I sluggishly walk through the dark streets of the suburbs only with the streetlights giving the way home.

I'm clutching my stomach and breathing heavily. Blood drips from my mouth as I pant and, in between moments, I cough the red liquid up.

My eyes are barely open and my legs are weak and trembling from the pain of the excess bullets left in my skin. Only a couple of times I've stumbled and almost fallen on the concrete pavement.

In my mind I can still remember the gruesome events from earlier at my apartment. The woman was a much stronger and dangerous opponent than what I expected, but because of my pride I fought until I couldn't anymore.

In the end the woman won and I had to shamefully retreat by jumping out a close window and sprouting my dragon wings from my back. I would have flown all the way to the twin's house instead of walking, but my stamina was too low to keep my giant wings flapping in the air.

In my blurry vision I can slightly see the twin's house nearby, so I try to quicken my pace, but my legs tremble violently and I fall hard on the sidewalk. I clench my teeth from the large pulses of pain seeping through my body. I curl my fingers and try to stand up, but my heavy body is too great for my weak, slender arms.

I stay on the hard floor and with the little energy that I have, I scream the twin's names to alert them of my presence. I keep screaming like a madman and I pound on the ground to call their attention.

No answer.

I scowl and I let out a vile curse as I channel magic into the palm of my hand. A small blue-colored ball of light springs out of my hand and floats quickly toward Alexander's room. I've used up all my power and strength, but my will hasn't run out yet.

I keep my eyelids open and I forcefully clench my teeth from the pain. As the last traces of hope flea my mind, a clumsily running boy stumbles out of the house. I smile with relief as I notice the blurry figure running to my aid is Alexander.

He dashes to my side and once he's notice the damaged that's been inflicted on my body, he worriedly tries to pick me up. As he stands on my right he puts my right arm around his neck and he puts his left hand on my waist to support me.

I'm taller than him and I weigh more, so I assume this is terribly hard for him, but he pushes on and continues to support me. He stumbles a couple of times, but his balance comes back to him as soon as it leaves his body.

He eventually leads me inside the house and starts to scream for help knowing his strength is starting to disappear. The first one to come running down the enormous staircase is Jean.

He's followed by a worried Ava and a confused Noah. They all descend off the stairs and come to my aid. Ava hurriedly grabs a first-aid kit and clumsily tries to bandage my wounds, but I raise a hand to stop her attempts.

Jean understands my refusal and quickly grabs the same bouquet of lilies off a table. I mentally talk to the lilies and they entangle themselves on my entire body. Jean lifts me up and rest my body on a nearby couch.

My clothes disappear and the lilies' petals cover every inch on my body. After the lilies have healed my wounds and my strength has recovered, I stand up and the petals change color and become my usual clothing: a crop top and mini skirt.

Ava and Noah gasp in shock, but they recover their composure when I give everyone a glare. "Remember when I said we would start our mission tomorrow after school?" I ask Noah and Ava. They both nod and listen intently.

I walk over to their kitchen and sit down on their counter. "We can't. We have to start now." I say and they all stare at me with sleepy, wide eyes. "But we have school tomorrow and we need to rest." Noah says first and I cross my legs as I rest my elbow on my knee.

"Then don't go to school." I say and the twins look at me uncertain. I wave a hand to dismiss the matter, since it's already been settled, and motion Alexander toward me. "Yes?" He asks in a timid voice as I look down at him.

"Go to my room and bring me the luggage I told you to pack. Not the bags with your clothes and belongings inside, but the ones that belong to me." I say and he hurriedly flies toward the location I sent him in.

I turn my gaze and stare at the twins. They straighten up and seem to ready themselves to follow orders.

"Noah, I know your quite the intellectual, so I need you to use the high-tech devices that I brought along for you to use to track down our foe." I speak my command and Noah understands my terms in a quick millisecond as he races up the stairs to catch up with Alexander.

I face Ava and notice her sangfroid expression. "I need you to do me a favor." I ask and she nods her head to show obedience. "I can no longer use my abilities nor magic anymore, since there's probably dozens of teams of demons and/or humans trying to track me down at the moment, so I have to lay low until we've tracked down the enemy. For the time being, I want you to become my personal bodyguard and my footman. Can you handle my request?" I ask and stare her down with my superiority.

She nods her head and smirks along with me. I lift myself off the counter and wait for Alexander to bring me my things.

He comes rushing down in midair and Noah hurriedly follows behind. Alexander holds my maps and war supplies cradled in his arms and some floating in midair around him, while Noah carries all the electronics and devices I authorized for him.

I motion Alexander to the coffee table in the giant living room and command everyone to group.

"Noah, you know what to do." I say and he hurriedly connects and wires all the technology, I've provided him with, in the corner of the living room, creating his own office of electronics.

"Ava, come over here." I motion her over to my suitcases filled with explosives and hand-to-hand combat weapons, along with long-range weapons. She stares in awe as she sees my arsenal stashed away in my luggage.

I call Jean and motion him toward me. He rushes to my side and I speak to him in low whisper.

"You're the designer, do your job and create suitable uniforms for the twins." I whisper and he nods his head in response, afterwards rushing to his room to get started on his work.

"Alexander, I promised I wouldn't let you get tangled up in this mess against your will, so you may go to your room and continue your sleep." I say and I assume he'll smile and swiftly race to his room and sleep, but he begins to pout and I can feel his displeasure.

"B..but..I want to help." He says timidly, hoping he won't receive a scolding from me. I walk up to him and gently pat his head.

"Alright, how would you feel about maneuvering Ava during a mission. You know, helping her sneak around a building, telling her which person she needs to eliminate, or even making sure she follows my direct orders and doesn't leave behind any evidence?" I say and Alexander's smile reappears.

He nods his head with pleasure and I motion him toward Noah. Hearing my orders, Noah sets up an array of computers and other devices for him to use.

"I've got something!"

Ava and I whirl our heads to the news from Noah. I rush in front of Ava and stand next to Noah, scanning his findings. "What is it?" I ask and Noah points at a list of people and a wide map of the state.

"So far, I've found a list of possible suspects that could be our guy. Secondly, I've pinpointed their exact locations and I have valuable information on them, such as addresses, job sites, their kid's schools, their wife's occupations and work places, and their connections." He started and takes a breath after saying his progress, I smirk and pat Noah on the back.

"Great Job, you'll be reward for this astonishing work." I say and Noah gives a thin smile, but I can tell his pride has boosted. "Send all this information to Ava's watch, she'll need it." I say and drag Ava toward Alexander.

I grab my devices from my bag and display them in front of Ava. I hand her an earpiece, a high-tech skeletal watch that goes all the way up to her elbow, and a pair of shades. She stares uneasy at the shades I've given her.

"These will allow you to see people's thermal energy and find any weapons under their clothing. They'll also show you which person is a demon, mage, or human just by using a different color on either which." I say and she nods her head as she begins to put the devices on.

Jean comes racing down the stairs with clothing in his hands. "Noah, Ava, come here for a moment." I beckon them over and they heed my command.

Jean uses his magic and morphs the twins clothing with the uniforms in his hands. Once the twins realize what he's doing they question me for a moment.

"What? We can't allow anyone to catch you on TV or something, it'll bring about problems." I say and they nod understandingly.

Jean had given the twins matching uniforms, but the masks they wear are different. Noah and Ava both have skeletal mask, but Noah's has a more bulkier skull and his mask covers his entire face, while Ava has a more feminine and skinnier skull that only covers half her face.

Noah's mask has a blue hue coloring around the empty sockets, while Ava has a more of a scarlet hue instead. They're both wearing the same thing, long, black trench coats that cover their entire body except their combat shoes. Ava has leather pants with a mini crop top, along with camouflage designs in some areas. Noah has the same trench coat and leather pants, but he wears a baggy camouflage shirt.

They both will have to hide their weapons inside their trench coats when they go on the field.

"These are so..so.." Ava stutters and I place my hand on her shoulder. "Wicked?" I finish for her and she nods her head in agreement.

"Alright! Let's put the outfits aside for now, Ava I have a high-tech motorcycle outside waiting for you. Use it when I send you on missions, like now for instance."

I say and Ava hurries to gather her things. I seem impressed at her calm expression considering the fact this is her first mission.

Ava's ready to go in an instant and Noah had already wired her earpiece and her skeletal watch to his computer. "Ava, if your ready, you have my permission to leave now." I motion her to the door and she swiftly follows my orders.

I watch her ride off on the dark streets with my body leaning against the door. I can feel a presence come near me and I turn my head to check. Jean is standing beside me.

"What is it?"

I ask and he crosses his arms and leans on his side of the door too.

"What are we going to do about Siva and the others?" He asks

"Nothing." I respond

"What?! Why?!" He says dumbfounded by my cold response.

"They'd be safer if we didn't try to look for them. There's a traitor in their midst." I speak in low whisper.

Jean stares at me with wide eyes that mean concern. He lowers his head and quietly whispers his response.

"Then what are we going to do?" He asks.

I silently look toward at the dark streets and the only light their giving off is from the street lamps.

"I'm going to talk them into escaping themselves..." I whisper.

Jean looks at me with disbelief and skepticism. "How? You can't use your powers." He asks me

I turn my gaze toward Jean and I respond. "When we find Connor J. Smith, I'll send Ava as a messenger." I say and I can tell Jean wants to continue protesting, but before he can I raise a hand in the air to silence him.

"The matter has already been decided, Ava understands my expectations and if I were to exclude her from this mission she'd probably lose confidence in herself, that is something a soldier needs to hold dire or they will die sooner on the battle field."

I lecture him and he solemnly nods his head. I sigh at his perfidy and I reassuringly place a hand on his shoulder.

"Relax, just because we're all kids doesn't mean we're not going to pull this off, ever seen any of those Home Alone movies before?" I ask jokingly and expect to hear Jean laugh and feel better.

However, his expression isn't exactly what I was expecting.

"Huh? What's Home Alone?"

I laugh bitterly when I hear that question from Jean.

"You seriously need to spend more time in the human world, pal." I say and walk back inside the house, leaving a confused Jean outside to ponder my suggestion.

Why must you always be such a smart ass?

I stop dead in my tracks.

"Oh damn." I say cringing from hearing the voice that I didn't miss.

"Where have you been?" I ask as I walk over to the kitchen.

I told you I wouldn't have any communication with you as long as you continued to give in to your insanity.

"Oh, that's right you did mention that before, but why are you still here? I thought you only came back just to help me control my insanity." I say as I grab a milk carton from the fridge.

I figured I should stick around for a while. Our magic is inside of you, so it would only seem practical for me to hang around.

"Basically you want us to become the best of friends." I sneer sarcastically at his explanation as I swallow down the delicious chocolate milk.

You might not believe me, I can understand that, but what other choice do you have? The magic surging through your veins is me. Like your insanity you might as well accept me too.

I gulp down the milk and try to drown out the annoying voice inside my brain. "How can I even trust you anymore, you only show up when you feel like it, your never there when I need you, and all you ever do is get me in trouble." I say as I wipe milk off the top of my upper lip.

Even if that's true, I still chose you for a reason. Your different, your strong and an intellectual. Do you honestly still want me to babysit you like the others?

I set the carton down and stare unconsciously outside. "Why me? Why did you choose me?" I ask with twitching eyebrows and a gripping frown.

When I saw you, I had a strong intuition, I felt myself pulling toward you. I didn't choose you, we chose each other. We were supposed to meet from the beginning.

I take a look at my reflection in the fridge and notice Alexander sleeping quietly on his computer desktop. I smile thinly at him and remember the circumstances that brought us together. I never thought I'd take on an apprentice and I assume Alexander never thought the Protector would ever care about him enough to take him in, it just happened.

"I guess I understand what you mean." I say and finish the last drops of the chocolate milk. "Is it safe to say it was destiny?" I ask jokingly and hear soft chuckles.

Heh, destiny has nothing to do with us, we make our own paths and nobody can decide for us.

I smirk and toss the carton into the near trash can. I walk toward Alexander and lightly tap his shoulder. He slowly opens his eyelids and once he notices me, he jolts off his desk and straightens himself on his chair.

I chuckle lightly and switch the computer's power button on. I yell a command and Noah comes rushing to my side like a disciplined soldier. "Get ready, Ava probably already arrived at the location by now."

Noah nods his head and quickly turns on his computer. I grab a chair from the kitchen and sit in between Noah and Alexander. "Ava are you there? Ava, it's Alexander." There's a bit of static on the other line, but Ava soon responds.

"Yes, I'm at the first suspect's location. There's a problem actually, the guy's family is outside having a cookout." She says on the other line. I lean back in my chair and chuckle lightly.

"Tell Ava this isn't a problem, if anything this is an advantage toward our goal." I say with a grin and Alexander follows my directions.

I rise off my chair and walk to the kitchen to eat a batch of cookies Ava whipped up earlier before she left. I gobble one down after the other. Then I grab a book off a nearby shelf and begin to read it standing up.

Bored as hell, huh?

"Yup." I reply and put away the algebra guide back on the shelf. I walk over to the glass double doors of the kitchen and walk outside. I sit down on the grass and I lower my back to lay on the ground. I spread my legs and arms as I stare at the starlight sky.

The sky is breath-taking, stars of many colors shine and glow in the night. There's a crescent moon hanging in the corner of my vision and if I turn my head at a certain angle, it looks like a smile.

The moon reminds me of Ches, giving the sky a mischievous, but dazzling taste to it. I can almost feel my eyes reflect the glimmer of the beautiful rays given off by the stars.

A magnificent sight, isn't it? It kinda makes me question your decision of living in the city.

I feel vines and flowers slither quietly toward me. They entangle themselves on my body and begin sprouting more flowers. "It reminded me to much of my old home." I reply back to my magic and close my eyes to relax.

A distraction, huh? That makes reasonable sense, besides you're never going to see them again, so what's the point thinking about them.

I feel more plants slither to my throat and gently brush their petals against my skin. I think they're trying to tell me I have to sleep. Or that I should eat more? Flower language is so complicated.

It's great not to have anyone around to fight, but it's become a habit, so it gets a little boring without any bad guys around to ploy with.

I nod my head as an answer and quietly lose consciousness as the energy the flowers are giving off begins to make me fall asleep.

Hopefully someone tries to kill us tomorrow, for our sake.

~

I feel small hands shake me gently and it caused me to wake up. I feel around with my hands and I realize I slept outside. I wince as the early sun's rays blast on my eyes.

"Good morning, I hope I didn't interrupt your sleep too early, but I didn't want you to miss breakfast, Protector."

My vision clears and adjusts to the sunlight. I turn and notice Alexander standing above me. "You can call me Elizabeth." I say and Alexander's eyes widen with shock.

"B..but! That's your secret identity, I'm not worthy of knowing the great Protector's true name!" He says and I smile thinly at him as I slowly stand up and reach for the sky to stretch my lazy body.

"You're my apprentice, of course you're worthy of knowing my name." I say and walk back inside the kitchen. I yawn loudly and rub my eyes aggressively. "Elizabeth, why are you in your zombie form?" Jean says jokingly and I laugh sarcastically at him.

I notice Ava is sleeping soundly on the couch and Noah is hurriedly trying to whip up breakfast for all 5 of us. I smile at him and he returns the jester as he tries to finish the scramble eggs in the pan.

"Need any help?" I ask and he stares back a little confused. "You know how to cook?" he asks with wide eyes and Jean chuckles at his expression.

"Of course she can, she lives alone and she often never eats, or orders, from fast food restaurants." Jean replies and Noah nods his head understandingly. I serve myself hot chocolate and sit down on the counter.

"Was the mission successful?" I ask and everyone's attention falls back on me. Noah sets my plate of food in front of me and grins.

"It went splendidly. However, Ava didn't find any evidence of the first 10 suspects being Smith." He finishes and walks toward Ava to gently wake her up.

"How many people are left in that list?" I ask and this time Alexander answers back. "Only about 20 more." I nod my head and chew my food calmly.

"I honestly thought we would quickly find Smith just by typing his name in Google, but I guess even humans are crafty, deviant creatures too. I assume progress has been slow because 'Connor J. Smith' could be an alias and not his real name." I finish and everyone nods their heads in agreement.

"Well, let's not brood on the matter! With one more day's worth of work, we'll track him down!" Jean replies cheerfully and everyone's mood lightens. I stand up and set my plate in the sink. I walk over to the living room and turn on the TV to watch the news.

I drop the remote when I see a recent broadcasting.

It's about my college.

"Oh no.." I whisper and I turn the volume up higher to hear the report clearly.

"We have a horrible report about a recent bombing in the area today. A college was anonymously attacked by a bomber whose demands were not fulfilled by the school. Were going to switch the screen to our reporter who is on the scene as we speak." The newswoman says as they air the scene at the college and is visible for the entire world to see.

My eyes widen and I let out a gasp as I see the college in complete ruins, nothing but gravel and dust left of the once giant school.

"I'm here today with the principal of the college, Mr. Brooklyn." She says as the chubby man with a stripped-colored tie steps into view. "Mr. Brooklyn, would you care to tell our viewers about the bombing that took place at your now destroyed college?" The woman asks and my former principal begins to reply with a solemn face.

"It happened so unexpectedly, everything was running smoothly as always, the students and teachers were going on with their agendas, I was filing paperwork, the custodians were going on with their daily chores, and then it happened..",

He takes a moment to compose himself before he has to continue with the gruesome events from earlier.

"I received a phone call in the morning from a mysterious phone number. I believed it could have been a parent or guardian, so I answered the call and a man answered with such politeness and adequate grammar, why I thought he was some sort businessman with the way he could charm a person",

Everyone begins to feel intrigued as they move to the living room to watch the news up close.

"But even though his charismatic voice was compelling, the way he cruelly demanded that I should sacrifice a student, for the sake of my college, sent shivers down my spine, especially that I knew the student well and cared for her safety."

He continues and I grip the seat as I fear for what he'll say afterwards.

"Would you care to tell the media who this student is and why she was tangled up in this sort of trouble?" The reporter asks Mr. Brooklyn and he winces at the thought of remembering the student being in such grave danger.

"Her name is Elizabeth Stone and for the reason a bomber would be after her, I don't have the slightest idea. She might have been a rebel sometimes and gotten herself into trouble or detention, but she had excellent grades and an IQ that could put the teacher's to shame." He replies and the reporter reads something off her clipboard.

"In the detective's report, there was no evidence of her at the college on that day, also she's been missing weeks of school and arriving afterwards with serious injures, bodyguards, and a personal doctor. Would you happen to know why?" She asks and he takes a moment to think.

"I don't know, but I'm worried it could be linked to the bomber." He responds and the woman nods her head solemnly. The screen is about to switch, but before the reporter can dismiss her story, Mr. Brooklyn snatches her microphone from her hand.

"Elizabeth, if your watching this, please listen to me! Please, don't do anything reckless that could get you killed! Just run away to safety and hide!'' He yells and the screen switches back to the newswoman from before.

I slowly stand up and everyone's eyes lock on my face. I smile and begin giggling, but my giggles suddenly turn into mocking laughter. Everyone stares at me with confused expressions.

"Ahaha..well! I think it's about time for us to sneak into that college, or what's left of it, to find some clue about our mysterious bomber...charmer my ass." I snort and whisper at the end as I wave Alexander over to get him into modern clothing.

"Elizabeth, maybe it's not such a great idea to go back there. What if the bomber has connections to Smith, or worse he could be him, then you can expect to find demons or mages there waiting for you. It could be a trap!" Jean yells and I turn around with my back facing him. Alexander uses his magic to morph his clothing into something I approve.

"All the more reason to go."

I say as I try to comb Alexander's messy hair into a new kempt hairstyle. I can feel everyone's stare burn into my back as I concentrate on Alexander, who doesn't seem dazed by my responses.

"I have felt bored lately, this ought to do me some good."

I say cheerfully and turn my head to smile at them, but they seem more confused than reassured. "I think it's a marvelous idea, I can get some training in, if they're really are waiting for us that is."

Alexander chips in and smiles deviously at them, along with me. Everyone stares at us as if we have horns sticking out of our faces.

"You're serious..?" Noah and Ava ask at the same time with their weird twin telepathy. I smirk and nod my head at their bewilderment. I help Alexander put on his jacket and his outfit's completed after I've done so.

I put on a leather jacket myself and grab a motorcycle helmet. "Everyone please bring your uniforms and weapons for when there is a trap, we wouldn't want the media getting anymore gossip." I say as I head outside.

Ava and I take the motorcycle while the others, reluctantly, ride Noah's car. The ride wasn't as long as I thought it would be and we arrived just before the detective crew did.

"I'll stay here, Ava and Noah will pry the detectives for data, or if necessary, steal more information from them. On the other hand, Jean and Alexander will walk around the ruins and ask witnesses for what they saw or heard",

Everybody listens to my orders and prepare themselves to leave, but before they can I stop them.

"I don't care if someone gets injured or worse, just do what's necessary to retrieve this information. Lie, steal, force, or threaten, just make me progress." I say and glare at them seriously to heed my expectations.

They nod solemnly and walk away with ease, knowing they will come back successful. Alexander stops walking and turns his head to smile at me, but it's not your usual sweet smile, it's the type that shows confidence and arrogance.

It's the type I would wear.

I return his smile with the same confidence and arrogance I hold, and I notice a twinkle in his eyes as he walks away.

You know, one day he'll turn out exactly like you.

I grin and nod to myself as I rest my shoulders on the motorcycle's handles.

"Hopefully."

~

After waiting in the same spot for what felt like an hour, I slowly start to rest my head on the handles. I slowly begin to snore as boredom swells over me.

Wake up.

I groan and swat the thought away, trying to desperately sleep away my stress.

I'm serious. There's someone watching you.

My body stiffens and my eyes widen as my mouth lets out a small gasp. "Where?" I ask quietly as I stay in the same place with my head on the handles.

Look to your right. There's a woman with blonde hair styled into a fishtail braid. She's been standing in the same spot for 5 minutes now.

I slowly rise my head and pretend to stretch my arms in the air. "Please tell me it isn't her." I ask sourly and turn my head to catch a glimpse of the woman, as subtle as possible.

Sorry to shatter your confidence, but it is.

"Tch." After spotting the woman, I reach my arms to grab the helmet I left on the ground.

No. Don't do that, if you leave, she'll follow and you know it will lead to a fight.

I stop my arms and rest them on the handles again to not show tension. "You know me so well, but I have to lead her away or she'll alert the rest of her companions and we'll fail to find any clues or data."

She doesn't know your identity, you can just walk away and leave it at that.

"Kalis was a spy, who knows how many more of them were in my life, I can't take anymore chances. My identity has probably been revealed to every last one of Smith's followers by now." I say as I grab the helmet and start the engine of the motorcycle.

Just kill her before she rats you out. I wasn't very fond of the fact that she defeated us last time.

I drive the motorcycle slowly and gain speed as I leave the college's ruins. I arrive at a hill near the ruins and cut off the engine as I step off the bike.

I keep my gaze forward as I sense someone behind me. I grin devilishly and fold my arms.

"A pleasure to see you again." I can hear that sweet, seductive voice mock me from behind.

"I wish I could say the same." I respond and she laughs mockingly. "I knew you have feelings for me, you couldn't stay away could you?" She says and I can sense her tongue licking her bottom lip.

In a millisecond, I whirl around and dash for her. I come face to face with her and sneer at her response from earlier.

"First of all, you followed me here. Second of all, if I loved you I wouldn't want to kill you, now would I?"

I whisper and send her flying backwards into a tree after kicking her forcefully. Blood squirts from her mouth and she giggles sweetly.

"Me-ow!" She says and I snort at her comment.

This ought to be an interesting version of a chick fight.

I grin and ready myself for an attack as the woman races toward me.

"Yes, very." I respond and the woman slams her fist against my jaw line. I fall back and feel the bruised spot on my face. I laugh and aim for the woman again.

I'm no longer bored.