Twelve (Started!)

Phi Jackson


The door opened with an ominous creek. Half of me expected to hear a loud calling from the living room, a chastising. I wanted, half of me wanted, to hear hear someone screaming, "Phi Marie Jackson, why are you late?!" But then I remembered that my life wasn't some teen TV show and I didn't have caring parents that stayed up waiting for me to come home, angry, but glad I was safe. I remembered I didn't have parents at all.

Hundreds of light bulbs hung from the ceiling by black string. The television stood unplugged into the black walls, along with the other appliances. Discarded toys lay on the white carpet, still. Everything came to life as soon as I stepped into the door. The toys got up and moved around in previously programmed motions, the TV turned on to resume a re-run of The Simpsons, the blender whirred to life, scaring me so that I had to cut off it's connection to me, and the light bulbs all flashed on at once, bouncing light of the dark walls. I turned off a few of them and plopped onto the sofa, too tired at the moment for a shower.

The electricity had been turned off for a while now, I never paid the bills. The only thing I paid was the rent, and rarely even that.

It was already five A.M, I would have gotten home sooner but I took myself power line surfing nearly into the next state without realizing it and had to go all the way back. If I managed to get to sleep I would only rest for two hours before I had to wake up and get ready for work. So instead of even thinking about closing my eyes I started a ice cold shower to wake me up. Two hours until I had to go to work. Maybe I could take a quick nap... Maybe...



I was having the best dream. Well, a nightmare actually, but Alexander was there so that made it amazing. I was running down the street, being chased by a hoard of ghost. It was dark but there were light bulbs everywhere that I couldn't light, power lines I couldn't surf. I was broken. The ghost were catching up to me, I could feel their smoky fingers whispering against the back of my neck. I kept reaching out for Alex, but he was just out of reach, his fingers centimeters away from mine, not close enough. The only person that could save me, my only hope was-

My alarm rings and I jump up, a cold sweat dampens my brow. My eyes are wide and frantic as I search the room for any lurking ghosts. Man, Req really messed me up with that whole ghost ordeal yesterday.

"Weird..."

I sigh and turn to look at the clock. I can read the time perfectly, but I don't want to believe it. So I wipe my eyes, turn the clock off and on, and then check again. Nope, I saw right the first time, it was nine o'clock. I was late to work by three whole hours.

"Crap... Crap!"

I jump up and quickly pull my hair into a not-so-convincing ponytail. My clothes are on in fifteen seconds and I dash out the house with my face still wet from my washcloth, a toothbrush in my mouth, once shoe off, and a energy bar clenched in my hand. I get in my car, electrical of course - why waste money on gas - and have to drive with my mind while brushing my teeth and applying my makeup at the same time. By the time I make it to work it's 9:28, not good enough even though I broke all the speed limits in the area on my way here.

I burst through the doors to find Jamie working the register, which is not good, and Ten and Elli in a booth eating ice cream, which is a tad bit better, I had to ask Ten a question, but first-

"Phi!"

I cringe and walk over to the register.

"Yes, I know I'm late. And I'm so sorry, Jamie. I had a long night."

"I'm sick of you coming in late, Phi! I'm sick of your excuses!"

"I know, and it won't happen again, Jamie. I swear."

"You said that yesterday."

"Please, Jamie," I beg. "I need this job."

"I'm sorry, Phi, but you're fired."

"No!"

"I'm sorry."

He turns around then without saying anything more. I know the battle is over so I turn and head towards Ten, who is currently starring at me with a condescending smirk plastered to his face.

"Hello, Ten," I mumble.

He snickers a bit and Elli joins in too.

"Sup, Phi? Rough day at work?"

"You can say that. Hello, Elli."

She scoffs and turns away from me.

"I'm not suppose ta talk to strangers."

I smile at her and take a seat.

"I'm not a stranger. I know Ten."

"Yeah, but you don't know me."

I sigh and give up.

"Right... Anyway, Ten, do you know when the next.. uh... meeting is?"

"No, but keep your cell phone on and a message should pop up. Just don't miss it."

"Right, thanks. Bye."

I walk out of the ice cream shop and into the park. A bench is free so I take it up. The air is crisp and fresh but I can taste the electricity in the sky. There's going to be a storm soon, the thought brightens my attitude, but only for a moment, leaving me once again sad. I just lost my job.

"Crap," I mutter to myself. "Shit!"

I want to break something, to explode something, to run away as fast as I can. I want to do all those things and more, but mostly, mainly, I just want to cry.

So I do.

Lion

After storming out of the cramped room I instantly transformed myself back to human form. I was vaguely satisfied. One thing that Alex hadn't taken into consideration was that if I could transform into one of the twelve, could I use their powers.

However useful that was, for the most part, no. I just had a natural resistance to them. If said person had an extraordinary power like Alex, I could use it weakly.

I decided not to visit Duck today. He was probably sleeping anyway. Maybe I'd climb the empire state building, and watch the sunset from there. What the heck, it's not like I had anything to do. I quickly grew wings and took off towards to the tallest building I could see. I landed halfway up the building, then clung to the side of the building while I quickly grew claws.

Then I scrambled up the sides, not attracting any attention from those inside or below. I quickly ascended, not looking down. When I reached the top, the bottom of the sun was scraping the horizon. Lower and lower it went, until it had vanished.

I turned into an eagle on the top of the building's spire. Just sitting there I gave a deep thought to what I had done earlier that day. Most likely the next time I would see Alex he would try to kill me. Well if it couldn't get any worse.

I launched myself off of the spire and took wing. Quickly I changed myself into Alex, racking my brain to find out where he lived as I fell rapidly. I changed myself into a humongous black bat.

I flew around the city, upsetting homeless people as I rushed past them. When I reached Alex's apartment, I flew around it several times, emitting a loud eagle cry. He was asleep in his room until I let out my fourth shriek, then his light turned on and he looked outside his window. I changed my body back to my own but left my bat wings on myself. I gave a smug wave, flew one time around the building, and flew towards my apartment.

Tyler Mascaw

An hour went by and the hustle and bustle started to calm down around Ty. She figured it was close to the end of rush hour but not so much so that she couldn't blend in anywhere. This was good, because Ty was hungry.

She leaned up from the bench and pulled a brush from her bag. She combed out her thick brunette strands and pulled them to the side a little--she needed to look non-homeless, and she knew that. It was an instant red flag when she went into a store with unbrushed hair and her hiking backpack. It only took her a couple days and few mad dashes with her stolen goods to figure this out.

Tyler stood up and pulled her backpack on. She wore a simple pair of dark skinny jeans and flat boots; presumably she also had a shirt on but all people could see was her thick black coat with a thin line of fur on the hoodrim. Hey--just because she was homeless and needed to be comfortable didn't mean she couldn't look fashionable while doing it. She sold most of her "dressy" and "high end" clothes to local turn-around stores and made a decent bundle of cash from them. But, she kept some for herself.

She headed down the block and noticed an ice cream shop. She wasn't in the mood for ice cream but, then again, she wasn't planning on buying any. Ty was a little lightheaded and knew she needed some sugar and these places were famous for having little gourmet packs of sugary candy all around their store.

Coming closer to the ice cream parlor she ducked into an alley directly next to it, stashing her backpack behind a garbage can out of view. She slid around the corner and in front of the ice cream shop. She noticed a younger guy and his daughter sitting at a booth on her way in--one of only 4 customers other than Ty in the shop. She couldn't see the little girls face but could see Ten's. It was quite obvious that they looked nothing alike even with the limited view she had.

Ty wasn't in the shop to look at customers, though, and she walked up to the counter. There was no one in line, everyone else was either eating or waiting for their ice cream at the other end of the counter.

Tyler picked a flavor as far away from her as possible, "Hi. Can I try your raspberry sundae?"

"Sure." The cashier slid to the other side of the counter and slowly got a "try this" spoon. Tyler took this opportunity to grab a bag of jelly beans and slide them into her coat pocket. No one noticed, and she knew she planned well.

"Here you go."

Ty took the bite and made an "ew" face. She really liked it, actually, but it would screw up her plan in she said so, "Oh no no. How about the lemon meringue?"

The girl made a face but went back down to the end to get the bite. Tyler grabbed a box of jelly bellies and slid it under her coat before the girl even thought about coming back. This time Ty was given the bite with no happy remark. Again she informed the girl of her hatred for the flavor.

"That's not good either. I'll just have two scoops of Cinnamon Vanilla Crust."

"We don't have that."

Ty knew this, she wasn't even sure that existed. "Oh okay. Nevermind then."

She headed towards the door unsuspiciously, but stopped dead in her tracks when she heard something: a laugh. She turned in the direction of the laugh, and landed on the child with the man she had noticed on her way in. The girl laughed again, and this time Tyler was sure of what she heard. It was her laugh. The same one she's always had.

The girl turned her head and Ty caught her eye. For the most part there was nothing too familiar about her--not her eyes, or her skin tone, or her hair, or her mouth. But her nose--her nose and her laugh--told Tyler what she needed to know.

Tyler snapped out of it. She had to get out of there. Afterall, she was shoplifting. It's not usually a good idea to hang out in the store after a successful lift. She broke her stare from the girl and quickly but calmly made her way outside. She grabbed her pack from the alley and headed a few benches down from the shop to sit. Ty kept her eyes on the parlor as she pulled out her jelly beans and opened them.

Cypher - Number Four

The meeting finished, I left the way I had come in. Down the back corridor, across the landing, crawl through the vent and out into the bathroom of the resteraunt next door.
"Everything alright in there, sir?" Came the voice of Julius, my hulking, ever present bodyguard when i was out as me.
"I'm fine Julius. Zipper on my new jeans was stuck." I lied walking out of the stall. Julius chuckled but quickly returned to his proffesional state.
"Ready for another fun day of signing albums?" I smirked, shooting my paper towel like a basketball and scoring a three pointer in my head.
"Of course, sir. Don't forget the rule, anything looks dodgy or i give you the signal ..."
"Run like hell. I know the drill." That said we stepped out toward a cheering mass of faces, all clutching the new album or poster.
I dropped my head, and raised it slowly with that same cheeky smirk plastered on my face before pointing one hand into the crowd and shouting.
"Are you ready?"
The mass practically screamed the standard reply.
"We were born ready!"
"Well then let's get this going shall we?" Again the smirk this time coupled with a sly wink. "Who first?"

*Sorry it's long*

Requiem Zvers:

Next morning a banging at his door jolted Requiem out of a sound sleep. He glared blearily at his alarm clock as he levered himself out of bed. Almost noon he'd really slept in, but then he'd been up half the night practicing.

The banging grew more insistent as he stumbled down the stairs from his indoor balcony/bedroom. Absently he noticed the microwave going off and a plate of bacon and eggs floating to the counter. Requiem's mouth quirked in a half smile at the sight. Rose had banned him from cooking for himself when she'd seen how bad his food was, and since she was a poltergeist she could do the cooking for him.

Scowling Requiem disengaged the locks, in his right hand he prepped a Soul-Blade in case this was an ambush. When he opened the door something small, pink, and purple barrelled into his arms with loud sobs and incoherent babbling. Not an ambush, but still important.

Acting quickly Requiem gathered the sobbing little girl in his arms and kicked the door shut. He carried her over to his couch where he set her down. His heart twinged at the sight of puffy blue eyes and long dark hair, his paternal half sist. The pink knit cap his seven year old sister had been wearing had been knocked askew, and flyaway black locks curled around her face.

"Come on Zoe, tell your big brother what's wrong." He coaxed her. Requiem had learned about his sister three years ago, when he first began spying on the other gangs. He had seen how miserable she was and he started possessing people to spend time with her. Over the years those had progressed to actual meetings.

Zoe's lip quivered and she brushed back fresh tears. "I'm so scared Daddy's gone completely crazy Rekki. He's acting like he's already won this gang war. And now he's trying to kill me. Please don't make me go back Rekki, please let me stay with you."

Sighing, Requiem reached and ruffled his sister's dark hair. A seven year old shouldn't know about the war but Requiem knew his baby sis had a penchant for eavesdropping. "You don't even have to ask Zoe, of course you can live with me. But there's someone we have to meet first." He raised his voice as he called to the two spirit's in his flat. "Rose, Lucas, come here."

The two spirits materialized in front of the siblings but Zoe didn't jump, she had seen Requiem's powers often enough to be used to them. "I need the two of you to stay close to Zoe. We're going to see Alex and I want you to shield her from his abilities." The aura of the dead was a fundamentally different beast from the aura of the living. Alex didn't know how to affect the dead yet, mostly because Requiem hadn't let him in on his partial resistance. His boss was going to explode like a volcano when Requiem told him about Zoe, but the little girl didn't have to get hurt.

"As for me."Requiem thought as he threw on his jacket and took Zoe's hand as they left the flat. "I'll take my punishment like a man."

*Rekki, is Zoe's nickname for Requiem because when she was four she couldn't pronounce it properly.*

Alexander Douze VII

There was a loud cawing in my ears, invading my dreams. I tried to ignore it at first, but it got so loud, so annoying. Freaking crap. I sit up in bed only to find Lion lurking outside of my bedroom window. That girl is weird, no doubt about it, and something needed to be done about her. Speaking of Lion, where is Douze?

The question doesn't pester me long because as soon as I even think Douze's name he comes trotting through my open door and onto my bed, taking up most of it and leaving very little room left for me. I pet him quickly and remove the video camera from his collar, but not before getting up and pulling my curtains shut. Lion may have flown away but I didn't trust that girl.

"Okay, Douze, let's see what you got?"

As it turns out, nothing at all. She just ran around the city like an idiot for a while. Great, nothing exciting there. With a stretch and a yawn I get up from my bed and start immediately to the bathroom where I get ready for a very long day.

~

I lean against my car, twirling my car keys on one finger. Douze is impatiently circling around my feet. The Twelve cell phone is pressed against my ear and I'm ringing both Ten and Kai for a quick run down on why I need to meet them immediately. Kai answer's first and Ten a few moments later.

"Morning," I say, trying to sound as cheerful as possible. The both reply the same and I finally open my car. "I'm calling a meeting."

"Right now," Ten asks, his voice nearly a whine. I roll my eyes at him and get start down the street towards headquarters.

"Yes, right now," I sigh. "I wouldn't be calling unless it was. Just be here, and hurry up. There's a lot to do today."

"I'm on my way," Kai answers. "But what type of stuff."

"First of all, we have a Code One, finally. Her name is Tyler and we need to give her the run down."

"Bad time to be joining," Ten laughs. I chuckle along.

"Right, but it can't be helped. Also we need to deal with Lion."

"Right," Kai drawls. "Her punishment."

"Sounding a bit happy, Kai?"

She laughs.

"Of course not."

"Well, right. Just get a move on, Ten."

"Just me?!"

"Yes, I don't need to tell Kai. She's the good one."

"Right," he laughs. "Well just give me time to drop off Elli and I'll be right there."

"Isn't she supposed to be at school," Kai asks. I hear Ten scoff.

"You'd think so, right?"

"Okay, I'll see you both at the meeting. Try not to be too late, Ten."

"Yeah, yeah."

I hang up and dial Tyler's number, they should have gotten a cell phone on her by this time. She picks up with a confused, "Hello?"

"Be at headquarters immediately. Directions will be sent to the phone as I hang up. Don't be late and come alone."

I hang up and park my car among a million other cars where it remains remotely hidden. The building is three blocks away but I'm obvious enough with Douze walking beside me. I don't need to draw any more attention to myself.
~

I'm not inside for more than a minute when Kai comes strolling through the door. I smile at her and take my usual seat.

"Morning, Kai."

"Morning."

"You got here a bit quick, don't you think?"

She shrugs and smiles.

"I was already in the area."

"Really," I ask, "amazing. Well, until Ten and Tyler arrive, we can discuss briefly the Lion situation. I'm worried."

Kai takes her seat next to me and I turn to face her.

"Right," she replies. "If anyone was to turn against us I think it would be her first. Should we issue out a punishment?"

I nod and look towards the ceiling. Next to the overhead lights I can see the dust partials floating in the air, dancing around each other. Douze lays in front of me and I prop my feet on his back. He doesn't even move, just raises his head a bit before losing interest and putting it back down. I could always count on Douze, he'll never leave me. And Ten, maybe, but his number one focus is and will always be Elli, which I understand. Kai...

I look towards Kai, studying her intently. Kai... I don't know about Kai. I would like to say yes, but...

"Yes, I think punishing her would be best, just so she knows where she stands in this organization. You should keep your squad under control, Kai." The last part is said jokingly but even I can hear the underlying seriousness in my tone.

"Right. So what? We have to get creative with this one."

"Creative? So you don't like her?"

She laughs and brushes her hair away from her face.

"Not particularly, no."

"I knew it. But I was thinking we could isolate her a bit, put her in a hole. You remember the hole?"

Kai shivers and looks away.

"I've seen that place. Glad I never been there."

I look away and chew my bottom lip.

"Yeah, Dad used to send me there as a punishment sometimes. I think that would be a great place to send her for a bit. She's getting too headstrong."

The hole was a deep pit, 50 ft deep, dark, and damp. The only sounds are the rats crawling inside the walls and the crickets scuttling across the floor. The walls of the hole cut off your abilities so you're completely defenseless. There's nothing you can do in the hole except sit and wait. Time seems to vanish and if the person that put you in there is feeling nice enough they might throw down some food. Maybe.

"Yes," I say again. "The hole will be great. Now we just need to run this by Ten whenever he-"

A soft rapping fills the room. I pause and turns towards the door.

"Come in," I call, turning forward in my seat. Douze gets up to stand by my side. The door opens to reveal a women who I'm assuming to be Tyler, but just in case-

"Tyler Mascaw, welcome."

She nods and takes the seat closest to her.

"Hello," she says.

"I'm Alexander, Code Twelve, and this is Kaieera, Code Eleven." I pat Douze's head, his signal that he can rest a few moments. "And this big boy here is Douze, my dog. I'm sorry but you'll have to wait a moment for Ten to arrive, he's Code Ten, your squad leader. He's running a tad bit late."

"He always runs a tad bit late," Kai scoffs. I turn and smile at her.

"Right. Until then, though, make yourself comfortable. And welcome to Twelve."

Lion

I watched from behind a pillar as Alex explained to the new girl, Tyler, about Twelve. He gave her the runthrough cheerfully, and about halfway through the sermon Ten came in. The girl didn't strike me as anything special. She was fairly pretty, but she didn't show any great potential. When the self-rightous speech was over the girl stood up and left. Alex and Kai explained my punishment to Ten.

Ten agreed with their descision, and left with Kai. Alex sat in his respective throne for a few minutes, smiling at his rather ingenious punishment. Time to ruin his buzz.

I stepped out from my refuge. "The hole, fabulous."

Alexander looked suprised to see me, I was a rather fabulous player at hide and seek. "How long have you been there. And yes, it is a rather good solution."

I smiled smugly, I could feel his aura getting thicker. Exactly what I wanted. "Oh for a while," I said stepping closer. "I will not be the one to betray you. I'm rebellious, but I don't stab someone else's back."

He stood up, using his authority in a strange sort of way to supress my thoughts. "It's strange, your powers are strikingly similar to that of the Sangue. Why?" His words was not that much of a question, more of a command. He used his order, supressing my lungs. I couldn't breathe, and it felt as if the more I refused the less oxegen he was allowing. It felt like drowning.

"Fine. I never used to have any powers. It was a strange thing, I had not ever had any powers until my brother died. My family didn't have any power originally until the took some of the Sangue's blood and put it in a ring a few hundred years ago. Whe he died I got the ring and now I'm here."

Alex nodded, but then looked down at my hands. "You're not wearing your ring." I nodded, My familiar snake ring I'd had for 5 years was gone, and it was strange not having it close to my skin,"Yeah. A few years back I figured that if I drank the blood I would gain the powers."

"And you did."

"Yes, but it had a weird side effect. I got really paranoid, unhealthily so. Apparently gaining animal instincts doesn't do humans any good." I said self conciously. Alex seemed pleased, I guess when you discover a weakness it does wonders for the self-esteem, "I tried to join Sangue but they wouldn't let me."

"So you know where their headquarters are?" Alex asked, showing the most positive emotion I've ever seen him express.

"If I tell you, will I have to go in the hole?" I asked this, praying for a no. I had some major claustrophobia.

Cypher Eisenstein

The last of signings were done and i clambered back into the Land Rover with Julius.
"Where to, sir?" Asked Richie, the studios resident driver.
"Take me home Richie. I've got some errands to run. Julius, take the rest of the day off. Say hi to the kids for me."
"Thanks boss, but you sure you don't want us to send someone else on the errands? It's not a big hassle." Asked Julius.
"Do you ALWAYS worry this much?" I asked jokingly.
"It's my job," he replied calmly, as if i had just asked the most ridiculous question in the world.
We listened to the radio until i was returned to the ground floor of my apartment building. I climbed out, put on my hat and strode gracefully across the lobby. I climbed into the lift, entered my code on the keypad and that was that. Al the way back up to my beautiful penthouse, complete with pool and helipad incase of emergency. I checked the locks, watched some news and then fell soundly asleep.
The next day i was awoken by the sound of my phone. I grappled in the dark before my hands finally closed around the cold plastic case.
"Hello?" I asked groggily.
"Meeting, now. Don't know if we all have to attend but better safe than sorry." Then the caller put the phone down.
"Well good morning to you too." I grabbed a quick shower, dressed and ate a peice of toast as i headed in the lift to the underground garage. I approached my locker at a casual pace, not because i wasn't in a rush, just certain lessons of the Twelve had really stuck. Be aware of everything. Anything could be a trap.
Everything seemed fine so i grabbed my motorcycle jacket, pulled on my helmet and stowed my trilby carefully in the back box of my Triumph Rocket III before blasting out into the city. Just another biker in the seemingly never ending flow of traffic.
I reached the headquarters and parked around the back. This was the part i hated. Checking no one was looking, i pushed the bins to one side, pulled open the hatch and lowered myself down. The tunnel stank, it always stank. It was mere inches away from the refuse pipe. I reached the backdoor of the HQ and took a deep breath. Closing my eyes I searched inside my self for the source of my humanity and buried it deep within, beneath memories of a dead love and all that our enemies had taken from me.

Number Four - The Hunter

The same cold metal doors with the same familiar scratches and dents. It was like being home. I pushed open the doors and strode inside, the same famous smirk plastered on my face. But this was not a smirk of cheeky pride or to entice the fan girls. This was a smirk of a predator, mixing with his own kind, safe in the knowledge he was about to be released on unprepared prey.
He always enjoyed those moments. Running through crowds of puny gun armed gang bangers with such speed they never got off a shot. Watching the shocked expressions on their faces as they saw the wire. Then gravity would kick in and this blissful moment would end as limbs and heads hit the floor shortly before the owners body.
"Kai," I smiled. "So where do we strike next my Crimson Queen, Mistress Eleven?"

*Hunter/Cypher is very charming/charismatic but Hunter can be a little .. um unhinged sometimes. Just a heads up for any posts he's in *

Requiem Zvers:

A meeting. Now. Lovely. So now there was going to be an audience for Reqiem's ass chewing. He'd left Zoe in the funeral home with orders to sit and stay. That place was always closed, Requiem knew because he owned it, so she would be safe with Rose and Lucas to look out for her. He had settled her down with a happy meal and the toys she had stuffed in backpack and left for the meeting.

When he got to the meeting room Hunter was just coming through the door with Kai, and Lion was facing off against Alex. But the headstrong shapeshifter was looking surprisingly cowed today. Then she mentioned the hole and Requiem realized why she looked so miserable. Shapeshifter's were notoriously claustrophobic, he remembered that much from when he lived with his mother's family.

Requiem didn't know why decided to take pity on her but it had to come out sooner or later, so he deflected Alex's attention and anger away from Lion. "If you're not putting her in the hole that's probably where you're going to put me." He interupted"

Alex's head snapped around toward him and he raised an inquiring eyebrow. "And why would I put you in the hole Requiem. You like to flaunt the rules, but you're also careful never to cross the line."

He shrugged in pretend indifference. "Yeah, about that..."

The door opened behind him and the small voice that entered the room made him lose his voice. The blood drained from his face as he realized Zoe hadn't stayed put. She'd followed after him just like she always did. "Big brother Rekki I'm bored."

Tyler Mascaw

Ty sat in a chair semi-close to the door as Alex introduced himself and his giant dog.

She smiled at the dog, "Hi Douze."

Douze came over to her and instantly put his head in her lap. Tyler gave him a scratch behind the ears but from the look on Alex's face, she got the feel this wasn't typical behavior for the dog. She stopped petting him, but he stayed put.

It was only a few minutes before Ten arrived, and she instantly recognized him from the ice cream shop earlier in the day. But, where was the kid? She had tried to keep an eye on them after she lifted a few things at the shop, but things got a little hectic and somehow she managed to lose them even before she got the phone call from Alex.

Ten wasn't too talkative as Tyler was explained the concept of Twelve--mostly it was Alex. This was all new for her. She had no idea about underground gangs or real fighting. Martial arts fighting? Sure. Real fighting? That was a different story. Ty did a lot of nodding as Alex spoke, and not a lot of talking. It was a lot to take in.

Afterwards, Tyler headed out of the headquarters. She didn't go far, just outside the premises a bit--enough to not be seen lurking around first thing, but still close enough to keep an eye on it.

She probably should have been thinking about what being a member of Twelve really meant for her, but she wasn't. All she could think about was the kid.

Plus, the jelly beans were wearing off and she was getting hungry again. There was a little twinge in her nose and Tyler felt a sneeze coming on.

Suddenly she was back in headquarters looking at the others. This wasn't the first time this had happened, but she still wasn't used to it. Ty found herself a little dizzy and fell over, but was more embarrassed than anything.

dropping out

(Just to clear things up a bit before I start, Requiem, Lion, Tyler, Kai, Ten, and Alex are all still in the room. I know I'm adding a few things to make it a bit more stable but all major happenings still occur.)

Ten Twelve & Alexander Douze

"If I tell you, will I have to go in the hole?" Alexander starred at Lion, one eyebrow cocked in amusement. She thought that she could bribe him out of a punishment? A laugh bubbled up through his throat and out his lips.

"Seriously, Lion?" He laughed again and shook his head. "I can very well find a way into their headquarters, knowing it's somewhere in New York City is easy enough already. And Sangue, out of all of them. How mundane..."

Lion looked down at her shoes, a hard frown marring her face.

"But still," Alexander continued, trying to sound serious through the bouts of laughter that he sometimes couldn't hold back, "you simply telling me take more effort than me expending energy to go and look for them. For your information you don't get the hole, I'm feeling a bit lenient today, must be the air."

Ten scoffs in his seat and rolls his eyes. He had just finished explaining a few rules to the newcomer, Tyler, while Twelve dealt with Lion.

"Just come to each and every meeting," Ten explained, "you miss one and you get punished. Don't disrespect the top three codes, Alexander, Kai, and myself. And don't you ever turn against us. Traitors get special treatment. Especially with the on-going war we don't need any snitches, okay?"

"Anyway," Alex sighs, "you don't get the whole but you're on a 24/7 watch. You must be within sight of either me or Douze until the end of this war. Most times I will keep Douze on you because I don't have the time to waste around some... disobedient child." Alex snaps his fingers twice and Douze stands up from his position beside Tyler to come and rest his head on Alex's lap.

"Watch Lion," he whispers into the dog's ear. "She tries to run away don't kill her, just bring her back to me."

The dog nods, as if it understands, and moves to Lion's side.

"Now, Lion, where is-"

"If you're not putting her in the hole that's probably where you're going to put me."

Alex snaps up his head to the front door where Requiem is entering. He smiles a bit and folds his hands together.

"And why would I put you in the hole Requiem. You like to flaunt the rules, but you're also careful never to cross the line."

Ten looks over, confused, and lets out a low laugh. He looks back to Tyler and waves her off casually.

"You don't have to stick around for this," he chuckles. "Dismissed."

Ty gets up to leave. Ten watches her as she goes, his brow furrowed. He can't help but to think she reminds him of someone he knows, like he's seen her somewhere before, but before he can burn out his brain thinking it over he turns back to the scene.

"Yeah," Requiem sighs, "about that..."

Suddenly the door flies open. Ten can't see anyone, but a small girl's voice penetrates the air.

"Big brother Rekki," it says, "I'm bored."

All eyes are on Requiem and everyone watches as his face drains white.

"Oh," Ten laughs, "got yourself into some deep shit now, boy!" He laughs even harder as the little girl walks forward and grabs Requiems hand. Req looks down at the girl in confusion.

"Zoe, I told you to stay put!"

"I know, the girl whines, but I got so bored!"

Alexander watched the scene with a distinct show of anger on his face. When he spoke his voice was hard, his aura flared without him meaning it too, effecting everybody in the room and making them groan in pain.

"Requiem! Who is this girl?"

"She's my little sister, Alexander..."

"And why is she here?!"

"She wasn't supposed to be here! Alex, stop, you're hurting her."

Alexander quickly turns his eyes towards the girl. She's curled up on the floor, screeching in pain. Quickly, Alexander turns off his aura. He feels sorry, truly, but his frown and look of complete disapproval does not waver in the slightest.

"Kai, Ten, take Lion and the girl and go outside. This meeting is dismissed until further notice. Requiem, you stay here."

Everyone gets up to leave. Kai gathers Zoe in her arms and tries desperately to soothe the crying girl, Ten takes Lion by the elbow and leads her out. Just as soon as the door is about to shut Tyler suddenly appears inside the room and drops onto the ground, unconscious.

"Ten," Alex calls, "wait. Take Tyler with you."

"Tyler," he asks. Ten sticks his head back in and notices the woman passed out on the floor. "Oh, teleportation." He chuckles and leaves Lion with Douze and gathers Tyler in his arms. "We'll be right outside, Alex."

Ten nods and leaves the room, leaving only Requiem and Alexander.

"So, you brought a child to headquarters? I didn't think you were that stupid, Requiem."

Suddenly a huge headache pulses through Alex's head, his squeezes the bridge of his nose and sighs.

"I apologize for your sister, but this is unacceptable. Why is she here?"

"She lives with me now."

Alexander wants to punish him, but in doing so he would be playing favorites. Ten has a kid, yet Alex never punished him when he found out.

"I would like to punish you, Requiem, really I would. I want to throw you int he hole just to see how you'd fair, but if I did that I would be an unfit and unfair ruler, but I can still not let a child run around knowing our secrets. Ten never once told Elli of our existence, and now your sister knows where our base is. I will not punish you for having your sister, but I will punish you for bringing her here."

Requiem squared his shoulders and nodded sternly. Alexander smiled at him and got up from his chair.

"Ready to take your punishment like a man," Alexander asked. He walked up to Requiem and clapped him on the shoulder, laughter softening his features. "I've always admired that in you, Req. Your punishment will be discussed later, but until then you are free to return to whatever it was you were doing before you decided to out our base." Alexander smiled and stepped back, stretching his arms high above his head.

"Until the next meeting, you and the rest of the codes have a mission. Go talk to Lion and find out Sangue's base, your mission is to do a quick assassination of a few of their members, just to get the pot boiling. Grab Code Four, Code Nine, and Code Five and make this quick."

"Not Lion," Requiem asks. Ten shakes his head and starts for the door.

"No, Lion's on lock down for a while. And sneaking in to someone's base is not easy with a giant dog padding along. Go and gather everyone quickly."



Alex comes out of the room with Requiem in tow. The boy doesn't look too hurt yet so I'm thinking his punishment has not been received. Kai hands him his sister and Requiem starts away before stopping.

"Where do I send her," he asks. I turn towards him with a crooked smirk.

"Oh, just drop her off at the daycare next to the park. They're cheap and the workers there are honestly genuine." Requiem nods and start off.

"Thanks, Ten."

"Yeah, no problem." I turn back to the rest. "So, what do you suppose I do with her?" I hold up Tyler's limp body in my arms. Alex shrugs and turns away.

"I'm going to train..."

I turn to Kai but she quickly shakes her head.

"Nope," she grins. "Not up for babysitting."

I sigh and don't even bother to look towards Lion. I wouldn't trust that girl with my goldfish.

"Fine," I say. "I'll take her in until she wakes up. Well, bye guys, I'll be in training later, Alex."

"You leaving Elli at that daycare?"

I scoff and start off.

"Of course not! I'm thinking I'll be able to convince Tyler to watch her for a while whenever I get her to wake up. I did just save her from being abandoned on the cold wet ground, didn't I?"

(So long! So sorry!)

(Ha! It's cool, but just for the record I didn't mean Tyler passed out--I hate when people are that dramatic! I just meant she got dizzy from the teleportation and couldn't keep her footing.)

Tyler Mascaw

She didn't know exactly what was going on when she woke up and saw a white ceiling above her. It took her a minute to figure out what had happened. This wasn't the first time she ended up somewhere completely random after a cough or a sneeze.

Tyler put her hand over her eyes and sighed, not sure she really wanted to know where she was, "Damnit."

"Dad! She's awake!"

Tyler jumped about ten feet hearing the voice almost directly next to her ear. It was a bit deafening to say the least, but mostly just absolutely terrifying. She sat straight up on the sofa she later discovered she had been laying on, instantly spying the child from earlier.

"Thanks, Elli." Ten came in with a mug of something Ty was unsure what was. "And I'm not your dad."

Elli rolled her eyes, "Whatever." She was an adorable little kid, plopping next to Tyler on the sofa and leaning in on her lap a little to get closer to her face as she spoke, "So, what's your name?"

Tyler pulled her face back a little so the child wasn't in her nose, and looked from Ten to Elli a few times without speaking. What the hell was she doing here?

"Elli, why don't you go make Tyler a peanut butter and jelly?

The little girl sighed but shrunk away anyway, getting the hint, "Fine."

Ten sat on the coffee table in front of Ty and handed her the mug, "Here."

Ty held the mug with both hands and took a sip. Tea. Amazing. "Thanks."

"You really need to get that under control, you know."

"I know," Tyler settled the mug in her lap, still holding onto it carefully, "Usually it's not this bad. Usually I just land on my butt somewhere--hopefully it's just somewhere flat." Suddenly Ty was very aware that her bag was not immediately next to her. Her whole life with in that bag, and she wasn't about to lose it, "Um, where's my bag?"

Ten pointed towards what Ty assumed was the main door to the apartment where her bag was sitting seemingly undisturbed against the wall. She let out a sigh of relief.

"It's really important that you have complete control over your power before we go to war. How have you tried so far?"

She bit her lip nervously and shrugged. Nothing. She had tried nothing. Ty had just discovered this stupid power six months ago and, since then, she's had bigger things to worry about.

Requiem Zvers:

Requiem breathed a sigh of relief as he finished signing Zoe up for the daycare. He shoved the paperwork across the desk and glanced outside where Zoe was already playing hopscotch with her new friends. That had gone surprisingly well, although Requiem mentally questioned his spur of the moment decision to hold back Rose and Lucas from shielding Zoe. Still, Requiem had no doubt that Alex would come up with some dire punishment to make him pay.

Suddenly Zoe ran over and wrapped her small arms around his legs as she flashed him a gap toothed smile. Requiem could never stay angry at his little sister, she was a charmer, but in this case he had to put his foot down. "Zoe you know you're in big trouble right. The people in that room are powerful and easily startled. You could have gotten seriously hurt.

"No account gutter licking slime Twelve." Zoe giggled, chiming in with a perfect imitiation of their crazy father during one of his rages. The Morte heir apperant wasn't exactly known for his restraint. Which made him wonder how long it would be before the senior Codes wanted to know what she knew. Reqiem ruffled her hair and sent her back to play with the rest of the kids while he headed back to base.

His body thrummed with anticipation as he hit the door at a near run, his mind churning as he puzzled out strategies. Alex had given him the go ahead to enter the Sangue den. Since his boss was fully aware of Requiem's grudge against Morte and Sangue, the gangs he was related to by blood, he may as well have just said 'sic'em boy'. Requiem's grandfather had been disgusted when Requiem was born without the ability to shapeshift. No, Requiem's power spoke to far colder things. And this war was his chance at vengeance.

Lion

When Alexander prevented my torture I was on the verge of tears. But then he dropped the bomb, I was on lockdown. Duck really was going to kill me. And to enforce the punishment, I was going to have Alex's adorable, but potentially dangerous dog stalk me. It made it worse that that delusional summoner took pity on me, and made me look weak. As Ten led me out by the elbow, Requiem flashed me a tiny reassuring smile, and I stick up my middle finger at him. Ten sees this and cackles, "Not a very nice prisoner are we."

I rip my arm out of Ten's grip and flip him off too. I stalk off into the traffic, making several cars crash, and one cab driver to cuss me out in Chinese. I quickly grow fangs and turn my eyes into slits. I roar at him, I could understand and he had a nasty mouth. I heard Ten laugh again.

Douze closely followed me. I didn't mind animals, even though this one was stalking me from one of the most irritating leaders I'd ever met. If Alex talk to Douze, then I would give them something to talk about. I led Douze to the shadier part of town. Crack addicts dozed on the sides of the streets as I slipped food into their pathetic cups and stole their drugs.

Frightening gang members lounged against the graffitied walls. They made catcalls and whistled as I walked past. I looked at the leader. I threw him the bag filled with the drugs and he gave me a smile and a nod. The man I passed them to was looking for his little girl. I couldn't help but feel sorry for him

The people in this part of town called me the Mafia. I controlled most of the blackmarket, and made quite a bit of money off of it. Then I strode into a giant warehouse, I was suprised that it hadn't been discovered in 50 years. Who wouldn't suspect a giant warehouse in the worst part of town.

I walked in and instantly I was swamped by people I was controlling. In about two minutes I'd found out everything I needed to know.

I walked out calmly, Douze trotting by my side. I hopped on a bus, recieving some really nasty looks. I ignored them, and when the bus left me somewhere in Upper East Side I walked a few blocks, then stopped by a woman in front of a store.

"Gun trade is down as well as drugs."

"Good," she replied and handed me a check, worth 50,000 dollars, I got one of these every week. I thanked her and she walked away. I then stopped by a bank, then a market that I visited everytime I got my payment. I purchased some raw meat and got a dog treat for Douze, he probably was hungry, it was a very warm day.

After I picked that up I went back to my apartment. I took the elevator up to my penthouse. It had a grassy garden over looking the skyline. I showed Douze how to open my door to the garden, which he picked up easily, and how to open the door.

After I cooked the meat I'd bought earlier and fed it to Douze with some water. I was tired and I promptly went to sleep with Douze close by.