England

In a rather small city in England known as Sunderland sat a pub called the Marquis of Grandy. The pub itself was completely normal consisting of a bar some tables, one small t.v., and a rather large collection of alcoholic beverages; however, one of its workers was not as normal as she seemed. Yvaine Versot a young female bartender sat wathing the news and the buz which seemed to be all about an uncoming comet. Though the majority of the population was greatly intrigued and was sitting in anticipation for its arrival she did not. She may have been watching the news but she was being entertained by the thoughts of the drunk man sitting at the bar. "Bah-tendah," he called for the seventh time that day, "I wanna-" before he could finish Yvaine had poured another round of alcholic cider, "Another round of scrumpy for the customer."

The man wore a business suit and when he walked in he struck up Yvaine's curiosity with his depressed face; through a little digging in the man's head before he became too foggy she uncovered these thoughts: 'How dare the jacksie fire me after all I did for him. I made him as wealthy as he is now! Damn it! How am I gonna tell my missus at gaffe; I'll never hear the end of it.' Ever since then she had been listening in on his many silent complaints.

The man whose name she had uncovered to be Aberle had ever since then been drinking heavily and his thoughts slowly became mix and matched and all the more humorous. Soon he was talking useless babble concerning a baby she knew he didn't have, the bubbles floating around his head, and a little bit more cussing concerning the boss he couldn't remember at the time. Yvaine couldn't resist making actual conversation with him; though she knew he would be unable to finish one clear sentence since he couldn't seem to devise a clear thought.

"So, exactly how was it you lost your job Aberle?" Yvaine didn't sound British because she wasn't British. Most of the time when she was talking to a British she would feign an accent but this man was far to drunk to notice. Aberle looked up at the woman his eyes dizzily looking for her eyes, "Weh meh guvnor got wup on his aye hus and decided he didn't need meh anymoe. Even doe I did evewyding foe him. And-and what a pwetty bubtion I hae." The real challenge of this conversation was understanding both the British slang and the slurred words. Still though she worked in a bar the slurred speech was nothing new and having lived in Britain for two years neither was the slang. "Oh how terrible, but I must ask is the baby yours? I thought you said your wife never got pregnant because of you?"

The man's eyes widened at this realization; Yvaine's delicate mouth slowed into a large grin as the man slammed a wad of cash down and ran out the door yelling that his 'missus' had an affair. In his drunkeness he had managed to forget that there was no baby in his home. She picked up the wad of cash and counted the money; he had overpayed by one hundred and twenty-three pounds. Some might wonder where a man who had lost his job got this money but Yvaine, being a powerful telepath, knew it was part of his severance pay. She pocketed the extra pounds and proceeded to wipe the counter; the fun one can have messing with the minds of the drunk.

"What a beautiful little town...I can tell it would look even more pretty completely demolished!" A sweet voice crooned with a giggle. In the night sky, barely visible against the glow of the moonlight, a figure was drifting in the air; had it been in the moonlight, one would have caught sight of dark golden hair, unnaturally long, flowing out behind the figure; a witches hat that cast a shadow over the upper features of the face, and, through the shadow, a pair of faint, red eyes glowing maliciously. An unnerving smile floated on her lips as she cast her eyes over the little town, and imagined it in flames, smoke billowing into the night.

"Yes, I like that idea..." Eva Vulfenstein, the Puppetmistress, went on as her smile widened slightly. She appeared only, perhaps, fifteen or sixteen, but in the eerily beautiful face there lay a deadly sadism that made clear to any in doubt that this was no ordinary teenage schoolgirl. "I think I could have fun with this town!" She giggled as she slowly descended into the town.

Big dark eyes scanned the world around him, able to see very well considering it was dark. The moonlight gave everything an eerie glow, which unnerved the boy sitting among the tall grass. He was not far away from a small town, his eyes squinting at the sign to see what it read. He was taught how to read, though it took him a few moments to piece together 'Sunderland'. He guessed that was the name for the place. Perhaps it was somewhere he could go to find food and a more comfy place to sleep. Camping out was fun, from what Avis had found, but the cold was starting to bother him - and it was no fun if you were on your own.

He watched the edge of the town for a while, sitting cross legged in the tall grass that kept him hidden pretty well. The clink of metal could be heard as his ears twitched, the sound of a car having disturbed him. Perhaps it wasn't such a good idea for him to go into the town, incase they thought him to be strange. It's not like he looked like a normal person, with the silvery hair, metal ears and tail - not to mention the completely different lower legs. What if they reacted bad to him? What would he do then...? Just camp out again and go somewhere else?

"I might not have to..." He muttered to himself, trying to convince himself that everything would be better if he just went into the town.

Yvaine had been watching the clock ever since Aberle left; there wasn't much else left to do so boredom soon struck her down. No matter, tonight she would be having alot of fun in the local museum. Her first hit had made them wary, her second hit had scared the socks off of the whole city, and now the city trembled in her shoes because they knew her third hit was coming. Tonight the biggest artifact to ever make it to this city was being placed in their most secure room specifically to keep the Phantom away, but they would fail.

The moment the clock struck 10 pm Yvaine left happily; her line of work was fun but only when someone was drunk and unfortunately the drunk man had left. She thought about going home first but decided that she already had her suit with her so what was the point? She walked into the nearest open pharmacy and 'used' the bathroom. She came out in a black leather suit that conformed to the very curve of her body and a black mask of course. In order to avoid being seen she also scrambled the security feed for the store and put the pharmacist to sleep.

Next came the hit. Yvaine took her time with these; it added to the suspense and thrill stealing gave her. Stealthily she climbed up and through a window all the while completely ruining any kind of video camera's recording. Anyone that looked would literally find nothing on the films, just like always, and any unfortunate security gaurd would wake up the next morning with no memory of falling asleep or even walking to their job.

Slowly and quietly she walked through the hallways looking for motion detectors and anything she might have to avoid or risk being caught. Needless to say she wasn't worried because she obviously hadn't ever been caught. She continued on her merry way avoiding any and all traps, destroying camera feeds, and forcing security guards into a deep sleep all the while erasing any memory they may have of this night until she had made it to the 'throne' room.

In the center sat her prize one of the priceless necklaces that had belonged to Queen Elizabeth the I. It was also one of the few that circulated from museum to museum. The room was also gaurded with red lazer motion detectors, 'Ah the oldest trick in the book.' she thought. This was where she put her athleticism to the ultimate test. She spent years honing her muscles and flexibility with gymnastics and martial arts, (though she was no master) she could now easily get through such traps.

Upon reaching her prize in the middle she realized the if she removed the glass box that encased it the alarms would go off. 'Fools. This has never stopped me before, why would it now?' she laughed at herself. That wasn't a fair judgement; Yvaine had long been told that she was the perfect thief; that was what she had been built for and no one could ever out steal her. She believed it. Slowly and painfuly she began to change the density of her arm until finally she reach in through the glass and grabbed the necklace. Slowly she also change the molecular density of the necklace and pulled it out as well. From here on out she was home free.

After her hit she went home; she couldn't wait until tomorrow when the whole city would literally freak over the lost jewelry. The thought caused a small twinkle in her eye and an even smaller smile.

Lieutenant Jack Carter leaned back and frowned as the police officer before him fidgeted nervously in his chair. Carter couldn't blame the man for being so anxious; most people would be after finding a corpse. He sighed and scratched his chin as he glanced down at the papers in front of him, on his desk. The third body they had found that week, and the circumstances were getting stranger and stranger. The man this police officer had found had been killed by drowning--in the middle of his apartment. It simply didn't make sense how one could drown when they weren't even near water, but that was what the official autopsy had ruled. To top off three strange, suspicious deaths, another man was missing--simply disappeared off the face of the earth, and there were no clues as to exactly where he was. Each death had been ruled as accidental; bizarre, surely, but accidental; Carter knew better. A super was behind this, he was sure.

"That'll be all, officer," he sighed again, resting his head on his palm. "If you need anything more, just call." The police officer nodded shakily and stood, walking out of Carter's office. Carter flicked through the papers, unsure of exactly where to start. It wasn't like Sunderland had a little list of the supers who lived in it. But if indeed a Super was behind the deaths, then Carter suspected that they weren't living in Sunderland, or hadn't, at least, until at least a couple of weeks ago. Carter shook his head and glanced out the window. This investigation would not be easy.

Alexander dragged his suitcase up the stairs to his apartment. The place had not been touched since he left Sunderland a year ago, but everything was fairly well kept. After a good hour of dusting the place, Alex unpacked his suitcase and sat down. The excavation was a huge success, although he would probably be kicked out if the team found out about the ring. As soon as he got up to go to bed, the phone rang.

Picking it up, he answered with a brief "Hello?"

"Alex, it's Jason here. I see that you got back?"

"Yeah, I'm goddamn tired, too."

"That's not why I called. You should hear about this."

"About what?"

"You know the comet that's been all over global headlines? Well, parts of it have split. Not even kidding."

"Look, Jason, this isn't the time to pull my leg."

"No, Alex, I'm se-" The line cut off. Alex sighed, blaming his terrible service provider, and tossed his phone on the ground. Pointing at it, he let loose a burst of electricity. In a matter of seconds, the phone was nothing more than a black clump of circuits and metal. Changing into a fresh set of clothes, Alexander walked to his bed and decided to call it a day.

Yvaine had started to consider going home; after all in a city this large it was doubtful she would be able to find one person. Soon she came to a halt and leaned against the wall of a building; decisions, decisions, decisions. She glanced up momentarily and a small smile flickered across her face; apparently her stalker hadn't given up. In the sky she could vaguely make out the figure of a flying bird. 'Apparently I had captured his attention even though she was disguised,' a small sigh escaped her mouth.

She began to devise a plan to get rid of her follower; perhaps if he was controling the bird through mental brain waves she could disrupt his connection. Though, she wasn't to sure since he was blocking her telepathy. Soon she was directing her power at the bird, but the more power she unleashed the more confused she became. It was true that this 'bird' was being manipulated by brain waves but the bird itself didn't seem to have thoughts of its own; almost as though it wasn't living.

From the darkness below the bird came laughter, Yvaine had finally figured out this super's power or at least one of them. He had the ability to control technology with his mind. Little does he know she can have a similar although more damaging effect on camera's and she had this small notion that this bird was exactly that a camera of some kind. Almost immediately she changed her game plan and began disrupting the 'bird's' feed to whom ever was controling it. Hopefully, even if it was only for a short time, he would recieve static and she would be able to hide from his line of sight.

Once she had attacked she ran faster and turned the corner; she was disapointed to see that the shop she had approached was closed, but since when did that stop her? She picked the lock with her telekinesis and entered the building, closing and locking the door behind her. Immediately afterwards she dropped to the ground and crawled across the floor and hid behind a piece of furniture where the light from the window did not reach. More than likely whoever bird brain was would not be able to find her unless her small attack didn't work.

Yvaine peered out from behind her hiding spot in time to see the bird fly away, 'too easy' she thought. Standing up she made her way over to the window and looked out; she couldn't see any other birds but she had a feeling they were there. She almost wished she didn't know because then she could have easily walked comfortably home, but not now. Slowly she began to open the window; from what she could figure the window hadn't been open in years because of all the fighting it put up against her. Still though she succeeded and climbed out; she then closed and locked it using her telekinesis, 'wouldn't want anyone finding out someone broke in'.

It was on a whim but she had decided that she was going to continue her journey on the side walk parallel to her. It was highly doubtful that would keep the bird's eyes off of her but at the moment she hardly cared. She wouldn't be able to do anything anyways unless she could locate the other birds. As she began to wander around the city she dropped her disguise, 'He knew who I am by now anyways. If only I could have the honor of meeting my follower' she thought.

As Yvaine meandered past shops, some open and some closed, she glanced in still trying to find the super who had blocked her. It was beginning to get frustrating, so many people and only one is who it is you want to find. Most of the time unless you could contact the person you could never find them. Usually she never had that problem either simply because she could hear other people's thoughts but this was a different case. Sighing, she again stopped and leaned against a brick wall, 'Perhaps I should just let it go and return home.' She looked up and glanced into the shop across the street, a twenty-four hour deli. She counted a grand total of two customers and they seemed to be discussing something. As she begand to walk away again she stopped abruptly; she could hear the thoughts of one customer and hadn't there been two.

Taking another glance into the deli a small smile flickered across her face and she crossed the street and stopped in front of the window. 'Found you,' she thought before tapping on the glass amused; apparently he was talking to someone named Alexander. She turned towards the door and walked in; at this moment in time she was loaded with confidence and the dire need to completely confuse the fellow. Placing a hand on a chair at the same table as the two she spoke, "May I?" without waiting for an answer she sat down and spoke again, "I just have one question for you," she said indicating the thoughtless man, "What kind of sub is that? It looks yummy." Right now she could care less what Alexander was thinking mainly because afterwards she would end up erasing his thoughts anyways.

Yvaine turned to Alexander who had gotten up to leave; she smiled some and decided to answer his question even though he never mentioned it. "Why Alexander, I want to know what kind of sub it is because I am starving and I would like to try something new. Is there a problem with that?" Her smirk quickly became more pronounced and soon inbetween her lips white teeth could be seen, "Oh and have a careful trip to London." she called after him. Amusement glistened behind her eyes; she would have to erase his memories before he left but she wanted to see his reaction first.

She looked over at the super apparently the name he had given Alexander was something related to Henry or Howard but for now she would leave it alone. Most of the time she would stray from making comments on someone's thoughts but the man she was sitting with had already figured out what one of her power's was so what was the point in continuing to hide it?

((Hey Zetta is it ok if I just erase the memories of Alexander ever seeing Yvaine? If not it is fine I just want your permission to do so.))

Yvaine looked behind her in time to see two droids coming after her; this needless to say would have pissed her off had she not have been in the pain she was currently in. They caught up all too quickly and so Yvaine stopped her retreat. If it had been any other night; a night when she hadn't just preformed a hit all of these things would be toast. Unfortunately it wasn't any other night it was this one and it would take a hell of alot of luck to get herself out of this one.

For a moment recollection of the times she was still a Shadow; back up would have been right behind her and Kayl would already have destroyed these droids with his touch of decomposition. He had been Yvaine bestest friends; always ready to defend her when she was in a pinch. Unfortunately he had also been defiled by the promise of fortune. Now because of her abandoning the team he has sworn that should they cross paths he would be the end of her, but now let us return to her current situation.

Yvaine analyzed the droids; they were well armed and definately well protected. However, she believed that she could get through the armor if she were to change her density. The thing was that it hurt alot without the added pain of the migrain and strain; whether or not she would be able to stay conscious afterwards was questionable.

She turned in time to see a droid raise a gun to her, "Idiot." she breathed. She pushed herself and slowly took a sliver of control over her telekenisis; it was just enough to keep the bullet from exiting the gun and thus blocking the next one. As consequence the pressure of the two shot's built inside the weapon and caused it to burst, "Now that's how you stop a gunman." she chuckled.

A sharp pain split through her head and soon the rest of her body; it felt as though every nerve in her body was being cut into. Yvaine would be unable to do anything like that again her brain couldn't take it anymore and neither could her body, but at this moment she didn't have much of a choice. She looked up at the other two droids; she would last long enough to destroy these things even if it killed her. As she glared a drop of blood flowed from her nose.

This however didn't stop her from attacking the droid closest. When the robot raised his hand to fire Yvaine dodged out of the path and behind a car. The bullets shook the car and glass broke all around her; unconsciously she covered her head to protect it. Even when the onslaught seemed to have ended she did not move. It was fortunate she didn't because only moments later it began again; the loud clanging of metal again metal rang in her ears along with the thoughts of the surrounding people and she screamed out in the agony it caused her. Finally from behind the car a hand could be seen falling from behind it; Yvaine's hand. One of the robots approached and bent down to grab her.

At that moment her eyes opened up and she sat up. Her hand proceeded to reach into the robot's armor; almost seeming to literally go through it. Yvaine cried out in obvious agony; her arm felt as though it were being ripped apart while the brutal pain of stress flowed throughout her body. Finally she had reached something in the robot's chest; wires. With the rest of her energy she pulled the cords out untill finally they were visable. Forcing herself even further she cut the cords with her telekenisis and the droid fell to the ground.

Yvaine stepped away from the robot; her whole body shook with exhaustion and pain. A steady stream of tears fell from her eyes while blood that originated from her nose dripped off her chin. "One more." she told herself, "I can make it." Unfortunately Yvaine would not be able to make it and would instead fall victime to her own weakness. The young woman collapsed and fell to the ground unconscious from either stress, exhaustion, or simply having her head hit the pavement.

"Wowzers," said alex as he took off his mask as the smoke had cleared up in the deli. "What a tough guy," commented Alex as he looked down at Alexander the electric wonder. Alex grabbed his cookie and preceded in finishing up. Shortly after the young boy from outside was brought in. "Interesting. I can't tell who's work this is just by looking but if I could run some tests that would be awesome.

"Holy moley," looks like Yvaine didn't make it either. Minutes passed as three droids had one captive each. Just then the 'spiders' arrived. Three huge mechanical spiders approached from the alley way. "A bit late I have to admit, but it isn't like I can't use them." The droids carefully dropped the three individuals on the ground as athe spiders approached. The inner four legs lifted the bodies up and soon a special wire was lowered and the spiders began to deftly wrap the three up in its 'webbing'.

"Now lets go for a drive", Alex said. Angela stopped the car in front of him and he got in after disposing of his trash. "Angela, take care of the clean up, okay?"

"Already underway, sir" she responded. As The captives and Alex were being transported by cars and trucks other cars were arriving and were fixing all the damage that had been done. Windows, cars, and walls all being repaired.
______________________

After a few turns here and there they convoy stopped. Disabling all electronic and digital security systems, as well as picking the fundamental lock with some neat gadgets. Alex walked into Yvaine's house and in his wake came three spiders and their wrapped victims.

Yvaine was placed on her bed and untied, Alexander was placed on the sofa and untied, The unknown boy was placed in a chair and untied. Alex took samples of each of their blood. He also opened his palm and allowed three small metal balls to open in his palm. They had the form of chameleons and he placed one on each of the people. Its color soon changed as it bent the light around it turning it invisible. "Just to keep track of you three. He then placed three cards on the table each with only a number in the center. He then started placing cameras throughout the house. Several more chameleons turned invisible on walls, lights, windows, mirrors, and doors. Every room was covered.

Alex needed to find out if these people knew each other, knew any other supers, or were part of an organization that he was in search of. Alex put a simple phone next to each of the cards.

Alex then left along with all his bots and droids. "See you all around" he walked out and got in the car. "Angela find us abandoned building nearby and start shipping stuff over I'm going to need more birds and soldiers. "And send me an update on what's going on in Russia".