Disclaimer: Don't own. Just borrowing.

Author's note: So now, hopefully, the real fun of the story begins, as there will be more characters introduced. I want to make note that not every comic book character will be of the Vertigo print. However, given that much still goes on in the same said comic universe, I figured why not. I'm going to explain much later about how the universe is explained in terms of DC's universe. So bare with me as I go with this story.


Unknown Cave

Jerusalem

The walls were moist and damp, as the insides of the system had not been explored for quite some time. However, the cave had it's first visitor as footsteps echoed and bounced off the walls. The sounds were not of bare feet, but rather feet clad in rough material. The visitor reached what appeared to be the center of the cave. Amazingly, a bright light seem to be emanating from the center, as the the light shone down on what appeared to be a raised platform. The visitor levitated to the top of the platform and looked on as he took note of the object that laid on the platform. The object in question appeared rectangular in shape. The most disturbing object, or at least it would be, was what appeared to be a skull on the object. The visitor took one hand and lifted off what was a lid and threw it carelessly away. Inside was a body that appeared aged beyond possible means with the bones peaking through. The oddity was not the body itself but what seemed to be canines that appeared sharper than normal human teeth. The next instant, the body's eyes shot open, revealing grey irises and black globes.

"You are awake," the visitor said. The body looked up at it's visitor and took in his appearance. The stranger had dark, straight hair that went to slightly above his shoulders. He had pale skin and a goatee connected to his mustache. He was dressed in what appeared to be medieval European dress with a blood red cloak.

"Rominoff," the risen body said in a gravely low voice.

"You've heard of me. I am...rather honored, Cain," Rominoff said as he knelt down.

"Yes. I have seen much in my slumber. Many of you have grown powerful. But the world is not ours. We will have to rectify this grievous error," Cain said.

"Father. Before we depart, you must have nourishment. It has been ages since you've last fed. Fortunately, my...wives have found a few select courses for you," Rominoff said as three women, a blonde, a brunette, and a redhead, each dragged in three scared young women who were bound and gagged. Cain looked over the three young women and smiled with an evil glint in his eyes. He swiftly approached the three humans women and fed as the first of their screams echoed throughout the caves.


Karaoke Dokie

Los Angeles, California

Jade and Freddie laughed as they traded stories about their lives since the last time they saw each other months ago. On the one hand, Freddie was surprised at what had gone down between Tori and Jade, as he wasn't sure what drove the rivalry. But he could see that there was more to her deep down. He remembered the last two times he was in California, Jade seemed to hide behind her anger. It was especially notable when it came to Tori. However, looking at her now, at seems as if most of the anger is gone.

"So, what brings you here to the city of the stars?" Jade asked the young man.

"Well, that is actually pretty interesting. This guy shows up at my apartment, and he says that he convinced your principal to participate in this beta-test of a joint program. I'm going to be working with at least one student at Hollywood Arts, while still taking classes. And it's going to help out with my college plans a lot, especially since..." Freddie trailed off as he realized he was going into dangerous territory with his mind.

"After what?" Jade asked, feeling oddly concerned.

"Nothing. Just my plans were a little up in the air for a while," Freddie replied with a far away look in his eyes that didn't go unnoticed by Jade.

"This have anything to do with Sam?" Jade asked. Freddie looked up at her eyes, taking in how they weren't just blue, but also a bit green. He shook the thought from his head as he knew Jade was expecting an answer.

"Sort of. It's...things just got bad with me and the girls back home," Freddie answered truthfully.

"Bad how?" the brunette asked curiously. Freddie blew out a tired breath knowing that his response could be met with either empathy or disbelief.

"Have you ever had something and you thought that no matter how much it hurt you that you still wanted to hang on to it?" Freddie asked her. Jade simply nodded knowing all too well how it felt.

"Well, that's how it was with the girls. In truth, I'm surprised at myself for not pulling away sooner," Freddie said as he lowered his gaze to their table. Jade, in an unusual manner for her, reached out and palmed the top of the young man's left hand. He looked up and nearly became lost in her eyes again before she spoke up.

"Just talk. I'll listen."

Freddie look back down as he considered what unleashing the truth could really mean. He looked back up and steeled himself for what he was about to say.

"For as long as I've known Sam and Carly, my life has been one roller coaster ride after another. Sam had always hated me for no understandable or foreseeable reason that anyone can think of. And she's always taken it out on me. Hitting me. Insulting me. Humiliating me. But I pushed through it because I loved Carly. But it wasn't meant to be. When I saved her from getting hit by that taco truck, we wound up dating for a while. But we broke up. I listened to Sam tell me that Carly didn't really love me but what I did. So I let her go so that things wouldn't be worse in the end," Freddie explained.

"I can relate," Jade lamented. Freddie raised an eyebrow at her.

"I broke up with Beck about almost a month ago. We had been fighting in-between times where we just didn't speak to each other, and he just left for Canada or wherever. I got so tired of taking the blame for our relationships issues. And even worse, I let myself think that was the case," Jade began explaining. Freddie remembered that Tori told him about the first break up after they met. Tori even told him about this particular break up, although it was a different version. However, looking at Jade, he could see in her eyes that she was telling the truth. Despite owning up to her issues in the relationship, it seems that Beck wouldn't own up to his part.

"Crazy. Seems like the situations are reversed. In my case, Carly and Sam always make themselves the victims rather than actually taking time to learn from their own mistakes, while I pick up the pieces of everything that happens to me. But this is the first time I've heard about a guy making himself the victim. But then in L.A., I guess everything is different," Freddie joked as he thought on the situations. Jade giggled a bit as she realized how he was right.

As the pair conversed, they failed to notice a new group come in, which was comprised of Jade's former friends. The five friends, and Trina looked to the table where the tech-producer and the aspiring actress were chatting. Each of them had different levels of surprise at seeing Jade give a genuine smile. Andre was shocked as he hadn't seen the true side of Jade since she helped him with his song. Tori was shocked, and honestly a bit jealous, that Jade and Freddie seemed to hitting it off so well, when she had kept in touch with the brunette young man since the party at Kenan's. Cat was happily surprised that Jade had appeared to be making a new friend. Trina of course was hoping to catch the young man's attention, while Beck kept an impassive expression, even though he felt differently on the inside.

"You want to go somewhere else?" the Canadian actor said to his friends.

"No! No. We don't have to go anywhere. They look pretty comfortable. So we don't have to bother them," Tori said, trying to convince them. The others nodded and followed her to an empty table, while Beck still wasn't convinced why they should avoid them. For the moment, he decided to follow the others. Jade and Freddie, meanwhile, had noticed the others but didn't acknowledge their presence.

"Dammit. The other shoe had to drop," Jade said.

"It's fine. They don't seem to want to bother us anyway. So what do you plan on doing before graduation?" Freddie asked his companion. Jade looked up as she hadn't given too much thought to the question before now.

"I don't know. I haven't put much thought into making any more productions. Ever since Tori got my performance canceled, I just felt like anything I try to do from that point is just bad luck. The college route just seems to be the better choice," Jade responded, feeling let down. Freddie noted the sadness in her voice as she hated the disadvantages that she had been forced to endure.

"It might not have to be from now on," Freddie said. Jade looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"What if I could help you make some films that you could put out to the world, for all to see? A chance to break out into the entertainment world in your own way. And you could have me as your technical producer?" Freddie asked her. Jade's mouth was agape as she thought about the offer he was giving her.

"You would do that for me?" Jade said, trying to wrap the idea around her brain.

"Yeah. Why not show the world what we're both made of," Freddie said, holding a hand out to her. Jade thought this over and realized that with his skills, he could easily help her bring her creations to life. She had seen it how he made the show extra special with the effects and additions tot eh show that he utilized. Jade smiled and clasped his hand in her own.

"Freddie Benson, you've got your star," Jade said, her smile still firmly in place.

Beck and the others looked at the pair in astonishment as they had never known anyone to be able to get close to Jade. In Beck's case, he assumed that Jade would lump Freddie in with the other nerds like Robbie, Sinjin, and Burf, as they did not receive the same attention as someone like him would.

"Why is Jade hanging with Freddie?" Cat asked, voicing everyone's thought.

"Maybe she's asking for his help or something," Robbie said. The ventriloquist was trying to sound optimistic as maybe he figured Jade and Beck would get back together.

"Like trying to get noticed to appear on iCarly," Beck threw in snidely.

"But Freddie's not on iCarly anymore," Andre commented.

"Doesn't mean she can't use him to make it happen," Beck replied. Tori looked at the handsome actor as he made his comments and wondered what his issues were. She thought back to the description of the breakup Beck gave when they played poker. From what he told them, he was ready to break up with her after a certain, but the dark haired girl had beaten him to the proverbial punch. However, he had left out why he had gotten lightly bruised. Tori could only guess Beck had been slugged by the goth. As much as she liked Beck, she couldn't help but feel that he had been acting differently from the guy she knew when she first attended Hollywood Arts. Tori shook her head and chose not to say anything to Beck, for fear of starting a small argument. She looked over to Andre and noticed that he had a similar look of contemplation on his face.

"Come on, man! Look at him! She's clearly all over him like chili cheese on fries! Hate to say it Elvis, but it looks like Queen Hotness has found a new Prince Charming, hahahahaha!" Rex, from Robbie's voice, apparently said, earning odd glances from the rest of the group.

"Ooooookay. Anyway, we're just here to have a night out. Let's have fun guys," Tori said as she and Cat got up to sign up for a song. Andre looked to the Canadian teenager.

"Don't you think maybe you were a bit rough on Jade?" Andre asked his friend.

"What do you care? You admitted that she can be a real gank. So why care now?" Beck asked back.

"Well, it's just that Jade doesn't seem as bad as we all think. Hell, she's never been mean to me, and if she was, it's not like I didn't give her reason to be. Besides, you love Jade, so I'm just wondering why you're kinda...harsh," Andre explained.

"Andre...I'll always love Jade as a friend. But as a girlfriend, she just freaked out over the smallest things. Another girl can't even talk to me without her giving me an earful!" Beck said exasperatedly.

"You mean like how Hayley flirted with you?" Andre shot back with a raised eyebrow.

"What?!" Beck asked with his brow furled in confusion.

"Come on man, you couldn't have been blind to the way she was coming on to you the first time we came here with the girls. Not even five seconds after Jade left the table, she just swaggered on over and was just all over you. Cat had to let her know that you had a girlfriend. You could've just as easily told her yourself," Andre informed the school heartthrob.

"So now I'm the bad guy in this? And what about you? Wasn't Tara all over you just like Hayley?" Beck threw back.

"First of all, I was and am once again single. It wouldn't have mattered whether or not Hayley or Tara flirted with me. But had a girl that you said you loved and never stopped loving. I don't know what that feels like, but it sounds like you don't either," Andre said as he looked hard at his friend. Beck clenched his jaw as he didn't know what else he could say to defend himself. He decided to turn to the stage to see Tori about to perform.

Freddie and Jade looked up as the younger Vega sister performed an upbeat pop song, which Jade informed Freddie was the song that she used to show up the club owner's daughter and friend. Jade would easily admit that Tori was talented if she wanted to. But as she looked to the rest of the patrons, she could see how dazzled they were by her rival's performance. As Tori finished her song, Freddie looked over at Jade and took in the somber expression. He laid a gentle hand on her shoulder, causing her to look at him. He gave her a small smile, which she kindly returned. Tori took notice and felt strangely bothered by the gesture that her friend had shown to Jade. She cleared her head of the thought and departed from the stage.

The evening continued on with Cat putting on an amazing performance just as she and Jade did before. Freddie left for the restroom, leaving Jade to her thoughts for a few moments. She had taken an instant liking to the tech producer, especially since she had the dream about the two of them being intimate. The thought of the dream instantly caused Jade to warm, and her face was beginning to flush. The sight of a male's lower half in her peripheral vision caused her to turn only to find Beck standing next to her with an accusatory look. She noticed that the others weren't at their table, which gave Beck an opening.

"Jade," Beck started.

"Beck. How are you?" she asked her ex-boyfriend.

"Can't complain. I see you made a new...friend," he replied.

"So now you're being a creepy stalker?" Jade asked, her voice laced with sarcasm.

"Well, it's not like you've been one to make friends easily," the long haired teenager asked.

"Maybe that's because a lot of people annoyed me," she threw back.

"And he doesn't? The same guy that's as nerdy as Robbie, Burf, Sinjin? He doesn't annoy you at all with the nerd babble?" Beck asked with a sneer in his voice.

"He didn't go into any 'nerd babble' as you call it. He asked about me, what's been going on in my life, not trying to hit on me, be creepy, making me think I'd have to watch my back around him. He hasn't shown me any disrespect and he's treated me like an equal," Jade threw back at him.

"You know how you get when you're angry, especially over the smallest things!" Beck said. Jade looked at him in shock at his choice of words.

"Small? Small?! You think getting beaten out of a chance to really show people what I can do by someone who just strolls in, smiles and gets whatever she wants is small?! You think that working hard for weeks on a planned performance and a chance to see it come to life, only to have it ruined not only by someone who just asked for something that no one else wanted, but by the teacher you used to respect because they play favorites, is small?! You think having to watch girls just throw themselves all over you while we were together, and you don't even so much as turn them down is SMALL?! I'll tell you what's small Beckett Oliver! What's small is fuse that can go off from how little you seem to care about me! But I won't. You've already shown me how much of dick you are, so you can take all your bravado about caring and shove it up your ass. Everyone will see the real you," Jade said before she stormed off past him.

During Jade's speech, Freddie had emerged from the restroom and heard every word. He figured that the performing artist had been holding back something, as he had gotten used to knowing when Sam lied to him. However, she had been truthful to him and he figured he owed her the benefit of not dragging out anything from her, especially something as personal as what she had mentioned. Her rant at her former boyfriend had gained the attention of the patrons, including Hayley and Tara who looked on with interest. Jade made her way over to him and he was instantly snapped out of his train of thought.

"I'm sorry. But it looks like the night is ruined. I think I'll just go home," Jade said. Freddie nodded in response.

"I'll walk you to your car," the young man offered. The pair made their way out and past Beck and the others. Tori walked up to her handsome friend.

"Beck, what happened?" Tori asked him. Beck turned to her with a false look of innocence on his face.

"I just went to over to talk to Jade, asking about her and Freddie and she just freaked out, like she always does," Beck said, hoping to placate the girl. Tori looked at him oddly. She thought back to the day she started thinking of designs for her locker, when Beck showed his to her. He said that he had no secrets, however, she realized after some time that he never told anyone much about himself. She decided not to press him any further as she figured he wouldn't be so forthcoming with the truth.

Outside of the eighteen and under club, Freddie and Jade stood next to her car in silence. Freddie wanted to do or say anything that he thought would make her feel better in this situation. Strangely, he found himself thinking of how it used to be Carly that he would be asking that question about. But then Carly had not been so receptive to him whenever he would do something for her. He would do it but she wasn't always grateful, or she only demeaned him further because of the person he was, made even worse with Sam in the picture. Now, seeing Jade, it made him want to embrace her and let her know that everything will be alright. Jade, at that moment, looked to him with the best straight face she could manage.

"So, I guess we'll meet up on Monday, to go over some ideas?" Jade asked.

"Sounds good," Freddie replied. Jade flashed him a small smile before she got into her car. Freddie watched as the vehicle came to life and pulled away from the club, leaving him to his devices. He turned to walk back into the club until a woman's scream reached his ears. Against his better judgment, he ran over into the nearby alley, where he saw a woman moving away from a man, who appeared to have horribly pale skin. The woman in question had blonde hair, wore a pink shirt and light blue jeans. However, what surprised Freddie was who the blonde in question looked like.

"FREDDIE, HELP ME!" the girl yelled to him. The attacker turned to Freddie, startling the young man by his appearance. The assailant had dark hair that came down to his shoulders. He wore all black clothes. But aside from his pale skin tone, his eyes were blood red in color. The stranger leapt at Freddie, tackling him to the ground. Thanks to his reflexes from fencing, Freddie flipped the stranger off to his side, and made it back to his feet.

The attacker swipe at Freddie, with what appeared to be claws instead of nails on his hand. The tech producer ducked and dodged where he could. Freddie went on the attack and threw a right hook at the stranger. The instant Freddie's fist made contact with his face, the attacker soared straight into a wall, leaving a dent. The man pulled himself out of the dent, and looked oddly at Freddie, before he grinned wickedly and leapt high into the air before disappearing. Freddie looked on, mouth agape, at the sight that had presented itself to him. He looked to his hand and realized that it was glowing yellow-and-white. The color faded away after a few moments, and he was able to focus and the young lady he saved. Before he could move, the blonde girl engulfed him in a hug.

"Oh thank Freddie! Thank you!" she said over and over, in between kissing him on both cheeks.

"Uh, no problem Sam. But what were you doing here in L.A.?" the young man asked. The girl looked at him strangely.

"Freddie, I'm not Sam. I'm her sister Melanie," she replied calmly. Freddie looked at her confused until he saw inside her eyes. He could see things that he rarely, if ever, saw in Sam's eyes: sincerity, vulnerability, and even stranger, kindness.

"Oh my god," Freddie said, putting his hand to his mouth.

"I know. I would've told you sooner, but I had no way of getting in touch with you. And I didn't think Carly and Sam would've been truthful with you," Melanie said.

"Well...in my defense, they had been pranking me all week. And I just can't trust Sam period. As for Carly, well, I've got nothing to say about her. Anyway, what were you doing here?" Freddie asked the Puckett twin.

"I went to Seattle a few weeks ago to visit you guys. When I got there, well, let's just say the dynamic duo wasn't so dynamic. Just being around them felt like I was around a bomb ready to go off. And it didn't help their new guy Brad, since he was in the middle of it," Melanie explained. Freddie sympathized with his friend as he remembered one of the few times that Carly and Sam had argued with each other. It had grated his nerves how it was something that could've been solved simply by communicating. He cleared his head of the memory and focused on the girl in front of him.

"Anyway, Carly told me about what happened and where you went. I wound up graduating early than planned, and I figured why not at least try and find you," Melanie explained.

"You came all this way for me?" Freddie asked.

"I know we didn't have much time to know each other. But I figured why not. You shouldn't be alone. And after what just happened, I owe you big time," Melanie answered.

"I was just trying to help. I'm surprised I could do anything, with the way that guy looked and how he was going at it," Freddie said as he thought on the stranger's appearance.

"Well, he's gone. So I don't have to worry about him. Thanks. While we're here, maybe we could have a dance at this club?" Melanie offered with a sweet smile. Freddie acquiesced escorted her inside. He thought maybe he was still reeling from an adrenaline rush, as he swore he could've seen phantom bird wings on Melanie's back.

Atop a high building not too far away, Gabriel and Suriel watched the events unfold.

"Well, this is certainly an interesting start," the angel said.

"Yes. It's only a matter of time before he utilizes his potential. Although from the looks of things, something more is going on that we are not aware of. I wouldn't have expected the other girl girl to be a nephilim as well. And as for the attacker, why resurface now?" Gabriel asked, the last part more to himself than to Suriel.

"I'll have the answer to to that when I find out for myself. Hopefully, young Fredward will not have to face Him in the future," Suriel said, before spreading her wings and taking flight. Gabriel looked down at the karaoke club with an intense determination in his eyes.

"I'll never allow it."