Disclaimer: All copyrighted material belongs to Cassandra Clare. However, this story is AU and will therefore contain some non-canon pairings and mostly non-canon situations and plots.

She walked head up, shoulders out, focused entirely on her destination, her stride pure New York. She had quickly realized that that was the best way to function in the city, and she found that it suited her. No eye contact, no shy glances, no memory of the people walking by. And she knew no one would remember her.

Except one person, she thought irritably as she felt the new phone vibrate in her pocket. She pulled it out impatiently. "What?" she asked shortly.

"Clarissa, where are you?"

Clary rolled her eyes. She was starting to get very tired of Hodge and his insistence on near-constant contact. "Shall I give you a play-by-play? I'm at Eighth and Broadway. I'm approaching the subway station. I'm stepping forward..."

"How soon will you be here?" he asked, with a martyred sigh.

"If only I knew. The N is a source of great mystery to me."

"Clarissa," Hodge snapped, and she stopped in her tracks, startled. He was rarely sharp with her, which was why she spoke to him the way she did. "This is important. I found him."

For a moment, she was silent, shocked into speechlessness. Then she recovered. "I'll be there in fifteen minutes."

And with that, she began to run.

. . .

"I swear to God, Alec, I will end you," Jace muttered, and with that, he shot off Alec's head.

"What the fuck, man?" Alec moaned, watching his virtual body fall. "That's not even how this game works! We're supposed to be a team!"

Jace laughed. "Well, we were right up until you mentioned Greenberg and my mom, at which point you had to go."

"Traitor," Alec said mournfully. "Besides, I think Mr. Greenberg will make a wonderful addition to your family." He raised his eyebrows. "As in, make a wonderful addition to your family."

"Oh, Christ, Alec, no!" Jace punched his friend in the shoulder and then covered his face. "My mom holding a little mini-Greenberg...why would you put that image on my brain?"

"Well, you did shoot my head off."

"I hope that is seared in your mind's eye forever, much as carnal relations between my mother and my teacher are seared in mine."

Alec considered this. "It probably wouldn't be so horrifying if you didn't refer to it as 'carnal relations.'"

Jace shuddered. "Let's just not refer to it at all."

The two sat in companionable silence for a moment, until Alec checked his watch and sighed. "I should get back. I have work tonight."

"It sucks that you work so much. Actually, it kind of sucks that you work for your parents."

"It's not so bad," Alec said, and Jace noticed again the odd tightness in his voice he got when they talked about his job, something he still didn't know what to make of. "I'd better go, though."

"Yeah, see you," said Jace, looking after him thoughtfully.

Jace and Alec had been friends for a long time, but he had always had the sense that he was missing something important, that there was something Alec wasn't telling him. Isabelle and Max were different, not nearly so mysterious, or brooding, or whatever it was. But then, his mother was the same way as Alec, and so was her friend Luke, who was like a father to Jace.

Privately, he had always thought that Luke would be his father someday, and it hurt a little to know that wasn't going to be true. But then, maybe his mother needed someone happier, someone who didn't seem quite so...haunted. In the edges of his memory, he saw-

Nothing. Jace blinked, then rubbed his temples as a familiar headache began to build. They had explained it to him; he had occasional hallucinations, and with it came nausea and headaches. It was nothing to worry about, the doctor had assured him. It was common, and if Jace couldn't find any reference to it no matter how hard he searched, well, research on the condition was just beginning.

Still, he couldn't help feeling sometimes as though everyone around him was hiding something, as much as Luke told him that that was just part of being a teenager.

He pulled out his phone, feeling the sudden need to distract himself, and, with nothing better to do, started a message to Alec.

Hey. Pandemonium tonight?

It was rare that Alec texted back while he was working, but today, it seemed, was a slow day.

Mehh...shitty music.

Jace had to agree, but... They're 16+, he pointed out. His fake ID was useless-it said he was thirty-three, for one thing-and, attractive as he was, he had found that attempting to seduce the bouncer was not a good idea. Especially since he didn't really swing that way.

Fine. 10:30?

See you then. At this point, he was starting to feel really sick. He leaned back against the couch, and immediately fell asleep.

. . .

Clary had slipped into the club from the back and was now regretting it. Cornering the demon here had seemed like such a brilliant idea at first, but what she hadn't counted on was actually finding it again. And then there was the matter of the Lightwood boy. This Jace was protected, nearly constantly; if it hadn't been for his connection to the New York Institute, she doubted they ever would have found him. Who knew who else was watching over him?

She'd planned on simply letting him see her seraph blade. If he really did have Raziel's blood, he'd see through the glamours. He would be drawn to it. The rest would have been easy. Now, it seemed, she would have to take alternate measures.

She pushed through the crowd, narrowing her eyes. The unfocused part of her, the part of her which she took great pains to shut up but never quite would, was busy trying to work out what part of this place was supposed to be entertaining. How did people ever find each other? Irritably, she weaved her way over to a relatively empty space and examined the room.

She saw a flash of blue hair for a second, then another blur of motion-a tall boy, with dark hair and scars tracing his long arms.

And behind him, another boy, blonde and familiar.

Without a second thought, Clary ran. She could still save this...if she let Lightwood have the demon and followed Jace instead...There was no time to think of another plan. This would have to do.

She placed a hand on his shoulder, stopping him. "Hey, what's the hurry?" she asked, her voice low and warm.

He turned around to face her, a look of annoyance on his face. "My friend-"

Clary cut him off. "It's all right. Now you're making new friends." She grinned, and let her arm slide down to the small of his back. "See?"

This was hardly her best seduction effort, harried as it was, but it seemed to be working well enough as a distraction. He leaned in, putting his hands on her waist. "I guess I am."

She giggled, still calculating but fairly sure he wasn't paying enough attention to notice. She had no idea how good Lightwood was, nor whether he would recognize her, but she didn't want to take a chance on either, which meant she had to get Jace out as soon as possible. "You know," she said playfully to him, "I hear that my place is very conducive to new friendships."

He looked surprised for a second, then smiled slowly. "And where is this social paradise?"

"Not far at all," she assured him. "It's in the fifties...and it is well worth the walk."

Jace pulled her in, and even through her anxiety she felt a sudden increase in her pulse, heat in her cheeks. "In that case-"

"Jace!"

Clary froze, trying to decide what to do. She knew how suspicious she must look to the other Shadowhunter. She was wearing a turtleneck and jeans to cover her skin and practically dragging Jace out the door, but in her experience of the city, strange behavior was expected, even encouraged. Just as long as he doesn't recognize me, she thought fervently.

Lightwood was panting slightly as he joined them, his hair messy and his eyes wild. "Sorry, I-who is she?"

Clary tried not to feel insulted by the disgust in his tone.

"Well..." Jace looked at her, apparently at a loss.

"I'm Anna," she said, which was the first female name she could think of. She smiled up at Jace, then, without turning her head, added, "We're a little busy."

Lightwood was scrutinizing her. "I know you."

"I was in a Cheerios commercial when I was younger." Silently, Clary thanked the Angel for Hodge's habit of sleeping with the TV on. She still wasn't entirely sure she knew what a Cheerio was, but she could recite the whole script.

Jace sighed. "Fascinating as all this is, can you leave us alone, Alec?" He pulled her onto the dance floor for emphasis.

"Yeah..." Although he moved away, Lightwood continued to stare at Clary until she and Jace disappeared into the crowd.

. . .

"Sorry about Alec," Jace shouted over the music. "He can be a little, ah...invasive."

"I understand," Anna said, laughing a little. "So how did the two of you meet?"

She had a slight, lilting accent that Jace found very sexy. He leaned in closer, his hands sliding to her hips as their bodies swayed to the music. "I don't really remember. We've been friends for years."

"Mm," she said, then reached up and slid a strand of hair behind his ear. He shivered a little at the contact. "Well, we can always go somewhere where he can't, you know...invade."

Jace did not usually go home with strangers, but he was feeling reckless and still a little off from the headache that afternoon, and maybe even a little angry. With Alec, with his mom, with himself for stubbornly holding on to this strange conviction that they were hiding something. "I wouldn't say no to that."

Anna tensed suddenly. "Looks like your friend's coming back. Come on, let's go."

She pulled him by the hand and darted through the crowd, turning around to smile at him-although even in the darkness it seemed a little forced. He frowned, then thought dryly that it was probably just another hallucination.

He turned around to look, and there was Alec, looking panicked, pushing people out of the way in his haste. Jace stopped, still holding Anna's hand. "Hey, he looks really upset about something. I should wait."

"He probably just doesn't want you to leave," she said, pulling him again.

He looked back at her, frowning again. "Why do you want to leave so badly?" he asked her warily, looking around. They were nearly at the back exit, in the empty hallway behind the main room.

"When you meet a handsome stranger," she said, tracing a line up from his hand to his wrist, and then circling the bone there, "you don't want to let him get away." She looked up, holding his gaze.

Jace grinned at her. "I promise you, I am nothing if not chivalrous." He glanced away. "Come on, he's almost here. Let's just see what he wants."

Anna took a long breath, her hand tightening against his arm for a moment, before another hand grabbed Jace and pulled him away. He stumbled, and, grabbing for support, realized it was Alec.

There was something very wrong here. Alec was nearly always composed; this was completely unlike him.

"You," Alec hissed. "I knew you looked familiar." As Anna turned away, he caught her by the shoulder and spun her around.

"Alec!" Jace cried. "She said she was in a commercial-God, what are you doing-"

She pushed him away with apparent ease. "Yes, listen to your friend," she said, oddly calm.

"Don't even try," Alec said coldly. "I should have known it was you."

Anna smirked. "Always missing something, aren't you, Lightwood?"

And before Jace could say anything-before he could ask what in the hell was going on-his best friend had pulled out a knife.