Summary: In the first chapter.

poorasdirt: Man, the Holidays sure can throw you off. Yea I know I'm not posting as quickly as I usually do, but life is life and I can't do much about it. I haven't forgotten about this story though, I will get it and the last story of the series up eventually. Also I had some trouble starting this chapter, it took me a few tries to get it somewhat close to what I wanted. I wouldn't call it writer's block, just some trouble wording it right. Um yea, thanks to all those that have reviewed, favorited, and/or alerted this story. I'm going to stop rambling now.

ENJOY!


Squinting her burning watery eyes she huffed, and covered her mouth and nose with her hand. The scent of ash, smoke, and burning wood scorched her throat as she coughed and blindly wandered through the thick smoke. Using an outstretched arm to help guide her through the blinding haze of smoke, ash, and fire she quickly found a wall. Despite having her armor fully unsheathed the blistering heat of the raging fire around her licked its wicked tongue against her nerves. It didn't harm her physically as it seductively caressed her skin, but that didn't make her any less aware of its presence. Over the loud blaring warnings of her instincts telling her to escape, she could almost swear the very air around her was cackling cruelly at her predicament.

Sliding to one knee she desperately gasped for some much needed oxygen misting the floor at her feet. Closing her eyes she forced herself to take deep breaths of surprisingly cool air. She could feel panic and adrenaline dancing dangerously through her veins like liquid electricity. Knowing she had to focus that energy into the single goal of escaping her fiery tomb rather than blindly letting it dance through her, she slowly pulled herself together.

Once she had more control over herself than she had a few moments ago, she opened her eyes. Previously forgotten memories of how to react during a fire came rushing back towards her, and she nearly slapped herself for forgetting them in the first place. While the smoke and ash in the air blinded her just as much as it did a normal person, or perhaps even worse, she did try to use her senses to re-orientate herself to her surroundings. At best she could tell where the cool oxygen at her feet was going and coming from, also she could tell the wooden and clay structure above her was groaning painfully as the heat ate away at it.

Peering around her person, she squinted into the darkness surrounding her at the glowing halls she was trapped in. It took a second but she began to understand where she was in the structure and just where she had to go to get out. Staying as low as she could to the healing oxygen still coating the ground like a morning mist, she moved towards the exit. As she moved she steered clear of the glowing columns of pure heat, knowing that while her body may have some resistance to its power her clothes did not.

She was making good time until she had to stop. She flashed her fangs and growled at the sight of the fallen debris barricading her in the fiery dungeon. Crouching near the floor she looked for another escape route, knowing full well by now the raging inferno had gained the attention of the local authorities.

"Damn vampires and their death trap. I knew the place smelt funny. Note to self, make sure there are no high accelerants drenching the place I'm about to torch a vampire in. Those bastards probably knew they were going to die soon if they soaked this match box in whatever flammable liquid they did. I know it didn't smell like gasoline but it was close." She muttered as she searched for some way of escaping that would leave her relatively un-singed.

Finally after what seemed to be an eternity she found one of the few places she knew she could escape from. Though she had to admit crawling out of a basement window barely big enough to fit her slim frame was a first for her. Just as soon as she was done squeezing herself out of the only opening big enough for her to crawl out of, she was hit with a sever coughing fit. She hadn't expected the cool fresh night air to assault her lungs so mercilessly. So kneeling there on her hands and knees just outside of the burning husk of a once beautiful villa, she tried to regain her ability to breathe normally and not cough up her lungs.

Just as the sound of sirens started to echo in her ears, she managed to regain her breath. Standing up she looked around at the back alley she found herself in. Not seeing anyone around, she sighed in relief as she sunk back into the shadows. She just hoped her friends managed to escape on their own, but she figured they were quite capable of that feat. Looking over her shoulder one last time at the large bonfire that was once a beautiful large villa she rolled her eyes to herself.

"And I wonder why there are people out there that consider me a terrorist. This one would definitely fit my suppose profile any day." She growled to herself as she shoved her hands into her pockets as she walked. It still mildly stung for her to draw a breath but she could feel her healing abilities fast at work restoring her respiratory system back to its former healthy glory. Letting her metallic armor once more recede back under her skin, she smiled as her bare fingers soon brushed on the still warm metal of the V-shaped crest nestled in her pocket.

Once she was sure she was a safe enough distance from the former vampire coven, she pulled out her cell phone. She sighed seeing the slightly melted edges of the plastic, but was pleased to see that was the only damage. She was also pleased to see she still had service, so without wasting time she dialed a number.

"Ms. Bella, you made it out." Dolph exclaimed happily as soon as he picked up. "We were worried that you got trapped inside the basement."

"Yea I got out. It took me a few minutes though. How is everyone else? No one got hurt did they?" Bella asked in slight relief to hear from her friend.

"Everyone is fine Ms. Bella. Aside from a few minor scratches and bruises we are all in perfect health and nearly back home."

"That's great to hear, how did it go upstairs? You didn't encounter any problems did you?" Bella asked relaxing now that she knew her friends were safe.

"Everything went to plan, well except for Mr. Hiro was blindsided by a Volturi vampire midway through the fight. He managed to take care of it without further injury though. Everything went to bloody hell when we started to dispose of our targets though. Mr. Dante managed to teleport us out of the building before the fires got too fierce. He was going to try to go down into the basement to retrieve you but the second floor of the villa collapsed blocking the airflow to the basement."

"It's alright Dolph, aside from inhaling some smoke and ash I'm perfectly fine. I'm just glad you guys got out before it got too bad." Bella reassured with a smirk. "I also ran into a Volturi vamp down in the cellar but managed to take care of it. I'll tell you all about it when I get back to our place. I just had to make sure you guys made it out safely."

"Of course, we will see you soon Ms. Bella." Dolph said with a smile in his voice before Bella heard him hang up.

Hanging up her cell phone Bella looked around the area she was in curiously. Seeing no one around to see her, she quickly climbed up the side of one of the buildings, making sure to leave as little evidence as possible. She found a few days ago it was easier to move through the city via rooftops, rather than getting lost in the twisting streets of the city. So with practiced ease she started to race her way back to her current safe house.

As she gracefully dashed across the rooftops she let her mind wander a little. She thought back to the last few years of her life. Things had really changed since she moved to Forks. She knew if someone told her this was how her life would be like eight years ago, she would have thought they had escaped a mental asylum. When she was seventeen she had no idea that vampires, werewolves, shifters, or mutants existed, she was more concerned about getting good grades to get into a decent college. Now though she was a multimillionaire mutant hunting vampires with a group of mutants. Allied to werewolves in her quest, one particular werewolf actually in fact had a crush on her. Then there was the whole mess with just being a mutant.

"I need a vacation." Bella decided after a few minutes of reviewing her past few years. "A long vacation."

As she landed on a side street close to where she and her group were staying, she felt a pulse of energy in the air. She itched the pale scar on her wrist as she felt a shudder run down her spine. She hoped that when this was all over with she wouldn't be affected by Ray's magic the same way she was now. She could almost taste the witch's magic in the air, it was one of the reasons why she sought the green haired woman out. Pushing those thoughts aside she smiled seeing her home coming into view.

"Guys I'm back!" Bella called as she walked through the door.

"Mère!" Grant called rushing up and giving her a big hug. "Where were you? You didn't come back with Oncle Dolph and the others."

"I had to take the long way around." Bella said with a smirk. "Don't worry, I'm just fine."

"If you say so, you smell like a fire pit." Grant said pulling away with his nose scrunched up.

"Ha, ha, where are the others kiddo?" Bella asked somewhat sarcastically making the boy grin at her.

"They're down in the cellar. Tante Ray needed some help." Grant said and Bella swung her arm around his shoulders.

"Well let's go see what they're up to." Bella said steering the boy towards the kitchen and the stairs down to the basement.

When Ray had told her that they had a living vampire statue in the basement she hadn't really considered what it might look like. She was surprised to find that the spell that the vampire was under made him seem to be made out of complete stone. His hair was the same sparkling pale as his flesh and his eyes looked like they were chiseled out of granite. Even his clothes seemed to have been chiseled out of the material that made up the rest of his body. All in all it was strange, especially since she could sense something was off about the statue but she couldn't tell what.

"Bella, there you are." Ray said tiredly but went over and gave the other woman a hug anyway.

"Hey Ray, guys, so I take it the shield's up?" Bella asked with a wry grin.

"Yes, we won't know until later if it worked but I have confidence that it did." Ray said with a grin. "Um, could we talk later; I have to put Chris to bed."

"Sure, I think we all had an eventful night. We can talk about it tomorrow when we all get some rest from our adventures." Bella said with a smile getting tired grins from her friends who all really liked that idea.

"Mère, does this mean I have to go to school tomorrow?" Grant asked as the others filed out of the room.

"Unfortunately yes it means you will have to go to school tomorrow." Bella said with a smile guiding a groaning Grant towards the door. "And it's really late so you, kiddo, should be getting ready for bed."

"Oui mère." Grant said reluctantly before going off to get ready for bed. Bella figured he was staying up just because she could be in danger. She really wished he wouldn't worry about her so much but it felt good to have someone concerned for her; especially with how out of control her life was becoming.

Suddenly an idea popped into her mind and she felt like smacking herself for not thinking about it sooner. "Come to think of it, I've been not thinking about much lately." Bella said with a frown. She would have to correct that habit and soon.

Sighing Bella went to her room and pulled out her cell phone. She frowned at the damage it went through, making a mental note to get a new one later. After staring at the device for a few minutes she finally sighed and started to dial a number she was very familiar with. As she raised the device to her ear she glanced at the clock noting the time and hoping it wasn't too late at night back in the States.

"Bella!" A happy and very familiar female voice exclaimed not long after the first ring.

"Hello Mom, sorry I haven't called in a while. I've been busy." Bella said with a soft smile as she flopped down on her bed.

"I figured as much. Ever since you left the states the last time you've been busy." Bella could just hear the slightly teasing but scolding tone in Renee's voice, but that only made her smile more. The mutant couldn't believe how comforting it was just to hear her mother's voice. "Now tell me what have you been up to lately? Meet anyone famous? Have a new man in your life? Seen any new sites? You've been taking care of yourself and my grandson right?"

"I've been okay." Bella interrupted with a chuckle in her voice. "I'll answer all your questions, just give me a minute. You do have time right?"

"Of course I do honey. I have all the time in the world for you and Grant, no matter what is going on."

Bella couldn't help the soft smile or the tears in her eyes hearing the conviction in her mother's voice. So swallowing a lump in her throat quickly, she began to tell her mother everything that she had been up to. She was glad once more that Hiro insisted on making all the lines of communication between the group and others were secure. It took Bella nearly two hours to tell Renee everything that had been happening, leaving out nothing. Ever since Renee found out and accepted that Bella was a mutant, the brunette did her best not to lie to her mother ever. For her part Renee just listened patiently as her daughter gushed out everything she wanted to say.

"And that's pretty much everything. I'm really confused mom; I don't know what to do." Bella ended with a sigh as she lay back on her bed.

"Well that is a lot that has happened honey. I can see where it would be hard to take it all in. Especially after your troubles with those Cullens was it?"

"Yea and it was Edward I had troubles with." Bella said with a sigh. "I need some advice mom."

"On what exactly honey? You've given me quite a bit to chew on."

"On the whole Richard thing and what exactly should I do about the Volturi? I'd ask Mad or Ray or even Dolph but I think an outside opinion would be best. We're all stressed out lately. I can tell." Bella admitted with a huff.

"Well first things first then, Richard. From what you've told me, even before you went to Italy he's always held you in high regard. You both are very close friends I know that much. But you should consider what your heart wants honey. Don't try to force anything that will make you feel trapped or uncomfortable. It will only lead to heartbreak for both of you in the end. Trust me that was one of the reasons your dad and I didn't work out."

Bella blinked in surprise. She hadn't really considered why her parents split up all that much. For almost as long as she could remember the two of them were divorced, so it just seemed natural to her. Pushing those thoughts aside she considered the advice she was given. "But what if my heart doesn't know what it wants?"

"It will; it always does. Who knows? It might blindside you one idle morning when nothing is happening and you're not really worrying over this issue. Until it does relax, continue being the friend you are to Richard, and keep an eye out for your other friends. Wars of the heart are much more traitorous than wars of the world. I have a feeling no matter what you say to him, Richard has and will always love you. Just accept it and don't worry too much about it. If it's meant to happen it will."

For some reason that advice actually soothed her worries more than anything else. Heaving a large sigh and relaxing she smiled. Glad she thought of calling her mother in the first place. It felt nice getting all of this off her chest. "So, what should I do about the Volturi?"

"Well from your dreams and everything else you've found out, I think you should get more allies. Not just the werewolves, though they will undoubtedly be good back up to have. You need allies in powerful positions and that know the land better than you do. You're fighting on the Volturi's home turf; they will always have an advantage over you just because of that. If you can try to find people like yourself to help you. If not mutants than those of like mind to your goals, just mind your manners. You're the one that needs help not them."

"I will mom, thanks. I needed to hear that I think." Bella said with a happy sigh. Sometimes she really did need to talk to her mom about things; it always seemed Renee could bring a refreshing point of view to everything happening around her daughter.

"Don't mention it, but I want you to be careful around that vampire Felix. I don't care if you can pick up a car and throw it across a parking lot; you are still my little girl."

"Don't worry mom, I'll be careful, promise." Bella said with a grin at the strong tone of her mother's voice.

"Good, now speaking of people named Felix, have you spoken with Conrad recently?"

"Um, no, I haven't. Why is there a reason I should?" Bella asked completely thrown from the change in conversation.

"I'm not sure but I have a feeling you should call him. Call it woman's intuition if you'd like."

"Okay mom, I will." Bella said with a smile but the two continued to talk for another hour. Bella was filled in on everything Renee had been up to. The mutant thought it was nice to hear her mom had started a non-profit organization for children with special needs, which was actually really taking off. Bella made a note to give the group a donation when she had the time. By the time she hung up with her mom Bella felt a lot better and not quite as confused as she had been earlier that night.

Checking the time once more and figuring what time it was in Seattle, Bella dialed another familiar number. She didn't have to wait long before the phone picked up. "Hello? Hades stop that, daddy's talking on the telephone."

"Hello Conrad, how are you?" Bella asked with a laugh as she heard the small gurgles of a baby in the background.

"Bella! It's so nice to hear from you. Andy and I are doing fine. Our little Hadrian has kept us on our toes ever since he joined our lives a year ago as always." Conrad said happily and Bella could hear him shifting his hold on the phone. She figured from what he said picking up the phone that he was holding his one year old son in his arms.

"That's good to hear. Am I calling at a bad time? You sound busy." Bella asked curiously.

"No, no, I'm just putting Hadrian down in his play pin. Andy is busy right now helping our new house guest so I have to watch my little Hades."

"New house guest? Since when have you two started a bed and breakfast?" Bella asked raising an eyebrow.

"Well we haven't, or if we have Andy hasn't told me. Actually it's funny that you called since I was going to call you about our guest. Um, why did you call again?"

"Don't worry; I'm not calling because of anything businesswise. I was just speaking with my mom and she insisted that you needed to hear from me." Bella said with a smile.

"Ah, your mother is an amazing woman, not nearly as amazing as my Andy of course but amazing nonetheless. There are times I swear she has some ESP like abilities."

"So what's so important she picked up on you needing to talk to me? Don't tell me it has something to do with your research." Bella teased smiling at the huff she received from her older brother figure.

"I will have you know I've made a few breakthroughs in my research recently. While they aren't what I'd call the smoking gun of a cure but they are baby steps to my greatest goal yet. If what I'm planning works I should be able to create a prototype cure in the next nine months. I have yet to see if it will actually produce any viable results but that is beside the point. Any results are viable after all."

"Are you going to go into detail of your discoveries or will I have to wait just like the rest of the public?" Bella asked dryly. While she did love Conrad as a brother, she found he could be quite annoying when talking of two subjects, his lifelong dream of curing cancer and his wife Amanda. In a way she was amazed by how much of an awestruck child he sounded whenever he gushed over the latest discoveries and failures he had in his research. Truthfully she figured if anyone was going to cure cancer it would be Conrad Leblanc.

"I know how much you get bored with my tangents on my research so I'll spare you the details. So let's go back to what I originally wanted to talk to you about instead."

"Ah yes, your house guest, may I ask whom exactly you two are taking care of?" Bella asked glad to be back on topic.

"Her name is Laura Kinney, otherwise known as X-23. She was found by some fishermen off the coast of Alaska half frozen. Apparently not only was she suffering from nearly drowning but she had a bad case of hypothermia. She didn't have any identification but you know how Andy is about people in need. Because she is still going through some physical therapy Andy has been letting her stay with us. Felix and I managed to test her DNA since Andy was certain she was a mutant. It turns out genetically she is nearly identical to Wolverine. Of course a few weeks ago she found out about it all, as well as our database. She hacked onto it and found out about your connection to Logan, as well as all we've found out about him. It took as a while to calm her down but now she has been helping out around here. Of course we went into everything, I hope you don't mind, you know about S.H.I.E.L.D. and the like. She wants to meet you after you are done with what you're doing in Europe. Despite how she acts I think she likes it here, especially since all the measures you've put in place to hide us from all our enemies. I know she has taken a shine to little Hades. She's become on unofficial nanny actually."

"Well, that's interesting." Bella said after a pause still not sure how to digest this information. She had no idea there was another person in her family.

"I thought so too. It seems HYDRA created a female clone of Logan a few years back and Laura was the result. She's socially stunted because of the conditions she was in growing up, but Andy has been working on that. I don't think she will ever be very expressive with her emotions but Andy's doing her best to get the girl adjusted to normal society."

"How old is she?" Bella asked curiously and slightly angered that HYDRA would even think of doing something like that. She knew the group was after the ultimate weapon but that went a bit far.

"She's about sixteen or seventeen. Don't worry; we'll take good care of her before you show back up. So how are things going with your vampire problem?"

Bella snorted at the change of subject but launched into what she and the others had been up to regardless. Unlike speaking with her mom, it took only a half an hour to tell Conrad everything. She did omit a few things but for the most part Conrad, Felix, and Amanda had always been pretty well informed during everything going on. If Bella didn't tell them, than Madison was more than happy to keep the three well informed.

"Well there is a group in Italy that I heard about that protects the country. I'm not sure how you can contact them but with what you're doing, they probably know about you. I do know they all have taken a vow of silence but still communicate somehow. Felix suspects they have some mild telepathic abilities. Anyway they are like the underground strike team hell bent on protecting the Italy from any possible threats. I'm sure if they think your goals are genuine enough they will contact you. Aside from that I don't know much about the mutant population of Italy so that might not be a good enough route to take."

"It's alright, I'll think something up." Bella assured with a smile.

"Well, Hades don't eat that! Um Bella I have to go."

"Alright, later." Bella said just before she heard Conrad hang up. She only slightly wondered what little Hadrian had been about to eat but decided she didn't want to know.

Rolling onto her side Bella let out a tired sigh. She could go to bed right there but the sting of ash still irritated her nose. So with some effort she got up and went to take a shower. It had been a long day and at that moment all she wanted to do was sleep. So it was no surprise as soon as she was out of the shower and back in her bed, she was asleep before her head it the pillow.

The next morning Bella was sitting in the living room with a cup of coffee with her friends. Luckily for Chris and Grant they had the day off from school. So they were lounging on the floor with bowls of cereal and still in their pajamas. Hiro was sitting behind his computer while Dolph was getting the last cups of coffee to his friends before sitting down next to Ray on the loveseat. Madison was yawning still wrapped up in a blanket as she leaned against Dante on the couch looking like she was seconds from nodding off again.

"So anyway the shields seem to be holding up well. From what I can gather after checking them earlier they are working just as I designed them to. So it is safe to say that the vampires are now stuck in the cities they were in as soon as the shields went up." Ray said getting a smile from Bella.

"Yes, now we can kick back a bit and won't have to worry about rushing around trying to track down those vampires." Madison said with a grin as she stretched.

"Perhaps." Bella muttered as she thought over the information.

"What do you mean by perhaps Ms. Bella?" Dolph asked looking over to their leader who was taking a sip of her coffee. Golden amber eyes were focused on the coffee table in the middle of the room gleaming in contemplation.

"There are still the werewolves in the countryside and the vampires outside of Italy we have to take care of. For now we can focus our strength on defeating the Volturi but if we want to get rid of the vampire race it will be a much longer fight." Bella said calmly still contemplating the new development.

"What are you trying to say Bells?" Madison asked leaning forward to look Bella in the eyes.

"I called my mom last night and she mentioned something I hadn't thought about." Bella said with a frown.

"Oh, and what did Senora Dwyer have to say?" Dante asked as the rest sat patiently waiting but curious.

"She pointed out how small our group is." Bella said with a snort. "I'm surprised we've gotten this far with how few resources we have at our disposal. At the rate we're going we'll probably be hunting down these vampires for the rest of our lives and not get an edge in."

"True, I hadn't thought of that." Dolph agreed surprised such a large detail had slipped their minds.

"Well what if the werewolves in the other cities start taking down vampires? They will just have to be discrete enough not to give away they exist and have sided with us." Ray asked making a few look at her. "You are right Bella that we don't have enough resources to take on every one of our enemies on our own. This will also give our allies something to do aside from waiting for our move."

"True, I'll talk to Ricci and Richard about it." Bella said with a sigh. "For today though how about we just relax? I don't know about you but I need a nap."

"YAY! NAP TIME!" Madison cheered jumping off the couch holding her blanket and giving Bella a large hug. Bella only had time to blink before the blonde woman was out of the room and already halfway down the hall, back towards her room. The others in the room just got a good laugh out of the reaction while Bella just rolled her eyes at her friends. It didn't take long after that for the others in the room to begin to disperse.

Bella had meant to go take a long hot bath in the nice tub in her room, but instead she sought out Niccola first. She knew she wouldn't be able to relax in her bath if she still had things to think about. She promised herself as soon as she sorted everything out with Niccola she would go take a nice long hot relaxing bath. She was contemplating if she should put some bath salts into the water when she found the Italian woman.

"Ricci, I need to talk to you." Bella said once more wondering when exactly Niccola got a room at her hideout.

"Yes Bella?" Niccola asked politely looking up from her beauty magazine.

"I need you to get a hold of your connections with the other packs. The shields Ray put up seem to be working just the way she planned on. Since they will limit the vampires' ability to escape and possible contact each other, I'm giving werewolves in other major cities free reign to deal with the bloodsuckers in their area. My only condition is that they leave the Volturi to me and mine." Bella said making Niccola's eyes widen and the werewolf sat up in surprise.

"Truly?" Niccola asked both surprised and pleased by the news.

"I haven't lied to you yet have I?" Bella asked in jest while she rolled her eyes.

"Well no but this is wonderful news." Niccola said with a grin. "So I take it once you've finished flushing the Volturi from Naples I will be the one dealing with the vampire threat?"

"Yes, I think we will be moving on to Volterra from here." Bella said tilting her head in thought. She didn't think the Volturi had any other areas of interest but she could be wrong.

"Well there is one place you should check into before going to Volterra. My friend Giovanni in Rome has been sending me word that there are a few Volturi vampires in his city. I'm sure he will appreciate it if you help him with that problem." Niccola said making Bella raise an eyebrow.

"Rome huh? Well I'm sure we can swing through there before heading to Volterra. It will also give us some time to gather a few resources as well." Bella started to mutter as she thought about the prospect of going to Rome.

"I do have one question though Bella." Niccola said pulling the mutant from her thoughts. "Will Richard be going with you to face the Volturi?"

"I'm not sure. He was sent to be a liaison for us and the werewolf packs here in Italy. More than likely he will leave as soon as we get to Rome. I know there are no werewolves in Volterra and once we've met Giovanni was it? We won't really need him with us." Bella said making Niccola look down.

"Well then I will ask him about it since it seems you are unsure." Niccola said getting a confused look from Bella before she shrugged her shoulders.

"You can if you want." Bella said before turning. "We're not doing anything today so you can go back to your place if you want." She threw over her shoulder as she walked away from the werewolf. She was more interested in having a nice long relaxing bath than what the Alpha werewolf was up to. She did make a note to talk to Richard about what he was up to though. Feeling better than she had in a while she went to relax for the first time since she came to Italy.


YAY! Yea things are moving again. We even get to see the Seattle crew, well heard from them. Yes I managed to put X-23 in there as well. She will be showing up a few more times as well I think. I have to look back on my notes. I figure since Bella has been putting safe guards in place to throw off HYDRA and S.H.I.E.L.D. X-23 would be safe with her. Aside from that this chapter decided to fight me all the way and sorry about any mistakes you might have found. By the time I finished this I was so annoyed with it that I didn't fix much. Just made sure it flowed right. Yea, I better start the next chapter and hopefully it will be kinder to me.

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