Log:Adoption Interviews, Scene 1

Adoption Interviews 2014/05/19 	 Sukeban|Kotone Vajra|Suzume Anthony Quinn|Anthony

1

Arranging a Meeting
It all starts with a early morning phone call to Quinn Industries from England.

"This is Quinn," Anthony says once the call is patched through to him, "How can I help you, Colonel?"

"Good morning, as I assume it is over there. I'm sorry to trouble you, Mr. Quinn, but one of the pupils at my school returned from a school trip and told me you had agreed to have them for the summer and may wish to adopt them. Now the child is very truthful but they are young and misunderstandings can happen. I was calling to clarify the situation." Col Steel says.

Anthony chuckles a little bit. "Well, the misunderstanding is probably not as severe as you might think at first," he says. "Sukeban and I did offer to let them stay with us for the summer, but only after we talked with you and obtained your permission."

"I see." comes from Col Steel after a short pause. "And the talk of possible adoption?"

"Again," Anthony says, "That is only after we talked with you." He pauses to think for a moment. "Before I give you the full details," he says, "it would probably be best if Sukeban was also part of the conversation. If you like I can get her and we can probably be there within an hour or so to talk?"

Col Steel replies, "I think that is an excellent suggestion. I'll look forward to seeing you shortly then."

"We'll see you soon," Anthony says before hanging up his phone. A moment later he concentrates on the communicator that Ghost gave him for the Princess' Guard. "Sukeban, are you there right now?" he broadcasts.

Kotone says, "Uh, yeah. This is Sukeban. What's up Quinn?"

"I guess one of the kids already went and asked Colonel Steel if they could spend the summer with us," he says, "so the Colonel was calling to try and find out what's going on. Since it affected you as well I thought you should be part of the conversation. Are you up for a quick trip?"

Kotone says, "Um. Sure. Since this is kind of important, do ya think it's Ok if I ask my fiancee to come too?"

"Oh, sure," Quinn says. "You two want to meet me above the bay in, say, 20 minutes?"

Kotone says, "OK. See ya there."

Twenty minutes later Quinn is out over the bay in one of the new jets, hovering with the rear ramp open as he waits for Sukeban and Suzume.

A short while later, Sukeban is flying high above the city, carrying Suzume (hidden under blanket). She spots the Q-jet and rockets in for a soft landing and gently sets Suzume down.

As the two touchdown in the bay of the jet Quinn presses buttons and the rear ramp closes. The wings which had previously been rotated to vertical begin to rotate forward and the jet begins to accelerate and climb. "Make yourselves at home," he says. "It will probably be about 20 minutes or so. I thought this might be a bit more comfortable than you having to carry your fiance the whole way."

Sukeban nods, "Thanks. I'm goin' to go change to my normal clothes."

Suzume bows politely to Quinn, "Hello, Mr. Quinn. I am Suzume Doi. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Lord Markham's School for Talented Children is out in the Oxfordshire countryside. There are modern single floor buildings as well as a much larger and taller building constructed around a traditional English Country House. The newer buildings are linked by covered hallways. As well as a large playing ground there's also a heliport large enough to land the jet on if desired.

Anthony returns the bow as best as he is able to while flying the plane. "The pleasure is all mine," he replies. He sets up the autopilot while Sukeban changes out of her costume. He himself is still in his regular clothing. After the relatively short trip he brings the plane in to land at the heliport, after requesting and receiving clearance, of course.

A boy of about twelve years flies out to the jet as soon as the engines have shut down. The boy is wearing a school uniform and has a sign stating 'Hall Monitor' pinned to the front of his jacket. The boy waits for the passengers to emerge.

Kotone and Suzume make their way down the exit ramp. Kotone waves to the boy, "Yo."

The boy nods politely. But yields to the urge to say admiringly, "Cool jet!" before he remembers what he's supposed to be doing. "Are you the people I'm supposed to take to Col Steel's office?" he asks.

Suzume nods, "There's one more person. I believe he will be finished with the post-flight checks soon."

The boy nods, "Yes, Miss." and is happy to admire the jet while he waits.

Anthony emerges from the jet a few minutes later, having completed all the various operations necessary after landing such a vehicle. "All right," he says, "take us to your leader."

Kotone rolls her eyes, "I bet you always wanted to say that."

Quinn flashes Kotone a quick grin. "You're assuming I haven't used that joke before," he says.

The boy laughs, getting the reference. "Yes, Sir. Follow me please." He walks rather than flies, leading the group to the old Country House and inside to the East wing which appears to be dedicated to school administration and offices. Going up to a door with Col Steel's name on it he knocks.

"Come in." Col Steel's voice is firm and easily able to penetrate the closed door.

Quinn follows the boy, taking the brief opportunity to look around the school just a bit. He enters the office and extends a hand. "Colonel Steel," he has, "pleased to meet you."

Colonel Steel's Office
This slightly cramped teacher's office holds a desk and three chairs. One chair behind the desk and two chairs in front of it. A small table at one side has neat piles of exercise books and marked test papers on it. On the other side of the office a bookcase is filled with reference books on education and teaching practice.

On the wall behind the desk are photographs of Jessica Steel in battlesuits. Some of the photographs include groups of young kids in army uniform. Beside the photographs are three framed pen and ink sketches. One is a landscape of fields on a hillside divided by stonework walls with a farm cottage in the far distance. Another sketch is a closeup of a bluebell flower. The third is a head and shoulders portrait of Jessica Steel. The sketches are of professional standard.

Col Steel stands and walks around the desk to greet you all, shaking hands with Anthony. She hides her surprise on seeing three instead of the two she was expecting. "Ah. Please, take a seat. And take the seat from behind the desk. I'll sit on a corner of the desk."

Suzume and Kotone bow in unison. Kotone speaks first, "It is my sincere pleasure to meet you, Colonel Steel. I am Kotone Yoshida, also know as Sukeban."

Suzume adds, "And I am her fiancee, Suzume Doi, also know as Vajra."

Kotone and Suzume sit politely.

Col Steel nods in understanding after Kotone makes introductions. "Before we start, can I offer you tea? Or maybe as you're from across the pond, coffee?"

Suzume smiles, "Tea would be most welcome, Colonel Steel."

Kotone nods as well.

"If you've already got some coffee made a cup would be nice," Anthony says, "but please, don't make any on my account."

Col Steel smiles, "There's always coffee in the staff room." She goes to the door and opens it, "Justin! A pot of tea and three cups from the staff room, and a cup of coffee, please." She tells the boy who is leaving.

As Col Steel is returning to sit on a corner of the desk she says, "Call me Jessica. And may I call you Kotone, Suzume, and Anthony?"

Kotone and Suzume nod.

Quinn nods. "Absolutely," he says.

Jessica smiles, "When I arrived here this morning I found Mark and Patrica camped in the corridor outside the door to my office. You seem to have made quite an impression on them." She says.

Quinn chuckles a little. "My apologies," he says. "I didn't expect them to be waiting to ambush you as soon as they could. I had thought we would be able to call you today to talk to you about this."

Kotone smiles, "They made an impression on me too."

Jessica nods. "So what exactly did they cook up while on holiday and how did they talk you into considering it?"

"Patrica and Mark feel a bit out of place with their brothers and sisters," Anthony says. "Their interests run to less military pursuits and so they asked the two of us to adopt them, feeling that we might present a more 'normal' family."

Kotone coughs, "I'm, um, I am not certain that the family we provide might be considered as normal," she smiles at Suzume, "but they would get a different education with us, certainly."

Suzume nods, "And as I mentioned, my family name is Doi, as in Doi Heavy Industries. You can rest assured that they would never lack for anything."

"Actually," Anthony says, "they seem interested in remaining as students here at Lord Markam's, so their education probably wouldn't be affected at all."

Kotone nods, "Forgive me, perhaps I spoke less than precisely. I was not referring to their formal education."

Jessica nods, her face frowning slightly, "Their interests aren't the same as their brothers and sisters. That's correct. I have fourteen fourth generation under my wing. Thirteen are happy to head off to Salisbury Range or Hereford every chance they get. I feel a little guilty that Mark and Patrica don't get the time I would ideally like to give them but there's only so much time available. So they may well be correct that their interests would be better met by staying with you. However, what do you feel about the prospect?"

Anthony spreads his hands slightly. "In all honesty?" he says, "I suspect that they will find out that they miss their brothers and sisters much more than they think they will. I think they are in something of a 'grass is always greener' situation. That said, if they would genuinely be happier staying with us then I would be delighted to have them. I know from my own childhood what it is like to grow up when your interests are different from everyone else's."

Jessica nods to Anthony and looks over at Kotone and Suzume for their response.

Kotone nods, "I agree, but we feel that they deserve the chance to find what place is right for them. We would like to be with us, but if it is not, then of course, we would, uh, uh, relinquish any hope of becoming their parents."

Suzume pats Kotone on the back.

Jessica nods again. "Anthony, I don't think they will miss their brothers and sisters as much as you expect. If they remain at Lord Markham's they will see their brothers and sisters almost exactly as much as they do now. When the rest troop off to Salisbury or Hereford on weekends or holidays, Mark and Patrica rarely accompany them. They usually prefer to remain at the school."

She pauses briefly, "I raised Sally and Joanna, and the fourth generation are just the same. Except for Mark and Patrica. Possibly because they are unique. They are the only mixed gender Wolfguard pair known."

There's a knock on the door. Jessica calls for the person to come in, and the boy Justin enters with a tray holding a pot of tea, cups, sugar and milk, and a cup of coffee.

Quinn nods to Colonel Steel. "It is entirely possible that I am wrong," he says. He pauses as the coffee is brought in.

The boy puts the tray on the desk on the opposite side to Jessica and departs closing the door as he does.

Suzume smiles and takes a sip of her tea, "Do you have any particular concerns about our suitablility to be parents that you might wish to take this time to address, Jessica?"

As the boy withdraws Anthony continues. "Please don't get me wrong, however. I am not saying that I am only offering so that they can see that they would rather stay with their family. I would be absolutely delighted to have them stay with us and I think that we are quite possibly the most ideal environment for them."

Jessica smiles, "Naturally there will be checks made, Suzume. However many of the usual formalities can be dispensed with. During the school trips Anthony and Kotone, along with others, were looking after the daughters of the Minister of Defense. I'm sure it will come as no surprise that they were thoroughly vetted by the security services. In Anthony's case in both hero and private capacity. In Kotone's case, only in her hero role but that was sufficient to give her a clean bill of health as far as any concerns over suitability to look after children was considered. And I very much doubt you'll have any more difficulty in passing the vetting checks than your fiancee did."

Suzume chuckles, "I would be very surprised if I did."

Kotone adds, "Um, so, what would be the next step?"

Jessica says, "I wouldn't want to commit to Mark and Patrica spending the entire summer vacation with you at the start. Despite all good will on both sides that could lead to problems. However I'm not adverse to a trial period to see how things go in practice. With longer stays if the initial one is successful."

Anthony nods and smiles. "That is very much what I thought would be the best idea as well as what I expected," he says.

Jessica nods. "It seems whatever happens, Mark and Patrica would like to stay at Lord Markham's. So after we finish our tea I think a tour of the school might be a good idea."

Kotone nods, "That's probably very wise."

Suzume smiles, "Tell me, do they like cats?"

Anthony nods as well. "I would be quite interested in seeing the school," he says. "Also, if I could take a moment to tell you how exceptionally well I thought Peter behaved during the trip."

Jessica thinks. "You know, I don't think they're ever encountered a cat. So I don't know. How much do you know about Mark and Patrica? I know you have Jennifer and Jessica, Lord Markham's adoptees, in Colonial Bay. But that's no guide to Mark and Patrica. With them we're in uncharted waters."

Kotone hmmms, "They are related to Wolfguard, and they have sort of one mind between two bodies? And they're good children?"

Jessica tells Anthony, "I'll pass that on to him. He's a very serious and responsible young man. I know he'll be delighted to hear your comments. I'll tell his parents too.

Anthony smiles and nods. "Please do," he says.

Jessica nods to Kotone, "Yes to all the above. But there are differences. They are much more intelligent than their siblings. In genuis plus range, comparable to Timothy Green, Jade Ashcroft, and Malcolm Dace. Yet they barely make a passing grade in their schoolwork. Except for art in which Patrica gets a consistent A+."

Kotone says, "Maybe they're just... they are just, bored with the curriculum? Or not challenged sufficiently by it?"

Jessica shakes her head. "Bored maybe. But not lacking challenge. We have a programmed learning system so each student can advance at his or her own pace. You'll see that during the tour."

"More likely they are looking for a field that captures their interest," Quinn says.

Jessica nods, "That could be the case." She stands and goes to the door, "If you follow me I'll give you the standard parents tour." she says with a smile.

Quinn stands to follow Jessica, though he waits to fall in step behind Kotone and Suzume as he does so.

Suzume pops to her feet, "Thank you! While it's quite late, I would like to see the school my potential daughter is attending."

Kotone gets up and follows along still mulling over why the children aren't learning.

Jessica chuckles softly as she leads the heroes out of the old country house towards a number of the modern buildings set slightly apart from the rest. "These," she says as she leads you all into one of the buildings, "are the dormitories."

The Tour of Lord Markham's School for Talented Children
The building is mostly one room, with separate toilet and showering facilities provided in smaller rooms. A large dormitory. There are 28 child sized beds in the room. 26 with army gray blankets and no personal belongings in sight, just footlockers at the bottom of the beds. Two with colorful cartoon animal covers and bedside tables, with comic books on one table and a embroidery sewing kit on the other table. Some of Patrica's sketches are up on the wall behind one bed including the double portrait of Anthony and Sukeban in their holodisguises. The other bed has a large poster of the Q battlesuit on the wall behind it.

Jessica says, "The children are free to decorate their space as they wish."

Kotone raises an eyebrow, "No private living space?"

Quinn arches an eyebrow slightly at the sight of the portraits and poster but doesn't say anything.

Jessica shakes her head. "No. The children live in communal dormitories. It's traditional for English private schools."

Kotone snorts, "Traditional's not the same as sensible."

Kotone says, "Growin' kids need space to explore who they are, and the privacy at times to do it. Ya look like yer raisin' soldiers here Jess, not children."

Suzume sighs, "Oh dear."

"Even I had to share a room with three others when I was going to school," Quinn says. "Although I will agree that this is a bit...more."

Jessica nods to Kotone, "Yes. I am, Kotone. With the exception of Mark and Patrica that is exactly what I am raising. Soldiers. By their choice. It's not imposed on them. It's how they want to be."

Kotone shakes her head, "They're kids, Jess. Makin' them soldiers before they're legally adults is against the Conventions on Child Wellfare."

Jessica says, "I'm not making them anything, Kotone. This is how they want to live. If we don't let them live like this they start having mental issues. It's built into them, Kotone."

Quinn holds up a hand to forestall an escalation between Kotone and Jessica. "It doesn't seem much different from a military academy," he says to Kotone, "and it is the children's choice, though that said it is slightly worrisome that they would chose that."

Kotone hmmms.

Kotone says, "But not all of them."

Quinn nods. "Which is exactly why we are here," he says.

Suzume says, "And even the ones that have the military mindset now, may not as they grow older, wouldn't you agreee, Jessica?""

Jessica nods and points to the two beds with cartoon covers. "All of them can do that. I'd be delighted if they did. And yes, they grow out of it. Eventually. Let me tell you about young Wolfguard children. They have a self confidence that verges on arrogance. And while they can be as adorable as a tiger cub, like a tiger cub they have a predator mindset. If they encounter frustration or anger their response is violence. Which is why all the children who live in this room except for Mark and Patrica are mind controlled to prevent them inflicting violence on others."

Suzume shudders, "How terrible! What sort of madman would make children like that!?"

Jessica answers shortly, "His name is Baron Zerstoiten."

Quinn nods. "I very much doubt that they are designed to be violent as children," he says. "More likely it is an effect of their other modifications combined with the standard juvenile lack of control."

Kotone growls, "If I see Baron, I'll burn him down!"

Jessica continues the tour, showing you classrooms. Some where normal lessions are taught, others where programmed learning is taking place with teachers moving from child to child as the children have difficulty.

Quinn shakes his head to Kotone. "Settle down," he says, "It may be necessary to speak with the Baron so that we can get information to assist us with Mark and Patricia."

The next stop on the tour is the large building you saw when arriving. It turns out to be a copy of the workout room that's in Steel's Gym in Colonial Bay City. There are children inside practicing the use of their powers, especially energy blasts and other offensive talents.

"You'll recognise this I'm sure." Jessica says.

Kotone nods, "Yeah."

Quinn nods. "Yes. Quite a familiar setup," he says with a slight smile.

Jessica leads you onwards. "This is one of the junior craft workshops." she says as she takes you into a room. There's a class in the room. One group of children seem to be building a planetary rover like the ones roaming Mars. Other children are working on projects either individually or in small groups. There's a shout, "You're here!" from across the room, and you see Mark and Patrica are in the class. They race across the room to hug Kotone and Anthony, Patrica going to Kotone and Mark to Anthony.

Jessica watches intently, having carefully set this situation up.

Kotone grins broadly and kneels down to catch Patrica and give her a big hug, "How ya doin', Patti-chan?" Suzume smiles gently and waits to be introduced.

Anthony smiles happily as he hugs Mark back. "Yes," he says. "Maybe just a few hours earlier than we had planned since someone just couldn't wait to talk to Colonel Steel. What is it that you're working on?" he asks.

Patrica hugs with a huge smile on her face. Making a guess she looks over to Suzume, "Konnichiwa gozaimasu." she says. Then in English anxiously, to Kotone, "Did I get it right, Anego?"

Mark nods. "I didn't want to wait." he admits. Then he grabs Anthony's hand and tries to lead him back across the room. "Come and look at my project." he says.

Kotone grins, "Ohayou gozaimasu. But close enough. Patti-chan, I like ya to meet yer other possible mother, this is my fiancee, Suzume Doi. She may look like a cute little doll, but she's more like a kistune. I think you'll like her."

Suzume giggles, "If I'm a kitsune, you must be a tanuki, Koto-chan." She hugs Patricia, "It's nice to meet you dear. Hmmm. If Koto-chan is 'Anego', then I guess I must be 'Onee-chan'."

Anthony follows along with Mark, eager to see what it is that the young Wolfguard has made.

Patrica hugs back. Her eyes are shiny with joyful tears. "I'm pleased to meet you, Onee-chan." she says happily. "Do you want to see my project?"

Suzume smiles, "Of course!" Kotone nods, "Like ya have to ask! Let's take a look!"

The pair take Koton, Suzume and Anthony over to a cage. Reaching in carefully Mark brings out of the little hut in the cage a mouse. A mouse marked with the pattern and colors of a tabby cat and with a thick bushy tail. "They've bred true for three generations now." Patrica says proudly. Aren't they pretty?"

Anthony chuckles a bit as he examines the mouse. "Looks like I'm going to have to bone up on my genetic engineering," he says to Kotone.

Suzume squees, "Ah~! It's so cute~!"

Kotone grins and shakes her head, "I guess ya are a genius, Patti-chan. An idiot like yer Anego wouldn't have a clue how to even start thinkin' about somethin' like that, here ya are, just a kid, and doin' this."

Mark asks Anthony, "Do you want to see the genome mapping?"

Anthony shakes his head and grins to Mark, ruffling his hair. "I'm going to need some reference materials before I can even begin to tackle that," he says. "My focus has been on hardware, not biology, but give me a little time to get up to speed."

Mark and Patrica are beaming delightedly with happy pride at the favourable reaction to their project.

Kotone snerks, "Quinn's the genius out of us three."

Suzume giggles, "I'm more of clever-type than the genius-type."

The recess bell rings. Convenient timing. One might think Jessica had been careful about the timing of the tour, ending up in the room where Mark and Patrica were just before the afternoon recess. "Mark, Patrica, why don't you show Kotone, Suzume, and Anthony the playground." She looks at the heroes, "Come back to my office when playtime is over please."

Quinn makes a waving away hand. "I'm just good at putting things together," he says. "Seeing how the individual parts make up the whole."

Quinn nods to Jessica. "All right," he says. "See you then."

Kotone nods, "Will do, Jess."

Out in the playground it's like any other shool during recess, apart from the powers being used. There's a imprompto basketball game that starts up immediately, with TK'ers, teleporters, leapers, stretchers, and fliers, played at a pace that no professiona NBA team could match.

Mark and Patrica take you around their friends, the children from the holiday and others.

Anthony follows along with Mark and Patricia, wanting to see what it is that they do during their recess break. He smiles and greets each of Mark and Patricia's friends as he is introduced to them.

Kotone and Suzume follow along as well. Kotone says, "Ya can go play with yer friends. We're not goin' anywhere."

Patrica gets dragged off to join a group of girls about her age playing a skipping game, the rope being swung around and around so fast it's just a blur with Patrica and others jumping the rope until only one is left as the rope moves faster and faster. Then it starts again with the girls having changed positions. Mark joins a group of boys playing softball cricket.

After ten minutes or so a bell rings to signal the end of the recess period. Mark and Patrica rush back for another hug before going to lessons.

Suzume and Kotone hug them and send them on their way, "See ya later kids."

Anthony follows along with Mark, apparently having more than a passing knowledge in the rules and strategy of Cricket. He doesn't actually play himself but neither does he seem to be at all mystified by its rules. He gives Mark another hug before the boy goes off to his classes and then heads back to Colonel Steel's office with Kotone and Suzume.

Jessica is marking a test paper when the heroes return. She looks up. "Please come in. If you thought I set up that encounter in the craft workshop then you are correct. I saw the joy with which they greeted you. So I have no objections to Mark and Patrica staying with you over the summer, starting with a week's stay and then longer periods if the initial period works out okay. And... if at the end of the summer the situation still remains the same I will support you if you wish to formally adopt."

Kotone pumps her fist, "Yes!"

Suzume grabs Kotone by the collar and hauls her down so she can kiss her, "We're going to have a daughter! My father is going to be so happy!"

Kotone blushes fiercely, "Er, ah, well, ya, or at least we know if she'll want to stay with us."

Suzume places her finger over Kotone's lips, "I have faith in us."

Anthony nods and smiles to Jessica and extends a hand. "Thank you very much," he says. "I have to say that after coming here and seeing them at school I am even happier to adopt them if that is what they want. There is just one thing that concerns me, though it in no way diminishes my enthusiasm."

Jessica shakes Anthony's hand. "What's that?" she asks him.

Anthony considers carefully what he has to say next. "You certainly have a great deal more experience with Wolfguard children than I do," he says. "Most of my experience with Wolfguard has been limited to Gemini and what I have read. However, as I understand it they are not simply two beings linked together with a psychic bond but they are more like a single individual who happens to have two sets of eyes, hands, and feet. Yet Mark and Patricia seem to show different, albeit similar, personalities."

Suzume and Kotone continue to be cute in the background.

Jessica nods. "As I said earlier, uncharted waters. Every Wolfguard pair I know except Mark and Patrica, the two bodies are completely interchangable. There's never any sense of individual differentiation between the two halves. With Mark and Patrica there does seem to be one though. Take art class for example. Patrica consistently gets A+. Mark usually gets a C- or D. I can't explain it. Maybe it's because they are mixed gender?"

Anthony nods. "I was wondering if that had something to do with it," he says. "I'm just a bit concerned since it is a deviation from the norm. Have they had any counseling about this?"

Kotone huhs, "Do ya, like, make all the wolf cubs take the tests? Because, I mean, if they have the same mind, how can they not get the same answers. Heck, wouldn't it make sense for only half of a pair to go to class and take tests while the other half is off staudyi judo or somethin'?"

Jessica nods. "Yes it does make sense, Kotone. And that's what their brothers and sisters do. Only one of a pair attends any given lesson. The other studies something else. Mark and Partica refuse to do that. They both attend the same lessons. Yet Lord Markham insists there is just one consciousness there, just like their siblings. Again, I cannot explain it."

Quinn nods once more. "I am just concerned because it almost seems as though they are like a Wolfguard with a multiple personality order, if that makes any sense. It isn't that I'm worried about our ability to care for them or anything. It is more a concern for their own health. On the other hand, perhaps they are supposed to be this way due to their unique nature."

Jessica says, "I suspect there's only one person who knows the answer." Her face twists as if biting into a lemon.

Kotone nods, "It's possible, but, neurologically, they're goin' to be different, so it makes sense that carries over into their personalities. ... Oh? Who?"

Jessica say bitterly, "The person who created them. The Baron."

Quinn nods in agreement. "We will have to talk with him," he says, "and see what insights he might have. Fortunately he does seem somewhat interested in their well-being."

"Anthony, what makes you think that?" Jessica asks.

Kotone smirks, "I'll be happy to beat the information out of him if he doesn't feel like chattin'."

Jessica flashes Kotone a smile. It seems she has the same attitude.

"We've seen him before when the children have been vacationing," Anthony says. "As he would have been in a position to ambush us, if he so choose, conversation with him seemed the wisest course of action."

Kotone sighs, "The kids really wanted to talk to him. I tried to keep them away, but they wouldn't listen."

Jessica says in shock, "You let him *talk* to Mark and Patrica?"

Quinn nods to Jessica. "Yes, under the provision that we were present," he says. "There was no attempt on his part to encourage them to leave school. He simply seemed genuinely interested in how they were doing. That said, I have no intention of ever letting them spend a weekend at 'Grandpa's', if you have any concerns about that."

Kotone nods, "Absolutely not. And that bastard isn't steppin' one foot in Colonial Bay while I'm there."

Jessica looks at Kotone, "I'm glad to hear it. It's bad enough how he managed to influence Gemini. I don't want him anywhere near any of my kids under any circumstances. And at the moment that includes Mark and Patrica. I hope if and when they become your children you will do the same."

Suzume raises her hand, "So, this Baron. He's a supervillain, correct? Why isn't he in prison instead being allowed to roam freely?"

Jessica says angrily, "Because he's a mastermind. Not an in your face villain. And there's no evidence that will stand up in court. That 'everyone knows' isn't sufficient. It has to be proved."

Kotone says, "But he's connected to Wolfgauard, right? And even without evidence, countries can bar him entering or traveling."

"Again, there's no proof. Yes, he knows a lot of Wolfguard. But that's not the same as proving he is part of Wolfguard or more likely Wolfhead." Jessica says. "And ostentatiously the Baron is the head of a well respected biological research institute that does a lot of good work in the medical field."

Quinn nods. "Right. Bar him from entering your country and perhaps his companies will stop producing medicines for your country. Sure, there are still other companies but you've still made things a lot more difficult for some very sick people."

Suzume hmms, "He must be exceedingly good at hiding his tracks. Otherwise someone would have uncovered something. Or some country simply would have assassinated him."

Jessica says, "I'm sure the idea has passed through people's minds, Suzume. But, yes, he is very good at covering his tracks as far as hard evidence goes. And as to assassination, he created the Wolfguard assassins. I'd expect his bodyguards are at least as good as Wolfguard. Maybe better."

Kotone sighs, "Fine. So how do ya want us to deal with that bastard? I can beat him up, but if he's such a fine, upstandin' person with lily-white hands, I'm goin' to look like the bad guy. Which is fine, I can deal with that, but not if it makes Patti-chan and Mark-kun hate me."

"Just do whatever you have to to keep him away from Mark and Patrica. He'll slip up sooner or later. If he can't contact Mark and Patrica he can't influence them." Jessica says.

"I can speak with him," Anthony says, "I suspect that I will be able to get him to give me at least any critical information that might be required for their well being."

Jessica says, "Rather you than me. I don't think I could hold myself back."

Anthony nods. "All right," he says. "Why don't we head back for home and I'll see if I can't wrangle an invitation to the Baron's castle? We'll have a little chat all nice and civilized and hopefully he will give us at least some insight into why Mark and Patricia are so different from other Wolfguard."

Suzume smiles sadly, "We can't watch them all the time. And if he has super-assassin quality bodyguards, we can't stop them all the time either. Unless we can somehow get them to the United States, without knowing, and get them to adopt new identities, he will also fairly quickly learn that we have them. Anthony is a known hero, so that's not a problem for him, but to the outside world, Koto-chan and I are just a normal pair of college girls. If Sukeban and Vajra start showing up to drive off the Baron, it wouldn't take a genius to figure out who we are. Which means we either need to negotiate a deal with the devil, or we can't meet with the Baron with Anthony."

Anthony shakes his head to Sukeban. "He's already had opportunity to grab them when they've been away from school," he says. "The fact that he didn't take the chance then means he's probably not going to try, and I've got a couple of ideas for things to help keep them safe when their in Colonial Bay with us, anyway."

Jessica says reluctantly, "That is.. Well, he did have a chance to take all the fourth generation for himself. He knew where the training base was and made a deal with Gemini to tell her the location. He probably had the resources to just take them." Jessica adds, "That never made any sense. What he had Gemini do in exchange for the information on the training base's location could easily have been done by one of his own bodyguards."

Kotone huhs, "Maybe he want's out? To go legit? I've heard of yakuza like that."

Anthony nods. "Or perhaps he wanted to distance himself from whatever it was he had her do," he says.

Jessica sighs, "I could sit here all day and complain about the Baron. However I think we've covered everything that need to be covered, And I have a pile of test papers to mark."

Suzume smiles, "We'll leave the details until later, then." She offers her contact information.

Anthony nods. "All right then," he says, "It was a pleasure to meet you and I hope we'll see you again, soon. Probably we should schedule the kids for a weekend or something."

Jessica stands to walk with you to the door of the country house. "Summer term finishes on July 23th. We can arrange a weekend visit before then if you wish?"

Kotone grins, "Might be a good idea. If we make it after, they might be too excited to study for their finals."

Jessica nods, "I'll pencil it in provisionally for the weekend of June 7th.

Anthony chuckles a little. "I don't think they have finals just yet," he says, "so it should be fine. A couple of weeks before the summer break will give us a little time to assess how things went and make any adjustments before the end of summer when they will probably want to stay at least..." He looks to Jessica for confirmation. "Two weeks?"

Patrica rushes to Col Steel's office between classes, just before the heroes leave. She hands Kotone a travelling cage with two of the mice in it. Hugs Kotone and Suzume quickly and rushes off so she isn't too late for her next class.

Jessica watches and smiles. Then she answers Anthony, "Let's say a week for start."

Kotone looks at Suzume. Suzume looks at Anthony. "You're not going to make us clear these through customs, right!?"

Anthony shakes his head and grins. "No," he says. "I may not be much of a biologist but I've got plenty on staff, so we can run them to see if they're carrying anything, but really, they're at least 4th generation lab animals. What could they be carrying?"

Suzume giggles, "I have no idea, I'm a cultural studies major, not a biology major."

Jessica has a thoughtful expression on her face. "That," she says, "was very interesting."

Quinn cocks his head slightly to one side and studies Jessica. "What?" he asks.

Kotone huhs, "That she came by herself and gave it me and Suzu-chan specifically, right?"

Jessica says, "Yes, Kotone. Exactly."

Anthony nods. "Yes, they are pretty interesting kids," he agrees.

Suzume hmmms, "Have you ever noticed them swapping bodies? That is, Patti-chan's personality in Mark-kun's body and vice versa?"

Jessica shakes her head. "No. Up to very recently there was no real significant difference between Mark and Patrica. They were more like their brothers and sisters in that regard. And the degree of differentiation I just saw is competely new."

Kotone grins, "Maybe it's because we treat them like individuals."

Anthony considers that a bit. "Possibly," he says, "but I think a lot of the other students have already been treating them like individuals from what I saw during recess. Possibly it is simply part of their development, the same way that more traditional Wolfguard get a better handle on their aggression."

Jessica listens to Anthony, "It's possible. We have no guidelines in their case. I know what to expect with all their brothers and sisters. But Mark and Patrica are just different. They're the most un-Wolfguard like Wolfguard I know."

Suzume says, "I'm sure we'll learn more about them as we grow closer together."