Wraith took a stand against the men in the car, both of them to cowardly to step out and face him. They had good reason though, as they considered what the costumed meta-human could do them if he could crush the hood of a car and bust out the radiator. The car was still running, however, and the driver thought that before the engine ceased up he was getting as far as way from the freaks as he could. The man pinned the accelerator, which was what Wraith was waiting for but just as the tires began to squeal he caught sight out of the corner of his eye a fist flying at his head. Instinctively he assumed his wind form and the knock out punch passed through him, followed by the body of Amazon, carried forward by her own powerful inertia. As she stumbled forward, off balance by her missed hay-maker, the car lurched ahead directly at her and in the narrow alley there was hardly enough room to get a door open, let alone dodge a speeding vehicle. They were, however, at it's mouth and all Amazon had to do was round the corner, unfortunately that put her directly in line with RAID.

Floating in his unseen wind form, Wraith watched the event unfold before his eyes. He considered fleeing down the alley, back to where Sigma lurked in the shadows and leave the villain to the authorities but the fast approaching men weren't police they were RAID. They cared nothing about justice, just that she was a meta-human and that was wrong. Wraith made a split second decision and propelled himself toward, Amazon, his ghostly form appearing in the darkness as the extremely quick movement caused him to become luminescent. As the woman stood in the pathway of the car, a transparent blue coloured shape came toward her and solidified into Wraith, who grabbed her arm and pulled her round the corner and directly in the path of the RAID enforcers. The car burst out of the alleyway, crossed the street and carried on into the next alley behind them, while before the two meta-humans several operatives pointing both plasma and conventional firearms closed in.

It all happened so fast she didn’t have time to even blink. Amazon was tumbling forward then she caught a glimpse of a blue streak and felt a cool rush of air just seconds before she felt a strong hand close around her arm and haul her up then spin her around a corner. All the while she heard the sound of a racing engine getting closer to her and knew she was going to get run over before she could right herself to give any sort of protection against the impact. The car rushed past her so close she could feel the mangled metal brush against her. Instinctively she flattened herself against the wall of the building as much as she could and buried her face in her hands as she felt the cool brick brush against her forehead. Of course she was about to thank her savior when she heard the unmistakable sound of booted feet stomping on the pavement followed soon after by the sound of guns being readied for firing.

“FREEZE! HANDS IN THE AIR NOW!”

Amazon slowly lifted her face from her hands and looked over to see the handsome, blond haired Wraith standing beside her, facing down the RAID operatives. She was down right pissed at him for getting involved in this but now that he was, there was nothing she could do about it now. Furrowing her brows, she spoke to him in a frustrated whisper.

”Way to go. Now you’re up to your eyeballs in this crap…….”

Her features softened a little then.

”…..thanks…by the way.”

She moved to turn around when she heard an operative yell at her again.

“I said FREEZE! One more move from you and I’m going to light you up like a Christmas tree.”

There was something about his tone that told Amazon he meant every word he said. Her brown eyes locked onto Wraith’s then and she whispered softly again.

”I don’t suppose you have any fire crackers on you, do you? If ever we needed a distraction, now would be the time. Something loud and flashy works every time with these knuckleheads.”

Seeing the look on Wraith’s face, she sighed softly.

”Can’t blame me for asking.”

The RAID operative yelled again.

“SHUT UP! NO TALKING!”

Amazon furrowed her brows again and glanced over her shoulder as best she could without moving her head too much.

”You told me to freeze not be quiet. You should be more specific next time.”

The RAID operative raised his gun to draw a bead on her.

“There won’t be a next time, bitch.”

Wraith sure didn't have any explosives hidden away in his tight costume, but Sigma always carried a few for just these kind of situations. Creeping down the darkened alley, keeping to the shadows, he could see the two tall, costumed fugitives illuminated by the streetlights shining into the mouth of the alley. A few RAID agents were slowly working they around them, and one cautiously approached the alleyway checking to see if they had any accomplices lurking nearby.

The enforcer pointed his plasma rifle into the dark corridor while the other two men bringing up the rear kept their weapons trained on the metas. He raised a hand to his helmut, activating the thermal vision of his visor and scanned the alley, thoroughly, then satisfied that there was nothing down there, turned and gave an "All Clear....GAAAHHH!"

Sigma descended from above, swinging on a long, stretchable whip attached to a small black baton. He plummeted like a bungey jumper and as the whip slowed his fall, he swung right into the RAID enforcer, kicking him full force in his helmut, knocking the man into the air and toward the other two. Simultaneously, the masked man, tossed two grenades, one in front and one behind Wraith and Amazon which instantly exploded as soon as they hit the pavement. Behind them, orange coloured smoke erupted, obscuring the vision of the officers and before, a yellow cloud of noxious gas quickly filled the area.

Wraith didn't hesitate. As the enforcer behind him fired a bolt of electromagnetic plasma energy, he became the wind and moved quickly to the side, his physical form transforming into a transparent ghost. Even in his wind form, the electricity would effect him, so he had to avoid it. He managed to dodge the blast, that licked out and almost struck another operative while the old super hero, re-materialized at the man's left and through a vicious right, ploughing into the man's helmut, snapping his head back and launching him off of the ground.

Sigma followed through, as his first victim tumbled before him, and as his whip detached he lashed out with it, striking the weapon of the third and last of their opponents at the rear. The black, tendril like weapon, wrapped around the man's rifle and Sigma wrenched it from his hands, disarming him as he landed in a full out run toward the man.



Further up the street, their sight obscured by the yellow tear gas, the five remaining RAID enforcers switched to thermal vision and were able to easily see their targets. Their helmets also had emergency filters allowing them to breath in hostile environments, so the tear gas had no effect on them. Targeting their weapons, the leader shouted one more word of warning before opening fire. "You are all wanted for crimes against the Riggs Act. Wraith, Amazon and Sigma Seventeen, lay down on the ground with your hands behind your backs or we will open fire!"

Sigma and Wraith ignored the warning and continued to pound the RAID enforcers, following through in order to ensure that the three men would not remain a factor in the battle, giving the others little choice in their actions. "Fire!" Ordered the Sergeant.

The distraction Sigma provided was just the opening Amazon was looking for. The added bonus of the tear gas was something unexpected and to her delight, she used it to its fullest capacity. As Wraith and Sigma handled the three forward points of the RAID operatives, Amazon, with the aid of Wraiths wind currents, was able to launch herself far enough into the air to escape from the precarious situation she found herself in. While she wasn’t strong enough yet to get any real height, she was able to get high enough to get a birds eye view of the situation.

As Wraith and Sigma continued to deal with the thee RAID ops where she’d just come from, she could see the other RAID ops straggling behind. From her vantage point in the air, Amazon saw they were getting ready to aid their soon to be fallen comrades.

Hearing the RAID ops leader order them to surrender because of crimes against the Riggs Act, Amazon knew she had to do something and quick. Get a few more feet of height she then turned and nose dived gaining speed by holding her arms straight out in front of her and making herself as streamlined as possible. At the last possible second, she pulled herself up and just as the command to fire at Wraith and Sigma was uttered, the RAID ops were suddenly struck form the right side so violently, they hit each other and fell like dominos.

Their helmets clanged together, some of them dropped their guns and all of them were knocked away a few feet from where they originally stood. Her energy expended, Amazon landed a few feet away and immediately fell to her knees. Forcing herself up, she held her breath as she ran towards the noxious cloud. Blinking as the gas began to sting her eyes; she found Sigma and Wraith and pointed behind them.

”Come on! Let’s go before they have the chance to come at us again!”

The gas burned the back of her throat causing her to cough, it stung her eyes causing them to tear up but she knew these things were only temporary as opposed to being another victim of RAIDs need to eradicate all meta’s off the face of the earth.

As well trained as the RAID enforcers were, they could not match Sigma's fighting skills nor Wraiths sheer brute strength in hand to hand combat. They double teamed the last man, who had been the first to go down from Sigma's sneak attack and just as he made it back onto his feet, the enforcer was thrown into air by the large meta-human then punched into unconsciousness before he hit the ground by the other.

Unaware of the five other men who were about the fire, Sigma and Wraith slowly backed away as the yellow tear gas began to merge with the orange smoke. Generating a field of air currents around the two of them, Wraith ensured that they were would be spared by the effects of the gas, then they heard a loud crash of bodies striking bodies and then hitting the pavement. Before they knew what was happening, Amazon emerged from the gas, urging them to flee between coughs.

Sigma took the lead and bolted down the alleyway, which the mutant-haters had sped down. The smoke was thickest around its entrance so it seemed a good bet and Wraith was right on his heels. Checking over his shoulder to make sure Amazon was with them, the large man maintained Sigma's sprint with ease, gliding across the ground. They eventually reached a junction and Sigma instinctively headed the direction that would take them away from the RAID operatives, deftly scaling a fence, barring their way while Wraith simply passed right through it. A few more sharp turns, and hurdles and the masked man began to reduce his pace, content that they were well away, unfortunately they were hardly around Green Street anymore.

Stopping to catch their breath, Wraith placed his hands on his hips, opening his lungs, while Sigma collapsed against a wall and slid down to the pavement, placing his head between his knees. It was then that Wraith saw the blood flowing from a wound in the man's chest.

"You're bleeding, Sigma." Announced Wraith.

"Yeah, I caught a couple." Sigma replied in an unconcerned manner.

"You should let me take a look." Wraith offered.

"I'll be fine." Growled Sigma, "I just need some time."

Going against his better judgement, Wraith left Sigma alone and turned to Amazon, "How 'bout you? Any injuries?" he asked, "Oh, by the way, thanks for taking out those enforcers back there, you saved our asses." he thanked her then proceeded to stroll over to where his partner was sitting to perhaps get a look at the man's wounds.

Amazon was able to keep a few paces behind the two men but it was all she could do to maintain that speed. It had been quite some time since her energy had been depleted this far and she had to remember it was mostly caused from the fact she used most of her energy to make sure the RAID enforcer form the helicopter didn’t end up a stain on the pavement below.

When they finally stopped to catch their breath, Amazon was winded and took several deep gulps of air. Glancing behind them several times to makes sure they weren’t tailed, she snapped her head around when she heard Wraith say Sigma was bleeding. Furrowing her brows, she let her brown eyes rest on both men giving them a disapproving look.

”You two….could have saved….yourselves all this trouble….I would have found a way….out of that pickle…..”

While she didn’t admit it to the men, she felt bad they had gotten hurt on her account and now she felt responsible for their injuries. Hell, if Amazon had just stayed away instead of trying to be nosey, she would have been able to avoid all of this mess in the first place. But fate obviously had other plans tonight. When Wraith thanked her for taking care of the operatives she scoffed.

”Yeah….well….don’t expect me to keep showing up all the time. I have things to do and places to go, ya know.”

Looking at Sigma again, she felt another wave op guilt wash over her. Her features quickly showed her concern when she saw the blood staining the masked mans chest.

”You really should let Blondie here take a look at those, Siggy. At least help stop the flow of blood until he can get you someplace safe. Speaking of safe…..the place you used last night is still available if you guys want to use it. I’ll be able to fly in a few more minutes and we can get Siggy there lickity split. That is….if you two won’t see it as fraternizing with the enemy. I know how you goody, goody type can be….”

Wraith folded his arms across his chest and smiled, unintentionally striking one of his usual iconic poses when Amazon sassed him. He was about to say something in response when Sigma bent over, lifted the bottom of his mask and spat out a wad of blood.

When, Amazon tried to encourage the man to allow Wraith check him out he flashed his cold greyblue eyes at her defiantly. "Siggy", he said to himself, "Did she just call me, Siggy?"

Keeping his eyes trained on her, he slowly rose, sliding his back up along the wall for support. Then surprising both onlookers, he straightened up, rolled his neck a few times, wiped the sweat from his brow and seemed good to go. He was still noticeably weakened, but no more so than Amazon, despite the fact that he had taken a slug to the chest and abdomen.

Curiosity got the better of Wraith and he impetuously grabbed at Sigma's blood stained trench coat to open it, but the man clamped a hand on his wrist and held it firmly. "I told ya, I'm fine." he sternly reminded the doctor. He then pushed Wraith's arm to side and took the lead once more, walking with no signs of the injuries that would have incapacitated, even killed an ordinary man. It seemed then, at least to Wraith, that Sigma was anything but normal.

Wraith looked apologetically at Amazon. "I guess he's declining your offer." he said, then an awkward silence ensued as the super-hero realized that he was conversing with a villain. A thief that should be brought to justice if only to pay for the damages she inflicted on society. Then the horrible reality of the damage and lost lives he was responsible for the other night washed over him. He was slipping. Wraith had seen it happen to meta-human's before, seen them fall from grace, only to become that which they fought against. Was that his ultimate fate? Was Apex Fusion really the cause of the other tornado, or did he just nudge Wraith on the path that he was already destined for? Wraith took a step back from Amazon, then and clenched his jaw.

"Com'on!" Hollered Sigma impatiently, "Write it an letter, it'll be quicker. Those RAID bastards, are gonna be sniffing around like sharks on a blood trail. We gotta keep movin'."

Sigma's deep, raspy voice pried Wraith's glare away from Amazon and as he started to take a few steps toward the self proclaimed leader said what was on his mind.

"I am 'good'." he told her, more to hear him say it himself, "We should stick together until we're outta this." he mentioned and right at that point the sound of a helicopter flew overhead, it's spot light widely missing them, but then others could be heard in the distance all running search patterns.

Wraith looked up, then back to Amazon. "Flying may not be that safe right now. We stand a better chance together for the time being." he suggested then looked ahead to Sigma who was near the end of the alley. "He seems alright, but if he goes down, I don't think I'm going to be able to get him out of here on my own."

Wraith left it at that and started jogging to catch up with Sigma. He couldn't bring himself to openly ask for help, but then he didn't feel that he had to. It was Amazon's decision, right or wrong and it wasn't his place to sway her one way or the other. Doing the right thing was what separated heroes from villains.

Amazon glared right back at Sigma when he glared at her for calling him Siggy. It was just her way and they would have to learn to deal with it. Like it or not. Still, when Sigma slowly brought himself to stand up straight then head off away form them, she was impressed. His wounds seemed quite significant, especially when he spit out some blood onto the pavement.

As Sigma marched off leaving her alone, so to speak, with Wraith, Amazon saw the way Wraith regarded her. The instant he realized he was consorting with the ‘enemy’ she saw the change in his eyes and saw the muscles in his jaw flex and was ready for him to say something snarky to her. But all he did was affirm he was ‘good’ after Sigma yelled for them to get moving.

As the helicopter flew over head, Amazon quickly cast her gaze skyward. No spotlight illuminated the area but she knew damn well they had other technology that would lock in on them if they stayed in this spot too long. Looking back at Wraith when he old her flying might not be such a good idea, she had to agree with him. And she couldn’t argue with his logic in why they needed to stick together. While she didn’t think Wraith would have much trouble getting Sigma anywhere if he had to, she decided to stick with them…just in case. As she jogged up beside Wraith, Amazon let him know this wasn’t her usual way of working.

”Ya know, Blondie, I usually work solo. Don’t get used to my company. Besides, I don’t think Siggy likes me very much. Just ‘til we get out of this powder keg….then we go our separate ways.”

The new joint, FBI and RAID task force, stationed in downtown Chicago was a buzz. Operatives worked around the clock to quell the mutant uprising in the windy city which had become a stigma to the nation. Meta-human activity was on the rise coast to coast as costumed crusaders were becoming bolder and once more taking to the streets. RAID had to smash the rebellion once for all and make an example of Chicago's meta-human problem and to accomplish their goal had been granted the resources of the Federal Bureau as well.



Special Agents, Henkel and Jameson had promised the full cooperation on the matter and since their arrival in Chicago had been working to bring themselves up to speed on the situation at hand by reviewing hundreds of case files received in trade for their own information. Only one, however, had slipped through the cracks, one that Henkel buried for his own personal reasons, the case file on 'Wranger', a.k.a. Cowboy, otherwise known as Tim Rutherford. It was wrong to withhold the information, Henkel knew it, but his instincts told him to keep his knowledge of the meta-human's identity secret until he worked out all the details of the case.



A paper airplane sailed through the dim office. It cruised from a corner cubical, across the hallway over the dividing wall and just skimmed over Henkel's bald head. "Right on the runway!" exclaimed Jameson, raising his arms above his head triumphantly.

Henkel picked up the plane, tossed it trash and spun around in his chair to face his partners work area. "What the hell time is it anyway?" he asked, taking his glasses off and rubbing his eyes wearily.

Jameson leaned back in his his chair and looked at his watch. "Late. Really, really, really, freakin' late." he answered. "Wanna coffee?"

"I want a bloody vacation, but a coffee will do." Henkel replied.

They were the only two agents from the bureau left in the area. Henkel didn't know how it happened but for some reason they got stuck with the graveyard shift. He never got the the graveyard and something told him that his eager beaver partner had requested it. Damn fool. All he cared about was impressing Birkshire, hoping that the guy would put in a good word for him when he applied to transfer to R.A.I.D. Enforcer, division. He felt he could make more of a difference chasing down meta-humans, and although Henkel couldn't dispute that he would be an asset to the agency, he felt that his younger partner's talents would be wasted with those Nazi's. He'd seen too many promising FBI recruits fall in the RAID's bullshit and get thrown into a meat grinder, dealing with unknown perpetrators that they were totally unprepared for. Well that was going to change, now that he had a say in RAID's affairs, he was going to make sure the enforcers knew everything about their opponents and practice safer tactics, rather than rushing in guns a blazing.

The tall familiar figure of Supervising Agent Birkshire glided across the office, casting a glance over to Henkel and waving for him to follow. He was impressed to see the old man working late, and curious what prompted such a late night meeting. He got up and made his way to the commander's office, intercepting Jameson and his coffee on the way. "Birkshire wants to see us." he told Jameson, and they both strolled through the door together.



Birkshire stood before his windowed wall his hands in his pockets, looking out over the office area, focusing on one man in particular. He turned, to the agents both wondering or not to sit down then turned back to the window. "Do you see that enforcer?" he asked them, and the two men approached the window and studied him. A young man, who face reflected much more than his years could contain. A handsome face, weathered and scarred stared blankly ahead, anticipating nothing, but the intensity of his eyes told a different story.

"Agent Lance Garret of the REG-MET Division, codename, Hangman." Birkshire informed them.

"REG-MET?" Questioned, Henkel not understanding the term.

"Registered Meta-human Division." Explained Birkshire, his eyes flashing toward the older FBI agent, anticipating his criticizing glare, knowing too well that, Henkel would be the first to accuse him of being a hypocrite, "He's a registered meta-human and an Enforcer, one of the best."

Henkel was confused. "You mean, this guy hunts his own kind? And you trust him?"

"Implicitly." Answered Birkshire, "He alone has captured more meta's single handedly than the combined efforts of any task force. Agent Garret is a patriot. He lives to serve his country and believes in what we do. He has sworn to uphold the law and capture or even kill any meta-human that opposes the registry. In return for his service he receives special privileges, but he asks nothing more than any other registered meta receives."

Henkel and Jameson both shared a look then stared back out at the focused man who was apparently waiting for Birkshire to summon him.

"So what makes this guy so good? What powers does he have?" Inquired Jameson.

"The most powerful one of all. He's an inhibitor." Birkshire informed them.

Henkel screwed up his face. "So what, he cancels out super powers?" he questioned in disbelief.

"Yes." Birkshire simply replied, "Mind you he can't rob a meta-human of their physical attributes, but he prevents any extraordinary powers from working. He himself is stronger and faster than normal and so by eliminating a meta-human's special abilities he is often more than a match for them."

Birkshire turned and sat down at his desk, gesturing for Henkel and Jameson to take their seats. He pressed the intercom button on his phone and requested that Agent Garret be shown into his office.



Agent Garret entered the room and stood before Birkshire's desk like a soldier awaiting command. He had been participating in tactical exercises prior to his summons and hadn't had time to change, not that he would of if given the chance, he spent more time in his uniform than out and preferred it.

"Agent Garret, this Special Agent Henkel and Special Agent Jameson." Birkshire introduced.

The men stood and exchanged handshakes then resumed their places. Birkshire then motioned for Garret to sit and with a, "Thank you, sir." he joined the two FBI agents.

Birkshire then proceeded to brief the men on why he wanted them to meet. "I want you three to work together starting this minute. I believe we have an incredible opportunity not only to pool our resources but to unite our expertise as we work together for the common goal of apprehending these rebellious meta-humans." he told them, then paused to access the computer on his desk and a large wall mounted monitor to the men's left came alive with a picture of the meta-human, Apex Fusion.

"Apex is our foremost concern, but I would like you to concentrate on the capture of the following unregistered metas." he began, and picture of the mutant Amazon flashed up on the screen. "This is an artistic rendering of the thief, since she has some kind of ability that inhibits her image from being captured. I believe that Amazon is a bigger fish than anyone suspects. She has ties with Apex that might be able to be exploited."

The image changed to another artistic rendering. "This is a depiction of the criminal known as Cowboy to us and Wrangler to the general public. He has been encountered in Chicago and I WANT him caught and brought to justice once and for all." Birkshire ordered, then he changed the screen again and went over the profile of the meta known as Sigma Slayer or Sigma Seventeen, briefly then concentrated on the final outlaw known as Wraith. "This guys been kicking around since the seventies," Birkshire began, "He's always been crime fighter, but it looks likes he's taken a turn for the worst after the destruction he caused to the city by producing a tornado in the warehouse district. Several RAID operatives would killed, not to mention civilians and damages estimated to be in the millions."




As Birkshire plotted, he had yet to be alerted that some of his men had encountered the very meta-humans he targeted and would be surprised to find them all in the same company, at least until they managed to evade the RAID operatives.

Wraith smiled when Amazon mentioned that she didn't think that Sigma liked her. "I really don't think he likes anyone." he told her beofore they caught up with the surly crime fighter. When they reached him, Sigma quickly skipped down a flight of stairs that lead to a basement door and picked it in a matter of seconds. He stepped through leaving the door open carrying on into the darkness without a word. Pulling out a flashlight he shone it ahead revealing a long corridor, lined with shabby doors in disrepair. Paint was peeling off of the old walls and the ceiling and floor had seen better days, leaving the group to believe that they had stumbled into an abandoned building but after ten paces or so, that theory went out the window when a small boy, that appeared to be Hispanic walked across the hallway from one door to another. Their was no place to hide, so Sigma just froze and thankfully the five year old was focused ahead of him and remained oblivious of their presence, but another problem suddenly presented itself as the sound of a flushing toilet echoed down the hall behind the group of renegade meta-humans.

They were in a non-residential area, so the people were squatters and however things went, Sigma doubted they were going to end well. He had his doubts the people were just squatters, since places like the seemingly abandoned basement were usually the dwellings of gangs and drug dealers, and to make matters worse there was at least one innocent child around and who knew how many more. If things got violent they'd have to consider the fact that not everyone would be a hostile and that could be used against them.

Special Agent Henkel, returned to his desk carrying a stack of new case files. As he dropped them down on his desk the top one flipped open revealing the picture of two young punks that Birkshire had also wanted him to concentrate on. The one with the wild hair, known only as Scavenger supposedly had ties to one of the escapees from the RAID detention centre, the one known as the Highwayman, a.k.a. Lance Strauss. "Two Lance's in one day," Henkel commented to himself, "gotta be a joke in their somewhere."

Speaking of Lance, he peeked over the wall of his cubical to see where the newest edition of his team was and found him cornered at the coffee machine by his over zealous partner. Jameson looked like he was he was trying to 'kung fu' the coffee pot, so no doubt he was trying to impress the hotshot enforcer with one of his stories where he saved the day. "Everyone needs a hobby", Henkel thought to himself, and Jameson's was trying to become a RAID agent.

Returning his eyes to the open file, Henkel perused the details of Scavenger and his associate listed under the name Grey Pyre, a small time, New York mob assassin and felt that was probably a good place to start. Yawning, the older agent, stretched and wondered where two drug fiends would be at that very moment...



Stefan woke up in a fog. Slowly as his eyes came into focus the revolving blur became a ceiling fan and he was suddenly aware of something warm across his abdomen. Glancing across his bare, white chest he sighed in relief when he saw that it was some teen-age tramp and not Grey passed out on top of him. The evening that followed a sluggish day was slowly coming back to him in flashes. Lots of drugs, lots of alcohol, he had no idea where in the hell the skanks came from but felt satisfied. As he scrutinized the quality of the passed out, half naked girl, he became aware of feint noise buzzing in his ear. Looking around him, it became clear what the sound was when noticed his cell phone vibrating on the bed side stand.

"F&%$! Who set my freakin' phone to vibrate?" he cursed as he roughly threw the girl off him and onto the floor so that he could reach it. "Yeah.", he answered.

"Scav! Where the hell are you? I've been trying to get a hold of you for two bloody hours." Said the caller.

"What the f&^# man!" Shouted the girl as he she climbed on the bed and slapped Stefan in the side of the head just as he was about to explain himself to the Highwayman.

"Get the f&$% off me, you f^%$ing whore!" Scavenger hissed and lashed back at her with a furious elbow to her face. Blood erupted from her nose, spraying across the wall as she flew backwards and fell against the bed on which Grey and another young girl were still sleeping. As girl tried to stop the blood and began to sob uncontrollably, he rolled his eyes and quickly made his way to the bathroom of their motel room for some privacy.

"Shit, sorry man." He apologized to the Highwayman, "Y'know I sleep in the day, I guess we slept in."

The girl began to wail, and Scav rounded the corner and tossed a towel at her. "Shut the f&%$ up!" he angrily whispered while muffling the phone, then pulled one his knives and menaced her with it before returning to the bathroom.

"You better get your shit together." Highwayman told him, "Where are you right now?"

Scavenger thrust his hand against his forehead as if trying to squeeze the information out his head then he remembered where they were. He gave the man directions and just as he exited the bathroom and was about to tell the girl to stop whimpering like a dog there was a knock on the door.

"Who and the f&$# could that be?" Scav said, noticing that Grey and the other girl were starting to stir, both of them obviously still on something.

As he walked to the door, with only his leather pants on he menaced the girl by raising the back of his hand and told her to, "Shut-up or I'll cut your f&*$#ing tongue out." He then peered through the spy hole in the door and couldn't believe what he saw. "Holy shit!" he exclaimed when he saw that it was the Highwayman, looking a little out of breath as if he has just ran over from somewhere.



Standing at the door to the motel, catching his breath, that was precisely what the Highwayman had done. He had just ran over from another area of the city, moving too fast for people to see nothing but a blur, and most forgot about what they saw before they even registered what it might have been. His patience was wearing thin and he knocked on the door again, this time harder and louder.

Inside the room, Scavenger was panicking. "Grey! Grey! You gotta get the door man!" he shouted, while struggling to get the dazed and bloody girl into the washroom and out of sight. Thankfully the other girl was still passed right out and wouldn't be a bother, but he didn't want to give a bad impression to his new employer.

Something echoed painfully through Greyson's head and screwed up his face, squeezing his eyes shut a little tighter as though this would drown out the sound. When it only got louder and more jarring, he suddenly realized it was Scavenger's voice . . . and then realized it was his name. Groaning, Grey pulled his eyes open. The sight of... anything, really... made him acutely aware of one thing and one thing only: He felt like shit.

"Grey! You gotta get the door, man!" Scavenger was shouting. Grey's first thought was "what door?" though only a muffled grumble escaped his lips as he sat very slowly up and rubbed his head. His curly hair was scruffed around his head and his gray eyes were mere slits as he squinted over at Scavenger. His head was still in a hazy mist that felt fluffy and made his drowsy, hungover face break into a wide, stupid grin. A stoned-sounding giggle escaped him, oblivious to Scavenger's panic, much to his frustration. "Grey! Seriously!" Scavenger insisted. Grey continued to giggle until a loud tic shook him and he shouted "ASSHOLE!" so loudly it seemed to shock himself a little out of his haze and caused the passed out girl on the bed to stir just slightly. The tic knocked Grey's idiotic smile into a look of confused seriousness, but at least he was a bit more tuned-in. He suddenly looked up at Scavenger as though he had only just noticed his presence but yet had somehow expected it all along.

"What?" he asked, peering up at him. Scavenger looked ready to throttle him.

"GET THE DOOR!" he shouted as something pounded through Grey's brain making him wince until he connected it to the front door. There was a slight pause that felt to Stefan like an eternity before Grey finally moved. When he stood up, the twisted sheet dropped away from him and revealed his friend in all of his glory. Stretching, Grey seemed utterly unaware that he was completely naked as he strode hazily towards the door, reaching out to open it.

Sasha awoke the next morning late and Henry and Emma had let her sleep in, knowing that if the gang members showed up, she would awaken immediately and take care of the problem. For her to still be asleep at this late hour of the morning meant that something had happened and she apparantly needed her sleep.

Rising, she headed to the small bathroom and after rinsing her mouth out and running her fingers through her hair she headed out to the storefront to make sure that everything was okay. Emma was smiling at her holding out a chocolate cake donut and a small jug of chocolate milk for her, which she took enthusiastically, wolfing down the donut and chugging the milk before saying her thanks.

"Are you okay, Sasha? Do you feel okay?"

The mothering had started and Sasha simply smiled at the elderly woman, actually enjoying it as she remembered her own mother having turned her back on her.

"Yes, Emma, I am fine, just overdid it last night, that's all. I'm going to head out and check out the area, but I'll be within shouting distance and if not, I have friends watching the place. They will get me if you need me."

Emma smiled, unsure as to what friends Sasha was speaking of, but knowing that she could trust the girl, she didn't worry too much about it. Henry then made his appearance from the upstairs apartment, a worried look crossing his face when he looked at Sasha. Sasha gave him a smile and assured him that she was okay.

As she headed out the door, she wondered if she should head for Green Street. Deciding to do just that but take the long way around so that she could scope the area and make sure all was quiet, she headed out, taking her time so as not to miss anything.

Snap was up bright and early to talk to her plants, eat breakfast, and head for the medical lab to check on her patients. She saw Cowboy sitting up and smiled at him before heading over to Totem. She unbandaged his eyes and smiled when she saw how well they were healing and knew that he would be okay. She had grabbed some of her herbal poultices from the fridge in the kitchen before she came and slathered some onto a bandage. Setting it to the side, she then gently opened Totem's eyes and placed two drops of colloidal silver into each eye before placing the bandage over his eyes once again. The colloidal sliver would aid in the healing and alleviate pain and infection.

Next, she checked on Cowboy's injuries and did the same with him, making sure that she put the colloidal silver directly on his wounds and bruised ribs before rebandaging him. Then she went over to Morgan and shook her head. She checked her wounds and felt Cowboy standing behind her. Morgan's legs were the worst and even though the infection was all but gone, the wounds just weren't healing like they should have been. She treated Morgan's legs and rebandaged them, then asked Cowboy to help her roll Morgan over so that she could check the wounds on her back.

Snap untied the back of Morgan's hospital gown and took off the bandages to look at the girl's back and once again shook her head, her eyes filled with worry. These were not healing as they should have been, either. She treated them, rebandaged them, and then had Cowboy lay her back down gently. Snap didn't know what else to do for the girl, even with her knowledge of herbs, she had no idea what to do. When she checked her vitals, she noticed that her heart rate was the same as the day before. It could have been stronger and more normal, but with what was going on with her, Snap figured that this was okay.

She looked up at Cowboy and was going to say something when Mikala came in, her eyes going straight to Morgan.


Sasha was making her way around the block and heading for Green Street when another memory hit her and this time she was out in the open. It took everything she had not to drop to her knees and just keep on walking until she could get somewhere safe.

She was with a woman....a Native American woman who was having her call to animals out in the woods, commanding them to bring her certain things...a specific shape of rock, an acorn, a leaf from a white oak tree. The woman had the kindest, dark brown eyes and the young girl was with her again, practicing right along with her.

Then she was at a farm house....sitting in a chair on a porch..the man from the alley was kneeling next to her, talking to her.....she could feel her heart speed up just at seeing him...hearing his voice, but her heart was heavy and she was sad....planning on leaving to keep him safe. She saw a tall blond woman whom she knew was a friend then an overwhelming grief as she walked away from the house while the man was gone, all to keep him safe.

Sasha could barely breathe, the sadness so overwhelming at leaving this man that it took her a few minutes to catch her breath and get her bearings. She saw that once again, she was in an alley, somehow having made it to some sembilance of privacy. She was so confused at what she had seen inside of her head that she didn't even know which way to go. She couldn't call animals, only insects. And who was the woman and other girl? Why did she keep seeing the man from the alley? And why did she have the urge to go to Green Street?

Morgan's eyes slowly opened when Mikala walked in and her gaze went to Cowboy before looking away. She still felt guilty over everyone's injuries. Mikala, feeling Morgan's guilt, approached the girl and smiled down at her.

"You have no reason to feel the guilt you are feeling Morgan. We've all made our share of mistakes that have caused others to be injured. It is a part of learning and accepting that you are not alone any longer. Let go of your guilt and begin to heal."

As Mikala laid her hand on Morgan's head, her eyes went to the brightest blue they've ever been and she staggered back, Snap having to catch her before she fell.

"There is another......one who is a part of her and yet not. She is the missing piece that Morgan needs in order to be whole again....the part of Morgan that was formed from her. They are the two halves of the same whole."

Snap got Mikala to a chair and looked over at Cowboy, confused as hell. They need Wraith but Snap didn't know where he was.

Mikala looked at Cowboy then at Morgan who was still pale when she shouldn't have been.

"This other half must be found and brought here. And Wraith needs to be here when this other and Morgan are brought together for I feel that he is the only one who can figure out what to do once they are together."

"F&%$!" was all Stefan screamed while he watched in horror as Grey stumbled to the doorway naked as the day he was born. He tried to get to his partner before he reached the door, but the bloodied girl's self pity suddenly turned to anger. She spun around in his arms, trying to claw at his face and Scavenger had to grab her wrists and wrestle her into the bathroom. The young girl was probably all of eight pounds, so he tossed her back easily and as she lunged at him once more he popped her once right on the chin, driving her back into the bathtub where she flopped down like a rag doll.

By the time Scavenger, made it out of the bathroom, it was too late. Grey opened the door, his daisy waving in the night breeze. "Who the f&%# are you?" he greeted, futilely patting his skin, his hands searching for a pack of smokes.



The man was older, probably in his late thirties or forties, Grey really couldn't tell, he just knew that man was old. Taller than himself, with keen blue eyes and dressed in stylish black leather jacket, designer jeans and tight fitting low soled boots with elaborate red and black workmanship. When the nude man answered the door he was surprised to the say the least, although he didn't show it. Standing before the man's naked body, glowing in the lights of the motel lot, the comely man was cool and collected. "You would be Greyson, I presume." Said the man in a fine English accent.

"Who wants to fucking to know?" Responded Grey, then his words were immediately followed by an uncontrollable diatribe of profanity, to which the stranger seemed neither surprised nor offended by.

"Quite." Replied the man politely, and before Grey could react (or start grabbing at his ass for a cigarette), the man retrieved a cigarette, placed it in his lips and was lighting it in but a second. "I know of you condition Grey. May I come in?"

The Highwayman had actually thought it more appropriate to say, "Dare I come in.", but his line of work made strange bed fellows and he was accustomed to dealing with all sorts. Grey took a long drag and strolled back into the room a blue cloud trailing behind him as the visitor followed him in at a modest distance. Grey sat down on Scav's bed and crossed his leg in a most unflattering manner and savored the sweet nicotine, partially staving off another colorful display of his most unfortunate condition as he concentrated on keeping lips around the filter.

"Hello, Scav." the man greeted.

Stefan apologetically moved to the other bed and sat down, timidly waving to the man. When the girl behind him stirred slightly he sheepishly smiled and tossed a sheet over her. "I'm really sor...." The Highwayman raised his hand, cutting off his words, and cast him a disappointed look that could be best placated by his remaining silent.

The man then turned to Grey. "Mr. Pyre, I am the Highwayman. Your associate has told me quite a bit about you and my organization has a need for your particular skills."

"Who do you want me to kill." Muttered Grey, chewing on the tip of the cigarette, his lips still numb from the drugs.

The Highwayman smiled. "Well, it's not those skills we are particularly interested in." He clarified as he leaned back against the dresser, folding his arm across his chest, "You have a particular gift that allows you to disrupt technology," his eyes scanned the room around them, "and you have yet to use it to its full potential I see. So, if you're interested we would like to utilize this ability you have to, how do you say? Glitch, things?"

The Highwayman stared at Grey awaiting a response and recognized that contrary to his mannerisms he was shrewd and calculating, pushing him to see how much he would take to gauge his own importance. If they didn't need him, he wouldn't have come the distance but the man's skills were necessary, so he was forced to indulge the new recruit. "So what do you say, Mr. Pyre?"

Grey puffed on the cigarette for a while, turning away slightly to try to hide his facial tics. Even in the fog around his mind, he was calculating, considering. Unfortunately, the drugs were still very much clouding his mind and a thought fell across it making him begin to giggle uncontrollably. Scavenger placed his head in his hand as his naked friend turned to the Highway man, snickering with squinted, bloodshot eyes.

"It's like . . . it's like . . . someone figgered out I wuzza meta," he snickered, his speech just slightly slurred. The Highwayman simply blinked expectantly at him, his expression calm and unfazed. After another moment, Grey's sniggering stopped abruptly and he blew a puff of smoke into the Highway man's face. "How much?" he asked. Then before he could respond, Grey shivered and rubbed his hands together. "Damn, it's f$&^in COLD in here!" he shouted, much louder than he intended, or was aware of. His cloudy vision then drifted down to himself and he broke into a wide grin, another round of giggles taking over him. "Oh shit," he said, his face twitching before he turned and looked blearily up at the Highwayman. "Yer tha guy who we're a-supposedta meet . . . and you just saw my dick!" Grey collapsed into drugged laughter again, sticking the cigarette into his mouth and wandering across the room past Scavenger. There, he pulled on a pair of boxers and his worn pair of cargo pants, cackling the entire time.

Half-dressed, Grey stood, scratching his backside and grinning over at the Highway man with the cigarette still hanging out of his mouth. A moment passed in which both Scavenger and the Highwayman began to wonder if Grey even remembered the proposition. Grey's face ticked a few times and a few obscenities tumbled in a string out of his mouth, muffled by the cigarette. When it passed, he took the cigarette out of his mouth and finally spoke through a cloud of gray-blue smoke.

"Look," he said, still grinning, his words still slurred with laughter and high, "I'll do whatever the f$*& you want, but only fertha right price. Name your price. I'll tell you if I wanna help."