RKMBs Forums .::Important::. Writer's Block Vanguard Internation [Issue 16] Aisling Prison

London, England

“Penny, please turn these papers to the House of Commons office before lunch,” said Parliament member George Wilson.

Penny, his secretary, nodded. “Yes sir. Your tea is already on your desk.”

Wilson grinned and shut the door to his office. For five hours, Wilson stayed in there. Penny delivered the papers as ordered, went to lunch, called her boyfriend, and was back in her office by one in the afternoon. Wilson had not left the office. At two, the secretary received a call. “This is Mr. Wilson’s office, Penny speaking. Well, I’m sorry, I have no idea he missed a meeting. I’ll go get him.” Penny put the phone on hold and entered Wilson’s office. In less than ten seconds she rushed out of the room and grabbed the phone with shaking hands. “There’s been a accident! He’s dead! Call Scotland Yard!”

Vanguard Headquarters, La Perdita

Danny was with Miss Xiang in her office. “Danny, this is Penny Goodweather.” Danny took a good look at the woman. Miss Goodweather had long blond hair and pale blue eyes. She was dressed in a light tan suit that complimented her tall body and lean legs. “Her employer, George Wilson, was the British Parliament member that was killed by a meta yesterday.”

Penny nodded towards Danny. “I also participated in the Antarctic event. That’s when I found about about Vanguard.”

Danny was surprised. “You’re a meta?”

Penny smiled. “I can manipulated computers and I posses a photographic memory. Mr. Wilson finds those skills useful.”

“Wait a moment,” Danny raised his hand. “I’m confused. Wilson hires a meta, so its not like he’s anti-metahuman. But some meta kills him?”

Penny shook her head. “I can’t figure it out either. Scotland Yard’s good, but they have no idea I’m a meta. I would prefer it stay like that.”

Miss Xiang turned to Danny. “You job is to find out who killed Wilson. I’m sending Vanguard over to London. Miss Goodweather and some of her friends have offered Vanguard financial compensation for the entire task.”

Danny looked back to Penny and smiled. “We’ll accept the mission. I’ll go assemble the troops.”

***

Danny saw Brianna in the hallway. “What are you doing with a backpack?”

“I just got a letter from Ireland. I have to attend a funeral of an old friend of mine.”

“Well that’s inconvient. We’re heading to London to work on a case.”

Brianna grinned. “I’ve never been there.” She looked thoughtful for a moment. “Look, the funeral shouldn’t take too long. I’ll head to Dublin, and when my business is done there I’ll meet you in London.”

“Safe traveling, Banshee.”

Nevada, USA

The advantage to having a lab in the desert, thought Brandon, was the isolation. Nevada was the second least-populated state in the Union. And even then, everyone was in Reno or Vegas. It was easy to set up a new camp here.

The head of Aisling prison walked through the dim corridors. Cage after cage of half-mutant, half-animal monsters looked at. Stared at him with his pressed business suit, new cell phone, and an arrogant gait. He owned this place. He headed towards a door labeled SECURITY and walked in. Inside, a half-bat creature with thick, bottleneck glasses was reading a comic and operating the cameras.

“Rob, why are the fucking cameras not working?”

Rob felt a hand on his wing’s shoulder. His boss looked royally pissed. “Um…I have no idea…”

Brandon grabbed the Batman comic out of the Meta-animal’s hand. “Put this fucking shit away and look at me for a moment. We cannot have this. The camera in the fucking tank isn’t working. The tank, Rob. You know what that means? It means we’ve left Torpedo unsupervised.”

Rob didn't look to concerned. “He doesn’t have legs, boss. It's not like he can escape.”

“No, but he can apparently chew on a security camera. I don’t want to put up with this shit right now. Torpedo needs to be supervised to see if he gets sick. Eve should be arriving back anytime now so we have to have her cage prepped.”

“How come Eve gets to go to England?”

“Because Eve can slip pass security without being caught." Brandon grinned. "Who else could I use to kill a British politician? Nothing but one snake killing another.” He laughed at his own wit.

Danny knew that the situation had already been bad. How could it not be? He'd been expecting Drake to leave. He'd given plenty of notice, but he hadn't been ready for Grimm to leave at the same time. What Danny didn't know was if the situation had just gotten better or worse as he looked at the apparently young man seated in front of him. The newcomer looked to be in his mid twenties. He was rather normal looking to tell the truth. His eyes and his hair were both brown. His hair a bit longer than normal. This covered up his strangest feature, the fact that his ears were pointed. He was dressed like a tourist, in a brightly colored Hawaiian shirt and cargo shorts with flip flops on his feet. His posture was as relaxed as his attire. There was the other strange thing, he was seated, but apparently not on anything. He just hovered in a lounging position a couple feet in the air.

"So, your name is Phouka."

"Well, sort of. It's the name I go by right now. I've gone by others you may know better, but I'd really rather not go into that. No name I've been known by is my true name. The eternal name cannot be spoken."

"So, your name is Phouka."

"Yeah."

"The same Phouka who's had run ins with Grimm, one of our former members." It felt strange to call Grimm a former member, Danny tried not to let it show.

"Oh, yeah. I know Grimm all right. The Order too." Phouka lowered his voice to a theatrical whisper. "I don't think they like me."

"I believe Grimm's exact words were 'Phouka is one of the most dangerous beings in the Universe'."

"Grimmy said THAT? About ME?" Phouka paused a moment. "Yeah, I can see that."

"So, why should I trust you now?"

"I explained this. I've left Chaos' service. I gave up my title of Herald. I relinquished the majority of my powers, although I can still be quite helpful. I did all of this because I wish to be good, to help people. I mean, if you had the same job since the 12th day of time's existence, you'd probably start looking for a career change too. Am I right?"

"I'm sorry, I just don't buy it."

"Geez, I thought this was Vanguard. Isn't the only requirement showing up?"

"Comments like that won't help you."

"Yeah, I guess not. C'mon. Give me a tryout or something,"

"Fine, you aren't an official member yet though. Your membership depends on your performance on this mission."

Phouka snapped into an at attention pose, complete with salute. He still floated in the air. "Aye aye sir. I promise you won't regret this."

"Just remember you're lucky we're undermanned right now. And try not to do that floaty thing around me. It's annoying."

Phouka lowered himself so his feet touched the ground. He gave Danny a thumbs up. "You got it chief."

"I'm Australian. You just flipped me off."

Phouka lowered his thumb. "Oh, yeah. Sorry about that. Well, I'm off to mingle with my new teammates." Phouka walked out the door.

"You're not on the team yet!" Danny shouted after him.

Danny Hearn sits at his desk, in the small office of the Vanguard leader.

Near the window, looking casually outside, dressed in black, is Phil Smith.

On the other side of the desk sits a new candidate for membership in Vanguard, a rather usual man in his mid thirties, short hairs lingering toward grayness, five o'clock beard, It can't be told looking at him, being sitting, but he is shorter than average.

"Mr. Frank Cavalli?" asks Danny, looking at some papers.

"Yes" says the man, hid fingers playing together nervously. Danny's eyes glance at Phil, who, without turning from looking outside, nods in agreement.

"I read here that you worked for Chicago Police Department as a detective. Have you never heard about the EPS?"

"Yes, but why you ask me that after reading I worked in Chicago? I first met that acronym here in La Perdita, when I enlisted for the Antarctic war. Have they something to do with my city?"

Danny's eyes again go to the back of the head of Phil, who nods again.

Without answering, Danny lean back in the armchair, and asks: "Good. Tell me why you were rejected from the Chicago PD, Mr. Cavalli."

"It's like I have written there. I am a meta, I have always kept it a secret. If my chief were to discover that I am a meta, I would be fired instantly. And I needed the job. My brother is dying of cancer. His metagene manifested in a spectacular way four years ago, when he grew to King Kong size on New Year’s eve, after drinking too much alcohol. He went into a rampage, and was stopped by the intervention of a government agency of whom I never heard before, the MCCA. They used a Chinook to take him away. No one noticed me where he was brought. Then, two years ago, he returned home, his power seemingly gone. But he got a strange form of cancer. Being a meta, he doesn't have any sort of medical care assistance, so I must pay for his cures.
I would have really liked to kick my chief in the ass, but I needed the job.
Then, after Christmas, someone sent a letter to my chief, telling I am a meta. He order new genetic scans, and this time I couldn't counterfeit them like the other times. So, I was fired."

The man stands up. Phil turns to look at him.

"You see, I knew of La Perdita. I have been here on vacation, because my woman... my ex-fiancee, really... is from here. well, she's British, but she lived here... she is a stage magician... Rose Biggles, maybe you have heard of her. She was in Antactica" says Cavalli, looking interrogatively at Danny.

"I wasn't there" whispers the Australian, causing a slightly expression of indignation over Cavalli's face.

"I was. I met her" promptly intervene Phil. "It was quite evident she likes the stage".

"Yes, well..." Frank Cavalli seems embarrassed. "Anyway, I left the USA and came here, where metas are tolerated. Rose talked often about you, and so I came here... I need a job, and a hospital for my brother... I have seen you have a special facility next to this complex... and your Doctor Quantos is a well known name in the metas community... for his work in the metagene when he was at Malvan X."

Danny nods again, without looking at Phil. "What are your abilities?"

The man seems even more embarrassed. His right hands goes to the head and starts to scratch it. "Well, you see... I have the nose of a hound. Maybe more, I have seen a documentary, once, probably it can be compared to the sense of smell of a butterfly..."

"Are you kidding?" asks Danny, his eyes wide open.

"No... no. But I assure you, it's useful. I recognize the killers of a man smelling the cadaver. Yes, then I have always the problem to demonstrate it in the court, using normal methods, as I can't reveal how I recognized it, but here..."

Danny stops him raising an hand. "Wait. You are telling me you are a good detective?"

"Yes, that's it. I could be possibly the best on the planet..."

Danny raises the hand again. "We have already the best detective in the galaxy among our ranks".

Cavalli frowns. tries a smile, but seeing Danny's deadly serious change arguments. "Ah, well, I could be useful in other ways... you see, people emanates a different mix of sweating, hormones and... smells...when they say the truth or not, if they are scared or excited... I can sense it, it's like a sort of telepathy, you see... it can be..."

Danny's stops again the man, and then points at Phil. "Mr Smith, there, is a telepath. A very powerful telepath".

Cavalli looks at Phil in awe. Then turns to Danny: "I... I... I can follows tracks. I can move in the dark thanks to my nose!"

Danny smiles. "Mr. Cavalli, I can grow any animal part out of my body. I can follow tracks with the nose of a wolf, I can see in the dark with howl eyes... I think I can replicate any of your abilities..."

Cavalli buries his face in his hands. "Mr. Hearn... I need this job. My brother is dying... My woman has left me... I discovered she's pregnant, not by me... and then she fled away... I feel betrayed as a man and as a meta... she has enlisted with the Strikeforce... I think the kid is Merlin's own!"

Now the man is plainly sobbing.

"The man is sincere, Danny, he told all the truth" says Phil. "It may be not the powerful meta around, but I have seen something remarkable in his mind, and anyway we have always accepted whoever came to know at our door. I don't see why we should stop right now"

Frank Cavalli raises his face from the hands. "You are saying... I am accepted?"

"Only on probation, Mr. Cavalli. Frank." Danny's lends an hand to the man. "But you can bring your brother to our hospital. I am sure Doc Quantos will take look at him very soon."

Priest and Adem, both dressed in plain clothes, walked through the halls of the complex's hospital. When they reached the door they were headed for, a young doctor was coming out of that same door and was closing it behind him.

"Excuse me, where are you going?" the doctor asked the Vanguardians.

"We're here to see the patient in this room," Priest replied.

The doctor looked very serious. "Oh. Well, then I'm afraid I've got bad news..."

"...what...?" Priest asked.

"He's passed away. I'm sorry."

Priest punched the wall and swore. Adem remained calmed.

"His injuries turned out to be more serious than we originally thought. It happened this morning. I assure you we did our best, but..."

"DAMN!" Priest yelled in frustration.

"Priest..." Adem said with a sigh.

Priest looked back at his friend. Then he remembered who they were talking about.

"Oh." Priest said. He slowly retrieved the fist from the hole in the wall it had just created. He looked back at the doctor. Only now he noticed the color of his eyes was a familiar black. The doctor started grinning.

"You stupid fuck," Priest said, punching the doctor in the shoulder and laughing.

"I believe in these cases people say 'He got you'," Adem commented. "He got you good."

"So, 'Epicenter'..." Priest said, "no more Zarch?"

"Nope," the doctor said. "I think his body reacted bad to this world. Just like some of you guys had troubles when you got to the other dimension. Add the injuries from the battle to that, and you got a corpse. It's ok, it was getting old anyway."

"And I was barely getting used to it..." Priest said.

"We came to tell you Vanguard has a new mission," Adem said.

"Yes, in England," Priest added. "You coming?"

"Well, Danny kinda kicked me out of the group, remember?"

"Screw that foo'! You died for this group... twice!" Priest exclaimed. "That's whack!"

"And I'd like to die for it many more times..."

"Let's talk to Danny." Adem said. "I'm sure that if we try to reason with him he will understand."

"Excellent," the doctor replied. "I'll go find myself a new body first, then. I can't go to the mission as 'doctor guy'. Catch you guys later..."

The doctor walked through the center of La Perdita looking for an avaliable meta to 'use'. Though the city is mainly populated with metas, 'Eppie' wasn't having much luck finding one that suited his needs.
It was much easier when he took the bodies of bad guys, like Zarch or Epicenter. He remembered taking Epicenter in Antartica after his previous body was murdered by him. The former Strikeforce member probably thought he could get away with murder because they were in a war, but eventually he payed for his crime... and once again, the mind inside his body 'jumped' into the body of one of murderers, Zarch.
But Zarch died from natural causes, so the only person present at the time was a doctor. And while doctors may come in handy during dangerous missions, he didn't feel comfortable risking the life of an innocent person.
As he walked outside a pet store, the doctor noticed a large familiar person talking to the attendant inside the store.

"Th-That's..." the doctor heard the attendant say to the large man when he walked into the store, "That's a lot of bird food, sir. I'm afriad we don't carry THAT much..."

"Well, that's how much I need!" Mason Templar exclaimed loudly, banging his fist on the counter. "If Erasmus doesn't get his food I'm afraid he might go back to his man-eating ways... and, who knows, lad, maybe you'll be around when that happens!"

The attendant pissed his pants. It wasn't just the things this strange large man said, it was the way he said it. Or yelled it, rather.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I'm just kidding, son..." Templar said after watching the attendant's reaction with satisfaction, "...OR AM I?! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"Mason! Mason!" the doctor said, grabbing Templar's shoulder from behind him.

Templar turned and looked at the young doctor talking to him. "I'm sorry, sir, I don't believe we've met. I never forget a face and yet you speak to me as if you knew me. Who are you?"

"It's me! Epicenter! Zarch! The newbie!" the doctor exclaimed.

"Oh! Poo Lad! Well, why didn't you say so before?"

"Listen, I'm in a bit of a tight spot and I wonder if you can help me..." the doctor explained. "We're leaving for England today and I need a body to use to get there..."

"Hmmm..." Templar said, rubbing his chin. "I think I might be able to help you, lad..." He grinned, and the doctor started wondering if he had come to the right man for help...

La Partida Funeral Home

"Mason," said the false doctor. "This is the back office of a funeral home."

Mason only shrugged. He was still carrying the massive bag of bird seed. "You needed a new body. There are bound to be a few meta corpses around here."

"This is still kind of wrong!"

Mason turned to the newbie with a puzzled look. "Wrong, boy? BuHAHAHA!" His laughter was too loud for the funeral home, and people looked at the pair as they were checking out prices for caskets. "You've switched bodies before. Why is so uncomfortable now?"

"Those other two guys...just random people! No one missed them." He looked at the nearest occupied casket. "These people are obviously loved, and they're going to be missed. It's a little different than finding some random body in the middle of a battlefield."

"True. But, er, you know, 'doc'," said Mason, wrapping his free arm around the meta formally know as Zarch. "People don't like being forgotten. Just think of it -- you can make one of these people a hero. Besides, it's not like they need their bodies anymore."

The other man nodded. "True. Alright...help me pick one out."

Vanguard Headquarters, La Pertida

"So, how long will you be stayin' here on this pretty island, missy?"

Penny smiled at Grissom. "Well, sir," she answered, in an accent more sophisticated than his, "I leave the same time the team leaves. I've made plans for Vanguard while they're in London, and I'm acting as hostess. It's the least I could do for having Vanguard come to my aid."

"Well," replied Grissom, "if you need anyone to show you the nightlife --"

"I think Henry would object, Mister Montag."

Grissom was puzzled. "'Henry'?"

"Yes, Henry." Penny picked up her purse. "My boyfriend. He's a meta too, you know. Throws poisonous darts from his fingers. Sent my stalker of an ex to the hospital for weeks..."

"Are you done with you mandatory flirting, Griss?" shouted Danny from the end of the hall. "Miss Goodweather, as soon as everyone's back from the city, we're ready to depart for London."

"Excellent." She turned back to Grissom. "Do you own some sort of a private plane?"

"Nope, lass. We had the Stormloader, but apparently someone got it crushed on the last misson." He was sticking his thumb at Danny. "Our resident mechanic and myself, however, have compensated for that."

Grissom opened one of doors in the hallway for Penny and Danny. It was the newly remodeled hanger. In the center was a massive ship, with three engines on each wing and a sleek design. "A little sexier looking than the old Loader, I thinking. Lady and gentleman, I give you...the Argo!"

Danny, Phil and Adem, along Miss Penny, met in the hangar, waiting for the rest to leave for England. Priest was just standing there chewing gum.
Suddenly, Erasmus, carrying Mason, entered the hangar through the exit.

"Are we ready to leave, team?!" Templar screamed from atop Erasmus, who was making an unprecedented rough landing that almost squashed the Vanguardians.
Everyone moved from Erasmus' path, except Priest, who was chewing gum at the time and found himself unable to chew and run in terror at the same time. A consequence of being hit in the head repeatedly through his life, no doubt.

"Oh, DAMN!" Priest protested from under Erasmus a few seconds later, "I just swallowed my gum!"

"Have you seen Zarch, Mason?" Adem asked. He waited for a reaction in Danny, but the aussie simply said nothing.

"He told *khak* us he would look for a new body and meet us... *khak*" came Priest's muffled coughing voice from under Erasmus.

"He's right on top of you right now, Priest!" Templar replied.

"What... do you mean?" Danny asked, afraid of the answer.

"Well, he asked for my assistance in getting himself a new body to go to England, and, after failing to find anything suitable in the morgue, I offered him Erasmus' body!" Templar explained. "You don't think my Erasmus would make a landing like that, do you?"

"KRAK!" Erasmus said, validating Templar's story.

"That's..." Phil said, "...very weird."

"I guess we're ready to go, then..." Danny said. He looked at Erasmus. "You and I will have a chat later, Epi... Za... Er... whatever!"

"You really need to get a code-name," Phil added.

"Krak..." Erasmus said.

"All right, before we go, I have a couple of people to introduce to the rest," Danny said, opening a door...

The door opened to an empty room.

"Who's supposed to be in there?" Danny jumped as Phouka looked over his shoulder while hovering in the air.

Danny glared at Phouka and then he addressed the team again. "This is Phouka. He's..."

"Hi, I'm your new teammate. How's everyone doing? I'm looking forward to working with all of you."

"What I was going to say is that Phouka has asked to join us, I'm letting him come along on this mission as a test." Danny glared at Phouka again. "He's not doing very well so far."

Adem spoke up. "I believe I've read a file about you."

"The one Grimm wrote that said I'm either psychotic or deceptive beyond all human comprehension? I read it too. It made me looke pretty bad, don't you think?"

"Yes." Was Adem's only reply.

"So, we have a rogue among us!" Mason Exclaimed. "I wonder why one such as you would want to join us, and why we should let you?"

"KRAK!"

Phouka lowered his voice a little, as if he was telling a secret. "I'm trying to impress a girl." Phiuyka changed back to a normal tone of voice (for him), "As for why you should let me, I can be a lot of help. If you've read the file, you know how myuch power I've commanded. Now, i admit my little...falling out with Chaos has bumped me down a couple notches, but I can still be a lot of help..."

Just then, Phouka was interupted by the sound of Phil trying not to throw up.

"Oh, the telepath. I should have warned you to stay out of there," He said pointing at his head, "It's kind of a mess. Oh,and no need to explain yourself. I know you weren't trying to 'read' anything, the chaos is kind of there right on the surface. I'm afraid I won't be able to receive any telepathic messages unless i'm expecting them and I'm concentrating in advance. Then I get to be the one with the headache, won't that be nice?"

Phil had gathered himself by then, the sick feeling left as soon as Phil was consciouly avoiding Phouka's thoughts. "Thanks."

"Actually, as you get used to it you may be able to use telepathy normally on me. The practice will just be...unpleasant."

"Yeah, I could tell."

Mason wasn't finished asking questions. "And what might your powers be, Phouka?"

"Basically, I can create 'chaos zones', spaces where pure chaotic energy is present. It makes random stuff happen. Unfortunately, all I can really control is the location and I have some limited control of the intensity. So, basically, if we're in a combat situation and you see me pointing, try not to be in the direction I'm pointing in."

Mason actually laughed, "So, slightly more dangerous for their side than ours."

Phouka seemed to miss the irony as he rubbed his hands together. "So when do we start?"

Danny felt like he must have a bigger headache than Phil had. "There's still one more provisional member to meet. I wonder where he went."

A seemingly perfect normal man, dressed very normally with blue jeans and a light blue button up shirt, arrived running. Under his arm, a folded brown, dirty trenchcoat.

"I... I was at the bathroom!" the man tried to explain.

"Mr Frank Cavalli, former detective at Chicago PD. Got fired for being a meta. His power is... uhm... supernose" said Danny, slightly embarrassed.

A suffocated "bwahahahaha" was heard from the Vanguard line, suddenly followed by some coughs.

The man turned red for a moment, then said a simple "Hi".

Everyone loaded into the Argo. "This is Grissom speakin'," said the intercom. "Please get to yer seats, the plane will be taking off soon. That includes you, Phouka."

"Griss?" said Danny. "Are you going on this mission?"

<No, but the two of us are involved> said Jym. <The Argo has a computerized piloting system. We're the ones flying you to London. Assuming Mr. Montag doesn't cause the plane to crash.>

"Aw, stuff it, you bag o' bones."

After Grissom and Jym bickered for five minutes, the Argo was airborn, en route to London. Erasmus...sort of...was following at a close distance. The interier was roomy, just as good as first class on a commericial plane. There was a survailence moniter and three control centers for weapons. Grissom and Charlie had not been lazy with security and defense, and the Argo was armed with dozens of air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles. Depending on the situation, the Argo could comminuate with stations all over the planet, or slip into a cloak of invisibility. The engines were relativly quiet, an added bonus. "I think," said Danny, "we've moved up from the Stormloader."

Miss Goodweather used the opportunity to plan things with Danny and the rest of Vanguard. "Mr. Wilson's office is located in the House of Parliment."

"Cool," said Frank. "We get to see Big Ben."

Penny laughed. "Common tourist mistake. Big Ben is the bell, and it can't be seen from the street. Anyway, the office is still treated as a crime scene by Scotland Yard. Which means its off-limits to the public."

"We'll have to sneak in," said Danny.

"Right," said Penny. "The detectives leave at around five, and the office is fairly deserted by seven. That's when you can conduct your own investigation."

"Do we even have any suspects?" asked Adem. He and Frank Cavalli were sitting next to each other. "Motive?"

Penny shook her head. "Mr. Wilson was a good man. I mean, he hired me, even when he knew I was...different. But he was a politician. Of course he had opponents...there was some man from Glouchester he beat last year. That loser was always sour after that. And Mr. Wilson was never to fond of the IRA."

"Irish terrorists?" asked Danny.

"Well," said Penny. "The Irish were just not very fond of him."

"So how do you know it was a Meta that killed him?" asked Frank. "Could be some some crazy gun with a gun. Like in Clear and Present Danger."

"The police report," said Penny. She looked blank for a moment. "Oh," she said, laughing. "I never showed you my abilities. Danny, can I print something off of your computer?"

"Sure. What is it?"

Penny rolled her eyes back in answer. Her pupils contracted to an unnatural level. Nearby, the laptop's screen changed, from the Argo's current position to a page listing police reports. She was hacking into Scotland Yard's private database. "The police wouldn't tell me anything, so I looked myself."

Danny grabbed the paper that printed and gave it to Frank and Adem.

Autopsy Report:

...Body found dead late afternoon. Estimated time of death is 930 hours. Body was found facedown, with head towards door and feet towards desk. No external wounds. Victim suffered violent crushing of rub cage which lead to death by suffication, confirmed by examination of lungs and pulminary cavity. Victim did struggle with suspect, which left DNA samples of suspect underneath Victim's fingernails. Anaysis of Suspect DNA points to female metahuman...

Adem handed the paper back to Danny. "The DNA evidence is pretty strong. Could the crushing of the rib cage signify a woman of abnormal strength?"

"Or maybe she lifted him up with her willpower and just crushed him mentally," said Adem.

"Yeah," said Frank. "Like in Star Wars."

"I don't know," said Danny. He thought for a moment. "Right. Adem, Frank, I want you two to come with me to the office in downtown London."

"What about us?" said Phouka, pointing to himself and Mason.

"Don't get drunk and pissed all over London. Seriously, at least until we get some leads, wait at the hotel for Brianna. Who knows, she may already be in London waiting for us."

Outside of Dublin, Ireland

"You said Father Abben died. You didn't say he was murdered."

"Sorry Brianna," said Brother Quinn. "There are just some things I didn't feel safe putting in a letter."

Brianna was walking around the monestary where Father Abben spent his final months. Brother Quinn was a good host to the Vanguardette. "But I don't understand. Who would want to kill Abben?"

"Perhaps some of your metahuman friends from Vanguard could be of assistance."

"Well," said Brianna. "Adem's not a metahuman, but he's my friend. And he's the best detective in the galaxy. But I guess I'll have to do for now."

"Much appriciated, little banshee." Quinn lead Brianna to Abben's room. "Normally, I would donate the old priest's possesions, but he clearly left a few things for you." Quinn handed Brianna a brown paper envelope filled with papers. "I'll leave you alone for a while. Abben's funeral is tomorrow, I'll be downstairs praying for him if you need me."

Brianna sat down on the matress and pulled the envelope open. Photos and papers fell out faster than Brianna could catch them. "What are these...these are like the papers Walker sent me! About Aisling!" Brianna scanned the papers quickly, looking at document after document. "This is all from the abandoned site in Ireland. Father Abben must have been collecting them for years." Brianna thought for a moment. She didn't have a detective brain like Adem, but her mind was still going a mile a minute. "Father Abben frees me from the abandoned Aisling prison. Walker says Aisling was relocated in Nevada. The Abben's found dead...Brother Quinn!"

***

Brianna found Quinn where he said he would be. Father Abben's casket was nearby. "How did he die, Quinn? How was he killed?"

"The boys from Dublin couldn't figure it out, Brianna. Something...big...crushed his lungs. The detective said he must have fallen out of bed, but how would that explain how beaten his ribs were?"

"I don't know," said Brianna. "Look, I've got to head to London. I'm needed over there. I'm taking some of the evidence so Adem can look at it."

Quinn nodded. "Good luck, Banshee."

Brianna smiled. She was about to take off, but at the last moment she dropped the bag of evidence and ran towards the casket. She spoke in a voice too low for Quinn to hear. "You gave me freedom," said said to the remains of her friend. "I will find out who did this to you."

"Hmmm.....," Adem mumbled as he examined the autopsy photos closer.

"What does hmmm mean?" Danny asked, leaning forward in his chair.

"I thought it was a human emote of curiosity. Or am I getting it and Fquoran customs mixed up?"

"No, I know what hmmm means generally. I was just wondering why you were doing it."

"Oh, sorry." Adem put two pictures of the victim's torso, one from the front and the other from the back, up side by side for Danny to see. "You see these bruise lines?" He pointed to a line at the top of the man's chest and one around his stomach.

"Yes," Danny responded, almost questioning the importance of them.

"Well, they continue on to the man's back, in a straight line. Whatever crushed him was wrapped around his body. I don't think this kind of bruising can occur from someone with really strong arms. It would take either a weapon of some sort or even abnormal appendages to cause this type of injury."

"You said something about a meta with mental powers earlier. Could that explain the marks?"

"Could. I'm not too certain. These seemingly random abilities that your species displays is rather confusing to me. I can't really say one way or another. But the preseance of DNA from the attacker on the victim would indicate that the attack had to be done up close, more than likely hands on. Otherwise, a mentalist would have been able to attack from a distance. Quite possibly never even entering the room."

Danny nods as he thinks, because it made it look like he was actually thinking of something useful no matter whether he was or not. "Cavalli?" The Vanguard leader turned and looked at one of the new additions to the team. "Any thoughts?"

"From a picture? Not my field" said Frank, shaking his head.

Then he kneeled over the floor, his nose trembling and vibrating like the one of a hound, in a very disturbing way for Danny. When he uses a dog's sense of smell, he is always more discrete.

The ex Chicago PD detective was passing over and over the traced silhouette of the body, frowning, concentrating.

Then, Frank Cavalli stood up, scratching his head.

"The smell is almost undetectable, too many persons entered this room after the killing. But there is the smell of a reptile... something big, a big serpent... like a python or an anaconda. And that would explain the scars noted by Adem."

Adem Different was deep in though. "That means more. If it was a serpent to kill the man... there should have been scales over the body... at the least fragments of them. If that was not on the Police report, that talks only of metahuman DNA..."

"That means there is a mole in Scotland Yard that is covering up the killer!"

"It's <killers>" noted Adem. "One meta and one reptile".

Nevada, USA

Brandon lit a cigarette and waited for the truck. Aisling was located underground, so he was taking a security risk standing outside in the open. "She's fucking late."

Finally, after another ten minutes, an old Toyota drove up. The bed was covered so no one could see what was in the back. Despite it being dusk, Brandon had a pair of glasses on.

Two guards jumped out of the truck with similer glasses and handguns. They pulled the door open and backed away quickly, afriad of the contents.

Eve, her hands handcuffed, crawled out of the back of the truck. Brandon and the guards led her down the elevator. "So...did you get the job done?" Eve looked at the glasses on Brandon's face and scowled. "Aw, does it hurt I found a way to bypass your hypnotisim?"

"I hate you. Yes, I got the job done. I killed for you -- happy? I went for the Irishman first, he was an easier target. And the politician's dead too. Now I've done my part. Now do yours."

The guards left Brandon and Eve alone. Brandon smiled. Eve was like some giant trained lion -- despite her powers, she could not mentaly fight Brandon. He had an invisible leash around her neck.

They made their way to his office. "Take a peak at them. Then Casimer is going to lead you back to your cage."

Eve darted towards the end of the room. Six eggs the size of a loaf of bread each were sitting in a small incubator. Eve half-closed her eyes and smiled. "They are all safe, right? All doing well?"

Brandon nodded. "Yes yes, they're all alive. Probably will hatch in a month or so." He put his hand on Eve's shoulder. "And as long as you continue to do as I say, your babies will be safe."

The Cargo Hold of the Argo

"Ah, my head is feeling like it was being hit with hammers and sickles. I am guessing I should have no come in here looking for comrade Monkey-Boy." Blackwulf said as his lungs adjusted to the lack of oxygen in the cargo hold.

As the big Russian moved to the cargo hatch, he noticed that
there was a sudden shift in the weight and he was taken off balance.

"For why is it feeling that I am being moving??"

Blackwulf moves to the intercom, depressing the talk button.
"Is there some reason I am being flown in the Cargo holds, comrade? If there is, then would you be being nice enough to pressurize it so I can be breathing? Before I am looking to exit through a new hatch, and comrade Danny, you are having way too much stuff in here for short trips, are we going over the seas? Yes? Thank you." Blackwulf said as he slumped agenst the wall to wait for the cargo door to open.

"We were supposed to stay in the hotel!" Mason shouted at Phouka as they went down a London street.


"Oh, come on, Mason. We were here in London. How was I supposed to resist?"

"You should be trying to make a good impression. Annoying palace guards is not a good way of doing that!"

Phouka continued to float along leisurely, backward with his hands behind his head. "I was just having a little fun. I'll impress when they actually give me something to do."

"I should expect so much from someone who named himself after Puck."

"You got that the wrong way around, Mason."

"You're saying you're the real..."

"Phouka? Puck? Robin Goodfellow? Well, yeah. Those stories were based on me. They didn't quite get it right though. I tend to be a little mysterious. Mason Templar." Phouka laughed as if Mason's name was a joke.

Mason's voice took on an edge. "What are you implying, Mr. Phouka?"

"Oh, look! We're back! Race ya to the room!" Phouka flew off through the hotel's door.

"We're supposed to be keeping a low profile!" Mason shouted after Phouka, but there was a faint smile on his face.

When Mason and Phouka returned to the hotel, Brianna had just landed in the room. "You're not always this...clumsy," said Mason.

Brianna dusted herself off. "Sorry." She looked up at Phouka. "Who are you? And why are you levitating?"

"Phouka. One of Grimm's...friends. I'm just now joining the team. Impressive wingspan, by the way."

"Thanks," said Brianna. She smirked. "I prefer flying under my own power, unlike some." Phouka got the message, and landed on his own feet. "Where's Adem?" She held up a bag in front of Mason. "I need him to do something for me."

"Should be back in less than an hour."

Frank, Adem and Danny walked the streets of London, returning to the hotel.

"So... you're an alien, huh?" Frank asked Adem.

"That's right." Adem answered.

"AND you're a detective." Frank added.

"Correct."

"That's..." Frank said, trying to think of the right word, "peculiar."

"Look at it this way," Adem said, "you're a human detective. You're equally peculiar to me."

"Good point," Frank nodded.

Suddenly, someone landed on Frank's chest. "Well, that's even more peculiar," he calmly said as his inner self peed itself.
The person, if it can be called that, was a leather clad pale and hairy young man, with long fangs and menacing claws instead of nails.

"Greetings from Aisling," he said in a raspy animal voice, as he took an impulse with his head to bite the former detective's neck.

Danny quickly grabbed the "werevamp" from the back of his leather jacket with a strong gorilla arm, and threw him against a wall. The "man" instanly leapt back on his feet and faced the Vanguardians.

"You can't stop me that easily," he said, slowly approaching the three men. "Nothing can stop Werevamp Max, motherfuckers!"

And right then, a giant bird fell headfirst from the sky and landed on the angry young freak.

"KRAK!" Erasmus said.

Danny looked right into the bird's eyes. "We didn't need your help, Matthews. I could have handled this myself without the fuss."

"Well, you're welcome!" came the Werevamp's voice from under the large bird. Max crawled out, stood up, and straightened his leather outfit. "So, what's my name?"

"Werevamp Max, apparently," Adem said.

"Ooooh," Max replied, as his savage features started morphing into a normal human's, "funky."

It was decided that they would go back to the hotel and regroup before inquiring any further. As they walked the crowded streets Frank approached Max.

"I'm curious..." Frank said, "how does that work?"

"What?" Max said, raising an eyebrow.

"Your thing. Jumping from body to body. I think someone told me the old body had to die, but the bird seems all right."

"Oh, it's a panic thing," Max explained. "I just gotta be looking into the other person's eyes and feel panic at the time. I'm lucky this sucker looked up at Erasmus at the last second."

Once they met with the rest of the group in the hotel, all the cards were layed on the table.

"So, we're coming back from inspecting the evidence and this freak attacks us..." Danny said.

"Do you remember anything from this guy's memories, Max?" Frank asked.

"Not really," he answered, "that usually takes a while. Maybe if you tell me what he said to you something will ring a bell..."

"I recall he said 'Greetings from Aisling'," Adem noted.

"Hmm... Aisling..." Max thought. "Yeah, I think I'm remembering something..."

"Wait!" Brianna interrupted, "Aisling?!"

"Bri!" said Danny. "You're back."

Brianna dropped the bag of evidence she had taken from Ireland. "I just flew in. Look, something came up in Dublin--"

"Brianna, can it wait? The three of us just came back from the murder scene. We just got attack by him," he said, pointing at Max.

"He just attacked you?" asked Brianna. She lifted an eyebrow. "Well, your taking it well Danny." She looked at Werevamp Max. "Who the devil are you?"

"It's me," said Max. "You knew me as Eppie."

Brianna thought a moment. "Oh yeah. Sorry I slapped you a while back."

The hybrid animal shrugged. "No biggie."

Adem made a coughing sound to get everyone's attention. "Frank here has made a discovery. Would you like to tell them, Frank?"

Cavalli was holding Brianna's bag. "This scent on this clothing is identical to what I just recorded at the crime scene. You said you just got back from Ireland?"

Danny turned back to Brianna. "Uh...Bri...I believe you were going to say something 'came up in Ireland'?"

Brianna nodded. "Look, I know I haven't been very open about my past since I've joined...mostly because I'm totally ignorant of it. I just know what Walker told me a while back when we were in the EPS headquarters. There was a part of the mission...I was unaccounted for."

Brianna voiced crackd a little. "He said I came from a prison in Ireland called Aisling. That, somehow, the scientist there were about to take metahumans and manipulate their genes. Add animal DNA to them." Her wings stiffened a moment. "These...wings...of mine...they're pigeon wings...nothing special about them. I'm just some silly little experimental rat."

"My new host's memories can confirm the Aisling reports," said Max. "He's another one of Aisling prison's Meta-animal genetic chimeras -- Meta-animals they are called."

"Walker told me something else," said Brianna. "Aisling relocated years ago. Somewhere in the states. And now the man that helped me escape Aisling is dead." Brianna wasn't crying, but her eyes were starting to tear up. "Danny, what's going on? Is this all connected?"

"Makes sense to me," said Adem. His mind was going a thousand miles a second. "We thought intitally there was one meta and one animal at the crime scene. Looks like we were wrong -- there was one Meta-animal. Same one that killed the Parliment memeber also killed Brianna's friend. Then, Aisling sends another Meta-animal to attack us. That was your host's objectives, wasn't it, Max?"

Max cleared his throat. "Primary objective: killed or disable all Vanguard memebers --"

"See?" said Adem.

"Secondary objective: capture or kill Banshee."

"Oh dear," said Adem. Brianna grew even paler than usual.

"Well," said Danny. "So we finally know who killed the politician. I'll go inform Miss Goodweather that we're heading to the Prison to deal with the assassin. Max, you're going to be needed -- we need an exact location for Aisling."

Frank Cavalli was looking at Danny, perplexed. "What does it mean <dealing with the assassin>? What we have done here is detective work. On the verge of illegality... ok, outside the boundary of legality... but as we have found that someone is covering up the killer from inside Scotland Yard, I see the necessity.
But now? We enter illegally in the states, attack this secret prison, find the assassin... and then? If we capture him, and bring him here, he couldn't even be put on trial, without a proper extradition from the USA government.
What are we going to do? Killing him?"

Danny frowned. "You are right, but that would mean we need to simply let Scotland Yard to handle the matter?"

Adem shook his head. "Not quite. We know there is a a mole in the local police, and it's easy to estimate that is some rival politician to have enlisted Aisling for doing the assassination. Probably some meta-basher, opposing Wilson ideas of stopping the segregation for metas. Hence the idea of enlisting a meta-assassin, so that, once found his DNA in the corpse of the victim, another anti-meta campaign could start."

"That would explain why, while the animal particles have been completely wiped out from the cadaver, the meta DNA has been left. They needed to conceal any reference to Ailsing, while at the same time make it evident the killer was a meta" said Cavalli, looking at Adem in search of a sign of approval.

Adem nodded. "Elementary, Cavalli!"

Frank was unable to dissimulate a smile.

Adem continued: "So, there is a conspiracy, we don't know how much wide, behind the killing, that crosses the politicians and the police. We can't hope that Scotland Yard will took our discoveries... that are supported in a not small part by Cavalli's superpower... as proofs for starting an international inquiry about some secret prison and experimental center half world away, and that could be even secretly supported by the USA government."

"It's the problem we faced with Knell that time he was creating havoc in La Perdita..." notes Danny. "We can defeat and captured the worst monster, but then we don't know what to do with it. That time you... uhm, Vanguard... handled it to the EPS. Not something I wouyld be proud of, but it was an emergency. But we can't do the same now. My spine chills at the idea of giving meta-animals to Walker... Suggestions?"

Mason Templar stepped further. "That assassin has killed in England. It must be put on trial here. And if the English don't want to, we'll have to force them."

Everyone looked puzzled at Mason.

"What do you mean?" asked Cavalli.

"Simple. We must create a trap".

Max and Brianna finished talking in the corner and walked towards Danny and the others. "We have another option," said Brianna. "Listen to Max, will you, Danny? He knows things."

Danny turned to Max. "We don't need to go and take out Wilson's assassin." Max then looked at Frank. "But we can't just give the head of Aisling a trial here in England. As soon as the meta-animals are discovered by the public, they're dead.

"My host knows all the meta-animals in that prison. Some of them are like Brianna here -- good people. But some of the others...my host lives in fear of one called Jia. She scares him."

"So?" said Danny. "What do we do?"

"Free the meta-animals that mean no harm," said Brianna. "They only want freedom. And they can find places in the world where no one can bother them."

"And the harmful ones?" asked Danny.

"The harmful ones will need to be delt with...somehow..." said Max. "They're like rabid pit bulls -- simply too dangerous to have loose."

"So that's the best you could come up with?"

Brianna frowned. "Look, I spent the last three years of my life chained in a dark and dreary room. You know what that's like, Danny? Having a clamp around your jaw so you didn't kill the guards with your screaming? You know what it's like to have your wings pinned back? It hurts the muscles, that's what it feels like." Brianna's face softened. "Max told me about the metas like me in the prison...it's not fair that I'm free with you guys and they're jailed."

Danny smiled. "Okay...we need to formulate a plan if we're gonna play 'Liberators' for the freaks. Max, I want you to use your host's memories and have Miss Goodweather create a digital bio on everyone. We need to know who's who. Brianna, I want you to tell me what you know. Everyone else can get the Stormlo--I mean, get the Argo ready to leave in a few hours."

Aisling Prison

"Lights out in five minutes!" roared Casimir from the hallway.

Eve stuck her tongue out at Brandon's bodyguard. She was busy pulling the last bit of dead scales from her body. Once that was done, her new layer of skin shone through. She crawled towards the small pool in her cage to look at her glistening scales.

In his own cell, Cameron caught Eve adoring her own reflection. "Why do you do that every time you shed your skin?"

"Because its the one time I feel pretty," said Eve. "The one time I don't feel like a freak. Right now, I'm just a young woman, enjoying how she looks in the mirror." She brushed her fingers through her long brown hair.

"Hmp," said Cameron. "So...how was the outside world?"

"Same as usual," said Eve sarcastically. "Full of people that would kill us if they knew of us."

Cameron laughed. "You sounded like Brandon for a moment."

Eve snapped her neck towards the lizard-meta. "That was below the belt, my reptilian brother."

Cameron nodded. "I'm sorry. I know how much you hate him. It would be nice if we could leave Aisling one day. I'd find some quiet place where I could do an honest day's work and earn my keep...some small town near the ocean, I think. What about you?"

"Me?" said Eve. "Ha. I'll be dead before I'm ever released. Still...I like the idea of living near water too. Some secluded part of the rainforest...where I could warm myself under the sun and hunt animals all by myself. And a small house to stay in when the weather --"

"LIGHTS OUT!" roared Casimir.

***

<He's going to kill me,> said Torpedo to his underwater tankmates.

<He'll kill us all,> replied Nina.

<Nothing we can do about it,> said Dexter.

<I'm going to kill Brandon and free us from this tank.> Torpedo was grinning. <As soon as I figure out how the three of us can survive without this tank. Nevada's mostly desert, I hear.>

<This desert is the only thing stopping us.>

<...and Casimir.>

<...and Jia.>

<...and Rob's cameras. I don't think I can eat another one again. Last one had too much rubber.>

"But that can't be all!" exclaimed Cavalli.

"What's again?" said Danny, somehow exasperated.

Adem raised an eyebrows. "What we should do with the assassins has yet not been addressed. I guess that what Max suggests is to kill the harmful in the process of freeing the <good> ones... yet, it's highly probable that we can capture them, instead. And what then? We act as a jury and execute them on the way? Or we simply free them, with the risk of having them returning later with thirst of revenge?"

"We don't kill, unless it's the only option to defend us. I nearly kicked Euro out of Vanguard when he killed Omikron" says Danny.

"But they want just to be free" says Brianna, unable to understand all that questioning.

"The job is to find the killer... "whispers Danny. "And for Brianna we'll free the inmates, and help them to get to La Perdita."

"Yes, but then?" asks Cavalli. "I don't think Miss Goodwheater would be satisfied with just the name... or even the cadaver of the meta-animal that has committed the crime. We need to find the instigator. Who... and why... wanted Wilson dead and payed Aisling to do that. And who in the police has covered their job."

Danny looked uncomfortable. "This is damn far from our usual missions. We can't take the place of the fucking police".

"This is exactly what we have to do. Until metas will be treated like normal peoples, with the same rights and duties, we have to take the place of the police, of the military, of whoever should guard over the safety of metas. Or we'll leave the role to the Strikeforce and the EPS... and you all know better than me how they perform that duty." Cavalli's face was red after the speech, being him very shy on that kind of talks. yet, he knew perfectly the role that Vanguard was called to have in the world. "Here there was a politicians that wanted to help the metahumans, and has been killed. It's our moral duty, not just our job, to find who has killed him"

"Well said, kid!" said Mason, with his thundering voice. "Time to grow for our little team! Ha ha ha!"

"What'd you do?" asked Danny, very tired.

"I am pretty useless in a combat situation" said Frank. "You go to Aisling. I remain here, to see if I find any connection to any one that could wanted Wilson dead."

Danny sat down on the couch in the hotel room and rubbed his forehead. "So you want to go and find the mole in Scotland Yard?"

"Suspected mole," Adem corrected.

"Are you saying there isn't one?" Frank asked.

"I'm saying there is the possibility that there isn't one. It's a theory. A theory based off of inconclusive evidence. Theories are to be investigated, not touted as facts. This mole, as you put it, may or may not exist."

"How do you explain the lack of scales at the scene of the crime?"

"We have no facts that say scales were ever left at the scene. Brianna is a product of the same processes that produced our murder, but with avian in stead of reptilian modifications. The fact that the entireity of her body is not covered in feathers suggests the same possibility for the one who commited the crime. The DNA on the victim could easily have come from parts of the attacker's body that was not cover in scales, if any of the body was at all." Adem noticed that Brianna wasn't happy being referred to as a product of anything. "To assume all the answers and facts, especially this early on, will only lead to ignoring other possibilities. The theory of a cover-up should be looked into further, but only with the mind of searching for evidence to prove or refute it. If we go in with the goal of exposing a corrupt official, then that's all we'll be looking for."

Danny shifted. "Are you trying to tell me that you're going with Cavalli to Scotland Yard?"

"No," Adem answered. "I'm going to Dublin."

"Hurhhhh?" Danny blushed a little when he realized the noise he'd just made out loud. "And what do you expect to find in Ireland?"

"Clues to the only part of this murder that we haven't theorized yet. Motive. We have leads as to the Who, How, and Where's. What we don't have an inkling of is why. Ireland might hold some clues to that."

"Father Abben? His murder?" Brianna asked.

Adem nodded. "You also have said that the old facility was in Ireland. I want to have a look through it. Who knows what they left behind."

Rob got a call in the security room around one in the morning. He turned the volume down on the CD player and cleared his voice. "Security. Rob speaking."

It was Brandon. Judging my the tone of his voice, Rob guess the boss wasn't to happy. "I'm heading to bed. Wake me up with Max comes back from the mission. I'm going to fucking kill him for taking this long."

Old Aisling Prison, Ireland

Banshee and Adem were wandering the dark hallways of the abandoned prison in Ireland. Brianna's wings were close to her side. Adem was holding a flashlight so they could see ahead. "I've forgotten how creepy this place is. And cold. And dreary."

"It does seem melencholy," said Adem.

"So what are we looking for?"

"Data. I want to see solid records. You know how to navigate around this place?"

"Even if we could turn the lights on, there's no way. I was in my cell the entire time." They walked on. "That's one thing I don't get, Adem. The prison was pretty empty when I came here. It was virtually vacant when I left."

"It is possible that you were imprisoned around the time Aisling went to the new site in Nevada. With a new location, all the goods would have to be moved."

They continued walking in silence. There was little noise, save the dripping of water or the vibrations of a pipe from a rat running through them. Even the click from Brianna's heels seemed muted. The air was damp and heavy. It seemed to take an effort to breath enough oxygen.

Brianna spied a sign that said RECO. She walked over the door and scraped the rest of the dirt and dust off the sign. "'Records'? Bingo." She tried to open the door, but it was locked. "Adem, can you open the door?"

Adem overestimated the effort needed to break the door open. The wood was rotting, and instead of neatly falling on the floor, huge spinters and uneven chunks of wood crashed aroung the Vanguardian's feet. "That was messy," said Adem.

The office was full of file folders and old supplies. A thick layer of dust had settled on the desk and the ten-year-old computer on it. "Here's another flashlight, Bri," said Adem, tossing her one of the big foot-long flashlights the police like to use. "Just start looking in these files."

All the drawers were on one side of the room, spanning the entire lenght of the fifteen-foot wall. Brianna walked to one end of the wall while Adem went to the other side, so they could meet in the middle. She opened one drawer. "Nothing of importance here, it looks. Just land permits."

"I've found some reciepts," said Adem. "Nothing of value...cars, computers...nothing out of the ordinary. Now here's something. Around five years ago they started purchasing railroad cars...to transport goods from New York and Virgina to Nevada."

Brianna smiled. "Well, at least we know how they transported the meta-animals."

"And any supplies needed to build the new prison."

"I found something!" shouted Brianna. Her shout echoed throughout the corridor. The loud echos ran for several moments, where Brianna covered her mouth in her hands, shocked by the sudden noise. "Dates of meta-animals being transported. 'Rob' to arrive on May 12th. 'Casimir' to arrive on June 8th...'Eve' for July 17th...I'm listed too."

"What date?" said Adem.

"July 29th. Two days after Abben help me escape."

"I'm finding more papers...seems like this Brandon fellow is your brother after all. Here are the legal forms for the name change to McKnight."

"Take a look at these memos and e-mails. Letters from Brandon to various organizations. Quite a few crime organizations listed."

Adem grabbed the papers. He read through them all three times, slowly. He put them in different piles afterwards, to organize his thoughts. Brianna watched as Adem made mental notes to himself as he reorganzied the papers. Brianna was getting nervous. She was already rattled by returning to the prison. But now she was hearing noises. The rats were a little louder, and they seem to be moving in one direction.

Finally, Adem laughed. Brianna still wasn't use to the near-mechanical tone in his merriment.

"Oh course. We've been thinking that Wilson was targeted because he was pro-Meta. Not the case. I can make a pretty good seneario with these correspondants. Your bother needed to show off his Meta-animals to various mafia and terrorist groups. Do you see? He wants to use the Meta-animals as assassins. To prove the quality of the Aisling prisoners, he gets one of them to murder a politican that he disagrees with."

"And now, he must have all these groups beginng for a Meta-animal of their own."

"Yes," said Adem. "And they are willing to pay good money, too."

Brianna's feathers were tensing up. "Is there any reason for us to stay here? Something...is...moving..."

"Brianna, you said so yourself, this place is abandoned. No one's been here for months."

But Brianna's avian hearing was slightly better than Adem's. She motioned to him to stop speaking. Something...was...faintly...scratching...tapping, perhaps, on the floor. It sounded like dry nails. Brianna's avian brain paniced and she rushed out of the room.

Something heavy landed on her back. Curved, sharp claws sunk into the flesh of her wings. Brianna crained her neck to see her attacker. The face was both feline and feminine, with tawny fur, dirty blonde hair, and long lynx-like ears. She spoke as if English was not her first language.

"Can you run? I think not...I think not..."

As Vanguard headed to America, the birds flying outside the the Storm... I mean, the Argo could hear a dreadful sound coming from inside the ship. It was so unpleasant that the birds (that were from certain a kind that this time of the year had to fly to a certain place to do a certain thing, probably mate) turned their backs on nature and decided to screw their current course and fly somewhere else, as far away from the Argo as possible.

The sound went something like this:
"YOU KNOW WE HAD NO TIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIME
WE COULD NOT EVEN TRYYYYYYYYYYYY
YOU KNOW WE HAD NO TIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII--"

"MAX!" Danny yelled.

Max took off his left earphone and looked at Danny, raising an eyebrow. "Huh?"

"Would you shut..." The culture in Danny's time of origin is different to the present one in many ways. One of them being that people curse a lot more than they do now. It's a lot more difficult to get someone offended in Danny's future. However, this doesn't seem to be a problem for Danny anymore since he's adjusted fairly well to the present. For months, he hasn't been forced to make a counscious effort not to curse at someone while talking to them. That is, until this very moment. "...th-... th-... f... UP?!"

"What?" Max asked, confused. "Oh, was I singing?! I didn't realize... I found this walkman inside my host's jacket and I wondered what the CD was, so I gave it a listen and, what do you know, I know all the lyrics."

"We know." Phil said. "So, chief, what do we do once we get to Nevada? Any plan?"

"Once we're inside Aisling I'm sure I'll know my way around the place pretty well," Max said.

"You're sure you'll know the place or you think so?" Danny asked.

"I sure think so," Max said, moving on very quickly before anyone could realize what he said, "So, the problem is getting inside. From what I recall they have a pretty heavy security system."

"Oh, I can handle it!" Phouka said.

"GAH!" Danny exclaimed.

"Whu...?"

"I forgot you were here. Anyway, you were saying?"

"Oh, I can handle the security system!" Phouka said, excitedly. "I can throw them something to keep it busy..."

"What will you throw them?" Phil asked.

"I don't know, but I know it'll be big!" Phouka replied.

"I like your style!" said Max who, in his current adolescent style, thought it was approapiatte to high-five Phouka.

Danny sighed. "Phil... what have we become?"

"Oh, come on..." Phil said. "They're enthusiastic, you gotta give them that..."

"Enthusiasm will not save their necks in a battle!" Mason added, barging into my post.

"GAH!" Danny exclaimed.

"Jumpy, ain't he?" an unfamiliar voice said from down the aisle.

"GAH!" This time Danny wasn't the only one who said it.

"Who the hell. . ."

"I've got him." Phil's tk held the stranger in place as he lifted him over towards the group.

"Start talking, pal, who the hell are you?" Hearn asked.

"Do you guys treat all your new members this way?"

Phil moved the newcomer closer as he came into view. He was about 6 foot 2, with short, thick brown hair. He was wearing a dirty grey trenchcoat over what appeared to be a blue superhero costume with black gloves, boots and a black mask. The chest of the costume had Brute Force written on it.

"Why do you think you're a new member of our team? And why are you wearing spandex?" Hearn asked.

"Because that lady back on the island said I was hired and I should wait for you guys on the plane but I fell asleep in the back and don't all superheroes wear spandex?"

He smiled uncomfortably.

Danny sighed. "I really hate that bitch. . ." he muttered to himself.

"Hmm?" Phil asked.

"Victoria Xiang. Miss X. Whatever you want to call her. She's done it again."

"Hey! Cool outfit!" Max exclaimed, leaping over by the newcomer, who went by Brute Force, apparently.

"GAH! A vampire!" he screamed, struggling against Phil's tk.

"Settle down, Max. So, who are you and what do you do?" Hearn continued interrogated the newbie.

"Well, my name is Ben Phillips, but in costume, I call myself "Brute Force."

"Cute."

"Thanks. I'm a meta, I have super strength and I'm fairly dense. . ."

"No kidding."

"Hah hah. When I get adrenaline surges I get even stronger, and wilder, too. When I found out I decided to get myself a costume and do the whole hero thing. Mostly just kinda wandered around the Southern US, doing the vigilante bit, smashing up drug dens and gangsters and what have you. But after Manhattan, metas are less well received than ever, so I left. I heard La Perdita is where the freaks go and I heard that Vanguard is. . ." He paused, as if not sure to continue with his thought.

"What? You heard Vanguard is what?" Hearn said, growing noticebly more irritated.

"That Vanguard is where the freaks go to be heroes."

"It is!" Phouka said, popping up behind BF.

"GAH! A witch!"

Danny rolled his eyes. "What's our stats, Phil?"

Phil checked the computers. "We're in Nevada airspace. Aisling should be nearby, given Max's coordinants."

"Good." Danny turned to Max. "Just pretend you're still Max. Fly down there and gather some intellegence. We can keep in contact using Phil."

"What do I get to do?" asked Phouka.

"Stop hovering, first of all," said Danny. "Let's have Max figure out what's going on down there. His host has been gone a few days, don't forget. And someone get a hold of Adem."

***

"Um...Brandon? Pick up the phoooooooooooone," said Rob.

Brandon finally picked up the ringing cordless in his office. "I'm going over some government documents. This better be good."

"Max is back. He's been at Aisling for about a half hour yet. When do you want to debrief him?"

"Give me a half-hour, and then send him to my office. Anything else?"

"We're picking up a funny signal about 12, 000 feet in the air."

It took Brandon a moment to realize what was going on. "Fuck. Someone followed Max back. Well, we'll just bite back." He spoke to Rob. "Put Casimir and Jia on alert. We might have some company later."

London:

Blackwulf the Everchanging stumbled out of the cafe, causing people around him to stare at him, to avoid staring at him, and generally hope that he went away soon and quickly. He held a still-steaming cupfull of curry and was finally beginning to remove the cobwebs from his head after having fallen asleep in the cockpit of the Argo. He'd managed to get himself back out, but the automatic security systems locked him out immediately, and all the Vanguardians were long gone by the time he woke up. So he went off to get some food while he was waiting for the team to return. Unfortunately for him, the team returned to the ship moments after he left it and were long gone on their way to the U.S. And none of them had known that he was on the Argo, so they weren't coming back for him.

"Comrades?" Blackwulf croaked, looking at the empty lot where the Argo had been parked. "This is not being very funny any longer."

Blackwulf looked around. He was alone. Well, not alone, exactly, but he was stranded in London.

"Oh, fuck."

Danny pointed at Brute Force. "Phil. Watch him. Make sure he's not evil or whatever it is we do with new people..." Danny said. Phil nodded. "Phouka. Stay here. No offense, but neither you nor your powers are predictable enough to be trusted in a high-risk sitation just yet," Danny explained. Phouka sat there listening, and said nothing.

"Mason!" Danny said, turning around to face Templar. "You're coming with me.

"And where are we going?" Mason said, lowering a hand to Caliburn's hilt.

"Down there," Danny said, pointing out the window towards the facility Max had headed towards.

"Why?"

"Because that's where the story is."

On the ground, Casimir and Jia walked the perimeter. Jia heard Rob's voice in her earpiece.

"Wait... we've got something," Rob said. Jia stopped in her tracks.

Casimir turned and spoke. "What is i-"

Jia raised a finger to her lips, cutting him off. She continued listening to the voice in her ear.

"About a hundred metres north of your current position. Visitors."

"That way," Jia said, pointing. She and Casimir headed towards the location.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Mason asked.

"I'm relatively certain it's not," Danny replied. They were moving carefully towards the site where Max had disappeared about an hour ago.

"Right. Just checking," Mason said. He turned and noticed that Danny was peering into the distance, concentrating on something. Mason followed Danny's gaze and noticed nothing but darkness.

"I thought you needed verbal commands to use your powers. That's what I was told, anyway," Mason said.

"Did some training while I was away in Melbourne. Better control," Danny answered, not turning to look at Mason as he spoke.

"Oh, right..."

Danny cursed under his breath. "Shit..."

"What?" Mason said, raising his sword.

"We've been spotted."

"We have?"

"Two guards heading right for us. Look like meta-animals. They can't see us yet, but they know we're here," Danny said.

"I can't see them..."

"You will soon."

Casimir sped up as he noticed something in the distance. Two figures, headed towards them.

"The fight scene. Brilliant..." Jia said, smiling, as she picked up pace to match Casimir's speed.

"Hmph!" Mason said with a scowl. "One might have thought all the writers had gone on some kind of extended holiday by the lack of forward momentum this story has had thus far."

Danny wore an amused expression as he glanced at Mason.

"What? You're not the only one who can break the fourth wall, laddie!"

Danny chuckled. "Anyway, it looks like we've got one bull-headed bruiser and the original 'spider-woman' on our way to meet us."

"Spider Woman? Are you referring to Sonia Braga?"

"I have absolutely no idea who that is."

"That was my pitiful attempt at humour," Mason said, his voice still sounding loud even though he was attempting to whisper. "I'm sure someone will look it up on IMDB.com and find it amusing. Or it would have been amusing had I not spoiled the joke. Ah well. Time for battle!"

Mason Templar stood up and began to clench his body. If Danny had been at all familiar with 20th century entertainment -- and he wasn't any more familiar with it than you or I would be familiar with the entertainment of the 19th century -- he might have wondered why Mason Templar was trying to do a lousy impersonation of Lou Ferregno as the Incredible Hulk. As it was, Danny just thought Mason looked like he was trying to shit in his pants. "Uh... Mason? You okay? I can see some veins threatening to pop out of your head..."

"Just... hold onto something... posthaste, Danny Boy!" Mason shouted with great difficulty. "It's not as if I can do this... just any old time..."

Danny started to say, "Hold on? Why?"

Just then, though, the wind began to pick up. It was more than a mere Nevada desert breeze. It was fast, and furious, and turning into a cyclone.

"GAAAAHHH!" Mason shouted as he finally let himself go and fell to the ground. Danny grabbed ahold of him and held onto a large rock with gorilla arms to make sure they didn't get caught up in the small tornado.

"Mason?" Danny shouted over the gusts of wind. "You've been holding out on me. You never mentioned you could do that."

"I can't," Mason shouted back with a grin. "Well, most of the time I can't. On special occasions, though, I can 'ask' the weather for a boon. Sometimes she'll grant it to me. It's much too long a story to be encapsulated in one post."

Then it started to hail large, baseball-sized chunks of ice.

"Ouch!" Danny said as he grew the shell of turtle and fell over Mason.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Mason laughed. "And sometimes she throws in something special!"

"Umm... how long is this going to last?" Danny said as the hail kept coming down. "And what about the Argo?"

"Oh, it won't affect the Argo -- it's much too localized. I'm not entirely positive on how long the weather lasts, though. I once summoned a hurricane that could have wiped out a small country -- and it almost did -- but it dissipated once we subdued those 'Elite Agent' bastards. Wouldn't want to try that every again, though. I was a different man then, anyways. I do wish Mxy would complete that story soon..."

"Same here."

"Right."

"So... maybe we should get on with the fight scene, then?"

"That sounds like a plan, lad... The bullock and the spider lady look somewhat 'under the weather.' HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Let's show them what Vanguardians are made of!"

"Another round, mate?"

Blackwulf looked up from the pile of empty beer pitchers that sat stacked in front of him like mugs.

"Da, comrade." Looking over at the passed out form on his right, he enthusiastically patted the man on the back. "And comrade Cavelli is most generously offering to add this one to his tab also."

"We've got company," said Jia into her speaker. Rob and Brandon were listening on the other end. Jia wipped the sand from her face and continued. "Satillite photos confirm this is the Vanguard group. Shall we continue on?"

"Procced, Miss Jia. Eve will be joining you shortly. Hold your position until then."

Casimir roared into the wind. Danny and Mason looked at each other and thought the same thing. Is this guy human? "Hold our position? Bahhh! I don't wait for anyone! Tell that little leather belt Eve that she better hurry up, or there will be no game left!"

Casimir lunged forward. He was running on all fours, sort of like a clumsy ape. Snort flew from his nose as he snorted, and drool spilled from his mouth. His eyes were dark red from anger, and he continued roaring as he approached his targets. "Uh, Mason, do you have a plan?"

"LET'S MAKE US A SIRLOIN!"

Jia only shrugged her soldiers. "Big Beef Patty here's left me all alone. Do I --"

"Hold until Eve meets up with you!" should Brandon. He spoke next to Casimir. "You dumbass! There's a new target --"

Casimir didn't hear the rest. Brianna -- carrying Adem in her arms -- had just flown down behind Casimir. The Vanguardians had the man-bull surrounded. "Adem? Brianna?" shouted Danny.

"We just got back from a cat-fight," said Adem.

"And we read up on Casimir!" shouted Brianna to Danny. "He's got a weakness, he can't see!"

"Right," said Danny. His fingers became long bear claws. "Vanguard, attack!"

Mason looked up. "'Vanguard, attack'?" he repeated sarcastically. "What, are we all guard dogs to be 'sicced' on your enemy, Danny Boy?" He looked at Brianna and Adem and said, "And are you telling me, m'lady, that you flew all the way to Nevada from Ireland?!? And with Mars-Boy in your arms the entire way here? Have you any idea how impossible that sounds?"

"Shut up, Mason!" Dan shouted, still focused on Casimir, who had only become angrier from the wind and the hail. "Eyes forward!"

"Well, there's a perfectly reasonable explanation," Adem began, "but it must wait until later."

"Right..." Mason grumbled skeptically and looked at his drawn sword, which now glowed green, signalling danger as well as shutting down technological items in his vicinity from guns to cameras. He decided to keep a close eye on Brianna and Adem from now on. Something about their story just didn't ring true... "On with the fight scene, then."

***

"Hey, what the dillio?" Rob shouted as the screens he was viewing suddenly showed nothing but static. "The fucking exterior cameras are all down. I can't get jack!"

There was a quick knock on Brandon's door. A second later the door opened to reveal Max outside.

"You called, chief?" he said in all tranquillity.

Brandon looked pissed. “Get in here, you idiot!”

“Hey, what the fuck, dude?!” Max protested. “Watch the fuckin’ mouth!”

Brandon stood up from behind his desk and approached Max. “Not only did you fail your mission and stayed outside without authorisation, you also allowed yourself to be followed! And you have the nerve of speaking to me like this?!”

“Calm down, chief...” Max said, as he carefully reached for the plastic syringe full of Moonline he kept in his back pocket, preparing to inject it to himself to induce the transformation to Werevamp. “There’s a perfectly reasonable explanation for this.”

“Oh, is there?” Brandon asked. “And what may that be?”

“Well...” Max started, placing the tip of the needle in the lower part of his back.
But before he could press the syringe, he felt something hit him in the back of his head. As he fell down to the floor, the last thing he saw before losing consciousness was a green skinned man fading in from thin air right behind where he had been standing.

“Well done, Cameron,” Brandon said.

Cameron, the chameleon-man, said nothing.

Brandon kneeled next to Max and examined his body. “Max doesn’t know the words ‘perfectly reasonable explanation’. Hm. I didn’t know Vanguard still had a shape shifter.”

Cameron raised an eyebrow.

“This is not Max, you idiot. They must have caught Max and replaced him with this. That moron...”

“Take him to Stephenson’s to find out what the heck he is,” Brandon ordered. Cameron just looked at him in silence. “NOW!”

********

As he walked the Aisling halls carrying Max, Cameron noticed the security cameras weren’t following him. They obviously weren’t working. He looked everywhere to make sure nobody was looking, and then turned himself and Max invisible. Seconds later, a long grille on the floor was lifted and replaced...

********

“Bye, Maxie!” Joey’s mom yelled from the house’s front door, as Max walked through the garden to the sidewalk. “Be careful out there, it’s almost 9 p.m.!”

“Okay, Mrs. Daniels...” Max said, rolling his eyes. He hated it when people called him Maxie. He wasn’t a kid anymore, he was 14. He would have yelled at Joey’s mom like he would at his own mother, but Joey would get pissed at him if he did.
Joey played bass and Max played guitar. They both sang. One day they were gonna be famous. All they needed was a drummer and they would reach the stars.
As Max walked, dreaming about his bright future, he wished he didn’t have to come back home to his pathetic mother and annoying little sister anymore. It was all so... mundane, for a musical genius like him. Suddenly, he felt a hand press some kind of cloth against his nose and mouth. He lost consciousness.
And Max’s wish came true.

********

When Max woke up red mutant eyes stared at him from the darkness.

“He’s awake,” a voice said.

“Where am I?!” Max asked. “Who are you?! Wait... who am I...?”

“Werevamp Max,” a second voice said, “we are...”

“Ah, right, right, right, right! Werewolf-vampire dude.” Max said, as he sat up on whatever the hell he was lying on. It was cold and damp all around. “Excuse me, you were saying?”

“Can you see?” a third voice asked. “It takes a little while for the eyes to get adjusted down here.”

“I’m starting to see...” Max replied. “Hey, aren’t you the guy who knocked me down just now?!”

“I’m sorry about that,” Cameron said. “I had to do it.”

Max looked around. The other people surrounding him were even further from humans than himself and Cameron. Giraffe men with two heads, mutant rabbits in turtle shells, puppy headed gorillas...

“Where the hell am I?!”

“This is the underworld,” a six armed rat-man said. “We are Aisling’s failures.”

BF looked around at Phil and Phouka. "So, uh, you guys play cards?" he asked with a sheepish grin.

Just then, all the lights went out. "What the hell. . ."

"Trouble! We're under attack! Let's go!"

"But I thought. . ." Phouka said, floating crosslegged.

"No time for that!" Phil said, jumping out the door and down the steps.

"Well, you heard the man, let's go!" BF followed him down the steps into action.

"Did I miss the fight scene?" Phouka was hovering at Mason's shoulder.

"I told you to stay on the plane." Danny snarled.

"You left Phil in charge, and he told me to get out of it. I protested and everything, but orders are orders. Now..." Phouka floated above the ground as energy began to crackle around him. It started at his hands and spread over his body like a visible aura. his eyes glowed from within as his hair, along with the hair of the people around him, started to stand on end just as the light show was about to reach its height, it abruptly stopped. "Just kidding." Phouka pointed casually toward Casamir. Then it started...

From seemingly out of nowhere, a fuzzy bunny hiT Casamir square in the face. It was quickly followed by more. They were hitting him at high speed one after the other. They then plopped to the ground, looking stunned but for the most part unharmed. Casamir was stunned and unable to react in time.

Danny turned to Phouka with a shocked expression on his face. 'You made it rain invulnerable fuzzy bunnies on him?"

Phouka floated there smirking with his arms crossed in a casual pose. "Yep."

"Well, that's certainly..."

"Random? It's mostly a distraxction though, they're not doing much damage. I doubt it'll last long."

Casamir was roaring in rage as danny quickly came u[p with a plan. The pile of stunned invulnerable fuzzy bunnies was growing.