Bruce

       I woke up, the other guy sensing that something was off with Jana. I got out of bed, careful not to disturb Jinny and headed to the living room to call Tony. I figured he'd probably still be awake and probably working on something. Fortunately, he answered on the first ring.
       "What's shakin'?" I had to smile faintly, since he always answered my calls that way, heading to Jana's room to check on her.
       "Well... This is gonna sound really fucked up... But the other guy's certain something's up with Jana. He just woke me up out of a sound sleep, too." I stopped in the door to her room, muttering a curse when I saw she was gone.
       "That... Isn't good. What's up?"
       "Jana's not in her room." I looked around her room, looking for anything out of place.
       "Already on it, big guy." I heard the sound of him hacking into surveillance systems in the background. "Any idea where she could've gone? Or why?"
       "Not really. But she's had one of the popular kids bullying her more than normal. And I think she's inherited some of Sam's powers." I'd noticed her withdrawing some when things got particularly tense, and the occasional bomf of teleportation coming from her room late at night.
       "It's possible that she could have... Hang on, picking up faint traces of someone having teleported in your place. Had to have been within the last ten or fifteen minutes." The beeping from Tony's end got quicker as he ran some sort of program on his end. "Not picking up where it may've went, though."
       "Shit... Hang on, lemme call you back." I hung up, quickly calling Sam. When it went straight to voicemail, I left a message about what was going on, and asked her to call me back as soon as she could, and headed for Tony's lab. I had to at least try to find her the best I could.

Jana Part II

After last night, I decided the next morning to just get up, shower, and head to school before anybody else got up. I got up at 4:15, showered, read for about an hour until 5 and left at 5:45. My parents get up at 6:30 and Parker gets up at 7. I decided to walk to school to try and clear my head and organize my thoughts. Parker and I watched movies and played video games for the majority of the night. For Parker only being 8, he sure knows how to cheer me up; even though we may argue, Parker and I are close and would protect each other;

            Half-way to school, I heard thunder booming and sighed; Wonderful was my only thought as I whipped out my umbrella just in time as the rain began to shower down upon me. Don’t get me wrong, I love thunderstorms, but I guess I’m just not in the mood to fully enjoy one today. I made it to school a half hour before it started. The school I go to houses the 5^th-8^th graders. When I’m here early, I’ll go into one of the 8^th grade science classrooms and one of the teachers—Mrs. Schulz, is a good teacher. She and Mrs. Feely are in-laws and she teaches me stuff that I don’t know. I go there to retreat until my own science class starts. She was busy this morning, so I went into the “secret” abandoned spot in the library. The librarian said that it used to be a part of the actual library, until they did renovations and they didn’t really use that part of it anymore, so they just closed it off. It was pretty well hidden, but I still managed to find it. To be quite honest, I thought that it would be locked or something, but it wasn’t. Nobody knows that it’s there, but me and the librarians. Actually, they keep all the old “historical” documents and out of print books in here. At least it’s quiet and has a small light that I can read from.

            “Why are you here?” A voice asked, causing me to jump and drop my book.

            “A quiet place to read” was my reply as I picked up my book.

            “Go away.” The voice replied as I rolled my eyes

            “No. I found this place first” Wow. That’s childish of me

            “I found it first”

And then… She reveled herself. A little African American ghost child; she looks to be from the 1800’s. Maybe 1816 or something; she had on a white dress with an apron and she had a sad look on her face.

            “I’m Jana. Who are you?” I introduced

            “Milly. My mama hid me here so that the evil white men no ever find me an’ take me ‘way. She says I be safe up here in the North. She sai’ runnin’ ‘way was dang’rous”

I frowned. Evil white men? Safe up in the North? Then it finally dawned on me. God, I felt stupid. She’s a runaway slave! Her mom brought her up here so she wouldn’t have to go through all that torture. Her mom must have went back and poor Milly…

            “Milly… What year did your ma bring you up here?” I asked gently, and softly, so that she wouldn’t be frightened by me.

            “1813, Miss.” She replied softly.

            “Your ma never came back, did she?” I asked as she shook her head

            ‘I’ve been tryin’ t’find ‘er… People come here, I scare them all off. Always hoped and prayed t’God that my ma would come back f’r me.” She explained as I felt my heart breaking a little more.

            “I’ll help you find her, Milly. My gran, she can find any spirit.” I explained as she shook her head.

            “Please…Don’ tell no one! The men will come!” She begged.

            “Milly…It’s not the 1800’s anymore…Slavery doesn’t exist. The year is 2054.” I explained, watching her eyes widen.

            “So much time has passed… Why am I still here?”

            “Because you’re unable to find eternal, peaceful rest without your ma, Milly; I’m sure your ma is the same way.” I explained

            “Please… Help me find her”

I nodded and glanced at my watch. Shoot. I’ve gotta go.

            “Milly, I’ve got to go. I promise you that I’ll be back.” I swore as she nodded. “What’s your ma’s name?” I asked

            “Maya Lou Wilks. M’little brothers name is Bailey”

I thanked her and nodded, heading to class. Don’t worry, Milly. I’ll find your mom and brother and all of you will finally, finally be at peace.

***

            I snuck off at lunch time to go back to Milly. I had checked out some books on Slavery and brought them with me.

            “Milly?” I called and then the candles lit up and she appeared, smiling at me. She was happy to see me—almost relieved.

            “Miss Jana!” She greeted. I sat down and opened some books. Even after all these years, Milly hadn’t changed. Gran had said that if the spirit is at unrest, then they’ll stay in their former selves and when they find peace, well, nobody knows what happens. I told Milly what I had found in the library and we (well, me) began to flip through the books that I found.

            “Wait! There!” She pointed. I looked at the page and read it. Helped free other slaves and was eventually caught, but she once again escaped and helped with the Underground Railroad. Wow… Now, all I need is a burial sight. I read, flipping through more pages of the other book to find Maya. There. I found it… Well…part of it. I read the page before I looked at Milly.

            “She died trying to come get you back, Milly… She got shot by one of the other slave owners and…” I paused, debating if I should continue.

            “And what?” She asked

            “…Was thrown into the river, her body was never to be found again. But later on, one of the other slaves had found a golden locket that had your picture in it.” I finished as she sniffled, quickly wiping her tears.

            “Please, Miss Jana… Find my ma… Please!” She begged as I nodded.

I always knew that I had a thing for talking to spirits. I mean, I’ve done it my entire life—only without my parents knowing. I couldn’t help any of the others because I was still getting a handle on the whole, “I can talk to spirits” thing, but with Milly and Maya, I will help them. I’ll help Milly. She’s around my age—11.

            “What happened to Bailey, Milly?” I asked

            “Bailey wen’ off an’ ‘scaped to the North; he older than me. He was 16 when he ‘scaped with the others.”

            “Where in the North, Milly?”

She frowned for a second. Even though child slaves were uneducated, Milly has been around for a while. She told me she taught herself how to read and write, but she liked to read and practice her scriptures and hymns.

            “Chicago… It wasn’t Chicago in those times” I nodded.

Well, I need to find Bailey first. If he wasn’t already dead yet, he’d be an old man; I guess I’m taking a trip to Chicago!

***

            I guess you could say that I get my spirit talking abilities from my grandmother. Besides her, I’m the only one of the grandchildren that can do that. Gran says that I’m special like that; another thing I got from her is being able to teleport wherever I want. So, I teleported to a secluded spot in Chicago and went on my way to search for Bailey Wilks. By the time I found Bailey, it was dark, the only light is from the street lamps and the moon.

            Bailey Wilks had died in 1905 and I found him kneeling in front of a grave—I’m assuming it’s his wife as I stood by him. He’s nothing more than a ghost, and only I can see him.

            “Bailey Wilks?” I asked as he continued to stroke the stone

            “Who be askin’?” He said.

            “I’m Jana Banner. Your sister asked me to look for you”

He stood up, leaning on his cane as he looked at me.

            “Milly’s alive?” He said, hope in his voice. “She made it to the North?”

I raised my hand to cut him off from asking any questions.

            “She isn’t alive, I’m sorry, Bailey… She’s in New York… She said your ma dropped her off and said she would come back for her… But your ma’s dead too… I’m very sorry.”

The look on his face was devastating.

            “Milly was my world, Miss. Jana” He informed me, his southern accent still there after all these decades.

            “She’s a spirit at my school, Bailey… She’s still an 11 year old girl and she’s scared. She wants peace.” I explained to him as he smiled sadly.

            “That was Milly for ya. Girl always wanted peace and didn’t understand why those white men did what they did.”

            “You’ll find peace once your entire family is together, Bailey. I promise” He nodded as I turned to leave.

            “Tell Milly, ‘The sun will always shine and the Lord is always watchin’. Miss Jana… I’ll be here. Just come by my grave and call my name.” He smiled and then he was gone, leaving me standing there in the darkness of the Chicago cemetery.

***

            I made it my personal mission to get the Wilks family back together. I found out more about what Bailey did when he was alive and then I headed home. My father was not happy at all.

            “You didn’t go to your classes, Jana. Where have you been?!” He asked as I remained quiet. I couldn’t tell him about the Wilks or Milly. I gave Milly my word. I needed to head to Louisiana to find Maya. I have too.

            “I’m sorry, dad. I can’t tell you.” I stated, watching his eyes narrow. “Can’t you just ground me instead?” I offered, watching him sigh and clean his glasses.

            “This isn’t like you, baby. You know you can tell me” He said, placing his glasses on his face.

            “I know, dad…” It hurt not being able to tell him about Milly, but I made a promise—and I keep good on my promises.

            Once I knew that everybody was asleep a few hours later, I transported to the Louisiana River, but once I got there, I was surrounded in darkness.

***

            

To the pack, if you care,
       I'm sorry I'm such a fuck-up. I'm sorry I go so damn emo all the damn time. You need someone who won't. Someone who's worth more. Someone who isn't me. Mark, you know this is true, so don't fuckin' argue. Sam... I'm not throwing away our friendship. But y'all need a better beta. Not someone completely fucked up.
Kat

Bruce

       I can't help but wake up when Jana's cramps wake her up from her much needed sleep. I know she usually goes up to her attic lab and works on things to kill the time til breakfast, but I still wish her cramps would ease enough for her to go back to sleep... God knows she needs it.
       I get up at six to shower and get ready to go to work with Tony on the R&D floors he has in Stark tower. How he manages to get all the gadetry he has in still boggles me after all the years we've been working together. But first, Parker needed to go to the dentist to get his braces, which was going to be fun.
       Once Jinny left for school, I got Parker ready to go. "But dad, I don't want them.."
       "I know, Parker. But they'll help keep your teeth straight as you get older. And you'll get to pick the color of the elastics on them."
       "Really?! I want black and purple!"
       I chuckled softly. Thankfully, we got through his appointment without much fuss, and he got to school happy. Time passed almost too quickly when I got to Stark Tower that Tony surprised me when he asked if I planned on making it home in time for dinner.

Jana

Jana

            I’ve been having along with the cramps. It’s silly to that that I can’t get back to sleep—I’m only 11 and I need my sleep! Whenever I get up at 4:30am, I shower and head up to the sound proof attic where I work on experiments and other things. I go up there to read and get some alone time—time to gather my thoughts, you could say. The attic is my own chemical laboratory with beakers and test tubes, buntson burners, etc. Nobody really comes up here (maybe my dad)—but I always lock it. I wish that we could move into a bigger place that just so happened to have an abandoned East wing that just so happened to have a chemical laboratory filled with old journals, magazines, and equipment, but I have my own journal(s). They’re filling up my room at a fast pace and I have bins and plastic tubs that are stacked up and I have a photographic memory, so that if I need to go and retrieve something, then I can. I’m smart in Science, Math, and English. I hardly crack open my science book unless I really need too. I’m good in math, but if I need help, then I’ll go ask for it or I’ll just try and figure it out myself first and then if I can’t figure it out, then I will go ask for some help.

            I’ve been up since about 4:45 and I had already showered. While I was waiting for everybody else to get up, I was up in my laboratory drawing. That’s my secret little talent (Well, now that I’m telling you, I guess it’s not so secret anymore!) that nobody else knows (Otherwise it wouldn’t be a secret if everybody else knew!). I go to the art supply store (one of many here in Manhattan) and put them in my backpack so that my parents or little brother don’t know what I’m doing. Well, it’s about 7ish in the morning and I’m eating my Coco Puffs; I love Coco Puffs; my parents are drinking their coffee, getting ready for work and my little brother, Parker, is eating his waffles. He has to go get braces today. I already have my braces, so I don’t really feel sorry for him. My braces are multicolored and I like them; I finished my breakfast and headed for the bus. I paused when my dad called my name;         

            “Want a ride?” He asked

            “No thanks. You have to take Parker to the teeth man today” I stated, my tongue running over my braces.

            “Sure?” He asked as I nodded, heading to the bus stop.

I wear glasses on top of me wearing braces. I got onto the bus when it pulled up and sat in my usual spot and put in my ear buds and listened to my music, looking out the window. Today I’m wearing my Wonder Woman shirt and blue jeans with my black sneakers and my batman buckle belt. My hair was up today as well; I’m in the 5^th grade and I’m not popular. Parker is 8 years old and we have a 6 month old little sister—her name is Kira Elizabeth Banner. Anyway, the bus ride was uneventful as usual; once at school, I put my books in my locker. I had science first and we have a test today. So I just brought my pencil case to class. Walking into the classroom, Mrs. Feely smiled at me.

            “Good morning, Jana!” She greeted me as I smiled and took my seat, taking my pencil and eraser out.

            “Good morning, Mrs. Fee!” I greeted back.

            Mrs. Feely is a wonderful teacher who cares about science, her job, and her students. Everybody loves her.

            “I have your homework all graded. You can pick them up after the test” She informed me as I nodded. As the rest of the class started to trickle in, I couldn’t help but notice the storm clouds that were gathering. New York was famous for their thunderstorms, I guess. I wonder if gramma and Thor are sparring again or if this was a real thunderstorm. Anyway, when the entire class was in their seats, Mrs. Feely handed out the test and told the class about the homework. The bell rang as I flipped through the test and began answering.

***

The test took the entire class period for some people. I was done within the first few minutes; thank goodness I brought a book with me. The book I’m reading is Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire. I love Harry Potter. I’ve read the entire series at least a dozen times and I’ve seen all the movies more than once. Anyway, I was half way through the book (I had already started it) when the entire class finished. We gathered our homework from Mrs. Feely and left for our next class. My next class was History. Don’t get me wrong, I like History, but I’m more of a Science person. I gathered my History stuff and left for class.

Artemis

Babygirl,
       Relax, Art. I can handle it. And y'know my door's always open, no matter what...
       Definitely thank god for Granma! I'm glad she's helping you with the heat issue.
       You aren't a disappointment to me, Artemis. I'll always be proud of you. Hm... That'd be fun for you. And you never know, you may make a truly kickass find, too! God, I loved when I went... Think you'll have a lot of fun with it. I can contact the guy who took me along with him if you'd like me to.

Love,
Dad

Degas

Dad,

            I’m sorry I keep breaking your heart… I just… I feel so lousy all the time and I don’t know what to do… I don’t want to talk to you or anybody about it cause then you’ll feel sad and you’re leaving on your business trip…

            Gramma and I did have a talk and she figures that because I’m on my period AND heat at the same time, that’s probably what’s causing it. Thank God for Gramma, huh?

            The last thing I want is to keep being a disappointment to you… I want you to be proud of me and to always love me and to have that bond back… I remember the first time I shifted… Maybe I could do some archeological digs during the summer like you used to do. Gramma said that you loved doing that and that every summer, she said. She told me how you would always come back looking about as golden as Randy is. She laughed at that.

Artemis