Lilly hung upside-down off of Sherlock's bed as he flipped through a seemingly endless wardrobe of disguises. He was looking for something to wear into a convention packed with nerds. "What do you think of this one?" The detective held up a Superman shirt.

"What would a shirt do to disguise you?"

"Alright, well then what should I wear?" He put the shirt back, giving the girl an irritated look. Lilly pulled out her phone and held it over her head, typing something in. Seconds later, she handed the phone to Sherlock. He looked at the phone, a questioning look on his face. "What is this?"

Lilly sat upright, a smile on her face. "It's cosplay! The people at the convention will all be doing it. Trust me, you'll blend right in."

Sherlock tossed back the phone. "How am I supposed to get that in two hours?"

"There's a costume shop not too far away… we could go there? The owner owes me a favor, so whatever we pick out is free."

With a sigh, he grabbed his coat. "Let's go."

The two walked into the shop, Lilly obviously overjoyed that she convinced the man to cosplay. "I'm so happy you trusted me on this one! I have so many ideas!"

Sherlock seemed unconvinced. "Name one."

"Doctor Strange."

"Doctor who?"

Lilly shook her head. "No, no… Doctor Strange. Not even close to similar." She pulled out her phone and searched the name on the internet. "This dude. He's in a comic book."

He shrugged. "Whatever."

The girl smiled brightly. "Alright, come on!" She took Sherlock's hand and ran over to a section of the store labeled as Fictional. Lilly scanned the section looking for the proper pieces. She walked over to a selection of red capes, picking out one with fancy designs on it. "Here." She tossed it to Sherlock, who gave it a hesitant look. Lilly was too busy looking for the next piece to care. It wasn't long until she found a blue shirt thing along with matching pants and handed that to Sherlock as well. She frowned at the wall, searching for something specific. Lilly pointed to several pairs of black and blue boots. "Find your size. What I picked out most likely won't fit, but you remember where I got them from. I'll be right back."

Sherlock opened his mouth to call out for her, but Lilly was already gone, off looking for the next piece of this overly complex disguise that would most likely attract more attention to him. But this is what he asked for, so he couldn't be too mad about it.

Not long later, Lilly returned with a golden necklace with a charm on it and an unusually thick belt. "Alright, did you find your size in everything?"

"Yes, but-"

"Good." She didn't let him finish. "We've got more to do, so let's go. Don't worry; I already talked to the owner." Lilly started walking off, texting quickly.

Sherlock kept up with her, but was confused as to why they were walking so fast. "What else do we have to do?"

She sent the text, looking at Sherlock with excitement. "Hair and makeup."

"No."

"Yes."

The pair was back at 221B, where Lilly stood sorting through a box of stage makeup, setting aside the ones she needed. "We're in luck; my friend Alice is a makeup artist and happened to be in town with her supplies! She's letting me borrow them."

"I'm not sure if 'luck' is the correct term…"

Lilly gave him an amused glare. "Watch it, Holmes."

He sighed, shifting in the wooden chair. "Is this really necessary?"

"You said you didn't want to get recognized! Trust me, after this it would even take John a minute to recognize you." She sighed, picking up a few different shades of concealer, holding them up to Sherlock. After a bit of squinting and comparing, she came to a conclusion and set aside one of them, pulling out a few darker shades.

Sherlock watched as the pile grew larger. "Do you know what you're doing?"

She nodded, "Yep! I'm amazing at this stuff, trust me." Looking over her selected items once more, Lilly smiled and turned to Sherlock. "Ready?"

"No." Lilly disregarded the response and began to apply the seemingly endless amounts of makeup.

She took a step back, gleaming with joy at her creation. "Perfect." Lilly handed Sherlock a mirror.

He looked at his reflection with pure shock. "How did you do this in an hour?"

"Magic!"

Sherlock glared at her.

Lilly giggled and picked up a bottle of clear gel, putting some of it on her hands. "Now for hair! This won't take long." She rubbed her hands together and tilted her head, looking at Sherlock's curly hair. "Okay, maybe a little bit longer…" She bit her lower lip and began to run her hand through his hair, making sure that it was no longer curly.

The detective sat awkwardly, watching Lilly's hyper focused gel work. "How did you learn to do this?"

"I don't know… I've been good at this for as long as I can remember. I think it has something to do with my memory. Like, I can visualize what it needs to look like, and I simply make changes until the vision is sitting in front of me." She tilted his head up with her wrist to avoid getting gel on him.

For some reason Sherlock didn't mind this. He almost enjoyed it… but he would never tell Lilly that. He knew that if he said something like that, he would become victim to countless hours of her messing with his hair.

"Okay, the style looks good. Now for the finishing touch." she grabbed a small plastic cup with some sort of liquid in it. "This will wash out, don't worry." She picked up the brush that sat in the cup and began to paint it onto both sides of his hair. "Done!"

Sherlock picked up the mirror and frowned. "I look old."

"You look awesome! Like a true magician."

"A what?"

Lilly giggled. "You're like this wizard dude… He does magic!"

"Great." He said sarcastically

She rolled her eyes. "You look bloody awesome. So get out there and… do whatever it is you do!"

Sherlock looked at his phone with a sigh. "Alvarie needs a place to stay tonight. I have to kick you out, by the way." Recently Lilly had been staying with Sherlock in the extra room so that she could be in London to earn some extra cash doing small jobs.

"No problem, she can come to the HUB with me! There's this big party tonight! She'll have tons of fun!" Lilly smiled brightly. "And I can get to know her a bit better. Plus, there's a room open!"

Sherlock gave her a slightly hesitant look. "Isn't it dangerous there with all the criminals?"

Lilly shrugged. "Maybe a bit, but she's a 'criminal' herself, so she'll fit right in. And besides… I'll be there."

He sighed, texting Alvarie the information. "Watch her, alright?"

"I promise!"

"She'll meet you outside of the Cemetery at seven."

Lilly nodded, "Sounds good!"

Sherlock stood, sending the final text. "She has your number. I've gotta go, see you tomorrow.

"See ya, Strange!"

It was as clear a day as it could be in the heart of London. The gray sky only breaking occasionally, revealing the tiniest glimpses of blue. One of these slices of clear sky hung over Baker Street, giving an optimistic attitude to the occupants of 221B. However, the gray was not entirely gone and the small bits of it left hung like bad memories.

A figure stood in front of the flat's door holding a single spray can in his hand. He was painting something on the door but, as he had just started it was not yet distinguishable. All of a sudden, the door flew open.

"Raz?!" Alvarie said, both surprised and alarmed at the same time. Raz stopped in his tracks his mouth hanging open, spray can still ready to fire at any moment.

"I.." He trailed off confused and at a complete loss for words.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" She asked after he offered no explanation of his own. Glancing at the door and then back at Raz, Alvarie was horrified.

"You haven't been home so I thought, well I thought he'd gone and kidnapped you." He offered, wincing as he waited for a response.

"I know I should have called but, a lot happened and I didn't feel like talking."

"You never feel like talking." He smiled up at her with a knowing look on his face.

"This was different." She said as she leaned against the doorframe. Raz sighed a little letting his can drop to his side.

"I thought you hated 'im Alv. What changed?" She didn't respond opting to stare at the half painted door instead. "You wanted 'im in jail and you wanted 'im to rot there if I remember correctly."

"Just go." She said simply after a long pause.

"Go?"

"Yeah, I'll see you in a couple days. Don't worry about it." She finished letting her eyes linger on him for a moment before looking back at the door.

"Okay, whatever." He mumbled quietly dropping his spray can as he turned to leave. The can rolled around a few times before stopping just before the sidewalks end. Alvarie watched him go silently, her eyes telling a different story then her harsh words had. Eventually she turned, closing the graffitied door behind her.

After she had scaled the stairs, Alvarie made her way into the flat. Since Sherlock had been out on a case before she arrived, Alvarie felt at ease making herself comfortable on the sofa. John had come over earlier that morning and sat in his chair a safe distance away from her.

"What was that about?" He asked, his eyes scanning the newspaper he held.

"Raz was um, spraying the door. So I went and told him off." John looked up, surprise written all over his face.

"Right, what a nice boy." He grumbled to himself, continuing to scan the paper. Alvarie fidgeted uncomfortably not knowing if she was meant to respond to him or not. Deciding against it she opted to pull out her phone from her pocket.

Awakening the screen, Alvarie immediately saw two text message notifications. The first was from her half-brother Alger and the other from her reluctant father, Sherlock. Before she had made her way to Baker Street, Alvarie had asked if she could stay in the flat for a night. She hadn't checked her phone before she had left because she didn't think she could stand sleeping another night on a park bench. She wasn't homeless yet but, had been planning to move out from her current residence for over a month with no other alternatives lined up. So naturally, she checked Sherlock's text as quickly as possible.

"Meet Lilly at the Grove Park Cemetery at 7. She says she has a room for you at the HUB. -SH." He had also sent Alvarie Lilly's phone number just in case she needed it. Alvarie was grateful for a place to stay but, apprehensive about meeting Lilly especially since the last time they met had not been such a happy occasion. Pushing aside her anxiety for a moment, Alvarie quickly opened Alger's text, feeling guilty for not contacting him sooner.

"Where have you been Alv?" It read, causing panic to rise inside her. Alvarie had always taken care of Alger and leaving him alone with her roommates was the last thing she had wanted to do. She quickly texted back telling him to meet her in the same time and place as she was meeting Lilly hoping she wouldn't mind one extra person.

A few hours later, Alvarie found herself staring at the entrance to a large Cemetery. Two guards stood in front of it, each giving her rather passive-aggressive looks. She had arrived twenty minutes early seeing as she knew that her brother would likely do the same. Sure enough, she heard footsteps and a short boy with tousled brown hair could be seen through the fog at her back.

"I expected you to get here before me." She called behind her as he approached.

"I was going to but, I got held up at home." He said stepping up to align himself beside her. Alvarie turned towards Alger, discovering a new cut across his forehead that only added to his previous scars.

"What happened?" She asked, bringing her hand up to touch his head.

"We were all supposed to pay rent and you weren't there so they told me this would be my share." He offered pointing to the unattractive red gash and knocking Alvarie's hand aside simultaneously.

"Oh my god. I should've taken you with me days ago." She said, giving Alger a hug in the process. He stepped back wincing with pain only causing the concern that Alvarie already felt for him to rise. She hadn't been there for him and now she felt she was paying the price.

"It's fine, really. I punched Todd before I left." He said smiling a little through the stinging pain he felt. Alvarie let out a small laugh and elbowed him gently in the ribs, not quite believing him. "I swear I did!" He exclaimed, laughing between each word.

The pair quieted down after a while, scanning the horizon for Lilly's eventual arrival. While they waited, Alvarie quickly filled her brother in on recent events. Alger's reactions weren't the worst she could of hoped for but, they still could have been better. He was obviously angry she had left him without a word and it would be a few days before he got over the shock of it all. Eventually, Alvarie spotted Lilly coming towards them a ways away. To speed things up, Alger and Alvarie walked towards her at a brisk pace.

"Oi! What're you kids doin' out here this late?" One of the guards jumped in front of them, causing them to stop dead in their tracks.

"We were looking for, uh, a woman named Lilly? She lives here, at the HUB?" Alvarie responded, the imposing guards causing her uncertainty.

The guard cast a glance to the others, beckoning them over. "Look, kid. I don't know where you heard about this HUB place, but it ain't here. Go back to whatever hole you came from and tell your friends that there ain't a HUB here. Just dead people."

Lilly had started to run up to them. "Alvarie! Alger! Hey!" She skid to a stop next to the guards. "It's alright, guys. They're with me." She tilted her head, starting to turn around. "Come on, it's just through the forest." The three figures maneuvered their way through the forest, eventually breaking out into a large clearing lit by blazing torches. No more than two hundred people almost filled the space, along with the skeleton of a building and an old looking house.

Alvarie spoke first remembering that Lilly was probably confused as to who Alger was and why he was there.

"This is my half-brother, Alger." She said gesturing towards him awkwardly. "I hope it's okay he came; I didn't want to leave him at home."

"Yeah, Sure." Lilly said nodding towards Alger apprehensively. "Follow me, there's a lot going on so stay close."

Thus, they broke into a fast paced walk towards the ever approaching fires. As they walked they had begun to hear music as well which, was so loud that the words and style were barely distinguishable. Alvarie found it intriguing that they hadn't heard it from outside the Cemetry gates.

"I can put Alger with Rain and some other kids if you want." Lilly called over the music, looking back at Alvarie. Alvarie nodded gratefully turning to Alger just in time to see the disappointed look on the fourteen year old's face. At Alvarie's response Lilly made a slight right, heading past a group of drunken guys in their mid-twenties who were dancing wildly. Taking this path, they edged their way closer to the HUB and eventually through a worse for wear door at the front of the building.

After pushing past more party goers and climbing two flights of stairs the trio finally reached a semi-quiet floor that was completely void of people. The sight of this calmed Alvarie, who was not a big fan of parties or people for that matter. The vacant hallway they had entered consisted of at least four doors and the staircase they had come up from. Lilly stopped at the first door swinging it open to reveal a space that lacked any sort of decoration except for a threadbare carpet and a large sofa.

Five or six kids occupied the room including Rain, whom Alvarie had met a couple days ago in the same unfavorable circumstances as Lilly.

"Yo, Rain, I brought you a boyfriend." She said as she opened the door, laughing slightly. Alger blushed despite the fact that it had been a joke and Rain was in fact a few years younger than him. Rain was in mid conversation with another girl who looked about her age, but she offered a friendly wave and a smile in their direction.

"I'll be fine, Alv." Alger said crossing into the room and giving his sister a slight nod of encouragement. As worried as she was, Alvarie smiled back just before Lilly closed the door.

Lilly looked her up a down gathering a bit of information about Alvarie as she did so. "I take it you don't like parties much?" She asked almost rhetorically.

"Not really, no. I find them somewhat suffocating actually." Alvarie replied, looking down at her boots as not to look Lilly directly in the eye. Lilly nodded, thinking for a few seconds.

"Here, I know someplace we can go to talk." She said, "Follow me."

The two walked out of the HUB and back into the clearing. They weaved through countless people before arriving at the skeleton of a building that was many stories high. Lilly lead Alvarie up several flights of stairs, the booming music fading with each step. At last Lilly walked to the middle of the floor, inviting Alvarie to sit. There was a long silence before Lilly laughed inwardly. "I don't think we've properly met. I'm Lilly. Nice to meet ya!" She held out her hand.

"Alvarie. Hi." She shook Lilly's hand awkwardly.

Lilly held her arms out. "Welcome to the HUB! Have you been here before?"

The girl shook her head, "I've heard of it though."

"I see. Well basically, it's where people who are running from the law go to get some peace in the hopes that they will drop their acts and jump back into society. Kids come because their parents were criminals, and in rare occasions they were criminals themselves. We're a family, if you couldn't already tell that." She stopped, looking down. "It's uh… not always like this… Loud and crazy…"

"What's it for?"

"Oh, it's a party celebrating the 100th anniversary of the HUB being built." A small bit of pride sparkled in her eyes.

Alvarie blinked with shock. "100 years?"

Lilly nodded. "Yep! Pretty crazy, I know." She paused again, preparing to change the subject. "Look, when we first met… That's… not how I am normally. I'm sorry if I caused any trouble, and I really hope we can still be friends." She smiled semi-awkwardly.

"It's alright, don't worry." Alvarie reassured her as a hint of pain flashed through her eyes.

"Great!" She stopped suddenly, her eyes growing large. "Crap, what time is it?"

Alvarie pulled out her phone. "It's almost 8, why?" She gave Lilly a nervous look.

Lilly frowned at the time. "There's this sort of ritual that we do here… I have to do said-ritual at 8." She squeezed her eyes shut, thinking hard. "Alright, so Rain will be with me… Sherlock said to keep you within sight… Your brother is here and is younger so he'd have to be with someone…" She looked up. "Okay, here's the plan. We're gonna go back and get Rain and your brother, then Rain and I are gonna do the thing. Now you have a choice. Do you want to stick with me, or wait for me in the pit?"

She gave Lilly a concerned glance. "The what?"

"The pit." Lilly jumped up and walked over to the edge of the building, pointing down. Alvarie followed behind Lilly, peering over the edge in response to her finger. In the ground was a pit with a net half way down it.

Alvarie backed up, not liking the height. "I guess we'll stick with you…"

"Okay, great! Let's go!"

Lilly opened the door to the same room they left Rain and Alger in. "Hello!"

"Hey Lilly!" The room sang back. All except for Alger, that is.

Rain jumped up off of the couch and ran up to Lilly. "Is it time?" The girl's face was eager beyond belief.

Lilly smiled, nodding. "Sure is! You all ready?"

The children of the HUB cheered a yes.

"Alright! You're free to go! Meet at the Jump in ten minutes!" The kids ran out of the room, leaving Rain, Alger, Lilly and Alvarie alone. Lilly turned to the group. "Kay, let's head out!" They all walked back to the broken-down building, walking once again up many flights of stairs. Instead of the quiet of the last time, many of the floors were alive with people. They stopped at a particularly crowded floor when Lilly turned and pointed to the two siblings. "I'll be right back, don't move." She ran off, beginning to talk to a muscular man.

"That's Jeff. He's kind of the manager of this place." Rain informed the two, happy to seem smart.

Lilly returned to the three. "So, if you want you can participate in the ceremony? All you do is jump off the building into the pit."

Rain pitched in, barely able to contain her excitement. "It's super cool! You jump and it's like you're free-falling, but then you land safely in the net and everyone cheers!"

Alger looked at his sister pleadingly. "Can I do it?"

"What? No!" Alvarie was shocked at the boy's sudden courage.

"It's perfectly safe; I promise." Lilly smiled a little.

Alvarie looked at her begging brother and sighed, "Fine."

The four walked over to the edge of the building. Lilly turned to Rain. "Alright, you know the drill. Nothing special, just a simple back jump. You got this, Rain… I'm so proud of you."

Rain smiled happily. "Thanks Lil… See you at the bottom!" The girl walked all the way to the edge, waving to the crowd. She turned around shortly, closing her eyes. Leaning back she took a small hop off of the building and began to fall.

Lilly ran over to the post, hanging off it, watching Rain as she landed. She gave a thumbs-up to the small figure below, who reflected the gesture. Lilly walked back over, sighing happily. "They grow up so fast…" She turned to Alger, who looked far past nervous. "Hey, you got this, alright? Lean as far back as you can and take a small hop. You'll be fine, I promise."

Alger smiled and walked up to the edge.

A man announced the whole thing with a microphone. "Looks like we've got a new guy here!" Lilly whispered the boy's name in his ear. "Let's all cheer Alger on!" The crowd started to cheer Alger's name.

He leaned back and mirrored Rain's movements, flying off the edge and landing in the net with no problems.

Lilly turned to Alvarie, "Your turn!"

"What? No way. This really isn't my thing."

"Then do it with me! Come on, it's great, I promise." She giggled a little. "And it'll scare Sherlock a bit. Bonus, right?"

Alvarie glanced at the stairs, knowing that it was either jump or trudge back down to wait at the net. "I guess it's not that high… right?"

Lilly laughed. "Right!" She took Alvarie's hand and turned to the announcer. "Yo, this is Alvarie! She's jumping with me!"

The announcer nodded. "We got another one jumping with Lilly! Give it up for Alvarie and Lilly!"

Lilly held Alvarie's hand up and turned around. Alvarie copied her. "Three, two, one, JUMP!" The two fell together, Lilly letting go and cheering the entire way down. Alvarie on the other hand screamed. Her eyes were squeezed shut. Seconds later, they hit the net, knocking the breath out of Alvarie. Lilly, however, knew how to land and was perfectly fine. "Wasn't that amazing?!"

Alvarie lay in the net, staring up at the building she just jumped from. "S-sure…"

"You did great. Here, I'll help you out." Lilly rolled out of the net and pulled it down, allowing Alvarie easy access to solid ground. Lilly turned to Rain, who gleamed with pride.

"I did it, Lilly…!"

She bent down to the kid's height, taking the girl's hand. "I'm so proud of you…" Lilly hugged Rain. "All grown up!"

Rain pushed her back a little. "Oh stop. I'm still only eleven."

Lilly smirked, standing up. "Come on, it's late. Let's get to bed." Her and Rain walked a still-recovering Alvarie and adrenaline-rushed Alger to an open room a few doors down from Lilly's. "This is your room. You're free to stay here for as long as you like, just be sure to tell me so I can get the word across to the higher-ups. Night!"

"Goodnight." The two said back, entering the room.

Rain looked up at Lilly. "I'm gonna sleep at Jess's tonight."

Lilly nodded. "Alright, but don't stay up too late. Night, Rain."

The girl smirked and gave Lilly a hug. "Night, Lilz." She let go and ran down the hallway, meeting up with her friend at the staircase.

It had been an insanely long day for Lilly and she was more than ready to get some sleep. She unlocked her room and locked it again behind her, immediately flopping down on her bed. She kicked her shoes off and scooted her way up to her pillow, not bothering to change. Moving onto her side, she felt her gun press into her hip. With a moan, she pulled it out, turning it on safety and pushing it under her pillow. It took her a grand total of two minutes to fall asleep.