Aim to Engage 2023

26 Misfits

Megan, her nickname Truth, her talent or skill if you will, the ability to bring the unvarnished version of any memory from your mouth with a touch. Her round body hid a ferocious belief in being honest. Overweight, and proud with it, she was our anchor, the reason we formed into a cohesive group.

She had our mayor in the chair. Our version of an interrogation room. A spot in the basement of my parents house, where we had a club room, was the best we could do for headquarters. Misfits central was an un-permitted remodel we built ourselves.

Benny stood at the door. I knew he had us safe. Rearranging molecules was like breathing to him. To anyone outside, it wasn't there. We were still trying to figure out what to call him being the newest member of Misfits. His acne scarred face was a study in concentration. We didn't know how long he could hold a new formation like this.

"I can't get him to talk. He's being stubborn." Megan circled to the back of the chair and put both hands on man's shoulders. "You need to do your thing Pariah."

I hated dropping the shield I crafted so carefully to repel the thoughts and emotions around me. I'm and empath, and a mind reader. A double curse if you ask me. I towered over Megan, as a girl I was taller than all the guys on the basketball team. My face was crooked from a so called accident after my father broke my cheekbone when I called him on a lie. Hard lesson that one.

"Really Pariah. Do it. I can't hold the door invisible for much longer. It's been close to half an hour already." Benny's terse comment whistled between his teeth.

Pariah is my chosen name for my alter ego. I was born Kimbal Enterman. A mouthful if there ever was one. Why the system kept that name when they finally put me in a foster home, is beyond me. And since the witch running it called me Pariah the first time I found her missing ring from the memory she claimed she didn't have, that stuck too.

I opened a narrow slit in my mind's cone of silence.

"Damn, let him go Slinky, untie him."

The ropes around London's Lord Mayor retracted as Orwell brought his shifter's body back to normal. As short as I was tall, his body was perfectly formed. Muscles in all the right places, except everyone looked down on him. Everyone, he's a midget. I know that's not culturally sensitive, but that's how he describes himself and I won't argue the truth. The top of his head is level with my waist.

"What did you find, Pariah?" Truth asked.

"He's being coerced. I hope I can find an image on the black web. Looks like we have a mob in town. We're going after the wrong bad guy."

"Did you get the guy's name?" Slinky asked.

"Milano. But I doubt that's any more real than our alter ego names."

A quiet shock wave passed through the room as Benny let go of the door, and it reappeared.

"Looks like we've got ourselves a bigger problem." A shudder ran through his body, and he plopped down at the computer desk in the corner. "That's the longest I can hold. I timed it. Thirty-five minutes max." Blue white electrical sparks flowed into the pad under him. We used it to charge batteries to run the weird and wonderful devices we invented.

"Can we trust the mayor to keep our secret?" Truth asked.

"I don't think you would believe me if I swore on a stack of bibles. He's going after the King next. Says Charles III is a sham, and needs to be exposed for the shill he is."

"I know he's threatening your grandchildren, your Lordship. We can help there. What do you think Misfits? Do we trust him with our secret? Or do I have to find a way to erase memories too."

"Mind wipe isn't even close to ready to go," Benny's comment was not a welcome reminder. He was working on a way to permanently rearrange brain waves to erase our presence. His physics and electronics skills were a welcome asset.

"We're going to help you." I held out my hand for the mayor to shake. "I don't think you're going to be a problem."

Truth held onto him as he spoke, "I won't be. I'm a stubborn old fool. You already know I can keep my mouth shut."

Eyes rolled. We'd already wasted three months going after the wrong problem.

"That's the truth, isn't it?" I wasn't expecting an answer.

"Yeah, the question is, how do we get to Milano or whoever the hell he is." Benny's color was coming back to normal.

"Exactly. Let's get His Lordship home," I pulled him up onto unsteady legs. "Then it's brainstorming time."

"Oh, and I'm introducing you as Electron. It suits you." As usual, Truth had the last word.