After School Villains Club (2)

Adoption

We found out very quickly what Garfield could do, once we left the collector's little pet store. We didn't put him on a leash, although one was provided, rather, on reaching the large open area, we simply let him run free.

"Oh Thank Goodness! That collar, it was designed to get tighter if it felt I was slipping or shrinking out of it!" Garfield lept from my shoulder, up onto the balcony, then lept!

"NO!" Penny called out instinctively, running after him.

"WEEEEEEE!" In response a bird, an eagle by the looks of it flew up through the gap, crying in delight.

"IT is SO Good being OUT!" He performed loop-de-loops in the big open space and Penny and I stared. It took a moment for my brain to catch up.

"HEY, If you Think it's Safe then it's NOT! These people need to know you belong to us, or they might take you for themselves!"

The bird flitted up and over my head, before landing on me.

"I'm a person I'll have you know. Or are you as bad as that hunter?" I had to think about that, yes on some level I felt we owned him, we certainly paid for him but... "You can belong to someone without it being creepy. Like belonging to a club!"

"Or a Family?" Penny put in,

"Or a master, if it's master-student!" I added.

Penny seemed to be thinking, "I mean, if you have somewhere you already belong, we'll see to it you get there! Else, You belong with Ray for now!"

Garf seemed to think about that, with his spunky personality he certainly seemed like a Garf. After a moment he went back to the ferret form, scampering into a position on my shoulder where he could see.

"Okay, yes. Being captured again would be bad."

I sighed. We were going to have to talk about this later though. There was no way I was exposing anyone, animal or person to my mother. No, I don't think she'd be brave enough to hurt him with me there, but it still wasn't healthy. Both of us had made bad decisions and there was no family left back there.

If I found somewhere else I could stay, maybe there but not back home.

Garf stayed by our side in a variety of different animal forms, bird, panther, for a bit a snake.

"Any animal!" He told us, "Only animals. But not every - I have to have met one, touched it! At least I think that's how it works." A hint at a back story? "I mean, I went to a zoo once a long time ago. So I have several things I can do." He hesitated in our meandering. "Did you have a specific reason for buying me?"

"You seemed sad." I said in a reflex, then regretted it. He gave me a look, something I couldn't decipher behind eyes that were currently feline.

"Plus, who wouldn't like a talking rodent. You could sneak into places, or under things, tell us what you find. Yes, we're occasionally bad people!" Penny and I were walking up the rail of the down escalator as we talked, the cat bounding up the stairs between us. I was holding Penny's hand again, this time for balance as amused pedestrians went underneath the bridge we made - in the correct direction. Nobody stopped us. "We're not evil though. We won't force you to do anything and would be fine just hanging out with you."

"Oh."

I laughed, it felt like the cue for a song. An hour or two later, we met up with Claire eventually and she spent the next half hour gossiping about her new hero friends. That helped the shy new team-mate to relax. We were friends with our hero rivals, it couldn't be that bad!

"Oh and Ray!" Claire told me, "Did you get the flyer?"

I nodded my response, "A crash ninjutsu camp? Seriously sounds weird, all the training I got at home was intimidation, parkour and how to hit people hard and fast. Learning to be stealthy and fight smart could be useful."

Penny stopped, her hand pulling me up short, and I realised what I'd said.

Spoken without thought. Out of turn.

She pulled me, her strength wouldn't move me if I didn't want to, so it more had the effect of pulling her towards me. Arms went around me in a hug.

Nothing was said, except by Claire, she was shushing Garfield.

Then the moment passed. I wasn't asked anything, and we resumed walking.

"If you think you can learn something, and you want to, you should." Penny said, simply. My heart almost broke, this was one of the reasons I liked her. She never pitied me, never questioned me. I don't know how much she had learned elsewhere, from Claire or by her own, but she never forced me to discuss it, or told me how sorry she was. She just held my hand, and gave me a hug. Then let the topic move on.

This wasn't the first time. It probably wouldn't be the last.

"Yeah, I think I might. Lady Shiva is meant to be the best, heroes and villains have learned from her alike. At the very least it will help me keep up with Robin."

We left the mall. In the End Claire took Garfield home; "It'll be like having a pet. Or a younger brother. Or a younger brother I can treat as a pet! We'll clear a space in the Attic, put in a perch, a nest. Whatever!" Garfield seemed happier about that.

When we reached the ceiling of the mall, he grew big, starting off turning into a small wagtail as he flapped for height, then gradually growing in size until, faintly I recognised the outline of a Harpy Eagle. One of the biggest birds in the animal kingdom. We watched him pinwheel and enjoy the oncoming night, with its light smattering of clouds and a gibbous bulging moon in the sky.

"Come on Garfield!" Claire eventually called out, "Get in the Hopper, so we can head home!"

That night, after Dropping Penny at her home I roamed the streets by the rooftops. I'd gotten better, hardly ever thudding as I jumped from roof to roof. Wasn't this a ninja thing too?

Maybe Ninja training would be really good for me?

I stopped by a 7/12 to buy some frozen supplies then trundled up to our school. The one advantage of having a lair, and Penny knowing that I really didn't like going home. Was that I no longer spent my nights on the rooftops of random buildings in bundles of blankets.

Lair away from lair, I headed down. I might do more of the painting, maybe some green landscapes. Then retire to one of the spare rooms where I had a blow up mattress, microwave and a TV.

I was alone here, but at least this place felt hopeful.