Standing before the naked man, his hands tucked into the pockets of his jacket, the Highwayman's mind was a complex matrix of plans within plans. Grey's words languorously trickled to his ears, his own thoughts by comparison racing by at sub-light speeds, allowing him to think faster than just about anybody, but the distracting display before him was making his mind dwell on one particular thought, looping over and over. "Why would such a powerful gift be granted to such a man?". He then smiled at his own private joke, a smile that lingered on out of politeness as to not offend the two-bit hood with his high morals, although that may be an act in futility, he figured.

He had thought to explain, how simply his mutant ability was discovered but at that very moment, Grey rocked himself off of the bed and shuffled across the room where he mercifully slipped on a pair of boxers. Then during a pause, which to the speedster felt was more like half of an hour the moaning of girl could be heard coming from the closed bathroom. The Highwayman's eyes quickly flicked to Stefan, sitting innocently on the bed pretending that he couldn't hear the noise. He couldn't believe that they shared the same blood, "What a fool!". He almost said the words aloud, while awaiting Grey to snap back into the moment, then the words he had been waiting for finally reached his ears, "How much?", which immediately prompted him to reach into his breast pocket and toss the contents to the young man. A stuffed, brown envelope landed in Grey's, surprisingly steady hand and there was little doubt that he wouldn't know what was in it.

Grey knew the drill, guys like him were used to getting a taste of the honey before the bees cleared and it flowed freely. The contents of the envelope was just an incentive, something to draw him in and the real money would follow the job. "Ten thousand." The Highwayman informed Grey and Scavenger, "It's yours free and clear, whether or not you take the job, but much more awaits, if you throw in with us."

It was obvious to the Highwayman, that his cousin was all in, but Greyson was not yet convinced. He was a complex man, one that had learned to use his disability to his advantage, but Lance was never for one moment misguided by Grey's behaviour. Despite his condition that man was bright and not one to underestimate and even while inhibited by the drugs in his system he knew what he wanted.

"I'm going to let the two of you think on it." Offered the Highwayman, "You have my card, just give me call when you have arrived at a decision. I just need to know by tomorrow." he said casually.

The Highwayman then exited the room and a few moments later, Grey and Scavenger could hear a loud bang outside the door; the sonic boom left in the speeding mutant's wake as he accelerated to cruising speed.

Grey stood still, holding the cigarette in one hand and the envelope in another. He watched the Highwayman leave and flinched just slightly at the sonic boom that followed. Saying nothing to Scavenger, he the flopped back down onto the bed and shoved his hand with the envelope underneath the pillow. Laying on his stomach, Grey put pushed the cigarette out on the already stained bedside table and drifted off to sleep. Scavenger stood up, looking a little incredulously over at his partner.

"Well?" he asked expectantly.

"Ung..." Grey grunted, his face half-buried in the pillow. Scavenger's knowledge of how deadly Grey was was the only thing keeping him from throttling his partner.

"We gonna do it or not?" he demanded. Now Grey lifted his head a bit from the pillow, peering over at Scav out of the corner of one bleary eye.

"Whatchoo mean this 'we' shit?" he grumbled, "I din't hear him talkin' to you." Scav rolled his eyes and said nothing, waiting for the inevitable (he hoped) serious response. Grey took several seconds however, his eyes drifting over to the girl next to him, only barely stirring but still quite passed out. "Sweet," he muttered, grinning mischievously before lowering his head back to the pillow and mumbling something that sounded a little like consent.

Grey awoke far more cognizant later in the day and finally counted the money in the envelope. "Shit," he muttered. Though he kept his face calm and knowing, anyone who knew his past might be able to discern his true thoughts. He had never in his life seen that much money. His work before the mob blackmailed him had been small time petty things that only just supported him. For the first time in ages, Grey's mind drifted back to his family and their methods of protecting their vast income. Mumbling something to Scavenger, Grey drove over to a bank and reluctantly opened an account in his name having no other alias. That would be dealt with later. Dropping the money off, he drove back in a storm of ticking from having to hold it back for so long at the bank.

Finally, he pulled back into the hotel, still twitching slightly, making some exiting patrons shoot him a disconcerted look. Tossing the cigarette outside, he climbed the stairs only to abruptly toss open the door, startling Scavenger and lean in.

"Let's go," he grunted and without waiting, started back down the stairs. Pulling up in front of the old house, Grey turned to Scavenger, pausing in the car. "They here?" he asked. When Scavenger nodded, Grey got out of the car, cigarette still hanging from his mouth and pushed the door open, his eyes immediately darting around for Highwayman.

Wraith couldn't believe their luck. He didn't blame, Sigma, 'How in the hell could he know people would be living in the basement of the abandoned warehouse?'. Unfortunately, their luck only got worse, when a portly, Hispanic man came wandering down the alley from the location of the washroom. When the man's eyes raised from the floor to the long hallway he stared in disbelief. Standing before him was a tall woman in a leopard print body suit and two masked men, then as the reality of the situation set in, he screamed profanities in Spanish and quickly reached behind him for the gun tucked in the back of his trousers.

As the crime fighters reacted much quicker than the two-bit hood their was a loud noise behind the man and a team of RAID operatives burst through the door way plasma rifles a blazing! The man was struck by two bolt of plasma energy, set far too high for a man to survive. He quivered as blood was squeezed out his eyes from his violent convulsions before striking the floor dead, but before that the meta-humans were on the move.



Sigma lead the way down the hallway and as he rushed past an open doorway caught a glimpse of the little boy running toward him and into the path of gun fire. "Wraith!" he screamed, unable to stop in time to intervene as ahead of them he saw two other men appear in the corridor ahead of them, cocking their automatic weapons.

Wraith saw the boy and to prevent a collision occurring with Amazon on his heels he dematerialized, allowing her to pass through him, then becoming flesh as he grabbed the child and dove into the room.

As lightning blazed through the corridor and shards of plaster filled the hallway from the missed bullets of the RAID operatives, Sigma sprinted toward the two gunmen. He lashed out with his retractable black whip, slashing one of the men across the face then slid along the floor, making use of the debris to carry his momentum forward and under the gun fire of the other. He hoped that Amazon would be able to react as he didn't have time to warn her. Sliding along the floor, he drove his foot into the man's knee, snapping his leg. The man cried out and a chaotic spray of gun fire, shredded the ceiling, then Sigma sprang to his feet and laid out the other with a full force right cross that snapped the man's neck, driving him to the floor in a crumpled mass.

Sigma kept moving, leaving the gun man with the broken leg for Amazon while he drove forward, his senses alert for any other adversaries or friendlies lurking in the dark rooms. He had to find a way out. One should be coming up shortly as they were getting close to what he figured would be the other side of the building and sure enough, he caught sight of a stairwell going up.

"This way!" he alerted the others, not looking back to see if they were following. He sprinted up the stairs and through the door at the top.

All around him, chemists stared in shock as the masked man burst through the doorway, a long black whip in his hand ready to strike. Sigma's cold eyes recognized that he was standing in a crystal-meth lab and immediately located the the gun toting rooster among the hens at the end of the room.

"Get out of my f&^%ing way or I'll take your f&^%ing head off!" he roared and as the man went for his gun, the black whip crashed through, beakers and vials as it extended and swept across the room, seeking out the gun man's throat.

_________________________________________________________________

Nearly blind in the light of the day, despite his dark glasses, Scavenger trailed behind his partner to the front door of the large early 1900's house, which he felt was a little reminiscent of the Adam's Family. Grey rapped on the door, while musing to himself about something, then the two of them waited.



A beautiful blonde haired woman answered the door and smiled coldly. "Come in gentlemen. N-ice to see you both." she greeted as he opened the door wide then strutted away down the hallway. Then men followed and she brought them into a study, where they saw the Highwayman and two others playing pool on the table in the center of the room, while a fourth lurked in a shadowy corner of the room.



A dark haired man with pale skin, wearing an expensive suit glanced over at Grey, then focused once more on his cue and pulled off an amazing bank shot, that surprised the Highwayman.



"You see," said the tall black haired woman in the provocative black body suit, "he never misses."

The Highwayman smiled, reached into his pocket and passed the slick dressed man a few bills, then when he noticed Grey and Scavenger enter the room behind the blonde haired woman, passed his cue to the woman and approached them.

"Grey. So good to see you." he said extending his hand. He only offered Scavenger a glare and the young punker scurried over to sit by the window, where he pecked at a bowl of nuts set on a nearby table. "Let me introduce you to the family."

The Highwayman, first pointed to the woman who answered the door. "This is Deirdre White, known as Snow Angel." he introduced and the woman blew a kiss to Grey and her frost breath hung in the air. He then, gestured to the taller woman who introduced herself as Door Knocker, "But you can call me Jen, sweet cakes." she said with a seductive grin, then the Highwayman looked to the creepy looking man, "And this is Roulette.", he said and the gangster nodded. He then turned once more to Grey, "Call me Lance and..." he was about to say something else but the shadowy figure in the corner cut him off by clearing her throat loudly.

When Amazon saw the Hispanic man, their eyes met for a brief moment and in that moment, she knew he was NOT a meta sympathizer. The look in his eyes went from surprise to panic to anger to hatred in a matter of seconds. Even as he started cursing them in his native language, which Amazon knew rather fluently, the tall woman knew they would have their work cut out for them.

Of course when he reach to pull his gun to fire at them, the noise behind him drowned out his ramblings of how he was going to kill all of them and get rich from the reward money. When Amazon saw what was causing the noise, the last thing she wanted to see were more RAID ops.

She had opened her mouth to yell at him to look out when the plasma guns were fired, striking the man and killing him painfully. Amazon had a split second of shock before she was on the move with Sigma and Wraith once more. As they barreled down the corridor in an effort to escape their pursuers, Amazon just did see a quick glimpse of a small figure just a second before Sigma yelled at Wraith. As the meta dematerialized and she ran right through him, she gasped at the strange feeling.

As the corridor lit up with electricity and bullets became deadly projectiles in the narrow space, she saw Sigma drop down and begin to slide along the floor which left her only one way to go: into the room with Wraith and the boy. Without a second thought, she used her long legs and strength to launch her into the room Wraith had dove into trying to shield the boy from the over zealous RAID agents.

The place quickly became cloudy with sheet rock dust as bullets from the chaotic gun fire pierced the thin walls and came damn close to striking her and Wraith. Amazon couldn’t help but cry out as she felt the heated projectiles come so close to her body as she curled into the tightest position she could while covering her head. It only lasted a brief moment before she quickly scrambled to her feet and practically pulled Wraith to his by the back of what would be the collar to his suite.

”Come on! We have to get the hell out of here NOW!”

As the frightened child looked at both of the tall metas, she tried to give him a reassuring smile before talking to him in fluent spanish.

”Sorry, kid. We didn’t mean to crash your party.”

As she moved out of the room, the RAID op that had the broken leg attempted to reach for his gun. When he did, Amazon quickly landed a hard kick to his jaw making sure he was knocked out for a good while and unable to use his gun on them.

”I don’t THINK so, gimpy!”

Quickly following Sigma’s lead, she practically shoved Wraith ahead of her and up the stairs making sure she was right on his heels. When they found themselves staring at the frightened, hollow eyed faces of the women cooking the meth, Amazon let out a series of soft curses. Of all the places to end up, this was one of the most dangerous.

When the rooster went for his gun and Sigma reacted with his whip shattering beakers and vials everywhere, Amazon gasped again. The last thing they needed was for any sort of spark in this literal powder keg. Quickly assessing the situation, Amazon pointed to a closed window that was boarded up.

”THAT WAY! It’s the only way out of here in a hell fire hurry!”

As Sigma let the rooster feel the sting of his whip, Amazon charged towards the boarded up window. Tucking her head and shoulder, she crashed through the boarded window as shards of glass and splinters of wood went flying out into the street beyond. Her shoulder smarting, she dragged herself to her feet as quickly as she could just seconds before she heard the screams of the hens in the meth lab warning of the extremely high risk of explosion.

”SIGGY! Come on! Get the hell out of there!”

Blood splattered through the air as Sigma's whip extended to the far side of the room like a black tentacle slashing through the gun man's throat. As the gagging man choked on his own blood and slumped to the floor, he convulsed and squeezed the trigger, firing off a shot and igniting the highly flammable fumes that had leaked into the air.

In seconds the lab erupted into flames but the masked crime fighter remained motionless. Surrounded by the roaring flames, Sigma felt at peace, the anger within him reflected into the physical world as the fire raged up the walls and the screams of the panicked technicians echoed through the building. It was not until Amazon's voice brought him back to reality, that he became aware of the searing heat closing in on him. Turning he took a few strides and leapt into the air, through the hole and into the alley where the other two awaited.

Sigma hit the ground, rolled and his arms shot out to quickly to prevent himself from crashing into the far wall. He leapt to his feet and looking to his right and in moments both ends of the alley were blocked off by RAID operatives.

"On the ground now!" Ordered on of the officers as they closed in.

"Shit!" Growled Sigma, as he looked up for something to lash his whip to, but the sides of alley were windowless and sheer. "I hope one of you has a plan, 'cause otherwise we are F&$@&D!"



Wraith stepped up to the plate then. "Don't move." he told them, and crouching low as if he were about to jump into the air, he flexed his muscles, concentrating all of his strength to summon the powers within him. Amazon and Sigma could feel pressure within their ear drums, so painful that they both tried to cup their hands over their ears in attempt to alleviate it and at that moment a rush of air was sucked into the alley. Dust and debris blew past the RAID operatives and Amazon and Sigma were amazed to find themselves in the eye of small vortex of air, swirling about them.

Wraith gasped. He was still weakened by conjuring the tornados and manipulating large masses of air was a strain but he didn't have any choice. He stood straight then, thrusting both of his arms toward the openings of the alley and the air within alley rushed away from the center with explosive power.

As the RAID operatives attempted to advance they were blown out of the alley as if a bomb went off in an enclosed space throwing them high into the air or skidding along the ground. Some were instantly rendered unconscious, a few critically injured but most would be able to drag themselves to their feet and resume their pursuit.

"Holy shit!" Exclaimed Sigma, rubbing one of his ears. Then seeing that the armored bastards were already starting to gather their wits, started to run to the end of the alley that had the least amount of troopers. "Com'on! Let's take them while we still have a chance!"

Wraith was weak, but able to move. Wiping the sweat from his face, he forced himself to follow. He had evened the odds, but they still had a fight on their hands, he only hoped he had the strength to follow through.

“These guys are REALLY starting to piss me off. And it takes a lot to piss me off.”

Amazon could have once more saved her own hide, but it wasn’t real sportsman like to leave the guys to deal with all the trouble. Besides, she kind of liked hanging out with these two. Even if Sigma didn’t really care for her. But when both ends of the alley suddenly became blocked by the RAID ops, she found the fun was quickly draining from this experience.

When Wraith began preparing for what ever it was he was about to do, Amazon bent forward and clamped her hands over her ears trying to block out the severe negative pressure she was feeling. Squinting her eyes tight, she let out a yell of pain just before he finally released the air and shoved the RAID ops back out the alley.

With her ears popping to adjust to the correct pressure, Amazon saw what Sigma was planning on doing. Grabbing Wraith by the forearm to help him gain momentum in his weakened state, she ran in the same direction Sigma was. Letting go of Wraith’s arm once they were up to speed, she burst through what operatives were still standing after Sigma plowed through them.

Several ops had recovered enough to where they were picking up their guns. Amazon knew if they were able to use those weapons, the odds would once more be stacked against them. Quickly stomping on one and breaking the barrel off it close to the firing chamber, she quickly kicked with her free foot and knocked the gun out of another operatives hands and sent it flying across the street.

”You guys should treat a gal nicer than this!”

A third one tried to grab her from behind by locking her arms by her side in a vice like grip only to have her break his hold as she violently threw her arms up. The force of her move caused him the operative to stumble backwards a few feet. He was just pulling his hand gun from the holster at his right hip when she did a round ho use kick that caught him on the side f the head and sent him sprawling to the ground, lights out.

Wraith and Sigma were holding their own when she spun around and saw one of the operatives pick up a plasma gun and point it right at Sigma. The only thing she remembered was reacting. Taking off from where she was standing, she hit the operative just as he fired the trigger. The plasma stream arched wildly into the air, barely missing Sigma. The unfortunate thing was that it did strike her left arm. The electricity flowed through her body enough to render her momentarily paralyzed, as though she were hit by a high powered stun gun. The RAID operative that lay under her was stunned by her move but quickly began to scramble out from beneath her prone form.

When he was out from under her dead weight, he forced himself to his feet then violently kicked her in the side to force her to roll over. Amazon felt the steel toe of his boot make contact with her ribs and was certain she heard a couple of the crack. Placing his boot on her throat, he pulled his .9MM Glock from his holster and drew a bead on her forehead as her eyes grew wide with frght.

”How’s this for nice, bitch?”

As Wraith charged ahead that sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach returned. A sensation not stemming from his fatigue but from the sight of the destruction he had once more caused. As he exited the alley to his left he caught a glimpse of an operative kneeling over a body screaming, "We've got a man down! I repeat! Man down!" into the built in communicator in his helmut. A victim of his wind blast and far ahead another man lay still, his leg twisted unnaturally. Running into fray all Wraith could think was that he was slipping but then Sigma's growl pulled him back into reality. The masked avenger ducked under the swinging baton of a RAID enforcer and drove his foot directly into the chest of another who had just picked up his rifle. The force of the blow knocked the man back into the air and into a street light. There was a clang as the man's helmut compressed the metal then he slumped forward, flopping down onto the street.

Two other operatives closed in on Sigma from either side but even before he could react two clouds of dust appeared to his left and right accompanied by an intense whistling sound. Two jets of wind, rushed past the masked man, striking the two RAID operatives and throwing them into the air. One struck the side of a parked box truck and the other crashed through the window of a warehouse. Then before the dust even settled, Sigma was tackled from behind by a helmut-less RAID operative built like a line backer. The big man brutally drove his shoulder hard into the small of his back, but the already injured meta-human hardly revealed a hint of pain, nor did he go down without a fight. He drove his legs into the street, his boots sliding across the pavement and he simultaneously acquired both traction and the man's thumb. With a jarring twist of wrist, Sigma broke the man's grip and used his momentum to hurl the enforcer toward a wall.

Sigma displayed extraordinary strength as he smoothly threw the big man but as fast as he was would not have been able to dodge stream of plasma electricity that just missed his head. He instinctively fell to the ground and rolled, turning to see Amazon take out the RAID operative that had him cold. She took the man down, but had suffered a hit to her arm.

Behind them, four remaining RAID operatives charged into battle from the other side of the alley, their weapons at ready and Wraith knew he had to stop them. He was tired, but he dug down deep and found the strength to generate a wind tunnel effect to push the men back. Utilizing the ventura effect, he forced a greater mass of air into the tight space of the alley but in his present state he could at best muster a hurricane force wind. Strong enough to slow the men down, but not stop them from slowly advancing. One RAID enforcer, took a knee aimed his rifle and fired at Wraith. The intense winds made the bullet miss, but Wraith knew it was only luck that saved him. He turned to scan the street and make sure the others still had his back and that's when he saw Amazon laying prone and the RAID operative slowly rising to his feet with his 9MM drawn.

The seconds stretched in that moment. As the man, drove his boot into Amazon's throat and pointed the gun at her head, Wraith knew he had to act but to do so he had to release his pressure on the four advancing enforcers. They were seeking revenge, and out for blood, so helping the woman could spell the death of them all.

Sigma scrambled to get to his feet but even as he reached back with his whip the bull of a man he had thrown, threw his powerful arms against the wall he was thrown into and pushed himself away from harm. He then spun about, drawing his side arm and drew a bead on the masked man. Aware of the impending shot, Sigma continued to swing his whip and as the sleek, black weapon arced through the air, the man fired repeatedly, riddling the masked crime fighter's body, but the whip found it's mark.

The barrel of the 9MM reflecting in Amazon's wide eyes was suddenly struck by the razor tip of Sigma's whip. There was a flash of sparks as metal struck metal and the gun fell toward the woman. The RAID agent, grit his teeth and frantically thrust his hand toward the plummeting gun as if life and death depended upon it's retrieval.... because it did.

As the gun hung in the air, Sigma smiled and fell back against the pavement, his eyes staring blankly toward the night sky. A strange sensation — dying, he couldn't say he cared for it.

The shadowy figure emerged with one smooth step, bringing into the faded light a young woman, her appearance catching Grey by surprise, though he remained unreadable. She wasn't especially tall and her slender build made her look hardly threatening. She was around Grey's age with smooth, brown skin and dark, slanted eyes that stared piercingly at Grey, her very gaze enough to tell him not to underestimate her. Her smooth, black hair was back just behind each shoulder, framing the base of her neck. She wore cargo pants that looked fit for the military, full of pockets and little hidden compartments. Her appearance was mixed and ethnic and Grey swallowed hard, fighting to hold back the endless and colorful racial slurs that threatened to burst out from him.

"Sydney Zhang," she said in a smooth voice as cold as ice, "but you can just call me Smoke." Though she was must shorter than Grey, she walked up to him and stared him down like an officer to a soldier. "I'm told you're pretty skilled," she began, "you sounded like you could be pretty handy. I certainly hope so because you were expensive." She seemed to be sizing him up, inspecting him like a buyer at a slave auction. Grey's eyes were empty as he stared silently back at her, watching her every movement, every glint in her eye. He could see his own tactics in her, the blank, hardened expression, her slow, intentional movements, even the careful tone in her even voice. She was a killer too, and she was good at getting away with it. Watching her, Grey knew she knew how to protect herself. This Smoke was not to be underestimated, though he already thoroughly expected her to keep him guessing.

Shifting his weight, Grey reached into his pocket and lit a cigarette, blowing the blue smoke out over Sydney's head as she stepped back. "So the Highwayman never got a straight answer out of you," she said, "you in or not?" Grey paused, smoking idly and staring at her for a moment, his blank expression hiding the effort he was putting into shouting the words that were gathering within him. After a long moment, he finally shrugged.

"Price is right," he replied; Smoke's lip curled.

"Is he your partner?" asked Smoke nodding towards Scavenger. Grey turned, peeking back at him nonchalantly before shrugging again. "We're not upping the price if you wanna bring your puppy a long," said Smoke, "you work that out yourself. Now, let me just tell you this: I'm putting a lot of trust in you. If you blow it, I will find out. If you stray somewhere, I will find out. I'm good at finding things out." As she surveyed him with narrowed eyes, her narrow brown fingers slipped down her leg and reached into one of her many pockets "And just so you know," she said, removing a silver throwing dagger, his blade catching the light and shimmering in her hand as she raised it towards her face, "if I ever find out you help some pathetic human, well . . . let's just say, I never miss." Her voice was low, her eyes as cold as Grey's-- an assassin's gaze. Blowing another puff of smoke out through his nose and faintly parted lips, Grey rolled his eyes and looked away for a moment before turning and staring straight back into hers.

"Look," he said, "spare me the bullshit. I'll do whatever you want so long as you pay me. Just tell me what the job is so I can get outta here and go do my thing." The tension was building inside of him, a flicker of a twitch in his eye forewarning him and urging out. For every second he stared at the young woman, the pressure seemed to increase just a little more.

Smoke could see the tension in his muscles, the carefully controlled nonchalance in his mannerisms and she didn't like it. Still, she kept her own face hardened and guarded as she nodded, pretending not to notice. Taking a step back to lean on the pool table, Smoke turned a glance towards the Highway man, her lip curled just slightly as she regarded him, her eyes flashing. "Lance?" she said, her voice moving up just an octave, giving just a touch of sweetness to the sharpened ice of her voice, "tell him what his job is so he can get out of here and do his thing, please."

Amazon could do nothing but blink as the events unfolded around her. The inability to voluntarily move her body was both frightening and frustrating at the same time. She’d never been this helpless in the past and it reminded her of just how precious life, hers and others, really was.

As the gun dropped from the RAID ops hand as the tip of Sigma’s cobra like whip reached out and struck it was like watching a drop of water in slow motion leave it’s place of origin and travel to it’s destination. Around her, all sound ceased and all she could hear was her own breathing.

The gun was just about to drop onto her head when at last Amazon finally felt movement come back to her. Moving her head to the left just a half second before the gun would have made contact with her skull she felt the air from the weapon as it passed close to her head and clanged on the hard pavement next to her. Her head turned in the direction Sigma had been standing only to see the masked hero fall backwards and cease all movement.

”NNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!”

Tears instantly sprung to her eyes as she witnessed the death of someone who shouldn’t die. Her scream pierced the air all but drowning out the noise around them. Adrenaline rushed through her body and she forced herself up. The RAID operative that had been about to kill her recovered from what Sigma had done and saw she was moving once more. Bending over to get his gun, Amazon struck out with her foot and connected with the mans helmeted head sending him sprawling backwards.

”You BASTARD!”

Anger flared in her eyes. She couldn’t remember being this mad, ever. These RAID agents had committed the worst sin of all: taking a persons life. In Amazon’s mind, there was nothing worse than that. She would have kept on kicking the man if the other RAID ops hadn’t interrupted her. As she felt the build up of static electricity in the air, she knew they were charging their plasma guns for another round.

They were sorely outnumbered here and with Sigma down, there was only one thing she and Wraith could do: retreat. Yelling over her shoulder, she called to Wraith.

”The sky is our only bet now, Wraith!””

Using every ounce of energy she could muster, Amazon reached down and grabbed up Sigma then headed for the sky as fast as she could. The added weight was a burden on her but she refused to allow herself to give up and leave him behind. Tears still stung her eyes as she dodged bullets and plasma beams using the nearby buildings as cover.

Her body screamed for her to stop but that would be suicide. Climbing as high as she could, she allowed the lighter air currents in the sky help carry her across the night sky, away from the madness she had just been a part of. Even as Amazon cradled Sigma’s body in her arms she felt the muscles quake under the extra weight of him.

There was only one place left for them to go right now. Hopefully Wraith was following. Heading south, she kept just barely over the buildings to avoid being picked up by radar. Leading them into a seedy part of the city, she finally landed on the roof of an abandoned, run down building. As soon as her feet touched down, she dropped to her knees laying Sigma down as gently as she could.

Bowing her head, she gave way to a few silent sobs. Exhaustion was a bitch, as she was finding out. And she didn’t like it one bit. Sniffling softly, she looked at Sigma’s prone form and whispered softly to him.

”I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have gone there….Now…because of me…. “

Lance brushed past, Sidney avoiding any eye contact. Just who the leader of the gang was had not yet been determined since their return and prior to their capture Smoke had called the shots. Two years in a RAID Detention Centre had changed the dynamics of their little syndicate but it seemed what the Highwayman believed to be concrete was slowly crumbling away and returning back to the way it was.

"Well, Mr. Pyre, you would agree with me when I say that 'no one buys a car without taking a test drive'? So, I have arranged a few jobs that will, say, 'allow us to get behind the wheel'." Instructed the Highwayman, "These jobs require your particular skills, and those of your associate. Carry them out successfully, and your position will be secured."

Lance then motioned for Scavenger to join them and the punker scurried over. "Take this," Said Lance as he handed, Stefan a folded up map, "On that map you will find a few area of the city circled. Those are targets and beside them are written names which are an alias for a client. Report to them and they will explain what they need. It's that simple."

The Highwayman, then reached into his coat pocket and tossed them each a brown envelope filled with money. "Two grand for each of you." he told them, "That should cover your traveling expenses. You have a week. In the mean time we'll be in touch."

Lance then ushered them out of the room and lead the two men to the front door.

"One week." he reminded them, then closed the door.



Wraith was fatigued but he could still fly. Holding off the enforcers with his wind blast until she and Sigma had taken to the sky, he summoned the strength for one last burst, forcing them back while he took to the air. He followed closely behind Amazon and was glad to see that she had chosen to gain some elevation which he required since he was too tired to maintain his flight for long, and needed to rely on a steady descent.

The super hero glided down to the building but in his weakened state was unable to slow his fall and tumbled along the roof top and slammed into an old ventilation unit. Only his pride was bruised from his shoddy landing, but he was far more concerned about Sigma. Slowly rising, the big man staggered over to where Amazon had laid him down and immediately went to work examining the man's vital signs and checking his wounds.

"Christ! There's no heart beat!" Exclaimed Wraith as he took Sigma's pulse and pressed his ear to his chest.

He then opened up the man's coat and ripped open his shirt. Even in the face of death their kind believed in protecting their identities and so Wraith was careful to just expose Slate's mouth while in the presence of the enemy. He then began to administer CPR, and as he pounded on the hero's thick chest, he noticed that the two bullet wounds he had suffered only a short time ago had already begun to heal. The bleeding of his current wounds had also already significantly slowed.

"Holy shit! He's a healer." Wraith remarked, then when he laid his ear over his heart once more announced, "I got a beat! It's weak, but if he can regenerate his body should be able to take care of itself. He's lost a lot of blood though. He's going to need a transfusion to allow his body to regenerate."

Wraith scanned the roof top then turned to Amazon. "Where are we? Is there a hospital close by?" he excitedly asked.

Amazon was still dazed in her moment of grief that she didn’t realize what Wraith was saying or what was happening until she blinked and saw the wounds on Sigma’s body already healed or in the process of healing. Renewed hope filled her then and she quickly shut off the water works and tried to give Wraith the help he needed.

Knowing the true identities of the metas who wore masks, like herself, were important, she didn’t even try to catch a glimpse of the face beneath Sigma’s mask. To her it was committing some sort of cardinal sin against an unstated and unwritten law. Glancing around, she blinked a few times and relayed to Wraith where they were.

”We’re….We’re on the s-south side. It’s rough neighborhood. RAID wouldn’t think of coming here unless they had a full army to back them up. It’s not all that safe for us, but I have a place in the basement of this building for just such emergencies. It’s easy to get to from here. And no one but me…well now you…know it’s here. And yes….there’s a hospital near by. St. Bernard’s is just a few blocks from here. Tell me what you need and I’ll make sure I get it.”

Glancing back down at Sigma again, she still couldn’t believe her eyes. She’d heard of healers before but she’d never really met one. At least one she knew was a healer. But to see how their bodies worked after such a traumatic incident was something truly amazing for Amazon.

Finding the strength to stand, Amazon looked around at the similar run down roof tops surrounding the area and listened carefully for any sounds that would indicate they had been followed or that some people from the neighborhood were not all that happy with them. Looking down at Wraith as he continued to work on Sigma, she spoke quietly.

”We need to get off this roof, Wraith….we’re sitting ducks up here…literally.”

Wraith looked to Amazon and shook his head at her offer to go the hospital. "I'll go." he told her then confidently explained, "It will be quicker this way." He then asked Amazon what she had on hand in the basement in regards to medical equipment and it was quite apparent to her that Wraith was quite knowledgeable in the medical field.

When he was satisfied that he knew what they needed, Wraith quickly walked away and picked up a couple of pieces of broken glass. He returned to Sigma's side and dipped one of the shards into his blood then placed the other piece over it. There was no need explaining to Amazon that he needed a blood sample and gripping the glass fragments in his hand, the weary crime fighter made his way to the edge of the building.

"Sigma's skin will continue to slowly regenerate, but I can't be sure whether he will need a transfusion." he informed Amazon, "The regenerative ability of 'meta-healers' varies from one to another. The most advanced will regenerate their blood at a significant rate, but such cases are extremely rare. We have to assume that Sigma will require extra blood to mend such extensive damage."

Wraith leapt up on to the ledge and stared down at the streets below and looked back one last time. "If I'm not back within half an hour and his condition still hasn't improved get him to a hospital." he instructed but then just before he floated off the edge of the building he offered Amazon some well earned praise for her actions, "You fought well back there and you could left anytime, but you stayed. Thank you.", and with that he took off into the air and disappeared into the night sky.

Sigma was still. His body was attempting to heal, but Wraith was wise to assume that Sigma would require a transfusion. One of the bullets had ripped through his heart and that combined with the other four holes through his chest and abdomen, not to mention the two previous gun shots, was too much for him to heal. His blood loss had been extensive and in order for his regenerative powers to work, he required a certain amount left in his system and their just wasn't enough to go around.

Amazon watched Wraith with the broken glass. Furrowing her brows she wondered what the masked man was doing but never asked. Obviously he knew what was needed and who was she to question his motives? Watching the tall man walk to the edge of the building, she listened to his thanks and was about to make a comment but he disappeared before she could. Instead, her voice spoke quietly to the night air.

”You’re welcome.”

Looking back down at the unconscious Sigma, Amazon knew she had to get the man off the roof and in the security of the hideout she had in the basement. Once more she glanced around, letting her heightened vision scan the area to make sure no one was about. When she was satisfied the coast was clear, she knelt down, scooped Sigma up in her arms and made her way to what appeared to be an old, rusty ventilation shaft. Pressing a button hidden on the side of the shaft she heard the familiar hum of the elevator that was coming to pick her up.

Setting Sigma down upon the roof once more, Amazon manually opened the door to the elevator then gently put Sigma inside before closing the door and pressing the button that would take her to the basement. Holding Sigma in her arms, she strained to keep the man cradled next to her. She would have loved to sit him down but she didn’t want to jostle his body any more than she had to. She was worried she had moved him too much as it was now.

When the elevator came to a stop after the short ride form the roof, she opened the door and carried Sigma into her hide away. It wasn’t very big. In fact, it was more like a large studio apartment if anything. Carrying the wounded meta over to the bed, she gently laid him down and checked to make sure he was still breathing before she left his side long enough to turn on some lights.

Once the lights were on, she moved over to what looked like a control panel. Turning on a couple of monitors and some other switches, the monitors became illuminated with green hued pictures of different cameras located throughout the building and on the roof.

”Alright, blondie, when you get back, I’ll come get ya.”

Turning to look over at Sigma once more, she walked over to where his prone form rested then eased her frame onto the bed next to him to sit and monitor his condition as Wraith had told her to. As she saw the wounds he had suffered, she winced again. Still feeling guilty for his condition, she tried not to imagine the worse case scenario if Wraith didn’t return in time.

Grey sniffed idly and turned away from the door, heading casually back to their car. Without even checking to see if Scavenger was behind him, he collapsed into the drivers seat and snatched the map out of Scavenger's hand the moment he sat down. Tilting it slightly so he could see, Grey scanned the map then pointed to a place on it.

"We're around here, right?" he asked, "I dunno this city." Scav nodded and then pointed to one of the circles.

"That's probably the closest one," he said. Grey paused a moment, studying the map before he nodded almost imperceptibly and tossed it back to Stefan. He then switched to a hip hop station and cranked up the volume. Pulling away from the house, he let go of his hold on himself and let a flurry of swears and racial slurs explode from him, muffled into the background of the blasting music. He sped out into the darkened streets, rolling down the window and ignoring the glares from late night passersby as his music leaked out onto the silent streets. When his tics slowed to the point that he could breathe, he extracted a cigarette from his pocket and lit it before offering the pack of Scav.

Grey had never been chatty. He'd never been one for partners and company either. His eyes ticked over to the map on his companion's lap and he wondered with slight dismay why Scavenger was needed. A friend was better than a stranger, but given the choice, Grey would rather work alone. As they approached the interstate, Grey stopped at a red light and plucked the map out of Scav's lap again to scan it. His eyes scanned the lines through a puff of cigarette smoke that plumed out of his mouth before he tossed it back over and floored the pedal when the light changed. Cutting someone off and ignoring the ensuing honking and swearing, Grey pulled onto the ramp and sped down the interstate, reaching his exit in only a few minutes.

Pulling off, he double checked the map and rocked the car as he drove at least twice the speed limit to their destination. Pulling up in front of a high rise, Grey narrowed his eyes and cocked an eyebrow. Glancing over at Scavenger for the first time since leaving the Highwayman's headquarters, he picked up the map and glanced back and forth between it and the building before he said, "this it?" Scavenger shrugged.

"Looks like it." Pulling around into a darkened place beside it, Grey parked the car and tossed the cigarette butt onto the ground beside it. He was about to head for the front door when a figure caught his eye, lurking in the shadows not far from the car. Grey's eyes widened slightly and he wondered idly how long he'd been standing there. For a moment the two punks just stood beside the car, Scavenger's sharp eyes easily piercing the darkness and getting a good look at the man. He was a typical looking white-collar criminal used to pushing people around and taking orders only from the highest of high in whatever organization he claimed loyalty to. His dark hair blended into the shadows and his large body was an even mixture of fat and brawn. He was holding a crumpled envelope and was leering at the two of them silently. After a moment of staring at each other, Grey began to get impatient. Fingers surreptitiously slipping towards his gun, he spoke up in a sharp tone.

"Who the f%*# are you?" he demanded.

"You Greyson Pyre?" the man replied. A slight wave of relief fell over Grey and he shifted his weight, his fingers slipping into his pocket and brushing the handle of his gun.

"I asked you first," he replied. Now the man shook his head and spat onto the ground. He took a step towards them and Grey took a half-step back, now thumbing the hammer on the gun in his pocket.

"My name don't matter. The boss was expectin' you and sent me out here to deliver tha job." He spoke with a heavy Chicago accent as he casually strode towards him. Glancing over at Scavenger, he held out the envelope between them. His beady dark eyes drifted down Grey's body and noticed the position of his hand leaning nonchalantly just out of his pocket. The man moistened his lips then and, saying nothing of it, slid his arm back a bit and handed Scav the envelope, his eyes locked onto Grey now. "This guy ran off with a loada' the boss's money," he explained, "tha guy knows what's comin' to him too cuz' he's got himself well protected. We can't afford to send our guys in cuz we know this bastard's gonna come after the rest now he thinks he got away with it. We need you freaks to go in there and take carea' him. Make sure he don't try anything else, ya know what I mean?" He glanced into Grey and Scavenger's eyes to make sure but Grey simply stared back at him, lips pursed, silent. Taking a few steps back but keeping his eyes on the hitman in front of him, the man continued, "take care a' him and get the boss's money back. Just bring it back here." He the lit a cigar and blew a puff of the rancid, cheap-smelling smoke toward the other two before pointing at them with it. "And if there's a single scent missing, he'll know. So don't you try any funny shit. We'll be keepin' an eye on you too so I don't recommend trying to skip out on us. You ain't the only freaks we talk to."

With that, the big man turned and lumbered off into the shadows leaving Scav and Grey alone. As soon as the man was gone, Grey got back into the car and watched the envelope in Scavenger's hands as he got in beside him. Immediately, he opened the envelope and pulled out a single sheet of paper with only a name and a number on it: The name of the target and the incredibly large sum of missing money on it.