Elizabeth split her attention in a myriad of directions. Alternating between observing Rowan and the two men, she also kept tapping into Zorro’s ears and nose. The ability to channel her dog’s senses into her own was still new, or rather she had only discovered it recently, and she still had a lot of work to do to master it.

Her nose twitched and she broke connection with Zorro’s nose. It was too overwhelming, completely unlike when she was possessing him or some other dog. Even the hearing was far more intense and difficult to filter through. She’d read a book once about a blind man’s hearing people’s pulses and thought she could mimic that via Zorro, but she was quickly realizing there was just too much going on.

Dialing back on the listening, focused on watching. When Rowan turned to her with the news of his math test, Liz treated him with a genuine smile. “That’s awesome!” she said. Zorro’s tail beat in sync with her surge of joy. She knew that test-taking (and other similarly stressful situations) were difficult for him to handle as a result of his mutation. Which is why she watched him just as closely as she watched Agent Kemp. If she saw any signs that a shift was about to begin, she’d had to intervene. And if that failed, well, that was just one more reason why a stout wooden desk separated Rowan from the officer and agent and why the boy wasn’t blocking their escape route.

As the questioning began though, Liz relaxed just a hair. And then raised her psychic barriers, completely cutting herself off from Zorro, who had been really enjoying his petting. Liz mentally rolled her eyes. She didn’t want to risk getting distracted by her dog’s contentment at the moment, not when she needed to stay sharp in case things escalated.

Fortunately, it didn’t quite seem like that was the case. Rowan seemed to be withdrawing, reminding Liz of that first day she’d met him, when only food got him to open up about himself. She wasn’t thrilled to see that again, but she also couldn’t blame him. She had been inside the heads of many dogs and even a wolf or two - she understood far better now his defense mechanisms.

And then came the pictures. And unexpected revelations. Her eyes darted over to Rowan as he admitted he’d seen one of the people. Interesting. Not damning, possibly not even related to the case, but still more than Liz has expected. Rowan hadn’t been at the mansion long, but then again, some of the murders had happened close by. Easy enough to be a coincidence.

“Can’t say that I’ve had the pleasure,” she said evenly to Officer Drake. She wasn’t willing to get friendly, although she wasn’t convinced he was an enemy. He was still largely an unknown and while it’s possible his...mannerisms were genuine, it was always possible it was a ruse, a take on good cop/bad cop.

And then, resuming her position leaning against the wall and her position of a silent observer of the conversation. Rowan, I sure hope this is a coincidence and a misunderstanding!

Rowan narrowed his eyes. Wolfman rink huh? And even though Ashton quickly corrected himself the slip still happened. And it was too...coincidental to be a simple word switch. Did...these cops know his mutation? Why? Ms. Sundance wouldn't have told them...right?

The conversation was again directed at Rowan, and he was expected to answer their questions. Rowan sighed. He could feel Liz's eyes on him. For a moment he really didn't know what was worse; being arrested for a crime he didn't do or getting in trouble with the school for sneaking off campus.

But if the woman, Monica, was really missing or in danger...maybe he was just being questioned as a witness?

Rowan fidgeted a moment, picking at his hands and avoiding eye contact.

"I...uhm..." He sighed again, exasperated. "I saw her at Wollman Rink...in the park. Last Saturday. It's only a ten minute walk from here..."

His voice petered out for a moment. But he quickly added, wanting to defend himself before anyone could question him.

"It's just...I've never seen a real figure skater...like in person. And someone mentioned her and the park and since it's almost Spring the ice would be melting and..." Rowan stopped, realizing he was ranting.

He added one more thing, sinking back in the chair with his arms crossed over his chest.

"I sat in the park and watched her stake for awhile. There were other people there watching too. And then it started getting dark so I walked back to the school. That was it."

>> "I would prefer if Rowan got to answer for himself, and we don't put words in his mouth," kemp said sharply.

”Okay.” Ashton said. A tinge of the Irish accent he god from his da’ slipped into his words. Generally that only happened if he were annoyed, drunk, or... let it. He wasn’t drunk and it hadn’t been intentional. Seemed he was a little perturbed.

What, did kemp want to catch a killer or something? And he thought Rowan was because he saw someone familiar? Someone he could have seen anywhere? The FBI agent was being silly. He had just been interfering in a— oh right. Durr.

He stepped back and let Kemp do his thing. Just watched Rowan for his reaction. The reaction was more awkward sighs and fretting. He said he saw her ‘last Saturday’, in the location ashton had suggested.

Kid liked figure skaters. Go figure. Sounded like a fairly simple interaction. Ashton was willing to let it slide. after all, Rowan had only seemed to recognize one of our several people. That is, if Kemp hadn’t brought up Dna.

How in the hell did they even have this kids dna on record? That’s usually something you have to acquire through the appropriate court orders. This smelled like fish to him.

He watched kemp as he looked at his phone, frowning. But he didn’t answer it. Again.

What was going on?

Kemp tried to go on, but last time pays for all. Finally he had to answer the urgent call.

While his back was turned, Ashton talked to Rowan in a hushed voice. ”Tell him you need a guardian or a lawyer. It is illegal for him to spring something on you like that. And where would they even get your DNA.” He muttered the last part. Then added ”Ive got the name of a good one. If you need it. Mellitus.” Handsome jerk. Name like a stripper. Who names their kid Aurum?

Yes, he was aware Kemp would want to kick his ass. Yes, this was kind of interfering. He did not care. Something smelled and he wasn’t going to let the kid get treated this way. Smelled to him like a setup.

Way he’d thought it was, kemp came to investigate students in general. Now he had dna of a specific student? And they had not given the kid the chance to have legal protection before any of this? That changed things from asking him some innocent questions into it being nearly a full blown interrogation. That rubbed Ashton the wrong way. He would tell Kemp that, if he ever thought to ask.

>> "the thing is... we found some DNA on Monica and ran it through our system. There was a match. That match is you.

Rowan's eyes widened. He could feel his blood run cold, the numbing tingle in his chest. He tried to speak, but it just sounded like a strangled squeak. They found...DNA on her? Like what? Hair? Fingerprints? How was that even possible? They hadn't spoken, no less get within fifteen feet of each other.

He was pulled back to the present conversation by Kemp changing the subject. To his mutation. Oh. So that was what this was about. Ashton's slip up earlier and this proved the cops knew about him.

Ashton approached Rowan, speaking in a hushed tone. Rowan was shocked, really only catching part of what the younger cop was saying. But enough broke though Rowan's numbing fear to register what Ashton was talking about. Lawyers and guardians.

And then Kemp tired to leave. That was the final straw for Rowan.

Like a switch Rowan flipped from timid and nervous to complete rage. The young shifter suddenly stood up, the chair squeaking on the floor. He slammed his hands on the desk. Rowan's lips curled back, sharp teeth on display. He glared up at Kemp. Huh...were Rowan's eyes always red?

"You're! You're LYING! There wasn't any DNA! You ran out of leads and had to pin it on someone! So you picked me out of some stupid mutant list so you could catch some bad guy and get a pat on the back from your boss!"

Rowan snarled again. He was shaking, trying to hold back frustrated tears.

"Well I refuse! I won't let you force me to confess to a crime I didn't commit!"

Elizabeth’s expression, which had started coolly neutral save for her eyes, began darkening moment by moment. And she wanted Kemp to see that. Rowan knew the person, well enough to pick out what she was doing and when. It was innocuous enough so far, but Liz did not like how Kemp seemed to fixate on it.

Even when he said they were going to put that aside, Liz didn’t believe that for a moment. Predators didn’t give up that easy. They watched for weak points, waited for prey to lower their guard, to slip up. He wanted to throw Rowan off track and come at him from a side, where it’s harder to see things or defend.

But that’s why Liz and Zorro were flanking him.

Kemp’s interactions with Officer Drake were also placed under the empath’s scrutiny. It seemed the good cop/bad cop routine might actually be genuine. It appeared that Kemp didn’t seem to be making any allies, much less friends. By now Elizabeth’s fine blonde eyebrows were furrowed together in a feral frown.

And then the coup de grace. DNA?

Rowan had been targeted from the start. Everything was a masquerade just to get the boy in here.

Kemp left for a call before Liz could say anything and she took that moment to rehearse her thoughts and shore up her mental barrier. It wouldn’t do for her dog to start growling at a federal agent just because his owner was beginning to boil in rage.

Drake took that change to completely flip sides as it were. Liz turned to him with narrowed eyes. He did make sense though. Liz softened her gaze. At this point she was willing to consider the officer and ally. From what she could tell, he looked as surprised by each revelation as she had. Or he was a fantastic actor. She was willing to take the chance.

And then Rowan erupted.

Liz whirled. She’d been too focused on Kemp and drake, she’d forgotten to pay attention to Rowan. She knew fear and anger were intense triggers for his mutation and she’d neglected to keep tabs at the most critical juncture. She couldn’t allow him to transform, not here! Because she was certain the special agent would not leave the mansion alive.

Liz latched on to the collar of Rowan’s shirt with her left hand and turned in toward him, her right hand solidly lodged on his chest, and stepped forward, forcing him back in something almost like a hug. She had to get out in front of Fluffy before the beast could fully emerge. “Enough, Rowan,” she said sternly, the same kind of voice she used when commanding Zorro. “Enough,” she said again, hoping repetition would get through. Then, quieter and with forced calmness: “I will handle this.”

Her face was devoid anger. That had washed away in a moment. All that was left was confidence. Confidence that Rowan would listen and back down. Confidence that everything was under control. Confidence that if anyone was going to do anything to Agent Kemp, if was going to be her.

She whirled around again, smoothing out her features to cold professionalism. Like a lizard, or a wasp. Her back was to her student, but she wasn’t worried. She trusted Rowan. Now it was her part to continuing earning any trust he might have in her. Bodily blocking the view between him and Kemp, Liz snapped her fingers. Zorro stiffened. <<Guard,>> she commanded him mentally, her desire accompanied by images of Rowan from the dog’s perspective, as well as what she remembered of Rowan’s scent to the dog. Zorro obeyed, sidling up beside the shifter.

For the first time since inviting Drake and Kemp into her office, Liz smiled, although “baring her teeth” could be a more accurate description. Her tone was professional though, if stern. “I believe that’s enough for today, gentlemen.” Her eyes flared warningly. “As this conversation has progressed far beyond a simple questioning and has, in fact, become something of an interrogation. Yet, I don’t recall any rights being recited at any point in time. I do not appreciate this abuse of our goodwill and cooperation as a method of bypassing legal protections in an effort to further this witch hunt.”

“In fact, there are shocking parallels between this situation and the injustices that occurred during the events surrounding the Mutant Registration Act. Should Rowan be expecting an invasion of his living space in the middle of the night so he can be taken away to a concentration camp? If so, please let us know now so we can make sure he has all the appropriate vaccinations beforehand. After all, with all those filthy, violent mutants out there, you never know what a person might catch.”

The smile grew broader and just a bit more toothy as Liz cocked her head thoughtfully. “Of course, you also have the option of simply leaving and next time you want to interrogate a student here, you can call ahead so we have the proper legal counsel and guardian supervision available.” Now Liz was beaming. The smile a cat gave just before snapping at the rodent’s throat. “It’s up to you. We’re happy to cooperate with the law.”

Things went from shit to shittier. Oh boy.


Sundance did Sundance stuff. He noticed the dog, noticed the eyes. Getting darker and darker.

Rowan got mad. Sundance nabbed him by the collar. Hugged him. Interspersing herself between the boy and them. Trying to calm him. Because if he cut loose, Ashton figured it would be bad.

He had no idea he had lost one person in his life due to a wolf mutant. It wasn’t a part of his memories. If it had, he might have been a lot more wary.

When Sundance turned her focus back to them, she was oddly serene. That’s when you know someone is FURIOUS. When they’re too mad to raise their voice.

The dog moved, as if on command. Ashton got a feelin the dog might’ve been connected to Sundance’s thing. Her mutation.

When chimps sense danger, they bare their teeth. When wolves are danger, they Bare. Their. Teeth.

She told them that was enough. Very. Professionally. He agreed with her. It was. It had become an interrogation. He did not like that fact. It was an abuse of good will. Absolutely it was. He had not signed on for this. At least, he had not thought he was.

She brought up mutant registration. He agreed. That had been all sorts of messed up. Why had they done it this way? It was an invasion. Dear God.

He felt a bit sick.

Her suggestion was fair. Completely fair. And if this happened in any way like that next time, there would be legal counsel and warrants. Ashton simply had not thought they would neglect something as simple as that. Had not thought kemp would go in if he figured the situation warranted it.

He never looked away from Sundance’s face as she spoke. His own face was a mask of quiet compliance. He was willing to let this go and figure the next step out with everyone with the appropriate concerns met. He had been the one to suggest legal counsel first, after all. Was Kemp willing? Well, no.

He reacted very strongly, Kemp. Turning to him. Also, he had said the word mutie at some point, hadn’t he? Which was like calling someone a terrible racial slur. Enough to get anyone’s hackles to rise, mutant or not. He thought.

Yet another calm tone of ass kicking. An accusation of sabotage. Kemp said it was not an illegal interrogation. Ashton kind of thought it was. Kemp said he had accused Rowan of nothing. So far. Yet he had dropped hints and gauged reactions without legal counsel present. Reactions they really should not be able to use.

He himself had polluted some of the results by adding details. He had been trying to even the playing field. Like Sundance had said, they’d come into their homes and blindsided them with all of this. Like Rowan had said, it felt like a setup.

Ashton met Kemp’s eyes the entire time they spoke. So Kemp could see the gears turning in Ashton’s mind if he watched. The calmness before the storm. Contained fury.

No, he hadn’t been aware of UK stuff. He had only vaguely been aware who Rowan even was. From police chatter. That was it.

Kemp had 3 conclusions he could jump to. None seemed good. Ha.

He waited for Kemp to finish. Then he spoke. Calmly. Quietly. He could do it too.

”Agent Kemp,” Ashton said. ”I am not here to cause problems for you. Or to make you cause problems for other people. Though if you say the M word again I am not sure you won’t be causing problems for yourself all on your own.” He met the man’s eyes pointedly, then looked to Rowan and Sundance ahead of him.

”Honestly? I don’t know much about this kid or his history other than overheard chatter around the station. I did not expect you to start digging like this without having first gotten the appropriate things in order. Like warrants or counsel. I expect an FBI agent to have their house in order. As for your accusation that I have a secret that would make me interested in clearing the name of a mutant kid. Ha.”

He shook his head.

”I would protect any kid I thought was having their rights infringed upon. Mutant, or not. Whether you think it is that way, or not. And secret? Really? If you check my history it’ll flat out state that I’m a mutant. I just happen to have recently been transformed from a nice 40-something detective into a 21-year old rookie. Transferred to a new position. And I have been taking classes with Cold Steel here in order to try and get my mutation issues sorted out so I’m in full control.”

His mind flashed the the numerous sessions. The crazy danger room. Falling. Getting back up again. Dealing with ice and machines and all manner of death trap. Practicing control. It was like a 80s movie montage up in his head.

He sighed. ”I just want Rowan to be treated like anyone should be treated in here. Sundance is right. This seems like an invasion, and Rowan is right too. Something seems utterly wrong with the whole scenario. We should leave, and give them the opportunity to get his guardians or legal counsel involved. This needs to be above board. I didn’t sign on to do anything shifty. I am sorry, Rowan. Miss Sundance. We can leave if that is what you want.”

And if Kemp didn’t wanna he could effing walk home.

He kept his cool the entire time, he thought. And he wasn’t always the one with the best record for tact.

He reached into his pocket, and withdrew his wallet. Extracted a business card from his lawyer, and pressed it gently on the desk.

”This man got me reinstated after I was deaged. He’s good people. Take it or leave it. That is entirely up to you.”

Rowan's growls had only grown more guttural, more animalistic. Luckily Ms. Sundance realized what was happening and yanked him back. For a moment his red eyes locked on Ms. Sundance's. He snarled at her a moment, less aggressive and more frustrated. Fluffy clearly didn't like being pulled from it's target. But Ms. Sundance's firm tone was enough to break through to Rowan. He blinked, eyes returning to their normal green, as he was forced back against the wall.

From there Rowan really started losing the conversation, instead completely focused on keeping himself in control. He could occasionally hear the other adults in the room speaking, and at the moment it seemed like Ashton and Kemp were turning on each other, but he really couldn't tell. Rowan winced, looking down at his hands. His fingernails had started growing and sharpening. He quickly crossed his arms, claws digging into his flesh. At least he wouldn't scratch Ms. Sundances' walls.

He tried to calm himself down, tried to find something else, anything else, to think about. He couldn't shift, not here. Ms. Sundance would be okay, Rowan knew and trusted her, so Fluffy would't see her as a threat. But the two cops...they would probably get caught in the crossfire. And worse, he might scare Zorro.

Rowan's mind quickly cycled through the various coping mechanisms he had been taught and practicing since attending school. And for a moment, just a moment, he was thankful for his Danger Room sessions. He tried to ground himself on the thing's he could feel. The cool wall against his back, his claws digging into his arms, Zorro brushing against his leg.

His shoulder's were shaking, his breathing heavy. For now he was able to keep himself calm, er well at least calm enough. But Fluffy was not too please. It thrashed around in his head angrily, like a dog pulling on a leash. In brief flashes Rowan's mind was filled with all sorts of gruesome images. Dog teeth sinking into Kemp's neck. Heavy paws shoving Ashton to the floor. Defending himself from this...questioning.

"M...not a...monster...'m...Row...an..."

The young shifter was barely able, through gritted teeth, mutter the line Cold Steele had told him so many times.

The smile sharpened even as incredulity entered the woman’s gaze. Did Agent Kemp not think they could all hear him? Mutie rang in the air as if he’d struck a gong. How unbelievably stupid could a person be to utter that word with such venom in the middle of a mansion and school dedicated to raising, training, and housing mutants?

Officer Drake’s response was almost ignored as she continued to size up Kemp. Drake was a mutant and was training with Sam. Interesting. Possibly true even. She would check with the elemental later. She downgraded him in her threat analysis, though. His body language wasn’t at odds with anything he said and he did seem firmly in opposition to Kemp’s recklessness. Very well.

Liz glanced cursorily at what Drake placed on her desk. A business card. “Appreciated,” she said with a nod, before resuming her cobra smile as she faced Kemp. “Agent Kemp, I would like you to leave now. You are on the verge of initiating a disaster - one in which you will not come out on top. And since it is clear that you have...internal issues….you need to work out, I advise you to do so somewhere else.” She was downright radiant. “Please remove yourself from these premises.”

She was barely blinking. Her attention was tightly focused on her posture, her stance, every muscle in her face, and above all, wrapping tightly a cloak of concealment around her emotional wellspring, so her pet and any surrounding animal would not be poisoned by her fury. She hesitated to take a step out from behind the desk and toward the agent, as she desperately wanted to remain standing in between Kemp and Rowan, trying to block as much of the mental tension as possible.

The fool didn’t understand what he was nearly triggering here. She could hear Rowan softly behind her and she forced herself to stay strong and avoid the heartbreak his words were triggering in her. She was not about to demonstrate weakness or vulnerability to this predator, but she also couldn’t allow him to remain in Rowan’s presence any longer. She feared they were down to seconds before Fluffy escaped.

Risking a tight bond to Zorro, she impressed upon him a need to lean even harder against Rowan - not enough to destabilize the lad, but to be a pillar of strength and support, as well as the physical comfort that people lost in their minds sometimes needed.

“Officer Drake, thank you for coming by. If you would be so kind as to escort your…colleague...off the Institute’s grounds.” Normally Liz wouldn’t leave a dependent clause lying around like that. However, she didn’t feel like saying any of the typical endings such as “I would be much obliged” or something similar. At the moment, she wanted the men gone.

Rowan was running out of things to focus on. The cool wall against his back was growing warmer as he began sweating. One of the lights in the room flickered slightly, which was more of an annoyance than anything. He could smell blood, his own blood, as his claws continued digging into his flesh.

The dog again brushed against his leg, firmer this time. Good dog.

Slowly Rowan was able to uncurl one of his arms from around himself. And as his hand lowered to pet Zorro the claws retracted, leaving only his blunt fingers to brush through the fur.

Feeling the course fur was enough to ground Rowan again, and slowly his mind was able to return to the conversation at hand.

He was able to steal a glance at the cellphone from around Ms. Sundance. Yes, he recognized the other man in the picture. It was the police officer who dropped him off at the school. Although Rowan was in no mental state to explain that. He also was too mentally strained to even hide the look of realization in his eyes. Rowan was trying his best to keep himself standing up straight against the wall, but the tremor in his legs was making this difficult. The young boy hunched forwards slightly, arms wrapped around his head, desperately trying to block out the stressful stimuli.

They wrapped the whole conversation up. Tied it with a bow. Kemp had not meant to use the M word. He’d only... meant to use the M word. For a ruse.

Whatever.

Ashton waited patiently. So they could leave.

Kemp tried to get more information on the way out. Sure, he said he felt like Rowan might have been set up, but—

Rowan gave him nothing.


Ashton turned to kemp. ”Well. I think it’s about time we hit the dusty trail.”

He nodded to Kemp, then started heading for the door.

Once they were back in the car (however long that took), Ashton addressed Kemp. ”So what was that, at the end? And what was the call about.”

The moment the cops exited the office, the moment the door closed behind them, Rowan slowly slid down the wall, sinking to the floor. Rowan hugged his knees to his chest, arms wrapped around his head. The young shifter was shaking aggressively, his breathing ragged and heavy.

After a moment Rowan spoke, but his voice was strange. Deeper, gravelly, as if he had been screaming.

"P...please Ms. Sun-dance...I didn't...I didn't do it...p-please be...believe me..."

He let out a few more shaky breaths, clawed hands tangling into his hair.

"I'm...I'm t-trying s...so hard to be...be good..."

And that much was evident. For a student with an extensive history of starting fights and violent outbursts Rowan had been rather tame since attending the Sister School, aside from some verbal threats.

Rowan slowly looked up, pulling his head out of his arms.

"I just...want to go back...t-to class..."

He said, in absolutely no shape to go back to class. Aside from the near transformation, and Fluffy throwing a fit in his head, Rowan looked rough. His hair looked more coarse, his nails sharp and long, his eyes tinted red. And while Rowan's teeth were always sharp, they looked bigger, more cramped, in his mouth.

Elizabeth’s estimation of Officer Drake rose as he spoke, although she took care not to read too deeply into it. For now, she’d accept him at face value and would remember his words so she could hold him to it, if need be. Later, after the school day was over, she’d track Sam down to fact-check Drake’s story, but all in all, Liz was almost ready to beleive the man’s sincerity. Unlike Kemp, who seemed to change his story and motivation with every word, Drake had remained consistent in mannerisms and messaging.

Plus, he’d seemed to have taken quite a liking to Zorro, which was definitely a point in his favor.

Nevertheless, Liz maintained her guarding stance, her legs a shoulder length apart and in a diagonal stance, enabling easy mobility. Her hands were at her sides, cupped. All in all, it wasn’t a very intimidating look, most likely. She was all of 5’3, but she was ready to move quickly and surely. Just in case.

It put the lie to her smile and stare, the glinting eyes of a cat measuring the distance between it and prey as it prepares to pounce. She accepted the phone begrudgingly and only took her eyes off Kemp to briefly glance down and confirm that the person in the phone was a mystery to her. She heard movement behind her and a quick check through Zorro confirmed Rowan’s increasing degradation of control.

Liz handed the phone back and said nothing, just nodded her head slightly at Kemp, the absolute bare minimum of professionalism. She watched as he packed up his stuff and finally he and Drake were gone.

Only then, when even Zorro’s keen ears couldn’t detect them any more, did Liz relax and finally shift from her guarding stance. And by then, Rowan was breaking down.

“Shhhh, it’s okay, Rowan,” Liz said soothingly, unconsciously beaming waves of serenity at him, even though there was no way he’d feel them. She crouched down and then maneuvered around until she could sit against the wall beside him, yet without touching. “I know you’re trying, and you’re doing very well,” she said earnestly. A genuine smile broke out as she stared at her desk. “I’m proud of how you handled yourself - you didn’t lose control. In that, I think you might’ve done a better job than me, actually.” If Nico had been in the room instead of Zorro, Liz strongly suspected someone would’ve ended up bleeding.

“But for now, let’s just take some time and calm down, okay? I’ll get you excused from your next class and talk to your teachers, so don’t worry about that. Right now I think we both just need to pull ourselves together. Who knows, in a bit we might even need to raid the kitchen for some ice cream.”

And with that, Liz leaned her head back against the wall and shut her eyes, even as Zorro leaned bodily against Rowan, occasionally trying to send a lick toward the boy’s face.

<<Good boy, Zorro. You did well, too.>>

Proud? Ms. Sundance was...proud of him? He tried not to let the word affect him, stubbornly blinking away the sting in his eyes.

"I didn't...hold back because I was afraid of hurting them...I just knew if I did then they would have gotten their answer. Even though I swear I didn't do anything that would have been enough to...get me in trouble."

Rowan grumbled a moment.

"That...wasn't fair...none of that was fair...I hate them, they made me feel...unsafe here."

He knew that continuing to talk about the situation without relaxing would just make things worse.

Rowan did, however, perk up at the mention of ice cream. He was food motivated to a fault. Something about ice cream sounded extra satisfying, as his anxiety had made him feel pretty warm.

Just sitting quietly, focusing on his breathing and taking in his surroundings, was already working to calm Rowan down. Over the next few minutes Rowan was starting to look him himself again, less beast and more boy. Now he was just feeling tired, and sore, the strain of keeping Fluffy contained.

As much as he didn't want to admit it Rowan could see a Danger Room session in his near future. Fluffy was pretty wound up, and he doubted ice cream and some quiet time would fix that. It was gonna be hard to sleep when he was so close to a shift. Even now Fluffy was pretty convinced they could catch up to the cops and teach them a lesson. How fun it would be to run them off the road and pull them out through the windshield.

Rowan struggled to breath a moment, trying to ignore the violent thoughts.

"Thank you...for protecting me Ms Sundance...I don't know...I don't know if I would have been able to hold back if you weren't here taking the brunt of the questioning...and...I'm sorry for leaving campus without telling anyone."

At this point Zorro was finally able to land a lick on Rowan's face. The boy snorted slightly and gave the dog a tiny smile.

"And you helped a lot too Zorro. Good doggy."

Liz smiled and kept her eyes closed. “There are many things one can lose control of - our powers are just one of them. But you used your head and made a good choice, for a good reason. That’s the beginning of wisdom.” There was more she could’ve said, but Liz figured Rowan needed a chance to calm down before anything else would sink it. Lord knew she certainly needed a chance to calm down.

The blonde took a deep, slow breath of her own and upon exhalation, she relaxed the mental dams she used to cut herself off from the ocean of emotions around her.

And they poured in, dozens of drops of contentment, joy, fear, pain from all the tiny invertebrates in the ground, as well as some more vibrant and nuanced feelings from various birds and larger critters in the area. Zorro’s joy was almost a fountain of happiness on its own and Liz soaked it in eagerly, even as her dog’s tail started thumping against the edge of his bed.

She stayed like that, allowing herself to float upon the myriad feelings that were ever-present, but usually blocked out, allowing them to chew away at the anger until it was so weak it couldn’t survive. Her smile deepened in contentment. Such was her sinking that it took her a moment to realize Rowan was speaking.

“That’s what I’m here for, Rowan. That’s part of the deal with you living here - we teach you, we feed you, we house you, and we protect you. ‘Sides, I know what it’s like to lose control - if you ever need to talk about or need help, I’m willing. S’why I live here at the mansion as well.” Her mouth quirked with mischief. “But yeah, definitely let us know next time you leave. If we’re going to have any more of these kind of meetings, I’m going to need to get more chairs for the office! Zorro doesn’t like sharing his bed, after all.”

And Zorro just kept licking Rowan’s face, now that he had better access, and beating a dent in the floor with his tail.

A ticking time bomb. Really? Ashton clenched his teeth at the cliche phrase. And just let the man ramble.

Kemp really had a lot of fear of mutants in him, didn’t he? And he’d done his homework. He knew that Rowan had the potential to do things.

‘See, the thing about potential,’ Ashton thought. ‘It doesn’t get realized on its own.’

Rowan could do great things. Rowan could do terrible things. He could do great, terrible things. But how he was pushed would affect what direction he went.

Ashton drove while the man spoke. Not saying a word

Kemp surprised him a little by saying he thought something similar to what Ashton himself felt. Like Rowan was being pushed. Used. Ashton had to admit evidence seemed stacked against the kiddo. He begrudgingly gave Kemp that. But of tit for tat, that.

But Kemp said next surprised Ashton even more.

”You know if I were a vainglorious dramatic bastard I would have slammed on the brakes and said something shocking about that. But now... I am not surprised. We were with Rowan. We saw him not doing... that. Unless you’re going to tell me our entire conversation lasted less than fifteen minutes and we have no way of knowing where Rowan was before he came to us.”

How would he have traveled that far? How would he still have been so composed? This was shifty and made little sense.

“So.” He stopped. At a light. “Olive branch time. I was not very helpful in there. I did not have your back. From your perspective, maybe it even seemed like a betrayal. Fair assessment?”

He waited for a response, then went on. “I acted like a rookie. Which I am. It was crap. I apologize. If you keep me with you on this, I’ll follow your lead better. I probably should have asked better questions to know what I was getting into on the way... then I wouldn’t have let myself get so surprised...”

”So what is your next step here?” He asked.

He had gotten heated and he felt like an ass but he had admitted it. He hadn’t tried to hide behind excuses. Much. He could sideline his ego. Maybe not grandstand as much. Would Kemp keep him on?

Just to make sure kemp knew, Ashton emphasized. “I want whoever is doing this caught. Maybe I can learn something from you. But if you think I’m not right for this—“

He didn’t finish the statement. He was an adult.