"Would you like some more, Mr. Unicorn?"

The gentle tink of ceramic on ceramic was drowned out by the sounds of distant car traffic and the hum of the city. Eisley was sat crisscross applesauce on the ground with her back to the wall, nestled in a crook away from most prying eyes. In front of her was a well loved stuffed horse, Mr. Unicorn as she lovingly called him. (He has lost his horn somewhere, but they would find it eventually)

"Another cookie, Mr. Unicorn?" 

The teen pulled one more little waffer cookie from the half empty package behind her, placing on the mostly-clean and only slightly chipped ceramic place in front of her stuffed animal. "Great weather, isn't it?" She questioned, her words twisted in a poor attempt at a British accent. 

Her backpack, half open beside her, was mostly empty save for an unopened snack for later and a half empty bottle of clean water.

It was a cloudy, overcast day today, so she had chosen to keep her warm knit hat with the little poof ball on top on, as well the fleece scarf she had only newly acquired a week ago. Her jacket looked clean for the most part and was only a little threadbare in a few areas. It did a decent job at keeping the cold out. Her cheeks and nose were still rosy red from the chill in the air though. It was gradually getting colder as winter made it's slow march in, and for someone such as she the elements were quickly becoming her biggest threat in day to day life. She had a wool blanket settled around her hips and legs, with her mittened hands resting onto of the scratchy fabric. 

Eisley took small bite of one of the cookies, savoring the taste slowly so it would last longer. "I'll put you away soon, don't you worry Mr. Unicorn. I don't want you getting all dirty and frozen again like last year. More tea?" 

In her mind, as she tipped the little teapot once more toward the stuffed animals cup, something piping hot and delicious came out. Maybe sweet tea... or hot coco. Her vast imagination allowed her to reimagine herself in a grand tearoom, settled at a little antique wooden table, with a fine china tea set. She was decked out in the finest silks and laces too... maybe pink, or blue? Some kinda fancy, pretty color she didn't normally wear. There were ribbons in her hair, and Mr. Unicorn was in a tuxedo and had his horn back. 

She giggled as she lifted her little cup to toast him.

Saphirus has a lot on his plate as of late. Sleep wasn't, of course, because after work, baby, and making sure everything at the house worked, there was pretty much no time left. That was why the little girl that had stolen his wedding ring about a year ago now hadn't been on his mind a whole lot. Still, with the weather taking a turn for the cold, he'd found time to let his thoughts wander to whether or not she was okay out there. He remembered being out there so vividly, and the winter months were the worst.

In fact, he'd just been wondering about it on the way into the precinct when he'd run into an age progressed photo that was very, very familiar. There she was 'tom' she'd called herself, but in reality... Eisley Thomas. It was a lost poster, recently updated. Someone was looking for her.

"Rooklin, what's this about?" The officer with the case number happened to be passing by with his coffee in hand.

"Yeh, her mom came in lookin for her recently. Looks like she wants her found and back home. Why?"

"I saw her... Hey, ima take this one up. I think I could find her pretty quick."

The older officer took a sip of his coffee, and shrugged. "Sure, knock yourself out."

***

Shortly after he was cresting a rooftop in downtown New York, his crowbar in hand, but only to provide him more energy. The X-Man walked to the edge of a certain rooftop and looked down into an alley. Bingo. He was staring down at the very young woman he'd been looking for. He'd hoped she'd taken his advice and hidden in the alley of the damned... Looked like it. He leaned in to look closer... Oh jees. She was having a goddam tea party. How adorable and sad was that? There she was, her broken tea set, sitting in a holy sweater, shivering as she offered tea to a stuffed horse that looked like hell.

He was at a loss for words. Well, at least he was going to be able to take her from this situation, right? Save her.

He jumped down, landing almost completely noiselessly in front of her on his right foot, and then quickly holstering his crowbar. "Eh... Eisley Thomas, don't go running or anything. Can you come with me?" He knew she was a flight risk. He had to be ready for anything.

Teatime was interrupted suddenly when someone literally dropped in on the party uninvited.

Initially startled, Eisley reacted how any normal person would react; by jumping clean out of her skin. She didn't have the energy for a full on shriek, so instead a little squeak of surprise popped out and she dropped her teacup in alarm. An attempt to scramble away from the sudden threat ended in her slamming the back of her head into the wall behind her, and then curling forward into a ball while she hissed through her teeth at the pain.

After a moment of not being murdered horribly by the intruder, she glanced up and squinted at the figure.

"Eh... Eisley Thomas, don't go running or anything. Can you come with me?"

"Super Saph!"

Excitement quickly replaced the fright from his appearance, and as she rubbed the throbbing pain away from the lump on the back of her head she grinned up at him. This was great! Maybe he'd join her tea party and she could tell him about what she'd been up to lately!

.... and then what he had just said started to sink in.

Realization over a few things settled on her face and schooled her features into one of placid caution. "How'd... you know my real name?" She knew he was a hero, so maybe he had managed to get that info from the cops or something. But... the tone, his mannerisms. This was a different interaction from what she had experienced the last two times.

"Is Thomas my last name? Why do I need to come with you?" She hadn't stolen anything in at least a week, so unless it was an old transgression he was visiting her over she wasn't sure what this was about.

Unless....

Her demeanor shifted in an instant. Eisley grew tense and reached out to grab Mr. Unicorn and curl him into her chest.

He was here to bring her in. Either to child protective services, or to a home of some some sort.

"...Do I have to?"

His eyes morphed into a look of surprise as she scrambled back and bumped her head. He held out a hand as if it would cause her to stop. Right, dropping in on people could scare the crap out of them. He shouldn't have skipped that second cup of joe this morning. He winced in sympathy.

Still, like the kid she was, she was over it pretty quickly, and she went from cowering to realizing who he was, and calling him her nickname for him in an instant. He couldn't help but smile when she said that. Still, though, realization dawned on her.


She realized he'd caller her her real name. She was smarter than she let on. "Yeah, that's you. I'm going to take you into the station. Don't worry. You aren't in trouble."


She was caught up, and her demeanor changed to that of caution and... fear?

She asked if she had to go. He nodded shortly as he stepped slowly toward her. "It's cold out here, Kid. You're shivering. You can't stay out here like this all winter." He reached out a hand, offering to take hers. "Now c'mon... My car's just around the corner. I promise you'll be safe, okay?"

Okay, she wasn't in trouble for any of the things she had done in the last month, so that was good. Getting locked up again, even if it had been for a short while, had been pretty boring and she was constantly worried about what people around her were plotting.

Still, as Saph stood there and even put a hand out for her and she felt her wariness melting away a little. He had been good to her the last two times she met him... and the Doctor had told her that she should try and open up a little...

"Can I leave my stuff here?" She asked, already in the process of turning around and prying up a loose chunk of pavement from the ground next to her. She had found the little compartment there a long while ago. It had even had a few random things inside still that looked old and untouched. She'd started to compile a little hoard of things in there since then; including a small pile of buttons she'd been collecting to give to the Doctor the next time she went to visit him.

After putting her tea set away and picking her backpack and stuffed animal up, she accepted his hand... if a little warily. IT was big... much bigger than her's and scratchy with callouses and stuff. Her's was small and skinny and cold, even in her gloves. She gulped, still apprehensive, and stood.

"What kinda car do you have? I met someone once who had a bright pink one. It was pretty cool."

She spared a glance at his crowbar, wondering if it was the very same one she had tried to steal once.

"Say, did you ever get married? That was what the ring was for right? Is there a Ms. Super Saph now?"

It looked like she wasn't going to just run at least. That was good. He didn't like the idea of having to chase her through streets and back alleys he probably didn't remember as well as she knew them now. She asked about leaving her stuff here, and he tilted his head back and forth.

"Ehh, I'd probably bring your stuff with if I were you." His eyes widened a bit as she pried up the stash spot... A small, fond smile appeared on his face. Inside there were a few things that had been left there a long, long time ago, and a small note he hadn't been aware of, that said 'yes, yes, a thousand times yes!' in big, loopy handwriting. He watched her rifle through, wondering if his old burgling tools were still in there. He'd left this place in a hurry and never looked back.

He took her small hand in his... Cold. He turned and started walking. "Heh, I have a prois, but I left it at home. Drivin around a squad car for this. Wanna sit in the passenger seat?"

He smiled wide when she asked about him being married. "Yeah! My wife's name is Shelby. She's at home with our baby!" His big smile crew even more. "His name's Colin."

They walked out of the alley together, and, true to his word, there was a squad car just around the corner, sitting there harmlessly. "It's an older one, but I like it... The car. Gotta tug the seat belt on your side. Don't mind the squeaky seat."

He would invite her into the car, close the door behind her, and walk around to his side before driving off like a maniac, as he always did.

"How have you been out here? I'm glad I found ya, it's sposed to be very cold this year."

A prirus?

"I don't know what that is."

She shuffled along beside him, her current worldly possessions tossed over her shoulder in her bag. She wasn't terribly used to cars seeing as she had only ever been in them to either rifle through it looking for change, or when being driven around by cops or social workers. She'd be moderately happy so long as it was warm and she could see out a window.

"I like babies. I'm glad you have one. I knew a girl once who had one and it was the cutest thing! Made really funny faces when it needed to poop." She smiled fondly, tripping over her laces as she struggled to keep up. Her lungs weren't too great in the cold so it was hard to move fast unless she absolutely had to. She wasn't sure why that happened. "I never got to know it's name though. I don't thinks she picked one out cuz she wasn't allowed to have him for long."

As they came up on the car, she tensed up a little at the sight of it. It was a cop car alright... she could see the little gate in the back that separated the back from the front. She still had vivid memories about being in the back of one of those and how scared she had felt with cold metal cuffs on her wrists.

"...I'm not in trouble, right?" She questioned again, eyes darting around to try and see if he had cuffs on him.

He opened the door to the front, which helped calm her a little, and she clambered in. Her bag settled on the floor between her feet, Mr. Unicorn in her lap. She struggled to figure out the seatbelt for a moment.

"It's strangling me." Eisley, who was still worryingly small for her age, tugged on the belt that was resting across her throat. She looked tiny in the seat, about the size of an eight year old who wasn't yet big enough to be sitting in a car without a booster.

"Where are we going, Super Saph?" Instantly, blinding sparkles of excitement returned to her eyes. "Are we going to go hunt down bad guys!?"

"It's a car that soft yuppies get to feel good about themselves, but my wife said the gas cost less and it's got anchors for a baby seat, makes it easier." He explained frankly as he situated himself in his comfy, well worn squad car.

It was warm in there, that was for sure. The AC was broken, but he didn't mind during the winter months. She started talking about a baby she knew, and he stared at the road as they drove... Jesus, that was... profoundly sad, and she didn't even realize it. He was starting to think that was a blanket statement for half of what she said. But he was making that better. She would be with her parents. They must have been looking for her this whole time... He would make it right.

"Nah, yer good. Why, you stealing more wedding rings? Oh, just put your arm over it, yeah, that'll be more comfy." He did, indeed, have cuffs on him, but they hung much ignored from his belt.

She asked where they were going, and he chuckled when she asked if they were going to go fight crime. "Heh heh... Maybe some other time. Nah, we're going to the local station." He swerved through a yellow right turn. "Yeah, it's just down the street now. Almost there already. Dunno why the navigation always says it's gonna take so long to get to places in this city. I always beat it by ten minutes." He swerved around another corner, jerking to avoid another car.

Blinking, she shimmied the strap down as told and tucked it securely under her armpit. He was right, that was much better!

"No! I ain't been stealing anything like that... not anymore." Blushing, she huffed and looked out the window. She seemed unperturbed to the nature of his driving; as if speeding and whipping around anything and everything wasn't terrifying. Honestly, she just wasn't used to anything else and kinda figured that most people, if not all of them, drove like that based on what she had seen.

"What's a nagization?" She had her ear tilted at him funny again, as she was having a harder time hearing everything he was saying through all the interference from the car and whatnot.

They were going to the local station, huh? She sank down in her seat a little at the thought. Some of the cops there knew here a little, and it was always terribly uncomfortable running into them. They knew bits of her story she didn't often tell other people, and gave her those looks she hated so much. Eisley shot a sidelong look at Saph.

"How much do you know about me?"

Saphirus frowned as a red light locked them into place, and he looked around for a turn he could take or a way to squeeze his car through somewhere. Nope. Dangit. She asked him what a word was, but he hadn't really been paying a whole lot of attention. "Wassat?" The moment of confusion passed, and he shrugged as the light turned green again.

As they neared the station she asked him a simple question, and he shrugged again. "Not a whole lot, I guess. Though, I tell ya, I wouldn't have guessed you were 14 years old. Eh, no offense or anything, you struck me as a little younger."

They pulled up to the Squad car gate, and he keyed in a code on a drive up panel, and the gate clinked open slowly. In a moment they were parked, and he walked around the vehicle to let her out. "Here we are, uh, you okay if I call you Eisley?"

He walked up to the back door of the police station, watching her closely as they entered. It was a slow day, and even so the station might feel full to those who didn't know it on a busy day. He ushered her in and toward a small waiting room. "Alright, get comfy, they can take a while to do the paperwork for this kinda stuff. I'll be right back, okay?"

He walked toward the door to the waiting room, and opened it, looking back, and smiling warmly. "I'm sure that your mom's gonna be real happy we found you." He nodded firmly, and then walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. As he turned around, he saw that some people were already on the way in, including what he assumed was the girls mother, looking... kinda worse for wear. Must have been real worried about her kid. He smiled and nodded respectfully. He still had his paperwork to fill out real quick.

"I'm 14?!"

She was that old? Was that like, mostly an adult then??

She grew silent after that revelation, thinking about what that meant all the rest of the way to the station. Once there Saph let her out of the car, which she gladly scrambled out of, and they headed inside. "I don't mind... just don't go tellin' everybody about it. Only people I like get to call me by my real name." It didn't even register what she had just implied, but it didn't matter anyway. She liked Saph well enough that she didn't mind him using her real name.

She followed as he led they way, nervously keeping track of where they were in relation to the door they had entered from. Which places were good exits? Good places to hide?

They wound up in a little room. One of those rooms the cops throw the bad guys to let them stew a little before they go back in to grill them for info. The were rooms to break people in. She swallowed nervously as she sat herself down in a chair and clutched her stuffed toy to her chest.

Saph announced he was leaving and her discomfort shot through the roof. "Do you have to?" She might have looked a little panicked, even if he tried to sooth her my promising to come right back. She didn't want to be locked in a room alone. He seemed set on the idea though, so she leaned back in her chair and tried to calm down.

"I'm sure that your mom's gonna be real happy we found you."

Um... what? Eisley stared at the door as it closed, clicking into place, and blinked a handful of times as her eyebrows pinched together. What had that been about her mom? Who's mom? Surely not Eisely's mom, because it had been years since she had left and that woman hadn't even so much as put out a missing person's notice.

The doorknob rattled and she was drawn away from her thoughts. She was expecting Saph again, and was trying to think up something to sound clever that she could throw at him. 'What, forget a pencil?' Nah, that was-

Her mom shoved open the door. All thoughts melted straight out of her head as her mother and her locked eyes.

"My baby!"

The teen reacted violently, almost throwing herself out of her chair as the woman rushed her... but she wasn't fast enough and soon found herself trapped in a painful, crushing hug with her mothers mouth pressed up against her good ear. A warm, moist whisper followed soon after.

"If you give me any trouble I will beat you black and blue when we get home, do you understand, kid?"

The teen immediately went ridged, both complying by allowing the hug to continue while also shooting wide, terrified eyes at the two other people behind her mom.

She didn't even know she was 14... That blew his mind for a moment, before he remembered that he even lost count at some point, living on the streets. Well, that was going to be over, now. Her mom was here to pick her up. It didn't have to be how it was for him. That kept the smile on his face as he walked on up to the water cooler, and pulled a little cone cup, tapping it and taking a drink.

"eyyy, wow, you really tracked her down quick, huh?" Saph looked over mid drink at an approaching officer Rooklin, nodding as he finished his cup. Rooklin popped a hand on his shoulder and gave him a friendly little shake.

"Good job, buddy... That girl's been in a few times for small stuff. Real hard to track down." The officer stepped off, grabbing his own cup from the cooler and filling it. "Yeah... Shame, though. Havin a mother like that... I ain't one to judge, but she's kinda the scum of the earth, and I don't say that lightly. Brought her in for the big trio a year back, you know, possession, prostitution, and assault... Jesus, the words that woman threw out... Foul, man... Foul. Poor kid... Saph?"

As he listened to the words the older officer was saying, his heart sunk to his feet. By the time Rooklin looked up, The Masochist was gone.

***

He was looking down on the car as it took a left turn. Was he questioning it too much? Maybe her mom really was looking for her for a good reason? Images were flashing into his mind, however. Things he'd taken for granted. He'd thought he'd read surprise on her face when he'd mentioned her mom... Was that surprise, though, or shock? She tilted her head a lot when he talked... Hard of hearing... An old injury? Maybe abuse? Was he insane for thinking this much into it?

A lot could change in a year. He'd changed a lot in a year. Still, though, as the car started to head toward a sketchy part of town, he couldn't beat that sinking feeling in his gut.

He had to act.

The car came to a slow at a red light, and he made his move, picking up a small piece of gravel from the roof he was on, and throwing all of his gathered energy from the day into it. As it flew he pointed at it, and went into intense tunnel vision as he felt out and steered the makeshift projectile into the rear left tire of the car, piercing it just as it came to a stop.

The kid was good. If she wanted to leave, she would use this chance to escape. He watched carefully from his perch, keeping a low profile.

No one stepped in to help. Not a single soul. Her mother dug her pointed acrylic nails into her shoulder through her winter coat like a lion digging it's claws into her prey. Eisley was led out at a casual pace, forced to wait through paperwork and signatures, all while her mother cooed over her to appease the police. She got the feeling they they were being rushed out, even... and given who her mom was she wasn't really surprised.

But.... Saph never came back. She didn't glimpse him even once as the woman who had birthed her dragged her outside by her arm, swearing up and down that this would be the last time she ran away, that she would get them counseling... the whole nine yard.

She didn't spot the hero at all.

...Maybe he wasn't really that super.

Something like defeat settled within her rib-cage. Cold... stabbing. A lot of feeling were trying to surface, but fear kept them ay bay.

"What the hell is that?" Mr. Unicorn was ripped from her arms. "This disgusting thing is not coming with us. Nasty." Eisley watched, glassy eyes and mute, and her long time companion was tossed carelessly toward a nearby trashcan. Even if her feet didn't want to move, the words begging to escape her were tangled in her throat. It felt like she had been thrown back all those year ago to when she was trapped against a wall, cowering and crying, with red flowing through her fingers as she clutched at her ear.

She didn't want to go home with this woman. Everything inside her demanded that she refuse; yank her arm away and run for it. Escape... get away!

But that didn't happen.

She was roughly shoved into the front passenger seat of a old, rusty two-seater car. On autopilot she moved to buckle in, still staring out longingly at the police station.

"...Why?" Her voice was almost to quiet for even herself to hear it. Her mother, attempting to smooth down her dyed blond hair in the mirror, simple sneered at her.

"You're gonna make yourself useful for once, you hear me? I don't need any idle chatter, so keep quiet. You know what will happen if you get on my nerves, brat."

The teen flinched, turning her head away and squeezing her backpack into her chest.

They rode in relative silence for a bit. It was only broken when her mom fished out a small cellphone from the pocket of her too-tight jeans and started dialing a number while keeping half her attention on the road. It rang a few times before she apparently got an answer.

"I got her... Yeah, no issues. We're on our way now." A pause. Eisley's good ear was facing the conversation, so she couldn't help but eavesdrop. "It's all mine then? What he promised me? Cuz let me tell you that I did't go for all this #$%@ getting this good for nothing brat just to get f@#%$d again you hear me?!"

She just wanted to make herself as small as possible. Pretend this wasn't happening. Would she survive whatever her mother had planned long enough escape again?

The car jerked a little as a tire exploded. Her mother swore, dropping the phone and latching onto the wheel with both hands to keep the car straight as they rolled to a stop.

"@#$%! &@%@* *@$%&*#!" The woman was angrily shifting into park, leaving the keys in the ignition as she all but threw the old drivers side door open and went to see what happened. "YOU KEEP YOUR LITTLE @#% IN THE SEAT!" The door slammed, rocking the whole car with her rage.

Eisley watched for a tense moment, before her eyes started flickering around looking for the best escape route. She was able to pinpoint a street sign quickly, and got a gist as to where she was. She knew the streets better than her mom ever would, and had a decent advantage over her when it came to speed.

Quickly and quietly, she unfastened her belt. She kept the buckle palmed in her hand to appear like it was still fastened as she reached out to quietly get her door ajar.

Like a hawk, she watched as the woman hovered around the busted tire, her phone back up to her ear as she gestured wildly at things the other caller couldn't see.

One... Two... Three...

In one motion she released the belt and bailed out of the car. She was off down the sidewalk like a rocket, weaving between parked cars and people until she hit her first corner and took a right.

"EISLEY!"

Her mothers furious roar faded quickly... she tried to pay it little mind.

The teen didn't stop running until she had zigged and zagged herself a safe distance away. She collapsed in a little alcove gasping for breath and exhausted.

But, at least she was still free.