Okay, I'd like to apologize for my delay in updating, but, school, and... other... things... have come up to worry me, so, this one's for all who actually REVIEW!

Chapter three: Hooks and Splinters

Alexandria's P.O.V./
Jump City/

I had just walked into a... happy... cheerful part of Jump City. I wanted to get away from there as quickly as possible. When I spotted a stranger who wore a black cape, like he was a super-hero, I followed him. To my surprise, he led me into an alleyway, and then turned to face me. Startled, I backed up. He raised his hand, as if to tell me I could stop.

"Why are you following me?" He asked, calmly. I looked into his eyes, and they softened. It must have been the poor shape I was in, but he didn't seem like I thought he would be.

"I don't know my way around, and I just wanted to get away from that happy place." I said, cursing myself as soon as the words came tumbling out.

"So you need a tour?" He asked. I noticed his eyes were blood red. I made a note to myself: Get red contact lenses. I also blushed. Something I'd never done before. He was kinda cute, if the same height as me.

"Yeah, I guess so." I said, blushing even more now, and, painfully aware of how obvious it was.

"Well, I can't really give you a tour now, gotta work. But, come by, it's a club, sorta dingy. You'll know where to find me. But I have to warn you: the people there are vicious, so, I'm gonna say you're with me. This time. Later" He said, and, with a twist of his cape, was gone. I stood, bewildered. I couldn't really get him off my mind. I think he'd stick in anyone's mind, but he stuck out in mine. Maybe it was because he understood, and helped me. Well, he said drop by later, so I guess I should spend the $100 I had.

The first thing I did was to buy a cheeseburger, fries, and a soda. My favorite meal, yet the house only let me make it once a month, so I savored it. After eating, I followed me instincts to that... club, or whatever. There was no sign, but when I knocked, a slit in the door slid open.

"Password?" The one on the other side asked, with a slight drawl to his voice.

"Relax," a familiar voice said. "She's with me." With that, the door opened, and revealed a figure in a black trench coat, and the pale guy I had met from earlier. The pale guy was holding what looked vaguely like a shotgun, but not quite. It also looked a little like a machine gun.

The pale guy introduced himself. "Just call me Jin. Long story, don't ask." The other in the black trench coat followed suit. "Jack's the name. Security's the game."

"We're security here. He opens the door, and I shoot, if necessary, with my newest weapon: Apocalypse." Jin explained. He must have seen how puzzled I was, until I hid it. What the hell was Apocalypse? Other than the end of the world, I mean.

"Apocalypse is a multi-stage weapon. It has 5 different bullets, and 3 different modes. The bullets are: Standard machine gun bullets, Toxin bullets, which release anthrax upon contact, Piercing bullets. Think Sniper rifle. Explosion bullets are, well, obvious, and least, but not least, Apocalypse bullets. Crowd control. The modes are: Single-round, Semi-auto, and Full-auto." Jin explained, smiling. Suddenly Jack spoke up

"Hey Jin, if she's with you, can I have just a little taste?" He asked, looking longingly at me. I shuddered, because I think I knew what he meant. Jin still seemed calm, which I found odd.

"No, she's with me. Hands off. Or else." He said, his demeanor suddenly very cold. I could feel the hatred emanating out of him.

"But, I just want a tiny taste, very tiny." Jack said, slowly moving towards me. Jin shot the ground, inches from Jack's feet. I looked up, and saw he had one eye looking through the scope on Apocalypse. I had a feeling he had it set on Piercing.

"The next won't miss." He said, lining the next shot up, this time setting it on something else. Jack still stepped closer, hunger in his eyes. He got shot in the arm with a Piercing bullet, but it mutated him. He was still coming, and I felt faint. I then decided to destroy his soul. I put secrets in his head. Secrets that melted the mind, made you go crazy. He'd think he was in hell, and, he probably was too. His own little hell. He fell to the floor, twitching, and he was foaming at the mouth. Jin looked at me, stunned.

"What the hell did you do to him?" He asked me. He dropped down from the ceiling beam, and laughed. Like he felt no remorse for seeing Jack killed. He pulled out a com-unit, and radioed. "Jack's been killed. Got a little too... interested in a friend of mine. Requesting permission to see you, so we can see if she can replace Jack." We waited for several minutes of static silence, then "Come again? I didn't understand that."

"Jack's been terminated. My friend terminated him. I want to see if she can take his job, since she terminated him." We waited only for a few seconds then. "Come see me. We'll se if she can take the job." So said, Jin led me down corridor after corridor, until we reached a blackened steel door. As it opened, a voice, bathed in shadows began. "Welcome, my young female friend. Please, sit down."

I was compelled to obey, and I sat down, to meet the leader of whatever guild...

end chapter/
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