HEROES Chapter 5

When the villain landed before him, Wraith uttered through grit teeth, "Amazon." He couldn't believe she would stoop so low as to challenge him in his crippled state, but then thieves had no honor. He tried to straighten up, but a sharp pain in his ribs bit back, forcing him to recoil. "Damn!" he swore to himself, one of his ribs definitely had a crack, which meant he wouldn't be able to dematerialize. He never could figure it out completely, but for some reason when his bones suffered any serious damage he couldn't assume his wind form. His whole fighting style was reliant upon the ability to appear and disappear and without it, he didn't believe he stood a chance against a meta with super strength.

Wraith wasn't invulnerable like Bronze Devil but his increased muscle and bone density combined with his flight powers slowing him down had saved his life. Still he was too banged up to face her in single combat, which was never one of his options. If only the Devil was with him, together they could take her, but he was alone in a dark alley. A fitting place for his demise he figured, yet another romantic end for an old super hero.

She was toying with him! It wasn't enough that he had to meet his end while not being able to defend himself, she had to humiliate him as well! Well he wasn't going down without a fight! Wraith began generate a small vortex of wind around him as he charged up his powers, tossing the debris in the alley around him and lightly playing with the tall woman's chestnut tresses. If she didn't look amazing though in her leopard printed costume, he considered. "What the hell are you thinking, Wraith. Pull yourself together!" He thought to himself. If he was going to survive this he had to think. He could still fly, but he feared an aerial battle would be a short one without all of his abilities. How in the hell was going to survive this one?

When it seemed that she was offering him aid, Wraith didn't believe it. He remained in a combat stance, his ribs burning with pain, but she had not made a single aggressive act. The only thing provocative about her was her revealing costume and Wraith was confused.

"What are you playing at Amazon?" He demanded, "This is what I refer to as check mate. Y'know I never thought you'd stoop as low as to challenge a wounded hero." he spat convinced that she was toying with him before the kill.

Wraith wiped away the blood that had been collecting at the corner of his mouth with his hand then clenched it into a fist. "Well let's get on with then." he growled taking a defensive stance.



Totem slipped the cell phone into his back pocket and without another word went out onto the balcony. He closed his eyes and began to chant lowly, summoning the spirit of the eagle into his body. As he opened his eyes they appeared like that of the animal he had called which gave him the ability of flight and exceptional vision. Standing on the edge of the railing, the wind tossing his long hair to the side, he took one last look at the group in the apartment then leapt into the night and vanished.

Grey stood looking out the hotel window at the sky off in the distance. While his cuts and bruises had begun to heal, his ribs still ached just carrying his own weight, but he was tired of being bedridden. At the moment, the dull ache was nothing compared to what it had been. He'd gone a few days un-medicated and every tic sent a sharp wave of pain that nearly knocked him to the ground every time. Once again, Scavenger had come to his aid, though Grey had suspicions that it was mostly driven by a lack of sleep due to Grey's uncontrollable twitching and mumbling all night.

As Stefan returned with a greasy Chicago pizza, Grey furrowed his brow and pointed towards the funnel cloud that had formed in the distance.

"Is that a f#&%in' tornado?" he said as Stefan shut the door, pointing out the window. The two watched in shock as the tornado hovered around the warehouse district, tearing up buildings and hurling debris around in a dusty cloud that showered over the area before it began to dissipate. It then suddenly seemed to grow in strength again, switching directions and tearing off away from their hotel. They watched the entire scene from the clashing storms to its sudden demise amidst a cacophony of sirens and gunfire.

"What the f$#@ is goin' on out there?" said Scavenger, turning to Grey who shifted his weight from one foot to another.

"I dunno but I wanna find out," he said, "that looks like shit from--F%*&!-- our crowd, ya know?" He turned to his friend, his eyes glinting. "I'm f%*&in' bored," he said, his lip curling.

"You're still all f$^%ed up, you know that, right?" said Stefan, "it's your funeral, man."

"Whatever," said Grey, "I'm goin' out there." His stride was slightly awkward as he still limped a little against his cracked rib, but he deftly grabbed his gray jacket and stowed his gun in its usual place in his waistband. Opening the door, he turned to his friend with an impatient glance and said, "coming?"

"Shit, man! Just wait a minute." Whined Stefan as he trailed behind then spryly ran around in front of Pyre and jingled his car keys before him, "Are you gonna f@%$ing walk or what? That tornado was across the city."

Grey snatched the keys out of Scavenger's hand. "Who f@%$ing said I was f@%$ing walking.", he said as he walked over to the stolen car and sat behind the wheel. His friend said nothing and climbed into the passenger seat and as he closed his door and rolled down his window and when it was fully down a beautiful young woman suddenly poked her head into the car.



"Where ya headed?" She asked then continued to rapidly chew her gum.

Startled, Scavenger glared at the busty brunette angrily. "Get the f@%$ outta here you freakin' whore." he told her, but the woman instead of being offended or getting defensive just laughed. "You're obviously the little dick." she said to Scavenger then she gazed over at Grey, "I'm talking to the big dick. See I need a lift. Can ya help a girl out?"

Grey gazed over at the attractive woman, suppressing about a thousand tics that threatened to burst out from him. Keeping a well-controlled expression over his pale face, his gray eyes moved slowly over her body, settling momentarily on her breasts before moving back up to her eyes.

"I ain't got no money," he said, finally, "and we're gonna go check some weird shit out. There might be metas or some crazy shit there. No place for a girl like you." Grey's voice faltered just barely as another tic tried to push its way from him. He hoped the girl would just go on her way as he didn't feel quite energetic enough to keep himself quiet at the moment.

When Allie went in to check on Morgan, she saw that the girl was asleep, which was good. Gently checking the bullett wounds, she breathed a sigh of relief to see that they had finally stopped bleeding. Now, to keep infection from setting in, if they accomplished that, then Morgan would come through okay. Scarred, but alive.

She changed the bandaging once more, checked the other wounds changing what bandages needed changed and went back out to the living room. She told Yelena that the bleeding had finally stopped and Morgan was sleeping. She only hoped that Totem had good luck and found Cowboy and the powers that be willing, Wraith as well.

"Yeah you heard the man, bitch." Scavenger piped up not even bothering to look in her direction, "Skank street is that away." he said with a point of his thumb.



Selena's eyes seethed with anger and for a brief moment the pupils of her eyes changed shape, but it was far too subtle for anyone to notice, and Stefan who was closer wasn't even looking her direction. She could snap his scrawny neck right then and now, but she restrained herself. She quickly looked up over the roof of the car and searched the parking lot to make sure there weren't any other rides but it seemed like she was stuck with these two losers.

A big man came staggering out of a motel room, shirtless and zipping up his jeans under his hairy belly as he angrily scanned the parking lot. When his eyes settled on the girl he screamed, "HEY! You get your ass back over here now, honey!"

"F&%@# YOU!" The girl screamed back, then she looked desperately back into the car.

Scavenger leaned forward to get a better look at the man as he tenderly walked their way, his bare feet being stung by the gravel. "Shit girl! That guy is naaaasssty!" he commented with a giggle.

"So are you guys gonna help me out or what?" She asked impatiently, looking over her shoulder at the man as he slowly closed in.

Stefan looked over to Grey, who was leaning over the steering wheel and taking in the events as they unfolded, a malicious grin on his face. He waited for a response and just when the guy was in only a few steps away from the girl he popped the car in reverse and gave Scav a nod. Stefan then opened the door and leaned his seat forward and the girl leapt into the car as Grey floored it, the front tires pelting the man with rocks.

"GOD DAMMIT!" Screamed the man angrily as he turned away to protect his eyes. Then they sped off toward the direction that they had seen the tornado.

"Thanks." Said the girl as he settled back into the middle of the back seat. "I'm Selena. Selena Withers." she introduced.



Totem soared through the night sky, the cool wind rushing through his long dark hair. He could feel the wings of a great eagle flowing along the air while his own arms remained outstretched and motionless. The spirit of the eagle within him, Totem gained the ability to fly and see far away objects accurately, a power that Toril had tried to explain to him was nothing but a meta-ability. One night the scientist had tried to convince him that what he believed was spirit was nothing more than his way of using his mutations, that he in fact was not contacting the spirit world but just fooling his mind to trigger his gifts. Russel had then proceeded to tell the scientist where he could stick his theories and shortly after he went to go and stay at the base to get a away from the doctor.

Peering through the darkness, his eagle eyes could see far but they were not particular sensitive without any light, so he chanted once more and called the spirit of brother owl to serve him. He would have to fly lower but at least he would be able to spot Cowboy in the shadows, if he was still in the area. Personally he didn't give a damn about finding Wraith, that guy was good at taking care himself and he would leave him to that, if he was alive at all.

Lighting a cigarette, Grey peeled out into the narrow city streets and tore down an alley as he leaned back in the seat, filling the front with smoke and handing the pack to Stefan.

"Grey," he grunted back at her, offering no other information. He took a long drag on the cigarette, letting the nicotine sink in and relax him slightly to make holding in tics a little easier. The effort kept him mostly quiet as he sped down darkened streets.
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When the headache had subsided enough that it moving became tolerable again, Shawn stood slowly and waved his hands around himself, "watching" where he was going. Finding the couch, he moved along the edge of it, away from where he could smell and feel everyone else sat. Finding the opposite edge, Shawn moved back down to the floor, withdrawing himself as he brought his knees back up and sat, hidden from view with his device between himself and the wall. Just the barrier between him and the others seemed to free him almost as though he were really alone and the young man resumed his position, resting his head against his knees and pressing his fingertips into his temple to relieve the continuing pressure in his head. He'd been alone his entire life. This crowd of people tagging him along, worrying over him and protecting him were just making the headache worse. There was more to this than he had thought and even through the headache, his mind couldn't stop. If the benefits he'd hoped for weren't going to happen, then Shawn may need to strike back out on his own. He had come along for adventure and excitement. His own gain and little more. If all he was going to get was protected and pitied, then it was worth the effort of learning a whole new city.

While he knew his hiding probably drew more attention to him than he wanted, he hoped they had the sense to know when even an "unfortunate, deaf-blind kid" wanted to be alone.

Meanwhile, Ayana gazed out the window after Totem, her heart torn. She felt awful about having just left Wraith, but when he'd run off to control a tornado, she figured there was little she could do with just telekinesis. She knew she wasn't powerful enough to be anything but a liability, but now her mind was wandering, wondering if he'd survived and if not, if she could have prevented his death. Well, there was little she could do now. In this world, she had to make her decisions and live with them, no matter how painful the consequences could be. In spite herself, she couldn't stop the seemingly vicious thoughts about how much worse it would have been to have gotten Kekoa killed rather than this other super hero she had just met. There was nothing about Wraith she had disliked-- she hardly knew the man-- but she had known and lived with Kekoa for a few years now and he was a friend.

Sighing, she lifted a glass of water to her lips and tiled it back, back . . . farther. . . until struck her that there had been plenty of water left in it . . . and that the glass was getting lighter. Shifting her focus from the window to the glass, Seizure's eyes widened briefly then narrowed as she watched a stream of water drift out of her glass, bend around her face and float past her. Her eyes followed the stream back to the door of the guest room which was now cracked open. Kekoa stood leaning heavily on the wall, half of his shirtless body covered by a clean white bandage. His hand was raised just slightly as he guided the stream of water into his mouth and took several gulps before the stream receded back into Seizure's glass.

Now Seizure's furrowed brow shifted to an expression of very forced annoyance as she set the glass down on the window sill and dropped a hand to her hip, regarding Kekoa's glazed but twinkling eyes.

"What the hell are you doing?" she demanded as Kekoa made a vain effort to straighten up, a faint smile crossing his dark face.

"I was thirsty," he said. Ayana just barely kept a laugh from cracking past her authoritative demeanor as she stood and pointed past him.

"Then you coulda just called one of us and asked, stupid! Now get back in there and lay down before you open up your wound!" Kekoa's bleary smile never faltered as he slowly turned and headed back into the guest room. Watching him, Ayana's expression cracked and a grin broke through her face as she headed into the kitchen and poured a glass of water..

Stefan took the pack cigarettes, shuffled it then flipped one up and caught in his lips in his usual fashion which had become one of his signature moves. His dark eyes drifted over to his old partner as he lit the smoke and smiled. "Just like old times, Grey." he said as his enlarged pupils momentarily shone like a cat's in the dark. He took a long drag, then laying his head back against the rest expelled a spray of smoke along the ceiling of the car. He tossed the pack into the back seat quick and haphazardly, but Selena still caught it. "Call me Scav." he told the girl.

Selena was quiet and surreptitiously Scavenger watched her from the side mirror. He even found the street lights too bright at times and not wanting to suspiciously wear his sunglasses at night he simply closed his eyes. Closing off his vision, his powerful sense of smell became even more acute and he could detect and decipher the many scents that hung around their passenger allowing him to read her like a book. She had recently showered and used some generic motel soap and shampoo, but there was yet a lingering scent of the lake on her, as if she had been swimming in the toxic waters quite recently. Even more curious was the underlying scent of what he could only compare to some sort of marshland creature, but it was faint and so he thought little of it.

The quiet was starting to irritate Scavenger and so pulled out his ipod and synced it to the car's stereo. He always tried to make sure he stole a car with bluetooth and he was lucky enough to have found one with a parrot. He turned the volume up and listened to the soothing rumblings of Rancid as Grey wove his way through the back streets. He had time to kill, he hadn't been notified of a meeting place yet, Umbra was secretive that way, so he figured he'd just let Grey cut loose and enjoy the ride.

When she woke, she was disoriented for a moment, until she remembered that she was in someone else's bed, a woman's with a soft voice. Yelena and Shawn were out in the other room.

She moaned when she moved, pain shooting through her body. There wasn't a spot that didn't hurt and her side burned like hell. Throwing back the covers, she looked down and saw the bandages at her side and wrapped around her legs. She once again remembered everything and guilt filled her. She had to do something. Anything to make this right.

She stepped gingerly to the door, opening it she peered out seeing everyone in the living room. Shawn was up against a wall, as if he was hiding. Yelena was on the couch and the woman Allie was in the kitchen. An African American girl was scolding some Asian guy.

She didn't see Tim or the Indian guy. That was when Allie looked over and saw her standing there. Stopping what she was doing, she rushed over to Morgan and gently tried to lead her back to the bedroom.

"What are you doing, Morgan? You need to stay in bed and rest for at least a couple of days."

Morgan gritted through the pain when she yanked her arm away from Allie, looking frantically around.

"Where's Tim? And who are you?"

"I'm Allie, Morgan. The girl over there by the guest room is Seizure and Kekoa is in the room laying down. Tim stayed behind to help Wraith. Now, come on. Let's get you back to bed."

Morgan would have none of it, not that she had the strength to fight, but she was different, she could feel it. She had lost something in that warehouse, something she wasn't sure she'd ever get back. Her joy at life, her innocence. She'd seen how her own actions had made a bad situation worse than she could ever imagine when all she'd ever wanted to do was help people and animals. Instead, she'd brought RAID down on them all and now, Tim was out there because of her. Her lavender eyes hard, she slowly turned her head to Allie, looking at her through the eyes of someone who has just had her rose-colored glasses ripped off and can now see the world as well as herself in the true light.

"I'm not going back to bed. Why isn't anyone out there looking for him?"

When Allie told her that Totem was out looking for him, Morgan just gave a short laugh.

"One person. Just one. I can call on animals to help search."

Allie protested, saying that she was too weak and it would do more harm than good to herself if she were to do this, but Morgan wasn't listening. Her eyes glowing, she called to the stray dogs in the area, projecting Tim's scent and looks into their minds, going farther than she'd ever gone before and implanting into their minds how to let her know through their link when they found him. By the time she was done, she was breathing heavily and had sunk to the floor. Allie helped the girl up and led her back to the bed where Morgan collapsed.

By the time Tim had ran zig zag and hunched over, then dove down an alley over a stack of empty crates, he had emptied two fifteen round clips from his semi-automatic 40 Caliber weapons, He ejected the empty magazines and inserted two full magazines into the butt of the weapons. He picked up the spent magazines and slipped them ni his jack pocket. He new he had onle one full clip and a second one with only twelve ronunds in it. Peering over the stack of crates, then around the darkened alley. "Shit, shit, shit." he thought "Well this is another fine mess ya have goten us it to Ollie." Tim glanced down and across the alley where he saw a fire escape ladder hanging about four feet above a dumpster. He rose quickly and darted down and across the alley jumping to the top of the dumpster and then jumped up grabbing a rung on the ladder and pulled himslef up until his foot gained purpose on one of the lower rumgs. The wound in his side sceamed if pain as he climbed up to the first platform and then ranup the metal stairs till he reached the roof. "Thank God the moon ain't up." he thought as he scampered across the roof top and jumped across to a second building. Tim ran over to the roof access shed and tried the door. Locked, he continued running across the roof tops. Unknown to him he was running in the wrong direction, away from the Green Street safe house and deeper into the city.

Allie was exhausted, but she couldn't stop yet. She had people to care for, friends who needed her.

Once she finally go Morgan back to bed, she stepped out of the room to go make sure that Kekoa was minding himself and not give Ayana a hard time. As she stepped into the guest room, she saw Kekoa laying there, his muscular chest bare, a lop sided grin on his face and she felt her heart speed up. Damn, but he was good looking.

"I'm going to tell you what I just told Morgan. You need to rest for a couple of days and I don't want any arguments about it. You're welcome to stay here for as long as you need to, so just stay put."

Turning and walking back out before she began smiling herself she looked at Ayana and grinned at her, shaking her head. She went back into the kitchen and finished making everyone chicken salad sandwiches and laying out a relish tray for those who just wanted to eat light.

Looking over at Shawn, she wondered about him, but left him be for now. Yelena looked just as tired as she felt and Allie hoped that she would take her up on her offer and lay down on the couch, get a few hours of sleep.

Once she was done with the sandwiches and relish tray, she layed them out on the bar along with various things to drink from soda to juice and let everyone know that they could help themselves. Then, she went over to the large window and looked out, deep in though as to what they were all going to do and whether or not they were all going to make it through this.

Amazon stood across the expanse and watched Wraith. Her facial expressions played out for him to see them clearly. Rather or not they were sincere remained to be seen.

“Well now. This isn’t fair at all. You seem to know my name, but I don’t know yours. We’ll have to remedy that. In time, I’m sure.”

More sirens rang out in the distance and Amazon tilted her head slightly then looked back at Wraith once more. The smile that lit up her face was nothing short of beautiful, even with her wild Amazonian facial paint obscuring her face.

“Oh dear. You really are a resistance fighter. Honey, you need to become a free agent. You have no ties to anyone. Not the Resistance. Not UMBRA. No one but yourself. It’s an incredible feeling of freedom. You should really try it.”

Amazon took a few steps closer to Wraith but still remained well out of striking range. That same beautiful smile on her lips showed through the pretty pout she now wore.

“I’m hurt. I may be a thief, honey, but I’m not some sort of sadistic bitch who gets off on hurting others. Especially when they’re wounded. The only time I strike back is when I have no other choice and find myself backed into a corner. It wouldn’t be a fair fight on any one if they tried to challenge me directly. The only ones that can give me a good run for my money is the Bronze Devil and Apex. Bronzie is too straight an narrow to bend the rules of that idiotic Riggs Act to engage me and Apex Fusion….well….He can mimic any ones powers. But other than those two, I’m afraid I’m too much of a challenge for all the others.”

The sirens were starting to get closer and the smile faded from her face as she moved closer to stand about 10 feet from Wraith and slowly extended her hand.

“Look….I know what you guys do in the resistance is honorable and all that shit, but RAID won’t give a rats ass. To them, you’re just a freak of nature like all the rest of us with special powers. I’m merely offering you a place to hide out until you get back on your feet. With no interference from me. Or anyone. A friend of mine has a place on the upper east side that over looks the Lake. It’s got a spectacular view and no one will even know you’re there.”

Seeing Wraith hesitate she smiled and made the Girl Scout honor sign with her free hand.

“Scouts honor.”

'If only this was another time and place', Wraith thought to himself as he studied the curves and beautifully angled features of the woman before him, but no matter how one sliced it she was the enemy. Rubbing the platinum wedding band beneath his glove with his thumb he thought of his wife. It had been eight years and he could still recall every detail of her face and the trill of her laugh and while he had filled the void of her with shallow physical encounters now and again his heart had died with her.

The sound of the sirens echoed through the alley now. Wraith recognized the unique pitch of RAID enforcement and knew that he had two choices, fight or flight. His electrolytes were dangerously depleted and already his balance was being effected, about all he could do now was lighten his body and hover; hardly a quick get away.

What winds he was generating subsided and the super-hero took a faltering step toward, Amazon, but quickly regained his footing forcing himself upright, his ribs burning. "It seems I have little choice." he growled, "After my little mishap, my wanted status has been elevated to number two I fear." Then noting Amazon's curiosity of why he chose to be number two on the list, he explained that, "You're still number one in my books, this isn't going the change that." Wraith then reached out and took Amazon's hand and made himself hover. He stared into her eyes and choked out a "Thank you."

Standing there before her his blonde hair waving in the aura of winds that surrounded his body the super-hero's expression was as cold as stone. "After I've repaid my debt to you, everything goes back to the way it was." he stated. He wavered again, his strength fading, but once more he fought the fatigue and stood strong. "I'm Wraith." he told her.




Totem was over the area, where Allie had picked them up. He flew silently through the dark moonless sky undetectable by the naked eye. Below him he could see that the entire sector of the city had been cordoned off, there were road blocks on every major street and RAID enforcers and police were combing the roads and allies in search of the meta-human's responsible for or linked to the retaliation that had escalated into a major disaster.

The Haida meta-human did several sweeping patterns over the area but it was just too dark to see clearly and if Cowboy was hiding somewhere he'd never spot him. For while then he felt strange, as if some force was projecting information into his mind, but not the part of him that was Human, it was his animalistic side that reacted to the psychic whispers. Cowboy's rescue for some reason was now even more of a priority to him and even stranger, he knew what he smelt like only he didn't have the nose to use it while borrowing the powers of the eagle.

Landing on a roof top, Totem dismissed the spirit of the eagle and then began chanting once more, calling the essence of brother wolf into his body. When he opened his wolven eyes, the night was bright and his nose drew in the scents around him. Cowboy's scent was strong, really strong. In fact, he just passed by not but a few moments ago!

"Praise the Spirit." Uttered Totem in thanks and quickly ran along the roof tops, the endurance and speed of the wolf coursing through his veins. From his previous vantage point he knew that he was heading north, away from the base. Perhaps Cowboy had a plan or he had become disoriented? Totem couldn't tell, and as he leapt across a narrow alley and landed on the large flat roof top of five story building it was clear he was about to find his answer.

Cowboy's sent was strong, but he couldn't see him and Totem knew then that he had to announce himself else he be on the receiving end of a bullet. "Cowboy." He called, swiveling his head about to detect any tell tale signs of RAID enforcers that may unexpectedly be within ear shot as well, "Cowboy, it's me, Totem. Don't shoot. Cowboy?"

Tim stepped out from behind a large roof top air conditioning cooling tower, with his weapons drawn. Seeing Totem standing there, Tim lowered his weapons, slipping them into his shoulder holsters. "Damn right gud ta see ya thar Totem. I ain't got a clue on God's good earth whar tha hell I'm at. An as fur as gittin' back ta tha base, well I cud sooner find m'way ta tha south pole." Tim said,then concern showed in his eyes. "Did ya all get Morgan an Kona sum place safe an sum doctorin?" Fatigue and pain was etched on his face. "Any idear war Toril id be. We can't go leavin him out shar like a lost calf, fur that thar nest a rattle snakes, R.A.I. D., ta git.."

When Stefan turned on the music, Grey relaxed a little more, able to let out a few quieter tics that went by unheard. He then peeked his pale, gray eyes into the rear view mirror at the hot thing he'd picked up in the back seat and blew another puff of smoke out in front of him.

"So, what? D'you blue ball your pimp or somethin'?" he asked, smirking slightly before "whore," tumbled from his mouth uncontrollably. As though hoping to cover it up, he stuck the cigarette back between his lips and took a long drag.

Instinctively Totem had drawn his knife when the shadow emerged from behind the air conditioning unit and when he was certain it was Cowboy smoothly tucked it back into its sheath on his belt. "Damn good to see you too." he answered to the Texan's greeting then went on to let him know that the others were fine, "And, Morgan's on the mend." he told him truthfully. Even though the last time he had seen her she was still bleeding he somehow felt that she was doing a lot better. He couldn't explain it scientifically but it seemed as if the spirits were talking to him.

When Cowboy asked about Toril, Totem stiffened. "I was watching him on the news, Cowboy and I don't think he made it." he informed him, "I saw two rockets detonate right when he made the two twisters collide. I made several passes over this area, and saw no sign of him. RAID enforcers and agents, plus the police are everywhere. They have closed this entire area down to make sure we don't escape." Totem then turned and faced south, "The base is this way. What ever you want to do I will follow, I guess if I was lying out there injured I'd be wishing someone was lookin' for me too. I have the spirit of the wolf within me and my senses are sharp, you lead and I'll keep an eye, ear and nose out for any bastards that might be waiting in ambush."




Selena stared at Grey through the rear view mirror, studying him quizzically. She took a long pull on her cigarette, seductively blowing a trail of smoke through her full blood red lips. Tossing her hair to the side, she glanced at Stefan for a brief moment then back to Grey who was still awaiting an answer to his question, but she wasn't about to give it to him. Selena just smiled and stared with her bedroom eyes.



Scavenger could see his buddy checking out the girl. 'Some things never changed', he thought. Grey still had a thing for the ladies, while he himself still preferred them a little younger. Glancing back to the road, Stefan screamed, "Holy shit!" as some homeless dude came out of nowhere. Grey expertly swerved and skidded around the bum swearing and cursing every word in the book as the tail end of the car clipped a mail box and launched it through the window of a closed convenience store.

As they sped away, Stefan hung his head out the window to check out the damage and when he flopped back into the seat shared a malicious grin with Grey then the both of them started laughing insanely. Scavenger slid down into his chair and through his boots onto the windshield and Selena just sat back and watched the two punks delighting in their vandalism, shaking her head with a slight smile on her face.

Amazon saw the internal battle the man was having. Take the help of the dreaded enemy or risk being captured by the authorities. It was never an easy choice to make but in the long run, self preservation won out. Just like she knew it would. Good, bad or indifferent all meta’s had that same trait. It was far better to flee and live to fight another day than to be captured by an agency that has made it their mission to eradicate all meta’s from the face of the earth.

Amazon smiled triumphantly when she finally saw the resolve in Wraith’s eyes. When he faltered those couple of times prior to taking her offered hand, she actually reached out to help support him but he was being stubborn to the very end and refused her aid. Until he had no other choice.

The minute his hand touched hers, he would feel the warmth and know she was indeed quite human despite all things he may have heard about her. Her hand gently closed around his and as he told her about his debt payment, she quickly took his hand and draped it over her shoulder before she leaned down and scooped him up into her arms. Seeing the look that crossed his face, she smiled pretty again.

“Put a cork in it, handsome. You know just as well as I do that you don’t have the strength to do anything right now so just leave the driving up to me. Consider me your own personal Greyhound Bus.”

If his weight was a strain to her, it never showed. She seemed to hesitate a moment before she moved and if Wraith could read minds, he would have blushed at what she was thinking. Did her body pressed against his feel as good to him as his body pressed against hers did to her? Wonder what it felt like with nothing between them? The next instant, she leapt into the air and drifted high into the air making sure she kept well above the buildings. As Wraith glanced down he would see the vehicles with flashing lights quickly converge on the area they had just been standing in. Amazon’s voice slipped softly into Wraith’s ear then as she turned her attention to the direction they were headed.

“We’ll be there in a few minutes. Relax. Nothing’s gonna happen to you. I promise.”

The view of the city was nothing short of spectacular from this vantage point. The city street lights, neon signs, vehicle lights and twinkling traffic signals made for quite a show. When they grew closer to Lake Michigan, Wraith would feel the difference in the air temperature knowing they were getting close to the destination Amazon told him about.

Circling a tall building for a few times before she landed gently on the roof. She set Wraith to his feet but held onto his hand as she guided him to a roof entry door with an electronic key pad. Keying in a series of numbers, the LED turned from red to green and he heard the magnetic lock release on the other side of the door. Pulling the door open, Amazon led him down some stairs to another secured door with the same type of key pad. Keying in the code once more, the door unlocked and she opened that door to lead him into a darkened apartment.

With a flip of a few switches, the lights were lit and Wraith found himself standing in a penthouse suite. The furnishings were exquisite and the place was decorated beautifully with a huge ceiling to floor, stone fireplace as the center piece of the wall in the great room. Antiques from around the world as well as world renowned paintings were set out all over the place. It was wide open and spacious and he could see several rooms off the great room.

Amazon let go of his hand long enough to walk over to a wall of curtains and press the button that automatically opened the heavy drapes. As the drapes opened, Wraith could see Lake Michigan stretched out before him and an in ground pool on the large patio just beyond the multiple sliding doors. Walking back over to him, Amazon smiled and took him by the hand once more and led him further into the penthouse. When Wraith faltered again, she put her left arm around the small of his back and draped his right arm over her shoulder so she could lead him through the place using her as a prop.

“Over here you have your kitchen which should be well stocked. Depending on how long you end up staying, I’ll contact the benefactor to have some stuff brought up to you. Back this way we have the master bedroom suite complete with rain forest bathroom. That little piece was added just for my indulgence. There are two more bedrooms a little smaller than this one off the opposite side of the great room. But with your size, you need this bedroom for right now. Call who ever you need to call but don’t tell them where you are. This is our little secret and if you tell someone, I’ll have to kill you. Since I really don’t like to kill people and you don’t want to be dead, let’s agree on this one thing, shall we. Good.”

Was she kidding around or was she being serious? It was so hard to tell right now. Walking Wraith over to the side of the bed, Amazon turned and helped him ease his large frame down onto the bed before standing back up again in front of him. That constant smile she wore was still there and the twinkle that now seemed to sparkle in her brown eyes was ever present. Her eyes assessed his body once more before she waggled her brows.

“Too bad you’re out of energy, Wraith. I think you and I could have a grand time together. Oh wait….you wouldn’t stoop that low as to let yourself go with….gasp….the enemy. Oh the horror and shame it would bring you.”

Bending over so that she was eye level with Wraith, Amazon leaned in as close as she possibly could without actually touching him. Her eyes focused in on his lips as she whispered seductively against those lips she was focused on.

“Too bad. I’d love to show you what fun a girl from the wrong side of the tracks could give you.”

Slowly pulling away from him, she stood straight once more. Reaching her hand out, she let her fingertips ease through his blond hair before she sighed forlornly and turned on her heel. Calling to him over her shoulder as she spoke, she waved lazily.

“I’ll double check the fridge before I leave. Make yourself at home and stay as long as you wish. No one will bother you. If you need anything before I return tomorrow evening, just pick up the house phone and order it from the lobby. It’ll be sent up with no questions asked.”

When she reached the doorway of the bedroom, she turned and leaned against it letting her eyes slowly ease over his form once more before clicking her tongue and shaking her head.

“Damn shame, Wraith.”

Blowing him a kiss, she struck a French show girl pose with both hands on one side of the door frame, her head tilted back as she looked at him and her leg bent at the knee before she disappeared down the hallway to check the fridge and kitchen for supplies.

“Ce la vie!”

Yelena was worried sick. Tim and Toril were missing. Morgan needed Toril’s medical expertise and to make matters worse, Yelena had no clue where to even start looking for them even if she COULD leave Morgan right now. Which she wasn’t about to do. The girl was distraught enough when she woke up and the last thing Yelena wanted to do was leave her with a group of strangers she didn’t know. No. It was best she remain here with Morgan and help out any way she could.

Still, she hoped Tim and Toril showed up as quickly as they could. SHe would feel much better when they arrived. At least then she wouldn’t have to worry so much about them. And with the others back safe and sound, she could relax a little as well.

Looking around, the shape shifter saw the damage the group had taken. Kekoa had suffered a gun shot wound but thanks to Tim’s field medic quick thinking saved the young man from loosing any more blood than he already had. Anaya appeared to be alright despite some of the bruises and stuff Yelena could see starting to form on the young woman’s dark skin. Totem had suffered some damage to his back but all in all he seemed fine before he left to locate Tim.

Why? Why did these encounters always have to end the exact same way every time? Why couldn’t they just be left alone? Before that stupid Riggs Act, things were doing just fine. Sure they had their share of bumps in the road, but all in all, they were fine. They helped mankind and mankind accepted their help. The meta’s that turned against mankind were being dealt with. And meta’s like Yelena made sure they were dealt with away from society if things got too bad. But now…it seems like they couldn’t escape the mainstream of society no matter how hard they tried. It was almost like they were being lured into the big cities where there was little escape that could be made.

Looking over at Shawn and seeing him retreat to a corner of the room, Yelena knew just exactly how he felt. What she wouldn’t give to become obscure and live a life no one would see or find. With a sigh, knowing things would never be that easy ever again, Yelena went back to the room Morgan was resting in to remain by the young woman’s side until the others arrived.

Morgan was awake when Yelena walked in to the room. She was laying on her back, staring at the ceiling. One thing Yelena would notice was the hardness in Morgan's eyes, a hardness that wasn't there before. Morgan moved her eyes to look at Yelena before returning her gaze to the ceiling. She didn't know what to say to the shifter and sorry just seemed to lame. So, she didn't say anything just yet.

When Yelena pulled up a chair and sat down next to the bed, Morgan finally moved her head, looking directly at her.

"What do you want, Lena? Do you want to say 'I told you so'? Go ahead. I deserve it. My father was apparantly right in one thing. 'A demon can't help others. A demon can try to be good, but even those deeds will turn bad because they were done by a demon.'"

Morgan gave a sarcastic laugh at the look on Yelena's face, her guilt overriding her common sense, filling every empty space she had inside of herself.

"What, you look confused, Lena. Well, little Morgan has seen the truth now. My actions have done nothing but bring more trouble to you all and now Tim is out there somewhere because of what I did. Tim had told me that the group's safety was number one priority, so I took him seriously and thought I'd get rid of my father since he was working for RAID. Yea, that really worked out well, didn't it?"

Morgan once again laughed, looking away from Yelena so she wouldn't see the tears shining in her eyes. Once she was composed, she turned back, dark circles under her eyes, lines of pain lining her face.

"Daddy was right, Lena and I see that now. A demon can't do a good deed for she is evil and evil can't do good. You all would have been better off to leave me there. Frank would still be dead and RAID wouldn't know that you all were here."

Rolling over onto her right side, Morgan became quiet, silent tears trickling down her face and across her nose to drip onto the pillow.

"Go away, Lena. I will use what I have to find Tim and then I think I'll call it a day."

Yelena listened to Morgan talk and what she heard from the young woman angered her more than anything. One thing Yelena didn’t care for was self pity and right now, Morgan had that written all over her. Unfortunately, for Morgan, there was only one way Yelena knew how to deal with self pity.

“Were you born this pathetic or do work hard at being like this?”

When Morgan slowly turned her head to look back at Yelena, she would see the anger clearly showing in the shape shifters eyes as that golden, metallic color began to bleed through.

“You think you first one to do something like this? Not just no but hell no. And you won’t be last. You learn many lessons today and biggest one is the trust what friends say. We never….NEVER….let father get hands on you, no mater what. Patience is what needed to be practiced. Something you obviously not know about. You act like you only one to have special abilities that cause family members to look at you like freak. I got news, sister. You not alone in that category so stop acting like you are. Look past own nose and see who you in company with. Others stories are not so unlike yours. The only difference between you and rest of us is we understand what makes us different and if family not understand, then that their loss. But for you to wallow in own self pity like lazy pig ready for slaughter house, you not do it around me. You want babying, then fine, you find babying. But you not get babied by me. You are woman. Grown…woman. Act like one.”

Yelena got up from the chair she had occupied when she entered the room and walked to the door way then turned to give Morgan another hard look.

“Das vidonya, Morgan.”

With that, she shape shifter left the girl alone and went to seek privacy else where. Passing through the main area Yelena saw Shawn huddled in the corner still and walked over. Gently placing her hand on his shoulder, she took his device in her hands and typed out a message for him.

Want me take you to room for privacy? I find some for self too.

At first, Shawn gave her a cross look at being disturbed but when he read her message, he nodded reluctantly. Yelena stood up and waited for the young man to get to his feet. Once he stood up, she took his hand and placed it on her shoulder then slowly led him down the corridor to a quiet room. Leadingd Shawn into the room, she guided him to the edge of the bed. If he wanted to sit down, he’d be able to do it on his own. Taking the device in her hands again, she typed out another short message.

Thanks for help today. Would be gone if not for you. Rest well.

As soon as Shawn had the device back in his hands, Yelena turned and headed out of the room seeking a room of her own. Her quest took her to a set of sliding glass doors that led to a private balcony. Checking to see if anyone was watching and seeing that no one was, she slowly eased the door open and stepped out into the night air. Closing the door behind her, she found a louonge chair and sat back looking up at the twinkling stars overhead. Closing her eyes, she tried not to think of everything that happened this day.



If only it were that simple.

Morgan stared at the door where Yelena had slammed out, confused.

They didn't blame her? But they should. Why didn't they blame her? She didn't understand and was beginning to wonder if she ever would. She'd been alone for too long, maybe. She'd hadn't had to care about anyone else but herself for the longest time and then Tim came along and all of that had changed.

She curled up on her side, calling to the every animal she could come in contact with within a 5 mile radius, draining even more of her strength, stretching her abilities as far as they could go, but she no longer cared. She had to get Tim back to safety somehow.

She called to pigeons, squirrels, raccoons, dogs, cats, rats, and mice, even the few hawks that resided in Chicago, more animals than she'd ever called at one time, her eyes glowing brighter than they'd ever glowed before. She projected Tim's image into all of their heads along with his smell, making finding him the utmost importance and bringing him back to where they all were, at Allie's apartment.

Once she was done, her eyes lost their glow and were dull, frightening so. Yelena was right, self pity was for others, not them. So she began working on hardening herself, withdrawing into herself so that she wouldn't feel like this again.

When Tim would eventually return, he would find a Morgan that was different for the new Morgan was burying the innocent Morgan. The one who enjoyed life and carried her heart on her sleeve would be gone, but not dead. Just buried deep where she wouldn't get hurt anymore.

Wraith wasn't used to being man-handled especially by a woman, in fact he had never experienced being at the mercy of such a powerful yet appealing female ever. Perhaps he might have enjoyed the close contact if he wasn't feeling noxious but by the time they made it to the roof top, the man who literally walked on air was thankful to feel solid ground beneath his feet.

Passing through the two security doors, Wraith noted the magnetic locks and air tight seals. He wouldn't be getting out that way. When she turned on the lights, the super-hero staggered into a vast room adorned with treasures and antiquities from around the world but all he saw was a display of ill gotten goods. He had no doubt that she would counter his accusations with stories that justified her acquisition of her expensive collection, but he hadn't the strength nor the inclination to banter with his benefactor. No matter what she would always be a thief in his books. Still he owed her, if she hadn't flown him away, he'd probably be in the custody of RAID or worse and so he would turn a blind eye to her villainy at the present moment.

When she opened the wall of curtains to reveal the night-scape of Lake Michigan, Toril made a mental note of their location in relation to the angle of the lake, or at least he tried. Chances are he wouldn't be able to pin point the building but he would at least have an idea of its general vicinity. The swimming pool was also a nice touch, making Wraith shake his head in disgust of the money she had allotted, but he was weary and instinctively she had carried him to the bed in the master sweet. She lied him down gently onto the soft mattress and seductively leaned over him like a lioness toying with her prey. Wraith could feel the heat burning over him, the pounding of his heart in his tensed chest when he allowed himself to gaze upon her long, powerful legs and micro thin waist line and her...

He closed his eyes and drew his hand across the exposed part of his face, letting his hands trail down to the point of his chin. 'Focus Wraith. Just focus.', he told himself, as he watched Amazon exit the room. He'd never forget that body, but her face was too obscured by the ornate emerald war paint, so he wouldn't know her unless more of her was revealed and even then he'd be hard pressed to know for sure.

Now that he was sure that she didn't intend to harm him, Wraith felt secure to let himself fall asleep. He needed it. He started to drift off thinking that he'd just rest for a few hours then replenish himself so that he could make sure that no one unduly risked their lives looking for him. Hopefully they just thought he was dead. As, Wraith drifted on then, it was quite evident that he would be sleeping far longer than a few hours considering the time and what he had been through. If he managed to wake up before nine in the morning it would be a miracle.

Unfortunately, despite the laughter, the shock of the swerve and the swearing that ensued set Grey off and he continued to swear loudly and uncontrollably as they moved down the empty streets towards the flashing lights.

"F$*&! Shit! Asshole!... f*&%in' hobo," he mumbled, taking a long pull on his cigarette before tossing it out the window, his head twitching. "DICK!" They pulled up a few yards away from where the streets were blocked off and Grey caught the tell-tale sounds and lights of RAID. Grey exchanged an uncomfortable glance with Scavenger. "F$%#in pigs," he said, "PIG! PIG!"

"Shit, dude, what the f$&^ happened around here?" said Scav as he surveyed the damage that had become evident as they drew closer. When Grey stepped out of the car and peered around the buildings at the debris and smoke reflecting the flashing lights, Scavenger sat up. "What the hell're you doin, Grey?" Strolling up to the cop standing behind the caution tape, Grey tried to lean past him when the cop held up a hand to stop him.

"What happened?" he demanded.

"Get outta here, son," said the cop, "it's dangerous. There are loose metas running around. They did this," he said, motioning to the damage which proved to be catastrophic. "You're best bet would be to turn around and get as far away from here as you can. Ya never know where those freaks could be hiding." Grey glanced around the cop for another moment, his gaze settling on the RAID truck parked across the street, before meeting the cop's eyes, noticing the strange look the cop was giving him. While he'd healed significantly, Grey still had a black eye, a pretty good bruise on the other side of his face, and a cut on his lip. Saying nothing else, Grey turned and headed back to the car, opening up the driver side door and looking back at the girl.

"There's cops and shit all over. No one's gonna mess with you. Get out," he said, coldly as his face twitched, "WHORE!" he shouted then looked away.

Tim smiled at Totem and said quietly "Well Russell, dead or alive, I reckon we best be gittin' ta findin' Toril. I shur as hell ain't lettin them R.A.I.D. bastards havin his body ta go cuttin' up like a slaughterd cow. Ifin' ya ain't figured it out yet, I ain't partial ta leavin' a fallen comrade behind. Family got a right ta be sayin' goodbye ta family an puttin' him ta rest proper, ya know?"
Tim then walked to the edge of the roof and looked out over the night time skyline of Chicago. Off in the distance he could see the lights of a ship crossing Lake Michigan. Tim glanced at Russell, aka: Totem, standing beside him then back out over the city and said softly "Damn I miss tha open range, feel kinda like a caged coyote in one of them thar zoos in a big city. Hell any city big or small, ain't 'nough room ta take a proper breath." He exhaled a long breath and said "Let's git ta it." then stepped back from the edge and walked over to a fire escape ladder.

Amazon made sure the things in the fridge were still good. Not that they wouldn’t be. The hired help always kept things fresh. Speaking of the hired help. Picking up the phone, she made a quick call and cancelled the daily cleaning until further notice. When she hung up the phone, she walked back towards the bedroom to make one last check on Wraith.

Seeing him fast asleep, she moved silently closer. He was about the only man she’d ever met that was taller than she was. Well…the only man she found appealing that was taller than her anyway. Too bad things wouldn’t work out between them. She’d enjoy matching wits with him. He wasn’t all about the brawn and proved he had a brain he used as well.

Walking to the end of the oversized king bed, she pulled the blanket from the end up and covered his still form. Once more her fingers eased through his hair and this time, she leaned down to peck his cheek softly then whispered softly in his ear.

”Sweet dreams, Wraith.”

Standing back up, she sighed softly then turned and left the room again. As she made her way through the penthouse, she stopped to pen him a quick note in her feminine writing.

Wraith,

Hope you rested well. The sliding glass doors are always open if you choose to leave before I return. Of course I hope you don’t, but, free will is always a fickle bitch. Take care of yourself and I hope to see you soon.

Yours,
A

Setting the note on the kitchen counter for him to see, she closed the heavy drapes to keep the sun from illuminating the place fist thing in the morning. Turning the lights off as she moved through, she exited the penthouse the same way she came in and left Wraith alone, just as she promised she would.