Returning Things

Lucy glided the construct to land in a shady dell. She let out a sigh of relief.

The shield had worked a bit too well. It had bounced off the last beam attack and shattered it into a weird lightning mist that had obscured everything in a vast range. From the looks on Sol, Kuro and Kathryn's faces, they hadn't expected that to happen.

It had provided them enough leeway to zip away. Once hidden, Lucy hadn't spared herself in speeding the makeshift transport out. She even had the nosebleed to prove it.

The steel plates that made up the construct fell away as she withdrew the ring's power. The entire thing made her exhausted.

"Okay, group up!" Morris called, bouncing Niles Jr. on his shoulder. The baby gurgled happily.

"We should worry that he hasn't cried yet, shouldn't we?" Rena asked, coming to stand next to Lucy.

"I'm too tired to worry," Dawnie said on Lucy's other side. She clenched her fingers on the hat in her hands. "I'm fresh out of everything right now."

"Aarti?" Lucy turned towards the Amazon who was standing nearby, caressing her bow.

"I still say that I might be able to replicate that shatter thing," Aarti said absently, staring back the way they'd come. The glittering edge of the lightning mist could still be faintly seen.

"The thing that girl handed over? The one-shot?" Lucy prodded.

"We're finally on the ground," Court said as he bounced up to Lucy. "I heard you mention one-shots. We have another one of those things?"

Dawnie and Rena rolled their eyes. Aarti fished out a small device from her pockets.

"You know we have another one of those things," Aarti chided him.

"Well, it doesn't hurt to cheer up the boss lady, does it?" Court said, slinging an arm around Lucy's shoulders.

"Off, and the device?" Lucy said, shrugging free.

There was a click, and a line appeared in mid-air. It lengthened and widened into a doorway. A girl wearing a cowboy outfit stepped out of the doorway that seemed to lead to some massive convenience store.

The girl paused and tossed a bar towards Dawnie who caught it with a bright smile.

"You've got Sebastian's hat?" The girl asked.

"Take it." Lucy said, jerking her head at Dawnie.

"Please take it, and don't let it come back ever," Dawnie added as she held out the hat.

"With pleasure. Sebastian is going to be so happy it's back," the girl said. "He's been under house arrest and says that he's going to go nuts if he has to stock another shelf."

That made the rest giggle. The girl nodded and stepped back through the doorway.

"Is that it?" Rena asked.

"Nah," Lucy said. "How can our lives be so easy? We still have to send the rest of these guys home. Some of them have never been in a 'home.' See? Work!"

"You're bleeding and still cheerful," Rena said flatly. She ran a hand through her short hair. "I need a haircut. I can just feel it growing."

"So good," Dawnie muttered around a mouthful of something. Lucy sighed. "No, what were we talking about? Going home?"

"Discreetly if possible," Lucy added.

"I'm not going back to that island. Not anytime soon," Aarti hastily said as Lucy arched an eyebrow her way. "I can escort some people home. Like Simone! Doesn't she have a grandfather? Wouldn't he want to see her? Give her some ice cream or something? I've been hearing a lot about ice cream lately."

"I haven't have ice cream in a while," Lucy mused.

"Ice cream makes you fat," Rena cut in.

"But it's so good," Dawnie said. She looked off into the distance. "I think I see a town. We could go there. Make off with some vehicles. Steal some ice cream."

"You are not stealing ice cream," Lucy protested.

"Why are we stealing ice cream?" Morris asked, walking up to them. He jiggled Niles Jr. "I'm returning your nephew to you. Can't deal with Niles or whoever the babymama happens to be."

"Okay," Lucy said, accepting the baby.

Morris grinned, chucked him under the chin and walked back to the orderly lines of children.

"We can that afterwards," Aarti assured Lucy, following after Morris.

"When did I say we were going to steal ice cream?" Lucy asked Niles Jr. who gurgled happily. She shook her head. "Let's go before your dad thinks to ask for you back."

*****

"So, your sister has that ring they're looking for," Circe said to Niles, resting her chin on his shoulder.

"Isn't she magnificent," Niles sighed. "She got us out of there, all of us." He frowned. "Still not sure what the deal was with the weird hat."

"People make weird things all the time." Circe stood up. "We should abandon thoughts of getting the hat for now. Instead, we should concentrate on achieving small goals for now."

"I thoroughly agree," Niles replied with a growing smile. "We snip the weeds away from the flower and then make it bloom even more magnificently."

"I didn't think you liked horticulture," Circe teased.

"Well, that was before I had to distract myself for a couple of months." Niles massaged his neck, frowning at the feeling of the scabs decorating it. "As long as we have the last few results of my research, we can start over anywhere."

"And we do indeed, darling," Circe cooed. "I inserted a chip just under his collarbone where it'll be all safe and sound."

Niles smiled at Circe who grinned back. Then he swept his gaze across the orderly lines of children and young teens. He sighed.

"Look at all that potential data, just waiting to be mined," he mused.

"Don't worry, darling. We'll get our hands on whoever we need whenever we need it. Remember, we do have what they think they need." Circe twined her arms around her neck, hissing as her hands glanced past his scabs. "And we need to pay them back for that collar."

"We will, Circe. I promise," Niles said, resting his forehead on hers. "Now, why don't we go play the doting parents and totally piss off my sister and her little coterie?"

He felt his heart warm at Circe's answering grin. It felt good to find someone who knew him so well.