Destiny: Fates Revamped

[CrystalPrison]

Don't judge me. Seriously. I can't control what I write, it's like I'm possessed!!!!!!! Oh. And because the Cayne you know might have been a character development project and I already have a Cayne and that would be confusing for me. So Ryan=Cayne. Yaaaaaaay!

And seriously. Don't judge me. I don't think the words, I just write them. And that makes more sense in my head. Blame Cayne/Ryan, who sits in my head telling me this long and never ending story of his

Aaaaand....I'll post until it deviates from cannon tonight. 'Cause you know, I'm still getting ideas for filler, because that's what I do. Also, proboards does not transfer over document formatting and it makes me so mad!!! And the prologue has little importance except set up and making me happy.
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Prologue

Ryan Labe, age seventeen groaned softly as he ducked into the relatively small, but incredibly comfortable home of his mentor and one-time guidance counselor. He brushed vibrant red hair away from his pale features and looked around the house until he found Robert in the kitchen, making what smelled like stir fry. Water boiled in the kettle, despite the heat of the day, and at his feet lay a large orange cat that looked up at his entrance. “Please tell me you’ll adopt me.”

The words earned the teenager a low chuckle and the man shook his head slightly. “You know I can’t do that, Ryan. You’ll be fine in Aurora anyways, don’t panic.”

“Don’t panic? How can I not panic?” The teen buried his face in his hands as he settled into one of the wooden chairs near the table. “Aurora is a big city. We’re in Ely, it’s tiny. We’re talking culture shock, I’m not going to have anyone there, I’m probably going to be tortured for being the new kid, who happens to be a gay ginger, I don’t even want to go and-”

“Ryan,” Robert’s voice was soft and calm, and instinctively Ryan cut off his rambling and looked up to the older man. Dark green eyes held wisdom, and Ryan felt the panic in his chest ease at the emotions he saw there: Robert was calm. “Breathe. Everything’s going to be just fine. Things have changed in the past few years; no one’s going to do anything to you.”

“Says you,” The teen muttered defiantly, while the cat, Tom, jumped into his lap and began purring. Robert began rummaging around in the cupboard, and Ryan watched his back as he spoke. “Not like you’ve ever been to Aurora. What could make this remotely easier?”

“Maybe you’ll make friends, or meet the boyfriend you’ll marry some day. You could find your calling there-”

Ryan snorted, cutting the brunette off, “Yeah, I can so see that happening. The only good thing about any of this is that I’m near kinda Chicago and I can shop.”

That earned laughter that cut off what Ryan was going to say next, and the teenager shot a halfhearted glare towards the tanned man as Robert poured boiling water into a mug. “See, there’s always a bright side. Besides, getting out of here will be good for you. You need to make more friends, you know that.”

“I had friends,” Ryan reminded the elder man quietly, accepting the mug of peppermint tea and taking a sip. The familiar taste was soothing and helped ease the sorrow and panic that had lodged in the teenager’s chest. “They left, and now I’m leaving too.”

Robert turned the heat beneath the stir fry down and moved towards the Ryan, pressing a light hand to the slender teen’s shoulder. The warm calm that Ryan normally felt around Robert grew and the man sighed while Ryan long sip of tea. “That’s not necessarily a bad thing. You’ll find friends out there, you know that. You were planning to leave here anyways; this just means you’ll have a chance to find your true home sooner. Leaving here doesn’t mean you’re leaving the past behind.”

“It feels like it,” Ryan’s voice was soft and held a note of fear despite the warmth intruding on his senses. “I don’t know how to survive in the city and I’ve already lost the people who kept me sane. One wrong move and who knows what’ll happen. There are people out there who can-”

“You’ve survived worse than a new city,” Robert squeezed Ryan’s shoulder as he spoke, and the teen felt the familiar calm grow stronger. Robert had been his rock for as long as he could remember, he’d always been the one ready with a cup of tea and a listening ear. ”Just remember that. And you’ll still have me, David and Jonathon. Leaving here doesn’t mean you’ll be leaving us.”

“You’ll be here, David’s in San Francisco and Jon’s still in England. Even if I need you people, you won’t be there. The phone won’t be the same, it might not be enough if something-.”

Robert settled into the chair across from Ryan, completely disregarding the food that still cooked. “It will be enough. You’re thinking too much, Ry, you need to have faith. You don’t seem to realize this, but you’ve grown, I’ve seen it. You’ve become stronger these past few years. If something happens, you’ll be just fine.”

Ryan looked up, shock coloring his features. Even calmer, he couldn’t
quite believe that, “Do you really think so?”

Robert nodded, and Ryan felt the familiar calm grow firmer. “Ever since the attack, you’ve been more confident in yourself. Ever since David and Jon left, you’ve been forced to rely on yourself. It wasn’t a good thing, but I know you can make it on your own.”

Ryan averted his gaze, embarrassed by the praise, “I-” He paused for a few long moments. “Thank you, Robert.”

“Of course,” There was warmth in the man’s tone. “Now go say goodbye to Diablo, and try to explain things to him again. I don’t want to deal with that come morning.”

That made Ryan laugh, and he smiled lightly, grateful for the distraction and the tea, which he quickly drained despite the way it scalded his mouth. Robert had always known the best way to keep him calm. “Yeah, I know what you mean,” He agreed easily. “But I’ve got to go soon, right after I say goodbye to him, so I guess,” He paused for a moment and sighed sadly, “I guess this is it.”

Robert smiled slightly and ruffled the teenager’s hair, much to Ryan’s displeasure. “Take care of yourself out there, Ry. And if you need me for anything, anything at all, just call me and say so.” As if to emphasize his words, Tom pressed his forepaws to Ryan’s shoulders and nuzzled the teen’s chin, purring.

“I know,” The redhead agreed, pushing off the cat as he stood. “I’ll come back to visit whenever I get the money. Tell Gwen I say goodbye? And that I’m going to miss you both?”

Robert’s eyes shone at the mention of his wife, and Tom watched Ryan, winding around his legs, “Of course I will. Now get going.”

Ryan nodded, and lifted a hand in goodbye, unable to vocalize the words he wanted to say as he left the house. Robert and his wife owned a gorgeous eighty acres of land, and he knew he’d miss being able to relax here. No, he knew he’d just miss being here, and he’d miss the people more than the place.

The teen moved quickly, the juniper and pinon needles on the ground masking the crunch of his studded black boots on the ground. Within a few short minutes, he found himself at the paddock and looking at the three horses Robert and Gwen owned.

The first two actually belonged to the couple; the bay, Teddy, was Robert’s mount, and the white Arabian, Luna, belonged to Gwen. It was the third horse, a sooty gray gelding with a black mane that Ryan was after, and he whistled sharply to get the creature’s attention as he entered the paddock.

Diablo whinnied and moved over to Ryan who pat the horse lightly, and almost absently. There were several moments of quiet silence where Ryan allowed his mind to wander in the quiet solace the animals provided.

Harsh pressure on his arm caught his attention, and the redhead jerked his arm away before Diablo could cause any real pain. “No,” He scolded, voice low and quick. “Behave.” The horse’s ears flattened at the tone of Ryan’s voice and he snorted in response, while Ryan rubbed his arm, grateful the leather jacket hadn’t taken much damage.

Ryan reached out to stroke the horse’s neck, murmuring softly to Diablo. The horse seemed to relax, dipping his head to lip lightly at Ryan’s hair when the teen settled onto the ground near the fence.
“I’ve got to go away, Diablo. My parents are making us move, Dad needs more money and this is the best offer we’ve gotten.” He’d told the horse several times before, but he just had to do it one more time, the animal deserved it.

The redhead shifted to touch the black leather choker with mesh weaving that he’d grown accustomed to wearing. “I don’t want to leave, and I know I’ve told you all this before, but I’m sorry.” The horse blew out a breath into Ryan’s hair as he spoke and the teenager sighed. “I won’t be back for another few months, until the summer.”

A few moments of contemplative silence passed before teeth grabbed Ryan’s shoulder length hair and pulled. The teen swore, grateful the force wasn’t enough to rip out his hair, and shoved at the horse. “Jesus! What was that for?”

Diablo just stepped back and looked down at Ryan, dark gaze steady. The redhead shook his head slowly, rubbing the sore spot on his scalp; he’d long since become used to his horse being both infuriating and comforting, all while he was being horrible to anyone nearby.

With a sigh, Ryan stood, and the horse promptly butted his head against the teenager’s shoulder, pushing him back against the fence. Ryan rolled his eyes, but smoothed a hand through Diablo’s mane, “Yeah,” He agreed softly. “I’m going to miss you too.”

Diablo nickered and Ryan smiled softly, “You have to promise me something, okay?” The horse’s ears flickered forward, “Be nice to Robert and Gwen. I know you like to ride and love getting attention, but they’re older than me and busy. They won’t be around as much as I am.”

He paused for a moment, considering the horse who he’d become so attached to; the horse that had saved his life almost four years ago. “They’ll take care of you,” He added softly. “They’ll spoil you rotten. But you can’t take your anger at me out on them. Understand?”

Diablo didn’t make a sound, though his ears remained pricked forward. Ryan shook his head at the realization he was talking to a horse and looked around slowly. Aside from the horses, he was completely and utterly alone, so he supposed there was no shame in it.

A soft whicker and pressure to his forearm jerked him away from thoughts of solitude and he shook his head at Diablo and he pulled his arm away. “Alright, alright, I get it. I’m thinking too much, I know.” He paused for a few moments, looking over the area. He wasn’t sure how he’d be able to trade in this sheer beauty for the crowds that would come in Aurora.

He focused on his horse, remembering a time when he, David and John had gotten attacked by student’s who had taken ‘pranks’ too far. It had been while riding at night, during their freshman year of high school, and it hadn’t been expected. He remembered the sheer panic, the fact he’d known he would die there, and Diablo rushing in to scare off the attackers. The five teenagers had ended up bloody and with broken bones from Diablo’s hooves, injuries worse than Ryan and his friends had faced.

He’d always been intensely fond of the bad-tempered horse, despite the fact he was as likely to bite as he was show affection. That night had just intensified things though, and Ryan didn’t have a clue how he was supposed to say goodbye to a horse that had done that for him.

This was his home after all, and no matter what Robert had said, he was still nervous about leaving. It felt as though he’d lost so much already, losing more seemed impossible. And yet, it had to be done, and there was always the chance that Robert was right and that this would help him.

Not that Ryan thought that was right, but it was always good to humor his mentor. The man had done too much for him not to, after all, the least Ryan could do was try.

The teen moved away just in time to avoid getting bitten again, and he sighed softly, moving to rest his head against Diablo’s neck. “Yeah,” He agreed softly. “I know. I’m a jerk for leaving. But like I said, they’re going to take care of you. And I’ll come visit, I promise.”

He pulled away from the horse slowly, lifting himself over the fence with practiced ease, knowing he had to leave or he’d be late. And as much as the redhead didn’t want to leave, he knew he had to, and he knew his parents would be infuriated if they missed the plane because of him.

Some part of his mind whispered that Ryan had already lost his best friend and his boyfriend. Now he would lose his mentor and horse, both of whom had been unerringly there. A new place with new people could be the beginning, or the end, of everything. And though Ryan would never say it out loud, he was both terrified and thrilled. A part of him had been waiting for this chance, after all. A new school at the end of his senior year would bring more than the obvious changes.

This was a chance to shape a new destiny.

[CrystalPrison]

P.S. If you notice any name or spelling errors or something....multiple projects does that to me....just...point it out or something?
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Chapter 1

Six months after leaving Nevada, Ryan tore through the streets of Chicago on his new motorcycle. His goal was simple, the mall, and he was eager to get there and use some of his paycheck to buy himself something nice.

Of course, the feeling was made all the better by the Harley that he currently rode on. There was little better than getting a new bike as a thank you gift for not throwing to much of a hissy fit about moving during the middle of his senior year, and actually trying to make friends.

As Robert had said, Ryan had made many friends, though he doubted he’d stay in touch with many of them. Already he was beginning to lose contact with them, and school had let out less than a week ago. But he couldn’t make himself mind, they hadn’t been able to replace his old friends, and he doubted anyone ever could, no matter how much they wanted to. It had been Ryan who’d drawn the line and kept himself from getting too attached to others that had seemed shallow at best.

Working to get his mind off of the path it was on; Ryan shifted his weight almost absently, angling the bike towards the mall parking lot with ease. It was hardly a replacement for a horse –speed couldn’t compare with a living animal- but it was definitely a pleasant addition to his life.

Killing the engine, Ryan rummaged in one of his saddlebags until he pulled out the small messenger bag he kept stored there. In it were his wallet, cell phone and iPod, and his dirty little secret: a .40 S&W. He only kept the pistol on hand for protection and target practice- today it was for the latter- but he didn’t dare risk leaving the weapon or ammo with his bike unattended. No one would find out about it anyways, and that was what mattered.

That decided, the teen began walking, rummaging in his bag until he found his iPod. A few moments later, the familiar sounds of Adele singing were blaring in one ear, and he tapped out the beat absently against his leg as he headed towards the mall. It would be a good day for him, he was sure.

However, upon entering the mall, he couldn’t help but wonder otherwise. Admittedly, some people looked happy and quite a few offered him warm smiles, but there was a reminder of darkness as well. Many people –most of them adults- held newspapers and were reading the front page. It only took a moment for Ryan to figure out why; there was more news about Paris.

He winced at the mere thought of the city, which had somehow been destroyed two weeks earlier in a fiery explosion, leaving nothing behind but charred buildings and bodies. People were still trying to figure out the hows and whys of everything, but the fact was that there appeared to be no leads.

The entire city had been wiped off the map, and despite investigating, no one could find out why. There had been no sign of a bomb, no hint of a plot or plan; life had been normal one moment and over the next.

The thought made Ryan’s blood go cold with fear, he didn’t want to imagine that happening again, especially not closer to home. It had to be some kind of fluke, or a terrorist that had been particularly sneaky; it wouldn’t happen again, it was as simple as that.

The chance of anything else was terrifying, especially for the teen that still hadn’t reached his eighteenth birthday. The thought of someone with the technology to incinerate a city the size of Paris –a city with two million people- was something he didn’t want to deal with. He was just a teenager, after all, and it was the government’s job to worry about that so no average person had to.

Shaking his head to clear it, Ryan ducked into a store that suited his tastes, judging by the dark, ripped jeans and glint of silver he saw inside. Letting his mind relax, he allowed his gaze to roam as he moved towards the men’s section and began surveying the clothing.

He hadn’t come with the intention to buy much, but with two weeks until his eighteenth birthday, he was eager to spoil himself. Besides, there was a nice looking gray shirt that looked meant for him nearby, and he couldn’t bring himself to say no.

Snagging a shirt, and grateful it was in the right size, he continued to browse the shop. Almost instantly he found himself wandering towards the piercing case, debating on the benefits of getting something other than the standard rod in his eyebrow or the stud in his lip.

Humming to himself, he drummed his fingers absently on the plastic separating him from the jewelry as he thought. It was hardly a complex decision, but he liked the silver on his features; it looked best with the blue of his eyes and pale skin, in his mind.

A soft, thoughtful murmur caught his attention, and Ryan looked up to see a thin girl –just about his age- with streaks of purple in her hair. A work name tag identified her as Deborah, and she offered him a light smile, “See something you like?”

The tone of her voice and her posture told Ryan she was interested in him, and the redhead fought a sigh; he hated it when this happened, which was far too often. He’d yet to figure out why every straight girl seemed to like him. “Eh, don’t look like it; ain’t much to my taste, here, unfortunately.” His gaze traveled the area behind her and he saw that was true; there was nothing but clothes here that appealed to him.

“You sure? I know I could help you find something you’ll appreciate,” The girl offered, and Ryan tried not to sigh again. She wasn’t being obvious, at least, but he’d gotten used to identifying the interest people had for him.

“Nothing,” His voice was firm, but kind. “And there ain’t nothing you can do to change that either.” Unless, of course, she had an attractive brother hiding in the back office somewhere, but he highly doubted that would happen any time soon.

Deborah pouted, but Ryan made himself ignore it. “Right then, all shirts are twenty percent off, jewelry and accessories are buy one get one free. Have a nice day.”

Before she could turn away, Ryan offered the girl a smile, hoped she’d forgive him and he relaxed when she returned it. His aim hadn’t been to hurt her; that was just too often the result of denying girls without actually explaining he was gay. And honestly, he saw no reason to explain, because it was his life, and his alone.

Shaking his head to clear it, Ryan turned in the direction of the fitting rooms, deciding that lingering around wouldn’t be the best for Deborah’s mental health. He didn’t understand the draw people felt towards him, didn’t know why so many were nice to him, or even why they were attracted towards him, but he knew it was best not to encourage it.

Once he was enclosed in the fitting room, Ryan stripped off his leather jacket the blue and black shirt he wore, careful not to tear the mesh that made up his sleeves. For a moment he examined his shirtless form in the mirror, trying to figure out the attraction. Straight red hair fell loosely to his shoulders, framing his pale face and ice blue eyes, but there was nothing of interest in his natural looks.

Maybe it was the tattoos that decorated his body; the words ‘life’ and hope’ were written on his left and right knuckles respectively in gothic script. The words ‘Fuerza en la Oscuridad’, the Spanish translation of ‘Strength in Darkness’ were tattooed on the inside of his right forearm, and his left wrist wore a tattooed bracelet of leaves and tulips. His left shoulder bore a tattoo that was one half the symbol for yang, with the yin half being represented by a black horse with a white eye. Metal glinted faintly in the florescent lights from his lip and left eyebrow, but that was all that was special about him.

The tattoos were a tribute to David and Jon, Robert and Gwen and Diablo respectively. It was a way of reminding himself of all he’d gone though, and all he’d be able and willing to fight through, with the right motivation.

Turning his gaze away from the ink, he tugged on the new shirt, adjusting the short sleeves and the ‘v’ of the neckline absently. It looked good on his slim frame, and it was just snug enough to accent the subtle muscles he’d gained from years of farm work and riding.

Another, more conceited part of his mind, thought it looked good against his pale skin, but Ryan shook away that thought absently. He knew it wasn’t good to think too much about himself like that; arrogance was hardly something he prided himself on.

Tugging off the shirt, he pulled his old one back on, gathered the soft gray shirt and readjusted his bag. Whistling a cheery tune, the teenager headed towards the front of the store, where Deborah was waiting at the register.

The girl rang up the purchase quickly, and Ryan noticed instantly that she didn’t meet his eyes, and scarcely looked at him. He couldn’t blame her, of course, rejection was never easy, but he did wish she wouldn’t have that look like he’d done something wrong.

Politely declining a bag, the redhead left the store and ducked into the nearest bathroom. The secrecy was maybe a little overrated, he mused as he tucked the shirt beneath his pistol, but it was better than getting caught with the weapon.

Deciding he was rather hungry, Ryan exited the restroom and headed towards the food court, debating on what to eat. He moved slowly though, unsure of what he wanted, and so when he was approached by a teen with shoulder length, wavy blonde hair, he wasn’t all that surprised.

“Excuse me,” The girl’s soft, accented soprano voice was timid, and caught Ryan’s attention as he stopped. “Would you know where the coffee shop is in this mall? I-” She paused and averted her gaze, “I’m not from here, and I’m supposed to be meeting someone.” There was another long pause in which Ryan identified the accent as French, “I think someone’s following me.”

The redhead took a moment to gather himself, a little worried as to why someone would follow a girl who looked a bit younger than him. “Yeah, I know where it is,” He agreed. “How long do you have to wait for? I can’t stay with you, if you want.”

Instinct and good morals told him not to leave the girl alone, especially if she wasn’t feeling safe and thought she was being followed. He hadn’t experienced much trouble in Ely –aside from the ambush- or in Aurora or Chicago, but that didn’t mean he wanted to let the girl get hurt. “I’m Ryan Labe, by the way.”

Relief seemed to color the girl’s posture, but her gaze still flickered around nervously. “J-Je m’appelle,” She paused to collect herself. “My name is Chantal Rosenburg. And if it is not too much trouble monsieur, yes please.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Chantal,” Ryan murmured, shifting to rest a gentle hand on her shoulder. He really didn’t like the fear in her eyes or the nerves in her voice. “So who are you meeting here?”

In response, the girl reached into her pocket and pulled out a note and handed it to Ryan. “I do not know, exactly. I got this in the mail, along with the money I have and a plane ticket, while I was staying in Toulouse with my aunt. There’s also a picture,” She added, pulling it out.

Ryan took a moment to survey the man in the picture; he looked to be about twenty with dark brown hair and eyes, with glasses and features that looked faintly Asian. The younger girl next to him looked close to him though her skin was pale and her hair was a light brown. Ryan guessed she was a friend or a lover, not his sister, though the apparent age difference made him wonder.

With a sigh, he handed the picture back to Chantal and quickly scanned the note.

‘You do not know me, not exactly, but I know of you. I know what happened in Paris and who hurt you. As you can tell by the picture I’m close to one of them men that attacked you; that man would be a brother of mine. He’s a bad man who’s out to hurt people, and for that, I apologize.

He’s still after you, but I can help you. I know about your gifts, I have them too and I can help you and protect you. They’re gathering our people and I have to put a stop to them.

Enclosed is a plane ticket at $2,000 American. Catch a plane in two days and go to Chicago. Meet me in the coffee shop at the following address, I’ll be there. I promise you, you’ll be safe. I won’t let them hurt you again.

Gabriel’

At the bottom of the paper was an address, which Ryan recognized as that of his favorite coffee shop in the mall. The redhead ran a hand through his hair and looked to Chantal, who looked at him as though she was afraid; probably of being judged.

While part of his mind reeled in shock from the fact this girl was from Paris, he made himself speak. He knew bringing up what had happened to her home would be a horrible place for the conversation to go. “I’ll be honest, I don’t know a thing about this guy or gifts, but I’ll still help you out. It won’t be good for you to meet this guy alone.”

While he spoke, something with an angular head and round ears poked its’ head sheepishly out of Chantal’s purse. The weasel like creature had short fur, which was white at its throat and dark everywhere else, and despite how out of place it was, Chantal didn’t seemed shocked.

It chattered at Chantal quietly, but the girl seemed completely unfazed as she quietly urged him to stick his head back into the bag. “Hush, Davin. You can come out soon,” There were a few moments where she spoke softly to the creature in French, before her gaze shifted to Ryan. “He’s a stone marten; please don’t ask, just-”

“Easy, easy,” Ryan soothed, “Don’t worry, I can wait ‘till you want to explain.” He paused and surveyed her for a moment. “But, if you don’t me asking –and don’t feel like you have to answer- what did the letter mean by gifts?”

“I-” Chantal froze and horror filled her gaze for a moment. “I have talents, special talents. They knew what I could do and sent people for me.” While she paused to collect herself, there was the sound of chattering from her bag, and Ryan thought it sounded angry.

Ryan placed a hand on her shoulder, “Easy now, don’t worry. You’ve got nothing to fear around me, I’ll keep you safe.” He promised gently. “Now what do you say we go meet your friend?”

Chantal shifted closer and nodded hesitantly, “If you are sincere in the offer, I will take it. For some reason, I’m feeling safe talking to you.”

The redhead squeezed her shoulder gently, “Don’t worry, I’m more than happy to help you until he gets here, and maybe after. I’m not the kind of person who makes an offer he doesn’t mean.”

“Merci, your kindness, it’s more than I deserve,” Chantal whispered, looking away as she spoke.

Ryan shook his head to the sound of quiet, but angry noises from Davin. “Now that’s complete blasphemy,” He informed her, guiding her towards the coffee shop. “You’ve obviously been having a hard time, so keeping you company is hardly anything.”

Chantal sighed as they walked, “Is it because you read I was involved with Paris,” She sounded faintly pained as she spoke the name of the city, “That you’re being so kind?” She inquired.

Ryan was pleased to notice she sounded more curious than sad, but he couldn’t help but be shocked at the question. “Not at all. I mean, I’m sorry for everything that happened, and what you’ve gone through, but that’s not it. Anyone who’s had a rough day, or week, or longer deserves a friend, and I’m more than happy to help out.”

After all, his friends had been the only reason he’d survived a rough six months. How could he turn away someone who so obviously needed him? “Honestly I was just planning on keeping you company, listen if you’ve got anything you want to get off your chest and buy you coffee, and maybe some dinner.”

“I don’t think- it’s just that-” Chantal closed her eyes and sighed as they entered the coffee shop, seeming so fragile it was painful for Ryan to watch. “What was done- it’s too much, I-” She broke off when her gaze fell on someone reading a newspaper with a front page that mentioned the incident. Almost instantly, she seemed to break, and began to cry.

Acting on instinct, Ryan wrapped a gentle arm around Chantal’s shoulder and rubber her back lightly. Some part of him knew it might be a bit too much contact for someone he’d just met, but he couldn’t just let her stand there and cry.

“Hey, it’s okay. You don’t have to tell me about it, you don’t have to say anything.” He murmured, in a voice that he prayed was both calm and soothing. “Just try to relax, you’re safe here; I won’t let anything else happen. It’ll be okay.”

“Thank you, I-” She broke off at the sound of soft laughter and twisted. Ryan followed her gaze, and saw a man with long, dyed red hair flanked by a woman with brown hair and an Asian man with platinum blond hair, and a machete at his waist. “Non, c’est impossible.”

“Bonjour Mademoiselle,” The red haired man said, flashing a sadistic smirk. “It seems you’re attracting men to your side like wildfire. Anyone that looks like me, by any chance?” It took Ryan a moment to get it, but when he did he fought the urge to panic; this man looked like Gabriel from the picture, or he would have if his hair was shorter and brown.

A cheetah slunk in and approached the red haired man with apparent familiarity. A snake looped itself around the Asian man’s shoulders, baring fangs at the teenagers, while a peregrine falcon swooped in and landed on the woman’s shoulders.

Ryan choked down ten kinds of fear and shifted lightly so that his arm rest on his bag and his other remained wrapped around Chantal’s shoulders. The stone marten –Davin- stuck its’ head out of the bag and chattered angrily at the intruders, giving Ryan time to collect and calm himself.

“Y’know, it ain’t nice to pick on girls,” He commented, pleased when his voice remained steady and cool. “I’d advise you to back off, if you know what’s good for you.” He was bluffing, lying through his teeth, but he’d promised to protect Chantal, and he refused to fail her, even if he didn’t know what was going on. Besides, at the very least, he had a gun and that normally trumped animals.

“Stay out of this kid. You don’t know what I am, or her for that matter,” The man with the cheetah stated. “Then again, you’re not like most people, are you? There’s something about you that’s strange, unnatural even and you can do strange things. So can I.” Completely calm, the man picked up a spoon and shoved it through his free hand before ripping it out.

There was a crash from another part of the room, and Ryan twisted, grateful for the distraction to see a blond teen –about his age- knock over his drink, scream and fall out of his chair. He was staring at the attacker, while people moved around them, trying to help him. “Just get away,” The mystery teen grit out.

Ryan twisted back and watched, pale and a little shaky as the wound began to close. “See what I mean?” The attacker commented. He had eyes only for Chantal -Ryan doubted he’d looked away from the girl- and a sadistic grin split his features.

“It’s him, the man who is after me, the one who-” Chantal said before Ryan could speak, though she quickly broke off, shaking.

“Finish that sentence, girly. Due to my other power and yours, Paris burned.” The man laughed, sounding pleased. “True it was basically my fault. Who knew copying your power and using it on you would cause a supernova? Live and learn though, huh?”

A glance to Chantal proved the horror in her gaze had only increased. Her body went tense next to Ryan, even as Davin scrambled up her arm to perch on her shoulder. Ryan squeezed the girl gently while the red haired man scanned the area.

“Now, we know there’s someone else here. Show yourself of my friend with the machete will start offing people until you show. He can sense you; he knows you’re here, watching.” His gaze circled the room, landing on Ryan, “And I don’t think you want that.”

“I’m not going anywhere, even if you can do that.” Ryan twiddled his fingers in the direction of the bloody spoon, grateful for the calm caused by adrenaline and hoping to draw attention away from the person who might be a hidden ally. “I’m not leaving all these people with a man who just confessed to destroying Paris.”

He paused, and offered a reassuring smile to the still-panicking blond boy, “It’s alright man, I ain’t gunna let nothing happen. Just take a deep breath,” He assured him, sliding a hand into his bag to curl it around his gun. “Of course, if you’re looking for people off, you may as well start with me, ‘m not complaining.” Ryan finished, stepping away from and in front of Chantal.

He could panic later, after all of this was said and done, once Chantal and these people were safe. He found himself longing for home, for Robert and Diablo back in Nevada, but he didn’t let himself focus on that while the redhead finally focused only on him and instead he prayed the man couldn’t recover from a headshot.

“So it’s the tough guy act, huh? Then your power must be quite interesting.” The man smiled, and Ryan worked to hide his confusion. “Changing plans, taking his power,” He reached out, only for his arm to stop suddenly, as though something had grabbed it and pushed it away. “So there you are, brother.”

“Get away from them, you bastard,” Ryan twisted to see the man from the picture –Gabriel- accompanied by a gray wolf moving behind him and Chantal. “You’ve done enough damage already.”

“Oh, I’ve barely begun,” The red-haired man smirked and the woman vanished, only to reappear behind Gabriel and aim a shot at him. Ryan swore violently, but the bullet fell to the ground as a malformed lump of metal.

“What the-?” The woman sounded stunned.

“I said he’s invincible you dumb broad!” The red haired Gabriel screamed at her, sounding infuriated.

Gabriel raised his other hand, and both the red haired man and the woman were sent flying into the wall. “Are you quite done yet?” He didn’t sound bored, but he was impatient, and probably a little worried.

“Let him go,” That was the Asian man, who surveyed them with cold, dark eyes as he moved with stunning speed and grabbed a worker. The snake looped around another one as the Asian placed his machete to the worker’s throat. “Or they’ll be the first to die.”

[CrystalPrison]

Chapter 2

Ryan struggled to comprehend what was going on; he was completely and utterly lost. The feeling was only made worse when an odd, bug-like creature with six legs and no eyes snarled as it lunged at the man with the machete and knocked it out of his hands.

A glance around proved it was the blond teen he’d noticed, who was standing and shaking rather violently, staring at where Gabriel stood with black blood dripping with one hand. Without giving himself a chance to think, Ryan tugged Chantal away from the fight, knowing she’d be too out of it to be of any use. With his other hand, he readied his gun.

The Asian swore as he steadied himself, and the snake left the waitress -who promptly scrambled away- to attack the bug. The human’s gaze was on his hands, not Ryan or the others. “Disarming me will do little good, I am a weapon. Your mistake was not killing me, for now I won’t hold back.” He paused and looked to the blond teen, “Tammy, bring down the redhead, Id, take your brother. I’ll beat this blond boy into submission.”

“A fine mess this is,” Tammy said as she got up and adjusted her grip on her gun. “I’ll tranq the sucker if I can.”

“Don’t worry,” Gabriel’s voice was oddly calm and the wolf beside him gave a low snarl. “I have help coming.”

“‘Help’, he says. Whoever it is they won’t make it in time,” Id commented, brushing long, red hair from his face. “And you’ll be dead by then.”

Ryan struggled to make sense of everything, and trying not to panic over the thought of being tranquilized or worse. “Your help is close, right?” He prayed they were outside, that there were many and they were all trained fighters. All he knew was that he didn’t want to die here and he hoped that trying to fight would be enough to keep him alive.

While he scrambled for sanity, the Asian man lunged towards the bug creature and began fighting with it while Gabriel spoke. “Just two people I’m afraid, but they’re very powerful. Just keep your wits about you.” His gaze flicked towards Chantal and an impatient frown creased his features. “Chantal?”

The girl remained silent and Davin chattered nervously at her, his fur seeming darker than it had been before, and growing darker still. “Chantal!” This time, Gabriel’s voice was firm and harsh, making the girl yelp. “We don’t have time for you to do this, you can’t space out. You have to help your friend take the teleporter down. You need to stay with us.”

“But-”

“There won’t be another Paris,” Much to Ryan’s surprise it was the wolf that spoke, in a low alto voice. “We made a promise and we’ll keep it; as such we’ll die before it happens. Can you trust us?”

Chantal nodded slowly, and Ryan squeezed her shoulder gently, eyes trained on Tammy. The soman was watching them as Id struggled to pick himself up off the ground, and Ryan was certain she was looking for their weak spots. She’d destroy them if she got the chance; there was no way he could let that happen.

Refusing to give her time, Ryan aimed two quick shots at Tammy. His aim was good, thanks to years of hunting and practice but she vanished as he fired and reappeared at his side. Blood flowed down one shoulder though, and the teen let himself feel satisfaction at that; he’d managed to graze her.

A scream caught his attention as Id broke free of the telekinetic hold and Ryan risked a glance towards to blond teen. He was shaking and had apparently fallen back, “Get away from me!” Once more the creature charged, seeming undeterred by the Asian man’s attacks. “Don’t touch me!”

“Hey buddy, easy, we’re not here to hurt you,” Ryan promised, urging Chantal towards the blond. They had to watch each other, he knew that much already, and he doubted the blond teen could take care of himself.

At the same moment, he watched Tammy slide a new clip into place while her falcon swooped down on them far faster than Ryan thought possible. Much to his surprise, Davin surged forward, seemed to meld with the shadows, and tackled the bird, sending them both spiraling to the ground. Howls and snarls of fury caught his attention, and he saw the wolf and cheetah thick in the throes of battle, tearing at each other viciously. “What are you doing?” The blond asked softly.

“Trying not to die,” Ryan answered while Tammy fired. He tugged the blonds near him down, grateful when the bullet hit the wall behind them and bemoaning the concept of a firefight with a teleporter. His thoughts were frantic, but his hands were steady as he readied another shot, waiting for the moment Tammy would stop teleporting to fire.

The blond flinched at the gunshots and ducked down, muttering softly to himself, and Ryan noted the way Chantal’s hands shook. “Easy, easy. It’ll be okay,” He reassured them softly. “Don’t worry, they won’t get us.” Ryan absolutely refused to let the people near him get hurt, something about the mystery blonde’s reactions told him he had been hurt before and protective instincts made it so he wouldn’t allow it to happen again.

Black blood began seeping from the blond boy’s hands while his creature rammed into the Asian man time and time again. “They’ll find me,” He rasped softly. “I’m not going back, they can’t make me.” The blood began forming hundreds of bat-like creatures around them. “I won’t let them.”

“Going back? Are you an escapee?” Ryan whipped around to see Tammy appear behind them, gun aimed at Carson. “Well then I’ll just have to shoot ya in the kneecaps and have fun with your-” She broke off with a scream as she away.

“Sorry we’re late, Gabe. Traffic was a bitch and Gou drives like a granny.” Standing in the doorway were two men, a tall blond with and an short Asian man wearing gloves. Relief filled Ryan at their presence and he was intensely grateful that someone else was here to help him fight.

The Asian man –Gou?- seemed completely focused on the other Asian man, “Takashi.” There was a sound of screeching, and Ryan noticed a mongoose lunge forward to attack the snake. “Who would have thought?”

“Gouken, still alive I see,” Takashi smirked, sadism filling his features as he finally destroyed the blood creature. “Id, take his power! It’ll let you hurt your Ego self!”

Ryan looked between the others, so confused it frightened him. The other two were rather obviously on their side, and he was intensely grateful for them, but as he watched a mutt that looked more wolf than dog move behind the blond man, it grew worse. Just what was going on here? Who were these people and what was with these animals?

“Gouken, yes, the guy whose parents you offed after they found out about you. I remember that story,” Id laughed, though he was quickly distracted when Gabriel lunged forward to attack him. “Oh really? You’re going hand to hand with me? Too bad I just borrowed from my partner.”

A roundhouse kick sent Gabriel flying, and the man slowly picked himself up, “Don’t let him touch you, Gouken. Ford, Kia, get these people to safety! I’ll hold them off.”

The bats swarmed Takashi and Id and the blond shook weakly, “You’re with the FBI aren’t you? No, you can’t make me-” He grit out while Id surged forward, delivering another set of blows towards Gabriel that looked strong enough to cripple him. As Gabriel went flying once more, the bats converged on Id.

“FBI my ass, we’re no government force. If anything they want us dead,” Id snorted, though he stumbled when Ryan got a clear enough shot to take aim and fire, striking him first in the lower back and again in the leg. “Fool.” Moments later he was distracted by the bats, fighting them off to the best of his ability.

Tammy too, was doing the same thing, while Takashi tore at the bats. “Try to teleport, we need to retreat. We’re exposed and outnumbered, but we’ll come back; they can’t escape me. We’ll bring back up next time.”

“You’re not FBI, are you?” The blond boy asked, disregarding all Takashi said and what Tammy screamed in reply as Ryan shook his head.

The elder blond, Ford snorted, “Got a brother in Interpol, but he’s being controlled by these idiots. I own a comic book shop and the Gouken’s unemployed. Gabriel was a psychology student, but-”

He broke off when Takashi charged them, but Gouken surged forward to intercept him. The two men were snarling at each other in some foreign language as they fought, and the fury in their voices was evident.

“Alright, we need to-” Ford broke off, seeming shocked and a moment later Tammy appeared and struck him down with the gun. Without missing a beat, Ryan raised his gun and fired again, hitting her shoulder from behind while Kia tore at the assailant’s lower body, snarling the entire time.

“Gouken, look out!” That was Gabriel, but before Ryan could see what he meant, bright light shot from Chantal, striking one of the attackers. When it –and his vision- cleared, he saw Id a ways away from where Gouken had fought Takashi, covered in burns. Takashi was burned as well, though they weren’t quite as bad.

Chantal began crying, looking as though she was in shock, and she crumpled weakly to the ground, oblivious to the fight around her. Soft whispers of French escaped her and her voice was thick with sorrow.

“That was awesome,” Ford commented dully, dodging a strike from the falcon, which still moved too quickly to be normal, not that he was shocked at this point. Moments later there was a gunshot, a yelp from Kia, and Ford cried out, voice thick with pain.

Before Ryan could think of a solution, the blond teen had tackled Tammy, while his bat creatures swarmed the area, seemingly confused. Ryan swore violently, “Get away from her!” He urged, though he used his free hand to touch Chantal’s shoulder, trying to soothe her, even as he fought for the right answers.

Carson scrambled away while Ford raised his hand and sent Tammy and her gun flying. It crashed through the ceiling and kept going, “I control gravity,” He explained, though he gripped his shoulder tightly as if suffering from an invisible wound. “I wonder if they’ll find it in space? What do you think?”

Tammy swore violently, while Takashi lunged at Gouken, having found his machete once more. “Stop interfering!”

“No, you need to be stopped,” Gouken removed his right glove, revealing a black, scaly and disgusting looking hand; it looked more reptilian than it did human. He grabbed the blade, which began dissolving at his touch.

“Bastard!” Takashi lashed out, striking Gouken in the chest, sending the other man sprawling and gasping for breath.

“Gouken, behind you!”

Even as Gabriel shouted his warning, Ryan saw Id appear and clamp a burnt hand down on Gouken’s neck. The Asian man went rigid and shook as Id’s hand began mimicking the appearance of Gouken’s and his body began healing from Chantal’s attack.

Fighting panic, Ryan was glad when Kia returned and spoke, dragging an exhausted and battered looking Davin with her. “We have to go, now! Quickly!”

Ryan nodded quickly, grabbing the blond and Chantal, “I know you’ve got no reason to trust me or them, but she’s right. I do not want to meet the cops.” As he spoke he tugged them towards the door, grateful when neither teen fought him, though Chantal was still inert with fear and pain. “Just try not to panic.”

The blond laughed awkwardly, “Don’t know if you’ve missed it, but that doesn’t work for me.” He paused and his gaze focused on something, before he ducked down, trying to hide behind Ryan and thus stepped further into the shop, “They’re here.” His breath came hard and fast with fear, “The FBI, my guardian. They’ve come for me.”

A scream from Chantal caught Ryan’s attention, and he followed her gaze, stunned to see Id with his hand on the floor, which was bubbling and cracking. “What the-?”

“Christ, he’s gone mad!” That was Tammy, who was standing near Takashi.

Something forced Ford, the mongoose and Gouken away from where Id stood, while Gabriel shifted to stand between Id and the others. “No time to waste; get them to the base now! I’ll meet up with you outside!”

Gouken was muttering to himself in some foreign language while the mongoose scrambled up his shoulders. The mall began to shake as he and Ford joined them, and it was him who spoke. “Follow me, it’s this way!”

Ryan looked behind him and saw Tammy grab Takashi’s arm and vanish, leaving Gabriel and Id behind. He was afraid for Gabriel and moved to head back before Ford grabbed his shoulder and pulled him with the others. “Gabriel will be fine, trust me. Worry about yourself instead; we’re not safe yet.”

“Not good, not good,” The blond boy whimpered and flinched while the ceiling slowly began to crumble. More bats filled the area, knocking away the pieces before they could crush Ryan or his new allies.

Ryan was certain he was hallucinating, but he didn’t let that stop him as Ford half-dragged him out of the building and towards the parking lot. The area was crowded and people were panicking and calling loved ones, too lost in their own little world to notice the hiding ‘wild’ animals, or Kia. He was released once the group was outside and had slowed to a fast walk. “Does anyone know how to get us out of here? I’ve got a bike, but-”

“We’ve got a van,” Ford said, gesturing towards a vehicle that was thankfully near where Ryan had parked. “But that’s not enough. It’s too small for all of us.”

“I can fix that,” the blond stated, though his voice still shook softly as they approached the vehicles. A drip of blood hit the ground and formed into a rough, slightly deformed copy of Ryan’s bike. The headlight was the eye of the creature, and blinked once, “Will this work?”

“That’ll do,” The mongoose agreed in a soft tenor voice. The creature paused, nuzzled Gouken and chattered softly to the man. Something about the noise was soothing, and Gouken nodded slowly as he listened.

Seeming completely out of place, Gouken touched the mongoose’s head with a sigh, “How do you suppose he used my power to do that?”

“Place has a basement, maybe he screwed the floor up enough, or maybe there was a load bearing beam beneath him?” Ford suggested, patting the limping Kia, “We’ve got to worry about it later, man. Let’s-.”

There was a shout and Ford twisted, raised his hands and buffered Gabriel and the wolf as they quite literally flew towards them. Somehow, both man and wolf seemed fine though a little shaky, “The backup’s arriving; we have to get out of here now.” He instructed. “Are rides set up?”

“Backup?” Ryan asked, instantly worried.

“The building beside the mall, look up,” Ryan complied and saw an eagle staring at them.

Ford did the same, swore violently and scrambled for the keys, “Get going, get going! We need to move! That thing can kill us all, no problem!”

Gabriel nodded, “Chantal, go with him,” He nodded towards Ryan, “He’s taken care of you so far, he’ll be good to you.”

Ryan mounted his bike and motioned for Chantal to get behind him, holding out his helmet with his free hand. “Don’t worry, I’m good on this thing,” He gave her a light smile, hoping he was reassuring.

“If anything happens I’ll fly out of the van and make them eat concrete,” Gabriel promised, settling into the back of the van beside the wolf, while Kia loaded in. “Just follow us and don’t panic.”

Chantal nodded and accepted the helmet with slightly shaky hands while the blond teen laughed at Gabriel’s words. “I have never ridden one before,” Chantal whispered.

“Don’t worry,” He repeated as she slid on the bike. “All you’ve got to do is hold on; I’ll do all the work.”

The blond boy shook weakly, “What’ll he do to us?” He asked softly, looking to the sky. Ryan could hear his breathing grow harsh with fear, and the creature he’d created shuddered, probably reacting to whatever the blond felt.

“Move before that damn bird makes you shorter!” Ford shouted at Gouken, spurring another bit of foreign, angry muttering from the Asian man. “I know you’re swearing, Gou! I’ve heard that enough! Now get your short ass in here!”

“Ready when you are,” Ryan assured them, and the blond teen nodded in agreement. Moments later, the van took off and Ryan keyed the bike to life, tearing after them without a moment of hesitation. He prayed the blond boy would be right behind him, he didn’t want anything bad to happen.

Vehicles blurred past them, he noticed cop cars and ambulances and the sound of sirens filled the area. Adrenaline was the only thing that kept panic at bay, but he thought that even that was fading; what had he just gotten into?

After what felt like forever, but what Ryan thought was only ten or fifteen minutes of tearing through the streets at just barely the speed limit, the van turned off the main road. However, even then they weren’t done yet and they moved along increasingly smaller streets until they reached a secluded warehouse, on the outskirts of the city.

The building was relatively decrepit, it didn’t look all that stable, or even nice. The windows had been boarded up, and the walls were bleak and uninviting. As Ryan braked behind the van and heard the blond teen stop behind him, Gouken got out of the van.

He watched, just a little confused as Gouken moved with the mongoose still on his shoulders and after a few moments, got the door to the warehouse open. He motioned the van in and when it was parked, gestured for Ryan and the blond boy to do the same.

As Ryan killed the engine and stilled his bike, the sound of punk music filled the air. The blond boy got off of his bike, and Chantal followed suit quickly, handing Ryan back his helmet. Gouken had crouched next to Kia, and he’d pressed his left hand –which looked like it was made of solid gold- to her wound and as he watched, the bloody wound from the gunshot began to heal.

Ryan dismounted and gave himself a moment to look around, and his gaze fell on a table laden with two party pizza boxes, crumpled chip bags and two bottles of soda. A teen, about Ryan’s age with dyed black and blue hair sat at the table and raised a hand in greeting while an odd four headed creature peered over his shoulders.

Ford laughed softly, and Ryan suspected it was at the look of sheer and complete shock on his features that caused it. “Yeah, I know.” He agreed with a shrug. “You get used to it.” He moved to Kia’s side, stroking her now healed side lightly.

Gouken hummed in quiet agreement, “Don’t worry, you’re safe here.” He assured them gesturing for Gabriel to leave the door open. “Welcome to the Hall of Justice.”

[CrystalPrison]

Chapter 3

Before Ryan could say a word, Gabriel shook his head, “Stop calling it that, we’re not a super hero team.”

“Could’ve fooled me,” The mongoose stated. “What else are we?”

Gabriel opened his mouth to answer, but was cut off by the punkish teenager speaking. “You’re back! I ordered dinner; saved you guys some!” He chimed, before pausing to sing along with the music. Moments later, what Ryan suspected was some kind of mutant parasite began fighting, with itself, and the other teen began yelling at them in what sounded like German.

“We’d have been back sooner, but we ran into my Id self at long last,” Gabriel explained, sounding upset. “He destroyed the mall in an attempt to get us using Gouken’s power. I should have seen it coming.”

“Still find that hard to believe, dude must have found like, a spot like that exhaust vent on the Death Star or something,” Ford commented, sounding pensive.

“I did not know my power could be used so, so-” Gouken didn’t finish his sentence, instead he hung his head in defeat.

“Get some pizza and calm down,” The mongoose urged scurrying over to the table and dragging over a plate laden with the food. “It’s not your fault, you know that.”

“It’s mine, technically-” Gabriel began. However, the wolf snarled at him, giving him a look that stopped him from speaking.

“Excusez-moi, Monsieur Gabriel. I am thankful for the rescue, but what was-” Chantal broke off for a moment. “What was all of that back there with you and that terrible man? You mentioned there was a reason you looked the same.”

Gabriel’s sigh seemed to slump his body, and the wolf beside him shook her head. “First get settled, make introductions where needed and take a seat. It’s a long, messed up story with a lot of explaining to be done.” She instructed, nudging Gabriel’s hand lightly.

The punkish teen finished scolding the creature and looked around; his eyes locked on Chantal before a grin split his face. “Hallo fräulein. Gabriel didn’t say he was bringing a lady home, I would have cleaned up a bit more; especially if I had known you’d be such a radiant beauty.” He paused for a moment and gave a warm smile, “I am Wolfrik Abendroth,” He stated with a bow. “And who are you?”

Ryan shifted a little nervously, feeling completely awkward around the flirtatious teenager. It might have been because the teenager was rather obviously straight, but Ryan felt didn’t want to be present for what he was sure would be an outrageous amount of flirting. Chantal was pretty enough, for a girl, at least, and he didn’t blame the other teen, he just didn’t want to see it.

Ford however, laughed, “Wolfie boy’s trying to get into the sheep’s clothing.” He teased, breaking off with a yelp as Kia bit him.

“Shut up, we don’t need two dateless wonders here,” Gouken scolded, smacking Ford upside the head.

“Talking about yourself again?” Ford countered, though he flinched when it looked like Gouken would attack again. Thankfully for Ford, the Asian man settled for muttering to himself instead.
Chantal giggled softly, and Ryan relaxed at the sound, reminding himself that normalcy was allowed. “I am Chantal Rosenberg and this is Davin,” She answered as the marten peered over her shoulder, and Ryan was amused to notice the light flush on her face. “Thank you for your kind words, Monsieur Wolfrik.”

While Wolfrik continued the overzealous flirting, the blond teen took a step backwards, towards Ryan. “I’m beginning to feel very uncomfortable…”

“Yeah,” Ryan agreed softly; it was certain odd to watch Wolfrik shower compliments on Chantal. “I’m Ryan Labe, by the way.”

“Carson,” The blond said softly, gaze flicking around the room as he settled into a swivel chair. Absently, Ryan noticed that it was the one farthest from the others, and that he faced the door, completely disregarding the food.

“I’m Kosei,” That was the mongoose, who spoke as he pulled pepperoni from Gouken’s pizza. “Yes, Gouken and I are from Japan, and yes we know the fool snake and his bastard partner. I’ll like you more if you don’t bring up either.” Ryan thought there was a joke in the creature’s words, but he wasn’t sure.

“Ran,” The wolf said simply with a slight nod of her head. She looked only faintly irritated when Davin scrambled onto her back as she settled onto the ground near where Gabriel stood. “In a sense, Gabriel and I are in charge of this little group.”

Ryan settled slowly into a swivel chair, and despite the fact he’d been hungry earlier, he didn’t even glance towards the food. “What is all this? Why did they come after Chantal?” He asked softly. He was a little unnerved to admit complete and utter cluelessness, but it was better than having no idea.

It was Gouken who spoke first, “As you can probably tell, we’re special people that have powers and that are bonded to animals. The radiation that began with the Trinity Tests is what we believed caused it through a gene mutation that’s made us like this. Certain circumstances activate the gene and when it activates, both animals come into their powers. It’s only afterwards that they become completely aware of their bond, though the animal half always seems to know.”

Ford nodded, and sighed as though he wished he didn’t have to speak. “There are people like us who have certain ideals we disagree with. They came after Chantal because of her powers, and what they can do with them.” Chantal flinched slightly at the words; tension filling every line of her body, and Kia nuzzled the girl lightly. “They hunt us, capture us and have a join or die policy.”

Carson released a soft, strangled sound of fear, stopping Ryan from asking his next question. “F-first the FBI, now these psychos.” He whimpered, “I have to get out of here or I’m dead.”

“That’s the death sentence itself,” Ford commented sadly, reaching for the remote, turning on the TV and putting on the news. “Ten bucks says this’ll prove it, the news lives for the things that make up our lives.”

‘-Eight officers were brutally slain by what appeared to be terrorists. This added to the death toll is thirty seven dead, nineteen wounded. No knowledge if this is connected to-”

Ford shut off the TV with a sigh, making Ryan wonder if the newsman had been about to mention Paris. He thought it was likely, and that would have broken Chantal, making him glad for Ford’s actions.

“That was for wanting Chantal alive,” Gouken stated. “You’ve made an enemy of Takashi –we all have- and he will want to redeem himself. He has the ability to track our kind; you’ll only be safe with us. There is power in numbers.”

Wolfrik said something in German, and judging by the tone, Ryan was certain he was swearing, which he could certainly sympathize with. “I- I’m sorry. I should have met up with you guys. I thought you three had this-”

“Calm down,” Ran said simply. “They still don’t know we have you, there was no reason to show them. Besides, if they copied Emery’s power, the super strength,” The wolf shrugged. “We didn’t want that on your conscience.”

Kosei nodded, “He’s creative, just look what he did with Gouken’s powers. We don’t need to help him anymore.” The mongoose then turned to Carson, “Why does the FBI want you so badly?”

Carson flushed, looked away and sighed, “They found me in my foster home when I was real young. They’ve been doing tests,” He grit out the last word as though it was physically painful, “To try and find out what makes me tick, but I-” The blond teen curled slightly into himself as he shook, rubbing the inside of his elbows. “I-I can’t stand needles. I-I-I freak out and the t-tests, I couldn’t-” He broke off and shuddered, “I ran.”

While Gouken pressed a hand to Carson’s shoulder and Ryan touched his arm, Wolfrik turned to Gabriel, seeming more focused on the mall issue. “But I could have helped, Id-”

A soft sob escaped Chantal, and Ryan knew without a doubt that this was all too much for the girl to handle. He certainly didn’t blame her for feeling that way. “I,” She broke off and fell to the ground crying. “Paris it- because of Id, of me-” Ryan stood and moved to her side, touching her shoulder while Davin nuzzled her hands.

“Id copied her power and used it on her. It created an unbreakable feedback look that caused the explosions that destroyed Paris,” Ran explained.

“That power stealing son of a bitch!” Ford swore and a low snarl rumbled from Kia’s throat, “No offense, man.”

“None taken,” Gabriel claimed, and Ryan felt his gaze on him and Chantal. When he looked up, he saw Gabriel watching them, looking as though he felt guilty. “It’s my fault, anyways.”

“What?” Ryan demanded. Carson looked as stunned as he felt, and Chantal’s sobs slowed, probably due to her own shock. “How? He’s not-?” He looked to Ford and Gouken, confused but the blond man merely shook his head, jaw tight.

“Id looks like my brother, but he isn’t. He is a third of me,” Gabriel explained slowly. “Three years ago, I was a psychology student, and one day I woke up with powers, the power to alter reality. With a thought I could change everything, and that power terrified me. Bad things happened, because no power is perfect, because it gave me what I wanted without taking my intentions into account. But I remembered a book I’d read on Sigmund Freud, about the three subconscious minds we all have.” Shame and discomfort was thick in the man’s voice, and he shook his head as he stopped speaking.

Ryan stared, trying to fight the shock that had all but paralyzed him while Ran spoke. “He gave himself limited power in each form, as well as weaknesses and decided to meet up two years later. The three were Id, Gabriel is the Ego consciousness, and Gabe is the Super Ego, though he is absent. Id never showed for the reunion though. He’d joined the Midnight Organization, the people we fought. He wants to be in control when they merge, and has sold their power to the leader.”

“Which makes everything he does my fault,” Gabriel concluded simply. “So I’m fighting back by saving who I can until I can finally stop him.” Ran snarled softly, giving him a look born of fury and impatience, which interestingly enough seemed to mean something to Gabriel.

Silence reigned for a few moments, and Ryan tried to process everything. On one hand, he was completely and utterly normal, but despite everything that had happened, he couldn’t leave the others alone. The danger would be worth the risk, at least to him. “I’m not sure what’s crazier,” He murmured. “The story itself or the fact I believe it.”

“You’re telling me,” Ford agreed. “But it’s true; I’ve met all three sides. And it’s like the cartoons with an angel and devil appear on the guy’s shoulders. Id’s the devil, the impulsive, greedy side, and Gabe’s the angel, the moral side. Our boy here is the dude who makes the call.”

“Welcome to a world of teleporters, matter dissolving hands, and talking, super powered animals,” Kosei chimed in. “There’s very little that can’t be done anymore; we just keep it a secret. Humans are rarely kind to us.”

“You’re telling me,” Carson muttered, though he seemed to be calming down just a little.

“That’s why we fight though,” Kia added. “We worry about taking down the Midnighter and we have the money to deal with other problems.” The large dog paused, “It isn’t easy though.”

For some reason, thoughts of easy didn’t bother Ryan much; he thought he’d find a way to handle it either way. There were however, issues in fighting, Carson didn’t seem to have control over his emotions and Chantal seemed to lack it when it came to her powers. “But, I don’t have powers, how can I-?”

He stopped speaking when Kosei sniffed at him and then shook his head, “Sure you do! They’re just subtle.”

“But-?”

“Kosei can sense and identify powers, Kia can transform into a large wolf, I am a shield and as you probably noticed, Davin can control shadows and Emery possesses super strength and regeneration,” Ran said from her spot near Gabriel. “Generally we are opposite from our partners in one way; be it powers or personality.”

For a moment, Ryan was distracted from questions about his powers, by trying to figure out the others. Kosei had seemed far more willing to fight and less gentle than Gouken, Kia appeared more serious than Ford and Davin controlled shadows while Chantal controlled light. Wolfrik seemed eager to talk and be joyous, but Ryan very much doubted that Emery spoke much, if at all. The only difference he couldn’t figure out was Gabriel and Ran, but he thought it had to do something with the looks she kept giving him.

“Emery and me are pretty unique,” Wolfrik chimed in, drawing everyone’s attention. “Most of us have real animals. You’ll probably run into yours soon enough.” He paused and looked to Kosei, “What’s he do? Is he fun?”

“He draws people to him,” Kosei decided after a few moments of staring at Ryan. “That’s probably good, because it’s probably why Chantal approached him.”

Ryan blew out a sigh that was equal parts frustration and relief, wishing for a few long moments that he could return to Nevada and be normal. As he watched Carson move over to his blood creature, he turned his attention back to the others and tried to pinpoint where he could have gotten these powers, it didn’t make sense at first.

It only took a moment, but he cringed and shut his eyes against the memory when he found it. It had been that night almost five years prior, when he, David and Jon had gotten jumped. They’d gotten beaten down, the others had intended to kill them; they would have succeeded if Diablo hadn’t defied every instinct and came to save them.

And yet, now that he was thinking about it, he could remember other details he’d lost to the fog and pain of the night. He’d had to protect the others, because they’d saved him from himself and he loved them both, though in different ways. He remembered fighting back, metal striking his body, and the feeling of being completely useless, the knowledge that he’d die.

He remembered, towards the end of the assault Jane had seemed to hesitate in her attack; that had been before Diablo had gotten there. He remembered mere seconds beforehand; hearing himself scream, another attacker, Jacob, had sounded so confused, and then Diablo had been there to defend him.

Since that night, everything had been easier, and it suddenly all made sense. But that didn’t stop the horror from the fact that if it hadn’t been for his powers, there was a chance that he and the two people he’d cared most about would have been dead.

Davin nudged him lightly, and he realized blankly that everyone still sitting was watching him. He flushed; well aware it was incredibly visible on his pale features and looked away. “Sorry, I was just thinking. Remembering really.”

“S’all right,” Wolfrik assured him. “Fun stuff those memory things are. I’m sure Carson would-” He broke off, looking quickly around the room. “Hey, where’d the kid go?”

That earned a few moments of chaos and Ryan stood while Gabriel and Ran moved towards the door. Ryan instantly felt bad, they’d all been focused on him, after all. He knew Carson was probably terrified from everything, enough that he’d been willing to disregard Ford’s warning. Of course he would have wanted to get out of here, he was on the run, after all, and this group would only attract attention.

It was getting dark though, and that worried Ryan deeply; what with his powers and fear, Carson wouldn’t make it long. “We have to get him back.”

Gabriel nodded, gaze tight, “We will, FBI be damned, we’ll find him.” He looked around, “This is a volunteer mission, but I want Chantal to stay. Gouken, Kosei, keep her safe.”

Wolfrik nodded, “I’m with them too, then.” Emery nodded his agreement, leaning over Wolfrik’s shoulders to watch Chantal curiously.

“I’m with Gabriel,” Ryan said simply, mind racing. He should have kept better control; if he had then Carson wouldn’t have had a chance to leave, after all. This was his way of paying the blond back, even if Carson didn’t think he needed it.

Besides that, if he could attract people to him, then maybe he could find a way to help Carson. It was the only lead he had -even if it was barely there- but he knew he had to try. He couldn’t stand by as Carson got hurt.

“How will you find him?” Chantal asked, while Davin scampered up Ryan’s shoulder curiously.

“We call Gabe,” Ran answered while her partner pulled out his phone and dialed a number. “He’ll be the easiest to contact who can scan for him using Gabriel’s knowledge of him.’

“We need your help finding one of our kind.” Gabriel paused. “Well you’re not the only one.” There was another pause, this one was longer. “It isn’t safe to leave him for long, his control is shaky at best and if the feds find him again –yes again- he’ll only get worse. More so if Id can get to him.”

He shook his head, looking irritated, “A co-op? Are you listening to me? At least your issue has time! We need all of our energy focused here, there’s no time for you to be a coward. Besides that, I’m not getting everyone involved in this; it’s a fool’s mistake.” His eyes narrowed and for a moment he looked infuriated, “Fine. Give us time. They’ll be there.”

Ran looked to him and seemed to grin, “Well then, looks like we’ll be having fun tonight.”

“Yes, the game plan’s changed. Gabe ran into someone whose sister has been kidnapped and he needs help. It’s going to get bad over there, so we’re going to have to send anyone that wants a fight there.” He sighed, sounding as though he didn’t like the decision, “It’s not the Midnighters, at least not the ones we dealt with earlier, because Gabe managed to get a hold of Tammy. She can’t return for a while. Whoever wants to help Gabe, you’re with Ford.”

Ryan watched the others debate, knowing his answer hadn’t changed any; if anything he was now more convinced he needed to stay with Gabriel. The only thing he could fight with was his gun.

Chantal however, moved towards Ford. “I-I cannot let another person lose their family.” She explained softly. Davin nodded, shifting from Ryan’s shoulder to Chantal.

“I’ll go with Gabriel and Ryan,” Kia stated. “Just because we’re not expecting a fight doesn’t mean there won’t be one.”

“We’re with Ford!” Wolfrik declared, “We can’t leave such a pretty lady in his hands, after all.”

“We’re with him too,” Kosei chimed in. “That way we can find these people easier and a fight generally leads to injuries.” He shook his head. “Good luck!”

“Dibs on the mobile home!” Ford called while Kia headed towards the van. Ryan frowned confused and the elder blond laughed. “It’s not subtle, but we’ll need it if we have to leave. Then this puppy will pay for itself.”

Chantal frowned, “I hope it doesn’t come to that, I know how hard it was to leave France.”

For a moment Ryan was stunned, what would his parents think when he didn’t come home tonight? Or the next night, who knew when he’d be home?

“If we leave, it’s only to protect what we have here,” Ford stated, and there was knowledge in his voice. “If we go, the Midnighters won’t have a reason to attack her. But first, we’ve got to deal with this; we worry about the rest later.”

“Can I call my parent when things calm down?” Ryan asked, suddenly afraid of what would happen if he didn’t come home. He could easily think of a lie, he just needed the time to tell them that.

“Later,” Gabriel agreed quickly, climbing into the van and gesturing for Ryan, Kia and Ran to follow him. “Everything can be taken care of later. But now, it’s time to ride.”

[CrystalPrison]

Chapter 4

Once Ryan had settled in the passenger seat and the canines had gotten comfortable in the back, Gabriel steered the van out of the warehouse. Keeping his attention on the rearview mirror, Ryan watched Ford shut the door while Gouken moved out back; moments later, headlights flared to life.

After they’d turned away from the warehouse, Ryan drew in a slow breath to steady himself. Silence filled the vehicle for a few long moments and the teen distracted himself by gazing out into the growing darkness. Carson wouldn’t last long out here unless he got lucky. “Is it always like this?”

“Like what? Stressful?” Kia asked, and Ryan nodded.

“No, sometimes it gets bad,” Ran answered. “Gabe can’t always track the people we need and do what he needs to do. If he wasn’t in town, or at least nearby, we’d be going blind, but we’ve got a general direction at least.”

“We’ve also got a bit less than a day of time before a small army of psychos regains the power to get here and hunt us down,” Gabriel pointed out. “And we’ve only had one incident today, without a lot of injuries. This is a slow day.”

Ryan blew out a quiet sigh and rubbed a hand through his hair. The fact that today was a slow day made him ache with the desire for normalcy and the fear of what would happen next. He shook his head to clear it and touched his choker to calm himself. “Could be worse then, I’ll keep that in mind.”

“It could be much worse,” Ran agreed, “You could have died back there. There’s your proof it could be worse.”

Ryan nodded slowly, pressing his thumbs against his temples. “Right then, I hope the others can take it.” He paused and hesitated, “Hope I can take it too.”

“You’ll be fine,” Gabriel assured him. “It’ll take time, but the three of you will adapt, and you’ll adjust. You’re doing fine right now, and whether or not you believe it; you’ve been a big help. Don’t worry.”

The words were soothing, so Ryan let them relax him, wishing he could be back in Nevada where everything made sense. Once more silence settled over the vehicle, and he let his mind wander as he tried to pick out the questions he wanted to ask. He needed to talk to Gabriel, to ask him about everything, but he didn’t know where to start.

Eventually he blew out a sigh, watching as his breath fogged the window. “If you don’t mind me asking, why do you stay and keep doing this? I know it’s the right thing to do and-” Ryan couldn’t bring himself to say that Gabriel obviously felt responsible for everything. “You’re –no we’re- a part of this, but why didn’t you run? I can’t imagine that you’d be the first, and no one would blame you.”

“It’s not in me to run, not the me with you at least” Gabriel said after a long moment. “I need to fix things, and I have a responsibility to all of my selves to keep me in check.”

“He’s neglecting the fact that he thinks it’s his duty to beat Id down so they can rejoin under more benevolent terms.” Ran amended.

“But it isn’t up to you alone, or to any of us alone,” Ryan protested before he could think about it. “That’d be like making Chantal take responsibility for Paris alone,” He paused to work over the comparison in his mind and trailed off, knowing it wasn’t exactly right. “It’s not just your job.”

“The boy gets it, Gabriel. Will you listen this time?” Kia asked, though her voice was fond.

Gabriel seemed to disregard Kia completely, “Someone has to do something, it may as well be me. It’s better than letting them run rampant.” His tone told Ryan he didn’t much enjoy the conversation, and it made the teen frown.

But still, the logic was simple, and he could respect that. “Right then. And sorry if I’m irritating you, it’s just; all of this is so new to me.”

“No, you’re asking all the right questions for someone forced into this situation,” Ran reassured him. “He’s just thinking.”

“One of the things I remember seeing during a period when I had my full set of powers, was a man walking into the White House,” Gabriel explained. “There was a nuclear explosion that wiped the nation off the map; he wore the Midnighter insignia and he felt old. I think he was one of the originals. That’s a possible future, one I have to stop.”

Ryan shuddered, well aware of the way his hands trembled, “Well, if you didn’t have my support before, you would now.” He muttered, trying to ignore the way fear clogged his throat. “But one future means it could be better or worse, right?”

“Exactly,” Kia agreed, “There is still hope.”

“And we’re working against these Midnighter people, the FBI and possibly ourselves,” He summarized, thinking of Carson’s issues and the problems they’d probably have as a whole. “Shit, fuck, hell and damn.”

“Don’t overanalyze,” Gabriel chided, “You’ll get too far ahead of yourself. Though you’re right on the ourselves part. It gets tricky, and it’ll be worse tomorrow, when we get the heavy hitters.”

For a moment, Ryan contemplated how this could get much worse, but then he remembered everything that had been said thus far. He knew he could be dead, or have been kidnapped; that when things were put in perspective this wasn’t bad. “Anything else I should be worried about?”

“We don’t all look human, and the Midnighters have played around with experimenting on our kind. You can’t always trust your eyes.” Gabriel answered, taking a sharp turn down a road. Only now did Ryan realize they’d been going away from the city, and that this road looked secluded.

“He’s probably going to rest,” Ran commented, changing the topic smoothly. “He’ll be wearing down soon, I’m sure. We’ll need to start tracking him down soon.”

“Ready when you are,” Kia said agreeably as Gabriel pulled over. “He probably stopped somewhere out here, it’s someplace no one would look.”

Ryan sighed, slid out of the van and opened the door for the canines. “Carson, come out, come out wherever you are,” He called in a quiet voice.

Ran cocked her head, and she and Kia began roaming the area for a few moments. There was a long pause and Gabriel and Ryan exchanged a long glance. “This way!” Ran called, while Kia surged ahead.

“Carson, please running isn’t going to solve anything. We found you easily and we know you’re here. They have better means and they won’t play nice. You can’t run forever, you need to stand your ground. Please, stand with us,” Gabriel’s voice was pleading as he followed Ran and Kia, with Ryan just behind him.

“This way!” Ran urged, veering off to the left and through the trees.

“She’s gotten used to spotting runners,” Kia explained to Ryan while Gabriel used his telekinesis to break a path through the trees. “Try to do this without using your powers.”

“Don’t know if I can control it, but I’ll try,” Ryan agreed. He was honestly worried for the other teen and just wanted to help him, something he doubted Carson often experienced. “Carson, c’mon out,” He urged. “At least just talk to us. Y’know we ain’t gunna hurt you.”

There was a loud crash, a thud and Ryan heard Ran swear over the sound of a sharp crack and Carson’s scream. He plunged through the forest after Gabriel, praying that everything would be okay.

Telekinesis buffered him as he skidded down the cliff and towards Carson and Ryan swore at what he saw. A bubble of black blood surrounded Carson and tendrils shot from the bubble; panic filled Ryan at the sight, more so when the tendrils lashed out and thrashed.

“Stay behind me, Ryan,” Gabriel urged, stepping firmly in front of the teenager. “Try talking him down and stay out of his range. I’ll see what I can do physically, but your power might be enough to reach him.” He paused for a moment, “Kia, stay on guard. Ran, keep the others from getting hurt.”

Ryan lived to take charge and protect his friends, but for once he was more than happy to let the older man take charge. He focused hard on what he was doing and how much he wanted to help Carson and looked towards the other teen. “Easy Carson, easy. You know us, we’re here to help you. We’re your friends, just let us in, I promise. We won’t hurt you, we want to help.”

“G-get away,” Carson cried out. “L-leave me alone!” His eyes were wide, and the tendrils lashed out, knocking over several trees in the process and sending them crashing to the ground. “I’m not safe, get away!”

Ryan mentally swore at Carson’s lack of control as the tendrils lashed out, picking up debris and lashing out at him and Gabriel. Much to his relief, they bounced off of invisible shields, while the debris was knocked away by Gabriel.

“Carson, please stop,” The older man pleaded. “I’m sorry you got hurt, but I’m not letting you go alone. It’s my fault you got involved in the first place.”

“I can’t, can’t c-control,” Carson began, though his voice sounded fatigued. “Just, just go.” The tendrils lashed out at Gabriel as he spoke.

They rebounded and Ran snarled harshly, though it was at Gabriel not Carson. “Self sacrificial fool! Just because he can’t hurt you does not make you the main target!”

“I know. Trust me, I know how it must feel, but you can’t hurt me. You need help, so do what you have to do. Hit me, beat me up, but I won’t abandon a bleeding man,” Gabriel stated, completely disregarding his partner’s anger. “So we’re not going anywhere.”

Ryan nodded, “We said we’re going to help you and we meant it,” He concluded. “And neither of us is willing to start lying today.”

While Ryan watched on, patches of the bubble around Carson broke open and moved around, occasionally revealing flashes of the panicked blond. He was kneeling, supporting most of his weight with one, shaking arm, while the other hung limply, covered in blood.

“F.B.I! Back away from him!” A voice called. A man with short, dark brown hair skidded down the hill and moved towards Carson with a purpose. Instantly, Ryan noticed a gun at his side and a badge in his hand. He charged towards the bubble and dove through an opening, “Jesus, kid.”

“Get, go, leave me alone,” That was Carson and as Ryan watched, the new arrival tied his belt around the top of Carson’s arm, probably to cut off the blood flow. He spoke with Carson quietly, somehow calm, and Ryan resisted the urge to go for his gun in fear.

“Can we trust him?” He asked the others. “Carson didn’t seem too fond of the F.B.I.”

“We’ll find out,” Gabriel answered while the man stood and scooped up Carson. “Stay on guard. Kia?”

“Of course,” Ryan’s gaze fell to the dog and he was shocked when she grew taller and bulkier, baring fangs that looked far sharper and larger than they’d just been; she looked more like the wolf she’d resembled at the mall. “This fool will regret it if he tries to attack.”

Even as she spoke, the man moved for his gun, and Gabriel stepped forward, holding his hands in the air. “Don’t try it, your bullet might ricochet off of me or our shields, and harm one of you. No, we are not the ones that attacked the mall, though one is like a brother to me. We’re trying to stop them and protect our kind from them.” His voice was fast and clipped, giving the man no room to intercede.

“So the attackers were more like him,” The man mused, voice filled with disbelief though his eyes stayed trained on Ryan. “I-I’m going to believe you. I know it’s stupid, but I’m going to. And assuming you two are like him can either of you heal him? He needs medical attention.”

“Four,” Kia corrected stiffly. The large dog moved to stand by Ryan, keeping her eyes locked firmly on the man, and she’d yet to return to her usual form.

“We have a healer,” Gabriel conceded. “But if you come, you cannot use what we say against us. In return, we can trade notes. You tell us about Carson and we’ll tell you about the attackers.”

“Fair enough, but he stays with me. I won’t trust you with him on just a feeling.”

Gabriel’s gaze fell on Ryan who flushed slightly, glad it wasn’t very visible in the dark. The elder man held up a hand, “You’ll follow us then.” A small white box –a first aid kit- hurtled through the trees and landed in his hand. “Here, I think you’re better qualified.” He paused for a moment, “I’m Gabriel, this is Ryan, Kia and Ran.”

The man nodded, somehow managing to balance both Carson and the kit, and Gabriel turned to the animals. “Let’s head back, I’m sure the others are waiting.” He paused and his gaze flashed to meet Ryan’s eyes. “You did well.”

Ryan nodded, suddenly realizing that Gabriel had put the pieces together, it was probably because of him that the man trusted them. “Thanks,” He commented as the canines led the way through the trees. “Do you need a hand?” He asked the man.

“I’m good,” He said. “And for the record, my name is Ray, but most, Carson included call me by my last name, Slater.”

Ryan just nodded, and the group fell into a mostly relaxed silence as they trekked through the forest. The path was cleared quickly, thanks to Gabriel’s telekinesis, and less than five minutes later, they’d reached the two cars.

They returned to the cars quickly, and in the space of a few moments, everyone had loaded into their respective vehicles. Kia had returned to normal, looking exhausted as she set her head on her paws, and Ryan could sympathize. The day had been far too long and it was hardly over.

“Do you think we can trust him?” He asked after a few long moments. “He seemed nice enough and acted like he cared, but Carson,” Ryan sighed. “He told him to leave, and at the mall he mentioned a guardian and seemed afraid. He doesn’t want to go back, but what if this guy makes him?”

“We can handle him. If he tries something Gabe and I can stop him. One TK hold and a mind wipe later, and he’ll take a flight to China and disappear forever.”

Ryan nodded, relaxing slightly at the reassurance, “Well that’s good then.” He paused. “Have we gotten any word from the others?”

“Reinforcements are on the way, thus far Wynne –the sister- is unharmed, and the Midnighters who took her have yet to call in. Gabe thinks that they’re waiting until morning to keep Tanner –the brother- on guard. Eli, a friend of ours who’s also a tracker, is having a hard time keeping an eye on her though.”

“Is that a problem?” Ryan asked softly, worried. Chantal was right, no one else needed to lose their family.

“That depends,” Kia commented, “Though hopefully it just means the cells are enhanced to defy powers. It’s within the realm of possibility.”

Ryan shook his head slowly, “It is?”

The words earned a bark of laughter from Ran, “Yes, they began making them to be sure the prisoners couldn’t escape. It wouldn’t surprise me if they’d kept developing them. They used to have a technology genius, a prodigy really, but she left two years ago after an incident.” There was a slight pause in those words, as though the wolf didn’t know how to phrase it. “They hurt Rebecca horribly, she’s on our side now. But that isn’t our current concern.”

“Gotcha,” Ryan agreed, getting the subtle message. “It’s all just too much to think about now, so I should start focusing on the facts instead of the maybes.”

“Exactly,” Gabriel’s voice was warm and light with the praise. “Let the rest of us do the worrying for now.”

“But I-”

“You will help,” The older man’s voice was patient. “Trust me, we aren’t fool enough to try and talk you out of it. Besides, after your little show in the mall, we’re well aware it’s impossible to make you leave.”

“He thought he was human then, too,” Ran added. “Now that he knows everything and he still hasn’t run, you’ll never get rid of him.” The wolf paused. “Not that that’s a bad thing.”

“Thanks?”

“It’s a compliment,” Kia reassured him before her jaws stretched in a gaping yawn. “How long until we’re there, Gabriel?”

“Not long,” He assured the dog. “Two minutes, tops.”

Silence filled the vehicle and Ryan fought the desire to fall asleep as Gabriel drove. The physical exhaustion had nothing on the mental exhaustion, and he knew he’d be beyond grateful when he finally got a chance to rest his mind and body.

They parked a few moments later, and the back doors slid open, probably due to telekinesis. Ryan slowly slid out of the van and looked towards where Slater had parked, hoping that Carson hadn’t woken up yet.

Slater walked over to them, and Ryan instantly noticed the makeshift sling. “Have a nice ride?” The man just gave Ryan a look, and the teenager smirked slightly. “Be happy we’re on the right side and go with it. From what I can tell, that’s the only way to do this.”

As he spoke, there was a flash of light and a motorcycle with a side car appeared. Ryan jumped, Slater swore violently and three people got off the bike; two had ridden on it and one was in the side car.

“They use some weird stuff,” The only man in the group stated. He was bulky, with short black hair and appeared to be in his mid-thirties.

“Hmm,” A girl with platinum blond hair mused, moving to the other girl’s side. “I could do something with them though. Might be fun”

“Ugg, I hate teleporting,” The other woman commented disregarding the others, brushing black hair away from mocha colored skin. “And there’s a fed with an unconscious kid. These must be our guys.” As she spoke, a wolverine pulled itself out of the sidecar. “Come on, Kenny, looks like we’ve got work to do.”

“You’re James?” Gabriel asked, the man, surveying the new group closely. In response, the other man surveyed him and nodded slowly.

“You’d be the telekinetic?” The new arrival clarified, “What’s with the spook?”

“An ally, it seems. I’m cautious as well, but he’s a package deal,” Gabriel answered.

Slater snorted, “Oh gee, thanks.” He paused and held up Carson, “Can we get him to your healer before his arm falls off?”

“Patience,” Kia scolded, “We’re Ascended, not magic.” She shook out her fur, nodding in greeting to the others. “And unfortunately, we have more than one priority, and the others are trying to sort more than this out.”

“Why thank you,” Ryan jumped at the sound of Ford’s voice, while Gouken moved to Slater’s side, removing his glove as he went. The two men began talking quietly, but Ford ignored them, looking to Gabriel. “All’s well?”

“As much as it will be,” The voice was Gabriel’s, but his lips didn’t move. Ryan whipped around, surprised to see a man who looked a bit older than Ford, accompanied by a man who looked just like Gabriel, but with a baseball cap and no glasses. “Gabriel.”

Gabriel dipped his head in greeting, “Gabe.”

The two words seemed to hold more meaning than should have been possible, and Ford chuckled softly as he moved near Ryan and Kia. “Telepathy. Talking is no longer needed.” He explained.

A tan cat twisted its way around the brunet’s legs and purred out a greeting. “Oh good, we’re all here. Can we go now?”

“Not yet, I’m afraid,” Gabe answered, though he didn’t spare much attention for the cat. “This is Tanner and his partner, Zeke,” He explained. “And I see you’ve already met James, Rebecca and Maria.” Ryan frowned, wondering Rebecca was the same one Ran had just mentioned.

“It’s Becky, now,” The blond girl grit out.

“My apologies,” Gabe dipped his head slightly, looking honestly apologetic. “Everyone’s here and ready, we should get to work.” His gaze flashed to Slater, “Gabriel, if you would? The strain is getting to be a bit much for your friend there.”

In response, Carson’s body floated out of Slater’s arms. The fed swore and backed away, “Jesus!”

“He pronounces it Gabriel,” Ford quipped, and Ryan couldn’t help but smirk at that. “Now come on, let’s head upstairs and get to work. It’s gunna be a long night.”

[CrystalPrison]

Chapter 5

A half an hour had passed in which time Ryan had gotten to know the entire group, all while they explained the situation. He’d learned that Tanner’s sister, Wynne had been taken sometime around the same time as the mall incident, and that a man named Eli had sent Rebecca, James and Maria to help them out.

He’d then been introduced to everyone properly, and learned about their powers. Tanner had the ability to charge the state of matter –explosively when necessary- and Zeke could control earth. Gabe was a telepath with super strength and his partner Ula was a black bear with the ability to change her size. As such, she spent much of her time the size of a teddy bear, so she wouldn’t attract notice.

Maria had the ability to gain information and skills from any object she touched, though they were only temporary. Her partner, Kenny, was a wolverine with the ability to make his body indestructible. It didn’t last long, but it made him a deadly force of nature. Their friend James had intense reflexes, and even his hands could be used as deadly weapons.

And then there was Rebecca and Becky, who Ryan had quickly learned were anything but –as Ford had put it- ‘a bipolar James Bond’ or a ‘two for one deal’. Rebecca’s first power was the super human intellect, she’d built the teleporters, subspace pouches and could work with more technology than Ryan could imagine. Her second power was Becky, an alternate self trained to fight, who was for more arrogant than Rebecca.

James and Rebecca lacked partners, or rather, they’d been killed. Gabriel had been careful to explain that bit of information very gently. Normally partners couldn’t live without each other, but thanks to the Midnighters, it was possible if one was willing to undergo near torture. And in James and Rebecca’s case, it hadn’t been a choice, it had been the torture the Midnighters used to break them.

Rebecca had quietly interjected that it wasn’t worth it, she could feel her missing partner, and it had been designed for the pain it caused. They’d done this before she had joined the Midnighters, and it had been done purely because partners felt each others’ pain. By the time her Lux had died, Rebecca had wished for death and had ended with no will to fight her tormentors.

It had then been explained the Maria and James had been taken by the Midnighters and imprisoned; somehow both had made it out, and it was sheer luck that kept Kenny alive. Rebecca had joined them after the torture as part of a three man team until a friend of hers had gotten them out, in exchange for himself.

And, in exchange for all of this information, Gabriel had told the others about the mall. He’d explained what had happened to Carson and then Gabe had explained the situation with Wynne further. She was human and a hostage, if they involved the police, the Midnighters would kill her.

“Any questions?” Gabriel inquired, and Ryan noticed his gaze fell on the three new arrivals and Slater. “Now’s the time to ask.”

He watched as Tanner shook his head and Maria exchanged a long glance with Kenny before giving Gabriel a thumbs up. James just looked contemplative, probably trying to analyze everything he’d just heard.

“So let me get this straight,” Slater began. “There’s an organization of people like you, who capture others to join or die, and usually with suffering involved. And then they attack people like me, while you guys try and fight them?”

Ran nodded and Ula laughed softly, “Yes, that’s a good summary,” The wolf conceded.

The man stared at the talking animals, still obviously not quite used to it, and slumped back into the couch. For a moment, Ryan thought the man wouldn’t believe them, and he couldn’t stand for that. They needed all the help –and secrecy- they could get.

After a few moments the man’s gaze shifted to Ryan and he sighed, “I knew there was more to all this. I suppose you want me to share my end now, huh?”

“That was the arrangement, yes,” Gabriel agreed. “What do you know of these events and Carson. And any hints of corruption in the government in relation to ‘our kind’ as you put it is also appreciated.”

“Well, to start with the basics, I’m an agent working for a secret branch of the F.B.I that is dedicated to finding people like you with powers-”

“Looks like you hit the jackpot,” Maria interjected.

The man shook his head, “We don’t know much as the project was very small until we found Carson. Once we had proof, it was expanded, but that was only ten years ago, so it’s no wonder we don’t know about your partners, seeing as he doesn’t have one. I was brought in from another program to become Carson’s ‘guardian’.” He looked towards where Carson had been set on a foldable cot.

“They found him at a foster home, the family there had noticed his powers,” He elaborated. “There’s no proof of his existence, except in our computers. Over the years he’s had many tests to figure out how his powers work; only they haven’t worked and they’ve scarred him. He’s deathly afraid of needles, pierced flesh and gore. He’s paranoid of those things, and gets worse in stressful situations.”

Ryan rubbed his temples, wondering what could have possessed the government to torture Carson so. “How did no one notice early on?”

“I did, but I’m only his guardian in name, I don’t have a say they just wanted him to trust me. I tried to calm him down, but there’s no use in it.”

“So he broke down and ran,” Kosei concluded. “Who could blame him?”

“He used his powers to escape and destroyed our labs; I’ve been trying to find him since. And the only problem I’ve seen is simple: can we trust you?”

“Well do you think you can trust us right now?” Kia asked.

“After all, if we were to spring a trap, now would be the time,” Ford pointed out. “There’d be no way for you to win.”

“And it’d make sense, seeing as if you’re an ambitious man, you’d get a top seat by turning us all in,” James added. Unlike the other two, who’d sounded honestly curious, Ryan thought nerves touched James’s words.

“My director is a good friend of mine, I wouldn’t need to turn you in,” Slater countered. “And besides, the program is research, not ‘join or die’.”

“Yes, I’m sure that’s what Carson thought,” Ran countered. “Look what you’ve put the boy through.”

Slater paled, “There are good people down there, Carson just didn’t get a normal childhood. He should have gotten an official adoptive family, instead of being raised by us. We tried, but who wants that over the real thing?”

“A-at least you tried,” Carson’s whispered words caught Ryan’s attention, and just about everyone turned towards where the teen lie. His breathing grew harsh quickly, “W-where am I? Slater, where did you take me?”

For the first time since Slater had arrived, Wolfrik spoke, obviously working to hide his accent “Easy pal, you’re with friends.”

“It was me who took you here anyways,” Gabriel stated. “I told you, I couldn’t let you run with The Adept –Takashi- after you. Hate me if you want, but I can’t let the fact you got involved because of me get you killed, or worse.”

“Three times,” Gabe corrected, “All three of us got him involved. And we have to compensate for Id.”

“But, but I-” Chantal began.

“I destroyed Paris, not you,” Gabriel stated. “Id is me, thus I’m the mass murderer. Stop blaming yourself.” His voice was gentle. “If Slater’s taking anyone in for that, it’s the three of me.”

Chantal wiped her eyes, stroking Davin softly as Ran spoke, “It is not your fault! One decision does not mean you control what Id does now.” She looked to Slater “And if you try turning anyone in, I’ll rip your throat out.”

“I’ll help,” Ula agreed. Ryan noticed instantly that Gabe paled slightly at the words and remembered what Ford had said earlier. He supposed it would make sense that Gabe was less willing to get violent or kill than his other selves.

“I’m not going back, and you can’t tell them about these guys,” Carson said suddenly pushing himself up and staring at his newly healed arm in shock. “I won’t let you.”

“I didn’t plan on either, not when there are more important things to do. And as for Paris, I think that’s the Sûreté's job, don’t you?”

“The who?” Kenny asked.

“The French equivalent of the F.B.I,” Chantal answered as she stared at Slater. “You really mean you’re not-”

“Even if he wanted to try, he’d have to get past all of us. That isn’t possible,” Gabriel stated. “But on the other side, is there a chance we can get help?”

Ryan leaned forward, intrigued and hoping for the best while Slater hummed in thought, “I’d have to report some of this to get help. I can see what it’ll do, but it’ll have risks.”

“Like the experiments and testing they’ll want to do,” Carson muttered. Ryan’s chest ached for the genuine fear in the other teen’s voice and he frowned deeply.

“Well they did say we can’t have cops anyways,” The teen pointed out, trying to distract himself. “So I suppose we can’t call for help until later anyways.”

“They’re liars,” Rebecca bit out, from where she stood near a wall “They’ll kill her no matter what they do. They said humans killed my family as part of a hate crime, but-” She paused, slammed her fist into the wall and when she next spoke her voice was closer to an alto than a soprano, it was Becky. “It was them.”

Her gaze fell on Carson and her voice grew a little gentler, “You and me are kind of the same, but you’re lucky because they didn’t lie to you after they broke you. I had only one friend out of all those posers, and he’ll die because he saved me. Be glad for what you have and for what you didn’t have to deal with.”

“Becky, you okay?” Maria asked.

“I’ll be better when I get an ass to kick. And I have dibs on that bitch Alexis, Rebecca and I made something special for her.”

“What is it?” Zeke asked from his spot on Tanner’s lap.

Becky pulled out a watch from her pocket and Ford frowned, “How will that help? It’s a watch.”

“You’re slow for a comic book geek,” Becky stated and Ryan frowned, wondering how she’d known that; he’d barely known that. Ford’s expression mimicked his thoughts and Rebecca sighed. “I was part of the mission that tried to snag you before Gabe saved your ass, I had to learn things. Sorry.”

Ryan’s jaw dropped and Kia looked stunned, “What?”

“No choice,” The girl reminded him, shaking her head. “My life or his freedom, and he got out either way. Anyways, this is a neural dampener. It weakens people’s mental abilities, and will allow the wearer to resist Alexis’s hypnosis or any other telepathic control.” She tossed it to Slater, “Take it, and have fun with it.”

Ryan frowned slightly, thinking of everyone he’d seen at the mall, “Who else are we facing?”

“Who knows?” James shrugged, “But if The Adept is there, he’s mine. He can’t read me well.”

Kosei’s fur bristled and Gouken shook his head, “Takashi is mine. It’s personal; he killed my mother and father and betrayed me.”

James scoffed, “You’re a healer, the hell can you do?”

Gouken removed his right glove for just a moment, “I can destroy matter as well.”

“Then dibs on the tiger brothers,” James amended. At the confused look on everyone’s faces, he smirked. “A Chinese martial artist who can turn into a tiger humanoid, and his imperfect clone with some of Id’s DNA.”

“What?” Gabriel demanded, fear and rage in his voice while Ran snarled at his side.

“Does he copy powers too?” Gabe asked, sounding marginally calmer than Gabriel.

“No, but he has the healing powers,” Rebecca stated.

Ryan closed his eyes against an impending headache and sighed, “Well damn.”

“What he said,” Slater agreed.

Wolfrik smiled slightly, “Why yes, we do make physics majors cry.”

“There’s science behind my powers,” Tanner pointed out.

“One in a million,” The German teen sang.

“Mine do too,” Ford pointed out.

“Molecular control is done via nanomachines, and chemicals can break things down,” Gouken pointed out.

“I just kick ass,” James claimed.

“Well one of you explain Ryan or Gabriel or Carson!” Wolfrik challenged. Ryan just raised a brow at that and shook his head.

“Carson’s blood has metamorphic properties that allow them to take on forms of monsters due to his mental unease,” Rebecca began.

“My creatures have nothing to do with my state of mind,” Carson said softly, voice timid. “They’ve always been like this.”

“Oh,” Rebecca hesitated and flushed slightly. “I thought they were manifested that way. It would make sense from-” She stopped, “I didn’t offend you, did I?”

Ryan blinked, wondering at the blush that colored her cheeks and Wolfrik began laughing as he pat Ford lightly on the back, “You just can’t win today, eh Fordo? Tough luck.”

Ford frowned, exchanging a look with Kia who shrugged. Gouken said something in Japanese, to which Kosei added on to. Ryan frowned, completely confused, while Wolfrik nodded and answered in German. He paused after a moment, “Sorry, forgot this wasn’t a two way thing.”

“And when were you German?” Slater asked.

“I’m legal!” The teenager protested. “Papers are back at base.”

“Focus,” Gabriel urged, words just short of snapping, “We need to make a plan. We should decide how we’re dividing.” His words were somehow sharp but gentle. “Ideas?”

“They should be groups that are even in power. I want Becky and Rebecca with me, they know the layout of the building and I’m going in for Wynne.”

“Shouldn’t you act submissive though?” Ryan asked. “If they’re expecting you to obey them and they’re using you, resistance won’t end well.”

“We can hide most of our group,” Rebecca offered. “We can use holograms to throw them off.”

“That might work,” Kosei chimed in. “If Gabe and Ula and Zeke go with Tanner and the holograms, in a hostage situation, it’d work.”

“You could say the others are for insurance,” Kia chimed in. “He wants his sister back that badly, and there were plenty of us at the mall, who’s to say Rebecca wasn’t too.”

“So the infiltration group poses as whoever was at the mall,” James commented.

“The only problem will be if one of the beasts or The Adept is there, but I have a feeling they’ll be after the other group,” Kenny stated. “But it’s likely to be Alexis or some of the lessers.”

“Is there any way we can make it so it’s less likely they see a difference?” Slater asked, “And if not, what’s the backup plan?”

“Me against their telepath, the others can deal with the rest,” Gabe stated. “Who’s going with who?”

“I’m with Gabriel,” James stated. “Got a tiger to skin.”

“As are we,” Gouken agreed and Kosei nodded his agreement.

“I’m with Tanner and Zeke, and I’m assuming Gabe?” Rebecca stated, and Gabe nodded.

“I’ll go with you guys,” Ford said to Gabe. “You need more muscle.”

“Maria, join them,” James urged. “Keep Becky and Becca safe. There’s a chance they’ll figure out our plan quickly.”

“I’m with Gabe,” Ryan stated. He knew there was a better chance Gabriel’s group would fight, and that wasn’t his forte. Besides, he was hoping his powers could help them get Wynne back faster.

“I’m with Gabriel,” Chantal whispered. “I cannot let Chicago become another Paris.”

“I’m with Chantal,” Wolfrik decided. “Besides, there is more of me for the holographs to cover.”

“I’ll go with Becky and Rebecca,” Carson stated, earning a smirk from Wolfrik. “Slater?”

“With you, kiddo.”

There was a long pause in which Gabe and Gabriel exchanged a long look. Ula rolled her eyes and focused on Tanner, “Still foolish,” She commented to Ran, who nodded. “Do you trust this plan? They won’t proceed if you don’t.”

Tanner took a moment to consider his answer before he nodded, and Ryan hoped it was merely the desire to phrase it right, instead of doubt for the group. It had only been a few hours at most, but he knew already that doubting the others was foolish. These were the kind of people he wanted to trust with his life, because he knew they’d take care of him.

“Good to know,” Gabe commented, looking to Ford. “Go to my truck and get my Colt Python.” He shifted his gaze to Tanner and Zeke, “You’ll have it pressed against my head the entire time. It’s real and will be loaded. First for the act to work, and later for your protection. Can you do that?”

Ran nodded, focusing on Zeke, “Your threat will be simple. If Ula shifts, Gabe dies. Keep spikes and the like at the ready. It’s better to need them to be healed instead of them catching onto us.”

Tanner exchanged a long look with Zeke, who nodded. “We can do that, no worries.”

“Good, because I wouldn’t want you to blow out my brains or anything,” Gabe commented.

Tanner looked away, “It’d be more likely I’d explode it with my powers.”

“We’ll work on it,” Gabriel promised. “But for now, it’s time to get to work.”

Rebecca stood, “Right, Gabe keep the streets clear. I’ll get to work on the teleporters.” James stood to follow her as she headed outside, and after a few moments of obvious hesitation, Carson followed.

Wolfrik grinned once the door closed, “They’re so cute!” He quipped, “C’mon Em, let’s go make friends with Carson!” That said, he moved outside, talking to his partner in German.

Ford returned as they left, holding Gabe’s gun in one hand and gloves in the other. He handed the weapon to the telepath and tossed Maria the gloves, “Try these on for size. They were owned by Ray Park when he played Darth Maul. He knows Shaolin Kung Fu, kickboxing, Wushu and was an acrobat and stunt man. Figure they’ll kick ass with that sword.”

Kia looked up, shocked, “He just sacrificed his holy grail. Tanner, feel honored.”

Gabriel laughed softly, “We need to work out a schedule for tomorrow. Ford, can you take the RV?” Gouken groaned in response, but Ford nodded. “Good, you’re in charge of it, and Slater you can take your car.. Gabe will take his truck as well, and James has his bike. We’ll keep the groups close together, and try not to get separated.”

Ryan nodded slowly, wondering what in the world he could do to prepare for all of this. After all, the only thing he had was a gun and powers he’d known about for just a few hours.

‘Don’t worry about it, you’ll do fine.’ Ryan jumped at the sound of Gabe’s voice in his mind, and saw the man smiled slightly. ‘Sorry, sometimes thoughts drift in.’

‘It’s alright,’ He thought back, hesitantly. ‘Are you sure it’ll be alright though, I mean-”

‘You wouldn’t be here if you couldn’t handle it. Gabriel is too blunt to lie to you.’

Ryan closed his eyes, ‘I’ll take your word for it.’ There was hope if both Gabe and Gabriel agreed about him. ‘Thanks.’

Gabe just nodded, “We’ve got a plan, and the vehicles are being worked on,” He said aloud. “Tanner, you’re a chef, right? Is there any chance you have something we can eat? Most of us have been busy all day, and we’ll need our strength for tomorrow.”

Tanner nodded and stood, “Yeah, I’ll need the distraction,” He agreed.

Ford just shook his head at Tanner’s words and settled onto the couch next to Ryan. “Trust me, man, I can sympathize. This is nothing.”

[CrystalPrison]

Chapter 7

It was dark when Ryan awoke and he took a moment to remember where he was. The small amount of light that filtered in through the windows of the van came from a nearby streetlight, and the soft breathing he heard came from Gabriel and Ran, who were sleeping in the front of the van.

Rubbing his eyes and wishing there would have been more room in the RV for them, Ryan looked around. He was still tired and his phone clock told him he’d only been a sleep for four hours, it was three thirty. But his mind didn’t want to rest and he knew it would take a while to fall back asleep.

It only took a few moments to find the handle for the window, and Ryan rolled it down as quietly as possible, wishing he could just open the door without waking Gabriel and Ran. It took a few more moments of careful maneuvering before the teenager could pull himself out of the window, and his landing was shaky at best.

“Now where do you think you’re going?” A quiet voice asked, and Ryan looked up, shocked to see a tired looking Ford. The blond man’s tone was teasing, but also just a little concerned, “You really shouldn’t go anywhere alone.”

“I wasn’t planning on it,” Ryan assured Ford softly. “I just didn’t want to sit in the van; I don’t think I’ll be falling back asleep anytime soon.”

Ford nodded in sympathy,” Yeah, I can understand that. How were you planning on entertaining yourself?” Ryan just shrugged and Ford hummed softly, looking faintly distracted. “Care to join me for a walk? You look like you could use the distraction.”

Ryan nodded and chuckled a little ruefully, “Am I that obvious?”

“Not at all, I just remember wishing there would’ve been time to take a walk and think,” Ford explained. He carded a hand through short blond hair, “Besides, you’re not the only one who wasn’t able to sleep tonight.”

“You couldn’t either?”

Ford just shook his head in response and dark blue eyes were alight with a myriad of emotions Ryan couldn’t identify. “Haven’t yet, at least. That’s why they made coffee though, sometimes sleep just doesn’t happen.”

“But aren’t you used to this?”

“More than you are,” Ford murmured, stepping away from the apartment and vehicles and leading the way down the street. Ryan followed, watching the other carefully and wondering what was on his mind. He certainly seemed distracted, “Being used to it doesn’t always mean it’s easy to deal with.”

“That makes sense,” Ryan mused. “What’s the worst part about all of this?”

“Knowing the people around you, the normal ones that is, might be in danger. And lying to your family, that’s pretty tough too.”

Ryan nodded, it had been more than a little difficult to lie to his family just because he hadn’t want to. He’d wanted to tell them the truth, but logic told him that was worse than a bad idea. “I can understand that. Does it get easier?”

Ford laughed, and the sound was a little bitter, “Only once you’re able to come up with a long term excuse. You can’t do it here, where you might be seen, but once you leave the area, there’s less checking in and excuses. And after a while, they realize you might not be coming home again. Holidays are tough, but the rest is easy enough.”

“How long has it been for you?”

“I’ve known about my powers for four years, they activated just before my eighteenth birthday. A year later, there was the attack Rebecca mentioned earlier, and not a month later I’d left with Gabriel, Gouken and Wolfrik. My folks think I’m on a business trip in Japan, and so long as I keep out of L.A. it’ll stay that way.”

“How long have you been here?”

“Just for this past year. We’ve tried to make a life here, because so far no one’s come after us. There are other, better places to go, but Gabriel likes being able to go out and actively look for people. That’s half the reason I set up my comic book shop, we’ve been hoping to bring in a few people.”

“Have you?”

“A couple, Kosei’s pretty good at finding those that haven’t activated their powers yet, and we keep tabs on them until we can find the right time and place to tell them about everything. Then we direct them to the people they need to contact to do things safely.”

Ford sighed, and Ryan carded a hand through his hair. For a while the two men walked in silence, and Ryan tried hard not to lose himself to his own thoughts. He’d already had to leave behind his real home in Nevada and he didn’t know how he felt about leaving behind his parents here.

A part of Ryan’s mind told him he didn’t have a choice in leaving them, because Takashi could and would track him down eventually. That would be the point when he’d lead the man straight to his family, but it also didn’t matter much to Ryan. No, he would leave and help the others because it was the right thing to do, not because of a threat.

Ford chuckled softly and something small flew into his hand from the ground. He held it out to Ryan with a light smile, “Penny for your thoughts?”

Ryan accepted the small, copper colored coin with a smile of his own. “It’s nothing. I’m just trying to figure out how I feel about all of this. I can’t say I was planning to leave my family behind.”

“No, none of us were,” Ford agreed. “What did you tell them to keep them from worrying about you anyways?”

“I told them I ran into some school friends and was hanging with them for the night. I don’t have that many real friends, so they were so thrilled they won’t question me.”

“Clever,” Ford praised softly, “Though a little hard to believe. You have no real friends, but your powers draw people to you?”

Ryan laughed dryly, “They all like me, it’s me that doesn’t want to be around them. They just aren’t the people I’ve left behind; it always seemed so fake to say we were friends when I didn’t want to be around them very much.”

“You don’t seem to mind us very much.”

“That’s different, you guys are real, I guess. It’s not like school where everyone tries to be someone they aren’t. There’s no time here for lies or being fake or trying to hide who you are. And my friends back home, we were too close to be fake.”

“And the people at your school weren’t?”

“They all liked me, and they wanted me to like them. So I could never trust what they were saying because it felt like they were just lying. Something tells me you guys don’t give a damn if I like you, so long as I do what needs to be done.”

Ford shook his head slightly, and set a hand on Ryan’s shoulder “That’s not entirely true. I’m pretty sure we all want you to like us, but you’re right in saying it’s not because of your powers. It’s just easier, if we can all get along, because right now, we’re all we’ve got.”

Ryan hummed softly in response and shoved his hands into his jacket pockets. “It’s going to get a lot harder before it’s over, isn’t it?” He asked, “The others acted like this was nothing.”

Ford nodded, “It will. They’ve managed to hurt a lot of us personally and I can’t imagine them stopping anytime soon. The Midnighters are ruthless when they have to be, and the more big fighters we get, the more they’re going to want us.”

“But,” Ryan frowned deeply, “I don’t understand. It’s not like we’ve all got these amazing powers. I mean they’re amazing, by normal standards, but on a scale from one to awesome-”

Ford laughed softly but bitterly, “It’s not what we have now, it’s what it’s what they can make of us. If they could get their hands on Gabe and Gabriel and get them to merge with Id, if Id has help, he’ll be the one whose personality’s in control.”

Ryan swallowed on a suddenly dry throat, and muttered a few soft obscenities. “They’ll have him with the ability to warp reality? Fuck.”

“Exactly,” Ford agreed, “But we do have one other thing on our side, his powers didn’t always work with his intentions. It was his weakness, his fatal flaw, in a way and it’s the reason he split himself up. It was too much to bear for him. He’s never gone into detail, but from what I’ve heard, it was gruesome, to say the least.”

There was a moment where Ford paused to consider his next words, “A lot of us have problems with our powers. I don’t want to know what would have happened if Gou hadn’t learned to control his right hand young. Gabriel and Ran buffer me a lot, because my control isn’t the best. Tanner’s control probably isn’t as good either, you heard what he said about blowing Gabe up on accident.”

Ryan hummed softly, deep in contemplation. He could understand not mastering their powers, because the teenager couldn’t exactly control his either. “And if they get their hands on us, they could do worse, couldn’t they? They could make us-” He broke off for a moment and shook his head to clear his mind from discomfort. “They took Wynne to get to Tanner,” He said instead of focusing on what the Midnighters could do with them.

“Yeah,” Ford’s voice was thick with irritation and anger at the thought. “They want him, most of us really. If they can get us, they can do whatever they need to accomplish their goals.” He sighed, “They’ll want you for the same reason, if they find out. You could make armies.”

“I would never-!”

“They might not give you a choice. If they get your hands on you, they won’t want to let you go. Hypnosis is simple for them, if the physical methods of persuasion don’t work.” Ford elaborated, sounding bitter, “They’ll find a way to threaten you, something to hurt you with and they’ll hold it above you until you give in to their demands.”

There was something like knowledge in Ford’s voice, and Ryan couldn’t help but be concerned at the tone of his words. “Are you okay? You sound like-”

“I’d rather not talk about it,” Ford stated softly, and Ryan knew the man desperately didn’t want him to press on, so he remained silent. “Just hope that, if something does go down, and people get involved, that they can stay useful. Useful people aren’t used as just bait, and they’ll live longer even if you refuse.”

Ryan nodded solemnly and wondered what Ford had gone through, what the man had lost. He certainly looked as though something –or someone- had been taken from him. The knowledge filled Ryan with a quiet, burning rage and he shook his head slightly to clear it, not wanting to think about it.

But Ryan also knew it would be a bad idea to focus on this, and it would probably be equally bad to let Ford brood on it. “What can they do, power-wise? Obviously they’ve got some big guns, otherwise they wouldn’t be able to get ours.”

Ford sighed softly but looked grateful for the distraction, “Yeah. Gabe’s Id third can heal from just about any wound, and last we knew he could take any powers from one of our kind. We’re lucky he can’t take from multiple people, or keep them. The info we’ve got on his teammates is that the chick, Tammy, can teleport, and The Adept has adaptive muscle memory –he can mimic any fighting style he sees- and he can sense and track our kind.”

“So that’s what Gabriel meant about having twenty four hours, earlier.”

“More like twelve, now,” Ford sighed. “But yeah. The chick won’t be able to teleport here thanks to Gabe, and depending on where their base is, it’s a bad idea for them to head out without an easy way away from the fight.” Ford hummed in contemplation, “I don’t know much about the others, but the three founders are equal parts screwy when it comes to powers.”

“How so?”

“From what I’ve heard from Gabe, who’s infiltrated the bases a few times, nothing good. Walsh can manipulate his bone structure and he’s got a talent for manipulating genetic material and another dude, Carter, has some second form that makes Gabe’s super-strength look wimpy and enhances his powers enough he can’t use it for long without destroying buildings. And his second is to create combustive force out of nothing, you know, explosions and stuff. He might just be immortal too.”

Ryan grimaced at the thought, “That sounds marvelous.”

“It gets better,” Ford mutter sarcastically, “Kia says Gabe mentioned him earlier, but the founder is St. Germain. He hides the company and their base under a mass business front, the Morning Star Organization. And his powers are twofold too; aside from his immortality, he can apparently release bursts of radiation. He’s pretty much a walking A-bomb.”

Ryan nodded with a dark frown at the memory of Gabriel’s words from earlier in the evening. “That’s just not right,” He muttered, more to himself than anyone else.

“What isn’t?”

“That guy gets radiation powers from nuclear bombs, the rest of us get random supernatural powers and some of us live forever, and other’s get cancer.” He scowled and shook his head at the thought.

“You speaking from personal experience?”

Ryan nodded sullenly, “My family’s full of downwinders, people who were told to host blast parties when they were testing the bombs so the government could measure the radiation. They thought they were pretty,” He scoffed, “I bet the feds weren’t expecting this.”

“No, they never do,” Ford agreed, “Though it does make me wonder. No one knows how radiation levels affect our powers, or how far back the mutations go. Who knows, maybe there’s some people near you who were hiding their powers too.”

“I wasn’t hiding them,” Ryan pointed out, though there was no bite in his words. “And God, I hope not. I don’t want them to have to go through this. I mean, they can’t just-”

When he trailed off, unable to find the words he wanted, Ford squeezed his shoulder lightly, “I know.” The man agreed. “You want to protect your friends and family, no matter what the personal cost is. It’s a noble idea. It might get you in trouble, but I can respect it.”

“Fuck trouble,” Ryan muttered. “I’ll take any kind of trouble if it keeps the people I care about safe. Why should they have to suffer if I can take care of it?”

“I like you more and more,” Ford mused, sounding contemplative and pleased. “Just keep in mind that sometimes you won’t be able to protect them by fighting. Sometimes you’ll have to give up for a while, stop hunting them down, stop fighting, in order to keep them safe.”

“Are you speaking from personal experience?” Ryan challenged, relatively sure the answer was a resounding ‘yes’.

“I am,” Ford admitted, “Though I’d rather not get into it.” He stopped walking and Ryan paused to follow his gaze. Ford was staring at a convenience store that was still open, watching the people inside.

Ryan debated on if he could use his powers to sway Ford, to make the man tell him what had happened because that way, Ryan could learn. Maybe he could keep his friends safe if Ford would just tell him.

But who knew what that would do to Ford? Admittedly he’d only known the blond for about twelve hours, but that didn’t mean he wanted to see him hurting. There was something about that that bothered Ryan, he didn’t want his new friends to hurt any more than he had his old ones.

“I’m sorry,” He said instead, wishing there was something he could do. That was the true problem with his powers. He could do nothing with them, but possibly keep his friends safe in the face of tangible danger. Fixing things like this were far, far out of Ryan’s range of abilities.

“It’s hardly your fault,” Ford pointed out, “But thanks.” There was a long pause, and Ryan didn’t want to move or pull Ford from his thoughts. If the man was remembering or something like that, he deserved to be uninterrupted. “It could be worse, at least.”

“It could?”

“The Gabes lost their sister because of what happened just after the split. Apparently there are some things all three of him can agree on, and Tanya was one of them. The problem was, they all wanted her. And apparently Id felt the best way to keep her safe was the Midnighters.”

“They don’t-?”

“No, the Midnighters don’t have her,” Ford agreed. “She’s a shapeshifter, one who can change her physical form and the tenor of her thoughts so no tracker can find her. But that also means the others can’t find her.”

“So she’s-?”

“Missing,” Ford agreed, “The others would give just about anything to have her back, I think, and I can sure as hell sympathize with that.”

Ryan fell silent for a moment, “But if trackers can’t find her that also means she should be safe, right?”

“Should be is the key word, but yeah,” Ford consented as he began walking once more. “And she lived with the Gabes for so long, I’m sure she picked up on a bit of Gabriel’s paranoia, she won’t be stupid.”

Ryan couldn’t quite stop himself from smirking at that, “I’d be less worried about the paranoia, and more worried about her trying to fix things because she blames herself.”


“Nah, I’m sure that’s a uniquely Gabriel trait,” Ford commented lightly and the new tone of his voice, the way it lightened relaxed Ryan. He didn’t want to brood, and he didn’t want anyone else to either, they needed to relax, they deserved the chance to because tomorrow would likely be far worse than today.

He sucked in a sharp, shaky breath with the realization that in less than twelve hours his life had changed completely, and he hadn’t even had a choice in the matter. He’d essentially been dragged into an interspecies war against a group of people who wanted to unite all Ascended, because they were better than humans. And because he was against them, they would be coming at him with the intent to kill, and there was a chance it would never end.

“You alright, man?” Ford asked, placing a hand on Ryan’s shoulders. “You got some issues you forgot to mention?”

“No, no, just had a bit of an epiphany,” Ryan assured him, though his voice shook a little. “There’s no going back, is there? There’s no more chance to back out of this, ever again. Even if all of this were to end in the next ten minutes, it won’t end.”

Ford hummed in soft thought and sighed after a moment, “No,” He agreed. “You’re right, there’s no way out, this is a for life deal.” He paused and looked over to Ryan with knowledge in his eyes. “But can you honestly tell me you want out? That if you had the choice, you’d go back to the way things were? Back to living as a normal person, clueless when it comes to who you really are?”

Ryan shook his head without thinking about it, he knew his answer that instinctively. “No, I wouldn’t.” He agreed and now his voice was steady with his conviction. “You guys are amazing, and I wouldn’t want to forget you, or change what you’ve already done for me, just by saving my life and explaining things to me.”

Ford chuckled softly, “I know what you mean. We aren’t exactly the best, but we make a pretty good makeshift family.” There was a pause in which Ford gestured back in the direction they came, and Ryan nodded as they began walking back towards the others. “There’s more?”

“Yeah, but it’s kind of stupid, compared to the rest,” Ryan confessed, shoving his hands into his pockets and contemplating his life in Illinois and Nevada, that had turned him into who he was today. “It’s just that, I can’t stand the thought of changing or ignoring who I am.”

[CrystalPrison]

Chapter 8

The next morning dawned warm and bright, and Ryan yawned as he awoke. It was already a bit past dawn, and when he pulled out his cell phone to check the time, he saw it was six: he’d slept late, which made sense when he considered his walk with Ford during the night. However, even taking that into consideration, he was shocked to see Gabriel and Ran had already gotten up, there’d been no set wake up time for anyone.

Stretching, the teen slid out of the van and headed up to the apartment as he attempted to straighten out his hair. He didn’t much care about his clothes –he wasn’t the only one who’d be wearing what they slept in- but he tugged them back into place as he headed up to Tanner’s apartment.

Voices could be heard as he entered, and he recognized them as Gabe and Gabriel. “They have Tanya.”

“What? How?” The fury in that voice belonged purely to Gabriel, and he heard a low snarl rumble from Ula as he ducked into the kitchen.

“Not here,” Gabe grit out, and he saw that Gabe and Gabriel were staring darkly at each other.

“Their sister?” James demanded from his place at the kitchen table. “Alright, now I’m pissed. Screw decapitating those worms, I’m taking their arms and letting them bleed.”

Ford was in the kitchen as well, standing next to the coffee pot. His eyes were dark and his jaw tight with anger as he stared at the wall. “Shit.”

“What happened?” Carson asked, shifting into the crowded kitchen with Slater at his side. He was in new clothes, probably ones that Slater had had with him. “Did Tanner get the call?”

“Yeah,” Wolfrik bit out. “The bastards have their sister too,” He gestured to Gabe and Gabriel, who’d yet to move, before swearing softly, but violently in German.

The tension between the two men cut suddenly, “So, you’ll go along with it?” Gabe asked. “You’ve gotta cool it. Your side always got us in trouble when it came to Tanya.”

“Protecting her is all that matters,” Gabriel countered. “We’re changing our plan; we have to go in full force.”

“The one thing the three of them agree on is Tanya,” Ran explained, and Ryan realized she didn’t know about what he’d learned last night. “Id will keep her safe. It will cause infighting as well, and make the bastard useful for once.”

“There’s no point in a trade, then.” Slater muttered, “If they see us all, they’ll expect an attack. And a big one, judging by our size.”

“They, they won’t be expecting much out of us,” Chantal said, stroking Davin. “If I go on the attack, they won’t know what to think.”

“Only attack who you’re willing to hurt, Chantal. I’m not going to ask you to do anything you’re not willing to,” Gabriel stated.

“But your sister-”

“Will be saved no matter what; I’m not going to let you suffer, not even for her,” Gabriel concluded.

“Tin man found his heart,” Ford observed and a wry smirk replaced his dark frown.

“Told you it was there,” Ran answered evenly.

“Is there any chance that Id will let Tanya go if we can convince him it’s for her own good?” Ryan asked, pouring himself a cup of coffee. He couldn’t figure out how they could be so heartless as the use Tanya. He never would have guessed that even Id was that horrible of a person.

“Id’s a selfish bastard,” Gabe stated softly. “We’ll have to take her when the time is right. He’ll keep her safe for now.” He paused, looking towards the window, “There’s someone outside.”

He continued speaking mentally though, once more startling Ryan. ‘Forgive me, but I heard your thoughts. I know what you think, but we’re not using her. We know we can’t get to her straight away, but Id will make sure the others can’t use her against us. We hate it, but we need to trust him. It’s tricky to accept, but he’s still us, in a way.’

Ryan frowned before realizing what Gabe had meant, ‘Wrong they. I was shocked the Midnighters were that heartless. I know what I saw with Id was bad, but I guess it’ll take time to get used to how bad it can be.’ He answered, mulling over how hard telepathy would be to get used to.

‘I’ll back off mentally, I didn’t mean to intrude. My guard was down and it popped into my head. I’m just- please understand I hate having to do this. She’s the only family we have left and I know how those men think. We might have to help Id in order to save her, and it’s confusing. I’m feeling kind of lost but-’ The thoughts cut off and Gabe spoke, repeating what he’d just said, “I’ll back off mentally, sorry.”

Gabriel raised an eyebrow, gaze flickering to Gabriel and a low, rumbling growl escaped Ula.

Ryan shook his head slightly an apology wasn’t what he wanted, ‘Ain’t shit to apologize for. This is new and that makes it kinda weird, but it’s not bad. Especially if it pops into your head, how can I blame you for something you can’t control?’ He nodded to himself, ‘Not like I’ve got the best control either.’ Gabe watched the teenager for a few moments before nodding and giving him a thumbs up, and Ryan relaxed, glad for the return of normalcy.

Becky stuck her head in the doorway, blissfully unaware of the silent conversation. “We’ve got a visitor and it’s The Giant. He was one of the first people to stand up to the Midnighters, and he keeps coming back. No matter what they do to him, he won’t die; he can’t die, at least not permanently.” She explained in a rush. A mixture of fear and excitement filled her voice and the girl’s hands trembled slightly.

“We should go talk to him,” Gabriel stated. “Tanner, Zeke, Gouken, James, Kenny and Maria, come with me. We need to figure out what he wants with us. If we’re lucky, he’s here to help us.”

Ryan moved to the window to watch while the others moved outside, and shortly thereafter he was joined by Ford, Gabe and Kia. Ula was nearby, and he heard Carson and Becky talking with Chantal while he watched.

The two groups met, and Ryan wished he could read lips or know what was going on, “Tanya was captured on purpose,” Gabe stated after a moment, shock filling his voice. “There’s something she needed to get to or do in there. She left us a note.”

“Will he help us?” Chantal asked from her spot near Carson.

“Probably, but don’t watch him fight,” That was Rebecca. “He’s relentless and brutal because he knows he’ll live. He’ll destroy everything and everyone in his path.”

That earned a soft sound of fear from Carson, “Great, charging in will cause chaos and then-.”

“It’ll be fine,” Rebecca reassured him, moving closer to the blond boy. “Just stick with us, we’ll keep you safe.”

While he looked on, Gabriel led the large man upstairs. “He’s huge,” He said softly, taking in the fact the man looked about eight feet tall and well muscled, with unruly black hair that fell to his shoulders.

The door opened a minute or two later, and when the man entered, Ryan saw his partner looped around his shoulder. It was a large, copper colored snake that shifted to look around when they entered. “Well this is an interesting group,” He observed. “I am Snake.”

Before Ryan could ask, Gabe’s voice sounded in his mind, ‘They have both been alive for too long. Their names have faded over the years, as have many other memories.’ The teen nodded while Gabe spoke aloud, “Welcome.”

The Giant nodded, but turned back to Gabriel, finishing a conversation, “I can keep my cool until the fighting begins, but I can generally identify my allies. It’s best I hide before hand, though. I have an attack on sight order out on me.”

Carson looked relieved, and muttered something to himself that made The Giant and Snake look up, though Ryan had been unable to catch what he’d said. “So you have control issues too, huh kid? Here’s a tip, don’t fear your power, be it.”

“What?” There was honest fear and confusion in Carson’s voice, making Ryan frown deeply.

“It was once explained to me that your power is you. It’s as natural as breathing; to not master it is like not breathing.”

“Wh-what if you’re mind’s the problem?” Carson asked hesitantly. “I’m afraid of needles and blood, but my powers, they need it.”

“So fear,” The Giant mused. He paused and surveyed Carson, “There’s no time for this now, but know this. Your fear doesn’t make you do anything; all you need to do is tell it to shut up. Even if it’s always been there, it can be beaten.”

“You’ll learn how to control your powers in time, Carson. Just take things slowly, and be patient. We’ll all help you,” Gabriel said simply. “Don’t worry.”

Carson nodded, and everyone quickly finished their drinks, while the people that hadn’t eaten grabbed toast and other portable food. Ryan just leaned against the wall and nibbled on his bagel, wishing that he had peppermint tea to calm his nerves.

Gabe and Gabriel exchanged a quick glance before looking to Tanner, “We’re going to change clothes to confuse them. Can we borrow your room?”

“It’s the one on the right, you’ll know if you’re in the wrong room. Wynne’s isn’t pink or anything, but she wears a bit more makeup than me.”

While Ryan watched Gabe and Gabriel move towards Tanner’s room, Wolfrik tugged on a trench coat to cover the parasites before offering Chantal his arm, while Slater and Carson discussed travelling arrangements. Tanner pulled a picture of Wynne from his wallet to show the Giant and Snake; it was the same picture he’d shown the others last night.

Gouken and Ford engaged in a debate about some comic book or another, and though Kosei occasionally joined in, Kia just rolled her eyes as she sprawled out near Ryan’s feet. He couldn’t help but feel that though the human Ascendants seemed more willing to relax, most of the animals weren’t.

“How do you get through life dressing like this?” Ryan turned when he heard the voice he thought was Gabriel’s.

“How do you get by without contacts?” The other commented, and Ryan knew that was Gabe. “I always hated these glasses.”

“If it wasn’t for the banter I couldn’t tell you apart,” Kia observed, with a light laugh. “Good to know it worked.”

Gabe hummed and looked over to Gabriel as they moved towards the door, “I swear, if you drive my truck badly I’ll make it so you can only speak Klingon.”

“You learned Klingon?” Maria and Kenny were both laughing. “And I thought Ford was the nerdy one.”

“I can speak it too, so can Gou,” The blond stated with a grin. “But I won’t confuse you with it, don’t worry.”

“That was another life, at any rate,” Gabriel stated, though a slight smile touched his features. “Now let’s get going.”

Everyone loaded into their cars, forgoing group and plans for the moment. Ryan slid into Slater’s car with the agent, Gouken and Kosei, while Rebecca, Maria, Kenny and James got back on the bike. The Giant and Snake got into the back of Gabe’s truck, which Gabriel drove, keeping Ula at his side.

The others had all packed into the RV itself, which Ford was driving, and Ryan leaned back against his seat as Slater waited for the others to begin driving.

Gouken watched as the RV pulled out in front of them, and Kosei sighed, while Slater urged the car into motion “I wish them luck. There isn’t much worse than Ford’s driving.”

“His name is Ford,” Ryan pointed out, laughter coloring his tone, “Shouldn’t he have some skill with a car?”

Gouken shook his head, “Traffic jam en route to the hospital,” He stated. “That’s as far as his relationship with cars should have gone, but he has a legal license. I feel safer with the enemy than his driving.”

Slater whistled softly as he pulled out, “That’s just scary. Thanks for the warning.”

Gouken hummed in acknowledgement of the thanks, and the group fell into a comfortable silence. Ryan was content to pet Kosei lightly as they drove, glad for the company and he let his mind wander.

Ten minutes later the silence was broken by a song that sounded like it was sung in German. Slater frowned and picked it up, “Wolfrik?”

Ryan frowned, exchanging a confused look with Kosei. “Think something’s wrong?” He asked while Slater listened.

“I hope not,” The mongoose replied.

“Yeah, let me pass you. And remind me to give you your phone, it’s in my glove compartment,” Slater stated, hanging up. “That was Carson, there’s an inspection point ahead, we’re going up front to get through without trouble.”

“Kosei,” Gouken’s voice was soft and warning.

“Got’cha!” The mongoose promptly ducked to the floor, somehow managing to wedge himself beneath Gouken’s seat. Ryan knew without a doubt that all the other animals were doing the same.

Slater rolled down the window as they approached the inspection point, and he heard Gouken swear softly. Confused, he leaned forward to see a man that looked to be in his late twenties, with blond hair, blue eyes and a goatee.

The mystery man stepped up and spoke in a low baritone, “License and registration please.”

In response, Slater pulled out his badge. “Agent Slater, F.B.I.” He stated simply, “I’m escorting a group to a private location. We’re in a bit of a rush. They’re clean. We’ve got the mobile home, the truck and the motorcycle.” He said, gesturing to the vehicles as he spoke. “And we’ve got clearance to pass through.”

“Clark Newhart, Interpol. I’m sorry, but some of those vehicles resemble those of the mall incident. Unless your superiors back you up, I’m going to have to insist. We’re looking for terrorists and kidnappers.”

Ryan raised a brow, confused and growing more confused with every passing moment. Hadn’t Ford said that his last name was Newhart? And what in the world did this man mean by kidnappers? The conversation from the night before and what he’d mentioned about his brother in passing snapped into place, and Ryan tried hard not show his confusion and anger.

“Hmm? The mall incident is supposed to be our jurisdiction,” Slater’s voice was calm and cool. “No worries, though, I’ve got our director on speed dial.” Without giving Clark a moment to protest, he began dialing.

There was a brief pause in which Clark watched Slater, before the agent spoke. “Hey Helen, it’s Slater, is the director in?” A quick pause, “I’m escorting VIP’s and we’ve been stopped by Interpol. They’re searching for the mall terrorists and need verification of my clearance to escort such VIP’s.” There was another pause, “Yes, and Carson. Lots.” He smiled slightly, “Yes it was. Thank you, Sir.” He hung up and looked to Clark, “You should be getting a call from your superior soon.”

In the space of a few moments, the tension between Slater and Clark grew until it was nearly tangible. The elder man looked a little smug when a worker approached Clark with a phone, more so when the blond took it with a scowl.

“This is Clark Newhart, Interpol. You wanna tell me why I gotta your little agent past my roadblock without at least an inspection?” He paused, growing steadily more furious. “Let it go?” He snapped. “They people we’re looking for have my only brother and you want me to let this go?”

Ryan frowned deeply, he’d guessed the brother part, but Clark’s reaction made little sense to him. Hadn’t Ford said he was being controlled? Why would they make things like this when there was probably a better way somewhere? He didn’t understand what was going on, or what Clark meant, and he didn’t like it at all.

‘Someone within Interpol is one of the Midnighters. Clark’s being used for now, but they need him where he is, so he’s safe to a point,’ Gabe’s voice sounded in Ryan’s head, and from the tension of Slater’s shoulders, he heard Gabe too. ‘By convincing him we’ve kidnapped Ford, they can use their abilities without him pinning the blame on all Ascendants. It makes controlling him easier.’

“Yeah, well if I find out these were our men I’m going to have your ass in a sling,” Clark grit out. “Take them and get the hell out of here before I decide to risk my job.”

Slater’s response was to signal for the others to follow behind him and began driving away calmly, “Well that was bothersome.”

“That was confusing,” Ryan responded. “What was all of that? Gabe told me, but what’s the story between him and Ford?”

“Yeah, they’re brothers?” Slater asked while Kosei pulled himself out from under the seat.

“They are,” Gouken agreed. “Things changed when Ford got his powers, especially after the Midnighter attack Rebecca mentioned. Clark was worried, and suspicious, and that gave the Midnighters the hold they needed to control Clark.”

Kosei nodded, “First time we met Clark, he tried to kill us to get Ford back.” He paused, “Us, Gabriel and Ran, that is.”

Ryan paled slightly, but Slater nodded calmly. “In his defense, there are some crazy people in this world. If Ford never said anything, well, I can see why he’d be paranoid.”

“It would have happened if he’d told the truth,” Gouken countered. “They didn’t grow up with this like I did.”

“Good point,” Slater thinks. “It’s odd, but I never had problems accepting this, I just knew it was the truth. And my feelings have always been right, so I believed them.”

Kosei cocked his head, and scurried away from Ryan to sit on Gouken’s lap. The two began speaking in quick Japanese, and the mongoose gestured around as he did so, though Ryan got nothing out of anything they did.

Only when they were done, did Gouken continue their conversation, “I was supposed to be a Midnighter, but I never believed in how they worked. And then Takashi killed both of our parents. Stopping him is the only way I can move on, I can’t let that rest. He was my best friend growing up. I still can’t believe he was the same man.”

He reached into his pocket, handing Kosei the cell phone and the mongoose opened the phone and showed them a picture of him and Takashi at what looked like a graduation. “He was the masked man with the machete at the mall. But he and Hisoka betrayed us.”

“I’m sorry,” Slater and Ryan spoke in unison and the redhead flushed lightly.

“It’s okay, I’ve made my peace with that part. We just need to finish things.”

“When that time comes, good luck,” Ryan commented. He knew in that moment that if he could help Gouken, he would.

“We focus on this, now,” Kosei said, voice firm. “We’ll teleport in the next few miles.” He paused, scrambled back towards Ryan and swore, “We’re being followed and it’s Clark.”

“This guy is so annoying,” Slater muttered while Gouken swore in Japanese.
‘I’ve got it, get ready to teleport’ Gabe’s thoughts entered his mind and shortly afterwards someone cut off Clark’s car before braking. ‘Whatever you do, don’t slow down.’

Slater reached down, pulling out the portable siren that allowed his car to go undercover most of the time. Ryan knew instantly that it would stop the cops from trying to stop them. “Let’s go.”

Ryan watched the speedometer as it crept slowly towards ninety, hoping and praying the others were okay. He hoped they’d managed to cheer Ford up, and that he wasn’t hurting to badly after seeing his brother, because Ford just didn’t deserve that.

There was a flash of light, and the world outside the cars distorted, before clearing to show a completely different area. Alarms screamed as they approached a large, square building, and though Ryan noted no fences or other prison like qualities, he was unnerved.

“Be careful,” Gouken cautioned as they drove closer. “This won’t be pretty, they’ll want a fight.” As the man spoke, the ground beneath them began to shake, before fire burst out near the car.

From the ground rose a man made seemingly of rock and lava, and instantly, fear filled Ryan. He wasn’t ready for this, he didn’t know how he was supposed to fight, but that didn’t stop him from going for his gun. No matter what happened, he knew he would fight for his friends.

[CrystalPrison]

Chapter 9

“Not ready, not ready, not ready,” Gouken rambled, body tense with fear. Kosei leapt up to the front of the car, chattering quietly to him.

Slater swerved to avoid the rocks that rose out of the road, “Looks like you’re going to have to deal with it, pal.” He stated, one hand going to his Glock, “We allowed to shoot yet?”

Explosions destroyed the rocks, leaving them a clear path and Ryan swore. “Something tells me that’s Tanner.” He commented while rocks tried to strike down the magma man. “So yeah, I think so,” His grip tightened nervously on his pistol as he spoke.

“Get out of the car, get ready to fight and stay calm,” Kosei instructed. “There’re more of us than there are him.” As he spoke the RV pulled to a sudden, hard stop and Tanner got out of it, looking far beyond furious.

Slater pulled the vehicle to a stop as well, “I’m okay with that. Keep on your toes, guys.”

They scrambled out of the vehicle as did the others, and Ryan watched with fear as their opponent raised his arms and gestured towards Wolfrik. “No one said nothing about killing a little German boy.”

“I did. Now back off, Marshall” Ford’s voice was surprisingly strong, and Ryan thought anger about Clark probably fueled him. He lifted his hand, and the man’s entire body dropped as the force of gravity pulling him down intensified, though the man quickly melded into the ground.

Disregarding everyone and everything around him, Tanner headed towards the base, followed quickly by Zeke and Ryan noted the sole of Tanner’s right shoe was melting slightly. “I don’t have time for this bullshit. Let’s go find Wynne.”

The group condensed slowly, but Tanner moved away from them, followed quickly by his partner. Ryan heard Gabriel swear, “Tanner wait, I know you want to get to her, but it’s a tra-”

Gabriel’s voice cut off as Tammy warped in, grabbed him and left, and Gabe shook his head slowly. “Well, it worked,” He commented, picking up the gun Gabriel had dropped. “Let’s move.”

“Dammit, sorry, I-” Tanner sighed and Zeke hung his head. “At least now we can let loose.”

“Carson, stay close to us,” Slater urged, handing the teen his cell phone. “We’ll keep you safe.”

“Yeah, don’t worry, I’ll watch your back,” Wolfrik assured Carson as he tossed off his trench coat. “Let’s get to business Em.”

“Thanks Wolfr-” A scream from Chantal cut him off when a man in a police uniform burst from the ground, grabbed Wolfrik and pulled him down through the ground with him. “Where’d he go? What’d he do with him?”

Maria swore violently, she and the others had approached from her bike and Kenny looked infuriated. “That Morray guy he and his partner are intangible, everyone better watch out.”

James glared and tensed, moving towards the door, “That’s it. Next person who pops up loses their head.” As if in response to his comment, a tiger humanoid lunged at him and James twisted to dodge the assault. “Guys, get inside, leave him to me!”

“James,” Rebecca’s voice was a whimper even as she reached for Carson’s hand to pull him forward.

“Go, now!” James ordered. “He doesn’t have a chance.”

As he spoke, Marshall returned and Chantal whipped around. For the first time, Ryan saw true fury in her gaze and as he aimed and shot at Marshall, Chantal fired a blast of light at him, “Bring him back!” She shrieked, releasing another burst of light that destroyed the creature.

“Rebecca!” Carson’s scream caught Ryan’s attention and he saw Morray and a panther dragging the girl through the ground. “No!”

Maria grabbed him before he could begin to panic, and Ryan moved to his other side while Slater spoke. “Come on, get inside,” The agent urged. “We can’t afford to get separated, but if you do, just use your phone and try and stay calm.”

“She’ll be inside, don’t worry, we’ll get her back. We won’t leave without her,” Maria assured Carson. “Everything will be fine.”

Still shaking, Carson let a drop of blood splash onto the ground, and it formed into two large, mutated centipedes. “Help James,” He ordered shakily, before letting Ryan tug him inside and after the others.

For a few moments there was silence and they followed Tanner and Gabe through the twisted hallways quickly. A scream of Tanner’s name caught his attention, and he shifted forward to see Wynne running forward to hug her brother.

Ryan was confused, because Wynne wasn’t running like a prisoner seeking solace; it was more like she was just excited. He heard Tanner voice his own question and pursed his lips as Carson approached him from behind. “Already? That’s not a good sign.”

Three more people followed Wynne. One was a teenager with white blond hair, the other a blue skinned cyborg clad in armor, and the third was pale skinned young man, looking around almost curiously. It was the cyborg that spoke first, “Where’s Rebecca?”

“She got grabbed by one of them,” Gouken answered, while Kosei clambered onto his shoulder. Ula moved to head the group, followed by Gabe and Ran and the trio made a firm barrier between the two groups.

“What?” The Cyborg turned, fury in every line of his body. “Carter you-” He paused. “Did you double cross us?”

The teenager answered, “No, Norman, we didn’t. Obviously someone wasn’t informed on the deal. And to answer your question Mr. Swan, your sister has arranged for your freedom in exchange for joining us as a humanitarian worker.”

Kia snarled harshly, probably not wanting to see siblings separated again and Ford spoke, “And just who are you, kid?”

“A fifty six year old man who can blow you to pieces if you mock me again,” Carter’s voice was cold. “Oh, and second in command of the Midnighters, so play nice or I kill you.”

Tanner said something soft to Wynne, who nodded. “I assume you have loose interpretations of the word ‘freedom’. You took Wolfrik too, you’re not exactly playing nice yourself.”

“They bartered for the freedoms they were closest to, not knowing most of you. Can you blame them? Some of you will be captured on principle, the rest are bonus,” Carter explained. “Surrender peacefully and you’ll live. If not, we will have to capture you, or worse.”

“Tanner, I-” Norman hesitated. “I’ve sold my soul back to protect your sister, I’ll keep her safe with my life, I promise you.” His gaze travelled to Gabe. “You’re Id and Tanya’s other brother. She’s in Walsh’s lab.”

“Norman!” Energy flickered around Carter’s form in fury.

“I owed him that much for keeping Rebecca safe, despite everything. The debt between us is now paid. I can do my job in spite of him if I must.”

Carson’s gaze was on Wynne, or more specifically, on her arm. Ryan winced when he saw a bruise at the crease of her elbow, and he knew instantly that it was from drawing blood. “How’d she get that? Did she get that here?”Carson demanded, ducking behind Ryan in fear. “That’s what they’re going to do, isn’t it?”

“They’ll probably give you worse from what you’ve said about your powers,” Kenny observed.

The dark skinned man spoke, gazing curiously at Kenny and Maria, the back to the shaking Carson. “Why are you trying to antagonize your friend? We’re letting you in and we’ll let you try to find your friends. You’ve obviously said no to our offer of surrender, so we have no more business with you. We must evacuate now.”

“We’re telling him the truth, he deserves to know, seeing as it’ll effect him,” Maria grit out.

“But Rebecca-” Norman protested, looking to Carter. “I can’t-”

“I’ll penalize the fool who targeted her myself,” Carter answered. “Now I have to warn you the elevator is out as Alex wished to hasten this reunion.” He pulled out what looked to be an altered cell phone, “This is Carter, send an alert to all staff. Find Rebecca and free her. Take her to the Heliport before I get there. She was not to be touched.” He hung up. “Now you will go your way, we will go ours, and if you’re lucky my men won’t kill you.”

The four left then, despite the fact Tanner rather obviously hated himself for allowing Wynne to leave him and that she didn’t look pleased about leaving him. His body slumped, and he only looked up when Gabe spoke, “She’s fine, Tanner. And are you going to give into fear while they have Becky?” He was obviously speaking to Carson, who looked up, suddenly appearing calmer.

“Right, got it.” He held out his hand and blood dripped, morphing into a large lizard-like creature with long, curved claws. “Find her.” He ordered, climbing onto it and urging it up the elevator shaft.

“Ford, if you would?”Gabe inquired, leading the group towards the elevator. He seemed completely calm, so Ryan didn’t let himself worry about Carson; he figured Gabe would know if there was going to be any trouble.

“Second floor, friends and mutants,” Ford said once they were all in and he raised his hands. The elevator moved with the motion, and slowly began to rise.

“Stop worrying, Tanner. They escaped imprisonment, and did it intelligently. Norman explained everything to me mentally, they’re going to try and help us from within. Have faith in her,” Gabe requested. “She’ll be fine.”

Even as he spoke, Ford stopped the elevator, leaning against the wall. For a moment Ryan was concerned, but he fought the urge to help soothe the other man, letting Kia nuzzle her partner’s hand as the others moved out. The first thing he noticed was that there was no Carson in sight; the second was the large hippo-beetle creature that surged towards the group.

“Tanner!” That was Gabe, even as Ran stepped forward, eyes flashing.

“Way ahead of you!” Tanner stated, lifting his hand while an explosion took out the beast.

Maria surged forward the moment the explosion faded, hacking into the creature with more skill than Ryan had anticipated. Her abilities truly were something to fear. “Clear.” She paused, “Nice gloves, Fordo. I approve.”

There was a moment’s pause before another creature attacked them; it was a chimera of sorts, with a snakes head and the body of a lion. It lunged and Ryan raised his gun, fought for clarity and fired. The shot echoed in the enclosed space, and as the creature fell, he saw Slater take aim and fire as well, before Kia charged the beast in her other form, obviously ready to kill.

“Becky just sent a message,” Gabe stated while everyone gathered around him. “She and Wolfrik are safe,” Ryan was certain Chantal and Davin slumped in relief at that, “But we need to find Tanya and Carson. Split between Ford and I.”

“We’ll go with Gabe,” Tanner stated, while Maria moved to Ford’s side. Kenny followed looking intent on a fight.

“We’re covering Gabe too,” Gouken stated and Kosei grinned in agreement. “If they’re meeting Id, Takashi will probably follow.”

“We part ways here,” The Giant said, and Ryan paled as he watched Snake merge with his partner until they were one bulky, scaled being. “We will distract them and destroy this place.”

“I’m going for Carson,” Slater said, as though they hadn’t already realized that. “He has his cell now; we can call if we have to.”

Ryan moved towards Gabe at the same time Chantal and Davin stepped towards Ford. He offered her a slight smile, glad she looked more confident in what she was doing. “Good luck, guys.”

Ford nodded as Gabe spoke, “Meet at the vehicles, move quickly and be careful.” He stated. “We don’t want to lose anyone today, understood?” There were murmurs of agreement, but Ryan suspected that Tanner already felt that they had lost someone; he was returning without Wynne, after all. Gabe paused, “We need to hurry; Id found Gabriel.”

Ran snarled and surged down the hallway so quickly it astounded Ryan. Everyone took after the wolf, taking turns only when Gabe told them to. “He copied Gabriel’s telekinesis. It’s going to get bad, if it isn’t already. Be careful and aim for the head; it keeps him down the longest.”

The fact that a head shot wouldn’t kill Id was terrifying, but Ryan worked hard not to let that show. He had to help his friends, and that was what mattered most. A man appeared before them, forcing them to stop; he smirked and lit a cigarette, eyes on Ryan “Scared kiddo?”

Tanner glared and Zeke hissed, “You really think you can take us all?”

“Yeah, I do,” The man exhaled a breath of smoke. “You’re the pretty one’s bro, aren’t ya? Can’t kill you then.”

The metal from the ceiling began dripping down, and passed through their enemy; he was intangible. “Oh, nice try but no luck.” He taunted, “Anyone else wanna give it a go?”

Ryan frowned deeply, realizing that the only powers that didn’t involve attacking their opponent were shields, telepathy and his odd attraction. He knew nothing else would work, and he didn’t even know if the shields would work, and he was certain the strain of all the mental turmoil would be affecting Gabe; it could be enough to hurt the older man.

Shaking his head, Ryan focused on the enemy and on the fact he didn’t want the man to hurt him or his companions. He didn’t know if it would work because of how little he consciously used his powers, but he was willing to try it. There were so few other options, after all.

“Of course, you could always just behave,” The man said after a moment, letting his gaze linger on Ryan. “Tanner, Zeke I’m sure your little sister would be thrilled to here you joined us too; big weight off her pretty little shoulders. And Gouken, Kosei, I’m sure The Adept and Hisoka would love for you to join us, you can sort things out, be best friends again.” He paused, “Now what d’ya say?”

None of the others said a word, so Ryan blew out a quiet sigh and spoke, “But that’s just them,” He pointed out, allowing a bit of hesitance and fear to fill his voice. “They’ve got no reason to keep me alive, after all. The others were so eager to kill us,” He trailed off, focusing on the fear he’d faced from other, human attacks. “Or worse.”

“Man, we don’t care. We accept anyone so long as you’re loyal or got a reason for us to trust you won’t stab us in the back. And they listen to me, good old Barcello.” He smiled fondly, “Why, you gunna join us? I’d be happy to give you a tour, it’ll be fun.”

“Then why aren’t you in solid form?” Ran asked, voice deceptively calm. “That’s certainly not convincing, is it Ry?”

“Alright, alright,” Barello conceded when Ryan nodded and the man turned solid and flicked away the remains of a cigarette before lighting a new one. “I’m solid, happy? I’ll even offer you a smoke, which is a big deal for me.”

“Very, and I’d be happy to take you up on that offer,” Gabe stepped forward and reached out, before punching Barcello hard. Ryan heard the sound of bone cracking as the man collapsed and stayed down.

“Nice,” Tanner praised as Ran took off, obviously unwilling to wait another moment. “If he said one more thing about my sister I was going to blow him up.”

The group began running, and Ryan thought that by the set of Gabe’s shoulders, Barcello had infuriated him. And he was the ‘angel’ in a sense, the most moral; it worried Ryan to think of what Id or Gabriel would do in that situation. Death would probably be kind coming from them.

His thoughts were cut off as they turned the corner he saw Id using wall panels to try and beat down Gabriel, who looked successful enough as he sent them flying away. Ran surged into the fray, forcing the wall panels away, and then the cheetah –which was covered in fire- surged at her.

The floor beneath Id began to melt, courtesy of Tanner, who was crouched down on the floor. Id swore violently, and Gabriel looked towards the others, “You’re slow.”

“Traffic was a bitch,” Gabe answered evenly, watching as Id tried and failed to free himself. “You should be glad we can’t force the merge, or this would be over.” He told Id.

Id all but snarled, and the cheetah joined him as the floor beneath it began melting, stopping its attack. “You want to waste our potential! We can do so much and you won’t do anything!”

“Absolute power corrupts absolutely,” Gabriel stated firmly. “I won’t stand for that.” He paused, looking to the others, “The others are in the lab, go get them. We’ll keep him here.”

Swallowing down his fear for the two men and their partners, Ryan let Gouken and Tanner guide him through the room and away. He heard screaming and gunshots, but despite the fear in Gouken’s eyes, he didn’t allow Ryan to turn around. “They’ll be fine, don’t worry.” Kosei stated.

By the time they reached the labs, they saw a free Tanya, standing with a man who held a scythe at her side while Maria and Slater stood nearby. Slater was pacing frantically, and the moment he saw them, his shoulder sagged, “They took Carson.”

Fear for his new friend spiked through Ryan, and he watched as Slater twisted around to stare at a picture on the desk behind him. His gaze was cloudy, but somehow far too intense to be considered normal. “He’s safe,” He stated softly. “I know it, he had a reason.” He paused, “Ford and the others went back.” He added, “They needed to get to safety. But Carson-”

“Is probably a Midnighter,” The mystery man stated, “Great.” Rage welled in Ryan at the words, and only Gouken’s hand on his shoulder stopped him from physically reacting.

“Damien, stop,” Tanya stated. “Trust these people.”

“He’s not a Midnighter,” Slater insisted as Gabriel burst in. “He’s a good kid, paranoid or not. He had a good reason, I know it.”

The siblings stared at each other for a long moment, before Gabriel managed to look away. “Not here.” He breathed, though there was something close to regret in his voice. “Gouken, get to Gabe, he’s been shot.” He paused, “Damien, your powers; can you find Carson?” Gouken said nothing as he headed back towards Gabe, and Ryan prayed Gabe would make it.

Damien nodded and Slater stepped up to him, “I’m going with you. Please. I need to know he’s okay.”

When he nodded, Maria moved forward, “You’ll need more muscle. Let’s go.”

The three faded away and Gabriel turned to them at the same moment Gabe’s weakened voice sounded in Ryan’s mind. ‘Listen closely, all of you. The Giant planted a bomb. We have ten minutes to get out of here.’

Panic filled Ryan, but somehow, Gabriel remained calm. “We’re heading back the way we came, picking up the others on the way. We can plow through the walls, and we’ll work on getting farther away later. Understood?”

He didn’t wait for time to explain, instead using a burst of telekinesis to destroy the nearest wall. Ran moved ahead, and Ryan struggled to keep up with the others, while Tanner and Gabriel took turns destroying the walls.

Gabe and Gouken were waiting, with Kosei perched on Ula’s shoulder. Gabriel didn’t take a moment to explain the plan, and Ryan knew Gabe must have told the others beforehand, for Ula grew in size and plowed through the next well without hesitation.

It took too long to get to the last wall, and blood dripped from Gabriel’s nose as he spoke, “Warn Ford. We’re playing catch. I’m throwing you telekinetically and Ford will catch you mid air and lower you to the ground. Ran will buffer him,” He stated. “Gouken, you’re first.”

Ryan watched, stunned as Gabriel lifted first his partner, and then Gouken and Kosei, both of whom protested violently at the treatment. Next went Tanner, and Tanya, and he couldn’t help but worry at the obvious strain Gabriel placed on himself by doing this, he looked ready to collapse.

Much to his chagrin, Gabe shook his head minutely, signaling for Ryan to stay quiet. ‘It’s a pride thing. We both want to make sure you all stay safe. We’ve failed enough today.’

‘No,’ Ryan insisted. ‘Things didn’t go right, but you didn’t fail anyone.’

Slater and Maria appeared as Tanya went flying, both looking incredibly defeated. Carson wasn’t with them, and he realized as Gabriel prepared to throw him, that they must have chosen to let him go. They’d done what he hoped was best for Carson.

Ryan hit the ground easily and moved towards Kia while Ford spoke, “Don’t look up her skirt, don’t look up her skirt.” The muttering was faint and only half joking.

“He’s afraid he’ll die if he so much as looks at her the wrong way,” Kia commented, voice laced with exhaustion.

That earned a smirk from Maria as she landed and a throaty chuckle from Kenny, “He will.” James agreed, eyes flashing dangerously.

A jet took off as Slater and Gabe landed, and he heard Rebecca leave the RV, concern lacing her voice as she looked around. “Where’s Carson? What happened?”

“He found his dad,” Slater stated simply, moving to his car and Ryan saw rage and grief in his eyes. “He’s gone with them.” Rebecca froze, staring at Slater in complete shock.

“Where’s Tanya?” Gabe asked, looking around, and Ryan realized she hadn’t been here when he’d landed. A moment later, he realized Damien had probably made her intangible and left with her when the others hadn’t been looking. She’d left her brothers, and probably crushed them because of it.

Disappointment filled everyone’s eyes, though for different reasons, as Gabe spoke, “The Giant and Snake are dead. They’ll return when they reform. Carson found his father, Walsh, one of the Founders,” He stated, voice low with agony, and Ryan guessed he’d pulled the information from the minds around them. “Norman and Wynne will stay with the Midnighters and be our eyes inside, they’ll take care of Carson,” He reassured Rebecca, who looked crushed.

Chantal began crying, and Ryan heard Davin chatter softly to her while Wolfrik wrapped an arm around her shoulders. James and Maria stayed close to Rebecca as she broke down, and Gabriel spoke. “This is too much for today. Let’s return to Chicago and rest for now. We’ll figure everything out in the morning.” He paused. “We are still alive, there’s still hope. Don’t worry, I will fix this. We’ll bring them back.”

Ryan wanted to scream his outrage and denial; he couldn’t believe that they’d failed so badly, that they’d lost friends and family. He couldn’t stand the pain his friends were in, and he hated that there was nothing he could do to fix it. With a long sigh, he touched his choker and silently swore he wouldn’t give up until everyone was home. No matter what Gabriel said, Ryan knew he would help make things right.

There was nothing that would stop him.

[CrystalPrison]

Chapter 10

“Alright, I’m off!” Ryan called, downing the last bit of his of his coffee and setting the mug in his sink. It was nine already, and if he wanted to get to Denny’s in time to meet the others, he had to leave now.

His mother stuck her head in the door, “Do you think you’ll be home soon?”

Ryan shook his head, focusing on his powers to try and destroy any chance of resistance she would have to his plans. It had certainly worked last night as he’d elaborated on his plans, “No, I don’t think so. Kyle made it sound like he really needed help.”

He watched as his mother tucked a lock of red hair behind her ear and surveyed him before sighing, “Alright then. Just call when you can, and if you need any money-”

“I’ll call,” Ryan reassured her, grabbing his bag. He wished he could grab his rifle, but he knew he couldn’t risk it. Taking the pistol alone would raise suspicion, especially when they realized he’d taken all the ammo as well. “Don’t worry, it’ll be fine.”

“Be careful,” She urged him.

“Of course, don’t worry,” He assured her. “And tell Dad I said bye.”

She nodded, and he quickly moved outside, sliding his bag into one saddlebag. The other saddlebag held two outfits and a pair of shorts to sleep in, along with the toiletries he’d need. He’d taken all the money he had and grabbed the charger he’d need to keep his phone alive.

Ryan waved once more to his mother and wished his father wasn’t working, so he could say goodbye to him. He knew there was no guarantee he’d ever see them again, but more than that, he knew this was necessary. They’d be in danger if he stayed, he wouldn’t come back until the Midnighters had been defeated.

Keying the bike to life, he took off, shutting his mind off to the worries. He was feeling better after a night of rest, especially because he’d had a chance to prepare this time around; he was committed to helping the others and doing things right this time.

Time was measured by the landscape that passed by as he drove, and Ryan let it pass by without much of a concern. Only when he reentered the city limits of Chicago did he pay much attention to anything, and even then it was only enough to find the restaurant.

Once he parked next to the RV, he slid off the bike and yawned, stretching stiff muscles. He reached into the saddlebag and grabbed his messenger bag, realizing only belatedly that he was a little afraid to leave the pistol behind; there’d been too much danger lately.

The hostess, a dark skinned, wiry woman greeted him with a warm smile. “What can I do for you, hun?”

“I’m with the big-” He paused, seeing several of the others seated at a large table and frowned when he didn’t see the animal half of the group, not that he was shocked. “They’re right over there.”

“Of course they are,” She agreed. “Quite a big group, what’re you here for?”

“An informal business meeting,” Ryan lied easily, “There’s more people on their way.”

Gouken gestured him over and Ryan dropped into the chair next to the Japanese man while Ford blew out a sigh. “Where’s the coffee? I need my caffeine!”

Ryan just shook his head good naturedly and Gouken and Chantal laughed softly as she smiled at Ryan. Wolfrik and Tanner were there as well as both Gabriel and Gabe. “Any sign of the others?”

“James is on his way,” Gabe answered. “He’s got the girls with him.”

“Slater was at his hotel, I drove by him on my way here,” Tanner answered, looking contemplative. “He looks like hell; he didn’t shave and looked like he was up all night.” He shrugged, “But he should be here soon.”

Ryan picked up a menu and scanned it, debating on what he wanted. “Where’s the others?”

Gabe chuckled lightly, “Breathe, Gabriel. And the others are in the RV; they all refused to stay behind. They’re catching on to Gabriel’s worries.”

As he spoke, Slater walked towards them and dropped into the seat next to Tanner. Ryan smiled in greeting and Wolfrik spoke, “Morning Slater.”

“Hey,” The man sounded as exhausted as Tanner had guessed, and Ryan frowned in sympathy.

Chantal looked contemplative as well, and they exchanged a quick glance before she spoke. “Umm, how are we affording all of this?” She asked, trying to provide a distraction. “Sorry, but I’m curious.”

“Take your pick,” Gouken commented. “My inheritance would do, I’m a billionaire.” Chantal gasped and Ryan stared blankly at his friend, who flushed and looked away. “The Morning Star, the Midnight Sun’s business front, they never learned of it, so I can live off of it. I’m set for life.” Gouken explained quietly, seeming embarrassed.

“Or there’s me!” Wolfrik chimed in, “My parents send over money all the time. Between them and Gouken, we have about half as much money as the Midnighters.”

Gouken snickered lightly, “Spending your money on the cute girl, Ookami-kun? I’m so surprised.”

Chantal flushed and Ryan smirked, exchanging an amused look with Ford. “Yay for the rich friends that save my bank account!” He commented, knowing the money he’d saved from being a waiter wouldn’t last long. “Thanks guys.”

As he spoke, Rebecca and Maria entered, and he waved lightly at them while Gabriel spoke. “How are you feeling, Rebecca?”

“It’s Becky right now. Rebecca’s gone quiet for now, she’s sulking.” Becky explained.

Gabe pursed his lips, looking concerned, “I see,” He paused, “I’m sorry.”

“We can talk about it lat- Jesus, Slater, what happened to you?” Maria demanded as she approached. “You look horrible, definitely not the well groomed man of the law I’m used to.”

“Couldn’t sleep, and no I didn’t drink, just so you know. I spent all night working,” He yawned as he spoke.

Gabriel looked around. “So, are we ready for this meeting?” He asked, though he grit out the last word, sounding tense.

“It all makes sense now,” Gabe observed, sounding smug “You still have interview jitters.” Gabriel fixed his Super Ego self with a glare, but Gabe just shrugged it off. “When we were whole we never liked being interviewed by bosses, teachers or anyone of authority.”

“I hate being judged,” Gabriel explained. “So I’m not looking forward to meeting the director.”

“You won’t be judged by him,” Slater claimed, somehow managing to sound reassuring despite his exhaustion. “He’s got demons that make a very accepting person, or at least that’s what they told me when I first joined. Now the question is, how are we doing this?”

“I’m going with Maria,” Gabe claimed. “I need to keep tracking down allies, and I want to try and find Tanya again. It probably won’t work, but,” He shrugged as he trailed off.

“We’ll be sorting out things here and planning our next move,” Gabriel added. “They have bigger guns and won’t let this stand. The only way we can make headway is to take the fight to them.”

“Easier said than done,” Ford stated, sounding resigned, “Especially with Clark still hunting us.”

“We’ll figure it out,” Gabriel assured him. “What’s going to happen is I’m going to go with Slater alone. Ford, Gouken I want you to hold back in case they try to use Clark to get to us. There’s a chance we can find their spy and take him or her down.” He paused, “Ryan, try to keep them from doing something stupid.”

Ryan laughed softly, “I’ll do what I can. No promises.”

“Hey,” Ford protested, “We’re not that bad.”

“Yeah,” Gouken added, “That’s him and Kosei. Kia and I try to stop them most of the time. He just drags me down sometimes.”

“Where do you want me and Chantal?” Wolfrik asked.

“Ryan will need our help,” Chantal pointed out, blushing. “Will you protect me, my hero?”

Wolfrik smiled. “Of course I will my radiant sunflower.”

Becky sighed, looking sad, and Ryan realized she and Carson must have bonded deeply in that night they’d spent talking. It certainly made sense, both would be ‘freaks’ among normal people, both had demons and they’d clicked relatively well. It didn’t take much effort to realize she’d been hoping for more.

The waitress came over to take their drink orders, and Ford gave her an irritated look. “I ordered coffee, where is it?” For all of his irritation, the blond whined the question, and Ryan smiled at his antics.

“Easy Ford, easy,” Gabriel chuckled while the others placed their orders, and Ryan joined Ford in demanding coffee. “You’re such a kid sometimes.”

Tanner watched the overwhelmed waitress run off to bring their drink. “Poor kid looks young, she’s probably new.”

Wolfrik just grinned at them, “If she thinks she has it bad now, just wait till I order. Me and Em starving.”

“She should be glad we eat for one,” Becky commented.

“How does that even work?” Gouken asked, sounding honestly curious.

“We alternate preferences but we mostly like the same stuff. It’s mostly a difference of the little things, like ketchup and mustard.”

Ryan frowned, looking to Slater who’d been mostly silent and staring off into space this entire time. Despite the general lightness of the conversation and the desire to make things normal, it was evident Slater wasn’t willing to pretend things were right.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Gabriel asked, voicing Ryan’s thoughts. “You’re beginning to have me worried and that’s like,” He paused for a moment to think, “Ford singing on key.”

That earned protest from Ford and laughter from just about everyone else -including Becky- but Slater didn’t even smile. “It’s true. A cat in a blender sounds better than him,” Gouken added, but still, Slater didn’t seem to relax.

“Like I said, I didn’t sleep last night. I stayed up doing research, but came to a bit of a dead end,” Slater explained with a low sigh. “Walsh is on file, but it’s highly classified; only the director is allowed to access it. I called and asked him to, but got shot down.” He rubbed his eyes, “There’s more to this than we know.”

“That doesn’t sound reassuring,” Gabriel stated. “You think there might be insiders?”

“No, not really, but he didn’t sound surprised. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he knew already. So needless to say, there’s got to be more to this, and I’ll figure it out when I get to headquarters.”

“We,” Gabriel corrected. “My terms on this will be steep though. If they want me to trust them, they better go above and beyond.”

“The director’s a nice guy, there shouldn’t be any problems.”

“For everyone’s sake, I hope there aren’t,” Ryan agreed. “We don’t need any more problems.”

Wolfrik looked up suddenly and said something in German, and Tanner looked to see, obviously as confused as Ryan in. “What the-? A parrot? They aren’t going to be let in; birds are really unsanitary, especially around food.”

“Ryan, you’re a jinx,” Gabe stated. “We might not be eating. Those people are being stalked by someone that might be the Midnighters, or someone else. Eyes open and be ready for anything.”

“Good, I could use a face to beat in,” Ryan looked up, shocked. The voice was Rebecca, but the attitude was more reminiscent of Becky, which showed just how infuriated the girl was.

The redhead had flushed slightly at Gabe’s words and now he looked away and towards the new arrivals. There was a girl with several piercings, sunglasses and hair streaked through with red, green and blue and a guy with dyed red and black hair that both looked his age. Two women accompanied them, one in a short black dress, and the other in business slacks and a nice shirt.

Even as he watched, the parrot, a gray bird, gave instructions to the girl whose shoulder he sat on. ‘They’re like us,’ Gabe informed him, and probably all of the others. ‘The parrot is laughing at his show for the staff. He’s pretending to be a seeing-eye parrot. The girl in the dress created the permit for them.’

As he spoke, James entered the building, “It feels like a typical team for them. I felt like there were three there, but I only saw one agent. The team of three fits their MO.”

“So, how’re we approaching them?” Ford asked.

“Whoever feels like being a people person that isn’t excitable and German can go over and talk to them,” Gabriel mused. “Sorry Wolf, you’re as subtle as I am.”

“I’ll go,” Ryan said, knowing this was probably the best use for his powers. “I’ll find out what they’re doing here and what’s up. Anyone want to join me?”

“I will,” Gouken agreed. “Chantal, Wolf, Keep an eye on Ford.”

The only boy in the new group walked by, and Gabe went still, “Better idea, I’ll go ask that kid why everything just went quiet in my head,” He commented softly, before standing and following the teen to the bathroom.

Gouken and Ryan exchanged a glance and Ryan slid out of his seat, concerned. He didn’t want to know why Gabe had just lost his telepathy, and he prayed it wouldn’t last or affect the others. “Let’s do this,” He muttered, “Maybe the coffee will get here while we’re gone.”

Together they walked over to the table and Ryan blew out a slow sigh. “Hi, I’m Ryan Labe, and this is Gouken” He greeted, voice calm and warm. “You mind if we sit with you for a bit? You know, maybe talk a little and wait for our food?” He flashed a slight smile, hoping that he still had his powers, or that they’d just get very lucky.

He felt the girl survey him, and her gaze lingered on the dark pants and the shirt he’d bought just two days prior. “Hi Ryan, Gouken,” She greeted. “Sure you can sit, I don’t-” She paused and broke off, “Wait, Ryan Labe?”

Gouken gave Ryan a curious look and Ryan shrugged, confused. He certainly would have remembered a girl with such style, but he was grateful that there was no chance she was a fling gone wrong. “Yeah, that’s what I said,” He agreed. “Why? I don’t wanna be rude, but have we met before?”

The woman in the dark dress smiled fondly at the two, gaze lingering on Gouken as she tilted her head slightly and held out her hand for Gouken to shake. “Well hello there, it’s certainly-”

Leah cut her off, “Holy crap! It’s Leah! Leah Carter! Remember, you came to Albion when we were twelve and went to that camp!” The girl’s voice was low, but shocked and filled with pleasure.

Ryan blinked twice as the memory of a girl with black hair and green eyes flashed through his mind. Now that he was looking for it, Leah did look like that girl, just with a better sense of style. “We’re safe,” He assured Gouken as he settled into the booth, pleased that even without his powers he’s still probably be able to do something.

They’d kept in contact for quite a while and had been close, before real life had swept them up and cut off their communication. Leah had never had many friends, and at the time Ryan hadn’t either, which mean they’d been close; he doubted he’d have problems with anything. “What’d you do to your head?” He asked, “I love it!” After a moment, he remembered he was here on a job, “And what brings you all the way out here, did you move?”

Gouken stayed standing and alert as Leah spoke, “I know you’ll think I’m crazy, but I’m not! Anyways, we’re here because we got attacked by some crazy chick,” She explained. “Me and mom went out to a nice dinner, and all of a sudden there’s this chick shooting fireballs at us and she had a freaking tiger with her! But Kris, Elijah and Gina were there, and helped us get out of there. We’ve been on the road, since.”

The parrot nodded, “Kris and I found a note that said to come here in a nice, abandoned cabin, so we came to Chicago. And we were hungry, so we came here for breakfast.”

“Well,” Gouken commented, “This will make things easier. But Ryan, you might want to explain, I’m not too good with this.”

“Well we don’t know if I’m good at it, yet,” Ryan pointed out with a soft laugh, touching his choker lightly. “But since you’ve already experienced some if it, I’ll make it blunt. If you want to react badly, just keep it quiet.” He sighed softly, and exchanged a glance with Gouken, who nodded reassuringly. “The reason the crazy chick and her partner attacked you is because at least one of you has powers. And those powers involve being bonded to an animal,” He shot a glance to Elijah, “Who is also powered.”

He paused and smiled slightly, hoping he could take away the sting from his next words, “Unfortunately fireballs aren’t the worst of it, and there’s an organization of crazies with a ‘join or die’ philosophy. And there’s a good chance that some of them followed you here. But don’t worry,” He added when he saw panic cross their features. “We’ve got your back, and trust me when I say that’s a very good thing. There ain’t nothing to worry about.”

“Yes,” Gouken agreed, “My partner can identify our kind and I can heal or destroy, depending on which hand I use,” He tugged off his left glove as he spoke. “See, it’s all golde-” Gouken broke off and Ryan whipped around to see it looked completely normal. Removing the other glove proved it too looked the same. There was a pause in which Gouken examined his normal hands with evident joy; Ryan thought it must be hard to be unable to use his hands without gloves.

“And I’m a people magn-” Ryan broke off suddenly and looked to Gouken, “Should we be worried that our powers are sealed and there’s potential enemies outside?”

“Nope, Kris seals powers, he’s probably just stressed,” Elijah chimed. “He can give them back. See?”

Ryan twisted to watch, and saw Gouken’s hands slowly return to normal. For a moment, sympathy for the man filled him, and he fought to distract himself, trying to gauge the others’ reactions.

Mrs. Carter –because really who else could that woman be?- looked shocked, but Ryan thought that the look in her eyes meant she was adapting quickly. The others all looked calm though, like they’d expected there to be something bigger, and had just waited for someone to confirm their thoughts.

“It’s going to be dangerous,” Gouken warned. “Especially travelling with us.”

“That’s okay,” Gina’s smile was flirtatious, and the look she gave Gouken left no doubt about her intentions. “I like danger.”

Gouken flushed slightly and Ryan fought back the desire to laugh. “That’s good,” Gouken commented, “Because I seem to attract it.” Ryan bit his lip, fighting the urge to point out the fact they all seemed to, it would be good for Gouken to have some fun.

Instead, he shook his head, “Alright, we spilled, what can you guy do?”

“Mom’s human,” Leah stated, smoothing her fingers through Elijah’s feathers. “And I’m an empath.”

“I can do this and this,” Elijah claimed; the first words he said were in Ryan’s voice, the second in Gouken’s. “And I can turn to steel,” He added in Leah’s voice. “And Gina creates things from her mind,” He added in Gina’s voice.

“That’s cool, and Kris, he-”

“Fuck! Cover them!” Gouken ordered, moving in front of Gina. Ryan was confused, but he did as his friend asked, forcing Leah and her mother backwards and using his body as a shield to the sound of a low whooshing noise mere seconds before the front of the restaurant exploded.

[CrystalPrison]

Chapter 11

Screams filled the air as debris pelted his body, but Ryan heard more sounds over the chaos. There was snarling and swearing, Gabriel was shouting orders and someone nearby was crying. Near the front of the room he saw the waitress lying unconscious, or so he hoped, and two cyborgs entered the restaurant.

These were different than Norman, for one thing each movement had purpose. There was little evidence of their humanity, and only the smallest cyborg had any skin remaining on her face; if anything the three were closer to robots.

Acting on instinct, Ryan drew his gun and thanked whatever urge had made him keep the gun loaded, and flicked off the safety. “Of course,” He grit out, “Why would we ever get a break?” He glanced towards his shocked looking companions while Gabriel hurtled himself towards the cyborgs telekinetically. “You guys okay?”

There was another explosion and Gina screamed as she fell to the ground, a gun appearing in her hands. Elijah screeched in fury as that explosion sent a body hurtling through the wall and the parrot took off, while Leah’s hand grasped the back of Ryan’s shirt.

“I don’t have anything to defend myself with, my only power is empathy. Oh we just can’t get a break!” Her voice was near hysteric and Ryan focused on calm to try and help her keep control.

“Easy, easy, don’t panic, we’ve got your back. Leah, focus on any emotion that’ll make them not want to attack you and force it out on them,” He urged quickly, words a rush as James and Maria rushed outside, probably to go get the weaponry left in the cars.

“He’s right,” Kosei commented, approaching. “Ran and Ula are trying to help Gabriel with the one. There’s another attacking a boy outside, Davin, Zeke and Kenny went out to try and stop him.” He rattled off while Kia surged through the chaos to tackle the third as it rushed outside.

There was a low crack as the ceiling began caving in, and Gouken swore while Ford tried to keep it from collapsing and worked to push it away. Wolfrik joined in to toss the pieces away and Rebecca pulled a futuristic gun out of her subspace pouch, looking completely ready to kill. “Guys be careful!” She called out, voice somehow clear through the chaos as she began firing, “These are from the Cyber Initiative, they’re super dangerous!”

“No shit,” Ryan muttered, “Gouken-”

“Kosei will help you, keep these people safe and do what you can,” He stated, pulling off his right glove. “I’m going to help whoever’s outside.” Without waiting for a response, he moved outside, followed by Chantal, Tanner and Gabe.

Gina followed Gouken, and Ryan took only a moment before he dragged the others towards where Ford and Wolfrik were. Slater was useless without his gun as well, and Ryan tried hard not to panic as he took aim and fired at the small cyborg attacking Gabriel. “The third, where’d it-?”

“Went after Maria and James,” Rebecca answered, pulling something small and round out of her subspace pouch. “James can handle it, no worries.” She smirked, “Good news about old tech is they’ve got one weakness: electromagnetic pulses. Poor, poor Betran” She threw the sphere and it lit up for just a moment.

Nothing seemed to happen, but the cyborg froze nonetheless and Ula began tearing at the creature, though it didn’t seem to do anything. The moment it was free of whatever had paralyzed it, the cyborg lashed out in response, tearing into Ula before Ran could raise a shield.

“Everybody freeze!” The almost familiar voice stunned Ryan as he aimed his next shot, and he saw Ford cringe slightly “I’ve got you now.” As he spoke, the ceiling continued to fall; too distracted by his brother, Ford moved too slowly, and a scream burned in Ryan’s throat as he watched Gabriel crumple beneath the debris.

“Clark, stop!” Ford urged, “You’ve got this all wrong!”

Before the brothers could get into a discussion about everything, another explosion went off in the parking lot. A moment later, a missile flew through the air, aiming near Clark, and panic filled Ryan’s throat and choked him; he couldn’t allow this to happen and he had no way to stop it. There was a chance they’d already lost Gabriel, he couldn’t lose anyone else.

Emery stretched out to grab it, throwing it through where the ceiling should have been and away and away, the only solution to the problem. Clark whipped around, his gaze landed on Slater and anger darkened his features. “You had my brother, you son of a bitch!”

“Talk about this later!” Becky snapped at the same moment Ryan said it. For a moment it looked like Clark wouldn’t comply, that he’d shoot one of them, but instead he turned and aimed shot after shot at the cyborg. Ryan smirked at that, momentarily pleased and joined Clark and Becky, raining fire down on Bertran while Ula and Ran attempted to dig Gabriel out and Ford once more began lifting the debris.

Some of the bullets ricocheted off of the cyborg, though thankfully all of Rebecca’s shots did damage. Ryan swore when he realized he was out of bullets, and scrambled to find another magazine, grateful Rebecca could cover him.

The cyborg raced away as Ryan slid a new magazine into the pistol, and without discussing it, he and Rebecca tore after it. A scream bubbled in her throat as one cyborg shot ice at James and Betran tackled him before dragging him off, moving so quickly Ryan couldn’t track her. “Shit! Shit! Shit! Not James! Not him too!”

Ryan pressed a hand to her shoulder as Maria moved towards them, rage coloring every aspect of her features. While the dark skinned girl moved to cover Rebecca, Ryan kept moving, rounding the corner to where the battle was ending.

Gina was crouched by Gouken, who was sprawled on the ground, obviously hurting. Tanner and Zeke were near Chantal, facing off with a cyborg whose chest and one shoulder had been half melted, and Gabe stood between Kris and the cyborg, blood dripping from his face.

Kia lunged after the cyborg carrying James, while the other vanished, reappearing only when it had scooped up Kris and delivered a blow to Gabe that looked crippling. As Gabe collapsed, the cyborg’s skin began bubbling, but it wasn’t enough to stop it, or to stop the third from picking up Gabe.

Lightning flashed from the one holding Gabe and Ryan dropped to the ground to avoid it before chasing after them. Elijah swooped down from the sky, tearing at the cyborg holding Kris, and Ryan rained fire on the cyborgs as he ran.

Gabe shifted, did something and the cyborg carrying him dropped him to the ground. It looked as though it would turn around, but a burst of light and Kia chasing after it sent it fleeing after the others.

Ryan dropped to the ground near Gabe as two buildings nearby exploded, and debris and screams filled the area. Chunks of rock pelted down, and Ryan did what he could to cover Gabe, ignoring the assault on his own body. He heard the sound of Gina crying, but prayed that Gouken could calm her somehow. “What can I do?” He asked, wincing at the damage Gabe had sustained.

‘Help Rebecca, she needs someone. Try and calm her.’ Even Gabe’s mental voice was weak and pained, and Ryan frowned at that, worried.

“I meant for you,” The teenager stated. “Let me help you, I’ll be walking right by Gouken anyways.”

‘I’m not a dead man, I’ll be fine, I’ve had worse. Please, she needs someone.’

Ryan frowned, leaving anyone he cared about hurt wasn’t something he believed in doing, but he knew by the look in Gabe’s eyes the older man wouldn’t settle for anything else. “A-alright,” He stammered, seeing Ula lumbering towards them. He knew that the bear would take care of her partner, and that was a small comfort.

When he found Rebecca, she was slumped near the others, crying. Ford crouched nearby, looking strained and pained and he was next to Gabriel, who lay on the ground, badly beaten and with his legs crushed. Clark was nowhere to be seen, and that frightened Ryan as he moved towards Rebecca and set a gentle hand on her shoulder.

Almost instantly, Rebecca was in his arms, crying and Ryan could do nothing but hold her at first. What words could be used to comfort someone who had lost two friends and one of the few people who’d accepted her enough, who might have been her boyfriend? But still, he had to try.

“Easy, easy now,” He murmured. “We’re going to get them back, it’ll be okay.” Admittedly he didn’t know how it’d be done, and he knew it would be difficult, but he also knew they’d never give up. “Don’t worry, just breathe. We’ll get through this.”

“I know,” She whispered against his shoulder. “It’s just so hard; it feels like everything’s falling apart.”

“I know,” He agreed, he had a certain amount of experience with that. “But in my experience, that’s when you start building again, no matter how hard. It’s never easy, but it’s always worth it.” He squeezed her shoulder, “And when you have help, it’s easier to bear.”

She nodded, seeming to steady herself. “Thank you Ryan, I just, it’s tough. Harder, without Lux here to help.” She said after a long moment. “Go check on your friend and her mom,” She said, gesturing over to where Elijah was preening Leah soothingly, “I’ll go check on Slater.”

He nodded, offering her a kind smile as she walked away and hoping he’d done well. Carefully pushing himself up, he looked to Leah and saw Gabe approach. He moved slowly towards them, waiting to see if the elder man wanted him to leave them alone; it was likely they were talking, after all.

‘Want me to leave, Ryan? I was just making sure things are okay here.’
The teen smiled, ‘Funny, I was gunna ask you the same thing; if anything I’m the one intruding.’ He pointed out as he approached, leaning against the half destroyed table and rubbing his shoulder lightly, it hurt worse than most of his wounds. “We’ve got to get out of here, don’t we?”

Gabe nodded, and it took Ryan another moment to realize the man had yet to get himself healed. Remembering what Ran had once said about Gabriel, Ryan realized Gabe was just as bad, if not worse than his ‘brother’. Instead of commenting on it though, he let Gabe wander to find the others –hopefully Gouken- and looked to Leah, “You are coming, right? Safe and alone no longer work together.”

The look she gave him said Leah thought he was crazy, which amused him. “Of course we’re coming with you! You guys actually know what’s going on!”

“Good,” Without waiting he touched her shoulder, guiding her, Elijah and Mrs. Carter towards the vehicles. “Just follow us to base and we’ll take care of everything.” He paused, “Just to check, are you and Elijah partners?”

“Partners?”

“Yeah, you know,” Kosei scrambled up Ryan’s let to perch on his shoulder, and the teen struggled to ignore the pain. “Telepathic communication, bond like nobodies’ business and you always know where your other half is.” He paused, “Neither of you are hurt, right? Gouken won’t admit it, but between the Gabes he’s wiped.”

“Nothing he needs to worry about,” Ryan answered moving towards his bike while the others went to the car. “Is everyone okay?”

“Gina’s lucky I didn’t bite her –she touched his right hand and started spazzing- but otherwise, yes.” The mongoose agreed. “The Gabe’s are healed, Maria almost broke her hand punching the wall after they took James, but that’s alright now.” He paused, “And fair warning, expect chaos. A Midnighter just killed Slater’s director; he just got the call.”

Ryan swore, “Is he okay?”

“He will be, probably,” Kosei sighed and shook his head, adjusting his grip on Ryan’s jacket. “Either way, I don’t much envy him right now.”

Ryan nodded as Ford stuck his head out of the RV, “Everyone ready?”

“I’m riding with you, so yes.” Kosei told Ryan quietly. “Gouken’s worried and trying to cover all our bases.”

Ryan could certainly understand that, so he nodded. “We’re good here!” He called to Ford, before looking to Gina who sat in her truck. “Don’t worry,” He told her, glad the window was down. “We’ll get him back.”

Before she could respond, Gabe signaled for them to go, so Ryan revved up the bike, following Slater’s car. He kept a bit too close to the agent’s car though, getting separated might be a bad thing, depending on who drove the other car.

‘I’ll be making sure no one cuts in,’ Gabe assured him mentally.

Ryan thought his thanks, and once more let his mind drift; he was hungry and tired, what he wanted now was a nap and some food, in any order possible. Of course, he also knew that while food would probably happen, there’d be no time to dwell on exhaustion: he had a job to do.

‘We,’ Gabe informed him.

‘Take your own advice and we’ll call it a deal,’ Ryan shot back, and he heard the man’s mental laughter. There was something lighter about his projected thoughts, and Ryan was certain something had happened in the RV that was the reason for it. Whatever it was, he was glad it had happened.

Soon enough, they’d reached the warehouse, and Ryan dismounted his bike quickly. The others got out, looking both intrigued and cautious and filed out of the RV before Tanner pulled it around back and the other cars pulled into the warehouse before everyone unloaded.

Relief filled the teen when he saw Gabriel walking, seemingly fine, and he blew out a sigh. Gouken had done his job well, and he’d never been happier to see someone walk. “It’s not the Batcave, but this is our base here,” Gabriel stated. “What do you guys think?”

“Of course it’s not the Batcave,” Ryan muttered. “I was told it was the Hall of Justice.”

Kosei laughed softly at that, before scurrying down Ryan’s back and moving over towards Gouken. “It’s a good base,” Slater observed, “I can’t imagine many people come this way.”

Gina nodded, “It’s pretty cool.” Even as Ryan watched, she shifted closer to Gouken, looking like she was seeking comfort.

There was a pause while Wolfrik headed towards the back of the warehouse where there was a refrigerator and Gabriel looked around. “We need to get ready; I’ll get my things ready and leave our departure time to you, Slater.”

Gabe nodded in agreement, “How do you want to do this, Maira? You want a breather or would you rather head to Eli immediately?”

Slater nodded and Maria ran a hand through her hair. “He’ll know we’re coming, so informing him isn’t an issue. Why don’t we relax for a bit, though? God knows we need it after all that.”

Gabe nodded, and shut his eyes, leaning against the wall, “I’ll try but no promises.”

“Stop trying to scan for them, they’re out of the country by now,” Ula scolded, swatting her partner. “You know that.”

“I can’t help it, it’s my fault,” Ryan scowled at Gabe’s words, “I should have coordinated things better.”

“It isn’t your fault, but either way he’ll be fine. They want them both alive, At worst we’ll have to debrainwash them. Until then, stop beating yourself up; think of the others if you must. They need your strength, not your self-pity.” Gabriel stated.

“Hypocrite,” Ran muttered. “Not like he realizes that for himself.”

Maria sighed, “With any luck, James at least is with Carson. He’s a good kid, he won’t let them hurt him.” Her gaze fell to Slater, and Ryan noticed a distinct amount of discomfort in the agent’s features.

“Of course he will,” Slater said, with just enough hesitation for Ryan to realize he probably didn’t mean it. Gabe sighed softly, dark eyes troubled, and Ryan thought it rather obvious the man still blamed himself.

Ryan touched his choker, and frowned; he couldn’t say what he wanted to without upsetting Gina or Leah. ‘What could you have coordinated better?’ He asked, hoping his thoughts were as gentle as he wanted them to be. ‘You couldn’t have predicted that Leah and them would come or that they’d be followed. It wasn’t you who sent Clark or gave the cyborgs their orders.’

Gabe’s gaze shot to him and Ula looked up, looking intrigued as Ryan continued. ‘It was you who fought to save them though, and you tried to get them back. You’ll be going to this Eli guy and getting more help. Don’t blame yourself, please, not when you’re doing all you can.’

‘Thanks,’ Ula nodded in agreement, shifting to lay down and rest her head on her paws.

While they’d been communicating, Slater had stepped aside to call into base, and Rebecca was commenting on how Walsh might leave James untouched to stay on Carson’s good side. “I’d be more pissed if he became brainwashed than anything else,” Maria was saying. “I don’t want him to forget me or any of us.”

“You don’t have to worry about that, it’s not that good, trust me,” Rebecca stated. “They tried to brainwash us a few times, with no effect. He’ll fight them until we get him; just believe in him.”

“But that was with the drugs, and Tanner’s sister can make powers stronger. That bitch Alexis is a hypnotist, don’t forget. And they’ve got others.”

“Well then, with any luck she and the rest of them fried when the base blew yesterday,” Wolfrik commented, nibbling on a sandwich as he spoke.

“It’d be nice,” Ryan agreed. “But I don’t know how much we have to worry. Wynne went to help us from the inside, didn’t she? I don’t think she’d condone that,” He trailed off with a sigh. He didn’t know the girl at well, but from the impression he’d gotten from Tanner, he didn’t think she’d approve of hypnotism.

“Norman wouldn’t either,” Rebecca agreed. “Maria, he’s the most stubborn man I’ve met aside from these two,” She gestured towards Gabe and Gabriel. “He’ll take care of this.”

“They’re both right,” Gabe added. “I’m a telepath and I can tell you for sure that a strong will can do wonders against us. If they resort to drugging James for hypnotism, the hold won’t be as strong. It’d be like plugging a leak in a boat with your finger. Stuff will get through, like feelings for the ones he cares for more.” He paused, “He won’t forget you.”

“I pray it’s the same for Kris,” Gouken added solemnly.

“I don’t know well enough, so I can’t say, but they’d have to drug him. His powers could beat mine; if I can’t thwart him, not many can.”

“He better not forget,” Maria muttered, looking away. “Slater, how many people can you take?”

“Three or four, if we need to. If anyone else wants to come, they can.”

“It might be dangerous not to send more,” Wolfrik contemplated. “Power in numbers.”

“So he says to the invincible man,” Gabriel murmured. “The invite is open, but not to Wolfrik and Chantal.” There was a pause while both teens stared at him. “I need to ensure that you won’t be deported,” He paused, looking away. “And that you be protected, Chantal, because of Paris and Id.”

One of Emery’s heads grabbed a mess of crinkled papers from the desk and Wolfrik held them up, “But I have my papers!”

“No offense meant, Slater, but if it’s not who he thinks it is in charge, and they want to hurt us, they can play dirty. A simple claim of creation of false papers could lead to a lot of trouble; we can’t afford it,” Gabriel pointed out. “Let me be paranoid Wolfrik, please.”

“None taken,” Slater assured him with a sigh, looking like he didn’t enjoy the thought of trouble on their trip.

“Don’t worry, Slater, he’s like that to everyone,” Kosei assured him.

“You can’t go for the same reason,” Ran pointed out. “Far too dangerous.”

“Can me an’ Leah go?” Elijah chirped up from where he was trying to steal food from Wolfrik’s parasite. “I’m a people person!” He paused, “And where’s this Eli guy live?”

“It might be good for a less serious person to go,” Ula commented. “At least, if he’s half as passionate as he can be hyper.” That earned laughter from Elijah and Leah smiled brightly.

“Eli lives in a mansion hidden in the Rockies,” Maria explained. “He’s pretty much a blind, perfectly mobile, black Charles Xavier. And the mansion’s a perfect safe house for our kind, it’s got everything the Midnight Organization has, without the penalty for saying no. He just wants to help people.”

“You know, if it’s that good, more of us might wanna go, Gabe,” Ford commented. “Just in case opportunity knocks.”

“That’d be Eli’s call,” Ran pointed out. “We’re a hot target, and I’m not sure if painting a bull’s eye there would be wise.”

Kenny laughed at that, “You kidding? Half the people there already painted it! There was this one chick a few years back that was near dead from everything. She had like seven of them on her, and that was a good day. You’re nothing, no offense.”

Ryan smirked, thinking that was a relief. “What do you think, Gabe?”

Before he could answer, Maira spoke. “There are five untracables and at least ten kinds of cloakers and shields, along with a few illusionists. You’d have to bomb to entire mountain range just to find the place, and even then you might not get through the force fields.” She paused and twisted to look Gabe in the eyes. “This is your chance to be safe.”

[CrystalPrison]

Chapter 12

There was a pause in which Gabe seemed to be thinking, a look of complete focus on his features. “We’ve lost three bases to the Adept,” Ran explained after a moment. “If he wants us badly enough and can get someone to cancel his protections,” She trailed off with a sigh.

“It’d be an army versus and army,” Kenny pointed out. “But Eli’s is better than any of them; it’ll be fine.”

“We probably should leave Chicago,” Ula said suddenly. “With Slater gone they can use Clark against us with no buffer. At the very least we need a chance to plan, without worrying.” Gabe opened his mouth to protest and the bear snarled at him. “No arguing, get what you need.”

Rebecca smirked, probably amused by Ula’s actions, “Slater, the warper I installed is yours on the terms you don’t let the FBI copy it. Got it?”

“Didn’t plan on it,” Slater assured her. “Especially not now.”

Rebecca nodded as Wolfrik’s Emery lunged out and began grabbing things which they shoved in bags. Ryan smirked slightly, glad he’d packed in preparation for this, but wondered how the Ford felt about leaving Clark behind. There was always a chance Clark would lose his worth and be hurt, after all, but that was too morbid to think about.

Ford sighed as Kia shook out her fur and stretched, “Looks like it’s L.A. all over again,” The dog commented. “How fun.”

“Could be worse,” Her partner pointed out. “And that thing controlling Clark showed up to drag him away,” He muttered, voice low and harsh. “We’ve seen him, and we’re one step closer to getting him back.”

Tanner looked over, “You helped me get my sister safe, I’ll help get your brother back to normal.”

Ryan shook his head slightly, mulling over Tanner’s comment. He’d be helping as well, but that was just because it was what he did; he couldn’t stand to see Ford hurt. The man was his friend, he’d done a great deal to calm Ryan’s nerves and help him adjust, more so than most of the others. Ford was comforting and kind, Ryan didn’t want him to hurt. But he could do nothing about Clark right now, so he chose to focus on Leah, “You got everything you need?”

Leah shrugged, “I’ve got the clothes on my back. If someone feeds me, I’ll be set.”

“Food’s in the fridge,” Ran stated. “We’ll leave in a little bit.”

Rebecca nodded, “I’ll prep the coordinates for all the vehicles coming with us. Gabe can give you the coordinates later, Gabriel. No hard copies until we’re sure things are safe with the DAA.”

“That’s understandable,” Gabriel agreed, looking to Slater. “Sorry, I know you’re feeling in the middle here. But if it helps, I trust you, Slater.”

Ford stared at Gabriel, shock coloring his features. “What? Someone get Satan a parka! Hell just froze over! Gabriel’s being nice and he admits to trusting someone!” To emphasize his shock, he fell over, clutching at his chest.

Chantal giggled, and Davin began laughing outright, something Ryan could sympathize with as he fought back his own laughter. His new friends were occasionally hysterical and just a little crazy, but only in the best of ways; it hadn’t been long, but he didn’t know what he’d do without them.

“Thanks, Gabriel,” Slater commented, giving Ford an odd, slightly worried look.

Kenny barked a laugh as Maria smirked, “Looks like Slater’s a miracle worker.”

“You know he can send you both flying, right?” Ula clarified.

“Yeah, but he’s tired,” Maria pointed out. “Besides, it’s rude to threaten a lady.”

“It’s rude to mean it,” Gabriel retorted. “Then again, I don’t mind being rude, so,” He trailed off with a laugh.

Ryan smirked faintly and carded a hand through his hair as he moved to lean against the counters set up. Leah was there, with one hand in a bag of chips and her other was checking the her phone.“Mom, we’ve got a problem.”

“Define problem?” Kosei piped up.

“Ten missed calls and fifteen text messages, all from my dad,” She elaborated. “We are so screwed.”

“We need F.B.I. based parental alibi?” Kenny asked, shooting Slater a curious glance, and Ryan raised a brow, figuring the man could help if it came down to it.

“Might help if we can think of a good lie,” Ryan agreed, suddenly grateful his parents had been easy to convince. “How long’ve you been gone? And got any good excuses in mind?” He asked, wondering if it was safe to tell the truth; after all, Mrs. Carter knew their secret.

Leah shook her head, “Umm, mom can talk to him. But do we tell him the truth or no?”

As she spoke the phone was plucked from her hand and Mrs. Carter suddenly looked rather business like. “Hello? Yes Mike, it’s me. Yes, Leah’s here with me,” She paused. “We’re both okay, we went to dinner and I got a call out here. I’m in Chicago.” She paused and sighed, “No, I couldn’t just leave her alone!”

Ryan snickered and Leah elbowed him, “Dad worries about me way too much.”

“Not anymore, he doesn’t,” Kia stated. “There isn’t enough worry to go around.”

As the dog spoke, Mrs. Carter handed Leah back her phone. “He’s all taken care of, nothing to worry about.”

Leah stared blankly and Ford whistled, impressed. “Sweet. Though you could’ve done something like that if you had to, right Slater?”

“Yeah, something like that. Considering most of you are teens, I’d say you’re at some sort of scholarship camp.”

“Parents love the word scholarship, nice touch,” Wolfrik commented. “What about Mrs. Carter and Leah?”

“She told her husband about it weeks ago, while his favorite show was on. And she dropped Leah off for it here, because it was closer anyways.”

“Ooh, ooh, what about Ryan?” Kosei asked. Ryan rolled his eyes, absently noting that Gouken and Gina were nowhere to be seen.

There was a brief pause while Slater thought, “Swamp gas reflecting off Venus.” Laughter filled his tone and Kosei grinned.

Leah too appeared to be fighting the need to laugh, and Ryan reached over to flick her, as she was closest. “Gee guys, thanks. I love you too,” He commented, thinking that it was better than a ginger joke.

There was a pause while Gina and Gouken entered, and almost immediately Kosei cocked his head curiously, though a moment later his features turned irritated. “You’re sure they won’t kill them?” Gina asked, doubt on her features and pain in Gouken’s.

“They won’t,” He assured her softly. “They try not to kill those that can be useful. They went out of their way for Kris and they didn’t kill James before. Yes they can brainwash them, but we have the world’s best telepath to fix their minds, and my hand can heal their flesh. Whatever they do I swear we can undo.”

Kia nodded in agreement and Ford spoke, “Who were those rejects from Power Rangers anyways?”

“Members of the Cyber Initiative. Sometimes people need cybernetic reinforcement or perfect control; the program makes our kind into cyborg super soldiers,” Rebecca answered.

Ford frowned, “Could-?”

Rebecca shut her eyes and Kenny growled. “Yes they could, or they could be brainwashed grunts or rotting in a cell or part of some elite combat group. Don’t think doomsday scenarios, it’s depressing.” Becky snapped.

“Sorry, you’re right, I’m an ass,” Ford agreed, flushing slightly and looking away. Ryan read shame on his features and frowned at its’ presence, fighting the instinct that said to get rid of the emotion.

“Y-you mean, those things, they were people?” Gina demanded, voice near panicked.

Becky stood and punched Ford in the gut, causing the blond to double over, gasping and Kia flinched away though she too had been hit. “I was forced to turn my best friend into something like them,” She said softly. “Even if by chance they become one, they can be saved. Norman’s a cyborg, but he gave himself up to help Tanner’s sister. He’s still the man I consider my brother; so please, don’t give up hope.”

Ryan nodded slowly as he went to help Ford straighten up. He could understand her anger at Ford for bringing up the subject, but Becky punched hard and he couldn’t help but feel for Ford.“She’s right. Gabe already said he was strong enough to beat him, and we’ve all seen that James is strong. Even if they change who they are physically, they’ll still have the will to resist.”

Zeke nodded, “And if they use powers to control them, all we need is for Wynne to cancel out the power.”

“That, and one day, I’ll have the power to fix everything,” Gabriel added. Ryan frowned, looking over to see that the man looked infuriated, and judging by the look on Ran’s face, it was self loathing and guilt.

Gina sighed, “But, I- Gouken,” She rest her head on his shoulder. “I believe you; you guys can save him. He’s my, well my first real friend. We haven’t known each other long, but he’s my friend. And they have him and he’s si-” She paused, cutting herself off. “Oh my God! His medicine, his pills are still here!”

“They’ll keep him alive,” Maria assured her. “If he were human it’d be different, but they have an insanely gifted medical staff for us. He’ll be fine.” Ryan cocked his head curiously, noticing the tension in Maria’s voice and Rebecca’s shoulders. He frowned faintly, wondering if the look was because they could get rid of the sickness by turning him into a cyborg.

Gouken nodded, and Kosei scrambled over, looking for all the world like he wanted to help. “It’s okay. You’ll see him again and everything will be fine.”

“Wait, can’t we just call Wynne?” Tanner asked. “I don’t know if you’ve got a way to contact Norman, but there’s a chance Wynne has her cell phone. We can call them ask them to tell them what his prescription is.”

“There’s no name though,” Gina protested, rummaging in her bag and pulling out the bottle. It looked like a normal prescription bottle, but it was completely unmarked. To make it worse, Ryan noticed the bottle was empty. “What? They were here a few hours ago, he took one at the hotel!”

“It wouldn’t hurt to call,” Gouken pointed out. “That way he’ll know you’re thinking about him.”

“He give you a last name?” Kenny asked. “They might be able to track down his medical records.”

“Nexus,” Elijah chimed in suddenly. “He said his last name was Nexus and the problem came with his powers and that he met people with the same disease. It attacks the heart and his vision goes red and if he doesn’t take the pills,” Elijah trailed off for a few long moments. “He goes into a coma, but another pill wakes him up. And if he gets worked up it happens, but when he calms down it goes back away.”

Ryan whistled, he hadn’t expected that detailed of an answer, “Well then. Even if they can’t find his records, the doctors have to be able to do something with all of that, right? I mean, at least to mimic the other pills.”

Rebecca nodded, pulling out a phone that looked like she’d modified it. “Norman’s phone should be working now that he’s not a prisoner. And seeing as he can’t exactly lose a built in phone, I’ll try him first.”

A long silence filled the air around them while Rebecca waited. Kia shifted nervously from paw to paw and Kosei watched attentively. “Oh! I got him! Norman I, umm, we’re calling about a recent abductee, Kris Nexus. He needs specific medication to help control his powers, we’ve got a des-”

She paused for a long moment, staring blankly at her phone. She pressed a few buttons and the phone spoke, “Source unknown. Probability of Midnight intervention: 0%”

“Dammit, there’s another player to worry about,” Becky scoffed. “Good news is, they got his name and I know Norman will get a hold of me when he can. Don’t worry, Gina. You’ve got three of the most stubborn people you’ll ever meet working on this, and I’m two of them.”

Ryan smiled slightly, both at the words and the fact he knew she was right. These people were stubborn, he doubted they knew how to give up on a goal. “Do we have any idea who it is?”

Leah shrugged and spoke, “You know, the last time there was mystery interference it was a good thing.” Ula looked up, gaze piercing and she shrugged, “The note that told us to go to Chicago. We don’t have a clue who it’s from.”

“Let’s just hope it’s a problem for the Midnighters,” Ran stated, stretching. “If we can’t find out who it is, it isn’t our problem just yet.”

“It shall be a problem for you as well, if you fail to retrieve him,” A voice, a cool soprano, came from the phone still in Rebecca’s hand.

“If you were so concerned, why weren’t you there to help him?” Maria snapped.

“Let me talk,” Gabriel’s voice was rough and he took the phone telekentically from Becky. “I don’t know who you are, and right now I don’t care. I don’t like threats from anonymous snoops who make demands of people with every intention to save the person you’re talking of. I want Kris saved just as much as you. If you want him safe, help us, don’t push us around. Do you got me?” His voice was hard, steel laced with fire and Ryan almost felt bad for the recipient.

“I forgot what I sound like when I’m that mad,” Gabe mused, petting Ula. He looked up and Ryan followed his gaze to see a black robed figure walk into the warehouse, moving with odd, faltering strides, as though she wasn’t used to walking.

“Gabriel Smith,” She murmured in a voice that seemed to echo around the room. “What is your plan to rescue this boy?”

Gabriel turned, raised a brow and Ran growled softly as she moved to her partner’s side, fury in every line of her body. “His other self will go to an ally that can find anyone on the planet; we’re going to the feds. That gives us location and manpower. We’ll be getting back in contact with the insiders you cut us off from and do what we were going to do: ask them to keep an eye on him and keep him safe.”

“And from there,” Gabriel continued, picking up a chair and crushing it telekinetically. “Do that to every Midnighter that stands between my friends and I, including Kris.” He dropped the shattered material. “How’s that for the rough draft.”

Ford sighed, looking put out, “That was my chair,” He grumbled to Ryan, looking irritated.

“He is, by now becoming a cyborg hunter, his mind will no longer be his own. What shall you do then? His powers will make you all powerless. He will render the invincible man normal and the arms of creation and destruction will be useless; he and his Midnighters will destroy you.”

Ryan grit his teeth at the conceding tone of her voice, and tried to stay calm, despite the tension that rocked off Gabriel. “Our friend can also neutralize powers and make ours stronger. All we need is for her to get close to him, and we have the allies to allow it.”

The logic didn’t work on Gabriel, Ula or Ran, who looked ready to decimate their visitor. “What? If you have the influence to know that, why aren’t you there? Why didn’t you help when- HOW COULD YOU ABANDON HIM?” Disgust colored Gabe’s tone, mingled with the fury and both Ula and Ran snarled to echo it. “YOU HEARTLESS WITCH!” As he spoke, things in the building began to levitate around him and Ryan quickly moved away from a floating chair.

“Gabriel,” Gabe began, “You have to-”

“Who is he, you’re lover, your brother? He obviously means something to you. How could you let him down?” Gabriel demanded, “I can’t forgive you for not trying.”

“Gabriel, calm down,” Tanner requested. “I can sympathize with protecting loved ones, but this situation, it’s not so bad.”

“Her powers can’t undo what they’ll do to his flesh, nor this one’s abandoning him. Tell me, why did complete strangers do more to protect him today then you?” Gabriel demanded.

“His thoughts-” Ran began.

“Gabriel, stop blaming yourself for not having our old power,” Gabe began, “It’s not-” He was cut off by more objects rising.

Ryan shook his head to try and clear it, “Gabriel calm down, please,” He pleaded, voice firm as he hoped his powers could get through to the older man if his words couldn’t. He hadn’t made the connection that this woman had probably been in town until Gabriel had said it, but he refused to focus on that fury. Gabe’s words had let him know that the telepath and Leah would both be suffering. “Yes, what she did is wrong, and she’s more than a fool for it, but you’ve got to calm down.”

He drew in a slow breath to steady himself, to gain control of his emotions so he wouldn’t hurt Leah. “No matter what this chick did and didn’t do, we’re still going to do all we can, and more. Maybe Kris won’t come back the same, but you know we’ll do everything we can.” He blew out a sigh, “And if that isn’t enough, you can fix things if and when you three merge. But, I think right now, we need to focus on what we can do, not what we can’t do.” He shot the black clad woman a glare, “And fuck her, if she won’t help.”

Gabriel blew out a sigh, slowly calmly, “Sorry- I just- Forgive me.”

“Abandonment issues,” Ula explained. “Let’s leave it at that, for now.”

“I still want my answers, though,” Gabriel stated, focusing on the woman once more. “If not, go play your damn games elsewhere.”

“I am there, this is Jean; I am speaking through her. And as to what he is, he is mine. Kris is mine, but he needed to grow.”

Ryan shut his eyes on anger, he wasn’t sure what was worse, the fact that ‘there’ implied wherever Kris was, yet this person wasted time talking to them, or the fact that Kris had just been referred to as property.

Judging by the look on Ran’s face, she agreed, “One needs to live to grow, you cowardly puppet master,” She snarled. “How dare you! Just because we have these powers doesn’t mean we get to play God with people’s lives!”

“Don’t be naïve; we aren’t gods, I know that. But we are what humans will become; why not pave the way for the future?”

“Because we’re not the future,” Gabriel snapped. “We’re still the present, part of humanity. The moment you draw a line in the sand you become something less. I was once the closest thing to God, one thought and I could have unmade everything and rebuilt it in my image. Right now, I’m wishing for that power and I know it’s wrong. But even if I get that power back, I’m still human. Power alone doesn’t give one the right to decide anything.”

“With power comes responsibility,” Zeke added softly. Ryan smirked at the cliché, “For some reason I doubt you respect that.”

“It’s our responsibility to show our human brothers what the future holds. We must, or they will destroy us.” She said, swaying slightly.

“You sound like a damned Midnighter,” Ula snapped. “We work with them, maybe for them. But if you deny them free will, you become a monster. We’re their partners, never their masters, and they are not ours.”

“Hold the phone,” Slater said, finally speaking up. “Maybe you’re thinking too fast, Gabriel.” He looked over to the woman, “How would you go about showing people? Through force or education? Do you want to establish superiority or just inform the humans of your existence?”

Gabriel just shook his head, “You’re overt thinking it, Slater. We can fight this like any other minority, we can work with the system, integrate ourselves into society. No more us vs. them, no more hiding from anyone. They might oppose us, but that doesn’t mean we can give up.”

Ryan touched his choker lightly, wishing life would work like that. He knew it wouldn’t though, it was never quite that easy, and that was when dealing about things people knew about. For things to go well for superhuman people, at least at first, would be near impossible.

“We will educate them,” The figure said. “We will do all we can to convince them of our good will, and show them we can help the world. But if they eventually rise up, we will have to stop them. If they react violently and truly oppose us, then they will have to be put down.”

[CrystalPrison]

Chapter 13

“Put down? The fuck are you on?” Ryan demanded hoarsely, trying to fight down the horror, disgust and sheer revulsion that had welled inside of him. He couldn’t imagine what that would lead to in the long run, but he knew it would be bad, worse than anything that had happened so far, “You’re insane.” Ford pressed a hand to Ryan’s shoulder and the teen fought for calm.

Gabriel shifted slightly, “I’m afraid I do not agree with that last statement, however we will still save Kris.” He said softly, voice cool. “However, next time you wish to speak with us, call; maybe we can come to an understanding.” Ryan snorted, he doubted that would happen. “One last thing, can we have your name?”

The figure focused on Ryan “I am the sanest person to walk this planet. I meant the violence; I didn’t mean them as a race. So quick you are to jump to such conclusions, it seems you’ve thought of this too, Ryan.” There was a pause, “And you may call me Roselinda.”

Blue light erupted from the figure and it collapsed, falling silent. Ryan stared at it, hoping that this Roselinda would never return again. “Yeah, I know you meant the violence,” He muttered to himself, rubbing his choker lightly and trying to calm himself.

Of course he’d thought about what would happen if hurt the people that had hurt him first; he’d thought of worse too. He didn’t want to know how many would be dead in Ely, had he shot them all, and to do that on a larger scale meant that hundreds of thousands, maybe millions of people would be dead.

There was a pause -probably while everyone tried to collect themselves- before Ran spoke. “She doesn’t need medical attention; she seems tired, is all. I think it’s time to head out.”

“Yes, it’s time we get moving,” Gabriel agreed, though he sighed softly. “Guys, I’m sorry about that, I just- I got problems due to family situations, it’s-”

“Complicated,” Gabe finished. “It’s cool.”

“S’alright,” Ryan agreed softly. “It’s understandable.” Naturally he was curious, but he wouldn’t ask; if someone wanted to know they’d tell him. Besides that, he’d lost control as badly as Gabriel had once she’d mentioned the killing. “Sorry,” He murmured to the pale, shaken looking Leah.

She nodded in response and offered Ryan a faint smile while Elijah preened her worriedly, “It’s fine.”

Wolfrik resumed packing quickly, with Emery helping him out. While he was busy, he heard Gabriel speak softly to Gina, “I meant what I said, I promised I’d bring him back and I will. And I apologize if I frightened you, it just takes me back to when Id and I fought over Tanya and drove her off,” Ryan raised a brow, he hadn’t expected that Gabriel had been a part of driving her off, “After seeing a part of me try, I won’t let anyone play God with another’s life.”

Ryan watched as Gina nodded, answering in a voice that was timid and too low for the teenager to hear. With a sigh, he turned his attention to where Ford was busy talking to Gabe, wishing he knew what to do to help prepare.

“Alright, are we ready to go?” That was Gabriel, “It’s best we move quickly.”

Elijah drew himself up from his perch on Leah’s shoulder, and Leah looked far better with a purpose in mind, “Ready when you are.” She agreed.

Slater nodded, “We’ll have to take just my car. We can’t afford the hassle of arranging care for two cars. The good news is that everyone should fit in mine fine.”

“Good,” Ford mused, and Kia nodded. “We’ll need all the vehicles we can get. We’ll need to get our stuff loaded and still have room for all of us.”

“Sounds about right,” Ran agreed. “Let’s get going then,” She loped off towards Slater’s car, and Ryan was amused to see her open to door on her own.

“Wait,” Chantal moved to Gabriel’s side and hugged him quickly. “Don’t feel bad, Gabriel. We all understand.”

“Thank you,” Gabriel agreed, looking around the room. “Ford, Tanner, Ryan, keep them safe.”

“Of course,” Ryan agreed, while Ford just shook his head slightly, obviously having expected as much. Tanner smirked slightly, smoothing a hand through Zeke’s fur, and Ryan looked to Leah, “Good luck.” He wouldn’t tell them to take care of each other, he knew they’d do that no matter what.

Elijah jumped off of Leah’s shoulder and flew towards the car, “Bye guys!” He called. “Try and have some fun! All work and no play makes for a boring day!”

Mere moments later, the others were in the car, and Slater drove off. Silence reined until a soft groan and a sigh split the air, and Ryan whipped around to see Jean pushing herself onto her knees.

“You need a drink or something?” Kia asked, inspecting the human from her position near Ford.

Ryan bit his lip and touched his choker lightly as he surveyed the lithe woman. He supposed it wouldn’t be right to judger her based on Roselinda’s ideals; he should wait for Jean to show her own, and compare them. “We’ve got some food too,” He added.

Gouken hummed his agreement from where he was loaded canned food into bags, “There’s leftover pizza, and some burgers,” He added.

A smile touched Jean’s features, “No thank you, sirs. I am sustained.” She stated, standing and moving forward. Almost instantly Ryan noticed her gait still seemed off, almost forced and he frowned.

“You okay?” Ford asked, “You don’t have to push yourself, and I’m sure that was rough on you. Take a seat and chill; I’d offer you mine, but some telekinetic jerk crushed mine!” Ryan couldn’t stop himself from smiling when Ford’s voice rose and he shot a halfhearted glare towards where the others had gone. “Take Gabriel’s; it’s the one with the arm rests.”

Ryan couldn’t stop himself from laughing, and Wolfrik snickered from his spot next to Chantal. “We’ll buy you a new one, Fordo,” The German teen assured him. “Maybe Eli has comfy chairs.”

Jean just looked confused though, and Ryan couldn’t help but wonder how aware she was of what Roselinda did while in control of her body. “No, I’m used to this; she uses us all like this. Our mistress cares for us, it is the least we can do in return.” She paused her strained strides and sighed. “I was born with no legs, and she gave me the ones I have. In return, I please her, but I assume that is what worries you?”

“Ford!” Kia snapped suddenly, “Behave.” She focused on Jean and gave the best smile a dog could. “Yes, that was what concerned us.”

“What? I-that was- I mean-” Ford flushed a dark red and looked away. “Well yeah, alright! Stop looking at me like that!” He protested at the glares that Ula, Kia and Gabe were all giving them. “And, that’s pretty cool of her then.”

“Goddamned dirty minded,” Gabe muttered, giving Ford an irritated look.

It took Ryan a moment to understand what had happened, and when he did he sighed. “Really Ford?” He asked, marveling at the perversion some people were capable of, “That’s just something else.” With a sigh, he looked to Jean, trying to remind himself that just because Roselinda’s ideas were completely insane, nothing mandated Jean was a bad person. “Err, if you don’t mind me asking –and don’t feel obligated to answer- how did she give you new legs?”

Jean smiled as she lowered her hood and Ryan took a moment to register light brown hair and oddly purple eyes. “She just gave me them; she told me to sleep and when I woke up, I had these. Then she gave me this assignment, and I knew I could not say no.”

“So they’re new and you’re still working on balance, huh?” Ford pursed his lips in thought and exchanged a look with Kia. “Pity I haven’t fine tuned my gravity power, otherwise I’d help if you wanted it.”

“So, what kind of person is she, if you don’t mind me asking?” Ula asked.

At the same moment, Gabe’s voice sounded in Ryan’s mind. “She’s not being forced into anything. She honestly cares for this woman and believes she feels the same way. Thought you might want to know.”

“Thanks,” Ryan commented, grateful for the reassurance. “And I apologize for any inner mutterings on this chick; I don’t trust this Roselinda much. And the fact she could be controlling people and the fact she’s using Jean, it makes me wary.”

Gabe nodded while Jean spoke. “She is a gorgeous and kind hearted person, loved by us all. The only problem any of us have is that we cannot know her true face, as it is too easy for someone like you to find and kill her.”

“If that was our goal we could do that by force,” Ula said, voice distasteful. “It’s not our style.”

“Or goal, seeing as Gabriel’s willing to give you a chance,” Gouken commented with a smile. ‘That’s about as rare as the sun rising in the west.”

That earned laughter from Gabe, and Ryan grinned, “Now, now,” Gabe chided. “Behave. And you and your boss will only have problems with us if she does something morally wrong. I trust you when you say she is not like that.”

“Thank you,” Jean murmured as her legs gave out. “It’s harder than it looks.”

“Now this I can do,” Ford commented, holding out his hand and lifting her a few feet off the ground. He moved her slowly towards Gabriel’s chair, “I’m gunna lower you slowly,” He informed her.

“Thank you, sir, I appreciate it.” Jean said softly.

“It’s Ford,” He chuckled and lowered her to the chair. “Formality just makes me feel weird.”
Jean raised her hood and leaned back in her chair while Wolfrik looked around, swallowing a mouthful of burger. “So, am I driving?” He asked

Kosei looked up from his spot behind Jean’s chair; he’d been sniffing at the new arrival. “Either you, Tanner or Ryan; fight for it!” That said, he scurried over to where Gouken was, speaking in Japanese all the while.

Feeling Wolfrik’s gaze on him, Ryan shrugged, “I can drive if you need me to,” He agreed. He certainly didn’t plan on bringing his bike, especially because it lacked the ability to warp. A small part of him wanted to bring James’s bike, but he felt that’d insult the others. “I’m good with anything.”

Maria chuckled, “I’ll be in the van either way. The others at Eli’s might react better if they see me driving, they like me there.”

Kenny chuckled, “That’s one word for it,” He agreed.

Ula just shook her head, “Figure out who’s driving what and pack. We need all the food we can get, clothing’s covered, bring any weaponry you find-”

“And the DVD’s,” Ford added.

“The DVD’s aren’t important,” Gouken countered. “Only bring them if you find them, and don’t go looking for them.”

Ford looked like he would protest, but Kia bit his hand, caught his sleeve in her teeth and dragged him off. “Honestly,” Rebecca commented. “That boy is just so weird.”

Ryan hummed in fond agreement and looked to Tanner, “So, you wanna or you want me to? Either’s cool with me.”

“I may as well,” Tanner agreed. “You still look a little off. You okay?” Ryan just shrugged and nodded, deciding it wouldn’t be a good idea to go into detail. No one needed to know to his personal objections about being a second-class citizen for more than one reason.

“We’re using the teleporters, right?” Zeke asked, looking intrigued. “It’ll be a long drive if we’re not.”

“Yeah, we are,” Rebecca agreed. “It’ll be way too slow any other way, and the three vehicles we have ready are more than enough for us.”

“Ryan, can you and Tanner help me get the food? And Wolfrik, can you get some of the other things we need?” Chantal asked, while Davin scurried towards the refrigerator. “It’s best we get ready.”

Wolfrik saluted her and the parasites shot out around him, “Certainly, my beautiful sun angel.”

Chantal giggled at the nickname, “You get the nonperishable things in the cupboard and everything else we can use. The fridge is mine.”

Ryan laughed at the determination in her voice, picked up a bag and headed towards the cupboards while Tanner did the same. Zeke followed, climbing silently up to the cupboards and nudging some of the cans in the farther back towards Tanner.

For a while there was relative silence as Tanner and Ryan unloaded the cupboards, Chantal worked on the fridge and the others collected the important things they’d need. Ryan noticed ammo and weaponry being loaded into the truck and boxes of clothes being loaded into the van.

Just as he was finishing up, Ford spoke. “Alright, seeing as we’re just about done, are the coordinates set?”

Rebecca shook her head from her spot near Gabe’s truck. “Duh.”

“And everything’s packed?” Kia asked.

“Yes, and everyone has what they need and we’re going to need to supply the rest ASAP, and yes, I’m going to help there,” Gouken said. “We’re good.”

“Oh you guys are no fun,” Ford complained, sticking his tongue out.

“Look at Fordo, trying to be the boss,” Wolfrik teased with a grin. “It’s so cute.”

Maria sighed and shook her head in response and Zeke nodded in agreement. “You said it.”

“Well he is one of them,” Ula pointed out while Ryan set the bags he’d filled down. “Besides, we do need to be sure that we’ve got what we need.”

“So long as he doesn’t try to boss us around too much,” Ryan agreed lightly. “But hey, at least someone knows what they’re doing.”

“I do too, he’s just in charge of set up,” Gabe stated. “When we drive, I’m the boss.” There was a pause where the man doubled over, clutching at his head and Ula jerked up with a snarl.

“Dude, what’s wrong?” Ford demanded, concern lacing his voice.

“Nothing, my head’s just killing me from the fight,” Gabe said, wiping away tears of pain. “It’s nothing, don’t worry about it.”

“You sure?” Ryan asked, a little worried for the man. He was certain that if something was wrong, Gouken wouldn’t mind helping him out.

“I just get headaches if I push myself to hard,” Gabe explained a little shakily. “Might have to cut back on the telepathy. Wolf, bust out the radio sets.”

“Oh, okay,” Ryan conceded, figuring it was similar to the nosebleeds Gabriel got when he overused his telekinesis. He paused, looked around and saw just about everyone milling around, waiting, “We just about ready?”

“I’m ready!” Wolfrik chimed in, carrying a box of radios, aided by Emery. “Let’s get going!”

Chantal giggled, “There was less than I thought in the refrigerator. But I’m sure I know who’s responsible for that.”

“Guilty,” Wolfrik chuckled warmly. “But it was worth it.”

Ryan laughed and smiled, “I’m so surprised,” He commented, picking up the bags of food he’d collected. “Where do ya want this Gabe?”

“Try the van,” Ford advised, “If it doesn’t fit, just put it somewhere Wolf can’t reach.”

“Preferably both?” Ryan guessed, earning laughter from Ford and Gouken. “I’ll do what I can.”

“Hey!” Wolfrik protested, “It’s not my fault, I’m eating for two, you know. And Emery has four heads and four stomachs!”

Tanner smirked, picking up his own bags, “Think about it this way, if you don’t eat us out of house and home I can cook for you.”

“Better yet, Eli has a diverse pantry, you know, all those different people living there,” Kenny began. “Tanner can go to town, and make a five course meal.”

Wolfrik’s eyes went wide as Zeke kept talking, “Well then, that does sound good. Of course, you’ll have to ask nicely; he’s a pampered chef, he doesn’t take orders.” In response, Tanner kicked him lightly.

“Ooh, this is beginning to sound amazing!” Wolfrik clapped his hands together. “Okay boys, be really nice to Tanner, he’s our meal ticket.”

Chantal smiled, “Well, if you behave for the entire trip, I can make you dessert.”

“Wait for it,” Ford muttered, as he and Gouken moved towards Ryan and Tanner. “This’ll be funny.”

As if to prove his statement, Wolfrik was staring at Chantal, wide eyed. “What kind of dessert?” Even the parasite seemed eager, leaning over his shoulders and peering almost pleadingly up at Chantal. “Is it good? Is it chocolate?”

Chantal smiled and Davin was shaking with laughter, “I can make a lot,” The girl stated. “I might just let you pick.”

The wink she gave him at the end was incredibly amusing, and Ryan wasn’t the only one shaking with laughter at the look on Wolfrik’s face. The teen was whipped, but something told Ryan he was desperately loving it.

“Oh this is good,” Ford murmured, “Remind me to never let him forget the look on his face.” He smirked, “Food would be the reason Wolfie-boy is whipped.”

Kia just shook her head, even as Wolfrik wrapped Chantal into a tight embrace, and the parasite joined him. “You are both bad people,” She commented. “Now load up the van so we can get going.”

Ford stuck his tongue out at Kia but took a bag from Ryan nonetheless. Together, they managed to wedge the bags into the back of the van, and Ryan sighed deeply when he was relieved of their weight. He stretched slightly, rubbing the shoulder hurt the most.

“She’s right,” Ula murmured, shifting to a smaller size. “It’s time to get moving; it’ll be hard enough to warp with the traffic there’s going to be. The longer we stay the worse it’s going to get. You should all know this by now.”

Ford sighed deeply, “I was enjoying relaxing, you know.” He commented.

“You can relax when we get there,” Gabe commented. “It won’t take too long, don’t worry.”
Ford’s response was to stick his tongue out at Gabe when his back was turned and Gouken hit
him upside the head. Ryan rolled his eyes at their antics, wondering if they were really older than him, because they rarely acted like it.

“Get in your vehicles,” Gabe said, in a voice that was just short of being an order. “Two people with me, three in the van, everyone else, head to the RV. Partners, stick together.” He looked to Maira, “And stop worrying, just focus on destroying everyone between us and him.”

Maria nodded, petting Kenny lightly, “Right. Just need to focus on the easy stuff.”

“Let’s let the two lovebirds snuggle in back of Gabe’s truck,” Ford snickered. “Everyone else pile in, it’s time to get moving.”

Gouken hit him upside the head, “You’re such a fool.”

“Oh, sorry, I forgot that you-” Ford was cut off by Kosei tackling him and pulling at his short hair. “Ow! Ow, okay, I’ll behave! Lemme go!” He protested. “At least cause Jean’s asleep and we can’t just leave her here.”

Gouken muttered something in Japanese to Kosei and the mongoose dropped neatly to the ground. “Got my point across!” He chirped up, looking to Gouken, “Your point, whatever.” He scurried into the RV, followed by Kia while Ford levitated Jean’s sleeping form into the RV.

Gina giggled softly, she’d been quiet and a little secluded for the entire morning; Ryan suspected she was still in shock from all that had happened. But still, Ryan thought she and Gouken made a good pair, and knew Gouken was concerned for her. He’d take care of her for now, and she’d hopefully return the favor when Gouken needed it.

Gouken pushed him forward lightly, urging Ryan into the RV and the teen flushed as he was broken from his thoughts. “Sorry,” He said softly, stepping up and into the RV before taking a seat on the couch. “Let’s get this show on the road.”
----------------
13 chapters + Prologue? Yeah, I think that's enough for the night.

[CrystalPrison]

Chapter 14

“Stupid people, learn how to drive!” Ford called, swearing under his breath.

Ryan gripped the arms of his chair, and Gouken went pale as the RV swerved. “Why did you let him drive?” The teen demanded. “He’s crazy!”

“I’ve heard that!” Ford protested as he drove, “And it’s not my fault. Who the heck tries to cut off an RV?”

“Stupid people,” Gina spoke softly, looking frightened as she clutched at Gouken’s arm. “He does have a license, right?”

“Yes,” Kia laughed softly as she slid from the front seat to settle in the free arm chair. “I promise he does. He’s just not the best.”

“That’s an understatement,” Kosei laughed. “But if it helps, we haven’t crashed yet. And he can always use his powers to buffer us if we do crash.”

“That’s reassuring,” Ryan chuckled, shaking his head and Gina giggled softly. “But I’m now more afraid for the people around us.”

“Well I said I’d feel safer with the enemy,” Gouken pointed out. “Did you think I was exaggerating?”

Curses split the air as the RV hit a bump, and Ford called an apology from up front. “How long until we get there?” Gina asked.

“Seconds, once we can hit ninety. Gabe will wipe everyone’s memories if they see us, but we just can’t get the speed right,” Kosei stated.

“I just wanna know how Jean’s slept through all of this,” Kia muttered. “She hasn’t fallen off the bed yet?”

“Not that I’ve seen,” Gouken stated. “She must be really lucky and a really deep sleeper.”

“I think Ford’s trying to buffer her with his powers when he’s got the time,” Kia mused quietly, shooting her partner a look. “It’d certainly explain his concentration.”

Ryan shrugged, “At least it’s working.”

Silence filled the vehicle for a long while and Ryan amused himself by studying the walls of the RV. It was obvious someone had gotten bored during the adventures that had taken place without warping; there were doodles and random scribbling that Ryan thought were courtesy of Wolfrik. Other, slightly better quality drawings decorated the walls, and he was reasonably sure that there was a stanza or two of poetry on the walls.

It would be interesting enough to explore, aside from Ford mentioning something about Los Angeles earlier on their trip, Ryan knew little about what his friends had gotten into. He knew little about their pasts, or what they planned on doing when everything was said and done as well, and had he not trusted them so much, it would have been troubling.

“Hey Gouken,” Ryan began after a few long moments of blissfully peaceful driving. “Can I ask you a question?”

“You just did,” Kosei pointed out.

Gouken shook his head good naturedly, smiling slightly at his partner. “Of course you can. Why?”

“Err, I didn’t know how to ask Gabe or Gabriel this, but uhh, they look Asian. And Tanya, well she’s white.”

Ford began laughing up front, and Kosei shook his head, “Keep your eyes on the road!” He scolded. “We don’t want to die!”

“It’s actually fairly simple,” Gouken shrugged, “But they don’t really talk about it. I’m guessing there’s something private behind it all. They were adopted, way back before the split, into Tanya’s family.”

Kia nodded solemnly, “Gabe was seven when the adoption happened, but from what he’s said, his mother was close friends with Tanya’s mom. When things started getting rough with his original family, the Smith’s took him in, I don’t think he talks to his original family anymore.”

“Oh wow,” Ryan said, shocked. “I didn’t expect anything like that.” He was suddenly rather grateful he’d chosen to ask someone other than Gabe, who knew how that would have gone over?

Gouken hummed in agreement, “They won’t get mad or anything if you bring it up, don’t worry.” He assured Ryan. “It’s just one of those things that don’t come up in casual conversation.”

“But that’s why if we say something in Japanese, they might just respond,” Kosei added.

“So he’s Japanese?” Gina clarified, “That’s convenient.”

“Half,” Kia answered. “His mother was Japanese-American and his father is Chinese, right?”

“Was?” Ryan and Gina asked in unison. Ryan couldn’t help but be sympathetic, but he thought it explained why both men had seemed rather sympathetic towards Chantal.

“He says he lost his mother a while back,” Gouken answered softly. “And from what I’ve heard, his father is as good as dead to him. Of course, this is mostly Gabriel’s perspective, but when the emotions are so strong,” He trailed off with a shrug.

Ryan nodded, he’d noticed before that they duo normally agreed on the more important things in life. If their father had done something that bad according to one, the others would likely agree.

“You’re all rather depressing for a group of heroes,” Jean’s soft voice came from the direction of the bed, and instantly Gouken was on her feet to steady her. The woman certainly looked like she’d fall at any moment, probably due to Ford’s driving. “Shouldn’t you be discussing how to save the world?”

“Unfortunately, it’s not always like that,” Kia remarked. “We can work on that right after we get a plan for everything that’s going on.” She shrugged slightly, seemingly unconcerned. “It’s best to be realistic, after all.”

As the dog spoke, she moved to sprawl out at Ryan’s feet, opening up the chair for Jean. Ryan couldn’t help but be wary of Jean’s closeness, even as he shifted to pet Kia. “Do you have a partner?” He asked after a moment’s pause, voice just gentle enough the question wouldn’t be offending.

After everything he’d seen thus far, he knew it would be possible that somehow Jean had managed to survive her partner’s death. He knew just as well that Rose could have somehow found something to do with Jean’s partner, and he was equal parts curious and concerned.

“She’s working,” Jean stated simply. “My mistress employs us both. My dear Adele is safe, that is all I need to know.”

“But don’t you miss her?” Kosei asked, peering at her over Gouken’s shoulder. “How long has it been since you’ve seen her?”

Jean shrugged, “I have lost track of time. But as I said, she’s safe, and that’s what matters to me. We will meet again when it becomes convenient to our mistress and her cause.”

“Her cause?” Ryan asked curiously, leaning forward. He wanted to know more about Roselinda, that way he could stop her if it came down to it.

“Her cause is a secret to all but the rest of our flock,” Jean stated, as though she was reciting something. “And your friend cannot pull it from my mind, for I only know my part and Adele’s. Our mistress knows the cruelty people are capable of, and will not risk our goal.”

“But how can you work for her without knowing what you’re fighting for?” Gina asked. “She has to give you something in return.”

Something in Jean’s face closed off, and tension filled her gaze. “She has given me my legs and that is all she will ever have to give me. Now if you’d be so kind, I’d rather not speak about this.”

Ryan exchanged a long glance with Gouken, who shrugged minutely. The look on Jean’s face told him there’d be no hope for future conversation about this unless they forced her. There was always the fact Gabe could make her tell them what she did know, but he knew the older man didn’t want to.

“Finally!” Ford cackled as he drove, “We’ve got a clear stretch, friends and mutants! Hang on tight!”

The RV lurched forward, and Ryan grabbed the armrests of his chair to steady himself. Kia growled a low sound of irritation and Gina clutched tighter at Gouken’s arm. Only Jean seemed perfectly comfortable, though her expression was still detached instead of content.

The scenery outside the windows blurred, flashed with light and when it reformed, Ryan was gifted with the sight of juniper and pinion trees, and was so suddenly reminded of home that he ached. He shook his head to clear it, rubbing the tattoo on his shoulder for strength.

Gouken caught his eye, looking confused and concerned, but Ryan shook his head slightly. It was nothing, there was nothing Gouken could do to ease the pain in his chest; besides that, he had to focus on the problems at hand.

Ford steered the RV behind Gabe’s truck and into a cave. “We’re here,” Gabe’s mental voice sounded in Ryan’s mind and judging by the way Gina and Jean jumped, the same was true of everyone. “Eli’s expecting us, Maria called ahead.”

“Let’s get out of here,” Ford said, shoving the keys into his pocket as he strode past and headed towards the door. “Time to get to work.”

“I just wanna get out of here,” Ryan commented. “You need to work on your driving, Fordo.”

The blond man shook a fist in his direction, “Watch it, Ry, I’ll throw you in a tree somewhere.”

Ryan smirked as the group piled out of the RV, deciding it’d be less fun to tell Ford he was excellent at climbing trees. Besides, it’d be a fun surprise if Ford ever did throw him into a tree. Instead, he looked around the brightly lit cave, intrigued.

“The cave connects to underground tunnels, he built this place with help with some friends,” Rebecca explained as the group gathered together. “This leads to the main tunnel, there’s kind of a foyer, and then it divides into different sections, and don’t worry, they’re all lit.”

“Sounds cool,” Gouken commented. “What are the odds we’ll get lost?”

Maria laughed, and headed off towards the tunnel, “There’re maps. Besides, if you do get lost, just ask someone to help.”

“Not everyone’s nice,” Kenny added, “But Eli generally requests that everyone stays civil. There’s no need for us to be at each other’s throats when there’re Midnighters to terrorize,” For a moment the wolverine’s gaze rested on Jean, and Ryan doubted Kenny trusted the girl.

They moved in relative silence through brightly lit tunnels, and Ryan amused himself by looking around. There were more cars than their own in the opening cave, and he could easily see why. Even the foyer had plenty of people, and he was suddenly reminded of what Gabriel had said when they’d been looking for Carson. Not everyone looked human and that was obvious enough here. There were people that looked normal and others with multiple arms or eyes, different colored skin, scales or fur.

And then there were the partners, who he was firmly convinced spanned every species he could think of. Admittedly he hadn’t seen any fish yet, but when it came to mammals, birds and reptiles, there was no limit to the types possible.

Maria came to a stop and looked back, “Alright guys, try not to embarrass us in front of Eli. Something tells me that’s a quick way to piss Gabriel off.”

“All the more reason to do it,” Ford quipped, earning him a smack on the back of the head from Gouken. The blond whined quietly, shooting Gouken a half glare as he rubbed the back of his head, “You’re no fun, I’ll behave.”

Kenny shook his head as they walked in, and Ryan fell into step beside Chantal and Wolfrik, trying to look around without being obvious about it. This room was both brightly lit and rather simply decorated. A dark skinned man who could only be Eli sat on a rather comfortable looking chair, and there were a variety of other chairs scattered throughout the room, with more still lined up against the wall.

“Maria, Rebecca, Kenny, it’s good to see you again,” Eli commented, looking towards the group without really seeing them. He paused, “And it’s good to meet you in person, Tanner.”

Tanner nodded stiffly, “Nice to meet you too.” The tension in his voice told Ryan there was something about Eli that Tanner didn’t like, and the redhead guessed it had to do with the loss of Wynne.

A golden eagle entered the room, landing on Eli’s arm rest, “You may as well all take a seat,” He stated in a low baritone. “This might take a while.”

“Not at all,” Eli stated simply, “Though you should all get comfortable.” He paused while the group got seated. “Now what can I do for you? Maria only mentioned that you need my help, and temporary sanctuary.”

“The Midnighters have been after us as of late, more so than usual,” Rebecca said with a sigh. “They took James, and Gina’s friend Kris, and we’re worried about it.” She paused, “We’re afraid that they’ve been hurt, or that they’ll be-”

“It’s easy enough to check in on them, if the Midnighters haven’t had them for long.” Eli assured her simply, “Kei, would you get the door please?” He asked, and the eagle flew off and shut the door by grabbing the top and pulling. “Now then, I’ll start with James as I know him and it will be easier.”

Nervous silence filled the air as Eli focused on something that Ryan didn’t think was in the room. “He’s relatively fine,” The man said after a long while. “He’s been hurt, but his wounds have been treated. And he’s in their base in England. Manfield.”

Rebecca slumped with relief and Maria sighed, “Is he still human?” The latter asked.

“Yes,” Kei answered, “Though he’s speaking with someone.”

“Walsh,” Gabe said suddenly. “He’s speaking with Thomas Walsh, Carson’s father.” Rebecca made a soft sound of protest at the name. “It looks peaceful, I think they’re making an deal.”

“A deal?” Becky demanded, “What kind of deal? What are they going to do to him?”

“Easy, Becky, calm down,” Eli’s voice was oddly calm. “They haven’t hurt him yet, and that’s what matters most. I’ll keep an eye on him for you as long as I can. You know that”

Kei nodded, “Gina, come here please. It’ll help the tracking process if Eli can use you as a medium. It doesn’t hurt, don’t worry.”

“O-okay,” Gina said softly, squeezing Gouken’s arm before she stood. “What do I do?”

“Just give me your hands, and think of Kris,” Eli said simply. “It’s easy, don’t worry.” He took her offered hands with ease, and for another few moments, the room was quiet. “He’s in England as well, under the care of several doctors and a few members of the cyborg initiative.”

Becky muttered a few choice obscenities and clenched her fists, “They’re going to turn him into one, aren’t they?”

“Not necessarily,” Kei assured her. “He’s safe thus far, and you know it’s likely they won’t do anything without good reason. What is his power?”

“Power neutralization,” Ula stated, “He was able to neutralize Gabe’s telepathy, and then absorb it and use it against him. It doesn’t look like he’s reached his limit yet.”

Eli pursed his lips, “There’s a chance cybernetics could hinder that, or they could help it. If they do make him part of the cyber initiative, they’ll be cautious about it.” Gina breathed a sigh of relief, “You can go sit, my dear.”

As Gina moved back towards her chair –and Gouken- Gabe spoke, “We’ve sent Gabriel and three of our people to DC, they’re going to talk to the DAA and attempt to make peace, to get help for us. But in the meantime, I was wondering about Tanya.”

Eli shook his head slightly but nodded, “Of course. But I daresay the others don’t have to be here for that. If there’s nothing else you need me for, it might be best to allow the others to leave. We have rooms ready, if you’d like.”

Maria nodded, “Yeah, I’ll find someone to give the boys a tour while I get the girls set up. Let’s get moving!” She and Kenny gave the group no time to think as they ushered everyone out of the room, waving goodbye to Eli as they went.

“Sorry,” Kenny said after they’d shut the door behind them and were well on their way back to the foyer. “But Eli normally can’t track shapeshifters like Tanya, and even with Gabe’s help, there’s no guarantee that will change. It’s best we give Gabe his privacy if that happens.”

Ryan nodded, recalling the shared anger between Gabe and Gabriel when they’d found out the Midnighters had Tanya. “We should’ve asked him to check up on Slater and the others.”

“We can call them,” Gouken pointed out, “I wouldn’t be too worried. Besides, we haven’t been gone that long, let’s give them time to get work done.”

Kosei snickered, “Maybe he’ll get the shock of his life. I’ll be sad to miss it though.”

“What shock?” Rebecca asked.

“Minor psycholocation with a bit of premonition on the side; those hunches that Carson was teasing him about are basically what they are. Every time I want to tell him, something happens and he’s suddenly not stable enough to handle it.”

Ryan could understand that, telling him before or after the warehouse raid would have been bad and Slater certainly wasn’t ready to hear it at Denny’s. “So he’s not our token human, damn.”

Maria chuckled, “Poor Slater. I’d kill to see the look on his face.” She paused for a moment, “Hey Randy, get over here!” A dark skinned, dark haired man approached with a lemur on his back. “Wanna do me a favor?”

“Depends on what it is,” He answered, smiling at her. Ryan smirked, able to recognize flirting when he saw it, and absently wondered if one of them should jump in and hit him for James’s sake.

Maria just rolled her eyes and Kenny stepped before her, “Give our friends the tour, would you? We’re gunna be here for a bit, and it’ll take forever for us to do them alone. Besides, I’m sure you know what rooms are theirs.”

“Now that you mention it,” His gaze lingered on Maria for a moment, and he smirked “I suppose I can take care of them for you. But don’t be a stranger, okay?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Maria rolled her eyes, “If I don’t run into you guys, we can meet up and talk strategy at lunch.” She clapped Ford on the shoulder, “Behave Fordo, or Gabriel will crush you.”

“You mean just like he crushed my chair?” Ford grinned and Maria glared at him, “Alright, don’t use my gloves against me!” He protested, “I’ll be good!”

“We’ll keep an eye on him,” Gouken promised. “And if he acts up too badly, you can beat him up.”

Maria’s laughter followed them through the halls as Randy gestured for them to follow him through the halls. “So,” He began as they walked, “She mentioned a Gabriel. And I know Eli sent her, James and Becca for you guys. So, Gabriel Smith? The reality warper?”

“He was,” Kia answered, “He’s not anymore.”

“Sweet!” Randy looked oddly pleased at the prospect, “That’s awesome. And that blond chick you were with, she’s Chantal?”

Ryan watched Wolfrik tense and Ford and Gouken exchanged a long glance. Even Tanner and Zeke seemed on guard, and Ryan didn’t blame them; how had Randy heard of Chantal? “She is,” Gouken answered cautiously, “Why?”

“It’s just, we all know about Paris, we all know it wasn’t a terrorist who did it,” Randy explained. “And I’m probably not the only one who’s wondering if uhh, well,”

“Will she do it again? Here?” The lemur asked. “We kinda like having a place to stay.”

Ryan lunged forward to grab Wolfrik, but wasn’t fast enough to stop the teen or the parasite from grabbing Randy. He swore rather violently in German at the man, and the parasites screeched in agreement.

“Easy, Wolf,” Ford said softly as Ryan and Tanner pried the teenager away from Randy. “Trust me, we know.” He then looked to Randy, and when he spoke again there was steel in his voice. “Id destroyed Paris, not Chantal. None of our group is responsible for the actions of any Midnighter, and you’d do well to remember that. Bring it up again, and you will regret it”

Much as Ryan had seen Gabriel do earlier that day, objects began floating, and Randy’s eyes went wide when he too began to float. Kia snarled softly, baring fangs as she grew more wolf like, and Ryan was glad they’d both managed to restrain themselves enough to not actually hurt Randy.

It had been a long day, hard on both of them, and Ryan was certain it was difficult not to take the action they wanted to. When Ford finally set them both on the ground, Ryan stepped forward, trusting Gouken to hold back Wolfrik, and set a light hand on the blond man’s shoulder. “Easy now,” He breathed to Ford, “He’s not worth it. Don’t waste your time on this idiot.”

Randy stared at Ford, shaking slightly as he backed away. There was fear and respect in the dark-skinned man’s gaze, and Ryan saw the same emotion on his partner’s face. They had learned not to mess with Ryan’s friends, because they would get hurt, and the redhead hoped they’d pass on the message.

“Now then, I’d advise you to avoid any gossip about my friends, and listen to what you just heard,” Ryan began, eyes flashing dangerously. “Where were we, exactly?”

Randy nodded rapidly, and Ryan reigned in his powers when the man’s eyes fogged over, because he wanted respect, not control. A second later, Randy’s gaze cleared, “R-right, so let’s get on that tour.”

[CrystalPrison]

Chapter 15

When Ryan woke the next morning, he was confused, unable to remember why he was on the floor, and where he was in general. After a few moments of lying in the dark, he remembered he was in Eli’s sanctuary, in Ford’s room, after all of the men of the group, and their partners had gone there to relax after dinner.

He vaguely remembered that Tanner had been the first to fall asleep, and that Wolfrik had been a close second. Kosei had crashed on Ford’s pillow, so when Ryan had begun to doze off, he hadn’t fought it; the floor was comfortable enough to sleep on, and he hadn’t minded much.

Now however, he looked around, realizing the lights were still on; no one had bothered to turn them off before they’d crashed. Gouken had somehow gotten the bed, though Ford had the blankets in his position on the floor, making Ryan wonder if he’d fallen off or if he’d been kicked off. Kia was a bit away from Ford, and Kosei was still on one pillow, though Zeke had taken the other.

Wolfrik was snoring peacefully away in one of the armchairs and Tanner was still in the other. It only took Ryan a moment to realize that neither Gabe nor Ula was in the room, though they’d certainly been there when he’d fallen asleep. Of course, both had been equal parts sad and angry because Eli had been unable to find Tanya, so he couldn’t blame them for wanting their privacy.

Pushing himself up silently, Ryan slid out of the room, shutting the lights off on his way off. His room wasn’t a very far from Ford’s –they were all staying close to each other- so within a few moments he was in his own room.

It was almost the same as Ford’s, though with different colors, and Ryan quickly made his way to the dresser provided, pulling out a change of clothes and his toothbrush. Disregarding the shower, he used a washcloth for a quick wash up, and readied himself for the day.

That done, Ryan balled up his used clothing and tossed them next to the dresser; Randy had mentioned a place to wash his clothing, but he didn’t know where to find it. As it was, he didn’t care much about that, he wanted to explore the area without a supervisor, there had been plenty of interesting things yesterday, and not nearly enough time to look around.

After a few moments of hesitation, Ryan strapped his gun to his waist and tugged his leather jacket on over it, careful to hide the weapon. He didn’t know how appropriate it was to keep the pistol on him, but he absolutely refused to leave it behind; it’d saved his life so many times.

The redhead’s first stop was the kitchenette that Randy had claimed was present in every corridor. Without hesitation, Ryan grabbed a Styrofoam cup and poured coffee into it, smiling slightly at the familiar scent. Judging by the amount of cups in the trashcan, he wasn’t the first one up, despite the fact the clock said it was only five am.

Wondering who else could be foolish enough to be up this early, and absently reminding himself that it was seven in Aurora, Ryan toasted a bagel and smothered it in cream cheese. Nibbling lightly at the food, the teenager began wandering the halls, no purpose in mind but to move.

By the time his meal was done, he’d found his way to the training arena that Randy had shown them the night before. He’d been stunned to see trees there, but was thrilled that it meant he could climb trees without going far, and he’d get to watch and observe others using their abilities.

When he finally entered the area, he saw a group of people doing some exercise he couldn’t quite understand. Their partners were nearby, doing something of the same, and Ryan pursed his lips in confusion, trying to analyze everything he saw.

Still contemplating the possibilities, Ryan began climbing the nearest tree, a strong and sturdy oak. Yesterday Randy had explained that people who controlled earth and plants were the ones responsible for their presence, partially because many partners enjoyed having places to climb.

As he sprawled out on a thick branch, he examined the partners, as they were by far the most interesting. One was an odd creature, some mixture of different canines; its’ build reminded Ryan of a long dog, but its’ limbs were too thick for its’ body and it’s muzzle to long.

Another was just as odd, a bird of some sort that was as small as a sparrow with the wing shape and beak of a hawk. It’s talons looked sharp and it was an odd, steely gray, shot through with black and it looked deadly, despite its’ size.

The others were normal animals, a panther, a coyote and a song bird, and despite their differences in size, strength and speed, Ryan was almost certain that no animal had the upper hand. It was far beyond confusing to him, so he set himself to watching, hoping he’d be able to make sense of it after a while.

Time passed meaninglessly, and as he watched, the groups switched out, running exercises without hesitation. This was all choreographed, he could tell by the way they moved without hesitation and he was torn between wanting to join in and simply observing.

“Mind if I join you?” Ryan jumped, looking to the side and seeing a young girl –she was maybe ten- with auburn hair perched on a branch near him. “Sorry, didn’t mean to bother you, but you looked comfy enough.”

“Oh, sure,” He agreed after a moment’s pause. “I’m Ryan, who’re you?”

“Diane,” She said with a nod while a squirrel scampered up the tree to perch beside them. “Me and Zoe like coming to watch these guys, they’re fun.”

Ryan looked away from the combatants, deciding it’d be difficult to focus on the conversation and his analysis. “They look it,” He paused for a moment. “If you don’t mind me asking, why’re you here?”

She lifted a hand to show him slightly clawed fingertips and flashed a pair of fangs, “My powers freaked my parents out when they developed, so when Eli’s people showed up, they handed me off.” Ryan opened his mouth to apologize, but she shook her head, “Don’t worry about it. I like it more here than I did at home. And I’ve been here for five years, so these guys are my new family.”

Ryan could understand that, after just a few days the others felt like his family. “Oh, but still, I-”

“If it makes you feel better, I know why you’re here,” He stared at her shocked and the girl smiled. “Everyone knows why you and your friends are here. Gossip travels fast, you know and Chantal’s kind of infamous for what happened; besides, Gabe’s been here before and he’s kinda famous for his whole self.”

Ryan shook his head slightly, that was a little disconcerting, “Oh, ah, okay.” She giggled, probably at the tone of his voice, he was a little nervous, wondering what other word had spread about his friends. “So you know a lot about everything, right?”

“Yep, the others are all my teachers, so I know lots about everything. Why?”

“One of my friends has a four headed parasite for a partner, and those two, they aren’t normal,” Ryan began. “Why?”

“No one really knows. Some people think it’s a reflection of the human partners mental state, but others think they’re just different. Kind of like how not all humans are the same, and not all are perfect.”

“And our friends are fond believers of the second option,” Kosei’s voice chimed from below them as he climbed up the tree. “You really should leave notes, Ry, the others were all wondering where you were.”

“Oops, sorry.”

“It’s alright, can’t say I blame you, it would’ve been boring. Kia said you were up before dawn, after all.”

Ryan chuckled a little sheepishly and nodded, “Yeah, old habits die hard, I guess.” He commented while Diane continued climbing her way up the tree. “Am I needed?”

“Nope. We just got curious, so me and Gouken decided we’d see if we could find you. He’s on his way.”

Ryan hummed softly, “That whole telepathy thing?” Kosei nodded. “What’s it like?” He asked, curious; no one had tried to explain it to him yet, but he thought knowing might help. After all, he’d experience it as soon as he met his partner.

“It’s kinda like being a mongoose, or being human. It’s just normal, a part of who you are,” Kosei said after a few moments. “Gouken’s thoughts are always in the back of my head, and I think it’d be weird if he wasn’t. He’s always just there.”

“And you don’t feel like you’re ever intruding on him?”

“Nah,” The mongoose laughed, “We can keep secrets from each other, we just don’t. It’s kinda like keeping a secret from yourself, it feels weird. Besides, the telepathy comes with a general idea of how the other’s feeling, but it all works in reverse too, so it’s fair play.”

Ryan just shook his head slightly, amused, “Did it take time to get used to it?”

“Not really,” He shrugged. “Guess it was kinda like it should’ve been that way the entire time, it just wasn’t. It’s like having a best friend and losing touch, when you meet everything’s right again.”

“Actually, that implies there’s something to miss in the beginning, which is wrong.” Gouken’s voice came from below them, and Ryan waved before climbing down the tree. “Planning on taking up fighting?”

He shrugged, it hadn’t crossed his mind, “I guess it wouldn’t be a bad idea. If someone were to take away my gun,” He frowned at the thought. “Do you?”

Gouken shrugged, “Takashi knew quite a bit, through his powers. He taught me before he joined the Midnighters. I suppose it would be good to use those skills against them,” He mused. “Would you like to learn? It might help.”

“Irony at its’ finest, using Takashi’s skills to hurt his friends,” Kosei commented. “It’ll be made better if you can manage to help kick Takashi’s butt.”

Ryan laughed softly, though he doubted that’d be happening any time soon, “Right. What do you want me to do?”

Gouken gestured for Ryan to follow him, and the teen complied after dropping his jacket and gun in a pile near the tree. “We’ll start with the basics, don’t worry, I won’t be too hard on you.”

“Mostly because he doesn’t know how to be,” Kosei chimed in. “Now adjust your stance, you’ve gotta stand like this,” He urged, pushing lightly on Ryan’s left foot. Ryan just rolled his eyes, but complied, moving until he mimicked the stance Gouken had taken.

Gouken was a patient teacher, repeating moves and explanations until he was sure Ryan understood what he was doing, and Ryan was grateful for the chance to take things slowly. Time fell away without meaning as he focused on the movements, and he was content to focus on something simple.

After a while, Ryan realized other people were watching them, but Gouken didn’t give him time to focus on them. The moment Ryan had learned enough of simply doing the basics, his friend continued pushing him, forcing him to use the defensive moves he’d just learned.

He knew without a doubt that he wasn’t much good, and he knew that Gouken was pulling his punches. He was stubborn though, and that didn’t stop him from trying to keep up until he ached and was ready for a break.

It was Kosei who stopped them, “Hi Ford, hi Kia! Say hi guys.”

“Oh, come on!” Ford protested, “I was going to go all ninja on them. Do you know how hard it is to go ninja on the ninja!”

Gouken laughed and Ryan rubbed at his shoulders, fighting hadn’t done much for the aches that remained from yesterday’s events. “Hi Ford,” The teen greeted, “What’s up?”

“Well these two went looking for you a while ago,” Kia explained. “And more importantly, we’ve got a meeting with Eli before lunch.”

“It’s already time for lunch?” Kosei asked, “No wonder I’m hungry.”

Ryan nodded in agreement, though he hadn’t noticed because he had been distracted. “What’s the meeting about, and any chance we can get some food beforehand?”

“The others are supposed to be here soon, and Gabe says they’ve got a lot of news,” Ford answered. “And then I think we’ll be working on our next plan, if we’re heading to London or staying here or what.” He paused and shrugged, “As for food, we’ve got ten minutes, so you’ll have to eat fast.”

Gouken rolled his eyes slightly, “Go clean up, we’ll grab you a sandwich.” He looked to Ford, “We in the same room Eli was in yesterday?”

“Yep,” Kia looked over to Ryan, “He’s right, you smell.”

“Says the dog,” Ryan shook his head slightly, but smiled at Kia to show all was well. “I will, I will, I’ll catch up with you guys in a bit, no need to wait up.”

Ford grinned and Gouken waved goodbye, “Try not to lose track of time.”

Ryan saluted them and turned back towards the tree while they left. Once more he strapped his gun to his waist and slid on his jacket, rubbing absently on his shoulder. Even when he wasn’t trying, Gouken certainly was strong, and he was sure he’d be covered in more bruises tomorrow.

“Hey, kid!” A voice called, and Ryan twisted to see a Hispanic man, maybe in his mid-twenties, walking towards him. “Not bad for a new guy.”

“Huh? Oh thanks,” Ryan smiled slightly, a little embarrassed at the praise from a stranger. “And yeah, new’s an understatement.”

“We could tell,” A black and white cat approached, winding lightly around the man’s legs. “You know, if you don’t want to bother your friends, we’ll help you out.”
Ryan shrugged, “I might just take you up on that offer. We’ve got another meeting today; it all depends on what happens there.”

“Doesn’t it always,” The man chuckled, “Hope you don’t mind, but I overheard you and your friends talking and there’s a good chance you won’t have time to clean up. You want a hand?”

“I don’t care if he wants a hand, he needs one,” The cat stated, winding his way around Ryan’s legs. “I can alter sensory details; you’ll smell like a bed of roses by the time I’m done with you.”

Ryan frowned deeply as an odd tingling sensation filled his body, “What does that mean?”

“Eddy can affect the things people smell and hear, and he’s working on the things people can see,” The man stated. “It’s convenient. Especially seeing as you’ve gotta get going. Now you smell less like sweat and blood, and more like a field of roses,” He smirked playfully as he said the words, eyes flashing with mirth.

“Yeah, thanks,” Ryan flashed them a light smile. “I’ll probably be back tomorrow morning and thanks for your help.” He knew it was a bit rude to be so abrupt, but he wasn’t sure if he could find Eli’s room again and he’d need all the time possible to do so.

Without waiting for a response, and completely disregarding the fact he hadn’t gotten the human partner’s name, he took off at a run, hoping he wouldn’t be too late. He wasn’t completely sure where he was going, but he was hoping for the best, and that he wouldn’t get too lost.

He skidded to a stop when he saw the Tanner and Zeke with Wolfrik, Chantal and Davin, “Oh good, you guys know where we’re going, right?” He asked, “And we’re not too late?”

Chantal giggled, “Where’ve you been?”

“Spying on people when they were practicing,” He answered, wiping his face as they walked. “Lost track of time, you know?” He paused, “Any chance you’ve seen Gouken? He promised me a sandwich.”

Wolfrik cocked his head curiously, “Food?”

“Not sharing,” Ryan answered instantly. “I had a bagel and some coffee at like, five this morning. I’m starving.”

“Least lunch is kind of soon,” Tanner pointed out. “I was talking to some of the chefs; it’s supposed to be good.”

“Don’t tell Wolf that,” Zeke protested, “He’ll sneak out of the meeting and eat all of the food.”

“I will not!” He protested. “I ate a huge breakfast, I can wait.”

“Barely,” Zeke muttered as they entered the room.

Instantly Ryan noticed that Gabriel and Ran were there with Leah and Elijah, but there was no Slater in sight. Just about everyone else was already in the room, and Eli was talking quietly with Maria and Kenny.

Chantal went forward to hug Gabriel, probably happy to see him fine and looking a little happier and Leah hugged Ryan. “Everything go alright?” He asked her, “No problems? Where’s-”

“Give us a few minutes,” Leah chuckled as she took a seat. Ryan took the sandwich Gouken offered him with a light smile and joined her. “Gabriel’s going to explain, no worries.”

Ryan nodded and tore into his sandwich while Ran spoke and Elijah moved to perch on Leah’s knee. “We’ve got good news for our group, the DAA is on our side, and their director is intensely loyal to us. It’s Slater.”

Choking on his food, Ryan grinned for his friend, and the others clapped and whistled. Gabriel chuckled, “Yes, yes, once he got over the shock he was happy, the picture of his face is incredibly amusing, and yes, we’ll share it. He’s working on the paperwork now that will prevent deportation and we’ve got files on some of the Midnighters, courtesy of his new assistant Helen, and those will be very useful for later.”

“Slater wants to find a way to help you out more, Eli. His goal is a counter organization, to either seek refuge here or fight,” Leah added. “He was still making plans for it when we left. Of course it’ll take a while because he has to clear it with the higher ups and the government is slow and there’s a lot of paperwork, but he’s still trying.”

Ryan chuckled softly, he could imagine that with ease. “There is a small problem though,” Gabriel said with a sigh. “The DAA has hurt our people before, Midnighters and the innocent alike. There’s a chance not everyone will be willing to work with them if they find out.”

“What did they do?” Eli inquired. “There is a chance they can work through it.”

“It’s slim,” Ran commented. “The DAA was formed after Project Hercules was destroyed. The Project was designed to study us, but it did so cruelly. The ones who escaped it formed the Midnight Sun and Morning Star Organizations: the Midnighters.”

“The government decided we were dangerous after that, so they formed The Department for Annihilation of Ascendants: the DAA." Gabriel finished. “Their goal was the extermination of our kind, and they targeted and killed hundreds of us.”

“WHAT?” Ryan wasn’t the only one who screamed it, nor was he the only one completely stunned. He was certain he’d heard Gabriel wrong.

“You remember Alex from the warehouse? He was the founder, Arthur St. Germain’s son before he was killed by the DAA; Walsh simply cloned him. The reason Slater joined the FBI so young was so he could be killed in the line of duty.” He sighed, running a hand through his hair, “They took Carson and his mother as hostages to get to Walsh, but his mother was killed. They weren’t aware that Walsh survived until very recently.”

Ryan stared at Gabriel dumbstruck, and he was certain that the others felt the same way. It was Maria who broke the silence, voice shaking, “And Slater respected this director? Why?”

“The way Helen, his assistant, explained it was that everything changed when the President had an Ascended child. Their policy changed, they renamed themselves the Department of Ascendant Affairs and the director spent the rest of his life trying to atone for what he’d done.” Ran stated.

“Oh my God,” Ford whispered, “That’s-”

“We know,” Gabe agreed, “Trust me, we know. The important thing is, now we know why the Midnighters are fighting the humans, there’s a chance we can use this against them, no matter how distasteful it is. No matter what the DAA was, what they all are matters most.”

Ryan rubbed his temples lightly, fighting off an impending headache, “What do we do now?”

“That depends, Eli, are there any changes with Kris or James?”

There was a long pause, “Kris is still with the cybernetic unit, it looks as though he will become a cyborg.” Gina gasped at the words and Ryan frowned in sympathy, though he was glad the fact that Eli could track him meant they hadn’t altered Kris’s mind too much. “It looks as though they’re still undecided on James.”

“It can take a few weeks for the cybernetics to stabilize, depending on how invasive and complete the transformation is and how they use them in regards to his powers,” Rebecca stated. “If we try and interfere with what they’re doing, there’s a chance it could hurt him, and even though I can fix him, it’ll be tough.”

Gabriel blew out a sigh and exchanged a look with Gabe, “We need time to plan and to let Slater do his job. Eli, can we stay here for a while longer? Just long enough to be sure Kris and James are stable, and to be sure we’re taking the right course of action?”

Eli nodded, “You sure already know my answer, Gabriel. You’re welcome here as long as you need to stay.”