P [ p a r a s i t e e v e ] E

Author's Note:

I do not claim to Own Parasite Eve nor any of the Characters in it, I'm writing this sheerly for my ( and if you like it, your) entertainment.

If you like, Tell me, if you don't Tell mw ^-^ I like to know these things, especially if my work sucks. So tell me what you think and leave my a review thingy ^-^ read on my friends… for hopefully this is just one of many FanFics… This isn't my first just the first I've finished, it's my 2nd PE one and I'm working on one called "Aftermath". Enjoy ^-^

P [ p a r a s i t e e v e ] E

Parasite Eve

[]

(Reflection in the Glass)

Aya Brea stepped out of the shower, her golden hair dripping with water, This is it, she thought to herself as she wrapped a navy towel around herself, My last day here. She looked around the apartment, having only packed 3 boxes, a trunk and a suitcase that she had put in her car earlier. The powers she had acquired one month earlier had not disappeared, she was afraid, for her friends and herself. She looked around the apartment, there was nothing left in the small apartment but the couch Aya usually fell asleep on, the bed she rarely used and the TV. The Yellow sedan that now held her clothes, personal belongings, weapons, and basically her life, that she had bought earlier that day was outside sitting in wait for her to drive it away from New York. Last day in New York, she thought to herself silently. She went to the bed where the only clothing that wasn't packed away in her car was lying. She picked up the faded blue jeans and slipped her long slender legs into them, next she picked up the skin tight Black zip up shirt that she had bought, and put it on zipping it up. She then turned to the bed where her black leather jacket lay, her favorite leather jacket. She picked it up and put it on brushing her Golden hair over the ebony collar, "Leaving forever..." she thought aloud as she looked into the mirror. She looked into her own emerald eyes, eyes she felt were not her own anymore. Her eyes were a brilliant sapphire now they were green, not that she minded the change but the emerald eyes staring at her in the mirror just reminded her that she wasn't normal, that she held enough power inside her to destroy New York. She feared for her friend's safety and her own humanity. "Unhhh..." Aya doubled over in pain hitting her head on the mirror, cracking it, as she hit the floor, "Ahhhhhhhhh...." She gripped her stomach in pain, pain that quickly moved throughout her body, feeling like a fire burning her insides. this had been happening to Aya since two weeks after she had defeated Eve, it was a message, a message telling her to get out of New York, images of Eve were present in the background, images of herself becoming like Eve were being burned into her memory. She abhorred herself in these visions and after them, they all pointed to her being a danger to her friends if she remained in New York. Tears formed in Aya's eyes, she couldn't let this happen, She slowly sat up, calling on her mitochondrial powers to heal the deep gash on her forehead that was bleeding down her face. After the wound had healed she went into the bathroom and washed the blood off her face, there was a scar on her forehead, Great, she thought to her self as she looked at the scar. She then combed through her hair noticing that it was now dry, she looked at her watch, "Eight-thirty!? Oh my God... I cant believe I blacked out for that long..." Aya sighed feeling suddenly tired and then she sat down on the couch falling asleep a few minutes.

Aya awakened looking around, she was disoriented. She swallowed hard, her stomach burned, her head hurt, her entire body ached. "Oooooph..." Her vision was slightly blurred, she looked around to see where she was, she had been sitting at her desk. She stood up running her hand through her hair, The Precinct? Why am I... "Ahhhhh!" Her body burned as she fell to the floor. Daniel Dollis walked in the room with his son, "Aya!? What's the matter?" Daniel's son looked to Aya then to his father, "Dad what's wrong with Aya?" Daniel shook his head as he walked over to the blonde woman that lay on the floor before him, "I don't know Ben, go get Mr. Maeda..." The child left the room running down the hall and then down the stairs. "Aya," Daniel put his hand on Aya's shoulder, "Aya, what's the matt...AHHHHHHHHH!" His arm burst into flames, "AYA!? AYA?! STOP!?" Aya sat up, her eyes gleamed a bright silver, she watched Daniel burn. The flames spread over his entire body engulfing him in its relentless blaze, his skin blistered, "Aya! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?! AHHH!" A cruel grin crossed Aya's face, she wasn't Aya anymore. Ben came running up the stairs with Maeda and Wayne who all stopped, dumbstruck, when they reached the office. "DADDY!?" Ben cried, tears already forming in his eyes as he ran to the burning body on the ground. "Ben! Get outta here now!" Daniel said with his last breath, his body lay there still on fire, but the flames were dying slowly. Ben turned and looked at Aya, "Aya, stop," he sobbed, "please help him...please Aya." Aya laughed at Ben, "Now Ben, why would I do a thing like that?" Ben's eyes widened in fear, he felt his body grow hot, "Aya, NO!?" Ben burst into flames, "AYYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Maeda's eyes widened, it was too late for the boy, he just realized what was happening, "Wayne, we must leave right now…" Wayne looked at him, "What?! We cant leave Aya here!?" Maeda shook his head, "She is not Aya anymore, We must...ah ... run now." Wayne frowned, "Maeda Aya is in there so...." He didn't finish, he couldn't he was a pile of ooze on the floor, gone forever. Maeda backed against the wall, "Oh dear God..." Aya smirked as she walked closer to Maeda, "Don't scream to loudly now..." Maeda screamed as his flesh was melted from his bones. Aya's cruel laughter filled the hallway.

Aya gasped bolting up on the sofa, Oh God.... That was the worst of all the dreams she had ever had, she looked at her watch the numbers read 3:45. She stood up straightening her jacket, she picked up her keys off the counter and took one last look at her apartment before leaving, slipping the key under the landlords door along with a simple note telling him that she had left town and this months rent and the key was inside the envelope with the note. She walked down the stairs and opened the driver's side door to the sedan and got in, driving past the Precinct then across the long empty bridge connecting Manhattan with the mainland of New York, leaving the island forever.

Daniel frowned, it was 9:57, Aya still wasn't at work, Aya had never been late, her phone had been disconnected, he was worried. He stood up and walked into Baker's office, "I'm going to Aya's apartment sir, I'm worried about her..." Baker nodded, "Go ahead, but be back here in twenty minutes Dollis..." Daniel nodded, "Yes sir." Baker dismissed him, "And Daniel," he said as Daniel got to the door and turned back to face Baker, "Sir?" Baker stood up and smiled a little, "Give her a good scolding on tardiness for me." Daniel laughed, "Alright." He then exited and headed for the garage. Baker sat back down letting the true worry show on his face. The phone rang, he answered it, "Baker."

Daniel frowned as no one answered Aya's door, he tried opening it and found it unlocked. He opened the door and frowned as he entered finding the apartment to be quite bare. He walked to the middle of the room frowning more upon laying eyes on the broken mirror and the blood on the floor, "Aya, you home?" The answer came from behind him, "Mr. Dollis?" Daniel turned to see the elderly landlord at the door, "Yeah, do you know where Aya went?" The landlord shook his head, "She seemed fairly spooked when she left around four though, she dropped her rent and key off and I saw her get in her car from my window." Daniel frowned, "Aya doesn't have a car..." The landlord shook his head, "She bought it the day before the day 'fore yesterday, sorry Mr. Dollis..." Daniel nodded and walked out, getting in the patrol car, that only three days ago he had talked with Aya about taking she and Ben to central park, and he drove back to the Precinct.

Aya spoke solemnly into the payphone outside of a truck stop in Kentucky, "No, Douglas, I'm not calling in sick…" Douglas Baker frowned and looked at his clock, it was 5:46, Daniel had been gone for a couple of hours, "Then why are you calling Aya..." Aya took in a deep breath, "I quit." Baker had not expected that, especially from Aya, "W-What?!" Aya shook her head a little, "You heard me the first time sir." Baker had a shocked look on his face, "B-but Why?!" Aya took another deep breath, "I got a better job offer." She was lying, maybe not about the job, more about the reason, Baker could tell that much, "Alright Aya... Good luck then." It was no use persuading her to come back, Aya was a stubborn one. "Tell every one I said uh bye and when I get to LA I'll call you guys," She said and hung up before Baker could reply, she hadn't totally lied when she said she had gotten a job offer, but that wasn't the true reason she had left. She hoped her friends would understand, she got in her car and drove away again.

Daniel walked into Baker's office, "Aya's gone, she just packed up and left!? Damnit how could she do that?" Douglas turned his chair around to face Daniel, "Yes, I know..." Daniel frowned, "You know?" Baker nodded, "She called a few minutes ago, she quit, the woman who single handedly saved New York, quit." Daniel shook his head, "Did she say why?" Baker frowned, "She said she got a better job offer, but she was lying." Daniel looked surprised, "How do you know?" Baker smiled grimly, "A.) Aya was never a good liar, and B.) she had alot of fear in her voice." A look of shock passed over Daniel's face, "What?" Baker looked at him, "You heard me, I think she left town outta fear." Daniel shook his head, "Of what?" Baker shrugged, "I don't know... I just don't know."

Aya sat in a truck stop diner on the Tennesee-Kentucky border, she had a look of deep thought on her face. "Wassa matter Darlin, Ya look like someone ran over your puppy," the waitress said as she put the coffee Aya had ordered on the table. "Huh?" Aya looked up at the waitress, the waitress had on an ugly shade of green and had big glasses that looked like they came right out of the fifty's. She was probably the ideal of what movies and TV had placed on waitresses, in her late thirties and straight outta the fifty's. "Ya look like someone ran over ya puppy sugah," she repeated to Aya. "Oh... heh... no just thinking," Aya replied. "Oh... Anything else I can get ya?" The waitress asked. "The check, please," Aya said and resumed back into thought.

~*~Two Weeks Earlier, a couple weeks after the "Manhattan Incident" ~*~

A cop named John Johnson walked up to Aya's desk rather confidently and watched her for a minute or two while she ignored him. "So, Brea...gunna ignore me forever?" He said snidely picking up a pen off her desk. "Well I was going to try," she said looking up at him, "what d'ya want JJ." He snickered at her, "You know what I heard from the narcotics department?" Aya sighed, she had a feeling it was about her powers, they all looked at her like she was a killer now. She would just walk down the hall for a cup of coffee and she could feel their eyes on her, she could hear their whispering and jokes, frankly she was sick of it, the only people who really trusted her were Baker, Daniel, and Ben, Medea had gone back to Japan but if he were here he would be one of the few that looked at Aya with trust. "No, nor do I care, now git," Aya said annoyed motioning him away from her desk. John laughed, "And if I don't go are you going ta burn me into a pile of goo?" Aya Gritted her teeth glaring at him, "Go Away, okay." John laughed again, "You been stealing from the narcotics department Brea? Huh?" Aya stood up, glaring at him, "Now see here! You people think I don't hear what you say? GET OUT!?" Aya was vivid with anger, she picked up her jacket shaking her head, "Daniel, I'm taking the rest of today off... cover for me," Aya said to her partner as she walked out the door and headed toward her small apartment about three blocks away. Aya shook her head slightly as she opened the door to her apartment. She closed the door behind her and looked around the small apartment, everything looked to be in place but it just didn't have that "home" feeling, she felt alienated in her own home. She sighed and sat down on the couch pondering what to do next. The phone rang and Aya nearly jumped out of her skin, "Uhhg, its just the phone, its okay Christ, jumpy much?" Aya ran her hand through her hair as she picked the phone up, " 'Lo?" A gruff man was on the other end, "Brea, Officer Aya Brea I presume?" Aya frowned, "Who the hell is this?" The voice sounded serious and monotonous, "I am very interested in your... how shall I put this? Special talents." Aya scoffed, "Why? So you can put me in some lab, cut me up, poke, prod me? Find out what makes me tick?" The voice on the other end scoffed, "No, I have a job offer for you, it pays rather well." Aya frowned, "What does this job intail?" The voice on the other end was silent for a moment, "I cannot divulge that information over the phone, I have a man in New York now, meet him at the Carnegee Hall Cafe at Eleven forty-five, he will be with a woman. I highly suggest you go." Aya frowned, "Are you threateni..." the phone went dead. "Damnit," Aya said as she looked at the clock, 4:45, she thought to herself as she drifted off into a restless sleep.

Aya was looking at the burned corpse of Wayne, laughing. Stop laughing! This isn't funny! You're hurting people! Aya screamed inside her mind. Wayne's flesh smelled of over cooked meat, his skin blistered still as the fire still crackled on his skin. The bone of his right arm was exposed and the expression on his face was frozen in a permeant scream of agony. His eyes had been burned from their sockets. The fire slowly died down. A dog out in the hall growled at Aya as it was protecting Medea, Daniel, and Ben. Aya sneered and simply lifted her right hand at the dog. It whined as it's skin started to split. It was growing larger, pink slime oozed to the floor as it did. The skin covering it's muzzle split as the muzzle grew twice as long. The dogs head grew to be twice as wide and it now had six eyes, it's ears had split giving it four pink slime covered ears. Drool oozed it's way out of the dogs mouth, over its razor sharp teeth. The animals tongue was like a mace with very sharp points on it. The animal no longer looked like a dog when it stood erect, it now had four arms that were rather human looking and stood on legs that were still rather dog like. It's tail had been split into three deadly looking shards. It growled hungrily at the trio against the wall. "Go on," Aya said in a cold cruel tone, "have a feast of them..." She smirked leaning in the door way as the animal pounded toward the trio, snatching Ben in its jaws, the child didn't have a chance as his blood spilled onto the floor his father screamed in frustration, "Aya! I'll Kill you for this!?" Medea shook his head putting his hand on Daniel's shoulder, "She isn't Aya anymore Daniel..." Daniel drew his gun and aimed it at Aya as his son's half eaten carcass was thrown into the wall, "I'm going to fucking kill you for that Aya! YOU KILLED MY SON YOU SONOFA..." Daniel didn't get to finish, the dog creature knocked him onto the wall and bit his arm off sending more blood onto the floor. "Will you now Bo? Like to see you shoot me with no arms," Aya laughed cruelly as the dog creature bit off her partner's other arm, the man screamed until his head was ripped off. "Aya," Medea pleaded, "Aya please! We want to help you! You need hel..." His sentence was cut short when the monster knocked his head from his shoulders and began feasting on his heart. Noooooooooooooooooooooooo! Aya screamed inside her own mind as her something that wasn't her made her laughed at the scene in front of her.

Aya bolted up on the couch feeling as if her skin was ablaze, "Ah!" She yelped as she stood up feeling slightly dizzy the burning feeling getting worse. "Oh God," She managed to say as she bolted to the bathroom getting in the shower and turning the shower on as cold as it could be. The burning sensation on her skin dulled as the cold water soaked the white T-shirt and jeans that she wore. Water dripped down her honey colored hair as she shut the water off, the burning feeling completely gone now. Aya shook her head slightly, "What the hell..." She looked to the clock on the shelf above the toilet. "Shit, Eleven-fourty!" Aya got out of the shower and headed for her room taking off her wet clothes and putting on a loose fitting navy blue T-shirt with the letters NYPD in white on the back. She pulled on a clean pair of jeans and put on a pair of dry socks. The clock on the nightstand read 11:45. "Shit... I'm late..." The grabbed her keys and put them in her jacket pocket as she put the black leather jacket on. She locked the door behind her and started sprinting toward the Carnegee Hall Cafe. It was twelve blocks away and normally took a half an hour to walk there. "I seriously hope they don't leave..." Aya continued running, at this rate it would probably take her twenty minutes to get there.

A blonde man with a pair of wire framed sunglasses stared at his near empty mug of coffee. He wore long jeans and a bulky hunter green sweater covered by a rather bulky looking parka, "It's too cold here, couldn't Hal have just sent someone else?" He said to the woman with dark hair that sat at the booth near the window across from him. She was wearing khaki pants with a baby blue turtle neck and a darker blue sweater over it covered by a nice looking white winter jacket. "Pierce, it's January, and we're in New York. Duh, it's going to be cold." The man frowned at the woman when she said this, "Shut up Jodie....Hey isn't she late?" Jodie looked at her watch, the numbers read 12:02. "Yeah, she's late," she said letting the sleeve of her jacket cover her trendy yet conservative watch. Pierce ordered another cup of coffee to go, "Maybe we should go, I don't think she's gunna show." Jodie frowned looking around the cafe, "Give her five more minutes Pierce..." Pierce frowned, "Fine, fine, just five minutes..." The two sat and waited.

Aya reached the cafe at 12:04. The doors to the cafe were being locked just as she had gotten to the door, "Please? I'm meeting someone here..." The waiter whom Aya was pleading with shook his head, "Sorry lady, go someplace else." He walked away cleaning off a few tables as he went. "Ohhhh man, this is not my night..." Aya leaned against the wall near the door, shivering slightly because her hair was still wet. Aya didn't notice the pair starting to leave the cafe, "See Jodie, I knew she wouldn't show, I told you, Hmmph." The door suddenly flew open hitting Aya's knees rather hard, "Ow!" The man looked to Aya, "Oh! I...I'm sorry I didn't mean... Are you all right?" Aya grumbled standing up straight, "Peachy..." The man looked to the woman at his side, "Well, we wait for one lady only to run into this pretty lady, my luck is looking up." Aya rolled her eyes crossing her arms shivering slightly. The man coughed extending his hand, "I'm Pierce Carradine, were you waiting for someone or something?" Aya nodded slightly shaking his hand, "Aya, meeting someone actually." The dark haired woman whom had looked slightly annoyed with Pierce perked slightly, "Aya Brea?" Aya looked to the woman, "How did you know that?" The dark haired woman giggled slightly, "We've been waiting for you!" She extended her hand, "I'm Jodie Boquet, I think our superior Hal contacted you..." Aya scoffed slightly, "More like threatened me..." Jodie frowned, "He can be that way sometimes, you wanna go someplace to talk, you look half frozen." Aya nodded slightly, "Where too?" Pierce looked to Jodie who in turn shrugged, "You know of a coffee place that's open twenty-four hours?" Aya nodded slightly, "The place across from the Precinct...You know where that is?" Jodie shook her head, "Nope, think you can give pierce here some detailed directions?" Aya nodded, "Yeah, sure can." Jodie nodded and led the way to Pierce's res SUV, Well you can definitely tell she's from New York, Jodie thought noting Aya's accent. Pierce got in the driver's seat and to be polite Jodie got in the back seat. Aya got in the front next to Pierce. "So," Pierce said as he started the car, "Uhh... you.. erm... Live around here, I mean I notices your hair was kinda wet so I figured..." Aya snickered softly, "You noticed my half frozen hair, Why thank you..." Jodie laughed from the back-seat. "N-no! heh that's not what I meant... erm, I mean...So where is this coffee place anyway?" He asked as he pulled out of the parking place. "Go straight then take a right then at the light go left...." Off his confused look Aya frowned, "I'll just tell you when to turn..." Pierce nodded following Aya's instructions as she told them to him. Jodie snickered, "Pierce may be the brilliant Infomanagement Specialist but he sucks with directions." Pierce frowned, "Hey..." Aya frowned and sounded slightly annoyed, "So you two are FBI?" Jodie nodded, "A branch of the FBI, Erm I don't think the car is the best place to talk about this..." Aya sighed, really annoyed now, "Talk about what?" Pierce spoke up this time, "NMCs." Aya looked at him slightly puzzled, "NMCs?" Pierce nodded, "Neo Mitochondrian Creatures." Aya crossed her arms, "Like Eve..." Jodie shook her head, "No, the creatures she created. They're springing up all over the US." Aya scoffed slightly, "Great, lets throw a party." Pierce stopped in front of the coffee shop, "We're here because we need your help, Aya you have special talents that could really help us, and the job pays well." Aya stepped out of the car, "I... I'm going to have to think on this one." Jodie nodded as she got out of the car, "That's understandable." Pierce exited the car, "So this is the Cop hang out?" Aya nodded, "This is where most of us cops go for coffee, there a problem with that?" Pierce laughed, "Not at all, as long as they serve coffee." Aya nodded slightly and led the way to the entrance opening the door and sitting in the booth at the far corner where no one was sitting. "How do ya take your coffee ladies?" Aya looked to hin raising an eyebrow, "Black." Jodie nodded, "Pierce the cream and stuff is on the table..." Pierce coughed and went to buy the coffee. "So," Aya started, "where is this mystery branch of the FBI located?" Jodie smiled slightly, "LA, the nice warm city of LA, and it's M.I.S.T." Aya nodded slightly, "And that means?" Jodie smiled again, the warmth of her face never leaving, "Mitochondria Investigation and Suppression Team." Aya blinked, slightly shocked, "So you do wanna put me in some lab then..." Jodie shook her head, "No, of course not silly, we want you to work for us, it pays quite well and that's not including the bounty points you get to buy guns and stuff with." Aya nodded slightly. Pierce returned with the three coffees and set them on the table, "So what you girls chat about while I was gone?" Aya shrugged slightly taking a coffee, "Not much." Pierce nodded slightly, again noting the New York accent the blonde woman had. "So, do you wanna Join?" Jodie asked taking a coffee. Aya took a deep breath, "I don't know, can I meet you here tomorrow to give you an answer?" Jodie nodded before Pierce could say anything, "Yeah, it's understandable that you need time to think, here, tomorrow at midnight?" Aya nodded and Jodie stood up, "Kay, see ya tomorrow then." She smiled and both she and Pierce left, leaving Aya alone with her thoughts. About five minutes later John Johnson walked up to Aya's table and sat down, "You look deep in thought." He snickered slightly, "Thinking about how you're going to destroy the world?" Aya didn't answer him, she stared at her coffee, seriously considering the job offer now. "What," he started, "Now you can't talk?" Aya stood up and dumped the entire cup of hot coffee onto his crotch, "Oh, I'm just so damn clumsy! Must me those crazy freak genes I have." She promptly walked out of the diner and headed home feeling hot and light headed.

Aya opened the door to her apartment and took her jacket off putting it onto the chair near the couch. She sat down and thought about all the dreams she had been having. "I need to get out of New York," She said aloud to herself. My powers are messed up, she thought holding her head, "Uhhhhnh..." She leaned on the door frame feeling dizzy, damnit... A crash sounded from Aya's bed room, her head snapped up toward the door at full attention, "What now..." Her head was pounding and worse off her gun was in her jacket, "Shit..." She turned to grab the jacket off of the chair to retrieve the gun. "I wouldn't do that Ms. Brea," it was a man's voice that sounded gruff and angry. Aya rose her hands slightly and turned her head so she could see the man out of the corner of her eye, "What do you want?" The man laughed, "You're Dollis' partner, ain't you?" Aya's head was pounding even worse and her body burned, trying to tell her to get out of New York, to get away, "Yes." The man laughed, "Good, He sent my son to death row, I'm going to get revenge, first with his partner then with his son." Aya turned, looking at the man recognizing him right away, "You're son sent himself to death row when he killed those twelve people." The man's son was a serial killer Daniel had arrested two months before getting her as a partner. "NO! He didn't do it!" The man pointed the gun he was holding at Aya's head. "He was cau..." Aya gasped as pain hit her at full force, "Ahhhhah," she doubled over in pain closing her eyes, "Oh god, not now..." She felt like her body was not only on fire but about to explode, the man with the gun dropped it to the floor, "AHHHHH! What are you doing to me!?" Aya fell to the floor writhing in pain then passed out. The man looked at his badly burned right arm and picked his gun up with the left, "Bitch." He shot Aya in the shoulder, "Damnit..." He aimed again for her head, then he burst into flames. He was a pile of ashes in a matter of minutes.

Aya started to stir, "Unuhh..." She sat up rubbing her head, which didn't hurt anymore, but her shoulder ached as it slowly healed from the gunshot wound. Her body didn't burn but it felt warm, still warning her. She saw the pile of ashes and the melted gun, "Oh, my god... What have I done?" Aya stood up extremely spooked, "Ohgodohgodohgod...." Aya put her jacket on and left her apartment in disbelief, she headed for the 17th precinct. When she opened the doors there was a female cop sitting at the entrance desk, "Aya! Hey, what are you doin in so early?" Aya shrugged, "Couldn't sleep," and then she walked through the next set of double doors. When she got to her desk and sat down Daniel raised an eyebrow, "You look like hell in a handbasket..." Aya let her head hit her desk, "That's the understatement of the year." Daniel frowned, "What's wrong Aya?" Aya sighed and lifted her head from her desk, "What makes you think something is wrong?" Daniel shook his head slightly, "Aya, it's 6am, you don't even need to come in for another 6 hours, your wearing that NYPD trainee workout shirt that's wrinkled to hell and back and you just seem out of it lately." Aya frowned, "Alot has been going on Daniel..." She then smiled warmly standing up pushing the chair behind her, "Just couldn't sleep, but I think I'm going to do something now and I'll be in at noon..." Daniel looked at her quizzically, "Okay?" Aya got up and dashed out the door headed for the bus stop to go to Phil's discount cars., she had a job to get in LA.

Daniel sighed, What the hell is going on with her... he thought to himself as he filled out a file on the shoplifter who sat in the chair in front of him. "She was HOTT," the boy said as Aya left. Daniel frowned slightly as he looked at the boy and continued writing. "She's the one who saved Manhattan, ain't she?" The boy asked of Daniel. Daniel sighed, "Yeah..." The boy frowned, "Oh, I don't like those risky types, I mean I've heard rumors and stuff about her and whoo whee, no sir, not for me..." Daniel frowned more, "Shut up kid." After he had gotten the kid to shut up Daniel resumed his paperwork, wondering where Aya had gone to.

Aya paid Phil for the car, "And you'll have it all ready and restored tomorrow?" Phil nodded, "Yeah." Aya smiled, 'Thank you, I'll pick it up right after you call me." Phil nodded then got to work on the car. Aya left headed for the bus stop once again. She decided to go home then to work, she wanted to change first. Aya looked at her watch as the bus arrived, 10:24... She had spent almost 4 hours discussing a payment plan and the actual picking out of a car with Phil. A strange man sat down in the seat across from Aya after she had gotten on the bus. "I know what you did..." He said after the bus started moving, "You're no different than that thing you killed in December..." Aya's eyes widened, "What?" The man just smiled, "You heard me..." Aya's throat felt so tight she felt like she couldn't breathe, so she pulled the stop rope and stumbled off the bus in a hurry, "I gotta get outta here...."

Aya was forty minutes late for work and Daniel was a little angry with her for being late and being secretive. "So," he said as he opened the driver's side to the patrol car, "What's going on?" Aya opened the passenger side door and got in, "I don't know what you mean." Daniel frowned slightly, "Well, me and Ben are going to Central Park in a couple days, you wanna come with?" Aya nodded slightly, "Sure." The car became silent and very little was said until 11:56pm. "Oh! I gotta get coffee," Aya said stepping out of the car, "Don't wait for me I'll catch up to you at the precinct." Daniel nodded, giving her space for the time being, he'd talk to her in a couple days. He watched her walk into the coffee shop and sit in a booth, alone. A few minutes later he watched a man and a woman go into the coffee shop and sit at the booth with Aya. He watched the scene from the car, Aya was nodding as the man talked, she shook her head, said something and shook both the man and the woman's hand. The man said something and handed Aya a piece of paper. The woman said something getting a laugh out of Aya but not the man. Aya nodded and said something else, then the man said something and Aya laughed, nodding slightly and saying something else. Daniel frowned and pulled away, something was up with Aya and he was hell bent of finding out what.

Aya waved slightly to Daniel and went into the coffee shop sitting in a booth alone. A few minutes later Jodie and Pierce entered and sat down with Aya. "So, have you decided, I mean if you need more time that's perfectly alright..." Aya nodded, "I think I have." Pierce nodded slightly, "You need more time then?" Aya shook her head, "I'll take the job." Both the man and the woman smiled and shook Aya's hand, "Welcome to the team, "Pierce started, "We've got an apartment and everything ready for you, we'll go from there," he handed her a piece of paper with the address on it,"But follow the GPS and I'll help you move in when you get there," Pierce added. "Yeah!" Jodie smiled, "We can use all the help we can get, I mean give Pierce a gun and you have a national emergency," Jodie stated. Aya laughed and Pierce just looked slightly annoyed, "How do I git there by the way? I mean I don't exactly know my way across the country," Aya asked questioningly. Pierce replied kind of off the topic, "I'll take care of it... you seriously have an interesting accent, I mean it's just so.... authentic, no offense." Aya laughed a little, she hadn't given much thought to the way she had talked, nodding a little she said, "Yeah, lived in New York nearly all my life, guess I'll have to work on it huh?" Pierce smiled, "Nah, you can if you want, but uhhh this is a GPS it will help you get to where you're going." Aya nodded, "Thanks, I'll leave in a few days then." Both nodded and stood up, "Thank you Ms. Brea," Jodie said as they left. Aya was left alone with her thoughts until she got up and went home.

Aya frowned, shaking her head slightly as she shut the door to her apartment behind her, "I'm not going crazy." She sighed as she put her jacket on the chair near the door and sat down on the couch, the man from earlier was no where to be found, no burned corpse, no slime, not even ashes or scorch marks, nothing anywhere on the floor. Aya sighed again, "I need to get out of here." Aya mumbled as she slowly dozed off to sleep.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Aya screamed as her skin felt like it were burning right off her bones. Her skin was changing from a pale skin tone to a bright tealish blue, "Oh God! STOP!" Her skin continued to change, her shirt ripped a psudo-wings grew from her shoulder blades. Her boots melted off her feet as her skin continued to change. Her eyes changed into a silver color and a smirk crossed her face, "We won." She laughed. "We beat you Aya, face it you lost," Aya's voice said smoothly. "NO," her voice now sounded panicked, "I WONT LET YOU!" Aya's mouth twisted into a frown, "Fine." Aya's own powers then turned against her and her body burst into flames.

Aya bolted up on the couch, "Ohgodohgodohgod..." Her entire body burned and a cold sweat formed on her forehead. "Ahhh..." Aya stood up and ran into the bathroom, turning the shower on as cold as it would go, standing there a minute with her back against the wall, the cold water running down her face. "Why is this happening to me," she thought aloud as she slowly slid down the wall and to the floor of the shower. She kept the water on until she started to shiver from the frigidness of it. Standing up again she turned the water off and stepped out of the shower, her clothes dripping wet. She grabbed the face towel off the towel rack next to the sink and dried her face off then looked into the mirror gasping at the sight. "What the hell!?" Aya's eyes widened at the image in the mirror, she touched her own face then the mirror in disbelief. "Why is this happening!?" She looked four or five years younger than she had a few hours ago. "What the Hell is going on," Aya stumbled out of the bathroom and into her bedroom. She was thankful she had gotten today off work, "I'm leaving tomorrow...pick up my car today then I'm leaving." Aya pulled the trunk out from the closet and started to pack.

Phil sighed, having just finished Aya's car, it actually looked good. He smiled to himself as he walked over to his phone to call Aya. "Hmmm...Where did I put that number..." He opened up his desk drawer, "Ah ha! here we go." He dialed the number written on the paper. It rang three times before the woman picked up, "Ye..ah?" The connection of the phone was really bad, Phil noted, "Ms. Brea? Your car is finished, just come on down and pick it up when you're ready." Aya fumbled with the broken phone for a second then said, "Th..anks...hil." Phil hung up shaking his head slightly, "If that wasn't a broken phone I'm Saint nick." He mumbled something about how shoddy today's devises were made then went out into the lot to fix up an old Camaro.

Aya sighed finishing putting the last of her stuff in a box then had put everything in the car, the only things left in the apartment were, the couch, the bed, the TV, an overnight bag with 2 shirts and a pair of jeans in it along with the basic toiletries, a pair of black short shorts and a gun holster that fit around her thigh was also in the overnight bag. On her bed lay a pair of socks, her favorite pair of boots and the shirt she had just bought, black zip up and skin tight, and a pair of jeans. All her other clothes were in the car and the wet ones she was wearing were almost dry. She had gotten the new shirt on her way home after she picked up her car. She would leave tomorrow night for LA. Just one more day, she thought as she got undressed to get into the shower.

***

Aya had left money for what she had ordered on the table and got in her car and started driving again. She stopped every now and then to kill a stray NMC. When she finally reached LA she sighed. She looked at the GPS Pierce had given her a few days ago in the coffee shop. A blinking red dot showed her where she needed to be, sighing she stopped to get coffee first, when she ordered the guy smiled and said, "You aren't from around here are you?" Aya shook her head and waited for her coffee. After the guy brought her the coffee he smiled again slipping her his phone number and walking away. Aya picked up the to-go cup and left the number on the counter headed for where ever Pierce's GPS was leading her.

Pierce waited at the garage entrance, the tracking device he'd put in Aya's GPS was working beautifully. He spotted a yellow sedan pulling into MIST headquarters, he smirked slightly as he walked up to the driver's side, "Why hello there mam, how can I help you?" Aya smiled slightly, "You can tell me where I go from here." Pierce smiled, "Well I can take you to your apartment, help ya unpack then show you around the office tomorrow, frankly you look tired." Aya nodded, "I'm beat, tell me how to get there." Pierce nodded and gave Aya instructions as she drove, finally getting to the apartment after 4 wrong turns, 2 times passing the place and 3 dead ends, they finally got there. "Wow..." Aya commented on the building as she parked her car. Pierce nodded as he stepped out of the car, "What do you want me to carry?" Aya sighed stepping out of the car and opening the back door, "well you can start out with that box there." Aya picked up a box as Pierce opened the other door and grabbed another box and then shut the door walking up the steps to the main door to the building. He put the box down and unlocked the door then held it for Aya, "Let's use the elevator, Your apartment is on the last floor." Aya nodded and pressed the up button, " So how long have you had this place ready?" Pierce chuckled, "About a month, it was going to be a bribe but hey, you came willingly so, now it's a bonus, a fully furnished bonus." Aya blinked, "Fully furnished?" Pierce nodded, "It's not huge," her stepped in the elevator after Aya and pressed the button labeled "15", "but it's not small, I mean 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom, living room kitchen... It's nice." Aya smiled slightly as the elevator stopped at floor 15. "Here we are..." Pierce stepped out and walked to apartment number 1513 then unlocked the door, "Home sweet home Ms. Brea." Aya nodded and said, "You can call me Aya...Wow..." Aya looked at the apartment in awe, it was furnished nicely, but not over done, had a fairly good sized Tv and more than one phone, plus a study with a computer. pierce nodded, "All yours." Aya smiled again, "As I said, Wow." The pair went back down to Aya's car and got the rest of her stuff which took about an hour and a half then Aya parked her car on the 15th floor parking garage. "Thanks Pierce," Aya said as she got to her door, pierce handed her the key to the place, "It's my job, plus it was fun, I'll see you tomorrow Aya." He shook her hand, "Nine o clock sharp!" Aya nodded and waved to him as he got on the elevator. She stepped into the Apartment and thought of how she had only been in town for four hours and she'd been hit on and had a friend, what would tomorrow bring? She figured the work for MIST wouldn't be easy but she didn't care, she was glad she was Away from New York, she missed her friends there but she needed to get away. She picked up the phone to call then hung it back up, I'll call tomorrow, I need some down time at the moment, she thought to herself. She walked around her boxes to the window, it started to drizzle outside, she stared at the glass, it reveled the truth, she was not a monster and would fight to protect her friends, both new and old, she smiled slightly to herself leaning on the frame of the large bay window. Seeing now, her reflection in the glass.

It's not the End, but a new Beginning.