RR verse: Desperate Measures

Ever since Angela practically isolated herself and her son from the rest of society, the Morningstars havn't had any guests to the house. To the human mother, an empty driveway meant they were safe, that no one was suspicious of her and more importantly her son.

There was the occasional motorcycle –usually a delivery boy for when they were struck by the odd craving and the rare sports car for when her neighbor asked her to car-sit.

Angela was very accommodating. Provided they don't ask to come in the house and inform her in advance that they were heading over.

But that night, there was a vehicle parked in the driveway. One that had cloaking abilities beyond Earth's limited technology. It arrived unannounced, with no pomp or circumstance, no flurry or fanfare. Just a faint hum of alien engines, the beginning chords of an ominous song.

It was Michael who realized they had an uninvited guest.

It was Angela who answered the door and nervously greeted the amphibious-looking Plumber standing at the threshold. "Ghalil."

"Angela." He nodded curtly before he gestured to the markings on his suit's sleeve, "And it's Magister Ghalil."

"Of course, my apologies, Magister Ghalil." She corrected herself but made no offer to have him enter her home. "What brings you to Earth?"

"I received reports about extraterrestrial civilians being harassed."

"Well, thank you for the concern but no one has been bothering us. And we haven't been bothering anyone." She added quickly and motioned to shut the door.

A heavy boot wedges between door and frame as hard, unsympathetic eyes stared at the blond woman, "The reports say they were being harassed by Plumbers. Impersonators by the look of things. Scanners indicate a Plumber's badge in your home. And guess what? It's been recently active." The look of smug satisfaction on Ghalil's face deepened when Angela blanched.

"Y-you aren't seriously suspecting my son, are you?" She stammered.

"No hard feelings, Angela, but I gotta bring the half-breed in for questioning." With that, the Magister forcibly opened the door and sent Angela stumbling back.

"No! You can't!" Angela yelled, scrambling towards the stairwell leading upstairs to her son's room. "Michael didn't do anything you're accusing him of!"

"If he is innocent, then you have nothing to worry about." He eyed her sharply.

"But he's a good boy!" She reasoned, "He couldn't possibly be the one you're looking for! And, and didn't you say Plumbers? As in plural? Michael is all by his lonesome, it couldn't have been him!"

"There were also reports about an alien making unsanctioned feedings on innocent human civilians. Even if he is innocent of the impersonation and harassment charges, I would still have to pick him up for questioning."

Her worst fears were coming true. They were going to take her son away and put him in the Null Void. And there was nothing she could do but pitifully stare up at the alien officer.

"You can't do that!" She was grasping at straws, trying to figure her course of action in this worst case situation.

"Angela, step aside or I will be forced to charge you with obstruction." Ghalil warned, "And trust me, an ordinary human wouldn't last in a Plumber's holding cell."

"Leave her alone!" Came an angry growl from the top of the stairs. "I'll go quietly. Just leave my mom out of this."

"Smart kid." Ghalil smirked and brought out a pair of energy cuffs, "Don't even think about trying to get out of these. They're not the kind of mana dranichs can eat."

Michael's face twisted into an angry grimace at the insinuation, "It didn't even cross my mind."

Angela couldn't believe this was happening. She wouldn't.

"Ghalil, Magister Ghalil, you can't bring my son in because it's not his fault."

"Let me guess: It's not his fault that he was born that way?" The officer sneered, "You're not the first mother to claim base-instincts as a defense. And you won't be the last it won't hold up for."

"No, no, no! Michael is really not to blame because his unsanctioned feedings are my fault." Angela didn't give her son or the Plumber a chance to ask what she meant before volunteering her explanation.

"I told him to look for food elsewhere because he was making me feel ugly. I mean, just look at what it was doing to me!" A million thoughts are going through her head a mile a minute as she rolled up her sleeves to reveal the fading marks on her arms, "I put my foot down and said no more free lunch from me. If he wanted to feed on someone it sure as heck wasn't going to be on me."

She was rambling, but her maternal instincts had kicked into overdrive and she wasn't going to stop until she was certain of her son's safety. "It sounded like a good idea at the time. Guess my fellow humans aren't as stupid as I thought they were. So you see you can't really blame him for all those unsanctioned feedings since his main food source cut him off."

Blue eyes narrowed as she folded her across her chest in finality. "If anyone should be brought in for questioning it should be me. And if anyone should be thrown into the Null Void..." She swallowed thickly, trying to ignore the tremors of fear threatening to quake her body, "It should be me."

"Mom, no! That's not true! I've been sneaking out. She didn't know about any-"

"Michael, be quiet! The adults are talking." She snapped sharply, keeping her eyes trained on Ghalil. "I told you my son is a good boy. He may be lying but it's to protect-"

"No, I'm not!"

"Michael! This is exactly why I cut you off to begin with! You've been so overconfident and unreasonable. You can't even follow simple instructions such as keeping quiet!" She turned to face him, lips pressed tight, nails digging into her skin in what appeared to be suppressed anger. But her eyes were soft and apologetic and they blinked back tears she couldn't afford to shed. "Now go to your room."

"He's not going anywhere but with me." Ghalil cut in.

"Magister Ghalil," Once again she blocked his way, "I am a grown, adult woman who is capable of taking responsibility for her own actions. My son is still a child who was forced into a situation beyond his control. There is no way legal will approve of him being charged with a crime he had no choice but to commit. And I don't know if you've ever dealt with the PR department but I promise it will not be pleasant. Now you have to ask yourself if your hatred for Gabriel's specie runs deep enough that you'd be willing to risk demotion.

"Because I remember Gabriel telling me of an officer who was demoted three ranks and jailed for an extended period because he let his personal bias affect his judgment." Angela was lying, but desperation coupled with a large dose of maternal instincts helped her to square her back and stare defiantly at Ghalil. "Now take me in for questioning!"

Ghalil's left eye twitched as he sighed in resignation, "Regulations stipulates terrestrial civilians are to be questioned in the presence of a legal representative. You are advised to request specific individuals from legal. Otherwise one shall be assigned-"

"Jerome." Angela stated, "I know Jerome from legal."

"Great. Another leech." Ghalil remarked in distaste before he glanced towards Michael, "Since we can't leave you without a food source, I'm placing everyone living in this household under house-arrest until the questioning process is over. Have a nice night."

The moment the Plumber and his craft were out of sight, the adrenaline fueling Angela's conviction drained away. She leaned limply against the wall, face buried in her hands while the sobs she had been holding back were given free reign over her body.

"Mom?" Michael whispered and tentatively reached out to her. Angela pulled him into a fierce hug while she continued to cry.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean all those nasty things I said. I didn't know what else to do. I couldn't let them take you. I just couldn't!"

He stroked her hair, awkwardly trying to mimic the way she did when he was younger and upset about something. "I won't let them hurt you. I won't let them throw you into the null void."

She looked up at him with bleary eyes and tried to force a smile. "I won't let them throw my boy into the null void either."

Because that's a decision I can't allow them to make.