Chapter Two

Mittens sat very still as she looked at the fence which was on fire. She felt a sharp chill through her feline body and nervously pointed her paw in the direction of the fence. "You're saying that you did, uh, that? All of that?" she asked still with a lot of disbelief and Bolt nodded. "On purpose?" Mittens asked as she looked from side to side. This didn't make any sense. Bolt shouldn't be able to do this.

"No. Why would I do that on purpose?" Bolt asked and then shook his head. "It would be pointless. Even when I was living my false life I only used my powers to protect Penny."

"Yeah, well unless there was a devious looking squirrel out there, burning down the fence isn't helping anyone," Mittens commented. She sat and thought about this for a moment more before wrapping her tail around her body. She kept laughing weakly. Bolt had done this and if he had done this once then it was very possible that he'd do it again and it might not be when anyone expected it. "You don't uh…feel like doing that to anyone here, right?"

"What do you mean?" Bolt asked before sniffing, even his sense of smell seemed to have become more powerful. "There doesn't seem to be any unfamiliar smells, I don't think that any intruders have broken into the house. I don't see the need to use such powers right now."

"Yeah, well…same," Mittens nodded before she looked at Bolt. "You remember that when you believed to have powers before, that was a TV program that you were in. They created all of those effects and yeah, it was bad on the old brain here," Mittens tapped Bolt on the top of his head with her paw in a teasing manner, "but it was all controlled and pretend?"

"You don't need to remind me that I was used. I am not an idiot," he told her and Mittens shook her head.

"No. It was just a unique upbringing but unique is unique, one person can't tell you how to live your best life but that's the point, what would these people say if they knew that you had powers for real. I'm warning you, not many people would consider it to be a positive thing." Mittens watched Bolt as the realization set in. He might be considered dangerous and that might put Penny in danger. "So, what do you really treasure in life?"

"Being a part of the family," Bolt said honestly and Mittens nodded with a yawn.

"So, we have to keep these special new powers between the two of us. I'm willing to help you and I'm offering you complimentary services this time since you secured me this amazing deal on room, board, and love, but we have to figure this out or else it might be the pound or worse," Mittens warned him.

"The pound?" Bolt asked as he sat upright before shaking his head. "No, no, no. I know Penny. Penny would never take me to the pound."

"So you agree that it's for the best that she doesn't find out, right?" Mittens asked and Bolt shifted before nodding.

"I can't even tell Rhino?" the white dog asked and Mittens rolled her eyes.

"As if Rhino could keep this a secret, no, I mean I'm even afraid that I know but you are the one who felt a pressing need to tell me of this new and exciting event." Mittens sighed and let herself lie down on the ground, covering up her face with her paws. It wasn't such a bad thing, right? Penny had to understand. Bolt looked outside at the fence before walking over to his food bowl and his toy carrot.

As he sniffed his food, he found himself to be scooped up and then heard a peaceful laughter which always put him in the best kind of mood. Penny, he barked to her. She scratched him behind his ears before pressing her cheek against his. He closed his eyes peacefully as she carried him to the dining room and he could smell pancakes. Maybe she would be able to slip him some of them under the table.

"Bolt, you seem a little quiet this morning," Penny told him before cutting a piece off of one of the pancakes, "Here, don't tell anyone though," she winked before petting him again. She didn't know if people would believe her about this but she was happy that she was no longer an actress. Being at home and living with Bolt made her happy and she hadn't liked the fact that Bolt was prevented from being a real dog. "You feel sick buddy?"

Bolt looked at her before eating the pancake up and then sat with his tail wagging.

"I guess you're feeling okay," she grinned to him before looking out the window. She didn't want to believe something so terrible about someone in the neighborhood. There had even been someone wondering whether the fire had been an attack targeted at her because she had left the show, some fans could lose it over their favorite shows. She didn't think it was them, at least she didn't feel in her heart that it was meant for her.

"Are you scared about what's outside?" she asked and then shook her head. "I bet you're used to things like that happening though. I can promise you that there are no secret agencies, no plots, no super powers, just a nice quiet home in a quirky part of the city."

Bolt turned to her with wide eyes. No super powers. Would Penny really be disappointed in him if she discovered the truth about his powers returning or rather, new powers coming out of him which had only been fake in the past. He very nervously pawed at his toy, wondering what might happen were Penny to find out. He looked up at her and then imagined the slamming of cages and the fear of being taken to the back room of the pound. She wouldn't do that to him, right?

Bolt took a deep breath in before feeling his heart pounding, he looked to Penny who had a concerned expression on her face and then looked down to the floor. He could feel his heartbeat getting louder and louder and soon Penny was beside him. He bowed his head and closed his eyes tightly.

"Bolt," Penny said as she pulled the small dog towards her chest, "Are you okay? I can hear your heart? Are you sick?" she asked and Bolt panted quickly but his breath seemed to create a hole in the floor which Penny noticed. Bolt turned back to her and saw Penny was staring at the ground in shock. She would hate him for this. She would cast him aside. She would -

"Bolt," Penny said as she gently scooped him up, grabbing his carrot at the same time and walked over with him to her bedroom. She set him on her bed and pulled out the computer. She was going to be looking at where she could take him to get rid of him. She was looking for a muzzle or a chain or something so that he didn't do any further damage. He was sick. He didn't know how he had become sick but he was.

"Are your powers coming back?" she asked him and saw him looking at her, "Can you understand what I'm saying to you?" she asked and Bolt froze. The rule that Mittens had told him was that animals were supposed to act clueless in front of humans to give people more comfort that they were the master race. She had taught him how he could manipulate them even though they weren't smart enough to speak their language.

Bolt slowly nodded and Penny grinned and scratched him behind the ear. That didn't seem so bad. "I'm sorry," she laughed "I didn't think that you could. I thought you were just referring to stage cues, I should have given you a bit more credit, huh?" she asked and Bolt nodded. She was okay with this? He wasn't following any of the normal dog rules which had been taught to him.

"Well, I knew you were a special dog," Penny smiled before she took a deep breath, "Can you speak?" she asked and Bolt just made a few barks. He could speak his own language but he couldn't speak in English, he didn't even know if his physiology offered him that option. "But, I guess most importantly, are your powers appearing again?"

Bolt nodded and Penny sighed, petting his head. She didn't look angry at him but she definitely had a complicated expression on her face. Bolt watched her as she thought about how best to handle the situation. She definitely didn't want someone to take Bolt away from her. She needed him and he needed her.

"Let's keep it our secret, okay?" she asked as she pressed a finger to her lips and Bolt settled down. Nobody else had to know about this. Well, Mittens and Penny both knew but they would guard his secret It wasn't as if he wanted the powers anyway. Maybe when he had first found himself alone, he had wanted his powers but since he knew the truth about where and how those powers came, he didn't want them anymore.

Now it looked like he didn't have a choice again.

As cool as some might find his new abilities, Bolt only begged that they would be taken away from them. If there were powers there was usually a reason why those powers needed to be used.

End of Chapter Two

Thank you for reading, reviews are appreciated

I've actually started to use reviews to choose which fics to write next as well as picking some personal favorites for myself

Thank you to the reviewers of Chapter One

BoltXPenny, Officer Nick Wilde, Riojoriginal, Story ideas,