Ben whimpered again.

He hurt so badly. His muscles twitched then jerked the longer he laid there. Ben’s coat became slimier and the sensation seeped into his skin, still slick from the pool of blood and fluid. The dead human skin collected in his matted fur causing it to spike in several directions as he finally twisted about and pulled himself upright. First his right arm shifted underneath him and it was followed by his left, bracing his torso off the ground. Gradually, his back legs righted themselves until he stood on all fours.

Wobbly in his ability, Ben let loose another a sharp, high pitched whine. His figure shook instinctive sending splatters of red, bits of flesh and other fluid off into several directions. It scattered upon Marie who was easily in within range. His tongue licked his lips and glided across his canines before narrowing his vision on the witch. His nose flickered. The nostrils flared, inhaled deeply as a spicy, strong scent wafted into his olfactory organ. It was familiar and pleasant.

As his legs gained strength, Ben’s eyes never left Marie. His lips curled back to reveal several white fangs and a deep growl released from his throat, the sound vibrated throughout his very being. Slowly, his head lowered while he edged closer with wary steps. His claws clicked across the red linoleum floor. Click, click...click...click.

Without much warning, Ben lounged forward.

His muzzle stopped within centimeters of her face. The hot breath pulsed upon her skin and mouth widened, his mouth leaned into her position. Suddenly a heavy, rough tongue licked across the woman’s cheek. It was followed by another and another. His voice whimpered in delight as his tail wagged, his nose going crazy with the scents of magic wafting off her. His telepathy give Marie the distinct impression he was happy just sniffing her all day. A sense that her mind could easily associate with words, penetrated through her ‘Smell… good...Like a lot.’

Ben’s ears flicked when Ji and Skyler, both timed it well, entered through the door. The pup’s head snapped into their direction then let out a surprised growl. His eyes widen and lips pressed backward, his teeth bared defensively. When the scents hit him, the lips gradually reflexed back. Cocking his head, Ben cautiously edged toward the two and sniffed deeply. His paws tapped across the floor as he lowered his figure, creeping toward them. Ji and Skyler got the emotions of curiosity and interest, but also fear and worry over the unknown.

_{banner credit to Hellis}

---

Time: Present Day
Location: Odette’s Apartment Building, Paris

Relaxing on top of comfy cushions, stretched out with her tablet propped up on her stomach. The cooling shade provided by the green canopy supported by wooden beams was a small sitting area nestled at the back of her rooftop garden. Swiping through online archives from the past year or so of Lost Haven’s newspapers. Looking distinctly for images, articles searching tags with witch or magic in them. Thankfully it didn’t take too long to search up relevant articles. While she had been steadily fed news of Racheli’s whereabouts in Lost Haven from Captain Esen, the high powered chase through the streets were making the social media news feeds explode with minute by minute updates. Many were frantic in their incorrect tags but the majority of the updates concerned with the reappearance of War Pulse and the-on-the-rise hero Evergreen. The sorceress wasn’t phased nor worried, according to the spy reports the two were fighting over Ms Desdemona. With any luck Racheli would show her face, predictably to help the hero that protected her. A short message was sent to Esen to oversee the chase personally. Whoever came out on top, it didn’t truly matter.

Her bet was on the mercenary, War Pulse.

Upon her arrival back to Paris, Odette spent her free time researching everything she had encountered in New York City. In spite of her original attempts to focus solely on ballet, work and magic always found its way back to the forefront of her attention. For now, laid out on her coffee table were all her notes and plans she had written up that morning for their trip to England weighed down by a couple grimoires to keep them from being swept away by the wind. Considering the way she had left relations with Queen Titania last time… this time around would surely require more tact.

For months since Ironworks she had properly ignored Puck’s Prophecy, admittedly spooked by his prediction. Things were on track now and gaining steam, ignoring the prophecy for much longer would just result in shooting herself in the foot. The best way to remove the fear would be to tear the prophecy apart.

The woman who came to Joseph Mather’s rescue, whose spectral fire burned quite literally into Odette’s memories. She played back the section she knew was relevant and providing no doubts White Witch was whom Puck referred to in his prophecy.



A black and white image, silhouette of the White Witch in the news article describing her heroics months and months ago. If a spectre was haunting the witch, threatening to consume her humanity. Then perhaps Odette had the chance to gain some more information through less than typical means. She sighed locking the tablet. Bach finished watering his plants, rejoining his partner on the couch picking up her feet and placing them in his lap.

“Why the sigh, My Lady?” He asked in French, grabbing a grimoire from the table.

Odette replied, “We must consult the oracles, I need to get more information on this spectre. I have no doubts,” She tapped the touch screen of the tablet showing Bach what she found, “This woman is who the prophecy is referring to. You remember the spectral fire yes? It only came forth when the witch was unconscious.”

He looked down to the tablet then shrugged, “It wouldn’t hurt, but it would mean we have to visit Princess Lassantra. How do we prioritize? England or the Princess? She will no doubt have...ahem, missed you greatly.” His grin was sly, referring to a rather private affair.

Odette snatched the grimoire from his hands, hiding the colour in her cheeks behind the open book. “We will not have time for that, I am aware we cannot enter her underwater territories without her knowing. It will be a visit.”

Bach shrugged pulling down the spine of the book to look at his pact partner. Her face schooled to neutrality once again, “The Princess can be very persuasive. You are entitled to relaxing, with the right company.”

“Perhaps when I am dead.”

He rolled his eyes, "The trip to see the Princess will predictably be a short one, while Queen Titania... May take some time to crack. The plans we have are not quite complete." Bach said and Odette nodded. "It would be prudent to see the oracles first. It would do you well to see her as opposed to waiting by the phone for a call or text from..." He pulled a face. "Silence."

Odette stuck her barefoot in his face and he recoiled. She laughed, genuinely amused, "I do not understand where this contempt comes from. He is valuable, thorough, and smart. Qualities we are in need of when the time comes to capturing Racheli. I can't stress this enough, we can't make the same mistakes again."

"No other reasons, My Lady?" He squinted holding her foot away. "You have taken this project... rather personally."

Her amusement withered away her words turning icy, "Be careful with what you are suggesting, Bach."

Bach carried on as if he did not catch her tone. "You are growing attached and we know what happens when you lose your grip on objectivity. A certain cry baby rears her ugly head-"

She snapped grabbing the cuff of his jacket, her teeth grinding with anger. "How dare you! How dare you suggest that!"

Unfazed by her anger Bach replied in a infuriately calm manner, "I am making a point that you need to reign in whatever it is you are feeling and see with clear eyes. This job, the other humans involved are not worth the disgusting amount of emotions you are pouring into it... My Lady." His eyes were void and even if he tacked on My Lady, he was firmly placing her back into the role of student again. She hated it.

Odette swallowed a heavy lump of anger, glaring at Bach. "You forget your place, Bach. I am the one making the decisions and I will choose whatever company I wish to keep human or Fey. They are both at my disposal. My emotions are not compromised." She said, the anger absent from her words but not from her eyes. "You would do well to remember that."

Mischief returned to his eyes and he grinned, pleased by her response. She could only guess why he really was provoking her.

"That's my girl."

Location: Front of the New York
Time: 8 am ~ Late Noon

" Do you two have everything for your camping trip?" A familiar woman asked the two children. "I do mama. I don't know about Ji though." the child commented as she placed the last outfit inside the already messy bag. The person softly chuckled then offered to help fold and reorganized the item. A smile formed as she nodded. It took a little bit of time but with help the kid was repacked and rearing to go now like usual. "Yeong listen to your sister and keep inside Ji's sight. No talking to strangers either. I also want you to come straight home the very next day." She said as they listened. A man love inch wrapped his arms around the other person's waist, whispering something inside her ear, which seemed to help lessen the worried look upon her features.

"Oung. Eoung. Hey Yeoung wake up." Eric called as the girl's eyes fluttered opened. A hand rubbed her eye as a worried look formed on the human's face."Do I need to call Ji?" The woman looked at him as if he said something foreign before looking towards the break room. How long has it been since the werewolf had that dream? Why had it come towards the surface now of all days? Was the mental barrier that was placed up broken or had the mental fatigue finally won out? These were just a few things over flooding her mind.

"Yeong why don't we go and call your sister? Clearly you don't feel well and I'm starting to get worried about you." This caused a soft chuckle from the girl." No thank you. I just stayed up too late thinking about everything you said yesterday." she said standing up. A small smile as a hand raked through her hair." Did you call them?" The werewolf shook her head."No. I wanted to but..." she started to explain as she trailed off inside her mind." You couldn't because of your pride."

This wasn't it. How could two children that's been missing for years suddenly call up the people who raised them? Especially after being filed as possibly dead? Most likely the couple would deny that the twins were alive but if they did accept it would they come to New York? Would they be welcomed into their old home and if they were what about the pup that is already here? Yeong rubbed the bridge of her nose while more question found their way inside her overwhelmed brain."No. Ji said that she would call they first to see how they reacted. Then it will be my turn. I don't even know what to say. How have you been mom and dad?"

"A bit cheesy but that works. Possibly sharing your feelings. I mean let's be honest here. You're a bit of a hot head when things don't go your way and by the looks of things nothing is going your way."

"Oh really? How is that cheesy?" the man shrugged as he pulled out his phone." Call your sister or text her that you may get off early. That way if push comes to shove I can take you home myself." The twin raised her eyebrow." Please tell me you're not trying to get back together. Things are very awkward as is." the guy blushed as the girl sighed. There wasn't much of a romantic spark between the two and yet the man acted like a child around Ji. A rather pathetic sight though it was funny watching him stumble around only to have his words come out more of a mumble. Yeong texted her sister telling her that she might ask to be let off early and if there was a thing she needed help with to just text Eric's phone.

Sammy stretched out her arms as she prepared a bowl of cereal and poured a glass of milk for herself. Since she had just gotten out of bed, she was still wearing a t-shirt and a pair of pajama pants with a ‘Hello Kitty’ print pattern on them. She had her television on as he got her breakfast together, although she was just barely listening to it because the news would normally have some depressing story running. However, when she heard Lyger’s name mentioned by one of the news anchors, Sammy’s attention was snapped back towards the television screen. She hurried over to her couch that had been placed in front of the television.

As she sipped on her glass of milk and munched on her cereal, Sammy alertly listened to the news broadcast. In the city of Crown Ridge, Maine, which was located near Lost Haven, there were riots over a police shooting. Although it was inconclusive whether it was the police acted properly in the situation, the media was pushing the side that the young African-American man was innocent and lost his life because of police brutality. However, Sammy was more interested in the Lyger sighting. She sat on the edge of the couch, and her cat tail swayed back and forth as she listened intently for whatever she could learn about Lyger.

Now knowing that Lyger was also operating in this second Maine city, Sammy immediately grabbed her laptop and booted it up. She then began to search for what there was to do in Crown Ridge. Obviously, Sammy was trying to find an excuse to run into Lyger. However, she had to at least make it somewhat convincing that that was not the sole reason why she wanted to visit Crown Ridge. After a few minutes of perusing the internet, Sammy discovered a handful of museums and even a metropark zoo. Now that she had some actual destinations picked out, Sammy snatched up her cell phone and called her best friend, Kelly.

“Do you want to go on a weekend road trip!” Sammy giddily asked her best friend.

“Where?” Kelly groggily responded to her friend, since she too had just woken up that morning.

“I don’t know. Maybe Crown Ridge?”

“Weren’t there riots there recently?”

“Well, sure, but there are also museums and historical sites we could visit!”

Sammy heard the fumbling of the phone as Kelly’s boyfriend, Zac, took the phone.

“We know that you only want to do this to somehow meet Lyger. We’re not going to enable your obsession.”

“It’s alright.” Sammy said as she twirled her cat tail with her finger, “You two don’t have to go with me. I’m a big girl, after all. I’m sure that nothing could happen to a single woman in Crown Ridge.”

There was a few moments of silence as Zac told Kelly what Sammy had just said over the phone. After the had a brief discussion, of which Sammy could only pick out some muttering, Zac once again spoke into the phone.

“Fine. We’ll go with you.” Zac begrudgingly admitted to Sammy, knowing that they could not let Sammy go to Crown Ridge all alone.

“Thank you!” After she had ended the call, Sammy jumped up off the couch and onto her feet. She was going to have a busy morning, deciding what she needed to pack and cramming it into her travel bag.

It vibrated softly where it materialized. Parasite had almost finished digesting the family of five whose minds he had eaten. It knew it had been a big risk. If there was anything capable of hurting it, it most certainly was on its tail now. But the payoff had been more than worth it in the alien monstrosities opinion. Now it swelled and retracted from human form to a cloud of strange glowing miasma like substance. Again and again, as if it was breathing heavily. It felt the last presence of Esper Girl melt away inside and it began to stabilize once more. Soon it was a vaguely human shape, but no features could be seen. Staring at it would only make you go mad as the body drew your eyes into it, making you see alien worlds and constellations playing across its shape. Swirling deep inside that vast, cold darkness that made out the parasites main body.

It moves slowy towards a large broken window. It was holed up outside LA's industrial areas, where old factories now stood like empty husks. Only a single lightbulb hung from the high cieling. Casting almost no light. It didn't need light. He could feel their presence. And with them, a noise. A static. It tilted its head as it pondered this. It appeared humans were more advanced then it first thought. It would have to get ready.

+++ 40 minutes earlier, on route towards Parasites hideout. ++++

Chief Lyota looked at the large alien as he rode in the back of their repurposed police van. He had seen him eye his rifle. She knew something was up. A creeping feeling was starting to settle in. A feeling she felt before. She wasn't sure that if Parasite died, the hunter would let them go.

"Let me ask you something Tin Man." She shot the Hunter a questioning look. "You have any kids? Family back home?"

"Do all your people speak pointlessly, when their minds should be focused on the task that lies in their future?" Hunter cut off the question coldly, he had no interest in an exchange of pleasantries with someone he thought would likely die fighting an extraterrestial psionic in the very near future.

"No. That is uniquely a me thing, Tin Man. I have seen men and women die. And one of the big regrets I have, is not knowing who they were. Not knowing what life was just snuffed out. You may find it pointless prattling. But to me it is about knowing, and dedicating myself" There was no venom in her voice, a little bit of steel but nothing that sounded hurt or indignant.

"Do you think it would make you a better fighter, if you carried the burden of knowing those who you saw die?" He ignored her questions about his race, the message was clear, you don't get to know anything about the big armour wearing alien, for your own sake perhaps.

"It makes me a better person." She said. "And If I can, I do the rounds myself. Talking to the familys. Letting them know their son, thier wife, their brother or their niece is dead. And those looks on their faces. That heartbreak of knowing you lost a dear one. That is what I try to prevent Tin Man. So yes. I makes me a better fighter." She said as she casually rested the alien rifle on her shoulder while Ace, their driver, called out.

"10 Minutes to objective. Our sensors are picking up a clear trail!"

Lyota smiled at Hunter. "I have seen a woman carry a man twice her size because she was his best friend, and she really didn't want him to die. I have seen a man hold back 20 hostiles by himself in order to buy his comrades time to flee. You do well not to underestimate the potential of human unity. Tin Man." He grinned then hollered. "Get your shit together everyone. It's Extermination time."

"Parasite will take what makes you a better person and use it against you, Lyota. It is psionic, and it is a monster. Your platitudes may serve you well against what minor threats you have encountered in the past as a species, but it will serve you poorly now. Be, as you would say it, ruthless." There was a metallic clank as his helmeted head made contact with the side of the van. "Or none of you will survive."

I am hoping you find it in your heart not to be ruthless when this is over. She thought bitterly at that. She clicked the first safety of the alien weapon and whirred with life.

"T minus Five minutes." Ace called out then grew silent.

"What's the matter Ace?" Chief spoke, tension creeping into her voice.

"Its the sensors Chief. It's.... it's lighting up everything like goddamn christmas."

"Shit. Stop the car!"

There was a wrenching sound as the road began to shift under the car.

++++++ Parasite +++++++

Parasite had felt the accursed static approaching. And among them, a distinctly inhuman creature. He couldn't be sure. It had been dormant for so long. Over millennia, embedded in ice. Why and how was a Hunter here of all places. So it did what it did best. It hunted. As the car took a turn, suddenly Parasite was there. Surging with telekinetic power, a tendril of psychokinetic energy erupted like a invisible whip, smashing into the side of the car, lifting a large chunk of the asphalt with it. The car rolled and tumbled, but Ace kept her cool, gritting her teeth and used the steering wheel wrench the car from landing on its side through sheer skill. Her head was ringing from the crash but Bowen was already out the car, scrambling behind it towards the back doors.

Chief grunted as she found herself still sitting upright due to the four point belt. The last of their little outfit spat out a tooth. "Motherfucker.." He mumbled.

"No time to piss about. Out!" They kicked up the door as a crouching Bowen shot a psi-shredding round against the target. Parasite stayed out of effective reach for now, irritated that it could not get passed the static of their collars.

Hunter registered the attack a moment before everything went to hell. Unsurprising behavior, from an instinctual creature like the Parasite. Put bait in front of it, and it would bite. As the vehicle started to roll, Hunter engaged magnets in his suit usually reserved for traversing the outside of space craft, keeping him in position. For the most part, he did this to prevent his armoured bulk crushing his temporary allies.

Even as he went upside down, he was giving orders.

"Use the Sarastors I gave you, they will disable Parasite and his psionic constructs, temporarily. Point and pull, some mechanisms are universal, retain your discipline." The idea of the alien warrior relaying this information as they tumbled and fell around him was sort of surreal. Then, finally, they stopped and Hunter stepped out of the opened back doors. He was only equipped with his strange mega-phone like weapon.

His psionic sensors were already cutting out in proximity to the entity, but his vision filter was working just fine. He had a clear view of Parasite, moving in its unnatural fashion through the industrial state. He aimed and shot in one fluid motion even before he was completely out of the vehicle, sending a pin-point line of disabling sound toward his quarry. Shame it wasn't quite as fast as an ordinary projectile, sound having something of a speed cap, at around six hundred miles per hour. It was set to too tight a spread to do any lasting damage, but if it hit, Parasite would know about it. He might even have some trouble holding that part of his body together.

Parasite swerved, flickering more then it walked or ran. avoiding a burst of bright blue and purple rounds that it realized would hurt. Hurt more than it had any right to. These humans and their alien ally were armed to really deal with him. The sound burst caught it by surprise, hitting one of its newly formed tendrils and dissolving it as it was about to attack. It let out psionic screech of frustration that rattled the psi-blockers. But the tech held.

Ace, now out of the car, shot her own burst of sound. She had taken to the weapon like a fish to water, moving keeping low, and shooting small concentrated bursts around it, cutting off its movements.

Chief flicked the last safety of her rifle and aimed it. "Eat shit." She growled and then the beam erupted from the helix shaped barrel. A bright, white beam of incandescent burning light seared the night away as it lite up he entire area.

Parasite wasn't stupid. It knew the nomad weapon when it saw it. But it still had a hard time understanding how a primitive human had gotten hold of it. The beam hit it across the shoulder and the supercharged photons smashed through its kinetic fields, disrupting the telekinetic bond that held that part together. The Parasite screamed again, this time in pain. And then, in cold fury. ITs eyes flared and suddenly stones flew up then rained as hail from hell down over the Zeta Squad and hunter.

Hunter had been firing continuous blasts of pin-point sound, keeping Parasite moving, distracted. He was also allowing his human allies to keep track of the entity, as he clearly had the superior sensory capacity. The Nomad weapon the human's leader used was a potent one, its travel time was far shorter than the sound waves from the Sarastor, though it was serving the role of a hammer to metal, the Sarastor was more like super heating. Parasite would keep putting itself back together if blows were rained down upon it, but hit it with enough blasts of debilitating sound, and it would stay down.

"We must cut it off, take the flank, give it no route to escape us. Split in two, take left and right, I will advance." Hunter gave his orders and moved forward, rocks clinking down against his armour as he set his weapon to wide spread fire and knocked back a literal rain of rocks and pebbles, more for the benefit of his human allies. He wanted to keep Parasite's attention on him, but likely it would seek to destroy the Nomad weapon and its user. No matter, he could work with either outcome.

They didn't need to be told twice. They split up in pairs at the order. Chief and Ace to one side, going left. Bowen and Bush to the right. They kept their weapons trained on it. Short blasts of the Nomad Weapon lit up the night as it made contact with the Parasite that twisted and flickered away from the beam whne it could. Another tendril shot out towards Hunter, ripping up the asphalt at his feet, pushing him off balanced. Another tendril lifted the remains of an old truck and hurled it at the pair of Chief nad Ace who scattered to either side. Never stopping their onslaught.

That was when everything went to shit.

Parasite bounced between weapon fire as swirled and tried to swell. Only to seemingly grow more compact. It suddenly shrunk back to the size of a man, and Bush yelled over the fire.

"Its weakening!" As he yelled, he dropped his guard for a single second. Parasite hadn't weakened, it had just made itself a smaller target. And concentrated its power. A blade like surge of kinetic energy rushed across the distance between it and Bush. And bush sound weapon was still to dispersed to handle such concentrated and focused attack. It sliced Bush in half. From groin to scalp, it was a clean cut.

"BUUUSH!" Ace screamed in horror as her Brother was made into two halves. She roared and put the machine in he hand on highest possible concentration, firing with unnerving precision. "DIE YOU MOTHER FUCKER" Parasite reeled as it was hit in the head again and again. Not understanding how someone could be so precise despite its movements. But it also felt the anger. The agony. of her loss lingered. And it was all it needed. The psychic wave that it unleashed weakened it considerably, but it was enough. While Chiefs and Bowens collars sparked and rattled, Aces anguish at her brother's death made her a conduit. Her collar exploded around her neck. She yelped, screamed and went down, her neck bloody but still whole thank god. But then Parasite was in her head. The scream was heart wrenching. But Chief, forced herself to keep firing. Hunters words echoing in her head.

Be Ruthless.

Hunter casually fired a nauseating blast from his Sarastor at the fallen human woman, the sound ringing in her ears would do her no particular harm, seeing as how she was not a psionic, but Parasite was trying to establish a connection with her and it would hurt him. There wasn't much he could do for the man, not under those conditions, and there were more important matters at hand. He turned his weapon away from Ace after saturating her in a wave of the debilitating sound and back to the Parasite.

"Concentrate fire now." He yelled, unleashing his Sarastor at full blast, pinpointing the points of highest psionic concentration with his optics and aiming to put holes in it. Then, he wasn't firing pin-point anymore, he was rushing forward, short-jets allowing him to cover the ground as he closed on Parasite. At full charge, he fired the Sarastor as a large cone of sound like that he had used on Ace, hoping to exploit Parasite's weakness as his mental connection with the girl was forcibly severed. The cone was more like a flamethrower, a persistent and devastating effect that Hunter intended to use to drive the entity into the ground, and disperse it entirely. Flecks of paint and metal began to sheer off his armor as the psionic storm raged around him, and still he focused that blast on the Parasite.

The parasite wailed at them as its attempt at hijacking the girl was cut short and another sonic shock wave crashed into it. But it kept its mass somewhat intact even as it weakened. The White hot beam of photons crashed into it again and again. Searing of parts from it. And Bowen kept it down with his own bursts. They stayed back however, even as parts of the fences began to peel up and fly around, then the fence posts followed. A torrent of psychic energy building up, the Parasite not going down easy. It strained against the Sarastor. Its eyes staring death at the Hunters visir.

"You... Your pathetic Republic... Cannot... Will Not... Stand... Forever. All worlds must end." It snarled inside their heads. The psychic storm overpowering even the scramblers. Chief and Bowen felt their grow hot, close to the limit and detached them quickly. It was all will from here. Reality itself seemed fold around it.

"Not this one, not to you."

"This. Is. Merely. A. Prelude" It said as its body began to throb and and pulse. Rippling as it began to break up in its seams. "I'll FIND YOU SAHUSANAR." And then it exploded. For a brief moment, it overpowered even Hunters safeguards. Images of a twisted world flashing before their minds eye. Strange and twisted realities where nothing made sense. Where just breathing made you cry and where you could feel your sanity slip away. And then, it was gone.

Bowen heaved and began puking. He had tears streaming down his face. Ace lay cataconic, eyes wide, breathing steadily even if no light shone in those eyes. Two halves of Bush lay on the cold pavement, eyes permanently fixed in a look of disbelief.

Chief stared at the spot where it had been. "It isn't dead. Is it." She said coldly. Her eyes moving to stare at the Hunter. "That sounded like a retreat. Not a last stand."

As the chaos cleared, Hunter stood victorious over the remains of the creature, and turned his head to the Chief.

"No, it seemed confident that it would be able to reform its body, but we defeated it easily enough." He made those remarks coldly, barely glancing over the dead soldier. "It seems I must trust in your team to continue this search." His visor was scarred with the residue of the psionic wave he was caught within, and his head ached, but the Hunter was less wounded than he had expected. In some ways Parasite was more than he had believed, in others, he was lesser.

"But next time I will not be equipped with just a side arm." He looked at the Sarastor, that powerful weapon which debilitated psionics, destroyed their hard-light structures and their ability to form mental links, and then placed it at his side. The real importance of his words out in the open, if the Singer was akin to just a pistol, what else did he have access to?

Chief stared at him for a second more. Then spoke to Bowen. "Get Ace into the car. See if it can still drive. If not, Call extraction 20 minutes away. Tell them to hurry. Go." Bowen nodded as he picked up the body of Ace who didn't as much as blink. As bowen left, she said.

"I have a feeling if we said a single word. To anyone. We'd be disintegrated. Am I correct in assuming this?"

"I do not care about what words you speak, Human, you will say what you will. Without proof, it is meaningless." His visor seemed to flash for a moment. "For now, I will need back the weapons I loaned you."

"Mhm... Right..." She went to collect Ace and Bushs guns before returning. "Here you go." She said as she handed them over. "Do you eat. Stuff like burgers I mean?"

"You used them well." He complimented the human warriors as he took the weapons back from them, securing them to the mag holsters along his leg. For a moment though, the question she asked took him aback.

"Yes, I eat, but I do not know what a burger is, I assume it is an indigenous food?"

For the first time since she met the alien. She grinned. "Oh man." She sized him up. "Well Tin man. Allow me to extend a pan-galactic dinner invite. I have some... Meaningless Prattling to do. And as you are my fellow ally and warrior in this, you are obliged to listen. In turn. I buy you food."

"I see. I respect your notion of hospitality, but that would be impossible. Perhaps when the Parasite is destroyed we may feast for the lost lives as my people would say, but for now, I have work to do." And with that, the Hunter's form began to shimmer and disappear, leaving him with a parting word. "You will hear from me again."

"Well. Shit."

Five minutes later, the clean up crew showed up, starting to clean up the scene. Chief produced a cigarette, lit and took a drag. " Fucking Tin Man" She muttered when she was sure he was gone. "Well I am getting a fucking burger at least." She walked towards the city. It was a nice night out and 24/7 grill was only a few kilometers away.

--

Time: Third day without the Ambassador, evening.
Location: Paris, France.
POV: Mara

"300 meters." Mandate murmured softly. Awed.

"Whazzat?" Mara raised her eyes above the book she had buried her nose into. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she sought an explanation from Mandate. The problem, of course, was that the golem wasn't looking at the goblin. She was staring off into the distance, focused upon the tower that stood defiantly bright against the dim evening sky.

"The Eiffel Tower is 300 meters." the golem elaborated. It was hopeless to try and read her illusionary eyes, but her mouth was a hard line. What thoughts lurked behind the cold facades of flesh and quicksilver? Shaking her head, Mara refocused upon her chosen book. Reading in the dark was as easy as navigating in the pitch black, if one knew the proper magic.

Still, she found herself stalling. The words and meaning eluded her. It was not for a lack of literacy, but rather the presence of Mandate. More specifically, it was the nagging questions she brought with her. Sighing, Mara lowered her tome, and focused upon the golem with a raised eyebrow. "How'd you know that, Mandate?" That was a good place to start.

Mandate shrugged, forcing Mara to fight off a momentary burst of irritation. Shoulder movement was not a real answer -no matter how much anybody else tried to convince her otherwise- and she wouldn't accept it as one. "Mandate? Come on, how'd ya know that?" It was the first time she'd had to ask Mandate anything more than once.

"I don't know." the golem replied truthfully, her shoulders shrugging once more. "It just felt right. I was right?" Suddenly, her lips quirked upwards. Like a switch had been flicked, her eyes shot to Mara fast enough that the goblin almost -almost- flinched. Again with the rapid swinging of her mood, as if bringing joy to the construct was as easy of reminding her of nice things, or rewarding her accomplishments.

Truthfully, Mara wasn't sure how to deal with it. The moods of the fey were as vastly differing as the stars in the sky, but it was rare for one to strike a balance between discordant and harmonious; somehow, Mandate did so naturally.

Mystifying. Snorting, Mandate gave the golem a nod of affirmation, and watched as she seemed to wiggle with joy, turning her attention back out into the sky. Mara could no longer tell where she was looking, with the way her illusory eyes darted about to represent her changing focus. "I cannot wait to tell Miss Ambassador that I have knowledge of things!"

Mara closed her book with a soft 'tsk', hopping off of the low wall she'd seated herself upon. At least the area was deserted enough that Mandate was unlikely to be heard. "I think she already knows that ye know things, Mandate." she replied, stopping beside the golem. She gave a shrug of her own -it wasn't hypocrisy!- and focused upon the tower in the distance. "Sort of, anyway."

"Then I should find new things to tell her!" Mandate chirped. Mara could only assume that she either didn't notice or didn't care about the gruff tone that she'd been using. It had been easy to learn that such was the nature of the golem; she simply didn't care, or absorbed it all in good stride. Traveling the city was an adventure, and being shouted at by annoyed pedestrians after she'd stepped blithely into traffic was a learning experience.

Mara grimaced; that had been a tricky one to smooth over, particularly since only Mandate could see her.

"Maybe I should see if I can knock it over." Mandate wondered aloud. Mara's thoughts fled like vampires at dawn.

"Whuh?"

"The tower! I bet if I pushed at it really hard, or gave those supports some good punches, I could topple it really easily." Mandate drummed her chin in thought, unaware of Mara's stunned state as she considered her options. Mara was too busy trying to reboot her brain to consider what that looked like without the illusion. "It'd probably have to be a punching thing, you know?"

"... Whuh?"

"See, I can put out a lot of force into a really small place, but if I wanted to push it over, it'd have to be a lot of force all over the place. I'd have to be huge, or I'd just push a hole right through it! So, I think punching is the better option here, don't you agree?" Mandate placed her hands upon her hips, looking down at the goblin with a smile. She expects a response? Mara composed herself relatively quickly, and gave the golem a disgruntled frown.

"Mandate, no." A part of her doubted the golem's claims, as she'd never seen a construct capable of moving such a massive weight, but the majority of her most definitely did not wish to test the golem's claims. If she was truthful, as the goblin was dreading, then the damage would be partially her fault.

Mandate's smile disappeared. Her dead eyes bored into the goblin's. "Mandate, yes." she replied firmly. The rebuke made Mara mentally reel, considering who it was coming from, but the goblin had her own retort. She adjusted her glasses, and shook her head firmly.

"The Ambassador wouldn't like that, Mandate," she began, ignoring Mandate's quiet correction of 'Miss Ambassador', "This is her city, and she'd like to keep it intact." It was a reasonable enough guess of the Ambassador's motives, as the goblin sincerely doubted that the human wanted to see the tower toppled. Whether or not she was correct, the golem seemed to certainly believe her; she seemed to deflate, her hands living her hips as she pouted down at her companion, casting a final plaintive glance to the structure in the distance. Mara shook her once more.

Mandate made a noise akin to huffing her breath, particularly impressive considering she didn't have to breathe. But then, how does she talk? "Fiiine," the golem hummed, "But if she's not impressed, the blame is only on you."

Mara released the breath she'd been holding. She could work with that. "That's fine, Mandate." The golem nodded, and strode past the goblin. Apparently, something else had grabbed her attention.

Mara sighed. The sooner the Ambassador returns, the better.

--

Time: Fifth day without the Ambassador, afternoon.
Location: Paris, France.
POV: Mandate

I wonder what I'd see if I ripped her open.

Mandate's eyes lingered on Mara's back. The gift from Miss Ambassador felt nice in her hand, and around her neck.

Would it be like a small human, compressed to fit a miniature form? She doesn't seem too hampered by her cute little form. Less than I thought she'd be. Maybe her muscles are denser? I'd have to feel them to be sure.

The goblin was steadily growing more distant, trudging alongside the street whilst Mandate stayed where she had been.

But they'd rip all the same; Mara isn't that strong, so it'd have to be found in the texture differences. I wonder how her organs are positioned. It can't be that different. What about her brain? She doesn't seem like she thinks that differently from a human. Then again, she likes to stay in walls, and I do not think human beings do that very often. Maybe she is closer to a rat?

She was peering at the ground, her nose scrunched up as she adjusted her glasses.

Oh, this reminds me of a question I had! Mandate's V-shaped 'smile' returned as she hurried after Mara, her footsteps louder than they should have been with the size that the crystal made her look. The goblin winced, shooting a frown over her shoulder for reasons Mandate couldn't be bothered to understand. She had important questions for her delightfully mysterious, squishy companion.

"Mara, if I opened a human's skull, would I be able to tell if it was a selkie by looking at its brain?" she chirped, tilting her head.

Mara stared.

"I mean, selkies are mostly seals, right?" the golem continued, seeing that her point had been lost upon the goblin. She would do her best to help Mara understand. "So they probably look a lot different from a human when you look inside, or maybe it just has some weird differences, like an extra lobe or something. I would be able to find it, right?"

Mara continued to stare. For a moment, Mandate wondered if she'd said something to displease the goblin. The fey mostly just looked a little disgruntled, though. "Why woul-" Mara stopped, then sighed. "Just come on, Mandate. Ye can ask the Ambassador when ye see her." The reminder caused Mandate's fading smile to regain its lost strength. That was a good idea, with only one small flaw.

"MISS Ambassador." Mandate gently chided, raising a finger to emphasize her point. Mara shook her head one last time, then turned and resumed the trek through the winding streets with a final, unreadable glance backwards. Mandate's long stride ate up the distance easily as she held the question in her mind, prepared to throw it at Miss Ambassador at the first opportunity.

Once she was done being so very excited to see said Miss Ambassador. Perhaps then her urge to explore would grow strong again; There was still so much to be seen and found within the city, and her enthusiasm hadn't fully faded, but it had changed. The truth of just how long four -almost five- days could be had struck Mandate upon the end of the second, when the seconds had begun to dribble together halfway through their walk. The sun had begun to dip, and she had hardly noticed. In truth, most of the landmarks she had learned of on that day and the next were forgotten.

Perhaps that was why the very end of the third day stood out so sharply in her mind; the Eiffel Tower had been mentioned by Miss Ambassador by name. Therefore, it was special, and provoked her attention. The thought of it, and her questions for Miss Ambassador, had kept her... Contently hazy through the fourth day. Through the slowly rolling hours and forgotten sunrise and sunset.

And now, finally, it was time! She could hardly wait.

--

Time: The same day, late afternoon.
Location: Outside The Ambassador's apartment building, Paris.
POV: Mandate

”Can I press it?”

“Mandate, I’ve already-”

”Please?”

With a sigh, Mara wordlessly shuffled slightly to the side. Smiling, the golem eagerly tapped at the door buzzer, staring up at nothing in particular and awaiting a response. She quickly raised her hand to press it again, admittedly without waiting very long, but allowed the goblin beside her to guide her hand away without a complaint. And thus, they waited.

Vienna bustled to the door at the sound of the doorbell, drying her hands on a t-towel hung off her shoulder. She pressed the palm of her hand against the wood of the door closing her eyes and allowing herself to see who was down at the front doors. She recognized the little goblin Mara, unmistakable with her bottle glasses. Vienna saw the large human heavily glamoured beside Mara. The gem she was wearing glittered with enchantment.

Vienna stepped away from the door then made her way to see Odette unpacking in her room, the door was open. “My Lady I apologize for intrudin’ it seems the goblin, Mara, has brought a visitor. Do they have permission to enter?” Vienna often reverted to common fey, it was her native language and found French difficult to learn at first.

The household fey clasped her hands before her, waiting for her response. The human sorceress carefully picked through each piece of clothing, throwing a few into the hamper as she went. “Allow them up, they are right on time.” Odette replied. When she had arrived home from New York she stripped free from her clothes and dressed down to a pair of shorts and a loose fitted tank top. Her hair was released from its bobby pins and her face was rinsed clean of makeup.

Vienna nodded bowing her head and hurried off back to the door, unlocking the main door to the building with a resounding buzz.

Mandate was through the door before Mara had started to move. At any other point, she might have been quite slow in taking in this wondrous new environment known as ‘Miss Ambassador’s building’. As it stood, however, she couldn’t quite find it in herself to slow down beyond a brisk walk, shooting straight past the door.

And promptly becoming lost. ”Mara? Where do I go to see Miss Ambassador?” Her tone was curious and ever so slightly pleading. She turned to seek out the goblin, and her eyes landed upon the fey that she had almost bowled over -and in the process, completely missed- in her haste to find her friend. ”Oh, hello! Where do I go to see Miss Ambassador?” She paused, and scolded herself internally. “Also, it’s nice to meet you!” Perfection.

Vienna didn’t understand English and only understood the word Ambassador. Staring at the glamoured human, wearing her confusion. “Mara, what did she say?” Looking to the goblin for help.

Before Vienna’s question was answered, Odette heard the golem from her room and quickly exited to save Vienna more confusion. She padded up behind Vienna patting the shorter Fey on the shoulder, “Vienna could you please go and prepare some tea? Mara, I am sure you are thirsty.” She supplied in common Fey. Vienna nodded curtly, sidestepping the golem.

Then greeted Mandate smiling, “Mandate, it is good to see you.”

Mara, who had followed Mandate inside at a much more moderate pace, nodded her head in acknowledgement towards Miss Ambassador. She murmured her thanks with a long stretch, and shuffled after Vienna; she had more or less drained herself of any enthusiasm to spend time with Mandate, whatever little there was in the first place. Or so the golem assumed, anyway; she wasn’t completely blind to the feelings of others; she just didn’t particularly care, most of the time.

This was one such time. Her gaze had snapped to Miss Ambassador almost as soon as she had come into the golem’s field of vision. Frozen in place, she watched with a quiet sort of anticipation as the smaller human said something to the even smaller Fey, seemingly sending her off to do something.

Vienna was hardly past the golem when she burst out, with no small amount of joy, “Miss Ambassador! Can I hug you?!” Her hands flew up to the gift hanging around her neck, working gently to remove it as she asked her question with a contrasting enthusiasm. Despite her lack of much of a human’s body language, there was a clear sense of anticipation.

Genuinely, Odette chuckled in response. The golem expressive as ever her harmonious feminine and masculine voices mixing so pleasantly. She supposed she expected this level of affection, holding her hand had been very strange behaviour from a golem but it seemed appropriate for Mandate. Although Odette had not come to any new conclusions, she intended to figure out some of the mysteries hidden within her new friend.

She opened her arms to Mandate and said, “Yes you may, then we will talk about your adventures through Paris the past few days.”

Mandate readily accepted Miss Ambassador’s invitation of open arms, moving at a brisk walk with her friend’s gift held tightly in her hand. Her only moment of hesitation came when she opened her arms to envelope the significantly shorter being, pausing as she remembered her manners. ”Of course, Miss Ambassador. And, hello again!” With that cheerful, late introduction, the Ambassador was enveloped very gently by the massive golem’s arms. Mandate had to stoop to do so properly, but she did not hesitate.

”I saw interesting things and have much to talk with you about!” she continued, though she did not break the hug. The harmonious choir of her voice conveyed a great level of fondness, she felt. And much of it was slow without you, she did not add.

The cool, solid and gently firm hold Mandate had around Odette sent involuntary chills racing across her skin. She tried to wrap her arms around Mandate’s torso but struggled to reach past her sides. Odette awkwardly settled for patting her back. “I hope Mara was good company to keep.”

None too subtly asking if there was a problem.

Mandate nodded her head above Miss Ambassador, pleased by the patting. The human was soft, to her senses at least. Perhaps she was biased by how pleased she was to see the Ambassador again, but it was a wondrous experience, like holding onto her hand except more. The golem’s response took a few moments. ”She was wonderful, Miss Ambassador, and very helpful to some of my questions. Do you own the Tower? She told me that it would be bad if I knocked over your things, and called the Tower one of them!” The first and most important of questions, of course; she had to know if an opportunity for indepth study had been needlessly wasted.

The golem drew back as she spoke, carefully releasing the smaller human from her enveloping embrace and peering down at her with her singular eye and V-shaped smile.

Odette giggled again, “Mara was right, it would not be good if you knocked over the Eiffel Tower, my dear. I do not own it, however. That landmark belongs to Paris.” Odette said guiding Mandate over to the couch to continue chatting.

Meanwhile in the kitchen Vienna went about preparing a tea tray setting a timer for steeping the tea leaves. Vienna pushed a plate of freshly baked biscuits Mara’s way. “So this golem was quite a handful then?” Vienna made small talk as she worked. It wasn’t very often she got the chance to speak to Mara. The household fey smiled widely at the goblin.

Mara’s initial response was a heavy and wry huff, which she felt was quite adequate for getting the tone across. She seemed to perk up as the biscuits came her way, and accepted them with hasty thanks and keen awareness of her relatively empty stomach. ”Handful and a half,” Mara responded after she’d taken a bite and swallowed, ”Interesting, though.” she finished with a shrug, mulling over the events of the last days. ”Always seems to want to break something, except when she doesn’t.” That was the simplest description she could provide, but it felt apt.

Mandate had allowed herself to be guided to the couch quite easily, giving a soft ‘ohhh’ of understanding as she considered that. Miss Ambassador had called the city ‘hers’, but perhaps that wasn’t literal. Well, it was literal enough to the golem; as far as she was concerned, the human owned whatever she wished to own, and it was accepted as fact by her without fuss. But if Miss Ambassador thought otherwise, then so it was. ”Well, she was not able to answer a question or two, and that disappointed me. But! She told me you would be able to help, if you want to hear them, Miss Ambassador.”

She was quite eager to ask the Ambassador, and it showed in her inhuman voice. The strange harmony was anticipatory.

Odette nodded folding her hands in her lap, “I would love to hear your questions and answer them the best I can, my dear. However I have one question for you.”

She reached out for Mandate’s hand. She had no real worries that Mandate would refuse her offer. It was only cordial to make this offer clearly and without any doubts.

“Mandate, I suspect that you do not have anyone to return to. Am I right in this assumption?” She asked taking on a more serious tone looking straight into the red orb of Mandate’s singular eye.

Mandate would have blinked, if she were capable of such a thing. Her eye focused upon Odette, and did not deviate. ”Return?” she murmured slowly, softly. It was a hesitant noise. Did Miss Ambassador expect someone to come for her, perhaps? Did she… Mean to return her?

Return…

A thunderous noise, a siren call? A thousand noises.

A thousand cries.

Screaming, hers and theirs and his.

The floorboards shatter with an exertion of will, and they tumble to the stone. Flesh and bone break.

Her hand tears through a man like a cardboard, like paper, and she wonders for a moment what cardboard is.

Still, she screams, until they do not.

Mandate jerked as a metallic noise rang out, peering downwards. Her hand had closed in on itself, rather than grasping onto Miss Ambassador’s. It had clenched until metal had made an awful noise. She became aware of the metal slivers that made up her ‘mane’ settling once more. Stop. Stop now. There is no danger.

And slowly, it relented. The golem cautiously turned her gaze back onto her friend, her dear friend who did not seek to send her away. She had brought her along for a reason, after all! Reassuring herself as such, Mandate finally responded, 10 seconds late. ”No one, Miss Ambassador!” she chirpily reported. No one who I wouldn’t kill.

Odette watched the golem’s reaction with apparent curiosity. The flare of her mane was as expressive as a smile or frown, to Odette. Her reaction hinted at something painful, truly such expressions of grief and trauma were universal. The little clues were all she needed to know, she had to be very careful when referring to her origins. The unknown amount of souls embedded within Mandate must be bound by powerful necromancy, how well they stabilized within the golem was at best anyone’s guess. Without the creator’s notes or input, Odette would simply have to find out for herself. Thankfully, her connections provided expertise in such putrid magic as necromancy. An area she never dabbled in.

“I see, then Mandate it seems you are in need of a home and somewhere to stay. Truthfully, I am in need of your help.” Odette offered her hand for Mandate to hold again, her eyes softened, well-practiced sincerity. She sighed softly, “More than you know. If you are interested I have ample space available for you to call your own in exchange you accompany me while I work, protect my person and my interests. My dear Mandate, I know we have only known each other for a short time but please consider my offer. Please come live here, with me.”

Odette looked hopeful, a gentle smile poised.

Mandate’s response was almost startlingly swift. It was as if there was no choice at all. Perhaps there wasn’t, as far as she was concerned; the Ambassador’s words had snagged her, like a hook into flesh, and buried themselves firmly in her mind. Her massive hands lowered, and took one of the smaller woman’s own extremities between them.

Despite her lack of any organs, she felt… Elevated. In place of a rising heart, there was a surety and warmth in her quicksilver form. This was what she wanted to do, and where she wanted to be, though she could not entirely express why.

”You do not have to ask, Miss Ambassador; I would gladly help you, and protect you!” You’re my best friend, my only friend. It is enough. ”This city is wonderful, and I would love to learn more about it, and yourself!” I barely know you. It is enough. ”I think I will be very happy here, if you would have me.” I have nowhere else. It is enough.

Standing up on the cushions on the tip of her toes Odette planted a kiss on the golem’s head, “Excellent, welcome home.” Warmly cupping her face with her hand. “We will go over the rules and boundaries we have in this household, but for now I believe Vienna is done with tea and I have some of your questions to answer don’t I?”

Mandate’s smile, being the sharp and defined V that it was, could not grow any larger to properly convey her enthusiasm, but her pleased hum most likely expressed what her face could not. Squeezing and releasing the Ambassador’s hand, the golem savored the touch upon her face. It was a curious, sensation; the last time her face had a hand upon it had not been a pleasant time.

Dismiss. The thought crept away. Mandate’s response was enthusiastic and light, floating on her enthusiasm. ”You do!” She remained very still upon the couch, wary of sending Odette tipping with any shifts of her weight. The human had to prop herself fairly far to reach the golem’s face, considering she was on her toes; Mandate had no interest in accidentally harming her. ”Questions about selkies and fey and all sorts of things, Miss Ambassador.”

Vienna arrived conveniently, carrying the tray expertly not spilling a drop as she smiled at the deglamorized golem, not the least bit perturbed. Whatever the Ambassador accepted was good enough for her. In spite of Mara’s commentary, Vienna noted, “Is the golem joinin’ the family?”

Mara leaned against the doorframe looking on skeptically, a huff of disapproval.

Odette nodded, “Yes, Mandate will be living with us.” Then her blue eyes tracked over to the goblin, glinting with their familiar cold calculation. “You did well, Mara from what I hear. You will be rewarded for keeping her company. Can I look to you in for a similar arrangement if the need arises again?”

Mara averted her eyes from the Ambassador, after holding them for only a moment. She looked from her, to Mandate, then to Vienna, before back onto the golem. Mandate, for her part, seemed quite content to just be there.

Ignorance is bliss?

Sighing, the goblin nodded, and refused to allow too many of her thoughts to slip onto her face. She wouldn’t interfere with the Ambassador’s plans too deeply, but it didn’t mean that she couldn’t be there as well. “Ye. You can count on me, an’ you know how to find me.”

So it went.

Kaya walked through the familiar streets of little thailand once more. Even though her excursion been all but a day or two, she still felt as if it had been much longer. Her combats boots felt a bit clunky on the surface of asphalt now that she was no longer in the jungle. Her feet seemed to have a mind of their own, leading her down alleys and taking shortcuts she only vaguely remember using before. Once she came out onto the main street that would lead her to Bak Mays place she stepped out in front of four men she recognized from her vision. They stopped, surprised at her appearance.

“You should know it’s not wise to show your face around here.” One of the men, wearing what looked as hip hop hybrid of a traditional chinese coat and a sports jacket. The way all of them dressed told her they were Younglings, lowest of the low among triads. She dropped one shoulder with a grin.

“Yeah? And you boys sure you are allowed to be out past your bedtime.” She said as she let her knapsack fall to the ground. It thudded heavily as her guns rattled insdie. She pushed her jacket aside to show them her 45. “You guys wanna rumble or have a shoot out. Either way, I am putting you in a hospital.”

The triads looked at one another, trying to figure out what she was about. “I don’t wanna shoot you lady. But I don’t mind putting your pretty lips in the right place.” The evident leader sneered to the cheers of his goons. Kaya grabbed her gun and let if fall to her side. She had no qualms about what she was about to do. Walking towards the four men she let her jacket fall off her shoulder the second she was in striking range. The closest kicked high, hitting the still airborne jacked. she grabbed it wrenched, pulling him off his feet. She didn’t waste time, moving past the falling thug and blocking a haymaker. Stepping into the effective radius of the gorilla like brutes reach, she began to box him, sticking close, keeping him on his toes as she delivers blow after blow to his jaw and nose. She felt it before she even heard, the leader coming in with a windup blow. She swunglow, kicked the big guys knee and made him fall towards her. By swinging, they basically switched places, making the leader hold his punch in for a second. Enough for Kaya to kick the bigger man into him. As he leaders stumbled, goon 1 was up and charged her together with nr 3 and four who had been unprepared by the raging temp Kaya fought at. She side stepped nr 1’s attacked and kicked his knee out like she had the big guy. As number three kicked at her, she blocked and clinched him, grabbing him by his ears and wrenching him down into a brutal knee. He went down like a sandbag. She barely avoided the last goons crescent kick and danced back.

The leader came from her side, but she easily swayed her head just out the way and crunched his nose flat with a counterpunch that was almost audible. The man went down screaming. With everyone else down, she turned to the man who had almost gotten her with a Crescent.

“You're using Muy Thai like that old crone.” The man said. She realized he wore far more traditional clothes then the other youths and sharper eyes. Whatever they had been drinking, he had stayed away from. "I was going to burn her place down… but I guess tonight I can settle for putting down one of her students.”

“Oh. Is that so. Well, Don't hold back now.” She said with some confidence but she saw in his eyes that he was far more dangerous then any of the low lives lying on the ground.

“Not for long girl.” The man smiles as chains rattles out of his long sleeves.

“God I hate metas…” Kaya mumbled.

Icon lay amongst the wreckage of the fire trucks that he had crashed into. His head was ringing, his vision blurry. He had never, in all of his life been hit as hard as he had been by his assailant. After several moments, the initial shock of the ambush began to subside, and Icon started to move. He had gotten up on one knee shook his head in an attempt to clear the cobwebs from his head before climbing to his feet. However, he had barely gotten to his feet when his assailant was upon him.

“I knew it wouldn’t be long before one of you freaks came along.” The attacker hummed wistfully as he grabbed Icon by the throat. “I’m just glad it was you.” He finished before hitting the hero with a hard right hand that knocked him off his feet.

“You see, I’ve been watching you.” The mysterious attacker told him. “Ever since I escaped from that underwater hell, I’ve kept myself hidden. I watched and waited. I’ve been watching as you costumed freaks go to war with each other, and I found it absolutely fascinating. Sadly, not a single one of you gets it.”

“And what’s that?” Icon asked as he got to his feet, hoping to keep his attacker talking.

Instead, the macabre attacker held his right hand out in front of him, and Icon stood in a stunned silence as his fingers grew before his eyes. The stranger’s fingers grew several inches. They became long and slender, and each was adorned with a large, blade-like obsidian claw. His hand itself turned dark and scaly, taking on an appearance that could only be described as reptilian. The assailant took advantage of Icon’s surprise and swung at his head; however, the blue and silver clad hero was able to avoid the attack, blocking it and hitting the madman with a hard right hand of his own. The punch nearly took Icon’s attacker off of his feet, causing him to spin awkwardly before he regained his balance and turned to face Icon again, with a twisted smile etched across his face.

“Oh, that’s what I’m looking for. You’ve got spirit, kid, I can’t wait to take that from you.”

“I don’t know who, or what you are, but it’s over. I’m end this before you can hurt anyone else.” Icon told his attacker.

“They called me The Hybrid. To be honest, at first I wasn’t crazy about the name, but it grew on me.” He said with a sinister smile. “And I’m just getting started.” He told Icon as he turned and with a great leap that spanned several city blocks, bounded away with Icon, who was not willing to let the killer get away, right behind him.

Joseph sat in his car, about a mile up the road from Aunt Briley’s home with a cell phone held to his ear there was a coldness which was only made more apparent from the voice on the other line. “Do you have a sample?”

Answering the older man's question there was a hesitation from Joseph.”Dad, this is my Sister, your own Daughter we’re talking about, can we at least address that?” His Father’s voice sounded through after a moment's pause. “She’s nought more than trash wasting her talents and tarnishing our legacy. But yes, she came from my blood however unlikely that may be. More importantly.”

Joseph knew what he was asking for, traces of Metahuman DNA in his own Sister. And he knew what he planned to do if they found any a fact which greatly disturbed him.”Yes. I have a clump of hair from one of her hairbrushes, but she’s my Sister, you’re talking about Murder.”

The cold and heartless voice came through yet again.”Only if she was somehow mutated by that horrid Pax event. If there’s no mutated DNA there’ll be no need for that, we can’t have a metahuman monster within our Family, it’d ruin us. Our Lineage would forever be destroyed. Best nip anything like that in the bud.”

“New York wasn’t even affected!” Joseph blurted out. “Yes, or so they say Son, I’ll take no chances, I’ve seen these freaks in the news. I will not have one in my own Family however much removed.” His Father said firmly set in his plan, as the phone's’ tone went silent Joseph slammed his fist against the dash cursing his Family. “WHY, Why are they so cold.”

Meanwhile Nathaniel Wahlforth sat in a chair laced with gold trimmings in lavish room decorated by every Wahlfroth that came before him as well as his own personal tastes, it was a room filled with valuable antiques, pointless trinkets and wealth. He sat there staring at his Father’s Pipe as he took a drag on a cigarette as a cringe crept across his face, “I gave you everything, all that I was just to make you proud, and you give it to her. That money should be mine, I’ll see to that. I’m not letting some deviant take my inheritance.”

There was a slight knock at the door as it creaked open to a woman in a fancy dress walked in. “Honey, the Maid brought tea, thought you could use some. All this murder talk must have you parched.” Nathaniel smiled as he took a cup with saucer and sat it on the table. “Good thing the Kids don’t know yet, we must secure their future and restore our fortune, Father’s money will go a long way to that goal.”

“Of course dear, Alistair left us a crumbling Family Fortune, with a myriad of scattered properties and companies. How anyone could rebuild our legacy with those piss poor conditions is beyond me.”

“My Father doted on that Girl, who tarnished our Family name. It’s high time we put things right.”

Meanwhile in a certain abandoned warehouse. Doctor Coil began tinkering with his work, happy with his progress. “With my work completed, I just need to set the stage, all of it must be perfect before I raise the curtain.” Coil turned to his machine that clicked and whirred with a flurry of beeps and lights. It stood on a massive frame with a long barrel, alongside mysterious canisters, Coil growled in a low voice. “Sampson. I will have my vengeance, on the stage of my creation. Minion!! Take some of these canisters and begin phase 2.”

As things began to conspire against her, Eva tossed in her bed, as Dickens slept beside her. It was a momentary calm, something she may have few of in the coming days. As the Demon behind the Soul Stone, her Family and Doctor Coil begin to make their moves.

"This is ingenious, Miss Fletcher, but there is one issue I can think of..."

"Yeah Riley?"

"Which one of these goes in first, the 'milk' or the 'cereal'?" the alien girl asked her, holding the box and the milk jug in each hand as she sat in front of the card table. Jordan Fletcher sighed inwardly, wondering how exactly her life had gotten to this point. She didn't ask for much, just a nice job working security for Poseidon and a decent place to live in Pacific Point, without any of this nonsense with meta-humans back in New York. And yet here she was trying to explain the concept of breakfast cereal to a tentacle-headed alien chick that got mailed to her apartment a week or two ago.

"Um, it doesn't really matter, just make sure it goes in the bowl," Jordan said, saving her internal griping for another time. "And use the spoon this time."

"Right, I can handle this," 'Riley' announced, defiantly pouring milk all over the cereal before taking a large spoonful of the rainbow-colored flakes and sticking it in her mouth. She chewed cautiously for a moment before she taking another spoonful with a content look on her face.

"S'really good," she declared, her voice muffled by her mouthful of cereal. "Overly sweet, yet satisfying!"

"Really glad you liked it, then," Jordan said, barely restraining herself from giving Riley an encouraging pat on the shoulder. Again, Jordan was surprised at the absurdity of this situation, but not as much as she was surprised to see the alien itself taking things so well. Or at least she thought she was an alien. 'Riley' looked like one, and given her interests Riley certainly seemed to think she was one too. Maybe it was because she didn't know any better, but Riley seemed to be taking the fact that she was sealed inside a metal tube and shipped off to parts unknown quite well. It was confusing to say the least, but Jordan decided a week ago that she wasn't going to dwell too much on it for the time being. The facts still made her head hurt, and frankly she was more concerned about what would happen if the higher ups at Poseidon found out what she and Dr. Martel were using this defunct testing room for.

"Morning everyone," came a relaxed sounding, lightly accented voice as the door opened. Speak of the devil, Jordan mused, and he shall appear, complete with wire-framed glasses and disheveled black hair showing the signs of turning gray.

"Morning, Doc," Jordan said with a nonchalant, joking salute.

Riley mumbled something through a mouthful of cereal that Jordan assumed was a greeting.

"Verbose as always," Martel commented before setting a box down on the card table. "I take it things have been going well here, then? Riley is okay being on her own."

"Oh yeah, she has her own TV with Netflix to watch Star Trek all day, she's set." Riley nodded in agreement and flashed a Vulcan salute, which was a little less recognizable given that she only had three fingers.

"Yes, good," Martel said, sounding distracted as he dug through his box. "Right, speaking of living long and prospering, I have something to test with you before we run some more....well, tests, Riley." With a brief pause, he extracted a pair of what looked like thick bracelets made from metal and purple glass and set them gingerly on the table, prompting a confused look from both girls.

"Interesting," Jordan said, picking up one and turning it in her hands to get a better look. "Aww, they even match her eyes..."

"For god's sake be careful with these," Martel snapped, roughly taking it back. "They're psionic inhibitor units, designed to control Riley's abilities, and I don't know about any long-term effects on normal humans yet." Riley painfully swallowed her cereal with a look of mixed alarm and indignation.

"Inhibitors? Doesn't that mean limiting things?" she asked. "But I don't need any limits on my powers, see?" Riley held out her hand and concentrated, her eyes glowing as a rough purple sphere the size of a fist formed in her hand.

"See, I can handle th-"

*FWOOOOOM*

Without warning the sphere shot straight up from her hand like a bullet, physically throwing her off the chair with a yelp as it impacted the ceiling with a very loud thud, bursting with a thunderous boom that seemed to shake the entire room, forcing Jordan and Martel to duck for cover and launching everything lighter then a paperweight into the air.

"On second thought, maybe the inhibiwhatsits are a good thing," Riley said sheepishly as her eyes reappeared over the edge of the table, glancing from the milk and soggy multicolored flakes covering it to the large scorch marks left on the ceiling by yet another errant psiblast.

"More importantly," Martel gasped as he stumbled back to his feet, brushing off his lab coat, "The last few batteries of tests we did confirmed at least one of my theories about psionic energy, namely its degrading effect on biological matter."

"I'm...not going to melt, am I?" Riley said weakly, suddenly looking and sounding terrified.

"No no, you never were going to 'melt'," Martel said, reassuringly. "My theory was that psionic energy has a degrading effect on biological matter. To put it simply, using psionic energy causes your body to break down."

"Still sounds like melting to me," resounded an unconvinced Jordan,.

"Yes, but the point I'm making is that she happens to be built to handle it. Riley's genetic makeup is better tuned to harnessing this energy then ours would be, so this has a far less detrimental effect on her body. As best I can tell, the energy will only have a physical effect on her if she uses too much of it too quickly, hence the need for inhibitors."

"So, if I wear them I won't melt?" Riley confirmed, looking curiously at the inhibitor bracelets.

"Precisely, though I can't imagine a situation where you would ever need to overexert yourself."

"See now that you said that it's probably going to happen," Jordan said with a laugh.

"Well if these next tests bring the building down you have every right to point out that I called it, Miss Fletcher," Martel said dryly.

"I can bring down buildings?!?" Riley shouted a little too eagerly.

Jordan and Dr. Martel exchanged worried looks.

After a month since I had moved to Pacific Point, I had already made a few friends. Besides that group of superheroes, who call themselves the Immortals, I became close friends with one of the other eleven models. This girl, Emily Prichert, was also from Ohio, who moved out to California in order to pursue a career as either an actress or a model. However, on the side, she was also taking some night classes to earn a nursing degree so that she might have something to fall back on if her primary dreams did not pan out as she hopped. Although she’s a year or two younger than I am, we still found a way to bond together, sharing our own experiences in the culture shock that was moving from the American MidWest to Southern California.

Emily and I sat beneath a pagoda that was located in the courtyard by our apartment complex, enjoying the brisk morning before the day heats up. I had brought my laptop out with me not only so that I could go through my morning routine, such as emails, social media, and so on, but also so that Emily and I could look up the results of this modeling contest that Viera was running. At the beginning of each month, after the readership had cast their votes for the month, Viera would release the results.

“It looks like the results are up now.” Emily alerted me after she had finished checking Twitter and some other websites. We both therefore huddled in front of my computer as I loaded up the webpage that contained the results. After a quick glance at the screen, I saw Emily’s name in the middle of the pack, around 6th place, out of twelve, of course.

“Hey, look, Aubrey, you’re in 3rd.” Emily pointed at the top of the list. I honestly was kind of surprised by this. Besides maybe two or three of the other models, everyone else was younger than me. And I’m only 21. And I’m not going to even mention how the majority of them are taller, have more experience, and what not than me.

“I wouldn't get your hopes too high, Double A.” We heard Whitney, one of the other Viera models, say from behind us. She, along with Nicole, had been passing by, probably leaving for somewhere, when they heard the two of us. “The last two girls who took their clothes off for their solo shoot only had short term gains. If you don’t believe me, check that list.”

And sure enough, the two models that she had mentioned where in fact in the bottom quarter of the standings. And don't get me started on how that part was optional. Whenever I do find the person responsible for signing me up for this 'job’, I’m going to knock him (or her) out silly.

“Also, some people might have voted for you by mistake if they had still thought Helen was still Ms. May.” Nicole added. She obviously meant the girl that I replaced, who went missing due the events of that whole Pax Metahumana thing. No one really knows where she is.

“Don't worry about them.” Emily told me after the other two had left, “This is more like a marathon than a sprint. Plus, this isn't like American Idol where people get voted off.”

“My self-esteem isn’t tied to their approval, so I don't care what they say.”

“That's the spirit!” Emily said, “So, let’s see what's this month’s theme will be.”

Since next month was apparently when the San Diego Comic Con was scheduled to take place, the theme required us cosplaying any fictional character. At first, I thought I had this in the bag because I am a superhero. However, the obvious soon set in because I couldn't cosplay myself. That probably would let the cat out about my secret identity. This might be a little bit more difficult than I thought.

Later that day, I had agreed to pick Kyra from the Pacific Point airport. A week ago, she had went back east to Tennessee to visit her family and friends, just to spend some quality time with them since she does not see them very often because she had relocated to Pacific Point. While I was waiting for her in my car in the pick-up lane at the airport, I sent a quick text to Will asking for some ideas for the cosplay that I was going to have to do. He’s into superheroes and video games. I’m sure he could suggest something.

I heard a tap on the passenger side door’s window. When I peered over, I saw Kyra standing outside. She had her power-nullifier activated, probably because having nine fox tails would be quite inconvenient on a plane. I therefore leaned over the passenger seat and extended my arm over to unlock the door and push it open. Kyra tossed her luggage in the backseat and sat down beside me.

“So...how was Tennesse?” I tried to begin some small talk between the two of us as I drove away from the airport.

“It was really fun. Sometimes living far away from home can be taxing, so seeing my friends and family back home was really refreshing.” She told me.

“Welcome to the club” I said, referring to the fact that I too was also far from home. While we were turning out of the main street that lead to the airport, my cell phone began to vibrate.

“You want me to answer that for you?” Kyra offered since I was driving at the moment.

“Oh, no. It’s just my boyfriend. I can text him back after I drop you off.”

“Does he know about your whole, um…”

“You mean the whole spider thing? Yeah.”

“And how does he feel about that?”

“He’s pretty cool with it. Maybe a little bit too cool.”

“That must be nice.” Kyra said as she peered out the passenger’s side window. I was going to press the question further because it seemed like Kyra was kind of bothered by something. However, my car’s radio, which was not even on, suddenly began playing. But it was not music that was emitted from the speakers, but someone’s voice.

“Hello, denizens of Pacific Point. My name is the Game Genie and I only have one demand.” The man on the radio said, “I demand that the Blue Blur face me!”

“Who’s the Blue Blur?”

“No idea.” Kyra responded to me, “There’s so many new heroes popping up everywhere that you can’t always keep track of them all.”

“Until that happens, until the Blue Blur comes and challenges me, my little electronical friends will have some fun with your lovely Californian city.”

“Not another nut job.” Kyra muttered.

“And why isn’t anyone moving?” I pressed my palm against the car horn on the steering wheel.

“Falcon.” I barely heard someone way head of the traffic say, “PUNCH!”

The next thing I knew, there was what seemed like a pink marshmallow with red feet tumbling through the air above the cars that were stuck in traffic.

“What was that?” Kyra asked. At that moment, the pink puffball began floating (or rather flying. I couldn’t tell), back towards whatever had punched it into the sky. It waved its tiny arms up and down as it flew back.

“The more important question is how are we going to get out of this traffic?”

"Don't underestimate me, Mercenary..."

“Give me a reason not to, then!”

The words of the mercenary were fueled with arrogance, gesturing to Evergreen to bring it on. The plant warrior obliged with a fierce fighting stance, one that the merc took wary note of. It was firm, but lacking, someone who has the groundwork of a martial art, but not as trained. It came to mind that the between was not fighting another veteran, but an amateur. A rookie trying to compensate his training with his powers, like someone he had killed...

“Pulse, focus!” came the voice of Warden in his ear. “The boy is coming around for another attack, be ready.”

The merc snapped out of his train of thought as the plant warrior zipped along the sides of buildings, leaping from the walls towards the mercenary in a dynamic leap. The merc prepared in suit, a ball of kinetic energy sizzling between his hands.

“Alright green bean, time for you to start pushing dais--”

The merc did not get to finish his sentence before he found himself eating a bouquet of roses, another powdery blast from Evergreen.

“GAH! Again with the fresh scent!” Pulse lamented, the energy ball going wide and slamming into a nearby ferrari, the impact shattering the vehicle to pieces.

“Why you li-augh!” the merc snarled out before a solid earthen fist thudded against his jaw, causing him to stagger to the defensive as the hero followed up with a flurry of blows directed towards the mercenary’s torso and face region. By reflex and muscle memory, Pulse tightened his arms up to his body in a tight guard, retreating backwards to try and sway out of the continued offensive.

But before Pulse was able to strike back, Evergreen suddenly halted his advance to leap high into the air. The merc’s brow furrowed, his stance adjusting to keep Evergreen in sight as he continued rising into the air, what was this greenpeace vigilante up to now?

As if to answer his train of thought, the hero came whistling back down in a blaze of glory, a twisting knotted mass of wood piloted by Evergreen in a rocket punch maneuver. The merc snickered, an intimidating move to say the least, but a sloppy one. All the mercenary had to do was step out of the way and the hero would leave himself wide open to a counter attack.

Or at least he could if he could move his feet. The mercenary found himself immobilized, something was holding onto his legs and preventing him from jumping out of the way. His eyes widened in shock and rage as he glanced down to find that the arms that had broken off during his assault were now wrapped around his legs in a winding array of rope-like vines and roots now tethering him to the ground. He could not move, even if he ripped himself free of the vines he would not be able to get out of the way of Evergreen’s attack in time. He had to think fast, mere seconds were between him and a devastating hit.

Drawing on the kinetic strength within him, the force of nature outstretched his arms to the incoming Evergreen, now dangerously close to the point of impact. His arms sizzled and crackled with kinetic power, the force flowing through his body as it snapped to his palms. With a primal scream, the mercenary released a thunderous kinetic blast at the hero, the ground below bring ripped up by the sheer force of the blast as Evergreen came crashing in.

The resulting impact was nothing short of a bomb detonation, the windows from nearby buildings shattering to pieces from the sound alone as the two combatants were lost in an explosion of opposing forces, the street being ripped to shreds as concrete was pulverized from the impact, cars overturning from the force.

It took several seconds for the smoke to clear, the silence presenting an ominous precedent of the fate of the two fighters. When it finally did, the result of the fight was clear, with both fighters still standing. The enlarged fist was revealed to stop only inches away from the mercenary, dented and cracked from the opposing strike against it. The mercenary had played a dangerous game, choosing to shoot a kinetic blast in an attempt to stop Evergreen’s forward momentum and nullifying the attack.

“I’ll admit...that was one hell of a shot.” The kinetic brawler grunted out, taking the momentary lull in combat to yank himself free of the vine, taking a few slow, tired steps to face the man behind the fist. “But I’m still standing, sprout. What else you got?”

However, before the two even began to resume their conflict, War-Pulse’s comms went haywire, the voice of Warden suddenly popping onto the comm link.

“Pulse, there is another metahuman fast enclosing on your position.” Warden said.

“Uh...one second, lettucehead.” War-Pulse said, stretching out a finger to Evergreen, his other hand on the commlink in his ear. “Yeah, I know, my boy’s comin’ in with a mech, were you not watching?”

“No, I mean another metahuman.” Warden retorted. “Coming from the north and moving fast, traffic cams picked up someone coming in fast, but it was too blurry to get any confirmation.”

“What?!” War-Pulse said. “What do you mean another--”

”Metahuman, apparently on its way. Metal manipulator. Trade enemies?”

Pulse’s eyes widened in shock, Equilibrium’s transmission said all that was needed to be said. Excitedly, the merc spoke into his comes. “Did...did he say metal manipulation?”

“Yes, a power which is consistent with our target.” Warden said. “I’m not saying it is Racheli...but it could be.”

With a deep inhale, Pulse turned back to Evergreen, who was now presumably out from behind his fist. “Good news, peabody! I’ve just learned I got a new lead!” He said, the shit-eating grin popping out from behind his facemask. “So I’d say let’s let bygones be bygones and call it a draw, eh? You got bigger problems coming your way anyhow.”

Before Evergreen had time to respond, the kinetic brawler gave a small salute before launching into the air, kicking up another spattering of dust and rubble to cover his escape.


“He’s all yours, tin man.” Pulse said back to Angel. “Just give me a heads-up where you last saw magneto’s lost cousin.”

“You may want to refuel yourself.” Warden spoke, interjecting between Angel and Pulse’s channel. “Your vitals show you ate through a hefty amount of your kinetic reserves fighting Evergreen.”

“Right...gimme a sec.” The mercenary said, slipping back down to the street, tracing back through the battlegrounds that Evergreen and he had been tearing apart. As expected, several live power lines had snapped loose and were now draping across the street, the sparks flying across the ground. “We might lose connection for a bit Warden, wish me luck.”

“Wait, Pulse, I don’t think that’s such a good--”


Warden did not get a chance to finish his sentence before Pulse grabbed a hold of one of the live wires, an involuntary scream of pain rang out as electricity surged through the body of the kinetic brawler. His body shook and convulsed, sinking to one knee as his body was seared with enough voltage to kill any normal man. But Pulse was no normal man, and this jolt was more than enough to re-energize the force of nature. The longer the mercenary held on, the more the electricity seemed to be under Pulse’s control.

Eventually, the merc left go, but he was back on his two feet in no time. His body language said it all, standing tall and poised in a re-energized vigor that came with a surge of energy to his being.

“Alright...back to fighting shape…” Pulse murmured to himself as he looked back across the battlefield. “Now...where’s the newcomer?”

Chinatown, Lost Haven

As the armored black SUV raced toward Chinatown as a part of a convoy of vehicles representing Midas Industries, Alison Sparks sat in the back seat of the vehicle gathering as much information as she could about the events going on in that section of the city. As they moved toward Chinatown, Ms Sparks listened to the chatter over her secured radio frequency which gave constant updates about the situation.

To her dismay, not only had War-Pulse engaged an unknown metahuman, but there were reports of a large mechanized vehicle, or a man in an oversized mech suit had also entered the fray. If the reports were accurate, the newcomer matched the description of an individual that had been held by STRIKE, and had subsequently been broken out by War-Pulse himself.

“Shit.” She cursed to herself as she listened to the reports pouring in. If the new arrival was indeed who she thought it was, this mission just got a lot more difficult. Then to make matters worse, came the reports of seismic activity.

“Alright boys, we have confirmation that the subject is still in the area. Set up a perimeter around Chinatown, do not let her get out of the area, we’ll probably only get one shot at this.” Ms Sparks said into the radio to the rest of the team.

“Do you want us to engage the others?” Came a reply. She recognized the voice as belonging to Jenkins, a member of Midas’ personal security. He was a good officer, but he seemed overeager to prove himself, a trait that she found more often than not was a fatal flaw.

“Negative.” Ms Sparks replied. “It’s probably not a good idea to engage a guy with questionable morals who can go toe to toe with Icon. This is a simple snatch and run, do not engage.” Ms Sparks finished.
“Oh Midas…after this, we’re going to have a long talk about my salary…” She said as she got a glimpse of War-Pulse taking a shot at Evergreen.

“Well, that was a delicious dinner.” Maya told Chris as they both walked to the front door of Chris’ Virginia home. “I’m glad you know all the best places here in Richmond.”

“Well, I can’t be at the top of my game as a playboy philanthropist superhero while on an empty stomach.” Chris joked as they got to the front door. “I’m still amused that the waiter almost handed me your dish because the guy would obviously be the one who would have ordered the larger steak.”

“The look of embarrassment on his face was just priceless.”

At the front door, Chris’ butler, George, was waiting for the couple to arrive. Without even waiting for the sound of the doorbell, George opened the front door in order to welcome his master and his girlfriend back into Chris’ home. He took Chris’ suit jacket while Chris and Maya strolled into the house. However, as Chris entered his own home, he somehow did not notice a large snake tail draped over the living room couch.

“I didn’t know you had a pet snake?” Maya pointed this out to Chris. However, once he saw it, Chris immediately knew what, or rather who, it was. He immediately rushed over to the couch and pushed the tail off the back of the couch.

“Oh, that’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

“Jerk!” Veronica shouted at Chris as she sat up from the couch.

“How many times do I have to tell you not to have your powers on when people are over?”

“Hey, I didn’t know when you and Maya were going to be back. How am I supposed to know?”

“And why aren’t you in bed? It’s a school night, after all.”

“I’m sorry to interrupt your conversation with Ms. Veronica, Master Christopher, but there is an emergency at work.” George notified his employer.

“Can’t it wait until tomorrow?”

“They said that there were multiple urgent matters that required your attention. Take from that as you will.”

“Fine. My job seems like it is never done.” Chris then turned to Maya. “I hope you don’t mind if I quickly put out this fire out work. It won’t take long. I promise.”

“I’ll be waiting.” Maya called out to Chris as he rushed out of the door.

Ever since the Pax Metahumana event, and even the advent of superhumans in general, Chris was able to procure from S.T.R.I.K.E. the manpower to create a dedicated department for handling metahuman threats. The job of this subsection of S.T.R.I.K.E., called the Metahuman Investigation and Surveillance Taskforce, or M.I.S.T. for short, was to research and evaluate superhuman anomalies. Chris, since he does not have any real powers, needed any edge that he could find in order to overcome his super-powered counterparts.

All the research that M.I.S.T. did would then be filed into a database for future reference. However, as part of his agreement with S.T.R.I.K.E., Chris was the one in possession of the information. It was a matter of time before S.T.R.I.K.E. would try something similar and Chris would rather have one of the ‘good guys’ be in charge of it rather than some of the shady individuals within the S.T.R.I.K.E. organization. Furthermore, since Chris had ownership of the database instead of the organization, the risk of a villain getting hold of this data and using it against the heroes of the world would be minimalized.

“So, what was so important that it could not have waited until the morning?” Chris demanded from a room full of agents seated in front of computer monitors.

“Well, there seems like something is going down in Chinatown in Lost Haven.” One of the M.I.S.T. agents responded. “Intel is only preliminary, but it seems like our favorite mercenary might be on the scene. The other combatants are as of yet unknown.”

“Well, that’s like every Tuesday in Lost Haven. Was that really what was urgent? Because there better be more.”

“Um…” The agent began to speak, “So person called the Game Genie has challenged a hero named the Blue Blur in Pacific Point to a fight. There have been reports of numerous video game characters appearing across the city, with the accounts increasing as the hours pass.”

“So, you’re telling me this, even though my armor is currently undergoing repairs and software upgrades, Is that what I’m hearing?”

“Um…yes.”

“Alright, make sure we have people monitoring the situation, but don’t you dare engage. You won’t have been coming to save your butts this time. Anything else before I head back home?”

“There are those mysterious data losses in Lost Haven that are isolated to image storage.”

“Which is something I can work on at home. Come again.”

“Um…there is that one girl from Texas A&M, what was her name.” The agent quickly searched his computer monitor for the proper information. “Kelsey. That’s it. She was a sure thing for the Olympic track team. However, ever since the domes appeared in Texas and bestowed a centaur physique on her, she has been training to compete for the Triple Crown. I don’t know if they will let her into the races, but it is interesting none the less.”

“Okay, I’m out of here. Please let me know when there is an actual emergency that I can actually do something about.”

Kyra and I teleported via one of the portals that she could create back to the street where the commotion had been happening. Minutes ago, we fled my parked car and retreated into a more secluded area so that we could change over to our superhero clothes. Although the switch almost happened instantaneously, we can’t really do it right out in public. That kind of defeats the purpose of trying to hide a secret identity.

Once we exited the portal, we found two individuals still fighting at the intersection. One of them was a tall man, wearing a blue jumpsuit with yellow boots and gloves. He wore a red helmet with a golden falcon on the front of it. Around his neck, there was a yellow scarf. And over his right shoulder was what appeared to be some kind of shoulder pad. His opponent, at least initially to my horror, was a kid. He was wearing a red baseball cap that was turned sideways. His short-sleeved shirt had a yellow and blue stripe pattern. He had jean shorts and a pair of tube socks worn under his red tennis shoes.

“PK FIRE!” The young boy yelled as a single yellow, cartoon-like thunderbolt shot out towards the other man. When it struck the taller man, he became engulfed by a pillar of flames. However, what was weird was that, even though it appeared to hurt him, there was not physical damage being caused by this fire. The kid rushed forward, jumping into the air in order to land another attack on his opponent. However, before the attack landed, the man was able to get out of the flames and parry the attack.

This battle went on for a minute or two more, until the taller man was able to obtain the upper hand and launch the kid flying far into the air. Once his adversary was long gone, he turned around and faced the two of us. He extended his arm out towards us and gestured with his four fingers, repeatedly drawing them back to his palm.

“Come on!” He taunted us.

“I think he’s talking to you.” Kyra told me. Before I could make a response, I felt a little shove from behind my spider abdomen.

“Thanks for volunteering me.” I quipped at my teammate, “I thought you were the one from the state who proclaim themselves as volunteers.”

The man then dashed forward towards me. He moved faster than I expected, although that would not be a problem for my powers. Once he was a few feet away from me, he threw the weight of his shoulder at me. Unfortunate for him, I was able to stop his momentum and catch him. I then shoved him back, causing him to be driven back a few feet. As he was pushed back, he tumbled into a few back flips and he ended it with a somersault.

He again dashed at me, obviously foolish enough to think that a different result would come from it. However, this time, when he drew near, he leapt into the air. As he was coming down from his jump, the man thrusted out his knee, intending to slam me in the face. Using my enhanced reflexes, I prepared myself to catch his attack again. But this time, I saw electrical sparks developing around the man knee. When his knee met my hands, instead of me just stopping the attack in its tracks, I was somehow (I don’t know why) sent flying backwards. This strike had so much knockback that it sent me flying into the side of a car that was parked nearby.

“WHAT WAS THAT?” I cried out as I picked myself off the ground. The car next to me, which now had a dent in it where I had come into contact with it, was blaring its alarm while its lights began to flash.

“Show me your moves!” The man taunted again. He even gave a quick salute when he said it.

“I think it’s your turn now.” I called out to Kyra.

“I think you got this.” She encouraged me while she was taking a few steps back.

Sunlight streaked into the bedroom between the slats of the Venetian blinds, directly into Kyle’s eyes. He groaned in protest as the sun’s hateful rays stirred him from a sound sleep. Not yet ready to get up and face the day, he rolled over and buried his face in the pillow.

“Oh, no you don’t!” Sam said cheerfully as she dove on top of him, giving him a kiss on the cheek. Because of summer classes at Lost Haven University, Sam was used to getting up early. However, she had no classes today and had decided that this was the perfect opportunity for the two of them to spend some much needed quality time together. Even though they were living together in Kyle’s childhood home, it had been a while since they had gone out and actually done anything together.

That was something that she intended to fix today.
She planned to take him to their new favorite breakfast place, Cilla’s across town, and then they would go over to the wharf to walk along the water front and take in some of the sights. Crown Ridge’s wharf at one point was a derelict section of the city. Crime had been rampant and drugs flowed. However, the efforts of Mayor Jonathan Snyder to clean up the area were successful, and now the Waterfront District, in which the wharf is a part of, is the leading destination for tourists and locals alike to enjoy the eclectic nightlife and shopping selections in the cit. So, Sam figured that they could go over there, check out some of the unique boutiques in the area, and then stick around for some fun later in the day.

“Just ten more minutes.” Kyle pleaded as Sam shook him.

“Nope, sorry Babe.” She said as she climbed on top of him and assaulted him with a flurry of kisses all over his face. “Last time I gave you ‘ten more minutes,’ you slept ‘til noon.”

“Fine. Fine, fine fine…” Kyle sighed as he was resigned to the fact that there was no way he was winning this particular battle. He opened his eyes saw her smiling face looking down at him, clearly pleased with herself, she bent down and gave him a quick kiss on the lips.

“I’m gonna take a quick shower, you should start getting ready.” She said as she got up off of him and made her way to the shower.

“Sure thing.” He said as he rolled over and closed his eyes, safe in the knowledge that it would take her at least forty five minutes to shower and get ready, he could sneak in a quick nap before he had to get up.



Acadia State Hospital

Located just three miles outside of the city of Crown Ridge, Acadia State Hospital was known as the best mental health facility in all of New England, and some would even argue that it was the best on the East Coast. A wide variety of patients called the facility home, with conditions ranging from traumatic brain injuries to the criminally insane. The facility is also revered for the groundbreaking treatments that they administer to their patients. The open door policy for the less dangerous inmates, in which certain residents are not forcefully confined to their living quarters often leads to a friendly, nursing home like atmosphere. While the more disturbed residents remain safely locked away; the freedom that the less dangerous patients enjoy often fills the halls with the warm sounds of laughter and amusement.

Today, the sounds of chaos filled those halls.

Dr. William White sat at his desk going through the files of an incoming patient that he was set to meet with later in the day when he heard the commotion. He tried to ignore the racket, however after several moments he realized that these weren’t the normal sounds of a patient, or even several patients acting out.

No, this was something different entirely.

“Shit.” Dr. White said angrily as he slammed the patient file down on his desk and got to his feet. He was just several steps away from his office door when the door slammed open before him. The sudden action startled him, sending him recoiling back several feet. It took him a moment to recognize one of his colleagues, Dr. Mason standing before him. Dr. Mason was new to the facility, having only recently earning his doctorate and joining the Acadia State staff a mere month before. Dr. White wasn’t particularly fond of Mason, as the older doctor found him to be arrogant and generally unpleasant to be around. He may have been fantastic with the patients, but Dr. White found that he was easily pleased with himself, and seemed to believe that he was superior to everyone else.

However, that confidence was nowhere to be found today. Instead, that smugness that often found itself etched on Mason’s face was gone, having been replaced with shock, and terror.

“What is it Mason?” Dr. White asked, no longer merely alarmed by the man’s sudden appearance, his concern was grown as he waited for the man’s response.

“It’s him, Doctor. Professor Miles, he’s escaped.” The younger man said as he tried to catch his breath.

“Contact security, he can’t have gotten far.” Dr. White ordered.

“That’s not all. You have to see this.” Mason said in a matter of fact tone as he beckoned Dr. White to follow him, which the older man did.

Dr. Mason led Dr. White down the hall to the secure wing of the hospital, where only the most deranged inmates were housed. They went down the long, sterile hallway until they came to the end of the row and found themselves standing at the last cell on the left, which had until moments ago housed Professor Jason Miles, who until several months ago was the picture of health, and a pillar in the community. As Dr. Mason held the door open for Dr. White, the older man saw what had given the younger doctor so much distress.

The body of a hospital orderly sprawled across the floor, his throat having been cut from ear to ear. Then he noticed something scrawled in blood on the wall of the dull green cell.

A single word.

Insomnia

The call between Barron and his wife had just began to come to it’s conclusion as he pulled up to a parking spot on the way to the Museum of Natural History. ”It’s decided then we’ll keep on eye on Broker and anyone in this Evil Inc for now, I have to endue this sun.” Barron slotted some coins with his left hand as he made his way through the beating sun to anyone else would seem as a rather warm day. The Doors opened and closed as people enjoyed the unusual exhibits as Barron slipped inside and past the crowds he looked for the Father for this Benjamin Reeves.

Daniel had just finished posing for the photographs when he stepped away, drawing closer to his girlfriend while the attention faded. However, his glow from the small event never did. His arm wrapped about Lorrie’s thin waist and pulled her in close, her head stared into the crowd where his son had vanished. Noting this, Daniel tightened his grip a bit. He smiled when her eyes turned back to where they belonged: onto him. “He’ll be alright. Benjamin’s always been a bit of a… free spirited boy.”

Lorrie’s well trimmed eyebrow raised in question over his judgement about his offspring, a fact that Daniel knew was reasonable. His lips let out a faint sigh over her focus being pulled away because Benjamin had tossed his little fit. By this age, the DA thought, he should’ve outgrown these little pitiful outburst as they were becoming a nuisance to the older man now.

As Barron checked his phone bringing up the image of Daniel Reeves as he scanned the crowd looking up between the people leaving he nearly walked past him, as he stopped checked his phone and walked into his sight. ”DA, Daniel Reeves right? I don’t know how well my name is known in New York, but I’d like to talk for a bit, in private if you don’t mind. Barron, Barron Vanderbilt.”

Daniel came to an abrupt stop when his name was mentioned. His eyes turned and took in the individual, a well dressed individual, then frowned slightly at having little knowledge of the name. Lorrie was the one to come to his rescue as she promptly uncurled himself from Daniel’s grasp and offered her hand to Barron. “It’s a pleasure to meet you Mr. Vanderbilt, I believe we’ve visited one of your casinos during our last anniversary. It was a lovely experience and a tasteful establishment, reflecting well upon the owner himself.”

”I see, as the adage goes, behind every great man is a greater woman. My pleasure as well, Miss. Hart Let me know next time you’re in Vegas and I’ll upgrade your Room, for you. I thought there might be some business to discuss with your Boyfriend here. Mr. Reeves I think I might be able to help you, and myself of course. If we could speak.”

Lorrie leaned in and kissed Daniel upon the cheek, her words whispered quietly about finding Ben before she pulled away. The DA watched her a moment then turned his attention back to Barron with a hard to read expression. It seemed rather indifferent to the statement as he gestured for the man to lead to somewhere more suitable for their conversation and then placed his hands behind him during their walk. “Very well, please continue.”

Barron smiled as he led Daniel towards the lot, and into his waiting car.. ”How much do you know about my, connections? Before we continue onwards. Should be private enough here yes.””

Daniel thought for a moment. His figure tensed and slightly wary along the walk back to Barron’s car, his head held up to observe the surroundings until his ears caught the question. “Very little, I’m afraid to say. Lorrie would have more of an idea as she’s usually the drive behind such matters. My focus is more based around New York, the local politics, and of course my family.”

”Well as it so happens to be, I’m here for most of that. As you know crime is down, but not because of the Boys in Blue, The Shroud Syndicate is establishing their grip on this city and keeping the low level villains in check for their own personal gain. See, I hear rumors being a Casino owner, my security cameras capture all sorts of things they shouldn’t, or what people wouldn’t want captured. So when two bit thugs come in bragging about how the Shroud is moving on New York, and I happen to be looking into new avenues of business I check into that. And I might be able to help bring a few names that you might be interested in, something to help further your career and help myself with NYC law codes”

“I’ve head a bit of the Syndicate here and there,” Daniel said, his tone guarded and cautious, “My only concern is the ‘price’ for these names. From what I’ve learned, I doubt you pulled me away simply to whisper a few names into my ear and then just walk away. I might not be as clever as my girlfriend, but I do know a few things well enough to spot it.”

”True, True. But I’m just an honest citizen who just wants a favor for a favor. Nothing too complicated perhaps we can talk more details over dinner.”

Daniel thought for a moment. His eyes rolled into the side of his vision as he considered the offer, namely likely thinking of his girlfriend’s reaction earlier and how she might warm up to him. Finally after a lengthy pause, he made a slight nod. “Details over dinner would be excellent. However, keeping Lorrie away might be an issue since she seemed very excited in meeting you. I prefer to have her around since she’s been giving me perfect advice over the campaign trail and it’s done wonders so far.”

”Family is important, I have respect for men who put their Family first; it’s how I live my own life. My Wife has my full undivided attention. So tonight then, we’ll go over the details and we can help each other.”

“Sadly, raising one is never easy as my only son, Benjamin, has gain something of a rebellious streak. I can only hope he’ll outgrow it in time. Speaking of which, Lorrie will have likely found him and we should be heading home shortly to prepare for the dinner. It was a pleasure meeting you,” Daniel held out his hand then shook Barron’s before he turned on heel and walked back into the museum’s entrance.

”Ah, a rebellious streak. I remember when I was like that, always seeking attention, although I took a more unorthodox route to getting noticed. Still it is youth. Good day for now Mr. Reeves.” Barron sat in his car, as Daniel left, he had a stiff drink and could smell something off, fresh blood. He noted it came from the Museum itself and as Daniel had taken off out of sight Barron decided that while here, he’d enjoy what the Museum had to offer, as well as the origin of that smell.

---

Marie watched in horror as flesh and muscle slowly peeled away from Ben’s cowering form, small pieces of viscera flying in all directions as he screamed in pain. There was such terror, such desperation in his eyes, his mind and hers once again melding to convey Ben’s helplessness. Marie sat there in the corner, deathly still, watching as Ben shed his humanity away, revealing the wolf with each gruesome motion.

After some time, the transformation was complete. Marie was still in shock, pressing herself against the wall with as much force as she could muster. W. . . what do I do? she wondered, panicking as the wolf inched closer, claws tapping on the floor, leaving the room echoing with a series of sinister clicks.

”Remain calm,” Holt cautioned Marie, reading Ben’s movements as he neared. There was something about his pace and mannerisms that reassured Holt, but such creatures were notoriously hard to read.

Marie shrieked as Ben lunged forward, closing her eyes and preparing herself for either the sharp clenching of his jaws biting down on her outstretched arm, or the sound of a distant whimper as Holt forced him away, but neither occurred. Instead, Marie felt Ben’s hot breath, followed by his wet tongue gliding across her face. She opened her eyes to see what looked less like a terrifying wolf, and more like a large puppy.

”Wha. . . where’s the man-eating monster I was expecting?” Marie said aloud in disbelief, resting a hand on Ben’s head who seemed to accept her gesture.

”Werewolves, as I’ve heard, are heavily influenced by their environments and experiences. They aren’t hyper aggressive as in their lore, but instead react accordingly to external stimuli like familiar scents.”

Marie got that feeling from Ben, that he enjoyed the smell of her. Marie assumed this was more than just her external smell. His reaction earlier to her made her think that he had smelled something like her before, and his attraction to her now confirmed her query.

”Holt, can werewolves smell or detect magic?”

”Hmm . . . I suppose it’s possible. There are different strains of lycanthropy that convey different powers and abilities to those afflicted. Perhaps this strain provides the ability to detect the presence of magic.”

As they spoke, the door to the storeroom flew open, two more teenagers filing in. Ben creeped forward, his movements suggesting to Marie and Holt that he might have known these two, but she also feared for them. What if Ben decided to become violent, what if these kids’ lives were in danger.

”Holt,” Marie whispered, ”be ready.”

Marie crept up behind Ben, Holt, still ethereal, placing himself between the pair of teens and Ben. He would materialize if he believed ben posed a threat.

”Just stay still and remain calm,” Marie spoke to the pair. ”I don’t think he’s dangerous, but I don’t want to take any chances.”

Ms F
Our friend’s father has been taking up permanent residence outside of Jamestown with some doctors. I will investigate further, let me know what you wish me to do.
-L

His phone buzzed as he sent the message to the Ambassador, behind him the whimpering form of a former doctor fought against her bonds. She was selotaped up and rolling around on the ground, her mouth covered in the same tape, but that hadn’t stopped her making some noise. Enough to irritate the thief to levels where he became unnecessarily cruel.

“Quiet, and you had better not have led me astray, Doctor, or no one will be coming back to release you.” He had what he wanted from Dr Short, the exact location of the facility in which Rach’s Father was being kept, and all the information she could give him on security. Not much, unfortunately. People with the proper clearances pay scant attention to the protective layers around them, it seemed, which made his job a touch harder. He was nothing if not adaptable though, and he had other ‘advantages’.

Silence pulled the door to kidnapped suburbia shut behind him and looked out over the garden for prying eyes. It was late, but a strange man walking out of the Doctor’s house in a mask would garner some attention. Lekh figured the street was probably like most others, no one gave a damn about anyone else in a place like this, no more than superficially anyway. He heard a beep from his ancient flip-phone, as he crossed the garden and onto the street, removing his mask as he made some distance. Pulling it out he glanced across the screen at the blocky text.

Excellent work, send me what you have collected so far. A courier will be by shortly to pick up the documents. Send our friend's Father to LH. I believe a family reunion is in order.

The Polish criminal smiled grimly at the reply, it was smart, and cruel. His estimation of the Ambassador rose a little as he saw through the gist of her plan. Certainly, he had perhaps underestimated his supernatural associates cunning until now. If he released Michael Garth, sent him towards Lost Haven like a rocket with news of his daughter? Could he resist the urge to seek her out, to resist his demons? Of course not, he would carve a bloody path on his way toward her, and Silence knew that the collateral damage would be his fault. So be it.

The Doctor had kindly lent him her car, not that she had much choice in the matter, and as he drove it down nondescript suburban streets and out of Jamestown the night deepened. Usually, the Pole would have planned to stake out his mark for up to a week to discern important information like guard rotations, security measures and to identify potential weak spots. With this task though the secrecy of the place had necessitated a somewhat more reckless approach, and now he was running against the clock. With each passing hour, the chance of a tied-up doctor being discovered in her living room increased, and the alarm subsequently being raised. He could have killed her, it would have certainly made things easier, but he preferred not to do that unless the contrary could get him arrested or killed. In this case, he was confident that even if the worst came about, he had options. For one, he was working for the Ambassador, and he could call on her for supernatural help at will. For another, the Doctor had told him about the security measures in place at the facility, albeit in somewhat general terms. She did not know how many guards, or what they were armed with, but what she did know was that the place was built to keep dangerous test subjects inside and the odd prying member of public out. It relied on secrecy to protect itself from determined outside threats, and Silence had penetrated that vital first layer. Now it was just a question of how determined he was.

An odd flash of green in his peripheral caused him to slam the breaks on, causing his black estate to squeal and rock on the road before coming to a stop in a layby as he span around, pointing an unloaded gun at the figure on the back-seat of his car. It was a creature out of legend, some sort of green skinned little imp with gnashing teeth and a mocking smile, and it held out its greedy little hands as if expecting something.

“Ms Ambaddor sen me sen me.” The thing spoke in rushed tones that distorted half the words it spoke, and if it was nervous about the gun pointed to its head, it did not show it. Perhaps it had no idea what the weapon was.

“Into the back of a moving vehicle? She and I will be having words when I return. I assume you are the courier she spoke of then?” The gun did not waver, he was gauging the creature’s response.

“Yeh yeh, ambaddor sen me, me take wordy paper, you give it, yeh?”

“Yes.” The surreal nature of the conversation was not lost on the Pole, but frankly, it was better to just let the Ambassador lie. She could have here strange minions without too many questions from him, so long as it worked in his favour. Without taking his eye off the toothy little creature for a second, he popped open the dash draw and pulled out something like a dossier. It held a quick write up of what he had discovered thus far about Rach’s past, her parents, and the crimes of her Father taking precedence. He passed the papers to the little creature, which bit into them appreciatively. One of Silence’s eyebrows shot up at this strange display, and then with a poof the creature disappeared.

”What have I got myself into?” He queried to no one in particular as his hands went back to the wheel and he turned the keys in the ignition. The night was still young, and he had a laboratory to infiltrate.

At the Crown Ridge Museum of the Arts, which was located on the edge of the Waterfront district, a special traveling exhibit was being housed. Although the Crown Ridge Museum of the Arts already had some Egyptian artifacts in their possession, this single exhibit dwarfed what they had. The centerpiece of this exhibit was the Jewel of Horus. This antique mineral was said to have belonged to the Egyptian god Horus himself. Or at least that is what the ancient Egyptians claimed. It was a beautiful piece, even at its age, and it even looked like a bird’s eye.

A few hours ago, Zac, Kelly, and Sammy all checked into a hotel that was near the Waterfront district. Once they were settled in their hotel, Sammy dragged her best friend and her boyfriend around the Waterfront district, hitting as many sights and places as she could. They were here to experience the place, not just sit in the hotel room and watch television,which they could do at home. And as a result, one of their stops was the Crown Ridge Museum of the Arts.

After they walked around most of the museum, seeing all the various genres and eras of art that was displayed there, the three young metahumans finally arrived at the special traveling Egyptian exhibit. The Jewel of Horus was being displayed in the center of the exhibit hall, while other artifacts were laid out at the edge of the room in glass showcases.

“Hey, Sammy, it’s you.” Kelly joked with her best friend as she pointed at a terracotta sphinx in one of the display cases.

“That’s not funny!” Sammy shock her head at her friend’s comment. “Being stuck in a cat’s body was extremely stressful.”

“Yes, being able to stay at home and be taken care of by your best friend was extremely stressful”

“Hey, I could only say ‘meow’. Not being able to talk sucked.”

Before they could continue their banter, the lights in the entire building suddenly went out. At first, some thought there might have been a blackout going on. However, this theory was quickly proven wrong since the electricity in the nearby buildings were still operating. The room where the traveling exhibit was located was almost entirely pitch black. This darkness inhibited everyone’s ability to see.

Or at least almost everyone. Sammy, due to her feline abilities, could at the very least discern some shapes and objects in the darkness. She saw a figure walk calmly over towards where the Jewel of Horus was being displayed. When the figure placed one of his palms against the glass that contained the priceless artifact, Sammy hurried away to change into her superheroine costume. She did not alert Zac and Kelly of the situation because she did not want to tip of whom she assumed was a robber.

While she was changing, the silent alarm sounded, signaling that the Egyptian jewel had been moved from its secure position in its case.

“Do you know where Sammy is” Kelly asked her boyfriend when she did not find Sammy standing next to her.

“I thought she was standing next to you when the lights went out?”

“Put the relic down and nobody will get hurt.” Sammy ordered the robber.

“What is she doing?” Zac whispered to Kelly.

“I don’t know, but we’re going to have to help her out. What if she has gotten in over her head?”

Kelly pulled her cell phone out of her back pocket before she deactivated her power nullifier. Zac and Kelly had the shroud of the darkness caused by the lack of electric to hide their identities when they shifted into their superhero costumes. With one click of a button, both Zac and Kelly were ready to assist their maybe a little overzealous friend in combating this robber.

Kelly then activated the flashlight function on her cellphone and gave the device to one of her lower pair of hands. When she shined it towards where the Jewel of Horus was displayed, the two young metahumans finally saw the man who was trying to steal the priceless Egyptian antique. Strapped on his back was a padded case that would protect the jem as he tried to escape capture at the museum. However, what was peculiar was that there were no holes or cuts or any kind of damage to the glass case that housed the artifact. Somehow he got it out without physically breaking into it.

The man began to just walk away, as if he did not consider the three young metahumans as a threat, as if they were just amateurs in colorful Halloween costumes. While Kelly was directing the flashlight built into her phone at this robber, Zac dashed forward, throwing his shoulder into the man’s back, which caused the man to stumble a little. However, he recovered quickly and threw a right hook at Zac. Although he was able to barely dodge the man’s fist, Zac could not evade a strong kick into the stomach, which took the wind out of the young metahuman for a moment.

While Zac was still down, the man threw up a grappling hook that attached itself to some railing on the third floor of the museum, and he began climbing up the rope as he tried to escape from the three metahumans. Sammy hurried over to the rope and was about ready to try to climb up after the robber, but Zac tried to convince her not to.

“I probably can get up there faster than you can climb.” Zac said after he had recovered from the kick to his gut.

“But climbing is one of cat’s strengths!”

“I really don’t want to test how gracefully you can land on your feet if he cuts the line.”

“Good point.” Sammy said as she let go of the rope.

“But what about the lights?” Just as Kelly spoke, the electricity of the museum suddenly was restored. And since the jem was not in its proper place in the glass showcase, a silent alarm began to go off, although the security team probably already guessed someone was trying to steal something in the museum.

Now with the lights back on, Zac rushed up the two flights of stairs in order to follow this robber. Once on the third floor, Zac saw the man rounding a corner just out of sight. However, when he ran over to where the robber had made a turn, he discovered that the man was no longer inside the building where Zac expected him to be. But when he turned his head towards one of the nearby windows, Zac saw that the man had somehow gotten on the other side of the window and was trying to scale the side of the building in order to get to the roof of the museum. Now Zac had to figure out how to get access to the roof from the inside of the museum.

After a short climb up to the roof, the man pulled a small radio out of his bag and was about ready to activate it, but he was surprised by a voice calling out to him.

“Surprised to see us?” Kelly asked as Sammy stood next to her. Kelly momentarily beat her wasp wings in order to show how they got up to the roof so quickly.

“So why don’t you just put what you stole on the ground and hand it over to us.” Sammy demanded. However, the only response that they got was the man rushing towards them.