Chapter 6

Guilt and Treachery

Within the headquarters of the Night Brigade, Elsa was sparring with Slade. Whenever she asked to train with him, the older man would accept the young street fighter's request. The twenty-one year old man required someone of equal skill level, to be his second-in-command if he was ever out. The two continued to trade blows, basically on equal ground.

"You're skills have come a long way, Elsa." Slade commented, seeing the way Elsa used his forearm to defend and counter his fist.

Elsa's jade eyes kept his gaze on the businessman, but wondered what he was going to do next. "If you're looking to distract me, your attempt is failing."

"Never let your guard down my young protégé." Slade quipped, electricity cackling around his fist. It threw Elsa back a few inches. His skin such as his forearms and head were covered in feathers.

Seeing her leader take the form of a falcon, Elsa transformed into his scorpion form. Taking charge, she watched Slade come at him with full force. She maneuvered to the left, going to dodge the kick. However, Slade had faked his approach and jabbed her in the chest.

Slade felt Elsa's pinchers on his wrist, tossing him to a nearby wall. Using his clawed fingers and toe-nails to cling to it, he turned and smirked at his second-in-command. Elsa came at him and managed to feel a kick to his abdomen. 'She certainly is getting better.'

Slade managed to get in a few hits, interlacing his fingers together and clenched his fists together. Hitting Elsa and sent her flying to the ground, lunging at her and used the sharp claws on his fingers to press into his throat. However, he saw one of her claws aimed at his throat and the two were in a draw. The two reverted to their human forms, conserving their energy and not exert their bodies.

"Our training session ends today." Slade said, taking Elsa's hand. Slowly bringing her up, he suddenly sensed the presence of another and turned to see Fox. Seeing the smirk on the slender man lips, his eyes narrowed at him. "Can I help you with something Fox?"

"Oh no, I just wanted to see you kids in action…" He answered, coolly walking over to the two. "… So, what's the relationship between you two?"

A chuckle escaped from Elsa's mouth. "You presume wrong Fox. There is no relationship between us. We're just good friends who look out for each other."

Fox's body leaned against the wall, crossing his arms. The more he was around the Night Brigade, the more mysterious they were. Slade was a complete enigma to him. How had he come across Tylon's list of employees?

Now, his unofficial status as a double agent wasn't discovered thankfully, but he needed answers to the Night Brigade's true endgame. He couldn't just blurt out the question. Give it more time and to earn his current boss' trust, he could learn the secret of his plan.

"Good friends, right." Fox said, masking his emotions and waved at the comment. He was good at pretending like he didn't care.

Slade went to the gym bag, reaching in to grab two bottles of water and tossed one to Elsa. "Elsa, can you watch the base for me while I'm gone?" He asked her, watching the scorpion zoanthrope nod her head.

Fox watched Slade leave, shaking his head. The twenty-five year old fox needed answers, not more questions about Slade. "How long has the Night Brigade been around?"

Elsa took a long sip of her water and was satisfied to relieve her quench of thirst. She looked at Fox, knowing Slade didn't trust him for obvious reasons. It was obvious that he was not comfortable with how Slade gave him the cold shoulder. The young blonde despised Fox, but with Elsa around she showed him compassion. "Um, I haven't asked Slade. I've only been on the team for a year. You can ask the other operatives, depending when they come back."

Fox looked at Elsa with curiosity, already intrigued by her answer. So it wasn't just the eighteen-year old street fighter that operated out on the field as well. Assuming that the grunts did all the work, there were other operatives as well. 'Now we're getting somewhere.' He inwardly smirked, thinking he just found the weak link in Slade's group.

…

Jet jumped a bit, watching an action movie with Shina. It was one of those flicks from the nineties, and the blonde French girl won a bet through a coin toss. Heads they watch a movie Jet picked or tails Shina would end up picking a movie. She ended up, and didn't let Jet live it down.

"My, aren't we jumpy tonight." Shina teased him, her icy blue eyes glancing at her friend with a smirk.

Jet glared at her an exaggerated manner, his blue eyes focused on her. "Real adorable Shina, forgive me if I don't share your taste for 'loud explosions'."

Shina covered her mouth, snickering at his comment. Having grown up in the field of war, the blonde tomboy was good at what she did, similar to her old man. "You should've been prepared when dating someone who grew up in the battlefield."

Jet let that response sink in, growing quiet at that answer. When the movie was done, he went over to the DVD player and pressed a button to take out the disc. Putting it back in the case, he glanced at Shina's direction. "I never got your answer."

"What answer would that be?" She asked and was confused by what he meant.

"Before Maarku invaded the apartment and snuck in, I told you I wanted us to be official." Jet said, the room having grown silent. It was a lot to take in, especially for his zoanthrope companion.

Shina was silent for a moment, remembering his words. When Maarku had Jet on the ropes, she went into action without thinking and saved his life. Not wanting to let another man she loved, aside from her foster father, be put in harm's way she was hesitant. "Jet… There's a lot that goes into a relationship. You really made me open up to things that I didn't know I'd enjoy: Going to a movie, bowling, trying new foods, and I like those things when I'm with you." She began to open up and admitting she liked this relaxing lifestyle.

"Shina, I know you've told me you grew up in being surrounded by war." Jet began to talk, thinking maybe he should open up a secret he never told anyone. "Before we met three years ago, I was kidnapped by a company who experimented on people. I don't want to go into details, but you should know if it wasn't for your father I wouldn't have met you."

Shina's icy blue eyes focused on Jet, surprised by such a secret. "How come you didn't tell me this?" She asked, thinking he had his reasons for not telling him.

"I thought at the time when we first met, I wanted to share my secret," Jet went into details about his answer. It was at a time and place where after he had been rescued, he didn't want to lose any friendships he made. "I wasn't sure how you'd react to a zoanthrope. Yet that doesn't seem to matter anymore now does it?"

The leopard zoanthrope walked over to him, placing a hand on his cheek. "Jet, I wouldn't have seen you as a freak." She admitted. "I love you, zoanthrope or not, you're the best thing to happen to me and I love every moment I'm with you."

Jet felt his heart beat, grinning at the younger female. "And I love you too, with every bit of action you display." He wrapped his muscular arms around her, leaning down and claimed her lips.

…

So this was Jet's current location. He had been to New York City so many times, and saw Jet that he didn't have the time. Wearing his business attire, he mostly wore a black jacket, a purple button-up shirt, silver tie, black slacks, and black leather shoes. His company was located here, so it was either doing business or performing tasks for the Night Brigade. The Night Brigade… If Jet had found out that he was helping such a group, his friendship with him would be torn apart.

Walking into the apartment building, he walked up the flight of stairs. Taking out the piece of paper, he looked at the apartment number and saw it was a few doors down. 'I wonder if Jet will ever want to still be friends. It's been three years after what the Tylon Corporation did to him, and I wasn't there to help him readjust.' What was he thinking? Jet didn't need his help at all, because when the white-blue streaked haired teen was free he slipped back into the old routine like a glove. Even though he was kidnapped and experimented on, Jet didn't allow himself to be a victim of traumatic experience. Something inside him was harder than steel, a 'steely will' is what Slade described it.

Escaping from his thoughts, he knocked on the door. Hearing lots of scrambling going on in the background, he rubbed the back of his head. Was Jet having company over, or were there rodents in the midst? The mere thought of rat zoanthropes in the city made Slade shudder inwardly.

Whenever his avian side kicked in, that falcon within him was a ruthless predator and caught mice or rats to eat without a second thought. And whenever he reverted back into his human form, he would throw up from the experience. Maybe it could be a flaw in the artificial gene-splicing, or was it something natural within zoanthropes. He'd have to ask Busuzima about it, as much as it made him feel uneasy. Asking Obadiah was a first option, but the green-haired chameleon was better at explaining these things. That and he could swear that a house fly humorously float around the eccentric reptile and that long tongue crept out and caught it.

'No more disgusting thoughts!' Slade shouted in his mind, hearing a click from the door.

As soon as the door opened, Jet was standing there rather calm. Blue eyes studied the older blonde male, instantly recognizing him. "Slade!" He pulled the man into a tight hug.

Slade returned the friendly hug, knowing Jet was strong in nature. Luckily he developed the zoanthrope strength through Busuzima's gene-splicing and Obadiah's rigorous training. "It's been ages, hasn't it?"

"I think you think 'dinosaur' ages." Jet snickered a bit, secretly making a pun to his own Jurassic-like form. He welcomed his old friend in, letting the blonde man set in. "So, can I offer you anything to drink? I can get you a bottle of water, or brew up some tea."

"I'm good thank you. I just finished working out." Slade reassured him, knowing he was speaking half the truth. The blonde businessman looked around, seeing Jet had a cozy apartment. He wondered what Jet did these days? Picking up a strong scent, he sniffed around the apartment of an odor.

Shina waltzed in, wondering who was at the front door. After the incident with Maarku, she wanted to be prepared for him or anyone that dared attack them. Her icy blue eyes gazed at the man, wondering who he was and then it hit her. "So, what brings a rich boy like you all the down here?" She asked with a smirk.

Slade turned his gaze to Shina, silver eyes taken in her appearance. He raised a delicate eyebrow, wondering who the tomboy was. Some ideas were running through his head, having an idea of what happened. "I'm a friend of Jet's. I take you're his… girlfriend?"

Already there was a wide smirk from Shina, leaning against the frame and chuckled. "Why, are you jealous?" She joked, teasing the blonde businessman.

"Shina, this is my childhood friend Slade Atlas. Slade, meet Jane Gado. She prefers Shina." Jet made the introductions.

Slade took Shina's hand, impressed by her strong grip. Already he was sensing the presence of a zoanthrope within her. Not only that, but he remembered that Fox had told him how Gado and his friends had taken down the Tylon Corporation. Oh, he was totally screwed if anyone caught wind that he was the leader for the Night Brigade. Still, he was extremely lucky that her father was not here.

When Shina took Slade's hand, she felt a bit uneasy. Just by telling from his grip, she could sense something within him. Could it be the presence of a zoanthrope? She hadn't picked it up from Maarku, but she knew that there was something wrong with him. This guy was Jet's friend, so she would play it out. "So Slade, what do you do exactly?"

"My company deals with breakthroughs in inventions that help benefit the world as a whole." Slade explained, thankful that Obadiah had helped him get his company out of bankruptcy. Turning his gaze to Jet, he wanted to catch up with him. "So Jet, do you go to school?"

"Yeah, I graduated high school last year and started coming to New York City for an education. I'm looking to become a lawyer, so if you ever need someone to get you out of a jam, I'll make some business cards." Jet winked at Slade.

There was another knock at the door, Jet going over to look through the peep hole. He snorted out of nervousness, seeing the sight of a familiar blonde spiky haired man. Also there were four other people, who looked like his entourage. 'Fuck, I knew this would happen.' He thought in his head, turning his gaze to Shina. "Your dad is here and he's come to kill me."

Shina's icy blue eyes widened, bringing a hand to her forehead and groaned in embarrassment. Knowing her new boyfriend tended to exaggerate on things, but she knew why he was here. "Chill out, I gave him your address as one of the locations where I would stay at." She explained to him to clarify some things.

Jet opened the door to see the French mercenary with his group of associates. "Mr. Gado, it's been awhile." He said, bringing out his hand.

Gado nodded his head, taking Jet's hand in return and shook it. Having been friends with Jet's parents for two decades, he was an 'uncle' of sorts. "Hello Jet, it's good to see you as well." He said, being formal like always. Seeing Jet step to the side, he walked in and looked around the apartment. "I take it Shina is safe?"

"Don't worry old man, I'm in one piece." Shina replied, mentally rolling her eyes. Eyeing her father, she noticed four other people with him. Already she picked up zoanthrope scents from them, wondering who they were. "So, I take it this is your posse?" She asked with a sly grin.

The lion zoanthrope inwardly groan, running a cool hand through her hair. His foster daughter loved to make jokes at his expense. 'I'm starting to see some of Jenny in her.' He concluded where the wise cracks came from.

Jenny covered her mouth with her hand, giggling at Gado's response to the joke. Her eyes gazed upon Shina, amazed at how much her daughter had grown. 'Oh my, Gado certainly did say Jane had grown up…I didn't expect her to take after her father in appearance, but…She's grown to be a pretty girl.' She thought as her inner pride allowed herself to be happy for Shina.

"We're all friends of your father's." Yugo spoke up, the brown haired man surprisingly calm at the moment. There was a part of him that wanted to laugh at the 'posse' joke, but ever since Gado mentioned the Night Brigade, he couldn't allow these vigilante zoanthropes to get away with these things. As much as criminals deserved to be punished, taking a life was not the answer. It wasn't something his father wanted for him and to have it weigh in on his conscience.

Shina looked at the brunette, taking in his appearance. Looking at the brown haired man in her father's unit, they both had a striking resemblance. "Say, you look like someone from my dad's unit?"

Yugo looked at Shina with a curious look on his face, nodding his head. "Yeah, that's my father, Yuji Ohgami!" He answered and turned to look at Gado. "And she called you 'dad'. I didn't know you had a daughter."

Gado's mind snapped back to reality, looking at Yugo who had asked him a question. "She's my foster daughter." He clarified, thinking some introductions were in order. "Everyone, this is my daughter Shina and the young man that she protected, Jet Raxton."

Alice stepped forward, bowing her head at the two. "My name is Alice Nonomura."

"Alfred Blood. I'm with MI: 6 of the British government, aiding Gado in his investigation."

"Jenny Burtory, an acquaintance of your father's."

Yugo stepped forward, his eyes taking in on Jet, Shina, and Slade. "My name is Yugo Ohgami." He introduced himself, showing a bit of a grin. It was to help break away the tension he was feeling. Also maybe meeting new people would help break the uneasy emotions he was feeling. "I'm one of the people that helped Gado take down the Tylon Corporation, along with several others."

"I happen to be one of those people." Alice chimed in, holding Yugo's hand. She was glad that boyfriend was starting to loosen up.

So that was the name of the company that captured Jet. There was a rumor about a multinational company being shut down three years ago. Shina's icy blue eyes were on Gado, paying a lot of attention to him. 'You have a lot of questions to ask you old man.' She thought in her head. It would explain where he went three years ago, and she deserved to know those answers.

Jet walked over to Yugo, amazed that the wolf zoanthrope was the one that freed the captured people from the Tylon Corporation. "I was one of those people that got captured by Tylon." He said, blue eyes meeting with Yugo's chestnut brown eyes, bringing out his hand. "I want to thank you out of gratitude for what you and the others did."

Yugo looked up at Jet, allowing a full smile to form on his lips. Taking a hand in general, he gave it a good firm handshake. "It's all good. And it's nice to meet a fellow zoanthrope as well."

Alice's red eyes turned to gaze at Slade, who seemed to feel out of place. She walked over to him, sensing that he was rather quiet. "You seem rather quiet. Are you a friend of Jet or Shina's?" She asked, curious to how he knew one of the two.

Slade looked at Alice, looking at the smile on her face and the warmness she gave off. Feeling himself go a bit red in the cheeks, his silver eyes averted her stare. "I'm a friend of Jet's. I just met Shina today… So you're a zoanthrope too?"

The purple-haired twenty-year old nodded her head awkwardly, wondering how Slade felt about her. "Yes I am… Are you one as well?"

"No, I'm not." Slade answered, mentally wincing that he lied through his teeth. He hated to keep this secret. Being around these people, they all seemed to generate nothing but good vibes about him. Yet here he was, the leader of the Night Brigade secretly hanging out with his best friend, his girlfriend, and the resistance group that was led by the legendary Gado himself. "Let's say I don't take kindly to bullies and racism in general, and just know that you have my support in the long run."

Alice beamed at Slade's kind words, feeling her heart warm up to someone that didn't fear or despise her kind. "That's very kind of you… I didn't catch your name."

"My name is Slade Atlas." Slade offered his hand out of a friendly gesture, showing a warm smile towards the rabbit zoanthrope. Feeling her hand grip his, she was certainly strong but warm and soft. 'Wow, her grip certainly gives off a sense of warm, but also a sense of determination.' He thought in his head, feeling his heart pound and blushed harder. Why was he feeling this way around a young woman like her? He'd just met her, and all of a sudden he developed an admiration for her… No, it was a crush.

"I don't mean to spoil the moment, but I need everyone's attention." Gado spoke up. Whenever he had anyone's attention, he had a reason to speak. It was like a command not out of authorization, but out of respect that he had something important to say. "We're here because a vigilante group known as the Night Brigade maybe operating in this city, and one of the operatives were found here in the city."

Slade's gaze focused on Gado, hearing the mention of his group. However, the news that Maarku attacked Jet put him on edge. Normally the orca zoanthrope didn't pick fights, but he certainly took orders. It was usually himself that gave Maarku and the others commands to do their tasks. Going back to his memories, he remembered a certain night where Busuzima had an interest of recruiting Jet to be in the Night Brigade. He warned him to stay away from his best friend. 'I warned Busuzima not to go near Jet…Clearly he thinks he can use others to do his dirty work is another mistake.' He thought in his mind, concluding that traitorous chameleon would go unpunished once he got a hold of him.

…

Now the second arc comes to a close. I kept the chapter short than the previous chapters. It was mostly character-driven, wanting to explore the thoughts and character interactions between my characters and the BR cast. Also I wanted to add in hints of drama that'll come up in future chapters. ^^