Sorry that the chapter was a bit belated – an unexpected visitor stayed during the weekend.

A/N 1: As in the previous chapters – ideas for fic and character development, questions, plotbunnies, suggestions, flames, character pictures, corrections, additions, comments, and everything in between can be mailed to hack_heaven@usa.net. Go on---I don't bite ;)

A/N 2: T'Girl: Well...Jhonen *might* be hooked up with someone. Maybe. Kinda. In a way...*cough*

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Chapter Twenty-Eight: Dawn

* * *

Jordane woke up to the pleasant feeling of someone tracing lazy circles on her abdomen. It took her a moment to realize that she was snuggled up next to Blade, and then another to remember what had happened the night before.

She turned her head slightly, and found herself staring into Blade's pale blue eyes. They held an almost possessive intensity she hadn't seen before, but for some reason it had a comforting effect on her. It meant that it hadn't been a one-night-stand. It made her feel wanted. Needed.

It made her feel safe.

Jordane yawned and snuggled closer, enjoying the feeling of a warm body next to her. Blade just smirked and kept tracing patterns on her body with his fingers.

"Sleep well?" he finally asked.

Jordane nodded lazily, unwilling to do anything that might pull her out of her content state. She turned slightly to look at her lover, and only then did she notice the red marks that marred his shoulder. She traced the marks with her fingers and looked at Blade with an uncertain look in her eyes.

"Did I...?"

Blade leaned closer and bit her neck lightly, making it very difficult for Jordane to think clearly.

"I don't mind," he mumbled against her neck, before pulling away again.

Jordane sighed contentedly and snuggled against his chest, determined not to get out of bed anytime soon.

"I don't wanna get up. Can't we stay here all day?" she asked.

Blade smirked.

"Well...I don't think anyone else is up yet, so..." he trailed off and let his hand linger suggestively on her hip.

Jordane giggled.

"You're a bad boy."

Blade raised an eyebrow inquiringly.

"Was there ever any doubt?" he asked, sounding vaguely amused.

"Not really," Jordane smirked.

"Good. I'd hate to end up like Cretes," Blade mumbled and kissed her shoulder, then followed her neckline with small, teasing kisses.

"No chance of that," Jordane breathed.

She leaned back and let herself enjoy his attention, but somewhere in the back of her mind a thought was slowly fighting its way through her lust-muddled brain. Quite an accomplishment, really, everything considered.

"Blade?" Jordane asked as she suddenly realized what her mind was trying to tell her.

"Mhmm...?" Blade replied, doing his best to distract her with feather-like kisses on her neck, occasionally accompanied by a gently bite.

"Do you think they put Jhonen through the initiation-hangover?" she asked.

Blade looked at her, and understanding dawned in his eyes. Jhonen...team...bar...

Shit.

"Oh, damn..." he muttered. "Please tell me we don't have a hungover, new teammate to deal with."

Jordane smiled apologetic, but her eyes held a spark of amusement.

"We better find out, don't you think?" she asked, and began to make her way out of the bed with obvious reluctance.

Blade shook his head and pulled her back with a swift movement.

"Later," he decided and caught her mouth in a searing kiss.

Jordane immediately forgot about Jhonen, bars, and hungover teammates, and concentrated on her lover instead.

"Later?" she breathed as they finally broke the kiss. "Later is good."

Blade just smirked and kissed her again.

* * *

It was a truly pitiful sight that met them an hour later. They had woken up the others and asked them to meet in the boys' room. It was a wise decision, seeing as none of the boys were very keen at getting up. Hal and Pheonix felt a little better, but not much. Only Laetitia, a professional to the tip of her fingers, had been wise enough to stop before she'd had too much.

The others had not had the same foresight.

Aaron had spent several minutes trying to open a bottle of painkillers until Laetitia finally took pity on him and opened the bottle for him. Zach was curled up in an old sweatshirt and looked anything but threatening. Hal complained about her headache, and Pheonix complained that Hal was complaining too loudly. Jhonen just groaned and pulled the covers over his head.

If it hadn't been such a pathetic scene, Blade might even have found it funny. Jordane obvious did, though – she tried to hide her grin, but did a very, very poor job. Even Laetitia smirked at the sight of her hungover teammates.

Blade sighed and forced himself to show a little patience – it *was* a tradition, after all. It was a kind of initiation, or at least the closest thing they had to it. To get their new teammate drunk and hungover, both because it was fun, but certainly also to see how said teammate would react under less-than-pleasant circumstances. Usually, it would only end with one hungover team member, but this time someone had obviously underestimated Jhonen's tolerance for alcohol.

"Didn't I tell you that we were supposed to leave town today?" Blade finally asked, and let a bit of his annoyance shine through.

Hal bit her lips and looked away, and Zach shrugged weakly.

"But it's a tradition," he said defensively.

Something that sounded suspiciously like a choked snicker could be heard from Jordane and Laetitia, and Blade rubbed his temples.

"And it started out as such a good morning," he mumbled.

He sent his teammates another look, then sighed again.

"Alright. We'll stay one more day. But we *will* leave tomorrow, and I don't care *what* condition you're in," he stated. "Have I made myself clear?"

Muted nods followed his words, and Blade, Jordane, and Laetitia left the room to let their hungover teammates enjoy the misery alone.

* * *

"I can't believe he would do something like that!" Suzuka repeated and tossed her pillow across the room with an angry movement.

Deirdre sighed.

"Me neither. He seemed so nice. A bit weird sometimes, but nice."

Suzuka snorted and started to pace the room with quick, angry steps.

"We have to do something," she finally stated. "We can't just let them get away with this."

"What *can* we do?" Deirdre asked. "Ryan would never risk an attack, you know that. And *we* can't do anything because we don't know where they're staying."

Suzuka sat down heavily on the bed.

"It's just...we have to do something," she said and sighed. "I don't know about you, but I'm not just going to sit here and wait for the Shadow Alliance to attack us."

Deirdre rolled her eyes.

"Do you think *I* will? But it's not like there's anything we *can* do, now is there?" she retorted.

Suzuka shook her head.

"No, there isn't," she admitted. "Not unless-" she stopped, and a slow smile appeared on her face.

"What? What is it?" Deirdre asked suspiciously.

Suzuka's eyes lit up in a way that made every alarm in Deirdre's mind go off, and she quickly stood up.

"What if we got some inside information on the Shadow Alliance? That way we might be prepared next time they try anything," she said, a certain eagerness creeping into her voice.

Deirdre held up her hands.

"Wait, wait - where would we get that 'inside information' from? We can't just walk up to wherever they're staying and take a look around."

"Why not?" Suzuka said and smirked. "I could turn into a small animal - a mouse, or a snake, or something - and take a look around. No one would suspect a thing."

"You're crazy," Deirdre said and shook her head. "Do you have any idea of what they'd do if they discovered you?"

"I won't get caught, trust me," Suzuka said with quiet confidence. "You know I'm good - I could sneak inside, take a look around, and get out again before anyone suspects a thing."

"But we don't know where they're staying," Deirdre objected, although she was already starting to like the plan.

"Didn't Ryan tell Diana? We could ask her. After what they did to Ryan, she wants to even with them, too," Suzuka suggested.

Deirdre shook her head. It was a crazy plan. Crazy and dangerous. But they had a reputation for making that kind of plan work, didn't they? Besides, that way they could make sure that the Shadow Alliance wasn't planning an attack...and maybe even find some weaknesses in their enemies, now they were at it. It would certainly give them an advantage in a future confrontation if they knew Blade's or Zach's or Laetitia's weaknesses. It would be worth the risk, wouldn't it? It would be dangerous, but it would be worth the risk if it could help keep their teammates safe.

"If we're gonna do this, we'll have to do it at night," Deirdre finally said and stood up as well. "Early morning, maybe. That way no one will be awake, and-"

"-And Ryan won't get suspicious," Suzuka finished for her. "It'll work, 'Dre. I know it."

Deirdre looked at her and smiled slowly.

Yes, it would work - they would make sure of that.

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Coming up: The Guardians have a chat with West, and Deirdre and Suzuka find out where the Shadow Alliance is hiding...