Summary: In the first chapter.
poorasdirt: Wow, it's getting late but I did update today so I'm happy. Yea, anyway not much to say just I don't really have that many reviews. Anyway, I will thank those that have favorited or alerted this story though. Um, yea, I don't know if there will be an update tomorrow since I still have to write out that chapter and I will get to sleep in. I will try but no promises.
Disclaimer: Still only own the OCs and plotline.
ENJOY!!
If there was one thing both Grant and Bella agreed upon it was they both hated British weather. Grant despised the temperature since he much rather be back in Louisiana. Bella disliked how much London reminded her of a much larger and busier Forks Washington. However, London was where the two found themselves only a few days after they went to the circus. They had gone to Amsterdam then made their way to London England. The trip only had a slight bump along the way when a group of army personal came out of nowhere and attacked the two. By now both were pretty used to the whole routine, but unfortunately Bella's bike suffered a fatal hit by rocket launcher. Bella still was in a horrible mood about it but Grant had long gotten used to his mother's surly attitude from time to time.
"So mère, what are we doing here?" Grant asked as the two walked down the busy streets of London to a rather nice hotel. Money be damned, Bella decided she could afford having two separate beds this time around. After all, HYDRA had a hard time operating in the UK thanks to a few well placed government task forces, so the only threat to the two mutants here would be a vampire one.
"Well for one I need to relax a bit and this is one of the few places we can do that with relative safety. Also Andy and Conrad are here in London for a while so Andy can take a look at your injuries." Bella said with a smile.
"Why are tante Andy and oncle Conrad here?" Grant asked looking up at his mother who grinned.
"Conrad is here to give a speech at the Institution of Cancer Research here in London; Andy came with to assist him." Bella answered as they finally made it to their hotel. "Well come on, we have to check in and then I have to make a few phone calls. You can get started on that work I assigned you while I'm doing that."
"Oui mère." Grant said following Bella into the hotel. Once in their new hotel room that was a rather nice suite, the two got settled. Bella didn't know how long they were going to stay in London but knew they'd be there for at least three weeks. While neither Grant nor Bella particularly liked the weather they liked the city itself. The few times they stayed in London they had always had a blast, and it was one of the few places were Bella felt like she could let down her guard a bit and get away with it. As Grant started to work through his workbook Bella pulled out her cell phone.
"Amanda Leblanc speaking how may I help you?" A voice on the other end asked after a few rings.
"Hey Andy, it's me Bella." Bella said with a smirk. The brunette always did like the older woman, even way back when Bella first met her. Amanda had been the calm yet firm and caring person that every one of Bella's friends needed from time to time; even Bella had to admit she needed the black haired woman sometimes to just talk to. Although it didn't come as a surprise to anyone that knew Amanda that she ended up marrying her boyfriend Conrad. When Bella first met the two she hadn't known they were dating until maybe a month after the whole Dr. G thing happened, but soon everything about their friendship had made sense after that. Anyway, three years back the now thirty and thirty one year olds tied the knot. From what Bella heard the two were just now thinking about maybe having children and she didn't doubt they would make good parents.
"Oh! Hello Bella, how are you? Where are you?" Amanda said happily.
"I'm fine; Grant and I are in London as we speak. I'm just calling because a few days back we ran into a bit of trouble in Stuttgart, the bloodsucking kind. We're both okay but Grant broke a few ribs and I was hoping if you don't mind could you check them out? I know they're probably okay but I can't help but be a little paranoid." Bella said with a sigh.
"Don't worry, I have time right now. Conrad has a meeting with some of the researchers at the institute. Just tell me where you two are and I'll be right over." Amanda said making Bella mentally sigh in relief. Honestly all the worrying Bella did she was surprised Grant hadn't given her grays yet.
"Thank you Andy, I don't know what I'd do without you." Bella said before giving Amanda their hotel and room number before hanging up. It only took Amanda about ten minutes to get there since her own hotel was only a few blocks away.
"Tante Andy!" Grant greeted happily giving the woman a big hug. "I missed you, how's oncle Conrad?"
"He's good, still pestering me about throwing out his Hawaiian t-shirts." Amanda said with a warm smile. "Honestly the man is brilliant but you'd hardly know it with how much he acts like some sort of beach bum."
"But oncle is cool; he let me grow bacteria in one of his Petri dishes the last time we visited." Grant said with a grin.
"Oh? And where did you get the bacteria?" Amanda asked wondering what her husband was up to now. She was certain that if Bella wasn't careful Grant would grow up to be a scientist, probably majoring in the field of chemistry so he could have a chance to blow things up.
"The bottom of the shoes in the closet." Grant answered innocently.
"What closet?" Bella asked already knowing her son enough to know he wasn't telling them the whole truth.
"The one in oncle Dolph's room." Grant answered and both women looked at each other before sighing.
"Did Dolph know you were in his room?" Bella asked curiously even though she knew the answer was probably a negative.
"No, but he didn't seem to think anything was wrong." Grant said before tilting his head. "So why are you here tante?"
"Well Bella said you broke some ribs and you know how paranoid your mom can be." Amanda teased.
"Hey! My paranoia has helped me plenty of times, usually to avoid possible threats." Bella said getting a snicker from Grant. "Fine, I know when you two are about to gang up on me. I'm going to go make a few calls so can you watch him for a little while if you don't mind Andy?"
"I'd never turn down watching my nephew. He's absolutely perfect company and quite adorable too." Amanda said making Grant grin smugly at his mother who rolled her eyes at them.
Bella made her way out of earshot of anyone she could sense before pulling out her cell phone once more. Dialing a number that was practically ingrained into her mind she waited for it to be answered. "Yo Madison speaking how can I help you?" A voice said when it finally stopped ringing.
"Hey Mad, it's me Bella." Bella said with a smile happy to talk to her best friend again. They really hadn't been in contact for the past four weeks and that made Bella worry a bit.
"BELL! Oh my god! I tried to call you earlier but you didn't pick up and I was too lazy to leave a message." Madison said and Bella could practically hear the shrug in the blonde's voice.
"It's alright; Grant and I were in the air on our way to London, so I turned off my cell phone." Bella said leaning against a wall. "So found out anything significant?"
"Nothing much really, Hiro and I aren't finding much on the vampire front but there's a lot about HYDRA we did come across. Bell they know a lot more about Grant than we suspected and I think they may be gearing up to track the two of you down, and I don't mean for a simple bout of afternoon tea." Madison said making Bella sigh as she pulled out a pack of cigarettes from her coat.
"I'd hoped it wouldn't come to this. Those bastards really are starting to piss me off more than usual. So what do you think I should do about keeping Grant safe?" Bella asked lighting a cigarette and starting to smoke it.
"Stay with him for one, I don't think they'll do much if you're around. That incident back in Moscow drove home how dangerous you can be. As long as he's with you they'll probably air on the side of caution for now. Logistically they know they need more than a simple strike team to take you down, let alone get close enough to capture Grant. Otherwise they would have already gotten him a year ago." Madison said getting an agreeing grunt form Bella. "Aside from that Japan really isn't all that useful. China was a hell of a lot more wealthy in the area of information, especially about vampires. Although I can't say Japan is entirely boring."
"What makes you say that?" Bella asked blowing out some smoke as she put her pack of cigarettes and her lighter away.
"There are a few mutant groups over here and let me tell you they sure know how to fight. Although there's this one mutant, Daken, he's a crazy SOB if I ever saw one. He kind of reminds me of your grandfather Logan in terms of powers. Anyway, he's been stalking me for the last few weeks, nearly tried to kill me two days ago but I managed to give him the slip. I've been trying to gather information about him but his background seems extremely clean. I faxed all I could to Felix this morning in hopes he could help shed some light on the man." Madison said with an amused snort.
"Interesting, have you talked to Dolph or Dante yet?" Bella asked wondering what sort of mess her friend had gotten into now. She just hoped their other friend Hiro could keep Madison out of trouble.
"Yea, Dante had some interesting news about the vampires in the Amazon. Apparently the Cullens have a few friends still in England that we missed in the first sweep. He said that one vampire told him to talk to a Richard Lawrence about the Cullen's friends. He apparently owns and runs the Blue Moon Pub over in Whitechapel. Felix backs up the claim but doesn't know how useful Mr. Lawrence will be, but from the sound of it the man isn't very friendly when it comes to bloodsuckers." Madison said and Bella made a mental note to follow up the lead as soon as possible.
"Thanks Mad, find anything else out?" Bella asked curiously.
"Not much, Dolph says some of the vampires he took out in Africa are adamant that the Cullens are in Canada or Alaska with another vegetarian coven. He's thinking about heading back to the states to check out the lead. He says that Africa isn't really his cup of tea and will be glad to be rid of the dreadful continent." Madison said with a snort.
"Sounds like him, well keep in touch. I think I'll go take a look at that lead of Dante's." Bella said with a smile.
"Don't mention it, but I have to go. I think the shrine I'm staying at isn't going to be such a safe haven soon." Madison said with a grin to her voice.
"Stay safe Mad." Bella responded with a roll of her eyes.
"Likewise Bell." Madison returned before hanging up the phone. Bella flipped her cell phone closed and walked back into the main room of her suite. She was amused to find an annoyed Grant sitting on the lounge couch with his shirt off. Amanda was kneeling next to him gently poking at his ribs.
"Well they are broken alright, from what I can sense they've been healing fine. I'll speed up the healing process by a few weeks but you'll have to watch them carefully. I may be able to fix an adult's bones easily but that's because the bones are fully developed. I don't want to really interfere with the growth of his bones; it could lead to frail bones in the future." Amanda said getting a nod from Bella.
"That sounds like a plan, think you can heal them enough so he doesn't feel any discomfort from them at least?" Bella asked sitting down with a thoughtful look.
"I think I can accomplish that but you mister will need to be on a calcium supplement for a few days at least. Also try not to bump your ribs or put too much pressure on them, they may just break again and the next time much worse than what they are now." Amanda said to Grant who nodded.
"Of course tante Andy." He said knowing Bella would be all over that order for him. Sometimes he loved how overbearing his adopted mom could be about things like that, it meant he wouldn't have to think about it all that much.
"Good, now this I assure you will be slightly uncomfortable." Amanda said as her finger tips seemed to glow ever so faintly with white light. She gently put her fingers to his ribs and Bella smirked at the funny look Grant had on his face. Bella could tell Grant wanted to fidget away from Amanda but he kept as still as possible so as not to prolong the discomfort. "Well that's three done."Amanda said pulling her hand away after about ten minutes.
"Only three? Tante you said I had seven ribs broken." Grant whined.
"Oh hush, you have ribs broken on both sides of your body, and I have to heal them slowly to simulate days of healing in a matter of minutes to trick your immune system into believing it's healing your ribs on its own." Amanda reprimanded calmly.
"How long should the other ribs take?" Bella asked curiously.
"Well it depends since unlike this side, the other side are messier breaks rather than clean ones. It should take me at a minimum an hour." Amanda said while Grant gaped at her.
"An hour? Mon dieu!" Grant exclaimed getting an amused snort from Bella. "Oh be quiet mère, not all of us have super healing abilities." He snapped with an annoyed glare making Bella's smirk turn into a full out grin.
"I know squirt but imagine healing your ribs in seconds rather than minutes, I can trust you that can be more than just uncomfortable." Bella said with a grin.
"Whatever, who did you call?" Grant said as he got to walk around for a bit in preparation for his long wait.
"Mad, she's given me a lead here in London to our vampire problem. Speaking of which, Andy while you're doing this do you mind if I step out? It may take a few minutes or hours I don't really know." Bella asked getting a nod from Amanda.
"Go ahead Bella; I don't mind watching Grant, and Conrad already knows where I am. I think he'll be bringing dinner for us; I'll call after I'm done healing Grant's ribs to find out." Amanda said with a smile.
"Thank you Andy, I still don't know what I'd do without you." Bella said standing up. "Be good for Andy kiddo, I shouldn't be too long."
"Oui mère, I will be on my best behavior." Grant said still rather put out by how long it was going to take to heal his ribs and even after that they wouldn't be fully healed. Bella smiled as she walked over to Grant and ruffled his hair before making her way to the door.
It took her nearly an hour to find the Blue Moon Pub but once she did she was surprised by it. It was obviously an old tavern, especially if the sign was to be believed. She shaking her head she stepped into the nearly two century old pub and had to scrunch up her nose. She never did like going to night clubs, bars, or movie theaters, the smell just never was the most pleasant. She could smell all the sweat, human body odor, alcohol, smoke, cleaning products, and in some cases the bathrooms. She absolutely despised the fact that her sense of smell was so acute, but she got used to it. Though that one time she was dragged to a gay bar by Dolph on a quest to find a vampire she would rather have not had. She didn't have anything wrong with homosexuals, but considering the bar was a rundown little shack that served cheap alcohol and cheap entertainment, she had rather done without. Don't even get her started on how many women hit on her that night, really the sudden smell of blood had been welcoming especially when she managed to find the vampire responsible.
Shaking her head to get rid of the horrible memories she walked over to the bar. Unlike most this one seemed more like a gentleman's bar than anything else. It was quaint but masculine with the smell of cigar smoke and hard liquor heavy in the air. The undertone smells of leather, men, and aftershave also added to the image, not that most would understand what she was talking about. Going over to the bar she sat down, it was still a bit early in the evening but the bar already had a few patrons. She caught a glance of a group of young men in Armani suits smoking and drinking martinis in the corner, they had instantly looked to her when she walked in. At one end of the bar sat an older gentleman also in a nice suit but with a quieter air about him. The final patrons were two middle-age men in a booth near the door that wore stylish clothes and were drinking whiskey.
"Can I get you anything Ms?" The bartender asked while he cleaned a glass.
"I'm looking for Richard Lawrence; do you happen to know him?" She asked simply as she propped her head up using her hand.
"That'd be me Ms, what can I do for you?" The bartender said simply giving her a once over. She figured she looked out of place wearing a red corset halter top, black leather pants, her leather jacket, and her combat boots but she didn't care.
Her sharp eyes looked over Richard Lawrence calmly for a second. She took in his shaggy honey brown hair, gray eyes, and pale skin. He wasn't a very tall man but he was built and obviously not very old. She guessed his age to be anywhere from twenty five to thirty. He was dressed in a simple white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and some black slacks. She would call him handsome if she didn't notice the scar running from his left temple all the way down to the tip of the right side of his lip. The scar didn't cross over his eyes, going between them instead, but it did mar his already average features a bit.
"I'm looking for someone and I hear you might be able help me find him. His name is Edward Cullen." Bella said simply noticing the ever so slight freeze of his movements but it happened so quickly most would have missed it.
"That so, well I don't know anyone by that name. Does he have any friends I know perhaps?" Richard asked looking at her slightly suspiciously.
"I suppose you could say that." Bella said pulling out a crest from one of the vampire coven's she had helped exterminate in England. "Maybe this will help?" She asked sliding the crest over to the man who did freeze upon seeing it.
"Where did you get this Ms, and who are you?" Richard asked picking up the crest with just the slightest shake of his hand.
"My name is Bella Swan, as for this, you could say I inherited it after Vincent died. Such a horrible thing really, it was so sudden. My friends and I came across some things at his house that are for Mr. Cullen and we've been looking for him ever since. I don't believe he knows about his friend's passing." Bella said with a simple shrug and sigh. She noticed how he seemed shocked by her name and not the news before he looked up.
"How about you and I talk about this in the back since it is a private matter?" Richard said seriously making her smile ever so slightly.
"Of course, but don't you need to tend the bar?" She asked curiously.
"Nah, I'll have my assistant, Kent, deal with the bar. It's not that busy seeing it's so close to our opening time." Richard said before calling his assistant to man the bar. "Right this way Ms. Swan." Richard said and the two went down an employee's only hallway and up some steps. As Bella thought the upstairs was a small apartment rather than a storage area. "Now what's the real reason you have this?" Richard said tossing the crest back to Bella.
"Oh, I did get it because Vincent Lachlan is dead. I should know I'm the reason behind it." Bella said sitting down on the couch when Richard offered.
"I had heard rumors that someone was taking out vampire covens but I didn't think they were true." Richard said also sitting down across from her in an armchair. "Why are you looking for Edward Cullen?"
"I met him a few years ago and ever since it seems I can't go anywhere without being attacked by vampires left and right. I figure he knows something that I don't and I plan on finding out what it is. The problem is he fell of the grid before I could ask him anything." Bella said leaning back in her chair. "Some information I've come across has lead me here."
"I see, well I don't know where the Cullens are, but I do know about a coven that has moved here from the States. The Killingly Coven came from New England about half a year ago, they live up near Birmingham. I don't know specifically if they know anything but there's a rumor that Gregory Killingly, the leader of the coven, knows something about Carlisle Cullen." Richard said with a sigh.
"How can I trust your information is correct?" Bella asked even though she knew thanks to her senses. She was glad about one thing her heighten senses gave her; she had a built in lie detector that was far more accurate than any lie test ever made.
"I admit most humans know about vampires, they're pretty strict about their secrecy, but I'm not exactly human." Richard said looking her over for her reaction. She didn't even flinch, just looked slightly curious. "I got this scar back when I was a boy in a wolf attack." He said running one of his fingers along the scar.
"I thought the vampires killed all of the werewolves back in the 12th century." Bella said furrowing her brow in thought.
"They killed all the human ones." Richard said leaning back in his chair. "Some wolves mated with werewolves making a sort of hybrid, a wolf capable of infecting humans with lycanthropy. The Volturi were responsible for the so called extinction of the children of the moon, yes, but not long after a young boy was attacked by a wolf. He in turn infected a few more people, taking them underground away from humans. It took a few decades before werewolves found out about vampires and what had happened to the wolves in the past. We've been hidden from vampires ever since, occasionally one of us cross paths with a vampire but that usually leads to us winning a fight, otherwise vampires don't know we exist."
"I see." Bella said thinking of this new tidbit of information. She had come across many old stories of werewolves in the homes of covens she had already extinguished, but she had thought they had died out. Now though it seems they just got better at hiding. Putting that into perspective she decided to leave werewolves alone, they had done nothing to her and more than likely never would.
"And what about you Ms. Swan? What power do you have that allows you to take on vampires and win?" Richard asked wondering what edge this woman had that most humans did not.
"It's quite simple," Bella began letting her armor come forth and she slightly enjoyed his startled look, "I'm a mutant."
"I see." Richard said but smirked nonetheless. He wondered what this Edward Cullen did to piss off a mutant, one quite capable of attacking and killing vampires. He just hoped the bloodsucker knew what he was in for.
"So, do you know where near Birmingham can I find the Killingly Coven? I think I should pay them a visit." Bella said making Richard's smirk grow into a smile. He was beginning to really like this Bella Swan, especially if she was willing to take care of the vampire threat so he and others didn't have to.
"I can tell you, and I think I'll talk to the alphas I know about you. Who knows, perhaps we can see to it we are more permanent allies." Richard said as Bella's lips curled into an almost sadistic smirk.
"We'll see, but I don't really want to become furry. Having one time of the month is good enough for me thank you." Bella said getting a chuckle from Richard. If anything the brunette knew she would at least find a semi-ally in this werewolf, especially in her hunt for the Cullens.
"I have to ask though, why do you keep the crests of dead vampires?" Richard asked curiously.
"At first it was to keep track of how many and from which coven the vampires myself and my friends had killed. Now it's become a bit of a game I'm afraid, you could say a few of my friends aren't overly fond of vampires due to reasons of their own. I'm sure you understand." Bella said getting a nod.
"You've kept all the crests of every vampire you've killed?" Richard asked getting a nod from Bella.
"All ninety four of them." Bella confirmed with a shrug, then smiling at the impressed look in the werewolf's eyes. It wasn't long before Richard was telling Bella everything he knew about the Killingly Coven, he wanted the vampires gone and he had a feeling she was just the woman to accomplish that task. Bella found while Richard wasn't a wealth of information he did have at least all the basic facts. It was a start, Bella would need to track the coven down and observe them. Otherwise she found this trip and informant exceeding her expectations.
YAY!! Still no real jump in the plot though, just more about what's been going on between the first story and this one. It's all mostly conversation. Anyway, I'm rather tired and I still have some stuff to do. So:
REVIEW!!
