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~Yes, ten minutes out.~

  With that they all went back to their normal lives but the warm sensation of their links soothed her as she worked on laundry. As she tossed clothes in the bucket she made a mental list of things to do tomorrow. Looking at her closet, she froze and sighed.

  ~Perc?~ making the channel private.

  ~Yes?~

  ~This is going to sound horribly stupid, but would you wear a suit Monday? I have like one dress that might fit, one of those someday-I'll-lose-enough-weight-to-wear dresses. At this point it's going to be too big, but none of my clothes will fit. I'm hoping yours will be more forgiving and you can act as the front man?~

  ~Sure. I have one or two higher-end suits that were a bit tight. They should fit fine now. Why don't you wear your uniform?~

  ~Because I can't even keep it on. It's so loose the pants fall off, and I never got the skirt version. Besides, while I believe Kirk will support us, I don't want to go as Detective McKenna Largo. I need to go as ‘Shifter Queen McKenna Largo' and hope they don't lock me up and throw away the key.~

  ~Ah. Yeah, I see. Emergency shopping trip?~

  She chewed over that idea. ~Yeah, I think so. Maybe Toni will come with. Thanks.~

  ~Always,~ his voice held a rich velvet that coated her mind and made her shiver in pleasure before she forced it down. So he was cute, she didn't have time for this or the energy, really.

  ~Toni?~

  It look a second, she could tell Toni was distracted and almost let it go. ~Yes?~

  ~Interested in clothes shopping this evening? I need something to wear Monday, plus I need groceries, and other stuff. Though this no period stuff is the best part about being a shifter.~

  A burst of laughter echoed down the bond. ~I so agree with that. Yes. I don't have anything that will stay on. Though I just want to go to Walmart and get something that will fit. Mind if Jessi comes? She's changing too fast and I'd like to get her a cheap outfit or two. Actually speaking of that, Wefor?~

  [Yes, Toni?]

  ~Is there any possibility my kids are entering puberty? I swear they look and act like ten-year-olds, not seven-almost-eight-year-olds.~

  An odd pause from Wefor then a slow response. [There is the possibility they have linked with Charley and are accelerating their growth to match his maturity so all of them will be equals.]

  ~Is that a good or bad thing?~ Toni had a hint of worry in her voice.

  [Neither. It means they are forming a squad and will be much as you and the others are. But no, they should not enter puberty for another four to five years. Though when Charley does, they will probably follow in about six months.]

  ~Joy. I have no idea if I'm happy about this or not. Yeah, I'll see you in a few hours. Kids are chafing at no Charley about as badly as I'm chafing at no you.~

  ~Yeah. Is an odd feeling. I'll explain tonight.~

  McKenna heard the garage opening and headed out to help them, the idea of mashed potatoes almost making her salivate. With lots of cheddar cheese, bacon, and sour cream.

  "Your courageous warriors return home, with stuff from my house, and food for the woman of the house," JD declared as he got out of his Hummer.

  "Woman of the house?" McKenna asked, her voice flat, though she knew he'd sense her amusement in the mindscape.

  "Hey, your house. You're a woman. So yes. Woman of the House." JD grinned at her, and she made a face at him. Charley came over and hugged her, a quick brief hug she barely had time to return before he went to help carry in a garbage bag full of objects, and JD grabbed three grocery bags.

  Minutes later she stood in the kitchen chopping up the potatoes to start boiling them. Then she'd start on frying the chicken. It currently sat in a marinade of milk and egg whites as the bread crumbs and spices had already been mixed.

  "McKenna?" Charley kept his voice low, and she noted he'd locked off the mindscape so the other kids wouldn't get much from him.

  How in the world did he learn how to do that? We really do need to hear their story. Maybe tomorrow after Homeland. I can plan a barbecue.

  The need to have Toni and the kids there eclipsed everything. She wanted Perc and Cass, but JD, Toni, and the twins were paramount. Another odd side effect of the pack feelings.

  "Yep? Wanna help me by putting the potatoes in the pot?"

  "Sure." He grabbed a step stool and washed his hands and started to put the cut-up potatoes in the water.

  "What's up? You doing okay?"

  "So, um, are Jessi and Jamie coming over today? What about the others?"

  "Yep. Toni and I are going to run out and go grocery shopping and get some clothes for us. This weight loss means I don't have much that fits me. Then next weekend we'll have a barbecue and talk about our options."

  He nodded, not looking at her. "You mind if I invite over another person for the barbecue?"

  McKenna shot him a sideways look. "Who?"

  "Nam? I think she needs to be here."

  It took McKenna only a few seconds, the image of a tiny girl turning into an adorable tiger cub filled her mind.

  "Nam Bara? The girl who turned into a tiger?"

  "Yeah. Her."

  "No, I don't mind, though we probably need to check with her parents. But why? What brought this up?"

  He stayed silent so long she almost prodded him mentally, but finally he spoke. "I think she's our fourth, she's the one Jamie needs. And," he bit his lip, not looking at her. "I think something is wrong."

  Chapter 5 - Feelings

  Thundercats is making a comeback. With the emergence of shifters, the old cartoon series has gained in popularity. A search is being made for people who can shift into the iconic animals—jaguar, cheetah, lion, tiger, and two young cat shifters to fill the roles of the iconic series. This might be the most exciting movie to come out in the recent past. This comes on the heels of a casting call for Jungle Book filmed with shifters in most of the roles. ~ TNN Entertainment news

  Multiple things fired off in McKenna's mind. And she looked at him, her hands frozen mid-chop as she tried to process all the bits of information in that statement.

  "Okay. I don't have an issue asking her parents. But why do you think she's your fourth, and that Jamie needs her?"

  Charley kept his eyes on the pot, not looking at her, holding his body rigid. "All our dreams keep asking us where our fourth is. That we need our final member. It didn't make any sense, and we thought it was the dream. But when Jamie broke his arm the dreams changed, telling us he was in the hospital wing. That freaked me out a bit more." He shrugged and finally looked at her. "And he dreams about tigers, but I don't think he knows that I've seen his dreams. He's not talking about it. But Nam is the only tiger we know."

  McKenna finished chopping the potatoes, but moved more slowly to give herself time to think.

  "Okay. I don't remember anything specific while we were being held by that idiot. Did I miss something?"

  "Nah. But he usually stayed close to her. She's so small and Jamie liked being near someone he could take care of. Jessi can't stand it when he tries."

  A bark of laughter slipped out and she grinned at Charley. "Jessi doesn't like anyone doing things for her. Independent doesn't begin to describe her."

  Charley half smiled. "She's pretty firm about being equal." He shrugged. "But Nam, she spent so much time scared. I wished we could have talked there, but being locked in animal form it wasn't possible. I think if we could have communicated like we do now, she would have felt better. All we could do for each was cuddle as animals, and it didn't help since we couldn't reassure each other."

  McKenna nodded. Being able to talk mind to mind in that situation would have made everything so much easier. But what was, was. No sense dwelling on the past.

  "It helped more than you might think." Adding one more or even three more to their barbecues didn't make that big of a difference. "Okay. I can call. But she's a bit younger than Jessi and Jamie, right? Like six?"

  "I think so? I don't know. She doesn't go to
our school and I haven't seen her since the hospital." He paused for a minute then he almost whispered. "I miss them being here sometimes."

  She gave him a light shoulder bump. "I do, too. I wanted to change that, but with all this alien stuff I don't know when it'll be. Let's find her parents and call. Okay? Are there any of the other kids that we should call also?"

  Charley flashed a smile at her. "No, just her. For now. Though a party someday might be nice?" He didn't look at her though his ears had turned pink. "Thanks. So now what?" He nodded at the potatoes that all sat in the water.

  "We start boiling, and not start any fires."

  He flushed red and ducked his head.

  "It's okay. Maybe you can tell us all tonight?"

  He nodded and jumped down from the stool, which put the counter at waist height, and headed over to the TV and video game. McKenna set the pot on the stove, breaded all the chicken and laid out the oil to start heating. This would make a good lunch, they'd probably get takeout when they came back. With that all ready to go, she headed over to her computer and sat there. How to find out the girl's number? She really didn't want to log into the police system and use it, that seemed too much like abuse of power. But maybe calling in a favor would be acceptable.

  Sheriff Michelle DeSoto's business card sat by her computer, and she picked it up and dialed the number. Waiting for it to ring, she watched Charley go start up the video game. Right now he wanted to keep her in sight and she completely understood. Not having the rest of them around her drove her slightly batty.

  Michelle answered on the second ring. "DeSoto."

  "Sheriff DeSoto, this is McKenna Largo."

  "Largo. Heard about your excitement. Looks like you all made it back in one piece." Her voice held warmth and interest. Maybe there would be a chance to get the information needed.

  "Mostly. Lost more weight than even remotely healthy and I'm sure there will be more fallout at some point. But for now we're enjoying being home and being with loved ones."

  "Good attitude. So I doubt you were calling me just because, what's up?"

  "Charley wants to talk to one of the kids we were with. Just a feeling, but one I'm willing to indulge, but in the mess and chaos afterwards I didn't get contact numbers. Would it be crossing any ethical lines if I asked for some contact information?"

  A pause, then a sound that might have been a sigh or a chuckle. "Maybe, except every parent asked me to pass on the information to you. I had left it on a piece of paper with your hospital stuff, but I suspect that got lost. Give me your email, and I'll shoot it over to you. I suspect most of them will be more than happy to hear from you."

  A weight she hadn't realized had settled on her heart after that bloody emotional day lifted. "Ah, I never saw it. That would be great. Thank you so much."

  "Not a problem. Give me your email address and I'll shoot it your way." They talked for another minute or two, then McKenna hung up.

  Charley had been paying more attention to her than his video game from how many times his kart crashed.

  "You going to call her?" he asked as he crashed again.

  "Yep, right now."

  He put the game on pause and got up and wandered over to lean on her while she called Nam's house.

  After ringing three times a woman answered the phone. "Hello?" The wary voice of someone expecting a telemarketer.

  "Hi. This is McKenna Largo. I'm looking for," she glanced at the contact list again, "Vachan or Poorvi Bara?"

  "This is Poorvi." Her voice had gone from wary to tense. "You are the officer that took care of the children when they were taken?"

  "Yes, that's me." McKenna swallowed and continued when the woman didn't say anything. "Charley, one of the kids that was there, I took him in as a foster kid. He asked about Nam, and we wondered if she'd liked to come over for a barbecue next Saturday? Jessi and Jamie who are about her age will be here also. They were there and they miss her. You and your husband are welcome to come join us."

  The silence stretched so long McKenna started to ask if the woman was there.

  "I will bring her Saturday. Address and time?" The voice was abrupt and a bit desperate.

  McKenna blinked but gave her the address. "Anytime after about one is fine. I look forward to seeing you and Nam."

  "Yes, as do I," the woman said then hung up. Leaving McKenna frowning at the phone then she looked at Charley.

  "Did that come across as odd to you as to me?" She knew he could hear clearly enough to have caught both sides of the conversation.

  Charley bit his lip and nodded. "Can we ask Toni and Jamie and Jessi to be here by noon that day? I think Jamie needs to be here."

  "Sure."

  ~Toni?~ She asked in the public space. ~Next week can you show up about noon? A friend of the kids is coming over and Charley thinks having them here before the girl gets here is a good idea.~

  ~Fine by me, at this point a week away seems like an eternity. Remind me closer to that. I'll be heading over in about three hours.~

  ~Works. I'm going to start frying chicken for lunch. Figured we'd get takeout for dinner.~

  ~Okay, I think I want Thai though. Ooh.. Sushi.~ Toni sent a wave of desire and McKenna gagged.

  ~After the fish, how can you want that?~

  ~Heck if I know. Just do. See you in a bit, I need to finish doing stuff here.~

  McKenna looked at Charley. "That work?"

  "Yeah. Thanks." He smiled at her and went back to his game. McKenna went to make fried chicken.

  The chicken turned out decent, the mashed potatoes awesome, the shopping trip worked as expected. McKenna found a dress with a nice jacket, some shorts, t-shirts, and a bra that would hold her over until she put some weight back on. Toni had a simple shirt dress for her, and some various clothes for her kids. They got pizza and Chinese to deal with Toni's craving.

  "So we really doing this? Contacting Homeland Security?" Toni asked as the kids were outside discussing something with an intentness that probably implied stress for the adults in the future.

  McKenna enjoyed what she could, but that night they all ended up in the same room again, JD on the floor and Charley in bed with her. All in human form, all needing to know the other person existed.

  Chapter 6 - Invasions

  You have to understand that anyone is capable of killing. Humans by nature are predators and we are fiercely protective of our children. Even the most pacifistic tiny woman will kill someone threatening her child. We as a species find children worth protecting and no one even blinks at the idea of running into a burning house to save a child. Now I want you to think about the ferocity of a wolf or a lion when their cubs are threatened. Can you imagine what a mother would do who could shift if her child was threatened? ~ Family Psychologist on Talk Show

  "Attention, all squads. Deploy and spread through the city. All Drakyn are to be eliminated. Avoid structure damage." The words came out of McKenna's mouth, but she had no control of them.

  ~Wefor?~

  Silence greeted her query, and she focused her attention to what her host's body saw. The city lay out before her as she stood on the ramp of a ship of some sort. Shuttle seemed right. It had a sleekness that implied atmosphere interaction. All around her Kaylid streamed out. She kept trying to turn her head to look at them. She wanted to focus on what they looked like get an idea of what they would be dealing with.

  But all she could grab were impressions, colors ranging from coal black to all but pure white. Stripes, spots, solids, even a hint of scales and feathers, but never long enough for her to pay attention and try to guess at animals.

  Why so many? Are there that many settled planets? Are there that many people we could approach out there in space? Why do they do this?

  The questions rattled around in her head even as she focused on the mental control board in her mind. Where her normal one had a few connections, and a few chat rooms, for lack of a better word, this seemed complex and overwhelming. A grid filled the mindspace,
each one with at least fifty lights, with a single bright one in the middle. There were at least a hundred, maybe more, boxes. The sheer amount of beings that meant boggled her mind.

  McKenna could feel the mind that controlled this body tapping on the bright one occasionally and getting reports while it strode out of the ship. Around her the Kaylid in various states of dress - it seemed more for comfort and what their body shape supported - rather than any type of uniform. She glimpsed lots of kilt-like items and tails peeking out from beneath them. But what she really wanted to see were the weapons they all held.

  They came across like Nerf guns instead of rifles, even the powerful ones like ARs. They were bulky and thick. But she didn't see anything on the Kaylid that might imply bullets or anything were needed. They carried them easily as they trotted out of the ship, moving with a level of efficiency she couldn't help but admire. Out of the bottom of her eyes she caught that this body carried one too, but at the side instead of up and ready to use like the rest.

  "Grid 2-3-Orange. Move to the right, there's a concentration of life forms that direction. Remember to not eliminate livestock, they will be re-purposed." The voice rang through the mindscape, and McKenna instinctively looked at what grid that was.

  How in the world did I know that?

  It took her a minute, but she realized it was a three-dimensional grid, not a flat table but a cube. It rotated in her mind to the correct section which glowed with an orange outline.

  Huh, I'll have to remember that if I ever get that many people in my head.

  Giving up on trying to see any more than what she already had, she tried to locate JD, Perc, Toni, any of them really. But as much as she tried to manipulate the grid she couldn't see if her friends were there.

  Maybe that's good, maybe it isn't. Okay, I need to pay attention, see what I can learn from this. This isn't on a ship, so maybe this is one of those training sessions that Wefor mentioned. This might give me a bit of information about what to expect.

  Trying to pretend it was a really intense movie, she paid attention to what lay in front of her. Her mind seized up as she looked at what lay beyond the clearing the ship had landed in. To her left and right more shuttles had landed and were disgorging what must have been thousands of Kaylid. But while she remained peripherally aware of that, she couldn't take her attention from what lay in front of them.