Disclaimer: I do not own the Twilight franchise, or any of the associated characters. I generally count this as a good thing.

Summary: There were a great many instances in the Twilight Series that could have been solved or prevented entirely by the simple act of picking up a phone and calling someone.

Chapter Two - Breaking Dawn

Aro sighed, mentally counting to one hundred and wishing that he had listened to Caius when he wanted to kill Sasha's entire Coven for the creation of an Immortal Child. The Succubi sisters were more trouble than they were worth. Carlisle might bow to his eldest child's wishes far more often than a leader should, but he wouldn't be so foolish as to create an immortal child, especially when he knew that his coven was already on thin ice. "Alec, check the crime statistics around Forks."

It had been the twins' turn on the Keeping Up With Technology circuit, since they were roughly the right age to mingle with the teenagers on their latest iWhatevers, and no-one wanted a repeat of Felix, Santiago and the Gameboy Fiasco. That had involved far too much snarling and re-attachng of limbs for anyone's taste.

Social Media was handled by human minions, or anyone that Aro felt needed punishment. If Vampires were ever discovered, or at risk of discovery, it would appear on social media first, and trawling through brainless comments made by ill-informed people who (usually) were not worth the effort of tracking down and removing from the gene pool was a fate that most vampires avoided at all costs./span/div

Alex fiddled on his mobile phone for a minute, then shook his head. "Nothing out of the ordinary since the Seattle Murders earlier in the year, and we stopped those in June."

Not an Immortal Child, then.
One of the surest signs of Immortal Children was widespread carnage when they couldn't control their appetite, and their makers could not or would not rein them in. Aro gestured for the guard to remove Irina to a guest room at least for the moment and glanced at the other four vampires, all of whom looked as exasperated as he did. "The possibilities?"

There was the obvious answer besides an immortal child, of course, but surely Edward and his pet couldn't be that foolish...

Caius waved a hand. "Unless the newest Cullen is an orphan, it is not impossible that the child is a younger sibling."

Marcus shook his head. "I admit, I weary of Carlisle's coven being constantly brought to our attention."

Caius tilted his head. "Three times in a year is certainly pushing the limits, though it does present us with an opportunity..."

He trailed off, exchanging a glance with Marcus. They had been generals together, before Aro, the politician of the three, had turned them at the request of his sister, Didyme, and his new mate, Sulpica, who had been reluctant to leave her twin brother behind. Aro often found it frustrating that he could see every thought a person had, and his brothers still seemed to know what the other was thinking with barely a second of eye-contact.

Luckily, he wasn't the only one who found it so. Athenodora arched an eyebrow at her mate, "Do you care to enlighten the rest of us, mi amor?"

They made a formidable pair, with Caius creating a plan, and Athenodora fine-tuning it to within an inch of its metaphorical life. Athenodora had been a rare female scholar while she was alive, a privilege afforded to her as a former Vestal, and she now served as the Volturi Historian.

Caius graced his wife with a rare smile. "Of course, my dearest fulminata. Carlisle is gathering an army, likely comprised of those who would challenge our rule."

'Fulminata' was an odd endearment, meaning 'armed with lightning', but it suited Athenodora perfectly, not only for her formidable intellect, but also for her gift, the ability to call down lightning on those who deliberately set themselves against her. It was one reason she almost never left Volterra; any Coven who attempted to invade while the Volturi were out swiftly regretted their actions.

Caius, for reasons unknown, found this an immense turn-on, occasionally provoking her on purpose. Aro and Marcus found it both a useful asset... and an unintentionally hilarious joke, as far as it related to her former position as High Priestess of a Pantheon of notoriously trigger-happy gods.

Now, at least, Athenodora was smiling, clearly understanding her mate's intentions, and Aro began to catch on. "All neatly gathered in one place, and providing us with every justification to destroy them should they attack, and for Demitri to track down at leisure."

Marcus rose to his feet. "We will bring the guard, and perhaps gather Witnesses of our own. I think the Haides should stay here, however."

His brothers and sisters-in-law nodded agreement. The Haides, or 'unseen ones' were a group of seven Dhampir, half-vampire and half-human, that the Volturi had collected over the years. They were the ones who held down the fort when the Volturi needed to depart in force to make a statement, but since the supposed Immortal Child was doubtless a Dhampir themselves, it would hardly do to bring them along. A secret weapon did not remain secret by flaunting its presence.

Dhampir were dangerous, of course, but unlike Immortal Children, they could restrain and control themselves. Born to be the balancing counterweight to the Vampire race, Dhampir enthralled Vampires as easily as Vampires entranced humans, drawing susceptible members of their Sire's Coven to protect their mortal mothers (if the sire even stayed long enough to discover the pregnancy) and causing their mothers to want nothing more than to keep them, even though anyone with braincells would realize that there was something very wrong and seek to terminate.

Outcast in society as bastards and freaks of nature, frequently orphaned by their birth, they instinctively knew how to kill the supernatural beings that threatened the human race, and Vampires were not their only victims. They worked with the Volturi for practicality and efficency's sake, making use of their contacts and resources in exchange for acting as Daylight Agents.

Aro often speculated that they may have been called Demigods, once; those that were neither god nor mortal, blessed with the power of gods to protect the mortal world. Indeed, the Volturi often sent them out to take care of problems that did not require Volturi intervention, but still needed to be dealt with. Perhaps this new child might one day join them, provided it did not inherit the insufferable attitude of its parents.

The leader of the Volturi rubbed his hands together. "Well, then, we must prepare. Jane, make a list of Vampires to approach should we require witnesses. Demitri, prepare to track them down. Of course, we shall have to leave time to practice a suitably imposing appearance - showing up as a rag-tag mob is simply embarrassing - but that can wait..."

Aro beamed. It would be interesting to see what had changed since they were last in the United States, to put a stop to the Newborn Armies. The Cullens were unlikely to be going anywhere, and the child - whatever it was - did not seem to be drawing any undue attention. A few small side trips would not be out of order, surely...

Marcus closed his eyes patiently. His beloved Didyme had possessed the gift of making people happy, which had softened and tempered the almost childlike glee and manic enthusiasm that she and her brother had shared. Aro was better at regulating it, but he still bordered on insufferable at times. It was one reason that the younger two Volturi indulged their older brother's eccentricities.

The unfortunate side effect of Aro's power was that it occasionally became difficult to separate his own mind and memories from those of others. His mate had the ability to selectively remove memories, an ability that had saved Marcus from going on a rampage when Didyme was killed by removing his memory of the event, softening vengeful rage into lingering melancholy. It was Sulpicia's gift which kept Aro mostly sane by removing all but the most important memories after Aro read a vampire's mind.

Caius gave his sister an almost imploring glance, wordlessly begging that she stop Aro before he organised a Grand Tour of the continental states and every tourist attraction between Italy and America. Caius wouldn't put it past Aro to insist on swimming to America, in order to personally explore the Titanic.

Sulpicia caught the hint and linked arms with her mate. "Since we will be gathering witnesses anyway, it couldn't hurt to visit one or two places as we travel. Let's narrow it down while the full guard are summoned."

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A/N: Again, this would be an instance where picking up a phone would have solved a lot of problems, but I decided to use it as an opportunity to actually SHOW the Volturi as cunning, powerful rulers of the Vampire World, since the books themselves didn't. There is also an explanation for why Bella, who previously showed no interest in having kids, is suddenly so hyper-protective of Renesme.

Also, the fact that Nahuel and his sisters even exist is a strong argument that half-vampires are rare, but not unheard of. Heck, in the Medieval Period, Inccubai were blamed for unexpected pregnacies or deformed infants, and if Meyer can play fast and loose with Mythology, so can the rest of us. This is something I see the Volturi taking advantage of, in a "we have money and connections and extremely powerful gifts, so we will back you if you do theoccasional job for us" kind of way.

If there is anything else you want to see, let me know in a review.

Thanks,

Nat