A long set of tracks, one of many that operated as one of the 'veins' of the industrialized Colombia, ran through the forests of the Northern Territory, an area that was normally controlled under the loyalists. While the northern parts of Colombia were pretty rich and diverse when it comes to various environments (including a desert), this one was one of many forests that occupied the mainland, complete with mountains that seperated the capital from the coast.

Approaching the train tracks are four fighters, armed with various weapons and wearing various low-end combat outfits, three males and one female. One from Argentina, one from Venezuela, one from Puerto Rico and one from Mexico. The leader of the squadron was the Argentinian Metahuman who was codenamed "Hot Hands", a blonde metahuman who had the ability to heat his hands to the point where it could melt, burn or ignite just about anything he touched. While he mainly worked at power plants and steel mills using his abilities to fork in lots of cash, he signed up in the International Freedom Brigade in Colombia once he heard about what was happening there. Many of the normal humans that fought within these brigades appreciated metahuman help, and those who were assigned to Hot Hands' squadron were more than happy to serve under his command.

"Qué piensan ustedes que es un buen lugar para instalar? (Do you guys think this is a good place to set up?)" Hot Hands asked the fighters following him as he approached the railroad tracks.

The Venezuelan, the only female in the group, pointed towards the train tunnel. "Ese túnel crearía un estrangulamiento que podría hacer que el descarrilamiento mucho más grave. (That tunnel would create a choke that could possibly make the derailment much more severe.)" She explained. "Es solo cabía un tren. El motor podría fácilmente bloquear los otros coches y causar una colisión con tanta fuerza que ni siquiera habría C4 para hacer estallar! (It could only fit one train. The engine could easily block the other cars and cause a collision with so much force that we might not even need C4 to make it explode!)"

Hot Hands nodded. "Sí, buena observación. Buen trabajo, Teresa. (Yeah, good observation. Nice job, Teresa.)" He smiled, patting Teresa on her shoulder. "Rico? Cortes? Alguna objeción? (Rico? Cortez? Any objections?)"

The Puerto Rican and Mexican, Rico and Cortez respectively, shook their heads. "No señor. La señora tiene un buen punto. Debemos establecer aquí. (No, sir. The lady has a good point. We should set up here.)" Rico said, Cortez nodding in agreement.

Hot Hands smiled. "Está arreglado entonces. (It's settled then.)" He looked to Teresa. "Te importa llamando a nuestro puesto de observación RFAC? Quiero saber cuánto tiempo nos queda antes de que llegue el tren, y si es posible, saber si estamos atacando un objetivo puramente militar. (Do you mind calling our RCAF lookout? I wanna know how much time we have left before the train comes, and if possible, find out if we're attacking a purely military target.)"

Teresa nodded, pulling out her cell phone and making a call.

---

---

Quite a few kilometers south of the international fighters, down the railroad, was a small scouting outpost being held by a handful of loyalist Colombian soldiers. With a small hunting tree tower setup, as well as just a few vehicles, chairs and crates, the Colombian Soldiers sat around, intercepting radio transmissions in hopes of acting as an early warning force to other Loyalist Soldiers and International Fighters in the area. Unlike the International Fighters, the Loyalist Soldiers were experienced soldiers that wore standard uniforms of their respective armed forces branches, and often times they carried better weapons as well.

The scout unit was lead by Jax Ambriz, a decorated soldier experienced in fighting FARC for most of his life. Ever since the Fascists took over his beloved nation and brought pain and suffering to the people he swore to protect, he had to use the tactics of the guerrillas he fought for so long against the Fascists as a result, as the Fascists forced their hand. While the National Colombian Army does outnumber them, he takes comfort in the fact that most of the Air Force and all of the Navy are still on the side of the Loyalists.

Jax sat there with his subordinates, consisting of purely Colombian men and women, listening to radio transmissions with them. Everything seemed incredibly quiet around this area, other than the fact that a northernly pocket of NCA troops were in dire need of armor, light support and ammunition. The NCA troops had finished a mission taking over a FARC compound, and were surprised attacked by Loyalist Special Forces, who destroyed most of their vehicles and ammunition before disappearing into the woods. So at the moment, the NCA group are stranded with FARC prisoners, with no real means to return to base. It was only a matter of time before infighting broke out, and sustained to the point where Loyalists could capture the compound and the enemy with little to no casualties. A sound strategy that Jax himself highly approved of.

Jax then heard something that immediately dashed that idea. "---pelotón, sus vehículos y municiones son entrantes desde el sur por tren. De espera para más actualizaciones. (---platoon, your vehicles and ammunition are inbound from the south via train. Standby for further updates.)" The static and the tone of voice that came with that transmission indicated that the transmission was from one of the NCA command centers. He knew it was addressed to the NCA soldiers, as he heard their callsign vaguely through the static.

He looked to the others. "Date prisa y notificar a los demás, voy a mantener un ojo en la radio. (Hurry up and notify the others, I'll keep an eye on the radio.)" He said, to which some of the soldiers hurried to the vehicles to notify the command center about the train. Jax stood there for a moment before feeling his cell phone vibrate in his pocket, which he quickly answered. "El sargento Ambriz. (Sergeant Ambriz.)" He answered, before he looked to the tracks. "Qué? Cómo lo sabe ya? Manos calientes tenían un espía en Bogotá? ¡Bueno esta bien! Sólo asegúrese de comandos sabe acerca -... Oh, está viniendo a lo largo de nuestra pista? (What? How did you already know? Hot Hands had a spy in Bogota? Well, okay! Just make sure command knows about-... Oh, it's coming along our track?)" Jax looked to the train tracks behind him. "Y usted planea en hacer fracasar ella? Así que se ocupa de una gran cantidad de problemas allí! (And you plan on derailing it? Well that takes care of a whole lot of problems there!)" He nodded. "Veré lo que puedo hacer, yo lo haré saber cuando nos pasa, y si hay o no algún civil a bordo. Buena suerte! (I'll see what I can do, I'll let you know when it passes us, and whether or not there are any civilians onboard. Good luck!)" He hung up before looking to his comrades. "Amigos, tenemos un elemento en el norte que se va a tratar de descarrilar el tren, y ellos nos necesitan para darles una ventana de tiempo con el fin de hacerlo. Mantenga un ojo en las pistas! (Friends, we have an element up north that is going to attempt to derail the train, and they need us to give them a time window in order to do so. Keep an eye out on the tracks!)"

---

---

Teresa hung up the phone. "Parece que el tren no ha pasado a nuestros amigos en el sur, sin embargo, por lo que tiene tiempo para calentar. (It looks like the train hasn't passed our friends down south yet, so you have time to heat up.)" She said to Hot Hands.

Hot Hands smiled. "Bueno." He nodded before taking off his gloves and letting his rifle hang on his back. Slowly but surely, his hands started to heat up like a hot plate, and as a result, they started to glow, almost like molten metal or lava. It took quite a few minutes of time, and as the air sizzled around his hands, Hot Hands wiggled his glowing fingers. Through his power, he could easily melt anything with his hands, including large steel beams... and railroad tracks.

After ten minutes, Hot Hands looked to Teresa. "Estoy en los niveles metálicos. Sólo tengo que esperar la confirmación de que estamos llevando a cabo un objetivo militar antes de proceder. (I'm at metallic levels. I just gotta wait for confirmation that we're taking out a military target before proceeding.)"

Teresa nodded. While they waited, both Rico and Cortez covered them, making sure that there was no enemy elements that were going to engage them at surprise. Soon enough, her phone vibrated. After she activated it and looked at the message that was sent to her, her eyes widened a little before she looked to Hot Hands. "El tren es entrante y viniendo en rápido! (The train is inbound and coming in fast!)" She called out before looking at her phone once again for details. "Es también un objetivo militar también, y él dicen que parece malo como el infierno! Llevarlo a cabo! (It's also a military target too, and he say it looks mean as all hell! Take it out!)" She called out to him.

Hot Hands nodded with a grin. "Esto va a ser divertido! (This is gonna be fun!)" He grinned. "El resto de ir a cubierto detrás de los árboles, tengo esto! (The rest of you go take cover behind the trees, I got this!)" He said, and as the others walked into the forest to remain at a safe distance from the train tracks, he pressed his hands against one of the rails on the tracks, pressing it down in a chopping motion with intent in melting it into two different pieces. His hand took a whole lot of force, but with pressure and time, his hand came through like a hot knife through butter, and using his other hand, he bent the rail towards the left of the tracks, going down the rail and making sure it was bent properly. He applied the same process to the rail on the other side, but as he was bending the rail, he felt it vibrate.

"Oh, mierda. (Oh shit.)" Hot Hands looked around before continuing to bend the rail, keeping an eye out for the train. He heard the engine coming from beyond the trees, but it wasn't close, so he still had a little time left.

The other three, who were chilling out by the trees, saw the train, and looked visibly terrified. "Oh, mierda! Manos calientes! Obtener el salir de allí! Ahora! Movimiento! (Oh shit! Hot Hands! Get the out of there! Now! Move!)" Teresa called out as loud as she could to the metahuman who was still on the tracks. "Prisa! Está viniendo en rápido! (Hurry! It's coming in fast!)"

It wasn't long before the train revealed itself. Mean was one word to describe it, it was a large locomotive outfitted with a bunch of armor, with a crap ton of cars behind it, towing around Colombian military vehicles and stockpiles of ammunition (kept in closed cars). The train was large, menacing, and bearing down on Hot Hands with the haunting sound of a deeper train horn. It got closer and closer by the second, and Hot Hands had to move, fast!

"Ve, ve, ve! Movimiento! Ahora! (Go, go, go! Move! Now!)" His comrades continued to shout at him, before he finally broke into a sprint towards the trees.

Gunning it towards his friends, Hot Hands would call himself Hot Feet at this point, running like the wind as the train sped towards him. Just as he got off the tracks, the train runs straight behind him, just a hair away from hitting him, before the tracks run the locomotive straight off of the rails and into the tunnel walls. With a loud booming CRASH!!!, the massive banging sound of heavy metal smashing against concrete, the locomotive was pushed to the point where it sealed off the tunnel, smashing into the walls as the cars behind it rammed into the locomotive itself. Vehicles flew from the back of the train and nearly went everywhere, some of them nearly missing Hot Hands as he ran towards the trees. The cars, with lots of force and inertia, continued to smash into everything in front of them, plowing through vehicles and containers full of ammo. One car filled with fuel tank ran straight through a large container filled with ammo crates, and with enough force, smashed it to the point where it detonated a large explosion and ignited a whole lot of ammo all into the tunnel, bullets flying and rockets exploding as the long train collapsed on itself horizontally, the rest of the cars soon coming to a halt after flying off the rails and crashing into just about everything else. Soon enough, everything settled down, and while many of the munitions continued to fire from the flames that engulfed them, the train itself was a total wreck.

Hot Hands panted at his escape, as he and his comrades went deep into the woods to escape the vehicles flung from the derailing cars, as well as the munitions fired from the crates that ignited. "Wow... que era increíble! (Wow... that was amazing!)" He cried out, raising his scalding hot fist into the air, to which his friends cheered with him. "Vamos, tenemos que date prisa antes de que los fascistas se muestran a investigar. (Let's go, we gotta hurry before the fascists show up to investigate.)"

The group of freedom fighters made it towards a dirt path that cut through the forests and followed the railroad. An older Chevy truck was sitting on the side of the path. The group walked towards it, until they heard vehicles come from the same direction the train did. Immediately, the fighters raised their rifles and aimed them at the trucks that came towards them. As the trucks stopped, the soldiers stepped out with their hands up.

The first one to emerge from one of the military vehicles was Jax, the commander of the RCAF scout group that operated further down the tracks. "No disparen, somos amistosos. (Don't shoot, we're friendlies.)" Jax said, trying to reassure the fighters.

Teresa smiled. "Es bueno verte de nuevo, lo siento por la bienvenida poco amistosa. (Nice to see you again, sorry for the unfriendly welcome.)" She said as she lowered her rifle, shaking Jax's hand as the two groups converged. The groups made friendly exchanges, before Jax spoke to Hot Hands.

"Manos calientes, que realmente superado a ti aquí. Vi las explosiones y oí el choque. Debe haber sido salvaje! (Hot Hands, you really outdone yourself here. I saw the explosions and heard the crash. It must've been wild!)"

Hot Hands chuckled a little. "Me acabo de mudar los carriles un poco, eso es todo. (I just moved the rails a little, that's all.)"

"Ahora no ser tan humilde. (Now don't be so humble.)" Jax patted Hot Hands on the shoulder before gesturing where all of the smoke was billowing out from. "Deberíamos ir mirar y admirar su realización? (Should we go look at and admire your accomplishment?)"

Teresa chuckled and shook her head. "Mala idea, todavía hay municiones que se apagan de las cajas después de que se incendiaron, que no es seguro que ir allí ahora. (Bad idea, there's still munitions going off from the crates after they caught fire, it's unsafe to go there now.)"

Another explosion was heard, which startled everyone in the area.

Jax smirked a little. "Parece que tenía razón. (It appears that she was right.)" He looked back to Hot Hands. "En cualquier caso, apreciamos lo que hizo aquí, que terminó parar un tren desde el reabastecimiento de los fascistas al norte de aquí, y como resultado, es dar a nuestros amigos allí una oportunidad capturar el compuesto sin ninguna resistencia. (In any event, we appreciate what you did here, you ended up stopping a train from resupplying the Fascists north of here, and as a result, it's giving our friends up there a chance capture the compound without any resistance.)"

Hot Hands nodded. "Eso explica el tren, me preguntaba lo que estaba haciendo con toda esa carga. (That explains the train, I was wondering what it was doing with all of that cargo.)"

Jax looked to the smoke. "De cualquier manera, gracias por la ayuda. (Either way, thanks for the help.)" He said before attempting to shake the metahuman's hand. Immediately, he burned it and his hand nearly sizzled. "Aaaii! Aiaiai!" He cried out in pain, blowing on his hand to cool it down while the others laughed.

"Es por eso que estoy manos calientes, tipo! (That's why I'm Hot Hands, dude!)" Hot Hands grinned.

Jax looked to Hot Hands. "Debería haber visto venir... (Should've seen that one coming...) Aiaiaii... aahhh..."

Teresa patted him on the shoulder. "Vamos a poner un hielo de nuevo una vez que volvamos a la base. Pero por ahora, tenemos que ir antes de que más fascistas aparecen. Vamonos. (We'll put an ice back on it once we get back to base. But for now, we gotta go before more fascists show up. Let's go.)"

@Hellis

Jaden and his partner followed Bak's lead into the building and stopped at what they saw. Needless to say they were quite happy, and in some ways not surprised, to find that the former Thai Boxing champion had her home right above a gym. The two looked around upon entering, admiring how well-kept the whole place was, "Thanks for having us, Miss Bak May," Jaden decided to bow a little as did Gaia, "I gotta say, you've done a good job keeping this place pristine."

"Kiss up," Gaia rolled her eyes as she floated around, examining the various forms of gym equipment, "Though I have to agree with him, you've done well in keeping this place presentable," She stopped at a punching bag and looked it over carefully, "...What is this contraption?"

"It's a punching bag," Jaden walked over to her, "People who use the gym tend to rely on these to get a good work-out. They're very popular...." For some reason though, his mood shifted to be slightly more down at inspecting the bag, "...And this one looks particularly sturdy...I'd probably get a nice sweat built up if I...well..." He glanced down at his hand as it suddenly turned into a large red rose, changed to blue, then black, and finally white..before morphing back to normal and causing him to sigh.

He knew there wasn't much point to training his body since...well, most of his strength came from the sun and the water. Heck, even in his weakened state, he doubted he would get much benefit. Training was suppose to be something that ignited the human spirit, made one feel alive...but what was the point when you got nothing to show for it? Sure, Jaden could eat, sleep, and basically do all the things humans did...but to a degree, he didn't have to. He mostly did it for the enjoyment.

That and knowing he still had family and friends who cared about him...most days, it was enough.

However, moments like this were a reminder he technically wasn't part of the human world anymore...at least, not physically.

"I may not be an expert on how humans think but I'm pretty sure a single year isn't exactly enough to come to terms with throwing away any chance of a normal life," It was sometimes scary how good Gaia was at reading his thoughts. She perched herself on his shoulder, "Hey...there's more than one way to grow stronger, you know. Often times, training the mind can be just as beneficial as working the body."

If Jaden had eyebrows right now, he would've likely been raising them, "That's...awfully insightful, Gaia."

"Not really," She shrugged, "I got that from an old kung fu movie I was watching the other night where the wise mentor was trying to encourage his pupil."

Evergreen had to resist the urge to sigh,"Why am I not surprised?" He looked up to her, "Still, you're right. Brute strength doesn't really amount to much when you don't have the right mindset to guide it."

"By the way..." Gaia leaned over next to him and whispered, "Please tell me you been noticing the odd looks this Bak May lady has been giving us?"

"You too, huh?" He risked a glance over in the gym owner's direction, "I mean, I can kinda understand why. Seeing two personifications of nature isn't exactly the kind of things you see everyday...but the way she's been looking reminds me of someone who hasn't eaten in days being presented with a triple-decker sandwich...." Both of them shared a look before shaking their heads, "Nah, it's probably nothing..."

Getting an idea, he walked over to Bak May, Gaia still on his shoulder, "Miss May..." He bowed his head to her, "Would you please give us permission to use your gym? Also..." Despite the fact he technically didn't need to, he scratched the back of his neck, "Perhaps you could show us a few ways to defend ourselves,please? It would be nice in case we're in a situation where we can't use our powers..."

Richard Midas sat in the backseat of his brand new Bentley Bentayga. Midas stared out of the smoke tinted windows as the black luxury SUV passed the people and buildings which made Sherman Square stand out amongst the best urban centers in the Northeast. However, it wasn’t the tall skyscrapers or the large videotron, or even the large number of colorful people that lived in or visited the area each day that caused his insides to turn with excitement. It was the status report on one of the various “projects” that Midas Industries had been working on or have had been observing from afar that he had been updated on by one of his advisors, Livingston.

This particular project was not one that Midas Industries was involved with directly, or technically at all. The project was being conducted by one of Midas Industries’ larger rivals, Gene Co, and was a complete secret.

At least it was a secret to most.

The truth was, that while Richard Midas himself kept a relatively low profile for someone in the position that he was in, there was little that went on in Lost Haven that he didn’t know about. So when he learned that Gene Co, the Shroud Syndicate, and several of the city’s newer costumed heroes were involved in a battle royal over a single young woman, he took notice. Though he wasn’t sure exactly what it was about this young woman that was so special, the mere fact that so many powerful entities in the city were after her was reason enough to go after her as well. While he had heard rumors about this young woman, and if they were indeed true, she would be a fascinating specimen to study…he needed to find out first hand if what they were saying about her was true.

“And after the earthquake in Chinatown, a young lady was observed that fit the description of the woman we’re looking for.” Livingston told Midas, his voice radiating with excitement.

“The earthquake itself isn’t anything to be concerned with, we have been known to have them in this region from time to time.” Midas said to Livingston, who had been droning on and on about the earthquake for what seemed like hours. “However, with the number of metahumans in the city these days, it isn’t something that we can just discount.”

“This may be true, Sir, but the young woman in question was seen in the area immediately following the earthquake.” Livingston protested.

“And that does merit some looking in to.” Midas agreed.

“Wonderful. I will make arrangements immediately. I will follow up on this personally.” Livingston proudly proclaimed.

“No, I think I’ll have Ms Sparks handle this one.” Midas told him.

“Sir?” Livingston asked, immediately speaking up again. “But I don’t understand. I-” Midas stopped him.

“Livingston, you’re wonderful, really. However, this is a very delicate situation and to be perfectly honest, you can from time to time come off as a bit…creepy. In this instance, Ms Sparks is better suited to make contact.” Midas explained.

“But don’t worry, Ms Desdemona will soon be our…guest. And once she is ours, if the rumors of her gifts are true…things will never be the same.”

Rune bid farewell to Eva, giving her his number for when he was ready to move on the soulstone proper.

Being out of Avalo, Rune took stock of his situation. The twice accursed weapon he now kept underneath his coat whispered and simmered in the back of his mind. He himself was feeling a little ragged and in a desperate need of a drink. But that would have to wait for now. He staggered across New York, having to stop to dry heave in a alleyway every so often. He had forgot how jarring the Witchkiller was to posses as he was magically imbued himself. Now that Arcane energies that flowed directly itno him was constantly at odds with the vile weapon. His feet led him to the apartment he rented in Hells Kitched. He barely percieved the portier as he staggered past him into the lobby. He was sweating profusely as he was leaning on the cool metal of the elevator walls. He staggered out, half falling against the door to his penthouse apartment. Fumbling with the key he threw himself inside and tossed the thing away. It scrambled against the floor bone and metal bouncing lightly agains the marble tiles of the foyér. The seperation shocked him like a bolt of lightning up his arm. He gritted his teeth, staring at the damn thing.

Only then did he realize the womanly shape that sat by his table. Grabbed his spear and spun, but it vanished into thin little vapors of black smoke. But he knew what he had seen. His eyes went ubnidden to the witch killer where it lay on the floor.

"Allready with the fucking ghosts?! Really?!" He stared at it. For a piece of inert metal and bone, it sure felt smug. Grabbing a large rectangular box from under his bed, he quickly disposed of it, locking it inside. Runes flared all along the black led box as it locked.

Soon enough, he was heading to the closest bar. Every so often, he saw the smoke like apperitions walking among people. He knew what they were, the memories of the peoples whos bones where used for the gun in his apartment. They were all out of place, from the late 1800's in clothing. This was why he got rid of it in the first place. For a non-practioner, the gun was a powerfull tool and you would never see these things. If your not a magician, the gun would not hurt you. It could corrupt you, drive you to bloodlust. But you would not have to see the ghosts or have to fight its more insidius effects.. For a person attuned to the mystical and arcane, it was a curse and a bane. He needed to find Otto and plan their next step.

The bar that was unfortunate enough to be his destinations was Willards Lager and Stouts. A joint he had terrorized with his drunken charms before. He quickly ordered a shot of whiskey and downed it. The burning sensation of the malt kicked his brain back into gear. He eyed the bar before picking up his phone. Otto picked up on the first call.

"Rune. When did you get back?"

"Just now. Its as bad as ever man. The thing is just as evil as when I left it."

"Shit man. You sure you need it?" Ottos voice sounded more concerned then Rune had thought it would. Something else had spooked him aside from the return of Runes gun.

"You ok Otto? You sound shaken." Rune inquired curiusly.

"Listen. I think something happened with our necromancer friend." Otto began but Rune cut him off.

"Yeah no shit. she got her soul sucked out." It was true enough. They had both agreed to that being what fate had befallen her.

"That is the thing. She apperently got up and walked out of Pucks by her own will and power." Otto said, sounding as full of disbelief as Rune was feeling in that instant. But Rune quickly shook his head.

"...Ok you know what? We will worry about that another day. We gotta handle the stone first." They didn't have time to deal with that shit. Not right now.

"You are right. So where are you now?" Otto inquired.

"Willards." Rune called for another shot of whiskey.

"Be there in 20" Otto confirmed.

"See you then my friend." Rune killed the phone and downed another shot.

---

It was late night when a police car rolled up around the slum, condemned building the trio were staying within. The bright yellow head lights illuminated everything for a brief moment then quickly faded back to darkness. When the engine died, the driver exited the vehicle then stepped into the cold air despite the month of June. Her name was Janie Lopez, a rookie cop and officer new to the NYPD. The uniform was prime and wrinkle free, apparently new head to toe, drawing a slight proud aura from her. An athletic, dark complex latina woman, she tied her raven dark hair back into a professional bun and covered it with commonly seen police cap to keep what she hoped looked intimidating to anyone seeing her.

Nothing screamed scary than a woman holding a gun and looking like a boss, Jani smirked at the thought. Her brown eyes skimmed the surroundings suspiciously while she rested her hand upon her holster, inwardly debating on her next move. She whipped her head about to see her partner, an older caucasian officer named Leonard Cruz, edged himself out of his passenger side seat. He smacked the car door behind him then turned about, his arms placed upon the hood. “Jani, I see you resting your hand thar. Staph it, it’s a basic routine check. No reason to get edgy over it.”

Jani stopped herself from rolling her eyes at his warning, the heavier set man pulled his flashlight out then proceeded forward.



Meanwhile, Benjamin was deep in a dream. His head twitched and paws flexed then released, his eyes shifted under closed eyelids while he whimpered slightly in confusion. The two police officers’ scent whiffed into his muzzle causing the wolf’s attention to jerk him awake with a start. His mind was foggy from the strange dream as his eyes peered through the hazy vision. He snarled in irritation then yawned, unhappy to been woken up. His nose caught the scent gain and pushed his desire to return to sleep back, his nose inhaled deeply. Several scents rose into his nose causing him to shift through them.

Mold… stone, mortar, cedar, sawdust, mouse droppings, bat shit, and several other aromas filled his registry in his mind. Each checked out as normal until a mixture of leather, a male and female smell not belonging to his memory caused a soft growl to emit from his throat. Carefully, he detangled himself from Skyler’s side then padded into the darkness.

It didn’t take him long to scratch out of the hole he originally entered in at. His thick body made the gap wider as he slipped out, his tail wagged at the scent of the two cops filling his nose. The two officers were tailing back to their car after the patrol, failing to find evidence of squatters, then continued to finish out their night. Their stroll became leisure one with their flashlights fluttering through the darkness.

“Well, looks like the squatters aren’t around here.” Leonard stated, his heavy steps crushed across the gravelled path. His eyes panned the scene, his sight missed Ben as the wolf slinked to the alley side and took cover near a local dumpster.

“Yeah… let’s get back into the car and finish this damn night out.” Jani commented, her disappointment clearly heard by the older officer.

His eyebrow arched in question then let a sigh escape his lips. “Not every night needs to include gunfights and suspect chases. Personally I like a peaceful night without an incident and so will you in time, after getting shot at enough.”

She scoffed at his words, her eyes on the verge of rolling. Leonard could tell she was the type in it for glory and recognition, a fact she wasn’t going to get since the fiasco a few months ago and masked ‘heroes’ cropping up all over the States. They both helped and hindered arrests, a double edged sword at times, when police got down to doing their job creating mixed feelings in the man. Reputation was everything on the street and most cappers risked that even in low degrees. The bad part, their interference risked the real law enforcement’s task with proving the suspects were at fault. Several cases had been compromised due to evidence tampering by the vigilantes looking to make names for themselves much like his partner.

Times like that, when he saw moral compromised villains get off due to technical evidence and the victims suffer for it, Leonard found himself voting for Mayor Sampson’s platform. It would’ve been easier. “Look, Jani. I’m sorry this isn’t what you expected, and you can blame the capes for it, but honestly you’ll get use to it or you’ll move on. Now will you wipe that pout off your face or am I gonna to have to bribe ya?”

His figure paused at the door and sat his arms upon the roof, his eyes studied for her reaction.

Jani let out a soft huff then let a small smile creep upon her lips. Her hand reached out and pulled open the door, her figure pausing long enough to reply. “I might take you up on that bribe if it's your treat.”

“Haha, I thought a free meal might make you stop pouting.” Leonard chuckled. He then ducked down into the passenger’s seat and started to buckle up, his arm reached for the belt. Naturally his partner tucked in and followed suit.

Ben’s curiosity grew bigger and bigger until he edged from the nearby dumpster’s cover. His paws rushed forward and jumped upon the trunk, trailing across to stand on the roof. His large head lowered as he inhaled deeply, absorbing the scent to memory. His nails scraped across the surface with a ear splitting screech causing both cops to jump, their heads tilted upright to see the metal dents increase, the wolf’s paws digging into the steel.

“What the hell?!?” Leonard cursed. The older officer flinched when the roof groaned, bending under Ben’s weight more, as his eyes shifted to Jani. Of course the woman already had her gun out and was edging out.

“Jani, fuck, don’t!” He pleaded then reached to seize her sleeve and jerk her back in, missing by inches. “Damn it!”

Jani screamed in surprise then several explosions of gunfire echoed off the alleyway. The darkness was illuminated and flooded by the bursts while something animal-like yelped before it took off into the darkness. Panicked for his partner, Leonard jerked himself out. His salt and pepper head turned to her direction to see her slumped down, unconscious on the other side. Wasting little time, he was by her side in a moment checking her over. Nothing was damaged. She had merely been stunned and bruised from her encounter from whatever that was.

From his crouched down position, his face looked in the direction Ben took off in with a shocked expression. Without any further words, he wrapped his partner’s arm about his neck then hoisted her upright on her feet when she stirred. It was time to leave before something else happened.

---

Bursting through the door with his gun drawn and at the ready, Angelo swept across Ben’s room with a quick glare. Needless to say, it left him wide eyed. Indeed, the gruesome scene which had taken place was gut-wrenching but after his streak of horrifying sights, what truly bothered him was the realization that Ben had transformed before the designated time. ”Okay, we might have a problem.” The Agent spoke in a surprisingly calm tone, keeping himself collected in the face of adversity.

”Come, we need to find him before shit hits the fan.” Angelo finished, holstering his gun before stepping out of the room and walked past Carmen and Hakeem. They would need to clean that room, as well. If anyone walked into that nightmarish scene, it would lead to trauma and police investigations, neither of which they needed. ”We’re on cleaning duty once we find Ben. Can’t leave his room with a shattered window and…yeah.” Describing the event to those who were present was difficult enough in itself.

Carmen and Hakeem, having responded as quickly as they could from their fourth game of pool, were upstairs with Angelo, almost just as horrified as he was. While the scene of blood all over the place looked like one from a horror movie, with them being a little jaded from having fought in a long and intense conflict in the Middle East, it didn’t bother them too much. What bothered them a bit more was the skin on the ground, which looked incredibly disgusting as well. Both of them had their pistols drawn as well, and once the all clear was given, they holstered them and followed Angelo.

“Jesus… did… did he fucking transform into a werewolf? Already?” Carmen called out towards the busted window, flustered. “Fuck, I hope he isn’t hungry for minorities!” She said, looking around as she followed Angelo.

“Uh, I’ve seen… body parts and shit after bombings but that… I think that’s just a whole another set of fruit right there…” Hakeem said, a little shaken from what he saw. “Where do you think he might have gone?” He asked as Carmen pulled out the keys to the Innocuous Jeep Cherokee.

”I don’t know where he went, we weren’t really prepared for this.” Angelo returned, heading down the stairs before reaching for his phone. Something must have caused this, something which more than likely affected werewolves as a whole. This problem could be much bigger than he first anticipated, but worrying Carmen and Hakeem about that now would be unwise. Angelo would need more information before he could draw a calculated conclusion. ”Leyla.” The Agent spoke, holding his phone to his ear. ”Ben transformed. Track him and keep me updated.” Rather than surprise or shock, Layla would simply get to work on tracking the pup. It would take some time, given how they didn’t possess any means of localising him, but with the Agency’s equipment, they would be able to find him far sooner than Angelo and the others driving around in circles.

As they were running out the door, Hakeem just remembered. “Hey, uh, we set up some surveillance cameras all around the estate… maybe the footage could help you figure out where he went.” Hakeem offered, patting Angelo on the shoulder to catch is attention. “The laptop connected is up in the loft.”

“Yeah, and so is my Nagant…” Carmen said softly. “He might not be the only one, would rather not arrive at the scene with my ass out and pants down.”

“Maybe that’s what I want.” Hakeem smirked with a casual shrug.

Carmen hit him on the shoulder. “Very smooth.” She said sarcastically.

”Cameras won’t help much. We saw the direction he darted away in, and he left the premises. Angelo returned, opening the front door as he started down the stone steps and across the garden. ”One of you drive, I am going to need to be on the phone.” The Agent continued, approaching the car before checking his phone for updates, a map showing himself as a dot with the rest of the city stretching out across the screen. ”We’re not using silver bullets on Ben.

“I’ll drive.” Carmen offered, and once Angelo clarified that they won’t be using silver bullets on Ben, Carmen turned back to him as she was just about to head back upstairs to grab her rifle. “Who said I was gonna use them on Ben? You saw the fucker that bit him, there could be much more… and I kinda don’t wanna be dog food so yeah. Tough shit.” She said, unlocking the Cherokee with the remote car starter. “It’s unlocked, I’ll be right back!”

Hakeem looked to Angelo apologetically before approaching the SUV. “You take shotgun or do I take shotgun?” He asked.

”I assumed you two were already armed with silver. Occupational habit, I guess.” Angelo raised an eyebrow as he saw Carmen dart off. ”I’ll sit in the back.” Given his position, Angelo tended to carry two clips on him at all times, both of which would last quite a while, given his powers. One contained electro bullets for non lethal takedowns and the other contained silver, given situations like these. ”If we’re lucky, we won’t run into any other wolves. It’s not like the city is crawling with them, but it wouldn’t surprise me if others are drawn to Ben.” The wolf wasn’t very subtle, after all. Given what Angelo knew about werewolves, Ben had the current mind of a puppy. He’d investigate the city to his heart’s content and curiosity would take over. He wasn’t going to be particularly aggressive, but others wouldn’t know that, and they would act accordingly.

Hakeem chuckled a little. “Yeah, I wish. We didn’t have any empty mags for our pistols to fill them up with. We got plenty of silver .45 Auto ammo though, but the Nagant is kind of the only defense we got for now.” He said, opening up the passenger door for the SUV before climbing on in. Looking back to the estate, he smiled a little. “Oh, right on cue.”

With her Nagant M44 Carbine slung on her back, Carmen jogged out to the Cherokee, nodding to Angelo. “Sorry about that. C’mon, let’s get the fuck going.” She said, getting into the driver’s side of the SUV, putting the keys in the ignition and starting the thing up. The Cherokee shook to life, the engine growling as Carmen set her rifle onto the middle console so she wouldn’t be uncomfortable in leaning back (and so the airbag won’t kill her). “Alright… we got everything? Got everyone?” She asked, turning to Angelo.

”Yeah, everything seems to be in ch-...” Cut off by the call he received, Angelo brought the phone to his ear again. The information he was granted caused his expression to shift from calm to one of shock. ”Oh, shit...” The Agent rubbed his forehead with a heavy sigh, turning to look out the window. ”Something’s happened.” He informed, looking to Carmen and Hakeem. Angelo’s previous assumptions were correct. Something had forced the change. ”Something big has ticked off loads of supernaturals. The Agency can barely keep up. Hurry, we need to find Ben before things get worse.” Angelo finished, leaning back in his seat with distress starting to fill his heart. Things were getting worse by the moment.

Yeong was at full sprint. The moonlight showed the dark blue tint that each single strand of fur held. To most they would mistake her as a panther running loose and not a wolf. Granted this would always cause problems for local wildlife and police if they ever caught her. One could never really explain that they were a supernatural creature without being locked in the looney bin for the mere mention. The wolf turned a sharp right, continuing her current speed, and thanking the former pack for the gift of speed. If they ever really needed this certain skill it was now. A sharp left caused a small concern due to a car being in the way up ahead of her, making a stop harder than it usually was. Most people would be asleep by now right? So jumping on the hood wasn't a huge problem.

The young woman continued forward then jumped up on the once thought empty car. The one single thing she never expected to see was someone firmly in their seats and looking back at her. Instantly panic seemed to slowly fill the girl’s mind.” Ji we have a problem here.” She mentally called to her sister as she slowly stopped upon the roof. Yeong had left light scratch marks on the glass and managed to damage the paint job on the hood. She stayed stayed up on the roof, not daring to move from the spot.” There are people inside the car. I'm pretty sure they had a rather long look at me and I'm kinda trapped. Mind helping out a little bit?” She seemed to plead.

Ji, not being as fast as her sister, was a few feet behind Yeong. Making sure she evaded the street lights, she used buildings, jumping and climbing them. It was hard going through the city in wolf forms since New York, being the place that never sleeps, meant that people could be still roaming around the city. The last thing her and her sister needed was news of two werewolves, possibly three, being spotted by someone . Sure the wolf forms differed from their human form by a huge margin, but people like her boss, could get suspicious and actually follow them when they leave the city to run around in the woods during the night of the full Moon.

Oh yes, that’s the last thing both her and her sister needs. She can imagine the keyboards going click click click for reporters and their phones ring a ding ding all damn day, or perhaps they would be captured for experimentation. The last one made Ji snort . Scientists would have a field day with them the second they were dropped off to the nearest station.

[i][color=lavender]”And how the heck do we have a problem?”[/i][/color] Just as she asked that, she got her answer really quickly seeing where her sister was and where she was before jumping away.

”Are you kidding me Yeong?”. Annoyance could be heard through her mental voice as she gave her sister a stare down.

Carmen was facing Angelo as he spoke to the phone. She listened in on the conversation, and once Angelo addressed them both, Hakeem and Carmen were both looking at him as he spoke. Once he said that they needed to hurry, and that the supernaturals were acting strange tonight, Carmen nodded. “You got it, boss!” Carmen called out before shifting the car into gear. “Hehe… good thing you got me the Nagant, Hakeem. Hehe-” She was immediately cut off as a loud THOMP! was heard right in front of her. Both Hakeem and Carmen had their eyes wide as they watched a fucking werewolf jump right onto their hood.

“Oh shit… are we about to get Jurassic Park’d?” Hakeem asked, sitting absolutely still. “Angelo? Uh… what do we do?” By the time Hakeem asked that, Carmen was already crawling out from the Jeep with the Nagant in her hand. “Carmen! Wait!”

“I can’t stay in there! I’m an easy kill!” Carmen whispered back to Hakeem before looking to Yeong. “Hey pendejo, get lost!” She shouted, unaware of Ji’s presence. Immediately, she cycled her weapon, ejecting a normal round from it and cycling a silver round into the chamber. “This rifle’s got a silver round chambered, so if you don’t want your head splattered, I suggest you get the fuck off of my truck!” She shouted. “Now!”

Hakeem gulped. “Carmen!” He whispered. “That’s not gonna work!” He looked behind her, and saw Ji, hiding in the bushes. “Oh shit… Carmen! Get in here! Now! There’s one right fucking behind you!” He whispered as loud as he can, trying to get her to come back into the SUV.

”Wait!” Angelo exclaimed as Carmen went on the offensive, slipping his phone back into his pocket. ”I told you the shift made everyone go apeshit, don’t shoot anyone!” Calling out to Carmen, Angelo found the need to remind her of the current situation. No supernatural creature has any control of their changes occurring at this moment and transforming was anything but deliberate. ”They might be able to help us find Ben!” The Agent continued. ”Get their attention, and not with a bullet!” Angelo finished.

The gun didn't help her panicked state but it did show these people meant business. She slowly jumped off the truck’s hood and onto the ground, noting the bloody mess by the pool. The wolf released a growl towards the others then turned towards her sister.”Well looks like he's a newborn and has a head start. We better start doing something unless you have a brilliant idea that involves these three. Personally I think we can handle this on our own.” She said with a growl and mental attitude.

Ji gave a small huff little for breath, but mostly annoyance at her sister. ”These three seem to know Mr. Reeves. Perhaps they have some intel of what happened. I'm turning back into my human shape to talk to them, but if she doesn't stop pointing that gun, they won't have their nice jeep anymore,” She gave her sister one more glare before the shift to her human form take place.

Carmen had her gun at the ready, while not aimed, it was pointed in Yeong’s general direction. She heard Angelo, and nodded slowly. “Good point, but I’d rather not find out too late that they may be hostile shitstains!” She called out, watching as Yeong slowly climbed off of the Jeep, easing the nerves of the incredibly frightened Hakeem, who was in the passenger seat of the vehicle. Hearing Hakeem, her eyes went a little wide, and she turned to Ji. “Huh?”

Fur fell from her form exposing human skin slowly, causing fur to pool at her feet. The humanoid transformation was much more smoothly than the other form. Her face turned back into a shape of a human. Within a minute and a half, there stood a naked human girl who covered herself as she had no more fur for modesty. She turned her eyes to the three and glared.

”Look we aren't here to hurt you. We are looking for Mr. Reeves. He is a newborn werewolf. Can you tell us where you Mr. Reeves possibly went? She said. The duffle bag laid on the ground as it had fell when she lost her large shoulder. Ji, bending over careful not to expose any private parts, picked it up.

”Let us dress and talk like normal people about this,” She looked at them.

Yeong gave a low growl as the weapon was raised in her direction before following Ji’s lead. The black fur slowly peeled away as skin replaced it. The pain wasn't as severe as it had been forming into a canine. Or at least what they changed into to represent canines. The woman slowly lifted herself from the ground as she felt the rest of the transformation finish. The girl stood in place, not daring to show any signs of modesty, as she shifted.

Sliding out of the car soon after it came to a halt, Angelo rose an eyebrow at the werewolves now turned human. With silver prepared in the clip of his pistol, he was ready to arm himself at a moment’s notice would this conversation head south. ”Help you?” The Agent spoke, a soft grin making its way across his lips as a hand dropped down to his hip. ”You’ve got noses, haven’t you? You’re of more assistance to us, than the other way around. Take a moment and wiff the air.” Were they trustworthy? Combat has not yet ensued and finding a wolf naked and harmless before him spoke volumes.

Carmen watched Ji, stunned as she transformed into a human quite quickly and seamlessly. Carmen was a little stunned, having witnessed this all herself for the first time, her eyes wide. She shifted her attention to Yeong for just a second to make sure she wasn’t going to lunge at them before looking back to Ji, who stood closer to them and spoke to them. Once Ji revealed their intentions, Carmen nodded gently, rifle still clutched in her hands. “No funny business.” She said, pointing at Ji and Yeong, raising her rifle into an idle position. She looked to Angelo for a moment, incredibly unsure of what to do. While she would love to give Ji and Yeong some privacy, turning their backs on them could easily spell their deaths. Hakeem, who was sitting in the passenger seat in the Cherokee, had the same thoughts, and same reaction.

If combat was the desired outcome, she would not have reverted back to her human form. ”So far, we’re on the same side. Help us find Ben, and we might be able to get somewhere. Let’s make this efficient. Either wolf up and scout ahead, and we’ll follow. Or get into the car and try to locate his scent. Either way, none of us have time to stand around and get to know each other.” This sudden change, a string of events linked together through the supernatural world seemed to bring with it a multitude of unexpected occurrences. At this point, it took quite a lot to surprise Angelo, given his calm and collected reaction to the new additions standing before him.

Carmen looked to Angelo. “Wait… what?” Carmen looked back to Ji and Yeong before looking back to Angelo, whispering to him. “Uh, Angelo, buddy, I respect you and all, but… it could be possible that they are here to, uh… let me put it this way… fucking massacre the shit out of Ben?” She whispered to him. “There could be more too, and they might massacre and eat the shit out of us too once they no longer find us useful.”

”I take offense to that. If it wasn't for my sister worrying over this Ben person I wouldn't be here. Hell I would be at home cleaning my room or exploring.” She snapped at the woman before walking towards her sibling. She didn't trust them.

One they were just threatened by one of the group members not that long ago. Second was that they didn't know if these strangers were going after the werewolf to truly help him or if they were going for an easy kill. There was just too many factors missing as well as too many things that could possibly go wrong in the small time frame. Then again the younger sibling knew they needed help covering the massive city.

She bit on her lip, eyes slowly sliding towards the oldest, as if to say this is your decision. Yeong inhaled the lingering scent coming from what she could only assume was were the newborn’s transformation had taken place. In a way she felt a small amount of worry for Ben, knowing the troubles that lurked ahead of him.”I'm not getting in the car Ji. So I'll leave the explanation to you.” she said morphing back.

With a sigh escaping his lips, Angelo pinched the bridge of his nose and breathed out. This was getting on his nerves, and every idle second raised the risk of disaster on Ben’s end. ”Whether we’re friends or foes, we cannot find Ben without them, Carmen.” The Agent turned to look at the soldier for a moment before he shifted his attention to the werewolves. ”Come on, get into the car and sniff him out, or move. We’re running out of time.” With the sudden shift in supernatural energy all around them, Ben could run into something very dangerous at any moment. Being a newborn werewolf didn’t make things better. He’d be a curious puppy, and that in itself would get him trouble more than anything.

Ji, feeling the annoyance rise, just rubbed her temples. She had to agree with the guy, they were running out of time and with each passing minute meant more time for danger to occur for the newborn.

”Look just stay with Yeong, I will go get dressed so I'm not naked.” Seeing a bush nearby, she rushed towards it vanishing swiftly from the prying eyes of the other four. Unzipping the bag, she pulled her journal out from the bag and placed it on the ground beside her. Small hands pulled out a group of clothing that she gathered before hand from her sister’s very messy room. Said room caused a spark of annoyance to zap her before willing the emotion away. Now was definitely not the time for that.

Dressing in a blue spaghetti tank top and some blue jeans shorts, she placed the journal back in the bag and picked something else out. She seemed to have managed to get some athletes tape and wrapped some on her bare feet to protect them. Placing it back in the back and closing it up, she lifted it up off the ground and returned to the others.

”Ok now I am dressed. We need to go find him. Being a newborn and alone is dangerous. He can be a danger to himself and others” She said.

Carmen listened to Yeong, and before she could retort, Angelo spoke with the voice of reason. She looked to him, listening and nodding. “Alright.” She nodded. He was right, either way, standing around arguing was only going to put Ben at risk, and with Cracker Jack dead, that means her and Hakeem’s contract is gonna be thrown into the shredder. They got to move, and quickly too. As for Ji, she looked to her before giving her the privacy she wanted. She wasn’t too shocked about the sights of naked young women, she’s seen plenty in her line of work, and so has Hakeem. Once Ji has emerged from the bushes, she looked back to her. “Yeah, we gotta go, like, fucking now.” Carmen gestured to the Jeep. “C’mon, hope in.” She turned to Yeong. “You can ride the roof if you want… uhh…. Wolf girl thing.” She said, gesturing to the roof of the Jeep with a somewhat ironic smile. While she put up a smile, she still didn’t really trust the intentions of the two. She was new to werewolves as a whole, and so far the only werewolves she met were either hostile killers or just plain assholes. These two didn’t seem bad, but only time will reveal their true intentions.

Hakeem was watching all of this unfold before his eyes. “Fucking what?” He sighed. “Alright! Looks like we got our bloodhounds for the search effort.” He said, leaning back into his seat. “Man, those things make me nervous…”

“Hermano, I don’t like this either, but right now they are the only thing that’s gonna keep our contract away from the shredder, so we gotta follow them, whether we like it or not.” Carmen whispered back to him as she climbed up into the Jeep. “And we really gotta find him fast before he ends up hurting innocent people.”

Hakeem nodded. “Copy that.” He sighed, reluctantly buckling his seatbelt.

Yeong rolled her eyes and started to run ahead.

Ji, rolling her eyes at her sister, got into the vehicle. As she buckled her seatbelt, Ji pulled out her journal from the bag. Looking through it, she reread over all the information she had on werewolves. The journal was a bit messy, unlike Ji, but to her, it was an organized type of mess as weird as it sounded. She knew where everything was in the journal if she ever needed it.

”Do you know of possible locations where Mr. Reeves would go. We could look their first, or we can split up into groups. Spitting up means we can cover more ground than staying as one whole group.” She looked at the three she was with.

Raising an eyebrow at the woman, following them entering the car, Angelo considered her question for a moment before offering his answer. ”No, that’s why you’re here.” The Agent spoke, somewhat put off by the werewolf’s lack of aptitude in tracking. ”We don’t know you, lady. We don’t know your friend over there. The only reason you’re here is because you have a nose which can help us. You need something to go by, right?” With his patience waning by the second, Angelo recalled the moment when he informed Ben of his dislike for working in groups. Placing his trust in others was always a hassle, and this was no exception. ”Turn around.” Angelo instructed, motioning to the seat Ji was in. ”Ben was sitting there a few hours ago, no one else has been there since. A bloodhound would be able to sniff him out from that, you’re a werewolf, all you should need in a strand of hair.” After a prolonged amount of interaction and study with werewolves, Angelo knew more than enough of their hunting prowess to recognize a werewolf’s supernatural level of tracking skills.

Ji, getting off the seat, began to smell around for Ben and was able to smell it. It was a little different from the smell she had earlier during her delivery. ”This must have been a little while before his scent changed. This is slightly different than the smell I had when I was here earlier” She rolled down the window, sniffing some more. She was able to detect a small trail until it seemed to go all over the place. Cursing she looked at Angelo.

”I got a trail but...it is all over the place. I can't pinpoint where exactly he went.” She sighed.

”One option is if we head back to his room and you two can get a scent there.” Angelo suggested, crossing his arms as he leaned against the back of the seat. That gorey scene from a horror movie back home would be the best source of a scent they could gather at this point.

Both Carmen and Hakeem were sitting in the front seat of the Cherokee while it all happened, and they were considering their options as of now. Yeong disappeared into the woods ahead of them, and Ji was now in the backseat of their SUV with Angelo, trying to figure out how to track him. For now, they let him handle it, but they kept a lookout for other things, such as the possibility of Ben returning, or the entire cast of Twilight showing up to murder them. Carmen and Hakeem prayed to the gods that the latter wouldn’t happen. While fighting evil men and beasts is an understandable circumstance in which two could be sent to the afterlife, the story told then would be a shit ton more embarrassing if they were done in by a bunch of shirtless dudes from teen movie schlock. Carmen was getting ahead of herself, focusing her mind back on the task before turning to Hakeem.

“What do you make of all of this?” Carmen asked.

Hakeem shrugged. “I’m still trying to get over the fact that fucking werewolves exist. If werewolves exist… does that mean God or gods exist?” He thought for a moment. “Could our powers be blessings from the gods… and the powers of villains be the blessings from demons or evil deities?” He continued to think aloud. “If vampires or werewolves exist, there could be other curses and monsters and shit that could be plaguing our society for all we know, and we’re just puny mortals with reflex and force abilities.”

Carmen looked to Hakeem. “While these questions are completely irrelevant to this situation we find ourselves in, I often ask myself the same goddamn thing.” She sighed. “And if we are just... puny little ants in the grand scheme of good and evil, that means we’re fire ants, hermano. We’re gonna burn some motherfuckers.” She said with a soft smirk. “ISIS was child’s play, and if the gods are gonna throw real challenges at us, I guess now is the time, huh? We got this, man. Don’t let anyone or anything tell you otherwise.” Carmen said to Hakeem. “Hehe… even in fucking Syria, we stood up against Assad’s Regime, Erdogan’s Turkish Army and their airstrikes, and fucking suicide bombers, and at that point, everyone thought that the Rojava dream was dead. We proved all of those cocksucker pundit pieces of shit wrong!” Carmen chuckled. “Right now’s no different. Whatever lies ahead of us, we’re gonna fucking conquer. For ourselves, and for the good of everyone.”

“Damn fucking straight.” Hakeem said with a grin, fist bumping Carmen. “Whatever happens, I’m proud to have marched through and fought in hell with you.”

Carmen chuckled. “The struggle ain’t over, man! We still got lots of work to do before we meet the gods in person.” She smirked.

Hakeem nodded. “Yeah…” He said, his gaze going off somewhere else. “Hopefully we get there fast before something happens.”

With options strangled to the point of desperation, Angelo motioned for the woman to leave the car and followed suit. With another instruction, the Agent raised his hand with a simple wave, instructing her to follow in his steps. ”Hey!” He exclaimed, turning his gaze towards the remaining sister. ”Come here, your noses are needed upstairs.” The night was dragging out, and the thought of Ben finding his way into trouble did little in easing the tension. Without pause, Angelo lead the werewolves up the stone steps to the mansion after collecting their attention, allowing them the opportunity to show what a werewolf could truly do.

Though the mess was a gruesome sight, the sisters were wolves themselves and this was quite understandably a transition they had not only seen in the past, but rather been a part of themselves. Acquiring required information, a path revealed itself for the group to finally tread without blind eyes. Carmen and Hakeem could finally transport the group within their vehicle but it appeared to result in a rather shady part of town, a place Angelo had hoped Ben didn’t find his way to. Luck didn’t seem to be on their side, but upon leaving the car for just a moment, the twins continued to follow the trail which eventually lead the group deeper into the neighborhood. A gunshot rang out, causing a vigilant reaction from the group. This was a dangerous neighborhood, lowering the immediate threat of a random gunshot, but it could have been related to Ben which cut time shorter still.

Placing his hand upon the downtrodden door of a long since abandoned building, Angelo pulled his gun from the holster and delved into the crumbling structure. Following the trail, Angelo and the group found themselves in contact with a room which appeared to be the apex of the scents. Indeed, scents. There was more than one, three in fact. With the newly added realization, the group had to split up in order to complete the investigation. It was quite understandable seeing the dislike in the sisters’ eyes, given the split, but their determination in finding Ben weighed heavier.

In the chaos that ensued, it was hard to see what was coming to pass. The sudden sound of a gunshot ran out across the empty building, along with voices accompanying the horrid noise. Forced out of his slumber, Skyler shot his eyes open with his powers soon following suit. The darkness was set alight in embers and flames, a burst which soon came to vanish once Skyler returned to his senses. The werewolf was gone, and so was Táph. With a sense of worry welling up inside, Skyler shifted his attention from one side of the darkness to the other. No one was there, and his unwanted blast of fire went unnoticed. The gunshot had brought with it a much higher level of alert.

Springing to his feet, Skyler felt his breathing accelerating. Alone in the darkness, he attempted to calm his nerves with little success, that is until he heard the rapid footsteps of a heavy sprint. Spinning towards the newly added noise, Skyler saw a familiar shape in the dark halls. It was Táph, something to calm the worry, but the werewolf was gone. Nowhere to be seen. ”Wh-what was that...?” Skyler attempted to speak, his voice a silent muse despite the worry within. There was no telling where Ben had ran off to. This building connected with several corridors and contained one room after the other. Given the acoustics, it was impossible to know exactly where the gunshot had ran out from and it left the two by themselves.

Táph was already awake, outside and performing a natural bodily function, one of the few he still had to do with his partially-deceased body. The sound of the gunshot ran through him like a chill down the spine. He hurriedly finished up his bathroom break, remembering to zip up his fly and hurrying over to where Skyler was. “Gunshot, close by. I haven’t heard sirens yet so I think it might be gang violence.” He quickly took note that the wolf was gone. “We should move.” He said with a dire seriousness to his voice that was almost commanding in tone. He said move and he expected Skyler to start moving.

”Yeah...” As reserved a boy as he was, Skyler did have a bad habit of growing attached to animals. Ever since an early childhood, Skyler loved being in close proximity to them and they had always filled a large part of his social interactions, as limited as that might have been. Reluctantly turning from where he stood, Skyler followed Táph out of the building. If it was gang based violence, the best thing they could do was to stay out of it, and the werewolf could more than likely take care of himself. It was a werewolf, after all. Not a helpless kitten. Without managing another word, the Efreet followed his companion with necessity in his step, a path lacking any notable amount of spring or heart.

Táph decided to comfort him while they walked. “So did you have a dog or a cat or something back home?” He figured trying to take his mind off of the increasingly shitty situation they’d landed themselves in was a good enough plan as he looked about making sure the paths he was taking were clear of danger, as much as he could from a short glance, anyhow. He stopped for a second, he saw a pair of people walking down the street and he didn’t want to risk that they might see the Efreet, horns and all. He took off his jacket, handing it over to the teen. “Just act natural.”

”Yeah, a dog...” Skyler returned in response while slipping the oversized jacket over his scrawny frame. He couldn’t do much to hide the whole tail, but part of the appendage was obscured behind the length of Táph’s jacket. ”His name was Mushroom...” The boy continued, keeping himself close to Táph as they walked, attempting to seem as casual as possible rather than paranoid and distressed.

“That’s a good name for a dog.” He smiled reassuringly. “Reckon you know the way to your house from here?” In the past few hours he’d found out other supernatural beings existed, had wrestled and helped bandage up a seemingly wild wolf and was taking care of some sort of devil who also happened to be a scared teen. What was stealing a dog to any of those?

Gathering his thoughts, Skyler tried to collect himself before eventually offering an answer. The way home? Did Táph intend to take them to Skyler’s old house? ”Yeah but...there’s nothing there, they threw me ou-...” Cutting himself off from finishing the sentence, Skyler was hit by a realization. There was in fact something there, something he had been left without. Mushroom probably missed him. ”Táph...” The boy spoke up, stopping in his tracks before weakly gripping his companion’s shirt. ”I’m going to steal my dog...” Though out of character for the teen, this entire week had been insanely chaotic and awkward. Nothing had been in character for Skyler, and it was probably time to take charge. He was tired of feeling helpless, and his only friend was currently still stuck with the two people who had been abusing the boy for four years. That couldn’t stand.

Táph nodded, though he did stop with the teen. “Yeah, that’s the plan. Come on, I don’t know the way.” He said, grinning like an idiot. You reckon he’ll follow with voice or am I on grab and run duty?”“ He continued walking along with Skyler, the kid was really beginning to grow on him. He had some confidence as well. He had a friend again, or at least something of a friend, something of an answer about who he was and something to do that wasn’t fighting.

”Mushroom responds to my voice...” In fact, Skyler’s dog didn’t even require a leash. He was a disciplined pup and the dog was very close to his owner. ”And...I think I smell different...” After what happened with the werewolf, things were starting to fall into place. Being an Efreet, the boy possessed a unique scent which animals could pick up on. While a full set of information went over his head, Skyler was starting to put the pieces together. Animals tended to like him, and they tended to consider him pleasant company. Considering how animals ran on scent rather than visual information, Skyler was starting to understand that there was something about how he smelled that attracted them. ”The house is this way...” Skyler continued, nodding to Táph before he decided to take the lead.

Táph followed on further, hoping the jacket was a decent enough cover for the Efreet’s more obvious features. It was night, and it was probably good enough. “Alright. Do you know a way in or are we using a bum key? I’m not really much for barging doors down.” He felt a bit uneasy about all of this, confidence waning a tad. He’d done stupid shit before but he’d never really committed a crime with this amount of intent before. He tried to take his mind off of it, keeping up his marching pace as if he was out to go to war again. Maybe not that regimented, but still rhythmically disciplined.

For the first time in as long as he could remember, perhaps the first time to date, Skyler felt a rush of adrenaline filling him. They were going to commit a crime, and he was the one who decided this course of action. Though, Skyler wasn’t going to commit just any crime. He wasn’t going to steal any valuables, in fact, this wasn’t a crime at all, now was it?

He was going to rescue his friend. That’s what this was all about. Perhaps with Mushroom’s help, they’d be able to find the werewolf later, but the chances of that were slim, if not null. Either way, as much as Skyler wanted to find his newly acquired fluffy acquaintance, he had no clue how to even begin. As far as he and Táph knew, the wolf was being chased by the police. Involving themselves would only cause problems. If luck had its way, they would be able to go looking for the werewolf more easily once the sun was up. If nothing else, the wolf would probably have taken refuge somewhere.

”Over here...” Skyler returned, keeping his eyes open as they sludged through the city streets. ”Is it breaking in if my parents live there...?” Though thinking aloud, Skyler mainly asked himself the question. Was it even legal for them to have discarded a sixteen year old boy? If anything, they were obligated to talk with the government about ridding themselves of any responsibility for him. None of that was important now, however.

”If you can lift me over the fence, I can get in...” The young Efreet assured his companion as he turned to look at Táph only moments before they finally arrived at the desired destination. Skyler’s home wasn’t too far from the abandoned building they had called shelter some time before, drawing it some form of luck, at the very least. Not everything stood in adversity to them, it would seem. ”There...” The boy continued, motioning towards a home which had quite obviously seen better days.

Flowers by the door were withered under the lack of care they had received. Would one look through the windows, they’d be greeted by the same sight. If people still lived in this home, they had long since given up on keeping appearances in check.

Táph followed him in silent contemplation, as the teen talked to himself, he didn’t bother providing the answers, it was unnecessary. The dog would keep the teen happy, which meant less outbursts of fire and demonic horns. It was a good decision as long as they didn’t get caught and the police didn’t get involved. He looked over the house. It’d seen better days and the state of disrepair made him feel a bit angry, being the homeless corpse he was. He put his back to the fence, pressing his hands together to give Skyler a leg up. “Up and over when you’re ready. If something goes wrong, run back to the fence and I’ll just, uh, break it so we can hightail it.” He gave an unsure smile Skyler’s way. “Good luck.” He added, as a quick afterthought.

”Thanks...” Gulping at the thought, Skyler attempted a deep breath and offered Táph a soft nod before he took a step forward and found himself hoisted over the wooden fence. Due to his weight and Táph’s high level of strength, the boy was moved as little more than a feather before landing on the now rather high grass behind the house. Upon finding himself within the confines of those fences again, a shiver ran down his spine. Quite the feat of fear, given how the boy couldn’t feel cold in the slightest. With another breath, one trembling with uncertainty, Skyler started moving forward towards the porch. It had only been a week since he was here last, but it felt like an eternity.

He placed his hand on the backdoor, attempting to open it with an obviously futile outcome. Turning to look at the windows, they too were locked. There was only one way in, if he intended to do this quietly. Táph could break the door open, but that would wake the whole house. ”Guess I have to...” With little else in forms of options available to him, Skyler placed the flat of his hand against the lock and closed his eyes. He had never attempted to use his powers in any specific manner before. ”Come on...” Clenching his teeth, the boy didn’t seem able to manage what he sought. Another heavy sigh left his lips as he crossed his arms.

Tapping his chin in thought, Skyler analysed the area around the door and windows if something happened to catch his eye, though nothing did. A thought did however come to mind. As if a lightbulb appearing over his head, Skyler quickly got down to his knees and pulled up the small mat under the door. His mom had a bad habit of misplacing her keys, so having this around sure helped. Reaching below the mat, Skyler pulled out an old, rusty key which laid there in case of emergency. He eagerly slid the key into the door and opened the path, allowing him entry into the house. One heartbeat after the other, Skyler could feel himself growing more anxious now. He was able to hear each beat, and felt them all like jackhammers to his ribs.

Forcing himself to take another step, Skyler would soon find himself taking a second and a third, moving into the dark home. No one was awake, but he could clearly see his father on the couch, several empty bottles of beer on the floor next to him. Averting his gaze, Skyler looked to the stairs on his right before entering the living room and moved up the creaking steps.

The closer he got to his room, the heavier he felt his shoulders becoming. Once he stood face to face with the door he had hid behind so many times, a trembling hand placed itself on the knob, twisting it to slowly open the door. It looked just like before, as if no one had been here since he was thrown out. Well, that wasn’t entirely true. Wide eyes of shock met the scene before him. While he wanted to smile, to shout out in joy, the scene caused him to manage anything but. With a hurried pace, Skyler ran to his old bed where Mushroom, his dog, laid completely still. ”Oh my God, Mushroom...!” Gulping down the tears, Skyler reached down and picked up the nearly malnourished dog. He had been neglected all this time? Ever since Skyler was thrown out? No one had opened the door for him? No one had fed him? Clenching his teeth, Skyler was able to keep his calm only because his dear Mushroom remained in his arms. Hurrying down the stairs, the boy barely attempted to keep his silence as he dashed out into the backyard. ”Táph...” He spoke, tears aching through his voice. ”We need to hurry and get Mushroom out of here...”

Táph heard the first few steps, but the uncertainty was clear in them. “Keep going, I’m right here.” He said, and waited patiently. He looked down the street and leaned back against the fence. It was quiet. Quiet enough that when he shut his eyes, he could hear the soft step of crumpling grass until they faded off as the door opened. He fidgeted. He didn’t want to leave him on his own and quickly tested the fence, just pressing his hand against it more and more as it creaked and groaned under his slight pushes. He could snap this in an instant if he heard the slightest of alarms. He heard the hurrying dashes, and as he heard the crying, teared up voice, spoke quickly. “Step back a bit.” Táph practically blew the fence apart as he barged through it, and picked up Skyler, bridal style so the teen could carry his dog. He then sprinted, full tilt down the street, subtlety might not have been his strong suit but long distance running? He was unmatched. Years of exercise drills kicked in through muscle memory and they were at least two blocks away, noting stores as he went past, before he set the teen down. It would’ve been an odd sight to see, a grown man carrying a teen carrying a dog.

“Stay here with Mushroom. I saw a few stores, going to get him some food, alright?” He waited to see Skyler nod back before setting off into the same pace of sprint. One crime was enough to make him a criminal, what was a few more thrown on top? He could always ask but past-experience was enough to tell him that probably wouldn’t work. He approached a closed store, dead of night with no lights and no shutters as far as he could see. This was high on his list of bad ideas, and high on the list of things he told himself he wouldn’t do. He covered his eyes and barged through the door, the alarm was ear-piercing, but he was expecting that. He pocketed as many cans of food he could and ran in the same sprint before anyone could stop him. The clanking blur quickly found himself breathing in and out, setting down a few cans onto the street corner he’d put Skyler on, taking out a swiss army knife and opening up a can of salted steak. It probably wasn’t good for a dog, but it was better than nothing. “Get him to eat this, and, uh, we should move soon.”

”Thanks, Táph…” Skyler returned quietly with Mushroom on his lap, the dog weakly attempting to eat the food he had been presented after a period of starvation. Though his nearly lifeless body required more than a little struggle to manage the feat, with Skyler’s help, the dog was able to chew and swallow enough food to keep him going until the next meal. He couldn’t eat too much at once. ”I wanted to burn them all…” The boy spoke silently under his breath. ”It took everything I had to contain it...” Was Mushroom beyond saving, there would have been no doubt about it. Skyler would have been unable to calm the ceaseless fire within his heart. ”Let’s go…” He finished, ascending to his feet with Mushroom tightly held in his arms.

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The separation was unbearable. She knew she shouldn't have let Ji go with those two but it was the older sister’s wish. If anything would have happened they would find out quickly why you never mess with a werewolf. Granted in her case you never messed with an overprotective twin werewolf with elemental powers, which was a dangerous combination in itself. The girl softly scraped her paw like hand across the floor with a soft growl working its way out of the young woman's chest as she continued forward. Worry was clearly displayed her eyes making the urge to turn around and find her sibling that much harder to resist.

The wolf carefully placed each limb down while trying to suppress her worry. Yeong knew she had to focus on Ben right now and nothing else. She shifted to leave, only having a scent of smoke return to her snout, making her curious.

She followed the scent, noting that to would seem strong in certain places and nearly nonexistent in others. The girl knew that the stronger the full of smells were the closer her target was. Though she never expected to see what laid in front of her eyes. It wasn't who they were looking for or what they needed at their present moment.

The young woman watched the two men cautiously. Her eyes studied them before something inside the boy’s arms caught her eyes. Yeong knew she needed to at least help the animal considering they were similar in ways others wouldn't begin to understand. This was one of the many differences between Ji and herself. She still embraced the animalistic side rather than the human side because it would cause far less harm. The girl shook her head and shifted back into her human form as she still watched the two of them. There wasn't any reason to cover herself so all she did was cross her arms in an attempt to copy her sibling’s scolded manner that was know by heart.” Alright boys. I have one single question for you and I would like an honest answer. What's wrong with the dog?” she asked calmly.

With his eyes widened, Angelo’s gaze landed on the scruffy man who had quite clearly seen better days. Memories of a time long gone came to mind, and the Agent could narrow down only one location where he had seen those distinct eyes before; in the torn era of World War 2. Momentarily turning his attention to Yeong, Angelo noticed the shift in posture and her transformation into a skinclad human, followed by a question directed at the boy standing in companionship with Angelo’s old acquaintance, a man by the name Táph, if he remembered correctly. ”That’s neither important nor relevant right now...” He sighed softly, shaking his head with the Agent’s fingers pinching the bridge of his nose. She was naked, transformed in front of two people no one could guarantee were known to the supernatural and proceeded with a straight forward approach. Hopefully, this wouldn’t end in disaster.

”Excuse us.” Angelo pitched in, hoping to save the situation. From the looks of it, the boy appeared confused more so than anything but the tired expression on his face noted a lack of care. He had long since given up on dotting the changes in his surrounding, including random werewolf transformations, something which would probably come to land in his psyche once a more stable foundation found its way to his feet. ”Regiment 54, The Hawks.” Angelo continued, his eyes glued on Táph.

”World War Two, do you recollect? I remember a distinct name belonging to that face; Táph, yes? I’m Angelo, if you remember. You were rather hard to kill, right?.” Unable to hide the growing smile on his lips, the Agent stepped up with a soft bow of his head. ”No offence, old friend.” He smirked. ”But you look like shit. Come on, I can’t leave a comrade behind. Oh and, that friend of yours can come, too. Come on, we should head back to the mansion. There’s a mess to clean up and the others should be able to find who we’re looking for.”

Dropping his eyes to the dog in Skyler’s arms, Angelo rose his eyebrow for a moment before trailing back to the random question which had escaped Yeong’s lips earlier. ”We’ll also get the puppy some help over there.”

Táph watched the naked woman walk up, this was really a night to remember, though before he could answer, a voice he remembered cut through the fog like a bright light, and the man it was attached to walking next to her. He remembered him. Somewhere, it was on the tip of his mind. The name, the war, the trench. It was all clear for the first time in years. “I remember you, Angelo. I remember the name. We went over the top together. You were on the far right, I didn’t see you after.” He said, recollecting with a sad smile. The way he was addressed would no doubt be a bit odd for Skyler to hear, Corpse looked like a man in his early thirties, not a day more, rather than the elderly veteran he would’ve had to have been. The company of a familiar face filled him with candour. He looked to the woman and spoke plainly. The dog’s malnourished. We broke him out of a house and I did a smash ‘n’ grab for some food for him, forgive my saying, but I’m not going anywhere with either of you until you tell me what’s happening and why you don’t look a day older than I remember.”“

”You’re not the only one who has tricks up his sleeves.” Angelo returned, winking at Táph as he spoke. ”Replication, prevents aging, has some other perks.” He shrugged, scratching the back of his head. ”So uh, let’s give it a quick rundown, yeah? I work for an Agency which deals with the supernatural. Been babysitting a werewolf, he ran away, now we’re chasing him. Yeah, this isn’t gonna’ look good on my resumé.” Angelo continued with a soft smirk. ”Anyways, does that tickle your bells enough for now? We’ll have a much better conversation over milk and cookies, don’t you think?” The Agent finished, his smirk lingering.

Táph looked to Skyler, then to the two agents in front of him. “I’ll come with you, can’t speak for Skyler, but I think he wants a few answers too, and a proper bed would be nicer than what he’s had.” This was a lot to take in, but he had been waiting a long time for something like this. He never imagined it’d be like this, he imagined experimentation, testing, attempts to replicate his condition. He needed just a few more answers, and that was obvious in the reserved way he spoke and acted, but he followed along, beggars couldn’t be choosers.

”I’ll come...” Skyler spoke up for the first time since the new arrivals, his attention leaving Mushroom’s side for a brief moment. He could see that this man, Angelo, had noticed the horns atop the boy’s head but did not comment on them. Having invited Táph and Skyler spoke for itself. It was clear that this man, Angelo, the person Táph was familiar with, had a fair share of knowledge concerning the supernatural and Skyler would be a fool not to join them. He was getting nowhere out on the streets, and if Táph was leaving, Skyler was not going to linger. If nothing else, Mushroom needed food and comfort after what he had been through, and Skyler was willing and desperate enough to trust a total stranger if it meant aid for his dog. After all, Táph knew this man, and he seemed to trust Angelo.

”Great!” The Agent clapped his hands together, motioning over his shoulder. ”Let’s go, then.”

"It has begun." A voice called out behind Broker, he didn't turn to look. The creature was a grey faced, red eyed demon. One of his many subordinates. It was dressed much the same way The Broker was, full on dapper. IT was the dress code among the demons subordinates. The lesser demons name was Xajaghluipeth. But Broker proffered to call it Xaja. It wasn't female or male, many demons had no set gender or sex for that matter. What need did a creature of Greed have for such things. Its eyes flickered from Broker to the Blueberry who was just finishing one of her snacks. She cleaned the bone with something akin to reverence then snapped it and sucked the marrow out. Then she devoured the bone to.

"It has indeed Xaja. I see pawns moving all across he board already." He mused. "The King of Elves champion is apparently hunting for me already My agents withing the so called Agency are reporting increased activity as well. Magis from all over are gathering and huddling together, chasing the false leads we put in place." He rose from his seat at the large desk and clapped produced a pencil. He signed a paper that Xaja put before him. He took a moment looking out a large circular window. Before him a endless row of damned souls toiled away in a hellscape made out of cubicles. Greed did modernize much faster then his counterparts after all. "Odette knows her part, I can leave Britain to her. So It is time I go to Texas." The greed incarnate moved from his position overseeing his little corner of hell to beckon Blueberry to follow him. She shrugged and followed suit, hand clasped behind her back and part of the bone sticking out of her mouth

"Where are we going Daddy?"

"To Americas Oil lands. Where greed is a crop that suffocates all other." He mused. The portal ripped open with its usual screams of dying realities and melodramatic violin music that he was so fond of.



They stepped out on the empty car lot of a Lone Star Petrol. The second biggest provider of Texan oil. One of many companies under Brokers control.

"LSP..." He said as he sucked in the smell of petrol. "A place where ambition is converted into purest greed." He mused as he waltzed towards the entrance. Two guards stood guarding the entrance. They looked up, eyes growing wide at the sight of the three Demons in their human disguises. Blueberry looked like a 20 something woman with blue dyed hair. She wore a very secretary-esque outfit complete with blue rimmed glasses. Xaja looked like a handsome young man at he moment, with a touch of premature gray in his hair. And Broker looked like a distinguished southern gentleman of old money. It was all glamour of course, but when in Rome and all that.

"Sir. Can we help you?"

"Yes actually. You can call up and say that Mr Benton is here to speak with Barnes. He will want to see me immediately..." His drawl was perfect, you'd think he lived in Texas his entire life. The guards stared at one another.

"Uh huh. Look, I get that you are some hotshot. But this hardly office ho-" There was a crack like thunder and the mans head snapped around 180 degrees from a backhand slap from Broker. The other guard stared in horror as his friend slumped down.

"Call. Up. To. Barnes." Broker said, smiling with all the warmth of a glacier.

---

Barnes was sweating profusely as the demon posse entered his office. He was not the mustachioed portly cowboy a CEO of such a named company tended to be in movies or books. He was a sleek, Harvard graduated, handsome man in his early Forties. He was also a person who sold his soul to what might as well have been the devil.

"Barnes Benton~~" Broker said with a toothy grin spreading across his face. The demon grabbed the nervous man by the hand switched to his demon form immediately. The horns, the eyes, the flickering tail. The whole nine yards and a stoled three added to that.

"Do you know why I come to you, worm?" He didn't usually work the whole Faustian shtick, but Texas was full of biblethumpers so he found it still held proper power among their flock. He grinned so wide Barnes thought the demons head was about to split.

"I...I still got time dammit!" Barned protested. At that Broker relaxed and went back to looking like a human.

"Yes. You do. I am not here for your soul, I am here for the piece of metal your men found at a dig."

"Oh. That." The CEO relaxed, getting up and moving to a painting. Behind it was a safe, that he quickly keyed in a password for and unlocked. Opening it, he took out a strangely inscribed piece of silver gold and some other metal unknown to man.

"I kept it hidden. As you said..." Broker took it gingerly. He could feel the magic circuitry inside it. The strange microscopic runework.

"Good. We'll be going now." Broker said as he turned to leave. "Oh. And if someone come asking for information. Kill them." He said before he and his left out the door to the office. Barnes slumped back into his chair, breathing heavily.

Standing beneath the endless stream enveloped Skyler’s senses in ways he had been deprived of since many days passed. The scrawny boy’s back fell to the tiled wall as he breathed out, the water coating his frame with a cleanliness he had longed for. A lovely scent of strawberry and lemon filled the now steam covered air and caressed the boy’s nose much like food to a starving dog. With his thoughts shifting to Mushroom’s plight, Skyler knew that he could manage a relieved breath, knowing that the pup was resting just a room away with the door wide open. Food was readily prepared for him, and Mushroom would need time to recuperate from the experience which had come to curse his existence.

Clenching his needle sharp teeth, Skyler attempted to force the thought from his mind with the Efreet’s body tensing in response. How could someone do that to a poor, defenseless dog? Mushroom was no trained guard dog; he was no bloodhound or tracker. He was a mere pup brought into this world for a human’s desire to own pets.

Now more than ever, Skyler understood that he lived in a dark world. This was far from the dream he had envisioned as a child closing his eyes to escape the troubles of school and the plight of a child’s struggles. Upon entering the mansion and being shown his room, Skyler found himself with a broom in hand, cleaning the remnants of shattered glass from the ground after a werewolf happened to escape. He was not a foolish boy, and he could put events together without difficulty. This wolf whom Angelo had mentioned was in all likelihood the same person Skyler and Táph had ran into previously. Ben, or Benjamin appeared to be the name this wolf went by. It brought a thought to mind, but one which Skyler attempted to shake from place. A thought of love which would never be, a crush which had followed him since an early stage of high school. Ben, it was the name he went by, as well, the apple of Skyler’s eye who would forever elude the Efreet as they were worlds apart. Granted the horns, flames and tail, any chance at a normal life had been thoroughly discarded. The gruesome and horror inducing sight of Skyler’s new room was enough to clarify his current company, as well. If that was this Benjamin’s transformation, he made Skyler’s plight look easy in comparison. Angelo was cleaning the room currently and instructed Skyler to take a shower for rather obvious reasons. A week had passed since his last hygienic decision and one could tell quite easily, an issue which needed to be rectified.

Applying shampoo to his dark hair, Skyler lifted his hands to rub it in between the strands but constantly fought with the position of his horns. Hitting their form and pointed end wasn’t a completely harmless endeavor as pain ached through his hands in the process, causing the boy to cuss under his breath and caused the steam to grow ever thicker around him. Upon turning around, his newly acquired tail made it a habit of slapping against one bottle after another and forced them down to his feet which added yet another issue to the ever growing list of frustrations. With a heavy sigh, Skyler reached his hands down to retrieve the plastic bottles and hoped that a repeat of the embarrassing event didn’t take place as he continued to carefully shampoo his hair, an action which took far longer than it should have.

Finally coming to an end of the mission which a simple shower had turned out to be, Skyler pulled the curtain aside after shutting the water off and stepped outside, drying his dripping frame with a towel which had been laid out before him. Slipping into a pair of borrowed boxers and an oversized t-shirt belonging to the Ben of this mansion, Skyler could clearly see the different in size between the two. Going on what Angelo had explained, Ben was also sixteen years old and had been dragged into a supernatural existence very much against his will. The boys’ similarities ended there however, something which Skyler found himself constantly reminded of when his boxers made it a habit of sliding down his hips. Another heavy sigh escaped his lips, one of frustration at the frankly comical chain of events which had befallen him. With one hand keeping the boxers in place, and the other pushing the door open, Skyler placed one naked foot in front of the other on his way to the room Angelo appeared to have cleaned. Despite the man’s playful personality, he was quite effective and one could never guess that a werewolf had been through a painstakingly bloody transformation upon this very carpet. Irony aside, Mushroom was eating his food and Skyler managed to find a set of underwear with a tighter elastic band, drawing the conclusion that things were looking up for now. Well, apart from the fact that the room lacked a window, but the curtains made short work of that.

Dropping down to the comfortable bed, Skyler took a deep breath and pulled his dog into a close and loving embrace, lowering his tired head to the soft and heavenly caress of a pillow. If this was a dream, he hoped to never wake from its lullaby. ”Yo, Sky!” Alas, the dream had its fair share of disturbances.

Rubbing his eyes, the boy looked to the opened doorway and saw how Angelo stepped into the newly cleaned room. ”Look, shit’s come up, and I need to head back to work. What can ya’ do? Nothing’s certain in this line of work.” The Agent continued, chuckling softly as he stretched his frame with a tired yawn. ”Táph’s been informed and he’ll be your new babysitter, and Ben’s too. Don’t know if he’ll like it, but hey! You two seemed to get along!”

It was hard to feel distressed as the news reached his ears, given Skyler’s lack of knowledge and partnership concerning Angelo. However, all the arrangements appear to have been ironed out and with a wink, accompanied by a wave, the Agent was off as fast as he had arrived. Truthfully, Skyler was barely able to keep up with what the man had been saying. The boy’s groggy stature had been keeping him in a halfway sleeping state and with Mushroom in his arms, returning to slumber was not a difficult task. He had not even cared enough to crawl beneath the sheets as fatigue claimed every fabric of his being. If this was going to be the first comfortable night in a line of nights, or the last slumber he’d be able to call pleasant, he was ready to dose off more so than anything.

---

On that night, Zac, Kelly, and Sammy decided to enjoy a drive-in movie that was being shown less than 15 minutes south of Albany. Since they had taken Zac’s car, the three young metahumans decided to bring some yard chairs to the movie so that Sammy would not be regulated to the back seat, where the view would not be that spectacular. When the end credits finally began to roll at this twilight hour, the three of them began to pack up their blankets and chairs into the trunk of the car. Once everything was tucked away, they entered into the car and sat there, waiting for the traffic out of the drive-in theater to disperse so that they would not have to deal with such a headache.

Sammy sat in the back seat, peering out her side’s window as she finished her leftover popcorn. While Zac and Kelly were talking about whether or not they liked the two movies that they had just watched, was just lost in her head while looking out of the window. In the coming school year, the three of them would be college juniors, meaning that Zac and Kelly had been together as a couple for almost two years now. Considering how Zac reacted to Sammy’s continued obsession with Lyger, especially when he hinted that he could be gay, Sammy kept her thoughts to herself, wondering what it would have been like if he were there with her. However, something that she saw outside of the window shook her awake from her day-dreaming.

Ben shifted from his flat out run. His paws thumped and ripped up grass and dirt in his wake as he grinded to a slower pace, his figure appeared to be a large, dark mass moving through the shadows in the background. His chested and rattled for breathe, mist flowed from his muzzle covered in blood. The shot the officer did had burned the flesh, a gaping hole left in the shot’s wake. It broke the bone from the close distance muzzle flash causing the pup to feel nothing but pain, blood filled his scent causing him to dart away into the night. Thankfully, his regeneration ability had already started to mend the damage until no evidence remained.

After he shook the bullet from where it was lodge, his eyes shifted up to locate where he wound up. A drive-in, the grassy area nearly empty of all it visitors beside a few. Closer to the large viewing screen, a couple had moved toward it with their hands holding and giggling loudly catching Ben’s attention. His eyes jerked in their direction just when they vanished behind it. Quietly, he moved toward it.

When the werewolf began to approach that couple, Sammy was the first of the three friends to spot it, both because she had been looking out of her window and because of her enhanced vision due to her cat-like abilities.

“Um, what’s that?” Sammy suddenly asked, not entirely sure what the hairy creature was.

“What?” Zac replied, not sure what Sammy was looking at.

“That!” Sammy said as she leaned up between Zac and Kelly’s seats. At the same time that she spoke, Sammy pointed at the werewolf that had started to approach two other movie-goers.

“Is that a wolf?” Kelly said once she had at least spotted the werewolf.

“I think it’s a little too big to be a wolf.” Zac gave his opinion to his girlfriend. “We better take a quick look, just to make sure nobody gets hurt.”

Before the three of them exited the vehicle, Zac and Kelly deactivated their power-nullifiers, which both restored their metahuman abilities to them and also swapped out their civilian clothes for their superhero garb. Sammy, on the other hand, since her powers were not given to her by Doctor DIplodoc’s serum and therefore unable to be nullified by the same technology, remained in the clothes that she had been wearing. Once they had left the car and closed their doors behind themselves, the three young metahumans began to move towards the werewolf, trying to go at a pace that would not spook the animal.

Ben didn’t notice them at first. His head tilted and body sank into the ground, crawling forward at a slow rate. He shifted around a tree as his teeth pulled back, revealing his sharp teeth in a confused growl. The girl, a young blond, was screaming while she tugged from her boyfriend’s attempt to scare her. Conflict and the blood still lingering in his nose did little to help, Ben’s form pulled close until the girl spotted him. She let out a blood curling scream.

Ben’s ears pinned against his head, his throat growled and his hind legs bunched up underneath him. He jerked forward with teeth aimed at the woman’s throat on instinct.

When he had heard the woman screaming in terror, Zac immediately dashed forward, leaving Sammy and Kelly behind him. At a speed that even a cheetah would have a difficult time keeping pace with, Zac rushed towards the creature that was about ready to sink its teeth into that woman. Before it could even leap off the ground, Zac, who suddenly appeared, used his momentum to shove the creature off its feet.

“I recommend that you two get out of here, although I’m sure that you don’t need me to tell you that.” Zac suggested to the couple who had just been threatened by the werewolf. They, knowing that it wasn’t safe there, hurried away in panic back to their car. In the meantime, Kelly and Sammy finally arrived next to Zac after Kelly flew Sammy and herself to the epicenter of the woman’s scream.

Ben hit the ground hard. His head throbbed and dizziness stunned his thoughts over what happened briefly, his head attempted to shake off the effect. Growling and irritated, his forearms pushed off the ground while his legs balanced under him. With a small huff, he raised upright then turned toward the scent that collided into him. His nose inhaled. Strange, odd smells entered creating a mixture that fed his curious nature. The couple was immediately forgotten, his hands thumped to the ground when he jerked toward the nearest one: Sammy.

When she saw that the creature was beginning to go after her now, Sammy immediately turned and ran for her life. If the werewolf had not just a few minutes ago threatened that blonde haired woman, Zac and Kelly would have been amused by how cliche the situation was, where a canine was chasing after a cat-like metahuman in a circle around both the other other metahumans and the nearby tree. Sammy kept running as the werewolf kept snapping at her catlike tail until she quickly dashed over to the tree and used her catlike reflexes and abilities to scale the tree so that she could put some space between herself and the werewolf.

“Stay away!” Sammy shouted from the branches of the tree at the werewolf after she had taken one of her shoes and threw it at the creature.

The werewolf’s hands smacked on the bark and propped against the tree, looking like an oversized puppy with his tongue hung out and panting at the figurative cat he chased upwards. His tail wagged, whipping side to side, as he tried to jump up part the way. His muzzle came into contact with the first shoe causing him to yelp. He then dropped to all fours and rubbed the pain from his still tender nose, his hand like paw wiped the dry blood crusted there away. Snorting, Ben tilted his head up at Sammy and then looked at the tree with a interest. Without much warning, he charged at the bark once more to climb upward enough farther than before. His jaws just inches from the metahuman’s foot.

Now that the werewolf was getting even closer to Sammy, Zac and Kelly knew that they had to intervene. Since Zac’s first tactic, rushing up with his speed and shoving the creature aside, had not worked, he knew that they needed to try something different.

“After I rush up to it and slam it against the tree, I need you to sting it.” Zac told his girlfriend.

“But we don’t know what it will do to it.” Kelly protested, remember how her wasp’s sting knocked out one of the mercenaries who had kidnapped herself and Zac almost a year ago.

“Sammy doesn’t have the time for us to debate that.” Zac responded. He then dashed forward and slammed into the werewolf’s back, just like a football player who was throwing a block into the back of a defender. However, it was obviously not a penalty here. Kelly, knowing that the creature was after her best friend, collected herself and hurried over to her boyfriend.

“I’m so sorry about this! Kelly apologized to the werewolf before she stung it with her wasp’s barb, even though she did not even know if it could understand her. However, she did not sting it only once, but a couple times, for good measure.

Ben yelped loudly. His figure wormed from Raptor’s pin as the wolf twitched, his eyes widened in pain and shock. The moment Zac shifted back away from him, the werewolf fell to his side. His body twitched and shifted, the fur seemed like something was moving underneath it. His size shrank greatly from its original bulk, his hands scratching at his skin. Pieces of fur ripped off, revealing bloody and fresh skin peeking out from under it, before Ben became still. Sounds of bone started to crack while his muzzle shifted and shrank, once more becoming a human nose and a face one of the teenagers would recognize when they moved the fur covering him.

The three metahumans were surprised at how the creature reacted to Kelly’s wasp sting. When Zac bent down and nudged the boy that only a few moments ago had been the wolflike creature, he saw that some of the boy’s fur began to fall off, almost just like the needles of the poor Christmas tree that Charlie Brown had picked for the Christmas pageant.

“There is something familiar about him, although I can’t quite place my thumb on it.” Zac pondered aloud.

“What are you talking about?” Sammy said as she finally climbed down the tree since the werewolf had been knocked out. “Let’s just call the police or the pound and let them handle him.”

“I don’t think they’re quite prepared for something like this.”

“Does he kind of resemble the District Attorney down in New York City?”

“Maybe a little, although it is still kind of dark out.”

“Don’t you two realize that it was just chasing me!” Sammy complained in vain to deaf ears.

“For all we know, he might have been affected by Doctor Diplodoc’s formula, just like us.” Zac said, “I have heard reports about some fish products being contaminated with his serum after Thunderbolt dropped one of the the dome-producing devices into the Atlantic Ocean.”

“I assume that there probably are people out there who did not have as easy of a transition as we did.”

“I’ll grab one of our blankets. Being caught carrying a naked, underaged boy is the last thing I want to happen.” Zac said before heading back to his car to retrieve the blanket.

“Well, I call shotgun because I am so not sitting next to him.” Sammy said.

---

Racheli rolled her eyes when she spied the look Bak May gave her. She could’ve mouthed off because she didn’t care what the woman thought. However, she stopped herself with her lips pressed tightly under her mask. Inhaled sharply, Rach recalled how the the elderly woman did save her from the thugs and likely worse so she swallowed the comment on her tongue’s tip. Instead, she followed Bak May down the street toward the woman’s place.

Her eyes drifted through the various shops clustered together along the alleyway sides, their feet quickly passing by. The fact she owed Bak May settled in her attention, something she despised greatly because she couldn’t simply walk away. It didn’t help she owed more people than just Bak May. Rach’s mind turned to and ticked down the ever growing list: Evergreen, Hydro, Icarus, Myth, and Joseph Mathers.

Her throat dried and tightened at the last name. The man had died during her rescue, a bitter incident that never should’ve happened if he fucking minded his own business. The thought of someone dying because of her sent a black feeling into her core, one of pain and guilt.

Picking up her pace, she shove the sensation somewhere deep. She aimed to make this situation temporary, even if it killed her, because she couldn’t bear being indebted to another soul for as much as she owed what seemed like everyone else. Besides, in time they would see her for what she fought again within and leave, disturbed by her true nature. They always did. Her ears listened to her boots heavy step skirt across the stone when they edged closer to Bak May’s place, arriving within minutes, Rach lost in her own thoughts. She never dwelled over the past because nothing would change the fact three months of her life had been stolen. Her eyes perked up every so often, her pace easily brought up the rear and stuck close, to examine the scenery.

Nothing.

Rach moved into the building after Bak May and Evergreen, her arm reached to shut the door behind her. She moved to the side and leaned against the wall, absorbing the interior a moment. It was modest but held the basic equipment she had seen in her youth. Her body stepped from the wall and into the room, pausing at a wooden wing chun dummy. Her hand pressed a palm against as she stared in confusion at the sticks inserted at different areas and tried to understand why. Naturally, she had never seen such contraptions save for hollywood movies once or twice.

Lingering for a moment, Rach removed her hand. Her ears perked at Bak May’s greeting causing her to stare a moment and then pressed her hand upon her mask.

The metal shimmered and melted into a liquid version of itself. The element shifted along her skin down to her neck creating a thick choker, the material reforming in its original shape: two bike chain chokers. They rested there with a notable weight though Rach ignored it, the weight barely noticed by her. From her peripheral vision, she watched both Gia and Evergreen request permission for using her gym. As those three got things sorted, Rach flopped down upon the nearest corner to wait for nightfall.

---

”Find them . . .” a voice called from beyond.

Marie walked down a narrow, mossy, cobblestone path, jagged from years of neglect. On each side stood a row of trees, limbs gnarled and bare, twisting overhead to form an eerie archway that let in the thinnest strands of moonlight. Time stretched on in both directions, a thick fog masking whatever might await at the end of the way. She could feel something watching, following.

”Find them . . .” the voice came again, louder than the first. Marie quickened her pace, feeling something creeping up behind her but unable to turn and face it.

”Find them and all shall be revealed . . .”

Marie was now running at full sprint, speeding down the narrowing path, vines twisting along the ground and tripping her up from time to time, the wall of trees growing closer, branches falling onto her shoulders, grasping at her arms. She was overtaken by them, held in place. From beyond the fog, a heavenly glow grew closer, piercing through the mist. A woman, face obscured by divine light, held out her hands to Marie, gifting her something small and rough.

”My eye,” the woman’s voice was smooth and clear. ”I gift you my eye so that you may see the truth. Look through this lense to see my world, to find what is mine. Do this and all shall be revealed . . .” Her voice began to fade, as did all of Marie’s senses. The ethereal glow, the ominous voice, the twisting vines, gnarled branches, and jagged cobblestones, gone. Marie looked down at her hands to find the last remaining spark of light. She opened her hands and . . .



Marie awoke suddenly on the floor of the work room in The Red Devil. Her joints popped as she rose, steadying herself on a stone altar, knocking over a vial of graveyard dirt in the process. Holt rose from his slumber atop a bookcase in the form of a cat, startled by the sounds of shattering glass and stone grinding against the hardwood floor.

”Marie?” Holt jumped down, coming to Marie’s aid. ”Is everything alright?”

”Yeah . . .” she groaned, managing to finally pull herself up and straighten herself out. She was understandably stiff, having collapsed in exhaustion after her meeting with Broker. ”Just a weird dream.” She looked down at her hands to find nothing but smudges of soot from the altar top.

After wiping her hands on a nearby piece of cloth, Marie walked over to a large, hanging mirror to get a good look at herself. She had changed out of her White Witch attire upon arriving at The Red Devil and just before passing out, but she still wore her glamour charm and the pendant given to her by Broker. Her fingers traced the designs on the pendant as she stared at it in the mirror. Should she take it off? Surely it wasn’t necessary since the ritual had already been performed.

Marie thought on this a few moments longer before stripping off the pendant and casting it to the side. She waited there for a moment to see if some mysterious supernatural consequence might render her into an insane mess of screaming and excruciating pain, but luckily, no such thing occurred.

”Was it Gwyneth?” Holt prodded, eyeing the infernal trinket as it spun atop the table before coming to rest.

Marie sighed, stretching and fixing herself in the mirror. ”I’m sure it was, but god knows what she was trying to say. You’d think that after a crazy necromantic ritual she’d be able to speak to me more plainly, but I guess spirits and witches love their cryptic riddles.”

”Mortals hide their true intentions behind colorful words, they lie and deceive. Spirits will always offer the truth, though it may be difficult to decipher.” Holt retorted, changing into a raven and flying onto Marie’s shoulder.

”I don’t need a lesson in Otherwordly ethics and etiquette, Holt. I just need to know what it is Gwyneth wants me to find. I know that in order to gain her lost memories, I need to recovering the pieces of her that are scattered around the world, but I haven’t the slightest idea what those are yet or where to find them.” Marie sighed again, feeling both exhausted and defeated. Broker’s spell had given Marie a greater glimpse into Gwyneth’s past, but the pieces still didn’t fit together as perfectly as she would have liked.

”Might I suggest trying again?” Puck’s voice startled Marie. He strode through the door to the work room bringing with him a slight chill. ”Pardon me, I didn’t mean to interrupt your brooding. I just wanted to see how you were doing after your little soiree with Greed. A few unsavory folk have already stopped by to find the cause of the power surge in New York. I’ve been rather busy this evening.” Puck spoke of Rune and company.

Marie looked at him with worry, but Puck calmed her with a reassuring look. ”You needn’t worry. I’ve ensured your safety and no one save Broker knows of the White Witch’s involvement.”

”T-thank you,” Marie spoke with a sigh of relief, ”But what did you mean, try again? Even though my connection to Gwyneth is stronger, I still don’t know what she’s trying to tell me.”

Puck smiled, ”You said it yourself, your connection to your past life has grown stronger. You have a greater access to her memories, which means you also have a greater access to her magic. You share Gwyneth’s power, and if it was her power that scattered her possessions, it will be her power that finds them. Tap into that connection! Perhaps they will call to you now that you are more recognizable to them.”

It made sense. Before unlocking what few pieces of Gwyneth’s memory that she had, Marie was altogether unable to locate any of Gwyneth’s possessions. Maybe it was that she needed the extra push from Gwyneth to find them.

Marie nodded, sitting down at a nearby table and unfolding a map of the U.S. She had no reason to believe that Gwyneth’s valuables would be anywhere near her, but it was a starting point. Marie took a handful of sand from a jar and coated the map until nothing was visible. She placed her hands over the map and focused on her recent vision of Gwyneth. Calling back to the item in her hand, she willed its image to be revealed, for its whereabouts to be known. The sound of shifting sand made her giddy. When Marie opened her eyes, she saw that the sand had retreated from a small part of the map, leaving an empty circle around New York.

”See?” Puck smugly chimed in.

”Alright, theory proven, but that doesn’t really narrow things down. New York’s not the biggest state, but I still have no idea where to begin looking, or what I’m looking for.” Marie was again feeling dejected. She felt her mission moving one step closer and two steps back.

”I thought something like this might happen, which is why I’ve been on the lookout for any interesting goings on around the country. And it just so happens that New York made it onto my list.” Puck pulled a Manhattan newspaper from behind his back and gave it to Marie. She looked at it for a few moments, flipping through until she found the heading he was talking about.

One of the headlines read, “University Professor to Lead Exhibit on the History of European Witchcraft at the Museum of Natural History.” Marie’s eyes lit up. There was going to be an entire section of the museum dedicated to the different eras of witch belief and accompanying artifacts from those times. It was all coming together.

”If I were a betting man, which I am, I would wager that whatever item of Gwyneth's she wants you to find is somewhere in that exhibit, you need only to determine which occult artifact it is.”

Marie jumped up from her seat and hugged Puck, who smiled warmly and returned the gesture.

”Thank you,” she said with enthusiasm, tears of joy streaming down her pale cheeks. She gathered herself, brushing off a bit of dust that had settled on her dress during her slumber. She put on a thin coat and lined the inside with small magical trinkets, hoping that she could compel security to let her through without checking the coat. She then bolted downstairs, Holt flying behind her. She’d have to wait until the morning before going to the museum, but she’d have to find a suitable location to place Puck’s door so as not to cause a stir.

Arriving at the crimson door, Marie looked back at the bar, its patrons, and Puck, who had followed her down. He gave her one of his famous grins, and she met his smile with an even bigger one.

She looked down at Holt. ”I guess we’re off to New York again.”

He offered her what could only be taken as a chuckle. ”After last night’s events, let’s hope this little excursion doesn’t devolve into a witch hunt.”

Marie smiled. ”We’re already on a witch hunt.”

With that, the pair stepped through the door into New York to find the first of Gwyneth’s missing relics.

Featuring: Zeta Squad



“Sahusanar, you should hear this.”

The alien took one lingering glance over the stricken room, absorbing the pain that had been endured by the defenceless primitives within. He used that pain, moulded it, fed it into a righteous anger. It was a cold fury, but fury none-the-less. The Hunter turned from the scene and walked back out the way he had come, his bulky frame cutting through police tape. He cared little for whatever reason the humans had left such material around the building, though he suspected it was for some investigative reasons they would be hard pressed to find anything of him at the scene besides some slight imprints on the ground. If anything, that fact would confuse forensic investigators greatly.

“Go on, Keia.” There was a slight twinge to his reply that his supervisor caught on, it was rare to hear any sort of emotion in Hunter’s voice on mission.

“Sweep teams have detected a potential Code-2 violation; one sweeper is investigating a very tenuous but potential Code-1 violation.* No leads on the Parasite yet, but it is to remain your primary target until action is necessary, just a warning for now.”

“Is that everything, Keia?” He also heard a twinge in her voice, like she had something she wanted to say but was holding it back for some reason. He was immediately suspicious, suspecting he wasn’t going to like whatever she had to say. He was right, as well.

“No, there’s something else. I know you won’t want to hear this Hunter, but listen to me and give my words proper thought, confirmed?”

Reluctant, with a lengthy pause and an awkward silence preluding his response. “Confirmed.” The Hunter said.

“We have detected a small group of humans who share your go-”

“No. I do not work with primitives.”

“Hunter, you will hear me. These primitives are well equipped, they share your goal, they use technology which although basic shares something of the ingenuity of your own. They are aware of what they fight, they are trained in their way, they would be of use to you.”

Another lengthy pause, if not for that tone of voice, that one which betrayed that Keia was not willing to be swayed, Hunter would have refused outright. He still might have, if not for her final remarks.

“Si sorod ssat orassih hiss uslessa hiss bays saida.”

I would not suggest such unless such was truth.

“Saida?”

“Saida, Sahusanar.”

*The primary directive of the Republic is to avoid all contact with pre-t1 civilisations. Breaches of this directive are as followed, with Code-1 punished with the greatest severity.
Code 1: Direct and conscious interaction with a pre-t1 civilisation.
Code 2: Direct but accidental interaction with a pre-t1 civilisation.
Code 3: Indirect interaction with a pre-t1 civilisation.



On the outskirts of L.A, Hunter stalked a small group of humans. They were his quarry, but despite how mad it felt to him he meant to make contact with them in direct violation of the primary directive of the Republic. Lucky that he was exempt from Code violations, at least in extreme circumstances where conscription was justified, because otherwise he might have had to Hunt himself. Now he thought about it, that was probably why he was exempt.

The Zeta squad, unaware of their stalker, was huddled in the outskirts of LA. In a small suburb called Angel Hill to be exact. The downtrodden area was mainly an industrial area, with some less then legal operations taking the occasional stab at running their business out of the shadier parts. The Zeta squad moved as a unit. They swept the premises of an old now empty and abandoned factory that once produced brand clothing. Their quarry had come this way; they were acutely aware of its lingering presence.

"Ace calling in, all clear on west wing." One voice buzzed.

"This is Bush. All clear" Bush was heard sounding off.

"Bowen here, All clear over."

"Chief here. Proceed as per instruction." Chief, aka Lyota, spoke with authority as she continued to fan out. Stopping by a door, she froze. Her proximity alarm flickered. The other clearly didn't notice, but she did. It could have been a glitch. But she could not risk it. "Bush, Ace, round up and get here trough alley. Bowen, I need you to get back here to. She didn't think it was the Parasite. It didn't have that kind of influence on tech.

"What's up Chief"

"Someone or something might be coming our way."

"What is? Our sensors aren't picking up shit."

"Yeah. Which is the problem. Something was a bit too good at masking. It killed the ambience backdrop of the sensors." Chief mumbled. Soon they were all were all sweeping the room, their heartbeats picking up a notch.

They are quite, sisktl, but that is to be expected from primitives." Hunter watched them from on high, unconsciously mimicking the second best Predator film as he watched the heavily armed and well equipped soldiers below. His body was translucent, the camouflage feature of his armour in full affect as he remained completely still.

"Still... they show some promise." He begrudgingly admitted, having recognised that one of the group (they all looked the same to him) seemed to have alerted the others to something in the vicinity. If he had to guess, they were probably using some form of outdated proximity sensors. In this case, that was to their benefit, as lower tech solutions were often somewhat effective at detecting the presence of GRP tech, provided you know what you were looking for. Spotting what wasn't there was a good trick that he had learned a long time ago, he suspected he was looking at a human who had learned to do the same.

They passed below him, they were sweeping the warehouses apparently and had just left the building he himself stood upon, fanning out in a defensive formation. Approaching them could be difficult without turning things into a gunfight they would surely lose, painfully. Hunter spent a moment working through this issue, deciding on his course of action. He didn't spend long, and not for a moment did he second guess himself.

His heavy bulk slammed into the ground behind the group as they prepared to move out. It was the first real indicator of his presence, as his invisibility melted away and he stood before them in his armour, though what weapons he had were clearly still attached to their mag holsters. He raised one hand, almost as if he were about to draw the curtains, it was an alien gesture of peace. His voice projected from the armour, carefully modulated so it did not seem synthetic, but rather as if the armour itself was talking.

"Hold your fire, soldiers, I do not come to fight you."

All four of them instinctively moved to cover, creating a pretty impressive kill zone around the alien. But none fired, as this was clearly not the Parasite. Chief knew instinctively that who they were facing was not human. The size, the proportion, the armour. It was all alien to them.

"Identify yourself"

"Sahusanar Operative, 142." The military response to such a question was hardwired into him, he answered before even thinking. "Your weapons are unable to breach this armour, lower them and listen to me." He waited, their next decisions could be fatal, one way or another.

Chief hesitated for a moment, then she lowered her gun. They did not have anti-personnel round or anti-armour equipment. Their rounds were specifically made to take out a psionic. They'd be an expensive and futile waste against this one. "Lower your gun guys." She said in a 'do not question me' cadence that reverberated throughout the empty factory. Her eyes fasted on their new alien acquaintance.

"I am Lyota, Zeta Squad Retrival Unit. Chief to my men." She nodded to the others. "These are my squad mates. Ace, Bowen and Bush." She pointed at him.

To the soldiers, they were confronted by what looked like something out of science fiction. Standing well over seven-foot-tall, evidently covered in some sort of dark blue-ish black armour of an unusual metal, it was difficult to tell even if there was anyone inside the armour or if it was some sort of robot. All they knew for sure was that it wasn't like anything they had ever seen, and they were clued up on the technological innovation of their country's research projects. It couldn't be one of theirs.

Hunter lowered his hand and regarded each human as their identifier was called. Good, the humans evidently shared some of the conventions of his people, and the Republic. That would make co-operation far easier. Unfortunately, he'd have a difficult job telling the humans apart enough to distinguish who he was referring to. Except for their 'Chief' whose aura of command he respected, and whose features suggested she was what humans referred to as a 'female' of their species. He could tell her apart, and one of the others looked a bit like her so she was probably a female too, but lacking that aura of command. The other two, not so much.

"Lyota, you and your... men, may refer to me as Hunter." It was unlikely they could use his native word for Hunter, seeing as how it was a sibilant language that sounded quite alien to a human. "I will raise the head with you, I know that you and your soldiers ossa my quarry." He paused, re-adjusting his thinking and trying to avoid using his native idioms and tongue. "We share a goal, is what I say. I am also hunting the creature you seek; we call it Parasite."

Chief listened closely to the Aliens words. There was a something lost in the translation to be sure, but she got the gist of it none the less. Protocol said that any big changes to the plan needed to be logged and discussed. But they were too close to bother with such things. Instead she offered her hand. "Well. We would be stupid not to consider extra firepower a blessing. Parasite you say? Funny, that is what Zeta has come to call it to." She didn't trust the creature, but they were ill-equipped to deal with it. And Parasite had to be stopped and soon.

"So. Do any of that fancy tech of yours any Anti-Parasite equipment as it were? We are outfitted specifically to deal with it."

Hunter seemed to struggle with the question for a moment, but he gathered the gist of it eventually. "Yes, I am equipped with anti-psionic weaponry and implants, I see you have taken similar precautions. However, if you fight the Parasite as you are, it will destroy you." He spoke in a matter of fact way, a right he hadn't really earned as he had yet to face the Parasite himself. All he had to go on, though it was a reasonable deduction, was that Parasite was one of the most wanted criminals in the Republic. Four humans with rudimentary technology just could not take something like that down. Not without help. "I am not here to offer my help, I am here to... conscript, yours. If you follow my orders, you may survive the fight ahead, I will not take orders and to work without a chain of command would be worse than to fight separately, so my offer is non-negotiable."

"Conscript? Now listen her-" Bowen began but Ace stopped him.

"Conscript would imply we are subjects to you and those you represent. We are sovereign citizens of the United States, of Earth. We will follow you, and let you lead, but only because you seem to be better equipped and informed."

"I do not know your language well, but I say conscript because I am taking you into armed service, and you have no choice. It is well that you recognise this." He held up his left hand in a peaceable gesture and slowly drew a strange bulky looking pistol from behind the small of his back. He kept it pointed low, so as to not startle the sisktl humans.

"This, is a Sarastor. You would call it 'Singer'. It is effective against psionics, and the fields they create. You can see how this will be of use against the Parasite. He assumed the soldiers understood why it would be effective, and presented it handle first to their leader. To her, it would resemble a small weaponised mega-phone, and look quite ridiculous if not for the fact that it was clearly made from that same strange metal Hunter's armour seemed to consist of. It was heavy, but not cumbrously so.

"Ace." Chief look to the mousey redhaired woman who was bending forward to get a better look. "Interesting. This metal.. Its so vibrant. It's alien alright." She said and straightened up. She presented her own weapon for Hunter to inspect.

"This is a Heckler and Kosh Z-22 model. They are prototype models really, based on what our boys in white can conjure up. We are all packing Anti-Psi rounds. Once fired, they vibrate with a energy frequency that slices through any psychic forcefield."

Hunter allowed the woman to take his weapon so he could get more hands on with the pistol. It was important to understand the limitation of his allies, and how much he would need to equip them with to make them an effective fighting force. Practiced fingers, deft despite their armour cladded nature, broke the weapon apart in an impressive replication of the cleaning process. It was not a weapon he knew anything about, but his experience and skill with firearms was legendary. He put the weapon back together as fast as he had broken it up, somehow not dropping any of the separate pieces, and gave it back to its owner.

He railed off a bunch of the weapons statistics, somehow recognising on sight the strengths and limitations of the firearm. It was a practical and efficient weapon, but it lacked a measure of sophistication. It was like an iron sighted hunting rifle stacked up against a military DMR with precision scope, functional, but at a disadvantage none-the-less.

"Simple, but functional. I will not expect you to use a weapon you are unfamiliar with, but I can outfit you each with a Sarastor if you wish."

"...Do we get to ke-"

"I am fairly sure we do not." Chief stopped the over enthusiastic Ace before she put a foot so far in her mouth she'd choke. "We employ some pretty potent equipment for our planet, but if you see fit to help us outfit for this particular mission. I think we can learn to operate within acceptable standards, even for you Space Man." She said as she rested her own rifle on her shoulder. "I am sticking to this though." She patted the clearly alien weapon.

"Our boys found it in a crash pod around 70 years ago. To date, nobody knows how to replicate it. And it is likely for the best." She said. The Semi organic looking, weirdly shaped rifle was something Hunter might know of. To him it would be a outdated thing seen in fringe space and used by a races of nomadic, very hostile lifeforms. The rifle was a crude, high energy beam rifle. Meant to put down very big targets. It would be sufficient against Parasites defences due to the sheer power of its beam.

Hunter had noticed it, but he was purposely ignoring it. He didn't want to draw attention to the fact that he knew just what it was, and would have to come back later and kill every single person who had knowledge of the weapon, destroying the original. It was unfortunate that such technology had fell into the hands of a human.

"So, you have some idea of what I may be. I would advise you to draw back your mind, curiosity will not serve you well with me. I will outfit each of you with a Sarastor, you will return the weapons to me when our work here is done and that will be the end of it.

"Roger that. I am of the firm mind that we shouldn't mess with what isn't ours." She offered him a smile “It's why I took this job to begin with." She saluted him. "Consider us conscripted then."

"Welcome to the GRP, Zeta."

_{banner credit to Hellis}

---

Time: Present Day - Afternoon
Location: Central Park, New York City

Under the safety of her illusion charm The Ambassador worked her magic calling upon the Arcane Stream to open for her. She knew she wouldn't be able to stay by Mandate until she was done here in New York. Which wouldn't be for much longer, a few more days at best before her company finished their trip.

Blue light outlined her hands lifted up to the sky, French falling from her lips like the most familiar song she knew. Within minutes the rift opened in a jagged strip of light stretching several feet above her. Seconds later a large wooden door formed from within the light. A golden doorknob was the final touch, light spilling from its edges. Her hands returned to her sides and blue eyes fluttered open.

"Mandate, are you ready to see Paris? We'll be travelling through this portal." She said holding out her hand expectantly for Bach to pass over her purse. Bach did so quickly and her cellphone dinged with a new text message tone.

She tapped the password unlocking her phone to a read her text from Lekh, responding so quickly.

Of course, are you planning to visit Lost Haven soon?
If it is of interest, I have some news about a mutual acquaintance of ours that left without saying goodbye a few months back.

The smile she had was unmistakably pleased.

Mandate, on the other hand, was unmistakably entranced. She had straightened to her full towering height, and then froze as the kind Ambassador began to weave what the golem presumed was some form of magic.

It was, like the Ambassador, very pretty. The golem's singular eye roamed to and fro across the whole of the display, from the blue light upon the lady's hands to the rift that had opened within only minutes. It was light without a source, and rips in the air without explanation.

Amazing.

The door that had begun to assemble itself from that display was just... Mandate would have furrowed her brow if she had one. It was... Ah! "Icing on top of a cake." the golem hummed- mostly to herself. Her understanding expanded, as inexorably as ever! Mandate stood there, pleased with herself and eager to explore, as her lone eye roamed over the door once more.

Certainly, the Ambassador wouldn't mind if...? Tilting her head, Mandate tapped her fingers together once, twice, thrice, before she reached forward, eager to brush against the polished wood and examine the texture and--

Words. The Ambassador was saying something, something important, probably. Jerking her hand back from the surface of the door and to her side, the golem's eye snapped back to the relatively short human. The blue glow had stopped, and the door had stopped assembling, so that meant she was probably done. She had said... The memory swirled to the surface easily; she had spoken of going to Paris. The city. Oh yes.

Mandate's eagerness showed in the chirp in her voice. "Yes! I am eager to see. Can I touch your door? It is a very interesting door." She hoped that her V of a smile was convincing.

Odette looked up from her phone then reluctantly putting it away back into her purse. Her expression returning to something more neutral. "Of course. As exciting as it is to touch this door, what lies beyond it is much more interesting."

Her hand gripped the doorknob, twisting it delicately. The door opened slowly but within a crack the magic flooded the area. The grass grew a little greener, the air smelled sweeter like the city smog was a distant memory, while Odette felt energized. She took a deep breath in, "The Arcane Stream. The Earth's beating heart of magic. This portal will bring us instantly to Paris. I will need you to hold my hand as I lead you through the door."

Bach stepped through the portal first disappearing behind the wall of light. He popped his head back through and said, "See you on the otherside."

Holding out her hand to Mandate, Odette showed a well practiced smile. The sincerity far from her eyes. She found the intelligent golem incredibly charming in her innocence but she was much more eager to find out why anyone went to the great trouble of building a multi-soul intelligent golem. Her first assumption was Mandate was meant to be a weapon. What was she built for? How could she be used to benefit The Ambassador and her alone? Earning her trust will be relatively simple, however keeping her in Paris would be another matter entirely.

Mandate would need a guide and someone to watch over her while Odette was away. Without needing more than a few seconds to think she already had the perfect goblin for the job.

Mandate, for her part, had placed a hand against the lovely wood of the door almost as soon as she had been given permission to do so. It wasn't that much different from the wood she had already felt in her short existence, but it was special all the same; it was magical wood, after all.

Pleased with her investigation, the golem stepped back and allowed the Ambassador to open the door, and found herself entranced all over again. It was... Beautiful. An ethereal light that seems to invigorate the world around it, like a breath of fresh air from the lungs of the world.

Perhaps that was exactly what it was, if the Ambassador's words were any indication. Even the world has a heart? Perplexed and fascinated, the golem placed a clawed hand against her chest, curling her taloned toes in the grass beneath her feet. Is everything alive?

Am I alive?

Her thoughts were interrupted when her gaze returned to the Ambassador. She was holding out her hand, and the young entity did not hesitate to reciprocate. Her 'mane' seemed to flex once more as her massive hand enveloped the Ambassador's ever so carefully. I don't want to break your hand, she did not say. Instead, she nodded.

"I am ready."

Substantially quite large by comparison to Odette as they stood side by side. Gently, she tugged for Mandate to follow. She went first through the light of the portal, crossing the threshold. Always feeling the little bit of a jump in the pit of her stomach. The portal opened directly to her permanent portal in Paris. There was no need to travel along the leylines, not today.

Odette blinked the light of the portal brightening the clearing surrounded by various ages of yew trees. Her eyes scanned up to the gnarling branches of the largest tree within the copse, the yew the portal was built into. Yews were Bach's patron tree, symbolically recongized through out history as a tree of immortality and death. It's ability to live for thousands of years while it's leaves were poisionous to humans. It casted a dual purpose especially to Bach and Odette, the tree anchored their permanent portal but their pact as well. Only they were aware of it's dualality.

She often pondered the tree when she needed time to herself. The copse clearing being a great place to think and be with one's thoughts alone.

The Fey Sentry stood at attention for The Ambassador's arrival. The Sentry's armour was polished to a perfect shine of copper while their glaive glittered, intricately designed blade of silver. Earth Elves volunteered and trained specifically to defending the portal from intruders from both sides. While the Sentry rarely seen any real offences against the portal, there was one on duty always. Not a soul passed through the portal without The Ambassador's explicit permission.

"My Lady Ambassador. Welcome home." He said.

The Ambassador bowed her head in acknowledgment to the Sentry and said in Common Fey, "Thank you, Sentry. The visit will be a short one."

He nodded, "We always look forward to seeing you, My Lady."

"Have a wonderful evening." She said simply waving him off she beckoned to Mandate switching seamlessly back to English. "We are a short ways from the city but once we are free from the forest you will have a breathtaking view."

"If I had breath, it would already be taken." Mandate replied, her voice breathy and distracted. Awed, in a sense. In truth, she had scarcely paid attention since they had stepped through the portal, her hand remaining latched onto the Ambassador's for longer than particularly necessary as her singular eye hungrily tracked the environment.

It was, to her inexperienced perspective, as beautiful- if not moreso- than the park they had just left. New trees, unfamiliar to her and wide in their arrangement of branches, like a roof upon a singular, gnarled pillar. She had detached herself from the Ambassador a few moments after her gaze had finally ceased to move, her fingers delicately brushing from the door to the tree. The name came to her. Yew.

I see yew. Amusing.

The Sentry was almost as eye-catching as the tree, albeit ultimately less distracting for the strange golem; he was given a small wave of her hand, and her eyes scanned his equipment with a palpable curiosity.

The Ambassador probably would not like it if she were to attempt to peel it open, she decided, returning her focus to the aforementioned pretty human. "But," she continued, hesitant to leave the clearing but eager to explore all the same, "I haven't seen Paris. I think it will steal even more breath. Does it have many towers?"

For some reason, it felt right to assume that Paris would have towers.

She giggled, "I'm happy to hear you are enthusiastic to see it. Paris has a singular tower known as the Eiffel Tower." Odette responded leading the way through the small forest, treading the well worn path. Bach was at her side his hand brushing past the trees, looking rather content.

"I also want to introduce you to a special friend of mine. She will be your guide through Paris." Odette commented over her shoulder to Mandate as they walked through the forest. Bach tilted his head at her unsure of who she had in mind.

After a few minutes of the leisurely pace they opened up away from the forest, a few miles away from the city limits but clearly able to see the vast horizon Paris enveloped, the Eiffle Tower being chief among it's most famous landmarks. Even for a Parisian such as herself, she always felt a tinge breathless when she saw the city. Her city. It's streets, the people, and the magic belonged to her.

Unknown to the people of Paris, save for all who knew The Ambassador.

She allowed Mandate the time to appreciate the view while digging through her purse for her grimoire.

Mandate, for her part, was as pleased as she had ever been, standing by the Ambassador's side and gazing out over the cityscape. The confirmation that there was indeed a tower within Paris- even called a tower in its name!- had excited her for reasons she couldn't quite understand. Like correctly slotting a peg into that amusing children's toy that had occupied her for awhile, it brought a sense of rightness.

And now, to see that place with her own eye was... Wonderful. Beautiful. A sweeping, low cityscape, save for the few higher buildings-and the tower!- whose windows glinted in the afternoon sun. A subdued... Mandate tilted her head down, searching for satisfying words. Prettiness? Yes, prettiness. Of course. Mandate raised her hands up to her chest, tapping her fingers together giddily. It was a strange gesture to her, but it felt right as a way to illustrate her excitement.

And she would be meeting new and exciting people! Perhaps more exciting than the Ambassador's strange and warbling friend? Unlikely, but wonderful! She clasped her hands together for a moment, then flung them back down to her sides, shifting on her feet in excitement. Her 'mouth' was inadequate to convey her excitement.

"Ambassador! I do not have breath, but it is being stolen!" she declared, her harmonious voice full of delight as she turned her gaze back to her wonderful new friend. "Your city is wonderful, and its Eiffel is also wonderful!"

The grimoire opened in the base of her palm, it's worn leather covers soft and the ledges carefully protected by silver pieces. The clasp was made of silver, bearing the symbol of the yew tree. The wind gently tugged at the aging pages. The massive tome was the accumulation of The Ambassador's favoured spells. Spells she crafted herself from scratch to ancient faerie magic, changed and suited to her needs when the situation called for it. The strength in her fey spellcraft was in the ability to deconstruct it and change it. Combining magic from the Arcane Stream and her indepth understanding of faerie magic, a feat reserved for humans.

"First and foremost, we need to glamour you, Mandate. Unfortunately Parisians are not that much better in regards to being comfortable seeing a golem. However it should be no problem to craft something simple." Odette said pausing on a page for magical glamours, one she would usually use for herself when in flight now she simply needed one to fool the ordinary human into seeing Mandate as a human.

Beginning the spell with a string of French, Words of Power drew in close to Mandate wrapping about her... then deflecting in wayward directions forcing the ballerina to duck.

Bach and Odette shared a look of confusion, "Uh-" He began then ran a quick eye over the page Odette was on. "You aimed it at her... right?"

That earned him a elbow jab to his ribs.

"How incredibly helpful of you." She said tight lipped.

Bach rubbed at his ribs, "Just enchant something instead. We can figure out why she literally deflected your spell." He replied then ran an eye up and down Mandate.

"Curiouser and curiouser."

She rummaged through her purse with one hand, balancing the book open still. "Now where is that... pendant... the one that Mara gave me..." Her arm disappeared deep into the purse nearly up to her shoulder. Her fingers brushed against what she was looking for and triumphantly pulled it free. A simple polished piece of rose quartz, hand woven into a necklace.

Closing the necklace into the palm of her hand. Odette began the spell again, altering it slightly to enchant the jewellery instead. Her hand glowed a bright blue when the spell was complete did she open her palm, the rose quartz glittering with enchantment.

"Here Mandate, my dear please wear this around your neck. It will protect you." She offered the necklace up to the golem.

Mandate's gaze remained locked upon the necklace, hesitant to touch the pretty rose quartz. Normally, she would have gladly grasped the jewelry and examined it, but her emotions were somewhat tumultuous.

The strange magic that the Ambassador wielded was unfamiliar, but that tingling sensation as it was forcefully evicted...

Dark corridors, dark words, dark power.

Mandate's 'mane' bristled once more, then settled into its orderly configuration. Her 'mouth' was a flat line, neither its smile nor its frown as she internally debated with herself for a few moments. It felt longer to her, with her multitude of conflicting emotions. The Ambassador wouldn't do that. She is nice, and sweet. She has helped me. This place is nice, and I am... Safe. Reassurance, or a conversation? It was impossible to discern.

Odette's eyes flicked up to Mandate's mane flaring momentarily, she had curiously reacted in similar way earlier before they crossed the portal. Resisting magic in more ways than just one. Mandate had made a note about not liking the massive spell that ripped souls free from the leyline... did Mandate lose any?

But that dark place was as far behind her as New York- No, further, New York was a portal away. The distance of a world and a step. The place she'd left behind was far beyond even that, and she wouldn't go back. The Ambassador wasn't going to hurt. She was... Helpful. Over and over, Mandate's thoughts repeated themselves, a comforting mantra as she reached towards the smaller woman.

Ever so delicately, Mandate lowered her hand, plucking the necklace up with two hands. When the familiar feeling did not pass through her, the worry ebbed away as easily as the tide, dropping out of her stream of thought as her self-encouragement was proven correct. The prominent V of her smile bloomed once more.

A gift! Mandate brought it to her chest, cupped within her large hands as if it were a butterfly. "Thank you, Ambassador!" she blurted, her tone sincere and as jubilant as it had been only moments before. "Is this a gift? It looks like one; it is very pretty. I enjoy wearing pretty things." Her claws brushed across the surface of the Rose Quartz, admiring the pleasing smoothness of the crystal.

Without another thought as to the reputability of the Ambassador -she could be trusted, after all- and a renewed eagerness, the golem began to fuss with the necklace, testing its size; it would fit, thankfully.

As she slipped it on, she spoke to her treasured and only companion. "Ambassador, can I call you miss? I think it is polite, and I would like to be polite to you! Miss Ambassador, what was that strange thing earlier? How will this jewelry protect me?"

"You may refer to me as Miss Ambassador. Manners matter, Mandate. I appreciate your polite decorum." Odette said rather sweetly. "What I did to enchant the necklace earlier, I tried to do to you first. My spell was meant to give humans unlike myself, the illusion you looked human as well. The necklace however, so long as you wear it, you will appear human to everyone around you. Very convenient for a golem such as yourself."

Mandate preened as much as she could under the Ambassador's approval, tilting her head to the side and humming her agreement with the small woman's statement. Manners mattered. "Unlike yourself, Miss Ambassador? Should I not show anyone that is not you that I am a not-human?" she asked, mentally making a note of that condition.

Odette nodded reassuring the golem, "Until I explictly say to remove the pendant you are to wear it. Can you promise me you will wear it all the time?"

What did she do that humans would find not-human? Some humans could lift cars now, but not all of them did. She could lift more than cars, but would that be more or less suspicious? Questions in need of answering. The golem decided to avoid lifting anything for awhile; she was certain that it was generally a suspicious way to behave.

Mandate fidgeted slightly with her new necklace. Perhaps some tearing, if no one was looking.

Mandate nodded, her smile showing nothing of her thoughts as she voiced her assent. "Of course, Miss Ambassador! I'll keep it very safe." It was a present from the Ambassador, after all. It was precious.

------

Time: An hour or so of travelling later...
Location: Along the Seine, Paris.

The Seine was calm and quiet to humans. Unseen the river was rife with young selkie pups. The setting summer sun casted an eerie orange glow over a lone goblin. Mara the lanky, considerably ugly fey sat along the edge of the concrete. Her net deep in the water waiting patiently for a pup to come close. Her eyes squinted through the glass soda bottles she wore for glasses.

Completely unaware of the two figures approaching her.

She waited for one to slip close, then with expert reflexes she snatched up the hissing selkie, skinny arms jerking about trying to contain it. She lifted with her knees, very important to avoid backpain, then plopped the pup into her large glass fishbowl, possibly bigger than the small goblin herself.

With a splash and a hiss the selkie was emptied into the bowl.

"You don't know it yet kid, but I'm doing you a favour. The Seine ain't no place for you lot to be frolicking about." Mara said flatly over the rim of the bowl then received a swift angry splash in reply.

"Good evening, Mara." Odette said approaching the goblin speaking in English largely for Mandate's benefit. "Any luck tonight?"

The goblin looked over her shoulder at The Ambassador. "Sure sure, ungrateful little pups think I'm being the stick in the mud fishing them outta the Seine." She gestured at the bowl and hissing pup, "C'mon, these kids are left to their own devices and it's up to folk like me to make sure they get back somewheres safe."

"They will appreciate you, given enough time. Mara, I was hoping to speak to you. I want to hire you for a special job. First however I would like to introduce you to Mandate." Odette said gesturing to the glamoured golem.

"Sure, My Lady. Y'know I don't mind doing business with you. What d'ya need?" Mara said evenly digging out a dirty rag from inside her shirt, drying her face. Mara tucked her rag away then nodded at Mandate, "Nice to meetcha Mandate, the name is Mara."

Mara ran an eye over the substantially tall and rather stocky human. Her arms were toned with visible muscle through the plain white tshirt she wore. Mandate's dark brown hair was tied into a pony tail, her eyes a dark brown. Around her neck Mara spotted the rose quartz pendant and recognized it immediately.

"Hey! That's the pendant I gave you, My Lady. Looks like... it's enchanted?" Mara said curiously squinting up at Mandate's human glamour still considerably tall figure especially compared to the small goblin.

Mandate would have blinked if she was capable of it, her singular eye flicking its focus from the curious bowl to the goblin that it seemed to belong to after a moment's silence. Both her eye and her smile were unable to convey the sheer excitement passing through her, but it was probably more firmly demonstrated in the way that she rocked upon her feet and seemed to almost bounce in place. She pushed up to the tips of her toes as her hands clasped together in front of her chest, then lowered herself back down as her hands returned to her sides.

Fidgeting, moving in brief bursts. The broad, strong figure the glamor had given her translated the movements somewhat awkwardly, but conveyed the enthusiastic energy behind them fairly well, at any rate.

Mara's expression seemed to shift when she observed Mandate nearly bouncing on the spot. Shifting between confusion and curiosity. Something was off about this particular human. Not that most humans that towed in behind The Ambassador were normal but this one...

It was sheer force of will -and a slight fear of the Ambassador's disapproval- that kept her from touching anything and everything she saw in the new landscape that surrounded her; she found that it was helpful to place her hands together when the urge became unbearable, such as when she was exposed to yet another strange companion of the Ambassador.

At least they were starting to become clearer, given time. The odd not-thing that Mandate had first met alongside the Ambassador was starting to gain a more coherent figure, and she could even understand this new one, strange and tiny though -she? They sounded like a she- was.

The golem tilted her head and gave a soft hum, which had an unnerving effect upon her glamor; her smile was bright and warm, but her eyes were as dead as the lives that went into Mandate's creation.

The Ambassador probably wouldn't appreciate it if she snatched up the fish bowl and started looking at it and the thing inside of it all over like she dearly wished. Her hands squeezed together tighter.

Definitely no grabbing. Oh, she was supposed to be speaking, yes!

The mention of the pendant was what grabbed the golem's attention the most, for one reason or another. Her hands pressed against her chest, clasping the crystal in question and bringing it up to her face. Her mouth flattened into a line to indicate her focused curiosity, at odds with the light and pleasant tone of her strange voice. "Oh, this? This was Miss Ambassador's gift to me! It is magical, and very pretty. Was it a gift from you first? Miss Ambassador, do you get a lot of gifts?"

Mandate paused for a second, then perked up as if remembering something. Her smile returned, both on her glamor and on her true form. "Also, hello Mara. It's nice to meet you; you're different and your glasses are nice. Do you steal children from the river often?" Her curious tone was as wholly genuine as her smile.

Mara's long gnarled nose twitched, she stared at Mandate considering her questions, "It was a form of payment. Naw, I ain't stealing no children. Just moving some selki pups around, leaving the kidnapping business to the creepier folk." Mara paused wincing, "Beg your pardon, My Lady. Not a slight at you."

As she winced the goblin looked up at Mandate squinting a little harder than necessary.

"But ma'am, that ain't no human. Who is she?" Mara said pointing a bony finger at the golem.

Odette's smile came so easily, "She... is Mandate. My dear would you please remove the pendant, momentarily?"

Mara watched with beady eyes.

"Of course, Miss Ambassador!" Mandate replied, as cheerful as ever as she considered her strange new companion's words. As her clawed fingers delicately lifted the necklace off of her neck, she turned her cyclopean gaze towards the Ambassador once more.

"Does that mean you steal children from rivers, Miss Ambassador?" she chirped inquisitively, her head tilting to the side as she held the necklace in one massive hand. She didn't want to lose the payment-turned-gift, after all; it was precious to her, because it was the Ambassador's.

Mara took off her glasses, her eyes huge on her ugly bald head. "A golem...? I'm holdin' a conversation with it, how's that possible?" She shook her head then rubbed some dirt off the glasses. "More importantly, what does that got to do with me?"

Odette shrugged her smile not wavering, "Depends on you. I found Mandate in Central Park, couldn't very well leave someone as unique as her on her own. Now could I?"

Mara shrugged ignoring that The Ambassador didn't answer her question. "Depends on what then, My Lady?"

"As you know, I am in no position to keep Mandate by my side all the time. However she is safer here in Paris with a very reliable and neutral figure such as yourself. There are no borders here in Paris for you, Mara." Odette said smoothly turning to observe the selkies in the Seine. "You will be aptly paid to keep Mandate company and most importantly... out of trouble. Can I trust you to see to it?"

Odette looked to the golem, gazing into her singular red eye. "I do apologize Mandate, unfortunately I must return to New York for a short time. I will be back in Paris, but you will not be alone."

Mara grunted. "Hrm. Keep a smart golem company? Piece of cake, My Lady. I could always use an extra pair of hands. Eh, Mandate? Ya don't mind hanging around this old goblin?"

Mandate froze in the midst of her excited examination of the surrounding area, her gaze focusing upon the small human once more. After a few moments, it flicked to the even smaller fey being, then back to the Ambassador. Her hands curled back around the necklace as the situation processed.

Left? she wondered to herself -literally, as she felt the question echo through her component parts. I am being left here? Uncertainty tickled at Mandate's consciousness, before she clamped down upon it and the returned bristling of her 'mane'. The Ambassador, of course, was not going to be gone forever.

I've only just met you, friend. she did not protest, because some greater part of herself pushed down against it once more. Selfish thoughts circled, a natural inclination to do as she pleased that worked counter to her desire to please her new yet dear companion. Her only companion?

Why does it bother me? I am always alone and together. More things to consider, in time. Mandate filed the strange sensation away. She was not alone at the present; it was pleasing. She would... Not be alone when the Ambassador left, would she? She had the small human's assurance, but...

Mara did not present the same caliber of company, but maybe that was a wrong impression. A biased impression, admittedly; Mandate already considered the Ambassador her favorite person.

Slowly, Mandate raised the crystal necklace back up, and replaced it around her neck, using the motion to disguise the slump of her shoulders as she turned her dead eyes and soft smile back onto Mara. The interesting sensation of stubborn refusal faded away -or was pushed back- as she responded.

"I think that will be okay, Miss Ambassador." And she believed it.

Odette brought her hands up, her eyes twinkling happily, "Somehow I knew you would understand, my dear Mandate. Truthfully I am so happy to hear you will be spending time with Mara. I would trust no one else with you. Time will fly while I am gone and it would hardly seem as if I was absent."

Mara quietly huffed not comfortable watching The Ambassador manipulate the golem. She was smart enough not to open her mouth to get between The Ambassador and her work. Briefly she caught her blue eye, the woman hardly missed a thing. Mara shifted her gaze to Mandate. This golem seemed very new. Mara decided she'd at least knock some common sense into the inquisitive golem.

Odette held out a hand to the golem, "You and I have much to discuss when I return. For now, Mara will be your guide through Paris. Let the city fill your time and thoughts. As I said before, you will not be disappointed."

Despite the situation, Mandate's smile became firmer as she straightened up beneath the Ambassador's attention, turning to face her fully once more. The happiness and approval was gratifying, a new and welcome sensation; approval was not something she'd experienced since her creators had seen that she'd formed properly.

She'd killed them afterwards, so it wasn't a very good comparison.

Go away. Banishing the thoughts firmly, Mandate reached out. Her large hand clasped the smaller one of the human, mindful of the claw tips of her fingers, before her other hand closed over it as well. The thought satisfied her, of seeing Paris fully, and admiring things that were almost a world away only an hour ago. The Ambassador herself would be only a world away herself.

"Of course I won't be, Miss Ambassador; it's your city, and it is beautiful!" The smile of her glamor had regained its full brightness, overshadowing the dead look in her fake eyes as she reluctantly released the blue-haired woman's hand. Thank you."

---

Racheli hated the daytime. She couldn't sleep without something nagging at her mind and pulling it from slumber, gradually edging back into awareness. She didn't fucking need it, truthfully. However, the restlessness was gradually getting to her. Icarus’ explanations over her changes unfolded into her focus and drew a irritated sigh. She scratched head, more in habit than need, before she slipped from the temporally cot Bak May offered earlier.

It was actually a bench, the surface had been hard and stuff against her back. This likely didn't help her to relax in the least. Cracking her neck, she let the spine give a sharp pop then loosen from its tensed posture as she looked about.

Several young men, a few much older than their teens, proceeded to bat at wooden dummies. Their fists, arms and more became blurred gestures while they protected their torso and avoided attacks. It naturally caught her attention as she stared, watching them spar and train their bodies into weapons. Still sitting with her arms upon her thighs, Rach wiped at her eye then examined her hand.

Not a speck of grit in it.

A deep, male voice chucked in her mind. Her skin bubbled with fear and her skeleton tensed in instinct. She bother looking to her right when the virus projected itself once more. Michael materialized gradually. His shape outline formed first, then sharpness in his image and finally a solid feel to his presence.

He was grinning at her through her peripheral vision causing her to snort in disgust. Her vision returned to the fighters while she tried to ignore him and enjoy the scenery. The virus wasn't that easily discouraged by her display. He stepped quietly toward her then lowered himself, settling into a free spot beside her. He matched her posture until Racheli shifted, her figure leaned back against the bench’s wall and right foot pulled up under her left.

“Enjoying yourself?”

Racheli ignored his attempt to chatter. Her lips pressed tightly as fingers dug stubbornly into her jeans, her head remained straight ahead.

“you can't ignore me forever… Baby girl.”

Heat, a coiling and writhing fury, edged from her body’s core and through her figure. It caused her to tension up and turned her vision, red dancing along the edges, before she spoke. Her tone became dripping with spite in every word. “Don’t you ever call me that again.”

“Then stop ignoring me or I'll choose another form you can't bare to look at.” Michael hissed quietly, his figure leaned in slightly then pulled away. He was starting to think this form was an ill choice but he didn't have other options. If he face claimed Gabriel, Justine or another than likely Racheli would've triggered even more. Not something that helpful in the end for his goals.

“What the hell do you want?”

He sighed then continued. “Just to talk. You're no long human, as Gabriel puts it, so why still try to act like one?”

“I am human because I chose to be. Something you never were.” Rach spat, then pressed her back more firmly into the wall.

She tried to enjoy the display of fighters but it already fucking spoiled and nothing she did would change that. With her mood spoiled Rach moved off the bench, her hand reached for her discarded jacket near the exit. She swing it about where her right arm slid into the sleeve and was followed by the left, her hands securing it in place. She inhaled then touched her bicycle chain choker. Immediately the metal melted and liquified before snaking its way onto her face, where it formed her mask again. Through the thick material she turned to Evergreen and Bak May. Her tone was deep and difficult to make out, but her meaning was clear. “I’m heading out early, I need to move .”

He was a lowly data analyst this time around, though re-entering the CDC as a guard had been a tempting option he figured that might have been pushing his luck. It was easy enough to get in unnoticed, he hadn’t gone through even semi-legitimate channels this time around because he didn’t plan to stay for long. Lekh had decided to get the Ambassador’s little task for him out of the way as soon as possible. Ironically, this had led him back to the CDC, which was not only the starting point for his plan to backtrack Racheli Desdemona, but also the site of the regional archive for birth and death records, among other things. This was good for one thing, it meant he didn’t have to go far to learn most of what he needed, as the start was almost always the hardest in research tasks like these ones.

Racheli Lorna Desdemona
D.O.B: October 31st 1988
Birth Mother: Jackie Lorna Desdemona
Birth Father: Michael Garth

Jackie Lorna Desdemona, deceased, Michael Garth, deceased. Interesting. Both premature, not long after one another, unrelated incidents perhaps, perhaps not. Further investigation into the deaths of her parents could be of use in drawing her out of hiding, potential emotional weakness. The living article would have been more useful as hostages, but the dead have their uses as well. Silence took some last information he was interested in from the CDC, namely further research into her disease after her departure and some insights the CDC had come up with. He even scoured through the doctor’s information, using what he knew of the interfering fellows to take what data he could on them. With all that done, he left, hopefully for the last time.

He knew where Racheli was born, whatever had happened to her parents likely happened there. Unwilling to travel to Nevada, Silence contacted one of his liaisons who set him up with some influential people in the Syndicate. He got the information he asked for the very same day, albeit as the sun was beginning to set on the horizon. What his contacts had uncovered was interesting indeed.

Murdered, both, that’s how they’d gone out. Different circumstances though, that was for sure. The mom had been killed by an unknown assailant, later determined to be one ‘Michael Garth.’ The dad had punched his final letter at the behest of the benevolent U.S government, found guilty of the murder of an unknown woman found buried in his garden, the kidnapping of his child, and held under suspicion of the murder of one ‘Jackie Lorna Desdemona.’ Not to mention held under suspicion of multiple murders up and down the country, evidence for which was provided by his own daughter. Open and shut case, he was executed by lethal injection only a short while later. Apparently, the young Racheli might have been present for both murders, too young to fully understand the implications, she was placed into the care of her Aunt, at least avoiding the foster system. Interestingly, she then moved to Maine, he could pick up her trail there later, if he wished, but he wasn’t all that interested in doing it personally. He had Rook go look into it with one of his other street walkers.

Silence read and re-read the notes before him late into the night, and as dawn threatened to break over the horizon, he packed his bags and got in a taxi for Lost Haven airport.

Jamestown Nevada, the birthplace of Racheli Desdemona, whose story was growing increasingly interesting to the ever-curious criminal. He had the Syndicate to thank for his new documents, allowing him to fly across over two thousand miles of land in only four hours despite technically being an illegal. It wasn’t all that much to look at, he had to admit, but such places rarely were. Still, it was interesting to see more of America beyond that which he had seen on business for the Syndicate and through the media. The country couldn’t help but hold a certain allure, even for him, as it had for so many people in the old world. He assimilated himself into the local culture and accent seamlessly, adopting the casual wear and speaking like he’d lived there his whole life. It was often the small things that made a difference in his line of work, that made people open up to you or reveal more than they ought.

Using a formidable capacity for deception, Silence was able to endear himself to the locals and get their knowledge of events in unreliable story form. He went with the distant relative looking for answers route, time tested, rarely questioned. Really, he was more interested in exactly what role the young Racheli had played in the deaths of her parents, if there was even a hint of rumour that she was complicit in the murders, that would be a significant weakness to exploit. Beyond that, he was simply interested to see how deep the story went, and he was not to be disappointed by the outcome.

While following local records, poorly maintained in a mostly defunct archive for the old prison and police station, he started to uncover some things that didn’t add up. Michael Garth, upon execution, fucking vanished. That didn’t tend to happen in the real world. His burial was a farce, he hadn’t been incinerated as one would expect. In fact, records suggested he’d been given extended periods outside of Death Row. There were some references to some Doctors whose specialisations he discovered were completely out of character for prison doctors. Geneticists, disease diagnosticians, experts in chemicals and biology. There were too many doctors in that prison, far too many. Silence was growing ever more curious.

There was something going on in that prison that was supported by government officials, and Michael had been part of it. Perhaps some greater secret lay within that mystery, one that could explain Rach’s powers. Or perhaps it was just another chess piece to place on the board, either way, Silence had no intention of leaving a big shiny stone unturned.

---

Ben snored against the cushioned surface where the metas left him, a couch. Under the scratchy blanket, he curled into a ball and shifted subtly into a new position. The dull ache of last night edged into his awareness. He didn’t want to get up as he twisted on the narrow sofa, his arm pulled the blanket with him along the way. His figure sank into the cushions a bit more causing his eyes to snap open. This wasn’t his bed came the deep, dark realization. He jerked upright, his muscles cramped with each movement, as he panned the living room’s scenery. A twitch of his skin at the air’s chill made his eyes tilt down and found himself naked, much to his chagrin. Hands collected then wrapped the scratchy blanket tighter about his waist and pelvis, his weakened figure edging off the edge of his makeshift bed.

He paused there as his right hand wiped away the grit collection in his vision, clearing it up finally. This wasn’t good, he thought bitterly. He was visibly rattled when the memories of last night poured into his mind and shivered, his head shaking off his nerves. Inhaling slowly, Ben pushed off the sofa carefully then stabilized himself upon his two feet. His left hand flipped down to fist a section of the blanket over his bare hips and called out, his voice scratched and raw with each word.

“Hello… anyone there? Shit-”

Ben let out a curse as his right leg twitched then folded underneath him. His form crumbled instantly and caused him to lean against the edge, his expression soured by his own weakness. He was so tired that it wasn’t funny. It was then he noticed his appearance. Namely the blood and grime that still stained his white surface, then caused him to grit his teeth in anger. This wasn’t suppose to happen, he thought in fury and confusion. Why? Why did it happen now instead of tomorrow? The question was answered by silence as he sighed, his arm reached for the sofa arm to pull himself back up. His fisted hand kept its position to reserve some modesty in the situation when his attention turned to the sound of footsteps padding into the room.

With a pleasant yawn echoing through his frame, Skyler stretched his body before feeling a wet tongue traveling across his face. A soft giggle left his lips in response, followed by nuzzling Mushroom’s furry shape and planted a kiss on the dog’s snout. ”Good morning, Shroomy.’” Skyler spoke with a groggy, newly woken voice as his hands reached up to rub his eyes. Lowering his feet to the floor, another yawn managed to escape before he ascended with a stretch. It was positively the best night of sleep which had blessed him in over four years, something he was more than prepared to cling to. It was impossible to tell when the next palatable night had the opportunity of visiting, after all.

Seeing how Mushroom leaped down to the floor, Skyler lowered his hand and gently scratched the dog behind his ears, starting towards the opened doorway with Mushroom’s eager paws close behind. The dog wouldn’t leave Skyler’s side anytime soon, that much was obvious.

The fuzzy friend was still lacking much in a sense of weight, but his previously playful personality had returned and even though Mushroom wasn’t as quick on his paws as he used to be, he’d get there with enough time and nourishment. Days of misery were behind them, by the way things were looking now.

Skyler rubbed his eyes with a third yawn, placing a tired hand on the bathroom door and pushed it open to pad his feet onto the cold tile floor beyond the threshold. Reaching his hand up to scratch his head, Skyler’s eyes widened at the sight befalling him in the reflection of the mirror. To the point of jumping back with a yelp, Mushroom reacted accordingly and barked, startled. Skyler on the other hand didn’t move his newly colored eyes from the image staring back at him. Pale to the point of appearing slightly grey, his skin had shifted notably along with his now pointy ears and jet black irises. Completing the new appearance, the whites of Skyler’s eyes turned to a golden yellow. ”Sh-shit…” The boy gulped in confusion. With every passing day, something seemed to be changing with him. What was next? Claws? ”Do I look different to you, Shroomy’?” Skyler lowered his eyes to the dog who barked in response, planting another lick on the boy’s face once he got down on his knees in a desperate attempt to look Mushroom in the eyes. ”Well, that’s a relief.” Skyler sighed deeply, ascending to his feet again before turning back to his image. Things were looking less and less normal by the day. Was this some kind of new puberty he was going through? Something which was changing his body together with these fire powers running through his veins? None of it was normal, that much was obvious.

Reaching behind him, Skyler grabbed his tail to get a better look of the appendage. It too had shifted color along with his skin but remained the same in other ways. ”Guess this is me now, Shroomy’”. Though a heavy pout escaped his lips, Skyler seemed to have reached a level of indifference. Everything had come down on him like a rock, he could barely recognize himself anymore. Whoever stared back at him in that mirror was not the same person he had come to know during the last sixteen years of his life. A tail, grey skin, black eyes, pointed ears sharp teeth and horns? The more who thought about it, the less human he was beginning to seem. At first, Skyler hoped that he was a mere mutant, someone who had a few extra tricks up their sleeves but now he was starting to seriously doubt his own humanity. Was he human at all? Was there even a fraction of humanity in him?

After taking a morning shower, Skyler wrapped a towel around himself and moved back into his new room, closing the door behind himself for the first time yet. Angelo had been kind enough to leave a large bag of clothes for Skyler before making his way out of the mansion sometime during the night. They filled their purpose with haste as the boy slipped into a pair of cargo pants and a t-shirt which fit his frame better than what he had been previously wearing. ”You think I can go out in public again, Shroomy’?" Skyler spoke softly with his fingers running through Mushroom’s fur. ”I hope I can at least go down to the kitchen. Come on, we should get some food.” Skyler finished, his voice echoing with a slightly more assertive tone now that he was back together with Mushroom.

Heading out of the room, Skyler made his way down the stairs and eventually found himself in the kitchen. The morning was still young, a mere eight am. Despite the comfortable sleep which had blessed him, Skyler had grown used to waking at early hours after a week of starlight nights on the streets. Being in someone else’s kitchen felt odd in ways he couldn’t describe, but the situation didn’t appear normal on any other front, either. Something else did however catch the boy’s eyes, something which stole his attention with ease.

Gently placing his fingers around the edge of a picture, Skyler analyzed the teenager appearing next to a man who had to be his father. The name Ben which Angelo had used, was this him? If that was the case, Skyler knew this boy. He knew him all too well. This was Benjamin from school, the person who had caught Skyler in a hopeless spell. Things were starting to fall together now. Was this seriously happening? The werewolf’s name was Ben; this was the wolf’s home. Benjamin from school lived here, and no one else appeared to fall under that description. With a shaking hand, Skyler dropped the picture onto the counter and stumbled back, his tail slapping a chair out of the way in the process. There was only so much he could take at any given moment.

Everything he thought he knew was falling to pieces. Everything considered normal and a part of his everyday life had gone out the window. The room Skyler was sleeping in, was it Ben’s? Was it the same Ben that he went to school with? The same Ben he had a crush on? With a trembling frame, Skyler attempted to calm himself down before there was an accident. He could already see how the air around him was starting to ripple due to the heat and Mushroom had taken more than a few steps away. The stay at this mansion would probably be a lot more difficult than he had first anticipated.

“Benjamin? Is that you?” A voice echoed through the manor, shaking Skyler from his daze and brought him back to reality with a crash. Shifting his eyes to the window, he needed only peek outside to see a Hispanic woman by the entrance. This was bad. He couldn’t let anyone see him, not like this. Angelo hadn’t mentioned that there were others at this mansion. In fact, there was a lot he hadn’t mentioned which now came flooding through. Why was Skyler even here? Why did he and Táph go with the Agent in the first place? Suddenly the world felt lost, and feeling a hand on his shoulder shattered the second wave of thoughts forcing their way through. Moments later, Skyler found himself pulled back, with a familiar voice speaking into his ear.

“Hide.” A single word, it sent a chill down Skyler’s spine but turning to see who it was froze him over entirely. Benjamin Reeves was peering into the boy’s inhuman eyes, appearing less than startled at seeing the Efreet’s full form.

“B-Ben…?” Skyler managed to utter the name of his crush in a broken attempt, stuttering all the while.

“Not really.” Benjamin responded, shaking his head. “Didn’t Angelo tell you anything? That guy’s worthless…” The doppelganger sighed heavily before turning his attention to the task at hand. “Get down and hide.”

Though the situation was accompanied by a series of confusing sights, Skyler did as he was told and lowered himself to his knees in an attempt to hide. The doppelganger took the opportunity to leave the kitchen and instructed Mushroom to follow him, something which came to pass once Skyler nodded in agreement, removing any doubts the dog might have had. “Oh, hey.” Benjamin, or rather his double, spoke. “Sorry about the ruckus. This thing followed me home and I'm still trying to debate on to do with him, mostly before Lorrie comes home.” Given Mushroom’s currently scrawny frame, it wasn’t hard to believe that he was a stray. “I'm taking him upstairs, let me know when lunch is done.” Ben continued, speaking with the help before he attempted to finally speak his way out of the dilemma. Once the coast was clear, the double peeked his head back into the kitchen and motioned for Skyler to leave his hiding place and move with haste, following Ben’s body double up the stairs and into Benjamin’s room.

Closing the door behind them, the Agency doppelganger breathed a sigh of relief. “Well, that wasn’t entirely expected. I thought Angelo told you that you couldn’t be seen yet.”

”You’re not Ben?” Skyler managed, his voice nearly trembling.

“No. I’m just here to make things seem normal. The dude’s a werewolf, and I don’t know what you are but damn. Look, this mission has gotten way out of hand. More people than ever are involved in strict Agency business and I have no idea how it got to this point.” Benjamin rubbed his forehead for a moment, moving to the windows before peering down onto the backyard. “But it is what it is. Angelo told me that he had brought some street urchin, you I guess, and an old friend of his, Táph, who would now be this group of misfit’s babysitter.” Scratching the back of his head, Benjamin’s double chuckled in response to his own explanation, barely able to believe it himself. “You, Táph, Benjamin and two Mercs are involved in this. They’re still out looking for the kid, and until he comes home and we can cook up a second part of this, stay out of sight. You’ll also not be in contact with me much, if at all. I’m not supposed to interact with any of you. I’m Ben before all of this happened, alright? Stay behind the scenes and let me take care of the center stage.”

”Okay.” Lowering himself to the bed, Skyler accepted the situation for what it was, seeing how the double had left the room. As messed up as this was, at the very least, Skyler felt like he had a better understanding of what he was involved with. For now, all he needed to do was to stay out of sight. He could do that, couldn’t he? Mushroom also had some immunity now that the fake Ben had told the house keeper that it was his dog. Laying his head down on the pillow, Skyler gently embrace Mushroom’s form and took a deep breath. He was going to be locked up in this room for a while. He could as well rest up in the meantime.

Throwing his tired feet onto the coffee table, the young-looking male manage a deep breath of comfort before placing the soda bottle to his lips. It was called the Bounty's Rest, a cheap motel in the ghettos of New York located within an area most would avoid. A cesspool of crime, villainy and chaos. It was understandable how the police branded this area a no-go zone. Bravery walks hand in hand with foolishness, they say. Heading into this backwater alley within New York's borders would amount to little more than stupidity. "So tell me, Sandy." Old Man Doc spoke, his dark and raspy voice hinting at the vast amount of cigarettes he had infected his lungs with throughout the years. The man's ebony dark skin painted him an afro American, something he often felt the need to remind people of with his choice of words. He was the owner of the Bounty's Rest, a motel at first glance but the truth laid in the name. People came to Doc with contracts and the hunters renting a room within his complex would be assigned jobs, some less savory than others. For a small percentage of the pay, Doc would let these bounty hunters stay in his motel for as long as they continued to accept contracts. Milo had been doing so for a handful of months at this point. "Getting any hope for the world?"

"No." The boy returned, taking another sip from his drink as he lazily watched the news on an old, raggedy television propped up in the lobby.

"What's a brother gotta' do to get ya' to say more than one word, hm?" Doc chuckled, cracking open a can of non-brand beer. Running his fingers down the white beard which had started to form beneath his chin, Doc adjusted the cap atop his head and got up with a soft grunt. "Ain't as young as I used to be!" He continued, patting his back as he circled the counter and sat on the sofa besides Milo. "I've had me people from all over stayin' here, y'know?" Doc spoke, taking a swig of his drink before nodding to the television. "You seem em' niggas come in here with guns n' powers but a fuckin' sword?" The old man laughed heartily, reaching for Milo's Japanese katana resting against the sofa's cushions. "That's rather new."

"I'm not people." Milo commented, referring to his engineered creation rather than a natural birth. He was designed from the start to be a weapon no one would suspect, an assassin who worked behind the scenes with a cloak of invisibility in the shape of innocence. He never did consider himself human, and it was for obvious reasons, but Doc and Milo had initiated quite philosophical conversations due to the comment. Milo on the other hand never seemed to care much.

"There ya' go again, Sandy." This part of town drew racial comments a common occurrence. Milo's design was based on his creator's son who was middle eastern, making Milo appear to have olive skin and dark features. It warranted his nickname, Sandy, referring to the ethnical home place of a desert. "Ya' can think, can't ya'? A brother can feel!" Doc nudged Milo's side, dropping the katana back to its previous position. "Say, what kind of music do ya' like?"

"Don't really care." An expected response, but Doc grunted all the same before reaching for the stereo controller, turning on some old nineties hits.

"There we go. Gotta' have some life in here, ya' know?" Doc finished, ascending to his feet before he started towards the counter and reached for a folder. "How do ya' feel about gang bangers?"

"They bleed a lot." Milo zapped through the channels disinterested in his surroundings, occasionally sipping from his soda with halfway closed eyes.

"You fuckin' psycho." The old man chuckled, shaking his head. "Well, this job just came in. Looks like a new group of gangsters are popping up. Run by a meta, n'I know you like those, brother." Stealing Milo's attention, the boy turned his focus to Doc who grinned in response. "There we are, a nigga's alive!"

"What kind of meta?" Milo ignored most of what Doc had been saying, phasing directly to the point.

"Super strength. That kinda' shit gets you respect roun'ere, y'know?" Doc finished, dropping the folder onto Milo's lap to allow the boy a better view of what he was getting into. Hispanic, large, tattooed, male, the typical. It was what you expected, nothing new and nothing special, but things had been rather dry recently.

"Fine." The boy stated, dropping his feet to the floor and slipped into the black and white converse shoes he had by the sofa. Doc had strict rules, no shoes on the table. The man usually got his way, despite his age and seemingly fragile appearance. One should however not judge a book by its cover as Doc was known by something else entirely on the streets.

"Don't die, kiddo." The old man shot Milo a grin before turning the music up. "And get a haircut, you fuckin' emo."

"Can't. Milo was the epiphany of 'frozen in time'. The boy's regeneration prevented any change to his body and a single strand of hair falling from its place would immediately be replaced by another. Perhaps this semi-immortal frame was what had drawn Milo so cynical and indifferent, seeing the world wither and die around him while he remained the same, forever. A depressing thought, but Milo found himself bathed in blood too often to think about much else, recently. Heading out the door, Milo didn't bother hiding his blade. Everyone here owned a weapon, and everyone was armed. Anything else was a death wish.

“So her name’s Racheli?”

Standing in the middle of what looked like the remnants of an Earthquake stood the kinetic berserker. Strolling through the debris, he picked up what looked to be a broken chain with as free hand. He examined the slightly rusty pieces, holding them up to the streetlamp as as his constant companion Warden gave the rundown on his newly acquired target through his earpiece.

“Racheli Desdemona, aged 28 years old, moved to the city earlier this year,currently unemployed and as of a few months ago, has no living kin.” Warden replied, “She recently was believed to be with the CDC for examined for a viral infection. However, currently federal reports reveal that she was taken during a transport about three months ago. This has all been kept quiet for the most part, as they don’t want to spread widespread panic among Lost Haven, but only recently has she been spotted still in the city. To most, she is barely noticeable among the crowd here in Lost Haven.”

“Buuuut since this is Lost Haven, the city of freaks, I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that since I'm standing in what looks like a warzone, she's super dangerous.” Trent shot back.

“According to our employer, potentially she is one of the most dangerous beings on the planet if left unchecked. And for this city, that’s saying something.”

“Oh? What’s she got going on then?” The merc replied, the eagerness coming through in his increasingly aggressive tone. “Judging by what happened here, it looks pretty nasty. Is she some kind of earthquake generator?”

Warden replied in his monotone, already providing a lack of interest in the mercenary’s jokes. “Her powers are relatively unknown at the moment other than evidence of manipulation of metallic elements.”

War-Pulse almost immediately dropped the chains in reaction, as if she was going to suddenly manipulate them to wrap around his neck, the iron crashing against the cracked asphalt and echoing through the vacant streets. “Gyah! You mean we’re dealin’ with some kind of...Magneta?” He said, a short but enthusiastic chuckle punctuating his statement. “Can’t say I’ve honestly fought something like that before. Though I’m confused...if she’s warping metal, where did the earthquake come from? I don’t think Lost Haven is on any tectonic plates or anything.”

“I can imagine this is a result of her powers as well, which means she is getting stronger.” Warden stated, “It is only a matter of time before her abilities match and possibly overwhelm people with even your kind of power.”

“Jeez Warden, thanks for the vote of confidence.” War-Pulse scoffed, hopping over an overturned lampost, another result of the scuffle. “How long ago do you think this was done?”

“Couldn't be too long, police aren't here yet.” Warden replied, the sounds of a clacking keyboard barely audible on the comm as Warden ran through numerous databases. “Though judging by the police banter, this quake is going relatively under the radar. The Umbraxis attack cut their numbers down significantly, not to mention incidents like Pax Metahumana and the Ironworks have stretched them extremely thin. Not to mention we are firmly in the middle of Chinatown, which the police are very wary of since the Triads and Yakuza activity has been rising."

“Oh good, just what this city needs: gang wars.” War-Pulse remarked, “This city is seriously on the fast track to hell--oop, poor choice of words considering D-Day.”

“Regardless, Lost Haven does not need more on their plate and you are the perfect candidate to remedy this issue.” Warden stated, “I’m sending you known sightings of your target to your virtual display system.”

Sure enough, the merc taped a button on his earpiece, a holographic blue screen materializing in front of his eyes as if from thin air, causing the merc to smirk as the images blinked into the screen. “I do love when you give me new toys to play with Warden.”

“Our current employers gave us a large percentage up front, but it helps that we were able to sell whatever equipment we could salvage from the Good Doctor’s laboratories.”

“Yeah, I was going to ask, who is our employer this time?”

“They...chose not to say.” Warden admitted. “But they paid well and they made a very convincing argument that this was a dire situation that needed to be handled ASAP.”

“Right, but you said they wanted her alive...if we’re capturing some metahuman lady and dragging her to some shadowy organization, shouldn’t we know who we’re capturing a girl for and why they want her?”

“Has that really ever stopped you before?” Warden confirmed, causing the mercenary’s face to harden slightly in a pang of anger. “What matters is this woman is clearly dangerous, and the more time you spend here, the more time she has to go into hiding.”

“Alright, alright, you’ve made your point.” The mercenary gawked, looking over the photos that were sent. “So this was her last known location, yeah?”

“Yes, before this she was last seen at the Ironworks before it was destroyed.”

“Right, it got wrecked by metahumans from what the news stations said.”

“A scuffle of sorts, the source of the incident is unclear by the local populace.” Warden punctuated, more images popping up on War-Pulse’s floating screen. “She was seen fleeing the scene with three cohorts. A metallic man by the name of Icarus, a known vigilante known as the White Witch, and a manipulator of plants which the residents of Lost Haven refer to as Evergreen.”

“Huh, kind of an...eclectic group of superfriends, isn’t it?” The merc said, eyeing the three metahuman subjects as they appeared on his screen. “Well, how active are these three in the city? If we can find one of them, maybe they know where she is?”

“And you think they’ll tell the wanted felon where she is?”

“Well we can worry about that when we get to it, now where are they?” War-Pulse said, flicking off the holographic screen, his attention now turned to the movement on the edges of the area. He could see that there were civilians appearing now, coming out of the woodwork to survey the strange scene unfolding. First a fight broke out resulting in an earthquake, and now a strange man in a long coat was wandering through the destruction, it only made sense were people getting curious enough to make themselves known. Still, it meant the force of nature should not stay in the area long, or risk being subject to a scuffle with the local authorities that were inevitably on their way.

“Icarus has gone dark, he clearly has enough experience with tech to cover his tracks, even if his activity is public I’d have the most trouble tracking it down.” Warden began. “Same goes for White Witch, she was fairly active until recently when she went to ground chasing occult activity. I can assume she is currently embroiled in something we don’t want to stick our heads into.”

“What about the last guy? Greenie?”

“Evergreen.” Warden corrected. “Out of Racheli’s collaborators, he is probably the most active. He has actively pursued a vigilante career and is seen most nights defending the helpless and roping in lawbreakers.”

“Oh, a do-gooder...can’t wait to meet him.” The merc said, a small kinetic burst beginning to levitate the merc into the air, much to the shock of the civilians surrounding him. “Alright...looks like we got a plan, find the Flowerchild, ask him where Racheli is, rope her in, then bring her to our shadowy overseers in time to grab one of them famous Maine Lobsters.”

“And if Evergreen won’t tell you were Racheli is?”

The merc sneered, a deafening kinetic blast rupturing the ground below him as he rocketed into the air, causing the people below to scatter. “Let me worry about that, Warden. I can be very convincing when I want to be.”