About a quarter of an hour after Wraith had left the lab, Sigma wandered in. When he entered the medical section, he silently made his way to the computer that had mapped some of the images from Seizure's mind read of Morgan. He stood behind Snap Dragon studying the pictures as they rendered and immediately recognized one in particular. "Jesus Christ! What's with all this shit going down in our own backyard?" he commented in his own usual gruff fashion. Sigma then pointed at a sign in the upper right hand corner of the screen, " I know this store, it's only a few blocks away from here."

Sigma thrust his hands into the pockets of his trench coat then turned to Seizure, "Ran into Wraith before he left. He filled me in." he explained.

If ever the masked crime fighter felt the need to explain himself it only happened with Seizure. He really couldn't explain why, maybe he felt obligated because she couldn't pick up on his thoughts like she could with everyone else. It was weird but he actually felt as if he was slamming a door in her face, of course he had no control over his 'cloaking' ability, but nonetheless, still made an effort to fill in the blanks that surrounded him where she was concerned.

"We should check it out tonight." Sigma figured, "Although with all the RAID shit goin' on around here these days I'd be surprised if we find anything. Still ya never know."




Before they had left Stitch's basement apartment, Scavenger had put on his dark sunglasses to protect his sensitive eyes and still had to occasionally shield them with a hand. With his eyes partially closed he reached into his pocket, took out a vial of pills and shook them before Grey. "I always got shit, man." he told him, then he yawned widely and rubbed the tears from his watering eyes. "Christ, man! I'm never up during the freaking day, all I wanna do right now is get some f$%^&ing sleep.

Scavenger reclined his seat and laid back. "The Highwayman will call me when he wants to meet. Maybe tonight, maybe tomorrow, I have no f#$%^ing idea, man. He calls, we go, that's the way he does shit." he answered Grey's question, "Wake me up when we get to where we're headed."

Turning, Snap looked up into Sigma's eyes and smiled at him.

"Yea, I recognize the store, too. It belongs to an elderly couple named Henry and Emma. Real sweet couple, always say hi to everyone. But, I told Wraith I would stay here with Morgan, Cowboy, and Totem. I would appreciate it if you would keep my informed, though. I like Henry and Emma."

Snap then rose from the computer screen and walked over to Morgan who was stirring....as if she were dreaming, her eye movement under her closed eyelids darting back and forth. Snap furrowed her brows, stepping closer to the girl, ready to gently wake her if she began thrashing about.



Morgan was trapped inside a dream and couldn't seem to get out. She was terrified with what she saw.

Frank was staring at her with his face eaten away from the rats, his eyes red orbs inside the bloody mass, his teeth yellowed and gnashing at her. Looking down, she saw that she was tied again, only this time to a table. Her father stepped closer, his face too horrid to look at but she couldn't seem to look away either. She could hear him inside of her head.

~Demon....slut....worthless pig!! Look at what you've done to me!!! I'm not finished with you yet. There is another out there now........one who will take your strength and leave you nothing but a shell and there's nothing you can do to stop her. I have had the last laugh, Morgan. Me!!!~

Morgan struggled on the table knowing that she was too weak to fight him but she wouldn't give up. She'd killed him once, she could do it again....couldn't she?

She finally was able to get an arm free when his hand grabbed her throat and the bloody mass with the glowing red eyes was within inches of her face, the teeth gnashing together.

He'd said her....what did he mean?

Without realizing what she was doing, a piece of Morgan's mind latched onto Sasha's mind, pulling energy from her, trying to regain what she'd lost. Morgan began fighting, pulling the i.v. catheder from her arm, ripping off other lines with a short burst of strength, screaming in terror.

Snap grabbed her, trying to hold her down and having a difficult time doing it as Morgan's mind fought to regain what had been taken from it.

"Sigma!!! Wake up Cowboy!! She trusts him and he might be able to calm her down!!"

Morgan's eyes opened, their lavender hue having become as black as night. Not just the iris, but the whole eye. Snap gasped and stepped back, hoping that she wasn't the only one seeing this.


Sasha was on her way back to the store, taking the back ways throught he alleys, when she was dropped to her knees. It felt as if her mind were being yanked from her head, the energy draining out of her so that she couldn't even stand, let alone crawl. She lay there, struggling to stay conscience....build on her energy when she saw her in her mind. The girl with the lavender eyes. She was the one sucking the energy from her!! Well, she couldn't have it!! Little did she know, but her eyes, for a brief few moments, turned lavender when Morgan's turned black.

Sasha began to concentrate inside of her mind, imagining her grabbing the girl and fighting with her to get her out of her mind, but the girl was taking her strength and absorbing it into herself. Sasha was finally able to get the upper hand, turning Morgan around and wrapping an arm around her neck before she threw her out of her mind and back into her own.

Sasha lay there, breathing heavily, eyes now back to their normal color as she shook.

~What does she want with me? Who is she and why is she attacking me? I've done nothing to the bitch!!~

Once she was able, she rose off of the pavement and slowly made her way back to Henry and Emma's store where she collapsed on the cot back in the back of the store room.

Allie watched as Shawn made his way down to the garage without assistance and was impressed, but wisely kept silent about it. She looked over at Mikala when Shawn bumped into Mikey and they both smiled, not letting on that his little show had been ruined. Let him have his fun, they both figured. He deserved it as far as they were concerned.

Once everyone was in the Charger, Allie started it up, the dual pipes making the car rumble like a fine tuned race car. Allie did like her cars fast. Pulling out of the garage and out onto the street the three of them headed for the Green Street Base.

Once there and parked in the hidden garage, Allie and Mikey both left Shawn to his own devices, wanting him to know that they weren't going to baby him or watch over him, not unless they felt they needed to. They let him make his own way to wherever it was he wanted to go within the base as the two of them headed for the medical facility to check on Morgan and see if Cowboy and Totem had made it back.

About three hours later, around supper time, Devon Gale pulled into the parking lot of his new apartment block located on the corner of Sheridan and Barry in southeast Lakeview; a three story red brick building constructed in the 1920's. He popped the trunk, revealing a few boxes filled with the basics donated by Bronze and Julie, starting with them before emptying out the contents of the back seat.

He took the stairs instead of the elevator since it was only three flights and made his way down a vintage hallway, preserved to appear just as it had when the building was first constructed, even the fixtures were original. Balancing the three heavy boxes with one hand, Devon slipped his key into the wooden door marked 302 and let himself into the spacious three bedroom apartment. The dark shining hardwood spread from the hallway and the classic high ceilings were ringed with crown moldings in every room of the place.

Walking into the living room he placed the boxes on the floor and stood looking out the window, north down Sheridan Road. The area was a far cry from Green Street, a fine middle class district not even six blocks from Genomorph Laboratories which was right beside St Joseph Hospital, located in a shared government funded research facility.

Devon rubbed his wedding ring and sighed, thinking that Tatyana, would have loved the apartment. He could see her strolling through each room, her dazzling eyes alive with plans, while his own were indolent and uninspired. Change always brought back a flood of memories, and being back in Chicago only intensified them, but he was past the grief and could now enjoy them. Digging out a bottle of wine, cork screw and glass from one of the boxes the former Toril Njordhagen, popped open the sangiovese. He sat on the broad window sill, raised a glass to his wife and stared out over his new surroundings wondering what this city had in store for him, if anything.



Back in the lab, Sigma who was just heading out was called back to assist in suppressing the convulsions of Morgan. Damn, if that Cowboy wasn't a deep sleeper he considered, especially with all the screaming going on. Despite his exhaustion and the mild sedative, he knew that guys senses were razor sharp and was no doubt already forcing himself awake, but he walked over anyway and gave a shout. "Cowboy. You're girl's in a bad way. Not really sure what to do. Not really sure that you're gonna know any better, either, but they're calling for you."

Sigma then headed out. This definitely wasn't his department and people might find it hard to believe but he had a really terrible bed side manner. "Sorry kid, but I'm pretty much useless here." he said to Snap.

As he was heading out then, Allie and Mikala were heading in. He brushed past them and made his way out of the base via the eastern door as per usual and decided to await for nightfall elsewhere.

Tim had heard the shouting and had slowly reached under the pillow his head was resting on. Underneath was the knife he normaly carried in his boot. When the masked Sigma spoke, Tim leaped from the bed, knife in hand just as Sigma was leaving. Looking around, Tim gathered his thoughts and recognized where he was, slowly slipped the knife back in his boot. Slowly he walked over to where the young blonde woman was struggeling with Morgan. He laid his hand on Morgan's forehead and spoke softly "Now jus' settle down thar sunshine...... Ain't no need ta go loco now. ...... Ain't nobody har gonna hurt ya, just sett'l down thar lit'l lady an' rest."

Tim then looked over at the young blonde and said. "Whars the "Doc"? We needs ta get them har IV's hooked back up, ..... lessen' ya knows how ta do it." Tim left his hand resting on the now subdued Morgan's head.

Snap looked at Cowboy then back at Morgan, seeing how quickly she calmed under his touch and that her eyes were normal again.

"Did you see her eyes, Cowboy? They were black as night...not just the irises, but her whole eye."

She led him over to the computer and showed him what came up from Seizure's mind read on Morgan. She decided to go ahead and explain to him what she knew.

"Wraith said that her mind is....split. She is connected to something or someone outside...in the city somewhere and they or it is slowly draining her energy..." she looked up into Cowboy's eyes..."she could die if we don't find out what it is and stop it. Wraith can explain it better than I can. It has something to do with what her father was capable of with his ability....from what I got from just now, before you woke, is that her father may be having the last laugh at Morgan's expense. I caught some of what she was mumbling before she opened her eyes and scared the living shit out of me."

Snap then took Cowboy back over to Morgan, where the girl was fighting to stay awake and smiled at Cowboy.

"You're okay. You made it back."

Tears started rolling down Morgan's face as she reached out to Cowboy, not knowing if he would take her hand....if he wanted anything to do with her now.

"I'm so sorry, Tim. I should have listened to you and Lena. Everyone being hurt is my fault......." her eyes closed, then reopened, the lavender in them dull...."Can you forgive me?"

Her eyes closed again and she drifted back into the darkness.

Snap stood there, looking at Cowboy, unable to read his face but wanting him to know what Morgan had done to keep him safe. She'd said something to him earlier, but he'd been unconscience and she was't so sure now that he'd heard her.

"Wraith isn't here, Cowboy and I haven't learned how to hook up the i.v.s yet. But, in Morgan's defense, you should know something. She damned near killed herself staying connected to multiple animals to keep you safe, even though she knew she didn't have the energy to do so, she still did it."

That was when Allie and Mikala walked in and put in their two cents. Allie kept quiet, knowing that she'd angered both Cowboy and Totem when she interfered during their battle. Mikala on the other hand, stepped up to stand next to Cowboy, looking down at Morgan, opening her empathy and staggered back.

"Snap's right. Morgan came real close to dying just to keep you safe."

Mikala's all knowing eyes in her young face peered into Tim's.

"Remember what I said to you, Cowboy, back in my office at the gym."

Turning to Snap, Mikey smiled at her and told her to go take care of her plants. She would stay with the three patients until she returned. Snap thanked her, gave Cowboy's arm a squeeze and headed back to her room to commune with her babies and grab a bite to eat. While she was in her room, she gave Wraith a call and told him what had happened with Morgan, what happened with her eyes, and what was on the screen from Seizure's reading.

Allie had left, heading back to the common room while Mikey stayed with Cowboy, Totem, and Morgan.

Devon leaned back against the side of the window sill and savoured the robust red as it trickled down his throat. 'A good wine.', he considered and reached over to have a better look at the label, 'definitely Julie's doing since Bronze couldn't tell a fine wine from diesel, which frighteningly enough, he was able to drink.'

As he skimmed over the wine label enjoying his relaxing moment he heard his PDA go off. "Damn", he groaned getting up and shuffling over into the kitchen where he had left his jacket on the counter. Digging out the device he checked the call ID and noticed it was 'unknown'.

"Y-ello." he answered. It was Snap, and immediately went off about what had just occurred at the base. While she talked, Wraith dug out his black book, where he had jotted down some notes about Morgan to help him come up with an alternative to heading back to restore the I.V. lines.

"Snap. You should be able to orally give Morgan her final doses of the anti-biotic" he informed her then went on to explain where it could be found, the dosage, and the frequency. He then went on to tell her that should Morgan become erratic again, the she should sedate her. "The syringes are all ready to go, just stab her in the rump." he advised, "If Cowboy's about, I'm sure he's administered one or two in his life."

Wraith then listened to her description of Seizure's reading and the general store that was in close proximity to the base, and the place that Frank, Morgan's father had died. It was all quite clear now.

"Thanks, Snap. You're doing a great job down there, keep it up." Wraith commended, "I'll be down as soon as I can."

Devon ended the call, placed the PDA on the counter and went back to the window sill and resumed his lonely, celebratory drink.

Snap hung up the phone, a little confused on why Wraith didn't say anything about Morgan's eyes turning black. It sure freaked her out.

She spent another 15 minutes with her plants, grabbed herself a sandwich from the kitchen and ate it on the way to the medical room. Once inside, she went to check on the sedative filled syringes and antibiotics, making sure she knew where both were. Then she went over to Morgan to check on her and said hi to Mikala who was checking on Totem. She filled Cowboy in on what Wraith had told her and asked him if he would stick around and then let him know that the kitchen was fully stocked if he was hungry.

She took Morgan's vitals while she was asleep, looked at her wounds, then went over to Totem to check on him.

The handsome Haida man had remained sound asleep through the commotion, the sedatives had did the trick, that and his general fatigue had left him incapacitated. As Snap checked on his wounds, his eyes in particular she was pleased to see that he was healing well, unfortunately Wraith had mentioned to her in passing that his vision would most likely not return for a few days, possibly longer.



It wasn't long after his phone call that Devon's furniture arrived. He had ordered just about everything from the same store and was able to coordinate the delivery to coincide with his possession date. The men that brought in his new items were, prompt and courteous and within an hours time had everything moved in, leaving him with the task of setting everything up. All his services — cable, internet, phone... — were already installed, so all Devon had to do was hook up his flat screen, plug in his phone and set up his new IMAC and he was in business. First on his list though, was assembling his king size bed and the one for the spare room before he got to the techy stuff. Julie had already washed his sheets, and so they were ready to go, she just couldn't abide him having to sleep on a couch for his first night, although the one he purchased was pretty comfortable.

The sun was getting low in the sky by the time Devon had gotten everything set up to his satisfaction. He had everything in order, and the garbage neatly piled in one the spare rooms within an little over an hour. He wasn't one, to leave things in a state, in fact disorder wore on his nerves in a bad way, so he got everything set up and arranged as quick as possible. He even unloaded the three boxes of dishes, cutlery, toiletries and his few articles of clothing and had everything in place before he finally allowed himself to ease into his new recliner and grab the remote; the throne and scepter of the modern home.

Devon had just poured himself another glass of wine and found himself a classic kung-fu flick when there was a rapping at his door. He smiled and didn't bother getting up and sure enough a few minutes later, he could hear foot steps, gingerly walking down the hallway.



"You should lock your door. You never know what kind of psycho might be lurking around." Said the dark haired man who came around the corner, dressed in a buttoned shirt, jeans and no mask. Under one arm he was carrying a '24' of MGD and in the other a bag of Chinese take-away.

Devon laughed. "Well look at you. You ain't half as ugly as I thought you'd be." he commented on Sigma's appearance, which he truthfully was surprised by. The guy could probably turn some heads.

"Well you're just as 'pretty' as I imagined." Quipped Sigma in his rough tone as he placed the beer and food on the coffee table beside Wraith, "Figured their wouldn't be a crumb in the place. Hope you like Chinese." he said, then cracked open the case, pulled out a couple of beers and tossed one to his host.

Devon caught the icy bottle and twisted off the cap. "So, is this is where we get drunk and I divulge all my secrets during a testosterone filled evening of male bonding?" he joked.

Sigma flopped down on the new couch and nodded his approval at the quality. "Nope, " he replied as he cracked open his beer, "This is where I get drunk and try and impersonate a normal person."

As the sun set on Chicago, there was one person in particular that couldn’t WAIT for the darkness to befall the city. Jen had waited, impatiently, all day for the nighttime to arrive. Only half heartedly paying attention to the droll in the board meetings she attended, her mind was obviously elsewhere. A few times the members of the cabinet got a little ticked at her for not commenting on a few things from time to time, but over all, she made decisions everyone was satisfied with in the end. It wasn’t easy, over seeing a business you really had no interest in but it was expected of her. And she certainly didn’t trust any of these other sharks with the corporation her parents had built while in the Amazon. They’d turn it into a farce and use it to do exactly what they were trying to stop. A land hungry business hell bent on obliterating the Rain Forest forever. As long as Jen still sat at the top of the business, they weren’t going to get their mitts on any of it.

But enough business. As soon as her driver dropped her off at her apartment buildings underground garage, she swiftly moved to the elevator, placed her key in the slot, turned it up and pressed the button that would take her to the penthouse suite on the eighth floor. While this building wasn’t as tall as some of the other buildings in Chicago, it held some nostalgia for Jen and she just couldn’t bring herself to give it up. And now that the top floor had been converted into a penthouse for her, she seemed to enjoy coming home even more now.

As soon as the elevator stopped at the top floor, Jen was scurrying out of the contraption and making her way into her luxury apartment turning on a few lights as she moved along. Like all the others she had scattered through out the city it was decorated with many of the treasures she acquired in the guise of her alter ego. Of course they never stayed around too long before they were sold on the black market for sheer profit. After all, funding for the different charities she’s set up under shell businesses had to come from some place. Besides, the ones she took the merchandise from didn’t appreciate them as much as she did.

Of course there were the times when she took things strictly for herself. It seemed as though she simply couldn’t stop herself once she started. Perhaps it was the thrill of the act she was addicted to. Perhaps it was something entirely different. Jen wasn’t really sure. The only thing she knew for certain was that she enjoyed every minute of it. And with RAID so active right now, she would have to be extremely careful until things quieted down once more.

As Jen moved through the empty apartment, she kicked off her high heeled shoes carryi8ng them to the bedroom. Next was the jacket to her suit. Once she reached the bedroom she tossed her clothes into the dry cleaning container. Once she was down to just the bare minimum of clothing she walked over to the wall of her walk in closet and pulled down on one of the hooks on the wall that held a few belts and other accessories. As soon as Jen pulled the hook down a panel in the closet wall opened up and revealed a hidden room. As Jen walked in she saw her alter ego’s clothing waiting for her to put it on once more as the door closed automatically behind her. Fingering the spandex like material lovingly, she smiled. She’d seen the way he’d looked at her. Even in his exhausted state she could tell he was 100 percent pure, warm blooded male.

Taking the costume off the hanger and shimming her frame into the garment, she checked the fit in the mirror before turning her attention to her facial “mask”. Pulling her hair back from her face and tying it securely, Jen pulled the paper that had the tribal face paintings in the green color she liked out from the drawer. Placing the paper carefully over her face, she slowly smoothed it out before carefully peeling it off. As the paper was removed the green paint was transferred from the paper to her face, obscuring her features once more. With a few touch ups, the tall woman stood back and looked at herself in the mirror once more.



The Amazon once again emerged. With a satisfied smile, she turned and left her secret room behind exiting from another door that led out to a secret passageway and stairs that would lead to the roof. Pushing the hatch like door up and peering out at the roof, The Amazon made sure there was no one lurking about before she pushed the hatch all the way open and climbed the steps of the ladder out. Closing the hatch behind her, Amazon felt the cool night air wash over her. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and took in the sounds of the city below.

Night brought a whole new set of sights, sounds and scents and with it, the chance to observe the city from incredible heights in complete obscurity. And perhaps tonight, a rendezvous with a handsome, tall, blonde haired meta. Of course she didn’t get her hopes up too high. They were from opposite ends of the spectrum so if they DID meet up, it would most likely be as each others opponents. But…a gal could dream, couldn’t she?

With another check around, the Amazon crouched down then leapt into the air and allowed the air currents that drifted into the city from the four corners to carry her where ever she wanted to go. Her destination was the penthouse on the upper East side again tonight. The same place she’d visited last night.

Enjoying the ability to fly for a little bit before she dropped silently onto the balcony of the penthouse Wraith had been brought to, Amazon listened carefully before she walked to one of sliding glass doors near the wall and entered the key code into the electronic locking system. Hearing the click of the lock disengaging, she slowly slid the door open, pushed the curtains aside and stepped inside, closing the door behind her.

He wasn’t here. The fact the place was dark was the first clue but his scent was weak. While it still lingered, it wasn’t strong enough to indicate he was still here, lurking about. Amazon was disappointed, yes, but not surprised. Oh well. Such was the life of the rule breaking meta. Still, she had hoped that somehow Wraith would still be here.

With a soft, disappointed sigh, Amazon clicked on a couple of lights and began walking about the place to see what, if anything, he had taken. A smirk eased over her features as she noticed a few things out of place. In particular, one of the drawers in the desk hadn’t been closed all the way. When she walked over to look at it, she saw what he found. Chuckling softly she closed the drawer again and looked towards the kitchen then.

Moving as quietly as a jungle cat, she looked in the fridge and a few cabinets. Good. He had made a strange concoction that would help him regain his strength and restore his electrolytes. How would he know about that? Most others would have just taken something normal to drink or eat but he had the presence of mind to actually mix a few things together to get just what he needed. Another smirk eased over her features. There as definitely more to Wraith than met the eye.

“The mystery of you grows. Looks AND brains…what a wonderful surprise.”

Leaving the kitchen behind she walked towards the bedroom she’d last left him in. Standing in the door way she looked into the darkened room and closed her eyes for a moment as she took a deep breath. Wraiths scent was strongest here and she allowed herself a moment of indulgence. Opening her eyes, Amazon moved over to the unmade bed and eased herself down on the edge. Easing her hand along the impression on the sheet of where he slept, she smirked again.

”Well…..at least I can say I got you into my bed.”

Standing up, she turned her back on the bed and left the room. Moving out through the penthouse once more, she turned off the lights as she went making a mental note to call the staff to clean up tomorrow. With one last glance around, Amazon slipped out of the penthouse the same way she came in and stood on the balcony of the place, looking out at the moonlight as it shimmered off Lake Michigan. The evening breeze was still cool and Amazon enjoyed just standing there letting the cool breeze wash over her as she watched the twinkling lights from the city below knowing that some where, out among those twinkling lights, Wraith was there. A smile eased over her lips then as she spoke to the evening breeze.

”Maybe some other time, Wraith.”

Cantonese inscribed boxes and empty beer bottles littered the shining surface of the new coffee table. The sun had set, and the two meta-humans sat around bathed in the glow of the television, swapping stories and expressing their views on the world like two old college room mates reunited. Devon couldn't believe that the man sitting adjacent to him was the same surly masked crime fighter and Sigma had never felt more at ease around anyone since he could remember, which was basically all he could remember.

Between uncontrollable laughs, Sigma managed to get out a sentence. "So she picked you up and carried you back to her grass hut?"

Devon shook his head as he drained another a beer, and was unable to suppress a smile at the imagery. "It wasn't one of my finer moments," he admitted, "but in my defense I had just fallen four stories and bounced off a sign."

Sigma sobered for a moment as he pictured the fall. "Shit, that's some pretty serious damage. What the hell saved ya? You invulnerable or something?"

"Man, I wish." replied Devon as he readjusted himself and stretched out his sore hip and ribs. "I can take a good beating, but it's the suit that saved me."

"Really? You mean, it actually has a purpose?" Sigma jeered.

"You're a riot, y'know that?" said the big man as he grabbed himself another beer, "It's nano-fiber, made by Beacon. All the agents had costumes made of the stuff. Fire retardant, insulated and will stop a bullet, although the impact will still get ya."

"I've heard of the stuff, it's self repairing too, isn't it." Sigma commented, then he switched the conversation back to the rescue, "So what happened after you got back to her place?"

Wraith fell back in his chair, shaking his head. "What are you twelve? Nothing happened, I had just survived a fall that would have killed most people. It's not like I was up for anything."

"Too bad." Said Sigma with a disappointed sigh, "What the hell kind of superman are you anyway?"

"An old one." Answered Wraith honestly.


The time flew by as the two men, traded more stories and drank more beer. Devon was surprised to learn about Sigma's memory loss and his strange ability to stave off the prying minds of telepaths. Apparently though, his friend Everet Delved a psychometrist was able to retrieve some of his past, but that was only because his ability went beyond the human mind. Still, he hadn't been able to tell Sigma anything that allowed him to remember anything significant. Wraith wasn't convinced, however, that the man's memories weren't retrievable and promised to see if he could jump start them, if he was willing be part of some experimentation, which Sigma said he would consider.

As Devon went to the kitchen to get a garbage bag, Sigma turned on the evening news and became very interested in one of the articles titled, 'Heroes or Renegades?'. A newscast that discussed the recent events surrounding Green Street and sudden decline of support that the meta-human resistance fighters were starting to build up in the general population. The people they interviewed were all disappointed in the mass destruction the vigilantes caused and many of them sided with R.A.I.D., despite all the efforts the returning costumed heroes were making to assisting in combating the super-human villains plaguing the city.

"Hey there's your savior." pointed out Sigma to Devon while he cleared off the coffee table.

Devon looked up and watched the video footage of a blurry image that really didn't look like anything yet witnesses reported that it was her. When the network apologized for the camera malfunction that prevented the video feed, Wraith was intrigued, since the clips that they played showed the buildings in the background clearly and yet her form was obscured. Some kind of electro-magnetic cloak, he considered, his scientific mind running through everything that could prevent a camera from working.

After the news, Sigma stood and stretched. Despite the fourteen or so beer that he had consumed he wasn't the least bit drunk, although he'd gone to the washroom quite a bit. Devon was hardly effected as well, although he did feel a little lighter; beer had never really had a profound effect on the big man.

"So you up for some night activities?" Asked Sigma and he went on to explain about the corner store near Green Street, which Wraith was already aware of thanks to Snap Dragon's call.

Devon looked at the time, bobbled his head side to side and after some deliberation agreed. "Start a new job tomorrow." he explained.

Wraith emerged from his bedroom dressed in his deep blue costume with the mask not yet on.

"Gotta stop by my place first." Explained Sigma.

Wraith looked out his window, down to the street and asked which car was his, then he told him that he'd meet him down there after he locked up. By the time, Sigma made it down to the street and unlocked the door of the black lexus, Devon was already sitting in the passenger seat, a trench coat hiding his costume. They drove south toward Sigma's garage so that he could change cars and put on his own attire before checking out the convenience store and a few times along the way, Wraith caught himself looking up into the night sky wondering if Amazon was out there and what he would do if they should ever again meet.

Amazon had spent enough time on the balcony. The night was dragging on and she had yet to do anything worth while to speak of. With another leap into the air, she let the cool currents carry her over the city. It was a beautiful night with just enough cloud cover to allow her the freedom to remain air borne for a little longer than she usually did.

As she glanced down at the city, she saw the lights of the area near Green Street indicating the authorities were still swarming all over the area. Her thoughts drifted back to the horrific tornado that had nearly decimated that area of the city and her brows furrowed once more. Nothing like that had happened in Chicago before. So why now, all of a sudden?

Something about all of that just didn’t set well with her. And deep down she had a sickening feeling Apex was involved in what happened. While she would most likely never be able to prove it, what happened certainly did seem to follow suit in all the other things he’d done.

Decreasing her altitude, Amazon traveled just over the building tops to keep from being spotted by any unfriendlies, RAID or otherwise. The last thing she needed right now was to draw any kind of attention to herself but she wanted to get a little closer look at the destruction and perhaps listen in on anything they were discussing.

Landing quietly on a nearby building, Amazon kept herself far enough away from the hot zone to keep from being spotted by RAID. Those plasma guns were doozies and she didn’t want to feel their nasty sting any m ore than the next guy. Not to mention they were about the only weapon the agents could use to incapacitate her.

Keeping to the shadows, Amazon moved to the edge of the building. Carefully looking all around, she made sure the coast was clear before she approached the edge and glanced over. Yellow caution tape had the area directly below cordoned off and several agents were still walking around taking readings on different devices while others, in full tactical gear, acted like guard dogs stopping anyone from gaining access to the area.

Furrowing her brows, Amazon saw the utter destruction the tornado had caused. Surely Wraith wouldn’t have let something like this get out of hand. He was too damn goody two shoes for that to happen. Would he? No….while he was stand offish with her, for obvious reasons, she could tell deep down he had a good heart and would never do anything like this to harm innocent people. Could he?

“FREEZE! PUT YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR! NOW!”

Amazon heard the barked command from behind her and closed her eyes cursing softly under her breath. How could she have been so stupid as to let someone sneak up behind her like this?

“This is Delta Team. We have a hostile on the roof at my location. All units converge.”

Now she was really in for it. In a few seconds all hell was going to break loose and she would have no choice but to fight her way out of it. The LAST thing she wanted to do. Slowly standing up to her full height, Amazon carefully raised her hands and turned around slowly knowing what she was going to see when she looked at her opponent.

The RAID agent was in full tactical gear and had his plasma rifle aimed right at her. She could hear the hum of the charge and feel the energy in the air knowing it was ready to be fired at any moment. Around her she heard the shouts of other agents as they began to come to their team members aid. In the distance she could hear the sound of rotor blades getting closer. Giving the man her best smile, she tried to let him know she wasn’t going to hurt him….yet.

“Now, now….let’s not get our panties in a twist here. I’m not doing anything illegal. I’m just checking this out for myself. Why don’t you put that gun down and we’ll talk this over like rational people.”

The agent seemed to get irritated with her and took a threatening step towards her, pulling his gun closer in preparation for firing it.

“F&%$ you, bitch. Your buddies did a number on some of my friends. What makes you think I’m gonna go light on you?”

Amazon’s smile faded as she heard the man talk. Her window of opportunity was shrinking and fast for any hope of escape. And after hearing his heated words, she knew this was going to end one way and one way only.

“Look…it wasn’t me that did anything to your friends. I just got here. Just calm down and put your weapon down. I’m not going to do anything irrational.”

As she talked, Amazon saw an HVAC ventilation pipe out of the corner of her eye. And just in time. The agent drew a bead on her then.

“Maybe you won’t do anything irrational….but who says I won’t?”

In the next second the agent fired his plasma gun at her and she had just enough time to dodge to the right side and tear the ventilation pipe off the roof into the direction of the plasma stream. Sparks flew all around just as a host of other agents busted through the roof entry door of the building while others ran to the edge of the adjacent building and open fired in her direction.

It was all Amazon could do to tuck tight and miss being shot with bullets and plasma streams. Debris and bullet fragments rained down on her from all over. When the firing paused, she didn’t bother to look back and quickly got to her feet and started running as fast as she could over the top of the building.

Firing at her again, the agents yelled orders at her and each other. Keeping her head low, she used the different objects on the roof as cover until she could get far enough away from the agents to take to the air. But even that would be difficult now since the helicopter was about to close in on them.

There was only one way for her to go, and that was down…as fast as she could. Reaching the edge of the roof, Amazon jumped over the small retaining wall like an Olympic sprinter and disappeared. The agents on the roof quickly radioed for back up on the ground and the helicopter was on scene now to provide a spotlight on the intended target.

Amazon hit the ground rather unceremoniously. Unlike her usual graceful landings, this one was far from graceful, sending her tumbling a few feet after she hit the pavement. The jolt left her a little disoriented but as soon as she heard the thumping of the helicopter rotor’s, she gathered enough senses back to drag herself to her feet and try to duck for cover once more.

The helicopter spotlight picked her up just seconds before she ducked into an alley between two buildings. Fortunately the alley was small and made it difficult for the spot light to see her. Difficult, but not impossible. Several times the blinding light found her all too easily and she had to keep moving as fast as she could. Just when she thought she would wind up cornered she found a door and forced it open.

Ducking through the dark store, she moved quickly through the deserted business to the storefront. Her only exit was through the plate glass display windows. As she heard shouts in the short distance behind her, she knew she would have no other recourse. With a quick glance behind her, Amazon took off running as fast as she could and, covered her face with her arms as she crashed through the plate glass sending shards flying on all directions. As soon as she reached the sidewalk she ducked and rolled once more. Jumping to her feet, she took off running as fast as she could finding another alley to help obscure her form once more.

The helicopter was relentless and pursued her where ever she went. Sirens began to wail and she could hear shouts of agents on her trail as they followed her with direction from the helicopter. She HAD to disable that spotlight. It was the only way she could find peace and escape the mess she found herself in.

The next building she forced herself into, she ran up the stairs looking for the roof access. She could hear the sound of the helicopter as it hovered overhead looking for any sign of her. When she reached the roof entry door, she kicked it violently causing it to fly across the roof. Stepping out onto the roof, her hair whipped around her violently as the air current from the rotor blades swirled all around her.

The spotlight was on her instantly and she had to bring her hand up to shield her eyes from it’s brightness. Knowing the helicopter wouldn’t have a plasma gun on it due to the static electricity damage it would cause the motor, Amazon crouched then took off for the light that was blinding her. She heard gun fire and felt something sting her left bicep as a bullet whizzed by scraping her arm in the process but she kept moving towards the light.

As soon as she reached the light, she reached out to grab a hold of it, feeling it burn her hands from the intensity of the heat it generated. Pulling with all of her strength, she grunted then gave a yell as she felt the light begin to budge and eventually come off the helicopter.

As Amazon worked to get the light off, the RAID agent with the gun in the helicopter leaned over the rails to try and shoot her from this close range. Unfortunately, Amazon’s movements caused the helicopter to jerk unexpectedly. The agent was thrown off balance and lost his footing, tumbling out of the helicopter. Hearing his screams as he fell out of the helicopter, Amazon quickly dropped the spotlight and dove for the RAID agent. Her hand clasped around his forearm at the last possible second she could slow him down. They still landed with a rather hard shock to both of their bodies, Amazon positioning herself so she took the brunt of it all, but at least he was still alive. Stunned and injured, but alive. It took a few seconds for Amazon to regain her senses and drag herself to her feet again.

As the RAID agent groaned as he began to regain his senses as well, Amazon stumbled to her feet and headed off in the opposite direction. Once again she found a dark alley to slip into. Knowing the other agents would pause to check on their comrade, she used their pause to escape as quickly as she could.

Slightly disoriented, Amazon stepped out from the alley into the street on the other end of the alley. Headlights of an oncoming car blinded her again and she quickly brought her hand up to shield her eyes from the bright light as she heard the screech of tires. Just as the car came to an abrupt stop, she placed her hands on the hood and lowered her head as she tried to shake the cobwebs free.

A crimson stain covered her left bicep area and her usually pristine leopard print outfit had several dirt blotches on it. A thin red line appeared on her forehead just over the outside corner of her right eye. She lifted her head and blinked at the two male occupants then headed away from them again. She had to get away from here…..

Upon entering the base, Shawn made such a beeline for his room that one might have easily mistaken him for having restored his sight. He knew exactly where he had left his books and quickly snatched them up like a father rounding up his children after a long separation. Pulling his bag up and hanging it around his shoulders, Shawn proceeded past the speculations and discussion in Morgan's room, and into the living room. There, without even noticing anyone else that might be sitting there, he collapsed onto the sofa and pulled one of the books lovingly out of his bag.

There, he leaned back, resting his head against the arm of the couch and pulling his feet onto the couch with his knees bent. Laying the book on his body, he barely propped it up against his knees in an angle that no one would be able to read comfortably. His fingers, however, had longer reach. With his head tilted upward and his eyes gazing emptily toward the ceiling, half-hidden by his eyelids, Shawn disappeared into the immortal words of the hardened philosophers. It felt like forever since he'd been this happy.
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Grey paused, sitting in the car beside Scavenger and tapped the wheel in thought. Finally, he sighed, well aware that his friend wasn't anywhere near as fun in the daytime. Honestly, he preferred night himself. Opening the door, in a defeated sort of way he stepped out and waited for Scavenger to follow suit.

"Gettin' f%&@ed up sounds like a good plan," he said resolutely, his eyes drifting over to Scavenger's storage places for drugs.

The man that Wraith had learned was Slate Morrison quickly transformed into Sigma. His placid blue grey eyes, dulled and darkened when that leather mask was pulled up over the lower half of his face and even movements and mannerisms seemed altered when he donned his blue trench coat.

Wraith who had been meandering about the garage, inspecting the various projects that the inventor had on the go took note of the change in his new friend and instinctively fell into 'hero-mode' as he strode by him. They got in the beat up, blue Cordoba and drove out of the stall toward the Green Street area.

Sigma parked in his usual spot which was several blocks away from the warehouse district and the two costumed crime fighter proceeded on foot. The poorly lit neighborhood provided good cover but it wasn't exactly deserted so they stuck to the back allies, Wraith ready to vanish at first sign of a civilian. With his collar up and chin down, Sigma could blend in at a distance, but Wraith would stand out like a sore thumb so he had to remain vigilant and not draw any attention to them and have some law abiding citizen dial, 000-RAID.

A few times they ran into people; drunks staggering down the street, a guy walking his dog, a bum searching though a garbage bin. They easily avoided arousing suspicions, as Wraith turned into the wind and Sigma stayed in the shadows with his head down and eventually they made it into the cordoned off area, still teeming with RAID operatives. They slowed their pace, and moved more cautiously through the darkened allies not wanting to run into any of the enforcers and things were going quite well until one of the surveilling helicopters began sweeping the streets nearby them.

Sigma and Wraith ducked into an alcove and pressed themselves into the shadows at first believing that they were spotted but then it became quickly apparent to the two of them that the helicopter was chasing someone else.

"Looks like someone started the party without us." Mused Sigma as he stepped back out into the alley and watched the chopper as it swept low over the buildings then hovered directly over the one directly above them. Then there was a loud crash and the sound of twisting metal. "Whoever they are they're fightin' back." he described.

Wraith stepped out of the alcove and joined his partner looking up when he heard the noise, curious what kind of meta-human was attacking a helicopter, in what sounded like close range combat. He then duck slightly when he heard the sound of shots being fired. "Maybe we should help." mentioned Wraith.

Sigma, unmoved by the sounds of gun fire or the plight of another meta-human shot Wraith a disconcerted look. "Easy there boy scout, RAID might be taking down an actual villain. Don't want go rushing in guns a blazing and help some son-of-a-bitch get away."

Wraith a little embarrassed by his impetuousness nodded in agreement and continued to watch the roof top, where they could just make out the the tail of the helicopter as it swayed side to side. A moment later there was a blood curdling scream round the other side of the building and the two heros instinctively ran around to check what happened. They ran around the back side of the building and took a detour through a narrow alley and as they rounded the corner they slowed their pace when they saw the crimson glow of tail lights illuminating the passage. Approaching cautiously they could clearly see the familiar form of a tall woman in a leopard printed suit in the head lights of a stopped car.

Both of the crime fighters recognized her right away and Sigma exclaimed, "What the hell is Amazon doing here?"

"I don't know, but it looks like she might need some help, she's running back toward the RAID enforcers." Wraith replied.

Both of the car doors swung open and two men armed with a bat and crowbar stepped out briefly. "Told ya we'd find one of those freaks! And this one's fine!" Shouted one of them to the other and when Amazon turned to run, they jumped back into the car and gave chase.

Sigma stopped to access the situation but Wraith kept on going, his powerful strides pushing him beyond world recording setting speed until he caught up with the car, slowed by the narrowness of the alleyway. When he had generated enough speed, Wraith launched himself into the air, and flew high above the vehicle then descended rapidly, crashing down on the hood of the car, his feet sinking into the metal. The impact was so great that the radiator cracked and the panicked driver slammed on his breaks, hurling Wraith through the air, where he gracefully rotated backwards, slowing his flight with his wind powers and landing lightly in the path of the steaming vehicle.

Wraith stood at the mouth of the alley, exiting directly on to the street which the RAID enforcers were running down. They hadn't spotted him yet, but they soon would unless he used his disappearing act, but before he did he looked around for Amazon wondering where she run off to. He wasn't sure if the enforcers had seen her or not, but they were definitely drawn to the loud crash of his crushing stomp on the hood of mutant hater's car.

Realizing she had run right back towards the agents that had been following her, Amazon uttered a soft curse under her breath. How the hell was she going to get out of this mess? For the first time in a long time she was actually a little scared. Those plasma guns hurt like hell not to mention the fact they would weaken her abilities making her nothing more than your normal human.

Her ability to fly was severely hindered right now. For starters it was difficult to get the right air currents in an alley this time of night and secondly she was in a weakened state from the injuries she had suffered from dodging bullets and preventing one of those lasted operatives from winding up a bloody mess on the sidewalk.

Amazon heard the sound of crushing metal and free flowing steam behind her just before she ducked into a dark entry way in the alley she had moved towards after nearly being hit by a car. She heard the shouts of the RAID operatives as they came charging towards the sound of the car’s demise. Thinking she was seeing things, she shook her head once more then looked again. Sure enough, Wraith was there.

”What are you doing here? Go! Before they spot you!”

Her voice was nothing more than an urgent whisper as she barely stepped out of her hiding place. Her brows were furrowed deeply and her brown eyes settled on his handsome face just before she looked in the opposite direction and saw the tell tale lights moving indicating the RAID ops were almost there.

To one side there was the crushed car with the meta hating vigilantes. To the other were several well trained, pissed off RAID operatives. And mixed in with all of those was Wraith. Amazon couldn’t just leave him there. He was completely innocent in all of this. Then again, so was she. Her only crime this night was going to see if she could find any evidence Apex was there earlier in the day to make a tornado happen in the middle of Chicago. Now she was fighting for her life and trying to avoid capture at the hands of an agency that would just as soon see her dead than pay the money to keep her locked up.

Seeing that Wraith wasn’t moving, she got a sudden sinking feeling in her gut and took on a defensive stance. She should have known. Those good looks of his would get her in trouble eventually.

”If you’re going to try and turn me over to them, I’ll fight you with every last ounce of energy I have. And even then I’ll keep going until I’m cold and stiff. I’d rather be dead than imprisoned.”

Curling her hands into fists, Amazon lunged out at Wraith in an attempt to punch that handsome jaw of his with her left fist and knock him back a few feet but when her fist hit nothing but empty air she felt herself stumbling then falling forward. How could she have been so stupid? He didn’t get the name Wraith from being like a brick building. Great….the final insult before she was ‘killed in a shoot out in the street’.