Chapter 1: Welcome to the New World

"ok gentleman i think it's time we all sit downa and clear up everything now before someone gets hurt,what do you think?"

"It's hard to explain Kristen," James said. "But it all comes down to our humanity. Being the better person, and not killing them. Let them rot in jail, take their own life even. But I won't become like them to stop them."

~Tecchie~

"I ain't sitting down, I'm afraid something will screw me over and not let me stand up. But I'd love to clear things up, with you guys starting first."

email alert:All flights in and out of Mexico are cancelled on a quarantine notice. The CDC recommend that if you have recently visited Mexico that you get checked out at a local hospital. The border to Mexico is closed. The CDC suggests that you go to the hospital if you have the following symptoms: <list\>

Nicholas sits at his desk. His fist rested against his temple as he looked at the computer screen. Reading the e-mail alert from the CDC. Supposedly, only a few people with certain connections, working for a bio-tech company comes with that benefit. He sat idly at his desk, thinking.

Hearing the offer Marcus sat right down, his snakes were attacking each other and acting like kittens. "Look Robot guy I'm also an invader here too, take the offer and we will try and not wreck this place okey?" His demonic voice was starting to get a little deeper and more.. demon.

"everybody needs to relax and sit the hell down so we can all avoid starting something troublesome again"

Ashaara strolled across the store, her eyes flicking over the goods on offer. Avaelli followed behind, quiet as usual. The only noise was the whir of the fan behind the counter and the ticking of the clock on the wall. The air was stifling.

The cashier glared at the both of them. Ashaara ignored it. Avaelli let out a breath that she had been holding in. An odd habit, Ashaara wondered, considering their lack of need for oxygen. She returned her attention back to the shelf and picked something up.

Avaelli lingered at the shelf while Ashaara approached the counter. As she fumbled in her pocked, she moved slightly, blocking the view of the owner and Avaelli swiped a bunch of stuff off of the shelf.

The cashier got more and more annoyed and Ashaara apologized profusely for the trouble before leaving with Avaelli. They laughed together as they walked down the street, enjoying the stolen chocolate.

It seemed insanely childish. Stealing from a store, but Ash and Avae took a great pleasure in simply being alive every day.

Orion rubbed his neck for a moment, trying to relax his muscles. Even he could feel the knots, and he wasn't some college educated masseuse or anything... He was just stressed a lot lately. He'd needed to take a break from everything, and as it turned out, USDHS weren't too fond of that.

He grabbed two of the unconscious G-men laying on the path in Central Park, tucking them beneath two bushes, hoping people would think they were just more hobos. Not like that was uncommon in New York after all. He brushed himself down and tightened his fist, as he felt a hand plant down on his shoulder.

"You really think you're something special don't you, boy?"

Orion felt something smash against the back of his head, and was thankful he'd prepared for it. He spun around, as metal spread over his body. His leg swept against the large man behind him, knocking him onto his back, before Orion let a nice hard kick come into contact with the mans head, knocking him out too.

Or putting him in a coma. Whichever way, it worked for now.

Orion left him in the bush as well, before returning to normal and pulling out his phone, dialling his lovely 'handlers', as he made his way out of the crime scene, and onto the not-as-bustling evening streets of New York City. An answering machine beeped in response, eliciting an angry sigh from the mutant.

"Okay, Davids, I'm guessing you're involved with these hitmen squads. I'd like to ask you either pull back on their numbers, or just give me something better - a few guys with guns aren't much to a guy who can break guns. Next time, maybe send one of your little pawns, rather than your drones."

With that, he tossed the phone at a passing taxi, watching it shatter as the Italian-American driver swore at him from inside the car.

At some point, some time later, Orion found himself in front of a small shop, one of those little corner stores that sold weird foreign candies and drinks, and sometimes sold an english magazine. Orion made his way in, sighing, before noticing the cowering shopkeeper. All he did was point and say "I voz robbed, again! Stoopid cousin says this country is for making moneys, but he is WRONGK!"

Orion rushed outside, looking down the street, looking for a pair of gangsters or some low time crook, or... Or people carrying a bunch of stolen good. He spotted only two people fitting the last description. And to his bad luck, they were both chicks.

Orion began to follow them, expecting at some point to be spotted. His hands remained tucked in his pockets, coated in a thin layer of steel, as he waited for something to go wrong, as it so often did.

Ashaara split the last piece of chocolate in half and watched Avaelli nibble at it slowly. She said something and Ash laughed. Not that anyone else would have understood it of course.

She dropped the wrapper as they walked. They didn't actually need to eat, nor could they taste anything but the imagination works wonders sometimes and it was often nice to pretend to be normal.

After a couple of streets, Avaelli said something else. Ashaara made a laugh again, but it was forced this time. She wasn't happy that they were being followed. Fox had swore to leave them alone.

They turned left, then left again. Down an alleyway. There was a right turn that would lead them to a smaller alley. As soon as they rounded it, Ashaara dropped to the floor and lay there, staring at the sky.Avaelli sprinted for the cover that a pair of dumpsters provided.

Orion froze in his steps, looking at the girl on the floor, standing calmly as he waited and watched. He knew full well he was in the open right now, but he didn't exactly know what to do. It seemed like some sort of ploy, like she was playing dead... He looked around and grabbed a nearby gutter pipe, struggling before yanking it off of the wall, and stepping forward to poke at the girl on the floor.

As he did so, he coated the covered parts of his body in a thin layer of aluminium, in the case that one or both of these criminals happened to possess some form of firearm. He didn't like being shot, but at least he could live through them.

Ashaara lay still and let the pipe prod her. She was glad of her dead state. It made it simple to pretend. Both girls just remained silent and still. Availing was tense, she could feel her muscles itching to move.

Ash kept her eyes on the sky, not daring to risk a peek at the follower

Orion tossed the pipe away, and sighed as he stepped over the girl, walking down the alley and looking around. There had been two girls before, so the fact that there was now one, seemingly dead, with no obvious marks on her body meant something was going on. He'd not really planned out what he'd do if he caught them, but a good beating probably would be enough.

"I hate dealing with female crooks... Doesn't seem fair."

As the man passed her, Ashaara let her eyes follow him. She couldn't pick out anything notable, but that was typical with these Fox operatives. He was mumbling something that she couldn't make out.

Avaelli tensed even further, her muscles now screaming at her, as he drew closer to her spot.

Orion grabbed the nearest dumpster, lifting it into the air as his body was covered in a thick steel, protecting him from the armour piercing rounds pelting his body. He tossed the dumpster at the robot that had burst out of the nearest wall, knocking the automaton to the ground before a second one appeared, dropping out of the sky and slamming its massive energy sword into the ground.

Orion leapt into the air, grabbing the beasts head and tearing it off, pelting it down at the second creatures head, exploding the robot easily. Orion laughed in victory, as he prepared for the great robot war!

That'd be fun. Instead I'm dealing with some random crooks. Eugh.

Orion made his way further down the alley. Deep down, he felt he was walking into a trap... but he was probably just being stupid.

Ashaara slowly raised herself up off of the ground, careful not to make noise. He was almost at the end of the dumpsters, which would be when Avaelli would tackle him. Ash debated just leaving now. Why bother sticking around? Avae could handle herself.

She chewed her lip for a moment.

Orion stretched, as he stepped in a puddle of an unknown liquid. He sword to himself, as he stepped into a more open area. Gutters, grates, and a pile of very, very, VERY old Chinese food. New York truly was a magical city.

"Guess I missed the other chick. Oh well, one out of two aint half bad... Or... well, it is half bad, but it's not bad."

Avaelli had let him pass and not moved. What in the hell was she doing? Ashaara knew he was about to turn and see her where she was crouched.

Come on, Avae. Move

Avaelli was shaking. Her entire body was trembling. She willed her body to move, but it didn't respond. All she could do was watch the man talk to himself as she crouched, frozen.

Orion stretched, and turned around to leave, making his way past the dumpsters again. He didn't even notice the young girl, hiding the shadows, until a moment later his brain properly processed the image. He stopped, a few feet between them both, standing still.

In a cool voice, he began to speak.

"If I were you, I'd announce yourself before doing anything stupid."

Ashaara jumped up at that moment

"You were following us! Why don't you announce yourself?"

She pointed her finger accusingly at the man.

Bella was walking down a street, it seem lively and she loved it, there were parents with kids going to buy ice cream at that small market and some others that seemed like they were enjoying themselves. It was much better than the forest even if she was at home there, "Two years, two long years.
 she said to herself before moving forwards, down the street, the cloths she took from a cloths line a while ago were a little big but they still fitted, plus her jumper had a hoodie. I wonder if that IOU note will be good enough. 

~Tecchie~

"And how do I know you're not gonna take me out while my defenses are down? You guys all know each other, I don't know any of you. You're all just gonna gang up on me."

"Your a little wrong their mate, you see I just met these two and they threatened me too but I'm being logical, Just sit down okey." Marcus said sitting up he released some darkness from his bodie and created a chair for himself before sitting down on it.

Bella was just taking in the city for a moment and all its wonders, she almost forgotten what it looked like even if she flew over it a couple of times.

Orion looked back at her, turning around and looking her over. He sighed, scratching his head.

"There's no way you're the ones I'm after... I don't even know how you'd be able to stick up a store, even one as prissy as that. You've got the wrong stance, no dominance... Jeez."

He didn't even take them seriously anymore. Now that he could see them both, he realised he'd been tailing the wrong people from the beginning, there's no way it was them.

"Stick up a store? Who the fuck sticks up a store? They don't have any money..."

Ashaara was annoyed now. How dare he criticism her stance. Was she fat? She didn't feel fat. GOd, she hoped she wasn't getting fat. Maybe she should stop eating so much chocolate. Could dead people even get fat?

~Tecchie~

"Hey, don't tell me what to- Did you just make a chair out of thin air? What is going on down here???" I get ready to react to anything they throw at me, whether the reaction will be to run or shoot.

"I didn't make a chair out of thin air, that's impossible Robot guy, I simply released some of my power and solidify it." Marcus said while letting his amour disappear into a puff of smoky darkness his mask still on. the chair black as smoke was releasing darkness, probably from the light.

"everyone chill ok just relax and we can get through this little conversation sooner"

Orion raised his brow, squinting at the girl before him, before shrugging and turning around. He didn't care enough about a dead chick and her loony friend right now to bother, he had bigger fish to fry.

"Well, whatever. Just stay out of trouble, okay?"

I'm going to need a place to stay. Bella was less then happy about this part, She had the animals back in the forest and was never alone, Now she has to live off rodents and in some house alone. God, I also need money and food and water and blah, I need to go to school. School was the one thing she missed, She always had good marks and was put up a grade because of it, but then she turned into the smallest person in class. "Oh my god this is going to suck." she said to herself quietly while brushing away the Aqua part of her hair that stood out from her brown hair.

"How can you be 'better' than someone else?" I asked, "And what do you mean 'humanity?"

"Kristen, being better than someone in terms of morals is.....well, it's always a point of view thing. If you think you're better than someone for the choices you make. Like not killing and instead sparing to imprison. And humanity is a part of our morals."

"But why?" I asked, still trying to understand.

"Kristen, I don't have a good answer for why. I do what I do, let them live, because I want to be a good guy. I want to be someone people can look up to. And I don't want to be a killer. What do you want, to be a killer? To be a weapon?"

Bella had just finished her walk around a block now, she went thought alley ways and streets, trying not to bump into people like she did with the animals of the forest but alas she was getting bored, no game or hunt that she could do back in the forest with all these people around unless she was to change into a baby cougar, they looked like kittens, at least she thought they did.

~Tecchie~

"You did what now? And don't call me that."

Chris and Amy parted ways, each heading home. Chris took her cellphone and called James, wondering where he was and if he was okay doing his.....well, Revenant thing.

Before Kristen could respond, James phone rang, the vibration noticeable through his pant pocket. Gestalt displayed the caller ID in his eyes, and he resisted the urge to sigh. He'd have to let her wait for a bit.

~Tecchie~

"Fine, you know what? I'll sit down. We'll all talk, and maybe have a nice cup of tea. I just want to find out what happened to me and why I'm here," I say, plopping myself on the cold, hard ground.

-3 Years Earlier

"We see you've modified your suit quite a bit, David."
I knew I never should've come down this ally. They always say that curiosity kills the cat. Well now they can change that phrase to 'curiosity kills the cyborg'.
"How would you know?" I ask hesitantly
I can't even see whoever is talking right now. The person. Or maybe even people. Or maybe not even people at all, are hiding in the shadows.
"We've been following you. We know about your brother. We know who has him."
"What are you talking about? I was at the funeral. He's six feet under at the-"
"They lied. He's alive."

Sparrow's means of arriving home, was through a window into her room. She wasn't alone though, finding herself face to face with another threat: her mother. "Kyou Ishii," her mother, a woman in her late thirties with jet-black hair that fell to her shoulders, a slim gymnasts build, and a face that while normally attractive, bore the tell tale signs of hidden anger. "You were behind schedule. What happened?" Sparrow, or rather Kyou, sighed behind her mask, and reached up to unclasp the seals that kept the front half secured to the rest of her suit. When the mask came off, a younger version of her mother's face appeared, pale skin like snow showing as the mask was lowered and set on the table, black hair now coming free and hanging around her face. She puffed out some air from the side of her lips, and waved a hand to brush the hair out of her eyes, and it hung then above her jawline.

"Sorry mom, but something came up on the way home. But I got the painting, so all's good," she said, though her mother glared. "Oh all is anything but good. We are professionals young lady, and we stick to the plan no matter what. If it means risking being exposed, arrested or killed, it's not worth it." Returning a glare of her own, albeit a pale imitation, Kyou snapped back "I saw that vigilante that's been on the news. That Revenant guy or whatever, and I wanted to see if he was the real deal." That seemed to get her mother's attention, and she said quietly "And?"

"Well.....he's definitely the real deal. At least from what I saw. He was hunting someone, a murderer and they....they had a partner, some other super-powered nut-job who was almost like him. Made weapons and shit but....he was able to fight her. Could have beaten her if his partner didn't get in there and finish her off. But geez mom, you should have seen it. He can cloak, is faster and stronger than anything we've seen..." She paused when she saw her mom smirk a little, and said "You bitch....this was never about the painting, was it?"

Shaking her head, her mom walked closer and said "Nope. Well, kinda, but not really. When I started hearing about some super-freaks here in New York, I figured what the hell, might as well see if they offer any challenge. All we need to do, is get their attention."

"see now isn't this much easier now maybe we can get this situation straightened out"

"Yea get the problem out of the way.", "Bloody hell, who knew meeting people would be so confusing." , "I know dark, Revenant was bad but this is so much more." Marcus and dark said to each other as their house guest tried to stop a full fight from appearing. Man, If rev saw me now, he would think I'm starting up a cult. what makes you think that? "Just that he thinks I'm a psychopathic murderer."

~Tecchie~

"Alright, first off, you guys tell me who you are. Alright?" I say, already getting sick of talking to them.

-3 Years Earlier

"Yes. We know who has him, but not his exact location. We will upgrade everything for you. Make you stronger. Make you more powerful. But it comes with a cost."
"What's that? Not that I have a choice anyway," I ask.
"Oh, you have a choice. If you want, you can just abandon your brother, and walk away right now. Forget this ever happened. But the cost is that you must save your brother no matter what, and kill all of the people guarding him. Also, when we upgrade you, you will become a target. People will try to take you down. You need to survive."

"My name is shadow my good sir and this lovable person you can't see besides the serpents is the darkness." Marcus said while getting off his chair and then disbanding it, a puff of smoke was all that was left until it blended with whatever darkness it could find.


"This place looks nice." Bella was staring down a building that was most likely in a fire because of its charred looks and the fact that it was half crumpled yet it would do for now as she just needed a place to stay. "Right, Job to get money." she said to herself, she had to try and remember any words she could as her English was a little bad from all that growling she did as her forms in the forest.

"No..." I mumbled, frowning as I thought over what James said, "What if he comes back? What if he kills your friends next?" I said, repeating my only point. It was the only point that mattered, anyway.

"If that happens......Kristen, if that happens then he'll wish I killed him," James said quietly. "Besides, look at it this way: New York State reinstated the death penalty, and with the amount of evidence against him, he's looking at a needle in the arm." Looking at her, he noticed the frown, seeing that she was indeed pondering his words. "Ah.....forget it, it's not like I'm trying to be some deep sage like mentor. I just don't want to be a killer, simple as that. So, I need to get going, head back home. What about you?"

"I have to go home, I think," I said, "I was told to find the killer. I've done that now."

"Find?" James asked. "First off, you kinda did more than find so I think someone's gonna be upset about that bit. Second.....WHO THE HELL WAS THAT LADY?" James demanded. "She could create weapons and go toe-to-toe with me, and was working with that murderer. You're sent to find him, and I'm guessing her as well. So what's going on?"

"I don't know," I said, "And don't worry, nobody will be upset," I added, "They would have told me to kill her anyway."

"Well.....good, I guess. At least you won't get in trouble," James murmured. "And you have no idea who she was, or why Black wolf wanted her dead?"

"Black Fox," I corrected him, "And no. I don't usually get told everything. I could ask though."

"Would they tell you though?" he asked. "Don't take this the wrong way, but if they made you to be a weapon.....would they tell you anything?"