Paige sat on her bed in her room at the mansion, the subtle make-up she always wore smeared around her eyes from where she'd been crying. She'd been crying from sadness and nervousness, with a hint of excitement and fear mixed in. The letter in her hand that had come in today came in a plain white envelope, with no return address, and written in black ball-point pen with sloppy, almost hurried-looking handwriting that was just legible.

She almost didn't read it, not knowing who it was from. But her curiosity got the best of her, and after reading it...part of her wished she hadn't. Her green eyes were less piercing today, staring down at the now tear-stained yellow legal paper.

Paige,
I want to start off by apologizing for this being my first time contacting you in a year. Things have been really rough since you left; your mother and I have divorced, and I'm in a bit of trouble. I'm in the city for a little while, and I want to see you. At six PM, go to the park, and shift into a spork on the Alice statue; I'll meet you there.
Take care of yourself, Paige. I love you. It's probably best if you destroy this letter after you read it.

With Love,
Alec Mason Daddy

It was all too weird. On top of everything else she was going through, she now had this. And she didn't even know what 'this' was. She had to go; she knew it, but something just didn't feel right. Her dad was never that brief, and why did he cross out his name and put 'Daddy?' It was unlike him.

Wiping the tears from her eyes, she took a deep breath and put her shoes on. Standing up, she made her way outside, then took off running for the address in the letter.

The allotted time couldn't get here fast enough. As evening approached, Paige darted out of the mansion, and to the park as fast as she could. Sure, she had a lot of questions, but mostly, she just wanted to see her dad again. So much had gone on, and was going on that it made her head spin when she thought about it.

When she made it to the park, the area near the statue was empty. Easy enough; so she walked towards the statue, sitting on the base of it as a large brown dog approached her. She froze, and the dog sat down in front of her, letting out a whine as it looked from her to the statue.

She just...stared, and the big stray dog let out a deep bark, followed by a small growl. It wasn't showing any teeth or hostility, but she just couldn't put her finger on what he wanted. Sighing, she shifted; time was of the essence. Once a spork, the dog picked her up in its teeth and ran off.

"Hey! What the--"

It was dark inside the dog's mouth, all she knew was the mutt was running. Fast.

When it was said and done, she found herself on the floor of some old building. An apartment that had seen better days. She shifted back, to be faced with a very familiar face.

"...Daddy?"

The man smiled softly, nodding. "Yeah. It's me, Paige." In an instant, Paige ran to him, wrapping her arms around him.

"I missed you..."
"I missed you too.."

"I'm glad you made it," Alec said finally, after the hug had broken.

"Yeah...didn't think you'd find me after I was grabbed by that damn dog," she answered lightly, with a small grin. At which point, Alec's body began to shift. It wasn't instant, like her own, it took maybe thirty to forty-five seconds, allowing her to see every change as his dark hair began to cover his body and his clothes melted into his skin.

The shift complete, the dark brown dog barked at her, then shifted back into her father. "Oh, well that explains alot...Wait...why didn't you tell me you were a mutant too?"

Alec sat on the bed that was by the door, and Paige sat next to him, examining the room. It was fairly large, with boarded windows. There was a couch, a coffee table, and an old TV. On the other side of the room was a kitchen area, and farther back was a small bedroom.

"What is this place? Dad...what's going on?"

The big man sighed through his nose, brushing his hair out of his face. "Paige, it's a long story--
"I think I've got time," she snapped, before shrinking back a little. "Sorry.." she whispered.

"It's fine. I don't blame you. The thing is...for a long time, I was involved with...some shady people. Using my mutation to smuggle anything you can name, even take hits. But after a few years, I wanted out. So...I fled. And then I met your mother. We hooked up, got married...moved to California, where I used the money I'd made in my former years to start a life." He paused.

"They found me, and made me do jobs to keep them happy. I found out...your mother was the boss's daughter. When you were born, it stopped, so I could take care of you. That attack before you left...it wasn't for you. They were after me. When you left, I cut my losses and divorced your mother, then fled. Here. I'm going to have to lay low, disappear for awhile. That's why I got us here the way I did. I wanted to see you, offer closure."

"Whoa whoa whoa! You're telling me all this crap...but what am I supposed to do with it?"

"That's what you have to decide. I just want to give you closure. Let you know what was really going on. I've made some mistakes, Paige. But through it all...you're what kept me going."

Paige gave a slow nod. "I...can I stay with you a little while? You know, hang out, maybe show me some things about my mutation...fighting...guitar...before you go?"

He smiled, "Sure. I'll take the bed by the door. You get the bedroom."

"Why?"
"That way, they haven't found me, but this way, if they do, they'd have to get through me first."

Paige bit her lip, but nodded. "It's getting late, we'll talk more in the morning."

The next morning came quickly, as Paige stirred in the old, yet oddly comfortably-thrown-together bed. The place seemed...different, than the night before. Looking around, she saw a few new outfits lying on the table next to the bed. On top of that, she heard guitar music, and...was that bacon she smelled?

Quickly, she grabbed a black top and skirt off of the pile and went into the bathroom to shower. Walking out, she noted the skirt wasn't terribly short, but it wasn't knee length either. She had to smile at how he remembered things like her style and sizes.

When she got to the kitchen area, she saw Alec sitting at the table, empty plate in front of him, and a guitar in his lap, quietly strumming at the acoustic instrument in a similar fashion to her own style--which was, of course, because he'd taught her.

"Morning," he said with a smile.
"Bacon's on the stove. It's not alot, nothing like the pampering I got you used to, but...it's better than nothing," he said.

"It's okay. You do what you have to," she replied, taking a couple strips of bacon in each hand and sitting at the table, her green eyes meeting his grey ones as he continued to play.

"Hey uh...Dad? Did you ever have trouble with your shifting? Like...did you ever shift when you didn't mean to, or try to shift into one thing but end up taking another form entirely?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Our shifting is heavily influenced by emotion, and takes focus to do it right. Keeping a lid on your emotions is hard, but not impossible. You just have to find a center. That one thing that drives you, makes you smile no matter what. Try that, then shift." Paige nodded, making a note. "I may be wrong, different powers work differently for different people. But, hey, it's worth a shot, right?"

With a smile, Paige nodded again. "Thanks."
"Anytime, Girly." With that, Alec's fingers resumed dancing along the strings and frets of the guitar while Paige watched in awe. It'd been too long since she'd actually sat and listened to someone else play.
"I got another one in the closet in there, if you wanna jam."
Without a word Paige hopped up and ran for the other acoustic guitar, and the morning passed with the two of them playing peacefully, with father and daughter bonding and lessons.

THUNK!

"Ow! What the hell, Dad? You ****ing flipped me!"

Alec chuckled a little as Paige glared up at him from the floor, flat on her back. "You wanna learn how to fight better. The best way to improve is to apply. Don't worry, I'm going out of my way not to hurt you."

Hopping to her feet, Paige took her stance, throwing a punch as she blocked Alec's left hook, but he caught her arm and flipped her again. Thunk!

Paige grumbled, lying on the floor and glaring at the ceiling. Reaching down, Alec helped her up. "You're trying to stand toe-to-toe and trade blows with me. With your size and athleticism, you shouldn't do that. Ever. You wanna keep moving. Hit fast, but stay on guard. Don't just go for the face. Aim for the torso; chest, stomach, then go for the blow to the head. Or if you can upset his balance, take it to the ground, lock him in an armbar or a chokehold."

Paige nodded, sitting up. "It's not something you're gunna learn in a week. Keep at it."

Alec's head snapped toward the door all of a sudden. "Someone's here," he whispered.

"But I don't--"

"Ssh! I need you to shift. Now."

At this point, Paige swore she heard a car engine shut off, and footsteps on the steps outside. Paige shifted, her body becoming a spork. Alec picked up the spork, putting it in the silverware drawer in the kitchen.

Paige couldn't see anything, and her mind was racing; she had no idea what was going on, but she swore she heard the door being kicked open. Then after that, an earth-shattering roar. Was that...a bear? In the screams and commotion that followed, Paige couldn't make heads or tails of it. But the gunshots and roars of pain made her fear the worst.

And then, quiet. Dead, eerie, silence. Shifting back, the silverware drawer exploded, showering the kitchen in forks, spoons, and butter-knives, coupled with chunks of the drawer. The blonde stared, horrified at the sight. The place was destroyed, and she counted five bodies. But no sign of her father. On the counter, she saw a torn piece of paper, a scribbled note.

Secure Storage. Locker Number 27. Combination 2694. Leave as soon as possible, and don't come back. They'll be watching.

Paige wiped tears from her eyes as she went back to her room, grabbing her bag of clothes. The guitars had been destroyed, the bed by the door was broken in half, and there was blood all over the main area. Wait...

In the mess, she saw pawprints, which became boot-prints. Taking off out the door, she followed them, but just like that, they disappeared. She looked around outside, nothing. No sign of him. So, she made her way to the storage unit in the note, expecting to see him there. Nothing.

Inside the unit were a couple of guitars, an amp, a box of assorted picks, and a few other odds and ends. On top of the box was another note.

Paige, I'm sorry it ended this way. I'm okay, but I'm afraid you won't be seeing me for awhile. The guys that attacked the building were part of what's left of the mob I was a part of. The mob I'm taking down, piece by piece. Everything in here is yours now. It's not much, but it's what I had left from LA.
Take care of yourself, Paige. I love you.
Daddy.

Wiping the tears from her eyes, Paige put the box of picks in her bag, grabbing one of the guitar cases, before closing the unit and closing it back. Just like that...he was gone again. She was alone again.

But as she made her way back to the mansion, she couldn't help but notice some sort of hawk flying over head, almost as if it was following her. Once there, she was greeted by a large, brown dog, walking with a slight limp in its front right foot. It walked up, tail wagging, then stood on its hind legs and licked her cheek before turning and walking away, back down the alley.
"I love you too, Daddy."

The dog turned around and barked, before disappearing into the cityscape.