Radioactive: Chapter Twelve

Radioactive

Chapter Twelve

~Cover Story~

Riu sat down into one of the computers and started to tell the others in the room what had been going on in the neighborhood, “You see,” she started, “there have been more people that have gone missing in the last few days.”

“In this kind of neighborhood, isn’t that that to be expected?” Kiri asked, “Isn’t it possible that they just moved on to another city or town on their own?”

“Now around here, unfortunately,” Riu typed at the computer, “When someone goes missing usually you can guess you won’t see them again.”

“I used to live in one of these neighborhoods,” Jekyll tugged on his hat, “Memories that I’d rather not relive.”

“Anyway, there have been an increase of people missing in the area,” Riu continued, “along with that but there have been a few brutal murders too. The number of murders is only in the single digit but the brutality of the murders is very concerning.”

“How so?” Kaiba walked over and looked over her shoulder.

Pictures of several of the crime scenes popped up on the screen. The homes were a mess with overturned furniture and were covered in blood. The scenes were excessive even if someone were to go into a blind rage. There were also strange claw like markings on the wall in some of the pictures. It was apparent that something that was not human caused the carnage.

Riu rolled in her chair and started typing at another computer, “So how do you plan to go about this?”

“We’ll have to see the disappearance sites first to see if we can pick up any leads,” Kaiba said, “Also, it would be a good idea to get to know the neighborhood.”

“In that case, I suggest looking thuggish. Which would be…” she looked around and pointed to the man with the tattoos, “you! Congratulations you’ve won the prize! What is your name?”

“Duke,” the man said.

The others in the room looked at him. It was the first thing he had said since their encounter back at the Island. Riu didn’t know that of course and continued with what she was doing.

“So he does speak,” Fang muttered to himself.

“I guess the old man could pull off a tough don’t-mess-with-me vibe,” Riu said.

Fang looked in her direction, “Who are you calling an old man?”

Riu chose not to answer, “The guy with the hat gives off a creepy serial killer feeling. I suggest you just keep to the shadows. No one’s going to want to talk if they feel their life is in danger.”

Jekyll smiled, “Ah, right where I feel the most comfortable.”

“Loose the jacket Kaiba,” Riu snapper her fingers at him, “No one’s going to want to talk to someone who looks like a Fed. Keep in mind most of these people have records.”

“What about me?” Kiri asked curiously.

Riu looked over her shoulder, “Yeah, I’m sure I’ve got something in my closet you could use. You use to live on one of these places Duke?”

Duke shrugged, “When I was a kid.”

“Yeah?” Riu smiled, “You know how to talk to the locals?”

“I guess,” Duke seemed like one of few words.

“Well, you’ll play as my cousin tomorrow. People around here love me! When they hear I’ve got relatives in town they’ll warm right up to ya!”

“Great,” Duke said.

“Well,” Riu clapped her hands together, “off to bed then!”

She stood up and walked up the small spiral staircase to the upper levels. Kiri followed Kaiba as he walked up the stairs. Duke brought himself to his feet and walked some distance behind. Jekyll followed as well. With a sigh, Fang brought himself to walk toward the stairs.

“How on earth did he drag me across the ocean into a place like this?” he sighed. “It will be fun, he says. It won’t take more than a week, he says. He’ll wipe my less than impressive rap sheet with the Tower, he says. Now he sticks me with the rouge robot.”

Fang looked over his shoulder. The kid was still sitting in the corner with his head still down.

“Hey, kid, are you coming?” Fang waited a while.

“I’m fine,” Ing said quietly.

Fang eyed the kid closely for a few moments before turning to walk up the stairs. “He’d just better understand that there is no way I’m just going to roll over to everything he says like a dog. Seriously, who does he think he is?”

Ing waited until Fang was upstairs before he ran to one of Riu’s computers. He temporarily merged the computer into a kind of extension of himself. Ing quickly gained access to the Tower’s system and maneuvered his way around. He made contact with Miwa. The other android yawned and looked at the screen.

“You won’t believe it!” Ing said with excitement, “I made it!”

“You better have,” Miwa crossed his arms, “I don’t usually tweak documents for free, man. That Nightwing was supposed to weigh about one android less until I got my hands on it. You owe me for this, you know. That reminds me, Chaud still owes me for erasing that speeding ticket he got last week. He’d better not have forgotten. Nah, that guy never forgets anything. He might act like an idiot but he’s really not.”

“There is one tiny problem…” Ing twiddled his thumbs.

That got Miwa’s attention, “What? Did Kaiba see you? Don’t tell me he spotted you! Whatever you do, I didn’t have anything to do with it! You are on your own if you get caught! I’m already deleting any involvement I might have had! Did he see you?”

“Well…” Ing smiled, “Sort of…”

Miwa stared back, “Sort of? How can you sort of see someone? Either he did or he didn’t.”

“Well, their contact spotted me and Kaiba did the lecturing,” Ing scratched his head, “I’m in for loads of trouble when we get back.”

“Drat,” Miwa groaned, “I need an alibi. Dang it, I guess I could ask Chaud to be my cover. Do you know what you did, Ing? I was going to get a good check this week for my services now I’m trading favors for favors.”

“Sorry,” Ing apologized.

Miwa waved it off, “Nah, it isn’t your fault. Let’s see. Hey, Ing, we’re buds right? If Kaiba really pushed for my name just tell him that I really had nothing to do with anything, okay?”

Ing looked skeptical, “I don’t think he’ll buy it.”

“No, no, no, he can’t do anything to me if there is reasonable doubt see! If there’s a chance I didn’t do it than I get to live another day out of the scrap heap!” Miwa smiled triumphantly, “With Chaud being my alibi, Kaiba can’t touch me.”

Ing sighed, “Alight, I’ll tell him you didn’t do anything.”

“But don’t say anything if he doesn’t ask!” Miwa said, “And since you’re going down for this all on your own, I’ll do three free jobs for you in future.”

“Whatever needs to be done?” Ing asked.

“Whatever it might be!” Miwa smiled.

“Promise?” Ing crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes.

“Hey,” Miwa spread his arms out to both sides, “I’m just an honest droid trying to make a living. I’d hate for my cliental to get angry with me. That and they probably have a lot of dirt on me too…”

Ing thought he heard something upstairs, “I think someone is coming! Any pointers for me before I go?”

“Just don’t get caught,” Miwa sighed, “You seem to have a tendency to do that.”

Ing saluted, “Roger, over and out!”

The connection was broken and Ing ran back into the corner after deleting any trace of his contact on the computer. He sat in the corner and put himself into sleep mode. As his power cells began to recharge Kaiba walked down the stairs to grab something that he had left. He glanced in the corner at the sleeping android and rolled his eyes. He would have a talk with Miwa the second he would get back from the mission.

Iridescent: Chapter Twelve

Iridescent

Chapter Twelve

~Friends are Friends~

After the Fall

Zara and Miwa got to the edge of the city when a loud crash of thunder boomed overhead followed by a sudden rain. She looked up at the sky and swore. Rain was the last thing she needed right at that moment. Ahead of them was the plains, there was nowhere to hid under than the occasional tree. They could wait until the rain stopped but Zara was too impatient for that. The rain made little ting-ting noises on Miwa’s metal frame. He looked up at the sky and sat down.

“This is an unusual rain,” he said.

Zara looked at him, “Define unusual because I can tell you just by looking around that there are quite a few things that are unusual. In fact, let’s play I Spy: Apocalypse Edition!”

“I like Where’s Waldo better,” Miwa stated, “Still, this rain is caused by unusual circumstances.”

“Again,” Zara rolled her eyes, “Define unusual!”

“Oh, come on, let’s get going before I rust!” Miwa got up and started walking into the plains.

Zara paused, suddenly frozen. She looked over her shoulder back at the city she had grown to call her home. With a deep breath she pressed forward. She walked a ways after Miwa. The robotic companion frequently looked over his shoulder to see if she was following. Zara thought about their trip ahead. They had to cross the plains and cross the Gorge to go into the desert. Then they would cross the desert and find what Miwa said would get them off the Island.

They walked for several hours. Soon where ever they looked there were just miles and miles of brown grasses. When night began to fall, Zara looked around for any kind of shelter. Of course there was none. Zara shivered. It was going to be a cold night. Miwa and Zara made an open air camp and slept there for the night.

In the morning, Zara’s clothes were soaked through and through as the rain fell the entire night. She stripped off her shirt and hung in on Miwa’s back to dry. There wasn’t anyone around for miles anyway. Her only company was a robot dog who didn’t seem to care either way. Another day of traveling went uneventfully. The rain stopped and the sun almost came out from the gray hazy clouds that had hung over the Island ever since the Tower fell.

Another night was spent in an open air camp. With Miwa’s sensors, Zara could sleep relatively easily. The next day was much of the same. Zara’s shirt was dry and she wore it on their travels that day. She chewed lazily on a granola bar from her back pack as she followed Miwa. Often she wondered if he knew where he was even going.

Miwa suddenly stopped and his robotic ears perked up. Zara almost ran into him. She looked ahead and saw a figure in the distance. Zara looked down at Miwa.

“What do you think?” Zara asked.

Miwa shrugged, “I don’t know. He doesn’t seem harmful.”

“He?” Zara questioned, “It isn’t Chaud is it?”

“Noooo!” Miwa proceeded forward, “I say we press on. We could go on an elliptical path around him.”

“That means more walking, yes?” Zara followed.

“Yes,” Miwa answered.

“Let’s just cut through then,” Zara sighed, “I’m sick and tired of seeing nothing but grass. I need to see something else soon or I might go crazy.”

“We can’t have that,” Miwa agreed.

They walked toward the stranger. It looked like the stranger was standing still waiting for them. Zara kept a close eye on him, not wanting a repeat of what happened back in the city. Just in case things went bad quickly, Zara was keeping mental numbers of how much vials and ammo she had. The man waved to them when they got a little closer. There was something familiar about the way he carried his body. Then it dawned on her.

Zara ran toward the man. Confused, Miwa followed. Zara threw her arms around the man’s neck. He hugged her and swung her around in a circle.

He laughed, “Hey, girl! It’s been like forever!”

“It’s just good to see a friendly face for a change,” Zara let go and looked Deontay in the face, “Where have you been?”

Deontay shrugged, “Wandering. Got out of the city as fast as I could. Knew it wouldn’t be too long before the law was forgotten.”

“We just left ourselves,” Zara nodded to Miwa.

“Hello!” Miwa greeted.

Deontay laughed, “Still a dog I see.”

“Still getting used to it,” Miwa muttered.

“The robot and I are getting off the Island,” Zara said.

“Really?” Deontay didn’t seem fully convinced, “What about the others?”

Zara shrugged, “I don’t know where they are. You’re the first of the team I’ve run into.”

“Hope they’re alright,” Deontay muttered.

Miwa wagged his tail, “I’m sure they are! They’re tougher than they look.”

Deontay slapped Zara on the back, “How about you guys stay the night at the village? There’s plenty of food and shelter. Plus they seem to like me even though I have no idea what their saying most of the time. But at least then we can rest up before we head out.”

“We?” Miwa asked.

“You’re coming with?” Zara smiled.

“Someone has to watch your back,” Deontay laughed.

Zara nodded, “Yeah, and frankly, he isn’t very good at it.”

“Hey!” Miwa protested, “I so helped out last time!

Deontay looked at Zara, “Last time? Girl, what you been doing?”

“You know,” Zara tried to shrug it off, “the usual.”

<<<>>> 

On the day of the sudden rain, Vicky managed to scale the side of a mountain. When she crested the top she was surprised to see the rather steep drop down into a basin filled with water. In the center of the basin was a large tree. The whole scene was rather mystifying. Vicky tugged at the cowl of her hood. Kew nuzzled his way out far enough to see.

“Kew!” he exclaimed. His voice echoed inside the basin.

A loud crash of lighting struck down a few miles away from where Vicky was. She saw the massive bold drop down. The loud echo broke loose some rock under her feet and she fell into the basin. She tumbled down the rock unable to get a firm grip on any of the rock.

Vicky felt the cold impact of the water. It knocked the air out of her as she tried to swim to the surface. The basins water was unsettled because of the sudden pick up in wind and rain when she broke the surface she was pushed back down into the waters again. She tried to swim her way toward the tree knowing that if she didn’t she would find herself in the middle of the ocean. Vicky gasped for air in the dizzying currents. She struck the tree and managed to hang on. The water was pushing hard against her back as she clung to the massive trunk of the tree.

She looked up at the trek she would have to climb. Vicky grabbed ahold of her ice axe. She stuck it into the wood and pulled herself up. After that she leapt and stuck the axe into the wood again to pull herself up the tree. She continued until she reached a platform in the tree. Vicky pulled herself up into the platform. There was a makeshift roof over the platform and built a three way wall as well. Vicky huddled under it. She reached for her neck where Kew would normally be but she didn’t feel his soft white fur.

Vicky started to panic and looked around herself. The little neuw was nowhere to be found. With a sinking feeling, Vicky looked over the edge. She couldn’t see anything in the swirling waters.

“Kew!” Vicky called out over the roar of the waterfall and the swirling of the water below, “Kew!”

Vicky covered her mouth and fell back against the back wooden wall of the shelter. She wailed at the loss of the little creature. She had traveled alone before and hated it. After Kew decided to join her in her travels she had had a partner and friend. She didn’t want to be alone again. Kew gave her something to look forward to every morning and gave her something to take care of. Now he was gone.

“Kewr! Kewn!” soft cries were carried by the wind.

Vicky rushed to the edge and looked over. The little creature clung to the trunk of the tree a few feet above the water. Its white fur was distinctly different from the bark of the tree. He seemed to be crying out for help.

“Kew!” Vicky shouted, “Up here Kew! Come on! You can do it!”

Kew must have heard her because he looked up, ears perked, “Kew! Kew! Kew!”

Kew started what was probably the longest journey of his young life alone. He climbed up the tree very slowly. The wind and the rain were no help. Several times the wind almost blew him off the tree. Vicky reached for her bag and pulled out a piece of beef jerky, Kew’s favorite, and held it out.

“Come on, Kew!” Vicky showed the prize, “I have food! You can do it! Please, Kew!”

It took several tiring minutes for Kew to get most of the way up the tree. He looked exhausted. He was doing the equivalent to running a marathon during a hurricane for a human. It was physically exhausting.

“Kew!” Kew called pitifully. He was tired and cold.

Vicky held out her hand, “Just a little further, Kew!”

Kew stayed where he was and looked up at her. Vicky pleaded with him to continue. Slowly, Kew continued with his energy almost spent. When he was in reach, Vicky reached out and picked him up. She brought him onto the platform and they curled up and waited out the storm. Kew nibbled at the beef jerky. He kept falling asleep while eating it. Vicky just laid down and watched, happy to have her friend safe and sound.

The Turn: Chapter Twelve

The Turn

Chapter Twelve

~The Driver~

Three Years before the Turn

Naru shifted slightly. He opened his eyes. His vision was blurry and all he saw the basic shapes of people and he heard nothing but an annoying ringing in his ear that dominated any other sound that he would hear. He worked his way up to his hands and knees. His vision was improving but not by much. He saw an old man sitting a few seats from where he was located. The man looked like he hadn’t moved at all.

“Kid,” he said, his voice was distorted.

Naru squinted as if it would help his hearing. He gripped his head; he had the worst splitting head ache. When he withdrew his hand, his hand was covered in blood. He looked around not quite understanding the situation he was in. He looked toward the old man again.

“Hey kid,” the man stated grumpily, “your window is closing.”

“What?” Naru asked groggily.

“Your window,” he replied, “It’s closing. I’d get a move on if I were you. Kids nowadays.”

He looked to where the man was pointing and suddenly it all came back to him. Naru got to his feet. He knew he had to get through the wall in order to…to…okay, he hadn’t exactly figured out what he was supposed to do after that but he knew getting through the wall was a good start. His entry was getting smaller and smaller by the second. He staggered down the steps clumsily. Something inside of him knew he couldn’t make it in time but another part wasn’t about to give up. He made his way slowly down the steps. The whole stadium was calling his name but there was one in particular that seemed to stand out.

Deontay shifted uneasily as he watched Naru stumble down the stairs. The hole in the wall was getting smaller and smaller. He called out Naru’s name again.

Naru was about halfway but the wall was small enough that running wouldn’t have made a difference.  He needed more time, he needed a way to stall the closing or even just make a new hole. An idea seemed to be niggling its way through Naru’s foggy brain. He reached for something on his arm, a sai he remembered it being called. Holding the sharp point, Naru prepared to throw it toward the closing window. For a moment, he tried thinking about the rate at which the window was closing and the trajectory but his brain hurt too much. He decided to go with instinct and a ‘this feels right’ plan of action.

He threw the sai and it spun end over end. The crowd all seemed to hold their breath. Suddenly the sai stopped halfway through the window with the handled end on the inside of the fighting arena. There was a pause as people tried to figure out what had happened. Technically, the wall hadn’t closed because there was a something preventing it to but on the other hand was that kind of ingenuity allowed? There were murmurs of confusion in the crowd and Naru merely walked up to the edge and tapped on the wall. In exhaustion, he laid his head down on the small ledge.

Deontay looked up at the sai. He stomped his foot and a tall pillar of rock rose to the height of the sai with him standing on top. He risked a look down, turned out that wasn’t such a great idea, and then looked ahead at his target. The wall, it seemed, realized that it wasn’t a human limb that was preventing it from closing fully but a weapon and was doing its best to cut through the sai. Deontay took a step back before talking a running jump of his rock toward the sai. He gripped the handle. His weight was enough to drag it down through the wall creating a rip large enough for Naru to get though. Deontay landed on the ground just as the sai snapped in half. He gripped Naru by the shoulder and dragged him back in to the arena.

“Hey, you alright man?” Deontay leaned his friend against the inner wall.

“I’ve never felt better,” Naru said slowly, “Who are you again?”

“How many fingers am I holding up?” he held up four fingers.

Naru squinted, “I don’t know, a billion? No, its 42 isn’t it. 196? 73, it’s got to be 73.”

Deontay raised an eyebrow, “Sure, Naru.”

“Who’s Naru?”

Deontay patted him on the shoulder, “You’ll be fine. Just hang in there.”

“Okay,” Naru muttered.

Zara smiled, a wave of relief washed over her. It looked like Naru was going to be fine other than a hit in the head. Suddenly, she was overcome with the feeling to duck. Zara bent her knees as a sword sailed above her head. She turned quickly and saw that Simon had gotten a hold of one of her katana. Zara stepped back avoiding another attack.

She heard something slid toward her feet. Zara looked down from the corner of her eye to see one of Chaud’s swords within arm’s reach. Simon thrust the tip of the blade at her. Zara bent back into a back flip. Her hand fell on the hilt of Chaud’s blade and then flipped to her feet. She blocked Simon’s next attack. He attacked her repeatedly so that Zara had to take several paces back. Zara tripped over a rock and fell on her back.

Simon smiled, “Told you, you were going down.”

Zara felt for the button she knew was there on the sword. She felt the weapon transform and the look on Simon’s face changed. Zara raised the gun and placed Simon in the line of sight.

“You care to do the math again?” she stated before firing.

Simon vanished and so did the remaining members of his team. The volcano collapsed in a wall of dust and smoke. Zara lay on the hard ground. She sighed and placed the gun to one side. Chaud filled her vision just as she did so. He looked down at her and offered her a hand. She grabbed his arm and pulled herself to her feet. Chaud looked up into the stands.

“That was work,” he stated.

Zara looked at him, “What did you think this was? A walk in the park?”

Chaud shrugged, “Just saying, that was a lot of work. Imagine how real missions will be like.”

Zara stared at him for a moment, “Chaud.”

He looked at her and smiled, “Yeah? Ow!”

Chaud rubbed the back of his head where Zara had just slapped him. Zara, arm still raised above her head, stood there for a moment as if deciding something. Slowly, she nodded to herself.

“That felt unbelievably good,” she concluded, “I should do that more often.”

Chaud looked at her with shock, “No, you shouldn’t do that more often! That hurts!”

“I think I should,” Zara said with finality, “Either that or a punch in the face every time you get on my nerves.”

“Fine,” Chaud muttered.

Zara put her arm down and walked to where Naru and Deontay were sitting, “I can’t believe I didn’t do that before. It’s a great stress reliever.”

Chaud followed after her, “No, no, no! It isn’t. Because that are what stress balls are for. Stress! Hitting people is anger management! I know a great counselor. Great guy! He can help you with that anger issue in two weeks flat! Hey! Are you listening to me?”

“I know I’m not,” Hina stated as she walked toward her brother as well.

“Is she ignoring me?” Chaud asked in dismay. He ran up to her, “Are you ignoring me? As the one receiving the hitting and the second in this group, I think I deserve a say—”

Up came the hand as fast as lightning to the back of Chaud’s head. He sighed, crossed his arms and closed his mouth. Zara on the other hand couldn’t help but smile. She wished she had given into the temptation to hit him sooner. It would have saved a lot of stress on her part.

IOIOIOIOI

Somewhere Else

The engines of a private jet shut down as it stopped on the runway. A limo sat not too far away, the driver and a guard; both dressed in a black suit and sunglasses, stood waiting near the vehicle. The surrounding area was bleak and rainy by the ocean. The airport terminal was merely a small building to store the plane after its flight. It looked like the location was on a small private island.

The plane door opened and the retractable stairs extended to the ground. A man walked down the stairs briskly and with a slight skip in his step. He held a pink umbrella in one hand as he walked toward the limo and the two people waiting.

His blond hair was to his chest in the front and to his lower back in the back. He smiled easily as it was his job, that and to lie. His blue eyes spotted the limo. He walked, almost skipped, toward the two serious men.

“Hullo!” he greeted the taller of the two, the driver. The man only came up to the drivers chin.

The driver bowed his head slightly, “Greetings, Master Scar. Shall we be on our way?”

The man smiled, “Yes, lets! It’s so good to be back home!”

The driver bowed again and opened the back seat. When Scar was seated comfortably, the driver walked around the limo to the driver’s side. The driver had short black hair and red eyes. Some of his hair fell over his right eye. His pale skin seemed even paler with his black appearance and attire. He opened the door and sat down. The guard sat in the passenger seat beside him. The driver glanced in his rear view mirror before starting the limo and driving off.

“How are things in the New Order?” Scar asked.

“There seems to be a bit of a snag, Master Scar,” the driver said as he drove.

Scar looked at him with interest, “Is that so? Why?”

“In order to make the Maiden we need a certain metal that is currently under close guard at a military facility in the United States.”

Scar rolled his eyes, “Then have someone barge their way in.”

“It isn’t quite that easy,” the driver continued, “No one seems to want to accomplish such a feat.”

“Then bribe them,” Scar said sarcastically.

The driver’s shoulders rose and fell but he controlled his temper. When he spoke next his words were smooth and sweet like honey, “There have been rumors that if we attempted such a thing that we might be placed on someone else’s radar. And as I remember, we agreed that it was better for our operation to remain unknown until such a time that we choose to reveal it.”

“Alright then, whose radar will we be on other than the United States government?”

“As far as I was able to obtain, there is this unknown organization called the Tower. Apparently, no one knows where this origination is located but it seems to have a lot of influence in the world.”

“Boring!”

“We don’t think it’s boring,” the driver seemed a little forceful, “The information could be valid or it could be a rumor. Either way I think we should look—”

“Exactly driver! They could be useless rumors! Send a team out in tomorrow morning,” Scar said in a way that ended the conversation.

“As you wish, Master Scar,” the driver nodded.

Scar looked out the window, “I can’t believe I came up with the New Order! Everything is coming along nicely! What do you think, driver, about the New Order?”

The driver smiled, a hidden addenda hidden in his red eyes, “It will usher in a new form of humanity. What isn’t there to love?”

Scar smiled in response to the answer, “Yes, what isn’t there to love indeed.”

Insanity Chapter Twelve

Insanity

Chapter Twelve

~The Wolf among the Sheep~

Day Eleven

Fang lay awake. It was early in the morning but he hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep. Shadow came in at around midnight and reported what he saw. It was good news but it did little to improve Fang's increasingly sour mood. As he lay awake he saw the moon sail silently past his window. He hated how peaceful it looked while it tortured him. There was a knock at the door.

He didn’t answer it and hoped the knocker would go away. Instead Shadow walked in.

“What do you want?” Fang asked.

“Though you would like to know that they are on the move,” Shadow said, “Alister is getting pretty far from home.”

***

Alister sat in the back of the van. Zorah was driving and Scar was in the front passenger seat. Everyone else was in the empty back compartment cleaning their weapons. They were out to rob a bank. Pria sat beside Alister and seemed to distance herself from the group. Yin would occasionally stop by to talk to her. It was almost sickening how much he liked her. Alister just looked the other way.

“We’re almost there,” Zorah called, “Y’all better be ready.”

It was awfully early in the morning but apparently this time of day was when banks expected less trouble. It made sense. You've just opened up shop; you don’t expect to be raided by armed robbers. Alister made sure to keep that in mind just in case one day he would open his own bank.

“Now Pria,” Zorah commanded.

Pria closed her eyes.

“This should deal with those meddling cameras,” D muttered.

“We’re here,” Zorah reported, “Everyone, step lively now. Don’t want ta gain to much attention.”

D opened the sliding door and everyone stepped out. Alister looked at the sign: Star Bank. That was curious. Star Bank wasn’t known for having all that much money in their vaults. It was a very tall bank though. He tried to look disinterested and walked forward. Everyone wore black coats that hid their weapons. They walked across the busy street and up the stairs to the doors.

Inside there was some elevator type music playing. The floors were just waxed and the large tiles shined with the reflected light of the ceiling lights. Some of the cashiers took notice of them but were too busy preparing for the busy day to take too much notice. Some of the security guards were walking around dreary eyed and still filled with sleep. This was the perfect time to rob a bank.

“Stay here,” Zorah told Alister and Scar.

They stayed by the door. Pria knew that she wasn’t needed other than to disrupt the cameras so she stood by Alister. Yin watched Alister closely from the corner of his eye.

D walked toward a few tables there in the lobby and pretended to be writing something. Kitty drummed her nails on a desk beside an aquarium. Niko was talking to a security guard. Zorah walked to the front desk.

“Al’ight, let’s get the formalities out a the way, shall we?” she smiled, “My name is Zorah an this is my crew. We’re ‘ere ta rob you.”

The others drew their weapons. The security guards tried to draw their but when they did, Yin flicked his wrist and took them away. The guns hovered ominously above his head.

“That isn’t goin’ to ‘elp you,” Zorah said as one of the cashier ladies tried to press the emergency button, “Now, let’s try this again. Put de money in de bag!”

She pulled out a large gun and they instantly went to work, filling the bag with handfuls and handfuls of money.

“Now, one of you go ta de volt an get me a little more,” Zorah demanded.

One of the cashiers whimpered and ran to the back. Alister saw her face and the Cop side of him was on the brink of interfering. But he knew that if he did it would be the end of him. D walked around the counter and roughly helped the ladies pack the bags.

There was a faint sound. Everyone grew quiet. Zorah looked at Pria. Pria looked up from the floor. The tall bank had a circle though each floor surrounded by balconies. She closed her eyes.

“Someone’s here,” she said quietly.

“That’s not good,” Scar said.

He stepped into the open spaced and aimed his gun up and fired. Glass shattered and cement was riddled with holes. He fired continuously for a few minutes before he stopped. Silence returned.

“That should do it,” Scar smiled.

“I wouldn’t count on it,” a voice said.

A shadow raced across the wall. Shadow’s arm appeared right under Niko, gabbed her leg, and pulled her into the shadows with him. Penelope jumped over the railing of the fifth floor. Scar raised his gun and fired at her. Penelope smiled and vanished. She appeared behind Scar and caught him by surprise. Penelope punched him, pivoted on her left foot and kicked him with her right. He flew back as a shadow appeared on the left wall. Niko flew out and crashed into Scar.

Surprised, Kitty backed into the aquarium. An aquatic hand appeared and a clear aquatic being rose from the water. Kitty looked up and gasped. She tried to run away but the figure stretched out its hand and a stream of water splashed onto the floor. It touched Kitty’s leg and turned to ice, trapping her leg and preventing her from going anywhere. The aquatic figure stood up and stepped out of the aquarium. When it did, it grew solid into a human form. Blue’s features became more defined.

Kitty used her free leg to kick at him, but Blue caught the punch and kicked her back. The ice broke and Kitty was sent flying into a nearby desk.

Arisa made a fire shield as Yin used the guns that he had acquired from the guards. The bullets exploded on the shield because of the intense heat. When the guns were empty Arisa ran forward to start her attack. Yin extended his arm to one side, his white eyes watching Arisa carefully. He flicked his wrist and a table lifted off the ground. Arisa stopped her advance. She froze. The table was headed right toward her. She felt the impact and screamed. The force of the impact sent her though a glass window and onto the pavement below. She lay still, unconscious.

Arisa’s scream got Blue’s attention. He looked around for her but only saw the broken window. Then he saw Yin. He ran at Yin, full of anger. Kitty tried to trip him with a leg sweep but Blue dodged easily. As Blue ran at Yin, Kitty got to her feet. She was about to go back her teammate up when her path was blocked. Raven stood, her green eyes staring at her opponent. She reached to the knot on her cloak and took it off. Raver wore a purple cloth-like armor. Her long swords were strapped in their sheathes on her back. She reached for one of them and held the hilt with both hands. It was clear she was challenging the girl. Kitty never backed down from a challenge.

“Bring it,” Kitty said as she lengthened her claws.

Raven dropped her sword and attacked.

Blue dodged the flying pens as they dived at him at deadly speeds.

“Haven’t you heard that the pen is mightier than the sword?” Yin inquired, “No? Well, I’ll just have to show you.”

Blue stepped back as one whizzed by right in front of him. He created water in his hands, lengthened it, and created two sais made of ice. Blue’s reactions were quick and fluent. He used the sais to parry the speeding pens. Blue was beginning to show his impatience. He hated being stuck at a distance while his enemy stood there smirking at him. Blue bent backwards, dodging a pen aimed at his head. He was tired of this little game. When he stood upright again he created a dome around himself made of ice. He could hear the occasional thud of the pens hitting the barrier. Blue hit his fist against the front of the barrier and an ice spike shot out of it. It shot forward toward Yin. Quickly Yin shot out both his arms and the spike flattened against an invisible wall. The momentum of the impact seemed to have cracked the wall a little and a small spike extended from the flattened mess and barely touched Yin’s hands. Blue let the barrier drop. The look in his eyes was one of pure hatred.

Raven jumped out of the way as Kitty tried to claw her. She fell lightly on a desk with her arms back and on her sword. She brought the weapon up so it lined up with her eye and charged forward. Kitty sidestepped out of the way. But Raven turned the blade expertly and was about to end the fight when the ground under her feet shook. She lost her footing and a large spike came though the floor. Raven jumped lightly as the spikes followed her, appearing where she had only just been. Her footwork was light and graceful as if she were a crane. Kitty ran quickly and as Raven was focused on moving, she glanced at D and nodded. She jumped and dug her heels into Raven’s stomach. Raven fell on her back and grunted in pain. Kitty’s heels were sharpened at the points. Luckily they didn’t hit anything critical. She took her arm and hit Kitty really hard in the knees. Kitty bent her legs to absorb the hit then Raven took her ankles and lifted her off of her stomach. Suddenly off balance, Kitty fell forward. Seeing this happen, D stomped on the ground. The ground rumbled beneath Raven and she rolled across the floor while several little spikes appeared. She got up to her knees as Kitty got to her feet.

Zorah looked around in shock. The cashiers were hiding behind the counter and the bags still lay open. She zipped it and started to walk toward the open window unnoticed.

“Where do you think you’re going?” a voice said behind her.

She looked and saw Fang, “Oh, well, ‘ello, Love,” she said, “Wish I could stick around but I really must be on my way.”

“And leave your team behind?” Fang said.

“‘Dey look fine ta me,” she smiled, “besides, Love, no point in all a us gettin’ caught, right?”

She touched a bird tattoo on her wrist. It started to move, soon a head popped out of it and soon its whole body was out leaving a bear space where the tattoo used to be. It started out as a blue bird with green, yellow, and white highlights but soon it started to grow until it was in its adult size. Its size was a good fourth of the room.

“‘Sides,” she said again, “I ain’t leavin’ ‘em. I'm leavin' you. Let’s get outa ‘ere!” she shouted and ran.

The others did as they were told and ran out of the building. Alister hesitated.

“Aren’t you coming?” Pria asked; she was posed to leave.

“Yeah,” he said and ran out of the building.

The bird, known as a thunderbird, filled its lungs and screeched. Everyone still in the building had to cover their ears. Fang fell to his knees and pressed his hands to his head so hard they were turning white. His sensitive hearing amplified the sound nearly ten times the actual.

When the bird’s lungs were spent, it flapped its wings and flew toward the windows. They shattered as it crashed through then and flew over the city. Its size grew smaller until it was the size of a normal bird. It spotted the van it was looking for and descended.

Zorah’s arm hung out the window. The bird perched on her hand and put its head hear her arm. It went from its blue color to black. It fit itself back into place in the spot it was before and grew still and lifeless.

“That sure was bogus!” she complained, “Who were those blokes anyhow!?”

She slammed the van to a stop and turned around in her seat. Her eyes were fuming with rage.

“All right! Now someone better start talkin’! There is no way they could have known where we were goin’ to hit! Someone is goin’ ta explain ta me why they did even if I’m gonna have ta gut it out ta ya!” she looked Alister.

She grabbed her staff that was right beside her. Zorah used it to point at him.

“You,” she said in a tone full of murder, “you better hope ta your god dat he saves you afore I gut you like a pig!”