"Hello? Jasper? Bella waved her hand in front of Jasper's face. "You awake?"

Jasper blinked and shook his head. He was as close to being asleep as a vampire could get. His body was present, but his mind had wandered to places far beyond the confines of their living room.

"So which one do you like?" Bella asked.

"Which what?"

Bella sighed and showed Jasper two identical napkins. "Eggshell or cream?"

"Ummm...eggshell?" he pointed to the napkin on the left.

. "That's cream." Rose rolled her eyes. "This is your niece's wedding, the most important of her life! Haven't you been paying attention?"

"Of course." Jasper lied. "Anything for Nessie's big day."

Jasper loved his niece more than anything. He enjoyed teaching her how to hunt, spar, and play Xbox. He'd do anything to make her happy, but planning her wedding was an act of torture that should have been outlawed by the Geneva convention. Who knew how many minuscule decisions went into planning one day. Jasper had already suffered through three months of wedding planning, yet it seemed like there were still a million things to do. If he had his way they'd find a quiet park and be done with it. It was the way his first, and favorite, wedding had been.

. "I wish Alice was here." Rose gave Jasper a pointed look. "She'd actually be useful."

Rose was right. Alice would exactly what shade of white to pick. She'd give Jasper the death stare if he suggested they were both the same.

"I wish Emmett were here," Jasper said with a laugh. "He'd probably find a way to get me out of here."

Jasper missed his brother dearly. Emmett had always found a way to weasel his way out of wedding planning. On one memorable occasion, he utilized fireworks to save Jasper from helping plan wedding number six. Have a water fight while scrubbing scorch marks off the garage door was much more fun than picking table clothes.

Bella laughed. "If Edward were here there probably wouldn't even be a wedding. He'd tell Nessie that she wasn't even allowed to think about marrying until she turned 140."

Jasper wasn't sure if he agreed with Bella. Edward had been pissed when Jacob imprinted on newborn Nessie. There was a chance he'd be happy to see his daughter marrying fellow half-vampire Nahuel instead of a werewolf. Then again, one never knew with Edward. He had quite the flair for the dramatic.

"If Alice were here she'd already be done with the planning," Jasper said. "She'd probably already be working on weddings two and three."

Unlike Edward, Alice would have been thrilled about the upcoming wedding. In her mind, summer wasn't completed without a wedding or two. She rotated through the Cullen couples making each wedding more spectacular than the last. On the day she died, she'd been planning wedding number 13 for Emmett and Rose. Rose's heart broke on the day her wedding dress arrived. The dress was beautiful, but it had no place at her husband's funeral.

Jasper was happy to see that Rose was laughing too. Unlike Bella and him, her grief came in the form of anger. Losing Emmett had put her in a very dark place. Esme Numerous walls and doors had fallen victim to her temper.

"Do you remember the doves? I think that was wedding number ten for you and Alice. Rose said, trying to suppress a laugh.

"How could I forget?" Jasper said. "Do you remember how pissed Alice was when Emmett ate one?

"Alice almost killed him when he coughed up a feather during her vows. Carlise had to reattach both of his arms!"

Bella wrinkled her nose. "He ate a bird?

"Yep." Rose snickered. "Edward bet him five dollars that he couldn't swallow one whole."

"He did?" Bella said with a wrinkled brow. "That doesn't seem like the Edward I knew."

"Edward had his moments," Rose said with a small smile. "He was mad about the outfit Alice made him wear. It was a neon orange leisure suit paired with the ugliest tie I've ever seen. The seventies were a dark time for the fashion world."

"Please tell me you have pictures," Bella said, unable to contain her laughter. "I've got to see this."

"Sorry," Rose said with a shrug. "Edward burned all the pictures."

"Not all of them." Jasper lowered his voice. "I saved one. It's under the floorboards in our room, I'll show you later."

After five years, remembering his wedding days finally brought Jasper more joy than pain. He still missed Alice but had found a way to continue on with life. He'd made new friends, seen new places, and picked up a hobby. Life was good and he was looking forward to what the future would bring. In just three weeks, he'd be taking a trip to Alaska with Bella. He couldn't wait to watch her breath in the fresh mountain air and taste her first grizzly bear.

The laughing subsided and Rose and Bella went back to work. The wedding was less than three months away and there was still so much to do.

"Should we go with chicken or beef for the entree?" Bella asked Rose.

Jasper allowed his mind to wander as Bella and Rose talked about a meal none of them could eat. Little did they know that Nessie didn't care one bit about the napkins, food, or decorations. She'd told him that before she left for school that morning. Nessie said it was just pre-wedding jitters, but Jasper wasn't convinced. Feelings didn't lie. Her joy had faded and her feelings of doubt grew stronger as the big day drew near. Jasper wondered if it would be for the best to put off the wedding for a decade or two. He glanced down at his bare finger. Then again, one never knew what tomorrow would bring.

Jasper's ears perked up when the police scanner in his attic bedroom crackled to life. Much to his disappointment, it was only a routine traffic stop. Nothing the local police couldn't handle.

Bella nudged Jasper. "Guess you're stuck in wedding planning hell."

Bella laughed, but Jasper could tell she was a bit disappointed too. It had been a while they'd had a chance to use their powers. It seemed like every criminal in Chicago had moved away. There hadn't been a single robbery, carjacking, or home invasion in weeks. It was probably a good sign. Chicago would soon need to find a way to do without its favorite superheroes. If the trip to Alaska was a success, they'd be moving into a new home by the end of the summer. It was a relief to know that the Windy City wouldn't burn to the grown the second their plane took off.

Just before Bella could ask Jasper's opinion on plates, the power flickered and went off. Jasper counted to ten and was relieved to hear the hum of the generator turning on. Thank goodness for Rose and her tech. Nessie would have hated to come home to a dark house.

"Do you smell that?" Jasper asked.

He didn't know how it was possible, but it smelled like there was a human in the house.

Rose sniffed the air. Is that a human? How had she gotten past the security system?"

While their home looked like a typical suburban house on the outside, it had better security than Fort Knox. It was built to keep out vampires and anything else that went bump in the night. A lone human wouldn't stand a chance.

Jasper, Bella, and Rose went to investigate. They found a young woman standing in the kitchen. She had a bag of groceries in one arm and a baby in the other.

"Who are you and why are you in our house?" Bella demanded.

"I'm Mallory Dune." the human said, her cheeks crimson. "I think I may have wandered into the wrong house." She chuckled. "Mommy brain I guess."

"Get out!" Rose growled. "You're not welcome here."

The baby started to cry and Mallory hightailed it out of the house.

"Did you see the bag she was holding?" Bella asked.

Yeah, what about it." Rose said.

"It was from Jewel-Osco. That chain went out of business two years ago."

"So," Rose said. "She's probably just some homeless junkie. I bet she found it in a dumpster somewhere."

Jasper didn't agree with Rose. The woman seemed confused and a little scared. It was different than the desperation and sadness that clung to drug addicts.

The police scanner one again crackled to life.

"Pedestrian struck on Michigan avenue!

"Multiple home invasions in progress!"

"Multi-Car pile up! Multiple trapped victims!

Jasper looked at Bella with wide eyes. What the hell was going on in the city? Things had been going so well. Had the peace they'd experienced been nothing but the eye of the hurricane of chaos that was Chicago?

"What are you guys waiting for?" Rose asked. "Go! Your city needs you!"

Jasper and Bella flipped back the faces of their watches and pressed the tiny silver buttons. Their skin was immediately covered in reflective silver fabric. Maybe it wasn't quite time for the Silver Bullets to leave town. It was certainly going to be an interesting day for Chicago's most popular crime-fighting team.

Bella and Jasper rushed outside while Rose headed downstairs to the command center. They headed to Michigan avenue where at least two dozen cars were involved in a fiery accident. Jasper hoped Rose had managed to perfect the flame retardant in their suits. He couldn't afford to lose any more toes. They raced to the first car. Had Jasper's heart been pumping it would have skipped a beat. The driver was slumped over the steering wheel. Two boys were wailing in the back seat. To make matters worse, Jasper could smell gas leaking from the engine.

"You get the driver and I'll get the kids," Bella said.

Jasper peeled the roof of the car bad like a soup kid. He tossed the driver over his shoulder and Bella did the same with the kids.

Jasper set the driver down in the grass a safe distance away from the cars.

"What happened," Jasper asked in a robotic voice.

"My kids."The driver coughed and opened his eyes. "Where are they?"

Bella set the kids down at his side. "What happened?" She said,

"I don't know." The driver said, tears in his eyes. "They just appeared in the middle of the road."

Bella and Jasper moved through the accident car by car saving who they could and saying a prayer for those who were gone. The first driver's story was repeated by each victim. A large crowd, at least fifty or so people, appeared in the middle of the road. They swerved to avoid the pedestrians and crashed into other cars. Jasper didn't know what to make of it. Was it a flash mom gone wrong or something more sinister. One never knew with Chicago.

"Where do we go next, Rose?" Bella asked over the comm system when after they cleared the last car.

"You guys are going to need to split up," Rose said.

"Why?" Jasper said. "What's going on!"

Jasper and Bella had become inseparable over the last five years. They did everything as a team. Separating, even for a few minutes, caused his anxiety to peak. No way was he sending her on a mission alone.

"I'm not sure what's happening, but it's an A-level threat," Rose said. "There are Fires, home invasions, and car accidents happening all over the city."

There had only been one A-level, or Avengers level, threat since they moved to Chicago. A bombing and subsequent fire started by Fist, a terrorist group, destroyed nearly half of the city. Jasper and Bella were lucky to make it out of the battle alive.

Bella put her hand on Jasper's shoulder. "I'll be okay. Trust me, this won't be like last time. We're more experienced and have much better tech."

Jasper trusted Bella more than anyone in the world. If anyone could save the city it was her.

"Okay," Jasper said quietly. "Be careful."

"Jasper, you head to Lincoln Park Zoo," Rose said. "Bella, head to Michigan Avenue. There's a home invasion in progress."

Jasper ran towards the zoo putting out fires and saving car accident victims along the way. He made it to the zoo and found a pair of lions loose in the food court.

Although his venom pooled at the thought of an exotic treat, there wasn't time for lunch. The city needed him. He snapped their necks and headed off to the next emergency.

Jasper took a moment to compose himself after tossing a burning fuel tanker into a swimming pool. Without Bella's shield to protect him, he started to feel the onslaught of human emotions. Much to his surprise, he felt more than pain and fear. He felt bliss, the kind of happiness kids feel on Christmas morning. How could that be true when it seemed like the world was once again coming to an end?
"Guys," Rose said over the comm system. "I think you should come home now."

"What's happening?" Jasper asked. "Terrorist attack? Alien invasion?"

"Come home," Rose repeated.

Rose, who was usually bombproof, sounded scared. Whatever was happening had to be bad.

"We're coming, Rose," Bella said. "Just hold on."

Jasper raced towards home and hoped this wouldn't be their final mission.