New breeds and old tricks

"Slow down, Blue. I can't see." Hyde grumped as Blue pushed the young man in his wheelchair. A large crowd was gathered in the park, dozens of young men and women were protesting the implementation of several new and severe policies by law enforcement in an effort to stem crime and to find and identify meta people above a certain classification in the city.

"There's nothing to see, Hyde." Blue shrugged as he continued to push the frail young man past the crowd.

"Are they supporting metas, Blue?" The kid asked. "It's confusing, are they against the Riggs act?" Hyde asked innocently.

"They aren't against the Riggs act Hyde, they are just upset now that the police have rolled their anti meta and anti crime policies into one lump. They don't care about metas but now they are upset that these policies allow them to be profiled, surveilled, detained and questioned in a broad effort to weed out normal criminal activities AND to find and register unknown metas. It's the new evolution of Riggs, and now that normal people can be treated as suspects they are upset."

"So nothing's changed, right Blue?"

'No buddy, nothing's changed." Blue said sadly.

"Come on, Hyde we're late." Blue said as he pushed the wheelchair so fast that he could put his feet on the back of it and ride it down the sidewalk.

"To the coffee shop!" Blue yelled as they sailed down the walkway and weaved through the crowd.

Behind them in the park the police were dealing with the protesting crowd. The protestors held signs that read 'Riggs amendments unlawful' and 'No police state' and similar slogans. The crowd was loud but non threatening but the police feared that the protest would attract unwanted meta attention. The police on the scene called for more officers, they were going to break up the protest and disperse the crowd.

"These policies do not effect you people, please leave the park peacefully." A squad sergeant said calmly into a megaphone.

The crowd continued it's shouting and sloganeering. A few extra police cars came to the park, the officers quickly joined the others at the crowd control.

"What do we do if things go bad?" One officer asked his partner. "New guidelines say not to enforce any new Riggs policies without notifying RAID."

"Well RAID ain't here, are they?" His partner sneered.

But RAID was there, they were aware of the protest in the park and a team of troopers were in route to the park already.
A team of 4 troopers double timed it from their vehicle and made a beeline to where the police were holding their line. The troopers carried a large black item with them, it looked like a large cone speaker on a tripod. The troopers set the device down, one RAID agent snatched the mega phone from the sergeant's hands and addressed the crowd.

"Pursuant to the recently ratified Riggs amendments section 1 through 9, we have reasonable cause to shut down this protest on suspicion of meta activity." The trooper handed the megaphone back to the sergeant and nodded to his other agents near the speaker device. The agents activated the device, a screaming wall of ear shattering sound emanated from the device. Many of the protestors fell to the ground in agony, covering their shocked ears, the city police were unprepared for this tactic, they too fell victim to the device. The troopers walked calmly from police officer to police officer and placed small earplugs in their ears. The police got to their feet, visibly shaken. The police went to their vehicles and left the scene, many of them were going to require medical care for their damaged ears. The troopers let the device run, at the back of the crowd of protestors many had fled the noise but most were trapped in it's blast zone. One trooper signaled the others to let the device run for one more minute.

The troopers could see one lone person walking towards them from behind the mass of protestors laid out on the ground. The person walked calmly through the people on the ground, he seemed unaffected by the sound device. The man was tall, around 6 foot he wore grey and black fatigues, a ski mask, black goggles over his eyes and had some kind of headphones on, protecting him from RAID's sound cannon.

"Well, RAID when you're right, you're right..." Oscuro snickered to himself as he approached the troopers.

'I can't work under these conditions." The villain mumbled, completely drowned out by the noise.

Oscuro raised his hand over his head and wag his index finger around like a helicopter blade. From far behind him hidden in a cluster of trees his massive robot enforcer stepped into the sunlight. The machine was as big as ever but was now painted gloss black and moved much quicker than before.

Oscuro motioned to the sound device, the big machine thundered over to it and crushed it flat.

"That's better." Oscuro said as he pulled his headphones from his mask.

"Standing by." The robot bellowed in it's deep and artificial tone.

"No standing by big guy, sick 'em boy!"

The robot clanged over to the troopers as they went for their weapons. The robot pulled up a metal park bench and pinned the 4 trooper to the concrete with it, their weapons now pointed straight up at them just under their noses. The robot pressed down on the metal bench, it squealed as the metal bent around the troopers' state of the art body armor, the highly trained men were helpless.

Oscuro walked over to the crushed sound device, he held a few of the broken components and after a minute dropped them to the ground.
"This is poor quality craftsmanship, I coulda built a device 5 times better, and would not have taken any time at all to kill these people." Oscuro said to the struggling troopers.

"We're not killers..." One of the troopers said breathlessly.

"You would kill me if you could." Oscuro said sarcastically.

"I see, you don't kill normal people, just people like me..." The villain sneered.
Oscuro looked at the mass of people on the ground behind him, many were still clutching their ears, some had blood running from their ears. All were in terrible pain.

"But you don't mind breaking a few eggs along the way do you?" He said standing over the 4 captive men. People had begun to come back to the park after the sound cannon was crushed, they cautiously watched Oscuro and the robot from a safe distance.

"Look at what they are willing to do to you." Oscuro shouted to the gathering crowd across the street. "The ends justify the means in a police state." He said. The people began to agree, they moved closer.
"This is only the beginning!" The masked villain shouted. "They have big plans for this city." He said dramatically.

The people were moving in closer, they wanted to hear the masked man's words. The robot moved closer to Oscuro.
"Running threat assessment..." The massive black machine bellowed.

"There are no threats here, just regular people." Oscuro said to the crowd and the robot.

"Standing by..." The machine croaked.

"Listen to me citizens! Oscuro said like a circus ringleader. "You see my machine?" Oscuro motioned to the robot. "They have built machines of their own, sadly I have only the one machine. But they have many and soon they will deploy them all over the city. The game is about to change. RAID and the Police have declared war on every last one of you, I wish you good luck." The villain laughed.

"Keep your eyes out for their new hardware, created with YOU in mind." The masked man chuckled. "I wouldn't lie to you, I might kill all of you but I would never lie." The maniac said with glee.

More police were coming to the park, ambulances too. The villain felt his window of opportunity closing and he had made his point.

"Return to base." Oscuro said to the machine. The robot picked up Oscuro and began to move very quickly back to the trees where it had been hidden.

"Return to base." The machine grunted as it thundered away from the crowd. It walked quickly into the trees and vanished from sight.

Blue and Hyde watched the events from the calm interior of the coffee shop down the block. The twins were with them, they all looked out the window in awe.
Blue hoisted his glass of tea up in the air. "Never a dull moment." Blue said with a grin. the twins clinked their coffee mugs to his. "Never a dull moment." They said in unison.
Hyde slowly removed his oxygen mask from his nose and mouth. "Never a dull moment." He wheezed.

Bug leaned back on the recliner. He looked out across the landscape at the treetops that spread out in all directions, and they seemed to go on forever. He inhaled deeply as he felt the cool air of mid-spring touch his cheeks and he then let out the cool mountain air back to where it had come from. He could hear John in the camouflaged and well concealed trailer behind him. They had managed to escape the insanity of the cities, they had finally disappeared. 'Find a small sliver of the planet and leave this all behind us' ... that was John had said to him, and after all that had happened he couldn't agree more.

The radio in the trailer was playing as John clanked around with the pans but Bug wasn't paying attention, all he was doing was sitting here, a canteen of water in hand, gazing into the soon to be sunset.

"John! This sunset, you are about to miss something you always said you love!" Bug's grasp of the English language had gotten much better over this year and a half in isolation. John had been helping him, however his tin accent was still present. Bug had also managed to gain more control over his hair. Where it once would move and flail on it's own, he was able to make it recede deep into his scalp now, and though it still had it's thick, tentacle like appearance it was much shorter most of the time, and he blended in a little better with humanity, ironically, it was unnecessary anymore as he and John hadn't seen anyone for 14 months.

John came out of the trailer and roughly dropped a plate of half cooked venison onto the table. Bug looked up at him and started laughing as John grumbled something about the "damn" Coleman stove. John picked up the meat with his bare hand and looked it over, giving it a sniff before placing it back on the plate, "Did you season it with dandelion leaves?" John looked at him crossly and retorted, "Yer welcome to cook it yourself next time, kid."

Bug laughed all the louder and pointed to John's chair, "Sit already ya monkey wrench!"

John placed the short wave radio between them and they looked west to the setting sun. Bug inhaled deeply again and was about to say something about how he never wants to leave this place when they both heard words that made them look at the radio, "A protest in the park today turned to mayhem as RAID Agents with probable cause on suspicion of Meta activity deployed a less than lethal crowd dispersion device. If it hadn't been for their swift response the Meta who finally revealed himself would have most likely killed hundreds. The Meta attacked and only their superior training to handle these sorts of situations saved them, two are being treated for broken ribs and the others have been released for minor injuries. We can only thank RAID for their bravery in this situation, thank-you for protecting the citizens of this great nation."

Bug looked up at John and he was reflecting the same look on concern that Bug had on his face. Bug spoke to his old friend, "Why am I suspicious that we aren't getting the whole story?"

The past 14 months had been a struggle of life and death for the meta. After meeting up with Gabriel once more in New York things had taken a turn for better and for worse. She was extremely glad to meet up with the charismatic meta and spend some time with him but they soon found themselves trying to elude RAID with almost every turn they took. It became too much for Yelena to handle and after some serious consideration, she decided to leave the city and seek more open territory.

Homesickness had set in and she yearned for the open fields of sweet grass where she raised her goats. But returning home was not an option. At least not now. Heading west, she made her way slowly across the country stopping here or there to check out potential places to live. Each time she thought she may have found a place she would hear stories about RAID and move on to the next place.

When she finally found what she was looking for, she settled about 70 miles east of Denver, Colorado. A farm owned by an older couple raising alpaca’s was looking for someone to help care for the animals and do some chores around the farm. After some investigating of her own, Yelena found the elderly couple to be non judgmental and truly in need of the assistance.

Without disguising her normal appearance nor covering her accent, she asked the couple if they would give her a try. The man seemed a bit skeptical telling her she didn’t look strong enough to handle the job but the woman persuaded the man to give her a try. The rest, they say, became history. After a few months on the job, Yelena had proven herself but especially with the animals.

Her motorcycle hidden behind some pallets and covered by a large tarp in the barn, she was given a small house set up on the far end of the main property from the larger farm house, near the barn. Finally feeling as though she could breathe a sigh of relief, she was sitting at the dinner table with the couple when a news announcer came on the TV with a special announcement.

"A protest in the park today took a turn for the worse as RAID Agents with probable cause on suspicion of Meta activity deployed a less than lethal crowd dispersion device when a Meta attacked and the RAID agents were forced to defend themselves. More to come on the six o’clock news.”

Yelena stared at the screen for a few more seconds then glanced at the couple who were shaking their heads. Frank shook his head as he scooped some mashed potatoes onto his fork.

“These new policies are doing nothing but giving the government the ability to control us under martial law in disguise. Our founding fathers would be ashamed of the way things are turning out now.”

Edna nodded in agreement.

“It’s a shame. A few bad apples have spoiled it for the rest of the country. What ever happened to punishing those few instead of the masses? Not all meta’s are evil and need to be under lock and key.”

She looked over at Yelena.

“Don’t yo0u agree dear?”

Yelena swallowed hard and blinked as she glanced from Frank to Edna.

”I….”

Frank spoke up then.

“Don’t put the girl on the spot like that, Edna.”

Edna opened her mouth to say something when Yelena spoke up.

”Is ok, Mr Frank. I not mind answering.”

She looked at Edna and smiled.

”I agree, Miss. Edna. Punish bad but leave good alone. Is only fair.”

The tension lifted, dinner finished with lighter conversation and after Yelena helped clean the kitchen up, she excused herself to return to her house. Once inside, she let out a huge sigh. What was she going to do now? She didn’t WANT to leave this place.

Walking out the back of the house she sat down in the lawn chair that faced towards the west and watched as the sun dipped low on the horizon. Where else could she watch such a beautiful sunset like this? And with that thought she couldn’t help but think about her friends. Were they all doing OK or had RAID rounded them up and stuck them in cells deep underground never to see such a brilliant array of colors splash across the sky?

John sat near bug on the other side of the small fold out stool that held the radio. The mechanic chewed his half cooked dinner as he listened to the report.

"Sounds like things are heating up in the city." The mehanic said seriously.
John reached into a nearby cooler and retrieved a beer and opened it with his metal hand. The sunset was as grand as Bug said, all Colorado pinks and blues as the sun dipped just below the mountains.

The mechanic wondered how Jasper was doing, the Irishman chose to stay in the city, he could not bear to be separated from his beloved pool halls and public houses. The big man wondered about young Feydka as well, the young Russian meta had also stayed in town, choosing to return to his previous life of anonymity, staying away from Cops, RAID troopers and his brother.

"Bug old buddy, I'm glad we are meeting Yelena for lunch tomorrow." The mechanic said as he kicked the empty beer cooler away from him. "We're out of beer and I really dig the pie at the diner that Yelena likes."
The big man was dreaming of warm homemade pie as he chewed his cold venison.
"I think I'm gonna go fer cherry if they have it." John said with a smile.

The farm where Yelena had settled was just outside of Lyons, a good old fashioned small town complete with mom and pop diners and drinking holes. The diner was called "Sherri's Place" and was run by a friendly redhead. It was a small and quiet place that never seemed to take notice or care too much about a huge mechanic, a small alien and a Russian shape shifter having lunch together once a month. Of course the good people at the diner did not know any of this and just treated the friends as semi-regulars.

"I'm gonna get ice cream too." The mechanic added with his mouth full of deer meat.

Bug looked over at John as he spoke, with a nod Bug spoke, “I agree John, seeing Yelena will be nice, and as you said, we are almost out of beer.”

John laughed heartedly as Bug chuckled and as the twilight turned to evening the conversation was light-hearted and full of laughter.

To get to Lyons John always took the long way to avoid as much of the traffic as possible, not to mention keeping their presence on the down low. Though Bug was becoming more comfortable with riding in his convertible Cadillac, Bug still hated cars. John’s was about the only one he would get in, and even then it was only out of necessity. For Yelena he was more than willing to sit in the front seat of this monstrosity of travel and make the trek to eastern Colorado.

As the two came out through Longmont and swung back southeast towards Lyons Bug looked over at John as he chewed on his cigar and bopped his head in rhythm with Elvis on the 8-track, “John, I can’t stop thinking about what we heard last night on the radio. If RAID is starting to up their presence in Denver they must have a reason. Governments don’t do things without reason. Do you think they know we are in the area?”

John gave Bug that typical ‘what are you worrying about’ smile and just continued to bop his head to Blue Suede Shoes and Bug looked out the windshield into the rolling landscape. Finally the car squeaked to a stop and Bug was out before John had turned off the engine. As the two of them entered Sherri’s Place Sherri looked up and greeted them with her usual smile, “She’s over there boys.”

Yelena was sitting at their usual booth and was already up and heading their way. She crouched down and Bug hugged her tightly, a greeting he was getting more and more used to, though the ways of humanity were still somewhat strange to him. As John and Yelena exchanged welcomes and pleasantries as well the three of them made their way to the booth near the rear exit and sat. Bug looked over at Yelena and he could tell something was wrong. Before she could say anything he spoke, “Did you hear about what happened in Denver last night?”

Yelena quickly finished her chores the next morning knowing it was the day she was to meet John and Bug. Frank and Edna never had a problem giving her that one day a month and they never asked her where she was going or what she was doing. They just accepted that she needed the time to do some things she needed to do.

It seemed like forever she waited anxiously until the men arrived and as they were walking in the door, she was up and walked over to greet them, hugging them warmly before they headed back to the booth she had gotten when she arrived. Once they were settled and Sherri got them their drinks, she was about to say something when Bug asked her about the news.

”Da….I did. I would say things are heating up in Denver now, no? Who do you suppose meta is they referred to? The video I saw on tv was too jumpy for me to see. I bet it was not real video anyway. But….who would be so bold as to do that?”

Sherrir returned to take their order and all talk of what happened in Denver came to a halt. When the orders were placed and Sherri walked away, Yelena looked at both men again clearly concerned about the news and perplexed as to who the meta was.

Shrugging his shoulders as Yelena asked her question Bug spoke in his tinny accent, “It’s hard to say, Yelena, monkey wrench over here has a dozen theories, personally, I don’t think any Meta showed up and RAID was trying to display a show of force with their new laws.”

He inhaled deeply and looked at Yelena and then to John, “Unfortunately the same thing happened on my planet, and the people accepted it slowly until one day they snapped and that’s when the revolt started. We were overwhelmed, from every aspect and eventually we regained control, but at great loss.”

He looked at them both again and then clammed up. It was rare that Bug talked about his home. He had accepted the fact that he would never get to see it again and in his own way he typically dealt with this by just not thinking about it. In those moment however, it was clear it wasn’t a place unlike Earth. They were more technically advanced, but not by eons. They did have the ability for space travel, and that is how he finally managed to find himself on earth after chasing a notorious criminal who managed to escape after the revolution he was just speaking of.

After a moment he looked up at John and spoke, “So monkey wrench, you have obviously been thinking a lot about what’s going on, what do you think?”

"Burger, fries and a beer..." John said to Sherri cheerfully.
"You guys have cherry pie?" John added.

"Especially for you..." Sherri said as she scribbled the orders down.

"Thanks." The mechanic said. Sherri left the table to turn the orders in.

"The city's a powder keg, regular folks are now learning what it has been like for us for years." John grunted.

"When it was just us they didn't care, now that they are taking some hits they're all hot and bothered."

"I think it will get a lot worse..." John said

"Radio said that RAID had some expensive equipment destroyed in the riot. Some meta showed those mutts a good time. The media has not released who duked it out with RAID and they probably won't, makes 'em look bad."

"RAID's been spending money like mad, they're gearing up for sure. Radio's been talking about the money they have been spending, the money they have been giving to one company. The company is a defense contractor, I forget the name but they are big time."

"I think any Metas in the city are in for a rough time." The mechanic said as he flipped through the newspaper.

"Hey shrimp, check this out." John said to Bug as he laid the paper flat.
UFO Flap Over The Front Range An article towards the rear of the paper read. The article said that a handful of people in the area had been seeing lights in sky on the regular for the past week or so. Local said he was convinced that it was a single craft and he went as far to say that the 'spaceship' may have landed in the foothills.

"Little green men want to try the cherry pie." john said with a grin.

Bug listened to John and would occasionally glance at Yelena as he spoke. A couple things stuck out to him, especially the defense contractor part. As John slid the paper around to show the article about the UFO's Bug looked intently at the image and his face went slightly white but he didn't say anything. John and Yelena would both most likely notice his slight change in demeanor but he only nodded his head and spoke, "Yeah... that's queer."

He leaned back just as Sherri arrived with their food and Bug spoke, "Sherri, can I have some coffee please?"

Sherri quirked and eyebrow, looked at John and Yelena who both also had looks of surprise on their faces and she spoke with a smile, "Of course hon, comin right up."

Bug drank two things, water and occasionally one of John's beers, though John probably knew he didn't really love it he was just doing it to be polite. Asking for coffee was definitely something very unusual for the little guy. As Sherri placed it on the table Bug stared into and and spoke, "It's a curious thing, trying something new, acclimatizing."

John and Yelena stared at him and he continued, "I have been on this planet for many years, I don't miss home, and I certainly don't want to go back. You two... well you are better friends than I ever had there. Apparently however it looks like they might have come to rescue me."

He tapped on the picture in the paper, "Those are Yarnisian vessels, even blurry and barely determinable by that phone photograph I can tell."

Bug reached and grabbed the coffee cup, bringing it to his lips and taking a sniff, "I always wondered, what does this taste like. You humans seemed obsessed with it," He smiled almost lovingly as he pondered, "But I have never had the courage to try it, I don't know why. Perhaps now that I truly consider this my home I should learn to enjoy all the things it has to offer."

He brought the beverage to his lips and sipped, squinched his nose up and stuck out his tongue as he set it down on the table and spoke, "How do people drink that shit?"

It was obvious that living in the woods with John had put a little salt in Bug's language.

Fyedka pulled the old blanket tighter around himself and looked warily at the flaming barrel of trash the other hobos were gathered around. One of the scraggly, homeless men was eyeing him in his corner, despite Fyedka already having turned down his offer to partake in the warmth.

"C'mon kid, it's really cold out tonight," he said; Fyedka shook his head.

"I'm not into fire. I'll be fine, thanks," Fyedka replied not for the first time. The older man sighed sympathetically but shrugged and rubbed his hands in front of the comforting flames. The young Russian had survived colder nights without having to get too close to something that destructive and anyway, he felt surviving cold was in his blood. He pushed back into the shadows a little more where he felt comfortable and closed his eyes, waiting for sleep.

Several yards away, a dark van had been sitting silently, its tinted windows masking any movement. In the drivers' seat, however, an armored man of impressive patience picked up a comm. device for the first time in several hours.

"Looks like he's settling in for the night," said the driver, "and it's definitely him. He won't go near the first."

"Good," said a voice on the other end, a faint Russian accent on his words, "is he alone yet?"

"No, but I don't think anyone there could give us any trouble."

"You still need to go in quietly," the other voice replied, "if you freak him out, he'll run and he is very fast."

"Copy," said the driver before putting the comm down.

The hobo camp wound down quickly and the inhabitants began to drift off into respective sleeping places around the alley. The driver's eyes didn't leave the small, crumpled form that was his young target. A smile tugged at the corner of his lips as he imagined his supervisor's pleased response. This could be the promotion he'd been waiting for. For seven years, no one had been able to catch this kid, and now he was going to do it. The winds picked up and the fire began to die down. Small puffs of steam floated up from the ragged blanket in the shadows. The armored man slipped silently out of the drivers seat and cracked open the back of the van. Checking to make sure he had everything he needed, he moved soundlessly towards the sleeping young man, waiting until he was right on top of him to turn on the blindingly bright flashlight, illuminating the boy's pale face.

Flames surrounded him and Fyedka jerked awake and jumped back instinctively. It only took a second for him to realize that it wasn't fire but a light, an obnoxiously bright one spraying outward from a back-lit silhouette. Squinting and shielding his eyes, the young man sprang to his feet and jumped back.

"Excuse me," said the faceless figure, "can I talk to you for a second?"

"We're not bothering anyone," Shadow told the power-tripping cop, "let us just sleep here til morning."

"Just come here, please," said the man.

"Turn off the light," said Fyedka. By now others along the alley were beginning to stir and mutter, turning away from the light that illuminating them. The faceless man took a step closer, ignoring his request, which did not sit will with Shadow. After a second, he said "fine, f#%& you, man," and began to move past him. It wasn't until the man with the light clamped a hand around Fyedka's arm that it dawned on him what he was up against. In a quick, well-trained movement, Fyedka twisted out of his grip and managed to inflict a little painful surprise in the process. The man grunted and let go and Shadow took off without a glance backward. The RAID officer bore his teeth and turned off the light, not bothering to waste energy going after him. The kid was fast and he was engulfed in shadows within seconds. It wasn't worth the fight. Irritating... but he was a patient man.

The RAID officer skulked back to the van and pushed the back shut before slipping back into the front seat. Reluctantly he picked up the comm again and addressed the only one he knew was waiting on him.

"Sir," he said.

"He got away?" asked the Russian voice. The officer sighed.

"He's a slippery one," he said, "but he's not out of sight completely. I still know his haunts and he never saw my face."

"Caldwell," said the voice on the other side of the comm., "you're underestimating him. This is a meta. A monster. Force isn't going to be enough. You have to be smart. You have one more chance." And there was a dead-like silence on the other end in which all Caldwell could do was put the comm down and breathe deeply, planning his next moves as he began to slide down the street in the darkened van.

Fyedka ran until he couldn't anymore. He didn't care if he thought it was safe, he'd learned that lesson before. He would run until he couldn't anymore and then figure things out. That had worked for this long at least. He was at least three miles away from where the man had tried to grab him and the streets were dead and silent save for the rumbling of a lone truck or something in the distance. Shadow was exhausted and things were getting a little too hairy in the cities lately, especially with the riots in New York. Maybe his companions had had the right idea after all. Lately he'd felt . . . watched, even followed, like the hair on the back of his neck was constantly prickling, but he couldn't be sure why. There was something stirring in the air here and he didn't know how much longer Chicago would be safe.

Shadow was far from a country boy, but at this point, after such a close encounter, he needed to accept that maybe it was time to give it a shot and head west. Peering into some alleys, he found a Dumpster with a pile of cardboard and pulled a pen out of his pocket he'd used to make begging signs in the past. On it, he wrote Denver and moved to the edge of the street where he stuck out his thumb as a dark van rumbled past him.

A slippery smile glided across Caldwell's lips as he turned down a small side street and began heading home. He picked up the comm again.

"Sir," he said, but didn't wait for a response, "he's heading to Denver. I'll just meet him there."

Blue walked alone from the bottling plant, he worked the graveyard shift, he had for a few years. Blue liked walking home when it was so early, the neighborhood was always quiet and empty when he got off of work. It was just before 6 am and Blue's arms were aching from working his station at the plant. Blue rubbed his arms as he walked, his blue stained skin was hidden beneath his company coveralls. The coveralls had helped him blend in at the plant, no one knew he was any different than any other hard working man or woman there. His eyes were a different story, the young meta had to apply make up around his eyes to cover the dark blue stains that radiated from his eyes across his face. Blue did not enjoy this little ritual but he knew it was important to remain a nobody, especially now, especially since the Denver police had quadrupled their street presence turning the city into an urban police state.

A helicopter hummed high above the city skyline as Blue walked, the copter was there all day everyday now, a new tactic to remind every citizen that the police were always watching, always listening. Blue wondered if they were watching him right now. Blue thought it best not to stare at the copter, even as high at is was and stuck his hands in his coverall pockets and continued walking home.

Blue stopped in at a small convenience store and purchased some doughnuts and chocolate milk before he headed home. The apartment building was in sight now, Blue was disappointed to see several police vans on the street in front of his building. Half a dozen cops and a few RAID agents were on the sidewalk near the vans. Blue crossed the road and walked past the group of officers. They paid him no attention as he walked by.

Blue was nervous and scared but he kept a straight face as he went to the rear entrance of his apartment building, Blue fumbled with his keys and unlocked the door. The young meta felt better now that the door was closed again and he was home. The building was quiet as he walked down the hallway, passing by his unit and going straight to his best friends. Blue knocked gently on the door, the muffled sounds of video game explosions and gunfire emanated from the behind the door.

"Hyde?' Blue said as he knocked again.

"Come on in, Blue." A small voice said.

Blue entered, he could see Hyde sitting in his wheelchair looking as frail as ever. The small man was less than two feet from the TV, a game controller in his hand.

"Have you slept at all, Hyde?" Blue said as he walked behind the skinny kid's wheelchair and into the kitchen.

"Nah, doesn't help anyway..." Hyde said cynically.

"I brought you some supplies." Blue said cheerfully as he placed the doughnuts and cold chocolate milk on the kitchen counter.

"If you won't sleep then at least eat..." Blue said.

Hyde ceased playing his game, the small kid wheeled over to the window. The police and agents were milling around just below on the sidewalk.

"They have not been here long." Hyde said.

"Maybe they'll move along." Blue said glumly.

"I don't know, Blue. I heard them radio for a couple of K-9 units, I think they're going from building to building." Hyde wheezed and coughed.

"Maybe you could hang out here for a awhile..." Hyde said sheepishly.

Blue walked to the couch and plopped down and picked up a game controller.
"Sure thing, buddy." Blue said with a smile.

"Requesting two K-9 units and accompanying officers at current location. Get them rolling now..." The modified police scanner repeated.

Oscuro sat in an old fabric easy chair in the center of his unassuming shop building not far from the police and RAID's location. Various half built machines, robots and weapons were scattered around the inside of the building, some large, some small and every size in between.

"I say, junior..." Oscuro said in a sing song tone, still holding the police scanner.

"End charging and resume online status." The masked man said seriously.

The great robot's eyes flicked on and glowed a deep red. The hulking machine turned to Oscuro.

"Exiting charge mode, I am online and awaiting directives." The machine droned.

"Combat mode, my boy." Oscuro said with glee.

"The cops are running a war game just a few blocks from here and we are going to see if we can play too." The masked villain chuckled.

"Combat mode is running, my power levels are in acceptable parameters for this exercise. My weapons are all online and fully operational." The machine croaked.

"I love our little talks." Oscuro chirped as he opened the garage door to his workshop. The sun was just rising, pale rays of early light were stretching across the small asphalt lot in front of the workshop.

"We'll take the van today, junior." Oscuro said as he walked to his truck, it was big and old. It was a dented and dirty old delivery truck and it said Ladzinski's Carpet Cleaning in block lettering on both sides of it. The robot shuffled into the rear double doors of the big truck, the truck dropped low as the machine got into the back.

Oscuro got up front and started the truck, the villain noted how heavy the truck was with his machine in the back.
'We aren't going to get the recommended miles per gallon today, my boy." Oscuro laughed as they drove out of the lot and to the apartment complex nearby.

'Let's clean some carpets..." He added.

"I am not programmed for this action." the machine replied.

"What would I do without you?" The villain said as he drove.

Yelena sat listening to John and Bug talk. There was no doubt they were as concerned about things in the city as she was. But what raised a level of concern in her was the reaction Bug had to the photo in the paper. Over the years, she had gotten to know the two sitting with her very well and while John didn’t really hold anything back, Bug still had a lot he was not all that comfortable with. And when he revealed what the strange object in the photo was, she understood his reaction.

To think his home planet had come looking for him made her both happy and sad. Would her dear friend leave this planet with the way things were going or would he decide to stay and make Earth his new home? After so many years away she wondered if he would be accepted by his own kind again.

When he tried the coffee and made the face followed by a very John influenced comment, Yelena couldn’t help but laugh softly. Bug was definitely becoming more and more Earth like in his mannerisms thanks to spending a great deal of time with the bulky mechanic who chewed on the tip of his cigar.

”Is a required taste to pallet, Bug. And coffee here is different from coffee from my home and other countries. You just need to find taste that suits you.”

Her smile faded then as she looked at Bug.

”Do you think they will try to make contact with you? Or will you reach out to them? If RAID finds out about them, it could be bad for your people in the ship”

Sherri returned with the food they had all ordered and after a check to make sure they didn’t need anything right away, she walked away again. As they started to eat, Yelena furrowed her brows slightly.

”Why is RAID getting so tough now? Something else has to be driving them to crack down harder.”

It felt good to be walking instead of sitting, even though it was cold and beginning to drizzle. Fyedka couldn't for the life of him understand how truckers did it. Sure the seats were comfortable for a few minutes, but hours? Days? At least he'd managed to make it across a state or two. He was walking backwards, holding his travel-worn sign with his thumb extended along a darkening highway in the middle of Kansas when yet another truck squealed to a stop a few yards away from him. Shadow jogged over and hopped up into the cab, pulling the hood of his jacket down.

"Thanks," he said, "how far do you think you can take me?"

"Well I'm scheduled to go right through Denver," said the driver. He was a large, gruff man with a typical trucker-style beard of scraggly grayish hair. As Fyedka settled in the seat beside him, the driver eyed him with a odd sort of leering look for a moment before starting back down the road again. He was used to this. They wanted to give him a chance to make a move. He settled in the seat, fastened the seat belt, and acted like he didn't notice. A few minutes of moving smoothly down the road, the inevitable small talk began.

"So, where ya comin' from kid?" asked the driver.

"Chicago," he replied, then, without waiting for the next question, "I've got family in Denver I need to stay with for a while." The driver "hmmph'd" and leered at him again. Fyedka tried to pretend he didn't notice the extended gaze, but was nevertheless relieved when the man turned his attention back to the road.

"Fall on hard times?" he asked.

"You could say that," Fyedka replied, "anyway, thanks for giving me a lift." This usually worked to turn the conversation away from him and they road on in silence for a while. The driver had put on some bad country music, but it at least filled the time as they hummed towards the Colorado boarder.

"You gotta name?" asked the driver suddenly. Fyedka looked up at him. Some asked the question, some didn't seem to care, some didn't want to know, but it usually happened a little earlier in the conversation.

"Yeah," he replied, "it's Shadow."

"Shadow?"

"Yeah."

"Interesting name."

"Yeah, I know," Fyedka replied.

"So uh... you been on the streets a while, haven't you?" asked the driver, peering over at him out of the corner of his eye. Fyedka sank a little more in the seat and pulled his jacket a little tighter around him, self-consciously. It wasn't the first time someone had reacted to his odor.

"Um ... yeah," he replied, "sorry. It's hard to get a good place to bathe." The driver nodded then went on.

"Well, I was gonna stop and get a bite to eat at the truck stop up this way. They've got showers. I could get ya in if you want." Fyedka looked up at him, eyes lit up for the first time since getting into the truck.

"That would be awesome, thanks!" he replied emphatically, "thank you very much!" The driver nodded, eyes plastered to the road as he turned off the exit.

"I like to . . . help . . . people," said the driver. When they arrived at the truck stop, it was raining in full. The driver pulled up beside another as a van pulled around them and parked near one of the gas pumps. They got out and Fyedka let the driver handle whatever it was needed to be done to get a shower. He then handed Fyedka a ticket and instructed him to wait until the number was called. He thanked the driver again and waited an eager few minutes until his number was called.

The shower was invigorating... way better than rain. Fyedka could practically feel the grime washing away. His hair became silky as the water cascaded through it and over his back. Turning around, he tilted his head up and let the warm water engulf his face.

"Wow... nice tattoo."

Fyedka jumped and whirled around to the see the driver peeking into the plastic curtain in his shower. Instinctively, he threw his hands over his privates and shouted "what the hell?!"

"I like to do favors for people," said the driver, "but you should do a favor back to thank people" To Fyedka's horror, the driver stepped into the shower with him and began moving towards him in the tiny space. Backed against the wall, Fyedka risked taking a hand off himself to turn the cold off and the hot up as far as it could go. Reaching up, he bent the shower head up and managed to splash the man right in the face with the scalding spray. The man jumped and shouted in pain and Fyedka took the split second to give him a swift kick in the crotch and dart past him. The driver writhed and let out a raged scream. "Get your ass back here, kid, you owe me! Shadow! Get back here, Shadow!"

Sliding on the questionably clean floor, Fyedka snatched his clothes and began pulling them on, mid-run. He darted out of the shower area, barefoot and still holding his shirt, ignoring the stares and gawks. Behind him, there was a sound like thunder as the perverted driver came crashing after him, still screaming his alias. It wasn't until he was almost outside that he realized he'd either only grabbed one shoe, or lost the other along the way. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw a bearded, angry-looking form emerging from the shower area and decided there was no time to find them. Either way, it's not like they made much difference, the soles were worn, there was no padding left, and one had a hole in the bottom while the other had a hole right over his big toe. Without giving it a second thought, Fyedka burst out of the truck stop and hastily pulled his shirt on while darting barefoot in the rain. Running into the comfort of the shadows, he made for the road, sticking his thumb out and walking backwards as fast as he could.

"Whoa, hey kid, you alright?" asked a voice behind him. Fyedka didn't even turn around. His body was shaking and his heart was still pounding adrenaline through him.

"No," he responded quickly, his voice caught and shaken. His chest felt tight and he couldn't be quite sure if he was breathing. "I need to get to Denver. Now."

"Whoa, whoa, hey, calm down," a hand touched his shoulder gently, and Fyedka jerked and whirled around to face a man in his late thirties, possibly early forties. He was dressed in all black: black jeans and a black t-shirt, and he smiled kindly at the young man. "I saw you run outta there half-naked like a bat outta hell. That's some tattoo on your back by the way."

"It . . . I . . . uh . . . yeah . . . " was all he could come up with in reply as his eyes darted nervously back towards the bright lights of the truck stop. Part of him was sure he could still hear the weirdo screaming for him.

"Look, I'm actually heading west," said the man, "I can easily drop you off in Denver if you want. No sense in you walking down the road with no shoes on and it's raining anyway." The man held out his hand and said, "the name's Caldwell." Tentatively, Fyedka gave his hand a quick shake and gave him his usual alias.

"Shadow?" repeated Caldwell, "that's a very interesting name."

"Yeah, I know," he replied automatically.

"Well come with me, I'll show you where my car is." Fyedka let the man lead him back towards the parking lot, which luckily was on the other side of the truck stop, though he still was not keen on coming back this way. He eyed the trucks fearfully but they remained lifeless. As he walked with the man around the shadowy back of the building, a dark van came into focus, one of few parked in the off-the-beaten-path part of the lot. "So, where you coming from, Shadow?" asked the man.

"Chicago," Fyedka replied mechanically, "I have family in Denver I have to stay with for a while. I fell on hard times."

"Seems like hard times seem to find you wherever you go," said the man; they seemed to be headed for the black van. Something uneasy settled in Fyedka's stomach as they walked, but at this point there was little in his stomach that wasn't uneasy. The young man found himself glancing jerkily at every flick of the light.

"Yeah, it's been rough," said Fyedka.

"Well I'm sure your brother would love to see you," said Caldwell as they came up upon the van. It took Fyedka a moment to hear the words that the man said, but when he did, he stopped dead in his tracks a few feet from the passenger-side door. Caldwell opened it for him and looked up expectantly.

"You ok, kid?" he asked, the pleasant smile never faltering.

"I . . . I don't think I said anything about a brother," said Fyedka, his voice smaller and more faint. Caldwell's smile didn't seem to move or change, but somehow, at the same time, it warped and was suddenly twisted with malice. Before Fyedka could do or say anything, though, Caldwell was rushing at him and the last thing he saw was flesh-colored streak headed straight for his face.

Maybe it was because something had already freaked the kid out for him, but Caldwell had his lights out in one good punch to the temple. As the kid's body hit the wet pavement, Caldwell scooped him up, cuffed his wrists and ankles, then threw him unceremoniously into the back of the van. When he 'd made sure the doors and the kid were secured, he turned on the custom light that illuminated the back, just in case the kid came to a little too early. Sliding into the drivers seat, Caldwell beamed with pride at himself as he picked up the comm and radioed his boss.

"Sir," he said, "I got him. We're heading to the rendezvous point now."

"Wonderful," said the faintly accented voice on the other end. "I'll call a press conference. I think it would please this great nation to hear that RAID has managed to get an especially dangerous and murderous meta off its streets."

Bug looked over at Yelena as she spoke and his face was somewhat down, "We had our eye of the storm, now we must face the wind and the rain again."

He looked over at John and then back to Yelena, "I think deep down we all knew it wouldn't last. While we hid and buried the problem it only got worse, not better. RAID is determined to lock us all up and remove us from existence, funny how the purpose of an organization is to essentially work themselves out of a job, but they aren't stupid, meta's aren't going away, they are growing in numbers. As genes mutate and people change there will be more and more, and eventually there will be a government agency that is searching for and eradicating those who aren't meta."

John and Yelena looked at the little alien and he shrugged, "It's the way of the worlds, to fear the unknown and subjugate the weak."

As they finished their meals and Sherri brought the supplies they always asked for. The kind red head never asked what or why they needed 6 cases of beer, water filters and dried food, but she always had it ready and John always paid her handsomely for the effort. As he and John finished loading the trunk and back seat they waited for Yelena who had gone to use the restroom. Bug looked at John and spoke, "John... maybe it's time we stop hiding, maybe it's time that we move back to the city and protect those like us who can't help what we are."

John would see the change in Bug over the years. The little guy had always wanted to just live a peaceful existence, to settle back and let the time pass as he lived out the rest of his life on an alien planet, but there was something in his voice now, something in his face... he didn't want to sit back and let the enemy just have their way, he wanted to stand up and protect those who justice was working against, no matter what they called themselves or how much power they held.

Yelena was troubled. She had finally found a place where she could exist with no questions asked and no one bothered her. Why did this all have to come to a head once more? Was it too much to ask for to live a life of….normalcy? As she stared at the face in the mirror looking back at her, the face she always wore in public, she knew the answer to that question before it was even asked. Nothing about her life was normal. And as she glanced at the door, she knew nothing about her friends lives were normal either.

Taking a deep breath, she washed her hands and patted the cool water on her face, dried them both and exited the bathroom. On the way through the diner she smiled to Sherri who bid her so long until next time. Yelena smiled again and stated the same. She could see John and Bug standing beside the truck John drove, parked next to the old Ford pickup Frank let her borrow when she had to run errands.

She could tell they were discussing something serious. The look on both of their faces was obvious enough to tell her that. As the warmth of the day greeted her when she walked out of the diner and over to where the guys stood, she joined them and leaned back against the Ford.

”I know those looks…..why do I get feeling it means things are changing?”

Fyedka flew through the air, his arms extended perfectly, cutting the air and landing with a graceful thump on the stage. He struck a perfect pose, his timing just right as his partner landed against him. In one beautiful twirl, he hoisted her above his head and swung her down towards the stage to let her land softly en pointe. Then they broke away, and Fyedka leapt across the stage, the music falling in rhythm with his body rather than the other way around. Then for the final move, the music began to fade and in his ears slow although to the audience it was picking up, building momentum with him. When he jumped, he hovered. His arms were light as air as though he really were flying. The music was nearly drowned out by the roaring applause. He landed en pointe and spun, perfectly balanced, his arms extending slowly away from him . . . and away . . . and away . . . so airy . . . his body so light . . .

Then he realized he couldn't feel his arms . . . how could he control them if he couldn't feel them?

The lights were bright, they blinded him . . . then something cracked loudly, jerking him out of his perfect finish. Blinking, he looked out towards the spotlight, but it was aimed directly at his face and stung his eyes . . . stung his face?

Another crack and Fyedka's body jerked violently. His cheeks were burning and a metallic taste was trickling into his mouth. He tried to move his aching shoulders but his arms were stuck in place... why wouldn't they move? He jerked his arms again. They were completely numb but this time the tingling of chain registered in his ears and he slowly turned his head to see that he was chained to a wall. Looking down at himself, he saw that he was once again shirtless and still shoeless, wearing nothing but his tattered old jeans. A dark, gravelly voice penetrated his ears like a thin, razor-sharp knife, speaking in his native Russian.

"You won't find any of your precious shadows here, monster." Fyedka blinked again. His vision was still blurry and groggy, but the room was clearly overly illuminated. Large lamps were pointed in every direction so that the room was nearly washed completely out. The figure in front of him took a step forward, but it was hard to make out his features from his being so back lit. "You thought you could run forever," the voice went on, "free to destroy more lives and allow your kind to take over. But you were wrong." Now the larger figure took a step closer and Fyedka's spine turned to ice.

"Mi...sha?" he gasped in a small voice. The face in front of him was barely recognizable from the man he'd known. It was the eyes that had gotten him, hit him so hard that the only name he could think for him was the one he'd known growing up. They were his mother's eyes, but they stared back at him with ice-hardened hate. Before Fyedka could say anything else, though, an iron grip clasped around his throat and dug into the pressure points at the base of his jaw. Fyedka winced but barely felt the pain through the pure cold fear that now coursed through him at the sight of his brother, his face twisted in murderous hate.

"My mother called me that!" Mikhail shouted in his face, "if I ever hear that word come from your filthy, mutant mouth again, I will rip your f#%@ing jaw off, do you get me?" Fyedka shook. He couldn't speak or even nod, yet somehow Mikhail took his quivering fear for an acceptable answer and let go. Fyedka coughed and was just barely managing to take a full breath when it was ripped away from him again by his brother's fist cracking across his face. Blood and spit sprayed from the young man's mouth as pain throbbed across his entire face. Before he could re-orient, Mikhail slammed his fist full-force into Fyedka's stomach. The meta's body was bound too tightly for him to even double over; he groaned in pain instead letting the blood that filled his mouth trickle out onto the floor and his own chest. "I'm going to make you pay for what you and your kind have done," growled Mikhail in a menacing tone.

"I haven't done anything," Fyedka gasped, pausing to sputter and spit before he went on, "they were my family too. I didn't mean to. I--" he was cut off by another fist across his face. Then another. Then another. The world shuddered and faded until a sharp pain in his scalp brought him back to focus. Mikhail forced Fyedka's head up and stared hard into his younger brother's green eyes until they stopped rolling back in his head and finally looked back.

"I'm not interested in your lies."

"Mi. . . Mikhail . . . please . . . I'm your brother . . ." Though his body shook, Fyedka's tone was even, pleading reason more so than for his own life, but Mikhail just threw Fyedka's head back down and screamed.

"No! My brother is dead! He was killed by a monster! By an affront to nature that then took his form! You!" at this, Mikhail had Fyedka's hair again and was baring his teeth, centimeters from his face. Fyedka just stared defiantly back at him while the man seethed, wondering if he was going to take a bite out of his face. Instead, Mikhail finally roughly let ago and took another step back, out of Fyedka's focus. "I'm going to give you a taste of the suffering you put my family through." With that, Mikhail Romanov lit a match and dropped it. Something a few feet from Fyedka ignited and the flames rose up in front of him sending a wave of panic over the younger man. As Fyedka screamed and jerked against the chains that held him, Mikhail turned silently and walked out of the room, slamming a metal door behind him.

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While Mikhail's revenge began on the meta in a RAID facility unseen by other's, the news was announcing a great human victory over every news station available. A representative of RAID stood before a mob of press on a podium crammed with microphones. The man was clean cut and wearing an extremely expensive suit, his hair picture perfect.

"This is truly a day of victory for peace, for law, and above all, for the human race. RAID has captured one of the most dangerous meta at large in the U.S. Fyedka Romanov eluded the law for over five years before his successful capture last night. He is currently being held in a maximum security facility. Romanov was responsible for the death of over fifty people: Men, women, and children, including his own parents, by trapping them in their homes while a fire broke out. Many of them were Russian immigrants just trying to scrape an honest living. Rest assured, this criminal will be brought to justice." A flurry of photos and chattering erupted with questions and praise while the RAID representative smiled and posed sharply for each camera.

Blue sat nervously on Hyde's couch. He and Hyde were playing video games and pretending that the RAID agents just outside were just going to go away. The K-9 units had arrived and the officers with the dogs now joined the two agents on the sidewalk. They chatted briefly and then entered the apartment building. Blue got up from his chair and walked to the window where Hyde was sitting in his wheelchair. They both watched in horror as the the RAID agents lead by the K-9 officers entered the building. There were many units in the large apartment building but it was only a matter of time before they knocked on Hyde's door.

"They're coming..." Hyde said with true fear in his voice.

"They have come before." Blue said.

"They aren't looking for a kid in a wheelchair and a loser that works nights at the bottling plant. We'll answer the questions like before and give them no reason to trouble us." Blue added.

"I don't feel good, Blue." Hyde said with a shiver. Cold sweat was forming on the kid's pale face.

Blue began to feel true fear also.

"Take a deep breath Hyde, stay calm and don't worry.

Blue looked down at his hands, he was still wearing his work gloves. Blue was used to keeping them on, they covered his blue stained hands, keeping his secret. The agents surely would notice the gloves.

"Hyde. I am going back to my place for a moment, I'll be right back." Blue said trying to sound cheerful.

"5 minutes and I'll be back."

"You and your make-up..." Hyde said with a grin.

"Screw you, you cripple." Blue said with a smile. Blue left the apartment and hurried down the hall to his own. Blue furiously changed his clothes and applied make-up to his hands and face, carefully blending the powder so as not to appear like a man in heavy make-up. Blue had gotten good at this over the years, his technique was flawless. In a few short minutes the dark blue, almost black stains around his eyes were gone. The lighter blue stains on his arms covered quickly. In no time he looked normal. Truth be told blue was not ever comfortable with his blue stains, they marked him as meta, they were a red flag to all that would seek him out and destroy him. Blue was just a man that worked at the bottling plant, that is how he saw himself but he knew that RAID and others that shred their fear saw him as a monster and less than human.

Blue was happy with what he saw in the mirror, no blue showed. He was just a man and he would answer a few questions, smile and nod and the RAID agents would leave him and his friend alone and in peace.

Blue buttoned up his shirt, making sure that no blue skin showed and left his apartment and returned to Hyde's place.

Hyde was shivering and sweating, the small meta was still sitting near the window.
"Hyde, you have to hold it together, buddy." Blue said nervously.
"If I can put on all this make-up then you can do your part."

"Don't tell me what to do!..." Hyde growled. The kid's voice was different, deeper and scarier. Blue was beginning to worry.
The agents were on the floor beneath them, going door to door (to those that were home) the men were moving quickly.

It was odd, really, how someone you least expect shows up in a place you never expect them to. But, when you are a jet setting heiress who just happens to have a double life of one of the country – if not the worlds – most wanted Meta’s, you are not chained by the limitations of a city. Jennifer Milan had been out on one of her…..missions….when she came across an unmarked, black van and the limp body of some poor, unfortunate soul being shoved inside. While she should have just left well enough alone, she let her curiosity get the better of her. Bad idea? Most likely it was going to end up that way, but for now, all she wanted was to see what was happening.

She had a good idea who the black van belonged to and most likely what they were doing, but it was the why she found most intriguing. Using her enhanced abilities, she followed the van until it took a turn that lead straight for the RAID facility. Well now, that poor sap really does have a problem now. Oh well, sucks to be him.

She turned to leave him to his fate when something tugged at her not to. God how she detested that little part of her that still wanted to do the right thing from time to time. How she just wished it would go away and never return again. There was nothing good left in the world so why should she try to look at the cesspool as anything other than her pearl to pluck as she sees fit?

Grumbling to herself, she decided to see if these RAID joints were as tough to get into as they say they are. Moving along in the darkness of the night, she reached the outer perimeter of the facility and found their security to be rather top notch. Video surveillance, electrified fencing (she was certain was charged more than the normal electric fence) and she could see sensors all around that would trigger alarms if even a mouse were to cross the lines.

Interesting thing about these sort of places, though, was that they were always trying to keep the guests from leaving, not prevent one from paying a visit. Still, she had to be very careful or she would end up in a very bad situation. Like the poor sap sucker she saw snatched up off the street.

Ever so carefully she lifted herself up and over the outer perimeter the hovered just above the sensors until she could light down near the wall of a nearby building. Still keeping to the shadows, she waited for a patrol to move past before she snatched the last man in line, knocked him out cold then carried him to a discreet location. When she emerged from her hiding place, she looked like the guard, complete with tinted visor and all.

It took a little doing but she eventually was able to make her way to the area the meta had been taken. She could tell because of the extra guards that had been placed around the area. As she settled in with the others around her looking like just another guard with a weapon to carry around, she moved around, pacing like the others and eventually made her way close to the room.

While she had excellent hearing, she couldn’t hear what was taking place behind the door except for when she heard the familiar sounds of electricity being passed through raw circuitry. Well, now she knew the why at least. She was getting ready to chock this one up to an unfortunate soul getting caught when she heard the door of the room open up and heard the horrified screams of the person inside. Whirling about and catching a glimpse of flames coming from the room, she felt a sickening feeling rise up within her.

In Jen’s eyes, there was no greater death than burning alive. She simply couldn’t walk away from that. Not now. Cursing herself for being such a soft hearted fool, she made sure she was the last guard in line to follow in behind the man from the room and his goons as they walked away from the room. Putting just enough distance behind them, she ducked in behind a wall and waited a few moments before she doubled back and thought of approaching the door. Reaching her hand out she could feel the heat already causing the door to grow rather warm even through her gloved hand so she knew there was little time she had to get the soul within.

Trying the door, she realized the arrogant fool had left it unlocked confident his victim inside would be incinerated; she also realized why the room had been made of metal. As the heat from within hit her face, the knowledge that this room could be used for just what it was being used for now. The young man had stopped screaming. Was she too late? Seeing his head list almost lifelessly to the right, she made a mad dash for him. The chains that bound him were no match for her strength as the agents used normal shackles. Obviously his ability wasn’t strength, she thought. As he practically fell into her, she whispered harshly in his ear.

”Snap out of it junior. We have to get the hell out of here and I can’t carry your limp ass self AND fight them off at the same time.”

As she felt the young man gather up strength, she hoisted his arm around her shoulder then wrapped her arm around the small of his back. They were almost matched in height so she didn’t have to worry about him dragging her down. As the flames spread, it was all she could do to get both of them out of the room before it became a kiln. Once outside the door, she quickly slammed it shut as both her and the young man gasped, coughed and choked for fresh air.

Of course there was no time to rest as the shouts of alarm went out and the sound of thundering boots running across concrete grew louder and louder. Growling under her breath, Amazon looked around for an escape route. Finding something that caught her eye, she looked back at the young man and shook some sense into him as she gave him a hard look. She began stripping out of her guards disguise as she knew she would need to move freely and quickly. It was the first time he got a good look at her. Her face was adorned in intricate designs of a green color, her dark hair was pulled back away from her face, her dark eyes had a wild look to them and she wore a leopard print outfit. Surely she was just out of the jungle.




”Unless you have a better plan, junior, that sky light is our only chance. So if you’re afraid of heights, I suggest you just close your eyes and hang on.”

Bullets began to whiz by them and ricochet off the walls around them. If they didn’t do something fast, they were going to be ripped to shreds. To better protect him she placed the armor plated vest on him and grabbed his hand as she began weaving, darting and dashing around corners to avoid the agents now bearing down on them and maneuver them closer to the skylight.

It was true that Fyedka had laid rather low and tended to prowl on the outside of the meta community, however, it seemed like if there was someone like this in the world, he would know. It was obvious she wasn't a normal human when the memories flashed of her ripping the chains off of him with her bare hands. When he looked at her, with her paint and her outfit, all he could think, besides the throbbing pain in his body, was "amazon woman." Blinking and trying to focus on her face, he forced his mind back to reality. There were bullets whizzing by them and he would be no help to getting out of her alive if he passed out. Tilting his head gingerly upward, he squinted at their target. His eyes were in the process of swelling shut and were not too keen on working over long distances, but he could see the pale square of light enough to know where to aim. For a second, he tried to talk, but realized quickly that his voice had already checked out of the scene.

Instead, Fyedka twisted a little, exposing the tattoo-like mark to his savior as he focused on the darkened blobs that he took for shadows. He then tapped into his last stores of adrenaline, pulled at the last ounce of energy he had, and poured it all into his focus on the shadows. There was a strange sort of twitch on his back. For a split second, he felt he would lose control, but it was so brief that he didn't have time to consider whether or not he had felt it, just like Amazon would not have had time to consider if she'd really seen the tattoo on his back move ever so slightly. The shadows shuddered and then began to morph and gather like an oncoming miasma. The pain in his body grew even more intense, as though the effort of it all was tearing into the already existing wounds and ripping him apart at these new seams. Still, he grit his teeth and let out a feeble sort of grunt with the effort as he gathered as many shadows as he could on either side of them.

As they fell into pitched blackness, the bullets slowed and quickly ceased, giving way to confused shouts and growing panic from their attackers. Fyedka let out another grunt. The shadows wouldn't last long. They were already beginning to waver, spreading back up the walls. Amazon would need to move fast. He was pretty sure that once he ran out of juice, that was it for a while.

(Sorry for the length. Had to make it that long to move along.)


As the young man seemed to move slightly as she looked over at him, she saw what looked like a tattoo on his neck but with the whizzing bullets passing by them dangerously close she couldn’t pay that close attention to it. After all, when one was trying to save their own hide from being shot up with more holes than a pin cushion, one tend to pay more attention to that than some tattoo on some ones skin.

As the room began to darken and the shadows moved about like inky beings out to consume anything in their path, Amazon looked over at the young man and gave a victorious smile. So now she knew his abilities and it would be exactly what they needed to get the hell out of this particular pickle.

”Good work, junior. Let’s blow this popsicle stand.

With that, Fyedka would feel a sudden jerking tug on the armored vest he wore then the feeling of being suspended. Thankfully he had the wherewithal about him to know to hug his arms close to his body. As the room was drenched in blackness, Amazon let her eyes focus on the skylight she knew was in the ceiling of the building. As they hit the bullet proof glass, she gave a grunt as the skylight was a bit harder for her to break through. But it did give and fly off and that was what she needed.

Once they hit the air she heard the alarms on the compound blaring and knew she had precious few seconds to get them into some sort of cover to hide but the RAID agents were going to swarm the nearby area. Her energy reserves weren’t without limits and carrying the near dead weight of the young man was going to cause her to use what she had more quickly than usual.

She headed for the water knowing she would be able to seek refuge in that area better than anything. Of course the whirl of rotors caught her attention and she knew she had best take the long way and try and shake the tail she now had bearing down on her.

As larger projectiles began to be fired at her and Fyedka, she let out a sling of rather unladylike words that would have caused a merchant marine to blush. Her voice barely rose over the sounds in Fyedka’s ears.

”Gonna get a little bumpy junior. Hang on.”

Rather or not he heard her she didn’t know. She just hoped she didn’t lose her grip on the jacket and he didn’t slip out of it. Lowering her altitude, she stayed at tree line or even dipped below it to keep the helo from getting too good an aim on her. She could see the waterline coming up fast. Giving another grunt, she pulled the young man up and wrapped her arms around him as best she could. Suddenly she climbed higher and as she did, she whispered in Fyedka’s ear.

”This is gonna suck but just hang in there.”

Just as suddenly as she climbed, she turned and started heading downward. And gaining speed. He would feel her hand gently grab the top of his head and hold it firmly against her shoulder and then the sudden, breath taking impact of hitting the water at a great rate of speed. Deeper and deeper she dove. The pressure was almost too much to take but suddenly she stopped diving and starting moving as fast as she could take them through the water.

Muffled sounds and vibrations could be felt and as Fyedka began to struggle as human nature took over to try and gain air, he suddenly found soft lips on his and the precious air he needed being given to him. In what seemed like forever, they stayed moving in the water until finally she surfaced and began gasping for her own air. It was difficult to tell but it looked as though they were in the middle of many boats. The helo was closing in from the distance as it was clear they had lost the trail. Climbing out of the water onto a wooden deck, she dragged Fyedka out and quickly began stripping his clothes off of him then threw them back into the water making sure they landed under the dock.

”Don’t worry, I’m not interested in taking advantage of you.”

Half dragging, half carrying him to a rather large boat, she called out harshly but trying to keep her voice quiet.

”SAM! SAM! Help me out here, will ya?!”

A male voice with a South American accent could be heard then.

”What the hell are you doing? What if…”

”I don’t need a lecture right now, Sam. I need to get him taken care of.”

”He’s NAKED!”

”Really? I didn’t notice.”

Another set of hands took hold of Fyedka’s left side.

”Get him down into my cabin and I will handle the rest.”

“Hurry. They are almost here. You don’t have much time.”

”Tell me something I DON’T know.”

The shuffling of feet, the feel of a towel being moved over Fyedka’s body and they the feel of something soft beneath him as well as something soft being draped over him. The person who helped Fyedka out left and then there was quiet.

Muffled voices could be heard and it was clear the RAID agents made it to the area and were asking questions and doing vessel checks. The sound of booted feet coming closer and closer and those voices growing louder but never entered the room Fyedka was in. There was a few tense moments when the woman’s voice could clearly be heard and it was also clear she was rather annoyed.

”I don’t take kindly to my privacy being invaded, gentlemen. RAID or not, you have no right to treat me like some common criminal. I paid for my slip for the whole week and with the money I forked out, I deserve a little more courtesy than what you’re showing me now. And trust me, Senator Billings will hear from me about this. And when I inform him my campaign contribution for his upcoming election will be significantly less, if even at all, due to this incident, perhaps you’ll understand what privacy means.”

“We are merely doing our job, ma’am. We have every right to invade whatever we choose to invade. Private or not. Especially if we think someone is aiding and abetting a dangerous and unregistered meta.”

”Seriously? You think I would be doing something like that? Well look around you, Lieutenant. Do I look like the sort of woman who would aid and abet a meta? Let alone one that is unregistered and dangerous? You seriously need some training on what to look for. HEY! Get out of my personal things! Do you think some meta is hiding in my underwear drawer? Get the hell out! All of you. NOW!”

The sound of shuffling booted feet and more voices.

“We’ve scoured every inch of the vessel, sir. No sign of either of them anywhere.”

“Very well, Sergeant. We will continue our search on the other vessels. Ma’am….you will not be permitted to leave for the next few hours. Perhaps you could sip your champagne on the lower deck instead of sun bathing on the upper deck.”

”I’ll do whatever I damn well please, Lieutenant. Now…kindly remove your ass and the rest of your troops from my boat. And do not trespass on it again.”

“Good day ma’am.”

The sound of the booted feet faded and all was quiet for the longest time. It seemed like forever before the sound of someone returned. The sound of wood being softly scraped and light slowly filtering into the room came to Fyedka. While his eyes were swollen almost completely shut and he was barely hanging on to consciousness, he could see a dark haired woman and a medium sized, slightly chubby man come in but that was about it. The finer details of their features were unable to be seen.

”Jesus. They worked you over good, junior. Don’t worry. We’ll get you back to feeling better. Sam here knows how to take care of you. Just let him do whatever he needs to do.”

By the time the horrible adventure ended, Fyedka's body was in so much pain he couldn't even respond, despite hearing the voices. Had he been asked, he wouldn't have been able to tell you what was said, but the idea registered just fine: It was over. He was free. It was like his mind had given his body permission. He began to settle into the amazing softness of the bed, as though he were literally being cuddled by a cloud. His eyes were already closed and had no intention of opening again. On the contrary, they felt nothing but immense pressure to close and stay closed. His skin felt hardened as though they had literally fused shut. Still, he had neither the energy nor the processing ability at the moment to consider the fact that they had simple swollen shut. A similar sensation was forming in his lip, but at least the horrible taste of metal had been washed away by their dive through the water.

Fyedka had been out of "juice" before, in that he could no longer use his powers in any useful way. This, on the other hand, was a whole different level. The moment the cloud took him, consciousness seemed to drop away as though being dropped out of whatever vehicle he was floating on. The young man went completely still in a matter of seconds, save only for the shallow breathing that caused an eerie ripple through the elaborate tattoo that covered his back.

Over the next few days, Fyedka would have periods of semi consciousness and during those times he would hear the voice of the woman and man as they discussed things about him. A few times he would even get the impression he was moving but his lapses of consciousness would last so few and far in between, it was more like a dream.

One day, though, he was coming out of his fogged mind and this time, it seemed different. As though he was able to grasp onto reality more so than he normally did. And the fact his eyes would open a little better helped as well. The first thing he would see was the fact he was in a rather large room. Curtains billowed softly as a warm breeze filtered into the room. The soft fragrance of flowers greeted his nose and the bright sun provided light for him.

Had he died and gone to heaven?

Not quite.

His body was not completely healed yet however, it did move a less pain than he remembered it last and as he sat up in bed and threw back the thin sheet covering him he would see he had on a pair of loose fitting, white lounge pants. His wounds were still in the healing process but from what he could tell, they were about two weeks into their healing.

The sound of voices reached his ears and as he found the strength to move, he walked over to one of the windows with billowing curtains and looked out. What he saw was lush, dense jungle….except for about three acres surrounding the house. It was like an oasis carved out of the jungle. The grass was green and thick, a few plants were close to the house but it was obvious they were well pruned to prevent them from overtaking. And the voices he heard came from a pool off to his left. There was a lone woman lounging about in a bikini and wearing a wide brimmed sun hat and a man dressed in a white shirt and tan pants sitting and talking to her under a large umbrella.

The man glanced up to see Fyedka and soon the woman leaned forward then looked back towards him. She looked over at the man and said something then got up and walked away without looking at the window again. The man stood up and looked up at Fyedka as he started walking towards the house. A few moments later, the man was knocking softly on the door and let himself in.

He was older, about 50, and his once black hair was starting to get some gray in it. His skin was kissed by the sun and his incredibly dark eyes were slightly slanted. It was obvious his heritage was of an ancient race of people. A kind smile greeted Fyedka and the man spoke with the accent he heard in the past.

”Ah. I see chu are awake. This is good. It means chur body is mending nicely. But chu still have quite a ways to go. And chu must be hungry. Would chu like to eat here in chur room or would chu like to come outside for a spell?”

Fyedka blinked. It was a lot to take in and his mind was in slow motion. When the man said food, however, his suddenly became more attentive. He blinked again and shook his head then started the effort of talking. "Umm . . . yeah," he said, then squinted at the man, "I'm sorry, who are you? Where am I?" The man explained that the woman had rescued him from the brink of death and as he spoke, describing the horrible shape they had found him in, awful memories began to creep back into the young, Russian man's mind. He nodded and quietly thanked the man for rescuing him. "Well," he said "I guess I'll come eat out there and take a look around if . . . if that's okay."

As they walked, Fyedka's mind began to fill with the broken images of bullets whizzing past and a pair of strong arms holding him as he flew through the air. His nose burned when he remembered taking a plunge into the water and being dragged, half-drowned, to . . . somewhere. As they walked out of the room, they found the tall woman who again, triggered Fyedka's memory as the one who had torn him from his chains. He looked up at her, his green eyes more alert and his handsome features more apparent now that the grime had been cleaned off of him.

"You're the one," he said, pointing at her, "you broke me loose." He held out a hand to shake hers, "thank you very much," he said.

Jennifer peered at the young man from beneath the large brim of her hat and the tinted lenses of her sunglasses. She had placed a thin, white oversized oxford like shirt over herself and tied it loosely at the waist. The warm breeze that filtered through the house caused trundles of her hair to drift lazily about her shoulders. The first thing she noticed was the fact he was even more handsome with his green eyes now open despite the bruises that still shadowed his skin. The wheels were turning in her head as she observed his stature and watched his eyes. Giving him a wry grin, she took his hand and held it gently as she spoke.

”All I did was pluck you out of the water. Lucky for you we were on the boat. How are you feeling?”

She released his hand and moved about as she fixed herself some tropical fruit to eat.

”And since you’re here, I take it your hungry?”

The answer to her question was received when she heard the growl from his stomach. Chuckling softly, she started fixing another plate.

”It’s no wonder. You were out for a good week and a half. And in case you haven’t realized it yet, you still have a while to go before you’re completely healed. I don’t know why you ended up in the condition you did and I don’t want to know, quite frankly. But you’re welcome to stay here until you’re strong enough to move on to the next chapter in your life. It’s private so no worries of anyone finding you here. By the way, what’s your name? I’m Jenn and this is Sam.”