed any of the cream in her mouth. Dana had shot it all straight down her throat. Gracie purred in contented bliss.

Dana snuggled up to the side of us since Gracie was still laid on top of me, my cock still inside her, although it was about to make a very wet and messy exit.

Gracie rolled off me, expertly avoiding a mess, and darted out of the room. I heard the girls, who were still up and in the living room, giggling as a naked, and obviously well fucked, Gracie streaked past them.

I heard Amanda call out. “Don’t waste it, bring it here.” But she was out of luck as I heard the bathroom door close.

I felt Amanda pout through the connection, and I laughed.

“What’s funny?” asked Dana.

“Amanda,” I said. “She wanted to do the cleanup, but Gracie, I think, didn’t hear her.”

Dana lifted her head up to look at me. She’d been resting on my shoulder.

“Don’t you mind your girls being with other people?” she asked.

“Don’t you mind Gracie being with me?” I returned.

“You’re different,” she said.

“As Empaths,” I said, “Mary and Amanda need to share. I’m sure they will both be interested in spending some time with you at some point.”

“And Jules and Ness?” she asked.

“Jules and Ness are Norms,” I said. “No physical need to share. I wouldn’t stop them if they wanted to, and both have expressed that they wouldn’t mind sharing with other girls, but both have said that they are not interested in sharing with any other men.

“They say that mine is the only cock they want.”

Dana nodded.

“I understand,” she said. “I don’t think they considered me, or other trans girls, when they said they would be happy to share with girls. They meant Cis girls. It’s not the gender, it’s the cock.”

“I don’t know,” I said. “They may be okay with you, but it’s up to them. In the same way as I wouldn’t force you to do anything you didn’t want, I wouldn’t let them be forced or coerced into doing something they didn’t want.”

“What about Josh?” she asked.

“Josh would fuck you in a New York minute,” I said, “and Louise would be happy to watch.”

“I meant Josh with Jules and Ness,” She clarified.

“They’ve already told him no,” I said, “and he’s fine with that. Can I show you?”

“Show me?” she asked.

“I can give you memories of events,” I said, “so you can see for yourself.”

She nodded. I gave her the memory of the discussion between Jules and Josh.

I saw her assimilate it and then she nodded again.

“I see,” she said. “So, Jules and Ness are out of bounds?”

“Not out of bounds,” I said. “That would imply I set rules. Each person will decide what they want to do and when. You never know. Talk to them about it, not me. I am happy for them to do whatever makes them happy.”

Dana stared at me for a moment.

“Not completely,” she said. “Although I see you are trying.”

I grimaced. “I was brought up a norm. I still have issues thinking of any of my girls being fucked by other guys. With Amanda and Mary, I’m pretty okay with because of their need to share. On the other hand, I’m less than eager to see Jules and Ness with another man. But if that’s what they want, then it’s up to them. I’ll deal with it. I recognise the hypocrisy of it all, but I can’t help how I feel.”

Dana nodded. “Will you stay with us tonight?” she asked.

“If that’s what you both want,” I said.

“It is,” said Gracie coming back through the door. “The other girls have gone to bed, and I think Amanda got a little worked up seeing me dripping with your cum. I think they’re going to be playing for a while.”

“You should have let her clean you up,” I said.

“I would have,” said Gracie, “but I really needed to pee, and I wanted to get back in here before you left. I was hoping to persuade you to stay in here tonight. I see Dana beat me to it.”

“She did,” I said. “I’d love to spend the night with you two lovely ladies.”

Gracie grinned. “You old smoothie you.”

“Hey, less of the old,” I said. “If we’re looking for old people in the room…”

I got a face full of pillow for that crack.

We tussled and tickled for a few seconds but soon settled down. I ended up on my back with both girls resting their heads on my shoulders.

“Caleb?” Dana said. I looked down at her.

“Yes?”

“Thank you,” she said. “For everything. Ever since we met, you have looked out for me. You turned my life around, and without you I’d have never met the woman I love. Not to mention the little matter of you saving my mother’s life.”

“You’re welcome,” I said. “It was definitely my pleasure.”

They both snuggled into me, and I washed my power over us all, soothing us all to sleep.

+++++

It was strange waking up in a strange bed and not snuggled up to my girls.

I gently extricated myself and went into our bedroom. All four of my girls were in a pile in the middle of the bed, fast asleep. I smiled and went into the bathroom.

It had been some time since I’d seen Kevin at the Dojo and he seemed pleased to see me. We started out sparring and it seemed that we were much more evenly matched. I had all of his knowledge and experience, and I’d trained for several hours every morning to consolidate it.

“I don’t think,” he said, “that there’s much more I can teach you.”

“I’d like to keep coming and sparring though,” I said, “if that’s okay?”

“Sure,” he said. “But let’s not be so formal about it. I’ll expect you when I see you. You don’t need to let me know. What about Tuesday nights?”

“I’ll still teach the class,” I said, “at least until I finish school.”

He nodded “That would be good. They are used to you and are making good progress. Besides half the class are your fiancées and friends in any case.”

I smiled at him.

When I got back to the house, Ness was in the kitchen making breakfast. She came over and pulled me into a hug.

“I missed you last night,” she said. “Are you going to be sleeping with them often?”

“No,” I said. “Last night was a special thing.”

“Caleb,” she said, looking embarrassed, “I know I said I’d probably be happy to play with other girls,”

“Yes,” I said.

“And I know Dana’s a girl…”

I looked at her. “As Dana said last night, it’s not the gender, it’s the cock.”

“It feels weird to say,” she explained, “but playing with the girls just seems like fun, playing with another cock would seem like cheating.”

“I told you before,” I said, “nobody is going to make you do anything you don’t want to. It’s always going to be your choice who you touch and who touches you. I also told you that I wouldn’t let anyone pressure or coerce you into doing something you didn’t want to do, and I won’t.

“Dana wouldn’t do that in any case. She’s a lovely girl. She understands. Besides, I think she’ll have her hands full with Gracie, Louise, Mary , Amanda and Josh.”

“And you,” said Ness.

“Does that bother you?” I asked still worried that it hurt her as much as the thought of her with another guy hurts me.

She shook her head.

“Not at all,” she said. “It’s weird but I know you belong to us, and you’ll always come back. I didn’t like you not being there last night, but I guess I’m going to have to get used to that if you’re going off to Quantico in a next year.

“I hope all the girls don’t leave. I’d be lonely all by myself here.”

“We won’t” said Mary coming into the kitchen. “Amanda is looking for a job in the local school, and I already have prospects locally also. If we continue to get the grades we’ve gotten so far, we’ll be golden. Once Caleb has finished his academy training and becomes an agent, I’ll bet he’ll be posted to the local field office too.”

I raised my eyebrow at that. “And you know this how?” I asked.

“A little birdie was told that if not,” replied Mary, “she’d never see that collar again.”

“Blackmail?” I asked, she grinned.

“What collar?” asked Ness. I saw Mary give her a memory. Ness assimilated and then flushed, her arousal coursing through our connection.

“Wow,” said Amanda entering the kitchen. “What did he do to you?” she looked from me to Ness.

“Not me,” I said, “your sister.”

“I showed her how Caleb forgave Grams,” Mary said.

Amanda grinned.

“That appeals to you does it,” she stalked up to Ness and pulled her close, bringing her hand up to the younger girls throat and squeezing ever so slightly.

Ness flushed even more, her arousal level went up a few notches.

“Don’t tease her,” I said. “You haven’t got time to relieve her. And neither does she. She has to go and register at the catering college this morning and be back here pretty quick.  The rest of her stuff, and her car, is arriving this afternoon.”

Amanda held Ness a moment longer before leaning in and kissing her hard on the mouth before finally releasing her. Ness stood, shivering for a moment before she gathered herself.

I’d taken over cooking to prevent the breakfast burning while Amanda was playing with Ness.

“How’s Ness getting to college?” asked Amanda.

“I was going to drop her off,” I said, “and then she could uber back.”

“Why don’t we travel in together, and she can take my car?” asked Amanda. “It won’t take a minute online to add her to my insurance.”

Ness smiled at her but shook her head. “I don’t know the town,” she said. “I’d rather not be driving a strange car in a strange town the first time. I would hate to damage it.”

Amanda shrugged. “It’s a car,” she said. “As long as you were alright, I wouldn’t care.”

Ness went and hugged Amanda kissing her on the cheek. “You are lovely,” she said, “but I think we’ll stick with plan A. That way I don’t have to find a place to park. I’ll be stressed enough about getting my registration done without having other stuff to think about.”

Amanda hugged her back. “Okay then,” she said, “but the offer’s there.”

I served up breakfast and we all sat down. Gracie and Dana came in. Dana looked at me and blushed.

“Have a good time last night?” asked Amanda grinning. Gracie returned the grin while Dana blushed even more but smiled.

“Thanks for the loan,” said Gracie.

“Anytime,” said Mary, “but overnights for special occasions only, okay? We missed him in bed last night.”

Dana’s face clouded. “I’m sorry I didn’t think…”

“Hey,” said Ness going to her and putting her arms around her. “It was fine. Yes, we missed him, but we’re all glad you had a good time.”

Dana looked at Ness gratefully.

“You are wonderful,” she said.

Ness decided to be brazen. “I know,” she said breezily and went back to serving up the breakfast.

“Modest much?” asked Jules as she came through the door.

Ness grinned at her, placing plates on the table. We all sat down to eat.

After breakfast we broke up into our groups. Gracie had appointments to see her doctors today, a prelude to being allowed back to work. Dana was going to travel in with Josh and Louise. Mary, Amanda, and Jules were going to travel in together in Amanda’s car, and I was taking Ness with me and dropping her at the college.

The girls all fussed over Ness, making sure she had her phone, some money, and everything else she needed for college until finally she quipped “Jeez, I left one mom behind and gained three more.”

I heard Gracie use her line on Dana as she kissed her cheek. “Have a nice day at school, dear.” Dana grinned at her.

“Yes, mom,” she said, and Gracie swatted her on the ass as she turned away. She yelped and laughed.

I dropped Ness at the catering college. I had intended to go to school and spend my first week getting the lay of the land with my classes. I’d introduce myself to my professors and see what their thoughts on attendance at classes were. If they counted it toward the final grade, or if they didn’t care as long as the work was turned in.

I was, fortunately, between classes when I felt something strange along the connection from Ness.

“Ness?” there was no answer.

I frowned and pushed my awareness along the connection. Normally I’d ask permission to access a person’s senses, but the fact that there was something weird going on, and that Ness wasn’t answering me, overrode the niceties.

Ness was sitting in a classroom. There were probably about twenty other people in the class, a mix of boys and girls. They were all sitting staring at the lecturer who was standing at the front of the class, being sucked by a student who was kneeling topless in front of him.

I could see the strings of control he was exerting over the entire class, holding them in position while this girl was forced to fellate him.

“That will do,” he said. The girl got up, pulled her top up, and headed back to her seat.

“Next,” shouted the lecturer, and another girl got up. She was on the front row, two rows in front of Ness and about two seats along. She pulled her top down, and knelt in front of the professor and began to suck him.

“HMMM,” he said. “You have skills. I’ll remember you.”

Rage flowed through me, and I ran toward the parking lot, splitting my attention between what was going on in Ness’s classroom and what I was doing.

He’d finished with that girl, and moved on to the next. The next person was actually a guy. That didn’t seem to phase the professor at all. The boy, not bothering to remove his shirt, simply knelt down and began. The professor frowned.

“Terrible,” he said. “You have a lot to learn. Have you ever had a blowjob? Use your tongue, close your lips around it, mind your teeth. Better. Now push forward and take it down your throat. Boys are usually better at that for some reason.”

I saw the boy in front of him gag and pull back.

“You’ll learn,” he said. “Next!”

It was about a ten minute drive from PSU to the catering college and I made it in five. There were, luckily, no police around. I dumped my truck outside the door, ignoring the protests of some official or other. I ran into the college, and used the connection to locate Ness.

She was on the fourth floor, in a classroom toward the back of the building.

I ran up the stairs, watching as the student before Ness stood and walked to the front of the class. She undid her top, and knelt before the professor, just as I got to the classroom door. It was locked.

My TK took care of that. I blasted it open, not wasting time with the finer points of unlocking the door.

“WHAT THE…” yelled the professor as I strode into the room, immediately breaking his hold on all the students there. The girl who was kneeling down in front of the teacher let out a squeal and tried to cover her breasts.

“What is the meaning of this?” yelled the professor. At the same time, I felt pressure on my shields as he tried to take control of me. I shrugged him off easily. He was the strongest wild I’d come across yet, but still no match.

“Caleb?” asked Ness. I held my hand up to her to wait.

He had shields. I don’t know who had taught him, but they were reasonable. Maybe he’d figured it out. They lasted no time at all as I tore them down. Then I Compelled him to lie face down on the floor, with his hands behind his head, and say nothing.

I locked that Compulsion off for now.

Shit.

I had a classroom full of people staring at me.

“Hi” I smiled “I’m Caleb. FBI.” I flipped open my FBI credentials.

I need you all to sit back down at your desks, take out a pen and paper, and write down everything that you remember happening since you came into this classroom.

The girl who had been kneeling before the professor had managed to close up her top and, blushing furiously, returned to her seat.

I used my Empathy to roll out trust, compliance, faith, and relaxation. They all sat down and started to write.

Ness came up to me.

“Caleb?” she said. “What happened?”

“Later,” I said. “I need you to write the statement too please.”

She nodded and went back to her desk pulling out pen and paper from her backpack.

I pulled out my phone.

It took twenty five minutes for Maggie and Dianna both to arrive.

There were two other agents with them.

“Tell me again.” said Maggie.

“I was between classes when I got a weird feeling from Ness,” I said, “through the connection. I piggybacked onto her senses, and saw,” I looked around and pointed out a girl, “that girl on her knees in front of him, giving him a blowjob. He dismissed her and then moved on to the next. It was like he was assessing their skills. He went through them all, girls and boys alike. He got to her,” I pointed out the last girl before Ness, “by the time I got here.

“I removed his shields, put him down, got the class writing statements and called you.”

“So, he still has his power?” she asked.

I nodded. “I didn’t want to do anything permanent before talking to you,” I replied.

“Gregory,” she shouted to an agent, “go get a collar from the car.”

Gregory darted off and came back a few minutes later with a collar like the one I’d seen Zachariah wearing in the judge’s chambers.

Maggie stood with it ready. “I need you to release your Compulsion before I put it on,” she said. “You won’t be able to connect to him once it’s in place.”

I didn’t disabuse her of that notion. We got the professor handcuffed first, and then Maggie stood behind him, the collar around his neck but still not closed.

I released the Compulsion, and she snapped it shut. Instantly the little blue light began blinking.

“What’s going on?” asked the professor suddenly coming to himself.

“I’m ADD Forbes from the FBI. You are under arrest. A full list of charges will be read to you. Gregory, take him.”

The professor was led away.

“May I?” I asked the nearest student indicating their statement and he nodded.

He, and presumably all of them, remembered everything. I wondered if the professor was going to Compel them to forget at the end of the class, or just not allow the students to reveal what happened to anyone. That would have been a sick torture. I made a mental note to go and speak to Daisy and make sure that she was not still carrying some form of Compulsion, although I doubted it. I would have expected to have noticed such a thing when I read her mind.

“What a fucking mess,” said Dianna. “We have twenty students, who remember witnessing someone using Mind Control on them, and then Superman here blasting the door open and using Mind Control on him. Talk about cat out of the bag…

“Couldn’t you have been a little bit more discrete?”

I glared at Dianna. “Ness was next in line. I was watching. If he’d have gotten to her, I would have thrown him out of the fucking window before I let him touch her.”

Maggie grinned. “That might have been preferable,” she said. “But now you are well and truly ‘outed.’”

“He could make us all forget,” said the girl who’d been on her knees when I came in.

“What?” asked Dianna.

“The professor said,” she explained, “that after we left the class, we’d forget everything that went on in here. So, maybe we will forget in any case. But if not. He could do it. Couldn’t you?” she looked at me with wide eyes.”

Ness, sitting behind her, rolled her eyes and mock simpered at me.

I grinned at her.

“Dianna.” Maggie said, “Can you get all their memories please. If they have been programmed to forget, then that might be the best idea. We can test the theory in a moment.”

I reached into Ness’ mind and saw the compulsion to forget there. I removed it, mentally telling her what I’d done. She nodded at me, a small smile on her face.

All the statements were collected in, Dianna collected memories from each of the students, then they were led from the room. As they each crossed the threshold, they looked surprised to see the smashed door, and the FBI agents there. Apparently, their memories had been wiped.

I was standing outside the classroom waiting for Ness, when the girl with the wide eyes came over.

“Hi,” she said smiling at me. “I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Tiffany.”

“Tiffany,” said Ness walking up alongside me, “this is Caleb, my fiancé.”

Tiffany looked from Ness to me, disappointment in her face.

“Oh,” she said. “Nice to meet you.”

“And you,” I said. then I turned to Ness.

“Are you finished with Registration?” I asked.

Ness nodded. “We were finished with that an hour ago,” she said. “Then the professor said he wanted a word, as our cadre leader, and asked us to join him in the classroom.”

“What happened to the door?” asked Tiffany, looking at the smashed and splintered door.

“I don’t know,” said Ness. “I was going to ask you.”

“Come on,” I said. “I’ll take you home.”

Ness took my hand as we walked down the corridor, down the stairs and out to my truck. The parking attendant was still stood by it. There were three other vehicles parked beside it. Two of which still had their red and blue lights flashing.

“I’m moving it now,” I said. He looked at me and just sighed. “Whatever,” he said, dropping his hands to his sides. I grinned at him.

I held the door for Ness, and then walked round to get in the other side.

As I got in, I was hit by a cannon ball of a teenager, throwing her arms around me, bawling her eyes out.

“Ness?” I asked surprised.

“I was so scared,” she said. “I knew immediately what had happened as soon as he closed the door it was like I’d been shoved aside. I had no control. He told us to sit in alphabetical order. That’s the only reason I was so far back. If I’d had a last name beginning with an earlier letter, I’d have…”

“No,” I said. “I was watching. I wouldn’t have let him touch you. Couldn’t you feel me coming?”

“I couldn’t feel the connection. I tried to call for you, to shout for help, but I’d been cut off from everything. All I could do was sit and watch what was happening. I watched as my ‘turn’ got closer and closer. I saw all the boys and girls sucking on the sick old perv’s little cock. Then Tiffany went up. I knew that once she was done, it would be me going up there showing everyone my tits, kneeling down, and sucking on that rancid dick.

“Then the door crashed open, and you were there. You came in like an avenging angel. You need a theme song by the way,” she smiled wetly, her eyes still streaming. “You saved me. . .again.”

“And I always will,” I said holding onto her.

It took a few minutes for her to gather herself, and then we set off for home.

Both Amanda’s and Louise’s car were outside the house when we got home. I pulled into the garage, and had barely turned the engine off, when the backdoor opened and everyone came rushing out. My girls descended on the truck and all but dragged Ness out of her seat and into a hug. Josh and Louse stood back. I climbed out of the truck and we all went into the house.

Ness told her story once again to an enraptured audience. I made lunch.

I was just finishing up when Jules came into the kitchen and put her arms around me.

“Thank you,” she said. “You saved my sister once again.”

“You know I always will,” I said. “That’s why I was so mad at her for breaking the connection that time.”

“Mom and Daddy say thanks too,” said Jules.

“You told them?” I asked.

“Ness did. She called them when she finished telling her story,” Jules replied.

“Will you let people know lunch is ready?” I asked and she nodded going out of the kitchen.

I sighed. Today had been a close call. What if I’d just assumed that Ness had wanted to concentrate on what she was doing and not chat during her lecture? What if I’d been unable to reach her in time? Mary and Amanda had ways to defend themselves from Power users; they had shields. I needed to figure out a way for Ness and Jules to protect themselves in some way.

I considered the collars. If they could wear some kind of device that would block connections to their minds, then that might work? If those collars worked, then why didn’t FBI agents who were going after power users wear them? Why use drugs that made them sick. It made no sense.

I needed more information about the collars, and I also needed to learn more about Compulsion. Unfortunately, I couldn’t learn it from any of my family. They had all been mentally castrated by the Eversons. I needed an expert.

Everyone trooped in and took their places around the table. I found it interesting that people always took the same seats. I, of course, sat at the head of the table. Mary and Amanda took a seat either side of me, then Jules. Ness sat next to Jules while Louise and Josh sat on the opposite side. Dana and Gracie were seated side by side, Gracie sitting next to Ness and Dana next to her.

Even if someone was absent, people wouldn’t move up. They sat in, what had become, their seats.

We’d finished eating and I was busy clearing up when there was a knock on our front door. I opened it to find a guy there with a clipboard. A car transporter was parked on the road in front of our drive.

“Vanessa Steadman?” he looked at me.

“Do I look like a Vanessa?” I asked and he grinned at me.

“Hey, I don’t judge.”

“Ness,” I shouted, and Ness emerged from the living room. She showed ID and then the guy took her outside and unloaded her car. He asked her to make sure there was no damage, which she did, before signing his form.

He left and Ness parked her car on the driveway. With my truck and Amanda’s car in the garage, Ness’, Louise’s, and Gracie’s car on the driveway we had no off-street parking left.

The car transporter had barely turned the corner at the end of the road when another truck appeared with the remainder of her belongings. We unloaded them and spent time figuring out where to put all the stuff.

“Do you have ANYTHING left at the ranch?” I complained, trying to find a place for a stuffed bear.

Ness grinned at me. “Not much,” she admitted but Jules snorted.

“She’d fill this place all by herself if you let her,” Jules said. I laughed.

I spent the afternoon looking for a contractor to come and look at doing the remodelling work, and made a couple of appointments for them to come and look at the job.

Maggie turned up just after six, as I was cooking dinner.

“Is this just lucky timing or did you want dinner?” I asked. She grinned at me. I laughed.

Over dinner, after Ness had caught Gracie and Dana up on the happenings of the day, Maggie told us what happened to the professor.

“He was interrogated by Dianna,” she said. “He’s been working at that school for ten years. Every year he has a cadre of students that does exceptionally well. Mainly because he Compels them to study and work hard. He also turns them into his personal ‘servants.’

“Apparently his M.O. was to ‘test drive’ the students on the first day, and find out which ones were any good. The good ones would be Compelled to his house on the weekend where he would ‘road test’ them further. When he was satisfied with the ones he wanted, he would host parties, which people would pay to attend and be serviced by these students. He also made movies with them, most of which were privately sold to a select group of clients, although one or two have found their way into general circulation. He was making a very tidy sum from his side-line, not to mention having his own fantasies fulfilled.

“So what’s going to happen to him?” asked Jules.

“Well, we have him for about two hundred counts of psi rape over the period of the last ten years. The statute of limitations has not expired for a good portion of those rapes. Safe to say he’ll be going to Kansas, probably for the rest of his life.

“Kansas?” asked Dana.

“There is a special facility there to house Powered criminals.”

“How do you stop them forcing the guards to let them out?” asked Amanda.

“They never meet the guards,” said Maggie. “Everything is done remotely via remote control and automated systems. Inmates are kept in solitary confinement. They have access to books, television, films, even limited access to the internet. They can interact with each other via video chat. They each have mini gyms in their cells and are encouraged to exercise daily. Their food and everything they need is provided electronically.”

“What if they take ill?” asked Dana, who I could see was very uncomfortable with the thought of this facility.

“There are cameras in each cell,” said Maggie, “capable of taking vital signs, heart rate, respirations and the like. There are also sensors in their beds that can also detect the same. If a prisoner becomes unwell, they are examined remotely. If their vital signs support that they are unwell, then, and only then, will someone go into the cell with a collar. They are monitored remotely until the prisoner is collared then they will be taken to the medical facility to receive care.”

“And what if they’re faking and they take the person with the collar hostage?” asked Mary.

“Then the cell is immediately flooded with a fast acting anaesthetic gas, rendering both the prisoner and their hostage unconscious. Then we go in, collar the prisoner and still take them for examination, and take the guard also to the medical wing to recover from the gas.”

“I meant to ask,” I said. “If those collars block mental connections, why don’t you guys use them on takedowns? Why drug up when it makes you so sick?”

“The collars interfere much more with mental processes,” said Maggie. “You know that the amulet you wore reduced your memory and your mental acuity, but only by a percentage – probably about five to ten percent. The collars are much more powerful. They have to be, since the users are often much more powerful and have had use of their powers. That means they are very disruptive to thoughts. They kill short term memory, reduce concentration spans, and prevent people from using powers, not only by blocking the connections, but also by making it that they don’t have the mental acuity to formulate the commands required. Also, their effect is cumulative. The longer they are worn, the more suppression occurs. If we were to leave someone collared for, say, six months, they would effectively be a drone, receptive to commands, but having no independent thought of their own. That would also be permanent.

“They are only licensed for short term use. No longer than eight hours at most. There have been no long-term effects noted on people who have worn them for less than twenty-four hours, but they wanted to err on the side of caution.”

I could see that Dana had many more questions, but she decided not to voice them. She had only just learned about powers, but she found that they scared her, a lot.

After dinner I took Maggie out onto the deck to speak to her.

“I need to find a way to protect Ness and Jules from powers,” I said. “I seem to keep running into powered people and, Ness and Jules, they are just so vulnerable.”

Maggie sighed. “If you figure it out,” she said, “let me know. I have agents I’d love to be able to protect.”

The more I thought about it the more I realized I might have an answer, but I needed time and space to investigate. I’d have to wait until the following morning. Technically I could have done it after we went to bed, but I did need to sleep sometimes.

So, at four the next morning, I went out on the deck, instead of going to the Dojo. I seated myself in one of the lawn chairs and closed my eyes.

The room was comfortable, bland but comfortable, with white nondescript walls and very little in the way of ornamentation. I had spared no thought whatsoever for the surroundings. I just wanted somewhere to meet.

I looked at the person sitting opposite me.

“I wondered,” they said, “when you would come to talk to me.”