Hey all! Blue here for another round and hopefully with something you can all enjoy. It's a new idea that's recently come to mind so I hope it's greeted well with you all. So without wasting too much of your time, I'll get right to it. I don't own 'Young Avengers' in any shape or form unless owning the books counts. Well, not yet but still. Enjoy!

"Iii" = speech

Iii = thought

Chapter 1: Fateful Night

It just wasn't his night. Sitting in his car, watching a building should've been the easiest thing that Detective Theodore Altman should've been able to do. But no! With no time to call for back up or even grab his radio or his phone, he was now running through the stinky labyrinth of alleyways that hid between buildings. And all because he was supposed to catch a possible murder suspect! His captain was going to have his head if he didn't get the guy he was chasing, or he was likely to be directing traffic by the next day. Like he did with every chase, he was forced to leave his car where it was, locked with the windows up while he jammed the keys into his pockets. He'd been a football player in high school, even went as far as helping the basketball team with a few games when there were short an extra player.

Though once he'd gone to the academy, he was forced to put all his athletic ability to work. His mother protested to him taking on the badge of the law, but still supported his decision to uphold the laws of the land. Her smiling face, bright and proud amongst the rest of the crowd, was enough to reassure his confidence in his new path. But right now, he had to ignore the stench of three day old garbage and focus on making another arrest. Somewhere ahead in the dark, his suspect somehow made a quick turn, his footsteps echoing against the brick walls. Quickly skidding to a halt at the grungy intersection, Teddy had to look around, and listen. One of the few secrets he'd been able to keep since joining the police force a good six years prior, was that he was capable of things no other could even dream of. One of them happened to be night vision, coupled with super senses, like smell and hearing.

His sense of smell was being disrupted by the filth he was surrounded with so that was out of the question. Just a whiff of it was almost enough to send him reeling. Ignoring his nose, Teddy instead turned to his eyes, the dark and dim light of lights too far away to really reveal much turned into an almost crimson red. The cold dark remained fairly dark, a shade of scarlet that he easily ignored. Bags, barrels and dumpsters of garbage hinted with variously shades of pink, white and some yellow stuck out of the crimson coloring but it was what was on the ground that interested him most. White hot shoe prints, leading off into the dark, stuck out like cliché sore thumbs. The clue a bit too easy to resist, Teddy swiftly followed, eying the prints as he ran in case he lost track somehow. He really needed to catch the guy and soon or he'd have no case and that meant it'd be ignored for a decade or so, left to collect dust in the back of the storage room back at the precinct. Like hell he was going to let that happen.

The prints made a sharp turn to the right, which he dutifully did in turn. Only when he looked up, the first thing other than an alleyway he saw was something dark. Whatever it was, it got big and quick, gaining speed as it came. Somehow, by some miracle, Teddy ducked as the man swinging it grunted from the effort. Seeing his opponent wasn't down, the man didn't hesitate to swing again, this time bringing it the other way. Again, Teddy ducked as the man let out another grunt. Annoyed that this man was still standing, the stranger abandoned his blunt object and reached into his jacket. Teddy didn't even think twice, giving the man a firm right hook right into the left side of his face. The figure, let out one last grunt as he spun, falling on his left side into a pile of black plastic trash bags. Without so much as another thought, Teddy was pulling the fallen man's hands to be behind his back as he pulled his cuffs out of the holder clipped to the back of his pants. Reassured his catch wouldn't be going anywhere, Teddy flipped the man over to get a look at his face.

Using his almost photographic memory, the large blonde was sure he had the guy he needed based that he'd been looking for him for almost two days. And was thus forced to sit outside the guy's apartment, in his three year old car all by himself, for almost a day and a half while waiting for the guy to come home. Mostly because his 'partner' was too lazy to get up off his ass to do actual work. He couldn't really blame Greg. But he was starting to find reasons to resent the guy. It wasn't that he hadn't noticed before. Hell, he knew that Greg was trouble ever since they first met in high school. But his need for acceptance had been too strong for him to walk away from Greg's split tongue and slippery ways. Just the thought of it made him shiver all the way down to his bones. Why Greg had followed him throughout college and the academy was anyone's guess. Not wanting to think of his lousy partner anymore, Teddy resolved himself to lugging his new captive back down the mile or so of alleyways back to his car where he'd get the backup he'd deserved in the first place. How he didn't know the surprise he'd get once he got there.

--Inside the Apartment—

Two figures moved silently like ghosts through the softly lit rooms, bee lining their way through the place as one went from one room to another. Almost as if in search of something that he'd know if he saw it. His movements were slow, steady and calm as he walked, hands stretched forward. Like he was feeling the air with unseen fingers longer than his physical ones, feeling for something that only he knew might be there as his hands seemed to glow bright neon blue. Both were dressed in shirts, jeans and sneakers, their hoodies their only shield against the early autumn chill.

The latter of the two, keeping behind his companion almost respectively, suddenly snorted in his impatience. "Hurry up! That cop's car is still here and who knows if he caught the bozo who lives here yet! Can't this go any faster?"

Continuing his slow and studious path through the home, the man's companion didn't turn to face him as he spoke, his dark colored clothes nearly making him blend into the shadows of the apartment. "No, it can't. And unlike you, I don't have to be on the move every five seconds because I'm hyped on caffeine."

White blonde hair, short and somewhat spiky, almost shimmered in the light as the man scoffed as blue eyes glared at his companion's turned back. "What? It's better than drugs. Would you rather I be high on those?"

"Hell no. Then I'd have to beat you senseless." The first said in turn, making his turn in scoffing at the thought.

The latter simply waved his hands as if he were part of a jazzy musical, his expression feigning fear at the threat. "Oooh. I'm sooo scared. But I'm serious, that cop could be on his way right now."

"I'm almost done." He turned to finally glare back at his companion, his brown eyes narrowing to show he meant what he said. "I might go faster if you shut up."

This time the latter simply rolled his eyes, knowing that the threat was empty no matter what he did. But he knew better than to test his chances. "Fine. I'll be outside. Be ready to go when he gets here."

"Yeah, yeah. I got it." He grumbled, turning his attention back to what he was doing. As his 'escort' left the apartment to stand on the open walkway, he combed his fingers through his dark brown hair, took a deep breath and began again. Mere seconds later, the blue glow of his hands was back again, this time more evenly concentrated.

Clearing his mind, the man wasted no time in scanning the place, room by room, for the very thing they'd both hoped would be there. Much to his disappointment, so far his search was coming up with nothing. He was nearly to the very back of the apartment when a noise from the front door brought him out of his meditative state of mind.

"Shit!" he heard his companion swear loudly, the word followed by a loud thud and a grunt of pure effort. "Ack!"

Almost immediately he was sprinting back to the front, quickly yelling. "Hey what's--?"

"GO! NOW!" he heard his comrade yell, making him stop somewhere between the hall and the doorjamb leading to the main room.

"But--!" he began, despite his lack of visual contact. The need to be reassured that things weren't going to end badly, that everyone was going to be walking away in one piece.

No such confirmation came, only and an order, strong and firm despite whatever his tormentor was attempting to do. "GO!"

He didn't need to be told twice. And he could hate himself later if he didn't see his comrade later that night. Right now, all he needed to do was turn around and run. Biting down on his bottom lip, the dark haired man quickly turning on his heel without another word, and ran back the way he came.

--With Teddy—

Dealing with the dead weight of his handcuffed suspect was a little harder to deal with than he'd originally thought. Even though he looked pretty skinny, the guy turned out to be heavier unconscious than he would've been had he been awake. Not even bothering to see if the apartment door was open or not, Teddy instead busied himself with stuffing his fallen prey into the backseat of his car before loud shouting met his tired ears. Confused by this, he turned his blue eyes only to be shocked by the familiar form of Greg Norris struggling with someone in his strong grip. Instinct and training kicked in as he reached for his .9 mm, quickly making his way across the parking lot and up the stairs to where his partner fought hard with someone nearly two sizes smaller than him.

In shock to his sudden appearance, Teddy couldn't help but gape like an idiot as he let the question fly. "Greg what're you--?"

Greg, not in the mood, simply cut him off with an angry retort. "Forget me! There's another one in there!"

"But where the hell--?" he began again, but only got cut off again.

"Will you go already?!? Dammit hold still you little--." He snapped, somehow dodging a well placed punch intended for his nose as the figure in his grip continued to wriggle and struggle against his captor.

Knowing Greg well enough to know he wouldn't take no for an answer, Teddy quickly passed the two as he swept through the apartment. When normal vision found nothing, the blonde found himself once again turning to infrared, looking right at the floor for help. Already the footprints of his suspect were fading with two more fresh sets were still pretty hot upon closer inspection. One led back outside, the other further in. Greg was occupied with one set, now how had to find the other one. Gun cocked in hand, Teddy made his way to the back of the apartment, following the white hot footprints to the very last room. The master bedroom, the very last door in the hall and the only place anyone could actually go. With the assistance of his super hearing, he could tell that another heart was beating beyond the door. Switching his gun to his left hand and gripping the door handle with his right. Taking yet another calming breathe, Teddy mentally prepared himself for the worst.

"Police! I'm armed and I don't want to hurt you. Just lie face down on the ground, spread eagle and end this peacefully." He waited for only a moment, the sweat on his brow only making him more nervous. When he heard nothing from the other side of the door, he didn't waste any more time. "Okay, I'm coming in!"

Teddy slowly opened the door, keeping his gun close in case the person beyond tried to send it flying from his hand. So far, so good. Or at least until he noticed that the far window was being swiftly pulled open, and the person doing so was wasting no time in getting out.

Horrified by this sight, Teddy holstered his gun and ran for the window, practically yelling at the top of his lungs. "NO DON'T! THIS IS THE THIRD FLOOR!"

But his prey wasn't listening, or at least didn't hear him until it was too late, the man's skinny frame vanishing over the side. Teddy quickly leaned over the windowsill in search for the man's crumpled body on the ground below only to find… nothing. Confused and wondering if the lack of sleep was getting to him, he was distracted by a loud grunt near the front door, making him turn his attention back to his partner's situation. Eying the ground below and the air in-between, Teddy quickly sprinted back to the front of the apartment.

What he found was certainly interesting: his partner, kneeling on the ground, cursing and holding himself with his face hidden from view. Having a good idea of what happened, but knowing better than to laugh about it, Teddy kept his well-built mask on and in place by asking anyway. "Greg? What happened? Are you okay?"

Greg shook his head, hissing in obvious pain, not daring to move from where he knelt on the rain stained concrete. "Nah, I'm fine. The son of a bitch got me in the balls though. He's fast too. Ran off before I could get a better hold on him too. What about yours?"

"He jumped." He said simply, the shock of it once again kicking in.

"He what?" Greg demanded, finally looking up to glare at him with his storm grey eyes.

For once, Teddy scowled down at his partner, his gaze disapproving. "I'm tellin' ya! He jumped! Right out the window! You heard me yell didn't you?"

Greg rolled his eyes in obvious annoyance at the blonde's response. "Yeah, clearly. Probably the reason why he got such a good swing at me."

"Sorry. Can you stand?" he inquired, intending to hold out his hand to help the other man to his feet.

Once again, Greg rolled his eyes, muttering angrily under his breath. "In a minute. Where were you?"

Teddy fought the urge to roll his eyes and scoff at the man. Did he seriously have such a bad memory when it came to what they were doing? "Chasing the guy who actually owns this place down the alley, believe it or not. Where the hell were you?"

"I was getting us food. We need to stop at the Chinese place down by the corner before we get back to the precinct." Greg said informatively, attempting to stand only to groan and kneel down again.

"Just as long as nobody asks us if we brought enough for everybody." Teddy said with a chuckle, the thought of it bringing a slight look of amusement to his face.

For once, Greg let out a strained smirk as he finally got to his feet, wincing as another wave of pain went through him. Waving away Teddy's extended hand as he used the metal railing for balance, the brunette used it to slowly turn him around to face where the stairs were located. "True enough. I'll be in the car."

Teddy scowled his confusion at this statement. "But we need to call this in."

"When we get to the car." Greg reaffirmed, now having gotten several steps before pain had forced him to stop.

Scowling deeper, Teddy quickly maneuvered to walk in front of the man, swiftly cutting him off. "Greg--."

"I'm in pain and I don't want to sit down here. Unless you're planning on staying here all night, I'll be in the car." He growled, glaring at his blonde compatriot as he gripped the metal railing of the walkway with white knuckles.

Like he usually did, Teddy caved. "Fine. I'm going back to take a better look around."

"Right. What happened to that guy? The one who jumped?" Greg inquired, sounding only half interested in the response.

"I--." The blonde cop desperately racked his mind for a reasonable explanation for what happened to the man, but his mind failed. Leaving him nervous and on the spot for something he had no control over. "I don't know."

This really got Greg's attention as he scowled his disbelief at the blonde. "You don't know? How could you not know?"

"I saw him go through, but when I caught up to look, he wasn't on the ground. I couldn't see him anywhere! It was like he disappeared!" Teddy said quickly, hoping his partner wouldn't think he was stupid. Or crazy.

"Not even the press is gonna believe that bullshit." The brunette growled, using a free hand to massage the bridge of his nose. Storm grey eyes met Teddy's nearly sky blue. "You're sure he fell down?"

"Positive. He went all the way over." He said, nodding vigorously. "No fire escape or nothin'."

Greg let out a tired sigh, leaning heavily on the railing as his brain tried to wrap itself around the events of the night. "This complicates things. You take another look around the apartment, I'll get to the radio."

Teddy nodded before remembering something. "Check the back."

This sudden statement left Greg confused. "The back? Why?"

Now it was Teddy's turn to roll his eyes. "That's where I stuffed our suspect, that's why. Need to make sure he's where I left him."

Greg nodded, accepting this as perfectly good logic. "Right. See you in a few."

Nodding to his partner and watching his retreating back, Teddy couldn't help but get the feeling that Greg wasn't being very truthful. Then again, the guy had never been one to be all that honest to begin with. But now, the feeling that something was off wouldn't stop buggin him. Greg had never been gone longer than fifteen minutes before. Even for him this was a little unusual. Deciding, for now, to think nothing of it, Teddy once again pulled out his gun and entered the apartment. Wary of a possible third intruder, which he doubted, the blonde cop went from room to room, using his heightened senses to prove his suspicions wrong. Upon finding nothing to indicate anyone other than him was there, Teddy focused on the scents of the two escaped intruders. He hadn't gotten a good look at either one, but from what he could tell, they were both the same build and possibly the same height. This made it good to assume they were the same age too. And after taking a good sniff of the room, they both smelled almost exactly the same, which was really weird.

The one that Greg had wrestled with smelled pretty okay. A little sweaty maybe but was significantly unique enough for him to track. But the second one, the jumper, seemed to have something Teddy had never really encountered before. His scent was like his friend's, except it was really different. Almost like it was charged with something, sending a shiver up and down his spine as he caught another whiff of it. Whatever it was, it was strong and almost addictive before he forced himself to move on, staring at the ground as he went. One set looked like it'd been on the move the entire time, like he couldn't stay still. But the other set, the one that'd jumped, seemed to have moved more slowly, more calmly, and almost as if to suggest that he was deliberately doing so for a reason that defied explanation. Coming to the hallway, Teddy was surprised to see that the slow pace suddenly changed to a panicked run heading back towards the main room. But for some reason they stopped and doubled back towards the room where he'd jumped out the window.

Odd thing was, the man's scent wasn't in the room where he'd jumped out the window as Teddy had witnessed. Confused, the blonde tried a door to his left, only to find the bathroom that had no window to speak of. Going to the right, Teddy was hit by a wave of the man's faint scent before it vanished, leaving him dazed. Blinking a few times against the intruder's odor, Teddy was shocked to find yet another open window, curtains fluffed out by the wind. Almost at once, his brain just stopped ticking.

No… no fuckin' way. He thought, quickly rushing towards the window as he'd done with the other one in the opposing room mere minutes before. Leaning out the window, Teddy could swear he was either seeing things or just going through déjà vu. Instead of open air as the other window had suggested, this window really did lead to the fire escape. Using his other set of eyes, Teddy could see the quickly fading globs of heat from feet and hands, making their way down the metal stairs system. Turning his gaze towards the ground, he could easily see the prints leading away and out of sight, their pace suggesting he really moved it. For a full two minutes, Teddy stood there, half in and half out, in complete shock of what he'd just discovered. Not only were the pair smart, but they'd duped him out of making two more arrests.

But how did--? He began to think before it clicked. Teddy knew that he was unlikely to be the ol' one-of-a-kind. There had to be others like him, or at least other people with different abilities. He'd suspected his mother was like him, but he'd been too polite in terms to her privacy to ask, much less even mention what he could do. But now he had proof. Proof that he wasn't alone in the world and that person had just left him high and dry. Realizing he'd been standing there too long, Teddy quickly made his way back out front, locking the apartment door before jogging to his car where Greg and their suspect sat waiting. Tomorrow, tomorrow for sure and no other day would do. He'd track down the pair by himself if he had to.

--The Next Day—

Sitting at his desk that was situated across from Greg's, Teddy somehow fought down a yawn that demanded to be freed from its prison in his chest. His super sensitive nose somehow caught a whiff of last night's chow mein, making him wince as he glared at the white take out box, open and nearly empty as a pair of wooden chopsticks stuck out of the top. How Greg could stand the chai tow kway he'd never know. Looking down at the top of his desk, sitting on top of the many files and papers that made up his desk space, sat one of the many Chinese fortunes that they'd been given the night before, its message staring up at him almost mischievously.

When in doubt… let your instincts guide you? What the hell does that mean? He thought in pure groggy annoyance. To be honest, he wasn't in the mood for anything mystical, or even remotely cryptic. He just wanted straight answers. Like why the guy they'd brought in had acted like such a nut when they got him under the light. Babbling something about something chasing him around and how he'd tried to get help. When they asked him about it, this only led to more senseless babbling and even more frustration. And now, once again, Greg had disappeared, leaving Teddy to hold down the fort as the next shift came in with fresh faces and fresh coffees in their hands. Since Greg never really cared for them, he'd been allowed the bitter pleasure of opening all the cookies they'd been given, each message proving more confusing and cryptic than the last. One by one, it only led him to ponder what they meant.

Accept what comes to you each day. Well gee don't I feel better now. Not thinking much of it with the roll of his eyes, he moved on to open the next one.

A pleasant surprise is in store for you tonight. Really? Well damn. Where was this one a few weeks ago? He pondered, letting it land next to its brethren as he went to fight cheap, clear plastic to open yet another.

The human spirit is stronger than anything that can happen to it. This made his eyebrows rise, as the prospect of such a thing actually made him think. Even he knew that human spirits could be strong as hell. But for a fortune cookie to up and state it like that? It was pretty unusual in his mind for something like this to come his way. Shaking it off, he instead moved on to the next one.

You have a curious smile and a mysterious nature. Now this one really did catch Teddy by surprise. He'd already been told by various women, and men, at the office that he had some sort of allure about him that made him attractive. Captivating. Even going as far as saying he was hard to ignore. And he was sure it had something to do with his shape-shifting abilities. Yes, he could shape-shift. But only when the situation demanded it, which was rare, even for his kind of work. Besides that, he was given heightened senses so his ability to call on them so readily could explain a lot. Looking over at the pile, he was surprised to find only three more cookies remained from the stash they'd received. Had Greg really taken some? Shrugging it off, Teddy decided that somehow, these oddly sweet treats were telling him something. Hesitantly, he reached for the next one in the pile.

Use your head, but live in your heart. This rocked him to the core. It was almost exactly what his mother used to tell him before he left for the academy. Hell, she even said it before he left for college, to live on his own for the first time. The thought of her happy, prideful tears nearly made him blush right where he sat. Was it possible that this was an echo of what his mother used to say, only now coupled with another meaning he'd yet to catch. Only two more remained as his large fingers wrapped themselves around their next victim.

Trust your intuition. The universe is guiding your life. As he read it twice, then a few times more, the statement continued to make sense but sound cryptic at the same time. When push came to shove, Teddy really did come to trust his gut on a lot of things. Like how it told him to dump Greg for someone more… reliable all the time. Except Teddy was a nice guy, and he'd known the man for years. He didn't want to just up and rid himself of the guy before he had a pretty valid reason to demand a new partner, much less a transfer. Letting the fortune fall to his desktop, its wise words facing upwards, staring up at him patiently with its comrades as Teddy's blue eyes fell on the last and final fortune cookie seated to his left.

Staring down at the thin, crispy little tart, wrapped in cheap clear plastic with some red Chinese writing or symbol barely visible slapped on here and there, Teddy could see how it looked like any other cookie handed out by the hundreds of Chinese places that were scattered all over the city. Hell, he half expected it to be something absolutely random and straightforward, or even something so damn confusing that the most he'd do with it is toss it into the bin next to his desk. Long before he'd joined the force, he'd received some pretty weird fortunes, and had quite promptly ignored them as they'd either not made much sense or had little or nothing to do with his life at the time. But now, he couldn't but feel that they were now coming back to bite him in the ass. And this time he was listening. Kicking himself for getting so worked up over something that was likely something kooky or just random, Teddy finally gave in to the urge to open the final cookie seated patiently on his desk.

Briefly fighting plastic, Teddy quickly tossed the wrapper into the garbage as he'd done with the others. And like the others, he'd busted them open and absentmindedly stuffed their broken remains into his mouth. Their sweet taste was a brief and welcome distraction from what he was supposed to be doing, which was look at case files. But right now, his focus was on the small piece of paper in his hands, its content facing the opposite direction. Hesitant and hating himself for it, Teddy slowly but surely turned the little thing over.

If this were any other day, he'd had fallen out of his chair in shock at what it said. But this wasn't any other day, nor was it any other week. He was sure that if anyone was even remotely looking at him right at this moment, they'd see his shocked expression. To be honest, he was a bit floored by it. The little paper's statement honestly shouldn't have affected him this easily, but it did. And it was sticking his brain into gridlock. Of all the things he'd expected the damn thing to say, it certainly wasn't this.

A new friend will help you break out of an old routine.

Did it mean what he thought it meant? Did this seriously say that he was finally going to be free of Greg for some reason or other? Hell did this tiny sheet of paper actually mean 'friend', or something more significant? No, he couldn't seriously be thinking this way. Only a few in the office were aware of his actual sexuality, one of them not being Greg. Who knew how he'd react to having a gay friend and not even knowing it. Shrugging off such thoughts for later, Teddy went back to staring at the little fortune in awe and puzzlement. Was this tiny piece of paper, the smallest piece of processed wood he'd ever dealt with in his life, seriously suggesting that his life was going to turn upside down?

Thinking about it now, it all seemed to fit. Two men, somehow escaping custody without even leaving a name or a face to go by, his stubborn determination to find answers, and now some fortune telling him he was about to get a wakeup call. Sleep could wait. Paperwork could definitely wait. Rising to his feet and stuffing the fortunes into his desk, he paused when he was about to toss the one in his hand in with the others. It took him two seconds to decide before it found its home inside his pocket before he snatched his coat off the back of his chair. Quickly cleaning up his mess and rearranging a few things, Teddy was out the door and in his car before anyone could even say hi or ask him how he was. Even as he started his car and looked back as he pulled out, the fortunes unusual words rang in his ears like the bells of a church.

A new friend will help you break out of an old routine.

And we're done! Man this was a hard one! But an accomplishment nonetheless, if I may say so. I think you guys will really enjoy what's up ahead. Even if I don't even know what this baby's gonna slap me in the face with. But I'll try to get it to you guys as fast as these hands have done in the past. Granted my brain wants to tag team while I'm at it. Anywho, best get on with things right? Right? Before I start ranting any more than I already have, not that I meant to but still. He's what's to come:

Next chapter:

Chapter 2: Destiny Knocks

And it does! Teddy's finally gone solo in search of his mystery intruders with some wise but puzzling words warming up his pocket. But as he does the thing he does best, little does he know he's about to discover that he's in for even more than he thought possible. Will he be able to survive what his future has in store? Or will he be sent packing? Find out when 'Connected' returns with:

Chapter 2: Destiny Knocks!!