Wraith checked Morgan's wounds and was indeed surprised that they were healing at slow rate. They should have been further along and though her infection might have been adding to the problem, he felt that was under control. No, what was effecting the girl was a condition that could not easily be scientifically explained, but it was real nonetheless.

Wraith being an open minded man of science embraced all realms of medicine and turned to Snap Dragon with a curious look on his face. "Snap, would you mind whipping up a poultice?" he requested, the wiggled his fingers in thought, "I have a remedy floating around in my head, but perhaps if you would be so kind as to lend your hand to this?"

He then returned to where Seizure waited and continued to explain the process he wished to employ when she peered into Morgan's mind. The doctor's method seemed to bordering on the realm of mad scientist when he told her that he wanted to record the reading. He then clarified that he had learned how to fine tune the brain monitoring equipment and channel it through a program of his that he had recently downloaded from his private server. The software, written by programming genius would decipher the telepathic brain waves and render some of the thoughts into images. There was too much information to watch the thoughts like a movie, but it could produce some images that might prove useful.

Snap smiled at Wraith, nodding her head.

"It won't take me long. I know exactly what to get and I keep a ready supply of it on hand. I'll be right back."

Snap ran out of the room and headed for the kitchen where she kept her herbal poultices in a small fridge that was there just for her herbal medicines so that they were kept seperate from the regular meds. Grabbing a pretty green jar, she ran back down to the medical room. She was gone for about 10 minutes, total.

Running in, she ran up to Wraith and showed him the jar.

"Comfrey root, aloe vera, and echinacea. Perfect for the type of wounds she has."

Wraith showed her how to properly apply the poultice and then helped her re-wrap Morgan's wounds. Morgan didn't budge, moan, nothing.

"Is that normal, Wraith, for her to not have any reaction at all? Why isn't she healing the way she should be?"

Snap was finding everything interesting and decided that she would definately stick around.

Though Wraith's fifty six years were hardly revealed by his powerful thirty year old physique, his age showed in the way he dealt with the young, fresh faced girl so eager to lend a hand. He took the time to show her how to apply her herbal paste and how to properly dress the wounds after, displaying a patience and focus that betrayed his youthful appearance.

"There, I'd trust you now to tend to other people." Wraith complimented Snap Dragon, "I can't be around here all the time, and since you seem a resident it's good for you to learn how to deal with such things, since I imagine injuries are fairly common these days."

Wraith removed the latex gloves from his hands and tossed in the trash. He caught a look at himself in a nearby mirror with a hospital gown on over his costume and chuckled. "I look ridiculous." he commented, then turned and gave Snap a gleaming white smile, "It's necessary though... the costume. This way no one can try and force you to reveal my identity and in my time I've made a lot of enemies." he explained, then returned his attention to Morgan and Snap's concerns about her healing. "I wouldn't worry about Morgan reacting to much right now and as for her slowed healing, it's due to her weakened condition and the psychic connection I alluded to earlier."

Wraith then strolled over to where Seizure was sitting and proceeded to place leads on her temples and forehead so that he could telepathically connect her to his program and hopefully retrieve a few images pulled from the depths of Morgan's mind. "I'm hoping that Seizure can help us determine the source of the psychic drain." he continued explaining to Snap Dragon then focusing on the telepath nodded, letting her know that she could begin the process whenever she was ready.

Sasha smiled at Henry when he argued with her about sleeping in the storage room of the store, but she wouldn't hear any of it and her true stubborness came to the front.

"I'm staying here, Henry, with or without a cot. I'm just as comfortable on the floor as I am a cot."

She smiled at him sweetly then started laughing when Emma broke out in laughter.

"You may as well go and get the cot, Henry. She's not going to take 'no' for an answer."

Grumbling, Henry went upstairs, above the store to their apartment. About fifteen minutes later, he came down with a military cot, blankets and a pillow. Not saying a word, except for the ocassional grumble, he set everything up in the storage room towards the back, where she wouldn't be seen.

Sasha thanked Henry then went out to walk the area until it was time for the elderly couple to close up the store for the day. She headed towards Green Street to see if the authorities still had it all blocked off for whatever reason they had. She didn't care much for the authorities, of course, she didn't care much for authority period.

She was about 3 blocks from Green Street when another memory hit her. She quickly slipped into an alley so as not to draw attention to herself and had just enough time to brace herself up against the wall.

She saw a younger version of her with another girl. This girl had lavender eyes and both were laughing inside of a car. Suddenly, the car was sideswiped and ran off the road, flipping onto it's hood. Rough hands pull her and the lavender eyed girl from the car.

Then the memory was over, leaving Sasha breathless, shaky and sweating. Raising a hand to her forehead, she saw that her hand was shaking.

~What in the hell is wrong with me? Why did that young girl look like a younger version of me? Who was the girl with the lavender eyes?~

Sasha stayed leaning up against the wall for a few more minutes before taking a deep breath and heading back out to the street to go to Green Street. She stopped, realizing that she was still shaky from the memory. Changing directions, she decided to head back to the store, she could check out Green Street tomorrow.

Totem held onto Cowboy's shoulder and together they navigated through the sewer system until Tim located one of the secret doors that lead into the tunnel that connected the base to the warehouse. The tunnel was larger than normal, with enough room for a motorcycle to drive through and dimly lit. Sealing the door behind them, the two men both breathed a sigh of relief knowing that the tunnel was completely closed off and well hidden, and made their way to the western door at more casual pace. When the reached to the heavy iron door, the reclusive Killswitch, remotely unlocked it when she recognized Cowboy and the two men went straight on to the base's medical facility.

As the two men entered the large room they first crossed into the research section of the laboratory, which was vacant. To their right were several windows and a glass door that lead to the medical centre and through it they could see Wraith, who was in full costume hooking Seizure up to a computer. Tim couldn't see Morgan until he and Totem passed through the glass door and could see around the solid wall that obscured the view of the three hospital beds in the recovery area.



Wraith requested that Seizure began her telepathic dissection of Morgan's mind when she was ready. She was all hooked up. In the meantime, he tended to the two wounded men, instructing Snap Dragon what to do for Totem's flash blindness and cuts while he dealt with Cowboy. Wraith wanted to fill Tim in on Morgan's condition and his far fetched theory on what was prolonging her injuries. He assured him that the procedure that involved Seizure's mind read would not be harmful to her and would provide some vital clues that he may be able to assist them with later. In turn Tim shared his and Totem's own story of their encounter with the two villainous meta-humans and then the RAID enforcers who were still out in full force.

After a few quick x-rays, Wraith was content to bandage Tim's ribs after his sedative kicked in. The pain would be excruciating while he set them in place to mend and though he didn't doubt the man could handle it, there really wasn't any need to. Later then he had Tim sitting on the third bed, furthest away from Morgan while he stitched up his wounds after applying a local anesthetic. He noticed the tattoos on his body but didn't comment on them, assuming the man to be a Navy Seal for who would sport such symbol if they weren't one? It made sense, though, his fighting style, tactical decisions, use of explosives, even his attitude all denoted some kind of military training.

"Y'know I don't approve of killing," Toril began as he pulled a suture through his flesh, "but in this case, I hope you didn't leave any of them alive. They're too bloody close to this place." He then clipped the stitch, "All done. With that sedative in your system, I'd hit the hay if I were you." Wraith advised, then turned his attention to Totem who lay on the middle bed with his eyes bandaged.

"Well done." Wraith complimented Snap on her dressing of the wounds then decided to add a few stitches to one of Totem's more serious injuries while he slept. The man was exhausted, and after the application of a local anesthetic he didn't even stir.

The base was quiet. Bronze Devil had been able to make it home and Sigma Seventeen was hidden away in his little corner, no doubt cooking up more of his conspiracy theories or tracking down criminals by hacking into police databases. No one had seen Zoe or Cassius for a while and so there was very little activity in the underground complex. Tim would pretty much have the whole place to himself, not that the man was up for any wild parties.

Tim was not much one for seditives, he felt they dulled the fine edge of reaction time and clouded thinking. Particularly under the present circumstances. However, he trusted Wraith would not give him an excessive amount. Tim looked at the syringe then at Toril, "Ya know Doc, I hate them thar needles, thay scare tha Be-Jesus outta me." Tim said with a grin.

Tim watched Morgan, as she lay in the nearby bed, as Toril stitched up the knife cut on Tim's cheeck. When Toril had finished and told him to get some rest, Tim said "Thank ya thar Doc, I reckon I could use a bit a' shut eye. Morgan an' Totem gonna be ok, Doc?" When Toril stated "Y'know I don't approve of killing," , Tim looked him straight in the eye and said "Ain't nobody hates war and killin' more than a warrur Doc. An jus' between you an me, I sure have seen 'nough a both ta last three lifetimes. But ya know it weren't us that started this har mess. Hell it weren't even them officer's out thar, ya know. I reckon we both serve tha same masters in tha long run." ..........
Tim then seemed to look beyond the walls and everyone within them, off to a distant range where the sun set slowly across a wind swept barren landscape of sage brush, prarrie grass and rolling hills, where cattle and wild horses roamed freely. Out to where in the distance could be seen a lonely deserted ranch. To a small patch of green grass, surrounded by a wrought iron fence and two tombstones beneath an old, scared, spreading Texas oak, beside a babbling stream. ............................
"Seems a though folk like us ur just har ta clean it up. Reckon tha's all I was ever meant ta be .......... a glorified janitor." he then laid back and drifted off into a light sleep.

Snap was pleased with herself, especially when Wraith trusted her to care of Totem once he'd told her what to do. She gently washed out his eyes with a wash to aid in reducing the swelling and relieve the pain. She then rushed out of the room only to return with a bottle of Colloidal Silver. Putting 2 drops into each of Totem's eyes, she then rewrapped them and laid him down while Wraith took care of Cowboy. Seeing Wraith's questioning look over the liquid silver, she smiled.

"It's the world's oldest antibiotic, pain reliever, healer, burn treatment, just your all around must have in the medicine cabinet. You can use it topically, injest it, and even put drops into your eyes to reduce pain and keep infection from setting in. There's a dropper full in the poultice I put on Morgan."

Once Wraith was done with Cowboy and came over to Totem to stitch him up, she walked over to Cowboy, who appeared to be sleeping. Glancing over at Morgan then back at the man laying on the hospital bed, she whispered to him.

"She's been worried about you, Cowboy. She even damn killed herself staying connected to the animals to make sure you remained safe. You're the only one she trusts right now and I don't know what she is to you, but she's earned my respect. So have you, for nothing more than what she thinks of you. I will stay with her, Cowboy, so rest easy. Name's Snap Dragon."

She didn't know if he could hear her or not, but something told her that he was listening. She then turned and headed over to Morgan, watching her, wondering what Seizure would pull from Morgan's mind. She hadn't said anything to Cowboy about Morgan's mental state as she didn't quite understand it herself, that was Wraith's area of expertise, not hers. But, she wanted him to know that he could rest easy. She would keep watch on Morgan. Something about the girl pulled to her and not many people pulled to Snap.

When Wraith was finished up with Totem, he washed his hands, put his gloves back on and walked over to Seizure and motioned for Snap Dragon to join them.

"I'm afraid I have to go, my other life calls," he told them as he handed Seizure a slip of paper, "but here's a number that I can be reached at. It'll go to voice mail, but I'll get the message. If Morgan begins to have any complications I should be able to get here pretty fast, otherwise I trust that Snap will be able to change her dressings. Her antibiotics are on a slow drip and won't require a change for another twelve hours, I should be back by then."

Wraith then quickly showed Seizure how to run the program that would process some of the images conjured by her mind-read then made his way out of the lab. He stopped at the door and took one more look at his three resting patients feeling a personal satisfaction that never occurred in the world of 'Devon Gale', but he had to maintain some semblance of a regular life. He also had to pay the bills and do some regular stuff, like move into his new apartment and meet his new boss. 'Oh, the convenience of being rich or living 'underground', Toril considered, but he wasn't so industrious nor ready to give up the freedoms of a normal life. He turned and waved to the two women and disappeared through the glass door and out of the lab, but before he left, vanished into the wind and sought out Sigma Seventeen.

Ayana hesitated, unsure what exactly she was looking for but she turned to Morgan anyway and nodded to Wraith before he left. Reaching out with her mind, she delved into Morgan's and shut her eyes, concentrating as much as she could. As she relaxed, her eyes fluttered behind her eyelids as though she had drifted into REM sleep. Memories swept past just as Morgan had described. A little girl laughing in the passenger seat of a car, a man with a mad glint in his eyes staring down at her . . . and then some which Morgan hadn't described . . .

A young man who looked like a member of a gang stared up in horror, past the swarm of bees that hovered over him. An older couple beamed affectionately. The same couple stood in a darkened room, the woman's eyes sparkling with amusement while the man seemed to be forcing annoyance as he carried a cot into the small room. Alleys and parks flashed by in a kind of broken sequence as though Seizure was looking at several movies playing on a shattered mirror. The only connecting pieces were the frequent scenes that seemed to involve insects, Morgan's power being the only thing that drew Seizure's attention to such a detail.

Feeling herself begin to tire, Seizure opened her eyes and dropped the connection into Morgan's mind. Looking quizzically over at Snap Dragon and the computer, she asked rather dumbly, "did the program work? Did you see what I saw?"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

At Scavenger's question, Grey sighed, puffing silently on his cigarette for a moment before he spoke. "All I wanna do is go to a club, get f%*&ed up, and get laid . . . " Letting a cloud of smoke out in another sigh, he checked the time and grumbled in dismay, "I guess it's too early to do most of that." He then finally turned to Scavenger, "you got any shit on you? What time do we gotta meet up with the rest of these assholes anyway?"

Snap watched the screen and was puzzled when she recognized the parks and some of the alleyways here in the city, which was one of the things that had her puzzled. As far as she knew, Morgan hadn't had time to visit any of these places yet, so how could they be in her memories? And the insects didn't fit either. Morgan could only control animals. Four legs and fur, not six legs and icky.

"Yea, Seizure, I saw what you saw and the machine got it all. It doesn't make any sense, though. Morgan can't control insects and as far as I know, she hasn't had time or energy to be in these parks and alleys. Her father nabbed her not long after she arrived. Not from the bits and pieces I've heard anyway."

Snap walked over to Morgan and smoothed back a bit of hair from the sleeping girl's face. Then she looked over at Cowboy and wondered if he was going to be able to help Morgan as well. She'd caught glimpses of her wounds and bruises and wished that her father were still alive so that she could have the pleasure of killing him, but at least Morgan had found the courage to kill him herself.

~But, what happened to your mind, Morgan? Did your father do something to you before he died or was killing your own father more than your mind could take with everything else you'd gone through?~

She looked again over at Cowboy. Wraith could fill him in when he returned. She didn't feel like it was her place to do so. She walked back over to Seizure and unhooked her from the monitors, telling her to stay put until she got her bearings back.

Wraith had a bone to pick with Sigma, somehow he knew about his meeting with Vacily and there was only one possible way he could have come by such knowledge. He hated being spied on but even more disconcerting was exactly how the man could have tracked him down. No one else could have possibly been aware of Vacily's whereabouts and Wraith had taken precautions that should have made him impossible to follow.



The office was dark and only Sigma's masked face was visible, bathed in the glow of his monitor as he searched through a RAID database, gathering information on Wraith and his dinner companion, Surge, whom Sigma had learned was a one Colonel Vacily Petrovsky. He also learned that RAID had never made the connection between the two, and Wraith and Surge were in fact partners between the years 1983 and 1991 in Beacon. Beacon, the organization that would stop at nothing to further the rights and power of meta-humans, even if meant sacrificing the life of one for the needs of many.

As Slate continued to rifle through the files on the RAID server, accessed via the false identity of agent Carter Wilkes, he suddenly became aware that the temperature of his office significantly dropped. Straightening in his chair, he looked around the small room and then over his shoulder, peering into the darkness for Wraith's tell tale aura generated by stressful movements. There was no such signs, but as the temperature of the room continued to drop Sigma became more convinced that big man was lurking around the room. Actually he had been expecting Wraith to drop by but didn't anticipate that he would enter his office unannounced, which told him that Wraith had already figured that he was at the lounge, eavesdropping on his and Vacily's conversation.

"Why don't you come out where I can see you." Said Slate, his eyes darting about the room.

Wraith appeared behind Sigma, already moving around to the front of the desk. "I can't believe it." He stated, "You're a plant! A goddam RAID agent."

Sigma was confused by the accusation until he realized that Wraith had no doubt saw his login identification and the onscreen picture which for all he knew was what he actually looked like. "Whoa! Let's just back the f%^& up, big guy." Replied Sigma, quickly standing and holding up a menacing finger, "I am not the enemy here."

"What the hell does that mean?" Wraith snapped back. A part of him had doubts that Sigma could be working for RAID but then the proof seemed irrefutable. He saw the identification on the screen, for an agent Wilkes, and the picture definitely seemed to resemble what he could see of Sigma's face.

"Damn." Sigma thought to himself. Wraith was subtly assuming a defensive posture, keeping the desk between them. The man was good at disguising his body language, but Sigma picked up on the subtle signs and could feel the situation escalating. "Calm down, Wraith. We're just talking here. Now, how about you tell me what you were doing reliving the good ol' days with a Beacon controller and then I'll explain who agent Wilkes is?"

Wraith almost laughed. "You're questioning my loyalty?" He growled as he pointed a finger to his brawny chest, "What the hell are you doing spying on me? Christ! Everything about you reeks RAID... And don't glare at me like that you freakin' psychopath. Everyone else around here might be afraid you, but I see through your bullshit!"

"Do ya now?" Sigma retorted confidently, logging off of the RAID database then defiantly folding his arms across his chest. "You know what? I think you actually bought that bullshit story of your old friend. I can't verify it yet, but I'm sure that son-of-a-bitch never had a daughter and this whole Apex Fusion thing is just a smoke screen." Sigma stated, shaking his head with a condescending stare on his face. "You're a damn fool, Wraith."

It was at that point of the conversation that for most, fists would replace words, but Wraith remained sober. Sigma was more concerned about his involvement with Beacon than his being exposed as a RAID agent in a place filled with meta's that would crucify him. That alone, in his mind, warranted discussing and so he relaxed and fell into a chair and leaned back in front of the desk. "Enlighten me then, Sigma. I'd rather kill some time than your ass right now." Wraith demanded.

Sigma had been ready for a fight, he had even fueled it, but Wraith wasn't a typical testosterone driven giant which he found intriguing. He nodded at sat back down, brought up the RAID site once more and turned the monitor around so that the costumed man could see it clearly. He then went on to explain how he came to be agent Carter Wilkes and maintained the identity in order to infiltrate RAID.

Wraith intently listened to Sigma's story and learned that he had much more depth than he had previously thought. It still didn't condone his spying, but after it all he understood why the paranoid street-hero had taken it upon himself to follow him to the lounge. Sigma still didn't reveal how he managed to tail him, but Wraith felt that was a question for another day since he wanted to get home, pack up his few possessions and get into his new apartment.

The two men rose out of their chairs and it was Wraith who made the first move, extending his hand in friendship. Sigma grasped it and the two shook on their new partnership and for the first time in a while, Toril felt that he had met someone he could depend on, but trust was something that required time.

Wraith made his way to the door, the paused. "You saw my file didn't you?" he asked looking back over his shoulder.

Sigma was silent, but Wraith could see the smile in the man's eyes, a rare occurrence from what he had heard and so he just let the intrusion slide. He didn't mind another masked fighter knowing his identity, especially one as secretive as Sigma.

Wraith opened the door and stepped across the threshold. "Stop by later this evening." he mentioned before closing the door, curious if in fact Sigma actually knew where his new apartment was. He then made his way up the hallway, and cut through the kitchen on his way to the western door.

Yelena had been traveling for a few hours on her bike. The Chicago skyline was well behind her and ahead of her only empty highway. An occasional vehicle would pass her going the opposite direction but other than that, there was nothing. Killswitch had come through again providing the meta with a less traveled but well maintained highway making it pretty smooth sailing for the Russian.

Still, after the sun rose in the East a few hours ago, the Russian found herself tired and hungry enough to stop at a lonely, roadside hotel with a diner a few feet away. Perfect, as far as Yelena was concerned. And from the looks of it, they weren’t real busy either. Pulling her bike into the parking lot of the diner, she shut the sport bike off and sat up straight. Her back ached from leaning over so long and it felt good to stretch her tired muscles.

With another quick check, Yelena got off the bike and removed her helmet. Her stomach growled again reminding her it had been a while since her last meal. Keeping the helmet with her, she walked up to the steps of the diner, walked in and looked around. A lone waitress with graying auburn hair, a short order cook in the kitchen and a single, elderly customer in a far booth were the only ones there right now.

The waitress smiled and told Yelena to take a seat anywhere and if she wanted some coffee. Yelena returned the smile and accepted the coffee before walking to a booth on the opposite side of the place away from the elderly man. The vinyl seat creaked when she sat down but it felt good to lean back against the worn seat back and rest.

The waitress delivered her coffee and asked if Yelena needed a menu. Using a perfect American accent, Yelena declined ordering a standard greasy spoon breakfast, as John used to call them. Eggs, bacon, toast and juice. The waitress smiled again and left the Russin in peace. Preparing her coffee to her taste, the shape shifter sat in silence and looked around the place. It was like she’d stepped back in time. Unable to stifle the smile that eased over her lips, Yelena relaxed a little and took in the quiet atmosphere.

Allie came out of her bedroom about the time Mikala started looking for her. She walked into the kitchen, grabbed a bottled water and went over to her recliner and sat down.

"Green Street is clear now, from what I heard on the scanner. We should get Shawn back over there and check on Cowboy, Totem, and Morgan."

Mikala agreed and went over to Shawn and started typing into his machine.

"Shawn, we're going to leave for the base. Do you want to come with us or go out on your own?"

Shawn let Mikey know that he would come with them back to the base, which made Mikey breathe a sigh of relief.

"Okay, then. Well, please don't get upset with me, but I'm not sure as to what to do here. Do I lead you....can you follow us down to the garage.....do you hold my shoulder...what? I don't want to offend you in any way, so ball's in your court."

Allie watched the exchange, unsure herself as to how to deal with the boy, and was glad that Mikey was doing it as she seemed to be comfortable with him.

"I'm heading down to the garage, Mikey. We'll take the Dodge Charger. Dad hasn't returned the truck yet. I'll meet the two of you down there."

Allie climbed into the elevator while Mikala waited for Shawn to let her know what to do so she didn't offend him in any way.

Shawn read the message and smirked, his lip curling with amusement that was clearly at their expense. As much as he hated when people tip-toed around him, he couldn't stop the tickle he got when people did this-- and the sadistic side of him ate up their discomfort. Saying nothing, he got to his feet and walked purposefully towards the door at a pace he knew would make them wonder if he would walk into the door. He then stopped and opened the door, holding it open for Mikala. Though his head was staring at the floor and his eyes disturbingly away from it, Shawn clearly expected her to walk through it. When she did, he took the lead again, heading for the elevator in which he picked up Flaming Angel's scent. The vibration on the floor let him know that the doors were grinding shut and he shot out a hand to stop them.

Silently, he waited until the doors were open far enough to slip inside. There, Shawn retreated into the front corner, leaning casually against the wall, the sway of his head and somewhat deformed-looking angle of his eyes the only indication of his disabilities. When the elevator came to a halt, Shawn stepped out and waited with the same expectant posture for the girls to finally lead the way. He made no motion touch them, but he felt they were smart enough to pick up on the fact that he would do what he needed to do and they could follow suit. When Mikala and Flaming Angel stepped out of the elevator, Shawn followed at their heels keeping close, perhaps just within their personal space, following their scents.

Scent, however, could only take him so far and he failed to detect when they had stopped moving, accidentally bumping into Mikala. There was a pause in which Shawn took a half step back, his pale cheeks flushing just slightly as his suave act seemed to hit a very clear snag. He recovered however, saying nothing, not even his usual utterance of "sorry." Moving more carefully around Mikala, Shawn reached out a hand and felt the smooth finish of the car's surface. He then ran both hands along the window, sliding over the door until he located the handle and managed to open the door. His expression had grown blank, however, exposing his slight embarrassment at ruining his own performance. Dropping into the back seat, Shawn's face quickly solidified back to its usual, hardened, somewhat unfriendly demeanor as he waited for the trip back to base and thus, his books.