The door was large and imposing, a towering, impressive plank of mahogany. It stood of its own volition in the misty dark. There were no hinges, hardware, or door frames in this place. Just the paths leading to vaulted hallways, which in turn led to their own end. She knew this one by heart. The hallway was bare and grey, but its doorway was magnificent, a hidden gem. The wood grain was a rich brown hue. Its smooth, polished surface gleamed enough to reflect back her own vague outline. The door knob was of the finest silver, carved simply but elegantly, and in that she could indeed see her own face. She almost didn't recognize her wide, frightened eyes as she placed both hands upon the door. It had been a very long time since she had been here, since it had opened for her. Tonight, she had no choice but to try.

"It's me. I need your help. Will you let me in?" She asked in a quavering voice. The air was growing colder in the hallway. Quickly, she glanced behind her to where the hallway curved backwards into the abyss. There had been a laugh, she was sure. Turning back to the door, she closed her eyes and spoke again. "Please. Please help me." But there was only silence.

"Where's your key?" A cool and oil-slick voice asked in the gloom. She whipped around, keeping her back to the door, and scanned the area carefully. A charcoal smoke was beginning to crawl towards her from the hallway. She sucked in a breath as she realized it was too late. The laugh echoed high up into the ceilings, followed by an icy gust of wind. It momentarily took her breath away and it was all the Hunter needed. Long, iron-like fingers wrapped around her windpipe and squeezed mercilessly. "Have you lost it? Or was it taken from you?" The skeletal face cackled, its exposed teeth grinding together with cruel glee. She shut her eyes and forced her hands up and forward, summoning all the mana she could into her fingertips. The Hunter flew backwards but recovered quickly, barely missing her as she dodged to the side.

With one last look at the closed door, she took off running for the hallway, scrambling to her feet as the Hunter attacked from above. The floor shattered into pieces where it landed. Pieces of the tile flew about her as she fled. The Hunter howled in frustration. With one final growl, it spread its claws and slashed at the door, before flying off into the darkness after its quarry. She didn't spare a glance behind her as she ran, cursing herself for even coming there in the first place. Now even here she wasn't safe. It knew she had no one to turn to. It knew that no one was listening.

There was only one option left to her and she detested it. Gritting her teeth, she sailed through the opening of the hallway. The Hunter cried out behind her; still, she ran. Now she found herself on a darkened street. It was her own, from when she lived in Bellwood, the entrance to the plethora of hallways and their doors. All she needed to do now was get back to her house and her closet door. The glowing windows of her parents' home gleamed ahead of her.

"I know where you're going. I know everything." It was trying to frighten her, but she wouldn't stop. She wasn't stupid. Sucking in a breath, she threw down a mana shield beneath her bare feet. It lifted her up off the pavement and she was able to ride it much like a surf board over the muggy air. Within a few moments, she was barreling through her front door. The shades of her parents sat on the couch in the living room. They shared martinis in front of the fireplace, smiling ear to ear, oblivious to their panting daughter heaving herself up the stairs. She exploded through the bedroom door, only to fly backwards as the Hunter belted her across the face. Her back hit the banister at the top of the stairs, splintering it. It held on barely enough for her to remain on the balcony. Again, she found herself struggling for breath, even as she fought to stand. The Hunter didn't allow her to get very far. It caught her by the wrists and lifted her up so it was able to stare into her face.

"What do you want from me?" She panted. Its head cocked to one side slowly. The motion was halting, its neck creaking and cracking. She sneered in disgust as its head continued to turn until it was almost completely upside down.

"Me? I don't want anything from you. I want only the reward from the one who hired me to contain you."

"Contain me?" Something electric spread down her arms from her wrists and she shrieked as the shock hummed through her body. The Hunter abruptly dropped her as its head snapped right side up. She gasped in pain as she surveyed her hands. Smoking marks scorched her skin. Her eyes teared as she smelled her own flesh burning, but even through her blurred vision, she recognized the runes.

"I don't know where you'll be when you wake up, but I do know that I will feel sorry for you." The Hunter rasped. Its long claws gripped her by the back of her shirt and it once again lifted her up above the balcony. Below, her parents' laughter drifted upwards. Her father was telling her mother a dirty joke he had heard at work. She heard her mother scold him, reminding him that their daughter was just upstairs doing her homework.

"Who hired you?"

"Its not my place to say." It brought her back inside of her room. She watched helplessly as it opened her closet door. Through the frame, she saw herself sleeping in the bedroom of her apartment. The room was bathed in an unnatural blue glow, emanating from her sweating skin. The rune markings were barely visible on the wrists of her waking body, even though they still remained red and raw on that of her dreaming self. With a careless toss, the Hunter sent her flying through the door and into her fate.


The house looked the same on the outside. Brick walls, white shutters, a welcoming porch light. His aunt's begonias were wilting on their stems inside of their wooden planters. The large oak trees sat still like silent sentinels in the yard. Their bushy branches helped to conceal the one window that he had been looking for, a double set in one of the peaks on the roof.

Benjamin Tennyson stood on the sidewalk looking in at his cousin's house, feeling like a stranger. Or really her parent's house. She hadn't lived there for years. The windows to her room were covered with the same curtains that had been there when they were young. He sighed heavily and quickly glanced around at the surrounding neighborhood. All of the windows were still dark. It was too early for any one to be awake. It was why he chose this time to come and conduct his search. The Plumber's badge in his hand suddenly beeped quietly. He pressed a small button on its side.

"Scan negative."

"There's no trace of her mana signature here?"

"That is correct, Officer Tennyson." He looked back up at the house, his features grim. Her apartment had been much the same. He shook his head in disbelief.

"Locate Badge #39568-KEL."

"Badge #39568-KEL located at 40 S. Industry Lane, Bellwood-" Ben pressed the button again to shut off the badge's voice. That was all he needed to hear. As much as he wished to avoid this scenario, he just wasn't sure who else to turn to. Sighing, he turned and headed in the direction of the old hangout, preparing for a fight the entire way.


All he wanted at that moment was an ice cold beer.

Kevin Levin rubbed his eyes as he plopped himself down on his desk chair, eyeing the monitor screen and the seemingly endless grid of scheduled appointments. Mr. Marshal was due in at 12:30 with a leaky gas tank. An hour or so afterwards, some soccer mom who had just moved into town was bringing in her mini-van for a oil change and a routine check up. The real piece of work would be his last car for the day. A young man had called in the morning to get a time for Kevin to take a look at his 1989 Ford pickup, which had died on the road in a cloud of smoke and fire, and was being towed into the garage. He had warned the kid he wasn't sure it was even worth fixing the truck, but Johnny Rawson insisted he do all he could to save it.

It had been only a couple of years since he had opened up the shop in his garage but since then, business had been booming. His one wish was that he could say the same thing about his other job. Being a Plumber was a much better career than a mechanic, at least in his mind. But ever since Ben Tennyson had left Earth at the end of last year to work with his grandfather, the rush of alien activity they had encountered as kids had dried up completely.

He scoffed as he remembered the last time his badge had beeped. A touring group of aliens had crash landed out in Hawaii and Kevin had been sent to pick them up and arrange for the repair of their ship. No battles, no explosions, no bad guys. He sighed and stood up from the desk, grabbing the keys to his Camaro and his Plumber's badge. Being an interplanetary cop wasn't living up to what he had expected it to be. He checked to make sure he had no messages, then headed out to prepare for the afternoon rush.

Outside the air conditioned office, the summer air had filled the garage. He huffed and pulled off his mechanic's shirt, discarding it on the couch. He had grown over these last years. As a teenager, he had been muscular, but lean. Now that he was entering the early years of his adult life, the workouts had gotten only more rigorous and it showed in the girth of his biceps and the wide slope of his shoulders. It was the only attention he really paid to himself. His hair, though it had always been haphazardly, had been left to its own devices and he had to keep it in a ponytail so it stayed out of his face. He didn't really have to worry about shaving, either. That was both a blessing and a curse.

He scratched at the pathetic dusting of stubble on his chin as he surveyed the mess that was his work station. It would have to be somewhat straightened before old Mr. Marshal showed up. The man was nothing if not organized. He had confided in Kevin once that he respected a person who knew exactly where everything was. Since, Kevin had made sure he could do just that whenever he was around. He knelt and began to pick up the scattered tools from his last job when there was a knock on the side door of the garage. Kevin glanced up at the clock. Too early for his next appointment. He groaned as he ran down the list of people who could possibly come calling, his frown growing at each name.

"Door's open." He shouted, throwing a few wrenches onto the bench. Their clattering masked the squeaking of the door, but not the person's response.

"When are you ever going to oil this door?"

"Tennyson?" Kevin turned, only to come face to face with his old teammate. Ben gave a small smile, shrugging nonchalantly. The twerp had grown in height. He could almost look Kevin in the eye. Almost. He was still thin, though. Kevin, slightly satisfied by that, walked over and reached out his hand. Ben took it readily. "When did you get back on planet?"

"Not too long ago. Maybe a day or so. I figured I'd drop in and see how you were holding up." Ben disengaged his hand, shoving both in the pockets of his jeans, and began to walk himself around the garage. He kicked at the Camaro's tires. Kevin watched him carefully, even as he allowed himself to fall back into the dusty couch at the other end of the room. Ben thankfully had opted to lose the green jacket and converse now that he was an officer. He looked older in his green flannel and white t-shirt, with a simple pair of jeans and understate brown tennishoes. It made it almost hard to remember the loud-mouthed and brazen teenager he worked with.

"Let's just say the car fixing business is going better than the alien cop business. But you knew that already." Kevin's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "What's wrong?"

"What do you mean? I can't just stop by and say hi?" He paused on the other side of the car and leaned up against it. His green eyes remained glued to the floor, focused on something that wasn't there. Kevin couldn't look at his eyes. They reminded him of someone else's and it bothered him to no end. He threw his right leg up and over his left, picking casually at the bottom of his boot, anything to help steer his mind away from unwanted thoughts.

"Not when you haven't done it for the last year or two."

"I haven't really exactly been in the position to do that." With a slight push, Ben began to pace in front of the Kevin's couch. The small red light on the front of his Plumber's badge shone through the pocket of his green flannel. It was in scan mode.

"So what's the occasion now? Or are you telling me you came all the way back from headquarters just to see me?" Ben sighed. Suddenly, he turned to face Kevin fully, staring the older man directly in the eyes.

"I need your help."

"Don't tell me you're in some sort of trouble." Kevin laughed. Ben shook his head roughly, taking the badge out from his pocket. He looked at it for a moment or so, then back at Kevin. The two stared at each other in silence.

"I'm not the one in trouble. It's Gwen. She's been missing for almost a week now."


A/N: I have been throwing this idea around for literally a month. This has to be like the tenth rewrite, so I'm just posting it and going from there. I don't know how far I'll get, but you're welcome to come along the ride while its going.