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We interrupt your regularly scheduled program to bring you this important news! 46 year old Marcus Fulingham has escaped police today while in transport to Virginia state penitory. Fulingham was convicted last month of a double homicide and kidnapping with intent to kill. He is considered at large and dangerous. He was last see in the Destiny City area moving on foot...

Vera didn’t have time to hear anymore as the world seemed to flash white before there was a crash loud enough to make her jump off her seat! As things settled and the rain went back to beating down on their windows, Vera realized that the boom she had heard wasn’t just thunder...it was the power.

Standing in the living room as night was setting in, Vera took two long, deep breaths before making her way over to the drawer she knew Isaac had put a flashlight in. Candles. She needed something else this house was going to be a walking maze in another 30 or so minutes.

Isaac had gone into the base easier that day, before the weather had shifted and while she knew things came up all the time, she was starting to get worried about him being late. Especially in this weather. A quick glance out the window told her it was coming down even harder than before. “Lovely.” She mumbled as another crack of lightning blazed across the sky. She winced at the thunder before finding the flashlight and heading to her bedroom for a few of the candles she kept as well as her book.

Though before she did any of that, she grabbed her phone and sent -Be safe out there. Stay at the base if you have to. It’s nasty out.-


Isaac looked at his phone then walked over to the window and peered outside through the metal blinds. According to the radio the wind speeds had reached 40 MPH and had managed to knock down a few trees in a few key neighborhoods. At a glance he could see branches and trash cans rolling outside in the flickering lights.

-No, It will take a bit longer but I’ll be home this evening.-

If he got stuck here there was no telling what kind of tasks would be thrown his way since going outside was not an option until things started to lighten up. Plus he really didn’t want to run into First Sergeant Andrews. It had been long enough since he had been recruited into the Negaverse that it would be a bit awkward to run into him without Stibnite here as well.

-Is everything ok?-


Having set up the candles around her chair by the window and grabbed a glass of water, Vera had curled herself up on the chair and opened the window just enough that she could feel the breeze outside and hear the rain. She didn’t want to get soaked but stuffy air SUCKED.

-Powers out. Sounded like a tree took down the power lines.-

Nothing more after all. Just a quiet night until he got home and…

BAM.

Vera jumped up as she jerked her head towards the otherwise of the house. The sound had come from the direction of the bedroom and made her heart skip a beat.

Rising up, Vera shut the window before heading towards the rooms. She check her own first and nothing looked….out of place. Yet in Isaac’s, while everything appeared in place, she couldn’t help but notice one thing that made her blood suddenly run cold.

-Um...the taser is still in your dresser right?-


-Yes, why?- Isaac replied rather quickly. It seemed rather odd for her to be asking for a weapon of any kind.

Not waiting for her to reply to his text, Isaac called her phone instead. “C’mon, pick up” He paced back and forth at least twice while the phone continued to ring before being sent directly to voicemail. Again he re-dialed assuming she may have canceled the call by mistake.


Seeing the yes, Vera walked over to the dresser, opened the drawer and quickly pulled out the little device. Sure she knew he had guns...somewhere...but she rather not go to that route ever. She did not like holding them. Instead she rather just shock the hell out of some….thing.

In her hand, her phone started to ring the all too familiar ringtone for Isaac but Vera didn’t answer.

She had froze in place now hearing the same sound as before back in the living room. Freezing in place, she didn’t move but just listened. The bam against the glass had her heart racing in her throat as she ran through the possibilities. Wind. Animals. Tree branch…

Glancing back at his window and seeing the mud dripping down the glass, Vera could only sallow.

The phone rang again and snapped her out of it.

“Hell….hello?”

Her voice shook and she tried to will herself to move to glance back down the hallway.


“What’s going on? Did something happen?” As long as all the doors and windows were locked there should be no reason for her to sound so scared. There were several weapons around the house hidden in places that would otherwise be overlooked, all of which she knew where to find them despite resisting his request to at least learn how to use them.


She wanted to say it was nothing. She wanted to tell him he was being silly and she was fine. Just wanted to make sure she was fine since…”An inmate escaped in the area.” She found herself saying as she took a deep breath and finally made it to his bedroom room. She still hadn’t walked through it when she heard another BAM. It was still in the living room.

“s**t…” She whispered remembering she shut the window but didn’t lock it.

She looked behind her and at the window. The mud print was nearly gone but that didn’t change the image in her mind. “Isaac there was a handprint on your bedroom window…”


“Vera. I want you to listen to me carefully.” Isaac walked over to his desk and grabbed his coat off the back of the chair. “Close the door to my bedroom and lock it. Then go over to the bed and push on the headboard. It’s the same shotgun you’ve held before.” The weight alone had made her uncomfortable but at least she knew what to expect when it dropped down.

“I’m on my way home now. Do you have a flashlight with you?”


“....y….yes…” Vera mumbled, suddenly hearing the calm, authority in his voice. Doing a double take at the door, she quickly stepped back and closed it, listening for the click as it slid into place and she turned the lock. It took her a second as she listened again but heard nothing but...silence.

She wasn’t sure if that helped her nerves at all.

His voice had started to make her shake but still she moved towards the bed and continued to follow orders. Pushing on the headboard, the gun fell from its hiding place, causing her to bounce. Now started both the battle of protection and her mental one that she had for such a piece. Respect it he had said. Oh she feared it. Just having such a thing in her hand made her nervous but how could she say no?

“Okay. I have it…”

Turning her eyes back to the window, she realized the wind had picked up again, causing the trees to almost bend with it. God it was too much. Even if she wanted to make a run for it…”Isaac, I’m…” She couldn’t say it.


“I know, it’s ok. Go into my bathroom, close the door and get into the tub. I know you don’t want to but that gun is what’s going to protect you. If there is someone there then I want you to use the light to blind them if anyone opens the door then pull the trigger.” Times like this he really wished that she would at least have spent time practicing with him on what to do in the event of an intruder or at least gone to the practice range so the kickback wouldn’t frighten her like he knew it would.

“Vera? I don’t want you to be distracted with me on the phone. I’m going to hang up and call someone who can hopefully get there before me. Put your phone on silent for me ok?” He waited a moment for her to reply. “Vera?” s**t...


She was shaking as she listened to his instructions. The reality of the situation was starting to set in as she heard something else. A muffled thud coming from somewhere else in the house. It wasn’t the only sound but she didn’t stick around to listen much more.

Hanging out without another word, Vera grabbed the gun and made quick steps towards his bathroom. Trying to move quickly, she smashed her food against the frame of his bed. Though she felt the pain of her toes, she couldn’t scream. She couldn’t make more sounds than needed.

As she stumbled into the bathroom, she put the gun down on his vanity to quickly shut the door and tried to find anyway to lock it. Something….anything…

Thunder crashed outside again, closer this time and she felt the entire house shake. The scream inside of her couldn’t be contained as she let it out, throwing her hands over her head. “Isaac…” She whined, grabbing the gun and climbing into the tub. Taking the gun, she tried to hold it how he had shown her before. She tried to be steady but she was shaking so hard…

“Please...hurry…” She mumbled, phone falling to the side of the tub as she hugged the faucet into her back and tried to sink into the wall.


“I’m on my way…” As much as he didn’t want to, Isaac hung up and immediately opened his contact list. Scrolling to the I’s he click on his captain’s name and hit send, hoping beyond reason she wasn’t powered up on patrol and answer her phone.


The phone ringing wasn’t a surprise to Imara White. It was always ringing whenever she tried to get through work. Half the time it was family. The other half, sales calls.

This time, as she gazed down at the caller ID, she wasn’t sure what to classify the caller. Slide the answer button, she turned from her husband who she was yet again scolding for allowing someone to pay late without telling her, and walked back towards her office at the gym.

“To what do I owe the pleasure?” She asked directly, avoiding pleasantries. She had given him her civilian number in case of emergencies. Imara had a respect for the man on the other line but she wasn’t going to be calling him for chit chat nor him her.


“Good you’re there. I know it’s late but I need you to do me a favor please.” There was a hurried panic in his voice as he continued. “Someone may have broken into my house. The woman that’s been living with me is holed up in my bathroom absolutely terrified.”

“I need to get home now, but I’m on base and I don’t have time to look for First Sergeant Andrews. Can you help me please?” The urgency behind his request was something that couldn’t be denied especially coming from someone who was typically calm, calculated and took measured steps before jumping into a situation that may turn horribly wrong.

Yes he should call the cops, but with the storm and downed power lines there is no way they could make it there in time especially if this convict she had mentioned had broken into his house. “Please, whatever it takes, I need your help.” If she doubled, or even tripled, his quota then so be it but Vera needed him and he refused to let her down.


If the phone called surprised her, the urgency in his voice knocked her off her feet. “Isaac, I want you to stay where you are, hang up the phone, and power up. I know the base well enough so I can get there but I don’t want to waste time tracking you down if this is as serious as it sounds.”

“I will be right there.” She didn’t even wait for him to hang up as she glanced back at the opened door, eyed Mathias who was looking in to check on her, powered up into General Stibnite and disappeared from sight.

Thanks to her husband and his family, she knew the base pretty well. Well enough at least to ‘break into’ the base because how do you guard against teleporting. She landed in a storage closet that she had mentally mapped out in case of needing to do just such an item because the chances of someone being there was little to none.

“Come on. Where are you?”


From the time they hung up Isaac made haste to find an empty office space that had working blinds so nobody could see him once he powered up. He would have already done so in the room he had already been in when Vera called but the office belonged to one of his superiors whereas his own desk was in an open cubical area that shared space with others of his rank.

They really should have decided on a place to meet because his ability to sense auras didn’t even span an eighth of the building he was in. TO put it into perspective, he was a sitting duck or a fish in a barrel just waiting for Stibnite to find him because until then, there was literally nothing he could do without raising suspicion.


“There you are.” Stibnite whispered as she felt the aura of flare to life just to the south of her. Turning, even though she faced a wall, Stibnite disappeared again just as someone turned the door knob coming to get a pack of paper or toilet paper.

A blink of an eye and she appeared just inside the closed window, fully armed with her crossbow in hand and the blank look of a hunter across her face.

Extending her hand towards him, she didn’t even wait for him to say another word. Part of the phone number change also included locations of homes just in case of backup was needed. Back up more she needed to find him. As a lt, she was still concerned of dedication and participation, not that she would ever show up without notice. They both owned guns. They both shot.

Neither one of them would ever want to be on the other end of a barrell.

“Let’s go.”

And she zapped them into his backyard, in the middle of the storm.


The power signature that had appeared beside him was actually quite startling but before he could even make a comment, or make a move to step away, she had already teleported them to their destination without so much as a hello.

Within seconds his uniform was soaked from the torrential rain pounding against them but he made no move to seek shelter, not yet. Despite the limited visibility, from where they stood, he could see the shattered sliding glass where a tree branch had fallen into it. But that wasn’t what deepened the frown on his face. While he had hoped that it was just a frightened critter that had gotten inside, the door that had been left ajar was reason enough to deepen his frown.

“I don’t mean to overstep your authority here. But please stay out here. I already have one civilian to worry about right now I can’t be responsible for you as well.” If there was, in fact, someone in his home, they weren’t powered which he was thankful for. But it also meant that he had no clue where they would be once he got inside. “Please just watch my back from out here and stop anyone that tries to get away.”

Isaac gave his now General a look which left little room for negotiation. This was his home, the woman inside was his responsibility and while he knew Vera had a gun he had no idea if the intruder did as well. Stibnite already did enough by bringing him here and although he knew she was capable of handling herself, right now it simply wasn’t a risk he was willing to take.


Without a word, Stibnite gave a simple nod. He would either explain later or he would not. Truth was that it did not matter to her but she could hear enough in his voice to know something was very wrong.

Red eyes flickered towards the open door and her own face set.

“You have my word.” Stibnite offered, raising her crossbow slightly before she shifted from the center of the yard towards a more advantage angle where she could see windows and door.

This was not her fight but she would not allow him to go alone. No one under her care would ever say she was not dependable when needed...especially when it came to loved ones. Those were the reasons they fought after all.


Dravite nodded his head once in thanks then summoned his weapon as he approached the door. For a second he paused knowing the next lightning strike would happen soon which would allow him a glimpse inside.

As anticipated a streak of light jumped from one cloud to the next three times before striking the cell tower about two miles away. It offered him just enough of a glimpse to take note of a long shadow cast from the living room or dining room area down the hallway, beside it was a droplet trail of blood. They’re injured

As much as he would like to take it as a good sign, a lot could have happened in the minutes it took for them to arrive and, without going inside, he had no idea whose blood it belonged to. However, there was one thing he was sure on; the person inside was definitely a man.

Thankful for the sound of heavy rainfall pounding against the house in waves and the rumbling thunder that rolled over the neighborhood, Dravite quietly slipped through the back door mindful of where he stepped. This had been his home for several years which meant he knew where every squeaky board was regardless of the items that had been knocked over onto the floor.

Like a shadow, he moved silently past the kitchen, each muscle taught with anticipation of an incoming attack. For a brief second he had anticipated retrieving the gun from the fake wall vent but knew that if he missed or the suspect had a gun of his own then there was a chance a stray bullet could find its way upstairs where Vera was hiding. His tub was sturdy but he wasn’t about to take the risk.

From around the corner he heard a hissing sound, a sharp intake a breath followed by the sound of a hushed deep voice “Son of a b***h.”

Another lightning strike from outside illuminated the inside of his house allowing him to catch the reflection of the assumed-to-be convict using a pair of pliers, which had been left out from when Isaac had tried to fix the TV, to dig out a shard of glass from his forearm. That explains the blood droplets. Not that the revelation mattered, the intruder was going to die either way.

The exact moment the rolling roar of thunder boomed outside, shaking his house with it’s tremendous concussive power, Dravite struck. Like a viper striking it’s targets, his movements silent yet fluid as he swiftly closed the distance between them. As much as he wanted to shoot the man or break his neck he did not want to deal with the mess that followed after such aggressive acts, which is why he took advantage of the intruders exposed back and shoved his hand into the man's chest just as Stibnite had showed him once before; the exact same way First Sergeant Andrews did the day Dravite had joined the Negaverse.

However, instead of pumping chaos into the fragile seed, a skill he did not yet possess, Dravite squeezed it to the point of it almost shattering before pulling it out completely. The convicts mouth hung open in a soundless scream before clutching the fabric of his shirt and falling forward over the back of the couch into the narrow space between it and the coffee table.

For several minutes Dravite stood there gazing down at the lifeless form, a face he did not recognize as being one of his neighbors. His adrenaline was pumping as it did each time he had been deployed overseas, caught in the throes of another battle. Every fiber of his being wanted to crush the crystal he held onto, to completely destroy the terrorist that had invaded his home. This was the second time something of this nature had happened this year and though the first time could be forgiven after realizing their intent, this one could not be ignored.


The silence of the rainfall should have been calming to most but when there was a hunt going on, it just made the hunter even more tense.

Stibnite had remained in the yard, counting silently between the thunder as she watched Dravite disappear and a silence fell over the yard. What would amount to about five minutes went by before she raised her crossbow and began the slow walk back towards the door she had watched him enter. The rain made mud was covering her boots and she knew she was going to track but other things were more important than a clean floor.

Taking note of the broken glass door, Stibnite stepped inside, careful not to break anymore glass but she couldn’t move around the old floorboard noises like the house’s master could.

Following the same play Dravite had, Stibnite came past the kitchen and took in what was at the other end of her crossbow: a fallen man with her charge holding his starseed in hand. The man was clearly not powered by any means, at the time, but nor was he an innocent of any kind.

Raising her bow, Stibnite dismissed it before she walked the rest of the distance on light feet towards the body.

Wordlessly she gazed down at the body, its arm still dripping blood from the glass shards inside it, and then up to the man standing above him. She was about to speak with a loud thud came from upstairs. Something large had dropped and hit the ground above them breaking the silence from below.

“Go to her.” Stibnite whispered, her hand reaching out for the starseed. “I’ll take care of him. You have other things to tend to.” No smile. No warmth. Just an understanding as she glanced back up at the ceiling before placing her other hand on the still warm body.

Upstairs, Vera sat curled up on the floor of the bathroom, shaking with silent tears so badly that she had given herself hiccups! She had heard the sounds downstairs. She had heard movement. Cursing. A thud.

She had tried to take up arms but in the end, her shaking even made the gun too much to hold. So she had sealed herself inside, trying to go through what she could do if...when...someone opened that door.


“I go to her as I am it might frighten her more; like this I’m a stranger to her and may as well be no better than him” Dravite nodded towards the lifeless body. They had only met once, briefly, while he was powereed up “But if I power down it will raise questions on how I got here so quickly since I just hung up with her before calling you.”

It was a difficult position to be in because all of him wanted to go upstairs, to pull her out of the tub and just hold her until she calmed enough to stand or eventually fell asleep. However, his loyalty to the Negaverse, to the General beside him, is was ultimately rooted him in place. Even though Stibnite had given him leave to go upstairs, he knew that once Vera started to get curious, he wouldn’t have any way to respond.

“Whatever happens, promise me she won’t get pulled into any of this. She’s been through enough already, I don’t want her to be a part of this. Mark’s offer to join the Negaverse came on the tail end of me receiving my deployment notice. Ultimately I accepted so I could better protect my family and those I care about here from terrorists like him. I fight so people like her don’t have to. ” Dravite leveled his gaze on the General’s back, waiting her her reply.


“I cannot tell you how to handle it as that is your choice unless you want me to go to her but I don’t think it would help as much as seeing you.” Stibnite offered, looking at the man before her with a steady gaze. “I can only offer my assistance in dealing with personal matters.”

“However,” Stibnite knelt down to yank the head of the body upwards as she could look at his face. It wasn’t one she recognized so she let it go with a thud. “I can assure you that if you tell me her name and show me a photo, I will do my best to see she remains untouched by our side at least.” Rising up, she met his eyes once more and held them. “But don’t let your love for her blind you from using your head. We need our humanity as much as our powers to battle the white moon. But we cannot let them cloud our judgement.”

He didn’t need to know her own situation. It was none of his business after all.


Dravite paused when she had mentioned the word love. Stibnite hadn’t been the first person to have made that comment. Before he had argued that he was responsible for Vera and had admitted that he was a bit protective her, especially after the incident with that slutty corrupt, but hearing it a second time… could he really disagree? With his adrenaline amped up it was really hard to parse out his individual feelings especially after just killing a man. Nonetheless she had made a valid a point about not letting whatever it was between them get in the way of doing what needed to be done.

“Thank you, I’ll get you the information as soon as I can.” Dravite then willed his uniform away so he stood in his military uniform once more. “I don’t know how things like this in the Negaverse are handled, but I don’t want to have her see this mess.” He really didn’t know how Vera would handle seeing a dead body in the living room; somethings the human mind just couldn’t handle and he did not want to break her any further.


“I will handle what is left of him.” Stibnite offered as she watched Dravite shift back into Isaac. “The starseed?” She asked, bending down and lifting the man with a bit of an adjustment into her arms. She carried the body bridal style as she glanced over to him. “Destroyed or?”


“I haven’t decided yet…” This incident was more personal than professional and while he wanted to erase the man from existence entirely, he knew the value of what he held in his hand.

Isaac’s lips pursed into a dangerously thin line before finally holding his arm out to Stibnite. “Here, I owe you for getting me here quickly. I don’t know what I would have done if he would have found her.” Death was an inevitability regardless of when he arrived but how it came to be would have drastically changed.

After a moment he finally relinquished his hold on the starseed to drop it into the General’s outstretched hand. “Thank you,” His voice was noticeably calmer, perhaps it was due to his training or incidents that happened while on deployment that he spoke to noone about. Either way, despite his tone leveling out to something more approachable his remained as taught as Stibnite crossbow string. That fire in his eyes would not be diminished for some time. “I’ll be upstairs if you could let me know once he’s been taken care of I’ll take care of cleaning up the rest.”


Her hand closed around the starseed and she re-adjusted her hold on him. “Don’t worry. He won’t harm anyone ever again.”

There was a note to her voice unlike anything he would have ever heard. Oh she could have guessed what the man would have done should this soul have found the woman upstairs. Death would have been a kindness.

A kindness he will be begging for when she was done with him.

“Take tomorrow off. We can meet again Saturday.”

And she was gone.