A/N 1: Do we really have to go through this again? No? Thought so.

A/N 2: Rascal: Well, technically Kyle can freeze the collars, but then what? Sanders will push the detonator, and even if they manage to get the collars off, they will still be trapped in a cell with four bombs waiting to explode. It's limited how long Kyle can keep those bombs from detonating, so it's really just a matter of time before something goes 'boom', and I lose an excellent future plot twist *smirk*. Oh, and Kyle can freeze people, although crushing them like bugs might prove a bit of a problem *grins*

Meridian: Thank you :) Most of the timeline was worked out mainly to give the characters some sort of extra back story I could work into the fic - most of the titles it refers to are chapter-titles, and the ficlets on the page. If there are any of them I've forgotten to put up, just drop me a mail and I'll send them to you ^^

Italics indicate thoughts/telepathy

'...' Indicates a conversation between Jhonen and a spirit.

* * *

Chapter Sixty-Five: Agony and Ecstasy

* * *

"They're alive."

The words were simple, but to the people gathered in the motel room, they were the most welcome words they'd heard in a long time. Joy, relief, happiness - it all joined together, radiating from the room, warming Ryan's mind, and taking with it some of the worry and anger that had clouded his thoughts.

"Where are they? Are they all right?" Diana asked, voicing the question that was on everybody's mind.

"They're being held by the military, but they're okay at the moment," Ryan replied. "But where they are...I don't know. They haven't been told, and I couldn't sense Kyle's location. They could be anywhere," he admitted.

"But...how are we gonna find them, then?" Deirdre asked, concern starting to show on her face. "If you don't know where they are, then..."

Ryan sighed softly.

"They'll be in Houston in five days," he said and continued before anyone could ask. "They're supposed to kill a senator."

"Kill someone?" Ben repeated. "But Kyle and Suzuka wouldn't-"

"They didn't have a choice. It was blackmail," Ryan explained, a hint of bitterness tainting his voice at the thought of what his two teammates were going through. "If they didn't agree, they would have been killed."

The room fell silent as the two teams considered Ryan's words, and the telepath took a moment to survey the odd group of mutants gathered around him. By some silent agreement it seemed that the usual hostility between the two groups had been suppressed for the time being, and instead they focused on staying alive. Some part of Ryan couldn't help but marvel that fact, even through the graveness of the situation. If the remaining members of the Shadow Alliance were willing to put aside their anger, then maybe Blade and Nike hadn't twisted them as much as Ryan had feared.

Turning his head slightly, Ryan's eyes fell on Hal who noticed his look and arched a white eyebrow in response. Yes, she was a bit young to be the current leader of her team, but she had potential, Ryan could see that. They still needed to work some things out, though - this joint leadership had been working so far, but if they wanted it to continue that way, they'd need to decide their future course of action.

Afterwards, we need to talk, Ryan sent silently. Hal looked sharply at him, unused to having telepaths in her head, then nodded slowly in agreement.

Okay, she replied. The uneasiness she felt at having someone in her head was clear in her voice, but she remained emotionless on the outside. Like the rest of her team, she was clearly used to not showing any possible weakness, and to Ryan, that didn't come as a surprise. Yes, their two teams seemed able to cooperate for the time being, but it would be a big mistake to forget that the Guardians and the Shadow Alliance were fundamentally different.

"Ryan?"

Ryan looked away from Hal and focused on West instead.

"We're not just going to leave them there, are we?" the boy continued. "I mean, Kyle and Suzuka are our teammates - we have to help them."

"And we will," Ryan assured him. "But until we get to Houston, I don't think I'll be able to find their exact location. Right now they're too far away...I'm sorry."

"But - there has to be some way to find them, right?" Deirdre tried again. "We can't just leave them there for five days! What happens if we don't get there in time - Kyle and Suzuka wouldn't kill an innocent man."

"But Blade and Jordane would," Hal stated calmly, drawing the attention of others. "If we don't get there in five days, that senator will die, and there's no telling what will happen after that."

"How can you say that so calmly?" West demanded, although his voice wasn't nearly as harsh as during the argument in their cell. He hadn't forgotten what happened the last time Hal lost her patience.

Hal shrugged. "Because I know them," she replied. "And quite frankly I think I would have done the same thing in their situation. I'm not stupid enough to die for someone I don't even know."

"You're no better than they are," West said disgusted, but whatever else he'd planned to accuse Hal of, was cut off by Ryan.

"If you two want to argue, you can do it later," he half-snapped. "Right now we have to find out what to do."

"Is there any chance they'll be able to escape by themselves?" Ben asked, but Ryan shook his head.

"No...the military has used high-explosive collars on them. The collars will detonate if they're opened, or if the detonator is pushed," Ryan explained. "Kyle could technically freeze the collars since they aren't power-suppressive, but he wouldn't be able to keep them under control forever."

"I could probably disarm them," Daryn said, and continued a bit more hesitantly, uncomfortable by the sudden attention focused on him. "I mean - if I get close enough, it should be pretty easy."

"But do you think the military is stupid enough to actually let a bunch of teenagers wander around their pet mutants? I don't think so," Zahra replied, black eyes coming to rest on Ryan. "Let's face it - you can talk all you want, but right now there's absolutely nothing we can do. You don't know where in Houston this is supposed to take place. You don't know how many people there'll be, and you don't know what the area will look like. The best thing to do would be to get the hell out of here, and make sure to arrive before the others do."

For a moment it was silent, then Ryan sighed. Much as he hated to admit it, the dark-skinned girl was right - they needed to look logical at things, and right now the most logical thing to do would be to get some rest and then leave.

"So we're going to waltz into town without a plan? I don't think that's a good idea," Ben pointed out.

"Do we have a choice?" Zach asked, speaking for the first time. Hal sent him a brief look, silently warning him not to get into an argument with any of the Guardians, but Zach just smirked slightly in return.

"No," Ryan replied. "We don't."

Zach looked at him, a bit surprised to hear the man agree with him, but didn't comment.

"Until Kyle is able to tell me something else about what's going on, there isn't much we can do," Ryan continued. "The only thing we can do is lay low and hope the city isn't swarming with FoHs."

"And if it is?" Zahra asked.

"Then we'll do what it takes to get in and hope we don't fuck up completely." The reply came from Hal, and although Ryan didn't quite agree with the way she'd expressed it, he really couldn't argue with her. If the city was surrounded with checkpoints like New York and Chicago had been, there wasn't really anything else to do than to trick their way through.

Around the room, the others shifted uneasily, recalling all to vividly the events in Chicago, but nobody objected. Not that Ryan had expected them to - this was about getting their teammates out of a bad situation, and something like that tended to make people willing to run some pretty big risks.

In the corner of the room, Jhonen watched silently, not really willing to draw attention to himself. Having his own teammates hate him wasn't a pleasant experience, and even with the support of his new team, it was a situation he'd prefer to avoid.

Besides...it wasn't like he had anything to contribute to the conversation, was it?

Except your powers, his conscience reminded him, and Jhonen winced slightly.

His powers...

He'd been able to find Deirdre and Prue's exact location - it wasn't unlikely he'd be able to find their four missing teammates as well. But something in him objected - only Laetitia, Blade, and Jordane had known that he was the one who'd found the two Guardians in Chicago. Everybody else naturally assumed that Blade or Laetitia had been behind it, and that he, Jhonen, had merely been manipulated into coming along. If he suddenly revealed that his powers could help him track down people, it would only be a matter of time before someone realized exactly what had happened, and Jhonen didn't want to see that happen. Even his new teammates would hate him for that, wouldn't they?

But...he couldn't just leave them at the mercy of the military, could he? Blade had been willing to help him, even though they'd been on opposite teams. He and Laetitia had seen Jhonen's potential and given him every chance to explore his powers to the fullest. Unlike Ryan, they'd seen him as an equal and not some helpless, little boy, and if nothing else, he owed them his help for that.

Jhonen took a slow breath and closed his eyes, focusing on Erik's presence as he did so. It didn't take him long to find it - it was clear to Jhonen that Erik still feared him, and that suited him just fine.

'Where are they?' Jhonen asked, not bothering with any additional explanations. Erik knew exact what he was talking about, they both knew that.

Erik glared at him, anger clear in his every motion, and Jhonen's eyes narrowed. 'Well?'

'I don't know,' the spirit replied annoyed. 'Go bug your little girlfriend instead.'

'Where. Are. They?!' Jhonen repeated, unconsciously drawing energy from the spirit word around to use against Erik. The spirit's eyes widened slightly and he took a step back, obviously remembering what Jhonen had done last time they'd come face to face.

'I don't know!' he repeated, desperation starting to creep into his voice. 'They're too far away!'

Jhonen watched him for a moment, then left the energy dissolve again. 'The moment you're able to locate them, tell it to me, understand?'

Erik nodded, still watching Jhonen warily.

'Yeah...I understand.'

Jhonen nodded and let the world around him dissolve once again. A part of his mind couldn't help but admire how easy it was - Laetitia had been right. He *could* control the spirit world, and he wholly intended to take advantage of that. He'd been forced to put up with the spirits for long enough - this was his time of glory, and he didn't intend to give that up.

Jhonen opened his eyes and took a look at the people around him - none of them seemed to have noticed his brief trip into the spirit world, and that suited him just fine. It meant that his secret would be kept that way for a bit longer and who knew...with a little luck, Ryan would even be able to sense Kyle before Erik did.

With half an ear Jhonen heard Ryan tell the others to get some sleep and he slowly stood up and headed to his bed, feeling strangely pleased with himself. He hadn't been able to find the four, but he'd tried, and that had to count for something. He wasn't a helpless, little kid, not anymore.

No, you aren't...a soft voice whispered in his ear, the sound bringing with it an indescribable joy.

Laetitia!

Of course, Laetitia murmured softly. Go to sleep, Jhonen. You and I have some things to discuss.

Still with a faint smile on his lips, Jhonen went to sleep, surrendering to the glowing warmth that was Laetitia's presence.

* * *