Summary: In the first chapter.
poorasdirt: You know what, I greatly dislike the little dots that pop up when you type in a password. I understand their usefullness and all but really, it took me five freaking tries to sign in because I kept accidently misspelling my password. Yea, a bit annoyed. Anyway, been helping my mom set up things for my sister's birthday party, we held it on the weekend rather than in the middle of the week, so I wasn't exactly typing a whole lot. Plus my sis wanted to play our Sims game which is unfortunately downloaded on our faster computer, the one I have all my work saved to, so yea not much writing getting done. I know I have it all saved to a USB drive but truthfully I can't type real well on our slow computer so rather than get a headache I simply put things on hold. Anyway, thank you to all of you that have reviewed, favorited, and/or alerted this story.
Disclaimer: I own only the OCs and plotline. Everything else have much richer owners than those two things do.
ENJOY!!
It had been a little more than a week since Dolph first arrived in Bayville and he had to admit the place was rather picturesque. It didn't remind him of his home in England, since America had a feel all its own, but of all the places he had been this town was one of those he would find in a broacher. The weather for the most part was nice, the people were friendly just so long as he hid his obvious mutations, and despite it being close to a major American city the crime rate was relatively low. He figured this was what Americans meant when they spoke about suburbia.
However, the good atmosphere and weather weren't what brought him out on this day. He was stalking his quarry today. He admitted that he wasn't used to stalking other mutants but in the general sense he didn't see it any different from stalking vampires. Looking back on the past few years of his life he couldn't believe this was where he ended up. He knew Bella would only sate her curiosity like this if it was important in some way, and most of the decisions she made were tactical ones insuring their safety. That's what he loved about her, for all her bravado and nasty temper she was ultimately a very caring and protective person to those she deemed hers.
As he looked for the mutant called Gambit he thought back a few years ago before he met the wild brunette and her crazy blonde sidekick. Growing up in Whitechapel with a poor mother, he didn't see much of the world. In fact his mother ran a brothel and kept him sealed in the basement. Unlike some mutants he was born with his ears and tail. His mutation had frightened his mother dearly and as a result he lived a very isolated life. Then a man came to his mother's brothel, a man that it turns out was a vampire. Sometimes Dolph could still hear the screams of women dying in his sleep because a vampire coven attacked his mother's business. He figured in some ways he owed it to the vampire that eventually found him shackled to the cold basement wall after all the prostitutes were dead. He had been rather thin back then because his mother only saw it fit to feed him enough to survive. The head of that coven had found Dolph interesting and took the catlike mutant with him back to the coven's home. The following two years were strange for Dolph because he hadn't had any sort of human-like contact since he was born. His mother never saw it fit to really teach him how to talk properly, or any other human based skills. Dolph at the time was just as much a wild animal as he appeared. But he was a fast learner and soon was having amazing conversations about Socrates and Einstein with his vampire masters. Dolph hadn't ever thought about the world outside of his basement so once he started to learn he was like a sponge.
Unfortunately, all good things come to an end at some point in time. His vampire masters had been on edge ever since they heard word that Bella Swan was in their territory. Dolph wanted to go find the woman and bring back her corpse for them. However, they didn't think he was capable of anything outside of being a cute kitten they adopted. He had tried to press his use to them, but they shot him down every time. He didn't like how they treated him as some sort of pet, despite not loving him his mother did drive home that he was human, he had thoughts and emotions. He could easily recall a few nights his mother would go down to his basement and tell him all about being human while she was blindly drunk. He had pressed his usefulness one last time and ended up cutting himself. The already tense atmosphere and scent of blood sent his vampire masters into a frenzy. It was then Dolph saw exactly who the animals of the equation were. He fought back easily, using a power they hadn't known he had to disappear from their senses, and used his sharp steal-like claws to leave deep scratches in his masters. It was during that fight that Bella and Mad stormed in. He had been in awe of their teamwork and fighting abilities. The vampires hadn't stood a chance against the two women, and when the fighting was done Dolph had expected to be next. That was until Bella told him that he was free to go. He had asked her why she'd let a vampire's pet leave when she killed its master; she had just smirked and answered that she only killed vampires, not mutants.
Dolph smiled remembering that moment, the turning point of his life. He had told them he had nowhere to go, no family to turn to. So, in true Bella style, he was dragged along with them to their motel. The two quickly got him new clothes, let him sleep in a warm bed (something that he never got to do even when living with the vampires), and they even fed him. He got to meet Grant, learn the game of chess, and in the end Bella asked him what he could do. He had been stunned at first, he would admit to that; no one had asked him what he was capable of before. So he told them everything he could, almost wanting to impress them so he could stay with them. Bella had been intrigued by his ability to become invisible to a person's senses. They had tested the ability a bit and found he would send out a low level telepathic wave that would tell a person's brain that he wasn't there. The victim couldn't see him, couldn't hear him, could feel him, couldn't smell him, and if they wanted to probably couldn't taste him either. Mad had explained the reasoning behind this was because everyone perceives things through their mind. However, Bella's shield protected herself from his power, so even if he tried his hardest she would be unaffected by it. He had been slightly disappointed hoping that it wouldn't mean they'd abandoned him. In the end he needn't worry, they quickly adopted him into their group where he met Dante and a little while later Hiro. In all honesty he wouldn't have changed any of that even if he had the chance. He had finally gotten the family he always wanted thanks to his encounter with vampires.
Tilting his head he let his ears flick around catching sounds with his catlike hearing. He rather liked his powers actually, it helped him hide his ears and tail while in public. So, with that in mind Dolph continued his search for the elusive Gambit. Dolph eventually found the grown Cajun making his way through the streets of Bayville on his way towards Charles Xavier's manor. Dolph didn't really want to know why the Cajun was going there; all he wanted was to fulfill the task Bella gave him. Casting out his invisibility powers, Dolph used all the skill he honed to hunt vampires in stalking the unsuspecting Gambit. Dolph easily took a high ground, tracking Gambit from the roof tops of nearby buildings. Dolph used this tactic because of two things: One, no one ever thinks of looking up for attackers. Two, part of Dolph's mutation was how catlike he truly was, so his reflexes and strengths were on par if not better than a leopard in this area.
When Gambit had unwittingly walked down an alleyway, Dolph struck. The catlike Englishman was soon standing over the unconscious form of the Cajun. "Very sorry Mr. LeBeau but my employer needs a sample of your DNA. I do hope you don't mind giving a bit of blood for her cause, hm?" Dolph asked the unconscious young man with a Cheshire Cat grin. "Don't fret; this will not hurt a bit. Although I cannot say the same thing about the headache you will have once you wake up. Again I am very sorry but having you unconscious only makes this easier for everyone." Dolph continued before pulling out a syringe. It didn't take him long to get a sample of the other mutant's blood. As a thank you, Dolph made extra sure Gambit would be out of sight should anyone happen by while the young man was still unconscious. The deed done, Dolph made his way back to Bella's hideout, making extra sure no one saw him on his way.
When Dolph got back to the house he was greeted by the sight of an annoyed Bella holding Grant by his ankle. Grant was dangling upside down grinning sheepishly at his adopted mother and off to the side Dante was laughing like a mad man. "Bertram Guerrant Leroux Swan." Bella hissed threateningly.
"But mère, I said I was sorry." Grant said nervously.
"Sorry won't fix a five hundred dollar washing machine. What possessed you to put a charged bouncy ball in with your laundry?" Bella snarled at the poor boy.
"I didn't mean it mère, honestly. It just sort of happened." Grant said before he started to fall to the ground head first. Bella had let go of the boy's leg and was now pulling at her hair roaring at the ceiling in anger and frustration. Grant didn't actually land on his head, his reflexes let him land on his hands and feet, but he did have the presence of mind to scramble behind the first available cover. His chosen shield just happened to be Dolph, who politely cleared his throat.
"WHAT?" Bella yelled before blinking at Dolph who simply took the angry outburst in stride. Really by now every one of Bella's friends was used to her anger prone ways. Sometimes Bella didn't know if that was a good thing or a very bad thing, but she also took their acceptance in stride as well.
"I managed to accomplish the task you sent me on Ms. Bella. Would you like me to put the blood sample in one of our mailing containers to be shipped out?" Dolph asked curiously while Bella took a deep breath and let it out.
"Sure Dolph that would be lovely." Bella said reigning in her anger. "Also a certain someone decided to blow up our washing machine. Can you have him clean it up while I go buy us a new one? Dante, you fool, get Grant's blood sample and mail out both to Conrad. I'm going to Sears." Bella said turning swiftly and a few minutes later left the house with the still unmoving trio of males in the living room.
"Oncle Dolph-" Grant began sweetly but the catlike mutant just gave him a look.
"Now, now Grant, your mother has issued her final orders. Who am I to go against them? Besides, if we want to eat tonight I will have to start on dinner soon. Heaven knows the rest of this lot is too lazy to cook something decent that would sustain something larger than a mouse." Dolph said with a smirk.
"Oncle Dante?" Grant asked the other man who grinned at him.
"Sorry chico but orders are orders, if you do the crime you must do the time. I would get mopping if I were you, senorita Bella hasn't heard from senorita Mad or senor Hiro in nearly a month. She is rather unpleasant when she is worried over one of her friends." Dante said taking the blood from Dolph who simply went into the kitchen to don his black apron. "Now let me see your arm and we can get this over with quickly. The less time this takes the more time you have to clean."
"I hate you both. Do you here that Oncle Dolph? I hate you!" Grant said a bit overly dramatic but with no true conviction behind his words. Grant had long since gotten used to cleaning up the messes he made that Bella didn't authorize. It didn't mean he didn't try to get out of them when he could, just when his cute tactics didn't work he easily accepted his punishment. Really, he had simply wondered what would happen if he charged his bouncy ball and stuck it into his load of old clothes that Bella had been meaning to send to charity. Luckily the only casualties, outside of the washer itself, were a pair of jeans and a sock. Though the incident proved one thing true, Grant would never do his laundry with explosives again, or at least not with his mother's washer.
Bella returned home with the new washer being delivered the next day. She was pleased to see Grant had cleaned up his mess, Dante had mailed the blood samples to Conrad, and Dolph had started on dinner. In truth Dolph was more or less the butler of the group. If Bella was the caretaker and provider, Dolph would fill all the other necessary roles outside of Mechanic and Doctor. Dante knew a lot more about medicine and such to be a qualified physician while Hiro could fix anything that had mechanical parts. As a group they were all very well balanced out but sometimes they stuck it out on their own. The prime example was the year stint they all did solo, if one over looked the fact that Bella and Grant were traveling together.
The rest of the time spent waiting on Conrad's reply was time spent lazily compared to what the group was normally used to. Grant continued his home schooling, Dante was working on a new research project, Dolph busied himself with keeping everything in the house clean and running smoothly, and Bella worked on her book. The quiet the break from constantly hunting vampires and out running HYDRA was something the group really needed. None of them said it but they were all starting to fray at the edges slightly from the past five years of constantly moving. However, it would have been much better if Madison and Hiro were also with them, that way they wouldn't have to worry over their other friends.
It was when the group had sat down for lunch one nice Saturday that Bella's cell phone rang. "Hello?"
"Hey Bella! It's me Conrad; I got those test results you wanted finished. Sorry it took a bit longer than normal, but that idea you gave me back in London has been proving to be slightly fruitful, so I was a bit focused on my research." Conrad said on the other line.
"Don't worry about it Conrad, here let me put you on speaker phone." Bella said pressing the right button. "Can you hear me still?"
"Yep, you're coming in loud and clear. Now I did a paternal test first since its rather straight forward and a more common test done when searching out matches. The paternal test turned out negative, so I did a maternal test. This one is still somewhat common but it takes a bit longer to extract the right DNA and such to get a match. However, I did get a positive result and yes I double checked it several times. Meaning, since I know Grant's looking very confused at the phone right now, Grant and Gambit have the same mother but different fathers. I took the liberty of asking Felix to do a background check to find out Grant's mother, his birth mother since we know from when he was adopted the woman he was living with was in fact his godmother. He will call as soon as he finds some results." Conrad said happily over the phone.
"Great, thank you so much Conrad. Is anything new and exciting happening in your end of the world?" Bella asked while Grant looked stunned. Dolph and Dante shared a smile before looking at the shocked eleven-year-old.
"Outside of my research nothing much, I'll keep you posted if I hear anything though. Andy sends her love by the way; she was going to send cookies but figured the mailman would just eat them before you got them. In any case I have to let you go, my computer is telling me that my latest test has just completed and I've been anticipating the results." Conrad said getting a chuckle from Bella.
"Later Conrad, we'll talk to you soon." Bella said before hanging up the phone. "Well kiddo looks like you have an older half brother running around Bayville."
"And he looks like me. Can I meet him?" Grant asked looking up at Bella who seemed to be weighing her options.
"I don't know kiddo, let me think about it. I don't want you winding up in some weird situation because he finds out about you. Unless of course you'd rather be with him if it comes down to it." Bella said getting a half glare from Grant.
"Mère he may be my brother by blood but you and your friends are my family." Grant said stubbornly getting a chuckle from Bella while Dante messed up Grant's hair.
"No worries chico, we understand wholeheartedly." Dante said with a smirk.
"Yes, we are most pleased that you see us as family." Dolph said with a smile. "Now why don't we get back to eating before it gets cold?"
"Oui, wouldn't want to waste your good cooking would we oncle Dolph?" Grant asked teasingly getting a few laughs from his family. Although a part of him was still stunned that he had an older half brother out there in the world. He just hoped what his uncle Felix found was just as interesting.
In the end when Felix called he just confirmed what they already knew. Grant and Gambit had the same mother but different fathers. Felix however also found that Grant's mother died shortly after giving birth to him due to a drug overdose. Felix said it would take a bit longer to find Grant's father, but Grant didn't mind.
Bella was a bit miffed when Felix also gave them some information he found when hacking into Dr. G's computer system. Dr. G seemed to be getting much better at gathering information since she did have a lot of information about Grant; she even gave him a codename for when she finally captured him. Bella didn't like it at all, but at least Grant found his codename to be rather cool, he even asked if he was going to be called it in the coded emails Bella and Felix sent each other. Dante and Dolph however had a long debate about whether or not Grant's codename, Darkshield, was more a villain type codename or a superhero type codename. So far all votes leaned towards it being a super villain.
Truthfully Grant now felt he gained a level in the group since now he had a codename just like the rest of the adults. Bella made Coyote her own, Madison was called Silverpool even by mutants, Dante gained the name Viento, Dolph was affectionately given the name Cheshire, and Hiro was referred to as Raiu. Even Felix had a codename thanks to Dr. G, his being Bluecurrent. Amanda had also started to be called Miracle and now the only one without an obvious codename in the group was Renee and Conrad. Although everyone referred to Renee as Mom so it could be argued that had become her codename for the group. So in a way Grant felt like he belonged even more now that he had a codename of his own rather than just being referred to as Kid, it even sounded better.
All of that aside, Bella was content with what she had found out about Grant's past and about what Felix found out about Dr. G's whereabouts and activities. Now all Bella worried about was hearing from Madison and Hiro. Bella didn't like it when she didn't get periodic updates from her friends. She knew they were alright but it would be much better if she had conformation of that. She however knew it would be pointless to pack up everyone to go looking for the two mutants. So she decided to finish her book and decide on a way to keep better track of her friends. She wouldn't fool herself into thinking they were safe, not with at the very least Dr. G running around unaccounted for. She didn't even want to get started on any other enemies they may have gotten over the years. Nope, she was very content in her paranoia that was for sure.
YAY!! Again not much happening plot wise but I'm sure you know by now I tend to spend a bit of time on simply character building as well. I think it's great since it helps give characters more of a depth instead of simply main character introduced, main character does main action, main character is seen at the conclusion of the story. Right, don't mind me I'm being a bit annoyed today but that's alright we all have offdays I'm sure. So right focusing on the positive, we learn more about Dolph since he didn't get much of a background story when he was introduced, and we get to learn more about Grant. Don't worry, I will be adding a bit more to the plot soon since even I'm getting tired of the group just idling at Bayville. So as a teaser I'm simply going to say we will be hearing from Mad very shortly.
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