"Do her thing? What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" asked my aunt.

"Enough," said my uncle, with quiet command. "Sandy, I don't know what you have done, but I want this girl out of my house and out of our lives." He looked into my eyes and said, "Little butterfly, I want you to walk to the nearest street, stand in the middle of the road, and stay there until somebody runs over you. There, you will die."

He called me "butterfly." Butterfly and kitten were important key words. What else did he know? I had to obey him now. I began to turn away, my mind racing on how I was to survive this. Bruno and Sandy looked right at me as I passed them by. Can't let them see my fear. Can't let my emotions show.

"Wait a minute," said my aunt. "How much money do you think she could be worth?"

"Oh my God, Mom!" said Bruno.

"Shut-up, Bruno! There's no telling how much somebody would pay for a weapon like her."

"You just found out our entire family could be put into danger, and all you want to talk about is money?" I heard my uncle ask. Their voices began to fade away. I supposed it was a good thing that I had chosen to play along. I would have surely still been in danger if I hadn't. At least my uncle did what he did to protect everyone. Meanwhile, he said the nearest street, not the busiest one. That meant all I had to do was cross the side walk and wait.

The traffic was fairly slow. It was easy to time it just right on when to cross without stopping. All I had to do was wait for them to have plenty of time to slam on their breaks... I could hear the sounds of their screeching and honking of their horns. Resting bitch face. No emotion. Can't let my feelings show. I had to do it.

When I reached the center, I looked all around me, all the glittering lights, all the sounds. There was a cool breeze. It felt nice on my skin. I closed my eyes. Maybe it was better this way. My life was always going to be in shambles. I would always be in danger somehow. I breathed in, cherishing my breath, even as I hoped it would be my last.

"Jani!" "Jani!" I heard people calling my name. I opened my eyes and found Sandy and Bruno beside me.

"Oh my god, oh my god! What do we do?" asked Sandy. She was panicking.

"Come on, baby," said Bruno, holding her face in his hands. "I know you can do this..."

They really did look cute together.

"Um, um, um, um,"

"Come on," said Bruno.

"Ummm...WAKE UP KITTEN, GO FIND YOUR MITTENS!"

Bingo.

I blinked several times. I pretended to look around, confused.

"Jani!" said Bruno, shaking me by the shoulders and looking me in the eyes. "Wake-up! We have to get you out of here!"

"Come on!" said Sandy, taking me by the hand.

She did not get to lead me for long. A black limo pulled up, and just for a moment, I felt extreme joy to see him again. He climbed out, and I smiled with pure radiance, though at the time I did not know it.

"Get in," said Hugo. He did not smile. His face was expressionless.

I got in. Sandy and Bruno followed. We all settled in and the limo driver continued onward.

"So what happened?" asked Hugo.

Sandy and Bruno looked at each other in confusion. I couldn't say that I blame them. Wasn't this supposed to be Alejandro Jones, the super star? How did he know about anything that went on?"

"Why nothing, Mr. Jones," said Bruno in a voice that was way too cheerful. "We were just hanging out."

"In the middle of the street?"

"Jani was just having a hard time and we were trying to make sure she was okay," said Sandy.

"Jani, what happened?" asked Hugo, "and drop the act."

"What?" asked Bruno.

"You were ACTING?" asked Sandy, full of outrage.

"I'm not supposed to know," I said. "If I don't keep up with the act, it could get me killed. Could you imagine what your mother would have done if she knew?"

"I'll say," said Bruno.

"Jani!" said Hugo, full of force. "The reason I am here is to assess the situation and see to it that nobody comes to harm needlessly."

"Please don't," I said. "I'll talk, but I think it would be easier for them if we let them in on a little of our secrets. I trust them," I said.

Hugo sighed in resignation. I could feel Romeo resurface. Or was it still Hugo?

"Jani, you have already proven to me that you are wise beyond your years. I will trust you to handle this as you will."

So I opened up with them, but not everything. As far as they knew, Alejandro was Alejandro, the super star and that was all. I told them about my parents; what they did to me, what they intended to do, and how I was originally purchased to be given to Alejandro, as a way of paying him in their sick and twisted minds, as my mother was the one that discovered him and led his way to fame.

"That is fucked up," said Sandy. Bruno said nothing. He just remained thoughtful. Hugo noticed and asked him immediately.

"Why would you even agree to that?" Bruno asked.

"Whomever said that I did?" asked Hugo.

He then gave us all a heads up on his personal life. I was learning things of Miguel that I did not know. His early years were terrible. I knew his father was an alcoholic. I didn't know that he was a wife-beater too, when he was around anyway. When he wasn't, his mom would have to pimp herself out to provide for them. I hated hearing that Maria was left in that situation. Alejandro hated it too. He made that crystal clear. He made it even more clear how much he hated that his father sold him, and also his mother to my parents as their "personal" "servants." They found talent in young Alejandro, and they took him away from his mother. He admitted that he hated his fame because of it. The young Alejandro wanted his mother back. They lied to him, told him she was dead. They even made a fake funeral for her. As he grew older, they decided to pay him back in their own perverted way, and that's why I was purchased.

"That is fucked up!" Sandy said again, "but why did my father believe that you were about to kill everyone?" she asked me.

"That was a terrible misunderstanding," said Hugo. "It said in her file, that Jani was personally made to be a kitten. The rest were all just listings of what the machine was capable of making her becoming, if any owner of her were to decide as such." He looked at Sandy very seriously, "It is a very good thing that you burned her file in that house. There is no telling what your mother would have done if she had come across it."

"How did they even get this machine in the first place?" asked Bruno.

"Jani's father worked for the government," said Hugo. "He helped over-see the maintenance of these machines, and when he realized what they could do, he stole the blue-prints and began to design his own, selling them world-wide to make people into willing slaves."

"Oh no!" said Sandy. "How many more machines are out there?"

"We don't know," said Hugo, "but you have both redeemed yourselves today. We need your help in watching over Jani, and guarding her from harm, at least until we can return for her."

"Who is we?" asked Bruno.

"Al, Dumb-dumb, and Loco," I said a little too quickly.

"Who? What dumb-dumb?" asked Sandy.

"The ones who dropped me off," I said. They knew which celebrities I was speaking of now.

"Can you do it?" asked Hugo.

"We'll do it," said Bruno.

"Sure," said Sandy, with some hesitation.

"Is there any reason why you would say otherwise?" asked Hugo, noting her discomfort.

"How are we to help protect her if we are not even here?" asked Sandy. "Both of our parents intend to make us leave."

"Leave that to me," said Alejandro. Or at least, it was Al to Sandy and Bruno, but I could sense Lobo underneath those depths in his eyes.