by Sarah Carter
"Fine," Damien replies. "You want to see a college. We'll take you to a college."
Claire raises an eyebrow. "Are you sure?"
"I'm sure. If they wanted to harm us, I would be dead. They've lived in hell. It's time to show them what this world is all about."
Aurora throws her hands up in the air. "PARTY!"
Damien bursts out laughing. "Yes, we will throw a party." Aurora squeals and claps in enthusiasm.
"Again, are you sure about this?" Claire whispers.
"I do believe I am in charge," Damien says, putting his hand on his chest. "So, I say we can give them a little taste of life."
Dr. Galliger interjects, "It will take me a little while to even think this through. I have to talk to Mr. Paulson. He may have some ideas."
Nodding, Damien replies, "Very well, you get the equipment together. We will go to Stanford."
Ariel finally truly smiles for the first time. "We're going to Stanford?"
"That's where we go. We have a house that we share with Damien's cousin and his girlfriend, Jackson and Kayla."
"Will there be room enough for all of us?" Xander asks.
"Yup," Claire answers. "The girls will have to share a bed, but I doubt that's a problem."
"I don't care if I had to sleep on the floor," Aurora declares happily. "It could be in a tent."
"No," Ariel snaps. "I'm so tired of being outside. Inside, plush bed, curtains, darkness. No alarm."
"Alarm?" Claire inquires.
Xander nods his head. "In bed and asleep by nine, up at five for drills. It's not like we always went to bed tired. Half the time I would stare at the wall for hours."
"Or Trinity would come to him," Aurora sighs. "Very romantic. Secret rendezvouses in the middle of the night."
"Shut up Aurora."
"I'm not trying to poke fun. I'm being serious. Two people who can't be together. Secret meetings. It's romantic."
"I guess," Xander sighs, running his fingers through his hair.
"We'll get her," Damien promises. "I won't stop until we figure this thing out." Xander smiles at him. "But first things first, we need to get you some clothes. You're not our exact sizes."
Aurora gets a big grin. "Can we help pick them out?"
"Of course," Damien chuckles. "You can get whatever you want. The council is going to take care of you until you are on your feet and we have dealt with this situation fully."
"Can I ask a really small favor?"
"Sure."
"Can I get something that's not clothes?"
The corner of Damien's mouth twitches. "Sure."
"Can I get an iPod? We were never allowed to listen to music. Since we escaped, that's all I have wanted to do."
"Tell you what," Damien says. "We have laptops that are a few years old. They are really nice. You can have those. Plus, I will give you my iPod. I use it for running, but I'd much rather you have it. There are like 2000 songs on it."
"You'd give that to me?" Aurora whispers.
"Of course, you will be a much more appreciative owner."
Suddenly, Aurora jumps over and gives him a hug. Damien stumbles back for a second. He then hugs her too. "Thank you so much."
"You're welcome. Now, we can all take a seat. It will take us another ten minutes of landing."
"We're there already?" Xander stammers.
"Yes, I said the same thing," Claire laughs. "Alien technology. We move through solar systems in a blink of an eye. Around the world is nothing."
"Have you ever been in space?" Ariel asks Claire.
Claire shakes her head. "No, but it would be cool."
"Maybe someday," Damien snorts. "Not today though."
A voice from the ceiling says, "We should be landing in three minutes Master Damien."
"Alright then," Damien exclaims. "Welcome to California!"
"YES!" Aurora screams, throwing her hands up.
Two hours later, they walk into a clothing store. Aurora stops, opened mouth and twirls around in a circle. "Holy cow. What can we get?"
"Whatever you want," Damien replies. "You need a full wardrobe. We will get you everything, clothes, shoes, undergarments. Whatever you want. I'm being serious."
"I suggest trying everything on," Claire says. "You're not used to buying clothes."
"I wouldn't even know where to begin," Ariel murmurs, looking around.
A girl comes over and eyes up Damien. Claire leans into her line of sight and shakes her head. The girl stands up a little and says, "Is there anything I can help you with today?"
"Yes," Damien replies. "These three need full wardrobes."
"Excuse me?" The salesgirl squeaks.
"Do you work off of commission?" Damien asks.
"Yeah."
"Then you are about to receive a huge paycheck but I want you to treat these guys like they are the royalty. Do whatever they ask. I will make sure you get the full bill."
Looking a little shocked, the girl says, "Sure, of course, what would you like?"
"Pants," Ariel states.
"Dresses and skirts and anything girly for me," Aurora exclaims in excitement.
"Let's get started," the salesgirl suggests.
Ariel and Aurora follow the girl farther into the store. Xander turns to Damien and says, "I refuse to have some chick help me pick out clothes."
"I will help you," Claire laughs. "Come on." She grabs his hand and pulls him to the guy’s section. "So, what do you want?"
"Pants, long sleeves, otherwise I don't care," Xander mumbles.
"You're in California. I realize it's fall but you are going to roast," Damien states.
Xander looks down at the floor and doesn't say anything. "I refuse to let anyone see."
"See what? The scars?" Damien replies. Xander nods. "Xander, we can take care of that."
His head shoots up. "What?"
"We can grow animals from DNA. I think we can get rid of your scars. It might be a little painful from what I've heard, but we will put you under."
"The girls?"
"Them too. We're going to take care of you. I promise. You don't need to be scared or hide anymore."
With an unreadable expression, Xander says, "Thanks. I still want to wear long sleeves and pants for now."
"Alright, we can do that," Claire chimes.
Chapter 6
Xander
He pulls down on the cuff and looks in the mirror. Xander wishes Trinity could see him right now. For the first time ever, he feels like a normal person. Suddenly, he feels a tickle on the back of his neck. Xander spins around.
Trinity smiles up at him. "Hi!"
"What are you doing here?" Xander whispers.
"I missed you," she giggles. Trinity looks around the dressing room. "What is this?"
"A changing room," Xander replies. "I'm buying some clothes."
She gives him a look. "With what money?"
"Friends are buying it."
"What friends?"
"New friends."
She gives him a speculative look, but then smiles anyway. "You look very handsome."
"You're always beautiful," Xander murmurs, tracing his fingers down her face. Suddenly, an idea pops into his head. He moves away from the mirror. "Can you see yourself?"
Walking up to the mirror, Trinity says, "No."
Xander steps up behind her and then looks in the mirror. "Do you see now?"
Slowly, she walks up to the mirror. "Is that me?" She gasps.
"See, now you can say for yourself how beautiful you are," Xander happily whispers.
With her chest heaving, a tear falls down her cheek. "Xander, that's me!"
"It is baby." He wraps his arms around her and holds her to him. "Trinity, if I come for you, will you leave with me?"
"Xander," she sighs.
"Baby, please, you have no idea what the real world is like."
With a shake of her head, Trinity says, "I have heard enough of the human world. They do nothing but kill each ot
her. Wars and starving people. It's unsafe."
"Come with me," Xander snaps. He opens the door and Trinity walks out. She stares up at everything in wonder.
"Look Xander," she exhales. "It's all so pretty."
"This is what people wear." He starts to walk her closer to the mall entrance. Damien starts walking up to him and Xander signs for him to stop.
Turning around, Trinity says, "What are you doing?"
"Nothing Trinity," Xander emphasizes. Damien nods and ducks out of the way. "Come on, go towards that door."
They walk out into the mall entrance. Trinity just looks at the people and walks farther out into the mall. There is a family sitting at a table eating soft pretzels. Xander watches Trinity stare at them. "Xander," Trinity whispers. "That's a family. A mother and father, and a sister and brother. It's a real family. Look at how happy they are."
"This is what most of the real world is like Trinity," Xander says softly. "It's amazing. Both Neturu and humans, they're amazing people."
She spins around. "You've met other Neturu!"
"Yes," Xander replies, nodding his head.
"Boys or girls?"
"Mostly boys, but one girl. You'd love them Trinity. They are funny and super nice."
"One girl," Trinity whispers. "Is she pretty?"
"Xander," he suddenly hears from behind him. He spins around to see Claire standing there. Xander quickly turns back to Trinity.
Trinity looks at Claire carefully. "Is that her?"
"Yes," Xander answers.
"She's quite beautiful," Trinity whispers. She looks back up at Xander.
It takes a second, but Xander finally narrows his eyes. "Are you worried that I am going to do something."
"You and I aren't together," Trinity whispers. "I'm here and you're there." She looks down.
"Trinity, stop. You have my whole heart. No one else is ever going to change that. It's only has been and always will be just you. I love you." As the words slip out of his mouth, Xander's heart drops.
Her eyes slowly look up at him. "What did you just say?"
After taking a deep breath, Xander says, "I love you Trinity. Always have."
"Xander," she says, shaking her head. Trinity starts to back up. "Don't say that. It could never be."
"It can and will happen. I'm coming for you Trinity. I love you. I won't stop until you are safe." She shakes her head and disappears. "CRAP!" He yells.
He senses Claire come up behind him. "What's wrong?"
"I just let it slip to Trinity that I loved her. It made her leave. Why did I say that?" He throws his hands onto his head. "She wasn't ready for that. I could have just ruined what we have."
"Calm down, she will come to you again. None of you have ever known real love before except from each other. Romantic love probably isn't even on the radar. It's new to her and probably a little scary. That doesn't mean she doesn't love you back."
"If The Collector found out that we loved each other, it could be disastrous."
"Do you think they would do something?" Claire asks.
With a shrug of his shoulders, Xander shakes his head, "I have no idea. They would never do anything to her. She's too powerful, but they may come after me even more and I could probably guarantee my death, because there is no way for them to stop her from coming to me. The only way to do that would be if I wasn't around to come to."
"Well, we aren't going to let anything get to you, Neturu or human or anything. You are safe with us."
Sighing, Xander says, "I hope that's true. The problem is you can protect me but not her."
"We are going to find her. We will rescue her and your friends, and destroy whoever is that is behind this. We aren't going to stop until that all happens. You have the backing of the council of the most advanced people on this planet. The Neturu are a very scary race when they want to be. The Collector won't get away with this."
"You'll have to kill them," Xander replies. "They would figure out a way to escape or hurt someone."
"I have thought about that. I am ready if the time comes. I have killed before and I can do it again. If it means protecting a bunch of innocent people and especially kids, then I will throw the killing blow myself."
"It's probably easier to shoot them," Xander says.
Claire cracks her knuckles and grins. "I'm more of a hands on kind of girl."
"Have you ever been shot?"
Her smile turns into a frown. "Yeah, don't remind me."
“Who shot you?” Xander gasps.
Claire gives him a look. “My grandfather.”
“What?”
“Can’t get into specifics but I was on a mission and my grandfather shot me. It hurt…a lot.”
“With a bullet?”
Shaking her head, Claire says, “No, an electrical burst. It’s like getting shocked by the hundredth power.”
“You were alright.”
“I’m here, aren’t I?” Claire laughs.
“That’s kind of intense.”
With a shrug, Claire states, “It’s part of my life. I’m a guard member before anything else.”
“But, you’re in school?”
“I’m used only on special missions. They don’t need my abilities all the time. So, yeah, I’m in school. I should be at school right now but my boyfriend somehow got the test answers for me and wrote my essay.” Claire narrows her eyes. “Not sure how he pulled that off.”
“He’s the prince of the most intelligent people on this planet. I doubt that was very hard.”
“He probably wrote it himself in a half an hour,” Claire snorts.
Xander smirks. “He’s one of those Neturu.”
“Yes, he is. Damien’s brilliant and will do great things.”
“He seems like a nice guy.”
“A little full of himself but that’s calmed down since we started dating. I love him for that and all his other quirks.”
“I love Trinity. She can be a bit clueless sometimes, but is so caring with the little kids. She would make a great mother someday if she was allowed to.”
Putting her hand on him, Claire says, “She will have babies and hey, maybe it will be with you.”
“Whoa, let’s rescue her first,” Xander says, putting up his hands. Claire starts to laugh and Xander smiles.
“Let’s go see where the twins are at,” Claire suggests. They turn and walk back into the store. Xander watches Damien walk up to them slowly.
“Are you alone?” He asks.
“Yeah,” Xander answers.
“Everything alright?”
With a grimace, Xander reluctantly says, “I told Trinity that I loved her and she bolted.”
“I told a girl that I loved her and she was in love with someone else,” Damien states.
“Ouch.”
“It’s a worse story than that, but then I met Claire. True love will knock you off your feet,” Damien murmurs, grabbing Claire’s hand. The look that they give each other makes Xander smirk.
“Where are the girls?” Xander asks.
Damien points towards the check out. “They are over there. Aurora is going through all the jewelry. She is really excited about looking normal.”
“Her more so than Ariel,” Xander says. “Aurora always watched the fashion in movies and the few magazines that we got. This is probably very exciting for her.”
"I should go by her," Claire says.
"Do you really want to go look at jewelry?" Damien asks.
Thinking about it, Xander finally replies, "No...not really."
"Let's go take a walk around the mall," he suggests, nudging his head towards the doorway.
"That's a much better idea."
"Claire!" Damien calls out. "We'll be back."
"Okay!" She yells back, paying him no attention, as she shows a necklace to the girls.
With a roll of his eyes, Damien starts to walk and Xander follows. "So, you guys are pretty serious?" Xander asks.
"Yeah, she has an en
gagement ring around her neck."
"Around her neck?"
"It's a long story but we are betrothed. She doesn't want to come out to society because they would scrutinize her. Why are we engaged so quickly? Most people don't even know I am seriously dating someone. No one can learn about her abilities. Claire thinks it would be better if we just waited. The engagement ring is something I had gotten made a while ago...for the future. I gave it to her one night before she went to do something very dangerous. I gave her that, a symbol of my heart and we made love for the first time. It was an incredible moment that bound us together. I don't think I could last a day without her."
Xander smirks. "You don't have the best reputation. We live in seclusion and we were told about that. It wanted us to have the worst opinion of the council. You were painted as the future of the Neturu. Look at where it was going. This is our society today."
Giving him a look, Damien replies, "Seriously?"
"Yeah," Xander laughs. "You were painted as like demon spawn."
"Huh, interesting. The only bad point I really had was that I was a slut. I never did anything else wrong. I graduated early and was going to Yale. Yes, I was the downfall of the Neturu. You're evil, getting an education. What were you thinking!"
That makes Xander laugh harder. "Yes, you evil menace to society."
"I want a t-shirt that says that. Why yes I am an evil menace to society. Claire would make me wear it every other day so she could laugh. Kayla would get a kick out of it, too."
"Kayla?"
"My cousin's girlfriend and my best friend."
"Is she like Claire?"
Damien shakes his head, "No, not really. Claire is very hard core and in your face. Kayla really isn't. She is a good match for Jackson. They love each other a lot and make an excellent couple."
"So, can I ask you a question?"
"Yeah, of course."
"This may be really awkward but what is it like?"
"What?"
"Well, anything with a girl. We weren't shown anything beyond the basics. You heard what would happen if anything did occur between us. I'm just curious."
A soft smile crosses over Damien's face. "With every girl it's different. Being in love makes much more of an impact. Honestly, I would give up every experience I ever had so I could just be with Claire."