Duke: "Have we ever had a storm this bad before?" Mallory asked while looking up at Drake One's readings. "Not since the whole weather machine fiasco," Tanya replied while typing away. "So I guess we just bunker down for the night until it passes right?" Nosedive shrugged while getting ready to head down the hall. "Well, that's just it, Drake One can't determine when the storm is going to pass. It's like it came out of nowhere," Tanya said, sounding a little worried, "Usually there's a pattern, or signs to look out for." "Do you think some evil force is causing this?" Grin asked, "Something in the air does feel rather chaotic." "I really don't know," Tanya sighed while continuing her research. "You sound worried?" Heart pointed out while resting a shoulder on our team tech's shoulder. "Well, we should be okay...but there's already some major power outages being reported. Yet it's not from the wind or any downed trees or anything," Tanya informed, "It's almost like something in the storm is causing devices to just sputter out, or go out entirely." "That does sound like something an enemy might try. If our shields go off line, Dragonus and his men can get in," Wildwing said with rising concern in his voice. "So what do we do?" Mallory asked, "Should we go out there and try to find if there's a source for this?" "It's getting really bad out there," Heart commented while monitoring the screen as highlighted patches grew, almost taking over the city. Guys, it might not be safe." "We have to try and find out something," Wildwing stated, "This is what we do, remember?" "Of...Of course," Heart nodded. "Who's going out, and who's going to hold the fort here?" Nosedive questioned. "I'll head out in the Migrator," Wildwing stated, "Mallory, Grin, you come with me. There may be others out there caught in the storm that may need our help." Our team captain looked to the rest of us, "Dive, Duke, and Heart, you stay here with Tanya to be on standby. If our power goes out, be ready to defend the pond." "Got it, bro!" Nosedive confirmed with a thumbs up, "In the meantime, I'm gonna grab some comics!" "This is serious, baby brother," Wildwing reminded in his brotherly, but still firm, tone. "I know, I know, but until something happens, I'm going to check in with some space zombies!" Nosedive said as he laced his fingers behind his head and headed down the hall. "Please be careful out there, guys," Heart then requested of our teammates. "Don't worry too much, sis," Wildwing assured while rustling her hair, "This is hardly the most dangerous thing we've ever done." "Even still," Heart insisted as they headed out. At this, I walked behind Heart, and rested a hand on her shoulder, "They'll be alright, sweetheart. Why don't ya come help me with gettin' supplies ready just in case?" "That's not a bad idea, it'll help you feel more prepared, even if nothing happens," Tanya encouraged. Heart nodded her head and followed my lead down the hall after readjusting her long sleeves. We started gathering different light sources, prepping food that didn't need to be cooked, and setting up bedding in the rec room in case we couldn't access our rooms for some reason. "Do we have candles?" Heart asked, "Flashlights might not work if it's effecting devices?" "Good point," I commented while looking under the cabinet of the storage room. Nosedive would find us and begin helping to make some sandwiches for everyone, as well as pulling out sodas and other things that didn't need to stay cool. "I thought you were checking in on some space zombies?" Heart asked playfully. "I did," Nosedive shrugged, "but I figured I should help out some more. I put them in the rec room in case for later." "How will you read them if the power goes out?" I asked. "Candle light?" Nosedive said thoughtfully. "Comics and candle light? Almost sounds like a date?" Heart tried to tease. "Very funny," her twin retorted. "Let's see? Blankets, pillows, food, light sources. Anything else?" Heart listed off, "First aid kit?" "What do ya think is gonna happen, sweetheart?" I asked. "I'm sorry, I just can't help but feel a little anxious with them out there. I know this is par for the course, but something about this, it feels off?" she tried to explain. "If it something we need to take care of, they'll let us know," Nosedive assured her. "Not if our comms are effected by this," Heart mentioned. "Man, sis, what's eating at you?" Nosedive questioned with a hand on his hip, "You're usually a lot more spirited than this?" I began to wonder more myself now, as I noticed Heart was wearing longer sleeves with her gear. This really should have caught my attention earlier, but hadn't for whatever reason. Maybe because she'd been acting as normal and hadn't made any sort of deal about it, only adjusting them as needed. Before I could ask her though, we heard the elevator doors opening to the rec room as we entered in ourselves with the supplies. Through those sliding sheets of metal, came our three teammates. I looked at the clock to see that they'd been gone just about an hour or so. "Tanya wasn't kidding!" Mallory insisted, "It's crazy out there!" "There's no signs of the Saurians. For all we know, they could be bunkering down from the storm too," Wildwing informed us, "There's hardly anyone out on the streets. We did a routine patrol to make sure." "Any idea what's causin' this?" I asked. Wildwing shook his head, "The mask wasn't picking up anything, same with the Migrator's sensors. If anything, the storm was interfering with them." "Do you think it's magic based then?" Heart asked, "Should we be on the lookout for Asteroth?" "This doesn't seem like his style," Mallory mentioned. "If there's a foe to stop, I'm sure we'll handle it in due time," Grin assured with a steady smile, "For now, let's take solace in the fact that we're all safe here." "We got some food and things ready!" Nosedive chimed in cheerfully. "We should all stay in the main areas tonight, I don't want anyone getting stuck in their bunks and then have to pry open our doors," Wildwing stated. "We figured as much," Nosedive nodded, "We were about to set up spaces out here when you guys got here." "This could be fun," he then nudged Heart, "Sorta like camping." For what is was worth, Heart gave a bit of a smile at that notion. She then started helping with getting seven spaces ready for us all to sleep in. Grin and Mallory pitched in with this endeavor, while Nosedive and Wildwing set up a large cooler and cabinet with the food prepped. I made sure all the needed light sources were easy to locate and ready to use. With Heart's unease in mind, I even went and got the med-kit to place with them. I was heading down the hall when the lights began to flicker. "This isn't good. If the power goes out here, we're vulnerable," Tanya muttered while finding me half way towards the infirmary. "Accordin' to Wing we shouldn't have our usual foes to worry about. I'd imagine if it's effecting us, then it has to be messin' with their power too," I mentioned. "Duke, I haven't seen a storm like this is a few years, if even then," she said nervously. "Wait, what storm are ya talkin' about?" I asked, "I don't think we've ever had a storm like this here?" "Oh, this wasn't here, I keep sorta forgetting," Tanya attempted a laugh, "This was back on Puck World, actually." I looked to Tanya a bit surprised by this, as I started to recall as well, "About two years ago?" "Y-Yeah, I think so. It was a few months before the invasion. That storm...it was kinda like this one actually," she said thoughtfully, "Weird power outages, devices flickering on and off. It just wasn't as strong as this one." I placed a hand to the chin of my beak as I looked back on that night myself now, "I remember that. I was out on a..." I paused, before shrugging and admitting, "I was out on a side job that night. It did come out of nowhere, we hadn't had a storm anywhere like that in ten years. It went by quick though, if I remember right...?" "Not this one," Tanya commented, "I don't think the one on Puck World almost took out the power of something as big as the pond." "Nah, the one on Puck World wasn't anythin' like this...but..." I then remembered another detail about that night, "It was the night Heart came to Puck World...!" "It was?" She asked in surprise, "I knew she'd gotten there before the invasion and all." "I'll never forget it," I insisted as the dots began to connect some more, "I saw her right after the storm passed, an'...?" "Wait, you're not saying...?" Tanya began to piece it together with me. I turned on my heel as we both headed back to the rec room. We would find Heart with the others, seeming rather calm as she sat with her brothers. Nosedive had given her a plate, that I noticed she was barely touching. There was a light, relieved smile on her face as she talked with our teammates. However, I quickly noted that she was adjusting her sleeve. "Everything okay?" she asked when she noticed Tanya and I entering the room. The lights were flickering more and more now, threatening to cut off at any moment it seemed. Even above us from deep under the stadium, we could hear the drumming of thunder, and the howling of fierce winds. "What on Earth is causing all of this?" Wildwing asked while looking up, as though he expected something to come down through the ceiling. "I think we have an idea," Tanya ventured while noting Heart's quieter than usual demeanor. "Do we need to get ready for a fight?" Mallory inquired. "I would hope not!" Tanya attempted a laugh. "Then what is it?" Nosedive questioned. As if to answer, I walked over to his sister, who was still sitting beside him. Tilting my head curiously, I watched as she looked up at me just as puzzled as him. This didn't stop her from nervously readjusting her sleeves yet again, as though desperately trying to mask something. "Duke, what's wrong?" she asked with genuine concern. Not wanting to push too suddenly, I shook my head, "Nothin', I was jus' worried the lights were goin' to go out before I got back. I sorta forgot a flashlight." It was an awful lie, and she knew that. She raised a brow, but didn't push it. Neither did I for the moment. "Weren't you going to get the med-kit?" Nosedive asked. "Oh, I have on stored in the cabinet over there," Tanya gestured to the corner of the room, "I started storing them through the shared rooms just in case." Heart and I both winced at this comment, both of figuring we were the cause for such precautions. We then shared a light laugh before the storm above caught our attention again. The power of the pond began to short in and out, as did our comms. "I hope Phil's alright?" Nosedive mentioned. "We checked on him on the way back, he's just bunkering down too," Mallory assured. She then gave a wide grin, "Hey, no power, means no phone for him to make calls and deals with! We're safe for once!" "I guess that's one way to look at it?" Wildwing chuckled. While they joked about this, Tanya pulled me aside and quietly asked, "Do you really think it has to do with Heart?" I gave a subtle nod while watching Heart still. Once again she seemed happy enough. However, her overall demeanor told me something was indeed off. Something she was desperately trying to ignore. Just as Tanya went to say something, the power of our headquarters shut down completely. Even our auxiliary power went out. Lights, monitors, our comms, everything cut off. I tried not to raise too much alarm when I quickly noticed how I personally knew this. Luckily this was easy enough to do from the training of my previous line of work. Searching through the dark was second nature even still. Making it a breeze to find Heart, who was already lighting some of the candles. She'd been at my right when I bumped my hand into hers. She looked up, and quickly noticed what I wasn't letting on to. I gave a casual shrug that she could see with the candle light to let her know that I was not bothered by it at all. In fact, with the candles lit, I grasped her hand to lead her over to our little nest we'd made on one of the sofas. "At least we're nice and cozy in here," Mallory sighed with a shrug, "Hopefully the storm passes soon though." "Last storm I saw anything like this, barring world conquering yetis of course," Nosedive laughed, "was back on Puck World." "How did you see it?" Wildwing teased, "You were sleeping through it? How, I still don't know." Nosedive gave a shrug. "I think I remember that," Grin pondered with a hand to the chin of his beak, "I'd been practicing on the ice that evening when the wind suddenly picked up. Lightening clawed the sky in warning for me to take shelter for a while. Not much longer though, and it was over and done with." "I was finishing up some training," Mallory noted. "I'd been studying, and fell asleep at the desk," Wildwing admitted, "I remember being woken up by it, and then trying to go to bed." "Wait, wasn't that...?" Nosedive realized now as well while looking to Heart, who was sitting beside me. She'd tucked her legs underneath herself, and was leaning into me as I wrapped an arm around her. "That's the night we found Heart at our doorstep," Wildwing confirmed, "What about it?" "The night Duke saved me, after I'd come to Puck World," Heart mentioned as she tried to look back on the rest, knowing she couldn't. "Do you think...?" Mallory wondered out loud. She then shook her head. I glanced at Heart to see her curling up and leaning more into me. Until I rested my hand firmly along her arm, as I brushed over it to try and ease her nerves. She knew what I'd felt under that sleeve, and stiffened because of it. However, I didn't say anything, not yet. Instead, I just smoothed the fabric against what felt like armor hardened underneath, and patted her shoulder. This seemed to give her some comfort as she relaxed a little. "It's hard to think that was two years ago?" Wildwing realized. "Time flies when you're traveling through gateways, and kicking lizard tails!" Nosedive laughed as he dropped backwards into the sofa, after grabbing some chips to snack on. "And things just keep getting crazier and crazier, don't they?" Tanya noted while glancing over at Heart from her favorite chair. Wildwing was sitting at the end of the sofa, closest to our team tech. He seemed to agree with this notion as he nodded along, "It's a lot to keep track of, but we manage." Heart then looked over at her twin, watching as he tried in vain to read his comic, "It's a lot harder than I thought it would be." "Sorry, Dive," Heart offered. "Oh well," Nosedive shrugged, "We could tell stories like last time?" "Last time?" Heart asked. "Yeah, when we were camping, and we had to bunker down in the Migrator?" Nosedive reminded. "That was just after we'd settled in here," Mallory realized, "That is strange to look back on, isn't it?" "A lot has changed since then," I nodded, before glancing at Heart and smiling, "Mostly for the better." She smiled up at me through the dark, before turning her attention back to her twin, "What story were you thinking of, Dive?" "I don't know," he admitted with a shrug, "I was just spit-balling ideas." "I believe we shared the story of the Great Mother last time, didn't we?" Tanya recalled with a sigh, "I wish we could hear stories from your realm. They might be able to help you with what you've been going through. If nothing else, it would be a piece of home to look back on for some comfort." Heart shrugged at this, "It's fine." "Is it?" Grin pushed carefully. "We know you wouldn't want to go back at this point to live there, but there must be some part of you that misses it?" Wildwing nudged a little, "Something worth fighting to protect at least?" "There would have to be for you to try and help Borg?" Nosedive chimed in. "I wouldn't be able to tell you if there was," Heart mentioned. "Well..." I attempted carefully, thinking back on the times we'd been there thus far, "What about the caverns ya always look at when we're there?" "The caverns?" "Maybe there was somethin' there? Or maybe, past them?" I prompted. She shook her head, "I really can't recall...-" The thunder from above our heads cracked with an earth shaking boom, causing Heart to suddenly cling to me. Out of instinct, I pulled her close to me, caressing her upper back as I did. "Is...is it getting worse?" Nosedive asked. "Heart, are you okay?" Wildwing asked. "Fear is a tremendous thing, isn't it?" Tanya then mentioned while looking around the room to our teammates, and finally to Heart. "That was rather abrupt?" Mallory commented in bewilderment. "Well, in my head it wasn't," Tanya laughed with a slight shrug. "We all face monsters and enemies almost every day, and yet things still get under our skin and feathers," Tanya then reflected aloud, "Whether it's dinosaurs, or thunder?" "I don't think Heart's ever been afraid of a storm before? She wasn't when we were in the Zamboni machine out in the open during one?" Nosedive mentioned. Yet Heart was still clinging to me as this was said. Making me wonder even more as I watched over her in the dark, and hugging her close to me. I thought back to the storm Nosedive had mentioned, from the camping trip. Heart had jumped a little from the storm, but as I reflected on it, I recalled Heart and I traversing some other hurtles at the time. It was actually a little startling to realize how similar in nature this was to then. Only...the roles were swapped it seemed. "It's not the storm," I then said, my voice calm, but concerned, "It's what's causin' it." "What?" Wildwing asked in confusion. I rubbed Heart's shoulder in a gentle motion, reaffirming what I felt there. "Duke?..." Heart attempted nervously, "What's wrong?" "You tell me?" I prompted. "What?" "She might not be aware of it, Duke," Tanya commented gently. "I figured," I said while hugging Heart before pulling away just slightly, and taking her by the hand, my tone growing very gentle, "Hey...? What's goin' on, love?" She blinked in bewilderment, along with the others. Then she glanced down at her wrists, and subtly tried to fix her sleeves yet again. I didn't say anything to this just yet, but didn't move either as I attempted, "Heart?" "Is something wrong with her?" Mallory asked with her own concern showing now. Heart shook her head, "I don't think so?" Nosedive then looked as she fidgeted a little to make sure her arms were covered. He then asked, "When did you start wearing long sleeves, especially in late summer time?" Wildwing raised a brow, having removed the mask and placing it in his satchel for the time being, "Sis?" Grin too chimed in now, seeing her uneasy nature, "My friend, we can not help if we don't know what is bothering you? You should know well by now that your teammates will be there for you?" Hearing this, Heart let out a bit of a sigh. She looked to me, her eyes signaling her slight approval. With this, I carefully pushed her sleeve up to find what she'd been hiding all day long. Under the smooth fabric, were sleek blue scales, the very ones she'd had before. Feeling up along both arms, I would find that they reached all the way to her shoulders. The sapphire like armor would catch the flickering light of the candles in their metallic sheen. "What in the world?" Wildwing exclaimed. "It's the scales that creep doctor gave her!" Nosedive growled, "Just wait until I-" "They're not from him!" Heart blurted out, before trying to cover them back up. "Heart, why didn't ya tell us?" I asked while stopping her. "I don't even know..." she admitted, "I knew you would worry...but I wasn't sure if I was ready to deal with it yet...everything's been getting more and more confusing to deal with, that I guess I panicked...I thought maybe I could ignore it for a little while..." "Sis," Wildwing half scolded, "What if this was a spell or something?" Heart's shoulders sank, and I caught as she winced a little. "Easy, Wing," I urged softly, "We can't imagine what this is like to go through. All of us know where we're from, what's normal from our realm, and what would be considered odd. We have our stories to share, an' pastimes to bond over." The others seemed to agree to this notion. "It probably doesn't help that those jerks have scales...no wonder you wanted to hide them..." Nosedive realized. "We don't think this makes you one of them, if that's what you're afraid of?" Tanya offered. "I know that," Heart said. "Then why hide them?" Mallory asked. "I guess...I guess I'm afraid of what this might mean," Heart admitted with a bit of a sigh, "Does this mean I'm like Asteroth? Did he cast a spell, or...?" "Or what, sweetheart?" I pushed. "Or is this just who I was to begin with? What will it mean going forward?" she went ahead and asked. Outside the storm grew more wild, and we could hear the trembling of the Earth from the strange thunder. I glanced at Tanya, who nodded her own confirmation. "Heart, ya can't keep ignorin' this," I told her with a gentle, but still firm, tone, "Let us help ya find the answers ya need, okay?" "I don't want to find out what this is!" Heart snapped with the lightening cracking, causing the lights to flicker on briefly, before going right back out...along with...she looked to me, and gasped, her hands covering her lips. Again, I didn't let it bother me, despite it scaring her what she was finding she was capable of, one way or another. Instead, I reached my hands to hers, and pulled them carefully away from her face. "Heart, we want to help you find answers so you can share your world with us, as we do ours with you," Wildwing reminded, "If you think this means you'd have to go back there...well, I'd like to think you know the answer to that by now." "You do, don't you?" Nosedive nudged her, after having scooted over to us. "Your magic seems to be tied to electricity," Tanya noted, "So, what's the rawest form of that?" "So, this storm is...?" Mallory questioned with widened eyes, and jaw dropped, "This is Heart?" "She didn't summon it though," Nosedive pondered aloud while looking to her, "And you don't seem to be upset...well...until just now?" "When did these scales start appearing?" Wildwing asked. "Well...they showed up a few weeks ago when we dealt with those werewolves," Heart mentioned, "but they went away..." "Nothing of note has happened since then?" Mallory tried to recall. Grin shook his head, "It could be, that this storm we're weathering together, is signaling a transformation of some kind? Perhaps these scales are the first mark?" "I don't want to change! I don't want to go back there, and..." Heart tried to pull her hands away to hide her face, but I held them firmly. Then I slid my hands from her hands, and to her scaled wrists. "Heart, listen to us...we will be with every step of the way through whatever this is. If it's a spell, we'll help break it...but if it's a part of ya..." I eased my tone even more so, smiling steadily for her to see, "Then we'll embrace it." "Duke?" she stammered softly, before looking to the others, "Guys?" "I mean, we already knew you weren't human...and we knew that long before your magic started sparking to life," Nosedive teased. "Dive!" Wildwing half scolded. "Well, it's true!" Nosedive shrugged before rustling Heart's hair, "No matter what though, you're one of us; and therefore, you're stuck with us!" "However..." Tanya pushed in a motherly tone, "change is something we can't stop. Time itself is change." "Tanya's right," Wildwing nodded, "Every day we fight on, we learn something new...whether it's about this world, each other, your magic, or anything else. We grow from it the best that we can, and take it all in stride. As we have since we started this mission." "We will get through this nonetheless," he then added. Looking over a rather stunned Heart, I then wondered out loud, "So then...since the storm started, how has it felt? Do they hurt at all?" Heart shook her head, "Not really...I mean...they feel hot when they're spreading...almost like a fire burning from the inside, kicking on whatever it flowing through my veins. There's something else too...and I feel like it's something very important...but I can't remember..." "Then maybe it's time we seek out some answers with you, ourselves?" Grin suggested, "Perhaps Prince Borg could guide is in the right direction?" "We have things to deal with here," Heart mentioned. "And this is one of them," Wildwing stated firmly, before easing up into a brotherly smile, "As we would for any teammate here, we support each other through our troubles. And as your oldest brother, I knew one day I might have to help you through this...the moment we found all you had left to you was your name." "That's right, sis," Nosedive smiled, "Did you think we'd adopt you, and then drop you the minute your past came calling?" "We want to learn with you, Heart," Mallory insisted, "I bet whatever this is, it's something really cool! It could be tied to how you found us in the first place!" The thunder raged on above, but the energy within the room seemed to calm a bit. "You're not going to have all the answers right away," Grin then said, "but you won't have any if you close yourself off from them." "If anythin', this storm is tellin' ya that you can't stop it...so...ya may as well face it?" I said while gently caressing her cheek, having her meet me eye to eye, "An' with us?" "I...I guess I've just gotten so used to the way things are here...that if I hid and ignored them...then things would just stay...but I know you're right..." Heart finally replied. "We will weather this storm with you, Heart," Grin assured, "You just have to let us." She quickly nodded her head, "Please?" "You don't need to ask, girly-girl!" Nosedive laughed while pulling her from me briefly to give her a hug, himself, "That's what we've been trying to tell you!" He gave her a squeeze, before finally releasing her. "So then...that storm two years ago...you must have used some sort of magic to get to Puck World?" Mallory commented, "Maybe something like the star sword?" "I have a feeling we'll have the answers soon," Tanya assured with a sigh, "I guess I should brace myself for the weirdness we're about to face now?" "Is it any weirder than anything else we've faced lately? Being turned human, going to limbo and back, and everything else in between?" Wildwing laughed. Outside, we could hear the winds starting to die down a bit, along with the now growing distant thunder. "I guess that's true," Tanya sighed with a chuckle of her own. The power began to flicker on and off again. At one point, I would catch a smile returning to Heart's face as she listened to everyone around her. To encourage this, I wrapped an arm around her, pulling her into a hug. With this I assured her, "Ya know Heart, ya really don't have to twist my arm to get me to adventure there with ya. Jus' say the word, an' you're devoted thief will be at your side, an' ready to go." Like clockwork, I would see Heart starting to blush as I said this. With this, I also noticed some of her scales starting to break away...at least for the time being. For she noticed this as well, and said, "I …..I don't think they're gone..." "It's probably a back and forth process until you're ready to take on the rest," Tanya guessed, "Your magic could be trying to condition you for what ever comes next." Heart tensed up slightly upon hearing this, but pushed through to say, "As long as you're there for what ever that may be...?" She looked to our teammates as I held onto her. Hearing this, we shared a smile to assure her, with me stating, "Of course, love." At last the power kicked back on, and Heart would look up in time to see this was true for me as well. When she did, she hugged me tight as I did the same for her. Soon enough, the others were gathered around us, sharing a group hug. "Don't even think about it, Duke!" Mallory scolded. "That jus' sounds like a challenge," I assured with a confident smirk, "Lucky for you, my hands are full." I hugged Heart quite tightly to demonstrate, hearing her give a soft giggle as I did. With another squeeze of a group embrace shared, we could hear the storm above still lingering on, However, we all seemed to know, that this was truly the calm before everything would truly hit. The pause before turning the page to the next critical chapter of our lives together. We were truly smack dab in the middle of the eye of that storm that was to come, and we were there with Heart...bracing for it with her, and promising to weather it as we did everything else. No matter what it took, we would weather it all together.