Hot Stuff

Prologue

I raced through the forests of Montana, looking for the Cullens. The wolves in La Push had told me to come here, but so far I had found no trace of their scent.

I saw the town that they currently lived near. Perhaps at the school. I thought. Surely they went to school, and then someone there could give me the information I needed. I walked at a human pace up to the office building and walked inside. "Excuse me, ma'am?" I addressed the receptionist. "Does anyone by the name 'Cullen' go to this school?" She stared at me like I was a model, jaw slack, eyes wide. Or she could just be scared stiff.

"Um... Yes. Hold on a minute." She told me, finally regaining some composure. She scurried off into another room, returning with a small manila folder. She probably shouldn't be showing me this, it was classified. Oh well. I thought as she opened it, revealing photos of each of the Cullen children, and information such as age, year in school, etc. "Can you tell me where I can find them? I'm an old family friend." I asked. Her heart rate sped up as she thought, or maybe just stared.

"Um....S-sure." She said, telling me the relative location and the exact address.

"Thank you." I said as I left. I heard her exhale very heavily as the doors closed behind me, her heart rate speeding so fast it should be illegal. I laughed at that thought, thinking of the speed limitations placed on the human drivers.

I found their house easily. Once I had arrived at the forest that held their house, I could smell them clearly. Hey, Edward. I called silently, hoping I was within range. Seventy years ago, in Forks, he could hear me when I was at the road turning into their massive driveway. I ran quickly, anxious to meet them all once again. Particularly Renesmée. I wonder how big she's grown.

Edward and Bella were waiting outside, standing on the stairs leading up to the front door. "Hello, Benjamin! Long time no see!" Bella crowed, jumping up to hug me.

"What brings you all the way up to Montana?" Edward asked, shaking my hand.

"Well, Amun has been becoming very greed lately, trying to make me do things against my morals." I explained. "So, Tia and I left. We didn't really feel like living alone, so...Would it be okay if we joined you family?"

"Of course you can!" Esme said, walking out from the house.

"Great! Tia is at the airport, waiting for my call."

Main Story

Tia and I had adjusted to the Cullens' vegetarian lifestyle quite well. I had only had one slip-up in the past thirty years, and she still had a perfect record. It was amazing how much good could come from such a simple thing as switching diets. We had a proper family for the first time! Carlisle and Esme were much better parents than Amun and Kebi ever were.

"Benjamin! Let's wrestle!" Emmett called. I was still his favourite partner, as he could actually beat me when I didn't cheat. "Fine. Can I cheat this time? It's been a while since the last time."

"No way! No powers!" He shouted as he jumped down the stairs, dragging me outside. Tough. I thought. I need some target practice.

We ran outside, far from the house so as not to cause any damage. As soon as the house was too far to be in any danger, I tackled Emmett as hard as I could. A sharp crack rang out as soon as we collided, scaring birds into flight. He reached back and grabbed me, throwing me into a tree so hard that it shook. I fell and got up, but I was lopsided. "Crap! You broke my back again!" I said. I pulled in some wind, wrapping it tight around me. It jerked up sharply, forcing my back to reset itself in the right position. "You're dead, pal." I said, hurling him backwards with the same gust. A feral snarl ripped its way up his throat as he lunged back at me, recovering ground from his flight. A pillar of earth erupted from beneath him, launching him far into the air. A blast of air wrapped around him and forced him back down to earth, pinning him in place. A deafening roar filled the clearing as a wall of fire launched up and arched down, driving right at him. It smashed to the ground, sending deadly embers in every direction.

The fire burned its way out, revealing Emmett, staring up into space. I walked over to him and he flew up, too wobbly to stand on his own. "Sorry. I needed to kick your butt once, just to make a point." I said, walking back towards the house as the earth behind us upturned and shook, erasing any evidence of our little skirmish.

A whisper caught my ear, far behind us. I sent out a tongue of wind, stretching it as far back as I could to channel any sound. It brushed over something that was not tree or human, but it moved and responded the same way a rock would. "It really was in poor spirits for Amun to rat out Benjamin and the Cullens the way he did." A voice traced back through the tendril, meeting no resistance to stop it travelling the long distance. That is Aro! I shouted silently. "C'mon, Emmett. Time to run, we've got visitors, and they aren't happy to see us." I whispered into his ear as the bar of wind scattered our scent in hundreds of directions.

We raced back to the house, wind trailing behind us and diluting our scent, erasing it where possible. Edward! The Volturi are here! I screamed silently. We burst in through the front door, all members of the family waiting for us. "How do you know it was the Volturi?" Edward asked. I replayed the whole scene in my head while I explained. "It was the entire guard, and the wives. Eleazar was wrong, it isn't just every few hundred years, it's probably whenever he has something to gain. He has a lot to gain from this visit, and Amun evidently made it sound like you were building an army, once again."

"Why didn't I see this?" Alice shrieked. "I should have seen them decide to come here with the entire guard, even if they just decided it two days ago!" She was freaking out. Her vision had failed to alert her to the most dangerous thing in the world to her family, and now they were going to pay for it. "Alice, calm down. We are not exactly defenceless here." I tried reasoning.

"Benjamin, last time they only stopped because we had almost thirty vampires and sixteen wolves. This time, there are only ten of us." Edward broke in. Renesmée and Jacob were off living by themselves for a while. Probably only until we moved again. "Wait!" Alice shrieked. Man that is getting annoying. I thought. "You guys, everything will be okay! I think. Benjamin has been holding out on us with what he can do. A hundred years ago, he was still learning. That fissure was child's play." She explained, a huge smile growing on her face. "That still doesn't explain why I didn't see them, though." She said, the smile dropping.

"I can hear them. Let's go." Edward said. "I don't want the house getting hurt if we will be okay."

We all walked out of the house together, making a united front. We barely broke through the forest when the front line came into view. Pain shot through my body, crumpling me to the ground. Jane! I shrieked wordlessly, unable to do anything else. As soon as it came, the pain was gone. "Thank you, Bella." She was shielding all of us, I assumed, since no one else was writhing in pain.

"How could you do this, once again, Carlisle?!" Aro shouted from a hundred meters off. "It has only been one hundred years, and you are already building another army of vampires to go against us!"

"Aro! How can you assume such a thing! There are only ten of us here, and not even a single wolf in sight! How can you say that I am building an army against you?" he shouted back, yelling only to be heard, no anger in Carlisle's voice.

"Then why are Benjamin and Tia with you, now? What other reason is there for such a thing? This coven has grown far too large to be called just a family anymore." I noticed that a shimmering in the air had stopped in front of us, blocked by Bella's shield. Aro was stalling, waiting for us to fall silent.

"Aro!" I called out, furious at his assumptions and lack of understanding. "Tia and I joined the Cullens because of Amun's plans for me, and I did not agree with them! Being alone bores us, so we decided to join this family." I emphasized the word, contradicting his earlier point.

"Do it." Edward whispered, affirming the plan running through my head. He quickly whispered something to everyone while I continued talking to Aro, and they all nodded their heads in agreement. "Aro, you thought that Carlisle was building an army to destroy the Volturi. That would be stupid, as it would leave no one to protect our secrecy. The roguish vampires would then stupidly reveal us to the world, and as you pointed out so long ago, they have the power to destroy us. Your role as royalty is becoming very annoying to everyone. I think it is time you resumed your role of police, and stepped down from your role as governor." A gushing wind roared through the clearing, magnifying my voice far beyond its normal capability.

The Volturi guard stepped back slightly, not expecting the burst of sound from one person. "It doesn't take an army to take out a tyrant, just a few people with a will." Aro was now scowling, glaring daggers at me. Bella winced slightly as Jane attacked the shield again, but gave no other signs of weakness.

Out of the blue, the guard began to charge. "Don't move!" Edward called to our family as a wall of fire rushed forward. Blazing lines shot into a large circle, preventing escape.

Pillars of flame erupted from beneath several of the guard, including Felix and Marcus. They had no reason to remain. Only twenty vampires remained standing when the pillars ceased to erupt, terror clear on their faces. The wall still wrapped around the clearing, blocking any method of escape. The clear mist had ceased once the battle had begun.

Only the most powerful of the Volturi guard remained, and the wives. Aro stood there, shock marring his face as he gazed at the remainder of his army: Demetri, Jane, Alec, Caius, Renata, Corin, Heidi, the last two wives, and a few more. Chelsea was among the burning cinders, no longer able to hold others there against their will. "What have you done?!" he cried. "You have destroyed the Volturi! Now rogue vampires shall run rampant, destroying humans like insects!"

"No, Aro. Enough of you remain to ensure that that does not happen. You will no longer be considered royalty, however. Your job is not to sit and wait for things to get out of hand, now, but to actively enforce the rules. As I have clearly demonstrated, you are utterly powerless here. If we hear of you abusing the power we have left you, do not think that we will hesitate to come and destroy what is left of the Volturi for good. All it will take is me, Bella, to provide protection, and Edward, to locate exactly where you are. Amazing, how the greatest empire of all time, can be demolished by two beings." I mused. Aro's jaw was hanging slack, obviously horrified by the thought of being reduced to policemen.

"You can go now, Aro. Your services are not required on this continent, at the moment." Edward said smugly. "Have fun, Jane!" Bella called. "And try not to be too much of a pain on the way back." Emmett laughed obnoxiously, high-fiving her. Jane glared at Bella, who gave her a Cheshire cat grin in return, and stormed off with the rest of the Volturi in tow.