Hey there!

Majority of you guys said in your reviews that it would be a spoiler to give Kori Anders superpowers in the story, and I totally agree with you! Anyways, thanks for giving me your opinion!

This chapter is dedicated to my 150th reviewer, I'mA RockStar ! Thanks for reviewing!

"Eeek!"

Roller coasters were things I would ride all day long if I could, but the steep nosedives and swift speed we were traveling at were killing me. I was a little drowsy a few minutes ago when we were climbing out the sewer, but I was wide awake by now.

Richard laughed, and I could almost imagine his blue eyes lighting up underneath his mask. "Don't worry, we're not too far."

It was five in the morning. Firefighters were still putting out small fires, and a little piece of our city was in burnt ruins.

Soon enough, we landed swiftly on my balcony, my window still wide open from my midnight getaway. I heard his clawed rope withdraw into its tiny shell.

"Um…want to come in or something?" I asked uncertainly.

"If it's alright with…um…"

"-It's okay, Galfore's on another one of his business trips."

I climbed in through the open window and threw myself tiredly on the soft cushiony bed that offered itself to me. He did the same thing and for what seemed like a long time, we lay there, facing each other in silence. A tired feeling suddenly came over me and my eyes began to flutter closed.

"I'm so tired," I mumbled sleepily. Yawning, I opened my eyes to look into his. He wasn't too close to me, but he wasn't that far away either.

"I have to go."

He stood up and placed his mask back onto his face, walking back towards the balcony. I shook myself out of my sleepy state and hopped off the bed, following him to the door.

"Wait! Before you go…um…you are going to be speaking to me on Monday…right?"

Silence filled the air as we stood alone, and his face was turned away from me.

"You will, right?" I repeated, this time with more angst and force.

His fingers began to fumble around nervously. "I can't…"

Anger took over me in a raging fury. "What's wrong this time? Every time something goes on between us you always choose to ignore me the next day!"

I only noticed my panting a few seconds after my outburst, when he turned around and ripped the mask off of his face, his blue eyes furious.

"I don't have a choice; I've been reading their thoughts recently, and they've been thinking of killing you themselves!"

"You…wait…you can read minds? Were you born with this?" I scoffed disbelievingly.

Richard smirked. "Raven taught me."

I burst out in giggles. Then, raising one of my eyebrows suspiciously, I gazed at his face. "Then tell me, what am I thinking now?"

"Your mind is the only thing in the world that I can't get into."

I sat on the bed again and stared at him surprised. "Then how did you find me in the alley with Red-X?"

He turned away, his figure hiding amongst the shadows in the corner of my room. "I saw your face in his thoughts…what he was going to do with you…"

A frightening thought flashed in my head as I began to eye the suddenly noticeable gun hanging on the side of his belt. "But I don't understand," I said softly. "Why can't you just kill me right now? I'm right here standing in front of you…why are you waiting?"

He opened the doors once more and I followed him to the balcony. "I work for another agency, one that's been trying to track them and their leader down for a long time. I was sent undercover a year ago to figure out what their motives are."

"But-"

"You can trust me; I won't let them hurt you."

Staring at the green willow tree, I sighed wistfully, averting my green eyes away from his gorgeous, icy blue orbs, which I then found out was one of the hardest things to do. I felt his eyes boring into me with an intense gaze. I loved being in his presence, but at the same time I wanted to hit him as hard as I could for making me feel so lightheaded around him.

I cleared my throat softly and he stepped back from the balcony slowly, almost regretfully. A tiny, gentle smile crossed my face for a moment, and curse him for having so much power over me.

"I have to go," he said. He was getting ready to jump off until I put my hand on his shoulder without thinking.

"Richard?"

Swerving around, he took his mask off and his eyes seemed regretful, yet hopeful at the same time. "Yeah?"

I let my eyes fall in shame. "I'm really sorry about coming down so hard on you tonight." Breathing began to get hard for me suddenly. "I didn't mean to be such a hassle, you rescuing me all the time, I owe you a lot-"

His lips cut me off as they pressed softly onto mine, and he laid his hand on my cheek lightly. The crackling of our lips pressing together was the only sound in the still night, until another siren was heard.

I pulled away gently, looking away shyly and trying my best not to smile like some kind of lovesick fool. "You should go; they could be looking for you," I said softly.

Slipping on his mask, he hopped onto the thin railing of the balcony, squatting as he cupped my chin with his hand, tilting it up gently towards the moonlight. "I'll see you tomorrow night."

And in the blink of an eye, he was gone, blending in with the blinding shadows as I watched from the very edge of my terrace. His tall and lean figure turned to look back at my direction before it disappeared within seconds.

Monday. It was the day I had been dreading for more than 24 hours. The school year was winding down quicker than I imagined, and graduation day was going to be in a couple of weeks.

I examined my outfit in the mirror. The plain black leggings that hugged my legs made me seem much taller than my usual height, and my halter-top above the knee burgundy tunic shirt made me look less orange than I already was.

When I got to period one, Richard was already there, staring at me as if he had been waiting for me for a long time. But as I sat down in my usual spot beside him, he began to stiffen just like he had on my first day of school.

Taking a pencil out of my bag, I began to start the essay assignment written on the whiteboard while Mr. Barnes did his usual flirting routine with Mrs. Hatfield. I sighed as I finished up the paper, and I allowed my red hair to fall as a barrier between us.

Mr. Barnes rushed back into the room, panting and breathless. "So," he said, back to his stern and deep, "Miss Anders, why don't you tell us your answer?" Now was the only instance that I took the time to notice how sinister Mr. Barnes' voice sounded to me. I pushed the thought out of my head carelessly.

Through the strands of hair and from the corner of my eye, I saw Richard's head tilt reflectively in my direction. Well, it was nice to know that all I would be getting from him today was a tiny GLANCE!

Even with my temper about to explode any minute, I tried to look as innocent as I could towards Mr. Barnes. "Um, I put 'millisecond' down as my answer," I said pleasantly.

"Correct," he mumbled absentmindedly, turning back to his desk as the whole class went about their usual chatter. The school year was winding down, and our AP class ran out of things to do and lessons to learn.

Sighing again in my bored state, I drummed my fingers against the table. Knowing that Richard and I had our "No-contact-during-school" deal was torturing me! When the bell rang after what seemed like years of being trapped inside that classroom, I was the first one out the door.

Eventually, lunch came, and as I walked from the lunch line carrying my tray, I caught sight of Raven, smiling and waving at her while power-walking towards our usual table.

Raven's eyes were practically burning with anger as I sat down. "You'll never guess what…"

Just a little bit frightened, I took a bite of my pizza. "Um, what?"

"Remember how I was absent from school on Friday, the day we had to turn our poetry project for English?"

I merely nodded my head, my attention divided between her words and the fact that Richard's eyes kept meeting mine every time I looked at his direction. I avoided looking at anything near his table. But soon it was harder to resist, and I promised myself one more peek.

I looked over slowly and nonchalantly, but when I did I found that I couldn't tear my eyes away from the sight. Richard's arm was wrapped around Babs, and for a minute I was sure there was nothing going on between them until he kissed her passionately. Tears began to swim in my eyes.

"Well I was- are you even listening to me?"

I snapped my head quicker than I wanted to and groaned when I felt my neck crack. I forced the tears away eventually and looked up. "Uh, sure."

"Well anyways, I gave her the project before school that morning and she took credit for the whole thing! Now I have a C- while she has an A+." She looked disgustedly at their table, and I followed her gaze. I noticed a gloomy faced Garfield with his elbows on the table resting his long face in his hands.

"Um, why is Gar sitting with them?"

Her pretty pale face suddenly drained of even more color (which I really didn't think was even possible for someone as pale as her), and her violet eyes went dead. "He-"

BRRIIIIIIIIINNNNNGG!

I jumped slightly when the bell rang louder than normal, and I looked over at Raven's face, still a little sadder than it usually did.

"Meet me after school by my silver Volkswagen? Maybe you could stay over or something," I said as I walked down through the bustling halls beside her.

Her eyes lightened up, but nevertheless she replied back in her monotonous voice, "Sure. My mother's going to be out of town for the whole week."

I was beaming until I brushed shoulders with someone, and I looked back to find Babs glaring at me as well, sending me a look so vile that I wanted to kick her.

Though I didn't think this day could get any worse, I stood corrected when I got into my Advanced Placement English class.

I felt myself awkwardly set my things down on the table that we shared, careful to keep my distance from him. As class began to come to an end, I kept my eyes away from his direction, and I swallowed when he put his hand on my shoulder.

"Kori, there's something I need to-"

Luckily, the bell rang just in time. I shrugged his hand off. "I can't talk right now," I said in a rush, and I stalked out of the room to the parking lot. I didn't notice him following me until I hear him calling my name.

"Kori! Kori, wait!" The crowd kept on pulling him back as I walked even faster to my truck, but he eventually caught up to me.

"I need to tell you something-"

I opened my door and slammed it shut, rolling down my window. "I'm sorry," I said softly. Backing out of the parking space, I drove out as fast as I could. This was going to be one reckless drive home.

The whole week went pretty much the same. Richard and Babs were getting even more kissy-faced with each other, but I could still feel him stealing glances at me once in a while, and usually as he did I just pretended to laugh amongst my friends as if I was just fine without him…

…Which I really wasn't.

What I did find weird and unexplainable was that he left abruptly in the middle of class on Wednesday and was absent the rest of the week. Was it because he was sick or something? He had looked just fine to me the day before…

Friday came, and by this time Rachel had been staying over my house for three days now. I didn't mind having her over; it was nice to have a friend like her around.

"So what's up with you and Gar? I thought you guys were like, together already?" I asked with my mouth full of chocolate chip cookies fresh from the oven.

We both sat on my bed, stuffing our faces with cookies. Raven sat in silence, only sighing as she bent her head down.

Looking up at me again, she sighed wistfully. "We were never together, but we came real close though…Ugh, Kori, you're turning me into one of those stupid overly emotional wannabe preppy girls."

I laughed. "You're welcome," I smiled sarcastically.

Silence took over the room for a couple of minutes. The only thing we could hear in the nine o'clock skies were trees swaying from the slight breeze and the gentle wind making it's way in my room.

Raven cleared her throat suddenly. "Listen, I know you know my secret…"

My eyes widened. I didn't want her to get mad at Richard for telling me, so…

"Err…hehe…what secret?" I laughed nervously, trying to sound convincing.

Raising her eyebrows, a smirk was plastered on her porcelain face as I looked up at her from my bent over posture. "No wonder you don't lie," she said emotionlessly, "You suck at it."

I tried hard to suppress a giggle, but it all came bursting out, and I guess it was contagious because Raven laughed for the first time since I had met her. But we sat through another passing of awkward silence once more.

"If you must know, Richard told me. How did you know anyways?"

"Being psychic practically runs in my blood. Some of my great-great ancestors were gypsies. Richard had some kind of guilt and feeling of betrayal running through his mind, so I figured that he told you or something. I feel other people's emotions…except for yours."

I froze in the middle of biting another cookie. "Me? I don't get it; that's the exact same thing Richard said to me after he told me that he could read minds."

"To be honest," Raven said, "You are pretty complex. And so is your life."

"What do you mean? There's nothing more to me than being another one of those heiresses with a bunch of money. Nothing complex about that," I reasoned out in despair.

"There's nothing normal about you. Your parents were found dead in a parking lot, with no clue of how they died or who their killer was. Your sister fled home, and you're always telling me about how your uncle is always on some 'international' business trip."

"Oh," I replied dumbly. "How do you know all these things about me?"

"Your face is on People and Us Weekly magazine every week," she said bored. "How can you stand having every minute of your life being chronicled by paparazzi?"

"I don't know…I guess I'm just so used to already…"

After a few minutes of silence, I thought I heard heavy breathing and looked to my right to find Raven sleeping on the right arm of the couch with a peaceful look on her face.

Wasn't it weird how all these things happened all at the same time, one after another? Right after mom and dad were found murdered, Kami ran away from home, thus leaving me guardian-less until I find out I have this long lost uncle whom of which I only see twice a year.

Sighing, I pondered to myself. There was something odd about the people in my life…coming and going, sometimes never to be seen again. The gust of wind that suddenly came through the window gave me chills, and it was almost as if I could feel myself being swept way into the Twilight Zone or something…

Coming and going…and it always happened to the ones I loved most; it was almost as if someone knew every one of my weaknesses…

Two more hours passed as I tossed and turned under my comforter, and I was starting to think I was some kind of freaky night owl. There was this odd clicking noise, and I wasn't sure if I was imagining it or if it was real. Sighing in frustration, I hopped out of my sheets and made my way to my bedroom door and downstairs, careful not to wake anybody.

Dark and still, I felt like a stranger in my own house. I tried to find the nearest light switch, feeling the walls in the blinding darkness. There was that clicking sound suddenly, and I saw a tiny flash of light flickering on and off in the kitchen.

I jumped when I heard a voice speak suddenly. "My master's been waiting for you, Anders." It sounded so familiar…

"Who are you?" I said as I tried to sound as fearless as possible. My hand met one of the main light switches, and when I didn't work on my first try, I pounded it several times.

A snicker emerged from one corner of the kitchen. "Power's out, Cutie. No can do."

"Red-X? What brings you to my home? What do you want from me?" The fire from the lighter stopped going on and off, and the air was still until-

A gloved hand clapped onto my mouth, and I felt a rugged voice breathing against my ear. The lighter suddenly lit centimeters before my face, and I winced as the fire began inching its way toward my eyes, making me a drop of sweat roll down my cheek.

"Who's going to save you now?" he sneered wickedly.

I was about to fight back against his grasp when something hard banged forcefully on my head, and I fell to my knees instantly.

"Master, I have the girl. I'll be on my way there soon," said Red-X into a communicator.

"Good," came a familiar voice, which was starting to sound even more and more distant by the ticking seconds. "Take all the weapons you can find…I know for a fact that her moronic Uncle trades overseas."

The black walkie-talkie fell to the floor as I heard X's footsteps disappearing into my searing headache. I was close to losing my consciousness, but before I did, the last thing I heard was a crackling noise coming from the communicator.

"I think it's time my best apprentice proved his loyalty to us." The man's voice sounded as sinister and cold as a rock.

I didn't even have time to know what to think of the words that had just come out of the communicator. All of my surroundings surrendered to the darkness.

A/N: Review!